I don't own Naruto.
Warnings: Nothing, really. Occasional curses. HET, people. SakuNaru, InoNaru - hints of shonen-ai (SasuNaru)
A/N: I should've put this here from the beginning. Sorry =)
Circle
Working in a flower shop can get boring. It happened that she found herself extremely bored when she watered the flowers in the big window. It happened that she found herself extremely bored when she help a man pick out the right flowers for his wife on their anniversary.
It happened that she get jealous when she saw the man walk in, ready to sweep his wife, lover or girlfriend of her feet by buying expensive flowers, surprise her with a full night out.
Yes, Yamanka Ino often felt a sadden emotion when she was helping a random man pick out the best roses in the vase. Like now, she was sitting on a chair behind the counter and watching a few women walk around and look at flowers for their houses, their homes.
Ino looked up in the ceiling, then around the shop again. The walls were a nice green; there was a fountain next to the counter filled with water and white little flowers she would never learn how to pronounce. She could see herself in the window when she watched out through it.
She saw a slim girl with long, pale blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She always kept her hair in a ponytail, because it was in the way other ways.
There was a soft pling as the door was opened, and she put her business-smile on her lips again. It, however, disappeared when he walked inside.
He, Uzumaki Naruto, beautiful, handsome. He was blonde too, but it's a more golden colour, and it's short and untamed. His eyes were blue too, though they were deep like an ocean. They were not sky blue like hers, but ocean blue. It was a nice colour, and she wished she was allowed to look at his eyes closer.
He was tall, muscular though slender in a nice way. So it wasn't strange that she didn't see his girlfriend until she walked around him and toward the counter.
She, Haruno Sakura, beautiful, gorgeous. She didn't have her hair in a boring ponytail. Her hair was short and stylish; pink. Her eyes weren't a bright blue colour that was dull or faded. Her eyes were dark green; emerald or sea-foam. It was an interesting colour, and normally they had a nice emotion in them.
Now, however was not one of those times. The emerald eyes were filled with something insecure; something annoyed. Of course Sakura was nervous about taking her boyfriend to a place like this; filled with women. She got jealous all the time, Ino knew.
"Hello, Ino," Sakura smiled and stopped by the counter. Emerald eyes glanced over her shoulder to see if her boyfriend was behind her or not.
Ino couldn't help but think that Sakura was a bit too paranoid about Naruto. But, to be honest, Ino would probably feel that way too if she had Naruto. "Hi, Sakura. What can I do for you?" Ino refused to look up and meet Naruto's eyes. She looked pathetic like this, and she knew it.
Alone, boring, alone.
"Naruto's aunt is at the hospital," Sakura said. She didn't sound as depressed as one should do at the fact.
"Oh," Ino couldn't help but look up at Naruto. He looked a bit bothered as he stared at the fountain. She knew how hypnotizing it could be, so she didn't question it. "Something beautiful, happy and doesn't smell too much if she's at a hospital."
Ino stood up and walked over to a pair of yellow flowers. She looked at Sakura, who smiled and nodded. "Those are great, ne, Naru-kun?" She looked at her boyfriend, who nodded with a vague smile.
Ino took a few of the flowers, until Sakura said it was enough, and then went to the counter to wrap them up. She did it fast, perfectly. It was pathetic, that she could wrap in flowers with a hand behind her back and a blindfold. It was embarrassing, because it told the others that she had no life.
Naruto paid, and Ino's hand was shaking as she took the money. She watched them leave, and she cursed herself once again for being so pathetic.
UAUAUA
Haruno Sakura grabbed Naruto's strong, warm hand in hers. She smiled up at him and leaned against his shoulder as they sat at the bus towards the hospital.
She could see his frown, but knew she hadn't done anything wrong. He was just thinking about his ill aunt again. She sighed and looked at the others in the bus; a few kids going somewhere outside Tokyo, an old lady and her old husband. She smiled at that.
She tugged a bit at Naruto's dark jacket. "Naruto-kun," she whispered. He looked down at her, surprised. "Look over there."
He looked at the old couple, his frown disappearing.
"Promise we'll always be together," she murmured and nuzzled her nose into his shoulder. She heard him murmur a silent "yes", and that was all she asked for at the moment. She didn't need his promise right now; she could wait until his aunt was okay again.
The bus stopped, and they got off it, she was still clutching his hand possessively. The morning air was cold against their faces, and Sakura giggled when she noticed how red Naruto's nose was getting as they walked towards the big, white building.
Naruto, however, didn't laugh at it when she pointed it out. She stopped giggling, thinking that she'd get him in a better mood later, when they were at home again.
Naruto's aunt, Tsunade, was one of the teachers Sakura had had during her college-time. Tsunade was the one that had introduced them to each other, and Sakura was her forever grateful. Naruto was what she wanted, what she needed. She didn't even think back at her ex like she would usually do when together with someone else.
In fact, they had met Uchiha Sasuke, Sakura's former boyfriend, at a party for doctors thrown together by some grateful patients a few weeks ago. And when she had seen Sasuke again, she had been shocked when she realized how much more beautiful Naruto was. Sasuke was handsome, flawless - but Naruto was beauty itself and he had no ideas of cheating on her.
They got out of the elevator, and walked towards room 217. Tsunade was sitting in her bed, talking to her white-haired husband, Jiraiya. She grinned, just like Jiraiya, when she saw them enter.
Sakura smiled. "How are you feeling?" She placed the flowers in the elder woman's lap.
"I'm fine, thank you. They say I'll be able to leave this weekend if I promise not to fall down anymore stairs." Tsunade's grin faded when she noticed Naruto's concerned look. "It's okay, brat, I just broke my hip."
Naruto didn't answer, and it worried them all. Sakura gripped his upper arm with both her hands, trying to make him say something.
After a while, he opened his mouth. "You scared me ..."
Tsunade smiled. "Well, nothing to worry about. You go home now, you have the whole day to do something fun. I suggest you take Sakura-chan ice skating, show her how good you are at skating, ne?"
Naruto nodded and they said goodbye to the older couple before leaving again.
UAUAUA
Hyuuga Hinata was looking at her older cousin skating around the rink flawlessly, until he fell hard on the ice. She quickly skated over to him, and helped him up.
"Thanks, Hinata-san."
"Nothing to worry about, Neji-nii," she murmured. "You didn't break anything, did you? It looked pretty bad."
"It's okay; I was just lost in thoughts." Neji admitted, flipping his brown, long hair over his shoulder. Hinata smiled, her cheeks flushed from the cold. The male Hyuuga looked up, his pale eyes fixated on something. She looked over her shoulder, only to see her dream man and his girlfriend enter the rink.
Sakura looked cute with her long legs going into Bambi-mode when Naruto helped her out on the ice. She looked back on Neji, wondering why he looked so terrified.
"N-Neji-nii," she stuttered. She hated stuttering, but she always did it in Naruto's presence. "Are you okay?"
"Hai, Hinata-san. I just ..." He smiled at her. "I was just a little overwhelmed."
They continued their skating, trying to avoid Sakura and Naruto and everyone else on the ice; thought they were almost the only ones. But faith and destiny wanted Sakura to notice them, which see did.
With some help from Naruto, she succeeded to make her way to the Hyuuga cousins. "Hi, guys!" She breathed out happily.
Hinata stared at Naruto's glove-covered hands at Sakura's hips. She wished he would hold her that way, she wished that he would love her instead. But she was beige compared to Sakura's colourful self. And someone as bright as Naruto deserved someone colourful.
"Hi, nice to see you here," Neji said politely. "How is your aunt, Naruto-kun?"
Neji was a brain surgeon, working on the same hospital as Sakura but on another floor. He must had seen Tsunade arriving or something, Hinata thought. But she also knew about Tsunade, through Neji. If she hadn't been such a coward she would have asked.
"She's fine," Sakura breathed. "Only a broken hip. She fell down the stairs outside the library; you know how slippery it gets when it's winter."
"Yeah, someone should fix that." Neji commented, his eyes never leaving Naruto. "You know," he said. "We were actually going home now. I'm supposed to be at work in an hour."
Hinata had always wondered how Neji could lie without stuttering, blushing or rambling. She was jealous of it. She wished she could be polite, secure while talking and look the one she's conversing with in the eyes. If she was like Neji she would have asked Naruto on a date long before he met Sakura.
Because Naruto was Hinata's first. He belonged to her first. They met first.
And yet, it didn't seem to matter. It didn't matter. It didn't matter to Sakura, who was tearing them apart; breaking the last of Naruto's and Hinata's friendship. It didn't matter to Naruto, who let Sakura drag him away from his friends. It didn't matter to Neji, who was busy working his ass off and meet his own friends.
It mattered to Hinata, because she still loved him.
UAUAUA
Uchiha Sasuke leaned his forehead against the wall, feeling sleepy. But he wouldn't fall asleep, because he had seen Sakura today. He had worked all night and now this morning he had seen Sakura. And with Sakura followed Naruto.
Naruto, the damn blonde that had once been lively and energetic like a happy puppy.
Naruto, the damn blonde that was still haunting his mind. The damn blonde that was supposed to be his, not his ex-girlfriend's. He had broken up with Sakura not because he disliked her, she was nice and all, but he was having feelings to her friend.
Feelings he hadn't felt since the first time he saw Sakura.
He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep today, because Naruto had followed Sakura looking like an obedient little lap dog, and it annoyed Sasuke to no end.
Who was she to form him into a lap dog? Who was she to take him away from Sasuke?
Sasuke walked down the corridor, only seeing the white walls, the white floor, the white ceiling. He needed coffee, and he was sure as hell not drinking from the machine now. He needed it strong, black with lots of caffeine.
He hurried down the corridor now, down the elevator and out in the cold midday-weather. It was a bit cold in only the white robe and his working clothes, but he was there in just a few seconds anyways.
The café was filled with patients, doctors and nurses and random people. The walls were a beige colour, the furniture in a dark brown and the flowers on the table winter blue.
He ordered two cups of coffee before sitting down by a table. He stared out at the chaos that came with winter; kids throwing snowballs, cars driving past, ambulances turning left towards the hospital and the occasional biker that was late for work.
Chaos indeed.
He got his coffee, and he blew on it, eager to make it dance down his throat. He almost choked on his own breath when he saw a girl with pink hair sticking out from under a woollen hat. He tried to avoid her emerald eyes, staring out through the window.
He almost dipped his pale nose in the coffee, trying to hide his handsome face behind the cup. But she found him anyways. She waved at him, ordered for both her and Naruto, before dragging him there.
"Can we sit here? Good, it's packed," she grinned and sat down in front of Sasuke. Naruto sat down next to her, laying an arm around her shoulders to make her feel secure, loved.
Sasuke knew she liked rubbing it in his face; it was her nature.
UAUAUA
Naruto listened how his girlfriend and her ex conversed about their work; they were both doctors after all. He didn't hear the words, not that he felt the need to either, he could hear Sasuke's deep voice and Sakura's giggles from time to time. Was she flirting with him? Probably not, she was so clingy on him that she wouldn't dare flirt with someone else.
Thinking this, he looked around the local. His deep blue eyes stopped when he spotted a couple by a table with winter blue flowers. 'Ino probably know what those are called.'
The brown-haired male was laughing, and the blonde girl was giggling. He pulled her into an embrace, still chuckling when he did this. He kissed her hair, making her emit a soft sound.
Naruto sighed inwardly, knowing that if he touched Sakura's hair she would snarl at him for destroying her looks, knowing that if he pulled her into an embrace she would become both insecure and paranoid, yet feeling loved. He knew that she would think he had done something bad he was trying to make it up for; he knew that she would immediately turn a simple hug into something big and accuse him of cheating on her.
But he would never do that, because somewhere inside he loved her. He loved her just as much as he loved Hinata. Hinata, who had been his best friend during college in Kyoto. He loved her just as much as he loved Sasuke. Sasuke, who had became one of his best friends when they met first time, during the time Sakura and Sasuke still were an item. He loved her just as much as he loved Ino. Ino, who was always smiling and blushing when he entered her shop to buy Sakura some roses.
He loved them all, in his own little way. Because of some strange reason, they all loved him.
Owari
