Shino was a very reticent young man, and he liked to think that was okay. He could make himself heard when it was needed.

So as he silently regarded Naruto, the blonde content and smiling as he leaned over his arms and toiled in the plants at the side of the forest. He had no real idea what the short comrade was doing, but he was strongly reminded of an ant, bent over and laboring for the day's quota.

Shino had been raised to look and watch, to appreciate the toils of natural beasts and understand the way life worked- the little things provided the most important lessons.

A spider needed to kill to feed and control the pests that otherwise bothered ningen and other animals and interfered with the food chain.

The butterfly in their web needed to pollinate for next year's crops.

An ant supported the colony with a surprising array of accomplishments, foraging and defense. They could provide sutures for human wounds, drive garden pests away, and in a pinch (which happened a lot in the unpredictability of missions and shinobi life) they could serve as a protein source or bait for other animals.

Shino stared at him and wondered, because Shino was good at that. His clan was renowned for their logic and cool head in battle due to their extreme connection with their partners. For his clan to have the generations old contract with the bugs was to maintain a steady flow of charka- there couldn't be messed up by emotional flares that other humans were prone to. Because of this members of his clan were trained to analyze every situation with logic and pry out facts before making decisions- they were known for their analytical capabilities; tracking, politics, business, tactics…

…Renowned for their understanding of insects and their place in the world and their employment in a fight.

As well as they were known for their reticence.

But Shino was good at saying much without saying very much at all, and at times he had wondered at the capability of the blonde maverick to just go on and on.

-Without saying anything at all.

Naruto shouted and whined and spoke without giving much away- he talked and called for attention without drawing it to anything that was really important. And Shino wondered how it was so.

So he watched and wondered.

But he never asked.

After all, Shino was an Aburame; they were known for reconnaissance and stoniness.

And so he found that it didn't matter that the blonde called for attention to readily- no one else realized how little they learned of him. Naruto worked as hard as he could to achieve his goals, and no one noticed exactly what they were because he was too loud and distracted them from exactly what he was.

Shino stood and watched the blonde, and, when he grinned and opened his mouth to indulge in a diatribe, he stood stoically under the words and smiles- and he watched and listened beyond what the blonde was actually saying.

He saw the exaggerated physical movements meant to make people laugh and overlook him, saw the intimidating gleam in eyes that were usually squinted closed from the force of a blinding grin, and heard the tired hardness of the shunned behind bright lilting notes.

He recalled how easily the blonde called forth bunshin to help him defeat enemies in battle, how he became such a team player on missions and in the defense of the school age children. Shino had watched after all, he knew what the blonde did in combat situations- and what he did in potential combat situations.

He wondered if Naruto watched too. He saw the blonde toiling in the gardens often enough, maybe he observed the way the ants worked together to survive and therefore found it easy to emulate them with his bunshins?

He tilted his head and watched the darkened view from behind heavy glasses, wondering how the maelstrom remained so bright even from behind shaded lenses. Hidden behind his position as a team player with himself Naruto maintained this air of ignorance that spoke of others ignorance of him- his removal from social contact that should have made him much less of the team player he was.

But he was noticeable and then not and …certainly the blonde spoke loudly, and his clothes and hair and eyes and personality…

Shino sighed as he gave up.

Naruto defied whatever logic he'd just tried to use. The Aburame would never understand how one could be screaming for attention and then hiding in his skills the next.

But as he watched the blonde grin – no one was watching – and laugh and let his hands get dirty in the ground – Shino realized he'd been righting a trampled sapling – there was a quality about the whirlwind that caught his attention.

And maybe that was it.

There was something entirely genuine about Naruto despite his blustering ways and tough guy act. When there was no one watching he was still smiling and laughing…he was still Naruto.

And Shino found he liked that part of Naruto- that genuine part that wanted attention and was scared of it so it kept on working anyway.

He found he could respect that.

Even if he tried too hard to get the attention of people when he knew he had an audience, tried so hard but really didn't know what to say and blustered and hollered and somehow he lost himself in his posturing and their attention.

Even if Shino didn't understand how Naruto could say so much and try so hard but speak nothing and accomplish nothing.

Shino knew there was something genuine and attention catching about the blonde- and he would just have to watch him toil to discover just how like the Ant toiling he was- just how he was useful and strong and proud and hardworking.

Shino nodded his head, and he turned to leave.

His sunglasses shielded him from the blinding glare of the sun, and his logic shielded him from the confusing bluster of Naruto's personality; he could stare at both and discover what everyone else looked over.

Even the miniscule things, after all, performed a great purpose in the grand web of things.

I'M ALIVE! And compeletely done my finals WOOT!

AN: not quite what I wanted, but I guess it is good enough. Xp I hope you enjoy! I was working on it for a while and knew the direction I wanted to go, but it slipped out so choppily- I wanted to be reticent like Shino. (pouts) That didn't happen, but what can you do? (shrugs)