Falling for the First Time
By Taitofan
Rated PG-13 for yaoi and slight lime
Disclaimer: Hmm… Are Kankurou and Kiba an honest-to-God couple? No? Then I guess Naruto isn't mine…
Authors Note: Well, here's that prequel I was talking about. I'm on a roll people; viva la KanKiba! Here's what happened the morning/afternoon before "Crazy Glaring Dogs." If you read this, imagine that fic happening a few hours or so later. Some minor OOCness and a bunch of spoilers (and ignoring of some canon facts here and there) scattered about, so beware if you haven't been keeping up with the manga! Want me to do more in this mini-story line? Ask and you shall receive!
Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 2-21-05
Kankurou couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this nervous. Surely, it must have been back before the Chuunin Exam, back when he was constantly afraid of Gaara murdering him in his sleep. But now Gaara was slightly saner, and Kankurou had stopped fearing for his life. But as afraid as Gaara had made him, this was even worse. At least with Gaara he'd gotten used to it, but this nervousness he was feeling now was a completely new feeling to him.
He mentally berated himself for being so foolish, but he couldn't help it. After all, he was going to do something he'd never done in his entire life, something that could mean eternal happiness or total humiliation…
He was going to ask Kiba Inuzuka out on a date.
Kankurou had never asked anyone out on a date before. He'd never wanted to. If Temari wanted to spend "quality time" with Tenten, that was fine. And if Gaara wanted to crush over Naruto and not even realize it, that was good for him. But Kankurou had been totally content being single… Until he'd actually noticed Kiba.
Sure, he'd seen the younger boy during the Chuunin Exam, but he'd never really paid attention to him. But then the "Super Team" had gone after Sasuke and the Sand Siblings had needed to help them. Temari had gone after Shikamaru, while Gaara had aided Lee. It made sense, considering they'd both dealt with the boys before. But Kankurou hadn't known any of them all that well, and as fate had it, he'd come across a seriously injured Kiba and his dog first.
So Kankurou defeated Sakon and Ukon and saved Kiba and Akamaru. It wasn't like they'd really bonded or anything. Kiba had pretty much told him to watch out while Kankurou commanded his puppets to take out the enemies. After that, Kankurou had gotten the younger boy to safety and that had been that. The Super Team went home, and the Sand Siblings went back to Hidden Sand.
Well, for a little while at least. It wasn't long after that time when Naruto left Konoha and the Sand Siblings found themselves there more and more. At the current time, they had been there for a full two weeks, and still had a few more weeks until they were to leave. Even then, it probably wouldn't be long before they'd be back. So Kankurou intended to take full advantage of the time he'd been given and ask Kiba out.
His attraction hadn't been a sudden thing; the day in the woods had only started the whole thing. After that, Kankurou found himself watching Kiba practicing without even realizing that he was doing so. All of a sudden it would click, 'Hey, I'm watching that Kiba kid practice… Weird…' That went on for a while, until no matter where he saw Kiba, whether it be in the streets or in a store, he'd start thinking, 'Oh, Kiba! Yay! Hmm, I wonder what he looks like in leather… Sexy…'
Needless to say, the first time he thought along those lines, he'd been extremely confused. After all, he'd never had a crush before. Not even on a girl, let alone a guy! But he wouldn't deny that he thought Kiba was tremendously good-looking. So he just accepted it. He liked Kiba. No big deal. Oh no, the only big deal would be asking him out…
He honestly had no clue how to go about doing so. Sure, he could ask Temari, but somehow he had a feeling that would do more harm than good. And asking Gaara was the most ridiculous idea in the whole world, leaving no one left to go to for advice. He supposed that he'd just have to wing it, hope that he didn't make a complete fool of himself, and pray that Kiba didn't reject him. Or at least, pray that Kiba would let him down gently and not laugh in his face.
At the present moment, Kankurou was standing in the park, watching Kiba spar with Shino. Hinata was watching her teammates carefully, while Kurenai only seemed to be half watching them. It was often like this, and Kankurou was grateful, this way he was never seen and caught. If anyone did notice him, they never said anything. Kankurou honestly had no idea what he'd say if someone asked why he was always watching Team 8. Would he tell the truth, that he did it just for a glimpse of the way Kiba looked after a good sparing match, panting and sweaty and oh-so-delicious looking? The puppeteer hoped he'd never be in that situation. It could prove to be the most embarrassing thing he'd ever experience…
'Oh, I think Kiba is winning… No, those stupid bugs are shielding Shino. Go Kiba! No, no, no… Maybe that dog- Never mind. Come on, Kiba! Whoa… Ow…'
Kankurou's vague mental commentary was cut short by Kurenai announcing that Shino had won and that Kiba should really pay more attention to his training if he wants to win. She went on to inform him that she'd noticed that he'd seemed distracted lately, but Kiba just brushed the concern off, assuring her that he was absolutely fine. She sighed, but accepted his answer. Then she told her team that they could go home; there was no point in going on any more. So the four of them, plus one dog, started to walk off, while Kankurou paid absolutely zero attention to anything except Kiba's flushed face and heaving chest…
Thus he never noticed when the entire team walked right next to him and temporarily paused.
"Kankurou?" The voice of the older jounin snapped Kankurou out of his fantasies involving Kiba and a dog collar, and brought him back to the real world, where he had four people and a dog giving him questioning looks.
"Oh, hi," he said, trying his best to act normal, not like he'd just been stalking Kiba, "I was just… Um… Kiba, can I talk to you? Alone?" Strangely, Kiba didn't look all that surprised, though the others made up for that. They all knew how Kankurou had saved Kiba, but why would the sand-nin want to talk with him in private?
"Sure," Kiba agreed, smiling at the older boy. "Go ahead guys, I'll see you tomorrow." Shino nodded, not being overly concerned. Kiba was a big boy; he could take care of himself. Hinata murmured her goodbye, hoping Kiba would be okay. She didn't fully trust the sand-nins yet… Finally, Kurenai gave the two of them a look, before smirking and waving her own goodbyes. Kankurou wondered if she had her suspicions, but had no time to ponder. He and Kiba were finally alone, with the exception of Akamaru. Now was the perfect time to ask…
"So, Kiba… Um, how are you?" Not quite what he wanted to say, but it was a good conversation starter.
"Well, Shino just beat me up with his thousands of bugs. I'm kinda tired and my left shoulder hurts. And I'm really curious to know why you're always watching me. But other than that, I'm doing fine. And you?"
'Crap.'
"Um, I'm fine… I, well, you see…" Well, this wasn't going as he'd hoped… He wasn't supposed to be stuttering like a love-sick schoolgirl. And was he blushing? He was! He mentally groaned. This was terrible! He had to do something… "How do you know that I watch you?" Again, that wasn't quite what he'd been thinking, but he'd never been a very patient person…
"I can smell you. You come almost every day to watch my team, and I sense you when I'm alone sometimes. So I'm figuring that it's me that you're watching. And since you're not denying it…" Oh that was right, he could have denied it, couldn't he have? "…I guess I was right. And I have a feeling that what you wanted to talk to me about has to do with it…"
Well, Kiba was right. He didn't know the specifics, but he was right nonetheless. The younger boy was much more observant than Kankurou had given him credit for. And really, now was the perfect opportunity to explain how he felt, how everything just felt right whenever he looked at Kiba. Yes, he was going to do it…
"Kiba, will you go out with me?" Well, maybe not poetry, but at least he was to the point…
At first, Kiba had no expression on his face. Kankurou thought for sure that he'd be yelled at any moment and told exactly how perverted he was to think that Kiba would want to go out with a guy like him, or even a guy at all!
But the seconds ticked by, and the berating never came. Instead, a grin appeared on Kiba's face. It was small at first, but grew until it was nearly splitting his face in two. Kankurou took this as a good sign.
"I was right!" Kiba cheered, pumping his fist in the air. "I knew you liked me, I knew it!" Kankurou blinked, hoping that this reaction was in fact a positive one. As soon as Kiba launched himself into the older boy's arms, he decided that yes, this was very good indeed.
"So… You will?" Kiba smiled up at Kankurou, his slit eyes almost sparkling in happiness.
"Of course I will! I've been waiting for you to ask for over a week! Why do you think I've been distracted? I would have asked you myself, but I could tell you really wanted to do it, so I waited. Hey how about we go out tonight? We can go to dinner than walk around and do whatever we want…" Kiba continued chatting about all the things they could do, and Kankurou listened to him, happier than he could ever remember being in his entire life. He had the guy of his dreams in his arms, and by the end of the night he would probably have his first kiss too. He had a feeling that things would just keep getting better from that point on…
"Oh, I just have one condition…" A condition? What kind of condition…?
"What is it?"
"Akamaru has to come too!"
Kankurou quickly glanced down at the small dog who had been quiet during their whole exchange, then looked back up at Kiba and nodded in agreement. That wasn't an unreasonable request. After all, the two of them did almost everything together. So long as the dog didn't interrupt any "fun time" they might have, he was fine with it. It wasn't like a little dog could cause any problems anyway…
Right?