Clouds drifted throughout a bright blue sky over the Village Hidden in Leaves even as the estate of the prominent Aburame Clan was hidden back among the beautiful trees. They had settled here long ago when an abundance of new insects were seen to migrate here years ago. Though those same insects had long since been discovered and examined beyond the enlightening point the clan continued to live there. Much of the estate was one large house with several court yards and length hallways and arcs weaving about like an elaborate hive. Other smaller houses littered the owned ground but much of the family lived here; aside from those who chose to live in the apartment residential area to determine if they could make it on their own. The requirement was far from necessary but some did prefer it that way aside.

Aburame Shino, seventeen years of age, sat on the edge of a porch that extended around the perimeter of a beautiful court yard that housed numerous developments of insects. His foot bounced up and down as he held a child's form seated in his lap. The brown hair was still short and thin but coming in to show the typical color amongst the clan. Her eyes glinted with a hazel color that tilted towards a nice shade of brown as she giggled furiously at the bouncing, waving her arms and screaming playfully as he pretended to drop her off to one side though really holding her at all times. The little girl couldn't have been more than a year or so old but insects gathered and fluttered about to examine the new addition to the family they had grown so accustomed to.

After a few more minutes of the playful bouncing he wrapped his arms around the little girl protectively and held her back into his sun warmed black shirt. Her giggled continued for a few more minutes before she settled back into the teenager's chest and clasped the material of his sleeves with tight hands. As she calmed down, Shino swept her up in his arms as one would normally hold a baby and cradled her carefully. His own sunglasses were on top of his head and his face remained stoic until a little hand reached up to grab at his nose and lips. Only a truly heartless person would have been able to fight off the smile as he stood up and stepped back up onto the wooden platform. She seemed content with his smile and smiled widely at him again as he headed back inside the estate.

Windows were open to allow multiple streams of sunlight in and wind rustled the open dark curtains. The room was mostly bare save for the low table and pillows arranged around it as well as some lights and plants. Unlike the ones outside, these plants were mostly insect free – the day was too good for them to want to linger inside for too long. A baby's cradle also sat in the room directly across from the door Shino walked in through but he didn't move to put her down quite yet. He hefted her up again and twirled her in a slow circle to earn a few more giggles. She grasped at his nose again and he lowered her down to touch his lips to her forehead. He cradled her once again in his arms as he paced around the room, allowing her to hold onto one of his fingers and take his glasses from the top of his head.

The fascination began to fade away to yawns and the yawns to closed eyes as she started to drift off to sleep clutching his glasses. He let her hold onto them as he heard someone sliding off their shoes and stepping up into the room from behind him. Turning around he was faced with the image of Nara Shikamaru, who stood with his hands in his pockets in the doorway, "Bonding time?"

"It never hurts," Shino replied smoothly. Shikamaru raised a brow but simply shook his head in reply and crossed the room, holding out his arms. Shino passed the baby to the other gently and eased his glasses from her grip. She frowned in her sleep and stirred at the movement but didn't wake up and merely curled into the new warm material of Shikamaru's black shirt. The cat eyed Chuunin looked over her with an unusual softness in his eyes as he cradled her just as gently as Shino had been. It wasn't as though neither of them had held a child before.

"She's cute," he said simply, balancing her carefully in his arms. Shino was pulling on his over coat again and making his way from across the room back towards his boyfriend and lover. He nodded without reply as he took the baby back and the sliding door behind him opened up.

A woman entered, her curling brown hair secured back in a pony-tail and glasses similar to Shino's (though more oval shaped by far) resting on top of her head. He dress was similar to that of a Jounin though she carried a small gourd on her hip and her under clothes were black compared to blue and her vest had been traded up for a high collared waist-length jacket. She was breathing a little hard, as though she had run to the room though neither boy had heard her, and immediately crossed the room to them.

"She sleeping?" she asked softly, peering over Shino's arms at the baby. He nodded again and she carefully eased the child away from him. Shikamaru had made his way back to the door leading to the court yard and swayed his weight lightly with his hands in his pockets. Shino's arms fell to his side, flexing and relaxing after the child was not longer there to occupy his hold. The room was quiet for a moment before the woman brought her eyes up to Shino, "Thanks Shino. I hate asking you to watch her for me but-"

He shook his head, "You're a shinobi and a mother, and you do what you can."

She seemed a little off guard by what he had said but let out a breath and nodded a little, crossing the room to put the child back in her cradle again. Shino turned to cross the room back towards his boyfriend once more, being within arms distance when she turned around to look at the two of them again. Shikamaru wasn't wearing his Chuunin vest but his black turtleneck was in place along with a pair of black pants, making it seem entirely like one outfit where it was not. Shino's usual outfit only lacked his head band now, as he set his glasses back into place over his eyes, "What are you two up for today?"

Shikamaru offered a shrug in reply, "Lunch mostly," he stole a glance towards Shino. "A chat."

The Aburame seemed still without being tense to the point it seemed he was nervous or should have been worried. The woman glanced towards her nephew and then Shikamaru once again, her hand still in the crib and stroking her child's head. Shino brought his face towards her but his eyes weren't intended to meet hers even through the darkened glass. She looked from him to Shikamaru again before nodding, offering a bit of a smile. It seemed rather nervous, "Alright then, have fun."

Fifteen minutes later, the two teenagers were sitting at a restaurant on the main street of Konoha and waiting for their food to arrive. It took a while for them to agree on a place – mostly because Shikamaru had come to read Shino's strange form of body language and was avoiding grudges with the teen – but they had finally settled on a curry stand that didn't bear anything too spicy. Shikamaru drank water from a mug identical to the one that held Shino's tea and neither of them had spoken much since deciding on where to eat. Shino had taken to grasping the mug in his hands and running his fingers along it in that pattern like way.

"'Chat'?" he questioned after a moment. It had been months since the incident with Shikamaru being in the hospital and he had fully recovered by now. His first real mission was happening towards the end of the week and he was determined to see it through by now. Shino, however, could hold a guilty conscious nearly as long as he could hold a grudge and had increasingly been trying to do things that would make him feel like he had apologized enough. Shikamaru had told him unceasingly that he didn't have to, it was pointless, that he was a live and that was all that mattered but something about the entire thing wouldn't allow Shino to allow himself to get away with it quite so easily.

He was wondering if this chat was a mention of Shikamaru being sick of him and if he had wanted that to happen to be the final spite against himself for what he had done.

"I've been thinking since that last session with your uncle," Shikamaru opened. Shino's grip increased slightly on the cup but Shikamaru seemed entirely calm. It was likely that he was very aware of what Shino had been thinking this entire time but was enjoying all too much the fun of not letting him have a final conclusion until he fully elaborated.

Concerning Shino's uncle, they had started seeing him since Shikamaru had recovered; almost like a form of genetic counseling. With Shino carrying a race of evil little Shikamaru eating insects inside of him and sex being their main way of being transmitted it seemed as though the two would never be able to have a sexual relationship. On the surface that wouldn't seem like much of a problem, after all it wasn't a sexual desire for one another that made Shikamaru fear dying or Shino pull back into his own mind as a form of protection against his guilt. However they were still teenagers and that did entitle some desires and if that couldn't be fulfilled…well…Shikamaru didn't consider it grounds for abandoning Shino but they both still understood there would have been some awkwardness.

Shino's uncle had delved into some methods that may have been helpful but the conventional method of condoms was unlikely to work and there was still always the risk that they would break. So rather, after Shikamaru had recovered and was able to take care of himself on his own Shino had gone in for his own surgery. His uncle had made complete sense of the colony and sub-colony's workings and the chance of Shino's own colony revolting for the removal of the parasites was 15. If they did revolt it was likely the same thing would happen that gave Shino his tunnel-like scars again. The bugs needed to be removed and the eggs they left behind killed so that all that was left was his original, un-parasitic, controlled colony.

The surgery had been a success without any rebellion from his original colony and Shino recovered a short while later. He and Shikamaru, however, had done nothing to take advantage of the situation they had been hoping for over several months of Shikamaru's recovery. They both had celebrated a birthday and were seventeen together but nothing had changed majorly – or at all. If anything they had become increasingly distant. For a while they continued to see Shino's uncle but the last meeting had been the last; assuming nothing should go wrong with the colony. So after all of this was it likely that Shikamaru would leave him? If he planned on it the timing seemed awfully stupid to both of them.

"We aren't getting anywhere the way that we are and things are only getting more frustrating and awkward," Shikamaru continued through their plates of food being set in front of them. He lowered his cup from his lips and set it back on the table again as he picked up the chopsticks and broke them apart to begin pushing his food around and allowing it to cool. Despite having the rather good scented food in front of him, Shino could only feel his stomach churning painfully, "I think it'd be easier on both of us if we did something about it. I've been trying to figure out something around my work but with Chuunin exams coming up again I'm only coming to one conclusion."

Shino mimicked Shikamaru's movement of pushing around his food but the other had started eating; only further leaving him questioning. It was like yet unlike Shikamaru at the same time and that was something he hated and loved about the other. Sometimes the suspense was interesting but sometimes it drove him insane; as the other continued to eat he was well aware that he wasn't going to get anything out of him until they were both finished and leaving. His stomach knotted tighter and fought with the rest of his body as he attempted to eat around his uncomfortable settings.

Shikamaru, however, was completely calm and ate with his usual politeness. He knew what he was going to say exactly and thus he felt no reason to be insecure. It was quite understandable that he would be alright with what he planned to say. Even if he was planning, right now, on how to break up with Shino, he would have had quite some time to decide on it and make himself fine. It was usually the one getting dumped that it hurt the most because they couldn't see it coming. That wasn't to say the dump-er wouldn't have any regrets but at least they had more time to face them.

The two ate quietly and the day was dwindling down to a warm sunset beyond the gates of the village as they stood up and moved to leave. Shikamaru started in the direction of Shino's apartment though neither of them seemed to know if that was really where they intended on going. Where they would normally hold hands they didn't and both seemed occupied with something else in their surroundings. Though their trains of thought were entirely different they both seemed content in avoiding the subject of whatever it was. For one it wasn't nearly as bad as was with the other. Shino sighed after a moment before initiating conversation this time, "What were you thinking?"

Shikamaru looked at him with a puzzled expression before his face softened back and he looked forward again. Shrugging he dug his hands a little deeper into his pockets before allowing them to relax, "Well with the way things are going I was just thinking it'd be better if we-"

Broke up, Shino thought. He wasn't sure if he was heartbroken or expecting the blow. His own racing mind nearly erased what Shikamaru's answer had been exactly.

"-moved in together."

Shino was never one for uselessly rambling so unsurprisingly he hadn't started talking; freaking out wasn't his style either so even his own brain's interpretation of what was happening didn't reach his mouth. After he had caught, exactly, what it was Shikamaru had said he paused in his step to lift his head from its slightly inclined angle to look at his boyfriend. Shikamaru kept walking for a moment before pausing to turn around himself and raised a brow. He watched as the other blinked behind his glasses and shook his head a little as though attempting to clear his thoughts, "Pardon me?"

He turned around, "I think it'd be better if we moved in together."

So he hadn't lost his mind. Shikamaru continued, "We'll be able to spend more time together around missions and me working the exams. Plus, with you parasite-free it might be easier to get into stuff."

The level of confidence and maturity both of them used with each other was astounding but Shino found himself still a tad confused. Shikamaru already stayed over his apartment any night he was too tired or didn't feel like returning. Unless of course he had missions the next morning or was worried about that cat that lived with him. But he was still always welcome, wasn't that like living with him already? Then again, Shikamaru had seen it from the point that his clothes and his cat and his general property always remained at his own apartment on nights when having it at Shino's would have worked better. He wouldn't have to 'grab stuff from home before a mission' anymore; Shino's place would be his home.

After all, the Aburame's place was bigger than his own for whatever reason; most likely because he saved his money a little better than Shikamaru who also had to lend it to his friends. He found himself unable to say no when they begged where Shino probably had no problem turning down Kiba most of the time. He had the perfect amount of space for both of them; it worked out only too perfectly. Shino's confusion did sort of make him think it may have been a bad idea however. He was sort of springing it on his lover. Maybe he wasn't ready for it. Maybe-

"I'd like that," Shino replied, catching up to him after a moment. He placed his hands on Shikamaru's hips as he closed the small space between them and smiled an invisible smile behind his high collar. Instantly Shikamaru's hands left his pockets and rested on the other's shoulders, lifting his eyes up the inch or so he had to in order to meet the smooth plastic of those dark shades. He blinked and mimicked the small smile himself.

"Good, you didn't really have much of a choice," he replied. Shino raised his own brow but opted a kiss over a reply. It felt like ages since he had last felt the Aburame's lips on his own; the soft press of that silky skin over his own. The warmth of having him take a slight step forward and slip his arms that much more around his waist to pull him that much closer. His body shuddered subtly as the cooling air was fended off by the warmth of the other's body and he felt Shino's lips press that much more against his before pulling back.

"I'm sure I didn't," he said, tilting his forehead against the brunette's. Shikamaru smiled a smirk that was slyer than his previous one had been and slipped his arms around his boyfriend's torso. The sun sank lower behind them and submerged the village in a comfortable glow and he stole Shino's lips with his own again. A squeeze edged him the last bit closer and he ran his hand down and up the other's back once as that buzz spread from his brain through his fingertips and down to his toes. He was never much of a 'toe-curler' but something about having a much desired contact after so long was enough to make him 'pop' his foot – as Ino put it.

No one paid much attention to the teenagers as they walked by, except for a few who mumbled and murmured about the public display. A few girls giggled as they walked by and Shikamaru broke the kiss with a smile before resting his cheek against the other's sternum. The familiar weight of Shino's head atop his own was more comforting than anything had been over the few months, nearly a year, now. He pulled his hands back to slide them under the other's coat for a further sense of warmth but also so he could move his fingers under the black material of his shirt. Shino tensed surprisingly under the sudden feel of hand against skin but Shikamaru knew that he was getting a much missed look behind those dark glasses.

The familiar fuzz of passion and love guided the boys back to Shino's apartment and as Shino questioned if he wanted to return home Shikamaru finally answered as he had wanted to for some time; "Troublesome, this is home."

--

Author's Note: Epilogue done and completed! This should give a decent taste into the sequel should I ever decide to jump in on that after a much-needed break. Not that I haven't loved working on Trump Card, I definitely have, but every author needs a break! I wasn't expecting this to go everywhere from its cliff-hanging one-shot first chapter.

Is it just me or are quotes the most amazing things to end on? They just seem to sum up everything so perfectly!

Well I hope you all liked it up to the Epilogue and I have a few, however short, special mentions to people that have been following me since chapter one and supporting me to no end.

Herbal Osaka-neechan Alexys, and llyoung especially: Thanks a bunch for watching after this story as it went and supporting the pairing and me. I appreciate it a ton and I only hope you guys will stick around for my other stories and I don't disappoint you with them. Your input was helpful and I hope you know how much it helped when I needed it. Thanks again. 3