"You can't be serious. That's it?"

Shikamaru shrugged at his child, "That's it."

As his son looked curiously at him, Shikamaru smiled at the teal eyes looking back at him. They were a mirror image of Temari's. "We didn't have a whirlwind romance." He sighed, "If you haven't noticed your mother can be a little scary sometimes."

Shikadai agreed, "That's an understatement."

As Shikamaru drank water while moving his piece of the board, he continued, "But there are flashes of kindness that make your mother worth the trouble."

Shikadai nodded as he accepted the check mate in their game once again. His father was brilliant but simple, and so his answer reflected that. He accepted both of his defeats as he got up, "I'm going go help mom."

Shikamaru sat, still looking at the board in front of him. He shouldn't have been shocked at his own response. He never thought that he would reply with a generic answer, replicating his father's own retorts that had once been directed at him. Temari really did win him over by the combination of her harshness and kindness, but how could he possibly explain the complexities of their relationship to his naive son?

Temari continued to cook as she sheepishly responded to her son's incessant questioning, "I don't see why you'd even want to know."

The young boy sighed, exhausted by his parent's necessary opposition to answering him, "Dad said the same thing."

He focused in on his mother's facial movements combatively. She lost the spark in her eyes, and it was replaced with a look that Shikadai could only guess with a reflection of a hint of hurt.

Temari turned to tend to her family's meal, "Oh, did he now?"

Shikadai continued, unfazed by her mood's abrupt shift. After all, he was accustomed to it by now. "Then if nothing is so special about you two being together, why'd you even agree to get married in the first place?"

Temari sighed, :This won't end until you get an answer right?"

Shikadai sheepishly nodded, waiting impatiently for a more thorough answer than his father would ever give. As he did so, Temari gleefully acknowledged the little mannerisms of hers that she saw in her son. Temari took the stew off of the stove top, and poured it carefully into the three bowls beside it on the counter. Personally, the stew reminded her of Suna and her mother. She prepared it directly from her mother's recipe book that Kankuro and found and given to her as a wedding gift.

Shikadai cleared his throat, jolting Temari back into the moment at hand, "Well, you already know that we met during a chunnin exam and that Suna and Konoha became allies that day as well."

Shikadai smiled warmly at Temari as she handed him the bowl. "Sure, but that doesn't explain how you fell in love."

Temari quickly corrected, "I wouldn't exactly use the word fell. It was a gradual gravitation to each other. I saved him, and I saved him more."

As Shikadai swallowed a mouthful of his favorite Suna dish, he interjected, "But when did you know that he was the one you wanted to be with? Especially since you'd have to move away from Suna. What made dad worth it?"

"Honestly," Temari pondered, "We are each other's equals, and you can't find that in just anyone. So that makes him worth the trouble."

She smiled as she changed the subject, "Now eat up and then go finish your academy homework."

To avoid her sudden wrath, Shikadai did as he was told, quickly finishing his dinner and heading to his room.

Temari finished cooking Shikamaru's favorite vegetables and added them into his portion of the stew. As much as she loved all of the desert spices, he liked a splash of Konohan flavors. So she compromised. She took the two remaining bowls and headed for the room with her husband.

As she entered it, she saw her husband looking at the clouds as the sun set. She set the food down next to him and looked over at him intently. "It's been awhile since you could enjoy the clouds, huh?"

He chuckled as he nodded, "Been too busy to enjoy them, I guess."

His grin was jovial, and Temari took a sip of the stew before reacting, "You heard me talking to Shikadai, didn't you?"

He took a huge sip of stew and swallowed it before responding confidentially, "You really think we are equals, don't you?" Shikamaru smirked at his aggravated wife. "To be honest, I don't think we are even close."

Fuming, Temari angerily lashed out at him, "I have proven myself time and time again. Admit it! You wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for me. Saving your ass was a routine for me during the war."

Laughing, Shikamaru tried to calm his wife, "Precisely why you are better than me."

Momentarily stunned at his response, Temari remained quiet as he continued, "I couldn't explain to the kid how love works. Not when I can't explain why you love me."

As Temari spoke up, she spotted Shikadai listening into their conversation, "It's simple. You think too much. Love isn't something we could ever rationalize. I imagine that he'll be in our shoes someday,"

Shikamaru sighed in relief as he watched the clouds disappear along with the sun, "I'd like to see that."