A Bug's Life
By Elli Cole
Shino x Sakura
Crouched under the tree, watching the specks of ants move from one part of the tree to the other was a lone figure. His dark hair and glasses hid his eyes from view and the rest of him was covered with his cape. Sakura had wandered through the forest in search of Naruto when she had come across the nin.
She had started to observe him when he twitched under her gaze.
He looked back and blinked—or so it would seem—in her direction and frowned. He then turned and resumed his ant-watching. It was boring to watch him in all seriousness but she couldn't turn away. Entranced by his serenity, she continued to hide herself from view and watch him from a distance.
The sun then started to set and yet the bug master hasn't moved from his spot.
Sakura had started to think he was insane.
Bugs weren't that interesting, really.
She sighed and started to stand up. Then she heard it. It's the faintest of sound but she heard it. Her brows furrowed and she walked towards him carefully. She reached him after a few seconds and saw his mouth slightly open. A snore sounded from his lips and she felt a vein pop on her head.
She kicked him slightly on the side.
He twitched and his hands came up to his spiky hair, running through the stiffness. He turned his head and looked at the pink-haired kunoichi in interest. "Ah, Sakura-san," he said lightly.
"You—you…" She said lamely. Okay, it wasn't his fault that he was sleeping and she had thought that he was just watching the ants do their business but still! It annoyed her that she spent her day watching him.
"Yes?" He asked curiously.
She waved her hands above her head in annoyance. "You're weird!"
Shino—under his glasses—blinked, confused. "Ah, so I've heard."
"Why are you sleeping—" She waved her hand again frantically at their surrounding. "—here?"
"I find it rather comforting here," he answered calmly and started to stand up to tower over her. She found herself slightly belittled as he raised a brow at her. "What are you doing here?"
"I—" She stopped. She wasn't insane to inform him that she just spent her precious time watching him sleep. It would sound creepy and he would assume that she was a stalker—and Sakura Haruno was anything but! "I was taking a walk."
He looked at her knowingly—he should stop wearing those glasses, seriously—and nodded his head. He knew, Sakura thought aghast as he laughingly turned his back on her. "That's why I thought I felt your aura around earlier this afternoon."
Sakura gulped and looked around innocently. "Oh?"
"Come on, Sakura," he muttered through the coat's overly large collar. "I'll treat you to some ramen."
"Ramen?" Sakura echoed.
"Yes, ramen."
Sakura followed him mechanically. How could she not? Shino was not one to be overly friendly to people. He was being constantly bothered and teased because of his fascination with bugs and Sakura thought that it was one of the reasons why. She considered herself to be friends with him but to him? She was unsure of what he thought about their relationship.
"Sakura," he started nonchalantly. Sakura thought he was beginning to be comfortable around her. It made her happy. "Why were you watching me?"
… okay, now she just wanted to kill herself.
Fast and painless, that was what she thought as she started to crack her knuckles.
"Sakura?" He turned his head and looked at her.
"Eh?" She asked, trying to look puzzled. He wasn't buying it.
"Why were you watching me earlier?" He asked again and Sakura swore she heard a hint of a snigger from him.
"I—I was just walking around—" She stuttered when he cut her off.
"That doesn't answer my question," he retorted as they neared Ichiraku. Naruto was probably there. He would distract Shino from being inquisitive! Hopefully, the blond was still there at that time of night.
"I'm hungry," she whined flippantly. They reached the ramen stand and in Sakura's dislike, Naruto was not present. "Ramen please!"
"Why are you avoiding my question, Sakura?" Shino asked after a few moments of silence. Sakura blinked at him and blushed, lowering her head and avoiding his gaze.
"I—" She trailed off. "Shino… are we friends?"
A few seconds and he answered, "Of course."
She beamed at him. "Good."
The bowl of ramen reached them after a few moments and they ate in silence. Sakura thought it was rather comfortable but Shino kept fidgeting. It wasn't as if Sakura knew him that much but it was rather unusual for him to be rather restless.
"Anything the matter, Shino-san?" She asked with a mouthful of noodles.
Nice Sakura, very lady-like, her inner conscience taunted.
She hushed the annoying voice when Shino started to talk. "Of course," he replied in a hushed tone.
"You're rather quiet since we got here." She piped and slurped the soup noisily. The voice came back and teased her about manners but heck, she was just with Shino. He didn't mind.
Right?
"I'm fine, Sakura-san," he finished his ramen in a couple of minutes and stood up. "I'll walk you home."
Sakura nodded her head and stood up as well. They walked down the streets with the light of the street lamps guiding their way. Sakura stole glances to him a few times but she hadn't noticed that his eyes were stuck on her. He was having an internal breakdown.
They reached her house subsequently and Sakura thanked him for the ramen for walking her home. Shino nodded his head and was about to turn away when she told him that she enjoyed his company a lot.
"We should do it again sometime." She broadly smiled.
Even though Sakura couldn't see it, he smiled under his large coat. "Of course we will."
Her smile widened and Shino—not foreseeing the event in his lifetime—gasped at the contact of her lips on the side of his face. She leaned back and gave him a soft smile, a blush tainting her cheeks.
"I really am thankful, Shino," she whispered and turned her back to him. She walked inside her house with a wave of her hand and closed the door, leaving Shino standing outside her house. He was frozen to the spot, he mused. He lifted his hand and cupped his cheek.
Were they friends?
He finally turned to the side and started to walk alone, one of the lamps flickered.
Would she ever consider him as more?
He turned the corner and didn't notice the pair of green eyes that watched him as he went.
oOo
End Note: I figured doing a ShinoSaku is interesting so I did this first. There are so many requests to choose from and I really want to satisfy so I'm thinking of possible plots to come up with. I know that almost all of them have the same storyline but seriously, it's hard to come up with plots when you're only doing a one-shot.
More of the requests coming your way.
Review please.
