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A kiss.
One kiss and it was over.
The kiss, though forbidden, tasted no less sweet.
He had orchestrated it all, just a kiss. He had led her to a dark, isolated spot in a foreign village - allied, but foreign nonetheless. And Temari had let him. She trusted him, for reasons beyond her grasp. And he had kissed her.
“I had to know,” he whispered against her lips, before dipping forward again for another forbidden kiss. "Before I leave.“ He closed his eyes and rested his forehead on hers.
"Leave?” She questioned breathlessly. "Had to know what?“ Her head spun, panicked thoughts sparking guilt at the pleased tingles that his touch had spread through her. She struggled to pull away. She struggled to stay put.
"I had to know what this would have been like,” he confessed. He couldn’t resist pressing his lips against her in a third and final kiss before finally backing away.
She wavered, relieved to feel his presence move away. Or was she disappointed? "Y-you can’t- We can’t-“ she started.
"I have a mission,” Shikamaru whispered into the darkness, cutting off her protests. "I probably won’t come back.“
She swallowed, "What does that-”
“I couldn’t keep my mind off of you.” His swift admission again interrupted her words. "And I didn’t want any regrets.“
He nodded to her, the closest to an apology she would get, and he turned, disappearing into the night.
In the morning, his words held true. The Leaf nin, now a jonin, had disappeared from the village, and no one could offer any knowledge of his whereabouts.
She tore up a training field in aggravation. She berated herself for even being in this position.
The attraction had grown much larger than it had any right to. If it had been anyone else who had caught her attention, she might have toyed with him for a while and then thrown him away. But he … no, he saw through her every move. Which only served to make her want him more.
If only he had been from Suna, she might have allowed herself to wish …
But she was a pragmatist. She was not given to flights of fancy.
Her family- her village was too important to her. She couldn’t afford to sway her attentions; she couldn’t bear to be a liability.
And yet. Yet she worried for that Konoha nin, out on a dangerous mission. She wished with all her heart that she was with him. They always did better together.
Finally, the day came that she had to return to her village. He had not returned. And she feared he may never return. She left, wondering if that would be the last she saw of her Leaf nin.
Honestly, it would be best if it was.