Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters, merchandise, TV rites, ect… (I think you get the point.)

Summary

ONE SHOT – So what if he was lazy and she was vain, they fitted together and that was all that really mattered.

Like all of my work this is just something that happened to float through the empty void inside my head. Like it or hate it please R and R as honest opinions are always welcomed, as are random acts of worship.

"Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished and persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot."

Love is the answer,
At least for most of the questions in my heart,
Like why are we here? And where do we go?
And how come it's so hard?
It's not always easy and sometimes life can be deceiving,
I'll tell you one thing, it's always better when we're together,

Together, Like Always

Blinking rapidly Ino made her way through the crowd to see her doting, when it wasn't too much effort for him, boyfriend leaning up against a wall smoking a cigarette. The blonde wrinkled her nose as she walked swiftly over and took the offending thing out of the Nara's mouth. Ino inspected the half-smoked thing critically, took one long drag and then dropped the offending thing onto the ground.

Shikamaru smiled lightly and pushed away from the wall as he watched Ino grind the cigarette under her the heel of her sandal while smoke curled from her mouth. He snagged her hand and started to move off knowing that no matter what Ino would come with him, which she did. Though the blonde briefly considering digging her heals and making her team-mate suffer for smoking. But she knew that if she did he'd just end up dragging her along with him anyway.

He always did. Always had. Ino had been the self-proclaimed leader of Team Ten right from the start, neither one of her boys had voice any objection. She yelled and they obeyed, all be it with muttered complaints, she was the leader and they were the led and that was just how it should be. But the fact was that wherever Nara Shikamaru went she followed and always would.

They headed away from the Hokage tower and it was awkward for all of about three strides, then Shikamaru made an adjustment to his gait, and suddenly the rhythm of their bodies were in perfect sync. He'd been doing it for as long as she could remember, but sometimes it still surprised Ino that with the smallest adjustment he could fit them together so perfectly, not just physically but also mentally and emotionally. It was a talent she viewed with mixed emotions as sometimes it felt like a violation of her privacy but at others it felt like the most amazing thing in the world to be so well understood by him.

"You're mad." Shikamaru stated simply after a few minuets, braking the comfortable silence between them. She'd been thinking deeply about something and he carefully watched her face so that he could see the mind walker's reaction to his statement.

"Smoking is a bad habit," Ino said brusquely in her medic-nin lecture voice. "It's terrible for you health and I wish you'd quit. It's harmful, not only to yourself, but to those around you, the dangers of second hand smoke are vastly underrated. If I could show you the inside you your lungs you'd throw up. It discolours skin, stains teeth and the smell of stale smoke is highly unattractive. But no, I'm not mad." She leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to his chapped lips to prove her point.

For his part Shikamaru took her ranting in silent good humour. Though it would have been amusing to see her face contort with conflicting feelings of anger, irritation and discomposure if he'd pointed out that, just as his must have, her lips also tasted of smoke. Little hypocrite always stole his cigarette when she felt the need. And while it was true all of the points Ino had made were valid it was the one she didn't voice that kept him from denouncing her for the troublesome female she was.

The scent, sight and taste of smoke reminded her so much of Asuma-sensei, it reminded him too. And that was probably why he, and she to a lesser existent, smoked even though it hurt them both to remember. It was a bittersweet pain that neither of them would ever really be able to let go of. Ino because she felt if she had been better she could have saved their sensei and him because he believed if he had been better then Asuma-sensei wouldn't have needed saving. Choji, in a rare moment of peek, had told them both that they needed to grow up and get over themselves and that if Asuma-sensei were still alive he would bang their stupid fat heads together. He was probably right.

"So," The Nara began as he tightened his grip on the blonde's hand in anticipation of her reaction to his words. "The mission was easier than they thought, huh?"

"Humph, thanks Shika. That's just typical of you, isn't it. They had to have overestimated the mission, didn't they. It couldn't have possibly been that they underestimated me could it." The shadow-nin just gave a noncommittal shrug, which did nothing to soothe Ino. Nor did her inability to free her hand from his when she tried to pull away. "You're such a jerk sometimes, you know that. And how exactly did you know I was back anyway?"

"I read the mission specs, they were excessive with the timeframe." He contemplated lighting another cigarette since the blonde had thrown away his last one but decided it wasn't worth putting up with her grousing. "A week huh, knew it would take you three days, maximum."

The Yamanaka snarled, stopped walking and glared at her boyfriend and when that had no affect she punched him the shoulder with her free hand. That was just like him, Ino thought as she watched Shikamaru absentmindedly rub away the hurt, he probably wasn't even aware on a conscious level that she'd hit him. The jerk, he'd get her all worked up and then when she was good and fuming and ready to erupt like a volcano he'd refuse to give her an outlet for her anger.

"So," Again with the lazy drawl only this time it was accompanied by a yawn. "What d'you want to do now?"

"Go home," Ino snapped, blue eyes flashing like chips of ice, not that the Nara seemed aware of her temper. "Have a hot bubble bath and then not move for awhile."

"And you call me lazy." He tried to keep his face neutral as he spoke though the mental picture of Ino in a bubble bath caused his Shikamaru's lip to twitch.

"You are." The blonde's tone was all wasp stings and vinegar, she'd seen his mouth quirk and had accurately guessed with he was thinking about.

"Fine, sure, whatever you say Ino." The placating tone was excessive he knew but the blonde always had to be right and it was easier to just agree with her. Of course if he could do it in such a way that it ruffled her feathers then he would.

"Well?" The irritated question was accompanied by a sharp elbow to the ribs when he failed to start walking even though she'd tugged on his hand.

"Well… what?" He liked playing dumb with her, liked it perhaps a little too much, but it was fun to see Ino huff and puff because he seemingly couldn't grasp the most simple of concepts. He told her once it was because, as a genius, his mind was focused on higher things than the day to day goings on in her life. She'd slugged him pretty good after he came out with that one.

"Are you coming with me or not?" Ino jerked her arm again, trying to either get him to move or to free her hand so she could walked off. But the shadow-nin remanded obstinately in place and refused to release his grip. The jerk.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru murmured, partly because she was and partly because he knew it would annoy her and annoying Ino was always a good reason to do something.

"You say that one more time," She growled as she pointed a threatening finger into his face, he had to go cross eyed just to keep the digit in view. "And so help me I'll… I'll…"

It was obvious that Ino couldn't find a good enough threat and to save the hassle that would come for her being unable to find a comeback Shikamaru simply reached out and pulled her roughly to him. Even if she thought of a smart answer now the moment to snap back was past and she'd be insufferable about it. It was best all round if he just made it impossible for her to talk back.

He was a good hunter, Ino thought ruefully, it was something that people often forgot but her shadow-nin knew just how to catch his quarry. The touch of his lips against hers was soft and tentative, asking where his hands had demanded and it was completely unfair. He knew her weaknesses so well, knew that she would have been able to resist force but would surrender completely to the tender touch. So Ino leaned into him because the kiss was a questing touch of his lips that begged her to follow where he led.

The strength of his body was solid comfort and called to Ino even as she leaned closer to him, as did the hard planes of muscle that twitched and jumped under her questing hands. But Ino was a talented hunter in her own right which was how Shikamaru ended up against the wall with the blonde plastered all over him and his hands all messed up in her hair. It was the wolf-whistle from a passing jonin that finally had them pulling apart, not that either objected to being seen kissing in public but that been a lot more carnal than the average kiss.

"Hmmm," The blonde giggled as she titled her head back to smirk, in a very self-satisfied manner, at her lover. "Seems your vaunted self-control isn't as high as it usually is."

"You've always had a knack for getting people to lose control. Besides you've been gone a while." He spoke in the same board tone he always used, saying the words as if he were reading them from a script, but it was all right because Ino had always been able to hear the words he didn't say.

"Don't tell me," The mind walker queered, her innocent expression at odds with the way she pressed her body even tighter against him. "That I've finally found something that motivates you?"

The shadow-nin gave another of those noncommittal shrugs, other one that could mean anything or nothing, but that to Ino meant everything. She knew just what motivated him, the things that always had and always would. Protect the village, make Asuma-sensei proud and keep his team-mates safe. To make sure that Choji was happy and that the only bed that Ino ever slept in apart from her own was his.

"Shikamaru?" She breathed his name into his ear and couldn't help but smirk at the way it caused his pulse to jump in the base of his throat.

"Hmm?" He schooled his face into a neutral expression but more out of habit than anything thing else, besides the blue eyed girl was pressed so tightly against him she couldn't fail to notice the reaction he was having to her.

"Take me home." Ino raised a hand and danced her fingers across the line of his jaw, making sure his full attention was fixed upon her. "Take me home and take me to bed."

"Troublesome." He reaffirmed his previous assessment of the Yamanaka. She was and always would be, never the less he did as she told him.

Please R and R I'd love to know what you thought.

Big love and inspiration

Lamanth