A/N: Because I needed to write these guys again. Also, because I have a strange, strange mind . . . ^_^;; Erm. Includes yaoi, yuri, and het. And is a threesome and very . . . odd. Yes. Odd.

*

*

"Lessons On an Incomplete Relationship"

*

*

Team 10 is not one of the shyer groups of genin. As a general rule, it is bossy, bored, and doesn't give a flying fuck about what other people think (except maybe about what Sasuke thinks, but only because he's fricking hot, dammit).

But they more or less grew up together. They grew up together and learned a lot of things together. Like how to throw a kunai and how to help each other's special skills and how to kiss.

First time: Ino was ranting because Sasuke's "precious first kiss" had been stolen by Naruto and she couldn't believe that the loser of the class had gotten kissed before her and oh God, they were all going to die virgins at this rate.

Shikamaru was barely ignoring her and trying not to claw his own brain out. Finally, he snapped in that peculiar way he always did and grabbed Chouji by the scarf, yanking him over the table and kissing him blind. A proper kiss, too, not an accidental peck. Then he gave Ino an exasperated look and did the same to her.

"There," he grumbled sourly as the other two gaped at him. "Now it's all out of the way and we won't have to deal with it anymore."

" . . . actually, we're still virgins," Chouji pointed out slightly meekly after a moment or two.

Shikamaru had never been too clear on the mechanics of sex as a child- it came from hating girls a bit too much. So he hadn't known exactly what he was promising when he replied, "I'll deal with that later."

Later came. Ino bitched that Shikamaru was too slow and that Chouji was too heavy and made them both let her be on top. But overall it worked okay, and the three of them tumbled around in Chouji's big bed for half the night, trying to figure out what went where and how to make it work best.

They kept doing it. It just made sense in their team's relationship. Always in Chouji's room, because his bed was the biggest and his family was the most laid-back. His father had walked in on Chouji and Shikamaru experimenting with the art of oral sex on Ino and, instead of killing them all, had just thrown a sheet over them and given them a very long and involved lecture about safe sex (which was really quite cruel, considering that all three were much too aroused to be forced to sit still and listen to anything). In the end, though, Shikamaru put the new knowledge to good use the next time they got together.

Then Ino won a bet with Shikamaru, and things REALLY got interesting. Because as the winner, she made him go ask Naruto to help him train. Originally, she'd thought he'd come back traumatized (which he did), but she didn't realize he'd actually learn anything (which he also did).

The Shikamaru-style Sexy no Jutsu was a damned interesting addition to the bedroom. Especially because he first brought her out right in the middle of a make-out session with Ino, which made Ino shriek in shock and almost made Chouji have a heart attack. Sexy no Jutsu turned out to be another interesting learning experience, however, because it taught the genius Shikamaru just about every potential hot spot on the female body up close and personal, several of which surprised even Ino.

Shikamaru had no problem with saying what his transformed body liked, and Ino and Chouji both, curious, took the opportunity to experiment a little. Ino didn't think of it as anything strange, since it was still Shikamaru and Shikamaru was really a boy, and Chouji didn't think of it as anything strange because even though it was Shikamaru, it was a girl's body. Shikamaru just ended up slightly overwhelmed, with Chouji's fingers in him and Ino fondling his breasts and more or less was trapped as the center of attention for the night.

One thing he could say for Naruto, the guy was thorough with his transformation skills.

The other two were impressed enough with the technique that Ino made Shikamaru teach it to Chouji. At the same time, he made her learn it too, muttering that she was a hell of a lot skinnier than he'd ever been and needed the body weight. So Chouji ended up a cute, chubby redhead and Shikamaru a slender pouting brunette, and Ino . . .

Well, when Ino tried it, it turned out quite differently.

"Eep," Ino squeaked, staring in disbelief at her new attributes.

"Was that supposed to happen?" Chouji mused aloud, crossing his arms over his temporary breasts.

"Well, congratulations, Ino-KUN," Shikamaru said dryly. He raised an eyebrow as he inspected her very-much-a-male Sexy no Jutsu. "You've managed to completely screw over the technique."

"Shut up!" Ino snapped as she covered her crotch with her hands.

"Maybe we'll have to call this version 'Bishounen no Jutsu,'" Chouji decided. "I don't think Naruto would appreciate us using the same name for such a pretty guy."

"Oh, fuck you," Ino growled, flipping him off.

"You may as well," Shikamaru decided.

Role reversal. The first time, it was awkward and clumsy, but so different and strange that they couldn't forget it and tried again. The line blurred a bit more. So sometimes they'd all be themselves, and sometimes one or two would use the jutsu, and sometimes they all would.

Sometimes Shikamaru as himself would kiss Ino as a boy, or Chouji as a girl would kiss Ino as herself, or Shikamaru and Chouji would kiss each other as themselves. It got too confusing to keep straight things like turns or schedules or sexuality or any of that. They just did what felt right and didn't worry about the details. Their team had always been like that anyway.

Usually, they just ended up in a desperate knot, twisting and kissing and caressing and losing themselves in the tangle, unsure of who was who or who was what.

Ino still remembered the strange time she'd found her fingers slick with saliva and stretching the normal Shikamaru out to accommodate her own erection, even as Chouji was doing the same to her transformed body. That night, she'd been sandwiched between them- not that she hadn't been before, she'd just been a GIRL before and not had to do anywhere near as much of the work.

But back and forth between them . . .

She . . . belonged. With them, she belonged.

That was her first conscious confession. That was the beginning of forgetting about Sasuke Uchiha and all the stupid things she'd considered so important in a boyfriend.

Because she didn't need a boyfriend. She had Chouji and Shikamaru.

And around this time, Chouji didn't seem to be eating for comfort anymore and Shikamaru didn't watch clouds nearly as much as he did his teammates. And around this time . . . around this time . . .

Ino kissed Chouji in public one day. He'd had a lousy morning and had made it quite clear that no, he did NOT want to talk about it. So she leaned over the table and kissed him, and then gave him the last piece of meat on her plate, and gave Shikamaru a peck on the cheek when she saw him roll his eyes. No one they knew actually saw, but . . . it was like someone had given them all permission.

So they stopped hiding it. Didn't come out and say anything, but stopped suppressing the little urges, like giving butterfly kisses and holding hands and standing too closely together. Shikamaru kissed Ino in the street and Chouji kissed her in a restaurant and she kissed both of them in her family's shop.

If anyone commented, none of them cared enough to notice.

*

*

* finite *

*

*

. : the places you belong between : .