A/N: How's it goin' frands? I didn't feel like working on something and figured I would be both lazy and productive at the same time by posting this new fic up! Well, it's not really a fic... Basically over on Y I've been running commissions since 2009 and while some of them are too smutty to post here, others are do-able and some I can cut the smut out of and post here. So I figured I'd get started on that.
So that's what this entire "story" is gonna be. Every chapter will be a single commission (unless otherwise stated, I don't know the word limit per chapter and some commissions are quite long herpaderp). I'm gonna post the prompt (if applicable since people gave me a lot of freedom) at the bottom to not spoiler any fics. All of them are Naruto-centric, but the pairings vary so I can post the pairing at the top so you can all decide whether you wanna read any given chapter or not. Seems fair, right? Anywho, enjoy and I hope everyone is having a MARVELOUS day :)
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi.
Commission year: 2010
Pairing: KibaSaku
Warning: Possible trigger, implied abusive relationship (Kankurou & Sakura, not Kiba)
Locked Out.
Staring across the room at his target, Kiba could feel his heart rate increasing. His palms were sweaty, and as he sat there, he knew he didn't have to do this. He could just choose not to, but if he didn't—he knew he would regret it.
There were so many alternative options to what he was planning, but he knew it had to be big. The bigger it was, the more attention it would receive, and the more likely he would get his way this time. So despite everything, he knew this was how it had to be.
I'm doing it, he decided, narrowing his eyes slightly. I'm gonna do it!
Dropping the french fry he'd been playing with, he stood up, causing Naruto to stop mid-sentence. He shifted back onto his chair, then leaned forward one foot to put it on the table, trying to get up as high as he could so he wouldn't be missed, and took a deep breath.
"Yo, Sakura!" he shouted loudly across the cafeteria. The chatter in the large room seemed to buzz out slightly until the place was almost silent, all eyes turned towards him, including the girl he'd called out to. It was too late to back down, so trying to ignore the flush he could feel creeping up the back of his neck, he shouted out the rest of his sentence.
"Go out with me!"
There was an almost deafening silence as every head in the cafeteria turned towards the rosette, whose mouth had formed a little 'o' of shock. Kiba licked his lips nervously, wondering what her reaction was going to be since he had just shouted that out across the university cafeteria.
Naruto reached forward and tugged him off the table by the pants, yanking hard enough that Kiba finally got down, if only because he was worried that his pants were going to get pulled off.
"If you did this because you thought I'd stop her from killing you, you're wrong," Sasuke informed him, glancing over his shoulder before picking up his tray and walking away.
Kiba's eyes shifted to look behind them, seeing Sakura stomping across the cafeteria. He looked over at Naruto pleadingly, the blond opening his mouth, then smiling nervously and bolting from his seat, not even bothering to take his own tray of food with him.
Slouching down in his seat and looking away, hoping to magically become invisible, he ignored the figure that had stopped in front of him, even when hands began to rid the tray Naruto had left behind of food. He had to glance at it, though, when Sakura picked the tray up and then promptly slammed it against his head.
Kiba fell out of his chair, both hands clutching his head while people around started laughing, the brunet letting out a whine and looking up at Sakura, who was still wielding the tray, looking ready to hit him again.
"What is wrong with you?!" she demanded, hitting him in the hip since that was the only place she could manage without hurting him too badly. He figured she must have felt bad for hitting him in the head, but couldn't have felt too bad or she wouldn't have done it at all.
"Currently... my head is broken. Ow." He rubbed it some more, slowly sitting up when the tray fell to her side, Sakura's fists clenched.
She bent down in front of him, grabbing his shirt collar and yanking him closer, whispering so no one around them could hear her. Well, at least she wasn't hitting him anymore.
"I can't believe you did that!" Her eyes darted around nervously, but most people had gone back to their own conversations. Naruto had even snuck back to the table to steal his meal. "Do you have any idea how embarrassing that is?!"
"What, I'm not allowed to profess my love for the most beautiful girl on the campus?" Kiba asked with a cocky grin.
Sakura snorted and let his collar go, which made him fall back to the ground since she'd been the only thing holding him up. "Flattery, my dear friend, will get you nowhere."
"Come on, Sakura," Kiba whined, propping himself up on his elbows, and pouting at the rosette. "Just one date. That's all I'm asking. Then you can have a real reason for saying no to me instead of just saying no because of—" The brunet cut himself off, frowning. "Actually, why did you say no?"
"Because." A blush rose to Sakura's cheeks, and her eyes flickered away, not wanting to look into Kiba's own. "We're friends."
"So?"
"It's not normal."
"What, dating a friend isn't normal?" A grin slowly started forming on his face. "You go out and date strangers, then?"
"Well, no—"
"Then?" Kiba leaned even closer, face inches away from Sakura's. Glaring at the brunet, she slammed her hand against his face and pushed him back down to the ground, getting back to her feet and looking as flustered as Kiba felt she must have been.
That made him grin more, despite the fact that the back and front of his head hurt, now.
"My answer is no, Kiba. Now stop asking me!" She turned on her heel and stalked back across the cafeteria.
"You know," the brunet called after her, getting to his feet, "I'm only going to get worse the longer you make me wait! Think about it! This is only the fourth time I've asked!"
She didn't turn around, but Kiba knew that thought worried her. He grinned even wider and sat back down, picking a fry up and popping it into his mouth, chewing slowly. Naruto slamming down in front of him with his food again made him force his gaze away from the rosette, who'd joined her friends again.
"Are you insane?!"
"Of course not," Kiba snorted, popping another fry into his mouth as Sasuke calmly retook his seat beside the blond. "I just felt drastic measures needed to be taken and, granted, I thought you and pussy-man over here would have my bac—ow—my back," Kiba winced when Sasuke kicked him in the shin, hard, "but apparently, I was wrong."
"You yelled across the cafeteria to Sakura. Sakura, dude! There's no way I was gonna take a punch from her in her haste to get to you for embarrassing her," Naruto insisted, digging into his food again.
"I'd have thought you'd know better," Sasuke agreed, picking up his fork and getting back to eating his salad as if nothing had happened.
"Well, she keeps saying no when I ask her out alone. I figured maybe doing it publicly would make her say yes." He shrugged. "I mean, she broke up with Kankurou two months ago, right? Shouldn't she be allowed to date now or something?"
"Yeah, but I mean..." Naruto winced slightly, finding this conversation somewhat awkward, now. "She wasn't even allowed to speak to us while dating him. He was pretty controlling. I think she just kind of wants some space, you know? Wants to remember what it was like to be able to do anything she wanted."
Sighing, Kiba dropped the fry he'd been about to put in his mouth back down onto his plate, pushing it away slightly and letting his forehead rest against the hard surface of the table. He knew Naruto was right, but after having known Sakura for ten years, he felt like she should have known him better than that. She should have known that he wasn't going to be like Kankurou, and if she wanted to go hang out alone at some guy's house, as long as he knew who the guy was, he was pretty much cool with it. He knew most of her guy friends anyway!
"Well, I'll end up getting my way eventually," he said, lifting his head and leaning over slightly to stare at Sakura between Naruto and Sasuke's shoulders. "I won't give up. If there's one thing I am, it's persistent!"
"And stupid," Sasuke offered, which earned him a glare from the brunet.
"Just you wait! After this weekend, I'll have a master plan all figured out, and I'll be dating her come next Friday!"
"Kiba," Sasuke smirked at the brunet, "if you pull that off, I'll stop sending you pictures of Naruto and I fucking."
The brunet shuddered at the reminder, since he seemed to get those a lot from his two friends, because they both found it ridiculously funny when he freaked out. To never have to see those pictures again... That was just cruel, making him a deal like that.
"You better hold up your end of the bargain!" he snapped angrily, standing up so he could head to his next class, and ignoring the rambunctious laughter coming from the blond seated beside the bastard who'd made the fucking deal with him.
The fact that neither believed he could do it only made him more determined to get Sakura before the end of the following week.
"You have to admit, Sakura, it was cute. And he's persistent! He obviously cares about you a lot," Ino said over speakerphone, the rosette driving home from school, squinting to see through the rain splattering against her windshield. She cursed the fact that it had gone from a beautiful day to—well, this.
"I know it's cute, Ino, but it's his persistence that worries me." She winced, stopping at a red light and leaning back, brushing some strands from her eyes. "I don't want a repeat of Kank. I was with him for a year before I realized how bad he was for me. Kiba and I have been friends a long time, sure, but we've only gotten close again since I broke up with Kank."
"But you're the one who keeps saying during your entire relationship with Kankurou, the only guy you secretly still spoke to was Kiba!" Ino insisted, her tone clearly showing she was getting impatient.
"Yeah, like, once a month via Facebook private messaging, that hardly counts," Sakura snorted, driving forward again when the light changed and turning left at the next corner.
"Sakura, now you're just making excuses. Kiba's not Kankurou, stop comparing them. It's an insult to Kiba. He's a great guy!"
"If he's so great, why don't you date him then?!" Sakura was going to murder the stupid brunet for having done this. All the girls she knew were getting on her case about it, as if they knew Kiba better than her!
"Maybe I will! And when you lose him, you'll have no one to blame but yourself!" Ino hung up and Sakura scowled, slamming on her brakes when she reached another red light.
It annoyed her how many of her girlfriends were telling her how great Kiba was, she already knew that! She'd been friends with him far longer than any of them, she just needed more time, and she felt he was being a little pushy. Though Naruto had told her that Kiba'd always had a crush on her, he'd just never acted on it. She could only guess her relationship with Kankurou had forced him to decide it was time to do something about it.
Sighing, she leaned back in her seat, wanting to get home as soon as possible and grab some hot chocolate and curl up on the couch with a blanket and a good chick flick. The past few months had been the best of her life, and she knew it was all thanks to having broken up with Kankurou.
Something Kiba was responsible for. She never would've had the guts if not for him.
And that made her feel bad. Sighing, she shook her head and tried not to think about it. Once she got home, she'd be able to just—enjoy the moment and not think about stupid boys and their stupid love confessions.
Though it had been kind of sweet.
Continuing down the street again when the light changed, she cursed angrily when she neared the next one just as it turned red, slamming her hand against the wheel in annoyance. It was like everyone was out to get her or something. She just wanted to go home, dammit!
Sighing, she glanced out the window, annoyed, then turned back to the light. Frowning, she looked out the side window again and squinted. Someone was standing out in the rain, completely drenched from head to toe due to the heavy downpour, and looking up the side of an apartment building.
Rolling down her window, and squinting even more, she hesitated, then called out, shouting loudly to be heard over the rain slamming against the pavement.
"Kiba?"
The figure turned, arms crossed over his chest, and teeth chattering together. He smiled widely upon seeing her, holding one hand out to wave before replacing it.
"Hey Sakura!"
A car honked behind the rosette and she cursed, looking behind herself, and then moving forward when she saw the light had changed. Turning on her signal, she turned onto the next street and parked, reaching back to grab her umbrella and climbing out of the car. Opening it and getting under it to protect herself from the rain, she jogged the short way to the brunet, who'd walked towards the side street to meet her.
Stopping in front of him, she just stared at him, completely dumbfounded.
"What are you doing out here?" she asked, shifting the umbrella so he could get under it, as well. He did so, gratefully, and then laughed.
"Enjoying the weather," he replied jokingly, his entire frame shaking. Sakura looked him up and down, noting that he must've been outside for a while. And it was still fairly cold, too, so standing in the rain really wasn't that good of an idea unless he wanted to catch pneumonia.
"Did you get locked out?" Sakura asked, returning to their conversation. It seemed like the only logical conclusion.
"Yeah."
"Where's your roommate?" She glanced over his shoulder, as if expecting to find him there.
Kiba snorted. "Left for the weekend. Apparently I didn't need to know that."
She could hear the bitterness in his tone, and she supposed she could understand that. The two of them relied on each other far too often when it came to getting into the apartment. Usually, the last one to leave locked the door, and the other would wait until they came back before being let in. Usually, Kiba's roommate Shino left last and the brunet would hang out with Naruto and Sasuke until his roommate returned, but that wasn't always a good idea. The current situation proved that.
"Why don't you grab a hotel or something? Where's your wallet?" Sakura inquired. Kiba laughed nervously, one hand coming out to rub the back of his head.
"In my apartment." He smiled slightly. "Sasuke had to buy my lunch."
"Oh." She frowned. "Well, why haven't you called Naruto or Sasuke to ask to stay with them?"
Kiba stared at her when she asked him this, and she was about to ask why he was looking at her like that before she realized what she'd just said and laughed slightly.
"Right... because they're Naruto and Sasuke." She shook her head, the two of them laughing.
"Don't worry, I'll figure something out. Thanks for the momentary dryness, though." He motioned the umbrella, then smiled and moved out from under it, heading back towards the front doors of his apartment.
Sakura bit her lip. Even if Kiba got into his building, he wasn't going to be able to get into his own apartment. And really, the brunet had stayed over at her place numerous times, she was just hesitant this time because of his recent interest in her. Well, apparently not recent since Naruto insisted he'd liked her for a while, but recent to her.
Sighing, she took a step forward. "Wait."
Kiba turned to look at her, looking incredibly similar to a poor, wet puppy who just wanted to curl up beside a warm fire. It made her heart throb. She cursed her love for stupid puppies.
"Come on."
"Are you sure?" Kiba cocked an eyebrow.
"Shut up and get in before I change my mind."
Grinning happily, the brunet hurried after Sakura, moving around her car and getting in on the passenger side, the rosette closing her umbrella before getting in, tossing it into the back seat. Kiba shook his head roughly, trying to dry out his hair a little, and Sakura let out a cry of disgust.
"God! What are you, a dog?!"
"Heh, sorry." He rubbed the back of his head, his hair sticking up at weird angles, now. "Thanks for this, you don't have to, you know."
"I know," she snapped, wiping water off her face with the back of her hand and letting out a loud sigh. "Just start bringing your stupid key to school. Shino's not your maid, he's not always going to be home. And next time, I'll let you suffer at Naruto and Sasuke's." She turned the car around and then turned left, continuing on towards her place. "And when are you getting your stupid car?"
"Hey now, not all of us can afford it, you know." Kiba pouted. "Naruto still owes me money." He snorted. "You'd think Sasuke would lend it to him to give back to me, but no. Apparently they'll only admit to being common law when it doesn't benefit me." He rolled his eyes.
Sakura had to smile a little, finding his predicament somewhat amusing. And really, it was endearing how cute he looked all wet and disgruntled.
Well, there goes my night of watching a chick flick. I have to take care of a stupid wet puppy.
Kiba sneezed.
A stupid wet sick puppy.
She sighed again.
Turning into her parking garage, she got her car back in its usual spot and exited the vehicle, motioning for Kiba to hurry up and get out, as well. He'd already wet her upholstery enough, she didn't want it to start growing mold, or something.
Calling the elevator, the two of them rode it to the fifteenth floor in silence. Well, mostly in silence, Kiba's chattering teeth were hard to ignore.
Reaching her apartment quickly once they'd exited the lift, she unlocked the door and ushered Kiba inside, tossing her keys onto the kitchen counter and dropping her bag by the door. She turned to lock it—double checking both locks and the chain-link—and then turned back to Kiba, who was standing in her living room, looking unsure of what to do with himself.
Sighing, Sakura entered mother mode and strode over to him, pulling his bag off his shoulder and tossing it onto the kitchen floor, since it was tile and would be easier to clean later.
"You're gonna get sick if you stay in these clothes," she insisted, grabbing the zipper of his hoodie and yanking it down, pushing the article of clothing off his shoulders. It hit the floor with a pretty solid "thump," proving how long the brunet had stupidly been standing in the rain.
She sighed again, hands moving to the hem of his shirt, and tugging it upwards. Kiba raised his arms over his head, allowing her to pull it off and drop it on the floor. Her eyes never left what she was doing, but she could feel his burning into her skin.
"You should take better care of yourself," she whispered.
"Sorry," he replied huskily, causing shivers to race down her spine.
"Don't be sorry, stupid, just do it." She hit his shoulder lightly, her eyes still avoiding his. "I'll find you some clothes. Take your pants off."
She ignored how that sounded and moved around him to her room, hearing him unbuckle his belt. She could feel a flush creeping up her cheeks and throttled it violently before locking it away somewhere in the back of her brain to be dealt with later.
Just because she didn't want to date Kiba right now didn't mean she would never date him. And how the fuck was she supposed to feel after seeing his toned, bronzed chest?! God, if humans were sculpted in God's image, God was one fine and sexy man because abs like that, they didn't just grow on trees—or people. No, those were earned, and Kiba had obviously worked hard to earn them.
Oh, get a fucking grip, Sakura! She shook her head, clearing the images of the brunet's chest from her mind. Find him some man-clothes!
Pausing in front of her dresser, she hesitated before opening the drawer that had once belonged to Kankurou. Their breakup had been very abrupt, and uncomfortable. She'd had the extra lock and chainlink installed the day before breaking up with him, but other things hadn't been as well-planned. She still had a lot of things at his place, but in retrospect, she didn't really miss them much. And he'd certainly not called for his clothing back. Her, yes. His clothing, not so much.
She hoped Kiba wouldn't mind too much. It was that, or wear her clothes, and she doubted he'd enjoy that much, unless there were a few things that had changed about him that she hadn't heard about.
Laughing slightly at the thought, she pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a random shirt from the drawer, feeling like they should fit all right, since Kiba and Kankurou appeared to be about the same size. That thought made her uncomfortable, and she made sure never to compare them again.
Moving back out into the living room, she blinked when she saw Kiba was missing, but turned towards the small laundry room when she heard the dryer start, the brunet exiting it in his boxers. He rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably and offered her a small smile.
Returning to mother mode, she motioned him to follow her and moved back into her room, entering her bathroom and hastily yanking her bra off the shower rack, tossing it into the cupboard under the sink.
"Take a hot shower before you freeze to death," she ordered, placing the clothes down on the counter by the sink. "And give me your boxers so I can dry them, too."
That blush she'd locked away was trying to get out again, and she forced it almost violently back into its little box.
"Yes ma'am," Kiba teased, moving into the bathroom. She squeezed past him back out, trying to ignore how cold his skin had felt, because that really wasn't natural. Kiba was horrendously warm-blooded, to the point where sometimes, when they'd watched movies together, he'd made her feel like she was going to get heatstroke.
"Give me your boxers," she ordered again, closing the door as far as it could go with her hand still inside the bathroom, palm up. A few seconds passed, and the brunet took her hand, placing his boxers in them carefully. She noted he'd done so in a way that wouldn't make her have to touch the inside, and snorted a little, finding him to be overly kind.
"Thanks," she muttered, closing the door and turning to leave.
"Sorry I'm ruining your night."
She turned back to the door, able to perfectly picture the other's expression. Letting out a sigh, she kicked the door lightly. "You're not ruining my night. Just take the shower before you get sick."
Sakura waited until she heard the water start running and then turned to exit the room, moving back into the laundry room where she opened the dryer. Kiba was going to be spending the weekend, so washing the clothes instead of just drying them seemed like a smarter idea.
Pulling his clothing from the dryer, she shoved them and his boxers into the washer, added soap, and started it. Then, she moved back into her room and sighed. Making sure the shower was still running, she pulled her pyjama pants out from under her pillow and pulled them on once her jeans were thrown into the hamper. Grabbing a long-sleeved shirt, she replaced the one she was wearing with it, and then went into the kitchen to make her self-promised hot chocolate.
She paused just long enough to sigh at herself before making another one, knowing Kiba would want some. He always used to. He even always commented on how cute she was for making sure he had the little marshmallows in his, since he loved those so much.
"I've gotta have some here somewhere, I'm sure," she muttered to herself, opening one of her cupboards and digging through it. She found a bag at the back with a few pathetic looking ones left. Pulling one out, she sniffed it, then bit into it. It tasted fine, so she was sure it would be all right.
Cutting one of them up into small cubes, she dropped them into one of the drinks just as Kiba exited her room, towel-drying his hair.
"Here," she pushed his drink towards him, cleaning up quickly and replacing everything she'd pulled out.
"Thanks. Hey, marshmallows! You remembered!" He grinned at her, towel wrapped around his neck and shirt just a little too tight, as his chest was much broader and more well-defined than Kankurou's. Sakura liked that small difference.
"Of course I did. I'm insulted," she teased, picking her cup up and moving towards the couch with it, sitting down with her feet tucked up underneath her. She almost couldn't believe he didn't think she'd remember the marshmallows; she knew a lot about him.
Frowning as Kiba moved across the living room to sit next to her, she realized, quite distressed, that she did know a lot about him. But that was because he was one of her best friends, of course she knew a lot about him! She knew a lot about Naruto and Sasuke, too!
Well, she didn't know if they liked marshmallows in their hot chocolate, but to be fair, she was fairly certain she'd never seen them drink any. And on top of that, Kiba'd always complained when he didn't get his marshmallows! Not that Naruto didn't complain when he wanted something, but Kiba's complaints just tended to stick more easily. Probably because his voice was whinier!
Ugh, stop it! Why are you dwelling on this! Forget the stupid screamed love confession, it wasn't even that sweet!
She let out an annoyed huff and grabbed the remote to turn on the television, noting that Kiba had picked up her movie of choice for the weekend from the side table. He held it up to her.
"You seen this yet?"
"No, I was gonna watch it tonight, but I'm not gonna make you sit through it," she muttered, surfing the channels for something Kiba'd want to watch. Like a football game, or something.
Turning to look at Kiba when he stood up, she watched him walk across to the television and pop open the DVD player.
"What are you doing?"
"Putting your movie in," he said, turning to grin at her. "I can sit through it, I'm sure it's not going to be that bad. Besides," he shrugged, grabbing the DVD remote and moving back towards the couch, "it's your weekend. Just pretend I'm not even here. I want you to be able to enjoy it, despite my presence."
Snorting, she shoved him slightly when he sat back down. "You make it sound like you being here is the most horrible thing that could ever have happened to me."
"Well, I'm glad to hear it's not." He grinned widely and handed her the remote, motioning the television. "After you."
Smiling and shaking her head slightly, she flipped to channel three and started the movie, eying Kiba briefly to see what his reaction was to the fact that she'd chosen to watch her movie, like he'd suggested. He looked perfectly happy, so smiling more, she looked back at the television and got comfortable.
Although she'd promised herself not to compare Kiba and Kankurou, Sakura had spent the entire night doing just that, and was insanely pleased to find they were absolutely nothing alike. Despite the fact that she knew Kiba hadn't enjoyed her movie choice, he hadn't said a word throughout the entire thing, whereas Kankurou would have been complaining his head off. Hell, he wouldn't have let her even put it on.
Then when dinner time had arrived, he'd insisted she continue watching her movie, and had spent half an hour in the kitchen making her some kind of fried chicken. Kankurou would have groused at her to get off her lazy ass and make him dinner before he made her regret it.
The more she thought about them side by side, the further apart they became. Save for the two of them sharing the same pant size, they had nothing else at all in common.
Kiba was—sweet. And he was fun. Really fun. It had been so long since she'd truly hung out with him that she'd forgotten how fun he really was.
After watching the movie, they'd played a few board games, and then had turned on the comedy channel and laughed until their sides hurt. She hadn't had that much fun in a long time, and hadn't even noticed when one in the morning rolled around until her eyes drooped and she fell asleep for a minute, Kiba having to nudge her awake.
"Bed time?" he asked with a smile, Sakura laughing slightly and stretching.
"I guess so. I don't usually stay up this late." Grunting and getting to her feet, she moved towards the hall closet and pulled it open, yanking out a pillow and her spare comforter, then moving back to the couch, putting them down on the edge. "I'll see you in the morning."
"Yes ma'am. Thanks again for the place to crash." He grinned at her and tossed the pillow onto the end of the couch, grabbing the blanket and stretching out on it. Sakura turned off the lights in the front hall and the kitchen, moving towards her room and turning to put out the living room light when her eyes strayed to Kiba.
His feet were dangling off the end of the couch. She winced, feeling guilty. The guy was almost six foot two, and her couch was barely long enough for her to sleep on comfortably. Even though he was a guest, and she didn't have to be nice enough to let him stay, she still felt guilty.
She stared at him for a while longer, the brunet turning to look at her with a cocked eyebrow. "Everything okay?"
Sighing in exasperation at herself, she motioned for him to follow her. "Come on, you giant."
Frowning, confused, Kiba sat up and grabbed his pillow and blanket, following after her when she turned off the light.
"I'm not letting you sleep on your couch, Sakura," he warned, which only made her snort.
"I'm not going to. My bed is big enough, we can share." She turned to him, rolling her eyes at his shocked expression. "Please, it's not the first time we've shared a bed."
"Yeah, but—we were twelve."
"There was also that time you were completely trashed in first year," she said with a smirk, the brunet groaning and covering his face.
"God, you're never going to let me live that down!" He sighed, the two of them entering her bedroom.
She paused beside her bed, biting her bottom lip, then looked up at Kiba sharply, pointing her finger at him. "If I wake up with you cuddling against me, I'll—punch you. Or kick you. Or chop off bits of you that you like very, very much." Her eyes strayed down to his groin to emphasize her threat.
Kiba shifted uncomfortably, clearing his throat. "Duly noted."
"Good." Turning on her heel, she stalked into her bathroom to brush her teeth, knowing Kiba wouldn't be able to since she didn't have an extra toothbrush, and she wasn't willing to let him use hers. Things like toothbrushes and underwear weren't shared, not that she thought he'd want to wear her knickers.
When she returned, Kiba had turned down her side of the bed and was lying under his own blanket, the shirt she'd let him borrow lying on the floor on his side. Trying to act like it was no big deal, she turned the heat up a little bit and then turned off her light, climbing into bed.
"Night, Kiba."
"Good night, Sakura. Sweet dreams."
She had to smile at that, because it wasn't something she heard often, and then closed her eyes. It didn't take her long to fall asleep, but she woke up again a few hours later when her bed gave an almost violent jerk. She sat bolt upright in bed, her heart slamming against her ribcage in fright, and it took her a few seconds to realize it had just been Kiba kicking his blankets off.
He was still fast asleep, but he was frowning in his sleep, pushing the blankets further away from himself, and a thin layer of sweat present on his bronzed skin. Sakura eyed the thermostat and realized that a comfortable temperature for her was causing Kiba to feel like he was dying.
Sighing, the rosette stood silently and moved across the room, turning it down a little bit before returning to the bed. She got back under her covers, getting ready to sleep again, but knowing she was going to be cold soon.
Just as she predicted, less than half an hour later, she was cold, while Kiba appeared completely fine, the sweat gone, but the other not having reached for his blanket yet, which proved he was still all right.
Frowning to herself, and letting out an annoyed huff, she threw one half of her own blanket over the brunet and shifted closer to him, resting her cheek against his chest and throwing her arm over his middle, cuddling up against him.
He let out a grunt, and inhaled deeply before his sleepy voice broke the silence of the dark room. "Does this count as me cuddling against you? Cause I kind of like my favourite appendage."
Sakura snorted. "If it's your favourite, obviously you like it." She pressed her lips together. "And no. I was cold."
"Mm, I'm a natural-born heater." He shifted, wrapping one arm around her and pulling her closer. "You can smack me when you get too hot."
Snorting again, she hit his chest lightly, playfully, and closed her eyes.
She fell asleep again within minutes.
Banging on her front door woke Sakura up so suddenly that she almost propelled herself off the bed. Kiba's arm still wrapped around her shoulders was the only thing that kept her in it, the brunet grunting slightly and inhaling deeply.
"What time is it?" he mumbled, turning his head away from Sakura. The rosette opened bleary eyes to check the time, and noticed it was only seven in the morning.
"Seven."
"Who's banging on your door at seven on a Saturday?"
She could hear the slight whine to his voice and just snorted, getting to her feet to answer the door before the neighbours complained. He wasn't the only one who was annoyed, and she was willing to bet anything it was the building super, coming to complain about the stupid leak into the apartment below that they were still trying to fix.
It had been happening for over a month, now, and she was slowly getting angrier and angrier with their lack of ability to actually fix the stupid problem.
Unlocking the two deadbolts and pulling back the chain-link, she pulled open the door, letting out a sigh and looking up. "What do you—"
Eyes focussing, they snapped open and she started to slam the door on instinct when a hand shot out and forced it to stay open. She cursed herself for not having checked the peep-hole before opening the stupid door. Taking an unconscious step back, her eyes fell to the floor, arms coming up to instinctively hug herself as Kankurou pushed his way into the apartment.
"You haven't been returning my calls," he said, his voice low. "I miss you, Sakura." He reached out to wrap his arms around her waist but she took another step back, twisting to stay out of his grip.
"Don't." Her eyes shot up to his and then back to the ground, the rosette shifting uncomfortably. "I told you to stop calling me."
"Babe, I just wanted to talk. About us."
"There is no us!" she insisted, tightening her grip on her own arms and backing up more. She was in the living room, now, Kankurou still right in front of her. Her eyes flickered to the open front door, wondering if someone would look in and think to say something, but who would be up this damn early on a Saturday?!
"Cherrycake, I'm different," Kankurou insisted, motioning himself with both hands. "I've changed. We can start over, I promise."
The thing that scared her the most was that a part of her was almost willing to consider it. They'd been together so long, and she did love him. But she shook her head and forced herself to see reason, reminding herself of how possessive he was. And how violent. He wasn't good for her.
"No." It was one of the hardest words she'd ever forced out. "No, we can't. Kank, I'm sorry, but you have to go."
"You're not even giving me a chance!" Kankurou shouted, taking a step forward and grabbing one of Sakura's arms. "You're just seeing what you want to see! What is it? Is there someone else? You already moved on?! You fucking whore?!"
"No!" she shouted in his face, shoving at him hard and managing to free her arm. "God, you're always like this! I didn't break up with you because of someone else, I broke up with you because you're a fucking asshole!"
In retrospect, she felt like she should have chosen her words a little bit more carefully, considering she knew that she'd pissed the other off. Wincing and bringing one arm up instinctively to block the blow she knew was coming, she looked over and saw his arm pull back, but it never came forward.
It took her a second to realize it was because Kiba had grabbed his wrist and yanked him backwards, turning Kankurou around and shoving him face-first into the wall.
"When a lady says no, Kank, that usually means no!" He pulled the other's arm up his back, Kankurou grunting angrily, his eyes shifting to look at Sakura.
"Nobody else, huh?" he spat. "You really are a who—" He cut himself off, letting out a loud shout when Kiba jerked his arm up even higher.
"Kiba got locked out," Sakura insisted, hugging herself again, and not enjoying feeling like a damsel in distress, even if she was happy that Kiba had stopped him from hitting her. "He was just over as a friend, that's it."
"You always let your friends sleep half-naked in your bed?"
Gritting her teeth, Sakura stomped over to him angrily, getting right in his face—or as close as she could get, since his was pressed against the wall. "You're going to leave now, Kank, and you're not going to come back. Or call me. Or come anywhere near me again or I fucking swear, I'm going to get a restraining order." She narrowed her eyes. "Now get out."
She took a step back, Kiba releasing Kankurou, who pulled away from the wall angrily and straightened out his shirt, glaring at Sakura, and then at Kiba before stalking to the door and slamming it loudly behind himself.
The second he was gone, Sakura could feel herself hyperventilating. Backing up quickly, she sat down on the couch and hugged herself, rocking back and forth slightly while trying to calm herself down.
She heard Kiba moving around in the kitchen and he was back a few seconds later, holding a paper bag out to her and sitting beside her.
"Here. It'll smell like mushrooms cause I had to dump them out to get it, but it'll help." Wrapping an arm around her, he pulled her against his chest as she breathed in and out of the paper bag, trying to get herself to calm down.
She just kept wondering what would have happened if Kiba hadn't been there. She was strong, she took care of herself really well, and if some random asshole had come up to her on the street and pulled something, she'd have knocked the fucker out without any problems. But with Kankurou—she couldn't do it, for some reason. Whenever he came close, it was like all of her muscles turned to stone. She couldn't even remember how to do anything, and she hated that. She hated that she'd had to rely on Kiba, even if she was grateful he'd been there.
The soothing sound of his heart beating and the way his hand rubbed up and down her arm made it easier for her to relax. She closed her eyes, trying to focus on nothing else but the sound of his heart, and before she even realized what had happened, she fell back asleep.
Jerking up in bed when two metallic objects were slammed together, Sakura looked around her room, confused, and then let herself fall back down onto her pillow, face-first. Reaching out blindly for her clock, she found it and pulled it towards herself, turning her head to blink at the time. It was almost noon.
She frowned, putting the clock back and rolled over. The bed was empty. That made her wonder if she'd dreamt the whole thing. If Kiba had ever been there. If Kankurou had shown up. In a way, she'd have liked for it to have been a dream. In another way, she felt like that would make her incredibly sad.
Rolling onto her back, she stretched loudly and then let out a yawn, turning onto her side and curling in on herself, nuzzling into her pillow and totally ready for more sleep.
"Sakura?"
A smile teased her lips when that voice confirmed it hadn't been a dream and she rolled onto her back again, propping herself up on her elbows to look at her door. Kiba grinned in at her.
"Morning, sleepyhead."
Sakura blinked at him, still half-asleep, and ran one hand through her hair, trying to get it into some semblance of order. Rubbing her eyes, she started to get out of bed when Kiba was instantly beside her, pushing her back into it.
"Stay there. I made something for you."
Kiba looked so damn excited that Sakura couldn't help but get back into bed, pushing her pillow up behind herself so she could lean back against it while the brunet hurried out of the room. She cocked an eyebrow when she heard more banging around, and figured that was what had woken her up in the first place.
When he returned, he was balancing a plate of pancakes on top of a large glass of orange juice, with syrup, a knife and a fork in his other hand.
He smiled sheepishly. "I couldn't find a tray, so..." He put the syrup and utensils down on her nightstand, then sat down beside her on the bed, handing her the plate of pancakes, then placing the juice down on the nightstand, as well.
"You made me breakfast?" She couldn't help the smile slowly spreading across her face when she looked down into her plate. Kiba really knew how to cook, she never would've expected that.
"Well, sure. You're letting me stay, and I've been a bit of a nuisance. It's the least I could do." He smiled at her then stood. "I'm gonna go clean up my mess."
When he turned to head to the door, Sakura bit her lip. "Wait."
He turned back.
"Um, did you—is there more for you?"
"Of course," he said with a laugh. "I'm a garburator."
"You should come eat then." She motioned the spot beside her on the bed. "We can clean up later."
He cocked an eyebrow at her, then grinned and started walking backwards. "Okay. Sure. Give me a second."
Sakura smiled, looking down into her plate and biting her bottom lip. Apart from Kankurou's appearance, she had to admit, so far this was the best weekend she'd had in a long, long time. And as much as she didn't want to give Kiba that much credit, the guy was really fucking good at making her think he was a Godsend.
Kiba sighed as he sat in the university cafeteria on Monday morning, playing with his fries and listening to Naruto and Sasuke bicker about something unimportant. Shino had returned home on Saturday afternoon, so even though Kiba'd wanted to spend the weekend with Sakura, he didn't want to lie to her just to stay longer. So, he'd changed back into the same clothes he'd worn when he'd arrived at her place, and then gone home.
They'd spoken on MSN a bit, but mostly just about homework and stuff before they'd run out of things to say. Kiba was just trying to avoid bringing up Kankurou, and his own desire to date her. That had been hard, but at least the weekend had gone well.
"Oi!"
Kiba started when a fry hit him in the face and he focussed back on the two in front of him. Both of them were staring at him like he was insane.
"What?" he demanded, shoving a fry in his mouth and chewing it.
"What are you thinking about?" Naruto narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"Nothing," he replied with a shrug, looking up just in time to see Sakura walking towards another table with her friends.
Biting at the inside of his cheek for a few seconds, he dropped the fry he was holding and took a deep breath. Second time was bound to work, right? Well—probably not, but he'd give it a try anyway. Standing up, he climbed onto his chair, and then the table.
"Not again," Sasuke muttered, annoyed, though this time he didn't make any move to leave.
"Yo! Sakura!" Kiba shouted across the cafeteria. It went completely silent, just like the last time.
The rosette turned to look at him, and visibly snorted. "What?" she shouted back.
"Go out with me!"
"Okay!"
Kiba blinked. He honestly hadn't been expecting that, and now that he'd gotten it, he didn't know what to say. He was saved having to think of something because Ino cheered and started clapping, which then led the entire cafeteria to start clapping and catcalling at them both.
The brunet hastily climbed off the table, grinning like an idiot with a flush creeping up the back of his neck and pulled out his phone, texting Sakura that he'd call her when he was done classes. Grinning even wider when she answered that he'd better fucking call her, he laughed and snapped his phone shut, looking up at Sasuke and Naruto.
Both of them looked like they'd just learned Kiba was actually a woman. Their shock was akin to that kind of information. Smirking triumphantly, he leaned forward and threw a fry at Sasuke.
"Guess this means you can't send me any more dirty pictures, huh? Poor thing, what are you gonna do to torture me now?"
His eyes shifted to over the other's shoulder, across the room at the rosette, whose own green eyes burned into his own. She smiled and then looked away, clearly embarrassed, and he smiled too, looking down at his food and popping another fry into his mouth.
And they always said persistence didn't lead to anything. He was living proof that was a lie.
END.
Commission Request: "kiba and sakura, that would be great if it was a little romance. i would like to see him be a hero for her. maybe she was in an abusive relationship? idk..."