A/N: Uh, it's been a while? Yeah. This story is what it is. I don't know. I don't own this stuff.

She turned the water as high as she could stand it before stepping in and sitting on the floor of the tub. She sighed. The shower spigot couldn't pump water out fast or hard enough for her. Sigh.

She'd have to be careful of how much she sighed. She felt nauseous enough as it was; another sigh might make her vomit and clog the drain. 'Then I could drown myself in water and regurgitation,' she mused with a grim smile to herself. Sigh. That was just a deep breath, not another sigh. Obviously.

Perhaps she should ask Sakura to do a scan for her heart and soul. They appeared to be missing, currently.

But her heart was inundated with a numbing, crushing, debilitating ache, so it must still be there. Maybe her guilt was gone? Or her common sense? It had to be that one.

Steam billowed throughout the small bathroom and fogged the mirror.

She pushed her long, wet, blonde hair out of her wide, blue eyes.

In her tiny room, her phone did not ring.

Her window did not rattle with a stone thrown, nor did it squeak, as it was not opened by a visitor.

Her door was not knocked at and her lock was not picked.

Her tiny room remained quite still and her tiny apartment was not disturbed.

The water kept running and he did not come.

X

It began innocently enough.

Ino had just returned from a long mission to Sunagakure to assist Gaara in training some fledgling Sand kunoichi. She had spent months with hardened, pre-teen killers to make them more feminine, more appealing, more useful on seduction missions. It was a nasty thing to teach such young girls and it made Ino spit every time she thought about it, but it was the price she paid when she became the best at what she did.

Not that that was such a consolation prize, either.

But she liked spending time with the girls. They were clever, precocious, and willing to learn, and she loved them dearly for it. She had been sad to go home. Sort of.

But come home she had, and as Ino had a way of not letting some old habits die, she quickly learned of all the gossip and goings-on she had missed while she was away.

Neji and TenTen were so close to dating, it could kill her. Ino mused that she might have to intervene on their behalf, just so they'd realize their feelings and have sex already. TenTen was definitely not a virgin, with all the seduction missions she'd gone on, but Neji most certainly was. An orgasm was sure to cheer the Hyuuga up, finally.

Lee was still sweet, still charming, still naïve. He'd begun to tentatively try to court Sakura for the first time since their first Chuunin Exams. Sakura, she knew, was still an emotional wreck over Sasuke, but Lee might be the one to change her mind. Sakura had mentioned that she thought she'd give it a try, at which Ino had cheered.

Naruto and Hinata were still dating, of course. They were Konoha's dream couple and were just perfect perfect perfect. Ino had to congratulate Hinata though, despite her jealousy. If anyone deserved a perfect man, it was sweet little Hinata. After six years of admiring from afar and six years of pestering and nagging from herself and Sakura, Hinata had plucked up her courage and asked him out herself. They'd been dating for two years in perfect perfect perfect bliss.

Chouji was still pleasantly plump and happy. Ino was sure to schedule a day where she and Chouji could just catch up and see each other. He was an unexpectedly wonderful friend.

Kiba was still kind of an asshole. A lovable one, but an asshole all the same. He'd meandered right into the family flower shop she worked at when she could to proclaim his lust for her in various kinds of ways, to which she rolled her eyes and said, "Can't you let me be home for twenty four hours before you try to get into my pants?" He looked at the silly pocket watch he insisted on carrying and told her he'd be back in five hours. She rolled her eyes again. They'd had a strange friends-with-benefits thing that was starting to get on her nerves. She'd expected him to move on to some other chuunin kunoichi by now.

Shino was still… Shino. She didn't bother.

Shikamaru and Temari had started dating (again) almost immediately after she had left. Ino could have puked up a lung. She was so sick of their on again, off again relationship and, not that she would admit it to anyone, Shikamaru had become rather striking lately. And no matter how much she enjoyed working with Kankuro while she was in Sand and no matter how much she enjoyed flirting with the easily ruffled Gaara, there would never be anything in the Sand kunoichi that she would like. They were both too stubborn, too dominant, too eager to gain the attention of a certain brunette ninja.

"I just don't see why you can't suck it up and be friends," Sakura had said pointedly over coffee. Ino had scoffed, sipping her sugarcoated drink. "We are exactly the same personality type, and I'm a domineering individual. Besides, she's also a bitch." Sakura smiled at her best friend. "Would this have anything to do with her relationship with our favorite lazy nin-".

"I do not have the slightest idea what you're talking about, Sakura."

Sakura laughed as Ino sulked. "You drama queen. Oh Ino, the only way he'll know how you feel is if you tell him. He's lazy; he won't ever make the first move. Still, it's strange. When we were thirteen, I expected you and Shikamaru to be married at this point." Ino dramatically rolled her eyes. "You only expected that so I would no longer be your romantic rival for dear Sasuke." Sakura half-heartedly chuckled before sighing and gazing out onto the street, a faraway look in her eyes. Oh dear. Wrong thing to say.

Ino contemplated on all that she had gleaned about everyone else as she walked to her tiny apartment that night. Things were relatively habitual and normal for everyone. Booooring. Ino thought she'd been doing the most exciting things out of any of them recently. Hm. She looked up and stopped dead in her tracks. How could she have forgotten? Oh no. Ino had bolted as fast as she possibly could to the flower shop.

It was empty when she arrived at her destination, heaps of flowers in her arms. Despite the slight winter chill, the flora in Ino's grasp were all exotic, all healthy, all vibrant. She silently stepped around various headstones and tombstones with only the moonlight to guide her until she reached Asuma's. The air was stale with the slight scent of tobacco.

"I hope I brought enough to make up for being late," she'd said out loud. She began to meticulously arrange them for him. "I hope you can forgive me, Asuma. I'm almost never late. It was always Shikamaru and Chouji who were massively late, do you remember? I was always the model of attendance and timeliness. Those boys were such a handful, hm?"

"I seem to recall you being the handful, Ino."

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, but she knew who it was that surprised her. "For all that shogi you played with him, Sensei, you'd think he'd have developed a better memory." Ino didn't turn around, but continued to arrange her mountain of flowers. "I was the angel of Team Ino-Shika-Cho. Obviously. That's why my name came first, right Asuma?" She poked the headstone in camaraderie.

A chuckle came from behind her. "Oh please."

Ino finally turned around, but wished she hadn't.

Shikamaru was leaning against a headstone, a cigarette dangling from his lips the same way Asuma used to do it. At twenty, it was amazing how much he had grown. He stood at a commanding six-foot-three and was compacted with hard, lean muscle. Of course his head still looked like a pineapple, but Ino found it rather charming than annoying now. His mesh shirts simply highlighted his stunning body, compared to emphasizing his pre-teen scrawny-ness. His dark, hooded eyes were as alert as they ever were, but there was some fire behind them that she'd never noticed before. It must be all the soot in his lungs. Still, Ino thought she finally understood why Kurenai let Asuma keep smoking. Damn, he looked good when he blew smoke out of his nose. 'Like a dragon,' she thought. 'A sexy dragon.' Okay, that was a lame thing to think.

Ino had ended up the tallest kunoichi of the bunch. She was almost five-foot-ten and usually wore massive heels to make up for the rest. Today though, she was content with being average. Indeed, she was only wearing mascara for makeup and had settled with a plain purple outfit. Maybe Ino was ending up boring like everyone else. Her hair was long again, with a deep side part and billowy waves. Kankuro said her new hair made her look like a mermaid.

For the first time in her life, Ino felt inadequate against Shikamaru's looks. How silly.

"Shikamaru," she breathed out, almost like a gasp. "What are you doing here?"

She saw him rake his eyes over her and she felt goosebumps ripple her arms. "I'd heard everyone in town's seen you today, except for me. It's so troublesome. I was a little put out."

Ino gave a meek smile. "Maybe I was saving my two favorite boys for last." She brushed her fingers across the headstone. Shikamaru propelled himself over to kneel next to her. He stared at all the flowers. "They're lovely," he murmured. Ino grinned. "Only the best for you, Asuma." She pressed her lips to his carved name. A moment of silence came and went.

Shikamaru stood, offering his hand as he took a drag. She took it and swore she'd been shocked by something electric. He helped her up before swiftly pulling her into a hug and exhaling, showering her in a cloak of smoke. "It's good to see you, Ino. We missed you." Shikamaru smelled of tobacco and sweat and cologne and old books. Ino pressed her face into his chest. "He would have been proud of us," came her muffled reply. Ino hated how good his body felt against hers. He took another drag and she reveled in the feeling of his chest expanding in her arms. Married by now…

Ino released the hug and grinned up at him.

"You want to come over? We can drink and you can tell me about your life?" he offered with his head cocked to the side and his smug little smile on his lips.

"Yes!" That squeal was a little more high-pitched and a little more desperate than Ino would have preferred. Maybe he hadn't noticed.

X

Ino detested being a lightweight. Sure, it meant that she was tiny and a woman, two things she loved, but it was so hard to not embarrass one's self in the company of alcohol. Particularly when one's drinking partner had the alcohol tolerance of a fucking rock.

"This is unbelievable! I've only had like, two beers and one shot. CRAZY," Ino slurred with a hiccup. "And look at you! You're still sober, aren't you?" She peered at him and almost fell off the couch. Shikamaru laughed a full, hearty laugh. It was so nice to see him relax for once in his life. She cherished these moments.

His smile could be so sweet and charming when he wasn't trying to be a smug, pretentious asshole. She wondered what he would do if she just leaned over and kissed him right then. The thought had been plaguing her for the past forever. She would do it in typical, unabashed Ino style, apologize for being stupid or troublesome or whatever, they would laugh about it, and then move on. That wouldn't be so bad, right?

"I'm not, actually," he said. "I'm rather buzzed right now, bordering on pleasantly tipsy."

"And I'm rather drunk right now, bordering on fucking shwasted! Off of, like, nothing!"

Shikamaru laughed and chugged what was left of his beer bottle. "Is that more satisfactory for you, princess?" He cringed away from when Ino moved to slap his arm, both still laughing. Oh, those lips.

"How rude! You'd think Temari would've ironed out any sass you have. SPEAKING OF TEMARI, how's that going?" Ino knew she was being belligerent, but what better excuse to be rude and nosy than when you're drunk?

He played it off well. "It's fine. It's whatever."

Well, played it off well for Shikamaru. Always the eloquent Prince Charming.

"Man, Kankuro was right," Ino said suddenly, dropping her head into her hands. "I do get loud when I'm drunk." And flirtatious. More so than usual.

Shikamaru pulled at her wrists and made her look up at him. "Ino, you've always been loud."

And just like that, it happened.

His lips hit hers with an immediacy unprecedented by the genius. Ino couldn't recall a time she'd seen him move so quickly in her life. Their teeth bumped and their lips squashed and their tongues collided all together rather unceremoniously.

She quickly pulled back, still staring at the mouth that had launched itself at her and still clutching at his shirt, though she hadn't realized she's done that in the first place. Ino glanced at Shikamaru's face, but he was still staring perplexedly at her lips.

Had he just…initiated a kiss?

Ino was speechless.

She didn't even have any words to say when he slowly leaned in again to press his mouth to hers; this time sweet, gentle, nervous. It was chaste, but his lips lingered across hers. His hands found their way to either side of her face and their breath mingled together in a sticky sweet haze of alcohol.

Ino couldn't help herself. Quickly peeking at his closed eyes, she took a breath and leaned her mouth into his, just to see what he felt like once more.

He responded with gusto.

One hand remained planted at the side of her face to make sure she wasn't going anywhere, while the other flicked to her waist to grab at her soft side. He hungrily bit at her lower lip, his tongue sliding across her mouth. She opened her mouth under him with an unintentional moan that wheezed its way up from the back of her throat. She didn't mean it. Maybe?

Shikamaru clutched at her like she was the last woman on earth and Ino clung to him like she had never known another man and their lips kept tugging, tugging, tugging. They melded together into a blob of arms and legs and wet noises as she wound up on his lap, straddling him, and kissing him fiercely.

Her heart felt like it was going to swell so hard it would pop from how excited she was. She could barely comprehend it, could barely respond fast enough, could barely breathe. What was happening? What about Temari?

That thought was completely pushed away as he suddenly grabbed her legs and made to wrap them around his waist, their lips still locked in a battle of lust. He ran his big hands up and down her thighs, gripping them tightly, while she flung her arms around his neck to pull herself even closer to him.

Ino let out a surprised squeak and pulled back to look into his face as Shikamaru stood quickly, gripping at her bottom to hold her securely. He glanced at her, out of breath, and grinned slightly. She, just as breathless with her eyes sparkling, giggled softly. They both looked a bit messy, but that didn't matter at all as he began walking in the direction of his bedroom.

Of course. How like Shikamaru. He knew she loved being picked up because that meant she was obviously skinny. He was trying to win her over.

As she looked into his eyes as they entered his room and he set her on his bed, she knew.

It was an absolute thought, regardless of the alcohol she'd consumed.

She would never be able to refuse this man.

Shikamaru had her, mind, body, heart, and soul.

Shikamaru had her.

X

He wouldn't look at her after. He could barely speak to her.

She had gathered her clothes in shame, unable to stop staring at him.

"I think…maybe you should go…" he had muttered.

Ino could not believe it. Her voice immediately said, "Yeah. I gotta go." Had she really said that?

Her eyes prickled and her throat closed, but she did not let Shikamaru see. She couldn't bear it.

She calmly walked out of his apartment, fully clothed. She calmly walked across town to her tiny apartment. She calmly walked in. She calmly made her way to the shower.

X

Her heart ached.

Ino couldn't stop thinking about him.

She had set herself up, of course. She knew Shikamaru had Temari. What had she been thinking?

Ino had only set herself up as a slut.

Her common sense had vanished. Her conscious throbbed with guilt and pain and the need to see him again.

She sat on her windowsill, watching the early morning rays of dawn ascend with her wet hair.

No head of pineapple came into view. She doubted it ever would.

Ino decided right then and there that everyone was in the wrong, no matter how bad she felt for herself. She had done wrong, too. She couldn't talk to anyone about it, because she didn't want Temari to find out from the wrong person. Shikamaru would have to be the one to tell her, she decided. Not that he would, she mused, what with talking about anything being too troublesome for the lazy asshole. She shouldn't have been so stupid.

Ino suddenly felt lonelier than she had in her whole entire life as she saw the peak of the sun.

With a sigh, (NOT a sigh, a deep breath) she clambered back into her room. She shut the window and closed the sash. She folded into bed.

She started to cry.

He did not come.