For A. Annie. N
Pairing: ShikaIno
Word Count: 747
Prompt: dreams
Notes: this is kind of a weird piece, with no real plot, and much more sap than I usually write. I have my own ideas about what's happening here, but take it as you will. I was just playing around with some repetition and stuff here. I enjoyed writing it, anyway. Also, can you believe this is my first ShikaIno for TDB?
-x-
Shikamaru dreams.
He dreams of blue skies and rolling green hills. He dreams of snow that isn't cold and rain that isn't wet. He dreams of the sun on his face and the wind in his hair.
Shikamaru dreams.
-x-
Ino dreams.
She dreams of dressing up in the colors of the sunset. She dreams of roses in her hair and lilies on her wrists. She dreams of walking barefoot through the empty streets of her village as the birds sing her entrance.
Ino dreams.
-x-
Shikamaru sits up and smiles. His suit is rumpled and there is grass in his hair. He waits. He watches. He waits some more.
-x-
Ino smoothes down her hair and walks through the field. The grass tickles the bottom of her feet. Her pulse speeds up. She runs.
-x-
Shikamaru's heart stops when she appears. Every time he sees her, she looks more beautiful. She's adorned with flowers and wearing a long dress the color of beauty. She kneels beside him, and he takes her face in his hands. He kisses her like he never wants to stop, because he doesn't.
-x-
It's nice, Ino muses, how you don't have to breathe in a dream.
-x-
This is all Shikamaru can take from her, so he takes it all. He drinks her in. he cradles her face in his hands. He kisses her knuckles, her shoulder, the back of her neck. He lies back down and presses his palm flat against hers.
Beside him, Ino sighs.
-x-
They are not allowed to speak, but sometimes Ino wants to. She wants to ask why this never happens in real life, why Shikamaru never holds her this way when they're both wide awake. Instead, she tilts her face up to his and kisses him sweetly, hoping he'll remember when they're out in the real sun, and maybe he'll kiss her there, too.
Shikamaru pulls away and blurts, "I love you."
-x-
Shikamaru wakes up. He can still taste the words in his mouth, mingled with both satisfaction and regret.
-x-
Ino wakes up. She can still feel the burn of Shikamaru's fingers on the curve of her waist, pressing hard enough that she could feel them trembling.
-x-
In the morning, Shikamaru is distant. He waves hello to Ino, offers to buy Chouji lunch, goes away to nap. He lies wide-awake, staring up at the too-blue sky. The sunlight stings his eyes and the breeze is too strong.
Ino sits beside him.
-x-
Ino doesn't speak for a long moment. What does she say the morning after nothing really happened? It's hard to react normally to him, but she tries. She tries.
"You're not sleeping."
"Not tired."
"Got a proper night's sleep for once?" she teases. "What, fourteen hours? Fifteen?"
-x-
It was hard to fall asleep after that dream, but when he did, it was dreamless. Shikamaru shrugs. It wasn't the same without her. It'll never be the same again.
Shikamaru considers pulling her over him, letting her curtain of hair hide them away for a moment while she shows her everything he can never say, in dreams or out.
He pushes away the thought. He doesn't want to scare her. She's never going to feel the same.
-x-
Ino wonders if he can somehow read her mind and her memories of the night before. If only. If only he received the kiss she gave him in her dreams. If only he would kiss her now.
If only.
-x-
Shikamaru dreams. He dreams of sitting in the rain and getting chilled to the core. He dreams of being rooted to the ground by an unseen force, and looking through the shadows for some light.
He dreams of the clouds parting and the rain stopping. He dreams of the sun drying him off and filling him with warmth. He dreams of getting to his feet and striding forward, arms held out to her.
-x-
Ino dreams. She dreams of walking through fire and being burned along her arms and legs. She dreams of sharp shards of something pricking her feet and making them bleed. She dreams of pressing on and looking for a way out.
She dreams of the walls of fire dying away and rain washing away her burns. She dreams of the leafy grass beneath her bare feet smoothing away the cuts and pain. She dreams of running into his arms.
-x-
"I love you," they say together.
They dream.
