endless_scrolls (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
endless_scrolls) wrote2010-03-25 08:53 pm
endless_scrolls) wrote2010-03-25 08:53 pm
Secret Rendezvous
Title: Secret Rendezvous
Type: Fanfic
Fandom: AU!Naruto
Character(s): Tenten, Aburame Shino; Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Inuzuka Kiba, Rock Lee
Pairing(s): Slight Shino/Tenten if you kinda squint
Warning(s): Fluff. Adorable fluff.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but these words.
Note: ...Because this is what happens when you feed the plot bunnies too much with cute and love. 8|... ♥ Takes place in the same universe as![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
last_stretch. Also... this was a lot longer than I thought it would be. ^^;
Dedicated to:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
semchance. They can be cute together any time you want. ♥
'hi.'
Three simple keystrokes. A few seconds of time to type them out and hit the send button to a number of her choosing from the list in her phonebook. And it took round about thirty seconds to a minute for the message to reach its destination. No matter how close the two phones were in proximity to each other. Even if they were placed side by side on the table. Tenten knew this for a fact. Because she had counted. On several occasions. And certainly, there had been many opportunities for the young woman to do so, something she never failed to find amusement in.
Perhaps the carrier company factored into the delay in the transference from one device to the other. Maybe the brand of phone made the difference in the delivery of the text messages. Whatever the case, it was always thirty seconds to a full minute before she heard the telltale rumble of Shino's phone, indicating the completion of the transaction. And then it was a matter of waiting and watching as his face shifted in the slightest ways in reaction. Before he would slide his gaze in her direction at the realization.
Or so Tenten assumed.
This was not the first time the two of them had sent messages back and forth from only a few feet away. And the young woman had a feeling that it would not be the last. Texting wars between the two had been frequent if not a constant source of entertainment. Even more so when it was only from the other side of the table where expressions and reactions could be observed for added effect. For an Aburame, she often joked, it was a necessary life skill. When you did not make it a habit to socialize with your peers, finding other ways to communicate became a basic survival skill.
"How the fuck could I be missing a science credit?" Naruto exclaimed, anger laced in every word.
However, the both of them were usually alone or isolated in some corner of the room during their little play sessions. Never while they were out enjoying time with their friends. Not that the others knew what was happening, distracted as they were by the rambunctious blond. All the same, it had been an unspoken understanding that their texting battles were a well-kept secret between them and them alone. Any other way and the silly act of it would not mean the same. It would not be as special. Then again, Tenten had no intention of getting caught.
Familiar vibrations drew the girl's eyes to the phone concealed in her lap, the mini LCD screen lighting up with the young man's name and number.
'This is hardly an appropriate time for this.' the message read. And she struggled to keep the smile from spreading across her face at the thought as it tugged against the corners of her lips. Because appropriateness had nothing to do with this. And if Tenten were feeling the least bit argumentative or logical, she would have taken the time to point out that he had only perpetuated the nonsense with a texted response.
"Because you were too busy failing your other classes and making up for them?" Sakura replied, all the while, never looking up from her menu.
"...Oh yeah."
Grinning at the young man's his reaction, Tenten glanced down at her phone and hit the reply button. This reply held a lot more keystrokes than her last message, but neither Naruto nor Sakura took notice. And the rest who were gathered there were too busy with the blond's rantings to see the way her eyes occasionally glanced under the table to type out the rest of her electronic note: 'wasnt exactly appropriate of them to assume we didnt have plans either but here we are'
They meant well, she was sure. And it was a known fact that both Tenten and Shino had been fairly busy with their various responsibilities in the work front and academia. Particularly as of late. With mid-terms looming just around the corner and potential shift changes at the cafe, Tenten at least was feeling the pressure to perform. And she was almost certain that Shino did as well, although he certainly did a better job of hiding that fact. Not surprising considering it was a normal tendency for him to remain openly neutral to most if not all situations. All the same, that did not necessarily mean that their days had been spent locked inside of their shared apartment. On the contrary. Shino and Tenten knew to take a break when the need call for it. And had the others bothered to ask, they would have known. As it stood though, the young woman had decided to keep that nugget of truth concealed for now.
Besides, she decided, this was a lot more fun.
"Just take an easy course next semester," Tenten offered. Because not making a suggestion would certainly draw attention to the fact that her focus was divided between this conversation and another. Or so she figured. Because when it came to her friends, the young woman was very motherly in how she interacted with them. So it was best to make her presence known before others came seeking for it. "Or during the summer so you don't fall even further behind. I hear they're supposed to be easier."
"If you consider an entire semester of lessons shoved into three months easier," the young med student remarked, and barely managed to contain a scoff, "But there are less assignments."
"Can't," Naruto mumbled. And took the opportunity to stare hard at his glass of lemonade dejectedly as there seemed to be no solution to his dilemma in sight, "The boss' got me working full-time during the summer."
"And every other season of the year," was Kiba's comment with a loud snerk, "Which is probably why you're in this mess to begin with."
The sour expression that came over Naruto's face was almost instant as most of the table erupted into a chorus of good-natured laughter at his expense. Which only caused him to narrow his eyes to a hard glare at the chuckling Inuzuka, a sight that could only bring a fond smile to Tenten's lips as memories of a time before flashed briefly through her mind. Back when things were more simple and their greatest concern was finding ways to rebel whilst still maintaining their scholarships and slots to Konoha no Gakuen Boarding School roster. They had all been so young and vibrant with life's endless possibilities. And while their penchant for what life had to offer still remained, it was obscured with the responsibilities of adulthood now. So while it had been a bit of an annoyance to be pulled along this outing, it was still nice to be included if it meant being able to watch everyone laugh and enjoy themselves like this again.
The mirth eventually tapered off just as quickly as it had begun when the young blond shifted in his seat and leaned forward to rest a forearm against the edge of the table. "If I wanted your opinion, I would've asked for it, Mutt."
Kiba met his gaze in kind, ever the textbook model for an alpha male complex as the curve of his smirk seemed to place emphasis on the point of the young man's canine. Had they been seated closer to each other, Tenten was sure the taller man would have patted Naruto on the head and used that as an excuse to shove the blond back into his seat. "Technically, you did, Runt, so quit your whinin' and let the big dogs talk."
From where she sat, Tenten heard a soft growl of irritation from Naruto's direction, no doubt the first sign of an impending fight, if she knew them well enough -- and she liked to believe that she did -- so it was with a firm hand that the young woman took a hold of the other's forearm.
"Alright, that's enough," she said, stern yet still light, "This isn't gonna help anyone."
"Tenten is right, my friends," Lee agreed, "Fighting will not help to solve Naruto's problem."
Shifting her eyes to the blond, the young woman fixed him with what could only be described as a look of warning before the rumble of her phone caught Tenten's attention. A split second later, the screen lit up in a simple flash of icy blue with Shino's name scrawled across the bottom.
'They will wonder what we are doing,' it said. This time there was no helping the small quirk of her lips, or the way her thumbs moved to tap in a quick reply -- 'theyll never notice a thing' -- Which only resulted in Naruto leaning in a not so subtle attempt to read the message. Or, more likely, to see who it was from.
"Hey, who do you keep texting, Tenny?"
Had the question been posed to anyone else, the little secret exchange between the biology and philosophy student would have no doubt been brought to light. And then their little game would have lost all meaning and sentiment. The secret quality was what made it special, after all. What made it theirs and no one else's. But Tenten was more than prepared. IT could be said, even, that she thrived on situations like these. With over a decade of experience in martial arts and nearly half as many years competing in competitions, the young woman's mind was honed to think and plan at a moment's notice. To anticipate an opponent's moves while still being capable to quickly adapt to a situation in an instance. And an instance was all she had.
"Hm? - Oh... no one," Tenten replied with a wave of her hand, "One of the kids I'm tutoring had questions about a problem he was working on."
"You tutor?" came Sakura's soft inquiry from across the table.
"Yeah, I used to tutor math in high school," the young woman stated with ease, "I loved it then, so I thought, why not give a go one more time?"
"How wonderful of you!" her childhood companion exclaimed, "Such an honorable endeavour to pursue during your last months of institutional education!"
It was not a completely lie. In a fit of nostalgia whilst packing for the move to her new apartment space, Tenten had decided to return to her old tutoring roots. Old notebooks and notations from those days had reminded the girl of how much she had enjoyed helping others with their math problems. And there was really no need to tell them that she was, in fact, tutoring Shino in Chinese. All the same, her explanation had been far enough from the truth to place it in the general neighborhood of deception. Still, she smiled at Lee's words and continued on without hesitation as if it were the most normal thing in the world to send tutoring notes via text messages.
That is, until the Aburame's phone lit up and rumbled across the tabletop for everyone present to see.
Nudging the other expectantly with his elbow, Kiba gave a toothy grin at the young man. "And who are you chattin' with, Shino?"
"...I am discussing with my tutor as well," the other replied, to which the former could only quirk his brow skeptically, "There are... a few concepts that I did not quite understand and needed explanation for."
"I didn't think it was possible, but the both of you have gotten more nerdy since you moved in together." Finding a small grain of pride in the statement, and secret amusement, Tenten watched wordlessly as Naruto moved from looking at Shino to her in confusion. And perhaps a bit of disappointment as well. "Don't you do anything interesting?"
Casually, the young woman leaned back into her chair and took a momentary pause, as if thinking over the matter. All the while, she could not help but shift her eyes to the reflective surface of Shino's glasses, sharing a knowing look with his eyes that laid hidden underneath before answering in a perfectly nonchalant manner. "Nothing that would be exciting to you."
"You got that right!" Kiba interjected with a laugh, sending a stiff slap to the Aburame's shoulder in his mirth, "What would you do without us?"
Even from where she sat across the table, Tenten could hear the small exhale of irritation. Or rather, could imagine it passing underneath the other's breath at how his body was sent nearly careening into the table from the friendly, albeit rough, gesture. But if there was one thing she could rely on, it was that Shino had an uncanny ability to adjust quickly to most situation. This instance was no different.
A second or two passed while he adjusted himself and lightly rubbed at what she could only guess was a dull sting to his shoulder before simply uttering a single word in response. "...Study?"
And the table erupted into laughter, more due to the simple fact that it became apparent that, indeed, Shino did possess a sense of humor when he willed it than anything else. Tenten merely chuckled and smiled, having known that particular secret months before. Besides, she had something else to be amused about. And as the young woman's gaze briefly shifted to the glint of Shino's glasses, she had a feeling that he felt the same way.
---------------------
'told you 8)'
'So you did.'
'a superhero must always protect their coveted secrets'
'It seems I still have much to learn from you, sempai.'
Type: Fanfic
Fandom: AU!Naruto
Character(s): Tenten, Aburame Shino; Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Inuzuka Kiba, Rock Lee
Pairing(s): Slight Shino/Tenten if you kinda squint
Warning(s): Fluff. Adorable fluff.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but these words.
Note: ...Because this is what happens when you feed the plot bunnies too much with cute and love. 8|... ♥ Takes place in the same universe as
last_stretch. Also... this was a lot longer than I thought it would be. ^^;Dedicated to:
semchance. They can be cute together any time you want. ♥'hi.'
Three simple keystrokes. A few seconds of time to type them out and hit the send button to a number of her choosing from the list in her phonebook. And it took round about thirty seconds to a minute for the message to reach its destination. No matter how close the two phones were in proximity to each other. Even if they were placed side by side on the table. Tenten knew this for a fact. Because she had counted. On several occasions. And certainly, there had been many opportunities for the young woman to do so, something she never failed to find amusement in.
Perhaps the carrier company factored into the delay in the transference from one device to the other. Maybe the brand of phone made the difference in the delivery of the text messages. Whatever the case, it was always thirty seconds to a full minute before she heard the telltale rumble of Shino's phone, indicating the completion of the transaction. And then it was a matter of waiting and watching as his face shifted in the slightest ways in reaction. Before he would slide his gaze in her direction at the realization.
Or so Tenten assumed.
This was not the first time the two of them had sent messages back and forth from only a few feet away. And the young woman had a feeling that it would not be the last. Texting wars between the two had been frequent if not a constant source of entertainment. Even more so when it was only from the other side of the table where expressions and reactions could be observed for added effect. For an Aburame, she often joked, it was a necessary life skill. When you did not make it a habit to socialize with your peers, finding other ways to communicate became a basic survival skill.
"How the fuck could I be missing a science credit?" Naruto exclaimed, anger laced in every word.
However, the both of them were usually alone or isolated in some corner of the room during their little play sessions. Never while they were out enjoying time with their friends. Not that the others knew what was happening, distracted as they were by the rambunctious blond. All the same, it had been an unspoken understanding that their texting battles were a well-kept secret between them and them alone. Any other way and the silly act of it would not mean the same. It would not be as special. Then again, Tenten had no intention of getting caught.
Familiar vibrations drew the girl's eyes to the phone concealed in her lap, the mini LCD screen lighting up with the young man's name and number.
'This is hardly an appropriate time for this.' the message read. And she struggled to keep the smile from spreading across her face at the thought as it tugged against the corners of her lips. Because appropriateness had nothing to do with this. And if Tenten were feeling the least bit argumentative or logical, she would have taken the time to point out that he had only perpetuated the nonsense with a texted response.
"Because you were too busy failing your other classes and making up for them?" Sakura replied, all the while, never looking up from her menu.
"...Oh yeah."
Grinning at the young man's his reaction, Tenten glanced down at her phone and hit the reply button. This reply held a lot more keystrokes than her last message, but neither Naruto nor Sakura took notice. And the rest who were gathered there were too busy with the blond's rantings to see the way her eyes occasionally glanced under the table to type out the rest of her electronic note: 'wasnt exactly appropriate of them to assume we didnt have plans either but here we are'
They meant well, she was sure. And it was a known fact that both Tenten and Shino had been fairly busy with their various responsibilities in the work front and academia. Particularly as of late. With mid-terms looming just around the corner and potential shift changes at the cafe, Tenten at least was feeling the pressure to perform. And she was almost certain that Shino did as well, although he certainly did a better job of hiding that fact. Not surprising considering it was a normal tendency for him to remain openly neutral to most if not all situations. All the same, that did not necessarily mean that their days had been spent locked inside of their shared apartment. On the contrary. Shino and Tenten knew to take a break when the need call for it. And had the others bothered to ask, they would have known. As it stood though, the young woman had decided to keep that nugget of truth concealed for now.
Besides, she decided, this was a lot more fun.
"Just take an easy course next semester," Tenten offered. Because not making a suggestion would certainly draw attention to the fact that her focus was divided between this conversation and another. Or so she figured. Because when it came to her friends, the young woman was very motherly in how she interacted with them. So it was best to make her presence known before others came seeking for it. "Or during the summer so you don't fall even further behind. I hear they're supposed to be easier."
"If you consider an entire semester of lessons shoved into three months easier," the young med student remarked, and barely managed to contain a scoff, "But there are less assignments."
"Can't," Naruto mumbled. And took the opportunity to stare hard at his glass of lemonade dejectedly as there seemed to be no solution to his dilemma in sight, "The boss' got me working full-time during the summer."
"And every other season of the year," was Kiba's comment with a loud snerk, "Which is probably why you're in this mess to begin with."
The sour expression that came over Naruto's face was almost instant as most of the table erupted into a chorus of good-natured laughter at his expense. Which only caused him to narrow his eyes to a hard glare at the chuckling Inuzuka, a sight that could only bring a fond smile to Tenten's lips as memories of a time before flashed briefly through her mind. Back when things were more simple and their greatest concern was finding ways to rebel whilst still maintaining their scholarships and slots to Konoha no Gakuen Boarding School roster. They had all been so young and vibrant with life's endless possibilities. And while their penchant for what life had to offer still remained, it was obscured with the responsibilities of adulthood now. So while it had been a bit of an annoyance to be pulled along this outing, it was still nice to be included if it meant being able to watch everyone laugh and enjoy themselves like this again.
The mirth eventually tapered off just as quickly as it had begun when the young blond shifted in his seat and leaned forward to rest a forearm against the edge of the table. "If I wanted your opinion, I would've asked for it, Mutt."
Kiba met his gaze in kind, ever the textbook model for an alpha male complex as the curve of his smirk seemed to place emphasis on the point of the young man's canine. Had they been seated closer to each other, Tenten was sure the taller man would have patted Naruto on the head and used that as an excuse to shove the blond back into his seat. "Technically, you did, Runt, so quit your whinin' and let the big dogs talk."
From where she sat, Tenten heard a soft growl of irritation from Naruto's direction, no doubt the first sign of an impending fight, if she knew them well enough -- and she liked to believe that she did -- so it was with a firm hand that the young woman took a hold of the other's forearm.
"Alright, that's enough," she said, stern yet still light, "This isn't gonna help anyone."
"Tenten is right, my friends," Lee agreed, "Fighting will not help to solve Naruto's problem."
Shifting her eyes to the blond, the young woman fixed him with what could only be described as a look of warning before the rumble of her phone caught Tenten's attention. A split second later, the screen lit up in a simple flash of icy blue with Shino's name scrawled across the bottom.
'They will wonder what we are doing,' it said. This time there was no helping the small quirk of her lips, or the way her thumbs moved to tap in a quick reply -- 'theyll never notice a thing' -- Which only resulted in Naruto leaning in a not so subtle attempt to read the message. Or, more likely, to see who it was from.
"Hey, who do you keep texting, Tenny?"
Had the question been posed to anyone else, the little secret exchange between the biology and philosophy student would have no doubt been brought to light. And then their little game would have lost all meaning and sentiment. The secret quality was what made it special, after all. What made it theirs and no one else's. But Tenten was more than prepared. IT could be said, even, that she thrived on situations like these. With over a decade of experience in martial arts and nearly half as many years competing in competitions, the young woman's mind was honed to think and plan at a moment's notice. To anticipate an opponent's moves while still being capable to quickly adapt to a situation in an instance. And an instance was all she had.
"Hm? - Oh... no one," Tenten replied with a wave of her hand, "One of the kids I'm tutoring had questions about a problem he was working on."
"You tutor?" came Sakura's soft inquiry from across the table.
"Yeah, I used to tutor math in high school," the young woman stated with ease, "I loved it then, so I thought, why not give a go one more time?"
"How wonderful of you!" her childhood companion exclaimed, "Such an honorable endeavour to pursue during your last months of institutional education!"
It was not a completely lie. In a fit of nostalgia whilst packing for the move to her new apartment space, Tenten had decided to return to her old tutoring roots. Old notebooks and notations from those days had reminded the girl of how much she had enjoyed helping others with their math problems. And there was really no need to tell them that she was, in fact, tutoring Shino in Chinese. All the same, her explanation had been far enough from the truth to place it in the general neighborhood of deception. Still, she smiled at Lee's words and continued on without hesitation as if it were the most normal thing in the world to send tutoring notes via text messages.
That is, until the Aburame's phone lit up and rumbled across the tabletop for everyone present to see.
Nudging the other expectantly with his elbow, Kiba gave a toothy grin at the young man. "And who are you chattin' with, Shino?"
"...I am discussing with my tutor as well," the other replied, to which the former could only quirk his brow skeptically, "There are... a few concepts that I did not quite understand and needed explanation for."
"I didn't think it was possible, but the both of you have gotten more nerdy since you moved in together." Finding a small grain of pride in the statement, and secret amusement, Tenten watched wordlessly as Naruto moved from looking at Shino to her in confusion. And perhaps a bit of disappointment as well. "Don't you do anything interesting?"
Casually, the young woman leaned back into her chair and took a momentary pause, as if thinking over the matter. All the while, she could not help but shift her eyes to the reflective surface of Shino's glasses, sharing a knowing look with his eyes that laid hidden underneath before answering in a perfectly nonchalant manner. "Nothing that would be exciting to you."
"You got that right!" Kiba interjected with a laugh, sending a stiff slap to the Aburame's shoulder in his mirth, "What would you do without us?"
Even from where she sat across the table, Tenten could hear the small exhale of irritation. Or rather, could imagine it passing underneath the other's breath at how his body was sent nearly careening into the table from the friendly, albeit rough, gesture. But if there was one thing she could rely on, it was that Shino had an uncanny ability to adjust quickly to most situation. This instance was no different.
A second or two passed while he adjusted himself and lightly rubbed at what she could only guess was a dull sting to his shoulder before simply uttering a single word in response. "...Study?"
And the table erupted into laughter, more due to the simple fact that it became apparent that, indeed, Shino did possess a sense of humor when he willed it than anything else. Tenten merely chuckled and smiled, having known that particular secret months before. Besides, she had something else to be amused about. And as the young woman's gaze briefly shifted to the glint of Shino's glasses, she had a feeling that he felt the same way.
---------------------
'told you 8)'
'So you did.'
'a superhero must always protect their coveted secrets'
'It seems I still have much to learn from you, sempai.'