Shikamaru was angrier than he expected to be by the time he saw the lights in his window upon re-entering Konoha. After rethinking their earlier decision to remain at the compound, the strategist had suggested to Neji that both he and Lord Hiashi quietly remove themselves to somewhere safe where no one was likely to come looking for them. Shikamaru's home was the agreed upon place where Neji and he would meet when setting off on particularly covert missions together, so it was no surprise to the Nara when he entered the lounge room to see both uncle and nephew engaged in quiet, intense conversation. They looked up when he entered, and despite being more than a little outside his rights to comment, Shikamaru couldn't help but feel that the longstanding trust developed of the years had been dented by this latest development. Unusually, he couldn't bring himself to keep quiet about it either, and so he rounded on Neji without pausing to consider that his uncle was in the room.

"I respect that you like to keep your personal life to yourself, Neji, but you still seem to forget that other people are victims of your actions, just as much as you are."

Neji's expression suggested that he was taken aback by the abrupt statement, "What do you mean?"

"You never told me you and Tenten were together…"

And there it was…complete, mind-numbing silence and unadultered shock splashed across both Hyuuga's faces.

"I…" Neji started an instinctive denial but Shikamaru cut back in,

"And don't deny it, because we had a deal. Even if we didn't, the very least you could have done was tell me you were sleeping with my friend…"

"Whatever you think you…" Nej had stood but fell silent and still again when Shikamaru pinned him with his shadow jutsu.

"Oh cut the bullshit, Hyuuga! We had an agreement for missions like this – all the dirty secrets laid out on the table so no one could use them to play us. If we both know what is going on we can make sure our families don't end up involved and it all doesn't come back to bite us on ass. I was upfront with you about Temari. And what do you do? You lie, you keep secrets and you put my friend in danger. She is like family to me too, Neji…how do you think I would feel telling her something happened to you and not knowing how much that would affect her? How do you think she would feel? And worse, what if something happened to her because you can't relinquish your complete and total control to anyone?!" He released Neji and felt much better after getting that off his chest.

"It's not like that, Shikamaru…" Neji realised he was caught red-handed. They had indeed agreed to share any personal information that might be used against them in the event they were taken hostage or an operation compromised in any way. Aside from being friends, the two men were more and more often paired together on these particularly sensitive ANBU missions and while the intent was to remain anonymous, all ANBU were aware of the possible consequences if their identities were exposed. Neji and Shikamaru had developed a strong mutual trust and he was beginning to realise that by being so wrapped up in keeping his personal life with Tenten away from the prying eyes of the clan, he may have worn thin more than just her trust in him.

Hiashi chose this moment to remind them of his presence, "What is Shikamaru talking about, Neji?"

Neji looked between his uncle and his friend, suddenly feeling as though he were sixteen again and being caught sneaking out of his quarters, "I never intended to deceive either of you. Shikamaru, I know how close you and Tenten are but it happened unexpectedly and by the time it was serious, I couldn't figure out how to broach the subject with Tenten, let alone with you. What was I supposed to say…'I'll meet you at the gates at three…and just for the record, I'm sleeping with my best friend but no one can find out because my family won't approve'?"

An honest smirk crossed Shikamaru's face and he felt his anger dissipate completely, "Fair comment."

"And I guess I took advantage of the fact that you would protect her because she is important to you too."

"Always."

Hiashi had been listening from his seat with a slight frown on his face but stood and addressed his nephew, "So it is true then? You have been sleeping with your ex-teammate?"

Neji sighed, clenching and unclenching his jaw, "Yes."

"Okaayyy, I sense a Hyuuga argument and I am all for letting the two of you fight this out but now is really not the time. We need to take these guys down. Your big secret is backfiring because somehow your new favourite cousin must have seen you and Tenten together and now he is offering her up as a gift to this lunatic arms dealer."

"What?!"

Both Hyuugas responded in unison, forcing Shikamaru to hold up a hand for silence. He moved across to a side table, opening the draw and began arming himself as he elaborated, "I didn't catch the whole conversation but the point is that he wants you to suffer and thinks that 'gifting' Tenten to this guy to do whatever he pleases with, is that best way to do that. If I had known you were lovers I would have told you to get her out of town before this started…send her to stay with Temari in Suna where she would be safe. Maybe we should've had someone else take your place to avoid a conflict of interest. Regardless, I think it is safe to say we are officially losing control of this situation…

"At risk of making that worse, there is something else you should both know…"