Unexpected Romance

Shikamaru sighed as he leaned back in his chair, placing his feet up on the desk. It was finally over, it was 5:59 and in just one more minute he would be free to make his way home. The corners of his lips turned up at the thought as he leaned further back, the chair creaking loudly in protest. He was so engrossed in the thought of relaxing that he didn't hear the sound of footsteps making their way to his cubicle.

"Oi, Nara!"

He practically fell out of his chair when a hand suddenly clasped down on his shoulder. This caused an abrupt bout of hysterical chuckling to leave his lips, to which he promptly stifled.

"What is it, Inuzuka?"

The sharp eyed man behind him grabbed ahold of his chair and turned it 180 degrees so that they were making eye contact, but Shikamaru peered over his shoulder to see the rest of the group. He could see Naruto and Shino from accounting, and what looked like Tenten from the design department and that crazy blonde who always wore short skirts..he was sure her name was Ino...but that was only because her name was similar to his mother's.

"Call me Kiba! How many times have I told you? Oh..and no excuses tonight, you promised last week that you would join us for after work karaoke."

Shikamaru scowled up at the man before him. What Kiba said was not the complete truth, he hadn't actually promised he would go this week. He had actually said 'rain check', which in his mind meant that he would get to it when he could get to it. It wasn't that he had anything against Kiba (besides the fact that he was loud and intrusive), but Karaoke and drinking weren't really his thing.

"Well actually-" Shikamaru was suddenly cut off as Kiba jerked him from his chair with his elbow locked around his arm.

"I'm glad you're joining us! This is going to be so great!" Wild cheers from the group erupted from behind him as he rolled his eyes. What could he do now? He was practically being held hostage.

Shikamaru checked his watch, but the numbers kept floating up off the glass and he couldn't catch them. He sighed as he looked around. Half of the group were passed out, (he only knew four of them who were from his division) and the other half were in a deep discussion about something or another. Shakily he reached over to the table and hefted himself from his seat, standing shakily as he walked toward the door. He didn't know how much alchohol he had consumed(because he had been practically forced to drink by Ino), but he was starting to feel weak and his mind was starting to shut down.

"Wher you think yer goin?"

Shikamaru blinked at the face infront of him, trying to place a name to the morphing features infront of him. The only identifiable thing about this person was the blur of pink hair that was covering the top of her head, and the name was just on the tip of his tongue..what was it? ..Sakura? but instead of saying anything intelligible he just stood there staring at her.

"You haven been playin with us!" Sakura pouted as she grabbed his shoulders and steered him back towards the table. For some reason his body cooperated with her, and he found himself sandwiched between two young women, Ino the domineering sake master and a blushing girl with black hair.

"So what should we play now?" Kiba asked as he wrapped both of his arms around the girls beside him, who both giggled as he squeezed them gently.

"I know!" Ino suddenly shouted as she reached toward the center of the table, grabbing an empty bottle and shoving the rest to the floor in a clatter of breaking glass. "Spin the bottle!"

"That's a great idea!" Sakura squealed as she snuggled closer to a black haired guy who looked bored out of his mind. "I want to go first!"

So the game began and the bottle was spun. Shikamaru watched in absolute fascination as the bottle blurred with speed and slowly became visible as it slowed. The realization that it had stopped and was pointing at him didn't dawn on him until the busty pinkette was leaning over the table and placing her hands on his cheeks.

"Looks like it's me and you big boy." She crooned as she leaned forward and their lips connected.

Her mouth was a strange combination of favors: Sake and bubblegum. Shikamaru leaned forward into the kiss to get a better taste, but suddenly they were separated and he leaned back in a daze.

Everyone laughed at his expression, except for the dark haired man that sat beside Sakura, who suddenly started mumbling about the stupidity of the game.

"Was it that good?" Naruto said as he leaned over Ino's lap, who promptly pushed him back with a string of softly spoken profanities.

Shikamaru shrugged at him in response and watched as the next person took the bottle and spun it, each time there was a sudden burst of laughter or a string of curses before they locked lips. His eyes began to wander as his head began to swim, the faint sound of music playing behind them. The lights in the room were dim, but the TV screen caused a slow strobe like effect as it lit up. All sound seemed to drown out as he looked to his left and caught a glimpse of the girl beside him. Her head was slumped over onto the back of the seat and her eyes were closed.

He turned to look at the rest of the group who were all too consumed in their game to hear him ask if they should wake her up, so he turned to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey miss..wake up. You shouldn't fall asleep in a place like this." He nudged her softly, before resulting in using more force, but she didn't wake up.

He turned to his other side and watched as Ino and the others began to stand up and head toward the door, but he reached out and grabbed her hand so that he could have a word with her. She turned to him with large teal eyes, her mouth already curling into a snarl, but before she could say a word he asked, "Hey what should we do with her?"

Ino peered around him and frowned, "Oh Hinata? Just leave her there, she always does this."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at her as she pulled her hand from his grasp, and watched in amazement as everyone filed out of the room. How could they just leave her here? He looked around the room and found that the other half of the group from before had also left. When had they gone? While they were playing the bottle game? Shikamaru turned back towards the raven haired girl, who without his body to hold her up, had fallen over to rest on the cushions of the booth.

Should he leave her? He bit his lip, but what should he do with her? Suddenly an idea came to him, and he started to search around the table for a purse or something. Maybe she would have her identification and he could get her address. Then he could send her home in a taxi...but as he searched he found that there were no bags or purses in the room. Panic started to creep up his spine. What if he left her here and something bad happened? His sense of responsibility was starting to really bug him, he wanted to just leave her there without a worry, but he knew that his conscience wouldn't allow it. So he did the only thing he could think to do. He picked her up and walked out the door with her in his arms.

He carried her all the way to the subway, and after a few curious glances he began to think that he had made the right choice. He was glad it was Friday, that way they would both be able to sleep off the alchohol and perhaps get over this strange ordeal. He hoped she wouldn't think badly of him, after all he was doing all of this for her own benefit.

As the train came to a halt Shikamaru stood and picked her up again, and he carried her up the stairs and out onto the street. There was hardly anyone around now, just a few scary looking teenagers and a few cars on the road. He was glad he only lived half a block from the subway, as the longer he carried her the more difficult it became to keep a hold on her. She kept slipping and sliding down his body, and he couldn't get a firm grip on her in fear that he would hurt her in some way. He tried not to notice her skirt riding up, or the way the top of her blouse had come unbuttoned.

Shikamaru made it to his apartment without any major mishaps, and narrowly avoided hitting her head against the door frame. He sighed as he let her down on the couch, collapsing back on his bent legs in exhaustion. He was amazed he could even carry her that far with however much alchohol he had consumed, and mentally patted himself on the back for his good work.

After taking a quick shower and getting ready for bed, he returned to the living room to place a blanket over her. He smirked at her sloppy expression; her mouth hung open and she was drooling on his couch cushion. He briefly thought of taking a picture but decided against it as he walked to his room and climbed in bed. Sleep easily found him, and only seconds after his eyes closed he was dreaming of a pink haired girl and a sloppy kiss.

Shikamaru stretched his arms over his head as he yawned, his back popping as he stretched his legs. His eyes popped open as his toes contacted something soft and fleshy, and was completely overcome with shock as something slithered across his chest.

"Oh Kami...please not a snake." He breathed as he slowly turned his head to the side, his eyes squeezed into slits.

He stared at a messy knot of raven hair infront of him and raised an eyebrow. Was there a person in his bed? Shikamaru looked down at his chest and his eyes widened. Naked? He lifted up the sheet and confirmed it. Completely naked. How had that happened? He distinctly remembered falling asleep after getting into his pajamas last night..so how was he naked...in a bed..with- oh Kami...had he slept with the girl from the Karaoke bar? He turned and looked again, the back of her head was facing him. How had this happened? Shikamaru suddenly threw the covers off of himself and jumped out of bed, and walked around to get a better look of her.

His eyes widened as she turned over onto her back and stretched, the sheet slipping off of her breasts and sliding down her torso. He blushed as he turned and scampered out of the room. He didn't want her to wake up and see him ogling her. He scurried around the house picking up nude magazines and shoving them into the couch cushions, picking up dirty clothes and straightening up his apartment. He was so nervous that he didn't know what to do..he had never done anything like this before.

He walked into his bathroom and straightened up the countertop, catching a shocking reflection of himself in the mirror. There were scratches and marks all over his chest and neck. He took a step back as he observed himself. Were those...hickeys...what kind of wild sex had they had? And why couldn't he remember a thing?

Shikamaru held his head in his hands as he sat back onto the toilet, trying to force his mind into remembering the events of last night. How had they ended having sex? He bit his lip hard enough to draw blood as he tried to recall.

"So stupid.." He breathed out as he wiped his face.

He was twenty-four years old, had just completed his first year of working for the company...and had now had sex for the very first time with a complete stranger. His very first time having sex and he couldn't even remember it! How messed up was that?

Click

Shikamaru froze as the bathroom door slowly creaked open.

"Oh my goodness!"

Shikamaru breathed out slowly as she backed away, and he looked up at her. She was wrapped up in his black sheet with her hair knotted up in all directions. Her cheeks bright red and her strangely pale lavender eyes locked on his..or his body, he wasn't sure.

"I can explain." He said shakily as he stood up, completely forgetting that he was completely naked.

"N-no...I'm sorry Nara-san, I should've knocked." She whispered as she closed her eyes tightly. She continued to back up until she was pressed against the wall. She flinched as he stepped closer.

"What's wrong? I'm not going to hurt you."

She peered her eyes open as she pointed at him, "Y-you're naked."

Shikamaru looked down at himself in surprise, "Oh.."

Okay tell me what you think...I know it's a weird pairing but I think they would be good together. This is Alternate Universe...and I know he is a bit out of character...but I think he would behave differently in a situation such as this. :) flames and criticism accepted.

Btw I'm totally a shipper of Ino-Shika usually but wanted a change of pace.