"I thought I'd find you here."

I glanced up at the blonde woman staring down at me, her hands planted firmly on her slender hips. I sighed and rolled over, staring down at the grass as I began to pluck it out, one by one. I separated each blade of grass into piles according to length, ignoring the girl standing behind me as best as I could. Honestly, all I wanted was for that bothersome woman to leave me alone for once, but I knew it would be pointless to ask her to go away. She never listened to me.

"Why are you here, Temari?" I asked, refusing to turn over and acknowledge her presence. I thought maybe if she thought I didn't want her here she would feel insulted and let her pride lead her away, but she merely laughed and sat down beside, directly in my line of sight. I grimaced, but decided against moving. She would only follow.

"I wanted to cheer up the poor baby." She shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun as she turned her face towards the sky. Her teasing expression had vanished very suddenly, and as she turned her eyes back towards me, she became serious for once. I sat up and stared at her, wondering just what she could possibly be up to. I knew that troublesome women like her never had anything good up their sleeves. She had been born for the sake of making me admit things I never would in a million years.

"How troublesome..." I sighed, averting my eyes. I heard her gentle laugh and felt a double-edged knife at my throat. I wanted to move closer to her; though I would never say it out loud, I was drawn to her, but then on the other hand, I knew it was always safer to move away from her. I knew it would be smarter to move away; probably the most intelligent thing I would ever do in my entire life.

But I didn't move away. However, I didn't move closer. My curiosity held me where I was. Temari was a strange woman; she wasn't like all of the other girls I had met in the Hidden Leaf. That was most likely because she wasn't from my village, but she had been here long enough to inherit a few traits. I knew she wasn't like the girls I was used to because she didn't get obsessed over the same things they did. There was a different kind of fire burning inside of her; a secret kind of passion she reserved for herself and only the people she could trust. It was new to me.

I liked it. It was one of the few things I liked about her, because while I seemed to lack any kind of purpose or drive for anything, she was driven by a ceaseless desire to show everyone what she could do. She had a so-called justified reason for doing everything she did.

"You're the troublesome one," she countered with a grin. I glanced at her and she nudged me with her elbow. I watched her lay on her stomach and grab my hand, trying and failing to examine with a detached kind of interest. It was impossible to do. Her green eyes were just as captivating as her smile. I was doomed when I looked at her, and I knew it. I could feel it deep down, burning me, and I couldn't help but wonder if she felt the same.

"But you followed me here." I deadpanned. "How did you even summon the motivation to find me?"

"Oh, that's easy." She smiled and began to push my index finger backwards. I tried to take my hand away from her, but she grinned wider and refused to let go, unrelenting. "But I can't tell you. You'd probably start crying again or something. Besides, I'm so tired from that walk anyway, I just don't think I have the strength to explain everything."

I smiled despite myself and rolled my eyes, shaking my head. "What are you trying to say, Temari?"

"You're such a drag, Shikamaru." She whispered, stopping her torture on my hand. She closed her eyes and brought the back of my hand up to her lips. Wasn't that the sort of thing the men were supposed to do? I couldn't held but notice how badly she was getting to me. She turned her face away from me and spoke in such a quiet voice, I almost didn't catch it. "But I can't help but seek you out."

"What?" I shook my head. Had I seriously just heard that come from Temari?

"You know, for such a genius, you really are an idiot." She sat up and slid closer to me, leaning close enough for me to be able to see the flecks of the different shades of emerald in her eyes. I glanced down at her lips but quickly closed my eyes and shook my head. This wasn't happening. This was so not happening. This was Temari, for crying out loud! It wasn't like her to do this; or at least, I didn't think so. I would acknowledge the fact that we'd held hands a few times before, but this was different. I wanted to squash the desire to bridge the gap between us, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I could almost feel her; she was so close to me.

I opened my eyes and saw that she was still watching me, a small smile gracing her beautiful face.

"Are you done, crybaby?" She said teasingly.

"Women never change," I sighed, shaking my head.

She rolled her eyes, but before she could lean forward, I had already pulled her towards me and pressed my lips to hers. I felt her body tense in surprise, but soon she relaxed into me, wrapping her arms around my neck. My instincts told me to pull her closer, to run my hands along the length of her slender body, to memorize each and every distinct curve, and like the man I was at heart, I acted on my instincts. I felt her teeth graze my lip and I couldn't help but smirk. Temari leaned back and eyed me. I could practically see the gears turning over and over in her mind, but it was obvious what she was thinking.

Or at least, it was obvious to me.

I tightened my hold on her waist and pushed her down onto the grass so I was hovering over her. She laughed at my boldness and easily flipped us over and straddled me, grabbing my wrist and pulling my arms over my head.

"I'll make you a deal."

"What?"

"I'll get off of you if you promise to stop being so lazy."

I smiled, watching her eyes light up mischievously.

"It's a drag, but I'm afraid I can't accept the offer." I said. "I hate to admit it, but I like my position too much."

Temari released my wrists and I rolled us over so I was once more hovering over her. She was staring up at me with wonder in her protuberant green eyes, and I was held captive again. I leaned down and kissed her; once, twice, three times. Each kiss sent a new thrill through my body, baffling me further. When I was a boy, I had promised myself that I would never be like my father and get wrapped up in troublesome women, but I had lied to myself again, and here I was, buried to my neck, and it was all because of her. I hadn't ever thought about growing old with anyone, but I liked to think she might be the one I could do that with. She wasn't like me; she was the kind of person who was ready to voice her beliefs without regards to the consequences. It was this trait that had lured me to her in the first place.

"I'm to regret this." She whispered against my lips."

"Not as much as I am." I said just as quietly. She smiled at me and rolled her eyes, almost as though she was saying she didn't believe me at all.