The day of Neji 's sixth birthday was unremarkable compared to most others of the Hyuga clan. He wasn 't a part of the head family so the celebration wasn 't large. In fact, the only reason he 'd had a formal celebration at all was because his father was twin of the clan Head himself.

Neji had been born at three pm on the third of July. So, on that day and at nearly that time his close family gathered around him and rolled up the sleeves of the formal kimono he had dressed himself in with father 's help. Neji found himself excited in a muted kind of way. Every child in the world was excited for their sixth birthday. On this day, at the time of your birth, the first words that your soulmate would speak to you would appear on your arm. Neji rather hoped that the brand would read 'cousin ', the first word that little Hinata had ever said to him. Hinata was pretty but that wasn 't why it mattered. Even at six years old Neji could tell that he was stronger than her. His clan deserved someone strong as their Head and if he was destined to be paired with Hinata then he could be that person. And only then could he abolish the tradition of the Hyuga Curse Mark.

With all eyes in the room trained on his arms, Neji held them out straight as the clock chimed three times. At first nothing happened, then slowly golden letters began to bloom. They started off blurry and mushed together. It took a few seconds for them to shift and spread until they had settled to form only one word. It was, disappointingly, not the word that he had hoped for. It read 'troublesome '.

Frowning at first, Neji wasn 't sure whether to be disappointed or not. That didn 't seem like a very encouraging message for a first meeting. He was further disheartened when his uncle made a derisive noise to his left.

'I suppose that makes it easy to tell which clan your match is in, ' Hiashi sneered in a manner that made his disapproval obvious. Neji fought back a scowl. It wouldn 't do to disrespect the Head of his clan right to the man 's face.

As frustrating as it was than none of the adults would elaborate on that comment, Neji stayed quiet. The rest of the small celebration was rather quiet and conversation mostly turned towards speculations about what Lady Hinata 's soul brand would show when she turned six next year. When dinner was finished and Neji returned to his rooms along with his father, the young boy decided that it must not matter. He was branch family and thus lived only to serve the main family. If the Head of the clan did not approve of the one who was supposed to be his soul mate, it was within the man 's power to deny the match and choose one he found more palatable.

The day that Neji received his soul brand he realized the true extent of the cage that held him.

----

The day of Neji 's twenty-sixth birthday was a rather loud affair. With people like Naruto and Lee in his group of friends it was a wonder he had managed to talk them out of their terrible bar hopping idea. Still, the evening had been more pleasant than he imagined, full of good food and well wishes and all the people he cared for the most gathered all together.

A hand running down his arm caused Neji to turn away from the spectacle that Lee was making while trying to convince Ten Ten to dance with him. The acrobatics she employed to avoid his grasp were rather humorous. When he looked up it was in to the face of Nara Shikamaru, who graced him with a lazy smile.

'Enjoying yourself? ' the younger man asked. Neji nodded once, reaching over to entwine their fingers.

'It isn 't too terrible, ' he allowed in as haughty a voice as he could manage. His playful pretension earned him a chuckle as they both thought back to how difficult a child he had been. Their meeting had been neither smooth nor romantic. He had all but rejected his other half right from the start and it had been a long journey to get where they were now. The words 'you 're in my way ' would forever rebuke him, written in gold.

'If His Birthday Highness isn 't satisfied, I could tell everyone to go home? ' Shikamaru offered with mock-seriousness. Neji huffed.

'Troublesome, ' he muttered and hid a grin. Shikamaru laughed and bumped their shoulders together.

As difficult as their road to happiness had been, it had been more than worth it. Neji would forever be grateful for his partner 's patience and perseverance. What he had done to deserve someone so wonderful was beyond him. Some day he hoped to find the words to tell the other man just how indebted he was to him for the love that they now shared.

Because with Shikamaru at his side, Neji was free.