The following day began poorly for Ino. The sun hadn't nearly begun its ascent, and yet judging by the sound coming from her window- tap, tap, tap, on and on it went- the local wildlife had decided Konoha (or at perhaps just she in particular) was to rise now. Ino groaned as she looked at her alarm clock. 4:00am. She had never been one for early mornings, yet getting dressed was a better alternative than tossing and turning, so up she got. Her mornings had become routine- arise, eat, and take a quick jog before getting ready and opening shop- though it was a routine Ino had yet to get bored of. On this particular occasion, she hit the pavement before most of the townsfolk had left their beds.

It was a solid hour before the village- or the sun, she noted with a hint of annoyance- started showing real signs of life. In that time, Ino had just about hit the five mile mark, which meant her house wasn't much further. Sprinting the final distance, she forced herself to breathe properly as she paused in front of her front door.

In... out.

In... out.

She may be off duty, but she was expected to maintain a standard of fitness... That, and she sure as hell wasn't going to let a vacation ruin her figure. The thin layer of sweat she'd accumulated had begun to give her shivers in the morning cold, and as her heart wound down Ino was more than pleased to use the opportunity to take a hot shower. As the steam cleared her mind and washed the dawn's exertion off her body, she supposed this early morning may not be so bad.

Seven hours and one too many angry customer later, Ino felt quite different. People had simply irritated her today. Everyone had a question, and she more than once had to haltingly check the reference book her mother kept behind the counter. The sun may have been late to her day, but it had come with a vengeance. On top of that, every time she had tried to water the plants someone had decided that it was a perfect time to aimlessly wander around the store, and as a result she didn't start closing doors until far later than normal.

When the time finally came, she shouldered her bag, locked the door, and-

"Hey, Ino!"

The voice came from down the street. She stood a hair straighter. "Naruto?"

Sure enough; coming at a jog, with a look on his face that made Ino's eyebrow rise, was Naruto. He was only slightly out of breath, and he leaned against the wall as she turned to face him. Before he gave himself any time to calm down, he looked at her.

"Whew! Gotcha. I need your help!"

She was taken aback, but her eyebrow stayed raised. "My help? Help with what?"

"I need you to water my plants." There was a silence as he waited. Ino's face dropped. She didn't know what she expected him to ask, so why was she slightly… disappointed?

"Why do you need me to… water your plants?"

"I'm leaving again. Tsunade just let me know. Neither of my neighbors answered their door… not that I care. Ino, y- you're the only one I trust to do it," he stammered. He stared right at her with the declaration, and she was struck by his gaze. It wasn't fair that his eyes were so damn blue. For a brief moment, Ino forgot about her day, forgot about the stupid customers and early morning and- It was only thanks to the rising heat in her cheeks that she snapped out of her pause. Further flushed at the thought (for she had to accept that there indeed was a thought) Ino turned to walk before he had time to notice.

Undeterred, she countered, "What about Sakura, or- or Konohamaru? And what did I tell you about planning ahead for this?" Her voice had become a bit pitched at this point. They rounded the corner in stride, and Naruto didn't let up. Ino focused on staring straight ahead.

"I don't want Sakura, she can't do it like you do. The flowers you keep are beautiful, there's no way somebody else would care half as much. Please? Pretty please, Ino?"

Her cheeks were now distinctly pink against her pale skin. He thought her flowers were beautiful? Her eyebrows knit together in a frown as she turned to face him, the corners of her mouth bent at the edges.

"Look," She started, "I'm only doing this once! After that you ha- augh!" Her back went stiff and she heard herself shriek as Naruto took her up in a colossal bear hug. The pink in her cheeks deepened as she felt his body press against her, and all that served to do was fluster her further.

"Yes! Yes, thank you, Ino! I knew you'd come through for me!" Roughly setting her back down, he took her hand in his- hands that dwarfed hers, with rough callouses and full of strength and- and felt him press a key into her palm. Mildly stunned at her own line of thought, she snapped it away before she thought any more about it.

"One time," She answered. As an afterthought, she added "and I'm charging you for the Yamanaka Flower shop's services!"

Naruto simply beamed. "Sounds fair to me!" His grin curved ever so slightly and in a light tease he added, "I knew I could count on you." Ino felt her own frown turn up, if only a little. Behind them, the sun had begun its descent into the forest. As if struck by a horrible thought, Naruto's face briefly flashed in recognition of something before erupting in laughter.

"Naruto?..."

"Granny expected me before sundown," he said. "I lost track of time getting ahold of you. I gotta hurry! She's gonna give me such a lecture." He looked back at her and said, more seriously, "Really, Ino, thank you. I'll be back soon." He locked eyes with her again, and she felt herself blush for what seemed like the hundredth time as he turned and made a beeline for the Hokage's office, leaving Ino alone in the street, thoroughly undone. She looked down at the key in her hand, and realized Naruto hadn't mentioned how long he'd be gone. She supposed it didn't make much of a difference.

Twilight had fully descended upon Konoha at this point and Ino's mind, despite her best efforts, stayed with Naruto. As she continued her walk home, the last few interactions with him seemed to repeat themselves. At the very least, she found him endearing- She didn't want to use the words 'downright attractive', not when she knew so many other girls would say the same. She definitely didn't want to admit how... Under her skin Naruto had gotten recently. She caught herself smiling as she recognized his scent on her clothes from their enthusiastic embrace. Ino wondered if anyone had seen it, or if anyone would have found it unusual. It was just Naruto, after all. Probably nothing to think twice about. Yet despite herself, it was those thoughts that carried her to bed that night. Perhaps tomorrow her feelings would be different; after all, he wouldn't be there to keep flustering her.

It was just his apartment. Just a few plants, nothing more.