Title: Nightmares

Pairing: ShikaIno

Summary: Ino has a nightmare after an argument with Shikamaru.

Author's Note: Here is another ShikaIno story! It's been a long time since I've posted on this site. Probably because I've fallen so behind on the Naruto anime and manga chapters. It's like I know what's going on from what people have told me, but knowing what's happening and actually knowing what's happening are two different things lol.

"No, Shikamaru. Please…" Ino pleaded, but he ignored her and shook his head.

"Forget it, Ino. I've had it with you." He brushed her hand off of his shoulder and continued his trek toward the front door, fully intent on leaving and never coming back.

"Shika…" She moved closer, but he put his hand up to stop her.

"I should have chosen someone else." He said the words with such volition that she sucked in a shaky breath. "I could have chosen any other woman, but stupidly, I chose you, and you've done nothing but cause me grief since."

"You don't mean that!" She yelled at him through the tears and stepped closer, but he countered it by opening the door. His face was hard and void of emotions as he stared at her, and Ino shrunk back at the severity of the look. He let out a sarcastic laugh as he toed his shoes on and turned his back to her.

"You really are more trouble than you're worth, and I just can't deal with it anymore." Walking the rest of the way out the door, he left without another word or glance, leaving Ino screaming as she dropped to the floor in a heap of tears…

Ino's eyes snapped open and she lurched herself forward, immediately burying her face in her hands as a sob escaped her body. Her hands shook as she hastily wiped the tears from her eyes, but she froze when she heard frantic footfalls and the sound of the bedroom door opening, signaling the arrival of the second occupant of the apartment.

Shikamaru stood in the doorway, his expression wild as his eyes searched around the semi-darkened room, investigating every crevice with a sharp stare. Ino's gaze followed him while he walked around, surveying their surroundings, trying to find the cause of her cries. The room was lit only by the faint light of the setting sun, and he used even that small resource to further look around.

Upon seeing nothing in the room that would have caused her distress, he relaxed his stance and walked over to sit in front of her on the bed. Her tear-streaked face greeted him, and his heart constricted as the tightness in his chest when he first heard her scream clutched at him once more.

"Are you alright? What happened?" He demanded, intently studying her in an attempt to gain any sort of clue as to what could have caused her to cry out like she had.

She didn't answer, and instead just stared past him, her glassy eyes dull and lifeless as she willed herself to calm down. It was just a dream. Only a dream, she whispered in her head, her breath coming out in shallow puffs. She blinked, causing a few of the remaining tears to fall, and it cleared her vision enough to see what she'd been staring at for the last few moments.

Concentrating on the wall and the now open bedroom door stabilized her, and brought her back to the reality that the nightmare had sucked out of her. Her eyes crinkled as she continued to stare ahead, fully aware of Shikamaru's presence next to her. The haze that the nightmare left her in had all but faded, and almost forgotten feelings of anger and belligerence filled the void.

Now that the crippling fear had passed, the memories from earlier staggered back, reminding her why she had separated herself from Shikamaru in the first place, and why she still had yet to acknowledge him since he'd stormed in. No matter how upset she was, she still had nothing to say to him. Somehow, despite the fear that had coursed through her, the argument they'd had earlier was still at the front of her mind.

"Ino, what is it?" He asked again, his expression hard from worry, yet his tone portraying his own lingering anger.

She still refused to answer, and instead hugged the disheveled sheets tightly around herself. She was fully clothed, having fallen asleep in a simple shirt and a pair of shorts that-upon further inspection- she realized belonged to Shikamaru. Even still, the chill from the nightmare hadn't gone away, and so she clutched the sheet all the way up to her chin and avoided the look she knew he was giving her.

Shikamaru continued watching her, and he eventually let out a deep, frustrated sigh. He brought a hand up and rubbed his eyes before looking her over, his gaze intense as he studied her face, cataloging every movement and mannerism he saw in his mind that would let him know what she was feeling.

She'd had a nightmare; that much he could tell, and- from the looks of it- it was one that shook her up pretty badly. It wasn't often that she had bad dreams, and the only times he was ever aware of them were when he would feel her jerk awake in the middle of the night. During those times, he would generally wake immediately and- whether from the sudden movement or the unexplainable hunch that she needed him- he had no idea why. Afterwards he would feign sleep long enough for her to calm down before wrapping his arms around her, offering her the silent comfort of his presence. Sometimes, if the nightmare was terrible enough- and somehow he always knew when it was- he would sit with her, stroke her hair and whisper to her for however long it took for her to finally feel safe enough to fall back asleep.

She never discussed her bad dreams, and he never asked. She trusted him with everything, so if she never mentioned them before, then they weren't something she felt she wanted to share.

She ignored him, and instead turned to look in the mirror on her vanity. She cringed at the sight of herself, and buried the urge cover her eyes. Her face was red and tear-stained, and her normally pristine hair stuck out at odd angles. Bringing a shaky hand to her head, she roughly ran her fingers through a few of the strands before letting her hand fall limply back to her lap. It was useless to even try to look presentable, especially when so much was going through her mind all at once.

She noticed Shikamaru's eyes glued to her, analyzing her every action, her every breath. She looked down at her hands as her fingers once again curled around the bed sheets, the midnight blue fabric contrasting sharply against her unusually pale skin. She closed her eyes as she began to remember the dream, and she suppressed a gasp as every detail played out in her mind. This nightmare had a clarity that her others didn't. When she replayed it in her mind, it was like she was still in the dream. The terror and the heartache were so real and so gut wrenching that she almost felt sick, and if she thought hard enough, she could remember everything from the way his shoulders stiffened as he turned his back on her to the agonizing pain in her heart as she fell to the ground.

The dream was too real, too vivid, and she couldn't help but wonder if something like that could ever happen. Could he ever be that cold? Could she ever bring him to the point of leaving her?

A chill ran down her spine at the thought, and she didn't even bother trying to pull the sheets any tighter. The coldness she felt had nothing to do with the temperature, but everything to do with the unfinished argument and the unspoken feelings between the two of them.

The bed shifted as Shikamaru stood, no longer willing to sit and watch as she ignored him. He was tired, and he was in no mood. He still had work he needed to complete, work that would have been done earlier had she not started screaming at him about something that he couldn't even remember.

"If you won't talk to me, fine. I'm leaving." He told her while turning toward the door, his back facing her.

Ino's eyes widened when he spoke, and she instantly snapped her head up to watch as he prepared to leave the room. A brief panic seeped through her instantly, and she didn't even care that she was still supposed to be mad at him. She couldn't think of anything except that the way he stood before her now, his back turned and hand on the door frame, was the same way she'd seen him in her dream.

Not even thinking, she moved forward onto her knees and crawled to the end of the bed. Shikamaru turned his head at the noise, an expression of confusion on his face as he watched her move close enough so she was within arm's reach. Her eyes met his, sky blue staring into cool brown, and silently reached out to him, needing the contact more and more with each passing second. He tore his eyes away from hers to look down at her outstretched hand before bringing his head back up slowly.

His brow furrowed, and he unconsciously moved the hand clutching the door frame back to rest at his side. Something wasn't right, and he had no idea how he was supposed to make heads or tails of the situation because she still wasn't speaking to him, and the only clues he had were only what he could see with his own eyes. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, grumbling in his mind how troublesome this woman was ninety percent of the time.

He was irritated. He might have forgotten the original cause of their argument, but that didn't change the fact that there had still been one, and that it had effectively put him in a sour mood for the rest of the day. That, coupled with the half-finished assignments he had to hand to Lady Tsunade first thing in the morning, only made things worse. Despite all of that, the look in her eyes was one that he couldn't ignore even if he tried.

Making up his mind, he made his way back toward her. Once he closed the distance between them, he reached out and took both of her hands in his. He heard her sudden intake of breath when their hands joined, and he didn't need to look at her face to know that her gaze was concentrated on their unity.

And just that knowledge alone, the mere fact that she seemed to be questioning him, questioning them, was what finally made him move. Entwining their fingers, he stepped to the side of the bed. With a precision only he possessed, he moved their joined hands behind his back, drawing her forward closer and closer until her legs slid off the side of the bed and she was standing in front of him. Letting go of one of her hands, he held a firm grip on the other and lead them out of the room. Ino held onto his hand loosely as they walked out, each step allowing her to breathe easier.

The light was dim in the living room, and Ino suspected that Shikamaru had either been too lazy or too engrossed in his work to bother turning a lamp on. She paused and shook her head, knowing that one of the reasons he kept rubbing his eyes was because of the headache that reading in dim light had caused him. She stood behind him and opened her mouth to protest before quickly snapping it shut. If she yelled at him now, then he would just accuse her of nagging, and she was angry enough as it was.

Shikamaru turned around when she stopped and rolled his eyes at the small frown on her face. Without missing a beat, he flicked on the light switch as he continued his trek to the table.

"All you had to do was say it." He told her with barely controlled annoyance. He hated it when she had something to say and purposely stayed quiet. It was things like that that tended to manifest into arguments.

She scoffed at him and shook her head. "Why? So you can roll your eyes and ignore me? I think I'll pass."

He turned his head to reply, but bit back a sarcastic remark. He didn't feel like getting into it with her again, so he just settled on sitting on the floor, his back resting against the couch. His work was spread out in front of him, only half of it finished and in a neat pile at the very end of the table. He gave his unfinished work a disdainful look before rubbing his eyes with the palm of his hand.

He wanted to do it. It would be so easy to sit there and just finish the work he had left to do. His fingers were right next to the pen, itching to take hold of it. But no matter how strong the urge was, there was no possible way it was going to happen. Not until they talked.

He tilted his head to the side so he could get another look at her. She was leaning against the wall near the lamp, her gaze directed to the ground beneath her. She had her arms around herself tightly, and if he squinted he could see the faint trembling of her fingers.

"Ino, come here, please." He asked, standing up from the floor just to sit on the couch. Whatever it was that was scaring her, he wanted to know about it. The sooner he knew, the sooner he could make it disappear.

"I don't want to talk about it." She replied, standing a little straighter against the wall.

Her voice was stronger now, despite the conflicting emotions she was still feeling. As much as she wanted to sit with him and reveal everything she'd been keeping inside, there was another part of her that didn't want him to know any of it. What good would it do? It was a simple dream, brought on by the stress of a lover's spat between the two of them. What would he think if he found out?

"How can I help if I don't know what's wrong?"

"It's really nothing, Shikamaru." She told him. Her bottom lip quivered against her will, but she managed to control it enough to force a bright smile on her face. She took in a breath and exhaled deeply. "I'm completely okay now."

"Then why don't I believe you?" He replied, not at all fooled by her display.

She turned away from him and closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths. As more and more time passed, she felt the tension and unease from the afternoon slowly seep away. Her tears had mostly dried up, and she was left with faint shivers as the last remaining evidence of her distress. That overwhelming dread she felt at the thought of losing him was now not so overwhelming anymore, and that was enough for her to breathe easier.

Taking one last deep breath, she turned back to him before slowly making her way over to sit next to him on the couch. He watched her as she mirrored his position, leaning her back against the arm rest on the opposite side as she faced him.

"So, are you talking to me again?" He asked, not really intending for it to sound as spiteful as it did.

"I left because I needed space. I was never not talking to you." She answered him with heat in her eyes, knowing he was not talking about her bout of silence from a few minutes ago.

He scoffed under his breath, silently cursing himself for starting out the conversation this way. They didn't need to have another argument, especially since he was pretty sure the one they'd had earlier was still unresolved.

"Could have fooled me, but okay." He commented, folding one of his legs underneath the other.

"What is it that you want, Shikamaru?" She asked, her voice suddenly sounding tired as she rubbed at her forehead.

"I want you to be truthful with me." He told her simply. "There's something you're not telling me, and I know it has something to do with whatever you dreamed about."

"It was just a nightmare, Shikamaru."

"It might have been," he agreed. "But there's more to it than that."

She lowered her head, her bangs slipping from behind her ear, shielding her face from him. She didn't want to look up. If she met his eyes again, she would end up revealing a lot more than just the details of her bad dream.

She lifted her head again and laid her cheek against her palm, her elbow resting on the top of the couch.

"Why is it so important?" She inquired, truly curious as to why he was so interested. "A nightmare isn't anything to worry about. I've had them before."

"Yeah, but there's something about this one. It just doesn't sit well with me."

Their eyes met, and for the first time, Ino saw how much the day had affected him. His frustration, anger and exhaustion had manifested physically, and she could see the evidence of each as her eyes traced the frown lines on his face.

"It's just been a long day. We're both tired, so let's just talk about this later, ok?" Her voice was tender, but had a finality to it that left no room for argument.

She stood, then, and lifted her arms over her head in a lazy stretch before turning away and walking back toward the bedroom.

Shikamaru shook his head at her retreating back. There was no way he was going to leave this hanging over them any longer than it needed to. He understood what she wanted, and he'd give it to her, but not before they talked about what was really going on.

"Ino, I'm sorry." He called out to her, not knowing what else to say, and not caring because this was something he should have told her long before. "I'm sorry."

She stopped and turned on her heel to face him again, her eyes becoming glassy as she was reminded of the turn of events that caused all of this in the first place. She hugged her elbows as she looked at him, seeing him with a diligence only she possessed.

She unwrapped her arms from around herself and walked back over to him, her eyes never leaving his. She sat down next to him, but closer this time, forcing him to maneuver his position to accommodate her proximity.

"I'm sorry, too." She apologized, and not just for the petty disagreement. She was sorry for so much more. She was apologizing for losing her temper, for scaring him with her screams, and for having ever questioned her faith in him.

And for the first time that night, they were on the same page. They were back to the effortlessness that was their relationship. They were back to sensing each other's feelings, and knowing the other's every thought with just one look.

It gave them peace of mind, and Ino felt the last echoes of anxiety leave her. She glanced over at Shikamaru and saw his shoulders relax, and she knew he felt the same calm that she did. They still had things to say, and now they could finally talk.

"What did you dream? What happened that you woke up so scared?" He asked, the concern palpable as he spoke. Since she'd woken up, he'd been observing her, studying her, searching for anything that would give him insight. He already figured it out, but that didn't mean he didn't need to hear her say it.

Her free hand rested on her leg, and she played with a loose thread on her shorts as she lifted her head towards the front door. The nightmare was just a memory now, not nearly as vivid as it had been before. When she replayed it now, she almost couldn't understand what frightened her so badly. Had they not been angry at each other before she went to sleep, would she have reacted as strongly to it?

She honestly couldn't answer that.

"You left me." She began, the loose thread on her shorts growing longer as her fingers unraveled it. "We were fighting, and then you left."

He nodded, and his thoughts drifted back to the moment when he took her hand in their bedroom. The look on her face was one he didn't think he would forget. The look of stunned surprise, as if him reaching out to her was something she wasn't deserving of. He blamed himself for that.

"What did I say to you in the dream?" He was somewhat afraid of what she would say, but despite how hurtful it might have been, he still needed to know as much as she needed to say it.

"You said that you couldn't deal with me anymore, and that you shouldn't have chosen to be with me." She couldn't help but wince at hearing herself say those words. Speaking them aloud made them seem more real than the dream had.

He reached his hand over and lifted her chin up. "Look at me."

He looked straight into her eyes, making sure their gazes were connected. What he saw in them was what he always saw: trust, loyalty, and an all consuming passion for him and their relationship. His emotions mirrored hers, conveying everything that made their relationship so important.

"This whole thing has really bothered me." He sighed, moving his hand from her chin to her collar bone.

She nodded, waiting for him to continue. She wrapped her hands around his wrist gently, and brought his hand back up to her face. It was something she did often, and the gesture helped further ground both of them with the familiarity of it.

"Today has just been strange. Too many little things ended up turning into…whatever this is that's going on with us." He used his free hand to gesture between them.

"Right," She agreed. "And it's not like we've never had days like this before."

"Exactly." He said, a lopsided grin making its way to his lips. He watched as a small smile formed on hers, and knew she remembered the earlier days of their relationship as well as he did. Back then, it was like their moods changed with the weather. It was missions and arguing and training and bickering and exhaustion. And then, just as quickly, it would be as if the world didn't matter as long as they were together. Instead of missions and training, it would be lazy walks and laughter and teasing and just being together.

She still held onto his hand, and he brought himself closer and wrapped his other hand around her back. Their faces were only a breath away, and when he closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against hers, they were still smiling.

The kiss was both languid and passionate, a mixture of light brushes and desperate touches that years of intimacy taught them. It wasn't an apology, and it wasn't an explanation. It was a promise and understanding that something as meaningless as a disagreement would never change their feelings for each other.

When they finally pulled away, Shikamaru leaned his head against hers. Her eyes were still closed, a content expression on her face.

"I will never leave you, Ino." He told her, his voice soft yet firm. "Never in my life will I leave you."

She nodded and held his arm tighter. "I know; I've always known. And, you know nothing could ever make me leave either. You're stuck with me."

"Heh," He smirked. "Guess there's no getting out of it, then."

She pinched his hand, and he laughed as he pulled away completely and rubbed the spot gingerly. She rolled her eyes at him.

He looked over at his forgotten assignments and grimaced, going back and forth in his mind whether he should get it over with or do it tomorrow. One glance at Ino made the decision easy for him.

"Wanna take a walk?" He asked. The clock on the table read a little after eight, and among the stars would undoubtedly be a few remaining clouds he could watch as they walked.

Ino stood and walked over to the window, hands brushing over a few small wrinkles in her shorts.

"Yeah. Maybe we can even make it to one of the restaurants before they close for the night. I think the only place open after that is Ichiraku, and I don't know about you, but I'm not in the mood for ramen this late."

He scoffed. "When have I ever been in the mood for ramen? I'd much rather go get barbecue."

"Maybe we'll run into Chouji while we're out." She thought aloud. "Or Sakura. I haven't seen her in a few days. I still need to talk to her about that new technique she wanted to show me."

"What kind of technique?" He inquired as he worked on putting on his shoes. While they were talking, Ino had quickly retreated into their room to change into another outfit.

A few seconds later, she stepped out in a simple orange shirt and grey capri pants. She joined him near the door, and bent to put her shoes on.

After hearing her explanation of the technique Sakura planned to teach her, he asked the obvious question.

"So, how do you two plan on testing out the new jutsu? At the training grounds?" He walked over to turn off the main light before opening the door and stepping out after her.

"I don't know. She'll probably just grab Naruto and make him be our punching dummy."

"Tch." He shook his head. "That boy is forever used for something or another."

"It's not like we'd ever hurt him. You're lucky you're not the one being volunteered…" She said and briskly walked ahead of him.

"You know, I don't understand why you're always defending him like I'm the one who makes him do…" Her voice trailed off the farther she walked, and Shikamaru grumbled "yeah, yeah, yeah" and just looked up at the clouds.

Yup… not even a full 10 minutes had passed, and she was mad at him again. Luckily, this one wouldn't last long.

All he could do was shake his head and continue walking, eyes still turned toward the sky, letting the floating clouds guide him forward.

*End*