A/N: Cross-posted on Ao3. Enjoy. Xx
As always, the familiarity of returning home caused the weight Shikamaru had metaphorically been holding up for the whole mission to drop from his arms.
It wasn't that late. Only eleven, but it was dark out and he knew his mother didn't have much reason to stay up alone. She was still quietly mourning his father, and he knew sometimes she needed the time to herself.
Luckily, as his boyfriend and mother got along so well (literally, Yoshino fully adored him, Shikamaru had never thought he'd see the day his mother would be so happy about him not marrying a woman to produce clan heirs and grandchildren for her) Naruto was more than aware of this fact, and thanks to his masses of compassion, empathy and people skills, often knew how to comfort Yoshino or give her space better than even Shikamaru did.
Occasionally he would come home to find them talking in the living room, but after returning from most missions after nightfall, Naruto would either be found in their room or on a mission of his own. Which Shikamaru could only hope wasn't the case. He hated coming home to a cold, empty bed.
He slipped off his sandals and quietly ascended the stairs, not wanting to risk waking his mother.
Warm relief filled him as he saw the light seeping out from behind their bedroom door. Opening the door, it swung inwards with the slightest of squeaks. Enough to alert the person within and not startle them.
The warm, yellow lamp was on. Naruto preferred it to the brightness of the overhead light most days, and Shikamaru couldn't say he disagreed.
Naruto wasn't in the bedroom, but the bathroom door was open and brightness emitted from the en suite along with gentle humming.
Shikamaru sighed - one of relief - letting the tiredness drop over him finally. He padded across the room, shutting the door behind him, to drop his bag against the side of the wardrobe.
When he turned back around Naruto was leaning in the doorway of the bathroom, smiling gently at him round his toothbrush, his eyes both sweet and assessing. Shikamaru was used to that though. Naruto did it every time he came home from a mission. To get a sense of the mood Shikamaru was in, how the mission had gone from that and whether he was hurt.
He just smiled back despite his tiredness, and walked over, leaning against Naruto's hard body, feeling one arm wrap around him. He rested his head on his shoulder, nestling against the masses of long golden-blond hair as he slipped his arms around the other man's waist.
"I missed you." He always said it. He knew it wasn't strictly necessary. Sometimes he was barely gone for a couple of days. But each time he knew it helped Naruto to hear it, and it was the truth. He did miss his lover when he was gone. Sometimes painfully. Particularly when something went wrong or tensions between him and Chōji got high. As much as it was a straining point for them (Naruto disliking the risk he put himself in going into the field with a teammate who wasn't entirely reliable) Naruto was the best person to comfort him.
"I missed you too." It was slightly garbled around the toothbrush, but just as sentimental as always, his voice just as warm and familiar and Shikamaru pressed his mouth to his boyfriend's neck in a light kiss in response.
Naruto nudged his hip and guiding him back into the bathroom by the hand, where he spat the toothpaste in his mouth out and brushed the toothbrush around his mouth once more before rinsing and cleaning the brush. Shikamaru sat on the lid of the toilet, lilting slightly to rest against the wall to his right as he watched Naruto going through the motions. It was comforting.
He'd already noticed the orange sleeping trousers his lover wore, but now he let his attention fall to them. At least they were a burnt orange rather than neon. Burnt orange was quite nice and he would never actually tell Naruto, but the trousers suited him and Shikamaru was rather fond of them. Naruto looked best in colour. He was just too vibrant a person to wear dark shades all the time.
"You staring at my arse?" Naruto questioned him teasingly from where he was drying his face with a towel.
"It is a lovely arse." Shikamaru didn't even have to think about the response. The sentiment was practically ingrained in him by now. Naruto just wrinkled his nose at him and shook his head, grinning slightly.
"I am aware of that." He came to stand between Shikamaru's legs, and he listed forwards to lean against Naruto's lower torso, letting his arms hang around his hips as Naruto hugged him around the shoulders. "You gonna shower or just go to bed?" He loosened Shikamaru's ponytail and gently massaged his head.
Shikamaru made a faint approving sound. Honestly, he would be content to just stay here for the rest of the night. But then again, bed sounded like a good option. He knew he'd been on a mission for twelve days and had only been able to shower once in that time, so probably very badly needed one, but he was also aware he was likely to fall asleep standing up in the shower.
"You mind if we just go to bed?" Shikamaru mumbled into Naruto's abdomen.
"Not at all. Do your teeth, I'll grab you some clothes." Naruto kissed his head before pulling away. Shikamaru sighed at the loss, leaning over to the sink to grab his toothbrush from the side, staring at it for a few seconds before heaving himself upwards to shuffle in front of the sink.
He started brushing his teeth, resting his elbows on the sink counter, eyes dropping as his brushing motions slowed.
"Shika." Naruto rubbed his back. Shikamaru nodded and stood up again. Just do his teeth and then bed. He leant backwards against Naruto, who wound his arms around his waist loosely, sweats and a t-shirt held in one hand. His lover kissed his neck and Shikamaru started to turn his head for a proper kiss on instinct before remembering he had a toothbrush in his mouth.
He spat out the toothpaste and twisted slightly to catch Naruto in a kiss.
Naruto hummed when he pulled away. "Minty." Shikamaru nudged him with the side of his head in response to that, feeling a few strands of hair falling out from where Naruto had loosened his ponytail earlier.
Shikamaru finished brushing his teeth and Naruto handed him the clothes.
It was effort, but he stripped out his Chūnin uniform, Naruto's eyes scanning him as he did so, picking up on the multitude of bruises and a couple of scratches. No major injuries, but he knew the bruises looked bad. They didn't feel great, but they were easily tolerable.
Naruto didn't say anything, just waited for Shikamaru to finish getting changed before giving him a gentle kiss, caressing his sides lightly.
"I love you." As always, his words came through as clear and genuine as they could possibly be, and Shikamaru still considered himself extraordinarily lucky to be on the receiving end of them. He expected he always would.
"I love you too."
Naruto kicked the clothes to the side of the bathroom. They could be dealt with tomorrow. Naruto followed him out, switching the light off behind them and closing the door.
Shikamaru collapsed onto the bed.
Naruto climbed under the covers next to him.
"You gonna sleep like that are you?" He teased gently, tugging at the cover underneath Shikamaru.
The man in question groaned slightly before manoeuvring himself under the covers.
His eyes were heavy and closed them as he turned to his side to face Naruto, more than used to sleeping with his hair everywhere by this point. Naruto tugged at the hair tie on his head to pull it out, carding his hand through Shikamaru's dark hair.
They slotted their legs together like they'd figured out how to do years ago and Naruto shuffled closer, one arm coming up to rest under the pillow, the other loosely over Shikamaru.
It was comfortable and familiar and Shikamaru couldn't ask for a better home to return to than his lover whose steady breathing comforted him and presence beside him reminded him why he got up most mornings.
A/N: Please note that in this fic I refer to Shikamaru's friendship with Chōji as being very tense. They are still friends, but their friendship is heavily strained from working in the field together. Shikamaru is the type of person to do whatever necessary to keep his team safe and complete the mission, which brings out his inner ruthlessness. Something which in this I have characterised Chōji as being adverse to. Which is how the tension is created. Just remember this is just my manipulation of their characters and relationship and not canonical characterisation.