a/n: WHAT IS THIS AN UPDATE!? YES! Actually this has been sitting in my docs unfinished FOREVER. I just got around to finishing it up even though I'm you all have given up on this already. HA. Enjoy.

Shikamaru sighed, shaking the rest of the chrysanthemum petals from his hair as he made his way toward the training grounds. Those petals could be pretty unrelenting at times, refusing to dislodge themselves with a simple shake of his head, so he had to resort to actual effort. As the shower of petals rained down from his hair, drifting swiftly in the gentle breeze he could not help but let a small smile trickle onto his face. Mikoyo could be a handful at times, but all his frustrations would always melt whenever she flashed him that toothy grin of hers. He could still remember the first time he held her, she was so small and fragile he was afraid he would break her, but now, now she was just a ball of uncontrollable energy who loved to cling to him with a grip that even he had a hard time prying off.

As the training grounds came into view he veered to the left away from the fences and into the woods. A stray stream of air burst through the trees sending a flurry of leaves and debris past him. He could almost taste the sharp bite of the all too familiar wind and all its ferocity, and could not help the stupid grin that spread across his lips. In an instant he was lost in the high branches of the woods, stealthily silent and deftly quick he made his way through the dense trees, slowing when the trees began to thin and the small clearing came into view.

He watched silently as she swept the tessen gracefully through the air, whipping up a torrent of strong winds which bounded through the grass, kicking up stray blades and tearing them in thousands of tiny specks of nothingness before making its way through the woods, rustling up leaves and twigs in its path. It always amazed him when he watched her train, the precision she had over her winds never ceased to astonish him. She had all three of her moons uncovered, a sign that her tessen was at its full power, yet her winds were still soft and gentle. Countless times he had witnessed those same winds tear through bark and trunk, flesh and bone, he had witnessed the leveling of whole forests and the decimation of people, but now, her winds barely made a scratch on the bark as they passed through the woods.

Exhaling slowly Temari swept the heavy iron war fan in front of her, sending a torrent of wind toward the forest. She smiled as she watched the winds rush toward the forest rustling the leaves, exposing the sleeve of an aptly concealed ninja. Satisfied with her revelation she snapped the tessen shut and let herself fall gently onto the soft grass, the heavy chunk of iron making a slight thud as it dropped onto the ground next to her. It had been a long, stressful, irritating week, and she was glad that it was finally coming to an end. Staring up at the drifting clouds she scowled. It felt strange lying there, watching the clouds slowly drift by, it reminded her too much of him, of everything that has transpired since she first stepped foot into the village three days ago. She let out a long sigh and closed her eyes, blocking out the clouds, blocking out his face.

The wind died gently around him and he jumped lightly to the ground, his feet not making a sound. Slowly, he made his way over to where she was lying and dropped down next to her with the giant iron fan acting almost like a barrier. He knew she knew he was there, but the time seemed to slip by, and all she did was lie there with her eyes closed, breathing softly, feigning ignorance.

She was not surprised when he finally dropped down from that tree and made his way over to where she was lying. This was his place after all, she had known that when she decided to train there, a small part of her hoping he would show, the better part of her knowing he would. Breathing slowly she ignored his presence, for the moment she was not sure she was ready to face him yet. There were still too many emotions swirling around inside her head, and as much as she had tried to pound it out of herself, the embarrassment of that morning still hovered over her like a storm cloud that refused to precipitate.

Watching her lay there he fidgeted with the flower he had planned to give her as his brain worked and reworked everything he had planned on saying to her. It was taking him longer than usually to formulate a solid plan, there were simply just too many unknowns and he did not want to accidently aggravate her and have everything fall to pieces.

She had hoped that by coming toward her he would have already came up with some brilliant way to cut through all the awkwardness and defuse the situation, but his stony silence indicated otherwise. It would be up to her to make the first move, to nudge him toward the conversation she really wanted to have without embarrassing herself. With a heavy sigh she opened her eyes and turned toward him. "You know, thanks to your mother the whole village now thinks that we're dating."

Her voice cutting through the silence startled him. He had not calculated the possibility that she would be the one to break the silence first, although if he had thought about it for five seconds it would not have been too far fetched. She was the aggressor, rash and impulsive, unlike him, the calm and calculated one. Perhaps it was a good thing too. If it were not for her, they probably would have never of made it this far.

"Eh, shit happens." He said casually, lifting himself up to a sitting position.

As his words finally registered in her brain, Temari shot up into an upright position and stared at him in disbelief. "Wait what? You don't care?" She asked skeptically.

Shrugging his shoulders he stifled a yawn. "No, not particularly. It's too troublesome to care about what other people think."

"So that's it? We should just go around letting everyone believe that we're in a relationship!?" She exclaimed. It bothered her more than it probably should have to have everyone believe they were an item when in reality they were far from it, mostly because he was the most exasperatingly lazy man she has ever of had the misfortune of knowing. It upset her that everyone had this illusion of them, this illusion that she so desperately wished was a reality.

Smiling inwardly he turned to face her, his face void of any expression. "I'm not sure why you're making such a big deal about this anyway." He said placidly, knowing his indifference would drive her insane. Her agitation amused him, not in a malicious way, but because unlike him her true desires were plastered all over her face, in short he no longer had to worry about the situation imploding upon itself leaving him scarred and Temari-less. It was clear to him that her aggravation with the situation had more to do with the fact that the perception of their relationship did not reflect its actuality.

"Not sure!?" She heard herself shriek, "That's because I don't want your little friends to think that I'd be into some lazy ass crybaby like you." But you totally are. She glared at him, he was irritating her, she could not understand why none of this was bothering him. Why he was pretending that nothing happened last night, that she did not thoroughly impose herself upon him, that he did not have the same damn feelings that she had for him. His damn apathy and indifference toward the whole situation drove her up a wall, yet in a way he did have a point. Why was she making such a big deal about this? It is not like any of it actually matters, if he was okay with his friends believing that he was intimate with the most troublesome woman in all five nations, why not let them believe that? Conceding to her defeat, she let out a low growl and dropped back onto the grass. "You know what, just forget it. I'm leaving tomorrow anyway."

"Consider it for-... Wait what?" The surprise and disappointment that broke through in his voice caught even him off guard. That was most definitely not in his calculations. Why was she leaving tomorrow? He had been sure that she would have stayed through the week, Hinata and Shino were not supposed to return for another two days.

Temari smirked inwardly to herself, thoroughly enjoying the fact that she had finally cracked his indifferent facade. Turning to face him she put on the most indifferent face she could muster and said, "This place is just too troublesome you know." Stifling a chuckle she coughed and attempted to continue with that indifferent air. "Besides why stay longer than I have to? I already got everyone and I don't trust Kankuro to do anything right."

If looks could kill, the glare he shot her would have single handedly taken down the Jūbi. "Ha, ha, hilarious." He replied, his words dripping with sarcasm.

Turning to face him she almost lost it when she caught the intensity of the glare directed toward her. It amused her that for once, their roles were reversed. "What?" She asked, feigning ignorance. "I don't know what you're getting all worked up over. I simply answered your question."

Letting out an exasperated sigh he let his body fall back onto the grass. He realized that it was pointless to continue on with this ridiculous banter. She was purposely pushing his buttons and he knew that, but at the same time he could not quite process the words that were coming out of her mouth. She was not one to complete a job half-assed, and she definitely wasn't one to kid around about when she was leaving. "I thought you wanted to personally invite everyone." He said deflated.

Noticing his change in demeanour she found herself pouting. Her game was already over. She hated how he was always so quick to checkmate her. Giving in to her defeat she shrugged and said, "Why do you think I'm leaving then idiot. Obviously I finished my mission. Ran into Shino and Hinata at lunch, mister doubting mustafa."

"Hn, so you didn't forget anyone?" He asked closing his eyes.

"No I didn't forget anyone. That's what 'I finished my mission' means." She spat. He was irritating her. Of course she got everyone, she is not one to leave loose ends. Besides, she can recall every encounter with everyone of his troublesome friends. Okay, one of them was her troublesome, light-weight, bringer of her current predicament, friends, but still who is keeping count.

"Che, pretty sure you missed someone." He said more to himself, disappointed that it had not occurred to her that she had neglected to formally invite him.

"Why do you have to be infuriating!?" She demanded leaping to her feet. She had half a mind to just pick up her tessen and beat him to a bloody pulp.

Genuinely confused Shikamaru opened his eyes and stared up at her. Her chest was heaving and she was practically shaking with anger. Letting out a deep sigh he sat up and met her eyes. "Oi, woman, I think you're going to pop a vein."

Her fury boiled over inside of her and with a swift flick of her foot Temari expertly swept up her fan and swung it at his head, but before the heavy metal object could make contact with his skull, his arm shot up at precisely the right moment blocking her shot. "WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM ANYWAY!?"

"My problem?" He asked incredulously, keeping a steady hold on her oversized fan. "You're the one losing your shit attempting to pummel me to death, and I'm the one with the problem." He could feel her irrational anger vibrating all the way through her tessen.

"ARGH!" She screamed in exasperation, attempting to jerk the iron fan out of his grip. "I hate you so much right now, and let go of my tessen!"

Exhaling he released his hold on the object, causing her to stumble backwards, and before she could regain her balance, he quickly caught her in a shadow bind causing her to release a string of profanities. "Calm down." He said as he guided her into a sitting position. "I'm not trying to infuriate you, just pointing out the fact that you missed someone."

"Excuse me? I did not miss anyone. I KNOW who was on the list, I made the fucking list. I did not miss anyone." She spat, refusing to calm down. He was wrong, she knew he had to be wrong, there was no way she missed someone, but he was Shikamaru, and Shikamaru was never wrong. So she ran through all her encounters for the past few days, mentally ticking off each individual name from their team rosters when it dawned on her. The only name that remained in her mind was his. She let out a low growl when she finally realized what he was getting at.

A small smile flickered at the corner of his lips as she let out the growl. He loved that she displayed her thoughts on her face like an open book, it made dealing with her so much less, well, troublesome. Deeming it safe, he released his jutsu.

Feeling him release his shadows she threw herself on her back and let out an exasperated sigh. "You're such an idiot for someone so smart, you know that don't you? Of course you're invited you dolt. You're the one who came up with the stupid idea to invite everyone from Konoha anyway."

"Just thought you were going to be professional about it and officially invite everyone." He said shifting his body back into a prone position.

"I'm always professional." She spat, shooting him one of her infamous glares before turning her attention to the sky. "So would you like to come to Gaara's party, jackass?"

"So professional." He retorted, instinctively shielding himself from her attack.

She half heartedly swung her tessen at him, knowing he would be able to block. "Always."

Now that the air between them had been cleared he decided that this was as good of a time as any to proceed with what he had come there to do. Letting out a sigh he psyched himself up for the impending conversation and reached into one of his many pockets. "I got you a karabana." He said with as much indifference as he can muster.

"They're not in season." Was her reply as she kept her eyes locked onto the clouds overhead.

"For once could you not argue with me and just take the damn flower." He said not even trying to mask his irritation. He was having a hard enough time coming up with the words to say to her and here she was thwarting the only plan he could come up with.

"I'm not arguing with you. I'm just stating a fa-" She shot up from her prone position, eyes devouring the flower he spun in his hands. "Where did you get that?"

Satisfied, he stifled a fake yawn and tossed the flower at her. "I made it."

"Oh" she mouthed as she examined the perfectly replicated flower. "Impressive. Didn't know you were into origami."

"Eh, I was at Kurenai's and she had a book. I adapted a few techniques, since they didn't have that particular flower." He replied flatly, as if the fact that he made her an origami flower was in the realm of normal.

"So you're buying my flowers now?" She asked amused, twisting the flower about in her hands. Perhaps that lazy ass, pathetic excuse of a man was finally getting somewhere.

"No. I didn't buy it." He said matter of factly, attempting to hide the smirk playing at his lips.

"Che," she scoffed, refusing to get riled up again. Throwing him a halfhearted glare she said, "I hate you" behind a smile.

Without even looking at her he could feel that smile she had on her lips. He lived for that smile. That smile that negated the words she had just spoken, that smile that ignited a fire within him. Pulling himself to an upright position he leaned in toward her, letting a smile break across his lips and said "I hate you too."

She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks as his face was brought within an inch of her own, and it took every fiber of restraint she had in her body to not grab him by the collar and press her lips upon his. No, she would wait, he had come so far already, and she really did want him to finally discard that indifferent mask of his and actually do something for once. Besides,considering his misogynist ways, she figured he would want to make the first move anyway.

For a moment he contemplated pulling away, not because he was scared of what her reaction would be, but because for some odd reason, he thought it might be amusing to get her all riled up again. Why he would even want to do that was beyond him, he had just calmed her down, and an angry Temari was a troublesome Temari, and Shikamaru most definitely disliked troublesome things. Then why in the world was he thinking about setting her off again? Quickly he pushed away the ridiculous thought and going against his nature, he finally gave into the one thing he had wanted to do for the past five years. Before he could change his mind for the uptenth time, he closed the distance between them and pressed his lips upon hers.

She felt her breath hitch when he finally kissed her, it honestly took her by surprise as she was sure he was going to pull away again, just to incite her rage. Giving in to him completely she returned his kiss, pouring out all the pent up frustration and subdued desire she had harbored for the past five years.

He smiled into her lips as she fervently returned his kiss, he loved that even with something as simple as a kiss she was able to convey exactly how she felt. Not to be outdone by her he roughly sucked on her bottom lip before requesting entrance to her mouth with his tongue.

The amount of effort he was putting into the kiss exhilarated her, and she could not help but comply with his request to enter her mouth. As soon as she did though, she aggressively shoved her tongue into his mouth and proceeded to dominate the kiss. It amused her that he actually fought her for dominance, something she did not know he had in him. But then again here he was, the laziest ninja in all the five nations, actively pursuing what he considered the most troublesome woman in existence.

It was hard to say how much time had passed before they finally broke apart. If anyone had seen them, they would have been convinced that the two ninjas were simply making up for five years of lost time in one single kiss. Although that would not have been too far from the truth, and the two of them did in fact unleashed everything they had held at bay into that one singular kiss.

When they finally did break apart Temari could not help the huge triumphant smile that flashed across her face. To say she was ecstatic was an understatement, she was beyond herself, not because he kissed her, but more so because of how he kissed her. She had no idea what to expect, and although she had dreamed about ravishing his lips countless times, nothing had prepared her for what had actually happened. Everything about that kiss went against his nature, but then again he had proved time and time again that anything he did which pertained to her had always been against his nature.

"So I suppose your friends had the right idea all along." She mused, the smile still plastered on her face.

He smirked and gave her a small shrug, "Like I said earlier, I don't really care what they think."

"Che" she scoffed. "Is there anything you care about?" She asked with a knowing smile.

"No, not particularly." He said cheekily, "but there is someone I care about…"

Temari halfheartedly threw the flower at him. "Dork."

Picking up the flower he twirled it in his hand as he examined his handiwork. "So what time are we leaving tomorrow?"

"What do you mean we?"

He did not even attempt to hide the smile which broke across his lips. "Figured you'd want some company. Besides, we both know Kankuro has done nothing so far, and you could use an extra set of hands."

"Dawn." She replied, fighting the blush which attempted to dust her cheeks as she thought about the journey and the three days they would get to spend together, totally alone.

End.

a/n: okay now before you kill me because 1) you wanted more to happen and 2) you actually wanted to see Gaara's party, let me explain. 1) THEY GOT TOGETHER. That was the point of the story, mission accomplished. Ha. 2) I never ever intended to write Gaara's party, that was not the point of this fic, never was. I might do it as a one-shot, but don't hold your breath. YAY after how many years this is finally finished? Now to play with Neji and Tenten. 333 Thanks for the wonderful journey my dears.