Disclaimer: Neither the characters nor the artwork are mine. This is purely a fan work and I am making no money off of the use of any material.
Some spoilers for the manga if you only watch the anime (I screamed when I first read this chapter).
Image can be found at the following link (as always take out spaces and type in the actual (dot com/):
hardcoreyaoi. deviantart (dot com/) art/ Expect-the-Unexpected-134985822
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Story Five
Expect the Unexpected
Naruto didn't really know what he was doing.
This was never the path that he would have thought that his life would take. A childhood obsessed with a certain pink-haired ninja had made him wholly unprepared for the new twist that life had thrown his way.
Seriously, wasn't his life complicated enough? But apparently, no, no it wasn't.
Fate heaped a sexuality crisis on top of everything else.
It wasn't exactly like he was gay. He still appreciated the female form. But he wasn't exactly bi either. Because the vast majority of the male population still did nothing for him.
The vast vast majority.
In fact, there was only one guy who could cause Naruto's heart to jump up into his throat. Only one guy who could make Naruto feel those butterflies that used to be for Sakura alone but seemed to have traded allegiances. Only one guy who Naruto wanted to be around all the time, and that the thought of kissing churned his stomach in only a wonderful way.
Only Shikamaru Nara.
The genius shadow-nin who had dedicated himself on the field of battle to staying at Naruto side and being advisor to Naruto as Hokage. Who had been the only to snap Naruto out of his funk after the death of Jiraiya? Who had been the child unafraid to welcome Naruto into a circle of friends during an otherwise lonely childhood?
Naruto had figured it out during that final epic battle of the war. When he saw Shikamaru's life being pulled from his body. When that man fell limp to the group, Ino and Chouji around him with tears falling freely, that was when Naruto knew just what the pineapple-haired ninja meant to him.
After the battle, Naruto had personally carried the exhausted (but ALIVE) body of Shikamaru off to the medical squad. He'd actually allowed himself to be forced into a bed to recuperate his own strength, solely because the bed was next to his friend's.
He had admitted his feelings to his friend almost immediately. He couldn't really hide anything from Shikamaru anyway.
He didn't know what the reaction would be, but he wanted to be honest.
So he was surprised when Shikamaru smiled softly and took his hand, squeezing softly, before letting it go.
Shikamaru wasn't a particularly demonstrative person, but that simple action spoke volumes, even to someone as dense as Naruto.
The two had considered themselves together ever since, but with everything as busy and hectic as it was after the war, there wasn't a lot of time to spend together.
Returning to the village there was a lot of work to be done and the weird addition of something that made Kakashi cackle when Naruto mentioned it, musing about the boy's naïveté. But seriously? What was with all of villagers practically throwing themselves at the returning ninja?
"There is a reason wars tend to be followed by baby booms Naruto." Kakashi had called in a sing-song voice before pulling out his book and wandering away.
It was weird, Naruto had never entirely gotten used to all of the attention following the Pein incident, and this was even weirder. Old women would come up to him on the street and start talking about their granddaughters and what wonderful wives they would make. And Shikamaru had the added bonus of being a clan heir, especially as one who had to take over now with the passing of his father.
He'd been behind the man in the street once, about to call out to his boyfriend as the man perused yet more paperwork when a shop girl had snaked out her hand and pinched Shikamaru's ass right there on the street! The ninja had jumped and turned around, eyeing the girl who had done it as she flirted shamelessly.
And Naruto saw the rake of eyes as Shikamaru took her in. And with a sinking feeling Naruto saw that Shikamaru still appreciated the female form as well.
It comes from a childhood spent alone, but when you have someone you cling to them. That was why he fought so hard to protect Kakashi on his first mission outside of the village. That it why he never gave up on Sasuke. That it why he threatened death upon a ninja who dare hurt Iruka-sensei. That is why he started to go into nine-tail state at the disrespect of Gaara's body on the mission to rescue him. That is why Hinata's thrashing sparked a full nine-tail appearance.
As brash and boastful as he was, Naruto was insecure, rather incredibly so.
And he would cling to Shikamaru no matter what he had to do.
He was meeting Shikamaru at his home. When the shadow-ninja wasn't fulfilling his duties to the village, he was preparing for his formal attainment of the title of clan heir, which is what he was doing just now as Naruto slipped in through the open window.
"Hey Naruto," Shikamaru whispered, and it was a mark of how well he knew the man that he could tell this hoarse drawl was a result of exhaustion rather than boredom, while it would have sounded the same to anyone else.
And Naruto had an idea. He quickly did a transformation jutsu and threw himself at Shikamaru's prone back.
"Surprise!" His suddenly female form, a very naked female form, was pushed up against Shikamaru's strong back, causing the man to jerk forward, loosing hold of the Nara inventory papers he had been looking at. An elbow collided with his side and he was pushed back as Shikamaru darted to his feet, turning quickly to face the blonde.
"Naruto! What the hell?!"
Naruto was surprised by the action. Shikamaru didn't yell usually – it was too much effort. He'd yell to you on the battlefield, giving intel and such, but only when necessary. But he rarely yelled at anyone.
But that was definitely yelling. Yelling at him.
Naruto sorted his legs under him and sat there confused. What had he done wrong?
"Change back. Cancel the henge. Now." Shikamaru's voice was terse and demanding.
Naruto quickly canceled the transformation and with a poof of smoke he was sitting crossed-legged on the floor, clothed once again in his trademark orange jump suit, scratching his head with one finger, trying to figure out just how he had made the other man quite so angry.
Shikamaru stood before him, one hand firmly planted on a hip, while the other cradled his forehead which he shook slightly from side to side with a long-suffering heaving sigh.
"Naruto..." Shikamaru dragged out the last syllable of the blonde ninja's name, indicating annoyance.
Naruto scratched at the back of his head and leaned against the wall, pouting and staring at the ground so as not to see the disappointed look he knew would be evident in the other man's face.
"What were you doing?" Naruto finally heard whispered as the other man slid down the wall next to him.
"Just surprising you." Naruto continued to stare at that ever so interesting spot on the floor.
"But...why with the henge?"
There was such a pure curiosity in Shikamaru's voice that Naruto's eyes darted over against his will. He saw genuine confusion on the Nara's face, looking utterly foreign and out of place to anyone who knew the man.
"I just...thought it would be a good idea..." he mumbled, darting his eyes away again.
There was a muffled thunk, telling Naruto that Shikamaru's head had met the wall behind them.
"Naruto...what the hell would ever convince you that I would want naked boobs crushed up against me?"
And before Naruto could shut himself up he blurted, "But I saw..." before literally biting his tongue to stop himself from continuing.
Shikamaru furrowed his brow and trained his eyes on Naruto's not allowed the blonde to look away. "What did you see?"
Naruto blushed, "The girl..." He wrenched his eyes closed and forced his face down, feeling heat radiate from his cheeks.
Shikamaru was kind enough to not force Naruto to raise his face, but a cool hand was placed Naruto's wrist, letting him know the other was there, which was enough.
"What girl?" He asked quietly when Naruto had been silent for a while.
"A shop girl...pinched your ass..." Naruto said with a forced laugh.
"Her...?!" Shikamaru said, an incredulous tone slipping into his voice.
"You checked her out!" Naruto pointed out, holding back accusation, but barely, keeping the 'I saw you!' in by sheer force of will.
Shikamaru started laughing, "I was trying to figure out who she was!"
Naruto glanced sideways at the man who suddenly seemed to have lost his worries for a moment.
"Honestly?" He asked.
Shikamaru wiped a stray tear away from the corner of one eye. He reached down with one hand to grab Naruto's, lacing their fingers together. "I promise." He said, a small laugh breaking out before he pulled it back under control.
"Naruto..." Shikamaru started, tugging on Naruto's hand and pulling the other man closer until their legs were touching from toe to waist, warmth passing between the two. "You're worried about me wanting a girl aren't you? Instead of you..."
Naruto couldn't say anything but that was enough of a response for Shikamaru.
"Naruto, should we ever break up, it will have nothing to do at all with your gender." He sighed for a moment, before shaking his hand free of Naruto's and instead putting his arm around Naruto's shoulder, pulling the man hard against his side. "If I wanted boobs and girly things, I'd be with a girl Naruto. But I'm with you. I want you."
Naruto threw himself into Shikamaru, turning the half-hug into a full one, his head tucking in under Shikamaru's chin, smiling as Shikamaru said nothing but tightened his grip around his boyfriend.
Because Naruto was strong, but simultaneously he was fragile. Having been alone, and knowing what that was like, and never wanted to be that way again. And he had found something with Shikamaru, something he quite liked and wanted to continue. And Shikamaru had just confirmed, in straight and easy language that even someone like Naruto could understand, that he wanted it too.
In a joking tone Shikamaru whispered, "What am I going to do with you...?"
Naruto hummed, "Tell me when I'm being an idiot," he smiled as he felt Shikamaru's muscles tense beneath him as the other man laughed and joked about that being a full-time job. "And keep being you," he ignored Shikamaru's mumbling of what the hell did that mean anyway, and finished with, "and expect the unexpected."
"Sometimes you can be troublesome..." Shikamaru mused after a moment.
"Less troublesome than a girl." Naruto pointed out, inciting Shikamaru to laugh again.
"That's true."
Shikamaru stood up and tugged Naruto to his feet. "Now, crisis averted. I'm tired, let's go to sleep." The pair slipped into Shikamaru's room and fell into bed, Shikamaru curling up into Naruto's side and asleep before Naruto could even whisper goodnight.
Rolling his eyes, Naruto tugged up the sheets to lie atop of them and placed a gentle kiss against Shikamaru's hairline before slipping off to sleep himself.
P.S. I am going on vacation soon so don't expect any more stories until likely February.