The day that Akamaru's mate had pups was quite possible the happiest day of Kiba's life. He couldn't have cared less that she wasn't a purebreed, and wasn't even a nin dog. He didn't care that likely no ninja would ever take them as partners, that they would probably live out their lives as cherished house pets. In fact, Kiba wasn't entirely sure he ever wanted to give them up anyway, so it really didn't matter much. There were six of them in all, fuzzy and plump and so very small. Most of them took after Chairo, the mother, but one had various white patches all over and another was the picture of Akamaru when he was a pup. Now, over three months later, Kiba thought there was no greater feeling than to have them all rush him and Akamaru every time they returned from a mission. It was like being welcomed by a pack, a feeling Kiba hadn't had since leaving home. Dog toys scattered throughout every one of the rooms gave the apartment a more warm, lived in feeling than it had ever had. He knew he spoiled the pups, and he did it shamelessly.

"We're home, you little monsters." he smirked as he strode it, tossing some new rope toys and a squeaky ball he had picked up on his joke of a mission to them. Kuro and Suki pounced on one rope toy immediately, starting a game of tug of war while Ha stood by yapping in excitement. Kage was prancing hesitantly near the kitchen table, slowly inching forward, while Genki and Shimi hopped up on Kiba's shins eagerly, barking about what had happened while he was gone and tattling on Kage for wetting the carpet. Akamaru sighed heavily, shared a knowing look with Kiba, and pushed his way into the room to talk to Kage. Kiba didn't have to worry about training the pups because Akamaru knew what he wanted them to know and made sure the pups followed suit. Kiba couldn't care less if they ever learned 'proper obedience'. They were well behaved for the most part, and Chairo did a good job of marshaling them when Kiba and Akamaru were out. Pushing Ha lightly out of the way with his foot Kiba retrieved the near empty stain remover bottle from the hall closet and followed Genki across the room to the accident. Chairo blinked tiredly up at them from where she was resting on the couch, nodding briefly before settling down again. She had actually been very mild tempered and friendly for having been a stray. Kiba suspected that she had owners at some point, but neither she or Akamaru would go into it. She had been rather wary of Kiba when Akamaru first brought her home, but had warmed up to him almost immediately. That was one of the many reasons Kiba liked dogs better than humans; no matter how much they had been mistreated, they weren't petty enough to let themselves become bitter and hollow. They forgave and accepted and moved on. He only knew one person like that, though that guy couldn't exactly be described as human...if only he weren't so damn loud and annoying, they might actually get on rather well.

Leaving a towel down to soak up the pee, Kiba moved to the kitchen and started preparing dinner for Akamaru and Chairo, stopping briefly to pour some curry paste in a pan and start the rice cooker. He laughed as the pups all flooded the kitchen and began pulling out their bowls (he had to put them up in the cabinet or the pups would have them chewed apart in five minutes). Kage hung back a little behind the rest of the pack, still looking slightly ashamed, so he reached down and rubbed her head affectionately. Kage was the runt of the litter, and Kiba felt a strong tie to her, as he knew Akamaru did. She wasn't particularly weak, but she was very shy and withdrawn, and was easily intimidated by her much more boistrous siblings.

He had just finished setting out everyone's bowls (and forcibly pulled Kuro out of Suki's bowl, little pig) when there was a lazy knock at his door, followed by,

"Kiba! Are you back yet you smelly bastard?"

He had the door open and his hand clamped over Naruto's mouth in two seconds.

"Don't swear around the pups you idiot." he growled lowly, glaring daggers at Naruto. Naruto smirked under his hand and licked Kiba's palm, howling with laughter when Kiba yanked his hand back.

"Like they don't hear it from you." replied Naruto calmly, walking past Kiba into the apartment and kicking off his shoes. "You've got just as bad a mouth as me, and a hotter temper."

Kiba grabbed the back of Naruto's vest as he made to step up onto the tatami and whirled him around to face him. "What are you doing here Fox Boy, and just who said you could just go and invite yourself in?"

Naruto scowled and jerked his collar free. The easiest way to piss Naruto off was to make any kind of reference to either the Kyuubi or Sasuke, depending on which the occasion called for.

"Can't a guy welcome another guy back without gettin' the third degree? God, what, did you screw up or something? It was an escort mission wasn't it?"

Kiba snarled and stalked back to the kitchen. He didn't want to think about that "mission". It had gone smoothly enough, except the client had bitched and moaned about Akamaru the entire way ("I mean, he smells so bad, and his fur is all matted and gross! Do I really have to ride this thing?") to her village, and had insisted on stopping at ever shop in the two towns they passed along the way to shop. The mission should only have taken him about half a day, but by the time he had gotten back and turned in his report to Iruka it was well after dark.

"Holy shit, did you?" asked Naruto, incredulous, and he quickly dodged as Kiba chucked a wooden spoon at him. "Man, even I couldn't screw that up!"

"I didn't screw up!" snapped Kiba, nearly scaring Kage out of her fur. "I just don't want to talk about it!" peeking around the wall from the kitchen, he studied Naruto for a minute and growled, "You'd better not be expecting me to feed you. If that's what you're here for, you can just get out now. I barely make enough to feed myself; I can't afford your fat ass too.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted. "For you information, my ass is hard enough to cut diamonds on. Besides, if I wanted to eat instant curry I'd just eat at my own place."

"You mean you actually buy food other than ramen?" asked Kiba skeptically.

"...Well, no, but you get what I'm saying." Naruto mumbled, cheeks flushing. "'Sides, I don't see why you'd buy anything else anyway; ramen's dirt cheap and it keeps forever."

"And has the nutritional value of cardboard." Kiba replied dryly, grabbing a pair of chopsticks from a drawer and sitting down at the table, while Naruto shrugged and leaned lazily against the counter. The pups had finished eating by this point, and immediately hurried over to start investigating the newcomer. As soon as the smelled him though, they immediately shied away and ran to either Kiba, Akamaru, or Chairo. Kiba wasn't really surprised; Naruto smelled of fox and danger, the Kyuubi's chakra completely burying any scent of his own he might have. Akamaru had been terrified of Naruto the first time he met him, and though Kiba would never admit it, he had been too.

A bark of laughter from Naruto caught his attention, and when Kiba looked up he was shocked to see

Kage sitting in Naruto's lap, licking his face enthusiastically while Naruto scratched her ears. Kiba and Akamaru shared a look; Kage hated strangers. The one time Sakura had stopped by to ask if Kiba was ready to return to active status Kage had hidden herself underneath the blankets of the dog bed for up to a full hour after Sakura had left. Kiva would have expected Naruto's chakra to send her into hiding for the rest of the night. Shoving the last of the rice into his mouth, Kiba stood and walked across to the sink, stopping briefly behind Naruto to catch his scent. The overwhelming smell of danger was still there, but there was a protective, parental edge to it. It was slight, nearly drowned by the tang of power and destruction, but Kiba had always suspected that Kage had the best sense of smell out of all of her siblings. Curiosity satisfied, Kiba sat on the floor against the table leg, comforting the pups and just watching. Naruto looked...no, cute was too girly to describe even someone like Naruto. No, he looked innocent, which was rare for nins their age. He had rolled Kage onto her back in his lap and was scratching her belly, grinning like a maniac the whole while.

After a few minutes Naruto glanced up and asked, "How old are they?"

"Three months, almost three and a half." muttered Kiba distractedly as he swiped Genki's legs out from underneath him plafully.

Naruto nodded and turned his attention back to Kage, rumpling her ears and scratching her nose. "Are you going to sell them?"

It was the casual tone that caught Kiba's attention more than anything, and he glanced up warily. "Maybe. I haven't really decided yet."

"Hm," Naruto hummed in his throat, never looking up. The silence returned, but now Kiba was aware of the strong underlying tension emanating from Naruto in waves as he pet the now drowsing Kage. Gently pushing Genki and Shimi off he stood and towered over Naruto.

"Why are you here?" he growled. No he wasn't overreacting. Naruto was here for his pups, and while Naruto was generally a good guy Kiba would never trust him with any of them.

Naruto raised his head to stare Kiba in the eye, almost challenging him as he said, "I want a nin dog."

The growl deepened in Kiba's throat. "No. Get out."

Shaking off the arm that was reaching for him, Naruto shouted, "I want a nin dog!"

The pups scattered at the raised voice, and Naruto glanced longingly after Kage before standing up and glaring Kiba in the eye.

"Then go to the clan house." Kiba snarled back. Naruto scoffed.

"You know the won't sell to me, you idiot." he said bitterly.

"It's just as well." Kiba returned, softening slightly. "You'd never be able to communicate with a nin dog. You can't understand them. You'd never be able to work with them like an Inuzuka."

Naruto looked away, focusing on the door the pups had run out. "I don't care. I want a companion Kiba."

"Big word blondie. Go get a whore like everyone else."

He barely dodged Naruto's punch.

"That's not what I mean and you know it!" shouted Naruto, settling into a defensive stance. "I want a dog, but I can't just leave them at home in case I get a long mission, so I need one I can take with me." he deflated slightly, lowering his head. "I...my apartment...it's...lonely..." he muttered, obviously uncomfortable. "When, ya' know...I come back..."

Kiba rolled his eyes and leaned back against the counter. "Then get a girlfriend doofus. You'd have to be blind not to see that Hinata wants you."

"I'd have to be brain-dead not to know that you'd kill me if I ever went out with her." Naruto paused and smirked. "At least you'd try to."

"Try nothing. I'd kick your fox butt to Hell and back and you know it." said Kiba smugly, muscles tensing in anticipation of Naruto's attack. Instead, Naruto scowled darkly and muttered,

"Yeah, you wish." running a hand through his hair, he sighed. "Besides, I couldn't do that to Hinata or anyone else. She'd be better off with you, even if you are a mutt."

"What do you mean?" Kiba asked, letting the insult pass. Why was this starting to feel like a chick conversation? Too many feelings were flying around and it was making both of them uncomfortable. Why couldn't Naruto just have left when he told him 'no'?

"Your mom was a whore and your dad was-"

"Not that you idiot!" yelled Kiba, slamming his fist on the counter and snarling. "The other thing! Why can't you go out with Hinata, 'cause even though I hate to admit it, it'd make her really happy. She's been head over heels for you since we were ten."

Picking at the linoleum of the counter, Naruto muttered, "You know danm well why. Some of the nin here might see past it, but most of the people still see me as a demon. If I went out with Hinata, she'd be under constant pressure from the village and her family to break up with me. Hell, if I married her, her family would probably disown her, and any kids we'd have would be 'demons' too! It's...it's just not worth it. I like her too much to do that to her."

Kiba sighed and leaned back again. Now they really sounded like a couple of women. "What about Sakura? You chased her around like a love sick puppy when we were kids."

"Yeah, well we all know that I was a pretty stupid kid." Naruto snorted.

"'Was'? Still are, and you're still an annoying brat to boot."

"Shut up." Naruto muttered, but it was more a conditioned response than anything.

Grudgingly, Kiba realised he felt a little sorry for Naruto. He'd completely resolved himself to be alone for the rest of his life when he obviously wanted a family. Kiba had never really known that kind of desperation. He had friends growing up, and more than that he had always had Akamaru.

"So, what do you say man?" Naruto whined, hands clasped and eyes as big and watery as he could possibly get them. "I'll let you help me train it, and I'll only feed it what you tell me to, no ramen promise, and it can sleep in my bed, and if you don't like how I'm treating it you can totally kick my ass. C'mon, please!"

Kiba studied Naruto carefully. Despite the half-assed attempt at begging he seemed genuinely serious. Plus, he was offering Kiba complete control and Kiba did like being in control...

"Let me think about it." he said finally, crossing his arms. "I'll let you know sometime tomorrow."

Kiba expected Naruto to object, but seemed content enough with the answer as he nearly knock Kiba over with a flying hug and started for the door. As he walked past the couch, Kage peeked out and toed timidly after him. Naruto grinned and bent down to scratch her head.

"See you later pup." he said before turning to Kiba and repeating himself. Kiba's kunai embedded itself in the door and he had to physically restrain himself from swearing a blue streak as Naruto skipped out of the apartment laughing.

SnM: Yes! I've been wanting to write a fic for this pairing for SO ling, because it's my all time favorite crack pairing and there's really not enough love out there for it. Updates on this will probably be slow (details in my profile) and I apologize for that.

Name Translations:

Chairo: Brown

Suki: Fondness, love

Kuro: Black

Ha: Leaf

Kage: Shadow

Genki: Energy

Shimi: Spot (specifically stain)

The names in Naruto are always descriptive of the character (Narutofishcake, Sakuraflower blossom, Uchiha/uchiwafan, Kibafang) so I tried to follow along in the same strain. Also, I've never really been that original with names.

Please r&r. It feeds my starving muses