Comfort

Standard Disclaimer: The characters of Naruto do not belong to me, I'm not making any money out of this and if you are not of age, don't say I didn't warn you!

FF Disclaimer: I decided that I make a non-lemon oneshot out of this little ficcie here to post up on ffdotnet. It's still a lime though, so be warned. Enjoy!

Shikamaru watched as the clouds went by.

Lately, he felt more and more like watching clouds than beforehand …

And while he enjoyed the peace outside on the fields, he also came out here for a different reason. He didn't feel like training.

He felt like crying … again.

Chouji was still in hospital, as were the others. They barely survived the encounter with Akatsuki, and while his friend and teammate finally started to recover, Neji's condition had just been stabilized and he still received intensive care within the Hyuga grounds.

For the first time in his life, not just him, but all of his leaf comrades fought in a life or death situation with enemies that usually should have surpassed their abilities. And brushing so close to this experience shook him to the very core.

He pledged to do it better next time.

He said he would complete his mission flawlessly the next time they would strike.

And here he was, running away from it all. Running away from responsibility, laying on a soft patch of grass and trying to banish all those thoughts from his head while watching the clouds.

He felt sick … not just because he was worried about the others well being but also because he barely ate anything since they arrived back in Konohagakure.

As those clouds drifted by along with his thoughts, he suddenly tensed as he heard someone approaching. Putting on his best "No-care-in-the-world" face, he decided to ignore the person coming to him and stared into the sky instead. It might be Asuma, telling him to start training again, or his father, worrying about his sudden diet. Maybe even Ino, coming to check if he was all right …

"Here you are, crybaby."

He stiffened at the sound of the voice. No. Anyone but her. Not right now. He recognized Temaris voice instantly, and, knowing that he had no chance to forgo the upcoming argument, he turned his head around to glare at her.

"What do you want?" he grumbled, sounding irritated but earning nothing more then a raised eyebrow at his usual bored tone.

"Coming to see if you're still upset about the mission. It was quite a hassle to find your hideout." Temari replied, dressed in the attire she wore at the tournaments as opposed to the heavier dress with front protection and leaning on her giant fan, a smirk grazing her features.

"Why, is that any way to greet your savior?" she mocked.

He gritted his teeth in annoyance, forcing himself to calm down. If women were already troublesome, one had to come up with a new word for her. Still, he didn't want to argue right now. He wanted to be left in peace. He hated her cocky attitude, thinking herself superior over everyone. Just like his mother.

"Go away."

He knew it was futile, just as it was futile to try and ignore her. You could love her, you could hate her, but you could not ignore her. Instead, she came closer, crouching down and leaning over him so she would block his view of the clouds.

"Didn't you say you would stop running away and 'do things flawlessly next time'?" She mocked as she stared right into his eyes, a glimmer of annoyance evident in those green orbs of hers.

"I'm not. I'm just thinking."

That wasn't even a lie. He was thinking about ways of trying not to think too much.

"Oh? About what, may I ask?" she replied, her expression changing into one of fake interest.

"None of your business."

Again, she stared him down, this time seemingly even more annoyed than just a moment before. What was it with this woman? Couldn't she see that he just wanted to be left alone for a while? She sure was persistent.

"Oh yeah? Well, next time you need to get your sorry ass saved, ask someone else to do it. I can't believe I lost to a loser like you during the chuunin exams."

'Why am I putting up with this?' Shikamaru thought. If it weren't so troublesome, not to mention pointless, to bicker back and forth, he'd give her a piece of his mind.

"Well, thanks, ok? I'm trying to get a bit of alone time here! Women …"

Honestly, that's why he thought about women as troublesome. He just couldn't figure them out! What would he need to do to get her off his back? And why was she suddenly looking hurt and angry at the same time?

"That's just what I expected … ungrateful bastard."

She pushed herself up and he followed her movement until he quickly looked away into another direction, realizing that he was looking up her dress. He fought the small blush down and tried on focusing on the clouds again, when she rammed her fan into the soft grass and turned to him again.

"Hey crybaby! Stand up and fight me! I can't believe I lost to the likes of you; you're making me sick! Bet I can even beat you just with tai-jutsu."

He sighed and turned his face slightly into her direction. His eyes narrowed as he took in her appearance. Her short dress showed more flesh than it concealed in his opinion. But what was more important was that she was balancing on her feet, a classic fighting stance he knew from hand-to-hand combat. She was being serious about this challenge; he saw it in her eyes. Normally, he wouldn't let a woman best him in any challenge, and it wasn't like he didn't have any knowledge about close-range combat. But still … he was sleep deprived, hadn't eaten since yesterday and honestly didn't feel like beating the hell out of this noisy girl that kept invading his privacy. Much. He just didn't like the idea of hitting a girl. Even if it was her.

"No interest."

"Oh well …", her suddenly sweet voice sing-sang.

His gaze shifted to the clouds once more, before he realized his mistake and quickly rolled to the side, just as Temari tried to pounce on him. Instantly, his mind went into overdrive against his will, analyzing his attacker, comparing abilities and checking the terrain, before planning out a strategy, not to mention making his head swim from the burst of information going through his brain.

When Temari tried to grab him, he quickly rolled into a crouch himself before they went against each other, their bodies clashing in an attempt to get the upper hand. She was a strong opponent; he had to admit that she was stronger than him with her always wielding that heavy fan. She almost pinned him down, making him lose his balance and then tackling him completely to the ground, trying to weight him down and get him into a headlock at the same time. He brought his arms up against her own, catching her at her shoulders, and tried to use her momentum to twist her to the ground instead, before she shook him off and they each took their distance. By an unseen agreement, they just kept it with basic tai-jutsu. They were panting lightly now, sweat started to form on their bodies and their eyes were glued to each other. Again they rushed at each other, before Shikamaru tripped and lost his balance on the uneven ground, just as Temari was close enough to grab him. With a barely suppressed smirk Temari went into a crouch and grabbed one of his arms before pulling at it with all her strength. He sailed through the air before hitting the ground with a gasp as the impact forced the air out of his lungs. She went after him the moment he landed, before a shadow from above caused her to catch his kunai-pocket, just as it was about to hit her dead on in the face.

"Nice try!" she breathed, before rushing at him again, causing him to flip back on his feet and back away a bit.

His answer was a smirk of his own as she lost her balance on something on the ground. As she tripped, her eyes caught a glimpse of a Kunai's handle, sticking out between the grasses. Before she had a chance to recover, his foot caught her right shoulder and changed her momentum so she landed hard on the grass. Her eyes widened slightly at the feel of the kick, since it was hardly more than a mere brushing of his foot against her shoulder. He just had the perfect opportunity to dislocate her shoulder!

'I can't believe him! He's holding back!'

Before she had the chance to stand up again, though, he was upon her, his knee pressed into her back and his hands controlling her arms. She struggled against him.

"I win." he declared simply, still panting from the workout.

"Damn you!" she screamed as she moved against him, trying to free herself and wriggling out of his grasp with her superior strength. "I can't believe you would go easy on me!"

"I don't like to hurt girls." He murmured. He watched as she squirmed around and slowly got free, taking in her body. Her clothing seemed disheveled now, her hair was slightly messy. He could smell the mixture of her sweat and simple perfume. He blushed slightly as he realized he was about to lean down to study a small birthmark just below her shoulder up close. The adrenaline the short fight provided him with slowly faded out of his body, leaving him a bit drowsy.

Unfortunately, the combined effects of drowsiness and indecision were enough to throw him off her and he rolled on his back, before getting up.

Or at least trying, since the next moment, she literally jumped him and shoved him down again, pinning his body down with hers and entangling her limbs with his into a firm grip.

He struggled merely for a moment before he relaxed again, annoyed and trying to catch his breath.

"I thought this match was over," he stated while trying to get some air into his lungs with her on top of him.

"Get off me already, I won."

She was panting into his ear, and her body was pressed against him, too close for comfort, he realized.

"It's far from over. That's what you get for going easy on me …", she panted into his left ear, her head nestled into the crook of his neck. He blinked.

That wasn't Temaris usual voice. His heart briefly stopped as he realized she wasn't taunting or angry or arrogant … was she trying to seduce him?

Not that he minded. And he definitely did not blush right now. She didn't affect him at all.

"You're so trouble-"

He couldn't ignore the fact that the next moment her lips were catching his in a passionate kiss, completely shutting him up.

The logical side of his brain told him that he was still hungry and sleep-deprived. It also informed him that he was mere 14 years old and his mother would probably have his head if this ever came out, not to think of Temari's brothers catching them here and now. It then followed up with some death scenarios, one uglier than the other, before another part of his brain took over, one he didn't even know he used other than for snide remarks on females or that stupid blushing.

It wasn't just informing him on the fact that he was currently smooching with a really good-looking girl, it also just sent off a rather forceful dose of hormones to heavily restrain the logical side of his brain.

Just as Temari began to think he was too lazy to even kiss back, he slowly and clumsily responded to her advances. Grinning into the kiss, her hands slowly left his wrists and began to forcefully tug at his chuunin vest to get it open.

The kiss ended as abruptly as it had started and she started to place small but equally forceful kisses on his lips and chin. For a moment he thought she would try to bite him, as she was actually making matching noises in the back of her throat. Instead of backing further away from her, he began to plant kisses on her face as well, smiling against his will at her antics.

'Forceful woman … she's going to shred my clothes with all that tugging.'

With that thought in mind one of his hands snuck up to restrain her effort of ripping his vest off his body while the other dug into her blonde hair, pulling her even closer. He wouldn't lose to this woman.

Temari was actually pleasantly surprised. Finally he was putting some effort into this sort of fight. Smirking, she briefly stopped her part of the kissing and moved to his ear.

"So you're good for something after all …", she whispered with a husky undertone in her voice.

Before he had a chance to reply, she blew into his ear, making him flinch and pull his head away. Shikamaru growled in reply, clearly annoyed at her action, and pulled her closer to bite down on her neck, leaving a small mark there, before moving up to kiss her again. After all, turnabout was fair play.

She didn't mind as much as he did though. Instead, she gripped his shoulders before rolling to one side, managing to get him on top of her. Finally, she got his vest off and flung it aside, before her hands wandered underneath his net shirt, scraping lightly at his body with her short fingernails.

Shikamaru had different problems to solve. While he enjoyed the attention he was getting to an extent, the fact that they were outside on a field in bright daylight and she was currently stripping him for the entire world to see kind of unsettled him. He was still blushing and hadn't caught his breath yet, but his current state of mind at least allowed him to somewhat think a bit further. He grabbed her hands roughly and pulled her off his body with apparent effort, since she was still stronger then he was and tried to stay on top of him.

"Stop."

And she actually did stop for a moment, frowning up at him.

"What, ready to give up already?"

The tone in her voice made it clear that she was pissed. The look she gave him asked if he thought she wouldn't be good enough for him. He couldn't even blame her for being ticked off at him this time, so he spoke up to clarify his choice.

"I'm fine with your games …", he murmured, his face gaining even more color at his statement while he looked away seemingly embarrassed. She relaxed though. "But I do worry about our current choice of battleground."

For a moment she was silent, before she let out a suppressed giggle and suddenly pushed him off, getting up in the process.

'What, did I say something wrong again? Geez … women.' he thought as he got up slower than her, seemingly confused about her actions, before catching his vest as she threw it at him.

"Come." she merely stated, before rearranging her clothes and grabbing her fan.

'Damn pushy woman.' He didn't elaborate on his thoughts further, just grabbed his kunai bag and threw his vest on before obediently following Temari into the city, straightening his clothes along the way.

They barely made it to the hotel Temari was staying in with her brothers. She started pulling at his arm after she realized he wasn't going to speed up, getting odd looks from bystanders as he complained all the way to the hotel about being dragged throughout half of Konoha village.

She pushed him against the door and shoved her tongue forcefully into his mouth, staying like this as she managed to open the door with the key. Shikamaru stared for a moment, too shocked to protest further, not that he could with her tongue halfway down his throat. She smirked at the look on his face.

"Finally I get you to shut up for a moment."

Shikamaru shook his head violently to clear it as she was trying to pull him into the hotel room.

"What about your brothers?"

She could hear the panic in his voice now and merely took his shoulders before shoving him inside and locking the door behind them.

"They'll have to wait. Now stop changing the subject, dim-wit!"

He raised an eyebrow despite his current predicament at her more or less new way of insulting him.

"Geez, you're so- oof!" He didn't get to finish his sentence as the kunoichi violently shoved him onto the bed before following him, discarding her fan along the way and straddling his hips once she got seated on him.

"Shut up, Shikamaru." she intoned with that unnerving grin of hers and sealed his lips with hers before he could say something else.

He rested on his elbows while she was sprawled halfway over his body and their tongues met clumsily, nipping and tasting each other. Temari had to constantly fight back giggles as he tried to make sense of this situation and found that he couldn't, judging by the expression of his face.

Her fingers worked his vest off his body with easier effort this time and her hands started to roam over his body as their kisses became even more passionate. He gasped when the feeling of pain washed over his side, courtesy of her nails digging into the flesh there, and tried to throw her off of him. Since that didn't have any effect on her whatsoever, other then her trying to bite his tongue, which he avoided by pressing his head back into the mattress as far as he could, he tried a different approach.

One that was loathed especially among womankind.

His arms snuck up under her left armpit and on her right side before starting to mercilessly tickle her. She squealed in surprise, another sound he wouldn't have imagined to ever hear from her, and tried to avoid him with wild trashing and more scratching.

"Ah, stop, please, ahaha, stop, Shikamaru, ahh!"

And he did stop, however unintended, doubling over on the bed and moaning in pain as her wild trashing caused her to score a direct hit at his groin with her left knee.

'Will I even be able to survive through all of this?' he thought dejectedly as he gently tried to rub said abused body part.

He didn't expect her to join in the rubbing as her laughing spell wore off though. Instead, he settled for the wide-eyed look as shock got the best of him for a moment.

"Serves you right for tickling me." he heard her murmur before she started planting kisses on his lower belly and gently massaging his lower body, causing him to bite back a moan, this time of pleasure, the inflicted pain quickly forgotten with this new kind of attention he was getting.

"I just knew you'd find me irresistible," she whispered into his ear before nibbling at his earlobe as her tongue toyed with his earring.

For a moment, he just lay there with all those new feelings and emotions making him feel lightheaded. He tried to calm himself to at least try to regain some sort of control over his body and thoughts, but with the attention he was getting from Temari it proved to be much harder than he thought. He gently caught her wrist and drew her hand away before pushing himself upright and using the other arm to hold her at bay.

"Wait."

She narrowed her eyes at his sudden change in behavior while he tried to catch his breath.

"What is it now?" she replied annoyed.

"I … I want to know why." At her raised eyebrow he slowly continued. "Why are you doing this?"

She heaved a sigh at his question and slowly, seemingly reluctantly, drew back from him and sat up with her feet dangling over the end of the bed.

"Because I want to. Look, I was worried about you being all right and … well, I don't know. You figure it out, you're the genius."

She didn't look at him directly anymore and her voice seemed heavier … was she blushing? He narrowed his eyes for a moment, before contemplating further.

'So she came to me because she was worried?' His face scrunched up in thought as he regarded her whole being. 'I don't think she could have known about my current condition other then my outburst at the hospital. Come to think of it, she told me that my actions back then showed signs of unexpected fragility … unexpected. So she just meant she was worried about my well-being?'

"So what? All this work is too troublesome anyways … what does that have to do with your sudden mood changes?"

She narrowed her eyes at his words.

"You're a ninja, Shikamaru! Even a good one, so why do you always say you don't care about what you could achieve with this power? What a waste." the Sand-nin answered with a disapproving glare.

"I told you already, I'm not cut out to -"

His reply came to an abrupt halt when she shoved him down again and she leaned forward, staring him right in the eye.

"Don't you ever dare to quit being a shinobi, Shikamaru. I swear I'll rip your throat out if you say those words again."

So that's what it was! But why would she be worried about something as trivial as that? It still didn't make any sense. It was his future, not hers, and they weren't even fighting alongside each other not long ago. He caught her look and his eyes widened slightly at her expression.

Tears.

She, the arrogant she-devil that made fun of him for not even being able to control his emotions … she was crying? Well, she wasn't really, but the tears were already threatening to fall. He never would've expected to see the day her cool demeanor would crack. Then again, she probably felt the same. Maybe seeing him break down in front of her changed her attitude towards him without her knowing it. Slowly, a smile crept upon his face and he pulled her down to him, taking her into a soft embrace. He remembered doing this for his mother a rare few times when she was sad about something his dad did. Those few moments in his life, his mother wasn't the matriarch of the Nara family. She was just a mother in need of comfort.

He knew they weren't ninja right now, as he gently rubbed her back; just a boy and a girl that cared for each other, giving each other the comfort they needed.

"You have an odd way of showing your affection … but I guess it's worth the trouble," he murmured into her ear before chuckling.

She lightly punched his arm before getting up slightly and pouted.

"Idiot … don't make fun of me." she replied, sounding more hurt than angry.

The young leaf-nin raised his head to hers and placed a soft, comforting kiss on her lips.

"Don't worry. I'm not. Although it's tempting."

Smiling one of her rare, genuine smiles, Temari lightly kissed him back.

"Idiot."

She leaned forward and pushed him back suddenly, forcing her tongue into his mouth with newly attained vigor as her hands started roaming over his body yet again. His restraint was gone and he kissed her back with equal passion, his hands coming to rest on her net shirt-covered shoulders to pull her closer. His left hand dug into her hair, freeing her pigtails, as his other hand started to roam over her body.

She stiffened slightly as his right hand trailed over her breasts and he half-expected a slap, before her left hand grabbed his right wrist and urged him closer. Slowly, with her hand guiding his, he started massaging her left breast softly through the clothing, and her eyes closed as her breathing sped up and her tongue almost tangled with his. His other hand kept her head in place while he felt her fingers skimming lightly over his torso and playing with the button of his pants.

It wasn't like he didn't have any anatomy classes back at the academy, since all shinobis learned about vital points, skeleton and muscle structure among other things … he just wasn't sure about her reaction. His hand currently buried into her freed hair started tugging at the belt that held her dress together while his other hand kept her busy as he found and pinched her nipple. She bit down on his lower lip as a result, not hard enough to draw blood but to make him moan as her teeth bruised the flesh, leaving bite marks.

Her sash came off and he quickly undid the clasps at the side until her dress opened, revealing her upper torso covered in the same kind of net shirt he wore, only with sleeves.

His left hand started to stroke her inner thigh until he encountered her well-hidden shuriken pouch and he smirked.

"We might want to get rid of our equipment first, ne?"

"Right, Shika-kun … wouldn't want to cut anything off, now, would we?" she drawled and winked. The young boy decided not to answer this one as she pushed herself up again, her dress slipping down in the process and falling onto the floor. Several pouches, hidden bags and their shoes joined the dress a few moments later. After a brief struggle, Shikamarus pants found their way onto the pile too.

Temari was in the process of taking her shirt off when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist, pulling her back against the young Nara boy.

"We might have to get up quickly. This is your brothers' room too, isn't it?"

She nodded while grinning impishly, as if she was enjoying the fact that they were doing something most likely forbidden.

He groaned as sweat trickled into the scratches Temari inflicted upon him beforehand.

"Damn, that stings …"

At that, Temaris head rose from his shoulder to look at him in confusion, letting him slip outside of her in the process.

"What are you complaining about now, idiot?" she grumbled, as the moment of enjoyable silence was lost.

"That I need a shower … besides, your brothers could come back anytime." He explained while sitting up and grabbing his shirt. "Let's get out of here and open the window. The room probably reeks."

She knitted her eyebrows at his sudden change, although she started putting her clothes back on nonetheless, seeing the truth behind his words ... Still …

"And where should we go now?" she asked matter-of-factly.

"What about my place? As long as we keep quiet so my parents won't hear us …", he trailed off as he saw her smirk and place a demanding kiss on his lips.

"So, ready for round two?" she cooed, making him shiver before, unexpected, he smirked one of his cocky smirks at her and opened the window.

"First one to get there gets to stay on top." He winked before disappearing out of the window.

Grumbling, she quickly made the bed they slept in, reopened the door and rushed down to leave her keys at the dumbfounded looking receptionist before storming out and taking chase of the young leaf chuunin that was well ahead of her.

As the first morning rays shone through the only window in Shikamarus room, something under the covers of his bed shifted slightly, followed by a strained groan. One arm briefly got disentangled as the owner tried to sit up despite the feeling of warmth.

He hated mornings. And he hated having to stand up. But it was even more troublesome staying in bed and letting his mother see him like this.

He was about to stand up and stretch as two arms shot out underneath the cover and pulled him back into the warmth of his blanket.

"Mmm … good morning, Shika-kun …"

Oh well … it was troublesome getting a lecture from his mother. But standing up now and leaving the gentle but firm grasp of Temaris embrace simply wasn't an option, so he let himself sink back into the comfortable warmth that radiated from her nude body.

He knew she was kind of lazy too. Too lazy to stand up now and grab her underwear from all across the room, since he had thrown it there last night for the exact same reason.

He didn't care about some kind of "game" they would play anymore. He was still tired from this night. Right now, all he wanted was the comfort of her presence …

Later that day, he was walking with her through the streets of Konoha.

"You have to go soon, don't you?"

Temari looked up from the mission scroll she was currently holding.

"Yes. Our village requests that since no counter-attack came after we killed those Sound-nins, we should go back now." she told him softly, her smile not reaching her eyes, making her look sad and troubled.

He sighed as an answer, murmuring his usual "How troublesome …".

"I will be coming over to visit. I promise."

He looked up to see her rare, soft smile and it warmed his insides. He couldn't help but smile back.

"Thank you," he muttered in response, reaching out too squeeze her hand for a moment in a gesture of affection.

"Well, I can't say when I will be here again for sure, so-"

"No, I meant for … being there for me when I needed someone. Now I really owe you for comforting me." he muttered softly again, almost unheard by her. Her smile simply grew wider.

"Don't worry. I needed that too. You really are something else, do you know that?"

For a moment, he thought she was making fun of him again, but when she kissed him discreetly just as they rounded a corner, that quick peck on his lips told him otherwise.

That despite all the bickering, they both found comfort in each other to overcome their problems and find the strength to face the day again.

The next day, the three sand-nin were on their way home again.

Ino walked up to Shikamaru as he sat in his favorite cloud gazing spot.

"Come on, Shikamaru, stop lazing around so much and let's go train! Move it!"

His reply was a bit of shifting around and presenting her his back.

How odd. He was lying on his back … not just that, he also wore his forehead protector around his neck instead of his arm.

Intrigued, Ino came closer and spotted a few well-hidden scratches just above his shirt line and his new collar. Slowly, she reached out as she voiced a question.

"Hey, where did you get-"

"YEAOOOW!"

Perplexed, she stared as Shikamaru shot up in the air as she barely touched his back with her hand before landing on his feet with a pissed off expression.

"Ehehe … sorry, didn't know you were still injured from the fight …"

He simply muttered something about troublesome women and antiseptic.

Meanwhile:

"Temari, really now … where did you get those marks? Don't worry; I'm your brother. You can tell me," one of the three ninjas asked, pointing at the purple marks on her neck.

"Damn it Kankuro, for the LAST time! I slipped and fell down a staircase! Now get off my case!"

"Must have been a pretty aggressive staircase - ow!"

He gingerly rubbed the new bruise on his head as she crammed her fan back into it's strap and stomped over to Gaara who took the whole scene in with his usual, neutral expression.

"Geez, must be that time of the month …" Kankuro sighed as they all continued down the road.

AN: Phew. Finally done. Comments, critique, requests, ideas and corrections welcome.

My first Naruto fic, and it's actually a Shika/Tem ficlet … you just got to love this couple. Sadly, there aren't that many fics of those two around, so I decided I'd just give it a try myself. Hope I didn't screw this up too bad … oh well, maybe I'll come around to write another one.

Until then, ja ne!