37. Hidden
It was only a few days after he had begun a romantic relationship with Ino that he had asked his father for his blessing to marry her. After a conversation about whether she was fertile and could produce an heir to the family, he had given his blessing.
He went to her parents graves soon after. He kneeled before the headstones and told them of the love he had for their daughter and that he wished to marry her and asked for some sort of sign from them that he could consider permission.
A few weeks later he had returned to see a small flower was growing out of the ground between her parents headstones, he decided to come back again when it had fully bloomed. He picked it brought it home for Ino, when she had returned from her latest mission.
"Where did you find this flower?" she asked him when he gave it to her.
"In the fields, I thought you would like it." he told her. He saw tears well up in her eyes a little before she wiped them and responded to him.
"Lily of the valley. It was my father's favorite flower, because it was also my mother's."
He decided that the flower was permission from the both of them.
Hiding the ring her purchased later that night was quite the task for him. He knew she was known to be nosey but, he had never realized it until now.
He'd had to move it several times because she had almost found it while digging around their house for a multitude of things. She'd also made comments on him acting strangely when he began to act a bit frantic when she drew near his hiding spots.
Eventually he grew tired of hiding the ring and decided he should present her with it, as keeping it hidden was proving to be more of a task than he thought it would be.
They sat on Hokage summit, looking at the village and the stars one night after a long day in the interrogation unit for her. He looked at her, breathtaking as ever, and decided now was the time.
"Ino," he called for her attention, digging the box out of his pocket, "Will you grow old with me?"