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Reading Totems	By : GrizzlyTeddyBear Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 1242 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
Author�s pre-ramble:�
To my reviewers:� HumanInfiltrator,
OX King, Lady Slave, kodama, MsMina, eva24, Alaskantiger, Darksteel1992,
Pan12398, wildkit, Navygirl19999, Paintedbutterfly, Valla, Jess, Kilrath
Sluzath, jewel, kimahrigirl, Incarnadyne Tears, CasaHouse, Onitsu Blackfeather�Thank
you to everyone who replied to my OOC-ness question with encouragement that
I�ve still got Shino�s character down pretty well.� Thank you to Lady Slave who plugged me
shamelessly on her story and increased my number of hits!� Postings will be slowing down to about one
per week now due to my writing slowing down with employment taking up a huge
amount of my time.� My muse is still
alive, I just don�t have as much free time to write.� And now we interrupt this action/drama for
fluffy romance�with a dash of angst (if you�ve been scratching your head about the
N/C warning, here is some of it).

Title:� Reading Totems
By:� GrizzlyTeddyBear
Disclaimer:� I
don�t own Naruto, and this makes me sad.�
I do own Paige Stone, my OC!�
Main Pairings:�
ShinoxOC, NaruxHina, SasuxSaku
Rating:� M for
mentioned adult themes
Warning:� AU,
Post-series start time.� Rookie 9 is
23-24 years old.� Fic mentions pagan
religions, if you can�t handle it, don�t read! Also is OC-centric.� Hold your pants, all will be revealed as the
story progresses.� I like to take my time.

Chapter Summary:� Paige
explains her actions with the council to Shino.�
The question of �why� is asked and answered.� The first kiss!� �and a second one.

***Chapter 15***

Once the couple moved out of the line of sight from the
still wide open doors of the council�s meeting room, Shino pulled Paige to a
stop.� She looked at him, waiting for
what he wanted.� He took a step closer
into her space, and she let him.� He
reached for her hand that he was not currently holding and proceeded to guide
both of her arms around his waist.� �Hold
on tight,� he whispered.

She nodded into his cloak covered chest armor as he wrapped
his arms around her.� Paige could feel
him doing something behind her back with his hands, but she didn�t know what.� She was about to ask him, when suddenly she
noticed they had appeared in a house�in a small cloud of smoke.� She took her time looking around, but forgot
to let go of Shino.� They were standing
in what looked like a living room of a house�judging by the size of the space
and furniture.

�Teleportation jutsu.��
Watching her look around the room they were now standing in, he added,
�My house in the Aburame complex.�

�You have an entire house?� she asked, looking up into his
still masked face.

Shino gave a one shouldered shrug in response which broke
her hold on him.� He then removed his
hands from behind her and took off his mask, hood, and sword.� �We�re a small clan, but we are not without
resources.�� He walked towards the
kitchen and asked, �Would you like something to drink?�

�Just water is fine,� she replied.� While he was getting her water she raised her
voice slightly so that he could still hear her from the kitchen.� �So besides you being heir to a small, but influential
clan, a very eligible bachelor, and rich�is there anything else I don�t know
about you?�� She could see his smile
clearly for the first time as he walked back out to her.�

�Yes.�

She couldn�t help but return his smile.� �Oh?�

Handing her a glass of water, but letting his hand linger on
hers, he stated, �I don�t think I am an eligible bachelor anymore.�

Paige decided she liked this side of Shino.� She liked his sense of humor.� �Lucky girl.�

He removed his hand from hers and ran the back of it down
her cheek.� �Lucky me.�

Paige could feel herself blush as she leaned into the
contact.� She liked where this was
going�she really did, but there were other things which needed to be dealt with
first.� Sighing, she broke the moment
with a single sentence.� �We need to talk
about some things.�

It was Shino�s turn to sigh, and he nodded as he removed his
hand from her face.� �Wait here a
moment.� I need to change.�� He then walked out of the room.

She let out another heavy sigh after he left.� She took off her bag and sat down on the
couch in the living room and placed her glass of water on the low table in
front of her.� The sound of water running
signaled Shino was taking a shower before changing.� Thoughts of a showering Aburame danced
through her head for a few minutes, but the sound of the water stopping jarred
her back into the present.� She began to
feel slightly nervous about their impending talk.� To try and calm herself she got up and walked
around the room once, stopping at the window to look at the complex outside.� She noticed the few Aburame she saw were dressed
similar to Shibi and Shino�high collared shirts and sunglasses.

�Paige?�

Startled, she turned around sharply at the sound of her
name.� �Sorry, lost in thought.�

Shino nodded and offered a tentative smile as he walked
over.�

Paige took his short walk to notice his choice in clothing.� He was wearing his usual black pants, but for
his shirt, instead of his usual matching high collared button-down black shirt,
he was wearing a simple black tank top styled undershirt.� It showed off his nicely muscled arms and the
top of his chest.� She took in how it
showed off the holes in his arms through which the kikaichu entered and exited
his body.� Letting her eyes roam she also
noticed a red spiral tattoo on his one shoulder.� She was struck by how handsome he was
underneath all of those baggy clothes he usually wore.� Paige wondered to herself why he had feelings
for her.� She wasn�t that much to look at
and she lied to the council, she was broken.�
She shook her head once to clear it of her darker thoughts. �When Shino came within arms-reach, she traced
her finger over the lines of his tattoo, down his arm, over some of the holes, and
then dropped her arm back to her side.

�ANBU symbol,� was Shino�s reply when she ran her fingers
over the tattoo.� He then slowly reached
up and removed the red handkerchief that had been covering her hair and ran his
fingers through some of the short messy blonde strands.� �We were going to talk,� he gently reminded
her.

�Yeah.�� Another sigh
escaped her.� �I want you to understand
more of what happened today.� Why I said
and did some of those things.�

�You don�t have to explain.�
I understand enough.�

Paige shook her head and took a few steps away from Shino
back towards the couch.� �It�s not enough
to me.� If what we have is going to work,
I want you to know more about me.� I want
you to understand my actions.�

�I understand refusing the council.�

�But do you understand why I practically had a panic attack
at the idea of an arranged marriage?��
She looked down at her clenched fists.

Shino took a few steps closer to her and tried to reach out
to her.� �I can guess some of the
reasons.�

Paige figured he was recalling her little outburst at Danzo
after the words torture, interrogation, and rape rang through the council
meeting.� She backed away before Shino�s
hand could make some contact with her and distract her from what she wanted to
reveal to him.� She moved back to the
window.� It was like some sort of strange
dance the she was leading him around the room in.�

Leaning against the window frame she ran her fingers through
her own hair and began.� �What made me
panic was the thought of not having a choice in the matter.� I told you I needed freedom to do my work
here in Konoha, but there�s more.� I
feared having my right of consent taken away from me.� It�s something I vowed never to let happen
again, and then your father came in with the council�s half-made decision and
it all came crashing back.��

Paige felt herself start to shake and sought out her totem of
grizzly bears to bolster her courage to tell her story.� �I was 16 at the time.� It was shortly after my family had disowned
me for finding out about my abilities.�
They called me similar things to what Danzo was yelling at me.�� She turned to look out the window as she
continued.� She didn�t want to see
Shino�s reactions.� �I was alone and
scared, and I made the stupid decision of getting involved with someone I
hardly knew.� It was my first
relationship.� I didn�t listen to the
little voice in the back of my head that said it wasn�t a good idea.� I was just too na�ve and wanted to tell him
everything about me.� To say he reacted
badly when I told him of my abilities is an understatement.� He got this wild look of fear and rage in his
eyes and�beat and raped me repeatedly that night�It was my first�my only
time�with a guy��

Paige closed her eyes, �We were out on what was supposed to
be a date.� It was on the drive home that
I told him.� He pulled over on the road,
dragged me out in the middle of the forest, and when he was done, he just left
me.� Some poor family who was camping
found me.� No one knows how long I was
out there in the condition he left me, but it was long enough for infections to
set into most of my wounds.� It was one
of the infections that scarred me enough to where I can�t have children. �I spent two months in the hospital recovering,
and I told myself never again would I let that happen to me.��

She turned back to where Shino was in the room, but didn�t
look him in the eyes.� �I only told
Sakura that it was an infection�I didn�t tell her the how.� I guess she thought some of the old wounds
were from my time with the bandits.� You�re
the only one that knows about it now.�� Paige
now looked Shino in the eyes behind his sunglasses.� �I told myself I would choose better next
time�you�re the only one I�ve chosen to let my feelings out to since then.�

His reaction was surprising to her.� Shino stalked over to where she stood in
front of the window, swept her into a fierce embrace and whispered into her
ear.� �I am honored by your trust in me.�� He had never shown such raw emotions before.

Paige returned the embrace with equal enthusiasm.� Some of the tears she had been holding in
from telling her story began to fall when she said, �The medicine wheel told me
of you�that I could trust you�that maybe there could be love with you.� And then you actually appeared and I knew I
didn�t even want to try to fight any feelings I had for you.� Shawnodese sent you to me. �I�d be a fool to let you go.� He gives healing of the heart.� And�mine needs it.� But�why me?�
Why do you�� Why?�� She wasn�t sure exactly what she was
asking.� Her voice was wavering and the
tears were flowing freely by the time she stopped talking.� Once more she tried to bury her face in his
chest to hide her tears.

Shino pulled back slightly from their embrace to wipe the
tears trailing down her cheeks.� Slowly,
he backed up, leading her towards the couch.�
Arranging one of the small decorative pillows for comfort, he sat down
with his back in the corner of the couch�one leg on the cushions, with the
other foot on the floor.� He held out his
arms for Paige to join him.�

She hesitated a moment, but then joined him on the couch.� She was half sprawled on top of him, but she
was comfortable.� Paige laid her head
upon his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist.� After a moment, she took off her glasses to
get more comfortable, and then laid her head back down.� What she heard surprised her.� Shino�s chest was humming!� She blurted out, �Your chest hums.�

The sound of his voice rumbling through his chest answered
her, �The kikaichu�does it bother you?�

�It�s kind of soothing actually.�

Shino tightened the arms around her back slightly in
response.� He began talking�answering the
questions Paige had momentarily forgotten she asked.� �I wanted to see what the insects were
talking about at first.�� He ran his
fingers through her hair as he spoke.�

Paige remained quiet, knowing he was not one to waist words,
and she didn�t want to miss any of them.�

�No one usually goes to that clearing, but you were there.� And they were right�you are pretty.�

She blushed again, and made as if she could hide that fact
from him by burrowing further into the embrace.

A hand appeared in her field of vision and gently lifted her
face up so she could watch the words leave his mouth as he said it again.� �You are pretty�beautiful.�� Shino took his hand away, but she didn�t try
to hide her face again.� �You weren�t
afraid of me.� You didn�t recoil from my
kikaichu.� But it was your reading that
decided it for me.� You sat there and
told me about myself when I hadn�t even said a word to you.� You said I needed to open up more to
people.� When you didn�t react badly to
the kikaichu, I decided I would open up to you.�� He hesitated for a moment.� �I want to show you something.�� Slowly he reached up to his sunglasses, but
Paige stopped the motion.

�You don�t have to.� I
know they are somehow very important to your family.�

�I want to,� was all that he said.� Paige removed her hand from his and watched
as he removed his sunglasses to reveal his closed eyes.� He held out the sunglasses in front of Paige,
�Put them on the table.�

She placed them next to her own pair of glasses and turned
back to stare into Shino�s perfectly black eyes.� She shifted her position a little higher so
she could look better.� �Do you mind?�� She wanted to know if she was being rude by
staring, but he shook his head no.� With
his permission, Paige stared more.� His
eyes were totally black with no whites, no visible pupil.� She could understand the sunglasses now.� If someone didn�t know him, it could be
intimidating to be under his gaze.� She
ran her hands through his soft, dark brown hair for the first time while still
looking into eyes she decided she could drown in.� They held such intensity.� �I think they�re pretty.�� They stared into each others eyes for a while
longer before Shino broke his silence again.�
Paige watched the play of emotions in his eyes as he spoke.

�You said Shawnodese gives healing of the heart.�

Paige nodded and saw pain reflected in his eyes.

�I think he heals me too.�
The Aburame keep to themselves because others fear our appearances and
our kikiachu.� You don�t fear me.�

She saw the beginnings of love in his eyes that matched the
feeling of hope she felt rise in him.� Paige had to close her own eyes.� She had to be sure.� �But�I�m��
She felt his hand run down her cheek again, and she reopened her
eyes.� She fought a gasp at fierceness of
his gaze.

�You have nothing to be ashamed of.� My father stated he would be honored to have
you among the Aburame.� He was not
lying.� As a small clan, we�ve had to
adapt.� The line of descent does not have
to be linear. I have cousins who are more than capable of being heir to the
clan.�

Paige settled back down, but this time laid her head on
Shino shoulder.� It was nice to just
revel in the closeness now that the business with the council is over.� Suddenly she giggled.� �It just occurred to me that we basically
declared to the council and most of our friends that we would get married in
our own damn time.�

Shino gave a snort of amusement.� �So?�

�We haven�t even kissed yet!�
Or had an actual date!� she exclaimed and once more propped herself up
to be able to look him in the eyes.

�Oh?�� The look in
those eyes was decidedly mischievous.�

Paige felt the hand in her hair still and cradle the back of
her head.� The hand that had been resting
lightly on her back began to make slow circles.�
She found herself drawn down into those black eyes and closer to the
mouth that wore a slight smirk.� Her eyes
fluttered closed as she let herself be drawn into the moment.� Their lips met.� His lips were soft and gentle as they parted and
came together again to pull slightly on her lower lip.� Paige sighed and relaxed into the
contact.� Shino repeated the action.� It was brief, but oh so nice.� He tasted slightly sweet.� She felt a stirring of emotions inside of herself
that she didn�t know who they came from, but she decided it didn�t matter.� She didn�t know another person could stir
those emotions in her like Shino was doing now.

And soon Shino was cradling her head in both of his hands
and drawing her back from the kiss to look into her eyes.� He gave a curt nod and said, �Now we�ve had
our first kiss.�� He said it with such
seriousness that it made Paige blink herself out the slight post-kiss haze she
had been in.

She gave him an incredulous face and narrowed her eyes at
him.� What was he trying to pull?� Then she saw it.� The smile he had been trying to fight broke
out over his face�it was small, but it was there.� She slapped him lightly on the chest,
�You�you��

�Yes?� he asked, faking an innocent look.

Paige felt a smile on her own face.� �You tease!�
You have such a twisted sense of humor!��
She decided to play along then and pouted over dramatically at him.� �That wasn�t fair.�

Shino gave her a raised eyebrow.� �And you want another kiss to make up for
it.�

That made Paige stop and blink for a minute again.� An instant replay of their first kiss flashed
through her mind and then she blurted out the first response she could think
of, �Does a grizzly bear like honeycomb?��
Suddenly, Shino�s chest and stomach were moving rather oddly.� It took her a moment, but when he finally let
sound out, Paige realized he was laughing!�
It was a deep chuckle, and she decided that it was even sexier than just
his normal voice.� She then realized what
words had escaped her own mouth and started laughing at herself.� �I guess that was a bad pun.�� Paige laughed some more.

Shino stopped his own laugh
and just stared at her while she enjoyed her own laughter.� He ran his fingers through her hair
again.� �You like my sense of humor.�

Paige nodded even though it
wasn�t a question and closed her eyes.�
She loved it when he played with her hair.� It was gentle, soothing, and now made her
think of that kiss.

�I like your sense of humor.�� He drew her head down, causing her to open
her eyes and look into his own at the movement.�
�I like your laugh.� �

�Does that mean I get that
second kiss you offered?� she asked with a smirk on her face.

Shino didn�t reply, but
instead continued to draw her closer to him.�
She closed her eyes again when their lips met.� He repeated the previous action of tugging slightly
on her lower lip.� Paige shifted so she
could place her hands around his neck and in his hair.� It had the added bonus of giving Shino better
access to her mouth.� She felt his lips
part again, but this time he traced the tip of his tongue along her slightly
parted lips before capturing them with his own.�
Paige gave a soft sound of encouragement.� She felt the hand in her hair tighten its
grip slightly and pull her mouth more firmly against his.� The next time their lips parted Shino�s
tongue found its way into her mouth and proceed to languidly explore every part
that it could reach.� Paige�s hands in
his hair tightened their grip and she moaned slightly in response.� When the tongue was making its retreat, hers
followed it into Shino�s mouth where she made her own exploration.� It was Shino�s turn to moan, and Paige felt
the hand on her back lightly trace the raised lines of the tattoos on her
shoulder blades before the lines disappeared behind her tank top.� She absently decided there was such a thing
as a toe-curling kiss as the need for air caused her to be the one to pull away
from the kiss this time.� They were both
breathing raggedly.

�That was�� Paige decided there was no way to finish that
sentence and describe the decidedly indescribable. �She felt the emotions stirring in her again
build until she recognized them�love�from
both of them directed at the other.�

Shino gave an �Hmm� and a
smile in reply.

She attempted to settle back
down into their previous cuddling position on the couch, but in the process of
rearranging her legs, encountered a small�well, large�obstacle with her knee.� Realizing what exactly she had brushed up
against, she turned slightly wide eyes at Shino�s face.� �Um�did that hurt?�

He gave another brief
chuckle.� �No.�� His eyes grew concerned.� �Does it bother you?�

She gave him a confused
look.� �Why would it?� I�m flattered I have that effect on you.�

Shino�s eyes still held the
look of concern.� �I don�t want to go too
fast for you.�

Understanding hit Paige and she
smiled.� He really was sweet and
caring.� And he was hers.� �I promise to speak up if you do.� But I�m not worried.�� She gave into an impulse and placed a quick
kiss on the tip of his nose.� It
scrunched up and made her giggle slightly.�
�I know you would never willingly hurt me.�� She found herself drawn down into another
fierce hug, and Shino placed a chaste kiss on the top of her head.� Paige hummed in contentment as she listened
to the kikaichu in Shino�s chest.� They
sat together on the couch for a long moment, just enjoying the contact,
somewhere between being awake and asleep.�
Sadly that moment was broken by a knock on the front door.

***

Author�s post-ramble:� I know I�ve gotten compliments on Paige being
a kick-ass kind of girl, and she still is.�
I just decided her character needed a little more depth to it.� I mentioned she was an outcast�so I wanted to
touch a little more on why some of it was self-imposed.� Alright, how�s the romance writing?� Good, bad, ugly?� I�m going for the slightly bumbling effect
for Paige and cool confidence for Shino�because I think it suits him.� I discovered it�s really really difficult to
try and describe a kiss�
- 14
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- 16
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Reading Totems