The first chapter is short, and I'm trying to limit myself to shorter chapters and a shorter story with this one. Of course, to a degree that's going to be difficult, due to the nature of the characters, in regards to the fact that Shino's never been interested in men before.
Le sigh.
Hope no one's offended by the whole Karin/Shino pairing I added in there. I found it funny, though she's got to be at least four years older than him, right? At least that much?
I like the idea of Ino being a secretary. When he goes to work next, I'll be sure to have her yell at him.
I don't really know why I picked the setting I did–the office, I mean. I think it was due to the fact that I needed them all to be involved in the same area, but didn't know how. Either way, I like the idea of Shino being a business man. He shouldn't have his own office yet. I think you all will be pleasantly surprised at his boss and the place he works, though. Next chapter I may randomly switch to first person. I have no idea why, but ever since Runner's High, every time I try to write boy love, it always ends up being in first person. Which is bad because there's an actual reason why I'm writing Runner's High in first person–something to do with the way it ends, but there's really no special reason for me to write this story in first person…
I hope everyone likes the back-story for Kiba-kins. :D I liked writing it. And I find a sick desire for Shino's past to be his real past. Those types of farms exist, though. O: Anyone ever see the movie Squirm? So cheesy and deliciously bad. I love it so much. First saw it on Mystery Science Theater 3000, and I'll admit: the commentary made it twice as good as the original. The actual movie is pretty hilarious in its own right, what with the overuse of spaghetti and all that.
Must Love Dogs
Scene 2
Shino stared at the man for a moment, looking for words that never came. Instead, the man grabbed his hand, helping him to his feet. "Can you speak?" He asked, but Shino was barely paying attention to him.
"He is my date!?" His brain kept screaming.
His heart rate sped up, and Shino quickly went through the list of places this guy frequented. A few restaurants he recognized, but there was one that stuck out in his mind from the beginning as odd for a girl to go to–Ice. Ice was a club downtown known for being sort of a hang-out for gay guys. Of course, it wasn't technically a gay club, so many women went there, too…though not very many… He was pretty sure Karin was the only one.
Shino bent down, searching for the shades the dog had knocked off his face. How could he have been so stupid!? He should have known! But who was that woman on the phone, then!?
"Uh…hello? Did you hear me?"
He placed the shades back on his face and turned to the one named Kiba finally. "Yes. I heard you. Sorry, I was just thinking…" Shino resisted the urge to book it right then and there, and instead managed to extend his hand out to him. By the looks of it, it seemed like the man had no idea he was here for a date.
"I'm Shino Aburame," he started. "Tell me, Inuzuka–"
The Inuzuka laughed, patting his dog–Akamaru–on the head as it sat patiently by his side. "Oh, just call me Kiba."
Shino just nodded. "Kiba, right. So…Kiba…what the hell have you been feeding that dog to make it grow so big?"
For a while Kiba stared at him with the queerest expression on his face–like he was trying to decide if that had been an insult or a compliment–before he finally gave the other a bright grin. "Akamaru's a mutt I found on the street. I'm not really sure what breed he is, but I think one half of him is a type of dog bred to hunt lions. At least, that's about as much as I can figure. Maybe the other part is Great Dane?" He laughed again, and Shino just about lost it.
"Uh…s-so…what brings you to the park? Any…er…plans?"
Kiba shrugged. "Not really… I had originally planned on taking Akamaru out to meet some friendly new faces, but then my sister called and told me I was supposed to meet someone here."
Shino's face brightened. So that explained it! "Sister?"
Kiba looked at him, wondering if he could trust him or not, before nodding his head a little. "Yes… See, I moved in with my sister about a year ago. My parents kicked me out of the house when they found…er…well, that's not important. I've sort of been disowned from the family name, you see… Of course, when my father died six months ago, my mother said she wouldn't mind me moving back…but I like it here. It's much nicer than back home. I'm finally finding a job that should hopefully work, and I feel my career getting off the ground."
Shino's eyebrows rose, and he found it was really it easy to talk to this fellow. "Oh? That's interesting. I moved here from a farming community." His cheeks went red. "My father farmed worms, to be honest… It's…kind of embarrassing. I try to forget about it, actually…"
The other man laughed. "Are you serious!? Worm farming? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! It's like something out of a terrible animal-themed horror film!" Shino just flushed further, groaning a little and rubbing the back of his head uncomfortably.
The shorter man looked up at him, shrugging his shoulders a bit. "Well, we can't all come from the best backgrounds, can we? I think that's neat. Worm farming. It's…uh…distinctive…"
Shino's face paled back to its original colour. "Yeah? Where are you from? Your parents rich or something? Why'd they kick you out in the first place? It couldn't have been that bad… It's not like you got a woman pregnant or anything." He laughed a little, hoping Kiba would react in the way he thought he would.
Kiba smiled, twiddling his thumbs a little. After a moment, he glanced at the taller man, waving his hand a little. His cheeks went pink. "Yeah…at least I didn't do that… Well, Shino…this was a nice chat. You seem pretty easy to talk to. If I see you again, we should definitely do lunch…"
His face turned to his dog, and it brightened considerably, energetically. "Come on, Akamaru! Let's go find some friends for you! And try not to knock them over this time, boy!" The dog barked in response, suddenly active again.
Shino watched the man dash off with the dog and nodded his head a little. He furrowed his brows, glancing up at the sky and thinking. "Hmmm…I think I know why he was kicked out of his house…" He chuckled, taking his leave. "Doubt I'd ever see him again, though…"
Boy, was he wrong.
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Kiba walked into the door of his sister's upscale apartment–she lived in the pent house suite–, letting Akamaru go bounding off into the room they designated as his bed. "Good afternoon, sis." The second Akamaru was out of the room, his face fell and he sighed.
His sister looked up from the stove, where she was cooking a roast for their dinner that night. On the counter, among countless amounts of vegetables she had set out to cook later, she had a few folders and important-looking documents scattered all over the place. He was really proud of his sister–and so was his dad, when he had been alive. She hadn't taken over the business, but she had become a rather successful prosecutor at the law firm she was currently employed at.
"What is it, Kiba?"
Kiba just groaned in response, throwing himself on the couch and staring up at the ceiling. His eyes drifted over to the picture hanging over the plasma screen television. It was a picture of the family's favored pooch back when he was younger. The dog's name had been something that had to do with stars, but for the life of him he couldn't remember it anymore.
His sister took the reading glasses off her nose, stepping out of the kitchen and wiping her hands off with a towel. He was surprised to see she still hadn't changed out of her work clothes. "Was it your date?" She said, her voice barely over a whisper.
Kiba threw his arms up in the air, finally feeling enraged. "My date never showed! I printed that ad in the paper looking for results, and who did I get to chat with!? A worm farmer's son! What kind of person farms worms!? What do you do–water them until they mature and then dig them out of the ground!?"
His sister smirked. "But you still spoke with a nice boy, right?"
Kiba shot up, staring at her. "Boy!? He was taller than me and looked like a really clean-cut derelict! He had to at least be a year older than me! He was wearing sunglasses for crying out loud, Hana!"
His sister smiled, putting a hand over her mouth. "Well, it is summer …" Though her appearance suggested she found it funny, she was finding his little outburst a bit…aggravating.
Kiba just looked at her. "And a trenchcoat. In summer."
She snickered, going back to the kitchen. "Well…maybe he was a flasher… You're lucky he didn't flash you."
Kiba went red. "No, he was wearing pants. I could tell. He had on really nice shoes, though. You know, you can tell a lot about a person by the shoes they wear. I think they were boots of some kind…" He sighed, lying back down on the couch. "Akamaru liked him right off the bat. That's pretty rare, you know. Usually he just jumps on other dogs and old ladies…"
She dropped the glasses in her hand in surprise, and before she picked them up, she poked her head back out. "Oh, well if Akamaru liked him, I'm sure you did, too…"
Kiba smiled a little, leaning back and kicking his shoes off. "I would've asked for his number…but there was something about him… For some reason, I was almost ready to blurt out that I was gay. I'm usually not like that in public places…well, except at Ice…"
"That's great! He may've been the guy you were looking for! Why didn't you give him your number??"
"That's the thing, Hana… I have no idea what was stopping me."
