Quick Author's Notes: I was reading a bunch of Tenten-centric fics, all about how she learns how to fly and stuff. It got me thinking, that she and Shikamaru are exact opposites; Tenten likes moving around and flying, and all Shika wants to do is be lazy and watch clouds. XP

Then bam. I was hit by a lemon wrapped around a large gold brick.

…Just had to throw in that Hitchhiker's quote, sorry.

Together With Clouds

Tenten didn't like to be still. She liked moving around, she liked training and doing things. She liked to toss her weapons into the air and catch them again with two fingers. She liked to dance and twirl in the air, with flurries of leaves whipping around her. Sometimes Tenten liked to undo her hair as she jumped into the sky, letting the wind caress her gently.

Shikamaru liked being still. He didn't like doing things. He was a lazy boy, and all he wanted to do was watch the clouds float by. He wanted to sit in the same spot for hours, thinking and dozing and watching the same clouds that will be there tomorrow. Shikamaru even liked stroking the yellow flowers at the base of his tree; they reminded him of Ino.

Both Shikamaru and Tenten were creatures of habit. Every day they could be found in the same place. Tenten, at the training grounds; Shikamaru, in an empty meadow.

There was only one day of the week that they spent time together.

Sunday. Six o'clock.

At five-forty Tenten would pack up her weapons, sealing them neatly back into their scrolls again, whispering her goodbyes and I'll see you tomorrow, okay? She would bring them back to her apartment and change into casual clothes that she wouldn't mind getting grass stains on (not that all of her clothes weren't like that, being a ninja and everything, but still).

At five-forty Shikamaru would mentally prepare himself for being in another person's company. A girl's company, no less; no, a woman; Tenten was a woman. It was troublesome, and bothersome, and annoying, but it was also satisfying. Tenten was one of the few people Shikamaru let watch clouds with him; the others being Ino, Chouji and Asuma-sensei.

Six o'clock, she would arrive on the dot. A little knowing smile on her face. Shikamaru would roll his eyes and adjust his body so that he was half-leaning against the tree. Tenten would sit down, and twirl a blade of grass around her fingers. Then she would speak.

"There aren't many clouds out," she said today.

Shikamaru sighed. "It's summer. That's what happens."

"I heard there's going to be a big storm. They're predicting that it should be here by Tuesday. Lots and lots of rain. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Shikamaru smirked. "Yeah."

Tenten smiled sadly. "But I won't."

"You can't fly in the rain."

Tenten brought her legs close and rested her head on her knees. Shikamaru slid down, his back scraping the tree bark.

"You will," he said.