A.N: There is a truly lovely song in which Joni Mitchell sings, "All in all, it seems to go that you don't know what you got 'till its gone." If anyone was wondering where a bit of my inspiration came from, it came from that quote... As well as my love for lesbian sex. - - - - - Naruto squinted in the sun, sweat rolling into his eyes. He was frustrated, as was his sparring partner, and it made them both push themselves hard. Sasuke looked almost as tired as Naruto felt, but they both were working hard to not show weakness. It was difficult to admit, but Naruto was furious, for the first time in his life, at a certain pink-haired shinobi. It seemed that Sasuke was sharing his anger, and both boys were taking out the rage on each other. They would have, a bit, on Sakura, but she wasn't there, and that was the source of their ire. Sakura had skipped three training sessions in a row. Now that they were older and she worked so much with Tsunade, the rare times the entire team met together to train had become sacred to Naruto. He relished the time with his teammates, his oldest friends and his favorite rivals. Sakura knew how he felt about their team practices and for her to miss them to spend time "studying" (which everyone in the village now knew meant making out with Shikamaru)...was unacceptable to him. And judging from the fury that Sasuke was fighting with, he was upset for the same reasons, Naruto thought. Finally, Naruto sat down, even letting Sasuke sucker punch him. Instead of complaining or taunting the way he normally would, Sasuke plopped down beside Naruto. They both sat without speaking, chests heaving from exertion, sweat pouring down their fatigued bodies. It was Naruto to speak first. "Three training sessions...THREE!" He punched the ground to make his point. Sasuke just nodded, staring into the distance. "She knows how much these meeting mean to me, and she missed them!" Sasuke nodded before speaking, his words coming slowly and carefully. "She lied to her teammates. That is unacceptable." "How did she lie?" "She told us she was studying." Naruto blushed. He knew it was true, but he was ever Sakura's defender, even when he was angry with her himself. "Maybe she did study...is studying, right now. I just wish—" "She is with him." With their history, Naruto had heard Sasuke be cold. He remembered fighting at the waterfall, Sasuke's body warped from Orochimaru's seal, hearing Sasuke speak as if Naruto was an insect and now his best friend. With that last sentence, the icy emphasis on him, on Shikamaru, Naruto realized, slowly, that Sasuke was not angry because Sakura missed practice. He was angry for an entirely different reason. When Naruto didn't reply, Sasuke began to get up. He stopped in his tracks when he heard Naruto mumble to himself. "You could have had her." Dark eyes, shimmering with an unidentifiable emotion, gazed down at Naruto. Sasuke sat back down. Naruto turned red. He had crossed a line, an unspoken rule in their friendship where the boys never discussed Sakura. "Sasuke, you chose not to have her." "I never said I wouldn't have her...I didn't know." Naruto, who had been love sick for Sakura for years, forced a sad laugh. "Sasuke, you knew. How could you not know? I spent years hating you for your skills, but also for the hold you had on her. No matter what I did, I could never get her to look at me the way she looked at you. You knew, and you pushed her away." Sasuke gaped. "I never pushed her away! I was just trying to—" "Protect her?" Naruto cut him off, and was more than a little upset. "You never tried to protect her! Even now you are cold and cruel to her! You put her down, mock her!" Sasuke shut up, looking away. He was an Uchiha and he would not be dragged into a heated argument about his feelings. "Sasuke, it...it has been hard for me, too. Hard for me to be fully happy for her. I gave up on her choosing me a long time ago, but I realized it was still a soft-spot when I first saw them together. But she is our teammate, and our friend, and so we owe her—we should be happy for her. And you...you of all people cannot begrudge her another man." Sasuke got up, this time for good. He was annoyed at Naruto, for being right, for having matured so much more than him. Three years before, Naruto never would have said those words, never would have been able to reprimand the Uchiha. It made Sasuke feel sick. - - - - - - "Sakura?" Ino had finally forced herself to confront the two. "Hi, Ino! How are you?" Sakura asked Ino the question, but she was busy gazing at Shikamaru, who was holding her hand. "I...just got some news from the Hokage. Chouji's mission has been extended." That got Sakura's attention. She dropped Shikamaru's hand and rushed over to her friend. "Oh, Ino...I'm so sorry. How much longer?" Ino's voice sounded a little dead when she replied. "A year. And it has been...upgraded. To an A-rank mission." Ino looked at Shikmaru and saw that fear was in his eyes as well. After all, Chouji wasn't just her lover, he was their teammate, and both of them felt the terror of knowing what an A-rank mission might mean for the sweet young ninja. Tears began to form in Ino's eyes, and she had to work to be able to speak again. "I need to go tell Chouji's parents now, but I just.. I just needed to tell someone." She started to move away, when Shikamaru stopped her. "I will tell his parents. Why don't you stay with Sakura tonight? I am sure you could use a friend." Sakura nodded her agreement, moving to hug her friend. Ino couldn't speak—if she did, she wouldn't be able to stop the tears from coming, so she just nodded. The two girls left, heading toward the comfort of Sakura's apartment. - - - - - - It had been a long night. Both girls were exhausted. Sakura realized that Shikamaru had slept in her guest bed and that the sheets were dirty. She did not want Ino to have to sleep in a dirty bed. "Ino, the guest sheets aren't new...why don't you sleep in my bed, with me?" "Who has been staying in your guest bed?" Sakura looked at her friend quizzically. "Shikamaru, of course." "You make him sleep in the GUEST BED?" And with that, Ino fell on the floor laughing. "What? Why is that funny?" "S-so....that means...you two haven't done it yet?" It was hard for her to speak when she was laughing so hard. "I'm glad you find this so funny, Ino-pig. Of course we haven't done it! We've only been dating for a little while!" When Ino finally got control of herself, she looked at a very embarrassed Sakura. "Oh, Sakura, I'm sorry. It was just that...with the way you two make out all of the time, I assumed you must be banging like bunnies!" "Well...it isn't that we don't want to. Shikamaru really wants to, in fact...it is just...well..." "What? You can tell me, you know you can. After what we did to help you get that first kiss, nothing should be a secret!" This made Sakura even redder. Was it possible for the girl to not get embarrassed by everything? "I guess...it was the help you gave me that has kind of set me back." "How so? I thought you liked it!" "Exactly. That is the problem." The two girls looked at each other, and Ino felt some emotion coming from Sakura she couldn't quite identify. "You see, Ino...I really enjoyed it when you kissed me. You knew exactly what to do. And while Shikamaru is a good kisser...it doesn't feel the same. Or quite as good....you know?" Ino could still remember the feel of Sakura's lips crushed against her own. She remembered feeling the other girl relax under her, succumb to her...the excitement she had felt at doing something that she knew she shouldn't have. "I know what you mean." "Will kissing a boy ever feel the same way as...kissing you?" "That I don't know, Sakura, but I...I think you need to understand that each and every person is going to kiss differently. You probably enjoyed my kiss because as a girl, I knew what you would want to feel. Boys don't have that insight. But that doesn't make them worse." "I know that, I guess I was just hoping...for it to feel a little better before Shikamaru and I had sex." "I don't know what to tell you, Sakura. You'll know when it is right for you. Maybe you are holding off because you aren't quite ready? Remember when we picked flowers, studying to be a Kunoichi? You are a flower that blooms later." Sakura nodded. She had forgotten that day, when Ino had stood up for her, and then had bestowed the gift of friendship to her. "We can share your bed, I don't mind at all. It will be... comforting to be next to someone after having Chouji away for so long." The two girls crawled under the covers, moonlight spilling in through an open window. Ino yawned and lay on her side, facing away from her friend. As they lay there, Sakura realized that, with all of the happiness she had with Shikamaru, she felt only felt complete when Ino was around. The beautiful blonde was her anchor, and she had been away from her too long. She realized that they had a friendship few others had, one full of trust and honesty and...love. "Ino—are you still awake?" A muffled sound let Sakura know Ino was, if just barely. "I've missed you. I'm sorry." Ino rolled over, facing her friend. She reached out her hand and began to stroke Sakura's smooth pink hair. "I know. I've missed you, too. I was angry at you, for a while...you never have time for me anymore." "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. Everything was so new...but you were the one who helped me find my first kiss, and I never should have forgotten you." The two girls snuggled closer, happy with each other's presence. "Ino...while Chouji is away...do you want to live here? With me?" Ino stopped stroking her friend's hair. She thought about it. It would be nice to not have to go home to an empty apartment...and it would guarantee she spent time with her friend. "What about Shikamaru?" "We can clean the guest room and you can move in there. Maybe...maybe it is time for Shika to stay in here, with me." That made Ino think. She realized she felt...weird about knowing Shika would be sharing Sakura's bed. It must be because he is my ex-boyfriend...I can get over that. "Ok. I'd really like to move in." With the decision made, the two girls fell asleep. - - - - - Something in the night forced Sakura awake. Ino was still asleep at her side, curled up next to her. The innocent look on Ino's face made Sakura smile. She knew exactly how not innocent Ino really was. Moving out of bed, Sakura went to her window, which was still open. She closed it. It must be the draft that is keeping me awake. But something still felt...off about her home. Not bad, not menacing, but just out of place. Sakura walked out of her bedroom, closing the door gently so she wouldn't wake her friend. She turned to go to the bathroom when a hand reached out of the darkness and clamped over her mouth, silencing her. An all-too-familiar voice whispered in her ear. "Sakura, we need to talk." - - - - - - The mug her coffee was in was hot, and even though it burned her fingers as she gripped it, Sakura found it gave her comfort. "Couldn't this have waited until tomorrow? You scared me. Now I feel like I need to lock my doors." "I came in through your open window, and you should always lock your doors." "This is Konoha. No one breaks into houses. Well, except for you. What is it that is so urgent it couldn't wait until tomorrow?" The other person just stared at her, and then looked away. This was, by far, the hardest thing he had ever had to do. "I...I love you, Sakura."
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