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There weren’t any good clouds out today. What a drag. It wasn’t a totally clear blue sky, but the wisps of upper-atmosphere precipitation were stratified and pulled thin, like old cobwebs across attic rafters. Like he felt nowadays.
Shikamaru had never been a fan of a lot of work. He usually didn’t think the result was worth the effort. But as he grew older and his views on life changed, he had discovered there were a few things worth putting in effort for--such as protecting his friends and safeguarding the future for the next generation. Of course, that meant he was finding himself entangled more and more in annoying missions and projects. This had only gotten worse once Naruto became Hokage. Add to that the unexpected and inexplicable fact that he wanted to make his wife happy and spend time with her and their son at home, and his days of being lazy and staring at the clouds were much too few to be really satisfying.
Temari kept nagging him about what he wanted to do for his birthday, which was fast-approaching.
“Nothing,” he responded, which always earned him a dangerously suspicious look.
“‘Nothing’ isn’t an answer.”
“Of course it is. Silence would be the only non-answer.”
Her eyebrows tightened and her lips turned into a pout. “Wordplay isn’t going to get you anywhere.”
Sometimes it did. It could get him into and out of all sorts of situations. She just wasn’t in the mood.
“Shikadai’s birthday is right after mine. Shouldn’t we focus on him instead?”
“He’s still just a toddler. Birthdays don’t mean much to them when they’re so young.” But it meant a heck of a lot to Temari. It seemed like she had invited all of Konoha and half of Suna to celebrate their son’s third birthday. She didn’t have many happy birthday memories from growing up, and she’d be damned if her child was going to have the same lackluster experience. It was a drag, but Shikamaru loved her for it.
“Your brothers will be arriving. We won’t have time to do anything for my birthday.”
“So let’s do something early.”
He stared at his wife, lips pulled into an exasperated frown. She could be incredibly stubborn, and it drove him up a wall.
“It’s not easy to get time off when you’re the Hokage’s advisor.”
“Oh don’t hide behind your work! You’re nearly as bad as Naruto when it comes to avoiding labor. You just don’t want to arrange for time off because ‘it’s such a drag’.” She rolled her eyes as she mimicked him. He could never understand how she made him so annoyed and so in love at the same time.
“It sounds like
you
want me to celebrate my birthday more than
I
do.”
She scowled deeper. “Would it be so bad to do something fun for once? We really haven’t had much time to relax since the baby, and with you helping Naruto get a grip on everything as Hokage, we never have a chance to breathe these days.”
She was right, of course. He hated when she was right, but she was rarely, if ever, wrong. It was one of the things that drove him crazy about her. So what if she was using his birthday as an excuse to have some fun? She deserved it after all the work she was doing taking care of Shikadai and the Nara estate, not to mention supervising the clan’s medical research. His duties to the Hokage were keeping him pretty busy, too. Maybe taking an extra day off to spend with his wife would be worth the pile-up of work the next day.
“Okay then,” he sighed. “You arrange for a babysitter and I’ll arrange for time off.”
Her eyes widened briefly in surprise. Usually he put up more of a fight with these things. Perhaps he was just as eager for a break as she was. She smiled then, the softer smile she reserved just for her family.
“It’s a date, then.”
Which brought Shikamaru to here. It turned out Temari was the one having trouble getting time off. There had been a potential security breach at the Nara archives yesterday. It was probably a simple case of carelessness by one of the workers, but she was determined to get to the bottom of it, just in case. This morning she was personally overseeing the investigation efforts, but had promised to meet up with him later in the afternoon so they could at least spend some time together.
He stuck his hand out lazily, and was rewarded with a crinkled bag of chips. He selected one and popped it into his mouth. He could have returned to work that morning, but it would be a terrible waste of time off, so he decided to spend a few hours at his favorite past-time, watching the clouds. Choji had joined him partway through. He knew that his best friend was back in town after a successful mission, but they hadn’t been in direct contact for a little while, so getting to eat chips and gaze at the sky together like they used to was a pleasant surprise.
He reached for the chip bag again.
“Sorry, Shikamaru,” Choji said, holding the bag away from him, “but there’s only one left.”
“Huh? We ate the entire bag already?” They must have been lounging on the rooftop for over an hour, maybe two. “Well then, that one’s all yours, buddy.”
With a satisfied chuckle, Choji took the last chip, crumpling up the empty bag to throw away later. There was no way he wasn’t getting the last chip.
“I hear Ino’s got today off,” Choji offered after a moment of relaxed silence.
“She’s still working at the hospital? Who stays home with Inojin?”
“She and Sai trade off, I think.”
He tried thinking of Sai taking care of a baby, but he couldn’t do it. He was a competent enough shinobi, but his social abilities were still...strange. From what he heard from Ino, though, the Yamanaka household was doing just fine.
“I suppose she could always bring him with her when she needs to.” He hauled himself into a sitting position. No point staring at a dissatisfying sky. “Sakura sometimes does that with Sarada.”
“What do you and Temari do with Shikadai when you’re both busy?”
“She usually takes him, or we see if my mother can watch him. I’ve offered to bring him with me, but Temari says having one child in the Hokage’s office ought to be enough of a handful.”
Choji snorted in amusement. “How is Naruto settling in as Hokage?”
“Pretty well, actually. Getting him to do paperwork feels less like pulling teeth than it did with Kakashi, but that might just be the initial excitement of finally achieving his goal. And he hasn’t had to deal with any major crises yet, thank goodness.”
“Yeah, things have been pretty good, lately. The past three missions I’ve been on have been B-rank. It’s nice to have some peace amongst the nations for once.”
“Hm.” Shikamaru had devoted some time to thinking about this. He was suspicious of things that went too well for too long. Having some breathing room while Naruto got used to the Hokage’s responsibilities was nice, but there were always rumors of unrest beneath the tranquility. He felt it was only a matter of time before something big blew up at them.
But today was his day off, so it wasn’t his problem. That was the really irritating thing about caring about things and taking on responsibility; he was thinking about it even when he wasn’t at work. What a drag.
“Shikamaru.”
He glanced at his best friend, who had read him like a book. With a sigh, he just shrugged, which was as close to a promise to enjoy the peace while it lasted as he would get.
“So what are you and Temari doing for your birthday?”
“Choji!” he groaned, flopping onto his back again.
“What?”
“She’s been bugging me about that for nearly a month!”
“It’s a valid question. Your birthday’s only what, two days away?”
“Her brothers are arriving from Suna, and then we’re throwing a big party for Shikadai’s birthday. You guys are coming to that, right? Temari will flip if you don’t.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be there, so make sure the buffet’s well-stocked. I think Chocho inherited my appetite.”
How does Karui survive?
Shikamaru wondered. He always imagined keeping Choji well-fed was challenge enough. If their daughter ended up replenishing her energy by consuming food, too, it would be a nightmare to try and keep up with their eating habits.
“Is Ino coming?” Choji asked. “I hear Sai has big plans for her birthday.”
“She hasn’t said. I don’t think Temari could fault them for choosing to celebrate Ino’s birthday instead of our son’s, though.”
“You’re probably right, but women sometimes get funny ideas about these things.”
He had a point. They could be quite troublesome.
They lapsed into comfortable silence for a while, watching what few wisps of clouds there were drift lazily across the sky. There was the slightest of cool breezes hinting at the arrival of fall. Some of the leaves had begun changing color, though the weather was milder than usual for this time of year. Hopefully the winter wouldn’t be too bad.
“You hungry?” he asked, hauling himself up again.
“Do you even need to ask?”
Shikamaru just grinned and shook his head. “Let’s grab some lunch.”
“Want to stop by Yamanaka’s and see if Ino’s around? It’s been a while since we all got to hang out,” Choji suggested as they descended to the street. His friend shrugged.
“Sure.”
Choji had good instincts. Ino was at her parents’ flower shop with Inojin, showing him the flowers. He seemed more interested in grabbing the ribbons and paper, searching for something to draw with.
“Well look who it is!” she cried when they pushed their way inside. “Inojin, come say hi to Uncle Shikamaru and Uncle Choji.”
“We’re not actually his uncles,” Shikamaru pointed out tiredly as she tried to redirect her son’s attention.
“You’re my teammates. That’s close enough. Now say hi, Inojin.”
“Hi Inojin,” the boy repeated, playing with the ribbon he had managed to keep in his hands. Ino sighed.
“You’ve inherited your father’s sense of humor.”
Shikamaru wasn’t sure that qualified as humor, but it wasn’t his place to say.
“Hi there kiddo,” Choji greeted, crouching down by him.
“Hi,” the child replied, studying his face carefully.
Ino was shooting Shikamaru a warning glance saying if-you-don’t-play-nice-there-will-be-consequences. What a drag.
“Hi Inojin,” he said, crouching down by Choji. “I don’t suppose you remember us. It’s been a while.”
“I know you. You’re in Mama’s pictures.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Did you summon them, Mama?”
“W-what?” Ino looked thoroughly startled. “No, honey. They’re real people, like you and me. And Dad’s the only one who can do that with pictures, remember?”
“Oh.” He went back to focusing on his ribbon.
“Sorry,” Ino laughed nervously, turning back to her friends. “He just loves when Sai uses his jutsu, but he hasn’t quite figured out that it doesn’t work with photographs or regular art.”
“Hey, no harm done,” Choji grinned as they stood up again. “We know how that goes. Chocho saw Karui training with her sword once and thought it was the coolest thing ever. We had to be extra careful about keeping our weapons put away out of reach for a while.”
“So what brings you two here? Looking for flowers for your wives?”
“Nah, we were heading to lunch and wanted to see if you were interested in coming along since Choji had heard you have the day off.”
“I’ll treat!” Choji promised.
“Aw come on, man, you just got back from a mission!”
“Exactly. That means that I just got paid.”
“Does Karui usually let you spend it all on food right away?” Ino asked mischievously.
“Uh, well…” He scratched his cheek self-consciously. “Usually she and Chocho are with me, but I’m sure she’ll understand.”
“How about you and I go halfsies,” Ino winked.
“Um, excuse me,” Shikamaru grumbled, “I’m still here too, y’know.”
“No way. You’re not paying for anything, Shikamaru. It’s practically your birthday!” Ino insisted.
“We could use the exact same argument about you, which would leave us at square one with Choji treating us both. We’ve already decided that’s not a viable option, so it makes the most sense to just split the bill three ways.”
“You don’t have to be so right all the time,” Ino growled, knowing she had no sensible argument to counteract his. “Let me see if my mom can watch the shop and Inojin for a bit.”
“Troublesome as always,” he groaned under his breath while Ino ducked into the back. Why was it he always found himself surrounded by stubborn, loud women? Even Karui could be scary when she got mad. He was probably saving his skin as well as Choji’s by insisting they split the bill.
“Alright Inojin, Mama’s going out with Uncle Shikamaru and Uncle Choji so you can play with Gramma for a while okay? I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay. I’m gonna make you a picture for when you come back.”
“You are? I can’t wait to see it.” She planted a big kiss on his cheek, beaming as a woman thoroughly happy with her life. “Be good for Gramma!”
“Okay.”
Waving to Ino’s mother who had emerged from the back to watch the shop and her grandson, they headed back to the street.
“So where are we going?” Ino asked, brushing her long hair back over her shoulder. Shikamaru shrugged.
“Where else? It wouldn’t be right if we didn’t have barbeque.”
“Whoohoo!” Choji whopped in excitement.
“Do you have to make a scene?” Ino grumbled, but her eyes sparkled in anticipation.
“What? I’m hungry.”
“You’re always hungry!”
Shikamaru couldn’t prevent a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth as he sauntered after them. They might not have seen each other in months, but they still squabbled like they had when they were genin. It could be annoying, but it wouldn’t be the same any other way.
“Hurry up Shikamaru, or Choji’s going to eat everything before we even get there!”
“Calm down!” he growled at his teammate. “Now who’s making a scene?”
--------
The evening brought a few clouds. They were small and still rather wispy, but they caught enough of the setting sun’s rays to blush orange and pink. Shikamaru’s attention, though, was wholly focused on where he was.
The lunch with Choji and Ino had been surprisingly fun. They had chatted about their families and their work, had reminisced on old memories and inside jokes. The food, as always, had been delicious. It was incredibly comfortable being with friends that knew him well and for whom he didn’t have to make much of an effort. It would be nice to see them again at Shikadai’s birthday party.
After chatting some more at the Yamanaka flower shop, he and Choji had wandered around the village for a while. They had run into Kiba and Shino, and Akamaru had nearly knocked them both over from the excitement of seeing them. That had been an unexpected surprise. It had been a while since he’d spoken to either of them, and it was interesting to hear some of the shenanigans they (Kiba mostly) had been up to.
He had returned home around mid-afternoon. Temari still wasn’t home, and with Shikadai staying with his mother, the house was unusually quiet. It was peaceful.
He had no plans to leave the estate for the rest of the day, so he changed into a yukata and sat on the back porch, swinging one leg lazily over its side. If his wife wasn’t back yet, the breach at the research facility must be a bigger issue than anticipated. That was incredibly troublesome. As the head of the clan, the preservation and safekeeping of their medical research was his responsibility. He could usually deputize to his wife, but if there was a big enough issue, he was expected to get involved directly. As if he didn’t have enough to do already.
He reached for his packet of cigarettes, but he had left them in his pants when he changed. Going back inside to get them would require too much effort. Besides, he had promised Temari he’d keep the smoking to a minimum. He was glad she hadn’t demanded he give it up totally. She understood it was part of his grieving and healing, an homage to one of the men who had made him into the shinobi--into the man--he was today, not simply a stress habit. He had never really enjoyed the nicotine, but the act itself was strangely cathartic, and smoke breaks became dedicated time to reflect or clear his thoughts.
He didn’t really need it today, anyway. Running into old friends, not having to worry about serious threats to the Leaf, and time to just lounge and relax had been thoroughly satisfying. A quiet night at home with his wife would be a nice ending to a pleasant day.
He had dozed off in the sun when Temari stormed in, aggressively annoyed at the chaos she had been dealing with. He cracked an eye to gauge just how worked up she was. The fact that she had brought her fan with her indicated it was definitely a level red mood. With a sigh, he hauled himself up and went inside. It was better to hear her out when she was this angry and avoid giving her temper and excuse to turn on him.
They ended up discussing the situation for over an hour. Temari ranted about the incompetence of some of the clerks. Apparently there were at least two scrolls and one book that weren’t accounted for. She had checked with Sakura and Tsunade at the hospital, and neither of them knew where the materials were. That meant they’d have to run a full-scale investigation, which required going through the Hokage’s office. The escalation necessitated Shikamaru’s involvement until the information was recovered, which was a drag.
“I suppose something like this was bound to happen eventually,” he sighed. “Things have been too quiet lately.”
“Well it shouldn’t have happened,” Temari grumbled, adjusting the obi securing her own yukata. Dealing with this problem all day had been rather draining, and she was finally running out of steam.
“No one ever accounts for human error. It’s an unquantifiable variable, and those destroy even the best-laid plans.”
She shot him a mildly annoyed look.
“You’re talking like a know-it-all again.”
“Am I?” he grinned, running his hand through one of her pigtails. “It’s hard not to when I’m almost always right.”
“You’re unbearable,” she groaned, shoving him with her shoulder.
“And you’re troublesome. But together we’re the smartest people in the village. We’re going to sort this out.”
“I know,” she sighed, leaning against his shoulder. “It’s just such a drag.”
“That’s my line,” he smiled, planting a kiss on her forehead. She simply grunted in reply.
They sat together in silence for a while, gazing off the porch at the Nara estate before them. The sun was already low in the sky and beginning to stain the heavens with the colors of sunset, but Shikamaru was more focused on where he was. Temari’s warmth against him, the soft strands of her thick hair between his fingers, the light breeze with its hint of fall, the green trees of the forest stretching before them. The more he had moments like this--quiet, comfortable, happy--the less jealous he was of the clouds.
“Well,” Temari said, standing and stretching, “We should get going before it gets too late.
“Good point.” He slid on his sandals and grabbed the sack of apples he had bought earlier. Together they headed towards the forest. To the east at the treeline was the guest house where his mother now lived. Perhaps they would stop by on their way back. He usually visited his mother every weekend, but he wouldn’t mind seeing her today. And he rather missed Shikadai, too, even though he had seen his son this morning.
But right now he would enjoy this alone time with his wife. He draped an arm across her shoulders, and she wrapped her arm around his waist, walking in step with him. The orange sunlight was highlighting her cheeks and hair in warmth. She looked softer and more beautiful than usual, even though strands of her hair had wrestled free of her pigtails and her eyeliner was wearing off. These little imperfections were signs that she was as human as she was legendary, and mild as she was a force of nature, as complicated as she was easy to understand. She was nearly always unexpected, and he would never stop finding new bits to love about her.
The light nearly disappeared when they entered the forest, but they had walked this path together many times. They wandered between the trees, purposeful but unhurried. Their route left the typical footpath, following smaller and narrower trails deeper into the forest. They didn’t have an exact destination. Shikamaru chose their way mainly from instinct and what he could read from the forest until they arrived at the edge of a large clearing.
They froze, taking in the sight before them. The clearing was large enough for lances of sunset to dapple the ground. The orange light burnished the coats of a herd of deer grazing before them, firing them like copper. As though receiving a telepathic message, they all raised their heads to look at the newcomers in synchronicity, frozen like statues save for blinking eyes and the occasional twitch of a tail.
After a moment, a large buck with an impressive spread of antlers began making his way carefully towards them. He walked with power and purpose, leaving no doubt that he was the head of this herd. He was also impressively big, his large dark eyes level with Shikamaru’s when he stopped before them. This was the king of the forest, and he had been alive for as long as Shikamaru could remember. His eyes were both familiar and strange with the weight of all he had seen. Every encounter with him was humbling.
Carefully, gently, Shikamaru raised his hand and brushed it along the buck’s neck. He could feel the power of the muscles beneath his hand, but it was also comforting. These deer had been part of the Nara Clan their entire history, and there was a beautiful mystery in having such a personal connection to these creatures. There were many tales passed along the generations of this relationship, and he was always struck by the longevity of his bloodline and their traditions when he visited the deer. His name was one to be proud of.
Temari offered the buck one of the apples. Shikamaru had been so nervous to introduce her to the herd when he had finally decided she was too important to live without. The deer could be incredibly violent towards outsiders, and it had been extra nerve-wracking without his father to assist if things went wrong. But the herd had accepted her without a second glance as though she had always been part of this clan. Seeing how respectfully the buck took the apple from her hand, it was easy to believe she had.
They spent the last of the sunlight amongst the deer, handing out apples, admiring how healthy the fauns were, and quietly petting them. It felt like it had earlier with Choji and Ino. He was reuniting with old friends that felt more like family. There was one young buck in particular that had taken a liking to Temari. He had been born the year of the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Sometimes when he looked at Shikamaru, it was as though his father’s eyes were smiling at him.
They stayed with the herd until the sun sank too low to pierce the clearing, and the deer began to bed down for the night. They quietly retraced their steps through the trees, still confident in their footing though all but the faintest light was gone. They emerged to just a few purple streaks in the sky to the west as twilight faded into night.
“Want to stop by your mother’s and say goodnight to Shikadai?” Temari asked as though reading his thoughts from before. Part of him wanted to. He could imagine how eager his son would be to tell him about his day and the questions he would badger him with about anything and everything. He enjoyed those moments (even if Shikadai sometimes seemed to have too much energy to truly be his son), but a visit at his mother’s would end up at least an hour long, and he was already getting hungry.
“It hasn’t even been a full day, Temari. He can survive without us for one night.”
“I know that.” She rolled her eyes, and he squeezed her hand to let her know he knew she had been thinking of him and was grateful.
They passed the rest of the night in blissful domesticity, making dinner together and playing a few rounds of Shogi as the stars dotted the sky. She had never seen the appeal of the game, but she was a formidable opponent. It wasn’t in her nature to go easy on him, even if they were celebrating his birthday. It sometimes reminded him of playing with his father.
That night as they were drifting off to sleep, all tangled limbs and sweet smells and Temari’s hair tickling his collarbone, she asked him again if he was sure he didn’t want to do anything else for his birthday.
“Troublesome woman,” he sighed, pulling her closer against his side.” “Don’t you know when to give it a rest?”
“I just want to be sure since I had to bail on you this morning.”
“Well tonight more than made up for that,” he promised, pressing a kiss to her temple and hoping it would convey how happy he was to be there in that moment with her, however unremarkable it might be. Tomorrow they’d have to deal with the security breach and Naruto and the complexity of parenthood, but in this moment there was simply bliss.