"Smile For Me Soon"
The ponytail stuck straight up in back and was just too tempting not to pull. Each time Ino did so, the boy'd elbow her chest and whine to his dad, but so far, their fathers had been too busy talking to each other to take notice of them. Really, he was just too easy to play with! Besides, the expressions he was making were really kinda cute.
"Need your Daddy to take care of you? Can't win against a giii-irl?" She taunted, and the scowl on the boy's face deepened. " I can't hit a girl," He grunted and after a pause, added, " but I won't lose against one either, so you better watch it."
What happened next might have gotten ugly, but at that moment their fathers' attentions turned to them. " Looks like you got Trouble, right there, Inoishi!" The boy's father teased. " Face like that, you'll have to be beating the boys back in a few years!"
"HA!" The blonde man boomed. " Daddy's the only man in this girl's heart. Right, Princess?" Grinning, she shot off to take a running leap into his waiting arms. Planting a kiss on her father's check, she turned to other man, and was suddenly distracted the angry lines marring his face. Reaching out, she carefully traced one, asking "Mister, what happened to your face?"
Her father let out an angry cry, and took a breath to start scolding her, but the man's hand came up to touch her own, and his voice cut her father off. " I got these just a little while ago, but I don't mind. I kept a friend safe. Brought a him home to his little girl."
Past the scars, the boy and his father really did look a lot alike, Ino decided. Watching the man's severe face crack in two as he smiled, she wondered what the boy would look like smiling. Would it be as cute as the faces she already knew he could make?
"Was that little girl me?" she softly asked.
"Yeah, it was, Ino-chan," The man's smile grew softer, as she leaned back to give her own daddy a hug. " I like keeping my friends in one piece, ne, Inoishi?"
What her father said back was lost to Ino, as she was unceremoniously dropped back to the ground. Grinning, she ran up to the boy saying, " You're IT!"
"You're too troublesome," the little boy sighed, sounding more like he was fifty, rather than four. But he took off after her, all the same. By the time their guests were getting ready to leave, Ino was exhausted and her legs pleasantly sore from running. But she still hadn't seen the boy smile yet.
"Hey!" She impulsively ran up to give his ponytail a slight hank. " What's your name again?"
" Shikamaru," he answered, swatting her hand. "Let go, I need to catch up to my dad."
Instead of complying out right, she dropped her hand from his hair to his arm and said, "Hey, Shikamaru. I need you to deliver your dad one of these." And then she kissed him, right on the mouth. Twice.
Shikamaru didn't smile then either, but he did turn really red and that was about as good.
"Wh-what was that for?" he sputtered, trying to shake his arm loose of her grip so he could wipe his mouth. Ino gave him a playful shove toward the open door.
"Well, your dad saved mine, so one's for him. And the one's because I could. "
His face screwed up a bit at that. "Troublesome," he said before turning to take off down the road. Behind him, Ino laughed.