Something was tapping his face...
The taps increased in frequency when he tried to ignore them. Eventually, something was slapping his face with brute force.
Opening his eyes, he shot a death glare at whatever was disrupting his sleep.
"What?!" he snapped, temper rising rapidly.
"You sure looked like you were in a coma." Ino glared back down at him from her standing position. "We're going to be late for Tenten's engagement party, and I need you to help me zip up my dress."
"Troublesome..." Shikamaru shut his eyes, not exerting any resistance as Ino dragged him up to his room.
Shikamaru had quickly dressed in the clothes his mother and Ino had picked out for him and was already nodding off to sleep in a chair when Ino exited from the bathroom.
"Shika...help me." Ino kicked his chair and turned her back to him, gesturing for him to help her with the back zip of the dress.
Grumbling under his breath, Shikamaru slowly stood up and tugged at the zip. Standing so close to her, he could smell her, the scent of roses. To his surprise, he felt his heartbeat quicken.
She looks so beautiful...
"Done." Shikamaru informed Ino before quickly striding out the door, "See you downstairs. Troublesome..."
It was 20 minutes into the party, and the couple had already been bombarded with the same few questions a million of times by acquaintances both barely knew. Ino had dismissed them all with vague replies before leaving quickly, while Shikamaru tagged behind.
The girls had pounced on the couple once they spotted Ino and Shikamaru.
"Since when were you two dating?! And why didn't you tell any of us Ino??" Sakura squealed.
"How did you propose to Ino, Shikamaru-kun?" Tenten turned to Shikamaru, voice laced with unconcealed excitement. "Neji didn't even buy me flowers when he proposed..."
Shikamaru, being his lazy self, had let Ino do all the answering of questions about their "marriage".
"I'll let Ino fill you girls in. Girls are better with details." Shikamaru drawled, smirking slightly.
Ino snuck a glare at Shikamaru, which he caught but pretended not to notice.
"Oh, this is embarrassing..." Ino giggled. "It was the most romantic thing on earth! Shika dropped me a sweet note asking me to meet him at the hillside one evening. When I arrived, there were candles lit in glasses everywhere on the field!"
Shikamaru froze, his expression a slight grimace before turning his head to "cough".
"It took me awhile to realize that the candles spelt out 'Ino, will you marry me?', and Shika came up to me with roses and a ring and proposed to me on a bent knee." Ino gushed.
"EEEEEEE!!" Sakura and Tenten squealed in excitement before urging Ino to continue. Shikamaru could feel the blush colouring his cheeks, and felt an overwhelming urge to escape from the girls.
Ino must be annoyed...
"Shika looked so charming, I couldn't say no. So after I agreed, we slow-danced on the field under the stars...IT WAS SOOO ROMANTIC!" Ino was merciless, flashing an evil grin (disguised as a sweet smile) at Shikamaru, who was standing beside her with an uneasy expression on his face.
"OH MY GOSH! Shikamaru-kun, I didn't know you were such a guy!" Sakura was genuinely surprised. Tenten had a dreamy look on her face, "If only Neji was half as romantic as you, Shikamaru-kun..."
"Um...It's because I'm so in love with Ino, haha..." Shikamaru forced out through gritted teeth, before flashing an adoring smile at Ino. "I'll leave you girls to talk." Shikamaru quickly planned his escape.
Shikamaru wandered over to the buffet table, knowing exactly where to find Chouji.
"Hey chouji." Shikamaru tapped his best friend's shoulder.
"Shika!" Chouji managed to greet an acknowledgement after chewing and swallowing his food.
"What is all the news saying that you and Ino are getting married?! My mum heard it from your mother, and you didn't tell me anything?" Chouji was hurt that his best friend didn't tell him such big news.
Shikamaru was in a fix. There's no way he could tell Chouji the truth about the marriage.
"Um, I've been dating Ino a few months already and we didn't tell anyone because...of Mr Yamanaka. You know how he is with Ino's boyfriends...sorry pal. I was going to tell you about the wedding but my mother got too excited." Shikamaru tried to produce a reasonable explanation to hide the truth of their mission.
Chouji nodded understandingly, all the while stuffing his mouth with more food. Shikamaru was glad that Chouji is merely a simple guy who is easily satisfied, the best friend to his lazy and uninteresting self.
"Do I...get...to be your...best man?" Chouji asked, amidst chews and swallows.
"Who else, Chouji." Shikamaru smiled, relieved Chouji did no further probing.
The party was coming to an end, and Shikamaru wanted to go home to just lie and do nothing. Parties exhaust him more than missions!
Finally spotting Ino, his eyes narrowed.
What is a soon-to-be married woman like her doing, talking to a random man?!
Feeling a little more than annoyed, Shikamaru stalked over and said, "Let's go home now."
The man raised an eyebrow, and Ino clarified, "He is my fiancé."
"It was nice knowing you, I've got to go now. Bye." Ino said sweetly to the man she met a few minutes ago. Shikamaru less than gently grabbed her hand and tugged her towards the exit.
They were almost halfway back to their house when Ino gave a frustrated cry.
"What now?" Shikamaru turned back to see Ino bending over, tugging her high heels from her feet.
"My feet hurt...I can't walk any longer!" Ino whined.
"Why do you even have high heeled shoes when you're a ninja?" Shikamaru sighed as he walked back to her.
Ino was still rubbing her right foot when Shikamaru placed an arm on her back and behind her knees and lifted her off the ground effortlessly.
"EEEE!" Ino screamed in shock, kicking her legs while Shikamaru took a few steps forward.
"How are we going to get home, if your feet hurt too much to walk?!" Shikamaru told Ino, who was furiously blushing in his arms.
"I duno...What if people see us?" Ino protested, still wriggling about.
Sighing, Shikamaru set Ino back on her feet. "Okay, get on my back. And give me those heels." He bent forward, gesturing her for a piggy back ride after grabbing her shoes.
Shyly, Ino climbed onto Shikamaru's muscular back and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Troublesome woman..." Shikamaru muttered, but Ino just smiled to herself hearing those words.
"You owe me one." Shikamaru said, smirking as he carried Ino all the way back home.