Chapter 2

Clearing his throat, the bartender awkwardly smiled at the other two remaining at the table. He didn't really know what to do in situations like this.

"Well that was odd." said Shikamaru, looking in the direction of the bathroom with a perplexed expression, and then shifting into one of concern. "Maybe I should check on her."

Guessing the reason the "usually upbeat" Ino reacted the way she did, Sai recognized that Shikamaru's suggestion was probably a bad one.

"Maybe not." He offered, which earned him a raised brow from the sandy blonde woman in front of him.

"And why not?"

Processing the sentence, Sai thought it best not to tell her that Ino was in love with her fiancée, and instead racked his brain for possible excuses to come up with. It would also have to be believable enough to pass the threshold of Shikamaru's cleverness.

"I…" He paused, trailing off before his mind lit up with an idea. "I gave her a bad drink."

"What?" Shikamaru asked, turning his head slightly to the side.

"I gave Ino a bad drink earlier." Sai nonchalantly repeated. "As a prank."

The woman beside Shikamaru barked at him as the tips of her lips shifted into a scowl, "And why would you do that?"

Saying nothing for a moment, Sai hummed as he tried to come up with a sensible reason to do such a thing. Raising a finger, he smiled emptily as he offered, "It was a part of a game I read about online. Drink Roulette. I asked Ino to play with me."

"Game?" Shikamaru echoed. Was this guy for real?

"Yes." Sai affirmed, nodding his head for added effect. He knew it was a stretch, but Shikamaru also didn't know him well enough to correctly guess if he was telling the truth or not so, it would probably work in his favour.

"You're an asshole." Temari deadpanned, she had now taken to glaring at him with her arms crossed.

"I get that a lot." He shamelessly admitted. Glancing towards the direction of the bathroom, Sai stared at the door Ino had barricaded herself behind. "I'll go apologize." He announced.

Turning to walk away, he was startled by the hand that quickly gripped his arm. Looking down, he was met with the dark eyes of Shikamaru who's brows were dipped low in slight annoyance.

"Try not to make it worse Sai." He said, his voice barely above a whisper. Loosening his grip, he turned towards his fiancée as Sai blinked in confusion.

He sounded a lot more concerned than "just a friend" would be, but then again, Sai could easily be completely wrong. He could read people exceptionally well for someone of his emotional caliber, but he wasn't really the best person when it came to deciphering more complex emotions.

Nodding his head, he continued on his way and navigated through the myriad of tables to the bathroom. Softly knocking on the door he pressed his ear close towards it so he could hear any response. He heard a shuffling on the other side of the door that let him know she was aware of his presence.

"Ino, it's Sai." He said. Knocking again, he stared at the closed door for a few seconds in wait, until he heard the slight creak of the doorknob twisting.

Opening the door slightly, Ino curiously looked through the crack with suspicious eyes. She examined the surrounding area to make sure Sai was the only one there before suddenly pulling him in and then quickly shutting the door.

Regaining his balance, Sai leaned on the marble countertop to the left of him as he turned towards Ino with a perplexed expression. He didn't know what was going through her mind at the moment, but this didn't fit into any of the possible outcomes that he entered his mind prior to knocking on the door.

As if reading his mind, Ino opened her mouth to explain, "I don't want Shikamaru to see me like this."

"Why?" He asked. He was sure that Shikamaru would feel better knowing how she was doing and was probably wondering what was taking them so long.

"Because," Ino said, sighing slightly. She turned away from him as she faced the white tiled wall behind her. "It's easier that way."

"You still love him."

Looking up at him with slightly wide eyes, Ino felt like she had just been caught doing something horrible. For someone with such a dense set of social skills, Sai was awfully observant. Slowing down her breathing, she tried to come up with something to deflect his unexpectedly accurate reasoning, but it was already too late.

Stepping forward, Sai stood just behind Ino and softly placed his hand on her shoulder in a way to comfort her. He wasn't sure if he was doing it right, but he always saw Naruto doing the same with Hinata whenever she was feeling a bit insecure.

"It's ok." He said, he wasn't sure if he was saying it right either, but his books deemed this as the most appropriate response to someone who was feeling down.

Ino shook her head. It wasn't ok. She was heartbroken, it felt like someone had squeezed her insides until everything became numb.

Reaching for Sai's hand, she removed it from her shoulders, as she averted her gaze to the white tiles again. She couldn't possibly go back out there, not like this.

Allowing his arm to just drop to his side, Sai silently watched Ino as she wordlessly watched the walls. He didn't know much when it came to people, but it certainly didn't feel right seeing the usually lively blonde like this. He was so used to her playful remarks and wasn't familiar with this depressing side of Ino.

Sai didn't like this Ino one bit. It didn't suit her.

"Why don't you just forget about him?" He tried to helpfully suggest, a line he had heard plenty of girls say to their sad friends in romance movies. At the pointed expression she shot in his direction, he guessed that wasn't what she needed to hear.

"It's not that easy Sai," She huffed a bit before turning towards him completely, her brows dipping in sadness. "Look, I know you're not exactly the most emotionally intelligent person, but I'm sure even you have been in love before."

Twisting his head slightly in thought, Sai tried to remember any instance in which he felt such a thing. From his own observations through the couples around him, Sai thought love was supposed to make you feel insanely happy, Ino looked depressed.

"I haven't felt such a thing."

Widening her eyes, Ino couldn't help her mouth from dropping open despite her sadness, "Wait what?"

"I thought love was supposed to make you smile," Sai tapped his chin in thought before addressing Ino with a blank expression. "But you look like you're in pain."

Biting her lip, Ino avoided his gaze as she shifted her weight around uncomfortably, "That's because this is one of love's bad side effects... heartbreak."

"Then why love him?" he questioned, still confused about the intricacies of it all. Why was she still holding on when it did nothing but hurt her? He had been told from a specialist that was among one of the reasons he had trouble feeling anything, to protect himself from hurting. Then why couldn't she do the same?

"I told you! It's not that easy!"

"How so? Wasn't it easy to fall in love with him?"

"Yes."

"Then why can't you just fall out of love with Shikamaru, just that easily?"

Closing her eyes, as he said the one name that now caused her chest to heave in apprehension, Ino shook her head. If it was any other situation but this, she probably would've laughed at Sai's line of questioning. He had so simply realized she was still in love with her ex yet couldn't understand why it wasn't that simple to let him go.

"Because, I don't want to let go." Said Ino, she was now gripping her hands so tight her palms turned stark white. To say something so selfish aloud, she felt so disgusted with herself. She knew that eventually her stance on the matter would have to change, but for right now, she couldn't bring herself to feel any different.

Gauging the blonde's reaction, Sai felt a strange feeling when she finally brought her icy eyes to meet his. He paused before speaking, his gaze travelling down to her tightly clutched hands. "You think you still have a chance with him, don't you?"

She didn't answer then, instead she turned back around and focused on the pristine tiles once again. She didn't know how he could see through her so easily. One minute he was confused about feelings, and the next he was some expert on them. It frustrated her to have someone as emotionally constipated as Sai read her so quickly.

As if he was unaware of the gravity of his words or, just simply choosing to ignore them, Sai continued on relentlessly. "He's going to be married soon. He looks happy Ino."

"You think I don't know that?!"

"Then why? Why still hold out hope that he'll suddenly change his mind?"

"Because, it's easier to accept than seeing him in love with someone else," Ino whispered, her back was still facing him. "Someone that's not me."

It was Sai's turn to stay silent. He knew that whatever he said Ino would still remain stubborn. Awkwardly tapping his fingers against his thigh, he watched how her back slowly moved up and down with each breath. It was then that he concluded she was trying not to cry.

Thinking about it, Sai didn't like the way that thought made his stomach feel. Gently placing a hand to his abdomen, he wondered why he felt such a heavy grip hovering over it.

The lovesick way Ino was acting, was starkly similar to the way Sakura had been before she and Sasuke finally got together. Sai himself couldn't understand why the couple had skirted around the other's feelings, despite it being so obvious. In fact, he recalled having this same exact conversation with Sakura when Sasuke had ditched her and Naruto behind for a new set of delinquent friends their sophomore year of college.

He couldn't fathom it then either, why Sakura would subject herself to so much emotional anguish, when she had someone like Naruto right by her side the entire time. The pink haired woman had looked so determined when she said that she couldn't help the fact she was helplessly in love, resolved that Sasuke deep down still felt the same.

Sakura hadn't been wrong on that end, her and Sasuke managed to stop being bitches and get together near the end of sophomore year.

Sai wondered if Ino shared a similar sentiment, though her situation was a lot trickier than puppy love and acts of college rebellion. The object of her affection was getting married, not being some kind of distant asshole.

He wondered if Shikamaru knew. From what he observed and heard of the guy he was as smart as it got, having to take genius level courses in order to stimulate his mind. Sai pursed his lips, it didn't make sense for him not to know, it was painfully obvious even for someone like himself.

But then again, if Shikamaru knew about her feelings why would he announce his wedding so coldly? Parading his relationship in front of Ino instead of telling her privately and giving her space. Why would he be so careless about it?

In his books it said the best way to break difficult news was to do it as gently as possible, but by the looks of Ino in front of him that hadn't been the case.

Quietly tapping his foot, Sai guessed that he couldn't completely write Shikamaru off as being a distant asshole.

But the way he had looked and sounded when he said not to make things worse made Sai rethink everything. He could be wrong- he was by far the worst person when it came to reading between the lines, but he couldn't shake the sense that he was onto something. Looking at Ino, he saw that her breathing had settled, most likely meaning she had calmed down.

Silently, Sai wondered if it was right for him to withhold his little observation to himself. Ino was obviously holding onto, what seemed to be in her eyes, a hopeless cause.

But, Sai squinted a little and looked up at the stainless white ceiling in ponder, was it really all that hopeless?

Ino said nothing as she stared at the tiled wall in front of her, she knew Sai was probably lost in thought like he so often seemed to be. She wondered if she had managed to scare him out of talking some sense into her. Peering over her shoulder just a bit she saw him as he nodded absentmindedly to himself, his head pointed towards the ceiling.

Her head snapped back into place the minute she saw his dark eyes move in her direction. She inwardly winced, of course he wouldn't give up that easily. He probably still didn't understand the weight of her emotions. She probably just looked irrational to him.

She wondered if he had noticed that she was about to cry.

She pouted at that. She didn't want to seem weak or anything, but it was hard not to be in her situation. Here comes some new fiancée she had never met, with the love of Ino's life gazing at her like…, like she hung the stars and the moon.

Temari. She inwardly scoffed at the name. She hated that name.

Slightly gasping, Ino vehemently shook those thoughts from spreading in her mind. She never thought like that about anyone, ever.

It wasn't Temari's fault she had managed to snag the most amazing man Ino had ever known. It wasn't anyone's fault she felt the way she did. Frowning, she admitted that she was being irrational.

Grabbing at the long blonde strands of her hair, she twisted them between her fingers as she sighed. Maybe she should just give up after all. It wasn't like she was ugly. She had a bunch of people lining up to date her as soon as she said the word. It was just that… she had always been holding out that small bit of hope her lazy best friend would return and sweep her into his arms like he used to.

She had been kidding herself. They hadn't seen each other in months, he had probably gotten over her the minute his foot had stepped in Suna. Ino's brows dipped lower as the sentence ran its course through her mind.

She felt miserable.

And to make matters worse, Sai had taken to comforting her again. Looking down at the familiar hand once again on her shoulder, Ino shot the oblivious man a look of mild annoyance. Though he powered through it despite the icy stare.

"Sai," Ino began, she had finally stopped facing the wall now, shaking Sai off her shoulder. "Your hand isn't going to make things better."

Frowning, Sai looked at Ino with a sideways glance not sure of what she might mean. "I wasn't trying to make you feel better, I was trying to get your attention. Besides, I've heard Naruto tell Hinata that same thing, but in reverse."

"That's not what I m-meant!" she sputtered out. She couldn't help the large blush that encased her entire face. That was way more information than she needed to know about that knucklehead's relationship.

"Then what did you mean?"

"Whatever just drop it! What is it that you wanted my attention for?"

"Ah," Sai donned his usual stiff smile. "You may not be desperate after all, Beautiful."

"Spit it out asshole. About what?"

"Shikamaru. Maybe he does still like you."

In a matter of seconds, Ino grabbed Sai's shoulders with both of her hands drawing him closer until their noses practically touched. "What? I mean how do you know? Where is this coming from? Didn't you tell me to just give up?"

"Yes, but that was before I started to think about it." He awkwardly answered. He felt a little uncomfortable at their proximity, but Ino had yet to let him go.

"Think about what? Did he tell you something?" She hopefully asked, she wanted to skip around the bathroom in glee. Ino never skipped. Ever.

"Not exactly," Sai flatly admitted. "It was more in the way he said something, that got me thinking about it."

At that, Ino instantly let go of his shoulders and crouched down to the floor, her head hung low in defeat. She seemed to be mumbling something under her breath, but what exactly was being said, was absolutely lost on Sai.

Sai's expression shot down in confusion. Shouldn't she be happy? "What?"

"I should've known." Ino sighed, her voice coming out in a small whine. "How would you know if somebody was in love. You've never even experienced it before!"

Baffled by her words, Sai shook his head, "I may not be the most experienced, but my people observations are almost never wrong."

"Didn't you think Sakura was in love with Naruto that one time? Everyone knows she was always in love with Sasuke!"

"Well I did say almost."

"Sai!" Ino huffed completely exasperated. Dragging her hands across her face, she realized that this conversation would get absolutely nowhere. She didn't know what she was thinking getting her hopes up like that, what did Sai know about anything regarding emotions?

But… She bit her lip. He was able to figure out that she was still in love with Shikamaru despite her lying through her teeth, it didn't seem like said man was none the wiser either. It probably was a fluke on his part but still, maybe Sai had caught on this time as well.

Or maybe she was just being delusional again.

At the instantaneous change of her mood, Sai looked at Ino perplexed. Just a moment ago her countenance had lit up, only to darken a few seconds after. He knew he lacked emphatic intuition when it came to others but deciphering how Ino felt was another monster in of itself. Her stark moods went as quickly as they came, leaving him somewhat dizzy.

"Ino, is there something wrong?"

"No, not at all," She waved him off. Sighing once again as she recounted the past fifteen minutes repeatedly in her head.

Sai wasn't sure if he should believe her or not, but he didn't press it. Remembering why he was there in the first place, he moved forward to help the blonde up from wallowing on the floor. "Shikamaru's probably wondering what's taking us so long."

Smiling wistfully, she accepted his offered hand, "Did he send you to check on me earlier? Sorry about wasting your time."

Ino then turned towards the wide bathroom mirror, it hung above the long marble counter installed with a large composite sink. Looking at her dishevelled appearance she begun to fix it. She brushed the dirt off her clothes and ran her fingers through her hair to straighten it out as Sai silently watched. Turning towards the empty stall, she grabbed tissue and dotted at the bottom of her lashes, getting rid of any stray streaks that marred her otherwise flawless makeup application.

When she was finally ready, she turned towards her pale companion, smiling at him tensely. "Thank you, Sai."

"You don't look as good as you think you do."

Though normally she would bite his head off for such a comment, Ino understood the underlying meaning of what the tactless man meant. She appreciated what he was trying to do, but she had begun to take his earlier advice. She would eventually get over it.

Sai looked at her with a blank expression. He wanted to say something else, but he wasn't sure as to what. He had never experienced the feeling before, usually he just said the first unfiltered thing that came to his mind.

Sharing a small grateful smile, Ino headed out first as Sai closely followed. Holding a deep breath as she caught Shikamaru's eye, she ignored his questioning expression as she sat down.

"You okay?" He asked, reaching out a hand to tap her arm.

Moving her arm away, she nodded her head as he blinked at the uncharacteristic action. "I'm fine."

"I take it this guy," Temari frowned, as her pine green eyes landed on Sai, "Promptly apologized to you right? Because if he didn't I can take care of him for you."

Laughing awkwardly Ino waved her off, "No, Sai was actually being pretty nice."

"Nice?" Temari repeated, a perfectly arched brow going up in disbelief, "Even after he gave you a bad drink as some sort of game?"

Puzzled, Ino blinked at her ex's fiancée like she had grown two heads. As she was about to question why she would assume such a terrible thing, Sai cut in before her.

"Yes, that's right. I'm sorry about that Ino, please accept my apology. It seems Drink Roulette isn't as fun a game as I've been led to believe."

Ino then realized, that this was Sai's off kilter way of covering for her when she inexplicably bolted off earlier. Silently, she wondered how such a ridiculous thing had gotten past Shikamaru's normally acute sense of reasoning.

"It's no problem Sai," Ino smiled. She was fighting the urge to laugh by roughly clenching her hands underneath the table, "I didn't mind playing along. You didn't know any better."

"I get that a lot." Sai admitted once again, shrugging as if to emphasize his general impassiveness.

Tilting her head at him, Ino wondered how he just said or did whatever he wanted to so easily. Shifting his attention down to her, Sai uncharacteristically didn't smile but instead furrowed his brow, still wondering about their earlier conversation. She tersely smiled at him in response, as if to say she was going to be alright, but the peculiar man had a hard time believing her.

"Well now that that's all cleared up, it was nice meeting you again Sai." Said Shikamaru. Glancing up at him Ino noticed the tightness in his jaw as he looked upon the two of them. It was then that she realized that she and Sai had been staring at each other for quite a while.

She bit her lip as she offered a nervous smile, "Wait, but we haven't ordered any drinks yet!" She announced trying to dispel the tension.

"I don't drink really," Said Temari. She leaned back into her chair as she crossed her arms, her mouth setting into a firm line, "And I wouldn't trust a drink from this guy anyway."

Ino shared a glance with Shikamaru. So Temari was the reason he hadn't had a drink in a while. Shikamaru used to love hanging out at bars with her and Chouji. A sinking feeling formed as she realized he was getting farther away from her.

Ino didn't want Sai to leave, she didn't think she could survive being alone with the couple in front of her without doing something stupid.

"You just got off on the wrong foot with Sai," Ino quickly said, "He's not that bad once you give him a chance."

"It's ok Beautiful. I have to go back to work anyways." Sai offered a thin smile at the trio. He looked at Ino with a blank expression before awkwardly patting her on the back and taking his leave. Though annoyed that he hadn't caught on to her cue, she herself smiled at the gesture- it was so Naruto.

"Beautiful?" Temari questioned, her narrowed eyes following Sai's retreating form.

"Yeah it's some nickname he gave me last year."

"That's a strange nickname." Shikamaru noted, his brow raising as if to pose an unsaid question.

Suddenly Sai's earlier words started to ring in her head. 'You may not be desperate after all.' What if he hadn't been so wrong?

What if there was something still there?

…. Or… she really could be just that desperate.

"It's no big deal," Ino waved off. "I kind of like it."

Giving her one of his famous dubious looks, Shikamaru tapped his fingers against the table,- a little habit of his that signified something was getting under his skin.

"It's a strange nickname to give a friend." The tapping was steady now- the pounding ringing loud in her ear.

It was then that Ino knew he wasn't a fan of the nickname, or the fact that she liked it. Taking a glance at Temari, she could see that the woman had no reaction to Shikamaru's fidgeting-which meant that she didn't know what it meant.

Ino frowned at the thought. Her jealously began to bubble up and resurface again. She knew Shikamaru like the back of her hand, how could the woman who didn't be the one to have the ring on her finger?

Tightly clenching her hands, Ino realized that she just couldn't give Shikamaru up to another so easily. She was probably overthinking things, but if there was one part of him that still loved her and she had to exploit it to win him back, then she didn't see the problem in that.

After all- all was fair in love and war.

Sai's words, and Shikamaru's reaction to said man, all started to blend together until Ino came up with an awful idea. One so ridiculous that she should've just let it go.

But before she knew it, the words spilt right out of her. "It's not strange if you're dating."

"Dating?" Shikamaru eyed her suspiciously as he repeated the crazy sentence. "You and him?"

Ino felt her stomach drop at the weird turn in conversation. This wasn't what she expected herself to say. She should've just let it go. She knew she was going to do something stupid.

She could just play if off as a joke but somehow her pride (or heart) was blocking her from doing such a thing. She really didn't want to look bad in front of Shikamaru... especially when his fiancée was around.

"Uhm..." She hesitated as two pairs of eyes narrowed in disbelief. "Yes?"

Temari tilted her head. "You don't sound too sure. Is that guy harassing you?"

Ino's resolve strengthened even more. What was so hard to believe about it? Was she insinuating she couldn't get a man unless he was obsessed with her? She was smart with looks and charm. She was practically irresistible!

There was really no way she was going to look bad in front of her ex's fiancée.

"Sai is my boyfriend." Ino declared a little harsher this time.

"Hey," Shikamaru raised his hands in mock surrender- sensing the familiar flare of her temper. "We're just surprised that's all. You guys don't really…"

"Match?" Ino finished for him. She couldn't argue there. Her and Sai had nothing in common as far as she knew about him…which in itself wasn't much.

The platinum blonde mildly panicked at the thought. How was she supposed to pretend to be dating someone she didn't even know? And what's more Sai had no idea of what she had done! What if he blew her cover?

Turquoise eyes frantically surveyed the place for her "boyfriend". She sighed when she caught him at the bar serving a long queue of customers. Hopefully it would stay that way until the couple in front of her decided to leave. Otherwise she didn't know what the unpredictable man would say while being questioned.

"Well I'm surprised I didn't know about it sooner." Shikamaru suddenly said- looking at Ino intently.

Getting uncomfortable with the look, she shifted in her chair a little, "You're one to talk."

"Actually, that's more like you, which is exactly why I'm surprised."

Ino's mouth fixated into a tight line, "Whatever."

"I personally think you could do much better," Temari voiced, eyeing Sai from her seat. "From what I've been told about you, you're much too good for a rude guy like that."

"Come on guys," Ino awkwardly laughed. She wanted nothing to do with the conversation despite being the one who first brought it up. Sai wasn't even bad.

"Well," Shikamaru cleared his throat. His shoulders squared as if to signify his discomfort with the conversation, "How long have you been…dating him?"

Slightly pausing, Ino's mind raced through probable dates before landing on one.

"Two months… discreetly." She quickly added.

"So no one else knows?" Shikamaru asked.

"No congratulations, you're the first."

Inwardly, Ino laughed bitterly at that one.

"Lucky me." He joked back. His delivery was even more dull than usual. "It's nice that you have someone Ino."

"Yeah." Ino mumbled.

Ino already felt incredibly guilty, but Shikamaru's words somehow made it even worse. She didn't know what she was doing, or why she continued to do it. In some twisted way, it was starting to make her feel better and she wasn't sure what kind of person that meant she was.

Nudging Shikamaru, Temari suddenly scooted her chair closer to the table. She brought her intense gaze to Ino in one swift movement, and held it there for a while, as Ino inwardly freaked out thinking she might've been caught.

The sudden smile on Temari's face however caused her to calm down, but only a little.

"What?" Ino asked, looking at Temari, and then at Shikamaru.

"Well, meeting you wasn't the only reason I came to Konoha." The sandy blonde reached up to brush her bangs behind her ears. "Actually, Shikamaru told me so much about you when we first met. I have to admit it started to annoy me a bit, but after really getting to know him and what kind of person he was, I started to realize I shouldn't have been. Shikamaru's the type to say more with his actions than his words, and him speaking so highly of you made me see that you were probably as great as he made you out to be. I mean you should know. He doesn't give out compliments lightly."

Ino blushed hearing all of Temari's praises, but she still kept her guard up. It felt like Temari's words were heading somewhere and she was almost certain she wouldn't like where.

"Um, Thank you?" Ino said, glancing at Shikamaru who simply shrugged his shoulders as an answer.

Temari brought her green gaze down slightly, as she quietly laughed, though it was a bit awkward.

"Ah, I really don't know how to approach this."

Not knowing what to do, Ino brought her hands down to her lap and tightly clutched the fabric of her clothes. Her nerves were building, and she wanted nothing more than to quiet them down but considering the situation she was currently in, that probably wouldn't happen until she could get home and immediately call Sakura for an S.O.S meeting.

Shikamaru slightly nudged Temari with his shoulders, causing them to share one of those sickly cute couple moments that made Ino bubble with jealously. She quickly managed to compose her grimace before either of them turned back to look at her, replacing it with an inauthentic smile.

"Ino, I know we just met and all and usually the grooms ask but I really wanted to ask this myself." Temari continued on her rambling, saying a bunch of unimportant things which Ino zoned in and out of occasionally, (Ino wasn't sure but she think she mentioned having two brothers), until she finally blurted out what she wanted in a single, rushed together huff of breath.

"Would'ya mind being th…..?" She mumbled the last bit.

Ino blinked. Then looked at Temari bewildered. Then blinked again. Placing her palms on the table she tried to decipher what it was the woman was trying to say.

"I'm sorry what?" Ino asked. Temari seemed to grow more nervous at that and continued rambling.

"It's just that, we've been talking about who we'd like in our wedding party. And I was telling Shikamaru that it'd be great if we took a different non-conventional approach. Since I don't have any girlfriends I can't have any bridesmaids, so I was going to have men in my bridal party and it would be weird and kind of against my beliefs if everyone who was in the wedding party were men so uhm, Shikamaru agreed to have his grooms party be all women."

Ino raised a surprised brow at that one. Shikamaru? The same one who always went around saying women were troublesome? Ino glanced at him from the corner of her eye suddenly now seeing just how different he not only looked but had become personality wise. She frowned.

Temari sighed and in one swift motion grabbed Ino's hands into her own. "Would you be the best woman at the wedding?"

"Best woman?" Ino repeated, softly taking her hands away and resting them on her lap. Shikamaru gave her a slight look at that to which she looked away.

Now Ino's been a part of many weddings, her family did own a renowned flower shop after all, but she had never heard of that phrase until now.

"It's like a best man but you know, it's a girl." Shikamaru supplied, smiling at Temari lazily as said woman looked at Ino with hopeful eyes.

Ino clenched her teeth into a sweet smile before her face could twist into a grimace. She honestly didn't know what to say. She was speechless but not in a good way.

Ino's smile became tight-lipped as she tried to hold the friendliness within it. She wanted nothing to do with wedding, preferring to go home and pretend that it didn't exist and wake up and stay in bed until the next hundred years.

"It would mean a lot to me Ino," Shikamaru held her gaze as his usually placid one turned into something more intense. "If you said yes."

Ino swallowed thickly, looking from Shikamaru to Temari and back to him again. Her head was spinning and not in the good 'I've had a few drinks and I'm reunited with the one I never got over' way.

"Uh-" Ino shakily began.

"You don't have to answer right away!" Temari put up her hands as she shook them before her, a tense look on her face. "We just wanted to ask you!"

'We'?, They were a we now, huh? Ino's hands tensed beneath the table as she gave them a strained smile.

"I'm honoured." She lied right through her bared teeth, but she prayed Shikamaru wouldn't notice.

Her prayer was heard it seems; his focus was all on his fiancée instead of her. Feeling her cheeks burn in jealousy Ino found her gaze lifting to that of Sai who at that moment was looking at her. Giving him a shy grin, she nodded her head as if to signal she was fine, but he still looked at her like he didn't believe her.

Ino turned her eyes away then. What did he know? He was emotionally constipated after all.

Shikamaru who had been smiling looked up at Ino with one of the warmest grins she had seen from him in a while. "This means a lot Ino. Thank you."

"No problem." Ino smiled back, feeling her cheeks grow red at being looked at him like that. Her smile faltered when he looked away from her and back to Temari like she wasn't even there.

Blinking rapidly Ino tried to fight the overwhelming sadness that was coming over her. Glancing at the clock she saw it was a quarter to eleven, meaning she had been a victim of this awkward situation for at least an hour.

Looking back at the couple she was surprised when she met Shikamaru's eyes which then followed her line of vision.

Nudging his fiancée Shikamaru nodded towards Ino. "Tomorrow you have an early hospital shift again, right?"

Ino nodded her head forgetting that she had even told him that.

"We should probably get going as well." Shikamaru said, "We've got dinner with my parents' tomorrow, and you know how annoying my mom gets when I show up late."

Temari shouldered him at that. "I don't blame her. Your ass is late for everything."

Laughing quietly Shikamaru shouldered her back, "My alarm can't seem to wake me up on time."

"Bullshit!" Temari shot back, laughing as well.

Ino smiled tersely at the conversation being had, wringing her hands tightly together within her lap. Her fingers would probably be sore tomorrow morning.

"Anyway, I'll catch up with you soon alright Ino?" Shikamaru had stood up then with his hands still around Temari.

Smiling at her in that charming tom-boyish way Ino couldn't help but admit how pretty Temari was as she raised her hand in a form of goodbye, saying something Ino had smiled to but didn't exactly hear.

Watching as the two exited the bar, playfully pushing one another with telling smiles Ino felt the strained smile she was holding fade from her lips.

Shikamaru didn't even look back. He just kept walking, only faltering slightly when he reached the bar where Sai was and gave him what Ino guessed was a once over.

Ino panicked when it looked like Sai was about to start another conversation when thankfully somebody walked up and ordered a drink, causing Sai to go back to work and Shikamaru to leave.

As the reality hit her once more she couldn't help but feel stupid. Looking down at her outfit that she spent so much time curating for nothing, she laughed at her naivety. Her hands traced the turquoise firefly on her bangs and ripped it away in one swift movement, her hair falling to stay right above her left eye like always.

Gripping the pin Shikamaru gave her so preciously her fingers traced it with delicacy. She couldn't let him go. She wouldn't.

Pushing herself away from her chair dramatically Ino stood and walked towards Sai with what she hopped was a determined 'won't take no for an answer' look.

Sai who was serving a customer gave them their drink as he regarded Ino with a confused expression. She looked constipated.

Slapping her hands across the bar counter and leaning in Ino gave Sai a firm nod.

"Beautiful?" he asked, still not getting what it was she wanted from him.

"Sai." Ino began, "I need your help."

Sai simply looked at her. He hadn't helped her that well earlier so why would she want it from him now?

"Pretend to be my boyfriend."

Sai continued to look at her blankly, waiting for her to say she was joking. When she did no such thing he actually felt shocked.

"Me?" He said.

"Yes." Ino affirmed. "It has to be you."

"Me?" He asked again, wanting to be sure Ino wasn't joking.

Ino aggressively nodded her head and huffed out of annoyance. How many times did she have to tell this guy?

Sai simply blinked and tilted his head to get a good look at her. Ino found a blush making its way from her shoulders up to her cheeks from his examination. It never did escape her how good looking Sai was. He could even give Sasuke and his brother Itachi a run for their money, and their lineage was filled with God-given good looks. Ino had practically screamed when she saw pictures from the Uchiha family vacation on Sakura's Instagram.

After finally believing her Sai raised a brow. "Why?"

"Because," Ino bit her lip and paused to look around before continuing to speak. "Maybe you're right?"

"Me?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Yes you!"

"Right about?"

Scrunching up her face in irritation the blonde simply slid her bangs behind her ear. "About Shikamaru maybe still having feelings for me. I know it sounds crazy, but I can feel that he does. He just needs a little push to actually do something."

"And why would he do that if you have a boyfriend?" Sai asked, not quite understanding the logic behind it.

"Oh, poor sweet Sai." Ino smiled at him, he was absolutely hopeless. "Sai who knows nothing about the intricacies of love and passion."

Sai stared at Ino once more. She always confused him.

"Men like the chase." Ino said matter-of-factly.

"The chase?" Sai repeated. He felt like a broken record.

Raising a finger in the air she nodded her head at him like he was a five year old kid. "Yes, they see a woman they can get easily, and they don't see a point in trying. But, if you make yourself hard to catch, it puts their hunter instincts into gear."

"What is a 'hunter instinct'?"

"I don't know something about evolution or whatever," Ino waved her hands to dismiss the idea, and then smiling she fluttered her eyes at the clueless man in front of her. "The point is, if Shikamaru sees me with somebody else he'll get so jealous that he'll realize what we had was something special and he'll come back."

Furrowing his brow Sai couldn't see how that would happen. Whenever he looked at the three from his station at the bar, he would see how Shikamaru would dote on his fiancée like she was a precious stroke of inspiration. He only could recognize that look himself because he felt that way sometimes when he was working on his art. It was the only thing that made his stifled emotions surface. He didn't, nor couldn't feel much of anything anymore.

He wouldn't know the first thing about being romantic. She had to have known that.

Sai looked at Ino like she had lost her mind. How was anyone supposed to believe that someone like him was in love with her? But Ino remained adamant in her stance going off on a tangent about love and war and fairness and winning. If they pretended they were in love, Shikamaru would get jealous enough to call off the wedding. All he needed to do was play his part. Though Sai wasn't so sure it was going to be that simple.

"What's the worse that can happen?" Ino smiled at him, satisfied with her plan. She didn't have anything more to lose in her opinion.

Sai looked at Ino blankly. He had heard that same line in the countless movies his therapist had recommend he watch to better access and identify his repressed emotions.

If he remembered correctly, the person who said it always turned out to be wrong in the end.