Sunny Days
Love forces one to fight against turbulent storms: to the bright, sunny days found in a lover's arms.
Kiba's apartment
"Kiba, wake up, sleepy head." Temari turned over in their shared bed and tapped the sleeping man on the cheek. "You have a gig tomorrow night, so Naruto and the others might want to practice."
Kiba opened his eyes. "Yeah, I should get going huh?"
"Most definitely." She grinned.
"Babe, are you trying to get rid of me?"
"Only so I can continue an affair with my intern." Temari sat up and kissed him softly.
"Sasuke's an asshole, but he'd never sleep with my woman. He doesn't have the guts." Kiba murmured. "I gotta go, okay? Nara'll pound my face in if I'm late again."
Kiba lifted himself off his bed and put on a pair of jeans and a clean shirt from the laundry pile.
"I'm leaving now."
"Go, get a move on!"
"Are you sure that you don't want to come and watch?"
"Do you remember what happened last time I was there?"
"I'm sure that Naruto will be on his best behaviour this time. He was just stressed out that time." Kiba smirked, mildly amused at his girlfriend's tense glare. "That guy's a drama queen, he likes being the center of attention, that's all. He can't help it when someone prettier than him walks in and steals his thunder."
"No, I really should get ready for my meeting for tomorrow. And I still have to write an opening statement for—never mind, I'm boring you with details. Just enjoy yourself and be back before dinner. I'm making a casserole."
"Yes, mum. I love casseroles, especially when you make it." Kiba kissed her face softly before lingering on her lips. "I love you, Temari."
"I know." She uttered back. "Now, go, before I kick you out."
"Yes, ma'am," Kiba kissed her once more on the cheek as he strolled out the door.
XXXX
After practice...
"You've reached, Kiba and Temari, leave a message after the beep." Temari's curt, business-like voice sounded on the phone.
"Hey, Temari, it's me. I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to be late coming home. Sorry about the casserole, babe. Blame it on Naruto—" the machine cut him off. "Crap."
Kiba ran for a cab, dreading coming home. Temari was hell to deal with whenever he was late for one of her "dinners". It wasn't that her food wasn't great or anything, it's just that it was always a tad too spicy. It doesn't matter what she made, you can guarantee it'd be three-alarms hot.
But, the bottom line is that this time, he wasn't trying to miss it. He actually wanted to be there to eat her casserole. He wanted to be there to come home to her and have a nice time together. Didn't he owe her that much at least? With their band Soleil on its way up the entertainment ladder and ad agencies knocking at their doors for once, not the other way around, he'd seen very little of her. Whenever he got home it was either she was already asleep or she was at one of her weekend business trips counselling for a distant magnate client.
Finally flagging a cab down, Kiba entered and gave him his and Temari's address.
"Sure, but it may take a while. There's traffic on the bridge, an accident." The cabbie replied.
"Whatever. Just take the quickest route."
"Yessir," the man grumbled.
'Tomorrow, I'll do something nice for her,' Kiba thought, vowing to himself. 'I'll make it up to her. We'll go out for a romantic dinner.'
An hour later, past the horrible traffic, Kiba made it to the front of their apartment. He was saving up for a family home. Maybe they'll be able to move out by next year. Maybe he could propose by fall in time for a spring wedding, or maybe he could propose to her now. There were a lot of maybes but, he knew that he wanted this. And whenever he wanted something, even as a child, he always worked to obtain it. Kiba wanted a family, one as big as his own back in Japan, and hopefully, it'd be one with Temari.
The elevator was taking too long. He decided to take the stairs. He sped by floor after floor, ready to meet his lover.
Once at the front of the apartment door, he gladly opened the door.
"Hey, Temari, I'm home! Where's my casserole?" Kiba entered the room, sunny-eyed and determined to end their probable fight as soon as possible, so that he could make his move for the future—their future together.
It took him a moment to notice that there was no scent of casserole in the air, and a couple more to find out that Temari was sitting on the couch, holding some sort of device in her hand; staring blankly at him.
Kiba rushed to her side, forgetting his jubilation. Worry etched on his young face.
"What's wrong babe?" Kiba sat beside her. Then he indicated to the object in her grasp. "What's that?"
"A-a pregnancy test." She stuttered.
Kiba swallowed in anticipation. "What does it say?"
"Positive."
"Really?" he stared at her awestruck. "You're having a baby?"
"Yes," she supplied meekly.
"That's great!" Kiba hopped off the couch. "We're having a baby!"
"Kiba..." Temari called out after him.
"Man, Temari, I gotta tell the guys!" He whipped out his cell phone. "Who should I call first?"
"Kiba, please listen." Temari uttered.
"I was thinking of proposing in the fall so we could have a spring wedding, but with the baby on the way, we should get married right away!" Kiba couldn't keep still, he wanted to jump and shout in his excitement. He was going to be a father! "I'll call Shikamaru, he'll find out where we can get married as soon as possible."
"Kiba, you're not the father!" Temari all but screamed to his face.
"What?" he dropped the phone.
"You're not the father..." She sobbed.
Kiba wished that he'd die instead of hearing her words. He felt the overprotective anger rising in his belly. It snaked up to his chest and squeezed his heart, taunting it.
"Who is he?" He asked her, turning around lest the sight of her provoke his rage. "Who's the father?"
"Kiba, I'm sorry..." Temari cried.
This time, he turned to face the woman who scorned him.
"Who is he?"
"Sasuke Uchiha, we had an affair." She turned her tear-streaked face towards him. "We still do!"
"The bastard! How could I let him, how could I let him get to you?" Kiba shouted.
He proceeded to cross the room and punch the walls. He made a dent with the second punch and the third one made his knuckles bleed. But the pain wasn't enough.
He howled in anguish.
"It takes two people to have an affair, Kiba. I'm not a princess who wants to be protected at all sides at all times. I want to live my life and have a life. I can't do that if you're always treating me like some sort of glass princess." Temari stated, calmly now, but still sniffling. "I'm leaving, Kiba."
"No," he hissed. "You can't leave me. I'll do anything you want, just don't do that."
"I've hurt you enough, Kiba, I have to leave."
"No, I'll raise his child; I'll love it like my own. I'll marry you tomorrow!" He voiced, bewildered.
"Kiba, I know I should have told you this before, but," Temari wiped what was left of her tears and sat across from him, not touching him. "I don't lo—"
"Temari, I love you!" He said desperately.
"I know." She still didn't make contact. "But, even though, it's not enough for me. I love him."
"He will never love you as much as I do!"
"It doesn't matter, because what I have with him is enough. Whatever he gives me is enough for me. I can't expect you to understand it but, when you find the right person for you, you'll know."
He made a move to grab on to her hand.
"Don't leave me, please," he begged her.
"Don't delude yourself, Kiba. You don't need the pain from me and you know it!" She snapped, pulling her wrist away. "Sasu—"
"Don't say his name!"
"Well, he's already asked me to live with him. And that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to do it because it makes him happy, but most importantly, because it makes me happy." Temari rose from her seat, took hold of a duffle-bag full of clothes, and made her way to the apartment door. "You can just send me the rest of my stuff; bill me for the move too. I wrote Kankuro's address on the counter. I'll pick it up from his place."
"If you leave me, I'll never be happy again!" He yelled at her, his last attempt.
Right before she left his life that night, she graced him with a few parting words.
"Kiba, you can be happy whenever you want to be. When you find where you're supposed to be, trust me all of this will be worth it."
She closed the door then, not waiting for his response. There was a soft click when she engaged the lock; a habit of hers.
XXXX
Kiba Inuzuka at a Band Meeting
"Kiba, did you get the chorus done?" Naruto asked his band mate. "Shikamaru's been on my balls since Lee let it out that we had a new song in the works. Who would have known that lazy Nara from college would become such a tough agent?"
"I'll have it done soon," Kiba looked up at the lead singer of Soleil.
Kiba took out his pad and started working on the lyrics for the band's next single. He would have sung his own lyrics himself, but he couldn't carry at tune to save his life, so Naruto took the job. But, then again, Naruto did compose some pretty good music. That was how their band was created: Naruto sang and played lead, Shino played keys, Lee played base, and he was left with the drums. Kiba did know how to play all the instruments his friends played, but when they decided on investing their time in this band, he got the short end of the stick...literally.
The band members had chosen their roles by drawing lots. The others got to choose their instruments, while he ended up with the drums. He wasn't upset about that: lots of girls liked drummers the best, aside from the lead. And without his cues, the band would sound like a complete train wreck.
Naruto came back with a bag of chips, along with the other band members.
"So, Kiba, did you come up with anything yet?" Shino asked before sitting on the couch against a far wall near his piano.
Lee took hold of his base and ran through a few scales. "How about we just go through what we have so far. Maybe it will inspire something in Kiba."
"I'm game, let's go!" Naruto grabbed his electric and started the intro.
Kiba, at odds, walked to his drums. Maybe it would jog his creative juices.
"Daylight breaks over the horizon
I see her face in the corners of my mind"
Naruto crooned into the microphone clutching the stem with both hands: his raspy voice swaying to the beat.
"But it doesn't matter because you're here
Your hand in mine makes her disappear"
Naruto then played the music for the non-existent chorus.
"So, what's next, Inuzuka?" Naruto asked.
"I don't know yet," Kiba murmured. "I've been preoccupied lately."
"Oh, come on man, Temari left months ago, you don't need her." The lead singer reasoned. "Remember, she's the one who cheated on you, you don't need a woman like that."
"But, she always came back." Kiba groused. "We'd get into a big row, she'd leave, and then she'd come back and I'd apologize. It's always been like that. I don't know why she didn't this time."
"Maybe, because, she never loved you the way you needed to be loved." Shino spoke, poetically.
"Bull! She was enough, and if any of you don't believe it, then you're out of it!" Kiba threw his pad and pencil on the floor.
"Plus," Lee added. "She has a baby on the way. She has to be with the father."
"Everyone here knows that I'd be a good father." Kiba lifted his fist, ready for attack; anything to shift the focus from his obliterated love-life. "Don't make me smash your face in, bushy brow!"
XXXX
"Hey, hey, calm down everyone," Shikamaru entered the room. "We have to get this meeting on the way. I have to get back to the office."
Feeling the atmosphere lighten, Naruto spoke up.
"Hey, Shika-kun, what's up?" He grinned past the other's palpable hostility and joked. "Are we making tons of money yet?"
"Not yet," Shikamaru took the question seriously. "The last song didn't do too well in the charts. We need to come up with something more, I don't know...something lighter, not so grim. Something people can relate too on a daily basis."
"We'll our lyricist is down the crapper, if I do say so myself, maybe we need a break." Naruto raised his eyes to the others. "I mean with the pace we've been going, I think everyone needs a break."
"We can't afford to take a break, Naruto." Shikamaru rubbed his temple, feeling an oncoming headache. "If we don't make a follow up on our last CD, we'll lose the investors for the tour. You're not Queen or the freaking Bee Gees yet, so we have to push through!"
"Okay, then, give us a week off so we can get our personal lives back on tract at least. I'll promise that by the end of the week, we'll have made some progress." Naruto pleaded with Kiba in mind.
"How are you going to do that?"
"I'm sick of being in a recording studio day in and day out anyways. It's stifling me. Maybe if we're all able to work on our own for a while, we can come up with something better." The blond singer replied.
"You're just trying to help me out, aren't you?" Kiba glared at the blond.
"No man, not everything revolves around you. Everyone knows it revolves around me, the star!"
The rest of the band, and its manager, kept silent waiting for a reply.
Kiba stoically strode up to Naruto and told him, "Thanks, I'll be back with a good verse."
"Hey, Kiba, if you don't mind, I have a date for you. This girl, she'd be perfect for you. A friend of mine set her up with me one time. She punched me in the face, and she totally knows what she wants—like you. Maybe you two will have something in common."
"But, Temari, she'd—"
"Temari left, a long time ago, so you have to move on. Maybe she could help you. She's perfect, I tell ya!"
"Okay, I'll go. Just tell me when." Kiba, too weary to fight Naruto, agreed. "I'm going home."
XXXX
Naruto on the phone
"Hey Neji, it's Naruto."
"Naruto, what do you want?" Neji snapped, his grouchy self.
"I just wanted to know if Tenten would like to have another blind date."
"Are you crazy? She put you in the hospital last time." Neji's voice responded, bemused.
"No, not for me, of course, I meant for a buddy of mine."
"Oh, seeking revenge for someone, are you?"
"No, but I think she'd like him." Naruto started playing with the phone's chord; coiling it around his finger. "He's in my band. He just got out of a long-term relationship and is pretty messed up. I just wanted him to take his mind off of work for a while, you know. And he'd probably get a kick out of Tenten."
"Tenten's not a whore, just so you know, she's my best friend." Neji said tightly. "Tell me about this guy."
"He's our drummer, Kiba Inuzuka. He's totally lovable: kind of rough around the edges, but completely harmless. I just think that it'd be a great match."
"Great match?"
"Yeah, I know that you've been trying to fix Tenten up with the perfect guy, right? This guy's it, in my books. You'll never have to be burdened by her again!" Naruto persuaded. "Even though he's still kind of messed up right now, I think that he'll agree to go out with her."
"I don't like the sound of him. A drummer, right?" Neji grumbled. "Tenten doesn't like drummers."
"Oh, come on, you owe me!" Naruto was willing to use his leverage for a buddy. "Remember in college, I saved your life?"
"You did not!" Neji replied curtly, denial in his tone. "I could have gotten out of it myself!"
"What do you think Tenten would say if she found out that she's best friends with a three time champion figure skater? You don't think the shock will kill her do you? I mean, you, her bestest friend in the whole world keeping his secret life from her." Naruto giggled.
"It was only in college, get over it, Naruto. You know that I had to minor in something. Kendo was full as was the swimming team, and our school was so poor that it couldn't budget in Ivy League sports like football and basketball. I thought that it was my only option at the time, I couldn't have graduated if I hadn't taken it. Besides, it looks good on a resume. It's always a great conversation-starter."
Naruto ignored Neji's sagacious reasoning, still too busy laughing his head off.
"Man, I can still remember when the boys in our dorm found out! The look on your face was priceless, priceless! They would have beaten the crap out of you if I hadn't said that the medals were mine, as well as that ugly chicken costume." Naruto announced exuberantly. "I also had to do some quick thinking when the pool was frozen solid and everyone wanted to take skating lessons from me. I didn't even know how to put the blasted things on!"
"It was a peacock costume!" Neji gripped, unable to get over the chicken comment. "Okay, Wicked Witch of the West, stop cackling. I'll tell Tenten tonight. Just make sure that this drummer of yours won't lay his grimy paws all over her!"
"I swear man, he won't. He'd solid, solid." That said, the blond hung up the phone.
Feeling very proud of himself, Naruto decided to treat himself to a tub of ice cream and cookie dough.
Oh, how blissful the life of a bachelor is! Naruto soon fell asleep on the couch; leg up in the air and cuddling a sticky, melted tub of pistachio ice cream.
XXXX
Kiba in his new flat
Kiba just got back from his date with Tenten. She's a wonderful woman. He liked her a lot. Maybe, Naruto was right, he was ready to move on. He was ready to go after a real relationship with a woman who wanted the same things as he did. But, as he got inside his new apartment complex, loneliness started to settle in his chest. Maybe he should have begged Tenten if he could spend the night with her.
Kiba trudged up to his new staircase up to his new door and pulled out his new keys. Didn't anyone care that he absolutely hated new things? Didn't his friends care that he hated this new apartment with its new walls, and its new smell?
"Akamaru, I'm home," he half-groaned before depositing himself into his leather-back chair.
Akamaru barked his hello. He came up to his master's foot and rubbed his snout against it in greeting. Afterwards, he jumped on the couch and trained his eyes towards the television. He barked twice, commanding that his master turn on the flat screen.
"Some greeting, mutt," Kiba grumbled. "Am I the master of the house or are you?"
"Woof!" Akamaru answered: me!
"Okay, okay, just a minute. I have to find the remote."
Kiba stood up from his spot on the chair and started his search for the remote. He flipped the cushions over and crouched on all fours to look under the sofa.
"Ah-ha!" He took hold of the black clicker. "I got it, buddy."
He raised his head to get up, until he smacked his head against the coffee table.
"Ouch!"
"Woof!"
"Shut up!" Kiba turned on the television and changed the channel to the show about a blue dog that Akamaru liked so much. "There you go, your highness."
There was no response from the dog since he was already too engrossed in the show. It was mail time after all.
"I'm going out; I can't take being here anymore." He uttered, the solitude started to eat at him.
Kiba left the dog to his show, he needed some fresh air, is all. He needed to start something new. He needed to change his life: a new life that didn't have Temari written all over it.
A/N:
I know that this chapter didn't even mention Hinata, but I thought that a little back story was in order. When I posted a poll as to who people wanted to pair Kiba up with, most voted for Hinata and Temari came in second. So, voila, you get the best of both pairings...well, to an extent if you're a Kiba X Temari fan. Please review if you think that this story is worth continuing.
Personally, I think that this pairing (Kiba X Hinata) has so many dimensions. I like writing them, but someday I would really like to go on and write a solid Naruto X Hinata one. Now, that would be a challenge.
