AN: Short-ish chapter. Meh. at least the quotes are correct on this one...I misslabeled the last chapter though, i wanted this one to be titles what I named chapter 6! So I'm a little frustrated, but whatever, I suppose.

Hey, did you guys watch the Superbowl? Sad outcome for me... I have a feeling Shikamaru wouldn't be interested in football...! Then again, neither am I...

Anyway, this chapter has a lot of sex in it! Ooooh! Read it and weep! Hehe


Months passed and they grew steadily closer. Shikamaru was a better husband than she could've hoped for, and she thought she was a pretty good wife when she would do their laundry or cook dinner.

One night he confessed to her that he had wanted an average woman to be his wifeone who wouldn't make a fuss and did all the chores and was pleasant and took care of him...but that, even though she wasn't really what he had been wanting, he still was glad to have a woman like her for a wife.

Shikamaru's praise meant the world to Ino.

They were no longer awkward with eachother at all. They definitely would have become friends even if they had met in a more casual way than suddenly being married. But they weren't romantic with eachother or anything. They may have been husband and wife, but they were still only friends.

Ino knew her mother was waiting for some sort of announcement that she was pregnant. She had mentioned it at their last get-together. Right in front of everyone.

Ino had been appalled. She couldn't believe her mother thought she was already in some sort of sexual relationship with her husband! Maybe if they had a wedding night she would have given in to tradition, but without any sort of dramatic tradition forced on her there was no reason or push to make it happen.

Or maybe if Shikamaru made a move on her...it's not like she was opposed to having sex with him, but Ino didn't feel the need to do it or to try and make it happen. She knew it would happen eventually, but it was not something she was dreading, or really looking forward to.

Shikamaru was very blase about it, too. He knew that there were expectations of them but he didn't want to force himself on Ino. He didn't NEED to have sex anyway, though he certainly wouldn't mind it if it were to happen. Ino was very beautiful, and when they walked together, men on the street looked at him with such jealously and at her with crazy lust. Shikamaru knew they all wanted to switch places with him.


Today was a special day--Ino had planned a "family outing" for the two of them and had also invited her friend Sakura to come with them. They were going out to lunch and then shopping for some more pastimes for Ino and Shikamaru to waste time with.

"Oh my god, Ino..." Sakura was saying. "Have you seen Sasuke-kun recently?"

"No, why? Did something happen to him?" Ino responded, looking concerned. Shikamaru wondered who they were talking about.

"Sasuke-kun broke his arm!" Sakura exclaimed.

"How did THAT happen!?" Ino screeched, TOO concerned.

"He got in another fight with Naruto!"

"But how could NARUTO break his arm? Sasuke-kun is so strong!"

"I think he snuck up on him and got the upper hand in the fight! Or at least, that's what I've heard. Naruto's bragging about it all over town like he should be proud that the only way he can injure Sasuke-kun is by sneaking around."

Ino looked apologetic. "Poor Sasuke-kun..." She trailed off, but in a moment her face lit up. "Let's go check on him!"

Sakura's face lit up and mirrored Ino's. She agreed and they pulled a confused Shikamaru to the hospital.

"Who in the world is Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked on the way.

Ino and Sakura looked upset. "How could you not know?" Ino wondered aloud.

"Uchiha Sasuke-kun is only the greatest boy on the face of the planet!" Sakura replied. Ino immediately agreed. "He's SO wonderful!"

"And strong!" Ino contributed.

"And gorgeous!"

"And brave!"

"And smart!"

"And his VOICE...!"

"And his SMIRK...!"

"And his EYES...!"

"And his--" Sakura began, but Shikamaru cut her off.

"Okay, I get it, Sasuke is the picture of perfection! Whatever!" he scoffed and looked away from the swooning girls. Ino was HIS wife, not Sasuke's!

"He IS perfect!" Ino continued shamelessly. "He was in our class and me and Sakura admired him SO much!" She grinned and elbowed the girl beside her, who immediately blushed. "Do you recall, Sakura?"

Shikamaru shrugged and slowed down a bit so the giggling girls were ahead of him. They kept walking at the same pace and didn't notice he was behind them. "I'm...going home." Shikamaru called ahead to Ino.

She turned her head to look at him. Ino smiled widely and waved. "Okay, see you later tonight!" She responded and then turned around and continued to giggle with Sakura. Ino looked so irresistible and off limits in that moment that Shikamaru understood completely why all the men who saw them together looked like they did. He understood their jealousy, because he was feeling it himself.

Jealousy, not at Sakura for hanging out with Ino, but at Sasuke for having Ino's heart while he only had her body.