Author's Notes: Oh. My. God. Crystal Renee wrote a ShikaTema fanfic? Whoa! This is a short little drabble I wrote forever ago. Enjoi.

The Road Home

In the twenty-seven years he had been alive, Shikamaru never met a woman more troublesome than she. Where as most women were troublesome for their bossy attitudes and intelligible personalities, she was troublesome for the way she looked. She was troublesome because she could make him feel small. She was troublesome because she affected him in ways he didn't understand. This woman had the ability to get under his skin, irritated him to the highest level… and still manage to keep him at bay, making him want more.

It was troublesome, but he'd learned to live with this situation. Most of the time, he would have refused—and for the longest while, he had. Turns out it was far more troublesome to keep her out of his head than it was to simply be around her and accept the confusion that surrounded her. Shikamaru's pride had been bruised when he finally admitted defeat to the situation; after all, women were troublesome and he didn't understand why men like his father could deal with them. He had been told that he'd understand one day, when he was older.

Surprisingly, that day hadn't taken long to arrive. When he could think of how troublesome she was with a smile on his face, he knew something was amiss.

Now as he trudged onward toward his house in the rain, Shikamaru allowed his thoughts to pass over just how troublesome this woman waiting for him at home would be. Unlike most wives in Konoha, she wouldn't be the one to fuss over his injuries, or meet him at the Hokage tower the moment rumors of his return began to surface. He knew better than to expect the lights to be on and the house to be toasty when he walked inside; more often than not, he had to fumble for his keys to unlock the door.

Tonight, his mission had been harsh. To make matters worse, his hair had fallen out of its tie and laid limp, sticking to his face and neck as the rain continued to pour. His clothing was soaked, and there was a breeze causing goose bumps to appear on his skin. It was good his house was right in front of him.

Much to Shikamaru's surprise, the door opened, revealing a blonde haired woman. Her face was taut with what appeared to be disappointment – this meant it could be anything from anger to fury – as she ushered him inside with a gentle swoop of her hand.

"How long do you plan to stand out in the rain?" she growled. "You're going to catch a cold."

She took a hold of his sleeve and yanked him inside the house. It was warm, and the change in temperature alerted him to just how cold he really was. They stood there in silence while she took his vest and hung it above the heater to dry. Something about the silence bothered Shikamaru—where was the commonplace arguments of his kids?

"It's too quiet." He remarked lightly as he removed his shirt.

She flashed him a smile. "Ino-san volunteered to watch your troublesome children today."

"Why would she do that?" he remarked, groaning as he rubbed his temples. "Now we have to go through the trouble of hoping she's not killing them."

"She'd rather deal with them than deal with you." She replied, taking the shirt he handed her and tossing it into a laundry basket nearby. "I have a mission I need to leave for in a couple of hours, and considering I wasn't sure you'd be back, I was glad she offered to watch them for us."

Shikamaru sighed, then took the towel she handed over to him so he could dry off. "What kind of mission is it, Temari?"

"Just a routine escort mission, nothing difficult. I'll be heading to Suna and then be back in Konoha within a week, should everything go smoothly." She responded. "I made myself dinner, but since I'm leaving soon you might as well eat it—I'm sure you haven't had anything to eat in a while."

He raised an eyebrow in question; he had been right. She was being very troublesome.

"If that's all, why are you acting so nervous?"

She laughed, then turned around to face him. "Well, you see, this will be my last mission for quite a while."

Shikamaru's face fell. It was couple's code; he knew what it meant.

"You really are troublesome. You're pregnant again?"

The couple shared a smile in the doorway, one completely wet and the other preparing to go out into the rain.