mischief's cracktastic shorts
No Apologies [NaruIno]
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
A/N: for
Pairings: implied
NaruIno, KibaIno,
--
She’d stopped by to have dinner with her parents as she did
from time to time. Conversation at these events usually consisted of the
typical ‘We miss you. You need to come see us more.’ nature (as if they
couldn’t drop by her place anytime they wanted to or something) that eventually
degenerated into the ‘When are you going to settle down and start a family? You’re
a kunoichi and not getting any younger.
grandchildren!’ sort.
They meant well even if it was annoying.
She knew something was off this time when her father opened
the door with a greeting of “We need to talk,” and quickly ushered her to the
sofa. She hadn’t even had time to sit before he was pacing the floor, a vein
prominently protruding his forehead.
“We’ve heard some disturbing rumors lately and….”
Her mother coughed and interrupted him. That was generally a
bad sign. “What your father is trying
to say is that we’re a little concerned.”
Ino resisted the urge to flail her
arms in confusion and simply asked, “About…”
“You and that Uzumaki kid,”
Ah. That explains the increased blood pressure, she thought,
glancing at her father’s quickly reddening face.
“We like to think we’ve been more than lenient parents, not
making a fuss about most of your… relationships,”
her mother carefully chose.
Ino rolled her eyes. She might as
well have said, “It’s easier for us to stay in denial about your sleeping
around when it’s not people who embarrass us.”
She continued. “…And we understand you don’t want to settle
down yet, but…”
“Just… have some standards, will you,” Inoichi
finished.
Ino’s eyes narrowed at that
comment. She very well had standards. High ones, in fact.
Just not the sort she cared to share with her father, although the temptation
to do so right then had never been stronger.
Grumbling, he added, “That Inuzuka
was bad enough.”
Ino frowned then. She liked
nice guy. She sat there a moment and thought about all the people she’d been
with who actually mattered. There weren’t many, but they all seemed to be
similar in that respect. Hmm, maybe that was just the type she went for or
something. Crushes didn’t count.
She sighed theatrically and reminded herself that her
parents meant well. They loved her and thought they were looking out for her. Understanding
their motives only got her so far, though. Ideally, she would like for them to
mind their own damn business.
“Look,” she finally said. “We all know I’m going to live my
life how I want. You are free to express your disapproval all you want, but it
won’t change anything. Yes, I am seeing Naruto. If
this bothers you, keep it to yourself, otherwise I might just bring him over
here for dinner one night. Then all those rumors you keep hearing from
Forehead-girl’s nosy mom will finally have some weight to them. And I know you
don’t want that,” she added with a smile.
The look on her mother’s face was nothing but that of shock,
while her father appeared to be regretting the day she was born. All in all,
“I don’t know about you two, but I’m a little hungry. Can we
eat?” she asked cheerfully as she pushed herself from the couch.
It was the first time in a very long while that they made it
through dinner without her mother mentioning how Shikamaru
was still single (and not-so-subtly hinting that she do
something about that.) It was probably the best dinner date she’d ever had with
her parents even if Ino spent it wondering how her
lazy-assed teammate managed to keep his involvement with Temari
a secret after all this time. Maybe she’d stop by his place for pointers later.
And she’d even make sure to not have sex with him where the
neighbors might see, Ino thought, hiding her amused
smile behind her teacup. Hey, even she could throw her parents a bone once in a
while.