absence makes the heart go...???

Chapter 2

"I can't wait to tell you guys all about my mission!" Naruto says, as he and his teammates sit down to eat. He's happy to find, when he returns, that they all have some time to spare for once, even Kakashi, and it'll be nice to get to spend some time with them. From what he heard, Shikamaru barely had a chance to catch his breath after their last mission, before he and Ino were sent back out, with the rest of their team, this time.

"You aren't even going to ask how we've been doing?" Sakura asks with a sigh. "You really do have a one track mind, Naruto."

"Aw, come on, I've been looking forward to talking about this! You guys can tell me about your dates, or whatever, later," he says.

"Dates?" Sasuke asks, raising a brow.

"Excuse you, but I've been really busy at the hospital!" Sakura protests with a blush.

"I do hope you weren't including me in that statement," Kakashi adds.

"Anyway, come on! Just let me talk!" Naruto doesn't give them further chance to protest, launching into stories about his brief time away from the village, focusing mostly on the times he spent with Shikamaru, though he doesn't intend to. That's just where most of his stories come from, and it isn't until the end that he remembers to say, "Oh, yeah! Ino and Bushy Brow kept disappearing together, and Shikamaru thinks that they're...you know..." He makes a few gestures hoping to get his point across.

"What?! Why didn't you say that sooner?!" Sakura exclaims. "Seriously, that's way more interesting than your bromance with Shikamaru! Ino is...oh my god!"

Sakura alternates between scolding him and grilling him for details, even more shocked by the rumor than Naruto initially was. Kakashi and Sasuke keep their distance from the conversation, both amused by their more enthusiastic teammates. Naruto honestly doesn't realize why he didn't start with that, or why he spent most of his time talking about Shikamaru, when his stories regarding Shikamaru usually involved their downtime, and the more boring parts of the mission.

"I haven't seen Lee around as much as usual, that's for sure," Sakura says. "And Ino's backed off Sasuke almost completely, but I thought that was just because she realized it was completely hopeless. I had no idea they were rebounding with each other!"

There was a time when Naruto would have asked what she meant about Ino, and things being hopeless with Sasuke, and perhaps he would have even challenged Sasuke outright, or told Sakura that he was a much better choice, but right now, he holds back, and he isn't sure why. He never realized that his childhood crush on Sakura was fading, or that he was more willing to support them, if something were to happen between her and Sasuke. It's weird, just like his focus on stories relating to Shikamaru, but he's not one to dwell on things like that, so he decides that it isn't important.

~X~

"Thank you so much for showing up on such short notice," Temari says with a smile. "Things have been kind of tight here, so we really appreciate the help."

"Yeah, yeah," Shikamaru mutters. "It's a total pain, you know? I just got back to the village, and had to leave right away. I didn't have a chance to rest at all."

"Whatever, I was on that mission too, you know," Ino says, shoving him. "It was so easy, you basically got to rest the whole time! Besides, you don't need to be rude, you know?"

"We're always happy to help," Asume speaks up, looking as exasperated as ever with his team's behavior. "Sorry about that, you know how Shikamaru is."

"Oh, I know all too well," Temari says, giving him a grin. "Isn't that right, Shikamaru?"

"Whatever," he says with a sigh. "Just let us get to work so we can get this over with and go home."