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Temari hummed quietly to herself as she walked leisurely through the winding Konoha streets. Stretching out her arms, she smiled slightly, pleased with a good day’s work. Her smile widened when she remembered that it was Shikamaru’s night to cook, and she picked up the pace slightly, eager to be home. He always griped and grumbled about it, and Temari would die before she’d admit it to him, but he was a good cook. The sandy haired jounin had been staying in his apartment for just over a year now, ever since she’d been given a position as Suna’s representative in Konoha. It was a good job, and it paid well, but the real benefit was getting to live with Shikamaru. She was sort of glad he had an apartment of his own, outside of the Nara compound. His family was nice, but she always felt like she had to be on her best behavior, which wasn’t her strong suit. Smiling again, she thought about the time they’d spent living together- all the teasing, the laughter, the loving insults. She chuckled to herself as she recalled his expression as she left for work that morning, her green eyes sparkling. He’d been griping about some big project he had to finish up with the Nara family. Temari had done her part, calling him a lazy bum and prodding him with her fan until he reluctantly got out of bed.

‘Come to think of it,’ Temari thought to herself, ‘he never did tell me what sort of project he was working on.’ She shrugged, resolving to ask about it after dinner, and to not worry about it until then. Glancing around, she paused for a moment, realizing where she was.

‘This is the Nara compound,’ she thought, surprised. She hadn’t even noticed that she passed it on her way home, since she was usually so absorbed in her thoughts. Suddenly, Temari froze, standing absolutely motionless. Then the Suna kunoichi smirked, mentally at least. At this point, she knew very well when she was being shadow possessed, and she could definitely distinguish Shikamaru’s possession from any other Nara’s. Shrugging mentally, she resigned herself to the situation. There wasn’t really anything she could do about it, and she was interested to see what Shikamaru’s motives were, so she decided she might as well just relax and enjoy the ride. She felt herself turn, and her body began moving forward of its own accord.

Temari was surprised as she found herself entering the Nara compound, and began moving her eyes back and forth, trying to get a good look around. She’d never spent much time here- mainly short visits with Shikamaru on special occasions, holidays and such, even though she and Shikamaru had been dating for almost two years. Her body moved forward, through several hallways and rooms towards the center of the compound. ‘Where is everyone?’ Temari thought, confused. The Nara clan wasn’t the largest in the Leaf, but there were sure to be a few people here at any given time. Now it was silent, and apparently empty.

‘What’s he up to?’ she wondered. ‘His whole family must be in on it. Some sort of elaborate prank maybe?’ Suddenly, Temari found herself in an unfamiliar section of the compound. Passing through another door, she saw that she was in a large open-air garden. ‘This must be the center of the compound,’ she thought to herself. The garden was exquisitely beautiful, filled with delicate flowers and aromatic herbs. Birds chirped as they flitted from flower to flower, sipping their nectar. Ornate Bonsai trees curled out of pots placed along a stone pathway leading to the center of the garden, where a short bridge led to a pavilion in the center of a small pond filled with koi fish.

Temari’s head turned, allowing her a good view of the garden. ‘It’s so beautiful,’ she thought, amazed. Then she found herself facing forward once more, and began walking towards the pavilion at the garden’s center. Shikamaru’s shadow imitation led her down the path at a leisurely pace, across the bridge, and into the pavilion. Once there, the blonde Suna jounin noticed a small, circular table with a single leg at the pavilion’s center. Walking towards it, she looked down at the box at the table’s center. She felt Shikamaru released the shadow possession, but Temari got the feeling that she shouldn’t turn around, not just yet. Reaching down, she picked up the box. It was ornately carved from the dark, rich wood of the Nara family forests, with a Nara crest carved from a deer antler set in the center. With a sense of reverence, Temari slowly opened the box, heart pounding. Inside the box was a folded piece of parchment. Reaching inside, she lifted the parchment out, revealing the contents of the box. There, shining up at her, was a ring, delicately wrought from silver and set with a dazzling emerald, a work of incredible craftsmanship. Temari gasped, stunned, tears filling her eyes.

Turning her attention to the parchment, Temari opened it to reveal a note, written in the sloppy, spidery handwriting she knew so well.

‘Will you marry me?’ the note asked silently.

Now the tears gathered in her eyes began to run down her cheeks- her green eyes aglow with delight. Setting the box and parchment down on the table, she turned around. There, standing at the foot of the bridge, hands in his pockets and a smug expression on his face, was Shikamaru. Before she could say anything, he began speaking.

“I originally wanted to just ask you when you got home, but my mother and your brothers would probably have killed me, so I decided to go with this idea. Dad says I’ll be glad I did later on.” Sighing, he took his hands from his pockets and placed them behind his head. “I’ve never been much good at this sort of thing,” he said. “It didn’t help that things haven’t gone as planned.” Closing his eyes, he continued. “When I was younger, I always thought I would end up marrying a nice, regular girl, not too pretty, and not too ugly.” Opening one eye, he grinned at her. “But I guess you can’t plan who you fall in love with, because instead I ended up with the most troublesome, irritable, annoying, amazing, and beautiful woman I’ve ever met.” Shikamaru’s expression became serious, and his dark brown eyes met hers.

Opening his arms up towards her, he asked softly, “So how about it?”

Temari took a deep breath, wiping the tears from her eyes. Then she lunged forward, throwing her arms around him. “You’re such a bastard,” she whispered in his ear.

Smiling, he whispered back. “I know. Is that a yes?”

“Of course it is, you stupid bastard.” Pulling back, Temari looked at him, her green eyes shining with tears once more. “I love you, Shikamaru,” she whispered. Then she leaned forward and kissed him, placing a hand on his cheek.

As she pulled back once more, Shikamaru smirked. “I love you too, Temari,” he said nonchalantly, as though it were no big deal. She scoffed, slapping his cheek lightly. “Troublesome woman,” he murmured, hugging her tightly.

Temari sighed happily, resting her chin on Shikamaru’s shoulder. Eventually she slowly opened her eyes to look around the garden and noticed something over by the entrance. Blushing furiously, she sprang backwards, frantically motioning for Shikamaru to look behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he waved, then turned back to Temari. “What? They wanted to be here when I proposed.”

Still blushing, she hissed at him. “Well it would have been nice if you’d told me they were here!” Chuckling, Shikamaru reached forward and took her hand, walking with her towards them. They were standing at the entrance to the garden, smiling and waving. Shikamaru’s mother and father were there, smiling at them. Gaara and Kankuro were there too, Kankuro flashing Temari a big thumbs up and a grin, and Gaara smiling softly and clapping. Chouji and Ino stood side by side, each reacting differently. Chouji was cheering and yelling out congratulations, and Ino was shaking her head and smiling. Kurenai stood at the back, holding her child and gazing happily at the two of them. Naruto and Sakura walked in as well, waving excitedly.

Naruto ran up and clapped Shikamaru on the back, all the while announcing loudly, “I knew it! I knew it! I saw it all coming, a long time ago!” Grinning widely, he turned to face them. “Congratulations, you two.”

“Thanks, Naruto,” Shikamaru replied, shaking his head.

Yoshino walked up, tears in her eyes. “I’m so proud of you two!” she said smiling, hugging Temari. “Welcome to the family!”

“Thank you,” Temari whispered, slightly embarrassed.

Shukaku walked up next, winking at his son knowingly. “Guess it’s in our genes, eh?”

Yoshino glared at him, then turned her attention to the couple once more. “We’re so happy for you two,” she said.

“Thanks,” Shikamaru replied, then turned towards Chouji and Ino.

“Congrats, Shikamaru!” Chouji said enthusiastically.

“Thanks, Chouji. I couldn’t ask for a better best man.” Shikamaru placed a hand behind his head, glancing at Temari. “We’re going to need a lot of food at the wedding,” he whispered.

“Definitely,” Temari whispered back. She was about to say something else, but she was interrupted by Ino.

“Congratulations, Shikamaru. Hard to believe you managed to get her to say yes to a bum like you.”

“Gee, thanks Ino,” Shikamaru grumbled.

“Oh come on, I was joking. Don’t be such a spoil sport.” She turned and smiled at Temari. “Best of luck!” she said jokingly, grinning at the two of them.

Suddenly, Kankuro walked over and pulled his sister into a hug. “I’m so proud of you, sis!” he said excitedly. Then he looked at Shikamaru. “Watch yourself with this one,” he warned, grinning deviously. “She bites.”

Temari scoffed and shoved him playfully. “Don’t I know it,” Shikamaru replied, causing her to blush. Then Gaara walked over, and everyone quieted down, fast. He didn’t show it, but Shikamaru was nervous.

Looking back and forth between his older sister and the dark haired Nara, he said, “Congratulations. I wish the both of you well.”

Shikamaru mentally sighed with relief, then replied, “Thanks, Gaara.” Temari smiled happily, hugging her little brother.

Kurenai walked over with Sakura and the two of them congratulated the couple, smiling happily. “I want to see the ring he gave you,” Kurenai requested, to which Sakura and Ino nodded emphatically.

“Sure,” Temari replied. Tugging on Shikamaru’s hand, she said, “Come on you lazy bum. Let’s go get the ring.” As they walked back to the pavilion, Temari glanced over at her fiancé. He smiled at her, squeezing her hand lightly. She smiled back and returned the squeeze, happier than ever before. Grabbing the box, the two walked back hand in hand into the welcoming embrace of their friends and family, ready for whatever the future held in store for them.