Updated version (29/03/2011)

Care: Returning Home

He'd been severely injured on a mission. His target had made an unexpected move (a stupid move that had cost him his life) and Shikamaru had ended up with a deep cut to his waist made by a poisoned blade. He'd still managed to complete the mission and retrieve the scroll he'd been sent out to get, but it had been close and Shikamaru had passed out from severe blood loss and poisoning near the gates of Konoha. Luckily (actually, more according to his planning than anything else), he had quickly been found by the ANBU patrol and taken to the hospital where he'd been hospitalized for three days suffering from blood loss, chakra exhaustion and a severe infection.

Shikamaru was now back in his own apartment and under strict orders to rest. An easy order for him to follow.

His wound had been a long and deep cut to his right side, and had required 54 stitches and very strong painkillers. The painkillers were doing a good job of keeping him groggy and out of it, and really, he should have been resting at the hospital but there had been an epidemic of a stomach virus in the hospital and Shikamaru, who couldn't afford to catch anything while he recovered, was sent home.

His mother had wanted him to come back to the house for the duration of his recovery so he wouldn't be alone, but since both of his parents were active shinobi Shikamaru wouldn't have been better off in his parent's house than in his own apartment. He was even better off on his own in his apartment since his bed was twice as big as the one in his parent's house, and there were two medic-nins amongst his neighbours. Of course, Shikamaru was in no condition to move anywhere and was solely dependent on his friends coming to check on him, which they did frequently.

So far he had been visited by Ino, Chouji (thrice), Kiba, Hinata, Rock Lee and Naruto (twice) and he'd only been back in his apartment for two days (also counting the visits he'd received at the hospital, even though they hadn't been allowed to see him). He knew there was an unspoken agreement between the Rookie Nine (in fact there was an unspoken agreement between all of Konoha's shinobi) that they looked out for each even outside of the battlefield when needed.

Shikamaru was sure that he was going to receive a lot more visitors since it was summer and there was an overflow of missions coming in. (In fact, Tsunade-sama hadn't able to afford losing Shikamaru to injury but his wound together with the poisoning was so severe that he'd be of no use what so ever for at least two weeks, more if he didn't recuperate properly.) The waves of missions coming in meant that no shinobi stayed in the village for long and so his friends would pass on the duty of checking up on him to the next person who could. Summers were often like this, and while this was the first time in his 21 years that Shikamaru had received a life threatening injury, he knew that just about anyone could show up at his door (through his window more like it). He, himself, had gone to check on Hatake Kakashi, Shiranui Genma and Nakagawa Shizune one summer when the missions had simply poured in and the three had been injured in an A-class mission.

Shikamaru was lying on his big and very comfortable bed with big and fluffy pillows, and sheets of the softest cotton. He was on his stomach with bandages around his waist and the sheets pulled down low over his hips. Just before noon Hinata had passed by with some food and helped him take his medication before she had left on a mission of her own. It was now evening and Shikamaru was starting to feel the effects of the painkillers wear off. He groaned into his pillow and carefully raised his head to look for the pills. He spotted them on the dresser on the other side of the room and cursed as he could feel the stitches on his side pull at his skin as he moved. The poison hadn't been lethal but it severely slowed down the healing of the wound. Even now, five days after, it had barely started to close and he needed to change bandages every day.

Very carefully and very slowly Shikamaru pulled himself to the edge of bed and placed his feet on the wooden floor. He shivered at the cold seeping up through his feet and took a couple of deep breaths. He knew that someone was bound to come by at any moment but the painkillers were wearing off fast and he was starting to feel short of breath. With more strength than he'd ever felt he'd had to use, he pulled himself to his feet and reached out to support himself against the wall. Shikamaru immediately knew he should have stayed in bed as his knees collapsed under him and the world turned black around him. He was out for a couple of minutes but soon regained consciousness and pulled himself to sit up against the bed. He was out of breath, nauseous and he'd reopened his wound. He leaned his head back and fought hard not to pass out again, taking deep breaths. His side was burning and he could feel sweat run down his face and torso.

"Shikamaru? Can you hear me?"

The wounded shinobi opened his eyes to discover pale irisless eyes staring back at him with concern.

"I feel… sick… Neji."

A hand was placed on his forehead before he was carefully gathered into a cool (and welcomed) embrace as he was gently lifted and placed back in his bed. "You don't have a fever. How long has it been since you last took your medication?"

"Hinata came by before her mission."

"That was this morning. Sit up. Can you take the pills on your own?" Although Neji more or less ordered him to sit up, it was obvious he didn't mean it as he very carefully leaned Shikamaru back against his pillow against the headboard and kept a tender hand on him just in case.

Neji had picked up Shikamaru's medication right after he'd placed him back in bed and a glass of water. He now reached to retrieve the items from where he'd placed them on the nightstand next to the bed, but cast a concerned glance at Shikamaru when he received no reply to his question.

It was obvious the younger man was in agony. His complexion was ghastly pale and he was soaked in sweat, his breaths coming in short gasps and his eyes tightly shut.

"Shikamaru, can you hear me?"

The injured man nodded after a few slow seconds.

"I'll help you take your pills, and then I'm going to clean you up and change your bandages. Understood?" Neji greatly respected Shikamaru, considered him a close friend and in no way did he want to humiliate his friend or make him uncomfortable. He also knew that even in as much pain as Shikamaru was currently in, that he still had a clear grasp of the situation and he didn't want to do anything to Shikamaru that he wasn't prepared for. If their situation had been reversed Neji would have liked to be treated this way and so treated his friend in the same way.

Neji popped the pills into his own mouth and took a mouthful of water before he carefully held Shikamaru's jaw and leaned in to mouth feed him his medication.

Shikamaru visibly relaxed as the water cooled down his parched throat and it wasn't soon before he could feel the pain lessen. He licked his lips wishing for more water and was going to tell Neji so but the gentle hold on his face pulled his head up again and Neji once more feed him water. The Nara moaned this time and reached out his tongue to lick at Neji's mouth, thirsting for more of the cool liquid.

Neji pulled back and rubbed at his chin where some water had spilled out. He held Shikamaru with gentle hands and drew further away. He could physically see the pain lessen in his friend and sighed in relief. The painkillers were quickly kicking in as sedatives as well and Neji helped the younger man lay back down on the bed. The older man checked his friend over to make sure nothing else was ailing him before he moved to complete the rest of his tasks. He wanted to change his bandages and check his wound as soon as possible seeing to blood staining the white fabric.

He'd returned yesterday from a long mission and had been informed by Hinata-sama upon arrival late in the evening that Shikamaru had been gravely injured and was out of commission for at least two weeks. The news greatly worried the socially uncomfortable man. If Shikamaru, the most successful shinobi in the history of Konoha, was out due to injury then he must have received fatal wounds. His concern had only grown when he'd found out that the man had been poisoned as well.

Neji moved over to Shikamaru's dresser to retrieve a clean pair of pants for him to change into and when he turned back around Shikamaru was no longer alone on the bed.

"When did you return?" Neji asked coldly. It wasn't that he didn't like the man; it was just that this was the way Neji normally spoke to others. Coldly, off-putting, and with a harsh and demanding voice. Much like the man sitting next to the Nara.

He ignored Neji's question. His gaze fixated on the sleeping man before him. He caressed his lover's cheek with his pale hand as his eyes burned Shikamaru's face into his memories. He leaned in and placed a feathery light kiss on sleeping lips and just as gently moved his hand down over naked skin to blood stained bandages. His soft gaze turned ice-cold as he wished the man who'd done this to his lover were still alive so he could kill him himself.

A water basin and a cloth was placed next to him and he looked up at the Hyuuga who took a seat on Shikamaru's other side. He glared.

"I saw."

"It was the only way without causing him further harm."

"Hn." He decided to ignore the Hyuuga for now, though he accepted his help, and together they gently lifted Shikamaru and started to undo his bandages. He hissed as he discovered the damage done to his lover but gently went to work with the help of the Hyuuga.

He worried over how fresh the wound appeared and it must have shown because the Hyuuga started to explain. "He was cut with a poisoned blade. The poison isn't lethal but it does slow down the healing, the medic-nins did as much as they could and it should close completely by the end of the week as long as he doesn't reopen it like this again."

He nodded. For just a brief moment he stopped in the care of his lover and caught the Hyuuga's gaze. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Uchiha."

Between the two of them they quickly cleaned, rebandaged and redressed Shikamaru. Neji then left the bedroom to prepare a quick meal and to give them some privacy. He decided to make enough for both of them; it was obvious that Uchiha Sasuke had rushed to his lover's side. He still had dirt and leaves stuck on him and Neji had caught the mission's report in his jack pocket.

Sasuke settled next to Shikamaru on the bed. He gently lifted Shikamaru's hand and placed a lingering kiss on his palm. Naruto had run into him at Konoha's borders and told him that he should return to Shikamaru as soon as possible. The sheer seriousness in the idiot's face when he'd told him to return to his lover had him panicking inside and he'd somehow managed to complete a three day journey in one day. He was still dressed in the same dirty clothes and his mission report was still in one of the many pockets of his vest that had carelessly been discarded on the floor. The image he'd been greeted to as he'd approached Shikamaru's window was one he never wished to see and even though he understood the Hyuuga's wish not to cause Shikamaru harm, Sasuke would still find a way to get back the stolen kiss.

Movement from the bed drew his attention from his haunting thoughts and he rose to help his sleeping lover gently roll onto his stomach, his favourite sleeping position. He let a smile momentarily grace his lips before he bent down and placed a kiss first on his lover's cheek and then his back, lingering for just a moment longer, before he left the bedroom.

He was greeted by a pleasant smell from the kitchen and approached the older man putting away containers in Shikamaru's fridge.

"There's enough for the two of you. I'm leaving." Neji informed him and headed for the front door, but as he tried to pass, the Uchiha blocked his path.

Neji drew himself to his full height and placed a hand on his waist as he waited for the Uchiha's next move. Uchiha Sasuke was a possessive man, something he'd learned from Shikamaru's many rants, and he'd wondered before at the Uchiha's lack of action of Neji's method to get Shikamaru to take his medication.

Sasuke grabbed the front of Neji's kimono and pulled him in close. Neji was ready to defend himself if the Uchiha really meant to cause him harm but was not ready for the kiss the other pulled him into. As suddenly as he'd kissed him the Uchiha let him go and turned back towards the bedroom.

"You ever take anything from him again, I'll do more than take it back."

It's 02.15 in the morning and I just want to finish this and post it. I don't care if there are mistakes or if it doesn't make sense. I just wanted to get it done and over with. I'm tired and what I've written sounds good to me, which is a clear sign that there are obvious mistakes but I don't care right now. I don't care about anything right now except for getting this posted but first I need to rant.

I'll probably rewrite this at a later point (I always do with my stories, I'm never satisfied with them) so feel free to give me criticism. But if anyone nags about them being out of character, or that they aren't gay or other stupid things like that then don't bother. I won't care and… well, I won't care, simple as that. There's a reason why it's called a fanfiction, you know.

Thanks for reading and putting up with me. Sorry if I sound too grumpy, that's just how I am when I'm tired.

Nighty-night…