The Choices Between Friends

Chapter 26

 

Where's the Wookie?

 

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The morning came too early for Neji. He had done as Kiba ordered without intending to. His night was filled with dreams of them and nightmares all his own. When one crossed over into the other, he woke up face down in a tear soaked pillow. He hadn't done that in years. Nar's bright blue eyes haunted him from just behind his own lids and he forced his eyes open. 



He ran a hand through his tousled hair and drew a very shaky breath. There would be no more sleeping. He was out the door at four am and jogging down the walk. A good hard run would help him clear his head. He was sure of it. 



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Nara Shikamaru was not happy, not one bit. That man had picked Nara up at school in a bright pink mustang convertible with dark purple graphics along the sides. Shikamaru had been sitting on a bench outside one of the buildings with a class mate, when the flamboyant brunette pulled up. His heart had stopped for a moment when he saw Haku. 



'What the hell?! Oh CRAP!' Haku gave him a bright smile and a cheerful wave as he started to get out of the vehicle. Shikamaru hadn't known that he could move that fast, but somehow he was opening the passenger door and climbing in before Haku had gotten his door completely open. 



"My aren't you energetic?!" The pretty boy laughed while Nara scowled. They both knew the score and it amused Haku to no end.



"There's a deli a block that way," Nara said while pointing and trying not to sink too deeply into the seat. There would be questions when he got back, lots of them. Sakura Haruno sat where he'd left her on the bench. The pink haired girl was the school gossip. 'AND she's friends with Ino!'



Ino Yamanaka's father worked with Nara's dad. They'd been friends since the academy. Shikaku Nara would know about this by tomorrow. Shikamaru groaned as the car pulled out of the college and onto the main streets.



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"Where are we going?" Neji asked as he looked out the window and found the landmarks a bit too familiar.



TenTen gave him a winning smile. "There's a little dress shop in one of the malls that has THE most stylish new cuts! Unfortunately, it's in THIS part of town, but still... if you want cutting edge, sometimes you have to be willing to make sacrifices."



Neji would have rolled his eyes, but that was impolite. Instead he turned his head back toward the window. He missed TenTen's disappointed pout and the calculations going on behind the girl's dark eyes. 



"Th-thank you again Neji. W-w-we couldn't have gone w-without you," His cousin, Hinata stammered as she looked down and fiddled with the hem of her skirt. Neji bit back the sigh. Sometimes Hinata's simpering was as annoying as TenTen's scheming. 



"You do not need to thank me cousin," He realized he was being gruff and changed the subject.  "What occasion are you shopping for?"



TenTen was pleased that he'd asked. "Oh! It's the Rigata! We already have our more 'formal' gowns, but we need something new and eye catching for the Uchiha's party! You know. They always host a party for the younger set. Everyone who's anyone will be there! You, of course will be going as Hinata's escort and I'll be going with the two of you," She made it sound as if it was all settled and final. 



"I would have thought that Hinata would be going with a male classmate. Am I wrong Hinata?"  Neji didn't like having someone like TenTen manipulate his life. It was enough that his family did that, but for a mere acquaintance to do so, was intolerable.



"F-father w-won't allow me to go w-with anyone. He says that it l-looks cheap. I c-can d-d" She paused, uncomfortable with being the center of attention. "dance with some of the boys, b-but I have to arrive and l-leave with you," 'Oh and looking like an isolated simpering fool is better,' Neji thought bitterly. Hiashi Hyuuga could be such a fool when it came to his family and appearances. 



"I see. I hadn't been told. I will take you Hinata, but I'm afraid that TenTen will need to find her own way. I think I'll be wanting to take one of the sports cars, most likely one of the ones with only two seats. Something like that will give a better impression. This way it will not look so strange if you arrive with only me and leave with only me," He wanted to see the outraged expression on TenTen's face, but that would undo the nonchalance of his performance, so he continued to look out the window.



"I see," TenTen spoke icily. Neji bit back a smile. The girl knew his sexual preference. It had been gossip fodder for years. Still she tried her best to insinuate herself into his life. She was using Hinata. Everyone used Hinata. Neji was certain that the girl had never had a true friend in her whole life. She wasn't stupid, she knew how things were. 



What irritated him was that Hinata went along with it. She went along with everything, never offering her own opinion, never asking for anything for herself. They weren't here because Hinata wanted to be. There were here because TenTen did. He had tried to empower his cousin once. 



She had merely thanked him and chosen of her own will to do as she was told. Neji had lost all respect for her then. He didn't even try to be more than a bodyguard to her anymore. It was a waste of effort. She would never be more than what they made her and she had chosen that fate on her own.

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Haku wasn't so bad once you got him away from an audience. Their lunch was actually pleasant. He was very helpful when it came to the licensing information. Apparently, he'd never stayed at one shop for long. He liked to move around and work as more of a freelance guest employee than anything.



Haku was very open about himself, which shouldn't have been a shock. He rambled on as he munched on his sandwich.  He was originally from Japan. He'd grown up in an orphanage, after his parents died when he was young. After he turned eighteen he'd moved to the states with the help of his step-uncle Zabuza and now shared an apartment with the man's son, Sai.



All and all, it was a far more productive day than Nara had anticipated.  When Haku dropped him off back at school, he was pleasantly surprised and more than a little bit dazed.  Two classes later, he was ready to find his favorite cuddle pillow, Naruto, and take a good long nap.

 

 

 

 

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The dress shop was very bright and the dresses were very bold. The colors were deep and rich and no one dress was the same as another. TenTen was driving the shop girl crazy with her questions and demands. The blond girl was getting angry. Neji could feel a blow up coming. He stepped out of the shop for a moment after assuring the girls that he would be watching from the front of the shop. He just needed some estrogen free air. 



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Nar wandered around the mall. He liked to see what new stuff there was. Sometimes he got ideas for the music shop from magazines and sometimes he got ideas from other places. It may be Genma's shop, but Naruto had been working there since he was fifteen. In some ways it was more his than Gen's. 





Naruto was happily munching on a bag of pretzels when he saw someone who looked way too much like Neji step out of Ino's shop. There was no way it was his boyfriend, but there was no way anyone else could look like Neji either. He made his way over to 'RoKKer Wear' and peered inside from a distance. Ino was working with a brown haired girl with buns on either side of her head.



Nar laughed. He couldn't help it. Princess Leah shopping for dresses came to mind. The man in front of the shop turned toward the clear bright sound. It WAS Neji. Naruto bit his lip and then smiled brightly. What was he doing there?



"Um, hi Neji," The adorable blond said while rubbing the back of his neck unconsciously. 



"Hello Tesoro. What are you doing here?"



"I should so be asking that, not you? Thought you had family stuff."



"I am escorting my cousin and her friend on a shopping trip," Neji gestured toward the store.



"Leah? That's your cousin?" Nar asked incredulously. He expected someone more... well, special looking.



"Leah?" Neji was confused. Was that the shop girl's name?



"The one with the buns," Nar gestured toward a scowling TenTen. Then he looked around as if searching for someone. "Hey, where's the wookie?"



Neji got the reference then and smirked at his mischievous lover. "I have no idea where Kiba is."



Nar laughed and grinned. "Oh, hey! Does this make you Luke or Han. Han's hotter," Neji was chuckling almost uncontrollably now. Nar kept the most innocent look on his face. It was amazing how he managed that. 



"TenTen is my cousin's friend. Hinata is in the changing room. I believe she's hiding."



"Hiding? From what? Aren't you like her big bad scary escort body-guard type guy?"



"The interaction between the shop girl and TenTen has been getting more and more heated by the second. I truly expect one of them to explode soon. I was just getting some air before I'd have to intercede."



"Inter-what?" Nar blinked up at him. "Huh. Well, Ino has a mean right hook, so you might wanna get back in there and inter-whatever soon. She looks pissed." 



"You know her?"



" 'Course. Went to school together," Naruto giggled. "She had the biggest crush on Nara. Still blames me for making him gay," He blushed prettily. "She kinda walked in on one of our earlier tries at.... 'stuff'," Neji bit his lip. Nar was too cute for words, especially when he blushed. 



Neji returned to the shop just as the female voices reached an almost inaudibly high pitch. 'And people wonder why I'm gay.' "Ladies, please..."



"Hey Ino! What's up?" Nar had followed him into the shop, even after telling Neji that he'd rather stay as far away from an angry Ino as possible.



"Nar? What the hell are you doing here? Oh god! Nothing's happened to the idiot? Has it?" She almost looked panicked.



"Um, no. Nara's fine. I just wanted to say 'hey'. We used to be friends ya' know."



"Friends do not blow other friend's boyfriends Nar," The female blond growled at the male one and Nar flinched visibly.



"He wasn't your boyfriend Ino, even if you always thought he would be. Can't we get passed that?" Nar looked anywhere but Ino, Neji, or the other girl.



"We could have if you would have stayed with him, instead of using him as a 'fuck buddy' and then riding every dick in town," Ino was breathing heavily and her right fist was clenched.



"That is enough," Neji's voice was cold and hard. "What two people choose do in their relationship is no one else's business. Who may I ask are you to pass such judgement? Can you see into other's hearts and know their minds? I truly doubt that," Neji had moved closer to the girl. If she raised a hand to Nar, he would not let her touch his lover. 



TenTen watched in complete shock. Hinata was peeking out from behind the changing room door. "N-Neji? Is e-everything al-alright?"



"Yes, Hinata. Everything is fine. Please continue with your shopping," He didn't turn. He knew she would obey. Hinata always did as she was told, so it was a huge surprise when a cool hand touched his own. He turned to look into pale violet eyes, so like his own. 



"Neji. Please calm down," She didn't even stutter. It amazed him. Neji could only nod. Hinata turned to the blonds. "Please excuse us. We did not m-mean to intrude on y-your pr-private conversation," She gave a slight bow as she led a very stunned Neji toward the changing room. "Are you alright cousin? You frightened me."



Neji swallowed hard. He never would have dreamed of telling any of them unless he had to. They did not matter to him, his family... but Hinata, it was almost as if her eyes pulled it out of him. "He is my lover and she has no idea what she is talking about. I know both men, and she is wrong," He felt shaken and he was never shaken. 



Hinata smiled and laid her palm over his heart. "I thought so," With that she went back into the dressing room to change.



Ino glared after the cousins. "What the hell was that?"



"He's a friend Ino. He's seeing Kiba and he knows Nara and me and...."



"So, he thinks that gives him the right to step in between people who have been friends as long as we have?" Ino did not sound amused.



"We aren't friends Ino, you said so yourself."



"Sure we are. You piss me off and I'm jealous as hell of you Nar, but no matter what I say when I'm mad, you're still my friend," Naruto threw his arms around her and lifted her off her feet.  "Ooof! I love you too ya' nut, now put me down. Little Miss Sunshine and I have something to finish."



"Oh leave Princess Leah alone, Ino! If you do I'll buy you a double dip. I promise," Naruto was definitely not above bribery and Ino, thank goodness wasn't above accepting it.



"Deal," She turned to the uptown brunette. "How may I help you ma'am?" She asked in a sickening sweet voice.



Nar disappeared before the girls finished their shopping. Neji felt bereft.

~TBC...