Chapter Two - Snowfall: Reminiscing over Pizza

A blank stare formed on his face. "No way."

She looked at him and made a face, a sweatdrop forming on her cheek. "It's not gonna eat you alive, y'know..." She began patiently.

"I don't care, it's too... creepy. I'm not going in." He returned, shooting her a look from scowling at the object of his bane that stood infront of him.

The elevator.

The former silver wolf jogged in place and scowled at their supposedly-fearless leader, groaning in exasperation. "For fuck's sake, just push him into the damn elevator and let's GO!"

The former tan wolf sighed and reached past the former white wolf to press the button for the elevator to open, looking at his friend. "What the hell happened to 'not bein' afraid of anything'?" He wondered under his breath as the machine 'dinged' and the doors slid open.

The former black wolf sweatdropped at his stubbornness and gently pushed him forward into the elevator.

He clawed at the doorway, clinging to it. "N-Nikki, no...!" He grunted.

The younger she-wolf groaned and shoved him in, the tan and brown wolves following as the doors closed; he flew back from the door, reaching to cling to his mate like a scared cat.

Toboe coughed to suppress a giggle at their leader's comical reaction, ignoring the death glare shot in his direction from said wolf.

Nikki gently pried his arms from clinging too tightly to her, looking at him. "Um, Kiba, are you sure you're okay...?" She wondered.

Kiba re-gripped her ribs and nodded. "I'm fine, I just don't like elevators." He replied simply.
She sweatdropped and smiled sheepishly. "Well okay, if you say so..." She mused.

The elevator 'dinged' again as it reached the fourth floor, the doors opening to an empty corridor.

He was the first to jump out of the elevator, relieved to set foot on immovable floor, as the four members of his pack following his exit at a calmer pace.

Eri dragged Nikki by the wrist down the left side of the corridor, "come on, guys, we're almost there!" She declared.

Toboe followed her quick pace eagerly, "Man, how ironic, all of us meeting up in the same day, let alone the same city! This is too weird and yet really cool at the same time." He declared lightly as he followed the two she-wolves.

"Yeah, really. Although I'm not exactly keen on hearing your brother call me "Porky" again," Hige chimed as he walked at Kiba's left his hands in the pockets of his hoodie, pouting at the memory.

Kiba smirked slightly at his friend, his nerves calm now that he wasn't stuck in that damn steel contraption anymore. "Doubt he's changed much since last time," he mused.

Nikki fished through the pockets of her jacket for the key to the apartment, finding it and twisting the key in the lock, opening the door.

Eri dashed inside first, Toboe following, leaving the trio to follow them inside with Kiba closing the door behind their entrance into the apartment's living room.

It was medium-sized, well furnished, and had two bedrooms; one of them was Nikki's, he guessed, as he glanced down the small hall leading to preferably the bathroom and bedrooms.

"Cool, a gaming system!" Toboe declared as he bolted toward the silver controller left out on the coffee table, looking from the controller to the likewise-silver XBOX 360 beneath the black cable box in anticipation.

Hige rolled his eyes at the younger boy's enthusiastic response to seeing a gaming system, looking at the silver wolf as she looked around the apartment in slight awe. "Great, now the both of you are actin' like fangirls," he muttered.

Nikki dropped her keys onto the countertop of the small kitchen, brushing some hair from her face. "I think he's either sleeping or doing something else," she mused aloud, walking down the hall leading to the bedrooms.

Eri bounded after her, eager to see her mate again; Kiba sweatdropped and followed the two women, pausing short of the second door and opening it.

Her familiar scent hung in the air when he poked his head into the dimly-lit room that had a nightstand lamp on to support some form of electrical lighting in the room; he almost sighed at recognizing that scent he'd missed for over a couple of decades, looking at the slightly messy purple bedspread that had been made preferably sometime in the morning, a slight smile plaguing his lips.

Typical Nikki, he thought.

"Whoa, so that's Nikki's room. Man, it looks cool!" The brown pup said near him, making him start slightly before he looked down at the amber-eyed boy that stood at his back.

Toboe simply smiled innocently. "Cool right, Kiba?" He asked.

Kiba cleared his throat and closed the door, nodding. "Yeah, it is." He replied calmly, quickly hiding the thoughtful undertone in his voice at thinking her room was "cool", leading the pup after the two females.

She knocked on the door to her brother's room, raising a brow to see it was open. "Huh, that's weird..." She muttered, opening it and letting herself in, Eri, Kiba and Toboe following her.
"Tsume?" Nikki called, perking up as she saw steam rising from the door to his bathroom.

"Maybe he's in here," Eri began as she reached the bathroom door.

"Eri, don't...!" Kiba began alertly as she opened it.

::::::xX::::::

Steam billowed out from the opened bathroom, fading slowly into the rest of the bedroom.

"Uh, Tsume...?" Toboe began warily from poking his head out behind Nikki's shoulder.

The former gray wolf stood infront of the medicine-cabinet mirror, poking at his teeth with a strip of floss; he wore nothing except a towel over his shoulders and black shorts instead of a towel around his waist.

The pup yelped and scrambled away, covering his eyes from seeing the older wolf in such a "delicate" predicament. "W-wah, Tsume...!" He barked.

The white wolf coughed and looked away at the dresser near the window, his eyes catching the light from the ceiling fan bounce off the sharp silver blade of his beloved knife.

The gray wolf slowly looked out at the audience he'd gained; his face colored a shade of red his sister had yet to see stain his cheeks in a very long time.

"Damn it, Nikki, how the hell many times have I told you to KNOCK before bursting in here!?" He snapped annoyedly at his sister.

She huffed and folded her arms across her chest. "It wasn't my idea in the first place, Tsume." She jerked a thumb over at the blushing silver wolf. "It was hers to drag me back here." She declared patiently.

He looked at the silver wolf whose face was as red as the highlights in her jet black hair, a wry smirk crossing his lips. "It's been awhile, then, brat-zilla." He greeted, smug at effectively rendering the once-annoying female speechless after so many years.

She spluttered out a huff and shook her head, glaring away from him. "S-shut up, you jerkoff! Geez, you haven't changed a bit..." She grumbled as she crossed her arms firmly over her flat chest.

Nikki grabbed a shirt lying on his bed and tossed it at him, watching him catch it.
"Before Eri has a coronary from seeing you shirtless, put that damn shirt on." She growled, scowling patiently at her older brother.

Tsume shot her a look as Eri huffed.

Hige walked in at last, seeing the sight before him before he turned away and back out into the hall, without saying a word. "Geez, Tsume, talk about WAY TOO MUCH INFORMATION!" He hollered.

Kiba followed his friend wordlessly, relieved to leave the gray wolf be. "Come on, Eri," he muttered, dragging the younger wolf by the hand as Toboe quickly bounded after them.

Nikki rolled her eyes and looked at her brother, smiling. "Glad to have them back," she mused, trotting after her packmates.

The tan wolf placed a hand on the pup's head and ruffled his hair, smiling lightly at his friends. "Gotta head out, before your brother tries to kill me for earlier," he glanced at the silver wolf. "You comin'?"

She shook her head and sat back in the leather armchair. "Nope, I'm gonna hang out here for a little while longer. See you later, Hige," she smiled.

He sighed and nodded. "Fine, fine; c'mon, runt. Your granny's prolly worried about you by now," he mused.

"Aww, but I wanted to see Tsume...!" The brown wolf complained.

"Hige's got a point, pup; you'd better bail before your grandmother sends out a search party." Nikki chimed gently, looking at her old friend and smiling. "See you later." She replied.

"I can imagine you're not gonna come with, neh?" Hige wondered, looking to their fearless leader last.

Kiba smiled slightly. "I'll stick around here if that's alright." He glanced at the black wolf. "I think we need to catch up." He added thoughtfully.

Hige rolled his eyes at that misty expression that appeared in his glacier-green eyes whenever he looked at Nikki, holding onto the door absently. "Whatever; later, guys. Shake a leg, pup." He declared, dragging the pup by the scruff out the door.

"B-bye, guys!" Toboe waved lightly before the door closed behind their exit.

Eri smiled after them and sighed, "those two never change."

"That goes double for you, y'know." Tsume said as he appeared in the living room, fixing one of the gold earrings in his earlobe as he looked over at the silver wolf.

It'd really been a long time since he laid eyes on the girl; she'd cropped her hair into a pixie cut, maintaining the bright red highlights in her bangs.

But those silver eyes of hers shined like broken pieces of a moon, oftentimes showing stubbornness or determination or sarcasm that used to annoy the hell out of him in the past.

She blushed and huffed, crossing her arms across her chest.
"Stow it, tough guy. Come on, let's get some food; a little birdy told me you're basically rich so you can treat." She said calmly, shrugging her black sweater back onto her shoulders as she looked up at the older wolf.

He returned the huff and briefly shot his sister a look before following the girl to the door, snatching his keys from the countertop. "Don't wait up." He added over his shoulder at his sister, opening the front door and letting the petite girl slip out into the corridor before he followed, slamming the door shut behind his exit.

Eri looked up at him when they headed to the elevator, a smile on her lips.

Tsume looked at her. "What is it?" He asked, pressing the button to the elevator.
She shrugged. "It's been a long time hasn't it?" She mused.

His gaze softened at her familiar voice and he smiled slightly. "Yeah, guess it has." The elevator 'dinged', the doors sliding open to reveal an empty elevator.

She hopped into the small space, pressing the button for the ground floor as he followed her inside, the door closing behind him.

"Hey, why're we going to eat out anyway? I'd have figured you wanted to catch up with Nik and do some kind of girly thing together or something..." He wondered, looking at her with confusion as well as curiosity on her hidden motives she hadn't informed him of.

She ribbed him affectionately. "Dummy, you never change. Kiba and Nikki haven't seen each other in a long time, and it's only right that they get some time alone!" Her silver eyes softened, resembling melted stars. "Besides, I woulda have figured you wouldn't mind spending time with me." She added.

Tsume smirked slightly at her. "Now that you mention it, I wouldn't mind in the slightest." He folded an arm across her shoulders, letting her lean into his side. "I'll bite that it woulda been easier if we'd have stayed in the apartment."

Eri smiled up at him and reached to stroke his cheek. "That's true." Her eyes softened again. "I missed you, Tsume." She declared quietly; he held her hand in his and returned the smile. "I missed you too, Eri."

:::::::xX::::::::

It'd been a long time since she'd been alone with him.

Let alone having the apartment to themselves; that just was a bonus.

He sat down in the armchair Eri had abandoned, looking up at her. "You okay?" He wondered, his blue eyes curious.

She nodded and smiled at him, walking forward to perch on the arm of the chair he sat in. "Yeah, I'm good. Just still trying to process things," she mused, brushing a few strands of hair from her face.

He looked at her curiously. "Such as?" He pressed.

She shrugged. "You. I guess I'm still trying to get over the fact that you're actually here, in my apartment, talking with me." She smiled sadly. "I never thought I'd see you so soon." She admitted.

He frowned softly at the sad smile that crossed her beautiful face. "I never thought I'd see you so soon, either." He chuckled quietly and looked at the silver studs of the belt on her hips. "I really did miss you, y'know. Every day, since I remembered that night in the snow." He said the last bit softly, seeing a small shiver make her shoulders hunch.

Nikki lowered her gaze. "You're here now, though. With me." She reminded softly.

Kiba looked at her and smiled softly, nodding. "You're right; just like you're here with me." He gently tugged on her wrist to pull her to land in his lap.

Blush dashed across her cheeks, staining them a dark pink, which made him chuckle again; she pouted slightly at him, her blue eyes narrowing. "You're such an idiot," she scolded.

He smiled warmly, tucking a few strands of black hair from her cheek behind her ear. "And you're still spunky." His glacier-colored eyes softened. "But I wouldn't have you any other way." He mused thoughtfully, seeing the blush darken on her cheeks.

She sat up slightly in his lap to stroke his hair, elated to run her fingers through his wild locks once more. "Softie," she hummed softly, hearing him chuckle again.

Kiba held her hand to his cheek, watching her shift in his lap so she buried her nose into his neck, hearing her sigh; he held her closer, holding onto her back.

Nikki surfaced from becoming re-accustomed to his familiar scent, her blue eyes locking on his own before she leaned her face towards his, kissing him sweetly.

He shivered when her soft lips met his, his hands that encircled her back digging into her shirt as he moaned softly; itd been too long a time since he'd kissed those lips of hers.

She pulled away quickly, looking at him concernedly. "Are you all right?" She asked, her blue eyes searching his face for any trace or hint of pain, mentally kicking herself at initiating the kiss first.

Kiba's right hand reached to grasp the back of her neck gently as he shook his head. "I'm all right; it's just that it really has been a while since we kissed." He mused.

Nikki nodded and watched him kiss her again, his hand at her neck pressing her mouth closer to his own in a warm kiss that sent ripples of relief and happiness racing down her spine.

He felt her slightly slacken against him as she nibbled at his lower lip teasingly, earning a grin from him; he cradled the back of her head, slightly knotting his fingers in the locks of black hair she'd cropped short, his left hand's fingers gently digging into the small of her back as he deepened the kiss.

She shivered and arched her back at his touch, her legs on either side of his thighs squeezing slightly as she leaned onto his pelvis reflexively.

Kiba released the back of her head to trace his fingers down the side of her ribs, her belly, down to her curved hips as he held her left thigh in hand and heard her groan his name softly between kisses.

Nikki panted softly for air when he released her tingling lips reluctantly to favor licking a trail down her jaw line to her collar bone, his teeth nibbling on her neck between licks; she curled her fingers in his wild locks, moaning a little as he licked a trail back to her neck, his teeth biting tenderly on her bared throat.

He panted softly as well, burying his face into the crook of her neck and crushing her to his body, closing his eyes.

She ran her fingers through his hair, smoothing it out gently as he held her to him, almost afraid of letting her go and never seeing her again.

"I love you, Nikki." Kiba said quietly, perking her ears.

"I love you too, Kiba." Nikki smiled softly, feeling him kiss her throat softly.

A soft growl came from her stomach, making her blush; he pulled away reluctantly to smile at her, a gentle laugh making its way to his lips.

He kissed her sweetly, smirking gently, before he gathered her in his arms and slipped out from the chair.

She blushed again and clung to his neck, letting him grab her phone from the countertop. "Who're you calling...?" She wondered as he set her down on the bar stool and dialed.

"Pizza. Who else?" He shrugged, smiling slightly at her and winking teasingly.
Nikki chuckled and shook her head, smiling at him.

Something tells me this is going to be a long night, she thought.

He grimaced as he pulled off another green jalapeno.

She paused in eating the slice of pizza in hand to look at him curiously.
"If you didn't want jalapenos, you coulda just said to cut them out." She offered patiently, biting off a large chunk from her slice and chewing.

Kiba made a face, earning a soft giggle from her. "I know, but I guess I was curious. Besides, you don't seem to mind them." He added, flicking the discarded pepper at her.

Nikki sort of flinched when the pepper smacked her on the cheek, looking at him and smirking. "Of course not, I think they taste good." She quipped with a pout, flicking a piece of sausage at his face.

He caught it in his mouth and smiled, eating it. "You, my beautiful princess, are weird." He mused, smirking back and pointing the pizza slice in hand at her like an accusatory finger.

She huffed and reached to bite a chunk from the slice, pulling back and chewing. "Love you too, babe," she chuckled.

Kiba chuckled with her, smiling gently and watching as she finished her slice and wiped her mouth on the napkin.

Nikki looked at him curiously. "What?"

He shook his head, pulling off another pepper from the slice he was eating. "Maybe you're right in saying that I shoulda said no jalapenos," he thought aloud.

She rolled her eyes and took a pepper from her own slice, holding it out to him. "Just try it; it's not bad once you get used to it." She sighed.

Kiba shot her a look before he listened and took the pepper from her hand, studying it and sniffing the green thing; she smiled lightly at seeing him act like the curious wolf he once was, watching him pop the jalapeno into his mouth, chewing carefully.

A brief alarm shined in his eyes before he swallowed the spicy pepper, shaking his head.

"Yeah, I forgot to mention that they're kinda spicy." She muttered sheepishly, sipping her soda as he took a sip from his own soda.
He scowled at her. "Thanks for the head's up." He remarked, taking another sip from his drink.

Nikki smiled again. "Welcome!" She said lightly.

Kiba made a face when she uttered a quiet laugh.

"So how long've you been in the city?" She wondered curiously, perking his ears.

He shrugged. "A week or so, I think. The job I had in the town I grew up in let me go so I left and came here to look around and see if there was anything." His blue eyes softened again as he locked gaze with her. "But instead of a new job, I found you." He mused, seeing her cheeks redden slightly.

She smiled softly at him from behind the can of soda she was drinking. "No place to live?" She asked.

He shook his head. "I kind of left the place I was living at before with a friend from junior college." He replied, looking sheepish.

Her ears perked. "If you want, you can live here with us. I don't think Tsume would mind." She suggested calmly, sipping her soda again.

Kiba blinked and lowered his gaze. "I wouldn't want to impose or anything like that..." He began quietly.

Nikki shook her head. "No, seriously, it's okay." Her eyes softened. "I miss having you around, too, if that lightens anything." She added quietly.

He looked at her and his own eyes softened at hearing that she wanted him to stay; he nodded. "It does." He sighed a little. "Okay, I'll stay." He complied.

She beamed and straightened to take his plate to the kitchen, smiling. "I'm glad; I really am." She said gently, walking away from him to go wash the dishes.

Kiba eyed the curve in her hips and smiled softly as he almost imagined her tail poised in mid-air like it usually was in the past; he sipped his soda. "I'm glad, too." He said softly.

He settled back into the couch as she ran the water over the dishes, soft clinking sounding as she scrubbed the grease off the glossy surface of the plates; he let the sound become a soft hum to his ears as he closed his eyes, feeling at peace in this new apartment that harbored the mixed scents of his pack, the familiar scents he had grown so accustomed to in his previous life he sometimes longed for...

A soft pressure pressed against his lips, waking him from the unintentional doze that overcame him; he opened his eyes to look up at the kind blue stare of his mate.

He smiled softly at her, brushing some hair from her face. "Well there's a nice sight to see," he mused lightly.

Nikki chuckled and smiled gently, straightening to stand before him, placing a hand on her hip. "I never figured you to be one to doze off so soon, y'know," she quipped.

Kiba chuckled with her, quieting as he noticed she'd changed outfits; a gray longsleeve covered her torso, the collar low enough so he could barely see flashes of her cleavage, the sleeves reaching to cover her knuckles with short blue athletic shorts covering her panties.

He smiled thoughtfully at her outfit. "Casual or sleep wear?" He wondered, looking at her between eyeing the high slit in her shorts that flashed the hem of her panties to her bare neck and partially-naked shoulders.

She blushed slightly when he looked her up and down, crossing her arms at her chest. "Sleep wear; these are my PJs, goof." She quipped with a slightly defensive tone.

Kiba smiled again, finding that she was still cute when she was defensive, sitting forward in the couch. "You look cute." He said calmly, seeing her cheeks redden.

Nikki blushed and huffed. "Shut up, casanova," she grumbled, yelping slightly when he pulled her down by her wrist into his arms again.

He chuckled, the laugh reverberating in his chest. "Make me, wolf princess." He challenged, a lazy grin forming on his gentle mouth.

She pouted, leaning forward to kiss him firmly, her fingers curling in his hair again.

Kiba grinned slowly, holding her chin in one hand as he kissed deeply, his free hand running a finger down her spine.

Nikki quivered slightly when he stroked her spine, arching her back to his touch and leaning more into his lap, letting him shrug off his jacket as she dragged her hands across his broad shoulders, feeling him shiver slightly at her curious touch.

He lifted the bottom hem of her shirt some as his hand slipped past the thin barrier to the hem of her shorts, his mouth tender and hot and wanting all at one point.

She moaned softly, her hands on his shoulders holding onto him as she slackened against him and hugged his thighs with her legs.

Kiba stroked her thigh thoughtfully, making her shiver and cling to him more.

Nikki pulled away from his needing mouth to gasp for air, moaning.

He looked so... wolfish. A true shiver rolled down her spine at seeing him look so like he once did so many years ago, looking like the strong wolf she'd fallen hard for, like the strong wolf whose arms she'd died in as the snow fell down on their beaten bodies.

She was wrenched back to reality when he lifted her up in his arms and stood from the couch; she clung to his neck, looking at him confusedly.

"K-Kiba, where..." She began to ask when she saw he was carrying her to her bedroom.
Heat dashed across her cheeks and made them burn.

Kiba placed her on the bed, smiling gently down at his slightly baffled mate. "This is what you wanted, what I wanted, for a long while now." He mused, ducking to kiss her again.

Nikki held onto his neck, feeling him sink down on her, his full weight nearly crushing her beneath him as she clung to his back.

He briefly pulled away to pull his shirt off, seeing her shiver at looking at his well-built chest, before he moved to crawl ontop of her, his mouth capturing hers in a wanting kiss that made her tremble in his arms.

She grinded her hips against his own, feeling him hold her right calf gently as she spread her legs, her body instantly recalling the manner in which her former self allowed him to dominate her.

Kiba moaned softly and pinned her to the mattress, feeling her bite his neck gently as he pulled the hem of her shorts down, stripping her of the short shorts that fell to the floor behind him and allowing him better access to her panties.

Nikki reached to unzip his jeans, pulling them down his hips as she reached for his underwear.

He ducked to cover her mouth with his own, kissing her passionately as all his old wolf senses seemed to flood back to him at that time.

She released a scream of pleasure then, nearly startling him as he hadn't realized he'd started, a loud moan escaping him when she squeezed hard on him.

Their combined moans and screams echoed in the air as a soft snowfall began outside.

this chap's format was bugging the hell out of me and i barely got off my ass to fix it.. other than that~!

review please; thanks~

NOTE: lemon coming up in the next chap. YOU WERE WARNED.