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He watched from the shadows cast by the nearby buildings, as yet another suitor approached her. The view made his stomach turn and his mouth go dry. He crouched on the balcony rail, trying not to look at her. Of course, it was a losing fight. Her golden hair was pulled into two high pigtails and adorned with draped gold chains, which also dangled a small jewel in the center of her forehead. Still, the jewel didn’t sparkle as much as her eyes. She wore a form fitting one shoulder dress that was made a type of flowing fabric which wrapped around her. One would expect that the exposed a slice of skin at her midriff or the high slit which exposed her leg damn near all the way up her thigh would have been his downfall, surprisingly, it wasn’t the case. The credit went to another ornate chain which tightly wound itself around her neck as a necklace. His fist clenched. A mere necklace had brought back the memories of the feeling of the pulse of her heart, the feel of it’s skin beneath lips and sometimes nipped by his teeth, and the moans that passed through it.
Finally, he peeled his stare away across the rooftops. She had never worn such things for him, and she still didn’t. It had been over a year. He could do this. This was his job, and she was not his. He had moved on, as most surely she had. He had gotten a new life. He had become a member Anbu. If he could compartmentalize the dark things which came with such a position, surely he could do the same with his memories of her.
The music, laughter, and general din from the party drifted out to him. Still he held strong. He refused to glance back to the hall. At her. It wasn’t until he heard the click of heels that he turned, but by then it was too late to escape. As with so much involving her, she had caught him off guard. There she stood, light from the full moon bathing her in it’s glow, and allowing him to once again take in every detail of her. It was hard to swallow, let alone speak. The embarrassment of being so easily surprised by her presence made his face go red and hot. Glad for the mask that hid his face, he turned back to his rooftop vigil.
The edge in her voice was not hidden. “What are you doing here?”
He refused to look. Refused to answer. He answered only to the head of the Anbu or the Hokage. He was someone different with a new life, which she was not a part of anymore.
She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, as she approached. “I know it’s you, Shikamaru. You may have your hair down, an Anbu mask on, and be masking your chakra, but I still know it’s you.”
He composed himself and let out the breath he had been holding with a sigh. She was still troublesome. Annoyance clipped his words.“Nice to see you too, Temari-sama. I’m here to guard one of your very important suitors. The one that came from the Leaf, specifically. Apparently, he’s very important and very interested in you.”
With a small flash of a frown, before her expression turned neutral again, she hummed in response and moved to lean on the rail he crouched on. They both stared out into the city below and across the rooftops. Silence wrapped around and between them like a blanket. They didn’t need words, they never had.
The light scent of her floated to where he crouched. She had never been one for perfume, so it was a soft and subtle scent, but it was enough. Feelings and memories came spilling forth again, where he had tried, in vain, to lock them away.
Then he thought of her suitors, imagining one of them taking his place in his own memories. After all, that was why the suitors were here and what they wanted in the first place. He felt as if he was being tortured. His heart being squeezed and ripped from his chest, and yet, she didn’t even seem to notice. His hand gripped the railing. The pain in his hand from his tight grip didn’t compare.
After a minute, she stood up straight and turned to head inside, “Guess I better get back, before they come looking for me.”
He saw the melancholy look in her eyes, but he couldn’t fight the bitter sarcasm that seeped out of his mouth. “Yeah, would hate to keep them waiting.”
His sharp words caused her to pivot sharply on her heel to glare at him, her voice icy and angry. “You’re the one who broke up with me, Shikamaru.” Her voice almost broke from the weight of her next words, but she had always been strong. “You best remember that.”
She stalked to the door, but Shikamaru appeared in front of her, with a flicker. Now, close enough to be pulled into each other’s gravity, his job was completely forgotten. Still he tried to explain and fight for reason, “I couldn’t ask you to forsake Suna. You’re a princess. You belong to them. I am not of high enough standing to be with you. It was only a matter of time.”
“I belong to no one! So, you demand that I forsake myself? You refuse to let me decide. This is not a battlefield, and you do not command me. The only thing standing in the way is that you are a coward!” she yelled. Any and all sense of the rest of the world had been lost, as they glared into each other’s eyes.
Exasperated, he sighed. “What would you have us do then, Temari. What?!”
The rest happened fast, She grabbed him by his vest and pushed his Anbu mask up and off his face. As he heard the clatter of his mask hit the ground, she pulled his lips to hers in a bruising kiss. Then, before his brain could catch up with what he was doing, he was kissing her back. His tongue sweeping her mouth and a hand finding the back of her neck. The feel of the gold chain under his fingertips, as he pulled her tight to him.
Disappointedly, this was only short lived. It took only moments before they were interrupted by a group of very upset suitors and additional guests, which Temari’s yelling had attracted. The Leaf suitor’s voice broke through the noise of the crowd and broke their heated kissing as he screamed, “What do you think you're doing?! I forbid this. You are beyond your job and station. You are hired to serve me! I will see that you will longer be a member of Anbu by tomorrow.”
A breathy Temari pulled away and rolled her eyes at the shouting, but Shikamaru couldn’t have cared less. His eyes were locked on her. His mind on the decisions that he had made before, by himself. Decisions that he had no right to make alone. He realized that now. Together was the only way to the life he wanted. They would figure out everything together.
He pulled her into one more heated kiss before his hand left her neck to grab her hand. They strode by the angered suitor, who was stunned silent by their total disregard for him and his threats. They continued through the crowd and the whispers, and headed to the exit doors of the hall.
Gleaming in the moonlight, the Anbu mask laid, forgotten.