Based on fanart by Ask-MultiSaku on tumblr. Go Follow her.
Groaning in annoyance Ino spreads herself out on her bed, there was nothing that she hated more than idleness. Ino loved sharing an apartment with Sakura, but the girl worked long hours and it was beginning to make Ino pouty. She always tried to schedule her day offs to coincide with Sakura's but it didn't always work that way. The flower shop had set times while the hospital did not. So here she was alone in their shared apartment moping. Her fingers brush softly against the photo on her mantel. The smiling faces of herself and Sakura lead to a painful clench in her stomach. A wave of familiar feelings hit her like kunai; her eyes redden as they burn slightly. She wills her body to force the unexpected tears down. Sakura was better at expressing her emotions physically but Ino had an image to uphold. Weeping girl caught in unrequited love was not how the blonde would choose to be seen.
No one warns you about how painful falling for your best friend is. Some friendships have the intensity of an actual relationship without the ability to call the person 'mine'. Whether it was rivals or soul sisters, Ino and Sakura always were affectionate friends. Small caresses, bed sharing, and innuendo-laced banter. Ino loved the candidness. Both girls were an open book; never tongue-tied just the blunt truths of whatever the other was thinking. It was an ever-evolving relationship, stronger for every fight and held together by loyalty and love.
Ino told Sakura everything until she couldn't. Until the day the girls were sixteen and Sakura grabbed her hand, just as she always had. Ino watched Sakura lick her lips. They were rosy, moist and inviting. Ino felt her body heat rise and her hands slightly tremble. Sakura just looked over and smiled, unaware of her best friend's turmoil. For the first time, Ino felt that her pink-haired friend may not know her. And maybe, the blonde didn't even know herself.
Some lines aren't to be crossed and romance isn't always the smartest strategy as a shinobi. She would rather have a warm body that would leave in the morning, than a constant lover. It was easy not to get attached. She didn't find civilians interesting and her fellow nin had a habit of dying. She could keep them all at arm's length, let them worship her body with no fear of falling in love. Shikamaru, the idiot genius figured out Ino's feelings toward Sakura a year ago. She could still hear his smug tone.
"It's not like you to keep your mouth shut."
Well, of course, it wasn't like her not to just blurt out her feelings. But this was about Sakura. The girl she knew better than anyone. The one with an unwavering devotion to Sasuke. Ino didn't know how to act. Be a good friend and support Sakura in her pursuit of Sasuke? Push Sakura to explore other options, preferably her? It was a conundrum.
The sound of keys at the front door sends a smile to her face. The blonde straightens her spine and gives herself a once over in the adjacent mirror. With her best confident smirk plastered on her face, she hops up to greet her roommate.
"Forehead? Is that you?" Ino calls out "Why are you stomping? People live below us, you know."
"Don't start, pig." Sakura throws her bag down with a huff.
Ino drags her feet across the carpet and gives Sakura a small smile. Sakura's grimace answers her next question. But she asks anyway.
"How was your visit with the convict?" Ino rolls her eyes. When her own crush on Sasuke weaned and Sakura's grew. It irked the blonde to no end.
"How did you kn-," Sakura shifts her weight from foot to foot. "Can you not call him that?"
"Is war criminal better?" Ino amended then crossed her arms across her chest. Sakura rolls her eyes and hurries her body to the kitchen for tea. "It's all over your face."
"That's what you get for not coming straight home after work." Ino flips her hair haughtily. Sakura keeps walking without looking back.
"I already put the kettle on." Ino yells to the still stomping Sakura.
Sakura stops and looks back. She smiles gratefully. Ino always knew what she needed. Sakura pours herself a cup and sits. She doesn't notice that her hands are shaking until Ino reaches out to steady her.
"So?" the blonde pushes. Her eyes are sharp with anticipation.
"When he gets out he is leaving," Sakura sighs into her mug. "He asked me to wait."
Ino slams her palms on the table. It shakes from the sudden weight. "No fucking way."
Sakura takes a sip out of her cup. She knew it was coming. He couldn't settle but he wanted her to wait. The only surprise that came to her today was how angry she got. His mere suggestion that she should once again pine for him, made her livid. Kakashi would understand the hole she made in Sasuke's cell when she filled him in. Hokage or not, things changed and he would take her side before considering Sasuke's.
"Forehead, please tell me you told him to fuck off," Ino turns her body directly towards Sakura. "Tell me."
"I can't," Sakura's left-hand balls into a fist. "I can't spend my life waiting."
Ino lets out a deep sigh of relief. Good. Sakura fidgeted slightly in her seat and looked down at her palms. Ino knew that look, Sakura's normal descend into overthinking. She may say she wouldn't wait now but overthinking would change her mind eventually. But from Sakura's stance it was obvious that she didn't want to speak on it right now. And in the Yamanaka/Haruno household, there was only one cure for overthinking.
"Grab the blankets, Forehead," Ino says in an authoritative tone.
"Ice cream and movie time."
"But-"
"I don't care about whatever lame excuse you have," Ino cuts in. It was Friday and if they weren't going out clubbing then Ino reserved the right to relax on her day off. "Be lazy or get out."
Sakura lets out an annoyed grunt, mumbling about how 'this was her apartment too' and stomps over to their linen closet to grab a quilt.
The movie plays loudly in the background. The girls are huddled under their fleece quilt. Sakura's warm fingers brush up against the ends of Ino's shirt. The medic-nin's work and drama filled day were finally catching up with her. She sighs and lays her head heavily on Ino's chest. Ino feels her body tense up in anticipation. Sakura's bright green eyes regard Ino slightly and she smiles brilliantly. Ino returns it with the same intensity, her arms wrap around the pink-haired medic nin. Sakura lets out a content sigh.
"Thank you for always knowing how to make me feel better, Pig," Sakura says lightly, her emerald eyes trained on the ceiling, fingers once again brush against Ino's hip bone. "Love you."
Ino holds her breath in uncertainty. They told each other that they loved the other all the time. But this felt different, somehow. Could Sakura truly feel the same? Her heart rate increases as she waits for Sakura's next words.
"You're my best friend."
In that instant, Ino could swear she heard glass shattering. Well, maybe it was her heart. Her insides were scrambling to glue the pieces back together so she could catch a breath. Her body trembles slightly.
Sakura notices the change instantly. "You okay?" Sakura reaches down the length of the Ino's body to grab her hand. "What's wrong? You can tell me anything, Pig."
Ino's bites her bottom lip and thinks to herself 'not anything'.
"I'm fine,' Ino fights off the trembling in her voice. "I love you too, Forehead."
After a beat, Ino is able to continue. "You're my best friend too."
Sakura gives a warm laugh and pulls Ino closer. "I better be."
"Don't get cocky. You and Shika are neck and neck," Ino speaks through a forced laugh.
The words "Best Friend" felt like bile. An understatement. A diminishment of their relationship. Most of all, they felt like lies. The blonde wanted to speak her truth but…
Ino closes her eyes and holds Sakura's warm body tight. It wasn't a matter of coming out. She didn't care if people thought differently about her. She only cared about the change it would bring into her friendship. This sacred bond with her blossom. Ino didn't want to lose what they had if Sakura did not return her feelings. In the end, even if the girl never returned her affections, there would always be nights like this. Her eyes open slightly and slide down to the half sleep medic. She would confess. Just not tonight.
A/N Falling for your best friend is either heaven or hell.