I wrote this like...a few months ago. And I've just now decided to publish it. Jesus, I need to be more regular in my submissions. Anyway, hope everyone enjoys this. I know I did. I was tired of writing lovey-dovey bullshit, so I decided to write something about the less-than-romantic sides of relationships - the break-ups. Although...no one is really breaking up with anyone in this, but still. It's implied. Enjoy.

Pairings: ShinoKiba; Kiba??
Warnings: language; shounen-ai; mentions of sex; shit hitting the fan
Universe: Naruto
Ages: post-Shippuuden; Shino and Kiba live together

Garbage
n. discarded food waste or any other unwanted or useless material

Garbage.

That was what their relationship had been reduced to, both metaphorically and literally.

He had no idea when it happened. Maybe it started when he and Shino took up slightly different jobs–him staying a mere jounin and Shino joining ANBU. Maybe it started when he left for weeks at a time and came back only to find Shino was just leaving for a mission and only had enough time to walk by him toward the door, a mere nod in his direction for any acknowledgement. Maybe it had started when Shino stopped being there when he got home, with only a note left to tell him he'd left and that he'd take care of himself. Maybe it started when he went home to find an empty house, having to learn he'd gone on a mission from a third party–usually Hinata.

Maybe it started as far back as when they first moved in together.

Wherever it started was no concern of his anymore. It was a matter of when he started to feel lonely that mattered. He'd stayed like this for an entire year, waiting for Shino to return home, discovering he was needed for a mission right before Shino got back so he didn't have enough time. He worked with some of the younger students at the school during the days, and Shino worked nights at the borders of the village when not taking missions, so even when they had time off they couldn't have any alone time.

It was…complicated.

Neither saw each other, and now their relationship had been reduced to an argument three times a month–when they both managed to be home–over who's turn it was to take out the trash. Shino always won out in the end, reminding Kiba he needed to get to work, and Kiba was left taking out the trash. It wasn't an empty house anymore, but it might as well have been. These moments made him feel lonelier than going home to find the house empty.

Tonight was no different.

"Kiba, I'm heading out."

Kiba walked in the door, Akamaru dashing off into the other room, only to see Shino standing there, bag slung against his shoulder for once, rather than snicked onto the buckles on the back of his jacket. Kiba stared at him, giving him a long, long look. When he didn't say a word, Shino finally got to the point.

"Garbage day is tomorrow. Please take it out for me."

Finally, after so much hostility building up in him, threatening to blow, after so much shit and anger and pain he'd been forced to deal with for a year, Kiba turned his eyes to the ground. Usually their fights were superficial, and Shino always looked unfazed, but this time was different. Kiba's voice was softer than normal, quieter than normal…broken.

"Just…take it out yourself. You're about to leave anyway. I've…I've had a rough day."

"Kiba, there's no–"

"Aren't you even going to ask why my day was so shitty?" Kiba still faced the ground as he turned his eyes to Shino, his eyebrows knitting together. Shino was staring at the garbage bag on the ground, hand on his hip uncharacteristically, but not at him. When the man didn't reply, Kiba laughed wryly. "Of course you're not. You don't have enough time."

"You're right. I'd appreciate it if you took those bags out for me. It's just to the end of the street, in the dumpster."

Kiba sighed, wiping at his face. "Yeah. Just to the end of the street. It's not bad enough for me who's been working all day, but it's a hassle for someone who's been sleeping up for their night job. Why are you wearing your sunglasses?"

Shino blinked behind them, finally taking a step backward, leaning onto his heels. "I was about to head out."

"Why around me now?" He finally broke, putting his hands to his face, too tired from his day to even feel like fighting. He wanted to cry, but the tears never came. Instead, he just grit his teeth and started to tremble. "You never used to do that around the house, when I was around. So why now? It's not going to work between us anymore, is it? When the hell…When the hell did this start, anyway? Was it when I said I'd live with you? Is that it, Shino?" He looked away. "I…I really wonder if you even give a shit about me anymore…"

Shino shifted from foot to foot, rubbing the back of his head. "………I really need to get to work. I'm late enough as it is."

"Late!? You've got plenty of time! The sun set forty minutes ago, you dumbass!"

"I…" He fell silent, huffing. "I'll talk with you about it when I get home."

He walked past him, toward the door, and Kiba turned back around, bitter. "You won't. You'll just tell me you need to get some sleep and go straight to bed." He went over, grabbing the trash bags, running over behind the man and shoving them into his hands. "And that's exactly what I'm going to do now. Go take the garbage out yourself, damn it."

Shino turned back to him, taking off his sunglasses. Without another word, he handed the bags back to Kiba forcefully, glaring daggers at him. The look was anything but friendly, and it was anything but angry, too. It was empty, devoid of any opinion of him whatsoever, and that hurt more than seeing hate or repulsion in those deep brown eyes.

"What did I say? I asked you to do it, Kiba. Just do it and get it over with." The next words hurt twice as much. "You're lucky you're getting this much from me. I could just ignore you entirely like I used to."

Kiba looked back at him, flashing a pained smile of pearly fangs. He could feel his fingernails curling out into claws, the feral Inuzuka nature coming back full force with this spurning.

"So I've been reduced to garbage?"

There was a begrudging sigh from Shino's lips. "…It would appear so, wouldn't it?" he muttered as he pushed the sunglasses to block his eyes once more.

The man walked off, and Kiba stood there in the walkway of their apartment, bags of trash in hand. He could easily just run over there and slash his back open, take out his anger and frustration out on him, rip his throat open or something, but in the end Shino would just pin him to the wall of the house with those bugs of his until he calmed down. And by that time he'd be too far for him to even feel bothered to chase after him.

Everything suddenly fell into place: Shino's distance, his request of taking the garbage out and speaking to him before leaving the house again. That was just it. Shino wasn't the type to be rude: he always took someone's feelings into consideration. It all made sense–he felt nothing for him, and he felt bad about it, so he purposely waited for him to get home before asking him to take out the garbage. So that he wouldn't feel completely useless in the relationship, so he'd be able to feel like he was helping him. In retrospect, Shino would have preferred to just blow him off entirely, but since they lived together, it had become more complicated than simply breaking the relationship off.

"I'll talk with you about it when I get home," he'd said.

He was probably biding his time before breaking it off. Waiting as long as he possibly could without pulling out that fucking "ace in the hole" or whatever the hell he rambled on about during battle. Kiba's face fell, but he sucked it up and set out for the dumpster at the end of the street.

As he walked, he couldn't help but feel his entire body trembling. They'd both agreed to live together, to spend the rest of their lives together. Perhaps Shino had assumed he'd get killed off in battle earlier than their relationship had lasted? Perhaps he'd gotten tired of it halfway through? Perhaps there was someone else in the picture? The theory had enough hints to create something suspicious, after all: skipping out on everything and telling Hinata he was going out on a mission when he wouldn't even tell his own lover. That was just…

That was low, even for Shino.

As the thoughts began to consume him, his mind started to wander and he found himself halfway to the trashcan when the bottom gave out on the trash bag and the contents spilled out all over the ground. The brunet swore, and a breeze whipped by, taking a few scraps of paper and a few bills with it.

Reaching out to grab them, his hand was caught short by the sight of a hand already grabbing it. Kiba swallowed and closed his eyes, finally starting to shake. No, no, no, no. This was the last thing he wanted. He never wanted–

"Need help, Kiba?"

Kiba shook his head and took a deep breath. "N…N-No. I'm f-fine. Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"I was taking a walk. I don't take night jobs like Shino. Well, I can't as often since I need shadows to do anything effectively…"

"Shikamaru…"

The man walked back over and handed him the loose papers, giving him a kind, understanding smile. "I've got plenty of time. I wasn't planning on doing anything, so it's fine." He started gathering up the trash, and finally turned to look at the brunet. "I'm going to help you whether you want my help or not. It's the least I could do for dropping by at such a late hour."

Kiba stared at him, dumbfounded. "You…you were coming for a visit? But it's… Didn't I see you earlier today? Your new students were pissing me off and you had to get them to leave me alone."

Shikamaru didn't say a single word more as he gathered up his things and started to walk away, toward the dumpster. When he'd deposited the trash into it, he came back for the second trip, and Kiba could see the colour in his face bright and clear. They both stood there for a while, the garbage tainting the lawn.

"I can't help wanting to stop by to see you, so I figured I might as well get around to doing it today," he finally said, scratching his head. "I mean…it's got to be lonely watching Shino leave every night only to know you won't be able to see him the next day or the day after that." He bent back down and stared at the trash, starting to gather some of it up–an old banana peel he skipped over to save it for last–as he hid his face. "Thought I'd cheer you up."

The dog-nin began to shake and bent down, trying his hardest to keep himself together as he gathered up some more trash to help the Samaritan out. "…Th…" His voice faltered and he felt his eyes trailing down to the other man's hands. "…You don't have to help. I know you're lazy…"

"Only with the things that don't matter." He paused and nodded his head, looking the brunet straight in the eye. "And trust me, Kiba, you do matter."

When Kiba began to tremble, Shikamaru just sighed and stood up with the garbage he'd collected. "Why don't you go back inside and I'll do this for you…"

Kiba wiped at his eyes, shaking his head sadly. "N…No. That wouldn't be right."

"Alright. Let's try and hurry then. You're probably exhausted from work, right?"

They both set about to picking up the trash in silence. When they'd finally picked up everything as best as they could and dumped it in the trash, Kiba finally stood there in front of the dumpster. He rubbed the back of his head, groaning.

"Today is just…shitty. First your students attack me when I'm visiting the school, then Akamaru runs off and gets himself in trouble again and I have to pay a pretty hefty fine for all the damages he caused, and then Sakura decides I need to try training again and kicks my ass to the curb. And now this shit… I know…whatever was between us is gone." He put his face in his hands and squeezed his eyes shut, stomping his foot on the ground. The time for shock was over and now the time for anger came full swing. He slammed his fist into the dumpster, sending a jarring metal clang echoing through the streets.

"Fuck him! Fuck him straight to hell, that jackass!!"

Shikamaru sighed and took a few steps back, choosing to merely observe rather than get involved. It wasn't too different from his normal actions, but this instance was more endearing. He preferred to let Kiba sort things out for himself before bringing anything up.

Kiba screamed even louder, causing a few lights around the street to flicker on and for a few people to poke their heads out at him and yell at him to shut up. He squatted toward the ground, fisting claws into matted, sweaty, dirty brown locks. His breathing came out in heavy pants, and he finally put his hands to his face, starting to tremble and shake his head back and forth.

"Fuck me, I should've seen it. I did see it, but I did absolutely nothing to prevent it. I hoped he'd do something. I finally decide to confront him about it today and…and maybe I'm too late. Maybe if…I…" He shook his head again. "Maybe if I'd confronted him when I first started noticing the signs we could've worked something out…"

"I…don't think there was anything you could've done to save it, Kiba," Shikamaru finally mumbled. He crouched down and placed a hand on Kiba's shoulder, frowning.

"I should've realized," Kiba continued, "when he started wearing those sunglasses around me again. He used to always remove them around me, because I told him I liked seeing him looking at me with adoration and shit. And then he just…" He tugged on his hair, grinding his teeth together. "He fucking started wearing them again to hide the fact that he didn't give two shits about me anymore."

"Kiba…"

"This is all my fault. I must've done something or pissed him off somehow. It's gotta be because I stopped taking so many missions with him. We drifted apart and I never even tried to make time for us. I know he likes his space and I know he enjoys silence over my loud antics, so I just…" He groaned. "So I shut up and assumed he viewed is as endearing!!"

"Kiba, don't beat yourself up over this. It was all Shino. He often spoke to me about it every time we went on missions."

"What did he say? He told you everything, didn't he?" The brunet grabbed the shadow-wielder's vest and shook him a little. "What the fuck did he tell you!? He probably said I was annoying, didn't he!? I was clingy! I spoke too much and he hated Akamaru's farts! I just know it was Akamaru's farts! Maybe it was mine, I dunno! What the hell did he tell you!?"

Shikamaru sighed, knitting his eyebrows together. "He just told me it stopped being fun for him. It wasn't anything you did. He just started viewing you the same as he did when you were first kids, when you were friends. He just…started thinking of you as more of a friend again."

"We've had sex, Shikamaru! You can't just suddenly think of someone as a friend after having sex with them!! If that's the case, there was never a connection to begin with! That fucking asshole! He's a jackass! What did he think I was!? A friend with benefits!? God damn it!"

"Shut the hell up down there!"

Kiba snarled, lifting his eyes to the window. "I'll shut the hell up when the crisis is over!"

Shikamaru pushed Kiba away, sighing. "We should go back to your place and discuss it where we won't be bothering the neighbors, Kiba. That's the reason why I came over in the first place."

"Just tell me everything he told you and I will. He must've given you some reasons other than that. I wasn't sexy enough or I didn't capture his interest. He got tired of me, didn't he?"

Shikamaru laughed. "No one could get tired of you, Kiba. I think Shino's the only one. To be honest, he barely talked about you at all. It was all about how living with you made him realize he just liked the foreplay and that was about it."

Kiba frowned, feeling tears well up in his eyes. "See? That's what I get for dating teammates. I should've known it'd wind up like this. Even from the beginning, he had to assure me constantly before I believed he meant what he said. And then it just… God, that's the last time I get involved with a teammate."

Shikamaru leaned over before Kiba could respond and planted a quick, chaste kiss in the corner of his lips. When he pulled back, he shoved his hands in his pockets, giving Kiba a soft smile.

"I don't technically count as a teammate, do I?"

Kiba stood there for a moment stunned, until finally he rubbed at his cheek. He glanced away and took a deep breath, sighing. He knew it would end just as badly as it did with Shino; he knew it would be a bad idea, but right now he just wanted something to hold onto and keep him grounded. Logically, he knew it wasn't going to do him any good in the long run, but…but…

"Fuck it," he breathed, before pouncing.

Without words, his answer rang out a clear and concise "No."