Good day! This is my first fanfiction on this site, or any site at all, so please help me to write better. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoy this.

--Corentin

Disclaimer:I do NOT own Naruto.

Man And Wife

By Corentin

Chapter 1:Good Morning, Temari!

Tsunade raised her hands above her head.

"I now pronounce you man and wife! You may now kiss the bride." The small group of people, including most of the original Konoha 9, broke into cheers as Shikarmau kissed Temari. He was dressed in his normal clothes, but they were cleaner than usual, and his Chunin vest was back at home, lying on his bed where he'd left it. Not his home, anymore, he reminded himself, breaking away from Temari. His home was where she was. He looked at her, smiling, watching as the radient joy on her features spread from where it had begun, in her eyes. She, too, had chosen to dress normaly, in the dress she'd worn on their first date. Her Iron Fan was noticably absent, though, and a silver dragon necklece that matched Shikamaru's own hung about her neck. The real diference, however, was in her hair. Although he'd chosen to wear his normal pineapple hairstyle, she'd let hers down, and it flowed over her shoulders in a wave of gold. She held out her hand to him, smiling.

"Coming, lazy?" He smiled, and nodded.

'Whenever you're ready, troublesome woman." She grabbed his hand, and the two of them walked down the aisle, that same place they'd walked up as friends, as man and wife.

Temari opened the door of their new house, a gift from Shikamaru's parents, and looked at it. She'd seen it before, of course. They had been activly involved in the process of chosing it with Shikaku and Yoshino. It was a rather large house, more than they needed, she thought, but aparently Yoshino expected Temari to be a baby-making machine and fill it up to the brim with children. She felt hands encricle her waist, as Shikamaru came up behind her. He'd put the car away, and now he stood behind her, kissing her neck gently, and looked at the house with her, as they stood in the warm summer breeze. She twisted her neck, and kissed him, smiling as she did.

"It's beautiful, Shika. Although it will be a little lonely, it's beautiful." He smiled at her.

"It won't be lonely. I've got you, 'Mari, and you've got me. Besides," he said ,"I'm sure it won't be empty for long." Temari blushed. It was so unlike her, she thought. She'd been blushing all day, she'd been smiling all day, and she'd felt as if everything was right, even though not all was well in the ninja world.

Well, she thought. I'm in love with a perfect man. Okay, not perfect, but I like him this way. And I just married that imperfect man I love. Shikamaru picked her up, like she weighed nothing at all, and carried her over the threshhold. He smiled at her.

"My mother would kill me if I didn't stick to tradition.", he said, answering the unasked question that was on her face. After setting her down gently, he closed the door behind them, and looked around the house. It had been prepared for them, Choji had seen to that. Everything was laid out just the way they liked it. Shikamaru pulled Temari onto the couch, and kissed her. They sat together in silence for a while after that, both of them still coming to terms with the fact that they were finally married. Then Temari turned to Shikamaru, a blush once again coloring her cheeks.

"So...what should we do now?" Shikamaru looked at her for a momment, and then yawned.

"I guess we should go to bed." Temari was stunned, and then she began to splutter.

"You mean...you care more about bed than me...more...more than our wedding night?" Shikamaru smiled.

"No, silly! I just needed to see that you're the same old Temari still, however troublesome that may be. I was worried you'd changed, after all, you seemed like a different person today. Not," he said, as her hand began to rise, "that that isn't a good thing. Or a bad thing. I don't know, Temari, it's whatever you want. Tonight is your night." She smiled again.

"It's your's too, Shika." She looked at him from under her eyelids. "So, you still want to go to bed?" He smiled back, kissing her before he whispered his reply into the nape of her neck.

"Only, Temari, if it's with you." She smiled, and they walked upstaris to their room, hand in hand.

The next morning...

Shikamaru slowly opened his eyes, and yawned silently, not wanting to wake the beautiful woman who lay beside him. He pushed the sheets back, carefully, and sat up, looking down at her the entire time. How long had it been, now, since he'd found he loved her? He hadn't loved her when they'd first met, in fact, he'd thought she was a freaky girl, and his enemy as well. But then...maybe after she'd saved his life from Tayuya, maybe even before that, a little feeling had started to grow in him, a feeling which grew larger and larger, until it was that which we call love. He'd asked her out a the next time she came to Konoha, and she'd accepted. That's the whole reason she'd become laison to Konoha from Suna, and that's why Shikamaru had requested the assaignment of protecting her. They'd been on a date the day Naruto had come back, and on that day, he'd proposed to her, on his favorite cloud-watching hill. He'd given her a ring then, a ring that she still wore, and they'd proceeded to go through the long process of an inter-village marraige. He grinned, when he had asked her to marry him, she'd whacked him on the head and yelled at him for taking so long before she'd said yes. And now, here she was, lying next to him on the day after their wedding. Gently, Shikamaru reached out and arranged some strands of hair which had fallen onto her face. He stiffened for a moment, as she began to move, and then relaxed, bringing his hand back as she sat up, yawning slightly, and stretching. He smiled at her, and , as she smiled back, moved in for a kiss. He noted something, as he pulled away: their kiss was no longer a kiss between boyfriend and girlfriend, nor was it one of the wild kisses of lust that they had indulged in last night; it was a kiss between a man and his wife, a sign of their companionship and everlasting love. She grinned at him, slightly cocky.

"Now that is a good way to start the morning!" He flashed her another quick smile, and answered.

"True enough. So, what do you want to do now?" She pursed her lips, thinking.

"Hmm...I don't know. How about we just have some breakfast?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me."

"Oh, and Shikamaru? Rule One: We always cook breakfast together." Shikamaru grinned. It had been in their wedding vows that they would, as they went along, lay down rules about their life together, and how the would live it. By mutual consent, the rules would be followed if both of them agreed on it. Shikamaru didn't mind cooking, but...

"Temari, only one of us can cook." Temari twitched the covers aside, and hoped out of bed, doing a robe over her pajamas.

"No time like the present, I always say. And besides, I can cook! I say still say that cake was perfectly good!" Following his wifes example, Shikamaru tied the cord of his robe.

"Temari, the rest of the cake was fine, however, we were expecting a chocolate cake with sprinkles in it and vanilla icing. What we got was chocolate cake, all right, but with red peper flakes in it, and frosted with sour cream. And I know," he said, forestalling Temari's protests,"that the bottles looked the same, and that the sour cream looked...similar to the frosting, but still..." As she spluttered from the other side of the bed, he laughed. "Come on, then. I'll teach you to make scrambled eggs, and I'll make some bacon." Temari looked surprised.

"I didn't know we had any bacon." Shikamaru shook his head.

"Choji stocked our refrigerator. There has to be bacon." Laughing together, the two descended the stairs.

An hour later, the two sat at the breakfast table, sipping their drinks. Shikamaru pursed his lips.

"Those eggs were slightly burned, but besides that, just right! I think you'll make a first rate cook, Temari!" Temari smiled slightly. She had enjoyed the eggs herself, although the bacon was the best part of their little breakfast. Not that she would ever tell Shikamaru that out loud. She smiled again. Finally, the blushing-and-flattering disease had worn off, giving way to her normal personality. Thank goodness. That other personality was fine with Shikamaru, but they were having a party later that night, a sort of sleepover with the members of Teams Gai, Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai, an anual party which had begun two years previosly, at Neji and Tenten's wedding and continued through the weddings of most of the others. Not that Temari was nervous, of course, she just didn't want to be a simpering bride in front of the others, especially Tenten, her best friend in Konoha. Or anywher, actually: as the brother of a monster, she hadn't been too popular. Shikamaru stood up and stretched.

"So, now what?" Temari pursed her lips. Their party began at 4, and it was ten in the morning. Six hours all to themselves. She looked at Shikamaru.

"Why don't we play chess(1), then go on walk to the cloud hill?" Shikamaru's face lit up.

"That'd be great, 'Mari."

Ten minutes later, with the dishes done, Shikamaru and Temari sat down to play their game of chess. The game progressed in silence for about half an hour, before Temari asked Shikamaru a question.

"I've heard that you an Asuma had a conversation about what chess pieces stand for in the village of Konoha. In your life, what do the chess peices stand for?"

"That's a weird question, Temari." Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow. "But, since you insist..." He sat in silence for several momments, until Temari thoguth he wasn't going to answer. Then, he spoke." My pawns are the Chunin and Genin whom I have not met: full of potential, and important to winning a game, but not many people actually use them that much. My rooks are Choji and Garra, with great striking power and excelent defense. Neji and Ino are my bishops, most imporant along the diagonals, but limited to one half of the board. Naruto and Lee, with their weird attacks, are my knights. My queen are the Jounin of the village, intoxicating power which can go awry if used incorrectly. I, I am the player, no good on the board, be smart enough to use the peices in their proper ways. And my king, is you, Temari. Not nessecarily the widest range of power, but extremely important in the endgame. And...if you die, the game of my life is over. That's what I think." He glanced at Temari, who was looking down and blushing. "Sorry if that sounded a little cheesy." He put his hand on a bishop. "Well," he thought, "I'd beter end this moment, otherwise she's gonna go cheesy too." He moved the bishop. "Checkmate." Temari's jaw fell open as she looked at the board.

"No...no way! NARA! You distracted me!" Shikamaru ran out the door, followed by his wife, and a hail of objects. "Oh well...I guess we were going to walk anyway. But that ball..." He rubbed his head. "Was just troublesome..." Temari stormed after her husband, and the two of them ran, the hunter and the hunted, the slacker and the worker, the man and the wife, down the road in the bright spring morning.

The End?(2)

I really would like to continue this, but if nobody likes it....I guess I won't. No sense in writing a long story for myeslf, eh?

Please reveiw, and be gentle. This is my first submission.

---Corentin