ShikaTema : Waiting For You

Chapter 18 : Not So Dumb After All

Shikamaru finally had the opportunity to go home and sleep in a bed,  his bed. His job was his main priority since Temari left and his work load skyrocketed. There was a lot to go over, and a lot to finish before the Chunin exams. His sleeping space became the cold, solid desk in his office that brought soreness to his neck and back.

Entering his, very missed, empty house, he stripped down to his boxer-briefs, tossing his clothes along the route to his bedroom. He didn't care about the placement of his clothing, he didn't care about showering, and he definitely did not care about pajamas. He was exhausted, worn out, and worked to the bone. All he wanted was the silky coolness of his sheets to slither around his bare skin, and the plushness of his pillow to straighten out his sore neck. He glided slickly into his covers, tugging them up tight over his shoulders with eagerness. He let out the longest and deepest exhale of satisfaction.

A loud tap at the glass of his window broke his moment of pleasure. He turned his sluggish gaze towards the transparent glass, meeting a non-human stare.

"If you're from the Hokage, I'm not opening.", he growled towards the innocent bird who was only doing its job.

In return, he got another impatient peck at the glass. He groaned, rolling his tired body out of his gratifying, but lonely bed. Sliding the window open, the bird flapped it's wings briefly, allowing the space of the window to open. The bird flew into the room landing on his bed.

"You sure get comfortable fast.", he provided the bird an annoyed look. He really hoped it wasn't an order from the Hokage. Not at this hour. Especially since he just got home, and tomorrow was his day off in which he hadn't had in a full month.

He unfolded the contents to see the signed name at the bottom. This time with a different signature than he was expecting. He sneered and looked at the bird, "Makes sense why you became accustomed to things easily.", he smirked, petting the bird under it's neck out of gratitude . The bird tilted its head, acknowledging the words it most likely didn't understand. It hopped twice on his bed to gain momentum, then flew out the still open window.

He let the two files that accompanied the letter float freely onto his bedside table, then threw himself a little more excitedly onto his bed. Laying on his back, he blocked his view of the ceiling with the only important piece of paper he cared about.

"Crybaby,

I knew you were missing me already. I bet you're counting the days until I come back. That's something you would do...

There's no clouds, like usual, and I don't think the training grounds can handle any more of my frustration. If they were bare before, you should see what I've done to them now. They are up for remodeling, I think I've over used them.

So no, still looking for that outlet for my own stress relief. So far I've counted 682 grains of sand, but I feel more tense than relaxed. It's not easy figuring this thing out without your critiques on how I'm doing the whole 'relaxing' thing wrong. 

Speaking of, when are you going to visit me for once? You can come count grains of sand with me.

P.S... Kankuro says hi...

-T"

He rubbed his thumb over the edges of the paper that she previously touched. Counting sand didn't sound too bad... and he definitely was counting the days that passed.

He dropped his tingling arms down to his chest now that they lost most of their blood flow from being held up. He hasn't visited Suna in a while. Maybe he could ask Naruto for a quick mission. Although the three-day journey would be a drag, and the pile of paperwork in his office wouldn't be finished in time.