Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Tenten walked through the streets of Konoha, smiling at the civilian shops next to hers. Most of them smiled back, though some held confused expressions on their faces. Normally she had either a straight face or a scowl on, and simply nodded to them, but today held much more promise.

She was walking back to her apartment, which was just a block away from her store. It was 5:30, meaning she had an hour and a half until her date with Neji. The night before he asked her if she wanted to grab dinner with her, and she obviously agreed. She didn't want to ask him if it was a real date, but she also didn't want to assume it wasn't and show up in jeans and a t-shirt while he was in formal attire. Thankfully, before he got up from the seat next to her, he said they were going somewhere nice.

She reached her apartment and quickly hopped in the shower. There was no way she wasn't going to look her absolute best, so by the time she was out of the shower, she had her entire outfit planned out, right down to the last coat of mascara.

By 6:30, she was ready to go, waiting impatiently for 7 to come. She sat down on her couch and picked up the book she'd been reading for the past few weeks.

A few minutes before 7, a knock sounded at the door. She counted 2 seconds before getting up to answer it, trying not to let the man behind the door think she was sitting around waiting for him.

She opened the door, and her breath caught in her throat. He looked handsome, to say the least. He seemed to think she looked nice as well, judging by his slightly agape mouth and glazed over eyes.

"You- you look beautiful." He said bashfully.

"Thank you." She said as she stepped out the door. "You don't look too bad yourself."

They talked about the latest news in their lives as they walked. Neji talked of getting his seal removed, courtesy of Hinata, and Tenten talked of her parents' plan to open another shop next to the most frequented training ground.

Not long after they left, he stopped them in front of an elegant restaurant. There were wooden fences surrounding the entrance, creating a little area, where they added many beautiful flowers. Along the fence were vines, and there was a wooden threshold in front of the door, with flowers dangling from them.

"Wow, this looks really expensive. Neji, you didn't have to take me here." Tenten said.

"I wanted our first date to be perfect." He said. She bit her lip, trying to stay composed. Inside her head, though, was a different story. Alarms were blaring inside her head, not letting herself believe the words that she just heard. He was actually treating it as a date. Obviously, he wouldn't have told her to dress nicely if it wasn't, but it made it real hearing him call it a date.

"Thank you."

—

"So you only thought about her when you forced yourself to?" Shikamaru asked as he and his blond friend walked aimlessly around the streets of Konoha.

"Yeah, pretty much." Naruto said.

"Why?"

"Not sure. Maybe Ino took my mind off of her. You did say to spend more time with my female friends."

"Hmm."

"So what's next in getting over her?"

"There isn't really a set of rules. You just do whatever will help, I would think."

"You would think?"

"Yeah, I've never really bothered liking anyone before, so I don't have experience getting over someone."

"And hopefully you'll never have to. How are things with Temari?"

Shikamaru's head snapped to face his friend. "How do you know?"

"Oh please. You're so obvious about it." Naruto said. In all actuality, Naruto has no clue, and he was simply going off of what Ino said.

"I thought I wasn't."

"Why don't you want her to know?"

"I- I don't know." He admitted. "I guess I'm just scared. I've never liked someone this much, and I certainly have never had them seem just as interested."

"Understandable."

"Back to you. Perhaps we could make a list of her pros and cons, and maybe compare her to the other girls we know." Shikamaru said, hoping to glean the blond's opinion about the other blonde. "Pros first."

"She's pretty. Kind when she's not hitting me. Smart. And she's a pretty good ninja." Naruto said.

"And now cons."

"She hits me. She still likes Teme. I'm not her type. I'll never be an option for her." Naruto's mood quickly soured as he said these words.

Deciding to ignore Naruto's sadness, not wanting to spend the time consoling him, Shikamaru continued. "And what does she have that the other girls don't? Mainly from before we graduated, since you already liked her by then."

"Hinata's way too quiet. I like that she speaks whatever is on her mind. I don't know, most of the other girls just didn't seem as good as her to me."

"And what about Ino?"

"What about her?"

"Why does Sakura have an advantage over her?"

"I don't want to tell you. If I do, you'll just go tell her."

"No I won't." Yes, he would, depending on what it was.

He sighed. "I thought she was way out of my league, so I never bothered."

From the way he talked about Sakura, even Shikamaru hadn't guessed that. It certainly wasn't unbelievable; in fact it actually made sense as to why he chose Sakura over Ino, despite them having similar personalities.

"But you stayed locked onto Sakura for so long despite her not liking you."

"I don't know why, okay? This list of pros and cons is stupid. I don't know why I liked Sakura over other people."

"Okay, sorry. But if your thought Ino was in your league, say you thought better of yourself, would you have gone for her rather than Sakura?"

Naruto sighed. "That's possible. I can't say I would for sure since I've liked Sakura for so long, but I can't say I wouldn't."

"Interesting. And Ino is your type?"

"How am I supposed to know? I never considered her."

"So you've always kept your eyes locked on Sakura, but you saw Ino in your peripheral?"

"What is that even supposed to mean?"

"Never mind." He sighed. Why did Naruto have to be so slow?

Shikamaru knew that if he stayed any longer, he'd want more information, and it would seem suspicious. Although it didn't seem as if Naruto would pick up on it. Perhaps he could get a little more out of this meeting.

"Could you ever like her?" He asked.

"Maybe." Naruto said quietly.

"Hmm." If he left now, it'd be suspicious. He'd have to ask if he wanted to get a drink before it seemed normal for him to leave. "Wanna grab a drink?"

"Nah, I'm gonna go home." Naruto said. "See ya."

"Bye." Shikamaru wandered for a bit since Yamanaka Flower Shop and his apartment were in the same direction.

—

He opened the door to the shop, and was greeted by his teammate's mother.

"Hi darling."

"Hello Mrs. Yamanaka."

"Ino's upstairs if you're looking for her."

"Thank you."

He trudged upstairs and into the apartment. Ino was in the living room vacuuming. She turned off the vacuum and greeted him.

"Naruto's noticed you before." He said.

"Yeah, I know that." she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Not just that. He liked Sakura and not you because he thought you were out of his league."

"What?"

"He said he didn't bother with you since you'd never like him back." he said. "It was back in the academy, so he was right." He added with a laugh.

"So you're saying he doesn't think he's good enough for me, so he never tried?"

"Yes."

"How do I get him to change that?"

"I'd say just become his best friend and he'll probably change."

"I'll get friendzoned."

"Ino, you can't get friendzoned."

"What do you mean?"

"He could've liked you, but he was protecting himself. If he had an inkling that he might have a chance with you, he'd drop his guard. It's plausible that he held some secret feelings for you, but didn't allow himself to acknowledge them."

"Why? Why did he think I was out of his league?"

"You weren't very nice to him. You're also forgetting that you're a lot prettier than you give yourself credit for."

She sighed. Of course her behavior in the academy would affect her now. She knew it was a factor. It was a pity that she let herself believe it wasn't.

"Good luck. I'll see you later." He said.

—

Over the next year, Kakashi became Hokage, Neji officially asked Tenten to be his girlfriend, Shikamaru worked up the nerve to ask Temari out before they left for the Sand, and Ino did her best to get closer to Naruto.

She would invite him to lunch, go shopping with him, and even invite him for dinner at her place. She told her mother about how she felt, and she was delighted to hear it, saying she would love to have him as a son-in-law.

At first, he was glad to do all of these things with her because kept his mind off of Sakura. But after a while, he didn't care about Sakura not liking him. He found himself going to the flower shop when he was bored, seeking her out to eat together, and thinking about her more than he felt he should.

After one of their hangouts, he invited her into his apartment.

"Sorry about the mess." He said. There were a couple jackets strewn across the couches, but she noticed that he finally threw out his collection of ramen cups.

"It's alright." She laughed. "I'm going to use the bathroom."

"Go for it."

She went down the hall. She glanced at his bedroom before going to the bathroom. It was the same as always: simple, with just a bed and a dresser, which had a picture of his teammates and Kakashi from when they were Genin. On the windowsill next to his bed, however, was a pot with a beautiful blue flower, a different one from before. She recognized it as a forget-me-not, one of her favorite flowers since its hue was similar to her eyes.

She returned from the bathroom and took a seat next to him on the couch. He was, of course, eating ramen despite just having Ichiraku's.

"I noticed you have a forget-me-not now," she commented.

"A what?"

"Forget-me-not. That's what the flower in your room is called."

"Oh, interesting. Yeah, I've had that one for maybe a week. I don't want to get rid of it until it dies. I really like the color."

Her heart jumped. Was he flirting with her? Was he insinuating that he liked her eyes? She decided he wasn't, assuming he wasn't adept at subtle flirting. She turned around and faced him.

"Come by the flower shop when it does. I can help you pick out another one."

He scratched the back of his head. "Uh, I kind of like picking them up from the training grounds. Taking them out and putting them in different pots makes me feel smart."

She laughed. "Can I come with you next time you go to find one?"

"Yeah, sure. It'd be nice to have an expert opinion."

"I wouldn't say I'm an expert." She said.

He sighed. "Why don't you ever give yourself credit? You're always saying you're not that good, or you're not this or that. I think you are, that's why I'm telling you."

"Sorry." She mumbled.

He put a hand on her shoulder. "But why?"

She leaned back into the couch. She recalled her previous relationship, and was instantly filled with dread. She remembered how he used to tell her to wear more makeup, and to hide the scars she received from missions and the war. He used to pick out her outfits, and forced her to wear uncomfortable clothes that covered her up. He wouldn't leave the house if her shoulders were exposed, saying she looked like a slut. He told her to diet because she was getting fat. He always put her down, and she always felt self-conscious around him, something nobody should feel around their significant other. 3 months of that took a toll on her self-esteem, until Hinata started dating Kiba. Ino broke up with him, realizing she could disregard her vow since Hinata wasn't going to get hurt. She was aware that the things he said weren't true. But she didn't believe that they weren't true. They were all ingrained into her subconscious, and she couldn't shake them away.

"My ex."

"What did he do?"

"He would judge me, always finding flaws in me, but he balanced out his insults with love and gifts, so I didn't feel bad enough to leave him. He got into my head. I'm a Yamanaka, and I couldn't see through his manipulations. What does that say about me as a mind specialist?"

"That you were blinded by love."

"But I'm a ninja. I should've kept my emotions out of it."

"Being a ninja doesn't mean you have to be a machine. You're still human; you can't completely destroy your feelings."

She sighed, and looked down at her hands.

"What type of stuff did he tell you?" Naruto asked.

Being around Naruto, she could let her guard down. He'd never judge her, and he'd do whatever he could to make her feel like she was worth something. She didn't tell anyone, not even Sakura about some of the things her ex had told her. But she wanted to tell Naruto; she felt safe telling him. "He used to say that I should wear more makeup, and that I should cover the scars I have. He said I was fat and I should diet. He used to tell me that my eyes were unnerving, and he used to say my hair seemed unnatural, and that I should dye it a darker blonde. He-"

He put his ramen down on the floor, and lifted one leg on the couch, so he could face her. "Ino, you don't need makeup, but if you like to wear it, wear it. You're not fat; in fact I've been trying to get you to eat more whenever we go out." She smiled. "As for your scars, yeah sometimes you don't like them, but they're a part of you. They represent what you've been through, and those things turned you into a stronger person. If he thought your scars or your hair took away from how awesome you are, he was never worth your time."

At that point, Ino didn't care if he meant what he said or not. The things he said brought her unadulterated joy, and she just wanted to bask in the moment without worrying about anything else. She smiled a beautiful smile, and hugged him gently. "Thank you." She whispered into his ear.

The whisper sent chills down his spine; it was that moment when he completely accepted that he wanted to see her smiling all the time, and he wanted to be the reason for it. "Anytime."