He holds her hand lightly as she flexes her toes in the cool, damp grass
with all the of amazement of a child, the corners of her lips turned up in her
own version of a calm smile. She’s not a child anymore, and neither is he.
They’ve known each other for ten years now, and have been working together for
a slightly shorter period of time. And now it’s time to enter another phase in
their life. But he has all the time in the world tonight. The stars are
twinkling above, and the waxing gibbous moon is interrupted only ever so often
by a rogue cloud or two, which gets illuminated with an almost heavenly
radiance as it passes. He’s feeling poetic tonight, as he grins up at the skies
while he lets her have her enjoyment.

A slight breeze pricks at his skin, unaccustomed to being out of that thick
flak vest and ruffles his hair against his neck. But it’s otherwise another
warm, summer night in Konoha. If they were in Suna, it would probably be
toe-numbingly chilly, as he’d learned the three months that he stayed there.
She’d been so happy when he said that he’d go, though, that he was happy to put
up with the frigid nights and sweltering days. But overall, he missed the
seasons that Konoha provided, and she agreed. Hypothetical conversations led to
the realization that they’d both like to raise their children in Konoha.

Of course, it was never their children together, but that was another
matter he never touched on.

Six years ago she had started dating some guy. He had never even
heard the name before, and the guy didn’t even have his own clan. What good was
he? But he spent that weekend eating popsicles and watching cartoons with
Asuma’s son, who was thankful for the attention from the older shinobi. Then
four months later, when she broke up with the guy, everyone wondered why in the
world the laziest man in Konoha was jogging around the streets with a smile on
his face.

They were never officially together. There were times when they got
completely inebriated and spent a passionate night together, and times when it
got to be three in the morning and they just couldn’t help themselves, and
other times when they just curled up in each other’s arms and shared kisses.
But they never actually dated. They were never actually together. People
whispered, but nothing was ever official.

But for all intents and purposes, they’re in love. She denies it, she always
has denied it, and they didn’t talk for a month once, when he suggested it. But
he knows that he loves her, no matter how much he bemoans that fact. She’s
certainly the most troublesome woman in his life. In ten short years, she’s
ousted Ino, defeated his mother. Although to be more accurate, he thinks to
himself, she’s more formed an alliance with his mother than anything. He
worries for the day that they get Ino in on the deal. He might not survive that
partnership. All he knows is that there’s something about those green eyes and
that blond hair and that shapely body and that sharp tongue and that masterful
wit, among other things, that has him enthralled. He probably couldn’t list
them all if he even wanted to.

And what she sees in him, he’ll never be able to figure out. No sort of
intellect could ever tell someone why a woman like her would ever fall for a
lazyass like him. But it’s plain as day. She doesn’t hit him as hard, she
smiles for him, and his dad had once told him that women were tender with the
men they loved. He can see that fact, plain as day, in the things she does and
says these days.

Either way, the feeling is mutual, and has been for quite some time.

When she finally lays back into the grass, letting go of his hand so that
she can fold her own hands behind her head as she gazes up at the stars, he
takes it as his chance. He stays sitting but turns his body, his hand digging
into the supply pouch that was out of her view as he leans over her, his other
hand supporting him just next to her waist.

“You’re blocking my view, Nara,” she says, but the smile on her face betrays
the sarcasm and annoyance in her voice.

“Temari, I’m serious, we need to talk.” His voice, however, contains all the
severity to match his expression. He’s been practicing keeping a straight face.

She perks up a bit at that and looks a little bewildered, but he has her
attention now, and that’s what he needs the most. His hand is still in his
pouch, searching for the feeling of metal against his fingertips. He inwardly
curses himself for not preparing a little bit better. After all, he can’t
afford to mess this up.

“How long have I known you?” he asks casually, as if he doesn’t actually
know the answer.

“Ten years, thirteen if you want to count when I still wanted to kill you,
why?”

“In ten years,” he goes on, “you’ve managed to piss me off at least once a
week, shown me that women really are the most troublesome thing on the planet,
and basically thrown a wrench into each and every one of my plans.”

Temari says nothing but has started looking mildly concerned. He remembers
days when her emotions weren’t as easy as a single glance at her face, but now,
all he has to do is look into those eyes to figure out what she’s feeling.
Maybe she’s opened up to him, maybe he’s learned to read her better. Maybe a
little of both. Either way, she looks at least a little bit hurt by his words,
which is good, because he intends for them to sting.

“You bitch at me, you beat me, you kick me, you make fun of me, and for
what?”

She backs up a little, onto her elbows, and now definitely seems to be
feeling the bite in his words as he goes on. Her lower lip trembles ever so
slightly, although he knows that she won’t cry. That’s another thing he’s
learned about her: she never cries, but if you catch her at the right time and
place, you can see that she’s prone to fits of the shakes. He wishes that she
would just let the tears fall once, because whenever he sees her trembling
there, he just wants to hold her. Sometimes he does. Most times he can’t.

“I’ve had it with these games, Temari, that’s why I’m ending it now.” His
voice has risen to an angry level, but he keeps it low, and he finds what he’s
been searching for, thrusting it forward.

She just looks at him like a bewildered deer, looking between his face and
his hand. And all his rehearsal could never have stopped him from cracking a
cocky grin as she sits there, obviously trying to mentally process what has
just happened.

After all, it wasn’t every day that you proposed to someone, and he had
wanted to do something that he could tell his grandchildren about when he
retired.

“Shikamaru…what…isthis?” Her voice shake, her eyes still wide, as she
points to the thin silver band adorned with a small diamond as he holds it out
to her.

Sitting back onto his heels, he gently coaxes her into a sitting position,
tugging lightly at her shoulder with his free hand, and she complies. Taking
her hand in his, he slips the ring over her finger, flushing hot even in the
cool night. There’s still a chance for her to reject him, and he’s not in the
clear yet.

“Temari, even with all the shit you’ve pulled,” he continues, his voice much
calmer now, “after all that, I still love you. And since you are the most
troublesome woman I’ve ever know, it must be meant to be. Anyone can see that.
So…will you? Marry me, that is?”

She takes her hand back and inspects the ring, almost as if she’s handling a
precious porcelain doll. He’s never known her for wearing much jewelry. She
must be in awe at his skills at choosing a ring, but he won’t ever let her know
that his mother was actually the one to pick it out for him. He would have gone
with the tackiest thing the store had and thought she’d actually like it. The
longer she stares at it, the longer he worries that she’s going to say no.

Until she rears back and smacks him across the face with her newly-ringed
hand.

“Nara Shikamaru, that is the single most despicable thing you’ve ever done!”
she near-shouts. “Of course I’ll marry you!”

Now it’s his turn to be shocked, as he raises a hand to his stinging cheek,
and wonders what just happened. She just said yes, he realizes that, but she
also smacked him harder than she has in years. But that’s Temari for him, and
she quickly leans in, wrapping her hands around the back of his head, her
fingers entwining in his head as she kisses him more passionately that she has
in years as well, and he can’t help but kiss her back.

After all, she’s his fiancée now, but they both know who’s going to be
paying for his little practical joke in an hour or two.