Epilogue

"Iwagakure is getting antsy," Shikamaru said, pacing back and forth in the Kazekage's office. "You know they're going to cross the border soon."

"And I'll wait until then to confront them. I don't want to make a hasty decision and force them to act." Gaara replied, face set.

"They don't work like that. They've already decided that they felt insulted by Ishi's actions, and now it's only a matter of time." He walked over to a large map he had set on Gaara's desk. "If you blockade this route here, they won't have a chance of entering the land of wind. We need to show them that we won't tolerate the threats."

Gaara tilted his head up to study Shikamaru. "That would be an important trade route to Konoha."

"Kakashi agrees that we need to keep this conflict from escalating. Standing firm against Iwa is more important than a some rerouted trade."

"But this conflict has nothing to do with leaf. This would essentially be a Suna action against Konoha."

Shikamaru moved his eyes from the map to meet Gaara's, wondering what he was trying to say. Even after these years of working closely with the Kazekage, it was still hard to read him at times. Gaara almost never showed emotion when in his role as leader, and while the skill has been quite helpful during meetings with other nations, he keeps it up even when it was just the two of them. He wondered if it was on purpose, to keep his motives always close to his heart, or it was just second nature.

"Are you afraid of the repercussions from Konoha, or are you asking if I'm okay with this plan?"

"Neither." Sometimes though, Gaara dropped the coldness for Shikamaru, and he smiled like he did when he was with his siblings at home. "You must be tired, you only just arrived back here. I want you to go home early."

"We aren't done with this," he said, frustrated. "We need to plan-"

"Iwa can wait, I have a meeting with my other advisors in the meantime."

"They're idiots," Shikamaru said, knowing Gaara wouldn't object.

"Yes, but they are idiots that demand to be heard. Just go home, Temari's waiting for you."

"Isn't she on a mission?" Shikamaru asked, confused.

"She finished early," Gaara responded, widening his grin. "Will you play shogi with me tonight?"

Shikamaru laughed. "You only ask to play when you want to discuss something with me."

"That isn't true!" Gaara insisted. "I simply want to relax with my friend."

"Fine," Shikamaru agreed with a wave of his hand while heading out the door. "I'll see you later. Good luck with the idiots." He could almost hear the Kazekage's soft laugh follow him out.

It was four years since he took the job, and somehow the world had yet to go to shit. Konoha and Suna's relations were has strong as ever, and no one in either village seemed to want to kill him yet. An overall success, in his books.

"Hey there, shadow boy!" Kankuro yelled from across the hall when Shikamaru turned a corner. Even he had taken a liking to Shikamaru, although there still seemed to be a distance between them he couldn't overcome. There was never the ease of conversation he seemed to fall into with Gaara. Kankuro still treated him like he was on probation. Shikamaru waited patiently for a time when he wouldn't give him that look each time he outlined a plan, but perhaps it was a good thing that someone kept him on his toes. "I need you on a mission next week, you game?"

"As long as Gaara approves it, yeah," Shikamaru answered.

Kankuro stopped and cocked his head. "You don't need… oh, you just got back, didn't you? Have you been home yet?"

"No – Gaara just let me go."

Kankuro grinned like a cat. "Well get back to me after you do," he said. "I'm ready with the report and I think you'll find this one interesting."

"Right," he said.

Kankuro stepped closer and put a hand on his shoulder. "Good work and all that, Shikamaru."

"I'm not sure…" Shikamaru stammered.

"Just go home," he said with a friendly nudge, before resuming his walk down the hall. Shikamaru stared as his back until he turned the opposite corner, trying to figure out what he was being complimented for. Eventually, he just shrugged, and continued on his way back.

After a year of sharing Temari's tiny apartment (even with Shikamaru going back and forth to Konoha), they decided that it would be in their best interest to get something bigger. Temari refused, even then, to admit it was because their arrangement was becoming more permanent, and that Shikamaru was indeed someone she wanted to spend her life with. She said it was more functional, with two people living together, to get a larger place. Somewhere closer to the capital building so they could both be closer to Gaara. Shikamaru smiled, kissed the top of her head, and said he liked their new home too. She had hit him with her fan.

So it didn't take him long to wander back to their place from the Kazekage's office, he followed the route automatically after years of practice. As he kicked off his shoes in the landing, he called out. "Tem? I'm home!"

He heard her feet running around wooded floors. "You're early!" Temari cried from another room.

"Yeah, Gaara practically kicked me out. Wanted to hear what the council said over my advice," Shikamaru complained.

Temari stuck her head out into the hall, snickering. "You know he's just humoring them."

Shikamaru frowned, following her back into the living room. "Still stings."

"Oh, you'll get over it, crybaby." Teal eyes sparkling as she kissed him in greeting, she dragged him to the couch. She picked up a small box from the table, and handed it to him. "It's a present."

"Present?" Shikamaru searched his memory for an occasion to celebrate. It wasn't near his birthday or an anniversary. "Why-"

"Just open it, no need to look like you did something wrong."

Shikamaru nodded, and carefully untied the string holding the box together, and unwrapped what was inside. "Oh," he said quietly as he revealed a black forehead protector with the Suna symbol engraved into it. "I don't understand?"

"Ah, how I relish the times you say that." Temari joked. "Congratulations, you are now a duel citizen of Konohagakure, and Sunagakure. You now hold the privileges and responsibilities of both villages, and when you are working here you may wear that."

Shikamaru's eyes widened as he turned over the metal and cloth band again, feeling the cold edge with his finger. "How could I not know this was possible?"

"It's an old rule, we had to dig it up, and it took a lot of convincing. Even with the Kazekage on your side, the elders tend to put you down. It took me the time of two whole missions to get this all together, so you better be grateful."

"How did you get them to accept?"

"They wanted to protect our assets," Temari shrugged. "We convinced them you would be a threat if you decided to sell our secrets, so now we can try you for treason."

Shikamaru grimaced. "Oh. Great."

"In the end, it protects you more than it does them. It doesn't seem like a problem now, but if either Hokage or Kazekage decided to remove you from your job, you would still be able to live here," she said as she took his hand and wove her fingers into his. "No one else decides where you belong anymore."

"Nobody except you," Shikamaru said with a lopsided smile.

"Got that right." Temari smirked. "Well, my brothers might object if I threw you out now though. Gaara claims our international relations can't function without you, and Kankuro might just want you as a pet. Either way, I think you're stuck with us."

Shikamaru laughed as he tied the new protector to his right arm, mirroring the one sewn into his shirt on the left. "Wouldn't have it any other way," he said, turning back to Temari and pulling her in for a kiss. "Thank you."