Title: Tangled
Author: Tissue Paper Flowers
Theme: #14 Radio-cassette player
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, or anything even closely related to it. ;;
Rating: Borderline PG

"So have you listened to it yet?" There was a rather bright expression on the shinobi's face, as he stared eagerly into the sunglass-masked eyes of a one Shino Aburame. Akamaru rested silently atop Kiba's head, eyes closed as he dozed in the afternoon sun. For a few moments, Kiba and Shino simply stood there, face to face, not a single word spoken between the two. After what seemed like ages, the Aburame boy finally opened his mouth, allowing only a few words to escape.

"I already told you, my cassette player's broken."

A loud sigh echoed from Kiba, shoulders slumping forward. Yes, he had already known this. But still, there was a chance that maybe Shino had gone to seek out a different cassette player to use. Wishful thinking, it seemed. For a moment, he let his mind slip away into thought, trying to think of the proper way to handle the situation. After all, he had given Shino the tape with the intent that it would be listened to. Obviously. But if it was broken...well, then that just ruined everything. A small pout crossed the Inuzuka's lips, and he shook his head slowly. What to do, what to do. And then, like a bolt of lightning, it hit him.

"Well then, I'll just have to fix it for you."

Not to say that he had ever fixed anything in his life, but it was worth a shot. How hard could it be? It was just a cassette player, after all. All he had to do was fiddle with a few buttons, maybe give it a few good whacks, and it would be working fine. The fact that his attempts at fixing things had never been successful seemed to do very little to change Kiba's mind about his brilliant idea. It was this very idea that drew a raised eyebrow from Shino, the bug boy contemplating it for a moment, before returning the suggestion with a small nod.

"If you insist."

Kiba's face lit up with a smile, giving the Aburame a small push to set him into motion. If it weren't for the fact that Kiba was hurrying them along, Shino might have dragged his feet for ages. The closer they came to his house, the more doubtful he became. Was this really a good idea? He shrugged to himself, finally deciding to stop worrying about it. It couldn't possibly do any harm…right? He certainly hoped so. There were no words exchanged between the two males as they continued, though there was the occasional nudge from Kiba, a silent 'Hurry Up.' Being difficult would have done him very little good, so Shino complied with the other's request, picking up his pace--if only slightly.

Several minutes and a few nudges later, the two stood in front of the Aburame household. Kiba's eyes shifted to his left, falling on the silent boy. What little amount of manners he had told him to wait for Shino to 'invite' him in, but he wasn't sure if he could stand any more waiting.

"Well, come on then." Kiba said, trying not to let impatience show in his voice. It didn't really matter though--he was pretty sure Shino could tell. "I can't fix it if we're just standing out here." Shino shifted his position slightly, gazing at the other from behind his glasses. Without a word, he opened the door and marched inside, Kiba following after obediently.

The journey from the front door to Shino's room was silent and uneventful, much like their trip to the house. This time, Kiba kept himself from trying to hurry the other along, instead taking his time to observe the surroundings. This was the first time he had actually been inside Shino's house. And he had to admit--it was pretty impressive. Bigger than his, for sure.

Shino stopped abruptly, Kiba catching himself just in time and avoiding collision with the other. A door was slid open, and Shino stepped inside the room, turning to motion for Kiba to follow. A grin turned up at the corners of Kiba's mouth as he followed after, glancing around. The room was sparsely decorated, which he certainly didn't find surprising. This was Shino they were talking about, after all. A cassette player lay atop the dresser, a yet to be heard tape enclosed inside it.

"This it?" He asked, picking up the cassette player in his hands, turning towards Shino. His answer was given in the form of a nod, and Kiba instantly went to 'work'. Purely out of curiosity, Shino shuffled forward, trying to get a better look at what the other was doing. Kiba glanced up momentarily, grin widening as the boy moved closer. Yes…he liked it better like that.

In response, Kiba took a few steps towards Shino, the only thing that separated the two being the cassette player. Which was—surprisingly enough—incredibly difficult to figure out. The boy's expression changed from smug happiness to frustration, as he began working more furiously at the player. Shino's brows furrowed as he continued watching, doubting that Kiba actually knew what he was doing.

Minutes passed, and as time trudged onward, Kiba's frustration escalated. What the hell was wrong with this thing? He was now pulling frantically at various parts, desperate to get some sort of response. The cover that held the tape in place popped open, a few shining strands of brown tape spilling out.

"Shit…" Kiba cursed under his breath, but continued onward. Small pieces of plastic as well as strands of tape went flying, as he moved farther and farther away from his goal.

"Kiba." The boy's head snapped upward, brought of his flurry by Shino's voice. By now, his actions had managed to cause the strands of tape from the cassette to wind itself around both their bodies, tangling the two together.

"Yes?" Kiba asked innocently, trying to make it look as though he were completely unaware of the mess that he had just made. Shino blinked behind his glasses, suppressing a laugh. The smallest smile twitched at the bug boy's lips, and he gave a small shrug.

"You're stupid." He said finally, shaking his head slowly. This 'insult' only caused a wide grin to spread across the Inuzuka's face. This closeness was even better than before because now Shino couldn't get away. At least, not without a little bit of struggle. Not that cassette tape was really a difficult barrier to break through.

Leaning forward, Kiba pressed his lips gently against the other's, lingering for only seconds before pulling away and setting to untangling the two of them. A quick glance at the rather shocked look on Shino's face brought a low chuckle from the male.

"Hey, at least I tried." He replied after a moment, deciding to stay tangled for just a bit longer.