Drabble #3: KibaShino

Warning: Um, hilarity? Or lack thereof? Eheheh ::sweatdrop::

Rating: PG-13

Summary: It’s the annual story time and Kiba remembers how he lost his jacket but gained something more.

AN: XD This sounds so kewl so far. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Also, I am SOOOOOO sorry for taking so long. :3 This has been sitting in my file for ever and I only went in and worked on maybe a paragraph at a time. My writing has really been down lately. Just to apologise though, it's nice and long. XDD

Written for: Kawaiichiisaikitsune Sorry for the dreadful long wait.

Attraction

Middle of the night; the ground is covered in a light layer of snow and cold winds slide through every available crack of space. The only building in the village with any light on is a tall tower with the symbol for “fire” painted on the side. Inside this building crowd young adults, both male and female, each one holding a steaming mug of either hot chocolate, cider, tea, or coffee.

The year was close to Christmas, and every year the former genin generation had a quiet little party to remember the past. Everyone told a story. Naruto, a young blonde man, usually told the tale of how he snatched Sasuke, his dark counterpart, from the jaws of death and confessed his eternal love. Much exaggeration ensued. The true tale was actually this: Naruto went and got himself in mortal danger trying to drag his friend back to Konoha and Sasuke managed to save him at the last minute. Both of them were in the hospital for a week. Their relationship was quite by accident actually.

Sasuke told two stories every other year. On even years he would tell the story about how he once defeated Naruto in the battle between good and evil. It was a rather short story that no one believes, but because Naruto kept interrupting every few sentences it was a decent story told. On the other years he would tell about how Naruto became Hokage at last and how proud he was. No one could figure out why Sasuke told this story and not Naruto, but nobody bothered to question either.

Hinata, a beautiful kunoichi with a glittering smile, would tell about how she first swallowed her nervousness and asked Neji, her slightly moodier cousin, for help with her training. The older Hyuuga would tell it with her, weaving between her words about how he was a better person now than he was. Right after that TenTen, a spunky weapons master, would quip about how Neji wasn’t that much different and he would hide behind his anbu mask. Everybody would laugh. TenTen’s actual story would be how she and Neji got together. The girls in the group would all smile and swoon at the romance and all the guys would groan at the end, to the joy of their female counterparts who would giggle at their embarrassment.

Shikamaru, a man who never spoke more than he needed, would grumble for ten minutes and insist that Chouji spoke before he did. The Akimichi, with an impressive appetite for good food, would describe in frightening detail the best meal he’d ever had: it generally had Naruto drooling and wanting to take a road trip. They would remind him sternly that he could not leave the village, however, and nor would he be able to in the middle of the night anyway. After his moping period, the Nara would mutter in mock anger about how Temari had forced him to apply himself in his occupation, resulting in him being one of Naruto’s personal guards. Temari, a spirited sand beauty, would follow TenTen’s lead and throw the guys into fits of masculine whining.

Gazes would reluctantly travel to where Gaara and Lee, as different from each other as night is to day, sat huddled under a warm blanket of sand, the hyper young man already launching into his usual speal of youth. The Kazekage, somehow able to visit Konoha whenever he felt like it, despite his numerous duties, would say nothing, but each of them could read the pain and anguish in his eyes, every year being engulfed by a joy that increased as he lived. Nobody needed to hear his story.

Kankurou’s time would be less of a story and more of him scolding Gaara for making him fill out paperwork. The poor puppet master had become more of an aide than a ninja, for all the work he did. Gaara wasn’t mentally equipped to handle the paperwork on his own, so his brother offered to help him with it. Unfortunately for the face-painted man, Gaara was more likely to visit Konoha in his free time and saddled him with all of the paperwork within a year of the deal. He didn’t really mind, as Sakura was quick to point out. The pink-haired Kunoichi would smile and look at everyone as they waited for her story. She liked to sit and memorize their faces, for this was the only time they were allowed to sit and relax with each other. Also instead of a story, she would tell everyone what she liked best about them. It took her three tries to find something she really liked about Gaara, he never seemed to like her much either, but she soon had something for everyone.

Ino would scoff at her, but everyone knew that the blonde Kunoichi appreciated the gesture. She briefly made her own comments to Sakura, which included a few choice insults, and everyone would sit back and relax as the two argued. Then she would compose herself and tell everyone a long story about her new techniques and an update on her flower shop. Since she became of age, the shop had been hers, and it was even more of a success than before, if possible. She liked to give discounts to the guys around each of the holidays, and even though they gave dark looks, all of them would come by in the end. Neji was even one of her best customers.

As one of the last storytellers, Kiba would take a large breath and let it out slowly. He liked to think that his story was more important than the others, even though it was similar to that of TenTen and Temari’s. No body at first could figure out why a –guy- was telling this kind of story, but once again questions were not something they had to share. He remembered it vividly as if the situation happened just the week before, instead of a few years back, and he never changed any detail. Surely he would not want to taint his memory with falsehoods, for they would taint his relationship. After another deep breath, he began to speak, starting off slowly. “It was a chill winter morning, and I could not find my jacket…”

---------------

It was a chill morning, just the beginnings of winter, and Inuzuka Kiba was in trouble. The last chance Team 8 had to go camping for fun before winter, and he had already lost his hoodie. It was the first morning after they had set up, and he was standing in the middle of his tent, shivering in his undershirt.

Turning in slow circles, he suddenly dove to the ground and began tearing through his pack. He shared the tent with Shino, but the other man always got up early and didn’t take up any space. So Kiba was allowed to toss his gear all along the free space in the tent.

Ten minutes later he slipped outside, hopping from foot to foot, and look around the camp, swearing. He still couldn’t find his jacket. Akamaru, from his position plopped in front of the fire, whined in sympathy and sneezed. Kiba snuck out his tongue at him.

“Where are the others?” He asked the oversized dog. His friend barked something in reply and he nodded. “They’ll come back soon then. Hinata will be able to find it." The teen reassured himself. He moved over and curled himself next to his friend, borrowing Akamaru’s heat against the chill.

When they returned he quickly explained the situation and the young Hyuugan girl got to work.

Shino walked with Kiba through the woods towards the nearby river. He looked at his teammate and sympathized. His kikaichu weren’t that fond of the cold either, so they tended to vibrate rapidly whenever he wasn’t covered. That’s one of the reasons why he always wore such a large coat.

However, seeing his somewhat friend hugging his arms close to generate some sort of warmth into his body, he decided that a little discomfort wouldn’t harm him any.

Kiba’s eyes widened as the heavy coat dropped onto his shoulders. He looked over at Shino in shock. Not just because the man actually took off his coat for him, but the fact that the man ACTUALLY took off his coat. That was a miracle in and of itself. The Inuzuka couldn’t remember Shino ever taking off his jacket ever since he met him in the academy.

In the back of his mind a little voice whispered for him to take the chance because one may never come again. Taking the advice, Kiba studied the other teen’s chest, noticing that he was more fit than the jacket made everyone think. ‘Naruto owes me twenty bucks.’ He thought to himself.

Shino’s shoulders weren’t very wide, more of a swimmer’s variety than a linebackers. His chest was firm and broad, covered with a thin tanktop. He always figured that the Aburame has layers of thick clothes under the coat. ‘Scratch that, He owes me ten bucks.’

Then Kiba noticed something that made him curious. Leaning in closely to his friend, he noticed a few small holes in the teen’s skin. He'd seen them once before, during a tournament, but he never got the chance to really study Shino's...what did he call them anyway? Kikaichuu doors? They reminded him of the bird houses his grandfather carved every year. A home with a hole just big enough for certain types of birds, guarded against enemies. Was that the same for the ninja bugs?

After a moment, Kiba noticed a sort of buzzing sound. It seemed to be coming from Shino. He leaned in even closer, trying his best to make it seem a random move. The nin's skin was vibrating slightly, the kikaichuu underneath protesting to the weather, he supposed. The coat was their only source of warmth, despite the fact that their bodies housed thousands of tiny insects that depended on that heat for life. It was all very...weird. Kiba's eyebrows furrowed. Nothing about the Aburame family really made any sense, and a lot of times it made him shiver just thinking about it.

It took him a moment to realise they had stopped walking entirely. Shino was looking at him, a small smile playing on his lips. The Inuzuka froze, caught staring, and marveled. Shino's face looked entirely different with a smile on his face. It was like a hidden facet of his personality that Kiba was just priveledged enough to be privy to.

Melodramatic? Never.

Shino's eyes crinkled, deepening his smile a little, though his teammate couldn't see them. It should have been uncomfortable: Kiba was staring at him as if he'd grown an extra head. Yet, he also seemed appreciative. The nin had never been looked at like that before. It was quite flattering. Well worth the discomfort. Chuckling slightly to himself, he leaned a little to the side. "Would you like to feel it?" He asked quietly, offering up his arm.

Kiba jumped, startled out of his thoughts. "Feel...? Oh. S-sure." He stuttered, surprised. Shino watched him gently take his arm, then helf back another laugh as the nin's eyes widened. "Wow." He whispered, barely legible. His cheeks turned pink, thoughts running over his face too fast to catch before disappearing, his feature under control.

The Aburame turned his head away, unable to help but smile. He started walking again, slowly drawing his arm out of his friend's grasp, catching their fingers together a second before they let go. He didn't have to turn around to know Kiba was blushing even harder, gaping at him.

What could he say? The cold did strange things to his body.

Hinata couldn't explain what had happened by the time they had found Kiba's hoodie, it was stuffed deep in the Inuzuka's pillowcase, somehow missed despite being searched, nevermind how it got there in the first place. They sat around the campfire, listening to Kurenai give them a few new winter survival tips. Kiba and Shino sat next to each other.

They hadn't done anything, not that she could see. They just sat, ate, and listened. She couldn't even guess an explanation, then, as to why they both started smiling in the middle of dinner.

---------------

Kiba quieted, locking his fingers with Shino, who's chest he curled back against. He smiled softly, knowing that behind the Aburame's high collar a similar smile was hidden, just for him.

Shino didn't need to say anything, sharing his experiences with the telling of Kiba's story.

Fin

AN: . Okay, so that took a horrible long time and I apologise profusely. I hope it's okay. It wasn't as funny as I had hoped, it ended up more fluffy than anything, but I guess it's what I'm good at. XD Hope you don't mind my little add-in pairings. :3

Note how many times I say hope?

Well, 'hope' you review. 3

Next: Well, I'm not sure. Hehehe... inspire me?