KIBA - Friday

7 - Deviant Love

Deviant - markedly different from an accepted norm

Love - a strong positive emotion of regard and affection; a deep feeling of sexual desire and attraction

As if on cue, as soon as Kankurou disappeared into the deli, Ino started strutting towards me. I sighed as I finished up my sandwich and turned to her with an uncaring look on my face.

"What is it this time, Ino?" I huffed. "Still convinced you know everything?" She sighed and straddled the bench next to me.

"Yes," she smiled, and I rolled my eyes disbelievingly. "Look," she began, "I know I can get overbearing some times, and I'm sorry that I tried to run your love life for you."

"Oh, um," I stumbled. "You're actually apologizing?" She gave me a look that said 'come on really?'

"Am I not allowed to apologize to a friend?" she batted her eyelashes.

"No. Seriously, what's up?" I pried.

She huffed. "Okay, truth is, Hinata's not into you." She paused for emphasis. "At all."

"Okay," I said with a 'so what' look.

"And a little birdy may or may not have indirectly implied that you were head over heels for someone else."

"Who said that?" I asked way too quickly, suddenly very self-conscious.

"No one," she said. "I guessed by putting two and two together and you just proved me right with your defensive reaction."

"Uh huh?" I snorted, looking away from her. She looked at me expectantly but I only glanced at her then away again so she continued.

"Well, according to my excellent observational skills, my presence seems to bother you most when the Suna guy is with you." I felt my face heat up and tried not to shift nervously. "And I'm willing to bet he's in the deli right now with how you're acting." I stayed perfectly still and said nothing. "I'm not going to tell anyone." I still said nothing. "I don't have a problem with it either if that's what you're worried about," she said, giggling at my reaction. "Your secret is safe with me. You should be with the person that you care about – the one that makes you tick; clans and gender aside." I refused to look at her and she scooted right up close. "You know," she said quietly with a huge grin. "I actually think you two are adorable together."

I watched her unblinkingly from the corner of my eye and slowly my barriers started to fall away. It irritated me that she was hitting right on the mark but I resigned myself to the facts. And the facts were that she agreed with me on the most important issue – clans and gender shouldn't matter. My scowl pulled back into a cheeky grin and I turned to look at her.

"I know right?" I whispered back and she laughed, shoving me playfully. She leaned in close so she could keep her voice low from passing strangers.

"So have you guys kissed yet?" She waggled her eyebrows at me. I felt my face go beet red instantly, feeling like a total girl. But before I had a chance to correct her, we were interrupted by the deli door being ripped open and a black blur flying down the street.

"Huh? Kankurou? Kankurou!" I was suddenly yelling and jumping to my feet.

"Uh oh," Ino muttered. "That couldn't have looked good."

"Kankurou!" I kept yelling, chasing after him. "Come back! Where are you going? Hey! Kankurou!" He was refusing to acknowledge me and it was pissing me off. When he raced through the village entrance I knew we were in trouble. This would not look good on the day of a treaty signing and the elders would undoubtedly jump on it. I tried calling to him again but there was no answer.

Just as I was sure he was planning to run all the way home, he stopped. I jumped down from the trees above, landing behind him.

"Kankurou! This is stupid! What's gotten into you?" I growled, straitening from my crouch, ready to rip his head off. "Why don't you just come back to the village?" I reached out to put a hand on his arm. "The elders have run out of excuses and the last thing Konoha and Suna need right now is for you to give them one!"

"Why don't you just quit wasting your time with me and go back to Ino?" he screamed, turning to face me and ripping his arm away. "She can obviously offer you more than I can!"

I stared at him, not believing what my ears were hearing. "What? You think I like Ino? I don't like her. Even if I was into girls, she would so not be my type!" I said in earnest with an angry huff. He was seriously irritating me with his stupidity.

He started mumbling nonsense to himself before looking at me. "Then, who are you interested in?" he asked, daring me to prove him wrong.

"Why do you even care?" I shouted, daring him to prove me right. I so desperately wanted to be right. Suddenly, I was backed against a tree because he had advanced on me and my fight or flight was kicking in. His stare was tense and when he spoke he sounded nervous and desperate and confident all at the same time.

"I think you know the answer to that question… Kiba."

Kiba. He said my name. He said my name, and he said it deliberately and I knew that he was never going to try to deny that he said it this time. I'd been waiting all too long to hear him say it like that. As I tried to categorize all of my emotions so I could make sense of the situation, I realized I wasn't saying anything. I should be saying something – I can tell by the look on Kankurou's face. I should be saying something but I have no idea what to say. I took a silent but deep breath in through my nose and at the same moment I could smell all the truth and all the things he didn't say. I couldn't ignore the musky undertone of attraction, but there was a fainter yet undeniable smell of affection. I grabbed the first coherent thought I could come up with and said it before it could slip away. My voice sounded quiet and moist and completely terrified.

"Then I think you know the answer to your own question, Kankurou." The pounding in my ears became so loud that I didn't even hear myself finish the sentence. My chest felt strained, like there wasn't enough space inside me for my heart to beat and my lungs to breathe at the same time. The burn flashing across my skin was painless but unbearable. And then it all stopped for one brief moment when I saw his eyes dart down and then back up to meet my gaze. I knew what was coming and had no time to react before my body acted on its own and the burn blistered across my body, starting from the contact at my mouth

The kiss was suffocating and rushed. My lips seemed out of my control because I knew my head was trying to process way too many things at once for me to be able to actually move. My hands seemed to figure this out as well and I suddenly realized they were around Kankurou's neck and gripping him tighter to me. My back was no longer against the rough bark of the tree and I swear I would have fallen victim to gravity if Kankurou hadn't been holding onto me.

I couldn't think, but all I did was try. I let my body react the way it had always wanted to when I had forced it to resist. I let the passion drive me because all I could smell was passion. My mind was so overloaded it should have shut down.

And I was able to enjoy every part of it.

Next thing I knew, he was pulling back, panting. We were both panting. And both our hearts were hammering wildly as if trying to get out.

We stood there forever and for no time at all, watching each other, looking at every inch of each other. I had pulled his hood off at some point and it was lying in the dirt, his hair stuck up in random places and his shirt was scrumpled and askew. Worst of all, the face paint around his mouth was ruined. I'm sure I must have looked similarly dishevelled.

When our breathing slowed, Kankurou rested his forehead against mine silently. "We should get back," he breathed.

"Yeah," I agreed begrudgingly. I tried to turn away but he spun me back around at the shoulder and kissed me again. Neither of us wanted to be the one to pull away this time and suddenly I was giggling, leaning back a little. "Okay, seriously…" He kissed me again with a smirk. "We need to go back." He leaned in again, still smirking and I quickly covered his mouth with my hand, pushing him back. I couldn't stop grinning. He waited patiently for me to lower my hand and I slowly snaked it around his neck instead, pulling him close and burying my face in his neck. He tightened his arms around my waist and pressed his face into my hair.

"Kiba, I…" he began, but hesitated.

"Later," I said, pulling back and straightening up. I looked at him and grinned. "You seriously have to fix your makeup."

He let out a big breath and smiled. "You're unrelenting. And you've got some on your face too, you know." My hand reflexively flew up to my mouth and tried to rub away any paint that might be there and Kankurou did the same.

"Am I good?" I asked and he nodded.

"Me?" he asked.

"You missed a spot," I said, licking my thumb and rubbing the last speck away automatically. "There." He picked up his hood and dusted it off before pulling it back on.

"Okay, let's go," he said taking my hand. I gripped his back affectionately and we jumped into the trees. It wasn't until we were within sight of the gate that we let go and put a bit of distance between us.

"Exactly what did you think you were you doing?" Temari was suddenly blocking our path as we got back into the village and we skidded to a halt.

"Oh, uh," Kankurou stuttered, wiping at his mouth again to make sure he'd got it all.

"I was… showing him something," I tried innocently. Temari turned on me and looked me over sceptically.

"I can imagine," she said sarcastically. "Come on, let's go. Hurry up! You two need to get straightened up within the next eight minutes." We followed after her guiltily as she muttered to herself. "Honestly, running through the trees now of all times? Unbelievable."

I was really grateful she was pretending she had no idea what was going on.

I brushed myself off and picked a twig out of my hair when we reached the Hokage's tower, finding that Akamaru was waiting for me. Kankurou quickly pulled some extra paint out of his pocket and popped into the bathroom. He managed to make it back to the office just in time.

I was constantly sharing longing looks with Kankurou and smiling, despite myself. I enjoyed watching the expressions of the elders the whole time, and Tsunade wasn't even subtle in giving them a triumphant smile after everyone necessary had signed. The atmosphere in the room became relaxed and everyone was suddenly friends again instead of business partners. The elders slunk out of the room during the commotion and once they were gone Tsunade called for mine and Shikamaru's attention.

"Well, since this is finally all over and settled, there's no need for the two of you to be escorts anymore. And Gaara-sama, you and your siblings are welcome to stay as long as you like. Please make yourselves at home in our village."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama," Gaara replied. "But regretfully I won't be able to stay long. I would like to leave early in the morning." I stole a glance at Kankurou and we shared a look: Damn.

"As you wish," Tsunade said. "I'll inform the guards at the gate." They both bowed to each other and then we all took turns excusing ourselves from the office. I was last to do so, but Tsunade requested that I stay behind so she could discuss something with me. I once again spared a glance for Kankurou and I felt helpless.

"I'm sure I'll see you later," he said, and he slipped out after the others. I felt suddenly vulnerable, watching him go. I hoped this wouldn't take long.

"Kiba-kun, excellent work this week," Tsunade began. "I know your charge was being a little difficult at first, but you did well getting through to him. I actually have another quick request of you before you head home. I've written up a few formal letters to be delivered to some of the shinobi in the village who will like to know that the treaty signing went well." I bit my lip to hide a smile when she pulled out a stack of envelopes from her desk drawer because she had obviously written them before the treaty was actually signed.

"Before you start wondering why I'm bothering you with this," she continued. "It's because I want a witness of the signing to do it so that you can confirm it personally if asked. I thought that you would be the most suitable." She grinned at me a little too innocently and I gave her a disapproving look. "Okay fine," she huffed. "All of my messengers have already been sent on similar missions to nearby villages. I figured I would make use of the fact that I already had a capable shinobi in my office and you were closest." I continued to give her an unhappy look.

"Forgive me Tsunade-sama, but you realize that this is practically an F-Rank mission. It's insulting."

"Too bad," she said forcefully. "You've been assigned. Now go before I find something equally degrading for you to do."

"Yes ma'am," I sighed, bowing and exiting her office with Akamaru. I glanced both ways down the hall, hoping to see Kankurou slide out of hiding from somewhere. When he didn't my insides felt heavy and uncomfortable and my mood fell to rock bottom. I groaned at my misfortune and started to mosey down the hall. "Come one, Akamaru. Let's get this over with." He barked and pranced on ahead, telling me to hurry up.


The mission turned out to be exactly as I had imagined it: absolutely horrible. It was getting dark out by the time I had found everyone and headed for home. The whole time I had been thinking of Kankurou. And the kiss. Mostly the kiss. Because of the length of time that had dragged by as I delivered each letter, paranoia had managed to slip in.

I hadn't seen anything of Kankurou since he'd left that office like it didn't bother him at all. Worst of all, he was leaving early in the morning for Suna. I could hardly believe how things had worked out; for the first time in my life someone had reciprocated my feelings and accepted it. But now we would have to face the hard reality that our loyalties were primarily to our separate villages. It hurt so much to think about that. It didn't look like we would even get a chance to talk about it before he left. Maybe he didn't want to talk about it either. I had no idea how long it would be before we'd be in the same place again. Maybe by the next time we saw each other he wouldn't want to see me anymore.

I let myself and Akamaru into our house and toed off my shoes. "I'm home," I called.

"Hi honey, welcome home," my mom called back from the kitchen. I could smell dinner cooking and Akamaru bounded off to my mom's voice, hoping to beg a few morsels from his favourite chef. "Your friend came looking for you a little while ago," she said as I followed my dog. My chest tightened but she continued before I could ask. "I told him you shouldn't be much longer and said he could wait for you in your room if he wanted to. He seems like a nice boy, why haven't you introduced me to him yet?" she turned to look at me when I didn't answer. "Kiba?" I was already halfway up the stairs.

I took them two at a time and barrelled down the hall to my bedroom. The door was open and Kankurou was sitting on my bed, looking startled by my sudden appearance, but quickly replaced his surprise with a smile. My heart was stuttering and I was almost shaking with anticipation. I could hear Kankurou's heart pounding nervously as he smiled at me. I took a step in and closed my door and then he was on his feet and closing the distance between us. He didn't even hesitate as he put a hand around my neck and pulled me to him. I put my hand on his bent elbow and the other against his chest, but before I knew it the kiss was over.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi," I smirked. "It's good to see you too." We laughed and he sat back down on my bed. I sat beside him as close as possible and he casually took my hand into his lap, stroking it with a tenderness I never knew he had. We sat there for a while, staring at our hands instead of each other, feeling rather forlorn. I rested my head on his shoulder, but other than that we didn't move.

"I don't want to go," he finally whispered, causing a shiver to race up my spine.

"Do you have to?" I asked softly.

"Yeah," he exhaled. "Gaara has stuff he needs Tem and me to do as soon as we get back. The official ceremony where he invests the title of Kazekage is in four days." He paused. "I have to be there. He's my brother."

"I know," I said. He let go of my hand and moved his arm up around my shoulder. "I—"

"Dinner's ready!" My mom called from downstairs, cutting me off. I sat up straight and leaned away from Kankurou so I could look at him.

"Hungry?" I asked.

"Starved. Last thing I ate were those sandwiches," he grinned.

"Yeah me too," I chuckled, standing up and pulling him along by the hand. As I opened my door and tried to leave he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me against his chest. I had a silly smile on my face as he took in the scent of my hair and I was just as jumpy as he was when my sister walked passed us on her way downstairs.

"Better not keep mom waiting," she said without even glancing at us.

"Your sister?" Kankurou asked.

"Yeah, don't worry," I said, stepping out of his embrace and into the hallway. "She won't tell."

When we got into the kitchen, Akamaru and the other dogs were already crowded around their food bowls. Hana looked up at Kankurou as if she hadn't known he was in the house.

"Who're you?" she asked. Her feigned ignorance would have amused me but I could tell she was doing it to irritate.

"Be nice, Hana," our mom chided. "That's Kankurou-kun, Kiba's friend from Suna."

"Really?" Hana asked with a knowing smile on her face as Kankurou and I sat across from each other at the table. "Who would have guessed: a sand and leaf ninja… friends."

I gave her a look to tell her to quit it and she looked away innocently. My mom put the last few things on the table and sat down as well. We all loaded our plates and I felt tense as I waited for the onslaught of questions from my mother.

"So how long have you two known each other?" There it was.

"We met during our first chuunin exam, mom," I said with a bit of a warning on the word 'mom'.

"That's funny, I don't remember you mentioning him before," she continued.

"Technically, we didn't really meet until that time I saved your life from those crazy twins," Kankurou inserted, and I threw him a deadly look for encouraging my mom.

"Oh, so that was you?" my mom asked, surprised and suddenly even more interested. "Well I suppose I'll have to thank you then. I was so worried when I heard what happened him. Kiba has a habit of getting ahead of himself—"

'Mom!" I hissed. I saw Kankurou shove some food into his mouth to hide his smirk.

"Right, sorry," she said, changing the subject. "So what brings you to Suna this time around?"

"Business," he said after swallowing his mouthful. "The new Kazekage was signing a new treaty with Tsunade-sama. I was an ambassador of sorts."

"Oh, that business," my mother said, nodding. "It's all settled then?" Kankurou nodded during his next mouthful. "How long will you be staying then?"

"He has to go back tomorrow morning," I said, trying to save him from the onrush of questions. "He was here all week. I was his escort."

"So that's what you've been doing," my mom said as if she'd just figured something out. She turned back to Kankurou with a smile and he succeeding in looking innocent. "Well since you'll be going back in the morning and I imagine you two young men don't get to see each other very often, you're welcome to stay the night." My stomach did a somersault when Kankurou looked at me to see if it was okay.

"So they can stay up all night talking before his long journey home?" Hana interjected, earning a foul look from me. She had put the slightest emphasis on the word 'talking'.

"Oh that's alright," my mom said between morsels. "You're only young once."

"I don't want to impose anymore than I already have," Kankurou said formally and I prayed my mom would insist.

"No, I insist," my mom said and I mentally relaxed. "It's no trouble at all."

"Thank you," Kankurou nodded respectfully to her. "I appreciate it." They smiled and Kankurou turned to look at me, and I smiled too. Even Hana looked like she was trying to hide a grin, despite herself.

When we finished our meal, we excused ourselves from the table and headed back upstairs with Akamaru. My dog jumped up onto the end up my bed and closed his eyes for a nap. I closed my door behind me and then went to my closet and pulled something off of the top shelf, bringing it back over to where Kankurou had sat on my bed.

"Checkers?" he chuckled.

"Yes, checkers," I smiled, bending one leg beneath me as I sat down. "You still owe me a rematch."

"Okay, it's your funeral," he said with a mischievous smile, turning and pulling his legs up to face me.

"We'll see whose funeral it is," I bit back, smiling as well. As we set up the game, Akamaru opened an eye and gave us a disinterested look before climbing off the bed and curling up at the foot I had hanging over the edge instead. We got into the game quickly and Kankurou almost instantly gave me a free jump.

"Hey, no letting me win!" I argued. "I want to beat your ass fair and square."

"Okay then," he said, jumping me back twice. I scowled at him but it only made his smile wider. After he had taken out half my pieces and already had a king – and I was still trying to get through his defending lines – I was getting worried. I pulled up both my legs and crossed them and had my tongue stuck out in concentration as I tried to think of an effective next move. I found one, but after my following turn, he jumped another of my pieces. I harrumphed childishly and pouted.

"I warned you," he laughed. At that, I picked up his king pieces and chucked them at his laughing face. He stopped mid-snicker with a gasp, but quickly regained himself and chucked a handful back. I reach for the board to grab more, but he slapped it out of the way and onto the floor, lunging at me and crushing me into the bed as he kissed me. Our game dismissed and instantly forgotten, we were soon panting with our shirts lying on the floor. Akamaru had huffed indignantly at one point but was quiet after that.

We lay there, breathing heavily and staring at each other, Kankurou holding himself up with his elbows. He stroked my cheek with the back of his hand absentmindedly.

"I didn't know I could feel this way," he breathed.

"I wasn't sure if you ever would either," I panted, smiling.

"So you've been into me for a while?" he asked with a cocky grin.

"Shut up," I said. "I just thought you were hot, that's all."

"You did, did you?" the smile not disappearing.

"Obviously," I said, indicating to our bare chests and current predicament, pushing our swollen crotches together as well for added effect.

"Yeah," he chuckled, breathing raggedly. "Good point." We continued to look at each other and our smiles slipped away. He leaned in and kissed me on the cheek and then shuffled a bit to rest his head by my shoulder, half on top of me and half off. "I so don't want to leave tomorrow."

I stared at the ceiling with no idea what to say. Finally, I shifted so that I was facing him. His arm was resting on my waist and I held my head up with my hand. I watched him longingly, wishing everything could be less complicated. I knew he had to leave and I didn't want someone coming between us during our time apart. I also didn't want to bring it up, but I wanted him all to myself. Thinking of a way to put the idea into words, I said it before I could chicken out.

"There's no one else…" I whispered, my heart racing as I left the statement hanging open.

"What?" he smiled. "You think I have someone waiting for me back in Suna?" I didn't answer. "You're adorable when you're jealous." He paused and I still didn't answer. I could hear his heart speed up as he tried to speak. "There's no one else…" he barely whispered back. I breathed carefully and as he watched me he looked liked he had suddenly remembered something. "Speaking of jealous, what exactly was going on with Ino?"

"Oh that," I said as if it were troublesome. It was troublesome. I turned onto my back as I spoke. "She was actually trying to set me up with Hinata."

"Hinata? Really?" he asked in amusement.

"Yeah, I know right?" Anyway she finally realized I wasn't going for it and the wheels in her head started turning a bit too much." I paused. "Today, when you saw us talking… She was actually in the middle of grilling me about you. She'd figured it out and was saying stuff like how we looked 'cute' together," I laughed nervously.

"Oh yeah?" Kankurou teased, pulling me around to face him again. "Is that what it was?"

"Yeah Mr. Jealousy, that's exactly what it was. So you can stop worrying."

"I'm not worried," he said, kissing my briefly. "Not anymore."


Saturday

I woke up in the morning reluctantly to an alarm, trying to fall back into the dream where Kankurou was in my bed with me. When someone else reached over and hit the alarm off with a groan, I slid my arms around him and held him tightly, abruptly waking up in full. He squeezed me back and then pulled away to look at me.

"Good morning," he whispered with a smile. I was smiling as well before I realized what that meant and I grimaced.

"No it's not."

His smile wavered and he looked at me helplessly. "I'll come back as soon as I can."

"I know you will," I sighed. "I really hope that's sooner than later."

"Me too," he whispered, kissing me softly. "I'm really glad I got stuck with you all week."

My mouth curved up into a relentless smile as I looked at him with tired eyes. "Me too," I whispered.

Akamaru grunted softly from beside the bed, not wanting to be left out.

"Heh, you're the one that chose to abandon me, remember?" I teased my dog. He snuffed.

Kankurou sat up with a groan and stretched. I wasn't even subtle this time as I stared at his flexing muscles. He pretended not to notice, but smiled anyway, and climbed over me to get off the bed. He picked his crumpled shirt up off my floor and tried to fluff it out. Unsuccessful, he draped it on the end of my bed. "Mind if I shower?" he asked.

"No, go ahead," I yawned, sitting up. "There are some extra towels on the top shelf in the bathroom. Help yourself."

"Thanks," he muttered, opening my door quietly and tiptoeing down the hall to the bathroom. I slid to the edge of my bed, careful not to step on Akamaru, and scratch his head. He sniffed happily and I stood up, walking over to my door and closing it softly. I then stepped out of my boxers and tossed them into the hamper, grabbing a fresh pair out of a drawer. I picked up my shirt and shorts from the night before and tossed them into the hamper as well before choosing new ones from my closet. I intended on going right back to sleep after seeing Kankurou off so I didn't bother too much with my appearance.

He came back to my room in his boxers and put the rest of his clothes back on. "I need to go back to the apartment and get my stuff; namely a fresh set of clothes," he said, and I agreed. We left quickly, silent the whole way there. I waited outside with Akamaru when he went in to face his siblings. After about ten minutes, Gaara strolled out of the building without looking at me leaning against the wall. Temari came next and gave me a cheeky smile and a wink, which surprised me because I expected her to be irritated with me. But I realized why when Shikamaru exited next in a wrinkled set of clothes.

Kankurou was last to emerge and we followed after the others silently. I saw Temari take Shikamaru's hand and I automatically glanced down at where mine and Kankurou's were. We were walking closely, but neither of us had taken the others hand. I looked at him and he smiled and then I glanced around. It was so early that the sun wasn't even up yet, just like the day he'd arrived. But today the sky was clear. The streets were empty and I also kind of didn't care anymore, so I slid my fingers between Kankurou's.

When we reached the gate, I hesitated and Kankurou stopped when my hand held him back. He turned and looked at me hopelessly. "I can't stay."

"I know," I whispered. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Shikamaru and Temari is a similar situation, only a lot less desolate. Anyone watching would think they were only saying goodbye for a few days. Gaara stood nearer the gate with his back turned. Kankurou turned back to me and put his hand at the base of my head, stroking my cheek with his thumb. He leaned down and kissed me one last time – it was bittersweet and fierce and slow. We broke away together and he kissed me on the forehead.

"It's only temporary," he said

"I know," I exhaled.

"I'll see you again soon," he said.

"I know," I breathed again.

"I'll miss you," he whispered.

"I know," I said quietly and smiled. And then he turned and joined his siblings.

And then he was gone.


An epilogue will be up soon, and then their journey will come to a close.