Author: Gosenshii | fade_in2_dreamsLj
Title: I'm Always In This Twilight (In the Shadow of Your Heart)
Fandom: Naruto Shippuden
Summary:
Moments and glimpses into the most intimate moments between Konaha's favorite genius and the troublesome Yamanaka girl-moments in which silence speaks louder than words ever could.
Characters: Nara Shikamaru x Yamanaka Ino
Pairings: ShikaIno
A/N: Drabble Set 1/2, drabbles 1-6.All drabbles are scattered in no particular order yet all of them intertwine together but can stand by themselves if you want them to. These might be a bit cliche at times but I'm really happy with how they came out overall~ Feedback is always welcome and greatly appreciated.
The stars, the moon,
They have all been blown out
You left me in the dark.
No dawn, no day,
I'm always in this twilight
In the shadow of your heart
{Cosmic Love | Florence + The Machine }
~*~
I {Crimson puddles on white tiles}
Her breathing is frantic, shallow. It burns her lungs and hammers mercilessly at her chest. It hurts. Everything hurts. Her head is throbbing, spinning; the taste of vile and blood strong in her mouth. Sweat and blood soak her clothes and every limb on her bruised body feels as if it's on fire-the wet, cold floor beneath her still form her only relief.
She tries to speak, desperate to know if he's alright because even amid all the confusion and pain she remembers blood- his blood; covering her hands, drenching her clothes, crimson puddles on white tiles.
Her vision blurs. Color and sound entwine.
She can feel the numbing darkness slowly pulling her under, consciousness rapidly slipping away as the world around her becomes dim and silent. His name is nothing but a hoarse whisper passing through parched lips.
Shikamaru...
II {Now you and I begin}
Everything starts, like most things did in her life, with the Nara boy.
It's well past midnight when he crawls (quite literally) through her bedroom window; bruised, filthy, and half conscious. There's a moment of absolute panic when she jumps out of bed and rushes towards him, heart hammering frantically in her chest and the bright-green glow of her Shosen Jutsu automatically coming to life in her hands.
She remembers how to breathe again the instant her palms touch his chest.
The blonde kunoichi could read his body like an open book and operate on him just as easily; her chakra seeping into taunt muscles and blood streams, healing fractured bones and torn ligaments. By the time she reaches a nasty gash on his left shoulder, (the bloody parting gift on an enemy fuuma shuriken), he's out cold and she's bordering exhaustion. Nonetheless she continues to heal him until she can't heal anymore, leaving the rest of the job to nature and sleep. Too tired to be bothered with the mere idea of trying to lift him, she drags her pillows and blankets to the floor where she quickly tucks him in before slipping inside the covers beside him. Sleep comes almost instantly but just before falling into a comatose-like sleep, she swears the next time the cloud-gazing-loving idiot currently passed out on her bedroom floor decides to do a repeat of tonight, she would meet him with the pair of twin kunais instead of concern.
It doesn't cross her mind that when it came to the Nara genius she always ended up breaking promises; especially the ones she made with herself.
III {I'm always in this twilight, in the shadow of your heart}
The floor is cold against her cheek but she doesn't mind; she can see him best lying like this.
His tattered clothes and left arm, now adorned with a lengthy pearl-white scar, bare the signs of a long and difficult journey. She's sprawled on the floor beside him, golden hair spilled around her like liquid gold. He pretends to sleep and she lets him, content just to watch the gentle rise and fall of his chest, arms close enough for comfort but nowhere near enough for touch.
Sometimes they whisper, mindful of her father across the hall, watching moonlight slowly spill across the room.
Only the lonely flickering flame of a dim lantern keeps them company casting shadows to dance on bare walls; dark silhouettes dancing around unspoken words and hidden desires neither dares to mention. His features are colored in shadow and moonlight, the lighter shades accentuating the sharpness of his jaw and the strong curve of his neck; the thin outline of his mouth and the slight fullness of lips. All features of a man, not of the cloud-gazing boy she once knew.
"Na, Shikamaru." Her voice is low and soft, almost a whisper. It slipps through their silence like the moonlight slowly creeping through the darkness of her room.
"Mmmh?" The Nara genius doesn't bother opening his eyes when he answers but she's looking at him, clear blue eyes studying him carefully as if engraving him into memory forever. Before she can think better of it she traces a gossamer finger down the line of his jaw, past his neck and under the collar of his shirt until she grazes the old battle scar on the left side of his chest, right above the heart. She could feel her chest tighten at the memory. He saved her that day, almost at the cost of his own life; a price she'll never be willing to accept.
"You promised. Don't forget." I think I'm falling in love with you.
"I won't." is his simple reassurance, but for her it's more than enough.
A ghost of a smile graces her lips before she returns her attention to the roof and his hand finds hers in the dark, giving her a small reassuring squeeze. She squeezes back and doesn't let go.
He'll be gone by dawn, off to another mission and she'll be left to wait for his return, the memory of death still too fresh in her heart.
IV {We're all made of stardust}
Beneath their backs the roof is blessedly cool, a small kindness amid the humid summer night. They fall silent, both lost in their own thoughts, content just to watch the tiny lights adorning the heavens in the company of the other.
He's about to drift into sleep when her voice, uncharacteristically serious, wakes him.
"I wish...I wish he could see how far we've come, all of us. He would be proud." Her words take him by surprise and open wounds that may never heal completely. "I wish he could've lived to see his son, watch him grow tall. But there's no point in wishing, is there? Wishes can't bring back the dead."
There's a bitter melancholy in the tremor of her voice but the pain and regret are there all the same. He wonders, not for the first time, when they would be able to look back without feeling so damn miserable.
"It's always good to have a wish, Ino-chan." he tells her calmly, betraying none of the emotions her words had evoked. "Wishes can't bring the dead back to life but maybe you can wish for something else. Maybe you can wish to meet them again someday. You should ask your stars."
He liked his clouds and she liked her stars, but at the end it was she who believed in the power of those far-away lights.
"Ask my stars?" she asks, smiling a bit.
He nods, outstretching his arm and opening his hand as if trying to catch one of said stars.
Don't lose hope, Ino, because if you do I might stop believing too.
"We're all made of stardust, Ino. At the end we're nothing but stardust."
V {Passing Shadows}
"I hate it." she tugs at the gauze around his arm, properly setting it into place. "I really hate it, Shikamaru." her eyes are downcast, voice even, betraying none of the emotions raging inside. The Nara genius pinches the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes in mild aggravation. Troublesome woman; he should have seen it coming.
"Ino..." her name is more of a sigh than an actual word, and it's completely ignored by the blonde.
"I should be out there! With you and Choji. My place is beside you and you know this, Shika! Please, don't leave me behind again, I won't allo-" he takes her face gently between his palms and kisses her forehead, silencing her. Tired indigo eyes look up to meet his easy smile but he can already see the beginnings of that infamous Yamanaka pout forming on her rosy lips. So he ruffles her hair, chuckling good heartedly.
"You worry too much, Ino-chan. Nothing is going to happen- to me or to Choji, I promise. It'll be alright."
"Shikamaru, can we just-"
"It's late, I should go." With one last reassuring squeeze of her shoulders he walks away from her and towards the open window, throwing her one last careless grin. "Thanks for patching me up. Ja ne."
And with that he's gone; slipping away silently like he always does and all she can do is watch him leave, a habit she will never get accustomed to.
VI {My unintended}
It was a starless night, the dark heavens engulfing the sleeping village like a thick blanket. A cool breeze plays with her curtains, the gentle rustle of leaves the only noise outside her bedroom window.
Tonight he had decided on silence, speaking little of his three week absence and saying less about his (now healed) broken wrist and fractured ribs. At any other given time she would've pressed him for what she wanted to know, but not tonight. Not when that distant, empty look still haunted his eyes, telling her everything yet nothing at all. What he needed right now was comfort and rest; she could provide one and the night would provide the other.
It's not long before his breathing becomes even, the worry lines on his brow finally smoothing out. His light snores fill the room and the blonde kunoichi can't help the tender smile that tugs at her lips.
Okaeri; you've been missed. More than you realize. More than I expected to.