He lay peacefully on his back, hands behind his head, staring up at his beloved clouds up in the sky.

The clouds...They looked so free.

The morning dew from the grass had long ago dried.

And the sun had shifted position in the sky above.

More importantly the breeze had picked up. Which meant that his beloved clouds above had danced and drifted a bit more than usual as they made their way across the canvas of the sky above.

Boy, did he enjoy these lazy days.

No rushing, no fighting, just peace. Real peace. Where there wasn't anything to disturb him. These recent days were just perfect.

Just him and...his clouds.

If only more days could be like this.

Why couldn't every day be like this?

Where was the need to do things when one could just be?

We are human beings after all.

And yet so many people rush around wanting, no needing, to do things all the time. Like Sakura and Ino.

Always rushing around telling people what they thought and what they should do. While they themselves were doing nothing more than bossing people around when their own lives weren't even in order.

Why couldn't they just let others be?

And then there was Naruto.

Always running around the village telling people they should believe that he was going to be the next Hokage.

But at least he was more sincere and good natured.

And he had saved the world after all.

It was hard to believe that it felt like only yesterday that he had met the then loud and unskilled young boy who would grow up to be the saviour of the world.

Not once or twice. But numerous times. He deserved to be Hokage someday. And now it would only be a matter of time. He was the strongest. And most popular.

And that would mean less lazy days like this for me.

Lastly, he thought a lot of another ninja who ran around telling people what to do.

A similarly brash and powerful ninja from the Sand village. A ninja who prided herself on being strong on and off the battlefield, wielding her fan and her mouth to protect her village. A ninja with blonde hair that was often kept short and tied up so it didn't get in the way of her work.

Or her face. A face that he had been seeing more and more of, at least in his mind, recently.

Oh boy! He was in trouble now.

Returning his thoughts from the older Sand ninja to the clouds above, he found that every single one reminded him of some part of her. There was one cloud that looked like her hair. Another that looked like her fan. Her eyes. Her stance. Her favourite dessert. It didn't matter what the cloud looked like. Every single one reminded him of her.

And this wasn't the first time it had happened either.

It was happening more and more often.

And truth be told it had been happening for a long, long time now.

He caught himself spending more time daydreaming about her smile.

Or the twinkle in her eyes when she teased him.

But he didn't want to face up to what it could mean.

Because she was three years older than him and that would never change. She was also the Ambassador for the Sand Village. Her father had been the Third Kazekage and now her brother was the Fourth Kazekage.

She wasn't someone you wanted to mess around with.

So he had tried to put it aside.

But trying was one thing. Reality was another. What it did mean was that their encounters had gotten more and more awkward, at least to him. Where before he would have just brushed her off with a comeback remark or a jest of his own, now he would often just clam up and tried not to show how nervous she made him. Every simple touch or glance, even if accidental, had him all turned around. And he couldn't even escape her when she wasn't with him.

Sure they had known each other a long time now. Ever since the Chunin exams way back when. When we had to face each other in the heat of combat. And I let her win.

He smiled as he remembered that thought.

And then they had saved each other's lives numerous times.

And spent more time together on missions. Especially as their missions had gotten more serious and their responsibilities greater and greater in proportion to said dangers.

But things were different now. They were no longer children.

And just in case it wasn't clear before how they felt, Naruto was going to be married to Hinata soon.

Those two had finally decided to get their act together and make a life of it. He was happy for them. Hinata was one of the least troublesome women he knew. And she would be good for him.

But that was why he had come up here now.

To escape the commotion of wedding preparations.

Escaping people overplanning everything so much that they forgot to simply be and enjoy what was happening in the moment.

He preferred a quieter, more normal life.

Although truth be told, a little bit of company would be nice. A part of him wished she were here with him now.

She would probably call him lazy or a crybaby or something teasing like that. She liked to taunt him or do something to provoke him. But he didn't mind. He didn't mind all that much when it came to her.

He felt himself drifting off under the warmth of the sun.

Shikamaru was startled from his idyllic reverie by a familiar voice.

"Hey lazybones, so this is where you've been hiding!" Was that his imagination or was that real?

"Or are you sleeping on the job again?" No, it was her alright. And she had caught him daydreaming again.

Nonetheless, a slow smile crept onto his face as he turned his head to meet his accuser.

Temari!


She had received the news from her brother with a nod of acknowledgement.

She was happy for both of them. Naruto and Hinata. Who would have believed it back when she had met them both during the Chuunin Exams? The poor girl could barely say two words to Naruto without blushing like crazy. And now they were getting married.

But thinking back to the Chuunin Exams brought back memories of someone else for her.

Back then he had been a rather lazy young boy who had not looked like much either. But he had still been brilliant enough to beat her.

And then had the gall to rub it in her face by forfeiting the match, claiming he was out of chakra. As if his brilliant strategy hadn't factored his chakra levels into account.

What a lame excuse. More likely he just couldn't be bothered to fight again with his next opponent.

Because he hadn't really cared if he passed or failed.

That day, she realised how brilliant he could be.

But not brilliant enough that he didn't need help sometimes. They had fought again later on, this time side by side, on his first mission as mission leader no less. That day, she had come to save him.

That day she realised how well they could work together.

Then later at the hospital when they had returned to the Hidden Leaf Village, she had seen a different side to him when he had broken down crying.

That day she had realised how caring he could be.

Since then they had had many more encounters. They had been on numerous missions together when the Hidden Sand and Hidden Leaf Villages had been called together in times of need.

She enjoyed teasing him and taunting him every time they had met. To be honest, she just enjoyed having someone to challenge her. And having someone she could be honest with. Someone who could put up with her. Someone who saw her for more than just the Sand Village's Ambassador or a family member to the Kazekage.

He had even acted as escort to her when she was in town as the official ambassador of her village when she, the Princess, had been sent on diplomatic missions to his village. Numerous times. They had also worked together for the Chuunin Exams. That day she was reminded how well they worked together.

She was driven and he was laidback. She was brash and he was subtle.

She was strike first, ask questions later and he well thought out strategy, minimum effort.

She relaxed by training and driving herself physically. He preferred relaxing, either napping or looking up at the sky.

She was the sun with her blonde hair, colourful clothing and loud voice while he literally played with shadows, dressed more conservatively and was more softly spoken.

Though she had to admit that he could also take charge when the situation called for it. Like when leading the Allied Shinobi Forces on the battlefield when Madara Uchiha had lead his forces against them.

That day she had found out just how brilliant he really could be.

She recalled thinking to herself that he could make a good Hokage one day. If he could be bothered that is.

He was brilliant alright, but he just needed a little prodding from time and time. And she was more than happy to help out there.

And she found that despite his inherent laidback nature, he could be determined and take charge when required. Unfortunately this often required a threat to life and limb, normally his friends, before he would mobilise.

However, there were the odd occasions she thought she had caught a glimpse of something in his eyes. A firey passion and determination that was generally well hidden...but...

And anyway, actions spoke louder than words.

Though she had to admit she was impressed when he had first made Jounin. At her prompting of course. But he had followed through.

Actions spoke louder than words after all.

That day she had found out that he did care what others thought despite how it may have looked on the surface. Well, at least he cared what she thought.

His eyes may have often looked like placid pools of dark, but she knew better.

There was a deep fire hidden within that only took awakening.

Too bad she couldn't be around more to help him.

But between her own missions, acting as sister (and basically mother) to her two brothers, and her role as Princess Ambassador for her village she was just a busy person.

But she was here now. For the wedding celebrations.

This was a rare chance to spend some off duty time together.

And she found herself looking forward to it. This was why she had come into the Leaf Village a few days before her brother. She hadn't even told him she would be here already but she knew where to find him. Oh, she knew just where to find him as she hurried with anticipation up the grassy hill.

Yep, There he was. She couldn't help a smile forming on her face as she caught sight of his laidback body stretched out on the grass.

The sight of him paused her for a moment as she thought back to their recent encounters.

Things had been a little different between them lately, nothing major but they had had more silent moments than normal. When she had caught him just looking at her with a curious expression on his face. He would look away quickly but she had seen him. She always knew when he was looking at her. That had made him more awkward around her.

She had also noticed that recently he was a bit jumpier than normal, like when she accidentally got too close and touched him. It was like he had been shocked.

She had always thought that he was a little different than the average ninja, and that was why she liked spending time with him. But recently there had been more weirdness and she had been suspicious. It has also made her think a bit more about him. She had tried to get him to talk to her about it but he had evaded her. She had also tried provoking him too by playfully hitting him more often than normal. But that hadn't worked either, and for some reason it made her a bit embarrassed too. But nevermind, that was then. And now she had another chance to see if he had gotten over it.

"Hey lazybones, so this is where you've been hiding!"

She was sure he had heard her but he didn't respond.

"Or are you sleeping on the job again?"

That did the job, she thought, as he turned to her.

A slow smile crept onto his face as he turned his head to meet his accuser. She was stunned momentarily.

That day she found out just how a simple smile could make her both nervous, happy and excited all at the same time!

I've missed you, Shikamaru.