A/N: Getting some muse back, hope you enjoy this little chapter.

Sai's interlude

He couldn't place the moment exactly - that the platinum caught his eye, when her voice started to serenade him, or when she started to become his muse. For a man who was so observant during his missions, he barely observed her in the past, she wasn't important to him. But now, he couldn't take his eyes off of the platinum, he didn't want her to stop talking, and he certainly didn't want her to go away.

She radiated like the sun these past few months, where he was cold, her light was melting away any ice inside of him.

Sai was old friends with solitude, it was teamwork, and the beginning of new friendships that left him confused. But the entrance of a relationship, not only left him confused it also left him speechless, sometimes. Finding himself unable to say anything when she came around, a knot in his throat when she stared at him lovingly, and he was also unable to take his eyes off of her when she was around.

The first time he met her, he called her 'Beautiful', it was a lie.

Sai found everyone to be ugly in someway back then, he hadn't found the speck of beauty (that later on) friendships would bring into his life. Everyone was almost beneath him in some sense - he came from ROOT, not very social beings there. All they knew were training, eating, breathing, and executing every order given to them. There was no sense of relationship, except for obedience. There was no idea of romance, or sense of companionship within your team(if on one), just to finish the mission successfully, even if it meant leaving someone behind. It was kept this way to limit any possibilities of failure within the mission.

He knew this as life for many years, especially after Shin, he found this way of life to be better.

But years sailed by, and with the help of Team 7, and Konoha 11, he found himself turning the fake smiles into real laughs, the weird gut feelings into heart felt moments.

But now, he was opening himself to a girl that he had fought along side many times, but was now really seeing her for more than just a willing and fighting body, as all he believed himself to be at one time. An emotionless, fighting body.

She had stories to tell, intelligence to follow, and the more he studied her and watched her elegance, the more he found himself smiling. He found her to embody the word that first began their interaction, beautiful. Their relationship was the perfect description of a flower, coincidentally, she'd probably tell you it was a budding Rose, or something else romantic. He had no idea all of the meanings that flowers could express, from their type to their color. But he was able to tell you that they were blossoming into something beautiful, their own kind of flower.

He enjoyed the way her hair always flowed around her porcelain frame, the way it draped over her shoulders when she bent down to tend to her gardens. How even when she put it up, there were little golden fly aways that reflected from the sun. Her laugh, when he made a harsh comment, and then how she'd reprimand him right after insisting he shouldn't say such brash comments about others. But she'd still be trying to hold back a laugh. Ino always smelled of a fresh garden, particularly a rose. He wondered if she spent most of her time tending to them. The way her cheeks flushed like cherry blossoms when he would surprise her, or compliment her, acting as if no man ever uttered sweet sentiments to her. He adored the way she handled herself, not taking anyones negative remarks, having a come-back or plan for every obstacle she encountered. And although he feared her sometimes, when she became angry, she was the sweetest woman he had the pleasure of knowing on a deeper level.

Sai wondered sometimes if she was using some kind of jutsu on him, because like previous, he could never exactly recall the moment she stained his mind. But he had no complaints. The stain was becoming more vivid with time, and painting itself into a fine work of art.

The way her fingertips caressed his face, when pushing his black locks from it, it was a feeling he hoped would never leave his memory. How she perfectly fit him when they laid together in his bed, like she was made for him. Even though her hair found a way to spill out like ink all over the place, he found it to be incredibly soft, and of course, smelled of the finest roses. The way she sat with him while he read books, explained to him what he had trouble understanding, she was always so confident in her words, and it made him admire her more.

As time ticked away with his freedom from ROOT, he had found himself to have developed more feelings for his friends, having more to say, even getting a few jokes out and causing laughs. He was being invited out to lunch/dinner with his team, and now friends of Konoha 11. Warm welcomes, and conversations were now a part of his daily life, and it was bringing a joy to him he had not known before. He was being invited to hang out with the men of Konoha 11, they occasionally shared stories over some drinks, and dinner. All of them comparing muscles, and stories, and eventually talking about the ladies. He knew Naruto loved Sakura, but was recently taking an interest in Hinata, Shikamaru never engaged in the chatter of ladies. Tho once, he did drink a little too much and admitted to finding Temari attractice, which Choji and Naruto never let go. Chouji was enjoying the company of some girl from another town, he had no clue who she was. Shino and Kiba both had no interests in women, saying they had other goals to reach.

Sai was always in the background of these conversations, listening to how they all gabbed on. He remembered how Ino got brought up one night, in which they all exclaimed she was 'hot', yet Sai never found her to be warmer than usual, and yet they all said was she was just 'Ino', that drew them back from perusing her. Shikamaru, and Chouji defended her when Kiba and Naruto started to get mouthy, calling her bossy, or prude. But Shikamaru summed her up pretty well that one night, stating 'she only has everyone's best interest at heart, she wants to see everyone succeed, and she knows we all can. she's not bossy, just has a will of fire' and once he spoke on the matter, they moved to another topic. It was that night he also wondered if maybe Shikamaru liked her, but that thought was extinguished long ago.

Team 10's relationship was that of a family, they picked on each other, got under each others nerves, and were each other's confidants at the end of the day. Ino always being the cheerleader of the three, and now she was becoming his own cheerleader. Which he was enjoying her enthusiasm in his life, helping him find excitement for the smallest of accomplishments.

And as he sat at the gates of Konoha, thinking back on the past few months, he realized he had not stopped smiling. Shadows appeared on the horizon, the closer they got, the more he could feel excitement building up. Seeing her silhouette in the center of her Team, it was a long-awaited week for him.

Sai happened to be in the Hokages office when Kakashi got word from Ino that they would be returning the following day, only reason he was aware of their forth-coming.

So, he decided to take a bit of advice that Shikamaru gave him one night a few weeks ago, to be at the gate when she arrived back from a mission. And if he couldn't make it, to leave her something at her house or work, let her know he was thinking of her. It almost left him wanting to question why, but he was always thinking about her, and he liked to do these small things for her. Seeing her reactions, compared to what every book taught him, was better than it could describe. Especially the feeling he got after knowing he provided her with, hopefully, the same warm feeling that radiated through him when he was with her.

As she approached, he found himself sweating almost, as beautiful as ever. The platinum shone brightly in the afternoon sun being carried with the breeze, and her smile was a better welcoming party than he felt he was being at the moment. Maybe this is what love is, he'd read it many times before, usually unexpected, builds over time, you're constantly wanting to be around the other person, see their smile, their shine. If it was love, he could only hope she was feeling the same way.