In Sickness And Health ~Shikamaru~

Chapter 15

Alsono crushed Reira in a hug the moment we walked in the house, causing Choji and I to sweat drop. Her obsession with Reira has us both wondering what is wrong with Al, but he thinks it's cute. Apparently Al has always wanted a younger sister, but got stuck with Ikuto instead. Don't tell him though or he'll withhold good veggies for her cooking. Not even I want that. Alsono ushered us all into the kitchen, the curry from earlier ready. The whole time we ate Alsono chatted with Reira, once again causing me to sweat drop. So I turned to Choji and began to talk with him instead.

It feels like it's been awhile since I've sat down and talked with Choji. We've always been good friends. "What's wrong with your girlfriend?" I asked.

He took a few more bites and shrugged. "No idea. She only get's like that when Reira is over." He looked over at Al with a gaze I had never seen in his eyes before. It was one that was filled with a warmth and something I could only guess was love. He really cares about her. He got up from the table and motioned for me to follow.

"Choji? Is something wrong?" Alsono asked, worry laced in her voice. It's not like him to leave the table without finishing his plate.

He smiled at her warmly. "No, I'll be right back." I followed him outside to the back yard where Ikuto's garden was. The sun was starting to go down and Choji lead me deeper into the garden, almost to the end. When he stopped he was smiling at the setting sun with his hands on his hips. Something was defiantly up. 

"What's up, Choji?" I asked.

He turned to me with that smile. "I have something I wanna run by you before I do it." What's this about? He's always been more of a go ahead and do it, if it seems like it'll work, go for it, no thought process. This was proven during our first chunnin exams... twice if I remember correctly. "Okay, so next month is mine and Al's one year anniversary." I nodded, remembering his weirdness that day, him practically singing because he had a girlfriend who could cook. "Shikamaru, I'm gonna ask Alsono to marry me."

My eyes widened, surprise taking over. "Woah Choji. That's a huge step." I said in marvel. He only continued to smile. "You've only been together for a year though. Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"I don't think I've ever been more sure about anything in my whole life man."

I gave him a smile. The big guy finally found his peace. I'm happy for him. "Good luck to you then."

He patted my back, still grinning wildly as we made our way back into the house. I never really thought that my friend would find a love like this, mainly because he never seemed interested in such a thing. His excitement made me feel happy. Choji and Alsono have been great together, since the day they met at the restaurant.

Thinking about them together, it made me wonder if I would ever one day think of someone like that. Choji is ready to spend the rest of his life with Alsono, and that kind of mentality is completely foreign to me. How did he come to this conclusion? What makes him so sure that Alsono is the one for him? Love. Al had told me about it when I questioned how I was feeling about Reira. But I don't love Reira. But it's not that I want to be friends with her either.

I stopped Choji before we got to close to the house. "Choji, this might seem like a strange question."

"Go for it man."

"How did you know you loved Alsono?" His eyes widened in surprise.

"Dude..." Choji seemed like he couldn't believe what I had said. Love is not a subject that I have ever been prone to dwelling on. (Bay: although if you look closly at the heart eyed group of people staring at sasuke in like episode one, Shikamaru is one of them. XD) His eyes softened though and he began to explain it to me. "It wasn't instantaneous. There was a whole week where I felt like I was sick every time I was away from Al. I didn't want to eat when I was away from her and all I wanted to do was stay near her. She was always in my mind."

His smile grew and this feeling that was emanating off of him was... amazing. "Finally one day I had enough of this feeling. I was mad at Alsono for making me feel like that and I said some things to her that I shouldn't have. But she was so kind to me even after all I did. I realized then that the reason I felt bad when I wasn't with her, was because I missed her, I cared about her more than I had ever cared about anyone before in my life. And I realized through that, that I loved her."

All of that? I never even realized he was going through that kind of deal. "Did that help?"

I nodded. "Yeah, a little."

Choji put an arm over my shoulder and patted my back hard. "Come on man, the girls will wonder what happened to us."

"Troublesome women."

(Bay: What do you guys think? Should I give Choji and Alsono their own book? They're so cute.)