All this time to make amends.

[underachieves]

Who: Shikamaru and Sasuke.
When: After this.
Where: The streets around Sector 1, for starts.
Summary: Shikamaru and Sasuke encounter each other for the first time in, well, a long time. It's uncomfortable.
Warnings: Awkward.

Comments

[switch_it_off]

The random whimsical choices of the core made run-ins inevitable. Sasuke had given up months before on trying to make any sense of why certain shinobi were abducted to the island and others weren't, and chosen a path of tactical avoidance. It had worked so far on everyone but the truly persistent or the chance-meeting, so it genuinely surprised the hell out of him when he stepped out of the feed store and nearly walked right into the passing Nara

[underachieves]

With his eyes turned to the sky the way they so often did when he was outdoors, Shikamaru only narrowly avoided a collision by swerving out of the way at the last second. "Whoa, sorry," he slipped out instinctively, not realizing at first who he'd almost run straight into. He'd gotten in the habit of walking away from people before they could bother him with anything else, and was turning to continue on his way.

But as his eyes settled on Sasuke, that sheepish apology fell flat. Something icy crept up his spine and he took a step backwards without thinking. This city wasn't damn near big enough, he decided. For a moment he wondered if the best thing to do would be to run the hell away. Sure, he'd look like an idiot and a coward, but their last encounter had almost resulted in electrocution and being impaled by Sasuke's arm.

Not a threat, that's what Kakashi had said. Shikamaru took a drag from his cigarette to steel himself, then exhaled in a sigh

[switch_it_off]

Sasuke's memory is older, dustier, but he digs back to try and recall what he knows of the guy. Shikamaru's a strategist, another top of the class 'prodigy' of their generation who was saddled with an equally useless team. He hadn't seen the Nara since catching a brief glimpse of him the morning after he'd abandoned Konoha. Back then they'd been children who thought themselves immortal warriors (whether they wanted to be or not), and that was where their similarities ended.

As far as he could recall, Shikamaru was a notorious lazy-ass... which meant the offer was met with a quirked brow and a healthy dose of blatant skepticism.

"You don't know how far I'm carrying this," he began slowly, "or how heavy it is. And you smoke like a chimney. I'm not dealing with Kakashi's whining if you collapse."

[underachieves]

It was a suspicious offer, indeed. Shikamaru didn't normally go out of his way for people unless watching them struggle was more painful than helping them. Sasuke didn't exactly appear exhausted and burdened. And considering this was someone he despised, this should be about the point where Shikamaru would shrug and shuffle off to buy himself a hamburger.

Instead he said, "Hey, the further it is, the longer I get to avoid going back to work. I'd rather take a long walk than deal with everyone whining at me because we don't have enough beds in the shelter for their twenty kids." The crack about his physical condition simply went ignored. He held out his hand, not leaving room for much further argument.