High Collars and Vampire Fangs

Kiba Inuzaka is a vampire-A very lonely vampire. A very lonely, very hungry Vampire. Night after night, he would devour the scum of society. Despite his best efforts this only really sated his thirst, his appetite remained. What he craved more than anything was the blood of a companion-a human companion. Other vampire looked down on such relationships. They called companions 'personal blood banks.' Regardless, he searched endlessly for his potential mate. Not a single man or woman caught his eye. Nobody seemed to have that spark, that special something that he required for a mate. Nobody until he met me, that is.

I was walking back from the insect research lab that I work at when I met him. I knew it was not wise to walk home after two in the morning but I have always been dedicated to my work and could not neglect my insects in favor of my own personal safety. As I was walking I came across another man on the street, he was shorter than me but seemingly the same age. I was thankfully for my dark tinted eyeglasses; I could keep my eye on him and be ready if he were to attack me. As we approached each other I could see him better, He wore a plain grey hoodie and jeans. Despite his attire he seemed rather toned. I began taking in all the information I could in the short amount of time before we passed each other, my skills as a researcher coming in handy. He had shaggy brown hair and large red facial tattoos that together framed his strange eyes that he had outlined with eyeliner. My eyes traveled down, yes he was definitely muscular and tanned and his long nails were well manicured. His appearance was such a strange combination of rock star and college student yet he was the most attractive man I had ever seen.

By the time I realized I had been checking him out, he was gone. I banished all thoughts of him from my head: I would likely never see him again and I had no time for romance with either gender. I directed my thoughts back towards work and finished my trip to my apartment without any further incident.

I was wrong about never seeing him again, though. I saw him every night, on the same street. He had been alone the first night but now he was always walking his large white dog. I assumed that he was new to the neighborhood and on that first night he had been scoping out an area to walk his dog before actually taking his dog out. I assumed wrong, though. I found out later that he watched all night-every night- but only allowed me to see him on my way home.

One night, after about a month of stalking me, he spoke to me as I passed him, "Hey."

Manners pounded into me since I was a child forced me to stop my trek and face him. Although I had to admit I was already looking and more than a little excited that he was talking to me, even if I was certain he was just going to ask for directions or something else of no consequence.

"Nice night ain't it?" he asked.

"It is," I was never very good at small talk or conversation in general.

He growled, "Hey, why don't you come closer so I can ask you a question?"

I obliged, fully aware that it made no sense to do so. As I came closer his smile shifted into a feral grin, exposing his enlarged canines, "Would you like to join me for dinner tomorrow night?"

"No."

He scowled, "Why the hell not?"

"I don't have time for dates with random strangers."

"Fine, you don't have to think of it as a date. My name is Kiba Inuzaka. If you tell me your name, we won't be strangers anymore."

His logic was flawed but I gave him my name anyway. It was another thing ingrained into me growing up: if someone politely asks for your name after giving their own, manners dictate that one must comply. "Shino Aburame."

"Nice to meet you Shino!" he greeted, throwing his arm around my shoulders, "How about that dinner? I'll buy?"

I shrugged his arm off, "I'll pay for my own meal."

He grinned wider, "Have it your way, sir. I will meet you here tomorrow night."

"Sounds fine."

"You can go ahead and wear that sexy little lab coat of yours," he called over his shoulder as he walked way.

I inwardly flinched: my lab coat? Sexy? It was baggy, white and high collared. I was certain that he was teasing me but I inclined my head in acknowledgement and continued my journey to my apartment. I was foolishly excited about the event, not that anyone would be able to tell.

The next night, I removed my lab coat and pulled on a long sleeved, maroon dress shirt over my undershirt. I ran my hand through my hair and turned to look into the mirror. Examining myself, I silently wished that I owned a pair of jeans. My slacks seemed far too dressy for the occasion. Deciding that it was too late to do anything about it, I headed out of the building.

Tonight he did not have his dog and his customary hoodie had been traded in for a band t-shirt and black sports jacket. Staying in his position, leaning against the wall, he called over to me, "No lab coat tonight?"

"I felt it inappropriate for the situation."

"Ah," he came over to me and put his hand on the small on my back while gesturing forward with his other hand, "ready?"

I stepped out of his touch but nodded my head in agreement.

He sighed before smiling and interlocking both of his hands behind his head, "Right then, let's get a move on."

He led me to a small café quite close to my apartment called the Midnight Café. I was surprised I had never noticed it before.

Noticing my confusion, he explained, "My ma runs it. It opens at nightfall and closes before dawn. I'm not surprised if you have never heard of it."

As we entered the café he was immediately pounced on by a woman far wilder in appearance than himself yet adorned with the same tattoos. It wasn't hard to guess that this was his mother. I heard her growl before releasing him and looking him over, "You appear to be in good shape so I must wonder why I haven't seen you all week, off chasing some bitch?"

"Ma! People aren't dogs! Stop calling them bitches! It offends them! Besides," he flushed and scratched the back of his head, " 'm busy, kay?"

"Busy my ass!" she shouted, suddenly aware of my presence, "who is this then?"

"Ma! This is Shino, and he is NOT my bitch!"

Unnerved by their conversation, I inclined my head and extended my hand in greeting, "Hello Madam."

She ignored my hand and flashed her son a knowing smile, "So this is the guy you've been taking about."

"Ma!"

She scrutinized me for a moment and then turned back to Kiba, "Nice choice. He seems like a very suitable mate…aside from the fact he is male." I could keep my cheeks heating both from the examination and from the implications of her statement.

"Ma! I asked him here to get to know him. You are going to scare him off if you keep saying WEIRD things like that!"

"Whatever you say. Sit down and I'll bring out some food," she glanced at me, "and some wine."

Sighing, he led me away from his mother and showed me to a small table in the corner of the room, "You can ignore ma, she rambles too much and thinks she knows everything."

I accepted his explanation and did not pry. He already seemed rather sheepish about the whole ordeal, but I was rather curious about how they talked about people. It was almost as if they were not people themselves. "Her café sells wine?"

He shrugged, "Nah, its ma's wine. She brings it out for special occasions."

She returned within a few minutes with a platter of muffins and two glasses of red wine. "Enjoy," she smiled and patted me on the shoulder as she left us to talk.

After that night, I continued to see him on the walk home but we also met up once a week to eat at the café. Eventually, I accepted that they were indeed dates. I couldn't complain I was already falling for him: I just didn't realize it yet. The dates were casual and comfortable; we talked about many things but nothing really important. He never made a move on me other than his causal touches, despite the impression his mother had given me of his intentions. I had grown accustomed to his hands on nature and I had even grown to be disappointed when he wasn't hanging off of me. He seemed to enjoy it when I showed up in jeans the first time, too.

One night, after about three months I arrived at our spot and something much unexpected happened. Without saying hello or even flashing me one of his wolfish grins, he slammed me into a wall and kissed me-hard. I cannot say the kiss was unexpected, although it had never happened before. It was the suddenness and the forcefulness of it that surprised me. Before I even had a chance to react or even process what was going on, he pulled back. His hands supporting his weight on the wall behind me, he looked up at me very seriously, "Shino, we have been seeing each other for a few months now and I want you to officially be my boyfriend. Ya wanna?"

I considered for a moment, "I suppose so."

I caught a glimpse of his fanged grin before his lips descended upon mine for the second time. This kiss was softer and much more what I expected our first kiss to be like. I found myself eagerly pushing back into the kiss, leaving me with the predicament of where to place my hands. I finally settled on his hips: neither pulling him closer nor pushing him away.

This seemed to encourage him, I felt his tongue brush my lips before his canines gently bit into the bottom one. Surprised, I unwittingly gave him access to the confines of my mouth. His tongue dutifully explored the new territory while his hands slide from the wall to the back of my neck. This had the double effect of pulling himself closer to my height and his body being solely held up by leaning into me. If I hadn't of been against a wall, we would have hit the ground.

Feeling somewhat like prey, I decided to regain some control on the situation. I slowly started to fight back with my own tongue until we were both engaged in a heated battle. When he finally pulled back to give me some air, I used to opportunity to gain the upper hand and switch our positions. I took advantage of the surprise to claim his lips for my own this time. He seemed to enjoy the change of pace kissed back vigorously. I'm not sure how long we stayed like that but eventually my growling stomach reminded us why we met up in the first place.

A/N: I found this story in a folder. I wrote it back in 2007 but figured that since it was an AU it wouldnt be too affected by the developments in Naruto since it was written. I rewrote the whole thing, so hopefully it is good. This was all I had written so let me know if it is worth continuing. I had some serious life changes happen so my other two in progress Shino/Kiba stories are suffering but maybe this along with the hetalia fic I've been collaborating on will get me back on track :D. Even if you don't feel it is worth continuing, I hope that you enjoyed reading it. I never write AU fics so when I found this one, I felt the need to share it with you guys. Besides, this pairing is my OTP out of every fandom and they need more love. Please review!