One day on the swings, in their now far-off youth, she had called him fat and he called her ugly.

Neither of them truly meant it, though. Kid will be kids.

They later got into the academy and were placed in a team together. He told her she was too girly to be a good kunoichi one day. She'd retaliated with the fact that he was too slow to even get past Chuunin exams.

Poking fun and competitiveness is all a part of the wonderful package of hormones. Teenagers will be teenagers.

Then she saw him fight for the first time and realized very quickly what she had said was far from the truth, and in her little mind, a switch flicked on ever so gently.

He definitely ate his words when he watched her defend herself against enemies; she was girly in appearance, certainly, but it in no way translated the same into her fighting techniques. She was worried about her hair, but not about getting dirt under her nails in order to win a match.

The day of the Chuunin exams was the day they noticed each other, and really paid attention. He had captured hers – that was for sure.

As members of their team they began to appreciate one another in a way they hadn't before. Slowly her jaded view of him dissolved into yesteryears and she saw him for who he was: an Akimichi with the will of fire.

Once the veil had been removed, a small longing ignited within her. As a team they went out on missions that built in difficulty each time, and they always came back victorious because of their harmony as a whole. And each time, her longing grew, eventually into something she couldn't ignore.

He ignored it, though, and this unsettled her. She was attractive, tough in the moments that called for it, and had a good figure – all of these things were desirable traits, or so she thought. Why didn't he seem to notice her in the way she noticed him?

It wasn't until one unbearably hot summer day on the training grounds that her hope was reinvigorated. She'd been cooped up in her house, sitting in front of a fan blowing nothing but hot air when she decided enough was enough and she might as well make the day useful and mold it into a training session dealing with uncomfortable conditions. It wouldn't always be the perfect temperature during a mission, right? Might as well train for it.

As she approached the grounds, it appeared someone else had had the same idea. She was about to turn around and leave them to their sparring when he called out to her and a shiver wriggled up her spine.

"Ino!" he said, waving and trotting toward her. He had refrained from dressing himself in the usual armored red robes and instead had opted simply for pants and shoes. The lack of clothing still hadn't done him much good, though – he was sweating in sheets. Ino did not pay any mind to that detail, but instead tried not to focus too hard on the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt and his muscles were quite visible in the scorching sun.

"Chōji, hey," she greeted, determined not to lose her cool.

"You're gonna try and train too, eh?"

"Yeah, that was the plan."

"A horrible day for it," he said, sweeping his hands out to indicate the insufferable heat.

"I don't see it stopping you!" Ino fired back.

Chōji looked down and grinned.

"I don't know if you wanted to work on anything specific, but do you want to train together? It would be nice to have someone else out here to share in the miserable heat," he said.

Ino agreed immediately.

They worked on some of their formations, minus Shikamaru, and bulked up some of the weaker spots prone to failing. Chōji had been playful the entire time, even when they switched gears and starting sparring to improve each other's specific techniques. He would go in for the kill, intent on dealing some damage, and would hold back at the last second just to poke her belly instead. Dancing back out of her reach, he always left her stunned for a few breaths.

There was no telling why he was acting the way he was. She wanted to tell herself it was because of her being there, but of course that didn't convince her.

When they had been thoroughly tired out and gone their separate ways, Ino's mind continued to reel in possibilities. She nonetheless always arrived at the same ending: she wanted it to be her, for her to make him feel giddy and playful. Was that so difficult to ask?

A few months later, after only seeing him on missions and occasionally throughout the village, he invited her to go with him to one of his friend's weddings. He was a civilian she didn't know, but Chōji's family seemed to be pretty close to theirs. Ino accepted to invitation, but didn't read too much into it; obviously he wanted her to come along just so he wouldn't be going alone, and there was no way Shikamaru would get roped into something like that.

The ceremony was held under some Sakura trees, which created a beautiful effect with the falling pastel petals as the couples spoke their vows. For the reception they migrated underneath a large white canopy and toasted to the newlyweds' happiness.

They both sat in silence for a while at one of the tables, watching other couples populate the dance floor. Ino sighed and played with the edge of the tablecloth, becoming restless.

"I want to go dance," she commented, gazing longingly at all the couples.

"Then go dance," Chōji replied. He was munching on some of the finger food.

"I'm not going to go dance alone! I would look foolish," she hissed.

Chōji chewed and swallowed before wiping his face with a napkin.

"Do you want to go dance?"

She could have punched him in the face.

Instead she made to glare at him until he begged for forgiveness, but when she saw his outstretched hand and questioning eyes, all the breath and ire drained out of her.

"With you?"

"Well, yeah, unless that's not what you want," he replied nervously, losing his grip on his courage.

She grabbed his hand without a word and he led her out to the dance floor. They kept a reasonable distant between them; regardless, Ino was singing on the inside. She hadn't expected this, nor had she forced him into it – that meant he was reciprocating some of her feelings, right?

The band began to wring out a soft song from their instruments and it made Ino want to draw even closer to Chōji, but she wouldn't allow herself that pleasure quite yet. She looked up and him when he tilted his head down in curiosity.

"Chōji?"

"Yeah?"

Reaching up, she placed a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you."

He blinked at her in surprise, dumbfounded, before giving her a radiant smile and holding her just a little bit closer.

"You're welcome."