Title: Sunsets and Cherry Gloss
Rating: T (for safety)
Pairings/Genres: SakuTen, SakuIno, fluff, humor
Summary: Post timeskip. Sakura contemplates how she feels for Ino, why, and if Tenten can somehow relate.
"Come on, Ino-chan!"
It was that gentle, honey-sweet - or should she say cherry-blossom sweet? har har! - voice calling her name again...
"GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!"
More like murderously annoying voice screaming at her again. Ino wanted to strangle the pink-haired girl, and would do so if she didn't shut the hell up soon. She grit her teeth, jaw grinding as her "friend" preceded to babble about something or perhaps this and that about having to do with Sasuke. Talk about eeeugh. Really, Ino had had just about enough of him by now. Couldn't he go strut his cockatoo head somewhere else?
Oh. That was right. He wasn't around anymore. She suddenly felt a deep-rooted sympathy for Sakura. Even the little blonde idiot had left her.
"INO-PIG! ARE YOU LISTENING?!"
Once again, scratch that. She felt no sympathy. She in fact hoped Sakura would fall into a ditch and never emerge. And the way the new Hokage was beating her into submission, that seemed extremely likely to happen soon.
So Ino indulged in Sakura's ridiculous rivalries and fights, if only to give her something to do while she wasted away in the daytime with her visits and ruthless training with the Godaime. Poor girl. Insert snicker here.
But in the time that passed (about a year after Naruto had left) she found herself growing strangely closer to the other girl. And, oddly enough, Sakura seemed to be flirting back. In fact, they'd spent at least twenty minutes chatting it up and holding up the line in Ino's flower shop when her father came around front, ordering that she get Sakura to go away. Ino turned to Sakura.
"Go away," she said.
"Mmkay," she replied with a shrug. "Love you, buh-"
Sakura froze, face red.
"I-I didn't mean it like that, I just-"
Ino chuckled at her reaction, holding up a hand to the customers and her father as she pushed her towards the door.
"I love you, too, but I've got to go work now." Ino waved goodbye, and couldn't help but notice the extremely relaxed look on Sakura's face as she went back inside. The joke had probably eased her up.
A slightly balding, heavy man came up to the counter first, grinning at Ino. He winked.
"So. You two girls find each other?"
He promptly received two kicks in the shin, one from Ino's father, the other from a woman Ino guessed was the man's wife, who had been standing right beside him the whole time.
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"Tenten-chan, can I talk to you a minute?"
Sitting atop a tree in the warm, bright light of the afternoon was a slight girl with a traditional odango hairstyle. Her deep, chocolatey eyes gazed into the setting sun through the torrents of translucent leafy green. She seemed not to notice Sakura's presence.
"TENTEN-CHAN!"
She looked down upon her, a serene calmness washing about her face.
"Hmm?"
Sakura fiddled about nervously. "Can you come down? I need someone to talk to!"
Tenten laughed softly, voice resonating.
"Why don't you come up here?"
She offered a hand, and for the first time Sakura noticed that they were both bandaged, only the fingers showing. She frowned, but took the hand anyway, allowing Tenten to help her into the canopy of foliage.
"What happened?" She asked, gently tracing the palms. Tenten shrugged in return, seeming unbothered by any sort of pain they might suggest.
"Nothing, really. The rough material helps me grip onto weapons and things better when I'm training, though."
She touched Sakura's hand, together letting their fingers trace the nappy texture. Light tingles followed Sakura's fingers, causing her to blush as they came into contact with bare skin.
"You're cold!" Sakura said suddenly, taking the hand in both of hers. She breathed onto it, Tenten's eyebrow raising in amusement.
"Er, what are you-?"
"Warming you, obviously," Sakura said with a frown. She couldn't seem to get it just right...
"No really, you don't have to do that," Tenten said evenly, despite the odd constricting in her throat.
Sakura brought the hand to her chest. Tenten blushed lightly, senses loosing focus as her fingers sank into the miniscule (but still very soft) left breast. Sakura didn't seem to notice her alarm, instead smiling.
"There! You're looking much warmer."
Tenten swallowed. "Yeah."
You know, the evil Neji-Devil on her shoulder sniggered, pointing to where the second hand lay bandaged near her thigh. That one may need a bit of warming, too.
You musn't! hissed the Lee-Angel in alarm, waving his teeny imaginary hands about. Not only is it bad to take advantage of your friend, but Lesbianism is sinf-
"Lesbianism?!" Tenten said angrily, unaware she was speaking out loud to her very much not real comrades. "There's nothing wrong with that!"
Sakura stared at her in amazement, face flushed. She squeezed the hand further into her breast, smiling brightly.
"You mean that, Tenten?" She wondered at her friend's amazing problem-solving ability. Really, how had she known that was on her mind?
"I-!" Tenten stuttered, face flushed thoroughly as the hand sunk deeper into the soft flesh.
"Oh, thank you!" Sakura squealed, tugging her into a quick hug. Tenten's happiness and embarrassment dissipated at the realization that they were wobbling rather dangerously at the near-top of a tree.
"Sakura, do be careful, we're going to fall!"
"Oh," Sakura replied, calming. She let Tenten go, her expression brightening again. "Thanks again, Tenten-chan!"
She leapt from the tree with surprising agility. Tenten smacked herself mentally when she realized her disappointment that Sakura's skirt didn't even ride up. The imaginary Lee was spluttering incoherently on her shoulder, Neji meanwhile laughing maniacally in a very un-Neji-like way.
--------------------
"Ino-chan!" Sakura called out excitedly, but was stopped by a hand in her face. The blonde man in front of her frowned and shook his head, stating that Ino wasn't here and that she'd have to try the training grounds, or the little row of leisure shops, or wherever in the world Ino happened to go in her spare time, because he certainly didn't know, so there.
Sakura took this information in with many nods and 'Yessir's before she was allowed to go searching for her.
The walls of Konoha seemed to loom in on her as she sprinted towards the familiar clearing she knew so well, her heart suddenly coming to a thudding stop at the memories of her team gathering here together to train, back when they were all just starting out.
When was the last time she'd seen Kakashi, anyway?
She came to a halt, forced to remember that he was away on a... she wouldn't call it long-term like Naruto's, but it wasn't short-term either. Medium term, maybe? Anyway, he wouldn't be around for a while, and she barely got a look in at him then, considering how busy they both were.
She sighed, biting her lip as an image of Sasuke forced itself into her mind.
She straightened up, glaring into the azure skies with a new conviction.
It won't be like that with Ino.
Giggling. Sakura's ears perked up as the sound reached her.
"Oh, Choji..."
Oh Choji?! Sakura's forming look of worry deepened as she followed the noises to a more secluded place behind the thick grouping of trees.
It was Ino-pig and Choji... pig. And they were flirting. And Choji seemed to be doing a rather good job at it, too, for such a heavyset guy. (Though now that she thought about it, he had lost a bit of weight and seemed a teeny bit more muscular... but he was still fat in appearance, which was why it was a wonder Ino even glanced on him more than the times she was forced to.)
She held out her hand and he kissed it gently, commenting her on some such. She giggled again, more ecstatically this time. Sakura's stomach lurched.
This was so not happening.
She staggered away from the area where the two lovebirds sat, eyes wide with amaze and... well, shock. And just about every synonym you can get for that, too, while you're at it.
She walked at a slow and awkward pace towards the place where she knew at least she might still be. If she wasn't, she promised herself she could cry. And possibly kick Choji tomorrow if she saw him. Damn lard.
But thankfully, Tenten was there as if waiting for her, still and almost blending in with the leaves despite her white trimmed with pink ensemble. The fading light of the setting sun probably added to this camouflage.
Numbly, Sakura began to climb the tree, heading for the one person she at least knew for sure would give her some sort of pity, having helped her earlier today. But could it still be expressed as help? In a way. Being indirectly heart broken by Ino was at least better than being directly broken.
She didn't realize Tenten was asleep until she got up there, but she didn't head back down. She settled herself among the branches comfortably and waited.
Her eyes wandered from the burning ball of fire that was nearing the end of its descent beneath the horizon to the girl who lay beside her, face serene and relaxed as it'd been earlier that day. The soft, round cheekbones and slightly out-of-place strands of hair that had come loose from her buns were visible even in the dim light. Sakura brought a hand to gently trace the incredibly beautiful facial features, a sudden fluttering in her chest. How could she have not noticed..?
Sakura's cucumber eyes drooped as she lowered her face to Tenten's, overcome with a powerful urge. She pressed her lips against the other girl's, hand bravely touching the soft, full breast of Tenten's right side.
Tenten's eyes fluttered open, greeting Sakura with a drowsy smile.
"You taste like cherries."
Oh, this was AWFUL. D: But I hope it at least made you smile.
Reviews appreciated, flames will be passed around and individually laughed at by everyone I know.