Warnings: Arranged (hence forced) marriage between a sixteen year old and a thirty six year old. Language. Angst. Feelings of betrayal. Huge rare pairing. Power dynamics. Strong language (because it's one of my stories, come on, I'm like Hidan sometimes). Nosy people. Inescapable Clan duties. Teenage angst. Oblivious friends that make everything a thousand times more difficult. And some more angst. Friends are kind of extreme jerks, really, and they don't even notice it. Did I, by any chance, say angst already? Mentions of alcohol and technically underage alcohol consumption. Assassinations- which means blood and violence. Lots of miscommunication. Clan and Village politics.

~..~..~

"Tsume."

"Chifuyu. Always a pleasure to have you sticking that beak of yours into my business."

Seeing this elderly woman react to her insolence was always amusing.

These old farts- so easy to piss off. It did her hardened heart good to yank at their stiff legs.

"Still as insolent as your child, I see. It seems only your daughter inherited any worthwhile genes."

The bark of laughter she let out was absolutely genuine and full of mirth. After all, she didn't feel any insult whenever one of her elders remarked on how difficult she was to deal with. If anything, such remarks made her proud of herself. Whenever she irked them enough for them to comment on it she knew she had completed her task of making their final days within the realm of the living much more tedious than they would have ever wanted.

Elders were to be respected, sure, but they were also incredibly easy to piss off. And Tsume lived to see their expressions of grandeur sour with discontent just because she managed to claw her way under their skin.

"Well, my child has been doing a good enough job of dealing with all the shit you've thrown his way. You should be proud he's got my genes and not his father's." Tsume shrugged as she smirked, even though she turned her gaze from Chifuyu. In the room before her, separated by a one way window and some walls, was the newest litter of Inuzuka pups she had to inspect to ensure the quality of future Inuzuka canines. They were a thousand times more entertaining than some crusty old woman with little in life to amuse her.

Even though Tsume was making it clear she did not want to further this conversation, the elder remained steadfast beside her. "He would have runaway the day he had found out about this arrangement." she hummed thoughtfully as she refused to follow Tsume's wishes and leave her alone. "Isn't it somewhat odd such a rambunctious pup has not tried such a foolish thing?"

"If you're going to say something, come right out and say it. I don't have the time or patience to deal with you beating around the bush." with this growl, Tsume crossed her arms over her chest. Then she jabbed her chin in the direction of the litter of pups, "I'm busy."

These elders, so annoying. They had so little control of the deterioration that was slowly but steadily biting away at their bodies that they felt the need to take control of other people's lives.

They really needed to understand when they were beat.

"It's just-" the woman tried, only for Tsume

"Chifuyu, you ain't got any kind of evidence that would back up any claim about my runt trying to run away. I ain't got a reason to think he even tried it. So run along now before the sun gets too high and your wrinkles etch themselves any deeper into your skin."

The woman absolutely growled upon being interrupted and insulted. But it seemed that she decided any further attempts at a conversation with her would be fruitless, for she left in a huff. Seeing how the door slammed violently behind her, Tsume knew she had accomplished her greatest goal in life at this point.

These Elders of hers... they needed to understand one simple truth. They may be pillars of their communities; their voices may be the loudest when it came to making their decisions; and their status was one of pure respect within the Inuzuka. But that meant nothing when it came to fucking her pups over.

The damage these bordering on senile sacks of shit had caused on her family and clan was done- there was little she could do to fix it. But she wasn't about to cry and despair over that. No, she wasn't the kind to roll over and show her stomach, even when nothing seemed to be going her way. The damage was done, sure. But that didn't mean that there was nothing she could do to make their lives a living hell after what they had decided to do.

Unless she wanted a civil war to break out amongst the Inuzuka, she could not save her son from the marriage these old farts had arranged. Once Clan Elders had made a decision that regarded the health of the entire Clan, not even the Clan Head's wishes mattered; nothing she said or did would be able to break the marriage that had been decided upon while she was still dealing with the fallout of the surprise attack that had taken the lives of so many of her clan members and Yoshino Nara.

Bastards had known what they were doing the moment they chose Kiba to marry Shikaku...

With a sneer pulling at the corner of her lips, Tsume balled up her hands into fists.

Nothing she did could stop the marriage from happening.

But she wasn't blind. Nor was she deaf or dumb. She could tell that Kiba liked Shikaku from the moment he returned from his futile escape attempt all those months ago. Her runt, though, was pretty dumb. So it wouldn't surprise her if it had taken him a while to figure out his own feelings.

How long it took Kiba to notice them, though, did not matter. Tsume allowed him to run loose with the Nara to make sure that he eventually figured them out. And that would, without a doubt, make the arrangement much easier. She didn't really care to listen to the Elders clamoring about propriety in the engagement; and she certainly didn't pay them any attention when they tried to convince her to force Kiba to spend more time within the Clan's compound.

On one front, she allowed her boy to get close to his promised. On another, she fought the Elders tooth and nail for any decision they tried to make without her input.

Upon remembering just how readily her Elders allowed their discontent with her recent actions to be seen, Tsume's sneer turned into a wolfish smirk.

It wasn't easy being a Clan Head to a Clan as bullheaded, arrogant, and wild as the Inuzuka. But if there was one woman that could handle this arduous task, it was her.


When he woke up, it was to an incredibly pleasant feeling warming his whole body. And it wasn't just because he woke up to find himself pressed up against Shikaku's snoring body. It was also because of the stupidly sappy dream he had regretfully left behind in the land of dreams to return to the land of consciousness.

Beside himself, Kiba felt himself grow embarrassed upon remembering what he had dreamed... because it had been so sweet...

But, he had to admit, that if his life turned out the way he had dreamed it to be... he wouldn't complain a lot. Shikaku would probably make a very good husband. And Shikamaru clearly didn't hate him for wanting to date his father. So living with these two might actually be a very decent change from having to live with the mother and sister that didn't care for him anymore.

And the idea of being able to kiss Shikaku any time he wanted to, just because he could... well... it was a very nice idea.

Ino was right: he did have it bad.

With a small sigh, Kiba pulled himself away from Shikaku's embrace, stood up, and stretched his stiff body. He heard the Nara grumble softly at the movement, but Shikaku was so tired that he didn't even stir afterwards. Kiba smiled sadly at this. This man had the weight of the world on his shoulders and he refused to share it with others; he would rather bear the brunt of all of the hits the world gave him than share his pain.

He wanted to change that. If anything, he wanted Shikaku to feel comfortable enough with him to tell him about his worries and fears... and, holy shit, why was he thinking like this? They weren't together-together. Sure, he had confessed his feelings to Shikaku; well, he had tried at least. But that didn't mean that they had magically become a couple!

With a frustrated growl, Kiba pulled his hands down from the air- seeing how he had been stretching his back and shoulders- and covered his face up with them.

He was hopeless now, wasn't he?

Through some sick twist of fate, he had gone and fallen in love with the man he was arranged to marry.

Shikaku Nara. Shikamaru's father. Head of the Nara Clan. Kiba's soon to be husband. And now... the love of Kiba's life.

How had his life turned out like this?

Behind him, he heard Shikaku stir. His body shifted on the couch a few times before he cleared his throat, sniffed at the air... and then his hand began to search around the padding of the sofa, as if looking for him. Kiba turned around then to look at Shikaku, only to feel his heart begin to soar when he took note of the frown filled with annoyance that made its way onto the man's lips when he wasn't able to find him.

Eventually, Shikaku cracked one groggy eye open... and actually glared at him.

The still sleepy Nara didn't say anything. He just continued to glare over at Kiba as if he had just committed murder... and Kiba could honestly say, with no hope of hesitation anymore, that this idiot had somehow stolen his heart and he was an even bigger idiot for having allowed that to happen.

"I'm going to get you some coffee." he was smiling like some dumbass and he couldn't stop himself. "I have no idea what time it is, but from the sounds of the Village, we must be nearing lunch time. And you've gotten absolutely no work done today."

Shikaku groaned and closed his eye once again. But he lifted one hand, his movements slow and drawn out, and then extended two fingers. "I'm going to need two." he was able to barely sound intelligible through the muffling of his barely moved lips. And after a few seconds of suspended silence, he added, "Please."

This man was hopeless.

And Kiba was even further beyond hope if this was the man he had fallen in love with.


If you were to ask him, even after the talk they had about how much they liked or didn't like each other... it didn't really feel like anything between him and Kiba had changed. Everything felt normal; natural. The atmosphere around them was still one of comfort, ease, and acceptance. If anything, after that conversation, things felt even better around them than they had before; possibly because they had finally been able to shake off some of the tension that had been consuming them after the assassination they had successfully completed.

Even though he knew that he would have a lot of questions he would have to answer from various different people in the future... For just a moment, Shikaku had felt peaceful.

He knew that he had a lot of things to do and many things to contemplate and plan out. Specifically, he had to catch up on all the work he avoided by napping with Kiba in the morning... while simultaneously preparing explanations for the questions he knew were to come from his friends and family.

Whatever kind of relaxation he had been able to muster after napping with Kiba flew clear out the window when he remembered that he had a life to get back to.

Chouza would be the most confused, he was sure. After all, he had been the only close friend of his that Shikaku had not allowed to know about the reality of his and Kiba's relationship. Inoichi knew- he was currently judging him for how he had been taking the situation, rather than the situation itself. Without a doubt, Minato would want some very serious explanations as to what was going on as well.

Sighing heavily, Shikaku allowed his head to rest against the top paper that comprised a volume's worth of reports on a possible menace to Konohagakure. He needed to read all of this with all of the attention needed from a proper Jounin Leader so he could accurately gage the danger Konoha was in- as well as the danger of acting against this team that was supposedly calling itself 'the Akatsuki'.

It's as if the world had conspired against him to make sure that every single aspect of his life became tedious at exactly the same time. Not only was his personal life going to be affected because of his relationship with Kiba, the post he held in his work was also going to, undoubtedly, be questioned. And with his sub-optimal performance right now, he would be the first to say he should step down if he wasn't able to maintain a standard of quality.

There was so much to do and he had absolutely no energy to even want to get it done. He was in the worst kind of slump he could be in and he honestly didn't even want to begin to think of a way he could begin to get himself out of it.

He should start being a responsible adult and force himself to work. Even if he couldn't control the backlash the social part of his reputation was bound to receive, he could soften the blow for his work reputation. And the perfect way to do that would be by coming up with a complete, extensive, yet concise plan for putting a stop to the troublesome Akatsuki.

That name... he was sure that there was some deep meaning behind the group having chosen such a name. But for the life of him, he couldn't get past thinking these were a group of young, upstart missing-nin trying to force the world to recognize their worth.

"Dinner's fast approaching, Shikaku."

He didn't lift his head from the pile of papers he had rested it against. He just kept his forehead pressed to the cold paper, relishing vaguely in the coolness of its texture. By keeping his eyes closed, he was also able to indulge himself, if only minutely, in the rest he so desperately wanted to continue.

There was the ruffling of papers from somewhere in front of him. Then he was able to hear the clear footfalls of sandaled steps muffled by a lush rug. And, finally, he heard Kiba sigh heavily directly in front of him.

"Still feeling like shit?"

He groaned audibly as his only answer.

Once more, Kiba sighed.

"Y'know, I'm starting to think you might need a day or two of just resting. You're even looking pale now."

Nonsense. He was always pale. Even when he was a child, he hadn't liked the stinging rays of the sun as much as his other classmates. It wasn't that he hated the sunlight or being outdoors; he just preferred being inside of buildings and, preferably, sat on a comfortable couch and/or laying on a cozy bed. So it wasn't really all that surprising that his skin color wasn't as naturally tanned as someone like Kiba.

But maybe the kid had a point. He was off. He couldn't properly explain it himself. But... he just didn't want to do anything.

This... this had never happened to him before. And he honestly had no idea how he was even supposed to begin analyzing what he was feeling.

"Alright. Time to get up, Shikaku." Kiba's voice was now directly to his left and Shikaku vaguely noted two hands grabbing onto his shoulder. "I'm taking you home, making you some soup, and then you're going to get some much needed sleep. Akamaru, c'mere, think you can help me carry him back?"

He heard Akamaru snort softly from where Kiba had been working, but soon the soft padding of his paws was heard in the mostly silent room.

As the full grown adult between them, Shikaku knew he had to tell the kid to stop fussing over him; he just needed to man up and get over this slump. But the promise of another Kiba-cooked meal and a warm bed to sleep on was dangerously alluring. And knowing that he wouldn't even have to walk because Akamaru actually sounded willing to help carry him...

With a small sigh, Shikaku decided that he would allow this one final indulgence. Tomorrow he would face the day like the capable, strong, and intelligent man he was. But today, he would allow himself to be... well... whatever odd and mostly useless thing his body was making him be.


The logistics of carrying a mostly passed out Shikaku Nara weren't easy to figure out. But after a few minutes of fiddling around with Akamaru and explaining to Shikaku that he needed to keep his arms wrapped tightly around the dog's neck if he didn't want to fall off, they were finally able to head out.

Knowing that it wouldn't be a very good look for Shikaku to be carried around the Village on Akamaru's back; especially with their current relationship situation; they decided to take the longer, more deserted forest routes to transport the man. Akamaru ran off ahead of him, all the while Kiba stayed behind for a little while to clean up the office and lock it up.

Even though Shikaku was clearly out of it right now, Kiba knew that he would not like to come back to his office left unlocked and in disarray. So he made the grand old sacrifice of doing this for the man.

As he was finishing up, he remembered something incredibly important about the Nara household that would obstruct his plan of cooking a hearty soup for Shikaku: there were next to no fresh ingredients inside of his house. Even though he was sure there was going to be an endless amount of deer meat he could play around with- which was some of the best cuts of meat offered inside of Konoha-, there were virtually no vegetables inside of the guy's house. And he highly doubted he even had the pot necessary for the dish Kiba had in mind... much less any udon noodles.

Breathing in deeply, Kiba patted his pockets to check and see if he just happened to have his wallet with him today; which he barely carried with him because it was more of a hindrance in his day to day life than any sort of help. He didn't have it.

Okay. So, first, he would have to head over to his house to get his wallet. He'd steal the pots and pans he'd need from his sister's collection and he'd also see if there were any ingredients he could snag from his pantry so he wouldn't have to buy everything at the store. Once he had all that, he'd swing by the store and get everything he hadn't gotten at his house.

After that he'd head over to Shikaku's house and rush out this soup- hopefully everything it would be delicious even if he had to cook it up fast to make sure that Shikaku didn't pass out from hunger.

With the game plan set out in his mind, the Inuzuka ran off to his house to see it through.

~/~

The backpack was pretty heavy, so it was weighing down his whole upper body. But it was heavy because he had found a large amount of the vegetables he would need for the soup at his house, along with all of the pots and pans he would need to prepare all of the ingredients. So the weight was annoying, but it was a good kind of weight.

But the basket nestled in the crook of his right elbow was getting pretty heavy too, and he was kind of starting to regret being so ambitious for Shikaku's soup. But Kiba Inuzuka wasn't a quitter. So he would find everything, pay for it, and then cook Shikaku Nara the best damn soup he would ever eat in his life.

As he searched through the frozen section of the grocery store, the teenager only had one mission on his mind. And he was so focused on what he was looking for that he didn't notice a familiar scent sneak up on him.

"What you looking for, kid?"

Kiba barely registered the voice that asked the question; even though he completely understood what was being asked. "Frozen shrimp tempura..." he bit softly at the inside of his bottom lip, "Is it sold out?"

There was a beat of silence as the Inuzuka scanned over the frozen confections before him, then he heard a hum, "Ah, here it is. Did you miss it?"

Kiba blinked in surprise when the other person was able to find the tempura so quickly- especially after he had been standing here for a good two minutes just searching. Then he glanced over in the direction of the voice, only to find a box of frozen shrimp tempura offered to him by a pale hand.

He stared at the hand for a few seconds- he couldn't help but think that it looked somewhat familiar.

After a few seconds passed in which he didn't reach for the food, the hand began to shake the box ever so slightly. "Weren't you looking for this?"

Now that he was paying attention, Kiba began to notice the voice that was talking to him; as well as the scent that was coming from the person that was helping him. And he couldn't believe he had been so dense that he hadn't noticed who this was the second he stepped into the grocery store.

"Sorry, Kashi." he murmured as he reached for the box.

Once he had it grasped firmly in his own hand, the Inuzuka pulled it towards him. He checked over the nutritional information on it and made sure that it was a brand he at least knew. Afterwards, he placed it inside of the basket he had been lugging around the store and finally looked at Kakashi-Sensei's face.

He... didn't like the look on the man's face. He was thinking too much.

"Kashi, huh?"

Even though the man's voice sounded as if he were trying to tease Kiba, there was an undertone of worry clear in the words that made Kiba wanted to sigh heavily. He really wasn't in the right mood to be dealing with Kakashi and his suspicions. He just wanted to finish up here as quickly as was humanly possible so he could back to Shikaku and make sure the guy didn't get any worse.

He had no idea what was wrong with him. He didn't seem to be physically ill- and they certainly hadn't been near anyone that was sick at any point. But... well, Kiba didn't spend every single second of his life with Shikaku. Maybe the Nara had been in contact at some point with someone that was sick and had been contaminated?

No... that didn't sound like something the Nara would allow to happen. He seemed careless, yet he was anything but.

"I've got to go." he swiftly turned around on his heels, beginning to make his way towards the cash register now that he had everything he needed to make the soup.

He had thought about maybe getting some dango in the bakery at the back of the store, but if he did that, Kakashi might feel like tagging along. And he didn't want to talk to him right now.

His sentence was short, but he knew Kakashi knew what he meant, I'm busy right now and I really don't have time to waste.

Even though he was sure he had made himself clear, he still found himself being followed by the older shinobi towards the cash registers. "Say, Inuzuka, you haven't called me Kashi in a while."

Kiba huffed in annoyance at this- it seemed that the Hatake was not about to give up on this newest opening he had found.

Kashi had been the nickname Naruto and he used to call the Hatake when they were much younger. This had been back when Kiba had spent just about every single day attached to Naruto's hip and they had thought they would one day be able to share the titles of 'Co-Kage'. It had been so long ago that Kiba barely ever thought about those times anymore.

When they had become genin and Naruto and he had been forcibly separated by being placed on very different teams, he had stopped calling the Hatake by this nickname. His clan had demanded he treat Kakashi with the respect he deserved as his superior- they weren't to be friends anymore. They were now allies by being ninja of Konohagakure.

That... had been a harsh transition. Going from Kashi to Kakashi-Sensei was a rather jarring experience. And Kiba hadn't called the man by his nickname ever since he was twelve years old.

His Clan had been more than clear on this issue- Kakashi Hatake and Naruto Uzumaki were allies now. His one true pack were Hinata and Shino. There was no leeway space on this issue.

Now that he thought about it... his Clan had a pretty clear history of demanding some pretty restrictive things of him. And he... he just accepted them.

"Sorry. It won't happen again." at this point, he was trying to keep up a cold façade to not have to deal with Kakashi. But from the way the man continued to follow him even as he arrived at the register, he could tell it wouldn't be easy to shake him off.

"No need to be so formal, kid. I was forced to change your diapers once, y'know."

Now Kiba pursed his lips- that was a low blow and Kakashi knew it.

But at least the comment let the Inuzuka know that this man was in here for a reason. And, very probably, that was reason was to corner Kiba into having a conversation he knew the Inuzuka didn't want to have. He wouldn't be pulling this card out so early if not for here on a mission, after all.

He needed to make a choice and he needed to make it right now. If he didn't want Kakashi to tag along with him the rest of the way to Shikaku's house, he was going to have to make it clear to the Hatake that he couldn't continue to follow him around. After all, this was a guy that had a bad habit of inviting himself places if no one flat out let him know he wasn't invited.

After he had finished placing everything he would be buying on the cashier's desk, Kiba turned to Kakashi. While the young woman added his total tally up, he would tell Kakashi that he was going to Shikaku's house and he wasn't invited.

And when Kakashi would try and weasel his way into the soup he'd be making- probably by trying to guilt trip him by reminding him how horrible of a cook he was... well, when he thought about this possible retaliation from Kakashi, Kiba was struck by genius.

The kind of genius he knew Shikaku had utilized once before to deal with this man and his insistent ways.

"Tonight's date night." he blurted out before he could properly contemplate the possible consequences of his actions right now. "I don't have the time to sit down and chat, Kakashi." and when he took note of the slight narrowing of Kakashi's eye, Kiba shrugged softly, "I'm buying a lot of vegetables for a reason."

There was a long silence that was heavily punctuated by the beeping of the cashier scanning his items. Kakashi was looking down at him with clear distrust swimming within his dark eye. And Kiba forced himself to meet that heated gaze with a nonchalant one- he needed to sell this illusion to Kakashi. He couldn't have him finding out about the reality of his relationship with Shikaku.

The reality of his relationship... it was changing, wasn't it? He had confessed to the man. And Shikaku hadn't flat out rejected him. He hadn't accepted his feelings; not to their full degree, at least. But... well, Shikaku felt something for him too. And that could mean something.

"With the Nara?"

And wasn't it odd that the Nara they were both referring to wasn't Shikamaru?

Kiba nodded, allowing a small smile to come onto his lips. "With the Nara."

It wasn't hard to play up the being in love angle when he was actually in love... well, at least one thing about this whole arranged marriage situation was working in his favor.

"Hmm." Kakashi closed his eye in thought, allowing Kiba to turn around and pay the cashier.

He gathered up all of his wares and began to walk away from Kakashi, only to be surprised when he heard the man call, "One of these days."

Kiba's steps faltered as soon as he deciphered what the man meant.

I'm going to corner you one of these days. And you'll have to tell me what's going on with you. Just wait and see.


Akamaru... made a very good pillow.

Breathing in deeply as he began to wake from the land of dreams, Shikaku couldn't help but notice that Akamaru had, once again, allowed Shikaku the honor of utilizing his body as a perfectly comfortable place of rest. Even though there had been no logical reason for it- Shikaku's bed and pillows were more than comfortable enough for him to sleep without too many issues.

But, he had to admit, waking up to find Akamaru as his pillow was incredibly nice- comfy, even. He didn't understand why the dog had done this, but he was grateful for it. He had been able to sleep quite a bit, if the lack of light from his windows was any indicator as to how much time had passed since he had arrived at his house.

Now that he had been able to sleep quite a bit, he was feeling much better. And so he voiced his gratitude to the large dog, who merely huffed and shifted slightly to the side, clearly content to remain nestled on Shikaku's large bed. Admittedly, Shikaku smiled at this and lifted his hand so he could ruffle the dog's head ever so softly.

"I'm going to check up on Kiba."

The large animal opened his mouth up in a large yawn and closed his eyes. He wasn't about to move and he was making it very clear to the Nara.

With a soft chuckle at the actions of Kiba's partner, Shikaku moved himself so he was sat at the edge of his bed. Before he stood up, he took stock of himself, relishing in the fact that he felt somewhat energized now that he had slept for quite a bit of time. Afterwards, he noted that he was wearing his pajama pants, but no shirt- his regular attire for going to sleep.

He blinked at this fact, but soon shrugged at it. It seemed that he had changed into his sleep clothes after Akamaru had brought him here; even though he couldn't really remember having done such a thing.

His bare feet were cold against his wooden floor. But the Nara didn't mind as he made his way towards his kitchen, immediately taking note of the delicious smells that were coming from that direction.

It wasn't often that such a thing happened. He couldn't cook to save his life and Shikamaru refused to even experiment and see if he had inherited such a lack of talent in the culinary arts. Yoshino had been an excellent cook, but she hadn't made a habit of cooking up elaborate meals on a regular day- she had left such time consuming endeavors only for special events.

Shikaku's heart swooned ever so slightly when he remembered that Kiba had promised him soup because of how off he had been.

When he reached the kitchen, it was to find the Inuzuka standing over a large pot that most certainly did not belong to either him or his son. He stood only in his mesh shirt, having left his jacket resting over the counter behind him. Possibly, he had decided that wearing such a warm garment would be a hindrance to his cooking.

The teenager hadn't seemed to notice his arrival in the room. And Shikaku took advantage of such a fact and watched Kiba for a moment.

His movements in the kitchen were very similar to his movements when he was running over tree canopies and yelling in pure happiness. With his shoulders relaxed and his hands moving around with nothing short of practiced ease, there was only one word to describe Kiba right now: natural.

It was... endearing, in a way, to see that Kiba enjoyed cooking. It made Shikaku's guilt for having allowed himself to succumb to petty and childish feelings alleviate ever so slightly.

Clearing his throat, the Nara announced his presence to the Inuzuka. And when Kiba's shoulders stiffened in surprise, Shikaku frowned softly. Weren't they past the point of Kiba worrying about him by this point?

"Smells good." he commented as he made his way towards the cabinets so he could get himself a cup. "Is that deer?"

Kiba placed the lid on the pot and took a step back, all the while he nodded. "You guys have a surplus of it here. It'd be a crime to not use it."

The kid had a point there.

Once he had his cup in hand, Shikaku turned to look at the Inuzuka. Kiba was looking at him through slightly narrowed eyes- probably, the kid was trying to gage his state now that he was walking around and speaking clearly again.

"Want something to drink?"

There was a moment in which the kid frowned at him. Shikaku could see that he was thinking too hard on deciding something for himself- what that was, though, he did not know. Eventually, Kiba answered his question with a question of his own. "Would that drink you're offering me also encompass the grand scope of alcoholic drinks you house?"

Shikaku leveled him with an unimpressed look, "I was going to get water."

Kiba smiled cheekily, "Saké does an ailing heart good. It's been scientifically proven."

He had yet to read a scientific article that proposed such a thing. But... now that Kiba had put the idea in his mind, the Nara could admit that some saké wouldn't hurt to have after the past few days they had lived through.

"Just one drink."

Kiba cheered and Shikaku shook his head at his eagerness.

"You're a bad influence, Inuzuka." he murmured once he had two saké cups in hand, beginning to make his way towards the cabinet where he stored his alcohol.

"So I've been told, Nara. So I've been told."

As he served their drinks, they remained in silence. Shikaku was able to hear the soft shuffling of Kiba's feet, punctuated every now and again with the stirring of metal against metal. But once he turned around and returned to the teenager, Kiba decided to break the silence.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, all the while he made to grab two large bowls within the cabinet before him. "Did cuddling with Akamaru help you feel better?"

Shikaku closed his eyes at that, setting the drinks down on the counter where he presumed they would be eating. "You saw that?"

"Yup. I checked on you once I got back from the store. And if I took a picture or not is a subject that is not up for debate." Kiba began to serve up their meal and Shikaku sighed softly.

It felt weird knowing that he was at his most vulnerable and Kiba was taking it all in strides. But, Shikaku conceded, it felt rather nice to have the kid with him for this. He didn't know what he would be doing right now if not for the teenager taking control of the situation.

When he opened his eyes, he found Kiba heading towards the counter with the food. So Shikaku sat himself down on the chair nearest to him, all the while Kiba set the bowls down.

As soon as he was able to look at the meal Kiba had concocted while Shikaku was asleep, the man knew that this was the kind of meal Yoshino would prepare on a special occasion. It was a soup with udon noodles, chunks of deer meat, and a large amount of vegetables. There was even an egg laid over the top of the surface. It was the kind of meal he could expect to find in a restaurant.

Shikaku Nara was absolutely flabbergasted by the quality of the food that Kiba Inuzuka served. And, at the same time, he was absolutely grateful for what he was being given.

"Itadakimasu." he mumbled as Kiba passed him a pair of chopsticks. And he just stared at the food for a moment, before blurting out, "You really went all out today."

Kiba hummed as he took a sip from his drink. "After all the shit we've been through, I thought it'd be nice to indulge, if only on food."

Shikaku grabbed a hold of the bowl with his left hand and pulled it towards him, immediately taking note of how heavy it was. Then he used his chopsticks to get some noodles, only to find some difficulty in that endeavor because of the sheer volume of vegetables and mushrooms housed within the broth.

"Thank you." even to his own ears, he sounded off. Clearing his throat, Shikaku tried again, "You've been very patient with me today. And I'm gra-"

"Ah, shove that stupid talk, Nara." Kiba interrupted him, punctuating his words by throwing back everything that was left of his drink into his throat. Once he had swallowed that, he smiled softly over at him. "You've put up with me this whole time. It's about time I supported you, y'know."

Dumbly, all he could do for a moment was just look at Kiba. This was a teenager he had known for a few months now, and yet... Shikaku felt as if he knew everything there was to know about this kid. He was a complex person, yes, but even in that complexity, Kiba Inuzuka was simple; easy to understand; easy to get along with.

Hmm... well, wasn't that an interesting development?

Smiling softly to himself, the Nara decided to dig into the meal Kiba had prepared. But before he properly busied himself with his food, he made one final snarky comment, "You're not getting any more alcohol today."

Kiba keened, immediately trying to guilt trip him into giving him some more saké.

This... this was nice.

..~..~..

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