AN: Sorry it's late! Enjoy. =)

Strawberry Daiquiri

Chapter Four; Sunflowers

When Tenten was ushered through Ichiraku's front doors, her ears were immediately met by the sounds of Shikamaru's singing and the instrumental medley in the background. So Naruto hadn't waited so he could flirt with her, she thought, smiling wryly. That was probably a good thing, especially considering everyone's reactions to his attempts.

She sat down in her regular place: right in between Neji and Shikamaru's currently vacant spot. Two spots to her right, Temari sat, her chin in her hand, and gazed intently at Shikamaru.

Temari's blonde hair was curled in a very wave-like manner, and no hats or headbands hid it from view. As pretty as her hair was, though, it was her dress that caught Tenten's attention. The purple garment fell only a little past Temari's knees, and it was figuratively dripping with silver beading. It really was striking, the police officer thought as she relaxed in her chair.

Maybe she didn't like Temari's opinions or sometimes even the way that she thought. However, Tenten could respect that the blonde woman had both strength and femininity at the same time and never had to sacrifice either, as Tenten often felt the need to. Besides, she really did have good fashion sense, Tenten noted.

As she leaned forward to tell Temari that, she felt a hand on her wrist. "What?" she asked quietly as she turned to look into Neji's light eyes.

"Whatever you were going to say can wait. You probably shouldn't bother her while she's listening to Shikamaru," he instructed her.

Glancing over at Temari, Tenten raised an eyebrow. "And why's that?" she wanted to know.

Neji shrugged. "She always gets mad when that happens." Tenten chuckled quietly and Neji smiled in reply. "Would you like a soda?" he asked her.

It could have been that Shikamaru's arguments the previous days had effected her. Or maybe it was just that Neji was smiling. Something, though, was messing with her judgement, Tenten decided. Still, she gave him a grin of her own. "Sure."

"Ichiraku! I need a soda over here," Neji called over the sound of the band.

Although he was looking a bit hassled, Ichiraku raised a hand in acknowledgment from the bar. "I'll have it in a minute!" he promised.

Tenten's attention had been drawn over to Shikamaru, who had just begun a new song. While he sung, he often glanced over to and occasionally winked at Temari, much to Tenten's mixed amusement and chagrin. In response, Temari just scowled. However, there was a telltale blush spread across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. When it appeared Shikamaru wasn't staring at Temari, though, a small smile would replace the scowl.

After watching them for a few moments, Tenten glanced away, feeling like she'd seen something far more private and even loving than a man simply singing to a woman. "What's going on between them, anyway?" she muttered surreptitiously to Neji. Hinata, who had overheard, giggled quietly, but in the next instant her gaze turned back to Naruto.

Again, Neji shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not even sure they know what's going on. Whatever it is, it's not going great, though," he murmured.

Tenten's eyebrows drew together in her surprise. "Really?" she wondered aloud. To her, it certainly didn't appear to be going badly.

"Well, Temari's fairly new to town," Neji conceded. "She only came here a few months ago. She's what people consider the epitome of a flapper: she loves to party, and she's certainly not willing to settle down yet. Shikamaru's kind of the opposite. He's content to stay here, sing, and raise a family. 'A wife who's not ugly and not pretty, and two kids, the first a girl and the second a boy.' That's exactly what he said once," he told her, rolling his eyes. "Temari seems, at least to him, to be trying to turn his entire life upside down. She wants to move around, to go where the wind blows her, and if she wants kids or marriage, I suppose they're both a long way in coming," Neji summarized.

Whistling lowly, Tenten looked over at Temari once more. "I feel a bit bad for her, now. That's definitely a bit of a predicament."

Neji made a face. "Don't," he advised her abruptly. "Don't pity her, that is. She wouldn't like that. Besides, it's not like it's not consensual. He and Temari made an agreement." He smirked a bit. "Shikamaru told me they slept together, and afterwards Temari told him she wanted more time to have fun before having a serious relationship. Frankly, she seems a bit wary of long-term commitments," he said.

"Huh," Tenten mused, going back to her habit of drumming her fingertips on the tabletop. "What's Shikamaru's stance on this whole predicament, then?"

"He says he's not up for a long-term relationship yet," Neji said dryly. "Which basically means that he's too lazy to say anything or disagree with any of Temari's decisions, so he'll probably wait for her. Even then, though, she'll have to do a bit of convincing. Relationships are too much effort for Shikamaru," he snorted.

She laughed quietly. "Yeah, that definitely seems like him. "Speaking of waiting, what's up with Naruto and Hinata?" Tenten asked curiously, leaning forward slightly. She was warming up to the conversation. She wasn't a gossip-monger like one of her old friends, Ino, yet she liked to know things about others. Research was a specialty of hers, and it extended to people-research, too. "Is anything ever going to happen there, or will Hinata die with her love unrequited?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

Massaging the bridge of his nose with his fingertips, Neji sighed. "She's admired him since she first started coming here," he muttered. "You know how Temari says he flirts with every woman he sees? He doesn't even try anything with Hinata. I don't think he knows she exists sometimes," he muttered. Both had lowered their voices so that Hinata wouldn't catch their conversation, although they needn't have worried; she was engrossed with Naruto's playing.

"What's there to admire? I mean, his desperation is pretty amazing, but I wouldn't say it's quite admirable. And what's your opinion? I mean, you're her cousin, right? So are you overprotective like most relatives?" Tenten queried.

Her first question drew a quiet laugh from Neji. "He's very determined. Hinata sometimes feels... well, it's not my business to tell you. However, Naruto's will inspires her. He never gives up, no matter what. After all, he used to be one of the worst trombonists ever." Tenten's eyes widened in surprise, and Neji nodded. "No, I'm not joking," he said, interpreting her expression correctly. "He was humiliating."

"That's insane," Tenten replied. "He's amazing right now."

Neji nodded. "That's true, but he used to be awful. He just worked hard and got some of the best players ever to instruct him. But anyway, to Hinata he's an amazing inspiration, and her feelings have changed from respect to... well, maybe love. Who knows? Anyway, I am a little protective of her, I suppose, but like you said, most relatives are that way. Besides, I don't think Naruto could ever intentionally hurt someone. It's part of his charm." He played with a strand of his hair uninterestedly. "Although he is just a moron."

"Well, isn't he kinda hurting her by not even acknowledging her? Sometimes she looks a little torn up over the whole issue," Tenten said, casting a look in Hinata's direction. She was still deaf to their conversation, watching Naruto with a starry-eyed look. However, the slump in her shoulders gave voice to her quieter feelings.

He shrugged. "I said he could never intentionally hurt someone. However, what he does to Hinata seems very unintentional. He needs more of a push to bring Hinata to his attention, and she's not willing to put herself in the spotlight. Not only is she shy, she also is very traditional about dating. In her opinion, it is the man's job to make the first move."

"I'll fix that," Temari suddenly announced, leaning in to join their tête-à-tête. Apparently she'd broken out of her trance. Shikamaru would miss her attention, Tenten contemplated wryly as she rolled her eyes at the statement. In reply, Temari scoffed quietly. "Obviously you don't believe in changing things; you'd rather just sit back and accept bullshit whenever you see it."

"If that were the case, I would be drinking with you people rather than enforcing the law," Tenten retorted.

Temari laughed humorlessly. "I said you'd rather sit back and accept bullshit. People having fun and trying to relax after a hard day isn't bullshit. Trying to keep people from doing what they want is, though."

"Please. Don't act like I'm such a horrible person when all I'm doing is enforcing the law. The amendment was implemented so that people could lead healthier and more productive lives, not to interfere with your carnal pleasures. That was just a fortunate side-effect," came Tenten's sharp repartee.

Sighing quietly, Neji pulled away and leaned back in his chair. They'd be at this for a while, he realized, and he wasn't about to stick his own neck in and risk getting yelled at or implicated in the fight. Instead, he attempted to tune them out.

Though Neji may have been above such spatting, Temari wasn't about to just give up. "The amendment was implemented because promising it would happen was a good way to get easy votes from people too stupid to care about other things in political races. It was also implemented to get your annoying anti-alcohol groups from bothering the politicians and picketing and boycotting."

A sound, sort of a mix between amusement and annoyance, left Tenten's throat. "Not a chance. It was put into effect because people kept drinking at or before work and doing a horrible job, and because liver diseases have started to become more widespread. Not to mention that many fathers drink away their families' money, rather than spending it on things like education," she replied.

Temari rolled her eyes. "So basically it was put into effect because enough business owners don't fire lazy people, because some are too stupid to realize that they might eventually die, and because people tend to be selfish?" she asked rhetorically. Without waiting for a reply, she continued on. "How does it make sense that I'm punished, too? I only drink after work, to relax, and I don't have a family, nor am I planning to have one any time in the near future, so my money only needs to go to me. Besides, people die in car crashes and fires. Why not prohibit vehicles and matches?"

"You can't just ban certain people from something and not others. That wouldn't be fair. So instead we ban everyone. You're not going to die from not drinking alcohol, but someone might die from drinking it, or their family might suffer, or their wife might get beaten because they're an alcoholic. So in the end, it's your fun against someone's health or career. Don't flatter yourself thinking that you're important enough to win that battle," Tenten parried.

"What about the dangers of prohibition?" Temari asked. At Tenten's confused expression, she continued on. "Gang crime is on the rise, and alcohol is more expensive at speakeasies. People will continue to want alcohol even if it's outlawed, and if they're willing to go to more desperate measures, then that's more of a risk than just drinking the odd beer every now and then. A wife gets beaten by her alcoholic husband whether he got the beer from a saloon or a speakeasy. But what if a child gets shot on accident by a mobster? There's really only one reason for gang action rising so much in the past few years. And it's not because gangsters like prohibition so much they moved from other countries to come here," the blonde scoffed.

Right before Tenten had her chance to reply, a new voice cut through their conversation. "Ladies, please!" Hinata cried, her high-pitched voice still very intimidated and yet very forceful. You need to be more mature than this. Every time Tenten's here, you're at each other's throats. Don't you have anything better to do than bicker with each other every time you meet?"

Two masculine laughs came from behind the soft-spoken woman, and all three females paused to stare at Shikamaru and Naruto, who had just finished for a while. Shikamaru pulled out his chair and settled beside Temari while Naruto tousled Hinata's hair roughly.

"I'm really impressed that you did that, Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed, smiling brightly. "It was pretty cool, actually!" With one final pat to her head, he sunk down into the chair beside her and stretched his arms out in front of him.

Next to Naruto, Hinata seemed to be trying to fold into herself, her face the color of beets. "Uh, it was n-nothing special. I'm just trying to keep the p-peace," she finished lamely, poking her fingers together.

Naruto made a face. "You don't have to get all shy again, Hinata. Come on, tell me off like you told Tenten and Temari. Tell me to get out of your face," he joked. He started to get nearer and nearer to her as she turned progressively darker shades of red.

"Do you want your drinks or not?" Ichiraku broke the mood when he shouted out across the bar. The entire table turned to face him as he gestured to a small tray that was in front of him. Hinata sighed and sunk back into her chair as Naruto sprang away, his attention now on Ichiraku.

"Just bring them over, why don't you?" Shikamaru called back lazily, stretching his arms out behind his head and slumping in his chair.

Temari smacked him sharply across his arm. "Stop slouching!" she complained, frowning. "You look like a total slob." In reply, he simply rolled his eyes and straightened out as he fished in his pocket for a cigarette.

"I'm not bringing them over to you. You have your own pairs of legs, so why don't you try them out and walk a few feet?" Ichiraku challenged, grinning and then turning back to his customers at the bar.

Pouting, Naruto slunk down in his chair. "Geeze, Ichiraku, do your job. I'm tired from playing," he whined.

"No way!" was the bar owner's quick reply. "Be the man and get your own drink. You're getting as lazy as Shikamaru!" he chuckled. Shikamaru frowned at him, but he didn't bother yelling back, opting instead to push his chair back and begin to stand.

Although he grumbled and whined quietly about it, Naruto did the same. It was only as Tenten saw Neji push his chair back out of the corner of her eye that she began to stand, too. "What are you doing?" Neji asked curiously.

"I don't need anyone else to get something for me," she growled quietly. "I'll be getting my own drink for myself, thank you very much," Tenten informed him. A small frown sat on her face, her eyes daring him to argue.

But Neji put a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her back into the chair. "No. I can get your drink. Even if you are a police officer, you're a woman, and I'm a man. It's not completely unreasonable for me to get your drink." She looked at him hesitantly. He shrugged. "Besides, you have a difficult job. You're on your feet all day long. Allow me to get your drink." He paused. "Please," he added, softly. His lavender eyes met with hers, and finally, she sighed and sat down, blushing and more than just a little bit annoyed.

Before the men left the table, Shikamaru reached down and fingered a strand of Temari's dirty blond hair. "What are you doing?" she demanded. However, she didn't try to pull away from his touch.

In reply, Shikamaru smirked warmly at her. "I dunno. You look good today." Temari stiffened as he pushed her bangs away from her eyes. "I like your hair, Temari. It reminds me of sunflowers." She glowered at him, but as she was blushing a very bright pink, it didn't have much of an effect. Shikamaru chuckled and pushed his hands into the pockets of his trousers before ambling away towards the bar, following Neji and Naruto.

For a few moments, silence reigned over the table. Finally, though, Temari cleared her throat. "I liked your little interruption during our argument. It was pretty brave of you." She chuckled slyly and nudged the girl. "I think Naruto thought it was, too."

Hinata blushed violently and ducked her head. "No way! He probably thinks I'm a total freak now! Or at least more than he usually does."

Tenten couldn't help but scoff. In return, Temari snarled and rounded on her. "What's your problem? I swear, you and your constant obsession with everyone being as somber as humanly possible is really getting on my nerves!"

Tilting her head, Tenten regarded Temari stonily. "I really don't think your pushing Hinata and Naruto together is helping anything."

Taking the bait, Temari raised one of her eyebrows. "Oh, really. And why, oh wise one, is that?" she demanded satirically, flipping her hair over he shoulder and matching Tenten evenly, stare for stare.

"People ought to have a little bit of free will, don't you think?" Tenten asked in reply. "Besides, Hinata isn't helpless. If she wants Naruto badly enough I think she'd be able to talk to him on her own. You're just enabling her to be weak."

Temari glared. "She's a human, not a machine. I'm helping her out, which is the right thing for me, as her friend, to do. Besides, I get to have a little fun, so both sides benefit. Really, I think you're the only one here who sees a problem with this arrangement."

Resting her hand on the table, Tenten broke eye contact with Temari for a moment and glanced over at the men, who seemed to be chatting lightly with Ichiraku. Her eyes returned to Temari's. "What if there isn't even a chance?" she demanded.

A little too late, she realized that maybe she was implying something about Temari's relationship with Shikamaru, too, but she knew she couldn't take her words back. She watched as Temari's eyes left her own and fell on the table. A moment later, Tenten looked down at her own hands and sighed.

"You're right," Temari conceded, her voice strong but a bit sad. Tenten looked up, surprised, but still Temari gazed down at the table. "Sometimes things are hopeless." Her shoulders rose in fell in a shrug, and silence fell over the table for the second time in the evening.

After a few moments had passed, Hinata smiled and leaned forward slightly. "I really like your dress, Temari," she said shyly, gazing over at the blonde's lovely purple gown. Temari lifted her eyes and smiled slightly at Hinata.

"I like your hair, too," Tenten added suddenly, not sure what made her want to make amends. She smiled when her eyes met Temari's. "It really does remind me of sunflowers."

Temari laughed quietly. "Thanks, both of you. I like your hair, too, Tenten. It's such a pretty dark brown," she said, envy audible in her voice. "You know, I bet it'd look really great with a sunflower in it."

Looking at her dubiously, Tenten chuckled. "Are you saying my hair would look good with your hair?" she asked jokingly.

Grinning, Temari leaned toward her and held a strand of her own hair up to Tenten's pulled-back tresses. "Well, what do you think, Hinata? Does it look good?" she asked, her tone amused and curious at once.

"It's lovely," Hinata said honestly, a small smile on her face. Her eyes tilted kindly. "I think we're all lovely," she decided.

Tenten couldn't help but agree. Each in her own way, they were beautiful. Hinata was refined and feminine, and Temari had a brash, new sort of beauty. What her own was, she wasn't sure, but she was sure of one thing:

"Wouldn't we each look good with a fella by our side..." she wondered aloud. Maybe they didn't need the men, wouldn't die without them. Yet there was a wish in her heart.

Temari and Hinata laughed softly at that. "We would..." Hinata said sweetly, her eyes glazing over. The three men at the bar could be heard, chattering with Ichiraku, but Temari and Tenten could only hear Hinata as she whispered "Boy, would we shine..."

Temari nodded. Her smile sad, she murmured, "Brighter than sunflowers..."

Silence fell over the table once more, and this one they let stay.