Temari approached cautiously, blanket in hand, but the seemingly sleeping Shikamaru heard her.

"Look who showed up," he remarked.

Temari winced as she lay down in the grass next to him and took his hand.

"I'm sorry," she sighed. "Meetings went really late."

"Three hours late?" Shikamaru asked skeptically.

"You know Gaara doesn't understand diplomacy," Temari laughed. "Besides, you waited."

Shikamaru turned towards her in disapproval.

"We were supposed to cloud watch," he reminded her.

"Well, we can stargaze instead," Temari suggested, motioning to the dark sky.

Finally, Shikamaru returned her smile – as always, Temari was worth the wait.