AUTHOR'S NOTE:
This is my first attempt at a ShikaTema story, don't make fun of me. DX Cookies to anyone who reviews.
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The sky had turned a deep shade of orange and pink, fluffy white clouds dotted the skyline. The sun's tip was slowly disappearing below the horizon, slowly enveloping Konoha in the darkness of an unusually warm summer's night. The only light available would soon become the stars, well, to one particular shinobi lying on a grassy hilltop with his arms behind his head, staring up at the clouds.
Tomorrow.
It had been a year, perhaps longer. A whole entire year since he'd seen her. Normally she'd visit Konoha, with documents or what not for the Hokage…and he as her escort, naturally, would have to stay with her. Not that he enjoyed that or anything…well, at first…
Shikamaru Nara sighed, and fidgeted slightly as he lay.
Why does everything always have to be so complicated?
He had always hated Temari. Well, not particularly 'hated,' he supposed, she was more of a friendly enemy. Of course he had despised her with a passion during and after the first chuunin exams, when their relationship – as friends – was the most rocky. After a while, he sort of adjusted to her. They'd run into each other now and then, every time she visited Konoha. Of course, neither of them had the courage – or want, for that matter – to strike up a conversation. So each time, Temari would throw a knowing smirk in Shikamaru's direction, just to get a rise out of him. Of course, Shikamaru smirked back, merely playing along, amusing her. They'd find themselves paired up while fighting often as well, most of the talking between the two was during battles, Shikamaru jokingly discriminating against women, and Temari deliberately taking the bait, trying to prove Shikamaru wrong as she smiled over her shoulder. Then, he was assigned to be her escort. Now smiling wasn't enough. They couldn't walk together for countless minutes and do nothing but wordlessly taunt each other. So, they held conversations…never very interesting ones, but conversations nonetheless. The weather, politics, fighting techniques…every subject they ever mentioned was easy to talk about. Even if it were an awkward subject, they'd simply relax and speak their minds. Perhaps it was because they had spent so much time together, perhaps it was because, well, it was Shikamaru's job, and he sure as hell had better get used to it…but no…there had to be something more…He was just imagining it at first, waking from a dream involving him and her, together and happy – wondering if it had been a wonderful dream, or a terrible nightmare.
At first, he was shocked. There is no way I'm falling for her. You hate her, Shikamaru, remember? He thought to himself, over and over again, after every time they parted ways. She would smile at him, say a quick thanks and leave. He'd bite the inside corners of his mouth to keep them from curving upwards. It's just not possible. He would repeat, but every time, his fantasies would become more vivid, more intricate and detailed. She's pretty. She likes me…as a friend. We smile a lot. Talking is easy. We playfully tease each other. We've saved each other's lives. He would sit and think, every night, of all the possible reasons…but for every positive, there was a negative.
It'd be awkward, our friendship would be gone, she'd ask for a new escort, or maybe just never come back to Konoha for good…and she just plain scares me sometimes.
The feelings grew overwhelming day by day…each time he was around Temari, he'd begin to fidget. One day, when they were having lunch in a small restaurant, just before Temari departed for Sunagakure, she had noticed his behavior.
"Shikamaru, you okay?"
He looked up, slightly dazed.
"What? Oh, yeah…just…tired I suppose."
She smirked. "Lazy ass. What've you got on your mind?"
Shikamaru stared down at his lap, he could feel his face slowly turning red. With horror, he realized how suspicious this must look.
"Shikamaru?"
He sighed. It was now or never.
"Erhm, Temari?" he said, looking up at her face…staring directly into the deep pools of rich emerald that were her eyes…he placed his hands in his lap so she would not see his fingers twitching.
"Yeah?" she asked. Her voice seemed a little slower, a little quieter. Did she know what was happening? "Shikamaru, are you okay? Is something wrong?" she asked, concern filled her eyes.
"Er…well, I don't know, to tell you the truth. You see, Temari…we've spent a LOT of time together, haven't we?"
He glanced down again, but pulled together the last of his courage and looked at her face once more. Her eyes had widened a fraction of an inch, Shikamaru wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't been looking for that exact type of reaction.
"Yeah. A lot."
"Well, you see…we're good friends, right?"
Now it was Temari's turn to glance down at her lap.
"Yeah…"
"I think…Temari, lately, I've sort of been…" he trailed off, coughing, mentally cursing himself for starting this conversation. Well, he'd have to finish it now.
"…having certain…feelings…"
Oh God, this was going to be awkward.
He trailed off again and looked at Temari's face, which was now a deep crimson. Her eyes had grown even wider, her mouth ever so slightly agape – Temari, THE Temari was blushing. Shikamaru wondered in horror if he had offended her. Yet, before his mind could process anything else, she put a hand on his shoulder and leaned forward. Her lips brushed against his, softly at first, then harder. He kissed her back just as eagerly, heart thumping loudly against his chest. A few seconds later, the kiss was broken. Both were sitting back in their normal positions, scarlet and breathless.
"Me too." Temari exhaled a few seconds later.
Shikamaru couldn't help it, a huge smile broke out upon his face. Temari saw him smirking, and reflected his expression, her smile even bigger than his. Soon, laughter bubbled up in each of their throats. They let it loose, laughing and smiling together for what seemed like an eternity.
"Jesus Christ, I'm glad that's over with…" Shikamaru said, wiping a tear from his eye.
"I was wondering how long it would take you…God, you've got no idea how long I've been waiting for you to say that..."
Shikamaru stared, an eyebrow raised.
"Really?"
Temari smirked.
"Yep. But…just to be honest, Shikamaru, you're a horrible kisser. It was like you weren't even trying."
Shikamaru shrugged.
"I wasn't."
She glared at him playfully, hitting him on the arm.
"Baka."
It had been easy at first, even after their first kiss – something Shikamaru had anticipated to be the most awkward moment of his life – they talked, chatted, and joked like there was no tomorrow. Obviously now that they had admitted their feelings for each other, they began to meet. In secret, of course, for they weren't sure yet if they should release the information of their relationship to their friends, just in case things didn't work out. But, as the days grew longer, Shikamaru and Temari grew closer. They met, almost every day they could on this hilltop, talking quietly as they looked up at the clouds. They would lie together on the ground, her body nestled against his, head leaning on his chest as he wrapped an arm around her waist. More than once they had fallen asleep like that, each feeling more comfortable than they ever had. Then, there came the times when Temari would have to depart for Suna. They would say goodbye to each other in advance, spending a night alone on the hilltop before feigning a 'whatever-seeya-goodbye' in public the next day. But neither worried. As the ambassador for the two countries, Temari was sent back frequently, making it easy for her and Shikamaru to maintain a long distance, secret relationship. Every time they met after being apart, they'd pick up right where they left off, like a perfect married couple. Months, even years flew by…they hardly argued, they never hid anything from each other. It seemed that Shikamaru and Temari put on this earth just to be with each other. Everything…everything in their lives was perfect. Everything was falling into place.
But then she left.
At first, it was fine. They knew they'd be seeing each other again soon as they exchanged smiles just before Temari exited Konoha. Days passed, time flew by. Days became weeks…Shikamaru didn't worry, though. Temari was a very busy person with a high ranked job. But when weeks turned into months, and the seconds ticked by twice as slow, he began to grow uneasy. He visited the Hokage to ask a question about a recent mission, and casually dropped a question about Temari.
"We haven't made much contact with Sunagakure in a while." Tsunade answered simply. "But the last time an ambassador was here…hmm, I think it was last week."
Shikamaru stared at her.
"You mean Temari?" he asked. "She was here?"
"Oh no, it wasn't Temari. Just a replacement." she smiled at him. "Don't worry, you're Temari's ambassador, that's why you weren't informed. We've got Kiba for this one - you won't lose your job."
Shikamaru forced a smile onto his face in return.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama."
He had spent weeks upon weeks worrying about her. Had something happened? Was she hurt, was she sick, had something tragic happened to her, to Gaara, to Kankuro? But what haunted Shikamaru the most was the thought that he had done something to offend her. He carefully thought through their last visits, every waking moment they had spent together…he couldn't recall having done anything wrong. But maybe that was it. Maybe she had grown tired of him, and maybe – just maybe, she wanted to break up, but couldn't face him. Weeks turned into months…soon, he lost track of the time. Summer, fall, winter, all dragged slowly by as new, horrible thoughts made their way to Shikamaru's mind. By the time springtime rolled around, a little over a year since she had left, his mind had been made up. She wanted to leave him, and instead of breaking up with him, she merely left. That had to be it. It just had to be. Naturally, his heart was broken…but he had to admit to himself that he had expected something of the sort. There was something about them, something that made them so perfect, it was like they shouldn't be. Imagine the 'this-is-too-good-to-be-true' feeling, but times three - in a negative way.
It wasn't long before Shikamaru had lost all hope and merely given up. It had taken a while for him to have admitted it to himself. She's not coming back, there's nothing I can do to change that. Once Shikamaru finally believed that to be true, he became withdrawn. He'd spend hours in his room, doing nothing but staring at the ceiling. On the off chance that he'd go out to eat or to train, he'd rarely talk. Even on missions, his performances began dropping.
"Jesus, Shikamaru-kun, you're just not yourself anymore." Ino had told him after a small lunch with him and Chouji.
"Yeah, have you been feeling okay?" Chouji had added, mouth full of food as he spoke.
It was then that Shikamaru realized he needed to get over himself. Temari was gone, she was never coming back. So? Couples broke up all the time, people had their hearts broken every day. His wasn't a special case, he had to get over it just like everyone else did. Soon, Shikamaru began great efforts to pull out of his loneliness…but unfortunately, his grief soon gave way to anger. Instead of feeling depressed and upset about Temari leaving and never contacting him again, he became angry, furious even. He kept these feelings at the back of his mind, never revealing them to anyone. He fantasized about the day Temari might return, and all of the things he could say to her.
"Why? I can't believe you, Temari. You leave for months without contacting me, you left me completely in the dark about everything! What the hell is wrong with you? Not even a single message about what was going on, where you were, why you didn't come back! Do you have any fucking idea how worried I was about you!?"
But alas, his secret fantasies, all of his planned speeches were in vain. That was, until the other day.
"Since you asked about her before, Shikamaru." Tsunade said casually. "I thought I'd inform you that Temari of Suna is visiting in one week."
Shikamaru felt his heart leap up into his throat, but his face displayed no emotion.
"Yes, Hokage-sama. Do you wish for me to escort her again?"
Tsunade shook her head.
"No. The replacement ambassador is still on duty, Kiba is taking care of them. Temari is simply coming for a visit."
Now Shikamaru's heart plunged into his stomach.
"I thought I'd inform you, since you two seemed to get along." Tsunade said with an official nod.
"Is that all, Hokage-sama?" Shikamaru said, desperately trying to swallow the bulge in his throat.
"Yes. You are dismissed."
Shikamaru looked down his side, picturing the way Temari would lean against him on this very hilltop. The sun was now completely gone from the sky, clouds barely visible against the inky blackness that surrounded them.
Tomorrow…
Shikamaru's eyes slowly traveled from his side back up to the heavens…tomorrow, she would arrive. But where was she staying? It was just a visit this time, not as the ambassador…so where would Shikamaru have to look? And would it be odd if he asked Tsunade where she was going to stay? No, she knew they were friends…right? Ah, he'd find her somehow…but the biggest of Shikamaru's problems did not lie in where Temari would be staying…the biggest question on his mind was what he would say to her?
Of course he had fantasized about the moment the two would meet…and now that he had the chance to make his fantasies a reality, he wasn't quite sure if he was ready. He couldn't just yell or act extremely upset at her for making no contact with him whatsoever for a bit over a year…after all, there had to be an excuse…there had to be a reason….there just had to be.
Shikamaru startled himself when he opened his mouth wide and yawned. His eyelids felt heavy, and were slowly beginning to slide close.
Better go back.
With every single ounce of effort that Shikamaru had, he pushed himself to his feet. Before leaving, he took one last glance around the grassy hill, memories flashing before his eyes.
"Mhmm…" he closed his eyes and brought a hand up to his forehead.
All of this thinking is giving me a headache.
Then, he took off towards the apartment he had bought about a year ago on his 20th birthday, something he had been meaning to do for a while, but always found himself too lazy to do it. Now at age 21, he had fully paid for the apartment and spent most of his time sleeping in it, that is, when he was not at his recently obtained job, a teacher for excelled students at the ninja academy. He scowled as he walked, jamming his hands deep into his pants pockets.
Snotty little brats. Bet they think they're such friggin' geniuses. I was never arrogant like them.
Shikamaru surprised himself as he thought this.
No…I don't mean that…I'm just nervous, that's all.
That was definitely right. Just today, he had lost his temper and nearly yelled at one of his students, resulting, unfortunately, in a slight pay deduction for the month. Scowling as he remembered this, Shikamaru shoved his hands deeper into his pockets, fingers curling into tight fists of rage.
She makes me like this even when she's not here. He thought bitterly as he walked on.
After numerous blocks filled with horrible, mind-twisting, heart-wrenching thoughts about what tomorrow would bring, Shikamaru found himself standing at the door of his apartment complex. He reached out and lazily pushed open the door, hearing the faint jingling of a bell from above his head.
"Hey, Shikamaru!" greeted Rei, the receptionist who worked the night shift at the front desk. "Out late tonight, hmm?"
Shikamaru nodded.
"Yeah. Just out for a walk."
Rei placed her hands under her chin and cocked her head playfully at Shikamaru.
"Thinking? This late? Kami, Shika-kun."
Shikamaru flinched involuntarily at the nickname Rei used…nobody ever called him that except for her …
"You okay?" Rei spoke louder. Shikamaru looked up suddenly.
"Wha—yeah, I'm fine." He said. His head was pounding…oh, what he wouldn't give to be lying in his warm, soft, bed.
"Okay, cause you just sort of flinched and went quiet. Face looked funny too." Rei informed him, folding her hands on the desk in front of her.
"Sorry…thinking some more." apologized Shikamaru, shrugging his shoulders as he struggled to force a smile onto his face…it turned out to be more of a grimace, but it was close enough for now. "I'll just go…up…now."
"Alright. See you in the morning, Shikamaru."
Shikamaru turned towards the wall to his right and reached out to press the button protruding from it, calling the elevator. He could have walked up the stairs, but hey, we're talking about Konoha's laziest ninja. There was a high-pitched ding, and the doors in front of Shikamaru glided open, revealing an empty 4x4, dirty, unstable elevator. He stepped inside, jabbed the 6 with his right index finger, and leaned back against the wall as the doors slid close.
The back of Shikamaru's head leaned against the elevator wall, messing up his ponytail. But he didn't care…nothing in the world mattered to Shikamaru right now.
Nothing but tomorrow.