A/N: Second chapter! Oh, what madness shall I create today?

Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto pwns. And so does Walt Disney. XD (you'll see!)

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Shikamaru's mother sat down at the table, shrewdly judging the expressions on their faces to mean that things hadn't gotten off to a good start.

"I hope you like pancakes," she addressed Temari, cutting her own breakfast into triangles.

"Yes, these are great," Temari replied, giving her a smile.

Mom glanced over at Shikamaru, who was sulking and picking at his food. "And you, Shikamaru?" she asked, steel running under the sweetness in her voice.

He shrugged. Mom's eyes narrowed. She glared at him intensely before turning back to Temari with a smile. "Don't mind him. He can be immature."

"Oh, we already had a little talk."

"Really?" Mom seemed interested.

"Yes. He knows that I'm going to be here for seven whole weeks--" Temari drew those three words out slowly, enjoying the expression on Shikamaru's face-- "and I think we're going to be great friends. Isn't that right, Shika?" She grinned wickedly as he flinched at the unwanted nickname.

Mom frowned. "Shikamaru, the young lady is speaking to you," she said sternly. "Answer her."

Temari could see the struggle on his face. In a strangled voice, he said, "Yeah. Right."

Mom struck up small talk with Temari, while Shikamaru pouted. Finally he stood up and was just about to leave the table when his mother said, "What do you think you're doing?"

He looked blankly at her.

"Aren't you going to ask to be excused?"

He sighed. "May I be excused?"

"No, you may not!" Mom said. "Wash the dishes, and then you can be excused." She took Temari's empty plate, stacked it on top of her own, and handed them both to Shikamaru.

He took them. Temari could almost hear his teeth grinding. "I'll help with the dishes, Mrs. Nara," she offered, standing.

"Oh, no, you don't have to do that," she argued. "You're a guest. Shikamaru will do it."

"No, I insist," Temari said, pushing her chair in. "I don't want to be dead weight. And besides, it'll make me feel better."

"If you're sure.." Mom said skeptically.

"I'm sure. Besides, the work will go faster with two of us, won't it, Shikamaru?" Temari asked him. He didn't answer.

"Shikamaru…" his mother said dangerously.

"Okay, yeah, sure," he said hurriedly, his back towards them.

"Well, I've got work to do myself," Mom said, leaving the table. "Shikamaru, behave yourself." And she was gone.

Temari sauntered up to the sink, standing next to Shikamaru, who was scrubbing the dishes with a vengeance.

"You want me to dry the dishes?" she asked. He ignored her. Temari sighed. "Fine. I try to help you and you pretend I'm not here? That's fine by me. I don't care. But you can't ignore me forever, Shikamaru." She was making fun of him now. "One of these days, you're going to have to come out of your little ninja turtle shell and speak to me. I'd suggest now as a good time."

He didn't even look at her. So she continued to mock him.

"You really shouldn't frown so much, Shika, you'll get wrinkles that way. You know, it takes more muscles to frown than to smile."

To her surprise, he corrected her, "Sixty-five muscles, to be exact."

Temari gasped dramatically. "So he can talk!" He rolled his eyes.

"You're a smart one, huh?"

Shikamaru snorted. "I'm the smart one."

"Out of who?"

"Out of everyone."

"Oh, is that so?" Temari asked.

"It most certainly is." Shikamaru sounded smug. He handed her a plate, which she dried.

"Well then, explain to me why your behavior hasn't caught up with your brains."

He frowned.

"Oh yeah," she continued, "it's because you're going through puberty…Sorry, for a second there I forgot how stupid teenage guys can be."

"And what about teenage girls?" Shikamaru challenged.

"When it comes to girls, you can't generalize. We're all on different parts of the spectrum. Although I guess you wouldn't know, seeing as you don't have any sisters and I doubt you have a girlfriend," Temari smirked.

He ruffled, and said angrily, "With an attitude like that, I'm sure you don't have a significant other, either. So how are you stereotyping teenage boys?"

"See, I have two younger brothers, so I know plenty about teenage boys. More than I ever wanted to know." Shikamaru just humphed.

They finished the dishes and Shikamaru headed for the front door. He had just opened it when his mother shouted from upstairs, "Where are you going?"

"I'm just gonna go meet up with Ino and Chouji, Mom," Shikamaru said, irritated that his escape plan didn't work.

"Well, take Temari with you," she yelled back. Shikamaru groaned and his whole body slumped. He glared at her. She glared back.

"Shikamaru? Did you hear me?" his mother yelled. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"I heard you, Mom," he replied, scowling.

"Well? Get going!" After making sure that his mom was done, Shikamaru stalked out the door, Temari behind him.

"So where are we going?" Temari asked, walking fast to keep up with Shikamaru's long strides.

"To the smoothie place," he said grudgingly.

When they arrived, two people Temari had never met were lounging on a booth, sipping fruit smoothies. Well, the girl was sipping a fruit smoothie. The boy was drinking the smoothie, eating a bag of chips, and devouring a candy bar.

"Hey, Shikamaru!" the blonde girl called. He raised a hand in greeting, walking over to them. Then they saw Temari.

The girl's blue eyes got wide, and she gasped. Turning to Shikamaru, she asked excitedly, "Oh my god, Shikamaru, don't tell me you finally got a girlfriend?!" Then she turned on Temari, bombarding her with questions. "What's your name? How old are you? Where are you from, 'cause I know you can't be from Konoha! Your eyes are such a cool color! How'd someone like you end up with someone like Shikamaru? Is that a natural tan? Do you--" She stopped when the boy put his hand on her shoulder.

"Ino, we just met her. I'm sure she'll tell us about herself after she's comfortable."

Ino blinked, then sighed. "I guess you're right, Chouji. It's just that I'm so excited! Shikamaru's got a girlfriend!"

Shikamaru choked. Temari hurriedly went over to them, sitting down. "First of all, I'm not his girlfriend," she informed them, putting emphasis on the word not. Ino looked disappointed.

"Oh. Then…why are you here?" Ino asked.

"Because my mom is making me drag her around with me," Shikamaru muttered. Ino shot him a glare and looked back at Temari, who sighed.

"It's kind of a long story…"

"Ooh, I love long stories!" Ino squealed. Temari looked at her strangely, then continued.

"Well, I was here on a mission. All I had to do was deliver some documents to Tsunade. But my brother, who's now the kazekage of our village (I'm from Suna), told me I needed a break and ordered that I stay here for seven weeks." Temari shook her head and held up her hands helplessly. "Why couldn't he just send me to the beach? Or Disneyworld? Instead, I find myself here in Konoha, staying with this bum--" she pointed to Shikamaru, who crossed his arms indignantly-- "who doesn't even like me. It's okay, though. The feeling's mutual." She glared at him.

"It is summer," Ino said thoughtfully. "I mean, we could go swimming and stuff. We'll have fun, don't worry! And don't mind Shikamaru…he's just immature."

"Will you people stop calling me immature?!" he demanded. "I've been hearing that all day!"

"Well, maybe if you act more mature, they won't call you immature," Chouji said logically. Shikamaru scowled at him. "I was just trying to help," Chouji defended himself.

"Anyway," Ino continued, "you said you're here for seven weeks?"

"Yep. Unfortunately." Temari rolled her eyes.

"Then we'll have plenty of time to hang out together! Oh, and by the way, I'm Ino." She pointed to the boy next to her, who was busy with his chips. "And that's Chouji. We're happy to meet you."

"Uh…it's great to meet you too," Temari said.

"So, do you like to--" Ino was cut off by the sound of Beethoven's Fifth. It was coming from Shikamaru. He pulled out his cell phone and answered it, turning away from the group.

"Hey."

"Shikamaru?" They could all hear his mother's voice on the other line.

"Yes, I'm here," he said exasperatedly.

"I need you to come home right away."

"What? Why?"

"Don't ask questions, just obey!" Shikamaru held the phone out from his ear at her outburst.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming. Bye." He hung up and turned to the group. "You guys, I gotta go. My mom's yelling about something."

"Your mom's always yelling about something," Chouji said, rolling his eyes.

"Leaving? But you just got here!" Ino protested.

"You know how my mother is," Shikamaru said. They all got sober at that, except Temari, who hadn't seen the monster inside the mother. "I'll see you later." Shikamaru set out for home, not bothering to say anything to Temari. She started to follow him, but Ino stopped her before she got to the door.

"Temari?"

"Yeah?"

"I meant what I said earlier, Shikamaru can be immature. But he's also a really great guy. You'll see," Ino told her.

Temari laughed skeptically. "Sure, whatever you say, Ino," she said, waving as she turned and left the shop.

"Mom?" Shikamaru called, stepping in the front door. The first thing he felt was a wave of hot air. He coughed and fanned his hand, trying to get some fresh air. "Mom, where are you?"

"I'm here," she said, walking towards them.

"Why is it so hot in here?" he asked, wiping his forehead.

"What are you talking about?" Temari said. "It feels fine to me."

Mother and son both stared at her. "Temari, it's over eighty-five degrees in this house," Mom said, raising her eyebrows. "I'm roasting."

"I live in a desert, remember?" she reminded them, motioning to herself with her hands. "We get temperatures upwards of a hundred and ten. This is like a picnic compared to Suna."

"Well, you might be used to the heat, but I don't like it," Shikamaru said, unbuttoning his overshirt. "And mom, why'd you call me?"

"The air conditioner broke."

"And what do I have to do with that?"

"You're going to help me fix it," she said determinedly.

"What? Can't we just wait until Dad gets home?" Shikamaru complained. His mother shook her head.

"We most certainly can not wait until your father gets home!" she said. "We can fix it ourselves. Besides, do you really want to wait another two hours in this heat? I don't. So you're going to help me, right now." She grabbed him by the back of the neck and hauled him towards the broken air conditioner.

Temari blinked. What was she supposed to do now?

An hour later, the two had gotten absolutely nowhere. Temari, who was keeping herself busy by cleaning windows, was amused by Shikamaru's appearance when they arrived back in the house. He was covered head-to-toe in dirt and grime and sweat, and dressed only in a no-longer-white tank and his jeans. His mother, on the other hand, was spotless.

"Have fun, Shikamaru?" Temari called, snickering.

"Do I look like I had fun?" He scowled at her.

"Did you at least fix the air?"

"No. It was a waste of an hour. We should've just waited, since I'm sure the air is worse now than before."

Temari stepped down off of the stool she was using to clean the windows and dried her hands off with a paper towel. "Well, you sure look like you enjoyed yourself. What did you do, wallow around in the mud?"

He snatched the paper towel from her and began futilely wiping off his arms, which Temari unconsciously noticed were athletically toned. "Yes, of course, I went mud-wrestling with the deer in the scorching heat," he said sarcastically. "That's just what I need."

Temari wrinkled her nose. "You need a shower."

"I need a break," he said, huffing.

"You need a good scrubbing."

"No, what I need is for these seven weeks to hurry up and be over." Shikamaru glared at her. She narrowed her eyes and stuck him with one of the coldest stares in her arsenal.

"You know what? So do I."

A/N: How the heck did the A/C break? Random stuff, yo. Didn't I warn you? Anyway, might be some fluffy awkwardness next chapter, so look forward to it!

And btw, I don't actually remember how many facial muscles it takes to frown, etc, etc, so if I got it wrong I'm sorry!

Love to you all! XOXOXO