First Comes Love
001. Acceding- In which Shikamaru grudgingly accepts a truth he's been denying for years, and Ino behaves quite immaturely.
Words: 373
Rating: K+
He was eight years old when he first realized that his feelings for his loud-mouthed blonde teammate-to-be were more than platonic. Looking back years later, he would reason that at that time it was nothing more than a childhood crush, and that something like that didn't even really count. But that is an entirely different story for an entirely different time.
The point is that, since that day, he has spent a decent majority of his time trying to talk himself out of them. In ten years' time, he has dedicated more hours than he cares to admit to the not-so-simple act of getting her out of his head.
It's only when that tenth year is drawing to a close and his nineteenth birthday draws nearer that he realizes it's never going to happen. That no matter how many downs they've been through in that time, he will always overlook them for the more favorable, equally abundant ups. That the number of times she's gotten under his skin in the past pales in comparison to the number of times she'll do it in the future. That in every session of cloud-gazing, his mind will inevitably wander back to her. That even though he'd like nothing more than to just not care, his blood will always boil when he sees her flirting with someone else. That for someone who's supposed to be such a brilliant strategist, he sure has landed himself in one hell of a hopeless situation.
Because even though Sasuke's out of the picture now, Ino still doesn't spare him a second glance; she's too busy bouncing from one transient object of affection to the next.
It's childish and more than slightly reprehensible, but even though he knows how immature she acts, he can't give up on the hope that one of these days she's going to wake up and realize the truth he's just now finally come to terms with.
He stops himself there, not yet ready for that final confirmation, because accepting a truth you've been denying for ten years is enough for one day. Admitting it is a different matter entirely, and that's a bridge he's not going to cross until the world leaves him with no other options.
Author's Note: Next chapter should be up in a couple of days. Thanks for reading, and if you have a moment to spare, it'd be great if you could leave a review!