Chapter Text
She always got dressed faster than him, desperately trying to leave the room before the moment had a chance to linger, prompting too-personal questions driven by all those pathetic, touchy-feely chemicals wreaking havoc in their brains.
*
The usual question he was able to manage before she closed the door behind her was, "Will I see you again?".
And her usual response, "Maybe", uttered with a cruel smirk as she left.
She made him hopeful and hopeless in the same breath; already eager for their next encounter and dreading the day she'd stop showing. As was their arrangement, much to her satisfaction and equally to his dismay.
*
Shikamaru Nara was bored. Listless in a way that only the son of a multimillionaire could be. He was descended from a long line of bright, ambitious men who delved into many industries, but made their money in bio-medical research. The ancestors of the Naras were a modest people, stewards of the forest with an affinity for deer in particular. This enduring interest in ecology and animal welfare eventually led to the award-winning research of Shikamaru's grandfather.
In an effort to impress the few women that did inquire, Shikamaru usually explained said research in a half-assed manner: "Deer are a breeding ground for diseases that can make the jump over to humans. My grandpa found a way to stop the jump". The late Nara patriarch had certainly developed the technologies used in several modern vaccines for zoonotic diseases. Fortunately for his descendants and perhaps unfortunately for the rest of the world, he applied for very restrictive patents on his work. He was paid for any use of and any other technology developed from his initial work. As a result, the elder Nara's bank account grew exponentially through the years.
While the wealth motivated many of the family members to pursue education, open their own businesses, and pioneer their own fields, it did little for the youngest Nara. At the urging of his father to make something of himself, he took jobs offered by aunts and uncles in labs and offices performing varying degrees of mind-numbing work. He was easily accepted into a top university due to name recognition and perfect test scores, where he sampled every major from philosophy to biochemistry. Shikamaru was left sorrily unimpressed by each and left after a two years and three attempted degrees.
To quiet the constant nagging of his parents, he took a job with his father dealing with the business end of the Nara-Genesis Group. Shikamaru still wondered about the name choice of the business. If you asked certain members of the family, they would say Grandpa chose it because "genesis" means "first" or "origin", a reference to the breakthrough research he conducted. The older family members and those closest to the old man would tell you without a hint of jest that "Genesis" was the name of Grandpa's favorite foreign mistress. Shikamaru chose to believe the latter, because at least it was interesting.
The younger Nara was not much like his grandfather if you were to believe the family rumors. Though his wealth and good looks would allow it, he didn't have much interest in being a playboy. His hope was to settle down with an average woman that could hold a conversation and say something interesting, at least every now and then. But so far, that seemed too much to ask. From the time he was a teenager to now at twenty-five, girls treated him differently once they found out he had money. They laughed a little too hard at his attempts at humor, agreed with him too vehemently when he gave his opinions, and moaned a lot harder than he unfortunately knew he could make them when they had sex. Like most aspects of his life, women proved to be unchallenging and in turn, boring.
One way Shikamaru got around this issue was by frequenting clubs around the city. The names varied depending on what the club condoned and who they served. The words "pleasure", "swinger", and even simply "sex" were all valid choices to describe a place where people paid to have sex with a stranger, or many strangers if that was their thing. The idea to visit such a place had come from an unlikely source.
*
Shikamaru and his closest friend since childhood, Choji Akamichi, often met up for drinks and overpriced bar food on the weekends. Choji was acting strange on this specific day, drumming his fingers on the bar and fidgeting with his glass, napkin, and anything else he could find.
Shikamaru looked at him with narrowed eyes, "You're being weird".
"I am not being weird, I'm excited about something", Choji replied, smiling. "You should try it some time".
Even more suspicious, Shikamaru wondered, "Oh yeah? What about? You got a date or something?".
Between drinks Choji replied, "Ehhh, not really a date, but I'll meet someone there, I'm sure".
"Are you gonna tell me or...?"
Choji grinned, "Alright, alright! I've been holding it in... I wasn't sure if I should tell you. Just promise you won't laugh".
Shikamaru raised his eyebrows and gave his friend look that urged, "Well, go on".
"I'm going to a sex club!"
"What...", the black-haired man sat stunned.
"Actually, I've already been a couple of times... it's a blast".
This admission came as a surprise to Shikamaru. Choji was a really nice guy, if not a little reserved. Polite and even a bit bashful around girls, he couldn't picture his friend in such a place.
"Seems a bit out of character for you...".
"Obviously!", Choji laughed. "But that's the beautiful thing, I'm not me when I'm there. People don't really wanna get to know you, they're just there for one thing. Names are hardly even used".
"I see". This particular piece of information piqued Shikamaru's interest.
Choji continued, "It's honestly been great for my confidence. You should really check one out. It's a bit expensive- they charge more for single guys. But I guess that's not much of an issue for you, eh?".
The rest of the night was spent discussing the logistics of sex clubs; Shikamaru had a ton of questions he needed answered before he'd consider stepping foot in such a place. Were they clean? Surprisingly. It's not just a bunch of weird old people? Depends where you go. Is everyone into kinky shit? Not everyone. Anonymity? Pretty much guaranteed. How often do you actually get laid? Every time.
*
Shikamaru's own experiences were much the same. He would go and no one cared to get to know him on a personal level, no one asked about his family or their business. It was exactly what he wanted. The culture was fairly simple: walk up to someone, make light small talk, and ask if they wanted to fuck. Everything was easy, things were going fine. Until her.