Author's Note: Just a short story I've had in my mind for a long time that I finally got down to finishing. Hope you enjoy! Don't forget to review! I enjoy reading feedback. :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea.

Title: Missing Flowers
Genre: Romance
Rating: T
Pairing(s): ShikaIno
Summary: Ino was suspicious when Shikamaru suddenly decided to help out at her floral shop, but she didn't have time to worry about that. Her flowers were getting stolen by a mysterious thief!

The bell echoed throughout the room as the door to Yamanaka Flowers swung open.

"Ino! You in here?" Shikamaru asked, his hands shoved in his pockets as he took a few steps inside.

"I'm the back!" he heard her yell in response.

He nodded at the information, walking towards the storage room. It was a large greenhouse connected to her store where every type of flower was assorted and labeled neatly. The floral scent easily filled the room, leading Shikamaru to conclude why Ino always smelled like flowers whenever she came to train with the rest of Team 10.

When he reached the entrance, he casually leaned against the doorway. Ino was bent over, shifting the soil with her hands around the flowers she had just planted in a vase. When she finished, she stood straight and sighed, wiping the sweat from her brow as she brushed her blonde bangs back with the back of her hand. She smiled as the sun rays streamed through the glass, giving the room a heavenly glow.

Sensing Shikamaru's presence, the blonde glanced over at him. "What brings you here, Shikamaru?" Ino asked as she walked over to a nearby sink, twisting the faucet open as she rinsed the dirt from her hands.

"Do you need any help with the flower shop?" drawled Shikamaru.

Ino tilted her head at the question. "Not really, but a pair of extra hands doesn't hurt," she said. However she couldn't fight the skepticism that was creeping into her mind as she lifted an eyebrow, placing a hand on her hip as she leaned her weight against one leg. "But why would you want to help me? You're the laziest guy I know."

Shikamaru brushed off the comment with a shrug. "Asuma-sensei told me I have what it takes to be Hokage, and in order to understand what that's like, I need a position to understand responsibility. He wanted me to intern with Tsunade, but I figured something else would be easier."

"So you picked my flower shop?" she asked inquisitively.

Shikamaru nodded. "I figure all you have to do is water them every now and then and just wait for them to grow. Doesn't seem too hard."

He watched Ino smile and shake her head at his reason. "Some things never change," she muttered with a soft laugh. Even at nineteen years old, Shikamaru was still as lazy as ever. "Fine, you can help me," Ino said. "Shop opens at eight and closes at five. I expect you to be here on time, or I'll tell Asuma-sensei where you're really spending your 'responsibility' training."

Shikamaru grumbled at her terms, but accepted them nonetheless. "Fine, fine," he mumbled.

"Good!" Ino chirped. She picked up an idle towel and dried her hands before placing it aside. Then she placed her hands on her hips. "I'm pretty much done for the day, so I'll see you tomorrow, okay Shika-kun?"

Said male nodded as the pair left Yamanaka Flowers.

A few weeks later…

"Shikamaru! I need a dozen Baby's Breaths!"

The spiky-haired shinobi snorted when he awoke from his nap. He sat slumped against a chair, his head leaning against the wall before he lifted it and glanced around the room. He was in the storage room while Ino was in the main shop, tending to a customer.

"Shikamaru! Did you hear me?" Ino's voice called again, flashing a quick smile towards the customer before glaring at the backroom.

She turned around when he came into view, groggily slumping his shoulders as he rubbed his eye and yawned. "What did you say?" he asked.

"Are you sleeping again?" Ino asked, frustration evident in her tone. She sighed, shaking her head. "Just step aside. I'll get them."

She brushed by him as he stepped aside for her. After a few moments, she returned with the flowers in hand.

"Sorry for the wait," she said with an apologetic smile as she handed the flowers to the customer. "Thank you for shopping at Yamanaka Flowers!"

The customer nodded and left the store.

Ino turned, hands on her hips as she glowered at her teammate. "Shikamaru, I thought you came here to help me, not use the shop as a place to sleep!" the blonde scolded.

Shikamaru stuck his finger in his ear at her loud voice. "Calm down," he replied coolly. "I only dozed off for five minutes."

"Liar!" she screeched back. She let out an aggravated sigh as she ran a hand through her hair. "What am I going to do with you?" she mumbled to herself as she walked into the storage room.

"You're overreacting," drawled the shinobi, letting out a long yawn.

"I am not!" replied the feisty blonde. "You've hardly helped me the past few weeks. I don't even know why I thought having you here would be a good idea."

"Hey, I have helped you," retorted Shikamaru. "I've been watering the flowers."

"No, you watered the flowers. Once. Two weeks ago. And you only watered one vase!" Ino crossed her arms and huffed. Her eyes darted to the clock before she turned around and walked towards the back room. She returned with a pen and a paper attached to a clipboard. "The shop's going to close soon. If you want to redeem yourself for your lack of help, you can check the inventory and write down how many flowers we have of each type. Each flower is labeled, so it shouldn't be too hard."

"Inventory?" groaned Shikamaru.

Ino scowled, shoving the clipboard and pen into his arms. "Hey, it's either this or go intern with Tsunade-sama. Your choice."

The spiky-haired ninja let out a hefty sigh. "Fine."

The blonde nodded. "That's what I thought. I'll leave you to it. The keys are underneath the counter. I expect you to lock up the store when you're done." Following her orders, she turned on her heel to leave.

Shikamaru arched a brow. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going home," she quipped back. "Unlike you, I've been working all day." When she reached the door, she looked over her shoulder and winked. "Ciao!"

The shop's bell rang when she closed the door. Shikamaru watched her blonde hair bounce behind her as she walked until she was out of sight. He sighed, glimpsing over the inventory sheet Ino had given him. It listed all the types of flowers in the shop followed by a number beside it, then a blank line beside the number for any changes in stock.

Dark charcoal eyes swept the room briefly. "Looks the same to me," he muttered to himself before marking down the same number beside each flower type. He placed the clipboard back in the room Ino had retrieved it from, picked up the keys from beneath the counter and locked the shop.

"Shikamaru! Six dozen daisies just arrived for stock, make sure to mark it down in the inventory!"

Shikamaru jumped at the sound of his teammate's voice. The clipboard and pen that had been resting against his chest fell to the floor with a clang as the pen rolled under a nearby cabinet that hung against the wall. The lazy man groaned, rubbing his eye with his hand as he stretched and released a long yawn.

Ino walked into the room with a watering pale in her hand. "Did you hear me, Shikamaru?"

The shinobi nodded. "Yeah, two dozen roses—"

"Six dozen daises—"

"Yeah, I got it, I got it."

Ino raised an eyebrow skeptically but didn't reply. She walked down the aisles of flowers, watering each one and refilling the watering pale when it ran low.

Shikamaru watched her for a few moments before he lowered himself to the floor and reached under the cabinet for the pen. When he found it, he wrote what Ino had told him, then placed the clipboard aside. He resumed his seat on his chair and crossed his arms behind his head, tilting the chair as he leaned backwards. He took a deep breath through his nose and closed his eyes.

"Oh? What's this?"

The spiky-haired ninja opened an eye upon hearing his teammate's voice. "What?" he asked.

"A client just ordered three dozen Jasmines for a baby shower next week, and there's only a couple flowers here!" Ino's eyebrows knitted together when she lifted her sky blue eyes and looked at Shikamaru. "I thought we had enough so I told her it'd be ready in two days!" She hustled towards the lazy man and grabbed the clipboard from his hands. She flipped through a few pages. "Yeah, here it is! 'Jasmines – 30 count.'" Ino's eyes narrowed as she looked at Shikamaru. "Have you even been checking inventory? At all?"

Shikamaru frowned. "I have been, actually. You should work on that tone of yours."

"Oh really?" replied Ino, placing a hand on her hip. "When's the last time you checked?"

"Yesterday," he answered simply.

Ino pursed her lips but didn't reply. Shikamaru may have been a lot of things, but he wasn't a liar, and she wasn't going to accuse him of lying without hard evidence.

"Fine," she finally said. "I'll just reorder the flowers and push the delivery date back. But you know what this means, don't you?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "There's a thief stealing my flowers!"

Shikamaru sighed. "Ino, they're just flowers—"

Ino glared. "They're not just flowers! They're Yamanaka flowers! They're quality and clearly someone thinks they can rip me off without noticing!"

"You're overreacting."

"Oh really? Then how else do you explain about two dozen flowers just vanishing after one night—that is, if you did check inventory last night." When Shikamaru didn't reply, Ino continued, "You see! Clearly someone's stealing my flowers!"

She turned on her heel and began to storm out of the room.

"Where are you going?" asked Shikamaru, his tone exhausted.

"You'll see!" the blonde beauty replied in a singsong voice.

"There," Ino said, hopping off the ladder to admire her handiwork. Shikamaru stood beside her, his hands shoved in his pockets as he leaned casually against the wall.

The small security camera beeped as it came to light, a small red light flashing in the upper hand corner.

"This way, I'll have solid proof of who's been stealing my flowers!" the blonde said triumphantly, beaming a proud smile with hands on her hips.

However, after a few days, Ino had still not found a solution to her problem. She checked the tapes after each day, a frown continuously marring her pretty face when she would see no one on camera. She voiced her complaints to Shikamaru, who listened half-heartedly and said nothing to calm her.

"Look here, see!" said Ino. "There are a few lilies missing! Lilies, Shikamaru!"

The man poked his finger in his ear, scratching the inside as he followed Ino's gaze. "There's only a few missing," he remarked languidly.

The woman shook her head. "Even stealing one is too much," she replied. "Especially my lilies. They're one of my most popular items! Not to mention one of my favorites…"

"Maybe something's wrong with the camera."

Ino tapped her chin thoughtfully before shaking her head. "No, we live in a town of shinobi, it's not that hard to dodge a camera." She fell silent for a moment as she pondered before she hit her fist against the other, a smile spreading across her face at her resolution. "I got it!" she exclaimed. "I'll just wait here, and catch the thief red-handed with my own eyes!"

Shikamaru stared at her for a few moments, looking at the fiery determination lighting her sky blue eyes before shaking his head. After all, he knew his teammate long enough to know that when she set her mind to something, nothing would deter her determination. That, and she was as stubborn as a mule.

The following day, Shikamaru thought Ino was almost too giddy for night to come, watching her have an usual bounce in her step as she attended to the customers. However he didn't pay much attention, as the temptation of sleep called to him, and who was he to resist?

Luckily for Ino, night had fallen quickly that day, darkening the sky as the stars twinkled in the darkness above.

The blonde woman was perched in the corner of her ship, waiting patiently as the shadows masked her appearance. She would be lying if she said she wasn't getting tired, bored or restless, staying crouched in the same position for a few hours.

However her attention snapped wide-awake when she heard the bell from the front door of her shop ring as the door opened.

This is it! she thought to herself, crouching even lower as she stealthily remained hidden. She listened intently to a pair of footsteps approaching the greenhouse, and once she heard them come to a stop, she jumped out and pointed an accusing finger, yelling, "Got you!"

She flicked on the lights and her jaw slacked when she was greeted with the sight of none other than her teammate, Shikamaru. She raised an elegant eyebrow, her expression perplexed as her tense shoulders loosened.

"Shika-kun? What are you doing here?" she asked.

The man was unfazed. "Checking inventory," he replied simply, as though it were the most obvious answer in the world.

"But the shop is closed," Ino answered.

"I fell asleep," he said. He ignored Ino's heated glare and continued, "I didn't need you getting on my case about it in the morning so here I am."

The blonde beauty narrowed her sky blue eyes suspiciously, pondering the thought for a moment. She had found him asleep earlier that day, but since he had been helping her out more than usual (ever since her flowers had started disappearing, actually), she decided to let him rest.

Rationalizing the sensible reason in her head, Ino nodded. "Okay, go ahead," she said.

Shikamaru's gaze lingered on his teammate for a few moments before he glanced around the aisles and mentally took count. Ino had lowered herself as she sat against the floor and rested against the wall.

About ten minutes later, Shikamaru counted the last of the flowers, did a few equations in his head, and finished marking down his findings on the inventory sheet. He placed the clipboard and pen back where he found it and headed towards Ino to tell her he finished.

However he never had a chance to tell her he was done because when he did find her, she was resting soundly against the wall, taking small, even breaths.

Shikamaru shook his head at the sight, muttering to himself how she probably worn herself out waiting for her "flower thief." He leaned forward and attempted to pick her up to take her to her home, but he found himself having difficulty trying to move her. She wasn't as easy to move as he had thought.

He glanced at the night sky, figuring the sun would rise in a few hours, and Ino can be incredibly cranky if she is woken from her sleep. Seeing that it was late, and he knew he was too lazy to try any harder, the spiky-haired shinobi took a seat beside the blonde.

One knee was bent and he rested an arm against the bent knee casually. His dark eyes gave a side-glance to his teammate, noting how peaceful she slept.

Ino was a beautiful girl, she had always been a beautiful girl, but as she grew older, her beauty only grew, as soon she became one of the most stunning women in the town. But after seeing her face so peaceful, with the moonlight streaming against her pale skin… not even Shikamaru, who normally turned a blind eye to these kinds of things, could deny that his teammate—his loudmouthed, noisy, annoying teammate—looked quite lovely resting against the wall as she slept.

He had begun to close his eyes when he saw the woman stir beside him. He watched carefully and remained perfectly still as she turned around and leaned to the other side, causing her head to land against his shoulder. She apparently found his shoulder more comfortable against the wall as a content sigh escaped her lips.

Shikamaru eyed her for a moment, but didn't move away. Ino was a terrible morning person, especially if she was woken in the wee hours of the morning. He was too content with the silence to want to deal with her shrilly yells for waking her up anyway.

So, instead of adjusting himself away from her, Shikamaru closed his eyes, leaned his head back against the wall, and fell asleep too.

Brilliant rays of sunshine streamed into the greenhouse the following morning.

Sky blue eyes groggily opened as she found herself leaning against a warm body. She lifted her head and looked to her right, blushing when she found Shikamaru sleeping like a log beside her, and blushing even darker when she realized that she must have dozed off when he was checking inventory, and somehow ended up falling asleep on him.

Just as she was going to adjust herself away from him, she noticed Shikamaru's face so peaceful as he slept. It was different from his usual bored, lazy expression, and Ino had to admit it was a pleasant change.

She shook her head to dismiss her thoughts. This was her comrade of seven years, why was she thinking that in the first place? She stood up and brushed herself off, walking briskly to the front of her shop as she opened it, pushing any further thoughts to the back of her mind as she smiled and greeted her first customer.

A few weeks later…

Ino slumped her shoulders and exhaled a long, defeated sigh. Seeing this, Shikamaru eyed her curiously.

"I give up," she breathed. "My flowers are still going missing, little by little, and even with everything I try, they still keep going missing!"

And she had tried a lot, too. She asked Sakura for types of poisonous herbs (such as poison ivy) to put as fertilizer to try and ward off whoever would touch her flowers, but that quickly failed when her and Shikamaru developed rashes. Then she asked Shino for some of his bug friends to ward off any intruders (and she tried her best not to shudder at the idea of his creepy, crawly friends) but that didn't work either.

She even asked Kiba if she could borrow Akamaru as a guard dog, but the next morning she found the dog chewing heartily on a bone and realized that venture was another failure to add to the list.

Seeing her crushed state, Shikamaru piped in, "You know, the training I was supposed to be doing with Tsunade is supposed to end by the end of the week. So I won't need to come to your shop anymore."

However his statement seemed to fall on deaf ears as Ino continued to worry about her flowers.

Seeing her concern, the spiky-haired man frowned. "Listen, Ino," he said, finally getting the girl's attention as she looked at him. He sighed heavily and scratched the back of his head. "I'll help you find your missing flowers, but after the end of the week, after I don't have to come and work at this shop anymore."

He saw Ino's eyes light up at the idea, clearly excited at the idea of having Shikamaru's ingenuity help her with her problem.

"Really, Shika-kun?" she asked, and seeing him nod, she beamed a brilliant grin at him. She almost knocked him over when she latched her arms around his neck, squeezing him tightly. "Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you! You're the best!"

Shikamaru sighed again, patting her back lightly. "Yeah, yeah."

At the end of the week, Ino had to use all her might to not ask Shikamaru what he had planned. She had been asking him too many times that week, and he had told her that she would find out tomorrow, and to give it a rest before he changed his mind. So, with great difficulty, she kept her loud mouth shut, all the while wondering what he was cooking in that big brain of his.

She still had this wonder the following day as Ino unlocked the doors to her shop, walking inside and turning on the lights. She inhaled the fresh scent of the flowers before she turned around and gasped, her keys slipping from her hand as they fell idly to the floor.

On the sales counter was a thick bouquet of flowers. Upon closer inspection, she saw that the bouquet was an assortment of lilies, jasmines and lavenders. She blinked her eyes several times at the sight. She couldn't believe it, all the flowers that had grown missing were right in front of her very eyes! She picked the flowers up and brought them under her nose, inhaling the sweet scent. She sighed contently before she heard a rustle in the back of the store, where the greenhouse was.

Immediately her guard came up as she clutched the stems of the flowers tightly in her hand. Her sky blue eyes narrowed warily as she walked to the back, only for her guard to drop when she met the sight of Shikamaru holding a watering pale as he watered a few of the flowers.

"Shika-kun?" said Ino before her eyebrows furrowed together, putting two and two together. "You've been stealing my flowers?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "You got me," he replied nonchalantly.

"But… I…" she stumbled. "That's why you were here late that one night…" The blonde beauty lifted her eyes from the ground as she looked at her teammate, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Wait a minute, so you weren't taking inventory like you said! I was right!"

Shikamaru shook his head. "No, I was. I just lied."

Ino slapped her forehead, then slumped her shoulders. Still holding the bouquet of flowers, she eyed them before realization made her sky blue eyes grow wide. "Wait a minute…" she began, "these… are my favorite types of flowers."

"Yeah," Shikamaru mumbled, placing the water pale aside as he shoved both his hands in his pocket and stood a few feet away from her.

A breathtaking smile curved Ino's lips. "So you were listening when I was telling Asuma-sensei about my favorite kinds of flowers, huh?" Her smile grew wider. "That's so sweet if you!"

Shikamaru clicked his tongue, ducking his head away as a light blush dusted his cheeks. "Yeah, whatever," he muttered. Ino giggled at his apparent shyness. She watched him bend his arm behind his head, his fingers scratching his hair as he said, "Listen, I'm going to go eat at Ichiraku or something. You should come with me."

Ino quirked a brow as an amused smile played on her lips. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

Shikamaru sighed, scratched his head, mumbled a few words to himself and kicked an imaginary rock on the floor.

Another giggle escaped Ino's lips. She took a deep whiff of the flowers she was holding and gave her teammate a dazzling smile. "I would love to," she replied, walking over to Shikamaru and giving him a peck on the cheek.

Shikamaru nodded and Ino placed the bouquet of flowers in a nice glass vase before heading back to the spiky-haired shinobi. She wound her arm through his as Shikamaru lead her out of the flower shop.

"You know…" Ino began, causing the man beside her to look at her curiously. "You are going to pay for my flowers, right?"

He sent her a flat look and Ino laughed loudly, playfully smacking him on the shoulder.

"Fine then, employee discount," she said, ignoring the deadpan look he shot at her as her laughter rang throughout the pathway.