"Hey mom did you and dad ever you know do it while you were pregnant with me?" Ino asked curiously. The idea had been floating in her mind whenever she thought about her predicament. The thought of them having sex at all still weirded her out but if they hadn't the world wouldn't have been blessed with her. Was it even possible to have sex while pregnant? It wasn't like she had the desire to find out, but she just couldn't shake it. When she compared her two relationships it really opened her eyes.

One was a typical high school relationship and the other was on the complete opposite side of the spectrum. With Sai she could go on dates and be as intimate as she wanted. She never let it go all the way but she would be lying if she hadn't considered the idea at one point. Making out was good enough for them so they stuck to it. No one glared at them or scoffed insults when they walked by. Instead they got these knowing looks from adults and looks of envy from peers. And hell she could go outside and not have her stomach drop. No one batted an eyelash at them. It seemed like a dream now.

Then there was her relationship with Shikamaru. It was nowhere near a typical high school romance but not mature enough to be an adult one either. It was just kind of stuck in the middle. She wasn't even sure if she would be in said relationship if they hadn't had that awkward sex. Ino doubted it lasted more than a minute, it was that uncomfortable. How she got pregnant with that lame excuse of making love was beyond her. Sure they could kiss and cuddle, just in private. Their "dates" consisted of a movie on one of their couches and eating whatever Ino was craving that day. Their kisses got less passionate as the bump grew. It's not that they hadn't stopped wanting those passionate moments, that damn bump just wouldn't allow it. They learned that no matter how they positioned themselves, it would never work. The constant kicking of their baby didn't help much either. Making out was like a distant relic of their past. Now they shared quick pecks on the lips and continued the random movie on tv.

As much as Ino wanted their relationship to go back to those first few weeks when no one even knew she was pregnant, she knew it was impossible. She didn't fit perfectly into his side like before. His arms could not go around her waist to pull her closer. They now lay side by side on his bed instead of her curled up into him as he lavished her with kisses. Their kisses never left that innocent middle school phase like they used to. She no longer could straddle his waist and press their bodies together as he felt the soft skin under her top. He couldn't even get into one of his very rare dominant moods and get on top of her, he could only strain himself so much.

It was by no means a normal type of high school relationship. The baby in her belly proved that. They couldn't be normal teenagers anymore, they had a baby to take care of in only a few short months. They had to be mature and responsible. Their silly bickering now escalated due to all the stress on their shoulders. Ino knew that for sure. It put a knot in her stomach when she wondered if that would be routine for them. What if they did fight all the time like those dysfunctional families on TV? How would that affect their child, Ino was sure it wouldn't be healthy.

"Of course we did." Her mother answered bluntly. Ino arched an eyebrow at her mother. She didn't expect that. "Seriously?"

"Yep, sure we did it less frequently but we certainly didn't stop. Well we did when we got to the third trimester. It would've been hellish." Her mother continued. Now that was more of the answer Ino expected. She was already well into her third trimester and she agreed that those passionate moments would be much too troublesome.

"So that's what is going on in that head of yours huh?" Her mother added with a wicked grin. Ino couldn't argue with that one.

"Just use protection when that baby is out. I don't want a second grandchild anytime soon." She warned in a much more serious tone. Her eyes were now fully focused on Ino, daring her for some immature remark. She already felt old enough, but having a grandchild made her feel absolutely ancient. Having two and she would be in a hospital bed.

"Of course we will! We learned our lesson." Ino snapped back. Oh they definitely did learn that lesson. She had the evidence.

"I still can't believe Shikamaru had it in him. I thought he'd be a virgin forever. Because going through all that effort would be, oh word does he use all the time?"

"Troublesome." Ino answered automatically.

"Ah yes that's right. So what got into you to anyway? I always thought he had a little crush on you but I had no idea you reciprocated. You were with Sai after all." Her mom continued. She had saved these questions since the moment she found out her own daughter was pregnant, she was just polite enough to wait until the initial shock was over.

"I don't really know, it just happened out of nowhere. One minute we were reading a textbook then we were kissing and then we just did it. I don't even think it should count as sex though, it was barely a minute and then we were done. And my god it was so uncomfortable, we regretted it the minute it was over." Ino sighed. It was mortifying to say out loud. Knowing her mother more questions would follow anyway.

"Honey the first time is never fun. It's just a mess of limbs. But I still don't get why you two were even kissing in the first place."

"He kissed me, and well I didn't really stop him. I didn't even think about Sai, just only Shikamaru. It seemed so natural too, like we had done it hundreds of times before." Ino explained and the cheesiness of it made her inwardly cringe. But it was what she felt and didn't know how to put it into any other words.

"Well had you ever kissed before?" Her mother persisted.

"Well technically yes but it was for a dare so it hardly counts." Ino answered after thinking for a moment. Yes, she did count it as her first kiss but she wasn't about to tell her mother that.

Ino thanked the gods that their doorbell had rung before her mother could continue her pestering. She then cursed them when she saw spiky brown hair from the small window on their door. She had decided she was still pissed at him for their fight. Well actually she was pissed for another reason. When she had tried to apologize he had rejected her call, so now she ignored his many calls for payback.

"Mom don't answer the door." Ino ordered and hid in their kitchen. Maybe he'd fall for it and think she wasn't home. Her mother continued to wash the dishes from their dinner without questioning her. She already knew who Ino was avoiding.

"You can't avoid him forever Ino." She scolded.

"It's only been a few days." Ino shot back. He totally deserved it. If he hadn't been such a jerk about everything then they would've made up already.

"I'm just saying typically in a relationship you don't want to avoid and ignore your partner." Her mother responded and grabbed a rag to dry the now clean dishes. The doorbell rang again. Ino took a step forward before retreating back to spot. Maybe if he rang again.

"Ino." Her mother warned. Ino's feet were still planted in place, she just needed that third ring. That way she wouldn't even need an apology, she would know he really was ready to put the effort in to make her happy. Then everything would go back to the way it was. All she got was silence. She felt her lips turn into a frown as she grabbed a plate to dry.

"You know he won't make the effort if he thinks it's a lost cause. He'll just give up." Her mother said all too cryptically and left a pile of dishes for Ino as she walked into the living room. Ino focused her energy on making each dish as dry as a desert. She didn't want her mind to focus on anything else.

"Why don't you just apologize?" Her mother called when her task was finished. Ino sulked into the living room and sunk on the coach beside her. Maybe she had a point. Her mother looked up from her magazine and quirked an eyebrow, waiting for a response.

"But then it will be like I lost." Ino objected. She despised losing.

"Some battles aren't worth winning." Her mother replied, her eyes returned their focus to the magazine.

Ino let out a deep exhale and marched up to her room. Maybe she wasn't really admitting defeat, she just had to keep telling herself that. But if Shikamaru ignored her call there would be hell to pay. She grabbed her cellphone from its spot on her endtable and hit the 1, it was his speed-dial. She waited and was about to hang up until his monotone greeted her on the other side.

"Well it was about time. You know I came to your house but I guess you weren't home." He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He didn't fall for her absent trick, she figured he wouldn't. She had to take a deep breath to calm the eruption she desperately wanted to have.

"I'm not going to apologize if you're going to be such a smart ass." She scoffed. Apologizing was hard enough, if he was going to be his usual self then it would be impossible.

"Fine I'll be nice."

"Thank you. Now I'm going to say this once, I'm s-sor-sorry." She choked out after a deep breath. She really thought the words would slip out off her tongue, not stay glued. She heard him chuckle ever so softly on the other line and scowled.

"You know I'm sorry too. You know Chouji made up this whole speech for me to say but someone didn't answer the door. I even bought a little stuffed bear." He replied. His voice seemed to drip with tiredness. Ino peered over at her clock and saw it was eight at night, a typical bedtime for him. She was surprised his phone was still even on. Usually he turned it off so he wouldn't be disrupted.

"Hey Ino?" He questioned. Ino couldn't hear his usual monotone, maybe it got lost in the static. "Yeah?"

"You know how much I love you and our baby right?" He continued, she was positive his monotone was gone. Of course Ino knew he loved them, he didn't need to say it. He wasn't that great with words anyway. He showed it through his actions. Sure he wasn't going to pull out some grand romantic gesture, but he'd do more subtle things. Like when she was still staying at his house while her room was getting fixed, and everynight he'd wait until he thought she was asleep and kiss both her and her belly. Of course she always stayed up long enough to feel it and the let herself sleep.

"Of course I do, I feel the same way." She answered automatically. She didn't even need to hesitate on her answer. She heard him yawn before mumbling an embarrassed goodbye and hanging up. Ino replayed his last sentence in her head and couldn't push an uneasy feeling away. Like there was something else he meant to say but changed his mind.