YAY, Valentine's Day! I hope it was a great holiday for you all. If not, well I hope this cheers you up. I know it's late, but hey at least I'm consistently late :3 anyway, enjoy one of my last NaruKiba fics. I do not own Naruto or its affiliates. R&R please.
"Ugh!" a frightfully displeased Naruto groaned again for the third time in as many minutes as yet another hormonal girl skipped into the classroom and planted her own red, white, and pink laced, heart-shaped valentine confession in front of the dark teen sitting in the farthest corner of the room.
"Why do they all like him so much? I don't get it." the blonde slumped back into his arms, frustrated.
"Well, maybe it's the whole dark and serious thing." Shikamaru pointed out, his chin resting on his arm as he lay forward.
"Girls are so troublesome. They always want what they can't have, and what they can have, isn't good enough." The genius brunette inquired.
"This sucks!" Naruto joined his friend on the table, resting his head in his flattened palms. The two looked over at the Uchiha teen, then grudgingly looked at one another.
"Valentine's Day sucks." The two said in unison, causing each to smirk at the other.
Naruto flung a casual arm around the brunette's shoulder as they continued their fit of laughter. The two shared a mutual jest as the day wore on and more and more girls flooded the room with their respective valentine's wishes for the Uchiha boy.
"Geez, I'm glad it's over." Naruto exhaled as he drug his feet across the dried earth.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Did you get anything this year?" Shikamaru asked.
"No, at least not from anybody I wanted." the blonde retorted.
"So…wait! You actually got something from someone? Well, who was it?"
"I don't know. I didn't even open it."
"You are such an idiot sometimes. Open the thing, what if it was from Sakura?" The brunette teased.
"It wasn't. I asked her already."
"Oh just open it." Shikamaru said rather annoyed.
"Maybe…she was lying." The brunette teased.
Naruto perked at the sound of the possibility and he immediately retrieved the sacred red letter from the back of his pocket and tore open the fragile red envelope mercilessly.
Their eyes quickly scanned over the love-sick drabble inside, of course the genius shirker was the first to finish, and of course he being the insightful person he was figured out immediately who it was from.
Naruto read over it again and again, trying to decipher the strange language on it.
You are such an idiot sometimes
But I still care about you
It breaks my heart to see you alone
Whether you know it or not
You don't have to be
I'll wait, for as long as it takes
Until you see it for yourself
I'll wait with open arms
Until you see
That I love you
Happy Valentine's Day…you idiot.
"Huh…I guess whoever it was doesn't like me very much." Naruto deduced.
"Ha ha ha! What makes you say that?" the brunette bounced with laughter, holding his sides at the absolutely clueless expression on Naruto's face.
"Because whoever it was keeps calling me an idiot." Naruto looked seriously at the still laughing brunette.
"That's supposed to be a term of endearment." He pointed out.
"Huh? Endearment?"
"Kinda like a pet name. Whoever left it for you really does like you." Shikamaru said while hiding his obvious knowledge of who the author was.
"Well, whatever. If they liked me so much, then why don't they show themselves?"
"Naruto, this is Valentine's Day. It's all about the thrill of the chase."
"Huh? Chase?" the blonde twitched his head slightly to the right, baffled at what to make of the situation.
"You'll see what I mean." Shikamaru waved off and walked passed the still gawking blonde to the road that would lead him home to a house full of whimsical parents cooing over one another.
"Hey! Where are you going?"
"I have to go home, I have to get up early tomorrow for a big mission." The brunette waved his companion a fond farewell, then shifted his gaze up to the inconspicuous waving of the tree tops and smiled.
"Besides, three's company right?" Shikamaru started to laugh again.
"What are you talking about?" Naruto posed, still unaware of the hidden eyes that laid on him from a safe distance.
"Oh nothing. I'll see you later. And good luck." And with that being said, the brunette disappeared over the curvature of the hill that overlooked the peaceful village of Konoha.
"Weird." Naruto spat.
Naruto continued his lonesome trot through the otherwise bustling streets of the hidden leaf village. Everyone was in the mood for holiday candies and roses and sometimes the occasional gift. The village was alight with fervent emotions and loving gestures.
Naruto ignored the scene around him, the couples and the poems and the interlocked hands. He focused on the forbidden scripture that he read over and over again, trying to figure out who it was that had sent it to him in the first place.
He had awoken rather early this morning, preparing for the day in his usual zest and eagerness, when he heard a timid knock at his door. He remembered rushing over to the door, tripping over several mal-placed boxes of ramen and several kunai before wrapping his shaking hand over the knob, and violently swung the door on its hinges.
All that greeted him was a savage gust of early morning air and the subtle sound of the birds. His eyes wandered left and right, waiting for someone to jump out and surprise him, but no one came.
'Hm.' The teen pondered. He chose to ignore the sound as nothing more than some prank or some woodland creature deciding to play 'ding-dong ditch'. The blonde walked back into his empty house when he stepped on something.
His bare feet had not recognized what it was that he was touching, it was something he had not felt on his many trips in and out of his own house. His eyes wondered down to the intruder and found a finely sealed and preserved red card, with his name printed on the back.
He took a moment to examine it, in the still of the early day, he could just barely manage to read the pleasant title on the back. Naru-chan.
'If Sakura didn't give it to me, then who could've?' he thought to himself.
He read it again, still nothing about the writing or the tone seemed familiar. A lot of people called him idiot and the writing was in a style that most everyone used.
Naruto placed the red card in his back pocket for the time being, still contemplating what it was and what it actually meant for him. If someone did care about him, then why didn't they just come forward and tell him so?
"Oye, Naruto!" the friendly Ichiraku chef greeted his most loyal customer with a wave of his arms through the slightly covered entrance of the ramen bar.
"Hey, old man." Naruto perked and strayed from his usual path to see what the old timer wanted.
"Your ramen is ready." The chef laid the prepared dish in front of the confused teen.
"Whoa! You're actually giving me free ramen?" Naruto sat in front of the noodle concoction and immediately gathered his eating utensils for the feast.
"Free? Nothing is free. Someone paid for you." the chef laughed haughtily.
"Someone…paid for me?"
'It must've been my valentine.' He rationalized.
"Hey, old man, do you remember who it was?" the blonde perked, his elbows firm on both sides of the dish.
"Oh ho, I promised I wouldn't tell." The chef teased.
'Dammit. I'll never find out who it is at this rate.'
After Naruto had finished his free meal, he continued on his normal route back to the privacy of the one safe place that he would normally retreat to: the pier.
It was more of a place he sanctified as a place he could escape the vitriolic words of a world not quite ready to accept him as one of their own. But since the harsh criticisms and sharp tongues had dulled towards him, it had become a place where he could enjoy a peaceful sunset.
The day had been drawing to a close, the many couples choosing to retreat to the privacy of their homes to spend the night together. All that was left of the day, was an empty road, deserted streets and candles alight in every window.
Naruto made his way towards the pier, where he was sure no one would be, his arms entwined behind his head casually.
'Another Valentine's Day alone.'
He walked on the water's edge, the many colors of the evening rainbow reflected in its untouched surface, the many creatures of the early night starting to sing.
His eyes fell on the cherry blossom tree that stood solo on the corner of the hill, knowing that once he turned it, he would find the pier boats and the wooden frame on the water waiting for him.
Naruto passed the budding tree in the chill of the afternoon breeze and his eyes fell on the pier below. What caught his attention was the presence of dark figure casting his shadow over the boards.
'Huh? Kiba?' the blonde saw his fellow shinobi in arms just sitting there, his feet dipping carelessly in the water, his stare reaching out across the horizon like he was waiting for something. His unkempt locks waving seductively in the wind, the crimson markings on his right cheek seem to glow in the setting sun.
'I guess I better not disturb him.' the blonde thought and decided to keep on his way. He knew better than to interrupt an Inuzuka when he was in the middle of something.
"Hey, Naruto!" a familiar voice rang to him as he turned to go. He turned to see his fellow valentine seeker waving at him from his perch on the pier.
"Oye, Kiba!" the blonde waved back, just as a gesture between friends.
"Come on down! Come sit with me." the brunette asked, disregarding the burn already starting to develop on his cheeks.
"Uh, okay." Naruto conceded and followed the small dirt path from the main trail to lead him down to the pier. He approached the other with caution. He was in an awfully good mood, and that could mean trouble. It was understood that he had an appetite for mischief, just like Naruto did. Anytime he was acting suspicious meant that there might be a prank waiting in the wings.
Not willing to take the chance, Naruto made his place a few feet away from the Inuzuka before removing his sandals and dipping his feet in the cool waters below.
The two sat together in companionable silence, letting the thinning air slide through their hair.
'Hm, this feels weird. I know he's up to something.' Naruto thought, waiting for the exploding tags to go off under him, or the offering of gum that would turn his tongue black. Leave it to Kiba to think of something devious to do on Valentine's Day.
Naruto waited patiently for the hit, but it never came, making him even more nervous. He shifted his gaze slightly to see what his companion was doing.
"So, how did Valentine's Day go for you?" Kiba finally broke the silence.
"Well, I got this one card from someone, but I don't who gave it to me." Naruto removed the sacred red card from his pocket and gave it to Kiba to read.
The brunette scanned over the confession and smiled. It sounded a lot better than what it started out as.
"Well, it seems that someone really does care about you."
"I don't know. I mean it could just be another prank by someone from the academy. I've always been alone on Valentine's Day, so why should it be different now?" the blonde asked before putting the card back into his pocket.
"What about you, Kiba? Did you get a valentine this year?" Naruto faced the rainbow horizon.
"I can't say that I did, but I can't say that I didn't either." The brunette smirked.
"So…did you get a valentine or not?" the blonde asked, confused by the ambiguous brunette.
"Do you remember when we were kids?" the brunette abruptly ended the topic with a rather rhetoric question.
"Huh? Oh, yeah I remember. Why?" Naruto asked.
"Remember all the times that you and I spent together?" Kiba faced the sun-kissed teen next to him, a mere arm's length away.
"Uhh…" Naruto pondered with his chin tilted toward the sky above.
"I remember all the pranks you played on me. Like that time you filled my ramen with Ichigo's red hot tobasco sauce. I couldn't eat anything for the rest of the day."
Kiba recalled his childish antics with the blonde and turned his head away in shame.
"No…that's not what I meant. I mean when we used to have sleep-overs, when we used to go torment the girls at the academy." Kiba started to chuckle under his breath.
"Heh heh, yeah. I remember." Naruto mused with his partner in crime.
The laughter the two shared quickly faded in complacent silence. The seriousness of the air started to sink in.
"Do you remember…" the brunette started to speak, splashing his toes in the cooling water under the pier.
"…when I walked you home that one time?" the brunette said with a blush.
"Huh? When was that?" Naruto asked, he himself trying to recall when something like that ever took place.
"About nine years today." The brunette finished, clearing his throat as it tightened.
"Nine years…today?" Naruto looked on in his confusion.
"Yeah, it was Valentine's Day. We had just gotten out of school. You were walking home by yourself and then I asked if you wanted some company." Kiba continued trying to convince the dunce of their past together.
"HA! When did I ever need your company dog-breath?" Naruto smirked playfully.
"Actually you said the same thing back then."
"Oh." The predictable blonde sighed.
"Even though you didn't want it, I still walked you home. You were still the obnoxious little brat that you are today."
"Oh whatever." Naruto pouted.
Kiba laughed at his companion's adorable face trimmed in the light of the fading day.
"Yeah, I walked you home, it was dark and cold. Do you remember any of this?" the brunette asked with growing anxiety, as if the response would mean the breaking of his heart.
"Somewhat." The blonde recalled.
"Well…do you remember that you invited me to stay the night, since it was late and cold?"
"I did?"
"Yeah you did. But I declined."
"So why are you telling me this? I invited you to sleep over and you decided not to. So you went home by yourself in the cold night…" the blonde retorted, creating his own fanciful twist he was sure was the truth.
"No, I didn't go home."
"Okay, so if you didn't go home, where did you go?"
The brunette's heart began to thump against his rib cage, his hood hiding the growing stain of red.
"I stayed at your house."
"I thought you said you decided not to sleep over my house."
"I didn't stay in your house. I stayed outside….all night."
"What?! When it was freezing outside?" Naruto exploded.
Kiba nodded his head solemnly.
"You idiot! Why did you do that?"
"I was kid back then, Naruto. I didn't know what I was doing."
"Did it ever occur to you that, even as a kid, staying outside on a freezing winter night was a stupid idea?!"
"Did it ever occur to you that I was doing what my gut told me?" Kiba snapped back, bearing his teeth.
"I'm an Inuzuka. I was raised in a family that trains dogs. My techniques and jutsus are all canine based. My senses are as sharp as any canine. So what makes you think that if I acted like a dog, I wouldn't think like one? I was doing what any canine in my place would've done." The brunette calmed.
Naruto stared hard at his companion, trying to understand what it was he was trying to say.
"I was…protecting something that meant a lot to me." Kiba finally finished.
"Protecting?" the blonde asked.
"Yeah. I sat…outside. Right outside your door, watching the trees all night, making sure that no one would come and take you away."
Kiba smiled at the absolute absurdity.
"Man were my parents miffed when I returned home the next morning with circles under my eyes." He started to laugh to ease the tension around them.
"So…if you did stay with me all night, why didn't you tell me until now?"
"I'm not too sure myself. I guess because I wasn't ready to. But now I am…nine years later." Kiba moved closer to Naruto, his ankles gliding through the crystal waters.
"I guess I wasn't ready to tell you…how I felt." At the sound of the last words, Naruto tensed, he could feel his muscles tightening around his throat and stomach.
"I also stayed at your place that night for another reason." He continued.
Rather than ask, Naruto waited for Kiba to finish his thought.
Soon, he felt a gentle hand slide gracefully over his left leg and rest lovingly just above his knee. He could hear the pier boards creak under the shifting of his weight and as the brunette lifted himself from one side of his body to the other.
Kiba pushed down on his open palm over Naruto, allowing him the leverage needed to bring himself eye level with the blonde dunce.
Naruto froze as he heard more of the boards scream and a seductive arm laced itself around his torso and pulled him closer to his companion.
"I forgot to give you something. Sorry that it's so late." Kiba whispered as he pushed himself over Naruto's still unresponsive body and quickly claimed the boy's lips with his own.
New sensations and alien reactions filled the two inexperienced teens as they sat there on the pier, together at last.
Kiba greedily lapped at Naruto's lower lip, pleading for entrance.
Naruto didn't know how to react. But for the damnedest reason, he felt he didn't need to. Whatever logic he could find could not properly answer the call for fulfillment he felt in his companion's embrace. He felt the Inuzuka's lustful fingers dig into his back and then into his golden locks of hair to the back of his neck.
The heat between them was enough to keep them both warm on this chilled evening quickly enveloping everything in the void of the night.
Kiba reluctantly released his coveted treasure from his lips to breathe against his slightly parted ones, "Happy Valentine's Day, Naruto."
'He…he's my valentine? Kiba?' Naruto finally deduced, as late as it was to find out, it didn't surprise him.
The stars shown down on the newly made couple, Kiba returning to his original task of persuading Naruto to permit him further entry.
Naruto lifted his legs out of the icy waters and brought his body full circle to face the Inuzuka. He backed away on the rickety pier as the brunette crawled on all fours to reach his valentine again.
This time, Naruto laid on his back, supported by his elbows when Kiba crashed into his lips again. Again, he asked for the blonde to let him in. This time, Naruto paused, parted his lips even further, closed his eyes and let Kiba take his breath away.
The Inuzuka eagerly entered the blonde, still fondly supporting his frail form with his arms. Naruto moaned rather loudly into the night when he felt Kiba's dancing fingers snap the band of his boxers beneath his shirt, sending shivers up his spine.
Naruto hooked his amateur arms under Kiba's and pulled him deeper into the kiss, causing the canine-nin to laugh.
Soon, they had to separate for air, the intense emotions leaving them both breathless and with lips lightly laced with the other's saliva.
Kiba smiled down at his companion, soaking in his ethereal glow in the waning moon overhead before he took away his need for words again.
The two were now back at Naruto's house. Outside. Where Kiba swore he waited all night long to make sure his newfound treasure would stay his. Just under the branch outside the kyuubi's door. Together they sat, huddled in the warmth of each other's body heat, sharing the Inuzuka's overly large coat.
Naruto rested firmly between Kiba's legs, his head resting soundly under the brunette's chin, leaving him with the haunting scent of honey and summer days. The blonde laid asleep in the brunette's arms, humming his inaudible notations of dreaming. Kiba stared down at the teen he had for so long wanted.
Wanted as a friend. Wanted as a lover. Just simply wanted.
With a swift, fleeting kiss over Naruto's brow, the Inuzuka stole the sacred red piece of paper out from its home made in the blonde's back pocket and read it aloud in his mind.
The words seemed to flow from him so easily when Naruto was around. He mused at the emotional drabble he was capable of spewing because of his love's subtle influence.
Kiba smiled at the written piece, back down at his sleeping kyuubi clutching to his body for warmth, then back up at the stars.
He saw it. The same star he wised upon nine years ago.
The poem he wrote nine years ago.
The teen in his arms, that he loved forever.
"True love travels through the ages."
FIN