Temari crept around the room soundlessly as she picked up all her belongings. She scooped up bits of clothing, the emptied contents of her bag and her shoes before planting a small kiss on Shikamaru's forehead. He groaned and stirred a little but she knew it took a lot more than that to wake him up. Still, she wanted to slip out before he woke up today so she could focus on getting some work done.

She slid on her sandals and unlocked the door with his spare key. She then posted it back in through the mailbox. This was becoming a usual routine for her, and she knew exactly how he liked things now. If she used the shower she made sure not to disturb his moist towel that was always in the process of 'drying', or if she was going to have coffee she made sure she didn't use his favourite mug. She almost hated how well she knew him.

As she stepped out into the quiet morning streets of Konoha, she took a deep breath in of the perfect, crisp, spring air. She loved seeing the village this way; just peaceful and bright. It always felt like a second home to her, with the breeze and the greenery and the sunlight and…

"Hey, Temari!" She stopped dead in her tracks. She knew that voice and she was suddenly very aware of where she was. "What are you doing going to see Shikamaru so early? Don't you know he's not gonna be awake yet?"

Temari turned around as naturally as possible to a beautiful, beaming Ino. How the hell does she have the time to look so good at five in the morning? Temari thought as she started talking. "I was just coming by to remind him we have our meeting today at seven but, I guess you're right there's no waking this lazy ass." Ino's mouth curled into an insinuating smile. "What?"

"Oh okay," she said narrowing her eyes, "so you've just got here then?"

"Yeah, why?" Temari snapped defensively.

"No, nothing. By the way, you might want to redo the buttons on your shirt there." Ino was grinning ear to ear now, and Temari could feel her full scale blush coming on as she looked down at her shirt which was missing several buttons. It was even revealing glimpses of her less than professional underwear that she'd been wearing the night before. Stupid, Temari! She was usually so careful.

"Ah, funny story," Temari started, and then realised she had no idea where she was going with it. "You know, I'm just going to head home, get a new shirt, right? I'll see you around Ino." She quickly started to walk away but not fast enough for Ino.

"Woah, hey, not so fast there Temari." She started striding in front of Temari, which wasn't difficult as she was taller than her. "So, you and Shikamaru are getting pretty serious huh? How long has this been going on?" God, this was going to be a pain.

"Ino, stay out of it. It's none of your business." She figured if she showed that she wasn't going say anything scandalous the blonde would soon lose interest, but Ino continued to follow her down the street.

"It is too my business! I've known Shikamaru since we were kids, I've earned the right to know about his love-life," she dragged out the last two words making Temari cringe.

"Listen, do you tell him all the gory details about you and Sai? No. So I'm not saying anything." Temari walked ahead triumphantly; she had beaten the biggest gossip in Konoha.

"So there are gory details to be told then?" Temari stopped. She turned back to face Ino.

"I didn't say that," she said faltering a little, as she knew she'd just lost.

"Look," Ino said, moving closer to her, "I'm not asking because I want to know every little detail about everything, frankly I can live without knowing what Shikamaru looks like naked nowadays…"

"Nowadays?!" Temari exclaimed, a little disturbed.

"But I do want to know you're treating him right. He acts tougher than he is, and even though we've endured a lot in our lives, he's not the type to handle heartbreak well. So just tell me you're serious about him?" Ino looked into Temari's eyes with her own piercing blue ones that seemed to reach into her soul. They finally dug up an honest answer from Temari:

"I'm not sure."

"WHAT?!" Ino all but screamed at her.

"Calm down! It's not that I don't like him, I'm just not sure how serious he is about me. I mean so far it's just been casual meetings and staying the night, nothing serious. I don't want to commit to anything or say I'm invested for the long run until he's ready for that. I mean Lord knows our situation is complicated anyway, there's no point tangling the web even more."

Ino smiled and slapped her arm around Temari's shoulders. "Oh my dear Temari, there used to be a time I thought you were brave. But now I know; you're just as much of a coward as the rest of us!" Temari's face dropped into a scowl as they continued walking. "Don't be annoyed, it's a good thing. You're human, of course you're scared. But trust me, like I said I've known Shikamaru for a while and I've never seen him so serious about anything. Or so happy. Or so dependent. He really likes you, and if you like him too don't hold back. He's already way deeper into this than you, he's not gonna get scared off."

They reached Temari's apartment and stopped. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but thanks Ino. You're surprisingly helpful you know that?"

"What can I say? I'm Konoha's cupid." She smiled brilliantly and then swept away down the street. "See you around Temari! Oh and don't forget," she said looking over her shoulder with her phone, "I've got photo evidence of this. And I'm gonna need details to keep quiet." Just when I thought she was alright… Temari thought, running up her stairs to get changed.

Her phone buzzed later that night. It was Shikamaru and she picked up immediately. "Hey, what's up? I thought you were working late tonight."

"Yeah, turns out even the Kage get tired sometimes." He laughed a little nervously. "So anyway, do you want to come over tonight? Or I can come to yours?"

She smiled remembering what Ino had told her. "Actually, how about dinner? Somewhere nice, I'll pay if it's too troublesome."

"That… sounds perfect." She could hear him sigh with relief over the phone. "I'll pick you up at eight? Or nine, whenever, I'm not too bothered."

"Really? Well I am. Eight sharp, we have a lot to get through this evening."

"Yes ma'am." She smiled on her end of the phone and realised for the first time just how loved she was.