--Secrets In The Dark-- (Shino Two-Shot: 2)

"____, they're here," a voice called in my dreams. I groaned and turned away from it. "Naruto and Hinata are in town," the voice repeated monotonously.

I inhaled deeply, but kept my eyes closed. No sounds came for another ten minutes, so I began to fall back asleep.

But suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. "It's time to wake up," he said and shook me gently until I got annoyed and grabbed his arm.

"I'm awake already," I moaned, letting my hand fall on top of his. "Shake me again, I'll go back to sleep."

He removed his arm and sat on the other bed, completely dressed. Knowing I had to get up, I pulled my backpack towards me and grabbed the first outfit I saw, changed, and walked out the door silently with Shino at my heels. "Where are they?" I asked. "Let me guess; the place we went to last night serves ramen."

"Correct," he said and continued walking. We continued until we got to the bar, hearing the slurping of someone gulping up the remnants of a bowl of noodles. "We may meet up with the cook," Shino sighed.

I grunted in reply. "So we have to play couple again?" I asked, almost hoping he'd say yes. He nodded and I grabbed his hand gently. "Then we have to be convincing to Naruto and Hinata, too." I almost imagined Hinata's face, and wondered if she'd end up telling Shino by accident that I liked him.

We walked past the banners and took a seat quietly, still holding hands. "Naruto, Hinata, you guys made it!" I smiled and winked at them.

Hinata smiled back shyly and glanced at my hand. "Uhm...____? Did you...and Shino...y-you told..."

I laughed loudly before she could finish. "Hinata, why don't we leave the boys to catch up for a moment?"

Shino let go of my hand as I yanked her arm and dragged her onto the corner. "____, I knew you could do it," she smiled happily.

"No, listen," I sighed and took a quick glance around. "We're not together. We came here yesterday and the cook thought we were a couple because I didn't let go of his hand, so he played along and...God, I don't know why he played along," I groaned and leaned on the wall. "So we're ACTING like one..."

"O-oh." Hinata seemed to let it sink in after a minute. "M-Maybe he wanted to act like a couple because he likes you back," she guessed.

"What?!"

"W-Well, he might want to act like you two are together because he wants to know what it's like to be with you," she explained quietly. "He's a bit strange when he wants something, you know."

I sighed and looked at the bar stools. "Maybe..."

** SHINO'S POINT OF VIEW **

I let go of her hand as she grabbed Hinata and practically dragged her onto the curb. Naruto took ____'s seat and grinned. "So? When did you two get together?" he asked as he nudged my side.

"We're not," I admitted calmly.

"Oh come on," he whined. "You've liked her forever! Can't you just tell her already?"

*Naruto...Observant, for once.* I stared at him and watched him look away. Angered, I grabbed his coat and made him look at me. "Naruto, you will not tell a soul what you know. Is that understood?" I said sternly.

He writhed. "Got...Got it," he answered. I let him go and looked at the ground. "If you're not together, why are you holding hands?" I kept quiet. "Did you trick ____ into playing a fake couple?" he asked, hardly able to control himself. "If she's playing along with the scam, maybe she likes you."

"No," I sighed.

"Shino, if she didn't like you, she would have punched you for telling the cook!" Naruto yelled, and I clasped a hand over his mouth, letting go only when he stopped talking. "It's obvious you like her, and if she falls for this, she must like you too," he sighed and ordered another bowl of ramen.

*Obvious?* I turned away from him as he slurped the bowl down in a matter of seconds. Naruto was rather observant when he wanted to be, I supposed. Maybe...

** ____'S POINT OF VIEW **

After making sure Hinata had the story straight and asking if she'd play along, we walked back in, seeing that Shino and Naruto were in their same places, splitting us up. I sighed and smiled at Hinata as I took my seat.

"Well, since we finished our mission," I said, getting everyone's attention, "maybe Shino has an idea of when we should be leaving."

There was a pause as we waited for him to say something. "We leave tomorrow morning," he decided.

"Are we gonna be together this time?" Naruto asked and spun around so he could lean on the bar.

Shino nodded quietly and I smiled at him, suddenly noticing the cook was staring back with a smile as well. "Shino...the cook," I warned quietly as I waved at her, containing my nerves.

He nodded, reached up to the buttons on his jacket, and unbuttoned the top one.

"Sh-Should we make it look realistic?" I asked nervously, feeling Naruto's gaze at my neck.

Again, there was the slightest nod. I half stared at Shino's face, wondering what was running through his head. "Just the cheek then," I murmured and leaned up, pulling down his collar and brushing my lips against his cheek quickly, knowing my heart was about to pound out of control.

I blushed and pulled away, trying to act like I'd done it before. The cook, obviously not the brightest, gave me the biggest smile and turned back to her work. I exhaled loudly and fell back to the stool with my head in my hands. *God, my chest hurts...my heart won't calm down.*

Shino, on the other hand, buttoned his collar quickly and stood. "Let's go," he said and began walking.

I paid for the food while Naruto and Hinata caught up with Shino. Then, I sprinted up to Shino, who was leading everyone to the hotel. When we got there, Naruto and Hinata were forced to take a nap, although they seemed to basically fall on the beds as soon as we walked in. Shino and I went back outside and walked around the village for a while until we spotted a small park-like area and sat down on a bench.

"I'm sorry, Shino, for invading your personal space at the bar yet again," I sighed and looked down.

"It's fine," he said after a moment.

"Hey Shino," I muttered and blushed lightly when he turned to me with his pitch black glasses. "Can I hug you?" I asked, spur of the moment, and immediately blushed even darker since I wasn't planning on that slipping out. My mind was on other things.

Shino didn't move for a whole minute. I looked up and stared blankly a few inches from his face at a tree behind him. "Shino, I..."

"Go ahead," he interrupted with a hint of surprise in his voice. I froze, and then realized he was answering my question. With a shaking breath, I rested my head on his shoulder and wrapped my arm around his back very lightly. A minute later when I realized that I should just enjoy the moment, I moved a bit closer and nuzzled into his jacket.

He still hadn't moved, and I was wondering if he even would. To my surprise, he pulled his arm from between us and set it on my back lightly.

I smiled vaguely with closed eyes. "You're warm," I whispered calmly.

"What is it you wish to tell me?" Shino asked quietly, hardly moving at all.

I hesitated. *This might be my chance...I should just say it. Get it over with. Okay, here I go to tell him my feelings...any moment now...Uhm...-sighs- This is hard. Maybe I can find a way around actually saying it. Yeah! I can see what HE thinks first! Okay, here I go...*

"B-Before I answer that, can you tell me one thing, even if it sounds awkward?" I asked, hoping I sounded confident. He nodded silently, and I went on. "What would you do if someone told you they loved you?"

A minute, ten minutes, fifteen minutes - there was no answer. I had long since moved away from Shino and now hugged myself at the other side of the bench, wondering if I made him angry. I was about to stand up and walk back to the hotel when I heard a soft reply.

"If a certain someone said that to me," Shino said, stopping me from leaving, "I would say I loved them too."

*Would he really say that? I want to know...that certain someone can't possibly be me...* "Shino...what if it was...me?" I almost whispered, anxious.

He hesitated before standing in front of me with his hand outstretched. I took his hand slowly and looked into the black frames that were his eyes. "If you told me that you loved me," he murmured so I had to strain to hear him, "I would hesitate, offer my hand, and see your reaction."

"What if...my reaction was...this?" I smiled, suddenly feeling confident. I let go of his hand and grabbed his collar, looking at him for permission before unbuttoning the first two buttons and setting one hand on his cheek as I leaned closer. "Do you..."

I never had the chance to finish my question before my lips brushed his softly, sending a shiver down my spine. A second later, Shino pulled away and stared at me vacantly...at least, it looked vacant through his glasses. His cheeks were almost unnoticeably tinted pink, while mine felt like they were on fire. He had hardly moved - hardly cared, it almost seemed - when I kissed him.

I opened my mouth to make an excuse for the awkwardness, but stopped at the feel of something crawling up my arm. When I went to look down, a hand grabbed my chin and turned it to face ahead at Shino. His eyebrows were raised in interest as his mouth curved into an invisible smirk that no one else would be able to spot. My reflection shined back at me through the shades, but I could just barely make out a pair of eyes behind them when I looked hard enough.

Shino leaned forward and pressed his lips on mine shyly, never removing his hand from my chin. My heart jumped a few beats and the ground almost went out from under me, but Shino moved away before anything else happened. I smiled dreamily at him, feeling lost when he let go of my chin with a gentle brush of the cheek.

Suddenly realizing how late it was, we both nodded and turned toward the hotel, walking side by side. Awkwardly, Shino rested his arm around my back and pulled me towards him, unsure of what exactly he was doing, I supposed. When we got to the hotel room and remembered the other two were in the beds, we grabbed our sleeping bags and set them out.

I took my night lamp and tried to turn it on, but realized the batteries were missing. "Uh-oh," I mumbled and looked around nervously, just now seeing how dark it really was at nine o'clock at night.

"____," a comforting voice called from my side. I looked, but couldn't see, even though I knew who it was. "A few feet to your right..."

Hypnotically, I did as I was told and ran into something warm. I held my breath for the worst, but nothing came. From the little light coming from outside, I could see an outline of Shino kneeling on his sleeping bag. Sadly, his eyes couldn't be seen, although I was too nervous to pay much attention, anyway.

He wrapped his arm around my back and self-consciously pulled me into a hug. I closed my eyes, feeling the darkness somehow fade away. "Why are you so kind to me, Shino?" I asked without trying to stop myself from saying something stupid.

"Friends should be treated as such, and you," he said and twitched in his grip, "are a very important friend to me."

I blushed and opened my eyes, seeing the darkness come back into my sight. Mechanically, I tightened my grip on Shino and my eyes went wide. "Good," I murmured, "Because right now I'm scared to death."

He lay down and pulled me with him, keeping a hand on my arm firmly, probably so I would know I wasn't drifting off. Immediately after lying down, the darkness floated away like smoke in a fire. "Shino, thank you," I whispered and shifted a bit closer so he was a few inches away. I felt him nod and closed my eyes quietly, falling asleep a moment later.

~BACK AT KONOHA A FEW DAYS LATER~

We waited patiently in Tsunade's room, excluding Naruto, who was tapping his foot hurriedly as Tsunade watched us all with interest. "You made it back over a day early," she said curiously. "Was there any reason you were in a rush?"

"No, ma'am," I answered after seeing no one else would say anything. "I'm sure you've noticed that any mission I go on, we end up coming back rather quickly in comparison. When I move faster, so do they, so...it's fast." I ended with a shrug and took a small step back nervously. I caught a momentary glance from Shino and took a deep breath to relax.

"I suppose you're right. Well, mission successful," she sighed and waved us off.

Naruto stayed back to argue with Tsunade as Hinata, Shino, and I walked out calmly. Hinata smiled shyly at me. "S-So how did things work out for you and Shino-kun?" she asked quietly.

She still had no idea! "Quite well," I smiled. "You should see about doing something with Naruto sometime and see how it goes for you." I winked, proving the point that I was trying to give her confidence.

Hinata smiled and looked at Shino over her shoulder. "I-I don't know if Naruto-kun l-likes the same things as S-Shino-kun," she mumbled, blushing. "But I-I'm happy for you!"

"Thanks," I grinned and watched her walk off with a curt nod at Shino, who took a step towards me and stared into my eyes. He raised an eyebrow when I leaned forward and kissed his cheek softly. "Have I told you how amazing you really are?" I smiled and pulled down his collar, giving him a quick kiss before moving it back.

"As many times as I've told you," he said back, suddenly blushing. Luckily, his collar covered most of it. "I'm sure I've told you I loved you."

"Let's hear it anyway," I said and took his hand, lacing my fingers with his.

He squeezed my hand and nodded. "I love you, ____," he whispered, his eyebrows showing his smile.

"I love you too, Shino," I replied and leaned on him. *To think of how long I've wanted to say that to this boy, and now I get the chance. I love Shino Aburame. Personal mission, accomplished!*