Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

The next day he woke bright and early and felt better than he had since Sakura's death. He ate a good breakfast and did his morning exercises while waiting for Temari to arrive. His body protested a little against such treatment, but he ignored it.

A brisk knock on the door informed him of his escort's arrival. He went to the door, opening it. "Good morning, Temari-san."

"Good morning. You look better today, Ryo-san. What's with the glasses?"

"I find that I look less intimidating with them on."

"Oh, don't want to scare the pupils, huh?"

"Yes."

She led him to the hospital and he began instruction immediately with the hospital staff. The blonde woman watched as he did so with gentle patience, something she'd never seen an Uchiha display, Sasuke quite the opposite from what she'd seen of him. He seemed to enjoy his position as mentor and never raised his voice, even when reprimanding, as the weeks passed. She watched as the color came back to his skin, the shadows under his eyes disappear, and a light that hadn't been there before appear in his dark eyes.

One day, a couple months after he'd arrived, she approached him with a question.

"Ryo-san, can I borrow you for a few minutes?"

He nodded and instructed his current pupil, "Try it without me," before he walked outside the room with her. "Yes, Temari-san?"

"How is it that an Uchiha became such a skilled medical ninja? I've never heard of any of the men taking on that career when they became ninjas. They always excelled at everything else."

"During one of my missions I was taught by one of the best and I found that I had an aptitude for it. In a single year I accomplished what my master took years to learn."

"Your methods aren't similar to Sakura's, so you couldn't have been taught by Tsunade. Care to tell me who?"

"Let's just say that he isn't among the living anymore."

"You killed him?"

"No, someone else did. That's all I can tell you, the rest of the information is strictly confidential."

"You're very different from Sasuke, although you have his face. You're calmer, have an attention for small details, although I've yet to see a smile from you. Even Sasuke smiled in some way, or at least smirked. You don't even fake a smile."

"I might be a ninja, but faking a smile is something I haven't mastered. I'm in allied territory, why would I need to put on an act?"

"You seem happier than when you first came, yet nothing here has made you smile, even though you enjoy what you're doing. Not even the slightest twitch of the lips. Have you lost the ability to smile?"

"No, I just have no reason to, ever since Sakura's death. Nothing really gives me joy, even my favorite thing in the world, because she was a medical ninja, too."

"Ryo-san, I have a request to make, even though you might not understand."

"Go on."

"Would you go out to dinner with me after your shift here is over?"

"Dinner?"

"Is it too early for you to even have dinner with a woman after your wife's death? I'm sorry if I'm too forward with this!"

"No, no, I was just surprised that you asked me. I accept your offer."

She smiled and chirped, "I'll leave you to your teaching, then!"

When he was finishing up, washing his hands and such, Temari came over, a light blush on her cheeks. "Just done?"

He nodded. "Yes, once I change back into my normal clothes, I should be ready."

She turned back outside and waited until he was back in his normal attire: black, high-collared Uchiha shirt, gray knee-length shorts and black ninja sandals. Because of the collar she didn't notice his two necklaces: the one Itachi had given him and the chain which held his wedding band. He'd never put it on his finger, even when he'd gotten married to Sakura. He just didn't feel the need to, even though it would indicate he was still married or pining over his dead wife. And in this time of healing, it would feel awkward, even after he returned to Konohagakure no Sato. Only Ino knew about his ring, anyway.

The blonde woman led him to a rather pricey restaurant in Sunagakure no Sato, and when they were seated and looking through the menus, he flinched at the prices of the items on his. Sure Temari was the sister of the Kazekage, but wasn't she even the slightest bit shy of paying so much for a meal? Even as a child, "he" had never dined at a place such as this. Being dirt poor on welfare from the village after the Uchiha Genocide, then living on his own money from missions, then providing for multiple wives and children on the Uchiha Clan funds didn't allow him any opportunities, either. Even though he was restarting a prestigious clan, they were impoverished at the worst of times and just scraping by at the best of times, even if Konohagakure no Sato was giving them large allowances monthly for them to take care of their clan, with five children under four and three adults, (not including what he got from missions) it was hard to budget the money since there would probably be more mouths to feed in the near future, but the bigger the new clan got, the larger the allowances would be. He was almost jealous of the money even Temari herself could throw out on a dinner for two.

His eyes scanned the menu once more and he selected the cheapest item he could find on the main courses. When the waitress came to get their orders, Temari didn't even order her main course first, she ordered the most expensive appetizer and a bottle of sake! He couldn't help but gawk at her as she finished her order with a very costly main course.

"And for you, sir?"

He muttered his choice and Temari pulled a face.

"Ryo-san, that isn't very good. Choose something else."

"But Temari-san—"

"You're gonna make me feel guilty for eating something much better than you. Now re-order."

He swallowed and looked over the menu once again before ordering a dish he actually liked. He relaxed when she smiled and nodded her approval. But when the waitress was gone, she frowned a little.

"Are you not used to eating out like this? I would've thought that you would've brought Sakura to a place like this during your marriage."

"I was always low on funds, even if I claim the name of Uchiha. She didn't mind home-cooked meals in our tiny apartment."

"You don't still live in a tiny apartment, do you?"

"No, I live in the Uchiha Compound in my old family's house."

"All alone in a big house…how can you stand it?"

"Not well, this was why it took me months to recover from Sakura's death."

"You didn't let anyone help you?"

"I was lost inside myself, so there wasn't anyone who could get in."

"Oh, I've been wondering something for a while, just by looking at your face."

"What's that?"

"Are you Sasuke's brother?"

"Yes, we were twins."

"So your breeding is of the strongest Uchiha genes. No wonder you have such large reserves of chakra, which you use so well. I'll bet any of your future kids, even the girls, will get Sharingan."

Ryo knew that for a fact, because he'd had genetic tests on himself and any potential wives he were to have, and his genes would even overpower that of the Hyuga, which was why he wouldn't select Hinata or Hanabi to be his wives, even if either of them had an interest in him. He'd selected his second and third wife that had no particular ninja breeding save excellent chakra control. It was funny that he'd married three medical ninjas while he himself was one. He'd just hoped before Sakura was killed that his son wouldn't inherit her pink hair, but that wasn't meant to be known. He didn't care if his sons had blonde or magenta hair, at least Miru and Moru had a darker shade than their mother, because even dark magenta was better than bubblegum pink. He loved Sakura, but a boy with such a shade would've gotten his hair dyed black every week so as to not to have such an embarrassing color shown around his peers. A pink-haired Uchiha heir would've been a nightmare come to life for him.

Temari giggled and asked, "You were just thinking of pink-haired boys, weren't you?"

Ryo shuddered. "I think I would've had to dye his hair had my son been born with such a hue."

"I think that might be something to tease you about in the future."

"I'll shudder every time at the mention of that possibility. It was the only thing I feared from marrying Sakura."

"A girl would be all right with pink hair, had you had any girls with her?"

Thinking of Mikoto, Ryo nodded. "Yes, quite all right."

"A little pink-haired Uchiha girl, that's such a cute picture in my mind."

That was a good sign that she would accept the little girl when she met her. Because of the clan's plus the Hokage's strict rules on who was supposed to find out about the growth of the clan (especially after Sakura's unfortunate death), he would have to surprise Temari should he consider her the proper wife material. He had to marry again because of the lack of boys and the laws of getting an heir from his multiple wives. Now that he had two wives, he would have to marry again to have three again and would be able to marry two more before he could quit and have just five wives bearing children to try and give birth to a boy.

"You're sure thinking a lot, Ryo-san. Is there something on your mind?"

"Just thinking about the past and reflecting on the future."

"Like what you're going to be returning to when you go back to Konohagakure no Sato?"

"Yes."

She put her fork down and lifted her saucer of sake, looking down at his untouched one. "Don't you want some?"

"I've never had sake before."

"I think you'd like it, once you tried it."

He took a drink, feeling the unfamiliar burn as it went down his throat, but the pleasurable buzz it gave his body when it settled in his stomach was worth the distasteful sensation. He took another long sip, closing his eyes as the warmth spread further.

"You sure took it well for a first-timer, didn't even choke on the first drink."

He held out his saucer and she poured him some more, which he downed faster than the first. He liked what he was feeling, and it got better with each saucer-full he drank. She poured him more whenever he held out his saucer, while she mostly refrained from drinking too much.

"You've drank most of the bottle, Ryo-san. I think you've had enough for your first time."

He rested his cheek on the heel of his hand, looking at her. "You know Temari-san, you're really beautiful."

She blushed and murmured, "Thank you. Are you feeling all right?"

"Yes, I feel fine."

"Hmmm, maybe I should get you back to your room."

She paid the bill and helped him out of the restaurant, even though his walking was normal. He suddenly started giggling, a huge grin manifesting itself on his face.

"Okay, now I know you're drunk."

"Temari-san, I'm not drunk, I don't feel any different."

"Then why are you giggling like a teenage girl?"

"I'm not giggling."

She rolled her eyes as he began singing off-key, and not only that, the chorus of a song she didn't know over and over again.

"Would you stop singing? It's rather annoying."

"Okay, Sakura."

"I'm not Sakura, I'm Temari."

"Of course you are."

He continued as if she'd never spoken, before whispering in her ear, "You're the most beautiful woman in the world, my love. Your hair looks so pretty tonight, up like that."

She shivered, even though she knew he wasn't referring to her. She admitted to herself a week ago that she had feelings for him, so him acting like this was making her react.

"Okay, don't get him drunk like this again, or else he might act worse the drunker he gets. It's like he's a mixture of an annoying and a seductive drunk. I think I would've liked it if he was one or the other, or even a fun drunk."

When she got him to his room, she let him in (after fishing out his keys) and laid him on the couch so he could at least get a decent rest before getting up with a hangover. She hoped beyond all hopes that this incident wouldn't be remembered or it would come back to bite her in the butt.

The next day, he didn't suffer from a hangover, in fact, he seemed fine. But something seemed to be bothering him the whole day, even though it wasn't very obvious, only that when his hands weren't busy, he clenched them behind his back, something he never did before. The rest of him was relaxed, so she was the only one who noticed it over the next few weeks, before it calmed and he resumed his normal habits. She was worried about what it might mean, even though it seemed he was over it. So on another of their outings (after that first dinner, they decided that cheaper activities would make him less uncomfortable), she asked him, "Ryo-san, um…was there something bugging you these past few weeks after our first date?"

"My body was craving something that I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was. It was almost unbearable at first, but now it's under control. As long as I don't encounter whatever it was that my body wants, I shouldn't lose control."

Temari's eyes widened when she realized he was a born alcoholic, which was why he seemed to take to it like he'd been drinking for years. He'd been struggling with the addiction to the stuff that she'd triggered by offering him sake. He hadn't been near it again, so he'd learned to suppress the cries of his body for it, and it seemed to wipe his memory of it the instant he began drinking. So he didn't remember anything about the end of their dinner and being brought home while being drunk. She was lucky that it happened that way, or else he'd be demanding a constant supply of liquor and kill himself because he'd always want more. Perhaps she would have to be around him to help him not encounter alcohol so he wouldn't be consumed by alcoholism. He was only nineteen, after all.

It was fascinating that his body had cured him of a hangover overnight, but he hadn't drank that heavy (it was only a single bottle of the stuff) so if he was to be given ample amounts of the addictive substance it was to be seen how well his liver could take it. It was better not to experiment, for it could have devastating effects on his body and she didn't want him to die from liver failure.

So anything with alcohol in it was off-limits to her boyfriend.

How does everyone like OCxTemari?

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