A/N: Hope you enjoyed Temari's appearance last time. Don't worry, she'll show up again soon. Personally, I think Ino gets a bad wrap- so many fanfic writers make her out to be some sort of psycho that I think it colors the opinions of readers. Yeah, she has a temper in the manga, but she has a side that cares deeply for those around her, too. So, keep an open mind, because she'll play a huge role in the end of this fic. Hope you like it, and don't forget to spread the gospel if you do. I like to know what people think.
When Naruto and Shikamaru returned to Konoha, Naruto asked Shikamaru if he'd be the one to make the report, since he was anxious to see if Hinata was around. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and made a snide comment about hormones, but he sent Naruto on his way. He made his report, was informed he had a single day to rest, and asked if Ino was on a mission. The administrator said she wasn't, so he decided to track her down. Tucking the silver bowl under his arm, he wandered home, only stopping to watch the clouds for a few minutes, showered, and set off again, the bowl still in tow.
The bell above the door to Ino's family's shop rang as he entered the store, his eyes meeting Ino's as she raised her head from her task. The shop was completely empty except for the two of them. "Shikamaru?" she asked.
He tried to smiled slightly. It was always sort of harrowing to be around her. The sensation was similar to the quiet anxiety he sometimes felt before missions. "What, have I been gone so long you don't recognize me?"
She scowled and threw a flower at him. "You jerk," she growled.
Shikamaru was genuinely confused by her remark. "What?" He ambled to the counter and handed her the flower she had launched at him.
Snatching it away from him, Ino crammed it into a vase with a few others. "You never call me when you get home from missions."
He dug around in his pocket, still holding the bowl under his arm. "I didn't know I was supposed to," he said. "I'm here now, right? I did just get off a mission, after all."
A sigh escaped her and she rested her hands on the counter. Her long, pale fingers were covered with plant bits and looked slightly cold and wrinkled from being in too much water. "Yes," she murmured. She looked at him and spoke more loudly. "You know, Chouji told me I could bring someone to the wedding."
Shikamaru wasn't sure if she was implying anything or not. He felt a familiar tightness in his chest as she spoke. "Oh yeah?" The palms of his hands began to sweat. Memories of the festival he had taken her to years ago surfaced like bubbles inside of him, forming and bursting almost immediately. Her scent invaded his brain once more, and he could recall what her muscular waist felt like between his hands.
"Soujiro wants me to take him," she said quietly, a strange look on her face. Her sky-blue eyes were fixed on him, unblinking, her hands still resting on the counter.
It was everything he could do not to physically recoil as the sensation of having an icicle rammed through his heart assaulted him. Sure, of course she'd take her latest boyfriend. Shikamaru had to be there anyway; he was the best man. Still, would he always be at the bottom of Ino's list? It had begun with Sasuke and gone on from there. Why didn't she think of him as a romantic possibility? Were they simply too good of friends?
"I got this for their present," he grumbled, unwrapping the bowl Temari had picked out. It was actually less trouble, for once, to change the subject than to speak the obvious. It was obvious to him, at least.
The silver of the bowl reflected in her eyes as she gasped. "Oh, this is beautiful!" she exclaimed. "They'll love it!"
Shikamaru shrugged. "Naomi will love it. If I fill it with chips, Chouji will love it, too."
Ino laughed, the sound like chimes to his ears. "I'm just doing their flowers. That'll have to be good enough."
Shikamaru grunted in response. He was still a little riled from Temari's groping the day before and couldn't keep his attention away from Ino's breasts. He wondered what her throat would feel like beneath his lips. "Uh," he mumbled.
Ino leaned forward. "What?"
Shikamaru gave a start and hastily met her eyes, trying to think of something to say. The pay from his mission jingled in his pocket. He pointed at a red carnation on a stand next to her. "I want three of those."
She frowned. "What? You're buying flowers?"
"Is that against the law?" he drawled.
Her head shook furiously. "No, of course not," she snapped. "It's just, well, have you ever bought flowers for anybody before?"
It stung that she didn't remember. "Just once," he said softly.
She paused, her hands in mid-motion, and stared at him, cheeks slowly turning pink. "Rare color," she whispered. He held her gaze, willing her to understand. If she would only reach for him he could die a happy man.
Suddenly her eyes narrowed and she turned on him. "Shikamaru, do you have a girlfriend?" Her tone was teasing, but her eyes were blazing. "Have you been hiding someone from us this whole time?"
Why was she so angry? "Hell no," he replied flatly, pushing his money across the counter.
Ino deflated, taking three carnations from the bundle. "Okay." She began to wrap the flowers, but he motioned for her to stop. He took the flowers from her, blushing as their hands touched and hating himself for it. "So Chouji's having me over for dinner tonight. You want to pick me up at seven?" she asked.
"Did he invite me, or are you doing this against his wishes?"
She slapped his arm. "Stupid. Of course he invited you. I just thought you might want to go with me. He probably left a message asking you to come. Geez, you don't have to go with me if you don't want to."
"No," he said, inwardly wincing as his voice came out louder than he had intended it to. "I-I mean, I do want to go. With you."
She cleared her throat and looked away, making him realize he had been staring at her. "Okay," she said softly. "I'll see you then, I guess."
"Yeah," he replied. It was so troublesome to deal with her, but he simply couldn't stop himself. It was so stupid; he wasn't a dumb kid anymore. He was a full-fledged ninja and a grown man besides. Words should not have frightened him, for he knew the true horrors of the world.
Taking a deep breath, he held out the flowers he had just purchased. "These are for you," he murmured.
Ino reached out and took the flowers tenderly. "Thank you," she replied. Her expression was soft, with something else hiding deep inside. "Do you know what carnations mean?"
"No," he whispered.
"Love, always love."
His lips parted and he swallowed past the lump in his throat, hoping she couldn't hear the way his heart was hammering in his chest. His eyes roved over her flawless complexion, reveling in her beauty. "Ah," he breathed. He regained his composure by filling his lungs as full as he could with air and exhaling as he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, all his emotions were securely tucked away. He looked at her again, trying to ignore how sad she suddenly looked. "See you at seven," he said, and walked out of the shop.
He meandered to his small apartment and immediately went out onto his cramped balcony, flopping down on the bench he had placed there. The clouds lazily crossed the sky and he smiled to himself, content. He stayed like that for a couple of hours, then changed and went back to Ino's. She still lived with her parents, something that he couldn't fathom. As he grew older he realized that he loved his parents, but his mother was a still a tyrant and his dad was still irresponsible. He couldn't wait to get out of there, and so as soon as he could afford it, he was out on his own. Ino, however, was her daddy's princess, and he figured she wouldn't be moving out until she married. Who knew when that would be. The thought depressed him. Ino dated enough people that her chances of finding the "right one" were actually pretty good. He looked up and realized he had actually walked past Ino's house, then backtracked and rang the bell.
"Shikamaru!" Inoshi cried, opening the door. "Come on in! Ino will be down in just a minute."
"Thank you, sir," Shikamaru said, leaning against the doorframe of the living room. Inoshi sat back down on the couch and continued to sharpen kunai while his wife oiled shuriken. They chatted while they watched television, and Shikamaru wondered if this domesticity was similar to what normal, non-ninja families experienced. Well, minus the deadly weapons, of course. He often wondered what it would be like to be something other than a hired killer, but he also knew that the culture of being a tool, a weapon of death, was ingrained in him. So-called "normal" life was probably beyond his reach. He would either grow old knowing that he could be killed and taken away from all he held dear at any time or would actually be killed. There was no way to know. Even worse was the fact that he couldn't know when those he loved would be taken away. He was very careful to generally keep business finished whenever he left town. Well, all except for one issue….
Ino suddenly appeared in the room, clad in a simple red dress. It was short-sleeved, showing off her sculpted arms, and had a mandarin collar. Her hair was pinned up on top of her head and her shoes were stylish but sensible. Ino, in spite of being one of the more stereotypically feminine kunoichi, always dressed in such a manner that she would be capable of defending herself. That was, perhaps, one of the reasons she was so often picked for assignments in foreign lands. She could act the lady and go undercover no matter where she went. Ino had posed as the wife, daughter, or mistress of nobility for several nations. Shikamaru felt something in his stomach grow hot as he envied those men she had accompanied.
"Hey," she said to him, smiling. She wore no cosmetics, letting her natural features do their business. To him they were more than enough, though he'd rather die than tell her that. "You ready to go?"
"Yeah. You look nice," he replied. "Am I not dressed up enough? I thought we were just going over to his house."
"We are," she said, coming over to him and adjusting the collar of his shirt. Her light scent filled his nostrils and made his stomach lurch. "You look fine."
"Let's get going, then," he said.
"I'll be back later," Ino told her parents, and let him show her out the door.
Dinner with Chouji and Naomi was very pleasant. The food was spectacular and they both seemed very happy. Every so often Naomi would lean over and plant a kiss on Chouji's round cheek. The young man would grin and blush, his eyes sparkling with joy as the woman moved gracefully around the room. Ino laughed and touched Shikamaru lightly on the knee several times. He couldn't remember the last time she had looked so lovely. She was witty, beautiful, strong, and very, very dangerous. A genuine, large smile found itself on his face several times that night, all because of her. He had never felt so good.
When dinner came to a close he felt like he was nearly floating. He put his hand on the small of her back as they left Chouji's house. His friend pulled him aside as Naomi helped Ino with her light jacket. "Have a good time?" Chouji asked.
"Yeah," Shikamaru said with a smile. "Couldn't have asked for better company. You guys are going to be so happy."
"I think so," his friend replied. "Hey, are you off tomorrow?"
Shikamaru nodded. "You know where I'll be. Anytime's good."
"Okay," the larger boy said, slapping his friend on his back. Shikamaru was forced to take a step forward in order to compensate for Chouji's strength.
"Thanks for everything! Goodnight!" Ino said as he led her out the door, both of them waving at the smiling couple. The door slid shut and he could hear giggles inside. The lights immediately went out and Shikamaru could guess what would come next.
The stars above them sparkled, beautiful but distant. He glanced at the young woman walking alongside him, thinking she was much the same. "Hey, Ino?" he asked, knowing he was creating more trouble for himself, but perversely unable to stop himself from doing it.
"Yes?"
"Why do you date so many guys? Why go from fiercely chasing Sasuke to going with everyone you can get your hands on?"
Ino stopped and looked around, then motioned to a bench away from the glare of the streetlight. "Here," she said, leading him over. They sat down and she pressed against him, shivering slightly.
"Are you cold?"
"A bit."
Shikamaru shrugged out of his jacket. "Here," he said, covering her with it.
She smiled up at him. "It smells like you," she murmured.
The corners of his mouth turned up slightly in response. "And? You going to answer me?"
Her hand shot out from underneath his jacket and smacked his thigh. "Of course, you asshole! Just give me a minute!"
"Fine, fine," he mumbled. "I should have known this was going to be troublesome."
"Everything's troublesome to you."
"That's right. Now, I'm honestly curious."
She sighed, her eyes searching the night sky. "I had a crush on Sasuke, sure. It lasted for a long time. But, when I realized that he wasn't the same after he came back, it just sort of stopped. Instead I was angry for how he hurt Sakura. I never really loved him. I didn't know what that meant. I don't think I do yet."
"And all the boyfriends?"
"Why do you care?" she asked playfully, suddenly coy, then slowly reverted back to normal as she realized he was serious. "I'm still looking, Shikamaru. You're my best friend. Sometimes I feel like you know more about me than I know about myself."
He looked at her long and hard, studying the lines of her jaw. "You know yourself just fine. You just don't know that you know."
"I'm trying. I'm learning."
She looked almost statuesque sitting there in the starlight, he thought. She was too beautiful, too smart, too perfect for any mortal man. He was proud of her for becoming such a strong ninja, but at the same time he was afraid she might die on a mission. Did she ever feel that? She probably did. It would have been too much of a bother to ask, though. He toyed for a moment with the idea of asking her back to his place, even if it was just to talk, then remembered that he didn't really like talking. That was why he hung out with Ino. She was a troublesome person, but at least she was willing to do most of the work. "Tired?" he asked.
Her eyes were dark as she looked at him, nodding. "Yeah," she replied. "I'm leaving on a mission tomorrow."
"I'll take you home," he said, and did exactly that.