Sign Me Yours

Shikamaru twitched slightly as his kimono was tugged on by another little kid passing by. Damnit, he hated festivals!

"I wonder how their date is going," he muttered out loud with a sigh, repeating himself again.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Neji just huffed and looked away from his boyfriend. He could understand that he was worried for his friend, but this was getting ridiculous! He shouldn't have let the other persuade him to go on a real date with him, because he sure as hell wasn't enjoying himself with the way Shikamaru constantly worried and fussed about his best friend that wasn't even there.

Shikamaru let out another sigh and pushed his hair out of his face. He didn't know why he'd let Ino convince him to keep it down; it was such a hassle. He smirked as he got an idea and turned to look at his date. His smirk turned down a little when he saw how grumpy Neji was, but shook it off.

"Hey, if you want to snack on anything, buy it now. I want to show you something."

Raising an eyebrow elegantly, Neji looked questioningly at his date, mulling over it in his head.

"I'm not hungry," he said after a while, slightly more pleased now that Shikamaru was paying attention to him again. "Lead the way."

Shikamaru nodded and reached out, grabbing his hand and leading him through the crowd. Slowly it started to filter out as they got farther and farther away from the main streets and closer back towards the Nara house.

Wondering silently what they were doing there, Neji just followed him, a faint hint of pink in his cheeks from them holding hands in a crowd.

Shikamaru glanced back and pressed his finger to his lips, signaling him to keep quiet just in case. He crept around his own house and started leading him through the thick forest in the back.

Still puzzled, Neji just nodded and kept silent as he snuck around the house, wondering where they were headed as they walked through the thick forest, knowing that was probably where they kept the deer.

Eventually he stopped in a large clearing on the top of a hill and let go of Neji's hand. They could vaguely hear the sound of a babbling brook, further back in the woods.

"Look," he said, gesturing over the hill, some of the sparkling lights of the city in full swing able to be seen perfectly from there. "Still fun to look at, we'll be able to see the fireworks from here and, best of all, no crowds."

Eyes widening slightly at the sight Shikamaru showed him, Neji smiled a little, not letting go of his boyfriend's hand.

"I like it," he said softly, somehow not wanting to disturb the silence of the forest too much.

Shikamaru smiled slowly and curled his fingers, grasping Neji's hand again. "I'm glad," he said, happy to see the other boy smile. He leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

Kissing him back readily, Neji just tightened his hold on his hand a little, starting to get comfortable with having a boyfriend, finding it more and more pleasant as time passed by.

Shikamaru smiled into the kiss, taking a step closer and closing his eyes.

Eyes falling shut as well, Neji reached up, wrapping his arms lightly around the Nara's neck, pulling him slightly closer.

Shikamaru wrapped his arms around Neji's waist. Remembering his friend's advice, he hesitantly snuck his tongue out, tracing Neji's bottom lip.

Making a soft noise, Neji's lips parted without hesitation, his own tongue coming out to meet Shikamaru's.

A little surprised but falling into the deeper kiss, Shikamaru moved his tongue along Neji's and into his mouth, pressing closer.

Neji felt a little clumsy as they kissed like that, and his cheeks flushed, but he didn't complain in the least.

Shikamaru pulled back after a minute, needing to take in oxygen properly. He opened his eyes and licked his lips, finding more than a bit of saliva clinging to them.

Panting softly as they broke apart, Neji didn't open his eyes immediately, as if savouring the sensations he had felt during that kiss.

Shikamaru smirked lightly and gave a quick, soft kiss to his lips before pulling back completely.

Almost startling at that, Neji's eyes snapped opened, a blush staining his cheeks.

"Ah... thanks for showing me this place..." he murmured softly, turning to admire the view again, not quite knowing what else to say.

His smirk softened into a smile and he gave a small shrug, following his gaze. "It's nothing that special, but you're welcome."

"It's more special than the training-field," Neji pointed out, sitting down on the ground, content with watching the festival-lights.

Shikamaru gladly sat down beside him, reclining back on the grass. "I guess that's true; it's less public here."

"Are there deer around here?" Neji asked, a bit curious as he looked around, wondering if they might stumble into some on their way back in the darkness.

"Yeah," Shikamaru said with a nod. "They're around; just not used to you yet, so they'll take a while before they come out. Especially if there's lots of noise. The more they see you, though, the more they'll trust you and show themselves sooner."

Neji nodded, activating his byakugan silently, curious if there were any around right now, and true enough, there was a small herd not too far away from them. Deactivating it again, he lay back down.

Shikamaru smirked a little, amused at how much the other seemed to want to see some deer.

"What's with that smirk?" Neji asked, turning his head to look at his boyfriend, an eyebrow raised.

"Nothing," he said with a chuckle. "You're just cute." He leaned over and pecked the tip of his nose.

Eyes widening a little, Neji flushed. "H-hey... I'm not cute!" He frowned a little.

Shikamaru chuckled, smirk widening. "Of course you're not, Neji," he said, teasing.

"No one's described me as cute before!" He gave his boyfriend a soft glare.

He quirked an eyebrow. "Maybe not to your face, they haven't," he said. "But I've heard it quite a bit. Besides..." He paused, scooting closer and draping an arm over his waist. "I'm your boyfriend, I can say it; I have privileges."

"Oh really now?" Neji raised an eyebrow amused. Okay, so it was a bit creepy that people went around and called him cute, but at the moment that was not important.

"Does that mean I can call you cute in return?" He teased back.

Shikamaru snorted, giving a half shrug. "If you really think I am, go right ahead," he said, not thinking he, himself, was much attractive in any way.

"Hmm..." Neji thought about it for a while, before smirking. "Cute is, perhaps, not the right word," he muttered to himself. "I'd rather say you're... sweet and handsome." Blushing, he looked away from his boyfriend, not used to receive or give any complements.

Shikamaru's eyes widened a little and he blushed, smiling softly. He pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek before settling against him, content.

Just then a thin whistling noise was heard, followed by a small explosion, indicating that the fireworks had begun, all sort of colours exploding all over the sky.

Shikamaru turned his head at the noise, smile widening a little. Okay, so now he was glad that Chouji suggested he go too. Again, he wondered how his friends were doing but pushed that thought away, just wanting to lie here and enjoy this time.

"It's much better to watch it from here." Neji nodded, turning his head as well, just watching the fireworks.

Shikamaru chuckled and nodded. "Definitely. No kids running around and trying to trip you."

Chuckling a bit, Neji agreed, but the best part, he decided, was that no one was staring at them as if trying to figure out if they were just friends or something more. Not that he would voice that out loud of course.

Comfortable silence settled over them and eventually Shikamaru let his eyes drift closed, happy to just listen to the sounds of the fireworks.

Looking over at his boyfriend, Neji shook his head in amusement. He was still lazy like usual. Leaning over, he gave him a soft peck on the cheek, before laying back again.

Shikamaru smiled before turning onto his side and shifting closer, head tucking in and resting on the other's shoulder.

Holding around him lightly, Neji lightly let his hands slide through the Nara's hair, liking that he had let it down for once.

Shikamaru made a contented noise in the back of his throat, knowing that he'd be falling asleep in a few minutes if Neji kept that up.

"...I like your hair," Neji said after a while, continuing to run his fingers through it. It was slightly coarser than his, more manly in fabric he supposed.

Shikamaru just mumbled something inaudible in response, most likely having nothing to do with what Neji had just said.

Chuckling, Neji just let him lay there like that, not minding if he fell asleep on him. Continuing touching Shikamaru's hair, Neji blushed when he remembered when Shikamaru had done that to him. It had been embarrassing, sure, but at the same time... it had felt good.

Not more than five minutes later, Shikamaru was asleep, unconsciously snuggling closer as his body heat naturally dropped.

Sighing, Neji knew he had to wake the other boy up, he could easily get sick like this.

"Shikamaru?" He asked, shaking him lightly.

"Mmngh." Shikamaru grumbled, shutting his eyes tighter and burying his head deeper into Neji, refusing to wake up.

"Come on... you can get sick like this," Neji sighed, continuing to shake him gently.

Shikamaru whined low in his throat, obviously awake now but trying not to be.

"Either you get up now and we walk home, or I'm leaving you here for the predators to get you," Neji huffed, seeing as Shikamaru was awake, but refusing to get up.

Shikamaru let out a small snort, knowing the only predators in the Nara forest were the birds that could fly from place to place. But he looked up, trying to give the best helpless look he could muster.

"Carry me then?"

"You..." Neji blushed, glaring at him, before sighing, knowing it was no use. "Fine, princess," he rolled his eyes.

Shikamaru just smirked in triumph, letting the name roll off him, unfazed.

Leaning down, Neji picked him up, throwing him over his shoulder before he started walking, hoping he remembered the direction correctly. What he didn't pay attention to was how Shikamaru's head was right above his ass.

Shikamaru squawked in protest before going silent and blinking. He smirked slowly, staring at his ass as he moved. What a lovely sight.

Not aware of the staring, Neji finally found the trail they had been following when they came there. Following it, it didn't take long before they were at Shikamaru's house.

Shikamaru inwardly sulked as he knew Neji would now put him down since they were out of the forest.

Putting Shikamaru down, Neji was quite sure his parents would not like seeing their son carried like that. "Satisfied?" He asked with a smirk.

Shikamaru sighed and gave a nod, a slight pout going unnoticed by himself.

"I'll... see you tomorrow, then," Neji was amused at the way Shikamaru pouted a little.

Shikamaru nodded again, smiling now. "Yeah, usual plac-- oh, uh, I kinda wanted to see how... it went..." he said.

"I see," Neji chuckled softly, smirking. "So you'll be a bit late?"

"Yeah, probably not until after your second break," he said. "You don't mind, right?"

Neji shook his head, kissing Shikamaru's nose with a blush. "I don't mind," he replied, not mentioning that he would probably be able to concentrate better when he wouldn't be there.

Shikamaru smiled and pressed a quick kiss to his mouth. "Thanks," he said, then joked, "Maybe you won't trip over yourself."

Huffing, Neji gave him a light hit on the head, smiling despite that. "I'm not tripping all over myself!" He crossed his arms.

Shikamaru chuckled, smirking lightly. "Okay, have it your way."

"Hn," smirking back, Neji kissed him shortly on the lips again. "See you tomorrow." Turning and walking towards his own apartment, Neji smiled slightly to himself; it had been a good evening.

Shikamaru smiled as he watched him walk away. Turning, he slipped into his house, for once glad that he had gone to a festival.