CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Nearly a week had passed since Ino returned to Konoha and to the task of managing her shop. It was all she could do to focus on work as the Japanese ferns had proved a hit, and business had began to boom. She'd been so busy that she thought little of her brief sojourn in Ame or, rather, she allowed her busy schedule to serve as an excuse not to remember all that had occurred while she was there. It was easier that way, to pretend as if none of it had ever happened, as if she'd never met Nagato or caused upheaval in his and Konan's lives. It lessened her guilt. It was as if she'd simply woken to resume her life as it had always been, as if nothing had been amiss. Besides, it wasn't as if she didn't have her own troubles to contend with.

She'd yet to see Shikamaru. From what Hinata had told her over the phone when she was still in Ame, Ino had expected him to show up in her flower shop the very day she arrived. But he hadn't shown up. What was more, he hadn't even phoned, and her hurt and disappointment were deep. Perhaps Hinata had been mistaken after all, and he hadn't ever mentioned that he was coming by. Or maybe it was as she had suspected, that nothing had changed, and he continued not to care at all, about her or their child she was carrying. Whatever the reason, Ino berated herself that she should have known better than to get her hopes up. She assuaged her pain by throwing herself headlong into her work as it had proved the best remedy. And though Hinata competently assisted her, there was still so much to be done, and she was grateful to keep her mind occupied. Not only were there flowers that needed to be cared for, there was inventory that needed to be conducted on a daily basis, supplies that needed to be re-ordered, sales to be transacted, and deliveries from the wholesalers to be accepted, unpacked, and pruned. There were flowers that still needed arranging, and there were two consultations for an upcoming wedding and one funeral scheduled that week alone.

She'd even managed to be back on time to make her monthly pre-natal appointment and was pleased to hear that everything had been progressing just fine. She heeded her gynecologist's orders not to strain herself too much on her job and to mind proper body mechanics as the ability to stand for long periods of time, bend, twist, squat, and lift repetitively were common requirements upon working in a florist shop. The only warning was in relation to her diet when Ino confessed her soda cravings. The doctor suggested she limit her soda intake or substitute sodas altogether with seltzer water, to which Ino visibly cringed. She hated seltzer water and decided she'd just concentrate on reducing her soda intake instead. She even began to show, the slight baby bump visual evidence of her delicate condition. And though she had always been a stickler about maintaining her slender form, she found she hadn't minded the small protrusion as it only served to remind her of what her focus was, which was to work hard for herself and her baby.

Such was her renewed outlook when, much to her surprise, Shikamaru finally paid her a visit. It was exactly a week that she'd been back in Konoha, and Ino had finally escorted the last customer out of the shop before closing it for the day. She locked the glass doors and flipped the sign hanging in the window to the side with CLOSED written on it in red script.

Sighing, she turned to scan the interior of the shop with her tired blue eyes, for truly the day had been a long one. She had already sent Hinata home for the day and was grateful that her assistant had already managed to make sure the water had already been replaced in the flowers so as to maintain their freshness. Hinata had also seen to it the shop was properly cleaned, so all Ino had to concentrate on at present was the inventory to determine what supplies had to be re-ordered. Ino disappeared into the back of the store where she retrieved a clip board and pen. Emerging from the back, she took a seat upon a stool behind the counter and scanned the papers on the board.

From where he stood outside the shop, Shikamaru's hand halted in mid-air when he lifted it to knock. He momentarily held off on making his presence known as he watched Ino where she sat. He liked the way she looked when she concentrated, from the inward slant of her light brows to her pursed lips. He'd been all too familiar with that look she affected whenever she was engaged in a task that required her utmost attention. He'd been familiar with it, and he'd missed it.

Hell, he'd missed her, and it had annoyed him. He'd tried to ignore his need to see her, to be near her, which was why he'd avoided her shop. But it had been to no avail when his desire had won out over his pride and he found himself at her shop seeking her, only to find that she hadn't been there but on some business trip in Ame instead. Or, at least that was what Hinata had explained to him, and he had bristled. She'd never mentioned a business trip, and possessively wondered how it was he hadn't known. But then again, why would he know? Had he honestly expected she would make her itinerary known to him? After all, he'd walked out on her, hadn't he, which he was sure pretty much absolved him of any rights as to her whereabouts.

Sighing, Shikamaru instead brought his hand around to rub the back of his neck. He'd never been one to get caught up on a girl, any girl, as all relationships eventually proved too much of a hassle. They required more work than he was willing to put in to ensure their success. But Ino had been different. She'd managed to crawl beneath the skin of his indifferent façade and deeply affect him from within. So, the way he saw it, either he was in love with the damned woman, or he was allergic to her. Right about now there hadn't seemed much of a difference. He released his hand from the back of his neck and rapped firmly upon the glass door.

"Sorry, we're clo-," Ino called loudly from her seat behind the counter, but her voice halted abruptly when she looked up to behold Shikamaru standing outside.

Their eyes met and held for what felt like a small eternity to the both of them. But it was Ino who broke the eye contact when she averted her gaze with a slight shake of her head. She frowningly gazed down at the clipboard on the counter, as if weighing the decision as to whether or not she should allow Shikamaru to enter. When she lifted her gaze, it was to find him steadily regarding her with a serious glint to the chocolate hue of his eyes.

Ino sighed deeply. She hoped she wouldn't regret this, she thought, as she crossed to unlock the door. Resting her hand on the handle, she paused and closed her eyes momentarily before she pulled the door open for Shikamaru to enter. The bell that signified the entrance of a customer chimed over the door as he entered, and its ring was shrill in the silence of the sore. She released her hold on the door and retreated to stand in front of the counter before turning to him and crossing her arms over her chest.

Having advanced only a few steps upon entering, Shikamaru quickly noted Ino's body language and thought it best to stand his ground at a distance. From the rigid manner in which she stood, it hadn't taken much to figure she felt uneasy about seeing him. Could he blame her?

"Busy day today?" He asked.

Ino nodded mutely as her eyes darted around the interior as if seeking some other focal point other than the man standing before her now.

Shikamaru shoved his hands deep into his pockets. "I came by a few days ago, but you weren't here. Hinata mentioned you were on a business trip in Ame?"

Ino pressed her lips before speaking. "Yeah, but only a few days. I got back a couple days ago."

"Successful?" Shikamaru asked.

A wry smile spread across Ino's lips as she nodded slowly. Though she knew he asked in regards to the business aspect of her trip, only she would know the irony to his query, the answer to which was no, it hadn't been successful. Despite having executed her plan to deceive an innocent Nagato, she hadn't managed to see it through to the end.

"You look good," Shikamaru stated, and she had. His eyes raked up and down the length of Ino's form. The off-the-shoulder peasant blouse, now loosely cinched at her waist with a wide belt, was looser than the usual snug-fitting tops Ino was wont to wear, but he liked the way the ruffled edges of the white material played against the smoothness of her bared skin. The dark Capri pants accentuated the slender length of her legs, and… Shikamaru's brows lifted when he noted her shoes, a black pair of plain, rubber-soled canvas sneakers. He knew they weren't Ino's style, but it didn't take much of a stretch of the imagination to figure why she wore them.

"How have you been?" He asked at length.

Ah, Ino thought, so now they were getting somewhere. It was the opening she needed, and into which she dove head first. "The baby and I both are doing fine, if that's what you're asking," she stated edgily.

Shikamaru sighed. He guessed he deserved that. He'd be remiss if he hadn't expected it as well. "I didn't come to upset you," he stated.

"Then why did you come, Shikamaru, because if you haven't noticed, I still have quite a bit of work to do."

"I came by to see you," he replied pointedly, as if it had been obvious. But he was already starting to regret his decision. Perhaps it was too early. Perhaps he was mistaken to think that she'd want to see him as much as he wanted to see her.

Shikamaru's sigh was long and harsh as he raked a hand through his hair. "Look, I've been doing some thinking, and I think we were wrong to end things the way we did."

The way we did? We? Was that how he chose to remember it? Ino snorted. It was an amazing thing how the mind worked, she thought. Perhaps it was self-preservation, the mind's ability to selectively remember what it willed – distorting the truth as it pleased - so as to assuage itself of the burden of guilt. She supposed it was akin to the manner in which she chose to pretend as if Nagato had never happened, had reduced him to an unpleasant memory to be plucked and discarded without so much as an afterthought. With that thought came an oddly disconcerting feeling that perhaps she and Shikamaru were of the same ilk after all.

"We never ended a damned thing, Shikamaru," she reminded with a shake of her head. "You did, remember, when you made it all too clear you wanted nothing to do with this baby and walked out on us."

Shikamaru winced at her use of the pronoun and commanded her attention when, after lapsing into a brief silence, he spoke again. "I was wrong for that. I'm sorry," he offered.

Ino sighed deeply, her chest heaving beneath her crossed arms. "Can you at least just answer me why?" She released her arms and brought them round to slip her hands into her back pockets. "Better yet, why not just explain to me what in the world could make you turn away from me like that? From our baby?" Her eyes began to pool with her tears against her will, and her voice was barely a whisper when spoke again. "Does my being pregnant with your child really offend you so much?"

"No," Shikamaru immediately answered, softly, with a shake of his head, his eyes serious, "not at all."

"Then, then…" Ino stammered as she shook her head. Her shoulders hunched. "Why?" She pleaded, and her tears had begun to slip from her eyes.

"Damn it, Ino, because I was afraid!" Shikamaru barked in a tone so harsh that Ino flinched. He drew a ragged breath before he continued. "I was afraid, okay?" He repeated in a softened tone.

Ino advanced a couple steps towards him as her eyes continued to hold his. "I don't know that I understand. What were you afraid of?"

Shikamaru hated this part, explaining himself. It was such a damned bother, and felt wholly intrusive. But he owed it to her, and sought to offer his confession.

He hunched his shoulders and dug his hands further in his pockets. "This is all new for me, alright? I admit when I first met you, I really didn't have any expectations for us. Yes, the chemistry was there, but relationships are always such a gamble anyways, so who was to say how long it would last? A week, a month, whenever? So I decided to play it by ear, see where it would lead." A corner of mouth turned upward. "It didn't take me long to realize I was falling for you, and hard, and that scared the shit out of me. I thought I was reading too much into whatever it was we had then, and decided that maybe I should slow things down a bit. Only, it wasn't that easy, because the longer I was with you, the longer I wanted to stay with you. I don't know, but you just…" His voice trailed away. "You just felt…right. We felt right. And it felt good. Then next thing I know, a week passes into a month, a month into a year, and we're talking about moving in together, and then with the baby…" His voice trailed away.

"It was all too fast for you," Ino completed, and watched Shikamaru's lips press into a straight line as he nodded mutely. She cursed beneath her breath. "Why the hell did you never say anything? Why didn't you talk to me about what you were feeling?"

"And say what? That I was scared?" Shikamaru scoffed. "How pathetic is that?"

"No more pathetic than you feeling this way since the beginning and never telling me." Ino lifted her arms to the side and let them fall against her sides. "What the hell, Shikamaru, didn't you think I deserved that much?"

"Of course I do! That's why I'm here!" Shikamaru bellowed. He turned away from Ino and raked a hand round the back of his neck. Damn it! This was so not how he'd expected the conversation to proceed!

"And why are you here now?"

"Because I love you," he stated simply, "and I want us to be together. To be a family."

Ino's inhalation was sharp. She was elated that Shikamaru wanted to make up with her, wanted their family, but she was still doubtful. She felt the need to ask him a question which she felt was paramount to their success else she couldn't see the sense in dragging things further between them.

"And what about now? Are you still afraid?" Ino asked softly. She needed to know that she could trust him. She heard Shikamaru's sigh of frustration.

Shikamaru silently crossed over to Ino. He lifted one hand to softly trail along the side of her face, her skin smooth and silky to the touch. Damn, how he loved her, he thought. But if it was the truth she wanted, then it was the truth he'd give her.

"I am afraid, Ino, make no mistake about it. I'd be the biggest damned liar if I said I wasn't," he began in a smooth baritone. "And I'm sorry if I sound like a spineless ass for it, but it's the truth. It's just that this is all so new for me." He watched as Ino frowningly lowered her gaze. "Hey," he chided gently, and slipped a finger beneath her chin and forced her gaze upward again, "what's that all about?"

"It's just that you keep talking about how new this all is for you, and how you are afraid," she admitted. She shook her head again. "And I get all that, because how in the hell do you think I've been feeling? I realize we never had the kids talk, but it's all new for me, too. I've never been a parent before, either. Or did it never occur to you that I might be afraid, too?"

Shikamaru's brows rose at that. Ino afraid? That was an interesting concept as he never thought her afraid of anything! He supposed he hadn't thought of it like that, from her perspective. But she was right. Parenthood was unchartered waters for the both of them. How he had failed to realize that was beyond him. And for the first time since learning of Ino's pregnancy, he felt ashamed of his own selfishness. For what else could have rendered him so thoughtless, so blind to what she was feeling? How must she have felt after he left her the way he had that day not so long ago, all while a carrying a child inside her that he had been responsible for?

She didn't protest when he pulled her in close against his chest, and her arms went around his waist. He marveled at the snug fit of her against him, the top of her nuzzled beneath his chin.

Though he didn't ask, Shikamaru knew Ino was still a bit hesitant, and it was going to take more than this conversation to make her understand how truly sorry he felt, how truly sincere he was about making things right with her, about being a family with her and their child. However long the road to her forgiveness was, he had no way of knowing, but it hadn't mattered. He was truly in for the long haul. He made the mistake of walking out on her once before, and had no intention of making it again.

He pulled away from her to gaze down into her face again and lowered his mouth to hers in a gentle kiss. He pressed until her lips parted and granted him entry, and it was as if he was quenching a plaguing thirst as his tongue entered her mouth deeply, greedily seeking the sweetness within.

Ino's arms reached up to snake around Shikamaru's neck as her head dipped back beneath the pressure of his mouth. She moaned when his arms encircled her waist and pulled her against him, crushing her breasts against his chest. Desire was instantly kindled between them as her tongue snaked out to duel with his.

She slightly moaned when he tore his mouth from hers and proceeded to trail his lips from her mouth, over her cheek, and to her ear where he gently teased the sensitive flesh of her lobe before trailing down the length of her neck. She leaned her head to the side to grant him further access and then dipped it back again as his lips pressed against the hollow at the base of her throat. He released a hand from her waist to slip the material of her peasant top down as his lips then trailed lower still to the top of the valley between her breasts. He pulled the material down lower still until and Ino assisted him by shrugging her arms from the sleeves.

With her head dipped backward, Shikamaru bent and snaked his tongue out to capture the hardened nipple of the same breast in his mouth, tweaking the bit of flesh with his tongue. He heard as Ino moaned her pleasure aloud.

"Feel good?" He asked against her breast, his own voice thick with desire, and it was all Ino could do to nod as Shikamaru continued to cross to her other breast and mimic the lovemaking he exacted on its twin.

"Tell me how it feels," Shikamaru ordered thickly as Ino's moans stoked his own need for her. She was so damned responsive, and great was his need to hear her verbally confirm the pleasure that he meted upon her. "Tell me," he ordered again.

"It feels good," she affirmed breathlessly. "Oh, God, it feels good," she stated again as she lifted her head to meet Shikamaru's gaze and beheld…

Ino suddenly screamed out in Shikamaru's arms that reflexively stiffened about her. "Please stop," she begged and forcefully pulled from his grip. She whipped around away from him and immediately began to right her clothing, and was grateful for the simple design of the peasant top as her hands trembled uncontrollably.

What the hell…? Shikamaru went still as he watched Ino's bizarre reaction. His body still ached with longing, and he took a couple of deep breaths as he forced his body under control. His face was a dual expression of desire and shock that was wholly strange to witness.

"I admit that's not quite the kind of scream I had hoped to evoke from you," Shikamaru confessed in a deadpan tone of voice. "Are you okay?"

Ino was instantly contrite. "I'm so sorry. I… I don't know what happened." But she had known. When she had opened her eyes, it wasn't Shikamaru she saw but…

"I guess I just remembered where we were," Ino lied, grateful for what she hoped was a quick cover-up. She gestured over Shikamaru's shoulder to her shop's glass front exterior.

Shikamaru noted Ino's gesture with a sheepish grin. Though the shop's interior was dimly lit, they were still rather exposed to the public. He was just grateful there hadn't been any passers-by at the moment. "Yeah," he stated, "I guess we did get kind of carried away there." His eyes were full of concern as they swept over Ino. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm… I'm fine. Long day is all."

Shikamaru watched as she offered a smile that hadn't reached her eyes. "Right," he responded. He checked his watch. "Listen, it's getting late. I'm going to go and let you wrap up. But know that this conversation isn't over." He stepped closer and cupped the side of her face in his palm. He passed a roughened thumb over the tender skin of her lips. "Perhaps we can pick up where we left off," he stated with a suggestive smile. "Would you like that?"

Ino nodded. "You know I would," she offered and saw Shikamaru to the door where he turned to kiss her once, deeply, before disappearing into the evening.

Ino secured the lock on the door once more and leaned her back against it with a heavy sigh. She groaned aloud. What had happened? Though Shikamaru was the one undoubtedly making love to her, why did she open her eyes only to see Nagato?