Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

Shino knocked at the door to Kumo's apartment which hesitantly opened to reveal a rather embarrassed looking girl. That shirt looks good on her. It is not overtly geared towards showing off her body, but it does look appealing in a more modest way than the clothes some other girls wear. "That shirt looks appealing on you." He said aloud for her benefit. One thing Kiba had been quite insistent on was that he was supposed to pay his date compliments.

His date turned red and looked at the floor. "Thank you." She told said floor. "You look good too." Shino did look good. He had dressed simply in black pants and a dark green shirt, but his face was uncovered, including his eyes.

"Why will you not look at me?" Shino asked, gently lifting her chin with his fingertips. She gasped softly at his touch. "Did you change your mind about accepting me?"

"No! It's not that, it's just…I've never been on a date before."

"I will not hurt you. You have my promise on that."

"I know you would never hurt me, I'm just scared. I know it's irrational."

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "We don't have to go if you don't want to."

She took a deep breath. "I still want to." She kept a close hold on his hand as they left the apartment. Normally, Shino would have felt uncomfortable to have someone so close to him, but he didn't mind Kumo being close. It seemed to have calmed her down a little.

Her nerves came back in full force though when they entered the restaurant. It was a Friday night, and the place was packed. Kumo shrank back against Shino, overwhelmed by the sheer number of people.

Shino turned and left, gently leading his date. "I apologize. I failed to consider how likely the restaurant was to be busy though I knew that you are uncomfortable with large crowds."

"It's not your fault, Shino."

"Perhaps we could get something to eat from one of the outdoor stands and eat it in the park."

Kumo smiled up at him in agreement. Grateful that he accepted her, petrifying fear of crowds and all. He wasn't someone that was normally comfortable with other people touching him, but he was allowing her to keep her death grip on his hand.

They lay on their backs on the grass in the park, eating dango from a stick and watching the stars come out. Shino was happy with the way the date had turned out. He had asked Kumo out for dinner, not because he was particularly fond of crowded, noisy restaurants, but because it was expected for a first date. He was much more comfortable how they were: silent, though it was a comfortable silence. He marveled at the way that she didn't seem to care, or even really notice the small pores his insects came and went from in his skin. Without his high-collared shirt, the ones in his cheeks were visible, but she didn't recoil in fear or disgust. She was even lying next to him, her head pillowed on his arm, seemingly content. Shino was still a little surprised at how she treated him, though he thought he should have gotten used to it by now. She didn't treat him like he was disgusting. She wasn't revolted and didn't think his bugs were creepy. She accepted them as an important part of his ninja life and was not afraid of touching someone who housed insects in their body. Perhaps he was still surprised because no one else had treated him that way. He had grown up accepting that people outside of the Aburame clan would never be completely accepting of the insects that made him their home. He had learned like all the others of his family to avoid physical contact with others, knowing that this would make them uncomfortable, just like he had learned to wear high-collared shirts to hide his insect pores and shades to hide his mismatched eyes. But Kumo had accepted him completely, insects, pores, eyes and all.

Kumo was thinking of her date as well. Shino had accepted her, had never given her a reason to doubt her trust. He had acknowledged her worth, had looked after her when she was undergoing treatment to heal her chakra pathways. He had come to Suna to find her when she had run away in shame. He had looked after her, encouraged her when she felt like giving up. He didn't push her too far, just enough. He was alright with changing their plans when she panicked at the sight of so many people. He didn't try to make her talk about things that she wasn't ready to share yet. He was willing to let the comfortable silence stay and deepen as she lay her head on his arm and watched the stars come out. She had been scared at first, she had never been on a date and had feared that he would push her when she wasn't ready, but now she realized that he would never do that. His promise echoed in her mind. "I will not hurt you." She could trust him. She sighed happily.

"Thank you Shino."

He did not question what she was thanking him for, simply brushed his lips gently against her cheek and let the silence continue, trusting the kiss to convey his gratitude to her as well.

And the silence continued comfortably as they soaked in the feelings of being accepted and loved. I could get used to this. They thought.

A/N: This is the end: I'm out of ideas for this story and I have finals this week. I hope you all like it. If you did, please review and tell me so. If you didn't, please review and tell me what I'm doing wrong.