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Previously on Friendzones...

"Hey Shino, that was work. Somebody didn't show up. I gotta take over a few clients, but I can be back in a few hours... Unless you want to come and be my assistant," he said with a smile that grew as the idea came to him. He knew Shino had a lot to unpack though so he didn't hold his breath.


"Sure, I'd love to help," Shino said, still feeling he was imposing on Kiba, more than he was helping. He looked over as there was a knock at the door. "Oh, those will be the sandwiches. Should we bring them with?" he asked Kiba as he got up. At this rate, it would take that much longer to unpack… but he didn't mind so much if that meant he could spend more time talking to Kiba.

"Yeah, let's do that. We can eat on the way. Wear some comfortable clothes. Maybe gym shorts and a t-shirt," Kiba suggested as he shut off the game. He had his clothes at the gym and would change there. "Will the dogs be alright here? I'm covering two clients only so it should be about 3 hours," he said to Shino as the other got their food.

"Sure, let me just leave them out some water," Shino said as he set aside the food to look through another box set on the counter in the kitchen, which was just off the living room. He didn't have dog bowls, so he'd have to use two large serving dishes, but he was fine with that. He filled them both up with water and carried them carefully to the door, setting them just outside for the dogs who were now happily and literally rolling around on the grass.

"Alright, let me just go change," Shino said as he headed upstairs. He changed quickly and jogged back downstairs. "This alright?" he asked. The long sleeved shirt was Under Armour and was fitted to his body. He hoped that counted as a t-shirt. The advertisements said it was for working out.

Kiba was eating a sandwich already when Shino returned. He looked him over and nodded. "That's perfect. I'm a personal trainer at the Konoha Gym. That's the type of shirts I usually wear, but I like short sleeves or no sleeves. Gotta show off the guns," Kiba said and flexed for Shino before laughing and leading them outside.

"Whoa," Shino muttered to himself. He had to admit Kiba's muscles were very impressive. He flexed his own when he thought no one was looking. It wasn't nearly as impressive, but something popped up so he was happy. He grabbed a sandwich from the bag as he got into the car. "So a personal trainer huh? No wonder you've stayed in good shape," he said realizing he had yet to learn what Kiba did for work around Konoha. He knew what he wanted to do, which was the family business. "Do you like it?" he asked him.

"Yeah, I do. I get to help people get their health back. Sometimes I help this one client who was into martial arts competition as a kid and now he's getting back into it, so I have picked up a little from him too," he said and went into detail about a few of his clients. "Then I have two elderly ladies. They're so much fun to talk to and train. I also help with meal plans if necessary. I enjoy it and it pays well. It would pay more with a degree, but for now it's good." Kiba drove them straight to the gym and parked. "This is the new building. Wasn't here when we were growing up. I'll give you a free work out, Shino," Kiba said and climbed out of the truck.

Shino smiled as he talked. "Good. I'm sure you make a good teacher," he said confidently. He looked up mid bite when Kiba told him he'd give him a workout. "Can I have another sandwich first?" he asked as it was kind of going against his set meal plan he had to begin with.

"Yeah, bring them with you. Carbs are great to bulk up!" Kiba shared though there was a bit more to it than that. "You can eat in my little office and then join me with the clients. I'll introduce you," he said as he had taken over his co-worker's appointments before for these particular clients. He was sure Shino would be surprised.

Shino happily ate a few more and took the bag with him. He was about to get out of the truck when he panicked and closed the door again, clapping his hands over his face. He'd forgotten. When Kiba took his glasses off, he hadn't put them back on. "Uh Kiba, little problem," he said peeking through his fingers at him.

Kiba looked over at Shino and immediately realized. "I wish you wouldn't hide them, but... I kinda like being the only one," he said with a grin. He opened the truck door again and searched the underside of the seat until he found his case. "Here," he said and tossed them at Shino. "Wear those," he said and felt a little guilty pleasure at knowing Shino would be wearing his "Inuzuka" branded sunglasses.

Shino placed the glasses on hurriedly and breathed a sigh of relief when his eyes were safely hidden. "Thanks," he said to Kiba with a small smile and finally did get out of the truck. Kiba really was the only one he felt comfortable displaying them too. He followed him into the office and looked around as he ate another sandwich. It was a cozy set up he imagined, but thought maybe the close quarters office might make someone like Kiba crazy sometimes. Like a dog, Kiba liked wide open spaces.

Kiba let Shino sit at his desk. "It's small, I know, but really I just update customer files and only come in here to eat or explain meal plans and sign up new clients," Kiba explained and hopped up on the desk. "Most of my time is spent on the floor. Sometimes, if a client cancels, I'll pick a struggling gym member and give them a freebie," he explained and checked his watch before he shut the door and opened his filing cabinet. The bottom most drawer held his clothes. "Need to change," he said to Shino as he pulled off his t-shirt and started undoing his belt. For some reason his hands were not cooperating.

Shino watched him struggle for a little before licking the mayonnaise off his thumb. "Here, let me try," he said moving over and guiding him in front of him by his belt loops. "Looks like its snagged on something," he said as he got down on his knees for a better look and set to work on trying to undo it.

Kiba looked down and felt his knees go weak. He reached for Shino's shoulders to steady himself. "Shino," he warned as the others hands pushed again and again trying to undo the zipper. Kiba was filling up quick. He gulped. There was no way to hide his reaction. He tried to remember the bugs. It didn't help.

"Hold on, I almost got it," Shino said, his face very close in order to see a thick group of frayed threads that was caught onto a crease of the metal buckle. "You have scissors? We may need to cut this," he said as he tugged at it again. Thinking nothing of it, he moved forward to bite the threads loose.

"Oh fuck!" Kiba moaned and pushed Shino away as gently as he could. "Sh-shino I am So... SOoooo, so sorry," he said as he saw the huge damp, sticky mess leaking through his jeans. Surely Shino had a taste of him.

Shino grunted, feeling a pressure on his throat before tasting the saltiness on his lip and tongue and moved his hand to his mouth, not yet processing what had happened, though he recognized the taste.

"It's okay," he said quickly. "Umm, spontaneous emissions sometimes happen-"

"Wow," Shikamaru said as he leaned on the open doorway of the office, Chouji next to him. "'Sup, Kiba?" he asked with a hint of a smirk playing on his lips, Chouji next to him had frozen solid with a chip still on course to crash into his mouth.

Kiba was beyond embarrassed. Even his ears felt hot. He didn't have time to apologize again to Shino when he heard Shikamaru's voice. He looked back and bit his lip. "It isn't what-"

"Has the ink dried on that divorce yet?" Chouji asked when he finally recovered. He smiled at Shino and waved. "Hey, heard you were back," he said while trying to figure out what was happening.

"The zipper was-," Shino tried to say at the same time. He rose to his feet and was confused when Chouji switched gears. "Hey Chouji," he waved awkwardly. "Shika, hey. Wow you guys, you look great," he said clearing his throat.

"Uh hu~uhh," Shikamaru said, drawing the word out, his smirk growing. "You've done some growing up yourself. All sorts of experienced," he said, stealing a chip from Chouji.

Shino looked at Kiba, who was red. "Um, let's catch up!" he said loudly and led them out of the office, closing the door behind him. "It really wasn't what it looked like," he tried again when he was a safe distance away.

"I'm glad you're back," Chouji said with a hearty pat on Shino's back. "I'm here for a session with Kiba. When we want to hang out with him we have to schedule with his coworker. That way Ino doesn't catch on to us," he said, happy to drop the other subject, but he knew his best friend well. Shikamaru would draw this out and make sure nobody ever forgot.

Kiba quickly ripped himself out of the pants and cleaned himself up before changing. He'd give himself a few more minutes before he walked out.

"Oh, that's- that's great. I'm glad you get to talk here what with… y'know and he's a good trainer," Shino said, gladly taking the change of subject for Kiba's sake.

"Yeah, he give you a good workout?" Shikamaru kept it up. He was not letting this go.

"Well…, he said he would later. I've been working out lately," Shino said, trying to stay off-topic, but he was never good at these things and he was never sure if he was making things worse or better.

"Well, I'm happy for you both," Shikamaru said. "Better you than that bitch Ino. We have to actually sneak here and do stuff if we even want to talk to him," Shikamaru said as he texted everyone in his phone about what he had seen.

Chouji munched on. "She wasn't like this before…, but slowly she turned on even us. Even though our parents are friends," he said trying to help Shino out again. "Oh, but... if you and him... that's great too," he added when he realized it may not have been an accident.

"I'm sorry to hear things have fallen so far apart. I'm glad you've made an effort though," Shino told them. He shook his head at Chouji. "He was just...confused?" he said but wasn't satisfied with his own argument.

"Never seen him make that face around Ino," Shikamaru said nudging Chouji. He smiled wide when Kiba came out of the office.

Kiba opened the door and looked at them all. "Ready, Chouji?" he asked unaware he was still the subject.

"So we were actually here to surprise you. 'Surprise'," Shikamaru celebrated late. "The bitch is dead. We need to celebrate. All the hoes!" he said.

"It's a little more complicated than that, Shika," Shino tried as Kiba led Chouji over to a machine.

Kiba snickered, but shook his head. "No hoes, but yes celebrate. Chouji stretch slowly then start a 15 minute jog to warm up. Drop the chips then we hit the weights," he said.

Chouji did as he was told. "I heard Naruto wanted to have a party after the Gala. Did he text you yet? He asked for the restaurant to cater," he said.

"I haven't checked my messages yet," Shino confessed. "Trust Naruto to want to have a party after the party though," he said. "How does he get so much time off anyway, what does he do?"

Shikamaru smirked. "He's Hokage."

Shino stared and then looked at Kiba for verification. "Is he joking with me or not?" he asked. He knew it was always Naruto's dream, but he just couldn't believe Naruto was actually responsible for all of Konoha... that meant he'd signed the permits for his lab.

Kiba nodded his head. "I'm sure Naruto's husband helped fund the campaign, but he did the rest himself. You know he's always had that dream…," he said and smiled a little sad to add, "and he has a partner who supports and understands him."

Chouji smiled sadly from his treadmill. "You'll have someone like that, Kiba. Don't give up," he said.

Shino nodded adamantly. "Yes, you have to find somebody," he said determined. There was no way someone like Kiba wouldn't find someone who deserved him. "Statistically speaking, there's less than 2% chance of finding someone not attracted to your list of characteristics just within Konoha," he told him. "That's not even factoring in your love of animals and that you're good with kids," he said.

Shikamaru smirked and took a sip of water. "Yeah, they could be… someone in this very room," he said to the air.

Kiba smiled at Shino and was about to reply when Shikamaru's voice broke through the moment. "Why? Are you interested?" Kiba replied. "I'm free tomorrow if you need a good bang," he said joking as they always did about being gay and as all males tended to do.

Chouji laughed and shook his head. "He can't, Kiba. He's blowing me from 5-7, but if you don't mind sloppy seconds you can get him at 7:30," he said and finally started at a jog.

Shikamaru shook his head. "He breaks free off the chain and now he's just breaking all kinds of hearts," he said.

Shino smiled. "I'll be right back, I'm just gonna head to the bathroom," he said and stepped away. He sighed as he looked in the mirror, licking his lips thoughtfully. He could still taste him. Did Kiba? Was he reading things wrong again? He had to be. Right? He rubbed at his stomach. No one he'd experimented with at college ever made him feel this way. His insides felt twisted. It hurt and he didn't understand what it meant. He got himself together and went back outside. He smiled at them easily. "So what do you two do now?" he asked them.

"Twin doctors," Shikamaru celebrated pointing to himself and Shino. "I'm a medical doctor though. I work at the Konoha Hospital," he told him.

Kiba raised his head from helping Chouji with some weights. "Chouji is in food sciences," he said as the other worked hard to push up the bar.

Chouji set it down and sat up as he finished. "I create new recipes for restaurants and schools. Basically I find the cheapest way to make the most delicious things," he said.

"That's great you guys. I'm happy for you. It really suits you," Shino told them.

Kiba was proud of his friends and their careers. He was reminded of Shino's offer. "I'm going back to school," he volunteered to the pair. "Shino is gonna help me," he added.

Chouji struggled with the squats and finally had a reason to stop. "That's great Kiba! If you need any help, I'm also here," he volunteered and looked between them. He wasn't sure if Kiba knew the way Shino was looking at him and what it meant. He shared a look with Shikamaru, knowing that the other would easily pick up on it.

Shino smiled at Kiba when he told them all he was going back. "It'll be fun. We're going to study together," Shino told them.

"Oh, Shino tells you to go back to school and suddenly it's a good idea," Shikamaru snorted as he used a bench for doing sit ups to lay down on. "I hope you don't mind if I miss out on those parties. They weren't fun in Med School and I don't think they've changed," he said.

"He's really not that far behind and there's some correlation between entomology and some veterinary sciences. I might actually learn something from him," Shino said with another smile in Kiba's direction. He was glad he was going back and excited about the aspect of spending time with him.

Shikamaru nodded discreetly to Choji. "So Shino you seeing anyone?" he asked.

Shino shrunk and shook his head. "No, nothing like that. But I have my insects and my work," he added quickly.

Shikamaru nodded slowly. "Ye~ah a lot of people… went crazy that way. Yeah, no, we need to get you laid," he said.

Kiba raised his eyebrows. "Laid?" he asked and glanced at Shino. Did the other want to do that? Kiba didn't have a reason to be jealous, but he was. He didn't want Shino sleeping around with some other guy. He wanted to be that other guy. The realisation made him drop a dumbbell that rolled off to Chouji's toe.

"Hey!" Chouji exclaimed and tried to lift the dumbbell, but failed. "This is heavy," he complained and took a seat on the sit up bench after moving Shikamaru's legs over his lap.

"Oh sorry, Chouji," Kiba said and easily lifted the weight and set it up on the proper slot. He was still wanting to hear Shino's answer. Did the other want to sleep with a new guy now that he was home?


Gaara stared at his phone. As he did so it rang. He answered it after the third ring and smiled knowing he'd hear it just for letting it ring for so long. "Hello, Neji," he greeted and motioned to Sasuke that he was leaving to take the call in his own office.

Neji swiveled around in his chair. "You avoiding me?" he asked accusingly.

Gaara smiled, but didn't let it show in his voice. "Maybe... Why? Miss me?" he asked.

"No, but it makes me curious as to why you might be avoiding me," Neji said narrowing his eyes. "What did you do? Who you fucking? She know about us?" he asked quickly.

"I'm fucking nobody, but I have some plans and I wanted to invite you to join me to this little event coming up," Gaara said. "It will be a public type of appearance," he said.

Neji hummed. "Public…, that could be very dangerous," he pointed out. Officially they were business rivals and they appeared it, appropriately so, when in view of the public, unofficially they were… not.

"It could be," Gaara replied and spun in his chair. "Could also be very, very fun," he tempted.

Neji smiled as he leaned back in his chair looking out at the view of the building. "It could be," he echoed. He took a breath. "Well, I guess I do want an excuse to get out of this other get together I had planned," he decided, not saying that it was another bride viewing spectacle.

"Wear something hot and easy to take off," Gaara said, though by now Neji knew he was only flirting. "Neji…, it's time. I would think you'd agree," he whispered.

Neji sighed. "Yeah, maybe I do need to stop playing hard to get," he said and popped his lips. "I just hope you've been stretching. I get acrobatic in the bedroom."

"Maybe you'll finally let me up into your bedroom. Your uncle has to fall asleep some time," Gaara said and chuckled. The Hyuuga still had a family home that housed them all.

"I think you just want to rob me at this point," Neji speculated. "It's always my place you want to get into. Why not drug your uncle and then we can have some fun," he pointed out as he filed a few papers.

"My uncle will tattle faster than your cousins. Then he'll announce it to the world because their worst nightmare is me being asexual, since I've shown nobody, not a soul, a single iota of attention...," Gaara said.

"Oh, well, don't I feel special," Neji said with a smirk. "How about the Uchiha? Didn't you say you stay over sometimes and he has a million rooms? We could do each other's hair and have pillow fights too," he suggested.

"Or we could go to your room and you can finally let me sleep over," Gaara pushed, but he knew the likely answer was no.

Neji clicked his tongue. "You're so stubborn," he pouted. "So what is this public event for? Other than rip-away, what should I wear? Is this black tie or can I actually be comfortable?" he asked.

"Aburame Labs is having an event. It's black tie, but also pack a comfortable after party outfit as Sasuke and his husband are planning something too," Gaara replied.

"When aren't they planning something?" Neji asked sarcastically, highlighting a passage that needed to be corrected. He packed it into a box to take home. "Anyway, I'm leaving early. I concentrate better at home and the people are livelier," he said. "I guess I'll see you at the party," he said.

"I'll see you at the party," Gaara said and held back from saying those 3 little words he'd been keeping inside for years.

His relationship with Neji hadn't started out well at all. After senior year, they'd ended up at the same business school, both near Konoha in Sand. They were raised as business enemies, but Gaara had never cared about that rivalry.

They were in high school and Gaara stared at Neji across the classroom. They were in Teacher-Assigned groups and they were all split up. Sasuke in Naruto's group with Kiba, while Neji was with Lee and Sakura. Gaara was sitting next to Hinata and Ino. He had no interest in either. One talked too much, one not enough. He was far more interested in the long haired genius boy, who was very obviously taking over leadership of his group.

"See you then," Neji told him and hung up. He sighed and remembered he was to meet his potential brides. He did everything for his clan and he couldn't even choose who he wanted to marry. How was that fair?

"I just wanna say that if we do not succeed in our assignment, I will run a-"

"Stop right there," Neji cut Lee off mid sentence. "I'll finish that for you. You don't succeed in this assignment and bring my grade down, I will personally drag you by your ankles behind my fucking car for as many laps around Konoha as I feel like," he told him sternly.

"I accept your challenge!" Lee said passionately.

Neji turned to Sakura who was pouting and staring at Sasuke's team. "Sakura!" he called loudly to get her attention. "I've seen your grades. I know you have a good head on your shoulders, but I heard Ino say she intends to beat all the teams here and earn respect from Sasuke. It just seems to me that she has more of a drive then you do," he said despairingly. Of course Ino had said no such thing, but he knew how to get them fired up.

"Chaa! That bitch! I'll show her! I'm winning this assignment and earning Sasuke's respect! Then he has to marry me!" Sakura said her fist in the air.

Gaara chuckled at the bit he heard and tried to pay attention to Ino, who was rambling off. Neji was so smart. Gaara wanted nothing more than a chance. He knew it wouldn't come just yet. High school wasn't for them, but Gaara was patient.


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