AUTHORS NOTE: I got two reviews! So happy right now! So here´s another chappy, I hope you´ll enjoy. For the record, I don't play poker and I know nothing about it, but my sister´s pretty much a poker genius who hardly ever loses, so I just made use of her knowledge. If there´s any screw-up's here, they´re hers ;) Although it could just be that she was thinking of a different variety than you, there seem to be so many.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate, may the holidays bring cheer, but leave enough time to catch up on all your fics ;)

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Three aces, two kings

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Wednesday, nine-fifteen PM, Konoha Streets

They slowly walked together, the copy ninja with his nose buried in his book. He'd whipped the damn thing out the second their meeting was over. But Shikaku decided not to let that deter him as he had something important to say to the younger man.

"Kakashi…"

"Hmmm?"

"I wanted to thank you for being there for my son, and Choji and Shino as well. They needed someone to guide them a little, and I let them down. But I'm happy and grateful for you picking up my slack."

"It wasn't a chore, Shikaku. They're good kids."

The silver-haired man kept reading, but Shikaku knew that his attention was mostly focused on their conversation, years of working with the man had taught him that much, at least.

"They are, and you're right. But still… Thanks."

"You're welcome."

They walked in silence for another few minutes.
Until Kakashi suddenly put the book away, looking the older man square in the eyes.

"Is it because they're gay?"

The jounin commander found himself rubbing the back of his neck, "No, I don't…" He trailed off.

"Do you have a problem with Iruka and me?"

"Of course not!" Shikaku scoffed.

"Could've fooled me…" He whipped out his book again, started reading.

"Kakashi, I don't have a problem with you and Iruka. It's just… You and Iruka…"

"Ah… The schoolteacher/pervert thing, yeah, we get that a lot…"

"No, it's not like that…" The Nara frowned, "Is it?"

"You tell me, Shikaku. I can't see inside your head…"

"Kakashi, look…" He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, "You're a good guy, Iruka's a good guy… I don't really care who falls in love with whom, it's just… I dunno…"

"It's the sex, right?" The younger man looked up at him again, "That's the problem, the fact that we have sex."

Shikaku sighed, "I'll admit it gets a little complicated in my head when the thought of you two sleeping together pops up…"

He watched Kakashi's eye crinkle, somehow, it looked mischievous, "Oh, but we don't really sleep together much. That just feels like such a waste of time…"

Shikaku couldn't help but smile at the other's attempt to break the tension.
"Yeah, I know how it is… You're away on missions, sometimes for weeks at a time, never knowing when you'll be leaving again once you're home… It's tough, sometimes."

"Yeah… Meanwhile Iruka's here, having fun with the kids, hoping I don't come home all bloody and broken again…"

There was a strain in the younger man's voice – suppressed tears, maybe?

"I do that way too much, you know. Come home all bloody and broken… Iruka doesn't like it very much…"

"It's hard to see your loved ones get hurt," Shikaku offered.

"I suppose… Well, this is my stop. Good night, Shikaku."

The jounin started up the stairs of what was undoubtedly Iruka's apartment.
Shikaku tried not to cringe as he saw the teacher leaning on the balcony wall, Iruka waved at him, so he returned the greeting. But he refused to stick around for the most definitely more intimate greeting the man would share with his lover.

Shikaku was pretty sure he didn't want to see that. So when Kakashi appeared, sliding open the balcony doors, the commander turned on his heels and left.
Slowly getting lost in his own thoughts.

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Wednesday, nine-twenty-five PM, Iruka's balcony,

Up on the balcony, Kakashi let one hand ghost over Iruka's bottom. Knowing the wall would shield this view from just about all angles.

"I'm home, love," He spoke softly.

His lover leaned back against him for a moment before returning to rest his arms on the low wall in front of him.

"So Shikaku is finally coming around?"

"Starting to," Kakashi moved to stand next to his boyfriend, their bodies all but touching, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

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Wednesday, nine-forty PM, Shikamaru's bedroom,

Shikaku knocked on the door of his son's bedroom. He could hear the three boys inside, calmly talking.
When someone – Choji, probably – called to come in, he did. Feeling a slight pang in his chest at the memory of the time he´d forgotten to knock.

"Well, that's a sight I did not expect to see…"

The three heirs sat in a circle on the floor, playing cards.

"Wait, that's not strip poker, is it?" He added, noticing Shino's hoodie lay discarded on the floor.

"No dad, just regular – it's not all about sex, you know," The kid blushed lightly, but the words fell easily from his lips.

"I know, I'm sorry," He said soothingly, "Could you deal me in? I'd like to just… Talk with you guys for a bit, if that's all right."

Without a word, Shino and Choji both moved so he could sit in between them, while Shikamaru dealt him a hand. The man studied his cards for a moment before he spoke.

"You know… I haven't been totally fair to you guys."

"We understand," Shino said, picking two cards out of his hand, "It is a difficult concept to grasp," He took the cards Shikamaru dealt him, placing them in his hand.

"It's not that… I talked to Kakashi today, he… Helped me see things in a different perspective."

"What do you mean?" Shikamaru asked him, raising the bet.

As Choji studied his cards, Shikaku struggled for a moment before replying.

"We got talking about his relationship with Iruka, he asked if I had a problem with it when he mentioned them having sex."

Choji matched Shikamaru's bet, "Do you?"

"I don't," The man put one card on the floor, taking the one his son dealt him before continuing, "I do, however, have some problems with the mental picture that accompanies those words."

He put in his own chips, looking over at Shino, who's turn was next.
The kid had an incredible poker face.

"You mean two guys together," Shikamaru cut in, dealing Shino his cards.

"No, actually… It's them being Kakashi and Iruka… And that got me thinking…"

He watched as Shino upped the bet again.
Kid seems confident…

"Got you thinking about what, dad?"

"That it's not so much your relationship as the simple fact that my son's in it. Sorry, but that's just how it is."

Shikamaru didn't raise, and neither did Choji. The Akimichi had a look on his face that clearly indicated that he was already defeated.

"So you simply have a problem with us because we like to kiss your son?"

The Aburame's unsettling habit of saying things point blank like that wasn't something Shikaku was used from any teenager – most adults didn't even talk like that.

"No," A small smile tucked at his lips as he glanced at his cards, carefully picking up a stack of poker chips, "I find I'm having trouble realizing you all are growing up."

"We have been doing exactly that since the day we were born," Shino upped the bet again, daring them to go all in with him.

Since it was just a friendly game, with no actual money or commodities at stake, they all pushed their chips in.

"I realize that, Shino. But when you're changing a baby's diaper, you're not exactly considering that baby to take someone else's dick up his ass someday," Shikaku managed to keep a straight face, inwardly amused by his latest shock tactic.

It didn't really go as planned though. Sure, Choji sported a light blush, but they all remained eerily calm upon his revealing statement. He watched his son smirk.

"Yeah, growing up you don't really consider what your folks did in order for you to be born in the first place, either."

Shikaku smiled, both at his son's words and his cards; Queen, Jack, Ten, Nine, Eight.
"A straight, not too bad…"

"I know you beat me dad, drop the act…"

"Well, you beat me, Hotstuff."

The pet name fell easily off his lips, Choji didn't even notice he'd just called Shikamaru 'Hotstuff' in front of his father. Shikaku decided to ignore it, they had a right to after all. And it's not like it sounded too dirty…

"A pair of Jacks, Sweetcheeks? Really?" Shikamaru looked at Choji, then accidentally caught his father's amused look, "What? I – Oh…"

"It's okay, I think I actually like the sound of that one…" He smirked.

This time, they blushed. Except Shino, but he never seemed to change his facial expression anyway, so Shikaku acknowledged defeat on that one. He smiled again, putting his own cards down, "Full House, three Aces, two Kings," He winked, "That would be you guys."

"And the Kings?" There was a small smile in Shino's voice, though it didn't appear on his face.

"Kakashi and Iruka," Shikaku proclaimed, earning himself three smiling faces.

"You still do not, however, win this game," Shino calmly laid out his cards, "Why? Because I poses a Royal Flush."

And so he did; Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten.

Shikaku chuckled, "Remind me never to play for money with mister pokerface here…"

"Aw, Se – Uh… Shino's not so bad…" Shikamaru blushed, shooting his boyfriend an apologetic look, before glancing over at his father, clearly hoping the elder Nara hadn't noticed his little slip.

To Shikaku, this seemed like his clue to leave; so he got up, dusted off his pants and turned to the door, "Thanks for the game and the talk, guys. I'll just leave the three of you alone so you can call each other whatever the hell you want. I'm sure you've got a whole arsenal that I don't want to hear… By the way," Opening the door, he turned back to the three on the floor, "I presume you're staying over tonight?"

Shikamaru started to gather up the cards, "Yeah… We were kinda planning on that…"

"Do I need to let your folks know?"

Shino didn't look up as he spoke, busying his hands with picking up the poker chips, "I have already informed my parents of my whereabouts for this evening."

The elder Nara nodded, "Choji?"

"I… Kinda forgot… I'm sure they know, though…"

"I'll sent them a message anyway. We don't want another situation like… Anyway, breakfast at seven, don't make me have to wake you up."

After the man had left, Shino dropped the poker chips back in their bag, "You were about to call me 'Sexy' in front of your father, Shikamaru…"

"Yeah… Slip of the tongue," He shrugged, moving closer, "It's only because you are. So. Fucking. Sexy," Placing his lips on Shino's he pulled his boyfriend closer, settling himself on the Aburame's lap.

Shino whimpered softly, "Baby… I – Ah!"

The Nara smirked, he'd slipped one hand down between their bodies, grabbing a firm hold of the other's erection, "Don't fucking complain, right now. I want you so bad…"

Behind him, Choji smirked as well, touching himself through his pants.

The sight proved too much for the Aburame, and he lightly bit down on Shikamaru's shoulder, "I don't want it to be gentle, right now," He whispered softly, earning an approving nod from the boy on his lap.

"You want me to fuck you hard, Sexy?"

Another bite on his shoulder, accompanied by a small nod.

Shikamaru leaned back a little, taking a moment to examine his lover, "Are you embarrassed to ask?"

"A little… I am unsure as to your thoughts on the subject…" Shino blushed, but looked him straight in the eyes.

Shikamaru deliberately kept his tone even and soft, recognizing the situation was hard on his lover, "Tell me what you want, Shino. We can see if it can work together."

He watched as the Kekaichu-handler bit his lip, glancing over at Choji in obvious discomfort.

The Akimichi realized it too, looking Shino in the eyes, a sincere look on his face, "Hun, you know I won't. I found my line back there in the forest. But I'm not against it if it's something you two want," He spoke softly, yet clear.

A low moan escaped Shino's throat, his voice raspy as he whispered something in Shikamaru's ear.
Choji, recognizing the privacy of the moment between them, continued cleaning up the poker supplies.

As Shino moaned, Shikamaru almost joined in; the sound filling his entire being for a brief moment. As the Aburame leaned in to whisper in his ear, he whimpered softly; the contact between their erections still a new sensation to him. But as his lover whispered in his ear, in that raspy, hoarse and above all, sexy voice, his eyes widened, and his cheeks burned.

"I want you to tie me up. Take me. Hurt me. I want to still be feeling you inside me in two days. I need to feel the pain right now, Loverboy. I need it to hurt."

There was a hint of desperation in his voice, and Shikamaru could feel himself stiffen slightly at the tone. But when Shino buried his face in the crook of the Nara's neck, he could feel himself relax again. Could feel himself get excited about it.

"Trust me, Precious. It will."