A/N: First fanfiction in a long, long while. Mainly as a writing exercise and to get rid of my inner excitement and story spinning about a pairing that is not so popular anyway; however, I am determined to complete things once I have started them, even if it may take a while. Set in the Naruto / Boruto universe. An apologise in advance: I try to depict the characters as I perceive and remember them, therefore I cannot guarantee that they are not OOC.
'So. Just another weekend ahead', Shino thought and sighed innerly. Today, he wasn't in the mood for an evening out. He would have preferred to stay at home, drinking tea, reading a book, maybe even going to bed early. He took a sip of his glass. His eyes wandered through the small bar. The light was dimmed and it appeared even darker through his glasses. There weren't many guests today. Mellow beats and instrumental music came from the speakers. Distantly, he heard chatter and laughter from the only other occupied table.
"I am glad, you and Tamaki are getting along.", Hinata said with a warm tone in her voice.
Kiba crossed his arms and nodded in agreement. His facial expression was smug.
"And you told Naruto you were afraid of me never finding someone!", he exclaimed in a mock accusatory tone, causing Hinata to smile guiltily. "You better think about Shino more."
Her smile didn't vanish. If Shino felt bothered by Kiba's insinuation, he wouldn't show it. He cleared his throat.
"I am not looking for someone." - "You are not?" Actually, no, he was not. Yet he said nothing. There was no use starting a discussion about it, although he knew that his friends would bring this topic later on again. He gripped his glass to take another sip.
"Why aren't you drinking tonight anyway?" - "I am drinking." - "Plain water!" - "I need to prepare my classes tomorrow." - "But it's weekend!" - "So what?" Hinata giggled as she watched her friends and former teammates exchange words. Not only to her, also to Shino their gatherings always felt slightly like back then. Back then, when they were still together as a team, running errands and carrying out missions. Compared to today, the three of them had been much closer and had seen each other more often. These days, though, they were quite lucky if they were able to meet once in a couple of weeks, if not even months. Their daily routines and obligations were just too different. Friday evenings were the most likely for them to meet up, either having a dinner or a few drinks after work. Shino had a regular and predictable weekly schedule, whereas it was more difficult for Hinata and Kiba to find a date and time that suited them best. Both, their private and professional lives, could thwart the appointments and plans they would have made a while before.
"I had three night shifts in a row. And instead of spending time with my significant other, I met up with you guys, since I haven't seen you in … in ages!" Kiba's voice got louder with the last three syllables. He wasn't wrong, though. Shino almost couldn't recall when had been the last time they met. Occasionally, but rarely, they met each other by chance on the streets.
"Really, that's simply not acceptable. Drop the lemonade, Hinata. Shino, we order something more appropriate now. You have all Sunday to prepare academy stuff." Before Shino could protest, the Inuzuka was up and hurried to the bar. After two minutes, he came back with a big grin and three shots. "The evening has only just begun".
xx
Two hours later, they dropped Hinata at her house. "Good ni~" Kiba waved at her. The taxi pulled up. It took a couple of minutes, until they stopped in front of Shino's apartment building. Shino had his eyes closed, which didn't prevent him from the feeling of sitting in a carousel, turning around. His skin was tingling. In that moment, he couldn't stand himself for having given in to the drinking. He hadn't consumed much; basically, for an average person it should have been an irrelevant amount. For his kikaichu, however, it was not. They were unsettled and it directly affected him.
The passenger door opened and a cool breeze swept across his face. Did he need to get up now? He'd prefer not to, his head was still spinning. He heard the seat belt unbuckling. "Uhm, Shino?" With effort the addressee opened his eyes. The street light blinded him, as his glasses had gotten a bit out of place. He reached out to adjust them. "Wait a min", Shino squeezed out. When was the last time he had felt so sick due to alcohol? He should have known it better. He never drank. He would usually stop after a glass, at most. 'Get up.', he commanded himself and heaved himself out of the car. Before his body could do any funny moves, someone grabbed his arms. It could only be Kiba.
"Ugh! Don't make yourself so difficult", his friend complained. Shino contemplated his chances to get into his bed without any incidents. Basically, he just had to find solid ground under his feet, get to the main entrance, climb the stairs, find the keys and open the door, enter his apartment, get rid of his shoes, go a few metres and finally, drop onto the futon. How much effort should that cost him? Without a doubt: much. He felt weak.
"I can't believe your alcohol tolerance dropped any further" At least Kiba seemed to be able to amuse himself. Shino instead couldn't even focus on his own movements, everything in his head was spinning. He just needed to stand for a moment. Then, after a while everything should be fine, shouldn't it? Contrary to his own intentions, Kiba started taking a few slow steps, dragging him with him in the direction of the building. Despite being overwhelmed by the sudden movement, Shino complied silently, with his mouth dry, a bitter taste had settled on his tongue.
"And that, although you don't even have a wife scolding you" Kiba laughed. Did he just hear an undertone? Annoyance built up in Shino. More so, as he could not understand why the other was still in good condition, especially compared to himself. A headache had settled in, his temples throbbing. At least, his feet obeyed him. This was humiliating.
"Just imagine my mom, when my father must have showed up at home like you do right now" They entered the building. Shino indicated that they would need to take the stairs. He lived on the first floor, thus it shouldn't take too long until he could finally find sleep and rest.
"I wouldn't be surprised if Tsume scared him away in one of these unfavourable moments". Shino didn't respond, instead trying to focus on their progress. Just a few steps more. They just needed to keep going and Shino would be right back at home, a rather cold futon waiting for him and eventually, the Kurama plush. He must have been in a state of mental derangement, he explained to himself, when he got himself this stuffed fox. Konoha had literally gone crazy about it for weeks, causing prices to skyrocket on the second-hand market. He should have sold it already, concluded Shino, still wondering why he had kept that doll. At some times, he even spoke to the soft toy, neither expecting nor receiving an answer, but a stare from dull and void eyes. Shino felt pathetic. At least he would be able to rest, so were his kikaichu to recover from the intoxication; no light nor noise bothering, no single other person making a fuss about him or any aspects of his life. He had enough of this talk today, about the discussions with regard to his struggles as a teacher, his romantic involvements or his unwillingness to give in to any means of loosing control, to just let go, carefree of the next day or the day after. It was simply repugnant to Shino, unable to understand how anybody could find any interest in making remarks about other peoples' lives. Unfortunately, Kiba was a particular persistent example in this regard, at least when it came to people closer to him. Habitually he would try to dig deeper, using more subtle approaches today compared to his rather coarse examples in their genin days.
"It's the first time I am visiting your apartment since you moved and I figure you are in no condition to show me around" Kiba said with a smirk. Shino snorted. He was in no mood for his jokes. At least, they had finally reached his apartment. Where were his keys? He squirmed out of Kibas supportive grasp and swayed, before regaining balance. 'Damn.' This was the last time, he had let himself be persuaded. 'Convinced', he thought contemptuously. 'Poisoned' would probably be more appropriate in this regard.
When Shino entered the small entrance hall, Kiba followed him without waiting for an invitation. Wordless, but with a questioning look on his face, Shino turned around. He felt his head ache throbbing, thus he decided against switching on the light. The shallow beam of light that fell in from the corridor outside was sufficient, and even if that was gone he would be able to find his bedroom. In any case, it was about time for him to rest. For reasons unknown to him, his friend looked as if he was waiting for something. "You are released. You don't need to guard me." Shino pointed to the door, careful not to make any unnecessary movements. With his left hand he supported himself on the wall and reached down with the other. He just needed to get rid of his shoes. This was the last big task before he could finally get between the blankets. Why hadn't Kiba left already anyway?
"Thank you, Kiba.", the Inuzuka started to speak in dulcet tones. "I haven't had that much fun in a long time. And thanks for bringing me home." Kiba paused, his gaze resting on Shino's shock of hair. After Shino had managed to slip out of his shoes, he slowly lifted his head. His glasses were making it impossible to directly look into his eyes, nor to even locate them. The pale face seemed stoic, unreadable and clearly unaffected by his opposite's drawl. And Kiba started to doubt that his counterpart even cared. This was pissing him off. This was really pissing him off. "Fff.. kit, Shino, you..!" Kiba paused. "...don't talk to me like I am a stray dog you just happened to meet on the streets!"
Seconds flew by. From somewhere else in the apartment, Kiba could her a clock ticking. He couldn't tell, whether it was in his imagination; the situation seemed unreal, though. There he was, standing in the dark entrance hall of Shino's apartment, apparently unwelcome and a burden to someone he once considered his best friend. No matter how different they always had been as adolescents: over the years they had grown together. Shino had become important to him, someone whom he would have trusted blindly with his life. In return, Kiba would have done everything for this person, who had managed to occupy a fundamental place in his life. This person standing, or rather staggering in front of him, was just a shadow of the man he thought to know. To Kibas concern, Shino seemed to have withdrawn himself again over the years, back into his shell. That didn't quite fit the picture, Kiba presumed, considering the impression he had got when he happened to watch Shino teaching outside the academy classrooms. He had even seemed more … approachable than before. Emotions of sadness and disappointment arose in Kiba. He had enjoyed the evening out with his friends. These occasions were important to him. Working at the police was demanding, and although Kiba got along well with his colleagues, he was glad, that 'team eight' was still meeting once in a while. He had always felt close to Hinata and Shino, with whom he had spent so much time together back then; he had always looked forward to these rare opportunities, still being able to catch up; to share everyday things and stories, thoughts and dreams; to create new memories; and sometimes to wallow in the past. Nevertheless, with regard to Shino, Kiba had long started realising, that they were moving away from each other. Slowly, but constantly, this feeling had set in over time. Was he the only one bothered by this?
"Now, if you excuse me, ..." With his left hand running the wall, Shino turned his back to Kiba and inched along into the dark apartment. He didn't turn on the light and neither glanced back to the puzzled looking Kiba, who still stood at the entrance, unbelieving and unable to grasp what was happening. Shino didn't notice that Kiba clenched his fists, neither did he notice the hurt expression on the other's face. Feeling numb, Shino slowly felt his way forward until he reached the bedroom. The room was pitch black.
Faintly, the front door fell shut.
Shino sighed. Then he let himself fall.
