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Shikamaru was carrying Ino again. It didn’t happen daily but every so often Ino would just launch herself at one of her boyfriends, demanding they carry her around. She was so tiny that her weight wouldn’t even move them and sometimes, if they didn’t feel like carrying her she would hang off them until they gave in or she got bored. Today though Shikamaru didn't seem interested in hearing her whine so he was carrying her again. And Choji couldn’t help but be jealous.
It started out small. Choji pulled Ino into his lap while they were all watching a movie together and he idly wondered if one of his partners might reciprocate one day. Then he remembered the reality of the situation and squashed that thought down. But, despite his best attempts to bury it, the thought just wouldn’t go away. Choji, more than anything, wanted to be carried and held by Ino and Shikamaru.
For months the thought festered in his mind, and slowly but surely he grew more and more jealous of his smaller partners. Shikamaru thought very little of lying across Choji’s lap, Ino impulsively jumped into her boyfriends arms whenever she wanted to. But Choji didn’t have that option. After a lifetime of being reminded he knew by now that he was just too big for other people to lift.
Usually Choji would ignore it, he would deny his feelings and pretend it didn’t bother him. Today though, he just couldn’t hide his emotions well enough. Ino had her face pressed into Shikamaru’s chest but he caught a glimpse of Choji’s expression just before he could turn away. He’d been caught.
“Cho, you alright man?” His breath caught in his throat as his heartbeat began to pick up.
“Everything’s fine!” The fake smile he plastered on his face didn’t fool Shikamaru for a second. The other man carefully set Ino down, who turned to regard Choji with a clinical eye. Her stare only made Choji panic more. This wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have and he was desperate to get out of it.
“Uh huh, and I’m not naturally blonde. Choji, don’t lie, you’re terrible at it. What’s going on?” Ino put a hand on her hip, one of her eyebrows raised expectantly.
Scrambling for an answer, he started to look around, desperate to come up with an excuse for his mood. “Oh, I’m just not feeling too well. It’s nothing though!”
“It sure doesn’t look like nothing.” Shikamaru took a few steps closer, hand raised to cup his cheek, but Choji quickly stepped away. If the other man touched him right now Choji knew he wouldn’t be able to keep himself from breaking down.
“”Don’t worry about it. I promise I’m fine.”
Ino, however, wasn’t about to let him off the hook. “But you’re not. Cho, please. What’s wrong?”
“It’s just- Ino- being picked up all the time.” Choji winced and turned away. This wasn’t how he wanted this afternoon to go and he knew neither of his partners had planned for this either. They were both staring him down. Shikamaru looked concerned, but Ino was clearly insulted by his words.
“You have a problem with picking me up?” Her tone was accusatory and Choji scrambled to defend himself.
“No, no! It’s not that! It just makes me- makes me think about things. But that’s not possible so I should just stop it.”
Shikamaru tried to approach him again, but this time he didn’t enter Choji’s personal space. “What do you mean?”
“You guys can’t pick me up so I shouldn’t want it but-” He cut himself off, knowing he was on the verge of crying.
“Choji?” Shikamaru’s tone was just on the edge of being wounded and with the singular word Choji finally broke down. He was talking before he could think better of it.
“You can’t understand because you’ve never-” Choji tried to take a deep breath but it did nothing to calm his nerves. He charged ahead, knowing his voice was betraying him now but he just couldn't stop himself from speaking. “-you never had to think about your size like this. I just want to… I want to sit on someone’s lap without being terrified that I’ll crush them. Or maybe get a hug where someone else picks me up, rather than the other way around. I always have to be careful because I’m too strong, too big… too heavy.” The tears started to fall and Choji lowered his head, trying to hide them. It was no use though, he knew that Shikamaru and Ino had already seen everything. Neither of Choji’s partners spoke for a few moments and Choji didn’t dare look up at them. He couldn’t imagine what they thought of him now.
“You’re being an idiot.” Ino’s voice was sharp and left no room for debate. It was suffocating and only made Choji cry harder.
“Ino don't-” Ino cut off Shikamaru with a growl.
“No, Shikamaru. You know I’m right about this. Choji, have we ever once told you that you’re too heavy to sit on our laps or be picked up?” She started moving forward, but then stopped, letting out an irritated huff.
Choji tried his best to collect his thoughts, to give some kind of an intelligent response. So many people in his life had made it very clear that he weighed too much to be picked up or held, he had just assumed that Ino and Shikamaru felt the same. They never told him otherwise, but then again, he hadn’t mentioned wanting anything like this before. “I-I mean-”
“No, we haven’t! Because you’re not! We’re ninja Choji, we can pick up four times your body weight and not feel a thing!” Ino snarled in frustration, stomped around a bit, then marched over to Choji. She stood in front of him for a moment, staring him down, then nodded to herself.
“Here, I’ll show you.” And with a singular shriek Choji was suddenly swung off his feet, an arm supporting his back and another arm at the bend of his knees. It had all been so seamless and Ino acted like it was nothing at all. Then she started running around Shikamaru in circles.
It was perfect. The feeling of Ino’s arms around him, holding him close to her was even better than he had imagined. He felt safe and secure, he felt like nobody could hurt him from here. It felt more intimate than sex in some ways. He was trusting this woman with so much but she didn’t just take it in stride. She went above and beyond, clutching his trust against her heart and holding fast, never wavering. It was the same way that Choji felt about both of them but now it had physical form. If he was ever asked about how love felt, this would be it.
All the thoughts of love and trust had him blushing. He wrapped his arms around her neck and tried to hide his face in her shoulder but that was made difficult by her constant running around. When Ino wanted to make sure Choji knew she was right, she really went all out.
“Told you it was nothing! Here, Shika hop on my back! I’m trying to prove a point!” She knelt down with her back to Shikamaru but the other man didn’t budge. Instead Choji watched over Ino's shoulder as he looked down at them and gave them a genuine soft smile.
“You’re a ridiculous woman.” Choji smiled up at Shikamaru and gave a tiny nod in agreement.
Ino rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and you’re a stubborn ass. Hop on my back, I’m gonna run us to the Hokage monument and back.” The other man responded with a shake of his head.
Realizing that Shikamaru wasn’t going to listen to her, Ino stood back up quickly, causing Choji to bounce in her arms. Still, she showed no signs of fatigue. In fact, from how she was acting, she was determined to never put Choji down again.
“Fine, I’ll just take Choji by myself!” She started to walk away, flipping her hair at Shikamaru as she left. The other man let out a sigh and started to follow them.
When Ino started to walk faster Shikamaru was forced to pick up his pace or be left behind. “That’s not fair, I wanted to cloud watch with him.”
“Then you’ll have to catch us first!” With a sharp laugh Ino took off, running at top speed then lunging onto the rooftops with ease. Behind them Shikamaru cursed then could be heard pursuing. They bounced around the village, with Ino giggling wildly while Shikamaru shouted after them. Somehow he still managed to look and sound lazy, even while chasing his two partners in circles around town.
When Ino finally made it to the Hokage monument she started to make her way up the side of the mountain, Choji still snug in her arms. For a moment he panicked - this is where she would finally lose strength - but his fears were soothed as Ino continued her fast pace without even stumbling. Shikamaru was getting closer and when they finally reached the top Ino sent Choji a wink and came to a stop.
Choji was expecting Shikamaru to complain at them for making him exert effort on his day off, or maybe simply grumble before laying down. Instead Shikamaru took him by surprise and came at them both at full speed, not slowing as he approached.
“Ino… I don’t think he’s gonna stop.” Shikamaru cleared the edge of the monument and finally dropped his slouch. His expression shifted from laid back to determined as he kept running for his partners.
Instead of looking worried, Ino just grinned. “Trust me, Choji. I know what he’s planning.”
“Ino. He’s speeding up.”
“Choji, calm down.”
“Ino!” But any possible response she would give was cut off when Shikamaru finally reached them. Instead of colliding like Choji feared the other man used his momentum to slide the last few feet, crouching down as he went. It put him in the perfect position to scope Ino up off the ground, taking Choji with her. The yelp he let out as he was lifted even higher into the air was less than manly but Choji felt it was justified after the day he was having. So many things he considered facts had proven to be fiction and he was entitled to give a few high pitch squeaks because of this.
Shikamaru’s skid slowed to a halt and Ino settled comfortably in his arms, Choji still cradled in her grip. He tried to squirm away to let her breath but the look she sent him was enough to get him to stop.
“Looks like I caught you both. Finally. Now can we relax?”
“You’re so boring Shika.” With Shikamaru supporting their weight Ino shifted one of her arms to wrap around Choji’s chest while she used the other to bop Shikamaru on the nose. His face twisted slightly before returning to its usual slight scowl.
“I’m allowed to be boring on my off day.” As he spoke Shikamaru sat down, taking his partners with him. The blonde took the opportunity to pull herself out of his old, handing Choji over gently before standing and stretching.
“That run was just my warm up. I’m gonna go find Sakura and see if she’s up to some training. You two have fun, I’ll see you at home!” Not one to waste time, Ino took off, jumping off the Hokage mountain with a gleeful shout. Once she was gone Shikamaru laid back, taking Choji with him. They ended up laying next to each other, with Choji’s head pillowed on his boyfriend’s chest.
“She’s exhausting. I love her so much but she’s exhausting.” As tired as he was, Shikamaru closed his eyes, not even bothering to look up at the clouds.
Choji chuckled slightly, giving Shikamaru’s hip a pat in sympathy. “She loves us too. Ino just has a particular way of showing it.”
“Running us all over town is her way of showing love?” The words were harsh but his tone was joking.
“Well, I wasn’t exactly running.” Choji couldn’t help the large grin that took over his face as he thought back to Ino cradling him in her arms.
“Next time I’ll just agree to the piggy back ride and let her carry both of us. All that chasing just to have her leave again is too troublesome.” Decision made, Shikamaru finally opened his eyes and inspected the clouds that were floating overhead.
“It was fun though. And… I’m really glad you both don’t mind.” He winced slightly at his less than specific description of their afternoon but Shikamaru just nodded. If anyone was smart enough to decipher what he was saying it would be his extremely intelligent boyfriend.
“I’m glad you finally told us. And if anything else like that comes up just tell us, ok?”
“I will. Thank you, Shika.”
“Love you, Cho.”