Title - Tiny Things
Rating: Mixed
World State: Mixed
Word Count: 1,539
Prompts: Drink!, Trust, Tourniquet, Snow, Eyes
Prompt: Drink!
Rating: T
"C'mon, forehead, you'll fe-el better," Ino hiccupped, a pink flush across her nose as she rubbed Sakura's back in small, soothing circles. Sakura began to shake her head in rough denial before realizing it was a bad idea with a groan, swaying on her knees as she steadied herself against the bathroom counter.
"I'm never fucking drinking again," Sakura gasped after a dry heave left her gripping the toilet bowl for dear life. Ino could only snicker.
"Like I've ne-ver heard that before." Ino clambered up from her spot on the floor next to Sakura and perched on the edge of the bathtub. "Now, c'mon! Hurl so we can g-et back to my party!"
"Not gonna- Don't wanna-" Sakura mumbled under her breath. A thick burp escaped her followed by a shuddering groan. Ino was beginning to regret playing the gracious hostess and escorting her completely sauced friend to the bathroom when a devious thought crept into her alcohol-soaked brain.
"Well, o-kay, if you're not gonna. Just don't th-ink about that one time-" she began. Sakura, drunk or not, still retained the ability to whip her gaze at Ino and glare. She knew which time Ino was talking about.
"Ino," she growled, moving to brace herself against the toilet rather than move to threaten bodily harm. "I fuckin' swear-" Ino ignored her and had plowed on heedless.
"-where Naruto ate all of that barbeque at Choji's birthday and then sooo much of that cake. Remember the icing? That really pale green stuff, tasted almost kinda minty. And, oh god, the color it had turned when he-"
Her words were cut off by Sakura retching and the splash of her heaving the contents of her stomach into the bowl.
"Ew-w-w! What did you drink that was pink?!" Ino cried shielding the view with a hand and mentally cataloguing her alcohol supply, turning up with nothing. Sakura was too busy quivering and panting to answer. "Feel better now?" She rubbed Sakura's back a bit more.
"Maybe," Sakura moaned, pulling the toilet lever. Ino stood, swaying just a bit and carefully hauled Sakura to her feet.
"Arright, forehead. Let's go g-et you some water."
Author Note: Fireball Whiskey comes out pink. Just FYI.
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Prompt: Trust
Rating: K
I wish it had been this easy with the kunai, Ino mused.
The scissors in her hand easily sheared through the pink locks before her. Every now and then, Sakura would pick up the hand mirror on the table and look at the progress, verdant eyes catching cerulean with a happy gleam.
"I don't know why you came to me rather than go to a salon, forehead," Ino had commented during the first occurance of the now bi-monthly ritual in the back room of the flower shop."I mean, I'm a florist not a hair dresser."
"Because," Sakura had replied almost bashfully, "I liked the way it looked when you fixed it."
"Choppy? Rough? Amateurish?"
"It just...felt special. It had heart in it."
Ino threshed her fingers though Sakura's hair, dislodging any loose strands. She pulled the towel from around Sakura's shoulders and started sweeping up while Sakura admired her handiwork.
"Looks great, pig," Sakura smiled into the mirror. "Wanna go get lunch?"
"Nah, I gotta watch the shop," Ino said ruefully before quirking her eyebrows with a small grin. "But if you wanted to bring something back, we could eat here." Sakura beamed.
"You got it! What do you want?"
"I trust your judgment," Ino smiled.
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Prompt: Tourniquet
Rating: K
Ino told herself that she was happy for her.
She was happy when a little crying girl picked herself up out of the dirt and learned to stand on her own. She was happy they renewed their bond after so many years of pointless squabbling.
She told herself that she was happy when she was finally marrying the boy of her dreams. She told herself that she was happy when she stood as a bridesmaid next to her. She told herself she was happy when Sakura kissed him.
She told herself that she should be grateful that she still got to time to spend with her.
It would have to do. There was no other choice by that point and her chance had passed long ago.
But as long as she was able to stay close, she could staunch the heartache.
For her.
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Prompt: Snow
Rating: T
"It's so pretty out."
Sakura glanced over her shoulder. Ino stood in the door way, oversized purple sweater hanging almost to her knees, a mug lifted to her lips and a second one in her other hand.
"If you can call all of this fluffy, white bullshit 'pretty,'" Sakura gestured out the window at the foot of snow on the ground and more falling on top. "Makes training impossible, it's a pain to go anywhere," she muttered as she accepted her mug of cocoa. It was made just how she liked; tiny marshmallows, whipped cream, a fine grating of cinnamon on top.
"Well, I do think it's pretty," Ino replied taking her spot at Sakura's side. "Besides, it just means we'll have to have fun at home." Sakura glanced sideways with a suspicious squint. Ino had said it so matter-of-factly, but she couldn't hide the small upturn at the corners of her mouth or the gleam in her eye.
"Do you ever turn off?" Sakura asked with an accusatory good humor. Ino licked the rim of her mug, turning that gleam fully on Sakura.
"Nope." Sakura rolled her eyes and huffed a small laugh. "But," Ino said with a warding raised finger, her face serious, "it is cold, no matter how pretty it is. So, I suggest something with plenty of bodily warmth." Sakura laughed fully now.
"You could just say it, ya know?" she asked. "'I'm horny.' There, see, it's not hard."
"My way is more fun," Ino said with a sniff, "besides, I wanna finish my cocoa first."
"Good point," Sakura conceded. The watched the snow fall in silence for a moment, their hands finding one another and fingers linking. "Is there any whipped cream left over?" Sakura asked as casually as she could. Ino grinned.
"See? That's how you're supposed to play! But, yes, there is. Plenty."
Sakura nodded sagely like Ino had divulged a secret of the universe.
"Guess we'll just have to stay home today."
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Prompt: Eyes
Rating: T
Sakura refused to meet Ino's gaze, not that it kept Ino from trying.
It eventually became impossible for Sakura to plan anything for their anniversary without the mind reader finding out about it. Planning on the day of became the norm and in turn became something of a game.
Ino would wake Sakura with soft kisses planted on her face, hoping to be the first thing she saw. Sakura would tuck and roll out of bed like she was dodging kunai on the battlefield. Ino tried convincing Sakura to help her pick out a dress while attempting to catch her eye in the mirror.
Ino succeeded in the tiniest glimpse when Sakura stumbled into the bathroom as Ino applied her makeup for the day. A tiny flash of red hidden deep in green eyes.
"You're not ruining the surprise this year!" Sakura growled at the floor, storming from their tiny shared house as Ino called out after her.
The attempts to find Sakura in the hustle and bustle of the town were fruitless and Ino returned home later that night with her own gift in tow. Sakura had filled their living space with countless books even as Ino fought for space with flowers and potted plants. The bag over her arm was light, but carried a veritable bounty hidden inside the bright packing paper: an old book of poetry and fairy tales, the leather "finely aged" as Sakura would have put it.
When she opened the door, hundreds of tiny, pale coriander blossoms greeted her, a trail leading down the hall. Ino chuckled. In the language of flowers, coriander blossoms represented lust.
"Come get me, I'm yours," the trail practically screamed.
"Just when I thought you couldn't get cheesier, fore-" Ino began as she pushed their bedroom door open only to find the words caught in her throat.
"Wow."
Dozens of pale red candles dotted the room, casting flickering light on Sakura who had sprawled herself artistically across their bed. The dark red lingerie fit her beautifully, right down to the last garter. The tiny sheer negligee hid nothing, but the big red bow across her chest made up for it. She smiled with crimson lips and Ino felt her pulse launch into overdrive.
"I'm glad I didn't ruin the surprise this year," Ino muttered already shucking her clothes.
"So, come unwrap me," Sakura purred, crooking her finger lazily.
Ino automatically went to meet Sakura's eyes but stopped herself, content to let the rest of the night be a surprise as well.