Two new chapters! Hope they don't seem too rushed. This is my first time writing an actual, multi-chaptered fic and I'm still learning. ^^;
(Might make this story an extra chapter or two longer, btw.)
Anyway! Hope you enjoy! And thanks very much for the faves and reviews!
The wind whisked her bangs into her eyes and tugged at her skirt as Temari made her way back out to the street. The weather didn't bother her much - she was a wind user after all. It was the welling feelings of distress she was having difficulty pushing down.
Her first intention was to check each place he might possibly be. The archives, training grounds, offices… It wasn't as if he could leave the village.
It only occurred to her, then, that she had suggested he take a break. And she felt an overwhelming foolishness at her uneasiness.
The bar was a smaller and lesser known establishment, nestled between old apartment complexes. (Temari recalled a time she and Kankuro had unsuccessfully attempted to get Gaara drunk there.) It was a perfect place for small groups, or people wishing to be alone with their own thoughts rather than listen in on the latest comings and goings in busier parts of town. And the most likely place he'd be. (She would be surprised if he hadn't become well-acquainted with the Sand Village by now. He'd visited it enough.)
It was near empty, due to the storm, but, accurate to her prediction, he sat at the far end of the bar, thoughtfully stirring at a plate of yakisoba with his chopsticks.
"You…" She began heatedly once she'd reached him, "The amount of trouble you cause me!"
"Oh." He smiled that irritating, lazy smile of his. "So you do worry about me."
"I thought you might have left the apartment to… uh… stay elsewhere." She replied, sitting at the stool adjacent to him, not bothering to respond to his comment.
Shikamaru shrugged. "It's not like I really have any reason to leave, I guess. And it's not like I can go far in this storm, anyway. Unless you'd want me to."
"No." Temari answered, "You're welcome to freeload there as much as you like." Her mood was improving. Just a little. "But, you do owe me one thing."
He grimaced a bit, "I guess I do, if I know where this is going."
"We need to talk about this." Temari said. "Yesterday, you asked me about our… relationship, and I'd like to know if it's something you're really serious about."
"It's not necessary to repeat it." He grumbled and she was convinced his face had reddened slightly. "But, yeah, that was my intent and I suppose I'll stick by it."
"And you also know that I'm loyal to the Sand." She went on.
"Always have been aware." He said with some light sarcasm in his tone. She supposed she had always made it rather clear.
"How, then, are we ever going to fucking work something out?" She asked him with frustration. "You're very loyal to your own village as well. You have commitments and responsibilities there. People who rely on your skills. Friends and family. You know," She said, voice quieting, "I do worry about you. And, even in spite of your, well," She paused to wave a hand. "lack of strength in some areas. I think you are one of the best ninja the Leaf has."
At that, his eyebrows rose a bit and he redirected his attention to his noodles. "Uh. Thank you." It wasn't often she so blatantly or freely gave praise.
"And… I think it would be a shame if you were to leave." She finished.
"I've considered at least forty different situations." Shikamaru said, "And the majority of them, nearly all, would probably never work in the long run."
"Then what are we even doing?" Temari asked.
"Well…" Shikamaru scratched at the back of his neck, "Honestly, I think life would be a lot duller if you weren't around."
"And I think I'd worry about you a lot more if I you weren't around for me to look out for." Temari agreed, attempting to ignore the fluttery feelings within her that had started up again.
Shikamaru snorted slightly at her comment, but the light in his eyes expressed genuine gratitude.
They were both silent for a short while. Temari felt glad that neither of them were given much to sappy excess in their conversations.
"But…" Shikamaru spoke up, "I still think I'd like to give something a try. Maybe. I don't think you should leave the Sand and I don't think I should leave the Leaf. My mom would kill me if I did, anyway." He muttered under his breath. "I do have a lot of obligations in my village. I mean, I'll be taking on a genin team in several years, too."
"You'd need a jounin rank for that." Temari said pointedly, eyeing him.
"True." Shikamaru nodded.
"So you are going to appeal to become a jounin, then?" Temari asked, surprised, digressing somewhat from the topic at hand. She paused a moment, taking in his expression. "Wait… You've…" She almost jumped from her chair as it dawned on her, "You've just made jounin, haven't you?"
"I have." He confirmed and she punched him in the arm.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner? You… you lazy jerk!" She fumed. (Although she was, truthfully, quite pleased.)
"Ugh." Shikamaru rubbed at his upper arm, wincing, "Because you would've reacted like that, regardless of whether I'd told you sooner or later." He muttered.
Temari might have kissed him, but her nerves were still too on-edge and she settled for ordering vegetable skewers and drinks instead.
The atmosphere of the room, to her, began to feel considerably warmer and hushed. Five other customers sat in far corners, conversing quietly, apparently aware only of their own company. The bartender sat at the counter near the entrance, engrossed in one of those terrible Jiraiya romance novels.
"It took you long enough." She mumbled around a mouthful of tomato.
"Seriously." He sighed, "I would've been fine being a genin or chuunin for the rest of my life, but I have duties. I'll be continuing as an examiner, too. At least for the next few years or so." Shikamaru sipped at his drink. "I'm sorry… for not telling you sooner. I tried yesterday, but, uh, I guess I really timed it badly."
"You did. Gaara and Kankuro thought so, too." Temari finished with her first skewer.
"What? You told your brothers about it?" Shikamaru blanched.
"Oh, relax. They would've found out eventually." Temari snorted. "I suppose there are no future second chances at asking any better way. What's done is done. And," Her face felt hot, "I think I'd be fine with trying for some kind of… compromise, now that we've discussed things more."
Shikamaru choked on his sake, then downed it quickly. "I've, um, also been considered for liaison work to the Sand. Which is a jounin position. And it means I'd be visiting much more often."
"You could have told me that, too." Temari said quietly.
"That was also something I intended to do yesterday." He said awkwardly. "I wanted your opinion. I wasn't sure that you'd even want to go ahead with anything at all. So I'd planned on asking you first, under your terms, about… moving forward. And then suggesting that I could take on working as an ambassador as one of the solutions. I mean, you visit the Leaf as ambassador almost every autumn, now, and, if I were to spend a season here, it might… close the gap in months."
"We're ridiculous, aren't we?" Temari sighed, more a statement than a question. "Always putting duty first." She'd had some sake, now, and she soon closed the space between them, kissing him lightly on the lips.
And, after more drinks, he kissed her back and they both came to the conclusion, quite rationally, that they should take such behavior to a place considerably less public.
In a short while, they'd returned to her apartment just as the sun was setting, stumbling to her darkened room.
Shikamaru lingered in the doorway as Temari tugged at the knots of her obi, hastily untying it, and slipped out of her shirt and skirt, leaving only her sarashi and bottoms.
As Shikamaru watched, his eyes grew wide. "Er. Just what are you d-doing?" He stammered, words jumbling together at an unnaturally quicker pace than his usual drawl.
"Something I've been wanting to do for a while." Temari replied.
Temari moved closer to him, her lips brushing his. As they parted, she met his stare seriously.
"Please?" She asked quietly.
She tugged at the bottom of his shirt and he quickly removed it, along with his flak jacket, and he tossed them aside to the floor.
"Are you sur-" Shikamaru began, still cautious, but Temari cut him off with another kiss. That seemed to be enough of an answer for him, because he eagerly returned her kiss and they toppled dizzily onto her mattress, lips moving against lips, their tongues meeting sloppily.
He tasted of umeshu and sake and she giggled against his mouth. "You are such a lightweight."
"Shut up." He muttered.
Temari smiled, curtailing any further protests with more kissing.