"Oh I love these!" She pointed to a pair of silver earrings in the shape of crescent moons.
"Ino what are we doing here?" Chouji asked plaintively, he hated shopping.
"I told you we are going to a dance tonight and I didn't bring anything to wear."
"Neither did I."
"You're a boy." Obviously that explained everything.
"If you want to buy a dress why are you looking at jewelry?"
She sent him a look of mild frustration. "Chouji how many times have I told you shopping is all about the hunt!"
He just shook his head and had another potato chip. Why did he always do this? He always let her drag him on these shopping sprees.
"Where are all the price tags?" She looked at the man smiling at her from behind the counter. "How much?" She pointed at the earrings she wanted.
"For you sweet lady I have a special low price of just 250 ryu."
Before she could say anything Chouji was standing at her side and inspecting the earrings. "You must be joking, at the very most they might be worth 100."
Ino looked at him in complete surprise and was about to ask what the hell he was doing when he whispered in her ear. "Trust me." She stared at him, but kept quiet.
The shopkeeper noted the exchange and focused his attention on Chouji. "I see you have a discerning eye young sir. Very well I will lower my price to 230 ryu, but that is the absolute lowest I would be willing to go."
Chouji examined the earrings yet again. "Is that real silver?"
"What?!"
Twenty minutes of passionate argument later the two of them walked away from the stall with the earrings and 140 fewer ryu. "All right what was all that about?" Ino asked still somewhat amazed at how he had saved her so much cash.
"Haggling," he said and opened a fresh bag of chips.
"Huh?"
"It's a tradition here in Suna that when you go to the market you can bargain with the shopkeepers over the price. Haven't you noticed?" He waved to the other stalls where people were having animated, 'discussions.' "Some merchants sell at a set price, but if you don't see a price tag that means it's open to negotiation and they expect you to haggle. That guy back there saw your headband and was trying to take advantage of you."
Ino looked suitably impressed. "How did you know about it?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "Our dads came here a couple times on missions. Didn't your dad ever tell you about it?"
She looked a bit guilty. "He tells a lot of stories."
"You should try and listen to them, they're good stories and you can learn a lot from them."
She smiled at him. "Well thanks for watching out for me Chouji." She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. He began to blush immediately. This is why I always let her drag me shopping.
"I am always happy to watch out for you Ino-chan." He said quietly.
She nodded cheerfully. "Come on; let's see what other bargains we can find!" She reached out and took a firm hold of his meaty hand. The crowd was thick and she didn't want them getting separated. She had no trouble dragging the much larger boy along in her wake. She of course did not notice the blush on his face get just a tad darker as they struggled through the crowd hand in hand.
XXXXXXXXXX
For a new concept Ino took to haggling like a fish to water. She was used to arguments and having to bend others around to her point of view. The fact she could combine her natural aggressiveness with her favorite activity only made it that much more fun for her. Chouji simply stood back and felt sorry for the poor merchants who were on the wrong side of her temper. He had indeed been shopping with her many, many, many times before and was used to being weighed down with bags. He was also not surprised that the dress that had been the original purpose of this trip was the very last thing she bought. In the end she had found exactly what she had wanted, she even managed to talk the shop keeper all the way down from 320 ryu to just 175. Unfortunately by this point she only had 90 left. He knew what that meant.
She turned her big blue eyes towards him and gave him the, 'puppy dog,' look she had perfected by age 5. "Chouji-kun could you help me pretty please?"
He shook his head. She always did this and he always let her. "Sure." He reached into his shirt and pulled out a small wad of bills. He peeled off a pair of 50 ryu notes.
She slunk over to him and let a couple fingers rub up and down his arm. "Could I have just a little more in case I want to stop and get something to drink?" She said in that pleading helpless little girl voice.
Shika is right I am so completely whipped. He damn well knew that if they did stop to get a drink he'd be the one paying for that too. Nevertheless he pulled off another 50 ryu note and handed it to her. "Of course."
"Thank you Chouji-kun!"
They were soon on their way back. Ino was in fine spirits, she'd had a wonderful afternoon. As for Chouji he was honest enough with himself to admit that despite spending hours at an activity he loathed and being 150 ryu lighter despite getting nothing for himself, he had also enjoyed it. He looked at the girl who was walking with her arm around his and talking excitedly about how she would accessorize what she'd bought. He knew why he put up with all of it of course. It was because he loved spending time with her, even if he had to listen to her lecture on the comparative value of open versus close toed shoes. He knew he would do just about anything to spend time with her.
He knew her well and realized she wasn't perfect. She had a tongue that could cut meat from bone and her temper was a frightening thing when fully unleashed. She thought too much about appearance and not enough about what was underneath. Yet despite all that he knew she was a good person. She played games sometimes and loved to tease and taunt, but she was never deliberately hurtful. He knew that she truly cared about him just as she cared about Shikamaru, and just as he cared for both of them. His favorite day of the year was always his birthday. On that day he got to have all of her attention. She helped plan his party, she always gave him the best gift, and she would spend the whole day giving him hugs and kisses on the cheek. She could be just so wonderful sometimes that he was always able to forgive the times when she wasn't. She could be hurtful with her criticisms about his weight and appearance, but she would rip into any girl who said something about him in her hearing. Whenever he thought about girls he always compared them to Ino, and he always found them lacking.
As they walked he wondered what she would say if he told her he had feelings for her, feelings beyond friendship. He had never seriously considered it before since it was painfully clear she was only interested in a certain self absorbed, 'genius.' But since Sasuke's betrayal she had stopped talking about him. For the first time since he had started having these feelings he thought there just might be some hope for someone who was not an Uchiha. But usually just as he would begin to get up the courage to ask her out on a real date she would start in on how he was too fat to land a pretty girl and how he needed to diet. That always hurt. She had seen his parents and all the rest of his family. They were all big boned; all the family jutsus were based on having excess calories to convert over to chakra. When she would tell him he needed to lose weight what he heard was that he needed to reject his entire family and their way of life. He had never tried to explain to her that if she suddenly gained 30 or 40 pounds he would not stop liking her. In fact given his tastes in women he thought some extra weight would make her look better. He knew better than to ever tell her that. If she ever heard him suggest she should try and gain weight he was certain he would end up in the hospital.
"Lemonade!" She shouted and pointed at a small stand just ahead. "Let's stop and get some!"
He smiled at her. She didn't mention him paying; they just both knew he would. "Sounds good."
She gave him a quick hug. "Thanks for coming with me Chouji, you're the best."
"Anytime," when it came to her he would gladly take whatever he could get.
XXXXXXXXXX
They were on the couch. She was lying on top of him asleep, her head resting on his chest. One hand kept running through her soft golden hair. He enjoyed just laying there, feeling that comfortable warmth. He listened to her breathing and it put him at ease. He looked at her calm face and felt completely at peace. This was so much better than watching clouds.
He looked at the clock. Unfortunately it was time. With his other hand he gently stroked her cheek. "Temari wake up."
He watched as her eyes slowly opened. "What?"
"It's 4 o'clock." He replied simply.
She looked over to confirm. "So it is." She slid off him and sat up stretching her arms. She looked at him with a mildly surprised expression. "I can't believe I just slept for an hour." She covered her mouth and yawned.
He sat up as well. "Naps are always good."
She playfully poked his ribs. "You're laziness is rubbing off on me." She picked up the hair ties that were sitting on the small table in front of them. She handed him two of them and turned her back slightly. "Here help me put my hair up."
"Why don't you wear it down?"
She smirked at him. "Well to use your favorite word long hair is too troublesome in the desert."
"So you'll wear it down the next time you visit me?"
She gave him a slight grin. "Well if I visit you I'll consider it. You know if you like long hair so much why do you wear yours up?"
"Family tradition," he replied simply.
"Well I'll tell you what, next time we're together in Konoha I'll wear my hair down if you wear yours." She wasn't about to mention how sexy she thought he looked with all that long hair down around his face.
"Deal."
Once her hair was tied up again she was soon at the door getting ready to leave. "Remember I want you at my home by 7, do you remember how to get there or should I send Tanya over?"
"I know how to get there." He leaned into her and they shared a lingering kiss.
When it finally ended she gave him a smile, a quick good bye and hurried out the door before she was tempted to stay and continue kissing him.