Troublesome, But Worth It
Chapter 2
Shikamaru lay on his futon and stared at the ceiling. Dragging the thing over here was a pain in the ass, so as he dropped it to the floor he dropped as well. He turned over to his side as his mind began to wander. Kakashi was out on a mission and he always got worried. Shikamaru always feared the worse.
"Stop worrying! He's with Asuma, he'll be fine!" he yelled to himself and stood up. He needed some air.
Shikamaru sat in a tree across from the memorial stone. Kakashi had told him about Obito, what had happened. Even about his father. Shikamaru had given him a hug after he told him. It's just, the sound of his voice and the look in his eyes, he just seemed to need a hug at that moment. Shikamaru will never forget that night. It was the first night they had kissed. Shikamaru closed his eyes as memories flooded in. He listened to the leaves rustle in the cool, gentle wind and soon fell into a peaceful nap. That is until he was rudely awaken by the sound of thunder and a flash of lightening.
"Son of a bitch." Shikamaru muttered as he leaped out of the tree and began to walk home, which quickly became a run as a downpour began. "Are you serious?"
By the time he got the the front gates he saw that most of the village was already inside. The thunder roared and another flash of lightening struck, but Shikamaru stopped. He had sworn he had heard someone call his name. Then he heard it again. It was barely audible but he heard it. He turned around and saw two figures by the entrance, with red washed around them. The fear that filled Shikamaru as he recognized the two figures and saw the state they were in couldn't be explained. He figures he must've blacked out because the next thing he knew he was at the hospital trying to get out of a death grip that his father had him in. He watched as they hastily rolled Kakashi away. Shikamaru sank to the ground, his father's grip having lightened, and watched as puddles of red rain water dripped onto the floor. Hours pasted, but Shikamaru refused to leave. He laid down on the bench in the waiting room. His father and Asuma were there as well. He figured Naruto and Sakura haven't gotten the news yet otherwise, he assumed, they'd be here, too. He listened as the rain continued to hammer against the window.
His eyes were just beginning to role until he heard the soft click click of Tsunade's shoes. He sat up fast, perhaps to fast as little black dots danced around his vision.
"He's going to be fine," she said as she placed a hand on his shoulder.
A huge weight was lifted off his shoulders when he heard that. He was glad she didn't go into details on what happened. He didn't need to know. All he needed to know was that he was alive.
"Can I see him?" he asked.
"He's been moved to a private room, you can see him there."
Shikamaru was on autopilot as he followed Tsunade to Kakashi. When he got there he saw the man he loved lying on a pale white with bandages wrapped around his chest. Shikamaru went over to sit down on the chair next to his bed. He grabbed Kakashi's hand and laid his head down on the bed, allowing silent tears to fall.
He soon fell asleep.
Shikamaru woke up on a cot next to Kakashi's bed. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, then went to tie his hair back. He looked over towards Kakashi and was met with a smile.
"You're awake?" Shikamaru asked.
"You sound surprised, I wasn't hurt that bad."
"That's bull," Shikamaru took a seat in the chair, "I saw you when you came in."
Kakashi pouted. "It's an occupational hazard," he said. Shikamaru bent down and kissed him.
"Don't ever do that again," Shikamaru whispered.
"Can't promise you," Kakashi whispered back. "How's Asuma?"
"Asuma's fine."
Later that day Team 7 stopped by to see how Kakashi was. During that time Shikamaru went home to get cleaned up. Kakashi wasn't released until a week later, much to his annoyance. Shikamaru didn't visit much during that time, he told Kakashi he didn't want to make people suspicious.
"You shouldn't worry about that stuff," Kakashi said as he wrapped his arms around Shikamaru's waist and buried his face in the crook of his neck. "And you should unpack your stuff," he said as he looked around Shikamaru's room which was packed boxes and a futon.
"Later."
"You should also get some furniture."
"Later."
"And it's getting dusty in here."
"So why don't you do it if it's bothering you!" Shikamaru said as he got up.
"Ah, ah! No, I'm sorry, come back!" Kakashi said as he sat on the futon and reached for Shikamaru who was zippering up his vest. "Where are you going?"
"I have a mission, I told you all this yesterday!" Kakashi sat there with a frown on his face.
"Don't give me that look, I'll be back in a few days," he said as he bent down and kissed Kakashi goodbye.
"What am I supposed to do all by myself? Tsunade-sama still has me on "rest-time" and everyone's out on a mission."
"Go read your porno books in a tree," Shikamaru said as he left the room.
"It's not porn!" Kakashi shouted across the hall.
"Good-bye, Kakashi!" Shikamaru shouted back as he left his apartment.
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The mission was pretty simple and Shikamaru was back in the village within three days. He wondered what Kakashi had done during his time alone. When he got to the apartment complex he knocked on Kakashi's door to see if he was home. When he got no answer he went into his apartment. When he walked in he stopped, backed out to make sure he was in the right apartment, walked in again and closed the door. He rubbed his head and sighed.
"Kakashi?" he shouted. Said man emerged from his room and smiled at him. "What is all this?"
Shikamaru held out his arms gesturing to all the furniture.
"Well, you said that if it was bothering me to do it myself so I did. Yamato made the furniture, isn't it nice?" Kakashi said as he knocked on the table in the kitchen. Shikamaru ran his hand over a three drawer desk and looked around his apartment. Simple but nice.
He liked it.
He sighed and smiled. "If you weren't my boyfriend I'd be totally freaked out but since you are, thank you, it looks really nice."
Kakashi walked up to him and gave him a kiss. "Glad you like it. So how was your mission?"
"Fine, just had to bring a landlord his contract," he said.
"Well, why don't you tell me about it over dinner?" Kakashi said.
"It's a boring story."
"But it's your boring story. Your boring stories have a way of being interesting."
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"Shikamaru!"
Shikamaru turned to who had called his name. He stopped and waited for Chouji to catch up to him.
"Hey, haven't seen you in a while!" Chouji said as he opened a bag of chips.
"I've been busy."
"To busy to hang out with your best friend?" Chouji said this as a joke but Shikamaru took it more seriously then he should have.
"Come with me," he said as he grabbed Chouji's arm and lead him to a vacant alleyway.
"Ah! Shikamaru, what's wrong?"
Shikamaru crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. He looked down at the ground.
"There's something I have to tell you," he said.
"What is it?" Chouji asked, he noticed that Shikamaru's body tensed up a bit. "Are you in trouble or something? You're not sick are you?"
"No, no! It's nothing like that! It's just..." Chouji saw the red on his face.
"Shikamaru?"
"I'm seeing Kakashi!" he suddenly blurted out. He dared not look up at Chouji. "We've been dating for over a year now."
"You're..."
"Yeah." Shikamaru heard the crumble of the bag of chips as Chouji's fist tightened. "...Chouji..."
"No, don't say anything else," Chouji said as he began to walk away.
"Chouji!" Shikamaru called after him, but Chouji just kept walking and didn't look back. Shikamaru sunk to the ground and put his head on his knees.
"Shit," he said.
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Kakashi was laying on his couch reading when he heard his door opening. He looked up to see Shikamaru walk in. His brows knitted together as he noticed Shikamaru's eyes were red and puffy. He sat up quickly and walked over to Shikamaru, placing his hands on his shoulders.
"What happened? What's wrong?" he asked. Shikamaru kept his head down and didn't say anything. He leaned into Kakashi's chest and sighed. Kakashi hugged the younger boy.
"Chouji hates me," he mumbled into Kakashi's chest. It took Kakashi a moment to process what he said.
"And why would you think that?"
"Because I told him I was going out with you and he walked away."
Kakashi sighed and squeezed Shikamaru. "Just give him sometime to come around. If he's truly your friend he will, I promise, okay?"
Shikamaru looked up at Kakashi and nodded. "Now, stop crying, you now I hate it when you do that."
Shikamaru let out a small laugh.
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Shikamaru moaned as the sun seeped in. He sat up and let out a big yawn as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He looked around and realized he was alone. He forgot that Kakashi had some work at the academy to get done today. And he wouldn't be back until nightfall.
"Today's gonna be boring," he said to himself as he just sat and didn't bother to get up. Ten minutes passed before he decided to get ready for the day. Shikamaru decided to go lay around the training field and look at the clouds today. He was actually a little excited, he hasn't gotten to gaze at the clouds for sometime now.
Which was why he was so disappointed when he got to the training field and saw people there.
Specific people.
Naruto, Sakura, Yamato, Ino, Asuma, and Chouji to be exact.
To make matters worse they all turned to him with curious looks when he arrived.
"Shit," he mumbled.
