Fic: Shameless [Chapter 5.5]
“Would you like to get some cinnamon rolls?”
“I would, thank you. Is my favourite cafe still open?”
“I believe it is.”
Her father had agreed readily to the unsupervised walk, provided he brought her back at a respectable hour. Shino was still quite unsure about why Hinata wanted to walk with him, it was very likely because she wanted to talk to him privately about the engagement, but why such urgency? Why now?
The ‘Little Star’ bakery shop and café was not too far from the restaurant and hotel the family was staying in, it was popular enough that even in the late evening they had a fair amount of customers. When they arrived she ordered the fresh pastries and a cup of tea. He ordered a green tea and insisted on paying for her.
They sat in a quiet corner, and there was a semi-companionable silence as she picked at her food and he sipped his tea. He only came to this café when Hinata visited, the food was too sweet here and although he had a feeling that although Kiba would like anything boiled overnight in sugar, he would find this place too clean and wholesome, and would probably describe it as a “Pastel-shit nightmare.”
She spoke suddenly, “Shino-kun,” Her head was still bowed, staring at her tea as if it giving her courage.
“I-” She seemed to nearly lose her nerve, then spoke;
“I…I’m sorry to be so direct, but I have to ask you an important question, and we needed to be alone so I could ask.”
“Of course, you know you can ask me anything.”
“Do you love me?”
Ah. He did not expect her to be so blunt about it! He was so thrown by this that he could not speak for a few moments.
“Shino?” She repeated softly, “Do you love me?”
“No.”
“Do you want to marry me?” He opened his mouth, but she interrupted, “And I do mean if you would be happy in a platonic marriage, or if you are only doing this to make your parents happy.”
“…No.”
Her expression lightened, still slightly sad but like that of someone tentatively finding a possible lifeline. “I don’t love you either, not in that way.”
Strangely this did not make him feel much better. He had never been the most proficient at gauging emotions, but Hinata’s open expression meant that every emotion was on display, and he had suspected for a long time that she felt the same way for him as he did her; a sibling. But intimate love was not necessary for an arranged marriage.
“I’m in love with someone else, but even if I wasn’t I still wouldn’t want to marry you, I can’t have a marriage of convenience.”
“I agree.”
“It was the kiss we shared so long ago that made me realise.” Hinata’s blush deepened, “I-I don’t, I don’t mean to say that the kiss itself was bad, but it was so indifferent, from both of us… I know that you would not be unkind, but to be married…” Here her courage seemed to fail her, and she went back to staring at her untouched tea.
““He works closely for my father and I’ve known him for years, he’s kind, patient, and he’s helped me realise the good things about myself that no one else has managed to do. We’ve had difficult times, but I know I want to spend the rest of my life with him.”
“Hinata… I don’t-“
“Please break the engagement.”
She said it so quietly he almost didn’t hear her speak again.
The pressure on his shoulders increased as he replied “I can’t.”
She looked up, surprised at his immediate reply.
“I really can’t,” He continued “It would disappoint my family, and as the heir I need to marry well.”
“Even if we’re both miserable?”
“…Why don’t you dissolve it, if the man you love works for your father then he should be good enough. If I do it, people will ask my family too many questions.”
“My father and he do not like each other, it would take years to convince him, and surely not being in love with me is good enough to break it off.”
“Don’t be naïve.”
“Well” she paused, “What about a mutual dissolution?”
“That would cause embarrassment at this stage, as adults we’re supposed to know our minds on the subject.”
“I would rather have that than have a loveless marriage. What about you? Don’t you have someone you care about, or want to find that true love?”
Hinata was now on the verge of tears; he could not face her any longer and turned to the window. There was a group of young men in suits talking across the road.
“There is someone.” He said at last.
“So are we to carry on and have the people we love feeling like they aren’t good enough?”
Fighting the urge to put his head in his hands, Shino realised she was right, it would not be fair to anyone.
“You’re right; we’ll have to think of something to break the engagement.”
He glanced back, and Hinata was beginning to smile tearfully, “Something that won’t hurt our families.” She said.
“Yes.”
“Do you have any ideas?”
“No.”
“Neither do I,” Her smile was brighter, “But I’m sure we can think of something during our visit.”
They left the café shortly after, and he walked her to the hotel suite where her family was staying. Saying good night to each other, they were both a little surprised when Neji suddenly opened the door.
“I heard voices, and I thought it must be you.” He said, “Did you have a nice walk?”
“Yes, it was lovely to talk again.”
“Very well,” The older man turned to Shino, “Well then, good night and I expect we’ll see each other soon.”
“Yes, I expect so,” Something was a little off from their body language, but he decided to think about it later, “Good night.”
He turned to go, but not before he heard Neji speak softly,
“Thank you for speaking to Hinata.”
Turning back, he caught a glimpse of Neji and Hinata smiling at each other before the door closed.
Oh.
-
Phone email from Inuzuka. K to Aburame. S.
Wake up
Phone email from Inuzuka. K to Aburame. S.
Wake up
Phone email from Inuzuka. K to Aburame. S.
Wake up cutie <3
Phone email from Inuzuka. K to Aburame. S.
Wake up now OR I WILL FIND OUT WHERE YOU LIVE
Phone email from Aburame. S to Inuzuka. K.
What do you want?
Phone email from Inuzuka. K to Aburame. S.
Good morning <3 Meet me at Eitaibashi Bridge in 1hr!
Phone email from Aburame. S to Inuzuka. K.
Why? It’s only five in the morning. I was asleep.
Phone email from Inuzuka. K to Aburame. S.
Lucky you, some of us have to work all night! Seriously, get dressed and meet me at the bridge in 1hr max, or I’ll kill you!
Phone email from Aburame. S to Inuzuka. K.
I’m too tired to play along, I’m going back to sleep.
Phone email from Inuzuka. K to Aburame. S.
THAT’S IT I’M GONNA KILL YA!!!!!
Phone email from Inuzuka. K to Aburame. S.
Joking!!
Phone email from Inuzuka. K to Aburame. S.
Shino?
Phone email from Inuzuka. K to Aburame. S.
C’mon seriously, I’ll be waiting
Phone email from Inuzuka. K to Aburame. S.
Shino?
Phone email from Inuzuka. K to Aburame. S.
Shino?
Phone email from Inuzuka. K to Aburame. S.
Shino…please. I’ll be here, I’ve got a surprise for you.
-
There was more than a hint of frost in the pre-dawn air as Shino stepped out the taxi after paying his fare. He wondered why he was here as he walked up towards the pedestrian side of the bridge, if Kiba just wanted to waste his time he might just throw him into the river.
Further ahead by the foot of the bridge, he saw what looked like Kiba, though it was difficult to tell from the distance and dawning light. As Shino approached he saw it was indeed Kiba, albeit wearing a dark suit and sunglasses, which was an incredibly strange sight, and he seemed to have his hand to his mouth, playing with his tongue…which was almost as strange as the suit.
Kiba saw him and made some kind of noise of greeting, before taking his hand out of his mouth a few moments later, inspecting his hand as if to see if it was clean.
Was it not a little late for that?
“What are you doing?”
Kiba grinned “Tongue stud.” He said, and held out his hand, where there was a small metal bar attached to a ball, with another one also resting in his palm. He took the ball and started to screw it on to the other end of the bar. “Forgot to take it out earlier.”
“It’s just for work, don’t ask.” He dropped it into his jacket pocket, and Shino supposed it was testament to how tired he was that he could not even bring himself to ask if Kiba would disinfect that thing before the next time he used it. Why…? Shino turned away for a moment, lifting his own sunglasses slightly to rub his tired eyes, and for a brief moment, his uncovered eyes saw the brilliant hues, red, pink, and pure sky blue, of the coming dawn streak across the sky.
“Did you have me come out here to see just that? I’m tired.”
“Dude we’re both tired, I haven’t even been to bed yet,” Kiba held up a large black gift bag that Shino had somehow missed “But I thought this would be the best time to say Happy Late Birthday!”
“…Kiba it’s March, my birthday was six weeks ago.”
“Yeah but because you didn’t want to do anything for your big twenty-first, I missed it, so I wanted to make it special,” He held out the bag for Shino to take; it was surprisingly heavy. “Right place, time and present, this place doesn’t look like much during the day but it’s got the best spot to watch the sun rise in the bay.”
He could not help but smile slightly when he saw the contents of the bag: a bottle of champagne and two plastic cups.
“Alcohol.”
“Hey it’s allowed when you’re toasting a special occasion. If you don’t want it I’ll have it.”
“That’s not necessary” He looked up at Kiba, who had removed his sunglasses and was now rubbing the back of his neck in what looked like a nervous gesture. “Would you like to have a drink with me?” He supposed it was what they were here for, but asking was always better than assumption.
“Sure.”
They sat down on one of the nearby benches, and Shino took out the bottle and started to peel away the foil cover. The cork was half pulled out when he paused, “Did you shake the bottle?”
“Nope, I knew you’d probably kick my ass.”
“You wouldn’t be wrong.”
The cork popped without that usual fanfare he saw on television, and he poured into the cups that Kiba had taken out and was now holding. He sipped his drink slowly, enjoying the sour, bubbly taste, while Kiba downed his in one and held out his cup for another. Shino gave him the bottle.
After a comfortable silence enjoying the sun slowly rise through the city smog, Kiba nudged his shoulder, “Open ya present.”
Present? He looked into the bag, there was a folded paper envelope where the bottle had been, so of course he had not seen it. Inside of the envelope was a silver necklace, a long chain held together by a mechanical watch face. It ticked with the right time, and when he turned it over he saw the silver hallmark (3).
“If you say no to this one, I really will get pissed off this time.”
He held it in his hands, not knowing what to say. No one had ever done anything like this for him before. He was not certain, but this seemed to be Kiba’s way of a romantic gesture.
“Thank you.” He put on the necklace, and before he knew what he was doing, he had leaned over and kissed Kiba briefly on the lips.
The brunet licked his lips, looking pleased, “Didn’t know I just had to get ya drunk and buy jewellery to get ya to fall into my arms at last, thought that was a girl thing.”
“Do you ever shut up?”
Kiba shrugged, “Only when my mouth is occupied.”
Shino took the bottle from his hands and placed it on the floor, far away to not be knocked over, and from the corner of his eye he saw Kiba trying shuffle closer surreptitiously. Turning back, Kiba brought his hand to Shino’s neck, rubbing slowly. His fingers were cold but the movement made him shiver slightly, as he edged closer to Kiba, closing the small gap. The metal of Kiba’s lip ring was cold against his mouth, but he soon forgot that when he felt the slight swipe of Kiba’s tongue against his lower lip, and he opened his mouth slightly. He tasted of champagne, bitter, and the cigarettes he had no doubt been smoking before he had arrived. But right now Shino could not think of anything that tasted better on earth.
There was a shiver of sound, and Shino pulled away to see Kiba’s hands had wandered to his coat and was now unzipping it.
“What are you-”
“Just wanna touch you a bit.”
Touch him? But why would… why him? Why not?
“Not my skin.” He said at last.
“Alright.”
This was not like him, such a blatant display of public affection, to be so unrestrained. But right now, with Kiba’s kisses and wandering hands, and feeling his own creeping up to wrap around Kiba’s neck, he couldn’t care less.
(1) Judai is a very small reference to an older manga series I used to love. If you can guess what manga, you will get an internet cookie :3
(2) Tokyo is very, very, cramped. In cramped cities, you can have very grand buildings next to big stations and crack houses, and even the finest districts and boroughs have areas where the poor and working-class live. Having a rundown school for a problem kids less than five miles from an overpriced Academy? More common than you think.
(3) If you want to see a picture, I’ll be posting a picture in my livejournal soon under the ‘shameless’ tag.