Shimmering Fireflies

Trust

Waiting for them felt like an eternity. Again. She knew her friends would probably be fine. Nonetheless, there was this constant uneasiness that wouldn't go away. What else was Mizuiro supposed to do but wait? Sitting at her desk, she was trying to distract herself with the making of a new embroidery piece. However, she made several mistakes and had to start over. Her dreary aura was probably filling her bedroom right now. She looked at the small terrarium she managed to sneak in to keep Shino's beetles. They were standing on a small rock next to each other. They were very cute, but her mom would freak out if she noticed them. Mizuiro kept a towel next to the container to cover it in case she would show up. For now, they seemed to simply enjoy the sun. Mizuiro turned on her radio, incapable of dealing with her more than chaotic thoughts. She couldn't do anything. It was... frustrating. Eventually, she put down her embroidery and went to bed. Time would pass faster if she was asleep, right?

  ~ ~ ~

She has been hearing a noise for a while, but she found herself incapable of drifting out of her dreams. Something was making a quiet, repetitive resonance in between the faint melodies of her radio. There were two knocking sounds, then three, then four... Her eyes finally opened and she sat on her bed rapidly. She looked in direction of her bedroom door, but it didn't come from there. Mizuiro shut her radio to listen to the strange sound. She turned her head towards the window to witness a silhouette behind her curtain. Hesitantly, she peeked underneath the thin fabric and stayed still. Shino was standing there, on the balcony under her window. She blinked many times, not sure if her mind was playing tricks on her. She saw him point the window's clasp, which she proceeded to unlock from the inside. Sliding the curtain to her right, she opened her window wide. She tried to say something, but her thoughts were blurred; she was still drowsy.

"Shino? W-wait... what's the common name of the-"

"The sugar bee", he cut her. "It's me."

"What happened?" she insisted.

"It's okay...everything is," he whispered.

The tension in Mizuiro's shoulders slowly diminished. She looked at her clock and realized it was around 1. Because of the wind, she shuddered, then extended her right arm to him.  Shino put his hand on hers, his eyebrows lifting up when he realized he was drawn inside. Awkwardly, he removed his shoes and entered her room. Mizuiro closed the window behind him.

"How did you know which window was mine?" she casually asked.

"You have my beetles. I sensed them."

"Oh, right. They did an amazing job, by the way." Mizuiro pointed out.

A faint smile appeared in the corner of her mouth, but there was something that kept her from looking at his face.

"You did too," he said.

He noticed the terrarium on her desk.

"I just came back from my debriefing with the Hokage." Shino continued. "Haruka-san is in a cell for now. Kyousuke went home, but we have all been requested this morning at 8 for our verbal records."

"In seven hours?" she made sure.

"Yes."

She walked to her bedroom door and opened it carefully. After disappearing for a few seconds, she came back with two glasses of water, inviting him to sit on her bed next to her.

"Will you stay?"

He seemed surprised.

"If you want me to."

She nodded and gave him his glass. They sat next to each other on her bed and Mizuiro gave him time to take a sip of water. She still wasn't looking at him; instead, her stare was hovering on her bedroom floor while she was trying to find her words. She was truly happy about his presence, but she couldn't understand why she was so awkward now that she was with him.

"I missed you..." she eventually murmured.

Shino set down his drink and put his hand on hers. Mizuiro did the same and laid down her head on his shoulder, feeling a small shiver passing through his body. They stayed like this for a long five minutes in silence. It was serene, yet she could sense they were both a little bit tense. Mizuiro's thoughts were all over the place. When she finally started talking, it's because her emotions were taking advantage of her.

"Why didn't you tell me... you were going on a mission?"

As blunt as it seemed, she just had to ask.

"I tried." He said immediately.

Mizuiro got up from his shoulder. She found the courage to look at his face, an apprehensive expression being more than apparent on hers.

"I went to Kyousuke's place early that morning," he continued, "but nobody answered the door."

She stared at him, completely dumbfounded. She exhaled in silence as blood rushed to her cheeks. The three of them were probably in a heavy sleep after drinking so much.

"I thought..."

She stopped herself, not knowing how to bring this up.

"What did you think?" he finally asked.

Mizuiro took another deep breath and brought her hand to her hair, twisting one of her lock around her finger.

"That you didn't consider us... to be..."

She felt stressed and awkward, thinking about how confused she must have seemed. It wasn't like her to show distress over a small misunderstanding, but he was so important to her; she wanted to get it right. Mizuiro dared to look at him again, only to witness a subtle part of his forehead being wrinkled by worry. He removed his hood from its head and examined her visually. She couldn't see his eyes behind his goggles, although she desperately wished she could unravel what he was thinking. She started to blush, her eyes drifting away once more.

"Sorry." she muttered. "It's just... we didn't really put words on our relationship and..."

Without her noticing, Shino had moved closer to her. He brushed his hand against hers, making her let go of her locks. She felt her whole face burning up.

"You know how I feel about you. Don't you? " he whispered.

If that wasn't a second confession, it sure felt like it to her. She held his hand even if she was dazed from this spontaneous show of affection. Cherishing his presence, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After calming herself, she timidly leaned towards him. Shino was looking at her, his cheeks becoming more heated by the second. Mizuiro closed her eyes and headed towards his lips. As she kissed him, they both delicately tightened their grip on each other's hand. Mizuiro felt like she would melt under his touch.

"Thanks for the reminder." She breathed.

Following this display of tenderness, Shino blinked multiple times before coming back to his senses. As for Mizuiro, she was still extremely shy for engaging a kiss with him. It was the first time she did so. Instead of letting him see her bright red appearance, she concealed her face in his shoulder. When she opened her eyes, she observed that her bedside lamp was still on and noticed the time on her clock.

"We only have a few hours left to sleep." She mentioned. "I hum... I would love to share them with you... if you want."

Mizuiro stayed immobile, somehow nervous about his answer.

"I would love to." He admitted while looking away.

She smiled after hearing those heartfelt words and gently got up from her bed to lock her door. She set her alarm for 7 am and turned off her lamp. She timidly lay on her bed while Shino removed his top coat. Even if the light was off and his back was still turned on her, she vaguely saw him remove his goggles. She closed her eyes, allowing Shino his personal discretion. He eventually joined her in her bed, facing her. Mizuiro didn't allow herself to open her eyes right now, even if she felt his breath caress the tip of her nose. She trembled despite her attempt to remain composed.

"What is it?" Shino enquired.

"I feel so good with you..." she murmured.

He kindly stroked her hair away from her face and pulled her blanket over her shoulder. Mizuiro couldn't believe so much had changed in a few months, let alone in a few days. It was nothing like their first night together. They were sharing the experience instead of exchanging watch schedules. There was still this feeling of entrusting him entirely, but it was more than that.