Three months had gone by since the breakup and Shikamaru found that he was doing surprisingly well. After the first week he went and collected his items, giving the rented house for Temari to use until she found a suitable place for herself. There weren't any hard feelings between the two, but both found that being apart was for the best and their friendship would have to be put on hold, if they even were to be friends again.

Living with Ino was strange at first but it turned out to be great. She was the perfect roommate and the best friend he had ever had. It wasn't too much longer after he moved in when he recognized that it wasn't the outdoor place that made him happy and that it was her. When he realized that, he made sure to keep that piece of information to himself so things didn't become weird between them, losing her friendship would be too much to risk.

"Hey, Shika!" Ino greeted Shikamaru, who was lounging on their couch, legs up and on the coffee table. She jumped onto the seat next to him and threw her legs over his, leaning back into the arm of the sofa.

Seeing her bright face made his heart jump in his chest and the lazy man cursed the muscle; it had been betraying him even more so than usual. She had become quite the distraction and it was getting hard to concentrate on anything else when she was with him.

"Ino," he grunted in a pathetic welcome, trying his best to keep his cool. This whole thing that was going on with him had made him a little bit weird, though he was vaguely sure Ino probably didn't like it.

The blond tilted her head at him. "What's wrong with you lately?" She asked, scrunching her face.

"Nothing," he replied with a strangled sigh.

Her pretty blue eyes narrowed. "Nothing? C'mon, Shika, it's obviously not 'nothing'. Did I do something wrong?" A frown was adorned on her face and it caused Shikamaru to let out a groan, throwing his head back and shutting his eyes tightly. He really didn't want to go through this right now, it was too much. He just wanted to relax, without any worries. Was that really too much to ask?

At his silence she stiffened. "Oh. I see." Anger and hurt bubbled in her chest and she swung her legs off of him and on the floor. "If you can't even tell me what I did, I guess I'll just go." She huffed and moved to leave. Shikamaru's hand struck out and grabbed her arm firmly to pull her back down. Ino blinked at him, a question clearly there.

"It's not… you," he paused, "It's me."

"Oh great!" She laughed dryly, "I totally believe that! Geez, Shikamaru, that's a pathetic save for someone who's heard it before!" She went to stand again but his hand stopped her once more and her glare couldn't be icier.

"Dammit, Ino!" Shikamaru sighed gruffly and rubbed at his neck. Ino sat there expecting an explanation if she wasn't even allowed to leave. She crossed her arms over his chest while he gathered his thoughts.

"You can be so troublesome sometimes," Shikamaru mumbled. Once again her eyes narrowed and she pouted, looking away.

"Well if that's all you have to say…"

"Would you give me a minute? I just… Wasn't ready." He shuffled in his seat awkwardly and set his feet down to better see her. Ino's curiosity was renewed and she faced him again, arms still crossed and an irritated, slightly hurt look on her face.

"Weren't ready for what?"

"This."

"…This?"

"Would you hold on?" He sent her a short glare and she obliged, face turning pink.

"You've been…" He paused and she held her breath, waiting for him to continue, "Distracting."

"Distracting?"

Shikamaru sent her another glare and she let out a small squeak before slamming her lips together and indicating for him to continue.

"Yes. Distracting. I can't concentrate when you're around me."

Her eye brows furrowed and it took all of her might to stay quiet, not wanting him to stop explaining.

He sighed. "So troublesome… I like you."

Her face was blank. "You… Like me?"

"As troublesome as you are and this is, yeah." This time his face was dusted red while hers remained vacant. "Well if that's it…" He went to stand.

"Sit down!" He did.

She shot to her feet looking very much furious at him. "You've been avoiding me like the plague, hardly even speaking to me, because you like me?!"

He could only stare.

"You, Shikamaru Nara, are an idiot!" Her fists were balled tightly and he was actually scared she'd hit him. Ino spun on her heels, hair flipping, and stormed into her room, ranting on about how clueless, stupid, idiotic, oblivious, and ignorant men were.

Shikamaru was only able to gape at her retreating back wondering what the hell just happened.

In a stupor, he slowly stood. Obviously he'd have to see about what happened otherwise it wouldn't be pleasant living with her until she either got over whatever it was that she was mad at, or blew up at him in the future. He walked to her room, thinking this whole situation was probably not good. When he reached the door, he stood outside of it for a while just thinking on whether it would be a better idea just to pretend the whole thing didn't happen. But of course he couldn't do that, not only was she his roommate, but she was also his best friend. He sighed and knocked.

It took longer than it should have for the door to open and when it did, Shikamaru was faced with one angry Yamanaka.

"What?"

And unfortunately, he hadn't thought about how he would answer that. He stared at her for a while and could almost see the anger grow with each quiet second.

"What's up?" The door slammed on his face and he let his forehead collide with the hard wood. Stupid move, Nara, he thought to himself.

"I'm sorry," he told the door quietly, "Talk to me?"

As soon as he heard the doorknob being twisted, he moved his head and praised his great timing. The door was thrown open and again Ino stared at him, slightly less furious than she was.

"C'mon, talk to me," he urged, "That's what we do."

Her anger slowly simmered down and he could see it before him; her jaw unclenched, her fingers relaxed and her eyes lost their irritation. She sighed and stepped aside so he could enter her purple domain. Ino plopped onto her bed, facing the ceiling and he sat down next to her, watching her with mild amusement.

"You're just an idiot," she told him, refusing to look at him.

"How exactly?"

Sparing him a glance, Ino's cheeks reddened. Her eyes went back to the ceiling. She murmured something softly and her cheeks seemed to ignite.

"What was that?"

"I'm in love with you, you idiot!" She turned over and buried her face into her silky purple pillow, trying in vain to become one with the bed.

Shikamaru stared at her once again blankly, what she said slowly sinking in.

"Oh."

She sighed and turned her head to him looking very bashful. "Go away?"

He arched an eyebrow, "Why would I want to do that?"

"Um, because I feel, you know, stupid?"

"Why? In your words, 'at least it's not unrequited', right?"

She blinked up at him, turning to face him all the way.

"What?"

He smirked. "C'mon, Ino, you're a smart girl, you can figure it out."

Blinking again, she slowly sat up, hope pooling in her eyes.

"You mean…?"

He shrugged and leaned back, watching her reaction.

A grin spread like wildfire on her face before Ino squealed and tackled the man with a hug, making them both fall backwards. Shikamaru couldn't stop his own smile from nearly splitting his face in two. With their arms wrapped around the other, both felt a new completeness that was different to anything they had felt before.

"Shika, you're my best friend." Ino's smiling face shined up at him and once again Shikamaru could feel his heart jump.

"You're mine, too, Ino."

Her grip on him tightened and she hide her beaming face from him, knowing it had to be as red as a tomato.

"You know," she spoke into his shirt, "I think we're supposed to be together."

"Really now?"

She looked up at him, radiating exuberance.

"I do."

He laid a kiss on the top of her head and felt how she pushed closer to him.

"You know, I think I do, too."