Theme #2: Daisy
Disclaimer: I believe that Naruto belongs to a genius called Masashi Kishimoto. Who, coincidentally, isn't me.
Temari stared at the bouquet of flowers in her hands, then looked back up at the boy in front of her. "Flowers?"
Shikamaru was watching her through half-lidded eyes, seemingly nonchalant but actually quite interested in her reaction, "What? You don't like them?"
She looked back at them, shrugging, "It's not that. It's just - you've never given me flowers before."
He shrugged, "Just wanted to do something different, that's all."
She nodded but the expression on her face was blatantly sceptical. Her eyes were still on the bunch of white and yellow flowers in her hand when she said, "What kind of flowers are they anyway?"
The slight smirk on his face didn't escape her attention as she turned her gaze back to him but it disappeared almost as soon as she saw it, "Daisies."
She frowned slightly, wondering what the smirk could mean, "What?"
"What do you mean 'what?'"
Her forest green eyes narrowed suspiciously, "You were smirking - why?"
Now it was Shikamaru's turn to look sceptical. "Was I?"
She frowned and rolled her eyes. She would let the matter drop this time since she didn't have the energy to quarrel with him at the moment (that three day trek to Konoha was certainly draining), "Well...they're pretty. So thanks, I guess."
He shrugged and turned away from her but she still saw the half-smile on his face, "Ready to go, Ambassador?"
Temari nodded, then held out the bouquet to him. He looked at it, then back to her, confused, "What?"
"Well I don't intend to walk through the streets with a big bunch of flowers in my hands. So you'll carry them for me, right?" Although it sounded like a question, Shikamaru knew, from the look in her eyes, that she was really ordering him and so, in an effort to avoid noise and (most likely) violence, he took them from her and started walking begrudgingly into his village, the loud, troublesome woman at his side.
As they made their way through the streets to the Hokage's office, Temari striding purposefully and Shikamaru trailing a step or two behind her, he looked down at the flowers in his hands and wondered, not for the first time, if they were right for the woman in front of him. Daisies represented gentleness (a fact he knew simply because it had lodged itself into his brain at some point when he'd been unable to tune out Ino's ramblings) and at first glance, most would say that there wasn't a trace of gentleness in her and at first, Shikamaru would have agreed but through experience, he had found out a most surprising fact - the troublesome woman had a gentle side. It was ridiculously well hidden, of course but she chose to reveal it to a select few people and somehow Shikamaru had found himself on that list.
And in the same way that he would never tell her what those flowers meant, he would never admit that he was quite happy to be there.
A/N: Aah!!! Finally I've written my first, proper ShikaTema!!! Whoo!!! I'm so excited!!!! Please REVIEW and let me know what you think. Does anything need work? Constructive criticism is welcome.
