"We're going to a restaurant?" Ino asked, slightly incredulous, as they parked.
"Yes. Do you have something against restaurants?"
Ino sighed dramatically.
"Don't sigh at me. Come on. Not everything has to be a huge blowout."
"Yeah, but it's our first date, Shikamaru."
First date. That sounded so strange, coming out of Ino's mouth. They had made it official (well, if official meant telling your friends, even if they'd seen you hooking up on the dance floor) a week ago. Shikamaru was taking her out for the first time tonight.
It was a little Italian place, not super casual but not formal enough that they would be uncomfortable. He held the door open for her (that was what you were supposed to do, right?) and the two of them were greeted by the maître-d.
"Mr. and Mrs. Nara?" He asked with a wide a smile.
Ino coughed, looking embarrassed (for the first time in her life).
"Uh…Yeah." Shikamaru didn't want to bother correcting him.
"Right this way, please!" He led the way toward their table.
"You didn't say we were married when you made a reservation at this place, did you?" Ino hissed. He could tell she was blushing.
"Of course not." Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes.
The maître-d showed them their table. "Enjoy your meal!" He beamed.
"Thanks." Shikamaru said.
The little table was lit with a candle and looked out onto the darkening street. Shikamaru thought he had done a pretty darn good job picking out a place that would satisfy Ino (even if there was no blaring music or general overexcitement).
They both perused the menu. "You're paying, right?" Ino raised her eyebrows as if daring him to say no.
"Of course I am." He could be a gentleman, after all. "What are you going to get?"
"Garden salad." Ino said, closing her menu.
He sighed quietly. "You know, you should get something more than a salad."
"I'm on a diet." Ino said.
"Why?"
"Because, Shikamaru, a girl needs to maintain her appearance. We're not having this conversation again, it's hard enough convincing Choji."
"Ino, there's such a thing as too skinny."
"What, do you think I'm too skinny?"
"No. I think you're prefect the way you are and shouldn't just eat salads when you go out." He said seriously.
"I'll get bloated if I eat anything else." Ino said.
"That's not true. And anyway, who cares?" Shikamaru said, exasperated. "If you're full and happy, that's all that matters. And it's not like anyone will notice if you're bloated. Especially me. So don't think I'll be satisfied watching you eat carrot sticks." Wow. He never made long speeches like that, they were way too tiring. But Ino needed to hear it. Sometimes he was genuinely worried about her, because her self-image could be so skewed.
"You want to share something?" He asked her, settling on a compromise.
"Really?" Ino looked skeptical.
"Yes, really. How about the ravioli?"
"Alright." Ino said, taking a sip of her water. "If it makes you stop talking about my eating habits."
"I'm not letting you get salad any time we go out in the future." Shikamaru said.
"Seriously?" Ino rolled her eyes.
"I'm not kidding. New rule."
"Fine." Ino threw up her hands. "Can we not argue now? This is a terrible first date."
Yeah, he'd probably spoken too soon before. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. What would you rather talk about?"
"I don't know," Ino paused. "This whole thing is...kinda weird."
Well, he couldn't disagree with that. It was so strange that now he could refer to Ino as his girlfriend. He had a feeling she felt the same way too. It had struck him that Ino might be possessive, but she'd only ever referred to him as Shikamaru. And he'd feel completely ridiculous talking about Ino as 'my girlfriend.'
"Yeah..." There was an awkward pause until their waiter came to take their order.
"So," Ino, never one to allow silence, said, "We better talk about something. This is never a problem."
"How's cheerleading?" He asked, stretching.
"Really?" Ino rolled her eyes. "Well, I guess now that you asked. Tenten can be a total slave driver, she's determined for us to show off in front of the crowd."
"Sounds a bit like someone I know." He said.
"Oh shut up. She just screams ridiculous Konoha cheers, not actual helpful stuff. You should see Sakura's face when we bring out the old standards."
Shikamaru chuckled.
"Well, we have a solid squad at least. And once Forehead and I become co-captains we'll be freaking amazing."
"So you're just assuming that the two of you will be the new captains?" Shikamaru raised his eyebrows but grinned.
"Uh, duh. There is no way to bypass the two most popular girls. Not to mention the two best cheerleaders on the squad. Ami Watanabe's the only other one who stands a chance, but she's a total underachiever. And she's so obnoxious."
Shikamaru sighed and rolled his eyes. "I don't think you could get any more conceited."
"It's a little bit of healthy cockiness." Ino said with a wave of her hand. "And speaking of captains, who do you think is going to take over for Neji? The idiot?"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes at Ino's nickname for Naruto and shrugged. "Too early to say. It's only what, the first week of October? We've got the entire season ahead of us."
"True. But you should go out for it."
"Yeah, right. Being captain would be a total drag. Too much responsibility."
"Lazy bum."
He couldn't deny that. Instead he shrugged. "I wouldn't be motivated enough for the rest of the team."
"I don't know what to do with you." Ino said exasperatedly.
"You say that way too much." He said with a yawn.
The waiter brought out the dish of ravioli and two plates.
"Mm." Ino said.
"After you." He said, beckoning her to serve herself.
"What a gentleman." Ino said with a grin.
The food was good and as the sky darkened outside he realized this was an uncharacteristically romantic setting for the two of them, with the candle on the table and the two of them sharing a bowl of pasta. Almost Lady and the Tramp worthy. Except they weren't dogs.
Wow, something was wrong (or right?) if he was relating this to cliché Disney movies.
Ino dipped her fork into the bowl of ravioli. "If only this was spaghetti," she said with a wicked smile, as if reading his mind.
"Maybe some other time." He said, rolling his eyes.
"I won't let you forget you said that." She said, an even more evil grin her face.
"I know. I'll regret it later." He said with a sigh.
"No you won't." Ino grinned.
"Yeah, you're probably right." Might as well be honest, because sharing spaghetti with her didn't sound nearly as unappealing as it should.
They finished the bowl. "Are you still hungry?" He asked her.
"Nope. What's next?" She raised an eyebrow. "Something more exciting?"
"I'm so glad you care about all the effort I put into this dinner."
"This dinner where the waiter called me your wife."
"You are impossible to please."
"Maybe not." She reached across the table with a smile and grabbed his hand and they both felt a tingle.
"I was thinking we could go up to the Hill." He said. The Hill, aka the infamous location on the edge of town for, well, making out.
"Now that's better."
It was a relatively warm night, but there was still a strong breeze. They started out sitting at one of the picnic tables (he'd surprised her with hot chocolate—another good move) and then had moved to the grass to…boost the Hill's reputation. It lasted a long time. They didn't do anything serious, but he was pretty awake by the end, when they just lay silently next to each other, Ino for once content with saying nothing.
He felt himself drifting off, but couldn't help thinking.
Their relationship hadn't really changed. They still had the exact same back and forth that they'd had for years. Except now there was some (a lot of) kissing involved. And a way of flirting (that was present even during their arguments) that all of a sudden seemed pretty natural.
"Shikamaru?" Ino said, barely awake.
"Hm?" He said, eyes closed.
"Thanks for saying that earlier. About the food."
"Yeah," He said, a little surprised. "No problem, I guess. You know I—I care about you, that's all."
"I know. This whole night was perfect." Ino said with a smile, leaning her head on his shoulder. The two of them fell asleep like that for the next hour, until it was completely dark.
Then she woke him up and they stumbled their way down the dark hill (getting back after curfew would not please either one's parents). He drove her home and kissed her goodbye in her driveway.
He wouldn't have wanted tonight any other way.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed :)