2-7-07
one-shot turned too long fic, couples- Shikamaru/Ino, Neji/Tenten, some Naruto/Hinata and Sakura/Sasuke and a smash of Kakashi/Anko
Summary- Tenten is being stalked and finally takes the chance to ask for Neji's help in the matter, as Kakashi's current volume of Icha Icha Paradise has gone missing and he's come to the conclusion it's been stolen. And Naruto and Hinata have just announced their engagement while Sakura and Sasuke are trying to help each other muddle through life, all the while there's a plot to push Ino and Shikamaru closer together. Life could only be less clear...
Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.
xoxo
Title-Hidden Leaves
Chapter 5
By-Moon Prynces
xoxo
It was the last thing he expected to see.
"You've gotta be kidding." The blonde muttered as he got closer. "Now this is just sad." He commented louder, for the benefit of his company as he took a seat.
The dark-haired boy groaned in response, holding a cup to his lips. "Are you always coming here?" Sasuke asked back.
"Wasn't my intention. Guess it's just a sick habit now." Naruto grumbled, not looking like his usually please self. He paused to look up at his friend, the scowl still on his features. "Is that alcohol I smell?"
Sasuke flagged the ramen stand owner and requested another mug of saké. Although he received another strange look he didn't care. He picked a mug because it could hold more liquid and effectively thwart suspicion from the everyday-ers.
"Good call." Naruto said after getting his cup and staring down at it for a second before taking a drink.
"What happened? Doesn't your philosophy of talking and being open work at all?" Sasuke bit out.
"Maybe it would if she'd stop running away." Naruto responded with a frustrated voice. Then he eyed his companion. "What about you? I doubt the look on your face says you're happy on the inside and just hiding it carefully."
"Well she listened. And then denounced everything I said, or tried to say." At this point Sasuke sat up straight with a confused look and his inner turmoil showing. "Well mostly I tried to show her-"
"I think you should save the sex for after it works out." The blonde interrupted.
Sasuke glared at him. "Shut up already. In fact, she not only threw away my attempts, but then she said we shouldn't be living together anymore and that she'd move out." Naruto winced. "This is all thanks to your advice. If I had just left it all alone, nothing would've happened."
The former troublemaker shot him an 'are you stupid?' look. "Yeah, nothing. Nothing at all. And you two would probably still be tiptoeing around the big elephant in the room." He said sourly.
"What happened to you then, oh great wizard? And how will you fix your own problems?" He looked up from taking another sip.
"She ran away. She didn't want to talk to me and had been avoiding me for days. There. My life story."
Sasuke raised a brow at the tone being used. He sighed in defeat. "I think I give up." He admitted.
There was a pause as Naruto took a longer sip and stared off into space. "Maybe we should just let them go then." He stated, motioning his hand, still holding the cup. "Maybe it'll go like that stupid saying, if they come back all ends well."
Sasuke snorted. "Now I know you don't really believe that bullshit. It must be the drink."
"Of course I don't believe me!" He shouted, causing a few people to stare.
Neither of them seemed to mind anyway.
He went on, "She painted this vivid picture of how she was too afraid of losing me to go through with anything more. And I still have no idea where that leaves us."
Sasuke nodded as if he knew what Naruto was going through.
"She makes it seem like I'll go on a mission one day and just die." Naruto grumbled, taking another sip.
"That's because you could." Was the smart response, which Sasuke also added with shooting his friend a deadpanned look.
The blonde dropped his arms onto the counter top and sagged in his seat, glaring into the cup. "Shut up." He groaned. "Things are never gonna work out." And with that Naruto slammed his head onto the counter, ignoring the startled sounds from other people and the snort from Sasuke.
It was easy for the owner of Ichiraku to notice that his most frequent customer was getting tipsy and it would be wise to cut Naruto and Sasuke off of the alcohol for the rest of the night.
But it was still early in the evening and there was no end to the kind of troubles the two slightly inebriated teens-coming-into-adulthood could get themselves into.
xoxo
Now that she'd had a good amount of rest, which was only due to the fact that her friend had slipped some kind of sleep aid into her lunch, Tenten felt so much better as she woke up around the time the sun was setting.
And now that she was in her right mind she had the sense to be completely astounded and stupefied by her own actions. It was only a matter of time before she died of a heart attack and went to hell. There was also the matter of that sick tape still waiting in her living room.
But the thing that she remembered most... was Neji following her as she walked to the bathroom... and when she turned around to see him standing in the doorway she finally closed the door, locked it and proceeded to strip down.
Now if that wasn't some kind of turning point, she had no idea what was.
Luckily she was currently sitting up in the comfort of her own bed in her own room with the door tightly closed before her eyes. The only problem being that was it was awfully dark now.
Tenten sighed to herself, closing her eyes and trying hard not to freak out at something so stupid. She was definitely ready for some therapy.
She quickly jumped out of bed, trying to fix her clothes even though the effort was futile. There were wrinkles, her shirt was twisted to the left and her pants had practically slipped off. Some things were fixable however, and she sighed.
Then almost tripped over several things in her panic to flick on the light switch. Which had to be the most embarrassing thing she could've done. Because how could a fully trained kunoichi in her rank turn out to be afraid of the dark? That was just plain...
The brunette quietly opened her door and peaked out into the hallway for any sign of Neji. She caught a whiff of some scent coming from down the hall. He was probably cooking something then. Unless something was on fire... but she had to hope for the best as she tiptoed to the bathroom to make herself look a little more presentable.
Of course nothing ever seemed to come easy. And so she spent her time agonizing over the tape and how he must think everything was so stupid and he was probably angry that he wasted his time with her. She even found herself glancing at the few forms of makeup that littered the countertop.
Tenten shook her head and finally opened the bathroom door, and turned on the hallway lights as she reached the living room/kitchenette area. Neji didn't look up as he stood over the stove.
"Hey..." She laughed nervously, heading over to the sofa and not wanting to get in his way. "You don't have to make anything to eat or..." She trailed off as her eyes landed on the tape sitting on the coffee table, as if it were waiting for her.
Neji had yet to answer and she could imagine him being pissed with a stern face on. She felt tired already just thinking about it. And that damn tape was sitting in front of her, taunting her.
"It's nothing." He suddenly responded, causing her to jump out of her skin, nearly falling off the couch. She examined his voice and determined that he had sounded too neutral to tell how angry he was. It only served to freak her out more. "Don't you ever eat somewhere besides the living room?" He questioned, still not turning to look at her.
"The bedroom." Was her immediate response, which was suddenly found to be completely inappropriate. Tenten wanted to hit herself. "I mean, uh..."
"I meant the kitchen table. There is a counter here with stools. They may not look too comfy but..." He trailed off, and Tenten suddenly had the image of him smiling amusedly as he spoke this. Which is what brought her to get up and approach him cautiously.
"Right..." She said back as she got closer. She leaned over the island counter between them and turned her head to try and get a look at his face.
"And I thought maybe you wouldn't want to be in the living room after what happened earlier... But I guess I'm just reminding you of it by saying so." He went on. Neji did glance back after saying this when he felt her looking at him, but the smile she must've imagined was gone by then, that is if he had been smiling at all.
Tenten looked away, trying not to give herself away. "Uh, yeah. How long was I... out for?"
He paused in his task and looked up in thought. "About two hours or something, I think."
"Shit." She whispered to herself. Tenten turned back to him. "What'd you do till then? Were you here the whole time?"
"Well first I tried watching some TV and then I remembered to make a few calls so Tsunade wouldn't kill us when we got back. And I started making us dinner not too long ago." Neji answered. "I guess I'll be done in a few minutes. It's not that great or big or anything."
"Well I'm just glad my kitchen's not on fire." She smiled lightly, trying to keep up a comfortable conversation.
"I think we need to talk." He said, turning around to look at her.
Which he just had to shoot down. "About what?" Tenten questioned as he turned off the stove and placed the plates in front of them. She finally decided to try her luck and sat down on the stool next to her.
He raised an eyebrow with a look. She tried not to wince, cuz yeah, that was a stupid response. They waited until halfway through the meal to try and continue. Neji was sure it would be a bad idea to bring up the topic while she was eating and have her choke on something.
"The stalker... person." He coughed at the inarticulate sentence.
Tenten sighed and poked at the food with her face in a palm. "Uh, yeah." She glanced up briefly. "Thanks for the help. Do you mind if we never speak about this again?"
He managed to frown at her. "That's ridiculous. We have to talk about it now. Or let you spend too much money on therapy."
She mentally snapped her fingers in a 'darn, he's got me' way.
"Why don't you wanna talk about it?" His frown deepened and he stopped moving the fork altogether. "Is it just me or something? You don't wanna talk about it with me?" He asked curiously.
Tenten tried not to look too guilty but she could practically feel his glare of annoyance. Finally she jumped up hysterically shouting, "YES!" They stared at each other a moment.
"But why? We've been friends for such a long time. How's it hard to talk to me all of a sudden?" He said, looking surprised.
"It's always been hard to talk to you, Neji!" She shouted again, throwing her hands up dramatically. He blinked at her. "You're Hyuuga Neji! You're intimidating even when you don't try! And yeah, sure, we've been friends forever but you're hardly emotional when it comes to anything!"
Neji still stared at with the perfectly confused face. "So then... have we not been real friends all those years?"
She made a frustrated sound and attempted to kick the stool resulting in an aching toe. Tenten looked up just in time with a glare. "See! I even feel stupid right now! And all I did was accidentally stub my toe."
"Actually you kicked the-" He started off.
"SEE!" She screamed again, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "You always seem so superior! It's not your fault. I suppose it's just the way you are."
Neji couldn't help but grin at her defeated expression as she thumped her butt on the floor to sit down.
"It's just... Because I'm an idiot, and you're Neji." She tried again. "And now I feel even dumber than before."
She waited, looking down solemnly at the floor as shuffling was heard. Neji kneeled down next to her.
"So... you have some crazy notion that you have to be perfect around me?" He asked slowly, wondering just how fragile she was getting. Of course Tenten didn't bother answering as she tapped her nail on the tiled floor beneath them. "Come on Tenten, I wanna get these things cleared up. You might not think I was a great friend but it wasn't my entire fault. You were the one unwilling yourself to behave a certain way around me." He smirked crookedly and quirked an eyebrow. "And that's really a shame cuz it's pretty cute the way you act so weird sometimes."
Tenten looked up at him with a glare. "I act weird?" Her expression looked deadly.
He did chuckle at her however. "Yeah, so what? Maybe I have a soft spot for strangely hyperactive kunoichi."
Now her face was as blank and her mind was as confused as his had been earlier.
Neji flushed at the look he was getting and stood up quickly. Her hair was still out and wild as ever and she looked pretty innocent, that is if he didn't know she always had at least one weapon on her person at any given moment. Well, except maybe in the shower of course. Her pants barely hung onto her hips while her shirt had obviously shrunk in the wash so that it now showed her midriff.
"Hey, you know I was thinking..." He started off as Tenten also rose to her feet, cheeks tinting and coughing uncomfortably.
She blinked as something dawned on her. "Yeah, you're right!" She grinned wickedly, eager to evade the rest of the previous topic… at least for now. "You wanted to see some more of those tricks I've got right?"
It went without saying that she was elated as Neji grinned at her words, which had to mean he was at least a little interested in her, or just in the physical stuff but at least that meant he wasn't gay like she had almost suspected before this whole ordeal.
As she grabbed his hand and 'dragged' him to the couch, he paused.
"Wait, don't we need some more clarification? Just because I wanna make out with you doesn't say anything." He frowned, not paying attention as he was shoved down onto the sofa.
"But Neji," She blinked innocently. "You were never one to say anything anyway."
He scowled, also not noticing as she swiftly sat in his lap, straddling him. He didn't realize any of it until they were too engulfed in each other's presence. Five minutes later he broke the kiss.
"You know, we might have to keep this up for a while." He stated, looking quite serious. Tenten only tilted her head in question. "Yeah, or else your stalker might drop by for a visit one day and find out we fooled him." He grinned.
Tenten started laughing at him, even when she realized this was the equivalent of a normal person saying 'I like you'. "You're pretty sloppy at this." She commented, licking her lips with an evil look.
Neji managed to change color. "Guess you must've figured it out by now." He caught her confused look and shook his head. "It's the one thing you're better at than me. See? I'm not perfect!"
She rolled her eyes. "Geez, why would I ever want to be with someone so inexperienced?" She joked as Neji frowned. "I suppose..." She sighed. "I'll just have to impart some of my wisdom on you."
And just like that things were "back to normal".
xoxo
She couldn't believe what was happening. It had to be one of the most ridiculous situations she'd had to witness. Although with the group of people she knew that seemed to happen on a daily basis.
"See! And I thought you said you could stay away from me." Naruto sung happily, rocking side to side with a playful smile on his face.
A police officer standing behind Hinata shook his head. They had found Naruto wandering around empty streets and lurking through alleys with the same expression. At first there was some doubt as to whether they could contain the ninja, seeing as it was Uzumaki Naruto and that he wasn't a silly genin anymore. But as they realized he was drunk out of his mind, they thought it best for himself and the citizens around that he be awarded his own private little jail cell, to keep him out of trouble.
And since everyone in Konoha knew about the engagement, the first person the officers called was Hyuuga Hinata, to the rescue. Because surely the damsel could control her... uh, beast.
"Uh, thank you... for calling me." Hinata mumbled, still staring at her fiancé. "Do you mind if..." She trailed off just as the officer nodded his head and walked away, giving the two a little more privacy. Cautiously, and with a growing temper she stalked closer to the bars separating them. "Naruto!" Hinata hissed with an angry expression. "What are you doing?" She almost shrieked.
Naruto just turned to look at her slowly with a silly grin. He started bobbing his head side to side to some unknown beat.
"Naruto if you don't answer me with something good right now, I'm going to leave you to rot in that cell for the rest of the night!" She threatened, grabbing onto the bars. "Why are you here? And why are you drunk?"
"I was only... just hanging out with my buddy Sasuke!" He managed to argue, still slurring a little. But it seemed as if whatever amount of alcohol he'd consumed was starting to wear off.
She wanted to smack herself in the head, but settled for knocking her forehead against the cool metal bars. "Would you just look around and tell me where you are? That is, if you haven't already noticed."
Naruto had to decency to scowl, his feet propped up on the small bed with him. "I know where I am. I know exactly where I am!" He said, his voice getting louder. "The real question is, do you know where you are."
Hinata blinked, looking at him as if he were crazy. "We're at the police station, Naruto." She responded in a flat voice, something that was hard for most people to imagine her say.
He still looked away with his nose in the air. "Well, I know why I'm here. Why're you here?" He asked again.
She blinked again. This conversation was going nowhere. "I'm here because I got a call telling me you were in jail and that no one trusted you to get home by yourself."
Now the blonde turned to stare at her seriously, although looking slightly fierce. "So? That's not the reason you came. You could've just told them to get somebody else to come and get me." He argued back again.
The expression on her face didn't even begin to show her confusion. "Oh? So you'd rather someone else came to pick your sorry butt outta jail then?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow.
He simply shook his head with a grin, obviously knowing something that she didn't. "You were worried about me."
Hinata was now so irritated she was starting to change color, her cheeks tinged with some red. "What does that even matter?! If you don't get your point across in the next two minutes I'm telling Sakura or somebody to pick you up in the morning."
Naruto, still grinning, got up and pulled a key ring out of his pocket. He easily slipped his arm around the bar and opened the lock. Hinata watched in shock as she was invited into the jail cell as if it were his house.
"How did you-" She sputtered, walking to the opened cell door.
He shrugged, tossing them into the air and catching them in the same hand. "Just because I'm a little drunk," He made a tiny gap between his thumb and pointer finger and held it eye level. "Doesn't mean I can't pull off easy pranks like that."
"You really are still twelve years old." Hinata said, shaking her head in disbelief.
"You coming in or not?" Naruto asked, opening the door wider for her. Maybe he wasn't even as drunk as he appeared to be at all. Or maybe he'd been wandering around for so long that the alcohol had been wearing off as he waited for her in jail.
She hesitated, because after all, why would she walk right into a jail cell with the one person who managed to get on her nerves so much? She shook her head, if he did manage to piss her off further she could just beat him up. Hinata did know how to do that much.
"Fine." She huffed, walking inside slowly. Which just had to be her greatest downfall because as soon as she took two steps inside, Naruto grinned masterfully, pulled the door shut and tossed the key ring outside the cell a few feet away. Hinata turned around quickly with a glare. "What are you doing?" Her calm voice said.
At this, he definitely had a reason to be scared. It was always like this before she tried to literally kill him. The calm before the storm, as they say, and it also applied to the Hyuuga heiress. Although to most people Hinata and Naruto were a cute, perfect couple, but underneath there were the things that would cause a normal person to run for a bomb shelter. These things hardly ever happened though, and only a few times did it occur in public.
"I'm forcing you to spend time with me." He replied cheerfully, but Hinata could spot his muscles tense underneath his clothes.
She glanced around. It would be easy for her to get out of the cell, but the damage she was sure to inflict would be too much. She didn't need the embarrassment or to have her family owing a huge debt at this stage in the game.
Hinata sighed and began tapping a foot as she folded her arms. "What were you saying earlier?" She settled for being pissed because at least she wouldn't start crying in frustration at her predicament.
Naruto finally released a grin and walked past her to sit back on his bed that sat against a wall. "You were worried about me." He repeated, waiting. He patted the space next to him but she only raised her brows. When she didn't negate his statement he opened his mouth. "See! You didn't even deny it!"
She sighed again and let her arms fall. "Of course I had to be worried! No one told me why you were in jail! And they made it seem like an emergency! 'Can't let him go home by himself' and so I thought you'd gotten yourself hurt or beat up or something stupid!" Her hair swished back and forth as she moved around agitatedly. "Do you know what time it is?" She questioned. "Too early to get drunk! It's no wonder you got yourself caught. I would've expected the village's number one hyperactive, knucklehead ninja to be more experienced at getting away." She said haughtily.
"Yeah, well maybe I wanted to get caught!" He argued with a frown, unsettled by her jab at his pranking skills. Though they both knew that wasn't true.
A moment of silence passed, as Hinata wondered when someone would be coming back to check on her and get her out and Naruto tried not to sulk and focus on the task at hand. He stared ahead, being eye level with her trim waist in a floral printed, summer dress.
"Why are you fighting with me again?" He questioned, twisting his head in a curious manner.
"I'm not." She huffed. "You're just being difficult."
Naruto grinned. "Yeah, but before weren't you angry with me? In fact you wanted to get away from me and now you're not even trying to get out of this cell." Now he raised a brow. "So I'm guessing this is your way of saying you want to talk?" Hinata snorted. He patted the bed again and she gave up the resistance, walking over to sit next to him. But when he moved to put an arm around her she glared again.
"Okay, so what? I was worried." She admitted, still trying to sound huffy about the whole thing.
After hearing her voice, Naruto looked away from the ceiling he'd been staring at to glance at her. He smiled softly at her. "Think about it. What'll happen if I come back from a mission, injured and in the hospital?" He questioned. Hinata didn't choose to answer. "I bet you'd probably be rushing to come visit me and yell at me like now."
The silence following this statement was used by Hinata to think over what he was saying.
He looked up at the ceiling again, propping an arm on his knee. "It doesn't matter if we were married or together or not. If anything happened to you, I'd be there. I'd be freaking out and worrying and everything. And I'm sure you'd feel the same way about me." Naruto looked back at her with big, blue eyes and his knowing smile. "It doesn't matter how you try to distance yourself from me, cuz you're here aren't you?"
Hinata sighed, slouching down in her seat. "How do you make everything seem so sensible? I guess... maybe... you're right." She admitted grudgingly.
"You must be hanging around Sakura-chan and Ino too much." He shook his head. "I'm right and you know it!"
"Your pompous attitude is not convincing me of anything." She stated, still put out.
Although Naruto did manage to keep everything light-hearted as he turned her around to see the light, now was his opportunity to hit his point home. And make sure she knew what she'd be missing if she really wanted to separate.
Hinata hated to admit it but she'd couldn't help but see exactly what he meant. Which also made her question why she was here in the first place, from ending that phone call with an 'I'll be right there' to walking right into his stupid little trap.
It seemed too hard to swallow, but the ridiculous truth was... that she just couldn't stay away. She hated to imagine that in five years from now she'd be back to stalking him and purposely running into him at "random" intervals.
And well... now that they were making out on that awfully small bed, she felt like she never wanted him to leave. Because... it just felt so good.
Okay, so maybe he did have a point. It had something to do with taking the good with the bad. Except she couldn't quite think straight at the moment.
Suddenly she pulled away, hovering above Naruto as he lay on the bed with a questioning gaze.
"We're not doing that, here." She stated simply, breaking the contact before things got out of hand. Naruto just grinned up at her...
And it took less than five seconds for the two to press themselves against the cold metal bars, all the while yelling for someone to get them out, that they were more than ready to go home.
xoxo
As he finally managed to come to, he realized vaguely that his hearing was a little off and it was taking his eyes too long to open. Also, there happened to be the fact that he wasn't lying down on the comfortable couch as he had been when falling asleep.
He was on the floor. And when he tried to move, soon realized his arms and legs were shackled.
Kakashi would've chuckled, wondering where someone would find shackles, well if the situation weren't so strange.
He also felt that his forehead protector wasn't on his face, but of course he'd taken it off before settling down for that nap. Which had been in the living room. Except now he found himself on the wooden floor of his bedroom.
Looking up he noticed a very familiar figure perched on the bed. And his response to her was definitely not what she expected.
"Did you make holes in my floor just to screw this in?" He asked, motioning to his bound arms and legs.
Anko rolled her eyes. "You just answered the question yourself. If I had to screw it in, of course there are holes."
He chuckled lightly. "You're paying to have it fixed."
"Oh, I really doubt that." She answered, getting up and heading to his cabinet full of Icha Icha Paradise books.
"Speaking of those." He went on normally with a raised brow. "Have you-"
"You sure have quite a collection." She interrupted, making him frown. "But not very complete with that one missing book, huh?" Anko turned to him with dark eyes. "You don't seem to mind being tied up. Was it some long-awaited fantasy?"
"Actually, it did cross my mind." He answered with a smile that made Anko stare. Which happened to be when he realized his mask was gone. Narrowing his eyes, he didn't bother asking.
Anko just blinked and moved closer. "You know, for someone with such good features, I don't get why you'd let it go to waste." She grinned, kneeling beside his face and tracing his jaw with a finger. "You'd be a great 'chick magnet' and all. Which makes me wonder." She moved the finger to her own chin. "Have you ever been in the presence of any of those things you read about in your most loved book?"
"If you mean bondage gear, sadly no." Kakashi went on.
She just managed to roll her eyes. "No, I meant women." Anko walked around his bed and casually took off her jacket. "From what I can- hell, the world can tell- you haven't been getting any action lately, have you?" And she put on her best sympathetic voice.
"Well, it has been longer than I'd like." He murmured, eyes turning to the ceiling after watching her move. "So it that what you're here for? To make me feel better?" Kakashi turned back to her with a mocking smile.
"Why not? Your problems are my problems. Just like with your dumb book." She responded.
"Okay, then why am I tied up again?" He asked back.
"Because," Anko walked back to the books and pulled one out, giving it a glance, before tossing it to the floor. Kakashi frowned before hearing the thud. "I'm just..." She started off, grabbing one book after the other and dropping them as well. "Well, I'm just a little- a little pissed off." She went on, grabbing a pile and continuing her weird behavior.
"What are you-" He started with furrowed brows, but was cut off again.
"You know, I've tried reading these things before." Anko said, holding one up and staring at the cover. With a short laugh she tossed it over her shoulder, the book sliding right up to his face. "Turns out it wasn't for me."
At this point, the team seven teacher was holding back as he watched Anko ramble on pointlessly as his precious books lay around him like fallen ninja. Said person was humming to herself as she rummaged through the cabinet. After a minute, Anko paused and turned around with a curious smile.
"So, how are you holding up down there?" She asked, walking back over to the victim.
"Just peachy." He answered in his normal way while staring at her cautiously.
"Hey, I was just wondering..." Anko started off innocently as she crouched down closer. "So, you never really finished reading that volume of Icha Icha Paradise, right? That's why you're so eager to find it and all?"
Kakashi stared a moment longer than necessary before replying. "That's right."
"Oh, okay." She said, getting up and settling herself into a comfortable position on his bed. "You know, I think I'll give it a try one more time. Maybe it's not as bad as the last time I tried to read one."
He watched as Anko pulled out a book from her jacket and opened it slowly, her eyes mischievously looking at him as she did so. Then, she began to engross herself into the reading material. A moment of silence passed.
"Where did you get that?" Kakashi questioned, staring at the tattered cover.
Anko pretended to have barely heard him. "Huh? Oh, this?" She asked, holding the book up a little. "You know, around." She said before turning back to the pages.
xoxo
Sakura came home just after it had turned dark to realize Sasuke wasn't even home, which surprised her to say the least. She had actually expected him to spend the whole day moping around the house and waiting for her to get home.
She shook her head; it was the dumbest thing to think. Sasuke wouldn't be pining over anybody, especially not her.
So she went about tidying up a few things and making something to eat, remembering to call Shizune and ask for another day off. She planned on visiting her parents tomorrow and asking for her old room back and there would probably be a lot of begging involved.
She sighed, walking around and grabbing a packet of some easy-to-make dinner. She'd never get the same kind of freedom if she went home.
After half an hour of staring into space as she twirled a fork through her meal the door opened and the Uchiha walked in. Her first reaction to search him over carefully, wondering where he'd been but she didn't want to say anything.
And the most shocking thing happened, and she almost dropped the fork in her surprise. He spoke! He opened his mouth as if it were routine for him to do so, which we know not to be true what with his disability in this department.
"Sorry about getting back this late." He stated, walking over to the table she sat, where predictably another plate of food awaited him.
Sakura blinked, not realizing that she had been the one to prepare his food. It had just been an unconscious habit, after living with someone for about two years she was so conscientious. That and the fact that it could hardly be considered late really. It was only around six or seven in the evening.
"S'ok." She found herself muttering, casually returning to her meal.
Sasuke sat opposite her and paused slightly before also taking a stab at his food. The Uchiha, for his part, was grinning to himself on the inside. He so badly wanted to just blurt out the words, so sure that she'd proud of him without question. But he waited, not wanting to seem overexcited, because that just wasn't the Uchiha way.
After the silence had stretched on for a few minutes, in which it could be heard that Sakura wasn't enjoying her meal any longer, that is if you judged by the sound of clanking and her oddly expressionless face, she looked up.
"Where were you?" She asked, trying to seem careless as she got up with her mostly finished plate and walking to the sink.
"I went to see the Godaime." He answered coolly, just the way he'd perfected it all those years ago.
Dumping the rest of her food into the garbage proved difficult as she almost let go of the plate. "The wha-" Was her shocked response. "For what?" Sakura demanded suddenly. "Did she call to ask why I was out today?"
Sasuke was still shaking his head, though his expression did look pretty grim. He also stood up and walked over to her with his already finished plate. Distantly she thought that he really must've been hungry to finish it so quickly.
"I've accepted and come to terms with my actions when I left and betrayed Konoha. She finds it satisfactory that I've expressed my grief over this, even if it took a while." He grimaced slightly and paused. Sakura held her breath after dropping both plates and utensils into the sink. "So my punishment and repentance before I'm fully accepted as a ninja of Konohagakure won't be as severe. She wants me there tomorrow morning so I can get my proper sentence."
Sakura's eyes bulged out and she was sure she'd just gone deaf. It was hardly the fact that he'd said so much in one breath that shocked her anymore. But it was definitely the words he'd spoken. Her mouth hung open and there was nothing she could do about it.
"But really, things should've been much worse for me the moment I came back." He said thoughtfully. Then his dark eyes turned to stare at her, waiting for a response.
It took another minute or two, but she finally regained herself enough to ask. "Wha- Why did you... What made you go to her?"
He glanced to the side and shifted to the other leg. "Well I..." And even though now was the time the say the words... he just had no idea how to. Everything was stuck in his throat and he felt like he was choking on them.
Which is how he now found himself in the rather awkward position of her slapping him on the back hard enough to try and "dislodge" whatever he had been "choking" on, because obviously it looked like it to Sakura.
"You okay?" She asked, bending over, along with him as Sasuke was leaning with his hand on the counter for support.
Although not in his nature, his face was now slightly red and he held his neck as if he had been choking. That and he was so embarrassed that wished he had died already.
He coughed a bit more. "Uh, yeah." He stammered out.
Which had to be another clue that Sasuke was losing his mind, well in Sakura's opinion anyway.
The dark-haired boy-almost-man stood up straight again and cleared his throat, before turning to fix the kunoichi with a firm gaze. "I was hoping you'd come with me."
Sakura was surprised once more to find he had grabbed her hand and she looked down to stare at them strangely. Suddenly angry she yanked her hand away and stepped back with a fierce expression.
"Would you quit it already?" She shouted. "Stop it! Stop trying to make me change my mind! Stop trying to fool me into whatever trap it is you've got ready!"
Sasuke stared at her in confusion. "What're you-" But he barely had a chance to speak once an enraged Sakura got started.
"You're not even playing fair! And I know that you expect everything to be the same like when we were younger and I'll just run right into your arms and the world will suddenly be perfect for us, or you at least. If that's your great master plan I think it's time you leave." The pink haired girl stomped her foot. "And I don't mean just my house. Repentance my ass. You don't- You don't care." She broke off, folding her arms and glaring at him.
Sasuke wanted to slam his head into the nearest thing, which was the refrigerator. So yeah, he wanted to slam his head into the refrigerator. What the hell was going on? He didn't even feel like it was back to square one. It had to be negative one million or something! How thick could she possibly be? But then with her formerly being "forehead girl" and all...
He couldn't fight, nor did he notice, the nostalgic grin that crept up on his face as he shook his head in remembrance.
"This isn't funny you jerk! You're just as arrogant as ever!" She yelled accusingly. Sasuke looked up, having almost forgotten his current position. Then the worst possible thing happened. Her voice dropped and her eyes tore through him with hurt and anger as they glazed over. "I can't believe you."
"But why? Why can't you just accept that maybe I'm different? Maybe people have changed." He found himself arguing with her.
"You've got to be kidding me." She said, her voice still low as she gazed at him. "Let me tell you a little story, Sasuke-kun." She added, making him wince. "You were gone for so long, and for me it seemed so much longer than just a few years. And when you came back... Well, I'm not sure exactly what you expected. This is just who I am now. All... broken and hurt. You left and it hurt. And things happened, and it hurts! And now! Now you think you want me? For real this time? I can't, I just can't play around like this anymore." Sakura sighed to herself, her hands formed fists as she exhaled. "Just... just give me a reason. Tell me not to go. And mean it then."
Sakura turned around, ready to walk into the bathroom for a long, hot shower when another voice echoed behind her.
In his most serious tone of voice and with eyes set on something he had to have, Sasuke opened his mouth. "You can't leave, Haruno Sakura." The kunoichi found herself smiling slightly at the use of her full name, forgetting about the implication of his words. "If you're broken..." He paused as if thinking it over. "I'm going to fix you." She glanced up and to the side, wondering if she should bother to turn around. "I'll be taking care of you this time around."
xoxo
The first half an hour had been Anko giving little 'oh's and 'wow' every few minutes as she determinedly tried to get through his book without doing something she'd later regret. Kakashi just laid there with a permanent frown and didn't move.
But then she decided to grab another that was nearest and begin reading that. Where she moved on to staring intently at the pages and licking her lips every so often. Kakashi managed to not stare at the ways she kept shifting around on the bed to make everything seem like an invitation. Nor did he bother to ask when she would be finished or what was the point of this entire scenario, because it was Anko and she was over eighty percent crazy.
Not to mention she took her time with each page, sometimes even flipping back to reread something or other. But by the time she picked up a seventh, he was ready to bring her 'revenge' to a screeching halt.
"You know, there are probably about ten jutsu's I could've used to get out of this, just off the top of my head." Kakashi said, finally opening his mouth.
She didn't seem all too concerned. "And you waited this long, why?" Was her response with a cheeky grin.
He kept silent though, with eyes staring her down. Which didn't seem to intimidate her at all. And actually he was bluffing because he could feel her chakra being used on these ordinary looking shackles.
For his two seconds of thinking he was granted the displeasure to realize Anko had turned her nose back to his book without saying anything.
"So you just plan on leaving me here like this while you read all my books?" Was his dry tone and bored expression as he asked this question.
"Mmhmm." Anko replied without turning back to him.
"And what if I'm hungry? Or need to use the lavatory?" He went, looking as if he were compiling a mental list.
Anko snorted at the word he'd used and just ignored everything else.
Kakashi glanced over to see her completely uninterested face. His eyes trailed down the rest of her body and then to the book in her hands. An idea struck him, something that probably shouldn't have. Something that he probably shouldn't suggest.
But he was going to anyway. Yes. He was going there.
"Or we could just skip the foreplay?"
Immediately Anko's face was revealed from behind the book and she stared at him curiously. "What was that?" She asked, blinking slowly.
Kakashi only shot her a devilish look. To which she replied with her own facial expression of the same kind.
"Oh? Well here I thought you'd want to know the story of how I came across this." She said, holding up to book.
The moment froze as he stared at her, "Fine." He conceded. "How'd you find it?"
"Actually it's not gonna be that simple for you. It's one or the other. Not both." Anko said, licking her lips enticingly. "And hey, I won't take it personally if you choose the book instead." She said with a careless shrug. Kakashi's eyes followed as she paced the floor near his body. "I dunno... considering everything you saw that night you broke into my house..." She said thoughtfully.
The sensei for team seven stayed quiet as he watched her. His brow furrowed as he glanced around the walls. Him? Making a choice? That's not how things went for him. He finally sighed. "Okay then, tell me how you found it."
Anko pouted playfully, but bounced back quickly enough. "Alright then." She settled back onto the bed and held it up, making a horrified face. "You'll never guess who it was."
If he weren't bound, Kakashi would've leaned forward eagerly. But he kept his face neutral and just listened.
"You." She said with a grin.
Kakashi blinked. "Come again."
This time she rolled her eyes. "I never thought such a great shinobi would be such a moron." She stated. "It was buried. In dirt." Anko said as if he were stupid. "By a dog. Akamaru to be exact. Inuzuka Kiba's dog, I believe." Kakashi stared at her in disbelief. "Akamaru found it." She paused. "After you dropped it."
"Uh huh." He responded, as if it were nothing, brows still furrowed.
She leaned closer. "Is that all you've got to say? No admitting your mistake or smacking yourself on the forehead, mentally of course, and wondering how you could've been so stupid?" She questioned.
Anko watched him carefully but it was a second too late and found herself once again bound by rope and tumbling, quite painfully, to the hardwood floor. She watched as he smiled, and it reflected on her face as well, if only more wicked.
"Do your worst." She challenged.
xoxo
The blonde lay in bed, even though it was rather early, and stared up at the ceiling. She found herself in one of Shikamaru's favorite positions for cloud watching, hands behind her head as she looked upward.
Speaking of Shikamaru... even though she was fighting every urge... the thought still came back. What the hell was going on?
It wasn't easy to admit... but Ino did realize she had a little problem when it came to relationships, or the lack of them. Without looking through the closet full of skeletons, she saw a pattern from the moment she met a guy and found him worth pursuing. Which usually ended up in one night stands or "relationships" that were more focused on the physical aspect. A few times there were strong emotions, but they were too awkward and didn't quite fit.
'Oh god, am I slut?' Ino thought to herself, pulling a face, still looking at the ceiling. Then gently shook her head. 'If my mother knew about any of that...' Her eyes trailed down to the left a little.
Of course she had to wonder what Shikamaru would think of the way she'd been living her life. Sure, everyone still acted like little kids, but really they were all around seventeen or eighteen years old. And things had changed.
And this new attraction between her and Shikamaru was making her head spin. Really, what was the point of conjuring up some new relationship with him? And why now? Why did things shift so suddenly at this point in their lives?
It totally threw her off. Especially since she was in a good place right now, that didn't involve a guy. She was single and didn't mind at all, and it'd been that way for about half a year now.
Besides, all that flirting shouldn't mean much. He had to be playing around with her. There was no way Shikamaru would suddenly find himself interested in her. Right?
After that, the only thought going through her head was 'Why?' Why her? Why her?
Ino gave up and turned over to stare at her wall, which coincidentally had a mirror there. So she spent about ten minutes staring and blinking at herself.
She almost didn't recognize herself. What with the shorter hair and wrinkles and- Wait. She shot up from the bed thinking, 'Wrinkles?!' Only to realize it was just her thinking/worried/confused face.
Instead of trying to get to sleep, the blonde threw herself out of the bed and headed for the door, glancing at the clock that read around eight something. Ino barely grabbed a jacket (one that obviously wasn't her own) to throw over her silk nightgown, before walking straight out the front door.
As stupid as this move was, she wasn't worried in the least. She was a well trained shinobi and could probably restrain most men within two minutes. That and her neighborhood was one of the quietest districts of Konoha.
"Damnit." She muttered, realizing she'd forgotten to put on some shoes before leaving. Which she discovered upon stepping on something sharp.
Luckily since she knew the area well, there was one spot that was usually her destination. A big grassy hill, one that slowly sloped down to meet the river beneath. It always reminded her of Shikamaru because it was just the kind of place he'd always love to be.
"What are you doing?"
Ino was shocked out of her trance and stopped just short of the grass. Turning around she found the one person she didn't want to face. Of course, he didn't seem to feel the same way. In fact, looking her up and down with hands on his hips Shikamaru shook his head.
"No wonder you get so many dates all the time. Dressed like that I'm surprised no one's following you around right now." He said thoughtfully.
Ino glared, pulling the jacket closed a little more. "This is a nice neighborhood with families! No one would be following me but you."
He eyed her legs, the sleeping gown only reached around mid thigh. Then his eyes went up to the jacket. "I was wondering where that was!" He said suddenly, moving closer with a hand outstretched unconsciously.
Ino smacked his hand away. "If you didn't notice, I'm using it right now." Really she was wondering when the hell she'd borrowed Shika's jacket in the first place.
"Why are you out so late? Nothing to do at home, all alone?" He questioned, raising his brows suggestively.
The blonde smacked him upside the head. "Shut up, and stop that!" She said irritably. "And why are you lurking around my neighborhood anyway?" Ino closed her eyes as a heavy breeze passed, whipping her short hair around her face.
Shikamaru wasn't paying attention, or it seemed like it, as he waltzed past her to the hill and promptly sat down silently. Ino turned and followed him with an impatient look.
Lying back with his hands behind head, he opened his mouth. "Hardly have time for this anymore..." There was a long pause, where even Ino sat down and stared up at the night's sky. "I'm sorry."
Eyes shifting to the left before turning her head fully, Ino gazed at him blankly. With her mouth slightly parted it was easy to see she was confused.
Shikamaru sighed. "I'm saying... I apologize." He turned his head in the opposite direction so she wouldn't see. "For trying to push you into anything."
Ino looked down as well, completely misunderstanding. In her head she took his apology to mean he never wanted to be with her. That maybe he really had been joking around all that time. And that whole 'why' question turned into 'why not?' and 'what's wrong with me?'
'But really,' she thought, trying to cheer herself up, 'Shika would probably be better off with some level-headed girl who wasn't at all vain and-'
"I guess it's my fault really. Maybe I just took something you did or said the wrong way." He went on, turning back to stare openly at the sky.
Ino stared hard, glancing around at the grass and river. Abruptly she looked up to say something. "You haven't muttered troublesome anytime in the conversation yet."
His gaze fell on her face and he gave a small smile. "I was wondering whether it was a conversation since until then I was the only one speaking for a while."
Unconsciously a finger went to poke at the healing scratch she'd received not even a week ago. Shikamaru winced even though Ino didn't acknowledge any sort of pain of discomfort. "So are you saying you're done?" She asked suddenly with a very empty tone of voice and expressionless face.
"Done?" He raised a brow in question and sat up. "With...?"
When she didn't respond, he assumed she was spacing off on him. It had to be one of the strangest conversations he'd had with his blonde teammate. Basically because it wasn't a conversation, and in fact Ino was hardly saying anything, which was more troublesome than her normal behavior.
Ino laid back down in the grass and stared up blankly at the sky, trying to sort her thoughts as Shikamaru stared at her with furrowed brows.
Although she wanted to melt at his sincerity, she had this great revelation dawn on her. That Shikamaru had grown up much more than she'd realized in the past few years. Maybe she'd never taken the time to notice or maybe she'd never wanted to accept the truth.
Him hardly having time for cloud watching was something. That and he didn't feel the need to utter 'troublesome' so often anymore. And the way he'd taken charge on their previously failed mission, well he was much more responsible now.
And she was sure Asuma-sensei would be proud of him. And Chouji too. But what about her? For all her talk of wanting to grow up, all she'd managed was a haphazard haircut and started wondering about her failed romantic relationships.
Maybe Sakura was right. That she should give him a chance...? Shikamaru did always bring out the better qualities in her. Just like she'd always nagged him to work harder, train more, etc., he always bugged her on the annoyingly pointless things she did, causing her to look at herself more closely.
Except now it looked a little too late. Because he probably was kidding. Or he was ending his pursuit of her, which would mean she'd just thrown away her chance already.
"What're you thinking?" He asked, raising a brow as he looked down at her.
Sighing, she sat up again, hands flat on the ground behind her. "Why'd you do all of that anyway?" She questioned, avoiding his gaze.
Shikamaru found himself shrugging. "I don't know. I mean I never really thought about it before. But then Chouji said something and put this idea in my head."
"What was all that weird talk with innuendos and stuff?" She asked again, not risking him a glance.
"Not sure." He shrugged again. "I guess... I just thought it'd get your attention or something. Besides, it was fun." He grinned to himself.
The blonde couldn't help smiling as well when she picked up his amused tone. "So it's done? Then it's over?" She asked, finally looking up at him carefully.
"Truthfully... I haven't figured out what I want yet. I mean- not that you aren't desirable or anything!" He tried to cover up quickly, not wanting to make her angry.
Ino laughed at this. "I don't know what I want either." She said with a sigh, returning to the earlier solemn state.
"It did feel a little weird, didn't it?" He asked, scratching behind his head. "But it doesn't mean I'm done with you." He ended with a grin.
Ino stared at him longer. "So when are we gonna figure this out?" There was a pause as the two glanced around, unconcerned.
"Does making out count for something?" He asked, still grinning. She managed to glare. "Or at least a kiss?" Though he looked hopeful, she finally got that he was joking.
"I'm tired." She yawned for effect. "Shika let's go home. We'll figure it out later." As they got up and started to walk, with her leading the way, she abruptly stopped and turning to slam into him. "And I don't mean that as a proposition you pervert!" Ino said, smacking him again.
xoxo
She sighed to herself, trying to keep awake as she waited. Looking through the windows she saw storm clouds forming and soon it started to rain. The blonde looked up as a cup of tea was placed in front of her by a smiling waitress.
A few minutes later someone burst through the door and quickly walked over, grabbing as many napkins as possible to try and get rid of the water on her arms and face. "Hey, sorry I'm kinda late."
"I was waiting for like twenty minutes." Ino replied, lazily stirring sugar into the cup. "You're lucky I have nothing better to do today." She said, stifling a yawn.
Sakura glanced over as she sat down. "What have you been up to?"
"Oh." Ino waved a hand, this time the yawn got through. "Just haven't slept much these past few nights." Sakura quirked an eyebrow. "Spent it with Shikamaru and his over 200 IQ or whatever."
The pink-haired kunoichi made a face, thinking this was some form of dirty talk. "You and Shikamaru?!" She questioned with a lowered voice.
Ino blinked to herself. Then let out a laugh. "No, not like that. We just stayed up late talking. There's never much time during the day with work and all. Suddenly we're getting mission files thrown at us."
Sakura blinked again. "So... you and Shikamaru?" She questioned, this time with confusion.
The blonde tilted her head thoughtfully. "Maybe..."
There was a pause and Sakura called a waitress to get a cup of coffee. "Well... Sasuke was supposed to move out." Ino nearly spit out the sip she'd taken. "But we worked something out. And he's staying. Hey, tell Shikamaru I said thanks, okay?"
'For what?' Ino thought to herself, unable to miss the fact that her best friend seemed more cheery.
xoxo
True to her normal routine, Tenten was on her way back to work from her lunch break. Work being the report on her last mission that she'd procrastinated on filling out. Her lunch break being the hour she spent at home watching TV and eating macaroni and cheese, which she almost burnt.
Because all you had to do was give Tenten a few days and she'd be running properly again. Just like the microwave in her kitchen.
'Wonder where Neji-' She thought, being cut off by someone who grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the nearby alley she'd almost walked past.
"God Tenten, you need to stay sharp. What if someone were trying to kidnap you?" He asked, scoffing at her before grinning.
Tenten just glared, and put on a mischievous smile. "I would just have to use my womanly prowess to get myself out of that kind of jam." She replied.
Neji looked down at her with a blank look for a second. Then he grinned again. "And what would you come up with?" He questioned, pressing his body against her tightly.
She pretended to look away uninterestedly. "You probably couldn't handle it. And I wouldn't wanna upstage the great Neji." Tenten smiled to herself.
The Hyuuga prodigy smirked and Tenten looked up just as his face descended on hers.
xoxo
The dark-haired young woman stumbled back in surprise, eyes closed tight as if she'd seen something so disturbing... well, she had actually.
"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod. I think I just lost vision in my right eye." Hinata mumbled to herself, backing away slowly and trying not to bump into anyone, before turning around and walking quickly.
As she tried not to look over her shoulder to where she knew her cousin and teammate Tenten were... taking care of their business or whatever, she happened upon a group of her fellow shinobi.
"Hello Hinata!" Lee said, giving her a proud salute as two people stood behind him. "We're in search of Neji; do you happen to know where he is?"
"Why? What's going on?" She questioned, glancing at Shino and... Gaara.
"We are currently taking on the task of escorting Gaara back to Suna in a few days and Neji has been assigned to this mission as well." Lee continued.
Gaara just folded his arms and made a sound. "Not that I need the help anyway. You're all going to slow me down and be a nuisance." He muttered. Shino caught Hinata's eyes and winked reassuringly.
The Hyuuga heiress thought to herself, looking at how much they'd all grown up, and it was lucky for a lot of people that they'd all broken out of their psychotic, anti-social shells. Otherwise she'd be a little uncomfortable and more than a little freaked out by being in Gaara's presence. Who wouldn't with that curse he's got?
She smirked on the inside. "Oh, actually I think I saw Neji just a minute ago." Hinata said cheerfully. "He was just down that way I think." And pointed somewhere over her shoulder. As much as she loved Lee like family... she was totally feeding him to the dogs. Dogs named Hyuuga Neji and Tenten.
"Thank you for your help Hinata! We'll dedicate the success of our mission to you!" Lee said before happily moving onward with Gaara still sighing behind him. Hinata watched as they started to walk away but grabbed Shino's coat sleeve to hold him back.
"Hey, maybe you should... just wait a bit?" She said, trying not to give anything away.
Shinko looked back at the two walking away and shrugged. "Okay. What's up? How are... things?" He asked carefully, watching her.
Hinata smiled brightly. "You mean with Naruto? Things are great!" She gushed on. "In fact I didn't even want to get out of bed today."
Shino jumped a mile in the sky. "Too much info Hinata!"
She laughed at him anyway, not letting anything ruin her good mood. So much for the shy, elusive Hinata.
xoxo
"You're kidding right?" He questioned, not looking up.
"Just a suggestion." She answered.
"Yeah and we know how well your other suggestions went." He replied.
She smirked. "That's not what you were saying last night. Or the night before that."
Kakashi paused and moved the book down to look at Anko directly. "Have you been reading more of my books?" To which she answered with a grin. "I really should have just kept you locked up in the basement."
Anko grinned. "Really, what were you thinking?"
xoxo
"Come on guys! Follow me!" Naruto shouted behind him, where Sasuke, Chouji, Shikamaru and Kiba trailed along.
"What's he so happy about?" Kiba asked the nearest person, Shikamaru, who shrugged.
Sasuke shook his head at the blonde. "What's going on Naruto?" He finally questioned.
"I'm treating everyone to ramen!" Naruto proclaimed. Everyone face-faulted and groaned. But when the blonde turned around with a dark look on his face everyone grumbled out agreement.
"And why are you doing this, Naruto?" Chouji asked again.
"Why do I need a reason?" Naruto responded, still smiling cheerfully. At the broody silence he turned back to them. "Oh, I just got a little bonus from the last my last mission."
There was a thoughtful silence as the guys looked at each other. Then...
"Naruto, I was there on your last mission." The blonde turned to Shikamaru with a sheepish face. "And that was nearly a month ago." He went on in his matter-of-fact sounding voice.
"What're you hiding from us?" Kiba asked suspiciously.
Naruto turned around, walking backwards. "Nothing! Nothing at all! Can't you guys just take a free meal when it's offered?"
Sasuke grinned to himself, knowing he'd get the truth later anyway. So he chose to help out his friend. "Sakura and I are together now." He stated in his usual calm manner, though jumping up and down on the inside.
Even Naruto stopped walking altogether at this news. "Wha- Really? You're sure now?" The blonde questioned.
Kiba just groaned and smacked his forehead. "Great, now it's just one less woman on the market."
Shikamaru glanced around at everyone. "Come on, I'm hungry." He said, continuing the walk when no one else did. "And cross Ino off that list too." He said in a low voice as the others tried to keep up with his pace.
Chouji hid his glee and refrained from pointing how right he was from the beginning.
xo end xo
DONE, what else is there to say?
9-17-07
I just reread the five chapters to this story in the past week... I wish I had posted this final chapter sooner. It makes me smile.
Thank you.
4-21-09
10:45pm
