Authors Note: So I almost died of sickness last week – please forgive my late update. Honestly this chapter was a struggle because I'm trying to provide backstory. Can I just make you guys a handbook instead?Anyways I hope you enjoy this one!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

Shikamaru reached for his phone as he heard a ping resonate from his pocket. When he had gotten home from work he had taken his sweet time to shower and change before messing around on the internet for a solid half hour. Only then he remembered he was supposed to be at the university for guys night. He had left his phone on silent as he hadn't bothered to switch the volume back on. There were several messages from Naruto reminding him that he wasn't allowed to skip out. Now he was just exiting his cab and walking through campus to the residence building. He could have asked the cab to take him the extra minute but he liked the familiar sounds of student life; it sounded like home to him. He smiled at the thought, thinking of a drunk Naruto. As he was about to walk up to residence his phone began to ring.

"Where are yo.."

"I'm outside, buzz me in." He hung up before Kiba could start shouting anything else through the phone. He heard the door buzz and pulled it open, entering the dimly lit lobby. It was more of just a waiting area for the constantly broken elevator. It had a leather sofa pushed up against the far right wall with the elevator doors opposite the entrance. To the left was a glass door to the stairway that went up to the dorms and another door beyond that led to the laundry room. Shikamaru pushed into the stairway and walked up the first flight then down the hallway to stop at Naruto's door. He could hear the muffled shouts of his friends and the tv playing in the background. He pushed open the door and only Naruto turned to greet him.

"Shikamaru! Nice of you to show up only- " he looked down at his watch then back up again "-45 minutes late." He slapped a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder and pulled him into the apartment. Shikamaru shrugged and scratched his head. "No worries buddy, the party is just starting!" Naruto took a spot next to Sasuke and reached for a ball to take a shot at the make-shift beer pong table that had been set up with the desks.

"Shikamaru! Long time no see!" Shikamaru saw a dark-haired figure pop out from under the desk with a ping pong ball in hand.

"Lee, I forgot you switched over, good to see you." Lee jumped up and pulled Shikamaru into a bear hug.

"I have chosen to finish my last year with friends so I can hope to graduate with familiar faces!" Lee beamed as he stepped back from the embrace. "Of course only if Kiba can maintain a passing grade in his math courses this semester." Naruto and Shikamaru chuckled at the jab.

"Hey! Uncalled for Lee." Kiba pouted but tossed the ping pong straight into the last cup on the other end of the table. Naruto slapped a hand to his forehead as Sasuke fished out the ball then downed the drink inside the cup in a couple of gulps.

"Shikamaru, come play a round with me?" Naruto asked as Sasuke took a seat and turned his focus to the baseball game on their small tv. Shikamaru cracked his knuckles and shrugged. One game couldn't hurt.

Shikamaru had underestimated Kiba's skills and had also forgotten how useless Naruto was once he had a couple of drinks in him. Lee's toss made a splash as it sank into the closest of two cups remaining. Shikamaru scooped out the ping pong and dropped it in the water cup. What a drag He thought as he lifted the rim to his mouth and tried to take a gulp. He choked and managed to swallow the mouthful he had before turning to Sasuke.

"What the hell is this? It tastes like gasoline." Sasuke smirked and spoke for the first time since Shikamaru had arrived.

"It's European moonshine my brother sent from overseas. It's not that bad." Sasuke shot him a sideways glance.

"It's awful. Thanks for the drink, I guess." Shikamaru frowned and tried not to breathe through his nose as he tossed the rest of the drink into the back of his mouth. He shuddered trying to keep a straight face as it burned down his esophagus. He looked across the table and saw that there was only two cups left and also that neither Kiba or Lee were paying attention to him at the moment. He palmed both ping pong balls and tossed one midair while bouncing the other one off the table, if he sank both, he'd win and also not have to drink another cup of gasoline from Sasuke. At the sound of the ping pong bouncing on the table Kiba whipped his head back to the game. His face went from interest to horror and he stepped in a little too slow to bat the ping pong away. The sound was followed by both balls dropping into separate cups.

"No fair, that's not in the rules!" Kiba pouted as he fished out the ping pong from his cup. Lee plucked his out and immediately chugged the remaining liquid.

"This game has rules?" Lee pulled a mickey out of his back pocket and filled up the cup with a dark golden liquid before taking another gulp of it. Shikamaru tried to ignore this but had a nagging feeling that there was something about Lee and drinking he needed to remember.

"Of course it does! I have a book. Let me.." Kiba started rifling through his backpack spilling out an assortment of crumpled assignments and dog treats.

"Kiba, you can beat me next time." Shikamaru abandoned the last red cup for a bottle of beer instead. He grabbed one of the computer chairs and swung it around to face the centre of the room before sitting down. "Don't any of you have class tomorrow morning?" A NO resonated in response. Shikamaru grumbled about getting a real job and checked his phone, it was still relatively early in regards to how much sleep he needed to function tomorrow.

The guys spent most of the evening reminiscing and making the occasional playful jab at one another. Even Naruto had Sasuke laughing at one his memories of them duking it out in their hometown playground as kids. Shikamaru would often forget that the two had been best friends all through grade school with some epic falling out during high school when Naruto had to make the switch. They never shared the full story but Naruto had suffered at the loss of his best friend and only really beat his depression when they had reunited and called a truce during second year of university. Shikamaru didn't fully trust Sasuke knowing how miserable Naruto had really been, maybe in a way the others didn't, but if everyone else could let it go, then so could he.

Shikamaru placed his second beer, empty, down on the desk next to him. Lee took a the last swig out of the mickey he had been trying to conceal from everyone before quietly twisting the cap back on and standing up. Shikamaru suddenly remembered, and he knew that there was going to be trouble.

"We need fresh air! The heat is stifling and I could go for a run!" Lee jogged on the spot with a big grin on his face. Kiba stood up and stretched his back with his arms to the sky.

"Yeah I could go for some air, let's go." Kiba offered a hand to help Shikamaru up. He took it begrudgingly, his eyebrows knitted together as he stood and followed suite. Lee was definitely going to get them in some kind of trouble. Naruto stood and Sasuke made a face that said No Thanks. Naruto grabbed him by the bicep and forced him to his feet. "No way, you gotta come this time." Sasuke rolled his eyes and mumbled a whatever. He shoved his hands into his pockets and filed out the door with everyone else. As soon as the lock clicked Lee began shouting.

"It's a race! Ready? GO!" He took off at a dead sprint and Kiba immediately took off after him screaming "I WASN'T READY!" Naruto laughed and started running after the two, into the stairway and downwards. Shikamaru sighed and walked beside Sasuke at his usual lazy pace. Once they had quietly exited the building they saw Lee doing push ups on the lawn while Kiba was lying on his back next to him still going off about the fairness of things. Shikamaru and Sasuke joined Naruto, standing watch.

"Lee, lead the way." Lee snapped to attention at Naruto's voice. He saluted him and took a firm grasp on Kiba's arm, dragging him along as they led the way to the heart of campus. The five of them walked in the warm September air, watching the lights turn on around campus as the sun had finally dipped beyond the horizon. There was still quite a lot of people milling about, walking through or hanging out on benches and in groups. It was nice to see the students out before it got too cold.

"Shikamaru?" His ear twitched at the familiar voice. As he stopped and turned around to face Ino, the others grouped in to say hello. "You didn't tell me you were on campus!" She pointed a finger at him accusingly. Shikamaru tsk'd.

"I have other friends you know, and you didn't text me at all today so I figured you were busy." Ino dismissed him with a wave and greeted everyone with hugs. Sasuke looking particularly uncomfortable as he didn't move to hug her back and she held onto him for an extra couple of seconds. She scowled at his reaction before pulling a shy Tenten into the circle from behind her.

"You guys all remember Tenten right?" Tenten gave a big smile and raised a hand in a timid wave.

"Of course we remember!" Kiba winked at Tenten then leaned to whisper in Ino's ear. "She's cute, is she single?" Ino grabbed his wrist and swung it behind his back pinning it uncomfortable making Kiba yelp.

"Stay away from this one, he's an absolute dog." Tenten chuckled and blushed.

"I had so much fun last time we all went out, we should all play a sport or something together this weekend." The guys nodded in agreement and started talking about getting together some pickup soccer and maybe football. Shikamaru noticed Lee's awed expression as he stared at Tenten.

"You might want to close your mouth before you start drooling." Shikamaru said under his breath. Lee snapped his jaw shut and looked up to Shikamaru standing next to him with clouded eyes. Shikamaru wondered if he had gotten taller or if Lee's drunkenness was slowly bringing him to his knees.

"I have never seen such a beautiful woman in all my young life!" He reached up and grabbed Shikamaru's shoulders. "Shikamaru! What do I do to get her number!" Shikamaru was leaning back, trying to preserve a little of his personal space.

"Don't be all weird man, just ask her."

"Just. Ask. Her?" Lee seemed to process the words slowly, it was almost possible to see the wheels turning. The two had been pushed out of the circle and the girls were saying goodbye.

"See ya Shika!" Ino called and waved, with Tenten offering a salute before they turned to walk away. Shikamaru waved and then put a had in the middle of Lee's back, pushing him forward.

"That's your chance." Ino was hugging Tenten and then they took off in opposite directions. Lee chased after the latter. Kiba slung an arm around Shikamaru and sighed. Naruto watched Lee run while Sasuke texted from his phone. They all watched as Lee made a show of asking Tenten for her number while also trying to explain her beauty. He must have done an alright job because she laughed and reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. Kiba gave a whoop and clapped while Naruto laughed and raised a thumbs up to Lee. Shikamaru couldn't help but smile. Tenten took her phone back and the two parted. Lee only took three steps before someone placed a firm hand on the shoulder and turned him around. A guy with ridiculously long hair spun him around and asked if he was trying to pickup his girlfriend before throwing a punch that landed square in Lee's face. "Oh shit." Was all Shikamaru could say - realizing that the 'secret boyfriend' was actually a real person, not just a rumour. Everyone made a move to help, but Lee bounced back unfazed and held up a hand signalling them to let him take care of it. He stood with his eyes locked on his attacker and a trickle of blood running from his nose.

"Nice punch, but I bet you can't hit me again. Neji." Lee gave the guy a smirk and gave him the come and get me motion with his fingers. The guys reacted at the name and recognition that came from Lee. Neji went for a second swing, and Lee immediately side stepped it and punched his shoulder, making him more angry. The fight seemed to be mostly Neji throwing fast punches and missing while trying to block Lee's wild kicks. Lee jumped back and up onto a bench.

"SEVERE LEAF HURRICANE" He did some crazy backflip move and tried to slam his leg down on his opponent. Kiba pulled at his hair whispering a string of profanities to himself. Shikamaru chuckled and crossed his arms. Naruto eyed him asking what was so funny.

"Lee's such a weird guy, but he always makes for an interesting night." Naruto nodded in agreement and started laughing. "Are you feeling at home yet?" Naruto wiped at his eye and responded

"Yeah, I guess I am."

"Jesus Christ guys, are you just going to stand around or are we going to help him!" Kiba was on his toes ready to go, just waiting for the go-ahead.

"Calm down. Lee is handling this without us." Kiba looked more pissed that Sasuke had been the one to respond, but he eased up a bit realizing that Lee wasn't actually taking any hits.

"Tenten! If I defeat Neji, will you go on a date with me?!" Lee called out between dodging hits. Tenten though, was rifling through her bag, looking pissed. She eventually pulled out an umbrella and extended it without opening it up and ran towards the two fighting men. She jumped in between them and swung the makeshift weapon, chopping Lee in the shins and Neji in the gut, effectively dropping them both to the ground.

"NEJI YOU ASSHOLE! You swore me into some- some ridiculous secret relationship, just to dump me AND THEN you- you have the audacity to call me your GIRLFRIEND?!" Neji looked up at her from his crouch and started trying to form a sentence but was cut off before he found the words. "Don't call me. I don't want to see you anymore." She shoved the umbrella closed and picked up her bag from the ground before approaching a shocked Lee. "Pick me up at 7 tomorrow, at the main building." She brushed a stand of hair out of her face then turned and marched off. The group and several passerby's stopped in stunned silence absorbing what just happened before shifting into action. Naruto put forward a hand for Lee to grasp. Lee got to his feet clumsily and let out a giggle before bursting into hiccups.

"I *hic* I got a date!" Lee beamed and did a little dance on the spot still hiccupping.

"Oh my god he's wasted." Kiba slapped a palm against his forehead. Shikamaru and Naruto burst out laughing at Lee's bashful expression. Behind the group Neji got to his feet and walked away before anyone could notice him leaving.

"Neji sounds familiar doesn't it." Naruto asked openly.

"He was in the year ahead with me, actually we were lab partners." Kiba and Naruto raised eyebrows at Lee while Shikamaru thought back.

"He had a cousin in our year. Actually if I remember correctly, he got suspended once for starting a fight with her over some family stuff."

"I remember that! What an asshole." Kiba scratched his head trying to bring faces to mind.

"He's actually a really nice guy, or at least he used to be." Lee stopped and looked back to the spot they had been walking away from."I wonder what happened to him."

When they got back to residence Shikamaru decided that he'd had enough for the night and was going to head home. As everyone waved him off he pulled out his phone and sent Ino a text telling her to ask Naruto about their night. She immediately responded -TenTen mssgd me – am on it. Shikamaru found a grassy spot at the end of the parking lot and opened up an app on his phone to call a cab. He had ten minutes to kill so he leaned back onto the grass to watch the stars peek in and out from behind passing clouds. He heard a car pull up and a door open and close. Footsteps approached and then stopped next to him. Shikamaru couldn't help but turn to see who had stopped, and why since it was relatively quiet on this end of campus.

"Oh good, you're not dead." The voice was sultry and sarcastic. All he could see was crazy blonde hair and the figure of a woman. Shikamaru lay there with his head turned trying to see detail in the darkness but easily gave up and turned back to the sky. The footsteps came towards him this time till a shadow blocked his view. "What are you doing anyways? The grass is pretty damp to be lying in." Shikamaru grumbled and sat up. With the light in the distance he recognized her face.

"Oh it's you." He glanced at his phone and saw he still had six minutes to wait. He felt the presence still standing over him and looked back up. "What?" She put a hand on her hip and sighed.

"You're always on my floor and I know you don't live here. Curiosity you know."

"Your floor? And curiosity killed the cat you know."

"Yeah but satisfaction brought it back." She winked at him then pointed at the ground beside him. "Do you mind?" Shikamaru scooted over and inch to indicate there was room. She sat down and crossed her legs, placing her gym bag on the ground next to her. They sat quietly for a few moments before she spoke again. "I'm the RA for 3rd floor." Shikamaru nodded in acknowledgement but wasn't sure how to respond. He was slightly angled towards her but not close enough to reach her. He could see even in the dark that she had a spark in her eyes and a wicked smirk that was probably glued to her face. Admittedly she was really attractive, despite the fact he had only seen her in proper lighting while completely intoxicated. He couldn't help but admit he was curious about her and also wary from the predatory gaze she had him trapped in.

"Nara, Shikamaru. I studied business and economics while I was here." He stuck his hand out for her. She chuckled as she grabbed it with a death grip and shook.

"Temari. International Business." Shikamaru frowned at the lack of a last name but didn't ask for it. She glanced at her digital watch and then stood grabbing her bag. "It was nice to meet you Shikamaru," She put emphasis on his name, like she was tasting it on her tongue. "I'll see you around." She gave him a little wave and started to walk away. Shikamaru couldn't help but watch her hips sway as headlights pulled into the lot. She had a great figure he thought to himself with a smirk then stood up to catch his cab.

Thursday whipped by with the same answering and editing emails and files without any word back about the proposal they had sent out. On Friday, Kankuro was getting antsy and kept saying something should have happened by now. Shikamaru tried not to think about it too much and kept at his work. He discovered Kankuro had a really 'interesting' taste in music and exclusively listened through his bluetooth speaker as it had optimal sound quality. Shikamaru invested in noise cancelling headphones that usually played soft piano or nature sounds. Him and Kankuro had started going out to a deli bar across the street and agreed to make it part of their routine. At about 4:30 PM an email pinged on both laptops at the same time. Kankuro opened it first and then immediately spun his chair around and ripped Shikamaru's headphones off his head.

"Dude! It happened, look!" He brought up his email full screen and pushed his laptop to the end of the desk so Shikamaru could was a mandatory staff meeting in regards to the proposal they had scrapped and rewritten. It also was written with a sense of urgency that made Shikamaru's heart pick up with a mix of fear and excitement. He opened his email and saw he had the same email too, which meant it was mandatory for both of them to go. He kept a cool demeanour and even tone when he spoke to Kankuro next.

"No matter what they ask, we wrote this together okay. There's none of that it was your idea bullshit. We're in this together." Shikamaru paused and maintained eye contact with Kankuro to make sure he would actually promise. "Deal?" He put his hand forward and waited. Kankuro sighed and did a little spin in his chair before taking Shikamaru's hand and shaking it.

"Deal. But you should know these guys are in the big leagues, and can be pretty scary." Shikamaru smirked at the comment thinking of something his dad always used to say.

"The trick is to be the smartest person in the room? You got me man, just let me do the talking."

"There's the genius! I knew you were hiding him somewhere!"Kankuro laughed then closed his laptop. "C'mon let's head out a little early. We should do something to celebrate."

"What are we celebrating? Our anarchy?" Kankuro just shrugged and gave a little nod that said 'I guess'. Shikamaru wasn't going to go against him, he was happy to hangout before getting to slack off all weekend. They left the building and found a pub only a block away. A waitress came immediately to take their order of an appetizer and a couple beers. They relaxed on a mostly empty patio while Shikamaru watched people hurry past meeting friends and leaving work for the weekend. He was thinking about how complex the lives were here and how few people he actually knew in the city. A face popped into mind, shrouded with shadows but still clearly smirking and dangerous.

"Earth to Nara, you okay bud?" Shikamaru snapped back at Kankuro's voice.

"Yeah, sorry was just thinking about... stuff." More like thinking about trouble. He thought to himself.

"It's cool. I just was asking if you live alone or if you have any roommates?" Kankuro eyed the waitress as she approached and placed two beers on the table promising to return with food soon. Shikamaru sipped his beer and leaned back in his chair before responding.

"I've got my own place a couple blocks away, not much in it though. I kind of had a roommate/neighbour, but he's out of country at the moment so I'm by myself now." Kankuro swallowed half his beer in one big gulp then slammed it down on the table.

"That's not too bad. I've got a bachelor but my walls are so thin I might as well be living with six other people. My brother might get a place with me next year, but he's..." Kankuro trailed off clearly choosing his next words. "He's working for our dad oversea's, even though I'm sure he'd much rather be here." Shikamaru nodded and wondered about his brother but didn't want to pry. "How about you, any siblings? Or family here for that matter?"

"No siblings, just my mom and dad back home in The Leaf." Kankuro didn't ask so he must have understood. The town that Shikamaru and all his friends had grown up in was usually referred as the leaf because it was in the middle of a protected forest, also it had a famous dojo named The Leaf that specialized in several different martial arts.

"If you're from the leaf, you must do martial arts then."

"Yeah I did Judo as a kid, but it's been years since I've even thought about it." Shikamaru smiled at the memory. His mother would wake him up at the crack of dawn to go train and he would pretend to be asleep all the way until he was -sometimes- quite literally thrown into the dojo. He hated it but loved it and never had the motivation to continue after he turned 16 and realized he actually needed passing grades. "Have you ever been to there? Seen the famous dojo?"

"I've seen it but my sister is the one who's into that stuff, dragged us around once and awhile." He shrugged and drank more of his beer. Shikamaru mentally noted two siblings and a dad.

"Are you the youngest then?"

"Nah I'm the middle child, which turned out to be a good thing. I got away with everything and never had to put up with much fuss." He smirked and raised his glass. "Cheers to that!" Shikamaru tapped his glass and drank. The waitress showed up with their food and left again saying she was bringing more beer. "Guess there's no choice Shikamaru." Kankuro looked at him with a wicked grin, testing him. "We'll just have to keep drinking."

Two hours and many beers later the two stumbled out the pub with a very happy waitress waving them off with her fat tip. The sun was reflecting back and forth between glass buildings lighting sections of sidewalk in warm pools of light. Shikamaru and Kankuro decided to head deeper into the city and hit up a couple more pubs as it was only 7o'clock. Shikamaru felt uncomfortable getting drunk in shady pubs while wearing a suit, but Kankuro had an effortless confidence to him that seemed to rub off on Shikamaru the more they drank together. In the third bar Kankuro was belligerently drunk and working on his third beer of the bar. He motioned for Shikamaru to check out a very pretty girl with long dark hair sitting at the bar alone. Shikamaru turned back to him trying to make words but his lips weren't moving the way he wanted them to so he just ended up stuttering gibberish before Kankuro stood up and adjusted his collar.

"You- ur gonna hav to call a cab." He cleared his throat and smoothed his hair back. "Wash and learn Shhikamaaru." He did a little spin before walking over to the bar as smoothly as possible for his current state. Shikamaru tried to stifle a laugh wondering how the hell Kankuro was going to pick up a chick when he could barely speak english. Shikamaru tried to drink from an empty cup before disappointingly placing it back down on the table. He looked back over to Kankuro and saw that the girl he was talking to was leaning in to him and smiling. Kankuro leaned forward and whispered something to her and she turned and finished her drink in one motion and stood up. Shikamaru was impressed, he really didn't think he could... SLAP. The sound resonated through the bar and Kankuro stumbled and feel into the bar only catching himself on one of the stools. Shikamaru saw the bartender, who was much bigger than both of them combined, toss his rag down on the counter and make his way around. Shikamaru pulled a wad of bills out of his pocket and dashed to Kankuro. He lifted him up and slung an arm around his shoulder. The bartender was almost on them now. Shikamaru slammed the wad of bills down on the bar and shouted all in one word "Thanksforthedrinks!" before hauling Kankuro's ass out of there. Kankuro was laughing as Shikamaru dragged him down the street. They turned a corner and both slumped against the wall breathless and dizzy. Then Shikamaru burst out laughing, making Kankuro start up even harder than before. The two of them really became friends in that moment, under a streetlight, drunk and keeling over with laughter.