Hello,

I don't really have anything to say about this story. It's just little story to go along with a song (So:Lo by Kate Havnevik) that I really like for this particular pairing.

I don't own Shikamaru (as much as a younger me wishes I did) or the other mentioned characters from Naruto.

I do own Chii.

I hope that you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it.

The dial tone sounded in her ear as she bit her lower lip. She had no idea why she was bothering him at almost one in the morning, yet she couldn't bring herself to hang up the phone and pass it off as an accidental call.

"Hello?" His voice was groggy, and she had to stand up from her seat on the bed to pace through her guilt for waking him. Her hand twisted and pulled on the hem of her tank top.

"Ah, um, hi Shikamaru... It's just Chii," she cursed the way her voice cracked. She could hear shifting on the other end of the line and pulled even harder on the fabric, stretching it out further.

When he spoke again, he sounded more alert and very concerned. "Chii? What's going on? Where are you? Is everything okay?"

She moved the phone away to release a sigh before letting a small smile beset her lips. "Everything is fine. I'm at the apartment, there's nothing wrong. Sorry it's so late, I just… I needed to talk."

His relieved sigh was clear through the connection. "Okay… Where's lno?"

"She's still out," she answered with a vagueness in her tone.

"Oh," came the short response. "What's up? How are you enjoying the apartment? You've been there for what, three weeks now?"

"It has been nearly a month," she spoke breathily as she settled back down on her bed in a cross legged position. "It's fine... Different."

That was all she could honestly tell him, or anyone for that matter. It took her two weeks to admit to herself that she was feeling unsettled beyond what she would consider to be normal for the situation. Her analytic mind demanded that she find the cause and as she imagined possibilities, one stuck out.

"Ah, yeah. It's different here too. How are things with you and Sora?"

Just as she was getting somewhat relaxed, her body tensed up, and she bit her lip. "Oh, well… he and I broke up a few days ago."

She tried to sound blasé about it, to seem like she really didn't care, but she knew it was a vain attempt. He would see right through it… or think he would.

"What? Did he hurt you?" His voice, now a lot more alert, took on a warning edge. She knew that Shikamaru would do everything he could to come up with a solid revenge strategy. He'd even call in Chouji and Naruto to help.

"No, no," she sighed. "It was a very mutual decision. We weren't going anywhere."

She didn't mention that it was because her ex wasn't the type of man to stick with a woman whose affections were clearly held by another, even though she would have kept trying. Their two month relationship didn't mean anything to her, if she was being honest with herself. It never had. When Naruto had introduced the blue haired, brown eyed man that he had met on a road trip, their group of friends hadn't been very impressed. He had pissed off Kiba- and his dog, Akamaru- and they were about to slug it out when she, Shikamaru, and Chouji had walked in. Their large friend tried to mediate, but when Sora tossed out the word 'fatso,' it became a three-on-one all out brawl. Naruto jumped in for Sora's sake, while she and Shikamaru had stood to the side, shaking their heads. It took Shikamaru and Chouji's mentor, Asuma, coming along and then the "youthful green devil" Rock Lee joining the party to finally see that it had to stop. Asuma, Shikamaru, and herself intercepted, with those two getting in front of Naruto, Chouji, and Kiba, while she ended up in front of the instigator. They had stared each other down, and then he broke it off with a debatably cute smile.

An hour later, he had swiped her number from Naruto's phone and texted her, casually mentioning that the blonde had brought up this great place to eat and he wanted to go, but with someone who seemed to have their head on straight. It shocked her to say the least, but she did go, and found out that he really wasn't that bad of a guy. He just had a crazy kind of defense mechanism. Over time, he improved, and she did enjoy going out with him, but there was no attraction on her end. She wasn't sure when he figured out that she wasn't going to develop any romantic feelings for him- heck, she wasn't sure when SHE figured out that she wasn't going to develop any romantic feelings for him- but it couldn't have been too long ago. They gave each other plenty of space, especially since he lived a fair distance away, which is probably why they lasted as long as they did. She had never felt the desire to see him more frequently, but it wasn't like she dreaded his company either. It was really boring, but it was experience, she supposed. Experience she figured she'd have to get eventually.

"Are you sure? If he did anything to you, Chouji really is itching to get a good punch in-"

"No, he's not," she cut him off with a chuckle. "Chouji let that go two minutes after it happened. You're just trying to use him as a shield to avoid picking your own fight. You haven't even won a fight against me, as easily as you could."

Her faint laughter subsided and a heaviness settled in her heart as she recalled memories of their banter, and how he always, always, abandoned his position and let her win. Even the memories of the rare but heated arguments were tender, because she could see that he valued her feelings more than he did his opinion. They were both reasonable people, and when she was wrong, she came around, but he would back down to let her see it for herself.

"Why would I have to hide behind Chouji when all I have to do is tell Naruto that Sora upset you?" His smug tone carried through the phone and she just rolled her eyes.

"You tell me. You and I both know that Chouji is one of the most forgiving people we know," she countered. He sighed, making her smirk.

"Whatever."

"Mhm, it's over now. He wasn't the guy for me," she concluded.

"All right. Just making sure."

"You really don't need to. I'm plenty capable."

"I know, I know," her eyes slightly widened at the softness in his tone that she hadn't heard in quite awhile. "Is anything else going on I should know about?"

Her teeth teased her lower lip, resisting the urge to share all the thoughts that had been raging around her head for the last week or so. It wasn't time, and she wasn't sure that it ever would be. "No, everything is really ordinary. Everyone else is speeding on with their lives, and I'm just watching their drama from the slow lane. Just as I like it."

"Okay. You know that I'm here, and so are Mom and Dad if you need us, but try to need us before midnight, all right?"

Her voice dropped as her eyes began to sting a bit. "Yeah, I know. This won't happen again. Goodnight, Shikamaru."

"Goodnight, Chii."

So came the little ding from her phone, signalling the end of the call. Her arm fell to her side as she leaned back against the wall, staring down the white painted door on the opposite side of the room. She did feel better after talking to him, but also worse. She had realized shortly after moving out of the house that she had lived in with him and his parents that she was leaving her home behind, and she wouldn't find it anywhere else. It took her up until last week to admit that as she watched everyone else's love affairs, no one would be the one for her. No one would do…

Well, no one but him and the home that HE provided for her, all without knowing it.

The sun shone through the window, shining right into her eyes as she awoke to the sound of someone knocking on the door.

"Crazy woman, always forgetting her keys," she grumbled as she pulled herself out of bed. She straightened her top and sleep shorts as she headed to the front room. The clock on the wall told her that it was eight thirty, which surprised her. Ino normally wouldn't have shown up for a few more hours after a night of partying. Heaving a tired sigh, she shook her head and reached for the doorknob.

"We have got to come up with a way for you to remember your ke-" she started as she pulled the door open, but cut off when she saw that it wasn't her roommate.

Thin lips quirked into a tiny smile as brown eyes darker than her ex's fell on her. "If you gave me a key, do you really think I'd forget it?"

Thanks to the morning sun, the man leaning against the doorway holding a bag that smelled of bacon was shining like he had just descended from Heaven. It took the young woman's breath and speech away, allowing her to only shake her head.

"Well, are you going to let me in, or what?"

She stepped back, trying to get her mind back together. He shut the door behind him and walked into the kitchen, not waiting for her to follow. She did after a moment, feeling very confused.

"What are you doing?" Came her eventual intelligent query.

"Bringing you breakfast," he stated the obvious, giving her a playful condescending expression.

She decided to just shut her mouth and do something useful. Her feet carried her to the fridge where she obtained orange juice and then to the cupboard for glasses. He was still standing when she returned to the table, and in front of him were two containers, both holding pancakes, eggs, and the tasty strips that she had been smelling beforehand. She set down the glasses and opened the gallon of juice, filling each one. Her eyes stayed focused on that which was ahead of her as she pinched her tongue between her teeth. When she finished, she set the beverage down, feeling more nervous by the second. Was he there to press her for more information? It wasn't like him to do that, but it wasn't like him to show up unannounced with food either. She braced herself with an inhale before turning back to him.

"Wh-" Again, she cut off mid-sentence when she saw how close he was to her, and when she felt his lips against her forehead. It was only for a brief second, but it burned into her skin, still warm when he stepped back with the same small smile.

"Just eat," he gently commanded, ruffling her hair and then taking a seat. Her eyes refocused and she realized that she had stopped breathing. Foregoing the mini freak out that her yet to fully awaken mind started, she exhaled and inhaled again at a normal depth, then sat down to his right. As they ate in silence, she couldn't help it as the corners of her mouth, like her life, lifted a little on their own.

"Thanks, Shika."

And that's that. I think this is a really cute story. Just a little history, if you're at all interested, Chii was not originally meant for Shikamaru. I used to pair her with Gaara, but then I made a friend on deviantart and we started a role play. Her character was also paired with Gaara, so I said okay, I will let that pairing happen and just work on Chii's character development in a one-sided love and then moving on. My friend then said that she didn't want to leave Chii without someone and I said maybe Shikamaru, I guess... So we tested it out, and the more I looked at it, the more I thought that they were really cute together and in reality, they work. She is a lot closer to his original ideal woman. Not too pretty or ugly, and she really doesn't harp much like Ino or Temari would (not dissing either woman, I love them both and will still pair him with them if the ideas come), but wouldn't let him become too lazy or complacent. So yeah... That's how they came to be in my mind, and honestly, her background gives them more than ample opportunity to get to know each other enough to fall in love.

I can thank the same friend for introducing me to the song that inspired this as well, and I highly recommend listening to it.

Please review, but please also follow the rule that if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all (constructive criticism is nice).

'Til next time, my lovelies.
-stmew