A/N: Hi everyone. Sorry I've been MIA for so long...a lot has happened since I've been gone! I moved countries, I moved back, I had the best year of my life and the biggest heartbreak, too (which, naturally, made it really goddamn difficult to write about love, lol), then moved internationally AGAIN. Don't even get me started on the pandemic, the systemic racism that continues to rear its ugly head everywhere, crazy politics everywhere I live. Excuses, excuses. Time to wrap up this story!

Some of this I wrote over a year ago, and it's not polished at all, so though this is technically an epilogue, I've thought about a one-shot sequel of some sort…the kind where you can read it if you want more, or leave it here if you'd rather not know and let it end this way. I have some ideas…but maybe it's better to leave it be. Review and let me know!

x

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"Shikamaru, you made it!" she grinned as she opened the door to him. He embraced her quickly, pulling away before he thought too much about the feeling of her breasts against his chest and his body got other ideas.

"Help yourself to food and drink. The boys are setting up the keg in the back," she smiled, stepping aside so he could enter. "Watch yourself, though. I am not being held responsible for any alcohol poisoning that happens tonight."

"I'll be good, promise," he laughed. "Having fun?"

"Oh, my dear Shikamaru, the party's only just getting started."

He walked through to the kitchen and was glad to have found one familiar face within the first five minutes of being in the house. Given that Temari was hosting, now he at least had a sure backup option to not look so awkward and alone in a house full of seniors.

"Hey, Ino," he greeted, tapping her on the shoulder.

"Shikamaru!" she smiled, enveloping him in a hug. As she did so, she whispered in his ear, "Can you believe we're at a senior party?"

"I can, I'm a senior," he reminded her, smirking. "But I think you've got some explaining to do."

"I...I'm friends with the cheerleaders, you know..."

"Wow. Why do I know so many bad liars?" he chuckled. "Relax. I know about you and Kankuro."

"What? Who's Kankuro?" she feigned.

"You really want to do this dance?" he muttered. "Kankuro drove Temari and me home after prom. I know he's the mystery guy."

"Damn it, Kankuro!" she grumbled, finishing her drink. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "Okay, fine. Don't go spreading it, okay? We haven't talked about what it is yet."

"Psht, who am I going to tell?" he rolled his eyes. "But seriously, Ino, you told me it wasn't anyone I knew!"

"I didn't know he was Temari's brother!" she retorted.

"What about Gaara?"

"Gaara has a brother?!"

He put a hand to his forehead in exasperation. "They're all siblings, Ino. The three of them. Gaara, Kankuro, Temari."

"No way," she exclaimed. "Small world."

"Sure, when you share the same blood and live in the same house," he commented.

"Hey, it started out as a casual thing, so conversation never crossed into family territory. And if you're still this patronising, that means you haven't had anything to drink yet." She went to the fridge and pulled out a beer for him. "You men can talk all the talk you want, but apparently it takes more than three of your species to work a keg, so I'm gonna stick with the cans for now."

"Smart choice." He gratefully accepted it. "Well, the sex must be improving, if you're still seeing each other."

"Fuck off!" she laughed, but she conceded, "He's been making an effort lately, and it's paying off. Did he say anything?"

"Not particularly. Actually, he was quite a gentleman about it."

"Really? Now that's unexpected." She raised her beer. "Anyway, cheers! To your graduation."

"And to you finally having decent sex."

"Yes, that's exactly what I wanted to toast to," she grimaced, but a smile crept onto her face as they bumped their cans together. "Well, it seems to have piqued your interest. Any developments with you on that front?"

"You called me the day after prom asking for an update."

"I know that, Shikamaru, but it's been two months since then!"

"I still see you every week for lunch with Choji and I've fielded every unnecessary question you've had each time."

"...and a lot can happen in seven days! Your point?"

He sighed. "No, since I saw you last Thursday, nothing new has happened with Temari."

She patted him on the back. "Better luck this week."

"Please stop taking an active interest in this."

He bumped into her as she exited the bathroom.

"Woah, sorry, Nara!" she exclaimed, happily drunk but somehow staying on her feet. "Are you having a good time?"

"Yeah," he smiled, his arms loose around her to steady her. She straightened herself and looked directly at him, a bright innocence glinting in her eyes that he'd never seen before. She looked like a kid who'd just been told off for running through the supermarket. "Are you?"

"Mm," she murmured. "I was about to start a game of beer pong but thought it was smart to empty my bladder first. Get a head start."

"You really put some thought into it, huh?"

"That's what it takes to win," she grinned, then grabbed his arm. "Come on!"

"Ah, I don't want to interrupt—"

"You're not interrupting. You're helping," she clarified, as they descended the stairs. "I need someone else on my team."

"So much for no alcohol poisoning tonight," he grinned.

"That's only if we lose," she reminded him. "And besides, lighten up, Nara! It's my eighteenth birthday, if there's any occasion to get blackout drunk at a house party, this is it."

"Can't argue with that logic."

He had no idea what he'd signed up for.

Well, technically he didn't sign up for it.

"Drink up, Nara!" Kankuro hollered as he sunk another ping pong ball.

Shikamaru shot his partner a dark look. "This isn't going to end well for me."

"Relax. The game is ours next shot, I promise."

Unconvinced, but unwilling to take the abuse being hurled at him from the other side of the table, he chugged the contents of the cup before him.

As he reeled from the mystery liquor, he saw her position herself out of the corner of his eye and all of a sudden, she launched herself at him.

"FUCK YEAH!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him so suddenly that he had no choice but to wrap his own around her waist, snapping together like magnets. "Now THAT'S how you own someone at beer pong!" She planted a kiss on him in drunken excitement and then gave her brother the finger.

"No one likes a sore winner, Tema," Kankuro barked.

"Rich coming from a sore loser," she replied, then grabbed two beers off the side and dragged Shikamaru towards the stairs.

"Where are we going?" he slurred.

"We won," she winked. "So I'm going to give you your prize."

"I don't think this is a good idea."

"It's a GREAT idea," Temari laughed, moving like a whirlwind through the bedroom. "Come on!"

"We've both had a lot to drink and I'd feel like I'm taking advantage of you and it's not how I want to—"

"Shikamaru, for once would you just turn off that big, buzzkill brain of yours and get out here?"

Before he knew it, she was half out the window and gesturing for him to join her.

Oh.

"Coming."

"I can't believe you thought we were going to have sex," she laughed, sipping her beer.

"I'm going to give you your prize, what the hell was I supposed to think?"

"I mean, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to, but I don't think anything could be more of a mood killer than the thought of 80 other people in the house or my brothers walking in on us," she snorted.

"Yeah." He sighed. "Bummer."

She turned to look at him, placing a hand on his affectionately. "You know what they say about right time, right place. It's just not on the cards for us right now. You're so young. So am I, really. I don't feel eighteen at all but I've got to start acting like it, and I know it wouldn't be right for me to take this experience from you. You've already missed so much because of how book-smart you are. And this…well, it wouldn't be very life-smart. For either of us."

"I know."

"I wish I could love you the way you deserve."

"Me too," he smiled. "I think you deserve it more, though."

"I think I need to be on my own for a bit," she murmured, shifting her gaze back to the night sky. The air was warm with good music and alcohol pulsing through veins and the glow of fairy lights adorning the house. "I've always been looking after other people, looking at other people, you know? I've never spent any time getting to know myself. I have no idea what I want, in life or love or anything."

"Does anyone?"

"No. Explains why everyone's so fucked up, I guess," she chuckled. "All just making mistakes and self-sabotaging because we don't understand ourselves at all. Over and over and over, for the rest of our lives."

"Yeah. College is the perfect practice round."

"Why you would want to go three years early is beyond me."

"Why anyone would want to stay in high school another three years is beyond me."

"Touché." They clinked bottles. "It's just going to be depressing as hell from here on out."

"It doesn't have to be. The right people make all the difference."

"Yeah," she breathed. "They do."

"Jesus, Tema, what the hell have you got in here? You bringing bricks to build your own dorm room or something?"

"Looks like that gym membership's really paying off," she fired back sarcastically. "Try not to get stuck under one of the machines or something while I'm gone."

"Har har," Kankuro muttered. "Careful or I'll have to dump you during the drive to save gas." He loaded the last box into the car. "Alright, that's it. We're off."

"Guess this is it." She turned to Baki. "Thank you for everything."

"The pleasure was all mine," he smiled, enveloping her in a heartfelt hug.

"I'll see you at Christmas. I know I joke, but please make sure Kankuro and Gaara are still alive by then," she laughed. "Make sure they're not ordering takeout everyday."

"I will," Baki promised.

"Oi. The whole point of you leaving is now I'm in charge," Kankuro grumbled.

She wrapped her youngest brother in a tearful embrace. "You know I'm only a call away, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I love you so much." She stepped back. "Also, keep an eye on Kankuro."

"I will."

"Oi! You can forget about a ride to college."

"Sorry, Kankuro, I can't hear you," she called back as she walked towards Shikamaru, laughing to himself with his hands in his pockets: beautiful, effortless.

"None of this would have happened without you," she whispered. "Thank you, Shikamaru."

"Don't say that, or I'll wish you'd failed so you could stay."

"You're leaving, too," she reminded him.

"Yeah." His eyes connected with hers. "I'm not going to see you again, am I?"

"Probably not," she admitted. "You'll meet new people. So will I. We'll move on and have other lives. It might not be as sad and painful as it sounds."

"And if it is?"

"Well, I'll always remember the time we spent together and even if it hurts to think about, I'll be grateful for that."

He nodded. "Good answer."

"But maybe…one of these days, it will be right place, right time. But we can't know, won't know, until then."

"Okay." Half-smiling, "I guess I have to trust you on this one."

She pulled him towards her, sliding her arms under his and around his back until she could crush him against her in affection. Cheek pressed against his shoulder, they stayed in silence like that for a beat before her voice rolled softly over his collarbone. "For what it's worth…you're the best thing that ever happened."

"In high school?"

"In my life," she responded without hesitation.

He sighed. "You don't need to say that for my sake."

"As if I'd say anything for your sake, Nara," she chuckled. "Really. I mean it. I know there's a life ahead of me with even greater, grander experiences but thanks to you, I know they're possible. I never thought I wanted or even deserved any of that but now I am sure that there are people to love and things to look forward to. So at least until this moment in my memory, you, Shikamaru, are the best thing that ever happened. Not just to me, but to everyone who knows you, everyone lucky enough to find themselves on the other end of your curious mind."

She looked up, and he looked away, unable to hide the shine in his eyes.

"Are you crying?"

"No," he croaked.

She laughed. "Okay. Let's keep it that way," she said, stepping back in wilful ignorance as he reluctantly let her go. "Thank you, thank you," she mouthed as she walked back towards the car.

As she gave the nod to her brother and the two got into the car, he turned away, inhaling deeply and letting the wind dry his tears.

The growl of the engine.

Recomposing himself, he looked back. The car rolled out of the driveway. She looked at him, and for the first time that day, he smiled.

You too, he mouthed back. The best thing that ever happened.