Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 2

Much to Shikamaru's dread, Temari was in a wonderful mood when he arrived at Yakiniku. She and Choji were already sitting in a back-corner booth munching on appetizers.

"Yo, Shikamaru!" Choji greeted the black-haired man.

A smirk appeared on Shikamaru's face. "Hey, Choji." Then his dark glaze slip over to Temari. "Hello, Temari." She just rolled her eyes at him because she could hear his favorite phrase "troublesome woman" where her name was in his greeting.

"You're late, Nara," Temari retorted.

"I don't remember you telling me a time." Shikamaru countered with a raise eyebrow. Leave it to the blonde to be on his case already.

"Lesson number 1, always be punctual. It is better to arrive early than late when a female invites you out." Temari scolded. She tried to remain serious, but the look of slight shock on Shikamaru's face caused her to laugh. The Nara heir was not expecting to begin his lessons on the first non-official day.

"Did I miss something? Choji asked as he looked back and forth between the two. The tension between the two was higher than normal.

"You're eating dinner with our new mission leader." The black haired man supplied, hoping the Choji would bombard her with questions.

"Yeah, she explained everything to me already. I get to be her escort!" Choji stated proudly causing Shikamaru to withhold a groan. Temari was already taking over his team!

"Why didn't you wait for me?" Shikamaru directed his question at Temari, but he was looking at Choji. Why did he fall under the new blonde's power? Seriously, what is with this team and saying no to blonde women? Wasn't it bad enough that Ino was asking them to help with some flower deliveries when she was working, but now they had HER giving them orders.

"You were late, Nara! Why shouldn't we have a little snack and discuss business?" The kunoichi replied.

"Why do you always have to make things so complicated?"

"Why do you have to act like everything is so much trouble?"

"Uhmm…" Choji look awkwardly between the two. "Can we just eat?"

Temari and Shikamaru threw a glare Choji's way, but the blonde sighed. She knew that they had to stop before things got out of hand. "Choji's right. Sit down and enjoy the meal."

Just as the words left the blonde's mouth, a shy waitress approached the table. "Are you ready to order now that all of your party is here?" She asked. Then the waitress looked closer. "Oh, hey, Shikamaru!" She greeted the raven-haired man.

Temari throw a curious look at Shikamaru while Choji hid his face in the menu. All that went through the brunette's head was 'This is not going to be good.' Almost everyone but Shikamaru and Temari considered them a couple.

"It's be a while." Yuki said as she stared at the Nara heir.

"Hi, Yuki…" Shikamaru looked at Temari and Choji for help, but neither one was making a move to save him. Besides, Temari wanted to see how well he sank or swam with other women.

"So, what can I get you to eat?" The white-haired waitress asked with a giggle.

"Uh, when did you start working here?" Shikamaru asked since they came here all the time, and he's never seen Yuki here before. Granted, he avoids her like the plague. She was one of his few fan girls in the village not carrying about his and Temari's supposed romance.

"Uhm, today is actually my first really" Yuki shyly looked away. She wasn't admitting to her crush that she took this shift just to wait on him and his annoying friends.

"Well, best of luck then." The black-haired male told Yuki, who was blushing furiously because HE noticed her.

Choji coughed to get Yuki's attention. He wasn't too fond of Temari's calculating glare. "Can we order now?"

"Ah, yes. What would you like?" She asked once again. This time though, her question was answered in full by everyone present. With a lingering glance at Shikamaru, Yuki skipped towards the register.

"You should control your fangirls." Temari commented in a huff.

"At least someone likes me…" Shikamaru replied.

"I need sake for this." Choji mutter under his breath as he watched the blond and his black-haired friend starred off. Little did everyone know, a certain waitress was thinking the same thing.

Yuki poured the three glasses for their new drink with hidden sake in the mixture. She watched and refilled their drinks all night long till all three of them were sloshed.

Finally as Yuki placed the bill on the table, Temari gladly scooped it up before the men could beat her to the punch. "I'll be back!" She wobbled towards the register causing Shikamaru to raise a black eye brow. Was it him, or did her hips always move like that?

Sensing her window of opportunity, Yuki asked, "Oh, I have an idea! I get off in just a few minutes. How about we go get ice cream and you can walk me home afterwards?" She asked Shikamaru seductively, but the black-haired man ignored the woman since his eyes were still on the far-off figure.

"Shikamaru! Are you even listening to me?"

A sheepish look crossed his face. "Ah, Yuki, tonight wouldn't be good, but maybe another one?" He asked semi-hopefully that the girl would leave.

"Do you really mean it?"

"Yep… If I survive this mission." He muttered to himself.

Satisfied with her answer, Yuki cleared the table and wondered off while the men joined Temari.

"Thanks for the food, Temari!" Choji told her with a cheery grin on his face.

"Yeah, uh, thanks." Shikamaru said as Temari blushed slightly.

"It's no problem. I'll see you in the morning!" She told them as she headed off towards her hotel.

A few minutes later, Shikamaru caught up with her. "Did you really think that I was going to let you walk home alone?" He asked.

"Eh, I figured one night wouldn't hurt."

"Always so troublesome…" He replied as they walked in silence, sparing glances at one another when the other wasn't looking.

As soon as they arrived at Temari's apartment, she said, "So, this is good night." Shikamaru looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't. "Unless you want some tea?" She asked surprising the man.

"Yeah, tea would be nice." He replied as he shut the door. What harm could a little tea do?

So how are the characters? Am I staying IC or have they gone a little to OCC?

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