Roommates

Chapter 11: Dirty Dishes

It had been another hectic day at the hospital, but Ino kept her calm as her day consisted of walking from one end of the building to the other. It was a rainy Wednesday morning, and although there weren't many patients, a lot of doctors and nurses chose to take the day off, including Dr. Tsunade. After the court ruling, the older woman decided that she needed a break from work and had travelled out of the country with her husband, Jiraiya, for a mini-vacation. Considering the long hours the woman had pulled in order to prepare for the court date, Ino felt that her boss truly deserved it.
The thought of a mini-vacation sounded nice to Ino as well. And part of her didn't mind taking it alone. Ever since the hiking incident, Fu had decided to visit the apartment almost every day. The girl wouldn't stop talking while watching TV with Gaara, and Ino was surprised that her roommate hadn't kicked the girl out yet.
"Hey, you OK?"
Ino blinked several times before giving Sakura a small smile. "Sorry, I spaced out for a second."
Her pink-haired friend raised an eyebrow at her. "Is everything OK? You've seemed down lately."
"...I'm fine. I guess I just need a break,"
"From what?"
Ino paused for a few seconds, trying to come up with an answer. "Not sure. Part of me wants some alone time,"
"Ino, you are single and have your own room and bed... Alone time from wh- Is everything OK with Gaara?"
The blonde nodded while pressing her lips tightly, "Mhmm... Yup, he's fine... I mean, he's OK... Everything's OK,"
"Oh, cut the bullshit, Ino. What's truly going on? Is it that girl again? Fu? Is she and Gaara...dating?"
Ino shrugged sadly, unaware of her actions now as she frowned. "I don't know. But she's been around more lately...and...I don't know what they are. And part of me is scared of finding out."
Sakura felt sorry for her. She couldn't imagine being in that situation and having to deal with it. It had reminded her of the time when Sasuke's "good friend Karin" would get a tad bit too touchy with him and although Sasuke would always brush her off, to this day it always made Sakura uneasy.
"Anyway, let's talk about something else!" Ino said unexpectedly, forcing a smile.
"A-Are you sure? If you want to talk about it, it's OK. I'm here to listen,"
"I rather not talk about it," Ino said, stabbing a tomato with her fork, "Besides, he's just my roommate. So, how's the pregnancy?"
At the question, Sakura smiled before rubbing her small abdomen. "I still get some morning sickness, but it's not as bad. But I've started craving chicken tacos a lot. The good thing is that there's a taco place nearby and Sasuke always gets them for me!"
"Have you guys decided about your living situation?"
Sakura nodded. Currently, her and Sasuke shared a one-bedroom apartment and while the place wasn't small, it wasn't spacious either. "He wants us to buy a house at least two years after I give birth. Nothing too big, maybe a two or three-bedroom."
"You're not moving out of the state, are you?!" Ino asked, and Sakura giggled.
"No, we're not. We won't be moving far. But we won't be within the city either. So your perky butt will have to take the bus to see me!" Sakura teased.
"You know my perky ass will be there to babysit your kid while you and Sasuke go have your fun,"
The girls giggled, both of them remembering telling each other almost a decade ago how they would each babysit each other's children.
There had also been other promises made that day, and thinking about one of them clearly, Sakura grabbed Ino's hand. Ino raised an eyebrow at her, examining her face to see what her friend was about to do.
"Ino, there's something else I need to ask of you... And if you say no, it's totally OK! I know it's a HUGE commitment and can be a bit costly too. But, would you...be my maid of honor?"
The blonde choked on a tomato at first, taken by surprise at such a question. "W-Wait... Sakura, are you serious? Are you sure? Oh my God! Wait! Does that mean that Sasuke...proposed?"
Her friend nodded happily. "Yup! He did! He doesn't want our little one born to unmarried parents, and he and I prefer to have a wedding before I hit five months. It won't be anything extravagant. We want it simple with just family and close friends."
Ino nodded. "I understand,"
"So...what do you say?"
"What do I say? Well, of course I accept, Forehead girl! Have you decided who'll be your bridesmaid?"
Sakura nodded, "Yup! Tenten, Temari, and Hinata. I already asked Temari, and she said yes. I'm going to see Hinata today, so I'll ask her there and will call Tenten tomorrow."
"Oh, this is so freaking exciting!" Ino exclaimed loudly, causing people around them to look at her confusingly before shrugging and continuing with their business. It wasn't the first time Nurse Yamanaka had boasted out loud about something.
The news of becoming Sakura's maid of honor lifted Ino's spirits for the next couple of hours. As she tended her patients and performed her duties, she was already planning on what to do as soon as she got home. Although it was exciting to be her best friend's maid of honor, it still brought some anxiety onto the blonde young lady considering she had never done this before. However, there was the Internet and her mother, of course, who had been a maid of honor for three of her friends throughout her lifetime. If there was one person to ask for advice, it was definitely her.
"You're very happy today," said one of her colleagues, and Ino faced the older man.
"Yup! I just got some great news and well, I'm happy!"
The man nodded, "That's good. Life's too short to let sadness take over."
Ino agreed with him as she continued entering some patient information, telling herself to be careful as her mind went back to many questions:
What color should the bridemaid's dresses be? Peach always suited white, as did teal.
How long should the dresses be? Well, considering it was very warm, something knee-length would be appropriate. An ankle-length dress could work too, depending on its style.
What about hairstyle? Out of the five of them, Temari was the only one with short hair. But that didn't matter, as there were beautiful hairstyles for each length.
Heels? Oh, she already knew that she would have to train Tenten on how to walk on those things. The poor girl couldn't stand an evening with them without having Neji to carry her home.
Nails? That was easy - Hinata Hyuga herself can do all of their nails, considering the girl was gifted at it.
A loud bang by the hospital entrance caused Ino to flinch and almost drop her papers.
"Where the hell is she?!"
Ino gasped as she quickly recognized that voice. It was Marylin's father again, and he carried a large picture of his dead daughter as he strolled into the lobby.
"Excuse me, sir, but you are creating a ruckus." said one of the senior male doctors, and the angry father growled at him.
"This hospital should be shut down over the wrongful death of my daughter!" the man yelled, causing family members of admitted patients to look around skeptically. "All of you should be punished, especially that Dr. Tsunade...and her,"
Ino flinched as the man pointed a finger at her, her mouth suddenly becoming dry as she wasn't sure what to say back.
The man took a few more steps towards her, his finger still pointing at her as the hand holding his daughter's picture shook. "You said you would take care of my daughter, but instead you let her die!"
"...I...n-no.. Sh-She..."
"Don't fucking lie!" the man yelled again, "You and that doctor let her die. You both should be thrown in jail! I should fucking sue you for wrongful death, Yamanaka!"
The way he spat out her last name made it seem as if her name was a curse. And unsure of what to say, Ino remained silent as a heavy feeling began to build in her chest. She hoped that the man would go away, considering that he had already lost his lawsuit against the hospital and Dr Tsunade. Why was he going after her now?
"I'm going fucking sue you, Nurse Yamanaka-"
"Please leave before we call the police and have you arrested again!" Shizune appeared angrily, her temper flaring upon seeing the same man. "The judge threw your case out. You are wasting our time with false accusations."
The man looked around for a moment, as if unsure of how to reply. He took a couple of steps back before eyeing Ino one more time, saying in a low but audible voice. "I won't forget you, bitch."
With that last threat, he stomped out of the hospital.
"Ino, are you OK?" Shizune asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Ino blinked several times before giving her a slow nod. "Yeah? I think so... I think I just...need a fifteen break,"
"That's fine. But please don't let that man's words get to you. He already lost the case. I will let Tsunade know what happened once she comes back. You're still doing an awesome job, and there will always be times where we can't save everyone."
Ino nodded at her before heading towards the back of the hospital, telling herself that all she needed was some fresh air.
The rest of the afternoon went by fast, and Ino looked forward to getting home and starting her research on everything she had to do for Sakura's wedding. She would not let herself slack off and fail her best friend.
However, the man's words still haunted her and while heading home, Ino thought of nothing else but that. Even though the airplane crash had been due to pilot error, according to published reports from a few days ago, Ino still felt guilty over Marylin's death. She wasn't naive. She knew that as someone working in the medical field, not everyone can be saved, including children. But Maryling reminded her of herself - blonde hair, blue eyes, and outspoken. It was unfortunate that the little girl had to be on that plane on that day.
Sighing as she reached her apartment, Ino unlocked the door and gasped at the unpleasant sight in front of her.
There were dirty dishes, cups, and pots all over the kitchen counter. There were spills of what looked like tomato sauce on the floor and above the stove.
She immediately knew that there was only one person who could make such a mess... Fu.
Ever since Gaara had brought Fu into their apartment, the girl always decided to "try some new recipe", and that new recipe always ended up in disaster. The last thing she had attempted to make was banana bread. The thing had come out terrible. She knew it had come out terrible not because she had tried it, but because Gaara had thrown out the whole thing the moment Fu left after cleaning up her mess.
Ino growled as she walked inside and glared at the dirty objects, hoping that they would get up and clean themselves. She had a very long day and really didn't feel like getting her hands dirty. What she would really like was to grab Fu by her hair and force the bitch to clean up after herself.
But knowing that neither she or Gaara were home, and that the longer the dishes and stains stayed, the worse it would be to clean up later, Ino opened the bottom of the sink and grabbed an extra sponge. She would clean up this time, but would make sure to give an earful to her roommate.
Opening the empty dishwasher, Ino turned on the sink faucet and began to scrub off some of the stains before placing the dishes and cups inside. She then proceeded with the spatulas, forks, and spoons, cursing mentally at the mozzarella cheese stuck to a few of them. After a couple of scrubs, she placed those items in the dishwasher and proceeded with the pots and the baking dish right underneath.
Drizzling more soap into the sponge, she washed the pots quickly, scrubbing hard to remove the overcooked pasta stuck at the bottom. Afterwards, she rinsed it and dried it with a paper towel. After putting it away, she proceeded to the baking dish and frowned even more as she saw more pasta stuck to it and immediately, Ino figured out what the dumb girl had been trying to bake. Lasagna.
Grabbing a scouring pad, she began to use all of her strength to remove the food particles from the baking dish. Her thin fingers began to hurt, and Ino cursed as she took a break. She continued to scrub but knew that the food, considering it was burnt, wasn't going to come out easily. Giving up, Ino grabbed some baking soda and vinegar, and created a solution to help dissolve the food.
While that sat there in the sink, Ino grabbed another scouring pad and began to wipe the stains off the stove. The task didn't take long, and the kitchen was finally looking much better. The only thing left, aside from the baking dish, was the floor. Considering the stain was in just one area (and she had mopped the floor a few days ago), Ino decided to simply use a disinfecting wet wipe to clean it off.
Since the kitchen pantry wasn't that large, cleaning supplies had been placed over the cabinets and whenever she needed something, she would get Gaara to fetch it for her. But with him not home, she knew that she would need to climb on top of the kitchen counter.
Taking off her shoes and socks, Ino lifted herself on top of the counter and slowly stood up. Considering the cabinets above the counter were large, she had limited space and held onto a cabinet door for support. Any misstep and she knew that she would end up on the floor. Stretching her arm, she grabbed the pack of wipes and grinned.
Success!
"Crap...How am I going to get down?" she asked herself, one hand still holding the cabinet door and the other holding the object.
She heard the door open and close, and turning her head, saw her roommate walking inside. He raised a barely visible red eyebrow at her.
"You're going to fall,"
Ino rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah, but I needed to grab this because someone had to clean this mess..."
Gaara turned his head and sighed, "I was going to clean it up after dropping her home..."
"Oh... well... I wasn't sure when you were going to be home... so I went ahead and did it. I hate seeing our kitchen left in such disgusting state,"
She wanted to also add in that Fu should have cleaned up, but she wasn't sure how Gaara would take such a comment. They never had any roommate problems before, and Ino didn't want one to start just because the short-haired bitch didn't know how to clean.
"Let me help you," Gaara said, walking towards her. "Give me the wipes."
Ino gave him the object and watched as he placed it on the kitchen counter before turning his attention back to her, lifting his arm up towards her.
"What?"
"...Your hand, Ino."
"For what?"
"To help you get down,"
"...Oh... Don't worry, I can do this myself."
"You're going to fall."
"No, I'm not. All I have to do is just lower myself like this and-Gaara, what the heck! I had it!"
Her roommate had grabbed her the moment she had lowered herself on the counter top, picking her up and now carrying her bridal style. His actions confused her, and by the look on his face, she knew that he was just as confused as well. But he didn't let her go, and a tingly feeling stirred within her.
Ever since bailing out on him and Fu during the hike, her and Gaara's interactions had lessened, something that bothered her tremendously. She would sometimes wonder what he would be thinking about it, or whether he was thinking about it at all.
But as good as this felt, Ino knew that it was wrong. As much as she didn't like Fu, this still wasn't fair to her.
"You were going to fall," Gaara finally spoke, his arms still holding her.
"I was not," Ino replied before trying to wiggle herself out of his hold, "You can put me down now, you know..."
The red-head blinked once more before slowly putting her down. He watched her closely as she grabbed the pack of cleaning wipes and handed it over to him with a smile.
"The rest is for you to clean!"
And with a bright smile, she walked towards her room to prepare for her new duty as Sakura's maid of honor. But upon sitting on the edge of her bed, Ino sighed and rubbed her upper arms, missing the feeling of him holding her.
Gaara, what the heck are you doing to me...