Naruto - After the Last

Chapter [13] : I love you

"What's wrong? If you make that face any longer, you are going to look like 10 years older than your actual age", Temari chuckles while messing with Shikamaru when he is concentrating listening to Kakashi's order. They are both busy cleaning the kitchen after urging Shikamaru's mom to take some rests after the cookings when suddenly Kakashi called his name and the rest. Soon after, Gaara and Kankuro has fallen asleep in one of the guess room, so does Shikamaru's mom.

"You are troublesome you know that?", Shikamaru muttered with a smile while bending down his body to pick up something on the kitchen floor.

"Tell me something I don't know", she smirks and about to leave when Shikamaru pulls her hand, leading her nearer to him while he is still on the floor, bending his one knees front and the other one is is on the floor, carrying his weight.

"Sabaku no Temari, I may not be as strong, as powerful, as good looking, nor as influenced as many people you may have known either from Suna or here. But I have a heart that only loves you for all of you now, for all of you have been, and for all of you yet to be. Will you go out for a date with me, should I returned from the mission I'm about to join in soon safe and sound?", Shikamaru proposed, holding both of her hands.

"Tsch, how troublesome. You are assigned for a mission already? You just got back from one", Temari grumbles, then suddenly she recalled Shikamaru's proposal at the beginning of his speech just now.

"W..wait! Did you just asked me out??"

"Yeah, I hope you are going to say yes because I have only approximately 8 minutes before I have to leave", Shikamaru said with a low tone.

"Y..yeah, whatever. I'll go out with you, or date. Whatever you call it", Temari said, pretended she isn't excited but truth to be spoken, she felt like jumping up and down right there itself in front of the guy she loves the most.

"Great, I have a girlfriend now," Shikamaru muttered while standing up slowly before Temari gets herself nearer to him, search for his forehead and leans hers to his and she whispers slowly, "make sure you come back".

"I definitely will", with that said, he cupped her face, kiss her lightly on her lips.

"I love you", he said.

"I love you too", she said back, smiling.

Shikamaru took his leave and managed to ask his girlfriend to let his mother knows about his departing on tomorrow morning after she woke up from her slumber. He don't want to disturb his mother's sleep, in fact this is the first time he ever saw her sounds a sleep since his father passed away two years ago. Temari agrees to stay with his mother until he came back from the mission.

***

Hinata woke up in the middle of the night, quickly realizing her condition. Her sedation wore off, it's quite painful, her whole body is. She tried to sit up and the pressure put on her stomach is quite tingling. Groaned, she lay back on her bed, looking straight to the ceiling.

"I am still alive", she released a relieved sigh.

Then her sight switched to the bed next to her's. It's clearly seen that the bed is occupied by a figure that looks huge and stronger than her, covered with neat underneath the white blanket, but she can't see his face as he is placed quite further from her and the bed's curtain blocking her view from seeing his face. She feels much more relieved out of sudden for no apparent reason.

"H..H..Hinata..", the figure's mumblings caught Hinata's attention. She recognizes very well that voice although he is quite far away from Hinata.

"Naruto-kun!", she exclaimed in suprised. Suddenly she remembers what happened in the operation room when she was unexpectedly awaken during her surgery. The picture of Naruto holds her hand while closing his eyes tight are becoming clearer to her. She immediately got up harshly, forgotten her abdomen's actual state.