Sorry to give you all such a short chapter after a long break. But writing has felt like pulling teeth again. I'll respond to all your lovely reviews and give you credit next chapter. Thank you all so much!
oOo
Hinata's new fiancé surprised her by showing up to the garden entrance. She only knew the adult version of him from a picture. But when his chakra presence registered in her subconscious, she turned her face into the breeze that tickled through her hair.
Her lips parted and she sucked in a breath that tasted like the jasmine climbing the trellis next to her. Shikamaru stood tall with surprisingly wide shoulders. One of his earrings caught the light of the midafternoon sun. His photo showed him to be handsome, but did not capture the angles of his face, the shadows of his lips and cheekbones.
She searched his face, seeking any sign of kindness, any softness in the man who would be her husband. But she could not see anything other than the weariness in his eyes and the grief that surrounded his mouth.
Ah. So there it was then. She could feel herself softening further. The pleas from his mother made Hinata sympathetic to him. But seeing the man in person…
Neji glowered with a face like thunder from his spot beside Shikamaru. Neji did not know Hinata well enough to realize her feelings. Sasuke or Itachi would. They would warn her to keep strong, keep her distance, no matter how sorry she felt for Shikamaru.
Would it be so bad to be friends with the man she married?
She stood from her spot on the bench when the men approached her.
"Lady Hinata," Neji greeted. "This is Lord Shikamaru."
Shikmaru's lips twisted a bit at the title yet he bowed crisply and politely. "Lady Hinata."
Hinata returned the greeting.
Neji continued, his frown pulling down his face and making his voice slightly nasally. "He has requested an audience with you."
Shikamaru shrugged a shoulder. "I thought I could take you to the compound, see what is going to be our house. I need to key you into the wards and show you the perimeter of our lands as well. Nothing too formal, but I thought it might be easier to do this before the wedding."
"I'd be delighted," she said honestly.
He studied her for a prolonged moment. "Okay," he said.
She wondered what he saw in her.
"Do you need a chaperone?" Neji asked.
His frown only darkened when Hinata shook her head. Shikamaru's lips quirked upwards, just the tiniest bit. Was he pleased at Hinata's choice, or did he find Neji's consternation funny? Or both?
Hinata wanted to learn everything about this stranger who would soon be hers.
"I'll lead you out of the compound," she told Shikamaru, before doing just that.
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Coming up: Hinata tries to find out what her new fiance thinks of their arrangement. Did his mother tell him why she picked Hinata?