Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters, Masashi Kishimoto does.

Temari had been fuming when she slammed the door shut behind her husband and son. It was the third time this week they had paid her no mind when she had called for them. While many might think her reaction was harsh, Temari was sick and tired of feeling dismissed in her own home.

She loved the boys, she truly did, but she had once been the strongest kunoichi in her home village, Sunagakure, and now she felt useless. She enjoyed her work as a chunin proctor, but it wasn't enough. She missed her days of missions and danger, of being needed and valued.

Now, she couldn't even get her own family to listen to her. Shikadai tunes her out every time she scolds him, Shikamaru is indifferent to absolutely everything, and her family thinks she's nagging and troublesome.

She had never dared to say it before, but now as the angry tears streamed down her face, she allowed herself to be honest.

She was unhappy.

She wasn't sure exactly when it had happened. When she had gone from in love and fulfilled to frustrated and empty…

Temari sat on her bed, willing the tears to stop. She wasn't a crier; she was stronger than that. She WAS the strongest kunoichi. She had only needed to remind herself of that.

She furiously wiped at the wet trails left on her face and without hesitation set to writing a note for her husband before making her way out of the house to the Hokage tower.

She was long overdue a trip back home anyway.

Shikamaru laid in his bed, his arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling.

It was late and he knew he'd have a rough morning tomorrow at work but there were so many thoughts whirring away in his head that he couldn't go to sleep even if he counted all the sheep in Konoha.

It had been hours since dinner at the Yamanaka house. Shikadai had decided to spend the night with Inojin, they had a mission in the morning and Shikamaru had offered to take Shikadai's pack to the gates on his way to work. The two boys had been happy that night, he could tell.

Shikamaru couldn't deny that he had enjoyed dinner as well. After Ino had poured her heart out in the kitchen, the rest of the night was surprisingly light and fun. They had spent the rest of the night drinking tea, eating dessert, and taking turns playing Inojin's video game, which Ino was uncharacteristically great at, having beat all the boys' multiple times (he felt like they were 12 again and Ino's competitiveness was in full bloom).

Shikamaru had not heard Ino belly laugh so much since before the Fourth Great Shinobi War. She had laughed the hardest when she beat Shikamaru… each time…

Honestly, he didn't think his own cheeks had ever hurt from smiling, until last night. He'd never admit it though, Ino would never let him live that down and he didn't want her nagging him about it.

It had been a good night, until he arrived home to a note from his wife on the kitchen table.

Shikamaru,

I need to catch a breath. I'm going home to visit my brothers for a while.

Dinners in the oven.

Temari

Shikamaru sighed. He felt guilty, he knew Temari was upset with him, he just never expected her to be so upset she'd leave. He had felt that things had been off with Temari and him for some time. He loved her, he knew that, but he had just supposed that marriages ultimately ended up like this. It wasn't until tonight, when Ino had confessed her broken heart to him, that he realized that maybe his own marriage was not as stable as he once thought.

Confirmation had come when he read Temari's note. Shikamaru was smart, really smart, but it didn't take a genius to catch that Temari had called Suna home. Even after more than 12 years living in Konoha, getting married, having a child. This was not her home, and he knew he was partly (or mostly) responsible for that.

Had he not been a good husband? Should he have done more? Should he try and catch her before she's too far away? Did he want to?

Was he still in love with her?

That last question was the most troublesome one. He frustratedly rubbed his eyes and puffed out a heavy sigh. He felt tired, both physically and emotionally.

He knew it made him a terrible husband, but there was another blonde troubling his mind. Try as he might, he couldn't get Ino out of his head either. Dinner had felt so…

He tried to shake the thought away. Heaving another loud sigh, he stood up from his bed and slipped on his sandals.

Maybe a quick walk in the Nara Forest would clear his mind. He stepped out into the chilly night. He looked up to the sky that was once filled with the many colors of the sunset, now, dark and littered with stars.

He knew this forest like the back of his hand. Every stag, doe, and fawn that roomed the forest, every tree that scraped the sky, every trail and where they led, he knew it all. Yet he always seemed to gravitate to the very same little grassy hill that had the perfect view of the sky above.

He should have realized as his feet marched him down, that it wasn't a good idea. He was trying to clear his mind up, not fill it with memories.

This same little hill was the exact spot the photo in Ino's house of Shikamaru and her as children had been taken. They were only about 7 years old, but he remembers the day as if it had happened yesterday.

The Nara and Yamanaka clan had always been close, not just by the bond that united them as teammates, but by friendship. Shikaku and Inoichi were a clear example of this. That day, many years ago, their late fathers had taken their children to the Nara Forest in hopes that the two children would form the same friendship their parents had.

This plan of theirs, had unsurprisingly not gone as expected. Ino had arrived and immediately started yapping to a sleepy Shikamaru, who would not move from his position on the grassy hill. Ino had become annoyed and shook the boy by his shoulders yelling at him to stop being so lazy and play with her. He, had made the grave mistake of repeating something he constantly heard his father mutter after his mother's nagging…

"Stop being so troublesome, woman."

Ino's eyes grew wide. Her face reddened and scrunched up with anger. Before she could do anything too drastic, Inoichi had come running to calm his daughter down and Shikaku had to have a talk with Shikamaru about how those things were better thought than said out loud.

But as was always the case with Shikamaru and Ino, the incident had been soon forgotten and Ino was yapping away as she stuck twigs in his hair.

Shikamaru smiled at the memory. He was sure that their fathers had been happy with the way things turned out that day because they had been back on this hill many times after on "play dates."

Shikamaru cursed himself as he found himself thinking of what he had been trying to avoid this whole time. Yet he couldn't help but think back to the crying blonde in her kitchen. He had thought of her words, her tears, her heartbreak the whole walk home from dinner.

He was mad at Sai. He knew he shouldn't be. It wasn't Sai's fault the village had failed him and had destroyed a child's ability to feel and express emotion, but he was still angry. Angry that Ino was unhappy, broken, that she had settled for less than what she deserved.

He wanted to be there for her, to help her, to take away some of the heartbreak. He chalked up this feeling of wanting to take care of Ino to the bond they shared, as teammates and friends. To the years where Ino had taken care of Choji and him. She was always an amazing friend, despite her loud, bossy, and sometimes arrogant personality, she truly cared for others, like no one he had met before.

It was a completely understandable reason to want to be there for someone. He just couldn't shake out the image of Ino's smile as she spoke to Shikadai and Inojin at the table. Or the sound of her laugh as she jumped up off the couch and celebrated her video game win. Or the feel of her skin when he touched her hand to stop her insistent stirring. Or her indistinguishable smell of flowers after a spring rain.

"What's wrong with me…" he whispered into the dark forest around him running his hand through his hair exasperatedly.

Ino was beautiful, no one in their right mind would deny that. Shikamaru had developed a little, insignificant crush, on the blonde after the chunin exam many years ago. He had seen a different side to Ino there, it had started a new relationship between the three Team Asuma members. Ino had dived headfirst to save Sakura, had battled the same pink-haired kunoichi with determination, and he could hear her cheer him on during his battle with Temari from the stands.

After the exam, he started to notice Ino, not so much for her looks but for her passion, her desire to succeed, to motivate her teammates and to be a good friend. This little, insignificant crush had remained up until the end of the war. They had been through a lot together, the death of their sensei, the war, losing their fathers. Yet, Shikamaru, had always thought the crush a fleeting moment in his life, especially when he started to get closer to Temari.

But he wasn't 12 anymore. He was married. He didn't have crushes on married women, or any other women for that matter…

He just needed to help a friend out…

With one last sigh, Shikamaru walked back to his house to attempt rest once more.

The next day at work Shikamaru wasn't surprised when Naruto had mentioned Temari's visit last night for permission to head back to Suna for some time.

"Hey Shikamaru, is everything okay?" Naruto asked with a concerned expression on his face. He was sitting at his desk in the Hokage office, ruffling through some paperwork when he noticed Shikamaru lost in thought. "Is it about Temari? Are her brothers alright? I was a little surprised when she came by last night. She said she needed to leave in a hurry."

Shikamaru didn't want to have to explain the situation to Naruto. Honestly, he didn't even know what the situation was himself.

"Everything's fine. She was just feeling a little homesick." Shikamaru answered, turning back to the report he had been holding.

"Yeah, but don't you think three months is a long time for just a visit?"

Shikamaru almost dropped the scroll in his hand as he whipped his head back to look at Naruto. He had no idea Temari had planned on leaving for that long. He had been expecting a week or two. Three months…

This was bad…

Temari had an explosive personality. When she was angry, she'd have outbursts, yell, or even get physical. She was not the type to stay quiet or disappear…

This was bad….

Shikamaru attempted to regain his composure and wave off Naruto's question with a shrug. "It's been a while since she's been back, I suppose." He was happy when Naruto seemed to accept his response and drop the subject before rambling on about running into Lee at Ichiraku Ramen yesterday.

Shikamaru was headed home after work when he ran into Choji in the village. Choji had just gotten back from a mission and was standing by a shop eating a pack of chips.

"Shikamaru! I was just heading over to get you!" Choji beamed, crumbs from his open mouth flying out as he spoke.

"Hey Choji, welcome back." Shikamaru softly smiled. He was happy to see his best friend. Finally, something that felt normal in his truly confusing and frustrating life right now. "What's up?"

"I was just going to ask you if you wanted to grab dinner. Kauri and the kids are out on a mission so I thought we could get some Yakiniku- Q!"

The thought of having dinner with his best friend, no troublesome blondes around, was the best thing Shikamaru had heard all day. He also thought it would be a perfect time to tell Choji everything that's been happening with Temari and Ino's situation. Shikamaru wasn't the type to talk about his problems, he'd much rather keep it all bottled up inside, but with Choji it was different. Choji didn't try to understand his problems or give him advice. Choji would just listen and let Shikamaru figure things out on his own, and he liked that. "Sure, that sounds great Cho."

Shikamaru was about to turn towards the restaurant when Choji shouted, "Great! It'll be a Team 10 reunion!"

He let out a low groan of annoyance…

"Sorry it took me so long Choji, I needed to get some supplies for Sakura and the hospital." Ino spoke as she walked out of the shop, counting the change in her hand.

"No worries! Look who I ran into! Shikamaru is going to join us for dinner!" Choji said with a big grin on his face.

Ino snapped her head up and felt her cheeks heat up when her icy blue eyes met his warm dark ones. She hadn't completely gotten over last night's confessions yet and wasn't expecting to see Shikamaru for a while.

Before either of them could say anything to each other, Choji was already leading the way to dinner.

This dinner had been less eventful than yesterdays, though, Shikamaru had to admit, their little reunion had been quite nice. They had spent the night catching up, talking about missions and their jobs, reminiscing on the old days, making plans for future gatherings, and of course, talking about family.

When they had asked Shikamaru about Temari, he had just stated that she was off to visit her brothers and would be back soon. When Choji had asked Ino about Sai, she had informed him that he was not back from his mission yet but had received word from Naruto that they were all safe and well.

At the end of the night, Shikamaru and Ino had waived goodbye to Choji as he made his way home. He had offered to walk with them, but the two of them had refused, he lived on the other side of the village and had just returned from a mission. Shikamaru and Ino lived in neighboring compounds, and it made more sense for the two to walk home together.

"How are you feeling?" Shikamaru carefully asked Ino as they began their trek home.

Ino gently smiled at him, "I'm good Shika, I wanted to apologize actu-"

"Don't. You don't have to apologize Ino. I just want to make sure you're okay…" Shikamaru cut her off, "and happy."

"Thanks, Shika." Ino's shoulders relaxed a little and her smile grew slightly wider. "You know, until Temari's back, you're welcome to dinner at my house!"

Thank you, but I shouldn't. That was the answer Shikamaru should have given. It was easy too, he knew Ino would have understood. They were both married, their spouses were both gone, their children weren't home. He knew that Ino knew that was the answer he should have given.

Yet he wasn't shocked when he heard himself say "I'd like that."

A/N: Thank you all for the sweet and motivating comments for this story! I am sorry it has taken this long to update the second chapter! I am embarrassed to say, I have had this chapter written for a longgggggggg time, but I was being too critical and didn't like it the first time around. But rest assured, this story is not abandoned!

I felt that for this chapter, it was important to really take the time and highlight Shikamaru's internal struggle and give some background as to where his feelings come from. I did not want to just write a senseless story about the pair randomly waking up one day and realizing they loved each other, but rather build from their shared past and develop those ties.

I know there are grammatical and syntax errors, so please forgive me! Unfortunately, I don't have the time to really go in depth before posting as I would have 10-15 years ago!

See you soon! :)