A/N: I didn't mean to continue this story. But somehow it wasn't finished in my head. What a bother.

Silky lips brushed across his temple. Hmm? Shikamaru turned, and came face to face with—

"Sasuke?" he breathed. A sudden horror filled him. "No," he said, his eyes growing wide with fear. "No way! I gave that shit up after that nigh-"

"Relax," said Sasuke. "I've got other things to talk about. But if you insist…" He was sitting on the edge of Shikamaru's bed, and he turned to bend lasciviously over him.

But Shikamaru was determined. "Goddammit I said no!" Sasuke drew back, startled at the sudden anger hatred in his eyes. "That was a one-time thing. Never again." Sasuke looked distinctly put off.

"Geez," he said. "You didn't have to freak out on me." He sulked a little.

"Well?" said Shikamaru after some moments.

"Well what?"

"Why the hell did you come?"

"Ah," said Sasuke, smiling. "Well, really, I wanted to talk about us."

"Yeah?"said Shikamaru. He was immediately suspicious.

"You liked it when I kissed you?" It was such an abrupt question that it took a bit for it to really sink in.

"Uh…umm…well yeah. I guess so." He picked nervously at a piece of loose yarn on his blanket. What was Sasuke getting at?

"And you liked it when we made love." Shikamaru growled.

"Spare me the fucking euphemisms," he said scathingly.

"But you did, right?"

"Yeah I did, but so the fuck what? It was once and never again. Did you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah," said Sasuke. "I just wanted to make sure."

"Why the hell did you need to make sure? You had to have already known." Sasuke laughed, his voice echoing in the emptiness.

"I knew," he said. "But they didn't." He gestured towards the darkness in the corner of he room, and to his horror, Shikamaru saw that standing there were was a group of high-level ninja, led by none other than the Hokage herself.

"Shikamaru, there can be no disputing your confession. We can't allow people like you to continue their existence in this village. An Anbu guard will escort you to the village boundaries."

" W-what?" he sputtered. "But what about Sasuke?" Already the two Anbu were taking him by the arms, lifting him from the bed as though he were nothing. Sasuke grinned evilly at him, and in the faint light from the window, he could see his Sharingan, pulsing, blood-red, the tomoe spinning.

"People like me," he whispered." Are necessary. You aren't necessary Shikamaru-kun."

He tried to scream, but a guard stuffed a rag in his mouth.

"Even so," Sasuke continued. "They can't have you wandering around other villages." He grinned, if it was possible, even wider. "Take a good look Shikamaru-kun. This is the last time you'll ever see the night sky."

In desperation he tried to tear himself free, an odd feeling of déjà vu creeping up on him.

Sasuke got up and gently touched his cheek.

"Good bye, Shikamaru-kun."

Shikamaru awoke, covered in sweat and breathing hard. Motherfuck! he thought. Another nightmare?! Stupid! he thought viciously. He'd been having nightmares for days now. And dammit, people were starting to notice how stressed he was. Why the hell was his subconscious making such a big deal about it?

Didn't people say that experimenting was normal? Then again, he thought, maybe that's the problem. People said that. He'd never heard a ninja say anything of the sort.

Where had he heard that? he thought vaguely as he got out of bed. He went over to his desk and got out a package of cigarettes, absentmindedly drawing one out. Who'd told him that? Had he read it? Seen it on television? If someone had told him, maybe he could ask them for advice.

Then again, he thought, maybe that was a stupid idea, an insane idea. What kind of idiot was he? Whoever it was would probably spread the word and…

His dream returned unbidden to his mind. Stop it, he told himself. You need to get a grip on yourself. He walked out to the balcony, lighter in hand, and leaned lazily over the railing. He was shirtless, but it wasn't cold and hardly anyone was up, save for the beautiful blue-haired girl in the apartment across from his. As he watched her he lit his cigarette and took a long, slow drag, feeling his mind clear and reality come into focus.

She had her window open and the shades drawn back, presumably because it was so early. With a slow unhurried movement she undid her long braided hair, running her fingers through it more or less with ease. Then, when she began to unbutton her pajama top, Shikamaru felt a sudden pique of interest. She had a wonderful curvy figure, and the silk of the shirt clung sensuously to her, sliding easily over her skin. Her long slender limbs looked, truth be told, perfectly ninja-ish, strong and lithe.

And, well her breasts were, hmmm he thought. He took another drag. That'd be fun to wake up to in the morning he thought, glancing over her.

A sudden jolt shook him. There was no way he could be gay, not with thoughts like that. Yes! he thought joyfully. I'm straight. He laughed aloud, quickly turning away in fear that the girl would catch him in his voyeuristic attempt. Not that he'd doubted himself, but confirmation always felt good.

It felt good, that is, until another thought struck him.

Then why had being with Sasuke been so… well… amazing? He vaguely remembered how…happy, for lack of a better word, Sasuke had been. He hated to admit it, but it had been pretty amazing just having Sasuke want him. And he'd been so into him, though they'd barely ever talked before. He wasn't even sure that Sasuke had known his name before he'd returned from exile. But Sasuke's lips were so soft and his hair so warm and silky, he'd been irresistible. It hadn't even hurt so much at the time. (He'd hurt for days afterward though)

Goddammit! He thought. Why the hell did this have to happen to me? He didn't even notice that the blue-haired girl was closing her window or that his cigarette had completely turned to ash.

Fuck Sasuke he thought, his misery returning. You already did.

"And you," he screamed wildly. "Shut the fuck up, other me. Don't tell me shit I already know."

"As amusing as it is to watch you scream at yourself," came a voice from below him, "it's getting a little creepy." Shikamaru looked down. It was Ino, smiling up at him.

"Hey Ino," he said, trying to bring his voice back to normal. "I was just…" Strangely enough, for all his intelligence he just couldn't think of an explanation.

"Doesn't matter," she said, seeming for a moment to understand his predicament. "You're late for work anyway. They sent me over to wake you."

He sighed, and walked back inside. In a couple of minutes he was ready and swung out of the balcony onto the street to save time.

"Mendokuseee…" he hissed as he jogged the way to Hokage Tower, Ino at his side.

"Troubled?" asked Ino, with a look so perceptive on her face that he involuntarily gasped in fear.

Shikamaru turned away guiltily.

"No. Late."

*~~*~*~*~*~