• Shikamaru was in the middle of a nice nap when a loud pounding at his door knocked him off the couch in surprise. He stood up and sat back down on the couch. There was another pound at the door. Shikamaru reluctantly got up and walked over to the door. When he opened it, he was greeted by a sharp pain under his chin.
    "Hello, Temari. It's nice to see you, too." He said, feeling around his chin for breaks.
    "You awake now, you lazy bum?" She asked, a small smile crossing her face.
    "You sadistic woman. What a drag. What's your excuse for waking me up from my nap?" He asked, still holding his chin.
    "I can assure you that your jaw isn't broken." She said, ignoring his question.
    "Why are you here? Nothing's happening any time soon." He asked.
    "Can't I come just to say hi?"
    "Uhh, no. It's against regulations." He said, giving her a quizzical look.
    "You forget. My brother's Kazekage. I can get away with bending the rules." She said, smiling.
    "Not exactly the smartest thing to do."
    "Now it's my turn to say 'What a drag'. Don't you have any sense of adventure?"
    "I hang out with you. That's adventure enough for me." He said, smiling.
    "Not nice." She said, pressing the edge of her large fan up against his chin.
    He looked down at the fan and gave her a frightened smile. He walked into the room and waved for her to come in. She looked around. This man lives in a pigpen. I can't even see the floor!
    "Sorry about the mess. I wasn't expecting company."
    "Are you ever?" She asked, trying not to step on anything.
    "You girls are so troublesome."
    "Do you ever have company?" She asked again.
    "Every now and then."
    "Obviously no girls ever come over."
    "No. Usually Kiba. What a drag. Can't you just ignore the mess for now?"
    I wish I could. It's everywhere I look... She laughed at the thought of Shikamaru actually bothering to clean his apartment. She knew it wasn't his thing.
    She leaned her fan up against the couch and began to clean up.
    "What are you doing?"
    "Cleaning. You should try it sometime." She said, raising an eyebrow at him.
    He sighed and kneeled down next to her and started picking up the junk on the floor. Temari was shocked. She hadn't expected him to help out. She smiled. The next thing he did caught her off guard.
    "Temari? Can you go sit on the couch? I'll finish up." He said with a smile.
    She gave him a quizzical look. This is different. He never does anything. Ever. She said as she sat on the couch. She liked this new Shikamaru. She wondered why he had her sit down while he finished up.
    "Ouch! What the hell is a kunai doing in the kitchen?" Shikamaru shouted, holding his bleeding palm.
    Temari laughed. She had never thought of him as anything more than a lazy bum. She knew he liked her, but her feelings for him never crossed her mind. She realized how much of a gentleman Shikamaru was. She smiled as he came over and plopped down on the couch, right next to her. She looked down at his hand. The white bandage on it was turning a bright red.
    Temari looked at him. "Shikamaru? Turn this way for a minute." She said, trying to see if there was a bruise from her hello.
    He turned around and caught her lips in a tender kiss. She tried to protest, but found herself enjoying it. She kissed him back, which was more than Shikamaru had expected. He broke the kiss then cowered behind his hands, expecting to get slapped. He opened his eyes to see Temari with her hand on her lips, trying to figure out what had just happened.
    "You okay, Temari?" He asked, wondering if her had put her in shock.
    "Y-yeah. I'm fine." She said, moving her hand away from her mouth and smiling.
    He moved his hand onto hers and closed it. She smiled. She wondered what Kankuro and Gaara would think when they found out. Shikamaru looked at Temari.
    "Temari? Will you go out with me?"
    "Long distance relationships are hard to maintain." She said, raising an eyebrow at him.
    "You forget. You're brother's Kazekage. You can get away with bending the rules." He said, pulling the same trick she pulled on him earlier.
    "Okay. I'll go out with you, though I don't think it'll last." She said.
    "Why such a pessimist?"
    "I'm kidding." She said with a small smile.
    She hoped it would last. Forever.