It's rather sad that I have to put this up here, but I obviously don't own Naruto, or any of the characters associated with the series.
Temari left Tsunade's office, feeling ready to burst with all her anger. She hated Tsunade, she hated Gaara, and she certainly hated her stupid guide.
Why was I the one picked to be the stupid ambassador for the stupid Chunin exams by stupid Gaara? She thought angrily.
She knew her companion could sense her anger; she'd never been good at concealing it. She tried to calm her self down. She closed her eyes, but that only made it so that the faces of the three people she hated most right now swim in her minds eye. She sighed, and popped her eyes back open.
Only to find one such face right in front of her.
She jumped slightly and reached back for her fan. Her intention was to beat this little invasive brat into a bloody pulp, but suddenly her body stopped moving. She glanced down, and saw his dark shadow leading up to her feet. His hands formed that all too familiar seal. She sighed as her hand slowly dropped to her side.
"Look, I know you don't like this, and neither do I" said Shikamaru with that lazy smirk of his. "So we're going to do this whole thing with as little interaction as possible, we'll be strictly professional…"
"Oh shut up, don't even start with that crap!" His shadow possession couldn't control her mouth. "Why do you think I would be anything but professional? Geeze, you freak, let me go."
Shikamaru's shadow slowly slid back into its own position.
They reached the elevator at the end of the hall, and both of their thumbs jabbed for the button at the same time. They both whipped their hands back, glaring at each other.
"Troublesome woman"
"What was that?"
"…nothing"
Shikamaru pressed the button for the elevator and they waited in silence as the doors slid open in front of them. Temari marched in haughtily, and with a lazy sigh Shikamaru folded himself in after her, reaching for the ground floor button only to find Temari already punching it angrily. He signed and leaned against the wall. The elevator started its descent amidst an awkward silence from its two occupants.
It was between the second and third floors when it happened.
The elevator shuddered and ground to a halt, then suddenly jerked down slightly, like it was about to fall.
Their reactions were instinctual.
Temari reached for her fan, forgetting the enclosed space, her only thought to float to safety upon it. Shikamaru was faster. His sexist mind told him to protect the woman. He slammed into her body as she brought her fan down, so that its hard metal trapped him against her. This normally would have been solved by Temari whipping her fan back, and Shikamaru jerking away, both of them glaring.
But elevators are small.
Temari's sharp fan cut into the sides and floors of the elevator, and in that awkward position became stuck. Her back was against a wall; with Shikamaru's face about three inches away from hers, his hands on her shoulders.
They were trapped.
Temari let out a stream of angry curses and oaths. Shikamaru chuckled. He could hear Kankuro's roaring fury and Gaara's quiet anger in her words. He realized too late that his laughter made him shudder, and Temari could feel all of it, and when he looked into her face, he knew she thought he was laughing for a completely different and inappropriate reason.
"how troubl…"
He was cut off by a shrill scream of rage from Temari. The pitch threatened to burst his ear drums. He told her to shut up, but the screeching only increased in volume.
Again, those stupid sexist instincts of his.
He pressed forward, his mouth covering hers. He didn't mean anything by it, it was a reaction, shut up the annoying noise with the only weapon he had available, his only moveable body part, his head.
His mouth.
Her eyes widened in shock, as did his. Neither of them could believe what was happening. Wait, happening? Shouldn't that be happened? Why was he still kissing her?
They both reared back, or would have, but her head smashed against the wall and his cracked into her fan.
Two identical moans of pain escaped them; their heads lolled forward coming to rest on each others shoulders. This time, neither of them moved, their throbbing heads demanded the comfort found in the crook of the others neck.
"So…" his lazy drawl searched for something, anything, to say to make the weird situation a bit less awkward.
"So much for being processional"
They both started to laugh at the utter absurdity of it all. They felt each others rumblings and that only made them laugh harder.
Nervous laughter.
"Wait" Temari's head left Shikamaru's shoulder. His head wobbled upright
"what?"
"you… you… oh no…"
"what?"
"you stole it… my first kiss"
That just pissed him off. Stole it? How the hell did someone steal a kiss?
"How the hell does someone steal a kiss?"
She missed the anger in his voice, thinking only of her own plight.
"oh, it wasn't supposed to be with you… I wanted someone special… like after a date or something… not… not with you"
Her initial shock slowly faded into anger to match his. Of course, only a screaming match could follow.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN HOW DO YOU STEAL A KISS?"
"WELL I SURE AS HELL DIDN'T MEAN TO, GEEZE YOU TROUBLESOME WOMAN, WHO WOULD WANT TO KISS YOU?"
Shikamaru missed her reply; he was engrossed in his own thoughts.
Stop screaming at her you imbecile… come on genius boy… I can't make my hand sign… that helps me concentrate… concentrate you idiot… say something… stop the screaming… why can't I think straight… it's not… it's not her is it? How troublesome… she's screaming again… must stop it… oh no… no… I'm moving… I didn't tell myself to move… oh… why can't I just obey myself…troublesome…
His mouth covered hers again.
Her eyes got that same wide expression, and he looked up to see tears in them.
Troublesome
He pulled back, making sure another ear splitting shriek wasn't about to start. When he was sure it wasn't he spoke.
"Look, I'm sorry I stole your kiss, I was trying to get you to shut up… It was instinct… are you crying? Why are you crying? Stop that"
She heard the disgust in his voice.
"I'm not crying… okay, so I am… I'm just mad, and… I'm mad… sorry, it's not your fault… I'm just…. I hate Gaara; I'm going to kill him. Crap, I can't, stupid sand… I'll kill Kankuro… why would I do that… I don't know…"
She was rambling, she stopped.
A nervous silence passed between the two of them…
Shikamaru started to laugh, a lazy, tumbling sound.
"what's so funny?"
"this is troublesome, and ridiculous, I normally wouldn't laugh at this, but you… with you… I can laugh like this."
"that was deep… do I make you nervous?"
"troublesome woman"
They were starting to get past the awkwardness of the situation and just talk. And they did talk. For what seemed like lifetimes but was only really about half an hour.
He asked her about life in Suna, she wanted to know about Konoha.
They told stories.
Then secrets.
It's funny, how when you 'hate' someone, and you're stuck in an elevator with them, you can find something to talk about.
"I'm afraid of my mom."
Laughter. "why?"
"Don't laugh… she's scary, I don't know why my dad married her."
"maybe because, he loves her… despite the fact that she's scary"
"you're scarier"
They paused. That was awkward. But somehow… almost… welcome?
"why am I scarier?"
"you're a jounin, you're my age, and you're a girl… um… I get nervous around you…"
"why"
"you're scary"
"this is going in circles"
Laughter.
"yeah"
"so does that mean you lo… like me?"
They stared at each other… Temari blushed at the bluntness of her question, but she had to know… if her feeling were returned… if she was right to be angry at the whole situation… stuck with someone she liked when they didn't like her back…
There was a long, uncomfortable pause.
And then, even though she wasn't screaming or cursing.
He kissed her.
It wasn't the most romantic thing… It couldn't be, he couldn't move or hold her or do much anything but press his lips softly against hers.
They stood like that, both of them enjoying the moment, not brought on by anger, but by love.
A crash came from above the elevator. Like someone landing on the roof.
"HOLD ON, YOUTHFUL FRIENDS! WE SHALL SAVE YOU!
"damn it Lee, they probably don't want to be saved by you, move over you idiot, Tenten, break the lock" Neji sounded annoyed and distant, what else was new.
There was a clanging sound, and Tenten stuck her head in through an escape latch on the roof of the elevator.
"Hey guys, we'll get you out… whoa… why are you… positioned like…"
All three of them blushed furiously.
Tenten was pulled out of the hatch, and Lee dropped in, followed by Neji.
Lee blushed, Neji just looked mad. Together they wrenched Temari's fan out of the walls and floor, trying not to think about what the Hokage would say when she saw the gaping holes.
Shikamaru and Temari walked out of the building together, slightly blushing and determinedly not looking at each other.
"So much for being professional" laughed Temari
That lightened the mood, and they glanced at each other. Blushing, Temari slipped her hand into his.
"So, you want to go get some ramen or something?" Shikamaru asked, wondering what a guide was supposed to do for someone.
"Sure"
As they walked, Temari realized she didn't hate Gaara or Tsunade nearly as much as she thought.
And she certainly didn't hate Shikamaru.