A ShikaTema story

Disclaimer: NO, I don't own Naruto.

Temari walked into a green long grassed field. A wind blew the grass, making it shine and wave, seeming to be endless.

"C'mon, Temari-chan. We should go back and eat lunch with Naruto like we promised," Sakura prodded. Temari had been standing and staring, gazing out for some unknown thing.

"Mmmk Saku-chan. You go on ahead," Temari absently replied.

Sakura slowly turned and walked off into the thick woods. Temari scanned over the waving fields one last time, looking for anything unusual. Seeing nothing out of place, she too, turned and headed behind Sakura, following her path.

"FINALLY! You two came! I was starting to wonder if I had to eat all this ramen by myself!" Naruto shouted. He laughed and gobbled another bowl of ramen. Sakura's eyes were wide as she stared at the (literally!) twenty bowls of ramen scattered by Naruto's arms. He stopped slurping and clicked his chopsticks. Naruto grinned and looked at his bowl. He picked up a stray noodle, slurped it, and burped.

"Naruto! You are such a pig!" Sakura laughed. Temari couldn't help but giggle, too, then took a spot on the opposite side of Naruto. A steaming bowl was placed in front of her as Sakura plopped next to her. All three picked up their chopsticks and dug in. Of course, Naruto finished first and declared himself the 'king of ramen'.

After about thirty minutes, Temari glanced over at a clock. "Uhm… Saku-chan, I have to go…"

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah! The feast has just started!" Naruto chimed in.

"I promised to meet somebody. Bye!" Temari got up and jogged out before either of them could ask any more questions. She has left a few dollars to help pay for her ramen.

"What's her rush?" Sakura wondered aloud.

"Muh-uh-huh," Naruto mumbled behind a mouthful of noodles, which had come out of Temari's unfinished bowl. He shrugged and slurped the rest of the noodles. "You gonna eat those?" he asked.

"Why weren't you at the field!?" Temari demanded.

"I was… it's just, you brought Sakura with you," a male voice replied.

"SHIKA! So what? And I didn't bring her… she tagged along."

Shikamaru sighed, then muttered, "Troublesome, troublesome, women," then in a louder voice he said, "Okay, okay, sorry. But I'm here now."

Shikamaru turned towards Temari and looked at her blonde hair in its usual four ponytails. Temari looked at him and watched as the wind ruffled his loose black hair, making the bangs blow across his face. "Temari…" the word came out as a whisper.

"Yes? What Shika?" Temari asked, a quizzical expression only adding to the softness of her eyes.

"I… I… oh, to hell with it," Shikamaru leaned in close and kissed Temari. She was startled and began to pull away, but stopped. Shikamaru wrapped his arms around her waist and through her hair. Temari wrapped her arms around his neck. Both were breathless when Shikamaru pulled away. "I love you Temari," Shikamaru finished his sentence. Then, the couple lay down in the grass under a big oak tree and stared at the clouds. Temari moved a little closer and settled into Shikamaru's muscular arms.