A/N: Hiya, everyone! I've been wanting to write a fic for one of my Naruto OTP's, ShikaIno, for awhile now and the time has finally come!

Just some notes:
-This will be multi-chaptered, but at the moment I don't know of the exact chapter amount.
-Contains strong sexual content.
-Takes place in canon-verse, starting a couple months before the war. There will be some spoilers if you're not caught up with the manga.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Serendipity: noun. A "happy accident" or "pleasant surprise"; a fortunate mistake. Specifically, the accident of finding something good or useful while not specifically searching for it. :-)

The sand rolled in waves, collecting in pockets of dust that littered the corners of the Village Hidden in the Sand, so rightfully named. Shikamaru hated sand. He longed for the cool breeze of the distant Leaf Village, the shrubbery, the green, the shade that was cast from the endless trees. Finally, this mission is over, he thought. He had traveled here alone with Ino; Chouji was lazing around in the comfort of his own home, sick from eating too much barbeque. Or maybe he was faking it.

Ino trailed slightly behind as Shikamaru walked side by side with Temari, who had volunteered to escort them out of the village. She crossed her arms in annoyance, feeling slightly left out. There was just something about Temari that Ino didn't like, but she couldn't figure out what it was. She was nice enough; not entirely friendly, but nice. And there wasn't a single thing that she could pinpoint that she didn't like about her… So why did she feel a tug of irritation whenever Temari was around? Ino shrugged it off, convincing herself that it was only because she never fully got over the fact that the sand siblings were their enemies at one point in time. It certainly wasn't because of the way she walked a little too close to Shikamaru, smiling casually, flirting subtly.

Ino wasn't jealous; she laughed at the thought. If she was jealous, that would mean that she liked Shikamaru, but she didn't. She couldn't. The idea itself was absurd. She was only protective over him because he was a teammate and a friend… After all, he was just a friend, right?

They reached the entrance to the Sand Village, nodding at the guards and pausing to say goodbye.

"Thanks again for the help," Temari said, more to Shikamaru than Ino.

"No problem," Shikamaru replied.

"Well, I guess I'll see you around. Goodbye, Shikamaru, Ino."

They bid her farewell and turned begrudgingly to the miles of desert that stretched out before them like a bad dream, seemingly endless. Ino glanced over her shoulder, making sure that Temari's retreating back was a safe distance away. "Ya know," she said, watching Shikamaru out of the corner of her eye. "I think she likes you."

"Huh? Temari? Nah, she just thinks I'm reliable."

Ino shrugged her shoulders, not entirely sure why she bothered to press the subject. "…Why don't you ask her out?"

"Eh…She…She's not my type, I guess."

Shikamaru had to stop himself from saying 'she's not you.'

They had tracked through the desert for nearly two hours when strong currents of wind poured in from the surrounding mountainside, collecting swirling gusts of sand as it came. It spun in miniature tornadoes, drifting left, right, and back again, all the while pelting Shikamaru and Ino with grains of sand from every angle.

"Blegh," Ino coughed, covering her face with her hands. "I just ate sand!"

"Man, I hate the desert," Shikamaru lamented, stopping in place. "We need to take cover." He glanced around the vast stretch of earth, raising his forearm to shield the sun and sand from his eyes. In the distance, he spotted a small cave carved into the mountainside, and hoped that it wasn't just a mirage.

"Come on," he said, taking hold of Ino's hand. "You can keep your eyes covered, just follow me."

She held her arm over her face as Shikamaru led her across the desert, through the pelting wind and sand, until they reached the protective shade of the shallow cavern. Stepping inside, Ino glanced halfheartedly around the small, dusty space.

"What do we do now?"

"We wait. Rule number one of the desert: If there's a sand storm, you stay put."

Shikamaru knelt down to the floor and Ino followed, sitting with her back against the opposite wall. They pulled bottles of water out of their rucksacks, taking a much needed drink.

"How long will it take to pass?" Ino asked him, peering out at the thick gusts of wind.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure. But this isn't so bad. We could use this time to rest, anyway."

She rolled her eyes. "You love any excuse to lay down and do nothing."

He smirked. "Took you this long to figure that out, huh?"

They dug into their rucksacks, both extracting a sleeping cot and a blanket, and laid them out across the dirt floor of the cave, leaving a deliberate space between them. Shikamaru immediately rolled over and closed his eyes, happy to be out of the direct sunlight. He never had a problem getting comfortable; he could take a nap pretty much anywhere. Ino, on the other hand, found it nearly impossible to fall asleep in that moment. She closed her eyes, but was perturbed by the constant whistling of the rolling wind, the sand occasionally dusting across her face. She lay in a cold sweat, still clinging to her body from their trek, and each time a gust of wind blew into the cave, she shivered slightly. She wrapped her blanket closer around her, but it was too thin to make much of a difference. She sighed in irritation. Who would have ever thought it was possible to feel cold in a desert?

Restlessly, she rolled over, glancing at Shikamaru's back. "Shikamaru," she whispered.

"Hn?" He grunted, his arms folded across his chest.

"Are you asleep?"

"Yes."

She rolled her eyes. "Liar. Quit being so lazy."

"I'm supposed to be lazy, Ino. I'm sleeping."

"Shika…" she said in a coy voice.

Shikamaru felt the corners of his lips turn up into an irresistible smile, thankful that his face was hidden. He could never tell her how much he loved it when she called him 'Shika.'

He sighed, feigning annoyance. "What's wrong?"

"I'm cold."

He lazily lifted the corner of his blanket with his hand. "You want my blanket?"

"Then you'll be cold."

"But you'll be warm."

She bit her lip as she crawled closer to Shikamaru, pushing her sleeping cot beside his own. He rolled onto his back, looking up at her curiously. "What are you doing?"

"Share!" she exclaimed, slipping under his blanket and throwing hers over top of them both.

Their arms touched under the layers of cloth, the backs of their fingers grazing lightly against each other. Shikamaru now found himself wide awake and incredibly appreciative of the newfound warmth beside him. He lay very still, overly conscious of his movements.

"See, isn't this better?" she teased.

Yes, definitely, he thought. "Tch. I guess so."

She smirked. "Yeah, whatever. Go back to sleep."

What was this feeling, Ino wondered. It fluttered in her stomach and rose up through her chest, light and warm… She had never slept next to a boy, before. There was something strangely exciting about it that she couldn't quite describe; laying beside each other, sharing blankets, chests rising and falling in synch, his hand twitching slightly against her own, drawn to the warmth that radiated between them. She resisted an unexplainable urge to entwine their fingers, and quickly pushed the thought out of her head, waiting for him to roll over again, face his back to her. But this time, he didn't move.

And this time, she had no problem falling asleep.

Shikamaru woke up an hour later, having forgotten where he fell asleep, and wondering why there was a slight weight on his arm. His eyes peered open and he glanced down, immediately greeted by a swooping sensation in his stomach. Ino was turned into him with her head resting on his shoulder, her hands curled up against his side, breathing calmly against him in her sleep. His own hand was draped across her hip; he must have wrapped it around her at some point during their nap. His heart clenched at the thought. Long locks of blonde hair fell down her back, tickling the crook of his arm. He inhaled a flowery scent—A smell he knew all too well, the scent of Ino. He could spot her in a crowd just by the way she smelled; subtle, pretty, and sweet.

His eyebrows knitted together, knowing that if he had the choice, he would have stayed like this forever. Just like this. He didn't want to wake her up; she looked so peaceful in her sleep. And he would miss the feeling of having her against him, but he knew that it was selfish. After all, she was unaware of their position; she'd pull away from him as soon as she woke up. And besides, they needed to leave this place. The sand storm had finally ceased, and the sun was beginning to set. It would be dark, soon. Reluctantly, Shikamaru moved his hand to her wrist, giving it a little squeeze.

"Ino," he said quietly.

"Hm?" she mumbled.

"We gotta go, now."

She opened her eyes, a little disoriented, and not sure how she ended up sleeping inside the crook of Shikamaru's arm. She must have leaned into him in her sleep. She pulled away, feeling embarrassed. "Sorry," she muttered, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

"Don't worry about it," he said, not looking at her. He stuffed his cot and blanket back into his rucksack. "Let's just get out of this damned desert, already."

She yawned. "Sounds good to me."

They made their way out of the cave and set out on the journey home, traveling mostly in silence. Ino couldn't figure out why Shikamaru was being so quiet. Unbeknownst to her, inside of his head, a small battle was raging.

The truth was, he had liked Ino for as long as he could remember. Hell, he liked her before he even knew why he liked her. She was a bossy, troublesome girl at times, but he liked her. And always, she had her heart set on someone else. Someone cooler, better looking, best in the class. Sure, that someone had defected from the village a long time ago, but Shikamaru knew that she still cared about him. So, he kept his distance. Offering the shoulder of a friend, but never the heart of a lover. He spent years trying to suppress his feelings, push them to the back of his mind, convince himself he didn't like her, anymore. He had gotten pretty good at it, too.

But then they set out on this mission together, alone, just the two of them for the very first time. And when he woke up with her lying in his arms, not wanting to let her go, he knew that he had never lost feelings for her at all. Not even once. If anything, they had grown stronger.

And there was nothing he could do.

The sun sank behind the mountainside, imprinting a coral blush across the cloud-scattered sky, as Shikamaru and Ino finally made their way out of the desert. They continued their trek, late into the night, until they reached a small clearing in a forest of pine. Hungry and exhausted, they decided to set up camp for the night. Shikamaru started a small fire, while Ino extracted the remaining food rations from their rucksacks. They pulled up a log and sat by the firepit, chewing in silence. Ino watched Shikamaru out of the corner of her eye. He stared into the fire, eyes out of focus; seemingly distracted. So, she poked him in the arm.

"Hn?" he mumbled, pulled from his reverie.

"You're so quiet!"

He rubbed his face with his hand. "Sorry… I'm just tired."

"Hm. Me too. But how can I sleep when I feel so gross?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "You look fine to me."

She wrinkled her nose. "I'm covered in sweat and sand."

He reached his arm over his head to stretch the muscles in his shoulders, yawning lazily. "Well, there's a lake over there to bathe in," he said with a point. "I'll let you go first."

Ino peered into the unknown of the dark, following the direction of his point. "I don't want to go alone! It's scary over there."

Shikamaru stiffened, looking back at her with wide eyes. "You—You mean you want me to go with you?"

She stood up from the log, pulling him to his feet. "What's the big deal? We won't be able to see anything, it's dark."

How was it so easy for her to tempt him into madness without even realizing it? Shikamaru didn't know. But he could feel the blush rising in his cheeks as Ino followed him to the lake, grateful that it was too dark for her to notice. She stayed close to his side, perturbed by the sounds of the surrounding forest, until they reached a clearing in the trees, revealing a small lake. The water was still and calm, the full moon and scattered stars reflected across its surface from above.

"Do you think it's…Safe?" Ino asked, looking warily at the water.

Shikamaru shrugged, pulling off his vest. "Guess we're about to find out."

She slipped out of her shoes. "Oh, yeah. 'Cause that makes me feel so much better."

"We're shinobi, Ino. Besides, you really think I'm gonna let anything happen to you?" He froze, cursing at himself internally for saying that.

Ino didn't say anything, her lips curled into a small smile. Shikamaru can be kind of sweet, sometimes, she thought.

The glow of the moon was their only source of light, illuminating their silhouettes. Still, they turned their backs to each other as they quickly slipped out of their clothes and into the cold water of the lake.

"Brr," Ino shivered with a splash. "Shit, it's freezing."

Shikamaru sank his head back into the water, trying not to watch as Ino pulled a small bottle of shampoo out of her bag and began to wash her hair. He could smell a flowery scent; the same scent he had smelled when he woke up with her head on his shoulder. He loved that scent. The curve of her breasts peaked out of the surface of the water as she lifted her arms to run her fingers through the long locks of blonde hair. And he turned away, biting his lip. She's going to drive me insane, he thought.

He cupped some water in his hands and splashed it on his face, hoping the cold would calm him down. He took a deep breath, but his heart rate wasn't prepared for what happened next. Ino had snuck up behind him; he could feel her fingers brushing through his hair.

He froze, not daring enough to turn around. "What are you doing?"

"Your hair needs washing too, ya know."

"…Thanks," he said, trying to sound as naturally unconcerned as possible.

But damnit, why did it have to feel a million times better when someone else washed your hair for you? He wasn't sure. But he knew that the biggest reason it felt so good was because it was her. His eyes fluttered closed as she massaged his scalp, nails scratching at all those sensitive places. Her fingers slid down to the hair at the nape of his neck, knuckles gently brushing the skin there. He shivered involuntarily, and knew that it had nothing to do with the cold.

She giggled. "You like having your hair touched, don't you?"

He swallowed thickly. "It's not so bad, I guess."

Ino watched as soapsuds cascaded down Shikamaru's bare back, the way his muscles rippled slightly when he moved. She could sense the inviting heat of his body, radiating towards hers in the cold water, pulling her closer to him. And there was something inside, something she didn't recognize, that craved the feel of his warm skin against her own. In fact, she had to fight the urge to step closer, to drift her hands down his shoulders, and wrap herself securely around his waist. The ministrations of her hands began to slow; her eyebrows furrowed in confusion at her own strange thoughts.

She pulled her hands away, and he immediately missed her touch.

"Alright," she said from behind. "Close your eyes."

He did as he was told and felt her hands on his shoulders, gently dipping him back into the water to rinse the shampoo from his hair. He kept his eyes closed tight, knowing that if he opened them he would see Ino standing above him, naked, and still stroking his hair. He gulped back his nerves at the thought.

As he lay back in the water, Ino's eyes traveled curiously down the length of his chest, to the taut muscles of his abdomen, to the thin trail of hair that lay in the valley between his hips, peaking out of the surface of the lake. He had never been this exposed to her before. It was in that moment that she could fully appreciate how nice of a body he had; sculpted and strong. The moonlight fell across his face, illuminating the pink tint in his cheeks. And she smiled, biting her lip. "Shikamaru," she whispered down to him. "You're blushing."

He straightened back up then, not daring to look at her. If he did, he might do something crazy. Like touch her. "Tch. Can you blame me? You have no idea what you're doing to me," he said, a little vulnerable.

Now she was blushing, too. And without thinking, she gave into the temptation and reached her hands forward, placing them on his hips. Her breasts lightly pressed into the warmth of his back, the skin slickened and slippery. He shivered, eyes widening as he felt a twitch in his lower region. Oh fuck. If he didn't get away from her soon he was going to have an even harder problem to hide.

He hung his head, taking her hands into his own and lifting them from his hips. "Troublesome," he sighed.

She watched his back, confused. "What is?"

He took a safe step forward before finally turning around, facing her for the first time, her hands still held in his palms and his eyes locking onto her own. "Wanting something you can't have."

He turned away without another word, climbing onto the bank of the lake and leaving her behind in the water, feeling thoroughly confused. She shivered, following after him. And once again, they kept their backs to each other as they dressed.

She immediately regretted touching him. Surely she must have crossed the line, made him feel uncomfortable. After all, friends aren't supposed to touch each other while they're naked in a lake… Still, she wished she knew why she wanted to touch him. At first, she had blamed it on the chill of the water… But hadn't she been fighting a strange desire to touch him all day? And earlier—the annoyance she had felt towards Temari—Could it have actually been… Jealousy? And when she lay down beside him, with that feeling that rose inside her chest…

Was she…falling for Shikamaru?

Why did she touch me, Shikamaru wondered, frowning as he zipped up his pants, she doesn't even like me. He must have had a hell of a lot of self-control; in that moment, standing in the cold water, he had wanted nothing more than to turn around, wrap his arms around Ino's waist and pull her close to him. But, at the same time, he knew that if he touched her just once, he would never want to stop. And ultimately, he would become attached to something that didn't really want him. He knew that. Troublesome.

To be continued...

Well, that's it for chapter one! Hope you liked it :3