For the twenty-seventh time in six months, Shikamaru woke up to the sounds of angry stomping, cursing, and slamming. He tried to shut them out, to catch the last tendrils of his dream, but, as always, to no avail. Worst of all, these things tend to happen on his days off too.

Sighing, he cracked one eye open to peer at his companion. There she was, her back turned to him, kneeling down in front of a pile of magazines.

"I can never find anything in this mess," he heard Ino mutter. "Kami, this place needs a major clean-up, possibly an extermination too. I'm sure there's a bunch of rats living here already. Doesn't he find it disgusting? I could never…"

She trailed off as she hurriedly crossed the room in search of a new area to hunt for yet another mystery item. She stopped only when her foot collided with a shogi board partially hidden under the overflowing bed sheets.

"Fuck," she exclaimed loudly, glaring at the offending item. "Why does he even need two boards?! Isn't one board enough? Kami, this guy…"

Hopping on one foot, Ino reached the other side of the room, face set in a scowl. He followed her movements with amusement, accidentally letting out a snort when she nearly tripped over a discarded shirt.

"Well, I'm glad you find my predicament funny, mister," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

When he did not reply, she sauntered over to the bed, eyes narrowed. "Hey," she demanded, poking his arm. "Have you seen my bangles?"

Shikamaru rolled over and buried his face in his pillow, not keen on facing her wrath just yet. "No."

"Well, I'm pretty sure I left them on top of your desk the other day, so…"

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

"Bangles, baaangles," Ino enunciated slowly. "You know, that set of wooden bracelets I got from the autumn sale? Blue and green with shiny beads on them?"

"Oh."

"So?" she said, tapping her foot impatiently. "Do you know where they are?"

"Just look over there," he replied, lifting an arm to gesture vaguely to his left. "Somewhere… there."

"Ugh, that's your pile of dirty clothes." Ino sounded mildly disgusted, and he imagined her pouting, nose scrunched up slightly. "But you know what? Fine. Never mind. I'll just stroll around Konoha without jewelry. It doesn't matter to me at all. I don't care what people think. I don't care about fashion and looking nice, after all. That's not me," she finished, sniffing haughtily.

Shikamaru sighed. This, again. He tilted his head sideways and peered up at her. "What do you want, woman?"

"My bangles!" she cried, sitting forlornly on the bed. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm looking for my—"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time." Shikamaru sat up, rather reluctantly, and stared at her through bleary eyes. He didn't quite understand her insistence on "looking glam and hip" when she was fine the way she was. He, of course, never said that out loud. You just don't say things like that to women, especially not to the troublesome ones.

He looked around his room, spying fifty places where she could have lost her damned bangles. He did remember seeing them on his desk a week ago, so they must still be around.

Shikamaru did not realize how much of a klutz she was until they started this… romantic companionship… thing. He had always pegged her as an extremely put-together person who decried anything that hinted at disorder. So, when she started losing things around his apartment (a bandeau here, a scarf there, earrings in the bathroom, etcetera), he found it odd but did not question it.

After all, there were a great deal of things he learned about her only after the fact.

Groaning at his apparent lack of action, Ino stomped off and resumed her search, grumbling all the while.

"Ino, there's an empty drawer in my dresser," Shikamaru voiced, yawning.

She turned to glare at him. "Yeah, so? Ugh, where the hell are those bracelets?! Won't you help me find them? This outfit will not work without—"

"Just keep your things there," he cut in. "I'm tired of waking up to your—"

"Nara Shikamaru," she gasped. "Are you..?"

In one quick motion, she had sidled up to him, hands gripping his arm tightly, a shy smile on her lips.

"What?" he said, confused.

Ino fixed her large, blue eyes on him, blinking slowly, eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings on her cheeks. "Are you asking me to move in with you?" she asked quietly. Hopefully.

Shikamaru simply stared at her.

"Well? Are you?"

He cleared his throat and extricated himself from her grasp. "It's not a big deal. You keep losing your stuff in my apartment, and you're always complaining about it," he explained. "I figured it would be easier for both of us if you had somewhere here to store them."

Ino squealed and jumped on top of him, pushing him down onto the bed. "Oh, Shika, Shika," she giggled, showering him with kisses. "You don't know how happy you've made me!"

Even after six months of intimate acquaintance, he still did not know how she managed to jump from one emotion to another in an instant. He often wondered if that was a trait all troublesome women had or if it was just one of those quirks that made Ino, well, Ino.

"Hey, seriously," he mumbled, in between her ecstatic caresses. "Calm down. It's just a drawer."

"Oh, but it means something more, doesn't it?" she sighed, laying her head on his chest. "Shika, you tease!"

"I am not a tease. I am just being practical," he muttered, playing with her hair absently. "And, fine, call it whatever you want. I don't care."

Laughing lightly, Ino straddled his waist and lowered her face to his. "Whatever you say, Mr. Grumpy Pants," she whispered, and he could smell mint and lilacs on her. "I so love you right now."

"Just right now?" he answered, throwing her a playful glare. "You're hurting my feelings."

"For always," she winked as she raked her fingers over his chest. "But you know that already…"

"Well, maybe I don't."

She brushed her lips against his gently. "What about now?" she asked, eyes twinkling.

"I'm afraid that's not enough."

Smirking, he lifted his head to kiss her, savoring the sweet taste of her mouth against his. Shikamaru snaked a hand at the back of her neck to draw her closer, fingers pressed at the spot where he discovered her most sensitive.

She rocked her hips against him, moaning softly when his other hand found her breast. She pulled away to trail light kisses down his jaw, causing him to let out a shaky breath. She laughed, the sound thrumming deliciously against his neck. She slipped her hands underneath his shirt, trailing warmth where her fingers grazed bare skin.

Abruptly, Ino stopped her ministrations and straightened up, smiling deviously. "That should do it, right? Now," she said, climbing daintily off the bed. "I have somewhere I need to be."

"Tch." Shikamaru fell back against his pillows, glowering at his cruel, heartless, troublesome girlfriend.

"Hey, don't give me that look," Ino scolded, wagging a finger at him threateningly. "Like you said, it's just a drawer."

All too quickly, he propped himself up on his elbows and gave her a lopsided grin. "So if I give you a dresser, you'll..?"

"Enthusiasm appreciated, but whatever," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm late for my shift, so I should get going. Clean up your room, mister! I don't want to see your garbage lying around when I get back."

"You mean my things?" he asked, frowning at her.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you call them," Ino answered, waving dismissively. "Also, get out of bed already! Do you even know what time it is? Jeez, seriously, what a lazy ass."

"It's my day off, troublesome woman," he grumbled, tossing a pillow at her as she shut his bedroom door.

Shikamaru heard a muffled "pick that up," followed seconds later by the sound of his front door slamming shut. Sighing heavily, he leaned back on his remaining pillows and tried to resume his interrupted sleep.

Just as he was about to drift off, he remembered the issue of her missing bangles, musing over why she had not bothered looking for them before she left.

"Ah," he mumbled to himself. "Just another quirk."

The bell over the door rang, signaling a customer. Ino looked up from her magazine and smiled wide.

"Sakura," she exclaimed. "How nice to see you!"

"Yeah, well, you called me in here, in case you forgot," the pink-haired girl grumbled. "There's a bunch of patients waiting for me at the hospital, so this better be worth it, and make it quick."

"Oh, my dear, Sakura," Ino said in a sing-song voice. "All good things take time. You should learn to be more patient, really."

"I don't need your advice, Ino-pig," Sakura snapped, clutching her coat tighter. "Now, out with whatever you're trying to say!"

Ino propped her head up on her elbows, gazing up at her friend mischievously. She would let the insult slide, for now. She had better things to discuss.

"I won the game."

Sakura looked at her, confused. "What game?"

"You know," she answered, smiling sweetly. "The game."

"Ino, I swear, if you don't tell it to me straight, I'll pummel your shop to the ground."

"Shikamaru just asked me to move in with him," Ino proclaimed, winking. She leant back on her seat and crossed her legs, a triumphant look on her face. "Well? Time to pay up, dear."

Gritting her teeth in annoyance, Sakura pointed an accusing finger at the blonde. "This game of yours is hardly fair, you know! Sasuke isn't even around, so he obviously cannot ask me to move in with him."

"That's not my problem anymore," Ino answered, inspecting her nails coolly. "It's not my fault you fell in love with a wanna-be travel journalist. Oh, has he sent in his weekly column for the Konoha Daily yet?" she mocked, sticking out her tongue. "Pay up, Forehead! You owe me 50,000 ryo!"

"Ha, Ino, in case you forgot, you were in love with Sasuke too!"

"Well, aren't you lucky then that Shikamaru came along? Because if he didn't, I would have snagged Sasuke right from under your big, shiny forehead, and you would be living alone, with thirty cats as your only lifetime companions. Oh, wait, that's who you are right now," Ino said, laughing derisively. "Hey, I just want you to know that I accept checks, too, if that's how you're going to pay."

"I am not paying you anything until I hear this from the man himself," Sakura snapped. After all, how could someone as lazy, unromantic, and commitment-phobic as the Nara boy willfully ask Ino to move in with him?

"Go on and ask him, why don't you?" Ino grinned, pinching the other girl's cheek for emphasis. "Or just accept your defeat, Sa-ku-ra-chan~ Don't be such a sore loser!"

"Hmph," Sakura huffed, swiveling on her heel. "I'll remember to ask him when I see him next. Plus," she smirked at her friend from over her shoulder. "This is hardly over, Ino. If I recall, the first to get proposed to gets paid 100,000 ryo, so you better start saving up."

"Whatever," Ino said, rolling her eyes. "We both know I'll win that one too."

"Race you to the altar, Pig!" Sakura hollered from the street as she waved goodbye.

Humming to herself, Ino picked up her discarded magazine, turning once more to the section on engagement and wedding rings. She scanned the choices giddily. Her eyes alighted on a sapphire stone set on a band of silver. It was simple and unadorned, but it was hers and Shikamaru's birth stone, so it must be fated (even though he might find the idea of fate troublesome).

Smiling wistfully, Ino folded the page and replaced the magazine in the counter's drawer, right next to her blue and green wooden bangles and other miscellaneous items she managed to convince Shikamaru were still somewhere around his apartment.

Laughing softly to herself, she folded her hands in front of her and started devising a new strategy.

Author's Note: How come it's easier to finish stories that you just thought of on the spot? And stories that take days and weeks of planning never get written? Oh, well, there's a mystery of the universe for you! As always, reviews are appreciated. Thank you very much for reading!