Disclaimer: I do not own the series or characters portrayed herein.
"It's just this once. Once, and then you can go back to your usual princess lifestyle."
"You're lying. You're lying to me, and you're smiling about it?"
"Why would I lie to you about this? What good would trying to lie to you do me? You know better than that. Hell, I should know better than that by now. You'd probably hit me."
"I would not… well… not hard. You're such a wimp. And I still don't believe you."
"Fine. Don't believe me. Suit yourself. Troublesome."
"…"
"…"
"Goodnight."
"…"
"Goodnight."
"… yeesh! Che… troublesome woman. 'Night."
"Thank you!"
Ino Yamanaka lay flat on the ground, restlessly stretching and curling her limbs like a caged animal as she gazed at the foliage above her head, trying to spot a star through the tumble of green and brown, though the shadow made most of it look gray. When that proved impossible, she flipped to her side and stared at the tangle of weeds clumped at the base of the tree next to which they were camped. She tried counting leaves, and when she tired of that, she began to try to distinguish the plants, listing the genus and species off in her head as she recalled the dusty tomes her father kept in the shop, proliferated with drawings of all manner of native and exotic flora. All of these plants were common vines and weeds, found mostly anywhere. Oddly, that thought made her feel more alone than ever.
A soft snort sounded off to her left, and she rolled to face the vast back of one of her teammates. Choji had fallen asleep almost instantly, succumbing to exhaustion after a long day of walking. They had all been drained after such a strenuous first day, and Ino thought she might fall asleep as soon as her feet stopped moving, but that hadn't proved true. Instead, she was wide awake, possibly the only person for miles who was still conscious in the cool air of the summer night.
Choji, she noted, was a composed sleeper. Though he occasionally snored, he rarely moved, only stirring once in his sleep to brush a stray ant away from his cheek. Shikamaru, on the other hand, was the most ungraceful sleeper Ino had ever seen: he sprawled like a child, head hanging limp onto his shoulder with the other arm thrown up over his head to block out the light. His dark hair looked like a part of the forest floor, spiky clumps sticking up without regard for order.
He twitched slightly in his sleep; Ino's breath hitched, irrationally afraid that her silent observation had somehow woken him, but his breathing fell rapidly back into its steady rhythm, and the knot in her chest unfurled.
She twisted again, hugging her arms tighter around her body, though she wasn't really cold. And surprisingly, despite the protests she had voiced to Shikamaru, she wasn't uncomfortable either. She was just… wistful. Her home and her family were far away, and while it wasn't her first mission away from all of that, it was the first that required a night spent out in the open, just the three of them, without Asuma-sensei.
For once in her life, she felt very young.
The silence of the night was broken by the chirp of a cricket. Ino started at the sound, despite the fact that it was still far off. A gasp of air slipped from her lips before she could pull it back, and she curled tighter into a ball, hoping no one had heard.
She didn't want her teammates thinking she was scared, because she wasn't. Ino was nothing if not fearless, a fact she had proved time and time again, often much to the chagrin of her parents, teachers and friends. If there was a challenge to be met, Ino would tackle it head on. It had always been that way, and she didn't intend to start becoming a coward now.
"Ino."
The whisper of her name and the soft touch to her arm was enough to make her heart skip a beat. She shot up, and her shoulder connected with something solid. She heard the quiet groan before she fully realized what had happened, and then Shikamaru was crouched on the ground next to her, a hand pressed to his chest just above the sternum. His face contorted in pain, and he glared at her through half-closed eyelids.
"Never mind…"
Conflicting veins of guilt and anger ran through her, boiling together to create a strange sort of concerned hostility. She scooted closer to him to examine the wound she had inflicted. The beginnings of a bruise were visible just above the line of his collar, blossoming purple and brown against the sheen of his pale skin. Without preamble, she moved the fabric to reveal the full extent of the injury, which, while it looked nasty enough, didn't seem to be serious. The bruise would likely heal in a few days, provided it wasn't aggravated any further.
"It'll be fine, you big baby."
He scowled at her.
"Yes, I accept your apology for hitting me in the chest, Ino." He mumbled, but fortunately, Ino didn't catch the sarcastic remark. She seemed to be preoccupied with something else entirely. She was staring at him with a look of visible perplexity, and the intensity of her teal gaze made Shikamaru more uncomfortable than any bruise ever could.
"What?"
"What were you doing?" She asked. She sat back and folded her arms as she waited for an answer.
"You made a noise." He explained simply, as though that were all the explanation that was required, but when she didn't move to acknowledge his reasoning, he continued. "I thought something might be wrong."
"Oh." The formation of the syllable drew her mouth inward, making her look all the more childlike in the dappled light of the moon.
"Well, I'm fine." She explained after a considerable pause, but a skeptical raise of the eyebrow told her that Shikamaru wasn't buying it.
"The cricket just made me jump, that was all." She amended.
He tilted his head just slightly, with a look that clearly said, 'You expect me to believe that's really all it was?'
When she kept her silence, he shrugged.
"Fine. I'm going back to sleep then." He began to move back toward his pallet on the other side of their camp; his head hadn't quite hit the ground when her whisper met his ears.
"Shikamaru?"
He rolled his head slowly to face her, listening. She looked very small from all the way across the clearing, with her arms folded tightly around her knees and a veil of hair obscuring parts of her face and shoulders. Her light eyes darted all over the place, looking anywhere except at him.
"Would you mind… sitting up for a while?"
Shikamaru didn't offer any answer or protest, just righted himself with a slight grunt, propping his back against one of the trees. She moved quietly to sit beside him, the side of her arm pressed against his.
They sat that way for a long time, both staring out at the night and neither speaking, as Choji's subdued snores rumbled in the background. Ino could feel herself getting weary, the strain of the day finally closing in on her, and the night began to blend together, fading into periods of darkness that got longer and longer. Her head drooped, seeking the warmth of Shikamaru's shoulder, and he didn't move, simply glanced over when he felt it fall and smirked slightly when her eyes fluttered closed, finally succumbing to the peace of slumber. The gentle ghost of her breath over his skin told her that she truly was asleep this time, and would likely remain so until the morning. He was partially glad that she was asleep now, if only so she couldn't see the goosebumps that had inexplicably risen on the flesh of his arm. The question of why was one to be considered later, much later. For now, he had finally gotten his restless teammate to relax, and that was enough.
And despite the fact that he had a feeling he wouldn't be sleeping much tonight, a smile lit his face.
A/N: Just a short little oneshot I wrote because I was bored. It's meant to be set sometime in Part One of the series, when they were fairly young. Hopefully it's not completely terrible.
As with all my stories, if you see any glaring errors, please let me know in a constructive manner. I really need to think about getting a beta...
Leave a review, if you'd be so kind, and thanks for reading!