#bsh ask

[n0t-evenhere]

if MC is a person who loves his partner very much, you think Ray What changes will occur in this relationship?

There is NO such thing as too much love for Ray. Man can barely contain himself of his own love for you! Think of it this way, you pour into his cup till it over flows and you do the same. Your cup will never empty. In fact, your love for him will further bring him to believe that he really can be loved, that he IS loved. It will be a major confidence boost for him, and if you anything like me, it will be a boost for you too on the receiving end.

MC: “I can’t imagine loving anyone else. You are…everything to me. You know that?” (Nat 20 rolled in charisma)

Ray: “oh…I- well….i know. I…love you too. With everything.” *tented red cheeks.*

*inside Rays mind MC has gained.*

+15 to trust, + 30 to love, + 25 affection, +16 friendship, +5 desire of consumption, + 25 arousal

[silvershadow1711]

OOOO what're yer thoughts on a Genderbent Ray though? 👀 Maybe im kinda biased but i think she'd be so incredibly pretty

Oh, she'd be gorgeous, but so much worse mentally.

Seriously, think about how bad off Ray is as a man. Okay? Now, imagine everything happening exactly the same... except it's happening to an afab person. Sending a teenage girl to war, presumably alongside actual soldiers- male soldiers (the US military is notorious for, uh, let's say "transgressions" against female service members).

Then sending that teenage girl to go live with a man who was forced into the role of unwilling adoptive parent specifically to whitewash his image after he assaulted a woman.

(Thank god Ray can kill people from a distance, but imagine her mind constantly being flooded with the disgusting thoughts of the horrible people around her)

Then making that teenage girl into a child celebrity. We are all sad about male!Ray being forced to be slathered in makeup and having his hair bleached a more aryan blond because god forbid a human being not look like they're made of plastic, but a woman? In the late 00s/early 10s? Her face would be on every fucking tabloid rag, pointing out every single "imperfection" on her body- which would be on full display because you know NAHA isn't going to let a fem Binary Star wear a full body jumpsuit (I'd be surprised if they let her wear sleeves).

Fem!Ray would not be quirkily smoking only at night- fem!Ray would be spiraling into full-on substance abuse, exacerbated by the fact that her mom was also a drug addict.

[blackgoat-viper]

"Hello? What the hell is this..."

Have you ever heard of this ghost story?

Opening up a familiar website, you find yourself logged out of your account for whatsoever reason. A simple glitch, perhaps. As you try to log back in, you notice something odd.

In your DMs, in your asks, you find it filled with messages from people you've never met. Simple greetings, compliments...

Yet somehow, they seem familiar with you. As if they know you. As if they've watched over your entire life, observing your every move, speech, thought, blink, breath, tremble, heartbeat—

You try to ignore them, hoping that it is all a hallucination.

But it's not.

You try to delete your account, forcibly clearing all those discomfiting anonymous text, but find that the button for removal is nowhere to be found.

You can't exit the site either.

You can't turn off your screen.

You must reply. Say something. You shouldn't keep your followers waiting, or else they might find another way to keep themselves updated.

Go on, type.

[The Circus Blog]

:A rare sort of ghost story. Was this ever in the Dark Exploration Records...?

A ghost story assumed to be a portal connecting to another dimension. Whoever opens such account must post or answer questions at least once or more at a random given interval, lest they want every device they own to show only that specific blog.

The criteria for this ghost story to appear is unknown. Some presume that only the lucky people who have been ↄHoꙅɘᴎ BY 𝘵𝘩𝘦 ■■■■■ can be selected by the beings on the other side of the screen.

Now.

Have you ever wished to interact with the astounding, steadfast Baek Saheon?

Is there anything you've always wanted to do to him and tell him, but couldn't due to him existing only within the texts of your device?

Feel free to unleash your own thoughts unto him. Ask your questions, or simply greet him. Baek Saheon will kindly do his best to respond as much as possible. ^^/*

Note: Baek Saheon does not know any of you. It is likely that he sees you as mere anomalies within a screen that he is required to entertain. An obligation, rather than something natural.

Anything Baek Saheon responds with is simply his own sincerity and no one else's. Unless it is the manager of his account that says anything, you are free to interpret his posts as his character speaking.

(!)Refrain from sending real explicit images(sexual, gore, etc). This isn't that kind of ghost story. Anything else should be fine.

Other rules will be added in the future if needed. Thank you for your attention.

[Tags]

Baek Saheon's posts:

#BSH online

#Baek Saheon post

#Baek Saheon answer

OOC/Manager's posts:

#Manager announce

#BSH offline

"Huh. This doesn't seem that bad. I wonder if dream essence can be collected from this..."

[cardboardheartss]

[cerbreus]

meeting w the transfer admin went well!

[incognitopolls]

Use this website to view an interactive map of Köppen climate zones.

We ask your questions anonymously so you don’t have to! Submissions are open on the 1st and 15th of the month.

[binarystarhero]

hi i just wanted to say- bsh is absolutely incredible and ive found myself deep in hyperfixation for the past week over it (i . may or may not have gone through blogs when i originally found out you had privated the asks from your dev tumblr + combed multiple for crumbs of ray lore hPOSDHIS). but like . it is so so lovely and im glad i finally gave it a shot. ive replayed it over a dozen times the past week and ive kicked my feet like a teenager with a crush whenever i thought of him!! i found this blog a bit less than an hour ago and reading the asks i missed has been THRILLING.

also like?? the wound scene in particular is INSANE? because i remember reading through it the first time and being struck with the most insane urge to be like . what if mc sank their fingers in a bit . bc its so insanely erotic to me oDOFHSID. when i saw the ask from another fellow ex-catholic i felt so vindicated ab the brainrot over the side wound and im !!! the fact he's forcing mc's hand into parting his flesh , , , i read up on the reasons behind it but also . the fact that it could that beneath the annoyance and resentment in the moment that him shoving their fingers into his wound could also be seen as a desperate bid for connection, for understanding that mc, in that moment, could not possibly comprehend has me going insane .

also !!! hes so fucking cute when the player meets him first in game??? like its so awkward and it endears me soooo bad . like "i prefer it that way" only to audibly say "lets just stop talking" had me in TEARS . i bet he rehearsed that interaction for hours and was mentally cursing himself for how it actually turned out lol

ALSO . the fact that ray is so off-put by the mint latte's color makes me hysterical . bc in this modern day and age matcha has become so popular (and idk how it is in bsh, but im just headcannoning it as the same in my head) so the fact ray is so perturbed is delightful . like damn . u rlly are an old white man (affectionate). it makes me want to have him try desserts from my culture (which can be bright green among other colors) and its so !!! it makes me so genuinely delighted to have had this little interaction with him and also knowing he enjoys watching the great british bake off . i want to see the inside of his fridge so bad .

OH on that note, did ray not have a lot of exposure to different cultural foods after he debuted as a hero? i know he grew up in a gov. facility and then lived in oklahoma with steel sherrif, and can cook well now, so is his culinary know-how mainly derived from western cooking standards/varieties?

oh- and did you have a cologne in mind for ray? its mentioned offhandedly in bsh that mc finds his cologne pleasant, and i wanted to know if you had one in mind when writing the scene/scents that you associate with ray!!!

and also- you mentioned ray has had sexual experiences in the past- does he have experience being pegged/penetrated? for . scientific purposes . of course .

(dont feel pressured to answer all these questions but im just so curious about ray and his backstory- i adore him so much sidofiUSDFH)

ANYWAYS im digitally sending you so many flowers and hearts, concrete. binary star hero skyrocketed to the top of my fave visual novels and i know its going to be consuming my mind for the foreseeable future LOL

Thankyou for your ask, it's so lovely and thoughtful 💕 I'm so sorry you had to wait so long for me to bring back the asks!

"That him shoving their fingers into his wound could also be seen as a desperate bid for connection," - Oh absolutely! The whole game Ray is searching desperately for that connection in a way that is so inhuman it inherently separates himself from the connection he desperately wants. I also love that section of the game because it does feel like a snippet that is so thematic of Ray's whole character in that way.

"i bet he rehearsed that interaction for hours and was mentally cursing himself for how it actually turned out lol" - Yep, he rehearsed it in his head a bunch and still fucked it up, in that moment he really wished he could kill himself lol.

RE: the mint latte - Ray just does not get out that much because he is so busy with work and even if he had the time he isn't really sure what he would do or where he would go. So that being said, Ray absolutely wouldn't know what matcha is 💀. He is an old man, not necessarily in age, but absolutely in being out of touch with current fads and events.

Did ray not have a lot of exposure to different cultural foods - He hasn't, most of his cooking knowledge is pretty western. But he would be absolutely delighted to try a bunch of new foods he hasn't had before.

did you have a cologne in mind for ray? - Nope, I would have to do some research to figure this out lol.

does he have experience being pegged/penetrated - All of his previous experiences have been pretty vanilla, but that is due to him not being fully invested in those experiences/partners and mainly just preforming for what his partner wanted. So he hasn't been penetrated in any of his previous sexual encounters... but with MC though he may be skeptical he would be willing to try (smirk)

[criminallyyoursvn]

I see the ask that mention to bshvn 🗣️ and I have an idea but you can skip me if uncomfortable

What if...MC ask Nik to double date with Ray and BSH MC how did he feel??

I mean, from Nik's perspective he has no clue how powerful Ray really is. He'd be on good terms with him for Oracle's sake. I do think general personality wise they might clash since Nik is a super cocky dramatic person. Whereas Ray is quite biting and passive. It could be fun to watch from an audience point of view, but the actual date itself would be hella uncomfortable me thinks lolol. (I also think Ray would eat Nik/Chronos alive...and not in the fun way XD so I am scared for my baby lol)

[favorvn]

hiii, just wanted to say that absolutely love this game, i have replayed it like, 6 times already lol S2

i also have two things i wanted to ask if its ok!!

1- just out of curiosity, are you working on the game full time? sry if the question is invasive, you dont need to answer if you dont want to. im just curious bcs this all seems like so much work!!!! i couldnt fathom doing all that while also having to work/study/etc

2- if you dont mind me asking, who are those plushies? i recognized the binary star hero ones ofc (im in love w that game btw) but the the other 3

and btw, get well soon! by what ive seen you went trough a rough patch there recently, so i hope you are ok S2

1- I don't work on my games full-time! I have a full time job 🫡. Making games is my hobby. So basically I try and work on my games whenever I have free time which is usually after work 6pm -12am every night, (but lately I've been kinda slowed down by my hand being angry at me). Im sure it seems like a lot, but honestly, it's a nice way for me to get my creative energy out, and I just realllllly love game dev! Honestly I've been more stressed with my hand fucked up lately rather than anytime I was working on the game after my day job... I like, genuinely don't know what to do with myself if im not working on my games, I usually use like almost every second of my free time to do game dev so now im like??? Trying to figure out how I can work on game dev without my hands 🫠 . If anyone has any suggestions lol... 👀!

2. Plushies (aside from BSH ones) are:

- Aeron from @catskets 's Art Without Blood

- Lilith from @sevenbloodynightsvn

- Jack Frost from @jackfrostvn

Thank you for the well wishes as well 🥰

[n0t-evenhere]

Okay, idk what was up with this ask, it wouldn’t allow me to answer so, it was glitched BUT, I just put a screen shot!

As for YOU 🫵😐 anon. Of course you can ask! I’m open! 🥰 anyway, welcome! (I LOVE BSH too!)

If Ray came home to you waiting for him in lingerie? You better prepare for IMMEDIATE action. Even if it’s your 100th time doing this, he is always ALWAYS pleased to see you dressed sooooooo nicely just tor him. Ready to be unwrapped like a personal present for him! He might take it slow and chat you up orrrrr….

The BDSM, that may be a bit of a challenge. Cause like, I mean…this man had been abused, smacked around for a large part of his teenage years by good ol Steel Sheriff. A mess…very sad. So it’s hard to imagine that he’d be comfortable hurting you even if it is supposed to be fun and play. (Maybe not the answer you were looking for, I’m sorry. 😭) but maybe light stuff is a possibility. I mean I think he’s definitely into that bar fanfiction. . 😂 just me personally I think he’d be into that. In fact, I think it would be hilarious if Ray and MC act out some of the fanfictions they read. MC thinks it’s funny and he’s just like, well alright. I guess this is fine. Not weird at all. 😂

A KISS ON THE CHEEK! You’ll have this man swooning. It’s like out of a movie! He’s seen it in movies and love the idea of the hero stealing a kiss of vice versa. Think of that after seen from Aladdin, before he…gets kidnapped. When he’s just in the clouds floating on air absolutely smitten.

[silvershadow1711]

Hey jello🤘

I want NEEEEDD more necro Ray pleassseee (would he sleep with the body and fuck it or what.)

Bye bye jello🤘

CW: necrophilla below the cut

Rigor mortis was annoying, but thankfully, that stage of death only lasts a few hours. After that, the body is pliable again. A bit too limp, but it's easy to pretend they're just in a deep sleep.

As long as he keeps his mind closed against the vacuum of theirs.

(Don't think about it)

Ray knows about death, more than most people. He is closely aquainted with the stench of rot, the sound of flies buzzing in liquid swarms around the dead heaped in pits, already liquifying in the ungodly humidity of the rainforest... Heat is the enemy. He keeps his condo as cold as possible, box fans running full blast around his bed to ensure the air stays dry (dehumidifiers put out too much heat). Whenever possible, his home is converted to a makeshift morgue.

He puts it off for as long as possible, trying to be content to just have someone to talk to, someone he can spill his guts to, someone who won't judge him

(Can't)

It's enough, he tells himself. It's more than what he had before. It's more than what he deserves.

...he's so lonely...

Heat is the enemy, but the feeling of ice-cold skin triggers a revulsion that's encoded too deep in his DNA to ignore. He fills the tub with scalding water, just short of boiling, and lowers the body into it, submerging it

(He tries to look anywhere else, but his eyes are drawn to the hole in their skull, staring at the little bubbles that cling to the folds of their brain like pearls)

Their skin remains ashen- all the blood has long since pooled in their back, despite his best efforts to rotate them regularly. But they're warm now, dewy soft. When he presses his lips against theirs, a trickle of warm water flows into his mouth and he can so easily pretend it's saliva. Ray's good at pretending- as long as he keeps his eyes half closed and doesn't linger on one spot for too long, it's easy to believe he can feel the subtle rise and fall of their chest, their pulse thrum against his lips.

He had planned on carrying them back to the bed, or at least the couch, but it's been so long since he's touched someone without the barrier of his gloves, so long since he's felt a warm body pressed against his... he neither knows nor cares where he tosses his clothes as he strips and descends on his star. The bathroom floor is heated, so at least he doesn't have to worry about the tile stealing that precious heat from them too quickly.

As he penetrates them, he realizes that this is their first time together, and he has to swallow several times before the taste of vomit is fully washed away.

(Just don't think about it)

The slapping of flesh, the faint squeak of skin rubbing against tiles, the quiet splashing of the water still in the tub from the vibrations beside it... it sounds so... clinical. It sounds like his room cell back in the NAHA facility he was raised in.

(Don't think about it)

Sterile white rooms, the incessant buzzing of flourecent lights

(Stop thinking about it)

Another body beneath his, still warm but quickly growing colder

(Stop it!!)

He watched them carry his brother away

(Please...)

He didn't even ask what they did with his body

Ray had no idea when he he'd stopped thrusting, if it was before or after he'd gone flaccid. It didn't even matter. He couldn't move, the great heaving sobs wracking his body paralyzing him. He couldn't breathe, choking on every breathe he tried to suck in. He collapsed onto his star, curling his body around theirs. He could fool his eyes, his ears, his mind, but his ability always rang true. There was no pull against his skin, nothing to absorb. He might as well have been weeping on the bathroom floor completely alone.

Again.

His tears would dry up eventually- they aways did. He'd dry his star off and lay them back in bed, coveted in ice packs to keep them cold, to stave off the rot for as long as possible. He'd content himself with laying beside them, running his fingers through their hair as he vented about his day. And that would be enough.

Until it wasn't. Until the loneliness grew too much to bear. And the process would begin anew, the same torment forever visited upon him. Perhaps one day, he would grow tired of rolling this boulder up a hill. Perhaps one day, he would let it crush him. Perhaps he would crush everything else first. But not today.

[harlequinoccult]

So i remember that i got the ending where ray was like "lol you didnt try hard enough to seduce me so now rip im going to kill everyone including you" or at least thats what I remember. What was the deal with him??? Was that a common ending? Was that a bad ending? What was going on?? WHATS WRONG WITH HIM

So. the thing with ray. He doesn't care about being a "hero" he's been groomed to be so basically from birth. It is VERY VERY important that you make the distinction that you give a shit about him, as Ray, and not him, as Binary star. He's a deeply unhealthy individual who has a lot of power who is fixated on mc, and trust is very important to him. I assume from the ending you got, he felt that you didn't trust him (which, for sane people...is understandable) if you ask about his powers.

There is a way to get a good ending with him its even worth it to 100% the game to get the bonus scenes. and there is a walkthrough if you need help.

Ray is understandably very fucked up and unhealthy given the shit he's been through he has a skewed sense of empathy because saving people is something he has never had a choice in. When mc is someone who is so far removed from the assumptions he has about "evil doers" he's curious about them until he finally works up the nerve to approach them. Mc is something wildly different, and he tries to expose that vulnerable real self to them in his own way.

BSH handles ray being a yandere in a way that doesn't feel stereotypical. He's obsessed, yes, but its not in your face, ray isn't a knife licking, giggling psycho, he's a different kind of psycho He is someone who is fucking desperate for someone to not put him on the pedestal that everyone else has.

[cardboardheartss]

[penguin-stars]

gdcg 195 comment

...Or basically the whole week, because this set of chapters was insane

So Jaekwan:

His face lit up when he saw Soleum

Is still worried about Soleum not resting well

Reassured him when he saw that he was worried about agent Choi

ASKED IF BRAUN IS DOING WELL (I wouldn't know how that makes him feel, but right now, the person that cares the most about you in this world is Agent Bronze, Braun)

Can we sign a petition to get this man back to whatever kdrama he came out from, he's too pure for this world

And oh boy, the way I freaked out when I saw the text formatted the same way that it was in the Tamara ghost story, author scaring us with a bit of PTSD right there....hang in there, Soleum

Saw a comment that pointed out that Soleum has been referring to Braun as just a "stuffed doll"...good

When Braun started talking again, nothing much changed, but Soleum's reaction is sooo different

He said an ominous couple of lines ("A good friend is always listening!" and "Oh, I don't really mind that you left me in your pocket") and by that point Soleum would be freaking out, but he just...didn't care, he was more concerned about getting him to shut up hahaha

EUN HAJE, I'M HAPPY TOO SEE HER, BUT NOT IN A GHOST STORY

BAEK SAHEON, ALWAYS AT THE SCENE, WHAT'S WITH HIS LUCK

>Can I offer you BSH lore in these trying time?"

Now, about Agent Choi: The grape drink? The message that he ended up crossing out?

Hello? Call an ambulance, and it's for me

Among all the crazy that happened these last couple of chapters, I'm just processing that he was, in fact K.LEE

Soleum did not know that

After the bit where they fought and Soleum told him that he should give up trying anything because "He knows him."

Well, turns out he didn't. Slowly, more and more important things about named characters that he didn't know about are coming out.

Lee Jaheon being an alien

BSH family history (?)

Agent Choi being infiltrated at Daydream

Agent Choi is someone who should be dead by now, but thanks to Soleum he is not.

There was a line that went something like: "I started reading the manual not included in the exploration records with tips handwritten by Agent Choi himself"

And it's

Choi wrote down those tips after Soleum joined, FOR Soleum

Our Dark Exploration Records certified nerd now has an entry that's basically dedicated to him. Choi may not have been present in this chapter, but having his usual cheerful self in the notes is so bittersweet.

Something to note, has Soleum ever told anyone else about his wish being wanting to go home? As far as I remember, only Braun knew

That's not the first time Soleum has been particularly honest to Agent Choi

Back when Agent Choi was trying to convince him to join the rescue team, Soleum blurted out his true feelings about how scared he was

I can't even begin to imagine how Agent Choi must be feeling right now.

All in all, this was a nice chapter for a Friday, because if we were left hanging in ANY of the other chapters this week, I would have gone insane

[lostcatinthedark]

I’m glad you brought up JK being defensive whenever Jimin tries to advise because that’s something I noticed as well. Shippers like to criticize us for our take on their dynamic but aren’t open to criticism of their own take at the same time. They glorify everything Jk does in regards to JM even when there’s no truth to it. Like Jk genuinely thinks he’s an amazing singer and larps up praise for that and some part of me believes he thinks he’s a better dancer than Jimin as well. He’s always open with his praise of Hoseoks dancing and will always say he’s bts best dancer even unprompted but will only ever compliment Jimins dancing specific to contemporary. Like when someone asked Jungkook if they saw Jimins stuck with u cover he was like “oh yeah he’s good at that type of dancing”. Unfortunately son deok and BSH over praise of Jungkook and dismissal of Jimins skill did affect how he sees both of them in terms of talent. He’s happy to give Jimin advise on singing (even when it’s not needed and the advice is bad) because that’s the dynamic he’s more comfortable with. Him as the more talented, more skilled one. It’s why he’s comfortable accepting records that he knows are rightfully Jimins as well. Anything else threatens the status quo

Yes, I agree with everything here. And his attitude is obvious to me so I can't skip it. It's clear he gets defensive, especially to Jimin now, because it wasn't like that in the past when they were still active as a group. And it's because they are all soloists now, who do you think is his biggest competition objectively? A male artist from kpop, who also sings, dances, is popular and has many fans. There's only 2 people that fit all that criteria in the group, and everyone knows how competitive he is so...

I think all the members have been conditioned not only to fit a role, but to also see the other ones in a certain role. And I talked about him having a fragile ego because it's true, otherwise he would find it easier to give compliments. But he says he's good, at that type of dancing, his voice is fitting, for the high notes. Like just say he's good nothing bad will happen omg! But he's also watching him constantly, his videos, his songs, he looks up the charts as well. He's aware, he just finds it hard to openly say it maybe because like you said it threatens the status quo that they have.

But like I said, I think Jimin knows now how to handle the different dynamics, as he reacts less to those comments. And frankly I don't think he is in competition with anyone, I think he's just focused on improving himself so that's good.

[13as07]

Weekend #2

(Neji Hyuga & Shikamaru Nara)

[Artwork is not mine! Credit to unknown. Again I couldn't find the source, I'm sorry]

Requested by: xxziggy

Word Count: 3,415

Warnings and/or Pre-Notes:

I just realized this is the second FWB story I've put Shika in. Our poor man.

Love Triangle

Name Calling: Pet, Princess

Second part is a Neji half-smut so beware :)

Fingering (Female Receiving)

Teacher/Student Roleplay (for like two paragraphs)

Voice Kink

Praising

Verbally Fighting

———————————————————————

"Hey, Pet?" Shikamaru's voice calls out, followed by the sound of the zipper of the tent Ino and I are sharing being pulled down. "Are you ready to meet up with everyone?" He asks, eyeing the swimsuit he never got the chance to see.

"Ya, are you ready?" I ask back, grabbing the beach bag before crawling out of my tent. Once I'm out and standing straight again, I fix the cover I've wrapped around my hips.

Shika hums a soft yes, his eyes trailing over my fingers as I fix the knot. "Let's go," he murmurs, gripping my wrist before he leads me forward. His hand slips into mine, toying with my fingers as we head towards the beach. "Hey?" He peeps up a few steps away from the start of the sand.

"Hey, what?"

"Come here," he mutters, tugging me toward him by our joint hands. I'm pressed against Shikamaru, his free hand sliding up to cup my neck before his lips brush against mine. His kisses are hungry and quickly get rougher the longer he kisses me.

"Hey," I giggle, gently pushing him away from me. "You know the rules. No conjugating on the friends’ weekend."

"Ya, I know," he grumbles, pecking my lips again before turning back to tugging me forward. "A kiss or two won't hurt though," he mutters, jumping down the small edge from the forest grass to the sand of the beach.

"I guess so," I mutter, jumping down the edge too, Shika's hands holding my waist on my way down. 'Hello's are thrown our way by our friends as we walk across the beach. Ino and Choji wave us over their spot, getting an eye roll from Shikamaru. "Come on, stop being so boring," I tease, taking over the tugging as I beeline for our friends.

"Ino!" I cheer, racing forward to gushing over her swimsuit. "You are looking so hot."

"Bsh, this old thing?" She says, fake coyness in her voice. "I just got it off the Clarence rack last season. Look at you though! Hot damn, mamas!"

We both giggle, getting groans from the other half of our little group. "Can we just go swimming now? That's the whole point of this trip," Choji teases, standing up from the sand to stretch. "Aside from the s'mores of course."

"Of course," the three of us mock, following after the large man.

When we get to the dock, Choji races forward, jumping into the lake and making a huge splash. Ino dives in after him, her jump a lot more majestic than Cho's. "Alright, our turn," Shikamaru says, taking hold of me, and hoisting me up before I can stop him. He jumps off the deck, tumbling the two of us off the deck.

"Shika!" I shriek, gripping his shoulders and taking a deep breath before I'm pulled under. The water envelopes us as we sink, the strands of our hair tangling together as we slowly float back up to the surface.

My head breaks the water surface first giving me the chance to catch my breath first. "Meanie!" I giggle, splashing him when he breaks the water’s surface too.

"'Come on, stop being so boring'," he teases, splashing me back before he swims towards me. "Come here," he grumbles again, wrapping his arms around my waist and tugging me against him again.

Shikamaru situates us, letting himself float on the water's surface with me sat on him like a surfboard. "What are you doing?" I ask, squeezing his sides with my thighs as my hands rest on his chest. I paddle my legs in the water, slowly shifting us around the lake.

"I'm going to take a nap," he murmurs, letting his eyes fall closed.

"Shika!" I whine, splashing him again. "We're supposed to be swimming."

"We are swimming," he answers, splashing me back. "Just relax, Pet. We can waste energy paddling around later. You should take a nap too."

I grumble but give into Shika's plans, leaning my head back with my thighs squeezed tighter. As I sink into a half float, I let my upper body rest in the water like he's doing.

In my upside-down sight, I catch a glimpse of Neji and Lee on the beach. Neji's sights are set on us, his face scrunched up as he looks our way. Jealousy or is Lee annoying him? It has to be Lee, Neji doesn't take me as the jealous type.

————————————

"Nara-Chan?" Neji's voice echoes from outside my tent, getting me a teasing look from the girls. "Are you still awake?"

"Yes, I am. Give me a second," I answer, shooting a look at them to knock it off before I unzip the tent.

He pops his head in, a huge smile on his face as he looks at me. "What are you girls up to?"

"Playing a game of poker, a game I'm winning by the way," Tenten taunts enjoying her victory streak and pulling mumbles from the other girls in the makeshift room. "How about you, Nej? What are you up to?"

"I came back to see if Nara-Chan wanted to go on a walk," he answers, focus turned toward me again. "Would you like to go on a walk?"

"Sure Neji," I say, my heart fluttering a bit. We haven't had any alone time since we got here and it would be nice to finally have some. A string of teasing noises spill from the girls as I climb out of the tent, making me roll my eyes. "Hey Nej," I greet once I'm out, climbing to my feet.

His hands shoot down, clinging to my elbows and helping me to my feet. "Hello, Nara-San."

"Would you stop calling me that?" I tease, enjoying the feeling of his hands on me.

  ��  "I suppose I could call you something else. I will have to think about it though," he mutters, eyebrows pressed together in thought. "As for now, let us go on our walk." His arm slides into mine, hooking us together as we start our stroll away from the army of tents.

Our walk is sweet, the two of us walking in silence and enjoying the scenery. Soon the forest gives way to the beach again, a soft yellow of light poking into the night sky a few yards ahead. "Neji," I murmur, my senses heightening at the thought of someone else being around.

"Calm down, Princess."

"Princess?" I ask, the nickname catching me off guard.

"I set us up a spot to enjoy some time together," he explains, blowing off my question.

"Did you?" I ask, letting him lead me forward. He hums a yes, helping down the split between the forest and the sand of the beach. "That's so sweet Nej!" I coo, the little scene he set up falling into view.

A small fire burns, with a blanket laid out in front of it. Pillows and rose petals are littered across the blanket, adding to the romantic star-gazing spot. "Do you like it?" He asks, shifting behind me with his hands softly resting biceps.

"I love it! It's so sweet," I praise, leaning against his chest. After a beat, I take hold of his hand and race forward, sliding a bit in the sand. "How'd you manage all of this? Hasn't Lee been attached at your hip all day?"

"Lee helped me set it up," Neji explains, his hands gripping mine to help me onto the blanket. "He wants 'a full report of the night' when I get back," he adds, sinking to the ground as well.

"A 'full' report?" I tease, adjusting some of the pillows before I lay down. My fingertips got with some of the petals, enjoying how soft and smooth they are.

"Yes," he answers shortly, lying down next to me. "Lee is a bit invasive."

"He's just excited for you," I murmur, letting my eyes jump around the sky, lazily counting the stars.

We fall quiet again, enjoying our star gazing before Neji's voice rings out again. "Are Shikamaru and you something? I feel like I'm intruding."

"No, we're not together," I answer, my hand sliding over the blanket in search of his. When I find Neji's hand, I tangle our fingers together.

"Then what is going on between you two?" He asks, squeezing my hand gently a couple of times.

"Sometimes we just... help each other out... with... our needs."

"Is that so?" He asks, the sound of his head turning against the fabric of the pillow following his question.

I turn my head towards him, squeezing his hand in return. "Ya, that's so," I mutter, looking into his white eyes. "Does it bother you?"

"No, Tenten and I do the same thing on occasion." Neji's eyes jump around me before settling on my face again.

     "Oh ya?"

     "Yes, does that bother you?" He asks, a flicker of concern flashing across his face.

     "No, Nej, I'm not that sallow. I just assumed you were a virgin," I giggle, a string of laughter falling from me because of my honesty.

     "I am not a virgin! I have... been with a woman," he huffs out, cheeks turning red as he turns his head back toward the sky.

     "I don't believe you," I poke, turning toward the stars too. "I think you're a virgin that doesn't know what he's doing."

     "I know what I'm doing," he grumbles, squeezing my hand again. "I know what I'm doing," Neji repeats, now squeezing my hand in repeat.

     "Ya? Prove it. You won't though, I know you won't," I taunt, turning my head again as I let out another round of laughs.

     His voice and squeezing stop before his movements pick up. Neji turns over, the hand not wrapped up in mine slides into my hair, clinging to it as his head moves forward. His lips crash against mine, a bit unbalanced with nervousness for a moment before we fall into a pattern.

     "That..." I start to mutter when he pulls away, my eyes hazily opening to look at a red-faced Neji. "Proves nothing."

His lips purse together as he scans me again. "You are a very attitude-filled person," he mutters, shifting again so he's hovering over me, legs tangled with mine and hands pressed on either side of my head. "But that is alright. It is part of what attracts me to you."

This time it's my face going red as I turn my sights away from him, a smile breaking out on my face. Damn it, Neji, why do you have to be so straight-forward about everything?

"Well that's good," I peep out, slowly focusing back on the man hovering over me. "What else attracts you to me?" I ask, letting my hands wander over his sides.

We're both still in our swim attire, Neji in his swim trunks and a t-shirt, and me with a pair of shorts and my swim bottoms underneath, an open sweatshirt covering my arms and leaving nothing but my bikini top. It's pretty generic rom-com beach wear if I think about it.

"Aside from your attitude, you are also pretty, and nice, and devoted to your work, and good to the people of the village, and get along with Hinata," Neji starts, peppering kisses to my neck after every compliment that spills from her.

"Well... pretty beside the bruise Shikamaru seems to have left you," he mutters, tapping his nose against it before shifting further down my body. "You are very vocal too, at least when you're with close friends," Neji continues, now peppering kisses across the exposed parts of my breasts. "Are you vocal during other times as well?" He asks, head tilling up to lock eyes with me as his fingers toy with the elastic band of my swim bottoms. "Shall I test it out? After all, a virgin like me could use the experience."

Cocky little shit. I go for cocky little shits. "Well..." I stumble out, clinging to the material of his shirt as I get turned on by his soft touches. "Who... who am I to deny an eager student?"

Neji smiles at me softly, pecking my lips as his hand slowly snakes down to my bottoms undoing my shorts before continuing his trail down. He finds my clit almost instantly, rubbing slow circles into the material it's still hidden under. His mouth stays busy with softly sucking on my neck. "Ya... ya, okay," I mumble, fingers digging into the loose material of his shirt. "Defiantly not a virgin."

He chuckles softly, stamping a kiss to my temple before shifting towards my ear. "I told you, but you wanted proof, so I'm giving you proof." Neji's fingertips shift, slowly crawling down before dipping into me.

"Neji," I breathe out, my hands climbing up from his sides to bury themselves into his hair. I toy with it, trying my best not to tug or pull on it as his fingers curl inside me before being pulled out and thrust into me again.

"Princess?" He hums, lips brushing against my jaw now that he's gotten bored of my neck.

      "Aren't you like... like... like a goodie two shoes? A... a... 'follow all... all the rules' guy?" I stumble out, squeezing his arm between my thighs as my orgasm quickly builds.

     My movements don't go unnoticed, Neji's fingers move faster, his thumb moving around before tapping against my clit. "Neji," I whine again, tugging on his hair this time.

     "Princess," he says softly, a gentle smile on his face as his tilted head looks at me. "Yes, I am a bit of a rule follower. I don't think a tad of conjugating will hurt anything though."

     I tug on his hair again, the sound of his voice adding to my quickly building orgasm. "Keep... keep talking," I mutter, using my grip on his locks to tug him closer to me.

     Neji's head settles against mine, lips brushing against my ear as he talks. "Is that what does it for you Princess? My voice? Do you like hearing me talk to you?” He softly taunts, his smile present in his tone. “I’m glad because I like hearing your pretty voice too. I like seeing the way your beautiful face shifts in pleasure. I like seeing arousal in your pretty eyes. I look seeing your chest pump up and down with your breaths. I like - ”

He cuts himself off, my next praise falling silent as I let out a pitched whine, my pussy clenching around his fingers as I ravel undone. “Neji,” I hiss, tugging on his hair as if he could get any closer to me. “Neji, Neji, Neji,” I call on repeat, my voice a whine as I cling to him.

“Calm yourself, Princess. You are alright,” he soothes, rubbing my clit a time or two more before pulling his touch away from my cunt. His hands settle on my bare sides, rubbing circles into my skin as he litters my stomach with kisses. “You made such pretty voices,” he coos, his mouth jumping past my chest to press another kiss to my lips. “Focus on the stars, count them as you breathe, Princess,” he gently orders, tipping my head back before littering my neck with fresh lingering kisses.

One, I count to myself, eyes settling on a star. Two, I continue letting out a shaky breath. Three, Neji is now softly sucking on my skin again, enough to make it tingle but not enough to leave a mark. Four.

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Shikamaru's eyes keep fluttering from Ino to Neji and me walking back to the clearing we've set up camp at. He's not paying attention to the lecture about paying attention Ino is giving him.

Neji's arm which was loose around my hips is no longer loose. His hold is tight, pushing me against his side as we finish the short walk back to Ino's and my shared tent.

"Where have you been?" Shika asks, cutting off Ino's lecture.

"I already told you, she went on a walk with Neji. Do you ever listen when I talk?!" Ino complains, even more huffy at Shikamaru.

"To be fair," Choji says around a mouth full of chips, head poking out of our tent. "If you didn't complain so much, we all would listen to you more." Cho doesn't help the situation, but he does shift Ino's focus from lecturing Shika to lecturing himself.

Shikamaru ignores her, eyes cast at me in their 'I'm waiting for an answer' way; dark and slightly slit with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Like Ino said, Neji and I went on a walk."

"You were gone for an hour. That's a long walk," he grumbles, eyes slitting some more as he noses around the situation.

"We star gazed for a little while. What are you, my dad?" I snip, glaring back at him, mimicking his stance.

"No, but I am your friend, and at the very least your chief. It's my job to care about your safety. You shouldn't be out for so long while it's dark out." Our staring contest continues for a beat or two before Shika's eyes jump towards Neji. "I don't like you taking her out and about so late."

"She's a grown woman. She can make her own decisions. It's not like I dragged her out of her tent and used my legal standing to force her along," Neji shoots back, poking at Shika's 'I'm your chief' argument chip. "It just so happened she chose to go on a walk with me."

"Don't think you're special because she went on a walk with you," Shika hisses, arms falling to his sides as he takes a step forward. "She would have gone on a walk with anyone. Hell, even if annoying ass Lee asked she would have said yes."

"Alright, that's enough," I pipe up, moving out of Neji's grasp to gently shove Shika back the step he took. "Maybe let's not insult Lee since he didn't do anything wrong. Since no one did anything wrong," I look up at Shikamaru during my last sentence, eyebrows raised in an attempt to remind him of his place. "Just a nice reminder boys. I'm single. Do not have a boyfriend. No girlfriend in sight. Haven't been asked on a date in like two years. As single as a person can be."

After my little rant, I grab a hold of Ino, shoving her into our tent before I duck in behind her, zipping it up after myself. The two boys outside continue to argue, comments about my 'honor being taunted and rumors growing' thrown by Shika and comments about 'abuse of power and feeling intimidated' being thrown by Neji.

"Well this is entertaining," Choji says, shifting his bag of chips closer to me. I shoot him a glare but do take a handful. "Who are you going to choose?"

"Neji, duh," Ino butts in, rolling her eyes at our friend as she gets comfortable on her makeshift bed. "He's from a top clan, not to mention he's pretty high up on the ranks in said clan. Plus he's so sweet and soft-spoken. Neji is the smart choice."

I settle on my makeshift bed, leaning on Choji since he's taking up most of the space. "Absolutely not," he says, plopping another bunch of chips into my hand. "Ya, Neji is all like badass and cool or whatever, but Shikamaru is better."

"Shikamaru?" Ino asks, lifting an eyebrow as she gets up, walking across the small space to join me leaning against Choji. "The man that is bored of everything but still somehow complains about even more, is better... than Neji?"

"In this situation, ya. He knows her better than Neji. They grew up with the same culture, same traditions, same childhood, same memories. That's something Neji can learn but never truly understand as Shika can. I think you should choose Shikamaru," Cho says, focusing on me during his last sentence.

"I don't know," I mutter, snapping my eyes closed. "I think I need to sleep on it." For the next two years or however long it takes this to blow over, I mentally add. What the hell am I going to do? Why did it have to all bubble over on our friends’ weekend? This trip is supposed to be about relaxing. I sure as hell was relaxed about twenty minutes, and I sure as hell am not relaxed now.

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