Disclaimer: Like I said last chapter I don't own Naruto… I think I said it twice actually…
A/N: So thanks for the reviews. It's really nice because I wasn't expecting many because this is such an odd pairing. I like it though, so thanks for all your support. This chapter is dedicated to the people who reviewed: Starlitsapphire, woohoo, nejitenfan, and glass-pencil. Now without further ado, on with the story!
……………
'Kami, what did I do to deserve this? Why is this happening to me? Is this punishment for kissing him back?' Tenten could barely concentrate on what Tsunade-sama was telling her as she struggled with her thoughts.
"So obviously this scroll is of the utmost importance. If this were to fall into enemy hands both Sunagakure and Konoha would be at risk for high damage attacks. Shikamaru, you will be in charge of this mission. This is an A rank mission due to the nature of the scroll, it is very likely that you will come under heavy attack." Tenten snapped to attention just as Tsunade-sama finished the mission briefing and cursed herself for allowing Shikamaru to affect her concentration.
"Considering the fact that this scroll has the plans for Konoha and Suna's new military treaty wouldn't it make more sense to send more than just Tenten-san and I? We aren't just at risk from enemy countries, but also missing nin, akatsuki, and Orochimaru." Shikamaru was not happy with this mission. Not only would they be crossing the desert, a troublesome enough job under normal circumstances, but they would also have to be on high alert the entire time. 'What a drag'.
"I understand your concern Shikamaru, but as of now we don't have any reason to believe that anyone else knows about these plans. Sending more nin would only draw attention to the mission and lead to suspicion about what could be so important as to require a vast number of anbu protecting it." Shikamaru grumbled but knew that Tsunade-sama was right. At this point the best thing they could do would be to keep a low profile on this mission. Just then Tenten spoke up for the first time since she'd arrived and Shikamaru's attention was drawn to her.
"When must we leave?" Tenten asked, her attention now fully focused on the mission. Like her, Shikamaru had obviously not forgotten about the kiss the night before. He couldn't help but notice the way she bit her full bottom lip when she was concentrating or the way her hair seemed to be made up of not just brown, but also red, black, and gold. He had the overwhelming urge to pull it out of those restricting buns but banished the thought as quickly as it had come.
"You'll be leaving immediately. You have a half hour to get yourselves ready. I suggest you pack some warm clothes; it gets very cold at night. This mission should take you about a week to
complete but I'll give you two weeks in case of complications. Any questions?" Neither Shikamaru nor Tenten spoke up, "Good. Dismissed."
The two left the office and parted ways to pack, both wondering how they would make it two weeks with each other and how they would be able to focus on the mission when they could barely face each other.
……………
Tenten and Shikamaru met at the gate out of Konoha and left without saying a word to each other. The tension between them built as Tenten fell back to follow Shikamaru's lead.
After an hour Tenten couldn't stand the silence anymore and decided something had to be done. Taking a deep breath she sped up so that she was next to Shikamaru.
"Listen, we need to talk. We can't keep going and avoid this forever, it will hinder the mission." She didn't look over at him, but she felt Shikamaru nod beside her so she continued. "The fact of the matter is that we were both drinking last night and we weren't really thinking straight. It was an accident, pure and simple, so we should both just forget it happened."
Shikamaru wasn't sure why but he felt angry that she was just passing it off as having too much to drink. He couldn't deny that he had enjoyed that kiss, and he was pretty sure that Tenten enjoyed it too, judging from her reaction.
"Whether we had too much to drink or not is not the issue. I personally don't think that alcohol is all that caused that kiss." Tenten glanced over at him annoyed. 'Why can't he just accept it as a drunken mistake and move on? It would make everything a lot easier for us.'
"I guess not…" she responded slowly, "I mean we were both upset too. You were upset that Ino-chan was dancing with other guys and I…" It was hard for her to admit it but for the sake of the mission she pushed through her embarrassment, "and I was jealous of Neji-kun and Sakura-chan."
Shikamaru shook his head. He was annoyed that she kept trying to avoid the real problem. The only reason that kiss was really awkward for them was because they had both enjoyed it. If it was really a drunken mistake neither of them would really be obsessing over it. Shikamaru sighed.
"Tenten-san, the problem isn't that we kissed, it's that we liked that kiss." Tenten's head shot around to look at him. Abruptly she dropped down from the tree branches they'd been running on and landed on the soft grass. Shikamaru dropped down right after her and stared at her. She was furious.
"How dare you?! I would never betray Ino-chan like that! Never! She's one of my best friends and, unless you forgot, you're her boyfriend!"
"That's why this is such a problem for us. Just because Ino is one of your best friends doesn't mean you didn't like that kiss. It does however mean you feel guilty about it and that's why things are so awkward between us." Tenten stared at him in disbelief.
"THE REASON THINGS ARE AWKWARD BETWEEN US IS BECAUSE YOU KISSED ME! This wouldn't be a problem if you had just controlled yourself a little!" Shikamaru was now just as mad as her.
"Don't blame this all on me! You kissed me back; you're just as guilty of this as I am!" Tenten took a threatening step forward but Shikamaru didn't back down.
"You…I…you kissed me first! I told you, I was drunk and upset! The only reason I kissed you back is because I was surprised!" Now it was Shikamaru's turn to step forward, his temper getting the better of him.
"That's bull shit and you know it! Just face it, we both liked that kiss and now we don't know what to do because we both have to deal with Ino."
"That's what this is about isn't it! All this crap about me liking that kiss is just to make Ino jealous, isn't it?!" Shikamaru blinked at her in surprise, her accusation effectively cutting away his anger.
"No Tenten that's not…"
"No, I get it; you don't have to explain it to me! You were upset about Ino ignoring you and flirting with other guys so you figured you needed to get her jealous. Then you saw me, the one person out of Ino's friends who was all alone and you figured I'd be an easy mark because I was the only on without a boyfriend." Shikamaru was now thoroughly startled. He knew that if he didn't do something quick Tenten was going to think she was right and then it would be impossible to talk to her.
"Tenten wait, you've got it wrong…"
"No Shikamaru-san I've got it right." Her tone was suddenly cold and detached. "I would appreciate it if for the rest of the mission you would leave me alone unless it's directly related to the mission." She turned on her heal and took off back into the tree tops. Shikamaru groaned.
'Troublesome woman! Why is it that women never listen? They always jump to the worst possible conclusion and then they won't listen to reason even though they're wrong!'
…………
The next two days passed quietly. The tension between Tenten and Shikamaru made it impossible for Shikamaru to say anything to her besides orders regarding the mission. By the end
of the first day Shikamaru decided it wasn't worth the effort to try to explain to Tenten that she was wrong when it was obvious she wouldn't listen to him.
They made it to the desert with no other problems and no attacks. As they set up camp in silence Shikamaru noticed what looked like a huge dark cloud in the distance.
"That can't be good." He muttered to himself. Turning to where Tenten was setting up her tent he called out, "It looks like a sand storm is coming, it might be hard to keep the tents grounded in the shifting sand." Tenten looked out where he was pointing and cursed.
'Just add that to the list of things that haven't been going well for me this week.' Turning back to where Shikamaru was she shrugged.
"There's nothing we can do about it. We'll just have to set up our tents and hope they stay put."
…………
Night had fallen and the temperature along with it. The wind howled outside Tenten's tent, pelting it with sand. Tenten found it impossible to sleep as she sat huddled in her sleeping bag. Even with a heavy sweater, her fuzzy sweat pants and her thick sleeping bag she was freezing.
Just then she heard a loud ripping sound. The next thing she knew her tent had been ripped apart and she was surrounded in a whirlwind of sand. Panic gripped her as she struggled to get free of her sleeping bag. The sand stung her eyes and scraped her skin. Choking she tried to cover her mouth so she could breathe.
She couldn't get a decent breath of air as the sand slipped between her fingers and pelted her face. Suddenly she felt a light cloth being held over her mouth. Reeling in shock she thrashed out, hitting someone in the stomach. She heard a grunt and struggled away from her attacker. Squinting she peered into the darkness, trying to see who was trying to hurt her.
"Kami Tenten, what was that for?" Shikamaru's voice came out of the darkness. "I was just trying to help you breath!" Tenten gasped in relief breathing in a mouthful of sand. She coughed.
"Shi-Shikamaru, I…I can't see you." The world was beginning to spin around her as she stumbled to where she thought he was. She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and allowed Shikamaru to pull her face into his chest.
"Breathe slowly. Not too fast. There, that's good. I heard your tent rip, I'm going to take you back to mine." He led her towards his tent and zipped the flap up quickly. Tenten blinked, rubbing the sand out of her eyes, and took slow deep breaths. If Shikamaru hadn't shown up she was sure she would have suffocated out there.
Shikamaru meanwhile was only just calming down. He'd been awake, just as Tenten had been, listening to the storm raging outside when he heard her tent rip. Knowing that there was no way
she'd be able to make it to his tent he'd grabbed a cloth bandage to breathe through and went out to find her.
Now, watching her shiver on the ground inside his tent he wasn't exactly sure what to do. Her sleeping bag and things were still outside and it was too dangerous to go out in the dark and try and find them. If he didn't do something, however, Tenten could easily freeze with the cold desert air. He groaned. There was nothing else he could do, they would have to share his sleeping bag. He walked over to her and knelt down, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Listen Tenten, we're going to have to share my sleeping bag. It's too cold out here." Tenten would have protested but her teeth were chattering too much and she was afraid she'd bite her tongue. Instead she let him guide her over to his sleeping bag and slid in after him. Despite her annoyance with him she had to admit he was very warm. Soon she was fast asleep, her head snuggled into the crook of his neck.
Shikamaru stayed up a little after her. Looking down at her as she curled against his side.
"Oh Kami I'm in trouble. What the hell am I doing?" shaking his head he let himself relax and fall asleep, his arms wrapping around Tenten's waist.
…………
A/N: So, yeah, that's the next chapter. I had this ridiculously cute image of Tenten and Shikamaru snuggling together so I had to write this. Just to clarify, they left on Sunday and it's been three days so now it's Wednesday. Please REVIEW, your reviews keep me going and do, in fact, make me update sooner because I feel guilty about making you wait. Thanks!
