Disclaimer: The Naruto characters (c) Masashi Kishimoto.
Author's Note: Inspired by my English vocabulary homework. I know, I know, I'm such a nerd. This is a ShikamaruxTemari fic, and there are also mentions of GaaraxMatsuri (for my friend Midori-chan) and KankuroxTenten (because I just love them.). Don't complain if you don't like the couple. This story kind of fails, I think there's something missing. Maybe I'm just crazy...but please read and review! Thanks!
Definitions by Mika Casey
If Shikamaru could sum his life up in a single word, it would be abject; utterly hopeless, miserable, humiliating, and wretched.
One sunny afternoon, Shikamaru stared up at the sun, attempting to blind himself. Maybe someone will take pity on my lack of sight and kill me. He thought optimistically. A voice calling his name snapped his attention away from the glowing orb in the sky, and he looked across the grass in the direction of the sound.
"Shikamaru!" The voice called again. All the boy could make out was a dark outline of a person, hands on her hips and large fan on her back.
Falling back into the grass and groaning, Shikamaru tried to ignore her by shutting his stinging eyes.
Temari had come to a conclusion from the scattered signs and signals coming off the lazy Konoha boy that everyone knew as Nara Shikamaru.
First of all, he wasn't sleeping. On nights that she couldn't sleep out of homesickness, she stood on the small balcony of her small rented bedroom. She was in Konoha to study fighting techniques with Team 10. Ino and Chouji had taken her in warmly like one of their own, but Shikamaru had kept his distance. Her temporary bedroom overlooked the hill and sea of grass that Shikamaru referred to as his "cloud-watching spot", and she saw him there almost every night and day. There would be some times when he wasn't there; when he was on a mission, and on the rare occasion that he had probably dropped exhausted on a couch in the Nara household.
Secondly, he couldn't help but blurt out his negative thoughts whenever she had a conversation with him. She could tell by his scowls when she commented on his fighting that he didn't hold himself in high esteem.
Last of all, he had recently gotten angry over the smallest of things. The other day, Ino had dropped his ice cream on the ground. He had exploded, screaming at her what a hopeless person she was, until he cooled off and told her to forget buying him a new one.
Temari was worried. She knew it wasn't any of her business, but that wasn't going to stop her from finding out why Shikamaru was acting the way he was.
From her perspective and the facts that she had gathered, he was depressed. The reason was a mystery to her, but she had seen the symtoms before in Gaara and a bit in Kankuro. Gaara was better, now that he was the Kazekage and was engaged to Matsuri, and Kankuro had found his own comfort in the Konoha girl Tenten. But Shikamaru had nobody, and Temari wasn't close enough to offer her help yet.
She had come to the conclusion that she would fix it, because she had seen a life lost to depression and didn't want it to ever happen again.
Shikamaru stared the back of his eyelids, silently wishing for Temari to go away.
He felt her prescence a few feet away from him, but he said nothing. She spoke again. "Shika?" A woman's hand was placed on his shoulder, clutching it tightly. Unable to ignore her any longer, he reluctantly opened his eyes.
"What do you want?" He growled, staring up at her with a cold glare.
She backed away, as if he had bitten her. "If you want me to leave, I will."
Shikamaru knew that she really wanted to stay. But Shikamaru didn't want her anywhere near him. "Please do." He muttered, implying that he wished to be alone. He shut his eyes again.
He felt Temari's hand let go of his shoulder, and he felt the vibrations of her footsteps fade as she walked away from him.
"Troublesome woman." He hissed under his breath. "I don't need her help." Despite what he told himself, he knew that he ached inside for something more. Someone more than what he had. But he wasn't willing to swallow his pride and admit to himself that there was something wrong.
Days passed. Team 10, with the addidion of the sand kunoichi, were assigned a mission. They had to enter Waterfall country and asassinate a rebel leader who was plotting overthrow the government.
Temari sat in a velvet chair, waiting for her victim She had applied a lot of makeup and was wearing a black gown that was cut off above the knees, and her short blonde hair had been curled into lustrous golden locks. Moonlight entered the room through the window. If Temari needed any help, Shikamaru was outside the window as backup and listening to everything that happened. Ino and Chouji were off making sure nobody crept up on her or Shikamaru in their asassination attempt.
Temari didn't think Shikamaru would be very willing to offer her help, so she would have to deal with this one on her own.
The door creaked as it opened, and a tall map stepped into the room. "Hello, young lady." He shed his coat, hanging it on the back of the chair across from her. "And what might your name be?"
"Tema-" She stopped, cursing inwardly. She had rehearsed her introduction before, but she had slipped up. Mind immediately flitting to Shikamaru, she spoke again. "Temamaru." She really hoped Shikamaru hadn't heard or realized that she had combined their names.
"Oh?" The man grinned. "And did my assistant send you in here?"
Temari resisted an urge to throw up. "Yes, she did." She smiled and stood, her dress fluttering around her pale skinned legs. "What was this business you wanted to tend to?"
"We can deal with that later..." He said, stepping forward and trapping her between himself and the wall.
The blonde kunoichi hadn't counted on this. She had assumed that his assistant had sent her in there to talk, but now she realized the real reason. His hands were pinning her wrists to the wall, and she couldn't reach the needle with the poison that was strapped to her leg under the dress. He kissed her mouth, sloppy and getting saliva all over her chin. Disgusted, Temari let out a blood curtling scream.
A crashing sound made the rebel leader tear his mouth off of hers and whip his head around. Shikamaru punched the man right in the face, making his head snap backwards as he fell to the floor. The Konoha boy looked at her, speaking. "Get the poison in him!" His tone wasn't risen in anger, only urgency.
Happy to oblige, Temari reached under her dress and withdrew the needle. Kneeling and stabbing it into his neck, she injected the poison into his system.
Shikamaru grasped her hand, tugging her out of the room. "Come on, Temari, we need to go."
Still shocked by what the man had tried to do to her, she numbly followed the shadow-nin.
As Shikamaru rushed through the forest with Temari's hand in his own, he felt strangely hollow. He felt as if he had leapt off a pier, and was drowning in the ocean that was his lack of a normal life.
Hot tears stung his sight as he clutched Temari's fingers tighter against his.
Shikamaru took Temari to his favorite star-watching spot. It was in the middle of a clearing, and the two sprawled out on the soft grass. They stared up at the tiny specks of light for several moments before Shikamaru spoke.
"Are you okay?" He sounded like he was worried, an emotion Temari had never felt radiating from him before.
"Yeah." He could feel her sigh, because she had laid down so close to him. "I'm just glad he didn't..." Temari choked up, unable to complete the sentence.
Shikamaru nodded, though she didn't see it. "Me too." He said sincerely. As much as the blonde kunoichi angered him, he didn't wish her to be subject to such an awful crime.
"Really?" She shifted, slightly uncomfortable.
Rolling his eyes, Shikamaru spoke again. "Yeah."
Suddenly, Temari's dark blue eyes were above him instead of the sky. He couldn't help but notice the joyous twinkle in her intelligent eyes. She smiled down at him. "Oh really?" She teased, trying to lighten the mood.
Shikamaru stared. A black hole opened up inside of him, yawning and hungry. To fill it would give him eternal content, and he planned to do just that.
He realized what he had been missing.
Bringing a hand up to catch in Temari's golden hair, he held the back of her head softly. Pulling her in, he looked up at her. He was pleading for her permission with his eyes. Their lips were several inches away, but he didn't want to startle her after her fright with the rebel leader.
He sensed her leaning in, and he guided her mouth towards his own. Their lips barely touched, but Shikamaru could feel an electric current. Her body was angled so their chests touched, and he was sure she could feel his heart race within his ribcage.
When she pulled away, Shikamaru could still feel a tingle on his lips. He was sure the trajectory of her kiss would linger on his lips for eternity.
He sat up so he could pull her into his arms. Hunching over her and pressing his face into her hair, he wept like a baby. She cooed softly to him, promises laced in her gentle tone. He grasped her tighter.
He had found the other half of his soul, and he was never going to let her go.