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Chapter Text

Shikamaru pushes his way through the underbrush with a tired sigh.

Chōji might be his best friend and Ino might be like an annoying almost sister he never wanted but will, undoubtedly, have to deal with for forever since his future as the Shika in this generation's Shika-Ino-Cho formation is already set in stone, but right now Shikamaru wants to be far away from both of them.

There’s only so much of Ino’s screeching about Sasuke or Sakura, or even Chōji’s eating habits, that he can take.  Especially since they all know that Ino’s not stupid enough to really have a problem with Chōji doing what he has to do to build a proper foundation for the Akimichi Clan’s signature techniques.

She’s just lashing out, taking her frustrations out on a convenient target with known pressure points that’ll give her the argument she so obviously wants.

And Chōji, of course, is giving her exactly that.

For his part, Shikamaru just thinks the entire thing is exhausting.

Honestly, Shikamaru’s only hope for a semi-peaceful team life is the idea that maybe Ino will grow out of her inborn need for drama as they get older, that maybe becoming a full-fledged kunoichi will mellow her out.

Then again, taking what he knows about Inoichi-ojisan specifically and the Yamanaka Clan in general into account, Shikamaru’s also aware that it’s highly unlikely either of those things will happen.

So that just means he’ll have to take his peace when and where he can find it.

And today that peace just so happens to be found in cloud watching and sunbeam napping in an out-of-the-way and mainly forgotten training ground tucked away in a small clearing near the edges of the forest.

Or at least that was Shikamaru’s initial plan.

Shikamaru can’t bite back the groan of irritation that claws its way out of him when he steps into the clearing only to realize that someone else has beat him there.

And by someone else he means the worst possible person to run into outside of his mother on a day when all he wants to do is relax.

And by the worst possible person he means Naruto.

Because if Shikamaru’s going to run into one of his classmates while trying to get some peace and quiet then of course, of course, it’s going to be Naruto, the single loudest, most obnoxious person he knows.

Which, taking into account the fact that Shikamaru's known Ino since the cradle, is really saying something.

For a brief moment Shikamaru contemplates just turning around and leaving.  Of heading back to the Nara Compound and slinking into the forest there to take a nap with the deer.

He dismisses the idea pretty quickly because, well, he’s already come this far and going all the way back home would be a total drag.

Plus Naruto hasn’t even noticed him yet so if Shikamaru’s really quiet and finds a spot where he can pretend to be grass for a few hours Naruto might not even realize he’s not alone anymore.

It’s without a doubt not Shikamaru’s best plan but it’s what he’s got.

Shikamaru settles down by the trees just behind and to the right of where Naruto’s punching at a training log with surprising force.

Laid back on the grass beneath one of the towering trees, Shikamaru turns his eyes towards the sky and does his best to block out the rhythmic thunk-thunk of Naruto doing whatever Naruto thinks he’ll accomplish by repeatedly hitting a stationary log.

It doesn’t work.

After five or so minutes of trying futility to become one with the grass and the shadows, Shikamaru huffs out a quiet sigh and sits back up.

It seems as if even when he’s not talking or pulling pranks or getting into trouble Naruto’s still distracting.

Leaning back against the trunk of the tree, Shikamaru takes a moment to really and truly look at his classmate.

Naruto’s hair is short today, all bouncy sunshine gold spikes instead of the long flowing pigtails he sometimes wears, the ones that normally get him screamed at and hit on by the girls in the class.  He’s barefoot, a move that always gets him in trouble with their sensei, and he’s wearing a slightly ragged sunset orange and blue training kimono that’s beginning to fray a bit around the hems.

It’s one of the only two outfits that Shikamaru has ever actually seen him wear both inside and outside of the Academy and it’s the one that, if pushed, Shikamaru would have to say he prefers.  The other outfit, a puffy orange jumpsuit, is a bit of an eyesore to put it mildly.

But, clothes aside, it’s the look on Naruto’s face, just visible from where Shikamaru’s sitting, that really captures his interest.

Naruto’s eyes, a vibrant blue Shikamaru’s never seen on anyone else, are narrowed and his mouth is set in a firm line of concentration as his fists slam, one after the other in some strange and slightly off-beat rhythm, into the training log in front of him.

Over and over again way past the point that Shikamaru’s sure others in their class would’ve stopped or at least paused and wrapped their hands.

But Naruto ...

Naruto just keeps going.

It’s just a little bit interesting because Shikamaru’s never seen Naruto so dedicated to anything before.

Although, to be fair, it’s not like he’s ever really seen much of Naruto outside of class or like he actually pays any kind of real attention to him either way.

As far as Shikamaru knows no one really does.

He’s known Naruto, or to be more accurate, he’s existed in the same places as Naruto, for years now.  It’s a little bit startling to realize that, outside of laughing at a few of his pranks or wishing with no small degree of exasperation that he’d just be quiet, Shikamaru doesn’t actually know much about Naruto at all.

He’s pretty sure no one in their class does either.  Except for Hinata, who despite never actually talking to Naruto, seems to watch him a lot when they’re in class together.

Intrigued now despite himself, Shikamaru, knees drawn up and chin resting on his crossed arms, narrows his eyes in Naruto’s direction and thinks.

He’s pretty sure that the things he knows about Naruto are the things that everybody knows about Naruto.  He’s loud, likes the color orange and ramen, pulls some surprisingly complex pranks, is horrible in class overall but somehow still hasn’t been expelled.  He also wants to be Hokage one day despite being pretty universally disliked by the entire village.

Naruto’s also an orphan, has no actual friends, and spends all of his time training despite never showing much in the way of improvement in their lessons.

And that’s it.  That’s basically all of the knowledge Shikamaru’s managed to accumulate about Naruto, his loudest, most attention grabbing classmate he’s never really paid attention to.

Shikamaru’s disinterest in Naruto doesn’t really come from a bad place either.  He ignores the vast majority of their class to be honest, content with Chōji as his best friend, Ino as their Ino, and only occasionally hanging out with some of the others outside of the Academy.

When it comes to Naruto specifically it’s just that, well, Shikamaru’s already stuck with one troublesome blond in his life so he’s never been all that interested in adding another to the mix.

Naruto’s voice suddenly ringing out across the clearing abruptly drags Shikamaru up and out of his thoughts. 

“Alright!” Naruto practically chirps as he stops hitting the training log, reaches up to pat himself on the cheeks with both hands, and then abruptly shifts his stance.  “That’s enough warming up, time to get serious.”

Shikamaru’s brows arch high in curiosity because serious and Naruto aren’t two things that generally seem to go together in his experience. 

Naruto’s eyes narrow again, that focus from earlier abruptly returning, as he raises his hands back up and prepares to strike.

And then ...

Then there’s just chakra.

It’s so thick and potent that Shikamaru can practically taste it blossoming bright and biting across his tongue like sun-warm satsuma.

Shikamaru’s never felt chakra so vibrant and warm before.

The log that Naruto’s been punching shatters clean apart, reduced to little more than splinters under the devastating force of his chakra-enhanced blow.

Shocked and more than a bit startled, Shikamaru wheezes loudly, the sound carrying across the clearing and causing Naruto to abruptly turn and look in his direction.

And in that single moment Shikamaru is lost.

“Shikamaru?” Naruto calls his name, eyes wide in curiosity and confusion, his head tilted to the side.  “What’re you doing here?”

Shikamaru doesn’t answer him, can’t.  Not with the way his heart skips a beat as something in the back of his mind seems to click into place, parts of him rearranging themselves to fit this new personal truth he’s just discovered.

Because Shikamaru is a Nara to the core, is the strongest they’ve seen in generations, and the Nara have always been a Clan of shadows after all.

And what does the shadow crave more than the light?

Naruto, with his ocean-blue eyes and his golden hair swaying in the breeze his attack had created, shines as bright as the sun itself.

And Shikamaru intends to have him.

“Beautiful,” Shikamaru breathes the word out, unable to keep it locked behind his teeth any longer.

‘So much for that quiet wife and two ordinary kids idea,’ Shikamaru can’t help but think to himself in some distant part of his mind as he stares at Naruto, hands shaking, mouth dry, and heart pounding fit to burst in his chest. ‘Time for a new plan.’

Because, really, there’s no way life with Naruto is going to be any form of quiet or normal.

So that means that everything he knows needs to be reevaluated.  Shikamaru's entire life plan has to be thrown out the window and then redrawn from scratch.

Either way Shikamaru's not actually all that upset about his entire life being thrown into an abrupt upheaval.

After all, convincing Naruto to marry him as soon as possible will be well worth the effort.

Chapter Text

Naruto is used to being by himself.

He’s spent the majority of his life, or at least as far back as he can remember, that way after all.

All the way back to when he’d lived in the orphanage under the Matron’s iron rule things had been this way.  He’d been set aside or shoved out, had been ignored or chased away from basically everything and everyone.

No matter how good or bad he was, no matter how quiet or loud he tried to be, he was always just … apart.

Even after he’d been given his own apartment and started the Academy nothing had really changed.  He’d been away from Matron’s tight grip and sharp nails but his apartment, as much as he loved it, as much as he tried to make it his own, was just another sort of empty room.

Another quiet place, never as safe as it actually should be, where Naruto was placed so he’d be truly alone.

So, for all that Naruto wants friends, craves family, he’s used to having neither.  Is used to finding his own way.

And, in his opinion, he’s done pretty well so far.

He’d figured out how to make ramen on his own before he’d found Ichiraku.  He had figured out rent and clothes and how to clean up.  From shopping at the few stores that allowed him inside, to finding things in the trash that were still good outside of the ones that wouldn't, and running away from angry villagers whenever he was caught, all the way down to learning how to budget what money he gets each month so that he never has to be hungry hungry again.

All of those normal day-to-day things he didn’t have anyone to ask about Naruto has managed to figure out through trial and error over the years.

He’s even figured out some of the more complicated stuff like sewing up his jumpsuit or his kimono or how to get the transformation jutsu to work the way he felt it should so he’d always be able to feel right in his body.

He’s done his best to figure out other things too.

Things like reading and writing and how to do the chakra and taijutsu exercises the Academy teaches.  The kind of stuff that everyone else seems to do just fine with but never seems to just click in his own mind.

Those were all things that never seemed to work for Naruto no matter how often he tried to figure them out.

He can never seem to focus long enough to read the scrolls and texts that have been assigned, his body always wanting, yearning, to just move on days when they stay inside and the sensei lectures.  He’s been sent out of more than one class because he couldn’t stop fidgeting and “disrupting everyone else’s learning”.

Not that it really matters too much in his opinion.

Because, as Naruto has always comforted himself, he doesn’t know enough kanji to get through all of the reading without having to guess about a lot of stuff anyways.  And the less said about his handwriting and the way his fingers always want to add swirls and dips and flicks that don’t belong the better.  As every failing grade he’s ever gotten for “illegibility” proves.

His time, Naruto knows, will always be better spent outside moving and trying to teach himself how to do things right.

So that’s what he does on a regular basis.

He spends his free time training.  Spends hours upon hours in one of the little-used training grounds doing his best to get better.

Day or night, rain or shine, Naruto goes there and he trains.

It isn’t like there’s anything or anyone besides his plants waiting at home for him anyways.

It never seemed to do much good overall though.  Like with basically everything else the Academy taught, Naruto’s body never wants to move the way the sensei all say it should.

His feet, much like his hands, always seem determined to move in circles and spirals instead of the style they pressed everyone to learn, his body longing to spin and dip and wave. Or, as seems far worse in the eyes of every sensei he’s ever had for some reason, to crouch and snarl and swipe in the same kind of way that Kiba does.

As for Naruto’s chakra?

Well, his chakra has always been just … too much.

Too thick, too heavy, too ready to rush forward into any and everything he tries to do.

He’d still tried though, still trained, still strived to be more than the loud idiot everyone always said he was and would always be, day after day.

Then, one night when the walls of his apartment had pressed in too tightly around him, Naruto had gone out to the training field to try something new.

His entire life had changed that night and Naruto has no regrets about it.

“Alright!” Naruto can’t help but cheer just a bit as he stops hitting the training log, reaches up to pat himself on the cheeks with both hands, and then abruptly shifts his stance into something more his.  “That’s enough warming up, time to get serious.”

Naruto narrows his eyes, focuses on the deep, whirling ocean inside of him, and raises his hands back up.

A moment.

A breath.

Naruto strikes.

The log shatters clean apart, reduced to little more than splinters under the devastating force of his chakra-enhanced blow.

Like always it makes some part of Naruto light up inside with satisfaction and pride.

Because this?

This is his technique.

Finally, Naruto has something that works with him instead of against him.  Something he can do.

A loud wheezing noise grabs Naruto’s attention, startling him out of the focus he’d worked hard to discover and actually achieve for this technique.

The last person Naruto expects to see standing in his clearing when he turns around is Shikamaru.

“Shikamaru?” Naruto calls out to him, eyes going just a bit wide in a mix of curiosity and confusion, as he tilts his head to the side.  “What’re you doing here?”

For the longest moment Shikamaru doesn’t answer him.

Instead, he just stands there, eyes wide and face just a bit slack as he stares at Naruto like he’s never seen him before.

It is, if Naruto’s being honest with himself, a little bit weird.

No one has ever looked at Naruto like Shikamaru’s looking at him right now.

He’s not really sure how to take it.

“Beautiful,” Shikamaru finally breathes the word out, blinking like he’s just woken up from a long nap or something.

Naruto has no idea what he’s talking about, although the training area with its tall trees, high grass, and scattering of flowers is, he guesses, kind of pretty.

It’s one of his favorites at least.

He just didn’t think Shikamaru, who has always seemed more interested in clouds or sleeping, to really think so too.

“Did you … want something?” Naruto finally asks.

The look that flickers across Shikamaru’s face is yet another one that Naruto’s never seen before.

“You could say that,” Shikamaru huffs as he shoves his hands into his pockets and moves through the tall grass until he’s standing directly in front of Naruto.

Naruto’s pretty sure this is the closest they’ve ever actually been to one another outside of the few times they’ve been paired up to spar in class.

“What’re you doing after this?” Shikamaru asks, one hand coming out of his pocket to reach out and play idly with the dangling sleeve of Naruto’s kimono.

“After training?” Naruto keeps one eye on Shikamaru’s hand because even though he’s never really been mean to him before, Naruto would still rather not have to reattach the sleeve if it gets ripped off. Again.

“More like for the rest of your life,” Shikamaru says. “But sure, we can start with after training.”

Naruto blinks.

Blinks again.

Shakes all of that off as yet more Shikamaru weirdness.

“Was just gonna go home,” Naruto shrugs, just a bit distracted by the way Shikamaru’s hand has slid down to tangle their fingers together.  “Why?”

“Just trying to figure out how our life together is going to start,” Shikamaru tells him.

A pause.

“What?”

“I’m buying you ramen after this, that seems … appropriate for our first meal together,” Shikamaru announces like it’s the most normal thing in the world.

Like it’s something they’ve done together before and not the literal first time Naruto’s ever been invited to eat with anyone but the Old Man.

“Okay!” Naruto can’t help but cheer just a bit though even if this entire situation is all kinds of strange.  He knows better than to ever turn down a free meal after all.

Plus, if the worst was to happen, he’s pretty sure he can outrun Shikamaru.

“Fantastic,” Shikamaru squeezes his hand again and then lets him go, fingertips trailing over the sensitive underside of Naruto’s wrist as he does.  “Now how about you show me whatever it is you just did again?”

“Y-You really wanna see?” Naruto finds himself feeling shy all of a sudden.

Because no one, not even the Old Man, has ever really been all that interested in any of Naruto’s training or the techniques he’s been doing his best to develop.

Unless of course, it’s to yell at him about them or about all of the things he should be trying to learn instead.

“Trust me,” Shikamaru’s smile is a little odd around the edges but Naruto thinks it still looks nice.  “There’s nothing I want more than to see what you just did again.”

And really how can Naruto possibly turn that kind of encouragement down?

He can’t.

“Well watch this then!” Naruto cheers again, feeling more fired up and enthusiastic than he can remember feeling in a long time.

He can’t help but beam at Shikamaru for a few seconds before he turns towards one of the other logs set up in the field.

Naruto focuses.

Breathes.

Strikes.

This time the log practically disintegrates, basically erased from existence instead of just splintered.

“Oops,” Naruto turns back to smile at Shikamaru again, feeling just a bit sheepish as he raises a hand to scratch at the back of his head.  “Didn’t mean to use that much!”

Because he hadn’t.  His control had slipped just a bit, more chakra than he’d intended to use rushing forward when he’d struck.  It was, he knew, probably thanks to him being hyper-aware of Shikamaru watching him.  He isn’t used to an audience during his private training times after all.

But Shikamaru doesn’t seem bothered.

If anything he seems, much to Naruto’s surprise, almost strangely pleased.

“Hmm,” Shikamaru hums, face just a little flushed for some reason.  “I’m staying at your place tonight.”

“I’ve only got one bed,” Naruto finds himself saying even as he nods in agreement.

“Doesn’t matter,” Shikamaru flicks the statement away with a small wave of his hand.  “We were sharing anyway.”

Again all Naruto can do is nod and agree.

He’s not really sure what, exactly, is happening here but he thinks this might mean Shikamaru wants to be his friend now.

Chapter Text

When Shikamaru had decided to allow Naruto to finish his training for the day before he whisked him off to start the rest of their lives together, he had done so with no real idea of what, exactly, that would entail.

He has a much clearer image of things now.

Because it’s been hours.

The cleared area of the training yard is destroyed.  All of the training logs have been basically vaporized, and the landscape itself is dotted with carved-out divots and craters from where Naruto had simply switched things up again once he ran out of logs.

Shikamaru almost pities the maintenance team that will eventually have to smooth this place over.

Or at least he might if he could bring himself to care enough to focus on anything else at the moment.

Still, they’ve been out here for hours now, the sun is setting and even Shikamaru’s stomach has begun to grumble as it’s long past the time he’d normally be home by, but Naruto?

Naruto is still going.

Still looks bright and perky with only the barest hint of sweat beginning to gather at his hairline and his kimono the slightest bit dusty and rumpled from his training.

And Shikamaru?

Shikamaru is still enthralled.

Once Naruto had seemed to realize and accept that Shikamaru was both here to stay and actually interested in seeing what he could do, it was like a switch had been flipped in him.

He’d been eager to show Shikamaru anything and everything he could do.

From more focused punches to twirling kicks and spiral-like sweeps of his hands that left the ground torn and gouged, Shikamaru has spent the past hours with a front-row seat to what he now knows is the future of Konoha.

And all the while Naruto has been shedding an ocean’s worth of chakra as easily as breathing.

‘This feels’, Shikamaru can’t help but think, uncharacteristically whimsical but already entirely devoted and in no small amount of awe, ‘ what meeting a young god must feel like’.

Because that’s what Naruto feels like to him.

Something divine, fresh from the cradle.

Shikamaru is so lucky that he’s going to be the one to marry him.

But, first things first.

“Hey,” Shikamaru calls out to his betrothed, “it’s getting late.”

“Really?” Naruto pauses, still balanced on one hand with his feet up in the air, as he blinks in Shikamaru’s direction.

“Sun’s going down,” Shikamaru points out as he pushes himself back up onto his feet so he can amble closer.  “We should go so we can get that ramen before we go home.”

“I always stay way later,” Naruto says as he pushes up and into the air, orienting himself and landing on his feet with a level of ease he’s never shown in class.  “But that’s okay! I can cut it short for today!”

Naruto takes a moment to smack some of the dust off of his kimono and then he turns that beaming smile in Shikamaru’s direction.

Shikamaru wastes no time in reaching out and taking Naruto’s hand into his own again, twining their fingers together just as he intends to entwine their lives from here on out.

Naruto blinks at him for a moment before he shrugs and starts forward, their entwined hands swinging in the air between them, as he starts debating out loud what type of ramen he plans to get.

‘Ah,’ Shikamaru sighs to himself as he lets Naruto set their pace, ‘what bliss.’

~~~

An issue doesn’t arise until they’ve reached the edges of the training grounds.

Shikamaru, intent on taking Naruto to one of the many stalls run by one of Chōji’s many cousins, attempts to turn towards the right.

While Naruto attempts to pull them both toward the left.

For a moment they stall out there, fingers still entwined but arms stretched across the new space between them as they attempt to head in opposite directions.

“Um,” Naruto hesitates for a moment, “I thought you said we were getting ramen?”

“We are,” Shikamaru takes a step back in Naruto’s direction.  “Chōji’s cousin Yuno-san runs a good stall not too far from here.”

“Yeah yeah I know it,” Naruto bobs his head in agreement even as he chews at his bottom lip.  “Can’t go there though.”

“Did you prank them?” Shikamaru asks as he moves closer, free hand coming up to tap gently at Naruto’s chin.

“No,” Naruto sounds just a bit sullen but he’s let his lip go so Shikamaru’s going to count that as a win.  “They just don’t like me so I’m not allowed to go.  Lot of people don’t like me though and I can’t go to a lot of shops either so it’s … fine.  Ichiraku’s the best anyways.”

Shikamaru goes still.

Because that?

The reminder that Naruto is, for some reason, almost universally disliked even without his pranks being taken into account, plus the resigned and quietly sad look that had briefly flitted across Naruto’s face?

That’s not fine.

Not by any definition of the word that Shikamaru’s familiar with.

It seems as if Shikamaru is going to have to have words with Yuno-san.

And possibly the entire Akimichi Clan if push comes to kunai.

Chōji will hopefully understand where Shikamaru’s coming from since both of their dads have always preached the “a happy wife means a happy life” ideal to them.

But for now …

“Ichiraku’s it is then,” Shikamaru finally lets Naruto’s hand go so he can loop their arms together instead.  Having Naruto pressed against his side is even better than holding his hand.  “And like I said, it’s my treat so feel free to eat as much as you want.”

“Really?” Naruto’s eyes are practically sparkling as he stares up at Shikamaru.

“Mm,” Shikamaru hums, free hand reaching into one of the inner pockets of his vest to pull out his hanko so he can flash the personalized stamp in Naruto’s direction for a second before he tucks it back away.  “If I don’t have enough money on me I’ll charge it to the Clan account.”

“Woah,” Naruto breathes the word out, awe evident on his face.  “I didn’t know you could do that! You’re so cool Shikamaru!”

Shikamaru can’t help but preen just a bit.

Naruto hasn’t seen anything yet.

Although, Shikamaru can’t help but muse just a bit, if Naruto is already so impressed by something as simple as Shikamaru being willing and able to pick up the bill for ramen?

Then getting him to the altar is going to be a whole lot easier than Shikamaru had thought it would be.

~~~

“Ah, Naruto-kun!” A young, pretty woman in an apron calls as soon as they both step past the noren.  “It’s good to see you!  Didn’t think you’d be by for another few days.”

“Ayame!” Naruto drops Shikamaru’s arm and rushes forward until he’s practically laid out across the counter to be closer to her.

‘Hm,’ Shikamaru thinks as he moves forward, eyes trained on this stranger and hands flexing at his sides, ‘don’t like that.’

“Check it out, check it out,” Naruto is all flailing enthusiasm as he beams at her, “Shikamaru wanted to eat with me!”

“Did he now?” Ayame grins, eyes darting towards Shikamaru for a split second before she refocuses on Naruto.  

“We’ll be together from now on,” Shikamaru inserts himself into the conversation, hand darting out to grab one of Naruto’s so he can once again entwine their fingers.

For a moment Ayame just stares at him, eyes a bit wide and mouth hanging open just the tiniest amount.

And then she smiles.

“I’m so glad!” She beams at Naruto.  “It’s good to see you with someone your own age for once!”

“He’s even going to pay,” Naruto turns that same sparkling expression back on Shikamaru again. “So cool.”

Shikamaru’s hanko is once again in his hand and being flashed at Ayame before he even thinks about it.

“Whatever he wants,” Shikamaru tells her.  “The Nara Clan will provide.”

“Now that’s what I like to hear!” A jovial shout comes from the older man behind the counter.  “Always knew you were my best customer for a reason, Naruto.  Hope you know what you’re in for, kid.”

Busy staring at the way Naruto’s still beaming up at him, Shikamaru honestly doesn’t care.

Chapter Text

Shikamaru is starting to realize that training isn’t the only area in which he has underestimated Uzumaki Naruto’s abilities.

Shikamaru has never seen anyone besides an Akimichi down so many ramen bowls in one sitting.  And even then it had been at a post-mission gathering where it was expected for the Clan to work to pack back on any fat and/or muscle they’d burned through while out in the field.

To be fair, Shikamaru rationalizes as he sets his now empty bowl of shoyu aside and watches as Ayame clears yet another tower of Naruto’s various bowls away, he’s also never encountered someone with a chakra capacity like Naruto’s before either.

Even the weathered and honed chakra stores of Sandaime-sama himself do not hold a candle to the raging ocean of pure power that Shikamaru’s sun-bright love contains.

So Naruto’s appetite is really just further proof that Shikamaru’s fiance is unique.

“Regretting things yet?” Ayame asks then, voice low and almost conspiratorial as she leans against the edge of the counter in his direction.  “He’s basically a bottomless pit, you know?  If you aren’t careful he’ll put quite a dent in your Clan’s coffers.”

There’s a playfulness to her tone that keeps Shikamaru from taking instant offense but a glint in her eyes that makes him think, strangely enough, of his mother.

Beside him, perched happily on his stool and halfway through yet another bowl of tonkotsu, Naruto pauses.

Instead of answering Shikamaru cuts a look in Ayame’s direction and then turns to angle his body even more in Naruto’s direction, essentially shutting her down and closing the two of them off from her.

“Hey old man,” Shikamaru calls out, one elbow coming down to rest on the countertop as he props his fist on his chin while his other hand reaches out to once again toy with the ragged edge of Naruto’s kimono sleeve.

Naruto blinks at him, ocean-sky eyes wide as he tracks the movement of Shikamaru’s hand against his sleeve again in a way that makes something in the back of his mind sit up and snarl.

Shikamaru is, once again, reminded of the fact that Naruto only ever really appears at the Academy in one of two outfits and both of them are threadbare and sporting multiple patches.

Then again, now that Shikamaru is paying attention, most of Naruto’s things are like that.  Worn and used, dented and dingy with age, frayed at the edges and missing pieces but never simply abandoned, never carelessly thrown aside.

Instead, everything Naruto has is repaired and patched and then used over and over again.

Well-loved in a way that Shikamaru hopes to one day count himself as where Naruto is concerned.

Maybe he’ll even be able to persuade Naruto to stitch him up if he ever gets hurt badly enough on a mission.  It would, in his opinion, probably be infinitely preferable to the hassle of visiting a medic-nin.  Especially since the extended recovery time would give him more guaranteed time at their future home.

Shikamaru shivers a bit at the idea of having Naruto’s surprisingly neat little stitches holding him together before he forces himself to refocus on the situation at hand.

Those are thoughts for a little later in their lives together, post-graduation when they’ve settled into their careers as shinobi.

For now, at least, Naruto’s obvious lack of variety and quality pieces when it comes to clothing is just one more thing Shikamaru is going to have to fix.

Although Shikamaru’s already sure that he’ll enjoy this impending shopping trip far more than any of the ones his mother or Ino have ever dragged him on.  Being with Naruto, doing something for him, will obviously make it all bearable.

“Yes Nara-chan?”  Teuchi-san, as Shikamaru had been invited to call him somewhere around Naruto’s sixteenth bowl, calls back.

“Another dozen bowls,” Shikamaru calls back, eyes riveted to the way awe once again blossoms so sweetly across the soft curves of Naruto’s face.  He can’t wait to see that exact expression every day for the rest of their lives.  “Whatever flavors Naruto wants and extra toppings on each of them, alright?  Don’t skimp either.  We’re not leaving until he’s satisfied, not even if it takes all night.”

There’s a quiet little laugh from behind Shikamaru’s right shoulder but he doesn’t bother to turn back in Ayame’s direction.

Everything that matters is right here in front of him after all.

~~~

It’s well into the evening by the time Naruto finally sighs happily, sets his chopsticks aside, and turns that beaming smile back in Shikamaru’s direction.

“Hey hey!” Naruto cheers in that upbeat way of his, hands reaching out to grab one of Shikamaru’s own.  “Thanks again Shikamaru!  Can’t remember the last time I was this full!  You’re the greatest!”

Teuchi-san himself slides up to their portion of the bar so he can rather gleefully slide a bill across the counter that Shikamaru doesn’t even bother to read.

Instead, just a bit dazed, Shikamaru bypasses his own wallet and reaches his free hand back into his vest so he can directly pull out his hanko.

He knows how many bowls Naruto has eaten and he’d memorized the prices on the menu when he’d been deciding what to order for himself.  He has a more than rough idea as to how big the bill that the Clan is about to be hit with is going to be.

Not that it truly matters.

Shikamaru had said that the Nara Clan would provide and so they shall.

So he shall.

Naruto will, after all, be an official Nara Clan member as soon as Shikamaru can get all of the pieces to line up properly.

Providing for his intended is the logical and traditional thing for Shikamaru to do according to his father’s teachings and the Nara Clan tenents.

And if anyone questions his decision regarding the matter then Shikamaru will just have to … persuade them otherwise.

Simple as that.

~~~

The walk to Naruto’s apartment from Ichiraku’s is surprisingly long.

Mainly because Naruto, something anxious lurking in the corners of his normally open expression, insists on taking side roads and back alleys as often as possible.

Naruto holds Shikamaru’s hand the entire time though so, really, it’s more than worth the trade-off, even if Shikamaru is impatient to finally see where Naruto actually lives.

He’s aware that it’s near the Lotus District, supposedly right on the border if Ino’s gossip-mongering ways are to be trusted, but no one Shikamaru knows has ever admitted to actually seeing it or being there.

Shikamaru will, as is only right, be the first to see it, to spend any sort of real time inside Naruto’s most private of places.

Besides, it’ll be good to be tucked away from the Nara Clan grounds with Naruto, at least for a while.

This way they’ll be able to get to know each other better in a more private setting.

Which means that the things Shikamaru will inevitably learn about Naruto will stay between the two of them, as they should, instead of being spread around a herd of relatively well-meaning Clan members.

There will be plenty of time for his Clan to get to know Naruto in the future after all.

This time belongs to Shikamaru.

~~~

Shikamaru’s already uncharacteristic optimism dies a swift and brutal death the moment Naruto finally leads him to his apartment building.

Rage, dark and silent, traces its way down Shikamaru’s spine the moment Naruto shuffles his bare feet in the dirt outside the worn and neglected building and doesn’t stop growing when Naruto leads him around the back and up the fire escape to the very top floor.

In fact, by the time they both slip in through what’s obviously Naruto’s apartment window, and Shikamaru breathes in the scent of damp and rot that undercuts the tiny space, he’s mentally reviewing every single lesson he’s ever been given about discrete and effective arson.

“Well,” Naruto smiles at Shikamaru again but this time it’s shaky around the edges, so obviously insecure in a way he never really is, “this is it.”

Shikamaru traces his eyes over the interior of the tiny apartment, over the single chair and uneven table, the tiny bed with its thin mattress, and the way that what is so obviously black mold has begun to crawl across the corners of the ceiling.

Neither the bathroom nor the closet, with its handful of empty hangers, have doors and what Shikamaru can see of the contents and general state of either space is less than impressive.

“It’s … nice,” Shikamaru finally says as if he hasn’t spotted at least seven different health hazards in the last fifteen seconds alone.

The only relatively healthy things he can see in the apartment besides Naruto himself are the various potted plants that are scattered around.

This … will not do.

There’s no way in any of the various genjutsu Hells Shikamaru is going to leave Naruto living like this.

The Nara Clan has never lived extravagantly but Shikamaru has also never been more aware of the difference between what he considers lavish and what others might.

Naruto, Shikamaru suspects with a creeping sort of horror, might find hot water to be awe-inspiring.

Someone, somewhere, deserves to burn for this.

Thankfully Shikamaru also inherited the Nara Clan patience alongside everything else so putting a pin in that idea doesn’t really bother him all that much.

For now he’ll focus on the important and immediately relevant issues.

Like the fact that they have to go back to the Academy bright and early in the morning and Naruto’s tiny bed means that Shikamaru will be sleeping wrapped completely around his fiance.

Not that he was ever going to sleep any other way.

Chapter Text

Waking up to someone else in bed with him is something Naruto has never experienced before.

Even at the orphanage when some of the other kids had slept two to a bed, Naruto had been alone, kept separate and apart.  Had been pressed into the tiny storage room the Matron had kept him in with only his ragged blanket and the aching silence.

Then, when he’d been moved to his apartment, tucked further away on the edges of the Lotus District, no one was willing to get close to him in general.

Not that there was anyone Naruto would have ever felt comfortable doing something as dangerous as falling asleep with anyway.

But Shikamaru is … different.

At least, he has been so far.

Because he wants to be friends.

Naruto can’t help the way a giddy sort of confusion blossoms inside of him.

For the first time ever, Naruto has someone who wants to be friends with him.

So waking up to Shikamaru wrapped around him is a revelation.

Shikamaru is a warm weight against his back and around his waist, one arm laid across Naruto’s waist and the other tucked under his head.  They’re pressed so close together Naruto is sure he wouldn’t be able to slip a senbon between them if he wanted to.

Which he doesn’t.

Naruto can smell the faint traces of Shikamaru’s shampoo, something leafy and green smelling, and can feel the way his hand flexes against the thin cotton of the sleep gown that Naruto had fished out of a dumpster and patched up years ago.

They’re close enough that Naruto can feel him breathing.

Naruto can’t remember the last time he was this close to someone outside of sparring.

Can’t remember if he has ever actually has been this close to someone before outside of a few hazy, half-remembered memories of being held that might just be dreams.

Plus he'd slept so good.  Slept deep and heavy and through the entire night instead of waking up at every creak of wood or scratch on the cracked glass of his window.  There were no nightmares and no gurgling, churning, gnawing stomach to keep waking him up over and over again either.

So after getting to eat until he was full instead of out of money, or feeling guilty for taking advantage of Teuchi and Ayame, and then getting what has to have been the best sleep of his entire life, Naruto feels energized.

Feels awake and alert and far more ready to tackle the day than ever before, like he’s practically overflowing with energy.

But, despite that, Naruto also doesn’t actually want to move.

He feels so … warm and comfortable as he is.

Naruto decides abruptly that he never wants to sleep alone again.

Because if this is what having someone else beside him at night will give him then Naruto wants to demand that Shikamaru come back every night and sleep with him for the rest of forever.

Which is a stupid idea.  Naruto knows it is.

Even if he has decided he wants to be friends with Naruto now for some reason, there’s no way Shikamaru would want to do that.  No way he would want to leave his big house and his big family to curl up with Naruto in his tiny apartment.

There’s nothing Naruto has or could do that could ever make that kind of trade-off worth it.

So Naruto will just have to get as much of whatever this is as he can right now.

All while hoping that, somehow, Shikamaru will still like him and want to be his friend later.

Especially after they leave for the Academy and Shikamru is reminded of just how badly the rest of their class, and the vast majority of the village really, does not.

But that’s a problem for future Naruto.

It’s still early, his alarm hasn’t even gone off for his morning training yet, so Naruto has time to enjoy this while it lasts.

So, as carefully as he can, Naruto rolls over in Shikamaru’s arms, breath held and heart racing.

Shikamaru just sighs and pulls him closer, arms tightening around him in a way that makes Naruto want to go boneless.

He carefully nudges his head underneath Shikamaru’s chin and then settles into the embrace with a long sigh.

Beneath the ear Naruto has pressed to his chest, Shikamaru’s heart beats out a slow and steady rhythm.

Perfect.

~~~

Shikamaru wakes to the sound of an unfamiliar alarm with a face full of silky blond hair and something trying to burrow directly into his sternum.

Without even bothering to open his eyes all the way, Shikamaru pulls Naruto closer, buries his face in the warm weight of Naruto’s hair, and inhales deeply.

He wants to imprint the scent of Naruto, all sun-warm satsuma, salt, and something wild, into the cracks and crevices of his very soul.

Wants to live here in this moment, Naruto in his arms and the dim morning sun warm across both their legs, for the rest of his life.

It’s perfect.

But Naruto is already shifting, obviously woken by the still ringing alarm.

Shikamaru comforts himself with the reminder that today is really just the first full day of the rest of their lives together.  The rest of Naruto's mornings will also belong to him.

“Morning,” Naruto blinks up at him, blue eyes bright and surprisingly clear for having just woken up.

His voice is also surprisingly low, a husky murmur that makes the hair on the back of Shikamaru’s neck stand on end.

“Morning,” Shikamaru manages to answer back, leaning forward to press their foreheads together even as Naruto goes a bit crosseyed in the process.

They stay there for a moment, staring at each other, before Naruto finally blinks and starts shifting in Shikamaru’s hold.

“Come on,” Naruto huffs when Shikamaru resists.  “Gotta get up.  Time for training.”

Shikamaru’s attention immediately locks onto that even as he takes a moment to glance over Naruto’s shoulder and check the time.

A part of him wants to groan because it’s still a solid three hours before classes start and normally Shikamaru wouldn’t be caught dead awake at this time.

But that was before he had something like this, something like Naruto, to wake up to and for.

Plus Shikamaru can’t deny that the chance to see Naruto train again isn’t something he’s likely to ever turn down.

Those moves, that ocean of sun-bright chakra that he sheds as easily as breathing, the fact that Shikamaru is the only one who seems to know what Naruto can do?  The kind of power he’s been cultivating while everyone, including the younger, far more foolish version of Shikamaru, dismissed him out of hand?

Glorious.

A little secret just for the two of them.

The first, Shikamaru knows, of many.

Married couples are supposed to have secrets together after all, an entire world built just for the two of them inside of the things and the people who make up the rest of their daily lives.

It’s only natural that Naruto has already given Shikamaru this secret to keep.

“You train like that before classes too?” Shikamaru asks once Naruto has finally wriggled out of his hold and then the bed entirely.

He props himself up on his elbow as he watches Naruto shuffle towards his doorless bathroom.

“Na,” Naruto answers even as he turns the sink on so that murky water can sputter from the tap.  “Morning time is for indoor stuff.”

Shikamaru flops back over onto his back on the too-thin bed, eyes slipping closed again as he basks in the sounds of Naruto going through his morning routine.

A part of him wants to watch, wants to imprint each and every move Naruto makes into his very soul, but he's also attempting to keep a firm hand on his already stirring temper.  It's too early for the sort of rage that things like doorless bathrooms, murky water, and creeping mold all awake in him.

So, for now and until Shikamaru can start setting his constantly expanding plans into motion, it's better for both of them if he just ... finds something else to focus on.

Like the fact that he’d slept very well despite the less-than-acceptable state of Naruto’s entire living situation.  Shikamaru had been half sure that, despite it being their first night together, his anger would keep him from relaxing.

He should have known that, in this as with seemingly everything else, Naruto would surprise him.

In the end, Shikamaru managed to get comfortable and tuck that writhing mess of rage down and away enough that he ended up drifting off surprisingly easily.

Especially after Naruto, biting his lip and not making eye contact, had offered Shikamaru what had appeared to be a previously unseen third and, judging by the sad state of the closet, actual only other set of clothes Naruto owns, to sleep in.

They’d changed back to back, despite Shikamaru not seeing the point of it.  Modesty doesn’t have much place in the shinobi life and besides, their bodies belong to each other now, even if they are still young.

But Naruto had been so hesitant and obviously unsure that he hadn’t bothered to argue his point at that moment.

Instead, Shikamaru had changed into Naruto’s clothes, a pair of loose black shorts and a too-big, faded t-shirt, and then turned to find that Naruto had changed into a soft, faded sleep gown covered in yet more patches and neat stitches that Shikamaru had immediately reached out to touch.

Afterward, Naruto gathered their clothes and gave them a quick rinse in the bathroom sink before hanging them up to dry.

Shikamaru had just watched, enamored with the idea of Naruto doing something as domestic as taking care of his clothes.

Thankfully Shikamaru’s are all shinobi grade and would dry quickly.  He would rather take a kunai to his own throat than admit to Naruto that putting still-damp clothes on is highly unappealing.

Especially after Naruto went through all that effort for him.

The situation had made Shikamaru realize that he wants to do those kinds of things for Naruto too.  Wants to be able to provide anything and everything Naruto could need or want from him.  Wants to be able to provide for Naruto in a way that means he'll never have to look beyond Shikamaru for whatever he might want or need.

Which, Shikamaru knows, means that he’s going to have to learn to do some more household-type chores then.  Will have to learn the kinds of things that Naruto has so obviously been doing for himself for years now.

His mother is going to be annoyingly ecstatic but Naruto is more than worth the aggravation.

Besides, it’s also one more reminder for Shikamaru that Naruto and he have lived very different lives in a million ways that he’s never considered before.

However, on a slightly brighter note, it does give Shikamaru yet another reason to not only take Naruto shopping but to also slip him some of his old clothes.

Some of the things Shikamaru used to wear when he was a year or two younger should fit Naruto just right.

Shikamaru loses a moment in that thought, in imagining Naruto showing up to the Academy in one of his old deer hide vests, the Nara mon on his back and Shikamaru at his side.

It would be an acceptable sort of public claim until they can legally marry so Shikamaru intends to make it a reality as soon as possible.

“You gonna get up?” Naruto asks from right beside the bed.

Lost as he’d been in their future, Shikamaru hadn’t even heard him come back into the room.

“Normally not awake this early,” Shikamaru admits, finally opening his eyes again and pushing himself upright.

“Oh,” Naruto frowns just a bit, hands fiddling with the trailing sleeve of the kimono he’s once more wearing.  “Guess you can sleep more if you want then.”

“I’m up,” Shikamaru waves the suggestion off, moving to pull the hair tie off of his wrist so he can get his hair back up.

“Didn’t know your hair was so pretty,” Naruto says then, eyes riveted on Shikamaru’s hands.

“Down it is then,” Shikamaru drops his hands, letting his hair fall back down to his shoulders as he slips the hair tie back onto his wrist.  He can always tie it back up if they have to spar in class today or something.  “What, exactly, is indoor stuff?”

“Mainly stretching,” Naruto says with a shrug as he moves back toward the center of the room before dropping down into a perfect split.

‘Oh,’ Shikamaru thinks as he watches Naruto twist himself around into a variety of shapes, ‘I should check back in on this when we’re older.’

Chapter Text

Naruto still might not be entirely sure why Shikamaru is being so nice to him, why he’s suddenly decided that Naruto is worth his attention after all of these years, but he’s also rapidly hit the point where he just … doesn’t care.

That doesn’t mean Naruto’s not aware that there’s a chance it might not be real.

Even if he’s never really been mean to him in the past, Naruto still knows this could all be some kind of strange game Shikamaru is playing.  Could all be some kind of joke or something, like when some of the girls had invited him to the play after classes one day, back before he’d known better.

Naruto remembers being so happy that day, remembers being ready to vibrate out of his own skin in sheer joy at the idea of finally being included.

He’d spent the entire afternoon into the evening waiting for them.  It had taken him until well after the stars had come out to finally admit to himself that they weren’t going to show up, that they had never intended to in the first place.

They’d laughed at him the next day in class, had picked and teased about how stupid he was for thinking they’d ever want to be friends with him.

Naruto had skipped out of class early that day and then spent the next few days stalking each of them around the village, learning where they lived and the barest bones of their routines.

Then he’d gotten his hands on an old sake barrel and spent two solid days hunting and trapping enough frogs to fill it up.  Ultimately, he had gathered enough frogs to set loose an army in all of their bedrooms as revenge.

It had made him feel better in the short term but the hurt of it all had lingered, a lesson hard learned.

So Naruto is prepared that it might not be real.

Just as he’s prepared for the fact that, real or not, whatever this is might not last.

It might be snuffed out like the faint glimmer of something Naruto had once thought might be developing between him and Sasuke.  There’d been a few months, not long after Sasuke had come back to the Academy, filled with silent staring and quiet company on empty river banks.

A few months where Naruto had looked at Sasuke and had been sure he was being looked at in turn.

Naruto had almost let himself think that …

Well.

It didn’t matter in the end what Naruto had almost thought.  Sasuke had brutally shut that down, had iced Naruto out ruthlessly, and gone back to either ignoring or insulting him like everyone else.

Shikamaru, with his pretty hair, his big Clan, and all of the people who actually like him, could easily do the same.  Could leave Naruto behind in a heartbeat.  Could leave him waiting in the rain one day just like those girls did or come to class one day and start pretending like Naruto doesn’t exist.

It would hurt, it always hurts, those reminders that he’s unwanted, but a part of Naruto wouldn’t even blame Shikamaru for it.

Wouldn’t even fill his bedroom with frogs or spiders or rig his customary seat in the classroom to explode with paint.

Because, real or not, destined to end or not, in this moment Naruto is still so happy.

He had spent a whole day with someone and eaten ramen with someone his own age for the first time.  Naruto had slept curled up with someone else’s heart beating against his ear and had even woken up with them still there.

Shikamaru had done all of that.

Had given Naruto all of that.

Shikamaru had spent time with him and actually listened when he talked.  He’d bought him ramen until his hunger was gone instead of just quieter for once.

Then he came over to Naruto’s apartment and stayed, filling up the spaces that only Naruto has ever occupied before.

Even now Shikamaru is holding his hand as they make their way toward the Academy together.

Together.

Naruto has never had anyone besides the old man walk with him to the Academy before, and even that had only been on the first day.

So even if there’s a crowd of people waiting to laugh at him inside, even if Shikamaru drops his hand and decides to never talk to Naruto again after this, it doesn’t matter.

Because Naruto has all of these memories now, has felt this joy, and nothing and no one can ever take that from him.

~~~

Naruto’s hand is beautiful.

Smaller than Shikamaru’s and almost delicate feeling despite the force he now knows Naruto to be capable of, it feels perfect against the calloused skin of Shikamaru’s own.

Which isn’t really a surprise to Shikamaru.

Of course Naruto’s hands are beautiful, everything about Naruto is beautiful.

From the sun-bright ocean that is his chakra to the way he’d looked this morning, his body twisted around on itself as he showed Shikamaru his stretching routine on the bare and worn floors of his apartment.

Shikamaru’s free hand spasms just a bit, fingers itching to reach toward his weapon pouch at the reminder of just where and how Naruto has been living.

He slides that thought, and the writhing mass of black rage it invokes in him, to the side for the moment.  It can linger in the corner of his mind, a puzzle to work on in the background.

For now, Shikamaru would rather concentrate on enjoying these last few peaceful moments with his fiance before they arrive at the chaotic mess that is the Academy.

Besides, Shikamaru has to admit that, like watching Naruto’s soul-altering training the day before, the morning routine Naruto had shown Shikamaru was eye-opening.

The flexibility, the stamina, the obviously untutored but incredibly creative ways Naruto had figured out how to work his body in order to achieve the results he wanted.

There had also been the revelation that sometimes Naruto was late to classes not because he was up to no good or didn’t care but because he lost track of time during his training and just … kept going.

All of it was just more proof that Shikamaru is incredibly lucky to be the one who is going to marry Naruto, is the one who gets to snap him up before the rest of the village realizes just who and what they’re all missing out on.  Sooner rather than later.

Shikamaru had only been able to do roughly a third of the exercises and positions Naruto had shown him, but even that fraction had been enough to leave him more than a bit winded.

Which is unfortunate since, despite waking up hours earlier than he normally does, the day hasn’t actually started for them yet.

They still have an entire day of classes to get through.

Shikamaru would rather be back at that training ground from the day before or even back in Naruto’s dismal apartment.

He would much rather they be tucked away together, just the two of them nestled in their own personal cocoon.  Blissfully isolated so that Shikamaru can spend more time soaking up every detail about Naruto without running the risk of anyone who doesn’t deserve those precious secrets overhearing.

Which, at this point, is basically everyone that isn’t Shikamaru.

Naruto, and all of the fascinating little bits of him that Shikamaru is looking forward to spending the rest of his life discovering, belongs to him.

~~~

Considering the way Naruto had once again insisted on avoiding the main roads, they actually end up making good time to the Academy.

Better time, in all honesty, than Shikamaru normally makes on his own without Ino or Chōji dragging him through the village.

The classroom is less than half full when they finally make it inside.  Shikamaru can’t help the way his lip curls up in a small snarl at the way everyone seems to sneer or roll their eyes at Naruto when they see him.

Or the way that Naruto’s hand jerks in his as soon as the stares hit them, fingers twitching and fidgeting like he’s trying to pull away.

Shikamaru doesn’t like that at all.

Naruto should never pull away from him, not when they belong together, are going to be building their lives together from here on out.  Naruto should only ever want to get closer, eager to help Shikamaru entwine the both of them at their bases until it’s hard to tell where either of them starts or ends without the other.

That is how their lives are meant to go, Shikamaru is sure of it.

The two of them together, Naruto happy and brilliant, the light no one else seems to see free to shine as bright as it likes while tucked safely into Shikamaru’s side.  Meanwhile, Shikamaru will get to spend the rest of his life cloud-watching in the sky Naruto keeps trapped in his eyes.

It’s perfect.

And anyone or anything who makes Naruto think or feel otherwise …

Well.

Darkness finds its way everywhere eventually and most people, even those who are shinobi born and trained, rarely remember to check their own shadows for danger.

Tightening his hand around Naruto’s, Shikamaru presses further into the classroom and up the stairs toward his preferred seat in the back of the room.

It’s only when Shikamaru tries to usher Naruto into a seat first that Naruto actually resists a bit.

“Hey hey, Shikamaru,” Naruto tugs at his hand, feet planted on the floor and his expression an aching mix of hopeful and confused, “do you … do you really want me to sit with you?”

“Always,” Shikamaru says instantly.  “Everywhere we go.”

“Oh,” Naruto has that look again, that awed sort of surprise.

It makes Shikamaru want to preen but also set something on fire.

Naruto blinks then, wide ocean-sky eyes abruptly narrowing as he leans in close to Shikamaru, his voice dropping to a whisper. “But everyone will see you sitting with me.”

He says it like a warning, like that’s something Shikamaru could be, should be, ashamed of.

Because, Shikamaru knows, it has been.

For as long as Shikamaru can remember Naruto has always been someone, something, most of them have been told to avoid.

Encouraged to mock.

Allowed to ostracize in a way that, on the surface, goes so far against the teamwork Konoha has always deemed so important in both the village as a whole and its shinobi specifically.

It’s … strange.

Always has been really but, to his shame, Shikamaru had never cared enough to dig into it any deeper in the past.

But things are different now.

Naruto is his.

So that’s yet another oddity, yet another puzzle with Naruto at the center, that Shikamaru is going to have to dedicate some brain power to unraveling.

But for now …

“Good,” Shikamaru tugs Naruto closer.  “They can get used to us being together quicker that way.”

Naruto, a brilliant smile beginning to dawn over his face, finally lets Shikamaru nudge him down into the seat on his left.

It settles something inside of Shikamaru to have Naruto there, on his left, where everyone else can see.

Granted it’s normally where Chōji sits but Shikamaru knows that he’ll understand that sitting at Shikamaru’s left hand is now Naruto’s rightful place.

The whispers start up in the rest of the room as soon as Naruto sits down but Shikamaru doesn’t actually care.

As long as Naruto keeps smiling at him like that, all bright and focused only on Shikamaru, as he should be, then nothing else matters at the moment.