CH-19
Week 27
Part 2

I sat up in Shikamaru's lap and stared at him, but I was still wondering,

"Why your father?"

"He is my clan's leader. He can legally marry us," Shikamaru shrugged like it was the most obvious thing.

"But isn't our marriage supposed to be diplomatic?" Shikamaru nodded. "Then aren't we supposed to have a big grand wedding where peace is made between countries through an open bar?"

Shikamaru smirked and replied,

"Technically, but we were never one to do things by the book."

I laughed at that, it was very true. Not engaged until expecting after all. Shikamaru saw me contemplating.

"If they really need to form bonds over sake, we can invite Tsunade to a family meal or something. And if they want, we can stage a wedding, but I don't want to wait until they decide that. I want to marry you Temari and I don't need a big fancy church wedding. All I need is you," Shikamaru told me.

I smiled at him and gave him a big kiss. I pulled away laughing and said,

"Well, who are we going to invite to our impromptu wedding?"

"No one," said Shikamaru in a dead monotone.

I raised an eyebrow, and he explained,

"That doesn't mean we can't invite them to our impromptu reception."

I laughed and said,

"We need two witnesses to validate a wedding, and your father can't be one."

"Well my mother can be one," said Shikamaru. "I would never hear the end of it if I didn't invite my own mother to my wedding."

I laughed and nodded. Yoshino would surely kill us and her husband if she wasn't present at our wedding. My brothers would kill me too, but they were in Suna and they couldn't be here. Kankuro would surely tear a strip off of me if he found out that he had missed the chance to give his sister away.

"You choose one," Shikamaru told me.

"Kurenai," I replied almost instantly.

Shikamaru smiled, and repeated,

"Kurenai."

I gave my fiancé a kiss on the cheek and got off of his lap.

"Well let's go and find your parents."

"Our parents," Shikamaru corrected.

I laughed,

"Yes, our parents."

Shikamaru swept me up into his arms and I let out a small yelp. I laughed again and smiled as Shikamaru ran out of our house toward our parent's house. Shikamaru ran into his parent's house and right into the sitting room.

"Shikamaru!?" Yoshino exclaimed as she dropped the book she had been reading.

Shikaku looked up to see his son standing in the middle of the room.

I was still laughing when I asked Shikamaru,

"Aren't you supposed to sweep me off my feet after we are married?"

"Normal rules don't apply," Shikamaru replied.

Shikamaru then turned to his parents and then informed them,

"We are getting married."

"Of course Shikamaru, you two have already been engaged for several months," Yoshino replied.

Shikamaru was about to shoot a reply back to his mother when his father said,

"Yoshino dear, I think they mean they are getting married today."

"Today?!" Yoshino exclaimed. "No they can't get married today!"

"Why not?" I asked her.

"Because you don't have a dress! We don't have a hall booked out! We don't have anything planned whatsoever!"

"Give the Akimichi's a call, I am sure they would be glad to bring a ton of food over and call Tsunade too, she can bring the sake," Shikamaru said.

Yoshino glared at her son and said,

"You can't just have a wedding on a whim Shikamaru!"

"Yes you can, my dear," said Shikaku. "I believe they are called shotgun weddings."

Yoshino glared daggers at her husband and then turned to me.

"Temari give me some support here!"

"I'm sorry Yoshino," I said laughing. "I am on Shikamaru's and Shikaku's side with this."

"Temari, don't you want a white dress to call your own? Don't you want a church wedding?" Yoshino questioned.

"No," I said bluntly. "All I want is Shikamaru."

All the resistance in Yoshino melted away. Yoshino was a romantic, just like every woman out there, and she just couldn't say no to such a pure confession of love.

"At least wait until tomorrow," she pleaded.

I shook my head. "I am making Shikamaru mine today."

Yoshino huffed but did not fight anymore. Shikaku turned to his son and quietly said,

"You need two witnesses, son."

Shikamaru put me down onto my feet and said to me,

"Give me five minutes. I'll meet you in the forest; my Dad will bring you there, okay?"

I nodded my head and then Shikamaru disappeared with a puff of smoke. I turned to Shikaku and said,

"We should head out now, I don't move very fast anymore."

Before Shikaku could reply Yoshino had grabbed me and was dragging me up the stairs.

"We have five minutes!" she exclaimed. "And you aren't getting married in sweat pants!"

She pulled me up the stairs and led me into her and Shikaku's room. She tossed me onto a stool in front of a vanity and started bustling around her room. She was whizzing back and forth and it began to make me dizzy.

She tugged my hair out of its trademark ponytails and yanked a brush through my hair. She expertly French braided my hair around my head like a crown and then shoved a silver comb embed with sapphires with an attached veil into my hair and muttered,

"Something old, something blue."

She pulled me off the stool and threw me into her bathroom with a garment bag. I unzipped the bag and in it was an ivory wedding dress.

"Something borrowed," said Yoshino through the door. "So help me we are still going dress shopping and getting you your own anyways."

I smiled, of course we were. She wasn't going to be the only one feeling robbed by the rapid wedding. I quickly undressed and put the wedding dress on. I didn't fit to bad either. I vaguely recalled Yoshino saying something about being pregnant with Shikamaru when she got married to Shikaku.

When I stepped out of the bathroom I asked Yoshino,

"If this is something borrowed, and there is something old and blue in my hair, then what is the something new?"

A white blur shot towards me and I quickly stepped to dodge it.

"Nice catch," Yoshino said.

I blushed and picked up the white and green garter that had been shot at me. Hardly a deadly weapon, but you can't blame the ninja instincts. I quickly pulled the garter on.

"Yoshino!" Shikaku called from downstairs. "We have to get going."

"God! Men! So demanding!" Yoshino said exasperated.

I laughed and walked out of the room and headed toward Shikaku. Yoshino passed me as we headed down the stairs and told her husband,

"You take me to that clearing right now and then you come back and get Temari, understood?"

"Yes dear," Shikaku said obediently.

Shikaku pulled Yoshino into his arms and then disappeared out of the door. I took a deep breath and talked myself through what I was doing. I was getting married. I was marrying Shikamaru. After this, there was no turning back. I was stuck with Shikamaru for life. I smiled and for once that thought didn't scare me. I caught a glance of myself in the mirror in the hallway.

I smiled, I was glowing and I had to hand it to Yoshino. That woman could do a lot in five minutes. In a fine-crafted ivory dress stood a tanned blonde who was glowing with happiness, with a slightly large stomach. I placed my hand on my belly and said quietly,

"Guess what Asuma? I am marrying your Dad today. Isn't that exciting?"

I smiled when he kicked. Shikaku cleared his throat and I looked up at him.

"Time to join the family," he said to me.

I smiled and took the hand he had held out to me. He swept me up just as his son had and ran out the door.

When Shikaku put me down, it was in a beautiful clearing and I stood beside the person I trusted the most in this world. For once he wasn't wearing his flak jacket. He had a smile that light up his entire face. His black hair was still gathered up on the top of his head in the Nara trademark ponytail. He grabbed my hand and held on tight.

"Well then, Ladies and Gentlemen we are gathered here today to join Temari Sabaku and Shikamaru Nara in holy matrimony," droned Shikaku.

Both Shikamaru and I snickered quietly under our breath. The first line was so very traditional and we were so not. I glanced around us briefly to see deer gathering around us to see what was happening in the middle of their forest.

"Marriage is..." Shikaku began again.

Shikamaru had rueful smiles on our faces. I stopped listening to what Shikaku was saying and I was just focused solely on Shikamaru. His beautiful black hawk eyes focused on me and I felt like the only woman in the world. That worked for me. I didn't turn back to focus on the words Shikaku was until he cleared his throat.

"Temari Sabaku, do you take Shikamaru Nara to be your husband in sickness and health, till death do you part?"

"I do," I said with the biggest smile on my face.

"Good," said Shikaku. "Shikamaru Nara, same question."

I smiled and could see Yoshino in the corner of my eye moving to smack Shikaku.

"I do," he replied.

"Good, now you may kiss ..." Shikaku said.

I didn't hear the rest of what Shikaku said because I was swept up into the best-tasting kiss I had ever experienced. Oh god, I was so happy. This was what was meant to happen, there was no denying it. If you told me twenty-seven weeks ago that today I would be married and expecting, I would have laughed and asked what drugs they'd been smoking. But here I was and I was simply just so happy.

We broke apart, and grinned like fools at each other. I looked to see Kurenai and our parents smiling at us. Kurenai was the first to say,

"Congratulations."

"Thank you," I said with a smile.

"Now then," Shikaku said. "I am going to send Tsunade the certificate and hope she doesn't hurt me."

Shikamaru and I chuckled. I turned to Yoshino and asked,

"Can I change back into my sweatpants now?"

Yoshino gasped and replied,

"No, Temari we have to take pictures first!"

I internally groaned, she was going to make us take pictures too? I looked and my new husband and gave a slight smile because I could tell he was groaning too. He returned my smile and then I saw a camera flash in the corner of my eye.

A thousand and ten flashes later my smiles were starting to turn into grimaces. Yoshino was a slave driver when it came to these pictures. When she finally got enough pictures of us and she told me that we could go back to the house now. Kurenai was there for the beginning of our torture but left with Shikaku to go see the Hokage.

"You can go home now," Yoshino said smiling. "Shikaku will be back shortly to bring me home as well. Go change into something nice, seeing as we are going to have people over tonight."

Shikamaru and I just nodded quietly and he swept me into his arms.

"Well then wife," he said. "Who should we invite over tonight?"

Wife, I smiled. I like the sound of that.

"Well husband, I am not too picky," I answered.

We quickly arrived back at the house and Shikamaru set me down in the foyer. Suddenly I was overtaken by laughter. I couldn't believe it, I was married. I was actually married to Shikamaru, the father of my child. How astounding that seemed.

Shikamaru was eyeing me and my hysterical laughter and I couldn't help but smile even bigger.

When I finally calmed down enough to actually speak I turned to Shikamaru and said,

"Tsunade is going to kill us."

"It may be very troublesome," he said scratching the back of his head.

"That was a very impulsive and rash decision if I do say so myself," I answered.

"You make me very rash and impulsive," Shikamaru grinned.

"I love you husband," I said giving him a kiss.

"As I love you my troublesome wife," he answered.

Oh haiii guys! Yes I am still actually alive and I realize you guys probably want to murder me seeing as I have trouble updating things on a regular basis ... I mean seriously it's been over six months, I fully understand if we aren't on speaking terms.

A lot has happened since I last updated, really nothing that probably could have prevented me from updating until now, but you know life and stuff it happens keeps you busy. Writers block has a lot to do with it too.

But I gift you with another chapter of this story and tell you now that I refuse to read the manga for Naruto anymore, I mean seriously why do they always kill my favourite characters? Sorry for the spoilers if that actually really spoils anything ...

I graduated! Hooray! And now winter is knocking at my doorstep so it should be interesting and my birthday is soon too! So excited!

Thank you for all the reviews as they provided me a lot of encouragement to finally get off my ass and write again :)

I give you no promises of when my next chapter for this story will arrive, but have faith that it will come and hopefully it will :)

But anyways,

Spaz out!