Pairings: GaaIno

Warnings: Angst. Aw...shucks. And animal cruelty!

Author's Notes: Ok, this is gonna sound really lame, but I actually cried while I was writing this chapter. Omg! I know. I'm a horrible sappy person. lol! Chances are you won't find it that sad, but I did. I don't know why, but writing this struck a cord in me. But don't worry! It lightens up towards the end! Also, Ino's dad calls his wife his "bride". I picked that up from this man I knew that said that. It thought it was cute and I think Ino's dad is cute. :)

Edit: Holy effin' God! It pisses me off so much that I'll upload a chapter and when I go back to check on it, the spacings and things are messed up! GAH! It makes me look like I can't type right. So, sorry about that kids. /Edit.

Happy reading!

Chapter Three: Kindness

I wake up an hour or two early. I was so excited that I didn't get much sleep. I was burning with energy. I dress myself quickly and run downstairs. I find mom my in the kitchen and I kick her out so I can make breakfast for everyone. She's so shocked she doesn't put up a fight. I cook everything I know how to cook and by the time my dad gets up, the table is covered with food. My mom sits down warily and somewhat suspiciously. My dad yawns and sits down too.

"Wow! My beautiful bride! You've outdone yourself today! I always knew you loved me deep deep down inside!" my dad beams at my mom when he sees the food.

"I didn't make it. Your daughter did," she responds.

"Ha ha ha! That's funny...wait. Really?" he says, turning to me.

"That's right, dad! Eat up! Tell me if you like it!" I smile. This is fun! I like seeing them so surprised. I giggle to myself.

"It's good! Thank you, Ino-chan! You've made me proud," he smiles cheerfully. I blush in embarrassment.

"Heehee, I'm glad you like it. I wanted to show my appreciation. I love you guys!" I beam, handing a plate of food to my dad. I think I can see little tears of gratitude in his eyes. Yay! I smile even brighter.

"Ino! What's wrong with you? Are you on your period?" my mom asks sharply. I frown.

"No, Mom! I'm not! Have some more, Mom," I say handing her another plate of food. She eyes it skeptically. I didn't know she trusted me so much. She finally takes some and chews it very slowly searching me with her eyes the whole time to try and see what's wrong with me. I sigh sadly. I must have been really bitchy and selfish before for her to act like this.

"Actually, now that you mention it, my lovely bride, it is odd for Ino to make us all breakfast," he tilts his head in my direction,"You seem awfully 'animated' this morning, Ino-chan...You're not on drugs, are you?"

"Dad! No! I'm not on drugs! Honesty! Why can't I just do something nice for you two?" I say, nearing the end of my patience. Being kind is difficult. We eat the rest of the meal in silence. My mom always asks me if I'm on my period if she thinks I'm acting weird. It's so annoying. I can't believe my dad would ask me if I'm on drugs. Drugs...that brings back a memory. Gaara.

I blush.

I clean everything up and bid farewell to my parents. I'm going to open the shop early today. I walk down the street cheerfully. It's an awfully quiet morning and the sky is still a little dark. The morning rays just barely touch my face. It's a little warmth and light that makes me happy.

I unlock the place and walk in. It really is a slow morning. I sit behind the register for at least an hour and hardly anyone even walks by the shop. Finally, an old lady comes in to buy flowers for her daughter. I help her out as best as I can and try to be as polite as possible. You should be nice to old people, right? She most definitely was old. She looked kind of like one of Kakashi's dogs. I've heard some people say that as you grow up, you end up looking like your parents. I shudder behind the register after I kindly usher the old lady out. I don't want to look like my mom.

A little girl comes in about a half an hour later. She's bouncing with energy and just looking at her makes me feel a little dull. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to get up so early. She's looking for a flower for her friend. I give her a small white flower that symbolizes friendship and youth and some other crap like that. Really, it's freaky that I can look at every flower in our shop and say exactly what it stands for.

I need a life.

She's a bit of a tomboy. She's dragging mud all over the store and when she finally pays, it's in over 200 coins that I have to count out to make sure she has enough. She doesn't have the right amount, but as she starts to tear up and whine, I just push her out of the store and let her have a "special deal".

I was really tired. Maybe I should get some coffee. A couple more hours creep along. I've been nice all day. Kindness is the key to happiness and love, right? Soon I'll build up enough good karma to have good effects on myself. I'm just so tired. I pull out a magazine. I can't believe the only magazines we have behind here for entertainment are all about flowers and gardening. As if I don't get my fill of both working in a flower shop. I toss the magazine aside. I'll have to remember to buy a more exciting one.

My head slumps down on the counter.

The clang of bells brings me out of my daze. My head flies off the counter.

"Good morning! Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop! How may I be of service?" I say instinctively and greet the customer with a bright smile and wave.

Oh, my.

This is the shock of the century.

None other than the Uchiha Sasuke is standing at the door. I'm going to die. Hell has frozen over.He's never entered the shop before. Bless the gods! Kindness build-up has worked it's miracles! I giggle softly to myself as I watch his figure move to inspect some flowers. I sigh heavily. He's become the prince I always knew he would. How is it possible that all my negative thoughts about him just completely disappear whenever he's around?

My eyes narrow as I watch him. He's become tall, dark, and even handsomer than before. He's about six feet tall, rivaling his own ex-sensei. His black hair brushes perfectly against his porcelain skin. The wind blows it past his face and nearly whispers to be touched. If it's possible, he seems to get even more handsome as the years pass. His features are sharp and refined. His face is always so soft and clear. It's like he's wearing a mask of the perfect man. He always looks so sly and that spark of genius never stops glimmering behind his eyes. He's the only boy I have ever loved. He's the only boy that I could ever completely claim is beautiful.

He's successful and respected too. You can't forget that, Ino! I nod to myself. After he came back, he completely turned around and promised to never hurt the people of Konoha again. I admire him so much. I only wish he knew.

"Ino," his deep lovely voice calls to me. It's enough to make me melt.

"Y-Yes, Sasuke-kun?" I call a little flustered. My dream is right in front of me. I walk over to him. I'm going to help him pick out the most perfect flower so he will be happy. I start to ask him about his flower needs, when he interrupts me.

"Stop, Ino. I'm not here for flowers," he says.

"Y-You're not?" I blush. He's looking directly at me with his dark charming eyes. I can feel myself sinking into those pools. It's like being devoured slowly.

"I'm here because of Sakura," he says, avoiding eye contact with me and lightly touching some of the flowers. Sakura? My heart falls to the floor.

"What would Sakura like?" I ask, trying to stay polite and unaffected by him. He looks like this is the last place on earth he would want to be.

"She's just a little upset with some of the things you said last week... I don't know if you know, but she's really sensitive..."

Yeah. It's always like that isn't it? It's something you said, Ino. So, he's here as a kind of "don't-mess-with-my-girlfriend" thing. Of, course. What was I thinking? It's always Ino that's the monster picking on the poor innocent Sakura that can't fend for herself.

She has her prince charming to do that for her.

"Ah. I'm very sorry. Tell her I'm sorry. I'll never bother her again," I say with desperation in my voice, holding back tears. I feel so stupid. Why didn't I give up on him years ago? I'm just so stubborn. I never thought I would want him to leave so badly. It's just like a stab to my heart to see him here defending her. I grab a couple of flowers on the side.

"Take these. For her," I give them to him. Kindness. This is sacrifice. I can't cry in front of him. I force a smile on my lips and I vaguely hear the jingle of bells in the back. He's looking at me oddly and my hand is still outstretched holding the flowers. Take them! Just take them. Don't look at me with pity. Don't let my arm hang here and make me look like a fool. What? You can't believe that I would do something kind either? You think it's insane for me to backdown like this? It is. I'm not backing down. I'm doing it for you, Sasuke. You're the only man I've ever loved and the one who probably cares about me the least.

"I-Ino, I know you have feelings for me, but you can't do this anymore. You can't bicker like you did back then."

"I know, Sasuke! I know! I'm n-not bickering! I promise to leave you and her alone! I don't want to fight over this anymore! Do you believe me? Please, just take the flowers and go!" before I notice it, I feel wetness falling from my eyes. I'm crying in front of my prince, the one that loves someone else. He just nods.

He nods and leaves.

I grip the counter tightly and stare down at the flowers with tears streaming madly down my face. The flowers stare back at me without a care. I gasp and hiccup as my tears plop on those sweet petals and roll down them. They all become a blob of color. It's painful. It's so painful to do the right thing. It's painful to look at these beautiful flowers that are nothing but a blur. My hand shakes as I bring it up to wipe my tears away. It's finally done. I really can't change anything. Sasuke doesn't love me.

I turn slowly. There's a pair of sandal-clad feet. Someone's here! I look up to greet the face. It's a cold and empty face. My heart nearly stops. It can't be, can it? Sabaku no Gaara is standing across from me looking like Death himself.

"W-Welcome t-to the Yamana-naka..." I choke, still biting back a few rebellious tears. I can't do this. I run behind the register. I reach on the back shelf for a handkerchief and wipe the rest of my tears. With a deep breath I turn back around and try again.

"Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower shop. How may I help you, G-Gaara-san?" I say with a sniff. At least, I could say the whole greeting and I even managed to stay polite. Why is he in the store anyway? Gaara doesn't look like a guy that would buy flowers. I ponder about it for a while. If I'm lucky, he might be here to kill me.

Then I could be reborn.

He just stares with that same cold face. Then his expressionless mask becomes a glare. I smile back weakly. Kindness is difficult to maintain.

"'Gaara-san'?" he repeats in his chilly voice, "What happened to 'hideous brother'?"

I flinch.

I slump down a bit. That was my big mouth working it's wonders again. So he is here to kill me.

"Oh," I start,"I'm really sorry about that. My mouth just...I say really stupid things all the time, really. I don't mean them but they just fly out of my mouth, you know? I'm really really sorry. I was just trying to get at your sister. I didn't mean - "

"Shut up."

Flinch.

Can you just kill me already? I don't see the point in drawing out the pain.

"I mean...I k-know. You don't have to apologize," he says calmly. He's still staring at me. His gaze is so intense. There's a long awkward silence.

No. I mean it's really awkward. It's awkward like "I forgot to put a shirt on again, didn't I?" akward. He doesn't stop staring. His dark-rimmed, empty, bright lime eyes just keep boring into me. It's freaky! I don't want to look away, but my eyes can't keep a steady gaze on him. I really wish he would just say something. I sure as hell don't know what to say. So this silence that feels like I'm being undressed and put on display continues.

Finally, he looks away towards the flowers. I sigh in relief and feel like I can look at him safely, since he's stopped staring. I narrow my eyes. Is he blushing? Well, whatever. If he's not going to kill me, I might as well try to do my job. I timidly walk over to him.

"D-Do you need h-help with anything?" I ask with my hand nervously raised to my lips, "Do you want some flowers?"

"No."

Alright. Well, it's perfectly normal to go into a flower shop and not want to buy flowers. Other people have been doing that lately. Sasuke...he still ended up leaving with flowers. I might as well give this guy one too. Didn't someone say the gift of giving is the greatest gift of all? I don't know if I buy that crap, but it seems like I need to make a lot of apology gifts lately. I look at the huge selection as he just stands there stiff as a statue. I finally see a white and yellow flower with large petals.

"H-Here," I whisper, "Take this flower from me. It means 'humility'. I really am sorry for hurting you. Take it. You don't have to pay for it."

My hand is outstretched to him and he just stares at me again. This time his stare is totally bewildered. Hasn't he ever seen a flower before? He slowly reaches for it and places his hand on top of mine. His hands are so soft and warm. I didn't think they would be. I blush fiercely. He's up closer to me now. He looks so much taller from up close. I feel small next to him.

"'Humility'?" he asks. Something about the way he said that one word so softly is undeniably sexy. I nod, but I can still feel the blood rushing to my face. He's still touching my hand. He leans closer to me.

"I didn't know flowers had meanings," he says softly.

"Yes, they do," I say, hoping he'll take the damn flower we're both holding, "Look. Point out any flower in the store and I'll tell you what it means, ok?"

He nods and finally takes the flower into his own hand. I grin to myself. My plan worked. He points a little shyly to one of the flowers.

"Ah...that one means 'Absence'."

Point.

"Mourning."

Point.

"Indifference."

Point.

"Disdain."

Point.

"Winter, Age."

Point.

"Pleasures of memory."

Point.

"Love at first Sight."

He stops pointing. I wonder why. I could go at this all day. I know every flower by heart.

"You're crying," he says calmly. His face is gazing at me intently again, but this time it's different. It's hard to tell on him, but he looks kind of sad.

"I am?" I touch my face and sure enough I find tears.

"Are you going to be ok?" he asks softly. His question shocks me. I nod fervently, but my sobs don't stop.

"Don't w-worry," I say weakly. I move to sit down on one of the empty counters, and I'm surprised that he follows and sits with me.

"You know, these flowers all have stupid meanings. Aren't there any that have nice meanings?" he asks seriously with the most adorable frown on his face. I can't help but laugh out loud. The meanings are pretty stupid. All flowers are pleasant until you know what they mean. He looks at me in surprise. He's not so bad, I guess, but totally different from the last time I saw him.

"You know, you seem a lot different from the way you were a couple of days ago."

"How was I?" he asks darkly.

"Well...actually..." I blush deeply, "You, ah...kind of...you grabbed me." I whisper the last part. His eyes widen in horror.

"I did? I don't remember! ...I'm sorry," he bows his head in shame. I find this change in him kind of cute. So he didn't know what he was doing?

"What kind of pills were you on?" I giggle.

"Oh...well. The three of us are here for my...treatment. I needed to have a shot and a few other things done to me, but I don't really like to be touched. One of the nurses gave me some pills to calm me down, but that was the problem..."

"How?" I ask, frowning slightly.

"It made me too sleepy. I get violent when I get too sleepy. I caused some trouble and hurt a few nurses...and a pig."

"A pig?" I ask totally bewildered.

"A pig."

"Ok..."

"So your Hokage comes running in screaming with one of the women that was already there. She got really upset over that stupid pig. She didn't even care about her other nurses as much as she did for the pig."

I smile. This story is amusing.

"Your Hokage is a cruel woman. As punishment she's going to make me pay for the medical treatment of the pig. Not only that, but as a mean joke she gave me some other pills that were sure to keep me awake and willing to be...touched." He stiffens. He blushes and continues after a little pause,"I...I don't know everything the pills did, but apparently it made me too 'friendly'."

"Oh, really?" I ask,"What happened?"

"Ah...well. Kankuro said that I grabbed one of the nurses from...behind...and...and asked her to bear my children. I don't believe him but - "

I was rolling on the floor dying with laughter. Picturing him of all people, running around molesting nurses just made me feel like a bucket of tickles. Someone should have gotten that filmed!

"Oh, my God! You were molesting nurses! That's the funniest thing I've heard in a long time!" I laugh loudly while clutching my sides. His eyes are glued to the floor and he's blushing in a very "don't laugh, it's not funny" way. Oh, but it is funny. I'd like to see him running around like a madman hitting on women. That would make my day. I giggle some more and he turns to face me.

"Thanks, Gaara," I smile brightly,"You made my day."

BYE CHAPTER 3!

Gaara: (stealthily grabs nurse's ass) Will you...bear my children?

Nurse: AHHHHHH! (...yes)