Tearful Weakness

Crying, Temari had always reasoned, was a stupid thing to do.What was the point in letting hot wet drops fall from her eyes? It didn’t solve anything, and it certainly wouldn’t make her feel better – in any sense of the word.

Yet, here she was, crouched on the grassy floor, tears falling from her eyes, and body shaking uncontrollably. Dry, horrible heaving sounds wracked from her body. They seemed to come from somewhere nestled far too deeply for them to be real. Part of her desperately wished she was dreaming. Crying did not suit a person of her caliber.

It didn’t!

She stiffened as a familiar presence settled beside her.

“Go away.” She snapped angrily.

She couldn’t stop the tears flowing, so turned her head to the side so he would be unable to see her cry. He must be astonished to see she had the capabilities to cry. To him, she must just be cold stone.

What a way to ruin her reputation.

“It’s okay to cry, Temari.” He said softly. “There’s no shame in it.”

Temari spat a slew of curse words at him. Practicality and sensibility were not things she welcomed right now. She was feeling bad, and feeling bad and reasonable words didn’t go together.

She considered getting up and walking away, but she figured more people would see her tear-streaked face that way. People who would actually tell other people and never allow her to live down this moment of weakness. He at least, would keep it to himself if she asked, and the most annoying thing he could do or say was already said.

He didn’t press the issue, instead choosing to lie on the grass beside her and stare up through the leaves of the tree she was leaning against at the sky.

She tried her best to ignore him.

In a few minutes, she had even forgotten he was there.

Temari sat there for awhile, curled up into a ball, her arms hugging her knees to her chest tightly, and head resting on her knees.  When the tears refused to fall anymore, her entire body was so numb she couldn’t move. Temari attempted to stand but fell straight back down. She was expecting a hard heavy fall, but instead soft warmth surrounded her body.

“Troublesome woman.”

Temari tried to struggle, but her limbs were too numb for her to have any lasting effect. “Let me go.”

“You’ll fall.” He stated simply. “At least wait until you can move correctly will you?”

Temari scowled, but did as he said.

Shikamaru held her awkwardly, but without much embarrassment.

This embarrassed Temari horribly, as she found it odd for him to be holding her. She stared resolutely at the floor.

When feeling came back into her limbs she left the clearing and headed to her hotel without a single word to the lazy shinobi.

She never did explain to him why she was crying, and he never did ask.

There was just a connection between them that said everything that needed to be said.

Crying, Temari always thought, was a stupid thing to do.

Especially when there wasn’t much reason for it in the first place.

Oddly enough, Shikamaru disagrees.

That Scowl

She stomped up to him furiously. “Ahem.”

Shikamaru dragged his eyes from the fluffily clouds to the fiery beauty standing above him. “Yes?”

She scowled. A horribly dangerous, incredibly irritated, astonishingly marvelous scowl. “Could you be any more annoying?”

“…I suppose I can try to be more annoying. A bit difficult thing to ask, though.” He knew it was a stupid thing to say as he said it, but Temari’s foot kicking him roughly in the ribs is further proof of it. Temari plopped onto the floor beside him. The scowl still on her devilish little lips. Her lips were starting to haunt him. He was having dreams about them for goodness sakes! He used to avoid this creature because she was just so much trouble. Now he avoided her because she was an unbelievable amount of trouble and he LIKED it.

“I’ll have you know, Nara, that because of you; I can’t stand to look at the damn clouds.”

“Oh really? How’s that my fault?”

She glared daggers at him. “I’m only going to say this once.”

“Good, I’d probably only listen once anyway.”

Before he can even see her move she’s sitting on top of him.

ON TOP OF HIM.

He’s having trouble thinking because really all his mind is processing is that that she sitting on him and her legs are on either side of him and her green eyes are looking down at him, and her lips are twisted into that gorgeous and troublesome scowl of hers.

“I can’t,” she begins slowly, “look at the clouds anymore, because every time I try, all I can think of is you. Do you know how damnably frustrating that is?”

He swallowed. “I can imagine.” He probably wouldn’t be able to look at clouds anymore either. Now all he’d be able to think of was this moment right now, and that just wasn’t something he wanted to bother pondering about in public now was it?

“I really, really despise you, you know. In the beginning, you irritated me, because of your stupidly chauvinistic attitude. Then you charmed me with your even stupider noble crap. Then, you just wormed into my damn head and made me like you with your – your – No one treats me like I’m me. They treat me like I’m worthless, they treat me like I’m the princess of Suna, they treat me like I’m a psychopath’s sister, they treat me like I’m just a freaking bitch. BUT NO ONE EVER TREATED ME LIKE ME until you. AND I HATE THAT. I hate you, because I can’t stop thinking about you.

“Do you know how badly I want to kiss you right now?”

He pulled her forward and covered her lips with his. “You talk too much.”

“Idiot.” She mumbled against his lips.

“For the record.” Shikamaru muttered. “I hate you too.”