She raised her eyes just above the windowsill and peered into the restaurant. She knew she couldn't go too high or she'd be seen and ruin the whole thing for Shikamaru. Usually, he would have sensed her from a mile off but today he was thankfully preoccupied. He couldn't stop staring at the beautiful kunoichi sat in front of him, and she didn't seem to mind it either. They chatted and laughed in a way she had never seen her team mate before; he was relaxed, happy for the first time since before the war. She had of course watched him have fun and laugh with his friends but this was different. This was new.
Ino felt herself being pushed away from the windowsill and stumbled backwards, noticing Choji battling for a view.
"Get out the way would you? I'm trying to get a look here!" she shouted, only then realising how loud she was being. Choji shoved her and whispered,
"Alright, alright just keep it down." They both watched as the two inside ate away. Shikamaru and Temari seemed total opposites to their normal personalities; Shikamaru alert and engaged, Temari laughing and shy… it felt like watching strangers get to know each other. But as the night progressed Ino realised that maybe this is who her team mate really is, this is who he wanted to be when he was with Temari. She made him want to be better. Why couldn't she find something like that?
"Shikamaru Nara, don't you dare let her pay for dinner," she muttered, "Or at least split it halfway," she said when she saw the state of his wallet.
Beside her she heard Choji's stomach grumbling. She glared. "I'm sorry, we've been watching them eat all night what did you expect? I haven't eaten in a full hour."
"Oh come on, are you kidding? All I've had today is one apple for lunch. One. And I'm fine."
"It's not my fault you don't feel hunger. I'm an Akimichi. If we don't have food we don't have anything."
"Idiot. It's not about food it's about willpower." She gestured to her (in her opinion perfect) body, "You think it's easy keeping a figure like this?"
"You think it's easy keeping a figure like this?" He gestured down to his body the same way.
She couldn't help but laugh, when something in the restaurant caught her eye. "Look, they're getting up let's go."
"What, we're following them home? This doesn't feel right, Ino."
"Would you stop being so nice all the time? We both know we're curious and we both want to follow them, so we're going. End of. Now move your butt and let's get going." They followed them from a distance down the streets of Konoha, and the whole way all Ino could think about was that with the soft breeze and clear sky it was the perfect atmosphere for a date. Why couldn't she have someone to take her out? Her only hope was the most unromantic, inexpressive man in the village, and God knows getting him to ask her out would take some effort.
Shikamaru and Temari walked side by side down the street, never touching apart from the occasional shoulder bump or punch from Temari. To a stranger, they seemed nothing more than work colleagues, friends if that, but to Ino who had watched him grow from immature and lazy into hardworking and focused, who had been inside his mind and seen things even he didn't admit to himself, the tension in the air surrounding those two was no secret.
Finally, they stopped outside Temari's small, rental apartment in a quiet side street near the Hokage building and began to face each other awkwardly. She could see from a distance that he was nervous; he was scratching the back of his head and shoving the other hand into his pocket. He had the most obvious tells. But Temari wasn't going in. She was stood fiddling with her keys, waiting for something to happen.
"Well, at least we know he's a gentleman," Choji whispered as they crouched behind a street sign.
"Yeah, a really stupid gentleman. You know, it worries me that a guy who can't tell the simplest thing about women is in charge of our entire military tactics division," Ino replied, rolling her eyes.
"What do you mean?" Choji's innocent eyes glistened under the dim lighting of the street lamps. Luckily, Shikamaru and Temari stood almost directly under one, leaving them in plain sight.
"She's fiddling. That means she's waiting for him to do something, make a move, you know what I mean. She doesn't want to take the first step because she's too proud for that. Kiss her you idiot!" She was getting dangerously loud again so stopped talking. She just watched in anticipation.
They continued to just talk for what felt like an eternity. She knew he was stubborn, he always had been, but she didn't think he'd last this long. "Ino, look!" Choji nudged her and made her sit up to watch. She saw in the distance Shikamaru wrapping his arms around Temari's waist, Temari leaning up on her toes and their faces slowly connecting in the darkness. The two friends watched, jaws close to the floor, as he pushed her up against the side of the building and kissed her, really kissed her, as she pulled him somewhat aggressively toward her. Choji and Ino turned their backs to the whole scene, leaning against the street sign and, as silently as possible, laughing and snickering at their friend. They heard some breathless goodnights being absentmindedly called out, and heard the lock of Temari's apartment door.
"Let's go Choji, before he sees us."
"Hold it. You can come out now guys," Shikamaru called out to them as they froze.
"There's no-one here!" yelled Choji as he winked at Ino. She just rolled her eyes and came out, faking the best 'coincidental' face she could.
"Oh hey Shikamaru! What're you doing here? We just got dinner and were taking a walk." She knew he wasn't gonna buy it.
"Yeah, yeah whatever just don't make a big deal out of this okay?" The three of them started walking back to their complex, just like they used to every night before they got separate jobs.
"Of what? Our little boy finally becoming a man?" she smirked at him.
"You know what Ino? Take all the shots you want. We're gonna be making the exact same jokes about you in a couple of weeks."
"Actually, it'll be ten times worse. You're dating Sai," Choji joked.
She blushed. "Shut up! Nothing's even happened yet, and you're already this bad?" The two boys looked at each other.
"Yeah. We really are." They smiled in pride. That's fine Ino thought, as she walked home with her two best friends, and she couldn't wait for the next chapter to start for all of them.