Be There
"No way!"
"Yup."
"I had no idea we went to the same university! What year are you in? What do you study?"
Shikamaru laughed.
"I'm studying general sciences at the moment. I'm trying to get through as much of the course as possible this year so that I can study atomic structure in more detail before..." He trailed off and didn't finish his thought. "I'm in first year." He said instead.
Temari nodded.
"I study politics and economics. It's great."
Ino piped in.
"I STUDY PSYCHOANALYSIS!" She exclaimed, raising her hand in the air excitedly as though she knew the answer to an unasked question.
Chouji put another piece of sizzling meat on the grill and smiled happily to himself.
"I started studying biology, but i got an apprenticeship at a bakery near where I live, so I dropped out."
He was still smiling as he looked up to see a sly grin from Ino.
"Yeah, Chouji. Isn't there something you want to tell Shikamaru?"
Chouji blushed deeply and stared at the grill.
"Well, um..."
"What is it, man?"
"You know the girl who owns the bakery?"
"Kara, or Karu or something? What about her?"
"It's Karui, and... Well... I ended up asking her out. I baked her a cake and all and... She smiled really widely and said yes!"
Shikamaru beamed at his best friend, he knew that Chouji always had a soft spot for his colleague, and he was glad that he'd finally worked up the courage to ask the girl out.
"Nawww," Ino giggled as she watched her friend blush. "How cute!"
She turned to Temari.
"How's your love life doing, Temari?"
"Meh, guys normally piss me off by date number two." Temari shrugged casually, shooting a brief sidelong look in Shikamaru's direction and taking a piece of meat off the grill.
"I guess I'm just waiting for a nice guy to come along cos they like something about me, not just my body."
That was Ino's queue to start rambling on about her newest boyfriend, Sai.
O
"Again?"
"Yup, I'm not letting you walk home alone."
"But your house is in the other direction, it's late."
She shrugged.
"Doesn't matter, I can't have you collapsing on the street, can I?"
He rolled his eyes.
"Troublesome woman, you'll be the death of me."
She chuckled and shoved her hands deep into her coat pockets, saying nothing.
When they arrived home, he opened the door and welcomed her in.
They had tea and Yoshino insisted afterwards that she stay the night.
"You're brothers aren't home," she argued.
Temari seemed shocked by Yoshino's insistence, but she gave in.
"Thanks, Yoshino."
While his mother prepared the guest room for Temari, the two of the played chess in the sitting room.
"You're good," he observed as she took his second tower.
"I'm aware."
He moved his knight.
"But not good enough." He smiled victoriously. "Check mate."
She stared at the board.
"How did you do that?"
"What?"
"That!" She pointed at the game they'd just played. "YOU MADE IT LOOK SO EASY!"
He laughed.
"Hours of playing with myself."
There was a pause before burst out laughing at what he'd said.
"KID. STOP. DON'T. SAY. THAT!"
He blushed when he realised the double meaning behind his words.
"No-I" He brought his palm to his face. "You know what I mean, Temari. Stop laughing!"
She was laughing hysterically at this point.
"Oh. My. God." She cried. " I don't think I've ever laughed this hard before!"
She held her side and was practically rolling on the floor.
"Please stop..." He was mortified.
She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.
"Oh man. My eyes are probably bloodshot now." She glanced up at him and laughed again, more calmly.
"I'm sorry for laughing at your expense, but god that was hilarious."
Her laughter didn't fully die down until he'd won their second game.
"Aw," she pouted. "No fair!"
He started to stand up but suddenly felt dizzy, he slowly began stumbling, and Temari was by his side in a heartbeat.
"Don't worry, I've got you," she whispered as she helped him onto the sofa, seating herself beside him with her arm around him. "I've got you, Shikamaru."
And she said it once more-for luck.
"I've got you."
A/N: Alrighty, lotsa stuff happened in this chapter! I hope i got a good balance between humour drama and romance-or maybe I didn't, idk.
That's what I was aiming for anyways.
SilverMoon6817~Heehee, welcome to Limerence! I've actually seen your name pop up on a couple of my other works, I really hope you like this one too! Thank you so much for the review!
whattadragg~ kyaah thankyouuu! I like switching up gender roles just to annoy Shikamaru;) Let's start the "stop ino-bashing" movement, we can be partners in crime-fighting.
Mirin Hanashi~ Aww, you are so lovely, thank you so much for all the support m'dear, I hope you'll like the end of the story. Thanks again!
ohud63~ I love you my friend, thankyou! English isn't my first language, so getting praise for my writing is honestly the most rewarding thing, thank you for all the support!
Okie, imma stop, I kinda overflow with emotion when I read reviews, I'm not even kidding.
Thank you all so much for the reviews and follows and faves, I love you all!
Thank you for reading!
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~Lee