Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me
Sooo tired...boxing day shopping is crazy. I always wonder if the stores raise the prices before boxing day and then discount them back just to seem like it is on sale. I'm kinda figuring that things are actually cheaper if you shop AFTER Christmas.
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The problem with Ino is that, sometimes she is so busy searching and chasing, she doesn't stop to think about what is going on around her. And although she would never deliberately hurt someone she cares about, it is this careless quality of hers that hurts the most.
Not quite sure what that means? Then let's follow our beautiful young girl as she makes her way up a grassy hill not far from their training area. It is late afternoon and the team has finished their daily training. Asuma has already disappeared to who-knows-where and Chouji wanted to hurry home because his mother had promised to make grilled squid for supper. Unwilling to head off just yet, Ino sets off in search of her other teammate.
She has not seen him in a while. Well, that's not strictly correct since she sees him everyday, but she hasn't talked to him in a long time. In fact, if Ino would just stop to consider why, she would discover that she hasn't really talked to him since she launched her 'must-glomp-Sasuke-kun-whenever-I-see-him' attack a couple of months ago. But unfortunately, Ino doesn't realize this; the only thing she does realize is that some part of her feels dull. Like something was missing or out of place.
So she is truly pleased when she sees the familiar long-limbed form of Shikamaru stretched out on the grass underneath the waving willow tree. Running up to him, she deliberately stands blocking his view of the sky.
"Hey, Shikamaru!"
He doesn't answer. Actually, he's pretending to be asleep but they both know that he's not fooling anyone.
"Shikamaru!"
This time her shout is accompanied by a stomp of her sandaled foot. He sighs.
"Yes, Ino?"
If his eyes were open, he would have seen the wide smile that spread across her face.
"Nothing. I just wanted to see how long you were planning on playing dead."
He mutters something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'Mendokeuse,' but lucky for him, she pretends not to hear it. Plopping down on the grass next to him, Ino adjusts the tight wrappings on her stomach.
"I told you not to wear those. They'll stunt your growth."
The comment was as laconic as usual but Ino picks up on the undercurrent tone of scolding. It prompts her to scold back.
"And I told you not to lie out in the sun all day. You're going to get a sun burn."
"No, I just get tanned. Besides, the sun's going down already."
And he was right. The setting sun painted the sky a burnished orange and stretched their shadows out long and thin. Even though his eyes are closed, Ino sticks her tongue out childishly at him before resting her head on her bent knees and staring out over the village square.
"Hey, Shika?"
He grunts in reply.
"I've missed you."
Her voice is soft but it carries far enough. One dark eyes cracks open marginally to fix on her slim back. He does not say anything for a few minutes. Then, long calloused fingers slowly reach out to touch herswinging ponytail. He threads the pale strands between his fingers thoughtfully before tugging gently on them.
"Yeah, me too."
The quiet answer fills her with a strange sort of warmth. Turning to smile down at him, Ino shifts closer. They continue like this for a long while, him playing with the ends of her hair and her allowing him to do so. All is peaceful until Ino speaks without thinking, or rather, speaks without thinking of what context she is doing so.
"Do you love anyone, Shika?"
His dark eyes narrow briefly at her innocent tone before lifting back to the clouds.
"Depends on what you mean by love."
Ino frowns, flicking a fallen leaf off her leg.
"What do you mean? Love is love."
"Well in that case, there's my dad, even though he's a whipped, lazy bum. And my mom, except maybe when she's screaming at me to do stuff…"
A small hand whaps him on the knee.
"No, stupid! I mean, love as in romantic love."
The boy scowls as he cautiously shifts his leg out of the danger zone. He really should have known better than to mess with Ino but he could not help it that time.
"See? Love isn't love. Even you were referring to something different."
She huffs, irritated that he has won again.
"Fine! You were right! Happy now?"
He shrugs.
"I can't answer unless you tell me what your definition of love is. We could be talking about different things."
Ino lets out an exasperated sigh. Tugging her hair away from him, she flops down completely next to him and squints up at the sky. Shivering as a sharp, early night breeze whistles over the hill, she blinks as a jacket suddenly drapes itself over her.
"Shikamaru?"
He barely turns to look at her.
"You're going to catch a cold. It's too troublesome to have you complaining about how it's my fault for the next two weeks."
Deciding to let this particular jab go in light of his consideration, Ino snuggles under his flak jacket. It is still warm and carries a faint musky scent she recognizes as belonging distinctly to Shikamaru. It is strangely soothing and Ino inches closer to his relaxed body. He does not move when she rests her head against his shoulder, nor does he comment when she loops her arms through his.
Quietly lying there for a while, Ino finally speaks up.
"I think love is when you admire someone, when you respect them and want to be with them all the time. It's when you see only them. You want them to look at you the same way you look at them because it feels like there's this awful ache in your chest when they don't. You feel like the sun shines brighter and your whole life is more worth the living simply because they're there beside you."
Her softly murmured words hangs suspended between them as the two watch the sky fade from crimson to a velvety dark blue. It is some time before Shikamaru responds; in fact, Ino had nearly fallen asleep. He was wonderfully warm.
"Yeah, I think it's all those things."
His voice is a pleasant rumble that Ino can feel rising from within his chest. Resolutely ignoring the odd fluttering in her stomach at the deep sound, Ino tilts her head up to look at him. He is not looking at her though; choosing instead to focus on the first twinkling stars as they appeared in the sky.
"But I also think it's more than that. I think it means you consciously acknowledge how important they are…not just to you, but to everyone around them. It means you value their life so much that you would do anything to see them happy, to protect them."
Ino is surprised. She had not expected him to take her question so seriously.
"So you mean you would die for them? That seems a bit too troublesome for you, Shika. I could never love someone that way."
Her teasing tone is met with a dark, glittering intensity. Her breath caught in her throat at the indecipherable look in his eyes as he abruptly detangles himself from her and stands, the trademark indolent posture at odds with the tension in his shoulders. He doesn't look away so neither does she.
"Yeah, I would die for them. Because they are my life. I'm no good without them."
With that, he pulls her up and gestures for her to follow him as he walks her back home. The trip is silent and it isn't until Ino is back in warmth of her own room that she realizes that she is still wearing his jacket and that he had not answered her question.
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A/N: Ahhh, things are so complicated in my life right now. Don't you hate it when people say something but don't elaborate on it or they actually mean something else and you then spend the next couple of days trying to figure out what it was that they actually mean? And I'm talking about guys here (since I'm a girl). Such a headache. Actually, can you guys give me some advice? If a guy blows hot and cold, is it cuz he actually intends to avoid you and is telling you to back off, or is it because he doesn't want to seem over-eager and is playing it cool?
Anyways, next update in a week and warning: some angst to be expected...