A/N

Thank you so much to deathrosekitty for all your reviews ^^

Seeing your comments really do put a smile on my face!

Thank you to many others who favourited and followed the story as well! They spur me on to write more, honestly!

This time, it's a Kakashi drabble; my ultimate Ino OTP :D

[Ino x Kakashi] – Taeyeon | Stress

The first time she tried telling Kakashi of her feelings, the man had ignored her completely.

It wasn't because he broke her heart or anything, but it was because he had been oblivious to her confession. She had given him a rose; for didn't they represented love? The man had accepted her flower graciously, though he thought she had gave it to him because the flower store was on a sale.

The second time Ino tried confessing to him, it had gone in the worse possible direction. Coupled with drinks at a bar and her new short mini skirt, Ino would have thought the man would at least see some sex appeal within her that he has usually not seen of. He didn't notice, for his eyes were feasting on Jiraiya-sama's newest edition of Icha Icha.

As expected, the Ero Sennin had been the first one to notice her.

When all else fails, the young lady turned frustrated and spent her time on that cigarette stick that she secretly stole from Asuma.

"I didn't know you smoked." Kakashi's voice startled the poor girl out of her senses.

She turned around, only to be met with a piercing gaze. The man slowly walked towards her, his hands extending towards her lips. Ino blushed, but was soon met with disappointment when he had grabbed onto the cigarette stick instead.

"Trust me." Kakashi threw the stick away. "I'm doing you a favour."

Ino huffed and turned away, arms crossed with irritation. To think that catching her in the act would possibly be the one time he finally paid attention to her.

"So?" The man urged her on. "What got you smoking?"

She knew her reasons were stupid, and the girl turned a little pink at the realisation that she was being petty. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears before mumbling sheepishly.

"Nothing."

"Oh, really?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Definitely."

The man laughed. "Nothing to do with the rose you gave me or your little stint in the bar just now?"

She could definitely be choking on her saliva right now if she had been talking, so instead Ino only gulped nervously. The rumours must have been true then; nothing ever slipped past Kakashi.

"If you knew," She glared accusingly at him. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"And risked getting screamed at by your precious sensei?" He tilted in confusion. "Why would I do that?"

"Whatever." Ino dismissed the man. "It's a stupid crush anyway."

"Just a crush?" Kakashi smirked underneath his mask.

She scowled at the teasing before turning to walk away. Her night was over, and she was going to go home and forget that this stupid phase even happened in the first place. A girl, Ino noted, could only try so much at love. It takes two hands to clap after all, and she was definitely the only one clapping.

"Walking away, already?" She could hear him calling her. "And here I thought I was going to confess too."

Ino paused, before turning back to face the genius shinobi.

"What did you say?"

"Come back to the party." Kakashi held a hand out towards her. "I'll tell you once the night ends."

Ino smiled. Maybe the night wasn't over for her after all.