It's a common shinobi understanding: ninjas don't go on dates.
They go out in groups and mingle. They drag people home for a one-time fuck. Or maybe they have a friend and an agreement, and the only decision each time is "Your place or mine?"
But they don't date. They don't buy flowers and gifts to tease blushes onto the cheeks of their beloved. They don't take them to dinner or plan elaborate getaways. They don't plan anything at all, except to survive another day, maybe.
It's only when you look closer — at the teammate who brings an extra roll of bandages, at the near miss that almost wasn't — that a pattern begins to emerge. When firm, capable bodies tremble during a mental break or pure, honest tears wash away the pain of one life sacrificed for another, it becomes too evident what shinobi do with the ones they love:
They protect them.
[.end]