For my precious cinnamon roll on her precious day. Let's hope they aren't too OOC. This is my first time writing for the fandom...

this is set shortly after they first meet Inukashi but other than that not at any particular time in the series, but before Shion got his crazy serum idea and Nezumi really grew on him. Soooo pretty early on.

you said "first time" but there is no way I can manage smut in two days so you get fluff instead. one of these days tho

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Shion let out a shaky breath, pushing his face into the dog's freshly cleaned soft fur. He didn't know where the overwhelming feelings had come from, only that they'd come hard and fast from seemingly nowhere. Anger, fear, loss, pain, sadness, and more all compressed and stuffed into the small vessel that was him. He felt like he was going to burst at the seams as he held back any noise, snuggling closer to the husky, who whined slightly in response to the tears soaking its coat. The black lab behind him curled up tighter against his back.

There were muffled voices in the hallway, and he raised his head to glance at the doorway, the dim light from the lantern illuminating his tear-streaked face. He could recognize the distinguished aggressive hisses of both Nezumi and Inukashi. They were approaching rapidly, and Shion found himself cowering. He wanted to be alone longer than this.

"- I bet this is all your fault too, you bastard!"

"I didn't do anything! What the hell are you on about?! And why do you care?!"

"That's my business! You're despicable, you know that?!"

"Just get the hell out of my way if all you're going to do is yell at me without reason!"

"Fine. You're not going to like what you see..."

There was silence, in which Shion could hear his pounding heart. Suddenly the door was being thrown open, and Shion instantly looked away, hiding his face in the dog's back. There was a sharp exhale, and then Nezumi's sharp voice was filling the quiet room.

"What are you doing here?"

It sounded a little less hostile than the white-haired boy expected it to, but it still caused an involuntary flinch. He couldn't stop the tremor in his voice when he responded. "That's none of your business."

"I should think it is!" Nezumi snapped. "I didn't know where an idiot like you could have gone! I told you not to leave without telling me where you were going. You wouldn't last a second out in this place."

"Well I'm here, aren't I?" Shion replied coldly, glancing up at the figure, which was hard with his post-crying session hazy vision. "So it doesn't matter. I came here for personal reasons, alright? Like you said, we're strangers. I don't need to know about you, you don't need to know about me. I didn't think you'd care so much."

"Fine," Nezumi ground out, approaching the two dogs, who lifted their heads wearily as if warning him not to come closer to the boy. He 'tch'ed quietly at this and knelt down a few feet away. "Fine, okay. I'll fucking bite. What's wrong?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Don't give me that. What's. Wrong?" He didn't sound worried like the words suggested - he sounded irritated. Shion knew that varying levels of neutrality and irritation were how Nezumi seemed to show emotion, but right now, he just couldn't take it. Not with everything swirling around in his head.

"Everything!" Shion burst out with. The urge to scream and cry that he'd been holding in for over an hour finally broke loose, and he sat up sharply. "What's wrong, you ask?! Everything's wrong! Everything! I watched my friend and coworker die and immediately after got dragged away from everything I knew because apparently I was going against the government!"

Nezumi started to speak, but Shion wasn't done. Far from it.

"You threw me headfirst into this world that I know nothing about with no direction or help, and every time I try to learn you yell at me about asking questions!"

"I-"

"Then I almost died, and now I look so different! I don't even know myself anymore! Everything is different! I may never see Mom or Safu again! Even if I do, would they recognize me?! No! You can't blame me for needing some time to take this all in - but wait, you do anyways! You seem to think I can just brush this all off like it's nothing! I need some sort of support when my world's been turned upside-down, but all you've done is -"

Suddenly soft lips were being pressed to his, and one of the dogs growled in warning, but Nezumi didn't seem to care, placing his hands on either side of the other boy's body and deepening the kiss. It took a few moments for Shion to realize what exactly was going on, but when he did, his eyes widened considerably and a blush consumed his face like wildfire. He pushed the taller boy away quickly, slapping a hand over his mouth.

"What - what the hell - "

"Shut up," Nezumi muttered, and Shion's protests died in his throat. The taller of the two didn't move from his position, face mere centimeters away. "Why couldn't you just tell me all of this?"

"You wouldn't have listened," Shion mumbled, red eyes tearing away from the scrutinizing gaze, instead glaring defiantly at the wall by the door. The effect was lost as he was blushing heavily still, but he still tried. "You don't care. You wouldn't have saved my life if you didn't owe me. You told me not to get attached, and then you have the nerve to steal my first kiss -!"

"Your first?"

Shion's eyes grew impossibly wider. He tried to scoot away, to create distance, but an arm around his waist stopped him. "L-Let go!"

"You've never kissed anyone before? Or just never a man?"

"Neither, now shut up and let me go!" Shion squirmed out of Nezumi's grasp, heart racing and blush only increasing. "Why did you do that, anyways?!"

"I have my reasons. I've never kissed a man, either."

That made Shion's thought process grind to a screeching halt. He tilted his head, curiosity peeking through his indignance. "You haven't? Then surely you wouldn't want to waste it on me."

Nezumi cracked a smirk, crossing his arms. "On the contrary, I can't think of anyone I'd rather kiss, male or female. You really shouldn't complain."

"You just did it out of nowhere! That doesn't count!"

"So if I did it now it would? Or would you like to kiss me this time?"

"Wh-... what?"

"What, are you scared?"

I must look like a tomato, Shion seethed quietly. What kind of conversation is this?! But he knew Nezumi was only going to tease him more about it, and the more he thought about his decision, the more clearly he remembered the feel of Nezumi's lips on his. How warm and soft they'd been. How calm he'd felt in the moment, even if he'd panicked moments later. So before Nezumi could start to mouth off again, Shion leaned forward and connected their lips again.

They stayed there a moment before Shion lost his nerve and pulled back, looking away.

"So?"

"I..." He hesitated before admitting, "I-It was nice..."

"Oh?" Nezumi tilted his head, and Shion cursed his behavior. He never was sure what was going through the strange boy's head. "But that wasn't even a real kiss."

"It wasn't?" Oh, now he was curious.

"Nope. Would you like me to show you?"

As if on cue, Inukashi burst inside the room. Neither of them doubted that they'd been eavesdropping.

"Alright, you idiots, get out of my hotel, I've got a paying customer that needs a room!"

Nezumi glared at her, while Shion looked sheepish and stood up. They made their way past her, and it wasn't until they were walking home that Shion finally spoke again.

"Um.. if you want... you can show me what a real kiss is like.. only if you feel like it, I mean, you don't have to!"

Nezumi threw his head back and laughed. Honestly, this kid was too stubborn and cute. He ruffled Shion's hair, saying, "It's not a bother. Just promise you won't ever hide things like this from me again."

"I can agree with that."

.-.-.-.

lolol what am I doing