IMPORTANT NEWS! I have started writing one shots in relation to this story. I've gotten requests for scenes that are only mentioned in this story, this new story page is for those. Those on the facebook page already know about this new page but for others, I'll let you know there is currently only one story up but I'll be putting more up over time.

There was a weight pressed into his chest. Even with all the aches and pains in his body it didn't hurt that much. With a tired grunt he opened his eyes, blinking away the sleep. He almost laughed when he saw Naruto was the weight. She had tangled herself around him like an octopus, one leg wrapped around his hips, her head in the dip of his shoulder, and an arm hugging his chest. Half her torso was draped over his, pressing her chest into his in a distracting manner. He could feel a damp spot on his skin close to Naruto's mouth and chuckled, realising she was drooling in her sleep. One of Shikamaru's arms was around Naruto's back, after having pushed up her shirt to sit on her skin. He didn't remember doing so but instead enjoyed the feel of her skin under his callused palm. His touch made Naruto squirm in her sleep. Her exposed stomach rubbed against Shikamaru's as she practically laid on top of him. It was easy to take a moment and forget that the village was broken, that his leg was in a cast, that his system felt raw and blistered after nearly burning out over chakra excessive use. Instead he just took the time to enjoy having Naruto pressed tight against him.

He finally noticed the pressure in his abdomen that signified an urgent need to use the bathroom. With a sigh, he tried to move Naruto's shoulder, only to find she wouldn't move. Stroking her cheek, he looked down at the blonde.

"Naruto, I need to get up."

The woman frowned. "Kakashi-Sensei, you can't swim in a lake full of pudding!" With that she rolled away from Shikamaru, sprawling over the other side of the bed.

"I'm not even going to ask." Free of the blonde suction cup, he grabbed his crutches and made his way to the bathroom. When he was done he made his way the lounge room to identify the voices he heard.

"Shikamaru!"

His breath was knocked out of him when a small figure barrelled into him, wrapping their arms around him.

"I'm so sorry. I tried to get down there and help you both, I swear."

Putting an arm around Hinata, he patted her shaking back. It was lucky that he had wiped Naruto's drool off his shoulder. "I know, Hinata. I heard your clansmen held you back, and I'm thankful."

"She broke his nose," Neji stated, a smirk on his face. For Neji that one smirk was the equivalent of rolling on the floor laughing.

Hinata rounded on her cousin, her face scarlet. "I didn't mean to! And I've apologised profusely for it."

"It's alright, Nara men like feisty woman," Ryota waved off, making Hinata's blush darken and Neji to glare.

"Stay away from my cousin!" Neji growled.

"Oh, Ryota, still making women feel uncomfortable, I see," Ino laughed.

Shikamaru's mother came into the room carrying a plate of cookies. He had no doubt she and Choji's mother were baking food to take to those ninjas still working. The two women liked to keep their hands busy. Yoshino put the plate on the coffee table before looking from Shikamaru to Choji and back.

"Boys, did you know Naruto is claustrophobic?"

Shikamaru looked at Choji, who wore the same confused look as he did. Slowly, the two of them, along with Neji, all made the same noise. "Ohhh."

"That explains a lot."

He had no doubt they were all thinking about the earth dome they were trapped in years before and how Naruto had exploded, demanding out. He had thought it was because Naruto wanted to fight the enemy but he could see something was off, that she was panicking, even if no one else could see it. She hid it well. Thinking it over, he actually didn't remember her ever going into small spaces. She even often left her bedroom door open, even when changing. The only time she closed it was when he was with her.

"Well, make sure she doesn't go into the evacuation tunnels then." Yoshino left the baffled group.

"I can't believe, you of all people didn't know she was claustrophobic," Ino said, looking at Shikamaru.

"What, her?"

Shikamaru groaned at Lee's yelp, looking over at a shocked Lee and Tenten. He didn't even know why they were here.

"Oops." Ino looked guilty. "I forgot they didn't know."

"So, the rumours are true?" Lee asked, his eyes wide. "Wait… Neji, you don't sound surprised."

The Hyuga man blushed deep red, crossing his arms. "Well, I've fought Naruto, you see." At Lee's innocently baffled look, Neji huffed. "I use Gentle Palm!"

"Lee, he felt Naruto's chest," Tenten explained, looking disapprovingly at Neji.

"Neji, how could you?"

"I didn't mean to!" Neji snapped. "I thought I was fighting a boy. If I had known, I wouldn't have aimed for her chest."

"Shikamaru, punch him!" Ino laughed.

He shrugged. "I'm good. By the sounds of it Sasuke found out a similar way. If Neji did it a second time, I'd have to punch him. At least you didn't find out like Sai did."

"She was naked," Sai stated plainly, walking into the room. "I was quite surprised to see that Naruto was a female. Danzo never mentioned it. I was also surprised to see she lacked scars."

"How long did you stare at her?" Ino snapped.

Sai cocked his head to the side, clearly thinking over the question. "I'm not sure. Long enough for my brain to registered the new information and evaluate whether Naruto was hiding a weapon. We didn't get along with each other at the time so I was wary of any attempts on my life."

"So were you oogling her?" Ino put her hands on her hips, glaring at Sai.

The rest of the group just looked on. Choji, Shikamaru, and even Neji were fighting amused smiles, Hinata and Lee looked concerned for Sai, and Tenten was glaring at Sai.

"What does 'oogling' mean?" Sai asked, looking plainly at Ino, oblivious to his danger.

"What Shikamaru does to Naruto," Ino grumbled, waving a hand in Shikamaru's direction.

"HEY!"

"Oh, I wasn't doing that. I simply tried to work out if Naruto was tricking me or not. Captain Yamato was shocked. I've never heard a man yelp like that." Sai stood there for a moment, waiting for more questions. When he received none he cleared his throat and held out the papers in his hand. "This is for you. I drew up some plans for the rebuilding of your estate. I remember you saying your house was rather cold, so I spoke with Captain Yamato. He helped me to fix that issue with my plans. Once the area is cleared away he will build the structure, but I thought you should see the plans first."

Ino had the dignity to look guilty for going off at Sai only moments before. "Thank you, Sai."

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"My family is staying here."

"That explains why you're here." Shikamaru sighed, walking over to the couch to sit down. "Now, why are the rest of you here?"

"Hinata wished to see Naruto, and Lee and Tenten decided to come with me," Neji answered, as though that should satisfy Shikamaru's curiosity.

"Neji followed me. He's being protective."

"You are in charge of our Clan whilst your parents are out of the village. Someone must guard you whilst the village is at its weakest point."

Hinata rolled her eyes before smiling. "Naruto, you're awake!"

Naruto wondered into the lounge room, rubbing at her eyes as she yawned. She muttered a 'hey' before she dropped down next to Shikamaru, tucking into him easily. With her legs draped over his knees, Shikamaru was able to run his fingers up and down her thigh.

"I just came to tell you that we got into my home and Kurenai-Sensei's present is safe. I have it wrapped like I promised so we can give it to her whenever."

"She's staying with my family," Choji added. "Depending on how long it'll take for everything to get fixed up she might be staying with us after the baby is born."

A crunching noise made Shikamaru look over, seeing Lee munching on the cookies that his mother had put out. When Naruto noticed she held out her hand, letting Lee put some cookies in her hand.

"You really are a girl!" Lee exclaimed, his eyes sweeping over Naruto's form only to blush.

Shikamaru didn't blame him. Naruto was in one of Shikamaru's black sweaters, the shirt just being long enough to cover her underwear. He had never seen her in solid black but it highlighted the blue of her eyes and drew the eye to her long, tan legs. The way she tucked herself further into Shikamaru and munched the cookies in her hands made the man think that she hadn't realized Lee and his team were in the room before she walked out. It was reasonable that she didn't have her chakra out to sense the people since she had used a lot of chakra only the day before.

"It's not like you actually care, though?" Shikamaru said.

"Of course not. I just was surprised there is something I didn't know about my friend that is a big thing."

"It's not that big of a thing. I don't care what you see me as, as long as we're still friends." Naruto held out a cookie to Shikamaru who shook his head.

"I have to take some medication before I eat anything." Shikamaru almost laughed when Ino went and got him a drink and his tablets. Sometimes it was easy for him to forget that she was a healer.

"I should go help move the citizens into the Uchiha Estate." Naruto moved her legs slowly, clearly reluctant.

"No need," Ino waved Naruto off. "Yoshino mentioned to the Naras that you were going to do it and half the Clan volunteered to do it for you. The citizens are all moved in to the estate and my Clan is distributing supplies."

"Oh." Naruto looked surprised but she moved her legs back over Shikamaru's lap.

Holding her close, he stole one of her cookies, happy to find that they were still warm. The group made themselves comfortable as they talked about the different restorations, how well the citizens were taking everything, and the fact that the ninjas had made it their mission to tell the civilians what had happened with Pain and how Naruto had helped them. The blonde blushed at the praise she received.

/ / / / / /

Two days later Ino had actually agreed to let him leave the estate. He had had to argue with her since breakfast that exercise would do him good. Even then she had insisted that he didn't go too far alone. This was fine. Naruto offered to walk with him to the Uchiha Estate to check on the children and see how the rebuilding was going so far. Since Shikamaru was banned from helping with the restorations by his mother, father, uncle, two cousins, a cousin-in-law, his two teammates, and Naruto, he just saw this as a nice walk with the blonde.

"How did you know so much about the Uchiha Estate anyway?" he asked as they made their way through the streets.

"Sasuke and I used to go there a lot. He didn't live there anymore but he liked to show me around, tell me stories about different people, showed me where his dad taught him the fireball jutsu. He admitted once that he didn't want Sakura knowing about us going there cause he didn't want to tell the stories to anyone else. He said that she has a… inappropriate view of orphans. I guess he thought I would like to hear the stories more than others." Naruto shrugged, her hands buried in her pockets.

Shikamaru quietly cursed the crutches he had to use. He had tried to use only one but found it too awkward, and he was prone to putting pressure on his broken leg for balance. Unfortunately that meant when Naruto had reached out for his hand she had found it clasping the crutch and had put her hands in her pockets instead. She so rarely initiated those contacts that he wished he had been able to respond properly to it.

"And you're fine with it being full of people? I know you suggested it, but it's alright if it makes you upset, remembering that Sasuke isn't here."

Naruto gave him a small smile that made him stumble. She steadied him with a hand, stopping their progress. "The fact is that Sasuke is liable to do something to piss off the village before I manage to drag his butt back here. But in this time of need, the civilians, who are scared, are seeking comfort in the Uchiha Estate. The estate that was opened up to them by the last remaining Uchiha's best friend. It's what's best for the village, and for Sasuke."

"You cheeky woman!" Shikamaru laughed. "You've implanted this idea of safety and comfort in people's head associated with Sasuke. Come here!"

He pulled the front of her shirt, technically his, so that she stepped towards him. Letting the crutch dig into his armpit, he put one arm around her waist the best he could. Naruto's hands instantly tangled themselves into his hair as he kissed her, making him pull her closer. He felt the hair elastic on Naruto's wrist brush his temple, making him smile. She had been wearing it as a bracelet since she had stolen it from him over a month before. He moved his arm, letting the wooden post under his arm fall to the ground as he held the blonde tighter. She gave a slight squeak of surprise against his mouth. He pushed up the back of her shirt enough to expose the heated flesh of her lower back, running his fingers across the surface.

"Ahem!"

With a jump that caused pain to radiate through his leg, Shikamaru looked around. He spotted Iruka-Sensei looking awkwardly up at the sky. The sight of their old teacher made Shikamaru and Naruto blush scarlet.

"Could you not do that in the middle of the street?" Iruka-Sensei asked, his eyes still trained of the stretch of blue above them. "I really did not want to see two of my little students… doing that."

"Sorry, Iruka-Sensei," both teens said before Naruto picked up Shikamaru's fallen post so that they could walk off as quickly as they could. When they were out of earshot of their teacher they couldn't help but laugh.

The estate was full of movement. There were little children running round wearing hard hats much too big for them, carrying little toy hammers and hammering at anything that stood still long enough to be classed as building material. Some had taken to trying to wrap injured ninjas in newspaper to bandage their wounds. Food stands had been hastily erected in the court yard to provide lunches for those hard at work, and there were a group of people ranging from Shikamaru's age to the elderly sitting in a group, knitting. They waved to Naruto and some held up half finished projects that looked like jumpers.

"I organised the knitting group to help make clothing and blankets for people," Naruto explained. "We've been able to recover some stuff as we've cleared away destroyed buildings but so far not a lot. Luckily Pain used his push not an actual explosion. Everything was literally pushed away from the centre so there's a lot still intact. The problem is actually getting to it and finding their owners."

"You've been working hard." Shikamaru limped over to a bench, sitting down with a puff.

Naruto laughed, sitting down next to him. "I won't tell Ino that you're winded. She won't let you out of the house for another week if I did."

Shikamaru sniggered. "Oh, it wasn't the walk here." He leant towards the woman, currently disguised as a boy, whispering in her ear. "I blame your kiss."

Biting back a smile, Naruto cleared her throat. Now that his hands were free, Shikamaru was able to grab Naruto's hand when she reached out for it. The blonde didn't even care that they were surrounded by people. Sure, they had comfortably shown affections to each other, such as leaning into each other or flirting, in front of their friends, it was different out in public as they were. Normally, most of their behaviour in public could pass as close friends with little boundaries. Once Shikamaru had steadied his breathing after the exertion of walking to the Uchiha Estate, Naruto ran off. He didn't have time to think about following her because once he got over his shock she was jogging back over to him. She sat down in front of him with a writing brush and a bottle of ink.

"What are you doing?"

"You'll see." Naruto grinned, starting to write on Shikamaru's cast, blocking her words with a hand.

He just laughed at her antics. When she finally finished, she sat back.

"Ta-da!"

Messily, scrawled along his encased shin, were the words 'DAMAGED: DO NOT KICK!' He couldn't help but snort at it as Naruto went to put the brush and ink back where ever she had found them. He watched Naruto walk back towards him. However, she was stopped by a woman who instantly made the blonde bristle.

"Um, hello," Naruto said with a wide, fake smile. "Can I help you?"

"What do you think you're doing here?" the woman snapped. "You're the reason that the village was attacked. You're the reason people died! You're a monster! You should just do everyone a favour and die."

The woman had drawn a small crowd rather quickly. Shikamaru scrambled for his crutches as the woman gave Naruto a sharp push. Naruto stumbled back, not even looking shocked. She didn't fall to the ground though, since a ninja grabbed her shoulders, a glare marring his face.

"What the hell are you doing?" The man righted Naruto as she cringed away from his harsh expression. Except that it wasn't directed at Naruto. The man stepped around Naruto, putting himself directly between Naruto and the woman.

Others were glaring at Naruto, clearly in the same mind frame as the hostile citizen. However, the amount of people standing against her grew as people appeared out of every area of the estate, gravitating towards the conflict.

"Naruto is a ninja of the village!" the Jonin snapped. "If you have a problem with her…him, then you have a problem with all of us. The village will survive, thanks to Naruto."

Even if Shikamaru had managed to pull himself to his feet, there was no room for him to hobble over to Naruto. She was lost in a sea of ninjas and civilians alike. The group that showed hostility towards the blonde was dwarfed. The smaller group dispersed as quickly as they could, realising that they had no support.

"Don't worry about them, Naruto," another Jonin stated, putting a hand on her shoulder only to move it off awkwardly, a red tinge to his cheeks. "We won't let them give you a problem, alright?"

Naruto stared at the man in a daze, nodding as many of the gathered crowd voiced their support. "Thank you." She looked at Shikamaru, looking lost.

The man seemed to realise Naruto was uncomfortable. "Well, you can get back to your friend. Just remember that the village has your back."

Her face still covered with shock, Naruto walked over to Shikamaru slowly. She dropped into the seat next to him, grabbing his hand firmly.

"Are you alright?" Shikamaru whispered.

"I… don't know what to do," she whispered back. "I'm used to the hostility, not the… whatever that was."

Putting an arm around her, he kissed her temple. "You'll just have to get used to it."

/ / / / / / / / /

After his outing to the Uchiha Estate, Shikamaru decided to stay within the Nara Estate for his short walks. Airi had taken to accompanying him, since Naruto was always out. She would leave shortly after breakfast and come home in time for dinner. She spent the few remaining hours before bed with Shikamaru, and any of their friends that had decided to visit that day. They had honestly not gone a day without at least one visitor. Many times Kiba or Ino had dragged Naruto home for a quick lunch and when Naruto had ran back out to help clear whatever area they were clearing that day, those who had joined them for lunch stayed to take a rest from their long day. Choji and his mother were the most common visitors, trying to escape their home that was still missing a member. Ino took to updating them on any slight, positive change to Choza's state. There was no doubt that he would wake up and recover but he had suffered some damage and his chakra needed to replenish before it could work to heal him. Unfortunately, those who were badly injured hadn't been healed when Naruto won over her enemy.

Because of the constant bustle around the house, Shikamaru cherished the quiet moments. After a week of constant movement, Naruto finally decided to sit and relax for a day. It did take Uncle Inoichi almost begging her to take a day off to get her to do so, but Shikamaru was thankful nonetheless. Now he was stretched out on the lounge with Naruto sitting between his legs, her back resting against his chest. The toads had finally gotten around to sending her belongings home, so now she wore her black shorts that Shikamaru was very thankful had survived the destruction of the village, and an orange shirt with black lace straps.

Naruto sighed, turning her head to better see Shikamaru. "Read to me!"

Not taking his eyes off his book, he smirked. "No."

"But I'm bored."

"So? Get your own book." When Naruto put her hand over the page he was staring at he took a playful nip of her earlobe, making her squeal.

She turned in his arms so that she could more easily see him. "You're mean!"

"And you're stopping me from reading." He gave her a teasing smile. "If you wanted attention, you could have just said something."

Dropping his book to the ground, Shikamaru ran his hand down Naruto's back, making her move closer. The blonde kissed him as one of his hands slid into her back pocket, the other hand cupping her jaw line. Naruto's hand slid under Shikamaru's shirt. At her touch, fire spread through his body, making him tighten his hold. The hand on Naruto's jaw moved down her body to slide into Naruto's other pocket.

"This is a public space!"

Shikamaru decided to ignore Ino, continuing to kiss the woman in his arms. He couldn't help but pull back and laugh when a pillow wacked him in the back of the head.

"Do you mind?" Shikamaru asked, rolling his eyes at his teammate.

"I don't want to see you two sucking face!"

"Then go to another room!" Shikamaru looked down at Naruto, who was watching the conversation with amusement, not seeming to mind that Shikamaru's hands were still in her back pockets.

"This is the lounge room! It's public. And I'm a guest."

"Guest implies you're not annoying. Which you are, if you're wondering." He smirked at Ino. "And Naruto is a guest too. Shouldn't I make sure she's happy here?"

"By shoving your tongue down her throat?" Ino huffed.

"It works surprisingly well."

Naruto's words made Shikamaru laugh. He kissed her again, ignoring Ino as she groaned and walked out of the room. He pulled Naruto closer as she pushed his shirt up further for better access to his torso. It was hard to remember that only yesterday he was clawing at the walls with restlessness when something as simple as sitting on a couch with Naruto made him never want to move. His only hope was that when the village started to rebuild she would have more time with him. Eventually she did wear him down and convince him to read out loud to her. Running his fingers absently up and down her spine, he read the words in a soft rumble that sent Naruto into a much needed sleep. Shikamaru knew from Ino who was sharing a room with Naruto that she spent most nights writing until exhausted. What she was writing, he didn't know, but he had noticed the tiredness to her eyes and the sinking to her worn out shoulders. At least she had one day without having to run around or entertain friends.

More Shika-Naru goodness, as you all wanted. Hope you all like. R and R.