"Come on, come on," Ino muttered, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel as the car in front of her slowly inched forward. Traffic in Konoha City was terrible on the best of days, but today it felt like every driver, traffic light, and pedestrian were conspiring against her. This usually wasn't a problem - she'd mastered the fine art of squeezing into gaps in the gridlock or flooring it past yellow lights. But she couldn't risk it today, not with her precious orchids in the backseat. She'd poured blood, sweat and tears into raising her babies, and she'd be damned if a single petal was creased.

The traffic eased enough to let her drive a couple feet, just in time for the light to turn red. Ino groaned and let her head fall against the wheel. She was close enough to the park to see the tops of the bright green Garden Show tents. It would be faster to walk at this rate.

A loud buzzing sound interrupted her wallowing, and Ino leaned over to the passenger seat to fish her phone from her purse. Where are you? Where are we meeting again?

Parking lot in 15 min, stuck in traffic rn, she texted back. The light turned green just as she hit send, and she floored it through the intersection.

Somehow, Ino managed to survive the last three blocks without any major incidents. Luckily, the contestant parking area was less crowded than the general admission lot, and she arrived a whole five minutes earlier than she had predicted.

At the fountain now come earn your tickets (｀∀´)Ψ

While she waited, Ino unlocked the backseat of her car and started unloading some of the boxes. She'd only taken out a few boxes when she heard someone calling her name. Hinata Hyuga smiled and waved as she walked over with Sasuke trailing behind her like a grumpy shadow. The unflattering comparison (for Sasuke) was not helped by the fact that Hinata was in a cute yellow-and-white sundress with a matching broad-brimmed hat while Sasuke had chosen to wear a black long-sleeved shirt and dark pants despite the 35℃ weather. Clearly, Ino's efforts to stop Sasuke from dressing like an angsty teenager had not succeeded.

"Oh my god, Hinata! You're here?" Ino exclaimed as reached out to give her friend a hug. "I had no idea you were coming."

"Sasuke-kun invited me," Hinata said, turning slightly as Sasuke approached so that he could easily join them.

"Oho, did he now," Ino said, raising an eyebrow. She glanced at Sasuke, who seemed overly interested in the boxes in her car. Suddenly, the last minute texts begging for a second guest ticket all made sense. "So how's it going so far? Blink twice if you need help."

"Everything is fine, we just got here a few minutes ago," Hinata laughed.

"Are we unloading or not? You'll miss your check-in if we wait any longer," Sasuke grumbled.

"Ugh you're right," Ino said, turning back to face her car. She grabbed the largest box containing all the orchids meant to be sold and shoved it into Sasuke's arms. He grunted at the unexpected weight and adjusted his grip to avoid dropping it.

"I thought you were selling flowers, not rocks," he complained as Ino piled smaller, lighter containers on top of it. "Why did you bring so much stuff anyway? How many flowers do the judges need to look at to make a decision?"

"Stop complaining, you big baby. Don't tell me these muscles are just for show," Ino chided, poking Sasuke in the arm. Sasuke scowled at her from behind the chin-high pile of boxes he was carrying. "The judges only see one flower. The rest are for sale and brand awareness." Selling flowers and floral arrangements might only be a side project, but that didn't mean Ino was going to turn down a business opportunity when she saw one.

"Let me take those," Hinata said, reaching for the containers in Sasuke's arms.

Sasuke leaned out of reach, the smaller boxes teetering dangerously close to the edge. "I don't want you roped into being a pack mule too."

"I can't just stand here doing nothing," Hinata protested. She kept trying in vain to grab a box but Sasuke moved out of reach every time.

"Not to worry, Hinata, I never reject help when it's offered," Ino said, handing Hinata a flat cardboard crate filled with young orchid seedlings. "Never thought I'd see the day where Sasuke Uchiha tried to be considerate, though."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Is that everything?"

Ino hefted the remaining items - her beloved contest entrant tucked securely in a clear plastic case, a binder of more work samples, and a box of business cards - and locked the car door. "Yep."

The three of them set off: Sasuke and Hinata walked in front, side-by-side, while Ino trailing a bit behind them and watched as they talked idly about the Garden Show and flowers and food stalls. Normally, Ino wouldn't hesitate to jump in and join the conversation, but this time she stood back and watched.

When Ino had realized that Sasuke's mystery girl was Hinata of all people, she'd laughed her ass off. Karma had gifted her with a front row seat to Sasuke tearing his hair out over a girl who was definitely not spending a fraction of that time or energy thinking about him, and Ino refused to make it any easier for him. But despite her teasing, Ino hadn't expected Sasuke's search to go anywhere. Whenever Sasuke showed interest in a girl, it never lasted, and besides Hinata guarded her heart like a dragon guarded its hoard.

Ino watched as Hinata laughed at Sasuke's sarcastic comment about her sweet tooth, and then cheerfully retorted that anyone whose favorite food was tomato shouldn't get to have an opinion on desserts. The left corner of Sasuke's mouth twitched upward into one of his rare half-smiles. Clearly, she had been wrong. It was known to happen from time to time. How was she to know that the two friends who probably hadn't said more than twenty words to each other in 12 years of school would get along so well?

The three of them approached the side entrance of the Garden Show where the event organizers confirmed her registration and waved them through. From there they walked onto a large grassy field filled with wooden booths covered with cheery white-and-red tents. The main event, the flower contest, wasn't scheduled to start for another hour, but the field was already teeming with people.

"My table's over here," Ino said, tilting her head towards a small table in the middle of the field with the number 32 placard on it. They'd placed her in between Takamura-san's famous gardenias and Nakada-san's exotic sunflowers. Both women had already set up their booths and were waving hello.

"It's good to see you Ino-chan, we were beginning to think you weren't coming," Nakada-san called.

"As if I'd miss a chance to win first place," Ino said playfully as she placed her items either on the table or underneath if it didn't fit. Sasuke and Hinata followed suit.

"Don't count on it," Takamura laughed. "My sunflowers have really outdone themselves this year."

"Ino-chan, do you need help setting up?" Hinata asked, drawing Ino's attention away from the friendly banter. Ino considered the offer for a moment.

"Nah, but we should catch up sometime, Hinata. I want to hear all about how today went," Ino said with a wink.

"Eh? Oh, um, sure," Hinata stuttered, forehead creasing in confusion. "Maybe next week?"

"If that's all you need, we're gonna head out," Sasuke cut in. He looked like he was ready to leave yesterday.

"Okay, okay, enjoy the event you guys," Ino said, waving them off. "And Hinata, if Sasuke doesn't buy you the biggest, most expensive bouquet here, dump his ass."

"Good luck, Ino-chan!" Hinata called back. Sasuke just rolled his eyes and nudged Hinata away from Ino's table.

Ino shook her head. They were certainly an unlikely couple, but Ino couldn't deny that they looked good together.

The rest of the day was a blur of activity. Unfortunately, her orchids only managed to place third. Nakada's sunflowers came in second, while the grand prize went to Rina Manabe's stunning roses - Takamura-san swore must have made some deal with the devil to have achieved such a vibrant red color, and Ino couldn't help secretly agreeing. At the very least, there had to have been some kind of blood sacrifice involved.

Other than that small disappointment, Ino's day was a whirl of sales and chatting to customers. By 7pm, she had pretty much sold out of all the seedlings she'd brought, and had two orders for wedding bouquets in the next few months.

As she finished packing up the last of the leftovers, Sasuke ambled over to her stall holding a small bouquet of daisies and bush clovers. "Congrats on getting second place," he said, handing them over.

"Aww thanks," Ino said, accepting the flowers. "Wow, I think this is the first bouquet you've ever given me."

"Hinata wanted to come say congratulations too, but she got called away," Sasuke said. He looked at all the boxes scattered around her stall. "Do you need help getting all that to your car?"

"Are you actually volunteering or do you need another extra ticket?" Ino teased. "But yes, that would be a big help."

Moving all her things was more manageable the second time around, now that Ino had sold a lot of what she'd brought. Along the way, Ino couldn't help but pry into Sasuke's life. "So you finally found your mystery girl huh?"

"She wasn't my mystery girl," Sasuke said as he packed the boxes into Ino's trunk. "But yeah I figured out who she was, no thanks to you."

"I have to protect my girl friends from the infamous Konoha Heartbreaker," Ino replied cheerfully. "But you're actually nice to Hinata and Hinata seems to like being around you so I guess you have my blessing."

"Hinata said she likes being around me?" Sasuke said, looking pleased.

"I'm also surprised. Shocked honestly," Ino said drily. "But just know that if you break her heart, I will personally make sure that you will be tabloid headline news every day for the next three months."

Sasuke grimaced and shook his head. "Stop jumping to conclusions. I never said that I wanted to date her, I just thought that she was interesting."

Ino froze and turned to face Sasuke. "Wait...you guys aren't dating?"

"No."

"Today wasn't a date."

"No." Sasuke was starting to look annoyed. "You're the only one who thought that."

Ino opened her mouth to protest, but on second thought, Hinata hadn't been nervous or self-conscious at all when Ino had tried asking about their "date." Ino had thought that Hinata had just grown out of her old habits, but it was just as likely that idea hadn't even crossed her mind.

Ino scrunched her face and studied Sasuke. No matter how oblivious or in denial her friends might be, Ino knew what she saw. Sasuke didn't offer out event invitations to just anyone, and she'd never seen Hinata so comfortable around someone she hadn't already known for many years.

"So you don't want to date her? Even if she wanted to date you?" Ino prodded.

"I'm not going to play the 'who's dating who' game. We're not in high school anymore," Sasuke said, shaking his head. "And don't go around spreading rumors or playing matchmaker."

"Of course not," Ino sniffed. "I wouldn't do that to Hinata."

Sasuke shot her a withering glare. Ino stuck her tongue out. They were interrupted by a beeping sound from Sasuke's phone. He pulled it out and glanced at the text on screen. "I have to go. Goodbye Ino, see you around."

"See you," Ino called, before getting into her car. She stared at Sasuke's retreating back for a few seconds, before taking out her phone and opening up her text chat with Hinata.

ヾ(＾∇＾)

Hinata! Lets get lunch next week wats ur availability?

Ino turned off her phone with a smirk that morphed into a grin as she started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. She'd promised she wouldn't meddle, but that didn't mean that she wasn't going to be hunting down every detail and making sure she had front row seats in case anything happened. And as much as she liked to rag on Sasuke for his past behavior, she hoped things worked out.

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who commented, faved, or followed the story! I'm glad that you all like the story, and I'm so happy to see that the SasuHina fandom is still going strong.

I have also cross-posted this to AO3, in case anyone prefers reading on that platform (/works/41746197)