Troublesome....

"This is so troublesome"

Shikamaru Nara leaned back on the pillows that were stacked behind him. Putting the book in his hand down on the bed beside him he let his head drop back, rolling his shoulders to try and release the tension that was locking them in painful knots. His back was killing him and he was getting really sick of having to fight his way to his feet every half an hour in order to visit the bathroom.

"This is all that idiot Naruto's fault"

Looking down at his stomach Shikamaru glared at the mound that was causing him so much discomfort. Lifting his hand he rubbed it over the tight swell, wincing slightly when the baby reacted to his action by kicking hard against his hand. It had been a shock to say the least, to find out that he was pregnant, his boyfriend Naruto had taken the news surprisingly well, well apart from the shrieking. Shikamaru was sure the entire village had heard him that day.

~knock knock~

Shikamaru sighed as he heard someone bang the front door,

"It's open"

Unwilling to convince his child-swollen body to move he yelled at his unexpected visitor. Hearing the door open and close he sighed again as a familiar voice floated up the stairs.

"Shikamaru?.......Where are you?"

"In the bedroom"

Two pairs of feet made their way up the stairs, the bedroom door opening to reveal Ino and Chouji standing in the doorway.

"How are you feeling?" Chouji asked

"Well I can hardly move, my bladder demands emptying pretty much every half hour and this baby seems determined to turn my internal organs into mush oh and not to mention my hormones are all over the place and if you sneeze on me I burst into tears.....so troublesome"

"Anyone would think you hated being pregnant"

"You wouldn't like feeling like this either Ino, I'm so going to laugh when this happens to you"

"In that case you'd better start laughing now" Chouji said, a grin spreading across his face

"Wha?.......Seriously?"

"Yep Shikamaru, I'm having Chouji's baby"

"Uhh......congratulations"

"Thanks"

Shikamaru settled himself more comfortably as Chouji and Ino sat down on the end of the bed.

"Hey Shikamaru do you remember when......"

It was starting to get dark when Naruto finally open the door to his home, quietly he made his way up the stairs making sure he didn't disturb his boyfriend's rest. His pregnancy was taking it's toll on him and Naruto was keen for him to rest as much as possible. Pushing the partly opened door wider he smiled at the sight before him. Shikamaru was curled up on the bed on his side his hand splayed protectively over his swollen belly. Moving silently Naruto climbed onto the bed behind the sleeping figure. Shikamaru stirred slightly his eyelids fluttering,

"Naruto?"

"Yeah....I'm home"

"About time....."

"Heh......sorry I had a mountain of paperwork to finish"

"Ah the joys of being Hokage"

"Uh-huh......so what did you do with yourself while I was gone?"

"Oh you know the usual.....reading, sleeping, Ino and Chouji came over for a while, we talked about old times, Ino's pregnant by the way"

"Good for them......I know they've been trying for a while"

"Yeah when they left I tried sleeping again but apparently your kid doesn't like letting me rest"

"Heh sorry about that"

Naruto started rubbing circles on Shikamaru's stomach, grinning when he felt his son or daughter move under his hand

"Geez even if I didn't know it was your kid I'd know by how hard it kicks, it's definitely going to take after you, got to much energy already"

Naruto bit back a grin, pressing a gentle kiss against Shikamaru's neck.

Feeling his boyfriend's warmth against his back Shikamaru sighed as the repetitive rubbing began soothing the baby inside him back to stillness. For all his complaining Shikamaru truly did love Naruto and he knew his feelings were returned in full measure and the baby growing inside him was living proof of how they felt about each other.

Maybe it wasn't so troublesome after all.