A/N: Hello again! I'm glad to see you've decided to continue reading. And I see that a good number of people are keeping an eye on this story. I hope that I'm successfully fulfilling your ShikaNaru fix. ;)

I am proud to present to you the next chapter of this story! Enjoy! :)

I unroll the sketch that Shikamaru allowed me to keep and stare at it. The naked woman is actually very attractive, if not sexy; she is lying down and her eyes are half-lidded as her long hair spills all around her. She isn't the skinniest female I've seen, but her soft curves are alluring and somewhat cute.

"What is that?"

I turn and see it's my roommate, Neji Hyuuga. I look back down at the sketch that's on my desk and look back to him. To my surprise, he's livid. His lavender eyes are cool and steely, much like ice as he holds my eyes in place.

"It's a sketch, Neji. You've never seen one bef-"

Neji lunges forward and tackles me so hard and fast that I don't even have time to react. He pushes me down to the ground, pins my arms to my sides with his legs, and grips my shoulders. The pain is dull, but it's there; I wince at Neji's roughness.

"Where did you get that?" His face is so close to mine I can feel his breath

I yell back at him in surprise as I squirm, "What the fuck is wrong with you, Neji? It's just a sketch!"

"Just a sketch?" Neji shouts back at me, "That's just a sketch of my little cousin, you fucking sick bastard!"

I stop moving and my mind blanks. Cousin? A weird feeling gurgles in my stomach. Of course he'd be pissed. Neji is still glaring at me, his temper still flaring. He tightens his grip on my shoulders.

"I didn't sketch your cousin, Neji, I swear! I didn't even know she was even related to you! I just got the sketch from a friend of mine!"

Neji narrows his eyes. He probably doesn't believe me. He gets up off of me and grabs the sketch on my desk before ripping it into shreds. I don't argue, especially by the way he reacted. I sit up and Neji gives me his hand to pull me up.

"I'm sorry," I say, even though we both know I couldn't have known.

Neji sighs, "It's fine. But you are going to tell me who drew that, lest you wake up one morning without your balls."

Though I feel terrible for giving Shikamaru away, I give Neji his number for fear of what he would - and could - do. He frowns and leaves our room, slamming the door behind him in the process.

I swallow hard and send a warning text to Shikamaru.

'You...might be getting a random call soon,' I text him.

'What?'

'Apparently you sketched my roommate's cousin. He saw the sketch and, well, you know. Got angry.'

Shikamaru responds to me a good hour later with: 'Wow, I was not expecting my ass to be handed to me like that. We need to talk tomorrow.'

Neji comes storming in, his temper still as tonic as before he left.

"I know it wasn't your fault, but if I ever find another one of those...sketches of my cousin, I'll see to it personally that you wake up without your balls."

I nod furiously, and Neji glares at me for a few moments longer before he grabs his things to shower.

oooOOooo

"Ah, what do I do now?" Shikamaru groans as we exit our late studio class, "Your fucking psycho roommate threatened to castrate me if I even thought about putting Hinata's piece in my portfolio. Said he'd find out where I live and destroy my place."

I look down and shift my shoulder bag. I know it's all my fault, but Shikamaru hasn't quite blamed me. Yet. He seems frustrated, though, rather than angry.

"I'm really sorry," I say. And I mean it.

Shikamaru stops in his steps and turns to me. He glares at me and puts a hand in his pocket.

"If you're so fucking sorry, then make up for it."

I stand up straight and look right at him. "I can pay for your gas for a week? Or give you all of my art history notes. Or-"

"Or," he cuts in, "you pose for me and I'll call it even."

I feel strange at his idea. Pose? For him? I almost think I misheard him. But the strange look on my face gives away my confusion, and Shikamaru reiterates for me. His eyes narrow and he seems to loom over me, despite the minute height advantage he has over me.

"Yeah, pose. I want you to pose for me. You're going to replace Hinata."

I ignore the possible double entendre and put my hands up in defense. "I can't say I'm really all that comfortable-"

"Like how I wasn't all that comfortable about letting you keep that sketch?" Shikamaru huffs as he walks off.

I sigh and let him walk off. After a quick comb of fingers through my hair, I pull out a cigarette and light one up as quickly as I can.

He's making it difficult for me, I think.

oooOOooo

I knock on the door in front of me. It's a bit unnerving, standing in front of Shikamaru's place.

He hasn't come to class for the past couple of days, not for studio, not for lecture. I wonder if it's all my fault, that he refuses to attend classes.

The door opens wide. The person at the door isn't Shikamaru, but is the very same girl that Neji called his cousin. She's nude, and she blushes a bit at me, as if she just realized she answered the door naked.

"Oh, you're not-"

Her voice is light and airy, much like the comfort of a lullaby. I become entranced by her eyes. They are similar to Neji's, but hers are much softer, more alluring. And her curved body is very much alike to the sketch that Shikamaru did. She looks soft, and I am tempted to reach out to touch her. She steps to my left, hiding her nakedness behind the door as if she can hear my thoughts.

I feel my face heat up and I look down, a bit ashamed at my bold staring. She is an attractive woman, I admit.

"Um, I was wondering if Shikamaru was in, but I guess not...?"

The female shakes her head, suddenly becoming shy. She cocks her head at me and gives me a small smile.

"I can tell him you came by."

For a moment, I am offended. This woman's claim on Shikamaru's apartment, like it's her own, irks me. She does not own that comfortable carpet in the living room or the beautiful art in the studio any more than I do.

But I know she does not have the intention of driving me away as I initially suspect. She is more polite, and seemingly more fragile, than anyone I had ever met. She is trying to be helpful. I am simply overreacting, for reasons I do not know.

"Hinata, where are your clothes? Didn't I tell you to get dressed, in case someone came by?"

I turn around fast and see Shikamaru coming down the hall towards us. He has a tote in hand, its bottom weighed down by irregularly-shaped things. I suspect groceries, but that is just my assumption.

The female called Hinata squeaks and rushes back into the apartment without another word, most likely to hide and put her clothing back on. Shikamaru sighs and stops in front of his door, near me.

"What are you doing here?"

His tone isn't harsh nor curious. He seems to be quite drained, as if he hadn't slept well in quite a while. I purse my lips and stand tall as I put my hands in my pockets. I try to be discreet about my concern for him.

"Just checking to see what you were up to. You haven't been to class in a couple days."

Shikamaru shrugs and steps into his apartment. He gestures me in and I slip my shoes off after him. Hinata emerges from the bedroom, dressed in an oversized T-shirt and what seems to be a pair of boxers. She takes a seat on the couch and makes herself at home as she turns the television on.

He heads towards the kitchen and I follow. As I suspect, the tote Shikamaru sets down on the counter contains various vegetables and a hunk of meat. I wonder if he plans on having dinner with the woman on his couch. But I think again, and I am alarmed at the realization.

"Shikamaru," I say in a low voice, "you do realize that she's Neji's cousin, right? The guy's going to castrate you if he finds out she's here!"

The other male begins to put the groceries away, as if he hadn't heard a thing I said. Or, at least, as if he didn't really give two fucks about it. I wave my arms at him, attempting to get his attention and get him to answer. He glances over at me, but resumes putting the groceries away.

"I'll take my chances. I need this part of my portfolio done, and she's the only one who's willing to pose on such a short notice. You didn't seem to care about that, the last time I checked, so if you'll show yourself out," Shikamaru says as he shuts his fridge door.

He has me cornered, and he knows it. I have no other choice, and Shikamaru made sure it would be that way. Manipulative bastard.

"You're a fucking prick, you know that?" I retort, "Fine, I'll fucking pose for you. Just-send Neji's cousin home! Now!"

Shikamaru walks out of the kitchen to dismiss Hinata, but not before giving me the smallest of smirks as he passes.

oooOOooo

I can't help but feel absolute dread as I take my shirt off. It's the first article of clothing that Shikamaru tells me to remove, and I oblige. I feel strange stripping in front of another person - a man, no less.

"Your pants," he instructs nonchalantly.

Of course Shikamaru is expressionless. He sees me as another art figure to transpose onto paper, and nothing more, I'm sure. I undo my belt buckle with a noisy clanking of metal and unzip my pants. I step out of them and stand in front of Shikamaru with nothing on but my orange boxers. Shikamaru scrunches his nose.

"Boxers too," he says.

"Are you really that comfortable seeing all of my body?" I ask him.

Shikamaru peeks out from behind his table-easel, his eyes narrowing a bit as he shoots right back at me, "Are you really that uncomfortable with your body? I can always call Hinata back; she's pretty confident, especially for a woman."

Rather than get into another argument and have Shikamaru call Neji's cousin back, I close my eyes and chant a mental mantra. I can pose naked, for the sake of art. Even if it means posing in front of a man. I can and will let another man see my junk.

The boxers come off too, sliding down past my hips and down my thighs. They pool at my ankles, and I shake them off before realizing I'm also shaking other unmentionable parts of my body, all for Shikamaru to see.

I stand still and wait for further instructions from Shikamaru. However, he says nothing else. I start to hear scratches from the pencil and the rubbing of skin against paper. From time to time, he sticks his head out and looks at me for a long while before disappearing again.

After posing for about a half hour, Shikamaru calls to me, "You know, if you were just a bit taller and a bit more in shape, you could probably go into modeling."

If that isn't a surprising thing to hear out of nowhere, then I don't know what is. I feel my body warming, and I'm sure my face is starting to redden. Why say that, of all things, when I'm naked?

"What's that supposed to mean?" I say, entirely unsure of how to react.

Shikamaru stands up and stretches his entire body, moving his arms, neck, and upper body this way and that. He yawns, looks over to me and moves his gaze downward for a few moments before he yawns again.

"It means that I think you're attractive," he replies simply.

I have no idea what is going on in his mind, but I know by now that my body is completely flushed. I stand there under Shikamaru's keen gaze, which seems to hold me in place. He stares at me for a few moments longer, then waves his hand at me.

"I'm done for now. You can put your clothes back on."

Without further delay, I pull my clothes back on hastily. Whether Shikamaru is watching me or not, I don't care. When I am fully clothed, I walk out of the studio, grab my bag from the couch, and head for the door.

As I am about to shut the door behind me, Shikamaru uses his foot to bar the door and pulls me back by the shoulder. I turn around clumsily and he tips my chin with a simple touch of his hand. He presses his lips to mine, then darts a tongue into my mouth before pulling away.

My mind is blank. I stare wide-eyed at Shikamaru and he simply smirks.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

He retreats into his apartment and shuts the door softly. I am flabbergasted and unable to move.

And despite all that, he knows that I will see him tomorrow.

oooOOooo

I'm posing nude again. It's been a few long hours since I arrived at Shikamaru's, and he has yet to bring up the kiss from yesterday. I know patience is a virtue, but I want to know what the fuck is going on between us. I sigh and shift in my seat; Shikamaru has me posing on a chair today.

"What are you sighing about?" Shikamaru asks me, his form still behind the easel.

I say nothing and shift in my seat again. I don't think I can ever get that comfortable sitting on a chair naked.

Shikamaru presses me further, "You must be sighing about something. Were you fantasizing about me?"

Whether he is joking or not, I can't tell. I remain silent and let my head fall back onto the back of the chair. I won't fall for his passive-aggressiveness. He wants me to bring up the kiss and is trying to rouse me up to the task.

I hear his pencil drop to the table and the scuff of his chair as he gets up. I close my eyes and listen to each footstep as Shikamaru nears me. When I don't show any signs of moving, he tangles his fingers in my hair and yanks my head up. I open my eyes in surprise and his eyes bore into mine.

"Why are you being so uncooperative?" he asks me.

I try to bat his hand away but he doesn't budge. His fingers tighten their grip on my hair in response. I look off to the side and avoid Shikamaru's gaze.

"What, are you avoiding me now?"

I cross my arms and look up at him, his hand still in my hair. "Like how you're avoiding the fact that you fucking kissed me yesterday?"

I'm more frustrated than angry, but I'm not sure he knows that. Shikamaru continues to stare at me, then brings his face closer to mine.

"Is that what's been bothering you?"

I curse him mentally; he knows exactly how to push my buttons and manipulate me. I can feel his warm breath; it smells of cigarette, as usual. Suddenly, I feel the urge to smoke.

"It's not the kiss that's bothering me," I begin slowly, "I'm more concerned with what that kiss entailed. What did it mean to you?"

Shikamaru cocks his head and the corners of his lips curve upward. He shrugs. That simple gesture is beginning to lose much of its meaning and effect on me.

"Do you want it to mean something to me?"

There it is again, his passive aggression. I suddenly feel very naked (metaphorically speaking) and feel that Shikamaru can see right through me. Any confidence I ever thought I had crumbles, and I find myself acting like a school girl confessing her feelings.

"N-no," I stutter, "I mean, if it meant nothing to you, then that's fine. We can forget it ever happened and-"

Shikamaru interrupts me and moves his head forward, catching my lips in a rough kiss. His tongue swipes over my bottom lip and I find myself holding a moan in. I can feel my lower regions heat, and the distinctive feeling of an erection is starting to creep up on me. He pulls back and his face is serious.

"Or you can put your clothes back on before I fuck you raw," he rasps.

I am breathing heavily, I realize. Before I can even nod my head, Shikamaru stands up tall and turns around to head back to his work station. He grabs my clothes off the table and throws them at me. They land on me and I gather them up in my arms.

I slowly get up from the chair, my legs weak, and head for the bathroom to change and take care of my now-apparent problem.