Shikamaru walked into his apartment and was welcomed with the warm smell of a homecooked meal. He smiled, tension in his shoulders relaxing. Though he was smart enough to know Ino wasn't going to be very happy with him. This was the third date this month that he'd shown up late to. He kicked off his shoes and made sure to place them neatly beside the door like Ino always asked him. He shrugged off his flak jacket and put it on the couch before walking towards the kitchen.

He found Ino sitting at the table glaring at a ceramic bowl that probably had their dinner in it. There were candles on the table and a vase of flowers. The assortment looked odd to him, but Ino usually put flowers together according to their meaning rather than their beauty. At least for their dates. She had her hair down and light makeup on her face. She even had a light green dress on, his favorite color.

Shikamaru immediately felt ten times worse seeing how much thought she'd put into their date. She didn't even look up at him as he walked into the room. She just leaned her head into her hand with her nails drumming on the table and continued to glare at their meal.

"Baby, I'm sorry." Shikamaru sighed as he looked at her. "I got –"

Her jaw clenched and she suddenly stood up from the table. She cut him off, "Caught up at work. Yeah, I know."

"Ino." Shikamaru stepped towards her and she angrily grabbed the dishes off the table. She started putting them back in the cabinets, never looking at him. She went back to the table and grabbed the giant bowl. Shikamaru caught her wrist before she could throw it out. "Hey, it's not too late. We can still have a good night."

She met his eyes with a glare. "The food's cold."

"I'll –" Shikamaru started, but stopped after she jerked her hand out of his and emptied the bowl in the trashcan. He didn't tell her that he would've heated it up or that it actually still had steam coming off it.

She blew out the candles and took the bowl to the sink. Shikamaru sighed as she began scrubbing at the dish. "Ino, I'm sorry. Please don't be so mad."

"It was the perfect date, Shika," she told him with her back still turned to him. "I planned everything out from the food to the flowers to this dress. And now it's all ruined."

Shikamaru grabbed her shoulders and started rubbing up and down them soothingly. She stilled in his arms and he promised, "I'll make it up to you."

She turned around shaking her head. Shikamaru was surprised to see tears in her eyes. "I had something important to tell you!"

Shikamaru felt a pain in his chest and he brought his hands up to her face. He brushed away her tears and asked her softly, "Well, what is it? You can tell me now."

Ino turned her head away from him and more tears ran down her face. She crossed her arms over her chest and nodded her head towards the table.

Shikamaru turned around and looked at the bouquet of flowers. Orchids, Casablancas, Daisies, bronze Chrysanthemum, pink Carnations, and Bachelor Buttons. The flowers meanings ran through his head and he tried to find the theme. Many children, celebration, innocence, excitement, gratitude, and anticipation.

Shikamaru felt his heart drop as he realized. He turned back to Ino. "Ino –"

She didn't meet his eyes as she interrupted, "That's right. I'm pregnant. All I ever wanted was to tell you in a special way that we're having a baby! But you thought work was more important and couldn't even bother to show up to our date on time."

Shikamaru opened his mouth to tell her that he did not think work was more important than her or their future family. But he didn't get to because she stepped out of his arms and left the kitchen.

He followed after her, the sound of her heals hitting the floor cutting at him. When she reached their room, she choked out, "It's all you fault." Then, she went inside and slammed the door behind her.

Shikamaru pounded his fist on the door after he realized she locked the door. "Ino! Let me in!"

She didn't reply to him, but he could hear her muffled crying through the door. It broke his heart. "Ino! I'm sorry! Please!"

Something was thrown at the door and it vaguely sounded like a shoe. She yelled back at him, "Sleep on the couch!"

Shikamaru cursed under his breath and slid down to the floor. He leaned his back against the door and listened to his girlfriend cry. It tore at him and he didn't know how long he tortured himself before he eventually got up and left the apartment.

Shikamaru handed the money over to the sales clerk as she smiled at him excitedly. "Do you want someone to deliver it? I can have one of the boys put it together and bring it by tomorrow?"

Shikamaru shook his head and picked up the box easily. "No, thank you. It'll mean more if I do it myself."

She smiled knowingly and nodded. Shikamaru waved at her before leaving the store. He sighed as he stepped outside into the street. The weight of all the bags on his arms causing painful creases in the fabric of his sleeves. Just one more stop…

Shikamaru fought the urge to pull out a cigarette. He wouldn't be able to smoke at home anymore. But it wasn't like Ino didn't already complain about it. He held a nail in between his lips as he put the pieces together. He tried not to think about how quiet their bedroom had gotten. He hadn't heard a sound from Ino since he got back to the apartment. She must have worn herself out from crying and fallen asleep. Shikamaru felt a heavy weight on his chest but he tried to ignore it and just focused on his task.

He had barely finished it and moved it to the corner when the front door slammed open. He glanced at the clock seeing that it was nearly midnight. Who would barge into their apartment s late at night? His first thought was Choji but it died as he saw the blonde mess enter the living room.

Ino looked like a wreck. All her crying had made her makeup smear and run down her face. Her hair wasn't sleek and smooth anymore. She panted as her eyes landed on him. Her purple sweater was falling off her shoulders and she hadn't even taken off her boots.

She ran over to him and threw her arms around him. Shikamaru held her closely, breathing in her sweet smell of flowers. She cried as she planted kisses across his face. "Shika, I'm sorry. I overacted earlier. As soon as I realized you had left, I chased after you. I've been looking all over for you."

Shikamaru ran his hand through her hair trying to soothe her. "Shh, it's okay, Ino."

She shook her head. "I just miss you so much. It seems like I never see you and we even live together! I was just scared because we're having a baby and I don't want to do it by myself."

"You won't," Shikamaru promised her, kissing her hair. "I left to go talk to Naruto and Kakashi. Kakashi said he'd pick up my slack as the Hokage advisor until the baby's a little older."

Ino looked up at him surprised. "Really?"

Shikamaru nodded, brushing her hair out of her face. She smiled at him and he told her, "I thought you were asleep. If I'd known you weren't here, I would've went looking for you."

She sighed and buried her face in his neck. She held onto him tightly. "It's okay."

He hugged her close to him and then heard her say after a minute, "Is that a crib?"

She moved out of his arms and walked over to the corner of the room. She ran her fingers along the smooth wood and asked, "Did you build this?"

She looked back at him with a wide smile and he saw more tears running down her face. He smiled back at her and walked over beside her as she found the abundance of toys inside the crib. He grabbed her hand and met her eyes. "I am really happy we're having a baby, Ino."

She let go of his hand and circled her arms around his neck. She smiled up at him and he thought she looked so beautiful even with her mascara running and her lipstick smudged. She kissed him sweetly on the lips. "Me too."