Shikamaru tried to think of a happier moment as dawn broke out over Konoha and light began to filter in through his one tiny window. His current status of laying on his bedroll with a beautiful kunoichi still sleeping and using his midsection as a pillow was indeed ranking higher than all of his other cherished memories leading up to this point in his life. He raked his long fingers through her hair, reveling in its silky fine texture, glad that it wasn't riddled with tangles as yanking on them was sure to wake her up. She had curled next to him during the night, placing her hand on his hipbone while her head decided that Shikamaru's abdominal muscles were far more comfortable than his ribcage. Her brown tresses lay over his chest like shimmering brown waves as he picked up and evaluated each fine lock with an indolent curiosity between the pads of his fingers. One hand behind his head, the other sifting through her hair rhythmically, he craned his head very slowly and carefully to check if she was rousing from her peaceful slumber.

He could see the tips of her long lashes casting shadows across her cheeks and in the morning light, her tanned features looked cast in bronze like a golden deity. He could feel her soft breath tickling the edge of his belly-button and the even rise and fall of her back told him that she had not quite yet begun to stir from her slumber. He hoped the awkward angle of her shoulders wasn't as uncomfortable as it appeared to be. It was reasonable to believe that she would probably have a crick in her neck as soon as she awoke.

Fully encompassed in the moment, his hand settled on top of the curtain of hair and he pressed it gently to his chest as he continued to marvel at its slippery soft appeal. Nearly lost in sleep again, Shikamaru almost missed her mumbling something out of the corner of her mouth.

"…kama..."

Most of what she had muttered had been slurred into his skin, now hot with her breath as she rotated her face a bit further into side. It amazed him that she thought of saying the name of a weapon in her sleep. He wasn't aware that she even owned a kama, but it shouldn't have at all surprised him that she had weapons on her brain at all times. She was the Mistress of Weapons after all, so it should come to no surprise that not just owning a kama, but using and training with one was more than just a little common-place for her.

It almost caused him to frown knowing that he was enjoying the moment and she was probably having a bad dream. He pulled out the hand that had been placed from behind his head and gently rested it on the ball of her shoulder to comfort her.

"…kamaru…"

This caused him to still in a way that had the areas of his brain which had been hell bent all morning on doing absolutely no cerebral activity to sudden focus all attention and chakra to his ears so that he could hear her properly.

"Jika…" her words blurred as her lips opened against his skin. He fought moving from the shiver than ran along his spine.

Was she saying his name?

Her hand was sliding across his belly now towards her face and the gentle touch nearly caused his eyes to roll back inside his head. It felt so good.

He took a deep breath and steadied himself as he realized that she was rolling over. He slipped his hands back behind his head. She now faced him, still lost in her dream when she made the turn.

"Shikamaru…" It was definitely his name, and she hadn't been completely awake or asleep as she said it. Her eyes were still in a relaxed and closed position. She took a few more even breaths and tried to settle into her make-shift pillow without much effort. Her eyebrows furrowed together at loss of a comfortable position. She moaned with frustration as her mouth creased downward, finding it more than difficult to maintain sleep from the lack of proper positioning and comfortable amenities.

He couldn't help but drink in her fine features as her eyes fluttered open. Her hands splayed across his chest and remained still, while Shikamaru fought a full blown fatuous smirk as she realized just where she was and who she was on top of.

"Shikamaru!" Her eyes popped open and froze in horror as she looked up and realized how she had slept so intimately with him. Scrambling off of him too quickly, she nearly lost her balance as a hand shot up to her head as if it ached. He caught her in a sitting position on the floor as she winced in pain. She settled into a relaxed position against his chest, and Shikamaru wrapped his arms around her to comfort her.

"Tenten, are you alright?" His voice had sounded a lot groggier than he had anticipated. Perhaps it was all for the best. Having asked her that question with a chipper voice might have caused her to think that he was voyeuristically watching her all morning.

She groaned as she held her head with on hand. "Yeah, they must have given me some pain meds while I was in the hospital. Someone must have slipped them in my IV while I wasn't looking. They give me weird side effects. I tend to thrash in my sleep and wake up a little dizzy. Sorry if I drooled on you." She gave him a heartfelt apologetic smile.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Shikamaru had to ask. "I heard you mention the word 'kama' and got a little worried."

"Kama?" she repeated with a hollow tone that made it seem like she was trying to remember her dream but coming up empty. "I wasn't dreaming about fighting or training…I don't think…" She rubbed the space in between her brows in frustration. "It's all a little fuzzy still. Stupid meds give me a headache the day after. Ironic isn't it?"

Shikamaru grunted the affirmative. "Don't rush getting up. I get a little clumsy this early in the morning with hand signs. It's best if you take your time. There's no rush."

No rush indeed. He could hold her in his arms like this all day. She pressed against him further. He had half a mind to convince her to stay in bed with him until the aftermath of the drugs wore off or until they got hungry.

His stomach growled annoyingly at the thought of food.

"Well," Shikamaru yawned, "apparently I am hungry. There is a shop around the corner if you are up for some breakfast."

After a few more minutes of holding her, she steadily got up from the encasement of his arms. He made a big deal about making sure that her skin had fully healed before the two headed off to breakfast.

Now properly fed so that his blood sugar reached optimal functioning levels coupled with being jazzed on the caffeine of morning sencha, he was ready to take on the day.

Tenten hadn't eaten much, which caused his scowl to return full force as his concern over her well-being doubled when she explained that it was just another side effect of the pharmaceuticals. She promised him that her appetite would return to normal by dinner, and Shikamaru used that as an excuse to see her again.

"I am going to have to make sure that you are given adequate sustenance since I was given orders by your doctor to make sure that you make a full recovery."

Tenten gave him a wide-eyed look of disbelief. "Oh really?"

"Yeah," he shuffled his hands to his pockets and his voice took on a droll tone. "It's troublesome, but I have my orders." His eyes were barely half open, as he nearly dragged his feet along side of her upbeat stride. He bit his tongue to hide his smile.

She played along, knowing full well that Shikamaru was being facetious. "That sounds like such a drag." She emphasized, "Especially since my team is not going to let me out of their sight for the next three days since I skipped hospital stay."

"What?!" The Nara heir ground to halt in front of her. She blinked up at him with those long lashes of hers with a sassy look on her face. She crossed her arms over her chest as he evaluated her with his eyebrows nearly slammed together.

"They just want to make sure I am okay. I think Lee told them about what has happened at the campsite and my team, being my team, is naturally going to make sure to get overly involved in the situation. And that usually means that they are going to do it in the most obnoxious way possible in true Team Gai fashion." She reached up to fix the collar on his flack jacket. Shikamaru dumbly tucked his chin to watch her lithe fingers linger on the edge of the fabric then press up against his chest when she was done. She cocked her head to the side to admire him in his now straightened out attire. She smiled and his eyes caught hers. His serious, piercing stare still remained half-lidded, and his hands stilled on the ball of her shoulders as he spoke in a low tone.

"I don't want to share you with other company tonight." It was a large admission on his part, something he hadn't meant to reveal at this stage of their relationship. He supposed this might have been a good strategic move, to just lay it all out on the table of what he wanted. He hoped this kind of gambit had a big payout.

She broke his gaze to move in closer to chest, fiddling with the jacket's collar once more. At this proximity he could smell her shampoo and feel her body heat. He closed his eyes completely to take a deep breath of her hair as she so temptingly put it right under his nose.

"Well," she began, now fidgeting with the fishnet shirt underneath the jacket. She wove her fingers in and out of the holes, looping them around her fingers as she brushed up against his chest. He fought the urge to let his eyes roll back inside of his head. "I suppose that all depends on that big brain of yours."

She was cheating, and he knew it. His brain could not function at all with her touching him like this. Her fingers slipped inside his jacket for a moment, each hand fanning out against his pectoral muscles.

"Six o'clock at the Steel Lantern." He managed to get out after taking a shaky breath.

"Are you trying to impress me?" She managed to look up and pin him with a dubious look.

"Uh-huh," his hands trailed the length of her arms before they settled on her hips to pull her closer.

"I will be there, with my team," she promised as she started to depart. He knew that she had to get going for training with her team if he had any chance of getting her all to herself tonight. He would just have to out-smart them so he could have more alone time with her.

Shikamaru smiled to her retreating form as she turned around and waved good-bye.

With her team?! Not if I can help it.