Thunderstorm
Shikamaru Nara ran through the heavy rainstorm, his arms tightly crossed against his chest, protecting the small, paper scroll inside his vest.
"Man, what a drag, I have to play messenger boy in this mess of a storm, and at night too. I'm supposed to be off duty." He sighed dejectedly and looked up at the pouring sky.
He travelled as quickly as he could over the rooftops of Konoha. The streets were deserted. All of the village's residents were staying inside, out of the rain. The thunder boomed overhead and lightning slashed across the sky, touching down somewhere in the forest outside the village gates. Shikamaru thanked the shinobi gods that he wasn't on fire duty tonight.
Finally, his destination came into view. He ran up to the front doorstep which, thankfully, was covered. He knocked loudly and waited, no response. He knocked again, they had to be home!
He carefully worked his way over the roof to the back balcony where he knew there was a sliding glass door. This residence was almost identical to the rest of them in this area.
Shikamaru stepped carefully down off the roof onto the guard rail of the balcony. Glancing through the glass door he realized that the power was out in this section of the neighborhood.
The glass door was unlocked so he carefully slid it open and stepped into the darkened room. He raised one eyebrow, where was everyone? He stopped suddenly, his eyes lighting on a figure huddled in the corner of the room; or rather, a light blue, fleece blanket with two spiky blonde pigtails poking out of the top of it.
"Well what have we here?" Shikamaru whispered and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. Another crash of lightning lit up the sky and shook the walls with its thunder. Shikamaru heard a small squeak and the pigtails disappeared.
Suddenly realizing that this was a more serious situation than he previously thought, Shikamaru worriedly crossed the room, shedding his wet vest and placing the scroll carefully on the bedside table.
Without a word he picked up the blanket bundle, like a child, and swiftly stepped over to the bed.
"Shh...Temari...it...it's all right." Shikamaru awkwardly sat down on the bed, his back against the wall. He placed her gently in his lap, his legs spread, one under her back and one under her knees. He carefully pressed her head down onto his shoulder, next to his neck. He continued whispering, trying to get her to calm down, unsure of what to do. Where is Temari the fearless? Temari the loudmouth? Temari the Strong? Where was the Temari he lo...
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down Shikamaru. He stopped himself, stopped his thoughts. He was going to help her. For the sake of helping her only.
Temari's body seemed so much more frail when she was shaking. She shivered violently, her head still ducked halfway under the soft blanket. Shikamaru realized suddenly that his shirt was wet. Temari wasn't just shaking, she was crying! Shikamaru was suddenly reminded of the importance of what he was doing. This was so unlike her.
"So yesterday, I was lying out on the grass behind the academy. Naruto, Kiba, Choji, and I used to ditch there all the time." Shikamaru whispered, not sure what he was doing exactly. "I was lying on the hill that separated the meadow from the school. I bet you could guess what I was doing..." He paused, unsure if this was a good idea. He took a deep breath and continued. "Yeah, I was cloud watching."
He waited until he felt the shaking stop and her breathing start to slow down. Okay, so this might actually work. "I saw the most interesting cloud. It was round on the bottom and it had four clouds that seemed to be stuck to the top and sides of it. They looked like pigtails. It kind of reminded me of someone I know." Thunder boomed just then, the lightning once again lighting up the room. She flinched, her whole body stiffening. She buried her nose deeper into his shoulder, her hands gripping his mesh shirt, threatening to rip it. He continued, for lack of a better idea, "I'd been thinking about her a lot lately, you know. And can I tell you a secret?..." He paused, unsure if he should continue. Taking a deep breath, he decided to go for it, if only just to give her something else to think about, "I think I might be in love with her. But you know, I've always been afraid to tell her. She might do something to me...like laugh…"
He stopped suddenly, unsure if she was going to give a reaction. She was still, very still. He listened for her breath, unsure if the pulse he felt was hers or his own. After a long moment of silence he heard her breath, shallow, but steady.
He waited a few minutes, just rocking her back and forth. After a while (Shikamaru was a very patient person) he found himself humming. He almost started from sheer surprise; he was not a musical person. He kept humming, now realizing the tune; it was a lullaby that his mother used to sing him. He didn't know the words but the melody was ingrained in his memory. He smiled and continued, getting softer and softer until it was quiet yet again.
He leaned his head back against the wall, listening to the soft rain and Temari's breath. He could tell where her face was in the dark because his shirt was wet where her eyes were and his chest was warm where her breath was. He smiled and laid his cheek on the top of her head. Her pigtails were falling out because of the blanket, which she had so forcefully pulled over her head.
He smiled again and moved his hand, rubbing her back slowly working his way up. When he found the top of her shoulder blades he lifted his hand gently and pulled her hair ties out letting her hair down. She was almost asleep, drifting already. Placing her four hair bands next to the scroll on the bedside table he ran his fingers through her hair, slowly massaging her scalp in circles. He wore a ponytail himself and knew how much her head would need this after a long day.
With his cheek still on her head, he slowly slouched further down the wall, holding the back of her neck with one hand. He was sure she was asleep now. Her breathing was deep and steady. She hadn't said a word the entire time. He laid her on her side on the bed and slowly maneuvered his leg out from underneath her. Finally, she was laying on the bed and not him. For a moment he considered leaving. However, he took one look at her, laying there on the pillow and decided against it. Her blonde hair spread out under her head like a halo and her face had relaxed into a pout. Her bangs were messy. Her tears had soaked the ends of them through and then they had dried at strange angles. He gently brushed part of her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. Her eyelashes rested calmly against the smoothness of her cheeks, still flushed from crying.
Shikamaru smiled to himself, he was more content watching her sleep than he ever had been watching clouds or stargazing. He wanted to stay here forever. It was with that thought that he came to the realization of what, exactly, he was doing. Here he was, supposed to simply deliver a message from the Hokage, and now he was lying in bed with a sleeping angel. Smiling, he softly brushed the disheveled bangs off of her face and ever so gently, kissed the center of her forehead. He sighed and rolled over, off the bed, moving silently across the floor. He faced the balcony door and grabbed his now dry vest. As he started to pull it over his shoulders he heard a very soft voice behind him. He turned, not sure if it was a hallucination or reality.
"Sh...Shikamaru?" Temari's eyes were wide open, two dark teal pools, staring at him, pleading. "Please...don't leave." She closed her eyes quickly and buried her face into the pillow, suddenly afraid to show her tears.
Shikamaru smiled and dropped his vest on the floor with a loud bump. Temari's figure jumped a little at the sudden noise. He lay down slowly on the bed, easing his arm back under her neck. He smiled, raising her chin with two fingers. Kissing her gently he replied, whispering the words into her lips.
"Whatever you say, Princess."