A/N - I have changed some things to seperate the parts a little bit better, because ridiculous spacing totally ruins the flow of the story

Kankurou closed his eyes. He was too tired to move. He could hear voices in the distance, calling him. Hands shook him, or touched his face in order to wake him up. Others sat down next to him, trying to stop the bleeding.

But he sank away into darkness, it felt strangely soothing and awfully familiar.

It was the same darkness that had been with him after right after Sasori had poisoned him.

-

A small laugh escaped her mouth while he tickled her.

"Kiba...don't" Hinata muttered, a smile on her face.

The Inuzuka pulled her close, nuzzling her neck. "Heh" he hummed softly, his nose bathing in the sweet scent of her perfume.

It had been at least 6 months after Kiba saw Kankurou for the last time. He stopped bothering to send messages to Suna, as far as he knew he had closed the chapter. Right now he was a happy man. He had Hinata, he finally had her.

Kiba was just about to kiss her again, showing her he was feeling the happiest man in Konoha right now until Shino appeared not far from them. As usual Kiba couldn't read him. Not only because his face was always hidden behind glasses and clothes, also because he never showed emotions. But despite being a social outcast he was aware of everything around him. And this time was no exception.

Kiba could feel Shino staring at him behind those glasses.

"Your friend Kankurou got severely injured" he said, the sound of his voice muffled by the collar of his coat.

The Inuzuka blinked a couple of times, as if he got thrown of that happy cloud he lived on while being with Hinata and falling right back on the hard surface of planet Earth.

"Huh? Kankurou?".

"They brought him to the Konoha hospital".

"Why? What?".

"Closer than Suna".

-

Kiba's eyes flew open. He was still in his bed, and he was still worried. Worried to death. He snuggled closer to his dog Akamaru who was taking in at least half of the bed.

"Should I go visit him?".

The dog blinked a couple of times before uttering a low howling sound.

"Hmmm" was Kiba's reaction. "But I'm so worried, you know".

Akamaru repeated the sound, making his master know it was Kankurou who treated him like crap.

The Inuzuka sighed, closing his eyes while patting Akamaru on the back.

-

Ofcourse he had thought about the moment he would see the puppeteer again. He even had played out entire scenarios about how he should ignore him. But this situation wasn't one of those.

Kankurou wasn't awake and the only scent that Kiba's nose could catch up was the one of blood.

"You idiot.." Kiba muttered while he examined the Sand ninja's pale face and the bandage that was firmly wrapped around his head.

Against all odds it pained him to see how he was struggling to breathe. It pained him more then he could ever imagine. As if it was his mother or sister laying there.

The Inuzuka leaned forward to adjust the oxigenmask that was placed over his mouth, hoping it would make him breathe more easily.

Kiba touched Kankurou's cheek and wished he could just take the pain away.

He leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, listening to the steady beeps coming from the monitor next to the bed. The only sound that interrupted those beeps was Kankurou coughing, trying to free his lungs from whatever what was bothering them.

And Kiba stayed.

As if all the happiness he felt when he was with Hinata didn't matter anymore.

-

He hadn't expect to see the light again. The darkness felt so comfortable, there wasn't any pain, there wasn't anything he could worry about. If Kankurou was concerned he would stay there forever. But his body decided to protest against his will.

First there was too much light coming in. It hurt his eyes and he squeezed them shut almost directly after he had tried to open them.

Then he was able to blink before his sight came back a bit. Everything was a blur. The only thing Kankurou realized was that he was laying in a bed.

He coughed, his chest aching beyond belief. It cut off his air and he could feel his head spinning when he tried to sit up.

Damn, he should have stayed in that darkness.

And there was a voice. Right next to him.

"Kankurou... Don't force yourself".

A hand supported him when he layed back between the sheets again.

"Just relax a bit" the voice said, close to his ear now.

The hand that was supporting him just yet was now wiping the hair out of his face. He could see a pair of familiar slanted eyes, red marks and that unruly brown hair as a finishing touch.

Kiba.

Kiba?

"Ki..bah?" he uttered, as if he still couldn't quite believe it. As far as he knew he wasn't deserving this. Injured or not, he could still remember he had been a jerk.

"Just get some sleep" was the Inuzuka's answer. His voice sounded so caring, worried and tender at the same time.

It made him want to say a thousand of things, but not one word could make it out of his mouth.

-

"Just be careful" Hinata had said, aware of the things that had happened between her boyfriend and the puppeteer he visited every day.

Kiba had answered her with a nod and a smile. There was nothing to worry about. Kankurou appearantly had decided to try not to be an asshole.

Kiba was still fascinated by the Sand ninja's appearance, by the way he talked, moved. How he let him know he was appreciating the fact he had come by.

But despite all those reasons he had against it he found himself sitting on top of Kankurou, straddling his legs while his arms snuck around his waist. Kiba was anwering his kiss. A totally different kiss from the kisses Kankurou used to give. This one was sweet, incredibly gentle. Almost careful, afraid he might break Kiba.

"I...am sorry..." he whispered, lips moving angainst his. The words came out slowly, probably because of the medicine the medics gave him.

"It's...it's okay.." Kiba answered before diving into that delightful kiss again. It felt like he was simply drowning into Kankurou's presence.

A painful groan from Kankurou's mouth made Kiba break the kiss. He saw the puppeteers eyes narrow a bit as he tried to adjust his position.

"I need to get out of here..." he muttered, still obviously in pain. There was a slight sign of irritation visible on his face. The Inuzuka decided to back off a little, carefully crawling off him to realize he had made a mistake by giving in to kissing Kankurou again.

"Hn..don't go now" Kankurou muttered while he tried to stop Kiba from crawling away from him by reaching out his left arm.

He really didn't want Kiba to go anywhere because right now he really needed the young Leaf ninja. He had become much more then just something he used to amuse himself with. And he felt just terribly lonely.

Happy.

He was downright happy when Kiba turned around halfway, his feet already dangling above the floor but not showing any further signs of leaving. Kankurou gave him a slow smile. And Kiba smiled back, crawling back onto the bed to find himself a spot right next to the Sand ninja.

That little mutt was strangely attractive to him, almost to that point beyond just being attracted to a person.

The main problem was that Kankurou would never admit such things to himself and definetly not to Kiba.

His eyes closed when he felt Kiba's lips grazing the skin of his neck, sometimes leaving small nips and licks.

He could definetly get used to this.