Dazed/Spacing Out
Hinata’s brows furrowed and her lips pouted in an adorable way that caused Shino’s hives to tremble with excitement within him. Shino mentally noted for them to stop vibrating, though the good vibes and wholesomeness of Hinata always warmed his heart, though he would never admit this statement out loud. As always, an Aburame must conduct himself with dignity. Shino often wondered what the Hyuuga heiress contemplated about when her brow was furrowed like so and her lip tucked in in concentration. She was a gentle-hearted soul that had mysterious depths to her and a subtle beauty that reminded him of moonlight. But what he coveted the most about Hinata were her thoughts. She was shy and withdrawn, though ever since building camaraderie with her and earning her trust, Hinata opened up more and more to him and Shino was privileged to know the things she liked and dreamed about. A kind soul that hardly had a bad word to say about anyone (if any at all). She always managed to spin the positive about something and someone’s traits, including Naruto, whom everyone dismissed as a dropout at first, but as Naruto grew up her affections towards that man grew as well. She probably thought of Naruto in her dazed state, fantasizing about him. Girlish dreams of dates and cuddles and other things, perhaps even marriage. And then…

“Shino-kun?” Hinata said tentatively.

“Oh,” Shino said very intelligently, flustered underneath the collar of his jacket. “The heat must put me in a drowse.”

The hive seemed to be silent today. Maybe they were too hot to make commentary about Shino’s lack of an intelligent answer. Or maybe the heat roasted their brains into little charcoal nuggets. Shion found this thought somewhat disconcerting, and as much as the hive annoyed him with their emotional whims and tides-he still adored and treasured his hive. Growing them up from larvae to the black shelled beetles that came out of the pores of his skin and living within his body gave him a strange sense of comfort. Even though other people thought him strange for his fascination with insects, Shino knew that the hive would always be there with him, when no one else was.

“Um you know,” Hinata said, as she poked her fingers together and looked demurely at Shino from underneath her lashes. “There’s...an ice cream parlor that I would like to go to. It might help with the heat and it would be a nice treat...as a reward...for all our hard work. Don’t you think?”

“Hm?”

Shino must’ve been out more out of it than he thought. Why was Hinata flushing? Was it because she was hot as well, or…

“Um, Shino-kun!” Hinata said, as she continued to get more flustered and poked her fingers together more frequently. “I-If you object to ice cream, then perhaps we could...go to an amusement park? Or would you rather...I would invite you to my home, but….there are too many people….”

“Ice cream sounds reasonable,” Shino insisted, feeling hot under the collar once more. It was almost like she was asking him on a date, wasn’t it?

The smile that Hinata gave him was brilliant. It made her face brighten up like her last name’s namesake. A place in the sun indeed. Shino often wondered how her namesake contrasted with her silver moon eyes contrasted with the place in the sun namesake that her family name derived from. The moon, though, was not upstaged by the sun, and though Hinata had a sunny disposition, she also had a subtle beauty of moonlight and ethereal glow to her skin that made her look positively more radiant than the bright cheery sun. He secretly nicknamed her Moon inside his mind, as Hinata's soul silver gaze penetrated deep into him, as much as he tried to keep his mysteries and intrigues.

The hive scolded him.

He didn’t want to keep mysteries and intrigues about himself. That’s just what he told himself because he was a socially awkward turtle. Shino then cried behind his sunglasses at this.

“Thanks so much, Shino-kun! I always wanted to do this, actually, but um, I was too afraid of going by myself. It would look odd if it were just me going by myself, right? L-Like...it’s always nice to share eating ice cream with someone that you...you...”

Hinata blushed, becoming even more flustered than before. Shino’s eyes widened. He dared not contemplate what she could’ve said next. Someone that she was a teammate with? Someone that she liked? Possibly…

Loved?

“I’ll pay for the ice cream,” Shino said kindly, and Hinata smiled and blushed at this.

“I mean if you do not object to such things b-but...”

“It’s a date.”

Hinata became flustered again, her face tomato red. Shino thought she would probably faint from being overwhelmed (which was a reaction that he thought she reserved for Naruto, but now that he thought about it, Shino was there for Hinata the entire time every time that Naruto didn’t pick up on her signals or affections, the lovable but oblivious idiot) and Shino caught her.

“Hinata? Are you okay?”

“I think that I’m okay, as long as I stay like this for a little bit,” Hinata said with a pretty flush on her cheeks.

Shino coughed, though his face was warmed. Just let him hold Hinata like this forever, cuddled in his arms. He was spacing out again, he was sure! But was there anything wrong with that when the love of your life was being held close to you? He had every right to be spaced out and dazed, didn’t he? He should be allowed that privilege, right?

“Okay, Shino-kun,” Hinata said as she adjusted herself and stood up on her own again. “I think the mix of heat and everything made me tired and more prone to collapsing. Though thank you for catching me. You’re always so reliable, Shino-kun.”

“It isn’t a problem at all,” Shino said, and the hive seemed to swarm up and speak to Shino in their little mumbles.

Pretty girl, they seemed to say.

Shino sometimes wished that he didn’t live with his fucking hive, though they were his constant companions before anyone else. They meant well, he was sure. Once Hinata was prepared and ready to walk again, they made their way to the ice cream parlor with generous sized servings (and Hinata indulged and Shino was like why not? She deserved to indulge for all the training she successfully managed today and the months before) of three scooped ice cream. Hinata got strawberry, while Shino got mint chocolate chip ice cream. He decided to splurge himself because he didn’t normally indulge in sweets very often though he liked them on certain occasions. He thought this occasion merited it.

However, nothing would prepare him for what would happen next.

While he was licking his ice cream cone, he noticed how focused Hinata seemed to stare at her ice cream cone. The stare was delighted, but there was also a hint of something...sultry? Or was that Shino’s imagination? His pure and innocent Hinata wasn’t a seductive type kunoichi that exploited her sex appeal (but oh she had plenty of that) to others, though when she started the first sinuous lick against the ice cream, Shino imagined it was something else.

Pretty girl, the hive said again.

Shino just wished the hive would shut up and that Hinata would stop being so sensual in her eating of the ice cream, but he couldn’t help but watch transfixed as her tongue swirled and licked and savored the ice cream. If only that ice cream were something else, and Shino blushed at the forbidden thought. What was he thinking?

He continued to lick at his ice cream cone a little morosely, though he wasn’t sure if Hinata was aware of the sexual tension in the air. He didn’t know how much he could handle this! But he promised her a date, and it would be rude to walk out on her, and she enjoyed his company, so he would stay no matter how personally tormenting it was.

Hinata finished her ice cream cone, licking her fingers from the sticky treat that managed to melt and run down the sides of the cone, and Shino was still working on his. Hinata leaned forward to take a lick of his ice cream cone, and Shino felt even more flustered than before. Hinata tasted his ice cream, it was like an indirect kiss and it only intensified the naughty feelings that he was having towards her.

“Shino-kun?” Hinata said, smiling and blushing cutely at him. “I wanted to try a sample of your ice cream. Should I not have?”

“N-No, it’s fine,” Shino said, his pants feeling incredibly tight.

Hinata blinked before she smiled and held his hand. “Thank you for treating me tonight, Shino-kun. I-If you’d let me...I...I could give you a treat later. If...well...you know what I...mean...”

She squirmed but didn’t seem opposed to the idea. And neither was Shino.

“I accept.”