Doki Doki, a naruto fanfic

ZOMG! I seriously promise to update on So Predictable soon! I mean it! No more random one-shot ideas from me until this is updated!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!

Authoress comments: Umm well, this one just hit me (like the last one…lol)… the plot is probably too cliché and overused but…well…whatever! ( -shrug- ) …this is just how I see Ino realizing her feelings for Shika!

Warning: My aim was for Shika to be IN character…but well…that aim soon died…so as a warning he's a little OOC in this story…

Doki Doki - A ShikaIno one-shot

It started like any normal summer day…

The sun was shining!

The stray wisps of clouds were hovering above the world in a peaceful manner...

People were bustling about the market and Konoha ninja were hurrying to their duties…

Yup…

…it started like any other normal day for Ino Yamanaka…

"Shikamaru!" A high-pitched voice rang out amongst the trees near the training grounds.

Light footsteps sounded as they trudged through the dirt trail hidden by the large towering trees. The footsteps stopped as its mistress heard some clangs of metal (presumably from a kunai) a little further up the pathway. The teenager stopped as she even more quietly continued to follow the path, brushing branches away with her right hand as she made it to a clearing.

Ino Yamanaka silently stood in the clearing and stared at her past teammate as he practiced dodging the kunai and shuriken that were being shot at him from every direction. Her eyes studied his exhausted face carefully and she opted to let him train for a little while longer.

She must have stepped on a small twig, for at that moment his coffee brown eyes lifted from the ground to meet her brilliant blue ones.

Shikamaru quirked a brow skywards and wiped the sweat off his forehead with his left hand. He focused his blurry eyesight on the figure before realizing that it was his former teammate. Standing up straight from his tired 'hands-on-knees' posture, he made his way to the blonde while throwing the kunai in his hand down on the grass.

"Ino? What're you doing here?" The 18 year old asked as he eyed the large woven basket in the girls' left hand.

Ino ignored his question and merely walked up to him with a small grin playing on her lips. Without warning, she set the basket down on a tree stump, pulled out a bottle of water and a white towel, and dumped the items in his hands.

She gazed back up to meet his still confused stare.

"What? I can't ask my friend to join me for a picnic?" She asked teasingly as she took out a blanket from the basket and shook it out, laying it on the ground. The still confused look on the young man's face caused her to let out a small giggle.

"I heard you came back from your mission early so I decided to stop by and see how you were doing…I mean…I haven't seen you in months!" Ino chided as she patted a spot next to her, signaling for him to sit down. The Jonin looked at her skeptically as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the towel. He chose to sit a few feet away from her than where she intended him to.

Shikamaru twisted the cap from the bottle open and chugged the water down, realizing how thirsty he was. Ino watched the sweat running down his toned muscles and looked back up at him just as he threw the empty bottle down to the side.

"You seem to be training a lot these days…" The blonde inferred as she took out a plate of packed sandwiches from her basket, setting them down between the two.

Shikamaru wiped his sweat glistened neck with the towel and looked at her again before scratching the back of his head.

"Well…I have to train a lot if I want to become a member of the ANBU…" The shadow user pointed out as he grabbed his black turtleneck long sleeved shirt and pulled it over his head.

An unexplainable look of disappointment crossed Ino's face as she watched him pull his head out of the turtleneck collar, smoothing out the creases with his hands.

"I guess so…but don't overexert yourself okay?" She scolded lightly as she took off the plastic covering the sandwiches and presented the plate to Shikamaru.

"Yes ma'am!" he rolled his eyes, reaching out for the plate but sadly for him, was too far from his reach.

Ino frowned and set the plate down.

"Why are you sitting so far away from me??" The Yamanaka asked as she gave him a look. Shikamaru felt a cold jolt run through him as he looked in her eyes.

"Because…" he drawled out slowly as he forced his head to make up a reasonable excuse.

"…you can see the clouds better from here" he finished confidently as he pointed skywards with his thumb.

Ino looked up at the clump of branches that blocked her view of the sky and shook her head at the lad's words while scooting over closer to him. With a few inches between them, she tried to look up at the sky again but to her dismay, the branches still blocked her view.

"Urghh! I still can't see much! Maybe I should move the blanket further out?" The florist questioned as she begun to stand up.

A sigh escaped from the 18 year olds' mouth and the next thing she knew, she was letting out a small squeak as his hand was gently placed on her shoulder, pulling her sideways towards him until her head was leaning on his broad shoulder.

"So troublesome…can you see better now?" he questioned, his eyes still glued to the poofy clouds floating aimlessly above.

"Y-Yeah…" The mind user quietly mumbled as she took the moment to take her eyes off the clouds and briefly glance at him from the corner of her eye.

The two stared up at the clouds in a comfortable silence, listening to the wind dance amongst the leaves.

The silence was soon broken as a peculiar sentence flowed out of Ino's mouth.

"This is by far the most…gentlemanly thing you've done so far Shikamaru…"

The shadow manipulator blinked as her spoken thought registered in his mind. He glanced at her as a knowing grin was beginning to show on her face.

"Well don't get used to it cuz I'll never do it again…" he shrugged as he lay back down on the grass with his hands behind his head. A small "oof" escaped from his lips when Ino's head fell to his chest.

The blonde felt no need to get off of Shikamaru, mainly because she was too tired to. After all, she had come straight to him after coming back from her own mission, leaving her with no time to sleep off her tiredness.

And besides, when they were kids they had watched the clouds this way before and it was fine. It was just an innocent gesture…

...right?

Ino mentally shrugged and took a sandwich, handing it to Shikamaru and grabbing one for her as well. She bit into the sandwich slowly and continued to watch the clouds.

"Pretty good…" a low mutter came out from the boy under her as peacefulness started to settle in again.

Ino smiled up at the clouds.

"Thanks! Chouji said the same thing!"

Shikamaru stared at the girl lying on his chest and then back at the sandwich in his hands, examining it carefully.

"Even Chouji approved it? Are you sure you didn't buy these??" he asked astonished, as he waved the sandwich in his hand to emphasize his point. He recalled a memory from a few months ago when Ino had asked Chouji and Shikamaru to taste her packed lunch (made for Sai) and ever since then, the two would still get queasy from thinking about the incident.

A low growl came from the blonde and she slapped his leg playfully.

"Oh shut up! You should be glad I had the decency to even make you a lunch!" She huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest, a pout visible on her face.

"Mmm that's true…I guess I should treasure this rare moment…" he chuckled as he finished his sandwich and reached out to grab another one. Ino slapped his leg again, muttering something about never making lunch for sarcastic and smart mouthed bastards ever again.

Doki

Ino lifted up her closed lids and looked around quietly. Leave it to her to accidentally fall asleep when she had intended to stay for only an hour or so…

Doki

The florist placed her hand on her chest lightly and sat up soundlessly. She looked down at the sleeping Shikamaru and then back at the hand on her chest.

"What the heck?" she questioned as she felt the erratic heart beats coming from her chest.

Before she could investigate any further, the heart beats slowed down to a normal rate and her once flushing warm face disappeared as well. Ino scratched her head and shrugged the thought off.

"That was weird…" she muttered as she gently lifted herself up and off the blanket and decided to clean up the small picnic.

As she finished putting the last food container in her basket she sat back down, watching Shikamaru's chest rise and fall in rhythm with his light breathes. She placed her right hand above her heart again.

Nope…

…absolutely nothing…

No quickening of pulse or flushed face…

Ino stood up, her basket held in her right hand.

"Well I guess I should go…I promised to meet up with Sakura" The chunin thought aloud as she turned her heel towards the entrance to the dirt trail beyond the trees.

She took one last look at Shikamaru and decided to let him get some rest instead of her original plan of waking him up.

Ino placed her hand above her chest again and stared at the Nara, when she was positive she felt nothing, she turned back around and headed straight to Ichiraku to meet Sakura.

"Ino-pig! Over here!" a roseate haired kunoichi called out to Ino as the blonde entered the famous ramen shop.

Ino frowned at the sound of Sakura's dubbed nickname for her and took a seat next to the girl, ignoring her sudden outburst.

"So...forehead girl…why did you call me out here?" the kunoichi asked as she turned her body sideways, facing Sakura. She also took the time to place her order.

The medic nin shrugged and placed an order of beef ramen.

"Nothing…I just wanted to ask you out to lunch…"

Ino knitted her brows together but shrugged nonetheless.

"Oh yeah! Did you want me to set up a date with Sai for you?" Sakura asked as she split her chopsticks in half and looked at her ramen hungrily.

'Although I still have no clue why you like a bastard like him…' the apprentice thought quietly to herself.

Ino sat there puzzled when she realized that at the mention of his name, her heart didn't race and her stomach didn't do any flips or twists. The Yamanaka hesitantly placed her hand over her heart again and tried to feel for any signs of rapid beating.

Of course she felt none of the sort…

"Um…Ino?" Sakura asked as she held her chopsticks in mid-air, getting ready to grab some noodles.

"Uhhh…no…that's okay…" The blonde spoke before she even got to fully register the words that came from her mouth.

Sakura's chopsticks fell out of her hand and landed on the floor with a light ticking sound. The bubble gum haired girl then proceeded to fly out of her seat and grab her friend by the shoulders, her green eyes piercing through Ino's sky blue ones.

"Ino?! Are you okay??? What's wrong?!" the kunoichi yelled as her grip on Ino's shoulders tightened.

Ino blinked back, shocked as she stared at her friend in confusion and horror. She calmly took both of Sakura's hands off her shoulders and sat the emerald-eyed girl back down on the stool.

"What's up with you all of a sudden? Nothing's wrong with me…" the blonde stated truthfully as she glared at the passerbyers who peeked in the restaurant to see what was going on.

"Nothing's wro..? Ino! What the hell?!"

The young Yamanaka in return crossed her arms and stared at her friend questioningly.

"I mean…just yesterday you were practically begging me to set you up with him!" Sakura stated matter-of-factly, a confused look etched on her face.

Ino chewed on her bottom lip nervously. Sakura did have a point…After crushing on Sai for 3 straight years, she was finally ready to ask him out…But for some reason, the thought of asking him out just dropped to the very bottom of her priorities list.

"Well…" Ino racked her brain for a worthy excuse…

"…I'm just not in the mood today okay?!" she rolled her eyes haughtily and stomped away, forgetting her ramen and letting the world know just how frustrated she was.

When Sakura was out of earshot, Ino took the chance to hide behind a very conveniently placed bush and crouched down, hugging her knees to her body while placing her forehead on them. She inhaled and exhaled as calmly as she could, only to have her head shoot up instantly, holding her head in her hands in an annoyed fashion.

"Ahhh!! Why did I just turn down forehead's offer?!" Ino wailed as she scratched her head out of sheer confusion.

Just then, that lazy bastard's face appeared in her mind and he seemed to be giving her an all knowing smirk (which Ino couldn't help but think how sexy it looked right now).

'Wait….sexy?!' The mind possessor almost choked out as a string of perverted thoughts involving her lazy teammate flashed before her mind.

Uzumaki Naruto, who was innocently minding his own business and heading towards his favorite ramen stall, would soon find himself screaming for his dear life as something flew out of the bushes to his left and ran down the street screaming its head off.

As she was running (while still screaming her head off…), in the back of her mind, Ino swore she saw the whisker-faced shinobi sitting on the ground while pointing at her with a trembling finger and his mouth was gaped open as it screamed out profanities like no tomorrow.

Ino shook her head and let the thought drift away…she had bigger things to think about right now!

When the girl had finally calmed down and had stopped screaming, she slowed her pace down to a walking one, ignoring the perturbed glances that shot her way.

Ino shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.

"What's wrong with me today?!" she asked herself quietly as she quickly maneuvered around the crowded streets. She decided to cool off by taking a seat on one of the many benches near her.

"Why, hello Ms Beautiful" A supposedly cheerful voice said from behind her as she sighed for the umpteenth time.

Ino's head turned towards the voice and stared up at the handsome smile that would make her stomach do somersaults and her heart burst with joy…

That is….used to make…

Instead of her usual face flushing and squeaking out of his name, the young Yamanaka found herself frowning and she placed her hand above her heart once again only to be more confused when she felt nothing.

Ino once again stared at her long time crush and then back at the hand on her chest.

Her brows knitted together in aggravation.

"There's nothing! Absolutely nothing!" she shouted out to Sai's surprise and stormed off towards wherever her feet would take her…

Sai watched confused as he saw the blonde leave in a hurry.

"Well…I guess I'll tell Sakura-chan that I was rejected…" he shrugged, making his way home as he remembered the pink-haired kunoichi grabbing his shirt by the collar and ordering him to ask her best friend out on a date.

"Why? Why? Why?!" Ino asked no one in particular as she zoomed passed trees and other scenery she really didn't care about.

"Why didn't my heart go all crazy like it usually does when I see him?!" the girl asked as she stopped slowly, placing her hand on the bark of a tree to keep her balance. She growled lowly, letting out a few gasps of breathe from running too much.

Ino sighed, falling back against the tree as she slid down it slowly.

"…I'll just rest a little bit and when I wake up, things will get back to normal…." Ino yawned as she raked her hand through her hair with her head leaning against the tree trunk.

As her eyelids closed silently, she found herself in a dream where she and Shikamaru were ten again and they were both gazing up at the clouds in a comforting silence. Ino smiled at the nostalgic memory…it was the day she first tried out the cloud gazing thing after a huge fight with Shikamaru. That was the day she saw him as not just a lazy ass ninja but as someone she could count on.

"Oi…Ino…" a voice interrupted her dream sequence and she felt someone shaking her shoulders lightly. Ino's hand unconsciously slapped the person's hands away, mumbling something incoherent under her breath.

"Ino! Wake up!" the lazy voice muttered, getting slightly annoyed and shook her a little bit harder.

The blondes eyelids reluctantly flapped open and she glared at the person through her blurred vision. She rubbed her eyes again to get a good look at the idiot who dared wake her up from her peaceful slumber.

Doki

She sat up instantly.

…and screamed.

"Agh! Ino?!" the brunette glared at her as he covered his ears.

"Shi-Shikamaru! Don't scare me like that!" the florist frowned, peeking from behind the tree she had hid behind when she had shouted out like a banshee.

"Scared you? I was the one who was scared!" he spat as he recollected himself from off the ground.

"…Oh...er…right...sorry…" the Yamanaka muttered embarassingly as she dusted off her skirt. She looked up at the Nara only to realize that he was once again shirtless.

"H-Hey! Why aren't you wearing a shirt?!" Ino cried as she shielded her eyes with her hands, her heart hammering against her chest.

Shikamaru looked at her questioningly.

"What do you mean why? It's friggin hot outside!" he exclaimed as he noticed Ino had hidden behind the tree once again.

The blue-eyed girl tried her hardest to stare at his face without having her eyes roam over his nicely tanned muscles that glistened in the sunlight.

"…and besides, it's not like this isn't anything new to you…" he retorted as he pointed at his chest.

Ino had the urge to bang her head repeatedly against the tree to stop her eyes from falling to where Shikamaru had pointed to.

"Well...just…" she hesitated as she turned back around, keeping her eyes focused on another tree.

"…just put your shirt on alright?!" she half-yelled as she waved her arms around frantically.

"Oook…" the shadow user replied, a little confused as he untied the shirt from around his waist and pulled it over his head.

Doki

Ino bit her lip again, her hand clutching to her chest.

"Stop that!" she yelled aloud as she glared at her chest.

"Stop what?!" the lazy Jonin asked back agitated as he finished putting his shirt back on.

Ino turned around to look at him again.

"Stop…putting your shirt on…" the words flew from her mouth like some foreign language.

Ino knew for a fact that she was screwing herself over and making her look like a complete idiot in front of Shikamaru (although why she cared about what he thought of her was a COMPLETE mystery…), but she couldn't help it! The rapid hammering in her chest was too distracting for her to even notice what was happening around her physically…

"But you just…" Shikamaru glared at his former teammate but was cut off when he saw her looking at him funny.

Their eyes made contact and the kunoichi felt her face gradually turning into a human tomato.

"Umm…Ino?" the ninja said quietly and touched her shoulder gently with a concerned expression etched on his face.

Ino felt her face burn even hotter then before and she push passed him hastily while screaming a "Grahhh! Get away from me!" and quickly running back towards the way she had come.

Shikamaru stared back at the girl watching her ponytail swish from side to side.

He scratched his head confusingly.

"Tch…women…" he mumbled before heading off towards his house.

Ino ran away as fast as she could with her hands still clutching at her wildly thumping chest. She glared at no one in particular as she trotted up a familiar looking road.

There was only one person she could go to in this sort of situation and she was going to see that person no matter how busy they were...

"Ino…the scanner indicates that there's nothing wrong with you…" Sakura stated as she looked over her clipboard, checking off a few things.

Ino's brow furrowed as she sat on the hospital bed.

"Well that's a load of crap because something IS wrong with me! Are you calling me a liar?" the blonde huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"No I'm not…" Sakura shot back defensively.

"Well…whatever it is that's wrong with you…it's not an illness…" She sighed as she sat down on her swivel chair and tapped her pencil on her desk lightly while glancing at the clipboard to see if she had missed anything.

"Nope…I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with me…" Ino stated, flushing as her mind drifted off to the incident she had with Shikamaru earlier.

"Could you at least tell me the symptoms?" the Godaime apprentice asked as she folded her arms on her desk and stared at Ino.

The florist nodded and jumped off the bed, walking over to the chair in front of Sakura's desk.

She sat down and looked into Sakura's emerald eyes seriously.

"When I look at Sai…I don't feel anything anymore!" she whispered grimly.

Sakura could only gape at the 18 year old.

"What?! I thought you were talking about a physical problem!" the cherry blossom glared at her after realizing that all the examinations she did on Ino was a complete waste of her time.

Ino held her hand up to Sakura's face.

"Hey…all I said when I came in was 'something is wrong with me'…you were the one who jumped to conclusions!" she pointed out.

"So tell me why I don't feel anything when I see Sai-kun…" she questioned again.

Sakura muttered something inaudible but reluctantly answered Ino's question anyway.

"Well…that's what people call love...you know how you lose the feeling in your legs when…"

"No! Not that you idiot!" Ino cut her off short.

"Like…when I look at him, I don't have that feeling where I'm in heaven and my heart doesn't go all crazy anymore..." the girl continued.

Sakura looked at the girl skeptically and leaned her chin into her palm. She swished from side to side in her chair for a good two minutes before coming to a conclusion...

"Then…I can't believe I'm actually saying this but maybe you don't like him anymore…"

Ino paused.

For some reason she accepted the information easier than expected...

"I guess…but that doesn't explain why my heart reacts when I see--" the mind possessor quickly realized what she was about to say and clamped her hands in front of her mouth with a swift motion. She really hoped Sakura didn't catch that...

Too bad luck wasn't on her side today…

"Huh? When you see who?" the girl asked as she sat up again her eyes trained on Ino with curiosity.

Ino felt that familiar feeling again…her heart raced wildly and her breathe was caught in her throat. She felt herself blushing again and she covered her face with her hands, muttering curses to herself.

Sakura was about to question the girl again when something clicked in her head.

"Oh my god! Do you like someone else?!" she questioned excitedly.

Ino felt her face flame up again and that same smirking sexy picture of Shikamaru entered her mind. She shook her head furiously, trying to get rid of her unwanted thoughts.

Doki

"No! Of course not!" Ino waved her hands in front of her defensively.

"Oh my gosh! You DO like somebody else!" Sakura clapped her hands happily and grinned at Ino.

Ino stared at Sakura nervously as sweat started to trickle down her forehead.

"Um…I should go…talk to you later!" Ino waved goodbye and hurriedly ran out of the office, her face still tinted in pink.

Sakura stood up abruptly, her palms slamming on the desk.

"Hey! Inooo!" she called after the blonde.

The medic kunoichi frowned when she knew Ino wasn't coming back…

"Meh…I'll find out eventually…" Sakura shrugged and began looking over her paperwork.

"Stupid forehead girl...no help at all..."

Ino walked along the outskirts of Konoha and stared as the sun was about to bid the world goodnight. Her hair tousled in the wind as she took the hair tie out, freeing them from its bindings. She sighed as she plodded along, going over the events of the day in her head. She was about to turn the corner when a voice called out to her.

"Oh Hey! It's Yamanaka!"

Ino turned around slowly and met the light green eyes of the kunoichi from the village hidden in the sand.

"Oh...hey Temari…" Ino tried to greet her back enthusiastically.

"Oh wow…It's the first time I've seen you with your hair down…you look good…" The sand kunoichi smiled at the younger girl with her hand positioned on her hip. Ino smiled shyly back.

"Isn't that right Shikamaru?" Temari turned to look behind her, seeing that Shikamaru finally caught up.

Shikamaru slowly made his way up to the two girls and looked at Temari questioningly.

"Hmm? Oh hey Ino…what're you doing here?" The shogi player asked after noticing his blue eyed friend in front of him. He was really starting to wonder why he always kept bumping into Ino today...

"Oh yeah…here…" he grumbled to the sand kunoichi, handing her a can of juice.

"Ah! Thanks!" Temari grabbed the can from his hands and popped it open quickly, gulping the whole thing down out of thirst.

Ino watched the two quietly before opening her mouth to speak.

"Are you two…uh…on a date?" she stammered, her voice laced with uncertainty. Ino bit her lip as she looked for any signs of a reaction from Shikamaru.

The shadow user merely sighed, taking a box of cigarettes from his pouch and tapping it lightly on his palm. He took one out and placed the box back in his pouch.

"Ino…" he started, the cigarette hanging limply from his mouth. He fished inside his vest pocket for a lighter and pulled it out.

"You know as well as I do that I don't date troublesome women…" he cupped his hand over his mouth and lit the cancer stick with a flick of his thumb. He turned towards the older girl and gave her a knowing look.

"What is this? Like the fifth time today someone has asked us that?" he muttered to the sand nin while taking a long drag from his cigarette.

Temari rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

"How troublesome…" he sighed again, shaking his head.

"You think it's troublesome? How do you think I feel about it?!" she pulled at his hair playfully.

As Shikamaru tried to free the kunoichi's grasp on his hair, he suddenly remembered something and turned to where Ino was.

"Ino…I forgot--" the cloud gazer paused as he found his former teammate nowhere in sight. Temari noticed this too, releasing her grip on his ponytail and looked around the bustling crowd. The two then tried to pick out a sign of blonde hair amongst the horde of people.

"I guess she was in a hurry…" Temari shrugged and began heading towards the Hokage's tower.

Shikamaru followed suit as well but turned around, hoping to spot the blonde beauty at the last minute…

"Are you two…uh…on a date?"

Shikamaru took the cigarette out of his mouth and exhaled through his nose. He turned around again after hearing Temari call his name and followed her in silence.

He couldn't help but put his finger on it…but his senses were telling him that something was clouding his childhood friend's mind…

"Huh? It's only you again today?" Shikamaru asked as he saw Chouji making his way up the hill.

Chouji scratched his head sheepishly.

"Yeah well, I went to go get Ino but her mom said she wasn't home…" he shrugged.

Shikamaru stepped away from the tree he was leaning on and made his way to his friend.

"That's what her mom told me when I came to get her yesterday…" the Jonin frowned as he plopped down on the grass with Chouji following soon after.

Shikamaru began to have a little debate in his mind wheter he should get to the bottom of this or not...

...the latter won in the end of course...

"…You saw Ino a few days ago right?" the brunette asked his friend, turning to look at him.

Chouji nodded.

"Did you mention me to her?" he asked again.

Chouji looked thoughtful, tapping his finger against his chin to help him think better.

"Yeah…I asked her why she was skipping out on your training sessions...why?" Chouji's gaze fell from the clouds and he stared back at his buddy.

"What did she say?" Shikamaru asked, ignoring his friend's question.

Chouji looked thoughtful again...

"Umm…actually...I don't think she answered me…she asked me something else and I totally forgot about it…" The boy rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

Shikamaru scratched his chin…

"So she changed the subject…" he muttered under his breathe.

"It's weird…" The boy next to him began, opening a bag of chips.

"It seems like you're the only one who hasn't seen Ino this week…" he continued while digging his hand into the bag.

The lazy ninja ran his finger through his ponytail and began to mutter a string of colorful words.

"I was hoping it wouldn't have to come down to this…damn…why do I always have to be right??" he stood up frustratingly and began to walk away.

"Where're you going?" Chouji called back to him, sitting up from off the grass.

"Home! Training's off today!" Shikamaru grumbled as he waved at the boy without looking back. Chouji watched Shikamaru make his way down the hill and shrugged.

"You don't have to lie about it…I already know you're going to see Ino…" Chouji rolled his eyes and shook his head.

How typical of Shikamaru…

"Ino dear…Chouji stopped by an hour ago…I told him you weren't home…" Mrs. Yamanaka poked her head into her daughter's bedroom, seeing the girl hiding under the covers.

"Thanks mom…" a muffled reply came.

Mrs. Yamanaka tutted at her daughter.

"Honestly dear…how long are planning on avoiding Shikamaru?" her mother asked as she sat down on the bed next to her daughter.

"I'm not avoiding him mom…" Ino shot back gruffly.

"Don't lie to me young lady…" Mrs Yamanaka frowned and was about to give her daughter a long lecture when the doorbell suddenly rang.

"Now who could that be?" she asked no one in particular and stood up from the bed, making it creak and walked out of the room. Ino's mother stopped in the middle of the doorframe only to place her hand on the doorknob and she turned back to Ino.

"We'll continue this when your father gets home…" she said sternly, closing the door behind her.

Ino groaned from under the covers.

If she didn't feel like listening to her mother, what made her think she wanted to hear a lecture from both?!

The florist pushed the covers away from her face to get some fresh air and stared up at her ceiling blankly. She let out another sigh and danced her fingertips along her long blonde tresses.

"I can't…avoid him forever…" Ino muttered as she turned on her side to stare out the window. She watched silently as the birds flew by happily and a light breeze came through her window to play with her face.

"Mmm…" Ino stretched her arms out, letting some of her skin peek out from underneath her small white t-shirt.

"...the clouds sure look nice today…I bet Shika--" the name began to die on her lips.

Doki

"Shikamaru…" she whispered almost mutely as her face flushed again and butterflies began flying around in her tummy. Ino flopped back down on her bed and continued to listen to the chirping of the cicadas. She faintly heard the sound of her door click open but she pushed the thought aside when she realized just how much she missed seeing her lazy Jonin…

'Wait a sec…when did he become mine?!' Ino's eyes widened and she pulled the covers over her head again, hoping it would suppress her embarrassment.

'Wait…does this mean I love Shikamaru?' the blonde furrowed her brows from under the covers.

'I...love Shikamaru…' she let the words roll in her head for good measure.

She smiled cheekily to herself...she liked the sound of that…

"I love Shikamaru…" she said aloud this time, only to burrow deeper into her sheets as her face flamed up again.

"I thought as much…" a lazy voice came from inside her room.

Ino froze, praying to kami that her current lovesick state was making her hear things.

"How long are you going to runaway from me Ino?" the voice said again. Ino heard the shuffling of feet and she felt a body lowering down to sit at the foot of her bed.

Shikamaru stared at the lump of white that was Ino and waited for her reply. He soon heard snoring sounds emanating from the sheets and rolled his eyes.

"I know you're awake idiot…" he rested his hand on the bed, his eyes never leaving her.

A growl came from under the comforter.

"How'd you get in…?" Ino's light voice filled the silent room.

"Your mother thought it was best for me to see you…" he answered coolly.

Ino cringed at hearing his voice, the butterflies were beginning to swarm stronger in her stomach.

"Okay...so why are you here?" she asked as calmly as she could.

The deer boy observed her before answering again.

"to talk…" Shikamaru sighed.

He was REALLY craving a smoke right now…

"We're talking now…" Ino pointed out calmly.

Shikamaru glared at the bed comforter, his patience wearing thin.

"You know what I mean…"

"What's to talk about? We're not even dating…" Ino muttered as she turned to lie on her stomach, her face engulfed in her pillow.

'So there's no point for you to break up with me…' Ino thought to herself, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She clutched her pillow like it was her lifeline.

Shikamaru stared at the silent Ino and he knew that she was on the verge of tears. He sighed again and scratched his head annoyed. He let the silence sink in before he dared to open his mouth again…

"Well…would you like it if we dated?" he found himself saying and gaped at his own words. Unknown to him, a blush slowly crept across his features.

Ino's eyes grew wide and she threw the covers up hastily, sitting up to stare at Shikamaru with her own face pink with embarrassment.

"Wha-What're you saying…?" she whispered shyly, her eyes roaming across his face. She began to fiddle with her fingers under the covers. Shikamaru threw her a glare and averted his gaze from hers.

Damn…this was a lot harder than he planned it to be…

"I'm not repeating myself…" he grumbled stubbornly while eyeing the bookshelf across her room.

Was it just him or was it getting awfully hot in here?

All the statement did was intensify Ino's stare on him and the Jonin groaned, covering his face with his right hand. Shikamaru glanced at her from the hole between his fingers and saw that she was losing her own patience with him. He sighed again...well, he might as well tell her right? After all, there was a zero percent chance of him getting rejected…

He took his hand away from his face and looked at her again.

What a troublesome woman…

Shikamaru sighed for the thousandth time today and looked Ino in the eyes.

"I love you Yamanaka Ino..." he spoke slowly, managing to keep his bored expression on. He looked at Ino who all but raised her brow skyward.

'and…?'

He seemed to interpret what she was thinking…

The Nara groaned again and rubbed his temples frustratingly…

"and…will you go out with me?" he asked as he rolled his eyes, his face just as red as Ino's had been.

Ino gave him that same old beautiful smile of hers and she jumped into his arms excitedly, finally satisfied.

"Of course I will Shikamaru! I love you after all!" she smiled against his neck, wrapping her arms around his body. Shikamaru hesitantly mimicked Ino's gesture and hugged her back as well. He couldn't help the crooked grin that made its way to his face.

Shikamaru could have enjoyed just staying like that for all eternity but the blonde in his arms had to become troublesome and lean towards his face to kiss him sweetly on the lips.

Well…

...Shikamaru could enjoy staying like THIS forever too…

fin.

And with that said and done…Ino's heart will go doki doki whenever she's around Shikamaru from now until forever…

Aww man cheezyness alert!!

Ah! this story really sucks! I'm sorry guys…I'll try to write a better one next time…It seemed so much better in my head…