They walked for just a little while longer, mostly in comfortable silence when Ino stopped at a metal fence. She zipped up her jacket and tucked her hair in.

"Here we are!" She took hold of the fence and started climbing up, ignoring the sign that said 'No Trespassers.' "C'mon!"

Shikamaru panicked and grabbed the back of her coat, just enough to keep her from climbing anymore and not enough to actually pull her off.

"What are you doing?" He hissed, eyes wide, glancing around to see if anyone was looking. Ino rolled her eyes and turned to get a better look at him.

"It's okay," She persuaded, "I've done this dozens of times." Once again she moved her hand to climb further and once again his hand stopped her.

"But what if we get caught?"

Shikamaru was never one for doing anything bad. Well, really, he wasn't one for doing anything at all ever. But it was different when doing something in general, and doing something bad. At least when doing something in general, he never had to worry too much about the consequences. But this was trespassing!

"We won't, I promise." Her blue eyes shined brightly and he was sucked in. "Do you trust me?" She asked him, hand open for him to take. He just met this girl, only knew her name, thought she was crazy, but, odd as it was, he found that he indeed did trust her.

He hesitated a moment before grasping her hand and nodding. Ino's eyes softened and she pulled him up, getting him on the fence. Ino jumped down on the other side first, Shikamaru only a second behind her. She could still sense his reluctance, so she put a hand on his shoulder for comfort.

"We'll be okay." With her eyes regarding his own, Shikamaru could only nod. She was so trusting it was almost scary. She smiled and nodded. "So let's go."

The distress that once gripped his stomach had fled and in its place took excitement from doing something even slightly close to wild and dangerous. It wasn't like him at all but he loved it. Suddenly it was like they weren't even in the city – there was nature everywhere! Ino led him through the mess of trees and growth by her hand, and he wanted to know where she was taking them.

It didn't take long before she slowed and looked back at him with an almost shy smile. She pushed herself between some bushes and before Shikamaru had made his way though, he could hear her whisper, "I hope you like it."

When he emerged on the other side, he felt the air sucked out of him. It was beautiful! It was like a picture out of a fairytale. They were overlooking a lake with a clear overhead view of the sky, completely naked for all to see. What had made it even more of a sight was the fireflies; there were hundreds.

Ino settled on one of the many boulders surrounding the area and looked out at her spot. "I found this place a few months ago," she told him, welcoming him to her world, "I had run from," she paused, "a friend and found this. It brings me peace whenever I have a problem, you know? It's the one place that won't let me down, that won't disappoint or judge…" She trailed off and Shikamaru looked back.

What once was a beautiful, strong, confident young woman was a damaged girl who was looking for a piece of solace. He sat on the ground next to the boulder Ino was sitting on and nodded, looking out at the lake, then the sky.

"Tonight, where you found me; that was my place."

Ino smiled. "You know, it gets busy when it's daylight out. You could always come here, you know; if you want. I'll share my place with you."

His brown eyes slowly tore away from the stars, "Why would you share your place with me?"

Blue eyes looked right back at him. "Because I know you could use it."

A comfortable silence settled between the two and both relished it. To just be, and be with someone you can relate to; it was an ease neither had ever felt before. Leaving the place and going back to the real world was hard for both Ino and Shikamaru that night, though neither knew how bad it was for the other.

"I really need to get to the store… I was supposed to quite a while ago," Shikamaru apologized, completely annoyed he even had to go home.

Ino smiled and nodded in understanding. "That's cool. Just come here whenever, alright? Maybe I'll see you around." Her smile evolved to a full grin and Shikamaru realized he wanted nothing more than to see her again. It wasn't that he wanted to be with her in replace of his fiancée, it was just that she understood him. She hadn't tried anything with him, and she was nice. She was a friend.

She showed him the way out and hugged as if to seal their new found friendship, a promise to go again.

Shikamaru didn't bother rushing to the store as he knew Temari would already be asleep. When he got home, he smiled into the darkness of the finally still house and sighed. Putting everything away, he changed out of his clothes and slipped in to bed, not even bothering to send a glance over the woman's way. He fell asleep thinking of the girl and that peace.