Sign Me Yours

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"Y-you... what..." Chouji spluttered, eyes wide from the sight in front of him, seeing Shikamaru cuddled up to another guy. And not just any another guy, but Hyuuga Neji!

Shikamaru inwardly winced, pulling himself back from the sleep he'd been trying to get. He knew Chouji didn't know anything yet, having apparently been away on some sort of family business.

He sighed and opened his eyes, turning his gaze over to his friend. "Quit being troublesome, Cho," he muttered, smirking lightly. "Close the door and your mouth, then we'll explain."

Blinking, Chouji sighed and did as he was told before looking sadly down at his dropped bag of chips. Eyes lighting up after he realized the room was clean for once, he scooped it all back into the bag; his chips weren't ruined after all. However, it was suspicious that Shika's floor was clean, but seeing him cuddled up to Neji, he supposed that explained it all.

"So what's going on?" he asked, putting a handfull chips into his mouth, looking curiously at his friend and the other boy.

Shikamaru sat up, though snuck his hand over and took hold of one of Neji's. "After some things happening, all too troublesome to talk about and having to do with Ino, I... found out I was gay. Or at least Neji-sexual," he said, smirking. "And we decided to try a relationship."

"'Neji-sexual'?" Chouji chuckled, taking another mouthful of chips, looking at the two of them, noticing the faint blush in the Hyuuga's cheeks and the way he refused to look at him. From what he was seeing, the Hyuuga did seem to at least have some feelings when it came to his best friend. Which was good because Chouji had never seen any other emotion but anger on the Hyuuga's face.

"Whatever makes you happy," he shrugged, after having deemed Neji good enough for his friend. And just like that, they were back to normal, though Chouji thought that it might take a while getting used to.

Shikamaru grinned, sure that he'd actually talk more about it with Chouji later. But that's when Neji wasn't there.

"No one else knows we're together," he said. "So be careful what you say out in public, okay? Tomorrow we're telling Ino, Tenten and Lee but not before we get back at them for making it so awkward."

"No one knows, right," Neji snorted slightly, amused. "Forgotten about the stares we were getting earlier? About all of them will assume we are, thanks to you and Yamanaka-san."

Chouji raised an eyebrow at the two of them, taking another mouthful of chips.

"You're going to tell me everything later," he pointed out to Shikamaru, letting him know he didn't even have a choice about it anymore. Not that Shikamaru would hide anything from him, of that Chouji was sure.

Shikamaru nodded at Chouji before looking back at Neji. "No one knows that we're together," he emphasized. "All they would have gotten at the time was that I liked you."

"Yes, but people do assume, Shikamaru," Neji raised an eyebrow at him. "Most people don't wait for you to spell it out to them, so they assume." He explained, as if Shikamaru was a small child that didn't understand such a common phenomenon.

Shikamaru scowled and reached over, poking at Neji's forehead, pushing him back down on the bed. "Which is why rumors are hardly ever right."

"Yeah, but that leaves us with a handful people that think they know," Neji frowned slightly as he was pushed back on the bed, but he sat back up again, finding it strange to act like that in front of Chouji.

Shikamaru sighed and sat back. "Okay, so... some people, who don't even know us personally, might think we're together. Which we are," he said, putting all those facts down. "The problem is?"

"Those people gossip," Neji shrugged, smirking up at the other. "Ino or Tenten may hear." There wasn't really a problem, he had just felt like pointing out the flaw in Shikamaru's statement.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, smirking back at him. "Are you afraid you won't be able to pull off your role?" he asked, teasing.

"Don't be stupid." Neji crossed his arms over his chest, half-glaring at his boyfriend. "I can pull off any role, at any time!" He huffed, now having forgotten that Chouji was there, munching chips and watching the two of them as if he was at a theatre and they were the movie that was playing.

Shikamaru chuckled, grinning lightly, knowing Chouji was still there somewhere in the back of his mind. "Good. I don't think I could pretend to hate you if you sucked at it."

Neji smirked amused at his boyfriend, inwardly convinced that he was a much better actor than his boyfriend. "Think you could pretend to at all?" He asked, teasing slightly, implying that Shikamaru couldn't act at all.

"Oh, I'll be able to. Don't worry your pretty little head off," Shikamaru all but cooed to him.

"My head's not pretty!" Neji protested, huffing in a way that made his cheeks look almost like he was puffing them up childishly.

Shikamaru just chuckled and nodded to humor the Hyuuga. "Sure," he said before dropping it and looking back over at Chouji.

"So do you want to come too, when we mess with them?" He knew Chouji was much nicer than him when it came to those sort of things, but you never knew.

Chouji fidgeted a little from having the two stare at him like that, and he put another handful of chips into his mouth, chewing a bit slowly. He supposed it could be fun, but he was hesitating because Ino would be there, and she would get angry. And she might believe he was in on it.

Shikamaru understood his hesitation and shrugged. "She shouldn't suspect you; you've been away for two days and she doesn't know you're here, right?"

Nodding slowly, Chouji swallowed the chips before agreeing to come. It would be fun to watch, even though he felt a little sorry for the ones Shikamaru and Neji were going to mess with.

Neji on the other hand, watched the exchange between the two best friends, feeling like he was missing out on something, though that was hardly a surprise. They were, after all, best friends, and had been for years.

Shikamaru gave a small grin. Now it would be easier to convince Ino to come. She may not enjoy cloud-watching but she hated being left out when it was all three of them.

"So... Akimichi-san," Neji started, a smirk adorning his face, making the younger, chubbier boy gulp a little. "You don't happen to have any embarrassing stories about Shikamaru, do you?" he asked, voice almost silkily, making the Akimichi squirm uncomfortable. He didn't like refusing people their requests, or not answering questions, but he wasn't going to tell on his best friend either.

Shikamaru's eye twitched slightly and he gave a sigh. "Sorry Neji, but we haven't been going out long enough for you to hear those stories," he said with a small smirk.

He didn't really care if Neji ever heard his embarrassing moments, but he wanted to at least feel more secure in their relationship before putting his dignity on the line.

"Hn." Neji huffed again, pretending to be offended, much to Chouji's amusement. He found he approved even more of the Hyuuga when he didn't act like he had a stick up his ass.

"Now, maybe if you shared something of your own first..." he prompted even though he knew that the Hyuuga would never willingly humiliate himself.

"You wish," Neji smirked at him, knowing that if Shikamaru found out that he'd have a very willing source in Hanabi, he would never manage to live it down.

Shikamaru laughed, giving another shrug. "I'm sure I'll find out something eventually."

"So will I," Neji just replied, not quite liking that smug look on the other's face.

Shikamaru just smirked and shifted on the bed, laying down and propping his feet up on Neji's lap.

"Hey!" Neji looked at the feet in his lap, then up at the owner of the feet. "I am not some kind of furniture," he spluttered slightly.

Shikamaru's smirk widened and he raised an eyebrow. "No, but you are comfortable," he said.

Pushing his feet off his lap without a further thought, Neji's eyes turned to Chouji.

"What time is it?" He asked suddenly, having just remembered that he had promised to take Hinata out shopping for some new clothes, even though he didn't really want to. Still, he couldn't say no to Hiashi.

"Uh... twelve-thirty?" Chouji shrugged as Neji stood, suddenly seeming a bit hurried in his movements.

"I have to go, I have an appointment, and I'm already late. Bye." And with that, he was gone.

Shikamaru blinked, a bit surprised at his sudden departure but he just shrugged it off. It wasn't like Neji to lie, so he obviously had forgotten something. He stared at the door he'd left through before rolling his eyes and crawling over on the bed, closing it again, then turned to look at Chouji.

"Ah, congrats then," Chouji smiled at his best friend, happy he had found someone he liked. It wasn't a big deal that it was another boy, rather than a girl, though it was a bit surprising that it was the Hyuuga prodigy. For some reason, Chouji would have deemed him too 'troublesome' for his lazy friend.

Shikamaru smiled and sat cross-legged on the bed, facing Chouji. "Thanks. So you're really okay with all this?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Chouji smiled good-naturedly at his friend. Shikamaru put up with so many of his habits, it was the least he could do in return, even though by now Chouji wasn't thinking like that anymore; they were friends, and friends supported each other no matter what.

"As long as you're happy. I'm a bit surprised it's Neji though..." He put another handful chips into his mouth, chewing before looking a bit sadly at the empty bag in his hand, wishing it had been bigger, or that the bags contained more chips.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and reached over to the other side of his bed, pulling out a bag of chips and tossing it to his friend. He always had a stash for Chouji but Yoshino didn't like junk food in the house, so he kept them well hidden.

"Why? He's not loud and annoying like everyone else," he said, obviously not including Chouji in with that generalization, but that went without saying.

"Ah, thanks!" Chouji's face lit up as he caught the unopened bag of chips, immediately starting to munch on it. "Well... I suppose you’re right." Chouji shrugged a little. "He seems very... stuck up though, and he's probably high-maintenance too," he chuckled a little. "He seems like someone you'd call troublesome anyway."

Shikamaru laughed, settling down into the bed again. "Probably," he agreed. He'd already cleaned up his room without being asked, after all. "But I'm pretty sure he's worth the trouble."

Chouji actually stopped eating for a second, raising his eyebrows in surprise. Now, this was highly unusual for his friend. Seemed like he really had fallen for the almighty Hyuuga.

"It's nice you've found someone you think is worth it," he merely said, smiling before continuing to munch chips.

Shikamaru blushed a little, realizing what he'd said, though he still stood by it. He did his best to brush it off and shrugged. "Just don't go telling him that yet," he said, grinning. "Don't want his ego swelling even more."

Laughing a little, Chouji shook his head. Shikamaru was still Shikamaru though, even though things had changed slightly.

Shikamaru fell silent for a big before grinning again. "So... When are you going to tell Ino you like her?"

Flushing a deep, dark scarlet, Chouji shook his head before looking down, still blushing, yet feeling a bit miserable at the mention of his hopeless crush.

"I-- Ah... she'll just reject me..."

Shikamaru sighed, scooting off the bed to sit next to him. "You don't know that. She may be hung up on that stupid Uchiha kid right now, but she doesn't love him," he said, then smiled. "Eventually she'll realize that her perfect man can't be broken like a toothpick."

"Maybe..." Chouji sighed. "But we are talking about right now. I'm not gonna ask as long as she's like... that." He looked down, not wanting to say something bad about the girl he was crushing on.

"You mean being a bitch?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Even though they were friends, he had no qualms about insulting Ino or, in this case, stating facts. He just didn't understand why she was like that when someone who obviously worshipped her was right here.

"...infatuated with Sasuke," Chouji hung with his head, not even bothering to frown at his best friend for insulting his love-interest. Chouji had been crushing on her for quite a while now, and he was used to having Shikamaru call her names, even though he didn't like it.

Shikamaru sighed and inwardly winced, regretting bringing it up. He had hoped that seeing him of all people dating someone, he would have enough courage to at least think about asking Ino out.

"...So, uh, what were you doing these past couple of days?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Ah... well, you know... training with my family..." Chouji grimaced. He didn't mind training, well, not as much as Shikamaru did at least, but he didn't quite like what he had learned.

Shikamaru frowned, not liking the grimace. He knew Chouji didn't like training with his dad because he felt inferior to him but he'd always took it in stride before.

"What did you do?"

Grimacing again, Chouji started telling him about the pills and the effects they would have on his body. It wasn't very... pleasant to think about, although he knew that when it came down to it, he would use them if it was necessary.

The more Chouji got into it the more Shikamaru grew angry. He knew it wasn't his place, but how could they use such a thing? Sure it gave them more power, but it obviously came with a price-- and one that was too high to pay, in Shikamaru's opinion.

"...Don't ever use the red one, Chouji," he said, serious. "Promise me."

Looking at Shikamaru, Chouji felt a little better seeing Shikamaru's expression. While the other didn't say it outright, it was obvious what he was thinking. It made Chouji feel a little fuzzy that the other genuinely cared.

"I won't unless it's the only way out," Chouji said seriously.

Shikamaru watched him for a few seconds, not liking that answer but knowing he would have to accept it. They were shinobi, after all, and death was always lurking around them.

Finally he sighed and nodded back, showing that he understood.

Smiling a little at his friend's unwillingness to accept that he might have to use it, Chouji reached out the bag with chips, offering his friend some.

Shikamaru's expression softened and he reached over, taking a chip from the bag and biting it in half, letting a more comfortable silence settle over them.

They shared a companionable silence for a while, only disturbed by the munching of chips, before Chouji smiled.

"At least the Hyuuga looks like a girl," he chuckled amused at the thought. Well, the Hyuuga was in many ways masculine; his voice, his posture... it all told that he was clearly male, but his long hair and fair skin could cause him to be confused with a girl, at least from a distance.

Shikamaru choked slightly as he inhaled too much air, starting to laugh. He shook his head, wiping at the corners of his eyes as he caught his breath. He looked at Chouji, a wide smirk on his face.

"Sometimes, he acts like one too."

Chuckling, glad he had managed to cheer up his friend, Chouji grinned at him. So the Hyuuga acted like a girl sometimes too? That was just amusing. "He does?" he asked.

Shikamaru nodded, chuckling softly. "Yeah. Maybe I'm generalizing it a bit, but he does."

"How?" Chouji wasn't usually one to enjoy gossip, or talking about someone else behind their back, but this was a too good opportunity to miss.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and had Chouji been anyone else he would have hesitated telling him, thinking it would come back to bite him in the ass. But he knew that whatever was said in his room was never repeated.

"When I slept over his apartment before, it was... annoyingly clean. And he had a bunch of shirts that were all girl colors; purple, pink, those colors. And, uh... Well, I don't really know if it's a girl thing or not, but..." He trailed off, cheeks coloring a bit. "He cuddles in his sleep."

Chouji blinked. Then blinked again.

"Wait, wait... you slept over at his apartment? When?" he looked at his friend, although he grinned. Yes, the Hyuuga did sound like he had a few girlish habits. Sure, Chouji did like his own room clean, but it did get messy every now and then without it bothering him.

"Oh, uh..." He frowned, thinking back. "Two days before you left for training, I think. It was before I even thought I liked him."

Chouji looked at him for a while before grinning.

"Alright, you have to tell me the whole story," he chuckled.

Shikamaru groaned and gave an unconscious pout. He gave his best friend a half-hearted glare and started with how his mother had found out he had left Neji training before it started to rain. He flushed a little, glancing away when he started explaining the kiss, still thinking it was the stupidest thing he'd ever done despite it all working out.

Amused throughout the whole story, Chouji's promise to himself about not laughing was broken when Shikamaru explained the kiss, making him burst out in laughter, shaking where he was sitting.

"Only you, Shikamaru, only you..." he shook his head in mirth.

Shikamaru scowled, huffing slightly. "Yeah, well... Ino didn't make it any better," he muttered, grimacing.

"Actually..." Chouji was still laughing as he patted Shikamaru on the back. "I think she should be given some credit in getting you two together," he chuckled, knowing that Shikamaru wouldn't agree with him, but it was the truth, he now saw why she had done it. If she hadn't, Shikamaru and Neji would be in a stalemate, neither able nor willing to move, and it would probably have gone on until it all cooked out into nothing.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you would think that," he grumbled before putting Chouji in a headlock, giving him a noogie. "You're a hopeless romantic like that." He smirked and let go, adding, "She still should have gone about it in a better way."

Grinning, Chouji mock-struggled against Shikamaru's hold on him, letting him give him a noogie, laughing all the while.

"I don't think so," Chouji smiled, amused, once Shikamaru let go. "If you caught one whiff about her planning to get you and Neji together and you'd have avoided her like the plague."

Shikamaru scoffed. "That doesn't excuse her. Besides, if she'd told me that she thought Neji returned my feelings I would have searched him out or... found some way to confirm it first." There was a pause. "Okay, no, I wouldn't. I wouldn't have believed it, but still."

"Exactly," Chouji grinned, agreeing with the last thing Shikamaru had said. His friend, just like him, had no guts when it came to things like that.

"I think you owe her a thank you... after you have paid her back," he grinned.

Shikamaru chuckled. "Maybe." He smirked before nonchalantly saying, "Maybe I'll return the favor and get her a boyfriend."

"H-hey!" Chouji whined, giving his friend a look that reminded much of a kicked puppy.

Shikamaru's smirk widened a little and he shook his head. "Don't worry, I won't set her up," he reassured, though was actually growing fonder of that idea by the second. Of course Chouji would be his other victim, but he didn't need to know that.

"...you better not." Chouji tried glaring at him, though his glares were considerably less effective than, say, the glares of Neji and Sasuke, of this he was very well aware. He supposed he just wasn't made to look scary or intimidating.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes before giving the other an exasperated look. "You know I wouldn't do that to you, Cho," he said. "Besides I think you're the only one who could put up with her in long intervals."

Chouji nodded before blushing slightly at his friend's next words. "Think so?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, I know I get sick of her after a couple hours."

"But that's you," Chouji chuckled, knowing his friend thought most girls troublesome, and would get sick of any girl after too long. Come to think of it, that made him slightly worried about his friend's new relationship; he had described Neji as a bit girlish after all. But it wasn't his business and his friend was smart, so maybe the worry was unneeded.