A/N: So what about Kiba/Moegi scares you? The fact that they'll probably have a litter of hyperactive, insane, red-headed, puppy-totinglittle ninjas? Heh heh. Hinata's taken in this fic, but I think Kiba needs to end up with someone, and Moegi's left open-ended enough that she just might work.I may do a fanfic about this later, if I stall on my original stuff. Fanfics are always good for what ails you.... Anyway, thanks for all the kind reviews! Two chapters left after this!

Shikamaru had saved up months for this night, and now that it was finally at hand, he found himself extremely nervous. It was the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, which he had chosen simply because it gave him more daylight hours to get ready. He wanted to do it at sunset. Looking around the hillside, everything was as he wanted it to be. The blanket was spread out, dinner covered to keep away bugs. The bottle of wine and the glasses were in the right place, and he had the most important part of the evening in his pocket.

In fact, the only thing that wasn't absolutely perfect was the weather. Clouds were gathering at the horizon, making him worry. He had planned to eat before sunset and then put the rest of his scheme in motion, but it didn't seem as if nature wanted to cooperate. Stupid troublesome scheme. At least dinner hadn't been too troublesome- the only person he'd told about his plans was Naomi, who had coordinated everything and coached him on what he should do. Not even Chouji knew what he had up his sleeve. He wanted everyone to be surprised.

He resisted the urge to chew on his fingernails as his eyes scanned his favorite hillside, watching for any sign of Ino. She was already fifteen minutes late, and for a heart-stopping moment he wondered if she'd even bother to show. His paranoid side attempted to take over his mind, trying to convince him that she'd tripped in the park and hurt herself, or that she'd just decided to go off with someone else. Luckily his rational mind kicked in at that point in time, and he sat down in the grass to wait. He adored the hillside. Not only was it one of the best places to watch the clouds and the stars, but it was also the place he had some of his first fond memories of Ino.

"Shikamaru!" he heard someone call, and he stood, looking down the hill. Ino was running through the grass, waving and smiling. She looked like a goddess to him, beautiful and vibrant. Bounding up the slope, she threw herself into his arms and kissed him on the cheek. "Sorry I'm late," she said, smoothing her hair. Her face was streaked with dirt, and her hair was poking out all over the place, wisps surrounding her where strands had separated from her ponytail. "I was helping Mom replant one of the beds and I lost track of time."

He nodded, wiping a bit of dirt off of her cheek. "It's okay. Are you hungry?"

"Starving!" she replied, eyes sparkling. "Wow, this is quite the setup!"

Shikamaru shrugged, watching as she sat down and trying to ignore the way the sky was darkening with clouds. "Glad you like it," he said, uncovering the food and serving them.

"Naomi must owe you a favor," Ino grinned, accepting the offered plate. "This looks delicious."

"Something like that," he mumbled, trying to keep his hands from shaking. He hadn't been so nervous in quite some time.

The wind picked up as Ino dug in, Shikamaru mentally screaming. It couldn't rain, it just couldn't. He'd gone through a lot of trouble, something that was against the very grain of his soul, to make tonight perfect, and then the stupid sky was going to go and ruin everything. "Do you think it will rain?" Ino said, looking up at the heavens between mouthfuls, and he followed her gaze, horrified as thunder rolled across the sky.

Shikamaru's face twisted in bitterness as the clouds burst, pouring water down on them. Ino shrieked and began madly packing up the food. "Tch, troublesome," Shikamaru grumbled as he sat in the rain, lightning streaking across the sky.

Ino, in the meantime, had managed to pack almost everything up and stashed it beneath a tree. "What are you doing?" she yelled from underneath the shelter of the branches. "You're getting soaked."

He didn't feel like telling her that he didn't care that he was soaked. His perfect evening was ruined, just like he should have expected it to be. Was nothing easy? The rain was drilling away on his head, and he was already sopping wet. What was the point of moving? Reaching over, he dumped the already-accumulating water out of one of the wineglasses and stared at it sullenly as it began to fill up again.

"Shikamaru!" Ino cried. "Get your butt over here!"

A sour curl to his lip was the only response he had for her, glaring at the sky. "Too late," he grumbled.

"You're going to catch cold!"

"Who cares?" he mumbled, setting down the wineglass.

Ino was suddenly in front of him, a gentle smile on her face. She crouched before him, putting a hand on either side of his jaw. "I care," she murmured, and kissed him. Her lips were wet with rain, and she smelled like the soil she had worked in all afternoon, the smell of earth mingling with the fresh rainwater and the slightly floral scent her body possessed. Reaching up a hand, he caressed the side of her face, running a thumb over her lower lip as she released the kiss. "Come on," she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him to standing. He reluctantly let her tow him under the tree.

"The wine," he said, blinking out into the storm. The light was beginning to fade from the already darkened sky.

"Oh, crap," Ino growled, and before he could say anything else she dashed back out into the rain, quickly gathering up the bottle and the glasses. Water dripped off the end of her nose as she rejoined him, her clothes plastered to her body. "Guess we'd better drink this to keep us warm," she said with a smile.

"I guess," he sighed. "This is terrible."

"What is?"

"This troublesome weather."

A mischievous grin spread across her face. "Oh, but you're soaking wet," she purred, and his heart skipped a beat as cold, wet fingers slid under the mesh of his shirt, following the contours of his ribs. "Maybe you should get out of those clothes."

He looked down at her, at the hair matted to her head from the rain, and the clothes clinging to her shapely body like a second skin. Over the past several months he had come to know that body almost as well as he knew his own, familiar with all her most sensitive and wonderful places. He adored her, and he wanted to touch her, not just for that moment, but for the rest of his life. She looked so natural and pure, standing before him, and he decided it would be less troublesome to follow through with his plan than to wait.

"What?" she asked, reacting to some expression on his face. "Is everything all right? Do you not want me to touch you?"

"No," he replied, voice husky. "I want to you to touch me very badly."

"Then we don't have a problem," she chuckled, and slid her hands up his back.

"But I don't just want to touch you today, Ino," he said, reaching into a pocket. "I want to be with you for the rest of my life."

Her eyes went wide as he pulled out a box. "Shikamaru," she murmured, cheeks pink.

He thought his heart would burst from her beauty. Opening the box, he produced a ring. "So what do you think? Want to spend the rest of your days with me?"

Her fingers reached out toward the ring as if to stroke the sapphires. "Are you sure?" she asked, glancing up at him. "It's not too much trouble?"

"Are you kidding me?" he chuckled, wiping away some of the water streaming down the side of his face. "You're tons of trouble. Only time will tell whether or not you're worth it, right?"

Ino fingered the ring longingly, a strange expression on her face, and sudden fear blossomed in his chest. "Are you sure?" she whispered.

"Of course," he said. "Don't you want to?"

"Yes," she replied, flinging herself at him, and he embraced her fiercely. "You know I love you."

He kissed the top of her head, then released her, sliding the ring onto her finger. "Well, you know I love you, too."

Ino squealed and held her hand out in front of her, eyes gleaming despite the water streaming down her face and the fact that it was almost dark. "It's so pretty! Way prettier than Sakura's!"

"Of course," he smirked. "You know I come through when it counts."

"Only when it counts," she smiled slyly. "Come on, I can't wait to show my family!"

"Troublesome," Shikamaru murmured after she kissed him, and gathered up the picnic things as night fell, following Ino back into town.