Autumn
It was autumn again.
Brown leaves fell unceremoniously to the ground forming a sludgy mushy mess of death.
Leaves, insects.
Autumn was troublesome- having to lift his legs higher to walk over an inch of dead leaves was not good for his year-long energy - conservation scheme that he'd been planning for the entirety of his life.
He glanced up briefly at the sky and saw the clouds floating peacefully overhead. Sighing, he stretched his arms and leaned against the village gates.
At least he'd have some form of entertainment.
To put it quite simply: Nara Shikamaru hated autumn.
O
Why did he watch clouds? What was so fascinating about the weird shapeless blobs of condensed-evaporation that enticed him?
She grumbled at the fact that she had to go to Konoha again - in autumn! That's when there were plenty of clouds too.
As she neared the frontier between the lands of wind and fire, she gazed forwards at the distant trees.
It would be worth it for them at least...
She huffed and continued forward.
A mission was a mission, even if it was just to exchange pleasantries with Lady Tsunade for a half hour.
At least she'd get to be around some greenery.
To put it quite simply: Sabaku no Temari hated autumn.
O
"Troublesome woman, " he sighed as a greeting.
"I have a name you know," the object of his misery grumbled.
"Oh really? It escaped my notice."
She hit him over the head with the hilt of her unnecessarily humongous fan and began walking as he rubbed his head.
"Hey, I need my brain cells to be in tact, thank you very much. I can't afford to stoop down to your level of intellect."
"They're just about as useful to you when they're dead," the blonde snapped, continuing on her way as he accelerated slightly to catch up to her.
"I don't need you to accompany me, lazy-ass," she growled as Shikamaru fell into step with her.
"It's my job, princess."
O
Shikamaru was still massaging his now-swollen jaw by the time they reached the Hokage building.
He stayed outside and waited for her to finish up with what they were discussing.
As Temari stepped into Tsunade's office, she was instantly hit by the foul smell of liquor.
Temari wasn't against having a drink (or three) every so often, but the leader of Konoha could at least have had the decency to open a damn window when she knew that a foreign diplomat would be visiting.
Considering the smell in the room, Temari had to hand it to Tsunade that she sure knew how to hide how much she'd drunk when it came to appearances. Not a hair was out of place.
"Temari san, how lovely to see you," the older woman smiled, gesturing for Temari to take a seat.
O
He had had four cigarettes by the time Temari came out-it was a fairly short meeting.
When she stepped out of the building, she glanced at the small lit cigarette and raised an eyebrow.
"I never knew you smoked," she commented.
He grunted in response.
"How did the meeting go?"
"Ah, all good. Just updates and improvements on our trade deals. Konoha needs more oil, we need more root vegetables."
Shikamaru walked her to her hotel room and waited until she had opened the door before turning to walk away.
"Not going to say bye?"
He looked over his shoulder to see her leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed and and an eyebrow raised.
"I'll be seeing you tomorrow, won't I?"
She snorted.
"Manners aren't your thing I see, why don't you come in?"
He rolled his eyes, it was always like this.
He'd be rude.
She'd get falsely annoyed.
She'd invite him in.
He'd accept.
Shrugging, he stepped into the small apartment. It was well furnished with traditional knick knacks and decorations adorning the walls-very Temari -esque.
She made tea for them and frowned.
"If you're going to smoke could you at least open a window? I don't want people to start thinking things."
"Such as?"
"I let people come to my room. I never smoke indoors, it'd be suspicious."
Shikamaru shrugged and got up to open the window.
"Thanks," she said, wincing slightly when the window squeaked at the hinges.
He sat back down on the sofa, leaning slightly over the coffee table to be able to reach his drink with minimal effort.
O
After a quick game of Shougi, they headed back out to the streets of Konoha as Temari wanted to buy herself Dango sticks.
As they walked, a few of the villagers smiled and waved at Shikamaru before glancing briefly at Temari.
The moment any of them saw her forehead protector (which she now wore on her forehead instead of around her neck) they either glared at her or looked in a different direction entirely.
Temari wasn't one to care much for what others thought of her, but having people judge her for something that was entirely out of her control made her feel uneasy.
It was all orders at the end of the day.
The Nara escort spent the entire duration of the walk with his head tilted upwards and his eyes on the clouds, only lowering his gaze if someone called his name to greet him.
Temari found herself thinking that it must be nice to have a village that loves you.
Even back in Suna, people were still weary of her. Greetings were formal bows, and they always called her either "-hime" or "-dono" unlike here, where Shikamaru was just...Shikamaru.
She sighed louder than intended and her escort raised an eyebrow at her.
"What's up, troublesome?"
She shook her head-too emotionally drained to hit him for calling her troublesome.
"Nothing, crybaby. Mind your own business."
"Right now you are my business. I'm meant to ensure that you are kept safe and happy throughout your stay."
She smirked at him.
"You think I can't keep myself safe?"
"No, I do think you're unhappy though."
She sighed again and ignored the look he was giving her.
"It's nothing, I'm just thinking."
"About?"
"Why do you care?"
He paused.
"I guess I don't."
They continued in silence and Temari entered a small convenience store to purchase her Dangos.
She went up to the till with the small box of assorted dumplings and waited in the queue to be served, the moment the shop keeper laid eyes on her Hitai-ite he narrowed his eyes and snatched the box from her hand to scan it, hurriedly charging her and rushing her out of his shop.
She walked with her head downturned as they headed back towards her apartment.
"Hey, you okay?"
She nodded curtly.
"Look up,"
She grunted and lifted her head slightly.
"Better. It's worrying to see you look at your feet." The Nara sighed.
"How so?"
"It makes you look like a sad puppy- you aren't like that. Whatever has got you down, ignore it."
She stared at him.
"It's hard to ignore the hatred that an entire village has reserved especially for me."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that this entire damn village hates me for something I had no say in!" She snapped, what on earth was this kid's problem?! It wasn't as though he'd forgotten the sound's attack on Konoha.
"That isn't true." The Nara said simply. "Tsunade doesn't hate you, Naruto doesn't hate you, neither do Ino and Chouji. Lee's team doesn't, Kiba more than likely has a crush on you, Shino and Hinata don't hate anyone. Sakura likes you. Hell, even my sensei likes you, and you guys have hardly ever met!"
They'd stopped walking now and Shikamaru was facing her.
"I don't hate you."
She looked away, unsure of what to say.
"Thanks, Shikamaru." She mumbled, shocked by the fact that he was staring at her intensely and being nice.
He shrugged and turned away, continuing towards the apartment, his eyes turned upwards.
O
Still slightly embarrassed that he'd been nice to her, Shikamaru avoided eye-contact with the troublesome girl whom he'd grown quite fond of throughout the few years that they'd worked together.
"Hey, Shikamaru, can I ask you something?"
"Hn?" He turned his eyes towards her, moving his head ever so slightly, still unwilling to waste energy unnecessarily.
Temari had stopped walking and was holding something in her hand.
A leaf.
"What kind of tree does this leaf come from? It's gorgeous." She asked, her eyes not leaving the brown leaf.
He stepped up closer to her, taking the leaf from her hands to look at it better.
"Hawthorn," he said after a while, handing it back to her.
"But there aren't any hawthorns around here..." Temari said, frowning and glancing briefly at her surroundings.
Shikamaru shrugged.
"It was windy recently, it could have blown in from the south."
"True,"
They kept on walking in silence until Shikamaru spoke up again.
"Why do you like plants so much?"
Temari laughed lightly-very uncharacteristically.
"We don't get very many plants in Suna, and seeing so many in the one place, I love it. It's beautiful. The leaves are golden."
Shikamaru looked around him once more and realised that she was right. The leaves were golden-not brown.
He smiled.
It was almost like she'd given more colour to his world.
"Thanks."
"Why are you thanking me?" She asked, looking at him now.
"Just... Thank you."
"Okaay?"
They hadn't even taken five more steps before Temari asked him a question of her own.
"Why clouds?"
"They're peaceful. They drift by... They're free. Beautiful."
He looked up and pointed.
"What do you see in that one?"
"Um... It's just a plain old cloud."
"I see waves- the ocean. Freedom. All in that one cloud."
Temari squinted slightly, her teal eyes fixed on the cloud.
"I see where you're coming from, but I think it resembles a feather more than anything."
"That's the beauty of it. People see them differently. Some people may not like clouds-some may even hate them. But others, the best of us, they notice the clouds and appreciate them. Clouds can't be tied down, they're free and they do what they like. Some people are just too blind to realise that their freedom is what makes them so perfect."
Temari stared at him and said nothing for a moment.
He looked down, embarrassed at being so passionate about the clouds.
But he wouldn't go down without a fight.
"Just like you." He managed to stammer out.
He turned and continued walking, refusing to look back.
He could hear her follow behind him after a few moments, her feet dragging slightly, as though she were shuffling more than walking.
"Shikamaru, thanks," she said. She was still far enough behind that he couldn't see her, but he could hear the smile in her voice, and that was enough to make him put aside his insecurities as he turned to face her.
"I can't have you sulking around the town now, can I?"
She caught up and prodded him hard in the ribs.
"Don't test me."
O
They still glared at her, but she ignored them. Some smiled at Shikamaru, others clapped him on the back as he walked past.
He always looked awkward when they did that, which made her laugh.
"Hey! Shikamaru! Temari!"
Temari started- why was someone calling her?
She spun to see Ino walking towards them with a wide smile.
"Guess who Tsunade's new student is!" The platinum blonde spun on the spot and pointed at herself. "Moi!"
They exchanged words of praise, and Ino hugged Temari tightly when Shikamaru informed her of the Sunan's Concerns.
They had dinner together and met Chouji at the bbq restaurant.
It wasn't weird, much to Temari's surprise. It felt as though she'd been a part of their group for years.
After they finished eating, Shikamaru excused himself and Temari, saying that he needed to escort her back to her apartment before it got late.
As they walked, the streets began emptying and darkness gathered around them, snugly filling the empty space.
They reached her apartment after a few short minutes of walking.
"Today was nice," Temari smiled. "Thanks for taking me around. I'm leaving tomorrow, but I'll be back next month to begin planning for the Chuunin exams. I'll see you then."
Shikamaru nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump a little at the contact-they had never been this close before.
"Temari, don't let the others get you down, okay? A day will come when they will treat you like one of their own, and until then, there's always me." His gaze didn't waver as he pulled her in for a brief hug.
Too shocked to speak, Temari simply nodded.
As he turned to leave, she grabbed his arm and spun him around to face her.
"Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow." She gave him a swift kiss on the cheek before closing the door between them and leaning against it, sliding down to the ground.
She thought of the clouds and how they suddenly held some value to her after he spoke of them.
How they suddenly held beauty.
Colour.
She smiled and ignored the fluttering feeling in her arms and legs.
O
Walking her to the gates the next day, Shikamaru was careful not to walk too close to her, he didn't know why, but he did.
They didn't talk until the gates were in sight and the crowds thinned.
"Er, I'll see you next month then, Temari."
"Y-yeah. See you next month."
She walked past the gates, giving a small wave to the gate keepers, who were fond of the Sunan and waved back.
As she walked away, Shikamaru looked at the trees that surrounded her, their golden leaves that once seemed brown to him drifted down to her feet as she walked and he smiled at how differently the world seemed that morning.
The world had less colour without her.
And though others may not have liked her, that was simply because they didn't know her.
Their eyes were closed and they didn't see her like he did.
But they were the ones who were at loss.
Because his world had more colour than theirs ever would.
O
The leaves crunched beneath her feet as she walked, a small smile on her lips.
She glanced up briefly at the clouds and saw a multitude of colours painted across the heavens.
If she hadn't seen him the day before, she wouldn't have seen them.
The world had less colour without him.
And even though the others may not have liked her, he did, and that was enough for her.
As she walked, she enjoyed the new hues and shades that tainted her world and didn't allow herself to glance back at him.
Patience was a virtue, after all. She'd see him soon enough.
The world had never seemed so beautiful.
To put it quite simply: Sabaku no Temari loved Autumn.
A/N: A quick lil one-shot I whipped up for no particular reason at all other than "It's Autumn" so there you go.
More friendly than romantic I guess, but ayyy.
I was inspired by the song "Darling I Do" by Landon Pig and Lucy Schwarz. It's pretty good, I'd definitely recommend it. Please let me know what y'all think!
Also: Do I post too much?