#1 – Cake

To have to report to HQ, even today…

Shikamaru walked briskly in the direction of his meeting. It was just a basic synapsis of what's been going on recently in each of the villages. Each representative came up one at a time to give their report, sit back down, and listen to the next person. It was boring, it was routine, and Shikamaru would much rather spend his birthday at his mother's house.

"You look even less like you want to be here than normal." He heard someone behind him say. "Did you miss you mid-morning nap?"

Shikamaru turned around, finding Temari standing behind him. She had her arms crossed, a small smile on her face. Shikamaru sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. A habitual action that he did when he felt he should do something, but not quite sure what to do. "That's not a funny joke, Sand Sibling."

She scoffed. "That's not a slur, for one thing. And what else was I supposed to suspect?"

"Let's just get to the meeting." Shikamaru said, changing the subject. "If we're late, more rumors will spread, and neither of our villages need that."

Temari nodded, agreeing. Both of them were tired of hearing the unapprovingly whispers of others. No longer was it just Naruto who thought that Shikamaru and Temari had a thing going. Being politicians, rumors like that were quite dangerous. Especially when they were untrue.

Together, they made their way through the hallways and into the meeting room. The representatives from the other villages were already present. "Sorry I'm late," Shikamaru apologized, "I felt extra lazy this morning."

Darui rolled his eyes. "Just because it's your birthday, doesn't mean that you get a day off."

Temari snapped her head toward Shikamaru so fast that he was surprised that she didn't hurt her neck. Her jaw hung agape for no more than five seconds before she caught herself and frowned the same, cold, hard frown that she was known for. "Today's your birthday, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru shrugged, not understanding why she was angry. It wasn't like it had anything to do with her. "Yeah. I was born nineteen years ago today. Why does it matter?"

"It doesn't." She replied quickly, crossing her arms. "Let's just get this over with, shall we?"

"But I'm not hungry." Shikamaru complained.

"Too bad." Temari snapped. "I didn't ask you."

She continued to drag him down the hall by the ponytail (which was quite the painful way to be led somewhere) toward the cafeteria. Shikamaru had no idea what she was doing, but apparently he had no say in it. "I have to be heading back to Konoha, Temari. And I'm sure that you're supposed to be returning to Suna."

Temari shoved him in a chair without responding, and went over to the desserts. She appeared to browse before picking up a package of something and paying for it. Within a couple of minutes, she came back over with a package of mini-cupcakes. She set it down on the table. "It's not quite the same, but it's something."

Shikamaru looked at the cupcakes, and then back up at Temari. "Why'd you buy me this?"

Temari scoffed. "Don't get any ideas, Nara. You're my co-worker and my friend. The least I can do is this."

"Oh." Shikamaru replied, looking back down at the cupcakes. He was used to getting something from his friends back in Konoha, but it was mostly small-time. They were past the age of birthday parties and big celebrations. In a way, it was nice to be wished a happy birthday by somebody outside of Naruto's close-knit group. "Thanks."

Temari nodded. "But you don't say anything about this to anyone, got it? We can't feed those rumors."

Shikamaru groaned. "Trust me. I know."

"Okay." Temari finalized. "I'll see you at the next meeting then, Crybaby."

Shikamaru nodded. "I'll see you there."

Temari waited a moment, seeming to hesitate, and then walked out of the cafeteria. Shikamaru looked back down at the cupcakes. He smiled, but he didn't know what he was happy about. Then it occurred to him: he had never received a present from Temari, ever, for any reason. And for some reason, getting one from her made him happy. He didn't dwell on it, and instead opened up the package, and took out a mini-cupcake…

Oh my God, Shikamaru thought, I'm completely screwed, aren't I?