Disclaimer: This is a fanfic a.k.a. a fan-made work of fiction. Ah, if only I had the attention span to create characters of my own…
The Princess and the Pauper
Yamanaka Ino stood just around the corner from the subway entrance, tapping one boot-clad foot impatiently. At least until she remembered just which pair of boots she was wearing—her brand new KORS: Aquarius Camel Oiled Sport Suede boots that she'd gotten not a week ago for Christmas thanks to Daddy dearest. (He always followed her list to a T after the incident when she was six years old and he got her Veterinarian Barbie instead Malibu Barbie and she nuked Barbie and the plastic puppy that came with her in the microwave the second her parents were too busy cleaning up all the wrapping paper she'd thrown everywhere to notice that their daughter had snuck off to the kitchen.) She stilled her foot before she scoffed the soles anymore, checked the time on her Cherry Chocolat cell, and crossed her arms with a huff.
Where was he? They were supposed to meet ten minutes ago. If he didn't show up soon, they wouldn't make it to the theatre in time. Well, she would make it to the theatre in time; he just wouldn't be accompanying her.
"Ino-chan!" a voice called out excitedly from somewhere within the crowd shuffling across the crosswalk. Ino whipped around, ready to reprimand her boyfriend for having the nerve to actually make her wait for him when she caught sight of the shock of blond hair squeezing between a pair of businessmen talking away—rather angrily—seemingly to themselves. The second he was through, she noticed what he was wearing—the khaki pants and black polo shirt (complete with cheap, so far as Ino was concerned, restaurant logo) he wore to work, not too mention his garish orange jacket with matching scarf—spun on her heel and began walking away towards the subway as fast as her designer boots would allow.
"Hey, Ino-chan! Wait up!" her boyfriend—God, why was he her boyfriend again!?—called after her. She could hear his Cons squeaking as he jogged up behind her so she picked up her pace as she reached the stairs leading down to the station.
She ignored the shouts from behind her and focused on increasing the distance between them to keep people from thinking that she had any sort of association with the slob behind her. Three steps form the platform, her boot heel tilted one way while her ankle went the other and her arms flailed out to grab onto something to stop her fall as she yelped helplessly. An arm reached around from behind her and circled her waist to steady her. "You okay, Ino-chan?"
Ino huffed and tried to wiggle away from the arm. "Let go, Naruto. I'm fine."
"You sure? You didn't twist your ankle, did you?" he asked worriedly, loosening his grip but not removing his arm from her waist.
Ino didn't answer. Shaking him off, she walked away to buy a ticket, Naruto trailing close behind. She continued to ignore him as she waited for the train and even after they'd boarded and Naruto maneuvered so that he was blocking her from being jostled by the others packed into the narrow space. "Ino-chan," Naruto persisted, but she just turned to the window and imagined that the bleak tunnel walls rushing past were diamond encrusted.
They were two stations away from their stop when Naruto spoke up again. "I'm sorry, Ino-chan. My manager was being an ass and made me work an extra shift. I didn't have time to run to my apartment and change, and I couldn't get you on your cell—"
"Daddy bought me a new phone and switched our network. I've got a new number," Ino interjected, frowning at her reflection in the window.
"Oh, well, that'd explain it, I guess," Naruto continued sheepishly, trying to brush off the hurt feeling slowly eating away at his soul with a forced grin.
Ino whirled around suddenly with a fierce glare and in a low whisper hissed, "I wanted to go on a date, Naruto! A real date! Dinner and a movie! The whole shebang! And I wanted to be able to go to a halfway decent restaurant where you have to wait to be seated! But we can't do that now, can we? Not when you look like you should be clearing the tables."
Naruto bowed his head, clapping his hands together in front of him in a pleading position. "Ah! I'm sorry Ino! I swear I had a date date planned but my manager was bein' an ass, like I said, and I'm in enough trouble as it is 'cause I've had to skip work so much lately! Please don't be mad! I promise I'll make it up to you." He paused and jerked his eyes back up to meet hers. "I know! I don't have to go in to work at all tomorrow. We could…um, well, reschedule, I guess… And I promise I'll agree to whatever movie you want, even if it's one of those sappy romances that I hate, and I won't complain at all and—"
"Naruto, shut up!" Ino snapped, blowing her bangs out of her eyes in order to level him with an effective glare. "Back-track for a sec, will you? You've been skipping work? What the hell's wrong with you!? Can you even afford this "date date" you were planning?"
"Of course! I've been working a bunch of overtime during the break!"
"That doesn't explain why you were skipping work."
"I had to start staying after school at the end of the semester, so I had to cut back my hours."
"Why did you have to stay after school!? Don't tell me it was for detention or tutoring or some shit like that!"
Naruto suddenly grinned. "You know, you're really cute when you cuss like that."
"Idiot! Don't try and change the subject! Answer my question or I'm leaving without giving you my new number." Naruto hesitated, wondering how he was supposed to skirt around the issue of his surprise if Ino was going to be so stubborn about the whole thing.
They came to a stop while Naruto was still stalling, and Ino stormed out the car as soon as the doors slid open. Naruto stared at the empty space in front of him for 4.2 seconds before turning to chase after her.
"Ino!" Naurto whined, "That's just cruel. And to think I was putting in all that extra effort for you."
Ino stopped pushing through the crowd on the platform to whirl on Naruto. "What the hell are you saying!? Answer me sensibly!"
Instead of responding, Naruto pouted and reached into one of his pockets, pulling out a small box with a neat ribbon tied around it. He pushed it into her hands before shoving his hands deep in his pockets and looking away from her, a light blush tinting his cheeks. "Merry Christmas," he muttered.
Ino raised an eyebrow and pulled on one end of the ribbon. Lifting the lid, she froze in shock.
Naruto glanced back at her nervously. "I know it's not like the expensive jewelry you always wear, but I did work really hard on it… And I put a lotta thought into it too, you know. And the thought is what's supposed to matter, right?"
Ino looked up at him then, her eyes watery, before she gave a breathless laugh. Closing her eyes as a tear leaked out, she smiled and whispered, "Edelweiss."
"Ah. I know how you are about flowers and their meanings and everything, and my teacher said I was doing good working with the glass and all, so you know… I mean, I didn't climb a mountain to get 'em or anything, but it's that whole thought thing again…"
Ino gently pulled the glass-blown necklace out of the box, lightly running her fingertips over the translucent petals of the edelweiss flowers. With practiced ease, she clasped it around her neck, her hand coming up to cup the blossom that rested in the hollow of her throat. For such a pauper, Naruto was certainly the best boyfriend a princess could ever ask for.
"Naruto."
Naruto abruptly stopped his nervous shuffling and faced Ino. "Yeah?"
"I love it," she declared. Ino then reached up to grab the ends of his scarf, yanking his head down to her level so that she could kiss him. Pulling away, she muttered, "Let's go get ramen."
"Seriously!?" Naruto exclaimed. When she nodded, he wrapped his arms around Ino and swung her in a circle.
"This is the best Christmas ever!" Laughing heartily at his antics, Ino let her fingers glide over her sting of edelweiss blossoms again and couldn't help but agree.
fin.
Note: For those who don't know, edelweiss are white alpine flowers with yellow centers. According to folklore, they are a symbol of love, bravery, strength, and dedication. A man would climb the high peaks to pick a bouquet of edelweiss to give to the woman he loved, proving his everlasting love to her. To read a sweet story about edelweiss, please follow this link (minus the spaces): http : / / answers. yahoo. com/ question/ ?qid1006020708083
A/N: I started this over Christmas break and finally got around to finishing it now that I'm on summer break. Yay. Ah, mindless fluff. Actually, I was driven to finish this because I've been in the mood to read something NaruIno, but all the stuff I've found is complete crap. So, if anyone's read a good NaruIno fic, share the love?
mH