For as long as Ino could remember, love was black. Love was black hair and black eyes. It was uninterested in her friends or how she was doing. It was perpetually tired or apathetic. Love was the darkness she lay in, alone in her bed wondering if it thought of her half as much as she was thinking of it. Love was their forgotten anniversary. Sometimes love was thinking of another blonde girl instead of Ino. Sometimes love didn't think of her at all.
Sometimes love would go away for long periods of time without answers to the questions she had. Sometimes love didn't come back at all. Love liked to call her "troublesome" or "annoying". It never saw her tears nor heard her cries. Sometimes love wasn't sure it really loved her. Ino wasn't sure she really loved it ― but what else could she possibly call that feeling pounding in her chest? Love liked to argue and bicker but also liked to ignore her.
Love was black but once upon a time love wasn't like this. Once upon a time, love had a smile only for her to see. A smile she hadn't seen in a long time. Love used to be gentlemanly and kind as if she were the most fragile of flowers that needed the utmost care. Love would take her out on bad dates. Love was serious but would still laugh at all of her bad jokes. Love was lazy but would still dance with her on the days she didn't even want to stand.
Now love didn't have time for her. Love was going away to see someone else, love was leaving her for revenge. Love had once filled up all her thoughts but now she was not fit to fill up love's precious time. She was angry at love the first time, and even angrier the second.
Love left her heart aching too badly to ever accept it again. She avoided love for years, until she thought perhaps she could forget all about it. And perhaps when love was furthest from her mind, locked away and unwanted, love returned.
Yes, unexpectedly, love returned. Love was very different from the last time she'd seen it. Love had soft hands and a fragile smile. Love was pink of all colors. Love would talk with her for hours on end and fall asleep in her arms. Love liked to dance and take Ino out to karaoke.
It was shocking how much love had changed since she'd last seen it but it was so different it was unbelievably wonderful. Love was always happy to see her, love lived to see her smile. And yet, Ino found it hard sometimes to make love smile back. Love had been through a lot, it had sad memories of people it didn't like to think about but so did Ino. Yet there wasn't one slow dance that couldn't erase those memories ― if only until the end of the song.
Love had been black for as long as Ino could remember, but she couldn't help but think pink suited her more than black ever had.
Short little thing I raced out of my bubble bath to write uwu