xxx

Heart-beat

The cherry tree had lost all its blossoms and its leaves. The black bark on its limbs was the same color as the night. A faint glow from the moon silhouetted the branches and fell on the stone of the courtyard. Moonlight has a soft glimmer to it, and on a clear autumn night it looks unearthly, falling like mist from the sky.

The air was as still as ice, crackling with suggestions of winter. The wind had died with the sun. Konoha was swallowed up in shadow.

Sakura liked this time of night, as Ino knew. It was a time when it seemed that time itself did not exist. The only things that moved were the moon rising slowly overhead and their shadows darting forward as they took quiet steps together.

The courtyard was half-immersed in the shadow from the Hokage's Mansion. The crescent moon peered over the top of the building, a fierce white-blue.

They were close to that place.

"Do you remember it?"

Sakura nodded, smiling a bit as she looked up at the roof of the Hokage's Mansion. The place of her first kiss. The place of their first kiss.

"That was a whole year ago, but it seems like yesterday, doesn't it?" she whispered back.

Ino nodded vigorously. Sakura smiled, realizing they both thought about that memory a lot. She grinned at the blonde and squeezed her hand. "Back then, who would have thought that everything would have happened like it did? I didn't think I was ever going to . . . I don't know . . . get you to myself. I worried about it so much."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "I did that exact same thing," she said, shaking her head. They both burst into giggles, stifling the laughter as it threatened to bubble over.

Sakura's laughter died away as she saw Ino's face sober. The pink-haired kunoichi noticed that the other girl's hands were clasped behind her back. Ino's expression was suddenly a bit wary.

"Ino-pig, what are you holding behind your back?" Sakura asked, keeping her tone light.

The blonde shook her head, sticking her nose in the air in mock-arrogance as if to say 'I won't show you, hah!' Sakura narrowed her eyes playfully and tackled the other girl until she had the blonde's hands in her own.

Ino was holding a yellow lily. She thrust it into Sakura's hands.

The pink-haired kunoichi frowned. "You've never given me flowers before. Is this a special occasion? What-"

Ino fiddled with the hem of her blue nightgown and bit her lip. "I . . . well . . . I would really . . . see . . . I want you to . . . could you . . . I mean . . . um . . ." she faltered. The blonde rubbed her eyes with her hand and then looked back up at Sakura. She took a deep breath. "The reason I asked you to come out here with me is that I wanted to ask you if you would move in with me."

Sakura's eyes widened and her lips parted ever so slightly.

Ino turned away, her back facing Sakura. She flicked her hair out of her face nervously. "I've been thinking about this for a long time, and you know I just got an apartment, so . . . I moved out of my parents' house and . . ."

She paused and sighed. "I really want to live with you. I-I know this might be too soon, but I . . . uh . . . I just really . . . Sakura—"

Ino stopped suddenly as a pair of arms wrapped tightly around her waist. She looked down. Sakura was hugging her with the brightest smile on her face, still clutching the yellow lily in her fist. "Yes, yes, yes, YES," she murmured, resting her head against Ino's.

The blonde let out a breath she hadn't realized she was keeping and rested her hands over Sakura's, over her heart. She realized it was beating fast.

It was beating for Sakura.

xxx

Some things I have to say—

1. Meh, I hope that lived up to the standard of the firs two chapters.

2. The first kiss that was mentioned—as some of you may now, I actually wrote a fic about that scene. It's called Midnight. Go check it out if you haven't already! I hope you like it! XD

3. Also, I made some fanart for this chapter. Go to my profile for the link to my dA and you'll find it in my gallery. It's titled "InoSaku - Autumn." (btw, sorry, I can't figure out how to link in places other than my profile and even that link is acting kinda funky . . .)

4. If you are a nerd like myself, you will know that lilies symbolize girlxgirl, yuri, shouji-ai / whatever you want to call it. Just thought I'd point that out!

–is too nerdy for her own good–

:3