Shikamaru sat comfortably in the nook formed by the trunk and one large branch of an oak. He was reflecting on what had happened earlier that day, more specifically what a certain desert blonde had done.

Flashback

The two of them were sitting in a teahouse, waiting for their order to come. Temari's foot started shaking. She started to drum her fingers. Soon she was outright fidgeting.

"Temari," he warned. "Don't make a seen. You'll get your udon when it's ready."

"I'm hungry." She growled. "Now." She stood up, and he shrunk down, hoping no one would make a connection between him and the disturbance which was about to occur.

"WHERE'S MY ORDER! WHAT KIND OF A RESTAURANT IS THIS, I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR HALF AN HOUR! I'M THE AMBASSADOR FROM SUNA! WHEN I WANT FOOD NOW IT MEANS NOW!" Shikamaru cringed at the force of her voice. Shit, this wasn't going to die down anytime soon.

End Flashback

God, she treated restaurants like the people were machines that would somehow magically spit out whatever she wanted. But that wasn't the only thing she had done.

Flashback

"Out of my way! Out! Move! I do NOT have the patience to move at a crawl like this!"

"Temari, we're in a marketplace. It's always crowded. What were you expecting?"

"People, MOVE!" People moved.

Flashback End

It was horribly embarrassing. She was an ambassador, you'd think she would be more polite with the citizens of her host village. But no. She had to go yelling, and screaming, and elbowing, seriously, he was contemplating giving her a blow horn for christmas, the only thing stopping him being that giant fan which could easily cause his death. It was times like these that he understood her nickname "Princess of Suna". She got what she wanted, when she wanted, and god forbid you try and stop her. The worst thing was that he couldn't stop thinking about her. But all she did was insult him, criticize him, poke fun at him, he didn't even have a chance to get close to her. She acted differently on a day to day basis, which kept him from coming to some sort of solution, or answer. She obviously did it to bother him, to get a reaction from him. And it worked.

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Shikamaru was back on the tree branch, this time because he couldn't sleep. He couldn't figure out why though, everything kept him awake. The wind breezing by, green trees, the soft yellow light from the hallway, all of them kept reminding him of something, but he couldn't figure out what. It was already around 1 in the morning, he needed his sleep, but he needed whatever it was out of his mind first.

He felt another chakra presence approaching. Looking up, he saw Gaara no Sabaku, current Kazekage and sister of his charge walking towards him. It was no surprise he was awake, Gaara had never slept before and some habits are hard to break. Jumping lightly down from the tree, he landed softly and bowed to the young Kazekage.

"Kazakage-sama," he greeted respectfully. "I heard you arrived this evening. I trust your trip was good?"

"Please call me Gaara," his whispery voice answered. "And yes my trip was quite smooth, thank you for asking. And you? Are you well?" Shikamaru sighed.

"Yes, I think." Gaara looked at him quizzically.

"Are you sure Nara-san? You look quite tired." Shikamaru grinned weakly.

"Please call me Shikamaru, and yes, I'm having trouble sleeping." Gaara's face brightened, going from that of a serene village leader to that of an eager child

"Perhaps I can help! I am trying to get better at listening to people's problems, and I will keep anything you tell me to myself. I get practice, you get confidentiality." Shikamaru thought about it.

"Sounds good. Shall we sit?" He dropped onto the grass, Gaara following more gracefully.

"So?" He asked, curiosity radiating off him.

"Well, I have this problem," Shikamaru started. Gaara looked at him expectantly. "I'm trying to fall asleep. And every time the wind blows, or I see the green of the trees, or the yellow of the light in the hall, I get jolted awake." Gaara looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Is it specifically the green and yellow and the wind?"

"Yes. Definitely. But only the light green trees, and specifically the softness of the yellow light, and not the sound of the wind, but the sight of the trees bending because of it." Gaara turned this over in his mind.

"If you don't mind me asking Shikamaru, how has my sister been?" Shikamaru's face became carefully neutral.

"I'm sure Temari-san could tell you better herself." His voice was inflectionless. Gaara chuckled.

"That's not what I meant. What I was asking was how has she been acting towards you? And answer me honestly. I know Temari. If you saw she's been wonderful, I won't believe you." Shikamaru looked nervous. Gaara smiled at his expression. "Don't worry, I won't do anything to you. I understand my sister can be... difficult." Shikamaru laughed hollowly.

"That's understating it. She's been malicious lately. And the most annoying thing is that she only acts that way with me. Put her in company with any other shinobi in this village and she's a perfect angel, but with me she's the devil incarnated." Shikamaru stopped when he heard a strange sound. Gaara was laughing. Gaara was laughing. This had to be one of the rarest things in the world, and Shikamaru was privy to it. He stared at Gaara, a dumb look on his face. Musical peals of mirth just kept pouring out fo the normally frigid man, and Shikamaru was reminded of how young Gaara really was.

"I'm sorry," Gaara managed to gasp out. "It's just... you... put it... so perfectly." Shikamaru was perplexed. What had he said? What had he put perfectly. He waited for Gaara to calm down and regain his composure.

"What did I say perfectly?" He asked. Gaara shot him an amused glance.

"Your description of Temari with people she likes." Shikamaru's confusion deepened. "The more Temari likes and trusts a person, the worse she acts towards them. If it's a stranger or an aquatic though, or someone she just doesn't like, she acts like the perfect young lady. Angel versus demon. That's the best anyone's ever put it." Shikamaru frowned.

"That's odd. Why would she act badly to those she likes?" Gaara got serious.

"None of us know for sure, but Kankurou and I have a theory. We think that because our childhood was so repressed and structured, Temari could only really express herself to those she was close to. To everyone else she had to be a little princess. And after our father died, well, I guess old habits die hard." Shikamaru thought about this.

"It makes sense." Gaara grinned.

"But you're missing the biggest point of all." Shikamaru gave him a puzzled look. "She's simply dreadful with you. She acts worse with you then anyone else, including us, her brothers. Which means she has it bad for you." Shikamaru still looked oblivious. "She's in love with you. And considering you haven't killed her yet, I'd say her feelings are returned." With a wry smile, Gaara stood up, dusted off his pants, and walked away.

Shikamaru sat there stunned. Temari, loved him? Her feelings were returned? No. His feelings were returned. It was what he had been dreaming of lately. Now he understood how Gaara knew. The light green was her eye color, the soft yellow her hair color, the wind, well, obviously was her. Gaara had put it together. Well, maybe he could get some sleep now.

Whoosh

He heard the wind before he felt it. Luckily. He managed to jump out of its path before being swept off his feet by its murderous edges. He stopped moving off to her right, her profile outlined by the moon. Her fan was open and in her hand, the source of the wind. And going by the force the fan was exerting, she was in a horrible mood.

"Damn that man!" She yelled to the sky, voice riding on the wind she held so dear. "I do all of this to get him to notice me, but I can't do it right! How does acting like a bitch get him to like me! Why am I so stupid! Why does he make me so stupid!" Shikamaru's eyes widened. If Gaara was telling the truth she was talking about him. "Damn!" She swung her fan, a killer breeze flying out. "That!" Another. "Shikamaru!" A final blow, one that cut away the tree's that concealed Shikamaru.

Her eyes widened as she saw him there. She froze, shock freezing her movement. He saw her mouth the word 'no', as she turned and began to leave. In his own mind, he echoed her 'no', He went into the speed that only a shinobi could achieve, reappearing before her before she could get a head start on him, instantly creating the seals and freezing her in his Kage Mane. Her eyes were frightened, for once he was in control, she was the weak one. He looked at her face, memorizing every detail, before melting into a soft smile.

"Baka," he said softly. "Why are you running?" slowly he forced her to walk forward until they were inches apart. At that point he released the jutsu. "If you want you can leave now." Her eyes looked into his, and her face broke into a smile that matched his.

"Never. your future's tangled up with mine now." She whispered as she pulled his head down to hers. And that's the way I like it.