A/N: Glad some of you understood my motivations in not putting in every single little detail that happened into the fic. I appreciate that. Enjoy, and reviews are always welcome.

"Ino!" he shouted, trotting to catch up with her.

"Go away," she croaked, walking faster.

He was shoulder-to-shoulder with her, examining her face. Her eyes were filled with moisture, but none of it was spilling down her cheeks. He sometimes suspected she was too strong for her own good. "Come on," he said, trying to sound sensitive. "Please."

"Why? Why should I?"

He took a deep breath. "Because Chouji wants us to. Because it might be his last request."

"Don't talk like that," she cried, stopping. "He'll be fine, and besides, it's what he wants, not you."

He frowned. Since when did it matter what he wanted? "I want it, too, Ino. I hate fighting."

"Making up will be too troublesome," she spat.

He sighed, rubbing his chin. "Yeah, but I've found that fighting with you is much more troublesome."

The corner of her mouth twitched. "Is that so?"

"Yeah. Let's go for a walk."

They strolled around the village for a while in silence, not even looking at one another, before he finally led them to his cloud-watching spot. He flopped down in the grass, staring up at the sky. He had brought Temari here once, but she had been bored out of her mind and had complained the entire time. The memory was a sharp contrast to one of his most precious recollections, the time when Ino fell asleep next to him under the stars when they were only thirteen.

"Why are you mad at me?" he finally asked her, voice soft as he watched the clouds meander past.

"I'm not," she said icily.

"Are you jealous?"

"Of course not!"

He sighed. He knew he wasn't going to get any answers from Ino. Her mind was a mystery to him, and she never told him what she was feeling. Not about him, anyway. "I still talked to you when you were dating all those guys," he reminded her.

"I know. But I wasn't serious with them."

"And you're upset because I'm with Temari?"

Her face appeared in his view. "She's not right for you," she said sharply.

He studied her, examining where he knew her wrinkles would show up when she was older, if she lived long enough to be old. A ninja's life was full of death. "How would you know?"

"She's bossy and loud and she goes out with other guys."

"Huh, sounds like another woman I know."

Her jaw clenched and he winced, waiting for a blow to fall. "I thought it was just a fling, like the flings I had. I never planned on staying with any of those guys."

"It is just a fling, Ino. It's just a fling that's lasted longer than most."

She shook her head. "No, it's not. I think she's in love with you."

Her words made him sight upright, his spine unusually straight. "What?" he asked. "How could you possibly know?"

"I've seen you around town when she comes to visit. I've seen her with other men when our paths cross on missions. She has a special look she reserves just for you. I'm a woman, I can tell."

"The whole point of our relationship is that she isn't in love with me," Shikamaru protested.

"Well, something happened," Ino replied quietly, her lashes obscuring her eyes as she looked down into her lap. She was silent for a while, tapping her fingers against her ankle, then took a deep breath. "Hey," she began.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think that guys and girls can never just be friends?"

He looked at her, studying her delicate profile, her long neck, her strong, yet feminine, shoulders. Her body was lean, where Temari's was thick, and despite her appearance, Shikamaru knew Ino was strong. He also knew she was talented- she was one of Konoha's top kunoichi, aside from the special jounin. She was just as beautiful as she always had been. "I don't know," he replied.

"You're supposed to be a genius," she said with a half-smile.

He took a deep breath. "Do you want to try and be friends again?" he asked, heart pounding in his chest.

"Do you?" she countered, raising her eyes to meet his. He thought his heart would explode. What was it about her that made him react in such a way?

"Yeah," he murmured, taking her hand without realizing it until she blushed. He was surprised by his own boldness, but supposed that Temari must have instilled some confidence in him. Still, why was Ino blushing?

"Okay, we'll try," she whispered, leaning in closer as her hand squeezed his. He unconsciously mimicked her movements, leaning in towards her until he could feel her breath on his skin, completely entranced by her. The heat rose in his cheeks and his heart hammered inside his ribs. Temari never made him feel this way….

His attention was immediately diverted by the angry growling of his stomach. Ino's eyes, which had been half-open and well on their way to closing just a moment before, flew open and she laughed. "Seems like I'm channeling Chouji," he said with a slight smile, and she grinned in response.

Standing, Ino pulled him up by the hand she was holding. "Friends?" she asked.

"Friends," he replied, squeezing her hand.

"Then let's go get Chouji some food. I'll buy. Maybe the smell of barbeque will wake him up. Hospital food sure isn't going to do the trick."

Shikamaru nodded. After all, Temari hadn't told him that a girl couldn't buy him food. "Let's go," he said, and walked her back to the village.