Title: Crush
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing/Characters: Shikamaru, Ino/Sakura
Warning(s): From Shikamaru's POV
Genre: Romance
It had occurred to Shikamaru that Ino's infatuation with Sasuke seemed a little dry. She couldn't seem to mention the guy without bringing Sakura's name into it, as though Sakura were the only other girl that wanted him (she wasn't.) At first it seemed like a troublesome squabble between girls. Shikamaru wanted nothing to do with it. Then Ino would get into how nice Sakura was during their childhood, and how she'd become an insufferable bitch ever since she'd found Sasuke. This led Shikamaru to wonder which of the two Ino was really jealous of.
The thing that really got him thinking was the Chuunin exam. For Ino, when Sakura's team was in trouble it was about protecting Sakura, not Sasuke. If Sasuke crossed her mind then Shikamaru would be surprised. It didn't take long for them to patch things up after that, and Ino couldn't have been happier, though she pretended that it was nothing. Best of all, he barely heard a thing about Sasuke since, though she never did tire of talking about Sakura. Sakura's training with Tsunade, Sakura's new healing abilities, Sakura's affinity toward short hair. Sakura almost having boobs.
Shikamaru had to admit, though, Ino's crush on Sakura wasn't nearly as annoying as her "crush" on Sasuke.
END
