After the War:Chapter 1 Arrival

"Gaara, are you sure?" Temari asked quietly. ""It's only been a week since the end of the war. Do you really think it's safe for you to leave Suna so soon?"

"You're willing to go," the red head answered as he met his sister's concerned look.

"I'm not the Kazekage," the blonde grumbled as she looked away.

"Yeah, you're willing to go because you've got a thing for Shikamaru. Anyone with eyes has noticed," Kankuro scoffed as the trio began to move towards the gates of Suna shortly after sunset. "Actually, I think everyone knows you two are a couple except for the two of you," the puppet master laughed.

"Shut it, Kankuro," the kunoichi snapped as she crossed her arms and stared straight ahead.

"Let's get going," the Kazekage ordered in a tone that ended all discussion. The wind mistress and puppeteer nodded their heads as they followed their younger brother's lead. The Kazekage guided them quickly and quietly out into the desert. Temari glanced over her shoulder to look at the Hidden Sand village. The moon was rising over the desert behind Suna giving it a dreamlike silhouette. She was happy that their village had survived the war relatively unscathed. Gaara looked back at his elder sister and realized what she was captivated by. "It's beautiful isn't it? Home," he murmured. The blonde gave a small smile as she nodded her head in agreement. "Just remember how lucky we are. Konoha was not so fortunate," the sand wielder added somberly.

Kankuro and Temari both responded with a quiet, "Understood."

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The three sand shinobi arrived at the Konoha gate silently late in the evening three days later. The trio stood there in silence for a few moments. The sand siblings looked around trying to get a feel of where things used to be in the town. What was left of the original village buildings were few and mainly on the outskirts of town. Konoha had been rebuilding things quickly, but the devastating damage that the Akatsuki had done to the village was still evident. Temari finally let out a long sigh as she strode ahead leading her brothers. The three nins signed in as required and asked that the knowledge of their presence only be given to the Hokage. Kotetsu and Izumo nodded in understanding, but Temari could have sworn there was a slight gleam in Kotetsu's eyes. Kakashi Hatake was now the Hokage since Tsunade had retired effective immediately after the war. Temari hoped the famous copy ninja wouldn't think twice about the Sunans signing into the village. The party checked in to the inn that had the most appropriate accommodations since the Sunan Embassy had been destroyed during the Akatsuki's attack on Konoha. Gaara and Kankuro shared a two bedroom suite next to Temari's single bedroom suite. The suites had small kitchens and living rooms separate from the bedrooms. It was around 11pm by the time they were settling into their rooms.

The blonde unpacked and decided to take a bath in an attempt to relax. Her head, her stomach, everything felt like a total mess. What was she going to do? What was she going to say? How was she going to explain why she was here? Shikaku Nara's funeral would be tomorrow morning and she should be here, but had no idea how to explain that to anyone. The initial decision was easy; she knew she had to come. Temari found that now she was in Konoha she was dealing with emotions that seemed to come from nowhere. She really had not thought through every aspect of what she was going to do. She cared about Shikamaru, but the two really weren't together. They were very close friends, but nothing romantic really had happened in all these years. There were moments, a lingering touch here and there or looking into the other's eyes for a little too long. He would occasionally grab her hand to guide her and keep it in his longer than necessary, but she wouldn't pull her hand away either. The wind mistress sighed as she dunked her head under the water trying to organize her thoughts. She washed her hair, scrubbed the sand and dirt from her limbs, and soaked in the hot water as her mind continued to churn. "Come on, pull yourself together," she cursed under her breath as she slowly climbed out the tub. The kunoichi dried her body off methodically as she began to run through different scenarios that might happen the next day. The blonde then massaged oil onto her legs trying to relieve her aching muscles. Temari began to yawn as she slipped into a comfortable yukata for sleeping and walked into the kitchen. She grabbed a towel on the way and attempted to rub her hair dry. She began to heat water for a quick cup of tea when her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door.

The blonde thought it was odd that someone would be knocking on her door at what was now midnight in Konoha when no one should know she was there. "Who is it?" she barked expecting it be Kankuro needing something.

"Shikamaru," answered the familiar voice sounding half asleep.

The Sunan opened the door to look at the Nara with a confused look on her face. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be asleep? How did you even know I was here?" she rattled off obviously surprised. The young man was dressed in all black, ready for the funeral that would be later that day.

"I'm your escort," the spiky haired Nara replied as if it answered everything while he yawned and walked into the room.

"I didn't expect to get an escort," Temari grumbled. "I didn't expect to be noticed," she added under her breath. "Word of a secret visit sure spreads fast in Konoha," she stated as she put one hand on her hip. "Oh, I'm sorry, would you like to come in and sit down?" the kunoichi added sarcastically since the shadow user was already heading to her couch. The Sunan closed the door quietly praying that her brothers couldn't hear them. Shikamaru had his hands in his pockets as usual but his eyes were blood shot and he looked exhausted. "Kotetsu," she cursed under her breath. A small smile came to the shadow nin's lips confirming her suspicions. "You know, you don't have to worry about me. I can find my way around on my own," the blonde added in a gentler tone as she walked into the kitchen searching for two tea cups.

"No, you're in Konoha," the genius mumbled as he crumpled down onto the couch, "which means you are stuck with me." The blonde couldn't help but grin as she let out a breath trying to stifle a chuckle. The dark haired young man looked over the back of the couch to the blonde and caught a glimpse of the smile before she quickly tried to change her expression to one of concentrating on the tea. "Why are you here?" he asked quietly watching her closely.

Temari rolled her eyes before responding. "Why do you think? I'm here for your father's funeral, of course." The kunoichi was inwardly trying to control every expression and microexpression knowing full well that the genius would analyze not only what she said, but her tone and body language as well. Why was she so terrified that she felt completely transparent around him?

"I'm not going," the Nara sighed as he let his head fall back down lazily. The shadow user sprawled out on the couch like he was about to go to sleep.

The blonde kunoichi put her hands on her hips again as she growled, "What about your mother? You're going to make her do this alone?"

The shadow user lifted his head up just enough that one eye peered up at Temari with a look of disgust. When her green eyes met his gaze he groaned and buried his face back into the couch.

"Temari, please trust me. She's stronger than you think," the dark haired shinobi sighed. "You're arrival gave me the excuse I needed. I just need to get away from everyone," the genius pleaded as he lay on the couch. He waited with his eyes closed for her counter point, but all he heard was silence. He felt her sit on the couch and nudge him over a little as he heard two tea cups placed down on the table in front of the couch. The young man slowly opened his eyes to see the kunoichi studying him with a thoughtful look on her face. She gestured for him to take the tea, so he sat up as he reached for the warm glass.

"You really don't want to go?" she asked with concern and slight confusion written across her face. The kunoichi was genuinely terrifying the majority of the time, but the shadow user enjoyed seeing these rare moments where it was so obvious that she cared more about others than she let on. Shikamaru responded by simply nodding and looking at the kunoichi with an expression he hoped didn't look too much like a puppy. "OK," the blonde sighed. "I'll help your mother with everything today while you stay here. Try to get some rest though, you look like crap. When was the last time you got any sleep?"

"Really?" the black haired nin asked almost like an awestruck child totally avoiding her question.

"Yeah," answered Temari clearly not believing what she was doing herself. "It's on two conditions though," she added quickly. "We play shogi tonight after everything and I go with you when you do go to pay your respects to your father."

"Deal," the Nara answered with a relieved look on his face.

"Guess I need to get some sleep since I'll need to head to your house early in the morning then," the kunoichi grumbled as she sipped on her tea.

"Mom's house," Shikamaru corrected. "I'm the Nara clan head now and have to have my own home." The dark haired man stared blankly across the room as he let the words linger. Temari watched his demeanor change as his eyes began to glaze over.

"Hey," she said with surprising tenderness, "you need to take things one step at a time. All you need to think about is getting through today first."

"I don't have that luxury," he answered with that faraway look still in his eyes. "So many things need to be done now."

"No," interrupted the blonde. "You need to take care of yourself and I will help in whatever way I can. Do you understand, Nara?" Temari emphasized her words as she placed her cup back on the table with a loud thud.

The shadow user blinked a few times, refocusing his eyes as he turned to look at the kunoichi. He reached out and took her right hand in his. He couldn't help but chuckle at the fact that his hand was slightly shaking. He had so much on his shoulders right now and had tried to talk with his mother, Choji, and even Ino, but it just wasn't the same as talking to this crazy woman. There was something about her and her demeanor that just really helped him. She was caring, yet brutally honest, which was so refreshing. The kunoichi's hand was rough and calloused from hours of training, yet small and delicate compared to his. The blonde was frozen staring at him, her eyes held a combination of concern and fear. She was trying to cover it and act as though this was no big deal, but her eyes betrayed her. "Why do you care, Temari?" he whispered watching her with eyes that seemed to have brightened compared to when he first arrived.

The woman's face flushed for an instant as her pupils dilated quickly. She recovered promptly and replaced her mask of indifference. "I just do," she huffed defensively. She could feel her own hand begin to tremble slightly as well. The blonde tried to slowly pull her hand free, but the shadow user simply adjusted his grip and placed his other hand on top of hers. She was looking at their hands and slowly lifted her eyes to meet his. Her eyes drifted to his lips then quickly back up to his eyes. 'Damn it, Temari,' she inwardly cursed. 'Don't give him such ridiculous and obvious signs! Why can't you control yourself better?'

"Troublesome," the genius murmured as he genuinely smiled at her. The spiky haired shinobi rarely beamed like that and it made Temari just melt inside when they had moments like this. She knew that she was the same way though; there was something about him that made her genuinely happy. The wind mistress couldn't help but smile for some reason when she was around him.

"I need to get to bed," the blonde snapped with slight panic in her voice as she stood up. 'I'm too obvious, I look desperate, I have got to get away from him,' she thought quickly. Shikamaru didn't let go of her hand though and actually used her own momentum to pull her back down onto the couch beside him with a light tug. The dark haired Nara released her hand as he wrapped his arms around her to soften her fall while pulling her close to him. He moved one hand behind her head as he rested his head gently against the side of hers.

"Thank you," he murmured.

They were so close she could feel the warmth of his breath as he spoke. Shikamaru was holding her tenderly and it made her feel light headed. 'Is this what happens to Hinata when she is around Naruto?' the kunoichi couldn't help but wonder. This all felt surreal to the Sunan. Temari's whole body initially tensed at the contact but after a few moments the kunoichi relaxed. She couldn't really remember the last time anyone had shown this kind of affection towards her.

"You owe me," she sighed as she tried to focus back on what they had been talking about.

"Yeah, I know," Shikamaru whispered as he kissed her on the forehead. The look on Temari's face was priceless. The genius could see her mind working, how uncomfortable and awkward she was in this type of situation. The shadow user settled into the corner of the couch, gently pulling Temari with him. The expression on her face became even more interesting as he could watch the conflict in her eyes. The two had talked quite a bit over the years and he knew that she really had never been affectionate with anyone other than her mother. There was an occasional hug from her father or brothers, but it seemed like when her mother died she lost the only person that she felt loved her in that mushy touchy feely kind of way. Did she come right out and tell him those things? Absolutely not, but the things she said and did had conveyed that to the Nara clearly. That was why he felt that he had to take his time and be so careful with her all these years, but now was the time to finally start moving things forward. He was running out of time.

Temari carefully moved herself so she could rest her head lightly on his chest. The kunoichi's hair was soft and damp against his cheek. Shikamaru moved his arms so he could hold her better and absentmindedly began brushing his hand lightly up and down her arm. They both let out contented sighs simultaneously which prompted Temari to look up at Shikamaru as they laughed softly. The blonde settled her head back onto the shadow user's chest as she wrapped her free arm around him. The two sat on the couch together for what may have been minutes or may have been an hour. Time seemed to stop, so neither really knew for sure.

The blonde sighed as she adjusted her body again so she could lie on top of the shadow user comfortably. He was so warm, so close. She could hear his heart beat matching the pace of her own beat by beat. This was how they were in the infinite tsukiyomi, but never in real life. There were times over the last week where Temari began to wonder what had happened between the two of them and what had not. She wondered if he had dreamed similar things.

"Since you're getting comfortable, I guess you're intending to stay here then?" the Sunan murmured as she struggled to stay awake.

"Please," he mumbled sounding well on his way to sleep.

"It's stupid for us to try to fit on this couch," Temari said sleepily. "You can come in here to bed, but don't try anything stupid. My brothers are just a yell away," she warned. The blonde didn't sound near as threatening as she would have liked to, but the exhaustion from traveling was catching up with her. She stood up from the couch and pulled on the shadow users hand to follow her.

"OK," Shikamaru answered without opening his eyes and stumbling after her.

Temari led him over to a side of the bed and sat him down there. The genius' eyes were still closed as he untied and slipped off his haori. Shikamaru then reached up and let his hair out of the spiky ponytail to let the dark locks fall down to his shoulders. The blonde was trying unsuccessfully to retreat to her side of the bed without staring. 'When did Shikamaru start to look like a God?' the kunoichi wondered in disbelief as she dropped her eyes to the floor. Temari slipped under the covers as she tried to not look over at the shirtless Nara. 'Why? Why did he have to take that off?' she thought to herself as she curled up facing the wall away from him. Temari heard the black haired nin slide under the covers and begin softly snoring in seconds. The Sunan tried counting, she tried listing jutsus she knew, and she tried many different things trying to get herself to sleep. She was exhausted and almost asleep on the couch but now found she was wide awake. She didn't know how long she had been lying there with her eyes closed, willing herself to sleep. The blonde made a conscious effort to not toss and turn. Temari was determined to face the wall and not look at the young man in bed with her. This all felt so weird, yet so familiar. She couldn't help but wonder if she just should have kept her mouth shut and slept on the couch wrapped in his arms. That felt so good and she had almost been asleep.

Shikamaru began to stir in his sleep and seemed to be coming towards her. The blonde's eyes shot wide open as he pressed up behind her and draped an arm over her. The shadow user snuggled up to her so his soft breathing was on just the right spot of her neck. This was going to drive the kunoichi insane because of how sensual it felt.

"Don't leave me, Temari," he mumbled moving his mouth close to her ear talking in his sleep.

'What the, what am I supposed to do?' Temari thought to herself wildly as she tried to slow her breathing. 'He's just sleeping, he's just tired,' she told herself. The kunoichi's mind whirred in a million different directions as the Nara resumed snoring softly. 'Don't panic, you're fine,' the woman kept reassuring herself as she tried to calm down. 'What on earth is he dreaming about?' she wondered as she concentrated on slowing her breathing down. 'Two seconds in, four seconds out," she chanted over and over.

'We're sleeping like an old married couple,' she realized and inwardly sniggered after getting over the surprise. She smiled as she listened to his soft breathing again. This felt familiar and comforting somehow. 'We're sleeping like we did when I was in the infinite tsukiyomi,' she realized. 'Did we share the same dreams?' she wondered. The blonde sighed as she carefully wrapped her arm over the shadow user's arm and slowly laced her fingers in between his. "I," the woman paused trying to convince herself that he was asleep and couldn't hear her, "I won't." she answered him in a whisper. What she didn't see was the smile that came to the genius' lips as she finally settled back against him.