Shino pushed aside some of the vegetables in the salad before him without much interest before impaling a leaf of lettuce and the cucumber hidden below it. His interest wasn't really in his food but he acknowledged the fact that he had to eat to survive. Plus this was the closest place to the gate into the village that he could find and he had already been at the gate for nearly three hours before someone told him to go get something to eat. It wasn't his fault his stomach had to betray him that way, but he hadn't eaten breakfast so he most likely deserved it. He munched remotely contently on the vegetables, watching the colorful vegetables move from through his shades as he rested his cheek against his hand. Normally he sat up so straight and stiff that anyone would wonder if he had some kind of wooden plank glued to his back – but not today. Stares, for once, could be more than easily justified.
"Don't act like they're bringing back a dead body," Kiba said as he came up behind the Aburame, slapping him jokingly on the back of the shoulder before taking a seat. The owner of the stand gave him an acknowledging look to which Kiba held up two fingers in a gesture for two drinks. Quite used to being snuck up on by the canine-nin, Shino didn't jump so much as just impale his food with a little more force than he intended. Feeling a call in his gut for a need of composure, he sat up a bit straighter in his seat and rested his hands on the wooden bar. Kiba's slitted eyes followed Shino's fingers as they closed around the edges of his sleeves a little; dead give away, man.
"They could be, I haven't heard anything since this morning," he replied after a moment, his voice muffled a little under the hood and behind the tall collar of his shirt and jacket. His voice still managed to remain with its usual hard to reading stature but Kiba was so used to that he had his other ways of reading Shino. One of which was the gripping thing he did with the edges of his sleeves. Dead give away that the guy was nervous, but only if he grabbed the sleeves, if he just fisted his hands that was angry. The way he gripped the sleeves was like a silent gesture that the little kid in him needed something to hold onto but the mature Chuunin that he was realized either the stupidity of that (or the lack of availability) and simply settled for his sleeves. After all, Shino wasn't much of a contact guy and he didn't go around carrying a teddy bear.
Then again, with that jacket, Kiba was always prone to wondering what was with those layers.
"You think the guy just kicked it on the trip back or something? Sheash, give Shikamaru some credit," Kiba jested succeeding quite well in keeping up his best front for the Aburame. The owner of the shop set the fresh tea in front of the boys and Kiba immediately picked his up. Once again he slipped a sneaky glance in his friend's direction; Shino was holding the cup with both hands and hadn't picked it up. Alright, that hadn't worked, "He was just sick, right? It could be the stomach flu or something."
Shino shook his head, running his thumb along the edge of the cup as far as it could go without needing to really shift his hands much. Cling, cling, cling, no one could ever really tell just by looking at the guy but he was one of those people that needed something to ground him. Sometimes it was a person and sometimes it was a cup, either way he needed that there and without it Kiba was pretty sure he didn't want to be around for that brain crack, "Because they work so much with medicine Naras don't usually catch things like that. Shikamaru's mother says he hasn't been sick since-"
"You called his mom?" Kiba attempted not to choke on his drink as he slammed it back to the bar, wiping his mouth on his black leather sleeve. Shino's brow furrowed and he turned to give his friend a look from under the hood, but his hands still hadn't moved.
"I had to tell her," Shino remarked, his voice ringing with a tone that either said 'What's wrong with calling his mother' or just pure embarrassed annoyance. Either way Kiba took his cue to back down and looked back to his own cup again, now feeling a little stupid for his reaction. Then again there were a lot of times where he could remember feeling stupid for his actions; he just never regretted it for long.
"Right, sorry," he muttered. The Inuzuka picked up his cup to take another drink to clear away the uncomfortable dryness in his throat from coughing and set it back down on the bar carefully. His black eyes looked over the wood, pulling down his own sleeve a little so he could wipe away where some saliva and tea had managed to escape his big mouth. Shino continued to sit there and silently fidget with his own small cup, running his thumbs in symmetrical motions from the rim, down the sides, circling back and doing it again. A sort of silence settled between the two of them but it was impossible for it to be tense even with what Kiba had said. Shino was used to it, Kiba was used to him, and it was a silently understood…thing. Even Shino couldn't come up with a better word and, though Kiba was far from stupid, he was suppose to be the smart one.
After a few minutes of drawing imaginary designs on the side of the cup he took to simply trying to push his thumbs through it. The Aburame's thin brown eyes watched his fingers closely from behind his shades though his thoughts were clearly not with them. What if Shikamaru had died on the way back? The only other possibility that Ino had presented for him was that the Chuunin was pregnant but that was hardly logical. One could always joke that their friends were females but Shino had, quite plainly, seen Shikamaru to be very much male. He hoped that if there was some strange evolutionary birthing method that Shikamaru knew about he would have mentioned it. Maybe then Shino would have thought a bit more into protection but seeing as Shikamaru was a guy that didn't make any sense. Then again he probably should have thought of protection anyway. Now he understood why it was always drilled into their heads by their parents, moods were just influential like that.
Kiba bumped his arm twice with the back of his hand, knocking the other out of his strange thoughts of a pregnant Shikamaru and how awkward that would be. Shino turned on his stool to look where the other was and, being lead through the crowd more than walking through it himself, was Shikamaru being carted along by a slightly worried looking Ino. He pupiless blue-green eyes were flicking around the crowd as though looking for something or someone, Shikamaru wasn't leaning on her but from here Shino could tell he was probably near it. He wasn't walking with his usual slacker composure, strange enough as that was, but he was slouching more than usual and his eyes were closed with one of his hands over them as though he were trying to block out the light. Standing up he brushed aside the sign as he headed through the street for the other, Ino's eyes fell on him and a wave of relief swept through her system.
"There you are!" she sighed out the tension in her. Not meaning to brush her off (though doing it anyway) Shino moved one hand to the other's arm and his other up to the hand covering his eyes. Moving it away carefully he pulled the other's head down to look for his eyes.
The Nara Chuunin looked exhausted, utterly more than he usually did and as though Ino had forced him to walk around the village several hundred times before allowing him to really enter it. Cat like eyes squinted in the light and he immediately angled his head so he didn't have to look into it. Small bags had formed under his already constantly tired looking eyes and he seemed pale – another strange thing seeing as Shikamaru was usually slightly light skinned anyway. He was sure that if the other's hair wasn't up it would be completely bed-ratted like it was when he woke up most mornings; half of him wondered if Ino had made him shower and put up his hair for him before they left. He also seemed to be chattering like he was cold though the weather in Konohagakure was warm and tolerable for the day.
"Sun's killing me," he mumbled irritably. Shino guided him back over to the small stand he had been seated at, resuming his seat while Kiba moved to allow Shikamaru his. Gracefully the other collapsed into the chair and let his head fall into his folded arms on the bar. Shino shed his green over-jacket and put it over the other before ordering hot tea.
"He's been like this since about two hours in," Ino said apologetically, sorry for making her friend have to walk so far. Her hand rubbed comfortingly along his back but Shikamaru continued to shake, his fingers clawing around the coat a little to pull it more around him like a blanket. Kiba also hovered near, though he stood a bit more out of the way and his eyes hinted more at his concern than actually doing anything.
"Did he get sick again on the way back?" Shino asked, looking to Ino as his own hand rested over the other's quivering cold one. She looked to him, her eyes usually seemed hinted with a little shock every time he chose to talk but he couldn't blame her, she nodded. She trailed her glance back to her friend again as her hand paused on his back, sighing a little.
"He threw up almost four times."
"Almost?"
"F-False al-larm," Shikamaru spoke up, though his voice was muffled by being buried in his arms. His entire body felt chilly and yet he knew he was partially sweating. His stomach was clenching and doing flips, making him think he was starved one minute and going to throw something up the next. The sweet and hot scent of tea filled his nostrils and he was sure that the little monster in his stomach seemed pleased with that. Shino coaxed him up to a sitting position but after taking the cup, Shikamaru found himself slightly leaning against the other. It was incredible how the body could feel like lead yet still had enough energy to make him shake.
With his hands randomly going into spasms with tremors, Shino decided that after the second time the other hissed with spilling tea on himself it was better that he handle it. Shikamaru seemed fine with that and as the warm liquid coursed through his system the chill went away. He paid attention to the explanation Ino offered about Shikamaru waking up sick and what the doctor had to say. Something moving in him? That definitely sounded like pregnancy but he and Shikamaru had only had sex a few days ago, that was no amount of time for a fetus to develop and actually be moving.
"We gotta get him to a hospital or something," she sighed, pulling slightly on the hem of her skirt as she looked down at her own slightly shaking hands, "But I told him we could rest as soon as we got him back because he was complaining so much."
"Can I eat that?"
The uncluttered interjection of the Nara startled the three sitting around him, Shino looked around for what in the Hokage's name he could have been talking about before his eyes settled on the half eaten and forgotten salad. Reaching over he pulled it closer and let the other set it in his lap while he ate, fully capable of wielding the fork on his own now. Shikamaru never usually ate with the same manners as Chouji – which really just meant being able to eat very fast without getting too messy about it. He usually at slow and poked at his food for a while before eating it, unless he was in a rush for some reason or another; but suddenly that had changed. All three of them couldn't help but watch as Shikamaru silently, though quickly and efficiently, worked his way through the salad. After a moment he realized he was being stared at and looked between all three of them before shooting Shino a look, "What?"
Shino's response was hesitant and a little unsure, he fought to keep the shock from showing in his voice at his boyfriend's sudden change in habit, "I've never seen you eat like that."
"Like what?" His eyes narrowed. Shino swallowed at the almost offended look in those narrowed eyes, had he said something wrong? Shikamaru never turned on him over comments like that…in fact; Shikamaru had never really turned on him at all.
"J-Just fast, that's all he means, and so much," Ino piped up, hoping to safe Shino from whatever wrath her friend was suddenly fueled with. Both boys looked at her, though Shino's expression was a little more hidden by his shades than Shikamaru's. After a moment filled with the potential that, it seemed, Shikamaru would knock her off her chair and eat her or just let it go – he chose to let it go. He returned to the current object of his affection, Shino's salad, and munched the rest of his way through it.
All three of them exchanged rather confused glances over Shikamaru's head but the only thing they established was a shrug from Kiba. Giving the deer-herder a few more minutes to rest, eventually Shino managed to coax him to stand and they headed for the hospital. Shikamaru pulled the hood up to shield his eyes and leaned against Shino partially. Had he not known any better, he would have thought Shikamaru was trying to steal his sunglasses but let it go when the other claimed he had 'tripped and his hand just shot out to grab something'. Kiba noted the lack of actual tripping and the fact that Shino's face would not have been a good place to grab to steady himself; but he also stayed quiet.
It turned out the medical nin at the hospital were ready to accept him and he was lead away from his friends for a while to be settled. Shino took up a spot in one of the seats in the waiting room, as did Ino, but Kiba had left Akamaru at home and promised the dog he'd be back within two or so hours. After his friend's departure, Shino was left sitting with his arms resting on his thighs, fingers drifting towards the ground and sitting over slightly. Ino was caught looking between the hallway and the table of magazines. Unwittingly, both of them wondered who the heck would actually be able to get their mind off of a comrade in the hospital with just a copy of 'Shinobi Wanted Weekly'. Either way, she picked up a magazine to leaf through it while waiting, Shino watched the floor tiles closely, as though the specks on them would move and he would suddenly be able to play a game of connect the dots.
Was he the only kid that actually liked that game?
"Shino?" Ino spoke up after ten minutes of being into 'reading' her magazine.
"Hm?" Shino responded after a moment, forgetting that only people he really knew understood that his silence was just as good an acknowledgement as anything else.
"What if…" she looked over at the taller Chuunin. Shino sat up to look at her through her shades, he had his jacket back but hadn't put it back on yet for some reason or another that escaped him. His eyebrows were relaxed to their usual furrowed position as he peered at her through the glasses. Silently he prayed she didn't say 'What if he dies?'; god don't make him think about that, "What if he really is, like, y'know, pregnant or something?" After a pause she continued softly, looking directly into his glasses though, it was so much easier to look into them than it was into peoples eyes, "Is it…is it like…yours?"
In all his years as a male Shino had come to learn one very important lesson; opening your mouth when you were too shocked to form a complete and intelligent thought often got you into trouble. So he sat there, in all his awkward glory, and didn't answer. Ino felt equally as awkward and confused however, because after a moment she looked away in utter embarrassment cheeks a furious pink and eyes widened at her own question, "M-Maybe I should go call s-someone."
"Right," Shino responded, his voice jumping a little strangely to his throat in its rush to make her go away. The kunoichi practically jumped out of her seat and scrambled to the information desk for a phone and Shino could care less who she called. He balanced his elbows on his thighs and put his face in his hands rubbing his eyes from under his glasses as he struggled very hard not to think about his incredibly awkward, however brief, questioning session with the Yamanaka.