Only a close friend could have spotted it, but Shikamaru was very annoyed when he got to the chunins' meeting. But the term 'meeting' was only the last vestige of what the weekly get-togethers were originally supposed to be. Since the threat of war had passed and all five nations were enjoying the new found peace, the once orderly and productive 'meetings' had degraded to ridiculous displays of youthful rebellion – parties – for all his very "hard-working" comrades who got "stressed out" during the week and needed to "blow off steam." Shikamaru thought they should all take a nap, maybe play a game of shogi or two. That's what he did. In his eyes, his comrades were simply out of control. And that's why he never showed his face at these things…usually.
He hated Tsunade for sending him, even before the moment he knocked on the front door to the chunin center, which had been built after the Great War ended. It was supposed to be a place to relax and stay on call in between missions but again, times change. The music was already too loud for his taste and he was still outside. Shikamaru knocked resignedly and stood back when Kiba flung the door open. His reaction upon seeing Shikamaru was akin to a overexcited dog greeting his master after a long day. He was slightly tipsy and slurring as he welcomed Shikamaru graciously to the party and asked him how his sister was.
"I don't have a sister," Shikamaru sighed, pushing Kiba gently toward Shino and Hinata, who were standing awkwardly by the door. "I think your friend has had enough."
Shino simply stared at him, but Hinata said hello shyly and he returned the greeting with a good-natured wave and what he hoped was a passable smile.
"Eh…" he walked up to Hinata, knowing instinctively that this was his one-stop shop for all things Naruto, "Have you seen Naruto?"
It was always difficult to get a straight answer out of Hinata when it came to a certain knuckleheaded genin, but he waited patiently while she went through the stages of blushing, flushing and stammering with her pointer fingers pressed together in a typical display of self-consciousness. Troublesome.
"He's up there," Shino filled in stoically, pointing up the stairs, "but I wouldn't go up there if I were you."
"Why not?" Shikamaru grimaced, "I have to."
Shino stared unhelpfully back at him so Shikamaru sighed and started toward the foot of the stairs. He left the three of them behind, vaguely aware that Shino and Hinata were trying to wrangle Kiba and convince him to call it a night, but he didn't really care. His business was upstairs and things were about to get messy. The last thing he heard as he vanished upstairs was Kiba calling drunkenly for him to say hello to his sister for him and Shino answering in a ticked off voice that Shikamaru hadn't even bothered saying hello to him, so why would he say it to his sister.
"I don't have a sister," Shikamaru repeated automatically, but they were out the door.
"I know," Sai said blandly, walking past him and into a door which Shikamaru recollected was the bathroom, seemingly unaware that Shikamaru hadn't been speaking to him. Well that guy was always odd, but at least he wasn't drunk. Shikamaru proceeded toward the door Sai had emerged from and which was now open. Here was the source of the raucous laughter, talking and music which had filled his ears before he'd even entered the building. Unfortunately for him, most of his comrades were more like Kiba than Shino or Sai and there was likely plenty of drinking going on behind this door. Shikamaru thought longingly of his bed, but he stepped inside all the same.
He had to resist the urge to turn the stereo down, because he knew it would result in an all-out mutiny, but he scanned the crowd for Naruto's bright orange outfit. That, at least, always popped in a crowd. It was especially bright, and annoying, if the crowd was made up of all Narutos, maybe a hundred of him, all wearing that ridiculous, loud…he spotted the jacket lying in a ball on the floor and rolled his eyes. Well, that wasn't going to make things easier. Why would he even…
"Look out!" a shuriken flew past his head, dangerously close to his eye, and he whipped around to see Sasuke demonstrating his aim for a group of gawking females.
"You look out," Shikamaru muttered. He still didn't trust this guy, but everyone else seemed to have accepted him back with open arms so what could be done. "Have you seen him?"
"Naruto?" Sasuke scratched the back of his head indifferently. He'd obviously been drinking and it was obvious by more than the wonky throw that had almost lobbed Shikamaru's ear off. "I think he left. Or something." He laughed as one of the genin girls who always showed up at these events pushed a cup into his hand.
"Whatever," Shikamaru left as quickly as he could, grabbing the jacket on the way out. If Naruto wasn't there, and Sasuke would know, there was no point in making himself stay any longer and pay witness to this tomfoolery. But he was stopped once again.
"Shikamaru you should stay!" Ino told him loudly, now handing him a cup identical to Sasuke's, which was apparently filled with booze. "You never come to these things. Look, even Chouji is here!"
"I can't" Shikamaru took the cup and smiled tenderly at her. And I really don't want to either. Still, it was always good to see his comrades, even if they were behaving like wild animals. And Ino had done so well in the war, and made everyone so proud. She deserved to take it easy. He looked over at Chouji, who was hovering over the table of snacks, a plate in each hand. "He looks pretty busy. I'll just talk to him later."
He sniffed the contents of his cup as he departed their company, taking a few cautious sips and then setting it down on a table by the door which was, like everything else, covered in empty cups and other litter. He didn't envy whatever unlucky person whose job it was to clean this up. If there even was such a person. The place looked as though no one had cleaned in a decade or so and it had only been built last year. His mother would be appalled… and would probably find some way to blame it on him.
Ino had tried to get him to stay, of course, making the usual arguments that he needed to relax and have fun. But he eventually convinced her that he needed to complete his mission from lady Tsunade and find Naruto. That had gotten her attention.
"Lady Tsunade is scary," she told him gravely, looking over her shoulder as if expecting her sensei to pop up and start raising hell. "I think Naruto said something about ramen."
As he walked toward Ichiraku's, he felt very conspicuous carrying Naruto's bright orange jacket. At first he carried it over his arm but this was much too troublesome to he stuffed it into a ball and tried carrying it that way. It wasn't any better. Eventually he folded it neatly, stopping at a bench to tuck the sleeves under and get the shape right, and stuffed it into his vest. It felt snug and secure there and he pressed a hand to the invisible mass right over his heart, feeling oddly sentimental.
It wasn't difficult to imagine how Naruto had ended up at Ichiraku's, which is where he was according to Ino. No doubt he had gotten a sudden craving, as he was want to do, and sped off toward his favorite restaurant, forgetting all about the party. He could be so spastic sometimes. He could feel himself pick up the pace as he neared Naruto's last known destination, but whether he was eager to see Naruto, complete his mission, or both, he didn't know. Probably both. But why would he want to see Naruto when he had just seen him a few measly hours ago? And why on earth had that little punk taken off his jacket at the party and left it neatly balled on the floor?
Ichiraku's was doing a roaring trade that night when Shikamaru ducked under the flaps and took in the numerous filled stools and people standing, waiting to sit down for a bowl of ramen. The place was always popular, but ever since Naruto had become the official village hero, and since he was the number one fan of Ichiraku's, business had picked up even more. People were always going in the hopes of glimpsing everyone's most-loved savior of the Hidden Leaf Village.
It was mostly adults on this night and most of them didn't look pleased to see him as several patrons advised him to "take a number, pal." He tried to make it clear that he was only stopping in as he looked from seat to seat trying to spot Naruto. He wasn't there, but Sakura was and Shikamaru went over to her, noticing Iruka beside her. They had their heads lowered over a pair of bowls and there was a third, fourth and fifth bowl stacked neatly beside their bowls.
"Hey," Shikamaru greeted them.
"Oh, hi Shikamaru," Sakura said pleasantly, "Naruto was just here. He ran off after he finished his ramen because he didn't have any money."
Shikamaru groaned, then he added, "He wasn't drunk was he?"
Sakura laughed as Iruka spluttered into his ramen bowl. "No, that's just typical Naruto. But you should check over by the school. That's where he and Konohamaru like to face off." She broke off, torn between amusement and disapproval at her teammate's pervy behavior.
"He's been a little off lately," Iruka intoned seriously, looking past Sakura at Shikamaru. "See if you can cheer him up. And tell him I better not catch him drinking."
"Yeah," Sakura agreed. She reached into her pocket and pulled out something shiny. "And give this back to him. As if we would fall for the old 'I put my money behind my headband' routine."
Iruka rolled his eyes. "Somehow I always end up paying, even when I don't offer. I mean, I have to work hard too. I wouldn't mind being treated to a bowl of ramen now and then. Just because I'm-"
Sakura giggled and pressed the headband into Shikamaru's outstretched hands, talking low so she wouldn't interrupt Iruka's ramen-fueled tirade. "See if you can find him, okay?"
"I will," Shikamaru promised. He wished he had the nerve to tell her to stop fretting needlessly over Naruto, who seemed fine to him, but he knew it wasn't his place to do so. "Well, see you later. Bye Iruka-sensei."
Back on the trail, which was quickly growing cold, Shikamaru was just plain frustrated. Here he had been looking for Naruto for over an hour and all he had to show for his efforts were a jacket, tucked away under his vest, and Naruto's Leaf Village headband, which now resided in his pocket. That left Naruto with his t-shirt, pants, socks and shoes. Oh, and his underwear if he was wearing any. Shikamaru blushed at the thought but no one was around to see. It comforted him that, at the very least, Naruto would soon run out of clothing items to leave behind and then he would be forced to…well it was getting late and the small amount of liquor he'd drank was starting to kick in so he wasn't really sure what to expect. No, when it came to Naruto he never knew what to expect.
And that's when he heard Konohamaru. He was screaming for someone to 'get back here and fight,' presumably Naruto. Shikamaru ran toward the sound of Konohamaru's voice, hoping to catch a glimpse of Naruto for his trouble and to call or go after him. If Naruto was still within earshot, he had a chance. Konohamaru wasn't far away and the streets were deserted now that is was almost midnight. He turned down an alley and saw the kid standing by himself, glaring at a T-shirt wrapped around a log.
"He used substitution to get away from me, the coward," Konohamaru bawled to the still night and Shikamaru approached him warily. "Next time – oh, hi big brother Shikamaru."
Shikamaru ruffled his hair, even though he had a feeling Konohamaru was too old for stuff like that. This was confirmed by a scowl. "I guess you don't know where Naruto went, do you?"
The kid crossed his arms and stuck his nose in the air. It was like watching a miniature version of Naruto, not in appearance, but definitely in character. It made him smile. It amused him to no end that Naruto had taken Konohamaru under his wing, taught him the rasengan and generally acted like his big brother.
"I bet he ran all the way home," Konohamaru continued, shaking his fist, "He used substitution, can you believe it? On me!"
"He isn't going around without a shirt on, that's for sure," Shikamaru concluded logically, picking up the log and untangling the T-shirt. "Even he isn't that stupid and Sakura already said he isn't drunk… I'm sure he's going home."
"…then two can play at that game!" Konohamaru finished dramatically. Shikamaru looked at him, dimly aware that both of them had been keeping up one end of a conversation without listening to a word the other was saying.
"Shouldn't you be at home?" Shikamaru asked him pointedly.
"I'm going, I'm going," Konohamaru said smartly, rolling his eyes. "Hey, big brother when you find Naruto tell him I owe him one."
One what?
"Sure thing," he said anyway and made his way toward Naruto's apartment. Despite his ever-growing annoyance he couldn't help but feel genuinely curious at the circumstances and especially by the growing number of clothing items he was collecting. What was going on? Couldn't the kid keep track of anything he was wearing? Shikamaru scoffed. Troublesome Naruto.
All he could do was stay on the trail to the best of his ability and find Naruto, wherever he had gone. It wasn't long before he arrived at Naruto's door, but the place was obviously deserted so he didn't even bother knocking. Instead, he turned the handle and pushed the door open. It gave way easily as he had known it would, because Naruto had confided in him that he had lost his key over a month ago and kept neglecting to replace it.
He turned the lights on and looked around for any clues to Naruto's whereabouts. It didn't take long. His eyes alit almost at once upon the pair of pants strewn across the couch. No way. He yanked the pants up and held them in front of his face as if he could force information out of them. Which, it turned out, he could.
When he grabbed them, a slip of paper folded like an accordion, had fallen out of the pocket. He put down the pants and picked this up instead, narrowing his eyes to read the tiny print. It was one of those stupid fortunes they sometimes give you with a meal. Useless, in other words. Still, something made him read it again.
When you stop looking, you will find.
Suddenly the slip of paper didn't seem so insignificant as he held it gingerly between his thumb and pointer finger and re-read the short phrase printed in elaborate black cursive. These generic little slips of paper could be found at any number of restaurants and some supermarkets, he knew, even carried the cookies by the box. Being best friends with Chouji really kept him the loop when it came to junk food. But why would Naruto, who hardly ever ate at those types of places be carrying a fortune around in his pocket?
Still, he know seemed to have reached a dead end because he could think of nowhere else to go and had, in fact, covered most of the town over the course of what was now – he checked his watch – two full hours. There was a dull pounding in his temples and in the front of his head and he alternately massaged both areas, thinking of how he'd missed dinner to get this lousy task over with. So, he told himself, he wasn't really taking direction from Naruto's random pants fortune, because he had simply given up altogether. It was time to head home. He could still tell his mom that Tsunade had given him a mission. He saw no need to add that it had been a miserable failure. With a plan in mind, Shikamaru finally went home, plagued by the mental image of Naruto skulking around the village in his boxer briefs.
It was a relief to see the lights were out. This could only mean that his mother had been told by someone, news always traveled fast in the Lead, that her son was busy with a mission. For all he knew, Tsunade could have sent someone herself. Either way, the only way she would have gone to bed is if she knew what he was up to. Her being asleep also meant no nagging or unsolicited questions about his night and his whereabouts. Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief and tried to put the problem that was Naruto Uzumaki out of his mind, at least for the rest of the night. He really needed a good night sleep and he could always find Naruto in the morning. His best bet at this point would be to go to sleep early enough to wake up before Naruto and find him then.
When you stop looking, you will find.
He didn't realize until he'd reached his front door that he'd failed to do the logical thing and leave Naruto's T-shirt, jacket and headband in his apartment, but had instead brought them along with the discarded pair of pants with him. He remembered all of these various items because as soon as he stepped in side he gasped in shock as he saw a third pair of sandals alongside his parents. They were in the same place his were usually and someone had obviously placed them there to look as though he were home. But who?
He took off his shoes and held them, but left his socks on. There were no signs of danger, or his parents, outside the house or in the main rooms of the house. He knocked on their door but there was no answer, so he went in and saw they weren't there either.
His heart thumped overzealously in his chest as he made his way toward the only room in the house he hadn't checked – his bedroom. It was just down the hall and he slipped soundlessly to the door with the acquired grace of many years practice. But despite his efforts to remain undetected, the light clicked on the second his hand touched the doorknob.
He stood in the hallway outside his own room, not even daring to breathe. All of the old feelings of fear came rushing back as the knob turned in his hands and only one coherent thought floated to the surface of his panicked mind as the sight of Naruto leaning against the doorframe, enshrouded in light, greeted him – so he was wearing underwear after all.
"Naruto, what- "
His eyes opened enough to see Naruto's beaming smile. "Welcome home, dear," he said in a dopey, sing-song voice.
"-in the hell?"
Naruto burst out laughing and for several moments Shikamaru just stared at him as he carried on. He could have sworn Naruto had actual tears of mirth in his eyes. "Sorry," Naruto managed, rubbing the back of his head self-consciously and blushing a little. Despite how troublesome the whole thing was, Shikamaru thought Naruto looked very sweet and he couldn't help his eyes flickering over his tanned and muscled chest and abs, his sinewy arms with a few stray freckles just about the collarbone and shoulders, the rest of his skin as smooth as marble. Naruto continued, swallowing the last of his laughter, "I wanted to surprise you."
"You did," Shikamaru told him unnecessarily. It felt like his eyes were going to pop out or his head would explode. No, he thought deliriously, it's one of those gruesome nosebleeds where the stuff comes shooting out of your nose in torrents. "I'm going to sit down."
He did so, on the bed, and Naruto pulled a chair over and sat on it backwards so that he was facing Shikamaru and looking at him very expectantly.
"So you're telling me that you have in fact been leading me around town," Shikamaru began and Naruto nodded in confirmation, "leaving a trail of your clothing behind," another nod, "with the idea that I would eventually give up-"
"Because I know you so well," Naruto interrupted.
"Because you know me so very well, you knew I would give up and go home," Shikamaru pressed on, "where you would be waiting for me after…what – murdering my parents?"
"Exa- No!" Naruto looked at him incredulously "They went to see a movie. Didn't you see the note they left? Oh wait." He looked over at a piece of paper on Shikamaru's bedside table and scratched his cheek bashfully. Shikamaru sighed and went over to pluck the note up and read that his parents had in fact decided to see a movie.
"I might have mentioned to your dad that Make Out Tactics was in theatres," Naruto admitted.
"Oh you did, huh?" Shikamaru asked sarcastically, seeing at once how perfectly the whole thing had been planned. But then that made him pause. "Wait, you actually planned this entire thing?"
"That's right," Naruto confirmed, grinning sheepishly still.
"So you wanted me to come here and find you…" Shikamaru's eyes darted once more down Naruto's almost naked body and he blushed, "s-so what now?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Naruto asked, a wolfish gleam in his blue eyes. He placed his hands suggestively on the hem of his briefs. "The last clue."
Shikamaru's mouth went dry and his tongue darted out automatically to rewet his lips. He was sure his body was malfunctioning in some significant way. For one thing, he didn't seem to able to move. He stood dumb and frozen, transfixed by the sight of Naruto's fingers sliding in and out of his waistband so suggestively as he ran his fingers along his skin. As Shikamaru watched, Naruto's eyes drooped and he sighed with obvious pleasure.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Naruto goaded him, "A hand written invitation? Dear Nara Shikamaru San, please come over here and f-"
His words were cut off as Shikamaru strode across the room and pressed his lips against Naruto's before he could process what he was doing. The room seemed to shift on some invisible axis and settle itself in some alternate reality. One where he kissed Naruto and they moaned each other's names while exploring each other's bodies with their hands. In other words, the best reality ever.
Shikamaru murmured his assent as Naruto kissed his way down his throat to a very sensitive spot in the hollow of his neck. He was only capable of breathy moans in response to this, could feel his blood boiling and coursing through his body in irregular bursts. But soon, even this wasn't enough. He could tell Naruto felt the same way.
"OW" he protested as his vest was veritably ripped from his body. He was sure his body, if not the zipper, had suffered some sort of external harm in the process. Naruto removed his undershirt more gently so Shikamaru only sighed and lifted his arms. At that point a restless hunger, long denied, took over and Shikamaru resumed the kiss himself, pushing Naruto backwards onto the bed. How many years had he wanted to do this after all?
Naruto contemplated the boy underneath him, skin pink and alive, eyes flashing in the dim light of his single lamp. Too many. Naruto's expression was priceless, as if he were actually stupefied with lust, and Shikamaru felt the same way. This was crazy, but he couldn't deny how much he wanted it.
He bent his head slowly and kissed Naruto chastely on the lips one time. Then he rolled off him and settled into the pillows significantly. Naruto's breathing quickened and he looked at Shikamaru heatedly, turning his body so he could see. Shikamaru felt very self-conscious as Naruto unbuttoned his pants and pulled them down to his ankles. After a moment he removed his shoes and socks as well and slid his pants off.
As soon as he had done this, Naruto crawled suggestively up the bed to drape himself over Shikamaru and give him another lingering kiss. Shikamaru could feel his heart pounding as all the blood in his body seemed to flow to one place. They both quickly lose their boxers at that point.
At the first contact of Naruto's flesh against his, Shikamaru thought he would scream, but a strangled groan came out instead and he heard Naruto moan his name from somewhere close-by, but he couldn't tell because it felt too damn good and Naruto…
"Naruto!" Shikamaru cried out helplessly as he felt a finger prod him in a very intimate place. "P-please…" he stammered and Naruto nodded, wordlessly sticking the finger in all the way to the knuckle. He had evidently managed to find, or brought, some kind of lube because it barely hurt at all. Of course that was only with one finger.
He twisted his hips, getting used to the position and instantly deciding he liked it as Naruto's fingertip brushed tantalizing across the surface of an even more intimate and sensitive spot in his body.
"More," he begged Naruto. He pressed up with his hips eagerly, swallowing as much of the finger as he could take. It went up to the hilt without much trouble and he looked accusingly at Naruto who was simply stunned by his reaction. But at Shikamaru's word, he snapped into action, sliding a second and quickly a third finger into Shikamaru's willing hole, scissoring all three fingers together to spread him wide.
Shikamaru whimpered, his head tossed from side to side and he begged for more, but Naruto studiously avoided the sensitive bundle of nerves he had brushed only once, saving the moment when he would finally touch it.
And when he finally did, Shikamaru threw his head back and screamed so loudly that Naruto worried briefly about the neighbors overhearing. "Go ahead and fuck me, Naruto" Shikamaru ordered, looking up at him through half lidded eyes. He shifted his hips, moaning at the additional contact, and let his legs fall apart wantonly, inviting and luring him in at once. When Naruto pulled his fingers out of Shikamaru he groaned unhappily and lay back on the bed. Naruto reached between his legs and held his own stiff cock up to Shikamaru's entrance, taking a moment to look at Shikamaru and confirm that he was ready.
Shikamaru was staring up at the ceiling with glazed eyes and as Naruto watched him lick his lips and his eyes met Naruto's and he nodded. Pushing Shikamaru's legs up, Naruto began pushing his impossibly hard length into Shikamaru's entrance. Shikamaru moaned headily. He whined and arched his body, desperately pressing back against Naruto's intrusion so that even more of Naruto slid inside him until he was sheathed to the hilt. Shikamaru squirmed, feeling full and possessed completely by Naruto who leaned up to place a kiss on his forehead before withdrawing his length partway and thrusting forcefully back into the prone body beneath him.
He kept up a steady pace and the only sounds that filled the room were the rapid slapping of their bodies and the pleasured noises that fell continuously from their mouths.
As Naruto continued to thrust, finding Shikamaru's prostrate and pounding it steadily, he reached up and pinned his arms above his shoulders domineeringly. "You like…" he leaned down to whisper in between thrusts, "being fucked?"
Shikamaru groaned and nodded emphatically as Naruto gave a particularly hard thrust against his sweet spot.
"Good answer," Naruto told him simply, reaching down and wrapping one hand around his length. Shikamaru's could feel his eyes roll back in his head as Naruto continued to thrust, even as he smeared precum over the sensitive head of Shikamaru's cock and started sliding his hand up and down in time with his thrusts.
"God Naruto," Shikamaru sobbed, thrusting into his fist as a warm heat started to build in his body from that spot where there bodies were linked. His inner walls throbbed around Naruto's cock and his thrusts soon became erratic. Naruto moaned his name over and over, head bowed and muscles working all at once. He leaned forward and they shared one last kiss as they both came, hard. Shikamaru could feel every sensation as Naruto filled him and the sound Naruto made was enough to make that wild, expanding heat shoot through him so that he too came in a violent rush, spending himself across Naruto's quivering stomach. Their mouths fell apart and Naruto collapsed on top of him, not bothering to withdraw his softening cock from Shikamaru's still pulsating body. Tremors were still running up and down his body as Shikamaru clutched Naruto's broad back, pulling him as close as space would allow and even wrapping one leg around the other boy's ankle.
"Don't leave," he told Naruto drowsily, hoping that he would understand that he wanted more of this unbearable pleasure as soon as he woke up the next morning. He paused, twisting his lips against something he was clearly deciding whether or not to say but in the end he evidently changed his mind. Tsunade's stupid mission could wait until morning, he decided.
"I won't," Naruto told him gently, smiling to himself. He wrapped his arms around Shikamaru's back and watched happily as Shikamaru mewled and buried his face bashfully in the side of Naruto's neck. They were both already growing hard again, but there would be plenty of time for more of that. For now, it was time to sleep. Naruto nestled his head on Shikamaru's shoulder and did just that.