HEY GUYS AND GIRLS. I KNOW I DON'T UPDATE A LOT BUT I TRY MY BEST WHEN I HAVE TIME. I THINK I AM GOING TO CONTINUE WITH THIS STORY FOR A WHILE. I AM ENJOYING THE IN-DEPTH LOOK INTO SHIKAMARU'S LIFE AFTER THE WAR. I HOPE YOU GUYS AND GIRLS ARE TOO.
HAPPY READING:)
"Damn, it's been too long since I've had fun like this." Kiba was right. Everyone looked like they were enjoying themselves. Mostly because they were drinking and probably a little drunk. Even Hinata was drinking surprisingly.
They started the night with a less than peaceful dinner; it didn't take long for Naruto, Kiba and Lee to start arguing then Sakura and Ino began adding fuel to the fire. Choji managed to settle everyone down though. If it was one thing about Choji, it was that no one ever disturbs his meal. He stopped all their arguing and made sure that everyone ate their dinner. Shikamaru was a little scared of his best friend at that moment but he knew that Choji just wanted to eat the meal he helped prepare. Everyone ate as much as they could and Choji tried to eat the rest. He couldn't finish it during dinner so he was still eating.
After dinner they decided to play games, girls vs boys style but the girls were only four and the guys were seven so the girls decided that they would take Sai on their side. Each round the guys had to choose one member that couldn't participate so that it could be even. The one that wasn't participating helped Kiba pour drinks for everyone. It seemed like there was a never-ending supply of alcohol the way Kiba and Naruto were drinking it. The first game was chosen by the girls; charades. The guys decided that Naruto shouldn't participate because he was not really the smartest tool in the shed. He didn't mind since it gave him more time to drink. The girls easily won the charades with their flawless depictions of their sensei's and other ninja in the five nations. Hinata's depiction of the Mizukage seemed to get everyone's attention, especially the guys. The guys however weren't as flawless. Saying they suck would be an understatement but they did get everyone laughing.
The next game was chosen by the guys; truth or dare. Lee was voted out because they didn't need the drunken fist to show himself right now. The guys slyly won that with their perverseness but not before the girls made them drink nearly a whole bottle between them. The girls dared Naruto and Kiba kiss as well but they did it. The rule was that if you don't admit the truth or do the dare then you lose. Kiba eliminated Ino when he dared her to flash her boobs to the guys. Shikamaru cleverly eliminated Hinata when he asked her about who she thought about when she masturbated. Tenten copied Shikamaru and eliminated Shino. Naruto eliminated Tenten when she refused give him a lap dance. Choji eliminated Sai when he dared Sai to wear one of Sakura's underwear on his head for the rest of the game. Sakura gave up after that.
The girls then chose to play musical chairs with the guys. Shino sat out because he wasn't exactly the fastest which surprised everyone since they expected Choji to sit out. Naruto, Kiba and Lee were the first out since they were too drunk to even sit on the chairs properly and running around in a circle made them dizzy. Shikamaru and Choji couldn't keep up with the girls and lost.
Now they found themselves playing strip poker thanks to Kiba. The rule was that the highest hand chose a member from the other team to remove an item of clothing. The lowest hand had to remove an item of clothing regardless if a member of your team won that round. If you were down to your underwear and were willing to get naked then you're still in. If not, you're out. If you lost when you were naked then you were automatically out. The guys chose Choji to sit out since he was too honest which would work against them in a game of poker. The guys easily got Ino out of the game then Tenten. Lee followed then Sai, Kiba and Shino. It ended up with Shikamaru and Naruto vs Sakura and Hinata.
"Definitely. I really like this game." Lee said as he eyed Sakura who was sitting next to Shikamaru in their circle. Shikamaru still had his vest on with his pants. Sakura was down to her pink bra and pyjama pants. Naruto was only in his blue boxers and Hinata was only in her violet coloured, lacy underwear.
"Come on Choji. Deal another hand already." Naruto was eager to get the guys level with the girls. Shikamaru on the other hand didn't care one bit. He was just going along with games. He was happy that he got to see everyone though.
Choji dealt the four of them five cards each. Shikamaru looked at his hand; ace of diamonds, three of hearts, jack of spades, ten of hearts, four of hearts. He didn't know what to do. There were too many possibilities and he was too drunk to care. Luck was never on his side and he just wanted to continue the game so he chose to hand Choji back the ace and jack. He got back the king of hearts and the six of hearts. A flush, what were the odds. He waited until everyone was ready to reveal so he took a sip of his strong drink.
"This game is way too intense right now." Ino was right. The tension was palpable but with good reason. Sakura and Naruto both wanted to win no matter what. He didn't bother trying to read both of their faces because he didn't really care. They were basically competing against each other leaving Hinata and Shikamaru just there for show.
"Okay everyone, reveal." Choji told them. Shikamaru; flush. Sakura; pair. Naruto; straight. Hinata; three of a kind.
"Yes, we win Shikamaru." Naruto happily said as he high-fived the lazy ninja.
"What's the plan guys? Who do we eliminate; Sakura or Hinata?" Sakura was already removing her pants revealing her matching underwear. Kiba asked the question and looked like he was in deep thought. Definitely another competitive guy.
"Hinata hasn't lost a round." Shino pointed out. That was true. Hinata came close to losing around but never did. She only won one round though.
"Sakura won most of the girl's rounds though." Lee was definitely observing Sakura whole night already but Shikamaru could see that she didn't want anything to do with the taijutsu master. He felt a little sorry for Lee but he did applaud his persistence.
"I won by luck now. Who's to say that Sakura hasn't as well?" Shikamaru made them think, well think as much as their drunken brains could.
"Hinata then. All it takes is for Naruto or Shikamaru to win one more round. Let's see how much luck Sakura really has?" Naruto voting Hinata out was either extremely evil or extremely considerate seeing as they were dating. Maybe he didn't want the guys staring her while she was only in her underwear. Shikamaru had to admit, his eyes wandered over her more than once.
"We want Hinata out then." Shikamaru confirmed. Naruto gave Hinata a smile then causing her to blush before she went over to her bag and quickly put her pyjamas on. Looks like Naruto did care about Hinata. It wasn't that cold even though it was nearly midnight. Maybe it was because Shikamaru still had most of his clothes on or because the fireplace was devouring wood in return for heating up the apartment.
"Yes. The guys are definitely going to win now." Lee celebrated with Kiba draining their glasses.
"Shut up you two. You guys were eliminated already." Ino definitely was angry. She hated losing. Tenten didn't really care anymore. She was drinking and talking to Sai who looked to be confused most of the time.
"Next round Choji." Naruto was clearly in the mood to win and to win as soon as possible.
"And next round Kiba. We need more drinks." Lee was clearly in the mood to drink.
"Shouldn't you slow down there Lee?" Tenten asked him. She knew first hand how Lee behaved when he was drunk. She knew how unstoppable he could be but he seemed to get it under control these days. His tolerance for alcohol rose so he felt comfortable consuming more.
"The night is still young." Lee wasn't stopping any time soon.
Choji dealt the last three their cards then waited while Kiba began topping up everyone's drinks. Shikamaru looked at his hand; pair of jacks, pair of sevens and two of diamonds. He was pretty confident in his hand.
"Keeping your hand, you must be confident Shikamaru." Sakura definitely was trying to get under his skin. His eyes turned toward the pink haired kunoichi sitting next to him in her underwear. He felt a little uncomfortable trying not to look at her beautiful body and instead look at her angelic face that had was donned with a devious smile. She had a perfect body in his eyes and all he wanted to do was touch her but he needed to get that out of his head. That was probably the alcohol talking anyway.
"I can't be eliminated this round. I would think that would allow me to be a little reckless." He took a sip of his drink then lined his eyes up with Sakura. He knew that she wasn't going to back down and he knew that she definitely had a reason why she was challenging him rather than Naruto. The only conclusion that Shikamaru could get was that she was confident that she was going to win.
"Neither am I." Sakura revealed her hand; four queens.
"Are you serious?" Naruto's frustration got the best of him. Shikamaru looked at his hand; all of the threes.
"Looks like I lost." Shikamaru revealed his hand. He took his glass then drained it before he took off his vest. The coldness immediately wrapped around his bare muscled torso. He wasn't as muscular as Lee, Naruto or Kiba but he did have a defined body that most girls liked. He put his vest behind him and noticed Sakura's eyes glance over his new exposed skin more than once before returning to the game.
"You're out Naruto." Ino told him.
"Isn't Sakura supposed to decide that?" Kiba was trying to salvage some male pride. Shikamaru had to stop himself from chuckling at his effort which turned out to be all for naught.
"We girls are on the same page so we know what we want." Tenten definitely was an advocate for the girls.
"And we want Naruto out." Sakura confirmed.
"Fine but we're still going to win. Shikamaru is smarter than you." Naruto ranted. His anger was quickly washed away when he saw Hinata flash him a smile then blushed when she got caught.
"Like Shikamaru said himself, this game is about luck." Sakura looked at Shikamaru as she said those last words. She was clearly challenging him. He couldn't get out of the challenge since he was the last member of the guy's team. Sakura was coming on very strong with her challenge and there was no way he could match her so he decided to go a different route.
"Looking at how my life has been lately, I clearly don't have any luck." He refused to make any contact with anyone as he reached for his glass that had been refilled by Kiba. He took a sip then finally looked up and saw that his change of approach worked too well. Playing the sympathy card definitely had an effect on everyone as a sudden flash of sadness disrupted everyone's night.
"We won't know until we see your hand. Choji, deal the cards." Ino definitely wanted to change the subject and he couldn't blame her. This night was supposed to be fun. This was the first time since the ceremony of inducting Ino, Shikamaru and Choji as the heads of their clans that they were all able to hangout like this and he wanted them to have fun.
"Come on Shikamaru. We believe in you." Naruto's enthusiasm was second to none, well maybe to Lee's but Lee was too busy drinking and ogling at Sakura to add anything. Shikamaru looked at Sakura and saw the empathy on her face. She definitely was hit with a wave of sadness but he didn't see why she would be so affected by it. She worked in a hospital where people die everyday. She was a brilliant medic ninja but she was still only human and couldn't save everyone. She was in a war where people were dying all around her on the battlefield so she should've been used to it by now.
Could it be that she and Neji had a deeper relationship than the one they showed? He knew that Neji did practice some hand-to-hand fighting techniques with her but other than that he never heard about Sakura and Neji spending other time together. He always heard about Neji and Tenten spending more time together than any other male and female in the room. Tenten was definitely in love with him and Neji wasn't oblivious to it. He admitted to the guys that he liked Tenten a few months before the war and Shikamaru knew that Neji wasn't that much of an asshole to say that then begin spending time with other girls.
Could Sakura be feeling sad because of Shikamaru? They were friends and good friends at that but he didn't expect her to be feeling his pain unless there was something that he was missing.
"Stop zoning out Shikamaru. Get your head in the game." Kiba snapped Shikamaru out of his thoughts. Shikamaru quickly took a sip of his drink then looked at his cards. He could see that Sakura was a little out of it now which made him feel a little bad. He didn't want to ruin anyone's night, especially not hers since she was hosting them. He saw that he had a pair of tens, a three, a six and a nine. He decided to throw the game. It was the least he could do to get the night back to its festive mood. He handed Choji his tens then received a five and a jack back.
"Okay, let's see who won. Reveal." Shikamaru immediately showed everyone his cards at Choji's instruction.
"Only a high card Shikamaru. Fuck, we lose guys." Naruto was definitely disappointed. He didn't like losing at anything. Shikamaru on the other hand didn't care about winning or losing anymore. He just cared about getting the job done.
"It's not over yet." Kiba stated. True. There was a highly unlikely possibility that Sakura couldn't beat Shikamaru's high card. It would probably take a miracle for the guy's to win right now.
"You know that you guys lose anyway so Sakura doesn't need to show her hand." Ino's confidence wasn't misplaced. Sakura's win was almost guaranteed.
"We still need to see her cards." Choji told her.
"Fine. Sakura, show them what you have." Sakura immediately revealed her hand at Ino's instruction. To everyone's surprise, especially to Shikamaru's, Sakura lost. She only had a nine as her high card compared to Shikamaru's jack. He immediately looked up at Sakura and saw her smiling and he couldn't help but smile. They both had the same idea but Sakura's worked out better.
"We won." Naruto started the guys celebrations. Shikamaru ignored the celebrations as he got lost looking into the sea of green in Sakura's eyes. She was an unexplainable mystery to him. He didn't understand her at all but at the same time he understood everything about her. An incomplete finish, a chaotic peace, a painful joy; she was just... troublesome. Sakura immediately stood up and put on her pyjamas while Shikamaru put on his vest again since he was hot enough with it on.
"The score is even then, 2-2." Sai pointed out.
"The guys are going to win." Naruto was overfilled with joy it seemed. Most of the guys were. You couldn't really tell if Shino was happy or not. Hell, Shikamaru couldn't tell what Shino was feeling. Behind his glasses and the blank expression on his face, he wondered if Shino ever revealed his emotions.
"We need one more game for a tie breaker." Tenten was right. If they were going to settle this then one more game would have to do. It will have to do if Naruto and Kiba were going to shut up about this. Shikamaru knew one way to get Naruto to shut up though and the solution was sitting just a few feet away from him in the form of the Hyuga heiress. He didn't know how to keep Kiba quiet though. Maybe more alcohol?
"Arm wrestling." Lee suggested. That wasn't a bad idea. The guys would have the slight advantage but never underestimate the girls. They were crafty to say the least. He saw the girls looking at each other and then Ino quickly called a meeting dragging Sai into the discussion as well. The guys just looked at each other with a bewildered look on their faces. Whatever they were planning was going definitely going to be trouble for the guys.
"Okay,we agree to the arm wrestling but there are going to be a few rules." Ino announced. "Firstly, ninjutsu is allowed. Secondly, there is a one minute time limit. If no one wins in one minute then it will be a draw. Lastly, no one is allowed to use ninjutsu if they are not participating. Are you guys okay with that?" The guys looked at each other and nodded in agreement.
"We agree." Kiba stated.
"Who's going to sit out?"
"I will." Shino offered.
"Are you sure? You sat out once already." Kiba reminded him.
"I don't have as much arm strength as you guys. It's better for the team." Shino explained. Shikamaru didn't really agree with his reason. Shikamaru probably didn't have as much arm strength as well. He was pretty sure that Shino would win Shikamaru in a fist fight.
"Okay. Let's get this started." Naruto was definitely eager. He probably thought the guys would win this easily but the girls were nothing if not devious. Sakura instructed them to move the small wooden table in the middle of them as she got up and went to the kitchen and came back with a shopping bag but Shikamaru couldn't see what was inside it.
"So who is your first competitor?" Kiba asked the girls. They looked at each other then came to a non-verbal conclusion.
"Sai."
"We choose Choji then." Sai and Choji then settled themselves on opposite sides of the table. Choji probably had the advantage if he was going to use his partial expansion jutsu.
"Ready... go." Kiba started them off using the clock on the wall as the time. It was evenly matched from the beginning with Sai putting up an impressive challenge. An opening of a packet immediately broke the silence in the room. Everyone turned their attention to Ino who opened a packet of Choji's favourite chips.
"We have less than a minute to finish this packet of chips so that Choji doesn't get any girls." Ino loudly announced. Choji looked at them then saw Ino take out a chip and wave it in the air putting Choji in a trance allowing Sai to win. This was clearly the girl's plan and he was sure that they had something planned for all the guys.
"Yay, go Sai." Tenten cheered while Choji immediately went to Ino and stole the packet of chips.
"Seriously Choji? You let him win for a packet of chips." Kiba and Naruto were visibly angry. Lee just shook his head in disapproval while Shikamaru and Shino just didn't care.
"Looks like we are leading." Sakura stated.
"I'm next. Which one of you girls do I get to defeat?" Kiba was evidently angry and wanted revenge.
"I am." Ino stepped up then went to the table and got into position. She quickly went closer to Kiba and whispered something in his ear before getting in position. Shikamaru immediately knew that the girls were going to win this one as well.
"Ready... go." Tenten told them and Ino easily pushed Kiba's arm over then kissed his cheek.
"Why did you let her win dog breath?" Naruto asked Kiba who just turned around with a goofy smile on his face.
"You girls are playing dirty." Lee told them.
"We aren't breaking any rules." Tenten innocently stated but that didn't fool them for a second. "Which of you guys are going to go up against me?"
"I will. I'm going to win this one." Naruto went to the table then got into position opposite Tenten.
"Ready... go." Sakura instructed them but Shikamaru could see Ino urging Hinata to do something.
"G-good..."
"Ichiraku is just down the street Naruto so win this and we will treat you to the best ramen." Shikamaru interrupted Hinata immediately drowning out her voice before she could say anything to distract Naruto.
"You got it Shikamaru." Naruto quickly overpowered Tenten and got the guy's first win.
"Well done Naruto. That was the real power of youth." Lee gave him a thumbs up and smiled.
"That was sneaky Shikamaru." Sakura definitely caught on to what he did.
"Two can play your game." Shikamaru wasn't going to back down from this challenge.
"Prove it." Ino told him as she pointed to the wooden table. Shikamaru took a sip of the drink he was nursing since the poker game then made his way to the table. He saw Hinata activate her byakugan then get in position opposite Shikamaru.
"Hey Hinata." Shikamaru greeted her trying to buy time to come up with a plan to win.
"Hey Shikamaru." Hinata was sweet and kind but he wasn't going to fall for that. He didn't think that Ino or Sakura would come up with something extravagant to defeat him with so Hinata's byakugan was probably the weapon they would use.
"Are they bullying you into using your byakugan?" He asked her while he activated his shadow strangle jutsu and let his shadow rest under the table. He kept the jutsu activated with his left hand while his right hand held onto Hinata's.
"We're not bullying her into anything." Ino answered mhim.
"Ready... go." Shikamaru immediately let his shadows go onto Hinata's body then stop by her bountiful breasts and groped them before Hinata could use her byakugan on any of his chakra points. He felt Hinata's body startle and took the opportunity to win.
"Sorry about that Hinata but like I said, two can play this game." Shikamaru triumphantly moved away with a smile on his face while Hinata covered her chest and moved next to Tenten who hugged Hinata.
"Yes. It's 2-2 and my turn." Lee happily announced. Shikamaru immediately went to Lee and went to his ear to whisper instructions to him before he went up against Sakura.
"Lee, I... I like you." Sakura innocently told him while they got into position but Lee's expression was stone cold.
"Ready... go." Tenten started them off. Lee quickly matched Sakura's pure strength. Shikamaru could see the determination on both their faces while they battled.
"Come on Lee, show her the real power of youth." Naruto urged him on. Shikamaru looked at the time and saw that there was twenty seconds left. They were so entranced in their battle that it looked like they were going to continue for the rest of the night.
"How is he keeping up with you forehead?" Ino was just as surprised as Shikamaru was. He knew that Lee was strong since he couldn't rely on ninjutsu but he also knew that Sakura could break a mountain if she wanted to.
"Shut up pig. I'm trying to concentrate." Sakura didn't have time to come up with a detailed plan. If she had a trick up her sleeve then now was the time to use it.
"5...4...3...2...1... time." They called it. Lee and Sakura immediately relaxed and let go of each other.
"Well done Lee." Shikamaru congratulated him.
"Thanks Shikamaru." Lee happily said as Ino made a few hand signs snapping Kiba back to reality.
"What happened?" Kiba quickly asked as he looked around. Naruto and Kiba immediately began their arguing while Shikamaru finished his drink then stood up.
"Shikamaru, can you come help me please?" Sakura asked him as she stood up as well.
"Sure." Shikamaru replied. He followed her to the hallway then she opened the closet.
"Why did you throw the poker game earlier?" She asked him while she took out blankets.
"Why did you?" She knew that he caught her as well.
"I guess I felt sorry for you."
"That was my fault for turning the mood sour."
"Is that why you threw the game? Because you wanted the mood to be happy again?"
"It would've worked if you didn't do the exact same."
"I didn't do the same. I did it better." Her triumphant smile was unmistakeable.
"Tch... troublesome woman." He replied while she continued handing him blankets. He saw that there weren't enough blankets for everyone when she finished taking all of them out.
"There aren't enough." He informed her.
"I know. We will just have to share. We can share one if need be." He had to admit, the thought of him and Sakura under one blanket did excite him a little. Maybe he was just thinking that because of the alcohol.
"No need. I won't be sleeping anyway."
"Yes you will. You need it." she clearly had her mind made up as she made her way to her bedroom. He knew once she was like this that it would be difficult to change her mind.
"You can't control me you know."
"I know I can't control you but I know you need sleep as well. I am not going to have you working with Kakashi on missions while you're not fully rested. I have the power to take you off any duty you have as a ninja so don't test me Shikamaru."
"It's not like I am going to be out in the field."
"You're going to be at the headquarters with Kakashi which is more important. If you end up giving the wrong instructions or information then you put other ninja in harms way. You put your friends in danger. You put me in danger."
"I would never do that." He was serious when he said it but he could see that Sakura was serious about her concern as well. He knew that he needed the rest as well but he tried falling asleep before and nothing worked. One more time couldn't hurt.
"I know you won't but I would feel better knowing that you're rested." she put the blanket from her bed onto the pile already in his hands then made their way back to the lounge.
Everyone began helping to rearrange the lounge so that they could put the blow up beds and Sakura's mattress into the lounge. Once that was all done, they arranged for where everyone was going to sleep and who would be sharing a blanket with each other. Their was a lot of arguing and nearly a couple of fights breaking out but everyone came to a conclusion. Choji and Shino decided that they were going to sleep on the couches. Ino convinced Sai to share a blanket with her much to Kiba's disappointment while Lee was heartbroken when Sakura announced that she and Shikamaru would share a blanket. Hinata and Naruto were forced into sharing a blanket since none of them wanted to admit that they wanted to. Tenten decided to take the small blanket for herself leaving Lee and Kiba to share one.
They continued speaking for over an hour about how their lives have changed and the new experiences they lived through and he was glad to hear that everyone was happy. They deserved to be especially after everything they overcame. The fire died down and so did their conversations. Everyone slowly fell asleep but Shikamaru. He and Sakura were lying on her mattress closest to the fireplace so Shikamaru decided to sleep only in his boxers since it was hot enough. Sakura was sleeping peacefully next to him. They shared a pillow so her head rested only centimetres away from his. He could hear that everyone was sleeping or at least dozing off. He could definitely hear Choji, Lee and Kiba's snoring and he thought he could make out Naruto's murmurs as he spoke in his sleep. Definitely not the most peaceful environment to fall asleep in but not the worst. He looked over at Sakura again and saw how gentle she looked with her face so relaxed. She was beautiful, no doubt about that.
"I can feel you staring at me. Go sleep." Sakura tiredly told him as she slowly opened her eyes to the lazy ninja beside her.
"I told you that I couldn't sleep."
"At least try."
"With all these noises around us?"
"No one told them to drink themselves into a coma."
"You are the one who bought so much alcohol."
"They would've brought their own if I didn't anyway."
"True." Shikamaru agreed as the two ninja looked at each other and smiled.
"What did you whisper to Lee before we had our arm wrestle?"
"I just told him to not listen to you and pretend like you're the enemy that he needed to defeat in order to save the love of his life which also happens to be you."
"Why can't he just get that I don't want to be with him?"
"He thinks he's in love with you. I'm pretty sure that half the ninja throughout the five nations are as well."
"And what about you? Are you in love with me as well?" How can she be half asleep and still be so challenging? Shikamaru couldn't understand her. Was it just in her nature to be so troublesome? Or was it because she liked getting Shikamaru so caught up in his thoughts that he couldn't think properly.
"You're beautiful but don't think so much of yourself." That was the only answer he could come up with that didn't make it sound like he was just another ninja that was in love with her. He didn't know what he felt for her though. It was stupid and irrational but he couldn't figure it out. There was something about her that just puzzled him.
"I don't need to. You just said that half the ninja are in love with me so that speaks for itself." Still as quick as ever. How did Ino keep up with her?
"Looks like you don't need me to be one of them. You have over enough choices to choose from." He hated himself for telling her that. He wanted to take it back the moment he said it but it was too late.
"True. I don't want any of them though. A relationship is just too... troublesome." She said as she giggled.
"I couldn't agree more." He replied with a smile of his own. Suddenly she moved closer to him under the blankets then neared her head towards him and placed a sweet but short kiss on his lips. If there was a word to describe everything he felt at that moment then he needed to find it. It was like an explosion of happiness then a blissful peace all in the middle of a heated war that was still raging on.
"Now go sleep before I knock your lights out." Sakura threatened him as she turned around and grabbed his arms pulling them around her. He replied by positioning his body perfectly against hers so that they could lie comfortably. Her sweet fragrance filled him as her body radiated next to his. His hand held hers perfectly as a calmness washed over his body like it never has before. He decided to close his eyes and try to fall asleep one more time. His mind kept replaying the moment they had over and over again trying to make sense of it all but it was indescribable. She was indescribable. Maybe she was the answer. Maybe she was what he needed.