A/N: I haven't been in the Naruto community for a long while, but I had the urge to write a KIbaSaku fic, since it's been so long. This fic is kinda fluffy, and mostly you have to figure out for yourself the situation. I just felt like writing something between the two of them. Needless to say, I hope you all enjoy.

C&C appreciated.

Petals and Puppies

"This is dumb."

"That's because you have the attention span of an animal."

"Maybe 'cause I am an animal."

A sly smile crawled over pink lips, and brown brows twisted together in response.

"Shut up. That's not what I meant."

Kiba could feel his frustrations grow as he took several steps ahead of his companion. He could hear the faithful footfalls of Akamaru as the large dog walked next to him. The grass crunched wetly under his feet as he made his way through the forest, wrinkling his nose. The scent of flowers was all around them since the Cherry Blossoms were in bloom. He always hated them. They were too frail and their scent always made his head ache. None of his friends seemed to understand how painful having the advanced sense of smell could be sometimes, and so he never brought it up. No one would really care anyway; he was supposed to be a ninja. He couldn't sweat the small stuff.

He stepped over a fallen log and continued his trek out into the forest, trying to ignore the sounds of a third's footsteps behind him. He grabbed hold of a low branch, ducking under it as he continued onwards. Her scent tickled his nose along with the scent of flowers, making his head spin slightly. Akamaru continued to softly pad next to him as he made his escape deeper and deeper into the forest. The large canine didn't seem to mind where they were going, knowing that his master had no idea either. They had been through everything together; Akamaru was someone that Kiba could count on.

That was something that Kiba liked. Loyalty, predictability. He liked to come home and know that the person he loved was waiting there for him. This was just bullshit.

"Stop following me," he snapped, not even bothering to glance over his shoulder.

She continued to follow him, silent and graceful. Her scent was making his head spin, like an aphrodisiac that was just a bit too faint. Kiba silently cursed his body for betraying him as he continued onwards, keeping his glare securely forwards.

"I'm not following you, I'm simply heading in the same direction," came the smart-ass reply from behind him. Figures she would say something like that.

Kiba picked up his pace and he listened as she did the same. He gritted his teeth, but said nothing for several more minutes. He simply continued walking. The grass crunching under his feet was comforting, and the trees all around him felt like home. However, he caught scent of another Cherry Blossom tree coming up, and his face twisting in displeasure.

"I hate Cherry Blossoms," he said, loud enough for his follower to hear. "You want to know why?"

The pink-haired kunoichi behind him frowned, grabbing a branch and holding it out of her way as she ducked under it. "Why?" she drawled, deciding to humour the dog-nin.

Kiba could feel a sneer crawling over his features, "Because they're so frail. They only last for a week before the wind can easily pull off their petals. They're flakey, and pathetic. Like a certain someone I know," he spat, refusing to turn and look back at his follower.

Sakura paused, probably stunned. H couldn't hear her footsteps, and for some reason that bothered him. Still, he did everything in his power not to turn and look back at her.

"And I hate dogs," she said as soon as she caught up with him. He could hear her right behind him, and tried desperately to keep his frown in place as he quickly continued walking. "Do you want to know why?"

Kiba stubbornly kept his mouth shut, resisting the temptation to bury his face in the collar of his jacket. Feeling her so close behind him was doing things to him. Things he would rather not say aloud. They had known each other since they turned twelve, and had been spending serious time together since Kiba's seventeenth birthday. However, that was part of the problem.

Kiba didn't want to hang out with her. She was stupid and flaky and he hated her

He hadn't always felt this way about her. It had begun since he started having feelings for her. When Kiba had figured this out, he decided to do everything in his power to hate her.

When that failed, he tried ignoring her.

Clearly, that was failing as well.

"I hate dogs," Sakura continued as she moved right behind him, "Because they're stupid. They're just scardy-cats, if you ask me. When they're backed into a corner, they just start barking, run off at the mouth, if you will. They just don't know when to shut up."

Kiba turned on her, fangs bared to try and scare her off. He was trying to act bigger and badder than the woman behind him. It would've worked in the animal kingdom; however this wasn't the animal kingdom. "You've got a pretty sharp tongue for a flower, you know that Haruno?" he growled.

Sakura simply cocked a brow at him, placing her hands on her hips and staring critically at him. "Flowers have thorns, genius," she snapped, her eyes narrowing. "Now, tell me why you've been ignoring me."

"Because."

"That's not an answer."

Kiba wrinkled his nose. She always did have a talent of beating him with words. He had learned that during their friendship; however it had stopped being fun a long time ago.

"You know damn well why I've been ignoring you," Kiba snapped, turning on his heel and stalking back off into the forest. Akamaru brushed up against him, and Kiba placed a comforting hand on the dog's back.

Sakura took a deep breath before hurrying after him. "I've had Sasuke on my team for years, Kiba; I know how to handle stubborn men."

Kiba could feel his anger rising in ten-fold. "Exactly!" he snapped over his shoulder, keeping up his pace. He could practically hear her confusion as she hurried up after him. "Fuck, more Sasuke bullshit. Why don't you go back to hanging off him?"

"What the hell does Sasuke have to do with any of this?" she yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. "God, Kiba, I had a crush on him when I was twelve! That's it!"

Kiba growled, jumping up and grabbing a branch, flipping over and hoisting himself in the tree. Sakura stopped, frowning before Kiba flipped himself upside down on the branch, looking her right in the face. She almost smiled at the look of him hanging from the tree like a monkey, but was too stubborn to give up on that fight they had going on.

"I'm not getting into this," he growled darkly, causing Sakura's brows to rise. "Just leave me the fuck alone."

Sakura cocked her head to the side, pink wisps brushing past her ears as a smile caught on her lips. He was beginning to think the plan had backfired as his nose was simply full of her scent. Damnit. "Ah," she said simply, taking a few steps forwards. He wanted to flip out of the way, get as far away from her as possible, but his body betrayed him again as he didn't move.

She placed two hands on either side of her face, fingers drawing on the red marks on each side of his face. "So I see," she said, almost dreamily as her deep green eyes surveyed the man hanging in front of him.

Kiba stared at her, feeling the blood slowly filling his head. He could feel fear nicking at his chest, but he couldn't move away. His eyes were widened, and there was a lump in his throat. "I can't..." Kiba breathed. "I don't want a girlfriend, Sakura. I want a mate. I want..."

Sakura smiled understandingly, moving closer. Her lips hovered just above his own, and his mouth went dry. He could feel his heart pounding in his ears as she leaned in just close enough. He could practically feel her lips against his, and a soft moan escaped his throat in protest. "I can be a mate, Inuzuka," she said softly, her eyes slipping closed. "Just give me a chance..."

She leaned forwards and pressed her mouth tightly against his. He moaned, unable to believe how soft her lips felt against his. His eyes slipped closed and he moved his mouth according to feeling. It felt amazing; he couldn't believe how well the kunoichi could kiss.

All too soon Sakura pulled back, giving him a smile with green eyes alight with pleasure. "Well," she said softly, pressing her lips against his nose briefly. "Since you seem so insistent to get rid of me, I'll leave you alone."

Sakura turned then and began to walk away. He was stunned for a moment, watching the way her hips swayed and the curves of her body before he realized she was walking away.

"Sakura! Wait!" Kiba called as he fumbled to get down from the tree. He landed awkwardly, hurrying to catch up with her. He stopped next to her as she was trying to stiffen chuckles behind her hands.

"Figures," she laughed, hooking her elbow with his as they began to walk back towards the village.

"What?" he asked, blinking down at her. Sakura's laughter was like the tinkling of bells, and it made his stomach tighten just enough.

She turned up to look at him, and Kiba swore his heart skipped a beat. "Give a dog a treat and he'll follow you forever," she said with a laugh, turning and hurrying back towards the village.

He blinked for a moment, registering the comment before it clicked. "Hey!" he called, running after her.

Needless to say, neither of them could shake the other for quite a while.