Author's note at the end.

Tiffany Blews

I'm not a cry baby
I'm the cry baby
A caterpillar that got stuck
Mr. Moth come quick with any luck

…

Not the boy I was
The boy I am is just venting, venting
Dear gravity, you held me down in this starless city

Shikamaru was a genius.

He wasn't patting himself on the back, he was just stating facts. Had he been given the choice, he would have been born with average smarts. It was a lot harder to get through life doing the bare minimum when people knew you had an IQ over two hundred. They expected you to do more and use your "vast knowledge" for good. After he had been promoted to chuunin he had realized that people felt what he lacked in experience he could make up for with his intelligence. This resulted in him leading far more missions than he wanted. He also found himself being somewhat of an unofficial advisor/errand runner of the Hokage. He didn't understand it but he just chalked it up to another one of the cons of being labeled as "gifted".

For all his genius, however, he couldn't comprehend his current situation. He was sitting up in his bed, messy hair out, in nothing but his sleeping shorts. In front of him sat his blonde team mate, Ino, her cheeks slightly red and her eyes averted.

"Could you..." Shikamaru started before clearing his throat slightly. "Could you repeat that?" The blonde huffed and rolled her eyes but repeated, though not much louder, her previous statement.

"I said: Shikamaru, I need you to have sex with me," Her eyes remained averted as she said this.

There was a pause in which Shikamaru politely gave his teammate time to correct or amend her statement.

She did not.

"Is this some kind of prank? Because you honestly could've waited until later in the day. How did you even get in here?" He asked and plopped back down in his bed, muttering something about troublesome women. This was way too early to be dealing with Ino's shenanigans. She had come in his room and woken him up at nine-thirty in the morning. Sure, he'd reluctantly woken up much earlier on many occasions but it was his day off. It was rare that he woke up before ten on his off days.

"No, this isn't a joke! This is serious! And your mom let me in. She was on her way out and I told her we were supposed to train today. She said to wake you up and give you a good ass kicking if you gave me any trouble. Which, honestly, you're not being very agreeable right now," Ino said and finally looked at him.

"Yeah, I bet if she knew what kind of 'training' you had in mind she'd kill both of us," Shikamaru muttered.

"Why aren't you taking me seriously?" The blonde demanded.

"Because there's no way you could be serious! What, you just woke up today and decided you were going to ask me to have sex with you? Who in their right mind would go along with that?" The shadow user retorted.

"Probably a lot of people, actually."

"...Alright, fair point. Most of those people didn't grow up together with you practically like siblings though," Shikamaru shot back.

"Gross. We're not related. You just made this a lot grosser. I hope you're proud of yourself. And this isn't out of the blue! There's a reason I'm asking you," Ino defended. Shikamaru sat back up and gave her an expectant look. "What? Oh. You want me to explain. Right.

Alright, listen, as you know the Shitenshin no Jutsu is very useful for information gathering so recently I've started taking on more and more surveillance missions. They want me to start moving up and one of the missions types you can be given is a 'seduction mission'," She actually used air quotes at this. "And, well, before I do that I need to, uh... not be a virgin anymore. I mean, the point of the mission usually isn't to have sex with anyone but, you know, anything could happen or go wrong. And that would be a very traumatizing way to lose my virginity.

So, I have to amend that whole 'being a virgin' thing before I can start taking on these missions. And even though I've dated around, I'm not actually seeing anybody and I really can't think of anyone else I trust enough to help me out like this." Ino stopped and took a breath. She was speaking so fast her air intake couldn't keep up. "I mean, you're my team mate and I've known you pretty much since we were babies. We were born only a day apart for goodness sake."

Shikamaru stared at her as his mind processed what she had told him. Finally he replied, "Well, Chouji's also your team mate..."

Ino simply stared blankly at him for a few moments. "Listen... I love Chouji. He's also my team mate, but you know as well as I do why I didn't ask Chouji."

Shikamaru felt he should be offended for his best friend, but he knew that the large boy probably wouldn't care. Chouji didn't really seem that interested in dating girls anyways. Not that the shadow user was any different. He almost wished he belonged to a clan that still practiced arranged marriages. That way he would be guaranteed to carry out his duty of continuing the Nara clan without all the effort of dating. Then again, that would also up the chances of him ending up with a really troublesome woman. Much like the woman before him.

"Alright Ino, don't take this the wrong way, but this is probably the worst idea you've ever had. I say this knowing that you have had quite a few bad ideas, but I mean it. Really." He laid back down and spared a glance in her direction.

"I'm not really seeing a positive way to take that. It almost would've been less offensive if you had said 'Hey, don't take this the wrong way, but you're a complete idiot'."

"Well-"

"I said 'almost'!" Ino cut the Nara boy off before he could amend his previous statement. "Look, I know this is sudden and you probably think I'm crazy but I didn't actually think you would agree right on the spot. Just think it over okay?" No response. "Shikamaru!"

"Alright, alright!" He called and covered his face with a pillow. He stayed this way until he finally heard the blonde get up and leave. He didn't fully relax until he heard the sound of his front door closing.

As if there was even anything to think about. It may be great to hear about Ino advancing as a ninja and of course he would help his team mates out any way he could. This was just unreasonable though. Shikamaru still wasn't even entirely convinced that this wasn't a prank. It sounded like something Naruto would come up with, but the shadow user dismissed that almost immediately. As close as they all were, Ino still thought Naruto was a pretty ridiculous person.

Shikamaru groaned and rolled out of bed to head to the bathroom. No use trying to sleep any longer. He really couldn't understand his blonde team mate. He knew she had dated plenty of guys even if none of them really lasted that long. She was obviously beautiful and if Shikamaru had any kind of interest in women he probably would've had a crush on her at some point. Probably very early on, before he realized how bossy and needy she was. Regardless, it wouldn't be difficult for her to find someone else to help her with her predicament. At the very least she could find someone she was attracted too. The shadow user was no fool, he knew that Ino's taste ran somewhere far away from him.

Shikamaru paused in his teeth brushing to spare a glance at the full length mirror in his bathroom. He was decently muscled despite his laziness. Being a ninja naturally kept one in shape, barring the Akimichi Clan. If he hadn't decided to follow in his father's footsteps he probably would've been pretty damn scrawny. He looked his reflection in the eyes and confirmed his thoughts. Despite not having a bad body, Shikamaru didn't have the face the girls fell for. Sharp eyes with a near constant look on his face that said "Don't". Even his hair spiked out in all directions when it wasn't tied back. Even then it just spiked upwards.

He turned back to the small mirror in front of the sink and resumed brushing his teeth. If he was the type that cared about attracting girls he could probably change the less desirable parts about him.

Fortunately he wasn't.

There was a brief period that everyone thought that he and Temari of the Sand had something going on, but they couldn't be more wrong. The last thing Shikamaru needed was a bossy woman that could also kick his ass. Not only that, she was the sister of the Kazekage. That was all more trouble than he needed in a lifetime. There would be times when she flirted with him, but it was clear that it wasn't because she was actually interested in him. It was more of a cure to her boredom while preparing for the Chuunin exams and he suspected she also liked trying to get a rise out of him.

Shikamaru finished brushing his teeth and, after a quick rinse of his face, walked back to his room. His mother probably didn't leave any breakfast for him, having become used to him either not being there in the morning or waking up too late to eat it while it was hot. Unsurprisingly, he didn't feel like making any himself.

Well, there were probably a few places open by now where he could get something to eat.

Changing into a T-shirt and pair of shorts, the shadow user pondered being able to wear civilian clothes out on the field. A nice cotton shirt was way more comfortable than the fishnet he normally wore. Then again, he supposed that was his own choice. It was too late to have wardrobe change now though, his closet was already committed.

"Come on, I just took that mission off your hands that you were too lazy to do!" Naruto whined across from Shikamaru.

"I wasn't too lazy to do it, it overlapped with the other mission I had already been assigned. The Hokage was the one who made you take it," Shikamaru retorted. Naruto didn't seem to hear this and just continued on.

"I had to use all the money from my last mission on a deposit for a new apartment since my old building is about to get torn down!" The blond continued to look on with desperate eyes.

Shikamaru knew better than to go to Ramen Ichiraku when he wanted a quiet moment to himself. Naruto was there almost every day and he was anything but quiet. He did, however, make the mistake of being in the vicinity of the place. Now he had Naruto begging to buy him a meal… which was actually unusual now that he thought about it. Even with getting a new apartment, the blond had a pretty decent savings from what Shikamaru knew.

"What the hell happened to the rest of your money?" The brunette asked as he took another bite of his salmon.

"I was showing Sakura-chan a new jutsu when I was over her place the other day and it kind of got out of control and broke down one of her walls," Naruto had the decency to look sheepish as he explained. He quickly added: "She broke down the other wall when she punched me though!"

Shikamaru winced, thinking of the monster strength the kunoichi possessed. He sighed, it's not like he was tight on money anyway.

"Alright, but don't get carried away," The Nara boy muttered. Naruto let out a victory cheer and motioned the waitress over to put his order in. After he finished he turned back to his friend.

"What are you doing out this early on your day off anyway?" The blond asked as he reached over to grab Shikamaru's water and take a gulp. Shikamaru made a face at him.

"I was woken up by Ino," He replied.

"What'd she want?"

Shikamaru grimaced as he recalled his early morning conversation with his teammate.

"Nothing important. Just Ino being Ino." In the sense of making unreasonable demands of people. She normally didn't go around asking people to have sex with her. To his knowledge anyway. He kept this all to himself knowing that if the blond found out, all of Konoha would find out.

"Oh." Naruto seemed to lose interest as soon as the waitress returned with his order. Shikamaru reached across the table to grab the cup of water she set down for the blond. Knowing the other boy's lack of hygiene, Shikamaru wasn't too fond of drinking after him.

The Nara boy leaned back on his side of the booth, having already finished his food. Naruto didn't seem to be too far from finishing himself, despite having just gotten his.

"Oh yeah, you just reminded me," The blond spoke around his mouth full of food. Shikamaru made a face. Whoever thought that the Akimichi clan were messy eaters had never witnessed Naruto. "I'm supposed to be going on a mission with Ino in a couple of weeks."

"That's unusual. You guys have only ever been on a mission together while Chouji and I are there."

"Yeah it's a mission requiring a lot of stealth they said and she's one of the best when it comes to that. I heard she's really good on missions even without you and Chouji!" A grain or two of rice flew out of his mouth with that last statement.

Shikamaru was sure he was supposed to be offended for the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio. Of course they could perform well on their own; they would be pretty useless otherwise. They just worked exceptionally well together because of their family ties.

"Idiot. Why wouldn't she be? She graduated among the top of our class."

"Yeah, but she was always boy crazy! Every time I hang out with her and Sakura she talks more about boys than being a ninja," Naruto defended. Shikamaru didn't doubt that. While Ino was no doubt a great kunoichi, she didn't seem to have a problem balancing her duties with her boyfriends. He wasn't here to defend her skills to Naruto though.

"Well, you'll see for yourself when you're on your mission together." Shikamaru left it at that. He really didn't want to talk about his blond team mate. The more he talked about her, the more he thought of their morning conversation. He was hoping that she would forget the whole thing while she was away with Naruto on this mission.

Naruto just nodded in agreement.

"She seemed pretty calm when we were getting briefed. The guy she's getting information from sounds really sleazy though. Hopefully she doesn't have to do too much with him," Naruto blanched as Shikamaru choked on the water he was drinking. The blond looked at the shadow user in confusion.

"Wait, what type of mission is this?" Shikamaru asked after a few coughs.

"I told you we're gathering information…"

"Dumbass, I know that. What did they call this type of mission?"

"Oh… uhhh… a 'seduction mission'?" Naruto seemed a little weirded out by the term. "Why?" Shikamaru just sighed and rubbed his face. Of course she wasn't going to forget about it. She wanted this deed done before her mission with Naruto. His team mate could have mentioned that she had already taken on the type of mission she was trying to prepare herself for. Shikamaru was starting to feel a serious dread come over him.

"Anyways! Thanks for the meal! I gotta meet Kakashi-Sensei for training!" And without any care for the inner turmoil [read: mild discomfort] he had just caused his friend, the Nine-Tails host was gone. Shikamaru grabbed his check with even less enthusiasm than he normally had and went to the front of the restaurant to pay for the meals.

As the shadow user walked out back onto the street he noted that it had gotten somewhat busier in the time he had eaten his breakfast. He looked up, decided it was a good day for cloud watching (as was every other day) and with a sigh turned to head towards his favorite spot.

He had a sinking feeling that this situation with Ino was going to be even more troublesome than he first thought.

To his relief (and somehow concern at the same time), he didn't see Ino for a couple of days after their conversation. He began to think maybe she had found someone else to dump her problem onto. Really, he'd prefer she ask him to help her cheat on her math homework or maybe help hide a body. Something reasonable.

On the third night he woke to the presence of someone in his room. As he reached for the kunai he kept under his pillow and started stretching out his shadow he heard a huffed whisper:

"Calm down, it's just me."

And felt his dread settle right back where it was. His armed plopped back down by his side and he opened his eyes to stare at his ceiling. He let out a sigh and continued to look at the ceiling as though it would offer him some sound advice.

"You know, they say every time you sigh, you lose a bit of happiness," Ino said as she sat down on the floor by his bed.

"You can't lose something you don't have," Shikamaru retorted.

"What's gotten you all bent out of shape? Because I woke you up? It's only ten at night, only grannies sleep this early," She rolled her eyes.

Shikamaru realized in this moment that he team mate was absolutely the type of person to set a bomb off and walk off like nothing happened. She would probably meet Sakura or some guy for lunch right after and then sleep like a baby that night with no care for the chaos she just caused.

He didn't even want to explain any of that to her.

"Why are you in my room in the middle of the night?" He asked instead.

"It's hardly the middle of the night," She scoffed. "And I was heading back from Sakura's place and decided to stop by your house on my way home and see you."

"Didn't you pass by your house on the way here?"

"Whatever. I just wanted to come talk to you to see if you've given any more thought to our conversation the other day," Her voice lost her edge as she said this.

Shikamaru wanted to go back to sleep.

Instead, he rolled onto his side to face her and propped his head up on his hand.

"Why didn't you say you had already taken on a seduction mission?" The Nara boy asked and noted that his team mate seemed surprised at the question.

"How did you know that? Wait, of course. It was Naruto. Of course it was. He has such a big mouth," Ino grumbled more to herself.

"I'm sure there's a couple of people left in Konoha that don't know about your mission," Shikamaru assured her.

"Ugh, whatever. Does it matter?"

"Of course it does. I thought that you were still debating on taking on these types of missions. Don't you think finding out you've already been assigned one puts a lot of pressure on me?" Shikamaru asked. Not that he was surprised Ino didn't think of how he would feel.

"I did think of that!" Ino whipped to face him as she yelled. Then, as if remembering she was in the house Yoshino, shrank down and spared a nervous glance in the direction of her bedroom. She and Shikamaru stared in that direction for a few nervous beats before relaxing slightly.

"I did think of that," She repeated in a hushed whisper. "That's why I didn't tell you. I know you think I'm being selfish like normal," So she knew she was a selfish person. "But I really didn't want to guilt you into helping me, even if you are the only person I trust."

"So what were you going to do if I said no?"

"Go through with the mission, of course."

"And what if something does happen? What if this guy decides he wants you? You know Naruto wouldn't stand by and let that happen. I'm amazed he's even on this type of mission."

"I know that. He won't be able to see me. I'm going to be communicating mind to mind."

"So you would tell them if things went too far?"

She didn't respond.

"Ino." Shikamaru sat up on his bed.

"Not if it would cost us the mission," She looked him in the eye as she answered. He knew that look and he also knew that she absolutely meant what she said. The Nara boy cursed under his breath and stood up. Ino looked up in surprise.

"I'm going to get a drink of water." He said and walked out of his room. Ino watched him walk out, concern obvious of her face.

She really knew how to lay in on him. He almost preferred her going on about diets and the like than this. Then again he was glad those stopped. The idea of an active ninja going on crash diets was terrible. What did they need to diet for? Their lifestyle kept them in shape enough. If anything they needed to eat way more just to have the energy to keep up.

Shikamaru walked in his kitchen and grabbed a glass by the sink to fill with water. He downed half the glass and went to fill it back up. He didn't know how to answer his team mate's request.

But he already knew what he was going to do.

The shadow user was without a doubt lazy. He hated anything troublesome. He certainly hated anything to do with women and relationships. He would also absolutely do anything for his teammates. Even if this was something he never expected to have to do. He could only hope Chouji never came to him with a similar request. With a sigh he headed back to his room.

Only to find the blond dozing off on his bed.

"Don't you have a home?" He asked her. She blinked awake.

"Ugh, I just haven't been sleeping well the past few days. Your bed is really comfortable. I guess that's not really surprising. Maybe I should get a new bed. I've had mine since I was ten," Ino complained. Shikamaru, ignoring her rambling, set his glass down on his nightstand and sat down on his bed next to her.

"Well, if you're going to sleep, then sleep. I have to be at the Hokage's office first thing in the morning. Even though she's probably going to get there an hour after me," He muttered as he laid down.

"Oh. What really? You don't mind me sleeping in your bed with you?"

"We've slept next to each other countless times on missions. Besides, if we're supposed to have sex, I think we should be able to handle sleeping next to each other," He said and rolled to face away from her.

"Oh, I guess you're right."

There was a beat.

"Oh! Wait! So you'll really do it?" She remembered to keep her voice down this time. Shikamaru sighed again. He really was losing all his happiness.

"Come back on Thursday. I have Friday off and my mother is supposed to be out of town visiting her sister," He said and realized he was basically sealing his fate. He felt Ino's arm swing around him from behind and he stiffened in surprised.

"Thank you, Shikamaru. I really mean it," She mumbled into his back. She rolled away and back onto her back. "I was going to go home, but your bed really is comfy. See you in the morning."

He was pretty sure she fell asleep almost immediately and realized that his team mate was not just selfish, but maybe a bit shameless. To fall asleep in someone else's bed before them.

Thursday night came too soon. Shikamaru's mother left early in the day like she planned and wouldn't be back until Sunday. Shikamaru for his part had spent the day watching clouds before returning home to make himself a dinner that he could barely eat. Afterwards, he took a bath and didn't bothering dressing in anything other than his black sleeping shorts.

As he sat in bed, leaned back against his head board, he read the same page of a book Kurenai had given him. She told him it had been Asuma's favorite, and while it was a good read, Shikamaru found he couldn't concentrate. Still, he continued to stare at it until he felt a familiar presence in his room.

He looked up to see his blond teammate standing next to his bed. She was wearing a pair of blue gym shorts and a black t-shirt. Shikamaru was happy to see that neither of them had dressed up for this occasion.

"I would've been here sooner, but my mother cooked a late dinner and wanted to catch up," Ino said by way of apology. Shikamaru shrugged it off. It's not like he was eager to do this. When he didn't make a move to say anything Ino sat in front of him on his bed.

"I guess there's nothing we can really do to make this less awkward. So let's just get started," Despite her words, she didn't look all that confident as she took off her shirt. She looked briefly at Shikamaru but rather than looking at his face, she stared slightly off to the side. Unexpectedly, the shadow user found it comforting that she was as nervous and uncertain as he was. Somehow it made it easier on him, knowing that they were both awkwardly proceeding with this. Spurred by this thought, he decided to break his silence.

"Well, you mine as well take off your bra too." Ino looked scandalized at Shikamaru's statement. The Nara boy just rolled his eyes. "It's not like I know how to take bras off girls, Ino."

"Oh… I guess that's true. It's not that hard," She said as she reached behind her to undo her clasps. Shikamaru for his part kept his eyes averted as the blond took her bra off and set it aside. He heard her huff.

"You know it's not very flattering when someone makes it a point not to look at you. I know I'm not exactly ideal but jeez," She muttered, face red. Shikamaru looked to her face in surprise, somehow stopping himself from pausing to stare at her breasts. Now her gaze was averted.

"What are you talking about? I think you know that I'm obviously getting the better end of this deal," Shikamaru said. She looked doubtful but turned to look back at him. The Nara boy still managed to keep his eyes in her face.

"What are you talking about?" She asked in return.

"You know, I wouldn't take you for having confidence issues."

"Ugh, only when it comes to you."

"I know I don't fawn over you like a lot of guys do, but I was positive you already knew you were beautiful," Shikamaru said, in what seemed like genuine confusion over her words. Ino's face had gotten even redder at his words, not even seeming to care anymore of her state of undress. "Besides," He continued. "Everyone knows a girl usually experiences all the discomfort during her first time. Mine is just nerves at least."

Ino didn't seem to know what to say. Shikamaru didn't have anything else to say himself. He certainly wasn't trying to sit across from her half naked all night. Not knowing what else to do, he held out his arms to her, still sitting cross legged against his headboard. Ino blinked before she realized what he wanted and crawled over to him and into his arms. Without another word, Shikamaru leaned over to kiss her.

It started out slow, before Ino took initiative and deepened the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her body into his. Shikamaru felt her tongue slide against his lips and he took the hint to part his mouth. They continued slow and relaxed before his mind once again caught up with him. How funny that he was going from never having kissed a girl, to having his first kiss and losing his virginity in the same night.

Then again, it was typical for him. Promoted to Chuunin only to almost immediately lead a recon mission where he almost lost his best friend and one of his comrades. Constantly given more responsibility than he was really ready for, all for being a so called genius. Shikamaru furrowed his eyebrows and pulled away from Ino's lips to bury his face in her neck.

Ino, surprised at his sudden move, seemed to sense his trouble and simply stayed in his arms.

The Nara boy didn't know why these thoughts were suddenly coming to him. They certainly were ruining what little mood they had managed to build. This was decidedly a terrible time to let his mind wander. He slowly let out a breath to calm himself and in the same moment felt Ino's hand move up through his hair. He felt her slowly work the band out of his hair and let his spikey hair down. Then she slowly started running her fingers through his hair.

She continued to do this as Shikamaru felt himself truly start to relax. As he breathed he let himself feel her body against him. He felt her skin, both soft and smooth yet hardened with muscle. He felt her fingers against his scalp, dainty but calloused from countless missions and near constant training. The feeling of her soft breasts against his hard chest. He sighed into her neck and brought his lips to her skin. Her fingers stilled only briefly in his hair before he felt her relax herself.

He dragged his lips up her neck and left a trail of kisses back down. He leaned back slightly as his hand moved from her back to her abdomen. He rubbed his thumb right below her breasts and seemed to hesitate for only a moment before he brought his hand up to graze her breast. His hand settled on the side of her neck as he lifted his face back up to kiss her.

If she was surprised by his sudden initiative, she didn't show it. Instead she went with it, happy to let him take the lead for once. She didn't seem to mind as he leaned her back to lay down. Nor when she felt his hands start to explore her body. Her hands gripped his hair a little harder as his lips left hers to move down her body.

Shikamaru had nothing to guide him but what he had heard or read about sex and the urges that any boy got after puberty. He may have never had any interest on acting on these urges, but he felt them all the same. Ino for her part let out sighs of what Shikamaru hoped was enjoyment. Her fingers continued to move in his hair and he felt her other hand trail along his shoulders and arms. In the back of his mind he wondered if maybe she enjoyed his body at least half as much as he enjoyed hers.

This continued for some time, the rest of their clothes coming off along the way, before Shikamaru propped himself up over her body. She looked briefly surprised by the sudden loss of contact before she looked up to meet his gaze. Her face was a little red, but he thought it might be less from embarrassment now. He didn't really know how to proceed delicately, so he went with his usual straightforwardness.

"Uh, are you ready?" He looked like he wanted to scratch the back of his head as he asked this, but instead he settled for just looking slightly awkward. Ino let out a short laugh in response.

"How can you go from sexy to all business like that?" She smiled as she asked.

"Shut up," He mumbled. "I just don't want to rush things."

"Thank you," She said genuinely as she smiled softly. Despite himself, Shikamaru felt his heart skip a beat for the first time since they had started. His eyes softened and possibly for the first time he felt a great affection for his blond team mate. They didn't love each other in a romantic way, but they both cared for each other and trusted the other with their life.

He had always been the one Ino entrusted her body with.

Without her having to confirm she was ready, Shikamaru went ahead and they both felt each other for the first time. Ino didn't make any sounds of discomfort though he felt her tense up. For his part, he let out a breath that might have been close to a groan. There was no doubt that it felt good, but with her tense he found that he couldn't enjoy the feeling. In an effort to relax her, he trailed his lips across her cheek and kissed her. There was no urgency, just the feeling of his tongue slowly moving against hers until Shikamaru felt her begin to relax around him.

Gently, he began moving, pulling his lips from hers to trail along her neck. As her heard her breath pick up, he moved the arm that wasn't propping him up and brought his hand up to caress her breast. Hearing the sound of Ino moaning for the first time sparked urges that Shikamaru didn't even know he was capable of feeling. Unconsciously, he picked up his pace.

As the sounds of panting and occasional moans filled the room, Shikamaru knew he wasn't going to last long enough for her to climax. It wasn't necessary for what she had asked of him but for a reason he didn't entirely understand, he thought it was important she did. Going off of what he knew of the female body, he moved the hand that was on her breast down to where he knew she was most sensitive. At his touch, she gasped and he felt her contract once against him, knowing that he had been right and also knowing that he really wasn't going to be able to last much longer.

Out of sheer determination alone, he held out as he continued to move his thumb and his hips, listening to the sound of his teammate's moans. Just when he was afraid he wasn't going to last after all, he heard her breathily utter his name before he felt her climax around him and he immediately felt himself come undone. He buried his face in her neck, muffling a groan as he stilled as deep as he could inside her. Through his climax he faintly felt the sensation of Ino's nails digging into his back.

Shikamaru didn't know how he managed not to collapse on top of her, but he still remained mostly propped above her. Both of them remained unmoving as they caught their breath, still coming down from their experience. After a minute or so, Shikamaru pulled away and rolled over and off of her, laying on his back next to her.

Neither of them said anything, maybe because at this point there was no more that needed to be said. They still didn't love each other, so there was no declarations. 'Thank you' didn't seem to be appropriate at the moment. So they said nothing. Eventually Shikamaru turned them the right way in his bed and covered them with his blanket. He obviously wasn't going to send her home, so he just put his arm around her and she laid her head on his chest.

So she lay in his arms, Shikamaru offering her comfort that he wasn't even sure she needed. The thought that maybe he was the one being comforted caused him to snort. Perhaps they both needed comforting, even if there wasn't any particular reasoning. If Ino noticed his snort, she didn't say anything.

They laid there until they eventually fell asleep. As he drifted off, Shikamaru had the thought that despite her selfishness, Ino had generously given him a feeling of security that he hadn't felt in a long time.

The next morning when they woke, there was a strange lack of awkwardness that had surely been expected. Ino got up to take a shower first and Shikamaru tried not to notice the strange way she walked. She didn't bother to cover up and he figured it didn't really matter after everything they had done last night.

As she showered, Shikamaru got up to grab some clothes of his to let her borrow. It might be strange for her to go home in his clothes, but they were nondescript enough that even if anyone saw her in them on her way home, they wouldn't be suspicious. Though, even if for whatever reason they knew she was wearing his clothes, no one would suspect anything. It would never occur to their comrades that he and Ino would have any relations with each other.

He grabbed some clothes for himself and made his way to his mother's room to borrow her shower. The shadow user stood under the warm stream of water and pondered the previous night. Unusual as it was for him, he just couldn't seem to form any coherent thoughts about it. Obviously it had physically felt great, but emotionally he wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel. Do you thank someone when you take their virginity? Then again, he guess she had also taken his. Though she had asked him to do it, so he supposed he was more taking it off her hands. He shook his head at his thoughts. There was no point in thinking about it at the moment.

After he washed up, he dried off and threw on a pair of black gym shorts and a green t-shirt. The shadow user looked at his hair and the mirror and decided he didn't even feel like tying it up today. He would probably just stay home today anyway. He was feeling worn out from people and the only person he'd seen so far had been Ino who hadn't even said anything yet. That was a sign.

Shikamaru walked to his kitchen to find Ino making breakfast. He noticed she was walking around normally now and something in him relaxed though he hadn't realized he'd been worried. She had found the clothes he laid out for her and was wearing a pair of his green shorts and a black shirt. Clearly, he was a man of variety.

"I hope you don't mind, but I was hungry and figured I mine as well make us breakfast before I head home. Besides, I'd rather just go in through my window so my mom doesn't ask me where I've been," Ino said as she cracked eggs into a pan. After their fathers had died, both of their mothers had become more concerned over their wellbeing. It wasn't all that surprising, but Ino had also told Shikamaru that her mother had asked her to quit being a ninja after the war. His mother had asked no such thing of him, but he knew that whenever he was away on missions she slept a lot less soundly.

"That's fine," He responded as he took a seat at the table. She had already set a glass of juice on the table for him and he grabbed it to take a sip. As he watched her cook a thought occurred to him. "This is strange timing, and I probably should have asked about this last night, but is it okay that we didn't use protection?" There wasn't really a more delicate way he could think of to ask.

Ino paused briefly to listen but the question didn't seem to bother her. Instead, she waved him off. "It's alright, I've been on birth control for a while now to help with my periods. Sorry if that's TMI," She added in afterthought. He didn't consider the mere mention of periods to be TMI, but he knew some people were weird about it.

"Okay," He said and left it at that. A couple of minutes later, Ino set a plate with eggs, rice, and bacon down in front of him. The breakfast was simple and strangely he found that he appreciated that. "Thanks."

Ino hummed in response and sat down across from him with her own plate. They ate in silence and Shikamaru found himself observing his teammate. It took him about a little over a minute to eat half of his food and the blond had barely taken two bites in that time. Knowing he should just leave it alone, he couldn't stop himself from commenting.

"Didn't you say you were hungry?" Shikamaru asked.

Ino blinked in surprise and looked down at her plate as though she had forgotten it was there. She picked back up the fork she had put down.

"I'm just spacing out," She dismissed before she took a bite. The Nara boy decided to drop it. By the time he was finished with his plate, she had finished a little over half of hers and was slowing down again. Eventually, she set her fork down and gave up trying to finish all of her breakfast. There was long stretch of silence before she broke it.

"Hey, I'm sorry about making you do this," She finally said, looking down at the table. Shikamaru blinked in surprise. He didn't realize she was feeling guilty nor did he expect her to. Besides,

"You didn't make me do anything. You asked me to do you a favor and I agreed to it. I wasn't that eager about it but…" Shikamaru paused. Ino was now looking at him with interest. "Look, we're teammates and we've been together our whole lives. We don't always see eye to eye and we certainly don't always get along, but at the end of the day we're still there for one another. You said there was no one else you trusted to help you and I get that, because there's no one in my life that I trust more than you and Chouji. I can only hope that Chouji never comes to me for help with a similar problem," He added seriously.

Unexpectedly, Ino laughed. Partly over his last statement, he thought, but partly in relief. Which was good, because he meant everything he said. Especially the part about Chouji.

"Well then, I'll say thank you instead. Thank you for being there for me whenever I need you," She smiled and he appreciated that much more than her previous apology. He nodded and said a thanks back to her. She seemed curious over being thanked but didn't question it.

The next week and a half had passed by mostly uneventfully. Shikamaru didn't have any missions so he was stuck playing assistant to the Hokage again. If he had to say anything was out of the ordinary, it would be the two more times Ino had paid him a visit.

The first time had been a little less than a week after they had sex. She had appeared in his room in the middle of the night and he wasn't sure that even she had known what she wanted. Shikamaru wasn't one to push, but he was pretty good at taking cues. So he offered her the comfort of his body in hers and received the same comfort he felt in return the first time. He didn't know what had prompted her to seek his reassurance, whether it was nervousness over her mission or something below the surface. Regardless, he held her after they were done until she left when the sun started coming up.

The next time was the night before she was going to leave. That one he chalked up to solely being nervous about her mission. His mother was gone visiting her sister again, something she had been doing more often since his father died and since Shikamaru started taking more missions. So Ino brought she supplies with her so she could leave from his house in the morning.

That night she had taken lead and Shikamaru found himself thinking that that was more expected, given their personalities. Neither of them addressed the fact that it was only supposed to be a onetime thing done as a favor. They laid together for a couple of hours afterwards, neither falling asleep despite Ino having to leave early.

Unexpectedly, Shikamaru found himself propped above her one last time. That time was quicker the previous three and he suspected that it was more for himself than her. He wasn't sure how, but he knew this would be the last time they found comfort in each other this way. Though it had started out as a favor for a friend, it offered a calmness that Shikamaru hadn't felt since Asuma had died. He realized he felt regret over knowing that it would be a long time before he experienced that feeling of peace again and he was certain it wouldn't be through her.

After that, they found sleep. Hours later Shikamaru felt Ino stir and get up. He heard her shower yet made no move to get up. Even after she was dressed and ready to leave, Shikamaru stayed where he was. He had the faint idea that maybe he was sulking over his perceived loss. As if sensing his mood, Ino leaned over to kiss him, whispering one last thank you, and then she was gone.

When she came back from her mission a week later, she did seek him out again, but there was no sex involved. This time, Shikamaru held her while she cried. She didn't say how the mission went, though he later heard it was successful in the sense that she had gathered the information needed. Shikamaru didn't ask and he figured it wasn't his business what had or hadn't happened if she didn't want to tell him. So he continued to hold her throughout the night, not bothering to offer her empty words of comfort when he didn't understand.

The next morning, she was gone when he woke up. From that point forward, they went back to how they always had been. They never spoke of what happened and there was no tension between them. Ino went back to being boy crazy and Shikamaru went back to dodging women like it was his job. They still went on missions together as the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio and he was still the one Ino trusted with her body.

Shikamaru wasn't sure if he would ever find his peace again, but the laughter of his team mates and comrades was enough to get him by in the meantime.

A/N: You know, as a strange thing, I realized that I really don't like the Temari/Shikamaru pairing. I know that it's cannon, but for some reason I'm not for it. Which is really unusual, because even if I ship non-canon pairings, I've never actually disliked a cannon one. Life is a mystery.

Anyways, this is quite the hefty thing for one such as myself. I've never written a fic this long in one go, and I've never written anything sexual. Who am I? WHO?

This idea actually came from something of a subplot in my I Don't Care fic. I may make a one or two-shot sequel to this, but if I do, I'll make sure to write the whole thing out first. I realized that's what I need to do with my fics, because clearly trying to write short chapters as I go along does not work out for me. Thank being said, I Don't Care will eventually be taken down and rewritten as a 2-3 chapter fic with longer chapters and some things changed around.

Edit 2/1/2016:

Hello, I don't mean to fake anyone out. I'm in the process of writing the sequel for Tiffany Blews right now actually. Which is great, because it's less than the usual time of, like, five years. The first half is almost finished and so far, the first part alone is looking to be longer than Tiffany Blews. I don't plan on uploading the story until it's all finished, but since I'm super free these days, hopefully it will only take a couple more weeks to finish.

This is also to let you guys know that I made a Tumblr for my writing. The Tumblr URL is allodoxaphobiawrites. It'll have thoughts about my fanfictions and also probably provide an insight of why I write the characters the way I do. It will probably also have stuff not related to my fanfiction, but who can say for sure. Anyway, if any of you are interested, give it a looksee. I literally just created it today, so it has one whole post so far.