Neji/Shikamaru Naruto
To Love The Color Red
Neji had always had this..."thing" for Shikamaru's neck. He wasn't really sure why, but it seemed Neji's favorite spot to play, if not for atleast one other ( . . don't what it could be).
Shikamaru's neck was the first place Neji kissed him each time they came across the each other...not his lips. Not that Shikamaru really minded, for the Hyugga got there sooner or later. And hell, it aroused him quite a bit, so there was no REAL problem.
That is until Neji started biting...biting hard.
At first, there were occassional nips here and there. They were erotic, a turn on, and were, simply put, fun. But each time the two had sex, the biting would get a little harder. Shikamaru didn't really say anything, just let it happen. He loved the Hyugga, wanted to be with him for the rest of his life. And he knew Neji felt the same. So he just let it be.
The first time Neji actually drew blood, Shikamaru was too surprised to yelp or stop what was happening. The morning after, Shikamaru found a small incision on the skin of his neck. He cleaned it and put some antibiotic on it and thought nothing more of it.
But it kept happening. And each time, the bites got worse. It seemed the more blood Neji spilt, the more excited he got.
One time, Shikamaru actually had Neji stop so the blood wouldn't run onto the pillow or stain the sheets. When THAT had healed over, there was a white scar along his throat. It was small, but noticeable. No one asked. Life was rough as an ANBU, so that was all they figured if they saw it.
So Shikamaru told him to stop. Or tried to atleast. Neji had this awkward thing he could do where, just by staring at you, he could make you fidget. Whether he was doing it on purpose or not, Neji made people jumpy. But this time it was deliberate...because Shikamaru knew that Neji knew what he was doing.
When asked why, Neji simply shrugged and responded,
"I love the color red."
Shikamaru had always thought it was white. But when he had said that, it was obvious. Neji had come to grow up in a household where, no matter what you did, you had to do it right. The purity of it all reflected in the Hyugga clan's actions.
White was a pure color, it washed away sin.
Red was a tarnished color, it signified sin.
The scar on Neji's forehead was red (not true, but it's fanfiction so I'm allowed to lie ). So, in a way, he was half and half. Trying to cover the sin with purity. But what Shikamaru didn't get was why he kept at it. When asked this, the Hyugga grinned and said,
"It makes me feel like I can control the things that I know I never can."
Now Shikamaru was smart, but even this confused him. Neji had laughed airily and explained it.
"I can't make you do anything Shikamaru. You're in control of who you are and what you do. But when I see you bleed, it lets me know that, in some small way, I CAN control you...in some ways."
The bites were no longer as hard. Some still drew blood, and other times they didn't. An equal balance.
The equal balance that Neji didn't have.
And Shikamaru loved him for it all the more for it.