A/N: First, Merry Christmas, everyone! Second, spilihp17, I am technically only one full day late haha.

Hey everyone, if you're looking for quality Naruto fics, look no further than spilihp17's profile!

This fic was written in response to a guest reviewer's requested prompt from 'An Anniversary in Shadows'. Mister or Miss Guest, I hope you will be able to read this and enjoy it. To be honest, I had a hard time imagining Temari being the one to forget a birthday so it took awhile to write this. But thanks for the challenge and for your support in me. :)

Prompt: Temari forgets Shikamaru's birthday and makes it up to him a week later. Set two years after the war.

Shrewd, analytical teal eyes roamed over his form as her brows furrowed in pensive thought. Something was definitely off. She observed him as he made his way towards her as she waited by the outer gates of Konoha.

His lazy gait, which was usually rhythmic and graceful even, was shuffling in a slightly rigid manner. As if he was trying not to be but failing at it.

She tried to catch his eyes from a distance but she eventually saw that he was muttering to himself, a fraction of a frown on his face, his eyes trained on the ground before him. What could have had the genius of Konoha argue with himself at the wee hours of morning?

When he was only a few meters away from her did he visibly shake himself from his musings and met her eyes with his. He gave her his usual trademark lazy smile and greeted her with a "Early as usual." She stared longer than what was proper before she replied, "Between the two of us, someone has to be." That smile… it was just not quite curved at the angle she was used to. At least not the smile she was used to receiving from him.

He lightly chuckled as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Then as they headed into the village, he inquired about her journey, her health and family. All of which he never really bothered to ask about before.

As she answered promptly, she watched as his hand went back into his pocket and she had a sudden urge to jerk it out. Both hands in his pockets was his usual stance but he always had a hand free when he was escorting her. As if he meant for her to…

Boldly, head facing forward, she reached into his pocket and grasped his hand in hers, pulling it out. Startled, he looked down at their clasped hands and then up at the profile of her face. Which she could feel heat up under his scrutiny. He could feel his own cheeks burn as well.

As he very gently extracted his hand from hers, that heat surely turned into a heat of rage and humiliation. But then he spoke, "It's not like I don't want to but we are reaching the center of the village where anyone might see and I know how you feel about public displays of affection. It's not very professional either in our case…"

"Right. Thanks for the reminder," she said tightly. He threw her a half-smile, mistaking her tone. "Anyway, are you tired? Do you wanna rest first? I'm sure Tsunade-sama will understand…."

Why is he being so damn polite?! The hell is his problem? I went through back-to-back missions and then I get this kind of welcome? If he didn't want to be with me, he should just say so! I am not taking this kind of shitty treatment where he is obviously treating me like I'm just like anyone else and not his girlfriend of 6 months!

Facing him completely, she nearly shouted at him. "If you've got a problem with me, Nara, just spit it out! You should know well that I hate it when people dance around an issue."

To his credit, the flash of astonishment across his face appeared completely genuine. His brows knitted together as he answered with a ring of truth, "I don't have an issue with you, Temari. If I appear out of it, it's probably just the time of day."

It was possible… He appeared and sounded like he was telling the truth.

Was I really acting different? I mean it's not really a big deal… Does it really bother me that she forgot my birthday just this once? I knew she was busy. Who wouldn't forget with an agenda like hers? It's too troublesome to get worked up over it. Making a fuss wouldn't be like me.

Lost in his train of thought, he didn't notice that he started to walk ahead of her. Staring intensely at his back, she determined to get to the bottom of this.

Oooooooooo

Operation: Seduce Him Into Telling The Truth

When she proclaimed that she was hungry, Shikamaru led her to the yakiniku restaurant. But before Shikamaru could sit them down at their usual table near the front of the restaurant, she deliberately went for the corner booth at the back of the restaurant. Shikamaru chose to sit on the side facing the front of the restaurant, expecting Temari to sit across from him as per their normal arrangement. Before he could settle into his seat, Temari slid into the spot right next to him.

At his questioning glance, Temari smiled and casually stated, "You don't mind, do you?"

A moment of hesitation before he smoothly replied, "No, of course not." Was she up to something? Nah, they were in a public restaurant and they both shied away from public displays of affection. So he shrugged it off.

They chatted idly until their order arrived. Shikamaru tried to see if Temari had any signs of ulterior motives but soon concluded that if she had any, she was hiding it very well. Shikamaru took charge of cooking the meat on the grill while Temari arranged the dishes. When the meat was done, they began to consume their meal. That was when it started. Whenever Shikamaru reached for meat on the grill, Temari would also reach for either meat, sauce or condiment. It wasn't really a problem per se but every time it happened, her chest just happened to brush against either his upper arm or shoulder. He couldn't quite tell if she was doing it on purpose for she never changed facial expressions.

Once she dropped her chopsticks and he could swear her fingers brushed against his inner thigh. And as the chopsticks fell somewhere between his legs, her head came nearly onto his crotch just trying to reach for them. He looked upwards for a prayer of self-restraint. When her head came up and her hand gripped the chopsticks, he just felt there was a hint of naughtiness to her triumphant grin.

"Shikamaru, you have something… Wait, I'll get it," Temari said as she leaned in and wiped off the sauce at edge of his upper lip with only her thumb. Then actually placed the same thumb into her mouth and sucked at it. He felt the front of his pants tighten.

When they were just about done eating, Temari managed to elbow her glass and the water spilled onto his lap. Temari immediately took tissues to his lap and wiped vigorously despite Shikamaru's vehement protests. "Temari, I told you I can do it…."

"No, it's my fault. Just sit and let me attend to you."

When she was done wiping, she reached out her hand to his lap again to feel along the cloth for any lingering dampness. Through gritted teeth, Shikamaru asked, "What are you doing, Tem?"

"Just making sure if your pants are dry. After all, it's kinda cold outside. I don't want you getting sick because of my clumsiness."

"That's very thoughtful but I really think I can manage a little dampness. Oi, what are you—"

She started rubbing her hands on his lap. "Don't worry, this should help dry it up faster."

She kept rubbing from his knees and made her way up until she found her wrists being gripped by him. "That's enough, Tem. I'm good."

"Why are you being so… Oh, I see." He sensed that he should be wary of that smile. And a few seconds later, she proved him right.

"It's because of this, huh," she pointed out huskily as she cupped his straining groin.

"Oi! Tem, stop it! People will see!" he hissed while biting back a groan.

"Don't worry, they won't. Nearly everyone is seated near the front and middle sections. Plus the table is adequate cover."

Pulling down the zipper, her hand slipped in and started stroking firmly and with purpose.

"Fuck," he moaned softly. He laid his forehead on his arm on the table, hiding his crimson face. Damn, it felt so good. He didn't ever want her to stop.

"Shikamaru-san, are you ok? Do you find something wrong with the meat?" a waitress came over to ask, concern on her face. Shikamaru and Temari both froze. Shikamaru lifted his head up, praying he would be able to speak properly. "Uh I'm…" He gasped as he felt Temari start pumping mercilessly with double the speed.

"Shikamaru-san?"

"I'm fine," Shikamaru bit off with a strained look on his face, not sure whether to strangle or kiss the woman next to him. The waitress clearly wanted to say more but Temari cut her off in a clearly authoritative tone, "We'll call you if we need anything, ok, miss?" The waitress wisely knew when she was being put in her place and really didn't want to have a stare-down with such intimidating eyes, nodded and scurried off into the kitchen.

Shikamaru's head dropped back down. "Damn you, Tem…" he muttered even as he groaned as the sensations became almost too much to bear.

When he was nearing his climax, his hips started bucking and she stopped abruptly.

"What the hell, woman…"

"I'll continue if you tell me what's wrong with you," she whispered into his ear in that mesmerizing alto.

He could not believe her. Glaring at her, he pulled away his aching member and zipped up despite the discomfort his arousal caused. Looks like his glare did not faze her one bit as she unrepentantly and shamelessly voiced out, "Don't deny you didn't like it."

She was impossible.

Oooooooooo

No words were exchanged as he brought her back to her apartment. As soon she unlocked the door, he was gone.

Good job in driving away your own boyfriend, Temari. She slammed the door shut.

Oooooooooo

She was so glad to see him outside her door the next morning but soon wanted to ram his head into the nearest wall as he acted like the same indifferent, polite person he was yesterday.

He maintained that persona the whole day and if she didn't actually have ambassador duties to keep her occupied, it would have driven her insane.

But even as she had those thoughts, she was still hoping for a different scenario as he took her back to her apartment at the end of the day. She fiddled with finding the keys to the door, hoping for any beginning sign of affection from him. A chaste kiss on the lips? Perhaps a quick peck on the cheek? Or even just a tender press on the forehead? Hell, she'd even settle for a hand squeeze at the moment! God, look what he reduced the almighty wind shinobi to! Silently begging for any scrap of affection. It was humiliating just thinking about it.

All he did was give her that same half-hearted smile and greeted her good night before turning to walk away.

Oooooooooo

The next day, she made sure to leave extra early so that she wouldn't have to see him. Heading towards a section of a park that she knew he didn't frequent, she sat on a bench and reflected. She rewinded back their conversations and analyzed where she might have possibly offended him in some significant way. Which proved to be slightly difficult given that they always argue and bicker about one issue or another. But then again, she always knew where to draw the line.

As she muttered to herself, a light blonde haired woman spotted Temari and wondered what the matter was with her. She seemed to be in an argument with herself. Not something you see everyday. That usually only happens when a certain young man had done something to unnerve her…

Ah. Ino sauntered over and took a seat next to the Suna nin.

"It's a lovely sky, don't you think, Temari?"

Jerked out of her thoughts, Temari finally took notice of Ino. Then spared a few moments to observe the heavenly scene. "Not really. The clouds are specially infuriating today."

Ino bit back an amused smile. "I'm sure the clouds don't mean to be."

"He always doesn't mean to be," Temari muttered under her breath. Clearing her throat, Temari replied, "You're probably right."

Suddenly Ino gave a look full of mischief. "So Temari, won't you tell me what you did for Shikamaru's birthday? I mean I know you weren't here on the exact day but I'm sure you made up for it when you arrived the other day, right?"

To give herself credit, she didn't actually show any outward signs of panic and self-loathing. But inside her mind, she must've run through all her list of cuss words in that split moment. Damn, no wonder he was acting like that.

Feeling adrenaline run through her veins, Temari jumped to her feet in a slight daze, saying, "Sorry, Ino. Need to do something. Thanks for the talk." Thanks for helping me figure it out.

Ino waved her off. As soon as Temari was out of sight, she lightly slapped her back and announced, "I am such a good friend."

Oooooooooo

Shikamaru was scowling for most of the day. He had been searching high and low for that frustrating woman when he could have been cloud-watching. She should have just left a note if she wanted to be left alone for the day.

As the sun began to set, he decided to pass by her apartment for the last time before heading home. When he was in front of her place, he noticed her door was slightly ajar. Slightly frowning, he made his way in and stopped in his tracks at the sight of Temari sprawled across the couch. Her giant fan lay haphazardly on the floor.

She looked completely exhausted. Plus her forgetting to close the door wasn't like her at all.

He sighed as he approached her. He kneeled by her side, brushed her bangs to the side and whispered, "What have you been doing, my troublesome woman?"

She made no signs of movement whatsoever.

"Whatever you've been doing has drained you of almost all your chakra, huh."

Standing, he decided to move her to her bed. He scooped her behind her back and under her knees and hefted her from the sofa with ease. As he carried her towards the bedroom, he felt her sigh softly and move her face into his chest. Reaching the bed, he gently laid her down. That's when he noticed the beads of perspiration at her forehead, her neck and downwards to her chest. He could tell that the top of her yukata was lightly damped from the sweat. He knew it wouldn't be right to leave her like that.

Opening her closet, he searched for a simple long shirt and a towel, got them and returned to sit at her side. He paused as he hesitated. No, she'll get sick if she stays in that. And it wasn't as if he has never seen her unclothed before. It was just that removing her clothes without her knowledge would put any man ill at ease. Before he lost his resolve, he lifted her back until her upper body rested on him, her head over his shoulder. As her body was bowed over his, his hands did the looking for the knot of the sash, untied it and flung it somewhere. He then slid down the fabric off her shoulders and shoved it gently down to her waist. He tried to be matter of fact about the whole procedure. But faltered a bit when her back was all but revealed except for the bra straps. He felt her flesh more keenly against his front as she pressed against him in her sleep. He could feel his heartbeat thudding increasingly in the silence of the room.

Dammit, this is no time for perverseness. He mentally slapped his head upside down.

Feeling his face heat up, he unhooked her bra and slid the straps down but it stayed in place as their pressed fronts kept it there. He then took the towel and wiped up and down her back, from her nape until just above her buttocks. Then keeping his eyes on the headboard, he took off her bra completely and proceeded to wipe from the bottom of her abdomen. Gently making circles around her tummy, he then glided upwards between her chest and sideways across her collarbone and over her shoulders. Then knowing he cannot delay any longer, not that he didn't want to, he covered each breast with the towel and gingerly wiped over, around, and under them. He could feel his breathing become unsteady and mentally scolded himself. Seriously, the woman's asleep and you're having lascivious thoughts about her. Get a grip on yourself.

Afterwards, before he lost himself, he swiftly pulled the shirt over her head and through her arms and down her torso. He then wiped the sweat off her face and neck in careful strokes.

He thought it was over until he laid her down and noticed the bunched up yukata under her back didn't look at all comfortable for her sleeping position. Knowing what he had to do didn't prevent the extra heat to jump onto his cheeks. For his sanity and her modesty, he covered her with a blanket before gathering the yukata from underneath the blanket and her back. Lifting her bottom, the red on his cheeks bled to crimson, he slid it down and slowly through her legs until it came out from the bottom side of the blanket.

His duty done, he felt his heart decrease and normalize in pace. The yukata was placed over the back of a chair and the towel on its seat.

Before he left, he remembered to remove the hair ties from her hair. Smoothing out her hair eventually led his hand to cup her cheek and stroke his thumb across it. With a soft chuckle, he thought ironically, She looks like an angel when she sleeps. Then he bent down to press his lips to her temple. And wakes up as a dragoness.

As he left the room, he properly stowed away her weapon. And made sure to lock the door of her apartment on his way out.

Oooooooooo

Funnily enough, the same events played out the next day. Shikamaru was unable to find Temari the whole day, and at sunset, found her apartment door closed but unlocked and Temari appearing in the same state she was yesterday. Shikamaru repeated his procedure with more conviction this time around.

The following day, a similar scenario rolled into play. Albeit this time, Shikamaru felt a mix of worry and annoyance overcome him. Was she going to avoid him for the rest of her stay in Konoha? Was it because she still thought he somehow had a problem with her and was punishing him with her absence? Or was it because he stopped her pda game at the restaurant and was irritated at him?

And what in the world has she been up to that every night she succumbed to utter exhaustion? Could she possibly… the thought of her being miffed at his cutting off her pda game flashed through his mind and a disturbing thought entered his mind… With another man… His heart clenched painfully. He immediately slapped both hands on his cheeks. Temari may be many things but she was definitely not unfaithful.

He decided to find out for himself what exactly is the cause of all this. After completing the same procedure, he laid down on the couch in the living room and slept there for the night.

His plan was to catch her off guard in the morning and demand an explanation.

Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. His sleeping habits prevented him from seeing her sneak out the door.

Later that morning, Chouji spotted him leaving Temari's apartment. He invited Shikamaru out for breakfast. And tagged along for his routinary search for Temari. Until an hour before sundown. When Chouji asked him for a favor. Could he possibly wear a blindfold, he asked. Shikamaru looked at his friend curiously. Chouji explained that he wanted to show him a place and wanted to ask his opinion of it as a potential date venue for him and his girlfriend. The blindfold was for the sake of seeing his instant reaction to the place. Shikamaru readily agreed, seeing nothing wrong with it. Plus, Chouji had never done him wrong. As he was blindfolded, Chouji took his arm and led him away. After about ten minutes, Chouji told him that he was to step on something and sit indian style. Which he did without question. And immediately felt his world move precariously and… it felt like… it can't be… as if he was being levitated?

"Chouji, what's going on? Can I take it off now?" He suddenly flung his hands out as the ground lurched. Those were definitely not Chouji's shoulders. In fact, he doubted they belong to a man. "Who are you?"

The person merely took his hands into theirs and held them tight as the ground continued to move. "Why aren't you speaking?" A terrible thought came to his mind. "What have you done to Chouji?! Talk, damn you!" He jerked his hands away and tried to back away. But the person embraced him all of a sudden and he felt every feminine inch of her. And the feel of her was so familiar that he immediately knew who it was.

"Tem?" he asked with a hint of uncertainty even as his arms returned her embrace. She let out a throaty chuckle. "Took you long enough to guess."

Then he felt the brightness on his pupils as his sight adjusted to having the blindfold off. He was rewarded with the sight of a grinning Temari. Then his eyes widened as he took in his surrounding. They were in a sea of blue with puffs of white. He looked down to see the village of Konoha in a wide range and in much smaller proportions. If his sight wasn't deceiving him, he and Temari were currently floating in the sky, hundreds of feet off the ground with the aid of her tessen. It felt incredible.

"How…?" To be able to get so close to his beloved clouds warmed his heart to the core. And it was all thanks to this woman.

"It wasn't easy. With Chouji's help, I was able to reconfigure and apply my chakra reserves to allow another person on my tessen. Which I've never even considered doing before. Chouji used that jutsu of his where he adjusted his body frame and weight to mirror yours in order to assist me. It took me about three days to master it since I have quite a volatile type of chakra."

And the last three days started to make sense to him. "But why go through all this?"

Instantly, she seemed to appear embarrassed. Then as if she was gathering courage, she took his hands again and brought them to her lips. With a shy, beseeching look on her face, she whispered, "I'm sorry I forgot your birthday."

He almost didn't hear her as he kind of just melted at that look which was certainly a rarity on his girlfriend's face. "Oh. But I wasn't, am not, mad about that."

"Please. You were practically treating me like I was a stranger."

"Oh. I didn't think I was acting any different."

"You asked me what I thought about the weather."

"Oh." This said as an endearing flush crept up his cheeks.

"You were too damn polite," she continued as she started laughing at his expression. "But I suppose I can't blame you. So that's how your conscience deals with it, huh. You pretend as if it doesn't bother you but you end up acting like a polite jerk."

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Don't apologize. It's my fault. Let me make it up to you." Just as she said that, she loosened her sash and let the yukata slide off her shoulders and drop to her waist. He swallowed hard as he saw that she was wearing nothing underneath. Her breasts looked stunning with the backdrop of the sunset framing her body. She looked like a goddess. Since he strictly forbade himself to look at them for the past three nights, he felt his body heat up almost instantly.

"W- what are you doing?" he stammered as he openly stared, physically unable to look away.

She took his hand and placed it on one of her breasts. His hand visibly twitched as his palm's center pressed against the nipple. Smiling coyly, she told him, "I'm at your command."

Did she just give him permission to initiate any and all sexual advances with her bending to his every wish?

"Come on. Why are you acting all shy now? Haven't you seen them for the past three nights?" she teased him.

"You were conscious?" His eyes grew wide.

"No, my chakra had been depleted every time. But it wasn't hard to put two and two together, seeing as I woke up in different clothes and somehow transported to the bed. Thanks for looking after me." Her eyes softened as she sent him a tender smile. His insides turned to mush.

"Ah. And no, I didn't look at them." He flushed while his palm started getting slick around her breast.

She gave him an expression that was a blend of amusement and affection as she chuckled. "Is that right? Well, they're all yours tonight. And, well, the rest of me. Just say the word."

"Are you sure it's possible to do it like this?"

"We're both elite jounins. I think we can figure it out. Besides didn't you ever wanna do it somewhere wild? Isn't this the perfect background for you?" This delivered with a wicked grin.

He responded to the challenge of that grin by telling her, "Get on your knees and close your eyes and keep them close."

A bit surprised but she followed his instruction a second later. Then she felt his hands grab the back of her thighs and slowly separated them and pulled her close as his legs slid in between. A hot tongue laved her nipple in wet heat as fingers pulled at the other. Her thighs automatically clenched his legs in reaction as she clutched onto his shoulders.

He felt her fan quiver underneath. Oh shoot, he forgot she was controlling it.

"Um, Temari. I don't think we can do this."

"Why?" She opened her eyes which were a bit glazed over.

"Well, see your fan when I do this." He gently nibbled at her nipple. And her fan trembled.

"Oh." She said in a daze but understood what he was implying. A splash of color filled her cheeks. "It's just a slight tremor. I'm sure I have enough control to keep it from at least dumping us off."

"Um I'd like to live, thank you very much."

"Are you doubting my skill, Shikamaru?" This said in a tone that had the hairs on his nape standing.

He swallowed nervously. "No, of course not." While sending a prayer heavenwards.

As she eyed him like a hawk, he decided to distract her by lapping at her breast as a kitten would to cream. He held her by the waist while he did so as her fingers dug into his shoulders and she let out a mewl. But he was careful about it and observed her fan. True to her word, the fan stayed strong as the will of its owner. Satisfied, he went back to fully enjoy his kunoichi who offered him such a precious gift.

He kissed the underside of the breast while fondling the other in a leisurely pace. Then left a trace of sloppy open-mouthed kisses down the valley between her bosom until he reached her bellybutton. Taking his time, his tongue delved in and out lazily. His efforts came to fruition as his sand princess started squirming. He chuckled helplessly and just to torture her, he merely pressed his face against her stomach, inhaling her scent.

"Shikamaru…" she growled as a warning as she tugged at his ponytail.

"Hey you told me this is my birthday present right? I'm the one in control, right?" He shot her a cheeky smirk.

She heaved a sigh as she rolled her eyes.

"Hey I don't want to see any attitude from you." A playfully stern look projected her way.

Lips twitching, she asked, "What do you want then?"

"Kiss me." His brown eyes bore into hers as if he was trying to reach into the depths of her soul. Her heart started pounding hard. Damn this man. Just one look was enough to send her falling.

She bent down from her position as she kissed him with all she had, like she never had before as if tonight was all they had. He answered back in equal passion and fervor. And when they finally broke apart for air, he was already pulling down his trousers and swiftly tore off her underwear from under her scrunched up yukata. She sunk onto him, her yukata fell like a curtain between them, and they both groaned in pleasure. Then she began to move and he rose in sync with her motions. In an almost exponential rate, the tiny flame spiraled into a giant bonfire as pleasure reached its highest peak. Temari collapsed against Shikamaru, spent.

All of a sudden, they started teetering near the edge of her weapon as it dipped. Shikamaru held onto a sleepy and chakra-deprived Temari as he quickly signed his trademark jutsu behind her back and took control of the tessen's shadow created by the moonlight. He then manipulated it so that it flew to the nearest tree branch. Taking Temari into his arms, he hopped them off onto the branch. Ending his jutsu, he caught the tessen as it began to fall.

Leaning back against the thick tree trunk, he positioned her more comfortably against him. Her eyes fluttered open as she mumbled, "What happened?"

"Just a magical night with my favorite troublesome woman."

She smiled as her eyes drooped and said, "You make it sound like you have tons of troublesome women."

"Just one other and that would be mother. You earn the top rank."

"I'd better be." A smile remained on her face as she drifted off to shores of sleep.

Shikamaru chuckled as he thought, Cloud-watching suddenly comes to have new meaning.

THE END

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