She knew Kiba had been lying to her about hanging out with Naruto, but she figured it was for the best. While they had been lying on the river bank, Ino could feel Kiba's eyes trailing up and down her body, and the worst part was that she was actually enjoying it. Shikamaru may have no problem going behind her back, but her conscious sure as hell wasn't even letting her bask in the joy of being noticed by an attractive male that wasn't her husband.
After Kiba had left, she dragged herself half heartedly back up the river to where she had abandoned Kiba's clothes in a heap in the grass. She took her time stepping into his boxers and pulling the over-sized shirt on over her head. As soon as she was dressed, she began her walk home.
"Hey, I'm home," Ino muttered, not expecting a reply and just about dying of a heart attack when she heard a quiet "hey".
She whirled around, clutching her chest in shock when she saw a familiar pineapple headed shinobi waiting for her on the couch.
"Shikamaru!" she gasped. "You scared the shit out of me!"
He didn't say anything, just stared at her with those black eyes burning like charcoal. She fidgeted where she stood, her back pressed against the door and her arms behind her back.
"How was your day?"
"Obviously not as good as yours," he said, nodding towards her body. She looked down and cringed. She had forgotten she was still wearing Kiba's clothes.
"It's not what you think," Ino began.
"Really?" He growled, finally easing himself off of the couch. He took a few steps towards her and Ino crinkled her nose at him. He stunk of alcohol. "Then what is it? Because I'm thinking a lot of things right now."
Ino nervously began toying with her hair, rapidly twirling it with her pointer finger.
"Who's clothes are you wearing, Ino?" He demanded. His voice was raised slightly and Ino shook under the weight of it. She began combing through her hair, avoiding his eyes.
"Where were you? I've been so worried. Do you know how it feels to sit around in an empty house, wondering where the hell your wife is?"
His words made something inside of Ino snap. Her eyes flew to lock with his and she glared at him. "Excuse me?"
"I've been up all morning worrying about you," he said, clenching his jaw.
"Trust me, I know how that feels," she snapped. "I've got a year of experience."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Shikamaru looked taken aback at her words. She had been the quiet housewife her mother had been wanting her to be for so long, he probably wasn't expecting to see this Ino again any time soon.
"I'm always waiting around for you. What are you doing during all those late nights out? Why are you always late for dinner?" She poked his chest with her well manicured finger. "How come you don't even bat an eye at me until I come home late in another man's clothes?"
He glared down at her.
"Maybe the better question is, what bothers you more, Shikamaru? The fact that I'm out late with another man, or the fact that I'm not at home waiting up for you?"
She watched as her words sunk in. His smoldering eyes slowly began to fade as though someone had gone in and smothered the fire inside of them. He licked his lips, nodded, and blinked a few times. For a moment, Ino thought he might cry.
He looked above her, avoiding her eyes. " 'You fucking him?"
Ino shook her head. "No."
Shikamaru nodded slowly, folding his arms over his chest and staring at the floor. "Look, when I..."
Ino raised an eye brow, waiting for him to finish.
"When I go out..." He began. Ino's eyes widened. Was he going to confide in her? Would he finally tell her why he had been ignoring her for so long? Why he refused to be her friend anymore? Why they never laughed or smiled or teased each other like they used to? "When I go out, I guess it's only fair that I let you go out too. Just, please tell me where you're going. I really was worried about you, Ino."
He looked up at her, his eyes were gleaming with tears that he was obviously trying to hold back. It wasn't the confession she had been hoping for, but it hit her just as hard. Ino felt the familiar sting of tears in her eyes as well, only she allowed hers to fall down her cheeks. She stepped forward and threw her arms around his neck. The impact blew the smell of cigarettes, alcohol, and cologne into her face but she didn't care. She let out a sob as the warmth of his arms curled around her waist.
"I'm sorry," she sniffled. "I'll try to be better."
It had been nearly two weeks since Ino had argued with Shikamaru. Since then, both of them had stuck around the house more and were actually getting along fairly well-much to Ino's surprise.
Ino would cook dinner, and Shikamaru would wash the dishes. They would sit together playing Shogi and Go and, on a few occasions, Shikamaru would even let Ino win. However, the contentment that had blossomed throughout their home soon began to dwindle. Ino would lie awake for hours, wishing for the warmth she had felt on that couch so many nights ago. Although she was enjoying the bits and pieces of friendship Shikamaru had been offering her, she longed for how it felt to have eyes crawling up and down her body. She missed the sensation of those slitted pupils tracing the curves of her body, making her tingle all over. Not only was Shikamaru unable to supply Ino with the love and attention that she wanted, but he also began going out more again. It wasn't as bad as it used to be, but it was enough to get her attention. Despite this, Ino refused to start arguments with him. Instead, she figured, it was time to see an old friend about some training and channel her anger into something useful.
A/N: 2 short chapters=1 big one, right? This stuffs 'bout to get good :) I got so much planned for the remainder of the plot. Oh, the drama :) Lucky for you guys, I love putting my characters through Hell and back so, sit back and (hopefully) enjoy. As always, reviews, questions, comments-"all are welcome" (hopefully someone out there gets that Poltergeist reference :P) thanks to all for the comments and questions and for the awesome ideas :)