8 o'clock span around, and there was nothing at the door. Of course, this did not surprise Kruno. She was used to him being late to their dates, to basically everything. She didn't mind as much as some people thought she should.

8:30 o'clock came, and a gentle knock was heard on the door. Kruno pushed herself up off of the couch, and walked to the door. When opened, Shikamaru was standing behind it, a small smile on his lips but the panic in his eyes was obvious.

"I am so sorry I'm late! My mom was making me clean everything, and I just lost track of time, it was such a drag." Shika said, his voice less lazy than normal, more alert and worried.

"Shikamaru, it's fine. You're always late." Kruno said with a laugh, stepping out of the door to stand beside of Shika. He glanced at her for a moment, before his eyes landed on her hair. His mouth fell slightly agape, and his hands moved up to her hair, running through it slightly to shag it a little.

"You cut it." He said, a small smile forming over his lips.

"Don't think I did it for you, Nara!" The Inuzuka said, her cheeks turning a deep shade of red. "It was troublesome when I was on missions!" Her arms crossed over her chest, and she nodded her head in a sarcastic way.

"Uh-huh." Shikamaru said with a small laugh, wrapping his arm around her shoulders slightly as they began to walk.

"So what are we doing?"

"Surprise. You'll see."

"I hate surprises." Kruno said, whining slightly. It caused Shika to laugh slightly.

"I know you do. That's the fun." He said as they began to walk down the streets of Konoha, the streets lit up with lanterns and different color lights that radiated off of the ground and made Kruno's pale skin have a slight glow to it. Shikamaru glanced over at the woman he loved, and he couldn't help the butterflies that filled his stomach, he had never seen someone so beautiful.

"No, but seriously, where are we going?" Kruno asked, glancing up at him with a small smile.

"I said you'll see." Shika said, placing a gentle kiss to her against forehead. The feeling of his lips against her face causing her cheeks to turn almost the same shade of red as the fang marks on her cheeks. Kruno didn't blush easy unless it was Shikamaru, he had this ability to turn her into a tomato with just the look of his eyes.

As they walked, Shikamaru slowly slid his hand into Kruno's, and their fingers laced slightly together. Shika used his thumb to rub small circles on her knuckle, Kruno's arm falling relaxed by her side. Their hands slowly swung back and forth as their feet trailed along the streets of Konoha. Walking along the streets, the couple took a turn towards the woods, their feet carrying themselves at a somewhat slow and relaxed.

They walked and walked for what seemed like forever in their minds. But it was nice, it was just them in the silence, where no one else could hurt them or bother them. Where they could be themselves and be everything they needed to be. The silence around them was a comfortable one, only the light breaths that escaped pale lips passing through the air, sounding almost like a conversation with no words.

It was relaxing.

The walk continued to for a while, until they arrived at the one place Kruno hadn't been since she arrived home, a place that had surprisingly not crossed her thoughts since her arrival back at Konoha, somewhere special to her that would have seemed not so special if anyone knew the lack of thoughts she gave this place.

The lake that Shikamaru and she used to sneak off too.

A relaxed sigh escaped through Kruno's pale lips as she glanced at the slight waterfall ahead of her, her eyes twinkling slightly in excitement. Shikamaru laughed quietly as he watch his love light up with excitement because she was at this place. With hands laced tightly together, they walked to the side of the water that was almost completely hidden by trees, and to Kruno's surprise, a small picnic was set up.

A large blanket was laid on the ground, with a wooden, hand woven basket sitting in the middle of it. The smallest laugh escaped the brunettes lips as she sat down on the ground, watching as the pineapple haired man sat on the other side of her. His fingers opened the basket, and he pulled out two cups of Ramen, and a small order of Kruno's favorite BBQ.

"Now, I was going to make you something, but my mom said what I made tasted awful and I was better off buying you food that I knew you liked, and let me tell you, it was troublesome." Shikamaru said with a small smile, watching as Kruno held back the laughter quietly.

"Well thank you, Shikamaru. For going through all this trouble to get food for me." Kruno replied, before she grabbed a cup of the ramen, and a pair of chopsticks. She broke the sticks apart and began to eat the noodles, slurping every once in a while.

Now, it hadn't been that long since Kruno had ramen, but the last ramen she had was the stuff that Sasuke had brought her, and it wasn't as good as Ichruka's ramen. Ramen may be ramen, but no one made ramen as good as Ichruka's.

Her mind began to wonder off to Sasuke, she was worried about him. She knew how bad everyone wanted him back here, especially Naruto and Sakura, but what could Kruno do? She knew he wasn't going home until he killed Itachi, until he got the revenge he wanted oh so bad. But people here needed him, and it was like he didn't even notice that.

Shikamaru seemed to notice the look on Kruno's face. So he scooted closer to her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her as close as he could. He didn't say a word as he held the girl, because he was afraid if he said anything, he could potentially scare her off again.

Kruno with a smile leaned her head against Shikamaru's chest, attempting to allow her thoughts to only be on Shikamaru and this date. Sasuke was a big boy, he would be okay.

"Kruno, I know you've told me before, but why did you leave? Honestly. Was it just that ninja? Or did you leave for another reason."

Kruno took a deep breath, thinking about her options. "I left because I was told you didn't love me anymore. I left because I'm not suited to live a life in a village, I grew up traveling with people who killed for fun, not because they had to. I left because I felt restricted within the walls. Because I felt like nothing at all would ever be okay. You were the only reason I was staying, well you and my family. But when I was told that you no longer loved me, and you never had, I felt weak and lost." Kruno said, and it was silent for a while. Shikamaru didn't say anything, he just twisted her short hair around his fingers and stared at the sky, watching a few clouds pass by.

And he didn't say anything when he looked back down at her. He just gently grabbed her face and leaned down, pressing his lips against her. She was shocked for a few seconds, they haven't kissed a whole lot since she got back so this was weird. But soon enough, her lips molded against his and they shared passionate kisses as the moon illuminated over them.

Shikamaru shifted them slightly so that Kruno was in his lap, her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs around his waist as they held a long kiss, and a few small ones after that. When they pulled back, Kruno laid her head against Shikamaru's, and she stared into his eyes.

"I love you Kruno. I always have. No matter how troublesome it may be." The Nara said with a smirk, and Kruno simply rolled her eyes as she kissed him once again, before sliding off of his lap.

The two finished eating, and they picked up their messes. Shikamaru held the basket in one hand, and in the other Kruno's hand. A small blush formed over the Inuzuka's girls cheeks as they walked back down to Shika's house, her eyes on the ground as people watched them walk together. Whispers could be heard about Kruno, everything from 'She really is back.' 'I thought she was dead.' and 'Isn't she a killer?'

Kruno froze slightly at the last one, because she was. She knew she was, but there was nothing at all that she could do. She sighed, and Shikamaru glanced down at her slightly before he squeezed her hand.

"It's okay. They don't know you like I know you." He said as the entered the Nara household. For once, his mother didn't start screaming at them when they walked in, mainly because it was almost 10:30 at night, and she was probably asleep.

"Do you just want to stay here for the night?" Shikamaru asked Kruno, and she nodded slightly as they made their way to the boys room. Their hands released from each other, and Shika shut the door behind them. Without any thought, Kruno walked over to Shika closest and got one of his normal shirts out. With her back turned to him, she began to undress to put his shirt on.

Being a boy, Shikamaru couldn't help himself from letting his eyes travel all over Kruno's back and lower half. The small white scars made him sad, and the bruises that were still there broke his heart. So before Kruno could get the shirt on, Shikamaru walked over to her while she was only in her undergarments, and wrapped his arms around her waist. She jumped slightly and a blush formed on her cheeks as she leaned back against him. 

Without any words, Shikamaru began to kiss along the girls shoulder, and slowly down the portion of her back he could reach without feeling awkward. The kisses were not in a sexual way, but more in the way that he felt he could heal all her wounds with just the kiss of his lips.

After he did that, he stepped back and Kruno slid on the large shirt she had gathered from the closet and crawled into Shika's bed. After a few minutes, Shikamaru joined her in the bed, his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him. And slow, they fell asleep together. Both of getting the best nights sleep they had gotten in a long, long time.

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I have no excuse why I haven't uploaded this other than I've had major writers block, and been so busy. I'm sorry, and I love you guys.