A/N: Holy crap this took too long to get out. I have three (semi)good reasons:

Reason 1: My boyfriend and I broke up and while it wasn't a messy breakup or anything, I really wasn't in the mood to write a love story for a long time. Then he got a new gf like a month later and they're going off to share a lovely little internship at Disney while I'm sitting on a bunch of rejections letters from grad school. I WAS A MUCH BETTER STUDENT! I know, I know, it's not a competition, and Disney internships are easier to come by than grad school acceptance letters, but the whole things makes me pissy.

Reason 2: I'm obsessed with Dragon Age and can't stop writing about it. So expect a ton of DA fics soon. If you don't play DA? START! OMG IT'S GREAT!

Reason 3: The way this chapter ends determines the way the story ends, and I wasn't so sure how I wanted that to go, so I couldn't finish this chapter. BUT NOW THINGS ARE GOOD!

ALSO? FFNET KEEPS ERASING MY SPACERS! So I apologize that everything is running together, even from the very beginning. It wasn't always this way, I promise. :( :(

Ten Times Shikamaru Thought about Kissing Ino
(and the one time he did)

Chapter 9
Her Morning Breath

Naruto and Shikamaru were sitting at Ichiraku. Naruto had randomly approached him and insisted he join him for lunch. So here they were, because Shikamaru had to eat somewhere, and it might as well be with company. Besides, he'd always enjoyed the hyper fox-boy. His kind of cheerfulness was a little contagious.

They sat eating in silence for a bit. Well, near-silence. The sounds of Naruto slurping down his ramen filled the air in lieu of conversation. Eventually, Naruto slowed down enough to talk.

"Heey Shikamaru, Ino is supposed to come back in two days, right? You must be happy about that huh?" If Shikamaru had been a less stoic man, he would have screamed in frustration. Instead, he exhaled heavily out of his nose and mumbled,

"How troublesome. Why does everyone know everything about this?" It was a rhetorical question, but Naruto put his chopsticks down and eyed Shikamaru seriously.

"Ino is on a very dangerous mission. You're not the only one who worries. She's one of us; we all pay attention."

Naruto's moment of insight vanished as quickly as it came as he dove back into his ramen but Shikamaru was still reverberating in its wake. Naruto was right. They all looked out for each other, the whole rookie nine, not overtly, but they kept tabs when one of them had a more dangerous assignment. Still…

"That doesn't mean I want everyone in my business," Shikamaru grumbled.

Naruto looked up at him, noodles trailing out of his mouth.

"Oi! I waash jush talkin abou Ino comin back – washn't tryin to pry." Naruto sucked the noodles up in a flash and swallowed. "Oh, but I guess Ino is sorta your business, huh?"

Shikamaru was picking at his own ramen and refusing to look at Naruto. "She's my team mate." His guard was up, but why? Why was he being so defensive?

"MMmmhmmmn," Naruto mumbled and slurped. "An' you kissed her, so…"

Shikamaru sat in stunned silence for a moment, completely shocked. Did Naruto say what he thought he'd said? Finding his speech again, he blurted out, "What?"

Naruto jumped at Shikamaru's delayed outburst and waved his hands in front of him. "Aah, I wasn't supposed to say anything! But don't worry, I haven't told anyone else!"

"There's nothing to tell! I've never kissed her!" Shikamaru felt the heat growing in his face, but perhaps if he denied it to himself, the blush would go away of its own accord.

Naruto squinted at him in confusion. "You don't remember kissing her? I'd remember if I kissed someone. Especially someone like Ino."

"I didn't kiss her!" That was the last thing he needed getting around. What if Ino heard that rumor when she got back, before he even had a chance to do it himself?

Eyes still squinted, Naruto leaned toward Shikamaru, ramen forgotten for the moment.

"Huh. That's not what Sakura told me."

This was incredibly troublesome. Trying to regain his lost composure, Shikamaru closed his eyes and placed his hands flat on the table.

"Alright. Fine. What did Sakura tell you?"

Naruto scratched his chin, and replied, "She said Ino told her you kissed her – like on the shoulder or something? The day before she left I think."

Shikamaru leaned back in his seat. Ino said what? He didn't remember kissing her. He remembered thinking about kissing her. Shikamaru's mind was racing, flying through the memory of that day – overall, a good memory, a nice day. But wait…

The night before, he'd…

No, there was no way…

It was sometime around midnight and the whole town of Konoha was dark, save for a few streetlights and the glow of the moon. A light dip in his mattress caused Shikamaru to stir; he was in that realm between sleeping and waking and more relaxed than he'd been in a long time.

Eyes, cracking open slightly, he saw the object of all his recent thoughts bathing in the radiance of the moon. Her hair looked platinum in the faint light and her eyes glowed with what looked like love as she stared straight back at him, one hand reaching toward his face. Oh, he always seemed to be dreaming about her.

She pulled her hand back as though it had been burned and stuttered, "Sh-Shikamaru, I-"

In a half-indiscernible muttering, he groaned, "Nnn… Ino", and reaching out, wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him. Holding her as close as possible he buried his face in the crook of her neck and breathed in her scent. She smelled like lavender and vanilla and skin – that distinct smell that was only Ino's, had always been Ino's.

Something stirred in him at that smell. With a slight growl he grazed his teeth against the flesh of her right shoulder before placing an open-mouth kiss on the spot. He felt the shiver run down her spine and groaned again as he slowly drifted back into a deep sleep.

Shit. He had kissed her. That must have been it. That must have been it. The doomed expression on his face must have alerted Naruto to his realization because the blond tried to reassure him.

"Heey, you must remember now! Don't look so scared, I bet it was okay. But how the crap did you forget you kissed her?"

Shikamaru didn't want to even attempt to explain to Naruto how often he thought about kissing Ino, or that he dreamt about it even more.

"What else did she say, Naruto?" How had she felt about it?"

"Hmm. I just heard a bit from Sakura, but it didn't seem like anyone was upset about anything. Sooo maybe it's all okay?"

Shikamaru thought back to the rest of that morning. Ino had seemed fine, as happy as the circumstances warranted… Where had he left off…?

Shikamaru had been dreaming of running his tongue along the shell of her ear before kissing and sucking his way down her neck. He dreamt of the taste of her collar bone, of feeling the pulse beneath her skin as it pounded against his tongue. He dreamt of her sighs of adoration and pleasure, the feeling of running his hands up and down her bare back, of feeling her bared chest rise and fall against his own as she gasped for breath. What would it be like to make love to this woman?

More and more, he dreamt of waking up next to her, tangled in the sheets, her blond hair fanned across his pillow and her skin aglow. To reach for her in the early morning, to pull her body back against his, burying his nose in her hair and sliding back to sleep wrapped in her scent.

And every morning he would wake up alone once more, fighting off the dream of her.

This time he'd felt more immersed than ever.

It was that early time of the day, right after the sun begins to rise and the world is re-bathed in the slanted rays of morning light. Deciding to remain in his dream for a little longer, he pulled it all closer still.

But then something in the back of his trained mind snapped to attention. There was something too different about all this, and as he pulled himself from the bonds of sleep, he began to detect an incredibly distinct chakra source.

His eyes flew open to find Ino asleep in his bed.

She lay wrapped in both his sheets and his arms, the sunlight streaming in from the window giving her an unreal radiance. He couldn't do anything but stare. Ino bathed in morning glow, peacefully asleep in his bed: Konoha's sunsets were not this beautiful.

And he was not dreaming. She was really here.

In his bed.

Wracking his brain for answers, he mentally fumbled through the course of the previous night. Had he done anything he didn't remember? No, he had gone out with Chouji for some dinner, maybe a beer or two but he'd gone right home after and went to bed. Nothing else had happened.

But that didn't explain her being here.

Oh she would be mad when she woke up for sure. To find his arms wrapped around her? Oh she would be livid with him. Probably beat him to a pulp. He wondered though if it wouldn't be worth it to hold her just a little longer.

Sighing as common sense overtook him, he slowly began to lift his top arm off of her – it was better to lessen her wrath. But it seemed he was eternally doomed to bad luck, for the second he moved, she began to stir.

"Nnn Shikamaru?" Her big blue eyes cracked open slowly. Suddenly she jumped up and nearly fell backwards off his bed. He instinctively reached out and grabbed her arm to steady her.

"Good morning, Ino." He said calmly, quite proud of himself. Maybe if he professed his absolute cluelessness, she wouldn't kill him. The draft from his window reminded him that he wasn't wearing a shirt (he usually just wore pants to bed when the weather was warm and had never thought that a bad idea until just this moment). He felt strangely exposed, although he knew that was stupid – she'd seen his chest before. Right?

"Aah, good morning, Shikamaru." She replied, a slight embarrassment in her voice. He slid his hand from her arm once he was sure she had her balance, and she began rubbing absentmindedly at her shoulder. As he waited for her to speak, he mulled over the situation.

It seemed like there wasn't anything he was forgetting about last night after all. And she wasn't mad. Therefore this must have been her doing. For some reason or another, Ino had snuck into his room the night before. That thought incurred a swelling in his chest; Ino had snuck into his room.

The whole idea made his heart race: Ino coming to see him in the middle of the night because she couldn't bear to be away from him another second. Ino wanting nothing more than to curl up next to him, Ino wanting him as much as he wanted her, Ino wanting his touch, wanting his embrace...

No, no, it certainly wasn't like that; he had to stoke that fire. He already knew that wasn't the case. No use getting excited over nothing. He had gotten pretty used to quelling such feelings and pushed them down with a resigned acceptance born of much practice.

In any case, he'd been too much in his head and he hadn't noticed the awkward silence. Returning his gaze to Ino and self-consciously clearing his throat seemed to be enough to spur her into further conversation though, as she finally looked up at him, eyes wide and expression surprisingly apologetic.

"I'm sorry to barge in here like this, but uh… I locked myself out of my house and I didn't want to wake my parents up because I'd been out so late and… yeah." her voice faded off as she stopped pushing the lie.

Back on steady, realistic ground, his faculties of thought returned to him. That explanation of hers was highly unlikely: if she could break into his place and get into his own bed without him noticing, she could certainly break into her own. Shikamaru gave her a skeptical look. "Is that so, Ino?" She rubbed the slope of her arm some more and laughed nervously.

"Okay, so my parents are gone right now and the house was dark and I was scared, so…" He sighed, rubbing his face with his hands.

"How troublesome. Ino, I know you're not afraid of the dark. You can tell me the truth."

She lowered her head, staring at his bed sheets. "I'm sorry. I don't know. I got in a fight with Sakura and my parents really are out of town and I just… I wanted… I didn't want to be alone."

Shikamaru sat there and watched her continue to run her fingers over the slope of her right shoulder repeatedly, waiting for her to spit out the rest of what was troubling her.

"I got a new mission." Taking a shaky breath, she added, "It's a seduction."

Shikamaru's world screeched to a halt. Ino hung her head and he just stared at her, his mouth slightly agape. Ino on a seduction mission? He knew she would probably have to do them eventually (what with having a family technique that was practically made for espionage and being so absolutely gorgeous to boot) but he'd either been purposefully avoiding thinking about it or the thought just hadn't occurred to him since he'd realized he loved her. How does a man cope when the woman he loves periodically sleeps with other men for her job? That was being dramatic, he supposed. But what was he going to do? This was going to eat him up more than her flirting, more than just not being with her, more than-

Her sniffing yanked him back to the here-and-now. She'd hung her head, hands covering her face, and he realized how unbelievably selfish he was. She sat there on his bed, two seconds from crying, and he was worried about how her mission would affect him.

Without another second's thought, he held his arm out toward her; "Ino, come here." And she wasted no time crawling over and folding herself into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close as she finally let the tears fall down her face. Let the wailing commence.

"Sakura says I should just say no! She just wanted to protect me, but I said such mean things to her and I didn't mean to! Oh Shikamaru, I told her that I was the one being given these missions because the hokage knew I was more capable than her, more tactical, and most of all, much prettier than she could ever be! I told her to go mind someone else's business, because mine wasn't any of hers! Dammit, why did I say that!"

Shikamaru rocked her back and forth trying to calm her down. It was a good thing he lived by himself, he thought, though he hoped her loud sobbing wasn't waking up all of his neighbors. "She knows you didn't mean it, Ino. You two are always just slinging meaningless insults."

She sobbed into his bare chest. "But what if I really did hurt her? And now I gotta go on the worst mission of my life in a few days and what if I don't make it and the last thing I said to her was so horrible?" He held her tighter.

"Hush." It wasn't a statement of comfort; it was a plea to stop that train of thought.

She hiccupped and sniffed, swallowed hard and sniffed again. Her tears on his bare chest were something he found strangely intimate and he had to refocus his mind. Her hand pressed flat against his pectorals and his head fell back to stare at the ceiling. Now? He was getting those kinds of thoughts now? He needed to pull himself together.

"I don't want to seduce some stranger", she mumbled, a childlike poutiness in her voice.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. He loved her, but he couldn't help it. "Ino, you flirt with half the men in this village. You're a natural."

She pounded his chest with the once-distracting hand, nearly knocking the air out of him. "That's different! That's just a game, and anyway, it's not the point! This is so much harder than that stupid stuff. How am I supposed to make some guy want me? What if I screw up?"

Shikamaru wryly reflected that she was underestimating her own abilities by a long shot. She had completely enraptured him in the short span of three months. To get a random sleaze ball to follow her anywhere would take the working of just one of her smiles, he was sure.

"Ino-"

"I don't want to talk about it anymore. Just shut up and hold me." She sniffed and wrapped her arms around his torso, hugging him awkwardly. He put his arms around her back as best he could and sighed.

"First you want to talk; now you don't. I can't imagine someone more troublesome." He mumbled, but he didn't let her go. He couldn't help but revel in their proximity. It wasn't that he was unsympathetic to her plight or unworried about the future; it was simply that holding her this close and this intimately for the first time was pervading every aspect of his senses and he wanted to do nothing more than take comfort in her embrace.

--..--..--

"May I ask you something, Ino?"

They were lying a foot apart on his bed, on top of the covers, facing each other. It was late morning and Ino had stopped crying a few hours before. She was lying on her right side, drifting in and out of sleep next to him. Shikamaru, on the other hand, could barely shut his eyes he was so aware of her presence.

"Hnn." She mumbled, her eyes shut and her voice heavy with sleep.

"Why do you keep breaking into my place?"

She answered in a sigh of breath "Because you haven't given me a key, dummy." She said it with such simplicity, as if it was the most natural reason in the world.

Shikamaru blinked twice in surprise. "You want a key?"

She shrugged her upper shoulder, eyes still shut. "Well yeah. I liked visiting you, in case you didn't notice. It would be easier if I didn't have to get in through the window."

Shikamaru couldn't help the chuckle that built up in his chest. Ino's eyes finally opened. "You think that's funny? That's hard! It's on the second story and I gotta use chakra to hold myself in place while I pry the stupid thing open without breaking it!" Shikamaru couldn't help himself. The idea of the perfectly poised Ino outside his window, standing sideways and cursing at his sash was hilarious. Ino was putting on the semblance of being angry, but he could see she was on the verge of breaking down into a smile.

"Don't you laugh at me, mister, I'll beat you into a pulp!" And she sat up, hoisting a pillow high above her head. "I'll teach you to laugh at the great Yamanaka Ino!" And she began to slam the pillow down on his face over and over.

Trying to shield himself and simultaneously go on the offensive, he reached out and grabbed her by the sides, pulling her down with him, holding her squirming body against his to prevent further pillow-battering. But she merely began beating him with her fists instead. She crowed as she hit him, "Nice try, but it's going to take more than-" he suddenly rolled them over and pinned her wrists down on the bed with his hands. "…that." She finished, staring up at him.

He stared down at her, lying prone beneath him, bodies pressed together at the waist, his legs between hers. They were both struggling to catch their breath, although he knew on his part it wasn't all from the fighting. Shikamaru couldn't pull his mind away from how seductive she looked, hair tousled, clothes wrinkled, chest heaving and a look of defiance in her eyes.

He didn't know what had gotten into him. He was almost… giddy. This wasn't like him. He was having… fun; genuine fun teasing her, goofing around with her, just being with her, here, in the morning, in his bed. It wasn't a completely dirty thought, Shikamaru just couldn't help but fully take advantage of Ino's morning company.

Under him, she shook back and forth, trying to free herself from his grip, but he held strong. "Just admit that I won, Ino." Absently, he concluded that the grin on his face must make him look utterly goofy.

She pushed her torso up off the bed about an inch, a mischievous look in her eyes, and right in his face, she replied. "Never."

Something primal in him edged him on, and with his chest, he pushed her back down onto the bed, fully pinning her body beneath him. Still grinning, he said, "I'll go easy on you if you do."

With a turn of her head, she stuck her nose in the air and replied, "Fine. I admit that…" she let her sentence trail off and Shikamaru stared at the smooth perfection of her jaw line. "…you have awful morning breath." With that affirmation, she turned her head back toward him and stuck her tongue out.

Oh he ought to kiss her for that, he thought. He ought to lower his head in one swift motion and capture her mouth and tongue with his. He'd keep her hands and body pinned down as he kissed her hard. He'd pry her lips open with his own and ravish her with the deepest of kisses, moaning into her welcoming mouth. And she'd be straining against him, kissing him back immediately, as if someone had fired a starting pistol.

Morning breath and all, he'd push against her and as he felt her straining against his hands, he'd let her go. And she'd fling her arms around his neck, her long fingers tangling in his hair before traveling to cup his face and kiss him harder – all tongue, teeth, lips and moans. Then she'd slide both hands down to run over his chest, never staying still, slipping around to rake up his back before hooking around his shoulders and pulling him tighter against her. And he'd wrap one arm around her waist, holding her as close as he could, as his other hand caressed her neck, her shoulder, trailing along her sides in a whisper. She'd jump at the ticklish sensation and moan slightly in protest, and he'd get half a smile in before fully re-immersing himself in her kiss. Traveling lower, he'd slide his hand up and down her smooth thigh a few times, before gliding back up to grab her butt firmly with an extra groan, all the while never breaking the kiss.

And when their breathing got so hard that they had to break it off, he'd tear his mouth from hers and stare down at her. And her lips would be puffy and red from his kisses and her beautiful eyes would be half-lidded and glazed, her cheeks flushed. And he'd say, "Your breath stinks too." And she'd grin cattily at him, and pull him back down for another round. Of which he would eagerly oblige, of course.

"Shikamaru? Shikamaru! Shikaaamaaaaruuu!" He snapped out of his daze and stared down at her. She was looking up at him with wide eyes. "Hell-oo? Are you still in there? Get out of your head! You think too much."

What was he doing? Horsing around with Ino? Looking down, he still held her wrists. "Ah. Sorry." He let her wrists go and crawled out of the bed to walk across the room. The euphoria of the entire morning slipped off of him as quickly as the bed sheets had, leaving him open and vulnerable and much colder than he had been moments before.

He could hear her sit up and begin to straighten her clothes. He kept his back to her, standing in front of his dresser, drawer open, fists clenched around the handles, staring down at a drawer full of neatly folded black shirts. Breathing deeply, he tried to return to his usual mental state, to the mindset of a man who had once been oblivious to Ino's charms. She she was going to figure it out. This was dangerous. He didn't do things like this.

But he couldn't help the pounding in his chest or the concentrated ball of panic that weighed heavily in the pit of his stomach. He had stepped out of his comfort zone, exposed himself, and now, he found retreating to be difficult and shocking – like jumping into a freezing lake. What had he been thinking? Playing around with Ino? That was dangerous and foolish territory. His hands shaking slightly, he picked out a shirt from his dresser and began to put it on.

He could hear the pout in her voice; "Shikamaru? What's wrong? I didn't mean to offend you or anything. Everyone has morning breath."

Shikamaru had to think fast: which was worse? Ino knowing how he felt or Ino thinking he was mad at her. The former, of course, but if he could prevent them both… He had to respond. Something neutral but friendly. Something engaging but not overly so.

"Morning breath occurs because the mouth is inactive and receives less oxygen at night."

Shikamaru should have hit himself. Of all the dumbest things he could have said…

He heard her stand up from his bed and sensed her approach, but when she wrapped her arms around him from behind, it was all he could do to keep from twitching in surprise.

"Thank you, Shikamaru." He swallowed.

"…For teaching you about morning breath?" Speaking of mouths, his was suddenly dry.

"No. For being there for me." All of his lecherous thoughts vanished with the relief he could hear in her voice.

"Don't mention it, Ino."

He slowly raised his hand and placed it on top of the two clutched together on his stomach. Perhaps it was because he wasn't looking at her that he had the courage to lift one of those hands up and entwine her fingers with his own. They stood there for a second or two, or perhaps a lifetime, before he spoke.

"When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow."

"…Then you should go see Sakura." Or stay here. With me.

"…Yeah. I know, but…" Her grip around him tightened fractionally and he instinctively tightened his own in turn.

"Tomorrow, Ino… I'll be there."

"Kay." He could have sworn she snuggled into his for a second – held him closer like a lover would, and not a friend. But as quickly as it came, it was gone, along with her. Her arms slipped from around him and she was out his window in a flash.

That had been the last time he'd seen her before their goodbye at the gates. That morning he had felt like they were in a bubble of happiness - that they understood each other and were completely in sync. But that next day when she'd left, things hadn't stayed that way. She'd become more fragile and he'd become more cautious – and he screwed it up.

But the day before she left… things had been perfect. And he had kissed her.

He'd thought it a dream.

Shaking his head and clearing out the haze, he turned back to Naruto. "And you're sure about this? What else did she say?"

"I don't really remember. Heh. Oh, but hey, I wasn't supposed to say anything!"

Shikamaru's blood felt viscous, pumping through his veins like molasses. He'd kissed her. He was an idiot. But why hadn't she said something? Hit him, yelled at him, something! She'd just sat there and rubbed her shoulder. But why? Unless she'd been embarrassed. Unless…

He had to talk to Sakura.

He was an idiot.

But…

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I cannot keep this a secret."

"Waaaaa? Shikamaru, you can't tell!"

"I have to talk to Sakura."

"AAAAUGH she's the LAST person I want you to talk to about that!" Naruto was gripping his head and swinging around in a pure tantrum.

"Naruto. Please. This is so important."

The blond boy stopped yelling and sighed comically before looking at Shikamaru with a weary expression. "All right. But if you don't tell Ino you are crazy for her when she gets back, I'm gonna beat the snot out of you."

Shikamaru grinned, throwing money on the counter before bolting out the door.

"Deal."

a/n: Thank you again and again for your patience. Please please review and tell me what you think. I need to hear it.