30 Day OTP Challenge for the Fluff Impaired Prompt #11: Sleeping arrangements.
Just some information for you.
Yume and Shikaku are, of course, fraternal twins born to a surrogate mother who is a VERY distant blood relative of Shikamaru's but still part of the Nara clan. She doesn't want kids of her own but was more than willing to help Shikamaru and Neji when they were looking for a good surrogate to carry a child or children for them.
Shikaku is the older twin, born on Jan. 15 at 3:15 AM. He weighed 6 lbs 8 oz and was 21 long inches at birth.
Yume is the younger twin, born the same day at 3:25 AM. She weighed 6 lbs 5 oz and was 19 inches long at birth.
Neji and Shikamaru are 25 and 24, respectively, when the twins are born.
The day the newborn twins, Nara Shikaku and Nara Yume, came home from the hospital was the day everything changed. And while the changes weren't bad, they certainly did take some getting use to. Their once quiet and peaceful home was no longer a place of rest and relaxation. Instead it was now the home of two small infants whom needed constant care and attention. Not that either man minded giving them that. No, both babies had been adored at first sight by the married couple and they loved the twins dearly.
It was just difficult to no longer have the house to themselves and being active duty shinobi certainly didn't help when it came to bonding with the little ones and each other. Though it was more difficult for Neji than Shikamaru since the Nara was in Konoha more often these days. Shikamaru almost always had all the time he needed to spend with the twins, going as far as taking them to the office with him even when others offered to watch over them. Shikamaru, though, would have none of it. He and Neji had made the decision to bring these little people into the world and he would do his best to do right by them. Even if it was more work the Nara did not find it to be troublesome at all. He was more than happy to have them right there with him no matter where he was.
Though it certainly garnered the 24 year old plenty of attention that he was not use to. Apparently women thought that the Nara was a much better catch now due to the fact that he spent most of his with the twins and was very attentive to them. Shikamaru had, of course, blown off any and all attempts made on him by the women who didn't seem to want to take no for an answer(the fact that he was a committed, married man seemed to make no difference to them and he often locked himself in his own office to escape them). He was honestly baffled by the sudden interest in him and complained loudly to Neji, friends and family. The whole thing was ridiculous in the Nara's mind and he just wanted it to stop.
Everyone else found it hilarious. Including Neji who had always told Shikamaru that he was far more handsome than the Nara thought he was. Not that Shikamaru believed him about it even after years of being together. The Nara still sometimes looked at Neji as if he was going to disappear and this would have all been a wonderful dream suddenly cut short. Neji did his best to distract him in these moments. Though it was a little reassuring to know that Shikamaru was unnerved by all the attention and did not want it.
While Neji knew that the Nara would not ever stray he did worry because, recently, Shikamaru had suddenly and continually been absent from their bed. To Neji it was rather upsetting. Neji often woke up in the middle of the night to reach for the Nara only to find him missing from their bed. When Neji went to look for him he could always, inevitably, be found sleeping in one of three places with a sleeping infant cradled in his arms and/or in a nearby crib or bassinet: the rocking chair in the nursery, the couch in the living room, or in his office desk chair. Shikamaru never came into the bedroom with either infant during the night and Neji could not understand why. They both got up in the night to check on them, feed them, and change their diapers. So why did Shikamaru feel the need to sleep somewhere else if he knew that Neji would gladly help?
It wasn't until Shikamaru was called away for a mission that required his skill set two months after the twins were born that the Hyūga understood. Suddenly, Neji was left completely by himself with the twins and it quickly became apparent that there had been other issues that he'd not known about. Things that the Nara hadn't told him so that Neji could sleep peacefully through most of the night. Shikamaru's new sleeping habits had been due to Yume. The little girl, for whatever reason, would not sleep at night unless someone was close by. Her brother did not count apparently. Her fussiness disturbed Shikaku, more often than not, causing the infant boy's face to turn beet red before he would start to wail, unhappy his sleep had been interrupted. This left Neji trying to calm both infants unsuccessfully until he remembered and turned to Shikamaru's methods.
A change in sleeping arrangements was obviously well worth the trouble for the two active duty shinobi if it meant that silence would be brought back to their home at night. And, clearly, his husband deserved far more credit than Neji had known to give until now, a medal for his patience in dealing with both of the twins - and Neji himself when one considered just how often the Hyūga had been less than understanding about the change - while sleep deprived, and a nice massage for all the trouble he went through without complaint.
AUTHOR'S NOTE Fussy babies make for sleep deprived parents, only Shikamaru has been trying to make it easier on Neji because he still runs missions(even if the missions are short). Hyūga operatives are valuable in the field after all.