Chapter 1
He had already been thinking if he should ditch the wedding and confess to Sakura or not but doubts always found its way through his thoughts
And now he's at the altar waiting for the priest to utter the words that will seal his fate with Temari
And yet as he stand before the priest he constantly finds his mind clouded with thoughts about Sakura and the consequences if he ditched the wedding to be with his one true love
He was snapped out of his daze when the priest finally asked the question that will seal his fate with the woman he doesn't even love
“ Do you, Nara Shikamaru, Clan Heir of the Nara Clan take Temari as your wife? ” the priest said, unaware of the emotional turmoil going on with him and his thoughts
He knows that Temari likes him heck he even knows Temari loves him! But he only admires her and only that, he doesn't love her or anything it was just that
The only reason he even agreed to the marriage proposal in the first place was for the sake of the alliance between the two village but he didn't know that the consequences would be so dire!
He has spent many countless nights thinking about the pinkette and the consequences he might get if he chooses to ditch the marriage for the pinkette but he just can't seem to know who to pick.
He stood there his head hung low, his hands clenched at his sides, his jaw clenched, his disheveled form foreshowing what was to come even though he was completely dolled up to look like the prince charming princesses gets in their happy ever ending
His mind completely made up, he uttered the words that will finally seal his fate towards the woman that has plagued his mind ever since he accepted the marriage proposal, no matter the consequences
“ No. ” he said loud enough for everyone to hear
Those who attended the wedding gasped their faces turning pale as if they had seen a ghost
Unbeknownst to the crowd of people the rest of Konoha 9 inwardly smirked
They hadn't known what was going on with him at first when he started spacing out on team dinners causing them to be concerned on his mental health but they had cracked the puzzle when they saw him staring at Sakura with a fond smile adorning his face
So they really was happy when Shikamaru said ‘no ’ since it wasn't a everyday occurrence for Shikamaru to choose his heart over logic
Especially Naruto who all but shouted amongst the crowd of people that surrounded all of Konoha 9
“ About damn time Shika! ” Naruto whooped amongst the crowd his blonde head poking out of the crowd unceremoniously making Shikamaru crane his head towards the voice
Amongst the crowd Shikamaru saw the smiles the rest of Konoha 9 gave him, encouraging him to stop the wedding and choose where his heart truly belongs, making his onyx eyes go wide, he didn't even know he was being too obvious about his emotional turmoil until he saw the encouraging smiles his friends and family had given him, also bringing a smile on his face
He was searching for a pink head on the crowd when someone lightly tapped his shoulder, he slightly turned his head to see who it was when he saw Temari, her eyes glistening from the unshed tears that was threatening to fall before him
“ Shika...” Temari muttered her voice barely above a whisper hadn't it been for their close distance he wouldn't have heard it
“ Temari... I—”
“ —I understand Shika...” Temari interrupted him understanding etched on every part of her face, her face flushed from trying to stop the tears that was only a blink away from falling
He went closer to her and suddenly hugged her causing her to gasp from the sudden contact, “Thank you.” he muttered hotly on her ear before letting her go to look for the woman he loved
As Temari watched Shikamaru's retreating form that was slowly being engulfed by the sea of crowd, she let her tears slowly stream from her face, her beautifully done makeup now ruined from the pouring of her tears,
“ Your welcome .” she muttered, the words coming out broken as she choked back sobs, her lips quivering from her uncontrollable tears, her body trembled from every tear that fell from her turquoise blue eyes
Her heart was now erratically beating from it's cage that she thought she was actually about to hyperventilate
She was surprised when someone brought a glass to her face, making her look at the person who gave it to her
She gasped “ H-haru...”
Haru was a civilian, he was always there for her despite not being able to pass the academy but he didn't let that get to him, he still continued to smile like a ball of sunshine in the midst of all the gloomy people that surrounded him, she was once a gloomy person too but that changed when he came in her like a ray of sunshine with a wide grin on his face.
Haru had chocolate colored hair, his eyes the color of hazel, he was a head taller than her which he always teased her about since they were kids, but as they grew older her stomach would be filled with butterflies everytime he sees her or if their hands would accidentally touch each other and that simple touch would not fail to make her blush
She got out of her musings when Haru brought the glass to her lips
“ Hey there! ” he said grinning from ear to ear, whilst handing her the glass of water
“ Hey.” she mumbled while taking the glass out of his hands, her cheeks dusted with pink embarrassed that he saw her cry like that
“ You know, it's alright to cry.” he said, his head tilting to the side, clearly confused why she wouldn't let herself cry in front of him
She let a small smile grace her lips as she said “ I know.”
His brows furrowed together, what she said making him more confused “ Then why?! ”
Her eyes softened, seeing him confused like a newborn baby that was just brought in the world, always made her day
Shaking her head she murmured “ You wouldn't understand.”
He sighed “ It's your pride right? ”
“ Mhmm, something like that.”
“ It's alright to be vulnerable for a minute you know.” he told her, a smile coming naturally on his face
“ Yeah...” she sighed, staring into the distance
“ You know...”
“ Know what? ” she asked turning around to look at him
“ I've always loved you. When I heard you were getting married was really a pain.” he confessed, whilst chuckling
Her eyes went wide from his confession, she opened her mouth before closing it again, unable to find the right words to say. Her heart felt like it was on heaven right at that moment!
He must've took it as a rejection as his next words were “ It's alright if you don't feel the same towards me, since I'll always love you no matter what.”
She chuckled softly at his words “ No you idiot.” she sighed and cupped his face “ All this time it was you...”
He leaned his head in her hand, his hand moving to cover her hand with his
“ I love you.” he murmured
“ I love you too.” she murmured back at him
He leaned towards her, his hot breath fanning her mouth
“ Is this okay? ” he asked looking at her mouth, his tongue darting out wetting his mouth
That simple action had her eyes moving to his lips as she breathed out heavily “ Yes.”
It seems he didn't need to be told twice as he immediately slanted his mouth over hers