Hey everyone! I'm not dead! I survived 2016! Sorry for the long wait, but here I am again, with these two love-birds! Another story that became longer than I expected, so it'll be in two chapters again, his and hers points of view. I hope you like it!

Happy New Year and thanks for reading this! A little review would make me so happy! Oh, and if you have any requests for this story, tell me, ok?

Patience… Patience is his most recognizable virtue. Intricated plans, complex strategies, well-thought decisions. Patience is his virtue and everyone knows that.

Calm… He is calm, peaceful. He has his life displayed on his head, perfect and simple, like the clouds in the sky. He sees no point in rushing through life.

Stoic… It's a family trait, to be honest. An emotional, angry or visibly overwhelmed Nara is a rare sight. He keeps his emotions at bay, a straight face and does what it's need to be done.

Down to earth… Let's face it: if something needs to be said, he'll say it. Plain and simple and straight forward and on your face in the right moment, no matter how it hurts. It's just like ripping a band-aid, it's awful, but someone must do it.

Genius… He could live without that title, but deep down, he knows that his brains are his fate. He is a strategist, after all.

Cynic… Women are just too loud, too obnoxious, too push-over, too emotional, too troublesome.

Self-depreciated… He's just a lazy-ass coward. The number one at running away. He doesn't get why people trust him so much.

Insecure… He isn't the right fit for this job. He can't handle all this responsibility, he can't have all this lives in his hands…

Yes, he's all the above… And yet, here he is, doing the exact opposite in a daily basis…

Shikamaru exhales deeply and looks at the giant pile of paperwork in his desk. He rests his head in his palm and closes his eyes for a moment.

"Taking a nap, lazy-ass?"

"Troublesome…" He mumbles. "Just resting my eyes for a moment, woman… I'm looking at this since yesterday…"

"Yesterday?" Temari puts a cup of tea in front of him and looks at his face. He looks paler than usually, dark circles under his eyes, his warm, soft eyes seem dull. He is exhausted, she can tell.

"Yes, since yesterday…"

"Why didn't you go home or at least take a break? You look like hell…" She caresses his cheek.

"Always gentle and soft…" He leans in her touch and smiles.

"Sorry… But it's true… You must be dead tired…" She seems concerned.

"I manage… This need to be done…" He takes a sip at his tea and tries to focus on the page in front of him.

A tan hand covers the paper. "You send me home, last night… You said that we could do this today…"

"Well, you needed to rest…" He hesitates. He kind of lied to her and he knows that she's pissed at him.

"So do you…" Her voice sounds more like a growl. "You lied to me… You sent me home and continued the work without me! Care to explain?"

He sighs… "Look, trouble… I'm too tired to argue. I'm sorry, okay? I know that you hate any kind of lies, even the most innocent ones…"

"There is no such thing as an 'innocent' lie! A lie is a lie! It breaks the trust between two people. We have too much lies and secrets in our line of work, I don't need them in my personal life too!" She raises her voice and steps back.

He grabs her arm and pulls her to him. The blonde girl tries to fight him, but now he's stronger than her, even when he's tired, she can't escape without hurting him.

She falls in his lap and he hugs her by the waist, resting his head on her shoulder. "Shh, take it easy, trouble… I said I was sorry. You looked exhausted and barely awake, so I sent you home to get some rest and picked up the slack…"

She sighs, exasperated. "I know you meant well, but look at you! You are dead tired! We were supposed to do this together. We are a team!"

He smiles at her. "A great team, by the way… And we are doing this together, you just took a little break, that's all. No harm done…"

"Fine! You win! But now is your turn to take a break." She interrupts him when he tries to speak. "Nu-uh! You go take a nap and I'll take it from here. No arguing! Go! Sleep!"

"Ordering me to take a nap? That's a first, hun?" He smirks.

"Go! Couch!" She gets up and pulls him to his feet.

He wobbles for a moment and runs a hand in his face. "I guess I'm more tired than I thought…"

Temari pushes him to the couch and waits for him to lay down, gently covering him with a blanket.

"I could get used to this…" He smiles. "Come lay with me…"

"Someone has to work here, cry-baby. Sleep! I'll wake you up later."

He crosses his arms behind his head and follows her with his eyes. She sits with her back to him and dives in the pile of paperwork.

This woman is something else, he muses… After all this time, she still surprises him.

She's a brash, abrasive, aggressive, strong, smart-mouthed woman, so full of herself, so sure of herself. She sits straight, she walks with her head up high, her steps always so certain. She's always bossing someone, nagging someone, pushing someone's buttons. Usually, that someone is him…

But she's also caring, loving, gentle, sweet in her own away. She has a soft look in her eyes when she looks at him. She worries if he's on a mission or working too much. She keeps telling him to breath, that the world isn't resting on his shoulders. She smiles softly to him. She lays her hand gently on his shoulder.

Patience… Calm… Stoic… Down to earth… Genius… He is all of this… And yet, here he is, impatient and anxious when she's not around. Losing his temper when they fight or breaking down in tears in front of her (since day one, how troublesome…). Daydreaming about her, when she's sitting right in front of him. Feeling his brain numb every time she laughs.

Cynic… Self-depreciated… Insecure… Deep down, he is all of that too. But right now, he's so in love with the most troublesome woman in the world, that he can barely breath without her. Right now, he works his ass off, he pushes himself further and further, he tries harder than ever. And every time she says that he deserves his job, that he's the most capable person to do it, that he must stop moping around and get the work done, he believes in her.

This troublesome woman changed him so much, she makes him so much better…

As his eyes lost their battle to sleep, a smile dances in his lips. He glances over her one last time… This woman… So troublesome… And so perfect… In so many ways…