ONESHOT. A Shikatema Valentines. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does.
…
"What do you mean Suna doesn't celebrate valentines?" Ino practically shrieked.
"Ouch, I think I just turned deaf," Temari joked as she put her hands over her ears. "Yes, we don't celebrate what's-it-called."
"You mean, you Sand citizens don't have a holiday for girls to make and give chocolates to the boy of their dreams?" Ino continued ranting.
Sakura laughed at her best friend's exaggerations. "It's actually no big deal," she told the Sand nin. "Valentines is just an excuse for girls to give chocolates to special people."
"So not!" Ino complained.
Temari could only look on in exasperation as her two kunoichi companions started bickering.
"You have no sense of romance whatsoever!" Ino screamed.
"What are you talking about?" Sakura retorted. "Of course I do!"
"All you think about is training and studying!"
"No, I don't!"
"You don't understand the concept of Valentines!"
"I do! That's why I'm making chocolates for Sasuke! And I don't even know why we're having this argument!"
The two stopped screaming and stared at each other stupidly. "Okay…" Temari said after a long awkward pause. "So we'll get back to shopping now?"
Embarrassed, Ino and Sakura faced her and chorused, "Yeah, yeah, let's." They both turned and continued walking with the Sand kunoichi following after them.
What have I gotten myself into? Temari thought as she imagined what other things the two could argue over. She's known them for a while now, and even though she wasn't too close with wither, she knew them well enough to know that they were like opposite ends of the spectrum. They were like a gentle chrysanthemum and a big strong cherry tree, small tomatoes and dried plums, an elegant vine and a blazing fire, just to name a few comparisons.
The Sand nin just so happened to have arrived in Konoha a couple of days before Valentines and unexpectedly had to stay 'til the day after. She'd been hanging around in a dango store when the said blond and pink-haired best friends met her and invited her to join them in shopping for materials for the aforementioned holiday. And then she had told them about the event's absence in Suna culture, and that's when the two had started arguing.
Now the girls have arrived in a shopping mart where Ino and Sakura quickly introduced their Valentines-ignorant friend to the various materials and ingredients required for making the chocolates.
Seeing the numerous supplies the Konoha kunoichi were showing her, Temari couldn't help asking, "Do we really need to buy all this? Or make the chocolates for that matter? Can't we just buy them?"
The two looked at her in shock. "Of course not!" they chorused.
"Can't you see that it's an act of love?" Ino said in the most overly melodramatic tone. "It means a lot more when you make chocolates with love. You can't possibly buy love, can you?"
Sakura helplessly stared at her embarrassing bestfriend. "Well, you get the idea, right?" she asked Temari.
"Yeah," the sandy-haired shinobi replied, "but I don't know if I have someone to give them to."
The pink-haired girl gave her a warm smile. "Don't worry. You do. You can give chocolates to boys who are special to you. When we said 'special', we mean close, like friends, brothers, fathers and even teachers. You can give Gaara and Kankurou chocolates when you get back to Suna."
"Oh."
It was some time and a few shopping bags later when the girls made their way to Sakura's house, which was the nearest one with the most available kitchen and was wide enough for the bustle that was going to occur in just a bit. They set the bags on the counter and started taking out the materials and ingredients.
"Do we really need all this?" Temari asked. "It seems a bit… much…"
"Of course we need them all!" Ino replied as she started opening the chocolate mix.
Sakura laughed and said, "That's Ino for you. She'll never go for anything simple when she can make the grandest, most extravagant things. The truth is, we don't need half of this. Ino-buta should really pay for most of it."
"No, I shouldn't," stated the so-called pig, "because you girls need these too."
"No, we don't."
"Yeah, we do." And the conversation continued in this pattern while they worked, the two Konoha kunoichi teaching Temari how to make the chocolates as they bickered.
Ino was melting her chocolates as she poured in a few suspicious ingredients.
"Ino-buta, do you know what the heck you're doing?" the pink-haired gal asked.
"Yeah, duh," replied Ino as she mixed the weird concoction. She poured in some unknown powder the other girls didn't even remembered buying. "I know what this'll taste like later."
"I pity Sai," Sakura said, sighing.
Ino suddenly turned in surprise. "Sai?" She was blushing, which was odd, because she was never embarrassed when she used to talk about Sasuke back in the day.
"You meant that Anbu?" Temari asked.
"I… uh…" Ino was blushing and she could barely talk straight.
"And who said Ino was incapable of finding true love," Sakura said with a laugh.
"What's that supposed to mean?" the blonde exclaimed.
"Well, you were always just infatuated," Sakura said pointedly. "But it seems Mr. Gorgeous Smile has really stolen your heart for real this time."
Ino gave a forced laugh. "What are you talking about? What gives you such a ridiculous notion?"
The pink-haired kunoichi merely smile mischievously as she continued stirring her own chocolate on the same stove as Ino. "Oh, I don't know…"
The two continued giggling, Ino forcibly and Sakura slightly eerily, as they continued stirring. Temari couldn't help chuckling as she mixed the powdered chocolate mix with a few nuts and berries in a mixing bowl.
"How about you, Sakura?" she asked after a while. "Other than Sasuke, who will be the other lucky recipients?"
"Naruto, of course," Sakura said quickly. And added, "And Kakashi-sensei, Sai, Yamato-sensei, and oh, my dad, I guess. But Sasuke's will be the best one."
"Well, I'm giving some to Shikamaru and Chouji," Ino spoke up. "And I'm giving some to Sai just coz he's cute. That's all."
Sakura rolled her eyes in Ino's denial. She then faced Temari. "How about you?"
"Gaara and Kankurou of course," the Sand kunoichi replied. She then looked at Sakura suspiciously. "What did you have in mind?"
"How about Shikamaru?"
"Yeah, him too, I guess," Temari replied as she looked down on the mixture before her. And as an afterthought, she added, "As a friend, I guess…"
…
As expected, Shikamaru was found in his usual cloud gazing site the next day. "Hey," he greeted without even looking away from the clouds. "What's up?"
"I should be the one asking you that," she said jokingly. "You're the one always looking up."
He simply lay there, continuing his cloud gazing. Knowing very well that he wouldn't respond any further, she made her way towards the bench and sat beside him. "You know, it's Valentines today," she said nonchalantly.
He sat up and looked at her. "I didn't know you celebrate that in Suna," he said with the same never changing expression on his face.
"Well, you do here so…" she got the box of chocolates in her obi and held it out to him, looking at him expectedly.
"Oh."
"What do you mean 'oh'?"
He took the box and played with it with his fingers. "I meant 'oh I forgot you could give chocolates'."
Temari erupted in a loud guffaw. "What? You forgot I was a girl?" she shouted, laughing uncontrollably and holding her heaving side. "What a genius you are!"
He gazed at her questioningly. "You know, it's times like these that make me forget."
"What? You want me to laugh like this instead?" She placed a hand over her mouth and laughed quietly, something that didn't quite fit her.
He stretched backwards and laid himself back on the bench. "You seem good-natured today," he said, placing the box of sweets on his chest and folding his arms beneath his head. "Did you eat something poisonous?"
"Well, you're ill-natured today," she scoffed, a bit upset. "I should ask you the same question."
"No, I didn't eat anything poisonous," he remarked with a shrug. "But I might."
She pouted at this. "My chocolates aren't poisonous. I'll show you. Here." She grabbed the box and opened it. It contained numerous pieces in various shapes set in a pattern. She took out one shaped like a star and popped it into her mouth. "See?" She swallowed and added, "It's not poisonous."
With a heavy sigh, he got up and took a piece of the chocolate and popped into his mouth. "Whatever," he said as he munched. "But you'll have to eat them all with me, so if I die of poisoning, you will too."
She laughed and did as he said. "The clouds are lovely today," she contemplated.
Shikamaru nodded his head in agreement as he continued eating. "They're not the only things that are…" he mumbled.
…
Temari was with Ino and Sakura again, hanging out in the dango shop. They hadn't been there too long when Hinata and Tenten showed up and joined them. "How did your Valentines go?" Sakura asked everyone.
"Lovely," Ino said dreamily. "Sai received my chocolate graciously and ate it."
Sakura was equally as excited. She was blushing as she said, "It was unexpected, but Sasuke promised he'd eat mine. And that's a feat considering the fact that he got like a million."
The two squealed in glee at their success. Temari looked at them, confused. "What're you so excited about?" she inquired.
"Oh, did we forget to tell you?" Ino asked. "If the guy you like not only receives it, but eats it, especially when he lets you see him do it, then he feels the same way about you." Temari was surprised by this remark. But didn't he…
"I dunno about that," the ever-practical Tenten said. "Neji ate mine, but only as a friend." Ino and Sakura stared at her with 'Nuh-uh' expressions on their faces.
"I'm sure Sasuke likes me," Sakura remarked wistfully. "After all, he did say he would eat my chocolate. He wouldn't really bother saying anything if he didn't like me. I mean, he wouldn't try keeping my hopes up." Temari was starting to panic now. He… he…
"How bout you Hinata?" Ino inquired.
The Hyuuga blushed. "I… I…" A timid smile grazed her lips. "I mustered enough guts to give it to Naruto and…" the girls looked at her, anticipating. "He ate it!" she shrieked excitedly, surprising even herself.
"How about you, Temari-san?" asked Sakura.
"Oh, nothing happened," she said quickly. "I gave a box to Shikamaru, and he took it. That's all."
"So he didn't eat it?" Ino asked disappointedly.
"Why should that bother me?" the Sand nin asked when she saw the other girls with the same expressions.
"Well, I thought he'd accept it and eat it… and you know…" Ino said almost sadly.
Temari looked at the Konoha nins skeptically. "And what?"
"Eh…" Sakura said. "You would've been a cute couple."
Temari cringed at the thought. "Whatever." She knew they were joking, but strangely, she liked the idea. As the others chattered on, finally relieving her of their attention, she let a smile graze her lips. He did eat it after all…
END
Author's notes: Please review! Everyone have a Happy Valentines!