Shino: Shikadai Got Into A Fight Today.

Shino: Shikadai got into a fight today.

Shikamaru: Oh geez, that kid... we're sor-

Temari: Did he win?

Shino: I-... Pardon?

Temari: Did... He... Win?

Shino: ...

Shikamaru: ...

Shino: ... Yes...

Temari: That's my boy.

What Art Materials do you have?

Currently I'm only using pencils, a sketchbook and an eraser, most of my other art supplies are packed away and I don't have access to them

Naruto: My time has come... I am dying.

Sakura: It's just a cold, Naruto

Naruto: A whole week of pain, sickness and horrid, horrid medicine... coughing from dusk to dawn...

Sakura: It's almost cleared...

Naruto: Oh, my sweet sister... how sorry I feel for you... having to watch me die... slowly...

Sakura: ... Naruto, please just drink the cough syrup.

Naruto: Noooooo! It tastes yucky!

Prompt - Only One Bed

Shikamaru groaned lightly as he walked to the village gate. Per Hokage's orders, he was tasked with housing one of the Hidden Sand's Jounin for a week, and as much of a drag it was, he was grateful only his father was home for the duration. He loved his mother dearly, but he had no intentions of hearing any talk, whether it was about dating, marriage or sex.

The very thought of bringing a woman to his mother shook him to his core, especially a woman like Temari. Temari was very forward, and often she'd lack a filter for the things she'd say. His mother quite easily took offense to things, and Temari's "I-Don't-Give-A-Fuck" nature was surely a horrible mix.

As the gate neared he tried to push his exhaustion away. Temari was a woman in high power, and despite what his younger self would think, Shikamaru respected her quite a lot. It was important to him to look professional in front of her.

Temari was a very intelligent woman. Often her battle strategies had led Sunagakure strongly, she was an amazing leader. Authoritive, but still caring towards the soldiers of Suna. She also showed great skill when it came to puzzles and boardgames, she was one of the few people to come close to beating him competitively. Her dedication to protecting her family was also quite admirable; always rushing in to defend her brothers, even when they were strong enough to do it themselves. She was so full of love, and balanced her work and home life well. Shikamaru admired her strengths greatly.

A light burn on his cheeks brought him out of his thoughts, whether it was a blush or the sun, he wasn't sure, but Temari's voice began to creep to his ears. He had to focus now.

Temari stood talking to a couple guards at the gate, the two that often teased Shikamaru for his apparent "obvious crush", Izumo and Kotetsu. Dreading the embarrassment, he waited for her to finish talking before approaching so they didn't have to stay long.

He muttered a small greeting, ignoring the shit-eating grins from the men beside him, and turned to Temari.

Her eyes carried dark circles, clearly tired from her travels. She had a tendency to get careless and do the whole trip on one nights sleep and a nap, and while Shikamaru found it troublesome, it was the perfect excuse to get home faster.

"Oh! There's the little love bird. It's such a shame he always keeps you waiting. It's already late afternoon!"

"Yeah! Come on, Shikamaru. Have some mercy on the poor girl, she's already stuck with you~"

Temari shook her head, half waving to them while walking off. The two said their goodbyes, and after Shikamaru glared at the them for their immaturity, he started to lead Temari across town.

They went their typical route, passing shops with their keepers trying to draw Temari in with their wears, kids dancing and playing together on the path, and all the usual Shinobi and Kunoichi making their way to their posts. It was relaxing in the only way your hometown could bring, and although Temari wasn't from Konoha, he could see her enjoying it too.

She watched the busy streets with a soft smile, the same smile she gives to her brothers, full of love and admiration. There was a sadness in her eyes, though. The sadness of growing up, or more so, watching your family grow up. Shikamaru didn't understand how it felt, but maybe one day he would.

As the sun began to set, they arrived at the house. Loud talking and slight shouting rustled the walls. Shikamaru groaned, recognising the voices, and slid open the door.

"I'm home, father... and Chouza and Inoichi."

The three men turned to them, raising their glasses and laughing. While Shikamaru and Temari stepped inside and removed their sandals, the room was filled with tipsy greetings.

"Welcome home, son. And, uh... who's your friend?"

"She's uhm, a Jounin. From Suna. She's staying here for a week."

Temari looked around while Shikamaru spoke with his father, grimacing at the smell of alcohol as she passed by. Family photos and clan symbols lined the walls. It was far more cozy than her home at Suna. With both her and Kankuro on missions, and Gaara as the Kazekage, it was practically unlived in.

Bits and pieces of conversation filtered in through her focus, Shikamaru arguing with the three men about their relationship. In a way, it reminded her of her own parents during their love, commenting on any boy she showed interest in and teasing her about crushes. None the less, what Shikamaru said was true. They weren't together, and while she was an adult and he was still 16, they wouldn't be until many years have passed.

Eventually, Shikamaru got fed up with their banter and lead Temari to his bedroom, where she would be staying throughout the trip. It was a small room with a simple double bed, very little furniture inhabited it aside from necessities. It had a door leading to a private bathroom as well.

Exhausted and quite gross from her travels, Temari decided to hit the showers while Shikamaru prepared the room better. Fluffing the pillows and making sure nothing vulgar was out in the open; he was a boy in his late teenage years of course. When he was done, he sat and waited for her on the bed.

The sound of running water covered the loud three man party in the living room, Shikamaru was rather surprised that Ino and Chouji weren't there was well. Usually if one generation of "Ino-Shika-Chou" was present, the other would be too. Maybe his father took pity on him and decided just three people teasing him was enough.

Around five minutes had passed before the water shut off, and Shikamaru prepared to take one himself. The door opened and after one final look around the room, he had a realisation.

"Where are you gonna sleep, Mr. Crybaby?"

He didn't have another place to sleep.

Shikamaru's face began to flush from embarrassment. How did he not plan this out better? He felt like an idiot. Temari's laughter didn't help either.

"I didn't plan this right."

"Clearly," Temari snorted. "But it's fine. I'll sleep on the floor, I have a sleeping bag."

Shikamaru watched her unfurl it, stopping her before she laid down. Temari raised her eyebrow, unimpressed by the contact.

"No. You've had too big of a walk to be sleeping on the floor. Take the bed."

Temari moved her body from his, crossing her arms and looking down at him. It wasn't much of a tactic to intimidate him, only to show her displeasure, but it was affective in both.

"I'm not taking your bed from you."

"I'm not letting you sleep on the floor!"

They went back and forth for a few minutes, both just as stubborn as the other, before Temari gave up.

"Look, if it's that important to you, lets just share the bed. Put pillows in the middle."

Shikamaru grumbled lightly. While he did respected her greatly, she was quite a troublesome person. He swallowed his pride and accepted.

The rest of the evening went smoothly from then on. Shikamaru gathered some food for them while Temari took the time to relax; stretching and easing the tension in her muscles. Shikamaru's matress was soft. It sunk in beneath her weight quite a bit, constantly making the pillow wall fall apart, but it was worth the annoyance after the past few days.

Shikamaru came back with a simple meal. With how fast it came, Temari guessed it was premade. Shikamaru didn't seem like the type to cook, quickly or good, but food was food in the end.

While they ate, Shikamaru looked at Temari closely for the first time since he met with her. She was only wearing a bra and long pants, a good portion of her skin showing, and the most odd thing, she had her hair tied into two rather than four. Her skin looked rough and damaged from wear he sat, he was willing to bet it'd feel just the same, and her body had many healed scars from training and battle. He had heard how harsh Suna's training was, he wondered how many scars were from village people and how many were from enemies.

"Whatdya staring at?"

Shikamaru turned away embarrassed. "Nothing... sorry."

She laughed and shook her head, finishing her food before lying down again.

"You apologise too much."

Shikamaru ate in silence, trying to keep his eyes to himself. She was right in a sense, he apologised a lot when it came to her, something about her nature made him want to, even if it was any other person he'd just shrug it off. Deep down, he knew his father was right. Izumo and Kotetsu too. Naruto, Asuma, Chouza and Inoichi. They were all right. He loved her, he just wasn't ready to admit it.

Temari tossed and turned for a bit trying to get comfortable, settling for laying in her side. Back facing him. Part of him wanted to pull the blanket over her, another part wanted her to hold him close. He settled for taking care of the dishes, trying to pull his mind away from his feelings.

When he returned, snoring had filled the room. Temari's position much more sloppy then when he had left. It was unladylike, but still beautiful. Shikamaru smiled softly, the muscles in his face straining when he tried to stop.

Turning off the light, he crawled into the bed beside her, her body out of sight with the pillows dividing them but the feeling of her body remained. The bed was more comfortable, more warm, and more cozy with her in it, and he quietly wished she could be there longer than a week.

Shikamaru's eyes grew heavy with the warmth, the sound of her snoring made him feel oddly at ease. Usually he hated noise when he was trying to sleep, but there was something about Temari that made it tolerable. She made him feel safe, protected, at home. It was easy to fall asleep by her side.

In the morning, he was sure she'll find a way around sharing a bed, but for now, he'd enjoy her comfort while he could.

🪭 sketch 🪭

Sasuke wandered confusedly through the hall, loud chatter and excited squeals ringing in his ears as he passed booths filled with merchandise; all with crowded lines waiting for a chance to at least see what was being offered.

His eyes narrowed as he searched for the bright blonde hair of the friend that annoyed him into coming in the first place, but amongst fans covered in merch and with hair that was dyed to match the musicians, he was no where to be seen. Sasuke scoffed. Naruto begged him to come to support a friend of his, and he didn't even choose to show? What a loser.

Sasuke pressed on, scanning past the branded shirts and faces covered in paint. "XO" was printed everywhere on every thing, it slowly started to become a blur of colours.

Purple, red and pink spotlights lit every room in the stadium, music from the band blasting from the speakers, every song was instrumental to tease the fans flooding in as the concert time grew closer. Sasuke's head spun with all of the stimulus.

Suddenly a strong arm wrapped around his shoulder, a familiar burst of laughter relaxed him just enough. He actually decided to show, hm? Could have come on time. Loser.

"Whatdya think, Sasuke?! This place is packed!- oh, I got you some freebies too. I figured you'd get lost, 'tebayo"

Sasuke scoffed, taking the bag from Naruto. It was similar to one of the showbags you'd get as a child, but featured a near gruesome image instead of a typical cartoon character. A skeleton covered in branches and cherry blossoms, it was posed like it was praying. He preferred the cuter stuff, the stuff that wouldn't give him nightmares.

"My friend drew that, yknow! She designs a lot of the merch stuff for the band. Oh! Also! You hear that drumming? That's her too! Oh, oh! And-"

Naruto continued to rant while dragging Sasuke off, assumingly to where they'd sit for the show. Naruto said something about VIP tickets and being close to the action a few days ago, so they'd be able to see and hear everything the best. A perk of being "The Lead Singers Best Friend and Little Brother Figure" he said.

The hallway leading to the entrance was just as packed as the room with the booths. Black shirts with a symbol of "XO" interlocking printed in crimson, similar ones with a purple moon cycle on the front, one fan even had their own shirt with a design drawn with bleach. Whoever this friend of Naruto's was, they were very good at drawing a crowd.

Naruto flashed a card to the bouncer minding the doors, and much to everyone's disgust and rage, they were let in just a few minutes early.

With no need to be mindful of others, Naruto raced down to their seats, while Sasuke paid closer attention to the scenery. The room was lit only at the seats, the stage was shrouded in darkness, the leg of a mic stand could hardly be seen poking out from under the curtain. Even if he squinted, there wasn't much to behold.

When he reached his friend, he looked at their slightly separated seats. Two more bags sat at their legs, each with unique designs. More freebies, he guessed.

Naruto jumped into his seat and urged Sasuke to join him. Sasuke sighed. Despite being nineteen, almost twenty, Naruto still acted like a complete child. How can someone with a drivers licence, fully capable of purchasing alcohol and cigarettes, be this obnoxious and shameless? He sat without argument, though.

Before he knew it, the doors opened and fans started pouring in. Sasuke glanced behind him out of curiosity; every seat was filled, and everyone was restless in their seats with excitement. Amongst them all, though, was the last person he'd expect to see there. Nara Shikamaru, a former classmate of theirs, was sitting in a signed jacket with an unfamilar glisten in his eyes.

"He's a massive simp for the guitarist," Naruto whispered, catching where Sasuke's eyes sat. "He fought off like, three guys for that jacket."

Sasuke snorted and shook his head, turning his attention to the stage when the lights shut off.

The stadium grew silent, the lack of light felt like a void. Sasuke's arms started forming goosebumps from the atmosphere.

A soft beat settled in through the speakers, the sound of the curtain reeling back made people inch closer to the edge of their seats. A hooded figure walked up to centre stage, bringing their arms up above their head and forming an 'X' with their arms in sync with the spotlight shining on them. Bright red illuminated the figure, revealing a punk-eqsue outfit with belts being a consistent theme, but their face remained unknown. They started a hard beat by stomping their boot on the stage, which was followed by fans clapping to it.

A second figure joined the first, cloaked much the same, but their guitar adding a much different silhouette. They pulled it off their back and lifted it up, the body of the guitar facing to the ceiling. The lights turned off and a purple LED light was shon onto it, revealing a fluorescent purple circle on the back. Together, their symbols formed 'XO'.

After a moment, music started pouring from the speakers around the stadium and a clear spotlight lit the stage, allowing full sight to the audience. They dropped their symbols and pulled the cloaks off in unison.

'O' was clearly the older of the two. A tall woman with lightly tanned skin, features sharp and almost deadly. Her hair was dry, parted quite messily into four parts, part of her bangs nearly covering her right eye. 'X' seemed much more friendly, smiling wide to the whole crowd. From the looks of it, she had no instrument. She lacked a mic on her earpiece as well.

The two women were dressed with a theme, both with their own symbolism. 'X' wore a red jacket with two crosses on her arms and black gloves. The small belts around her thighs were wrapped unevenly. Two on one, three on the other. 'O' was much similar, although her jacket was black, made from a thick leather and had purple moons running down the sleeves. Her jeans were ripped at the knees and her boots were covered in the same belts.

Sasuke furrowed his brows and squinted, focusing on the finer details of the first part of the band. Her hair was a familiar shade of pink, thick and clearly unconditioned, and her eyes were a deep emerald green. He swore he knew her, but he couldn't put the name to the face.

She pulled a microphone from a pouch on her hip, spinning it in her hand while more music kicked in. She raised her fist and everyone focused on her.

"Good evening Konoha!! How's everyone feeling tonight!?"

The audience roared in respose, Sasuke needing to take a moment to cover his ears. He glanced over to Naruto who sat unfazed. He too was focused on the woman in red. She must be the friend he always talked about.

"That's great to hear! Are you all ready to go?!"

Another roar came, but Sasuke took focus to her speech.

"Hell yeah!! That's what I like to hear! First things first though... Temari, sound check!"

Her voice was familiar too. Deeper than most women Sasuke had met, and rougher too, as if she'd had a broken nose before. However, there was a softness to it. A kindness. It almost sounded like...

"On it, Sakura."

Sasuke didn't hear the next sounds to come. He leaned back in his chair, staring blankly in the direction of the stage. Sakura? Haruno Sakura? That's her?!

Temari smiled at her partner, flipping the guitar so the strings faced their fans and pulled the strap above her head. The body was painted a shiny black with purple lightning like strikes going across it, a job clearly done at home, but not by her. She pulled a pick from her jacket and struck the cords, the sound alone made the floor shake, and the following cheer broke Sasuke out of his trance.

"All right!!! Sounds good! Lets get this show started, shall we?!"

The two women backed up to the middle of the stage, the lights dimming to prepare for their first song. A cold silence filled the room, the speakers dying down as sound technicians prepared the track, Sasuke squinted to take in more features.

Despite the darkness, the white of her teeth shone through. She smiled with a joy she never had during their highschool years together. Her academics were her highest priority, fitness came next, and lastly was her crushes. She'd always smile wide when her test scores were high, or she had scored big during extracurricular sports, but nothing compared to this.

A warm spotlight hit them as the music began, Temari's guitar the only live instrument. It was an up beat rhythm, vaguely following the rock genre they were going for. Sakura nodded and loosely danced as she found the rhythm in herself, her voice powerfully hitting the mic when she started to sing, although it was more of a rap than anything else.

Sasuke stared with his mouth hung loosely open. Sakura's energy grew with the song, her movements becoming sharper and more pronounced as she found moves to her words, her hair and jacket adding secondary motion that flowed so smoothly with her body. Sasuke's legs grew weak, sinking into his chair as he watched as closely as his eyes could. It was mesmerising.

Sakura's eyes danced over the audience. Her smile grew when she saw her close people in the crowd, Sasuke could only see Naruto, but he was certain someone like Sakura would have a lot of friends. Her eyes moved from left to right, eventually meeting his at the centre.

Her smile fell, but her voice didn't. Sasuke couldn't tell if it was disbelief, disappointment or disgust, but Sakura didn't stop her performance. She focused her gaze to the wall, finishing the song before meeting his eyes again.

He felt his cheeks begin to burn under her gaze. The soft shimmer in her eyes, the gentle curl of her lips... it had been many years since she looked at him like that. Sasuke missed it dearly, her eyes filled with adoration and love. He felt like a complete fool for rejecting her love once.

Their eyes locked for what felt like hours. Sasuke's focus never once leaving her eyes or her smile, even when she turned away. She was still working, afterall. Sasuke would have to wait, and he would wait an eternity just to have her look at him once more.

The second song began to play through the speakers, fans cheering and shouting as they recognised what it was, and although Sasuke was clueless, he was just as excited to hear it.