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Shino quietly walked through the forest on the farther edge of the village. He had come out to look into the cicadas this year, to be sure they were shedding like they should, and decided to take the long way back and just enjoy the night air. It was a peaceful and leisurely walk, with the crickets and such singing their summer night’s song for what felt like only him. Or he felt as much, until he heard their song change. He was near a wide open area in the forest, and the insects in said area were alerting to another’s approach. It couldn’t have been him, they would have paid him no mind just like any other Aburame.
He crept closer to the mini meadow, crouching to the ground and peeking around a tree to see what was up. In the moon’s light, he could just make out the parting of the tall grass as someone crept into the field from the side to his left. Among the emerald blades of grass was just as long wisps of crimson red and black, hair that made Shino’s heart beat just a little faster. Mila Lahmia. A foreigner from across the sea.
Shino got a bit closer to his hiding tree as he watched her, not wanting to be spotted. She was on her hands and feet, crawling through the tall grass like a cat on the hunt. It was strange, and even more so how she would pause her already slow motions every so often when fireflies flew out of the grass. The way her arms parted the grass and passed her through soundlessly was almost fascinating to him, especially when he noticed she wasn’t wearing her normal bladed hand guards.
As she reached the center, she crouched still as stone for a moment. Before Shino could ask himself what she was doing, she braced herself up on one hand and made a sweeping kick in a wide circle, coming back to rest in her original position. As her leg ran through the grass and laid it down, what seemed like hundreds of fireflies rushed from the foliage to dance in the air around her. Settling herself in a more comfortable position, Mila sat and watched them panic and fly around her.
The sight was beautiful. This tan goddess in her element, just the night chorus singing her praises as a myriad of fairy lights cast their gentle glow all about her. Like a moth to a light, Shino unknowingly found himself leaving his hiding place and creeping closer, wanting to see more of her. As his foot reached the gress, her head whipped around and his eyes met hers.
He was expecting her to look angry, but instead she only looked confused. Tilting her head to the side, the long part of her hair fell over one eye and her shoulder like a ruby curtain. A sight that never failed to make his heart race and face grow warm. He didn’t know why she had this effect on him, but she didn’t even need to speak to draw his attention from most anything else in this world. And when she did , her still thick accent sent him spinning. He could listen to her for days, putting together the puzzle of what she was saying, and happily helping her better understand his customs.
She reached out an arm to him, but rather than a sign to go away like he expected, she motioned for him to come closer. Swallowing hard, Shino mirrored her earlier crawl in a much less graceful way, his eyes never leaving hers, and her small smile not going unnoticed. As he reached her personal crop circle she patted the flat grass next to her, even moving over a bit so they may share the center most view. He settled in a little further than she offered, firmly keeping his arms and legs to himself and looking at the grass. As a cricket or two bounced past, Shino steeled his nerves to look back over to her.
His heart stopped and breathing was all at once optional. She still had that soft, sweet smile, her eyes half lidded as she watched him. She turned her gaze back upward to the calming fireflies and stars, but Shino couldn’t look away from her.
Shino may be quiet, but he was also a good listener. So he knew most in the village found the foreigners a bit off putting, and Mila seemed to get the worst of it. Not only did she dress so provocatively compared to most other women in the village, but it showed how her tanned skin was covered and crossed with scars. Shino ran his eyes over a couple now, the lighter lines over her curves only encouraging the eye to wander further. And his did, up to her barely covered chest. At the angle they sat now he couldn’t see it, but he’d all but committed the image to memory. Plain to see, above and between her full bust, was the tattoo of a dragonfly. It was probably the first thing he noticed about her, swiftly followed by everything else. He’d never thought about girls like so many of the other guys did, never partaking in their bathhouse talk. But after meeting Mila? All at once he understood, he understood all of it.
His eyes drifted to her face, her golden eyes shining in a mix of starlight and firefly glow, making them truly look like the precious metal they share a hue with. Glancing at the field around them, Shino noticed the fireflies had settled and stopped their dance. Not wanting to ruin her night, and really wanting nothing more than to see her bathed in that angelic glow again, he cast out a few of his beetles to stir them up again. When she gasped he jumped, quickly looked back to her in hopes he could apologize for maybe messing the moment up. Instead her soft smile was now a sweet grin, and aimed right at him.
“Danka.”
As she once more turned to watch the dance, Shino put a hand to his chest to try and get his heart to beat again. He may be holding it together on the outside, but the burning on his cheeks made him thankful it was dark out, and that he naturally covered so much of his face. Taking a deep breath, he let himself relax a bit and lean back on his hands, looking up at the romantic dancing lights. It really was magical to see these insects sing their luminescent song, the stars seeming to mirror them in the far distance. Between the beautiful sight above, and the soothing song of the forest all around, he jumped a bit when something touched his hand. Looking down, he saw a tan finger coil around his, her scarred palm resting next to his.
He looked up at her again, catching her watching him from the corner of her eye. His shoulders went stiff again, but he made no move to pull away from her as he looked back down at the grass. The small beetles crawling around them, nearly unseen, almost seemed to shake their little heads at him, and his cowardly reactions to her. But really what was he supposed to do? Just throw an arm around her and… no, he wasn’t even going to let himself think the rest of that scenario. She was just so… and he was just him, Shino Aburame, the guy everyone seems to forget and ignore. No way he had any real chance with this woman.
Mila frowned a bit. He was always shy and quiet around her, but it’s not like she missed his wandering eyes every time they met. Yeah he wasn’t the only one, most men looked at her like a meal they had just been given a free plate too. But not this boy. No, when he looked at her it was different, it felt different. He would let his gaze wander, yes, but always land on the same thing. Her tattoo. After learning he had a deep love and passion for bugs, it only made her smile when she caught him staring. So when she saw him tonight, when she was watching fireflies, Mila thought it was the best time to give him an opening. There was no one around to make him nervous. And with her open invitation to join her, she thought he might finally open up. When he made the little bugs start their dance again, she just knew he was going to say something super romantic or really corny, either way she was ready.
…
But nothing came. He stayed silent as ever and just sat next to her, existing but seemingly not really there . So she made the first move. Nothing too out there, just linking their pinkies like she’d seen some of the more shy couples do in the village. She always thought the simple gesture was super cute, and just knew it was the push he’d need to say something.
…
But still nothing. If anything it only shut him down more. She thought about what she knew about this country, and feared she may have insulted him. What if the way she looked really did bother him, and he only thought her tattoo was nice… not the body it was on. She brought her free hand to her lips in a fist as her thoughts dug deeper into her insecurities. What if she read him all wrong? What if he didn’t actually like her like that? What… what if he actually-
Shino chanced a glance back over at Mila, only to see what he could easily identify as a mental spiral in motion. He’s been on the same team as Hinata long enough to know what crippling self doubt looks like, and now… he’s the reason for it.
“Hey, Mila… sorry. I um… didn’t mean to… insult you, or anything.” She looked at him from the corner of her eye again, but otherwise didn’t move. He bit the inside of his lower lip, stealing his nerves as he ever so slowly inched his hand to fully press into hers, overlapping just a bit. “I’m… not the best with this kind of thing.”
“Shino?” Her voice was quiet, but commanded his attention all the same. “Do… do you… How do you say?… bezrazlichen.”
He could tell she was looking for the right words, like she knew just what she wanted to say, but not how to translate it so he’d understand too. He knew he didn’t understand any of their forign words, save maybe a couple he guessed were things like ‘hello’ and the like.
“If it helps… you can say what’s on your mind in your own language…” He hoped that didn’t come off as anything bad. Maybe, just maybe, he could piece together what she wanted to say if she was more comfortable in the language.
She turned to face him, a soft smile back on her face. “Ty mne nravishsya. Ty mne ochen' nravishsya.”
He didn’t need to ask what that meant, because as soon as she said it, she kissed him. It was soft, sweet and on the cheek, but a kiss all the same. Shino’s heart officially gave up on its day job and quit to be a war drum instead. He could feel his shoulders shaking as his whole body went hot. Blush didn’t even come close to what his skin was doing now. More like spontaneous combustion.
“I-I-I…” He swallowed hard. “I guess… that means you… like me?” She smiled wider and nodded a strong affirmative.
Shino could feel steam come off him as she moved real close, pressing her whole arm into his and gently holding his hand. She turned her eyes back to the stars, all content and perfect, as Shino did all he could not to wake up from this dream.
“Ty mne ochen' nravishsya. < <I like you a lot.>> ”