This little beauty came out of nowhere, but quite possibly my favorite thing I have ever written. I hope you enjoy it as well.

A Mile Away
Disclaimer: Recent events truly should indicate I am nowhere near being the owner of Naruto.
Summary: And yet, to a certain extent, they probably should have seen it from a mile away. ShikaIno

They don't know why it took them quite this long to get to where they were today. Ino Yamanaka, the hot-headed blonde always acting before thinking things through, but with a heart that shone brighter than the sun itself. Shikamaru Nara, the genius of the village, always thinking 200 steps ahead before acting, but who still didn't predict any of this happening this way. And yet, to a certain extent, they probably should have seen it coming from a mile away.

Because when their mothers where pregnant at the same time, their fathers joked that if their children were born of the opposite gender, they'd be wed to each other once they turned eighteen. And the idea began to seem more likely when Shikamaru was born and Ino immediately followed the very next day. But even more so when they were placed in the same crib and they shared their very first smiles with each other – much to Inoichi's dismay.

Because when they Chouji added into the mix during their childhood, there was still the aura of just Shikamaru and Ino in the InoShikaCho partnership. Especially when Shikaku had made it very clear to his son that it was he who had to take care of the blue-eyed princess from here on out, which to Ino translated to "until death do them part." Which was most likely the reason she suggested – okay, more like demanded – that Chouji officiate a marriage between her and Shikamaru during one of their many playdates. And what the princess wanted, she got – much to her groom's chagrin.

Because when it came time for them to be placed into their genin teams, they both secretly hoped that by some greater force of the universe, they would be placed into the same team. And when it was announced so, their hearts swelled with happiness, though they both covered their glee fairly well with their very couple-like bickering. That night, however, as they raced to their respective homes, Ino couldn't help but shout a little too gleefully that she and Shikamaru would be together in the same team; and when Shikakau asked his son about his new teammates, Shikamaru couldn't help but smirk as he said that he was more than happy that there was no Uchiha in sight.

Because when Shikamaru became the first to reach chunin level out of the entire Rookie 9 and Team Gai, they found every excuse possible to see each other – though both would readily deny everything. They were simply helping train Ino to reach chunin rank as well, and in any case, who knew when an InoShikaCho formation would be needed on the battlefield. And the nights spent together at the hill seeing the stars, with Ino's head resting on his chest as Shikamaru's hand ran through the blond strands? Simple, they were thinking of new combination jutsus. You know, building teamwork and making strategies and all that good stuff.

Because when it came to pain and mourning, Shikamaru and Ino had lost the most of the entire village. Together with Chouji, they had had to endure the pain of losing their sensei not once, but twice. And even though Chouji had felt pain as well, he couldn't fully understand his teammates' pain when he saw them break down into each other's arms once the war had ended. Because even though he had also lost his other dads, he still had his real dad with him. So even though he also tried to comfort them, earning him a tight-lipped smile from Shikamaru and a tight hand-squeeze from Ino before burying her face into the crook of Shikamaru's neck, he knew only they could comfort each other. And truth be told, he was happy it was this way.

Because once they were finally willing to admit to themselves that their friendship had turned into something bigger than just being best friends and teammates, it had been through a series of jealous retorts. Because much to Ino's fury, she had picked up what the clearly oblivious Shikamaru chose to ignore – Temari quite possibly had fallen in love with him. So when the Yamanaka confronted the Nara about it in one of their dinner nights, he scoffed at the idea and stated very matter-of-factly that the Sand nin had no interest in him. And even if she did, he didn't. But while they were on the subject, if they were bringing up complaints into the mix, what was up with the flirting that went on with the Uchiha whenever he came into the room. To which Ino smirked and said that the only reason she flirted was to give him a hint, and obviously the message was going through if it was making his blood boil. To which Shikamaru sighed his famous "how troublesome" phrase and quickly pinned Ino to the floor and hungrily kissed her lips.

Because the day after that, when they announced they were officially together, they noticed no one was really surprised. If anything, they kept hearing the ever popular "Finally!" and "I thought you two would never figure it out," phrases left and right. But nothing made them ecstatic than the tears of happiness streaming down their mothers' faces, saying their fathers would have been very, very happy. And of course Chouji, holding them into a bone-crushing hug that exuberated his happiness.

So now that they were here, as husband and wife, with their little bundle of joy, hair as black as his father's and eyes as blue as his mother's, they couldn't help but smile towards one another. It had taken them quite some time to say what they had known, that fate made it so they loved each other from the very beginning. And when their son asks them in the future how they knew they were meant for each other, they'll answer that they saw it from a mile away.