"Sasuke.. I'm sorry."
".. that doesn't cover it, and you know it", was his cold answer.
"I know! And.. that's not why I'm here", Ino said, calming herself down after her outburst. He knew how hard this was on her. She had never, ever..
"I.. I love you!"
---
"Konnichiwa, Shikamaru-kun", was the polite greeting that woke him up. Finally a face he looked forward to seeing.
"Yo."
His answer roused a small smile on her lips. She sat down next to where he was lying down and turned her eyes to the cloudless sky.
"Aren't you afraid you'll get a sunburn?" she asked suddenly, a slight blush rising to her cheeks. She wasn't as shy as she had been before the incident, but she was still prone to turning into a tomato whenever she felt embarrassed.
"I never get to be here long enough to get burnt", Shikamaru said, obviously indicating that the reason for that was his mother.
"Are you mad at me?"
The Nara sat up and took a good look at her. "Of course not. Whatever indicated that I was?"
The pale girl turned to him in surprise, "What I did was -"
"It takes two to tango. Besides, I know you. You would never have indicated anything like that, especially if you had known they were back together."
Shikamaru's reassurance didn't make her feel better.
"Did you speak with Sasuke yet?"
Hinata gave him a weird look, "Of course I did, right after.. right after he caught us. The whole thing would have turned out ugly if I had waited this long". The blank look on the boy's face confirmed the thought that his question had awaken in her.
"Ino.. hasn't spoken to him yet?"
---
The silence was unbearable.
Why didn't he react in any way?!
"If you thought I'd invite you in for tea you were wrong", he said before closing the door. Ino was frozen in place. The first time he had invited her for tea was the beginning of their rollercoaster-like relationship.
"N-no!" She stuttered out loud, finally fully aware of her surroundings. Without thinking she ran to his door and started pounding on it.
"Sasuke! I never meant - of course you won't forgive me that easily! I didn't intend to beg you to take me back! I just came to tell you -"
Her fist collided with a hard chest.
"A-ah.." his expectant look told her he wanted her to continue her sentence.
"To tell you that.. no matter what happened, or what will happen.. you are my first love. I love you. I am sorry. I don't expect you to forgive me.. but I needed you to know that."
---
"Should have known as much", Hinata chuckled, "she can be stubborn as a mule when she wants. And she's never been good at expressing her true feelings.."
The smile didn't fool Shikamaru.
"You wish she hadn't gone to talk to him."
"Why do you make that sound more like a statement than -", one look at his serious expression made her realize that joking around wasn't going to distract him from his question.
"I know she loves him, you don't have to tell me that. I know whatever happens she will always go to him. However, there's this little part in me.. it puts all these 'what if' thoughts into my head. What if she never told him how she feels.."
Shikamaru let her wander in her mind in silence for a while.
"You need to realize that -"
"I am the other woman." Her smile surprised Shikamaru. It wasn't happy but it wasn't sad either.
"I know. I will always be 'the other woman'."
This was why Shikamaru liked her. She always knew what was right and what was wrong. No matter what she wanted, she would always follow her conscience. She didn't let her feelings at large and cause havoc and unnecessary drama everywhere.
Drama was troublesome, after all.