A continuation of my past story, hope you guys enjoy.
<Shikamaru X Ino>
Shikamaru!
Ino enthusiastically calls his name, for the umpteenth time of the day.
What?
Yet once again, he replies, annoyingly.
Hold me!
This is an infinite loop of the inevitable snuggle.
In the weight of her silent anticipation, Shikamaru eventually surrenders to his fate, he sighs deeply, unwillingly rises from his comfortable lying position, sluggishly drags his butt to her side and surrounds Ino in a gentle embrace that has no urgency, as she cheerily returns with a tighter grasp.
According to the medical report, his body was pierced with innumerable shuriken(s) and barely survived from his severe injuries, which happened only one second before Shikamaru successfully captured the hidden scroll. Ino lost her mind crying over his unconscious body, even desperately requested the head chief to put her in charge of his nurse and agreed to do the double work just to be near him as much as possible. To this day, he still wonders if the sound of her constant weeping and crying dragged his soul back to life, for believe it or not, when Shikamaru was aimlessly falling down a dark bottomless hole, how strangely painful he felt as its reverberation resonated in his unconsciousness.
Thus, to satisfy Ino's endless need for his warmth, in the meantime, he will have her body snuggled tightly against his at any time she calls like a child cries out for her mother's attention. Or even worse, Shikamaru sinks into silence as a resemblance suddenly dawns on him. Seriously, he feels like a slut, coming and going as she pleases.
Shikamaru!
Yeah.
Shikamaru!
Troublesome.
She spells his name every day, melts into his warm embrace every minute, and sinks into his kiss every second – and still, she finds his presence bears such a miraculous effect on her just the same.
Hard as it was to admit, the embrace and the kiss have been comforting, Shikamaru thinks as he draws her toward even more. Just when their lips are about to seek each other for a pleasant collision, at the most appropriate moment, his goddamn door opens to welcome the appearance of their nosy teammate, a horrible doppelgänger of Naruto though even worse than Naruto himself.
Guys, it's just 8 in the morning!
And is there a rule of time for their kiss? Returning to the not-so-comfortable bed- anymore for his moment with Ino has been disrupted, Shikamaru annoyingly crosses his arm while Ino looks at their uninvited guest in curiosity.
Why are you here?
Despite his friends’ utter lack of interest in whatever he is about to spill, Kiba, being such a boisterous man he has always been, seems to be unaffected. Though Kiba is abashedly blushing with shame - arises out of his teammates' intimate scene, his determination is unshakable, seeing that he is all ready for the big reveal.
Taking a deep breath, Kiba eventually bursts with excitement.
Hinata is pregnant with a second child.
Shikamaru does not even bother to ask how and why the man got the news since he and Naruto are so thick as thieves that they share the weirdest hobbies like meddling in other's affairs and such. Regardless of everything that was wrong about this announcement, and yet finding it unhealthy, Ino remains optimistic as she always is.
Well, send my congratulations and tell Hinata I'll visit her family soon!
She says in a sweet but even-toned voice and Shikamaru mumbles "troublesome" as the news is something to which he feels indifferent. Kiba excitedly nods his head while raising his thumb to give a sign of "Input complete". After causing a scene with his disturbing loud voice just to announce the news, the third wheeler even has the nerve to excuse himself and leave shortly after that, since he has a long list of people waiting for his announcement. One second the room was filled with their friend’s cheerful voice and now returns to its normal peace.
It's only 8 in the morning and he is already exhausted both emotionally and physically.
Our friends are so weird!
Ino tosses over her shoulder a large grin as she utters an exclaim, then leaves the chair to join the small-sized bed and put her arm around his waist while comfortably leaning her head on his shoulder. It goes without saying – or even his consent – that Ino is his 4-years girlfriend and his nurse, this hard-mouthed woman has every right to do everything as she pleases.
So Shikamaru braves her scrutiny with small boredom in his eye, one hand gently smoothing away her golden hair while the other plays with her fingers.
Shika!
Huh?
I want to marry you, let's get married!
A pause.
W…What?
Shikamaru, being a genius as he is, is unarmed under her attack and suddenly lost his verbal control.
W…what… what… did you just say?
He stammers, knowing his face must be flushed.
Marry! Let's get married, Shika!
Well, that is something, coming from Ino, on the hospital bed out of everywhere! He knows she has become more and more impulsive as she got older, but to the point of bringing out such serious matter in the not-so-sacred place, was never her style. Yet, Ino seems so straight-faced that it's even harder for him to study her mood.
When she promptly turns her face around and then leans forward, his eyes slowly blink and open, hesitating as her serene, expressive gaze proceeds to run over his face. Neither the hand nor a single muscle of Shikamaru’s face stirs.
A wisp of blond hair hangs over one eye and Ino quickly brushes it back, her eyes stay on him the entire time. The irony of the situation is that no matter how many times she tries to reassure herself of that, she remains terrified. Yes, he is alive. Yes, she can sense his chakra, feel the rhythm of his breath, and the beating of his heart. Despite all the proofs that prove his survival, Ino cannot dismiss the hallucination of Shikamaru’s darkened eye, his bloodied lip, and his unconscious body. She starts to wonder what kind of future it would be if he had gone forever. Because she might live on, she might forget about him, might build a family with another person then in the end, might fall into madness and kill herself out of agony…
For, she might not be able to move forward as the future begins gradually, and more importantly, Ino has never dared to think about the possibility among thousands of other possibilities.
I’ll move into your apartment or we can buy a new one, it doesn’t matter. I’ll let you stay in bed a little longer and won’t bother your nap. I’ll cook you good food, prepare your lunch, warm your bath, and if you want to watch the sky alone, I will never trouble you. I’ll try and try and try to make our life better, so please… stay with me…
Ino has cried in his unconsciousness, every night and over a thousand times before that. And then, once again, he finds himself holding her as she sobs in his arm.
They will never do enough deduction to find out how much they mean to each other, for it’s like God’s will, which transcends the blue horizon, goes beyond the Earth, reaches the sky, and flows amongst his favorite pool of clouds.
I’m sorry, Ino.
Being sorry and saying sorry, except for the fact that no one is at fault. Yet knowing the truth doesn’t mean anyone is right either.
I’m sorry!
Shikamaru knows nothing but running around the circle. As Ino knows nothing but wanting him to stop running around like a fighting moron then ends up getting hurt and hurting her.
Because, in the irony of war, they know nothing but hanging their life on a thread, and desperately keep on loving each other. . . Time goes by quickly, and her sob slowly weakens as Ino withdraws from the warm embrace, leaving a funny wet patch on his shoulder, something that is troublesome on his part yet Shikamaru decides to brush the matter aside. With all that is going on, he does not have the nerve to even budge.
So instead, he says.
If you want to marry me that much, then let’s do it.
And realizes how cringy it sounds as he puts it into words. Though Ino doesn’t seem to care about whatever happens here. For a moment, she sits still, waiting for Shikamaru to take the initiative and give her the appropriate line, which embraces four words and fourteen letters, no more, no less.
Sure enough, he rolls his eyeballs once he recognizes the message of her silent expectation. What’s done is done. Though Shikamaru is – to be accurate, the second to suggest this whole troublesome thing, he’s the first one to pull the trigger, he should fulfill his role as a once-in-the-while gentleman.
Ino, will you marry me?
He adds, with an undecipherable look – the kind of mysterious expression she favors the most as she calls him darkly handsome – lurks in his eyes.
It only takes her one second to beam at him with a brilliant smile and God knows for that, he can never turn a blind eye to her.
Yes, I will Shika, I definitely will!
Well, that’s it. The end of every love story. A troublesome wedding and a vow accompanied by lifetime commitment.
As he comes to consider it, marriage is only an occasion, that commences another milestone of their relationship, and in light of everything, he has known Ino for too long to stress over whatever stuns she holds up in her sleeve. On the contrary, he doesn’t find the thought troublesome the slightest bit, considering their mutual appreciation that she has been his consistent companion, his long-term comrade, his wonderful sweetheart and so far, the sound of “his wife” wasn’t half bad either.
Anyway, why did you make it sound like I’m the only one who wants to tie you down if you even went as far as buying me a wedding ring?
The expression on Ino’s face reflects both humor and mischief as she retrieves a couple of silver rings from her cardigan’s pocket and flaunts them in his dumbfounded face.
Humph, that is troublesome, indeed. Shikamaru is stunned, not by the rings themselves – since he’s born with a rare intellect, he does not need to check the words carved inside each one to recognize them – but by the reason behind her discovery.
I found it in your jacket!
As if Ino could read his mind, bluntly answering the unspeakable question.
How?
Duh, I’m your nurse, I washed it.
She justifies the circumstance loud and clear. But still…
Well, you should have other…
Dude, there is no way I would let them touch my boyfriend’s underwear!
The last blow is logically reasonable though.
Well, can’t refute that. He calmly shrugs, waving his incorporeal flag of defeat, at which Ino lovingly smiles as she jokingly consoles his loss with one of her head-pat skills.
They sit on his white bed for a while, silently enjoying each other company. As Ino silently puts the golden ring on her finger, she smiles expressively at him.
You know, I’m satisfied with this, throwing a wedding would be too troublesome for you.
With that, Shikamaru raised his questioning eyebrow.
What about your dream? Wedding of the century and stuff?
So you still remember what I said huh?
The thought of his concern brings her to laughter.
I meant I told you about that when we were 10, and now we’re 28! Since when did Mr. Strategist like you take into account the nonsense of a 10-year-old girl?
Shikamaru catches Ino, with a large grin splitting her face, he looks at a small twinkle in her eye scrutinizingly and since his girlfriend's smile is infectious, a genuine smile plays at the corner of his mouth too.
I do not unless it’s necessary.
Ino puffs at his reply.
And 10-year-old you told me it’s too cheesy.
He simply shrugs.
I do not hold any responsibility for my past self.
And Ino snorts her disbelief.
Yeah, you and your damn past self! You get yourself injured again and I swear to God I’ll have your past self f***…
Shikamaru chuckles loudly as she begins reciting a poem of curse words which sounds like a healing ASMR session to him.
He’s not the kind of man who is into sentimental things until he meets a humanoid object named Ino. This woman is the parent set that includes all the subsets that have no inclusive relationship with Shikamaru and for some unknown reason, he has always been caught up in the idea of her.
Gosh, he loves the idea of her! Ino Yamanaka!