endless_scrolls (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
endless_scrolls) wrote2010-11-28 07:44 pm
endless_scrolls) wrote2010-11-28 07:44 pm
All That Matters
Title: All That Matters
Type: Fanfic
Fandom: AU!Naruto
Word count: 1363
Character(s): Tenten, Aburame Shino
Pairing(s): Slight Shino/Tenten if you kinda squint
Warning(s): Fluff. Adorable fluff.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but these words.
Note: Inspired by [ THIS ] thread. ...Because this is what happens when you feed the plot bunnies too much with cute and love. And because they're adorable in any universe. 8|... ♥
Dedicated to:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
semchance. They can be cute together any time you want~
Shino had about a thousand and one neutral expressions; one for almost every single emotion under the sun. Only a handful of souls knew that fact, though, most of which were family and members of the Abruame clan. But Tenten liked to believe that she was slowly learning to recognize them all. It was in the subtleties that the differences could be recognized, Tenten had come to learn. The softer creases around the edges of his glasses were the usual indicators of whether or not he was happy. The light pinch of his brows could be used to gauge how upset he was. When his shoulders were set back a little further than usual, Shino was being defensive. And when he would curl up and hide behind the collar of whatever jacket or cloak that he wore, the young man was being timid or distant.
But the deep furrow of his brows was a clear and unmistakable display if his disapproval.
After the initial introduction -- surprise was more like it, she thought -- the young witch had managed to convince him to follow her to one of the higher hollows in the mountain side. It was her turn to check the eggs in the rooks, and this way there would be something to distract her from his pending questions. Or just his weighted stare. But throughout it all, while he helped her turn and shift them around to a warmer spot, Shino had remained deathly quiet. Contemplative, she assumed. But even for him, it had almost been too much.
"Dragons."
It was only the single, most commonly used word in the entire facility. But with it, he had been able to convey about a dozen thoughts with a combination of his tone and actions. And she could hardly blame him for any one of them. This was the risk she took when the young witch had decided to tell him about the Reserve.
"The Ministry doesn't know," she explained, hoping to emphasize the importance of what she was revealing to him. But he was not impressed, or so it seemed. Then again, despite three years of friendship, there was still a lot to be learned about Shino. Just as she was certain he was thinking the same thing about her.
His head shifted a fraction to the side, towards her, giving Tenten his full and undivided attention while the young man's eyes continued to watch the skies, "I gathered as much. There's nothing mentioned in any of the books."
"With good reason!" she pressed.
"They're dragons, Tenten." Another shadow passed over them, and his train of thought was cut short as both snapped to watch as the Indonesian Ivory made its afternoon sweep of the valley. As it did, its black scales shimmered and shifted under the sun. And for just a second while she allowed herself to get lost in the wonder and magic of the sight, it was almost like she was lying under the night sky and the bright light of the moon staring up at the twinkling stars. But just as quickly as the dream began, it was gone, ripped apart as a thunderous screech broke through the entire mountain side, causing both to scramble to cover their ears from the offending sound.
Seconds later, the Siren dove down from its perch towards the guard tower on the other side of the valley.
Seeming to shake his thoughts clear once more, Shino continued, his lips pressed together even more firmly than before. "Where did they even come from?"
At that, Tenten could only scoff as she continued on to the next nest. "There's a vast collection of dragonlore and mythology here, Shino. The Chinese, themselves, are considered to be the children of the Dragons. Did you really think there would only be one species throughout the entire region?"
"No." A glance back allowed her to see that he was being truthful if not still skeptical. "But I assumed any known species would have been reported in to be documented and studied; saved if necessary."
"Saved?" She gave him a sharp look over her shoulder at the word, doing well to convey all the thoughts she held on that subject matter concerning the policies that the Ministry had when it came to the dragons. Still, it took a lot of patience and all of Tenten's determination to keep her tone evened, if not restrained. "You've seen how they treat the dragons of Europe. That's no way for them to live."
It was not Shino's fault that he had been raised as he was; that the majority of the wizards and witches in the Western world believed the ill-informed facts that they had been given. For them, and even for those who lived in her own corner of the Wizarding world, what the Ministry stated was absolute and incontestable. But for the few families that helped to protect the Dragon Sanctuary, there was a different story; a different history that had remained hidden for thousands of generations through time. She could not expect him to have known that, even despite his thirst for knowledge and reliance on facts.
"That... is not your choice to make."
"And this isn't yours." Still, nothing could convince her to abandon the cause, and to show that, Tenten stood there and kept her gaze steadily fixed to his, looking past the tinted glass to the violet hues that she knew resided underneath. "This is something we've been doing for generations and nothing you say is going to suddenly stop that. Or me."
He seemed to stand straighter at that, seeming a bit ruffled by her confidence. Maybe even impressed by it; she wasn't exactly sure. All that she knew was that he had not given up a counter argument to it. And that was enough for her. So it was with that final thought that the young witch resumed her duties as a Guardian, crouching down to first examine the newly laid eggs before turning them so that the other side could be warmed and incubated. And after a while, she had almost forgotten that he was even there, silent as Shino was after her statement. Almost. The occasional whisper of breath and the soft scrabble of footsteps were one matter. But the heat of his glance every few minutes were unmistakable and hard to ignore.
Still, Tenten left him to his own thoughts. His mind would work better to process the new information that way, she knew. And it wasnt much longer before the long cast of his shadow stepped into view and the silhouette of his figure came filtering in through the corner of her vision. "...I know."
Through stubbornness alone did she manage not to turn her head towards him at the words and show her relief. Just because he understood, or declared that he did, it was no indication that he agreed with them. Nor was it a binding assurance that he wouldn't tell the Ministry himself. And though it pained Tenten to believe he was capable of such a thing, she knew deep down that it was still in the realm of possibilities. And if that were to be true, then it would be left up to her to deal with the consequences for giving Shino the means to betray her trust.
Knitting her brows together at the thought, she rested the egg currently in her hands gently on top of her thighs.
"You swore you wouldn't tell." And to emphasize the words and the commitment that came with them -- the promise -- the young witch gave her full attention to him. "You pinkie-swore."
Finally, when it seemed as if neither one of them would relent in their staring war, Shino exhaled with a soft huff of breath. "...Just be careful."
And despite that overwhelming release of anxiety she felt, Tenten managed to hold the solemn expression a moment more while everything was processed. Only then did the young Guardian allow a small smile -- a twinkle of mischief -- to show through her outer shell. "Well, now that you know, I won't have to anymore, now will I?"
Type: Fanfic
Fandom: AU!Naruto
Word count: 1363
Character(s): Tenten, Aburame Shino
Pairing(s): Slight Shino/Tenten if you kinda squint
Warning(s): Fluff. Adorable fluff.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but these words.
Note: Inspired by [ THIS ] thread. ...Because this is what happens when you feed the plot bunnies too much with cute and love. And because they're adorable in any universe. 8|... ♥
Dedicated to:
semchance. They can be cute together any time you want~Shino had about a thousand and one neutral expressions; one for almost every single emotion under the sun. Only a handful of souls knew that fact, though, most of which were family and members of the Abruame clan. But Tenten liked to believe that she was slowly learning to recognize them all. It was in the subtleties that the differences could be recognized, Tenten had come to learn. The softer creases around the edges of his glasses were the usual indicators of whether or not he was happy. The light pinch of his brows could be used to gauge how upset he was. When his shoulders were set back a little further than usual, Shino was being defensive. And when he would curl up and hide behind the collar of whatever jacket or cloak that he wore, the young man was being timid or distant.
But the deep furrow of his brows was a clear and unmistakable display if his disapproval.
After the initial introduction -- surprise was more like it, she thought -- the young witch had managed to convince him to follow her to one of the higher hollows in the mountain side. It was her turn to check the eggs in the rooks, and this way there would be something to distract her from his pending questions. Or just his weighted stare. But throughout it all, while he helped her turn and shift them around to a warmer spot, Shino had remained deathly quiet. Contemplative, she assumed. But even for him, it had almost been too much.
"Dragons."
It was only the single, most commonly used word in the entire facility. But with it, he had been able to convey about a dozen thoughts with a combination of his tone and actions. And she could hardly blame him for any one of them. This was the risk she took when the young witch had decided to tell him about the Reserve.
"The Ministry doesn't know," she explained, hoping to emphasize the importance of what she was revealing to him. But he was not impressed, or so it seemed. Then again, despite three years of friendship, there was still a lot to be learned about Shino. Just as she was certain he was thinking the same thing about her.
His head shifted a fraction to the side, towards her, giving Tenten his full and undivided attention while the young man's eyes continued to watch the skies, "I gathered as much. There's nothing mentioned in any of the books."
"With good reason!" she pressed.
"They're dragons, Tenten." Another shadow passed over them, and his train of thought was cut short as both snapped to watch as the Indonesian Ivory made its afternoon sweep of the valley. As it did, its black scales shimmered and shifted under the sun. And for just a second while she allowed herself to get lost in the wonder and magic of the sight, it was almost like she was lying under the night sky and the bright light of the moon staring up at the twinkling stars. But just as quickly as the dream began, it was gone, ripped apart as a thunderous screech broke through the entire mountain side, causing both to scramble to cover their ears from the offending sound.
Seconds later, the Siren dove down from its perch towards the guard tower on the other side of the valley.
Seeming to shake his thoughts clear once more, Shino continued, his lips pressed together even more firmly than before. "Where did they even come from?"
At that, Tenten could only scoff as she continued on to the next nest. "There's a vast collection of dragonlore and mythology here, Shino. The Chinese, themselves, are considered to be the children of the Dragons. Did you really think there would only be one species throughout the entire region?"
"No." A glance back allowed her to see that he was being truthful if not still skeptical. "But I assumed any known species would have been reported in to be documented and studied; saved if necessary."
"Saved?" She gave him a sharp look over her shoulder at the word, doing well to convey all the thoughts she held on that subject matter concerning the policies that the Ministry had when it came to the dragons. Still, it took a lot of patience and all of Tenten's determination to keep her tone evened, if not restrained. "You've seen how they treat the dragons of Europe. That's no way for them to live."
It was not Shino's fault that he had been raised as he was; that the majority of the wizards and witches in the Western world believed the ill-informed facts that they had been given. For them, and even for those who lived in her own corner of the Wizarding world, what the Ministry stated was absolute and incontestable. But for the few families that helped to protect the Dragon Sanctuary, there was a different story; a different history that had remained hidden for thousands of generations through time. She could not expect him to have known that, even despite his thirst for knowledge and reliance on facts.
"That... is not your choice to make."
"And this isn't yours." Still, nothing could convince her to abandon the cause, and to show that, Tenten stood there and kept her gaze steadily fixed to his, looking past the tinted glass to the violet hues that she knew resided underneath. "This is something we've been doing for generations and nothing you say is going to suddenly stop that. Or me."
He seemed to stand straighter at that, seeming a bit ruffled by her confidence. Maybe even impressed by it; she wasn't exactly sure. All that she knew was that he had not given up a counter argument to it. And that was enough for her. So it was with that final thought that the young witch resumed her duties as a Guardian, crouching down to first examine the newly laid eggs before turning them so that the other side could be warmed and incubated. And after a while, she had almost forgotten that he was even there, silent as Shino was after her statement. Almost. The occasional whisper of breath and the soft scrabble of footsteps were one matter. But the heat of his glance every few minutes were unmistakable and hard to ignore.
Still, Tenten left him to his own thoughts. His mind would work better to process the new information that way, she knew. And it wasnt much longer before the long cast of his shadow stepped into view and the silhouette of his figure came filtering in through the corner of her vision. "...I know."
Through stubbornness alone did she manage not to turn her head towards him at the words and show her relief. Just because he understood, or declared that he did, it was no indication that he agreed with them. Nor was it a binding assurance that he wouldn't tell the Ministry himself. And though it pained Tenten to believe he was capable of such a thing, she knew deep down that it was still in the realm of possibilities. And if that were to be true, then it would be left up to her to deal with the consequences for giving Shino the means to betray her trust.
Knitting her brows together at the thought, she rested the egg currently in her hands gently on top of her thighs.
"You swore you wouldn't tell." And to emphasize the words and the commitment that came with them -- the promise -- the young witch gave her full attention to him. "You pinkie-swore."
Finally, when it seemed as if neither one of them would relent in their staring war, Shino exhaled with a soft huff of breath. "...Just be careful."
And despite that overwhelming release of anxiety she felt, Tenten managed to hold the solemn expression a moment more while everything was processed. Only then did the young Guardian allow a small smile -- a twinkle of mischief -- to show through her outer shell. "Well, now that you know, I won't have to anymore, now will I?"