Rating: T; minor language, fluff, sickness.

Pairing: ShinoxKiba

Disclaimer: I should like to specify my lack of ownership on these two characters. Had I owned them, I would not be making this story—I would be befriending them and hanging out with them far too much to be writing any stories, though I'm sure the—well, Kiba—would support me and get me back into writing.

Warning: Language, angst, anguish, fluff.

Author's Notes: Like I specified in my profile, this will not have much of a serious plot.

And to evaluate a certain point in the story, 103 is a high number because my mom had a temperature of 104 a while ago, and apparently, the nurse said she was supposed to have been dead. Wow.

Dark clouds hung heavy in the late morning, blocking the sun from shining through to the open window and blowing drapes that belonged to the room that was Kiba's. It was breezy and cool, yet however, the temperature in the room continued to rise as Kiba was sweating profusely, tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable in his now uncomfortable room. His breathing was labored and his chest heaved, clad in his boxers, wondering why he felt so uneasy and sick.

Finally giving up, Kiba sat up. He got out of bed, though regretted it as he went light-headed and his world was spinning. He fell to his knees as he tried to steady himself, trying not to collapse. But he couldn't help it—he was growing dizzy and feeling ill. He wanted for Shino to come over, to help him get through with this, but he wasn't sure if maybe he was just suffering from a bad cold. Maybe I can just sleep it off, he reasoned. Maybe it's not that bad… Still, maybe I should try to get a hold of Shino…

Though, luckily for Kiba, Shino had been on his way. It'd been two weeks since their argument, and of course, two weeks since they'd done that. He wanted to see how Kiba was doing, wanted to spend the day with his boyfriend. He had no missions he had to do, as the village was rather peaceful these days. Why not spend it with someone that you loved?

When he arrived at the house, he knocked on the door, expecting Kiba to answer it happily. Instead, there was no response. He arched his eyebrow in confusion, though tried knocking again. Still, there was no response. He wondered why his boyfriend wasn't opening the door. Hesitantly, he opened the door and allowed himself in as he walked to Kiba's room. He opened the door to find a distraught Kiba on the floor with his hands up to his face.

"Kiba," he said, his voice worried.

Kiba looked up to see Shino standing in the doorway with his eyebrows furrowed in worry. "Shino," he said weakly, though with a smile. "What's up?"

"What's wrong?" Shino asked. "You're in no condition to joke."

"Not everything's… a big deal, you know…"

"You're not fooling me," Shino said as he knelt down beside Kiba. He placed a hand on his back, realizing just how hot his boyfriend felt against his palm. "You're on the floor, you're burning up, and all you can do is joke with me? This is not the right time to bring your sense of humor into play. It's really not. Why do you feel the need to joke?"

Kiba coughed a few times and wiped away the sweat, though to no real avail as his entire body was covered in sweat. He scoffed and said, "Guess I'm just not afraid to die…"

"Kiba…" Shino placed his head in Kiba's hair on the back of his head. He moved the arm that was on his boyfriend's back over to his side and clutched him tightly against his own body. Kiba reached a hand up to grab Shino's other sleeve; which Shino used to wrap around the other side of Kiba's body. "I'm going to get a thermometer," Shino whispered into Kiba's hair. Kiba nodded and Shino picked him up and carried him to the bed where he lay his lover down.

Shino walked into the bathroom and went through the drawers and cabinets until he came upon a thermometer. He came back to Kiba's room, walked over to the bed and took a seat next to the dog-lover. Gently, he lifted Kiba up and Kiba opened his eyes. "Kiba, open your mouth," Shino instructed softly. Kiba's mouth went open and Shino stuck the thermometer in, waiting anxiously. Again, Shino brought his head down against Kiba's, leaving behind a sweet kiss.

"Shi… are you scared?" His voice was muffled as he held the thermometer in place while he talked.

Shino looked down at him, and although Kiba couldn't see him behind his glasses, he was worried senseless about Kiba's condition. If Kiba was feeling sweaty, light-headed, and had collapsed on the floor, it said to Shino that it was bad. "Of course I'm scared. If I didn't care about you in the manner that I do, then I would not worry quite as much as I do now."

"I'll be okay," Kiba tried to assure.

Shino's mouth twisted in disbelief as he looked down at Kiba, who was trying hopelessly to smile and get Shino to believe he would be all right. His smile faded when he realized that it wouldn't convince Shino. He looked at the wall in front of him, opposite the wall his bed was against, and rested his head against Shino's shoulder. Shino tightened his grip as he pulled Kiba even closer to him. "I suppose it's all right to check the thermometer about now…" Shino said hesitantly.

Kiba didn't move as Shino removed the foreign object from Kiba's mouth and checked the number. It read: 103. Shino gulped silently at the high number.

"Shino?" Kiba sounded worried as well. "What's wrong?"

"You have a high temperature," Shino said bluntly, unsure if he should say anything else to Kiba. He pulled away and went into the bathroom. He washed the entity of use, and placed it back into its perspective position and location before returning to Kiba. Kiba was looking at him with a confused expression firmly planted on his face.

"Shino? What's wrong? How high's my temperature?"

"High…"

"It can't be that high…"

"It is."

"Oh…"

Kiba looked down for a minute before looking back up. "How high?"

"One-hundred and three."

Kiba flinched slightly, but he wasn't entirely sure of what to say. So I guess I shouldn't have said that… 'I'm not afraid to die'… That's an awesome thing to say… "Uh… I'll get better. Maybe I can sleep it off?"

"That might work," Shino replied, though he was skeptical. He cared for Kiba greatly, and he would surely regret everything if Kiba were to die on him. "I'll stay with you until you wake up."

Kiba smiled, though weakly, and said, "Thanks, Shi."

"I'd rather you didn't."

Kiba frowned. "C'mon, Shino, try to have a little more faith in me than that. I've pulled through on a lot of missions that seemed hopeless. So I've got a fever—big deal, I'll make it."

Shino nodded. He pushed Kiba away for a moment, getting comfortable on the bed, and grabbed a blanket that had been tossed to the side, evidence that Kiba had been trying to find a comfortable position to lie in during the sickness before his own arrival; before wrapping an arm around the dog-lover's shoulder and pulling him into his embrace, a protective clutch. He wrapped his arm around the dog-lover's side and brought his other hand to the side of Kiba's face, holding him close to his heart. Kiba sighed happily, savoring the feeling of Shino's embrace and snuggling even more into him. He let his eyes fall down with a smile, curling an arm up over Shino's torso, next to his face, and grabbed a chunk of Shino's shirt. He moved his face away from Shino's shirt when he felt Shino's fingers curl into his hair, pulling slightly before initially staying in his hair.

"... Love ya, Shi..."

Shino tightened his grip on Kiba's hair, pulling him closer, and whispered, "I love you, too."

Shino awoke to the middle of the night. He wondered for a split second on where he was, but then he realized that there was a sleeping figure atop of him. It was Kiba no doubt, but he wondered how long he'd been asleep. He usually didn't sleep for that long, so it couldn't have been too late...

He turned his head to a desk that was nearby in Kiba's room to read the alarm clock. Unfortunately, it wasn't an alarm clock. He sighed, realizing that he'd either have to move Kiba so that he could reach the light switch next to the doorway, or possibly use one of his kikai to go over and read it, or simply shrug the meaningless curiosity to the side and wait until morning. He realized he hadn't discussed his staying over at Kiba's with his father, but it wasn't as if though Shino had planned the whole situation out. If anything, he would find a way to make wishes and wish for Kiba's health to return back to normal just to save him from going into a nervous breakdown over whether or not his boyfriend was going to die.

Thinking about this jolted Shino's attention. He removed his hand from Kiba's hair and placed it over his heart. It was faint, but it was there. Not that it was faint due to his condition, but more or less because he was sleeping. Shino sighed out of sheer relief as he realized that his boyfriend would be all right. He moved his hand away from the side of Kiba's face and brought it to his forehead, feeling the warmth. It wasn't as hot as it was prior to his sleeping, but it was still warm. He was too lazy to send a kikai forth to read the clock, because as long as he was sure that Kiba was going to be all right, he could sleep soundly.

He brought his hand through Kiba's hair and tightened his grip around the dog-lover's body. He could hear Akamaru walking around Kiba's room, laying himself at the front of the bed. Akamaru let out a whimper of concern, and Shino replied: "He'll be fine. He just needs to sleep." Akamaru remained silent and Shino assumed that he must have been trying to fall asleep, despite his master's condition. Shino tensed when he felt Kiba shift, moving in his embrace, and groaned. He assumed it was due to the discomfort that his lover was experiencing.

Kiba opened his eyes slowly. "Nnn… Shino…" he whispered quickly as he brought a hand up to wipe his eyes. He felt Shino's hand on the side of his face and laced his fingers with Shino's and pulled his hand forward, kissing the back of his hand. Shino smiled at the gesture, tightening his grip on Kiba's hand.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better, I guess."

"'I guess'?"

"It's still there."

Shino used his other hand to tilt Kiba's head forward and gave him a soft and loving kiss, slightly surprised at how easily and eagerly Kiba took the kiss. Shino pulled away to feel Kiba's tongue run up his cheek.

"I thought you wanted to take it slow," Shino said with a smirk.

"We can't make out?" Kiba whined.

"You're sick."

"But your bugs'll wipe it out if you catch it!"

Shino tapped Kiba's nose to scold him. "That isn't fair. Just because I have them, it doesn't mean you can use them as an excuse to ease your sexual frustration."

"You're no fun…" Kiba pouted. "Why can't we make out? It's not like we're going to like, do it."

"Kiba, I think I know you a little better than that. You're hasty when it comes to things. You're not going to simply stop at just 'making out'. You're going to want to go all the way."

"No I won't. I know when to stop."

"You have self-control?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, I do."

"Really?"

Kiba nodded enthusiastically.

"Prove it."

Kiba smiled. Of course, Kiba had full intentions on proving to Shino that he did have self-control. Making out, he thought to himself. Just making out. No sex, no blow jobs, no nothing. I'm not hypocritical… He leaned his face forward, colliding with Shino's. Kiba took Shino's bottom lip in between his teeth, nibbling and chewing on it, causing the Aburame to make a small moan. Kiba wanted more than that from his lover—it was disappointing when you were trying to do something intimate and your partner was silent. Am I that bad? Kiba wondered. They were sharing kisses, Kiba continuously chewing on Shino's lower lip. If I can't chew on mine, I'll just chew on yours… Their tongues began to rub against each other and Kiba moaned into the kiss. Shino brought his hand up to the scruff of Kiba's neck and pulled on the hair before initially pulling him forward, pressing his tongue into Kiba's mouth. Kiba moaned again at the feeling of Shino's tongue against his own and feeling it rub against the top of his mouth.

"Nn... mmm..." Kiba opened his eyes partially as Shino's tongue continuously rubbed against his own tongue and moved throughout his mouth before closing them, getting lost in the moment. He needed something he could do with his hands, needed someplace to put them. He felt like a rag doll keeping them to his sides, hanging like limp appendages with no bones. He brought one arm forward and wrapped it around Shino's neck, and he wrapped his hand around Shino's free hand, the one that was simply sitting on his own thigh, and squeezed it.

And, just when Shino thought Kiba was going to take it farther, Kiba pulled away.

"See? I told you I have self-control." He smirked.

Shino scoffed. "I suppose I can believe you now," he said coolly.

"Cool." Kiba smiled as he removed Shino's hand from the scruff of his hair and curled up against him.

"We cuddle far too much..." Shino complained.

"Oh, whatever, bug-boy." Kiba grabbed a pillow and whacked Shino's head jokingly. "You know you love it when you feel me curl up against you."

"You know," Shino said as Kiba went up to kiss his lover, his eyes going wide at the sudden fragment. "That name is extremely offensive to me. For someone who wants so desperately to be with me, you use awfully hurtful words..."

Kiba cocked his head to the side and furrowed a brow. "You're... you're not seriously hurt about this... are you?"

Shino ran his fingers through Kiba's hair. "No, I suppose not. 'Boy-boy' will simply be looked at as an affectionate nickname from now on." He shifted, pulling Kiba into his lap abruptly before saying: "I just like seeing your reactions. Now," he said, ignoring Kiba's look of irritation, "you're still sick. We can't have that, now can we?" He gave Kiba a kiss on his forehead. "Now sleep."

Kiba whined. "I'm tired of sleeping. Can't we do something else?"

"While you're sick? I don't think so."

"B-but, Shino! I'm feeling a lot better! Really..."

"I won't have it. You said it yourself that you were still sick, despite it not being nearly as strong as it was before you slept."

"Don't you have to go?" Kiba spat, though half-heartedly.

"There's no point now. Besides, I'd rather stay with you."

"Good. I don't want you to leave anyway."

"You make no sense sometimes."

Silence. Shino pondered this sudden silence, along with the conversation/argument they'd just had. It made no sense to Shino why Kiba was saying one thing, but meaning something entirely different. Shino himself wasn't one to truly argue, preferring to keep his emotions to a minimum and agreeing with the person who was trying to argue with him. Emotions were irritating, and they got in the way far too many times. He'd rather stay his regular stoic old self, but something was telling him that Kiba wouldn't allow it. He had so many emotions ranging through him. Shino wasn't entirely sure how to handle all these different emotions, but he at least wanted to try.

"Kiba."

Kiba turned his head, slightly surprised. "Huh?"

"What do you want to do?"

A smile formed on the dog-lover's face, as he looked Shino in the face. He extended his arm as he turned his torso to face Shino better, and wrapped his fingers around one of the arms of Shino's sunglasses. He pulled them off to look at the bug-user's brown eyes.

"Can we get cheeseburgers, please? I really want one of those right now."

Shino smiled and looked at Kiba with warm eyes. "Of course."

Kiba howled with excitement, nearly hopping off his bed, but was halted by a pair of hands wrapped lightly around his waist.

"When the sun comes up and signifies noon."

Kiba face-faulted. "What!" He tried to no avail to remove Shino's appendages from his waist. "Shino! That's not fair!"

"Kiba, I can assure you that it's far too early to get a cheeseburger. It's not healthy to eat this early in the morning anyway."

Kiba pouted. "You always find some way of ruining my fun... You're way too serious, bug-boy. Liven up a little bit and laugh more. Smile. Take off those stupid glasses and go an entire day without wearing them. Maybe you'll make all the girls faint." He nudged Shino's shoulder and gave him a devious grin. "That'd be great! Girls are so stupid."

Shino was confused. One second Kiba was angry, the next he was sad, then he was pouty, then he was smug, and now he was full of distaste, like he was swallowing cooked bile in a smoothie glass filled with various chunks he had to force down with a bitter smile. "Kiba?"

"Nothing. All girls ever do is complain about things that never get done around the house. They complain because they do 'everthing' and nobody ever helps her out or give her a thanks for the nice things she does. And when it's that time of the month, she turns into fucking Satan. She's spittin' venom and flames to anyone who asks her a simple question. And they demand so much attention. Would you think that's annoying after a while?"

"Well... you're a little demanding when it comes to attention."

"Wha--?" Kiba screeched.

"I mean, you require a lot of affection from me. More so than I'm used to. But that doesn't mean I find you annoying."

Kiba let out a puff of air in frustration and childish anger, folding his arms and scowling at the wall he couldn't see on the opposite side of his room. Shino, thinking this whole situation to be cute, brought his face forward and buried it in the crook of Kiba's neck, smiling when Kiba squeaked at the sudden action.

"Shino?"

"Let's just go back to sleep, okay? I promise I'll take you out to eat when we wake up."

"... I guess so."

Shino pulled Kiba back against him and buried his head into Kiba's mass of unruly and sweaty hair, as disgusting as it sounded. I'll give him a bath tomorrow. Hopefully by then, he'll feel much more like Kiba to me...

Dawn arose faster than the two boys expected, but neither one was prepared to brace their eyes for the bright rays that hadn't accompanied them yesterday when they both felt that such a ray would be desirable and hope-giving when they needed it. Kiba was still sound asleep in his dreamland while Shino looked out the window, not quite looking at the sun as it was rising, giving the western hemisphere their need of sleep, and allowed the eastern hemisphere their time of dawning movement. Shino looked down at the sleeping figure below his shoulder and smiled as the sun hit his face, making him glow. Did everyone look cute and young when they were sleeping? It seemed like it; there was so much innocence on a sleeping figure's face, that one couldn't simply deny that the existence of such a sweetness could be plastered on a cold man's face. He frowned suddenly when he realized he'd yet to confront his father about his disappearance, but it wasn't as if though Shibi would be angered with him. By now, being a shinobi, a father, and a husband, he could understand the importance of quality time spent with a lover. Still... Shino couldn't chase away the nagging feeling in the back of his head that he was possibly angering his father for every second that he wasn't home. But he simply shrugged the feeling aside as he tightened his grip on Kiba's body, wondering if he should leave now and surprise Kiba with those cheeseburgers he wanted so badly. He smiled. He knew that if Kiba were to wake without Shino beneath him, he would no doubt through a hissy-fit over his absence and probably go on a hiatus, prohibiting himself from associating with, talking to, or touching Shino... for approximately five minutes. He'd probably whine over the lack of physical communication and the restraint of much needed conversation to fill his love tank. Kiba just couldn't pull off imitating Shino without his emotions coming into play. Although... Shino did enjoy getting a rise out of his younger lover, despite not blatantly expressing these feelings.

Gently, he pulled himself away from Kiba, making sure that Kiba stayed sound asleep. He opened the window that led to the exit of Kiba's house and flashed out to a nearby restaurant. He ordered a couple cheeseburgers and a salad for himself, declining the offer for ranch. He took the packaged and cooked produce and brought it back to Kiba's room. Kiba was still sleeping, but not quite as soundly. He was clutching his pillow, trying to squeeze from it the very warmth that he had gotten when curled up against Shino. His eyebrows were furrowed, almost more in a fearful manner than that of an angry expression. It was almost like he was scared of something. What's wrong? I'm not going anywhere... He set the packaged food down on an empty spot on Kiba's messy dresser top and brought his hand down to Kiba's head, massaging it. He discovered that Kiba found this immensely pleasing for him as his clutch on the wounded pillow relaxed and his harsh facial expression relaxed. He knelt down in front of Kiba, looking him in the face, and gave him a soft kiss on the bridge of his nose. "Feel better soon."

"Shino." Kiba woke abruptly, sitting up quickly, expecting Shino to be somewhere nearby him. Instead, he was unhappy to discover that there was no sign of Shino, yet his smell was strong. He smelled something else, too. He turned his head to the left of his room and spotted on his dresser were two wrapped up cheeseburgers. By now, he assumed, they were probably cold, but that was all right with him. He could just go into the kitchen and pop them in the microwave for a minute or two and they'd be just as good as whenever they'd been brought to him. "Shino..." he whispered, saddened by the lack of his lover. "If I had ears like Akamaru, they'd be down so very far..." He climbed out of bed, took the wrapped up cheeseburgers, and walked into the kitchen. From the cupboard above his head, he grabbed a plate and, after unwrapping his cold burgers, set them on a plate, threw them into the microwave, and turned it on for a minute and thirty seconds. He turned around and let out a silent gasp. Shino was sitting at the table opposite of where Kiba was standing, eating his salad with humble manners.

"Good morning, Kiba," he said, forking at a cherry tomato.

Kiba smiled. "Morning."

Shino stuck his fork into the tomato, causing it to squirt its fluids onto the tray. He brought it to his face and stuck the fork into his mouth before removing it, chewing on the tomato absently. The microwave beeped and Kiba opened the door, removing the plate. "Ow, ow, ow." He nearly dropped the plate onto the table before sitting down. He didn't eat his cheeseburgers right away, instead intent on watching Shino eat his salad. Shino noticed this almost instantly and questioned him.

"What?"

Kiba shook his head. "Nothing."

"Then why are you watching me?"

"Is it bothering you?"

Shino thought about this. "No, I suppose it doesn't, really."

Kiba chuckled. Still, he didn't touch his lunch. Instead, he grabbed the warm plate and placed it to Shino's right before moving himself into the chair next to Shino. He brought his head forward, setting it on Shino's shoulder for a brief moment, about to pull away until he felt a hand touching the side of his face, grabbing onto his hair. He moved it away to resume eating his lunch and Kiba leaned back, ready to take a bite out of his cheeseburgers.

After a long moment's silence, Shino found it necessary to break the comfortable silence.

"How do you feel?"

"Better. Really. We should do something today. Like maybe take a walk around the mountains or something. It's really nice out today, isn't it? I really want to take a walk."

"It was nice this morning when I left."

"You left?" Kiba didn't like that answer.

"I had to if I was ever going to get your cheeseburgers."

"But I thought we were going to go out and get them together."

"If you don't want them, I can shove them in your face and force them down your throat. Or, you can enjoy them as a silent thanks and we can go take a walk around the mountains."

Kiba wasn't sure if that was more of a threat or a promise. He wasn't too fond of the 'force them down your throat part', but he was really hopeful for the 'take a walk around the mountains' part. He wouldn't mind going to the mountains where they'd be alone. They could lie on the ground next to each other and relax, letting time pass them by for the day as they both dozed off into a temporary slumber... That sounded really nice to Kiba. He smiled. He leaned forward and moved the collar down so that Kiba could press a kiss to his lips, causing the Aburame's motions to stop midway, about to stick another tomato into his mouth. "Thanks, Shino."

"Eat, please."

"Okay." Kiba began chewing on his burgers hungrily while Shino continued to eat his salad politely. When they were both finished, Shino sat up and grabbed both his tray and Kiba's plate. He threw his tray into the garbage bin and rinsed off Kiba's plate before walking up to Kiba and offering him his hand. Kiba smiled and took it, happy that his boyfriend was going to take him on a date. ... Sort of.

"Before we go, you need to take a bath," Shino said, tapping Kiba's nose.

"What? Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Aww... But Shino, why?"

"Because. You need it. I'll grab you a couple of towels and a washcloth. Take a shower and we can go."

Kiba pouted.

"I promise we'll leave afterwards. You really need the shower."

Kiba's pout went away, a smirk taking its place. "You have to take one with me."

Shino's eyes went wide. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

Shino let out a silent sigh. "Fine."

"Yeah!" Kiba dragged him into the bathroom.

They walked out the door hand in hand, walking off from the village and into the mountains, where the scenery was beautiful, the trees were healthy shades of green, there were flowers in abundance enough to take even the most stoic of people into a sort of higher dreamland. Kiba let himself fall backwards into a soft patch of grass, letting out an exhale of relaxation. However, he forgot that he still had Shino's hand in his own; therefore, he drug his lover onto the ground as well. Unfortunately for Kiba's own ego, Shino landed with much more grace. Kiba brought his head forward, resting it in the crook of Shino's neck. "Shino?" he whispered, his eyes closed.

"Hm." It wasn't really a question of curiosity, but he was well aware of what Kiba was going to say. However, he'd rather hear it than make himself believe that it was what Kiba was really feeling towards him.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Kiba let out a cough after he turned his head to the opposite direction to avoid coughing in Shino's face. This instantly caught Shino's attention. He started to regret the fact that he had allowed Kiba to go on this walk, realizing that, just because it was nice out, it didn't mean that Kiba was one-hundred percent safe from catching another virus. "Kiba."

Kiba smiled to Shino before taking Shino's arm and wrapping it around him, allowing him to curl up against the older boy, nuzzling and burying himself within the contents of Shino's jacket, getting comfortable. "I'll be okay."

I realize that, the more I add on to this, the less and less words go into each chapter. I fear that, without a plausible cause, or plot, it will result in an evident fade. This has turned more and more into fluff, and, as adorable as fluff is, it means nothing when it is merely that. Especially because I do not believe in simple one-shots containing detailed, lewd behavior, hypocritical as I originally sound upon posting my first chapter.

At this point, I don't feel a need for a fourth chapter. There is an obvious finality in each of the three chapters, and frankly, it makes me wonder if I should ever discontinue this. Perhaps in the future I will write a more lengthy story involving these two characters; with a plot, instead of mindless fluff and adoration.

Having less than 6,000 words, I fear that, as I continue, the numbers will deplete to less than 1,000. Thank You to all the users who made this their favorite and/or left behind a review.