Sakura had returned home from a month-long mission to find a note from Shikamaru that he had left on his own mission. Offering up a small prayer for his safety to whoever was listening she folded the note and placed it on the dresser before retreating into her bathroom. There was nothing quite like washing a month's worth of mission grime away, which was why she stayed under the spray of water till it ran cold. Once she had finished she had quickly toweled off and changed into stretchy pants and a tank-top. Knowing that the quiet would drive her insane she had summoned the pack.
They arrived with their usual puff of smoke refreshed energetic as always. When the mission had been finished she had sent them back to Inu no Yama for a well-deserved rest; the missing nin they had tracked had given them more than a little trouble and she had seen no reason to schlep back to the village with her. Throwing out a greeting she scratched everyone's ears before Daishiro led them out into the midday sun to run and play some game.
Smiling she had fallen into bed, the sound of her dog's voices lulling her to sleep when she felt the bed dip. Opening her eyes she stared into brown ones as Jio settled in beside her. Smiling she reached out to rub his head. "Too hot out today?"
"More than a little."
She had nodded and lifted her arm allowing Jio to snuggle up to her, his even breathing having given her the final push she needed to sleep. She woke up five hours later when Jio had nudged her awake. Noticing the serious look in his eyes she had woken up immediately; Jio was a serious dog by nature and when he got that look in his eyes it meant something serious was about to happen. "What's wrong?"
He threw his head toward the back of the house "Outside, you need to hurry."
Not waiting for a farther explanation she had sprung out of bed, her hair unruly and tangled from not having brushed it earlier. Her feet had sounded loudly on the wood as she had run and slid the shoji screen open. Lying in the middle of the yard, was Shikamaru. He wasn't injured, she knew that much, if he had been, the dogs wouldn't have hidden in the tree line, nor would Jio have stayed in the bedroom. Smiling, she walked out to where he was and laid down next to him. He took her hand, entwining their fingers and that had made her feel of his skin against her's for the first time in a month made her smile.
So they laid there in the grass, holding hands and simply staring at the stars you couldn't always see in the middle of Konoha. Her eyes were focused on the stars, but she felt the metal slide on to her ring finger. With their hands still clasped together she lifted them to look at her own and smiled. The ring was simple, silver and made to look like a vine. She allowed their hands to fall back to the grass and met Shikamaru's eyes; he wouldn't ask out loud, he didn't need to, just like she didn't need to answer him, but she would. Squeezing his hand she simply said "yes," and then he kissed her. Then the celebratory dog howling began.
I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've updated! Life is a cruel mistress and I won't bore you with the details and I will no longer be making promises as to when I will be updating as I am going into my major classes at my college. Wish me luck and hope that I learn to manage my time well enough that I can do school work and updating. Wish me well! Of course thank you to everyone who reviews this story, I read all reviews, and they do help me write, this chapter comes from quite a few people asking for Jio and even more people asking to see their engagement. Anyways hopefully I'll update soon.