For ShikatemaMonth24 - "Smart but Stupid" + Accidental PDA
Temari was almost too comfortable to move.
They were lying on top of the covers, her back to his chest, Shikamaru's arms around her waist.
She hadn't let him use the blanket because then he would fall asleep immediately, and they had to get up to go soon. Not that it had helped much - from the sound of his breathing, she was pretty sure he was fast asleep.
Temari elbowed his stomach. "You have five minutes to get up."
"That's five minutes of more sleep I could have gotten before you so kindly decided to wake me."
"Four minutes." She elbowed him again, harder.
He grumbled, tightening his grip around her and pushing his face deeper into her hair.
He had been that way since they left the Hokage Tower, practically booking it to his apartment to collapse in his extra-plush bed. And for some reason, Temari had felt inclined to indulge him.
So she spent the laziest evening in her life with her mostly-secret boyfriend. Stretched out next to Shikamaru, Temari could practically feel the tension and soreness melt away from her shoulders and neck. Who knew that even after years of carrying a giant fan on her back, an office desk could still cause a whole different kind of ache.
Though Temari wasn't exactly upset about the two extra minutes of rest. She would need her energy for a dinner with the entire Konoha Rookie class. Ino and Chouji had stopped them during their lunch break to tell them of the plans to meet at a new restaurant that night. At first, she tried to refuse the invitation but the other two had insisted, saying Shikamaru would be more likely to attend if she did two, all the while giving their teammate sly looks that he had ignored.
Behind her, Shikamaru finally got up with a loud groan. Unlike her, he had immediately stripped himself of his jounin fatigues and now had to shake them out from their pile on the floor.
Temari's favorite thing about spending naps or nights with Shikamaru was watching him get ready after - navy blue was a good color on him. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he deftly tied up his hair in its usual ponytail. Temari raised an eyebrow, though, when he zipped on his olive green vest next. She slid off the bed. "If it's just dinner, why are you getting dressed in your uniform?" She asked, picking a stray thread off his shoulder.
Shikamaru finished adjusting his flak vest. "It's a drag, but I can get called away anytime. It's happened before."
Temari leaned against his dresser, silently watching him check the pockets of his vest and pouch. All that was missing were the shinobi sandals left at the apartment door to make him look like the commander he was.
She felt a surge of pride as he made sure his uniform was neat and proper. Shikamaru had definitely come a long way from the lazy fourteen-year-old who never washed his chuunin vest. He had a much more important role in the village now, and the care he was putting into his appearance, even for the off chance that he was summoned, showed that he knew it and was taking responsibility for it.
It was so hot, she was having trouble keeping her hands to herself.
Temari wiped her hands on her thighs. "Do they know I'm coming?" She asked, trying to distract herself.
"I let Choji and Naruto know, so I'm sure they told the others."
She nodded, even though he still wasn't looking at her. "Do they know... anything else?"
His eyes, dark and unfathomable, pierced through hers in the mirror. "You know they don't. No one does."
Temari only nodded, and again busied her hands by reapplying her lipstick and tightening her pigtails. If they didn't leave now, they were definitely going to be late.
Shikamaru seemed to read her mind, because he pulled her away from the dresser, looking her up and down.
"You look good." He said, his hand trailing up her arm.
Temari huffed, looking away. "So do you."
He leaned in, thoughts on something other than dinner, and his breath skimmed over her cheeks before she stopped him, her hand over his mouth.
"But unfortunately for you, my lipstick stains and we're supposed to see your friends in ten minutes."
He sighed, an exaggeratedly forlorn look crossing his face. "Troublesome…."
Temari grinned. "Then again, maybe they'll all be too busy getting you to empty your wallet to notice anything."
"Heh! They can try all they want - I'm only paying for two meals tonight."
They got to the restaurant the same time as half of the other invitees, and in the flurry of greetings, no one noticed that they arrived together, standing a little closer than professional, or that one of Shikamaru's ears was pinched to a bright red.
Chouji was friends with the owner - a distant relative - and the restaurant had arranged a long table near the far side for their large group. They were all quickly seated, and the Akimichi waiter took down their flurry of food and drinks orders with great experience.
She sat at the end of the table, next to Shikamaru. His foot brushed against hers - more than once - which she didn't exactly mind, but hoped no one else saw.
Though, the good thing about these Konoha Rookie get-togethers was that everyone made an effort to attend, and a quick glance around the table confirmed that - even Sakura was there, and she was as much of a workaholic as her boyfriend. With a dozen different life updates being thrown around, her and Shikamaru's secret relationship was completely off the radar.
All she needed to do was relax, eat, and listen, just throwing in comments here and there.
And that's how the night went, until about halfway through.
"Nara-san!"
Temari looked up from her dinner to see a uniformed Chuunin she had seen around the Hokage's office rush into the restaurant. He stopped next to her boyfriend and handed him a folded piece of paper.
"Thank you." Shikamaru said as he quickly read it.
He took out a pencil and added his own part to the message, then turned to give it back to the Chuunin. "Take this to the guards at the northern gate. Let them know I'll be sending more orders soon."
Temari really liked watching him get into his Commander-mode. His voice would lose its lethargic drawl and his eyes became sharper and more focused. It was so attractive every time - she didn't think she would ever get tired of it.
"Yes, sir!"
The Chuunin shot out the door, back to his post. Shikamaru stubbed out what was left of his cigarette and took a last swig of his drink. "Sorry, guys. Gotta go." He apologized with a shrug of his shoulders.
He was met with half-hearted groans and complaints from his friends. They were used to his frequent summonings to the tower interrupting their hang-outs.
Temari watched as he pushed his chair out and took out more than enough cash to cover his and another's meal. She rolled her eyes. Obviously, he hadn't understood anything from earlier.
"Should I come as well?" Sai asked, already half-getting out of his seat.
"Nah. It's nothing too serious." He said, waving him back down. "I'll send for you if it gets out of hand."
Shikamaru stood up and leaned over, a hand on the back of her chair. "I'll see you later." He murmured, and Temari instinctively turned her head to meet him in a quick, soft kiss.
"Bye." She gave him a small smile as he squeezed her shoulder lightly.
She watched him leave with one last wave over his shoulder before going back to her food. He already paid, so at least one of them should finish eating.
Temari then became aware of the overwhelming silence at the table. She looked up to see all of Konoha's brightest generation staring at her. Feeling suddenly self-conscious - and missing the usual presence at her side - she asked carefully. "...What?"
No one said anything at first, until Kiba let out a slow whistle, and Temari noticed smiling and snickering start around the table. "What?" She asked again, more annoyed.
Tenten, who sat directly across from her, leaned forward. "You just kissed Shikamaru." She stated pragmatically.
Temari scowled at her, about to reject her ridiculous claim, until the realization of what they just did hit. Her grip on her chopsticks loosened, and she felt her face heat up.
She and Shikamaru had kissed each other - on the lips - in front of everyone.
Ino burst out into laughter. "Of all the stupid ways to slip up! And you two are supposed to be the smart ones here."
So much for being lowkey.
Temari opened and closed her mouth a few times, unable to find the right words to say. Obviously, she couldn't just deny the physical evidence of their relationship. What was worse, they were probably going to ask questions about her and Shikamaru now.
"So you two are finally together!" Naruto exclaimed. "Since when?"
This was exactly what Temari didn't want. She and Shikamaru were private people. The past few months of their relationship had been bliss - no publicity, no questions, no expectations, no external involvement whatsoever. And she honestly didn't know how to handle them. These were Shikamaru's friends - she was just starting to get to know all of them!
Ino must have caught on to her train of thought because the younger woman grinned teasingly. "Please, Temari, don't even try denying it. Unless, you want to tell us that was just a normal kiss between friends? Or, sorry, coworkers?"
Her cheeks flared again, at having their usual lie thrown back in her face. "It's... not a big deal." She tried again to downplay the situation.
"It is so a big deal!" Sakura argued. "Shikamaru's been our friend since we were little kids! Of course we'd want to know if he's with someone - especially if it's another friend of ours."
That made Temari feel a little guilty. It had been her idea to keep their relationship completely under wraps for now. Shikamaru had agreed, but although he liked his privacy, he wasn't too fond of the half-lies they were giving their close friends and family. And Temari had an inkling that he wanted to do things publicly with her - like hold her hand and kiss goodbye and sit closer together at lunch. He'd never say it, but she had a good feeling about it.
She pushed her hair out of her face, glowering at the others. "I need way more alcohol before I talk about this."
The questions blurred together as the night went on. Kiba and Shino had taken her personal request as an initiative to order round after round of drinks for the table, and Temari quickly stopped keeping track of what was being asked by who.
She had fended off the nosiest of the questions, though the simpler ones - when did they get together, who made the first move, is he a good kisser - were answered.
Ino, ever the instigator, had a look in her eyes that was bad news for more-than-a-little drunk Temari. Sober Temari could handle her easily, but with her boyfriend already on her mind, she might just answer honestly.
"So what about him made you say yes, I need to see him nake-'"
"Excuse me!" A very irritated waiter interrupted with a glower. "Can you please calm your friends down?"
Because without any sober supervision, the drinking game at the other end of their table had gotten a little out of control.
"Wait, Lee-!"
And with little ceremony, they were immediately herded out of the restaurant.
Of course, the dozen shinobi (including the ninken) had to push and shove their way through the singular doorway, ending up with half of them face-down in the dirt.
Temari stumbled forward, but instead of hitting the ground, she fell into a pair of very familiar arms.
"Oi, I was gone for maybe an hour... What trouble did you all get into?"
Her eyes fluttered as she focused on her savior, only to see her very own boyfriend smiling sheepishly.
Temari pushed him away to arms length. "Shikamaru! Do you know what you did today?" She yelled.
"I know, I'm sorry." He was grinning too much for it to be an actual apology. "I realized as soon as I left the restaurant - it was just on instinct, I promise."
"Idiot, idiot, idiot!" She punched his chest with each word.
Temari dropped her head forward to rest on his shoulder as his arms came up to encircle her waist. She didn't know who was still around to see - or sober enough to remember - but she was beginning to care less and less about that. Her boyfriend, with his tall, slim figure and long, warm fingers, was taking all her attention at the moment.
His voice jolted her out of her thoughts on him. "I really want to kiss you again."
"Your friends are still watching." Temari pouted, though she leaned up to meet him.
Shikamaru snorted, his grip tightening around her. "Didn't care the first time anyway." He murmured just as their lips met.
And if there was any commotion from their background spectators, neither noticed.