A/N: Here's the next chapter. I'm happy to be back on schedule. Sorry the chapters are so short. Thanks for all the great feedback!

They had been walking for two days and still Hinata hadn't said anything. Normally that would have been fine with him, since he didn't care too much for conversation, but he knew Hinata well enough to understand that the reason she wasn't talking was because she was very upset about something. Besides, he cared about her, he grudgingly admitted to himself, and counted her among his close friends. If something was bothering her, he wanted to help, even if it probably would be troublesome. Doing nothing would be just as troublesome, anyway, since she would probably remain upset and ruin what little peace he was getting out of the walk back home.

It was midmorning by the time he actually decided to say something. "Okay, what's up?" he asked her, stopping in his tracks.

Hinata walked a few more steps and glanced at him over her shoulder, eyes downcast and cheeks red. They had changed back into civilian clothes, so she actually looked like quite the proper little lady. After looking at him for a moment, she shook her head violently and began walking again, her pace slightly quicker.

"Come on, Hinata," he said, easily matching her speed. "Something's bothering you. We're friends, aren't we?"

"Y-yes," she murmured, looking at the ground.

"Then we can talk about this, right?"

"I-it's not really any of my business," she stammered.

"Well, you must have some opinion about whatever it is, because otherwise it wouldn't be bothering you." He scratched the scalp above his ear and looked down at her, eyebrows slightly drawn together. Hinata's face was still angled toward the ground, the daylight revealing the purple highlights the sun had bleached in her hair. They walked a few more steps, then she tilted her face up to his, her brown contacts startling him. She seemed as if she was going to say something, then shook her head, cheeks staining pink.

"It's about Temari, isn't it," he said. "What about that bothers you?"

"It was just so sudden."

He shrugged. "Well, it's not like I planned it. She just sort of jumped me. I didn't know any better."

Hinata simply nodded, and he was glad she understood. At least he would be spared the indignity of admitting it had been his first time. "Do you love her?" she asked, surprising him.

He felt beads of sweat form at his hairline as his own cheeks began to burn. "Ah, no, I don't. I really don't know her very well."

She frowned slightly. "Do you think you will fall in love with her?"

Images of blonde hair and eyes the color of the sky flashed through his brain, a portrait of a lovely girl with wet hands clutching three red carnations to her chest burned into his mind. "No," he said firmly, a scowl settling on his thin eyebrows.

Hinata blinked up at him. "Never?"

He took a deep breath. "Never. And she knows it. That's not what she wants."

"But you did it anyway."

For some reason her words made him feel dirty, whereas the act had made him feel anything but. "Yeah, I did. We're adults, and we were careful. It's okay."

They walked in silence for several more minutes, Shikamaru squinting as the sun rose high overhead. They stopped for lunch by the side of the road and had a quick meal, not a word passing between them. "What about Ino?"

Shikamaru felt his heart skip a beat and something cold grow in his chest. "What about her?" The bitterness in his voice surprised him.

Hinata looked at him levelly. "Ah," she said softly.

A few more moments passed, and finally he couldn't take it any more. "She's always dating other people," he blurted, hating himself for the irrational anger that surged inside of him. "Ino always has a boyfriend, and when we're together we have the best time, yet the next day she's necking with her new guy. I've known her for years and she never even gives me a second glance. It was always 'Sasuke' this and 'Sasuke' that, and nothing's changed since but the name of the guy she's after. There's no place for me there."

His friend lowered her gaze and quietly began packing up their lunches. "I understand," she says. "If you hadn't intervened that day, I don't know if I would have ever had the strength to talk to Naruto about how I felt."

Shikamaru swallowed. "I'm not in love with Ino. I don't want to be her lover." He didn't think it was a lie, but it tasted sour on his tongue nonetheless.

She reached out and put her hand on his. "It's all right. I won't tell anyone anything."

"Temari wants me," he muttered.

Hinata laughed. "She certainly does. She actually offered me money to let her sleep in my spot."

His eyebrows shot up. "What? Really?"

Her smile was beautiful and kind, the smile of a sister. He had always known he would trust Hinata with his life, but in that moment she was infinitely precious to him. "Really. I want you to be happy," she said. "But don't close yourself off from other options."

He sighed and nodded his head. "Sure thing, Sis," he muttered, and helped her pack up her things.