Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me

Okay, I know I said I would be taking a break from ShikaIno for a while, but this came to me while I was re-watching 'Hero' (...sigh...Takuya Kimura...).

I'd like to dedicate this to Meow Mix Meow Mix A.K.A.BoomKat. I know you're a huge ShikaIno fan and wanted to thank you for your continued support throughout my first serious venture into ShikaIno land! Yeps, I remember that you requested another ShikaIno fic so here it is!

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My Type of Girl

One-shot

"So what type of girl are you looking for, Shikamaru?"

The boy shrugged, his eyes closed as he continued to laze about in the grass. It was a slow afternoon, most of the teams either training or out on missions. Both of the people on the hill were doing neither, simply content to enjoy the peace and quiet while they could.

"Why? Interested, Ino?"

The blonde huffed, oddly unsure of how to answer his unexpected teasing.

Shikamaru had changed lately, just a bit. There was something about the way he looked at her, the way he acted around her that constantly reminded her time and time again that he had grown up. That the tall, leanly muscled body housed someone who was both familiar and, as yet, unknown.

The change was not unwelcome exactly, but it was strange to say the least. Even stranger was the nervous fluttering that seemed to respond to his increasingly heated behaviour.

I've been too wired lately. It's just nerves. Yeah, that's it … just nerves.

"Well, if I wasn't interested, I wouldn't have asked, would I?"

A tiny smirk graced the corner of those lips. Ino graciously pretended she didn't see it.

"Ordinary."

She rolled her eyes at the blunt answer, punching him playfully in the shoulder. Oh, this was the old Shikamaru alright.

"You always say that! But what do you mean by 'ordinary'?"

A strong hand came up to rub his shoulder ruefully.

"Ordinary as in ordinary. As in not special."

Ino wrinkled her nose in confusion. She started absentmindedly plucking the grass out of the ground, tossing them on to the boy stretched out next to her.

"Why would you want someone who wasn't special? That sounds so…boring."

A heartbeat.

And silence.

"If she wasn't special, then no one would try to take her away from me."

Clear blue eyes blinked, dropping immediately on to his tanned face in shock. His eyes were still closed; Ino wondered if he even realized that he had spoken aloud.

"What…excuse me?"

One dark eye opened to fix on hers hovering nearby. The look was back again.

"You heard me."

She floundered for a moment under the intense scrutiny. She felt as though she was under some sort of test. A test that she irrationally felt like it was imperative that she pass.

"Yes, I heard you. But why would you think someone would want to take her from you? You've never been insecure, Shika."

"Maybe. Maybe not."

He rolled on to his side, propping himself up on his forearm. Both eyes were focused on her by now. His gaze roamed languidly over her face, her hair, her neck as the waving tree branches above them drew dancing shadows over her bare skin.

"Maybe you just don't know me as well as you thought, Ino."

Her name slipped out from between his lips like a silky caress. It had never sounded like that before. Ino could clearly remember all the times her name had came out bored, irritated and even worriedly. But never like this.

Not like he was rolling the word in his mouth like a tangible object that he cared only to share with her.

Ino's breath unconsciously became shallower, responding instinctively to the inexplicably charged atmosphere between them. Her pink tongue darted out to wet her lips; she watched wide-eyed as his eyes darkened at the action.

Really, all she had done was ask a simple question out of curiosity!

"I…Shikamaru?"

"Ino?"

He was doing this on purpose. Ino tried to convince herself of that. He was just trying to fluster her and get her to stomp off so that he could daydream by himself without her chattering away beside him.

"Stop it, Shika! You're making me nervous!"

He had the temerity to arch a brow at her.

"What do you mean? I'm not doing anything."

His voice was no different from his usual bored tone. But Ino could detect the amusement underneath. Oh, he was wrong. She knew him better than he would have thought.

"Fine, whatever. I'm out of here."

She was just about to push herself to her feet but her movement was halted by a warm hand on her arm. Ino barely had enough time to shriek before she felt herself being tugged forward and toppling against a hard, even warmer body.

She began to struggle.

"Let go of me, Shikamaru! What the hell's wrong with you?"

He made a disapproving sound. Ino tried to ignore the way her body was trembling and her cheeks were glowing as she braced her hands on his shoulders.

"You shouldn't swear, Ino. It doesn't suit you."

"I'll damn well do whatever I want. And you shouldn't go around grabbing girls! If it were anyone other than me, you'd have a kunai planted in your groin right now!"

She could actually feel the chuckle rising up from within his chest as it was pressed flush against her own. Her attempts to escape were proving rather fruitless and short of kneeing him, Ino really could not think of a way to loosen his hold on her.

Huh, you're such a liar, Ino. You don't really want him to let go.

"Then I guess it's lucky for me I don't go around grabbing other girls."

The underlying meaning in his statement made her pause. He took advantage of her momentary bewilderment to adjust her weight, shifting her body so that he could lean back comfortably with her sprawled in his arms.

Ino found herself nose to nose with Shikamaru. One large hand was stroking light circles on her back while the other was holding her firmly between the shoulder blades. She inhaled audibly when he smiled almost shyly up at her, the heady, musky scent of him blanketing her mind in a hazy fog of sensation.

"Shika…"

"I thought you wanted to know what type of girl I wanted."

She could almost taste his breath as it whispered over her lips. He would taste like tea and miso, the strong type he drank everyday without fail. The gentle brush of his calloused fingers over the back of her neck broke through the dreamlike haze surrounding her. Her pale cheeks darkened even more as Ino realized that she had been inching closer towards him.

Shikamaru continued to smile up at her, the rare sight of him being so openly affectionate rendering her speechless. All she could do was nod mutely at his previous question.

"I want a girl who is smart, who knows what she wants and doesn't give up until she gets it."

A breeze curled over them, carrying his soft words on the winds and up to his beloved clouds.

"I want a girl who is kind, who cares for everyone around her, even though sometimes she might be too stubborn to admit it."

The steady thump of his heart was oddly comforting. One pale hand slipped down to spread over the net-covered place where it beat the strongest, mesmerized by the feel of it alive and strong under her fingers.

"I want a girl who is bossy, who orders me around so that it saves me from having to think for myself."

The hand slapped him half-heartedly on the chest at those words. He put up with it good-naturedly, like he always did.

"And mostly, I want a girl who knows that I love her. That I would do anything to make her happy, to make her love me back even a fraction of how much I love her."

Ino sucked in a breath, staring down at him as he silently watched her reaction. She never expected him to say that. Never expected him to feel so strongly about anything. She felt almost giddy.

Her next words came out quietly.

"Who…how do you know what she doesn't already?"

His arms tightened around her, one hand shakily pressing her head down until it rested on his shoulder. She could feel his lips against the crook of her neck as he released the breath he had been holding, his body curled around hers possessively.

"Then maybe I don't know her as well as I thought I did. Even a genius misses some things sometimes."

Ino smiled, finally allowing herself to relax completely in his embrace. It no longer felt threatening, that annoying fluttering in her stomach. It was still somewhat nerve-wracking but in a pleasing, right sort of way.

She turned her head to nuzzle against his cheek when a sudden thought struck her.

"Hey, does that mean you think I'm not special? You have some explaining to do, buddy! And you'd better do it fast."

His groaned reply was so fitting, so like him that Ino couldn't suppress the giggle he undoubtedly intended to tease out of her.

"Eh, mendokuse."

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The End.

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A/N: Why, Shikamaru, why do you have to be so adorable? Thanks for reading and please do review - I appreciate all comments and suggestions!