41- cause the world is saved

ShikaTema

They had done it, they had won.

The war, the one that could have destroyed everything the shinobi protected, had finally ended. To the lands of the west and the lands of the east, they had saved the world and its people together as allies.

Waves of both happiness and grief, relief and dread, washing over the sea of men and women that still stood bravely, carrying with them the heavy burden of those that hadn't survived.

The final battle had ended mere hours ago, but it felt like seconds with everything she could see before her. Like a blur, shinobi moved, ready to clean up the aftermath of war, but Temari moved away from them, only one thought in her mind, only one goal she worked towards to reach.

Her feet carried her down the muddy path, a light rainstorm just ending, past tents and wounded shinobi, past new friends and old foes, she moved with purpose and all she could do now was search the crowd of people.

Temari couldn't explain why the feeling surged in her very core, like a fire that lit the path before her, leading her to him, leading her to Shikamaru. She had no plan, just two words that echoed repeatedly in her mind, commanding each step.

Find him.

The tent in the far back, the medical wing of camp her destination, using the gossip and rumors of who had made it to guide her. No hesitation in moving the blinds and shoved into the small dim room, no thoughts when she finally saw him and froze in her spot.

Shikamaru laid against the cot, tired and dirty as the others were, the battle had done its damage. Wraps around his bare chest and bruises that would form darker as time went on, but he was alive.

She prayed it was the truth before her, and not a morbid dream, she prayed it was all real.

A step towards him, she tried to make it look controlled and calm, but when he looked up and noticed her, dark eyes meeting her burning teals, she stopped and broke the silence before he could utter anything.

"You look like crap, Nara" the words left her before she could stop them, old habits she decided.

"You should see the other guy" he manged a weak chuckle, a pull at his mouth, a grin, relieved as she was. She tried, she really did try to smile back, but she couldn't.

Words couldn't describe it, she couldn't deny the urge to step closer, she couldn't hide those traitorous tears rolling down her dusty cheeks now. The wetness against the dirtied skin leaving a clean trail in their escape.

She had tried to smile, but why couldn't she?

Temari would hide it normally, hide weakness, but this wasn't it, this was relief. They had done it, they had won, and this was the spoils of war, this feeling washing over her was a prize she realized.

"Temari?" He just managed to sound her name, to ask why, but she had moved.

Before she could stop herself, exhaustion settling, she dropped down to his side and wrapped her arms around him in an embrace so fierce and tight, she was sure she'd hurt him with it, but he didn't let the ache in his bones show. Instead, after a second of his own confusion to her action, he held her just the same, pulling her close and speaking against her ear, at first edging on concern.

Temari did not cry, he knew that for a fact.

"Hey, we saved the world you know, it's over, we won Temari" Her name said so gently, as if he had caressed her with his voice alone, as if the dark thoughts she had when she heard he had gotten hurt at the end melted away, soothing her now. Her grip tightened, but it wasn't enough, he wasn't just a friend, this wasn't just a comrade in arms, she did not weep for just anyone.

Then it all became clear, she cried for those she loved.

Temari pulled away, only enough to move and press her lips to his, unexpected and yet somehow expected. Lips quivering until he pressed back as if to ease her fear, show her he was alive and not just a warped sense of reality tricking her in the aftermath of it all.

The shaking stopped, the moment passed, and she pulled back to look at him, moving her hands to hold him, to search one dark eye to the other, to see his surprise when she spoke through her unstoppable tears. Like a floodgate that had broken, everything seen clearly through the haze, knowing this was real and so was he.

"Even if the world was saved, I couldn't stand the thought of being in it without you" her once commanding and thundering voice, so tame in this moment of guilty admission, almost shaking as her body did.

The slow realization growing on his face, the way his eyes softened and he pulled a grin to her, understanding of every moment they had shared, from enemies, to allies, to friends and more, to the story he had seen in his dreams, the ones of his father and Asuma, of his mother and Mirai, of the future, and now he knew Temari wasn't just supposed to be in it, but needed to be a part of it.

He needed her.

"I'm right here, troublesome woman" His own tear picked up, but he managed to blink them away, to let her express hers "I'm right here" he repeated quieter, a whisper as he leaned back in, tender and soft, the opposite of her rushed one in the fear of losing him.

A promise made to take the life they had been gifted and live for the future.