I do not own Naruto.
Written for the 31 Days challenge of Wait for me whenever darkness falls.
Inspired by Imbrium Iridum's ShikaInoCho fics.
What Waiting Brings
In a world where death is hanging precariously over their heads at all times, life becomes unstable. People either cling to what they have, so that it will never leave, or they learn to separate themselves from everything so that life will never disappoint them.
CHOJI is one of the former. With his unwavering strength and overall kindness, he can afford to. He holds on to happy memories, to good times now gone, and gives in completely and overwhelmingly to pleasure.
SHIKAMARU is of the latter. With his intelligence and laziness it's not hard for him to place everyone at a distance from himself. He frequently avoids parties and get-togethers, enjoys his own company best of all, and does not allow himself the troubleof giving in to what his heart wants or feels.
INO is a happy mix of both. With her feminine strength and virile anger she keeps both tendencies in check. She hugs close the good feelings, but always keeping the bad memories in the back of her head, and always makes her true emotions as easy to read as an open book.
Shikamaru will teach the future of the village—and what a sad future Shikamaru sees in them—and come home exhausted to the wafting smell of Choji's carefully prepared meals. Ino will usually accompany the two of them, sitting between them like the necessary female in a girl-boy line order.
Then there are the times when Ino isn't there, and the two males are plastered together, their worry making the meal tasteless and heavy in their mouths. Ino, the breadwinner of the. . .
They don't stop and ask themselves what they are. If they do, there's a chance they'll never stop, and the questions, secrets, feelings and denial will simply spin round and round like an ever-turning top.
Ino announces yet another Class-A mission, in which she will be risking her life for the village all three of them know and love. She'll probably die for this village, Shikamaru thinks often and cynically.
Surprisingly, it's Choji who is the first to voice his concern. "Ino, don't you think you've done enough Class-A's to last you a good while?" The dough underneath his fingers is soft and pliable as he kneads it like his own personal stress ball. Ino and Shikamaru had both known something was bubbling inside Choji if he had been gathering ingredients for cookies.
Ino starts at this, but slides a thin, pale finger inside the dough Choji's kneading anyway, and quickly slips into her mouth before Choji can complain. He doesn't.
"I'm serious, Ino," he continues, letting go of the dough in favor of crossing his thick arms over his chest. "I mean, think about us. How do you expect us to be peachy with you out at all hours, getting yourself killed?" Once again, Ino's response is full of insight and complete silence. She quickly glances at Shikamaru—for assistance?—but the ebony-haired male frowns and crosses his own arms.
"W-what? Where is this coming from, all of a sudden?" She does sound confused, and probably doesn't have any idea what they're trying to say. This makes it worse.
"It's far from all-of-a-sudden," Shikamaru interjects harshly. "I feel like a wife, with all this waiting for you to come home crap you're always pulling! I could deal with it if you went once in a while, like Choji, but you're always accepting these things, sometimes three times a month!"
Ino frowns, her brows furrowing in a way that Choji and Shikamaru are very familiar with. She's preparing herself to be extremely defensive of herself. "Well, it's not like I'm doing a whole lot, you know! Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto do A-Class missions like mad, and I don't see any of their family and friends complaining!"
"We're a bit more than friends, don't you think? Anyway, Naruto and Sasuke aren't complaining because they're always trying to out-mission each other, like they always have. And Sakura's just glad to be there. That makes your argument completely void." Shikamaru has a habit of carefully nitpicking each flaw of someone's case. Ino should have known better than to argue with him.
She hisses angrily, and turns to Choji. "Well, what? Would you rather me sit around and look pretty? I'm not some little doll—or even better, a sex toy for the two of you!"
"And this isn't a game for us!" Choji cries, his voice cracking as tears threaten to spill from his eyes. "We hurt when you're gone, out of fear you just won't come back!"
Silence greets his outburst, so plainly said after thinking it for so long that it seems stale. Ino takes initiative, and opens her arms to a nearly sobbing Choji. He accepts her offer, and allows himself to collapse into her arms. Choji clings to things, and gives into pleasure easily. Ino holds him as he does so.
Shikamaru watches silent from the doorway, still not feeling that the subject has been cleared. Ino looks up at him, and their eyes meet from over Choji's head—which is buried in Ino's bosom. Her eyes are pleading—and this is enough to shock Shikamaru's pants off. Who would have thought, Ino pleading with him to let her be, to understand her. Well, how can he, if she refuses to understand him?
Shikmaru likes to build a tall wall between himself and others. He's only managed to knock it over for a few people, his family, his team. Choji. Ino.
So when she beckons, he answers her with a kiss.
And the next morning Shikamaru awakens first—as he usually does—and picks up the slip of paper on the bedside table lazily.
Wait for me whenever darkness falls.
Choji pulls it away from his gripand places it back on the table. The two of them cuddle up inside the blankets and sleep.