Hi everyone! This is my second attempt at a fanfic, obviously about Shika and Ino....I'm obsessed. Thanks to all who reviewed my first story! It really meant a lot. I love reviews...so....REVIEW!!!! Pwease?

Oh, and Naruto and its characters aren't mine, obviously.

Cinnamon

Ino lay in the queen sized bed she shared with Shikamaru, clutching his pillow tightly. Yet again, he was someplace else rather than here. Of course, it wasn't entirely his fault. Ino's brows knit. It was that blasted Naruto! "Why does he always seem to give Shika the crap missions?" The tiny blond burst out. "None of the other Jounins are called out as often as he is!" She pouted, burying her face in the pillow and inhaling Shikamaru's scent. It was musky, with a hint of cinnamon.

The kitchen was a complete disaster area. There were measuring cups and bowls strewn about, flour and sugar covering the countertops and the kitchen table, spoons and knives coated in batter sitting in a heap in the sink. And in the middle of it all was Ino, wearing an apron in her favorite color, violet, and anxiously hovering near the oven. Shikamaru leaned up against the doorframe, watching his tiny wife in amusement, trying very hard not to laugh and alert her to his presence. Though she never admitted it, Shikamaru was well aware that Ino felt inferior for not knowing how to cook as well as he did, and so spent ridiculous amounts of time pouring over books of recipes, the fruits of her labor usually resulting in their kitchen looking the way it did. It appeared that she had progressed to desserts today. Shikamaru smiled, realizing that his wife had intended to surprise him upon his return.

A buzzer sounded, and Ino, oven mitts on her hands, reached in and removed what had taken her nearly three hours to make, exhaling deeply. "Perfect!" She squealed, setting the cake on the stovetop to cool. "Oh, Shika is going to be so proud of me!" Ino tossed the mitts off and admired her work, her mind filling with some rather naughty thoughts. "Maybe he'll even reward me for my effort." Ino erupted into a fit of giggles. The laughter stopped, however, when a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind, and her eyes went wide.

"My,what a kinky thought." Shikamaru kissed her neck, right beneath her ear, smirking as he did so.

"SHIKA!" Ino hissed, pulling herself out of her husband's embrace and turning to face him. She ignored the tingling feeling that was left behind from his kisses and glared at him. "How long have you been here?"

He only smiled, deciding that his chances of survival would be greatly increased if he didn't answer the question.
Ino stamped her foot. "This was supposed to be a surprise, and you ruined it, you oaf!"

Seeing and opening, Shikamaru leaned forward and kissed Ino's nose, which was streaked with flour. "You really are too adorable for your own good...or mine, for that matter."

The blonde faltered. She had every intention of letting him know exactly what she thought about him at that moment, but found that she couldn't get the words out. He was looking at her with such tenderness in his eyes that saying anything would make her seem like a barbarian, and that simply wouldn't do. Shikamaru watched the play of emotion on Ino's face, silently basking in his cleverness. Ever the tactician, he had manipulated the situation to his advantage by showing affection at just the right moments, causing Ino's resolve to crumble. He smirked again.
Ino was not a stupid girl by any means, and her mind was sharp, despite what some people thought. She caught the smirk on her husband's face, and realized with disgust that he'd duped her. A zillion options as to how to suitably get back at him came to mind, and she decided that seeing him covered in flour would be most rewarding. Reaching behind her, Ino grabbed the container that she thought held the flour and upended it over Shikamaru's head. The result was not what she expected.

Instead of flour, Shikamaru was doused with cinnamon. Ino froze, and Shikamaru stared at her blankly while the cinnamon cascaded down his body. The corners of his mouth started quirking. "That was brilliant, Ino." His laughter finally escaped, bits of cinnamon raining to the ground as he shook.

Ino blushed a healthy shade of red. "I—that wasn't—" Shikamaru's laughter was infectious. It wasn't long before Ino started giggling helplessly, tears streaming down her face. "I really thought that was flour!"
Shikamaru yanked her into a hug, still laughing. "I deserved it. I'll think twice before I try being clever with you again. You know me too well for that."

From that point on, Shikamaru always sprinkled a bit of cinnamon on his clothes, partly because he liked how it smelled, and partly because it made Ino smile.

Remembering that day, she laughed out loud, snuggling deeper into the pillow. She would much rather be snuggling the real thing, but for now, she could settle for second best. Closing her eyes, she fell into a deep sleep, only partially aware that she was on Shikamaru's side of the bed. He probably wouldn't be back that night, anyway, so it didn't really matter...

The dark haired Jounin entered his house, yawning. He was beat. The mission ended up being much more troublesome than he anticipated, leaving him more than a little grumpy. All he wanted to do was fall into bed and sleep for the next year. "Not a bad idea," he muttered as he dragged himself to his bedroom, opening the door quietly so as not to wake Ino. He didn't notice the slight form of his wife until he was practically on top of her. About to crawl under the covers, he met with something that was definitely not the mattress. Backing up a bit, he saw her, all curled up on his side of the bed with her face in his pillow, and his heart melted. Moving as gently as he could, Shikamaru sat next to her on the bed.

She stirred a bit at the slight shift of weight, but sank back into sleep. Shikamaru smiled, and cupped her face in his hands, lightly kissing her lips. "Ino," he whispered in her ear. Her eyes cracked open.

"Mmm?"

"Hey kiddo," he said softly, resting his forehead against hers. "I missed you."

Being woken out of a sound sleep, Ino was disoriented, and it took her a few minutes to notice that Shikamaru was there. When she did however, her face lit up, and he kissed her again. "Didn't like your side, huh?" He teased.

Ino smiled sleepily. "I was lonely. Your side smells like you, so I sleep here when you're gone."

A strange look came in his eyes. "I didn't realize that." He kissed her yet again, a more serious kind of kiss than the others. When he broke, that look was still there. "You aren't all that tired, are you?"

Inner Ino exulted. She loved it when Shika was in this type of mood, especially since it didn't appear on its own all that often. She was tired, but not tired enough to let opportunity pass her by. "You'll have to give me a very good reason to stay up," she replied impishly.

"Oh, I think I can manage something." He started in on her neck, kissing the spot beneath her ear that he knew drove her wild, his exhaustion long forgotten. He could sleep later.

"You never did reward me for that cake I made you," Ino said suddenly. Shikamaru, who had been making his way down her neck, stopped and looked at her with his eyebrow raised.

"Where in hell did that come from?" Of course he knew what she was talking about, but the incident in question happened a while ago. He thought it rather strange that she would bring it up now.

"Your pillow."

"My pillow."

"Mmm-hmm." She grinned. "I smelled the cinnamon on it, and it reminded me of the cake. That was a good cake, too, you have to admit."

Shikamaru stared at her, amazed at the tangents her mind could go off on. "It was good, actually." It wasn't a lie either. He did enjoy that cake.

"Well then, what are you waiting for?"

Now he really was confused. "What?"

"Reward me."

Though his I.Q. was well above 200, he was convinced that being a genius did not mean that he would ever understand the workings of the female brain, a fact that Ino proved to him daily. Wasn't he in the middle of 'rewarding' her before she interrupted? Deciding that it was useless to argue with her, he conceived an even more wicked and devious plan. Three weeks of going without any physical gratification left him desiring to do any number of naughty things to his tiny blonde wife. He was positive that she didn't realize just how much he wanted her at that point in time, otherwise she'd be more cautious. A feral grin made its way to his face.

"When you think back on this, my little darling, remember that you asked for it."

Oh my. Ino inched back in the bed, a glimmer of fear in her eyes. This side she had never seen before. I guess he's a bit more complex than I imagined, she thought giddily. Before she knew what was happening, he had her pinned beneath him.

"You aren't going anywhere."

Exactly what he proceeded to do to her made her cheeks flame whenever she thought of it, and she blatantly refused to divulge any details to her prying female friends. Every now and then, Shikamaru would smirk at her, letting her know that everything he did could be done again just as quickly if she provoked him.