Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Or Valentine's Day. Woe to all, if I did.
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"Chocolate?" Her tone was skeptical, it was obvious that she didn't believe in the advice she was being given.
Shikamaru nodded, not bothering to take his gaze from the clouds overhead. "It acts as an aphrodisiac. That's why it's such a popular gift on Valentine's Day."
"Aphrodisiac?"
"An agent that increases sexual arousal."
Ino's eyes widened, her face becoming suffused with a crimson blush. "Oh." She didn't think it possible that she could be embarrassed. After all, flirtation was nothing new to her, but simply the tone of Shikamaru's voice had sent a wave of shivers up her spine.
She scrambled to her feet, refusing to ask herself why, exactly, that was. She had come to Shikamaru for advice on a Valentine's gift for Sasuke, something that would capture his attention and force him to finally see beyond Sakura's billboard-sized forehead. After all, everyone knew Shikamaru was smart, he was simply too lazy to do anything with his intelligence.
Her question answered, and a suitable decision reached, Ino stalked off, determination in her steps. She would purchase the largest box of chocolates available and send them to Sasuke. Then, perhaps the rest of her plan would fall into place. The perfect Valentine's kiss was only hours away.
Ino was a firm believer in the "Perfect Kiss." Every year, she seduced the object of her affections with a mild flirtation and inevitably the night would end in a kiss. However, the perfect kiss was one she had yet to attain... and Sasuke Uchiha would not be as simple a mark as the others that had fallen for her limped blue eyes.
It wasn't as though Ino was promiscuous, quite the opposite, as she was actually a little too demanding for the most of the male gender. Still, she had thought that of all the men she had kissed on Valentine's Day, at least one of them would have met her ideal. But somehow, every year, something was missing.
This year. Ino vowed to herself. She would have the perfect kiss. Sasuke Uchiha was the perfect candidate. Intelligent, handsome, powerful… She smiled, a competitive spark igniting in her eyes. Yes, this year. She could practically feel his lips against hers.
He would approach slowly, with a cool saunter and a smile curling the corner of his mouth. His dark eyes peering deeply into hers as he captured her lips in a smoldering kiss. He would start gently, gradually increasing the pressure until she was boneless in his arms, her hands having crept up to twine themselves in his mahogany hair…
She paused, blinking rapidly. Somehow, the mental image of herself and Sasuke had been overshadowed by that of Shikamaru cradling her in his arms as he paid her mouth as much attention as he did the clouds. She scowled, mentally cursing her preoccupation. It was a mistake, she was certain. It was simply because she had been speaking with Shikamaru such a short time ago. Tonight was for the perfect kiss. The perfect kiss between herself and… Uchiha Sasuke.
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Three hours later, she was not so certain. "What do you mean, you're sold out?" Ino fumed as she berated a rather exhausted-looking clerk at the front counter.
"I told you Miss," the boy repeated for the second time, "There are simply no more chocolates in storage. They're in great demand this time of year. Perhaps tomorrow…"
"I don't want them tomorrow!" Ino was livid. "It will be too late and I'll never get my 'Perfect Kiss!'"
Understandably, the boy was looking at her in a rather unflattering way and several customers behind her began to grumble. Feeling discouraged, Ino left the line and trudged back to the hill where Shikamaru still lay, peering sleepily at the clouds.
She flopped down beside him and repeated the question she had asked previously.
Shikamaru appeared to consider for a moment. "What about flowers?"
"Flowers?" She asked incredulously. "My family owns a flower shop! I don't want him to think I'm cheap!"
Shikamaru arched a brow and closed his eyes. "Your olfactory senses are perhaps the most stimulating of your five senses. The correct arrangement of flowers could be exactly what you need."
Ino paused for a moment, narrowly gazing at her teammates prone form, before rising to her feet. "You had better be right about this." She warned him before making her way towards her family's flower shop.
As she walked through the door, she almost turned around and checked the sign again. Her family's generally orderly shop appeared as though a hurricane had hit. Clippings and leaves were scattered everywhere, flowers sprouted from vases and bouquets lined the shelves.
Despite the chaos, she couldn't help but think that perhaps Shikamaru was right about the scent. The interior of the shop was a lovely blend of sweet fragrances, making it all to easy to image the tantalizing scent twining around her body as a body rife with tensile strength lowered itself over hers, her hands slowly rising to slip beneath the tan jacket covering…
Her eyes widened. Damn that lazy teammate of hers! He simply couldn't remain with his clouds, he had to interrupt her fantasies as well. With an outraged sniff, she reached out for a particularly gorgeous spray of blossoms displayed on a lower shelf, fully intending to select them and leave to begin her plan to achieve the "Perfect Kiss."
"Ino!" Her father's voice boomed out from the back of the store. "Thank goodness you're here! We could really use your help before the next-" Before his sentence was even completed, a new wave of customers swept the store and Ino was pressed into work by her overtaxed father.
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"There's none left?" Ino's voice cracked as she watched her father turn the sign displayed on the front door from "Yes, we're open!" to "Sorry, we're closed!" and attached a small, handwritten, "Out of Stock" sign beneath to explain their early closing.
Her father rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm sorry sweetheart, we were so busy I didn't think to reserve you a bouquet. I hope your friend understands."
Disheartened, Ino cast a glance around the store, half-heartedly searching for anything she could use to advance her plan. Stems, leaves and assorted flower petals (most having been crushed underfoot) littered the floor, the only remains from the rush of frantic men and women that had flooded the store in a desperate search for a last-minute gift.
She ran her fingers through her hair, only succeeding in smudging the already bedraggled strands with dirt from the uprooting of so many young plants. She shrugged into her jacket, groaning softly from the pain in her back and shoulders. Some of the bouquets commissioned had been monstrous, not to mention monstrously heavy.
Her feet dragging, Ino walked back towards the hill where she knew Shikamaru would be waiting. When she had finally brought herself back to her starting position- for the second time- she found Shikamaru fast asleep. She lowered herself to the ground next to him and, unable to resist the unspoken invitation, closed her eyes for a short nap.
When she awoke, she would have plenty of time to put Operation "Perfect Kiss" into affect… plenty of time.
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Ino was awoken by the soft sensation of hands gently kneading the tension from her shoulders and back. She moaned softly, and arched, a reaction that caused her savior to chuckle softly.
"Sorry." Shikamaru apologized as his miraculous hands continued to move over her aching muscles, soothing their stiffness and replacing it with steady, soothing warmth. "You were whimpering in your sleep and you looked fairly uncomfortable. If you want me to stop…"
"No!" Ino wasn't certain who was more surprised at her declaration, herself or Shikamaru. However, instead of ceasing his incredible massage, Shikamaru continued to knead her back until she was nothing more than a pile of quivering gelatin beneath his masterful touch.
"Better?" He queried, his warm breath caressing her ear as he leaned down to press on a particularly knotted joint. His only response was a soft moan. He smirked, the darkness that had fallen while Ino slept, hiding the expression completely.
Finally, he ceased the motions of his hands, the original kneading, intended to relieve her soreness, having long since deteriorated into a pleasure massage. Languidly, Ino turned over to face him, realizing belatedly that his body was obscured in shadows. She gasped and jerked upright, causing Shikamaru to frown.
"What time is it?"
He glanced up at the stars and the moon, gauging their positions for a moment, then responded, "About 11:55, give or take a few minutes. Why?"
Ino's lower lip trembled and she beat a clenched fist against her leg in frustration. "Everything's ruined!"
Shikamaru tilted an eyebrow in silent question. "Ruined?"
"Yes! My "Perfect Kiss" was supposed to happen today- and now I've wasted all day running about, accomplishing nothing, and I came back to ask you for more advice and you were asleep and then I decided to take a nap and now-" She stopped for breath and said in a small voice, "Everything's ruined."
Her decent into depression was abruptly ceased when Shikamaru raised a shoulder and let it fall. "Maybe not."
"Oh?" Ino retorted snidely. "And how am I supposed to convince a boy to kiss me in the next five minutes, Mr. Genius?"
Shikamaru didn't respond and she turned to face him, saying, "You see- I told you everything was ruin-"
She was cut off by the pressure of Shikamaru's lips against hers, and the gentle weight of his arms encircling her to pull her into his embrace. Helplessly, she gave in, finally acknowledging that, no matter how much she might have wanted to deny it, this was the kiss she had been craving since she was a child, innocently searching for the "Perfect Kiss."
Now, it was "Shikamaru's Kiss," since, in her mind, the two would remain synonymous for all time.
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MM7 says:
Ah yes, the wonders of fluff and a sugar rush, all combined together to create a humongous lump of OCCness.
Happy Valentine's Day, all.