Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto or the characters in Naruto or cool ninja techniques or anything to do with Naruto. There.

Please go to my profile and vote on the new poll I have: "Who would you rather Shikamaru paired up with?" It's going to be up for awhile, I think.

A/N- I decided not to add suffixes to the names here. Naruto's the only anime I watch in Japanese, so now I can sort of understand why people use things like -chan,-kun, or -san in fics now. You really get used to it. It always sort of bothered me until now, but I can understand why now.

Shika/Ino here. Slight Shika/Tema, Naru/Hina.

A Risk Worth Taking

It was the final straw.

"We're done, Shikamaru," Temari stated, not even looking at the man walking leisurely next to her. She became aware of him stopping abruptly and she turned around, arms crossing over her chest.

He looked bewildered.

"What?" he asked around his cigarette.

Temari's brow furrowed. "Listen, Shikamaru, I'm neither blind nor stupid."

"I know that," Shikamaru said slowly, his hands still resting in his pockets. "I'm still…this is really abrupt, Temari."

Temari sighed and unfolded her arms. "Let's go somewhere private, yeah?" she said, smiling slightly.

And so they did, and they both settled on the grass of his favorite field for cloud-watching.

"Now, what is this about?" Shikamaru asked, lighting another cigarette. It had already been two and a half years since Asuma had died, and he was finally cutting down on the nicotine sticks his favorite sensei had been so fond of.

"Listen, Shikamaru," Temari sighed, "I don't think we should date anymore. There are a lot of complications. I don't want to leave Suna, and you won't leave Konaha. With just that factor, neither of us are going anywhere with each other."

The genius shinobi stayed silent, his brow furrowed. He didn't seem particularly upset, but he was listening to her with avid attention.

"And I don't settle for being second best, Shikamaru," Temari continued. This time Shikamaru looked confused.

"What? What do you mean?"

Temari's lips quirked up slightly. "I know you're only with me because you think she doesn't want you."

Again, Shikamaru looked confused, yet she saw the tension in his shoulders.

"We respect each other, Shikamaru," Temari continued. "We're also a lot alike too. But we don't love each other enough to spend the rest of our life together, and I get the feeling you've loved her all your life. Even if, genius you might be, you've only realized it a year or two ago."

And this time, Shikamaru froze; because he now knew exactly whom she was talking about.

Temari stood up, brushing the grass from her clothes and he slowly followed. "Well, you don't have to see me to the gate. I can manage. And I expect you to tell her. There are some things that you can't see two-hundred different outcomes for. Isn't shougi about taking risks, too?" This time she smiled at him, formed her hands into a seal, and was gone with a poof.

Shikamaru thought about what Temari had told him as he walked through the village, hands in his pockets, cigarette between his lips, and brow furrowed. Every time the mere thought of telling her that she meant more to him than just a friend or teammate, it felt like a lead weight was dropped to the pit of his stomach.

"Hey, Shikamaru!" A very loud and very familiar voice called him. Shikamaru stopped and turned slightly, to see Naruto running towards him, waving his hand.

"Hey, Naruto," Shikamaru answered back easily as the blonde man caught up with him. He looked distinctly happy.

"I have a mission tomorrow morning and Hinata's making me ramen tonight," he was grinning, but then his face fell into the utmost serious expression. "I think I have to marry her."

Shikamaru grunted, not particularly in the mood to discuss love lives at the moment.

The blonde's face broke into a wide smile yet again. "You know, I'm glad that Sakura, Tenten, and Ino sort of pushed me towards her or else we wouldn't be together. Did you know Hinata liked me since we were little kids? She was too shy to do anything about it." A look of understanding crossed his features. "So that's why she used to faint and stutter and blush around me," he said, as if just realizing this.

This time, Shikamaru snorted. "You've been dating for a year and a half and you're only just realizing this now?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms, huffed, and looked away. "Of course I knew," he muttered, but it was obvious to the genius he was lying.

"Heh," Shikamaru snickered.

They both continued walking, and a sly grin made its way on Naruto's mouth. "Well, what about you and Temari?"

"We're not together," he grunted.

Unusually perceptive, Naruto said, "Well, I guess we all saw that. You both love your villages too much to leave them for each other. One of you would have to give up your family and friends…and I'm betting it'd be you, 'cause you're a pushover."

Slightly irritated that Naruto saw him this way, Shikamaru was about to retort when Naruto said:

"Well, now you can finally make a move on Ino, eh?" This time Naruto let out a snicker, elbowing Shikamaru in the ribs suggestively.

Annoyed, Shikamaru was about to push the blonde away before he abruptly leaped ahead, calling out:

"Hinata's waiting for me! See you later!"

Why, why was Naruto suggesting he make a move on Ino? Was it that obvious?

No, he was pretty sure he had hidden it very well.

Shikamaru ate at his parents' dinner table a few nights later. His mother was being as troublesome as ever.

"Stop slouching!" she barked, setting his plate in front of him. "What are you doing, living on your own? All of the manners I've taught you! Where have they gone?"

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, sitting up a little straighter in his seat.

"One! One 'yes'!" Yoshino snapped, setting down his father's plate with a little more force than necessary. Shikaku looked wary. "No wonder you don't have a girlfriend anymore! She probably couldn't stand your disregard for everything!"

Shikamaru wisely chose to remain silent.

The three of them ate in silence for awhile, before Shikaku broke it with a grunt.

"So I heard from Inoichi that Ino's returning from a mission tomorrow," he said casually, not looking at his son but continuing to eat.

"Yeah, so?" Shikamaru grumbled, eating a mushroom. Feeling a prickling sensation on his forehead, he looked up. Both of his parents were staring expectantly at him.

A mild panic suddenly gripped Shikamaru. "What? What?"

"She's too pretty for you," Yoshino said bluntly, narrowing her eyes at him. "But the clothes that girl wears." Here, she looked disapproving, eying him suspiciously. "I'm not sure I want you dating a girl like that, Shikamaru."

"What?" he yelped, "We're not—we're not dating!" And with that he stood up, abruptly said good-bye, and left for his apartment. His mother's yells ringing behind him.

"You look a little haggard," Chouji told him with mild concern as they walked towards the gates, "didn't you sleep at all last night?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Not…no not really."

They stopped at the gates, nodding briefly to Kotetsu and Izumo, who sat at the booth to keep track of people coming in and going out of the village. It was Chouji's idea to greet Ino.

His friend opened his mouth to ask another question when he was interrupted.

"Chouji! Shikamaru!" Ino was shouting to them, and waving. There were only two ninjas in the whole of Konaha that could make themselves heard from that distance, and they both happened to be blond.

In a few leaps, Ino was standing next to them, beaming. There were several scratches on her arm, but other than that she seemed unharmed.

"So sweet, waiting for me," she gushed, linking her arms with both of them, "You must be DYING to treat me to dinner after I report to Godaime!"

There was no doubt in her voice. She fully expected them to oblige. Both of her genin teammates sighed in defeat.

"Soo, Chouji," she said happily, "I hear you have a pretty little civilian girlfriend?"

Chouji smiled. "One of the waitresses where we eat our barbecue."

She squealed. "How cute!" her smile faded slightly as she turned to Shikamaru, before it widened even more than before. "And Temari?"

To Chouji, she sounded slightly strained. But he doubted his genius friend (who really was an idiot at times) noticed.

"There's nothing," Shikamaru grunted, refusing to look the girl in the face. "Would've been too troublesome. I probably would have had to move to Suna."

The smile faded from her face. "Well, I'm glad you're not. What would happen to Ino-Shika-Cho, right?"

They waited outside of the Hokage's office as Ino delivered her report. When she met them again, she loudly declared they were going to treat her to dinner.

"Uh, Ino, I forgot," Chouji said, "My dad's wants to see how I'm doing on this one technique I just learned, so I'll have to meet up with you some other time. It's good you're home though."

And then he winked at Shikamaru.

The genius never felt more trapped. Or betrayed by his best friend who would leave him to fend for himself in what could potentially turn out to be an awkward situation.

Sighing, he dug in his pockets for his pack of cigarettes.

"You're still smoking?" The blonde walking beside him asked shrewdly.

"Obviously," he muttered, lighting the white stick and exhaling a puff of smoke. Ino was very troublesome sometimes. Most of the time.

"Fine!" she snapped, grabbing his arm and practically dragging him towards the restaurant. "Come pay for my dinner! Now."

"Why am I in love with her again?" he thought to himself sullenly.

He was lying on his back in the field he loved to cloud-watch in; when he sensed someone approach him. His eyes were closed, and he was smoking yet another cigarette. A shadow loomed over him.

He gave no indication that he knew she was there.

"You're smoking more," Ino said quietly, which was extremely unusual, but he knew, knew she was standing there with her hands on her hips. "I thought you cut down? And you've been looking stressed lately."

He was stressed. Because of Temari, he couldn't get it out of his mind that he should just tell Ino.

But every time he was going to, every time he opened his mouth and then he saw her, saw how much more beautiful she was than him, how every guy would kill to be with her, and he would chicken out.

Because Ino wouldn't ever be with someone like him and he did not, did not take rejection well.

It had been a week and a half since she had come home.

He was only half-surprised when she sat down beside him.

"What's wrong?" because no matter what some people may think of Ino, she was one of the most caring people he knew.

He opened his dark eyes and looked at hers. They were so blue, and reminded him of the sky he loved to lay under so much.

"Nothing unusual," he said, shrugging. "I'm going on a mission tonight, so I won't be back for a week or two."

"Who else is going?"

"Ah…Sakura, Tenten, Lee, Kiba and Akamaru."

"Be careful."

"Yeah, yeah."

She flicked him in the forehead. "Well, if you're not careful, who's going to always buy me dinner? Chouji eats too much so he usually only has enough to pay for himself…convenient."

"Tch. Troublesome."

She was waiting by the gates when they were ready to depart.

"Ino-pig!" Sakura called out happily.

"Don't tell me they're letting you go out on a mission, Forehead," Ino said snootily, jutting out one hip while resting her hand on it in a cocky position.

"I see you're not going," Sakura sneered, but everyone present knew that this was an ongoing routine between the two best girl-friends.

"Hmph," Ino stuck her nose in the air. "I'm going on a top-secret mission in a couple of days. My special abilities, you know?"

"Be careful, Ino," Sakura said softly. Ino smiled and nodded.

"You too…Forehead."

"PIG!"

Ino approached him. "I'm not going to be here when you get back soo…you'll owe me lunch."

Shikamaru one of his eyebrows. "Wouldn't you owe me lunch? Since you forced me into buying your food last time, it's your turn."

"Tch, yeah right," Ino said, "I'm a beautiful woman who needs to be catered to and I'm not paying for some lazy bum's dinner."

Shikamaru found himself silently agreeing. But he only let out a "troublesome."

Her face softened. She looked like she wanted to say something.

"Well," she laughed slightly nervously. There was a hesitant pause, then, "Good luck."

"Tell her. Tell her now," a traitorous voice that sounded like a combination of Temari, Chouji, and all of his friends was hissing at him in his head.

He opened his mouth, but then changed his mind. Instead he said, "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

He pretended to ignore the pointed stares he was receiving from his comrades when they left the village.

Did everyone freaking know?

She was hitting him in the head. With her fan. And it hurt as much as it looked.

"You haven't told her yet?" Temari hissed. She had returned to Konaha to deliver news from Suna to Tsunade. "What the hell did I break up with you for? Huh?"

Shikamaru let out a tortured sigh. "Because she goes all against the plans that I had set for my life. I was going to be an ordinary ninja with an ordinary wife that wasn't too beautiful or too ugly, with two ordinary kids. Ino is none of those things!"

Temari gave him a look of disgust. "You're holding back because Ino's too beautiful? Dumbass! (smack!) Pussy! (smack!) What the hell is the matter with you?"

Shikamaru said nothing, just scowled.

"First off," Temari said angrily, "you are not an ordinary ninja. You are Konaha's top strategist. You're a jounin. So your life plan has already gone to shit."

"Second," she continued, "I demand you go tell her. Now. Right now." She raised her hand threateningly.

Shikamaru let out another tortured sigh.

There was a moment of silence, then—

"Did you just call me ordinary?"

And Shikamaru bolted. He had always been good at running away.

"AND YOU CALLED ME PLAIN TOO! COME BACK HERE YOU ASS!"

He hadn't meant to, but somehow he found himself standing outside of Ino's house. She still lived with her parents, and because Shikamaru was a genius, he knew that confessing your love to Yamanaka Inoichi's daughter was a big, fat no-no.

Because Ino's father was scary. And insanely overprotective of his only daughter.

"Shikamaru?" someone called from above and he jumped slightly, his eyes finding Ino looking at him from her window. She looked puzzled.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

Taking a deep breath, Shikamaru prepared himself to say "Because I need to tell you something, I'm madly in love with you," but instead he said, "Tch. No reason. I was just…walking."

"You? Walking?" she looked at him in disbelief.

He shrugged, "I fell asleep in the field," he lied easily.

"Well, come up here, then, let's talk for a bit," she said. Shikamaru automatically took a few defensive steps back.

"Is your dad home?" he couldn't help but ask. She gave him a strange look and shook her head no.

"He went on a mission this morning." She opened her window wider. "Just come in through this way. My dad booby-trapped everything before he left." She rolled her eyes. "Like he thinks my mom and I can't handle it."

Sighing and muttering to himself, Shikamaru prepared to leap up to her window. He landed, balancing precariously on her windowsill and sending more chakra to his feet just in case.

Her room was surprisingly plain for such a loud girl. There was a picture of Team 10 in their genin days on her dresser; a picture of Ino, her father, and her mother; a picture of her and Sakura; and a more updated version of Team 10, before Asuma had been killed. He stared at it silently as she set about putting stuff away in her room.

"I miss him," Ino said when she went to stand next to him, also looking at the picture. "Sometimes—I really do, I really miss him. I wish I could ask him some advice right now."

He looked sideways at her, and he could see her lips trembling slightly. "I haven't cried in so long. I haven't allowed myself to."

Refraining himself from pulling out a cigarette he suddenly and desperately needed (because he knew Inoichi knew that he was the only person Ino knew that smoked, and if he smelled cigarettes in her room…death would come, and it would come agonizingly), he balled his hands into fists before relaxing them.

"What advice would you ask him?"

She scowled slightly, before it turned into a small, slightly ironic looking smile. "I would ask him what I should do when the guy I'm crazy for is being a complete idiot."

His heart must've stopped suddenly and he found it hard to breath. This could be any good looking guy she's come across. Doing his best to appear nonchalant on the outside, he said, "Oh?"

Ino suddenly frowned, as though disappointed.

He couldn't stop himself, "What would he know what to do about the idiots that throw themselves at you anyway?"

Ino growled, looking very frustrated. "Nara Shikamaru you are the biggest, most clueless IDIOT I've ever met! And you're supposed to be a freakin' genius!" At this she stomped her foot and threw her hands in the air.

Now he was starting to feel angry. How was it his fault? "What?"

"You!" she said in one of those screaming-whispers, because Ino is incapable of whispering normally, "you!" She was jabbing her index finger hard against his chest. "You stupid…ugh, MAN! You're blind! How can you not see? All of those hints I've been dropping for two YEARS!"

"What--you were dating a whole bunch of guys!" Why was she so maddening?

"ARGH! Because then you started going out with Temari you—you idiot!" Ino was gritting her teeth, her eyes shining with angry tears that refused to come out. "Sakura convinced me that you'd come around, and I hoped…but you're…you're just an idiot."

She suddenly wilted, and at the same time, Shikamaru unwound and everything that was tense about him went slack. "You love shougi but you won't take a simple risk to see if I cared about you. So I'm taking the risk for you."

Flabbergasted, Shikamaru didn't know what to say. He just stood there, with his hands in his pockets.

"I know you think I'm troublesome," she sounded small and scared and Shikamaru didn't like it at all. Ino was loud and boisterous and knew exactly what she wanted. "But that's just how I am. How am I supposed to take care of you if I can't boss you around to motivate you?"

"There are some things that you can't see two-hundred different outcomes for," Temari's voice echoed in her head. And he didn't.

He grabbed her and kissed her. He already knew that this was the girl he would kiss for the rest of his life, however short it could be.

"I love you," and it came out so easily, but his heart was thumping madly and it took all of his willpower to look into her blue eyes. Her expression softened and she gave him a small smile.

"You were just being lazy, weren't you," she said, but she sounded really happy. "I guess you're forgiven. I love you too."

He smiled.

"Now you're obligated to buy me dinner for the rest of my life," and her voice was much surer, much more demanding, and much more teasing now. The smile wiped away from his face and he scowled at her in annoyance.

"You're very troublesome. Can I still back out of this?"

"No. Absolutely not."

"Trou-"

"Do not say 'troublesome'!"

He could only let out a tortured sigh.

A/N- This is my very first Naruto fic, so I'm very sorry if they're slightly out of character. I did the best I could (sorta, I wrote this really fast).

Shikamaru/Ino is my favorite couple by the way. I don't really like the Shikamaru/Temari pairing but I don't hate Temari. Although her smile is….unnatural, lol.

Review, please! Just hit the little 'Go' button, yeah?

And go vote on my poll!