I don't own Naruto. I'm just the piped piper making the characters dance to my tune. This is somewhat like putting your toe beneath the shower testing the water. There will be more chapter. Updates will be irregular. Please bear with me.

Yes. Tenten's character varies drastically from the anime. But then that's what this story is about.

Many thanks to all my reviewers. Your reviews make my day. ;D

Chapter One- The Konohan Ice Queen.

The crisp December air did little to mar the beauty of the night, the pristine white that shrouded every available surface-the leaves, the roofs, the street lamps, the very earth itself. The moon shone through full and imposing. And she stood stock still, drinking in the sight of him. Time had certainly been excessively generous to him. He had grown taller. There was a certain self assured lilt to his stride, the way he carried himself. A liquid grace that seemed to be embodied in the long leonine steps he took. The light hunch that had shadowed his steps since Asuma's death had vanished, leaving behind a spark. A spark that served to accentuate his pseudo-aristocratic features. Sensuality lurked in the fullness of his lips, the square set of his jaw. Time had darkened his irises into the ebony of an ethereal night. He stopped at the top of the staircase leading to the Hokage Tower he had ascended and turned to her.

"Tenten" a murmur, a breath that sounded more like a one word prayer than her name.

It had been years. She hadn't seen him in years and suddenly, here he was. It felt as though he had never left. She stepped back. She refused to fall into the same trap as before. She had been in love. It had been with the same variety- Tall, dark, brooding, brilliant. She had locked her heart away after him. It had taken her weeks just to pick up the pieces of her shattered heart. Months to shed her fear of feeling. He still hovered teasingly around the edges of her memory and now Shikamaru sought to take his place. Tenten was loathe to admit that he had partially succeeded. She did not know what she would have done without him in the first few days. She literally had not let go of him for days. She still remembered the feel of the rough cotton of his shirt against her cheek with a clarity only photographic memories afforded. She remembers feeling the warmth of his skin seep through the shirt, her tears and cutting through the haze of pain. She had not seen him since then. He was called away on an extended S-rank mission. A mission that required him to part with her for the entirety of two years.

But here he was now, standing before her, the epitome of everything she had craved for before. That was the crux of the issue. He was what she had craved before he had left. Before she had painstakingly stitched the pieces of her heart together. Before he had abandoned her in her greatest time of need.

"Shikamaru" her tenor was cool, polite and utterly disinterested. "It has been a long time since I have seen you. Are you well?"

A languid smile stretched across his lips. "I am" He replied.

"It's late. I should probably be on my way. Good night" she replied as she turned briskly and walked away.

"Let me walk you home" he blurted.

She stopped and turned. A cold smile painted her features. "As one of the four ANBU Commanders I do not require an escort". Venom dripped from her clipped sentence.

Although taken aback, he said "As a friend I would like to make sure you reach home safely."

"I do not expect to be attacked within my own village. Rest easy Shikamaru. You can cast your worries aside." Her tone turned dismissive.

"I guess there's no easy way to get this done. Actually Tenten, my parents have gone to visit my aunt and I don't have the key with me" he rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke, looking slightly abashed.

Tenten's shoulder heaved in what looked suspiciously like a silent sigh.

"You may rest within my home tonight."

"Thank you, Little Miss Sunshine"

"Pardon?"

"Nothing"

They walked in a not-very-companionable silence through the streets until they reached a nondescript apartment complex. She had changed. She walked with a straight, unyielding back. She moved silently, swiftly and in an on-red-alert kind of way. They ascended to the first floor and entered her flat.

"Leave your foot wear on the rack beside my shinobi sandals. Take the guest room on the right. You might want to wait a half hour for the heater to warm up for your bath. Sit on the wooden stool by the balcony wash your hands with the disinfectant by the sink before you touch anything." were the commandments she issued as she entered the room adjacent to the one she mentioned.

Half an hour later she found a lightly snoozing Shikamaru on the stool on which she bade him to sit. She cleared her throat loudly. He shot up, startled.

"The water should be ready by now. Bathe and rest. There is some food in the refrigerator if you're hungry." She spoke to the wall as she slid back the glass of the shelf containing her books and picked out a book. She disappeared into her bedroom.

Shikamaru walked to her book case, a tad curious as to whether her choice in books had changed. He found the usual eclectic mix of books-on baking, on weaponry, a few steamy looking romance novels, an encyclopedia, a few biographies, a chunky book on the art of wielding the Yuan*. The next few shelves held porcelain mugs with quirky quotes. He stopped. He saw the one he had given her for her graduation. He remembers what now feels like a different era.

So much had changed since then and he didn't know how or why.

So voila. That's chapter one.

*Yuan belongs to me. And it's a weapon that can shift to over hundreds of different forms on charka application.

-Aurora