Note!: Well actually this isn't really a note i just wanted to warn you of major tsundere-ness going on so hey be prepared!
"Do you ever miss me, Shikamaru?"
Her finger brushed gently over her smirked lips, drawing attention to them. He once longed for those very lips; they were full and pink and smooth, but most importantly, they were hers. And that mouth knew just how to tease him.
Still, Shikamaru didn't falter in speech or movement. He wouldn't let her win. Not this time. "I've more important things to think about." The boy stood hovered over the girl, who sat in a lone wooden chair in a nearly empty room. It was his favorite room in his home, a room without anything but him, and his mind.
The blonde's nicely-groomed eyebrows furrowed for a second, but she still retained that devilishly smirk. She loved when he challenged her more than anything. "You're seriously in love with me. It's too cute, your heart must ache every second you see me and I'm not yours." She gave her bottom lip a quick bite, if only for extra emphasis. She stared up with him, not blinking her big, blue eyes once. He hated her eyes. They were like pools of water you could drown in. Stupid, stupid, mesmerizing pools of death.
Shikamaru sighed a heavy sigh, rubbing his temple with so much force he was sure he was about to break the skin there. "Ino, you're delusional. Ninjas are supposed to be mentally stable, you should check yourself in somewhere."
The kunoichi merely twirled a loose piece of that luscious, golden silk on top of her head as he spoke. Shikamaru hated that messy lump of strands she called hair. He hated how perfect and healthy it always seemed to look. He especially hated how easily his fingers glided through it, or how it made his hand tingle just from touching it. "Oh please!" She nearly shrieked, shooting the shinobi the harsh glare she reserved specifically for him. "You don't have to make up excuses, or try to deny it out of your embarrassment. We all know it's true. You lust after me, Shikamaru, you need me."
Shikamaru would never admit it, but his pride was one hell of a fighter. It absolutely refused to lose to Ino, whose sick pride in herself was even worse than his. "Actually, no, I definitely don't. Because I take being a ninja seriously, unlike you. I fulfill my duties, and then I nap. There's- luckily- no time for suffering through loving someone like you. And I'm not desperate or psychotic or self-hating enough to put myself though all that, either. Everything you say is a just a silly lie."
She rolled her eyes. "Blah, blah, blah, all I hear is 'Wow Ino, you're so right, I'm so sorry for trying to fool the smartest most talented kunoichi in the village, really, I'm so sorry!' And I accept your apology, Shikamaru. You can stop begging for my forgiveness now. It makes you look shameful." She got a sort of sick pleasure from watching him glare back at her, as she always did. The angrier he got, the quicker he gave in. "Besides, even that sand girl knew you were pathetically bound to me. What's worse, you tried to pass it off as if you liked her. It must've taken real skill, pretending she was me the whole time. Props."
Shikamaru's eyes widened as he let out a strained chuckle. It was beginning to happen, no matter how much he tried to swallow it back. Ino was about to win this argument… again… "Your point is? And I'd choose someone like her over you any day. I'd be an idiot not to."
Ino bit her lip was more, preparing to reach the finish line of this scuffle. Her lips were his weakness, and they both knew it. And oh, how she thanked the heavens every night that she knew it. It gave her power, and power he didn't have over her. "Even if that was the tiniest bit true, it wouldn't matter. You can date all the girls you could in the world, and it still wouldn't matter. You'd never love a single one of them as much as you love me. You'll always come back to me. And that's why I'm not worried. And that's also why, I'll always win."
His silent rage paused just long enough to let him get a good stare at Ino's lips. Her lips. The words they said were terrible, but the things they said without using words were even worse.
Shikamaru took a deep breath. "This has been going on for years now, Ino. We always do this, we always have stupid conversations like this that involve you claiming I love you and me denying it. It's so stupid, so meaningless, don't you understand? And you always win. There's no point in us even having this argument if you always win." He turned away, refusing to look at her. He despised that look on her face when they fought, like she knew he was under her power. Almost as much as he hated her eyes, and her hair, and everything else about her. "And, by the way… You win."
He paused once more to really stare at those lips, which were curled into that stupid smirk she always wore when she won. But still, those lips made it all worth it. They did every time.
"You don't seem surprised by that at all, do you Shikamaru?"
He walked over to her, kneeling down to match her eye-to-eye. Here it goes. Here comes the only reason he actually puts up with the blonde and all the things she does.
"I love you, Shikamaru. I love you more than anything in the world."
Her voice cracked softly as she tried not to break her confidence, but Shikamaru knew her much to well. She was cocky, but it had a limit. And he managed to break that limit, and he managed to find that soft side that hid itself deep inside her. Just as she was able to completely bring Shikamaru out of every comfort zone and security blanket he'd ever made for himself. And he was okay with that.
"I love you too, Ino. You said it yourself. I'd always come back to you in the end, anyways."
And as he leaned into her, his focus dedicated to finally getting to have those lips he so desperately longed for in his possession once more, he found himself happy.
Yes, he was happy. And so was Ino. They were both happy.
And as far as he was concerned, they would keep having these cruel fights, until one of them gave it, and the love between them was finally able to bubble up once again, until the day they die. Sure, it didn't make sense, but it didn't have to. They were happy, and that was all they needed. That, and Shikamaru wouldn't give up those perfect, pale lips for anything.
UM what did I just write I'm so sorry! Also it's really late and I can't bother myself to properly proof read this so there's probably some errors but oh well. And hey if you liked it you should review because I love reviews!