My Boss The Genius
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PART FOUR
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Her cell was dead.
"Damn it," Temari cursed, throwing her black-screened phone onto the bed. That thing ran out of battery way too fast, which was probably an indication that she needed a new phone. Not that acknowledging that helped her now, because she still needed to find a way to talk to her brothers. She didn't want to think about the mess they've made in the apartment by now without her there to clean stuff up.
The shower was audible through the walls in the hallway as Temari headed towards the living room. She figured Shikamaru wouldn't mind if she used his phone, and Ino was showering so she couldn't complain (not that Temari thought she would).
Shikamaru and Chouji were washing the dishes when she entered the main room, the latter washing and the former drying. Neither of them looked up when they heard her walking closer, but Shikamaru knew she was there. Sneaking up on him was harder than getting him to do something 'troublesome', a trait probably stemming from his few years in the police force.
"I need to use your phone," Temari told him. Shikamaru grunted his acquiescence, as she knew he would (words would be too troublesome) and snatched up the cordless phone. She dialled her apartment number, happy that she memorized the number for situations just like this. The phone rang for a beat or two, before there was a clicking sound and Kankuro's voice filtered from the other end.
"What?" he practically snarled into the phone. Temari frowned.
"That's not a very nice way to answer the phone," she told him. "If I wasn't so worried about the sanctity of my room, I'd hang up right now."
There was a pause. "Temari?" he asked. She rolled her eyes.
"Yes, doofus. It's me," she said.
"Where the hell have you been?" he asked her, a tint of a growl lining his voice. "I'm starving over here." Temari's eye twitched as she flopped onto the armchair, crossing her legs.
"There are leftovers in the fridge," she reminded him pointedly. He snorted.
"Your leftovers taste like crap."
"Go jump off a cliff Kankuro," Temari scowled.
"Ladies first," he countered.
"Then I'll be sure to step aside for you," she told him sweetly. His voice rumbled with annoyance, and she tamped down the urge to grin maniacally where her boss could see her. She had to keep up her calm and cool reputation, after all. "Is Gaara home?" she asked, her voice already softening as she thought about her youngest brother. Kankuro grunted.
"Yeah. Got home before I did," he told her, his own voice gaining a blunter, less sharp edge. "Want to talk to him?" Temari answered yes, and the phone crackled for a bit as Kankuro passed it to the red-haired Sabaku.
"… Hello?" Temari smiled slightly.
"Hi Gaara."
"… hello Temari." His voice was quiet and monotone, like it always was. He had always preferred isolation, and for a long time Temari thought he was a schizoid. When he was tested at the police academy for mental disorders, the psychologist gave him a clean bill and Temari almost breathed a sigh of relief. She was glad that his isolation was not because of something that she couldn't control, but at the same time she wondered why he preferred the isolation at all.
"Have you eaten?" she asked him, feeling her older sister worries start to kick in.
"… No," he replied. Temari sighed quietly.
"Gaara, you have to eat," she said to him a little firmly. "There are leftovers in the fridge, but you can make some eggs if that's what you want."
"… okay," he replied. There was a moment of silence. "… Temari?"
She perked up. "Yes Gaara?"
Another pause. "… Where are you?"
Temari was the one who paused this time, sneaking a glance at her boss from the corner of her eye. She smiled a bit. "I'm at a friend house. I'm fine, don't worry about me. I'll be home as soon as the rain starts letting up."
"… Okay. The weather channel says it'll let up tonight," he told her. Temari fumbled for the remote, turning on the TV and muting it as she changed stations. Gaara talked so quietly that the TV would overpower him if she let the sound on.
"Yeah, it looks like I can be home in time for dinner," she said. "Want me to get take-out?"
"… Yes please," he replied. Temari couldn't help smiling at his politeness. At least she had raised one brother right. (Kankuro was a lost cause by now.)
"Anything in particular?"
"… Ramen."
Temari blinked in mild surprise. "Ramen? You mean those Japanese noodle soup things?"
"… Yes."
For a moment, she wondered when he had ever tried ramen. Temari certainly didn't remember ordering it for him before. But she shrugged mentally and let it go; if Gaara was making friends then what did she have to complain about? He was doing better than her, that was for sure.
"Okay. Ramen it is," she conceded. She figured she'd just get her sushi and Kankurou usually went with the beef teriyaki so she'd order that for him. Faintly, Temari heard the pipes slosh into silence, and figured Ino was done showering, which meant she'd want the phone soon. Time to go. "I have to go. I'll see you guys tonight. Make sure you eat something," she added, unable to stop her big sister tendency to 'remind' them about things.
"… Bye Temari," Gaara replied, and Temari hit the end button on the phone. If she didn't cut the connection, her red-haired brother would stay on the line until she did. That was how he was. She stared a bit fondly at the telephone before putting it back on its holder. Shikamaru lounged beside it, smirking at her.
"… What?" she asked as she glared at him, a bit uncomfortable with the staring. He shrugged.
"Nothing. Just surprised, is all," he said nonchalantly, not looking surprised at all. Temari's eyes narrowed as she puzzled over his apparent 'surprise'.
"That I have brothers? I told you that a long time ago," she reminded him, raising a brow and crossing her arms. What kind of bullshit was he trying to pull with her? But Shikamaru smirked again, his dark eyes piercing as they centred on her turquoise ones. Her heart skipped a beat, but her facial expression didn't change.
"Yeah, you did," Shikamaru agreed, leaning back on the couch, his head cushioned by his hands. His partially wet t-shirt stretched tantalizingly over his chest, displaying the drawstring of his sweats and the hint of skin just above it. Temari's breath hitched, the reaction unnoticeable to anyone but her.
"So what's so surprising?" Temari asked when the silence stretched on, Chouji raiding Shikamaru's fridge even though he had eaten only minutes before. Her boss shrugged again.
"That you're a nag."
"… what?"
Temari steamed, her fingers digging into her arms. She was not a nag!
"You're a nag," Shikamaru repeated. He paused, then added, "To your brothers anyway."
Temari deflated, blinking. Well, that was kind of true. The only way Kankuro would do anything was if she talked his ear off. He would eventually get tired of her repeated, "Go wash the dishes!" and obey if only to get her to shut up. So yes, Temari supposed she was a nag.
"What's wrong with being a nag?" Ino asked, her hair dripping wet as she stood behind the couch, bent over Shikamaru and dripping water in his face. "If I wasn't a nag I wouldn't be able to get you lazy bastards to do anything," she half-joked, grinning. Shikamaru chuckled up at her, unbothered by the water droplets. He squeezed a lock of her hair in his hand and then used the water gathered in his palm to flick it in her face. She quickly moved away, making a silly face at him. He grinned, puffing his cheeks out at her. (1) Ino smacked his shoulder. "I am not fat!" she protested. "Take that back!" Shikamaru laughed, his good-natured smile undeterred even as she smacked his shoulder again.
Temari stilled from her seat on the armchair, basking in the sound of Shikamaru's laughter. She had never heard him laugh before. He always chuckled, a deep, throaty hum that sent shivers down her spine, making her smile at the knowledge that she had amused him in some way. Laughter had always seemed out of reach, maybe because Temari didn't know how to laugh herself. The most she ever managed was a smile, so rare and unnoticeable that it was privy only to her two brothers.
"They're lively today, aren't they?" Chouji asked from the armchair beside hers, munching on a bag of potato chips. He was smiling lightly, watching his two best friends poking and prodding at each other, trading insults and sarcasm, bickering and bantering. If Temari didn't know any better, she'd almost think they were brother and sister.
"Y-yeah," Temari stuttered, mentally wincing. Sabaku's did not stutter. "It's… strange. I've never seen Shikamaru so…"
"Energetic?" Chouji supplied when she trailed off. The older woman nodded, a little melancholy. The bigger man smiled, shrugging. "That's not surprising," he said. "He's only like this when he's with us." Us, as in his two best friends, Chouji and Ino. Somehow, that made Temari feel better. It wasn't just that he loved Ino. It was that he trusted them enough to let down his barriers, to be vulnerable around them, to show them who he really was. And being his friend wasn't so hard to do, Temari thought. She'd get to that level of his trust, easy as pie.
Maybe.
The phone rang and Ino stopped in the middle of pulling Shikamaru's pineapple ponytail, her face brightening. "It's Hinata!" she exclaimed, making a dive for the phone. Shikamaru, disgruntled and rubbing his sore head, mumbled something about a shower and checking the damage on his razor before ambling away into his room. Chouji flicked the TV on as Ino began chattering a mile a minute, sitting cross-legged on the couch. The phone was pressed between her ear and her shoulder as she dug around the drawer of the coffee table for a sketchpad and some pencils. Temari, unsure of what to do, simply turned in the direction of the TV. But for some reason (maybe that curious, niggling part of her that wondered how well Ino did her job), she kept an ear open to the younger woman's conversation.
"Roses are too common," Ino said flippantly, making a shooing motion with her hand as she balanced the sketchpad on her knee. "Plus, I wanna incorporate something oriental into your theme. A lotus would be too obvious, maybe a peony?" There was a pause as she listened to Hinata speak. A pensive curve formed over her lips. "An ogiku? Hold on, let me google that." She opened the laptop, her nails clicking against the keys as she searched on Google Images.
"Ooh, those are pretty," she breathed, scrolling down the results, her eyes widening. She paused, and then grabbed her pencil, sketching. The paler blonde was silent as she sketched, listening to the quiet chatter of her friend on the other line. She smiled suddenly, obviously at something her friend just said. "Hinata," she giggled, "Don't be ridiculous. Sasuke's a commitment phobe and Neji just has a stick too far up his ass. I'm not surprised you and Naruto were the first to get hitched." Hinata said something else, and Temari had a feeling it was about Ino and Shikamaru. She was right when she saw Ino roll her eyes, grinning in a way that reminded Temari of someone who had heard something too many times to become outraged at it, and was amusedly resigned instead.
"We're not dating," she sighed, "we're just good friends. You know that, Hina-chan."
"Just good friends?" Chouji asked, munching on his chips. "Well then what happened last night?" His tone was innocently curious, which only strengthened the blush that spread across Ino's face. She threw a pillow at him.
"Nothing happened last night!" Ino exclaimed. "We just slept together!" There was a gasp from the other line. Ino burned a brighter red. "Not like that, Hinata!" she protested. "We were just sleeping. Hina-chan, we were just—NO! Don't tell Forehead Girl! Hinata, don't you dare—" there was a click, and then dial tone. All the red in her face had fled, leaving a deathly white. "I'm doomed," she whispered.
"From what?" Shikamaru asked, rubbing his hair with a towel. Ino turned to him, her eyes now blazing with fire. He froze, gulping. "Ino…"
"This is all your fault," she hissed. "Do you hear me Shikamaru? My life is over and it's all your fault!" Nails unsheathed, Ino leapt over the couch and tackled Shikamaru with a great roar, much like a boar's battle cry. Temari watched surreally at the scene of her boss, the genius lawyer Shikamaru Nara, getting beaten up by a petite woman with delicate wrists who worked with flowers. Even stranger than that, the tussle made Temari think about Kankuro and the beating he was sure to get when she got home and found her room ransacked.
She flipped her cell phone open and sighed at the dead screen.
(1) Okay, if you don't get this, then you are a sad, sad, ShikaIno fan. If you forgot, recall post-Chunin exams? After Shika's promoted? He's in the washroom, listening to Chouji and Ino talking in the hall? Yeah.