esra
Title: Valentine Chaos
Series: naruto,
Ship: sasukexhinata, saixino, shikamaruxtemari, nejixtenten, narutoxsakura
Preferred Rating: PG
Theme(s): lost, mixed gifts, broken umbrella (liked this idea), crushed chocolates
Genre: romantic comedy
events
happen in one place (like a cafe, or school ground, train
station...etc) with all these pairings are in but not together. some
could be lovers some were not pairings but trying to confes.
Ten Ten worked the afternoon shift at the Fourth Avenue Café. It was close to school and the train station, so most days she didn't have to run to get there on time, the pay was decent and the uniform was cute. It was a nice little bistro, with soft watercolors hanging on the walls and pale blue benches and tables. The tea was never too sweet, and the coffee was always hot, and on Valentine's Day she served over a dozen heart-shaped cakes in under an hour.
The blonde girl was very pretty, and very nervous. Ten Ten was only cleaning the table, but the girl spilled out a hurried 'Hi I'm Ino, I need your help'. Ten Ten warily agreed, and was relieved to learn that all she had to do was keep a lookout for Ino's date, who she described as 'absolutely gorgeous, dark hair, kind of on the pale side, and an attitude like you wouldn't believe'.
Ten Ten smiled welcomingly at Hinata, who had worked here for a week before the manager had pity on her nerves and let her go, since the stress of dealing with certain kinds of customers in a short, frilly dress had caused her to almost pass out on more than one occasion. Now Hinata was just a regular, who shyly asked for a two person table today. Ten Ten gave her an encouraging smile and went to get her a tea set.
Sullen black eyes stared back at her while she rattled off her welcome. Mentally she went over the list. He had the looks, the dark hair, pasty white skin, and an attitude, oh yes. She forced a grin and said wanly 'Why don't I show you to your table?' She was about to open the door to the patio seats, where Ino was sitting, when a chair scraped against the ground, followed by a startled 'eep' and a crash distracted them. Hinata looked up piteously at the boy.
"Sasuke-kun… I'm so sorry. I tripped over your present. Now the chocolates will be all crushed, and—"
Ten Ten blinked as the boy pretty much disappeared from her side to reappear next to Hinata, lowly asking if she was alright, never mind the chocolate, fine, if it mattered that freaking much, she could pay for lunch. He caught Ten Ten's eye on the last word, and she nodded slightly, wondering if she ought to be glad Hinata had found a boyfriend who understood her well enough to take advantage of her trusting naiveté. Hinata hadn't quite figured out that even people who liked you would lie to you.
"Sakura-chan!" Ten Ten couldn't help but smile at the familiar voice. Its owner frequented the café for one reason only. Well, two, but only because Naruto liked to have a cup of tea with his dessert after a ramen massacre. The main reason had pink hair that matched the ribbons trimming the Café aprons. "Sakura-chan, I've got a present for you. Oh and can I have the A set?"
"Na-ru-to," Sakura pronounced the word with venom.
"But Sakura-chan, I got gift cards for that clothing store you like."
She took the bright colored plastic and her other hand tightened on the tray. "Na-ru-to, what the crap is this?"
Ten Ten didn't need to look up from wiping crumbs off the table to know there would be violence soon.
Naruto looked in confusion at the Ichiraku Ramen lettered on the card.
"Ah ah, I must have put it… wait just a second, it's got to be around here somewhere… Found it!" He didn't sound relieved so much as overwhelmed with gratitude. Sakura gave him a baleful glare and stalked off to the kitchen to get his order. Ten Ten wondered when she would get around to admitting she enjoyed his attentions, annoying as they could be.
There was a boy waiting to be seated, so she hurried over. He looked exceedingly bored with his lot in life.
"Hi, welcome-"
"Yeah, whatever, I'm looking for my… date," he scowled at the foreign feel of the word. "I'm late, so she's probably already here. She's pushy and blonde and kinda loud…"
Ten Ten's shop smile was more than a little strained, but she managed to get her 'I think I might have seen her, if you'll follow me please' out with minimal damage.
She caught a glimpse of Hinata trying to get her boy to let go of a spoon, the other forgotten on the floor. Sasuke seemed to be having fun resisting, and told her to open her mouth if she wanted her cake, because she couldn't have his spoon. Before she led her charge to Ino's table, she pointed at the fidgeting girl and asked if that was her, hoping the glare of the glass prevented any other patrons seeing her be so rude.
"Wrong loud pushy blonde," he asserted. "Mine's a little more…"
"Yours is a little more what Shikamaru?" came a voice from behind them.
"Temari," he exclaimed weakly. "I uh… just got here."
"Figured as much. Which is why I told you to get here an hour before I planned on being ready. I found another lost boyfriend too." The tall blonde jabbed her thumb at a ghostly pale face framed by black hair. He smiled blankly at them and caught sight of the flaxen head outside.
"Thank you for directing me here. I'd never have found this girly little place on my own. If you'll excuse me, I think that one's mine."
Ten Ten fought the urge the throw her order pad at his head as he walked out to the patio. Ino sparkling up at him, and the sounds of barely contained Sakura-fury helped her refocus, and she led the new pair to another booth.
Ten Ten removed her apron with a sigh. The rain
pattered on the roof, audible despite the ruckus the others were making
in the hallway. She was really tired after a hard day's work, and she
just wanted to go home and take a hot bath. She looked dejectedly at
the cake she'd been allowed to take from the kitchen, thinking it just
wouldn't be the same to give it to him tomorrow. She unsnapped the
button of her umbrella and prepared herself to face the onslaught of
weather. She took a step through the door and her little collapsible
umbrella was blown inside out. She bit back a curse and struggled to
protect the cake box from getting too wet.
"Hey."
"Neji!" Ten Ten
had to swallow another expletive. She was tired and unhappy and the boy
she liked had been waiting for her, and it left her bewildered and off
balance.
"Hinata… mentioned you were working today, and she said
Tsunade-san probably wouldn't let you go till late, so I thought I'd
walk you home or something…" Neji looked as close to uncomfortable as
Ten Ten had ever seen him and that tipped her courage further.
"Here, this is for you." She thrust the cake box at him with a hesitant smile.
"Thanks. Happy Valentine's, I guess."
