Deleted the first one because I'm a fuck up. Sorry for the first review. It was lovely, but I suck :(

Inspired by the Hindi movie Jab We Met (When We Met).

Prologue
First Meeting

Western weddings were worse than traditional Japanese weddings. In a traditional Japanese wedding, Shikamaru wouldn't have to attend at all. But Ino did not do traditional Japanese weddings, and Chouji did not do anything Ino did not do. Which meant their marriage was a thoroughly Western fanfare of white, a "priest", and lilies.

He stood in silence, staring at the ceremony that was happening before him with a scowl. Ino looked radiant in white, pale hair glowing, blue eyes shining. He was sure that Chouji wore a stupidly large grin that split his kind face, even though Chouji's back was turned towards the priest proceeding over them. There he was, best man to the groom, witness to the union of his best friends, until death do them part.

And he was in love with the bride.

It was against his will. He never wanted to like Ino, but she was pretty and knew him best and was always there for him. If he didn't love her—well, then he had very little hope to love anyone at all.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife." Ino was beaming as she turned to her new husband. "You may kiss the bride."

He closed his eyes at this. When he opened them again and found that the couple had already walked down the aisle, he bowed his head and excused himself, leaving out the backdoor of the chapel.

The streets of Tokyo were always crowded. Even on such a horrendous day, it took Shikamaru a long time to reach the train station.

He didn't really think about what he was doing when he climbed aboard. He didn't really think about what he was doing when he took a seat in one of the chairs. He didn't really think about what he was doing until the train started to move and he realized without much care that he had no idea where the train was going.

"You're in my seat."

The words were muffled in Shikamaru's ears. He was half-tempted to look up and see if the words were directed at him, but he figured they couldn't be. The universe couldn't possibly be so messed up in having him sit in a seat that was already booked in a nearly empty train.

"Did you hear me or are you deaf? You're in my seat."

This time, Shikamaru did look up. He was met with a pair of startling green eyes staring straight at him, clearly annoyed and not very pleased. When he allowed himself to focus on more than just the eyes, he found that it was a clearly annoyed and not very pleased woman who stood before him, hands on her hips, lips pressed thin.

She pointed at him. "My seat. You're in it. Thirteen. Get up. Do you not speak Japanese? This is my seat. Get up," she said in English. She flashed him her ticket, which had a large number 13 on it.

He sighed. Of course he was sitting in someone else's seat. Someone had already taken the love of his life, what would stop anyone from taking his seat? Nothing, that's what. So he stood and moved to the seat that faced it.

The woman glared at him for a moment longer before taking her luggage and stuffing it in one of the overhead compartments. She took the seat he'd just been occupying and crossed her legs, staring down her small nose at him.

"Deaf and stupid," she mumbled darkly as she pilfered through her purse and took out a book. She spared him another glance, shrugged, and opened her book.

She was a lovely woman. Not prettier than Ino, but then again, there were few women who were. But she was definitely a looker, despite the blonde hair that had clearly been dried out from over-dyeing. She was slightly shorter than Ino, with a little more meat on her bones, tan skin, and strong legs.

"Stop staring," she said, eyes still glued to her book. "It's rude."

He turned away to look out the window. And that was how he stayed.

AN: And that's the prologue, guys. I was watching Jab We Met on a recommendation from a friend who loves the movie, and as I was watching it, I was struck with how GOOD of a ShikaTema this would make. So there you have it! Hope you enjoy! PLEASE REVIEW and check out my other stories (haha, shameless tooting of my own horn, thanks).

See you soon!