Title: Hints
Pairing: InoSaku (starts out seemingly one-sided)
Rating: PG
Spoilers: For just before timejump.
Warnings: Shoujo-ai.
For: The LJ comm pigxforehead holiday challenge.
Prompt: The holidays.
Word Count: 1,246
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Author's Notes: Un-beta'ed. I don't think they celebrate Christmas in the Naruto verse but I put it into this fic anyway. The what-seems-to-be-SasuSaku in there is actually just friendship xD; (Which explains everything, of course.) AND THIS IS A CHEESY FIC, ESPECIALLY THE ENDING, SO BEWARE. 8D
Hints
"They say it's always best to spend Christmas with someone you love," Sakura says softly. "And that a confession under a Christmas tree is the sweetest." She has a faraway look on her face as she speaks, and Ino knows who she is thinking of.
"Hey, Sakura, let's spend Christmas together," Ino suggests in a light tone, trying to keep the pain out of her voice.
Sakura doesn't get the hint. Sakura never gets the hints. Ino leaves hints here and there and desperately hopes that Sakura will get one of them eventually, but it's been so long since Ino left her first hint that she's nearly given up all hope.
"Sure, Ino," Sakura replies, with a small smile. The smile makes Ino feel slightly better, even though the blond knows it doesn't mean anything.
---
"Aren't these decorations all so pretty?" Sakura's green eyes are glittering with the reflection of the flashing red and green lights everywhere as she drags Ino through the streets of Konohagakure.
"Yeah," Ino answers. But really, they are moving at too fast a pace for Ino to properly look at and admire the decorations.
"The Christmas tree looks even bigger than last year's," Sakura exclaims as they arrive at the village square, where people are filling up half the space, and the village Christmas tree filling up the other half and towering above everything else. The sparkling gold star at the very top of the tree seems to be able to reach the clouds. At the bottom, there are heaps of "presents" wrapped in red and green and gold and silver and all sorts of other colours.
Ino and Sakura stand underneath the tree, next to the presents. They all know about Konoha's Christmas tradition. There is the name of a different person in Konoha in each of those presents, and people can open a present and see whose name they get. It is said that the person you get will be the love of your life. Hardly anyone believes in it, but some people, mostly teenage girls, try it anyway just for fun or to see if they get the name of their crush.
"Wanna try, Sakura?" Ino grins.
"Sasuke-kun's name wouldn't be in them... right?" Sakura looks forlornly at the colourful presents.
Ino almost flinches. "Probably not..." she says in a dry voice. "But... It's Christmas. We want to have fun, Sakura. Let's forget him, just for a while."
Sakura closes her eyes as Ino speaks, and when Ino finishes she opens them again, and she smiles. "Okay. Let's do this together."
They both hunt around the tree for a present that catches their eye the most. Ino prays and prays that she will get Sakura, even though she has never believed in it. She has to walk around the tree three times before settling on one present. It is wrapped in pink, and Ino thinks it may be a good omen.
"Ino!" Sakura yells from the other side of the tree. "Have you found yours yet?"
"I'm just going to open now!" Ino shouts back. She unties the red ribbon. It reminds her of the one she gave to Sakura when they were both kids. Another good omen. Ino tears off the wrapping paper. There is a white box inside.
She takes a deep breath and takes off the lid of the box. Inside, in clearly printed kanji on a slip of paper, is the name, "Haruno Sakura". Ino stares and stares and stares and she simply cannot believe that Sakura's name is there.
Suddenly Sakura is right by her side. "Ino, whose name did you -- " She sees the name on the paper.
"Eh, me?" Sakura blinks. After a while, she mutters, "That's why I never believe in this stupid thing."
"Who did you get?"
"Some random guy I don't know," Sakura says.
"Where's the paper, then? I might know him. 'Cause, you know," Ino smirks even though her heart has sunk a few miles into the ground, "I know more boys than you do."
Sakura rolled her eyes and says, "I threw it away. It's pointless, anyway."
Ino wonders for a brief moment whether to tell Sakura how she really feels. They are underneath the Christmas tree, after all, one of the biggest Christmas trees in the world, and as Sakura said, "a confession under a Christmas tree is the sweetest".
But Ino is too scared. They have something now, at least. They have friendship. Ino shouldn't ask for more, because then she may lose that friendship too. And Ino isn't sure what will happen to her if she loses that something.
So she keeps on trying to convince herself that this is enough for now.
---
It's past midnight. Christmas is over. Sakura waves goodbye to Ino as she steps through the door of her apartment. Ino waves back but doesn't want to let go. The door slams shut in her face.
Christmas is over, and yet they're still friends. The blond thinks back to what happened underneath the Christmas tree and she hates herself for not being brave enough.
The slip of paper with Sakura's name on is safely in Ino's kunai pouch, and Ino thinks she will keep it forever to remind her of today.
---
"Wanna go see the fireworks together?" Ino asks.
"Of course. The fireworks in Konoha are always a must-see," Sakura replies.
Everyone watches the fireworks display on New Years Eve every year. It's a spectacular event.
The Christmas tree had been removed a few days ago from the village square, and now all the people are gathered in the large space, ready for the fireworks display to start.
"Confessions are the second sweetest when you're watching fireworks, apparently," Sakura says, grinning.
Ino swallows. Sakura is probably thinking about Sasuke again.
A gold line shoots up into the sky and erupts into millions of golden flowers. Ino thinks, knows that she will end up hating herself even more afterwards if she doesn't say anything now. The fireworks are making an impossibly loud noise and even so, Ino can hear her heart beating and blood rushing up to her cheeks. She needs to say something.
"Sakura," she begins. The pink-haired kunoichi gives her an expectant look to prompt her, but words refuse to come out of her mouth. "Sakura," she says yet again.
"What?" Sakura says in a slightly impatient look. "If it's not anything important, don't stop me from enjoying the fireworks."
"Sakura, I like you," the words spill out of Ino's mouth and Ino is relieved that they're finally out, but what is Sakura going to think?
Sakura looks at her blankly, and Ino is more afraid than she has ever been in her life. Then Sakura grins, bringing out a slip of paper from her kunai pouch.
It says, "Yamanaka Ino."
"I lied," Sakura says. "I got you. You know... I'm really glad that you seemed to have finally got one of my hints."
"Eh? What hint? ... Oh! What? I've... I've been leaving hints all this time too, and you never got any of them!"
The two of them stare at each other for a moment, and then they both burst out laughing.
---
"Ten, nine, eight... two, one, ZERO!"
All around them people are screaming and cheering and welcoming the new year. Couples kiss for the first time this year.
And Ino and Sakura are kissing for the first time in their life.
The End