AN: Okay so I have no idea why, or how I dug that up. I was just listening to Finger Eleven, and reading InoSaku fics and I suddenly had the urge to write this tiny piece. (If you've read whatever else I've written, you'd know I rarely settle for under 2k words xD) I'd like to say it's something out of the ordinary, but it's not. It's just a tad angsty, and a bit cute, but nothing entirely new. Plot-wise I'm doing a lot better with long stories haha. Anyway, tell me if you enjoy (or not) reading it!

I don't own Naruto nor the characters present in this fic. Song is One Thing by Finger Eleven. InoSaku highly implied. If that offends you, go hide under a rug and don't come out! o.o

One Thing

Ino sat on the back porch, escaping the oppressive and choking warmth – heat - and noise of all the people that were stacked into the house. On nights like these, it utterly sucked to have parents who had so many friends. She sighed loudly, her eyes getting lost in the infinite glow of the stars, hidden deep beneath a navy sky, their light presently only rivaled by the pale moonlight that reflected on the small pond that decorated her backyard. Her chin found a cradle in her hand, her elbow idly resting on her knees, the bone digging through her skin, but she did not care, for right now, no pain could affect her.

Not as much as the pain she felt when she saw them, kissing.

Restless tonight
Cause I wasted the light
Between both these times
I drew a really thin line

She couldn't quite figure it out. Somehow the vision of this dark haired, broody, selfish and uncaring guy kissing the pure, innocent angel with the pretty pink hair had totally horrified her. But when had Uchiha Sasuke become so hated by her? She used to idolize him, want to marry him, be Mrs. Uchiha. She wanted him above all else.

And when had her rival - that girl that had so shamelessly put en end to their friendship a couple years ago, the woman who was always competing with her – started gaining such a high place in her shrine of respect? Not that there were many people there. She knew there was only a handful of other shinobis she could ever trust, but somehow Sakura, even through all the adversity, had remained there. Ino had crossed her out, put a panel in front of her feet saying that she didn't belong in there anymore. But the fact remained that the pink haired girl had never left this corner of Ino's mind. In fact, the farther they had grown apart, the more present she was in the blonde's mind.

It was like some crazy game some sad fool had invented to mess with people's mind. How feelings could grow, when there was nothing to feed them. And then die when you didn't even know they were alive.

Ino scoffed and grabbed a rock by her foot with the hand that was not holding her head up, tossing it into the pond. She hoped, somehow, that by watching the water ripple, the pang of jealousy she felt would go away.


It's nothing I planned
And not that I can

'If only…' she mused to herself, picking up another stone and tossing it into the pond as well. 'If only I was jealous of her.' She sighed once more, her shoulders crumpling and her head falling from its perch. For a moment she stayed like that, tempted to simply roll into a ball and cry, leaving it all behind. That's when she heard footsteps coming her way, and pride as it is wouldn't let her suffer the humiliation of being seen like this, by anybody. She straightened up, sniffed briefly and wiped the hint of a tear that had formed at the corner of her left eye. All the while ignoring whoever it was that dared disturb her moment of quiet – and very much needed – loneliness.

Two socked feet lightly padded their way to the stairs where Ino was sitting, and then hesitantly made their way down so their owner could sit beside Ino without letting herself fall. Ino still ignored the presence next to her, fearing that, if her gaze met Sakura's even for a single second, everything would fall apart.

"Hey, you're missing out on the whole party Ino… Something wrong?"

Ino looked up to the sky and then closed her eyes at the question. In her mind, different scenarios played out where she had prevented Sakura from putting a halt to their friendship. Made her realize that Sasuke was a prick. Understood her feelings earlier and acted on them. But it was just too late.


But you should be mine
Across that line

When had it come to this? Since when did the over confident Yamanaka Ino stoop so low as to need to walk out on a party that was hers. Why couldn't she fight to get what she wanted, like she had always done?

"You and Sasuke happy?" She asked, her voice a little more groggy than she had anticipated. She still wasn't looking at Sakura, but she knew that the other girl understood that she was listening, anyway.

If I traded it all
If I gave it all away for one thing

"I-uh… He's… He's a great kisser!" Sakura said in a fake cheerful tone. She was glad, at that moment, that Ino wasn't looking at her, because the lie wouldn't have lived on long - if at all – if she had. Ino nodded slowly, forcing herself to think carefully before saying anything.

Sakura was her best friend. That much made no doubt. Even after a few years of being rivals, both girls were still undoubtedly close. They just pretended not to, since it had become quite a habit. A comforting one at that. Maybe, after all, these feelings weren't so new to Ino. Maybe. And acting on them, she'd simply want the best for Sakura. And the best was undoubtedly Sasuke.

"Good, I'm happy for you."


Just for one thing

Ino's voice didn't carry much conviction either, and Sakura couldn't help but notice it. Then her mind sparked memories of how they had fought for the Uchiha's attention before. It kind of made sense.

"Don't be so bitter about losing to me, pig." Sakura let out, putting her hand on Ino's shoulder comfortingly. That was a statement and an advice truer than whatever else she could say. Ino still didn't turn back, a little too absorbed in the pain of thinking that Sakura still thought that Ino was jealous of her. But she wasn't. It was that sharingan-wielding bastard who'd stolen her most precious possession. Yeah, it all made sense now…

If I sorted it out
If I knew all about this one thing
Wouldn't that be something

Sakura frowned at the lack of response from her friend. She was sure her mention of 'losing to me' would trigger something in the blonde, but nothing came. She raked her brain for something, other than the plain truth, to say that could get something out of the blonde. She finally decided on wrapping her arm around the other girl's shoulders and scooting closer, laying her head down on said shoulder. Silence followed, and it wasn't too bad. Not uncomfortable, not heavy. Just content, contemplating quietness. Ino was slightly relieved by the closeness. If at the very least she had this for eternity, then she could deal with her feelings until the end of time.

I promise I might
Not walk on by

After a while, the urge to speak got to Sakura. She wanted to say what was on her own mind. Tell the blonde that she hadn't expected to find anyone on the back porch. That Sasuke was the reason why she herself was confused. No, not confused. She knew it all, but couldn't face it. Couldn't let herself be rejected. She valued their newly rediscovered friendship way too much to risk it.


Maybe next time
But not this time

Ino felt the restlessness in Sakura's hold and finally gathered the courage to turn her head and look at her. The moonlight made a few awkward tears glisten as she shifted her gaze, and soon her distant look was replaced by a worried frown. Why was Sakura crying?

Even though I know
I don't want to know

"You'd know more than anyone what Sasuke meant to me, Ino." Sakura began, answering the furrowed brows without directing her blurry eyes to the clear, slightly sparkling ocean blue eyes of her friend. She couldn't say this without sobbing. She was afraid for a moment the words would stay caught in her throat. Forever.

Ino nodded understandingly, reaching out with her arm to stroke Sakura's back gently, offering a faint smile to her best friend. Sakura gulped and started shaking. Ino waited.

"He doesn't love me. And I realized I don't love him." These words pinched at Ino's heart. When she thought such a confession would lighten her heart and offer her relief, she only found guilt and sadness. Her friend's dream had shattered, or so it seemed.


Yeah I guess I know
I just hate how it sounds

"I… it was so easy to fawn over him as long as he didn't pay attention to it!" Sakura babbled out, slightly stumbling over the syllables in her hurry to let it out. Ino's brows furrowed further, her mind screaming at her that this was it, it was what she had been hoping for… But uncertainty still hooked onto her brain and held her heart down. She couldn't let it soar so easily.

If I sorted it out

"I don't like him, or any other guy, Ino…" Sakura had said it without even noticing. It even took her a second to register the words herself, and when she did she blushed a bright red, somehow freaked out at her friend's possible reaction.

But Ino wasn't freaked out one bit. Nor was she confused at what it all meant. These word had sent her heart flying. Her friend's heart was broken, but she could fix it. She had the solid certainty, the sole resolve, that she could repair it all.


If I knew all about this one thing

Sakura's gaze finally found Ino's, and she let herself drown in the understanding and love she felt radiating from them. Her heart beat a little harder, and a little faster. It was the kind of anticipation she had hoped to have for her first kiss.

Ino reached up and entangled her fingers into the softness of Sakura's short, pink hair. She smiled when the other girl responded to her touch by leaning into it. There was no misreading there, she just knew what to do next.

So Ino leaned forward slowly, licking her lips left dry by the bitter taste that the vision from earlier had left on her. Sakura moved to meet her lips halfway, and they instantly melted into each other, the sweet taste of their lips lingering on the tip of their tongues. It was just a gentle brush of their lips, a short, chaste kiss. Their eyes were still open slightly, their gaze lost within one another. Their breathes were mingling together in a warm sensation that engulfed both of them.

Somewhere over their heads, a shooting star made its way across the clear night sky, leaving in its wake a trail of sparkling dust.


Wouldn't that be something