~Give Me Love~
~Epilogue~
Shino sat on the roof of the Konoha hospital, staring at the fireworks and listening to the cheers of the couples below. Beside him were the remains of a bento box, and beside that was a bento box that had been untouched.
He lifted his hand and watched a single beetle crawl to the tip of his finger.
"I'm never truly alone, am I?"
The little beetle chittered, then flew off into the darkness. Shino sighed and leaned back on his arms, staring at the midnight skies.
"She was so beautiful though..."
At that moment, a great, glowing luna moth fluttered by. Shino watched it in fascination before realizing that the moth looked terribly familiar.
"Didn't I let you go just a day ago? What are you doing here, returning to your captor?"
"Maybe it's because they didn't want to be set free."
Shino flipped around, quick as a dart. In the flickering light of the fireworks, he saw her standing there...wrapped in a silky lavender kimono, her long, navy blue locks pouring down to her hips. Her luminous gray eyes were as soft as the moonlight.
"You came back..."
"Of course I did."
"Don't you want to be with your family?"
"I want to be with you."
Shino got to his feet and stood his ground. Hinata remained still, hands quietly held together like that of a proper Maiko.
"I don't understand...aren't you under a spell? Surely it will wear off and you'll regret this..."
"I wasn't affected by the arrow for the same reason you weren't...I was already in love with you."
"But..."
"I was mortal, Shino...a human. A cupid may not be able to stay in love, but a human certainly can."
"Hinata..."
His shadowy eyes glistened in the light of the fireworks. Hinata went to him, and placed her hands on his face.
"Don't worry Shino-kun...I'm here. I'll always be here...I will always give you love."
~o~
After the festival, the first thing that was done was actually introduce Hinata to the Hokage. They stuck with the same story as before regarding the burned village, as Tsunade wasn't one to believe in fairy tales. Regardless, she accepted Hinata into Konoha with a warm heart.
When the shinobi of Hinata discovered her skill with a bow, they decided to begin training her for combat, which Shino was more than happy to assist in. When they discovered the interesting ability to see chakra using her family's byakugan, she began her training as an actual shinobi.
Eventually, Shino would move out of his dusty little bachelor pad and into a decent sized apartment that the pair could breath in. They never did replace the futon however, as they were perfectly content to hold each other as close as possible each night, and every night there after.
~End~
Author's Note: Sorry this took so long to finish. I'm really happy that there's a community of shinohina fans on FFN, and I'm hoping my writing will make the pool grow even larger. If you have any ideas for what I can write for my next fic, feel free to leave your suggestions in the reviews. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and encouragement, and I look forward to gaining more fans in the future. : )