A/N Ok, this is my third fic, and I promise I'll update on the others soon. Until then, I hope you guys will like this one. I got bored and decided to write another InoxGaa fic for all of you fans of the pairing. Like myself. It satisfies me enough, and usually I don't like any of my work after I read over it. But, just in case, I'm sorry if it's a piece of crap.
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"How many times do I have to tell you?" Ino shouted, "To THE LEFT! Do I have to do EVERYTHING myself?" She stormed over to where Shikamaru was putting a picture up on the wall. "Now it's crooked!"
"The first day of living together and you're already going crazy. Whatever. You do it since you're so perfect." He laid the picture on the table, staring at it for a second.
He was with Ino, it was they're first date.
He thought that he had never seen a more beautiful smile than hers, and this one was the best. Just then, he wasn't being sarcastic, she WAS perfect.
"I don't know why you're so incapable of doing simple things like this." She mumbled, walking towards him.
Suddenly, he grabbed her by the waist, kissing her deeply. She started to pull away, but then gave in to him. They moved to the couch, and she playfully pulled him down on the cushions.
Then, a knock on the door.
She got up and opened it, and was surprised to see Sakura and Lee standing in the doorframe. "Hi Ino! We wanted to come by and see if you needed anything." She smiled.
"Well, Shikamaru IS pretty helpless when it comes to interior decorating." Ino giggled.
"Yeah, I know how that goes, Lee was just saying he wanted to paint our bathroom green. I wanted red or orange, but he insisted that since I got to have control over everything else, he gets the bathroom at least. Men." Ino nodded in agreement.
"She is responsible for our bedroom being pink. I don't mind of course." Lee said, as Sakura glared at him, "But I would have liked to have a say in it."
"Yeah, we'll never get anything done because we can't agree on anything. I just let her have it her way. She's very controlling." Shikamaru teased, standing behind Ino and slipping his arm around her waist.
She giggled, "Why don't you and Lee just go somewhere and leave this to us?" She suggested, pulling Sakura in.
"Alright then, come on." Shikamaru left.
"Yes, great idea Ino! We could a have a training session!" Lee shouted enthusiastically, following him.
-
"Guess what?" Sakura asked, placing a bouquet of flowers in a vase.
"I don't know. What?" Ino sat down on the floor.
"I heard that the Kazekage was back in Konoha, signing another peace treaty."
"Really?"
Sakura nodded, "We haven't seen the sand shinobi in a while."
"Yeah..." Ino thought about the Kazekage and a shiver went down her spine. His cold expressionless eyes lingered in her mind.
"Where do you think this should go?" Sakura's voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked up at her holding up the picture.
"Um... just put it on that wall over there." Ino pointed at the wall above the fireplace,
"So, when do you think they'll be back?" She asked.
"Who knows, they're guys, they could be out all night. We should just let them have their time to themselves."
"Has he proposed to you yet?"
"What?" Sakura caught her offgaurd with that one.
"Has Shikamaru proposed to you yet?" She smirked at her.
"No... what about you?" Ino sighed.
"Nope. I wish Lee would though. We've been dating for like 3 months, and I'm just sooooo impatient!"
"Yeah, me too." She agreed, "Well, anyway, thanks Sakura, I couldn't have gotten this far without you." Ino hugged her.
"No problem, and if you need anymore help, just call ok?" Sakura smiled, and walked towards the door, "Oh, and if Lee comes by, tell him that I'm waiting for him at home."
"Sure." When Sakura left, Ino sat alone in the middle of the rug, sorting out different colored paint strips, but she couldn't concentrate on something as tedious as thinking about what color her living room should be.
Her mind wandering back to the sand shinobi. 'I need some air.' She thought.
She went outside, and took a deep breath. The air was a little colder than she had expected, "It's too cold for wearing this." She said to herself, crossing her arms over the white tank top she had on and staring down at her shivering body.
She walked down the dark streets, the lights cast eerie shadows around her. They made her think of Shikamaru again. Suddenly, her stomach growled. She hadn't eaten anything since breakfast that morning, and the smell was so inviting.
When she looked up, she realized she was in front of the Ichiraku Ramen shop. She went in.
"Water please." She was ignoring her hunger, because she was on another diet. She was the only one there, and it was getting dark.
'At least it's warm in here.' She thought.
The smell of the ramen cooking made her mouth water. "You sure you don't want anything else?" The waitress asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine thanks." She sat there for a couple of more minutes, enjoying the heat, a break from the cold wind.
"And what would you like sir?" She heard someone come in.
"Chicken." An emotionless, familiar voice, said behind her.
"…Kazekage?" She turned around slowly, and saw Gaara.
He sat down beside her, "Ino." He took a sip of tea the waitress handed him.
"Why… are you here?"
There was a minute of silence, a bowl of ramen was put in front of him. He grabbed some chopsticks and broke them apart, taking a bite of his food before answering. "I was hungry."
She straightened out her white pencil skirt over her knees. An anxious habit she developed recently. She stiffened as he looked at her.
"You're trembling." He observed.
"Um… yeah, it's kind of cold tonight." Silence.
"Why are you so nervous?"
She smiled at him awkwardly, "No… reason." The truth was, it was him... his presence. He was the only one they could make her feel like this. Timid, and afraid.
"Here," He took off the white jacket he was wearing and held it out to her. She stared at it for a second, not knowing what to do with it, then she grabbed it and draped it over her shoulders. It was warm, from his body heat. The material was soft, like flower petals on her skin.
"Thank you." She said.
He nodded, eating another mouthful. When he was finished, he stood up and left some money on the table. "Do you need a walk home?" He asked.
"Well… I don't know." If Shikamaru were there, what would he think? But, it would be rude to refuse the Kazekage, she didn't want to be ungrateful. She was scared to be.
"Is that a yes?" He asked, walking away, his back turned to her.
She nodded and ran up beside him.