Sigh… I hate writing about troublesome things…. So I will be avoiding the current situation in Naruto right now…. Let's all go back to the days of relative peace so we can enjoy ShikaTema properly.

Why Naps Are So Great.

Peace.

Tranquility.

Those were the only things he asked for. Those were the only things he ever thought mattered. But the situation had gotten so bad that he no longer knew what these things were. If it wasn't one thing it was the other… Sometimes he felt that the universe was ganging up to make his life as troublesome as possible.

Or it could just be a lazy bum's lazy opinion.

Shikamaru sighed to himself as he made his way down the road. It was such a nice afternoon. So nice and quiet and cool and windy all at the same time.

Perfect nap conditions.

Which was probably why he had been forced into some goddamn 'C' mission in god knows where.

The universe. What a joker.

Although he didn't mind easy missions, what he minded was traveling to another country to carry it out. But he couldn't say no… or rather he hadn't been able to come up with a suitable enough excuse.

The Godaime wasn't buying anymore fake injuries and besides… she had come up with an ingenious solution to ensure that he wouldn't fake an injury. The last time he had tried, she had sent him home to his parents to 'recuperate'.

No more fake injuries since then.

He paused as he came to the Hokage's office, mentally regretting the loss of a wonderful nap day. Then, sighing for what seemed like the thousandth time today, he entered the building.

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He could barely believe his luck. They cancelled the mission. And before the Godaime or Sakura could scramble around for another one, he had practically run off.

Well he didn't actually run; it was too tiring to do so. But he had been able to sneak past those two and stealthily make his way out of there. Until they could somehow manage to find him and issue him with new orders, he was free.

He narrowed his eyes as he stood in the back-alley, pondering where he could escape to. There were two obvious places that he was bound to be on a day like this; the park or on some roof-top… meaning he had to avoid both locations.

And he couldn't go back to his apartment as Sakura would just bust down the door. She had done that once on the request of his mother. Besides it was kinda cramped in there… and he never usually hung out there unless someone else was in Konoha…

He coughed to himself and thanked his stars that she wasn't around however. If she was, she would be irritating him to go and do his job. Like as though he didn't have enough women nagging him already.

They usually hung out there as she didn't like to be seen with him in public. Not that he complained, as being seen with her in public would also mean getting troublesome looks from people around him.

Not that they ever behaved in any way to even suggest that they were more than… acquaintances. But it just seemed everyone knew his business. Probably due to one big-mouthed kunoichi who he also thankfully hadn't seen around. She was probably with Chouji bugging him about something. Irritating girl.

Anyway, he reminded himself, he had other things to worry about. He had best get out of here before anyone caught him. As un-sneakily as possible, (trying not to act suspicious made you more suspicious) he nonchalantly walked through the alleys keeping an eye out for anyone who may have been looking for him.

Truth was… there was a spot he could go. But it was very dangerous.

This spot was arguably the Numero Uno of nap spots. The best of the best. The top dawg. And one of the reasons that it was so was because no one knew of it. No one. He had managed all this while to keep it a secret by only using it when no one was looking for him. Even Chouji, Ino and his parents didn't know about it. Neither did that troublesome woman which made it all the more attractive. It was a spot to be free of them all.

But to use it now, (whoops, just slip quickly behind this door to avoid Ino and Sakura) would mean quite possibly exposing its location to people who were looking for him.

And if this was lost, this last bastion of his, his last escape, then there was no longer a place he could ever be comfortable.

Shikamaru paused, as he crouched behind the dumpster as his mother walked past. He was being a tad dramatic here he supposed but well… some people felt strongly about certain things and this was something he felt very strongly about. Naps were more than just a hobby; it was his way of life. They should call him the Nap Sage, he mused. Peeking from the side to see if the coast was clear, he calmly made his way through the bushes towards the park. Which should have been a dumb idea.

But the best place to hide was in the most obvious place.

Of course, he was aware that Sakura and Ino had earlier been making their way to the park. They were probably waiting to ambush him out at the front. The afternoon sun hid behind a cloud as he continued to calmly make his way through the bushes to a spot that he could watch and plan around them.

He spotted them both on a bench, typically arguing about some random thing. There were a group of girl genins having an outdoor lesson, chattering excitedly making lots of noise. He guessed that must have been what Ino and Sakura were arguing about, the sight of those girls bringing to mind their long-time friendship/enmity.

He grinned to himself; amateurs. Allowing themselves to be distracted so easily. He looked up into the sky watching the white clouds stroll by cheerfully. Heh, that one even looked like a certain kunoichi's head…. He grinned again, already hearing the sharp retort in his mind if he had told her that.

A sharp, sudden longing struck him making him come back to his senses. He rubbed the back of his head ruefully before focusing back on his task. In front of him, the genins had stopped their lesson to stare at the racket that the two idiot kunoichis were making. He rolled his eyes as he walked past them; so engrossed in their name calling that they didn't even see him.

He quickly ducked into a path that was hardly used, which led to a deeper part of the park. Konoha was essentially still a forest and there were still clumps that people didn't normally enter. He walked purposefully, excited about the chance to sleep the afternoon away.

And he never even noticed the shadow behind him.

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He zig-zagged quickly almost, almost but never breaking into a run. He loved this spot and when he had first found it, it seemed a godsend. He broke through a group of seemingly impregnable trees and stood to admire what nature had created. It was even more fantastic than he had remembered… or so he though every time he came here. The universe may have been out to get him, but at least it gave him this.

The soft sunlight, the cool and green grass and the shady trees. Everything about it was perfect especially the fact that no on knew about it.

He made his way to his favorite spot and laid himself on it, letting loose a contented sigh. Well it was a little chilly with the wind and clouds, but all in all, still fantastic. He yawned; one of the many that would soon follow as he peacefully drifted off.

This was peace.

This was life.

Could this moment get better than this?

Cue, Universe.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"There are times," he started, hearing a voice behind him, "that I can't imagine that you could possibly get any lazier." He sat up quickly, all thoughts of naps out his head and whirled around looking for the source of the voice.

That troublesome woman look back at him condescendingly, "And then I am proven completely wrong." He glared back at her, furious with himself.

She snorted at him as he turned away, a scowl on his face. "What's the matter pineapple-head? Angry I found your little hiding spot?"

He scowled again, now it was all ruined. His last perfect spot… He watched out of the corner of his eye as she walked around, getting a look at her surroundings.

She stopped in front of his feet, looking down at him. "Although this is a rather nice spot." He mumbled back something to her. "What?" She looked at him sharply.

He sighed, "This was a nice spot…"

She glared at him a bit before walking over to stand under the trees. "Just lying like that where anyone could just walk in and catch you." She shook her head, "Thought you were smarter than that."

He replied without opening his eyes, "No one knows about this place."

She rolled her eyes, "I do. It was so easy to follow you. You were like some giddy genin so excited that you never even knew I was behind you."

"You mean stalking," he said sitting up and stretching his arm, "You were stalking me."

She didn't respond, just continued to look at the back of his head. They just remained in silence for a few more seconds till she snorted. "Just wasting a day lying around… tsk what would happen if someone walked in and saw you like this?

He rolled his eyes, "I told you, no one knew about this place. The only way to find it would be to sneakily follow some innocent guy like a common thief."

Once again, she didn't respond. He still didn't turn around, wondering if maybe he had gone a bit too far. She didn't like being spoken to like that although she had no problem treating him like that.

He turned around, realizing that she was looking at the sky. She looked a little tired, actually, hands fiddling with the help of her skirt. She was a little quiet and that was not normal of this woman.

He watched as she suddenly stood straight and stretched her back. Without a word she turned away probably to make her way back through the park. He bit back a sigh; he was happy to be left alone, but… he had missed her.

She paused in front of the trees, checking to see where it was that she had come from. Damn that jerk. Just damn him. She hoped it would rain and soak him into the ground. Calling her that when she was just… just a little tired and just wanted to….

Whatever. She turned around to give him one last scornful look, only to catch him looking at her. They looked at each other until he finally sighed and got up. She raised an eyebrow as he walked in her direction.

But, he only stopped in front of his jacket which he had dropped earlier. Picking it up, he walked back to his spot. She clenched her fist; sometimes she really felt like just hitting him so hard that his….

Wait a minute. He had dropped the jacket next to him, but not in a throw it down on the floor manner. He had spread it out next to him, in a way that someone could sit down without getting any grass stains on her skirt. Then without saying a word, he dropped back down on the grass, resting his head in his hands and looking up.

Wellll… she was the first to admit that she was a little proud. But she sorta also knew how much it meant for him to invite her down next to him here. In Shikamaru's terminology, it meant a lot. And she was tired…

Shikamaru yawned as she sat down next to him, fan laid aside. She stretched her long legs (he loved it when she did that) before crossing them and leaning back on her arms. She was a lot more casual than he expected.

He forced himself not to look at her legs as he watched the clouds rolled by, the both of them comfortable in their silence. She clucked her tongue before saying sarcastically, "Couldn't you have chosen a more obvious place?" He rolled his eyes as she went on, "I mean an enemy could just stroll up and stab you while you dream away about clouds or games and what else that empty head of yours dreams of…"

You, Shikamaru thought to himself.

He cast a lazy glance her way, "For the third time woman, no one and I repeat no one knows about this place."

She snorted, sticking her tongue at him. He fought an urge to grin. She was being very, very relaxed today. Normally outside the confines of his room, she wouldn't even so much smile at him. She always acted like he didn't even exist sometimes.

She gestured around her, "This place is right in the middle of the park isn't it… Someone could just walk up to here and you wouldn't know a thing." He gave her a look as he shivered slightly in the wind; this was getting a little old.

"If you are so afraid that someone might see you being civil to me, you're free to go woman…" She rolled her eyes back at him, not bothering to answer.

Since she didn't seem to want to say anything else, he closed his eyes and tried to get warm. He would have liked his jacket back but it would be impossible to ask her for it. Out of spite probably, she would purposely hold onto it. That was them.

Anyway she would probably leave by herself when she felt like it and he could take it back then. She normally never bothered to tell him if she was leaving; just up and leave him without a word.

Even in his apartment, he never really knew what she was doing there… other than scolding him, or insulting him. They always sat far apart, she on the chair and he on the bed or the other way around. They were never within touching distance of each other… and he knew better than to break the rule. He was admittedly content to have her like that… even if he didn't know just what they were.

She always came to see him there… always. She would make him buy something to eat and they would just sit in there in silence or just hang…. It was un-troublesome which was the way he liked it… even though they were days when she would throw her head back and laugh and he wondered what it would be like to wrap his arms aro-

"Oi… bum are you already asleep?"

He resisted the urge to open his eyes. Maybe if he just forced himself, he would fall asleep for real. Sometimes, she was really just too damn troublesome. He heard her mumbling again about how someone could just walk into the glade but he didn't rise to the bait this time. Giving a non-committal grunt, he tried to get himself comfortable.

And all of a sudden realized that he was a lot warmer than he should be. It was the kind of warmth of having someone near you. She was still just sitting, but for some reason, she was a lot nearer than he remembered.

Trying his best not to show any reaction, he cracked open an eye slightly, watching as she yawned. Cute. If only she would remain that way all the time.

He watched as she reached for her fan and quickly shut his eyes as he felt the warmth of her body as she reached over and placed the fan behind his head, below the tree. He was confused; just what on earth was she up to now? Was she trying to pound him or something?

And then, she lay back. It wasn't just dropping her back on to the ground. It was a more deliberate action… and then though she got back up immediately. She frowned and dusted off some grass from her blouse. He couldn't really get a good view of her face from his position although he could hear her grumble something about grass.

He dared himself to open his eye again, watching her look up at the clouds, legs stretched out in front of her. And then…. slowly but very surely, she moved towards him.

It was slow. She moved as though in deep thought as she reached out to close the distance between them. Now their sides were touching as he forced himself not to react. She still hadn't looked at him directly as she remained in that position for a while. Her warmth was suffusing him, making him feel hot and slightly bothered. He considered adjusting himself, but he wasn't quite sure it could get better than this.

Oh wait. Just wait a goddamn minute.

He watched as she stretched her arms over her head before twisting slightly to slowly but carefully and deliberately lay her head on his chest. Her left hand was still in between them but her right hand drifted a bit more to rest on his chest next to his head.

For a while he could not move, let alone think rationally.

He was pretty damn sure she could feel his heart pounding fit to burst. How could she not? He had to force himself to breathe normally. She adjusted herself slightly and let out a small sigh. Again she yawned; using her right hand to cover her mouth before returning it back to its position, but this time a little more towards his waist.

A million questions flew through his head. But he couldn't even bring himself to voice one out. What was he supposed to do now? This scenario was implausible no matter the circumstances, or so he thought. Never could he have imagined….

He wondered what to say, but before he could open his mouth, she said clearly, "Shut up pineapple-head."

He looked at the top of her head, feeling the braids brush his face and decided he would. Her hair was right in front of him… the closest he had ever come to being able to smell it before was the fragrance that remained in his apartment after she left. Now it wasn't just within distance, it was right in his goddamn arms.

What the hell he thought. He lifted his body forward, causing her to jerk her head around at him, but he wasn't looking at her. Removing one hand he reached out and wrapped the hand around her waist, pulling her closer towards him. And the surprises continued as to his amazement, she didn't resist, instead, adjusted her own body, trying to get comfortable, but ultimately closer to him.

He could feel her body pressing against him as he pretended to adjust his shoulder but all the while re-positioning her face into his neck area. She made a small noise that he couldn't identify. All he knew was that her face was suddenly buried in the spot right below his neck. Her warm breath was tickling him, but he could not imagine a more delicious feeling at that moment. Her right hand suddenly edged its way upwards, to lay itself gently just below his neck, her fingers brushing against his collarbone.

He had never been more comfortable in his life.

That universe. What a joker.

He yawned. Nice day to nap, he thought.

Story based on Interlude by Paintpixel