Summary: ONESHOT. Ino doesn't accept no as an answer. Yamato's not quite sure how else to phrase his answer. Ino-centric. Ino/Yama, just because I feel like it.

Rating: M, 'cause that's how I roll. Mainly because heavy kissing and sexy feelings are not for younger teens.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

A/N: I've been brooding, dear readers and lurkers, and I've decided the Ino/Yamato ship needs some wind in its sails. Here it is. Also, Team Ino FTW!

Rejection

When Ino first met Yamato, the fact that she'd fallen in love with Sasuke, and had ardently promised she'd love him best forever, drained from her body like a bad infection hit with some antibiotics. Seeing Yamato, Ino decided Sakura could win Sasuke and have that traitorous bastard all by herself, but that was if she could peel off Master Kakashi. Ino had her doubts.

"I wanted to thank you for attending my party," Ino said to her reflection in the mirror. She tried a sexy smile, but nixed it for something friendlier even as she colored her lips with a soft pink lipgloss.

It had been Yamato's eyes that had done that. Had forced the toxic obsession from her so…suddenly, abruptly. His eyes were so dark and delectable, and unlike Sasuke's, they were expressive. Emotional. This man had a heart. She wanted it all for herself.

With the friendly smile, she told her reflection, "I know events like this one aren't really your thing. Forte? Thing. Preference. Thing." She nodded. "Events like this one aren't your thing."

Then she was done for when she told a joke around the campfire and he'd laughed. His laugh was short and guarded, and she noticed he turned his head to the side as if to direct the laughter outwards from the group. Almost like he was unsure if they would understand his laughter. But the damage had been done. Inside, Ino felt tremulous, delighted, quickened, from his reaction. His laughter was necessary; she wanted him to laugh more.

"I know I told everyone no presents, but," she hesitated for dramatic effect and liked how it sounded, "I was hoping for one from you."

Then with an ironic twist in her words, she tried it again. "I know I told everyone no presents, but…I was hoping for one from you."

Ino grimaced at her reflection, not liking the how the irony tasted on her tongue, and angled for a softer, more innocent tone. "I know I told everyone no presents, but…I was hoping for one from you."

She approached her goal with a seriousness and strategy that would have Shikamaru's approval. Already, Yamato was much older than she was, and at sixteen, she'd known he'd never go for her. Besides, he seemed closed-off and finicky about who he knew and what they did around him. Like with Sasuke, she decided to wait him out. Carefully, methodically, Ino appeared at Team 7 events, hosted them for celebrations, kept herself visible and friendly while digging for any tidbit of information she could get on Yamato. For five years. Five. Damn. Years.

Her expression turned hopeful, and that never varied. "If you would have dinner with me sometime, that would be the best birthday present ever." Too many words cluttered the message.

What she found was this: no one knew much about him, except for maybe Master Kakashi, and he wasn't talking. Even when she engaged Yamato in casual conversation, she felt a mile-high border between them that blocked her attempts to find out more about him, even his goddamned favorite food took her weeks to discover. His reticence interested her more.

"Have dinner with me," she said. Her reflection nodded. That was perfect. Short. Succinct. "Have dinner with me."

When at last she came upon her twenty-first birthday, she decided to stop waiting, end the subtly, and confront him directly. Thus the huge bash with everyone invited. In the dining hall where she threw her birthday celebration, over the heads of people talking and bobbing their heads to the beat of music, Ino gazed. There he was, apart from the crowd at Kakashi's back, observing events with faint interest, cool and proper in his flak-jacket and hatsuburi. Dark eyes scanning the crowd. So sexy.

Smiling, Ino zigzagged through the thick crowd even as bodies bumped against her- -she loved the excitement- -and connected her gaze purposefully with his. His head cocked, marginally, but enough that she took note, and knew from that small sign that he was intrigued.

She leaned in to speak into his ear, so she didn't have to shout over the raucous noise. "May I have a private word with you?"

After she stepped back, he nodded his agreement and she led him to a pair of open side doors that let in cooling night air moist with the scent of rain. A recent rainstorm had drenched the streets and pavement; eaves dripped and puddles crowded the ground with shimmering night skies and clouds. She stood looking out at wet Konoha while she shored up her courage to induce Yamato to spend time with her, but when she faced him, she hadn't realized how nervous she'd feel standing in front of a mature, lethal man. That nervousness was healthy, right? It meant she respected him and valued his answer.

"What is it, Ino?" he asked. God, she could swim in his eyes.

Well, here goes. She swallowed and dove for it. "I wanted to thank you for attending my party. I know events like this aren't really your thing," she said. Her words didn't sound as rehearsed as they had when she'd practiced.

"Thank you for inviting me," he answered with a slight tilt of his mouth- -his reserve smile that indicated he was humoring her. "And congratulations on turning twenty-one."

Demurely she glanced away. The pulse of her heart was in her throat. "I know I told everyone no presents, but…I was hoping for one from you."

A long moment of silence in which Ino mentally prompted him a dozen times, but he did not take his cue and say, 'And what is that?'

Instead, he said, "No."

At first Ino didn't believe her ears. She looked sharply at him and said, "No? No, what?"

"No," he repeated, in all seriousness, "I won't go on a date with you."

Another moment, this time of stunned, shocked silence. He was refusing her? She hadn't even asked a question yet! What the hell? She snapped shut her mouth when she realized it hung open. Nerves dissipated under irritation, and she couldn't stop the fight in her from entering the ring. "It's just dinner!"

"Negative."

"Yamato!"

"Nope."

"Why not?" Really, did he think her some hideous creature or something?

"Because you're twenty-one and I'm too old for you."

Yeah, right. Like that had stopped Master Kakashi and Sakura. "I don't care how old you are," she answered.

He looked forlorn as he crossed his arms on his chest. "I do. It won't work. You have plenty of companions your own age to take you out."

"Yeah, but none of them are you."

Her comment hung on the air like the scent of the rain and he stared her down with an unreadable expression, but Ino being Ino could track the path of his emotions almost as if she saw them flickering and wavering in front of her. He wasn't sure of her intentions, was hesitant to make a move because she'd surprised him enough to catch him off guard with her persistence. Inner-conflict plagued him…she surmised that he wanted to see what she was like with just him, but he didn't want the stigma of being in such a lopsided relationship.

She decided to soften her blow. "What about lunch sometime? Surely that'd be more acceptable than dinner."

"No."

Her mistake. She'd rushed him. But still…had she never noticed how exasperating this man was? "Brunch?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Breakfast, then."

"No, Ino."

"How about drinks?"

He outright laughed. "Absolutely not. The answer's not going to change, and besides, I think you ought to get back to your party," he said, stepping aside, "before someone misses you."

Oh, no, he was closing off their conversation so he could escape. In her unwillingness to allow him to slip through her fingers so easily, she determined she needed a few more minutes. Stalling him could be as easy as giving it another try. One more.

"You're so unwilling to give me a chance, and I don't think age is as much of a factor as you make it seem." She tapped the side of her mouth, planning her words as she watched his back move toward the entrance. "Hmmm. You have a crush on Sakura, don't you?"

"What?" It was his turn to be shocked. And defensive. He turned back to face her. "I do not."

"If it's not that, then you must be gay."

His sputtering was adorable, but he managed to say, "I'm not."

Last shot before she'd have to fall back and regroup. "You're so adamant, but you should prove it. Come over to my place and I'll make you dinner, since I know what your favorite meal is. No one will have to be the wiser if we don't hit it off."

Ino held up under the appraising look he gave her and again, she felt his turmoil. She didn't think he'd go for it, right up until he sighed and dropped his shoulders. "I really, really want to say no because this is against my better judgment, but it couldn't hurt to have one dinner with the birthday girl to prove all this is a ridiculous idea."

He'd agreed! Huzzah! Pleased, she clapped her hands together- -the one reaction she hadn't been able to stifle since childhood- -and popped up on her toes to brush a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks. You won't regret it."

And in that quick moment as she spoke her words to his ear, she smelled him, a darkened pine-y spice smell which seemed so right for him, and for whatever reason, that smell shut out all her reason and logic and disintegrated the respectful distance she'd kept from him. She couldn't help herself from putting her hands on his shoulders, closing her eyes, and breathing him. Her heart swelled like floodwaters in her chest. Oh, God, he smelled so good. The chill of the rain was forgotten in the sudden turn of the atmosphere to crackling, sizzling, and when she glanced to catch his eyes, she saw that he felt it too- -the border he'd put up between himself and the world shattered. Something like a knife's edge cut across her stomach; his hand cupped the back of her neck, warm and caressing, and he met her half-opened lips with his.

Everything bottomed out inside her with the kiss. He knew how to ease his tongue on the inside of her mouth, how to keep the pace slow- -even as her heart pounded harder and harder against her ribs- -and how to nip her lip so that it spread liquid heat all through her. His other hand settled on her hip, and she felt the pressure of his hands so keenly it was like he touched under her skin. Her own arms eased over his broad shoulders, bringing her in closer to his chest, and her fingers enjoyed the coarseness of his brown hair.

Her fingers had nothing on her lips. Each time she thought he would taper off the kiss, he'd renew the assault on her mouth enough to get her womanly parts panting in anticipation. Was it possible for her to stand this/close to him, forever locked in a passionate kiss? His eyes were heavy, so, so deep and intense with emotion, and whatever love-shards for Sasuke that had been stuck in her were purged from her heart.

Screw her stupid party. She needed him now. Urgently so.

"Yamato," she breathed when she managed to drag her mouth away from his, "let's go."

The man had killer teeth. Tongue. Lips. Eyes. Hands. Everything. His lips-tongue-teeth tugged and teased down the sensitive skin on her throat, sparking and arousing as he answered. "Back to the party?"

Her body responded to his husky voice (so low, so, hmm, desirable) by shivering. "No." Air. She needed air. "Anywhere. But somewhere clothes-optional."

"Hm. I don't think so. We haven't even gotten to our first date yet," he said. Gently, he pushed her from him to arm's length. Unwilling to accept the distance, but also unwilling to frighten him off, she kept her hands to herself and allowed him his space. Her stomach was full of butterflies and want. Lots and lots of want. "When are you available?"

"Right now," she deadpanned.

He quirked the corner of his mouth in a delightful manner, but shook his head. "I meant, when do you want me over for dinner?"

As she caught her breath and cooled her jets, she considered him. "You'll really come? Even after all this?" She thought he'd run for the hills after her display of emotional openness.

His even look comforted her. "Yes. Even after all this."

"Tomorrow," she answered. "Tomorrow at six."

"Six it is. Go back inside before you catch a chill," he said. His hot hand on her wrist reminded her of the cooler weather. Goose-bumps had pimpled up and down her arms, but she hadn't noticed until now. "I'll follow in a bit. I need some air."

Inside him, she felt his emotions curl and churn. And he seemed to have suddenly withdrawn from her. The border was up. Guilt, maybe? Had he said those things to get her away from him so he could escape? She decided to call him on it.

"Don't lie to the birthday girl on her birthday," she said, gripping his wrist in return. A steady pulse beat under her fingers. She closed in on him in earnest. "You'll only make it worse for yourself if you don't show up tomorrow promptly at six to have dinner with me."

His brows crunched together as he gave her another measured look. She'd caught him off-guard again. Confliction in his eyes. Did he realize how easy to read he was? "I'm not sure I understand the threat."

She sighed. "Look. I don't care what you think, but we're damned compatible as our kiss exemplifies. And I don't care how long it takes me, I'm having you. So run as far and as fast as you can, lie as much as you want, I'm not giving up on you. The sooner you realize that," she leaned in and kissed a quick peck on his lips, "the better."

And without giving him a chance to counter her words, she stepped around him- -his shocked face was really cute- -flicked her hair and returned to the party, content that Yamato had weakened under her assault and whether he wanted to or not, he'd be at her house at six tomorrow to have dinner with her. After that…it would be a matter of time before she became his permanent woman.

Rejection was not a concept Ino understood.

A/N: LOL at Yamato's feeble attempts to evade Ino. I hope you enjoyed the read, and if this is your first time sailing the Yamato/Ino ship, might I suggest checking out "Behind the Cat's Mask" it all its Yamato/Ino goodness? Cheers! =)