Hey everybody! It's been a while, hasn't it? I literally got inspired because I saw a guy in a suit walking across the street from a gas station... thus this little beauty was born. hope you like it!

WARNING: boy lovin. no yaoi, but lots of gays... and ex drama. also the ending is kind of terrible...
DISCLAIMER: Naruto is not mine, nor will it ever be

Smoke Break

"I'm taking my break." Shikamaru yawned as he threw his apron under the counter.

"Hn." His raven haired co worker shrugged as he continued picking up the wheatgrass that had fallen around the display.

"That's your third break today, Shika." Naruto sighed as he came out from the back with a blender, setting it down by the juice dispensers. The brunette stared at his blonde friend for a few seconds, showing his disinterest. "Fine, whatever. If Sasuke's not going to say anything I guess I should just keep my mouth shut too." The blonde huffed as he ripped open the small fridge under the dispensers to pull out one of the juices down there and slam the fridge shut again. Shikamaru said nothing as he walked through the back and left through the back door. The backdoor led to the alley behind all the restaurants lined up on that side of the street.

Ninja Smoothies was fortunately situated in the middle of the strip so Shikamaru could get away with sitting on the steps and watching the clouds for a few minutes while he smoked. Naruto had started Ninja Smoothies about five years ago, to bring a delicious and nutritious change to the diets of the businessmen of downtown Konoha considering all they had offered was greasy food and fattening sweets. Naruto was kind of a health nut like that, and had a huge problem with Shikamaru's recent chain smoking habit. But Shikamaru had recently been through a terrible breakup and had explained that cigarettes made him feel calmer, so Naruto never straight up said something just hinted strongly that he was displease with Shikamaru's actions.

"That's disgusting, Kiba! Throw it away right now!" A girl shouted as the back door for the sandwich restaurant next door opened and a brunette boy came stumbling out while laughing. In his gloved hands he held what looked like loaves of bread, Shikamaru couldn't really tell though considering they were completely covered in mold. The dog boy continued laughing as he headed towards the dumpster at the entrance of the alley. Shikamaru watched, bored, as the brunette boy walked the fifty or so feet down to the dumpster and tossed the loaves in. When the boy was returning to his restaurant, he noticed Shikamaru. He smiled and nodded.

"What's up?" He called.

"The sky, I guess." Shikamaru answered back lazily. The boy let out a laugh that almost sounded like a dog's bark.

"Good one." He smiled as he passed his restaurant's door and continued walking towards Shikamaru. "Hey, can I bum one?" He nodded towards the cigarette Shikamaru was holding.

"It's my last one." Shikamaru lied, but he wasn't about to share with anyone.

"Then can I just have a drag?" The brunette pressed. Shikamaru thought for a second. He didn't know this guy, he didn't know what kind of disease the guy could have and therefore spread by sharing his cigarette. But for whatever insane reason, Shikamaru nodded and handed his cigarette to the stranger. He watched, in horror, as the other boy crushed the lit end against the wall to put it out before snapping the cigarette in half and stomping it into the ground. If Shikamaru wasn't the laziest person alive, he probably would have beat the hell out of the other while shouting curses at the top of his lungs. But since he was Shikamaru, he glared death upon the other boy, growling under his breath.

"What the hell did you do that for?"

"That shit kills you, you know. I bet Naruto's in there having a fit."

"Like it's any of your damn business."

"I'm sure you have a whole carton full." The other rolled his eyes as he leaned against the wall beside Shikamaru. "What's your name?"

"Shikamaru." He huffed, not even sure why he answered in the first place. He should have just gone back inside, but instead he stayed.

"I'm Kiba." He smiled.

"Yeah, I heard that girl yelling at you."

"Ino? Yeah, she's a total bitch. I just had to meet her to swear off women for the rest of my life." Kiba laughed. Shikamaru blinked, surprised that a guy could so easily admit to being gay to a complete stranger.

"Are you hitting on me?" He quickly asked. It was Kiba's turn to be surprised. But he laughed and shook his head.

"Wouldn't think of it, man. I'm not the kind of asshole to hit on a guy who just broke up with his lover." He smiled at Shikamaru's confused look. "Trust me, I've been there so I recognized it immediately. It's been about a month and a half, right? It takes about two to four months, depending on how long of a relationship you've had to get past all this funk."

"I was with him for four years. He started talking about finally finding someone to commit his life to, but it turns out I wasn't the one he was talking about."

"You're not big on commitment?"

"Are you kidding. I was exclusively with this guy for four years, I would have married him in a heartbeat. I was in love with him."

"You 'were?' You aren't any more?"

"Trying not to be." Shikamaru sighed, really wishing he still had his cigarette. They were silent for a moment before Kiba clapped his hands, the sound echoing slightly in the concrete alley.

"Alright. What time do you get off tonight?"

"What?"

"I know you heard me." Kiba scoffed.

"At 7."

"Sweet, me too. Let's meet back here at 7 and we'll walk down to the pub and get you sufficiently sloshed so you don't have to feel so depressed." He smiled.

"No thanks." Shikamaru shook his head.

"You say that. But I'm still hoping I'll see you here in three hours." Kiba winked and went back into his restaurant. Shikamaru sighed, resisting his urge to pull out another cigarette, and went back into his job. Naruto blinked, confused, when he didn't really smell any smoke on his friend.

"Some asshole next door stole my cigarette." Shikamaru shrugged indifferently. Naruto laughed, probably thinking it was ironic justice of some sort, Shikamaru really didn't care. He wasn't as upset about his cigarette being taken as he'd thought he would be, he wasn't even upset that some stranger started making assumptions (even if they were correct) about his lovelife, he was upset that he actually wanted to meet Kiba after work and go drinking with him. With a heavy sigh, he pulled on his apron and went to wash some blenders.

"Okay, so this guy steals your cigarette, why didn't you just pull out a new one?" Sasuke asked, leaning against the door of the walk in freezer.

"Because when he stole my cigarette he put it out and snapped it in half. If I pulled out another one, he'd do the same thing."

"Hn." Sasuke smirked. "Was it a guy from the pizza place, or the sandwich shop?"

"Sandwich." Shikamaru answered, not knowing why it mattered.

"Nar, tell your roommate to stop harassing our employees." Sasuke called.

"What'd Kiba do this time?" Naruto sighed as he came to the back.

"Destroyed poor Shika's cigarette." Sasuke feigned sympathy, but the other two could see the way Sasuke's eyes sparkled with mirth, the sadistic bastard.

"Serves you right. He was doing you a favor." Naruto scoffed. He wasn't going to sympathize with the smoker. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, expecting that reaction.

"Kiba's your roommate?"

"Yeah, has been since college." The blonde nodded.

"What kind of guy is he?" Shikamaru asked, trying not to sound too obvious. Blue eyes widened comically.

"You have the hots for him or something?" He gasped excitedly. Naruto would never turn down the offer to be matchmaker.

"No. He just asked me out for a drink, I was wondering if it was worth my time." Naruto laughed at Shikamaru's shrug.

"Dude, Kiba's totally awesome. He's a great guy, and really fun."

"And a lot like the moron." Sasuke added.

"Hey, you're the one who fell in love with me first." Naruto snapped. Shikamaru smirked softly at the retort. It was true, Sasuke had fallen in love with the blonde almost six years ago and had been going back and forth about whether it was the smartest or stupidest decision of his life. "Anyway," Naruto turned his attention back to Shikamaru, "Kiba's really cool. I mean even if you're not romantically interested or whatever, he's still a really good friend to have."

"I see." Shikamaru nodded.

"Me and Sas can always tag along for that drink if you don't want to go by yourself." Naruto offered.

"No thanks. I don't want to be around you two when you're drunk. And I haven't even decided whether I'm going or not." He scoffed. He didn't miss the smirk from both Naruto and Sasuke. They all knew Shikamaru was going to go, even Kiba had known when he first offered that Shikamaru was going to agree to go. So no one was remotely surprised when 7 came around and Shikamaru was waiting for Kiba in the alley.

"Let's go." Kiba smiled. Shikamaru nodded and let the other lead the way. Kiba did most of the talking, not that he seemed to mind. He was surprised how quickly Kiba seemed to pick up on his body language. They had had a 10 minute conversation with Shikamaru saying nothing, just Kiba picking up subtle shrugs or inclines of his head. They made it to the pub, Kiba nodding at the bartender as he sat down on a stool. The tender smiled and quickly handed the brunette a beer, before turning to Shikamaru.

"Same." He answered the man's unasked question. They sat, drinking, as Kiba continued talking and Shikamaru occasionally grunting out one or two word answers. Hours went by, Shikamaru had lost track of how many drinks he'd had after the first hour but he estimated he'd probably drunken the equivalent of a bottle of rum, a bottle of vodka, and a pack of beer along with a few other liquors that had been mixed into whatever the tender handed him. Shikamaru being a quiet drunk didn't seem to faze Kiba one bit. Somehow he'd noticed right away when Shikamaru would start feeling depressed about his past relationship, and he'd immediately order Shikamaru something stronger. After so many hours, Shikamaru was wasted and Kiba wasn't far behind. Shikamaru didn't remember anything between Kiba mentioning they'd been there for almost three hours (which was long before they actually left) and waking up the next morning in a bed he could only assume to be Kiba's.

"Morning." Kiba smiled when confused hazel eyes landed on him. "We didn't do anything, but I'm sure you can already tell. You passed out at the bar so I brought you home with me since I didn't know where you lived. All I did was carry you up the stairs and take off your shoes and jeans." Shikamaru blinked a few times as he took a mental inventory of his body. He didn't feel any soreness that would indicate any sexual relations the previous night, he also felt that his shirt, boxers and socks were all on, he was only missing his jeans as Kiba had said; he didn't really think shoes counted because it was just common courtesy to take them off when entering someone's home.

"Did I do anything weird last night?" Shikamaru asked. It'd been so long since he'd slept beside someone that he didn't trust his subconscious.

"You did start crying in your sleep. But you grabbed my hand and calmed down." Shikamaru just nodded slowly. "We should go out for another drink soon." Kiba suggested with a bright smile. Shikamaru blinked, his head pounding just from the suggestion.

"I don't know."

"I don't mean like tonight or tomorrow. How about Wednesday?" he asked. Shikamaru had to think for a few seconds about it. Wednesday being five days away, Shikamaru figured it wasn't such a terrible idea.

"Fine."

"Cool. I get off at 6 Wednesday, you should meet me at the pub around 6:30."

"Sure." He nodded.

"But, until then. How about we get up and I'll make us some breakfast?" Kiba smiled. Shikamaru smiled as well and nodded. Over the next month, Kiba and Shikamaru went out for drinks almost twice a week every week. Kiba always did most of the talking, but Shikamaru was slowly starting to open up, he even had whole sentence answers as opposed to the grunts he used with most people. Shikamaru slowly started to get over his heartbreak and by the end of the month had developed a little crush on his drinking companion.

"Of course that was his intention the whole time." Naruto laughed when Shikamaru had asked him about it. "I mean, you're freaking hot, Shika. And totally Kiba's type. Seriously, he won't shut up about you."

"What?" Shikamaru blushed.

"Actually, he's kinda had a thing for you for a long time. He'd asked me about you when you first started working here." Shikamaru blinked, feeling angry at this information.

"I'm going on my break." He snapped as he stormed out the front door and went into the sandwich shop.

"Shika." Kiba smiled when he saw the brunette walking in.

"You knew. The whole time you knew."

"What?" Kiba asked.

"About Neji and everything." Shikamaru snapped, glancing around the shop to make sure no one was there before he continued. "Here I thought you were charming and shit, but you were really just an asshole who'd kept tabs on me and waited for your opportunity or whatever." He felt invaded. His relationship and breakup with Neji had been something deeply emotional and personal. He'd figured Kiba hadn't asked him anything about it because the other was waiting for him to willingly tell, not that he'd already know. He figured this was what it felt like to come home to find your house had been broken into, some stranger had been exposed to your most intimate assets, they'd found out your secrets and you weren't even aware it had happened. It didn't feel good at all.

"Shika, it wasn't like that." Kiba sighed.

"Don't even." Shikamaru snapped. "All that bullshit about you 'knowing what I was going through' was just because you knew I'd just broken up with Neji."

"Please, I knew exactly what you were going through even if I hadn't known about Neji. Do you even know how long it took me to get over Naruto when he dumped me for the asshole?"

"You and Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah. I wasn't even remotely interested in anyone after Naruto until I saw you last year. I'd asked, Naruto said you were dating a guy so I just gave up. But then you broke up with him and two months after that I find you in the alley wallowing in self pity, so of course I was gonna make a move." Kiba sighed heavily. "Look, so I knew about Neji, big fucking deal. He left you for some douche, I can totally relate. And maybe I should have told you that I already knew about all that, but I didn't really want to force you to think about painful memories or whatever."

"And what were you going to do when I decided to tell you about him? Were you going to act surprised, or tell me you already knew everything?"

"Act surprised." Kiba sighed, knowing it wasn't the answer Shikamaru wanted to hear, but neither answer was really what Shikamaru wanted to hear.

"So you would have lied?"

"Technically no. All I knew about your relationship with Neji was that you were dating him and then he broke up with you to be with someone else. I didn't know any details other than that." Kiba defended himself, hoping it made Shikamaru feel at least a little better. The lazy boy sighed heavily and looked at Kiba closely. "Go out with me." Kiba said after a few moments of silence. Shikamaru blinked.

"Excuse me?"

"Go out with me, on a real date. Tonight." He smiled.

"You're an idiot if you seriously think," Shikamaru started but Kiba laughed softly and the lazy boy couldn't speak.

"You already know I'm an idiot, Shika. You really shouldn't be surprised I'm asking you out. So just say yes and meet me back here when our shifts end." He smirked while staring at the other boy. Shikamaru really couldn't resist. He just nodded and sighed.

"Fine. I'll see you at 7." He agreed and left.

"Is everything okay?" Naruto was worried when Shikamaru returned.

"Sure." Shikamaru sighed and went to the back to start washing the blenders.

"Shika." Naruto called.

"Nar, customers." Sasuke snapped, diverting the blonde's attention. Sasuke was always one of those people who firmly believed that unless someone told you what was wrong, it wasn't your business to pry. Shikamaru was also one of these people so Sasuke knew Shikamaru wasn't going to say anything and Naruto's prying would probably only make it worse. Much to Shikamaru's relief, Sasuke kept Naruto distracted for the rest of the shift. The lazy boy soon found himself sitting at a table of a nice restaurant across from Kiba. Things were going well, their date was pretty much like every other time they went out, only it wasn't a crowded smelly bar they were in. But then Shikamaru looked up and froze.

"Shika?" Kiba asked, noticing the way Shikamaru's body started trembling. The boy was staring at something behind his partner, and from the reaction Kiba was expecting some sort of monster from hell ripping people apart and bathing in their blood. But what he found was an attractive redhead and a gorgeous brunette standing in the lobby area.

"That brunette is Neji." Shikamaru breathed out, trying to focus on eating but his hands were shaking so badly he couldn't even pick up his fork.

"Oh damn. So the other one's…" Kiba trailed off not quite sure how to say 'the redhead's the douche he left you for and married' in a more compassionate way.

"Yeah." He nodded, feeling tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. He'd thought he was over Neji, but it really hurt to see him standing there with Gaara. He wanted to laugh when the hostess led the new couple towards their section, it was just his luck. Even though he tried to avoid eye contact, he knew Neji was going to see him.

"Shika." Neji said in a sweet tone that made Shikamaru want to puke. He looked up at his pale-eyed ex.

"Neji." He said coolly. Neji's eyes shifted to Kiba.

"I'm Kiba." He introduced himself.

"Neji. This is my husband, Gaara."

"Nice to meet you." Kiba smiled.

"Sir." The hostess called impatiently.

"Enjoy your dinner." Neji said politely and left.

"Excuse me." Shikamaru said as soon as Neji was gone and ran off towards the front door. Kiba snapped at the waitress.

"We're not finished eating, my friend's just having a mental breakdown at the moment. We'll be back." Kiba told her before running after Shikamaru. He found the brunette in the alley shaking badly from his run-in with Neji and the cold as he tried to light his cigarette.

"Damn it." He growled as the flame kept flickering out.

"Shika." Kiba called softly.

"What?" Shikamaru snapped, Kiba could hear he was holding back tears. Kiba knew exactly what the other boy was going through, he'd been madly in love with Naruto only to have his heart broken when the blonde left him for the bastard Uchiha. It had been years before he could even look at them together without wanting to break down. Shikamaru continued to struggle with his lighter. In two steps, Kiba was in front of the smaller man, he'd pulled the cigarette from Shikamaru's lips and kissed him hard. Shikamaru froze, but Kiba continued pressing his lips to the other boy's hoping for some sort of reaction (preferably a positive reaction). Finally after what seemed like eons, but was only a few seconds, Shikamaru responded to the kiss.

"I won't allow you to think about your ex-boyfriend when you're on a date with me, okay?" Kiba asked against trembling pink lips. He felt the other smile softly and nod.

"Okay." Shikamaru breathed out. Kiba gently kissed his partner one last time before stepping backwards.

"Let's go back inside and finish our meal." He smiled as he took Shikamaru's hand and led him back to their table. By the end of the meal, Shikamaru was completely over seeing Neji and Gaara. Shikamaru had noticed over the past month, every time he'd gone drinking with Kiba he'd felt infinitely better the next day. At first he'd thought it was just the alcohol, but now they weren't drinking, they were just eating and talking. He felt like an idiot when he realized it was Kiba all along that made him feel good and happy. "You're smiling." Kiba observed as they left the restaurant.

"What?" Shikamaru asked.

"I mean sometimes you would smile slightly for a second or two, but right now you're really smiling."

"I guess right now I'm just really happy." Shikamaru just shrugged. Kiba laughed loudly and smiled brightly.

"I hope it's because of me." He smiled.

"Definitely." Shikamaru laughed and took Kiba's hand. "So what should we do now?"

"Now?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah, it's 8:30, the night is still young. We should do something." Shikamaru nodded. It was the first time in a long time he'd felt this lighthearted, he wanted to spend more time with Kiba.

"Oh, my friend Sai is doing this art exhibit down on Grand Square." Kiba suggested. Shikamaru nodded. They walked down to the square, hand in hand, occasionally stopping to look in the windows of the stores. The exhibit was set up outside and a lot of people had gathered. As they were looking around they ran into Naruto and Sasuke.

"Kiba and Shika. What's up, guys?" Naruto greeted happily.

"Nothing much, we're just wandering around, looking for stuff to do." Kiba answered, watching as Sasuke slipped his arm around Naruto's shoulders, pulling the blonde closer. If it had been yesterday, or perhaps even a few hours before, Kiba knew he would have felt a small pang in his chest even after six years at seeing the motion. But right now, it didn't hurt. For the first time, with Shikamaru holding his hand, he was genuinely happy for his best friend and the raven.

"Come on, there's more to see." Shikamaru smiled at his partner, pulling him away from the other two. The finished looking at the exhibit and continued walking around the area, window shopping.

"Shikamaru, I think I'm in love with you." Kiba confessed as they stopped in front of a store. Shikamaru laughed softly.

"That would explain why you kissed me at the restaurant." He smiled.

"No, I'm serious. Ever since Naruto broke up with me I've hated seeing him with Sasuke. But today, I was okay because you were beside me. No one's ever made me feel like this." Shikamaru just smiled as Kiba spoke, waiting for him to finish before kissing him deeply.

"I love you too, Kiba." He smiled before kissing him again. After that night, any time Shikamaru took a smoke break, Kiba was taking one too. But Shikamaru never smoked, he just sat in the alley talking and laughing with his lover, happier than he'd ever been. THE END.

DAWWWWW. yeah, the ending is kinda terrible, but i hope you liked the rest of it!

REVIEW PLEASE!