Shadows and Fangs
Chapter 23
Nothing to report, please enjoy :)
When he woke up that morning, Kiba blinked sleepily a few times and paused mid-yawn before remembering the previous night. Kao's ceremony and…wait, had that really happened? "Shika? Hey, Shikamaru," he called as he nudged his lover awake.
"Mmh, what?" the Nara mumbled groggily, refusing to open his eyes.
"Did I really ask you to marry me last night?" Kiba asked hopefully, about 90% sure.
Shikamaru did open one eye at this, frowning slightly. "More like demanded," he muttered before yawning and trying to go back to sleep.
Kiba only grinned happily on his side before nudging him once more. "And you said 'yes', right?"
"Kiba, I love you, but I swear to you if you don't let me sleep right now I will divorce you," Shikamaru declared with all the matter-of-factness of someone who was woken up before they were done sleeping.
The Inuzuka chuckled at this, visibly happy with him despite his words. "Don't worry, I'm leaving you to it, I'm sure my sister could do with some help," he assured him as he pressed a kiss to his head before getting up. The Inuzukas were generally early risers, and Hana, just like him, was already active around the house. "Morning sis'," he called happily as he greeted Akamaru and the Haimaru triplets.
"Morning little brother," she replied affectionately before pausing and sniffing the air. "Hmm…you don't smell like you had fun last night, so what's with the goofy grin?" she asked knowingly with a raised eyebrow.
"I have no idea what you're on about," Kiba assured her innocently before snorting in amusement as he paid attention to her scent. "Hey, you had fun though!" he noted mischievously.
Hana shrugged, not bothering to deny it. "Yup!"
"Are you planning on making me an uncle again in the near future?" he asked half-teasingly.
His sister shrugged once more at this, looking up in thoughts. "It's honestly not really a plan for now…but you never know, right?" she asked rhetorically.
Kiba shrugged back before looking around. "So where's my niece?"
"Making sure her daddy knows to include meat buns in all future celebratory meals," Hana informed him with a fond chuckle. "Help me with the dogs' bowls?" she then asked as she motioned towards a knife and cutting board.
"Sure thing," he replied easily as he moved closer to help as requested. They worked around each other in comfortable silence with the ease of years of practice, and Kiba found himself smiling as it felt nice – being in this kitchen, with her, with the dogs; it reminded him of his childhood.
Aoba appeared carrying Kao under his arm some time later, pretending to drop her on the couch several times to her delight before effectively setting her down, following which she ran into Kiba's legs.
Aoba then wordlessly moved to take the cup of coffee Hana held out to him and pressed a kiss to her lips in thanks before chugging down most of the drink.
Kiba for his part couldn't stop grinning as he pinched his niece's cheeks happily, her markings standing out even more in the light of day. "Kao, you're all grown up!" he praised excitedly.
"Like you and mommy and grandma," she replied with a nod, reaching to pinch his cheeks too before pouting. "But blue would have been prettier," she lamented as only a child could.
"Blue?" Kiba repeated in surprise. "Why blue, pup?"
"Like my eyes!" Kao replied with a frown, looking at him like he was completely beyond help.
Her parents laughed as Kiba held his hands up defense. "I guess I'll never learn how to speak to women," he muttered jokingly to Aoba, making the other man chuckle. He then looked up as Shikamaru trailed in, much more awake than before but still languid in his own morning-way. Kiba tried biting his lips and holding back a while longer, but found that he couldn't. "Shikamaru almost asked me to marry him last night!" he declared happily.
From his side, Akamaru's ears twitched up and he trotted to them, tilting his head questioningly.
"Almost?" Aoba repeated with a frown, wondering if that was good or bad.
Shikamaru for his part chuckled and rolled his eyes fondly as he walked to them. "He beat me to it," he developed as he gratefully accepted the cup of coffee Hana held out for him.
"Why am I not surprised?" Hana teased her brother before turning back to the Nara. "You said 'yes', right?" she asked needlessly as she snaked an arm around Kiba's neck and pulled him against her in a half-hug.
"Of course," Shikamaru confirmed, smiling slightly as Akamaru let out a happy bark and spun on himself twice before going to tackle Kiba.
"Congratulations," Aoba said earnestly as he shook Shikamaru's hand and clapped his shoulder, grinning down at his brother-in-law as he was getting slathered in dog drool.
"Why?" Kao asked curiously as she looked up at them.
"Your uncles are going to get married," Hana explained as she picked her up in her arms.
The look Kao turned on them was full of pure unimpressed confusion. "Not married now?" she wondered, like the adults clearly made a mountain out of a mole hill – adults who were always together and kissed and even shared a bed were married, right? The way they all laughed at her words only further convinced her they were weird.
"Well that was anticlimactic," Shikamaru noted in amusement, reaching to stroke Akamaru's head with one hand as the dog nuzzled it.
Kiba just shrugged at this, leaning against him and absently wiping drool from his face. "I thought you'd be used to the Inuzukas' matter-of-factness by now," he mused teasingly.
"Can you really ever get completely used to it?" Aoba wondered rhetorically, grinning as his wife slapped his arm and their daughter mirrored her mother, figuring 'slap daddy's arm' was this morning's new game.
Shikamaru just smiled contentedly as he looked at them. So maybe it wasn't possible to get entirely used to the Inuzuka's antics, but for sure, it was impossible to get used to living without them once you knew them.
Once Hana and Aoba left for work, their guests found themselves playing babysitter once more. They were supposed to watch Kao for the morning, and then to drop her off at Tsume's for the afternoon. That evening they also had a get-together planned with most of their old friends. So all in all, a mostly lazy but also busy day. The best kind.
Shikamaru sighed happily as he lounged on the porch – the late June weather was absolutely perfect for napping, this year, and he was really much more used to Konoha's temperate climate than Suna's arid one. Kiba walked to sit next to him with Kao in his lap, and he watched in amusement as the little Inuzuka seriously instructed her uncle on how to properly put her hair up in even pigtails. His gaze then trailed to her cheeks, and he had to admit it was extremely heartwarming to (finally) see the red triangles there, although part of him wondered how time could have passed so quickly that she was already three.
Kao magnanimously praised Kiba for his hairstyling achievements once he was done and pressed a sloppy kiss to his cheek in reward before turning to Shikamaru to show off her perfectly bouncy hairdo.
"As cute as a puppy," Shikamaru praised easily, having long ago learned that saying so was always a good bet with an Inuzuka.
"Really?" Kao asked back excitedly, grinning widely.
"Really," he insisted with his most serious expression, smiling lazily as he shared a look with Kiba when Kao giggled and wrapped her uncle's arms tighter around herself to hide her contented embarrassment.
Kiba just grinned at their antics as he held her close, having a sudden mental image of Kao playing with puppies and almost dying at the excess of cuteness it evoked. He would die on his feet the day she'd get her nin-dog, he just knew that. Absently, he traced the triangles on her cheek, and winked at her as she tilted her head back to look at him.
"What about you, Uncle Shikamaru?" she then asked Shikamaru curiously, reaching to pull his hands and examine his wrists. "You don't have red triangles. Does that mean you're not a grown up yet?" she wondered curiously. Everyone kept telling her she was 'all grown up now', so there had to be a link, right?
The adults exchanged looks and laughed at this, and Shikamaru moved to poke her nose. "I'm grown up alright, but I'm not from the Inuzuka clan. I'm a Nara. We don't get red triangles like you do," he told her in simple terms.
"Do you get blue ones?" she immediately asked enviously.
The Nara frowned in confusion at this question and a quick look towards Kiba told him he'd explain later. "We don't get markings. We usually wear our crest on our clothes," he corrected as he turned slightly and pointed towards his shirt, smiling as she reached to trace the pattern on his back.
"So if someone steals your shirt they can join your clan?" Kao reasoned seriously.
"It's not that simple, pup," Kiba corrected fondly as he lightly teased her with her own pigtails. "There should still be a ceremony."
"Oh, I know! Like marriage!" she exclaimed, proud of her deduction and knowledge.
Kiba chuckled nervously and then nodded. "Yes, like marriage. Like I will," he added as he looked at Shikamaru's shirt.
Shikamaru turned back to them at this, frowning in confusion – he hadn't actually thought that far, to be honest. "What are you saying?"
"Well…I mean I kinda figured we'd do it that way…" Kiba replied with a shrug. "I know how much your clan means to you."
"Yeah, but you're closer to yours!" Shikamaru argued, touched but really not wanting him to take such a big decision just for his sake.
Kiba chuckled as he turned to Kao expectantly. "Kao, what's a clan?"
"Family!" she immediately replied proudly.
"And how long is family for?"
"Forever!"
"Good girl!" he praised happily before leaning forward to press his lips to Shikamaru's. "So there you have it. And you're my family," he assured him simply.
Shikamaru chuckled against his lips and shook his head in wonder at their earnestness. Because of course he cared about the Nara clan, and of course Kiba joining it didn't mean that he'd cut ties with the Inuzukas but…when it really came down to it, since they couldn't have children one of them didn't even have to join the other's clan, and yet…he wanted that. Visibly, so did Kiba.
Akamaru appeared behind him and proceeded to communicate his feelings on the matter as he licked their cheeks before moving on to Kao as she clung to him happily.
Family is forever, huh?
What was he supposed to say in response to that…?
In all honesty, neither Kiba nor Shikamaru had felt nervous at the prospect of telling Tsume about their big news, but they'd clearly underestimated Kao's sagacity on the matter.
"Grandma, grandma!" the little Inuzuka called loudly as she jumped at her grandmother's neck. "Kiba and Shikamaru are going to get married!" she informed her quite seriously.
Tsume raised an eyebrow and smirked widely at this. "Oh, is that so?" she asked the two men with a chuckle, as usual eerily imitated by her nin-dog.
"Kao, you shouldn't go around telling other people's news for them!" Kiba chided his niece good-naturedly. She looked guilty for all of two seconds (three, tops).
"Poor Shikamaru, I bet he twisted your arm!" Tsume told Shikamaru with a wide grin.
"Oh, like you wouldn't believe!" the Nara replied with a deep sigh, unable not to smile as Kiba elbowed his side.
The Inuzuka matriarch threw her head back and laughed loudly at this, moving to set Kao down on Kuromaru's back before motioning for the other two to join her for a drink. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't expecting this sooner or later," she tempered as she pulled out three glasses and poured them all a generous amount – more than was usual for a toast, at any rate. "So," she then started without preamble as she set her glass down, smirking as they winced at the strong taste (still pups despite their years, obviously!). "Are we getting an extra Inuzuka, or is the Nara clan gaining the best tracker they'll ever have?" she wondered curiously.
Kiba shared a look with Shikamaru before shrugging his head to the side. "Nara, once we get to it – probably after we're back from Suna though…" he replied as he smacked his lips to get rid of the bad taste. Was he just too used to Suna's alcohol to appreciate Konoha's, now?
"Is that alright with you?" Shikamaru asked her for the principle, knowing she'd say it on her own if that wasn't the case but wanting to show he was willing to discuss it. "I know that's a lot to ask," he continued as he moved a hand to cover Kiba's, thumb absently stroking his skin.
Tsume blinked and then frowned as she looked at him like he'd just said something incredibly stupid. "There's nothing wrong with marrying into another clan," she noted matter-of-factly. Sure, she hadn't, but if it had been important to her husband – if he'd actually been a husband for more than a couple of weeks per year – she wouldn't have been fundamentally opposed to joining another clan and raising her children into it. "Doing that still takes certain strength of character and confidence that I'm proud my son obviously has – although I've never doubted it!" she added simply.
"Told you," Kiba noted cheerfully, that typical smug Inuzuka grin on his face as he leaned against him.
"Yeah, yeah, don't be troublesome," Shikamaru muttered back with obvious fondness.
Tsume, in all her evilness, waited until they reached for the cups again before innocuously asking, "So when can I expect grandkids?"
It was completely worth having to wipe off the alcohol they'd spit on the table as they choked on their drinks. Honestly—teasing your kids had to be the funniest thing in the world.
Even after Kao childishly copied her uncles and did the same thing with her juice.
They left Tsume's house later than they'd originally planned, but eventually figuring they needed to if they wanted to stop by the Nara household before they had to meet up with their friends at the barbeque restaurant for the sort of 'before the wedding get-together' dinner Ino and Sakura had arranged. Well, not that they really wanted to have that talk with Yoshino, but she had to find out after all, and better from them – they didn't put Tsume above gloating about it, honestly. Shikamaru had likened it to popping back a dislocated joint: you had to do it fast and without hesitation, because the more you waited, the more it hurt.
They found her in the garden, grinding some deer horn into powder for remedies. It was a fairly innocuous gesture that Kiba had always thought she somehow still managed to make look threatening – in his mind, he was certain that when Yoshino looked at him, she imagined to be grinding something else entirely and it never failed to make the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
"Shikamaru!…And Kiba..." Yoshino noted, sparing an amused glance towards Akamaru as he sat down obediently. "What brings you here?" she asked as she looked up at them, her arms never ceasing their rhythmic moves.
She's so grinding my fingers right now in her head, Kiba observed as he barely resisted the urge to frown.
"We have something to tell you," Shikamaru started cautiously, leaving a certain safe distance between them just in case.
She's moved on to my skull, I can see it in her eyes, Kiba thought as he kept himself from shuddering, eyes glued to the white-ish powder.
Yoshino's face remained remarkably blank as she turned her gaze back to her task. "So when will it be?" she asked simply.
Shikamaru and Kiba exchanged glances at this. "What do you mean?"
"Your wedding," Yoshino replied – and her tone would've been exactly the same if she'd said 'your walk' or 'spring cleaning day' or anything as unremarkable, somehow that much was obvious. "That's what you're here to tell me, isn't it?" she noted rhetorically.
Kiba didn't even dare think about what part of him she imagined to be crushing into oblivion at this point. Not taking a step back was a clear conscious effort.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to question her but she beat him to it.
"We even talked about that the other day, so really, that's it right?" she asked him as she once more looked up and into his eyes, raising an eyebrow.
"You did?" Kiba wondered in surprise.
"Sort of—I'll tell you later," Shikamaru told him as he held his mother's look. "You're right, that's it. Kiba asked me to marry him – well, I was literally about to ask him, but he beat me to it," he explained. "I said yes, of course," he added unnecessarily.
The Inuzuka was infinitely glad she'd stopped her task even if that meant she'd placed her full attention on them. "We haven't really set a date yet – we'll wait until we're back from Suna," he continued, hoping that keeping the conversation going would keep the moment she'd kill him at bay.
"Maybe not, if we end up staying too long," Shikamaru tempered with a raised eyebrow.
Kiba automatically grinned at him and then cleared his throat as he turned back to Yoshino. "And I'll be…marrying into the Nara clan."
Yoshino blinked in astonishment at this, clearly not having expected that development. "Really?"
"Yes."
"Well that's a…surprise…" she admitted as she'd honestly always half-feared that her son would just be pulled into the depths of the Inuzuka clan's wild ways. "An Inuzuka joining the Nara clan," she repeated pensively before laughing at the thought despite herself, greatly surprising the other two. "Stranger things have happened, I suppose!" she noted with a shrug, somewhat resigned.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Kiba noted as he resisted the urge to sigh, sharing a look with Shikamaru. After they left the Nara clan grounds and were on their way to meet their friends, he finally let out that sigh and shuddered. "If she could get away with castrating me, she'd definitely do it," he declared.
"I wouldn't let her," Shikamaru reassured him as he played along. "I have a vested interest in your non-castration after all," he added with a shrug.
"You'd better," Kiba muttered fondly as he bumped their shoulders together before looking ahead sharply as he smelled a couple of familiar scents. "Hey you two!" he greeted his former teammates happily as he slung an arm around each of their shoulders.
"Hello, Kiba – and Akamaru of course!" Hinata replied with a wide smile as she rubbed the nin-dog's ears – just the way he liked it, as always.
"Hello Kiba, Akamaru," Shino greeted succinctly before turning his head a fraction towards the Nara. "Shikamaru."
"Shino," Shikamaru replied with a sigh, feeling the threats in that simple greeting. "Hello Hinata," he then said with a more genuine smile. "Where's your future husband?" he asked her with a raised eyebrow.
The Hyuuga blushed happily at this, offering them a bright smile. "He's on his way; he was going to pick up Lee."
"He's already here from Kumo?" Shikamaru wondered with a raised eyebrow. They'd seen him more recently than the others, since he'd been deployed to Suna once, but it was always good to see him again, naturally.
"He arrived earlier this day," the Aburame informed them as he imperceptibly tried to break free from Kiba's hold. "To attend the wedding celebration, naturally."
"Aww, my Hinata's almost a married woman!" Kiba teased her easily as he pulled her closer – he'd been in 'doting uncle' mode last night and as such didn't tease her as much as he'd wanted to, so he was determined to make up for it.
"Kiba…" she chided good-naturedly, (very) lightly elbowing his side. "You're acting like we didn't meet yesterday!"
"Aha, I knew I felt some familiar chakras gathered here!" Ino noted cheerfully as she and Sai walked up to them, cutting off anything else that might've been said. "Shikamaru, I can't believe it – you're on time!" she teased him easily.
Kiba frowned at this, clearing his throat. "When has he ever been late since I became involved in his timetable?" he asked, waiting a moment before nodding in satisfaction. "Yeah, I didn't think so either."
Ino only stuck her tongue out at him (maturely so) before sharing an amused look with the Nara.
Tenten poked her head out of the restaurant at this, raising an eyebrow at them. "Hey, slowpokes! Chouji, Karui and I have been waiting for you like forever! Come in!" she prompted.
Shino sighed at the mention of the Kumo kunoichi but docilely moved after his friends.
"How's Kankuro?" Sai asked Shikamaru and Kiba with interest as they followed Ino in.
"Doing quite well," Shikamaru replied, with surprisingly little defensiveness – he supposed having spent so much time working closely with him, they'd developed a sort of friendship after all, right? (Although to be fair, any animosity there might have ever been between them was purely one-sided, to Shikamaru's annoyance – and the puppeteer really enjoyed reminding him of that fact.)
"He'll be at the wedding, so you should see him soon," Kiba then added with a grin.
"Good. Although I'm starting to wonder who won't be at the wedding," the artist commented curiously with a compassionate sigh for his friends.
"You and me both," Naruto replied right next to him, grinning widely and all happy he'd managed to sneak up on his friend. "Hey, Kiba, Shikamaru! Long time no see!" he greeted brightly.
They both grinned back – Kiba adding an extra threat for his ex-teammate's sake – as they hadn't seen him yet since coming back, before turning to Lee, who true to himself greeted everyone quite energetically until he was called over by Karui and Tenten who wanted news from Kumo.
Sakura ran in right as they were about to consider ordering up, apologizing for her lateness and grumbling under her breath about assistants who lacked any organizing skills whatsoever – for which her friends good-naturedly teased her, of course.
"How did Kao behave following the ceremony?" Shino asked his friend with a raised eyebrow after they sat down – closer to Karui than he'd have liked, but it should be alright.
Kiba grinned happily at this, reaching to pat Akamaru's head. "She said she was hoping her markings would be blue!"
"Blue?" the Aburame repeated in confusion – he'd never heard of an Inuzuka whose markings were any color other than red.
"Like her eyes, Shino!" Kiba informed him with a fond huff, laughing at his frown. "Yeah, I had the same reaction!" he reassured him.
"Interesting," Shino noted seriously. Granted, as a teacher, he spent most of his time with children, but he didn't have a relationship with their parents – so children like Kao, whose parents he personally knew and appreciated, appealed to a completely different part of him, and he couldn't wait until he had her in his class – if he had her in his class, but one could always hope.
Turning his head towards Hinata and Naruto, he found himself thinking he was also looking forward to their kids, even though he suspected any son of Naruto's would be a trouble-maker and class clown despite Hinata's calming presence. That isn't to say any daughters of his would be any quieter though. Genetics was always such a surprising thing…
Looking further down the table at Sai and Ino, he honestly wondered who he should hope their kids would take after the most. Both greatly applied themselves through theoretical study, but in effect, they were as different as night and day in their behaviors – and as much of a handful, though not the same ways.
Next to her childhood friend and ex-rival, Sakura chided Naruto and Sai good-naturedly over something or other, and Shino thought to himself that her children would almost certainly excel in the academic aspects of their studies but would likely have a short temper, like her. He'd need to wait for a prospective father before making a better conjecture though – he'd heard rumors of Sasuke visiting the village and Sakura's apartment in particular, but facts were all he'd accept and for now it was a closely guarded secret.
His eyes then trailed over Lee and he knew that for sure, if he had any, his children would be passionate and well-behaved – he just hoped the green jumpsuit wouldn't be passed down to the next generation as well because the visual assault had to end. Still, he was certain children of the taijutsu expert would respect their teachers, and he did enjoy having students look up to him for guidance…
On her teammate's other side, Tenten seemed to be immersed in the retelling of a captivating mission, and while he didn't know her all that well, the Aburame figured if nothing she was persevering and cheerful, traits she'd surely pass on. Of their group, she was also the one who'd travelled the most, between the exchange program in Kumo and her current posting in Iwa – so there was no doubt her children would greatly benefit from her varied and open-minded view of their world, or so he hoped.
He consciously skipped Karui and Chouji, because he refused to entertain even the slightest possibility that he'd have to contend with a mini-Karui in his class – more realistically, he wanted to keep that moment at bay for as long as physically feasible, it gave him more time to pray for the Akimichi's genes to be dominant.
Finishing his tour of the table, Shino's gaze stopped on Shikamaru and Kiba, and inwardly he felt a slight pinch of disappointment that he wouldn't get his best friend's kids in class, although he'd always figured Kiba likely wouldn't have children. Still…he wondered what kind of offspring a lazy genius and an enthusiastic tracker would have produced – that'd have been a sight to see, for sure!
"What's bugging you?" Kiba asked, cocking his head to the side – pun 100% intended, as always, because it never got old.
"I'm merely reflecting on the future," Shino replied with a shake of his head. "It has become increasingly rare to gather everyone together in one place," he then noted to change the subject.
Kiba saw through his game but decided to humor him anyway. "Well yeah…Lee, Tenten, Shikamaru and me aren't based here anymore after all," he commented with a shrug. "And everyone's getting so busy with work anyway…"
"It's up to those of you who aren't single to keep us all coming back for big weddings!" Tenten declared jokingly from behind the Inuzuka as she'd gotten up to chat with that corner of the table while they waited for their food.
"Not everyone wants a 'big' wedding," Sai said pragmatically before Ino reached for his hand and squeezed it, causing Sakura to snigger happily at their antics.
"Still haven't found Mr. Right then, Tenten?" Sakura asked her friend in amusement as she joined them as well.
The weapons specialist snorted at this. "Don't talk to me about him! Being that oblivious shouldn't be allowed!" she muttered before pouting, making quite a few wonder who, exactly, she was complaining about.
"Men are exasperating, aren't they?" Kiba offered with an easy grin.
"You said it!" Tenten agreed before grinning as she flicked her finger at his forehead – that was devoid of protector for once, as he was simply on vacation. "Which makes me wonder how it is you two work!" she teased them good-naturedly.
"They're probably immune to each other's innate male annoyingness," Sakura supplied with a shit-faced grin, sticking her tongue out at Kiba when he huffed at her.
Hinata giggled at this and Kiba turned to call her a traitor, which only further amused her. "I've really missed this – us all spending time together," she noted fondly.
"Should've gotten married sooner!" Sakura teased her as she reached for her shoulders.
"Hey, your turn now!" the Hyuuga replied happily, eyeing Tenten and Sakura as she craned her head back.
The two deflated at this and the pink-haired medic turned to Ino. "Hey, Ino-pig! Get married so we have an excuse to meet up again!"
Ino frowned at the command, crossing her arms over her chest. "You don't call the shots, forehead-girl!" she replied with fake haughtiness. "Chouji! You get married! That way we can even travel to Kumo!"
Karui raised an eyebrow, but Chouji blushed as he held up his hands. "Hey, they've been together longer!" he argued as he jerked a thumb towards Shikamaru and Kiba.
The nature of the game would've allowed them to pass the 'responsibility' back to someone else, but they shared a look at this, Shikamaru raising an eyebrow as Kiba shrugged.
"Yeah, about that…" the Nara started with a lazy grin, shutting his eyes at the surprised exclamations from most of their friends.
"When did that happen?" Naruto wondered excitedly.
Shino tilted his head to the side, silently reiterating his threats to Shikamaru, but he didn't look surprised. (Shino always knew anyway. Shikamaru had given up years ago on trying to figure out how Kiba managed to pass on information to him so quickly and discreetly, it had saved him a lot of headaches.)
"And why are we only hearing about it now?" Ino added before they could reply, much more threatening.
"We really just decided yesterday evening," Kiba tempered with a grin. "And we'll wait until we're back here anyway…"
"You'd better," the Yamanaka muttered quite seriously.
"I think that's typically a good moment for a toast, right?" Sai wondered as he held up his drink, eager to distract his lover, and quickly imitated by the others.
Kiba grinned and shared a quick look with Shikamaru as he brought his glass to his lips. Well…at least they wouldn't have to make rounds to tell everyone!
Even though he was technically on vacation, as a gesture of good-will and at the Hokage's behest, Shikamaru had agreed to lead Gaara's welcoming party into Konoha. Since it was a leisure visit, Kankuro and Gaara himself could more than handle his schedule, meaning he wasn't exactly needed all day long anyway, so it wasn't much of an issue. He stayed with him and took his job up again during short meetings with the Hokage, and although it felt somehow surreal to be in Konoha as a shinobi from Suna, as his protector proclaimed, he got used to it pretty quickly. Temari was the only sibling who was truly taking time off, in a sense, and Shikamaru and Kankuro only managed to free themselves once the working day was over.
"So how was your niece's ceremony?" Kankuro asked Kiba as he cocked his head to the side once they sat down.
"Where's Gaara?" Temari asked her brother instead with a frown – older sister protective instincts kicking in.
"Who—oh, Gaara! Red hair, yea high? I gave him to someone who really wanted a Gaara of his own!" Kankuro replied with perfectly faked seriousness as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder in the office's general direction. "He looked completely normal and non-stalker-ish so I figured it would be alright!"
"I'm begging you, please help me get him transferred somewhere far away," Temari muttered with a shake of her head as she resisted the urge to slap her palm to her forehead.
The puppeteer only huffed at this, raising an eyebrow. "You secretly can't live without me," he dismissed matter-of-factly.
Kiba snorted at Temari's exhausted sigh and even Shikamaru had to admit that watching the two interact never got boring.
"He's with Naruto, stop worrying! Although…" Kankuro continued as he raised a hand to scratch his chin, "I'm sort of worried what might happen if for whatever reason Naruto starts talking to him about sex now that he's getting married – I'm sure he'd leave a mess of confusion for me to fix later on!" he added not-so-jokingly.
Kiba laughed and shook his head at that. "I don't think you need to worry about that – Naruto's a sweet guy, he even once asked us if we were on a date when he saw us having dinner together," he told him reassuringly, sharing a chuckle with Shikamaru as they recalled that evening.
"He'll confuse Gaara even more!" Temari noted with a frown before sighing in defeat as she figured they couldn't control their brother forever.
"Well…I wouldn't be opposed to getting nieces and nephews eventually…" Kankuro added with a shrug and a smirk, pointedly eying his sister and looking away when she raised an eyebrow at him.
And on that note, Kiba, being the proud uncle that he was, did not waste a second before producing a picture for them on his phone. "Look, and be melted inside!" he proclaimed proudly.
Temari frowned as she looked at the picture, having to concede that Kao was really cute, especially sporting that wide toothy grin and flanked by Kiba and Shikamaru as she was. "Okay, I think some recluse part of me somewhere deep inside melted a bit – or is at the very least considering the possibility in the near future," she admitted as she handed it back.
"Come on Temari, we all know you're a big softie at heart," Shikamaru drawled from his spot, not bothering to avoid the kick she directed at his shin.
Kankuro sniggered at this, knowing it was the truth. "Seriously though, those markings are like an invitation to pinch cheeks!" he added with a grin as he chuckled at the tiny Inuzuka.
Shikamaru frowned as he didn't like the possible implications of this jibe – namely, that he'd once freely pinched his Inuzuka's cheeks. "And then we got engaged," he added almost absently, shrugging innocently as Kiba turned to him with a knowing look.
"To what?" Temari asked with a frown before his words fully registered and her eyes widened. Turning to share a look with her brother to make sure they understood the same thing, she grinned brightly. "Well now that's some news! Congratulations!" she said happily as she treated them to her world-famous lung-spitting back-slaps.
"Something's always happening in Konoha when we visit!" Kankuro commented with an amused look. "Congratulations," he added earnestly.
Kiba opened his mouth to thank them but Temari pointed a finger at him warningly before he could utter a sound. "Don't think you're getting any more time off, I want you back at your post next week as planned and then you're not setting foot outside of Suna except on missions!" she warned him seriously.
Shikamaru chuckled at his lover's annoyed scowl and shook his head. "Don't worry, we were thinking to actually do it when we'll come back to Konoha – assuming you'll let us go one day," he added evenly.
Kankuro snorted at his sister's smug look, leaning back on his bench. "I hope we'll manage to make the trip at that time!" he added earnestly. "I mean, if we're invited, naturally!"
"Of course you're invited," Kiba replied matter-of-factly, Shikamaru nodding next to him as admittedly, he'd learned to actually appreciate Kankuro, somewhat and in a very loose fashion – not that he'd give him the satisfaction of telling him as much.
Temari hummed in thoughts as she looked between them. "Hey, you know, if you made your move to Suna permanent, Gaara could sign that certificate for you – wouldn't that be more fun than pervy Hokage the Sixth?" she asked teasingly.
They all chuckled at that, having to admit it would indeed be more fun, at the very least.
"I honestly think Gaara's disappointed he can't be the one to sign Naruto's," Kankuro then noted with a fond grin.
"I'm sure the Sixth would be happy to let him co-sign it if he asked!" Shikamaru replied with a lazy smirk.
"And if not, we'll let him co-sign ours!" Kiba added brightly.
Kankuro raised an eyebrow at this, humming as something occurred to him. "You know what? Actually, I think that since technically you're both currently based in Suna, and furthermore Shikamaru's part of his staff, Gaara could just sign yours himself," he noted factually.
"Are you encouraging them to elope?" Temari asked her brother teasingly.
"I'm only saying," Kankuro replied with a shrug.
"We can't elope," Kiba said with a shudder.
"Too many people would kill us if we did," Shikamaru added.
The puppeteer hummed as he thought about a way out of their hypothetical murder scenario. "Say it was an accident!"
"An accident?" Temari repeated as she turned to her brother dubiously.
"Sure – 'oh no, I accidentally checked the 'married' box on this important form and handed it in, so now we have no choice but to get married, or else I lied on an official document and could get into real trouble'!" Kankuro offered with a straight face. "Accidents happen."
"Nice try," Shikamaru conceded gamely.
"But we'd still end up dead," Kiba concluded with a shake of the head.
Temari crossed her arms and leaned them forward on her knees, absently watching the people walking by. "I suppose you've already told everyone else?" she wondered curiously.
"Yup," Kiba replied as he tried to think of anyone in the village they might've forgotten.
Shikamaru tilted his head back to look at the clouds as he did the same. "Well, we should still tell Gaara. We haven't exactly told the Hokage, but I'd be surprised if he didn't know by now," he tempered.
At the very least, it gave them something to do during their time off – they really weren't used to being so idle.
"So what did we miss in Suna?" Kiba asked the siblings conversationally – although he was genuinely interested, particularly regarding as to how Darami was faring as his replacement. Having Mizu replace Temari had been a no-brainer, since she was the only captain from Suna – although she fully deserved it. But deciding on his proxy had been slightly more tedious. He was tempted to choose Sojiro, but he decided to be careful and avoid all possible claims of favoritism even though in effect, nothing had happened between him and Temari – 'better safe than sorry' was the word in politics though, Kiba had learned along the way. Most had expected him to turn to Yasha, but he knew that Darami was the better choice, even if she clearly lost to the Akimichi in people skills. However her work was always flawless, and that was the important bit.
And Temari understood that as she absently toyed with her drink and wondered how to word her thoughts. "Darami…takes some serious getting used to. I mean, compared to you, in terms of behavior, it's like night and day! But as far as work's concerned, she's really efficient," she finally admitted.
Kiba chuckled at this as he really couldn't deny it – she really did take some serious getting used to, plus he had a feeling she actually liked him, as a person, which greatly facilitated their working relationship but wasn't everyone's case. "Well, she gets along well enough with Mizu, so I reckon the HQ will still be standing when we get back," he reassured her optimistically.
"And Baki has a strong hold over the council, so I think we can be bold and go ahead and say the village of the Hidden Sand itself will fare well without us for a week or two," Kankuro butted in with a smirk, not bothering to avoid his sister's elbow.
"So on a less political note, how's it going with Tsuneo?" Shikamaru wondered with a raised eyebrow. Last he'd heard, that was an area there was no need to worry about, and they'd only be gone for little more than a week, but still – the status-quo could change so quickly, in a relationship…both for the best and the worst!
"Oh, that…well…not to brag or anything but…yeah, we're alright!" Kankuro replied with perfectly faked nonchalance. He looked pretty pleased with himself though.
"Gaara likes him!" Temari added as though it was the most hilarious thing she'd ever been confronted to.
The two Leaf shinobi exchanged glances at this, wondering how that even happened. "What, d'you have him over for dinner or something?" Shikamaru asked as Kiba added a sly, "Or was it breakfast?"
Temari laughed and her grin widened even more at this as she rubbed her brother's arm with something akin to pity. "We were having breakfast the other day, just us siblings, and Gaara goes—"
"Kankuro, I like Tsuneo. I believe he is good for you," Kankuro relayed dutifully, doing a pretty good impression of the Kazekage before sighing woefully about siblings.
"And that's after a few months?" Shikamaru asked with a satisfied smirk and barely concealed amusement at his frenemy's embarrassed expression.
"Man, I guess you'll have no choice but to get married after a year!" Kiba added with a loud barking laugh.
Kankuro just sighed, sparing his sister a sidelong glance. "Now I really understand why you go to such lengths to keep your dating life a secret from him!" he was forced to admit. "He's enjoying this!"
Temari just squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. Yeah, sometimes siblings were a lot to handle.
TBC
Soooo...about Kiba joining the Nara...down the line you'll understand why I went that way even though Shikamaru joining the Inuzuka and learning to speak to nin-dogs would've been awesome...