His first thought was that she was like his mother. Bossy. Loud. Annoying.

Troublesome. Just like other girls.

He didn't like that she smelled like flowers. His nose had wrinkled when she stood next to him. Ugh. It was just so girly.

And he didn't like the way she just went up to him, already acting like she knew him, just because their fathers were teammates, already telling him what to do. "Hi, Shikamaru!" she said with that wide-toothed grin and twinkling blue eyes of hers. "I'm Ino! Let's be friends, okay?"

"I dunno, Chouji," he had said when she had left them alone for a bit. "Can you imagine training with her for the rest of your life? I feel like I'll suffocate. She's pushy." He pinched the yellow rose between his fingers, looking at it with a hint of irritation. "Why did she give us this? I don't want flowers. I don't like flowers."

"Come on, Shikamaru," Chouji encouraged shyly. "She's not so bad. I think she's nice. She's pretty, too."

Shikamaru grunted skeptically.

But as spent more time with her, he learned more things about Ino than he ever wanted.

When she stood up to kids that were making fun of Chouji for being fat, he realized her fiery temper could be useful and that she loved her friends to the core. Once you were important to her, you were important to her for life.

When he wanted to relax on the grass and do nothing but stare at the clouds, the sound of her voice in the background was actually soothing when she wasn't telling him what to do.

When he was learning to be master of the shadows, it was she who brought golden sunshine with the bright blonde of her hair and her sky-blue eyes and the radiance of her smile.

And when he met other girls at the Academy who were bossier and even more loud and annoying (and far less tolerable), he found that maybe Ino wasn't so bad after all.

He told himself that it was only because he just preferred her over other girls.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu!"

"Dammit," Shikamaru grunted, moving swiftly to catch his teammate and struggling to maintain his kage mane. With one hand forming the seal, he used his other arm to prop Ino up against him, away from the enemy. She fell on him like a limp doll, his arm around her waist and her head in the crook of his neck.

When he assessed that Chouji wasn't having a difficult time, he relaxed a little. His mind had already went through a thousand ways to defeat the enemy anyway.

It was then that he noticed that her waist seemed a little smaller than he remembered. He could feel the outline of her ribs against his arm. But, with his face burning a bit, he also realized her curves were pressing into him a little more noticeably than before.

Being a teenager was weird with all the hormones and stuff, he decided. I mean, this is Ino.

He shifted her so she wasn't so pressed up against him. Ino's head lolled backward, the weight of her long hair pulling it the opposite direction. Her bangs fell away from her face, revealing her pale, clear skin and leaving her neck exposed.

When did she start wearing makeup?

Were her lashes always that long?

And her lips always that full?

Was she always this pretty?

God, Shikamaru. Shut up. He cursed. For fuck's sake, his other teammate is fucking in the middle of battle, and all he was doing was ogling his second best friend.

Okay, Shikamaru. Bring your head back down.

High IQ Shikamaru was back. He made himself think practical thoughts.

As a teammate, she was dependable and reliable. She worked hard and she was smart. After they had both earned their hitai-ate, she impressed him with the skills of her clan. Even though she was boy crazy, she was the girliest of girly girls, and her stupid fights with Sakura were irritating.

Ah, that's right. They say a girl gets prettier when she's in love. Even though it was with that stuck-up Uchiha kid.

Her head rolled back so that her face pressed into his neck. He cringed as he felt her lips settle there.

"Mm, Shikamaru…" she breathed against him, her muscles twitching a little as she returned to her body.

He never knew he could feel this hot, but he made sure he was facing away from Ino when she woke up.

"What's with all the flowers?" he asked as they walked together to their training grounds. He recognized some red and yellow tulips among the bunch.

"I'm going to give them to Sasuke-kun!" she exclaimed brightly, fingering some of the petals with a dreamy look in her eyes.

He rolled his eyes. Her constant statements about her crush made him do that more than usual.

"I don't think he cares much about anything, much less flowers," Chouji piped, his mouth full of chips.

Shikamaru nodded in agreement. "He's only going to hurt you, Ino. Look how he treats Sakura. Give up on him already."

"Flowers have meaning you know," she said snottily. "I'm sure Sasuke-kun would know." Ino's eyes narrowed. "Why can't you just support me, for once?"

"Yeah, okay, whatever." Shikamaru snorted. "We'll meet you when your done with him. Let's go, Chouji."

"Whatever. I'll see you later!" Ino gathered her bouquet closer to her chest before turning to walk hurriedly in the opposite direction.

"Wait, hey, you dropped one." He bent down to pick it up from the ground. Shikamaru extended his arm out towards her and she took it from him, placing it back expertly into the bouquet.

"What's that?" Chouji asked.

"Lilacs for first love!"

Shikamaru and Chouji shared a look with each other as she went off.

"You kind of hate it that she likes him, huh?"

Good ol' Chouji. Reading him like a book, even though he showed almost as much emotion as the guy Ino was in love with.

He shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

Chouji glanced at him skeptically. "You know, I think she has a thing for you, too."

Shikamaru snorted. "Yeah, right."

"You just don't see it because you're too busy trying to act like you're not noticing her."

It was silent a bit as they continued towards their training ground.

"Maybe she thinks you don't care about her because you don't show any reaction when she talks about Sasuke," his larger friend continued, between handfuls of his favorite snack.

Shikamaru brushed off his comment. "Those kinds of things are troublesome, anyway."

What dumbass would try to help save the guy the girl he loved was in love with?

Only him.

He felt pretty stupid when he left with Chouji, Kiba, Neji, and Naruto to try to bring Sasuke back. Did he even want that bastard back? Ino did. Maybe he'd do it for her, too, not just Naruto—even though that bastard had already rejected her harshly.

Too bad he failed.

He woke up in a hospital bed sore, irritated, and a little depressed. It was one thing to have failed a mission. It was another to have hurt your friends in the process. He thought he'd be a little embarrassed to face them after that.

And then he realized he wasn't alone.

"Ino?"

He felt her chakra and turned his head towards her. She had been busy flitting around the room, fussing with this and that and fixing things up like her typical self. There was a nervous buzz to her step.

"Shikamaru!" Ino was by his side in a second. She reached out to embrace him, pulling him close to her. He inhaled slowly and relaxed with scent of her hair.

She rarely ever touched him and Chouji, which was surprising, given how affectionate Ino could be. So when she actually did initiate physical contact between any of them, he knew she must have been feeling extra loving today. She gave him a teary smile as she relaxed slowly in the chair next to his bed.

"What are you doing here?"

"Baka," she scolded. "It's only natural to visit your teammate when he's injured, isn't it?"

Shikamaru attempted to grin. "Is Chouji okay?"

She nodded. "He's doing better. I already stopped by his room, you know, to freshen things up and bring him flowers." After a small chuckle, she said, "He's already almost eating as much as he used to."

Shikamaru noticed the flowers near his bedside. Fresh from the Yamanaka flower shop. As if on cue, Ino got up to fiddle with the bouquet, muttering something about the vase.

The room was silent a few minutes. Shikamaru stared up at the ceiling.

"Aren't you sad that I couldn't bring Sasuke back?" Shikamaru asked. He saw Ino still in his periphery. "Aren't you…mad at me for failing?"

It was a few moment before Ino answered. Her back was to him. "When you left, I wondered who would I cry for more if he didn't come home." She turned slowly to face him. He couldn't help noticing the slightly guarded and shy look in her eyes. "So. Welcome home, Shikamaru. I'm glad you're safe."

She turned back to arranging the flowers as the weight of her words hung around them.

For the first time, Shikamaru relaxed, unclenching the fists he had formed. There was this warm feeling in his chest, but he didn't know how to answer her. He coughed. "Um…what are those?"

"Peonies. For healing." She paused.

"And Lilacs," she murmured in a quieter and much more embarrassed voice.

He stared up at the ceiling and smiled tenderly.

For first love.

She had found him on his favorite field, surrounded by wispy gray clouds of smoke in the backdrop of an overcast sky.

"Thought you'd be here," she said in her know-it-all-voice. It made him roll his eyes.

"Can I sit with you?"

Shikamaru shrugged, the cigarette dangling lightly from his lips. He felt her kneel beside him.

"Why'd you leave so fast?"

He shrugged again. Ino started plucking some of the dandelions absentmindedly.

"I think you hurt Kurenai-sensei's feelings."

He kept ignoring her.

"Hey." His view of the gray sky was obstructed by Ino's face. "Are you listening?"

"I came here to be alone, Ino," he said through gritted teeth. He blew a puff of smoke right in her face. "So leave."

Ino backed away coughing and heaving. "Ugh, Shikamaru! You shouldn't smoke that." She leaned over him, trying to take the cigarette away.

Shikamaru stretched it out of her reach. "Stop telling me what to do."

"It's bad for you."

"I don't care." Shikamaru scowled, moving to turn over. "Can you leave me alone now?

"Hey." Ino grabbed his face roughly, moving to place his head on her lap. Shikamaru couldn't help his eyes from widening in surprise. She leaned over him once more, arched brows knitted in worry. It was then that he noticed her full lips were turned down and her blue, red rimmed eyes were swimming. There were dark circles under them, and even he could tell she wasn't wearing any makeup to cover them up. Her hair was stringy and it stuck to her face as she looked down at him.

Her vulnerability squeezed his heart.

What she said next made it hurt. Her grip on his face softened into an almost-caress. "It's okay to cry, you know,' she whispered as she stared down at him.

Damn the Yamanaka clan and their mind techniques.

"Miss Know-it-all," he managed to choke out. Shikamaru squeezed his eyes shut, but the tears managed to leak out anyway. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought it was a little embarrassing to be crying in front of her. But she understood. After all, he wasn't the only one who had just lost his sensei.

Then he realized that the drops that were splashing on his face weren't rain. They were Ino's tears.

He opened his eyes. She was hunched over him, sobbing quietly.

"Hey, crybaby," Shikamaru reached up, putting a palm to her cheek and brushing the tears away from her. "You really ought to stop telling me what to do."

Ino's eyes opened in surprise. Shikamaru kept his hand on her cheek and he stared up at her, lashes and cheeks still wet with not only his tears, but hers.

Her face crumpled and she reached up to her cheek to place her hand on top of his. "We'll make it, won't we?" Her eyes begged him to tell her it would be okay as she looked down to meet his.

He was the strategist of their team. He was the genius. He was the realist. The leader. He kept them in check. Whatever Shikamaru said, happened. They knew they could trust him.

"Yeah," he murmured. "We've got each other." He let his arm fall back down to his side.

Ino sniffled one more time and leaned down. "Thanks, Shikamaru," she whispered. She gave him a quick peck on his lips.

There was a hint of a blush on her cheeks, but because she looked away, she didn't notice the one on his.

"Do you want to watch the clouds?" he asked after a while.

"If you'll throw away the cigarette."

"I will."

They fell asleep after sharing a few more cigarettes and reminiscing about their sensei in time with the passing clouds until the edges of the horizon turned pink, gold, and red with the Konoha sunset.

Shikamaru thought it was nice having Ino around. He liked her reaction when he leaned over to kiss her back. He thought he'd like to see it more.

Ino thought that curling up against Shikamaru's was probably one of the most comfortable places in the world. She also liked the feel of her fingers laced with his. She felt at peace, she said, knowing that he was right there with her.

It was then that they agreed to try it more often. It helped to ease the sadness in their heart, they said.

He could hear her sobbing before he reached her door.

"Go on up, Shikamaru," Ino's mother had said with a sad smile. "She's locked herself up in her room, but I'm sure you'll be able to make her come to her senses."

Knock knock knock

"Can I come in?" he called.

"Go away," came her muffled voice. He could picture her in a nest of blankets and bedsheets and pillows.

"Ino." Shikamaru sighed.

"I don't want to be bothered right now."

He leaned his forehead on the door. "I have something for you."

"I don't want it."

"Please."

The door was yanked open. "What?" She had been crying again. Her eyes were red and her nose was pink.

He pushed past her and plopped on her bed, laying a package beside him as he sat against the headboard. Her room was a mess.

"Pushy bastard," Ino muttered, snatching up the parcel and ripping it open. She froze as she held the object in her hands. She looked at him with wide eyes.

"They found your father's coat," he said softly. "They wanted you to have it."

Ino's face fell and she sobbed once before burying her face in the black coat, clutching it to her like a lifeline.

Shikamaru sighed, getting up from the bed. With one stride, he had his arms wrapped around her in a tight embrace. They stood like that for a while before Ino's sobs lessened and she was hugging him back.

"Stop being such a crybaby," Shikamaru said, putting a hand to her head.

"Who's crying?" Ino sniffed, burying her face into his vest to wipe away the last of her tears. "Thanks, Shikamaru," she mumbled.

He pulled away from her. "I know how you feel," Shikamaru turned his lip up at one corner as he looked down to meet her eyes.

"Hey, why is your hair down?" Ino asked suddenly, reaching up to push a strand of hair away from his face.

"My ponytail reminds me of my dad." He shrugged one shoulder. "Why is yours down?" In turn, he reached out to tug at one long, blonde strand.

"Same." She smiled up at him. "You look good."

"You do, too."

Ino pulled away from him to place the jacket gently on her chair. "You should go home and rest." There's Bossy Ino.

"You should get out of your house more." Shikamaru retorted. "You can't stay in here forever." He walked over to her window, leaning against the frame to survey the broken Konoha. It looked a little eerie underneath the bright moon.

"I'm tired, Shikamaru," she said wearily.

"Aren't we all."

"It was a long war." Ino had joined him. Her slender arms wrapped around him from behind and she rested her head on his back.

Shikamaru closed his eyes and let her press against him.

"Stay with me tonight, Shikamaru," she whispered shyly. "Please."

He was quiet. "Napping doesn't solve everything."

"With you it does."

Shikamaru turned to face her, allowing her to keep her arms around him. He looked down at her and her bright blue eyes were wide in the light of the moon, pleading with him. He pushed her hair back behind her shoulders and pressed his forehead to hers. "Only for a little while."

"You mean, you-! And Ino!" Naruto's jaw dropped.

Kiba shrugged and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, blushing a little. It was all Shikamaru could do not to shove his fist through the dog-boy's teeth. For now, he gritted his own and took slow deep breaths as he listened. "And it probably won't last, but for now, it's something."

He got up quickly.

"Whoa, Shikamaru, I've never seen you move so fast bef—"

"I just remembered something I need to do for Tsunade-sama," he said stonily.

He all but marched his way through the streets of Konoha before he burst in the Yamanaka flower shop, the bells hanging from its door clashing horribly as he entered.

"—And these flowers mean that—" Ino was explaining sweetly to an elderly man.

"Sorry, there's been a change in plans." Shikamaru interrupted. "The shop is closed until further notice."

"Wha-? Hey!" Ino protested as Shikamaru ushered—or almost pulled—the man out. "Shikamaru, what are you doing?!" she hissed. To the customer she said, "I'm sorry, sir, I don't know what he's talking—"

"Thanks for your time, we'll be happy to give you a dozen free roses when you return," Shikamaru continued before closing the door on a man with a very confused look on his face and a very irritated Ino.

"What the fuck, Shikamaru?!" Ino seethed through gritted teeth. "You can't just make me lose customers like that!"

"You're fucking Kiba?" he asked furiously. An angry Shikamaru was a very rare sight, but an angry Shikamaru was also a very frightening one. Ino's faced changed completely and she drew back from Shikamaru's form. There was no laziness in his posture.

"W-What?" He could see her fingers trembling as she gripped her apron.

"Are. You. Fucking. Kiba?" he asked in a dangerously low voice, his jaw set.

"Well, what if I am? Why do you care?" Her blue eyes sparked as she took his tone of voice as a challenge. "It's not like you tell me anything about you and that bitch from Suna."

Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "There is nothing going on between me and Temari."

"Get real, Shikamaru," she sneered. She turned away from him. There was something sexy about the way she wore her hair down completely. But there was definitely defiance in the way that it swung and flipped as she left him. "You're gone for months on end, you don't ever communicate with me, but suddenly you're home and now you're concerned about who I'm fucking?"

"That's not want I want to hear from someone when I come back. Especially about you." He reached out to grab her arm, turning her to face him.

"Why do you want to know anything about me? Especially about something like that?" She tugged her arm away from him, pushing him back with the palm of her other hand. "I don't owe you any explanation! You made it clear when you left!" Ino couldn't hide the tremble in her lower lip.

"You're my teammate and my best friend," he said angrily. "I think I deserve to know something of that magnitude." He rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Especially when there was something between… us."

Ino's jaw clenched and her eyebrows sloped downward with narrowed eyes. "The last time we tried something you ended it with even explaining anything to me," she retorted sharply.

Shikamaru sighed, his arms limply hanging at his sides. "I told you, it was for Naruto—"

"Naruto this, Konoha that. What about you, Shikamaru?" Ino demanded. She crossed her arms and looked away from him. In a quieter voice, "What about me?"

"I already told you, Ino. It would be better for our clans and the future of Konoha if we didn't have anything between us."

"Is that what you fucking deduced in your superior fucking mind?" She stepped backward, removing her shop apron in one motion and throwing it at him. "So you tell me you love me, that I'm fucking special to you, you make me love you, you take my first kiss, my first—everything!" Ino's face was flaming, "and then you suddenly realize this and then stop acting the same towards me? Oh, that solves everything. God, Shikamaru, for a genius, you can be so stupid!"

Shikamaru's voice rose to meet hers. "I left and took the mission in the countries for Naruto so I didn't have to think about you all the time, okay?" He started to hit his head. "It's hard to be around you, thinking with this stupid practical mind that I have about what would happen if, what would be the best way…"

SMACK SMACK SMACK

"Shikamaru, stop," Ino said in a low voice, grabbing his arm.

He couldn't meet her eyes. His forehead stung where he had hit himself.

They stood like that in silence until she whispered, "You're right, though."

He kept his gaze fixed on a broken pot on the corner of her shop.

"You're always right."

I hate it. There was something about the long pause that told each other they had shared the same thought.

Shikamaru finally met her gaze. "I told you it would be difficult. But being around you makes it even more difficult."

"Why is that?" She sounded a little hurt.

"I can't stand it!" Shikamaru grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her. "I don't want anyone else to have you!" Because I can't.

Ino trembled as they stared at each other. "Don't lie to me."

The next thing they knew, her face was in his hands and their lips were colliding and her fingers were in his hair and she was taking off his vest and he was pressing her against him right there in her flower shop.

But with each of the urgent kisses and the tears and every spark of electricity they felt between their skin, they understood that even though they let themselves be free for this moment, it was somehow the beginning of goodbye.

"Congratulations!" Glasses clinked loudly together as music and merriment filled the air.

"Congrats, Shikamaru! Another one of the Rookie 12 getting hitched!"

"Took you long enough!"

Shikamaru gave a small smile in response as his dark eyes surveyed the scene before him. Laughter from members of both Suna and Konoha filled his ears, the smell of delicious food, his nose. Alcohol filled his belly, and loved ones filled his sight every time he turned around. It was a big day. Everyone important to him was supposed to be there. And everyone was.

Except one.

He raised his glass of champagne to his lips and downed the liquid as quickly as he could. He slipped out of his fiancee's arm with a polite "I'll be right back," to her and her kazekage brother.

He slided next to his burlier teammate who was chowing down on what seemed to be his eighth plate. "Where is she?" he sighed, rubbing his temples.

Chouji stopped eating long enough to give him a sympathetic look. "Where do you think?" he managed to say, his mouth full of food.

He sighed again. Her favorite place to go something took a major emotional toll on her. She went there often after taking over the Interrogation unit. Too much mental stress, she said.

"The tavern?"

Chouji nodded, his cheeks still puffed out with his meal. After a quick swallow, he added, "She's been there a while, so—"

"Got it," Shikamaru interrupted quietly. His body stilled as his clasped his hands together and leaned forward on with his elbows on his knees. Even Chouji couldn't seem to take another bite of food. It was a few minutes before Shikamaru stood up. "If they ask, tell them I'll be back," he said gruffly.

He could hear her long before he actually spotted her, merely a few steps inside.

"—it's like what am I doing, you know? Like am I just going nowhere? Like everywhere I turn, I just end up back in one spot, you know? I keep coming back. To him."

Shikamaru shook his head. Drunk Ino was loud Ino. Overly emotional Ino. Who was she even talking to?

He found her with her head on one arm flat on the bar, empty glasses of what looked like beer surrounding her. Her long, blonde hair streamed down her back, almost spilling on the dirty floor. He could see her long, slender fingers twirling an empty shot glass between both hands. Shikamaru stuck his hands in his pockets as he stood behind her and listened, leaning back against the corner of a wall that separated the bar from the tables.

"Like I'm supposed to be following my father's footsteps, you know? And I am, you know? At least I'm trying," Ino hiccupped. "I know that it's all for the sake of the next generation—always had been for the next generation— and there can't be an Ino-Shika-Cho if there's just Ino or Shika and Cho. I mean, do we have to be separate? Would we be separate? If they would just give us a chance I think—"

"Ino."

The blonde stiffened at the sound of the familiar voice and she sat up angrily, her fierce blue eyes blazing. Red tinged at her cheeks, but he could tell it wasn't from anger. "And what are you doing here, Mr. Ooh, I'm Getting Married Now?" She leaned towards him on the high stool glaring daggers at him. "Don't you have an engagement party to be at? Your own engagement party?" She reached out to poke him on the chest angrily.

"You mean the one you're supposed to be at, too?" Shikamaru rubbed his pec.

She inhaled sharply. "I said all I needed to say. Congrats, way to go, big whoop-dee-doo, yadda, yadda," Ino flapped her hand with each sentence, rolling her eyes. She slammed the shot glass down. "Another!" Ino gave him another death stare. "And one for my teammate over here, to celebrate his marriage!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes back at her and climbed on the stool next to her. "Stop drinking Ino."

"'Stop drinking Ino,' he says," she mocked. "And bring two beers, while you're at it," Ino called to the bartender.

Shikamaru stared at her grimly.

"Whatsamatter, Shikamaru-kuuun," Ino crooned sarcastically. She leaned forward, pushing him playfully on the shoulder. "Can't I buy my friend a drink? C'mon, it's on me!"

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Celebrating, what does it look like?" Ino spat. The bartender placed the beers and two full shot glasses in front of them. Ino shoved one of each in Shikamaru's direction. "Here, one for you, one for me. Cheers!" She didn't even give him time to take the glass in his hand.

He took the shot anyway. He gagged and winced, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He hated liquor.

When he looked back at her, her head was already tipped back downing her beer.

"Ino, stop! Stop." He rubbed his forehead. "Let's talk."

She started laughing hysterically. "Talk? Let's talk? Oh, you wanna talk? Now you wanna talk?" Ino reached over to grab Shikamaru's untouched beer and chugged it as well.

"Let's go outside." He grabbed her by her hands, turning her to face him.

"Hey! I'm not even done yet!" Ino protested, attempting to reach for her own glass. It was still a fourth full. Shikamaru just put one arm around her small waist and swept her off the stool, slamming some money down on the counter. "Put me down, you stupid Nara!"

He didn't put her down until they were outside. The cold air hit them at once.

"You ruin everything, Shikamaru!" Ino shoved Shikamaru away. She wrapped her pale arms around herself, letting her long bangs hide her face from her teammate.

Shikamaru exhaled, giving the fresh air a chance to calm Ino down. She seemed to shrink into herself with every minute, cringing away from him. Vaguely, he thought how impressive she looked in her father's old coat. After a moment, he asked quietly, "Why are you doing this, Ino?"

Her head shot up at once. That fierceness was back. "Why? Why am I doing this?" She stomped towards him. "This is all." Ino punched him in the arm now. "Your." In the chest. "Fault!" In his abdomen.

And yet, he let her.

"Mr. 'You're my first love, but I don't want it to be weird between us.' Mr. 'I'm so lazy, it would be troublesome to show my true emotions to anyone, even the one I love most.'" And she was hitting him and she was sobbing and sniffling. "Mr. 'I'm never going to tell you what I really feel so that I keep you guessing until it's too late.' Mr. 'I'm so fucking traditional.' Mr. 'It will be better for our team, it will be better for Konoha.' Mr. 'I'm the Hokage's right hand so I'm going to go on all these foreign trips to other nations now and escape reality and forget about everything.' Mr. 'I'm never going to come home as often and go on missions with my old teammates anymore because it's awkward between me and another one and I love my new job more anyway."

His eyes were stinging and he could feel wetness leaking out of his tear ducts, but all he could do was stand with his hands in his pockets, taking each of her hits.

And then suddenly, it was almost as if she just grew tired. Her hand grew limp and all she could do now was just clench the front of his shirt in her fist, leaning forward onto him with her head in the crook of his neck. "Mr. 'I'm going to fall for someone else now and it just so happens that it would make everything political better for the whole fucking shinobi world.' Mr. 'I'm an asshole and a liar and I couldn't even tell my own teammate and she had to hear it from someone else.' Mr. 'I look so damn fucking happy when I'm with somebody else.'"

Ino gave a shuddering sob before she finally pulled back away from him.

Her blue eyes were glittering now as he looked down on her, clenching his jaw, and he could almost see his own reflection in them. "It's like, god, this fucking hurts, you know? It's like this guy meant so much to me, so so much to me. For so much of my life. It's like it feels like I'm losing him, you know?"

Shikamaru swallowed thickly. "But you're not losing him," he managed to croak.

Ino shook her head. "I'm losing him because he belongs to someone else. He's going to live the rest of his life with someone else. He's going to love someone else," The tears were spilling down her cheeks now, dripping off the perfect point of her chin. She put her hands to her mouth, shaking her head back and forth as she tried to contain her sobs. "And I..I'm going to be stuck. Loving him for the rest of my life."

At this, Shikamaru sighed shakily. He leaned forward wrapping his arms around her neck and shoulders, resting his chin on them as she stared unseeingly up at the night sky.

They stood like that a while. She was still trembling. He could smell that familiar floral scent in her hair. Lilacs. Ino's scent. He closed his eyes. It made his gut churn, bringing a wave of longing and nostalgia.

"Ne, Shikamaru," He felt Ino lean her head closer to his. "I love you." Her wet cheek pressed against his. "You know that right?"

"I know," he whispered back. He squeezed her a little tighter. I love you, too. "I'm sorry."

I'm sorry I hurt you.

I'm sorry I was too much of a coward to face you.

I'm sorry I was too lazy and stupid to change what we had to something more.

Ino, can you hear me?

There was no need for words between an exceptional, observant high IQ-genius and the elite leader of a prestigious, mind-reading clan.

Shikamaru felt her bring her arms up his back to embrace him. She clutched tightly at the fabric of his jacket. "Just as long…as you'll always be here." Where I can reach you.

"You're too annoying," Shikamaru murmured. "I don't think I'll ever be rid of you." Not that I'd want it any other way.

She half-sobbed, half-laughed. "I don't think you really want to be rid of me." He felt her lips brush against what had been her favorite spot to kiss him, the spot below his ear, on his neck at the point where his jaw unhinged.

"Never."

It was their way of giving some promise of forever, even if they were finally letting each other go.

"Shikadai, you're late," Shikamaru said when his son walked as lazily as he did through the door.

"I was helping Inojin at Ino-ba's," Shikadai sassed, his lower lip jutting out.

Shikamaru sniffed the air lightly. His son had unknowingly brought in the smell of the shop with him. "Go greet your obaa-san. She's been waiting for you in the kitchen."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going," Shikadai rolled his eyes in typical Shikamaru fashion, turning on his heel.

A little flash of blue in Shikadai's hair caught Shikamaru's eye.

"Wait, what's that in your hair?"

Shikadai turned back, putting a hand to his head. "Huh?" He brought out a flower from his smaller pineapple ponytail. "Oh, this?" He shrugged. "It must have gotten stuck in my hair. Ino-ba said it was like a lilac or something."

Shikadai moved to throw it to the ground, but Shikamaru reached out and grabbed it. "A lilac, huh?"

Shikadai looked questioningly at his father.

"I'll put it in the garden," Shikamaru explained indifferently. "It's good for the soil."

"Okay," Shikadai shrugged.

Shikamaru stood alone quietly for a few minutes, staring at the flower in his palm. Lilac, my ass. He gave a little grunt. She still had that clever and playful wittiness, though he rarely got to experience it firsthand anymore, but she still couldn't fool him.

"Forget-me-not."

He snorted and he smiled absentmindedly. He could almost picture Ino sticking her tongue out at him.

Like I ever could, idiot.