Rating: K+
Warnings: Really really super mild sexuality
Genre: Romance
Timeline: Alternate sort of
Characters: Lee, Ino, Sakura
Spoilers: Nope
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto there would probably be a few more crack!pairing...
1. Ino likes tall, dark-haired men with pale skin and sinister, hidden pasts. They get bonus points if they're emotionally scarred, brush off her advances at every turn and like it rough.
2. Surprisingly enough, neither Chouji nor Shikamaru ever asked why she had such a preference for self-destructive relationships. They just accepted her for what she was and waited.
3. The first person to ask was Lee, which amazes her even to this day.
4. She had no answer.
5. She did have harsh words about butting into people's business. She still feels bad about the embarrassed, ashamed blush that stained his face.
6. Lee walked away from the exchange wondering what had gotten into him. He also wondered why her long, blond hair left such an impression on him.
7. He spent the rest of the day doing laps around Konoha. He avoided the flower shop at all costs.
8. He didn't feel comfortable in his own skin until he reacquainted himself with Sakura's beauty three days later.
9. Ino was startled when she dreamed about a tanned body above her, hands twined gently in her hair, and a smooth, polite voice murmuring in her ear.
10. She started looking into other men after that. Shikamaru and Chouji took advantage of her suddenly divergent interests.
11. Lee told her he would protect her with his life after Shikamaru was too lazy to resist Temari's advances.
12. She cried into his shoulder for a little while and he had gentle hands and a smooth, polite voice.
13. She went through men like cheap kunai after that. She didn't know why, but none of them seemed to match the image she had of the perfect man. Even the dark-haired, pale skinned, conflicted ones no longer stood up.
14. When Sakura disappears without word, Lee comes to her. He doesn't cry. He listens to her talk about things that have little meaning and takes her to dinner. Before she knows it, the sun is down and he is saying good-bye.
15. They both consider it their first date.
16. For some reason, she is put in charge of cleaning Sakura's house to look for clues. It is tedious work and she hates it.
17. It gets a little better when Lee shows up to help.
18. When they finish, they're pretty sure Sakura left to find Sasuke. They can't be certain though.
19. Lee takes her to dinner again. He holds her hand as they walk down a faintly lit street. The simple gesture is foreign to her compared to the rough 'sex-now-words-later' relationships she's used to.
20. She still likes it enough to go dinner the night afterward though.
