Sorry this chapter took so long, everyone. Ino's the hardest character for me to write x.x' So please, if you see anything wrong, let me know! Especially if I missed any involuntary tense changes or if something is horribly OOC. Really.

This is the clean version of my InoChou lemon - fully R rated, I assure, so if you were looking for something a bit more graphic, hit up my MediaMiner or AFF account, linked in my profile, or check my LiveJournal if I have you friended.

Note to the fan who asked: Shikamaru's "plan" is the one he mentioned on the show... the marry an average looking girl, have two kids, etc thing. I can get the full quote for you if you need it!

Habits - 5

The rest of dinner had gone by in the same sort of silence, though the air didn't feel quite as thick. Despite the issues she had with his weight, Ino had been happy just to see Chouji's appetite back and didn't want to sabotage it.

They rose quietly, her thanking him for his cooking and offering to help clean up. He shook his head, telling her to go relax. She took her time doing so, pacing the house once before settling on the couch. The room felt empty, like the rest of his house. While the three bedrooms would come in handy later in life, for now the place somehow managed to seem too big, even for an Akimichi. The only decorations were a half dozen photos and even fewer plants spread throughout the house, and a fresh coat of paint on the walls of his bedroom. Only the kitchen felt homey, and that was probably from the rows of spices and bowls of fruit lined up on the counters.

The room Ino sat in consisted of an oversized plush couch, a TV, and a fireplace. There was no point in turning on the TV; Konoha had no stations available, she had no interest in playing video games, and she'd already seen his entire movie collection twice. So instead she curled against one arm of the sofa, closing her eyes and listening to the sounds of Chouji washing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen.

All the while, she tried to ignore the voice in her head saying how natural this felt. And yet, time after time, this is where she had wound up after every mission, with or without Shikamaru in tow. Chouji's house had always been their main hangout, since his were the most welcoming out of their parents, but there was something different and more relaxing about it now that he had a place of his own.

She heard him walk past but only looked up after his weight settled on the other side of the sofa. Her gaze was met by a gentle smile and a sigh. "You staying tonight?" he asked, though it was already obvious.

"I thought you'd like the company," she replied, sitting up and straightening out her hair. He merely nodded, eyes falling on the window and staying there.

"It's because of what he said, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Before he died, he told you to watch out for us..."

"Oh..." she lowered her head, putting her bangs between her eyes and his face. "Partially, yes. But you know I've always cared about you both." He nodded, even though he knew she couldn't see him. "Or at least... I've done my best to, ever since..." She couldn't bring herself to say the words "Sasuke left", but not because of the pain of the memory. Instead, it was a slow realization she'd made over the previous years, that the loss of her childhood crush was trivial compared to so many things in life. She didn't have to say it, though; he knew what she meant. Chouji always knew what his teammates were thinking.

"I know," he said quietly, and she knew from his voice that he had that look on his face, the one that always made her heart ache. He felt her head rest against his chest and wrapped his arms around her carefully. "I'm glad that you're trying to help us," he whispered, and she nodded just a bit.

He was warm and soft and always made her feel safe; he was the one boy she was willing to cuddle with like this, simply because of that. Over the years he hadn't gotten any less chunky, but now his height and weight told not of the fat kid, but of a man with yet unmeasured strength. He was a gentle giant, and Ino really felt Asuma spoke the truth when he called Chouji the strongest of them all. His training regimen had doubled after his hospital release, and she'd quickly upped her own once she saw her teammates leaving her in the dust. Their work had lead them to becoming chuunin a year ago, and she still remembered what he'd said to her that day: that he was proud and happy not because of what either of them had achieved, but because he knew they'd achieved it together. Together they'd learned, gotten stronger, and had nearly caught up to Shikamaru's level. In fact...

Sakura had confided in her about documents she'd found in Tsunade's office. Apparently there was a list of people to be watched under the possibility of promotion to jounin within the month; amongst Team 10, Chouji alone was on the list. She smiled quietly at the knowledge. He, more than any of them, deserved it for his selflessness and effort.

She let her gaze fall out the window, concentrating on the feeling of his fingers smoothing through her ponytail and along her back. After a moment of relaxing there, she turned, looking up at his face and watching him.

It hadn't occurred to her before how handsome he'd gotten in the previous years. That realization caused her to study his face for a moment. She followed his nose up to his eyes, which were slightly puffy from all the crying he'd been doing, and then down his cheeks. Without thinking, one hand rose to touch the end of the spiral, running her finger along the pattern slowly. His eyes turned down towards her, cheeks shifting under her finger as he smiled at the action.

"Having fun," he said, not quite a question.

For a moment she didn't answer, eyes scanning his face once more, and then: "I want you to kiss me."

He blinked a few times, so she repeated herself, sitting up slightly to look him in the eye better.

"Are you and Sakura having a contest again?" he wondered almost jokingly. When they were younger, the girls had a competition to see who could get more boys to kiss them, and had asked her team for their help. Shikamaru had left in disgust, but Chouji had agreed shyly. Ino had won, only because Kiba had kissed them both and Sakura wasn't desperate enough to give in to Naruto or Lee.

"No," she said firmly.

"Then why?"

"Because I just realized we've been together since we were genin."

It took a few seconds for him to realize what she meant. It was sort of true though, once he thought about it. There'd been no official declaration or acknowledgment, but hardly a day had passed in over a year that they hadn't spent together, and every mission had always been concluded with snuggling on the couch with a movie. After Ino had broken up with Kiba, neither had made attempts to see anyone formally, despite the number of men drooling over her, except-

"What about Sai? I thought you liked him."

"I might," she agreed with a sigh, "but it doesn't matter."

Chouji tried hard not to frown at her admission. "Why? I'm sure he-"

"Because we love each other," she half-shouted, her tone somewhere between annoyed and embarrassed. He was dumbfounded, mouth moving wordlessly as a blush crossed his cheeks, until she looked back up at him.

"How did you know?" he finally asked, squeezing her closer subconsciously.

"I've always said there's nothing subtle about you. You've always smiled differently for me, and told me not to worry about dieting." He nodded, looking her in the eyes quietly for a moment. "So, I just thought we could make it official. Instead of wasting any more time pretending..."

He smirked softly, kissing the exposed side of her forehead. "You just wanted to have a boyfriend before Sakura, didn't you?"

She sighed, tired of his stalling. "It's a nice side effect, but no... I just thought it was time I said something, since you aren't too perceptive of hints."

Chouji smiled and shook his head. "I noticed. You're so much more beautiful now that you're not skin and bones." He leaned down further, compensating for the foot difference in their height, and let his nose rub along hers. "Absolutely gorgeous."

For the first time in three years, their lips pressed together, but this time, they meant it. Content sighs escaped them both as Ino wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer. He smiled against her lips, moving to kiss each of her cheeks and her nose in turn. She kept trying to catch his mouth again, finally cupping his jaw in her hand to hold him still long enough for another, firmer kiss.

"I bet Asuma'd laugh if he saw us now," Chouji chuckled, nuzzling her forehead. He winced a second later after hearing her soft panting stop, realizing that their teacher was the last person he should be mentioning now. He sighed, kissing her forehead once more. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything... I just meant that I believe he'd be proud of us, for taking care of each other and for being honest with our feelings..."

She smiled, just a little. "He was, too... He took flowers to Kurenai once a month. More romantic than he looked."

The two sat in silence for a moment, Ino stealing more kisses in the meantime. "...Maybe we should go see her?" Chouji offered, blushing slightly from the attention.

"Not tonight. It's late, and I want to stay here with you." Her eyes fixed on his, unblinking as he reached up to touch her face. "I want to make up for lost time... Everyone's lost time."

The way that her arms tightened around his neck, the way her lips rubbed roughly to his again, the way she sighed when he finally pulled her closer - everything told him where she was going with this. His hand slid behind her head, holding her loosely beneath her ponytail, and she relaxed against him fully.

He swallowed hard at the wetness that crossed his lips a moment later, opening them to accept her kiss. The moan that the sudden warmth caused was muffled by her mouth, but prompted a matching one from her none the less. The kiss lasted at least another minute, punctuated by short sounds from Ino's throat that made him want to never let go.

For the first time she discovered that his shaggy hair was soft, and she gratefully tangled her fingers in it. A few motions freed his forehead protector, setting it aside before continuing to play with his mane. Her eyes glanced between his eyes and lips, trying to decide which interested her more at the moment. His lips won - again - and she pushed back against them, rising up further onto her knees.

After they next separated, Ino leaned her face to his shoulder, wiping her lips dry on his shirt and nuzzling into his neck firmly. She could feel his chest rising and falling rapidly against her, and realized that he was shaking slightly. One hand freed itself from his hair to set softly against his cheek. It was warm from his blush, and when she looked up, she couldn't help but smile at the shy smirk on his face.

He brushed his lips over her cheek, settling them softly on her jaw. One hand rubbed her back, hesitantly moving higher, feeling her heart beating below the surface. "Ino," he whispered, the other arm tightening automatically, keeping her close. He watched her eyes shut as the hand made it's way between them, grazing along her side, her arm, onto her chest...

Her breath hitched as his large hand covered her breast, causing him to freeze. Just as he was about to apologize, she relaxed again, the hand on his cheek moving to play with his earring. He pushed his palm against her softly, moving slowly to test her reaction. To his delight, she let out a long moan, fingers tightening in his hair. His gentle massage continued as his lips trailed along her jaw, playing with her ear.

As their kiss broke, Ino let go of him, sliding down to the floor in front of the couch. He blinked down at her as her arms rested on his lap, and the gaze she returned through slitted eyes was a mischievous one.

"Lean back," she told him, and he obeyed quietly, resting against the couch. Looking down at her, he realized how obvious his arousal was and blushed once he noticed that was where her hands were headed.

"You don't have to-"

She cut him off by a pointed glare, one hand setting against him. "I'll stop if you want me to, but I want to do this."

"Not tonight... not for our first time. I don't want that," he told her, brushing back her bangs to survey her full face. The sight of her crouched there before him sent a shiver down his spine, but he managed to maintain his composure. "I want to do things right."

She nodded a bit, disappointment apparent in her eyes, and for a moment, he honestly wondered if he'd made the right choice. Still, he was a gentleman first and foremost, and wanted to show Ino his affection properly, by focusing on her.

He nodded, indicating for her to stand up, then stood himself, bending to kiss her softly. The full difference in their size was more obvious now then ever before in their life, and Chouji found it hard to believe that less than four years before, they'd been even with one another, just under five feet. He smiled, resting his cheek on her head for a moment and holding her close, urging himself to calm down. Once his breathing had stilled, he leaned down and looped one arm beneath her knees, scooping her into his arms. She shrieked in surprise, clinging to his neck as he held her against his chest, grinning just a few inches from her face.

He carried her to his bedroom, laying her on the sheets - properly, like a princess. His lips sank onto hers, the fingers of one hand tangling between hers, pinning the arm above her head. Somehow his mouth moved from hers to her neck without ever coming off her skin, each progressive kiss making her moan just a bit louder. He nipped at her ear, playing with her earring just a bit, enjoying the fact that, as always, their accessories matched, before moving along the underside of her jaw towards her throat. Most of her shoulders and the upper part of her chest were exposed by her simple black dress, leaving him with plenty of space to let his lips and fingers dance.

She panted and writhed from his touches, wanting him to go lower but knowing that he was gentle in everything he did and so would take his time. She watched his head move along her collar bone, until she was forced to turn her own to give him room. Finally, to her relief, he reached behind her and unzipped her dress, releasing her hand to slide it down her shoulders and have it bunch up around her waist. A few kisses were placed along the edge of her bra before that too was discarded, leaving her bare-chested before him.

Ino wanted him to stop and stare; to examine her as she'd examined him, to be amazed at her assets. Instead, he merely nuzzled between them and began to lay soft kisses there, too, one hand massaging whichever breast his lips weren't on at the time. For the first time she understood what she'd already known but never really comprehended - appearances didn't matter to Chouji. He was a man driven by personality alone. Her content sigh at the thought was quickly drowned out by a moan of his name as his lips continued their exploration.

It'd been quite a while since she'd been with anyone, but it was obvious that even the fog left by time couldn't account for how much better this felt than Kiba's urgent make-out tactics. At some point, Chouji had slid her body to the edge of the bed, her legs hanging over and hips on the edge. Her dress and forehead protector had been removed, slid off to her knees then allowed to fall to the floor on their own.

He was settled between her legs now, her knees over his shoulders, and it was her turn to blush as he nuzzled one of her thighs, looking up at her sheepishly. "I thought this wasn't what you wanted for tonight?" she asked, feeling a little confused and almost frustrated with his self-contradiction.

"This is doing it right," he said softly, kissing low on her stomach, "so that you'll be ready for me."

The pout she shot him was supposed to let him know she was going to get even as soon as possible, but he completely missed the look, his attention already elsewhere.

For several minutes, he concentrated on pleasing her, enjoying the fact that she was as loud in bed as everywhere else. Eventually she pleaded him to move on, and so they made love, his fingers twined tightly in hers the whole time. All the fear either had about being there was quickly gone. There was suddenly nothing to regret, except maybe not doing this sooner, maybe living in denial for the last year, but then she realized that time had been spent growing closer naturally, without the pressure of a physical relationship, and that everything was perfect the way it was.

Content after completion, they rolled onto their sides, her shivering against his chest. It occurred to him as common sense returned that she was crying, and so he kissed below her eyes, whispering, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing," she assured, her smile weak but genuine. "Just happy. I love you."

He gave her another kiss for good measure. "I love you too." He sat up for a moment, and Ino took the opportunity to pull herself fully onto the bed, curling up, quiet for once. When he curled up around her a moment later, she nestled into his arms and chest, taking one of his hands and holding it quietly.

Chouji had always believed in living life to the fullest; from now on, he would share that passion with her.