(A/N: Aaah, this was supposedly going to end funny, but resulted to a more serious ending... Wow, I'm so stupid.
Anyhow, have fun reading, everyone!)
"This is a work the Ambassador of Sunagakure should do alone. It has nothing to do with you, Shikamaru."
Tsunade had worded it roughly in hopes for the latter to understand quicker, and better. Pair of small, brown orbs had been staring at the skies, stealing glances of a blonde kunoichi whilst her teal eyes were pinned at numbers of documents on hand.
"And you," pointed Tsunade towards the young ninja. "As the Ambassador to Konohagakure, you are assigned to make sure of your partner's safety."
"Wait. Me, with her while she works alone?" Reconfirmed Shikamaru.
"Correct. Act as her escort like you must."
Shikamaru let out a groan, almost as if tiredly before unpredictably chaging his attention onto the ceiling, the walls, yet eventually found his brown optics dropping onto a certain blonde kunoichi.
The soft turning of pages, shifting of documents, the sound of her pen meeting the aformentioned leaf, including her breathing had overtaken the quietness growing between them.
But those alone had Shikamaru sighing.
This time, had he turned to the female. "Let me help you with that," uttered him in a low voice, yet comprehensible enough.
"You can't," immediately responded the kunoichi. "You heard what the hokage said earlier, right? You can't."
Another tired groaning had been expressed by the teen before flashing his usual countenance towards her. "Earlier? She said that two days ago."
Silence engulfed Temari; the lass had an attempt to respond, but chose not to anyhow.
"You're tired enough for me to help," effortlessly replied the man. He stood slowly from seemingly lying on the rooftop, and offered his hand for her to put the papers on.
Teal optics dropped on his palm, then shifted her attention to the man himself. "Orders are orders, Shikamaru," repeated her. "You can't."
"Fine," said him, but didn't return to drowsing off as he was minutes ago. Silence shielded them once again, but at this moment, Shikamaru's patience was running out. He stood, yet uttered none.
Temari noticed the tiny movements, but refused to give him a glance. It hadn't been long since the latter felt a hand wrap itself on her arm. Curious, the kunoichi had shifted her gazes at the pineapple-haired man this time. "...?"
"Let's go," began him whilst gently pulling her close.
"Huh, what? Where?" Asked the blonde.
"Don't ask; just come with me."
"...But I have work to do, Shikamaru. I'm chasing against time."
"Time? The hokage never said you have to finish them as soon as possible, all she did say was you have to finish it alone," fortunately, Shikamaru's memory had served him well.
And with him being correct, Temari was left out of words. She let the man take her anywhere he would, attention was undeniably all focused on the latter's future plans. Why did he...
Steps that had slowly faded earlier had grown, a silhouette of Shikamaru's figure came evident on he ground as it perfectly reflected against the bright sun's rays. Seeing such an image had Temari follow the growing shadow, until she was looking at the man's face now.
"You want this, right?" Asked him, showing her a stick of different colours of dango, before extending his arms towards her. "Here. You haven't eaten anything since yesterday."
I'd give her a full meal, but I'm currently broke. Such a perfect timing, really.
Only she did was accept the man's offer, and hesitantly take a bite as soon. "...Why are you doing this?"
"I cannot just watch a woman work when I know she hasn't eaten anything for almost the whole day now, not even a snack."
"Man and woman crap again?" Reconfirmed the female, but after scoffing in amusement.
"You could have just said thanks," replied the genius for two reasons--to avoid a more heated bantering with her, and literally what he wanted to say.
Temari couldn't tell how many times Shikamaru had already made a point--it was probably the after-effect of not being able to eat at times; failure to comprehend simplest things. Knowing the correctness in his every statement, the blonde only had clutched the dango stick tighter, yet hues were pinned at the cemented ground of the Leaf.
It had been growing slightly awkward in between them, yet Shikamaru still refused to speak. Albeit the surroundings were covered with people's simultaneous chatters, the man's field only had been limited around him and Temari.
"...nks."
Drowned in his thoughts had allowed him not to hear Temari's words vividly as it should had been. "Did you say anything?"
"I said thanks," effortlessly replied the female without much of a change in her facial expression aside from her teal-coloured eyes dropping somewhere away from Shikamaru.
Noticing it had the young man flash tints of slightly noticeable blushes on his cheeks, along with a bit of flinching as he was engulfed with embarrassement. It was a rare sight, barely--probably, never--he would hear her speak of her appreciation, knowing the kind of surrounding she had grown up to.
"...What," asked her, though it sounded more likely a sentence snapping him back to reality.
"W-Well...," Shikamaru tried to muster his courage, and speak as normally possible. "You're welcome... I guess..." Get yourself together, Shikamaru! After a few repeated chants in his mind, the latter did his utmost best to flash her his casual expression whilst putting his hands back inside his pockets. "I'll help you with your work."
"Huh? Don't be stupid. The hokage said--"
"I don't care about what the hokage said," though I know I'm as well putting my life in line...! "It's not right to let you work alone when it's supposedly our work."
"I can do it by myself. I just need to--"
"You can do it by yourself?" Repeated the Nara. "When you told me the hokage gave her orders earlier when it already has been two days since? Yeah, no. I'm not buying that."
"Shikamaru!" Struggled the kunoichi whilst the teen kept pulling her with him. "Stick to the hokage's orders! Don't be stupid!"
Everything Temari was saying had only been entering and leaving Shikamaru's ears--he was undeniably expert at it.
Tonton came rushing at the opposite direction the two shinobi had taken, only to jump onto another ninja's arms and utter words only his owner could comprehend.
"Shikamaru said they're going to do it together. The Ambassador to Sunagakure kept rejecting him, but he insisted, anyways," explained Shizune. "What are going to do, Tsunade-sama?"
The pale blonde woman turned away, her arms crossed on her chest. "Let them be."
"Eh? But, you said--"
"It is exactly how I pictured it. I was actually thinking he really wouldn't follow a stupid order--making her work on something alone, while her partner's doing none--but I'm surprised it took him two days to break loose."
"I could see why he was trying not to," responded Shizune pertaining to how Shikamaru prevented himself from offering Temari help. "And I do think relationship-wise they would be good partners, considering how they could clearly understand each other."
At the moment Shizune uttered her thoughts upon observing the two for quite some time now, Tsunade had realised what she actually meant.
(A/N: Nihongo is getting the best of me! To those who don't know, I am currently taking a Nihongo class, and planning to ace it. That explains why updates are taking longer than the usual. But that doesn't mean I've forgotten about the book. Anyhow, I apologise 'bout that!
You might see some typographical errors, I'd say you ignore them! I edited it when I was offline, but it didn't get through when I tried to save it as soon as I got online. I'll edit them once I get the time again!)