The Way Things Were and Are

Wow, it's been awhile since I had one of these, huh? I knew I wasn't finished with these side stories and after an lightning bolt of inspiration (yes a lightning bolt) struck me, I finally knew how I was going to end these. :D Fortunately for you guys, there are at least 3 stories, including this one, left. Hooray right? lol Anyway, happy reading!

WARNING: There is some...strangeness in this chapter. If I told you what it was though I'd spoil the surprise. :P Just be warned.

REVIEW REPLIES:

jordash00: *blush* I'm so pleased to hear you say that. :3 Thank you very much! I hope you'll enjoy this update as well!

Prism0467: lol Neji in heat? I like the sound of that. *snickers*

CkA: Thank you for reviewing! :D

Mina: lol Hopefully this story won't make you think it's the hottest thing ever. Especially as there's a lack of detailed smex. :3 But I suppose it'll have to do, right?

Tori: Hugs and cookies!? Yay! Omnomnomnom...^_^ lol I'm super pleased that you enjoyed the story. Makes me happy to hear. :D Happy reading!

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TWTAS 10

Relaxing on their couch at home, Neji continued to flip through the newspaper, trying to find anything worth reading. There had been little news as of late and while that was a good thing peace-wise, the paper itself was lacking in anything really worth reading. Of course, Neji wasn’t one who enjoyed the negative side of the news all the time and actually loved reading good things. But lately there hadn’t even been much of that.

Sighing softly, he set the paper back on the coffee table in his living room before standing up to stretch. The lack of chaos had given many nins more break time and while that wasn’t always good financially, the Hyuuga enjoyed the time to relax. He still trained as fiercely as before, but he took proper breaks and allowed his body to rest. It was good for the mind as well as his body and he found that he had picked up on the nuances of being lazy quite quickly, all thanks to his husband.

He smiled as he thought of the Nara. Three years. The two of them had been married for a blissful three years. Neji had never expected to have such happiness in his life and even now he was finding it hard to believe that it actually existed. He wouldn’t trade it for the world however. Shikamaru made each day worth living to its fullest, even if it meant merely relaxing and enjoying some peace and quiet. It was something he treasured greatly.

Walking towards their backyard, which actually over looked the village, Neji stretched his arms and neck before closing his eyes and relaxing once more. One thing that the Hyuuga home had instilled upon him that he actually enjoyed were these relaxing and mind enhancing techniques. He usually would perform katas with his sword, but today he felt like simply doing some tai-chi, hoping to obtain a balance he had been lacking lately.

Several minutes went by and the slow movements and deep breathing brought Neji to a more relaxed state, his mind focusing solely on his movements and his breathing pattern. Of course, he stayed alert to anything he didn’t quite recognize, but other then that the rest of the world didn’t exist at the moment. All that mattered was that he obtained an inner peace and balance with himself and the world around him would then also right itself.

A good twenty minutes later he was finished, opening his eyes and feeling far more relaxed then he had in days. Smiling softly, he turned back towards the house, walking inside and heading towards the fridge. It was lunch time and if he knew anything about his lover’s schedule, Shikamaru would be returning from the Nara labs soon. Whenever his spouse had a day off, he spent the first part of it there, helping his father out with experiments and other various things. Not that Neji minded. Yes, he missed Shikamaru, but he liked the alone time he had as well.

Deciding that a light salad was sounding delicious on this warm summer day and so Neji set about washing and cutting up the proper ingredients. While Shikamaru didn’t really care about his diet other then getting what he needed to survive, Neji had learned to not only eat healthy, but enjoyably as well. And Shikamaru had seemed to be happy with his new skills in the kitchen. Neji had begged the Hyuuga head chef to teach him how and to this day he was still taking lessons.

“I’m home.”

Neji couldn’t help but smile at the sound of his lover’s voice. He so dearly loved Shikamaru and if simply hearing the other’s voice brought him joy, it was no surprise. He turned his smile to his spouse when the Nara entered their kitchen, before turning his eyes back to the nearly finished salad. He had mixed up some sandwiches for his lover as well and knew that he would be having leftovers simply from lunch. Not that he really minded though.

“Mm, lunch looks good,” Shikamaru grinned, wrapping his arms around his spouse’s waist. “A salad and sandwiches?”

“Mmhmm,” Neji hummed. “I wanted something light, but filling. Did you want anything else?”

“Nothing you can put on a plate,” the younger nin smirked, snickering when Neji playfully smacked his cheek.

“Perv,” the Hyuuga mumbled.

“Maybe so, but you love me that way,” the Nara smiled, turning Neji to face him.

“So I do,” Neji replied, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to Shikamaru’s lips. “Now let me go so I can finish lunch. Do you want to eat outside?”

“Nah, let’s stay in,” Shikamaru answered, his expression becoming somewhat serious. “There’s something I want to ask you after we’re done eating.”

Perplexed, the white eyed nin merely nodded and continued to finish their meal. Once they were at their table, Neji couldn’t help but try to figure out what Shikamaru wanted to ask him. What could it possibly be? He was glad he had relaxed himself earlier otherwise the tension would have become aggravating. Instead, he kept a quiet, comfortable conversation going with his spouse. It wouldn’t do to stress his lover out. And he could tell Shikamaru was stressed about the idea.

After lunch was cleaned up, Neji suggested that they move to the library, where both could be comfortable as Shikamaru asked his question. The Nara smiled thankfully at his spouse and twined their fingers together as they made their way to the room. The older nin merely followed, smiling at the touch of his lover’s hand. Once in the room, Shikamaru settled down in the largest bean bag, pulling Neji down with him.

“So, what did you want to ask me?” Neji asked softly, snuggling closer before looking into his husband’s face.

The Nara breathed in deeply before letting it out, eyes closing at the action. “Well, there’s…a new experiment going on at the lab and…I was wondering if…you’d be willing to join me as test subjects in it.”

Blinking, the Hyuuga paused in thought. Shikamaru had never asked him for something like this before. It must be an idea that really perked his lover’s interest if he was willing to ask him for them to both be part of it. “What…is the experiment?”

Let out a soft breath, Shikamaru continued. “They’re trying to see if they can discover a way for…two males to have kids.”

The older nin blinked slowly. “What?”

“It doesn’t involve one of the pair to get pregnant mind you,” the Nara stated quickly. “It’s more like…the two combine and then donate the sperm to be planted in an egg. I know it sounds really awkward, but…I always thought it would be…kind of nice to have a kid with you. I’ll totally understand if you’re not ready for this, especially as kids can be tiring and we’d constantly have to trade off shifts with being ninjas, but I wanted you to at least…think about it.”

Neji was dumbstruck. So much so that he couldn’t even comment on Shikamaru’s faint flush, obviously proving that he had been extremely embarrassed to bring up such a thing. His spouse wanted to have a child with him. Wanted to raise a kid of their very own. And not adopt one for that matter. He wanted to some how combine their sperm and insert it into an egg were a child would grow almost as if it had been born by either one of them.

“You…want to have a child…with me?” Neji asked, finally able to focus on the Nara’s face.

Shikamaru nodded. “Yes. Again, I’ll understand if you say no. There are other male homosexual couples that the lab could use. Dad wanted to give us the first chance though.”

Settling closer to his husband, the Hyuuga turned his gaze towards the bookshelves. A child. Shikamaru wanted to have a kid! Neji didn’t know anything about how to raise a kid! And who could he possibly turn to on how to even begin raising one? How would they feed a newborn baby? Obviously neither one of them was going to produce milk and even thinking about that made Neji shiver. It just wasn’t natural!

But the older nin had to admit that he had fancied thoughts of raising a child. He knew he probably wasn’t the most appropriate choice for father material. He also loved his job. Being a ninja was something he had obviously grown up with and he wasn’t about to change his careers. But raising a child could be just as challenging, though in a much different setting. Was he ready for this? Was he ready for a kid? He needed to think on this.

“How soon do you need an answer?” Neji asked softly, trying to convey that he merely needed time to think.

Shikamaru had expected the Hyuuga to outright deny the offer, so sighed slightly in relief at Neji’s words. “They’d like an answer by the end of this week.”

Five days, Neji thought to himself. That should be sufficient. “Let me think on it then, alright?”

The Nara smiled. “Of course. Thank you, Neji.”

Smirking, the white eyed nin raised a brow in his lover’s direction. “I haven’t agreed to anything yet.”

Shikamaru chuckled. “I know. I’m just glad you’re taking time to at least think about it.”

Neji smiled and pressed a kiss to the Nara’s throat. “Well, you could have come to ask me something much worse then that, I assure you.”

Raising a brow, the Nara stared at his lover. “Such as?”

“Asking if someone could join us for a threesome,” Neji stated. He had always hated that thought, sharing his Shikamaru with someone else.

“…Actually-“

“No,” Neji scowled. “Absolutely not.”

Bursting into a fit of laughter, Shikamaru pulled his lover close. “I was teasing! I knew you’d outright refuse that.”

The Hyuuga glared as the younger nin continued to laugh before he huffed and snuggled into his husband’s arms. The fact that they were still so comfortable with each other, even after the strange offer, made Neji lean more towards accepting the experiment. If things stayed like this for them, a family was definitely doable. Yes, he and Shikamaru had their spats. Every couple did, but theirs had never lasted more then a couple of hours.

Sighing softly, Neji closed his eyes and relaxed with his spouse, smiling when a familiar hand came to run through his hair. Things would be alright. Even if he said no, the two of them would continue to live on happily. With this thought firmly planted in his mind, Neji let the decision he had to make slide from his mind for the time being. He had time to debate with himself and he had five days. He had more then enough time to come to a decision.

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Four days later, Neji slowly made his way up to the bedroom. Shikamaru had been getting rather anxious for his response on the third day, but hadn’t said anything towards his lover about it. The older nin knew that the Nara didn’t want to force him into a decision and he appreciated that. However, these past four days had been extremely stressful on his spouse and it was high time for him to end it. A stressed Shikamaru was a highly moody Shikamaru. One side of his lover that Neji didn’t appreciate.

Opening the door to their room, the Hyuuga wasn’t surprised to find his spouse pacing back and forth, eyes flitting in every direction. The Nara was only like this when something was really bothering him and Neji would willingly call himself an idiot if he didn’t know what it was. Walking into the room, effectively catching his lover’s attention, Neji smiled as he drew his husband towards their bed, rubbing his thumb in a circle on the back of Shikamaru’s hand.

“Should I give you a massage?” Neji asked, tilting his head as he smirked. “You’re so tense I don’t doubt you’ll explode soon if I don’t do something.”

Shikamaru scowled. “Har har. You’re absolutely hilarious.”

Sighing softly, the white eyed nin pulled the Nara down onto their bed, forcing him to sit before crawling behind him. Without a word, he began to massage the younger nin’s shoulders, earning a pleased groan from his tan neck. Smiling, Neji merely continued. It would be good to relax his lover a little before he decided to share his answer with his husband. He didn’t need the Nara doing something he normally wouldn’t do when he gave his answer.

“Thanks, Neji,” Shikamaru sighed, arching into the other’s touch.

“I have ulterior motives, you know,” Neji teased, giving his hands a break as he wrapped his arms around his husband’s shoulders.

“You always do,” the Nara retorted smirking.

Chuckling softly, the white eyed nin nuzzled his lover’s neck before he let out a soft sigh. “Let’s try it, Shikamaru.”

The younger nin froze for a moment, before slowly turning to look his lover in the face. He had been confused at first, wondering what the other had meant, but it had clicked after a few moments. Neji knew what was almost constantly on his mind lately and that his brain would automatically associate any random phrase towards it. Blinking, he stared deep into the white eyes that he loved so much, finding nothing but sincerity and confidence.

“Really? You’re willing to try it?”

Neji shrugged. “Having a child with you could be fun. Though I’m not saying it’ll be easy. Geniuses or not, we’ve never dealt with kids before.”

Shikamaru was silent for a moment before one of the largest smiles Neji had ever seen crawled onto his face. That smile had made his debating and ponderings entirely worth the time they had taken. The happiness and joy practically flowed from that smile and the Hyuuga couldn’t help but smile in return. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips against the Nara’s, enjoying the chaste kiss before pulling away and looking into his lover’s face.

It shocked him to no end to find tears.

“Sorry, sorry,” the younger nin half breathed, half laughed, wiping away the stray drops. “I just…I was so sure you were going to say no.”

Pouting, the white eyed nin hit the other playfully on the shoulder. “I’m not completely heartless.”

Shikamaru could only laugh and pull Neji into his arms, burying his face into the long brown hair of his spouse. “Thank you, Neji. Thank you.”

Neji’s heart was melting. Rarely was the Nara ever so open with what he was feeling and the older nin loved it when he was like this. It made him fall in love with his spouse all over again. Wrapping his arms around his husband, the Hyuuga merely held him close, enjoying the extreme happiness radiating off of him. Now that he’d accepted, Neji wanted full details of how things were going to work, but he could wait. Wait till Shikamaru could think properly.

It took several minutes and the two of them ended up lying on their bed together, holding each other close. When he was sure Shikamaru wouldn’t burst into tears again, Neji moved till he looked the other in the face. “Alright, so how does this work?”

Shaking his head, Shikamaru paused for only a moment. “I didn’t ask. I wanted to make sure you were going to agree before I found out what their plans were.”

“More like you were so sure I was going to say no,” the Hyuuga smirked. “When can we find out?”

“Now, if you’d like,” the younger nin stated, running his fingers through his lover’s hair.

Huffing lightly, Neji slowly pushed himself up. “Let’s go then. The more I know and the sooner, the better.” He quickly slid off of their bed, completely surprised when he was suddenly grabbed from behind and pulled back down. A muffled noise of shock tried to leave his lips, but he found that his mouth was covered by Shikamaru’s own. Moaning softly, he immediately gave in, let the Nara pour all of his passion into the kiss.

When they parted, Neji was gasping for air. “If agreeing to have children with you gives me this kind of kiss, I wonder what the sex will be like.”

Shikamaru snickered. “I’ve made you insatiable. Let’s go before I get tempted to throw you to the bed and have my wicked way with you.”

The Hyuuga shivered. “Oh, don’t talk like that. Makes me wish you’d carry out that threat.”

Several kisses later, the couple stood in front of the Nara labs. Neji was slightly nervous about entering inside, his imagination providing images of a crazed scientist’s laboratory. Mentally scowling, the Hyuuga chase those ideas away. Neither Shikamaru nor Shikaku were mad in any way and would definitely not condone the use of a live, human for evil experiments. Of course, he was still nervous that he might break something of importance. That could never end well.

As they entered, Neji was relieved to find that the aisles for walking were fairly large and he didn’t have to fear anymore of breaking something. He calmly let his husband lead him forward, looking briefly from side to side at all the glass containers and measuring instruments he hadn’t even known existed until this point. Not that he knew what any of them really did, but the point still stood that this was his first time seeing many of them.

“Hey kiddo, Neji. What brings the two of you here?”

Neji bowed politely in greeting and was half tempted to make the older Nara guess. As if he already didn’t know…

“We want to try that experiment, dad. Neji’s decided that he wants to try it,” Shikamaru stated calmly, in his normal fashion.

“We decided, Shikamaru,” Neji clarified. “Not just me.”

“Anyway, we’re wondering how we’re going to do this,” the younger nin stated, trying his hardest not to flush slightly.

Shikaku chuckled and leaned against a nearby counter. “You two obviously remember the mission to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke when you were younger. You fought against that Kidoumaru, right?” He continued when Neji merely nodded. “That Inuzuka kid – Kiba, isn’t it? – went up against a pair of brothers, Sakon and Ukon. You two remember them?”

The couple stared at each other for a moment before giving a nervous nodding. Was the older Nara proposing what they thought he was?

“I can already see you two have come to the conclusion I was coming to,” Shikaku stated. “I know it sounds risky and would probably feel even stranger, but we’ve found a way to utilize the skill those two had, with the ability to combine their bodies together. Safely too, I might add. There’s no way you two can get permanently stuck with each other. I’m sure that would make your married life far too strange and even more annoying in the bedroom.”

Neji flushed as Shikamaru let out a hissed, “Dad!”. The Hyuuga would probably never get used to how blunt his lover’s father was.

Shikaku merely laughed. “Alright, forget I said that. Anyway, the tricky part is you two have to create the seals together. Doesn’t matter how slow you have to go, but they have to be right on with each other. You’ll continue to do that until your bodies are nearly completely joined. Like those two brothers, the only thing distinguishing your bodies will be your heads. You’ll have to choose which one of you will be dormant though. It’ll be easier on your bodies and your brains if both of you aren’t trying to be in control.”

Shifting in his spot, the Hyuuga brought white eyes up to meet the brown of his father-in-law. “You’re sure there is no…threat to our bodies doing this?”

“I’m positive,” Shikaku replied. “We’ve had a few of the Nara clan try this out and their bodies ended up just the same as before. No deaths or disfigured bodies. Here’s a list of the seals you’ll need to perform. Take it home, memorize them and try to be relaxed when you do this. The more relaxed you are, the easier it’ll be and the faster it’ll go. Once you’ve gotten some sperm in this container, bring it back and we’ll continue on with the next part.”

Shikamaru had merely accepted both the instructions and the container before teleporting the two of them home. Neji was extremely nervous. Combining their bodies? Why did that sound like such a risk to him? Would it work? Would, for some strange reason, their bodies be permanently glued together if something went wrong? He was almost regretting the fact that he had agreed. At least until he remember the joy that had been on Shikamaru’s face. Swallowing his fear, Neji steeled himself. He could do this for his lover.

Once in their room, the Nara turned towards his spouse. “Neji, I had no idea that’s what they had in mind. If…If you want to back out-“

“I’ll hear none of that,” Neji interrupted, smirking. “I agreed to do this and I’ll follow it through, no matter the risks or how…strange the idea is. So let’s get it over with and then you can reward me with a nice round of sex after this.”

Chuckling softly, Shikamaru pressed a gentle kiss to the Hyuuga’s lips. “Alright. Let’s look at the seals then we can practice doing them together.”

Much to Neji’s surprise, there weren’t many and before too long they both had them memorized. They practiced doing the seals together a couple times before Shikamaru asked which on of them would be in charge. Not liking the idea of having to pleasure their combined body while in this strange state, Neji delegated the task to his lover, who merely smirked and said nothing more. Once that had been decided, both men stripped and Neji turned to face their bed, taking deep breathes to calm his brain. This was it. There was no turning back.

“Last chance to back out, akanbou,” the Nara stated softly, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of Neji’s neck.

The white eyed nin merely shook his head. “Not going to happen, Shika.”

Smiling, the younger nin turned their bodies till they could both see their reflections in the large mirror they had purchased not to long ago. Taking deep breath, Shikamaru started them off, slowly chanting the seals so Neji would know when to move to the next one. The Hyuuga continued to concentrate on his lover’s instructions, ignoring the strange feeling they made in his body. He stiffened when their backs met and then began to meld, but forced his mind to focus on the seals.

He was panting with the effort it was taking to do simply that after several minutes had passed. He kept pushing forward only on the fact that he had agreed and he wouldn’t disappoint his husband no matter how he felt. Shikamaru would pause in the chanting of the seals, only to whisper his love and affection for his lover before he continued. It wasn’t until they were nearly combined that Neji felt himself growing extremely tired and before he could warn the Nara, he was fast asleep.

When he woke up, he was lying on their bed, still stripped bare, but Shikamaru was sitting by his side, running tan fingers through his hair. For a moment he wondered if he had dreamt the whole thing. Opening his eyes, he locked them with the brown ones of his spouse, greeted with a pleased, calm smile. The Nara said nothing as he leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to the white eyed nin’s forehead, whispering a soft “I love you” shortly after.

“It…did it work?” Neji asked, slowly moving to sit up himself, finding nothing abnormal with his body.

“Yup,” Shikamaru nodded, lifting up the container in his hand. “You ready to go back and give it to my dad.”

The Hyuuga flushed. “It’ll be rather embarrassing to give your father a bottle full of…our sperm.”

Chuckling, the younger nin got to his feet. “True, but at least the hard part is over, right? Let’s go give it too him and then we’ll come back and I’ll give you your reward.”

Needless to say, Neji was dressed sooner then his lover and together they headed back to the labs. Shikaku seemed extremely pleased that they had gotten the task done so quickly and after allowing the two of them to state women they would have as possible egg donors (which was more embarrassing then Neji had ever thought it would be), the two went home and the Hyuuga forced his lover to execute his promise for the rest of the evening.

The only thing left to do now was wait and see if they were successful.
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Okay, I admit, that joining idea was odd, but it got the job done, right? On top of that, it's the kid(s) you guys have been waiting for! Or well...the making of them. :3 lol Please review? I want to know what you guys thought. Thanks. ^_^

Please excuse any errors. I was too excited to share this with you to read over it again. ^_^;