In honor of ChoIno week day one, connection.

When I Saw You I Fell in Love, and You Smiled Because You Knew

-William Shakespeare

Everything around Ino Yamanaka was changing.

Reconstruction was almost complete and the city was close to resembling it's former glory. The veil of mourning that was draped over Konoha after the war had been lifted away, and it's inhabitants, both shinobi and civilian alike, were moving on little by little.

The war never left her though.

She felt like she was standing still, unable to move from her current place and time. During the months after she returned to Konoha, she spent her days in a fog, unable to see the purpose of her existence. Why was she alive when so many other more skilled shinobi, including her dad, were not?

Home was not home anymore. The halls of her house seemed so quiet and uninviting without Inoichi's thunderous laugh echoing through them. She used to consider herself blessed to have such a close relationship with her father, but now that he was gone, it was a burden. Ino and her mom never saw eye to eye on anything, and that trend continued post war as well. Her already conservative mother grew even quieter, and she spent all day and night at the flower shop to avoid the stigma that stained the walls of their residence. Her constant absence and unwillingness to move on with her daughter caused the two of them to grow even more distant.

The past few months were free from missions. Tsunade disbanded all of them and was not accepting any new ones until life seemed a little more back to normal for everyone. Eager to find other distractions, she threw herself into training and shopped until her credit cards were maxed out, however both were done in vain. Nothing was a permanent fix. No matter how hard she tried, nothing seemed to spark that fire that once burned so brightly in her. That inner light that used to shine from her was gone.

When the sun began to set on each day, her anxieties only heightened. Her nights were long and sleepless, and she dreaded the coming of each new lonely, meaningless day

"Alright you guys, I think it's been long enough. Is team ten ready for a mission?" Tsunade asked, fanning herself with what looked like important paperwork. Her office was stifling. Even with all the windows open, it was no match for the summer heat and humidity.

"You know it!" Ino responded. "What have you got for us?"

"A simple reconnaissance mission. " she replied, handing Chouji a scroll and a map. "There's a luxury resort town north of here that's been having problems with underground gambling rings. I want you to go undercover as a bunch of tourists and snuff out the leader. There are more details in the scroll. Understood?"

"Yes, my lady" Ino replied hesitantly. "But is Shikamaru not joining us?"

"Oh don't worry, he will" she replied. "he completed his business with the Shinobi Union and will be meeting you at the rendezvous point, a small Inn, later on tonight."

Her words, as simple and non-threatening as they were, sent Ino into a panic.

She would have never guessed in a million years that Choji would be the one to make her day's less agonizing.

Shikamaru was rarely around after the war. He started a long distance relationship with Temari and found every excuse to run the Suna. In addition to having his head in the clouds even more so than usual, He was made Konoha's representative in the Shinobi Allied Union. Because of his frequent absences, Ino often found herself alone with Choji.

Choji was not the cure for her depression, but he was the best medicine to combat it's symptoms. In his presence, the weight of her problems seemed a lot more bearable, and she didn't feel so alone.

The week before the mission they were on, she started noticing that he had a strange hold on her..

She could not pin point an exact day or time when it began, but she started caring a lot about what Choji thought of her. Like Shikamaru, her head too was in the clouds. She would get lost in the moment when in his presence, and she longed to be with him when they were apart. She found herself smiling for no reason, and laughing at his jokes when she wasn't even near him.

It was not love. In fact, she had no idea what it was. All she did know was that she saw something in him that she could not find in any of the other young men she knew.

And the thought of being alone with him after this realization made her nervous, which no one else ever managed to do to her.

The sun was high in the sky, and it beat down on them with an unjust cruelness and the humidity made things almost unbearable. The two recently promoted jonin made their way through the gates of the hidden leaf, signing off and starting their journey to join their teammate on a recon mission. Choji was busy fussing with the pesky wrapper of a rapidly melting ice pop. Once he was able to free it from it's brightly colored prison, he lifted the frozen treat to his lips, but stopped before he could get it there.

"Hey….you want half?" he asked cheerfully.

The platnium blonde kunoichi usually would have scoffed and refused; she was watching her figure, of course! But she felt a small grin grace her coral painted lips

"Sure….why not"

Choji broke the twin pops down the middle and happily handed half to Ino. "Here ya go!"

"Thanks choji"

She consciously ate it as neatly as she could, keeping her eyes glued to the road in front of her. They walked at a brisk pace and made a lot of distance in only a few hours.

"You know, you're really quiet today. Is everything ok?" Choji asked, cocking his head to the side

"Of course I'm ok! Why wouldn't I be?" Ino replied dismissively, trying her best to seem collected

"Well… I just find it strange that I've been the one doing all the talking today"

"Maybe it's the heat" she reasoned. "I don't know, I'm just not feeling very chatty." She was hoping he would drop the conversation or change the subject.

As the sun began to set, they stopped for supplies and took a short, well deserved break. They sat under the shelter of an overhang, getting partial protection from the misty summer rain. He had a shopping bag full of chips tucked under each arm, and he donned his usual expression of contentment. Ino sat down next to him with nothing but a bottle of water in her hand. He shoveled the deep fried confections down like it was his mission, only stopping every so often to engage Ino in conversation, or to offer her a chip.

There in his element, with his genuine smile and kind gestures, he shone as brightly as the damp paper lanterns that hung above them.

Choji was no Sasuke Uchiha. He wasn't lithe and mysterious with a bad boy vibe. He did not smolder, and his hair did not glisten in the sunlight. He wasn't danger with a six pack. Women did not do back flips for him, and they did not compete for his affections either. No, he was way more than that.

His body was big and strong, certainly more strapping than she had previously noticed. Not only that, but his new short hair gave him a more confident look, which complemented the new beard he had started growing perfectly.

He had the warmest smile, an unwavering loyalty, and a gentle disposition. Unlike Sasuke, he went out of his way to help people, and made himself available to his friends whenever they needed him. He didn't think twice about stopping to set a butterfly free from a spider's web, reaching into his pockets for the village beggars or assisting one of the elderly members of his clan. His eyes looked upon others with nothing but kindness, which was something that she treasured. He had the biggest heart, and his loving nature had the power to put those around him at ease.

She knew Choji her whole life, and knew everything about him. He was her longest friend and closest confidante next to Sakura, but suddenly, it was as if she was seeing him for the first time. The more time she spent with him, she began to question what it was that she wanted from life, and began to realize the things that truly mattered most to her.

He paused from his meal after he noticed how intently she was observing him. "Hey Ino…..what's up?"

"Oh nothing! Nothing…!" she denied quickly with a nervous fit of giggles. "….I….I just thought I saw a bee near your face, that's all!"

"Ok, whatever you say." he replied, a tone of disbelief in his voice. "You sure are acting strange today"

Thunder rolled in the black hills as they approached the distant village that was illuminated like a small cluster of stars. As they walked down the busy streets of the town and surveyed the many bazaars, she boldly hooked her arm with his and got close to him, not wanting to get lost in the big crowd. He looked down at her nervously, and his gaze filled her stomach with flocks of butterflies. They moved faster with each step, almost feeling weightless, and her grasp slipped, rejoining his body in the palm of his hand. It was much bigger than hers, but their hands fit perfectly together in the most peculiar way. It was almost as if they were made for each other. The crowd and the mission disappeared from her sight and mind, and for the smallest moment it was just her and Choji, and she never wanted it to end. She was brought back down to earth when heavy droplets pelted her face. The gradual mist turned into a torrential downpour, causing the villagers to go into a frenzy for shelter.

Ino's eyes darted around the street, searching in vain for a spot that wasn't being barraged by Mother Nature. Most of the awnings in front of the busy cafes were packed to the brim with people, and she knew the map wouldn't last more than a minute in that weather, so she had to find shelter elsewhere-and quickly. She spotted a tight alleyway between two buildings, and although she was not sure if it could even fit the two of them comfortably, she knew it would at keep them out of the brunt of the storm.

"Here. Figure out where the hotel is. Shikamaru's probably getting worried about us" she gently ordered, handing him the map. After he took it from her, she went back to her pack and fished out her mirror. She lifted the little purple compact to her face and gasped in horror at her reflection.

"Ugh, stupid rain!" She scoffed. "I freaking hate it!" Her mascara had flaked off, leaving a black goopy mess under her eyes and her bangs were frizzy, standing up with much more volume than she cared for.

"I look disgusting…" She whined, trying to rub her under eye area clean.

"Never" he replied, folding up the map and putting in his own bag.

"Never what?" She asked impatiently

"You could never look disgusting." He muttered, looking up at her nervously. "You look beautiful, as always"

Ino Yamanaka was beautiful, there was no doubt about it, but over the years she allowed herself to think she wasn't. Maybe it was the rejection she had gone through previously, or perhaps some other occurrence at the academy that planted the seed of self-doubt deep within her, but either way she cultivated it, and had allowed herself to think that she was naturally never good enough. Outwardly, she was everything that a confident girl was made of; a great white smile, goddess like curves, a glorious mane of hair, and a face like an angel. Whenever guys complemented her, she would play along and make some sort of cocky comment in return, but in reality, she never believed them. However, when Choji said it, free of motives and self-gratification, it made her feel at ease. She knew he was sincere, and the fact that it came from him meant so much more.

It drove her mad, and her face blushed furiously. A feverish wave made its way through her body, and she was suddenly a lot more aware of the lack of distance between them. Before it could even register in her head, she had closed her eyes, leaned in and softly placed her lips on his. She pulled away only after she had realized that he did not respond to her.

He was looking at the ground, and his face was red, causing her to panic.

Maybe she read all the signs wrong…

He probably saw her as a sister and teammate, nothing more. Nothing less.

What the hell have I done?

"Choji, I'm so sorry!" She pleaded, slowly backing away from him. "Oh god….I've probably made things weird between-"

Before she could utter the word "us", he grabbed her face and claimed her lips with his, kissing her in a way that made her head spin. Without words, he told her that he cared about her just as much as she cared about him, if not more. A smile crept across her face, and an audible sigh of relief escaped from her throat, which he devoured furiously. She let her tongue slip past her lips, and he responded almost immediately, exploring her mouth with equal fervor. His warm breath fluttering on her face and the cold raindrops dripping down her neck sent addictive shivers down her spine, and she never wanted it to end. She opened her mouth wider and tilted her face, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, causing them to meld together perfectly.

What the hell happened to you two?" A groggy Shikamaru demanded to know as he opened the door and invited them in. "You both look like hell…" Ino and Choji looked at each other awkwardly and blushed furiously as they both let out a fit of nervous laughter. He had asked out of obligation though, and not out of any actual curiosity, because he threw himself onto his futon and was out like a light before either of them could respond to his to feeling like a drowned rat, Ino's first order of business was to shower off the inch of mud that was caked onto her legs. Once she was clean and she was finished washing the destroyed makeup off her face, she changed into her pajamas and quickly threw her damp hair in a braid.

Before she left the bathroom, she felt compelled to admire her own reflection. She felt carefree, weightless, and radiant.

When she returned to her room, Choji was already laying in his futon and Shikamaru was in a deep sleep. His eyes were fixed on the ceiling, deep in some sort of contemplative state, but his loving gaze fell on her the moment she entered. She unfolded her sleeping mat carefully and laid down next to him.

She couldn't help but smile when she looked at him, and blush when she thought about earlier. His embrace felt like home, and she found happiness in his arms that she never thought she could feel again. Kissing him felt natural and right. It was familiar and comforting, like the scent of a cosmos blossom. It was a set of hand seals in a signature jutsu that she had practiced her entire life, and the next line to her all-time favorite song. She did not know why it took her 19 years to notice him in that way, but her feelings for him were real, and that's all that really mattered.

Even though her hair was in a neat braid, her stubborn bangs separated from her hairdo and fell in front of her face. He reached out and gently swept the soft platinum locks behind her ear, revealing her bright blue eyes. His hand lingered on her cheek as he admired her unparalleled beauty, and she laid her hand on his, capturing it and keeping it exactly where she wanted it. He smiled that Choji Aikimichi smile, that grin that set her heart on fire, and his beautiful face was the last thing she saw before drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

Ino Yamanaka was changing...

She had fallen in love.

The End?

The Beginning.

Authors note:

Overall, i don't think this is my best work. ive been playing around with this one shot since april, and think i may have done too much to it. then add school to the mix and ya get a shitty one shot.

I feel like i didn't do them justice :( but maybe i can rewrite it soon.