"It feels so good to be here after so long!" Exclaimed Temari when they get to Sunagakure.

"You know, when you talk like that you make it looks like I kept you prisoner at home." Shikamaru said raising an eyebrow.

"Well..."

"Mom, if you say anything like 'I'm prisoner of your love' I will puke." Said Shikadai putting his hands behind his head. His parents laughed.

"I wouldn't say something so cheesy, Shikadai, relax."

They got to Temari's old house.

"Temari-sama, welcome back." Greeted a servant-maid bowing deeply to them.

"Thank you."

"Would you like to go to your room to rest or would you prefer I announced your arrival to Kazekage-sama?" She asked.

"Go to our room rest." Answered father and son at the same time. Temari sighed.

"Alright. Can you take these two to our bedroom? I will see my brothers first."

"Understood, Temari-sama." She bowed again. "Please, follow me, Shikamaru-sama, Shikadai-sama."

The servant-maid was guiding them through the sand-colored, corridors to a fancy connecting room, the part with a king-size bed had a shogi board.

"Oh, nice!" Said Shikadai running towards the board. "Maybe we can play this instead of attending on uncle's wedding."

"Not happening." Shikamaru answered, sitting down beside the table with the board as well then he turned to the maid. "Thanks."

"It was a pleasure, Shikamaru-sama. Can I do anything else for you?"

"Soda and popcorn?" Asked Shikadai.

"Right away, Shikadai-sama." She left.

"You shouldn't abuse my brother's hospitality…" Said Temari, leaning against the door frame.

"You're back already?"

"Yeah, Gaara and Kankurou went to pick up their fineries for tomorrow. I will help them out but I wanted to discuss something with you two first."

Shikadai and Shikamaru exchanged a jumpy look. Oh-oh.

"As you may know, it's a pretty big deal that my little brother who was once such a creepy kid got in touch with his emotions enough to find someone he loves and get married so you, as his brother-in-law and his nephew, must be extremely happy for being here." She said, pointing with the index finger to them repeatedly while talking. "You hear me? That means words like 'drag', 'troublesome' and 'bore' are completely forbidden." Temari narrowed her eyes. "Shikadai."

"Yes?" He answered, making the first move on shogi.

"You will be present at the entire ceremony without complaining or asking when we're going home, then later, at the reception, you're only allowed to go to bed after 10 pm."

Shikadai raised his look from the board. "I am a child in growth stage, I need to sleep early! I say 8 pm."

Gee, I hate when he turns my own words against me… Temari thought closing her hands tightly.

"9."

"Eight thirty?" Shikamaru said, trying to conciliate.

She sighed. "Deal. And, Shikamaru, the same goes to you… Except you're not a kid in growth stage, so you're only leaving the reception when your lovely wife does. Now, I'm going out. Try not to overwork the maids."

After she left, Shikadai asked:

"Hey, dad?" He moved a lance three squares forward.

"Hm?" Shikamaru captured that lance with a bishop.

"Why did you marry such a strict woman?" Shikadai captured the bishop with a knight. Shikamaru chuckled. "What?"

"Nothing… Let me see…" A lot of answers crossed his mind, but none would be good enough to Shikadai. In the end, he just shrugged and promoted a silver general. "Well, who knows? Maybe it's some curse on the men of our family."

X

"Ah, you two! I'm glad you could come!" Shikamaru greeted when he spotted Hinata and Naruto among the many guest reunited at the assembly room before the ceremony had started.

"Yeah, we almost didn't make it. Our 'babysitter' was late." Naruto said.

"Babysitter? Who stayed with your kids?"

"Kakashi-sensei." The Hokage answered.

That surprised Shikamaru, he couldn't see how Kakashi was good choice for a babysitter. "Are you sure that's the best? You could have brought them with you."

Hinata shook her head. "We couldn't bring Bolt to friend's marriage, the chances of him ruining the ceremony is far too big."

Shikamaru laughed. "That's true."

"I should greet Gaara. Shikamaru, can you take me to where he is?" Naruto asked.

"Sure. He will be happy to see you."

"Thanks. Hinata," he turned to his wife and put his hands on her shoulder "be a good girl while I'm away and you know the rules: if any weird guy approaches you, you punch first, ask later."

Hinata chuckled. "Just go already."

"You know, no guy would hit on her, not once she came here hand in hand with a Kage." Shikamaru spoke once they got away from Hinata.

"I would bet on that if the thought of my wife being hit on didn't get on my nerves so much." Naruto said, squinting his eyes a bit.

They found Gaara on his chamber, smiling nervously at the mirror.

"Naruto, you're here!" He said after he turned around with a robotic movement.

"Hey, man, big day, huh?" Greeted Naruto.

"Yeah. Big. Day." The Kazekage answered still with that nervous grin on his face.

Naruto and Shikamaru looked at each other, trying to hold back their laughs.

"So... Are you nervous?" Asked the blonde as he walked towards Gaara's minibar.

"I don't know. I just keep thinking this terrible things... What she doesn't show up? What if I forget my vows? Or worse: what if she hate my vows and say she doesn't take me as her husband...?"

"Huh, Gaara, that is the feeling we call 'nervousness'." Explained Naruto, handing him a cup of sake. "Here, drink this."

Gaara dried his cup with one gulp. Naruto poured them all more sake. "Feel calmer?" He asked when Gaara drinked the other dose.

The groom tilted his head and gave a bubbly smile. "Yeah. Yeeeaahh." Gaara started to pet Naruto's head, chuckling.

He looked at Shikamaru. "Who would have thought this guy would be such a lightweight?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Gaara, you didn't eat today, did you?" His brother-in-law gave it a thought then made an exaggerated gesture of denial with his index finger.

"Man, when he sober up he will kill me for getting him drunk before his wedding." Naruto said, trying to escape the Kazekage's petting.

"Who cares what he will do? If his sister found out I let this happen, she will make a widow of herself!" Shikamaru panicked. "Quick, you go wash his face and will bring him some coffee and something to eat."

"Hai. Come, Gaara." Naruto tried to guide him by the arm, but he resisted.

"What are you talking about? I'm not drunk!"

"..."

Gaara raised a leg and put his foot on the other leg's knee. "See? I'm not drunk."

Naruto knew that, being a very skilled shinobi, Gaara could do that even if he was drunk as skunk, so he smiled.

"Yeah, I know. We're just want to make sure you are… huh… smelling good. It's your wedding, after all." Naruto made up.

The bubbly smile was back. "You're a good friend, Naruto. A very good friend. Have I ever told you I love you?"

"Okaaaaay, this is getting weird. I'm going to look for the food. You think you can handle him?" Shikamaru asked, but he had already turned around before Naruto could answer.

"Don't think that, sometimes, Shikamaru's head looks like a pineapple?" Gaara said way too loud. Shikamaru turned his head a bit, with a small smile playing on his lips. Gaara frowned. "Do you think he heard?"

"Yeah… Let's go wash your face up."

X

They had less than five minutes left to the ceremony when Shikamaru and Naruto could finally return to their wives. Naruto sat down beside Hinata after shooing the young shinobi of Suna who kept asking if "Hinata no Kimi" (a/n: no Kimi is a suffix used to denominate a noble lady or lord, but it's also used on love letters from a man to a woman) anything.

"You're finally back… and why is your clothes all wet?"

Naruto scratched his head. "Well… Wash a guy with a self-moving sand defense it's harder than I thought."

Hinata just stared at him with amused eyes but didn't ask more questions.

Temari, on the other hand, had her arms tightly crossed when Shikamaru sat on his place.

"So?" She asked.

"What?"

"Where were you till now?"

"Naruto and I were with Gaara, he's having pre-wedding jitters." Shikamaru explained simply, hoping Temari would ask no details.

She raised an suspicious eyebrow. "Heh? That Gaara having jitters?"

Shikadai gave a devious smile. "It's a pretty big deal that your little brother who was once such a creepy kid got in touch with his emotions enough to feel pre-wedding jitters, right, mom?"

Temari eyed him and growled. "From whom he inherited this annoying ability?" She asked Shikamaru.

"Actually, I think this is only the combination of my memory with your bluntness." He answered.

"Bluntness?!"

"Shush, the ceremony is starting."

Temari gave him an annoyed look but stayed silent.

A few minutes later, while the celebrant was talking, the bride whispered to the groom:

"Why is your hair that wet?"

"It seems like Naruto grabbed my head and sank us on a bathtub... Well, at least I'm not nervous anymore."

She muffled a chuckle. "I didn't get a thing, but I didn't know you could also feel nervous."

"Me neither, and I definitely do not want to feel that way again."

She smiled softly and held his hand. "I know a solution for that."

"What?"

"Let this be the last time you get married."

Gaara also smiled. "Oh, I intend to."

X

"It was a beautiful wedding, in the end. Even if Gaara's wet hair will look pretty weird on the pictures." Temari said later that night, when she and Shikamaru were already on bed.

"I guess. Say, you're really proud of your little brother, aren't you?" He said playing with her fingers entwined in his.

Temari smiled and snuggled closer, laying her head on the same pillow he was using. "You met him when he was younger, you know what I meant when I said he was creepy, I'm really glad that he could see some light in this world and learned that he was capable of love and being love in return. And he chose a fine girl too, I hope he gets me some nephews and nieces."

"Don't talk like a geezer, Temari." Shikamaru joked. "So... I behaved myself pretty well, didn't I?"

She narrowed her dark green eyes, but smiled softly. "You did. Shikadai too. I think I will reward him by let him skip class on Monday."

Shikamaru caressed her face. "What about my reward?"

She melted into that touch. "What do you want as a reward?" Temari whispered.

"Well, maybe you could go back to your own pillow? It's a king-sized bed, it would be a waste if we used such a tiny space."

Temari rolled her eyes and slid back to her pillow. "And I'm the blunt one, right?"

Shikamaru chuckled and closed his eyes ready to sleep. But then he opened then and pulled Temari back to him, passionately.

It was a king-sized bed after all.