I'm in a writer's dream world. Not a single hint of writer's block anywhere. Life's good, life's good.
I like Shikamaru and Temari pairings, but, somehow, I think Shikamaru/Ino pairings are just that tad sweeter. Plus, it helps that they're dads are best friends.
Disclaimer: I wish I owned Naruto. However, I don't own it, or Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji or any characters or places mentioned in here.
"Shikamaru?" came a voice from behind the lazy ninja. He opened his eyes slowly, and caught a glimpse of the clouds in the sky up above, before they were blocked out by the face of the blonde-haired blue-eyed kunoichi with her face only a small distance away from his own. "Shikamaru-kun!" she grinned, lifting a hand up in greeting.
"What?" he grunted, closing his eyes again with a sigh.
"Do you mind?" she snapped. "I decided to spend my whole break from the shop with you, and this is how you thank me? I could have gone to anyone, anybody, yet, I came to you."
"Why?" he asked in a bored voice. "It's troublesome."
"Well…I did originally go to see the girls first. But Hinata was in some boring old family conference, Tenten was training with Neji and I didn't want to go to forehead," Ino grinned. "And nobody was at Chouji's house and nobody's seen him either. So, here I am!" she grinned, spreading her arms out as though to hug him.
"Fine…" he sighed. He sat up and leant on his elbows as he stared at her. "So, what's your real reason for coming?"
She sighed. "I guess…I just wanted some comfort."
His eyes widened as he looked at her. He had never, in his entire history of knowing her, had she admitted a weakness. "W-why?"
"Because everybody seems so concerned for Billboard Brow, because Sasuke has gone. Not a single thought for anybody else. I mean, all you guys were hurt pretty bad, and that was ages ago…and everybody seems to have forgotten. And they still walk around her like Sasuke just left yesterday. I mean…seriously? And they don't spare a thought for anyone else."
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "But you didn't really like him, did you?"
Ino groaned, and lay herself flat beside him. The simple action made him shiver slightly and send butterflies to his stomach. "No. I mean, he was a crush at the beginning, when I was still little, but when Forehead broke up with me for him…after a while, I didn't like him. But I pretended to, just to get Forehead annoyed. I like someone else," she said absent-mindedly picking at a piece of grass in between them.
Shikamaru closed his eyes and heaved a sigh. I like someone else. The words swirled around his head and he tried to clear them off, as well as the tide of disappointment. Who was this guy that had taken Ino away from where she belonged…by his side, one of his best friend, and his only close female friend. It's not Chouji. Chouji was never Ino's type. And she's not his type anyway. It might be Kiba…they've become a lot closer ever since that failed Sasuke retrieval mission. She's scared stiff of Shino's bugs, so it couldn't be him. It's definitely not Naruto, she can barely stand him. Neji's cold, and he's already turned her down once. She knows that Lee will never like anyone at all apart from Sakura. Or it could be Kankouro…she's been talking to him a lot every time he comes down from Suna.
Kiba or Kankouro. Kankouro or Kiba.
"What?" her voice bought him back to reality and he looked up to see her watching him with concern. She laughed. "Oh, good. I thought you died on me. Am I boring you that much, hey?"
He frowned. Usually, if he closed his eyes whilst se was talking, she would get mildly irritated, then annoyed, and finally deadly furious. "Who's the boy you like it?" So I can hold a grudge against him for life.
"Seriously? You're interested? When have I ever interested you?"
"Since we discovered that the opposite gender didn't have cooties?" he offered, raising an eyebrow at her. "Who is this lucky boy?"
Ino shook her head, and smiled softly, almost wistfully. "Nobody."
Shikamaru sat up and stared at her. Ino had never, ever refused to talk when she was given the chance. "Ino?"
She shrugged. "You'd laugh. And, if anyone found out, he'd reject me. I know," she stated as a matter of fact, and lay back down. "Believe me, I know him well."
Shikamaru sat up and looked at her. She knew him well. She liked him. She knew him well. It couldn't be Kankouro then. It was Kiba. It had to be. "Why are you afraid of rejection for? You're…beautiful, if troublesome," he added in a half-mutter.
"Shall I prove it to you?" Ino asked, half pouting as she sat up beside him.
"Yes. But remember…I'm the genius here. I doubt I'm wrong." And he knew he was right. She was beautiful, confident, sassy, clever, charming...everything a girl could be.
She raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. She leant forward and kissed him quickly on the lips and pulled away, raising an eyebrow. "Am I right?"
Shikamaru grinned as relief flooded through him. He leant forward, and kissed her cheek. "No. I'm right. I'm the genius, remember?"
Done. Short, and my first time at trying proper romance, but I think I didn't do it badly. Hopefully.
I won't press you to read and review, but it would be nice.