Before I start, I have no idea what Ino's mother's name is, so I made one up.
Thanks for reading.

28. Feelings

"Shouldn't you be with Temari or something? You have some 'planning' to do, right?" Ino enquired as she sprinkled water over her growing tulips while purposely—Ino tried to make it look like an accident—pouring water on Shikamaru's feet. She jerked in his direction in yet again, another "accidental" way of soaking his clothes. "I know why you're here—you want to buy her flowers! I'll pull some weeds from the sidewalk and wrap them up for you. No charge, on the house."

Shikamaru said nothing, giving no effort to defend his lover, which made it all the better to bad mouth Temari. For the past few hours, he listened to her insolent banters halfheartedly, and when she stopped to wait for a response, he changed the subject to flowers or Sakura's relationship.

When Shikamaru just blankly stared at her as if he waited for her to keep slandering his colleague, Ino waddled towards the counter and grabbed a water bottle from behind the desk, taking a swig of its deliciously cooling contents. He finally sighed and said, "All you've done is insult Temari, since last night. It's about time to stop." Oh, what a surprise. Ino raised a brow. He actually defended her. Looks like the kid actually has some balls. "The person that should be talking is Temari since you did start whatever it is between you two."

"She punched me in the face. That deserves shit talking."

Shikamaru scowled at her. "One," he said, holding up a finger, "you spilled your drink on her which is why she punched you, and two—" Shikamaru added another finger "—you need to grow up. You're an adult, a soon to be mother, and you're acting like a pathetic teenager. That happened three years ago, and it's not like she killed your family or something. Also," he continued, suddenly on a ranting roll, "are you going to talk behind your kid's back when it accidentally spills its drink on you? Or what if it pulls out your hair? Are you going to punch it in the face?"

Ino sprayed him with the hose, aiming for his face but unfortunately splashing his clothes more than his pissed off face. She chucked the hose to the floor and stepped towards Shikamaru. "You of all people should know never to talk about this child," she hissed under her breath. "Never compare how I act with Temari to how I will act with my child. They're two different people."

He stared back, unperturbed.

"Shikamaru, hello, darling," Ino's mother said in delighted surprise as she entered the flower shop with a handful of groceries, startling the couple. They stepped back and avoided eye contact with each other and Ino's mother, who seemed oblivious to the tension. "I'm glad to see you're alive and well. Inoichi came home in a rather good mood last night, so I thought he actually did kill you."

Ino laughed awkwardly, glancing at Shikamaru who returned the look with a pointed gaze meaning this moment would be a time to show they were the ideal happy couple. Reluctant, she inched closer to Shikamaru, eyes on her mother who rambled as she circled around the flowers. Shikamaru grabbed her hand, enlacing his fingers with hers. She immediately wanted to take their hands and bat him in the face. Damn her pregnancy rage.

"It was so funny," her mom babbled, laughing to herself, "your father was talking in his sleep, and when I tried waking him up, he shouts, 'I'm going to castrate the bastard!' How funny is that?"

Shikamaru stared at her mother with wide eyes as he swallowed a lump in his throat. If he hadn't come to her door last night, he'd be neutered dog chow by now. She definitely should have kept him out.

"Anyway," Ino's partner coughed. "I have to go now."

"It's about damn time," Ino mumbled, earning an elbow in her ribs. "Er, okay, Sweetie? Have a good day?" and that earned an eye roll. "What the hell do you want me to say, Shikamaru?" she growled, low enough that Shikamaru could only hear.

He only smiled and leaned in to kiss the top of her head. She could hear a faint "Aw!" from the corner of the store. Ino pushed Shikamaru away, shoving him in the chest. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Being the best boyfriend-slash-father I can be," he gritted through his teeth with a fake smile, embarrassed eyes, and flushed cheeks. "Bye, Ino. I'll come around your place around ten," he said as he left the flower shop. "Bye, Mrs. Yamanaka!" he exclaimed as Ino stomped her foot and shouted, "Since when did I decided we're dating?"

"Oh, you're leaving all ready? Bye, dear, visit soon!"

Ino watched Shikamaru stroll down the street through the shop's windows. She shook her head and left for the kitchen to go prepare lunch for her and her mother. Her mother tagged along, breathlessly rambling about Shikamaru, her so-called baby's daddy.

"I honestly think you made a splendid choice," she said. "He's a good looking, young man. He's also reliable, smart, and did you know I had a fling with his father? Before he started dating Yoshino, of course—goodness, I'd never want to make that woman angry…."

"Mom, please," Ino sighed. "We're nothing serious." They're a lie. "We didn't plan this," she said, gesturing to her swollen belly. "It just happened."

"Planned or not, Shikamaru has good traits that he can pass along."

Sighing once more, Ino wanted to take a frying pan to her face several times over.

Her mother left the kitchen, humming her own tone as she moseyed into the store and leaving Ino to make their lunches. As she carefully placed tomatoes on their sandwiches, a specific spot on her head began to burn, and it slowly expanded, spreading onto her face and down her neck. Ino pulled her hair back and tucked the short ends behind her ear when they fell out of the pony tail. The burning still remained, growing hotter and hotter. The origin, the spot Shikamaru kissed her, pulsated and brought more heat to her face. Ino splashed water onto her face but the heat clung to her skin.

"Ms. Mai," a familiar voice called after the store bells rang their sweet chime. "Are you here? I have a favor to ask of you!"

"Oh, Asuma, I was wondering when I'd see you again!" her mother exclaimed cheerfully. "I wonder if I'll be seeing Choiji today. I've seen everyone from Team 10 except him!"

"I'm afraid he left for a mission this morning with his father, so no such luck." Peeking around the corner, she saw her former sensei in the flesh, looking rugged and battered as if he just returned from a mission. Just as his eyes flashed towards the doorway where Ino poked her head out of, she jumped back and leaned against the wall, listening to their conversation. As first, it was nothing but small talk, lots of question from her mother and 'hmm's from Asuma whenever she decided to ramble about nonsense.

"Anyway, I don't want to waste anymore of your time, what can I do for you?"

"I need flowers." Ino rolled her eyes, face palming at the response. Coming to a flower shop was the best place to purchase flowers. At least…the last time Ino checked, flowers shops were the ideal places to buy flowers—unless people were saying ramen shops were now the places to purchase flowers.

"I'm guessing for Kurenai, yes? What's the occasion?"

"She's been cooped in the apartment with the baby for a week, so I thought getting her flowers might be nice…and I'm cooking dinner." Ino gagged, experiencing exactly what Asuma's cooking tasted like more times than she'd like to admit. Instead of eating at a nice restaurant whenever they were in a different village, Asuma insisted on cooking. He said cooking was cheaper than going to a restaurant. Kurenai was better off eating the flowers.

"Let me find my clippers real quick!" Mai sang as she ambled into the house. "Ino," she called as she obliviously walked passed her daughter who tried to blend in with the wall, "have you seen my clippers?"

"Ino's here?" she heard Asuma quickly ask to no one in particular. If only she could peek around the corner to see his expression. However, she didn't want Asuma to see her…not yet at least. Then again, he'll have to see her eventually, and Shikamaru most likely told him about her situation.

Poking her head into the shop, Asuma had his back turned towards her as he eyed the roses and fingered through the packages of flower seeds that hung on a spinning rack, so she quietly entered the shop and crept up behind her teacher. The sight of her burly sensei felt surreal, like how she felt seeing everyone else…. Upon her arrival from Kumo, she avoided Asuma like the plague—and the fact that she saw him everywhere didn't help the plan—because she didn't want to hear his opinion on her…situation. He never liked Ino hanging around with the opposite sex anytime past three in the afternoon, and whenever he did find her with a boy, both would have hell to pay. Asuma was like the father that actually cared.

After vanishing for five months, Ino noticed Asuma's aging, something she always teased him about but honestly never saw. Now, Ino noticed the slight sag of his cheeks and dark circles under his blood shot—from sleep deprivation no doubt—eyes and…was that a liver spot on his forearm, or did he burn himself with a cigarette again?

Asuma would definitely see the change in her…unless he went blind while she was gone. Before Ino left, she had long, golden locks with sparkly, ocean blue eyes. She was pretty, gorgeous even, but now, as she tiptoed behind him, she sported short, uneven hair thanks to Hidan chopping it off with a rusty scythe and a baby bump the size of a melon. She was ugly, unattractive.

"Hi, Asuma-sensei," she whispered, causing him to swiftly spin around, almost knocking down a pot that her mother grew petunias in. Ino balanced the flower pot before it teetered off the side of the table.

"Holy pregnant…."

"Huh?"

Asuma's eyes jerked from her stomach to her eyes. "Hi, Ino," he mumbled, panicking as he scrambled for words. His eyes began to slide down her stomach, but once he caught himself, he forced his astonished eyes back to her curious blues. "Uh, how was your mission? Did you find your murderer?"

Ino smiled and rubbed her stomach, subconsciously trying to cover her bump from her ex-sensei's eyes. "I definitely did," she answered quickly then changed the subject as swiftly," How is Kurenai? Shikamaru told me she gave birth several weeks ago."

"It's nice seeing her skinny again—not that she wasn't pretty when she was fat…er, pregnant, I mean." Asuma cleared his throat, clearly embarrassed. Ino only smiled. "Um, she's fine. The baby, uh, Mikoto, is doing well, too. You'll have to see her sometime. Choji already met her."

"I'd love to meet her."

"Hmmm."

Silence.

She tried to maintain her bogus smile, but it wavered when he used the silence to take a glimpse at her stomach, looking as if he contemplated whether he should ask about it or prod it with a sharp stick. "Sensei, please stop staring. I know it's surprising."

"I—I…Sorry."

Silence.

"I hear Shikamaru is the father."

"Did he tell you that?"

Asuma nodded, a blush creeping upon his tan skin. Ino understood. Talking about his students' pregnancy—borderline their fictional sex life if you thought it—was embarrassing for Asuma…and for Ino; lucky Shikamaru wasn't there. Ino just smiled through the humiliation and pretended they discussed the weather, an innocent topic that didn't consist of babies and an ex-student being knocked up.

"I never knew he had it in him."

Ino hesitated, unsure of what to say. She didn't expect Asuma to further the discussion of her and Shikamaru. "Neither did I," she responded. Asuma released a bone shaking laugh, startling Ino and then a hard jab nudged her from inside. "What the…?" Ino mumbled, rubbing a hand over her stomach which was greeted with another firm thrust to her palm.

"What's wrong?"

"It kicked me."

When Ino looked up from her stomach to Asuma, she rushed over to him, seeing as he was pale and if it was possible, turning paler by the second to the point that he should have fainted or died…or something…. "Sensei, are you okay? Breathe, Asuma!"

"Holy pregnant…," he squeezed out.

"I found my clippers!"

Sakura rubbed the nape of her neck and rolled her head in a circle in a futile attempt to rid the kink in her neck. Ino sympathized for her roommate, being on call twenty four-seven and having ten hour work days with the weekends as her day offs. Since she's given mission rarely, Sakura now works at the hospital full time.

"So what is it you need, Ino?" Sakura groaned and leaned back in the cushioned chairs, eyes forcing closure.

"I was wondering what you want to find in the microwave when you get home."

It took a second for Sakura to answer considering she fought against extreme fatigue and symptom diagnostic overload on her brain. "Mm, surprise me," she slurred. "Can you go to the store…and buy me the, um, energy pouches? You know…the energy pouches that have energy in a pouch."

Ino giggled at the delirious rosette and wanted to stay longer to see what other cutesy things she'd say, but Sakura must—that poor girl—go back to her work. "Take those energy pellets you keep handy," Ino suggested, standing up from her seat and ultimately waking up Sakura who dozed off.

"Goood ideaah." Reaching into her medical pouch, she took out a zip lock bag filled with brown spheres. Sakura plopped two pills in and suddenly, the alertness came back into her emerald eyes, awake and ready to push five more hours of work. "Hey, Shizune, where are the x-rays from Tenten's ankle? I think we might need to put her in a cast," she said, walking out of the room before she was completely out of Ino's sight, Sakura looked back and smiled. "I'll be home later, Ino."

At nine in the evening, the hospital wasn't busy as usual, no one came through the door with a broken arm and no one came in a puff of smoke with blood gushing from nameless places, but the medics still hurried around the building with symptoms and patients on their minds. Three people sat in the waiting room. None of them looked sick or injured so they must have been, well, waiting for someone.

Outside, the summer's night breeze greeted Ino heated skin, and she welcomed it, spreading her arm to relieve her underarms and sides with cool air while inhaling a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air.

Ino waddled towards the closest convenient store to buy Sakura's energy drinks and maybe some lotion—damn stretch marks were itchy as hell and made her skin unbelievably rough. Plus, a foot massage with lotion might feel better than a dry massage. Ino grinned, excited for Shikamaru's next visit.

"Good evening," the store clerk greeted as Ino entered the store, bowing his head in politeness. Ino did the same then ambled towards the refrigerated section. There were so many energy selections. What kind did Sakura like?

"Oi, you."

Leaning against the door next to her, Temari eyed her with a snarl. She raised a brow at the sight of Ino's belly, and as if the baby could sense the tension or could see Temari, it thrust against her insides once again. Maybe it wanted to punch her in the face as well….

"The rumors were true," she mumbled, still glowering at Ino's bump. Ino wanted to roll her eyes, but she kept them glued on Temari's scrutinizing face. Of all people to hear she was pregnant, it had to be Temari. It was her luck…or karma was getting its revenge after she did who-knows-what.

"I'm hearing that this thing is Shikamaru's, is that right?" she asked.

"This thing is Shikamaru's child, yes."

Temari shook her head with the look of disgust on her face. "Why in the hell would he go for someone like you? You're nothing but a whore. I'm sure you planned this so you could take him away from me."

"Yeah because my life revolves around you," Ino sarcastically countered, rolling her eyes. She proceeded to open the door to grab Sakura's drink, slamming the door against Temari's face. The other blonde staggered back as she rubbed her nose that was turning a pretty scarlet. Ino couldn't help but smile.

Before she knew it, Temari's hand was wrapped around Ino's throat, pushing her against the frigid doors. "Just fucking stay away from Shikamaru before I beat your ass. You're garbage, worthless to Shikamaru. Actually, you're just a piece of shit; no one wants you here. You should have stayed in Kumo." With that, Temari released her throat and left.

Sakura kicked off her shoes as she ascended the stairs, gathering them in her hand and made the journey to her room bare footed. Goodness it felt great to take her shoes off….

Her hallway was dim, like it should considering it was two in the morning, and no one wanted to see a bright light if they were crazy enough to leave their flats at such an odd time. Each room she walked by were silent as they should be.

However, her apartment greeted her with soft sobs coming from the dark. The clock ticked and the refrigerator hummed its normal tune, but the whimpering and the occasion cough worried Sakura. Ino shouldn't be awake.

"Ino?" she called, flipping the light switch. She found Ino curled up on the couch with a pillow stained from tears rested under her head. "What's wrong?" Sakura tucked her hair behind her ear and brushed an escaped tear with her thumb. "Ino?"

"Sakura," Ino sputtered, fresh tears streaming down her face. "Just hold me, please."

So, Sakura combed her fingers through Ino's hair, trying to calm her down and stop the tears.

Thank you for reading!
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Have a magnificent day.