A Troublesome Series of Events

Gasp! More reviewers! -gives love-

sethian: I hope it isn't too disturbing for you. xD I'm glad it's at least good enough to keep reading~.
natalie: We probably would've kept him captive longer but there wasn't much we could think of to happen besides more sex. Which... it good, but not enough to me. D: Also he was gone for more than three days, so. And you'll see~. ;D It's less likely to be Sasuke's but it's still possible. After all, when a man and woman have sex but he doesn't cum in her, there's still a chance she get pregnant. Precum, yes? xD

Mmm~ how 'bout a nice, hot cup of WAFF. 8D

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Sasuke gave the Nara an incredulous look. He couldn’t be serious? Pregnant? But a male couldn’t be… He looked serious. And it wasn’t like Shikamaru would play that weird of a prank on him. He couldn’t have known he was coming either, Sasuke had hardly known about his decision to leave until the night before.

“You’re… How… When…?”

Shikamaru looked at him like he was an idiot.

“Well, you see, when two people or more have sex, there’s a chance one of them gets pregnant. Now, normally it’s a woman, but something either Orochimaru or Kabuto did changed it so a man could get pregnant. They were both testing new things on me, so it’s not that farfetched.” He paused, eyes shifting down a little. “It… might not be yours, but it could be.”

Sasuke narrowed his eyes a bit when Shikamaru gave him the smart-assed remark, but then widened upon hearing the news. He… might be the… father? His Uchiha genes might be growing inside of the Nara boy before him? He felt a sudden confusion, not knowing what to do or say. Hadn’t he wanted to repopulate the clan? But, this made Shikamaru vulnerable to Itachi…

“We have to keep you from my brother.” He said fiercely, eyes growing cold at the thought of Itachi kidnapping Shikamaru.

“And how will you do that if you don’t stay?” he asked back almost as fiercely. “If you leave to search for him, who knows how long it will take to find him. When you do kill him and come back, the kid will be born and starting to grow up. I want my child to have as stable a life as a shinobi can have, not wondering if it’ll ever know a second father or not.”

Shikamaru sighed, turning his head away. “And what if it’s not yours? Would that matter to you after it’s born? A family isn’t just blood, you know. There’s more to this than just Itachi and vengeance, Sasuke, and you need to decide what you want. Because if you’re going to leave now or abandon Konoha again later…” he trailed off, pausing, before finishing in a murmur, “I have other options I’d rather take.”

Sasuke felt torn. He wanted to help Shikamaru, to stay with him, to be the father figure he’d always dreamed to have and to become once he began reviving the clan. But he also knew that he would always wonder about Itachi, in the back of his mind. While he was with Shikamaru he forgot, sometimes. It was the same with Naruto. They stole his attention so much he simply forgot about vengeance for a time.

But if he stayed and Itachi got wind of the child that might be his kin… Would he kill it or not care? Sasuke lowered his head, eyes screwed shut as he contemplated his choices.

Shikamaru would be cared for here… he would be better loved then Sasuke could do, half his mind on his brother. It would be in everybody’s best interest if he just stayed away from Konoha, kept the boy’s tainted genes away from touching his life. But, if he was Uchiha, if the child was his heir…

“I… I don’t…”

Shikamaru released a breath, not realizing he’d been holding it in.

“I don’t want you to feel forced to stay, but if you don’t I don’t think you should return. It wouldn’t be fair; for anyone. I… If it’s your kid too, you should have a chance. But…” He frowned, eyebrows furrowing, not sure if he should continue.

“Shikamaru, this is sudden, unplanned. I hadn’t wanted to be a father until that bastard was dead and I could raise a family as normally as a ninja can. Why do you think I ignored women so much but proclaimed the desire to revive my clan? I’m not gay… completely gay, you know.” He corrected himself, a small blush coming to his cheeks.

“I… want to stay. I do. I want to be its father. But… I, I don’t want to put you… You and the child in danger, and as long as Itachi is around that’s always a possibility.” Sasuke continued, clenching his fist on his knee.

“All I wanted to do was marry an average woman, have two kids, retire when they have their own life and play shogi until I pass away in my sleep. But it doesn’t look like that’s happening now, as troublesome as that is,” he said, looking back at Sasuke.

“There’s always a chance we’d be in danger, Sasuke, with or without you here. You’re as likely to find Itachi here as you are out there. Even when he’s dead, there’s a chance. Don’t you think Orochimaru would also love to know what he’s accomplished?”

“I’ll kill Orochimaru if he so much as breathes your name.” Sasuke growled. He didn’t want to think about how there was a possibility of Orochimaru being the father; he just didn’t.

“…Who else would be taking care of you if I left?” He asked. He was feeling a strange foreboding on the question, a tightness in his chest. Jealousy? Or anxiety?

Shikamaru sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn’t want to answer as it could very well just drive the Uchiha away. But… it could also convince him to stay.

“Of course my parents are helping and Ino and Chouji have promised to help when they can. And… and Naruto’s been… I guess you could say courting me the past week or two.”

Sasuke almost growled, but instead bit it back and swallowed, almost choking out loud. Neither of which is the image he wanted to give off, leaving him glaring down at the blanket in anger at himself and partial… jealousy of Naruto, or hurt?

“…You don’t need me then. Naruto will treat you better than I even know how.” Sasuke turned his face from the Nara, pain lancing through him. Somewhere along the line, he’d really wanted to play the father role, but… With Naruto around, he would just be a painful addition on the child’s life.

Shikamaru bit at his lip, wanting to disagree but somehow feeling he shouldn’t. He could feel a lump starting to form in his throat and he attempted to swallow it back.

“It’s your decision,” he muttered. He didn’t want to push Sasuke one way or the other, but… after seeing and talking with him again… He wasn’t sure if Naruto could really be more than a friend, no matter how hard he tried to be.

“It shouldn’t be my decision; it’s your life, your child’s life.” Sasuke said, turning back to Shikamaru. His eyes were hurt, but he held himself. He was an Uchiha. “But in my opinion, choose Naruto. He’s kinder, more caring, better with people and children. He’ll protect you and you’ll enjoy yourself more.”

Sasuke stood, turning his back on Shikamaru with only the slightest of winces, knowing he wouldn’t be able to fulfill half of his life’s goal after he walked out. He wouldn’t return to Konoha and ruin the child’s and Shikamaru’s life, and thus wouldn’t revive his clan.

“It affects your life just as much,” he countered. On impulse he reached out and grabbed Sasuke’s sleeve, stopping him from moving farther away. “At least stay here tonight and think on it. It’s a lot to take in; make a decision tomorrow.”

“What decision can I make? Do I really deserve to come back to Konoha and raise a family, Shikamaru? Do I really deserve to just show up and steal you away from Naruto?” He asked, holding still for Shikamaru, but not turning around. He knew that the longer he stayed with Shikamaru, the harder it would be for him to leave. It was utterly selfish for him to stay, but he longed to.

Shikamaru’s grip tightened a little as he stared at Sasuke’s back. “You’re not stealing me away from anyone. We… we weren’t even officially dating. And I don’t know if I could ever like him more than a friend.”

Sasuke tilted his head, bangs sliding in front of his eyes in a way he’d unconsciously adapted when he was having trouble with his emotions. He hunched his shoulders, trying to create the sense of a wall between himself and Shikamaru. It would lessen the pain…

“Does that change the fact that he deserves you more than me? What have I done for you? I hardly knew your name as children, and I wasn’t much better when we became genin. I watched you get raped by Orochimaru, I let it, this, all happen!” He whirled around, facing Shikamaru, anger and shame mingling in his eyes. “I don’t deserve you or the kid or Konoha!”

“Whether he deserves something or not doesn’t matter. If I can’t give him back what he gives me, it’s not fair to him. I wouldn’t deserve him,” he said, voice sounding strained. “And you kept me grounded, sane, over there! If it weren’t for you, I have little doubt that he would have managed to break me.”

“Ground you, I raped you!” Sasuke said, waving his hand in front of him. “The first time I touched you was under order from Orochimaru, and I hurt you. I’ve done nothing for you, in my entire life. I’ve only made it worse!”

“You couldn’t have done anything against him; we both know that! As for the second time,” he paused, finally letting go of Sasuke’s sleeve. “I could’ve stopped you. I was healed. I had every opportunity to stop you with a shadow jutsu and I didn’t. I asked for it, so don’t say you raped me. You never did.”

Sasuke raised his hand, now that the sleeve was no longer captive of Shikamaru, and rubbed it across his eyes. His anger was making him flushed and anxious, Shikamaru just wasn’t getting it! He would make a horrible father compared to Naruto, a horrible… life partner.

“So I had sex with you, and now you’re pregnant. Don’t you see, even if you wanted it I fucked up your life more then you bargained for? I can’t stay, no matter how much I want to, I’ll just screw you over more somehow!”

“So I suppose that means if you don’t stay, my life will never have problems and be filled with sunshine and flowers?” Shikamaru shook his head, chuckling derisively. “Believe me, Sasuke, there’s nothing you can do that will screw me over more than this. At least not that I can’t handle. I… I want you in the child’s life. In my life.”

He glanced away, blushing lightly. He hadn’t meant to say that, but it was true.

Sasuke had been meaning to say ‘your life would be still be worse with me in it’ but had been stilled with Shikamaru’s finishing line. He… wanted him? Shikamaru wasn’t just covering all the bases like the genius he was, he actually wanted Sasuke, wanted him to stay? To be… a part of his life, and the baby's?

“Do you… really…” Sasuke said in disbelief. He couldn’t fathom someone actually wanting him around, after being shown the real side of his Uchiha self and knowing his past.

“Troublesome. I wouldn’t say something I didn’t mean,” he said, covering his embarrassment with his usual attitude. “It’s a waste of breath.”

“Why?” He didn’t know what else to ask. He couldn’t wrap his Uchiha brain around it. Shikamaru wouldn’t say that just because of his looks, he’d known that long before he really even knew the boy. It would be insulting to think otherwise. But, then… what was it that made him want Sasuke to be around as the father?

Shikamaru sighed and closed his eyes in thought. He’d barely just admitted that to himself and now he had to say it out loud.

“I… always looked up to you, even as kids,” he started. “Even though I found it a waste of time myself, you were always the top one. And… you just made it seem impossible. You didn’t seem to doubt yourself. Even if we didn’t know each other that well, you were still somehow important in my life. It just… hasn’t changed much, I guess.”

Sasuke blinked, wondering how he could have missed being such a key… role model? In someone’s life. He remained standing, staring down at Shikamaru in slight disbelief. He took a while to comment, but before he did a crooked smile tilted his lips.

“No wonder you’ve got such a screwed up life, if I was your idol.”

Shikamaru chuckled, shaking his head and looking back up at him.

“Maybe, but I don’t think anything else was helping to give me a normal life, either,” he said, a smirk pulling at his own lips too. “So… will you stay at least just tonight?” he asked, getting back to the matter at hand.

“I… guess I could. But… If I decided to stay…” Sasuke said, feeling the need to fidget as he stood in front of the Nara now, suddenly nervous. He hadn’t felt so emotional since he was a genin, first getting used to Naruto and his antics. “How would I… What would I do?”

“First you’d have to meet with the Godaime,” he said, scooting over a little finally, in case Sasuke wanted to sit down. “You’d have to take whatever punishment she gives you, but I’ll be there with you when you go. It won’t be easy even after that, as I’m sure you know, but they can’t do anything too bad if you’re to help me.”

Sasuke wasn’t sure if that was exactly true, but he didn’t feel like refuting the others confidence. He’d already argued with him enough for the time being.

“Where will I sleep?” He asked, looking down at the bed, before sliding his eyes over to the door. The bed could work, all beds could fit two people, it just depended on how comfortable you were with one another. But, he was also sure the boy must have a couch somewhere.

“It… would probably be best if you slept here,” he said, blushing a little then explained further, “Sometimes people like to barge in on me, especially now, to check on me. If that happens, it’ll be easier if we’re in the same room.”

Sasuke smirked slightly at the blush, enjoying someone else showing emotion in this encounter. He reached behind him, pulling at the thick material making up the lavender tie at his back, feeling it unravel and leave his shirt flapping open.

“It will still be a shock to them, either way.” He said as he dropped the thick, rope-like thing against a wall, not really knowing where else to put it. He slipped the shirt off as well, leaving him in just his black pants and shoes. He walked to the bed, sitting down with his back to Shikamaru and began pulling his shoes off.

“Why are they checking on you so much? It’s only been a month.”

Shikamaru glanced away as he began undressing, not understanding why he felt nervous about it even though they’ve had sex before.

He gave a shrug, but knew the other couldn’t see it. “My mom’s always paranoid anyway and has people check up on me. It’s just increased with this. I mean, have you ever heard of a male-pregnancy before? They’re not sure if something will happen that normally wouldn’t.”

Sasuke stood up, keeping his back to Shikamaru as he slipped out of his pants and boxers, leaving him nude. He had always been bodily warm, and if he went to bed with clothing on and another body he would get to hot. He’d never liked waking up with his covers kicked away from him.

“True. But I would think it’s inefficient to send people to barge in. You’re a shinobi after all; there are ways for you to send signals to other shinobi.” Sasuke said, turning and striding to the bedside, pulling the covers back and sliding under.

Shikamaru’s blush deepened a little and he scooted over to make more room for the other. He moved to lie back again, resting his arms across his stomach.

“Yeah, but you try telling that to my mom. She was a kunoichi before marrying and still doesn’t trust anyone’s word easily. I also don’t think she knows what privacy means, but that’s a whole different story,” he said with a smirk on his lips.

“Well, if they barge in they’ll get to see what people have been wanting to see since my genin days.” Sasuke said simply, smirking lightly. Wouldn’t that be a way to greet people you haven’t seen in years. He turned over onto his side, facing Shikamaru. He stared for a moment, thinking on all that he’d learned. Would he be gone tomorrow, or starting a new life as a father?

Shikamaru laughed, turning his head to look at Sasuke. It felt weird to have the Uchiha in his bed and talking so friendly. But he couldn’t help but feel happy about it.

“Mm, they might be disappointed,” he said, teasing.

“Disappointed that they won’t ever get a chance at it.” He corrected, his smirk growing slightly more devious as their topic grew less serious. He relaxed his muscles, settling into the mattress as much as he could. It was hard for him to ever really fully relax.

“Sure, we can go with that if it’ll make you feel better,” Shikamaru said, a grin forming. “But as much as I enjoy talking about if you’re good-looking or not, someone woke me up and I’m still tired.” He shifted, turning over with his back to Sasuke. “So we’ll talk later in the morning, when it’s light out.” Hopefully, he added in his mind.

“It definitely makes you feel better.” Sasuke said in a soft whisper, knowing Shikamaru heard anyway. From how close they were, he could probably feel his breath as he spoke it. Sasuke breathed out, slowly and hotly, just because of that, before turning over. He didn’t want to get excited while in bed with Shikamaru so near, he might molest the boy or worse. “Yeah. Morning.”

Shikamaru held back a shudder, closing his eyes. He just hoped that Sasuke would stay until the morning. He wouldn’t be surprised if he woke up to find the Uchiha gone before they could talk again. He released a soft sigh before burrowing deeper into the bed, letting his mind slow down a little as he started dozing off.

Sasuke fell into sleep as well, eventually drifting off into a deep sleep that he hadn’t been able to get for years. In the midst of it all he turned over, migrating towards the heat of the Nara that he’d expected to be too much when combined with his own body heat. His arms sliding around the other’s waist, he found that it was just right, not cool against him but not hot. His nose buried itself into Shikamaru’s nape.