A scratching noise; pen on paper.

Small pocket of heat; candle on the desk.

Feminine voice humming an often-sung lullaby; a young mother thinking of her child.

These three facts were gathered in mere moments and related back to Shino before he opened the door, helping him know the mood of the person on the other side. Turning the knob, he voiced a brief "Hokage-sama," before walking into the dimly lit office.

His blonde Hokage briefly stopped writing in the purple-bound volume to nod briefly at the Aburame heir. "Shino," she said softly a she continued her writings, "what brings you here this late?"

Shino's reply was short and to the point. "You, Hokage-sama."

A blonde eyebrow swiftly moved towards the matching hairline. "Was Tsutomu too much of a bother to Kurenai-sensei? He wasn't mean to her little girl now, was he? I've talked to him about that."

"No, that's not it," Shino replied, the tiniest bit of humor now coloring his voice. "He was in fact the perfect, if hyper, gentleman around her. I believe it had something to do with the younger girl having declared him to be her husband."

"There's more to it than that, isn't there? You're smirking too much for it to have only been that."

"That is correct, Naruto," he replied with a nod of his head, "I believe it was, in fact, Shikamaru's influence that caused such a drastic change in behavior due to this announcement. Why do I know? Simple; Shikamaru and Menma's son were conferring about how women were 'troublesome' not 10 minutes beforehand."

Naruto groaned as she silently closed the volume she was writing in and placed it gently in a drawer in her desk. "Figures that you would know who Tsutomu's father is, Shino. You will keep it a secret though, right? I don't need any sort of incident with the remnants of the Shiin clan of Rice Country right now."

"I just needed to confirm it for myself, Naruto," he said solemnly. He waited a beat, before saying, "I told you two not to drink the punch at that time."

Naruto scowled softly at his comment, before shaking her head and chuckling quietly. "Is that why you're here, Shino? To tell me that you told me so?"

"No, Naruto, it is not. I am here because of something you said yesterday. Do you remember what it was?"

Naruto apparently knew that which he was referring to, as evidenced by the smallest hint of a blush coloring her lightly tanned cheeks. "I asked you if you'd consider it if I were the one to sit beside you during those clan meetings in the future. Then…I, uh…"

"Ran away due to embarrassment."

"That so not true, ya know!"

"Yes it is," Shino replied as he walked closer to the now standing Hokage, "How do I know? You stuttered, blushed profusely, and disappeared in a flash of golden light."

Naruto scratched her cheek, embarrassed. "You, might be correct there, ya know."

"Naruto," Shino said, placing a hand on the blonde's shoulder, "I would welcome you at my side until death overcomes us both. I only ask you do the same for me in return."

A pull on fabric; Naruto moving herself within his personal space.

Pressure on the skin of his lips; his Hokage kissing him like he had long dreamed.

Warmth at his back; his future wife's arms wrapping around him in an embrace.

Three facts that were transferred from Shino to his Kikaichu.

A small warm buzzing beneath his skin; the hive was pleased.