A/N:
I'm alive! Just in case there were any doubts about it. Yes, it's been such a long time since I last did anything here, but I've have just had to focus on school. That said, I will still be participating in the CNNWM this July - so I will get back to the writing. My plan is to get back up and running as school starts, and also to finish and publish my new homepage - that I'm making from scratch - but yeah, more about that later.

It's kinda funny, but this story was never meant to be. I wrote it during NaNoWriMo November 2014, and I was struggling to reach my daily word count goal. The thing was that I was working on "Tainted Love", but for some reason I just could get myself to get the story moving. Then I noticed that it was only 30 minutes until midnight - and I stilled needed 600 words. Without thinking, I opened a new document and just let the words flow out of me - and I made it! Then, the next day, I worked on it at my job, before sprinting to get it finished within that day. So yeah, a quick little thingy.

However, the story was kinda forgotten in the middle of everything, and it's first now - a year and a half later - that I actually get to publish it.

There. Done with the AN. That said, I'd like it if more of you left a review^^.

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Disclaimer:
«I do not own any of the following pictures, music, characters or the original universe. I only own the story itself and the idea.»
Thanks a lot to LadyMinecrafter and Jakk Dion for betaing on this story

Love is like an ugly flower

It was a quiet day at the Yamanaka shop. The sun was shining in through the windows and made the flowers, placed in the front, cast colorful dots and shadows into the store.

"Sea onion" The young girl mumbled, fiddling with a bouquet of flowers lying on the bench beside her. It wasn't often that somebody ordered these. Not that she found it strange. The flower wasn't especially pretty to look at, and hearing the price of it made most customers change their mind and go for a much prettier flower, but not this guy. Last week they received an order in the mail and she remembered her father laughing about it. He had been absolutely sure that it had to be a prank. What kind of man in his right mind would think to buy the sea onion? And not just one flower either, no, a whole bouquet! Her mother however had taken the order as any other she received. She thought that if a customer went through the trouble to send the order, why shouldn't he be interested in picking them up?

Ino didn't know what to think. She agreed with them both. Who would ever want to buy these? And the fact that he hadn't left a name attached to the order, it seemed likely that it could be some guy playing a prank on them. But still, why would anyone do such a thing?

She let out a sigh. It was no use thinking about it. Either the man would come to retrieve the hideous flowers or he wouldn't. Though he had been quite precise in his letter, telling them that he'd be picking up the flowers on this specific day, yet there was still no sign of him nor his money. Ino glanced over at the clock, hanging on the shop wall. It was only twenty minutes until they closed for the day.

The doorbell chimed and Ino looked up from the desk. The customer was not the man Ino had expected and hoped to see.

"Oh, Daiichi. You really shouldn't." A brunette giggled, obviously head over heels in love with this Daiichi. She was hanging by his arm, pressing herself to him as if she was glued to him. The guy was tall with half-long blonde hair and a stupid grin on his face.

"Oh, you know that there is nothing else that I would rather do, Saya." He looked down at her and, from where Ino sat, she could see his ears turning red.

"Oh, Daiichi…" The girl purred, pressing even closer to him.

"Saya…"

Ino coughed. She didn't normally have anything against the many couples that entered the shop, but this couple was just a little too… intimate.

"Oh!" The girl squealed, as if surprised by the presence of someone other than herself and her lover. As she caught the sight of Ino, a red color appeared on her face.

So that is something she gets embarrassed about?! A squeal?! Ino thought, but greeted them with a polite smile on her face.

"Welcome to the Yamanaka flower shop. May I be of any service to you?"

"Um," the boy scratched the back of his head in an embarrassed manner. "Well, ehm, my girlfriend and I-" At the word 'girlfriend' the girl giggled. The boy's ears turned more intense red and he had to cough just to continue talking. "We want to buy some flowers."

Ino lifted an eyebrow. 'Really, you don't say…' "Oh, really? Well, then you have come to the right place. Were you thinking of anything special? What's the occasion?"

The both of them once again blushed, and Ino got the feeling that she already knew.

"Well, we-" The guy started, but was cut off by his girlfriend.

"We're getting married!" The brunette's eyes glowed as she told the big news.

"Congratulations" Ino got out. However, it didn't seem as if the other girl was listening.

"It's not yet official though. Daiichi is going home to talk to my parents now!"

"And you want to give them some flowers for that occasion?" The cashier asked, acting as interested as she could. The only answer she got was the girl nodding enthusiastically. "Hmm. Let's see..." Ino glanced around the shop with narrow eyes. "Do you have a close relationship with her parents? Have you known them for long?"

"No, I'm afraid I haven't met them yet."

Ino had to stop herself to raise a brow and comment on it. The guy had never met the parents? And now he was going to swoop in, just asking them to give their daughter away. Wow, if the girl, Saya was it?, had parents like Ino, then there was need for far more that a nice bouquet of tulips to even give the guy a chance. Still, if she was honest, she really didn't think it would make any difference what kind of flower they brought...

"How about some primroses? It is said to be the flower of young love and devotion to one another." Ino walked over to a shelf close to the window and presented them with one. "It's quite popular, and I know for a fact that it's brought success to many a situation."

"Really?" The girl look skeptical at the flower. "It doesn't look that special to me. Quite boring actually."

"Oh. okay" The Yamanaka replied with a dry tongue. "So, what do you have in mind? Any specific color, size, or meaning?"

"Something special. Something that nobody else has." She straightened her back. "I don't want something ordinary. That wouldn't mean anything! I'm special, and I need something that proves that."

Special indeed, Ino thought to herself. This girl certainly had some high thoughts of herself.

"Well, I'm not sure..." The Yamanaka closed her eyes, thinking. What kind of flower could the girl be interested in? Something special she had said. Well, Ino didn't know of anything that could- Wait a minute! "Oh, I think I got it." She bent down to the shelf underneath and brought out one of the flowers from the sea onion bouquet.

"And that one is special?" The girl asked, studying the strange plant.

"It sure is. Not only is it quite unique, but it also has been said to protect its owner against evil spirits." Ino grinned. "I don't remember ever selling any of these before. You'll be the first one."

"I will?" Saya squealed. "Oh, Daiichi! Do buy it! Please!"

The cashier smiled to herself. It hadn't been a lie. Even though the mysterious man had ordered the flower, he'd still never actually bought it.

Daiichi looked at the flowers, and one could see it on his face that he didn't find the flower attractive in any way. However, as he looked over to his future bride, the expression of his face became determined, and he brought out his wallet.

"So, what do I owe you?"

Ino told him, and his eyes widened and jaw dropped.

"That much?" He swallowed. The price was probably more that he had thought possible. "Well, I…"

"Oh, please. it has to be special - and you only get engaged once!"

The poor boy let out a sigh and pulled out the number of notes required, before putting them down on the counter. Ino thanked the couple as she collected the money, storing them in the cash register. Then she left the room to gather more of the flowers.

"Thank you for the business." She said a few minutes later as she handed them the bouquet. "And good luck with your announcement!"

The couple thanked her and then said their goodbyes before leaving Ino by herself again.

Looking up at the clock, she noticed that it was only one minute until closing time. Would the man make it, she wondered. She walked over to the sink and dampened a cloth before she twisted it. There was no reason why she couldn't start cleaning up the place. She walked over to the counter and swept the cloth over it, brushing the little bits of dirt at vines down on the floor. As that was done, she once again glanced at the clock, confirming that it was time to close the shop.

She walked over to the sink again and let the water flow as she rinsed the cloth. As she hung it on its peg, the chiming of the doorbell sounded.

"We're closed." Ino announced. "I'm afraid you have to come back tomorrow."

"You're throwing me out?"

Ino turned as she recognized the voice.

"Ah, no. I didn't know it was you. Can you turn the lock for me?"

The lazy genius sighed but did as he was told.

"So, why are you here?" The girl asked as she continued with the cleaning. "Did something happen?"

"Nah, not really. I was just on my way home and felt like dropping by." He shrugged his shoulders. "Was that a bad thing?"

"No," Ino looked up at him with a cunning look in her eyes. "I could use another pair of hands. Here, catch!" Without warning, she threw the wet cloth at him. Shikamaru reacted on instinct, catching it in mid air. "Take care of the window frame, will you. You can put the plants on the floor. Oh, and while you're at it, you can give them some water too."

"Wha-" The boy started protesting, but seemed to realize that it would be of no use protesting. If he did start a quarrel with the blond, it would end up even more troublesome than if he just did as she asked. Also, he feared that even if he did stand up to her, he'd actually end up doing the chore either way. "... Fine. Man, what a drag."

The cleaning took the two of them ten minutes, and when they'd finished, Ino led the two of them through the back door and into the Yamanaka's home.

"Ino," A man's voice called out as she closed the door behind her and her friend. "Did that man show up or-" His eyes fell on their guest. "Oh, I didn't know we were expecting a guest. How are you, Shikamaru? And how about your father and Yoshino?"

The Nara greeted the man with a nod and ensured the well-being of both himself and his family. The blonde male smiled as he heard it, and told him to send his regards to the Nara-family.

"You're not leaving, are you?"

Shikamaru raised his brow in question at the man's question.

"No, of course not." Ino sent him a smile. "He's joining us for dinner. It should be okay, right?"

Her father nodded. "It should. I'm sure your mom won't mind." He turned to Shikamaru. "Have you talked with your parents?"

The boy opened his mouth to answer, but the girl was faster.

"He will." She then grabbed a hold of Shikamaru's wrist and walked towards the living area, leaving Shikamaru no choice but to follow along. Not that he really minded. He had gotten used to Ino and her impulsive decisions when they were younger. It was true. Not all of her impulses had been for the best, but a few of them had become some of his favorite memories.

A smile grew on his lips as Shikamaru thought back on their childhood. Ino had been all over the place, and he could remember finding the blonde troublesome. She would show up whenever he wanted to relax and sleep, and then she would talk endlessly about silly things. It had been really annoying. But, she had been there through hard times too. It was something that he had only realized later, but having her around had probably been what opened him up after his grandfather's death. She would knock on the door, and wouldn't stop until he came out of his room. It had been annoying. He had told his father to not let her into the house anymore, but Shikaku had only smiled. He had probably already realized it back then. Realized that Ino wouldn't stop that easily, and that she would probably become the 'troublesome woman' in his son's life.

Shikamaru looked at Ino. His father had, as always, been right.

A/N:
Please leave a review with your thoughts, okay?
it will help me write better in the future^^

Again, please like /follow me if you enjoy my stuff:
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