Disclaimer: I do not own any of the NARUTO characters, as they belong to Masashi Kishimoto. Oh and I should warn you this is my first fic. So be warned.
The More Things Change…
So we start our wonderful tale out with our lazy main character Shikamaru. He is currently watching the clouds, his favorite pastime, in the park as our main female character Temari walks through the park, her thoughts else where she absentmindedly trips over our unsuspecting Shikamaru.
"Ouch... Watch it!" Temari exclaimed as she slowly stood up.
"What do you mean watch it? I wasn't the one walking; it was you who tripped over me," replied Shikamaru in an exasperated tone.
"OH YEAH? WELL, YOU SHOULDN'T BE JUST LYING ABOUT IN A PARK!" Temari yelled at him.
"Well, that's what people do at parks; they lie down and watch the clouds and they have picnics and stuff like that...and you don't have to yell," he pointed out.
"Ohhh... I'm sorry," she said as she blushed. "I've just been a little preoccupied at the moment. I have been ordered to be Sunagakure's liaison to Konohagakure, so I've had a lot to deal with."
'Why did I say sorry to this lazy bum? And why am I blushing?' Temari thought to herself.
"You women are all alike; you run around and never stop. Here, why don't you sit down and watch the clouds with me?" Shikamaru offered.
'Wait, what am I doing?' he asked himself. 'I've never asked anyone to watch the clouds with me but Chouji. What the hell is wrong with me?'
"Oh so women never stop and relax eh? Well fine, I will join you," she announced, sounding somewhat affronted.
So the two just sat there in silence for a time, but then our antagonist shows up out of nowhere. And...
"Shika-kun, where have you been? And who's this weirdo?" Ino exclaimed in a highly annoying and high-pitched voice, as she latched onto Shikamaru's arm.
"Um... she's...uh..." Shikamaru stammered.
'What do I do? What do I do?' Shikamaru thought frantically.
"I'm his girlfriend! So back off!" Temari growled as she wrenched Shikamaru from Ino.
"Oh really?" Ino asked, turning her attention once again to the other blonde
"Yes and we were just about to leave, isn't that right Shika-kun?" Temari explained.
"Uh…um…uh huh." Shikamaru replied, still thoroughly dumbfounded.
'Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...' Shikamaru thought to himself.
So Temari walked Shikamaru away from certain doom (a.k.a. Ino), pulling the flabbergasted lad behind her. So stunned was Shikamaru that he didn't realize that he and Temari were holding hands and that all of Konoha could see; all his friends, his teachers, and the Hokage. So eventually they walked to where Temari was staying.
"So, you're welcome for saving you from certain doom." Temari joked, a light smile on her face.
"Uh ... come on, I have an I.Q. over 200 but I still can't think of anything to say to her. Wow she has pretty eyes. " He thought.
"You know... you just said that out loud." Temari laughed as Shikamaru just stood there, once again dumbfounded, and now thoroughly embarrassed. His face became almost as red as an apple.
"Um…yeah I really didn't mean to say that...um and I don't really know what that means. So if you could let me know what I'm thinking right now it would be really helpful, because I've never not known what to do or say and this is really troublesome." Shikamaru confessed.
"Well I might tell you and I might not." She said in a devious voice.
"Why do you have to be so troublesome? Just tell me." Shikamaru replied, already getting his smart-alecky tone back.
"Fine ...but you have to do something for me, because this is the second time I've done something for you today." Temari replied.
"Man how troublesome." Shikamaru murmured.
"What was that?" Temari asked, still grinning.
"I said fine, whatever you want." Shikamaru grumbled, already regretting saying that.
"Ok what I want you to do is..."
So as Shikamaru walks home he contemplates what happened earlier that day. 'Oh man; today was really troublesome. Well, come to think of it, I've never been this nervous around a girl before. I guess I'll ask the old man about it,' Shikamaru thought to himself as he opened the door.
"Hey old man!" Shikamaru yelled into the house. "Old man, are you home?'
"You rang son?" Shikato murmured lazily.
Suddenly Shikamaru found himself wondering how to talk to his father about his problem. "SoItalkedtothisgirlandIthinkIlikeherbutImnotsuresocanyouhelpmeoldman?" Shikamaru stammered, a blush grazing his features.
Shikato showed no sign of understanding, a deep furrow of confusion upon his brow. "Slow down son, ok, say it slowly." Shikato said calmly. Shikamaru took a deep breath and began.
"So I talked to this girl and I think I like her, but I'm not sure, so can you help me old man?" Shikamaru said with a bit more clarity.
His father's face lit up in understanding. "So when you're around this girl do you have any…um, how do I put this... any kind of feelings?" he asked his son.
"Um…well I feel like I'm going to puke, and I feel really nervous." Shikamaru answered truthfully.
"Yup," Shikato replied, a knowing grin on his face, "classic signs."
"Classic signs of what pops?" Shikamaru asked, still confused.
"Well, that you're in love stupid," Shikato replied. "And remember to not tell your mother; you know how she'll get," he added, looking somewhat frightful.
"Yeah, thanks pops; I'll remember to not let mom know," he whispered. Then he went to bed. So the next morning we find Shikamaru wearing a tuxedo and carrying a bouquet of roses which he got from the only flower shop in Konoha, Ino's parents shop, running down the streets of Konoha.
Flashback
Shikamaru walks into the Yamanaka's flower shop wearing his tux.
"Hello Yamanaka-sama. How are you?" Shikamaru called out to Ino's mother, who was currently tending to some rhododendron's in the front window.
"I'm good," she replied, turning to greet him. "What can I do for you today, Shikamaru-chan?"
"I need a bouquet of roses please." Shikamaru answered plainly.
"Oh, so that's why you are dressed up; you must have a date." Yamanaka-sama replied, a knowing look on her face.
"Yeah," he answered indifferently.
"And that must be why Ino has been crying since yesterday;" Yamanaka-sama said sadly.
Shikamaru stood up in wide-eyed shock; after al, he had no idea that one of his teammates had any feelings for him. Of course she was always talking about Sasuke, so it was hard to realize it, but it suddenly became clear to him; all the times she had run up to him yelling his name, latching onto him in a death grip. Unfortunately, he had realized his true feelings with Temari. Even so, he felt bad for Ino.
"Tell her I'm sorry." Shikamaru replied sincerely.
"I will, and I wish you well and hope you don't regret anything." Yamanaka-sama said seriously.
"Well, me neither, but I have to be true to my feelings, and right now they're telling me that I'm in love with Temari.Well that and my stomach." Shikamaru said with such fervor that it slightly scared Yamanaka-sama, but she realized that his place was not here but with Temari.
"Go to her Shikamaru, and don't worry about the fee; I'm sure you will be paying us visits in the future." Yamanaka-sama told him, a light smile on her face.
"Arigatou." he said as he bowed, and with that he ran out of the flower shop towards the park. Shikamaru had almost reached the park when he ran into not only his sensei but all of the Rookie 9's Jounin sensei's.'Oh crap.' Shikamaru thought to himself. 'If they see me they'll definitely talk to me about perverted stuff, well maybe Kurenai-sensei won't but the rest of them will.' So Shikamaru formulated a plan as he ran. He would use the Kagemane no Jutsuto freeze them and then use a smoke bomb to confuse them, and then he would make a break for it. And with that he started forming the hand seals to perform the technique; once he was done and the sensei's were frozen he threw the smoke bomb, knowing he didn't have enough chakrato hold them all for very long. So just as the smoke bomb exploded he ran. 'There she is...' he thought frantically. 'No time to look back.' Just as he thought that he slid right infront of Temari. "Yo." He said nonchalantly.
"What took you so long? I guess you don't want to know what yesterday meant," she asked him, frowning.
"Oh, that; I already figured that out," he said as he handed her the roses, and as he did that he grabbed a hold of her.
"Hey what are you doing?" Temari exclaimed. Just after that he leaned in for a kiss. They broke the kiss seconds later, hearing laughter in the background.
"Aw…Shikamaru's first kiss. I'm glad I got pictures, eh, Kakashi?" Asuma-sensei roared with laugher.
"How troublesome," Shikamaru sighed.
AN: Thanks to my beta-reader Timeshifter, he help alot so I figured I'd give him some props here at the end.