Viva Forever

This chapter's kinda short and I think the next one will be too.

Thanks for the reviews. Glad you're enjoying the read.

~Chapter 5~

Shikamaru found Neji’s reminiscence far too cute for words and it was near impossible for him to keep the amused grin from off his tanned cheeks. He did try very hard not to laugh though because he didn’t want the sound to interrupt his patient’s trance since he found it much too intriguing to bring to an end just yet.

“So, you and Sasuke were very close?” Shikamaru asked.

“Yes, we were very close.”

“Did you like him?”

“I liked him very much.”

“And he liked you back?”

“Yes. He cared about me and would always go out of his way to make sure I was happy.”

The shrink made a contemplative sound at the back of his throat and jotted down a quick note before tucking his pen behind an ear and resting the pad of paper in his lap. “Neji, can you tell me when you first fell in love with Sasuke?”

The young man furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. “I can’t remember exactly when that was but I feel as if I always have loved him.”

“I see,” Shikamaru nodded thoughtfully, “Can you tell me when you two got married?”

“The wedding was three days later,” his patient responded. “About a week after we first met.”

“As a general rule, most people wait six months before having sex and you get married one week after meeting this boy?” the younger man joked.

“Yes,” Neji replied. From within his hypnotic state he could not tell the difference between a regular question and a rhetorical one.

Shikamaru bit hard on his inner cheek and took a deep breath to prevent himself from bursting out in laughter. “Fair enough,” he said. “Can you tell me why you decided to get married?”

Neji’s simple answer was, “Because we both loved each other.”

“I understand that,” Shikamaru sighed then attempted to elaborate. “So you’re trying to say that you just decided ‘Hey, we love each other so much, let’s get married?’”

“Yes.”

“And Sasuke proposes to you an-”

“No,” Neji interrupted. “I proposed to him.”

The shrink chuckled then and brought the pen to his mouth so he could bite hard on it as an image came to mind of, a very young Neji, getting down on one knee and asking another little boy to be his life partner. He did fing it very surprising though, that it was the usually reserved Hyuuga that was the one to instigate this marriage. The marriage he didn’t remember.

“You asked Sasuke to marry you?” and, suddenly curious, he asked “how did you ask him?”

***

It was a lazy evening, after they’d both been released from school, and Sasuke had invited Neji back to his house (with Haruko Hyuuga’s permission, of course). There were not very many activities he could participate with Neji that involved the outdoors and, playing videogames with him often made him bored rather quickly. There were not many hobbies both boys shared, but because Neji was his guest, he had to make sure that he enjoyed himself whenever he came over. That was the only reason why Sasuke was now laying on his floor, amidst vibrant sticks of wax crayons, and colouring on the pages of a dot-to-dot book.

“Do you really love me Sasuke?” Neji asked, for what was probably the hundredth time in that day alone.

Sasuke made a loud, exasperated noise while rolling annoyed, black eyes and he almost wished he’d never told Neji how he really felt about him that day at lunch time.

His parents… well, it would be more accurate to say Mr. Hyuuga had enrolled Neji into the same public school Sasuke went to. Mrs. Hyuuga preferred he attended a private school but Neji wanted to go to the same institution Sasuke did and his father managed to convince his wife that at least he wouldn’t be alone there even though both boys were in separate classes.

Mrs. Uchiha asked kindly of her son to continuously watch over the Hyuuga’s child at Haruko’s bidding but she didn’t have to because Sasuke already knew that his appearance and mannerisms would make him a target for bullies and mean-spirited girls that were jealous of their friendship. And they had every right to be.

Instead of playing tag, baseball or any of the other games that he used to play with his classmates before Neji’s arrival, he would spend his entire lunch hour, sitting under the shade of a tree with the other boy. Sasuke didn’t mind. Neji was funny sometimes and he liked to tease him and listen to him whine. He was also well-educated for his age and he found that they became engaged in deep, thought-provoking conversations like: Where were the best places to go when playing hide-and-seek and how to hide yucky food from your plate. Sasuke even taught him how to feign a believable illness to stay home from school and Neji taught Sasuke how and when to use the ‘puppy-dog eyes’ to avoid a heavy punishment. But the more time they spent together on the school premises the more often Neji had to come running to him about someone saying or doing mean things to him.

Sasuke soon fancied himself the other boy’s bodyguard and would always escort him wherever he needed to go and, when Neji wasn’t around, he would hunt out the boy’s malefactors and made sure they clearly understood that he was not going to tolerate them treating him so unfairly.

Despite all the cuts, bruises and visits to the headmistress’ office, Sasuke enjoyed being Neji’s defender and, remembering what his father always said about ‘One having a true purpose with something to protect’, emboldened his cause and made him believe he was doing the right thing.

Maybe that was why he cared about Neji so much, because he knew the little guy needed him and, in a sense, he needed him too because, by his father’s definition, he gave him a true purpose in life. He should have been too young to come to such a conclusion, after all, a six year old’s only aspiration should be to have fun, but he did have fun when he was with Neji and that was why he liked being around him… loved being around him.

“You’re such a nag,” Sasuke muttered. “Yes! I do love you, Neji. Now will you stop asking that?”

A broad smile touched the young Hyuuga’s pink lips. “Sorry,” he apologized for irritating his friend. “It’s just that no one’s ever told me that before,”

Sasuke found that hard to believe and looked up from the book to ask, “Don’t your parents tell you they love you?”

“Yeah,” Neji nodded. “But they don’t count.”

“Hn,” agreed Sasuke and he turned his attention back to the book to find the next, numbered dot.

“My mom tells my dad she loves him all the time and my dad says that’s why they got married.”

“My mom tells my dad she loves him too,” Sasuke spoke up, so as not to feel left out. “And that’s why they got married.”

Neji seemed to ponder something for a minute then squeaked excitedly, “Then, if we love each other, we should get married too.”

The younger boy made a face. “No. Weddings are boring,” he declined.

“Nuh uh,” was Neji’s articulated argument. “They’re lots of fun. I’ve been to lots of weddings before,” and without waiting for further objection from the other boy, Neji gathered his action figures and Transformers and placed them to sit in rows on the floor. He pulled away the quilt, with much help from Sasuke, so he could remove the sheet to use as his veil. After everything was set up he took a look a glance around the room and once it met his approval he said, “Now we need someone to marry us.”

“I know, let’s get Itachi to do it,” Sasuke piqued. He was suddenly as excited about this as the other boy was.

They ran to Itachi’s bedroom, their little feet pounding on the floorboards like a small stampede but the noise was not enough to wake the eldest Uchiha sibling who was stretched out on his bed to take a nap before he went out with his friends that night.

Sasuke called out to his brother, but he did not stir. He called his name again and the teenager grunted at the nuisance and hoped it was enough for him to get the message. Neji wasn’t dissuaded, however, and reached out his tiny fingers to peel back the closed eyelids and reveal black eyes glinting with murderous intent.

“Get up, Itachi,” he whispered, ironically, not wanting to disturb his slumber.

“For God’s sake, what?” Itachi roared and sprang into a sitting position, causing the little boy to yelp and duck behind the much bigger Sasuke.

The younger boy was not afraid of his brother’s outburst, however. He was used to them by now. “Aniki, will you marry us?” he pleaded and clasped his hands beneath his chin.

Itachi gave them both a funny look, as if they had to be out of their minds to disturb his sleep for something as inane as this but he could tell they weren’t just doing it as an excuse to bother him so he opted to indulge the two, just for the heck of it. Not only did he want to get it over with quickly so he could go back to sleep but it would give him something to joke about with the guys later.

Only by the grace of what little compassion he possessed did he allow them to each take one of his hands and lead him back into Sasuke’s bedroom. Itachi grabbed a large, hard-backed book from the shelf and stood in front of the two boys. “Dearly beloved,” he began then glanced over at the congregation of toys that were staring up at him with plastic, glass or painted on eyes and it made him shudder at the creepiness of it all. “We are gathered here today, to join my stupid, little brother and the annoying, neighbour’s kid in holy matrimony.” He looked down at the grinning groom with his beaming bride hooked in one arm and tried not to laugh.

They were children and had the attention spans of kittens hyped up on catnip. There was no need to drag this on so Itachi decided to give them a shortened version of the matrimonial rites. “Do you, Sasuke, take Neji to be your lawfully wedded husband?” Itachi asked politically correctly.

“Wife,” Sasuke corrected him.

Itachi shot his brother a flat look. “Whatever. Do you take her or not?”

“Him,” Neji interrupted this time.

“Just answer the damned question,” the irascible teen growled.

“I do!” Sasuke shouted angrily and his big brother sighed at the outburst then put his ire back in check.

“Do you, Neji, take Sasuke to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do,” the child giggled.

“If there is anyone here who does not approve of this marriage, let them speak now or forever hold their peace,” and, at that, both Neji and Sasuke looked behind them as if they expected some form of objection from the toys.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so,” Itachi muttered under his breath. “By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife; to cherish and hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live.” He slammed the book shut then and looked down at the two with a wide grin. “You may now kiss the bride.”

Sasuke felt his face begin to tingle and he knew he was blushing but when he turned to the boy next to him, he was relieved to find his head was twice as red as his.

“Make sure you use your tongue, and lots of it,” Itachi suggested and took a seat on the bed to watch the show.

Sasuke nodded, too nervous to give verbal confirmation as he reached out to take both of Neji’s hands in his and, as he leaned closer, he shut his eyelids and puckered his lips. Neji did the same and when they met half-way, remembering his brother’s advice, he shoved his tongue deep inside Neji’s mouth and the other boy did the same.

“It’s slimy,” Sasuke complained after they pulled away.

“You’ll get used to it,” Itachi said nonchalantly and purposely tossed the book at the spectators on the floor. “Aww, you two make such a lovely couple,” he added, trying to be an instigator. “Don’t forget to consummate the marriage,” he said before getting up and turning to leave.

“What do you mean ‘cossumate the marriage’?” Sasuke asked, confused by the new word.

The tall lad sucked his teeth. “Do I have to teach you brats everything? Figure it out yourselves,” he snorted but before he departed he left them a stern warning. “Oh, and make sure you keep this from your parents, and if anyone does ask then I had absolutely nothing to do with it. Got it?”

They assured him with rapid bobs of their heads and both boys agreed that their marriage was going to be their little secret.

***

At that moment, Shikamaru’s cellphone went off and the high-pitched sound snapped Neji out of his trance.

The Nara cursed and fumbled with the electronic equipment attached to his belt. He’d turned the bell back on when he was ready to leave but forgot to switch it back to silent when he began Neji’s session. A glance at the screen warned him that it was his wife and he grimaced in preparation for the tongue-lashing he was sure to receive.

“Hi hon- yes, I’m aware of the time,” he nodded even though the woman on the other end couldn’t see it. “I know but my last session ran a little longer than- yes, I know it’s my turn to cook tonight,” and predicting what she was going to say next he answered before she even had the chance to ask. “And I have the list with me and I won’t forget to buy the groceries.”

Neji continued to lay upon the sofa, in silent contemplation, and while the hen-pecked husband tried to reassure his wife he wasn’t patronizing her, Neji replayed the events that were resurrected within his memories.

There was no doubt in his mind now that these things had occurred and it seemed as if they’d only happened yesterday. Those few, short weeks contained some of the happiest moments in his childhood so he couldn’t understand how he could have so easily forgotten all about them.

“I’ll be home as soon as- yes dear, I’m coming home now,” he amended at his mate’s command. “Yes dear, I love you too, Temari.”

Shikamaru waited for his wife to hang up first before he did the same. He remembered what happened the last time he put down a little too quickly and was not planning on sleeping on the uncomfortable couch any time soon.

“Sorry about that,” Nara apologized for the interruption and returned his cellphone to its case.

“No, it’s… my fault,” the Hyuuga replied, his voice barely above a whisper. He sat up slowly and meticulously unfolded his jacket before slipping one hand in, then the other, and Shikamaru could tell by the bemused look on his patient’s face that he hadn’t carefully prepared himself for whatever truths he’d uncovered tonight.

That usually was the case in situations such as these. Clients would often come in, claiming they wanted him to help them discover the reasons behind their odd dreams or obsessive-compulsive behaviour, but they never stopped to think that there was probably a very good reason why they blocked certain memories in the first place and only ended up traumatizing themselves for a second time.

Neji’s predicament was different in the sense that his experiences were not harrowing at all. Quite the opposite, in fact and Shikamaru was just as clueless as the other man was about this conundrum. People tended to block disturbing memories while retaining pleasant ones, so how on earth did Neji get that mixed up?

“It’s not a problem,” Shikamaru assured him and, even as he spoke, the wheels inside his head spun. “We managed to uncover a lot. That’s the most important thing,” he began and flipped back through his notes to reread them carefully to see if he could locate any clues. “We figured out who Sasuke is and found out that he was, in fact, telling the truth.”

“Mmm,” Neji nodded and cast somber eyes towards the floor.

The other man frowned when faced with his patient’s despondency. “Neji, you are in no way obligated to keep those vows. You were only children,” but his attempt to console the Hyuuga was a great failure.

He wanted to believe those words. Tried to force himself to accept it as reasonable logic but he found he could no longer agree with his original hypothesis. Not after this.

“I… I need some time to think about it,” Neji muttered, standing to his feet. “How much do I owe you?” he asked and calculated the overtime at the doctor’s hourly rate.

Shikamaru’s shoulders shook when he laughed. “I should be the one paying you for that entertaining story,” but when Neji refused to share his humor he told him not to worry about that now and he’d mail him a bill.

“Thanks for your time, Shika. I’ll see you later.”

Long after Neji left, the psychiatrist remained in his seat, completely disregarding his wife’s earlier demand he make his way home post haste.

He couldn’t let this rest. There had to be some reason why Neji forgot that boy. He had only reached up to as far as their ‘honeymoon period’, so to speak. Could something have happened later on that upset Neji so much that he didn’t want to remember Sasuke anymore? Did they get into a fight? Did he hurt him in anyway?

His curiosity burned uncontrollably and consumed all other responsibilities he had and he spent the next forty-five minutes going through Neji’s thick file and comparing the notes he’d made with those within the binder.

His wife called again and she wasn’t too pleased to hear that he was still in his office even after the conclusion of his final session. After dissolving her suspicions that he was having an affair with his secretary he figured it would be best if he packed it up now and tackled this first thing tomorrow morning.

He just knew this was going to keep him up all night, but it didn’t matter. Temari had the couch all laid out for him when he got home.

Shikamaru loved his wife dearly. She was such a nuisance sometimes and he liked to compare her to Hiashi (to himself, of course). She always wanted things done her way: When she wanted it done and how she wanted it done. Shikamaru could neither come, nor go, without first informing her. The similarities were remarkable and he found them quite amusing, even the way they felt about certain things but although they were both overly-zealous about their beliefs, Temari was liberal while Hiashi was conservati-

The man stiffened when something inside of him clicked.

Hiashi Hyuuga was homophobic!

Neji had never come right out and said it, hell, Neji couldn’t even tell his uncle didn’t like homosexuals, but Shikamaru managed to figure it out based only on what Neji said about the man. Could Hiashi’s innate disgust for gay people somehow discouraged Neji from further pursuing his relationship with Sasuke after he moved back? Did he suppress his emotions towards the other boy out of psychological guilt, which eventually led him to forget Sasuke altogether?

He was jumping to conclusions here but he had to admit that it would explain everything. He’d have to discuss it with Neji but that would entail him telling Neji about his uncle’s phobia. This also meant that if Neji decided to pursue the relationship with Sauske he’d have to finally stand up to his uncle, and that thought made Shikamaru frown.

Neji Hyuuga was not strong enough yet to confront Hiashi Hyuuga.