The trek towards Choji's apartment was depressing, to say the least. Neither Shikamaru nor Ino uttered a single word as they walked in silence towards the Akimichi residence, leaving about 4 feet of room between each other. However, as soon as they knocked on the door and Choji appeared before them, everyone was all smiles.

"Shikamaru! Ino! You guys made it!" Choji sounded mildly surprised.

"Hey, Choji," Ino stepped forward and planted a kiss on her old friend's cheek. He blushed and a goofy grin formed on his lips. Shikamaru seemed unfazed at the obvious display of affection.

"Hey," Shikamaru said, the faintest hint of a smile forming on his lips as he stepped up to embrace Choji. Ino tried to ignore the fact that she was more jealous when Shikamaru had voluntarily spoken to Choji than Shikamaru was when she had kissed Choji. She turned away as her old teammates began to speak to one another, catching up on each other's lives.

She was suddenly wishing she hadn't come to the party at all. She didn't want to be reminded all night that her husband would willingly speak to everyone else, but that she had to practically pull teeth just to get the time of day from him.

Bobbing her head around in an attempt to search through the throng of guests, Ino noticed plenty of people here were strangers to her while many more were some of her old friends. They now seemed barely recognizable. Had it really been that long?

"Shikamaru!" Ino recognized that voice anywhere. Naruto.

She followed Shikamaru through the mass of people and towards the direction of where Naruto had beckoned them over. When they reached the spiky-haired shinobi, Shikamaru jumped right into a conversation, excluding her once more.

"Ino?" A soft voice uttered her name. Ino turned towards it and her stare was met by the jade eyes of her pink-haired friend, Sakura Haruno.

"Hey there, billboard brow," Ino teased in a gentle voice, her smile softening.

Sakura grinned back. "Pig."

The two kunoichis giggled at their old antics. As they spoke, Ino felt her heart flutter with joy. She had completely forgotten how wonderful it felt to speak with another girl, and it was great being able to speak to Sakura again. She was such an old friend that as soon as they began talking, they couldn't stop and it seemed as though almost no time had passed between them at all.

Ino told Sakura all about the married life. She tried her best to make it sound more exciting than it actually was. Even though Sakura obviously wasn't buying into Ino's charade, she still nodded her head and raised her eye brows as Ino spoke, careful not to hurt Ino's pride. It was then that Sakura updated Ino on the status of the village, shared the highlights of some of her latest missions, and finished up with her confession that, although she had told Naruto that this night out was not a date, she was excited to deliver a good-night kiss to him when he dropped her off at home.

Ino smiled and laughed, but inwardly, she couldn't help but feel slightly envious of the rosette. She was single and able to pick and choose who she wanted to chase after. Ino missed that privilege and felt guilty that she had ever taken that freedom for granted.

Stealing a glance at Shikamaru, Ino's heart took off and began to race. He was smiling. Genuinely smiling. Choji and Naruto were horsing around with him and it was apparent that he was actually enjoying himself. It was the first time Ino had seen that smile in months, and she couldn't help but smile back, overjoyed that her friends were happy.

"Shikamaru, hey. We missed you, man," a raucous voice entered the circle of friends.

Everyone turned to see Kiba Inuzuka sauntering towards them, hands in his pockets and the usual arrogant smirk on his face. Ino frowned at the sight of him. She knew that these four guys had been friends at the academy, but she couldn't stand Kiba. Ever since that day when she had slapped his face and left him in the dust she had hated him. He was only after one thing from girls. Not to mention he was haughty and rude. What was he doing here?

Probably only came here because a party means hot, single girls to prey on, she thought.

As he approached their little circle, he caught her eye and his expression turned somber. A shiver ran down her spine and suddenly she felt horribly vulnerable, like he had stripped her completely naked. He seemed to be looking passed her eyes and into her thoughts. She shook the feeling away and glared right back at him, refusing to let this mongrel get to her. When he finally looked away, his face became cheerful again and he went right back to being the same pompous douche as before. The guys began to chatter amongst themselves.

"Whoa. What was that about?" Sakura muttered.

Ino didn't meet her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Sakura's mouth dropped open with disbelief. "You're kidding, right? It's like lightning passed between you two. That look he gave you was…I don't even know. But that look you gave him…well, if looks could kill, he'd have dropped dead just now."

Ino snorted and rolled her eyes. "He just annoys me. That's all."

Sakura sniggered and began speaking again, something about how she understood completely and went into one of her tirades about Naruto and how annoying he could be. As Sakura spoke, Ino would occasionally peek at Kiba out of the corner of her eye.

Despite her hatred towards him, she couldn't help but admit how gorgeous he was. He'd always been an attractive guy, but puberty had suited him very well. He was taller now and still sported the red fang markings on his cheeks, a trademark of the Inuzuka clan. He was tanned and muscular, his hair tousled and soft. She wanted to run her fingers through it. Basically every part of him was just…well, hot. She could see why so many girls had succumbed to his boyish charm.

It's too bad he was such an asshole. I actually really liked him.

At some point, he turned slightly and their eyes locked once more. Ino blushed furiously but continued to stare him down.

But he was an asshole. Besides, you love your husband. You love your life.

She repeated this thought in her head. She forced her thoughts to project through her eyes so that Kiba could see it too. So she would stop feeling like he could look inside of her and know it was all a lie. She just wanted him to stop looking at her like that.

Their staring contest was finally interrupted by Sakura, who pulled Ino away in search of more alcohol. Ino let herself be dragged away, only breaking their gaze when Kiba suddenly grinned and winked at her.

He's such a tool.

Ino watched silently as Sakura began downing beers. "I need to lose my inhibitions tonight. I need to be brave enough to make my move or else I might not get another chance. Maybe you should drink some too, Ino. You said Shikamaru just returned from Suna, right? Have you two 'celebrated' his return yet?"

Ino scrunched up her nose in disgust. "Sakura, don't talk like that."

Sakura looked genuinely surprised. "He's your husband, Ino. Calm down. It's normal."

Ino ignored her and grabbed a couple of bottles, studying them cautiously. Maybe Sakura had a point. Maybe their marriage wasn't all that bad. Maybe she just wasn't trying hard enough. She popped open the bottle and began to chug.

It didn't take long before Ino was grinning from ear-to-ear. It was during her seventh bottle that Shikamaru came over and cut her off.

"Troublesome," he growled as he supported her so she wouldn't fall flat on her face.

"She reeks."

Through her drunken stupor, Ino recognized Temari glaring down at her in Shikamaru's arms.

"Yeah? Well, I've been drinkin'. What's yer excuse?" Ino laughed hysterically and Temari's face curled into a sour expression and her cheeks began to glow pink.

"I'm sorry, Temari. We'll have to meet up again another time," Shikamaru bid her good-bye and proceeded to guide Ino to their home.

Once they'd stumbled inside, the first thing Shikamaru did was lead Ino into their bedroom and lay her down on the bed. As he turned around to grab Ino's pajamas from the dresser, Ino began to idly undress and then spread her arms and legs wide open. When Shikamaru faced her once more, he stared down at her body. His face flushed and he looked down at the shirt in his hands.

"Ino, what are you doing?" His voice came out gruff and he swallowed, trying to get rid of the dryness in his mouth.

"Don't you love me anymore?" Ino slurred, her eyes were half shut and she tried to focus in on the man standing before her. He looked torn, like he was trying to decide what to do with her. Seeing him in the moonlight, she couldn't help but notice how much older he looked. The death of those around him had really taken its toll. He looked miserable in the darkness. Like a frightened, withered old man.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Shikamaru finally stepped towards her. Gently, he lifted her by her shoulders and pulled the oversized shirt over her body and tugged until it fell to her thighs. He then lay her back down and draped the blanket over her, brushing his hand against her cheek. She noticed how rough the calloused palm felt. He had the hands of a man who had worked all his life, despite him acting so lazy all of the time.

"Why don't you love me, Shika?" Ino murmured. Soon, the room filled with her soft breathing as she drifted to sleep.

Shikamaru stared in silence at his bride, lost in thought.

"I don't know, Ino," his voice was trembling. He pulled himself off of the bed and leaned down to give his wife a peck on her forehead. Moments later, he exited the room, leaving her to sleep to her heart's content.