[log] [BOOKS ARE SEXY] [Ino and Shikamaru] [backdated]
Who: Ino, Shikamaru
What: Coming through on a bet
Where: In the library!
When: Backdated; right after Tenten's drunken post spilling the beans about Ino's sekrit desirez and Ino broke her leg
Warnings: Makeouts and Ino's wrath after being called a fatty :D
To be honest, Ino hadn't been in a library in a good number of years prior to the current date. The books she liked to read-- usually seedy romance novels-- were easily bought in bookstores and so libraries were not necessary. Shikamaru had challenged her, though, and so Ino was going to trudge down the steps into the depths of the library to show him what she was made of. It was hard enough to think about what exactly Shikamaru wanted to do in said library but making her way down the actual steps with her crutches was a feat. Somehow, she didn't feel very graceful when she was hopping down one step at a time while holding crutches with the other.
"There's an elevator, you know," one of the librarians told her.
Fucking... TELL ME THAT SOONER, OLD WOMAN, the blonde thought with a huff. There really was no one down here. Shikamaru must have come here to get away from... well, life. It seemed like a good napping place, too. It just reeked Shikamaru. Tables, chairs, quiet. Those were all he really needed.
Ino sat down at a table very near the back (good lord, it was the sub basement and so there was not one window-- kind of creepy?) and took a rest. She felt so out of shape. This just wouldn't do. Nervous hands smoothed out the bottom of her skirt. Were they really going to--?
Nah. He was just bluffing.
Right?
After realizing what he had done to himself and what consequences his actions would have to face, Shikamaru took a good five minutes to examine his options. But at the end of five minutes, he was faced with a single question:
What options?
He had successfully just fucked himself and the situation at hand. That was the gist of it and now he would have to either retreat from this all with a harrowing scar on his pride or swallow the growing lump in his throat before sliding out from underneath his bed and actually make his way down to the library. Not that he found any comforting answers from hiding underneath his bed in the first place.
The journey was shorter than he had hoped, even with him walking backwards at one point, hoping that he would trip over, fall, break his neck, or something that would prolong the inevitable. But to his misfortune, all the doors were supported open by door stoppers and the library had an elevator to be taken. And whenever there was a choice to be made between elevators and stairs, the lazy muscles in his body would hear none of the arguments his brain had and promptly marched the man into the steel trap.
Now Shikamaru found himself smelling dust and a suspicious blend of moldy air as he pocketed his hands and walked down the book aisles, ending up very near the back. When there were no more aisles to amble down, Shikamaru caught a glimpse of blonde hair to his right. It made him break out in cold sweat, almost forgetting that he had pride on the line here. But then a glimpse of a pair of crutches made the sympathetic and guilty parts of his personality act up, pushing him towards what was undoubtedly Ino and the his demise.
"How'd you get here so fast?" he mumbled as he took a seat at the table, not really facing her.
Well, well, well. Shikamaru had actually showed up. Ino had her money on him running away for a few days and leaving her hanging but it looked like he was kind of serious. Did that mean he really wanted to fool around in the library? Maybe he thought that she forgot about it. Ino wasn't even sure why she was there in the first place. One big reason was to call his bluff. Shikamaru was trying to make a point by being the "big man" or whatever and Ino knew that he was completely full of shit. He was embarrassed, she could tell from his whole stance, the tenseness of his shoulders, the lack of eye contact. It was actually pretty cute. He looked very boyish and unsure of himself. It was rare to see him like that. Although Shikamaru was lazy, when he chose to spoke he was sure of himself.
"I took the stairs. It wasn't easy," Ino tossed her ponytail over her shoulder and scooted her chair much closer to his. Her good knee brushed against his; Ino leaned her elbow on the table and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. She didn't feel like acting like a know it all or even teasing him all that much. It seemed like a better idea just to go with the flow. Hadn't she earned herself a little Shikamaru affection time after falling down the stairs? She thought so, at least. He wasn't good at just freely handing out his physical affection. She would have to take all of the initiative.
She would have to start small, in order not to make him completely freak out. Although Shikamaru had responded rather well to the kiss she had planted on him, if it happened in a more natural way, then she wouldn't have to fell so embarrassed. Her hand went under the table to find his, which were currently on top of his thighs. Long, slender fingers sought out his palms and his sensitive musician finger tips, coaxing him to open his hand. "Your palms are sweating," Ino said lightly, amused.
So much for not making eye contact. Once Shikamaru felt Ino's own knee bump against his, his head made a painful 90 degree turn to look at her. Sure, he was all big talk and innuendos a couple of minutes ago, but surely, she knew that he wasn't the guy that did all the wham bamming here by now? His question was quickly answered as her fingers were next to touch him. Not sure what to do, Shikamaru just took a back seat in this (a position that wasn't unfamiliar to him at all) and watched her eyes for a second before releasing the tension that was building up in his entire body, including those of his balled-up fists. In comparison to his hands, Ino's were paler and smaller, but her fingers were equally slender.
"You know, there's an elevator here," he said after a moment's pause, trying to divert the conversation away from how nervous he was. His mood and words might've not shown it, but his body definitely wasn't holding back to tell her everything there was to know about his reactions.
With her palm pressed evenly against his, Ino measured their hands mentally. It was times like these that it hit Ino that Shikamaru was not the little kid she used to order around but a man with big man hands and big man responsibilities. He was seriously pursuing music and actually went to class more often than not instead of skipping out to go nap somewhere. It wasn't that she didn't love him as a kid (a lazy, lazy kid) but she really liked this more grown up and responsible Shikamaru. Even though he didn't want anyone to know it, he was dependable and kind. She supposed it was his old school thinking, the men looking after the women, and although it was a little dated she still appreciated it. He was so worried about her broken leg-- it was... nice.
"Yeah... that stupid old woman TOLD me that after I nearly broke my neck hopping down the stairs," Ino sighed. "But now I know better."
Her thumb swiped against his wrist gently, his pulse strong and fast beneath her finger. "Your pulse is racing, too."
Make a move. You know you want to.
The cocked eyebrow was pointless, seeing that Ino would've known whether or not his pulse was increasing by feeling. Whereas, Shikamaru was still in the early stages of denial and had the picturesque image of himself being very composed.
Yeah, right.
"It was a lot of stairs." He shrugged, (what else was going to do, right?) and turned slightly in his seat to face her, inhaling deeply before he prepared himself for whatever was going to happen next. His fingers slowly came to life as they curled and uncurled amongst themselves, before flipping around to take Ino's hand in his. Compared to his fingers, hers felt like they were made out of glass. Pale and delicate, they were contrasted sharply by his own as they were partially intertwined by his. Shikamaru took care not to look at Ino in the eye when he rubbed his thumb against each individual finger before moving up her own wrist and forearm. Everything looked a lot different after a decade's worth of time.
"So...did you want to tell me something that could save you from a life's embarrassment of being drunk that night?" he started slowly, his eyes slowly looking up until he met hers.
Oh, he had gone right for the jugular. Ino's face immediately broke out into a hot flush, despite trying to look cool and compose. Shikamaru always knew what to say to get her where it hurt. She cleared her throat in a noble and refined manner. "Just that I'll never tell Tenten anything ever again," Ino smiled sheepishly at him. She hadn't expected him to bring that little tidbit about her scandalous dream up in conversation.
Ino supposed it was time to stop playing games because the secret was kind of out. She was the one who initiated the kiss. She was the one who teased him constantly. He wasn't avoiding her or acting like she had the plague so Ino had to assume that he was okay with... them. Who was the say that good friends couldn't be more? Ino knew so much about him and he about her. And they still go along decently. Sure they got into fights and argued but that was half of the fun.
"Don't make me outright say it," she grumbled. "You know what's what!"
When it came down to relationships, Ino was... well, she was shy. When she really liked someone Ino got embarrassed. And since she really liked Shikamaru (not that she wanted to TELL him that), she was getting REALLY shy about the whole thing.
Shikamaru tried his best to compose his straight face, but the smallest signs of a crooked smirk were appearing at the edges of his mouth at her own composure. The red spreading on her face was a strong indication that maybe Ino wasn't so different than he was in this situation, only that she less reluctant than he was to make the first move. To know that she had her weaknesses and that they were showing now in this rather "private" moment, was something that Shikamaru didn't take for granted. In being someone that knew her since they were kids, Shikamaru liked to know that she felt comfortable with him; comfortable enough to let down her guard and just relax around him.
"Now you sound like me," he drawled, retracting his hands so he could prop his head up with a hand.
"I'll say it then." Dark eyes looked at blue for a second, his own being in deep thought, before Shikamaru slowly straightened up and actually looked serious. If only for a second. "You like me. You want to make out with me in a closet." Ah, there was that smirk.
"I guess I do, too." Pause. "Just not in a closet."
Ino gaped for a moment, insure of how to react to his semi-but-not-really confession. He did too... what? Like her? Want to make out? This was so typical coward Shikamaru behavior. She shouldn't have even expected more. Actually, she wasn't expecting him to come at all or avoid the situation all together so things were looking better every moment. Of course if life were perfect he would have said I like you instead of You want to make out with him in a closet but that would be so boring. He had that know it all smirk on his face, to boot. Part of her wanted to smack it off her face. The bigger part of her wanted to go through with the threats of dragging him into a closet and having her way with him. Too bad she couldn't do much dragging with a bum leg.
Leaning over like this to talk to him was also straining her back. Ino moved her seat into his lap, settling comfortably. This was much better. The flicker of (shock?) emotion on his face was also amusing. He wasn't the only one who could play this game.
Fingertips traced Shikamaru's bottom lip gently as Ino leaned in close, her mouth only inches from his. "How about in a library?"
Ino did so love to play.
Once again, the mere physical touch of her finger was enough to put a pause to Shikamaru's train of thoughts, something that he found slightly annoying. Only because thinking was crucial at the moment, unless he wanted to start gaping like she had and then meekly coming up with lame excuses over it. The decision to lean further towards her was partially because she didn't fail to hesitate and do the same action. Everything was awkwardly familiar like that one night when they were sitting on the sidewalk on Broadway, except things were much quieter and Shikamaru could hear his heart in his ears, beating loud and clear.
His hand caught her wrist as her fingers danced across his lips, gently moving it away before he took the initiative and went the full fifty, tentatively pressing an awkward kiss to the corner of her heart-shaped lips. It felt a little bit dry, even if his own lips clung to her skin for a second before being fully pulled back. He removed himself to the minimum distance it took to take in her reaction.
"Fine with me," he said in a strangely hoarse voice.
Damn it, she did like him. All of him-- his social awkwardness, his laziness, his lack of care concerning clothing, the way he protected her because he felt it was his obligation, his stupid all knowing smile, all of it. It was way more than just a simple like between two hormonal teenagers that went away to school together. They had history like doll houses and fake weddings and birthday parties as kids. Shikamaru had been there through her awkward phase (not that it was too awkward but braces has nearly killed her) and still liked her. Maybe.
He was so cute when he was shy. And she was the one making him this way.
Ino kissed him fully on the lips, very gently at first, with almost no pressure at all behind it. She didn't want to scare him. It would be better to ease him into it, like one would step slowly into a pool. Ino was the sort of person who always took the plunge; Shikamaru, on the other hand, liked to think things through and analyze. I do like you, she thought, closing her eyes. Even if you are stupid.
Even if the kiss was something that he had "partially" experienced on their escapade on Broadway, Shikamaru found this one to be less surprising and more real. And because of that, he immediately felt his face turn up another ten degrees and his heart pumping faster at a rate that even an oncoming heart attack might've been plausible. Given that he wasn't a really good-looking guy, Shikamaru had a deficit of experiences in the relationship area. He never really kissed anyone, except for a short brisk fling during a summer, with a girl he didn't remember. If he was man enough to admit it now, he would've seen that short relationship as one to help him cope with Ino's own string of boyfriends, or to just get his mother off his back. As of now, with the warmth of Ino's lips lingering on his, it was probably the former than the latter.
He really did want to comprehend this, what was going on with the whole holding hands and kissing. In his mind, somewhere, something told him that it was serious and he shouldn't take it lightly. The logical side of him screamed and writhed in agony at the thought of the consequences of this, how his mother would go on a warpath (along with Ino's mother, no doubt) to make this even more troublesome than it might get. But gravity demanded that the idea of "ignorance is bliss" should be exercised, which was why Shikamaru found himself, once again, close to Ino and slightly widening his eyes at how warm her cheek felt underneath his lips.
He was blushing. Shikamaru was actually blushing. The eternally unshakable Nara was embarrassed. When she opened her eyes slightly to peek at him, she saw the redness on his cheeks and tried to hide a smile. Although Ino thought she knew him well enough, she was learning more and more about the sides he didn't want people to see. Ino playfully ran the tip of her tongue over his bottom lip, sealing the deal with a small kiss afterward.
"I think you're the one who likes me. And you totally want to make out with me. Not in a closet."
Making out in a library seems to be working out just fine, the blond thought smugly, amusing herself with playing with one of his earrings. Even the tips of his ears were red. This was too much. If his mother ever found out about this, he would never hear the end of it.
"Let's just hope that librarian doesn't walk in. She'd get the shock of her life."
His eyelids fluttered for a second when he felt moisture applied to his bottom lip, accompanied with the fact that his heart wouldn't stop pounding in his ears. She left him speechless until her words dragged him back to the present, rather than having thoughts focused more on how his tongue would feel against hers. For a guy that usually had no hormonal response to females in general, this was downright scary.
The slightly challenging and smug tone in her voice made his blank face slowly turn into its default settings, a slight scowl, save for the slight pink around his cheekbones. "You're the one that got drunk and said it to the entire damn school," he mumbled before leaning forward more, resting his forehead on her cheek.
His eyelashes were tickling her jaw and she could feel his breath on her neck. Not unpleasant but rather... intimate. He was trying to get her to start a fight with him, she could tell. If he wanted to get technical, Tenten was the one who started it but that was neither here nor there. Shikamaru was being exceedingly shy-- she would really have to take matters into her own hands in order to get him not to shut down completely. Ino took his hands and placed them around her waist (not a necessity but still pretty nice) and took his face in her hands, tilting his head up to look at her.
"That was not my fault."
Ino kissed him again (half to shut him up-- this was working out in her favor), trying to coax him to open his mouth. His lips were so tense it was almost laughable. Laughing probably wouldn't help the situation at the moment. His manly pride would be hurt and then things would go downhill. She was much too comfortable to give up her seat on his lap now. Not when things were getting good.
Not, she thought, that they were going to like-- get naked in the library or anything.
Of course there was a natural response to argue back, but Shikamaru found it hard to do with his mouth was being covered once again and something was trying to infiltrate it. He didn't have much experience with kissing, with the exception of dryly pressing his lips against skin, so the idea of having tongue to tongue was evolutionary. Finally, his lips were moist enough to open without much effort and at once, he felt the difference between kissing and--well, really kissing. The hands around Ino's waist found purchase on her shirt before his fingers adventurously went underneath the hem. The feeling of warm skin under his fingertips and his tongue against hers was an explosion of details that he didn't have time to comprehend, nor did he want to.
Getting the hang of things, Shikamaru shifted his hands so that one of them was pressing against the small of her back under her shirt while the other steadied her at the same time. Teeth gently applied themselves to her bottom lip before he had to move back, forgetting long ago that he actually needed to breathe to do all of these things.
"You're heavy," he said after a moment, still trying his best to breathe and grab as much oxygen again until she started to move or her lips became too tempting to leave alone.
...
What.
Ino wasn't expecting Shikamaru to turn into some sort of poet or even say anything remotely nice but... was he... he was calling her fat. What an asshole.
"WHAT??" she shrieked and then took it down a few notches because she was sure the librarian would come. "What did you just say to me?? I am not heavy! If you were a man you'd be able to bear it!!!" Ino reached for her crutches which were just out of reach. Instead, she stood up on her good leg and threw Shikamaru a look that could kill. "You're a jerk!"
This was the last time she trusted him. LAST. TIME.
His true intent, as suspicious as it sounded, was not to let all Hell come undone, instead, trying to ease up the atmosphere. He definitely wasn't a guy that could sweet talk a girl (the only things he knew were to say "I love you" and even if they had started to realize the attraction between one another, his IQ told him that that phrase wasn't the wisest thing to say right now) but he knew the things that could make the air easier to breathe.
But apparently, Ino definitely did not get the message. It took him less than a nanosecond to realize that his choice of words were poorly chosen and that he had fucked this up majorly. Even if an hour ago, Shikamaru would have allowed this to pass as another failure in his young life, at the moment, he wasn't in the mood to accept anymore befuddling moments and things that could make the situation even more complicated.
Ignorant of Ino's wants, Shikamaru, without thinking, reached for Ino and firmly sat her down on his lap again, holding her down and not allowing her any chance to move again. It was hard, seeing that even for someone walking with crutches, Ino was wriggling as wildly as a worm was.
Shikamaru was sure she wouldn't appreciate the alliteration.
"Look, I'm sorry alright?" he hissed, his voice having dropped down to something like a whisper. He didn't want to attract anymore attention than her exclamations had done. "I jus--fuck, I just didn't know what to say. And the air was so god damn stiflin--I don't know. I'm sorry I said that and I didn't mean you were 'heavy' like an overweight person or anything." Shit, watch the goddamn landmine key words, Nara. "I just wanted to breathe alright? I don't do this often and hell knows how many guys you've done this with, so cut me some damn slack!"
Hands quickly shifted over hers so that if there was an urge to slap the shit out of him, he was prepared.
Ino's first instinct was to slap the shit out of him but he was holding her down rather tightly. She took a deep breath and tried to mull over his words like an adult and not fly off of the handle even though-- how many guys did he think she made out with? Shikamaru had a seriously wild imagination. He was also worrying needlessly over something as trivial as when to breathe during a kiss. He wasn't a nervous person by any means-- was she the one making him this way? Maybe she did need to cut him a little slack since he actually took the time to explain stuff to her and that was probably incredibly troublesome.
"Shikamaru," she said calmly, though one could tell that her voice was verging on annoyance, "not that it really matters but I've let all of three guys in my whole entire life kiss me. So whatever you're thinking about my experience-- just unthink it ASAP." Good LORD, she wasn't the town bicycle or anything!
She flopped back against him, sighing and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "What are you getting all anxious for, huh?"
His mind was hurting, a lot. Even if there wasn't a one-sided slapping fest that initiated between them, Shikamaru was tired of thinking and analyzing this whole thing from the age-old position of being the sideline guy. He hardly was in the thick of it, and here he was, with a pretty looking girl on his lap, kissing him affectionately in the back of the library with bookshelves filled with biographies of the old Masters.
The sigh that came out of his mouth was somewhat shorter than hers, but somewhere in that quick exhale, there was a little bit of relief. The small kiss brought him back to reality and brought him face to face with what he was dealing with right now.
"I just want to do it right," was the simple honest-to-god truth that came out of his mouth, his hands going slack against hers when the danger moment passed.
"Shikamaru, this is us we're talking about," Ino snorted. "We're going to do everything wrong and weird and that's fine. I've already accepted this. We just have to be patient with each other." Really, it meant Ino would have to be patient with Shikamaru because he had no social grace whatsoever. He made up for it with his... Ino didn't know what it was she liked so much about him but there it was.
"If we were normal that would just be boring!"
She was looking forward to the weirdness that would ensue.
Her own insight in the beginnings of this relationship (come to think of it, didn't they have something like this from the beginning?) almost made Shikamaru want to laugh at his own nervousness. Everything that she said was true, right down to the fact that if this was going to work at this level, they were going to need a hell lot of patience with each other. But in a way, it was also calming that she knew there was going to be bumps on the road after this. Although he really hoped that things could be normal, otherwise he might just give up on life and retreat to a cave in the mountains or something.
Without having being asked to or even pushed to do it, he suddenly leaned forward again and pressed a dry kiss to her cheek. In a way, it was thanking her for being patient and not killing him off for the evening.
She so wanted to make out with him again. It wouldn't be prudent to push him, though, before he was ready to seriously handle her. "Let's go catch a movie or something," her face was red again and she made it her business not to look right at him for fear of him noticing. "Maybe catch something to eat? What do you think?" Ino would try her luck and maybe hold his hand in the street. Well... the hand not holding her crutches.
Damn, this was putting a damper on her plans. One needed two good legs to fully experience romance in NYC.
"They're going to start to wonder where we've gone. And then that librarian will come to check on us and catch us in a passionate embrace..."
"'They'? Uchiha and his cats?" Shikamaru sighed, annoyance crossing his face momentarily. He wasn't one to pick a fight with the other guy and he really wasn't looking for one, but at times, he didn't understand the prolonged arguments the other guy was so hellbent on keeping.
"I don't think they would mind. For the librarian, we could say we're practicing a play or something. I don't think she'd mind either." If it was up to him, Shikamaru wouldn't mind just staying the entire night like this, arms around Ino and talking like this. He pointedly looked at Ino's pair of crutches for something to sway her decision. Hands tightened slightly around her waist to make his point as well as another chaste brush of his lips against hers.
Well when he put it like that, how could Ino say no? Shikamaru had finally figured out how to manipulate her. This was a dangerous thing. He already smart enough as it was. Now he could control her if he wanted. She couldn't let him know that he had this power to melt her resolve. She had to keep some hold over him. Using his mother would only work for so long. One day, he might even stop being scared of her.
"I thought I was too heavy for you?"
This felt perfect, in her opinion. Shikamaru had always taken on a sort of caretaker role with her and she felt safe when she was with him. Although his work ethic was questionable at best, he usually made good decisions and in her best interest. That was more than she could say for so many other guys who were only looking to get laid. Shikamaru was almost completely the opposite.
That would just mean she had to try harder to spark his interest.
Although Shikamaru was smart as hell sometimes, he had the equally full potential to be as stupid as hell and screw himself up most of the times, too. But along the lines of Ino's own wise decision that patience was the name of the game here and that if they both wanted to survive this (even if it wasn't long term, at least get out of this with hopefully brains intact), they would have to overlook tiny blunders.
"I thought you didn't like being called 'heavy'," he answered smoothly, but somewhat slowly, just in case there was another attack coming to blindside him again. He really needed to develop a better defense mechanism than just holding her down physically. God knows how many times that has worked in the past.
Don't try to use your twisty genius logic on me, she thought, laughing at his desperate attempt not to say the wrong thing. He was actually trying. That touched her more than anything else he could have said. It wasn't like he was going to give her a compliment or anything. This was Shikamaru. She wasn't expecting miracles here. Ino took his hand in hers and brought it up to her lips, brushing the sensitive, calloused tips of his fingers with her mouth affectionately.
"Good boy. You're learning."
Even if his fingers weren't so sensitive compared to some other parts on his person, the act made Shikamaru feel uneasy again at the intimate act. He frowned at her choice of words, but the argument was temporarily stayed as he watched, with some mild fascination at how her mouth felt against the rough pads of his fingers. The only things he liked to feel underneath them were either the soft fabric of a pillow or the cool ivory of a Steinway.
This was definitely something new.
What: Coming through on a bet
Where: In the library!
When: Backdated; right after Tenten's drunken post spilling the beans about Ino's sekrit desirez and Ino broke her leg
Warnings: Makeouts and Ino's wrath after being called a fatty :D
To be honest, Ino hadn't been in a library in a good number of years prior to the current date. The books she liked to read-- usually seedy romance novels-- were easily bought in bookstores and so libraries were not necessary. Shikamaru had challenged her, though, and so Ino was going to trudge down the steps into the depths of the library to show him what she was made of. It was hard enough to think about what exactly Shikamaru wanted to do in said library but making her way down the actual steps with her crutches was a feat. Somehow, she didn't feel very graceful when she was hopping down one step at a time while holding crutches with the other.
"There's an elevator, you know," one of the librarians told her.
Fucking... TELL ME THAT SOONER, OLD WOMAN, the blonde thought with a huff. There really was no one down here. Shikamaru must have come here to get away from... well, life. It seemed like a good napping place, too. It just reeked Shikamaru. Tables, chairs, quiet. Those were all he really needed.
Ino sat down at a table very near the back (good lord, it was the sub basement and so there was not one window-- kind of creepy?) and took a rest. She felt so out of shape. This just wouldn't do. Nervous hands smoothed out the bottom of her skirt. Were they really going to--?
Nah. He was just bluffing.
Right?
After realizing what he had done to himself and what consequences his actions would have to face, Shikamaru took a good five minutes to examine his options. But at the end of five minutes, he was faced with a single question:
What options?
He had successfully just fucked himself and the situation at hand. That was the gist of it and now he would have to either retreat from this all with a harrowing scar on his pride or swallow the growing lump in his throat before sliding out from underneath his bed and actually make his way down to the library. Not that he found any comforting answers from hiding underneath his bed in the first place.
The journey was shorter than he had hoped, even with him walking backwards at one point, hoping that he would trip over, fall, break his neck, or something that would prolong the inevitable. But to his misfortune, all the doors were supported open by door stoppers and the library had an elevator to be taken. And whenever there was a choice to be made between elevators and stairs, the lazy muscles in his body would hear none of the arguments his brain had and promptly marched the man into the steel trap.
Now Shikamaru found himself smelling dust and a suspicious blend of moldy air as he pocketed his hands and walked down the book aisles, ending up very near the back. When there were no more aisles to amble down, Shikamaru caught a glimpse of blonde hair to his right. It made him break out in cold sweat, almost forgetting that he had pride on the line here. But then a glimpse of a pair of crutches made the sympathetic and guilty parts of his personality act up, pushing him towards what was undoubtedly Ino and the his demise.
"How'd you get here so fast?" he mumbled as he took a seat at the table, not really facing her.
Well, well, well. Shikamaru had actually showed up. Ino had her money on him running away for a few days and leaving her hanging but it looked like he was kind of serious. Did that mean he really wanted to fool around in the library? Maybe he thought that she forgot about it. Ino wasn't even sure why she was there in the first place. One big reason was to call his bluff. Shikamaru was trying to make a point by being the "big man" or whatever and Ino knew that he was completely full of shit. He was embarrassed, she could tell from his whole stance, the tenseness of his shoulders, the lack of eye contact. It was actually pretty cute. He looked very boyish and unsure of himself. It was rare to see him like that. Although Shikamaru was lazy, when he chose to spoke he was sure of himself.
"I took the stairs. It wasn't easy," Ino tossed her ponytail over her shoulder and scooted her chair much closer to his. Her good knee brushed against his; Ino leaned her elbow on the table and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. She didn't feel like acting like a know it all or even teasing him all that much. It seemed like a better idea just to go with the flow. Hadn't she earned herself a little Shikamaru affection time after falling down the stairs? She thought so, at least. He wasn't good at just freely handing out his physical affection. She would have to take all of the initiative.
She would have to start small, in order not to make him completely freak out. Although Shikamaru had responded rather well to the kiss she had planted on him, if it happened in a more natural way, then she wouldn't have to fell so embarrassed. Her hand went under the table to find his, which were currently on top of his thighs. Long, slender fingers sought out his palms and his sensitive musician finger tips, coaxing him to open his hand. "Your palms are sweating," Ino said lightly, amused.
So much for not making eye contact. Once Shikamaru felt Ino's own knee bump against his, his head made a painful 90 degree turn to look at her. Sure, he was all big talk and innuendos a couple of minutes ago, but surely, she knew that he wasn't the guy that did all the wham bamming here by now? His question was quickly answered as her fingers were next to touch him. Not sure what to do, Shikamaru just took a back seat in this (a position that wasn't unfamiliar to him at all) and watched her eyes for a second before releasing the tension that was building up in his entire body, including those of his balled-up fists. In comparison to his hands, Ino's were paler and smaller, but her fingers were equally slender.
"You know, there's an elevator here," he said after a moment's pause, trying to divert the conversation away from how nervous he was. His mood and words might've not shown it, but his body definitely wasn't holding back to tell her everything there was to know about his reactions.
With her palm pressed evenly against his, Ino measured their hands mentally. It was times like these that it hit Ino that Shikamaru was not the little kid she used to order around but a man with big man hands and big man responsibilities. He was seriously pursuing music and actually went to class more often than not instead of skipping out to go nap somewhere. It wasn't that she didn't love him as a kid (a lazy, lazy kid) but she really liked this more grown up and responsible Shikamaru. Even though he didn't want anyone to know it, he was dependable and kind. She supposed it was his old school thinking, the men looking after the women, and although it was a little dated she still appreciated it. He was so worried about her broken leg-- it was... nice.
"Yeah... that stupid old woman TOLD me that after I nearly broke my neck hopping down the stairs," Ino sighed. "But now I know better."
Her thumb swiped against his wrist gently, his pulse strong and fast beneath her finger. "Your pulse is racing, too."
Make a move. You know you want to.
The cocked eyebrow was pointless, seeing that Ino would've known whether or not his pulse was increasing by feeling. Whereas, Shikamaru was still in the early stages of denial and had the picturesque image of himself being very composed.
Yeah, right.
"It was a lot of stairs." He shrugged, (what else was going to do, right?) and turned slightly in his seat to face her, inhaling deeply before he prepared himself for whatever was going to happen next. His fingers slowly came to life as they curled and uncurled amongst themselves, before flipping around to take Ino's hand in his. Compared to his fingers, hers felt like they were made out of glass. Pale and delicate, they were contrasted sharply by his own as they were partially intertwined by his. Shikamaru took care not to look at Ino in the eye when he rubbed his thumb against each individual finger before moving up her own wrist and forearm. Everything looked a lot different after a decade's worth of time.
"So...did you want to tell me something that could save you from a life's embarrassment of being drunk that night?" he started slowly, his eyes slowly looking up until he met hers.
Oh, he had gone right for the jugular. Ino's face immediately broke out into a hot flush, despite trying to look cool and compose. Shikamaru always knew what to say to get her where it hurt. She cleared her throat in a noble and refined manner. "Just that I'll never tell Tenten anything ever again," Ino smiled sheepishly at him. She hadn't expected him to bring that little tidbit about her scandalous dream up in conversation.
Ino supposed it was time to stop playing games because the secret was kind of out. She was the one who initiated the kiss. She was the one who teased him constantly. He wasn't avoiding her or acting like she had the plague so Ino had to assume that he was okay with... them. Who was the say that good friends couldn't be more? Ino knew so much about him and he about her. And they still go along decently. Sure they got into fights and argued but that was half of the fun.
"Don't make me outright say it," she grumbled. "You know what's what!"
When it came down to relationships, Ino was... well, she was shy. When she really liked someone Ino got embarrassed. And since she really liked Shikamaru (not that she wanted to TELL him that), she was getting REALLY shy about the whole thing.
Shikamaru tried his best to compose his straight face, but the smallest signs of a crooked smirk were appearing at the edges of his mouth at her own composure. The red spreading on her face was a strong indication that maybe Ino wasn't so different than he was in this situation, only that she less reluctant than he was to make the first move. To know that she had her weaknesses and that they were showing now in this rather "private" moment, was something that Shikamaru didn't take for granted. In being someone that knew her since they were kids, Shikamaru liked to know that she felt comfortable with him; comfortable enough to let down her guard and just relax around him.
"Now you sound like me," he drawled, retracting his hands so he could prop his head up with a hand.
"I'll say it then." Dark eyes looked at blue for a second, his own being in deep thought, before Shikamaru slowly straightened up and actually looked serious. If only for a second. "You like me. You want to make out with me in a closet." Ah, there was that smirk.
"I guess I do, too." Pause. "Just not in a closet."
Ino gaped for a moment, insure of how to react to his semi-but-not-really confession. He did too... what? Like her? Want to make out? This was so typical coward Shikamaru behavior. She shouldn't have even expected more. Actually, she wasn't expecting him to come at all or avoid the situation all together so things were looking better every moment. Of course if life were perfect he would have said I like you instead of You want to make out with him in a closet but that would be so boring. He had that know it all smirk on his face, to boot. Part of her wanted to smack it off her face. The bigger part of her wanted to go through with the threats of dragging him into a closet and having her way with him. Too bad she couldn't do much dragging with a bum leg.
Leaning over like this to talk to him was also straining her back. Ino moved her seat into his lap, settling comfortably. This was much better. The flicker of (shock?) emotion on his face was also amusing. He wasn't the only one who could play this game.
Fingertips traced Shikamaru's bottom lip gently as Ino leaned in close, her mouth only inches from his. "How about in a library?"
Ino did so love to play.
Once again, the mere physical touch of her finger was enough to put a pause to Shikamaru's train of thoughts, something that he found slightly annoying. Only because thinking was crucial at the moment, unless he wanted to start gaping like she had and then meekly coming up with lame excuses over it. The decision to lean further towards her was partially because she didn't fail to hesitate and do the same action. Everything was awkwardly familiar like that one night when they were sitting on the sidewalk on Broadway, except things were much quieter and Shikamaru could hear his heart in his ears, beating loud and clear.
His hand caught her wrist as her fingers danced across his lips, gently moving it away before he took the initiative and went the full fifty, tentatively pressing an awkward kiss to the corner of her heart-shaped lips. It felt a little bit dry, even if his own lips clung to her skin for a second before being fully pulled back. He removed himself to the minimum distance it took to take in her reaction.
"Fine with me," he said in a strangely hoarse voice.
Damn it, she did like him. All of him-- his social awkwardness, his laziness, his lack of care concerning clothing, the way he protected her because he felt it was his obligation, his stupid all knowing smile, all of it. It was way more than just a simple like between two hormonal teenagers that went away to school together. They had history like doll houses and fake weddings and birthday parties as kids. Shikamaru had been there through her awkward phase (not that it was too awkward but braces has nearly killed her) and still liked her. Maybe.
He was so cute when he was shy. And she was the one making him this way.
Ino kissed him fully on the lips, very gently at first, with almost no pressure at all behind it. She didn't want to scare him. It would be better to ease him into it, like one would step slowly into a pool. Ino was the sort of person who always took the plunge; Shikamaru, on the other hand, liked to think things through and analyze. I do like you, she thought, closing her eyes. Even if you are stupid.
Even if the kiss was something that he had "partially" experienced on their escapade on Broadway, Shikamaru found this one to be less surprising and more real. And because of that, he immediately felt his face turn up another ten degrees and his heart pumping faster at a rate that even an oncoming heart attack might've been plausible. Given that he wasn't a really good-looking guy, Shikamaru had a deficit of experiences in the relationship area. He never really kissed anyone, except for a short brisk fling during a summer, with a girl he didn't remember. If he was man enough to admit it now, he would've seen that short relationship as one to help him cope with Ino's own string of boyfriends, or to just get his mother off his back. As of now, with the warmth of Ino's lips lingering on his, it was probably the former than the latter.
He really did want to comprehend this, what was going on with the whole holding hands and kissing. In his mind, somewhere, something told him that it was serious and he shouldn't take it lightly. The logical side of him screamed and writhed in agony at the thought of the consequences of this, how his mother would go on a warpath (along with Ino's mother, no doubt) to make this even more troublesome than it might get. But gravity demanded that the idea of "ignorance is bliss" should be exercised, which was why Shikamaru found himself, once again, close to Ino and slightly widening his eyes at how warm her cheek felt underneath his lips.
He was blushing. Shikamaru was actually blushing. The eternally unshakable Nara was embarrassed. When she opened her eyes slightly to peek at him, she saw the redness on his cheeks and tried to hide a smile. Although Ino thought she knew him well enough, she was learning more and more about the sides he didn't want people to see. Ino playfully ran the tip of her tongue over his bottom lip, sealing the deal with a small kiss afterward.
"I think you're the one who likes me. And you totally want to make out with me. Not in a closet."
Making out in a library seems to be working out just fine, the blond thought smugly, amusing herself with playing with one of his earrings. Even the tips of his ears were red. This was too much. If his mother ever found out about this, he would never hear the end of it.
"Let's just hope that librarian doesn't walk in. She'd get the shock of her life."
His eyelids fluttered for a second when he felt moisture applied to his bottom lip, accompanied with the fact that his heart wouldn't stop pounding in his ears. She left him speechless until her words dragged him back to the present, rather than having thoughts focused more on how his tongue would feel against hers. For a guy that usually had no hormonal response to females in general, this was downright scary.
The slightly challenging and smug tone in her voice made his blank face slowly turn into its default settings, a slight scowl, save for the slight pink around his cheekbones. "You're the one that got drunk and said it to the entire damn school," he mumbled before leaning forward more, resting his forehead on her cheek.
His eyelashes were tickling her jaw and she could feel his breath on her neck. Not unpleasant but rather... intimate. He was trying to get her to start a fight with him, she could tell. If he wanted to get technical, Tenten was the one who started it but that was neither here nor there. Shikamaru was being exceedingly shy-- she would really have to take matters into her own hands in order to get him not to shut down completely. Ino took his hands and placed them around her waist (not a necessity but still pretty nice) and took his face in her hands, tilting his head up to look at her.
"That was not my fault."
Ino kissed him again (half to shut him up-- this was working out in her favor), trying to coax him to open his mouth. His lips were so tense it was almost laughable. Laughing probably wouldn't help the situation at the moment. His manly pride would be hurt and then things would go downhill. She was much too comfortable to give up her seat on his lap now. Not when things were getting good.
Not, she thought, that they were going to like-- get naked in the library or anything.
Of course there was a natural response to argue back, but Shikamaru found it hard to do with his mouth was being covered once again and something was trying to infiltrate it. He didn't have much experience with kissing, with the exception of dryly pressing his lips against skin, so the idea of having tongue to tongue was evolutionary. Finally, his lips were moist enough to open without much effort and at once, he felt the difference between kissing and--well, really kissing. The hands around Ino's waist found purchase on her shirt before his fingers adventurously went underneath the hem. The feeling of warm skin under his fingertips and his tongue against hers was an explosion of details that he didn't have time to comprehend, nor did he want to.
Getting the hang of things, Shikamaru shifted his hands so that one of them was pressing against the small of her back under her shirt while the other steadied her at the same time. Teeth gently applied themselves to her bottom lip before he had to move back, forgetting long ago that he actually needed to breathe to do all of these things.
"You're heavy," he said after a moment, still trying his best to breathe and grab as much oxygen again until she started to move or her lips became too tempting to leave alone.
...
What.
Ino wasn't expecting Shikamaru to turn into some sort of poet or even say anything remotely nice but... was he... he was calling her fat. What an asshole.
"WHAT??" she shrieked and then took it down a few notches because she was sure the librarian would come. "What did you just say to me?? I am not heavy! If you were a man you'd be able to bear it!!!" Ino reached for her crutches which were just out of reach. Instead, she stood up on her good leg and threw Shikamaru a look that could kill. "You're a jerk!"
This was the last time she trusted him. LAST. TIME.
His true intent, as suspicious as it sounded, was not to let all Hell come undone, instead, trying to ease up the atmosphere. He definitely wasn't a guy that could sweet talk a girl (the only things he knew were to say "I love you" and even if they had started to realize the attraction between one another, his IQ told him that that phrase wasn't the wisest thing to say right now) but he knew the things that could make the air easier to breathe.
But apparently, Ino definitely did not get the message. It took him less than a nanosecond to realize that his choice of words were poorly chosen and that he had fucked this up majorly. Even if an hour ago, Shikamaru would have allowed this to pass as another failure in his young life, at the moment, he wasn't in the mood to accept anymore befuddling moments and things that could make the situation even more complicated.
Ignorant of Ino's wants, Shikamaru, without thinking, reached for Ino and firmly sat her down on his lap again, holding her down and not allowing her any chance to move again. It was hard, seeing that even for someone walking with crutches, Ino was wriggling as wildly as a worm was.
Shikamaru was sure she wouldn't appreciate the alliteration.
"Look, I'm sorry alright?" he hissed, his voice having dropped down to something like a whisper. He didn't want to attract anymore attention than her exclamations had done. "I jus--fuck, I just didn't know what to say. And the air was so god damn stiflin--I don't know. I'm sorry I said that and I didn't mean you were 'heavy' like an overweight person or anything." Shit, watch the goddamn landmine key words, Nara. "I just wanted to breathe alright? I don't do this often and hell knows how many guys you've done this with, so cut me some damn slack!"
Hands quickly shifted over hers so that if there was an urge to slap the shit out of him, he was prepared.
Ino's first instinct was to slap the shit out of him but he was holding her down rather tightly. She took a deep breath and tried to mull over his words like an adult and not fly off of the handle even though-- how many guys did he think she made out with? Shikamaru had a seriously wild imagination. He was also worrying needlessly over something as trivial as when to breathe during a kiss. He wasn't a nervous person by any means-- was she the one making him this way? Maybe she did need to cut him a little slack since he actually took the time to explain stuff to her and that was probably incredibly troublesome.
"Shikamaru," she said calmly, though one could tell that her voice was verging on annoyance, "not that it really matters but I've let all of three guys in my whole entire life kiss me. So whatever you're thinking about my experience-- just unthink it ASAP." Good LORD, she wasn't the town bicycle or anything!
She flopped back against him, sighing and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "What are you getting all anxious for, huh?"
His mind was hurting, a lot. Even if there wasn't a one-sided slapping fest that initiated between them, Shikamaru was tired of thinking and analyzing this whole thing from the age-old position of being the sideline guy. He hardly was in the thick of it, and here he was, with a pretty looking girl on his lap, kissing him affectionately in the back of the library with bookshelves filled with biographies of the old Masters.
The sigh that came out of his mouth was somewhat shorter than hers, but somewhere in that quick exhale, there was a little bit of relief. The small kiss brought him back to reality and brought him face to face with what he was dealing with right now.
"I just want to do it right," was the simple honest-to-god truth that came out of his mouth, his hands going slack against hers when the danger moment passed.
"Shikamaru, this is us we're talking about," Ino snorted. "We're going to do everything wrong and weird and that's fine. I've already accepted this. We just have to be patient with each other." Really, it meant Ino would have to be patient with Shikamaru because he had no social grace whatsoever. He made up for it with his... Ino didn't know what it was she liked so much about him but there it was.
"If we were normal that would just be boring!"
She was looking forward to the weirdness that would ensue.
Her own insight in the beginnings of this relationship (come to think of it, didn't they have something like this from the beginning?) almost made Shikamaru want to laugh at his own nervousness. Everything that she said was true, right down to the fact that if this was going to work at this level, they were going to need a hell lot of patience with each other. But in a way, it was also calming that she knew there was going to be bumps on the road after this. Although he really hoped that things could be normal, otherwise he might just give up on life and retreat to a cave in the mountains or something.
Without having being asked to or even pushed to do it, he suddenly leaned forward again and pressed a dry kiss to her cheek. In a way, it was thanking her for being patient and not killing him off for the evening.
She so wanted to make out with him again. It wouldn't be prudent to push him, though, before he was ready to seriously handle her. "Let's go catch a movie or something," her face was red again and she made it her business not to look right at him for fear of him noticing. "Maybe catch something to eat? What do you think?" Ino would try her luck and maybe hold his hand in the street. Well... the hand not holding her crutches.
Damn, this was putting a damper on her plans. One needed two good legs to fully experience romance in NYC.
"They're going to start to wonder where we've gone. And then that librarian will come to check on us and catch us in a passionate embrace..."
"'They'? Uchiha and his cats?" Shikamaru sighed, annoyance crossing his face momentarily. He wasn't one to pick a fight with the other guy and he really wasn't looking for one, but at times, he didn't understand the prolonged arguments the other guy was so hellbent on keeping.
"I don't think they would mind. For the librarian, we could say we're practicing a play or something. I don't think she'd mind either." If it was up to him, Shikamaru wouldn't mind just staying the entire night like this, arms around Ino and talking like this. He pointedly looked at Ino's pair of crutches for something to sway her decision. Hands tightened slightly around her waist to make his point as well as another chaste brush of his lips against hers.
Well when he put it like that, how could Ino say no? Shikamaru had finally figured out how to manipulate her. This was a dangerous thing. He already smart enough as it was. Now he could control her if he wanted. She couldn't let him know that he had this power to melt her resolve. She had to keep some hold over him. Using his mother would only work for so long. One day, he might even stop being scared of her.
"I thought I was too heavy for you?"
This felt perfect, in her opinion. Shikamaru had always taken on a sort of caretaker role with her and she felt safe when she was with him. Although his work ethic was questionable at best, he usually made good decisions and in her best interest. That was more than she could say for so many other guys who were only looking to get laid. Shikamaru was almost completely the opposite.
That would just mean she had to try harder to spark his interest.
Although Shikamaru was smart as hell sometimes, he had the equally full potential to be as stupid as hell and screw himself up most of the times, too. But along the lines of Ino's own wise decision that patience was the name of the game here and that if they both wanted to survive this (even if it wasn't long term, at least get out of this with hopefully brains intact), they would have to overlook tiny blunders.
"I thought you didn't like being called 'heavy'," he answered smoothly, but somewhat slowly, just in case there was another attack coming to blindside him again. He really needed to develop a better defense mechanism than just holding her down physically. God knows how many times that has worked in the past.
Don't try to use your twisty genius logic on me, she thought, laughing at his desperate attempt not to say the wrong thing. He was actually trying. That touched her more than anything else he could have said. It wasn't like he was going to give her a compliment or anything. This was Shikamaru. She wasn't expecting miracles here. Ino took his hand in hers and brought it up to her lips, brushing the sensitive, calloused tips of his fingers with her mouth affectionately.
"Good boy. You're learning."
Even if his fingers weren't so sensitive compared to some other parts on his person, the act made Shikamaru feel uneasy again at the intimate act. He frowned at her choice of words, but the argument was temporarily stayed as he watched, with some mild fascination at how her mouth felt against the rough pads of his fingers. The only things he liked to feel underneath them were either the soft fabric of a pillow or the cool ivory of a Steinway.
This was definitely something new.