望千里

As much as this whole night he was spending with Temari made him happy, despite the fact that the day got progressively better and better, this whole thing was still a drag. Why was it that despite the fact that he felt so strongly about her, and despite the fact that she seemed to feel the same way, he still felt incredibly nervous around her. While he seemed his usual calm self on the outside, on the inside, he was freaking out. His heart was beating ridiculously fast, his hands were getting sweaty, and he still had butterflies in his stomach. Was this what it felt like? To love someone this much?

“Heh, glad to hear you say that. This could have been one hell of an awkward evening if you didn’t feel the same way.” he sighed happily, seeing how comfortable Temari looked. Regardless of how nervous he felt being around his now…girlfriend he could say, he also felt so much more at ease knowing that she in fact loved him too. In some ways, he didn’t want this moment to ever end, even if he knew it would. He had never felt such a strange combination of being nervous and relaxed at the same time.

Her body against his felt so…nice, to the point where he felt completely at peace just the way they were. “Believe me, I feel the same way. I’m such an idiot for fighting how I felt about you for so long, but not anymore. I’m all yours now, and nothing will change that, that’s another promise to you.”

It had actually been quite a while now since the movie they were watching had finished, both of them barely even paying attention to what happened since, you know, they had both confessed their love for each other, during a horror movie of all things. “Nah, I think I’ll pass on that. I kind of just wanna lie here a while longer…w-with you.” he blushed a little bit, lightly squeezing her hand in his. “By the way, just out of curiosity. What could have possibly made you fall for a lame guy like me?” he laughed slightly, although there was a hint of truth to what he said in how he felt about himself.

She snorted, “Could you imagine if we hated each other and we got stuck together? I’d end up killing you.” Luckily that wasn’t the case, she adored him. Temari tilted her head up to kiss his jaw. It was rush to be able to kiss him without hesitation. Nerve-wracking, terrifying, but a rush like no other.

Boyfriend. It was a weird concept, one that she had never thought would happen, if only because of her own stubborness. Which was sad, if you thought about it. To think that she would have missed out on something like a romantic relationship with someone she deeply cared about because of her legendary obstinacy. “Good, because I refuse to share you with anyone.”

“Coward.” She teased, then rolled her eyes at him referring to himself as lame; Temari flicked his nose, “You’re only lame when you talk bad about yourself.” Carefully, she reached up and pulled out his ponytail, carding her fingers through his hair. “I guess I was initially attracted to your intellect. In hindsight, your surrender at the Chunin Exams was strategically the best option you had, and after we got back to Suna, I begrudingly had to give it to you. Not that I would have ever admitted it at the time,” she added as an afterthought.

Damn, he had really nice hair; she idly wrapped a strand around her finger, “You’ve always cared about people deeply, you’re steadfastly loyal, you’re unwavering in your convictions. I respect you as a shinobi, a diplomat, and as a person. And,” she slapped his ass playfully to see his reaction, “You’re hot.”

Temari felt like her heart was about to beat out of her chest. This was a real thing that was really happening. She was deeply embarrassed for crying, because that wasn’t her at all. She hated crying, hated feeling or looking weak. But, if she had to do it in front of anyone, Temari was glad it was Shikamaru.

“We’re so stupid,” she sniffed, trying to get her traitorous eyes under control. It wasn’t working. “You’d figure we would have been braver seeing as we are ninja and all, but I guess that kind of bravery doesn’t matter much in the face of raw emotions. At least we didn’t run from it for our entire lives, right? Silver lining.” 

She took a big, steadying breath as he wiped her tears away, feeling the muscles she hadn’t realized she had been tensing relax. Shikamaru’s gestures were gentle and sweet; the kiss he planted on her forehead made her heart stutter almost painfully. She snorted a little, pressing her face into his hand, kissing his palm, “The powers that be here certainly knew what they were doing. I guess we needed a bit of a push, didn’t we?” She placed her hand on his neck, running her thumb across his jaw line, “I hate that it took us this long to figure it out,” she whispered, “But it doesn’t matter now.”

Without any pretenses, Temari pushed him onto his back, flopping down beside him. and resting her head on his shoulder. By now, she had completely lost what was going on in the movie, but she was feeling too warm and fuzzy to care. She sighed contentedly, wrapping one arm around his waist. “So we’ve confessed…what does that mean for us now? Are we together, or what?” Always one to get straight to the point,

God, was Temari ever right. They really were both stupid, totally avoiding the subject of their feelings at any chance they got, and really, just being completely oblivious. But what mattered now is that they said what they needed to say. Their whole conversation appeared to make them both pretty emotional, especially Temari. It was odd seeing the toughest woman he had ever met cry like this, yet he didn’t find it at all funny. It was…sweet seeing her able to open up to him like this.

“You got that right. But you know, in a way, it’s almost refreshing for me personally, being called stupid and all. Sure, maybe I’m a little smarter than most people, but this was definitely an area I wanted to improve on, and I guess I have now. And yeah, it’s nice to have everything out in the open now. I was getting a little sick of running from it all the time.”

He gave her a small nod of acknowledgement before he was somewhat caught off guard with Temari pushing him to his back so they could just lie there together. He swiftly put an arm around her as she laid her head on his shoulders. This was nicer than he could put into words. It wasn’t often he had someone to just talk to like this. Maybe it was something he could get used to.

She rubbed the arm that wrapped around her waist, trailing her fingers up to his face. With a smirk, she used her thumb to stroke his cheek before pulling on his cheek gently. “This is really nice,” she whispered, still tugging on his cheek, “Why did we wait so long?”

This was cozy; Temari felt herself relax and become sleepier and sleepier. Shikamaru was so warm, and he smelled so nice, “I’ve wanted to do this for so long, and I...I’m glad you’re mine, finally.”

(though off anon is fine too!)

“Is there someone you hold dear?”

“Don’t you feel any guilt?”

“You’re actually afraid to be alone, aren’t you?”

“There must be something you fear.”

“Do you have a home?”

“Is there someone you like?”

“Are you really expecting a positive outcome out of this?”

“Aren’t you ashamed?”

“Aren’t you happy?”

“Who do you despise?” 

“How do you sleep at night?”

“How do you manage to keep going despite everything?”

“What do you think of kindness?”

“What do you think of hatred?”

“Why do you fight?”

“Why do you live?”

“How much blood have you spilled?”

“How much death have you seen?”

“Don’t you think your actions are reckless?”

“Don’t you know how much good you’ve done for others?”

“Can’t you tell they love you?”

“Can’t you see he/she would die for you?”

“Can’t you see that they hate you?”

“Can’t you tell the truth for once?”

“You’re not tainted.”

“You’re not alone.”

“You’re awful.”

“You don’t think of anyone but yourself.”

“You’re an emotionless robot.”

“You’re just a lap dog.”

“It’s not over.”

“He/she needs you.”

“Stop lying.”

“Stop fighting.”

“Stop pushing others away.”

“You’re cruel.”

“You’re far too kind. Too kind for your own good.”

“You depend on him/her too often.”

“You’re overprotective, it’s stifling.”

“You’re too impulsive, it’s reckless.”

“You’re too careless, it’s a liability.”

“He/she is bringing you down.”

“You’re too timid, it’s easy to see you as a target.”

“You need to listen.”

“You need to speak up more often.”

“You’re weak.”

“You’re strong. Stronger than you’ll ever know.”

“You’re too proud.”

“Quit blaming others for your mistakes.”

“You won’t always be around to save him/her.”

“One day, he/she won’t need you anymore.”

“You can’t cheat death.”

“You can’t hide forever.”

“They’ll find out the truth eventually.”

“That person is only holding you back.”

“They’re too good for you.”

“You’ll be rewarded for your efforts if you keep trying.”

“It will get better.”

“You look lonely.”

“You look bitter.”

“You look tired.”

“You’re hiding a painful burden.”

“You’re perfect.”

“You’re beautiful.”

“You will always be worthless.”

“Your hands are too dirty, too tainted to be clean.”

“You’re lost in this world. Wandering without a purpose.”

“You’ll rise above them all.” 

“You’ll find your place in this world.”

It was honestly hard to believe that after so many years of both of them bottling up feelings for each other for lack of a better word, constantly avoiding talking about how they felt and just a lot of general awkwardness, the bottle that was how they felt about each other just burst. Finally, they had both stopped beating around the bush and were able to be more open with each other, and it was one of the best feelings in the world. He had just openly told Temari that he loves her, and now he was freaking out on the inside, hoping she’d feel the same way.

Suddenly, he noticed a few tears dripping down her face, and in an instant, Shikamaru began to panic, hoping he didn’t say the wrong thing. But before he could say anything, she returned his feelings, and that alone, was enough to stop him from having a full on panic attack. Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief, wrapping his arms around her too, closing his eyes. 

“Well what do you know, we were both able to say it…” he laughed a little bit, trying to further lighten the mood. “I know we’re both not really one to be emotional, but it feels…incredible. I’m glad you feel the same way. I’ve loved you all these years, too. I always tried to run away from it, but I just can’t do that anymore.”

Before she could continue any further, his instincts took over as he wiped away tears from her eyes, continuing to hold her close, planting another gentle kiss on her forehead. “Believe me, you don’t need to apologize. What matters is that it’s out in the open now. Who would have thought us two being labelled as soulmates could have worked so well?”

Temari felt like her heart was about to beat out of her chest. This was a real thing that was really happening. She was deeply embarrassed for crying, because that wasn’t her at all. She hated crying, hated feeling or looking weak. But, if she had to do it in front of anyone, Temari was glad it was Shikamaru.

“We’re so stupid,” she sniffed, trying to get her traitorous eyes under control. It wasn’t working. “You’d figure we would have been braver seeing as we are ninja and all, but I guess that kind of bravery doesn’t matter much in the face of raw emotions. At least we didn’t run from it for our entire lives, right? Silver lining.” 

She took a big, steadying breath as he wiped her tears away, feeling the muscles she hadn’t realized she had been tensing relax. Shikamaru’s gestures were gentle and sweet; the kiss he planted on her forehead made her heart stutter almost painfully. She snorted a little, pressing her face into his hand, kissing his palm, “The powers that be here certainly knew what they were doing. I guess we needed a bit of a push, didn’t we?” She placed her hand on his neck, running her thumb across his jaw line, “I hate that it took us this long to figure it out,” she whispered, “But it doesn’t matter now.”

“Sure, sure. Well, I hope you know that you’re special, too. You…mean more to me than you might know.” he sighed. He hated the fact that despite all the praise he had gotten in his life, he still felt inferior in so many ways. But at least if there was one person who insisted he wasn’t, and actually made him feel 

Shikamaru could honestly say he didn’t regret giving Temari a kiss, he just wished he had stuck to his original plan of giving her an actual kiss, not something that seemed so…wimpy. Yet still, he pulled back for a moment, his face still a very light shade of red. I can’t believe I actually kissed her, albeit on the forehead, I should have done mo– Without another moment’s hesitation, before he could continue to overthink the situation, to his surprise, the gap between his and Temari’s faces were closed once again. 

The feel of her lips against his was honestly almost too amazing to describe. His first kiss was everything he had thought it would be, and more. He figured if it was anyone else, it wouldn’t feel right, but with her, he could just feel it. It was kind of a cliche, sure, but he definitely felt “sparks” during their kiss. On the inside, he was cheering as if he had just won the lottery or something. To him, that joy he felt was akin to that.

He gave her a smirk right back. After their kiss had ceased and the two had pulled back, he couldn’t help but smile and rub the back of his head, almost as if he was embarrassed, but by the looks of it, she must have enjoyed it too. “That right? Not a game that I intend to lose.” Without anymore hesitation, he went right back in, putting a hand on her cheek and pressing his lips against hers for the second time. God he had wanted this for so long. He was absolutely going to savor the moment.

Pulling back once again, he looked down at the blankets for a moment before holding her hand once more. “Listen, Temari… About what I’ve said, about how you mean a lot to me… it’s more than that. I just want you to know that I l–” he stopped dead in his tracks, mentally screaming, unsure of how regain his composure. Was he really about to tell her that he loves her? It was true, but was he really ready…like, mentally? It didn’t matter anymore, the truth had to come out. “I love you, Temari.”

Temari had to pat herself on the back for not being a coward and kissing him right on the mouth. Talking about feelings could prove to be difficult, and discussing exactly what he meant to her made her feel like she was about to explode from embarrassment. But, actions were always easier than words. You could get a lot done from just doing rather than beating around the bush. And frankly, they’d done enough of that to last them a lifetime.

“You’re on,” she smirked, until he placed his hand on her cheek and pulled her in for another kiss. Yep, Temari was pretty sure she was gonna die. At least, that’s as far as she could tell, considering the rate at which her heart was beating. His touch was warm, and felt completely right; the kiss felt even better. She was a tad disappointed when he pulled back, not wanting it to be over so quickly.

Her heart stopped when he started talking. For one wild moment, she thought he was about to say that he thought all of this had been a mistake and that he couldn’t do this. Terror seized her, but then he hit her with the ‘I love you’. She was speechless, feeling her heart shoot up into her throat. 

A thousand thoughts ran through her head in an instant.The feelings she’d had since the war, the ones that she had started to acknowledge upon arriving here, in this place where Shikamaru was labeled her soulmate. It had been like a talisman she carried in her chest, something that was out of the way, but always present. Now, she could tell him. Now, she didn’t have to ignore its existence.

Unbidden, tears started filling her eyes, but she fought them hard. “I love you too. Have loved you, for years and years. And I tried to pretend I didn’t, tried to push it down, but every time I’d see you, it’d come rushing up in me, and--”

Honestly, Shikamaru had heard countless times in his life that he’s a genius, that he’s the smartest person someone’s ever met, but something about hearing it out of Temari’s mouth felt satisfying. He was never super proud of the fact that he’s smarter than the average person, a lot smarter at that. To him, it was just something that felt natural to him. Without even trying, he was able to past every test in school with flying colours. “You think so, huh? I personally don’t feel like I’m anything special, but if you really think that. then I guess that’s good enough for me.”

He shifted a little bit to make himself a little more comfortable, while also accommodating enough space so that Temari could be comfortable too. Shikamaru tried his best to focus on the hilariously bad movie that in front of them, using every ounce of restraint available to him to stop himself from just staring at Temari instead. No matter how many times he saw her, he could never get over how gorgeous she was. He felt as though he could never get tired of her big green eyes and that amazing blonde hair.

A moment after she spoke, she let go of his hand so that she could share her blanket with him, despite the fact that he wasn’t actually all the cold. He just wanted to use any excuse he could to be a little bit closer with her. He gave her a nod of acknowledgement, gulping a little bit as of now, they were really closer together than they had ever been. 

Once again, she insisted that she needed to protect him, which was really not true, at least he thought it wasn’t. He just laughed a little at her calling him soft. Who knows, maybe he was. “Whatever you say, Mari.” he said with a soft smile, his attention now completely away from the movie. 

His gaze was fixed on hers. His heart was beating fast, his stomach filled to the brim with butterflies as he couldn’t believe what he was about to do. Gripping her soft hand a little tighter, he leaned in slowly, eyes now closed as he gently pressed his lips against her forehead, somewhat chickening out in the last few seconds from locking his lips with hers.

“You are special, genius, so your opinion is moot,” Temari sniffed. Deep down inside, she wished that he could see himself the way she saw him. Intelligent, actually kinda funny in his dry way, loyal, stupid hot. Really, she could go on at length, but she didn’t wanna give his pineapple-shaped head any more reason to get big.

It was a little warm under the shared blanket, but maybe that was because she so furiously, you most likely could have seen her red glow with the lights turned out. The first thing she realized with him being so damn close was that wow, he smelled nice. Which was great, because if he had B.O., Temari would have insisted he go shower.

As they stared at each other, Temari was silently screaming on the inside. She wanted to kiss him, was too petrified to kiss him, wanted him to kiss her first so she didn’t have to make the first move. When Shikamaru leaned closer to her, eyes closed, Temari became petrified for a moment before he pressed a kiss onto her forehead. She melted, almost literally as she got very hot under the collar.

Temari leaned back slightly to look him in the face, studying it for a moment. Shikamaru was as flushed as she was, and was probably just as nervous. Before she could talk herself out of it, Temari got back into his personal space, and without another word, kissed him right on the lips.

He scoffed, more so in a way that was meant to tease her. “Oh please, if not always enjoying flicks with extremely predictable plots, filled to the brim with cliches and mostly awful acting, then call me a coward, sure. I hope you appreciate what I’m sacrificing here.” Just saying that out loud, he struggled mightily to keep a straight face.

For the most part, he used to think people like Temari were such a drag to hang out with. Constantly nagging, being bossy, yet here he was today, on a date with her. He had come to find those things as part of her charm, not to mention the fact that she was gorgeous, smart, actually really caring, not afraid to stand up for herself…the list could go on. With so many things that he liked about her, it was no surprised he always had butterflies around her, even in the most casual of instances. “Sure, but I’m pretty certain as smart as people think I am, my intelligence certainly doesn’t cover…feelings.”

Shikamaru once again rolled his eyes at her, yet his face continued to be a little red, especially after hearing her call him Shika again. Rarely anyone called him that, but he’d let it slide, especially since he liked the way it sounded coming from her. She probably felt comfortable enough to do it since he started calling her Mari every now and then. “Fine, I guess you have a point. More to make fun of, I guess.”

Immediately after he had laced their fingers together, somewhat unconsciously but mostly consciously on his part. he noticed her face turn about the same shade of red that his face probably was right now. This was all so new for both of them, it’d probably take a while for them to get used to the whole feelings for each other thing.

How it felt to have his fingers entwined with her was an incredible feeling, one that was almost hard to describe. Her hands were smaller than his, and at that, softer than his too. He squeezed her hand gently as he the movie played on in, it was almost just white noise at this point. After zoning out for a moment, he looked at her, scratching the back of his head with his free hand. “I’m uh–” he had to pause for a moment. He was about to say that he wasn’t, though thankfully, he had stopped himself just time from ruining the moment. God Shikamaru, take a damn hint for once in your life. 

“You know what, I kind of am. I wouldn’t mind sharing, you know, if it’s really okay with you. I’m uh, pretty sure I don’t need protecting, though.”

If she rolled her eyes any more that evening, they were liable to fall out of her head. “Your sacrifice will be remembered.” She gave him a shit-eating grin, sticking out her tongue.

Temari hummed, eyes back on the screen. “Just because feelings can be weird and hard, it doesn’t make you any less intelligent. You’re still the smartest person I’ve ever met.” He really was. Shikamaru’s intelligence was in a class of its own. Besides his good looks (which were very good), Temari had really fallen for his brains. Nothing was sexier than how he could figure out just about anything after a few minutes of mulling it over. Her eyes wandered back over to his face, and yeah, his face was also sexy. 

Hm. Probably shouldn’t be thinking about how attractive he was while they laid so close together. The thought was making her face flush even harder. His hand felt so nice when it was linked with her’s. Nothing had felt as natural as this did. Temari briefly forgot that the movie was playing for a second; she looked up at him through her eyelashes. Despite being very redfaced, he looked mostly relaxed.

After she asked him if he was cold, she could have sworn he was about to turn her down, but when he accepted her offer, she felt like she was about to have a heart attack. “I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t mind,” she replied lightly, letting go of his hand long enough to cover him under his blanket. Temari had to scoot closer to him so they could both be under it comfortably. Oh no...it was almost as if she had planned this...

She placed the popcorn bowl in his lap, sighing contentedly as she laced their fingers again together. The movie was still going on, another violent gory death on the screen. 

“Well sure, then I guess I’m insufferable a lot if it’s only when, I’m right, eh?” he chuckled a little before placing a hand on her shoulder before giving her a slight shrug. Shikamaru had never personally been super into horror movies, for the most part they were all pretty lame, cliche, and predictable, but he didn’t mind a horror flick every now and then. Especially when this time, happened to be watching one with the only woman he’d ever had strong feelings for. “Yeah, I hear you. Horror movies are usually really lame, but I guess I can stomach it this one time, just for you.”

Immediately after speaking, he had to wonder, was he subconsciously flirting with her? Not that he was some type of flirting expert, or anywhere near good at it, but to him, it sounded like flirting, and he hated it. He rolled his eyes slightly at her comment, though a small grin was still present on his face. Bantering was what they seemed to do best. “Right, even getting ready to watch a movie can be such a drag sometimes…”

For as long as he had known Temari, there was always a kind of tension in the air between the two. And for all the conversations that they had over the years, Temari always seemed to be pretty honest in what she said, and she definitely wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. Yet somehow, they always managed to avoid the issue that had clearly been on both of their minds for quite some time now, them. Being a thing. 

He really wanted to look in any other direction than hers, but he forced himself to look her in her eyes, despite how red his face might have been. “Y-yeah, I guess we really did. Clearly we’re both not amazing at, you know, expressing how we feel, so I guess this can be considered a step in the right direction.”

As he listened to Temari list off the names of all the cheesy horror movies, he really had to stop and think about this one. They all sounded equally awful, so it was kind of just a lottery pick at this point. “They all sound terrible, but I guess My Horse Was a Teenage Alien probably has the most to point out and laugh at.” he said, leaning back slightly while once again placing a hand on hers, except this time, doing the work of lacing their fingers together. This was all so nice. He was beat from the long day, but also determined to stay awake with Temari to finish up their date.

She snorted, “Maybe more insufferable than the average person, but it’s a part of your charm.” Temari rolled her eyes, “Only cowards call horror flicks lame, but I’m so glad you’re gonna take one for the team and watch one with me.”

He could be insufferable in the best way, because honestly, there was no one else she’d be willing to put up with for a long as she had him. Honestly, it was pretty weird to think about how long they had been friends, or at least known each other, and they had never...brought the nature of their relationship up. Temari wasn’t one to shy away from speaking her mind about most subjects, but obviously, her romantic feelings for her favorite pineapple were the outlier. She nodded in agreement, smirking slightly at the flush on his face, “It’s a start. After all, we’re two intelligent adults, we can figure out how to do this.” 

Temari sighed, “The scary movies that terrible are the best ones, Shika. I should know, Kankuro has made me watch enough of them.” She had every intention on going on at length about the less than stellar movies she had been subjected to, when Shikamaru laced their fingers together. Her face filled with blood so fast, it was a shock that she didn’t stroke out. “L-let me start the movie.” With a click of a button, Temari started the weird horse movie.

His hand was nice and warm, a little calloused, but she liked that. It would have been weird if he had freakishly smooth hands. She gently squeezed his fingers, rubbing his thumb with her own. Silence fell on them as the movie progressed, but after a little bit, a thought seized her.

…good morning.

…goodnight.

…goodbye.

…where it hurts.

…where it doesn’t hurt.

…on a falling tear.

…to shut them up.

…in secrecy.

…in public.

…desperately.

…in joy.

…in grief.

…discreetly.

…casually.

…passionately.

…lazily.

…to distract.

…as encouragement.

…for luck.

…on a scar.

…on a place of insecurity.

…in a rush of adrenaline.

…in relief.

…in danger.

…as a ‘yes’.

…as an apology.

…as a suggestion.

…as a lie.

…as a promise.

…as comfort.

…after a small rejection.

…to wake yours up.

…forcefully.

…to pretend.

…to gain something.

…to give up control.

…without a motive.

…because yours is running out of time.

…because mine is.

…because the world is ending.

…because the world is saved.

…out of pride.

…out of greed.

…out of lust.

…out of anger.

…out of envy or jealousy.

…out of spite.

…out of habit.

…out of necessity.

Certainly it had been a day of many emotions, but most of them were good, so he couldn’t really complain. He had thought that he was going to have to listen to Temari nag him until he eventually gave in, which he probably would have, but what had ended up happening was much better. He had managed to relax a bit as their date continued on, but once again, he found himself at peak nervousness. Not for a second would he have predicted that he’d go out to eat with the woman he had had feelings for years, followed by lying next to her on his bed, watching a movie. Tonight, more progress had been made in their relationship than there had been the entire time they knew each other.

Moments after he had gotten himself comfortable, Temari had done the same and adjusted herself into a comfy position to watch the movie in. At the same time, he couldn’t help but notice how cute she looked right now, not that he was about to say something like that, no matter how much he wanted to or felt that way.

“Heh, well I’m glad you think so, Mari. Glad I wasn’t too insufferable or anything.” He extended his and to the popcorn bowl before shoving a handful in his mouth a moment later. “No promises, but I’ll do my best, specially for you.” he added sarcastically. “And hey, a horror movie is good with me, those things are never really that scary.”

Shikamaru found himself staring up at the ceiling for a few seconds, thinking about what had transpired between the two tonight. It was now kind of out there that the two at least cared for each other, deeply at that. He even found himself admitting that he really liked her. Despite all that, he didn’t feel quite ready to say how he really felt. “You know, feelings are kind of a drag to deal with and all, but despite how awkward I’m positive I sounded tonight, I don’t regret what I said. You mean a lot to me, I mean it. Hard to believe we’ve kind of danced around this whole thing as long as we’ve known each other.”

She flushed at the nickname again, feeling pleased .”You’re only insufferable when you’re right, and you know that you are.” There was nothing better than teasing him; she bumped her leg against Shikamaru’s gently. Mimicking him, she grabbed some more popcorn and popped them into her mouth. “The only good kind of horror movie is the one were it’s hopelessly cheesy and terrible.”

Temari realized that they didn’t have the remote to change the channel; a quick glance at the entertainment stand and Temari found it resting on the corner. With a groan, she got up on her knees and crawled on the bed over to it, “The smart thing would have been to grab this stupid thing before we got comfortable, but I guess neither of us are as smart as we think.”

She stayed bent over, facing away from him as he talked, flush creeping up her face once more. You get to know someone fairly well when you work together closely for a number of years. Shikamaru was always the type to keep his feelings close to the chest, and he never said anything he didn’t mean when it came to them. “We danced around it for way too long” she agreed. Temari turned on her knees to look at him, “I’m glad you don’t regret saying it, and I feel the same way about you. Th-that you’re special to me. I mean it.”

The way the day had started, he had figured that it would just be another troublesome day with nothing but annoyances, but so far, the day had actually turned out to be pretty good. In fact, better than that. Shikamaru had gotten to experience his first actual date, and with the only woman he’s ever truly loved no less, not that he had confessed that to her…yet. Nonetheless, he was glad that the date went extremely well, this was truly the closest he had ever felt to her.

After the two of stuffed their faces full of that delicious pizza, they had decided to head back home and spend the evening watching a movie or something. He figured they could watch something in the living room, but upon arriving home, Naruto had already started hogging the main TV, leaving him no choice but to watch in his bedroom. Oh god, he was going to be watching a movie with Temari, in his room, on his bed. He could just tell, this was going to be a least a little awkward, yet he looked forward to continuing his and Temari’s date.

When the two had arrived at his room, Shikamaru immediately kicked off his shoes, followed by removing his shirt so that only his fishnet underneath remained. Hopefully this wasn’t…too revealing or anything.

A few moments later, he plopped on top of his bed, putting one of his pillows on an angle so that he’d be sitting upright, his hands behind his head in a relaxed position. He really hoped that this was going to go well.

When they got back to their shared apartment, Naruto was sprawled out on the living room couch. Temari let Shikamaru try to nag Naruto into giving up the space while she changed into some comfy clothes: a tank top and pair of lounge pants. She wanted to be comfortable, damn it. They were still bickering as she went to make popcorn, because you really can’t watch a movie without it, right? It had been a smart decision, because she’d nearly fallen over when Shikamaru hollered from the living room for her to meet him in his bedroom to watch the movie because someone was being unreasonable. (She heard Naruto muttering under his breathing, and then a yelp of pain).

Popcorn, and a thin blanket she picked up from her room in tow, Temari walked into Shikamaru’s bedroom, pulling the door behind her. Shikamaru had stripped to his undershirt, and she could see...some skin. He was the picture of relaxation as he recline on his bed. Her face went red in a flash, but Temari steeled her spine, and walked over to the bed.

With care, she sat down, and placed the bowl of popcorn between them. After a few needless seconds getting comfortable, fluffing her pillow before laying on her stomach, head resting against it, blanket pulled up to her waist. She looked up at him, eyes bright.

Was she…was she amused by the idiocy dribbling out of his mouth? He already knew the answer to that, the answer being of course she was. That was just the kind of person she was, and honestly? That was one of the things he found so attractive about her. At least around him, she certainly wasn’t afraid to be straight up with him. It was a nice change of pace to be sure.

“Yeah yeah yeah, you got me there. But hey, I could say the same to you. Surely something about my charm is preventing you from socking me in the gut or something.” he laughed. He thought the complete opposite of himself, as he had a crippling inferiority complex inside that always tried to tell him that he was not worth the time of day to anyone. He wondered if anyone knew how hard he could be on himself.

A simple nod was really all that was needed on his end. “Sure.”

After feeling like kind of an idiot for gushing on and on about the way she made him feel whenever they were together, he stopped dead in his tracks. Just like he did, Temari was now the one revealing her feelings about him. His eyes widened a little bit in shock, but also in relief. So maybe she did feel similarly about him after all.

 It was nice to know that he wasn’t the only one who was weighed down by worry. Temari constantly found her way into his thoughts, especially during the war. He had already lost his father during one of the battles on top of having to fight his beloved sensei once again after he had already died. One more loss could have very well broken him, especially it being the woman he had such strong feelings for.

“I worried about you, all the god damn time, too. The shinobi forces already suffered so many losses, including my dad and Ino’s, I didn’t even have time to properly mourn them. I don’t know if I would have been able to handle the loss of one other person who mattered to me, no matter how calm I always seem to be on the outside.” he sighed, looking up to see that the waiter had finally brought over their pizza. He acknowledged the waiter and gave him a quick thank you before he turned and walked away.

“Anyway, let’s just eat for now. I…know there’s still more to talk about, but how about we do that back at home, seeing as we now live together, huh? We can watch a movie or whatever.”

“There’s something about your sloth-like, crotchety attitude that draws me in. Makes me wanna slap you or kiss you, I can’t tell.” It was both. It had always been both.

He looked shocked when she started talking; Temari had to bite back a snort. It was funny that neither of them, for all their intellect, could figure out the other. Why were they like this? Though, something about the look genuine shock he was giving nagged at her in the back of her mind, but she simply pushed it away. One emotional conversation at a time, please.

She knew that Shikaku’s and Asuma’s death weighed so heavily on him, and Temari would have given the world to make that burden lighter. Her eyes softened, “I know that’s been so hard on you. I’m sorry, Shika.” She squeezed his hand, “The loss of you, or Gaara, or Kankuro would have been too great for me. I know I would have never been able to bounce back.”

That much was true. If she had lost any of them, it would have been game over for her. The part of her heart they resided in would have shattered completely, and she would have never been the same. Part of her was ashamed to admit that, feeling weak and vulnerable. She squeezed his hand again, because it made her feel a little better.

While Shikamaru definitely felt more relaxed than when they first met up a little bit earlier, his heart was still racing, the way it always seemed to do around the woman sitting before him. He found it a little hard to believe that it had taken them so long to finally go on some kind of date, a real date, like at a restaurant or a movie or something. This almost felt too good to be true, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t a dream, after all, they had been free of the infinite tsukuyomi for quite some time now.

“Yeah. I honestly couldn’t agree more. I guess… I guess for quite a while now it’s been tough for me to kind of put into words that I really like you and everything, but…” he cut himself off, finding it hard to believe what he had just said to her. May as well add it to the list of surprises that had occured since the two of them had met in the strange place they had found themselves. Maybe this wasn’t a bad thing, he really needed to get how he was feeling out there.\

He scratched his cheek for a second before continuing on, half embarrassed that he said what he did and half glad that he finally got it out there, at least a little bit. Did she really feel the same way about him? He quickly reoriented himself and looked back at her. “Believe me, I’ll do whatever I can to make sure that he doesn’t. I like to give Naruto a little bit of credit, but I’ll make sure he knows it, consider that my promise to you.”

Focusing back to just the two of them, only moments after he had unconsciously-consciously placed his hand gently on hers, she had repositioned her hand so that they were now holding. “Definitely.” he said confidently, his face still bright red, but he didn’t even care. This was definitely one of the nicest outings he had with a person in quite a long time.

“You know, not because of the soulmates thing, but you’re…important to me. For a long time now, whenever I’m around you, I can almost feel my heart skip a beat, I kind of feel butterflies in my stomach, and I feel way more nervous than I should. I’m probably not making any sense, and for all I know this might be a dumb question, but…do you ever feel like that?”

Frankly, she hadn’t expected him to agree with her. Her cheeky grin slid a little, somewhat taken aback by his words. He...liked her? As in, you know, like liked her? Temari was thrown a little by how Shikamaru had managed to spit it out. She leaned forward a little more, finding it easier to start teasing him instead of sitting there, a flushing, nervous mess. "Oh, you really like me, huh?” She purred, slow grin spreading across her face, “My charm has finally won the lazy genius of Konoha over?”

His promise to her made her stomach swoop pleasantly, “Thank you, Shikamaru. That makes me a feel better.” Gaara was precious to her, and she would not stand for his feelings to be trampled all over by someone who was known to not be the most...astute of shinobi...But she knew that if anyone could make sure that Uzumaki Naruto didn’t make an ass out of himself, it was Shikamaru.

God help her, he was so cute when he smiled at her. She wondered if he was aware of the things he did to her heart, but then remembered that, of course he doesn’t, they wouldn’t have spent the last forever dancing around the nature of their relationship. What a pack of bumbling fools.

She listened to his rambling confession, feeling her face turn a dark shade of red as he got to his point. For a moment, Temari considered his question, thumb still gently running over his second knuckles, feeling the slight calluses that no doubt came from training and years of firefights. Well, it was time to be honest.

“ Right after I’ve died, I found myself like this in the afterlife— ” Probably, he assumed, was because his death had begun truly at a tender age or perhaps it was because this ‘ current self ‘ was what Obito believed in most. There was no telling the ways of the world beyond the living. “ But don’t get too cocky just because I look younger. I’m still your superior, y’know? ”

It was a light-hearted crack at a joke that fizzles out like paper upon water. He’s straight-faced again with a demeanor of silence and reminiscence. A hand reaches out and takes the phone from her, giving it one final look before pocketing the device. 

“ Hey, Temari… why are you so calm about this? I mean, you stand before a failed shinobi that’s killed countless of your comrades. Don’t you feel some kind of hate towards me? ”

“I guess..that makes sense...” It didn’t, but considering that she wasn’t the one who had died or anything, she would just have to take his word for it. She narrowed her eyes at him again, “Act all high and mighty you want, I could still kick your ass up and down this sidewalk, short-fry.”

For an immature moment, she was tempted to hold his cell phone up over her head, out of his reach, but the feeling passes and she allows him to take it back. His question doesn’t surprise her; she had been acting rather calm in the face of seeing someone who was responsible for the deaths of so many shinobi.

She had reason and honestly, he should’ve been keeping a look out of his surroundings better too. A hand makes its way towards his neck, where it rested as he mouthed ‘sorry’. It was the least he could do before treading into complex and uncharted territory. After that response, it was inevitable now. And so Obito deeply exhales to release any pent up tension that might have begun to grow.

“ That’s because you have,” Or rather, had seen him under a different guise— as a different man. Can he even call himself that anymore? After gripped with emptiness for years on end, it was hard to determine the range emotions that fluctuated and gave out— it was probably uncertainty that tunneled under his skin and bones. Eyes had briefly lowered to the possession she held in her hands, before finding themselves under Temari’s gaze. 

“ You’ll probably never believe it, but— I’m Obito Uchiha. ”

Temari was halfway back to her standing position when Obito hit her with his truth. Slowly, she drew back to her full height before gazing back down at him. To be frank, she didn’t really know what to make of that, or even, what to say. She had been present when Naruto gave the details of what had occurred after the Infinite Tsukuyomi was cast. She, as well as the rest of those present and the Kage, had learned of Obito’s sacrifice.She knew the story.

For a moment, he found himself covering his mouth to keep himself from laughing. “Uh, I don’t know about an absolute delight. You can be a bit of a pain but I guess you’re alright otherwise.” he paused, giving her sort of a shit eating grin to give off the impression that he was kidding. It seemed they were in some kind of comfort zone where he was safe from her wrath, at least until he said something truly stupid.

Regaining his composure, he looked her directly in the eyes and gave her a quick nod. “Yeah, I totally get it. Most people are just too troublesome to deal with, but something just feels…right about this, know what I mean?” he said, his face still bright red as he offered her a small smile all while scratching his head a little bit in embarrassment. This all felt like such new territory for him.

Listening to her go on about what dolt Naruto could be was honestly a pretty big help in keeping the relaxing atmosphere from collapsing right around them. For as long as he knew the blonde idiot, he made many, many questionable choices. But that’s just part of his charm. Honestly, he had never met anyone more personable than Naruto. And after all, there was no possible way to win the war without him.

“If I’m being honest, that doesn’t really surprise me all that much. Definitely sounds like something he’d do. He’s for sure an idiot, but it’s all part of his charm in a way, I guess. I’m sure he’ll be good to Gaara, and vice versa.”

Shikamaru gave Temari a quick thumbs up about the food choice. Not that he was really picky anyway, pizza was good in any kind of form. He was so hungry at this point that he’d probably even settle for the worst toppings possible if he had to. “Sounds good to me. No point in wasting anymore time with all of this, the sooner we get to eat, the better.”

After the waiter had left, he couldn’t help but stare at her eyes. They’re god damn gorgeous, he thought. This was all so surreal, sitting face to face in a at least kind of romantic situation with the woman he’d had feelings for for quite some time now. By all means, he was happy on the inside, but also a nervous wreck, both inside and out. He had zoned out for a moment before Temari had whispered something to him. Something that felt beyond his control caused him to reach out his right hand and rest it gently on hers. He was absolutely screaming on the inside, but at the same time, it felt oh so right.

“Don’t worry, it isn’t weird. It’s the first date I’ve been on, too. I’m not really sure what I expected, but I’m actually kind of impressed. This is…nice.”

Temari gasped mockingly and kicked at him from under the table. “I’m a fantastic person and true honor to know, you pineapple headed jerk!” She was smiling too. Joking like this was putting her more, and more at ease. Trading barbs was what they had always done, but this time it was a little different.

When he turned bright red, her face matched his color, “Yeah, I know what you mean. It feels...like it’s supposed to be this way...like everything that has happened so far was meant to lead up to this...” She gave him a quick nod in return, feeling her face flush from ear to ear. Talking about romantic feelings were hard! She knew she needed to come out and just say it, but while she was finding it increasingly difficult as she stared into his eyes, the more and more she wanted to say it. It was an odd combination.

She scowled at little, “Naruto has quite a bit of charm then, I guess. He just better not hurt my little brother, or...” She didn’t need to finish her sentence to illustrate what she would do to him if anything remotely upsetting happened to Gaara. Yeah, Naruto was the hero of the war, and he was beyond powerful, but that wouldn’t stop Temari from beating him senseless if he was anything less than delicate with her baby brother’s heart.

Her scowl stayed in place until she felt something solid rest on her hand. She looked down to find that Shikamaru had placed his hand on her’s. Inwardly, Temari was hooting and hollering.