A/N: Here we have it, folks—the final chapter.

This has been, by far, my hardest chapter to write. Never mind that insane lemon or the eleven chapters of (sometimes humorous) foreplay that preceded it. In this chapter, we have the same two people we started with, with one vital exception. They are completely exposed to one another, with no more secrets between them. All those carefully constructed boundaries upon which a very successful partnership is based are now set aside. They are in a place they traveled for two years of their lives to get to, about to embark on a different journey as lovers. How their journey goes is limited only by the imagination, but for my money, it couldn't have happened to two better Naruto characters.

Not surprisingly, this chapter is the longest one of all. I only hope I did this WAFF-y happy ending the justice deserving of The Genius Ship. Write me a review and let me know, won't you?

I've had a great time writing this. If you've been here since chapter one, then, from the very, very bottom of my heart, I thank you.

Shikamaru felt himself falling in an unnatural kind of darkness that swallowed light. It was warm, and he was falling slowly. He couldn't tell how long he'd been falling and he couldn't see anything. He didn't even know if his eyes were opened or closed.

He heard a voice—a familiar voice in the darkness, and it made him want to stop his leisurely fall. The voice was becoming louder, and he felt his fall slowing. The darkness began to let up. The voice got louder. Shikamaru opened his eyes.

"There you are."

Shikamaru blinked, his eyes adjusting to the light in the room. He was looking at a ceiling he didn't recognize right away. The smell of the room was familiar, and all at once comforting. Then the voice he remembered from his dream spoke again.

"Are you all right?"

Shikamaru shifted his head in the direction of the voice. There on the bed sat his partner of two years and lover of twelve hours, Neji Hyuuga. He wore nothing but a pair of black sleeping pants. His hair was loose, falling like a curtain around his shoulders. He looked every bit like an angel, his pastel eyes focused on the Nara's face. And he looked…happy. The reassuring thought brought a smile to Shikamaru's face.

Memories of the past 24 hours flooded the Nara's mind. Then he blushed furiously.

Neji chuckled at the man's blush. "I'll take that as a yes." I am the man.

Shikamaru went to raise his hand to rub his eyes and found himself swaddled in two fluffy white robes. He raised his head and made a move to sit up when searing pain flared all over his body.

"Aaah!" the Nara yelped and fell back on the bed, his eyes wide with shock. The parts of his body he could feel were sore to the bone and man, was his throat raw. "Dammit, Neji!" Shikamaru muttered weakly. He was grimacing.

"I'm sorry, Shikamaru." Neji bit his lip. For all his preparation the night before Neji had neglected to give his lover some aspirin. "Let's get you into the bathroom. I'm sure you have to go and I've drawn you a bath so you can get cleaned up."

"How the fuck am I supposed to get to the bathroom? I can't even feel my fucking le—"

Neji leaned over the Nara's body on all fours and kissed him lightly on the lips, interrupting his tirade and savoring the taste of him again. Shikamaru eagerly responded, the words dying in his throat at the gentle pressure of those sweet lips against his own. It felt so good to kiss him and Shikamaru knew he'd endure the pain again for more of this.

Neji lifted his head away. "Good morning, beautiful."

Shikamaru smiled again. "You're the beautiful one. I'm the stinky one."

"You're a man, Shikamaru, men get stinky. Besides, it's nothing a swim in my bathtub won't cure."

"I hope you're planning to carry me, because I won't get there on my own any time soon."

"As a matter of fact I am"

"Well, you certainly are a gentleman."

"Well, when you consider the request you made last night, I don't know how I could have avoided having to carry you around today."

The Nara blushed again at that statement even as the jostling from being lifted into his lover's arms, moved off the bed and carried to the bathroom was tormenting him. Gods, his body hurt. Shikamaru felt like he'd been in another car accident.

For the second time in twelve hours Shikamaru found himself being carried by his big, strong, beautiful lover—and he found it mollifying. He could get used to it. In fact, he decided that being the Hyuuga's lover was definitely rife with perks.

Shikamaru's use of his body was limited to the point where Neji had to act as his arms and legs as he went to the bathroom. Shikamaru didn't think things could be more humiliating, but Neji reassured him by telling him he'd been far more exposed the night before. The Hyuuga set him down, wiped him, then lifted and carried him over to the bathtub to set him gently into the pool of warm bubbly water.

Neji turned on the jets to soothe Shikamaru's muscles. The Nara sank into the water all the way, saturating his sticky, sweaty hair, and then surfaced. With some difficulty, he managed to find a reasonable position in which to sit and soak his aching body.

Neji sat and watched the handsome man in his bathtub, unwilling and unable to disguise the joy he was feeling. He was so receptive to everything that was happening, as if he had been waiting for it all this time.

"You know", Shikamaru spoke over the sound of the jets, "I think I'll be all right here for a bit, if there's something else you need to do."

"Is that your subtle way of telling me you want to be alone?" Neji asked.

Not in a million years, Shikamaru thought but didn't say out loud. "No, I just didn't want you to feel like you had to play nursemaid."

"What if I like taking care of you?" Neji asked.

Shikamaru smiled. "Be careful. I might get used to that."

"I'm banking on it." Neji stood up then, and Shikamaru watched as the Hyuuga untied the tie at the waistband of his sleeping pants and allowed them to fall to a puddle at his feet, stepping out of them and then kicking them to the side. Now he stood near the tub in all his naked glory.

Oh, Gods. Shikamaru didn't think he'd ever get used to the sight of Neji's incredible physique. The Hyuuga wasn't bulky, but every part of his lean, pale body strained with muscle. How could one man be so profoundly breathtakingly beautiful? He really was a living work of art.

Without meaning to Shikamaru's eyes fell on the source of his aching muscles, which hung flaccid between Neji's legs. In spite of himself, the Nara blushed again. The Hyuuga didn't seem to notice.

"Is there room for one more?" Neji asked, looking at Shikamaru.

The Nara pondered the question for a few moments, contemplating its dual meaning. His life the past two years consisted only of his work with the Hyuuga. Was Neji asking permission to be part of the Nara's personal life as well? Shikamaru thought so, and it made him feel like the luckiest man alive.

"There's room for you", was how he responded.

The Hyuuga smiled as he slowly stepped into the tub of water. He placed his hand at the Nara's back to move him forward gently. "Scoot up", he directed. Shikamaru complied gingerly. Neji sat down in the water behind him then, his legs extended on either side of him, and then carefully positioned the Nara so that his head rested against Neji's chest. The Hyuuga wrapped those strong arms around his lover and exhaled deeply. They sat that way for a few moments, not speaking, content to hold and to be held.

"You like holding me, don't you?" the Nara asked.

Neji pondered the question, taking note of the way their bodies fit together in the bathtub. He loved the way the man felt in his arms. He then decided they would have to make bathing together a routine, much the way their late-night cell phone conference had become.

"Mmm", was the Hyuuga's response. "Does it bother you?"

"No. But it does take some getting used to." Shikamaru could feel Neji's heart beating.

"What time is it?" the Nara asked.

"Around eleven", Neji told him. The Hyuuga busied himself inspecting all the bruises he'd placed on his lover's body the previous evening, making sure there were none that would be visible when they both reported for duty in the morning. He didn't need another skirmish on his tally.

Holy crap. The Nara did the math. He'd been sleeping for—thirteen hours?! He hadn't slept that much in a long time, not that he was surprised by it. He hadn't exerted himself that way since he'd been with the girls—and their sessions were always followed by twelve or so hours of sleep. And to think, this time he hadn't even been the one on top.

"Wow. I didn't think I was capable of sleeping like that anymore. I guess I owe you my gratitude."

Neji made a face at that statement. "You owe me a hell of a lot more than that."

"What do you mean?" Shikamaru asked.

"Nara", Neji began, biting his lip, "why did you let it go on like this for so long? Why didn't you tell me how you felt about me sooner?"

"Neji, you know why. I didn't want to risk losing you as my partner and I didn't think I could have you in my life any other way."

"But we've lost so much time."

"But we're here now, Neji. We're together now. Doesn't that count for anything?"

The Hyuuga hesitated. "You tell me."

"What does that mean?" the Nara asked.

"Well, are you sure you want this, Shikamaru? I know you've calculated the risks. What's changed?"

"Are you kidding? In the past 24 hours everything seems to have changed." The Nara shifted, thankful that the warm bubbly water was slowly restoring his mobility. "I worry about my career. I do. This is the only thing I've ever been good at, and it makes me feel useful and important, and I've never really had that in my life EVER."

Shikamaru hesitated, anxiety gnawing at him. This next bit of information had been difficult for him to share with anyone, but he was going to share it with Neji Hyuuga.

"I was in a relationship years ago. For awhile I was the center of the universe for them, and then one day without warning, the bottom just fell out. It was all an illusion."

When Neji didn't respond, the Nara continued. "My life isn't anything like yours, Neji. My job—it's the only genuine thing I've had."

"Things are different now. You understand that, don't you Shikamaru?" Neji asked. The Nara was important to Neji now, too. He resolved to spend every day of their time together showing him just how important.

"I think I do."

Neji shifted behind his lover. "Don't tell me you think you do, Nara. What part of what is happening at this moment do you not understand?"

"Look, what do you want me to do, Neji? In a million years I never imagined we'd be where we are at this moment. I still can't figure out how a guy like me got so lucky."

"Well, you better figure it out, because you are as good as stuck with me, Shikamaru. I've made my choice and I have no intention of ever letting you go."

"Do you mean that?"

"You know me well enough to know I don't say things I don't mean."

Neji's hold on the Nara tightened a bit. Shikamaru felt the gentle pressure of warm lips against his temple. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation.

"You like me, do you?" the Nara asked.

"I might even love you", Neji answered him.

Hearing that made the Nara's eyes go wide. He gulped. "Honestly?"

The Hyuuga sighed. "Well, I don't know. I don't have any experience with love. I only know I don't want to imagine my life without you in it, Shikamaru."

The Nara couldn't suppress the surge of joy he felt at hearing those words. It made him shudder all the way down his spine. He was sure the Hyuuga could feel it too. "I feel the same way."

"You better."

Shikamaru smiled. Gone was the anxiety he was feeling when he woke up in his lover's bed, but there was still the issue of how the relationship would affect his career. Being a cop wasn't the most accommodating career for two men in a relationship with each other, especially when they were partners.

"So are we really going to try to do this?" the Nara asked. "Partners--and lovers?"

"No, Shikamaru. We're not going to try anything. We're just going to do it."

"What makes you so sure we can pull this off?"

"Shikamaru, you and I are kindred. It's why we've worked so well as partners. Together there isn't any challenge we can't defy."

"You make it sound so simple."

"It won't always be simple, I know. But here are two of the most strategic minds in the business on the job. If I had to guess I'd say you don't have much to worry about as far as your career is concerned."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I had to explain your absence to Captain Hatake¹ this morning."

"Wait a minute—you went in to work this morning?"

"Of course."

Of course. Taking into consideration the events of the past 24 hours, calling in or simply not showing would have aroused undue suspicion. There would have been officers from the precinct at the door of both residences on the shift commander's word if Neji hadn't reported in person.

Shikamaru figured Neji must have driven the Nara's car to work—after all, the Hyuuga's car was still parked in the garage at the precinct from the previous evening. Shikamaru could only imagine the gossip it must have generated.

"What was that like?" the Nara asked.

"It was…epic. Mildly terrifying."

The Nara chuckled. "How did your chat with the captain go?"

"That was the mildly terrifying part." Neji chuckled. "But what I took away from it was the reassurance that we have the captain's support."

"Did he really tell you that?"

"In so many words, yes."

Shikamaru analyzed what his lover was telling him. If their captain had verbalized his support then it meant he had an idea that something was happening between the two men. The Nara wasn't ready to explore his feelings about that. It always haunted him that their captain seemed to know everything all the time.

Shikamaru had Neji, whether he wanted him or not, it seemed. They also had the support of their captain. By all accounts it appeared everything would be fine. Still, the Nara couldn't shake the doubts that nagged at him. A whole basket of adjustments would now need to be made, and there were so many alpha males in this scenario that had to be taken into consideration. It didn't matter what Neji told him—this was going to be like navigating a minefield.

Neji spoke, breaking the silence. "Nara, listen to me. I know you—right now you are furiously contemplating the number of ways this thing could go south. For once, don't process it like one of our cases. Let our track record speak for itself. Whatever happens, you know that I'll never turn my back on you."

The Nara knew that unequivocally. They had pledged their loyalty to each other their first day as partners. It was just the kind of men they were.

And it just brought him back to what Neji had stated in the first place. There wouldn't be any trying—if it could be done, together they would do it. And if it meant that Shikamaru had Neji and Neji had Shikamaru, then the Nara would navigate that minefield with all the guts and grace he was capable of.

The two sat in companionable silence. Shikamaru rested against his lover as the Hyuuga smoothed the Nara's wet hair back in gentle strokes. Shikamaru knew for certain that there in his Neji's arms was the best place in the world he'd ever been.

"You know I have to go home, because…that's where I live."

"Mmm", was the Hyuuga's monosyllabic response.

"I uh…I'm not sure I've recovered enough to drive or anything yet. I may still have need of your nursemaid services." Shikamaru gingerly turned his head to look the Hyuuga in the face for the first time since they'd been sitting there together. "What do you think?"

Neji smiled. "I think we can take my car this time."

END.

A/N: (1) Look for a side-fic that details the 'mildly terrifying' discussion between Neji and Captain Hatake. Coming very soon!

sigh and that's a wrap, people! Stay tuned for the side-fic and future pearls of fanfiction from me, Prism0467!