Authors Note: I feel like story is moving pretty slow, but I also feel like it's necessary. Let me know how you feel. Either way I'm laughing at my own jokes and that's what's really important. Enjoy!

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

Saturday morning came with a hangover like you wouldn't believe. Shikamaru was face down on his bed in boxers and an unbuttoned dress shirt. He tried to lift his head from the puddle of drool he was lying in only to feel an invisible sledgehammer slam down on the top of his skull. With a groan he forced his shoulders to relax and worked on wiggling his toes and making his way up his body. Just to make sure everything was still functioning. Ten minutes of twitching and heavy breathing enabled him to grab a cold pillow and press it against his forehead. It took him another minute to roll himself to the edge of the bed and slide off so he was sitting on the carpet. Now fully awake he gagged at the scent of alcohol that he hoped was coming from him and not vomit somewhere. He couldn't remember getting home last night and he was nervous to check the rest of his apartment and especially his phone. He set the thought aside and crawled into his bathroom. Sitting on the cold tile helped to ease the nausea, but he knew he needed a miracle if he planned on recovering today. He didn't even bother to remove his clothes as he dumped himself into the tub and turned the shower on, freezing cold. After several minutes and drinking whatever water he could catch in his mouth, he finally gained the courage to stand and turn the tap hot.

Getting out of the shower he discovered a rather large bruise on his hip leading down his thigh. He carefully wrapped a towel around his waist and wiped the fog off the mirror. He looked like hell, even with a shower to clean off the night. He pulled on pj bottoms and cracked his bedroom door open. The sky was grey and rain tapped softly against his window, but it was still bright enough to trigger the sledgehammer headache back into full throttle. Shikamaru gripped the door frame and forced himself to open his eyes and look around the room. Everything looked relatively untouched except for something bright red on the counter. Curiosity and thirst made for good motivation. Shikamaru crossed the threshold and immediately went for water and Advil. The red thing turned out to be a lacy bra, and a particularly large one at that. It was dismissed for a moment to self medicate. He forced himself to drink three glasses of water before attending to the alien item. He lifted the bra with a fork and gave it a look of despair. What the fuck. What. The. Fuck. He suddenly realized that if there was clothing, then there might be someone else in his apartment. He had to walk to the end of the kitchen to see over the side of the couch and was relieved to see no one was sleeping there. He sighed in relief and tossed the bra into his garbage can, not wanting to think about it just yet. He stood leaning against his counter with the back of his hand cooling his forehead. Kankuro. His phone caught the reflection of the window, catching Shikamaru's attention and forcing him to move again. He sank into his couch and picked it up only to find it dead. Luckily his cord was plugged into the wall and within reach. While it charged, Shikamaru dozed off curled up in the corner of his couch.

He woke up feeling a little less disoriented and calmed by the sound of rain still falling at its persistent pace. Watching the drops make patterns down his window he let his mind wander before deciding it was time to figure out what had happened the last night. He unplugged his phone and turned it on. The sense of dread settled in his stomach before he the screen even loaded. The lock screen finally appeared and instantly his phone rang out three notification pings. One from Ino and two from a random number. According to his phone log, he had spoken to Ino for 26 minutes and 53 seconds at 3:20AM and she had texting him a good morning sunshine with a winky face. Shikamaru frowned, but Ino he could trust and get a full story from. The random number must have been whoever the bra came from because it read Hey cutie, had fun last nite. The next text from them added Next time u can take my panties too ;). They were sent just a little after 1am and he hadn't replied so that was a good sign. He checked his camera roll next and almost dropped his phone out of sheer embarrassment at the only picture from the night. It was a selfie taken by a much older woman kissing Shikamaru's cheek while he smiled, eyes closed. The red bra was in hand, held up for the camera. Upon a second look he broke into laughter at a shirtless Kankuro in the background with his purple tie around his forehead. He was also holding up both hands; flipping off the bar. He shot Kankuro a text and was surprised to get one back right away.

S- Hey man, you ok?

I wish I was dead, but yeah. HBU -K

S- Thought I was dead for awhile there

LMAO! Dude you were crazy last night! -K

S- Yeah? I don't remember..

No shit! You did a line of shots - it was impressive -K

Don't worry I missed out on the end of the night too -K

But I'll fill you in monday -K

S- Shit I haven't decided if I want to know yet

Oh it's a good one don't worry -K

TTYL gotta go vomit again -K

Next was Ino, but his head was still killing him. He got up and grabbed the blanket off the bed and an ice pack before returning to the couch and settling in for what he expected to be a very long phone call.

"Well, well, look who's still breathing." Her voice dripped with sarcasm knowing he probably felt like death.

"That bad huh?"

"Actually it was mostly gibberish. You talked about your new best friend taking you on a magical adventure." She unsuccessfully stifled a laugh. "How much trouble do you think you're in right now?"

"None...?" He paused and waited but she didn't say anything. "No what happened, you can't leave me hanging! Ino!"

"Oh calm down. You were going on about your friend Kankeroo?"

"Kankuro."

"Yeah that one. Anyways. You were telling me that you were having such a good time, having so much fun. You said you hit like 6 or 7 bars? Jesus that's a lot - even for you." Shikamaru scowled at her obvious jab at his drinking problem. "Then you mentioned Choji and started bawling. Anything after that was mostly gibberish."

"Oh." Shikamaru paused to process. "That's not too bad, I'm just glad I called you and not Kiba or Naruto by accident."

"Thanks for that." He could hear Ino roll her eyes in that sentence.

"If that's it I can breathe easy again."

"Yup. One question though..." Ino paused purposely, "Why are you flirting with my RA?" Shikamaru audibly sucked in his breath trying to think faster than his brain was currently allowing.

"Not flirting. She just introduced herself."

"Uh huh, that's definitely why you were going on about THAT ASS!" Ino burst into laughter causing Shikamaru to hold the phone at arm's length. His gut churned from the hangover combined with pure embarrassment. This situation was beyond fixing.

"Shut up. You don't speak a word of that."

"My lips are sealed, it's our little secret!" With that Shikamaru hung up the phone and turned it on silent to avoid any further embarrassment. The image of Temari sauntering away from him popped into mind and he groaned loudly at his empty apartment. Troublesome woman.

The rest of the day was spent laying on the couch with Netflix playing softly and Shikamaru drinking as much water as possible while forcing stale bread into his stomach. Upon waking up from his third nap, he finally decided he was well enough to move around and check his phone again. He had a single text from Ino letting him know he was an asshole – probably for hanging up on her – and a missed call from Naruto. He hit the call button to see what was up.

"Hey Shikamaru, what's up?"

"Recovery day. Sorry I missed your call earlier."

"Yeah! We're getting together for dodgeball tonight, Kiba scored the gym spot for us at 10. Are you recovered enough to join?" Shikamaru glanced at his spot on the couch and figured he had enough sleep to make it to midnight.

"Yeah sure, why not." He looked at the clock on his stove seeing it was just after 7. "I'll be there in 30."

"Sweet, and um, tell Ino to come. Lee is bringing Tenten after their date."

"No problem. You should ask Sakura then." Shikamaru could hear Naruto pacing wherever he was.

"Uh, huh. I'll do that." They said their goodbyes and Shikamaru wondered about the awkward tone at the mention of Sakura. Regardless of her turning Naruto down, they had been friends for years. He let it slide and focused on finding a hair elastic since the one from yesterday had disappeared.

Shikamaru stood under the awning of the McDonald's he had just exited, holding a bag of disgustingly satisfying food that he would consume as soon as he got a cab. He bent down to roll up his cargo pants in attempt to save them from the puddles collecting in the street, the hot food trapped between his lap and his stomach, warming him comfortably. He flipped on the hood of his sweater and stepped out to wave down an approaching taxi.

Once they arrived at campus, Shikamaru asked to be let out in his usual spot in the circle at the front entrance. He gave his driver a good tip since they had been chatting and he had mentioned his family had just moved here as refugees, escaping a war in his home country. Shikamaru wished him well and stepped out into the rain and listened to the cab pull away before making his way slowly to residence. It was oddly warm out considering, so he let the rain mist in his hair and eyelashes, taking in the still green surroundings. Fall is coming, maybe I can find a good spot to hangout and watch the leaves change before the snow comes. His thoughts were disrupted abruptly as two girls ran past him and into the residence building screaming and laughing. Neither one of them held the door and Shikamaru really couldn't find it in him to run to catch it. He buzzed Naruto first and waited for the door to click, when he didn't hear anything after a minute he buzzed Ino instead and she shouted What?! Through the intercom immediately. Shikamaru stepped back and looked at the speaker wondering if there was even a microphone. "Hello?" He spoke to the machine. He scratched his head when no response came and instead was surprised to see Ino bouncing down the stairs half-dressed to greet Shikamaru at the door.

"Hey stranger! You feeling alright?" She pulled him into the entry and pressed the back of her hand onto his head. "No fever but you look like hell. Want a drink?" She smiled wickedly at him and made her way into the stairs.

"God no, I need a week at least." He scratched his chin and changed his mind. "Two days at least."

"Ooh tough guy. I'm glad you're alive though, when you called you didn't know where you were and just kept laughing when I asked."

"Let's just not talk about it. I'm alive and well so there's no need to bring it up." He started to follow Ino up the stairs and stopped to avert his eyes. "Jeez woman could you put on some pants?!"

"THESE ARE SHORTS PERVERT. Not my fault my ass is too good for them." She continued to bounce up the steps before turning and walking up backwards. "Speaking off..."

" NO. You promised!" Shikamaru followed her up with his eyes still on the ground, not wanting to see the look she was probably giving him. He realized they had reached the third floor and finally met her eye. She had her hands on her hips and was smirking at him.

"Okay but-"

"No buts."

"BUT only if you admit you have a crush." Shikamaru dropped his head into his hands and groaned. Why do I do this to myself. Where is Choji when I need him. Ino was blocking his way so he couldn't even get by into the hallway.

"I don't even know the woman, and you can't crush on someone you don't know." Shikamaru could see the gears grinding in Ino's head. He knew she couldn't stand when he Logic'd her (as she called it), but he also knew she wouldn't argue if she thought he was actually getting ticked off. She clicked her tongue and pulled open the door to let Shikamaru walk through.

"Fine, but – as a warning for future reference – people are terrified of her for a reason you know."

"Of course they are" Shikamaru mumbled under his breath. Ino had a look of satisfaction on her face as they entered her dorm room. Shikamaru shrugged off his wet sweater and hung it on a hook behind the door before dropping onto the hard couch that was standard for all 2 bedroom dorm rooms.

"Oh yeah, wanna play dodgeball at 10?" Ino poked her head out from her open bedroom door with a huh? "Dodgeball. 10 o'clock."

"Oh yeah I told Kiba hours ago I was in. Sakura and Tenten are coming too. Speaking of which..." Ino went into the story of how Tenten had come home and told her about Lee fighting Neji and how cute they both were. Shikamaru let her go on in her own detailed version of the story without reminding her he was actually there. She sat on the floor across the room and they tossed a tennis ball back and forth while they talked. It was something they had done since they were kids, with Choji refusing to join as he claimed to like watching them instead. Shikamaru suspected he must have had terrible aim and didn't want to take an eye out. They caught up on school life and work life before agreeing that they should head out to look for Naruto or Kiba. As soon as they stood up both their phones pinged.

N- Meet up at gym in 10

Ino quickly changed into a matching blue shorts and tank top set with a pink satin hoodie. Shikamaru looked down at his own clothes and realized everything he was wearing came from a shopping trip he'd done with Ino last year. Ino smirked at him realizing this as well before kneeling to lace up what looked like brand new Adidas sneakers.

"Were playing dodgeball, not going out you know.."

"Well you never know who's going to be there!" Ino stood up and swung open her door. "You look pretty inappropriately dressed for dodgeball too, so you really can't judge me." She locked her door and led them down the stairway and out the building. Outside the rain had settled into a fine mist, but it was still enough to send Ino into a jog towards the main building. Shikamaru shoved his hands in his pockets and kept a quick walking pace, letting the mist cool his hot forehead. He was still feeling a little weak from his hangover, but at least he had gotten away without puking. As he reached the building, Ino stood holding the door open and footsteps could be heard splashing through puddles as Lee and Tenten ran in past Shikamaru and into the hallway. They thanked Ino and continued down the hall towards the gym holding hands.

"Their date must have gone well." Ino pointed at their locked fingers as Tenten leaned into Lee laughing at something he had said. Shikamaru felt proud of his friend for finally getting a girl but he couldn't help but notice the bitterness in Ino's voice.

"Hey what about the TA who's been helping you out? Anything going on there?" Apparently this was the wrong thing to say to Ino cause she stopped mid stride with a blood rushing to her cheeks and a vein angrily popping out on her forehead.

"We are not talking about him." Shikamaru put his hands up in surrender and let her walk past and lead him the rest of the way to the gym in silence.

Naruto and Kiba were at the gym doors doing a head count to see if they had enough people to get a game started. Shikamaru knew a handful of people there but there were quite a few who must have been classmates or people passing by who had been invited to join in. Even Sasuke had made an appearance, leaning against the wall looking moody as usual.

"We're just waiting on Sakura, and whatever friends she's bringing." Naruto was forcing everyone into the middle of the gym and giving them numbers so even and odd numbers could be split. Kiba was shouting that Sakura was coming and rallied her plus two girls and a guy into the gym closing the door behind him. Shikamaru only glanced at the last few people who had walked in but immediately did a double take when he noticed four blonde ponytails and a smirk staring him down. She waited till she had caught his eye before turning her attention away and not giving him any other acknowledgement. Ino shoved an elbow in his side and raised her eyebrows excitedly at the interaction. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and shoved his hands in his pockets moving to join the other odd numbers on one half of the gym. He checked his team out and had ended up with Naruto, Sasuke, Tenten, Ino and several others he didn't recognize. He picked out Sakura, Kiba, Lee and Temari on the other side. Both teams had about 11 people so it should be a good game he thought. A guy he didn't recognize finished lining up the last ball on the centre line then stepped back out of the way.

"Red lines are boundaries. No head shots. If your ball is caught you're out. If you catch a ball, bring a player back in. Last man standing wins for his or her team. Ready?" Everyone stood perfectly still on the balls of their feet ready to run. The whistle blew and immediately the gym filled with a roar of stomping feet and people shouting. Shikamaru stayed near the back and stood behind someone hoping to avoid getting hit right off the bat. He wasn't sure how well he would hold up but he definitely was feeling the competition and didn't want to lose. Tenten whipped a ball at Lee who jumped into what looked like perfect splits in the air to avoid the ball.

"So unnecessary." Ino stepped past Shikamaru to pick up a stray ball rolling on the ground. She ran as close as she dared to the line and threw a pretty good shot at Sakura, but apparently not quick enough because she caught it and stuck her tongue out at her. Ino ducked to avoid someone else's wild throw and stormed off to join the small line forming out of bounds. Naruto and Shikamaru both unintentionally screamed as Sakura whipped the ball with ungodly force towards them. They both dived out of the way leaving an unsuspecting Sasuke to be pegged in the stomach. He was hit so hard his feet actually left the ground before his whole body crumpled to the floor. Sakura covered her mouth with a hand realizing who she'd hit.

"I am never pissing her off." Naruto watched Sasuke crawl off the court then jumped back into the game. Shikamaru managed to avoid getting hit while only throwing a ball here and there, making sure it was low enough to avoid being caught. The teams dwindled down to only a couple of players on each side. Naruto and Kiba both threw their balls at the same time and managed to smoke each other in the nuts. Which left Temari and Shikamaru to face off alone on the court. Shikamaru was holding a ball in front of him, hoping to defend himself as he had seen her take out someone pretty viciously earlier. She had a ball at her feet and another in her hand ready to go.

"Are you just gonna stand there or are you at least going to try." She carefully took a step forward and Shikamaru mimicked her unintentionally.

"I'm not that worried, you throw like a girl." Temari's expression twisted angrily.

"Don't insult me, I'll kick your ass!"

"I'd like to see you try." He moved forward again, hoping that her anger would impede her aim and thought process.

"Watch me!" She whipped the ball as hard as she could right at his head and picked the other one up off the ground. Shikamaru just barely dodged surprised at her accuracy and power. Maybe this was a bad idea. Both teams were going crazy on the sidelines, cheering and shouting at them to get a move on. Shikamaru threw his ball low and let her dodge it. She threw her last ball and Shikamaru had planned on catching it but she had low-balled it. He jumped over it and then chased it since the others had rolled to her side. He picked it up and had to immediately use it to bounce an incoming ball away. Temari stood now with four of six dodgeballs and Shikamaru was already a little out of breath from the attack. He cursed himself for the McDonald's earlier and raised his ball, ready to throw. Temari did the same, still angry at his earlier jab. Shikamaru thought about the fact that he would have to work his ass off if he actually wanted to win since she did have an advantage of having the balls ready to throw. He sighed and lowered his arm.

"I give up." Temari whipped her ball anyway and pegged him in the shoulder. Her half of the gym erupted into cheers as they ran back onto the court. Shikamaru's team took the court again complaining about Shikamaru not putting up a fight. Ino came over and gave him a light punch in the shoulder that had just been hit. "Ow, what the hell." Ino just winked at him, clearly thinking it was part of some strategy to win Temari over or something. Shikamaru settled into the back again letting the second round start. He couldn't help but see angry eyes staring him down from across the court.

The next four games Shikamaru made sure he wasn't the last man standing since he didn't feel like pissing off his team again. He did have to admit that moving around and breaking a sweat was quickly killing his hangover and he was starting to feel like himself again. His team won two of five games but the last round was brutal, with everyone getting smoked by Sakura who decided she no longer needed to hold back. Her team had figured she had the best throw so they were protecting her and letting her just pick people off one by one. After they finished everyone filed outside with the majority heading back to residence. It had stopped raining so their regular group had hung around making jokes and chatting. Shikamaru felt someone tug at his arm. He turned and was surprised to see Temari motioning for him to talk to her. He rubbed his arms in the cool air and stepped off to the side where she was standing.

"What the hell was that? You don't think I'm worth the fight or something?" She had her arms crossed over her chest, pushing her boobs up in her tank top and momentarily distracting Shikamaru. He forced himself not to look and cleared his throat to check himself.

"It's nothing personal. You had a clear advantage and I feel like shit." Shikamaru shrugged and put his hands in his pockets out of habit. He did take a moment to really look at her since he had not yet seen her up close in any kind of light. She had blue-green eyes that held a look of curiosity and carefully maintained pride. Her hair was more sandy blonde with bangs that framed her eyes and cheekbones. The colour also seemed to compliment her evenly tanned skin. Her lower lip protruded slightly in a pout as she took in his response.

"That's a sorry excuse and you know it. If you're not going to try don't bother joining in."

"It's not like it was a competition, it was just a pickup game of dodgeball. Jeez." Shikamaru was ready to turn away, not wanting to get picked on anymore.

"Everything's a competition if you're good enough." She smirked and relaxed her posture sensing Shikamaru was about to leave.

"That's.." He shook his head searching for words "Well. I guess." She gave him a real smile this time.

"We should do this again sometime."

"What, dodgeball?" She laughed at him and started to walk away.

"I'll see you around Shikamaru." He didn't respond but watched her leave. She's walking like that on purpose.

"Damn, she really does have a nice ass." Shikamaru jumped at Ino's voice so close to his ear. "You're a total pervert you know." She chuckled and winked at him.

"Shut up, I was just- No. Nevermind." He looked back to where Temari had been and saw her entering the residence building in the distance.

"Why don't you just ask her out? I mean you're clearly interested." Sakura was now adding in to the already awkward conversation. Ino nodded in agreement.

"No, she's far too troublesome for a simple guy like me." Ino rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. It was Sakura who chimed in though.

"Well if you are interested, just make sure you don't miss you chance." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow but didn't push for an explanation. He just sighed and followed the group as they headed out. He walked at the back behind Ino and Sakura and couldn't help but let his mind drift to Temari. What was it about her that had him so.. captivated. He admitted she was incredibly hot, but it wasn't that. Something about the curve of her mouth when she spoke his name and the look in her eyes when he had pissed her off. She was terrifying, yet completely enticing. Shikamaru was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice the drop in the walkway and stumbled forward crashing into Sakura. He reached out to catch himself and took both of them down onto the wet sidewalk.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Sakura immediately sat up and punched Shikamaru in the shoulder where he had been tagged earlier. Shikamaru choked back tears while Ino could only laugh at him. Shikamaru cursed himself and muttered under his breath troublesome woman.