Thanks to these people for reviewing: LadyofMist92, dumdeedum, LB Cat (missed seeing you around, hi again!), Angel Maria 15, and Saamon. I dont have time to reply, but I cherish all of you.

oOo

"You're getting married, and you didn't tell me?" Ino stomped up to Shikamaru where he slouched in a hospital chair.

The receptionist frowned at Ino's volume. The only other shinobi in the waiting room looked very interested in this conversation.

Shikamaru groaned while carefully adjusting the position of his swollen leg. "In my defense," he rasped past his slightly crushed windpipe, "I didn't know either."

Ino crossed her arms and glared down at him. "What's wrong with you?"

He let his head loll backwards despite how it pulled at his abused neck muscles. "Want an itemized list?"

She tapped her foot for a few seconds before grabbing his elbow and hauling him to his feet. "I'm taking him," she announced to the receptionist.

"He's overdue for a physical," he called back.

Ino raised an eyebrow at Shikamaru. "Afraid of the prostate exam?"

The shinobi in the corner collapsed into laughter.

Shikamaru cleared his throat and regretted it immediately when pain stabbed through it.

Ino continued, solely for the entertainment of the eavesdroppers. "Many men like fingers up their ass," she announced gravely.

Shikamaru let his leg give out on him and started slowly sinking to the ground.

"You big baby," she scolded before Body Flickering them away.

oOo

She kept a tight grip on him as they appeared in front of a small restaurant. Shikamaru sighed because this was Choji's favorite place, and they never came without him.

Ino marched them towards a semi-private booth in the back, and shoved Shikamaru in a corner.

"Hey Choji," Shikamaru coughed.

Choji held an opaque glass that smelled of beer and raised it in greeting.

Ino held glowing green hands around Shikamaru's throat when the waitress came for their orders. She ordered for the both of them and Shikamaru did not bother to argue when she got him his most hated dish.

"So," Ino said once she finished with the lengthy repair on his throat. "Marriage. Go."

Shikamaru shrugged then sucked in a breath when her fingers tightened on his shin. "Are you healing it or rebreaking it, woman?"

"I can heal it and then I can rebreak it until I run out of chakra," she said sweetly.

"Is your mom trying to keep you from being lonely, or is this a clan requirement?" Choji asked quietly.

Shikamaru hissed as the bone in his leg re-knit itself. "Clan requirement. Everyone was willing to let me be when I was dating Temari."

"But it's been a year since you broke up," Ino observed.

"Yeah," he sighed. "I ran out of time to find someone else."

"Not that you were looking," she said.

Shikamaru glared at his friend. "I've been busy with other things."

"What other things?" Ino leaned in close, her blue eyes sharp as her nails.

The waitress jingled the bell at her waist to warn them she was close. Ino stopped looming and chatted pleasantly with the waitress as she set down their drinks and food.

Choji took up the conversation. "Hyuga Hinata, huh?"

Shikamaru slouched over his plate and half-heartedly poked at the tofu Ino served him. "Yeah."

"I wonder what kind of court fashion she'll bring," Ino said. "I can't wait to talk to her. She was always so quiet as a kid. Do you think she'll be like that again?"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Compared to you, everyone's quiet, Ino."

Ino scoffed while Choji smirked.

Shikamaru picked at some greens and chewed while he thought. "I'm gonna be busy. She might like a friend to talk to."

Ino paused mid-bite. "You're going to keep going on missions?" she demanded.

Shikamaru bit back a curse and tensed his jaw as he prepared for Ino's nagging. Ino opened her mouth to do so, but Choji calmly set down his chopsticks on their holder. Both Ino and Shikamaru straightened their spines. Choji never stopped eating.

After he patted his mouth clean with a napkin, he began to speak in a low, serious voice that filled their little niche and rang with authority. "Hyuga Hinata was a member of the Daimyo's court. Her whole life was planned out and she wanted for nothing. Her impending marriage to the prince not only restored her own honor after being retired but restored the honor of her clan as well.

"By marrying you, Shikamaru, she is risking everything. If this does not work out, she is losing everything. Her status, her honor, her future. Do not set her up to fail, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru gritted his teeth. "You don't understand-"

"You're taking solo missions so you can go AWOL and investigate who assassinated your father. But you have to finish the mission on time or else you'll be formally reprimanded. You're burning yourself out, you're hardly sleeping, you make stupid mistakes, and you keep getting your ass beat." Choji announced.

His voice bounced weirdly around Shikamaru's head, alerting him to the silencing jutsu Choji cast. Ino gripped the table so tightly the wood creaked under her hands. Her face looked like thunder gathering on the horizon.

Shikamaru regretted his position in the corner.

"Why didn't you ask us to help?" Ino asked finally.

"How did you know?" Shikamaru asked Choji instead. "When even Ino didn't?"

Choji shook his head. He looked disappointed, which speared deeper than Shikamaru would like to admit.

"I'm not saying you have to involve a civilian. But you should at least take some time off to learn about her. She might be able to keep the clan off your back while you investigate. Your father would understand," Choji murmured.

"Ino, let me out." Shikamaru demanded.

"Shika…" she pleaded.

"Move."

She did so and let him leave.

oOo

Shikamaru stumbled home on his too-new leg bone. When he stopped outside his compound and pulled out a cigarette, he noticed his hands shaking. He clenched them into fists.

Getting revenge for Asuma had been easy, compared to this. But avenging his father and protecting his clan was proving too complicated. And now he would have to worry about keeping his civilian wife safe as well. If she died under his care, he would never forgive himself.

"Shit," he mumbled around his cigarette.

oOo

Coming up: Shikamaru and Hinata finally meet.

Word count: 1027 because I had too many things to say and not enough time to make cuts.

*Note: I'm gonna be taking a tiny break from this fic. I'll be back in May. :)