I was smoking again. It wasn't any thanks to my dad, that's for sure. The more packs he bought, the more I smoked. And I liked to smoke. Or at least I think I do.

My favorite past time had expanded; it consisted of more than just cloud-watching. It was now smoking and cloud-watching. Ino thought I was pathetic. We'd been together... twice? Yeah, twice before Asuma's death. She had really loved me. But I left her. She reminded me too much of the Genin days, where we had been on a team with Choji. And Asuma, of course.

Choji was still my best friend. Thank god. Choji took me to his favorite barbecue joint, even when I was moody and sullen bastard. And Choji had even forgiven me for being with Ino; Choji seriously had a thing for her. Who knows why. The longer I think about Ino, the more I viewed her as a selfish bitch.

It'd been two hours since I began cloud-watching. Half a pack of cigarettes were gone. I sensed someone coming, but didn't move. I was much, much too lazy.

Lee appeared in his ugly green jumpsuit and Jonin vest. I had discarded mine at the house; it was heavy and hot.

"Shikamaru, Lady Tsunade wants to see you."

I groaned. "Another mission?"

"I'm afraid so. I asked her to take it easy on you though."

Lee was nice. He smiled, saluted, and then disappeared.

I got up, stretched, gathered my belongings, and began walking towards Konoha.

Tsunade was impatient. She reminded me of Ino.

"You're late."

"I was outside Konoha."

"Doing what?"

"Cloud-watching." I lit a cigarette.

"And smoking too, I bet." Tsunade got up and grabbed the cigarette from my fingers, and crushed it beneath her heel. "You don't smoke in my office."

There was a short knock at the door. "Come in." Tsunade replied.

I heard laughing and groaned.

A certain fan-wielding bitch sauntered in. My best pal, Choji was right behind her.

"Hey, cry-baby." She winked, and I felt my face flush. Had she always been this pretty? No, definitely not. Her and I had argued more times than I could count. And then some.

"Hi, Shikamaru." Choji looked apologetic.

Tsunade gathered a few papers on her desk. "I think we're ready now."

"There's a group out to the east. They've been looting passing villages. I want you to get rid of them."

"That's it?" I asked.

"Yep. Now get lost. I'm going to the bar soon."

If I had smoking problems, Tsunade definitely had drinking issues.

"Why is she with us?" I pointed at Temari, who held up her arms defensively and stuck out her tongue.

"She requested that I give her a mission." Tsunade picked at a stain in her shirt. I couldn't believe how this slob could be Hokage.

"I wanted to do some ass-kicking." Temari smirked. Oh yeah. That was something she was really good at.

"Choji and I are adequate enough for this mission."

"Whatever. I'll see you out front in ten."

Temari walked off, her hips swinging. I couldn't help but stare. Choji smiled. "She reminds me of your mom."

Good grief.

Temari was sitting on her big-ass fan, snacking on dango. Choji had brought a rucksack full of snacks, and I just brought the standard weaponry.

"Sup." Temari definitely reminded me of my mom. The way she winked at me, it was cute but intimidating. And when she smiled, you know something bad was about to happen. Or going to happen.

Choji smiled, his cheeks causing his eyes to scrunch up at the corner. Ino didn't deserve him. No matter how many times Choji showed his appreciated for her, she shot him down. Choji was too good of a guy. Yet he still loved her.

"We're heading out."

We didn't talk much. Choji wasn't much of a talker anyways. Temari was too busy staying focused. I on the other hand... I kept thinking about the past.

It took about a day to catch up with the group. A bunch of rogues, fifty of them. Temari and Choji rounded them up, and I slaughtered them. Like pigs. I'd earned a name for myself recently. A silent killer. With my strangling shadows, I suppose it was well deserved. It didn't help ease my emotions.

Temari was cleaning up. Choji was snacking. I was smoking. Temari appeared hair dripping and down, not in her usual double pigtail thingies. Holy shit. She'd definitely never been this attractive.

She wrung her hair out, and leaned down very attractively. By the fire, her hair looked like gold; much prettier than Ino's bleached head. Temari was seriously lovely; I wondered how many suitors she had.

I turned away quickly when she glanced over at me. I swear she was smiling.

She came over and sat down right next to me; our thighs were barely touching. I flushed. She smelled good, like citrus and vanilla. What a troublesome woman.

"So... the silent slayer. We've even heard of you in Suna." She remarked dryly.

I cursed. "Well, you're known as the fan-wielding bitch."

She glowered at me. Shit. I'd pissed her off.

"Fuck you."

"I dare you." I looked at her provocatively.

Jeez. When did I become such an asshole?

Was it just me, or did her cheeks turn red? I didn't get a second look because she punched me really hard in the chest and ran off. I felt the wind rush out of me, and I rubbed the sore sport. What a dangerous woman.

Choji frowned. "Dude. Seriously?"

"Sorry..." I guess I was the bad guy.

Choji sighed, and threw a bag of chips at me. Cucumber flavored, he knew it was my favorite.

The flames were crackling, and the heat threw everything into deep contrast. The shadows grew and fell, and I was tempted to reach out to them.

"Look... We all got really messed up when he died."

Ino was usually the one who brought it up. Asuma's death. Choji hadn't before. But the fact he was stabbed me right in the gut.

"But Ino and me... We're trying to move forward. But you're just holding on to it so hard... It really hurts to watch you like this, man."

"I don't want to forget him." I felt my head pounding. This was a time when I really needed a cigarette.

"Neither do we. But we can't just mourn forever. You're... You're killing yourself. Smoking three packs of cigarettes a day, not eating - "

I glared at him. "Who told you that?"

"Your dad."

I threw my hands up. That low-handed bastard.

Choji continued. "Your dad says you barely come home. You don't eat or sleep. Your old man is really worried." He looked up at me.

"We all are." He added.

I was pissed. I got up and left, throwing the crumpled bag of chips onto the ground.. Choji had a sad smile on his face.

I found Temari laying on the grass. There was a slight wind out, and it blew her golden hair back and forth. I sat down beside her.

"What do you want?"

I pulled out a cigarette. "To apologize."

"Ah..."

I lit it, and Temari stared at me.

"Don't smoke."

No body had ever flat out said that to me. I shrugged and threw it away.

"You've changed, Shikamaru."

I sighed, and laid down beside her. We were a few feet apart, so I didn't feel uncomfortable. She rolled to her side. "I know."

"You're not that much of a push-over, that's for sure."

She laughed, and I was shocked. It was cute, very cute; I'd never heard her so carefree before. And then I felt the sudden urge to touch her. Just hold her tight and smell her golden hair and touch her pale skin.

"Temari?"

I heard a snore. Goddamn. She was asleep already?

I looked over at her, and she was curled up like a little cat. I gently scooped her up and carried her back over to the camp.

Choji sat up with a start when he saw us. I laid out a blanket for her and wrapped her up. She was a heavy sleeper for sure, she tossed and turned a few times and promptly began snoring. I stared at those long eyelashes of hers.

"She's really breaking you down, man."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. You seem like your old lazy-ass self around her."

I assumed Choji payed me a compliment.

"She's so troublesome though." I complained.

"Well, that's the type of women you like."

I couldn't disagree. Like father like son, I suppose.

Goddammit. Temari was such a heavy sleeper. I literally shook her awake, and a line of droll ran down her chin.

"The fuck... ?"

"Get up. We're going."

Her hair was a mess. Now I understood why she tied it up.

I held out a bottle of water to her, and she smiled. She swigged a mouthful in her mouth and spat it at my feet. I cringed.

"You bitch."

"Cry-baby." She grinned.

Choji was watching us from the corner of his eye.

"We better get going." He murmured.

We set up running.

The clouds were rolling in, dark and heavy. Even now, I loved them. The only difference was that now, my companions were dark and sullen. Thunder boomed, and there were certain times when lightning flashed across the sky and blinded me. Those were the scariest.

Lightning had struck five times, and then he appeared.

A rogue ninja.

My heart stopped when he suddenly appeared. Why hadn't anyone noticed him? Was it because of the rain? On a good day, I could easily sense an enemy from about half a mile away.

The ninja unzipped his vest, and his chest was covered in paper bombs; at least two dozen.

"Shit!" I heard Choji yell.

Choji tackled me in the side, and I crashed to the left. But Temari had been way ahead of us, just a couple of feet to the man's right. I watched as she turned back to stare at me, those teal eyes wide open and shaking. She took two steps forward.

In a flash, the man exploded before my eyes. I felt his blood splatter against my skin and stain the tree trunks red.

I had to rub my eyes furiously before I could see. The only thing left of the rogue was a bloody mess; I had to look away.

Temari.

I rushed to her side, and I fell to my knees.

"Oh my god." I cried.

She had taken the hit. Her body had crumpled like a doll against the nearest tree.

"Oh my god." My hands were shaking. Streams of blood, her own, we're pouring down her face.

"Shikamaru," Choji was shaking my shoulder roughly. "Shikamaru, we need to get her out of here."

I gathered her in my arms, and she stirred.

Temari looked up at me, and I shielded her face from the pouring rain.

"Are you crying again?" Temari's voice was hoarse, yet still full of sarcasm.

Tears were streaking down my face. Either that or it was the rain. I couldn't tell. With unsteady fingers, she wiped them away.

I had never felt so weak.

Not even when I was in the hospital, after Sasuke and Naruto's great brawl, and three of my comrades were struggling between life and death.

God. She was still smiling. Broken and battered, this crazy woman was grinning at me.

"Cry baby."

"Shut up."

Choji grabbed our fallen gear, and we sprinted.

My lungs were heaving as I curled around Temari. Her blood was mixing with the rain, staining into my Jonin vest. Her blood dripped down from my fingers, and I felt her chest beating against my arm.

"Shikamaru!"

Choji was panting. Rain was falling in sheets, I could barely see in front of me.

"We need to get her out of the rain, fast."

I nodded in agreement. She was shivering. Damn. Why was the rain so cold?

Choji went ahead and looked around, and I did my best to shield Temari. I hid beneath a small cove in between a tree's roots. Temari looked up at me, with those teal eyes hooded over.

"I'll be fine." She breathed.

I shook my head, and a half-hearted chuckle left my throat. "I hate liars."

She was bleeding all over the place. Splinters had cut into her flesh and I swear she'd broken both legs. Her chest was trembling like a baby bird's.

"It'll be ok."

Why did it sound like she was comforting me?

Choji had found a small cave, probably a former bears' cave. I laid Temari down carefully, but she still held her breath in pain. All of our blankets were soaking wet, so I made a fire to dry them quickly.

Choji set out a medical kid, and began pulling out the splinters one by one with a pair of tweezers. Temari was doing her best, but just watching those inch long obtrusions being yanked out was torture.

I discovered that Choji had a knack with making medicine.

"Since when?" I asked.

"My mom liked for me to be a well-rounded shinobi."

He ground up a few herbs and added two white pills, an Akimichi special, I'm sure. He mixed it with water and forced Temari to drink it. She gurgled as it went down, and hacked.

"Tastes like crap."

Choji grinned.

"I know."

Temari was bandaged up nicely, thanks to Choji. She had broken two ribs, her right ankle, and fractured her wrist. Her injuries wasn't as serious as I thought. But her side and back were completely covered in bruises, horridly blackened, purplish and yellowing in areas.

I hurried to her side as she tried to pull herself.

"Sit down."

"Make me." She glared.

Instead, I sat down beside her. "You're pretty lively."

"Choji's a pretty good healer, even though he's an offensive type."

She moved her arm around and reached for a blanket.

I lit a cigarette, and her eyes narrowed.

"What?"

She rolled over. "You're going to kill yourself."

"You don't care." I inhaled deeply, and felt my nerves calm down.

"You don't know that."

Temari didn't sound angry; her voice was soft and gentle. Just like Asuma's.

I was quiet for a few moments, and then I flicked the cigarette into the hungry flames. It tore at the paper like an animal, causing the remnants to smoke out.

"It's my fault you know."

"For?"

His death. Him leaving us. Everything.

"That you got hurt."

Temari sat up straighter. "Why?"

"I wasn't paying attention. And he just came up from nowhere... I thought I killed them all. I thought they were dead."

She touched my face again, and I sunk into her. God, she smelled so good. And those slender fingers of hers were so soft against my coarse cheek.

"It wasn't your fault." And she grinned so wide that I couldn't help but smile back.

"I still blame myself. I was the squad leader."

"Well, I guess I'll just have to forgive you."

I almost kissed her. I swore I lost my mind for a moment. Those full pink lips were just moving in front of me and they looked so inviting. What a troublesome woman. She was seducing me without even realizing it. Even Ino, with her boobs hanging out and that pale midriff of hers wasn't half as attractive.

Temari? Attractive?

Yeah. I had lost my mind.

She and Choji were sleeping. I'd decided to take the first watch. Her golden hair was sprawled across my leg, and I reached an unsteady hand out to touch it. It was thick and soft and smelled like lilac. I think she was trying to grow it out, it was definitely longer than the last time I'd seen her.

Temari woke up twice in the middle of the night with horrible pains. Choji was afraid she'd ruptured an internal organ, and I was afraid he was right. She was screaming and tossing and Choji had to double the dosage of pain killers for her. And he was soon running out.

"Shikamaru ..."

"Yeah?" I was using a rag to wipe away at the sweat heading on her forehead.

"We need to leave. I'm running out of supplies; you know I'm no Tsunade."

I nodded.

"Temari?"

She was shaking and clutching her stomach so hard she couldn't speak. But I knew she could hear me. "I'm going to carry you, so you won't have to move. But we have to get back to Konoha."

She groaned and I ignored her, pulling her into my arms like a rag doll.

"We're ready."

It took us half a day. By that time. Temari was screeching so loud the whole village was up by then. Tsunade was waiting for us at the gates, and Temari was cursing to the point where mother's had to plug their children's ears and gave her nasty glares.

"The hell did you make her do, Shikamaru?"

"Suicide bomber." I muttered. Temari was rolling around in my grip, and I was afraid I was going to drop her from those insane convulsions.

Tsunade sighed, "Those are the worst."

Two medic nins took Temari from my hands and carried her inside. I followed them diligently. Tsunade forced me to wait outside though.

"I'll take a look at her."

Which equaled to: don't come in.

Choji had brought me snacks and a pack of cigarettes from my dad. But for some reason, I didn't feel like smoking. The thought of it made me sick.

"How long do you think she'll be out?"

I took a bag of chips and ripped them open. "A few days?"

They crunched in a satisfying manner between my teeth.

"Yeah."

I was staring at the door that Temari was behind. I could hear her heart beating, breathing, and most of all, the endless stream of curses that were leaving her lips. Her vocabulary was colorful.

"Shikamaru?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I tell you something?"

The guy was my best friend. It's not like he had to ask.

"Of course."

"She's got you so whipped."

I chased him out of the hospital and down the street.

I didn't see her for the next four days.

I wondered if it was appropriate to bring her flowers. But I didn't want to go to the flower shop, because Ino worked there. I didn't want her poking her nose around. Because I wasn't the kind of guy to buy flowers for a girl. Not just any girl.

I asked Tsunade about Temari. If she was doing well.

But Tsunade just flung a stack of papers at me and yelled, "Go visit her yourself!"

She was in a bad mood for sure.

I occupied the rest of my time cloud-watching and eating at local stalls with Choji. I even saw Naruto macking with Sakura behind the school one night, and I wolf-whistled before running away. Sakura's fists were more than deadly.

And then, that night, while I was in my apartment watching television half-naked, she arrived at my front door.

"Hey."

She stared when I appeared. I had just gotten out of the shower, and my hair was wet and loose, and I had failed to pull on a shirt.

"Hi." Temari looked at any direction but mine.

She was wearing this loose dress with big purple flowers printed on it. Her legs were so slim, and she looked so lovely.

"Want to come in?"

I led her inside, and she sat down on the small love seat, diagonal from the sofa. I felt awkward, and ran a hand through my hair to tie it up.

"Your hair looks good down."

Ino hated it. She thought I looked like a bum.

"You think so?"

And she blushed, a beautiful crimson color shot across her cheeks. I could only stare at her in awe.

She nodded.

"I wanted to thank you for taking me back to Konoha." Her bad-ass attitude was back in place, even tough her face was still slightly pink.

"No problem."

Temari stood again, and I didn't want her to leave.

"I guess I'll get going." She said. My heart fell.

I stood to open the door for her, but she stumbled along the way. The way my arms reached for her, I swore it was magnetic. My hands grabbed her around the waist and held her steady.

"So clumsy." I grumbled. My face was so hot, and I found myself staring into those fresh teal eyes. They reminded me of an ocean; always changing, always beautiful.

"At least you're good for something." She snapped.

"Looks like you haven't recovered yet." I remarked dryly. God, she was smirking. The devilish kunochi.

"Maybe you should help me with that, cry-baby."

And then I was kissing her.

And she was kissing me back.

Those soft lips crashed against mine again and again, and I was wrapping myself against her tighter and tighter. Temari's light fingers were trailing across my chest, and I groaned. Gently, I pulled those tricky rubber bands out of her hair, and that golden wave covered my face. I ran my fingers through them, and I stared at her as I kissed those strands

She grinned against my mouth and all of a sudden, I found myself crashing onto the couch with her hips straddling me.

"You troublesome woman..."

I knew she could feel me through my pants. And she knew that I knew. She rolled her hips from side to side and I was moaning and mewling at the feeling.

"What a pervert."

"Keep moving like that and I'll show you a real one." My head was spinning at her movements. I grabbed at the smooth skin at her waist to guide her, and she smirked.

I yanked her dress off her shoulders and those luscious breasts were swinging in front of me. Before she could protest, I squeezed one in my hands. Temari moaned.

"You tease..."

She sighed and let me suck on them, running her hands through my hair as I licked and nibbled gently. I couldn't get her scent out of my head, and the way she tasted...

All of a sudden, she jammed her hand down my pants.

I sucked in air and the knot twisted in my stomach. She was using those devilishly soft fingers to fondle and rub me gently. I groaned as she stroked me from base to tip, back and forth. Temari leaned down by my ear.

"I'm glad." She licked the outer rim of my ear, and I shuddered with pleasure.

"About?" I was panting like a dog as she kept her hands around me, the rhythm growing faster and faster.

"You're bigger than I thought.

I came and soaked her fingers. I moaned at the relief and rush of ecstasy. Temari smiled and brought a sticky finger to her lips, tasting me with the tip of her tongue. It was the singular, most sexy image I've ever had the pleasure to see. Ino had never done such a thing to me before, she thought it was too vulgar, too disgusting.

Those hips of hers. They were by far my favorite. It was something for me to hold on to as I slowly entered her. Temari cried out loud as I thrusted.

"Stop being rough!" She begged.

"Too troublesome."

She smacked the back of my head gently, but I nuzzled her neck and bit down on her shoulder. I left small red marks wherever my lips met her skin, but she liked them. I could tell by the way her fingernails raked down my back.

I nibbled on her earlobe.

"Do you like being with me, Temari?" My voice was deeper, huskier too.

Temari breathed heavily.

"Go away."

Her hips buckled and I picked up the pace. A trickle of sweat traced across my forehead.

"Tell me." I demanded.

Those eyes of hers were stunning. I could barely breathe.

"You already know the answer."

My lips met hers, and our tongues were dancing as we breathed heavily. Sweat-soaked and slick, I was pounding the living day lights out of her. And I loved it. She loved it.

Temari bit my collarbone, and I arched up slightly into her. I grabbed at that ass of hers and she nibbled at my lower lip. "Fuck..."

I thrusted upwards and she was gripping me so tightly...

She let out a breathy gasp and threw her head back as she came, soaking my groin. I slowly came into her with a few slow buckles.

Temari stared at me, a huge smirk spread across her face. "I came once. You twice."

Oh, she loved a good competition.

I leaned up and kissed her gently beneath the jaw. "I'm still good to go."

And those eyes were just shining like fire. She kissed me so tenderly, I forgot how to breathe.

Yep. Choji was right.

I was seriously whipped.