My Boss The Genius
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INTERLUDE FOUR
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"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" Ino asked, pouting a bit as she watched Temari throw on her jacket. The older woman nodded as she shouldered her purse, her teal eyes flickering unconsciously to her boss standing behind the younger woman. He was yawning, standing with Chouji as they had both been dragged to the door by Ino to say goodbye to their guest. ("It's polite!" Ino had nagged, her fingers pinching their ears.)
"I told my brothers I'd get take-out for them. If I don't, they'd starve themselves to death," she told the paler blonde. Ino grinned and rolled her eyes. Yeah, she knew what that was like.
"Well then be careful on your way home. The roads are still pretty slippery," she said.
"I will," Temari replied, opening the door. Her eyes flickered to Shikamaru, finding his dark eyes staring at her own. She paused before leaving, nodding her head at him. "See you at work." He nodded back at her, but didn't reply. That wasn't so unusual, since this was how they usually parted ways. She bid him goodbye and he would nod his head, normally because he was still thumbing through some last-minute papers.
The elevator doors opened and Temari stepped inside. "It was nice to meet you, Temari," Chouji smiled.
"Nice to meet you too," she managed to reply just as the doors slid closed. Then it was just her and the stagnant silence, somewhat awkward without Ino's pointless chatter and the crunch of Chouji's potato chips. She shifted to expel the dead air, tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. It was a relief when the doors opened on the first floor, allowing her to walk out of the lobby and into the NYC streets
The streets were mostly empty from the light trickles of rain still falling, but the moisture in the air didn't bother Temari much anymore. She started to walk down the street, hoping to find a cab to take her home but they seemed to be bereft from the roads. It made her groan inwardly, realizing that she'd probably have to walk home. The faint sound of a dog howled, and she remembered that she promised take-out for her brothers.
"I swear," Temari mumbled to herself, "my life sucks."
"I don't think it's that bad." Temari spun to see who spoke, her mouth dropping.
"You!" she exclaimed. The person grinned in a very familiar, roguish, way.
"Hi. I'm guessing you remember me?" he asked, one of his hands in his pocket.
"Yeah… you're from the coffee shop," Temari replied, shifting to face him fully. She smiled a bit. "What are you doing in the rain?" she asked. He smirked.
"I could ask you the same question," he replied.
She paused, but then said, "I'm heading home," and he grinned.
"Waited out the storm with a friend?" She nodded at his guess, falling into step beside him as he started to walk. It was an unconscious gesture, something she didn't even realize she had done until a second later, which was a second too late.
"You haven't answered my question," Temari informed him dully, narrowing her eyes in his direction. He chuckled, a sound that was rougher than Shikamaru's and yet somehow just as captivating; just as addicting. It made her smile, gave her an urge to smile that was too powerful to ignore and too hard to hide.
"I'm just taking a walk," he told her, shrugging and smiling easily. "My friend was getting restless in the house so we went out, until I lost him a few minutes ago." Temari blinked, 'oh'ing quietly and looking ahead at the wet sidewalks and raindrops misting the air.
"Aren't you worried about him?" she asked, knowing that if she ever lost track of where Gaara or Kankuro were, she'd freak out. Not that anyone would know she was freaking out, because panicking was not a Sabaku thing. Sabaku's were always in control, and they always got it right the first time. That was how she knew Shikamaru was special; because he was the first person she'd ever fallen in love with.
"Nah," the man laughed. "He can take care of himself. He'll find me if he needs me." They lapsed into silence, just walking aimlessly along the streets now. Temari knew they were walking vaguely in the direction of her apartment, and wondered if he was going to walk her home. That would be such a chauvinistic and traditional thing to do, she mused, but somehow the thought of it was nice and made her duck her head to hide her smile.
"Well, I've got to get some take-out for my brothers," Temari told him, stopping in front of a Japanese restaurant. "Thanks for walking with me." He waved it off, showing his shiny teeth as he smiled brightly.
"I should be thanking you," he told her. "It's not often I get to walk with a beautiful woman."
Temari flushed red, her mouth dropping open. "I-I… I'm not," she stuttered, her teeth gritting. She must have looked quite mad, she thought, her eyebrows slanted down and her eyes narrowed into slits. But the man with the roguishly handsome grin just laughed at her reaction, putting his hand up in a goodbye salute.
"Maybe I'll see you again, yeah?" he asked, jogging away. Temari's lips quivered in their usual frown before they blossomed into a giddy smile that she hid under her hand. Yeah. Maybe she'd see him again. And the knowledge of that made Temari laugh, entering the restaurant just as the rain trickled away, leaving the clouds to part so the sun could shine.
A/N I am on a roll! (You know what would keep me on my roll? REVIEWS! 8D -shot-)
Snowflake Flower