Disclaimer: Don't own the Naruto franchise or any of it's characters.
Rating: T
A look into the pairing of SaiXIno; enjoy.
A few months later; Mid-Spring
Ino waited, tapping her feet, just outside Sai's apartment - honestly, she was early, but hopefully that wouldn't be a problem for Sai. And since she's called into the apartment, he'd likely drop everything (unless important) and came to her as quickly as possible... maybe it's her imagination though, but he seemed to be taking awhile...
The door opened then, drawing her attention, big smile included. "Hey Sai" she greeted.
"Miss Beautiful" he greeted, looking a little more glad. "What brings you here at this time?"
"What do you mean by that? We had plans that I'd come here first" she teased, playfully tapping his chest without looking. "And then after that we'd... uh..."
It only just occurred to her then, but not only had her chest-tap hit skin rather than clothing, Sai's hair was wet- like, freshly wet. A rush seemed to go through her body as it reacted to this, now seeing that Sai's neck/shoulders were completely bare... then found he was shirtless, intensifying the warmth, particularly lingering on his ninja-trained muscles... and then the real game-changer, that he was half-naked, wearing only an obviously-freshly-thrown-on pair of gray boxers...
At least several seconds passed.
"AHHH!" Ino freaked, covering her eyes with great effort. "Sai! What the hell are you doing!?"
"Uhh-"
"Seriously! You can't just answer the door dressed like that! (he made a sound) Go back inside right now! I mean it! NOW!"
It felt like forever, but eventually the door audibly closed, she still breathing heavily- the images in her head wouldn't go away! Quite a few parts demanded she jump him right there, taking advantage of this in so many ways, while she had to hold back heavily to make sure that didn't happen!
"Miss Beautiful?"
Freaking a little, she first registered that the door was still closed... until she saw Sai leaning out his window (somewhat), looking at her, still obviously as 'dressed' as he was previously (just hidden). "Sai!" she called, somewhere between anger, annoyance, and confusion, all brought up by the embarrassment. "I thought you were gonna put some clothes on!"
Sai tilted his head. "You said merely to go inside" he responded, before glancing at himself briefly. "However, I am quite confused: why are you freaked out?"
Ino just groaned, hand to her forehead- why did Sai have to be so literal at times like this!? It must've taken her a five-count of deep breathes to keep herself calm, but her beating heart and internal 'struggle' kept interfering...
"Why?" she asked. "Sai, you answered the door naked! Gah, half-naked, whatever but still, that's not something people do so of course I was shocked!"
He blinked. "Oh" Sai breathed, before glancing at himself again. "Well when I heard you call for me, I was more focused on answering the door than realizing I was naked" he mused. "Perhaps I was distracted... but regardless of this being my fault at the moment, I am still confused. Normally you would enjoy something like this, would you not?"
Despite wanting to explode again, the tentative undertones in that last question kept her calm... er, because he's just focused on the confused angle, and he did realize it's his fault (just ignoring that for the moment). Rubbing at her head, Ino sighed again, "Normally, I would've" she admitted, weary. "But Sai, that also has to be planned on, agreed between us- not spontaneous, even by accident like this!"
A few seconds passed, he seeming to consider things. "I'm still not certain I fully understand" he responded. "Even if it was unexpected, why do you not still enjoy what you have seen? You enjoyed the 'peeks' at my muscles, quite some time ago after all."
Her face heated up as the mental images tried to stay stuck, but Ino glanced away- because of this, she missed Sai's subtle reactions. "I did enjoy the looks at your chest, don't mistake that" she mumbled. "After all, for many guys, the chest is an acceptable area to show off... it's you being half-naked I took issue with, even if parts of me tried to enjoy that too. Overall, it was embarrassing for me."
"Embarrassing?" Sai asked, sounding truly jolted. "Then I have accidentally been inappropriate to you?"
Still glancing away, she managed a small nod.
"Then I beg your pardon, Ino; I will be more careful in the future."
Her name helped, and Ino looked back. "Well, I probably deserved it anyway" she answered, this confusing him. "After all, I-I took advantage of you with that first kiss, and there were many times I've been tempted to do similar things... this was probably some kind of payback and/or warning, even if not intentional on your part."
Sai slowly smiled, much to her surprise. "Even still, you've been most restrained, and I am grateful for that" he told her, gentle- only half-right but trying. "And perhaps the first was sudden but I don't fully agree; you truly had some feelings for me, and made sure I got the hint the only way I could understand, rather than just to take advantage. Plus without that action, I could not have imagined everything that followed between us, let alone enjoyed it."
Okay, he had no idea how much that helped- after all, he's grateful to her and such! She still wasn't sure that truly made it okay, but at the moment, who cared!
...
A little later
Sai felt he'd been truly distracted today, for as soon as he heard Ino calling to him, he'd forgotten that he'd been showering entirely... it was indeed lucky that he'd unconsciously gotten dressed to the small extent that he had...
Getting fully dressed now, he reflected on everything that had happened, unlucky as it had been. First Ino had been normal, until she started noticing details about his state-of-dress, staring both out of 'want' and shock; then she'd managed to rein in her instincts, acting bossy because of said shock/embarrassment, and he'd obliged until he leaned out his own window asking questions and getting some answers. He reflected that the inappropriateness must be in the level of things, for seeing someone in their underwear seemed to be an exclusive thing, at least for the opposite gender. Wait... no, that was normally the case, but it was more diverse than that. If planned and agreed upon, like his drawing her naked-if-covered, then it was acceptable, but if sudden and/or spontaneous then it was not... so indeed, this situation and her reactions were his fault as initially thought.
But despite this, his reactions to Ino's bossy statements/demands certainly hadn't been bad, even with his impulse to follow them.
He definitely seemed to liked in some fashion - interesting.
Making a quick check, his appearance was in order aside from the wetness of his hair, but that was unavoidable. After that, Sai exited the bathroom... and quickly found Ino seated on the floor, next to many of his bigger portraits, though her cheeks seemed a little pink.
"Lingering embarrassment from earlier" he thought; understandable.
"Miss Beautiful?" he called, walking toward her.
Ino seemed startled, perhaps because she'd been internally focused, though it soon faded. "Hey, Sai" she breathed, fainter than normal, again because of embarrassment.
Noting this, Sai sat beside her, slowly touching a hand to her hair- she made a sound, but let him move his fingers through her ponytail, which she'd returned to recently. "Are you okay?" he asked, concerned, hoping his inflections showed this correctly, "I truly didn't mean to embarrass you today."
The pink on her cheeks turned to red, but her smile showed softness. "I didn't think so, Sai" she admitted, both hands in front of her now, legs to one side. "Still... modesty reasons aside, there's a good reason people don't want to see each other like that, normally anyway."
Glancing down at her hands, Sai reached forward with his other one, touching her fingers with the tips of his- hint this first rather than just take them, he'd learned. After a slight reaction, her hands moved over his with similar motions, even as his 'first' hand continued to do similar things in her hair, gaze returning to her face.
"Same gender, that's one thing; we've all bathed and changed around our same-sex friends" Ino continued, cheeks still red, even as he slowly nodded. "But opposite gender... aside from the guy's chest in general, no one's supposed to see unless they're close. Intimately close, or higher."
Higher could only involve marriage, among other potential things... he thought swimsuits must be an exception, for while they showed similar amounts of skin for both genders, they were meant to be seen; underwear was not, except by those close enough.
Or he hoped that's correct.
Sai slowly smiled, scooting himself closer to her, both hands still engaged in what they're doing- Ino definitely noticed, looking straight at him. "That is good to know" he whispered to her. "However, perhaps I can further distract you from earlier."
A moment passed, then she smiled big, eyes half-closed as she leaned closer, brushing her hair out of her right eye. "Distract away" she breathed softly, blinking sever- no, 'fluttering her eyelashes' was the expression.
He had to admit, that was a rather effective way of hinting up-close, even if his learning of said gesture was recent. Keeping the small smile, he leaned forward and closed his eyes, enjoying it when his lips touched hers - she obviously did too, for she soon pulled his other hand into her hair (joining the other), leaving hers free to caress his cheeks. By Ino's will, the open-mouth stage of their kiss happened early, but Sai didn't mind in the slightest even as he did motions down her back... though he was slightly surprised when Ino pulled him tight against her body. He felt- he felt a curious way about the sensations, about the feeling of her chest on his even while clothed, but he settled into the feeling.
Her tongue slipped into his mouth-
-he nearly groaned out of pleasure. Somewhat slight, but definitely a good reaction, and he swore Ino's sound was pleased about that.
'Eager' to return the favor, he moved his tongue to meet hers, enjoying the pleasant sensations. However, the longer this went on the more he became aware of a different sensation appearing, extremely subtle... centered in his fingertips and his lips.
Was this 'tingling'?
His first instinct was to stop the kiss, focus on this sensation- with difficulty, Sai restrained it, still returning the kiss. Despite this, Ino must've been somehow aware anyway (perhaps noticing a nuance was off), for after a few seconds she pulled back with a breathy gasp, looking at him. "Sai?" she breathed.
Taking a moment to catch his breath, he still felt the sensation, and held up his hands a bit. "I-I believe that... I'm tingling."
Perhaps it was the pleasure, but her reaction barely changed, on the outside at least. "Where?"
"My fingertips, and... and my lips."
Ino hitched, but soon gave him a big grin, which combined with the close-up situation made it difficult to think. "Oh Sai" she whispered, kissing him again briefly, "Feeling deeper reactions like that is a good sign, especially on your own - your emotional base must be building steadily."
"It must" Sai agreed, touching his fingers to his lips; the tingling sensation was slowly fading away as expected, yet he still enjoyed it. "Compared to what I've 'felt' before, the results have been multiplied almost geometrically. I still don't know if I'll ever feel at completely-normal strength, or emote it like normal, but anything is an improvement."
"Well, don't think that you won't either" she whispered, soft and intent at the same time. "I intend to make sure you do; don't forget that."
Smiling a little, he nodded. "I haven't, Miss Beautiful" he whispered. "I hope that occurs as well."
...
Same time
His sincerity, combined with the lingering curiosity and enjoyment of what they'd been doing, it made Sai seem overexcited in his own way- definitely been showing up more frequently. Ino kept up her smile, nodding even as she leaned sideways a bit, taking a few tries but grabbing what she intended - he looked over a little, enough to see it when she held his painting, one of a fair few.
Specifically, a near-perfect representation of her mental scape, as he remembered - in context, it's proof of what she's been saying just now
"Well, if you can remember this so well" Ino whispered, "there's definitely hope. I remember how it looked from your memories, but seeing it like this is so much more vivid, and I think it suits me very well."
Sai looked a moment, before his little smile returned. "That is exactly how I felt, when you showed me how much warmth you feel toward him" he breathed, briefly touching her hand. "It was very vivid, in ways I could not have imagined, but it was very 'you'."
"Thanks. Still, you weren't entranced" she continued, putting his painting back, then touching the edge of a different one: his own mental scape representation. "Would that I could've seen your mind when that happened... but sadly, I can't both be in your mind and give the same scale of sensations."
His hand seemed to do something with strands of her hair, which brought Ino's attention back; he was smiling. "You are still doing great" Sai breathed sincerely, "I literally cannot ask for better instruction. Or a girlfriend of your caliber."
With that, Ino then sorta lost herself for a moment, all in happiness: by the time she came out of it, she quickly realized that she'd kissed Sai, and pressed herself against him... to the extent that she's now literally sitting on his lap, and her body weight had made him lean backward a bit. This reality made her remember Sai not being dressed earlier, but she quickly forced that down, trying to focus on the warmth- Sai's expression of surprise and sorta-enjoyment helped in that regard.
Still, he briefly glanced down at something-
-her hands on his chest, just resting there.
"Oh" she breathed, having to struggle a bit, for her instincts kept trying to rise. "Sorry..."
"Do not apologize" Sai answered, to her jolt; he appeared to be thinking. "We are quite close, and you didn't seem to mean anything bigger by it."
"Well yeah, but still" Ino whispered, glancing away. "You know me, and how I'm always tempted by things like this."
Until he (or she) pulled her hands off though, she was certainly gonna enjoy the touch while it lasted, and he must know that too. When Sai didn't answer again, she glanced back, but he still appeared to be thinking... then made a rather big head-motion to the right. When she was a bit confused, Sai had flickers of similar, but repeated the gesture- it just then hit her that he's trying to indicate something, and she glanced at... the couch, which was in-line with his gesture. Heart beating faster, she looked back, pointing that way while silently mouthing 'the couch?', but Sai merely nodded with a relieved lip curve, his arms moving to her sides to help her stand up.
Okay, despite her going along with this, he's finally starting with (intentional) nonverbal cues! Extremely obvious, clearly needed a lot of work but about damn time, because she could finally start to branch there!
Standing up carefully, they moved over to said couch, sitting beside each other. "So what now, Sai?"
Sitting beside her, Sai still seemed to be thinking; he glanced at her, then at nothing in front of him... before his hands moved, taking off his shirt.
Nearly squeaking, she could barely tear her eyes away - this brought back what happened earlier, and she couldn't stop it, even though of course she's seen a guy's chest before, including Sai's. "W-What are you doing?"
"You said you were tempted at various points" Sai answered, before he decided to 'toss' his shirt to the floor, looking at her. "However, you hold yourself back because it would be inappropriate, due to my level of understanding usually being lacking."
Heart beating fast, she wondered where this was going, excited and nervous- he seemed to have a 'thing' for causing that.
He gave a small smile. "Now, I'm willing to try Ino" he breathed, provoking a sound from her. "I know full well what you may do, and I may be surprised by the sensations, but I wish to experience things. Oh, as long as clothes remain as they are, and your touches don't go beyond my chest and back, nor the 'common' stuff we already enjoy. Yes, those are the boundaries for this activity."
"You're doing this for me?" Ino wondered in realization. "At least partly?"
Sai merely tilted his head- there was a motion, as if he were gonna nod, but he stopped it while still keeping the small smile.
Heh, for anyone else that'd be so common it wasn't noteworthy, but Sai's instincts were always to nod when agreeing with something, and when agreeing with something that was the truth. The lack of both meant he's probably trying another non-verbal agreement thing, which was pretty good of him in this case.
This caused her to smile big, and she wasted no time in kissing him, showing her appreciation not just for this, but his learning in general- Sai returned it well.
"Thanks, Sai" she whispered, showing she'd got it. "Now please, lay on your back."
His expression changed a bit, showing confusion-
-which she slowly laughed at; always adorable when that happened. "Don't worry, it's just to make it easier" Ino assured, tracing a finger across his cheek. "After all, if I'm gonna be able to enjoy feeling your chest now, I want to make sure I get some good looks while I'm at it."
"Oh" Sai considered, blinking once, before he slowly adjusted as stated. "Um, is that a general quirk, or one exclusive to you, Ino?"
"General, mostly anyway, but also specific."
"Hmm."
Just as Sai finished adjusting on his back, she made sure to do the same thing, particularly laying sideways so that her lower body rested in that space between the couch and Sai's legs, leaving the rest of her hovering just a bit. He looked at her, and she smiled, resting herself on one arm while the other teased his cheeks again, which made his lip curve- though he was surprised when she tapped said lips, if not at the pleased sound that followed. Ino leaned forward again, kissing his neck this time, much to his jolt... when he glanced at her, she mouthed "It's okay", at least implicating that the affection was perfectly fine in this case. That eased him and she continued the affection, similarly rubbing her finger down the other side of his neck after a few seconds - Sai's hand slowly rose as well, moving over her shoulder.
Heh, good to know he's learned affection can (and should) be done simultaneously, even if it takes him awhile to get into it.
Ino then teasingly licked his neck, just to see him hitch, and wasn't disappointed at all.
"Heehee" she breathed, smiling 'innocently' when he looked at her, even as she moved her finger over his clavicle now - Sai initially couldn't decide where to look, but eventually got a little flicker that she interpreted as "Ah, one of her teases", which made her grin.
"You were always quite forward" Sai whispered to her, his hand moving through her hair now. "I am glad that hasn't changed."
"If I ever weren't, that'd be a sign something was wrong" Ino whispered, kissing him a little. "But it takes a lot to truly bother me..."
"Indeed."
She paused a bit; Sai's tone was strange, as if he knew something she didn't or was in the middle of thinking- ie, like he was half-there.
But what? And why?
...
The moment Ino said it took a lot to truly bother her, Sai involuntarily remembered back to when he'd first drawn her, after her kiss + before they started dating... she'd been quite halting when talking of her father, inwardly reserved, and not like herself at all.
Perhaps he should've been mindful of their current moment, letting Ino enjoy this as planned, but his mind had other ideas.
True, he wouldn't have expected her to cheerfully talk about her dad's death - that was usually indicative of dissonant emotions and/or serious conditions - but her tone had been odd. At first he'd chalked it up to not knowing Ino's hints, her emotions, but then he began to wonder... and somehow, he'd gradually/subconsciously kept these pieces in his memory, just waiting for the right connection/context. Now he had it: Ino's emotional reaction to talking of her father was sad, but it was also more than that, as there was... there were... elements she's suppressing. She may have grieved, she and her mother, but even now there were some parts that she didn't wish to share, yet must be shared if either she is to become (more) emotionally healthy.
Or so his theory went, 'sparked' by Ino's statement that it took a lot to truly bother her.
Sai slowly considered this... it may be true, it may not, but he'd never know unless he brought it up...
"I believe that- that I must" he thought slowly, concerned. "If she is suppressing her reactions to some degree, I cannot let it continue. If she is not, and she is still merely grieving but suppressing it for my sake, purely so she wouldn't distract me, I can still help... as indeed I should try, as I am her boyfriend. Couples share emotional matters, as well as physical ones."
"Sai!"
Blinking, he looked back, finding Ino really close to him- she was on both knees now, having partly risen from her previous position, and looked concerned.
Oh... well if the moment was already interrupted, it probably couldn't get much worse, but he couldn't take that as a go-ahead; she has to agree to the talk as well. This was what his mind thought, but his body reacted differently, negatively, which also had to be taken into account...
"I-I am sorry, Miss Beautiful" Sai stated, sitting up slightly, feeling... 'frustrated', regarding having this unplanned self-interruption of their moment. "I had an unanticipated thought, and I presume that I went 'overboard' with it. I didn't know why I had such an unconscious focus on it... at first."
"Well, spill it then" she stated, still concerned. "What was so big?"
Pausing a bit, trying to decide how to say this now that she'd demanded an answer, Sai then looked back- he slowly brushed her cheek, which seemed to help. "When you said little could bother you, my mind 'went over' other memories... such as you talking about your father (she shifted) during my first drawing of you, or when your mother said it was nice serving for three again-"
"You heard that?" she whispered, in what seemed a really small voice.
That made him feel- mmh, 'more difficult' in addition to the frustration, but he moved both hands to her cheeks despite that. "I did" he stated, more faint, "That and other hints made me think across the months, but I didn't have an answer until now. I am- I'm concerned about you, Ino, about how you are dealing with your grief. I don't know if I am correct about my assumptions, but even if I'm not, I- I still wish to help. I want to support you in any way I can. Please."
Ino closed her eyes, mouth trembling for a moment, almost still... "Sai, what am I gonna do with you?"
He was confused-
"I mean seriously, even when you're learning, things keep happening with you!" she continued in an overplayed way, slowly overturning his confusion. "First your answering the door half-naked, then you remove your shirt for me to touch your chest, and now you suddenly go and ruin that moment as well even if it wasn't intentional on your part. And what caused you to ruin the moment? Asking me how I'm dealing with my grief, something a boyfriend should help me out with, make no mistake, but still something I didn't want to talk about. So congratulations, you've made me hate and love you all at the same time in this moment!"
Sai thought she must be 'venting' in some fashion, so regarding what she's saying, the gist is important while the details need be carefully examined - such as the 'hate' angle, which may be true now, but is likely exaggerated and wouldn't be permanent. Her emotions were complex as expected, and the way she's staring at him made him feel a bad strange, being the target, but he can't let that stop him... hmm, she had clearly not held back all of her grief (or much), but some still lingered, enough for small issues.
"Seriously, what am I gonna do with you, Sai!?"
"...keep me as your boyfriend?"
Ino's eyebrow twitched, repeatedly-
-oh dear, that hadn't been the reaction he'd intended, and now he worried for himself.
Much to his surprise however, she didn't explode, but rather laughed... an extremely peculiar laugh, full of many things other than humor, but hard enough that she was literally shaking from her convulsions...
"What?" Sai breathed, even more confused, especially when small amounts of tears fell from her eyes - how was she going through different emotions this quickly, or all at once? He opened his mouth to say something, but Ino cut this off by hugging him tightly, almost full-on wrapped against his body- she was still shaking, but with that strange combination of laughter and everything else.
"Oh man, I needed that" Ino whispered, shaky but glad. "More than you know, Sai. Only you could ask something like that, able to infuriate me and make me feel warm all-at-once."
"Uhhh..."
"Shh, don't talk. Just hold me."
Oh... well he could do that, and he did.
...
When she said she'd been infuriated and warm, she'd meant it; Ino still felt a small whirlwind in her chest after hearing Sai's comment, which had been one of the silliest things he's ever said... and one of the sweeter ones.
All this time, even when he'd been completely clueless about what it meant, his mind had analyzed the hints about her grief- heck, he'd even kept at it for months until his mind finally pieced it together now. Did his mind ever stop working, even when he's enjoying things!? Subconsciously, she knew the answer to that was 'no', remembering the inner workings and activity from his mental scape... so why did it still surprise her? Or maybe it didn't, and she's just using that to express her feelings, distract herself- who knows? All that mattered was that Sai's worried about her, eve ruined their moment in an attempt to help her, and right now was provoking her into letting everything out, unintentionally on those latter parts anyway.
Maybe she'd needed another nudge in that direction... but man did he make things difficult at times!
"Ino?"
She stirred, feeling another little burst of warmth, moving a hand over his clavicle like before. "Yeah?"
"I- I am sorry if I was not proper in my statements-"
Ino slowly giggled, making him trail off. "No, you weren't at all" she breathed faintly, but smiling, doing little circles in that hollow between both collarbones. "After all, you interrupted our moment and rather suddenly talked about a personal subject with no buildup. But that being said... you did it because you were concerned about me, even if you had no idea whether your idea was right or not. That is pretty sweet."
Sai stirred a bit at her touch. "So... it is partly okay?"
"Yeah."
He physically eased in relief, enough that she felt it.
"Like I said before" Ino continued, liking his body warmth- even though he's pale, it didn't seem to change that. "A boyfriend, or girlfriend, should help each other with their issues, just as much as they share in the good things."
A moment passed, then Sai's hands moved to her hair, and she lifted her gaze- he still looked concerned for her, but managed a small lip curve. "I would like to hear more about your father" he breathed, a little more soft, and fairly close this time.
Okay, so maybe it wouldn't be the moment she'd thought it'd be, but it's still a moment nonetheless- and as a bonus, keep Sai shirtless for her to enjoy anyway, if not to the 'level' she'd planned on minutes ago.
"Mmm. Inoichi Yamanaka, my father and former captain of the Leaf's Intelligence Division" Ino whispered, looking off into space a little- she could see him perfectly even now. She wondered if he's looking at her right now, proud of who she was, but also amused at what this situation must look like, considering Sai's shirtless and everything.
Hehehe.
She looked back at Sai, who remained curious - awkward or not, difficult or not, Sai was important to her more than anything else. Thus she didn't intend to move for awhile now, so she prepared herself for the times she'd spent with her father.
"My dad was something: calm, perceptive, a gentleman, yet indulgent and calm under pressure. He loved me a lot, as did mom, but he was never that good with words-"
A little different from the novel version, Ino walking upon Sai like 'that', but still pretty something hehe. And it leads into another interesting situation between them, which of course doesn't quite go as expected.