Shikamaru found himself walking between villages, a cargo bed of wood carried by two delivery men in tow. Kakashi forced him to go on an escort mission, citing that Shikamaru's mopey face made it hard for him to focus on Hokagerly duties. After arguing about the validity of the word Hokagerly, he accepted his fate and languidly traipsed to meet the carriers at the border of Konoha.
Dwarfed by the size of Konoha, Hachōmura stood at the edge of the land of fire. It was a cape, wrapped around a pale blue lake that glimmered golden in the sunlight-so golden that the blinding light reminded him of a certain cruel Kunoichi he tried to pry from his mind. At the gates of the city, a woman with short and choppy blond hair caught his eye for reasons he couldn't quite put his fingers on (or so he told himself.) She introduced herself as the craftsperson who would lead rebuilding their city center. While large villages like Konoha already finalized their construction, poorer and smaller areas still lagged behind after the destruction of the war.
She made her rounds, meeting the two other men and when she finally slipped her calloused hand into his, her fingers lingered a bit in his grip, prompting him to ask her if she wanted to guide him around the village as they would stay the night in Hachō and leave in the morning. "Are you sure you can handle me being your guide?" She teased, coercing an of course from his lips. The similarities between her and Temari were uncanny. Finding a blond with short hair was likely, but one with calloused hands who clearly grew up a tomboy and had a knack for flirtatious teasing was fate.
Less than an hour of touring the village brought Shikamaru to the bedroom of the uncanny blond. Despite the two women's similarities, Temari never made it past all-night makeout sessions and heavy petting with him, but this Temari-lite rode him into oblivion and it all felt like a dream-in the sense that everything was based on real-life but something was not-quite-right about it. The people were faceless, gravity didn't pull you to earth quite like normal, and things were a blur. Like he'd stepped in some bizarro version of everything he currently wanted, but existing in this odd world and not waking up alone felt better than the nights he spent reeling from dreams of Shikaku, feeling panicked and helpless to the harshness of a fatherless reality.
That night sparked a new habit driven by a need to fill a Temari-shaped void and his newly realized fear of sleeping alone. He had dreams of his father all the time-some were nightmares, some were pleasant, and some were eerie and he never had a clear remedy for them.
He preferred nightmares to pleasant dreams. Pastoral imagery of galloping deer mixed with the blissful happiness of being an excited child, running through the Nara forest with his parents by his side, warmed him in his sleep. The jarring contrast of cold reality rushing back to him as he blinked his weary eyes open to daylight juxtaposed the false sense of happiness his mind fabricated. His dad was still dead.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a review of my writing!
Thank you to tsukuy0mi47 for beta reading!
However, waking to the Temari-like woman and having some morning banter was a nice distraction that he decided he'd like to experience on more than one occasion.
That night spiraled into fleeting interactions to find someone like her to fill the craving for bantering conversations, work dates, shogi matches, and waking up beside another person.
Eventually, he figured you cannot fit a circle into a square hole. He dropped his expectations to find someone just like her and just decided to find someone, anyone. The people who would frequent his bedroom would squirm beneath him, mouths taut with silk between their lips, muffling any moans that may escape from their mouths. They were no longer these domineering personalities. They were just less troublesome.
Body type, height, hair color, even gender didn't bother him. Why be picky in an ephemeral interaction? And that's what it was. A quick interaction as he swore himself off of relationships.
But he wasn't always successful at finding bedmates, so this night, in particular, he sat on his balcony, gazing into the darkness of the Nara forest.
As he puffed out little clouds of smoke, his mind wandered to Temari and he tried his best not to be bitter about the last time he saw her. Especially since she hadn't given him a chance to talk to her since. She would ask Kakashi for another escort whenever she'd come to the village or send someone else to Konoha in her stead. At first, he thought it was good that he hadn't seen her frequently, which would make it easier for him to forget her and move on, but knowing that she was in Konoha and actively avoiding him made it impossible to ignore thoughts of her. This night, in particular, he let his anger flow and he blamed her for giving up so easily on their relationship.
This method of filling the Temari-shaped hole with one-night stands was becoming more troublesome than not-especially since it wasn't reliable.
When did I decide to throw away the dream of a simple life anyway?
Shikamaru decided to end his promiscuous phase and pursue his old dream instead. Find a just-right relationship with a just-right girl.
A long month of sleeping in his mother's house to ward off lingering thoughts of his dreams and nightmares passed. Maybe if he still talked to Temari, she would tell him to stop being a crybaby and sleep on his own, but he didn't feel comfortable to burden anyone else with his vulnerability. Not even Ino. Despite the fantasy of waking to the smell of Yoshino making breakfast, he desperately wanted to be in the comfort of his apartment once again. Days alone gave him a sense of peace he couldn't obtain in his current state, but nights alone were troublesome, so here he was.
Walking to the Hokage's residence, he spotted a bespeckled dirty blond talking with another member of the cipher core. Her lab coat swallowed her tiny frame whole and it made her look adorable. When he first noticed her feelings for him when decoding Jiraiya's message, he was much younger and so focused on his crush on Temari that someone else having feelings for him embarrassed him. Just waving at her from a distance set her cheeks ablaze. He chuckled to himself at her silliness.
"H-hi Shikamaru, nice day of cloud watching?" He never shared this information with her and her ears turned red from revealing that she knew his schedule. He decided to give her mercy.
"Not yet, but was thinking it'd be nicer if you joined me." Her magnified eyes widened in pleasant surprise. "I-... really? I would love that. Let's go now!" He chuckled once more. Her eagerness was endearing to him. In the back of his mind, the dream of a just-right girl fluttered by. Could Shiho be considered a just-right girl? It took a brilliant mind to work in decryption, but she stayed within the walls of Konoha. Not to mention, she was timid and easy-going. Closer to just-right than Temari would ever be.
Their first date was actually interesting. For someone with such a sharp mind, she'd never learned to play Shogi and he never understood how the cipher core went about decrypting messages. Honestly, it felt like a puzzle the way she explained it and Shikamaru loved puzzles. So as they exchanged information on their favorite mind exercises, he found himself surprisingly more than enjoying the experience of going on a real date with someone other than Temari. Or more fulfilling than a one-nighter with a random person-maybe this could be less transactional.
That night, they went back to his place and spent some hours making out on his couch. She enthusiastically responded yes when he asked her to spend the night.
Over the months they dated, Shikamaru got used to the ease of things. She'd keep him company during the nights and he got to spend his days with himself. Shiho was floating in happiness. He actually wanted her to spend every night with him. Eventually, she convinced him to spend more of his days with her as well.
For Shikamaru, unlike quick interactions he'd had before, it felt meaningful, and unlike his fiery relationship with Temari, it was pretty easy-going. Yeah, easy-going, low effort-it was exactly what he was looking for. Shiho barely ever challenged him and he found himself sleeping in as much as he wanted.
Some weekends, they lazily lounged around his house all day, barely getting up for a shower or food. Or even more, he didn't even bother to go cloud watching.
On one occasion, they'd been sleeping in his tousled sheets, one corner of the fitted sheet off of the mattress, revealing the bed below. He'd been in the same clothes he'd worn since Friday night and so had she. Ino burst into the room and demanded Shikamaru go out with his friends or at least lay in the grass to watch clouds.
She also gave Shiho a piece of her mind, telling her not to let lazy men waste her weekends away. She should be getting a spa treatment or going shopping or doing science or whatever the heck Shiho normally did on a weekend.
Ino was right, but that didn't mean they'd spend less time lounging. There was something about spending time with her that made him feel sleepier than usual. Whether it was the fact that she accepted all of his lazy habits or something else, he wasn't sure. Shiho didn't seem to mind, so why should he care if they wasted her weekends away.
***
He groaned. Monday morning already. With his eyes heavy, he made his way to his bathroom to take a shower which would hopefully rouse him from his post-sleep bleariness. He didn't bother to turn on the light and nearly kept his eyes closed as he went through the motions of his bathroom routine. He heard a wet washcloth dripping against the tile of the floor-looked like Shiho had already gotten ready for the day and left, letting him sleep in.
Arriving at the Hokage's residence, he sauntered his way up the winding stairs, hands in pockets because it saved just a bit of energy to have his pants carry the weight of his hands, rather than expending the energy to let them rest freely against his sides. Shikamaru was constantly plotting the most efficient way of doing things or as he liked to think-the least energy-draining way.
It had been 4 years since the war, yet villages were still hard at work rebuilding communities, solidifying allyships and partnerships, and solving problems in a "world of peace". With many of the kage being fresh faces, each summit resulted in innovative ways for the villages to partner.
"Looking bright as ever, Shikamaru!" Kakashi's eyes were smiling as he greeted him. Shikamaru never understood the amount of energy this man seemed to have. He knew he spent many nights up until dusk reading. He couldn't compete and he certainly didn't want to. There's no fulfillment in being the perkiest.
"Yeah, yeah." He yawned, stretching his hand behind his head to help them find yet another resting place. Conserving energy was his nindo.
"It looks like the general understanding is our land's borders prevent us from achieving complete allyship. How can you trust another nation if you're left out of the conversation? So will we say yes to the shinobi exchange program for genin and chunin?" Shikamaru started off right away. While he wanted to get his work done quickly, he was also working hard at rewiring his brain. Instead of thinking of the clouds he could watch when work has ended, not caring what was happening in the workday in-between, he took his duties seriously and wanted to deliver. But never by sacrificing his precious energy.
"I think it's a great idea. Of course, we wouldn't be pushing past the boundaries of community privacy as genin and chunin only have certain access to privileged information and it's sure to forge bonds between our future communities." Kakashi stated.
"Representatives from each land will be arriving in Konoha tomorrow morning. I know you have done many field missions as of late, but Temari of the Sand requested you to be her guide." Shikamaru stopped himself from blinking in surprise. It had been nearly two years of her avoiding him and him doing the same. But just as quickly as he blinked out his surprise, he rolled his eyes internally.
Temari wasn't exactly the type of person who chose the most energy-efficient way of doing things. In other words, there was no easy way out with her. Either you work your ass off or be left behind. But with him, he didn't get the second option. Instead, it was replaced with violent gusts of wind, smacks against his head, or scathing words to set him straight. And set him straight, she did. He'd never expend as much energy on another person outside of his personal quarters.
On the other hand, all of his feigned exasperation, (and feigning for whom? No one else but him was in his thoughts. Except Ino on occasion. So who did he perform this act of dragging his feet for) had been a cover-up for how he truly felt.
It wasn't that she forced him to feel like putting in the effort. Sure, the violence could force anyone. It was more so that her belief in him encouraged him to show her what he could do. He just always needed a little… violent nudging every once in a while. His heart was pattering at the notion of being pushed by her to do his best again.
The rest of the day was packed. City plans for creating new transportation that would cut a 3 day trip to Suna down to a couple of hours was taking up all of Kakashi and Shikamaru's time. The idea was genius, innovative, wonderful, but the execution was meeting after meeting. Missing any communication between the architects, the engineers, the construction team, the city council, or every single person working to make this a safe success was not an option.
Kakashi saw Shikamaru as the perfect person to ensure every player had their role and were doing it efficiently. After all, managing people is similar to analyzing and executing on a shogi board. Understanding how each person's strengths, different skills, and weaknesses can be supported by their peers was a job for someone who could think on a high level and he was voluntold to do it.
He suggested on many occasions that the perfect person would be someone great with people like Ino or someone enthusiastic like Naruto, but he knew their best skills would go to waste being in a strategist role. So he talked himself into it, even without Temari's heavy prodding. Not to mention, he didn't have an option otherwise.
A/N: I'm writing this story because I wanted to "close the gap" of what happened between Shippuden, the light novels, and Boruto in Shikamaru and Temari's relationship. I also asked myself, "what would the perfect ShikaTema story be for me?" And then I started writing. I hope you'll enjoy reading. I'm planning on releasing a chapter every week as I've already written 16 chapters! Lemme know what you think!
Thank you to tsukuy0mi47 for beta reading!