Author's Note: Finally, right? Sorry for the huge delay! Things have been hectic with school. But, thank you all so much for reading my story, and to everyone who has left a sweet review! I can't thank you all enough 3. Hope you enjoy the newest chapter! More to come soon!

Chapter 7- The Day After

The next day, Shikamaru woke up extra early, feeling quite energized. All of the excitement and surprise from last night with Ino had him in a good mood, and he got dressed and ate breakfast while humming a happy tune. Putting on his jacket and preparing for his day, he walked out of his apartment to be face to face with Choji.

"So? How did it go? It sure was quiet. You two didn't scream at each other. Did you have fun?" Choji immediately began throwing questions at Shikamaru, who sighed and pushed his friend aside, calling over his shoulder as he headed for the stairs.

"We did fine. Nothing special."

Oh, but how wrong that statement was. In reality, Shikamaru's heart was beating twice as fast as normal, but he would keep his same laid-back attitude, at least around his friends. He would most likely let himself loose around Ino.

Leaving Choji with his mouth wide open, Shikamaru started toward the Hokage's mansion, ready to get his morning over with and see a certain blonde again.

"Ino-chan, your bouquets are especially beautiful today~"

Ino turned to smile at the customer who had come to pick up some flowers for a centerpiece. "Oh, are they? Well, I suppose I'm in a better mood than ususal…" The customer giggled. "Anything special happen?"

Ino cut the stem of a rose and sniffed the pink flower softly before answering. "Not in particular~ just a good day, I suppose."

Ino wouldn't admit it to her customer, but her entire world was filled with sunshine and bright colors. Just the thought that she had kissed Shikamaru the night before, and was spending another night with him tonight, made her entire body shake with excitement. Finally, after all this time, both of them had admitted their feelings, and were doing something about them.

"Well, Ino-chan, I hope you keep up your upbeat day~" The customer said before walking back out the door with her centerpiece in hand. Ino sighed, just thinking of feeling the way she did for the rest of her life. She silently prayed that she would, as ditzy and out of it she was.

Soon, the door to the flower shop opened again, and Ino quickly turned to greet her new customer. "Welcome to the—"

Her heart skipped a beat when she laid eyes on the tall, dark ponytail bearing jounin before her. She took a deep breath before giving her snarky greeting. "You're early. It's 5:30. You planning on sitting around until I'm finished here?"

"Sure." Shikamaru replied. Tsunade hadn't had much for him, and he didn't have time to go all the way home and get back to the shop when it closed, so he decided to head straight there. Besides, he didn't mind watching Ino work. In fact, he was looking forward to it. "I'll sit in my usual seat and not bother you." As he walked closer, he noticed Ino watching his every move, not taking her eyes off of him. Oh yes, this would be fun.

As he walked behind the counter, he brushed his hand against Ino's bare arm, feeling her shiver from the contact. "Busy day?" He asked with as smile, and moved over to his usual stool, the smirk on his face growing as he watched the dazed Ino shake her head and move back to the flowers she had been trimming.

Damn that Shikamaru. He obviously had picked up on her ditziness and was taking advantage of her love sickness. She could still feel the sparks on her skin as she picked up a rose and cut off its long stem. "Not too bad. We had a few customers." She answered as calmly as possible, refusing to face the man behind her in fear of him teasing her any longer.

"That's good. I know you like it when it's quiet." Shikamaru nodded, examining some of the arrangements in the glass case in front of him.

"I do. But it's lonely. I haven't been all on my own here for a while." Ino replied. "Oh, are you trying to say you missed me, Ino?" Shikamaru asked, smiling yet again. Ino flinched. "Well…it's not that…I didn't mean…shut up." She said, blushing madly.

"Uh huh." Shikamaru chuckled, getting up from the stool and moving to the door. He turned the sign so that it read 'Closed' and moved back behind the counter. Ino noticed his movements and turned to him. "Hey. We still have fifteen minutes until we close. What if someone comes by?"

"They can come back tomorrow." Shikamaru replied, appearing from the back of the store with Ino's coat and bag. "Their flowers will still be here then. Come on." Shikamaru held Ino's coat open for her, and waited. Ino raised her eyebrow at him. She had to admit: she was curious as to what he was so anxious to do with her. Giving in, she walked toward him, dropping her scissors on the counter, and let him put her coat on her. She took her bag from him, and followed him out the door, locking the front door behind her.

"What's the hurry?" Ino asked as she put her key in her bag. Before she knew it, Shikamaru had taken her hand and was leading her away from the shop. "Hey—Shikamaru! Where are you taking me? Tell me!"

Shikamaru continued walking, not saying a word. "Just trust me." He said, slowing down a little once Ino had caught up. Ino looked down at their entwined hands. "Shikamaru…we're in public, you know."

"I know." Shikamaru replied, but instead of letting her hand go, he moved his fingers so they were positioned between hers, holding her hand tighter. Ino flushed, but didn't complain. Shikamaru's hand was big and felt rough, a big contrast between her petite, delicate ones. The warmth of his hand comforted her, and she squeezed back lightly, telling him she didn't mind.

The two of them walked on in comfortable silence, Ino inquiring about their destination every once in a while. She was met with silence and a smirk, so finally she gave up and followed Shikamaru's lead. He would never lead her somewhere unsafe…right?

Shikamaru led them on, soon arriving at the village's park. He walked them through the entrance, smiling when he realized they were just in time, maybe a little early for what he had in store.

"The park? This is where you were taking me?" Ino asked, adjusting her bag on her arm. "I've been to the park before, Shikamaru." She chuckled, but continued following him, hoping he wouldn't let go of her hand any time soon.

"I know you have. Just trust me." Shikamaru replied, and led them a little farther into the park, until the two of them were in front of a stand that sold ice cream. He turned to Ino and asked "what flavor do you want?"

"Ice cream?" Ino asked, her face scrunching up a little in disgust. Lately she had been on a bit of a health kick. She hadn't had ice cream in months, maybe even a year. "No thank you. It has too many calories. I don't need to eat any ice—"

"What flavor?" Shikamaru asked again adamantly. He knew Ino had always been on to order healthy things in restaurants, and never ate much at any meal. But this was a special exception that she needed to make. It wouldn't be the same without ice cream.

"But—." Ino started, and looked into Shikamaru's eyes. She had seen that look before. He wasn't budging. She sighed. Ice cream did sound good…

"Strawberry."

Shikamaru showed his contentment with a huge smile, and turned to the vendor to get the ice cream. He got a scoop of chocolate from himself, both of their scoops in a big cone. Ino smiled. "A cone too? I haven't had one since I was a kid…"

"I assumed so. Come on." Shikamaru once again started walking, both of the cones in his hand. "H-hey! Wait for me!" Ino called, hurrying after him, her hand suddenly feeling cold due to the lack of warmth Shikamaru's hand had given hers. She wondered just what the Nara was thinking. He obviously had this planned out pretty well.

Shikamaru approached a bench near a grove of trees, and turned around to Ino. "Okay. This is it." Ino looked around, looking for something special. She had expected fireworks, or a big band to be playing, from all the hurrying Shikamaru had done. But there was nothing. Just an empty bench.

"Okay. I don't get it. Am I missing something?" She asked, sitting down next to him on the bench and taking her ice cream from him. Shikamaru leaned back against the bench, getting comfortable. "You'll see. We're right on time." He looked straight ahead, starting to eat his cone.

Ino watched where he did, waiting for what he was planning, and started her ice cream. She hummed in delight from the creaminess. It really had been too long, and Ino had forgotten how much she loved ice cream. She couldn't stop herself, and soon she was eating the hand cone, having finished the strawberry ice cream.

"Slow down, speedy. You'll get a stomachache." Shikamaru laughed, scooting a little closer to her. Ino came back into reality, and realized just how fast she had finished her treat. "Oops. How did you know I would enjoy that so much? I'll have to run every morning for a week to work that off…" Ino complained, but stopped when she felt Shikamaru wrap his arm around her shoulders.

"Don't worry about that. Everyone deserves a treat now and then." He responded, scooting even closer, their legs almost touching. Ino froze for a second, and decided to take advantage of this moment. She leaned into Shikamaru's arm, and finished off her cone. After cleaning off her hands, she looked to the boy beside her, smiling at how close he was. "So. Did you bring me to the park just to fatten me up? We could have had ice cream at my place."

"True, but your place doesn't have that." Shikamaru pointed straight ahead, right where the sun was starting to sky was filled with an orange glow, and the huge floating ball was just over the horizon. In other words, it was a picture perfect sunset.

Ino's jaw dropped open as she took in the sight in front of her. Never in her life had she taken the time to actually watch the sun as it set. She was usually so busy, she never had time to take it in. Now here she was, having just finished her first ice cream in months, her body surrounded by the warmth that was Shikamaru, and her eyes dancing in delight over the perfect sunset. She couldn't remember a time when she had felt this happy.

As soon as the sun was completely set, and the sky was now filled with a purple glow, the sign that night was coming, she took a deep breath, and turned to find Shikamaru's smiling face looking back at her, directly into her eyes. No words were said, but emotions were shared through their eye contact.

Ino searched those dark orbs and found that Shikamaru was feeling the same things she was. Happiness, joy, and admiration, to name a few of those emotions. Right in the center, she found a hint of something she could only describe in one word.

Love.

Before she knew it, Ino's eyes were closing and she was leaning farther into the warmth that Shikamaru radiated, and pressing her lips to his. Their hands now free after finishing their ice cream, they once again found the others, entwining together and squeezing gently.

Shikamaru met Ino halfway into the kiss, and gladly responded with one of his own. When their hands joined together, his other one found her face, and made sure she wouldn't pull away just yet. This kiss was different from the one last night, it was more passionate and full of the emotions they were both feeling. Shikamaru wished that kiss never had to end.

But the lack of air did finally cause the two to part, both of them grinning madly, their hands still pressed together. "So…" Shikamaru started, panting lightly and pressing his forehead to Ino's. "I take it…you liked your surprise?"

Ino smiled back, and squeezed his hand. "Does this answer your question?" She asked as she leaned forward again, placing one more kiss to Shikamaru's lips, this one quick and sweet, a simple peck.

Shikamaru beamed. "Yes. It does." He rubbed their noses together gently and pulled away, his arm falling back over Ino's shoulder. "Think we should head home now?" He asked, and chuckled when Ino didn't budge and leaned into his arm.

"Not yet. A little longer." She responded, snuggling into Shikamaru's warmth. "Hey." She stated again, looking up at him. "Shika. What does…this mean? For us?"

Shikamaru hummed. "That depends. What do you want this to mean?"

"I like this. I like it a lot." Ino stated.

"Me too."

"So…are we dating?"

"Are we?"

"Do you want us to be?"

"Do you?"

"Shika." Ino hit him lightly on the side. "Quit playing with me. I want to know how you feel. Tell me what's going through that brain of yours. You know I can never read it…"

Shikamaru sighed. "Well, I'm having a good time with you. I can't stop thinking about you. When we kissed just now…my heart was beating so fast. I think it's safe to say I like you, Ino. I like you a lot."

Ino beamed up at him. "Took the words right from my mouth. So, shouldn't we do something about this? Make it…official."

"Hmm." Shikamaru hummed, thinking. "Alright. I do like the idea of calling you my girlfriend."

Ino flushed. Just hearing Shikamaru say that was weird…a good weird. "And you're my boyfriend now, I guess?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Wait until we tell your parents." Ino groaned. "Don't remind me. Daddy won't go easy on you…"

The two of them sat there for a while longer, not saying much, and enjoying the other's company. "So, is this all you had in store for us, Shika?" Shikamaru nodded.

Ino smirked. "Then what should we do next?" She asked, looking up at him again.

"I have a pretty good idea." He responded, leaning toward her face again. "Thanks for coming out with me tonight, girlfriend." Ino smirked back, and sat up, leaning her own face closer. "Thanks for taking me out, boyfriend."

And without another word, the two of them were lost in the other's lips yet again.