Author's note: Hello! 3rd week of ShikaIno month and their birthdays are coming up pretty soon! Yay! I am so excited!

Anyway, I hope you would all enjoy this! This is for all the ShikaIno shippers! :)

[added] So.. yeah... someone is beta-reading my stories at last! Give OreosGoRawrEatMe a big round of applause for being nice to me and accepting the beta-reader position for this story... believe me! She is so great! And her beta-reading skills is simply amazing!:)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

It was only 3 am and Shikamaru was surprisingly wide awake. He smiled as he watched his girlfriend pace back and forth around the house. He really did love her; everything she did made him smile. She was his dream. They had been dating for more than a year now and half way through their relationship his girlfriend decided to move in with him. They had been sharing a house for more than six months now, and he never felt happier or luckier in his entire life.

"You lazy ass. Why won't you help me with these preparations instead of watching me comfortably in your seat?" she asked.

Shikamaru snorted, "Troublesome. You said it yourself. I'm sitting comfortably here in this seat watching a wonderful scene. Why would I want to move?"

She frowned, "Well…" she said struggling to find a reason. "Well, if you decide to move your idle bum, we'd be spending more quality time with each other." She reasoned hoping he would budge. He did and she smiled. Oh, how Shikamaru love that smile. He would do anything to see it over and over again.

"Alright, Ino, what can I do to help?" he asked.

Yes, Ino was his dream girl. He had loved Ino since they were little, but he wasn't her type. He figured pushing his luck on her would be too troublesome, so he stayed quiet. He stayed quiet when she was fawning over Sasuke, but he never liked the guy and made that clear to the whole world. When he thought the "Sasuke Era" was over, Sai came and he was again containing his jealousy inside him. The two dated but they did not last long. They found out that Sai was… let's just say Sai has other preferences. After Sai, a lot of people came in, dated her, made her laugh and made her cry, then they all got the hell out of her life. It was ticking him off, but she said she'll eventually find the right guy for her and soon the trial and error will end. So with all the events in her life, he and Choji stayed quiet. But everything has its end and when Shikamaru's rope of patience snapped, an awkward confession occurred.

Ino had been ignoring him for days. It was because he said this new guy Ino was dating was just going to be the same as the other guys that only wanted her body. But Ino defended her boyfriend and even proved it to him when she showed a ring, indicating that her boyfriend had already proposed. Shikamaru was furious though he remained his calm composure.

"How do you even know that he is just fooling me around? What do you know about relationships? You were never in one. Besides, you haven't even met him," Ino challenged.

He answered, "Troublesome. I'm a boy. I know when another boy is just fooling someone. And if you're going to be mad when I honestly answer your queries, then why don't you just ask another person?"

"Wha- You're one of my best friends. I ought to know what you think of my future husband."

"Well then my opinion of him is that he just wants your body. Like all the other guys you have dated. Troublesome."

"He loves me!"

"Believe me. He'll ask for your body before marriage and once you give it to him, he won't even show up on the wedding date."

"He won't do that! He loves me!"

"Fine. Then go ahead, marry that guy. Be a fool again. But if he deceives you and I'm proven right, don't even think of crying to me." That was the last thing he said to her before he stormed off. Since then, Ino has been ignoring him. Today, Choji invited him to Yakiniku Q. What surprised him was that Ino was there with Choji.

'Of course, Choji noticed the cold war going on between Ino and I and he wants us to reconcile. Sigh,' he thought as he walked towards their usual spot in the restaurant. Then he noticed Ino was teary-eyed and Choji was in his comforting stance. Ino looked up to him and stopped crying. She wiped her tears and Choji reluctantly let go of his embrace on her.

"You didn't tell me you invited Shikamaru, Choji." She started.

Choji guiltily scratched his head. "Oh… um… I have to order…um… our usual. I'll leave the two of you alone." Choji said, both Ino and Shikamaru protested but the bigger man left immediately after. It was followed by a deafening silence for no one said a word. They didn't know what to say, or rather how to say it. Well, they both knew what was on their minds; it was the matter of how to put it in words.

Ino was the first to break the silence, "So… you won." Shikamaru looked confusedly at her, "I mean, you were right. He broke up with me last night, and it was only a few days before our wedding. He just wanted my body. Exactly as you said."

Shikamaru felt guilty and angry at the same time. He didn't really want her to marry the guy, but actually seeing her broken like this? He wished he had been wrong. "Troublesome."

"Scold me, Shikamaru. Tell me how stupid I am for not listening to you. I should have known. You're a genius; you're always right. Why didn't I listen to you? I am so stupid!"

"Ino…"

"I am not going to cry, Shikamaru. You told me not to cry in front of you if ever he broke up with me."

She said that but Shikamaru knew that all she wanted to do was cry. He slipped besides her and patted her back. "It's okay Ino. If you want, you can cry. I take back what I said. But… you know I am not really good in comforting people, right? That has always been Choji's job." After saying that, Ino started crying really loud. It was a good thing they were regular customers; the owner gave them a closed booth reserved only for the three of them.

"Shikamaru!" She called as she grabbed Shikamaru's chuunin vest and started crying onto it.

"What did he do to you?" he asked still patting her back.

"He came to my house and asked me for a drink. He brought sake and told me we could share it. I became tipsy and he was drunk. He started taking advantage of me and I resisted. I ran away from him and went to my bedroom. He was furious. He followed me and angrily took my door down. Then he… he…" Ino explained. Shikamaru knew what was coming, and once again hoped he was wrong or else he could kill someone tonight.

"He almost raped me. But when I swung at him to defend myself, I had injured him. Then he furiously walked away. He broke off the wedding and I was begging him not to. I said I was sorry, that I didn't mean to hurt him but he did not listen. And before he had even completely walked out the door, he told me that I would never find the right guy for me if I keep acting like a virgin when everyone knows I am slut." Ino whispered.

Shikamaru embraced her tightly, his eyes glaring daggers at the window as if Ino's ex-boyfriend was there. He vowed he'd kill the guy. It was his job after all. Ever since boys started flocking around Ino and she began dating them and ending up with heartbreaks, Choji has become her comforter and Shikamaru was her avenger, though the latter was always not in her knowledge.

He closed his eyes and allowed her to cry in his arms. His thoughts were running off on ways of how he would kill the guy, until he settled with the painful and slow way. Then his thoughts went to why couldn't Ino stop the trial and error dating system and just end up with him.

"Why won't you just date me instead? That way you won't be hurt anymore and I don't have to suffer quietly anymore either." He said. As soon as he realized he said that out loud, he opened his eyes and stared at the woman who was staring back at him. He was hoping that she didn't hear him or that she would pretend that he did not say anything.

"Do you really mean what you just said, Shikamaru?"

Nope, no way out. There was only one way out: confess. Two results of confessing: she feels the same or he'll be rejected. The first one was impossible so he thought of ways on how to react once Ino rejected him. Shikamaru already calculated his moves.

"Shikamaru…"

"I love you, Ino. I don't know how, when, or why. I just love you. I know I told everyone about my plans for my future, but… somehow, I always knew it was never going to happen. You already altered my future the moment I saw you." Shikamaru almost wished that his life would end just for this embarrassing moment to be over soon. He knew he was going to be rejected, but after his confession Ino was just staring blankly at him.

"Ino, you don't need to answer back. I know you don't feel the same way and-" he was cut off when Ino talked.

"Who told you that?"

Shikamaru was shocked. He never saw this coming; now he needed to plan new moves. But of all the times to be mentally blocked, it chose to be today, at this hour, at this moment that Ino had indirectly admitted her feelings to him. So Shikamaru followed his gut.

It was sweet and gentle. Her lips are so soft. It was like a dream. The kiss was so magical like in the movies Ino had forced him to watch with her. They broke the kiss only to breathe in some air then when they had enough air, they again joined their lips together in a passionate manner.

"I hope I wasn't away for too long that both of you killed each other already." Choji joked as he entered the booth. He gasped when he saw Ino and Shikamaru lip locked. The couple quickly parted when they saw their big friend.

"Sorry, bad timing. Just ignore me and continue doing what you are doing. Call me when both of you are ready." He said before closing the door. The couple looked at each other and laughed before continuing their kiss.

After half an hour, they called Choji to join them only to find the rest of rookie 9 and team Guy outside their room. Apparently, Choji was so thrilled to learn that at last both his friends had came to good terms and ended up together that he invited the other teams to celebrate with them. They all had a great night, and Shikamaru had never been happier in his life.

"I think that's good." Ino remarked. Shikamaru smiled. Ever since they got together and lived together, Shikamaru became more sociable and friendly. Though still not as active as Ino, Choji or Naruto, Shikamaru has had a lighter aura around him.

"What do you think Hokage-sama wants to do with all these?"Ino said looking up to him.

"Let's just find out." He said as he grabbed her hand indicating they should go. Ino happily lead the way towards the Hokage tower.

A/N: Thank you for reading! :))

I'm lazy... so I didn't name Ino's ex-boyfriend... sorry about that...

And yep... I think it will be longer than a one-shot... I think I can finish this this month..

[added]Thank you OreosGoRawrEatMe! And thank you dear reader as well! :)