Based on the movie "The Proposal".
Chapter 1
The alarm rang, a loud, shrill tone that pierced through the haziness of Shikamaru's consciousness. The young man groaned, peeking his head through the covers to look at the clock by his bed. The white numbers read the time as 7:20 am, and Shikamaru stared at it for a full thirty seconds before shoving away the blankets and tumbling out of bed.
"Shit, I'm late!" Shikamaru exclaimed, irritation laced heavily in his voice. He stumbled to the bathroom, grabbing his suit off his chair while doing so. With one hand, he brushed his teeth, and in the other, he tried to change out of his shorts and pull on his pants. After spitting and rinsing, Shikamaru donned on his shirt and suit before wrapping his tie around his neck, trying to straighten it properly. Nodding to himself, Shikamaru took his hairbrush and tied up his hair into his signature ponytail. Working for as long as he had in his profession, Shikamaru had learned early on how to multitask.
The time was 7:30 am, which left him half an hour to get to the law firm before his demon of a boss arrived…and get coffee.
Don't forget the coffee , Shikamaru reminded himself, grabbing his briefcase off the table and tucking it under his arm as he answered his phone.
"Yo, Shikamaru, you down soon?" Naruto's cheery voice did little to brighten Shikamaru's souring mood.
"Yeah, hold up, I'm coming. I'll be there in a minute."
Shikamaru hastily left his apartment, making sure to lock the door properly before he ran down the short flight of stairs and to the parking garage.
Naruto was leaning against the car, checking himself in the mirror. "Do I look okay?"
"You look fine," Shikamaru said, unlocking his car and climbing into the driver's seat.
"You didn't even look!" Naruto protested but Shikamaru had no time to argue with him.
"We're going to be late ," Shikamaru hissed. "Now hurry up and get in the car!"
Naruto got into the passenger seat, petulantly sticking out his tongue. "You mean you're going to be late."
"We work at the same place, Naruto," Shikamaru sighed, starting the car. "Now buckle up."
Shikamaru drove in silence, his muscles tensed as he watched the clock every few seconds. It was 7:35 am by the time they got to the drive-through of the coffee shop. Shikamaru opened his mouth to say the order but Chouji was already at the window, handing him three cups, which Shikamaru passed to Naruto.
"You're cutting it short," Chouji said.
"I know, I know," Shikamaru replied. "I woke up late, for some reason. Thanks, Chouji. I owe you. Again."
His best friend grinned. "Just go already, Shikamaru. You don't want to be late."
With a nod of thanks, Shikamaru closed the window and continued his drive. Next to him, Naruto quietly sipped his hot chocolate, watching as the scenery passed by in a blur. Shikamaru shook his head a little, marveling at how Naruto had landed a job at the law firm with his childish personality.
.
The two arrived at the building with ten minutes to spare. At the front desk, Shiho looked up.
"You're late," she said.
"I know," Shikamaru muttered, grabbing the two coffee cups from Naruto and sprinting for the elevator, with Naruto not too far behind.
The two reached their destination, breathless, and Shikamaru hurried to his boss' office. In his haste, he failed to notice one of the deliverymen in front of him and crashed into the cart, spilling one of the coffees.
"Fuck!" Shikamaru swore, wincing as hot coffee scalded him.
"Oh, that's so sad," Naruto lamented.
Shikamaru glared at him, trying to wipe away the stain with a napkin. "Switch shirts with me."
"What? No way! I don't want a coffee-stained shirt!" Naruto protested.
" Now , Naruto," Shikamaru prompted. "Trade shirts with me and I promise I'll treat you to all-you-can eat ramen on the weekend."
Shikamaru knew his wallet would regret such a decision but he was running out of time. His boss would be arriving soon.
"Fine," Naruto agreed, and the two men exchanged shirts.
"Really? In here?" Tenten asked, making a face at them at she walked by.
"It's an emergency," Shikamaru said, unsure as to why he was even bothering trying to defend himself. "You know what that witch is like."
Shikamaru finished buttoning up his shirt and picked up the lone cup of coffee while dumping the other one.
"Good luck, Shikamaru!" Naruto called out after him, settling into his own desk.
Shikamaru frowned at his friend but said nothing, entering his boss's office. Luckily, the room was empty and Shikamaru let out a sigh of relief. He placed the coffee on the desk and went to open the blinds, making sure everything was in its proper place. He opened his phone and checked the schedule, trying to remember if he had forgotten anything. Deciding everything was all set, Shikamaru looked to the entrance, anticipating his boss' arrival.
It wasn't long before she came. The atmosphere shifted palpably, from relaxed to tensed, and all the workers on their floor quickly made themselves look busy, shuffling papers about and answering nonexistent phone calls.
Shikamaru sighed, knowing another day in hell was about to start. Of all the employees, he had it worst, working under her directly as her secretary. And yes, that was a sore point for him, too—the fact that his boss was a woman.
Sabaku no Temari walked into the room, her head high and her eyes cold as she surveyed her subordinates. No one save for Shikamaru made eye contact with her.
"Good morning, Temari," Shikamaru said, walking towards her and handing the coffee over to her.
Temari accepted the cup and took a sip thoughtfully. She stopped at Naruto's desk and the young blond swallowed nervously, sitting up in his chair.
"Uh, good morning, Ms. Sabaku!"
Temari's face remained expressionless as she surveyed Naruto's shirt.
"Let me guess," Temari drawled and Shikamaru winced. He knew his boss to be an intelligent and perceptive person—one couldn't survive long in the law department without being so—and it came as no surprise to him that she had spotted the difference right away.
"Shikamaru spilled a coffee on the way here, therefore staining his shirt, which he traded with yours, Naruto."
"Uh," Naruto opened his mouth and then closed it. At Temari's intense glare, he quickly answered.
"That's right, ma'am," Naruto squeaked.
"Very well." Temari paused, turning to the rest of the workers. "Naruto, you and Shino are assigned Case Four-oh-five. Kiba, how's your case doing?"
Kiba stood up smartly. "We've found evidence that the opposing side's lying, ma'am. There's documents of their experiments, and some of those disobey the Animal Rights Act."
Temari nodded and turned her back on him, briskly walking to her office. Shikamaru followed close behind, making sure to shut the door behind her as she sat down.
"What do we have today?" Temari asked impatiently, and Shikamaru looked at his phone.
"Well, since you finished Case Four-oh-six yesterday, the higher-ups would like a summary of that typed up as soon as possible."
"That's your job," Temari said, and Shikamaru nodded.
"Right. Yes. They also have a new case available for our department, one from a famous client." Here, Shikamaru paused and Temari raised her head to look at him.
"What is it?" Temari demanded and Shikamaru cleared his throat.
"Well, the client is Uchiha Sasuke."
"And?"
"And, I think you should put Naruto on the team."
Temari scoffed. "Naruto has his hands full at the moment."
"Yes, because you just assigned him a case with Shino. You could take him off and put him on the Uchiha one; Shino can handle Case Four-oh-five by himself. It's a very simple one, a dispute between a landlord and their tenant."
"He's still a rookie. He doesn't have it in him to deal with such an important case," Temari said disdainfully.
"True, but he's a hard worker," Shikamaru tried to reason. "Just give him this chance."
Temari stood up slowly, her teal eyes trained on Shikamaru. Shikamaru took a step back involuntarily, knowing he had overstepped his boundaries.
"Remind me again, Shikamaru , who is in charge here? Me or you?"
"You, ma'am," Shikamaru managed.
"Exactly," the Suna citizen said. "And I say Naruto stays on his currently assigned case. Is that clear?"
"Yes. Very." Shikamaru refrained from scowling, knowing his boss would not take kindly to such an action.
"What else is there?"
"There's a meeting with Uchiha Sasuke today at three. Also, you got a letter from your brother—"
"Which one?" Temari interrupted.
"Gaara."
Temari narrowed her eyes. "Hand it to me."
Shikamaru did so, procuring the envelope from his briefcase and handing it over. Temari slit it open and pulled the letter out, reading it quickly, a deep frown appearing on her face.
Shikamaru waited until she was done, watching as her shoulders tensed slightly, the way they always did when something displeased her.
Temari eventually put the letter down. Her movements were slow and deliberate, and Shikamaru wondered what the news had been, for her to react in such a way.
After a tense silence, Temari spoke. "My father is dead."
Shikamaru said nothing, unsure if she had wanted a response.
"I can't say I'm sad," Temari continued, as if Shikamaru wasn't in the room. "He's always been a pain in my ass. Still, I suppose it was because of him I landed this job in Konoha."
Shikamaru cleared his throat and Temari glared at him.
"Speaking of Konoha," Shikamaru said carefully. "Your visa is expired. The immigration office called again, and they said—"
Temari waved her hand dismissively at him. "Where's Tenten?"
"Tenten?" Shikamaru asked, unsure of the sudden change in topic but used to it nonetheless. Shikamaru had long learned to just obey Temari's every order.
"Yes. Where is she?"
"Uh, in her office," Shikamaru said. Temari got up from her desk.
"Let's pay her a visit."
"Uh, right." Shikamaru opened the door and caught eyes with everyone in the room. Shikamaru gave them a silent look, and the others knew their boss was about to step out of her room. Everyone tidied their desks and straightened their papers, pens scribbling away and fingers typing furiously at keyboards.
The witch herself stepped out, her eyes looking for any mistakes in the room. Spying none, she continued on her way, with Shikamaru trailing behind her like a shadow.
Temari stopped at Tenten's door and Shikamaru hurried to open it.
Tenten looked up from her work, her eyebrow raised. "And to what do I owe this pleasure, Ms. Sabaku?"
Shikamaru shut the door as Temari spoke.
"I'll get right to the point. You're fired."
Tenten stared at her in disbelief. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me," Temari said. "I'll give you two months to find a new job and then you can just tell everyone you resigned."
No one will believe that , Shikamaru thought but stayed silent, knowing he was standing in dangerous territory.
"You can't fire me," Tenten spluttered. "Why would you do that? I've been the most loyal and hard-working person here!"
Temari sighed wearily. "Loyal? Maybe. Hard-working? A little doubtful. Did I not tell you to work on Case Three-Nine-Eight?"
"But I'm already helping two clients!" Tenten protested. "You can't expect me to work three cases at a time!"
"I also told you to drop the other two; they don't have enough money to pay for it anyway."
"Not enough money? They have the required amount! It's not their fault they're not excessively rich enough to pay us extra! They're still our clients."
Temari opened the door, indicating that the conversation was over. "I gave you an order, and you failed to follow it."
Temari walked out, not giving Tenten the chance to reply. Shikamaru grimaced as he followed his boss out, feeling sympathetic for his former colleague but helpless to do anything.
The door slammed open and Shikamaru tensed.
"Oh, no," the young man muttered under his breath as he saw Tenten storm out of her room.
"Temari!" the brown-haired woman yelled and everyone in the office looked towards them. "You can't fire me!"
Temari ignored her and continued walking back to her own office.
"I've been here nearly as long as you have! I've done my work perfectly, and you know that! Be honest—you're only firing me because I'm a threat! You're afraid I'll take over your job as the lead lawyer in this department!"
Temari stopped and Shikamaru tried to hide himself in a corner. She whipped around, her face as cool as ever.
"Get this right—there's no way you were ever a threat, and you never will be. Have fun finding a new job."
She turned to Shikamaru, who quickly got off the wall he had been leaning against, trying to look alert and attentive.
"I'm working on the Uchiha case this weekend, so I'll need you here."
"Wait, but my niece's birthday is… this weekend," Shikamaru trailed off, knowing his boss wasn't even listening. He groaned inwardly. How had he managed to get himself into such a situation?
Sneaking a quick glance at Temari's office and noticing she was busy at her desk, Shikamaru took out his phone and made a quick call.
"Hey, Mom. Yeah, look, I won't be able to make it for Mirai's birthday party. I'm sorry, Mom, but she's making me work this weekend. I know, I know; Mirai and Aunt Kurenai will be sad I won't be there, but what can I do? What? No, I'm not going to quit. I've told you countless times, I need to stay in this job. How else will I help Naruto when the time comes? It's a good law firm, and he's rising up the ranks. He'll get to the top eventually." Shikamaru sighed. "I'll mail Mirai's birthday present, okay? I'm sorry I can't go in person. It's not my fault Temari's—"
The door opened and Shikamaru knew without looking it was his boss.
"—one of the best lawyers out there. She's well respected, and I'm glad to be working for her."
Shikamaru hung up nervously.
Temari raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing as she made her way out of the department office and to the elevator.
Shikamaru followed obediently and the two arrived at the top floor, where the CEO of their law firm held his office.
Temari made her way over to the office and entered, closing the door behind her, clearly indicating that Shikamaru was not invited. Shikamaru stood outside the door, checking his phone again, typing a quick message to Kurenai about the situation. Sighing, Shikamaru tucked his phone away.
.
"You wanted to see me?" Temari asked, standing confidently in front of her boss. The CEO of their law firm, a silver-haired man named Hatake Kakashi, was seated on the edge of his desk, his hands holding a book.
Kakashi closed it and looked up. "I know you don't like to beat around the bush, so here it is: your visa has expired, and you're being deported back to Suna."
"Already?" Temari asked incredulously.
"Yes," said Kakashi. "Of course, there are ways to prevent this, but you didn't fill out your papers in time."
"I didn't need to fill those forms out," Temari said, a little self-consciously. "My father is the Kazekage—"
"I am aware of who he is, yes," Kakashi cut in. "But he has passed away, as I'm sure you've heard. You no longer have a right to be in Konoha, not without a valid visa."
Temari inwardly cursed his father for dying so suddenly. She supposed it was highly ironic that a lawyer was reminding her of the law. "Then I'll just work from Suna."
"You know that's ridiculous," Kakashi said. "A Konoha lawyer working in Suna? If we were some other business, you could possibly work from Konoha. But this is a Konoha law firm, and we work for Konoha citizens, not for Suna ones. I'm sorry, Temari, but you'll no longer be able to work for us."
"You'll have to replace me then," Temari said. "But you can't, since I'm one of the best, save for Neji, but he's already head of his own department."
"Unfortunately, that is true. There's no one more qualified than you for your department, but seeing as I have no choice, I'll have to promote Tenten to that job."
"Tenten…who I just fired. That Tenten."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes."
"But—you can't! She's incompetent next to me! You need me!"
There was a knock at the door, and Shikamaru lazily poked his head through. "You've got a call from Uchiha Sasuke."
Temari glared at him. "I'm in the middle of something important here."
"I know, and I told him that, but he wants to talk to you right now," Shikamaru said, unabashed.
A sudden idea dawned on Temari and she gestured with her eyes for Shikamaru to enter the room. As always, Shikamaru did so, though confusion was evident on his face. Temari forced herself to approach him and carefully linked her arms with his.
It seemed she had trained him well, considering how Shikamaru did not move away, though he did tense a little, his eyebrows furrowing together.
Temari turned to Kakashi. "Well, you know, I didn't want to say this so soon, but I guess now's a good time as any."
Both men in the room looked at her; Kakashi with mild curiosity and Shikamaru with his continued puzzlement.
"I have to be a citizen of Konoha to stay here, right?"
Kakashi nodded slowly.
"Well, it counts if I'm married to one, right? I'll legally be able to stay then."
"That's true."
Temari could feel Shikamaru's eyes on her, and knew her smart assistant would be able to piece the parts together.
"Well, Shikamaru and I are getting married!"
There was a pause and Temari turned to Shikamaru, glaring at him a little, promising to make his life hell if he disagreed.
To her surprise, Shikamaru didn't catch on to her act. Apparently she hadn't trained him well enough for the job as her personal assistant.
Shikamaru stared blankly at her, his usually alert eyes turned dull with confusion.
"What."