Silence

Shikamaru cast a bemused glance at the breathtaking blond in his passenger seat. He couldn't help himself from shaking his had at the way as she was fixing her makeup. It took everything in him not to laugh at her vigorous wiping of her face. He had no idea what had happened to the girl that made her not only agree to leave with him, but had obviously hurt her so bad she had cried publicly. Growing up she had always been so head strong. She didn't allow things to get to her...well most things he thought. "So…" He began awkwardly obviously trying to lighten the mood after his harsh comment. "Are you hungry?" He shifted in his seat looking a bit uncomfortable and returned his eyes to the road. Ino stared at him for a moment before nodding her head, "Yes, I supposed I could eat." Her head had started to throb lightly and she couldn't tell if it was from all the stupid crying she had been doing or if it was because her last meal was yesterday and it had been far from filling. "I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday actually and I could barely keep that down." She ended the sentence quietly as thoughts of her boyfriend tangled up with that traitor flashed in her head. Her stomach began churning at the image. Stop it. Breathe. It's fine.

He smiled at her. "I was actually pretty certain that you didn't eat at all. I'm glad it's not windy out or you could literally fly away." He laughed lightly and pulled his car into the nearly empty parking lot of the local diner.

Ino frowned at the statement, it wasn't the first time that a comment like that had been cast her way. "You're too skinny" "A man doesn't want a bone Ino, they need something to hold onto" "When was the last time you ate?" She hated family gatherings for that reason. They didn't understand her eating habits and mocked her for it often. She shrugged her shoulders and crossed her arms, "Yeah well..." Her voice turned venomous. "You don't get on top of the pyramid by eating pizza and cheesesteaks." Ino looked like she wanted to say something else but held her tongue.

Contrary to popular belief, dating Sasuke wasn't always great. In the beginning she would see the way he would look at her plate whenever they sat down for lunch. Judgement etched into his face as he looked at her pizza and chips. "Are you seriously going to eat that babe? Do you know how unhealthy that shit is? You're a cheerleader for christs sakes..." She got plenty of comments from him before she changed her diet to strictly an apple and yogurt for breakfast and for lunch salad paired with water. When she was home she did her best to eat light and portion her meals.

It always irritated her the way Sasuke would talk about other girls, it was like he made it a point to critique them in front of her so she knew what not to do. He made fun of them, girls Ino didn't think were unattractive and definitely didn't deserve the comments he made towards them but nonetheless she laughed alongside him. She had done everything he asked of her, changed her diet, never cut her hair, joined the fucking cheerleading squad, what more did he want from her? She didn't even apply to the college she had dreamed of because he said that the commute would be to hard and he didn't want to. When he talked about things he liked she listened and adjusted so that she never allowed herself to be the brunt of his jokes. She was perfect for him...she loved him...she thought…

"Hey, I meant it as a joke...please stop looking like I killed your cat." Ino lurched back into the present to find Shikamaru standing near the door rubbing his hand behind his neck. He held the door open for her and she walked in first giving him a small smile and a soft thank you. She hadn't even realized she was spiraling into her own little black hole. "I mean I guess I will forgive you, but only if you're paying." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and looked up at him expectantly.

"Well I mean this place is nothing but a glorified Denny's," he said smirking. "Annnd I'm pretty sure I can afford your rabbit food and free water." He laughed leading the way to the nearest open booth. "How do you know what I eat? Stalker much?" Ino was genuinely surprised he had been paying attention to her, but she didn't let it show.

He slid in across from her ignoring her comment and grabbed a menu from the side of the table and held in a way that blocked his face from her sight. "Plus I get an employee discount," he mumbled quietly.

"I'm sorry, you what?" Ino grabbed his wrist and pulled it down so that she could see his now red tinted face. He was purposefully avoiding her gaze. "You work here?" Her eyes glinting with something akin to curiosity.

Leaning back, he shrugged. "I work here so what?"

Ino finally took in the diner around her; the walls were a light pink color that reminded her of pepto bismol with white trimming, and the tables were all an electric blue. There was a blond haired girl in a blue in pink striped uniform pouring coffee for a gentlemen a few tables over and a old looking jukebox tucked in the corner between the glass case counter filled with display pies and a big red neon sign that said RESTROOMS. "It's a cute place...ya know I haven't been here since I was a little kid..." She remembered walking here with her mom after school and sharing strawberry milkshakes. It hadn't been often but enough for it to make her smile, her mom loved this place. She always said that it had character and told her stories of how her and dad fell in love. That was a long time ago though and things have changed.

"So...do you pull off the stripes as well as she does over there? Not everybody can you know?" Shikamaru rolled his eyes and began to open his mouth, but Ino smiled warmly and cut him off before he could reply. "I'm actually more shocked at the fact you're top of the class and have a job too and since you're in school all day I know that means you have to work the night shift right?"

"Yeah I do but it's not a big deal or anything." Shikamaru didn't like to brag but it was actually hard as hell and he hated it but since his dad passed away he had to help his mom pay bills. "So anyway, order what you want. I promise that I won't judge you." He said looking down at the menu looking uninterested. He was always so calm and unbothered and it was often the cause of their fights when they were younger.

"It is a big deal Shika, working and going to school. It's a big deal. You should take pride in it." Ino sounded as if she was almost pleading him to understand his worth. He knew she was trying to be nice but it didn't sit well with him. "No, it's called life princess. I'm just doing what I have to do. Not everyone can afford college you know? Like us normal guys."

Princess. She stiffened at the word it was something he used to call her when they were kids. Mostly because she had forced him to play dress up with her and would pout profusely until he agreed to play her game of fantasy; of a land where she was a queen and he was he loyal knight. She would make a crown out of flowers and command him to do her bidding and he would un-enthusiastically comply toting his wooden sword. Then one day when she suggested to play, he looked her dead in the eyes and said the most horrendous thing. "You're too young to be a queen Ino, you have to be a princess." Apparently he had watched some old movie with his dad and come to the conclusion that in her make believe kingdom she had to be a princess. A princess? A PRINCESS? In her young age he may as well have stepped on her heart. Now this had royally pissed her off, all pun intended. So she did what any girl her age would do and she ran to his dad. She cried to his father and told him how awful Shikamaru was being, how he wouldn't play with her and he wasn't being nice. She could still remember the way Shikamaru's dad looked at her biting his lip to stop himself from laughing at the ridiculousness the girl was spouting, and she could still remember his large firm hand on her shoulder. "Listen Ino, it's better to be a princess. All the best fairytales begin with one." He smiled at her kindly before adding, "besides what's that one with girl and the tea party you like so much?" Ino had stopped crying at that point and whispered, "Alice in Wonderland." He nodded at that and placed a finger to his chin, tapping lightly against it. "Ah, yes that's right...isn't the queen bad in that one? You're not a bad guy are you?" Ino shook her head quickly.

"I didn't think so but you know what else Ino, princesses don't just wear pretty dresses and tell people what to do." Ino used the back of her hand to wipe her eyes and stared up at him. Her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Have you ever heard of a warrior princess?" Ino shook her head slowly at that, "No sir... I haven't." she replied. Shikaku Nara cast a glance over at his boy who was now bending down on his knees, drawing in the dirt with his wooden sword. Shikamaru was looking at the ground with a dejected look on his face. He knew that Shikamaru hadn't meant to hurt the girl's feelings, he was just telling her because he thought she should know.

The boy still had much to learn about girls. Shikaku smiled to himself. He'll get there. "Well Ino," he continued loud enough to catch his son's attention. "Warrior princesses get to leave the castle and go on really fun adventure with the knights." Shikamaru's ears perked up at the comment and he stood up slowly listening intently to his father's words. Ino stared at him in shock, "WOW REALLY?" Her excitement was visible as she practically begged him to go on. "What else do they do!?" Shikaku grinned at the girl and clapped his hand on her shoulder. "Some of them can even use magic! They don't even need swords to fight! Isn't that cool?"

"Yeah it is!" Both kids shouted with excitement. Ino was practically jumping. Shikamaru couldn't help but staring at seeing her smiling face. It was at that moment that Shikamaru hugged Ino tightly and whispered in her ear, "See Ino being a princess is way cooler." Shikaku let out the laugh he had been holding in and then turned towards the kids. He glanced down at his watch realizing he had time to kill. "Uh oh, it looks like you have a new monster on your hands!" he said in a loud bellowing voice, his face contorting and he threw his hands up in the air wildly. "IT'S ME AND YOU BETTER RUN!".

The two squealed with excitement and took off in the direction of the backyard. Then Shikamaru did something that surprised the old man. He stopped and turned around facing his father head on his body squared and sword raised. "Don't worry princess, I'll protect you no matter what!" Shikamaru looked determined and Ino laughed behind him but moved over so that they were side by side. She grinned widely and bumped her shoulder against his. "I don't need you to save me now Shika, I can do it myself"...

Ino blinked slowly and looked up at the now grown man in front of her. He was leaning against the table, lazily resting his head in his right hand. His eyebrow arched in a way that suggested he knew why she was pausing, but his face held little emotion.