Everyone knew that Kiba got cold. It was his thing . "Kiba likes dogs."
"Kiba is good at math."
"Kiba is always cold."
Shino had no such thing , except maybe that he was in love with Kiba, but no one else knew that. Not even Kiba.
Not even after Shino nearly told him, and not even after Shino did tell him. It was an accident. Kiba put Shino's mind outside of itself. Drove him crazy. Made him delirious. But Kiba didn't seem to notice.
"I'm not taking anyone to the formal," Shino said incredulously. They were walking nowhere again. Akamaru was just barely still in their view, but Kiba's eyes were on Shino.
"Why not? There's no one you'd like to see standing there next to you? No one you wanna dance with?" Kiba's eyebrow was raised, though it was hard to see because the hood of his jacket had fur.
(It wasn't Shino's jacket. "I needed to wash it," he'd explained when Shino had asked where it was.)
Shino couldn't believe that Kiba could really even ask this question. As though it wasn't Kiba that Shino wanted to see standing next to him. As though it wasn't Kiba that Shino wanted to dance with.
Shino lifted his shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. "I don't think so," he said.
Kiba turned his head forward again, to watch his dog. Shino turned his head to the side, to watch Kiba. Kiba cleared his throat. "I think it'd be fun," he said lightly.
"What would?"
"To go, to dress up. I'd have to cut my nails," Kiba said, and he pulled them from the pockets of the jacket he was wearing to examine them. They were pristine and well-kempt, albeit a little long.
Shino shook his head. "No you wouldn't," he said. "They're fine."
Kiba laughed. He giggled . "You're just saying that. Maybe they're fine, but no one would like them."
"I like them," Shino said before he could stop himself. Oh, shoot. He cast his eyes to Kiba and thanked the heavens that his eyes were shielded by these glasses.
"You're just saying that," Kiba said. He shrugged. "No one's asked me to go," he said, "so I don't really feel obligated to cut them. I won't scratch anyone if I'm dancing by myself."
Shino's mouth was poised to say something, but he didn't say it. What would he have even said? He wasn't sure, at that moment. But he figured it out a few days later, in the hallway at Hinata's locker.
"All I'm saying is, do you think she'd go with me?" Hinata was asking about Tenten. Shino was about to answer her question when Kiba ran up and nearly knocked into the lockers next to them.
"Hey, hey! Look!" Kiba was brandishing a test. He'd gotten a B.
Hinata took the papers and examined them. "Good job, good job." She handed the papers to Shino, and let Kiba hug her tight.
Shino rifled through the test. Easy mistakes, of course, but Kiba was hasty. He didn't look back over his work. Shino handed Kiba his test back. "Good job."
Kiba grinned at both of them. He shoved the test into his nearly empty backpack and then slung it over his shoulder. "Oh, yeah, right. Were you talking about Tenten?"
Hinata's face dusted pink. "Stop screaming! Yes, I was talking about her."
"Ask her!" Kiba said. "She's going to say yes, I know she will."
"Maybe I will," Hinata said. She closed her locker lightly and bid the both of them goodbye. Of course, they walked her to her class as they always did, despite her saying she didn't need them to do that.
"Good luck on your test," Shino said. Hinata said goodbye again , and then it was just Shino and Kiba.
"So, has anyone asked you?" Kiba's hands were curled into fists inside of his sleeves. He was wearing Shino's jacket.
"No," Shino said simply. "Has anyone asked you?"
Kiba shook his head. "Nope. Still going to be—"
"You don't have to dance alone, if you don't want to," Shino said. He hadn't meant to interrupt, but he couldn't bear to hear Kiba say it again. Not if he had anything to do with it.
"What?" Kiba stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked at Shino with wide eyes. "Wha' do ya mean?"
Shino hated the fact that sometimes, blood rushed to his face, too. He wished that blushing didn't exist . "I... just meant. If you wanted to, um. I guess, if you didn't want to dance alone..."
"Someone wants to go with me? Who, who!?" Kiba drew his hands out of the sleeves and put them on Shino's shoulders. He shook Shino rather vigorously. "Tell me, tell me, tell me!"
Shino grasped Kiba's hands and wrenched them from his shoulders. Even through his jacket, Shino could feel Kiba's nails. "I was just saying. If you didn't wanna dance alone, I'll dance with you."
Kiba's shoulders slumped. "Oh. I thought someone liked me."
Shino's eyebrows drew together but he forced himself to be quiet. Shino got a little cold, then.
It was a few days after that, when they were in the library, that Kiba said it. That he asked it.
"Hey, Shino," Kiba said. His eyes were focused on the little doodles he was doing on his very important handout.
"Hm?" Shino didn't wear his sunglasses when he was reading. He blinked once in Kiba's direction.
"Do you wanna go to the dance with me? So we don't have to dance alone?" Kiba's voice was hopeful, and he turned his eyes to Shino's face.
"Wh-what?" Shino stuttered.
"I'm sure there's someone else you were thinking about asking," Kiba said, and Shino rolled his eyes because he'd told Kiba countless times that there was no one he wanted to ask, "but I really wanna go. And I don't wanna be alone. I'd be a little cold."
Shino laid his book about beetles down on his lap. He didn't know what to do with his hands. "Uh, y-yeah. Sure. Just don't get too crazy."
Kiba was everything . He'd asked Shino to paint his nails dark blue, to match the little flower that he was going to wear in his shirt. He didn't cut them. "Do you like 'em, Akamaru?" Kiba showed his nails to his dog, who sniffed hard and then ran away. "He liked 'em."
"I'm sure he did."
Kiba was a bad dancer. He kept stepping on Shino's feet, but Shino pretended not to notice. He didn't care. He'd let Kiba step on his feet forever as long as he could see him smile and laugh . Of course, he was wearing Shino's suit jacket, and his teeth were slightly chattering. Sure, yes, the dance was outside, and it was November. But the mass of bodies was enough for it to not be so cold, not shivering cold. But Kiba managed to shiver.
"Are you cold?" Shino asked. He had to get close to Kiba's ear, and he didn't miss the way Kiba's nails dig into his arms.
"Not that m-much," Kiba lied. Shino huffed and wrapped an arm around Kiba's shoulders. There was a slow song on now. Across the courtyard, Shino caught sight of Hinata leaning against Tenten. He smiled just the slightest bit.
"Maybe I'm a little cold, too," Shino said. Kiba's face pushed into Shino's chest, and they swayed. Kiba's hair smelled like Akamaru, but Shino enjoyed that.
"You're warm." Kiba's voice was muffled. He was clutching Shino's shirt tightly. His nails just pricked Shino's chest.
"Yeah. I'm warm."
That was Shino's thing. He was warm.
