Author's Note: Now, first of all, I am appalled that I forgot to put the stupid separating lines in the last chapter, and yes, I have punished myself sufficiently with a massive xmas chocolate overload.

It doesn't sound that bad?

Obviously you people don't chocolate binge! Well. I can see I'm outnumbered.

Down to business:

Pairings: ShikaxIno, mostly. But implied ItaxIno, SasoxIno (I'm loving Sasori at the moment. Sorry), HidanxIno, KibaxIno, DeixIno.

Warnings: Um. Shikamaru is getting a little angry… slightly OOC… but it doesn't show on the outside, so people's perception of him isn't really changed. I hope. But I reckon you'd be bugged too.

Anyway, sorry! That was a ridiculously long author note, and now this chapter is 9 pages. I do apologise and –

I'll stop.

Can you feel it crush you?

Does it seem to bring the worst in you out?

Next Chapter! hip-hip hooray! Right? Riiiiiiiiiiight?

"Good morning, Mr. Nara. Late for work again?"

"Yeah, Tenten…. Just don't tell Ino. Arguments this early in the morning are troublesome."

The personal assistant, who had set up camp on the eleventh floor away from her twelfth floor luxury to help the two secretaries with the Christmas party, smirked at him, amused at the thought of both the high boss Hyuuga and his genius second in command being completely whipped by women who were ranked below them. Oh, Neji thought she didn't know, but she had realised long ago that she could ask him for anything, and she would get it.

"Does she ever really argue with you?"

Shikamaru thought for a minute, then decided answering and being proved wrong would really be too troublesome.

Then again, having one more woman to worry about – on top of Ino's blasted god-fucking-damned police officer relationships and Sakura's spiteful attitude towards him ever since the Envelope Incident – proved to be even worse. He leant on Ino's vacant desk and sighed, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Not really. She usually does what I ask."

"You don't find that odd, at all?" Tenten prodded, deciding she would help the blond, who really, under all the conceited shallowness wasn't that bad at all. She could afford to be nice while Sakura was out fetching early-bird Sasuke his morning coffee. This way everyone would be happy.

"What?"

"Have you seen her listen to anyone else?"

"She listens to Neji," he answered, averting his eyes and trying not to allow too much hope to get past his spiky, barbed-wire logic barriers.

Tenten shrugged, and decided to sub-divert the topic onto something else, seeings as though she had worked on nothing else for what felt like millennia.

"Are you taking her to the Christmas party?"

Shikamaru snorted, raising his eyes to stare at the roof, a yawn sliding effortlessly from his mouth. "I don't really do parties. That many people in a room, dancing and being social and such…. It's troublesome."

Ha. Imagine him at a big, loud, cheery group function, playing games and making small talk with idiots. Imagine him all dressed up.

"Well, Ino does parties. She worked hard on this," the brunette told him, as he refused to look at her. "Really hard. You should take her, I think."

"What? Why would she go with me?" he asked, snapping round to look her in the eye for the first time that morning.

"Why wouldn't she?"

He sighed, leaning his head tiredly to one side. "She's dating an officer already. He's probably already her plus one."

Tenten frowned, sitting back in her chair and putting a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"Right. Him. Well, I haven't heard anything from him for ages, so -"

"Good morning, you two!" Lee exclaimed brightly, bounding towards them with a bouquet of flowers grasped in his arms. "How are my good friends doing?"

"We're just fine, Lee," Tenten smiled, sparing Shikamaru the trouble of speaking. "What have you got there?"

"Flowers, for Miss. Ino! Aren't they beautiful! They were just in the elevator! I think it must have been a secret admirer from the lower floors! Oh, how youthful!"

He put them on the blond's desk before singing – and dancing - his goodbyes, and taking up his usual position near the elevator.

"Shikamaru…" the assistant winced. "Just because -"

But his face was icy, his teeth bared in almost a feral snarl as he glared poison daggers at the lovely display of flowers sitting anything-but-innocently on the desk. "I don't care," he spat hurtfully before stalking away angrily, fists clenched at his sides.

Men…

The personal assistant rubbed at an eye exasperatedly, and looked towards Sakura when she came back from her morning coffee run.

"Morning," she greeted, watching the rosette bustle around and try and brush herself up while still holding the cup in her hand. She gave a quick grunt and disappeared into her boss' office.

Women…

When Sakura resurfaced she shot the brunette a look before sitting down at her desk and picking through a schedule she had drawn up for the Christmas party. She seemed upset. Perhaps she had finally asked Sasuke to go with her? To Tenten, the situation was just screaming drama queen.

Oo! Scandalous!

"So what'd he say?" she asked somewhat carelessly, jabbing at the laptop she had taken up using during her stay on the eleventh floor.

"What do you think?" Sakura spat, slamming a fist on her computer when it refused to check off a point from her other schedule. "God-dammit! I hate this stupid thing! I hate it!"

Tenten surveyed her glumly for a second, and decided that, in fact, she was quite bored. Neji had given her no extra work to do today as of yet, so she had to find some other way to entertain herself.

…

Stirring the waters, perhaps?

Definitely.

"Why did he say no? Doesn't like parties?"

It was a familiar tune for the men in her working life, after all: Neji was the biggest snob she had ever laid eyes upon, Shikamaru was the biggest slob she had ever laid eyes upon, and Sasuke?

…

Sasuke ate babies.

…

Sakura doubled over, pulling at her hair with her hands as if she was forcing herself to spit out words that she never, ever wanted to say. Tenten became interested at the display of semi-masochism, and scooted her chair further into her desk, leaning her elbows on the surface.

"Oooh, what is it, Sakura? He already going with someone else?" Ino sniggered as she entered the freak-out zone and sat at her desk, waving at Tenten and being completely ignored.

People…

Sakura shrieked angrily and stood up, stomping down the path of desks and calling over her shoulder.

"As if you don't already know, Pig!"

Ino frowned. What?

"Are you going to the Christmas party with Sasuke?" Tenten asked incredulously. Ino raised her eyebrows, eyes widening.

"What? Not to my knowledge! No! I wouldn't go with Sasuke," she told her, putting a hand to her chest as if she had been shot. "No, I…. No." She shook her head, one more time good measure.

"Then what was she talking about?"

"I don't know! The wench is crazy!" Ino practically screamed, not seeming all too sane herself. "How would I know what runs through her head?"

"Okay, fine," Tenten sighed, rolling her eyes and putting her hands in the air in mock surrender. "Who are you going with?"

The blond shrugged. "I don't know. No one, I suppose, at the moment. I was going to ask Shikama – woah. Are those for me?"

Genius as she was, she had only just noticed the bouquet on her desk.

Hey! She'd had priorities.

"What do you think, idiot?"

"Well who are they from?"

"That guy from the lower floors."

"Kiba?"

Ino smirked to herself. That was one man she had safely and securely on her side. Not that she really needed him anymore. Not after she would score a date with Shikamaru to the party!

…

Or is that being to needy? Wasn't she meant to make him just so jealous he burst out of his skin and confessed deep and undying love and adoration and proceeded to carry her away to the castle in the clouds he was always staring out at?

Did that mean if he asked her then she would have to say no?

Dammit.

She checked the card on the flowers, just to see what sort of charming, loyal message he wrote.

…

Wait.

What?

"You look as if you've been slapped by a fish. Or something twisted like that. Rotten shoe polish tin, maybe. Either way, you're not wearing the most attractive of faces right now," Tenten observed dryly. "What did Kiba write that was so weird? Wasn't something perverted, was it?" She left her desk quickly, knocking her leg on the corner while she did so, and hobbled over to Ino's side, peering over her shoulder at the card nestled within the flowers.

"No, it's -"

"Who's Sasori? Why is he sending you -"

Ino stood up, frowning upon the impressive floral arrangement with utter confusion.

"I -"

"Wait. Isn't he the tailor across the road? The one with red hair?" Tenten buzzed, staring at the blond secretary with something between amazement and judgmental disapproval. "Oooh, Ino's been busy," she taunted.

"Nah…" the woman replied, still staring at the flowers. "I think it's just to say thank you…. It's not anything like that… I don't think…."

"You should go tell Shikamaru, then," the assistant told her matter-of-factly, nodding her head like the wise woman she was. "He wasn't too impressed with those this morning."

Tenten frowned at the difference in Ino's all around tone and body language. She completely brightened, barely holding back a squeal and moving her hands in a flurry not unlike the style in Wallace and Grommet.

He noticed! Thank you so much, Sasori!

"Okay! I'll do that now! Thanks for the heads up, Tenten!" she exclaimed brightly, practically bouncing towards her boss' office.

"Wait!"

The call stopped her in her tracks, and, now uncertain, Ino turned to face her helpful ally.

"What is it?"

"He won't be very happy with you. Don't get disheartened," the brunette advised, sighing. "Make him answer you. Make him talk."

"Yeah, will do!"

Ino grabbed the bouquet and trotted towards Shikamaru's office door, opening it while trying to keep some sense of dignity about her.

"Good morning, Mr. Nara!" she exclaimed brightly. The look he gave her was as good as a slap across the face. He seemed so angry, and for a moment she felt like the situation was beyond unsalvageable. This was so much easier when she was dealing with bastards like Sasuke in high school. She didn't need to worry about being rejected by him. She didn't particularly care that much.

Did that mean she felt something stronger for Shikamaru, then?

"What do you want, Ino?" the lawyer said irately after glaring and seeing she wasn't going to leave unless she got some kind of verbal response.

Oh, God! He hates me! Don't hate me, please!

"Oh, nothing! Just to see how you were this morning, and apologise for coming late. I got held up in traffic this morning and -"

"Whatever."

The response was short, sharp, and all around nasty. The drama queen living not-so-deep inside her screamed for her to make a scene, to sob and cry and lay a nice, heavy guilt trip on him.

But, alas.

"Oh, sir! Don't be like that! Look! You can have these flowers I was given this morning! I think your office needs some colour among all the papers and -"

Bitch.

"How can I work with stupid things like flowers on my desk? It's troublesome to work around things like that," he said in a monotone, lowering his head to scribble some lines of writing on a document after staring angrily at the array of perfumed colour grasped tightly in Ino's hands. She was teasing him, mocking him.

It would have been far less troublesome to confess everything ages ago.

Then again, the awkwardness and all around depression that would come with certain rejection was also a troublesome factor.

…

Troublesome.

"But Mr. Naaaaaaraaaaaa," she whined, pouting at him and moving closer to the desk. "They're just flowers. Sasori from across the road at the local boutique sent them to me to say thanks for inviting him to the Christmas party! I think you need them more than I do. If its one thing I've got, its enough bright colours, don't you think?"

The pen froze in the lazy lawyer's hand, and his breath hitched. Sasori? He knew Sasori. He made some of his suits. The redhead did seem the kind that would send thoughtful gifts like flowers as thanks…. Flowers didn't necessarily mean something romantic, right? No…. Girls like colours and things like that, it was a logical thing for a show of gratitude.

Suddenly, he was feeling a hell of a lot happier.

"Are you going to the party with him, then?" Shikamaru asked, allowing the slightest of the slightest, softest smiles imaginable. A wave of relief flooded over her as she noticed the change in his attitude.

"No, I won't be his plus one," she told him eagerly, biting her lip.

"Well…."

He cursed himself as he blushed, thinking that by now he should have outgrown that stupid, troublesome habit. Meanwhile, Ino was so close to screaming with excitement she was kneading her left palm with her right hand and tapping her foot on the ground.

"Would you like to go with -"

"Miyss Inooooooo!" Lee cooed, bursting through the door with more flowers than she had ever seen at any point in her life balanced in his mouth, on his shoulders and in his arms. "Lyook at all thye fyowers!" he said happily around a mouthful of green, thorny stems. Ino froze in place, feeling her eyes sting with frustrated, troublesome tears. Shikamaru clenched the pen in his hand so hard that blue ink started to run down his fingers.

"Lee, how about you -"

It was too good to be true, wasn't it, Nara? Why'd you even think you had a chance?

"Well. Someone's been busy…. Read the cards, why don't you, Ino?" Shikamaru said softly. His words challenged her, and upset her already fragile emotive state even more. He made her feel like you did when you disappointed a parent or a teacher you liked, or a close friend. Not made angry. Disappointed. Not with shouting and yelling and screaming, but with calm, hurt words.

"No, I think I can do that somewhere else," she said, voice cracking just a bit as she took a stand despite the utter shit she felt she was in.

"Ino. Read the cards," he said once again. She denied his request another time, shaking her head stubbornly and crossing her arms.

In the end, Shikamaru got up himself and made his way to a bemused Lee, taking bouquet by bouquet away from the security guard and reading the cards himself.

"Deidara. Kiba. Hidan…. Itachi? Ino, what the hell have you been doing?" he shot at her, shoving the flowers in her face. To tell the honest to God truth, Ino was completely surprised herself. What were the three models doing sending her flowers? Especially after the obvious display of dislike from Hidan a couple of days earlier.

"Nothing! I… These are just guys I know!" she shouted defensively, completely aware of how things were spiraling out of control. "I don't know why they're -"

"Whatever," he snapped, throwing the daffodils from Deidara to the ground and storming off out the door. Ino looked at the broken flowers on the ground and knelt to pick them up, tears now forming small rivers down her face. She tried her best not to let Lee see her upset, but it was hard.

"Miss Ino?" he asked cautiously, bending down to help clear the flowers. She slapped his hands away as he reached for the same crushed daffodil. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, Lee," she choked angrily. "I'm fan-fucking-tastic."

He was shoved backwards, losing balance as she pushed him and rose to her feet, following her boss' lead.

Do they complicate you?

Because they make you feel like this?

Of all the colours shine

This is surely not your best

Colors, by Crossfade –loves Crossfade-

Onoes. Shikamaru-kun has gotten jealous. Damn it is hard to write this without putting the Japanese suffixes at the end of some of their names. It's like instinct and then its like shit no. Oh crap. I also hate their first and last names being switched around to suit the western theme. It sort of bugs me. But its necessary.

So what will happen at the xmas party!

Lots and lots of drama, that's what. Ahahahahaha!

Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.

Now, my dears. Care to flood my inbox?

Happy New Year! (even though its late. I do apologise. I'll just get in my TARDIS and go back and greet you better)

-loves Doctor-

omg I'm so sorry! I posted this and took it down because I forgot to add the stupid lines AGAIN! AFTER APOLOGISING FOR THEM EARLIER! -screams and takes Hidan on a leash out of her cupboard to sooth self down-