Another ShikaTema, that was originally it's own story, but I feel that its home should be here instead. This is dedicated to my best friend Shannon who was the inspiration for the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Imagine that.
Vulnerable
-ShikaTema-
AU
"Shikamaru, could you, uh, could you come pick me up?" Temari asked into her cell phone. She was holding her phone as possible to her face and her knuckles had become white from the death grip she had on it. Her body was shaking all over and her face was filled with fright. Of course, these were things that you couldn't tell by talking over the phone, but her voice itself was shaky.
"Temari, is something wrong? You sound… kinda scared." Shikamaru realized with shock.
Since when did Temari ever sound scared? She was always the tough girl, and it would be more likely for Shikamaru to be the one who was afraid. Because of this she often called him a crybaby. Shikamaru knew that something had to be wrong, but Temari wasn't in the mood to talk about it just yet.
"Shikamaru, please just pick me up dammit! I'm at the bridge on the old highway going to your house. And you better hurry Nara." She shouted back into her cell phone, slamming the device shut in anger. Shikamaru heard how angry she sounded, and since he had nothing else to do he figured that he might as well go.
"She must be in pretty bad shape then…" He concluded, and he was right. Temari's body was still shaking uncontrollably and the sun was setting faster and faster. It was only a matter of time before there wouldn't be any light at all left and she would be all alone in the dark. Though she cursed herself for it, she could feel the tears start to pile up in her teal eyes. Her eyes were waiting… waiting for the familiar sight of Shikamaru.
"Damn, woman. What did you do?" Shikamaru asked in surprised to himself as he survey the area. The sight he saw was not a pretty one. From what he could tell, Temari was driving her vehicle and approaching the bridge when something caused her to have to turn into a ditch where her car did a 180 degree turn and flipped over on to the driver's side. Her car was still lying in the ditch and debris was scattered everywhere.
But what surprised him even more was the fact that Temari had run up to him and embraced him a hug… Since when did Temari ever hug him? Shikamaru's face was turning redder by the minute, but ignored his racing heart as best as he could so he could get Temari to calm down.
Like he thought after talking to her on the phone, she was shaking all over and even though she had kept a fairly even voice while talking to him on phone, she was now crying uncontrollably and it appeared that she wasn't going to stop anytime soon. The back of Shikamaru's shirt was getting wetter by the moment, and something had to be done about the situation. Besides that, Shikamaru needed an excuse to get this beautiful blonde female off of him before he started going crazy as well.
"Temari… calm down. What happened?" Shikamaru pulled her off him and looked her directly in the face while asking his question. Actually it only made things worse. His emotions were being tested by this. Seeing her distressed was almost more than he could handle. He had never seen her cry before, something he had never wanted to see. She couldn't answer him for a few seconds due to her uncontrollable sobbing, but she eventually got a hold of herself enough to talk.
"A.. a truck was coming towards m.. me and wouldn't get out of my lane, s, s.. so I had to swerve off into the ditch to avoid hitting h.. h, him. The car only went into the ditch at first, but then it flipped over. I had to climb out through the passenger's side, and now my neck hurts like hell." Temari explained while rubbing her neck. She had calmed down a lot after talking some, and she was finally able to stop crying.
"I see… Have you called anybody else?" Shikamaru wisely asked and gave a look of concern when she shook her head no. She seemed slightly ashamed in that fact, but it didn't change anything. Shikamaru sighed and took out his cell phone, dialing a few numbers. After a few rings, Temari could hear the voice on the other end talking and stood there quietly so Shikamaru could talk.
"Yeah, I need to report an accident. On Highway 121 by the bridge. No, I'll take her there myself. Thanks." He said and closed the phone with a sigh. He put the phone in the back pocket of his pants, and you could hear him mutter the word 'troublesome' escape his mouth. However, this only made Temari more curious about what he talking about.
"You'll take me where?" She asked her male friend curiously. He was standing next to her deep in thought, but snapped out of it when he heard her voice. His face lifted to face her and his lips were curved into a small smile. This, despite the fact that only a moment earlier he had found something to be troubling.
"I'm gonna take you to the hospital. Whiplash is a serious thing and we better go make sure it's just a minor injury and not anything worse. I'll take you whenever you're ready." He explained to her. Temari gave him a small nod in understanding and Shikamaru could tell that something seemed to be on her mind. But for the moment, he decided not to press her about it. He was about to move and walk to where his truck was parked, when he decided to ask something that had been on his mind.
"Hey Temari, why did you call me? I mean, I don't mind helping you out but I figured you would have called one of your brothers instead. So, why did you call me?" He asked her hoping that she would answer his question. Her face gave a look of surprise that he would ask her something like that, but then her face softened as she looked over the surrounding area where her car was laying.
"I guess its cause you're the only one who wouldn't have laughed or thought it was my fault if I called. And because… well, I knew you'd help me even if I had messed up. It also doesn't hurt that you're the only one who wouldn't call me a sissy for crying. Which, by the way, if you tell anybody I will seriously come and hunt you down." She explained, giving him a look to show how serious she was. Shikamaru paid the most attention to her earlier words. There was something about it that struck a chord in his heart.
"…"
Shikamaru decided to remain silent as he poured over the thoughts in his head. There she was right in front of him, talking to him in such a way that he'd never heard before… and that just made her look vulnerable for once in her life. Shikamaru figured that this would be the only chance he would get to show a softer side of himself as well. Even though there was a strong possibility of Temari slapping him painfully across the face, he decided that it was now or never.
He silently walked up behind her while she was still looking away from him and in one swift motion, he had put his arms around Temari's waist and his head was leaning on her shoulder as to not hurt her neck. Temari froze in place unsure of what to do, but her heart knew exactly what her heart wanted her to do. She decided that since she had already been crying, so it wouldn't take too much pride from her to show that she felt the same way as him.
She slowly learned back against him and rested her head on his to comfort her neck. Shikamaru felt his heart racing faster and faster in the fact that she felt the same way. He could just tell by her actions; she called him because he would be the only one that would really care about her, and because she wanted something to care about her right now. Shikamaru positioned his head to kiss her neck where she had pointed out that it had been aching.
She sighed happily, and leaned her back against him more, snuggling closer against his body. This was the happiest that she's felt in a long time… and now it was so unreal for all of this to be happening. But if this never happened, then why was she still in Shikamaru's arms? She only smiled and kissed him on his neckline, and then looked towards the sunset.
Together, they watched the sun set completely and waited till all the light had died away before leaving the scene. Many things had been figured out tonight, but most importantly they realized that sometimes it's not such a bad thing to be open. Sometimes, it doesn't hurt to be vulnerable.
Fin