So for this chapter I'm following B99 pretty closely just to get a feel for writing it. If it works or doesn't work at all let me know, I'm still not sure whether to base this very closely or very loosely off B99 so am open to suggestions!

Chapter 2: Slump Buster

"I can't believe we got given a surveillance job. This is bordering on offensive."

"You're telling me. At least you've been off for a while so you've got an excuse. I'm just here because the squad don't trust me to help on any of their cases anymore." Shikamaru shuffled in his seat in the car they were sat in to fish out a chocolate bar wrapper from under him. He chucked it into the glove compartment before he went back to looking through his binoculars.

She grimaced at every part of what he just did. "This car is disgusting. Do you ever clean it or do you just enjoy the smell of old Chinese takeout?"

"It's actually not that old, it's just that the egg rolls fell out and they've been sat in the back seat for past couple of days." He said it so matter-of-factly she almost didn't clock how disgusting it was. "What?" When he raised an eyebrow at the face she was making, she didn't even grace it with a response. She just shook her head and looked off into the distance.

"So what's going on with you? Why are you being shunned?" she asked.

"I don't know, I'm just… In a slump. It's hard to explain. It just feels like every case I get, I can't get any leads or find any footing to start an investigation. As much as I want to blame the cases, the common denominator in all of them is me. I guess I just need some easy cases to get the ball rolling again." He mumbled the last bit like he was embarrassed to admit he probably needed to be babied for a while. These kinds of things never happened to him; he was the best detective in the precinct. His arrest numbers were higher than anyone else's and had been since he was in the academy.

"So you're in a slump, big deal. It happens to the best of us, you just have to power through it. Work hard, put in the hours and get your results." She was never good at being too reassuring but was more than willing to give practical advice. She knew Shikamaru and he didn't respond well to pity; instead, being a bit tough on him seemed to work much better at motivating him.

"Come on, you know that's not how I do things. Usually the right answers just come to me, I don't meticulously comb through every detail of a case to get them. I don't spend hours and days looking at the same evidence until something clicks. I'm not you."

She really didn't know how to take that one. "Thanks?"

"It's a compliment, don't worry." He kept grumbling like he was already defeated. She decided to try and cheer him up, otherwise this whole day was going to be miserable.

"A compliment? Did you just say something nice about me?" She grinned at him.

He frowned in response. "I say tons of nice things about you. Like when you brought in those brownies and everyone said they were inedible but I said I would eat them."

"Yeah, you said you'd eat them if they were the only food on earth and you were the only person left after the apocalypse so you would die quickly."

"Still nicer than what everyone else said though." He laughed for the first time since they'd started their case and she felt a little bit warmer inside. At least her friend was just being temporarily grumpy and wasn't completely gone.

She noticed something moving in her peripherals and slapped his thigh to get his attention. "Hey, look, the buyer's going inside. I thought we weren't expecting anything to come in for another couple of hours?"

"Okay, first of all, ow don't slap me. And second, how do we get a good vantage point to see inside? There's no way we'll see anything from here."

"Look, there's a window. If we can get somewhere high enough we can probably get an angle to see through it."

He briefly scanned around and figured the rooftop next to them was probably the best bet. "Come on, I've got an idea." He started getting out of the car.

"Care to run it by me before we leave the warmth of the car? I don't want to follow you if this is another terrible idea that's part of your slump."

"Would you just follow and stop being so loud?" She rolled her eyes and got out of her side.

The rooftop was cold but not freezing when they first got there. Unfortunately, their intel was right and nothing happened for another couple of hours by which point the sun had set and the cold air turned frosty. The jackets Shikamaru kept in the trunk of his car did little to keep them warm, and, as Temari instantly noted, also smelt of old Chinese food.

"So are you still dating that jerk from the 46?" he jibed. He was always interested by Temari's private life even though she always hated talking about it. She said she hated it because he always made fun of the people she chose to date; to be fair he would never hold back on his judgements. The reason behind it, though, was probably not what she thought. If she assumed he just enjoyed taking shots at her, that wasn't the case. He genuinely couldn't see why Temari kept going on dates with any random guy that asked. He had always held her in high regard, as someone with a great sense of humour, hardworking, determined, kind in all the right ways and brutally honest when it was necessary. He couldn't see why someone as great as her, someone wasn't unattractive either although he would definitely keep that to himself, would even consider going on dates with creeps from bars and movie theatres.

"Oh that guy? No, we went on a few dates but it got kind of boring. And then I found out he was seeing someone else anyway so, yeah. Dating cops is the worst. All they want to talk about is what cases they're working on, or what cases you're working on. And then there's dating people who aren't cops, which never works because who wants to stick around with someone who regularly has to cancel plans hours before they were meant to happen?" She smiled but he could tell there was a sadness to it. He understood better than anyone the problems with being a devoted cop and trying to date. "What about you? Been seeing anyone?"

He laughed. "Not even close to it. I went on a date that Kiba set me up on a few weeks ago, that's about as interesting as it gets."

"And?"

"And… she left when I told her I wasn't vegan." Temari cackled loudly at that, throwing her head back and laughing into the night.

"Please tell me you're kidding."

"I wish. Can you imagine if she stayed and I had to order the quinoa salad though? At least once she was gone I could enjoy my hamburger."

"Oh god, that's still got nothing on the guy I met who asked for my number and then deleted it when I told him Santa wasn't real. He cried and everything."

They both laughed so hard it felt like their stomachs were about to rip open. He watched her as she laughed and felt whatever had been eating him the last few months ease up. "Man, if only there was someone out there who didn't care about all that inconsequential crap and appreciated that even though the hours suck sometimes we love our jobs."

"And who could make us laugh. That's big on my list." He smiled back at her before she went back to look through the window. He felt something looking at her, something more than just enjoying the company of his friend or her being back at work, but he didn't think too much about it. All he knew was she never failed to make him smile, even when he wasn't at his best.

"Want something to eat?" he said unzipping his bag.

"Depends how long it's been in there."

"It's fine, it's just some candy. Strawberry lace?" He held a bunch out to her.

"Only if we race." She said grabbing the laces. He rolled his eyes.

"Deal. Okay ready? You can only put the tip in." She sniggered a little, even though Shikamaru just rolled his eyes again and signaled 3, 2, 1, before beginning to chew the strawberry lace without using his hands. Temari however slurped it up in no time and beat him by a mile.

"The key is using your tongue," she said suggestively, raising her eyebrows at him before laughing at his expression.

"You're gross," he said, mouth still full of candy. Suddenly he heard a truck pull up outside the building. "Shhh, wait, who's that?"

Temari grabbed the binoculars and peered through them. "I think that's our guy. Should we call for backup?"

"No they wouldn't make it in time. You up for trying something?" He grinned at her, while she just eyed him suspiciously. Eventually a smile crept onto her face.

"Sure, what's the plan?"

Even though it was a simple drug bust and by far not the most impressive case either of them had solved, the two walked into the precinct like they had brought down the largest cartel in the country.

"Well you two look happy. I take it Shikamaru finally made an arrest?" Ino said, crossing her arms as she leaned against Temari's desk.

"Do you really need to say it like that? And yes, I have finally broken out of my slump. From now on, I'm going to be back to my usual self," he said triumphantly with a cocky grin on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, just don't forget who broke you out of your slump and who's still going to beat you for cases closed this year despite a three-month absence." She said, coming round from behind him to sit down at her desk.

"In your dreams, Sabaku." He smirked at her. He was grateful to her, in all honesty, for getting him his first arrest in weeks but nothing needed to be said. Being back to their usual bickering selves was more proof than she needed to know he was back to normal.

"Back to flirting already, huh? You two don't waste any time do you?" Kiba said, emerging out from down the hallway. "I could hear you all the way from the evidence lock up."

"Kiba, again? Really?" Temari asked exasperated. This wasn't the first time he had insinuated something was going on between them, even though she knew it was 100% platonic. But of course Kiba was the kind of guy who didn't think a woman and a man could be friends without something going on. "You wouldn't say anything if me and Ino bickered the same way." She raised an eyebrow at him challengingly.

He smiled. "Well, now you've got me thinking about it…"

"Ew, go away Kiba!" Ino semi-shouted at him. He chuckled and left to get back to logging evidence. "Anyway, I'm glad you're back Temari. Things didn't feel right without you."

"Yeah I agree." Shikamaru chimed in. "Whatever would I have done without my slump buster?"