ShikaTema : Waiting For You

Chapter 3 : Lunch And Another Reason To Want To Stay

The blond spun her black, plastic straw in her fingers, skimming it alongside the inner edge of her glass cup of iced water. She stared unforgivingly with a dull hint of dread in her eyes at her menu.

Her swirling of her straw began to become more of a compulsive addiction, with her finger's hold on the straw clasping the plastic together with itself. Her scorching eyes narrowed more, and more, and more at the tiny black words plaguing her laminated document.

Slamming his menu on the table out of agitation, Shikamaru forced his now free fingers to press against his temples, "I can't handle you're fussing anymore. What's bothering you.", he blurted out with displeasure circling in his expression.

She disinterestedly peered over the top of her menu that was conquered by nauseating, unimportant, petite lettering with no color, and no pictures, "Don't use that tone with me, Nara.", she spat with a ping of impatience, squeezing her straw with a little more force.

Shikamaru exhaled with weight hanging on his breath, "Just answer the question, woman. I don't think I can restrain myself from throwing your straw on the ground any longer.", he confessed, identifying the girl's ongoing rapid hand movement.

Temari's eye twitched and she leaned furiously into the table. She kept a low tone that was holding anger with each word, "Well, I'm sorry I'm adding to your stress level."

"Glad to know you're sorry!", Shikamaru sarcastically rang directly, following her low tone to not draw attention to their table, "Now what's adding to yours?", he leaned over the table as well, copying her movements.

Temari held the menu tighter, almost crumpling it in her angered clutch, and turned it forcefully towards him, shaking it out of annoyance, "Look at this! I mean no pictures, the tiniest of letters, black and white. It's like I'm going over another report! I can't handle it! How could I possibly choose something to eat when I feel like the Kazekage gave me another report to go over!", She rambled heatedly with her voice growing in passion.

She had been so stressed lately and the bland, unappealing menu was not helping.

[ Note to self: Do not, ever, bring Temari here again. Or to a place with no picture menu's. ]

Shikamaru stored that thought in the back of his mind, additionally reminding himself to bring it to the front of his brain whenever she visited.

"That's what you're griping about?!", Shikamaru wanted to rip his hair out of his scalp. This woman's mood was so touchy. They had been in silence for about 10 minutes looking over the menus as her passion for the circling straw started to intensify. He thought it was just her thinking for a while, but then anger started surging through the straw, and her bothersome habit was becoming too much for him to handle.

"Hello, are you two ready for me to take your order?", a sugary sweet tone intertwined the upbeat attitude into the projected words, as a ginger-haired waiter stood at the edge of their table with a note pad and pen at ready.

"No!"

"Yes!"

Two evil glares were met from across the table, connecting into a battle of daggers. Shikamaru yanked the menu out of the girl's tight grip, threw it on top of his, and handed it to the now terrified, shaking waiter who stood wide eyed regretting being given this table to wait on.

"She'll have your special and I'll have your Mackerel cooked with miso!", he roared a little too loud, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. The waiter nervously and sloppily jotted down the order as fast as he could. With a nod of completing his task of writing, he turned on his heels, and scurried off to the kitchen.

Temari gave him the silent treatment as she connected her eyes with a picture on the wall to her right. She threw her arms to cross over her chest and leaned back into her chair with a pout.

"What is it now, troublesome?", Shikamaru demanded as he too had his hands crossed over his chest, adverting his gaze to the ceiling that covered his view of the clouds that lingered outside.

"I didn't even get to order."

"I ordered for you."

"And what if I don't like it."

"Then you shouldn't have made a big fuss."

They bantered back and forth monotonously, the tension intensified with their low voices barely spitting out answers.

The two decided to finally look at each other. It ended up being a poor decision for them, they both lost the fight when they instantaneously released a laugh.

"Can we go one minute without arguing?", Shikamaru offered the girl a small upturn of his lips.

"I blame you.", Temari tried to cover her laugh with her hand.

"You always do.", Shikamaru smirked, releasing his tense body expression.

Their food came out moments later. Kenchin soup was positioned in front of Temari. She blinked surprised at it with a raised brow in question.

Shikamaru decided he wouldn't be able to catch a break today, as he released a sigh, "What's the matter now?", he prodded, cracking his chopsticks apart.

"This is my favorite meal...", she muttered in certainty.

He looked at her with a tilt of the head and a small shrug, "I know, that's why I ordered it.", he brushed it off like the subject had no consideration. He followed his movements with a murmur of 'Troublesome' as he leaned in to begin eating his own favorite meal.

Temari blushed. He knew her favorite meal. He knew all along that she was going to like it and yet, he let her make a big deal of it for nothing.

She probably looked like the idiot now. Her face held a light brush of pink. Although he acted as if the subject had no meaning behind it, it left many questions, "You said you haven't been here before."

"I did.", Shikamaru plainly stated between a bite, quick to respond.

"You knew they had my favorite meal here...", She finally cracked her chopsticks apart, not making eye contact.

"I did.", He repeated. A little slower with caution. He knew her favorite meal. Yeah so what? She said it once before and he retained it...

"You did your research then?", she said looking up for his reaction.

It was his turn for a small pink to rise to his cheeks that he tried to hide in the steam of his meal, with a small clearing of his throat he repeated once more, "I did.", not brave enough to look at her, or the teasing would be endless.

Temari accepted his continuous, "I did"'s, without further bother which Shikamaru was thankful for.

'He did his research', Temari replayed, trying to stop a warm feeling rise within her.

Temari's recent visit in Konoha was left in disappointment. She desperately craved her favorite meal, which apparently not one single restaurant in Konoha offered. It made her deeply upset because it would have been one more thing to add to her reasons that Konoha reminded her of home away from home.

Before they arrived today, Shikamaru requested there was a place he wanted them to try. Now she realized why. He finally found a place in Konoha that had her favorite food.

'He did his research', she thought once more as a blush was indefinitely taking over her face, but she didn't think she wanted to prevent it from taking over. It was the sweetest thought. He was always attempting to make her more comfortable in this village.

Shikamaru was trying his best to stay quiet within his own meal, and not think further into the subject. He would just play it off with a 'whatever, it's just a meal.' If she decided to bring it up again, but he knew it meant a lot to her if she had another reason for Konoha to make her feel at home.

... So, he did his research ...

Because he wanted her to feel at home, he wanted another reason for her to want to stay.