Warning: This is shonen-ai also called boy's love and slash. Don't like don't read.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Beta-ed by Red Deep. One of my fellow writing friends who was so kind to beta my stories!

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It had been a regular day with the same boring old routine for Inuzuka Kiba, which meant going on a walk with Akamaru after completing any missions Kurenai-sensei gave them. Going on walks with Akamaru was on of the many things Kiba enjoyed doing, in fact he loved being with Akamaru. Akamaru was even closer to Kiba than any human was, so the Inuzuka boy thought of him as his best friend. So when Akamaru ran off into the forest and didn't come straight back like he usually would, Kiba became very worried and started searching the forest.

He checked the usual spots that he and Akamaru visited before just searching blindly still anxious to find his dog, because he wouldn't know what he'd do if Akamaru ever ran away from him. He hadn't even done anything that would have made the dog upset or angry with him. He just couldn't figure out why Akamaru would just run away from him like that.

Finally he found his dog deep in the heart of the forest. The many leaves of the trees aloud only small slivers of light make it through to the ground causing an unearthly look to the place. It seemed to glow and made him feel as if he were dreaming. Though Akamaru's bark woke him from his deep thoughts and he saw Shino and Akamaru across from him sitting under a large tree. He quickly jogged over to them and hugged Akamaru to his chest tightly.

"Don't ever just run off like that ever again!" Kiba said lightly scolding the dog. "I was so worried that you were running away!"

He then sighed and sat down beside Shino. The boy always seemed to be alone. Even though Kiba knew he enjoyed solitude, always being alone seemed to be a little over the top to him. So his curiosity caused him to question the boy of this.

"Hey Shino," He began watching as the boy's head turned to face him. "Why are you always out here alone?"

"I'm not."

"What do ya mean?" Kiba questioned. "No one else is ever here with you."

"My friends are," Shino said and as if on cue several bugs crawled out of nowhere and then flew or walked off back into the forest. Kiba then realized that the boy had been speaking of his bugs when he had said friends. He could understand that, for he considered Akamaru his best friend after all. "And now you are."

Kiba nodded and relaxed leaning back against the tree ignoring the uncomfortable feeling of the bark digging into his skin through his coat. He shifted trying to find a more comfortable position before looking over at Shino trying to see how the boy could be so comfortable while leaning against all that uneven bark. He was surprised to see Akamaru lying in Shino's lap with the quiet boy petting him. The small dog made small noises of contentment and soon fell into a light slumber. Kiba smiled at the sight it just seemed so normal to see something like that.

"He's nice," Shino said petting the dog fondly.

"I know," Kiba, said very proud and happy of Akamaru. "He's probably one of the best things in my life. In fact I'm for sure that he is! He might even be the best!" Kiba was so engrossed with staring at Akamaru that he failed to see the small frown that appeared on Shino's face for a moment before it faded back into it's stoic line. "I think I understand why you like bugs so much too! They are like your friends and the only ones you truly can confide in and have them understand." Shino nodded in agreement though his thoughts were on something else at the moment.

He was thinking how cute Kiba looked happily talking about his dog and getting all excited about finding a commonality between them. He had been attracted to the smaller boy for a while now and was still nowhere near to knowing whether or not it would be good to tell the boy how he felt.

After a while Kiba quieted and the two sat in a peaceful silence with Shino continuing to pet Akamaru. Kiba watched the pale hand gently caress the soft fur on Akamaru and couldn't keep the thoughts of those same pale hands caressing his own skin. A bright blush appeared on the Inuzuka's face and he looked away trying to hide it from his teammate.

"They like you," Shino said suddenly.

"Huh?" Kiba said confused.

"My bugs."

"Oh…" Kiba said. He then was quiet but watched in silent jealousy at the attention the boy was giving Akamaru. After a couple more minutes he could stand it no longer and blurted it out. "Do you like him more than me?" Kiba said blushing as he realized how silly his question was.

"I prefer you," Shino said still petting Akamaru not even lifting his head to look at Kiba whose face was bright red now. Kiba was quiet once more before another question appeared in his head.

"Do you like me more than your bugs?" Shino smiled and leaned over kissing the Inuzuka on the cheek.

"I like you the most."

Kiba blushed a dark red but couldn't help the happiness growing inside him. He had never been in a relationship with someone and all of this was new to him, but he could tell he was going to enjoy it very much.

He smiled and leaned his head on Shino's shoulder enjoying the rest of the afternoon in silence, watching the lights dance through the holes in the canopy of leaves above them.

The End

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