AN:Alright, another chapter is here! Actually I've had this for a while, just too lazy to put it up. I know, there are barley any people reading this any more, but I might actually post the last chapter today.

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Shikamaru paced his house nervously. He was planning on going to talk to Saeko later that day, but was still debating what he should say.

If he said that he could forgive her for being with Sasuke, she'd be happy for sure. But had he even actually forgiven her for that, or was it just Sasuke's smooth talking that was making him talk to her in the first place.

He shook it off, and thought about going for a different angle. What if he told her that he loved her? Then again, what if she didn't say it back? He could just say he likes her…. That might work…

'What about forgiving her?' Shikamaru reminded himself.

It would be fair enough to say that he didn't care what happened in the past, as long as they could be together in the present and future. That just sounds so lame and cheesy though, like one of the lines from a bad romantic movie or something.

'I'll just go,' Shikamaru thought, 'Tell her I like her and that I'll try my best to forgive her. Yeah, that'll work….'

Finally decided on about what he would say, Shikamaru left his house quickly. He walked at a brisk pace towards Saeko's house, but knocked only to find no answer. Somewhat annoyed, Shikamaru decided to go look at the hill by Saeko's house. Once again, she wasn't there which just frustrated Shikamaru further.

He walked even faster towards Sasuke's place, hoping desperately that she wasn't back in his arms. He arrived there quickly, and waited for a moment before knocking. He heard footsteps approaching as he leaned against the railing.

"Hey Shikamaru," Sasuke said, opening the door, "What's up?"

"Oh just wondering if you've seen Saeko," Shikamaru replied, "I really need to talk to her soon, but I can't find her anywhere… I was wondering if you might know where she was, or if she was, you know, here."

"She's not here," Sasuke replied, "I think she said she was talking a walk around the village today though. If you try to catch up with her you probably won't find her anyways. It might just be a better idea if you wait until later to talk to her."

"Oh," Shikamaru said, "I guess waiting is a good idea, I'll go now…."

"You can wait here for a bit if you want," Sasuke said as Shikamaru turned to leave, "I kind of wanted to talk to you about what I said yesterday if that's okay…"

"Uh, okay," Shikamaru said, before awkwardly following Sasuke into his house.

Once they were seated on a couch in the living room, Sasuke spoke, "I'm sorry for getting so mad at you yesterday."

"It's no problem," Shikamaru replied quickly, after all he had been acting like a jerk and if Sasuke hadn't snapped at him he might've never gotten over it.

"No seriously," Sasuke said, "Like, I meant everything I said, but I shouldn't have just freaked out like that. Truth be told I felt bad about what I did, or I guess I should say, who I did after talking to Saeko after. She told me how you said you didn't want to have some rebound thing and it made me realize she really cares about you….."

"She does?" Shikamaru asked, surprised.

"For a genius you're pretty stupid sometimes," Sasuke sighed, "How many girls do you know that will just run up to you and apologize up and down even if the technically didn't do anything wrong?"

"I guess it's kind of weird…" Shikamaru stated, "It's just that if you like someone you always seem to assume they won't like you…."

"Of course," Sasuke said, "But now hopefully you might understand it a bit better, right?"

"I guess so," Shikamaru said, "I really should go now though."

Sasuke nodded, "Fair enough."

Shikamaru followed Sasuke to the door, leaving without saying another word.

Shikamaru walked toward the hill slowly, figuring at least that way he'd be close to Saeko's house whenever she got home, if it would be anytime soon. He wasn't quite prepared when he saw Saeko back at the hill.

A million thoughts were racing through his mind all at once, 'Should I talk to her right now? Will she be mad at me? Was Sasuke right, does she like me? Should I tell her how I feel? Should I tell her I forgive her? Should I-'

"Shikamaru?" Saeko asked quietly, "I know I probably shouldn't be talking to you, but why are you here?"

Shikamaru hesitated for a moment before walking over and sitting down next to her.

Unable to stay quiet any longer Shikamaru spoke up, "I came to talk to you…"

"You did?" Saeko asked, the surprise was evident in her voice.

"I did," Shikamaru replied, "I overreacted the other day. You weren't at your house and you weren't here before, then Sasuke said he thought you were going out for a walk."

"Why were you talking to Sasuke about me?" Saeko questioned.

"You said he was your friend or something like that," Shikamaru replied evenly.

"Oh right," Saeko said, realizing it at last, "Please continue Shikamaru."

"What I came here to say," Shikamaru cleared his throat, "Is that it will be hard for me, but I'll try to get over you and Sasuke okay? I could finally talk to him again without wanting to punch him out, so I guess that's a good step. Besides, the past doesn't matter, what matters now is the present and the future… our present and future."

'Crap,' Shikamaru internally cursed, 'That's so cheesy! I may as well go all the way now…'

"The more important thing I wanted to tell you," Shikamaru hesitated, "I love you."

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AN: Thanks for reading! Okay, mini cliff hanger, kind of cheesy fluff... Oh and yes, Shikamaru can be stupid, but he smartened up at the end, right?