It Doesn't Have To Hurt At All

Temari whipped her head around, determined to catch the person who'd been following her for the past day.

Nothing.

She growled frustratedly and marched on.

Finally, later that afternoon, employing a few evasion techniques, she managed to catch her stalker.

"Aha! Got you!" she yelled triumphantly, and looked at who it was. Her arms loosened and dropped.

"You're the one who's been stalking me?" she asked Shikamaru dumbfoundedly.

He shrugged. "You've been avoiding me."

"I said it was over, Nara," she growled.

He completely ignored her.

"Temari, I've been thinking-"

"What's new?" she snorted.

"I realised I love you."

There was silence for a little bit after that.

"No you don't," she said.

"Actually, I do."

"But… but… you can't!"

"Tell that to my heart," he replied darkly.

She sat down against the wall, numb. He loves me.

"Temari, you can't just throw it all away because you're getting too emotionally attached," he told her.

"I don't love you!" she blurted out.

"You don't love me or you won't love me?" he asked coldly.

"I can't love you," she whispered.

"Nara!" Kankurou bellowed at Shikamaru from the end of the corridor, "How dare you show your face here? You made my sister all depressed! She won't admit it and I don't know how, but I do know it was because of you!"

Shikamaru caught the attacking puppet wielder in his shadow bind. "It was her decision to end it!"

"Maybe so, but you didn't change her mind!"

"I was too shocked!"

Kankurou stopped struggling. "Hey, why are you here anyway?"

"To talk sense into her. To do what you're busy shouting at me for not doing," Shikamaru replied.

Kankurou noticed Temari sitting on the floor staring blankly at the wall and glared at Shikamaru. "What did you do?"

"I told her I loved her." Kankurou's jaw dropped.

"And?" he demanded. Shikamaru nodded at her.

"I can't love you," Temari whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek. Kankurou watched it with alarm.

"Hey, Temari, your eye's leaking," he told her. Shikamaru released the shadow bind an winced as Kankurou went flying into the wall.

"I can't love him!" Temari yelled at her brother.

"How is that my fault?" Kankurou shouted in reply.

"I don't know! It just is!"

"Gaara! Temari's being unreasonable!"

"What did you do?" Gaara asked tiredly, walking around the corner.

Kankurou gaped at him. "Why is it always my fault?" he demanded.

"Because you've always done something wrong." Gaara noticed Shikamaru for the first time and his gaze grew slightly colder. "Nara. Is this your doing?"

"Yes. No. I don't know," Shikamaru replied.

"Why did you come here?" Temari screamed.

"To try and get you back, woman!"

Gaara's sand came up immediately. "You will not hurt my sister, Nara. What did she do that provoked you to come all the way to Suna to get revenge?"

Shikamaru blinked. "Revenge? What?"

Kankurou snorted- for once, he knew more about the situation than Gaara.

"He loves her, Gaara. That's why she's in a tizz."

The sand fell and Gaara frowned. "Temari, if he loves you why are you angry?"

Shikamaru figured he was safe from Gaara, knowing his feelings about love.

"Because I can't love him!" Temari screeched.

"Why not?" Gaara asked. The simple question threw her for a loop.

"Be… because I can't… we're… from different villages… it's not… it's not allowed…" she stammered.

Gaara shook his head. "Temari, I think it is allowed. No-one objected beforehand, and we all knew. Besides, our alliance with Konoha is quite strong. I think you're scared."

"Scared of what?" Temari asked belligerently.

"Love," Shikamaru answered quietly for Gaara.

Temari opened her mouth and closed it a few times, unable to think of an answer.

Shikamaru reached out and brushed her hand with his. "Please, Temari" he breathed.

She cracked and fell into his arms. He just held her, inwardly doing a jig. And the Macarena. And the tango. And the salsa. And the chicken dance.

"See?" he murmured, "It doesn't have to hurt at all."

Her lips curled into a smirk and then here fist went into his solar plexus.

"Oof," he went. "Okay. That hurt," he wheezed. She grinned.

"Oh, it's gonna hurt you, baby, either way," she told him.

"Strangely enough, I'm okay with that," Shikamaru said breathlessly. Kankurou grimaced behind him.

"Oh god that put very disturbing images in my head, just don't say that if you want to live," he said.

Temari grinned. "Hey, you thought it.'

"What? Thought what?" Gaara asked.

"Oh you are so lucky you're naïve, Gaara. You don't want to know," Kankurou told him.

"Yes I do," he insisted.

"You don't," Kankurou assured him.

"But I do."

"You do not, I promise." Kankurou started walking away.

"I do!" Gaara followed.

Getting annoyed, Kankurou told Gaara later that day. Turns out he didn't want to know.

Shikamaru and Temari received some really odd looks from Gaara for the next few days- that is, when he could bring himself to look at them at all.

But everyone got their happy ending. Everything was fine.

And if Shikamaru showed up sore or bruised some days, no-one chose to comment.

Because yes, it would hurt, but they were happy.

-END-

A/N: So here is the humorous and slightly crackly sequel to 'It Only Hurts Just Once', seeing as some of you expressed an interest in a sequel. Why, I don't know, but hey, here it is. People may be OOC, I don't know. It sure is longer than (here we go again) 'It Only Hurts Just Once'. But anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, please review – you know the drill. I'm not convinced it's particularly good. It could be a lot better. The 'how' temporarily escapes me, but here it is anyway. Oh, and if you find the 'how', PLEASE tell me.