Rules of Matchmaking #9 – Look Beyond His Looks

Kiba groaned between breaths. Shikamaru was a truly gifted kisser. The genius was straddling him on his bed this afternoon and Kiba squirmed when a wet, hot intruder slipped into his mouth. He reached out his hands and clung onto Shikamaru. He sucked on Shikamaru's tongue and let out a moan. Shika flicked his tongue in Kiba's mouth, exploring every inch of it lazily, taking his time with each stroke. It was driving the Dog-nin wild. He reached up and squeezed the other man's ass, not breaking the connection, but rocking their bodies together roughly. They kissed, sucked, nipped, and only stopped to breathe occasionally. They were both panting hard and enjoying each other's company.

Waves of pleasure washed over them, and it was only a matter of time until they drown in it. They parted, both panting hard. Shikamaru was still trying to recollect himself, but Kiba already went in for more. With a growl, he shifted his still unfortunately clothed hips, grinding against the man again. Shikamaru moaned against in his mouth. His legs tightened even more around him, and Kiba reached up and ripped the hair tie out of the Nara's pony tail, griping his hands into the man's hair.

Shikamaru reached down and undid his chuunin pants rapidly, hand on his boxers. Kiba tugged on the man's hair even tighter. He sat up and bit his neck, sucking it slightly. He had to mark this man. Primal!

Then the door to his bedroom opened and Hinata and Shino walked in. Hinata took one look at them and started blushing terribly. She was looking everywhere but at them. Her face looked like a tomato.

"Ahh…" She seemed to be saying but at the same time backing out of the room. She ran into Shino's chest because he was right behind her; he was effectively blocking her exit.

"We can come back later…" Shino was saying.

"No, it's okay." Kiba was trying to focus.

Shino paused, looked at the two of them and nodded. "Kiba, your shirt is on backwards. Hey, Shikamaru."

"Shirt?" Kiba looked down at his shirt and realized that in his haste this afternoon he had put his shirt on backwards. He had been asleep when Shikamaru had come over and he had hastily thrown the first thing on. He stared down at in surprise, as if he couldn't remember putting it on backwards, or even what it was. Shikamaru looked pleased with himself; he was looking at Kiba with a smug little half-smile on his face. He seemed to be very aware that he melted the brain synapses of the Inuzuka with his make-out abilities.

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head and was valiantly trying to zip his pants back up as casually as possible. "Tch."

"So, are you guys dating now?" Shino asked, adjusting his glasses.

"Yeah." Kiba said, pulling Shikamaru closer, which threw off the Nara man's ability to zip his pants up. Of course, that was what he was trying to do. The genius shot him a dirty look. Kiba shrugged innocently, but inwardly chuckled. He had learned from the best, you know. His sister, Hana was quite the wicked prankster. And it was quite fun to tease Shika.

Shino nodded.

"Oh, congratulations!" Hinata said quietly from where she was standing behind Shino. "I had heard the rumors, but…" Then she blushed furiously again and stopped talking.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru said, trying to stand.

"That party was the best thing that ever happened!" Kiba exclaimed. "That's where we finally told each other about our feelings!" Then he put his arm around Shika and nuzzled the man playfully.

Shika narrowed his eyes for a moment then shoved the Inuzuka off the bed. "Don't be an idiot!"

Kiba lay on the floor for a moment and then burst out laughing. He was worried for a moment that Shikamaru was going to get mad at him for being silly, but he was glad that he had just stood up to him. He crawled back onto the bed and spied Shika zipping his pants back on and tucking his shirt back in, as well as putting his hair back into his tidy pony tail. Kiba shrugged.

"So what are you guys doing here?" Kiba asked Shino with curiosity.

"Oh, we came to go over yesterday's mission." Hinata answered. "But we can come back since you're obviously….Ahh…busy!" She finished lamely, blushing again and turning to hide behind Shino again.

"No, it's fine." Shikamaru cleared his throat and looked at the alarm clock on Kiba's nightstand. "You guys can meet and talk about your mission. I have to get back to class anyways. My lunch break is just about over."

"Okay." Kiba said with a smile. "I'll see you tonight, Shika. 6:30pm; and don't be nervous! Everything is going to be great."

Shikamaru smiled briefly and then looked around the room for a second and then leaned over the bed, flushing slightly to pick up his discarded flak jacket. Kiba had to sit up a little to let Shikamaru get to it, since he was half lying on it. Kiba smirked but lifted his leg slowly to allow the man to snatch it.

"Tch. Bothersome." Shikamaru began putting his jacket on so he could go and get back to work.

Shino watched with amusement. Hinata blushed again.

Kiba grabbed Shikamaru's hand before the man could transport away and pulled him down to kiss his cheek quickly. Surprisingly, he let him. And then he pushed him away with a small huff and made the seals to go to the Academy, shaking his head, his pale features tinged with pink. "Yeah, yeah."

Kiba sat back down on the bed and smiled happily at Shino and Hinata who moved to come into the room more completely now that Shikamaru had left.

"Happy?" Hinata asked with a smile.

"Yes." Kiba smiled again, leaning back on his bed, his canines poking out against his lower lip.

"Lots of rumors about you two, I'm just glad to see that you're happy." Hinata nodded as she sat on the end of his bed.

"What sort of rumors?" Kiba frowned.

"Well they've quieted down now, everyone's talking about what happened in the Hokage's office the other day, but you know, and shinobi's have a long memory…" Hinata elaborated.

"What happened in the Hokage's office?" Kiba scratched his head.

Shino laughed. "You don't want to know. Kakashi-san is a pervert!"

Kiba looked over at his friend and chuckled. If the rumor had anything to do with Kakashi-san and the Hokage's office, he was pretty sure the rumor was funny and raunchy. And probably true. He could always ask Iruka-sensei later. Which kind of grossed him out to think about. Maybe he didn't want to know for sure. Kiba shuddered. No, maybe he didn't want to know. He really didn't want to think about his ex-sensei having sex.

"Oh, and thank-you for your Christmas gift. That word-of-the-day Calendar has come in very handy, Shino. My super awesome vocabulary is apparently quite a turn on."

Shino raised his eyebrows. "You're welcome. You may want refrain from calling it 'super awesome vocabulary' though. Why not try splendiferous?"

"I don't know, Shino. I might be doing a guy, but I don't want to sound too fruity." Kiba sounded skeptical.

Hinata giggled.

"How are you, otherwise?" Shino asked.

"Well, we're definitely happy. The only problem is his parents. They don't approve." Kiba sighed glumly and rested his head in his hands.

Shino leaned against the dresser and frowned. "They don't think you're good enough for your son?"

"That's ridiculous, Kiba!" Hinata argued.

"No, no…" The Inuzuka scratched his head. "It's more complicated than that. His mom…she looks down on his job. She looks down on him for only being a chuunin. She has apparently been pushing him to produce an heir. And she really doesn't approve of him being gay."

"Oh." Hinata said. "That's terrible! Poor Shikamaru!"

"That is a very difficult situation for him." Shino agreed.

"Tell me about it." Kiba groaned. "Our whole family is meeting tonight. Like my side and his side. It should be...interesting."

Hinata giggled, a hand covering her mouth. "You mean…Tsume Inuzuka and Yoshino Nara in the same room? At the same dinner table? I would like to be a fly on that wall."

"I believe you have a sadistic streak in you, Hinata-chan." Shino stated as he adjusted his glasses and peered at her. "I like it."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Shikamaru was surprised at how quickly the rest of the afternoon flew by. It was probably because he was very nervous the dinner later that night. He barely remembered the lecture he gave on chakra manipulation; thankfully he knew them by rote and before he realized it he had dismissed the students and was standing in an empty classroom, blinking rather stupidly at the chalkboard.

"You seem distracted, Shikamaru." Iruka-sensei said quietly from the doorway.

He turned his head and blinked owlishly at his ex-teacher. He nodded. "I am."

Iruka walked into the room and smiled kindly. "I'm always here for you if you need to talk."

Shikamaru nodded. "What are today's rules?"

The older man nodded. "Let's see…The 11th Rule is to Look Beyond his Looks." Iruka paused and blushed slightly. "I know that's hard when you're dating an attractive man, but try to look past their fair face and well-shaped physique. But also think of how good are they at relationships? How does he treat his Mother? How does he get along with siblings and friends? If the answer to this question is - not well, then you should take heed. Because once confident in your affections, he will treat you the same way he treats them. Patterns are important."

"We are going to ignore Kakashi-san's complete and total lack of friends and-" Shikamaru began.

Iruka blushed and then swatted at Shika. "We're not talking about me, we're talking about you!" Iruka laughed again. "I've already got a man!"

Shikamaru leaned against his desk and set the eraser that he had been holding down. "I've got dinner with both the Nara's and the Inuzuka's tonight. At the same dinner table."

His ex-sensei's eyes bugged out a little. "Kami-sama!"

"Troublesome."

"Can we come watch?" Iruka asked, rubbing his hands together. "I'll bring a casserole. And good sake."

"You need a hobby, Iruka-sensei." Shikamaru glared.

"Please?" Iruka begged. "I have to see this."

"Well…"

"An outside party should be there to mediate, actually." Iruka wheedled. "And Kakashi will be on his best behavior."

"You can't promise that!" Shikamaru glared again.

"No, I can't, but I can withhold things." Iruka looked smug. "It keeps him in line."

"Gah-! I didn't want to know that." The Nara muttered under his breath.

"So, can we come?"

"Yeah, yeah. It's at 6:30pm. And you should bring a casserole." Shikamaru relented. "And definitely bring the sake."

Iruka transported away excitedly, talking about some recipe he wanted to try. But Shikamaru turned back to his desk, gathering up his scrolls in his messenger bag that he had to grade and sort for the next day. It may be a Tuesday, but he still had a lot of work to do. He tucked a spare kunai in to his bag and walked into the hall, closing his classroom for the day. He sighed and decided to walk home. He wouldn't mind taking the long route home; he could always stop by the park and gaze at the clouds for a little while. He looked at his watch. He had a little time to spare.

Shikamaru sat on the bench and looked up at the clouds, blinking up lazily. He sighed. It had been a while since he had just had time to do this, he thought. He leaned back and realized he really needed to make time out of his days to do this. Like Iruka said, this was relaxing to him, and even if people thought it was stupid, damnit, he liked it. He watched the clouds absently and sighed again, feeling the stress of the day wash away. Tonight was going to be long and…troublesome. But now he felt like he could deal with it. He would have Kiba there beside him. And Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-san would be there – that was bound to be amusing.

After a while, he looked down at his watch and realized it was nearing five o'clock. He reached in his pocket and absently felt the shape of the lighter from Asuma. Success is what you make it, he thought to himself. Shikamaru stood and stretched, then continued the rest of the way home; hands shoved his pockets, his messenger bag strapped across his body.

He arrived home and opened the front door, then shut it behind him. He walked into the kitchen. His Mother was cooking. His Father was in the backyard setting up long tables with lots of chairs. Lots of chairs. Shikamaru frowned.

"I invited a few extra people to dinner tonight, Mother." Shikamaru said as he looked outside at the long tables with all the extra tables and chairs. He scratched the back of his head.

"Oh?" His Mother looked at him. Yoshino Nara was wearing all dressed for the party already, but wearing an apron to cover her party dress. The pearls in her ears glowed dully in the light of the kitchen. She stood at the stove stirring a thick stew. She turned her face towards him and actually smiled slightly, trying to make an effort, an overture. He truly appreciated the effort. "Who did you invite Shikamaru?"

He leaned against the doorjamb. "Ahh…I invited Iruka-sensei…you know, he is my old pre-genin teacher. And my current mentor." He added carefully. "He said he would bring a casserole, some sake." Shikamaru paused. "And Kakashi-san."

The only clue that Yoshino heard what he said was a slight hitch in her breath and a slight change in the way she stirred the stew; she started stirring it faster. She wasn't a stupid woman; she knew who Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-san were, and what they were. Everyone in Konoha did. In fact, civilians and shinobi who didn't live in Konoha probably did – the man was the copy-nin, for Kami's sake. He was famous. Famous for being a lot of things. One of them that he lived with his gay lover, Iruka-sensei.

"I see." His Mother said evenly. "That is very thoughtful of him."

She must be referring to the casserole and the sake. His Father was walking inside from the backyard. He walked into the kitchen and smiled mildly.

"Good evening, Son." Shikaku said. "The Akimichi's and Inoichi's will also be joining us tonight as well."

Shikamaru blinked a few times and looked outside at the large tables. It made more sense now.

"Go set two more places, honey." Yoshino said lightly.

"Eh?" His father frowned. "But I just finished setting it up…"

"Your Son invited two more people to dinner."

His Father looked at him inquisitively and Shikamaru shrugged. "Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-san wanted to come."

Shikaku nodded and sighed. "Can you bring two extra chairs out from the spare room to the back yard?"

Shikamaru nodded back. "Sure Father." He dropped his messenger bag off onto the counter and went into the spare room to get the chairs, glad to be out of the kitchen; the tension was rising and although he felt guilty for causing it he still didn't want to be around it. He couldn't make her feel better because there was nothing he could do about the things she was upset about.

He stacked the spare chairs and carried them outside. His Father took the chairs and placed them where he wanted them. His Father was looking at him.

"Probably wasn't the wisest idea to invite those two." Shikaku stated.

"Why?" Shikamaru asked.

"Kakashi-san has a very bad habit of saying inappropriate things and tonight is going to be tense enough." His Father sighed and rubbed his forehead.

Shikamaru smiled wryly. "Well, Iruka-sensei promised me that he would keep Kakashi-san in line."

Shikaku looked at his Son and laughed. "You spoke to him about this matter?"

"Of course, I know what he's like." Shikamaru laughed.

"Wise to think ahead, I shouldn't have doubted you." His Father finished arranging the chairs and then looked back at his son. He turned and faced their land, but his words were for his Son, "When we spoke a few weeks ago you spoke of why you broke up Temari. Is this why?"

He sighed. "There was a lot wrong with our relationship. We fought a lot, we wanted different things. I was unhappy. She was unhappy. I wasn't attracted to her." Shikamaru shrugged. "In the end it was a culmination of things, like any relationship. Rarely is it ever just one thing."

His Father was nodding. "So you weren't always…?"

"I think I was…I think that was part of the problem…" Shikamaru felt his face heating up. It was embarrassing to talk about this, but surprisingly not that awkward. He always felt fairly calm discussing things academically with his father. Something about the cold academic nature of the discussion felt comfortable and not hugely discomforting. He sighed.

"Ahh…" His Father nodded; hands behind his back. "Then I'm sorry I forced you to go on the date with Ino-chan."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Yeah, yeah."

"Well, you should probably go get dressed for dinner." His Father turned towards him and smiled. "It's almost six o'clock now. And I want you to know that whatever you think you know - you're Mother and I have always been proud of you, have always loved you and will always love you. We will always support, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru was a little stunned at the moment. His parents loved him, sure, but they didn't go around proclaiming it all the time. Sure, he'd heard it before. But it was very nice to just hear it like that. He blinked at his Father. "Che. Troublesome. I love you guys, too."

Then he turned around and realized his Mother was standing behind him. How had he not noticed her chakra? Wasn't he a ninja? He blinked at her, and she was hugging him. Yoshino Nara had not hugged him in…a very long time. Probably not since Christmas, and not this heartfelt in a long time. Not since Asuma-sensei had died, at least.

"I love you, Shikamaru." She whispered in his ear. He blinked back a few tears. "I'm sorry if…I sometimes don't show it…I just want so much for you because I think you can go so far. But I ultimately want you to be happy. And if you're happy…that's the most precious thing in the world…to me."

Shikamaru realized his Mother was shaking a little with emotion as he held her; she was crying a little. He smiled at her softly. "I love you, Mother, I'm sorry if I've been…a jerk lately."

"No, Shika, I'm sorry!" Yoshino said, putting her forehead to his.

They hugged again, both of them apologizing and saying stupid, silly admissions of guilt to each other. Had it been said before how much alike they were? Shikamaru may look like his father - but temperament wise; he was just like his Mother. Then his Father was there pulling Yoshino away and telling him to go get dressed.

Before he realized it, he was grinning and running up the stairs, actually looking forward to the dinner. Shikamaru took the stairs two a time, surprisingly unlike is lazy nature. He just felt so much…lighter all of a sudden. After all these weeks and months – he felt like all of this guilt and oppression had been lifted. He went into the bathroom and took a shower, finding himself actually singing in the shower. He wore his hair down, following Iruka-sensei's advice and wore the outfit that he had purchased with his mentor – the jeans and the black button up shirt. He made sure his henge was still in place, since the bites were still (troublesome-!) visible.

Shikamaru could hear the doorbell ringing, so he left the bathroom and was walking down the stairs. People were already here. He could hear them in the backyard. He flushed, realizing he was late to his own party. His Father was at the door, opening to reveal Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-san. They were both wearing nice slacks and dress shirts. Kakashi-san held out a fine bottle of sake to his Father. Shikaku took the bottle from him and looked at it in askance.

"Apparently one brings sake to a Son's coming-out party?" Kakashi-san said and then smiled his little curved-up happy smile.

Shikaku smothered a laugh.

"Don't encourage him, Shikaku-san." Iruka growled.

Shikamaru walked over. "Should you have brought that muzzle I suggested?"

"Ahh, aren't you the one with dog fetish, Shikamaru?" Kakashi snickered in Shikamaru's direction.

"Kakashi!" Iruka blushed "What did I tell you…"

"He started it…" Kakashi whined, his hand up scratching the back of his head.

"That is one!" Iruka said, his eyes glittering dangerously.

Kakashi huffed so much the mask filled up with air and expanded a little. He shoved his hands in his pockets and wandered into the kitchen to speak with Inoichi-san.

His Father was closing the door behind them and they were walking out to the back patio. The Akimichi's and Inoichi's were already there, sitting in the chairs, sipping iced tea and lemonade. His Father had strung lights up along the arbor on the ceiling. They were really going out to make this a nice night. He smiled.

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows at Iruka-sensei. "One?"

"Yeah, I have a three-strikes and he's in the dog-house policy with Kakashi. I have found it useful when dealing with him in social functions and things like this. It keeps him from acting too inappropriately. It will make him think before he speaks…because there are consequences that he actually cares about." Iruka explained quietly to him.

"Sex, you mean?" Shikamaru shook his head.

Iruka shrugged. "If you can't beat him, you join him."

"You're just as much of pervert as Kakashi-san, Iruka-sensei, drop the act."

"Well, you should talk, primal beast boy…do you play the deer and he hunts you?" Iruka teased.

Shikamaru laughed, flushing slightly. He heard polite coughing and he turned around. His Father! Oh Kami had he overheard that? Shikaku was standing right there his cheeks were stained lightly with color. Yes, he probably had overheard their conversation. Okay, if their conversation had been cold and academic, and not embarrassing. This, well, this was uncomfortable. It was one thing to discuss sex or masturbating in a clinical way. But to talk about it in a kinky way – that was awkward.

The doorbell rang. Saved by the bell!

Shikamaru walked quickly, he did not race, for the door. And he wasn't blushing. He opened the door to see Tsume, Hana and Kiba Inuzuka…and Akamaru! He smiled at them brightly and opened the door widely.

"Why is your face red, Shika?" Kiba asked.

"I just took a shower." Shikamaru said and with a laugh, not even wanting to begin to explain that he was blushing and why. He looked at the Inuzuka's "Nice to see you all, thank-you for coming. The party is out back. My parent's also invited their good friends, the Akimichi's and the Inoichi's. And I invited Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-san." Shikamaru smiled at them. And he meant it. He was happy.

"Damnit, I told you we were late, Hana!" Kiba exclaimed, looking out at everyone in the backyard. "You and your stupid hair!"

"Che…it's fine, Kiba." Shikamaru smiled. "We haven't started eating yet." He reached over and took Kiba's hand. Tonight was going to be a good night. He could feel it.

"Good, I'm glad." Kiba said in relief." He squeezed Shikamaru's hand.

"I'm surprised to see Akamaru?" Shikamaru looked down in surprise at the big white dog, who was sitting calmly at Kiba's side. The dog was sniffing him curiously. He held out his hand tentatively, open-faced, palm-up and the dog licked it. He scratched him behind the ears and the nin-dog rubbed up against his leg.

Of course Tsume also had brought Kuromaru and Hana had thankfully only brought one of the three Haimaru Brothers companions she favored.

"I'm…apparently…Uhhh…" Kiba was flushing and trying to find suitable words.

Hana did not have the same problem.

"Good news! Dearest brother is no longer in heat, Shika!" Hana exclaimed happily, and quite loudly. She put her arm around him and ruffled his hair.

"In heat?" Shikaku repeated, his eyebrows shooting up.

There was a gagging noise from in the kitchen. Kakashi-san had overheard and had apparently been trying to drink some lemonade from behind his genjutsu really quick, but got sidetracked when he heard that and started to laugh or some ice went down his throat and got stuck and he was now gagging on it and Iruka came up behind him and thwacked him loudly on the back. Iruka was laughing at Kakashi-san and calling him a fool. The copy-nin's face was all red and there was a huge wet-spot on his mask.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru said. Maybe he could pretend Hana hadn't said anything. Maybe his Father would pretend he hadn't heard that.

"Hello Yoshino-chan!" Tsume smiled and marched over to his mother in the kitchen and picked the smaller woman up and hugged her. "I haven't seen you in ages! We don't talk enough! Isn't this crazy? I never thought my Kiba would be gay, but what you going to do?" She let out a coarse laugh and slapped her thigh. "Where's the food?" Then the two women were arm in arm, marching off towards the backyard.

Shikamaru blinked. That was unexpected. He really hadn't expected Tsume Inuzuka to hug his mother and for his Mother to just take it. She really was trying for his sake. He felt a warmth coil in his chest expand. He looked up at Kiba, and he smiled shyly. "Did you want to get something to eat?"

"Technically, I am bisexual Mom." Kiba glowered towards his Mother's retreating back.

He just laughed at Kiba and squeezed the man's hand.

Much later, hours later, Kiba and Shikamaru were lying under the stars, on the grass of his backyard. They could hear the muffled voices of the adults laughing and talking behind them. Ino and Choji were somewhere over yonder snuggling by the tree, but they were sitting under the cloudless sky to look at the sky. Akamaru was lying with his head in Kiba's lap. Every once in a while they would let out a small doggy snore.

"This is really nice." Kiba said happily. "And you were so worried."

"Yeah, yeah."

He had already told him about his Mother's outburst earlier. This was probably ranking in one of his best days of his life. Right up there with obtaining chuunin rank.

"You know, Kiba…" Shikamaru paused. "I have a bit of a confession."

"Oh?" The Inuzuka man started running his hands through Shikamaru's hair.

"I had a little help with our relationship." He admitted.

"What do you mean?"

"Like…a matchmaker of sorts I guess." Shikamaru explained.

"Huh?" Kiba paused.

"Well, I've never really dated anyone and I just asked for advice, you know, that's it. It wasn't really any big deal. They gave me these tips and helped me with some clothing advice."

"Clothing advice?"

"You know - those leather pants from the costume party."

"Those were hot." Kiba grinned and kissed Shikamaru lightly on the cheek. He wanted to do more but both their families were just a few feet away.

"Those pants were Iruka-sensei's." Shikamaru stated.

Kiba's brain might have melted a little for the second time in one day. He stared at Shikamaru for a moment with a moment in confusion, then conjecture, and then disgust.

"Damn you, Shikamaru!" Kiba growled. "I wanted you to borrow those again. And now…I can't think about those pants again without thinking about Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei and that's just…gross! They're old! Why does Iruka-sensei even need sexy leather pants? No, don't answer that!" Kiba grunted and covered his eyes as if to will the mental images away. "This is almost worse than the time that Kakashi-sensei joined in during the sex-talks around the campfire with Raidou and I and he told us that he liked to have sex with Iruka-sensei in his classroom. I was mortified!"

"Wow, you just used 'mortified' in a sentence correctly, Kiba." Shikamaru teased.

"Stop dissing my vocabulary, Shika." He pouted, and then grinned. "However it was my word of the day a couple of days ago."

"Very sexy when you use it properly." Shikamaru praised.

"So who's been mentoring or matchmaking or whatever for you?" Kiba asked, still not getting it.

"Iruka-sensei."

"What?"Kiba exclaimed, waking Akamaru up.

"Him and, well, truthfully, Kakashi-san too. They've been giving me rules everyday to follow. More like tips. And well, here we are."

Kiba was looking at him as he had a screw loose. Maybe he did. A few weeks ago he probably never would have ever thought about considering to asking his old pre-genin teacher for romantic advice. And certainly not the town pervert. But here he was; deliriously happy. So…maybe it worked?

"You know, Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-san are some of the most intelligent people in Konoha, right? The rules have been surprisingly practical and reasonable. We would probably not be together right now if it weren't for them, so you should probably thank instead of mock them." Shikamaru finished.

The Inuzuka man thought for a few moments, scratching Akamaru in a relaxed manner. He the nodded. "Can I see the rules? Did you write them down?"

Shikamaru looked surprised.

"What?" Kiba laughed.

Shikamaru looked a little abashed. "Actually, I never thought to write them down..."

"Shika...you're such a lazy bastard!" Kiba groaned. "And don't you remember them at all? Aren't you a genius?"

"Hey! Well, I can probably remember some of them...I think?" Shikamaru laughed. "I'm sure Iruka-sensei remembers them all perfectly anyways. He probably wrote notes on it."

"So...why did you ask for help from them?" Kiba asked after a moment.

Shikamaru sighed. "I liked you and didn't know how to go about doing anything about it. I guess things seemed pretty hopeless at the time." The young Nara man grinned shyly. "And Iruka-sensei can be pretty convincing when he wants to be. He was pretty adamant about wanting to help."

"Why?" He asked softly.

"Do you remember that mission you mentioned earlier where you said Kakashi-san err...over-shared?" Shikamaru started plucking at the grass on the ground beside his leg.

"Yes?" Kiba frowned. "What about it?"

"Do you remember that Kakashi-san asked if you and I were...?" Shikamaru colored a little at the memory. "Having sex in my classroom?"

"Oh, I remember that! I was pretty embarrassed because Raidou laughed. I had just gotten through telling them this story about one time with Ino-" Kiba was laughing

"Ino?" Shikamaru sat up, looking at Kiba angrily.

"No, it was all a lie. I was just making it up really. Honest!" Kiba looked stricken. "I didn't know what else to say, they were all talking about stuff and I didn't know what to say. The only person I had been with was a boy, and I was too embarrassed to tell them that. Granted, once Kakashi-sensei said he'd been with a man, it wouldn't have been a big deal, but he spoke after me, so I didn't know that he was going to say that! I guess was just a chicken." Then Kiba grinned. "But Ino is pretty."

"Oh?" He flashed a few hand signs and suddenly the man was pinned to the ground with a few shadows.

"C'mon, Shika...I was just kidding..." Kiba whined. Akamaru made a doggy-noise like he was snickering. "Akamaru, whose side are you on?"

"I don't know, Kiba. I don't have long blond hair. I can't hear you..." Shikamaru smiled at the nin-dog, wishing he could pet him, but he couldn't because that would release the jutsu. He settled for praise "Akamaru, good dog. I know were my Father keeps the venison jerky."

"That's not cool, Shikamaru." Kiba pouted.

Shikamaru shook his head. "Anyways, well, Kakashi-san thought you were dating me because Iruka-sensei had told him I liked you. He naturally assumed the feeling was mutual, ergo – he opened his mouth and said that to you on the mission. When he realized that it wasn't, he came home and told Iruka. Who then made it his mission to play 'matchmaker'. It has been an enlightening past few weeks but I can't say that I would turn back the clock. Would you? Unless you wish to possibly fight Choji over there for Ino?"

"Oh quit it, Shika." Kiba said petulantly. "I'm sorry about the Ino joke, okay? Now let me up!"

Shikamaru sighed then released the jutsu and Kiba growled lightly as his limbs were released. He looked over his shoulder at their parents. They both knew they were being watched occasionally. Not overtly, maybe. But enough that both young men wanted to make a good impression. The normally hot-tempered Inuzuka swallowed his emotions and ran a ragged hand through his hair and ended up sticking his tongue out at Shika instead of whatever head wanted to do.

He smiled, vaguely surprised at Kiba for keeping a firm hand on his temper and restraining his impulses.

"I guess I really do owe Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei a debt of gratitude, then." Kiba said after a moment as he lay back down on the ground and pulled the shadow-nin beside him.

"Oh?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah, after all it pretty flattering that the laziest ninja in Konoha used a matchmaker just to woo little ol' me."

"Oh...you didn't just say that!" Shikamaru tried to pull away but Kiba was trying to pull him in for a kiss.

"Well, it's true!" Kiba had a feral grin on his face.

"You have the biggest ego!" Shika accused.

"Well...if the kunai fits!"

"And I was just thinking that you had matured!" The young teacher glared.

"C'mon, I'm still an awesome boyfriend." Kiba smiled and tried to grab the other young man for a kiss, but he was fighting the embrace.

Shikamaru stilled. "What did you say?"

"Huh?" Kiba frowned. "What did I say about what?

"We've never talked about that." Shika tried to blow it off. "What a dr-"

"No, it's not a drag. Stop saying that just when you don't want to say, or when something is bothering you. You are my boyfriend."

Akamaru barked happily in agreement. Kiba reached over and scratched him behind his ears.

"Good." Shikamaru smiled. "I'm glad." And he looked up at stars and was so happy he could burst. He had a boyfriend, a job he liked (most of the time), great friends and a family that apparently did love him. Life, was really looking up.

Owari

A/N – Thank-you to every single person who reviewed. Seriously! I know that everyone has really been enjoying this fiction a lot and I'm sure no one really wants to see it end, but, darlings I always write very outlines for my stories and this was the end for this story-! So I'm sorry that it's over, but it was a lovely end, no?

Dedicated to WhitenyRose – Friend, Muse, and Beta Extraordinaire!

However, do not despair – as the saying goes...one door may close, but another may open. "Icha Icha Matchmaker" may be ending but if you like KakaIru (other pairings in there, too) – well, I have another story that I am starting...in fact, it is already up, you can go read the very first chapter RIGHT NOW-! (See, look how devious I am? I'm so naughty!)

It's called, "It's Always Sunny in Konoha" – it's set in Modern Day Konoha (Yes, I know a little out there, right, but don't be afraid – it's a funny piece – it's not taking it's self too seriously). It's not parody or anything, Just give it a whirl and tell me what you think. If you like my writing style at all - just give it a shot. Trust me – you might like it!

As always, thank-you VERY much for sticking through Icha Icha Matchmaker (And also "The Space Between Two Worlds" if you read that, too). You have all my love!

Please Review! ^_^