Disclaimer: *pouts and waves Jiraiya flag*

Characters: Shino, Shibi. Implied Shino/Ino.

Shibi didn't need his bugs to know when something was going on. Especially when it came to his son. He was a father, after all, and while the Aburame Clan were known for their aloofness, it didn't mean they were devoid of human love and emotion. In fact, they had an incredibly strong sense of family on par with any Inuzuka; it was just...quieter.

Shino had been acting strangely for a while now. He'd been on edge, or as close to on edge as Shino would allow people to see. Really, Shibi doubted anybody else could really see it, but he was the boy's father. Thus, he saw it, and upon doing so, proceeded to covertly keep an eye on Shino, determined to get to the bottom of his son's behaviour out of both clan duty and parental concern.

What he'd discovered had both startled and amused him, albeit in a rather melancholic way.

Shibi would never have expected his son to be a victim to hopeless love. And certainly not to a woman such as that Yamanka girl. Inoichi's daughter...oh, what was her name? Ino? Yes, Ino. Bit of a shallow choice, in his opinion, especially when compared to his son's intellect.

But...no. It wasn't...it wasn't unexpected. Because Shibi...Shibi had been exactly the same once. He had loved just as hopelessly as Shino had in his youth. A beautiful, spirited girl, with blonde hair and deep blue eyes and a smile that stopped hearts. And yet she'd been a pure tomboy, her only feminine weakness her love for flowers. But that was expected.

She'd been Yamanaka, after all.

Inoue. Yamanaka Inoue.

He'd loved her so much that it had hurt. But he'd been too much of a coward to stand up to his clan elders, to defy tradition and follow his heart over his head. He'd let his elders cajole and coerce him into casting himself from the woman he loved, in favour of a match they found more suitable.

And then he'd lost her. Forever.

And to this day, Shibi had never quite gotten over that grief and self-loathing. Oh, he'd learnt to be friends with his wife, but it had been Shino's presence in his life that had made it more than barely worth living.

And it was for that reason that he would do anything to see his son happy.

Even defy the tradition he had once been too cowardly to flee from.

Shibi watched his son interact with the Yamanaka girl. He watched as she fluttered here and there in the flower shop, explaining this flower and that. He watched his son shuffle his feet before tentatively offering his own input on which flower suited what, and why this bug was healthy for that plant. He watched when the girl grinned at Shino in response before moving to another part of the shop, and if he'd been a less controlled man, he might have laughed at the dazed manner in which Shino behaved after having that million watts smile flashed at him.

It was like revisiting memory lane, for Shibi.

Only this time, there would be a whole new set of memories. But only if Shino allowed it.

Thus, when Shino shuffled his way back to his father, Shibi placed a hand on his shoulder in a rare display of affection, clearing his throat quietly so his son would look up at him.

"Don't make the mistake of letting a beautiful thing slip away, son," he said softly. Shino blinked behind his glasses at his father, tilting his head in consideration at the words. For a moment, Shibi feared his son would challenge him, but then Shino looked at him again, and there was understanding far beyond his years in his gaze, and with it, a strange kind of hopefulness and determination.

Shibi smiled quietly to himself as Shino left him again to follow the girl, Ino, around, and he watched as this time, his son answered her attempts at conversation with a great deal more warmth and confidence before turning away.

He knew Shino would never suffer the same mistakes he had. And Shibi loved his son...and for that reason, he would face any obstacles in his way when the time came. Because that was what a true father was supposed to do.