An Airhead, A Nerd

Chapter 8

Naruto pulled on her shoes as Shino was leaning on the headboard of the bed. Her stockings were lost somewhere in the bed. Shino had come so close to eating her out but Naruto was feeling disgusting so he forgoes that route. He wanted to see her expression but he could wait until he was back at her apartment. Naruto had packed his duffel bag with a few sets of clothing to last him for the week. They dropped the bag out of the window as they didn't want to alert his parents. They wouldn't care but they would ask invasive questions.

Walking down the stairs Shino wanted to smirk at his brother's enraged face. Naruto looked dazed, her outfit messed up, her face puffy and hair out of its messy bun. Shinako even noticed that she wasn't wearing her stockings. "I'm walking Naruto home," He followed her out the door, not waiting for a response. Naruto quickly retrieved his duffel bag and covered her boyfriend in a blanket as the cold hit him. "Don't worry, we'll be home soon," She cooed as she took his hand and began leading him down the road and towards the bus stop. It was the last bus for the night and they huddled together as Naruto rambled about taking care of him. 

Shino rested his head on hers as their fingers intertwined. He wanted to smile but he was too cold. "I love you," He kissed her forehead. 

Naruto giggled. "I love you too Shino," She nuzzled his neck, smiling softly. "I'm glad you choose me." 

"And I'm lucky to have you." 

They made it back to her apartment and she ran a cold bath before making tea and leaving it on either bedside table as she went in to shower after him. She came back in pajamas as Shino was fixing his black joggers and climbing into bed. They talked quietly over their cups of tea before turning the lights out and cuddling under a thin blanket.  "What made you sick?" 

"I wasn't eating properly," He mumbled as Naruto tightened her hold on him. 

"Why not? I kept offering lunch," She seemed confused and Shino kicked himself. 

"I know but-" He cut himself off, he just couldn't tell her. At least not yet. Naruto had her head on his chest. 

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me to know, just let me know when you're ready," She pinched his cheek softly. Shino nodded and they both settled down for the night. The next morning Shino's fever had broken and Naruto was already cooking a light breakfast of tomato soup to help heal his stomach. Shino didn't have the heart to tell her his stomach was feeling shitty. However, the soup helped oddly enough. Naruto was watching him with a pleased smirk on her face as she slowly drank from her own bowl. When he was done he eyed her bowl and Naruto pushed it towards him. 

"You don't have to," He tried to push it back but Naruto pushed it in his direction. 

"Shino," She scolded lightly. "Eat." 

Her blue eyes were too pure. He gave into her and he could see himself wrapped around her finger. "Alright." 

He drank her soup under Naruto's gaze and then they moved on to cleaning up the spare room to start their shared hobby, they spent a lot of time talking about which insects to take care of, where to buy them, and the pricing of food for them. They settled on beetles to be first. Naruto jotted down the questions Shino wanted to ask the handler and gave Naruto the responses to each question. 

"If they differ from that, just know they want to rip you off," He kissed her softly before sending her on her way. Naruto grinned as she headed out. 

Being left alone in their almost shared apartment felt surreal. He looked around properly, snooping when he shouldn't but he knew Naruto wouldn't mind. If anything she would get giddy that he was. She was just too good for his jaded soul. He was however keenly interested in knowing who would start such rumors about a relatively innocent girl. While yes Naruto was a bit of a prankster it wasn't anything harsh, they were just silly little pranks that had little gifts at the end of it. She had turned her attention to pranking Hinata and Naruto brought her out of her shell. He was happy to see his girlfriend bonding with one of his close friends. 

He wanted to protect Naruto so it would seem it was time to dig into the background of his girlfriend's high school years before they had met. Ironically enough though he knew of Naruto's reputation he had never seen her hang around any group of friends. It was like she was always alone. Never one for bonding seriously with anyone but that begs the question. Why? If Shino hadn't seen her struggling and gone to help her would she have faded into the background for him? Probably and that's what killed him. She would probably be the only one who could ever look at him without that flash of unease that everyone seemed to carry when interacting with him. She was giving up her spare room to give him the freedom to explore his hobby for fuck's sake. 

"I love her, so I want to know how anyone could do this to her," He muttered bitterly.