When Sakura awoke the next morning, the space beside her was empty with the fleeting warmth of a body that had slept there. She felt a pang of loneliness realizing as little as an hour ago Ino had probably still been laying there beside her and Sakura hadn't even been able to say goodbye to her. Uneasily she thought of waking up after a night-time fight with Sasuke, where she would find the bed cold and empty as he'd gotten up early to avoid seeing her that morning. The thought made her stomach flip.
She didn't have time to dwell on it for far too long however, for her stomach growled aggressively as if angry her thoughts weren't on food already. As she sat up in her bed, relishing in the last bit of warmth she and Ino had shared, the smell of breakfast seemed to be all around her. The smell was no doubt from her neighbors who definitely had the right idea; her belly growled in jealousy.
With more effort than she cared to give at such an early hour, she peeled herself out of the clothes she had worn last night ― and subsequently had fallen asleep wearing ― and redressed herself in more comfortable clothes to lounge about her yet-to-be-unpacked apartment in. After all, today was her day off and it felt a shame not to wear pajamas all day.
After a quick splash of water to wake her up and a sluggish teeth brushing, she traveled out into the living room, finding the smell of breakfast growing stronger still. With a little flutter of panic in her stomach she realized some of the boxes littering her floor had been opened and some of her belongings lay here and there where they hadn't the night before. She wondered nervously if Ino had forgotten to lock the door behind her and someone had ransacked her home while she slept.
Noises from the kitchen sent alarm rushing through her and she reached for the only thing she thought could do any bodily harm ― a skinny black tie she'd worn while waitressing at a ritzy restaurant. At the very least she could strangle the burglar to death. Of course this would happen on the first day living alone, she thought bitterly, wishing she'd invested in an attack dog rather than a nice knife set that was conveniently in the intruder's hands rather than her own. Slipping into the kitchen with her black tie pulled taut in her hand, she prepared for the worst, however she was pleasantly surprised.
"Ino!" Sakura laughed, wiping the sweat from her brow. "God, you could've told me you were still here! I thought someone broke in with all that banging around!"
Ino smirked, clad in an apron wrapped around what Sakura recognized as another set of her own pajamas. "What, you thought I was a robber? What were you gonna do, dress me up all nice before the police arrived?" She asked, indicating the tie in her hands.
"Something like that." Sakura said with the breath of a laugh, dropping her useless weapon of a tie on the table and slumping into a chair. With an excited leap of her stomach she realized the smell that had permeated her apartment hadn't been her neighbors' cooking but rather Ino's.
"I was hoping you'd sleep a little longer so I could make you some customary thank-you-for-dragging-my-drunk-ass-into-your-hous e breakfast in bed." Ino said with an exaggerated sigh, flipping floppy bacon onto the skillet with a pleasant tssss. "But you ruined the surprise."
Sakura smiled to herself sadly, watching the blonde toil over the stove. It felt nice being served breakfast, and soon it would feel even nicer eating breakfast together. Sasuke left early in the morning for work and never had time to eat breakfast with her even if she got up early just to make breakfast for the two of them. Her thoughts crept up to her lips before she'd realized and she found herself murmuring quietly, "I was with Sasuke for 5 years and he never made me breakfast in bed."
At the sound of Sasuke's name, Ino dropped the spatula to the floor, swearing at her own clumsiness. When she'd rinsed it off and returned to the stove she said blandly, "He's a dick." Ino glanced over her shoulder at the pinkette uncomfortably, smiling with what looked like guilt as if hoping something had changed while her back was turned. Evidently, nothing had, for she turned back to the sizzling bacon and allowed herself a quiet sigh.
Normally Sakura would've questioned her peculiar behavior but before she could hope to ask, Ino was coming at her with three plates and a fistful of silverware. French toast, bacon and eggs were piled high on one plate while on another (which was placed delicately in front of her) was adorned with two sunny side up eggs and a piece of bacon smiling up at her. "This would've been a lot cuter in bed." Ino said smirking, pushing pieces of french toast onto her plate. "Naruto always wakes up all dazed and then gives me a look like his dream just came true."
"Does he take you home a lot?" Sakura asked with a tinge of uneasiness in her voice, nibbling on the crispy bacon smile to fill the awkward silence that followed. She wasn't sure why she'd asked or what answer she'd been hoping for but now she wished she'd spent more time shoveling food into her mouth. She ate faster.
Ino swallowed hard, wiping her mouth on the apron still tied around her. "Better with him than some sleazy guy." She said mildly, sounding to Sakura as if she'd chosen her words very carefully. "The good thing about staying at Naruto's is he lets me have the whole bed to myself." She added, smiling nervously.
The ball of anxiety in Sakura's stomach seemed to uncurl itself gracefully, allowing her to relax again if only by the slightest. She wasn't sure why it bothered her so much to think of Ino sleeping with Naruto ― Ino was a grown woman, she could sleep with whomever she pleased. Perhaps it was the connotation that sleeping with another person brought ― because of course sleeping together could always lead to less than innocently sleeping together. Ino's carefully chosen words were just enough to put her a little more at ease, knowing that they did not share a bed. In fact, Sakura's stomach fluttered excitedly to think perhaps she was the only friend Ino would share a bed with. What that meant exactly, Sakura wasn't sure, but the thought excited her nonetheless.
"Did the Prince of Darkness ever do anything nice for you?" Ino asked suddenly, to Sakura's complete surprise. Sasuke always seemed like a sour subject for Ino though Sakura couldn't for the life of her figure out why. "Sounds to me like I've had one-night-stands be nicer to me."
Sakura flushed, a flare of anger welling up within her that she hadn't realized was there. Maybe it was the thought of men taking advantage of a drunk Ino or maybe it was the realization that she had wasted 5 years with a thoughtless jerk but with her face burning scarlet, she stood from the table and collected her plate without a word.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean ― " Ino began, jumping to her feet with the sound of her chair sliding gracelessly across the linoleum in her hurry. "It ― it just sucks he wasn't very nice to you. You deserve a lot better."
Sakura nodded, running the hot water in the sink to begin washing the dishes. She couldn't bring herself to look at Ino with her face burning red at her words but she nodded silently, wrist-deep in soapy bubbles. In all honesty it felt awful hearing that she deserved better when Sasuke was perfect in so many ways ― and probably perfect for any other girl but Sakura. If she deserved better but for so many, Sasuke was the best, what hope did she have, really? She'd already had the best and it sucked. The thought of dating anyone again felt a little useless when she was just gaining her independence back. Besides, she didn't feel any urge for a relationship ― she had great friends, far better than her love life's tiny population. She had Ino.
Sakura's silence must have unsettled Ino, for she broke Sakura from her thoughts, saying quickly and quietly, "I should go." Swiftly she dropped the remaining dishes into the sink and disappeared into the living room in a flash before Sakura could even attempt to answer.
"Ino, wait!" Sakura called after her, frantically drying her hands on the apron Ino had left draped over the chair she'd been sitting at. Ino was clad in her bra and Sakura's pajama pants, quickly climbing back into her clothes from the night before. "I'm sorry. I'm not angry at you, just the past, I guess."
Ino pulled her wrinkled top over herself and smiled sadly, the same guilty smile she'd given her earlier. "I'm sorry for saying something insulting. I always manage to say the wrong thing," She laughed nervously, hiking on her shoes for the walk home. Though apologies had been exchanged, evidently the mood had been broken for Ino, for she was still determined to leave ― perhaps before she said something worse.
Before Sakura could convince her otherwise, Ino was hugging her as a "thank you" and a "goodbye", and heading out the door without one look back as Sakura watched her disappear down the hallway and round the corner out of sight. It felt as if something beyond Sakura's comprehension had occurred between them in that moment, between Sakura's silence and Ino's guilty expression but she couldn't figure out what. Worst of all, she couldn't help wondering for the entirety of the day what Ino's guilty smile may have meant.
A/N: I love summer. In the past week I've watched all of Sword Art Online, began and caught up on Attack on Titan, written this chapter and half of the next one, written a drabble, planned 2 new fics, played the heck out of Animal Crossing: New Leaf and not once woken up before noon. And of course, thank you for all the kind reviews! :) I love to write, and knowing that someone else is enjoying it makes my heart sing! uwu