As the World Turns

[endless_scrolls]

Title: As the World Turns
Type: Fanfic
Fandom: AU!Naruto
Word count: 1242
Character(s): Tenten, Aburame Shino; brief mentions of Yuuhei Kurenai, Sarutobi Asuma
Pairing(s): Shino/Tenten, Asuma/Kurenai
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
Dedicated to: semchance. I love your muses. Period.

"Kurenai's a beautiful woman," she mumbled, "I can see why you like her."

Tenten had never been the sort of person to get jealous. Proud and confident in her own abilities, and life, she had never found reason to call upon such a flawed emotion. Indeed, there were times, particularly in her younger days, when she would wish for the things that others had or found herself longing for the pieces of her pat that most others never had to miss. But Tenten took pride in the life that she had fashioned for herself, building it from almost nothing. The struggle was what made it all the more an accomplishment above all others. Jealousy never had a place in her existence; Tenten made sure of that.

Then again, the young woman never had been so fiercely protective of something that wasn't technically hers to claim.

It was an ironic -- some would say cruel -- twist of fate that her uncle's new girlfriend would turn out to be her boyfriend's former teacher. The same teacher that he had been so infatuated with as a young adolescent. And with good reason too, Tenten was somewhat reluctant to admit. Extremely kind and considerate as well, she soon realized. There was no way she could compete.

"She will make a wonderful wife," the young man responded evenly, "For your Uncle."

Yes, Kurenai's heart belonged to her Uncle Asuma. It was only with the almost urgent invitation and the great need to introduce the two that Tenten knew he was getting ready to spend the rst of his life with her. And after a long and winding journey of self-discovery and revelation, Shino's heart had found its way to reside with Tenten. But there was no denying that she held claim to his heart first. And no matter how much time had passed, or now things had changed, a person could never forget their first infatuation.

And the trip home had never been so quiet.

Not until they boarded onto the subway did Shino think to speak or even utter a sound. And Tenten, who had been uncharacteristically silent the entire walk to the station, could only stare at the floor as she sat across the aisle from him until he took the initiative and seated himself beside her. To better read the little indicators her body was no doubt giving off -- he had always been good at seeing the subtleties in the way she would shift and move in response to this or that, and had grown exceptionally good at interpreting what each of them meant -- To better understand her mood. Whatever the reason, Tenten gave no protest and continued to let her mind to drift from one unreasonable claim to the next in a spiral of confusion that even she could make no sense of. All until she felt the light pressure of his hand as it moved to cover hers.

It was an intimate gesture, as far as the Aburame go, and one that she knew him to refrain from displaying in public on most occasions. Shino was first and foremost, a primarily private person, after all. The treasures of their relationships had always been something kept behind closed doors and thick walls. Those moments were for them and them alone, he had always said. So for him to amend this instance from that rule could only mean that he was more concerned than she realized.

"Shino..."

"I may know you well enough, but I still have yet to possess the capability to read minds," he remarked, his voice gentle and kind as it always had seemed to her, even in the beginning when he was nothing more than a curious mystery for her to solve. "All the same, I know when something is bothering you."

She sighed in response and tried her best to put thoughts into words. Because he deserved that much. Because despite everything, all her insecurities and all the thoughts of doubt she was having, they had always been able to talk and converse through their issues. If not together, then how else would this be resolved?

In her mind, she knew the feelings to be foolish and unnecessary. They had gone through too much -- a continent of obstacles and years of trials -- to get where they were now. To reach a point where both realized what it was that had always stood between them, almost from the beginning of their friendship. One single night with a teacher he had a crush on in high school was hardly going to ruin all that effort and history. And yet, Tenten was there, and Shino's soul was left stranded on the outside of her mental block of worries and self-doubt. Anything was possible, after all.


"I saw the way you looked at her when she called you 'Shino-bug.' You smiled too, in that little way you do with your eyes." And as the subway train moved out of the tunnel and into the night air, she stood up from her seat in frustration and confusion. Because deep down, Tenten knew that she shouldn't have been so; not when it came to Shino. But that was, perhaps, the most frustrating part of it all, despite the logic and reason that her mind built up to excuse her behavior. Despite the realization that she was acting in such a way. "It was the same way you'd look at me."

"...Tenten."

There was such sincerity in his voice, a softness the young woman only recalled ever hearing a handful of times. Because very rarely did Shino ever feel hurt by any accusations aimed at him. With his level of intellect and range of knowledge, he could very well rationalize most if not every single viewable flaw that others could find. But this... this was not his doing. And for that, Tenten could only feel sympathy for how defeated he sounded. It was no easy thing to see a person you loved in pain and being unable to help them through it. And it was completely all her doing that he felt that way. In coming to that realization, she could only add on to her own guilt.

But even as the anger towards herself dissipated and her shoulders dropped in defeat, the touch of his hand was enough to bring her out of the darkness. As it always had in the past.

"I am... not yours to lose," he said. And Tenten felt her heart drop at the way the words seemed to strike her in the most basic of ways. "I am yours... to keep."

He stood then, relinquishing his seat and his passive position to tower over her with a level of absolution and authority, as if he held a point that needed to be made. And that was smart on his part. Because only a firm hand and a determined spirit could -- or would -- be able to break through the wall of stubbornness that her own immovable soul. "I smiled, yes. Because it reminded me of you, and how you would always call me that."

"So you..."

"...Yes."

It was pure and simple and direct. It was everything she had ever grown to love and sometimes hate about him. But in the end, it was right. He was right. And with just a few words, the world -- her world -- was made right again.

Comments

[tao-empress.livejournal.com]

In his attempt to learn how to play nice with girl, and in Tenten's quick acceptance to his unique way of viewing the world or how easily she's sometimes able to persuade him to step out of his comfort zone, I forget sometimes that he is quite intimidating in his own right.

They are, on many levels, very complimentary to each other. And that's what makes it so darn cute, I think. Because it works in a way that places them as equals instead of dominant/submissive. o^^o

TL;DR, Thank you for coming and thank you for enjoying my fluff~