Sign Me Yours

DSKJSKJD. SORRY FOR SUCH A LONG WAIT.

MeLaiya: Thank you~. Um, if you ever find mistakes, please just tell me. I go over it myself a couple times and I have a couple people look over it too, but you know. We might miss something and my co-author is from Norway so English isn't her first language.
Golden Kitsune: But that's what cliffhangers are for. xD Glad you liked it~.

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"Since you don't seem to care much if I say yes or no." He got up from the bed again. "I am not going for someone that obviously doesn't care much,” he huffed. He had been right; it was a mistake even considering it from the beginning. So whether he wanted to give dating Shikamaru a chance or not wasn't that important to the other brunette, then he certainly didn't deserve him taking the chance. Especially since it would be his first relationship.

Shikamaru frowned, hurt flashing across his eyes. He stood up again, moving away from the chair and taking a step towards the Hyuuga.

"I do care, Neji," he said, "And I want you to say yes, but not because I want you to. It has to be your decision and I don't want you to say yes just because you feel you have to. I'd rather just stay friends before forcing your hand into something that you would hate."

Turning slightly to glare at him, Neji was very tense, very aware, very controlled at the moment.

"Do you think I am the kind to be forced into something?" he asked, his voice deadly calm as he continued to stare at the young Nara. Did Shikamaru really think he was weak enough to be bullied into things he didn't want? This was getting annoying.

Shikamaru froze for a second before letting out a sigh. "No," he said, automatically closing off his expression. "No, you aren't. But I still can't help feeling like that, because if the situation was reversed, I probably would be. ...I'm sorry that I want to make sure you're happy with your choices."

"I have been perfectly happy with my choices so far." Well, a small white lie never hurt anyone... "I don't see a reason to stop now. If I decide I will try a... relationship, with you, I am not going to settle for something that is 'whatever'." He glared a little at the other.

"And don't try to make my choices 'easier', Nara. It's not needed."

Shikamaru glared back, doing his best to hold back his temper; which had been easier to set off as of late.

"Well, then what do I need to do to show you that it won't be..." he trailed off, waving his hand in a wild gesture, "whatever. Get you flowers, chocolates? Write you poetry? Bring you on a picnic to the beach? Because, dammit, I'll do all that if it'll show you that I'm serious!"

Flushing at the Nara's words, Neji turned a little away from him to hide his rather dark blush.

"You don't have to do those things if you don't want to..." he murmured, not sure if he liked how it sounded like Shikamaru didn't want to do those things. Not that he had hoped he would, of course; that would be just silly... right. Moving on.

"Fine," he said a bit more clearly, once his blush died down, and turned to face the younger boy. "I'll try having a relationship... with you."

Shikamaru blinked, shocked speechless for a second. He really had just expected the Hyuuga to start punching him for implying he'd want to be treated like a girl. He wisely kept his mouth shut, though, visibly relaxing and deflating.

"Neji, I'll... I'll gladly do any of those things, I just..." He stopped, giving a short laugh. "Think about it; if I had shown up, offering you a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates, what would your reaction have been?"

"...out of the blue?" Neji asked, raising an eyebrow at the Nara before thinking about it. Well... no one had so far tried that, but...

"I would think you were crazy or that you intended them for Hinata-sama," he replied after a while, refusing to acknowledge that he had basically admitted to being feminine enough to be mistaken for his cousin.

Shikamaru nodded, smiling lightly. "And then I'd bet you'd avoid me like the plague, right?"

He went silent for a bit then asked, "So, we're, uh... boyfriends, then?"

"Probably," Neji's lips twitched slightly in amusement, looking over at the other boy. However, he could feel his stomach do a slight flip-flop at the mention of what they were now. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling though.

"Yeah..." he nodded, blushing faintly at the term Shikamaru had used.

The Nara relaxed more and moved over to sit on his bed, leaving plenty of room for Neji to sit too. He was just glad that he hadn't messed everything up.

"...This is my first relationship, too, you know," he said quietly. "So I'm sorry if I ever do something stupid."

Blinking as he sat down, Neji turned to look at Shikamaru, checking that he wasn't kidding with him. When he was sure he wasn't going to spout a 'gotcha!' like Naruto would, he cleared his throat a little.

"Really?" He asked, still a bit skeptic. "What about Temari?" he asked, knowing there had been a few rumors about those two, if not dating, having taken an interest in each other.

Shikamaru looked at Neji like he had grown another head. "Temari? That girl with the fan from Suna?" He shook his head. "I just fought against her in the finals. And helped Naruto and Sakura catch up to her and the other Suna participants after he went crazy or something," he pointed out with a shrug.

He really hadn't gotten the full details about what happened after Asuma had rescued him, but he did know that Suna was trying to work out a treaty with Konoha-- though that proved hard without an official Hokage.

Neji just shrugged at the look he was getting. Which made him remember something.

"Ah, Shikamaru?" he asked, frowning a little, puzzled. "When we walked here... there were lots of people... staring at us. Do you know why?"

Shikamaru blinked, thinking back. Ino was mad at him, but he doubted she would just turn and gossip about what had caused their--

His eyes widened slightly and he heaved a sigh, cradling his head in his hands. "Ah... I'm not sure, but... I fought with Ino yesterday. Outside. About how she set us up and... maybe some names accidentally slipped or something?"

"...you were arguing about me?" Neji raised an eyebrow. "In the middle of the street?" and the other followed. Yeah, that would explain the many stares. He groaned a little, hoping against hope that Hiashi-sama would never even hear of that. It wasn't that he was ashamed of having a relationship, he just didn't imagine his uncle react pleased to the news.

"Yeah, uh, sorry," he said, sitting back up straighter. "She was just making me mad and, despite that it worked, she was out of line, setting up our meeting at Yakiniku Q."

"She was in good company," Neji huffed a bit. "Tenten and Lee had definitely a hand in that." He looked up at his... now... boyfriend. It was strange to refer to someone as his boyfriend, but it was strangely pleasant to do so.

Shikamaru nodded before pausing, sitting fully straight now. He glanced over at Neji, a smirk growing. "Want to get them back?"

"Hmm?" Neji raised an eyebrow at the other.

"Get them back? How?" he asked, liking the sound of that. Scooting a bit closer to the Nara, he found himself staring at the mischievous smirk.

Shikamaru chuckled, turning a little so he could fully face the Hyuuga. "Well, their goal was obviously to set us up so we'd be dating, right?" he asked, continuing, not waiting for a real answer.

"Why not have them think the opposite happened for a while? I already told Ino that you had threatened me, so it shouldn't be much of a stretch. Unless you've spoken with your teammates between then and now?"

Neji shook his head. He did generally not hang out much with his teammates, it was limited almost only to training when he did see them. Listening to the idea, Neji's smirk came to almost match Shikamaru's own. It sounded amusing.

"It's a good plan," he nodded.

"We have to make it convincing, though," the Nara continued. He knew they could both act, at least a little; ninja's had to for infiltration missions. "But... I also know, if it gets too far, Ino will end up plotting against you and, if your friends act the same, I'd rather not become a human pincushion."

"You'd have nothing to fear from Lee." Neji was amused at what they were planning. "Tenten on the other hand..." he shook his head.

"We should do it when all three are around..." he suggested thoughtfully, that way they didn't have to act twice. "That way we can tell them the truth before it goes too far." He added.

Shikamaru nodded, mind half going off and starting to plan things out better. "We can play it out in our training field," he said, not realizing what he'd called it. "You can bring Tenten and Lee there on the pretense of training and I can manage dragging Ino for some... cloud-watching," he finished, grinning lightly.

"Our training-field?" Neji asked amused. It wasn't that he minded the other calling it that, but he found it amusing since the Nara had only helped him out with his training there, once. Of course, that could be changed.

"That could work," he nodded, approving of the idea.

Shikamaru flushed lightly, giving a shrug. He calmed down as he went back on track again, giving another smirk. "So we'll bring them there at the normal time we meet up?"

Neji nodded, then smirked.

"I think I can manage getting pissed off at you and Yamanaka for disturbing our training." He chuckled slightly. He'd just pretend it was only the Yamanaka girl disturbing them, and it would be piece of cake. While she was Shikamaru's friend, he found her quite annoying, although he supposed she wouldn't be that annoying anymore, seeing as he was now dating her best friend.

Shikamaru's smirk widened. "And I'm sure I can get annoyed by you all making so much noise while I'm trying to rest," he said before shifting again and laying back on his bed, arms under his head and legs still hanging off the side.

Nodding, Neji lay down beside Shikamaru, his hands resting on top of his tummy, unsure of what to do now. What did couples do again? Kiss? Hold hands? Not sure, Neji just lay still, listening to their quiet breaths, enjoying the silence between them, reminding why he hadn't felt bothered by the other's presence in the first place; unlike most ninjas their age, Shikamaru wasn't noisy, nor did he babble about unimportant things.

Shikamaru turned his head to look at the other, rolling his eyes slightly as he lay a little stiffly. He turned to his side and reached over, grabbing one of Neji's arms and tugging him closer.

"H-hey..." Neji protested slightly, but he allowed himself to be pulled closer to the other, so it was hardly a real protest. However, he did wonder why Shikamaru did that.

Shikamaru smirked, head resting on one of his arms, the other resting across Neji's stomach. "Much more comfortable," he murmured against the side of Neji's head.

Tensing a little at all the physical contact, Neji turned his head a little to look surprised at the other, who was suddenly very close. So close in fact, that if he turned his head fully, their faces would touch. Flushing slightly, he brought his hand up to rest beside Shikamaru's on his stomach, hands touching, but not holding. Making himself relax a little more, he nodded, turning his head back to keep his gaze on the ceiling.

Shikamaru tucked his head against the other's shoulder and closed his eyes, content. After a few more minutes of silence, he chuckled softly and opened one eye, still feeling the other’s muscles were less than relaxed. "Relax, Neji. I'm not going to do anything."

Neji felt his blush deepen slightly when his brain helpfully pointed out what Shikamaru thought he was thinking he'd do to him. Which wasn't why he couldn't relax completely.

"I know that," he looked down on the other, well, he didn't know that, but he hadn't gotten the impression he would. "I... have never had physical closeness before," he tried explaining. Well, he had gotten the occasional hug from Hanabi, but that didn't count, besides, he wasn't very fond of that either, because that usually meant she had been, or was going to be a brat.

Shikamaru opened his other eye and frowned a little, pulling his head back just enough so he wasn't going to go cross-eyed trying to look at Neji. He recalled the sleep-over and how that proved him very wrong. But he knew better than to tell him about it and he just sighed, giving half a shrug.

"Well, you'll just have to get used to it," he said. "I'm not all... touchy-feely like Naruto or Kiba, but it's still nice at times."

Neji blinked, looked at Shikamaru and blinked again.

"Have you... been... with Naruto or the Inuzuka?" He asked, wondering how Shikamaru knew they were touchy-feely and forgetting what he had said before. It wasn't that he was jealous, he decided, he just didn't like the thought of them all over the Nara.

"No. You've seen how Naruto is; he wants to be noticed, and physically touching someone is the easiest way," he said, closing his eyes again. "Kiba's not much different, really."

Shikamaru paused, peeking open one eye. "Plus when we'd skip class back in the academy, they'd always start a wrestling game or something like that. Hasn't changed."

"I see." Neji nodded, having never ever skipped classes, but he guessed... he could see Naruto and Kiba doing that.

"Why did you skip class?" He asked after a while. It didn't make sense. He knew the Nara was intelligent, as opposed to Kiba and Naruto, and he wasn't hyper like them either. All in all, he didn't get why the younger boy had been skipping classes.

"Mm, they were so boring," Shikamaru answered. "I understood and knew what was going on in the class, so why bother stay around for longer than needed to understand it?"

Neji thought about it for a while. Well... he could sort of understand that, though he had never even entertained the thought of skipping class, because Hiashi-sama would have found out and that would not have gone very well.

"Besides," he started, voice taking on a more playful edge, "I couldn't let them have all the fun and cloud-gaze without me."

"Mm, I suppose they had much time left to watch clouds while picking fights with each other," he replied drily, knowing that both Naruto and the Inuzuka was much too hyper to enjoy laying still for more than a minute, watching clouds nonetheless.

"What about Chouji? Did he just tag along after you?"

Shikamaru pushed back any irritation, knowing Neji hadn't meant the question to sound degrading to Chouji.

"No, we've been best friends since before we even went to the Academy. He doesn't tag along, he joins me," he clarified.

Smirking slightly, hearing the slight irritation in Shikamaru's voice. He hadn't meant to insult the Akimichi in any way. At least he hadn't mentioned his chubbyness. He doubted that would sit well with Shikamaru.

"I mean, why did he skip class?" he tried clarifying his question. He was a little amused of the protectiveness he could feel from the other when he talked about Chouji, though he supposed he could understand it. "Does he have the same interest in the clouds as you, or does he join you because you are his best friend?"

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling like he was being mocked, albeit with no malice behind it.

He let it slide off him, though, as he answered, "Truthfully, I think it was because he didn't want to be left behind. I wouldn't have excluded him from anything and now it's just become a tradition between us. We'll watch the clouds and share a few bags of chips."

Nodding, Neji was satisfied with the answer, closing his eyes again as they just lay there like that. However, what Shikamaru had said had gotten him to think. How would it have been to have friends when he was that age, and go skip classes with them, and getting in trouble? He supposed he would never know, but it was an interesting thought.

Shikamaru's lips curved up in a smile before he closed his eyes too, letting himself relax more against the older boy. He hoped the other didn't mind if he ended up falling asleep because he could feel himself already drifting off.

Just as Neji was about to doze off as well, the door opened, and someone stepped into the room, followed by some rustling from an open bag of potato chips.

"Oi, Shikama-- ru..." a voice, decidedly male, trailed off before the bag hit the floor. Neji imagined potato chips all over the floor as he opened his eyes, startled by this new presence.