Back with another update, hope everyone is having a good week and I'm sending positive energy to you and your loved ones.

Chapter 4

He gravely miscalculated. Ino did get upset.

"Naruto knows?!" She gasped and yelled and groaned all at the same time.

Sai was amazed at how Ino was able to convey such a complex and quite impressive emotional range. Ino was amazed that Sai could be that clueless. She had given him the benefit of the doubt. Even someone as socially obtuse as Sai would have at least an ounce of tact.

He had none.

Sai didn't get it. "You just said you told Ugly."

Ino pursed her lips, "That's different!"

Sai couldn't wrap his head around how that could possibly be true.

Ino heaved a deep dramatic sigh. She could see by the way Sai's eyes travelled up to her foyer's popcorn ceiling in heavy contemplation that she would have to explain how it wasn't the same.

"Naruto, as you know, is a preachy blabbermouth. Sakura on the other hand, won't say anything even if she disapproves. She's more of a silent critic."

Ino knew that from years of experience on the receiving end of her friend's judgement. Also, the woman was dating Sasuke Uchiha. He was the king of bad decisions, so just it had to be true. She knew their secret would be safe with her. The other one was more of a wildcard.

"You think Dickless will talk?" Sai was getting it now.

"I'm not sure." Ino said, blushing at his use of that embarrassing nickname.

Naruto was many things but Ino didn't think he was a snitch. At most he would probably try to convince her to stop until she caved in. Which she wouldn't.

The real problem with Naruto knowing was that he was terrible at keeping secrets, especially when he was upset. Now Ino had to make sure not to get on his bad side. Which usually was pretty simple to do because of Naruto's easygoing nature, but considering he probably was very annoyed with her right now it wouldn't take much for him to blurt out her secret. That Uzumaki was also a giant hothead.

Ino's hand reached up to smooth out her hair, a nervous tick of hers. She shook her head as she let her worries go into the back of her head. She was really good at compartmentalizing.

She had to focus on better things, which was getting Sai into perfect boyfriend shape.

Starting with his vocabulary.

Ino lead Sai into her living room space. Sai looked around the room noting the pristine bone colour of her walls, and the multitude of pictures she had either hanging up or sitting on a surface within the room. Ino seemed to be really sociable.

Whenever he came over to Ino's place he never really had the chance to look around as Naruto constantly shoved different people in his face to speak to. The rambunctious man called it a form of breaking in his social skills.

However, as an artist that usually spent his time alone it was quite draining mentally. So, he wasn't able to take in the space like he was used to doing.

Now that he finally had a chance to soak it all in he could see Ino's little personalized touches all over. The window curtains with little daisy patterns, a lace cover thrown on her coffee table, and of course a multitude of different plants and flowers, a few of which Sai recognized but couldn't name. He wondered what their meanings were.

"Okay," Ino sighed as she sat down on her white chesterfield couch. "First things first, we need to deal with your 'nickname' problem."

Sai sat down at a respectable distance beside her and shifted a frilly blue decorative pillow from behind him. "Nickname problem?"

"Yes." Ino nodded firmly with her nose turned up in distaste.

"Alright." Sai easily gave in. He himself knew that he needed to stop with the nicknames considering his friends had already said they didn't like it, but he wasn't sure how to go about showing his closeness to them.

He had read that nicknames created a sense of bonding between two friends. Sakura was the one who told him that giving everyone nicknames was a good idea in the first place, only to get mad when he gave her one.

Maybe he just needed to find nicer ones?

"No. No new nicknames." Ino said, looking at Sai go into his own head and form terrible conclusions. She could easily guess what he was thinking.

Sai nodded, "Well then how can I show them I consider us to be close friends?"

"By just talking to them and using their regular names."

Sai looked at her blankly, "But you call Sakura 'Forehead' and she calls you 'Pig'. And those aren't particularly flattering nicknames either."

"That's not the same thing," Ino blanched, though she could see how he could get confused.

"But Naruto calls Sasuke a bastard and he calls Naruto a loser?"

"Also, not the same thing," Ino sighed feeling her eyebrow twitch. She pursed her glossed lips together, "You see, me and Sakura are childhood friends, so our nicknames for each other are kind of like inside jokes between old besties. Same goes for Naruto and Sasuke."

"I see," Sai was beginning to piece it together now. "So, nicknames are only okay if you've known each other for a long time."

"Not exactly, a nickname is usually hit or miss. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn't. It's just that most of yours don't exactly work." Ino explained.

Sai nodded again and then paused. She had said most. "Which one's work?"

Ino smiled brightly at him, "The one you gave me of course!"

Sai blinked as his face grew hot. He was surprised she actually managed to make him feel embarrassed. He turned his head away from the blonde. "I'll keep it then."

"I actually really like it," Ino continued, she had noticed he had gone red but didn't think anything of it. Sai would never blush. "Also, it makes our relationship seem believable, which is a bonus."

"Right." Sai agreed. He had returned to his normal colour and went back to listening intently to Ino. He wanted to make sure that he did his best to help her out. After all, he did feel responsible for this whole thing.

"Now on to the next topic. Our knowledge about each other." Ino got up and headed into the kitchen behind her. She opened one of the white painted cedar draws that formed underneath her marble countertop and moved all the junk around until she found what she was searching for.

Sai lifted his shoulders up and peered curiously behind the couch into the kitchen, his dark eyes followed Ino's form as she trailed back to her original seat with a multicoloured sticky note pad and two blue pens.

Ino handed a pen and a small stack of sticky notes to Sai who looked at her with a questioning gaze as he received it. "They're for us to write little facts about ourselves. We should know some things in case we're asked about each other." She explained.

"Okay." Sai opened his pen and laid the sticky notes on his lap as he began to think about what to write. He scratched at his hair as he came up with nothing, "What facts should a girlfriend know about her boyfriend?"

Ino who had been writing down her own facts lifted her pen up to rest at the side of her mouth. "Well that kind of depends on how long you've been dating."

"So we've been dating for two months, correct?"

"Yup," Ino nodded, "Which would mean I would know at least the basic things about you like your interests, your likes and dislikes, your favourite colour…"

"That would be blue." Sai supplied.

"Write it down!" Ino chided him. She thought about what she would need to know but didn't. Her teal eyes widened as she realized there was one thing she didn't know about Sai. "Your last name!"

Sai who was busy writing down his interests looked up, "Hm?"

"I don't know your last name," Ino said, she found a blush working its way up her neck, though she did not know why she was so embarrassed. "A girlfriend would know something like that."

Sai frowned deeply, which threw Ino off guard. He stilled himself before he could remember…that.

"I don't have one." He curtly replied, leaving her no room for argument.

Not that Ino would have argued anyway, the look he had on his usually serene face was so intense that she thought better of it.

As if suddenly remembering himself the pale man blinked and shook his head. Ducking down to write more facts, he whispered a 'Sorry' just loud enough that she could barely hear it.

Ino stayed silent. She didn't understand why he would get like that over a last name. Glancing up at him secretly she watched as he tried to hide the grimace on his face to no avail and then returned her attention back to her own writing.

It was the most expressive she had ever seen him get. Somehow it made her more curious of his past. Sai didn't really talk about himself much, if he talked at all that is. Most times he kept to himself, more or so because most people couldn't take being in conversation with him.

She sneaked another look at him only to have his coal eyed gaze already on her. She turned red instantly as she sputtered about and tried to compose herself.

Sai tilted his head at the leggy blonde, he had felt her look at him the first time and chose to ignore it but this time he wanted to see what it was she wanted.

"Let's do something else!" She suddenly yelled out, grabbing their sticky notes and pens and placing them on the counter.

It had taken him a while to get used to but Ino could see he was getting it.

Sai awkwardly tried to put his arm around Ino again. She leaned her head into his chest so close that he could smell the hibiscus scented shampoo she used in her hair.

"That's it." Ino encouraged him as she lifted her chin up to show her wide smile.

Sai felt his own lips mirror hers pleased with himself. She moved out of his embrace and stood up, tapping her foot in order to think of something else. They had shifted to practicing dating mannerisms for the past twenty minutes and he had already gotten down the arm hanging across the back, the look and then smile adoringly, and the arm stroke and squeeze, which Ino said should be used when they had to look more intimate.

"Wait!" Ino suddenly gasped as she looked at Sai in horror. "We haven't come up with a believable confession story yet."

"That's true." Sai noted, having not realized it himself. Though he didn't think he would be able to come up with one regardless.

"Usually I'm the one being asked out by guys," Ino said. She hadn't meant it in a bragging manner, but the tone did come off as such, especially considering the way she flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. "Anyways this time to make it more tailored to you, we'll say I was the one to confess."

Sai simply nodded as the blonde began to let her head race with the details of it all.

"I was at the bar and then I got super drunk and I confessed that I thought you were cute," Ino rambled on, "Then afterwards you being the clueless man that you are, reminded me which made me super embarrassed but also prompted me to ask you out on account of already being caught."

"Sounds good." Sai agreed.

"We're not done yet. It needs to be more detailed."

"Detailed?" Sai didn't know if the story needed any more embellishing, it was simple and straight to the point.

Ino raised a brow at him expectantly. "Well how would you answer if someone asked you out that way?"

The man hummed as he began to think about it. How would he react? He guessed he would be confused. Maybe a little skeptical? But in the end…

"I guess I would be curious enough to agree." Sai answered, he leaned back into the plush couch as Ino lowered her head to scrutinize him a bit more.

"That's it?" She said. She wasn't quite satisfied with his reply. "Curiosity? Not how attractive you find them? Not even how interested you are in them as a person!"

He winced as he begun to feel like his honesty wasn't exactly welcome, "Is something wrong?"

Ino sighed realizing she was letting her own ego cloud her head. Of course, Sai wouldn't think those things, it wasn't as if she had actually asked him out!

"No, it's fine. It's honest and easy to remember." She assured him. Placing her hands on her hips she gave her 'boyfriend' a firm nod, "That's the story we're going with so make sure to remember it."

"Alright." Sai agreed. He already had the story memorized and ready to go.

In the end that had went back to working on his speech. It had taken a few more tries with his vocabulary and mannerisms but Ino was sure he was decent enough to have their couple debut.

When Sai came to pick her up Saturday Ino couldn't deny how handsome he looked in his simple black long-sleeved shirt and dark-denim jeans. It was a knitted polo and it really fit the contours of his body in a way Ino hadn't really noticed before.

She forced down the blush threatening to creep up as Sai stood there seemingly unaware of it.

Sai lifted the arm he had placed behind his back to reveal a single pink hibiscus flower. He watched as Ino's eyes lit up as he gave it to her.

"A hibiscus flower." She smiled down at the flower, feeling the delicate petals. "When you give it to a woman you're telling her she's beautiful."

Sai nodded at the revelation, Ino was like a flower encyclopedia. Truthfully he had gotten the idea from a romantic comedy movie he watched the day before. He had picked hibiscus because it reminded him of the smell of her hair but the other explanation fit too. He couldn't deny that Ino was a beautiful woman.

She looked beautiful in the baby blue button sweater and white flared pants she adorned. There was a small silver butterfly necklace that she wore, and Sai wouldn't help but admire the way the artist shaped the wings.

"I like your necklace." He said. He leaned in closer to examine it only pulling back when Ino let out a small shriek. "Sorry, was I too close?"

Ino shook her head and waved him off. "Of course not. I guess I underestimated how much this would take getting used to."

"The fake dating?" Sai asked. He watched as Ino sheepishly scuffed her wedges across her foyers floor.

"Not really. The intimate touching." She laughed awkwardly and tried to play it off as Sai started to give her a doubtful look. "But that's to be expected!"

"Is it? I don't mind it." He admitted.

Ino didn't know what to think of his words.

They walked outside to Sai's silver and very expensive looking bentley where he opened the passenger door for her before getting in the driver's seat. Ino smiled to herself at the gesture, though she wasn't a sucker for chivalrous things she could do on her own, she could tell Sai had been reading up and practicing on being a good boyfriend.

When she sat down on the brown leather seat she had silently wondered how Sai could afford such a car. She looked at him from the corner of her eye as he kept his face glued to the road in front of him and his features still.

Truth be told, Ino had a lot of questions about him, like how he could afford cars like these, or his expensive art supplies on a bartender's salary. It didn't make sense. Usually she would just outright ask but she remembered how he reacted to her asking something as simple as his last name.

She didn't think he was dangerous. Naruto wouldn't hang around a guy like that or have him around his friends and girlfriend. So there had to be another reason.

Whatever it was, Ino had a feeling that he wouldn't easily share it with her. She couldn't even feel annoyed at that either considering they weren't really close friends. She herself was still surprised Sai readily agreed to her charade when he could've easily said no, and she would've had to suffer through Shikamaru getting married embarrassingly single. She was more grateful for that than he even knew.

They had been stuck in a comfortable silence for most of the drive and though Ino felt the overwhelming urge to just start a whole bunch of non-sensical conversations she found herself unable to actually take the plunge. Sai was an intimidating conversation partner.

Sai on the other-hand was rhythmically tapping his hands on the steering wheel, trying hard to focus and remember what he needed to. When they were almost at the bowling center Naruto insisted on them going to, he looked at Ino through his peripheral. She was fidgeting with her hands in her lap.

"Are you okay?" Sai asked, glancing at her before turning his eyes back to the road.

"I'm fine." Ino sighed, she smiled and then remembered he probably couldn't see it, quickly dropping her lips. "Just a little nervous I guess. All it takes is one slip up."

"I'm pretty sure I've got everything down." He offered, trying to be helpful.

Ino hummed a response, not particularly keen on this topic of conversation. He wasn't the one she was worried about.

She smoothed down the crinkles in her white satin pants and combed her fingers through her ponytail one last time before checking herself in the passenger mirror above her. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't shake the feeling of looking stupid.

She had only agreed to this date to stick it to her best-friends asshole of a boyfriend but now Ino felt like she took a leap too soon. Now she wondered if she would hit the ground running or fall right on her face.

Sai who had noticed Ino's uncharacteristic silence peered at her. She was clearly nervous with all her fidgeting about and though he wanted to help her out he figured anything he might say would make her more nervous, so he didn't bother speaking. Instead he reached a hand over to hers and squeezed it. It was something he saw Naruto do to help Hinata calm down.

Ino simply blinked, shocked that Sai would initiate any type of physical contact. She turned her head quite comically to gawk at him, and then remembering herself quickly faced the road and closed her mouth shut as a small smile found its way to her face.

Maybe there was hope yet.