There was something unspoken, forever, forever denied that occurred between the two of them. Both knew it, both knew the other knew it, and both refused to accept that they mutually knew it.
Yet is existed.
Sometimes it decided to emerge, decided to take over their minds, strengthen their emotions, delude their cold, hard rationality.
The first time was the most monumental, to both of them.
After years and years of fighting together, bickering, teasing, hating, fighting, and being generally angry companions, they had formed at least some semblance of a bond – one forged through battles and, mostly, saving each other's asses. It was this odd bond that was unspoken, denied. This bond and more.
There were odd, confusing moments sometimes, as they walked together from Konoha to Suna, as Temari felt a tingle, a flare of annoyance as Shikamaru mentioned something about Ino, as he blushed upon seeing her after a shower, hair wet and dragging along her barely-covered shoulders. He still had scars from that.
Sure, they had flirted, teasingly, testing the limits of their highly unstable bond, stretching the already-tight relationship to new tension.
But of course, they didn't actually like each other. Temari was, and always would be, too troublesome.
Shikamaru was, and always would be, a good for nothing lazy ass.
So nothing happened.
Nothing, until that day.
He just happened to be on top of his roof, once again, and just happened to be napping when he was supposed to be escorting Temari someplace or another. Of course, Temari just happened to be pissed about it, just happened to climb up on his roof, piss him off a fair amount before laying down beside him, grudgingly starting up at the clouds.
"You owe me one for this, bastard."
So they lay there, in silence, staring up at the clouds, Shikamaru's eyes as content as Temari had ever seen them, both of their gazes focused on the sky.
And then, the blue disappeared. The sky hid itself, blocked out by the angry, oddly appealing face of a certain blond. It took even him a moment to process. A moment too long.
By the time he realized that she was above him, hands surrounding him and eyes meeting, her lips were on his.
His eyes shut instinctively, quickly as she drove herself into him, letting her body collapse on top of his. Wow. She had definitely done this before.
So maybe he wanted it.
Maybe he loved her.
He liked it slow, he liked his kisses the way he liked life, slow and rough.
But of course, he was hardly in control in this situation. Her lips moved feverishly fast, fiercely, her arms sliding around to his back, her icy cold fingers reaching upwards, pushing up his shirt and traveling along his pale skin.
So maybe he couldn't resist.
Maybe he could do it her way.
He pushed himself towards her, battling for power, pushing himself upright, mouth clashing with hers. His hands flew upwards to her face, pulling her into him, at the same time pushing to get control. The kiss intensified, turning from something tense into something explosive.
So maybe they could continue.
Maybe he could lead her on.
His hands traveled to her shoulders, pulling down the rough fabric of her kimono, revealing her bare shoulders and black slip.
"Not like I wasn't expecting it."
A foreign voice.
They leapt apart without thinking, all passion thrown away, thoughts hard again, distancing themselves quickly with looks of anger on both of their faces, glaring upwards at the whiskered blonde smirking at them from the roof.
"It's not what it looks like"
Their voices resounded together, perfectly in synch, refusing to let themselves realize that they had just been found on a roof, Temari's kimono pulled halfway down and Shikamaru's jacket and shirt discarded a few feet away, both of their hairstyles ruined and black and blond hair hanging in their faces.
But Naruto, that stupid bastard, laughed, laughed hard, trying to ignore that slight nosebleed he was getting, and jumped off the roof in a single bound, the memory still fresh in his mind.
"It never happened"
Denial.