Like usual, Shikamaru returned two weeks later. By this time Serena was just about given up on their relationship. She had seen Hinata and her precious little baby bump and she would see them with Sakura and Sasuke out at dinner or just hanging out. She felt alone and didn’t know how it could be fixed. She didn’t even know if Shikamaru returning would help it.
She was sitting at Ramen Ichiraku thinking everything over when a familiar face sat next to her, “Hey you,” He smiled handing her a bouquet of flowers. She knew he picked them up from Ino, otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten them. Ino would give him them for free so he could be at least a little romantic with his girlfriend.
She took them reluctantly and half smiled, “Hey,” She answered placing them down beside her drink. He frowned.
“What’s wrong?” He thought the flowers would help brighten her mood. He had run into Sakura before he got there and she stressed to him how down her friend has been. She suggested flowers so he brought flowers. It didn’t seem to change anything.
She looked over at him, “You really have to ask that?” She sounded disappointed and sad. He sat down beside her and put his hand on her arm.
“I know, I promised to be back soon, we got held up. I tried I did. I’m sorry.”
She let out one of those disappointed laughs, “You promised to be back soon. I swear if I had a dollar for everytime you said that or wrote that I’d be rich.”
“Look I’m sorry alright? The village needs all the help it can get and that means I need to be away more than usual. I don’t know how else to make it up to you.”
“How about instead of cheesy dinner dates, meaningless sex afterwards and bouquets of flowers that Sakura obviously told you to get, you actual spend time with me. Like you promised 5 years ago.”
He sighed, “I didn’t know the sex was so meaningless to you.”
“It wasn’t at first. But now it seems like it is.”
It cut through him to hear her say that, “How about this, we spend the night at our own houses tonight and tomorrow we can have lunch in the park around 12? I promise I won’t bring any corny bouquets of flowers. Sound like a deal?”
A small smile appeared on her face, “Okay, I’ll bring the food.” He kissed her goodbye and headed to his house for a much needed nap.
*
She was excited. A day where she actually got to spend time with her boyfriend. She packed his favorite things: rice balls, cute little bentos and some drinks. She packed them inside a picnic basket and set off to the park. He said 12 but she figured she’d get there a little early…so 11:50. She was almost nervous. She had been so used to their routine that she forgot how to actually talk to him about normal things.
She tapped her fingers on the table as she waited for him to arrive. It felt like ten minutes were taking forever. Checking her watch she saw it was 12:10. It was never like him to be late, but she figured he was running behind on last minute paper work.
When it reached about 12:30 she thought maybe he overslept and debated on going over there, but he was cranky when woken so she waited. She really wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt even though she knew something was wrong.
It was now 1. An hour after he was supposed to be here. She sighed as another shinobi approached her, “Serena, a message for you from Shikamaru.” He handed her the piece of paper and took off.
She opened it reading what it said ‘Had to go on an emergency mission. I’ll make it up to you I swear, I love you’.
Flashback
They were sitting at the same picnic table she was at now. He had just asked her to be his girlfriend and she accepted. He sighed, “I don’t really know how this boyfriend thing works, but if I’ve learned anything from my father it’s to never go against what the woman says.”
She laughed, “Just promise to spend time with me. I know our lives are going to become hectic. But promise me you’ll always have time for me. That’s all I really want.”
“That’s it? Sounds easy enough.”
“You say that now until you’re sent out on a bunch of missions and never see me!” She laughed as he smiled.
“No I don’t think that will happen. Even if I have to turn down a mission or two we’ll spend time together. I promise.”
End Flashback
She let out a yell in frustration crumpling up the note and throwing it on the ground. All these ‘promises’ and none of them were actually being followed through. Walking by was Shikamaru’s best friend Choji. When he was younger he was a bit chubby, but since they had grown up he had slimmed down. He still loved to eat, he just worked out and trained like crazy. His light brown hair moved with the wind from inside his headband covering. He saw the note and picked it up reading it.
“He’s gone again?” He asked walking over to her. She looked up, “Mind if I sit down?”
“Go ahead,” She answered, “Hungry? There’s enough for two.” She took out the food making Choji drool. He loved a woman who could cook.
“Thanks!” He exclaimed taking the bento box and the chop sticks. She sighed. As he stuffed his face he looked at her. She was drained, anyone who had eyes could see that. She wasn’t the same person he knew. She looked out of it.
“Can I ask you a question?” He asked with a mouth full of food. She let out a small laugh at him and shook her head yes, “Why do you stay with him when he does this to you?”
She didn’t expect that from him. Usually he was talking Shikamaru up and down, “I love him. I always think next time will be different, that he’ll stick to his word.”
Choji sighed. He didn’t want to see her like this. He had always found Serena pretty and a fantastic catch for anyone. He knew he never stood a chance with her due to his physical appearance but she always treated him kindly. He liked the friendship they had. When his best friend began to like her he was happy for him, especially when they started dating.
But now, he was angry at Shikamaru. He took a girl who was always making others feel good about themselves, always had a smile on her face and was always cracking smart remarks to people and tore her down. Choji always stood by his friend’s side and always routed for him until now. He didn’t want Serena wasting her life on a guy who doesn’t try.
“He’s dragging you down though, don’t you see that? Anyone with eyes can see that you’re hurting inside,” He asked as she continued to look at him confused, “Look, I’m not saying Shikamaru is a bad guy. He’s my best friend and I’ll always have his back. But he’s lazy and doesn’t try. He’s comfortable in his life and doesn’t care.”
“Choji that’s a bit harsh…” This isn’t the type of conversation she wanted to be having right now.
“Sorry, it just makes me mad that he took you and dragged you down. You always look so sad. You need to surround yourself with other people.”
“It’s hard to do that when two of your friends are married and one of them is having a baby.” She sighed, “I get jealous of them and I hate getting that way. But I want to marry Shikamaru and have a family with him. But I feel like he doesn’t want any of those things anymore. I mean I know we’re young still but he’s made no mention of it at all. He said it was an emergency mission but was there really no one else who could take it?”
“He has a hard time saying no. It’s the pushover inside of him. But if you don’t want to hangout with them you can hang out with me. I’m not married or having a baby so I don’t think you’ll be jealous around me.” He smiled as she laughed. He pushed her bento box towards her, “Eat, don’t let the food go to waste.”
*
For the next two weeks Serena and Choji hung out. It felt nice to laugh again and she wasn’t complaining about it being just him and her. She didn’t like him romantically but she loved him like a brother.
“Choji I really can’t thank you enough for taking time out of your life to make me feel better. I really appreciate it more than you know.” She smiled as they sat at Ramen Ichiraku. He took her out for lunch since she brought lunch the first day.
“It’s not a problem. I’ll always be here to make you feel better,” He smiled. He felt a connection between the two of them. She made feel like no other girl had. He was always laughing and smiling when he was with her. He knew he would never treat her like how his best friend was. He would care for her and make sure she got the time she wanted with him, “Actually Serena I wanted to tell you something…”
‘Hm? What is it?” She asked smirking.
“I uh-“ He was cut off by the brown haired ponytail walking into the ramen shop. He wrapped his arms around Serena squeezing her tightly. Choji shrunk back to himself to avoid looking like a total loser.
“Hey,” Shikamaru said to his girlfriend kissing her on the cheek. She half smiled back at him, “Choji what are you doing here?”
“He’s been keeping me company.” Serena answered with a smile on her face, “He’s been a really great friend.”
It seemed odd to Shikamaru that his best friend would suddenly start hanging out with his girlfriend. He never hungout with her before this unless they were all together but now it was just the two of them? He wasn’t going to assume anything but it seemed weird.
“Thanks Choji but I’ll take it from here,” He winked at his friend before taking his love’s hand and leading her out of the shop before she could say goodbye.
A feeling of anger suddenly washed over him. He couldn’t stand Shikamaru popping in and out and saying when he would have Serena’s attention and when he wouldn’t. He would never treat her like this. He wouldn’t treat her like a toy or like something you could use for your own pleasure. She deserved better than that because she was better than that. He had to come to terms with why he was feeling this way: he was in love with her. He was in love with his best friends girlfriend.
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