Archive of Our Own

They had arrived back in Konoha just the previous night, and Shino was still cleaning and putting his equipment away when a familiar pounding at the door made him straighten from where he’d been hunched over on the couch. He left the array of edged weapons and cleaning cloths where they were; he’d been bouncing between the kitchen table and the coffee table in deciding where to perform the task, tragically resulting in making a mess in two places instead of one. He’d barely used his weapons on the last mission, but he’d been trained to service them no matter what, and he was still getting used to the apartment, so he didn’t have a dedicated area to do so yet. In the end, sitting on the couch had been comfier, so the mess was now mostly arranged on his coffee table. Not the kind of thing that would typically be acceptable to have out in front of company, but he recognized the knock, and there had always been special rules for the boy behind it. Nevertheless, he refastened his jacket, obscuring himself behind bulky fabric and a high collar.

The door opened to reveal Kiba leaning against the frame, looking equally unkempt and attractive, not that Shino particularly noticed. Akamaru, these days big enough for his master to ride on, stood behind him, tail wagging slowly, his canine features somehow managing to look impatient, like Shino was holding them all up. Slit pupil eyes and wolfish grin regarded him as Kiba cocked his head away from the door, indicating down the street with the gesture.

“It turns out we’re not the only ones back in town. Sakura and Naruto just completed a mission three days ago, and Hinata’s getting special training at the Hyuuga compound.”

He shrugged as he spoke and jammed his hands into his pants pockets. Shino was mildly surprised they fit considering how tight the pants were around him, hugging under the jut of his hipbones, underlining a strip of skin below his bellybutton. Not that Shino was looking. The shrug was an odd movement from the Inuzuka, indifference sitting strangely on someone who was usually so intent and self-assured. Something had been on his mind lately; it was impossible not to notice with how much time they spent together, but Kiba had been uncharacteristically tight lipped about it, and Shino was given not to pry, so he remained in the dark. It seemed it was still bothering him, because there was something almost tentative lurking in his gaze.

“So, you know… I was thinking we could go to Sakura’s. Hinata said she was having people over today. The last few times we were home from missions, no one else was around.”

Shino tipped his head forward enough for his nose to brush the inside of the high collar of his jacket. It was true enough; they’d spent probably no more than two weeks in Konoha over the last few months. Their cohort having passed their chunin qualifications at last meant they were all in extraordinarily high demand to support the significantly less numerous jounin. Shino had found that he didn’t mind the schedule though; he and Kiba worked very well together, which the Hokage had been quick to notice, so the two of them were often paired on missions. If he was honest, the only thing lacking in his life at the moment was time with the last member of their former genin team, but he knew Kiba was much more social than Shino and he missed the rest of their classmates.

This was apparently enough motivation to get him out of the apartment, because he was stepping onto the stoop and locking the door behind him without really having made a decision to do so. His assent had prompted an enormous grin from Kiba though, flashing fangs at him and tossing an arm around his shoulders enthusiastically, which didn’t make Shino jump anymore because Kiba had been overly affectionate ever since he’d known him, and had relentlessly pawed at the reserved Aburame until he’d simply learned to live with it.

It was mid-afternoon already, which made him grateful for his dark glasses, and he glanced around as they made their way down the street, flickering his eyes over the shops and restaurants squeezed onto the block, his own neighborhood still strange to him. They were all open, but it wasn’t a good time for customers, and the two of them were mostly alone in the street, save for an elderly man reading a newspaper at the café on the corner. And Akamaru, who was none too pleased at being ignored, and had sidled up next to Shino to shove expectantly against his hip.

He rubbed his fingers affectionately over the dog’s head, not noticing at all that Akamaru’s shove had pressed him much more firmly against Kiba’s side. The Inuzuka had kept the arm around his shoulders, and Shino wondered what it would feel like if he wasn’t wearing his jacket, because the boy had on a simple mesh shirt, with nothing to protect him from the early fall chill in the air. The hoop in his left ear caught the light in bright little winks, and he was humming to himself, tilting his head up toward the sun and basking in it, eyes closed, trusting Shino would keep him from walking into anything, or maybe just knowing that his balance was sure enough to save him from disaster even if he did.

Akamaru’s tongue lolled out happily, and Shino let a small smile slip over his face, safely concealed behind the cover of his collar, feeling oddly warm between the two of them. Their little team had developed an easy, natural rapport, one he couldn’t quite believe worked so well with the tactile and exuberant Inuzuka and dog pair and his own, admittedly a little boring, reserve.

The comfortable weight on his shoulders dropped away as Kiba bonded up the steps, Shino following at a normal pace, Akamaru firmly at his side because he was still being petted, and that outranked keeping pace with his master. Kiba leaned against the doorframe as if the few porch stairs had been particularly taxing to climb, knocking in his overly heavy way, and it flew open moments later, much too forcefully for it to have been Sakura answering.

Indeed, Naruto beamed at them, looking as bright and vibrant as ever, borderline yelling, “Shino! Kiba! When’d you two get back?!”

Smothering a flinch at the volume, Shino stepped past him into the apartment, murmuring, “Last night,” from behind his collar.

Kiba slid after him, going from graceful to near clumsy in seconds as he pitched off balance to bump fists with Naruto. “Got home late enough for it to be called early and still had to go to Tsunade before we could go home. You and Sakura still crushing it on your B ranks? I don’t know if I believe some of the things I’ve been hearing in the mission room about you two,” he teased.

Predictably, Naruto puffed up, grinning at him. “Better believe it! We’ve completed every single one successfully!”

He turned to cavort down the hallway and Kiba followed in a similarly animated fashion. Shino ambled after them, watching Akamaru circle in the spot of sun in the entranceway as though debating whether to come or stay. In the end, the lure of the sun seemed to win out, and the enormous dog stretched over the floor, filling the entire space easily. The hall led to a living room connected to the kitchen, similar to his own set up, though it was much larger than his apartment since Sakura roomed with Ino. Instead of a simple kitchen island separating the living room and kitchen, there was a wall, making them into almost two separate rooms, save for the lack of a door.

Beyond the living room another hall led to the bedrooms, which each held a private bathroom, a fact he aware of only because of the housewarming party the girls had thrown, when he’d had to hold Kiba up over Sakura’s toilet while the boy vomited up the whole party’s worth of tequila and a couple major organs. He’d been too out of it to help clean up, but Shino had found it difficult to mind, since a very drunk and sorry Kiba had thought an appropriate way to apologize was to drag him to the floor of Sakura’s bedroom and practically climb into Shino’s lap and nuzzle at him while telling him what an amazing friend he was over and over in an animated and highly amusing inebriated slur. Normally, he hated parties, but Shino was able to look back on that one fondly, vomit cleaning and all. Because of how funny Kiba’s behavior had been. Not for any other reason.

Sakura was curled primly on her couch, a slim laptop perched on her thighs. Hinata sat beside her, leaned over to view the screen and, to Shino’s mild surprise, Lee was cross-legged in the chair set up perpendicular to the couch. Apparently, he’d returned from a mission the previous night himself. Kiba dug a few beers out of the fridge with Naruto while Shino claimed the chair on the other side of the couch, nodding a greeting to the others.

Back in the living room, the Inuzuka sprawled out on the floor at Shino’s feet and Naruto took up the remaining cushion on the couch, predictably making Hinata blush as he offered her a drink. Sakura seemed quite pleased to see them, giving Shino hope that she wasn’t holding a grudge over the semi-ruining of her bathroom and the occupation of her bedroom floor anymore.

“I think this is the most of us that have been around at the same time in months.” She gave them a wide smile, leaning over the laptop to pick up a beer from the table and gesturing at the screen. “You’re just in time, I’m about to order pizzas, what would you like?”

He let Kiba answer for both of them; the Inuzuka knew his taste fine, and watched with mild amusement as Sakura’s pretty face scrunched in annoyance when he asked a million questions about toppings. Finally, she tossed the laptop at him, sighing, “Knock yourself out,” to him and then shaking her head at Shino, asking, “How did your mission go?”

He watched Kiba add and remove toppings seemingly at random over the boy’s shoulder as he answered, “Not too difficult.”

“Yeah, right!” Naruto laughed, pointing an accusing finger at him. “From what I hear the old lady’s been tossing you two some crazy hard ones!”

Given that he spent his non-mission time training directly with the Hokage herself, Naruto was probably right. It was gratifying to think their leader had taken a personal interest in their abilities; his father had been less than pleased to find Shino still working with Kiba once their genin team disbanded. He’d made no secret of how far below the Aburame the Inuzuka were in his estimation, but his dislike for Shino’s friend had taken on a palpable intensity once he’d realized they were continuing to work together, in defiance of his direction to Shino to refuse missions with the boy. If the Hokage was paying them special attention, that should mollify him at least a little, which would be nice because Shino had no intention of changing his mind about refusing to work with Kiba. If nothing else, it would give Shino an opportunity to see which would win in a fight between his father’s desire for prestige for the clan and his dislike for the Inuzuka. Both were strong, but had not yet been tested against the other.

Lee was nodding in that enthusiastic, full body way he somehow did. “Of course she has! You two make an excellent team, and the Hokage recognizes that as a valuable resource!”

Already done with his beer, Kiba abandoned the empty bottle on the table, leaning back against Shino’s leg to aim one of his softer grins at Hinata. “You haven’t been missing us too much since we’ve been gone so long, have you?” His normally teasing tone had evened out into a rare moment of sincerity.

She smiled warmly. “I’m glad for the success you’ve had.” Her stutter had long since worked its way into the background, only making an appearance when she was particularly flustered or embarrassed, but her manner had remained much as it always had been, soothing, soft and a little shy.

She still didn’t say everything she had on her mind, but her tone told them she’d missed them, and Shino resolved to himself to take her out for a meal over the next few days, just their old genin team. He’d missed her as well, enough to break out of his usual hermit-like tendencies.

It had been barely a few years since they’d made chunin and begun to spend so much time out on missions, but they’d long mastered picking up conversations where they had been left off long ago, and they easily fell back into that familiarity. Kiba handed back the laptop, apparently satisfied with his order, and shifted around on the floor as he spoke, never able to keep still for long, the warmth of his body radiating along Shino’s leg through the fabric of his pants, because he’d stayed close, still leaning on him like a chair back. Not that Shino was noticing what he was doing. Especially not when Kiba gestured wildly in his conversation with Naruto, throwing his whole upper body into it and then settling between Shino’s legs, seemingly oblivious to his own presence.

He probably was. He touched everyone all the time; there was no reason for Shino to be so aware of it. It didn’t mean anything. Even if it felt nice. He frowned behind the collar of his jacket. Not that it felt nice. It was just Kiba being Kiba, that was all.

Of course, the proximity meant he was able to track the Inuzuka studying Sakura and Hinata, who were discussing something over the laptop, no doubt wondering when food would be in the offing. He never was good at suspense, and Kiba finally asked what they were doing, cocking his head curiously when Sakura indicated the pizzas had been ordered.

“What are you both looking at, then?”

Hinata laughed softly. “I was just asking Sakura about one of the other open tabs.”

Sensing potential embarrassment, Kiba leaned forward eagerly. “And what was it?”

Sakura’s cheeks tinged a barely perceptible shade of pink at the question. “One of those… random generators online.” Kiba pressed for information again, and she looked down at the screen. “A generator for truth or dare.”

Before anyone could ask why she would possibly have a random truth or dare generator open on her computer, Naruto whooped, startling the room. “Let’s do some!”

A few eyebrows raised or, in Shino’s case, twitched. They were all ranked shinobi now, which seemed a little old for a game of truth or dare, though there was an awareness Shino thought he recognized on Sakura’s exasperated face that Naruto would have had precious little opportunity to play party games when he was younger.

Perhaps in an effort to humor him, she nodded and tapped at the touch pad. “Fine, we can play until the food gets here. You first then… Naruto, I dare you to pepper your whole tongue and swallow.”

Kiba laughed while the blonde’s eyes got comically wide, as if he hadn’t realized how quickly his suggestion would turn back on him, before his face settled into an expression everyone recognized as the trademark unstoppable Uzumaki determination. He launched off the couch toward the kitchen and dug a pepper grinder out of one of the cabinets, waving it ceremoniously at everyone. While they watched incredulously, he tilted his head back, tongue sticking out, and worked the grinder. Kiba was still laughing when he put the grinder down on the counter, and he only laughed harder, shaking against Shino’s legs, when the blonde swallowed and immediately panicked.

The grinder and a few other kitchen appliances went flying as he hurled himself at the sink, coughing and hacking and gasping for air, shoving his head under the faucet and running water directly into his mouth. Even Shino had cracked a smile by the time he stumbled back into the living room, bearing everyone’s amusement with the ease of someone who loved being the center of attention, bowing at the threshold of the kitchen like he’d accomplished some great feat. He snatched the laptop from Sakura as he sat back down, grinning, his teeth somehow free of bits of pepper.

“My turn to choose, right?!” He tapped his chin dramatically, perusing those around him slowly, finally settling bright blue eyes on Lee and pointing theatrically in the boy’s direction. “Lee! Truth or dare!”

“Dare, of course! I will never shirk from a challenge!” He leaned forward, hands braced on his knees, face set in determination, his enormous eyebrows knit together in concentration while Naruto hit the randomizer for a dare.

Grin stretching even wider, Naruto read out, “Lee, you must go next door and ask whoever’s home if they’ve seen your lost dildo.”

It was obviously not the kind of challenge Lee had been expecting, the boy freezing in place for a moment while Kiba howled with laughter and Sakura looked concerned.

“Maybe we shouldn’t bother my neighbors, I don’t want them to-,”

But Lee was already out of his chair, striking a pose and fairly bellowing, “The challenge has been set, Sakura! I must not fail!” before leaping down the hall toward the entrance.

Apparently the potential spectacle outweighed good sense, because they all followed him down the hall to lean extremely conspicuously out the door, Kiba trying to stifle Naruto’s giggles with a hand over his mouth while Akamaru watched them curiously from the floor. Peering surreptitiously around the door frame, they stared as Lee knocked firmly on the front door of the neighboring building.

It swung open to reveal a woman who looked to be in her forties, quite hefty, wearing a flowered dress and carrying a baby under one arm. “What?” she barked at Lee, who looked totally lost for a few moments, taking in the baby with surprise.

He recovered, put on his most winning smile, and said, “I’m terribly sorry to bother you, ma’am. Unfortunately, I lost my dildo out here earlier, have you perhaps found it?”

Shino had to give him credit for jumping in with both feet, if nothing else. He got a diaper, thankfully unused, in the face for his trouble, the door slamming hard enough to shake the whole porch, though the sound didn’t mask the deeply offended shout of, “Kids these days!”

Naruto and Kiba gave him a hero’s welcome back into the apartment, cracking up over the phrase ‘have you perhaps found it’ while they dispersed back into the living room, stepping over Akamaru, who flopped back into the vacated space like he owned it, still basking in the shaft of sunlight coming through the windows by the door.

Shino claimed the same chair and Kiba returned to the floor, settling to his left and leaning on the arm of the chair for support this time. Not that it mattered where he sat. It wasn’t as though Shino had been expecting him to sit between his legs again.

The laptop was pressed into Lee’s hands, and he immediately selected Sakura. She chewed her lip for a moment before saying, “Dare.”

He hit the button, and his face lit with a blush. “Sakura, you must say the words ‘in bed’ after everything you say for the rest of the game.”

Snickers burst out over the room, and she took her computer back from Lee in deliberate silence. A blush of her own settled over her cheeks as she eyed Hinata, realizing she had to ask aloud, “Truth or dare… in bed?”

Hinata blushed as well, though it was fighting with suppressed amusement, murmuring boldly, “Dare.”

Sakura’s smile took on a slightly more wicked tilt after she hit the randomizer. “You have to let the person on your left sit on your lap for the rest of the game.” Kiba pointedly cleared his throat and she shot him a glare, adding after a beat, “In bed.”

Any chance the blush might have retreated was gone as Naruto clambered into Hinata’s lap without preamble, grinning at her and throwing an arm over her shoulders to steady himself as if this was a totally normal thing he did all the time. Hinata took the laptop, and seemed to freeze as she realized the only place to put it was in Naruto’s lap, since hers was occupied.

“K-Kiba?”

Taking pity on her wavering voice, Kiba didn’t make her ask, volunteering, “Dare,” bracing himself on the arm of Shino’s chair as if he expected to have to spring into action.

Shino hadn’t thought it was possible for her blush to intensify any more, but he was proven wrong the moment she hit the randomizer. It took her several seconds to speak, while everyone waited with bated breath.

“U-Um… you h-have to…” she swallowed and glanced at Kiba, looking oddly guilty under her embarrassment. “K-Kiss the person on your right for thirty seconds.”

There was a short silence as everyone stared at Shino, who sat, stricken, in his chair, certain he’d misheard. Kiba’s arm brushed his jacket as the Inuzuka stood, grinning like all this was totally normal, and suddenly Shino thought he was having a panic attack, because his chest constricted and his breathing pressed like knives in his throat while the kikaichuu thrummed beneath his skin in alarm, sensing his state, readying for an attack.

After an awkward moment, Kiba leaned toward him and Shino was instantly out of the chair, hurtling into the entrance hallway, his haste surprising everyone in the room, including himself. He didn’t actually remember deciding to move.

“It’s just a dare, Shino!” Naruto was grinning at them both, either not sensing the tension or choosing to ignore it.

He looked very strange, still sitting in Hinata’s lap, waving a hand as if to say ‘no big deal.’ Hinata herself was staring down at the carpet in front of the couch, and he didn’t know if her expression was apologetic or just embarrassed. Lee and Sakura looked as though they very much wanted not to get in the middle of something, studying the ceiling intently.

Kiba turned to lean with one arm on the wall separating the kitchen from the living room, graceful and striking all in one moment. His smile was tentative, asking Shino to take this lightly. “What? Don’t worry, I’ll do all the work-,”

Grateful again for the dark glasses and high collar, Shino took another step back, cutting him off to say, “I’ve got to finish unpacking,” and strode as quickly as he could bring himself to down the hall and out of the door.

He made it over Akamaru and out onto the street, wincing at the assault of sunlight on his face. The short walk home fairly flew by. He was flustered, unacceptably so; he needed somewhere private to compose himself, to deal with the onslaught of no and why and seriously, why god, why that had stirred up inside him. Shino was moving quickly enough that he already had his key in the lock when he heard Kiba call his name. Part of him wanted to rush in, to shut the door in the Inuzuka’s face and just refuse to talk to him until the boy dropped it. What could he say about why he’d run out? The truth was definitely not an option, especially when he wasn’t sure he knew the truth himself.

In the end, he couldn’t shut a door in the face of one of his teammates. Shino stepped inside, letting the Inuzuka follow him. Kiba was panting a little from running after him, kicking the door shut behind him after a moment. He looked none too pleased.

“What the hell, Shino? You just walked out on everyone… it’s only a game, what’s your problem? No one was going to try to make you do it.”

Shino’s eyes narrowed; he knew Kiba could tell, even with the glasses on. He didn’t know how to answer, which was immensely frustrating. The afternoon had taken a turn toward the surreal, and some part of him couldn’t believe they were actually discussing the two of them kissing even in a theoretical way. Kiba was too close, he was always too close, close enough for Shino to catch his scent if he concentrated. Not that he was concentrating on that. The Inuzuka straightened from his typical chaotic slouch to his rarely used full height. He was grinning that animal grin he used when he wanted to put up his most intimidating front, which was confusing and unsettling, both unwelcome in a situation that was already confusing and unsettling.

“What? Are you afraid of a kiss? I can introduce you to sources all over Konoha that’ll tell you how good I am…” He stepped even closer, way too close, so that Shino could feel his warmth even through the thick fabric of his jacket, which didn’t make sense, but Kiba rarely did.

That sharp, fanged grin leaned closer, and Shino stepped back, giving ground, turning his face away sharply, though he couldn’t take his eyes off the boy. “No, Kiba.”

A dangerous look flashed across the boy’s face, quickly covering an expression Shino couldn’t recognize because he didn’t think he’d ever seen it before. “Hell, is it that bad to even think about?”

He was going to say something, though he had no idea what, and it didn’t matter, because strong hands were suddenly wrenching his jacket apart until it fell open, air rushing over his face and chest, his heartrate spiking, kikaichuu tensing inside him. Kiba was growling at him, and he found himself at a loss, desperate to unpick the twisting emotions running through him, bowled over by his inability to do so.

“Don’t hide from me behind this.” The Inuzuka’s voice was a hiss, his slit eyes narrowed, the tribal markings on his cheeks more defined now than ever.

Shino’s immediate reaction was to cover himself, feeling every exposed scar from his kikaichuu twinge at the open air, but he fought against it. The two of them had shared a hotel room on many missions; Kiba had seen him without his jacket, knew about his scars, didn’t scrunch up his face in disgust at the sight of them. Kiba was his teammate, his friend, increasingly his mission partner. It wasn’t fair to hide from him like he was no different from everyone else. Shino let the jacket slip over his shoulders and fall to the floor, silently acknowledging he was in the wrong.

Kiba’s hardened expression didn’t change. He moved forward again, and Shino backed away, desperate to keep some physical distance between them. The counter of his kitchen island pressed against the small of his back, and Kiba kept moving toward him until the boy’s hands were planted on that counter on either side of him, leaning in so that only millimeters separated their bodies. Shino could really feel the warmth of him now, suffusing against his front, horrifyingly nice and so tempting and fuck, this was not a good situation. It was, in fact, very bad, but he couldn’t move, couldn’t break away from the gaze boring into him. He felt a little bit out of his mind, as though he was watching all of this from his living room couch, like it was a tv show that was happening to someone else, not to him.

“C’mon, Shino,” Kiba’s breath broke against his collarbone. The boy was wavering between moods, so Shino couldn’t pin down exactly what the Inuzuka was feeling. “It’s just a silly dare, do you have to take this so seriously?” His eyes fell, low and sultry, and his teeth dragged along his lower lip. “I’ll make it good-,”

Shino turned his head sharply, almost violently, feeling his expression settle into distaste as a reaction to those words clawed against his self-control, with a sudden and shocking clarity around his own desires making itself known. God fucking damnit, he immediately wanted to go back to ignoring them, and now he was terrified he couldn’t. He jerked away from Kiba’s warmth, unable to escape, wishing fervently for something to interrupt them.

“No.” His voice was thick, it sounded strange to him. “This isn’t funny.”

Kiba didn’t back down, but Shino saw that dangerous expression again, only this time it flickered and died, and he got a good look at the other one, the one he couldn’t identify before. Hurt. Kiba looked hurt.

Neither moved. Barely an inch separated their noses, but Shino tried to look elsewhere. It didn’t work. Kiba’s stubborn anger was returning, challenging him. Those slit pupil eyes looked directly at him, lips pulled back to bear fangs in a gesture he’d never had directed at him before. In all their years of friendship, he’d never upset Kiba like this, and he didn’t even know what exactly he’d done. His gaze fell to stare at the boy’s collarbone, trying to avoid those eyes, to avoid confronting what he’d done wrong.

“Kiba-,”

“Shut up.” The snarl surprised him; it was vicious and laced with that hurt that still hadn’t faded. “Just shut up. It is funny.” Hurt of his own lanced through Shino, a betrayal twisting into him, that Kiba might have seen what he wanted, might think it was a joke to mock him with. “It is funny, it is a goddamn game, because you never seem to take me seriously, you never fucking notice.” Both of his hands fisted in the front of Shino’s mesh shirt, pulling the Aburame up on the balls of his feet, while Kiba’s voice dropped down, like gravel. “I am going to kiss you.”

Another spike of panic went through him, the kikaichuu stirring like a small thunderstorm in his body, and Kiba pressed against him hard, pushed with his whole body into it as he shoved their mouths together, Shino’s hands squeezing against the edge of the counter behind him, knuckles turning white from the force of his grip.

He couldn’t move, couldn’t think, but he felt everything like he’d never felt before. The sharp crease of the edge of the countertop against his palms and his lower back, the cool of the surface seeping into him. The air against his skin, the different feel of it over his scars. The kikaichuu, nervous, waiting, unsure of whether or not the hive was suffering an external attack. Kiba’s hands and chest, seeping body heat through the mesh that covered them both. Kiba’s mouth on his, softer than he’d ever thought it would be, not that he’d ever, ever thought about how his friend’s mouth would feel. Kiba’s head slanted, moving that soft, perfect mouth over his, licking Shino’s lips for a moment. He felt the pleasant sensation that spread through his body, warm and tingling and nice, even as his mind struggled to catch up with reality.

Then Kiba pulled back, licking his lips slowly, carefully, Shino still frozen against the counter like a statue, face slack, eyes wide. And the Inuzuka grinned like he’d accomplished some goal, like he’d won something, but he looked… sad.

He released his grip on Shino’s shirt, and Shino remembered to breathe, but he still couldn’t move. Kiba backed off, taking his breath away again. He’d never seen the Inuzuka do that before, never seem him retreat, willingly give up ground. Never seen his shoulders hunch, acknowledging a loss instead of fighting against it. Those slit pupil eyes were staring down at the carpet, that hard voice was defeated, spitting the words into the air like he just wanted them out of his mouth.

“You never fucking notice…”

Shino finally let go of the counter, still tense, still lost. His lips were wet where Kiba had licked him, tingling and almost cold. “…notice?”

“Notice me!” Furious again, those eyes were back on his face. A fist was back at his chest, bunching up the mesh of his shirt, pulling him tightly up to the balls of his feet again. “Notice me! Looking at you! Wanting you! You’re too wrapped up in your etiquette, your self-control, your whole goddamn clan, choosing for you, making you-,”

He stopped like he’d lost his voice when Shino grabbed him back, his pale fingers digging harshly into tanned biceps. Shino was trying to steady himself, staring at Kiba’s collarbone like it might help to explain everything, because he couldn’t bring himself to meet the boy’s gaze. He was shaking. He felt like his insides were taking a joyride, his stomach twisting in a way it never had before, his heart pushing against his ribcage. His throat was tight, his skin warm everywhere Kiba had touched.

He leaned forward a little, and felt Kiba’s entire posture change, going from aggressive to uncertain in half a second. He leaned forward a little more, slightly shorter than the Inuzuka, and slightly bent over, so that his cheekbone brushed against Kiba’s jaw. He felt the smooth slide of skin beneath his fingertips as he shifted his grip, needing to hold on to firm muscle, needing the real feel of the boy in front of him, grounding him, telling him this was really happening, no matter how unreal his brain thought it was. He’d wanted to know what really touching the boy would feel like for so long, to touch him not like a teammate, not like a friend. This wasn’t the way friends touched each other, this strange electricity, this urgent intensity.

His hands dropped away, finally, and Kiba tensed against him, ready to go back on the offensive, but he stilled when Shino spoke.

“This isn’t funny.” He could barely hear his own voice, but he knew Kiba would catch it. “It isn’t a game.” It had better not be.

He lifted his head, nudging his mouth against Kiba’s, horribly uncertain about what he was doing, knowing that this was his only chance to do what he actually, really wanted to do. The Inuzuka took in a sharp breath, still frozen for an awful moment, and then grabbed at Shino like he was life itself, gripping the back of his neck and dragging him up into the kiss. He was off the counter now, and all he could feel was Kiba. Lips, still so much softer than they looked, sliding over his, slick tongue probing at him, and he let his mouth fall open. The hand fisted in his shirt relaxed, smoothing over his chest as he finally tasted Kiba, their tongues meeting, hot and wet, making him shift around, and Kiba moaned indecently into his mouth, the sound going straight to his groin, making his already interested cock twitch and harden.

It was slick and hungry and he was unprepared for the sensation that overcame him, warmth flushing through his whole body like he’d been completely taken over by the shared experience. Distantly, he realized he was still shaking, trembling like he was afraid, and maybe he was afraid. It felt like everything he was had turned inside out, a deep yearning already taking over, showing him as it did that it had been there for a while, taking up residence inside him and spreading out until it was more of him than anything else, orienting everything that made him himself toward the Inuzuka, reaching for the boy he wanted more than anything.

“Shino…”

He’d never heard Kiba’s voice like that, crooning, pleading against his lips. Both of the boy’s arms were wound around him now, cementing them together, and he felt an answering hardness press against his own, making him gasp.

He let his hands do what they had ached to, petting down Kiba’s sides, feeling the rough mesh of his shirt over the warm silk of his skin. Kiba was doing something in his mouth that made him pant, made him push himself against the other boy and fall into a rhythm with the kiss, the two of them moving together in perfect, mind-bending sync. He rocked his hips forward, and it felt good, it felt so goddamn good, so he did it again, grinding himself against Kiba, and the Inuzuka broke away, gripping him harshly, crying out almost overly loud.

“Fuck, Shino…” He found himself pulled roughly forward, onto the couch, landing over Kiba, who squirmed and gasped and moved himself around until his thighs had locked around Shino’s hips, trapping him, guiding him.

Propped at arm’s length, Shino paused when the boy took hold of his glasses and made to slide them off. He was suddenly wholly uncomfortable for what was probably no good reason, because Kiba had already seen his eyes once or twice, seen that they were black from corner to corner, like empty eye sockets, and he’d proven that he didn’t mind. He still hesitated while his glasses were tossed among the mess of weapons on the coffee table, until Kiba was leaning up into him again and he felt an insistent mouth doing obscene things to his earlobe and neck and Shino shivered harshly, relaxing back into it.

Kiba fell back, pulled hard with his thighs so they were rubbing together again, Shino still at arm’s length over him, letting his hips do what they wanted.

“Fuck, Shino…” he was panting again, eyes nothing but glittering slits. “You always look so fucking good…” They were moving together, fast and hard. “Ah, so fucking good…” His head tilted back into the couch, throat and collarbone thrown into sharp relief. “Fuck… touch me, Shino… please…”

He gave in to another urge at the boy’s insistence, leaned down, still moving his hips into Kiba’s, and tongued along the base of his throat, then up, biting gently, sucking hard. Hands pulled at the hem of his shirt, tugged it over his head and dropped it on the floor, and he slowed his movements, leaning back so that Kiba could sit up to remove his as well, kicking off their shoes while they were at it. Still kneeling between Kiba’s spread legs, he felt deft hands exploring his stomach and sharp fangs digging into the skin of his neck as the Inuzuka bit and licked there.

The boy groaned his name again and Shino looked down, his fingers threading through dark hair, really looked and felt his breath catch. Legs spread and hooked around him, cheeks flushed, Kiba was already tugging on the button of his jeans, squirming because apparently even now he couldn’t keep still.

“Touch me-,” that panting against his neck was going to finish him off. “Oh god, Shino, touch me, I need you.”

He touched, kneaded his fingers down the Inuzuka’s back, pushed him down again and grabbed his ass firmly as Kiba finally got a hand inside his pants, their chests brushed, and Shino’s world spun around him as fingers stroked and petted and jerked him off, touching him right where he wanted it most.

“Shit, do you have any idea how fucking sexy you are? What you fucking do to me?” The hand on his cock sped up while they kissed sloppily, and Shino reached down further, felt the bulge in Kiba’s pants and traced over it, squeezing gently, while Kiba made a sound like a whimper.

One of Kiba’s hands gripped the back of his neck again, then slid into his hair, and Shino pushed both of his between them to undo the boy’s pants, impatience making him clumsy. At last, he got it, and hesitantly brushed his fingers over the length of Kiba’s manhood, feeling silky skin and heat that made him groan and thrust down into the firm hand on him. He grew bolder, stroked in a way he knew he liked, and Kiba’s body moved with him, hard and eager.

That goddamn mouth was still talking between kisses, telling him he was so hot, telling him it felt good, tracking over his cheek to nip at his earlobe, shoving a slick tongue past his lips over and over. Their mouths ground together as the hand on him retreated, tracing over his ass through his pants before slipping down the back of them, and Kiba’s thighs suddenly squeezed, pulled them together hard so that Shino’s hands had to stop what they were doing and dig into the couch just to keep him from losing his mind.

Their cocks touched directly, rubbed together, Kiba thrusting roughly, frantically, and he was just as frantic, making wordless noises of appreciation into the boy’s neck as his eyes shut tightly and Kiba arched fantastically against him, still talking, saying, “God, Shino, it’s so fucking good, never felt so good, aaaahhh!”

If his mind had been functioning, he would have thought Kiba’s thighs were going to leave bruises on his hips as the boy’s whole body curled into him and shuddered and warm wetness soaked over his abdomen. Kiba didn’t slow down for a second, kissed him again, sucking on his tongue and pushing between them to stroke him with a slick hand, thighs still up over him, cradling him.

They parted, “Kiba…” and he said the boy’s name for the first time since they’d kissed, panting against the swell of the Inuzuka’s cheek and cried out his orgasm, better than he’d ever felt in his solitary life, and shook in the aftermath, lying on Kiba, still between his legs, both of them trying to catch their breath.

The kikaichuu hummed pleasantly beneath his skin, matching his heartbeat as it slowed. The erratic pulse he could feel with his cheek pressed into Kiba’s neck began to normalize. They were both sticky, and it was hotter than he liked, even with their bodies beginning to cool, but he didn’t want to move.

He felt Kiba’s nose nudge his cheek and one of the boy’s hands ran up his back. That hand kept rubbing lightly on his shoulder blade for a few minutes, and then the one between them pushed up on him gently.

“You’re not light, you know.”

With a vague sense of amusement, Shino thought he could at last relate to the pained expression Shikamaru made when he was forced to exert himself for any reason. Eventually, he made his arms work, and pushed himself over so that he could lay on his side, leaning into the cushions on the back of the couch, the two of them still wedged together in the small space. Kiba turned his head so they faced each other. Shino looked down at his collarbone again and felt the Inuzuka frown.

“Look at me.”

They were both bare-chested, pants open and loose, stomachs covered in each other’s semen, Shino half on top of Kiba because the couch wasn’t that big, but still he had trouble meeting that too-direct gaze. He let his hand fall on a flat, tanned stomach, ignoring the mess, and slid it back and forth.

The touch seemed to relax Kiba. He felt the frown dissipate, but the insistence was still strong. “Look at me, Shino.”

Ugh, did he have to? Shino wasn’t sure he was ready to own up to anything, and he had a feeling what Kiba wanted was everything.

The boy wiggled a little to free the arm between them, and looped it around Shino’s neck, dragging him barely an inch closer, so their mouths touched, and he had to either look at Kiba or close his eyes. He looked, stared down slip pupils with his black eyes, but Kiba never flinched. He grinned, in fact, seeming to find what he was looking for.

That particular grin raised a light flush on Shino’s pale cheeks, and he kissed Kiba, partly to hide it. Laughter into his mouth told him that Kiba knew exactly what he was doing. His hand on the boy’s stomach moved around to Kiba’s back and pulled them even closer before the boy rolled away.

“I have to get Akamaru; I left him at Sakura’s so I could go after you.” He growled playfully, but it came out as a purr when Shino sat up beside him, and he kissed the Aburame again, quickly, as though just to see if he could, then bumped their noses together gently. “We should get clean. I think I’ll have to borrow some pants.”

They stood, bare feet making indentations on the carpet. Shino listened to Kiba talk as he bent to pick up his shirt from the floor, wondering how the boy could act so normal, as if their entire world hadn’t just changed on his couch.

“…maybe just bring one of the pizzas back here, since we already paid Sakura and I feel like you’re not going to want to go back over there today. Oh, and set up a dinner with Hinata later this week while I’m there, then I really gotta get back to my apartment, cause I’m still tripping over unpacked boxes, and it’s not the most pleasant place to sleep at the moment. Still working on getting that futon out of its crate-,”

“Kiba.” He dropped a hand on the boy’s shoulder and found himself with the Inuzuka’s full attention again. If he were prone to displays of nervousness, he would have bit his lip. “…stay here tonight.”

A slow smile worked its way onto Kiba’s handsome face, and he looked around almost hopefully. “Yeah?”

Shino let his hand stay where it was. “Yeah.”