Chapter 3
Naruto work up first, the house was still dark. He laid on the couch. "Should I wake Shikamaru or should I run" he thought as he looked around at his surroundings. He waited until he felt that him and the shadow nin were the only ones in the house before he got up and walked to the bathroom. He ran the tap until it got hot and splashed his face. He tried off with a hand towel and walked back into the living room. He heard something stir in the bedroom and was surprised when he heard an alarm clock go off. He looked down the hallway intently until he heard a moan. "Ah, I see he is already awake" Naruto said as he made a clone to make some tea for his waking friend. While the clone took to making the tea, Naruto cleaned up the living room, returning it to normal, or at least to how it was the evening before. He heard Shikamaru grumble something about double vision being troublesome before he realized that it was a shadow clone making the tea and Naruto was cleaning the living room. The clone brought the tea pot to the kitchen table and popped out of existence. "Good morning, Shika-kun" Naruto said in a happy voice as Shikamaru looked over at his blond friend. "Thanks for the tea, and cleaning up" he said after taking a sip of his tea as Naruto only nodded his head and poured himself a cup. "I used to make this all the time when I would wake up after a troublesome night" Naruto said as Shikamaru looked at him with more awake eyes. "You know, you need to start missions again soon, what do you say we go to the missions room and see if there are any ones available that we could go on together." Shikamaru said as Naruto looked at him with a grin on his face. "Sounds like fun" Naruto said as he took another sip of his tea.
After hours of waking up, the sun finally rose, and that is when Naruto realized that he had woke up at almost 4:30AM. He walked into the streets and walked with Shikamaru to Tsunade's office. "Lady Tsunade, I have something to tell you about" Shikamaru said as Naruto watched on in silence. "You may continue" she said. "Well, its about what the village had done to one ninja" Shikamaru said. "If this is about Naruto, we can discuss this at a later time. I know you two have been out of missions for two weeks. I have assembled some D and C ranked missions that will total the pay of an A ranked mission once done. Any questions?" she finished. Naruto only slowly shook his head. "OK then here are the missions." Tsunade said. Naruto looked at the list. It was mainly community service missions and they were mainly within the village. The two of them looked at the list, the first one made them both cringe. "What the hell was that old bat thinking" Naruto said when he read the entire list. "Well, at least they are missions" Shikamaru said as he rolled up the list. "Well, lets get started" he said. "Sure" was all Naruto said in reply.
The missions were everything from weeding someone's garden to picking cans out of the river, there was even one where they went into the underground tunnels of Konoha to repair some pipes under the Hokage tower. Naruto was happy with the work he had done with Shikamaru and they walked into Tsunade's office to hand in the reports. Without thinking of bringing up Naruto's mistreatment to Tsunade, they left. Shikamaru and Naruto walked to Shikamaru's apartment without saying a single thing. When they got there, Naruto offered to make dinner.
As Naruto got busy in the kitchen, Shikamaru sat in the living room reading a book. Before long, Naruto walked in carrying a plate of stir fry. "I was honestly expecting ramen" Shikamaru said when Naruto looked at his friend with a weird look. "It's in there, don't worry" Naruto said with a huge smile. "Hey, Shika? What is your type?" Naruto asked, breaking the silence. Shikamaru gave Naruto an odd look before responding. "Well, he'd have to be strong, brave, and kind hearted. I want to be with someone I know wouldn't let me down, no matter what." he said before taking a bite. "What's you type, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked. Naruto looked at him in disbelief, Shikamaru was actually trying to make small talk. Naruto had known Shikamaru to be quiet and not talk much except to complain. "Well, I would say he would be smart, cunning, and well voiced" Naruto said as Shikamaru nodded his head. "I see, so what do you think of me?" Shikamaru asked. Naruto only turned his head. "I think you are a caring friend." Naruto said in his usual tone. "Well, I think the same for you." Shikamaru said before getting back to his meal. The two ate dinner and got up to clean the dishes. Naruto cleaned the dishes while Shikamaru cleaned the rest of the kitchen.
"Gods, I am tired." Naruto said, stretching his arms and yawning at the same time. "Me too." Shikamaru replied with a yawn. "So, where am I going to sleep tonight, on the folding bed?" Naruto asked while Shikamaru shook his head. "I think it would be better if you slept in my bed with me after that nightmare last night" Shikamaru said. Naruto just stood there and blushed a deep red blush. "I don't think anything like what you are thinking would happen will happen." Shikamaru said noticing the slight trail of blood that was trailing from Naruto's nose. "I wasn't thinking anything perverted." Naruto said in his defense. "Sure" Shikamaru said, almost chuckling as he pulled the bed sheets back. "Go get changed and meet me back here." Shikamaru said as Naruto walked to the bathroom with a pair of shorts and a grey T-shirt. He got changed quickly and walked back to the bedroom. Shikamaru was sitting on the bed shirtless, his bare and hairless chest exposed for all to see. Naruto looked on at the assortment of scars covering his slightly tanned skin. "What's wrong" Shikamaru asked once he noticed Naruto staring at him. "Oh, nothing. You have so many scars, are they all from missions?" Naruto asked. "Most of them are, some are from when my father found out I was gay." Shikamaru replied. "Oh, sorry." Naruto said as he walked towards Shikamaru who was now on the verge of tears. "I just wanted him to know the truth, he tried to kill me." Shikamaru cried out as Naruto took him into a tight hug. "I told them and he attacked me. He threw me out a window in the room, and we were on the second floor." he continued to cry as Naruto patted his head. At that time, he realized one thing had brought him and Shikamaru together, pain. Naruto and Shikamaru were brought together by pain. As Shikamaru continued to cry, he looked as if he was getting more and more tired. He lightly laid Shikamaru down on the bed before covering him with the blankets. Naruto then slid under the blankets and turned to face Shikamaru, who was still sobbing at this time. "Its OK, I am here, let it all out." Naruto said softly as Shikamaru rolled over and buried his face into Naruto's chest. "Naruto, please, don't leave me, I don't think I could handle it." Shikamaru cried out as Naruto hugged him even tighter. "Don't worry Shika-kun, I would never leave you." Naruto said, again softly as he rubbed Shikamaru's back. "Naruto, I have something I need to tell you." Shikamaru said between sobs. "You can tell me anything." Naruto said, as he hugged Shikamaru even tighter. "Naruto, I love you" Shikamaru cried out as Naruto looked at him with a sincere look. "I have always loved you, since you beat Neji in the first chuunin exams. I have always found you to be the one I wanted to spend my life with." Shikamaru said, almost as clear as day. This brought a tear to Naruto's eyes. "I love you too, Shika-kun. I have always loved you since the day we first met, I wanted to be with you." Naruto cried out, now crying himself. The two of them lay in the bed, together, crying. Naruto stopped crying and was only sniffling. He listed to the person next to him, how Shikamaru's breathing had evened out, he could tell he was sleeping. Naruto took Shikamaru into a closer hug and fell asleep himself.