Sign Me Yours

Last for the day. :B Happy birthday again, Shika!

--

A few weeks later, they were at the normal training field and Shikamaru, like usual, was lying down and cloud-slash-Neji-gazing.

Being done with his training, by now having no qualms with using all techniques in front of Shikamaru, Neji sat down beside his boyfriend, panting softly.

"You wouldn't want to join me training sometime?" he asked after a while, wondering when Shikamaru got the time to train.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, lips tilting upwards in a smirk. "No thanks, I'm perfectly fine just watching."

Blushing lightly, Neji lay down beside him, as he had taken to do when he was done training, having started to enjoy watching the clouds as well. Today, he was fully rested, so he turned his head to watch the Nara as he watched the clouds.

The silence dragged on for a while before Shikamaru glanced at him from the side of his eyes. "Something on my face?"

Shaking his head, Neji smirked lightly.

"...no, it's missing something," he replied softly, blushing as he leaned over to give his boyfriend a light kiss at the corner of his mouth.

Shikamaru blushed a little too but smiled and lent up, giving him another kiss.

Not pulling back this time, Neji deepened the kiss slightly.

Shikamaru was a bit startled but fell easily enough into the kiss, reaching a hand up and threading it into Neji's hair.

Eyes widening a little before closing, Neji could feel his cheeks heat up a little more at the touch, but he didn't protest or pull back.

After a few more seconds, Shikamaru broke the kiss, letting his head fall back into the grass again, catching his breath.

Breathing slightly heavier from the kiss, Neji's cheeks were pleasantly flushed.

"...Shikamaru?" He asked after a while, sounding slightly unsure, although he had gotten courage enough to ask after that kiss; it had been slightly more than the kisses they usually shared.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow to show he was listening, still not yet taking his hand away from in the other's hair.

"Hm?"

"You... like me, right?" Looking away, Neji's face was getting slightly redder by the second as he tried not to fidget.

Shikamaru frowned and nodded, confused. "Yeah, Neji... why? Is something wrong?"

"Ah... I was just wondering..." His blush increased. "You rarely even touch me... Aren't couples... supposed to be a bit more...?" he made a vague gesture with his hand, not finding the right word for it.

Shikamaru sighed, relaxing a little now that he knew it wasn't something bad. He smiled softly and turned his head gently so Neji was facing him again.

"I don't touch you because you wanted to keep us a secret."

Neji frowned a little. "You still kiss me," he pointed out. "But you don't touch me."

"I still only kiss you when no one else is watching," Shikamaru said. "Do you want me to, then?"

Flushing darkly, Neji still couldn't bring himself to look at his boyfriend. "...Maybe?" he murmured in reply, too embarrassed by how forward he was being.

Heaving another sigh, Shikamaru lowered his arm. "Neji, I can't do anything you want if you don't tell me," he said. "I may be a genius, but I'm not a mind-reader."

Huffing slightly, Neji sat back, still not looking at him. He wasn't going to spell it out for him, he just couldn't! He'd have thought the Nara should be able to figure out that much from the subtle hints he had been giving. Alright, so they very, very, subtle, but still.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, watching the other expectantly. His lips twitched slightly. "Well?"

Swallowing slightly and licking his lips nervously, Neji cast a quick glance at him before looking away again. How could something so simple be so difficult? He nodded finally, slowly.

Shikamaru's smirk widened and, without saying anything, reached an arm out and dragged him closer, wrapping his arms around him and bringing Neji half on top of him. "Better?"

Making a startled sound, Neji flushed again as he suddenly found himself draped halfway over his boyfriend.

"Y-yeah..." he nodded, relaxing a little as he laid his head down on Shikamaru's shoulder.

Shikamaru hummed in satisfaction, closing his eyes and relaxing under the Hyuuga.

Feeling the slight rumbling in Shikamaru's chest as he hummed, Neji closed his eyes, finding he rather liked being close to his boyfriend like this.

After a few minutes, Shikamaru started drifting off to sleep again, the extra heat and weight making it easier to fall asleep.

Chuckling softly as he noticed that Shikamaru was going back to sleep, Neji shook his head slightly, pressing a soft kiss against his cheek, still a light blush staining his cheeks.

Shikamaru gave a sleepy smile, hold on the Hyuuga tightening momentarily in a hug.

Shivering slightly, Neji closed his eyes, smile almost disappearing. How long had it been since he had been given a proper hug? He couldn't remember. Not that it mattered. Pushing those thoughts away, he just enjoyed it.

Shikamaru peeked an eye open and pressed a light kiss to the side of his head.

Making a soft noise that sounded almost like a purr, Neji shifted slightly into a better position.

"This is nice," he murmured.

"Mm," he sounded in agreement, closing his eye again and smile widening.

"Well aren't you two cute like that?" Ino's voice was suddenly heard, making Neji tense and quickly sit up, glaring at the girl that was sitting a bit away from them, camera in her hand.

Shikamaru scowled, half from the loss of warmth and contact and half from Ino herself. "Ino, just leave us alone."

Ino just giggled, taking another picture of them, making Neji splutter and scramble off of his boyfriend, his face completely red.

"Oh, don't mind me, Neji," she said with a grin. "I'm just getting my revenge!" She gave Shikamaru an evil look.

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed and he sat up. "You better not get those developed, Ino," he growled out. Not that he wouldn't mind having a picture of him and Neji, but if anyone who shouldn't see them, did...

"Hmm~" Ino pretended to think it over. "Why not?" She asked rather sweetly, teasing. "I was planning to post them all around town."

Shikamaru frowned, glaring at her. "You know, you really should think through your plans like I told you," he said. "What do you think would happen if Neji's uncle found out he had a boyfriend?"

"Oh, I don't know... Maybe he'd give you both a good spanking?" She smirked at them. Of course, she would never do such a thing, or even consider doing it-- she wasn't that evil, but it was fun to tease them about it.

"You certainly deserve that after the prank you pulled!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, falling back down on the ground again. "Get over it, Ino."

"Hah!" Ino turned her nose in the air. "Perhaps I'll just show it to your mother." She grinned at the thought. Yoshino would freak out totally if she found out her son had hid a relationship, and a boyfriend, nonetheless, from her.

Shikamaru sat up again, glaring at her. "Don't you dare." He knew his father still had suspicions, but his mother would freak out.

"Yeah, like you didn't dare make me and Tenten fear for your lives!" She bit back.

Shikamaru sighed, grumbling inaudibly to himself. "That was to teach you to butt out of everyone's lives."

"So? You wouldn't even be together if we hadn't!" Ino huffed. "I'm not going to forgive you until I get a proper 'thank you, Ino, for helping us hook up’!"

Shikamaru scowled, an idea coming back to him. "How about instead I hook you up with someone," he suggested, trying his hardest to keep a smirk from his lips.

"Please!" Ino rolled her eyes amused. "You wouldn't be bothered to get yourself a date," she snorted before pausing.

"With who?"

Shikamaru let the smirk appear then, giving a shrug. "If you're not interested, then oh well, but I know someone who said they liked you."

"Hmm..." Ino gave him a calculating glare before nodding. "If it works out, I'll forgive you," she decided. "If not, your mother gets to see the picture."

Shikamaru nodded, having full confidence that his best friend could woo Ino if she only gave him a chance. "Okay, but when I do set up the date, you can't leave him hanging if you don't like him. Give him a chance and see the date through to the end. That's my only condition."

"Yeah, yeah, okay." Ino grinned. "Now get back to cuddling, I've got stuff to do." And with that she was gone.

Shikamaru's smirk just widened as she left, lying back down, satisfied with his work. Now he just had to get Chouji to agree with it and not get nervous.

A bit apprehensive about lying back on top of Shikamaru, Neji glanced at him, still blushing. It had been alright when the Nara had pulled him to lay there; it was quite something else to take the initiative.

Noticing Neji hadn't moved and glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow. "Had enough touching already?"

Flushing lightly at the question, Neji scooted closer to him, pausing a little before he lay back down on top of him, rather awkwardly.

He smiled before wrapping his arms around the Hyuuga again.

Closing his eyes, Neji buried his face in Shikamaru's neck, breathing in deeply.

Shikamaru's smile widened and he closed his eyes, ignoring the small pleasant tingles the contact caused and just relaxing.

"Perhaps we should do this somewhere else?" Neji said after a while, lifting his head. "We were lucky it was only Ino that saw us previously."

Shikamaru sighed, giving an unconscious pout. "But that means moving," he whined softly. He was comfortable where he was!

"Lazy..." Neji smirked, although he made no move to get up or go anywhere else.

Shikamaru chuckled, giving a half-shrug. "You knew that coming into this relationship," he said, still not opening his eyes.

Nodding in agreement, Neji just let out a soft, amused chuckle.

Shikamaru just smirked, tightening his hold on the Hyuuga again.

"Now it would come in handy to know that jutsu Gai-sensei and the others use to just appear and disappear..." Neji sighed softly.

Shikamaru made an agreeing noise, peeking open one eye. "Yeah, but they don't teach you that until you're promoted to Jounin."

"I know." Neji nodded, rather annoyed at that.

Shikamaru sighed, closing his eye again. "I'm sure you'll be promoted next time around, Neji, and you'll be closer to that," he said. "It's not like anyone could be this time. I heard Naruto's out with someone looking for the next Hokage anyway."

Neji just sighed, although he knew he would do his absolute best to be promoted at the next Chuunin-exam.

Shikamaru pulled away a little and leaned down, kissing Neji again.

Kissing back, Neji closed his eyes, shivering a little at the gentle nature of Shikamaru's kisses.

Shikamaru broke the kiss before the urge to do more overcame him and settled back down.

However, Neji was not letting it go just yet. Leaning up, he kissed him again, his grip on Shikamaru's clothes tightening slightly.

Shikamaru blinked, startled, but returned the kiss happily.

Breathing slightly heavier as he pulled back, Neji gave him a small smile before laying down, his head on the Nara's chest, listening to his steady heart-beat.

Shikamaru couldn't help but smile back, tightening his hold on Neji again before moving one hand to stroke his hair.

"Mm..." moaning softly, Neji didn't notice that his body started responding to the gentle treatment of his hair.

Shikamaru's hand stilled and he looked down at Neji, eyebrows raised in surprise.

Tensing once he realized what was happening, Neji jumped away from his boyfriend, face beat red as he sat beside him, trying to hide his problem.

"S-sorry..." he blinked, still surprised he would react like that to having Shikamaru stroking his hair.

Shikamaru shook his head, face heating up a little as he sat up. "It's fine," he muttered. "No big deal."

Not able to look at him, Neji's face was completely flushed. That was something he didn't want to happen again unless that was their intention-- and at that thought, he flushed some more.

"So... Uh..." Shikamaru cleared his throat in nervousness.

"I… suppose I should... go home..." Neji glanced nervously about, pretty sure that Shikamaru didn't want to be around him at the moment, and his embarrassment made him wish he could be swallowed by a hole in the ground.

Shikamaru frowned a little, nodding after a while. "...If you want to," he said finally.

"Ah... that's not really it..." Neji couldn't just say that he was too embarrassed to stay around someone else like this, or that he'd prefer to get rid of his problem quickly. It didn't mean he wouldn't have wanted to stick around for a while longer had it not, well, happened.

Shikamaru studied Neji for a while before nodding slowly again. "Okay; it's fine. I should find Chouji and talk with him anyway."

Nodding, Neji leaned in, ghosting his lips over his boyfriend's before he was off.

Shikamaru smiled, watching him as he walked off. He waited another minute before forcing himself up and starting his search for Chouji.

--

At his home, Chouji was busy eating dinner, the food disappearing quickly from his plate.

Shikamaru knocked on his front door, running different scenarios through his head on how this would all plan out.

"Door's unlocked!" Chouji called in between chewing and swallowing, not bothering to get up and answer the door.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, smirking a little. Chouji was getting to be more like him. He opened the door, strolling in and heading straight for the kitchen. "Hey."

"Hey," Chouji grinned up at him, pausing in his eating. "How was your day with Neji?" he asked, amused at how much his best friend had taken to hang out with his boyfriend, despite the fact that they didn't have much in common; Neji enjoyed training and working out, Shikamaru was pretty much the opposite, enjoying his rest and not giving a damn if he was good at something or not.

Shikamaru smirked, pulling out a chair to sit down in. "Fine. Up until Ino showed up and tried to blackmail me, that is."

"Oh?" Chouji smiled, curious about what Ino had done to annoy Shikamaru this time.

Shikamaru let out a sigh and nodded before resting his head on his hand. "She snuck up when we were laying down and started taking pictures. Said she'd show 'kaa-san unless I apologized."

"So..." Chouji started, amused at the aspect of Ino showing Yoshino the photo. It was something he wouldn't want to be around for if that happened. "Did you apologize to her?"

Shikamaru shook his head, smirking lightly. "No, I made a deal with her," he started casually. "I told her I knew someone who really liked her and I'd get her a date with him. If it goes well, she'll forget about everything; the pictures, the prank and the fight."

Chopsticks falling from his hand, Chouji stared at his best friend.

"...you didn't..." he shook his head slowly.

Shikamaru stared back, sighing softly. "Chouji, you know she likes you as a friend. The only thing stopping you from being more is yourself. Just show her how much you care."

"You know she won't," Chouji looked down, sighing. "She thinks I'm too fat, she's said so herself!"

Shikamaru frowned. "If you show her you're serious, I doubt she'll turn you away. Besides I made her promise she wouldn't cut the date short. You're the nicest guy I know, she'd be stupid to not appreciate you."

"We can only hope..." Chouji shook his head, knowing that Ino, while a great girl, was superficial when it came to who she wanted as her boyfriend.

Shikamaru nodded, giving his friend a smile. "So you'll do it?"

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Chouji looked at his friend, not very hopeful. "Not unless I want you to find someone else to go with her."

"I wouldn't do that," Shikamaru said. "I think you should try and do this, but if you really don't want to, I'll tell her... I don't know, that the guy died on a mission or something." He shrugged, smirking softly. Obviously he'd come up with a better lie if Chouji didn't want to.

Chouji shook his head, a faint blush in his cheeks. "No... I'll do it, but if it goes wrong I'm blaming you!"

Shikamaru chuckled, knowing very well that if something did go wrong in their friendship it would be his fault.

"I know, but nothing will go wrong," he said before his smirk widened. "So have any ideas on what you want to do on the date?"

"...I don't know." Chouji blushed a little more; after all, he hadn't been on a date before, so he guessed anything would do.

"Well, you'll have to do something special," Shikamaru said. He didn't know much about dates either, but he did know that Ino would be expecting something amazing and special, especially since she was spoiled by her family anyway.

"...fancy restaurant?" Chouji asked, making a note to eat before going there. He doubted his wallet could handle eating the amount of food he usually did eat at a fancy restaurant.

Shikamaru nodded after a while. "Yeah, but plan something else too. You know how she is with her diets," he said, scowling. He really didn't see the purpose of dieting; it was the stupidest thing anyone could do.

"... isn't there supposed to be a festival in a week?" Chouji frowned a little. Normally he didn't pay attention to stuff like that, but he seemed to remember his father mentioning it.

Shikamaru blinked, wondering how he had forgotten that. Probably had to do with that he avoided festivals and their crowds like the plague.

"Yeah, there is," he said, grinning. "That's a good idea."

Grinning, Chouji picked up his chopsticks, continuing his meal.

"What about you and Neji? Isn't it time you two go on a real date?"

Shikamaru sighed, blushing a little. "It's troublesome, but yeah, probably..."

Chuckling at his friend's choice of words, Chouji grinned. "You should go to the festival too. No one would find out you aren't just friends going together."

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, I know," he said then he reached out and stole a bit of food from his friend before that 'last bite' would be the only thing left.

"So, have you guys gone any further than kissing?" Chouji grinned, not able to help the fact that he was a bit curious about his friend's relationship, and last time he had checked, they hadn't done anything more than a bit innocent kissing.

Shikamaru looked at Chouji in surprise and shook his head. "N-no, not really. He... complained earlier that I wasn't touching him enough, so we, well, cuddled for a while. Which is when Ino showed up."

Chuckling again, Chouji shook his head a little.

"What do you think? Do you want to do more than kiss?"

Shikamaru flushed, glancing away. "...Maybe. I don't know," he said, sighing. "I wouldn't mind it."

"Then perhaps you should try it." Chouji shrugged. "If Neji complained you weren't touching him enough, I don't think he'll freak out. Worst case, he'll say he wants to wait with whatever you want to do a little longer."

He grumbled inaudibly for a second but just nodded. "Yeah, I know," he said finally.

Chouji did find it a little strange to talk Shikamaru into doing... stuff with his boyfriend, but he supposed that as long as they didn't go into details, it was all fine.

"So," the Nara started, smirking again, "which of your festival outfits will you wear?"

Flushing slightly as he didn't like dressing up, Chouji shrugged. "A black kimono and a pair of simple hakama, I suppose..." he muttered after a while

Shikamaru inwardly winced and smacked himself for what he was about to say. It would sound so gay and girly.

"You need something better than that if you want to impress Ino, Chouji. It's too plain."

"Then what?" Chouji raised an eyebrow at his friend. Since when did Shikamaru think about things like that. "That's traditional wear."

Shikamaru nodded, letting out a sigh. "Yeah, but you should at least wear something with a pattern. And I remember her saying once that you'd look good in blues," he said, muttering the last part.

"What?" Chouji's head snapped up, blush covering his cheeks.

"It was a couple months back," he said, shrugging. "When she was on that make-over kick after she cut her hair in the preliminaries. Said you were a 'winter' and would look good in blue."

Still blushing, Chouji just nodded, almost making a good imitation of Hinata as he fidgeted a bit.

Shikamaru smirked, amused by how bashful Chouji was being. "So do you have a kimono or yukata you could use?"

"I... I guess I have a blue one somewhere..." he murmured, still blushing.

He raised an eyebrow, slightly skeptical since he hadn't seen his friend wear any formal wear for a few years now.

"One that you're sure fits?"

"...I don't know..." he blushed further.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Well go look and try one on. If it doesn't fit, we'll go shopping." He was fairly sure he needed a new one anyway, if he was going to go with Neji. The one he owned he knew was ragged and probably had a few moth-holes by now.

Nodding, Chouji finished his dinner quickly before he walked up to his room, starting to rummage through his closet in search for the blue kimono he knew he had.

Shikamaru waited downstairs, knowing his friend preferred to change behind closed doors even if he knew Shikamaru didn't care what he looked like.

After a while, Chouji came back down, still wearing his usual clothes. "It was too small," he sighed.

Shikamaru nodded, not surprised, and stood up. "Want to go get one fitted then?"

Chouji nodded, knowing it had to be done sooner or later, and it wasn't wise to wait too long before the festival. Two or three days before it, no one would probably have the time, having gotten too many orders.

"You have your money then?" he asked, wanting to get out and get it done with as quickly as possible.

Nodding again, Chouji grabbed a bag of chips, walking outside with his best friend.

After a few minutes, they walked into a tailors, looking around at the different kimonos on display while waiting for a worker to, well, work.

"Can I help you?" A male tailor approached them, smiling in that way people did when dealing with customers.

Shikamaru glanced over at him and nodded. "Yeah, we both need a kimono for the festival next week."

"Ah, I see" he bowed a little. "Do you see any fabrics you like? We have some very nice ones..." he said, beginning to talk about the different kinds of fabrics they had.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, blocking out the man's voice after a while. "This is fine for me," he interrupted, gently fingering a green fabric with bamboo shoots patterned on it.

"Very well," the man bowed again before clapping his hands. Soon another man came over to them, and told Shikamaru to follow him to get the measurements.

Chouji took a while longer to decide, but ended up with a midnight blue fabric with white star-pattern.

Shikamaru followed the other back, soon inwardly complaining about this whole process. It was really too troublesome. It wasn't until almost an hour later that he was let go with instructions to come back in three days to pick it up.

Done around the same time, Chouji looked a little sick. He most definitely didn't like the measuring process, but he had done as asked, knowing it would be over sooner that way.

Shikamaru smiled at his friend before slinging an arm around his shoulder. "Come on, I'll treat you to some barbecue."

"Really?" Chouji seemed to perk up a little at the thought, some colour returning to his face. He was lucky to have a friend that knew how to cheer him up, and willing to do it.

Shikamaru nodded, smile widening a little as he steered Chouji out of the tailors. "Yeah, just try not to eat up all my money, alright?" he asked, half joking.

"I'll try," Chouji grinned back, letting himself be lead towards the barbecue by him.