Five Kisses
by: cutecrazyice

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The first time Kiba got a kiss from Sakura was purely, utterly accidental.

They were out on a three-day mission, and bickering during most of the last day—Kiba mostly because it was Akamaru's mating period and the dog was unbelievably antsy, and Sakura mostly because Kiba was too loud and aggravating the issue instead of subduing it. It was supposed to be a simple scroll-retrieval mission, and by now the scroll was stuffed safely in Sakura's hidden pouch. The travel home should have been peaceful and hassle-free, with nobody trailing after them and the next town just a few minutes away.

Should being the key word.

"Look, Sakura, why don't we just stop for an hour? The next town's near and Akamaru and I could really use the break—"

"We don't have time for that."

"But Akamaru is really in heat and he needs—"

"I said we don't have time for that. Akamaru understands and so should you."

To which the talked-about dog only nodded to, eyes shining innocently while Sakura was facing them—then going back to pouting and nipping at Kiba's legs the moment she turned her back.

Another hour later, and he simply could not take it anymore.

"Look, Sakura, why don't we just stop—"

"No."

"But Akamaru is—"

"—behaving himself quite well, if I do say so myself. Kami, Kiba, would you please stop complaining?"

"I am not complaining. I am merely suggesting—"

"Look, this is a mission. We need to get back to our hometown as soon as possible. Period. End of story."

"I know, I know, but we already got the scroll and nobody—"

"Shh! Stop saying scroll! Someone might hear."

"Nobody will hear, woman. We're in civilian territory now, if you care to notice. And jeez—stop interrupting me, would you? You are so stiff."

He was being a prick, he knew that—all the more confirmed when Sakura froze, her head snapping up abruptly. Her green eyes fired up in anger, and she stalked closer until they were nose-to-nose and he could practically feel her breath on him. He was wondering if her sudden temper had something to do with his comment about civilians, or if it was the tone of his voice. It could be because he called her a woman. Or stiff. Or maybe it was her period? He knew how that was, since his sister Hana was practically a monster during that time of the month. He opened his mouth, a gruff apology ready at the tip of his tongue.

"You are such a prick, Kiba."

His mouth snapped shut. He could call himself a prick—but her calling him that?

"You did not just say that," he growled.

"And you should not be calling me a prude," she snapped.

That made him grin, the temper vanishing slightly. He didn't mean it that way, really. He merely wanted her riled up, mostly because those green eyes firing up were really a sight to behold, and she really was pretty hot with that temper of hers these days (not that he would ever consider going at it with her—he was never attracted to the goody-two-shoes type, anyway). But if she wanted to interpret it that way…

"A prude?" he teased.

She glared harder. "Take. That. Back."

His grin widened. "But you are. And the scroll's safe and sound, relax. You're definitely too stiff a woma—oof!"

How it happened, he didn't know. The only thing he could remember was that her hands were suddenly grabbing him and pushing him backward, and initially he thought she was going to punch him. He had a second to see his life flash before his eyes (her reputation alone was enough to make him nearly piss in his pants) before he felt the rough bark of a tree on his back and her hands take hold of his neck (oh, crap, she was going to strangle him to death).

And then he felt something soft come in contact with his lips.

It was her lips.

She was kissing him, and pushing her body against him, and moaning in frantic delight. He had a moment, after the initial alarm, to register that she was a really good kisser, and had a really soft body, and that he really should open his mouth and either protest or kiss her back, because by Kami, she was really going at it and the lovely sound was practically begging him to react (dear hell, was this her way of proving him wrong?), when—

"Oi, you two. What do you think you're doing?"

She pulled away from him before said reaction could happen, leaving him dazed and shocked beyond belief. Then she turned her head to the voice and adapted a demure, apologetic expression.

There were two men standing four meters in front of them. Both were wearing neat uniforms and had unrecognizable headband symbols on their forehead.

Keeping one hand on Kiba, Sakura gazed at the them innocently, her green eyes sparkling with energy and guilt.

"Oh, um…hi. Sorry about that. We, um…got distracted," she said hastily, biting her lower lip. The two men looked at Kiba, then at her, then at the dog.

Akamaru smiled innocently, behaved in his spot beside the tree and wagging his tail in a friendly manner. This seemed to be the catalyst, because one of the men suddenly grinned mischievously, winking at Kiba as he did so.

"Must be your lucky day," he teased. "Your girlfriend can't seem to take her hands off you."

Kiba nodded mutely when he felt one of those hands pinch him in warning—hard.

Since it turned out that they were the village guards and were just passing by because of some disturbance they heard (aka shouts and wails), the so-called couple was left alone, with well-wishes and an advice to be careful (both in the bedroom and out).

The moment they were gone, Sakura quickly removed her hand from behind his neck.

"Next time, I won't be there to save your ass," she hissed.

Then she stomped away, muttering about loudmouths and their carelessness and not even sparing him a second glance. He had a moment to look at her swaying butt before he remembered her temper, and realized that he would probably be killed this time if she caught him looking.

Then he remembered the kiss, and her body against him, and wondered if he was going insane for even thinking about it.

Haruno Sakura tasted like crushed grapes.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The second time Kiba got a kiss from Sakura was purely, utterly accidental.

One week after the scroll-retrieval mission, he was sent into another, and came home bloodied and bruised and teeth just about ready to fall off. He was brought into the hospital right away, where Sakura was the one on shift and there was nothing he could do but let her heal him.

That day, she was as sweet as sugar frosting on a cupcake.

And very cheerful.

"Alright, Kiba, looks like you're all cleaned up. Be careful next time, neh? We don't want any more injuries, especially since good shinobi like you are hard to come by."

If he wasn't so bloody tired, his jaw would have dropped at the compliment. She chattered some more, cooed over Akamaru a bit, before waltzing off to the next patient after deeming him healthy and functional.

Not one word about last week, how she nearly bit his head off, then kissed him senseless afterward.

Then bit his head off again.

That night, he smelled crushed grapes in his dreams.

The next night was Ino's birthday, and everyone in their batch was invited to the club bash, along with some other people they got acquainted with on certain missions. He was late and the party was already swinging, with Naruto and Lee in the middle of the dance floor, wiggling their hips and raising their arms wildly (drunkenly) in the air.

The first thing he did when he arrived was look for a head with pink hair—a reflex that annoyed him so much that he immediately went to the nearest girl available to flirt his heart out. The girl was obviously enjoying it, as she flirted back, hands caressing his shoulders in appreciation and lips whispering naughty, naughty things in his ear. She excused herself for a while, promising him seductively that she would be back. Kiba grinned and went for the bar himself, drinking one cup of sake before heading to the area where the girl would return.

He was interrupted when a hand suddenly shot out from nowhere, pulling his shirt and dragging him to a dark corner. Then there was a giggle, and a voice.

"There you are."

It was Sakura, her back against the wall and him against her. Her eyes were dazed, and her words were slightly slurred.

"What?" he asked dumbly.

"I've been waiting for you," she whispered huskily, nibbling on his ear as she did so. Something like lightning shot through his spine, and traveled downward.

"Wha—"

Then it was her hand that was traveling downward, moving over his stomach and fumbling over his zipper, and he suddenly forgot to breathe.

"Do you know how glorious it is to be drunk and never have to worry about having to shut up? I've been wanting to do this for a long time now."

Huh.

"Sakura—"

"Shh. You'll enjoy this," she promised darkly. Without warning, she flipped him until their position was similar to how it was in the forest more than a week ago.

Then her hand snaked in, grabbing him at the same time that she pressed her mouth to his, and all thoughts of what he was going to say flew straight out of his head.

This, this kiss, was open-mouthed—and hotter than any of the kisses he ever remembered experiencing. Her hand was rubbing him sensually and her mouth was doing the most wonderful things, and he found himself responding. The taste of crushed grapes was stronger, more potent than ever. Occasionally, her mouth would stray, and so would his, and it would just burn hotter when she would moan in delight and move against him, as if straining to get closer.

It burned even hotter, like an inferno, when she started whispering dirty things in his ear.

"I've been fantasizing about this, you know," she murmured breathlessly, hands fluttering over his stomach, under his shirt. "Sexing you up, licking you all over. Oh, sensei, your kiss is wonderful and your hands are like magic, I want them inside my—wait a minute."

She stopped, eyes narrowing even while she swayed slightly to stay upright. Through the sex-induced haze in his mind, he saw her focus on his face, her nose scrunching and her brows furrowing.

Her eyes suddenly widened, and she glared.

"You're not Kakashi!" she accused. Then she stumbled off (very drunkenly, giggling as she did so), leaving him speechless and dumbstruck.

And very, very aroused.

And feeling very stupid.

Kakashi, of course, did not show up (he never did), which had Shikamaru responsible in taking the drunk—and passed out—pink-haired kunoichi home (due to his girlfriend Ino's incessant nagging). Since Kiba had to take Shino home himself (who was surprisingly drunk as well, and singing along softly to the song Naruto was shouting out loud), he could only find this relieving, because he really did not know how to deal with this kind of situation.

Wonderfully harassed by a girl and shamelessly turned down by the same girl—all within a matter of minutes.

She was not good for him.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The third time Kiba got a kiss from Sakura was purely, utterly accidental.

He had been avoiding her for a good three weeks now—something that he never did with other people, considering his viewpoint that avoidance really solved nothing, and it was better to face things head-on.

Usually, the same principle applied to girls. He was the one who did the chasing, as long as they showed him just a whiff of interest. Hell, even a smile would suffice—as long as the girl was single and willing. And hot.

Well, okay…so maybe it was the girls who did most of the chasing. He did his part, too, though, by responding and eventually getting them in the sheets. They never regretted it, of course, and things always went smoothly, no matter how long or short the affair was.

But things were different with her.

He could not pinpoint exactly why, except for the fact that she did not dig him. That much was obvious now, especially with the way she kept making excuses to heal Kakashi, to train with Kakashi, to eat with Kakashi. How Naruto had not realized this (or even Kakashi, for that matter), he could not even begin to comprehend. Maybe it was because Kiba already knew anyway, especially after what happened during their little…escapade. And because he knew, he was able to observe and come to the conclusion that Sakura lusted over her ex-sensei more than she cared to admit, but didn't have the courage to pursue it when she was sober.

This annoyed him thoroughly.

Why waste your time on someone who clearly did not see you that way?

Four weeks after the party incident, the inevitable thing happened, and they got assigned together on a mission once more—the team consisting of her, him and none other than Kakashi. It wasn't a simple scroll-retrieval mission this time, and it took them ten days to complete it before traveling back to their hometown—a time which was spent by Sakura chattering endlessly with Kakashi and being chummy with him, completely ignoring Kiba (but not Akamaru—she seemed to adore the dog too much) unless it was to tend to the wound he had acquired during a short fight with an enemy nin.

This, of course, completely annoyed him further.

When it was obvious that her ex-sensei was indifferent (and very clueless) and Sakura was getting too obvious in trying to get his attention, Kiba knew enough was enough. On the next rest stop, the minute Kakashi perched himself on a tree branch to continue reading his little porn book and Sakura dragged Kiba to sit near the riverside to check on his wound, he decided that avoiding too much was just plain useless.

It wasn't his style, anyway.

"What exactly do you see in him?"

She froze in the act of removing his bandage.

"What?"

He grimaced. "You obviously want to get in his pants. Why?"

Shocked at his words, she quickly removed her hands, mouth gaping.

"That is not—I never said—Kakashi—"

He smirked. "I didn't mention a name, Sakura."

She spluttered, her eyes lighting up in fury. "You conceited ass!"

Instead of being offended, he merely tilted his head. "You didn't answer my question," he reminded.

"Well, it's none of your business!" she hissed, her cheeks turning pink. "And I don't want to get in his pants—"

"You've been flirting with him since our mission started—"

"That is absurd! He's my ex-sensei and of course we're close—"

"Care to mention the lust in your eyes whenever you're around—"

"Shh! Shut up," she whispered furiously, "It's none of your business!"

"You want to jump him so bad?"

"It's none of your business!"

"Why are you ignoring me?"

"It's none of your busi—"

She stopped mid-sentence, and much to his surprise, went from pink to a bright, bright red. Then, as if steeling herself, she sighed and tried to control her embarrassment.

"It's awkward," she mumbled, going back to focus on his bandages.

"What the hell is awkward?" he demanded. "Having the hots for an old man?"

"No!" she shot back. "And he's not that old, mind you. I'm talking about what happened at…the party. The…you know."

Kiba nearly fell off his perch on the fallen log when he realized what she was talking about. This time, it was him who gaped.

"You remembered?"

"Yes," she replied bluntly, putting chakra into his scar.

"And you've been ignoring me because of that?"

"I was drunk," she continued, as if he had not spoken at all. "But I remembered parts of it. And I'd rather not talk about it, or remember it."

He didn't know why, but this angered him so much that just like before, he blurted out what temper dictated him to.

"Good. You weren't that good, anyway."

She froze again, her hand pausing on his arm and her chakra dissipating.

"What?"

He scoffed. "I bet if it was Kakashi you really seduced that night, you would turn him off faster than you could say horny—ouch!"

Her grip on his arm tightened, causing him to yelp. He thought he heard a dim creak of bones, which caused him to panic.

"What the hell—damn it, Sakura! You nearly broke my arm!"

"I was drunk," she snapped at him, "Of course it wasn't top performance!"

Well. Huh. What do you know?

"Stop breaking my arm," he growled.

"Sorry!" she growled back, "But you were out of line!"

"Well, I was telling the truth!" he retaliated.

"I'm amazing when I'm sober!" she yelled, almost petulantly.

"I wouldn't know that!" he shouted.

"Well, now you will!" she screamed.

And before he knew what was happening, he was suddenly engulfed in warmth as she pressed herself closer and pulled his head down.

She kissed him to prove a point.

It wasn't, to Kiba's knowledge, as hot and eager as the kiss they shared back at the party. It wasn't even as fast, nor as sensual, as the way she touched him back then. This kiss was furious, so furious that he could almost taste it in her mouth, along with the frustration—two emotions that dwindled down as the kiss prolonged, until he was responding against his own will and kissing her back like his sanity depended on it. He tasted the familiar grape in her mouth, and let his tongue trace every curve, every corner, until her breath became uneven and her kiss technique became shyer, slower, clumsier.

Kami, but she was sweet.

He didn't remember how she ended up sitting on his lap, or how her hands ended up flattened uncertainly on his chest , or how his ended up on the smooth curve of her neck, angling her head to deepen the kiss, to get to hear that lovely sound she was producing to come out more. The sober Sakura was more potent than the drunk one, even more so because he actually didn't want to get her on her back with her legs spread open—he just wanted to stay here like this, with her sitting on him, her mouth on his, kissing and kissing until—

"Er…I suppose I just interrupted something crucial."

They abruptly drew apart at the sound of the voice. Kiba watched Sakura's eyes grow from dazed to shocked to horrified all within seconds, until the last expression remained as she looked at the person who had spoken.

Kakashi looked back, a happy crease in his eye while he scratched his head sheepishly.

"I just thought we should head on now and looked for you guys and didn't know I was interrupting so—I'm sorry, I should I go back to my perch and leave you two until you're done? I'm still on page 24 of Icha-Icha and I'll happily wait until you guys are…satisfied."

It was obvious the last sentence was based on Kiba's very vicious glare.

Sakura stood up abruptly, cheeks blushing then paling and stammering for all she was worth.

"No, no, it was nothing," she reasoned out, moving away from Kiba as fast as she could.

"Yes, it was," Kiba muttered. "We were making out. Passionately."

"It was an experiment!" she snapped.

"A not-so-successful one," he blatantly lied.

Realizing what he meant, she glared at him, her mouth snapping open then closed.

"You are such a bastard," she hissed.

He stared her straight in the eye, letting her know exactly what he thought of that and the kiss.

"My pleasure," he murmured sincerely.

She blushed a beet red again, before stalking off and muttering about jerks and their unbelievable ego.

The moment she was gone, Kakashi turned to him, regarding him almost curiously.

"Hmm. Wonder how that started."

Grimacing, Kiba took hold of his arm, which was now throbbing painfully.

"She tried to break my arm," he replied. "I distracted her."

Then he stalked off, too, leaving Kakashi to wonder again what that was supposed to mean.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The fourth time Kiba got a kiss from Sakura was purely, utterly accidental.

One month later and it was mission time again, with only the two of them tasked to retrieve a stolen necklace that a certain Daimyo wanted from a rival from another village. The Daimyo was very desperate to the point of accompanying Kiba and Sakura every step of the way, and what was supposed to be a retrieval mission ended up being an escort one as well. It didn't help that the Daimyo, a middle-aged man with a penchant for pretty things (which included people, of course), seemed to take a certain liking to Sakura that bordered on creepy.

"How old did you say you were, my dear?"

"I'm twenty-one."

"Ah, the age of becoming. Splendid, splendid." He said this while looking at Sakura's legs.

"Actually," Kiba scoffed, "When it comes to the age of becoming, we ninjas have it at twelve."

The Daimyo gave Kiba a disapproving look, before turning back to Sakura and smiling charmingly.

"You know, when I was in my youth, a lot of girls competed to get my attention—but none of them were as pretty as you, my dear."

"Er…thanks."

"So tell me…do you prefer older men?"

"She prefers teachers," Kiba supplied in a helpful tone.

The Daimyo seemed to be taken aback by this, before recovering his composure and staring at Sakura curiously.

"Really? I've been a teacher myself once or twice, back during the days."

The answer was so blatantly hopeful that Kiba had to prevent himself from snickering and Akamaru from barking out in amusement (obviously the dog thought it was funny, too). As nonchalantly as he could, he supplied an answer once more.

"Especially teachers she's been under," Kiba said, aware of his double entendre but not really caring. Obviously, Sakura was aware of the double meaning too, because she turned her head to give Kiba a ferocious warning glance before focusing her eyes ahead.

"I'm not into dating right now," she informed the Daimyo politely.

"Well, she's into making out," Kiba commented.

"And he's delusion—"

"And kissing guys in the dark," Kiba added.

"Ridicu—"

"And seducing unwilling people."

"Manipulative people," Sakura corrected. Then, realizing what she had just said, she clamped her mouth shut, blushing furiously.

"She also likes guys her age," Kiba informed the Daimyo, who by now was looking at the two of them oddly.

Sakura scoffed. "Delusional, I tell you."

"In fact," Kiba went on, as if not hearing her at all, "she likes guys her age so much that she kisses them as much as she likes—wait, no. She kisses one guy as much as she likes. Couldn't keep her hands off him. Wants to keep on touching him. Maybe she can't resist him."

"Screw that guy," Sakura growled.

"Honey, I think that guy has been anticipating that since day one," Kiba whispered.

To which Sakura blushed even worse, before focusing on the road ahead again and muttering under her breath most of the time.

The necklace retrieval was easy enough, except when some of the Daimyo's rival's most devoted followers tried to track them down and attack them when they were most unaware, having nearly arrived in non-enemy territory. The attack led the Daimyo to whimper in fright and vowing never to leave his village again, Kiba to curse vehemently and have Akamaru bark with him, and Sakura to be injured, as a poison needle ended up getting stuck in her leg. It wasn't that deadly a poison, but it did make her weak, losing her chakra temporarily.

Which Kiba deduced was not a good thing, considering the injury worsening and her supposedly being the medic to cure it. So with determination, he ended up dragging them to a stop and using his chakra to close her wound.

"Leave me alone."

"Not possible."

"Leave. Me. Alone."

"I said not possible."

"I said leave me—"

"Would you quit it, woman? You are so loud."

Sakura grimaced, but quieted down when she realized she was not going to win this argument. Not uttering a single word, Kiba motioned for her to sit down on the only available rock plastered beside a huge tree and proceeded to let his chakra swirl in his hand, trying to keep it focused on his fingers (how she did that so easily, he would never know) like tiny needle points. Then he placed the hand on her leg, letting the energy seep through her pores to the area where her skin had grown visibly violet. When he was done, the color lessened, and she wiggled her leg left and right experimentally.

He couldn't help it. He had to ask her again.

"What do you see in Kakashi?"

He almost felt her stiffen, as her hands paused in their movements and her eyes flickered down to stare at his. He simply maintained the eye contact, letting her know he was serious about the question and he wasn't just teasing this time. Or being sarcastic.

Finally, with a sigh, she relented.

"He's honest and responsible, behind all that façade," she explained.

Silence.

"And he takes care of me. He makes sure I'm doing okay, all the time," she continued.

Silence.

"And he's…hot." She mumbled the last words out.

He raised an eyebrow at that. She blushed.

And then, suddenly, he couldn't help himself. It seemed that when it came to her, all self-control was abandoned and he had no choice but to let instinct dictate action and let nature take its course.

He deliberately moved closer, until he was crowding her in.

"So…does that mean I'm not hot?" he asked softly, making sure to let his breath touch her skin so she can feel its warmth.

She practically stuttered. "W—what?"

"You don't find me attractive at all?"

She made a move to back off, realizing only too late that she couldn't—behind her was the bark of the tree, and in front of her, all over her…was him.

"No," she blurted out, shifting her eyes from left to right, anywhere but at him. They flew straight back to him, however, when she felt his finger on her chin, slightly tracing.

"So you're not tempted at all?" he whispered, leaning even closer.

"No," she whispered back frigidly.

"Not even…a little?" His finger traced the bottom of her lip, feeling its softness.

"No," she repeated adamantly. Oh, her tone was cold, alright, and determined.

But her eyes. Her eyes were now fixed on him, and he could see. He could see what was in them.

"I'll change your mind," he murmured, lips inches from hers.

Her mouth parted (against her will, he was sure of it) slightly.

And then, just as he was about to back off—because he would never dare do this, not without her full consent—and let her wonder what this kiss was going to be like—

TWEEEK.

Startled, they ended up simultaneously swiveling their heads, her lips accidentally brushing his with the movement. A second to taste the heat, before they backed away as if a bomb had been dropped in between their faces.

Their client, the Daimyo, was standing in the middle of the little clearing, staring at them in absolute shock.

Silence. Then…

"Sakura…I thought you preferred older men?"

Immediately, Sakura pushed Kiba off her, standing up and muttering about how they were going to be late if they didn't hurry up. Then she proceeded ordering them to move on and follow her, walking as fast as her feet would take her.

Trying not to laugh again, Kiba stood up as well, beckoning Akamaru to follow him.

"Come on, Sir. She's the boss."

The Daimyo merely stared at their backs, wondering if all shinobi were this insane.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The first time Kiba ever gave a kiss to Sakura was purely, utterly intentional.

After coming home from a rather brutal mission, ending up with him carrying a half-dead Hinata in his arms, he spent almost six days in the hospital, five days of the six unconscious and running on medicine and chakra in his system.

When he woke up, he found Shino sitting beside him in a chair, reading a magazine.

His voice came out as a croak on his first word.

"Hinata?"

Shino put the magazine down. "She's doing okay. Healing up very nicely."

Good. That was good.

"Akamaru?"

"At home with your sister. She's taking care of him really well."

Even better.

"Where am I?"

"You're in heaven," Shino deadpanned, to which Kiba grinned. People who didn't know the bug guy always thought he had a stick up his ass—which was totally not the case, as his few close friends could attest.

"I'm hungry," Kiba suddenly demanded. As if on cue, his stomach grumbled loudly, indicating that he hadn't eaten a decent meal in days. Spotting the apples perched on top of the drawer behind Shino, Kiba made a move to sit upright—and ended up groaning a bit when he felt his new stitches stretch.

Which reminded him…

"Who healed us?"

"Tsunade-sama," Shino replied automatically, handing Kiba one of the apples. He hungrily bit into it, making an effort not to show his disappointment.

"Oh. So, no assistant? Shizune? Sakura?"

Shino stared at him underneath the shades (or at least, that's what it looked like). "Why would she need one?"

Which, when you thought about it, actually made sense. She was one of the best, for Kami's sake. Of course she could do it by herself without a sweat. Piece of cake.

He ate his apples glumly.

"You know what I heard, though?"

"Hm?" Kiba replied, completely uninterested.

"That Sakura almost had a huge row with the Hokage. She was doing Kakashi's annual physical the day you guys came home, and demanded to be let in the operation to assist. Not that Tsunade-sama let her in."

The apple almost fell out of his hand. Opting not to look bothered, Kiba bit into it again.

"Wonder why that happened," he said casually.

"Yeah, I wonder why," Shino seconded, a knowing tone in his voice. "Anything going on that I should know about?"

Kiba shrugged. "Not really."

Not yet.

Unable to help himself, the grin appeared again as he chewed on his food with much more enthusiasm.

The next day, when he was deemed healthy enough to be discharged from the hospital, he visited the Yamanaka's flower shop first, ordering two large bouquets before going back to the hospital to give one to Hinata (and fuss over her for at least two hours) and dropping by Sakura's apartment to place the other on her front steps, since he didn't know where she was at the moment.

The day after that, early in the morning, a knock came at his door, waking him up in the middle of a lovely dream where he was eating tons and tons of grape ice cream (his latest guilty pleasure). Scratching his head and muttering under his breath at the disturbance, Kiba opened the door, ready to yell at whoever the intruder was.

Sakura stood on his front porch in her day-off get-up of denim shorts and a white shirt with the words "Hospital Hottie" in the middle. She looked absolutely adorable in it.

And very, very flustered.

"Um…sorry for disturbing you. Just wanted to say thank you for the flowers. So, uh…bye."

And then she practically ran off, not giving him a chance to say anything. He absorbed this for a few seconds, before looking down at himself. Shirtless. Bright green fuzzy slippers (which belonged to his sister!) and white boxers with multiple pink bunnies in them (WHICH BELONGED TO HIS SISTER!). He gave one loud curse, before running off after her.

"Sakura! Hey, Sakura!"

Because having to keep up with Akamaru made him a very fast runner, he was able to catch up.

"Hey, HOSPITAL HOTTIE!"

She stopped at that, glaring at him. Then her eyes widened when she saw that he had not changed his attire at all, and was in fact inserting a finger inside his mouth and letting chakra flow – a technique which she knew all too well, since she was the one who taught it to Naruto before making the moves on any girl, to make sure all signs of bad breath were eliminated.

"You're gonna get sick, walking around like this," she lectured.

"I'm responsible," he explained, as if she hadn't spoken at all. "If I wasn't, Akamaru wouldn't be as healthy as he is right now—healthy and strong and smart, that's the kind of dog he is."

Eyebrows furrowing in confusion, Sakura nodded. "Um…okay."

"And I'm honest," he went on, still ignoring her comments. "So honest, in fact, that you'd probably be offended if I told you what I was thinking right now."

Since he was looking at her lips when he said that, there was no doubt that she got his meaning. He stepped closer as understanding slowly trickled to her face, her eyes widening all the more and her mouth dropping open.

"And I'm hot. You can ask the girls around here. They can testify to that."

Her mouth instantly snapped close. "Oh, I'm sure they could," she snorted, folding her arms. They were only inches apart now, and really, he had only one more thing left to say.

"And I'll take care of you, for sure," he murmured. "I'm loyal. Extremely loyal. I'll be loyal and attentive to all your needs—"

"Oh, shut it, you perv—"

"—because I know how hard your job is. I'll make sure you're doing okay all the time," he finished.

"That is the lamest, most absurd, corniest line I have ever—"

He backed her into the nearest wall, and shut her up in the most convenient—and most delicious—way he could think of. He kissed her talking mouth softly, drawing her into the moment before changing the kiss from slow to all-consuming, until he was sure he was the only one she was thinking of.

When he broke free, he was satisfied to see that her eyes had closed, and her hands that were about to push him away were stuck in mid-air, frozen. She opened her green eyes, looking a little bit dizzy.

"Want to go out with me?" he asked casually.

"Not really," she answered defiantly.

He kissed her again until her hands slowly, slowly melted on their own accord and rested lightly on his morning-cold chest.

"Want to go out with me?" he repeated.

"What's the point?" she replied breathlessly. "All we have going between us are the kisses."

He kissed her yet again—not much of a resistance now—not to prove a point. He was simply enjoying it now, and thought that he was not going to stop enjoying this.

"That's a good enough start for me," he murmured against her lips, nipping slightly.

Her breath quickened. "Um."

Chuckling, he nipped again. "Tempted yet?"

"I'm still thinking," she mumbled, looking like she was trying to keep her wits about her.

"Forget about your sensei," he said.

She did not freeze at that. Instead, she stared into his eyes, seeing the sincerity there. And the apparent nervousness (which he was obviously trying to hide), coupled with determination and half-hope.

Silence.

Then she smiled what Kiba thought was a small, sweet smile.

"Sensei who?" she whispered.

Then he couldn't smile back anymore, because it was like a magnet was pulling them closer and he could not help his head from dipping to taste her again—after all, her answer was as good as a yes, and if she still hadn't realized that they were backed up in a wall outside of her sensei's house (yes, the sensei they were talking about—who was obviously listening in and very amused, based on the way he happily returned to his orange novel, after peeking down from his perch on the roof to see the commotion), well then…he'd rather she not know it. He kissed her.

And this time, she kissed him back.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

a/n: written on October 2010...I think. I can't even remember anymore. XD

I always can't seem to think of how to write them together, even if I love reading about the pairing. I think they're adorable together.

Anyway, happy reading! Reviews are love. :)