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.

~..~..~

When they were midway through an inconsequential discussion about the better after-dinner dessert, Shikamaru called from the front of the house and announced his and Chouji's arrival.

While it wasn't usual of Shikamaru to invite someone over so late at night, it certainly wasn't unheard of. His son certainly did not care for anyone to interrupt the most sacred of times: the only time where it was socially acceptable for him to sleep for more than six hours. But he was also an incredibly good friend to Chouji, just like Chouji was to him. Out of everyone in his life, it was the Akimichi that Shikamaru allowed to disrupt his sleep without growing too annoyed.

"You're just saying dango because it's cheap." he mused as Kiba stuck his tongue out at him. "Coffee jelly is superior. Especially if there's not too much sugar."

Now Kiba pulled a face of exaggerated disgust, "Your coffee is as black as your soul and you should be ashamed of even considering such an unsweet thing for dessert."

They had finished eating only around a minute ago and were still seated at the island. The warmth that was radiating from Kiba's body, which was close enough to feel, but far enough to not touch accidentally, was incredibly soothing. This eased kind of ambience they had managed to achieve was incredibly appreciated by Shikaku; in a way, it was almost as if he was on a small vacation right now. By tomorrow, he was sure he would be back in his right mind and he'd be able to face the issues he had ignored today.

As the footsteps of the newest arrivals to the house began to echo through the hallway, Kiba stood up and went to begin washing up the plates they had utilized. Shikaku didn't bother trying to stop him this time around, more than aware that the Inuzuka would come up with an excuse that would make him cleaning up after preparing this large meal seem vaguely logical.

"It can be as sweet as you make it." he offered against Kiba's clear lack of understanding of how delicious coffee jelly could be. "I'll bring you some one day. Then you'll see it's better than dango."

"What? I can't hear you over the sound of this rushing water, Nara!" the dramatic shout was punctuated by water running from the open faucet. And Shikaku only shook his head softly. The Inuzuka's antics were both endearing and amusing.

"Did you two... already eat?" was the first thing Shikamaru said once he had stepped close enough to them to be able to see the scene within the kitchen.

Of course, it struck Shikaku as odd that Shikamaru would ask such a thing. On a regular day, they would eat dinner together, sure. But they usually didn't eat so late at night. And Chouji wasn't usually part of the mix. Although the take-out food that was undoubtedly inside of the bag that Shikamaru held in his right hand was completely customary, seeing how neither of them were particularly good at anything that dealt with the kitchen.

The question was odd in the fact that it made no sense for Shikamaru to have asked it. Of course they had already eaten. It was late and they needed sleep; Kiba would have to return to his home soon as well, seeing how they were still not married and living under the same roof.

What was odd about the question was the way that it was asked. The pause in Shikamaru's voice alluded to curiosity about something else. But what that something else could be, Shikaku didn't know. Kiba was officially his boyfriend now, after all, so it was supposed to be normal for him to be over at their house more often. And it would also be normal for them to be finishing a meal together.

Just which wheels were turning within Shikamaru's brain right now that had him voice out- accidentally or not- the confusion within his mind?

"Oh, shit, wait, I forgot all about that, Shika."

Shikaku blinked in absolute disorientation as he turned his head so he could look over at Kiba. Just what was he missing?

The Inuzuka had shut off the faucet and was now looking over at Shikamaru with an apologetic look completely taking over his features. He dried his hands on his pants- something that was so absolutely characteristic of this kid, even though Shikaku had never seen him do it before- and began to make his way towards his friends.

Okay... so... maybe the rest he had gotten hadn't been enough to restart his brain.

More sleep was undoubtedly the remedy to that issue.

"Did you make the food, Kiba?" Chouji cut in before Shikamaru could say anything else, eyes staring in nothing short of fascination at the pot on what was once Yoshino's prized stove. "It smells delicious in here!"

"Yeah. I thought it would be a good idea to make something hearty for Shikaku." Kiba shrugged softly as he stopped on his way towards his friends. He remained silent for a moment, visibly thinking about a change of plans, and pointed behind him at the stove. "Would you guys like some? I made a lot hoping for leftovers."

"Would I!"

Without waiting a second longer, the Akimichi steam rolled his way towards the stove and began to serve himself with the ease of a teen that had served himself within this kitchen thousands of times before. Kiba had to jump out of the way to not be a victim of a hungry Akimichi, but he soon collected himself and walked around the plump teen to begin serving a plate for Shikamaru.

While those two worked at the stove, Shikamaru made his way towards the refrigerator... and he plopped in a bag of food with a design on it that Shikaku knew very well. Shikamaru and Chouji had stopped by the Korean Barbeque they loved so much to be able to buy some food. There was no doubt about the contents of the bag.

Ah, that was nice. Shikamaru and Chouji had stopped to buy dinner... wait a minute.

Hadn't Shikamaru said something about buying dinner when Team 10 had still been in his office?

With a frown, Shikaku wracked his brain in an attempt to force it to remember the happenings of earlier in the day. By the time he had finally acquired the answers he had been searching for, Shikamaru and Chouji were seated on either side of him with bowls of soup waiting eagerly to be eaten from. And now he understood the interaction between Shikamaru and Kiba from a few minutes ago; just like he understood Shikamaru's surprise.

Even though his son had invited Kiba over for food they would buy, Kiba had made food for Shikaku. And that had, in essence, caused Shikamaru's own actions to lose some of their meaning. Shikamaru had invited him over and offered food to show that there were no ill feelings towards Shikaku's new partner. Kiba had accidentally stripped that away from him.

Well... Huh.

Oops.

Maybe he should continue feigning ignorance so he wouldn't have to apologize to his son and Chouji.

Luckily for him, he didn't really have to think too much on the matter. Chouji and Shikamaru were so completely amazed by the taste of the meal Kiba had whipped up that they just about forgot about the food they had bought.

"You've got to show me this recipe! I've never had anything like this in my life!" Chouji managed to bark this out even through his ravenous eating and Shikaku was reminded so much of Chouza in his son that it was absolutely charming. Chouza had always had the bad habit of talking through his food too.

It had been a long time since he last spoke to his best friend... either of his best friends...

Right.

He had to be responsible again tomorrow.

Kiba scratched at his cheek as he paused in washing up all of the tools he had used to make the soup. "I can write it up for you, no sweat. But it's nothing too wild; I basically just decided to throw all my favorite soup ingredients together one day to see how it worked out. And it worked out pretty well in my opinion, so I just kept making it."

There was a beat of silence in which Chouji actually stopped eating. Shikaku, from the corner of his eyes, watched the Akimichi glare at Kiba. And Kiba, unsure of why his friend had suddenly gotten so serious, stared back through widened eyes.

"You've been holding out on me this whole time, Inuzuka." Chouji's voice became a serious whisper, dripping with accusation. And Shikaku sighed softly, closing his eyes as he allowed himself to rest his cheek on his right hand after he propped his elbow up on the table before him. Yup. This was Chouza's son; there was no doubt about it. Both were genetically equal in their dramatics when it pertained to meals. "Do you have any idea how many delicious meals we could have been making for our friends all this time? But you kept your talent a secret!"

"I don't have talent-"

"Just accept what he says, Kiba." Shikamaru interrupted with a tired sigh, "Chouji thinks he knows natural cooking talent when he tastes it. No amount of talking can convince him otherwise."

"That's because I know talent! And Kiba has a blessed gift he has been squandering for years!"

That set Chouji off on a rant about wasted potential and Shikaku made a point of tuning him out. Chouza had said something very similar about Inoichi years ago when he had found out the Yamanaka's baked treats were particularly delicious. If he hadn't paid any attention to his friend when he had first made this speech, Shikaku didn't see a point in listening to his son's own rendition.

Instead of listening to Shikamaru or his son, Shikaku decided to block out any noise and try to rest up a bit. And as he did, he noticed that maybe he would be able to start up on some of the work he had here in his house. He had wasted the whole day; but maybe he could make up with a bit of work at night.

Yeah. That would be a good idea.

When he opened his eyes, it was to find that Kiba was ignoring Chouji as well. But he wasn't making it overly clear. He was clearly looking in Chouji's direction; but he was moving slow enough to not catch the Akimichi's eyes. And he was moving to the side of the counter, where there was a plate covered by a pot's lid.

Shikaku quirked an eyebrow but continued to observe the Inuzuka's actions.

As Chouji turned to shout something at Shikamaru- probably calling out his insolence for the culinary arts-, Kiba moved swiftly. He took off the lid with one hand, swooped his other hand to grab the plate, and turned in one quick motion that Shikaku only describe it as instilled in him after many repetitions. With complete ease, he twirled down until the plate landed on the floor and then returned to his spot, where he ended up standing in a rather similar way as to how he stood before he had moved.

Chouji noticed nothing.

When the Nara glanced down at the contents of the plate, he understood why Kiba had done such an odd thing. There was a perfectly seared steak of deer sat in the very middle of the plate. And it only took Akamaru a few seconds to materialize from the inner workings of his home and set upon the piece of meat.

With a small smirk, Shikaku looked over at Kiba. Kiba looked back at him and sent him one rushed wink before he looked back at the raving Choji. Shikaku shook his head. Chouji sounded as if he was beginning to wind down, luckily enough.

Maybe he would take advantage of this novel feeling of peace within his heart and get some more sleep tonight, rather than try and catch up on the duties he had shirked today.

The night air was cool on his skin and the jacket wrapped around him was heavy on his hips. But his soul felt uncharacteristically light. Even though there were a dozen different ways this night could have turned ugly... the time he had spent inside of Shikaku's house with Shikamaru and Chouji was actually time he had enjoyed.

He couldn't believe he was saying this, but... this was the first time in an incredibly long time that he had enjoyed being in the company of his friends. Although he wasn't blind to the fact that Shikaku's presence in the situation had played an important factor in making everything feel so nice.

"Okay, but I don't see why I couldn't bring some saké along with me, just for the road." he smiled over at Shikaku only to find the man roll his eyes at his words.

He knew that Shikaku was trying to be responsible about allowing him to drink alcohol. But he also knew that Shikaku was the kind that didn't see the harm in a little bit of drink. So he wanted to see just how far he could push the guy before he completely cut him off. Was it dangerous? Of course. Pushing him too much might mean no more alcohol until he reached the legal age. But the risk was completely worth the reward in his eyes.

"I could drop this bag right now and go back to my house. I don't have to accompany you back to your clan's compound." Shikaku grunted with little to no bite in his words.

"But you won't. Not after how nice I've been to you."

Akamaru huffed at him, telling him that Shikaku didn't deserve so much of a ribbing from him. The guy was exhausted, after all. And it took all of Kiba's self-restraint to not tease Akamaru about how much he liked the Nara in front of the man. Even though Akamaru was more than obvious about his feelings towards Kiba's promised, he didn't want Kiba telling the guy. An Inuzuka through and through, Akamaru preferred to leave such things unsaid among non-Inuzuka. If a person understood their unspoken language, they were worthy of understanding it. And if they didn't, well, that was no loss on the Inuzuka's part.

Yeah. The Inuzuka were weird.

As they walked through the sparsely inhabited streets of Konoha, Kiba rejoiced in this feeling of serenity that had bloomed within him. After everything he had been through... everything he had done... well, he damn well deserved some kind of nice in his stupid life.

Their steps were slow, at least in his eyes. But he was accommodating for a still rather out-of-it-Shikaku and a lazy Akamaru. So their return to his home would take a while; which he didn't mind in the least. The slower they walked, they longer it would take to get back to the Inuzuka Clan's Compound. The longer that took, the more time he spent with Shikaku. It was a win-win if ever Kiba had heard of one.

Honestly, he didn't know who made the first move. He had been too busy relishing in the cool night to focus too much on the inner workings of his mind. All he knew was that one moment his hand had been brushing over so softly against Shikaku's own as their arms rose and fell during their walk; the next his fingers were tangled with Shikaku's own in a warm embrace that forced a stupid smile onto his lips he couldn't smack off even if he wanted to.

No more words were said between them.

Kiba knew that this could be Shikaku's way of continue to convince the village around them about their relationship. Couples held hands when they walked together, after all. So it would only be normal if they did the same thing as well. And there certainly were enough people around them to notice what the new couple was doing. New information would be added to the gossip mill in no time if they continued like this.

But Kiba didn't really care all that much about the strategic advantage of walking like this. He would much rather just enjoy the feeling of the older man's coarse hand enveloping his own, slightly smaller yet rather soft one.

Honestly, this day had started off so horribly... Kiba was grateful that they had managed to end it in such a wonderful way.

"Daddy... is this going to hurt Shikaku?"

When Inoichi looked over at his wife, it was to find her smiling sadly over at their daughter. And this made his own lips turn upwards ever so slightly in a similar manner. This was going to be a difficult topic to tread, he knew. And he was more than aware that Ino wasn't going to let them drop this conversation even if he wished to. He didn't, though, because he knew he was going to have to talk to her about this sooner or later. He had just hoped he would have to do this later- much later.

"Well, princess, I would be lying to you if I told you I didn't think such a thing would happen." he sighed as he made his way towards their kitchen table so he could sit down.

Yasuko had been preparing the table to serve dinner for them all. Inoichi had been on his way down from his home office when Ino had intercepted him and asked if he knew about Shikaku's new romantic partner. And now his heir was asking him about his thoughts on the relationship- was it right? Was it dangerous for either or both of them? Was this even capable of being allowed inside of Konoha: a Jounin Commander and a Chunin?

When he sat down, it was with a heavy sigh. He closed his eyes for a moment as he began to form the words he knew he would want to tell Ino to explain this situation to her. And he couldn't help but wonder if Shikaku and Kiba themselves understood the situation they had wound up in.

Possibly, if they had never gone on their mission together, they wouldn't have to worry as much about possible backlash. But... them having gotten together after only a few days of having returned from their mission? Well, it looked bad enough that Ino was asking him about what possible repercussions they may or may not have to face.

"The biggest issue between their relationship, a few years ago, would have been the fact that they are both males." he began, raising his right elbow onto the table so he could rest his chin on his lifted hand. "But the Inuzuka and Nara Clans don't seem to have as much an issue with same-sex relationships in this day and age. So I don't think that they'll find their Clan Elders trying to destroy the relationship."

When he opened his eyes, he found his daughter sitting opposite him in the table, staring at him with intense blue eyes. Her eyebrows were drawn in, almost leaving her looking as if she was glaring at him with determination and a heavy frown on her lips.

In a way, seeing her look so concentrated relieved Inoichi, even as it worried him. Shikaku was an important person within his daughter's life; it was only natural for her to worry over something that could hurt him. But she also had the habit of caring too much and he knew that if no one tried to reign her in, she would get too invested in a relationship that had, in essence, nothing to do with her. It seemed that Ino had inherited most of her personality from him. And he had hoped Yasuko's caution would be the main thing their child inherited.

"The Nara Clan Elders would have tried to get them to break up?" she questioned and Inoichi shrugged softly.

"Years ago? Probably. Shikaku is a Clan Head, after all. He's a public figure and his reputation within the Village reflects greatly in the Nara Clan's reputation. As a whole, most of the Clan's reputation relies on the public figured within it, after all."

Ino nodded and followed up with another question, just as Yasuko put down a large plate of teriyaki chicken in the middle of the table. "The Inuzuka, would they have tried that too?"

"No." Yasuko cut in for him, stopping for a moment so she could address Ino as she spoke. "The Inuzuka have never truly cared for the people their clan members choose to love. Why do you think there are so many of them?"

"But Kiba's an heir." his daughter frowned over at his wife, "If he ends up marrying Shikaku, he'll never be able to have kids. And that's where his specific lineage for Inuzuka Clan Heads will end. Wouldn't that be a problem for the Clan?"

The line of questioning was the correct one, honestly. But Inoichi was bothered that Ino had managed to think up of such a thing so quickly after having first heard of Shikaku's new official relationship. Especially when- he believed- she had never been exposed to the uglier side of Clan politics. He had tried his best to protect her from the harsher realities to other Clans throughout her life.

Yasuko didn't answer the question. So Inoichi fielded it, allowing the woman to go back into the kitchen and continue setting the table. "That's something for the Inuzuka to contemplate. But I highly doubt they'll really care all that much about an heir from Kiba; Hana's still around."

From the way his daughter looked at him, he knew that she wasn't happy with the answer she received. But then she moved on to another question, changing the subject of the conversation just a little bit. "Kiba's a Chunin and Shikaku's the Jounin Commander. That's what's dangerous about their relationship, right?" then she murmured, "It has to be... It looks... bad."

It did. It looked like Shikaku had blatantly abused of his powers as Jounin Commander to take a Chunin on a mission that neither of them really needed to embark on. And a few days after returning from an unnecessary mission, they were kissing in the middle of a restaurant? Well... it was the kind of behavior that, at this point, was expected of an Inuzuka with too much power; but certainly not of a man of such high esteem as Shikaku Nara.

If this had been anyone else under these very circumstances, Inoichi knew that few would have paid much attention. Hell, if only they hadn't gone on that mission... then maybe the Village wouldn't be filled with so many ugly rumors.

The speculation around Shikaku and negative assumptions was bad. If some of the older shinobi had their way, Shikaku would be stripped of his post because of the inappropriate behavior. But Inoichi knew there was a way for the Nara to save himself from further black marks on his reputation. He would have to work harder than he had ever worked in his life; just to prove that he was still capable of doing a good job as Jounin Commander; but it was situation he could salvage.

The rumors revolving around Kiba's character, though...

Inoichi shook his head softly.

"I'm sure that the mission those two went on was not when they got together."

"But Shikaku asked for the mission!" Ino's hands clenched around the table, just as Yasuko put down a bowl of white rice beside the chicken.

How did she know that Shikaku had been the one to ask for the mission? Did other people around the Village also know about this?

"It looks like he set everything up to get Kiba alone! And we don't know what happened on that mission. If we don't know, no one else does. And that means other people are seeing this the same way I am."

"Ino."

The teenager looked at her mother, worry clear within her eyes. Yasuko, though, smiled back at her daughter, a gentle warmth clear within her own eyes. "Shikaku Nara would be the last person in this world to think anything of romance; the odds that he were to manipulate someone into becoming his lover are just about nonexistent. The rumors, everything others might say, anything the Village may think- that doesn't matter. Do you think Shikaku crafted a master scheme to manipulate Kiba into falling in love with him?"

"Of course not!" now Ino stood up from the table, slamming her hands against the wood. With a stern frown from Yasuko, the teenager balked a little and murmured a quiet apology before continuing. "But I don't want Shikaku to get in trouble or to lose his job."

"You can't control that, Ino." Inoichi stepped up now, walking around the table so he could stand beside Yasuko. "What you can control, though, is how you act around Kiba and Shikaku."

Yasuko's hand found his within seconds. And it gripped his tightly, letting him know that she wasn't as comfortable with this new situation as she was trying to show their only child.

"Those two haven't changed at all. Kiba is still your friend, Shikaku is still your caring godfather. Nothing has changed."

Ino stared at them both through widened eyes for a few seconds, remaining uncharacteristically quiet as she just stared... then she fell back onto her chair and crossed her arms, closing her eyes as she mumbled, "I don't know about that. My godfather is now dating a kid I grew up with."

Now that Ino had calmed some, Inoichi took the chance to look at his wife. And from just looking into her eyes, he knew that they were sharing rather similar thoughts at this moment.

Shikaku's job was in a precarious place at the moment, yes, but he would be able to pull himself away from such a place if he put himself up to it. But Kiba's own reputation within the Village... He was just a kid; no older than Ino. Yet he was going to be judged just as Shikaku was getting judged. No one so young deserved to be put under such an observant microscope; and no one deserved this much scrutiny within their lives.

When he arrived at his office, the sun had barely begun to rise in the sky. In his hand, he had a bag that housed a previously opened bottle of amazake and two cups to serve in. He didn't really want to contemplate too much on the fact that there were two cups, rather than his regular one... but he could admit that Kiba needed to broaden his alcohol horizons further than just saké at this point. And today was going to be a rough day at work; an amazake pairing for lunch wasn't going to hurt him.

As he walked into his office, he was surprised to find it looking much more organized than it ever had in his past. But he soon smiled to himself, aware that Kiba had probably cleaned up before he had locked up and went to get the things he had needed for the soup he had prepared.

That kid...

Breathing in, the Nara walked into his office and made his way towards his desk so he could sit down and get to work. Before he settled down to get serious about all of the things he had ignored yesterday, though, he did set the bag on the crook of the couch. As soon as Kiba walked into the office, he would be able to see it and question what its contents were.

He'd probably call Shikaku a bad influence once he figured out what was inside... Shikaku would let him look inside of the bag and solve the mystery by himself, rather than flat out tell him what was inside the paper bag.

Now he was thinking about Kiba, even when the kid wasn't anywhere near.

Novel.

With a shake of his head, the man forced himself towards his desk. He had a lot to catch up on and he couldn't continue thinking on a teenager that; admittedly; brightened his life considerably by just making an appearance during the day.

~/~

By the time Kiba arrived at the office with a steaming mug of dark coffee, Shikaku had finished assigning three different teams to high profile missions, along with resolving some of the issues that came inherently with the oddity that was the group calling itself the Akatsuki.

"Good morning." he found himself murmuring as he took a break from reading over the most recent arrivals from the out of village missions. He glanced over at the Inuzuka that had sauntered into his office without any hint of hesitation and found the teenager smiling over at him. He blinked back in tired confusion. "What's wrong?"

Kiba's smile only widened.

Odd.

Shikaku leaned back onto his chair, closing his eyes as he went. He was feeling tired already, even though he knew there was quite a bit of work he needed to complete after the lackluster performance he had put on yesterday. Although... seeing Kiba again did make some of that tiredness dissipate; replaced by intrigue.

"You're here incredibly early." the kid finally explained after a few seconds had passed between them not saying a thing. "I brought you some of that soul-colored coffee you're so wrong in loving."

There was the slight clinking of a ceramic mug meeting with the wood of his desk in front of him. And when Shikaku cracked one eye open, it was to find the Inuzuka placing the drink down directly to his right, in the only area of the desk that wasn't completely taken over by paperwork. As soon as the harsh, bitter smell of the coffee hit his nose, Shikaku felt absolutely energized.

"Thank you." he grabbed the mug and brought it to his lips, not even stopping to wonder if Kiba had bought this coffee or made it himself. As soon as the liquid met with his taste buds, he decided that he didn't even want to think about any of that- this coffee was deliciously strong and he didn't even care that Kiba didn't seem to like it in any way; black was the only proper way to drink coffee. "This is delicious."

With a scoff, Kiba made his way towards the couch. "Maybe if your brain's wrong." he muttered, but soon froze when he noticed the bag Shikaku had left for him. His body remained unmoving for a few seconds, then he moved his head to the side to look at Shikaku over his shoulder. "Are you trying to bribe me or something? What law did you break? Do we need to move a body?"

Even though he knew that Kiba had said such a thing as a joke... Shikaku couldn't help but wince at the final question.

He... didn't really want to be in charge of moving another body for quite some time. He knew he would be able to do it if a mission asked for it. But he certainly did not want to be in the position of having to do such a thing on a mission if he had a say in it.

Now who was being over emotional about his work?

Shaking his head, though, Shikaku took another sip of the hot coffee to remind himself that this was Kiba and the kid was joking with what he had said. Hell, it was even a good thing that he had made light of such a topic. That hopefully meant that he was finally beginning to move on from what had traumatized him during their mission together.

"Amazake. That's to drink with lunch." he blinked down at the paper directly below him, taking note of the fact that it was a report requesting a team of chunin for immediate backup in a tense situation in a small town in the border of the Land of Fire.

Even though it hadn't been said with specific names, it was obvious that the ninja that had filled this report was asking for Team 8's support. The tracking expertise they required coupled with the fact that there was no specific need for well versed shinobi made it more than obvious. But the fact that they had asked for an Aburame temperament and an Inuzuka nose made it painfully clear.

Why would this team be needing backup from Team 8?

Wow. He hadn't been able to connect these dots prior to coffee.

It was a blessing that Kiba had arrived with the drink for him.

"You're such a bad influence."

With a roll of his eyes, Shikaku decided that it wasn't worth his time responding to the taunt.

It was exactly when he returned to the office from his messenger duties that he heard for the first time that the Hokage wanted to speak with him and Shikaku. Together.

Kiba blinked over at Shikaku as the man nodded at the messenger that had brought the message, waving him off. Within a few seconds, the messenger had vanished and they had been left alone inside of the office.

The Nara he had slowly fallen in love with looked much older right now than he had during the morning. Earlier in the day, when Kiba had brought in the pungent and bitter coffee, he hadn't been able to stop himself from noticing just how cute the older male was. For some reason, having found him in his office so early had been adorable. He didn't know why. He was being stupid, he knew, but he couldn't stop himself. Even though he had clearly been tired, his whole body had seemed much less tense when he handed the coffee over. His face, even, had been brighter. His eyes had shined.

Now, though, that they knew Minato wanted to talk to them... Shikaku looked older. It was as if the lines in his face had somehow been etched deeper while Kiba had been away. And his eyes were clouded, troubled.

Kiba didn't like seeing the other man like this.

"What do you think he wants to talk to us about?" he asked as Shikaku stood up from his chair.

With a small groan as he stretched his back- a series of loud pops ringing from his joints-, Shikaku answered, "Us." he sighed, rolled his shoulders twice, and stepped away from his desk, towards the door. "I guess he decided our relationship is something he needs to look at. It's certainly odd, but not unheard of."

The door was opened, but Shikaku didn't step through it. Instead he held it open, waiting for Kiba to pass by.

Narrowing his eyes, the Inuzuka asked, "What's odd but not unheard of?"

He still walked towards the door, but he didn't step through. Instead he stood before Shikaku, watching his face, taking note of how tired the man looked again... great. There went all of yesterday's hard work.

Shikaku lifted a hand to run it over his face, but soon mumbled out, "The Hokage intervening between the relationships of the shinobi in his command."

Kiba pursed his lips.

That made sense, sure... and he understood why Shikaku wouldn't want to deal with talking to the man right now, especially after how harsh yesterday had been on him...

He really didn't like seeing Shikaku like this.

Once Shikaku's hand dropped back to hang beside his leg, Kiba decided that he didn't see any harm in trying to offer some physical reassurance to the man. He grabbed onto the man's hand with his left and attempted to smile convincingly.

"We'll be fine."

The other man didn't answer him. Instead, he just squeezed his hand. And then they set off to the Hokage's office, walking hand-in-hand.

~/~

Minato had cut straight to the point as soon as they had settled in the two chairs in front of his desk. He wanted to know just what in the world was the nature of their relationship and he didn't want them to embellish any details.

Kiba had, naturally, allowed Shikaku to answer the questions. He knew that the man knew how to deal with the Hokage. And he also didn't want to accidentally bother him by trying to take any control away from him... would he even mind such a thing? He knew that his Clan thought so... but... this was Shikaku Nara.

"The plan right now is to get to know each other; the specific nature of our relationship would be romantic. In the near future, if the situation permits, there may even be marriage within the possibilities."

Minato had, astonishingly enough, kept a cold frown on his face during the whole conversation. He had straightforward questions and hadn't given away any sort of emotion within his voice or face.

It was a good thing that Minato wasn't knowledgeable about covering up his scent. Because through the man's scent, Kiba had been able to tell that he was growing increasingly comforted by the answers he received from Shikaku.

From how they got together after their joint mission all the way to when, exactly, they had begun to feel romantically towards each other; Minato's questions were particularly intrusive. But the answers he got were all ones he was content to hear. By the time Minato had dropped the cold act and actually smiled at them, Kiba had known for a while that they would be fine.

Shikaku's own scent during the whole conversation had helped, in all honesty, in giving Kiba a reason to keep cool. While he had known that Minato had been reassured by the answers he had received, he had also been able to know that Shikaku was one hundred percent assured about his answers before he gave them.

It was a good thing that this meeting had turned out going much better than Shikaku had probably dreaded.

"Okay, I'm going to be completely honest with you two;" Minato stood up from his desk so he could walk around it and stand directly in front of Kiba, "shinobi relationships are impossible to deter. So, most of the times, the Village doesn't see a need to step in on a relationship between our ninja. But when it comes to relationships between ninja working in the same area, well..." he shrugged, "those can get pretty messy really quick."

Kiba shifted somewhat in his chair, then cleared his throat, "But we're not in the same area."

"Technically, we are. You've been working in my office all this time, haven't you?" Shikaku answered, then looked at Minato, "Lord Fourth, you don't have to explain why you asked us here."

Now Minato's shoulders lifted somewhat as his smile became somewhat pained. He smelled apologetic. "I kind of do. Because, you see, I'm kind of doing this for my own benefit, not really yours."

Shikaku blinked.

Kiba rolled his eyes.

How had this guy become Hokage? He was so childish at times.

"You see, ever since Kiba started working with you, your productivity has gone up considerably. We've finally managed to free ourselves from the backlog of missions we had for half a year running. So I kind of wanted to find out if this romance between you two was worth risking your productivity plummeting if ever you two broke up."

"Seriously?" Kiba balked at the very idea of leaving Shikaku, "Isn't that kind of-"

"Kiba." Shikaku called, and soon the Inuzuka was looking over at him with a quirked eyebrow. "He's got a point." the Nara acquiesced, but soon sighed. "Lord Fourth, you don't have to lie. I am aware of the societal dangers of my relationship with Kiba. And I am aware that some must be advising you to have me step down, but-"

"Shikaku."

Minato's scent completely shifted. It was now filled with anger and determination. But the anger wasn't aimed at either Kiba or Shikaku. The Inuzuka could tell that the anger was aimed at someone entirely different.

A few seconds of tense silence passed between them. Minato's face reverted to the cold frown he had worn previously- but this time, Kiba knew that the face was genuine.

"If this had happened with anyone other than you, I probably would be thinking that it would be a good idea to have you removed from your position. But I know that you did not abuse of your power to take Kiba on that mission- I signed off on that, if memory serves right. I am aware that you would never even think of abusing of your position of power against someone in a post beneath you. And, most importantly," now Minato looked Shikaku directly within his eyes, every word he said weighing heavily. "You are the most capable shinobi in the Village to take the post of Jounin Commander. I can't afford to have you step down. Not right now."

For what felt like an eternity, none of them said anything.

Kiba could only stare at Minato with absolute bewilderment. In all of his life, he had always known Minato as the fool. He had never had need to see anything outside of that. But now that he had seen this small show of loyalty towards Shikaku... well, maybe he could begin to understand why he had been chosen as Hokage. He didn't seem to be interested in making political friends. He was here to lead and protect the Village.

"Kiba?"

Breathing in, the Inuzuka looked into Minato's dark blue eyes... and soon the man was smiling softly at him.

"You're a legal adult. There is nothing wrong about the relationship you're getting into. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." then he looked over at Shikaku, "And you, old man, need to promise me right here and now that you won't make me chase after you to get him back home by curfew."

It was a lame joke and they all knew it.

Kiba had to admit that it was kind of encouraging to hear it.

"I don't run, Lord Hokage." Shikaku grunted softly, but looked over at Kiba for a second. Within his dark eyes, Kiba could tell that the man was wondering if he was alright.

He smiled back at him and nodded ever so softly. He hadn't expected Minato to get as serious as he had... but now he had a better grasp of who the man was as a Hokage, rather than just as Naruto's dad.

"Good, that makes my job easier!"

..~..~..

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