Title: Silk
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the characters mentioned in this fic and do not stand to make any profit from posting this story.
Rating: T
Summary: As Hinata's wedding draws close, Shino has a gift for her. Hinata/Shino angst.
Silk
Shino has given her a gift today. It's a bolt of cloth. That may seem like a simple gift but this is no ordinary cloth. The fabric spills like water through her hands, slipping off the bolt like a mountain stream cascading over rocks, vibrant and flowing and alive.
The colors are indescribable. White and iridescent, yet the light manages to catch and reflect every color of the rainbow, so subtly that the eye almost misses it.
But her eyes have the Byakuugan. They see not only the colors but the patterns woven throughout, a single strand at a time, flowers and good luck wishes and auspicious talismans each oh-so-faintly highlighted, thread by thread.
"Shino, I...", Hinata blushes furiously and then begins her characteristic stammer that tugs at his heart in a way he'd hoped was no longer possible. "I-I-I d-d-d-on't know what to say, Sh-sh-sh-shino-kun." She bows so deeply he almost blushes himself and resists the urge to tug her back upright. He's afraid that if he touches her he'll never let go.
It's Aburame-silk. Priceless. Without compare in all the Five Great Nations and beyond. The fabric is the product of secret techniques of sericulture known only to his clan. In all other methods of silk production, the heat necessary to separate the gum between the strands of the silkworms' cocoons kills the larvae as well. Only Aburame skill can coax the filaments apart at the precise moment the transformation from silkworm to moth occurs, thus preserving both the living thread and the life of the insect as well.
"If you have not already selected a fabric for your wedding kimono, Hinata-chan, I would be honored if you would find this an acceptable choice," Shino says in his familiar monotone but for once it's laced with undertones of something else, something heavy and aching.
"It is I who would be honored to do so, Shino...Aburame-san," she corrects herself as she addresses him by his clan name and adds the honorific. "Domo arigato," she whispers.
Fat tears glisten like jewels on her cheeks and in her lashes. Again he has to resist the urge to touch her and brush them away.
"I wish you both a lifetime of happiness and prosperity," Shino says most sincerely even though there's a small part nagging at him that it's not true that he wishes both of them happiness, only Hinata but that's beside the point.
"Domo...domo arigato, Shino-kun," Hinata whispers for old time's sake but she doesn't rise from her bow.