It was too nice of a day.
The sun shone too brightly that even Ino's oversized sunglasses weren't enough to block its migraine-inducing light. The sky was too blue, with no clouds in sight. Terrible, really. How could a sky be cloudless? That was blasphemy! And even though she was using that word in the wrong context, she didn't quite care. In fact, she blamed it on the extreme heat. Sure it was great for tanning in, but Ino wasn't in the mood in the least.
In short, that was the last time she'd go shot for shot with Sakura. Despite the fact that she had won, the after-effects weren't exactly the best prize. And that went double for when she had a shift at her family's flower shop.
Finally she arrived at the house for which she had a delivery of Stargazer Lilies. They were one of her favourites, but the intoxicating scent was too much for her hangover to handle, so she kept them at an arm's distance. She tilted her head in questioning recognition of the humble abode that was her destination. She knew this address. Who did it belong to?
Ino shrugged and knocked on the door. She heard movement from inside and shuffled steps.
"Oh! It's your house! I knew I recognized it," Ino exclaimed, grinning as the door opened to reveal a hooded boy. "So how are you Shino?"
She had all but forgotten about the flowers in the basket of her bicycle, trading it for trivial conversation instead.
"I'm... well," he said after a moment of contemplation. "Are you working?" he asked, his gesture toward her bicycle almost nonexistent.
"Yeah! Oh, I almost forgot, these are to be delivered here, so I guess they're yours," Ino handed over the bouquet of Stargazer Lilies, smiling fondly at them. The look wasn't lost on him as her took them from her.
"I think I made a good choice," he said ambiguously.
"Yeah, totally! Aren't they so pretty? They're one of my favourites back at the store, but we have such a limited supply that I hate to see them being sold off," Ino admitted. "I hope you like them as much as I do."
"Well, I hope you enjoy them then." He handed the bouquet back to her, watching as a look of confusion crossed her face.
"Huh?" she managed to stutter out. Her hangover headache must have been playing tricks on her. There was no way this was happening. Was she having another dizzy spell? Okay, she was definitely not going drinking with Sakura again anytime soon.
Shino only shrugged in response, a small smirk visible underneath his collar. Ino thought she was seeing things.
"Well... thanks, I guess," she finally said, staring at the flowers now clutched in her hands. "I'll be on my way. You should drop by the flower shop sometime."
"I'll see what I can do," he said quietly before shutting the door, leaving Ino to stand thoroughly puzzled at his doorstep.
When she got back to the flower shop, her mother saw the bouquet and immediately asked why she had brought back a perfectly undamaged delivery.
"I'm not entirely sure what just happened, but I think these are mine now," Ino answered slowly, a smile making its way onto her face.
So this is my second Shino/Ino fic! It's much shorter than my last one, and probably more pointlessly fluffy, but I had fun writing it. I hope you had fun reading it!
Read and review if you wish :)
~astrya02
