A/N: Glad everyone seemed to like the last chapter so much! I hope it's not getting too fluffy or saccharine for anyone. I try to keep it from being like that, but let's face it, sometimes moments in life are fluffy, especially the precious ones. I know that's what it's like for me, at least. Enjoy.

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Shikamaru was half afraid to open his eyes on the off chance it was one of those dream-within-a-dream situations. Judging by the light coming in through his eyelids, it was pretty early morning, although it was bright enough that he wouldn't have been surprised to find the sun had fully risen. It was definitely not Shikamaru's favorite time of day, normally. However, on this particular morning, he could feel a warm, strong body pressed along his frontside, breathing gently in his arms. Deciding to risk it, he cracked open an eye and wasgreeted by a soft curve of neck and golden hair.

So it hadn't been a dream, after all. He reflexively curled around her body, drawing her even tighter and inhaling at the back of her neck, right at the base of the skull at the spot the hair started, the place that smelled like a warm mixture of milk and honey. It was an earthy scent that reminded him of ripeness and spring. The fragrance aroused him, and he ground his hips against her, half-asleep and barely aware of what he was doing. "Mmmm," she said, rolling over and facing him.

"Sorry," he whispered, smoothing tangled hair out of her face. He gazed at her, marveling at the way her body curved, how she could be so soft and so strong at the same time. Making love with her had been fantastic, but waking up next to her was almost a religious experience. He felt dizzy with ecstasy.

Her sky-blue eyes fluttered open, focusing on his face, a smile curving her lips. His heart skipped a beat, and he tentatively traced the whorls of her ear, fingering the silver hoop in the lobe. Ino stretched her neck and nuzzled against his hand, kissing the palm as he retracted it. "Good morning," she murmured.

"Morning," he replied, sighing with joy as she kissed him. "Did you sleep well?"

Her eyes were luminous as she gazed at him. It might have been the angle of the sunlight coming through the window, but Ino seemed to be glowing from within. "Oh yes," she purred, tracing the muscles of his chest with her fingers.

"I didn't invite you here for that, you know," he said softly, running a hand over her bare shoulder as their legs entwined beneath the sheets.

"I know. I was afraid, and then I realized that I didn't need to be afraid around you. You're different from other men. I wanted to make love with you."

The corner of his mouth curled up a bit in a semi-smile, thoughts churning as his hand continued to explore her body. He knew he had hurt her a little, since she had never made love with anyone before, but by the end of the night she had seemed to enjoy herself. Next time he would make certain he took her to the stars. The universe seemed different, now that they were truly lovers, and he found it was far less troublesome than he thought it would be. He knew it wouldn't always be perfect, but he thought the joy would more than make up for it.

"And you have the best butt," she cooed, pushing her pelvis against his and grabbing his rear. She seemed to have been saying something, but he had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he hadn't heard.

"Do you want to come back tonight?" he asked. It was as he had always feared; now that he had Ino, he wanted more. He still wasn't used to wanting things.

A sigh escaped her as her fingers roved over his broad shoulders, her cheeks slightly flushed. "I want to. I don't know if I can. My parents aren't going to be happy I didn't come home last night."

He rolled his eyes. "Ino, you're plenty old enough to stay out as late as you want. You're an adult."

"Can adults do whatever they want?"

"It depends."

"Can adults move in with you?"

Shikamaru propped himself up on an elbow, staring down at her. Had she just proposed what he thought she did? "Excuse me?" he asked. "Did you just ask if you could come live with me?"

Her brow furrowed and she shrunk away from him slightly. "Not if you don't want me to," she replied, voice small.

Having Ino live with him would probably be the most troublesome thing he could imagine ever happening. His brain almost refused to accept it as a real possibility. On the other hand, he wouldn't mind waking up to her every morning….

"I'm sorry, it was stupid," she said, rolling over and moving as if to get out of bed.

"No, it wasn't," he replied quickly, stopping her short. "It's just, well, really sudden."

"But we've known each other almost our whole lives. Don't you think we have a pretty good idea of what we're getting into?"

"We've been friends almost our whole lives, not lovers. It's different."

"I don't see how. It'd just be like having any other roommate, but with benefits."

He sighed. "I don't know. Even if you put that stuff aside, you just don't belong in a hovel like this."

She slid back into bed, curling up against him. "What's wrong with it?"

"Besides the fact that it's nearly microscopic for one, let alone two? The heating is terrible in the wintertime, and the cooling is terrible in the summertime. The neighbors can be noisy, and the garbage isn't collected regularly. Plus it doesn't have a balcony, so you can't really see the sky very well."

"Then we'll get a bigger place."

"Bigger places are more expensive."

Ino scratched her nose, eyes distant. "Well, I have plenty of money in savings, plus we're both working. We could afford a bigger place and still put money away."

"How much bigger?"

Looking around, Ino shrugged. "Maybe a place with a separate living room and a balcony. That should do it, for just two people."

"Really? You don't want a palace?"

She scowled and slapped his arm. "Shut up. You know, you're not really good at pillow talk."

"I've never had to do pillow talk before."

An unexpected smile stretched across her face, her warm arms encircling him and pulling him close. "Good," she murmured, capturing him in a kiss. "You're all mine, just the way I like it." Her hand traveled below his navel, making him shudder.

"Yes," he breathed, and they made love once more.

They took a shower, Ino scrubbing Shikamaru's hair thoroughly and talking about how strange it was to see it down, and then dressed. She looked like a fallen empress, her head held high as she donned her rumpled kimono, walking with dignity even thoughher clothes and hair weredisheveled,and they began the trek to the Yamanaka house, munching on pieces of toast. "It might not be so bad," Ino said as she opened the front door, and suddenly Inoshi was there, eyes blazing.

"What have you done to my daughter?" he cried, and Shikamaru wondered how a man that was shorter than he was could manage to loom over him. Suddenly he turned to his daughter, tears in his eyes. "Oh, princess, did he hurt you? Did he ruin your reputation?"

"Shut up, Dad," she said, making her way to the stairs. "I'm going to move in with him." Shikamaru wondered if he had ever actually consented toliving together. Damn it, he was whipped. How troublesome.

"Whaaaaat?" Inoshi gurgled, going pale. "But you're not even married! What is the meaning of this?"

"We're in love, Dad," Ino called, disappearing upstairs.

Shikamaru wanted to kill her for leaving him alone with her raging father. "I'm going to call your mother," Inoshi hissed, and Shikamaru felt his legs suddenly turn to jelly. This was definitely one of the most troublesome situations he had ever been in. He might have actually been required to put some effort into smoothing things over had Ino's mother not suddenly appeared.

"What's the ruckus about?" she asked, eyeing her husband.

"This boy spoiled our sweet baby!" Inoshi wailed. A split-second later he was back in raging demon mode, glaring at Shikamaru. "And I will kill him for it. How dare you touch my daughter?"

Ino's mother rolled her eyes. "Honey, it was only one night. Besides, they've been dating for a while. They could have been screwing like rabbits, for all we know. It's about time, too. Ino's too old to just be starting out with this sort of thing."

Shikamaru's jaw actually dropped as Inoshi crumpled into tears. "Oh, my poor baby," he mumbled to himself. Just as suddenly he had Shikamaru pressed against the wall, a fist balled up in the front of his shirt. "You had better take care of her, Nara. If she comes crying to me once, even once, I'll be on your back so fast you'll wish you were dead."

His wife came over and whacked him on the head. "Stop that. Shikamaru's a perfectly nice young boy and wouldn't force Ino to do anything she didn't want to." Pulling on Inoshi's ear, she led him over to the couch and forced him to sit down. "Now, what he's really trying to say is that he just hopes you'll treat Ino well. It's hard for him to realize his little girl's all grown up."

"Yes, ma'am," Shikamaru replied, struck dumb. He hadn't spent a whole lot of time as an adult with Ino's family, but just in the past five minutes a lot of influences on Ino's behavior became clear.

It was about then that Ino thumped down the stairs with a heavily-laden suitcase. "Okay. I'll be back for some more of my stuff after we find a bigger place. Here," she said, handing the bag to Shikamaru, and he nearly dropped it,unprepared forits weight. He was also totally unprepared to have her move in that veryday. He thought she might take a couple of weeks to get ready, and he opened his mouth to tell her as much when she shot him an evil glare. It seemed safer to stay away from that topic, so he did. Maybe living with Ino wouldn't be so bad. Maybe.

"Holy crap, what do you have in here, lead weights?" he whined. "Troublesome."

"Quiet, you," she said briskly. "Okay, bye Mom, bye Dad. We'll come over for dinner sometime, okay? Don't worry, I'll call."

Shikamaru followed along, dumbfounded, as Ino led him out of the house, waving at her parents as they stood in the doorway. Ino's mother was smiling, and Inoshi, although he was waving, had tears streaming down his face. "Your family is really strange," Shikamaru told her.

"So's yours," she retorted, and he couldn't argue with that.

"Troublesome," he muttered under his breath.

"I heard that. You know, you're troublesome, too. You just have to decide if it's worth it or not."

"Fine, fine," he grumbled, and followed his new roommate down the street.