Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

The sun was setting over the desert, red as blood and bright as fire.

Shikamaru hated to admit when he was nervous. So he was extremely put out at the moment.

He never thought that asking a girl to marry him would be so hard. Or, rather, that asking her next of kin for permission and working up the courage to go ask Temari himself would be so hard.

Getting Kankuro's permission was easy.

"Hey, sure!" Kankuro waved his hand dismissively from his work table. "Whatever makes Temari happy."

"Okay, thanks." Shikamaru started to walk away.

"But you'll have to ask Gaara, too."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. What a waste of time. He'd already asked the older of the two brothers. Why the younger as well? "Why?"

Kankuro looked up. He wasn't wearing his headdress, but the purple paint had the effect of making his smirk seem somewhat vicious.

"For one very simple reason. Two actually.

"The first is that we are a close family, much closer than most shinobi families.

"And the more important reason? Well Nara, you're supposed to be a genius. I thought you would have figured it out by now."

Shikamaru growled slightly. "Get to the point, Sabaku-san."

Kankuro's smirk deepened, and he chuckled evilly and mirthlessly. "If you ever hurt her, Gaara will get to you long before I, sensei or even Temari does. And it will not be pleasant."

Shikamaru couldn't restrain a gulp.

That had been probably about seven hours ago. Shikamaru couldn't find Gaara anywhere to ask him. The man wasn't in his office, and where was Shikamaru supposed to look for him, anyway?

When Shikamaru thought about it, Gaara probably could get to him quicker than Kankuro or Baki (He'd finally found out why the one-eyed man in councilor robes had been glowering blackly at him all day; he was Temari's sensei). When Gaara traveled to Konoha with others, he took the normal time to get there. But when he went by himself, something strange would happen. He would set out and be at his destination within ten hours, a trip that by all rights should have taken at least three days in good weather for even the most swift of shinobi like Lee and Gai.

Shikamaru had no idea how Gaara managed that. And the fact that he didn't know, and that no one else knew either, scared him.

"I believe you were wishing to speak to me." A soft but strangely rough voice rang out over the sands.

Shikamaru whirled around. Standing on the dune with him was none other than the seventeen-year-old Kazekage of the Hidden Sand, Sabaku no Gaara.

Gaara had recently started growing again, but he was still far shorter than Shikamaru, and even so, he managed to look quite imposing despite his almost delicate appearance, despite the way his kage robes still hung off his shoulders. Shikamaru was pretty sure he was wearing the flowing robes on purpose to remind him who he was dealing with.

Like Shikamaru needed to be reminded.

"Kazekage-sama." Shikamaru bowed his head in respect to the slightly-built redhead who came to stand beside him.

"Gaara," he whispered.

Shikamaru understood. "Gaara-san. I couldn't find you in your office. What, did you skip out on the paperwork like Hokage-sama does?"

Gaara had been watching the sun set over his lands, but he flicked his large pale green eyes in Shikamaru's direction for one moment. "Even with the Shukaku gone—" Shikamaru winced; he still got shivers when he thought of that "—I have insomnia that goes far beyond the chronic insomnia of one who has never been in my situation. I often stay up for several nights without growing weary. Paperwork is not a serious issue for me."

"Ah."

They stood in silence. Gaara and Shikamaru had come to an accord in the past few years. They were both quiet people who disliked talking and liked to stare up at the sky, if at different times and with different goals in mind.

"I believe you had something you wish to say to me, Nara-san."

Shikamaru winced. If he tried telling the Kazekage that he wanted to marry his sister, he could very well find himself subjected the Kazekage's infamous "Sabaku Kyuu".

I suppose that's why they call troublesome women "troublesome". At least this one's worth all the trouble I'm going through for her.

"Sabaku-san…Kankuro-san, I mean—" Good grief, am I stuttering? "—told me to come to you."

Black-rimmed green eyes narrowed. "And…"

It was all the young Nara could do not to growl in impatience. He had a feeling that if he was anything but gracious, that might sway Gaara's opinion.

"I wanted your permission…to marry Temari." There, he had said it.

Gaara sighed deeply, and folded his arms about his chest. His fine hair, as blood red as the setting sun and hanging somewhere between the base of his ears and chin, waved slightly in the breeze.

"In the past, we have been alone in the world, the three of us. We have been close—we are close—, exceptionally close, because we provided buffers for each other against the world. There was a time when my brother and sister were the only people I could rely on, and Kankuro and I were the only people she could rely on. Do you understand?" he asked softly.

Shikamaru looked down at his shoes, his hands in his pockets. He felt oddly shamed.

"Yeah," Shikamaru whispered. "Yeah, I think I do."

Shikamaru hated long silences and heavy moods. Sure, it wasn't like he liked endless chatter (he loved Ino like a sister but there were times when couldn't stand to be near her), but he didn't like the quiet if it was so awkward that the unease could be cut with a kunai. So he did something extremely ill-advised. Shikamaru tried to lighten the mood.

"Hey, if your dad wasn't dead, I would have asked him, but—"

"Our father is not the sort of man you would want to be asking this question," Gaara cut in. His voice was suddenly harsh and sharp, and Shikamaru flinched, scanning his surroundings for any sand that was being kicked up in the wind more than it should have been. "After all," Gaara said softly. "I'm not the only one he's tried to kill."

Shikamaru really hoped that Gaara wasn't implying what he thought Gaara was implying.

Gaara's eyes cleared. "I doubt he would care.

"Nara-san, I don't think I have to worry about you hurting my sister." Gaara smiled slightly. "After all, I think you know exactly what would happen to you if you even tried."

Shikamaru shivered. All too well.

"But I have to ask. Do you want to marry her because…because you love her?"

"Yes," Shikamaru whispered. "Yes, I do love her." It was probably the first time he had admitted it to anyone but himself.

Gaara's smile grew by a fraction of a percent. "Good. You have my blessing."

Shikamaru started to walk away, but Gaara called absently, "Nara-san?"

He stopped. "Yes, Gaara-san?"

"How many times do you think you'll have to ask her before she accepts?"

Shikamaru opened his mouth in shock, then closed it again to keep sand from getting in it. That was not a question he'd been anticipating. To be perfectly honest, the possibility that Temari might not accept hadn't been a part of the plans. He didn't know what he'd do if she said no.

Gaara's smile was becoming a common sight. "Don't become discouraged if she says no the first time. Our father had to ask our mother three times before she said yes."

Shikamaru snorted. "From what I've heard about your father, I'm not surprised."

He turned his head and nodded. "Good luck, Nara-san. I think you're going to need it."

Shikamaru actually laughed before heading back to Suna to find a certain Wind Mistress. Maybe he wouldn't have to be terrified of his in-laws after all.

I hope you liked it. I hope I managed to make Shikamaru in-character.