{open} It was a beautiful morning.

[youngesthokage]

He was in a wonderful mood. He'd gotten in later than intended due to the rather long talk with his mother, which had been oddly easier with this one than the one from home ever was anymore, and by the time he'd made it home is good mood had returned and he'd settled right to bed.

Morning, on the other hand, had brought the flowers and he found himself looking out the window in curious fascination at them, mussed from sleep and somewhat bewildered.

Since when did snow bring flowers?

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[bunsofsteel]

"Well, hurry up, they might disappear!" She grabbed her own cup and drained it, then dashed to find the boots she'd bought in town. "Let Sasuke sleep, we'll bring him some back, maybe~"

[youngesthokage]

He chuckled softly and then rose, heading off to pull on clothes fit for outside, quickly joining her near the door.

[bunsofsteel]

It was almost reflex by now to take his hand in her own gloved one as she tugged him out the door, eyes on those flowers. "Do you think we can pick them?"

[youngesthokage]

"Yes, I think that's safe to say. I gather you want to take them home?"

[bunsofsteel]

"Well, yeah. Don't you?" Her eyes fairly sparkled as she looked up ahead. "Maybe they're poisonous!"

[youngesthokage]

"Or medicinal?" His tone was dry. "I'm sure those in the village know about them." He let her pull him along. looking around the crimson sea. "These flowers are vaguely disturbing from a distance."

[bunsofsteel]

...She hoped they were poisonous. She didn't need anything for medicine, after all. "Well, we'll have to ask before putting it in tea, huh?" A quiet laugh, then she crouched to poke one, testing to see if any kind of weird pollen would come out and looking for thorns. "I kind of like them! Maybe it means that there won't be any more snow?"

[youngesthokage]

"I suspect that not to be the case." The flowers were tiny but... oddly sturdy. Leaning down he tugged one... and tugged, as the thin stem kept coming. "Interesting."

[bunsofsteel]

"Isn't it way too cold for flowers, though?" She wasn't Ino, but she understood some basic plant biology. A pause as she glanced over, then frowned. "...Is it a vine?"

[youngesthokage]

He finally reached the bottom and tugged, the root coming up too. "It doesn't appear to be. One blossom, no leaves, not anchored."

[bunsofsteel]

"Huh." She scrunched up her face, then shrugged. "Ino would probably know what it is. She's the one I got the tea from, remember? Of the Yamanaka clan."

[youngesthokage]

"I know who Ino is." His tone was colored by amusement. "That one is rather diligently courting my brother. In fact in one of the hotel side-verses, she won from what I saw."

[bunsofsteel]

It's almost reflex to scowl possessively at the thought, though she quickly shook her head, trying not to think about it. Her Sasuke was his own person, not the same as anyone else. "Well, anyway, she's the only one I can think of offhand who might know what these are."

[youngesthokage]

"Well, in that case, at some point before they're gone you should ask her."

[bunsofsteel]

It's a mutter, mostly to herself, as she starts to tug her own free out of curiosity. "She'll probably say they're good for tying people up, knowing her."

[youngesthokage]

He blinked a few times and looked over at her. "She has a thing for that does she?"

[bunsofsteel]

She blinked and flushed, not having expected Itachi to hear that. "Uh! Well, we were talking about... stuff like that... when I bought the tea. It's not important, though!"

[youngesthokage]

He blinked again, watching her. "You've interest in tying people up?"

[bunsofsteel]

Her cheeks held that flush as she yanked the flower completely out of the ground, bending the stem and staring down at it instead of him. "Well... I thought you might like something like that..."

[youngesthokage]

He paused, settling to just looking at her entirely, flower loose in his fingers. "That... is highly possible yes."

[bunsofsteel]

Her cheeks flushed darker at the shiver of anticipation when he answered, and she glanced up at him, trying to hide her embarrassment with a smirk. "Well, in that case, I could try doing it for you~ If you wanted! Maybe." She lost her confidence as quickly as it had started to show itself, glancing back down at the flower.

[youngesthokage]

He was quiet a beat. "I can think of nothing you might want to do with or to me that I would not be willing to let you try."

[bunsofsteel]

She glanced up at him, then back down again and muttered something inaudible.

[youngesthokage]

He blinked, then shifted over the snow to peer into her face. "What was that?"

[bunsofsteel]

"...Whipping."