Sorry the update took so long. Under doctor's orders I had to take a break from writing. I ended up in hospital from an 11 day migraine thanks to my meds being on too low of a dosage.. But it's all good cause I'm all better now but if you were wondering why the long wait, now you know. It took a bit to recover from that.

Naruto had somehow tangled herself in the sheet. It tightly wrapped around her otherwise naked form like a white, knotted dress that showed hints of her tan skin through its somewhat see-through material. As she laid on her stomach she played with her new pendant, something that made Shikamaru smile. He ran his fingers up and down Naruto's bare back, enjoying the shivers that followed.

"Can we just stay here until I have to leave?" Naruto sighed contently.

"Is everything you need to pack here?"

After a thought Naruto dropped her head. "No! Most of it is at the estate."

"Hmm. When do you have to leave exactly?"

"Early Tuesday morning."

"So you actually only have tomorrow before you leave?" Shikamaru sighed against Naruto's shoulder before kissing it. "What a drag."

Naruto chuckled at his whine. "Pretty much. I know I have to go, and I want to be able to fight again since I currently can't even keep my chakra out to sense people. But at the same time I don't want to go. What about if the Akatsuki come looking for me again? I can't let the village suffer like that."

Shikamaru kissed her, silencing her rambling. "They won't attack the village. They don't know about the seal weakening so they'll be too worried about you defeating more of their members. The next conflict will be one we meet. Just be careful when you're with the man with the Eight-Tails. The Akatsuki is after both of you so putting you together, whilst necessary, runs risks."

"I know. I'm fairly certain that Old Granny thought about that but even with the best plans shit can go wrong. Still, I wish I didn't have to go. Even with everything that's happened the last couple of months it's still been some of the best months I've ever had. All my hard work with the village has shown to be worthwhile, and I've been able to be who I am without fear. Then there's being able to be with you, Ino, Uncle Inoichi, and Aunt Momiji. It's made all the crap that's happened with me easier. I don't want to leave. I want to stay here and plug my ears and sing loudly off key whenever someone brings up leaving."

Shikamaru chuckled, the deep sound resinating through his chest. "I can't say I'm not highly tempted to do the same but how about we stay here until tomorrow afternoon. It'll just be the two of us." He trailed kisses over her shoulder, his fingers running up and down her spine.

"Hmm, I like that idea."

"The only problem is that Ino will be mad she wasn't given a heads up about your leaving in time to move your birthday party to tomorrow."

"I'm glad she can't. I know she's trying to be nice but honestly I've had to come to terms with a lot of things and am exhausted. I would have to put on a smile the whole time when I'll be uncomfortable and confused. I don't really know how birthday parties are meant to work, having only seen yours, and throwing me straight into it will just makes me realise how much I've missed out on." Naruto gave him a half smile. "I'm grateful but I'm just not ready. I'm not giving the necklace back though, so don't even think about it!" She cracked a grin.

Putting a hand on her waist he pulled her closer, enjoying the heat that radiated off her body. "Wouldn't think of it. How about next year we lock ourselves up in this apartment and just spend the day together. Clothing is optional."

Naruto snorted before kissing him. "Sounds like a plan."

"If our friends come over to see you, you can choose whether or not we let them in. Though clothing will then become mandatory. But I must warn you if you wear that blue dress we may have to disappear for lengths at a time or kick our friends out after a few minutes." He smiled when Naruto laughed, her skin pinking.

"I may actually like that birthday," the blonde admitted before lightly brushing her lips against his.

He groaned when she pulled back. "Tease!"

He only received a bark of laughter in reply.

"So you've never had any celebration on your birthday? Wouldn't Uncle Inoichi and Aunt Momiji have tried to celebrate with you?"

"Well, I distanced myself from them early on to protect them. Iruka-Sensei lost his parents the day I was born to the creature inside me so he never felt I was safe to be with him on the anniversary of that moment. I don't think he ever wanted to look at me and see the Nine-Tails. I'm glad he made that choice, even if I didn't know about it until older. But I have sort of celebrated once." When Shikamaru looked at her with curiosity she explained. "Sasuke brought over a cake that he had made but he had mixed up the sugar and the salt so it wasn't edible. He went and bought me dinner and desert and brought it back to my place for me. He told me that the cake was an Uchiha tradition but some of the others in the village did it too. It wasn't until Choji was talking about birthdays to Sai and I and was surprised at our confusion that I realised Sasuke had lied to me. He hadn't wanted me to know I had missed out."

Shikamaru stared at Naruto before blinking. "I had no idea that Sasuke could be so… kind. He was always so stoic and cold at school."

"That's the type of guy he was to everyone but when it was just us hanging out he was different. He had the weirdest sense of humour too."

"Coming from you that means a lot," he teased.

"Shut up! He was really bad. We once saw a dog running towards some long grass. The moment he reached it he threw himself on his back and started rolling round making weird noises like he was trying to talk. Sasuke thought it was so funny he fell to the ground laughing. He was crying he was laughing that hard. I'm not kidding. He did that sort of thing all the time when it was just the two of us or would go along with whatever weird plan I thought up, and encouraged me to be worse. We once filled the space above the tiles in the Hokage's office with confetti and showered the Old Man during a meeting. What's worse is that it was raining outside so everyone in the meeting was wet and the confetti stuck to them." Naruto gave a laugh at the memories.

"You know, I can understand why you want that Sasuke back. Although I've respected the fact that you want him back I didn't actually get why. But if that's the Sasuke you knew I can get it. You and he were like me and Choji, and I would do anything to get him back if someone manipulated him into leaving or if he was as lost as Sasuke." He ran his fingers through her hair. "I told you I'd help you get him back in any way I can and I will. Once the seal is dealt with we can sit down and come up with some ideas. I know, though, that I can't hold my own in a fight between you two. I've talked to Sai and Captain Yamato, I've read the reports on Sasuke's attack of the Hokage's summit. Honestly whenever I think about you two going head on I picture two godly forces slugging it out. That thought just makes me realise how meekly mortal I am."

Naruto gave him a soft smile as she moved closer, holding the sheet against her chest. She ran her hands up his chest. "I don't see you as a meek mortal." She kissed his lips. "You're a genius," she kissed him again, "caring," another kiss, "patient," another kiss, "sweet," another kiss, "funny," another, "gentle," another, "veeery handsome – "

Shikamaru buried his fingers in her hair, stopping her from pulling back from the kiss. He smirked at her moan of surprise. Lovingly hugging Naruto closer he ran his free hand over her bare back, relishing in the feel of her soft skin under his callused palms. There was no satin or silk in the world he would find more enjoyable than the feel of Naruto's skin that laid exposed for his wondering fingers. The fact that he could feel every shiver and hot flush that went through her body was also a plus.

"Oh! Crap! Sorry!"

The two jumped at the unexpected voice. Snapping his head towards the direction of the door he found Captain Yamato with his back to them, staring at the corner of the ceiling. He instantly pulled the blanket up further, trying to hide his entire form underneath.

"Captain Yamato, how'd you get in here?" Naruto asked with a frown.

The brunet awkwardly waved his hand over his shoulder. "I had a key from making furniture for this place. When you didn't answer the door I got a little worried."

"Alright… but why did you come here in the first place?"

Shikamaru was surprised that Naruto was calmly holding a conversation with her captain whilst lying naked in bed with her equally undressed boyfriend. Even if the blankets were hiding everything. It took him a moment to remember that Naruto had no shame when it came to her body. Granted he didn't think she had a reason to be ashamed with what he classed as a phenomenal figure but it was still what he classed as an embarrassing situation. He could feel his face heating up the longer the scene played out.

"I thought you might want help packing for the mission," Captain Yamato explained, his voice strained. "Obviously my timing is bad."

"Was it the nudity that gave it away?" Naruto sniggered.

"Naruto!" both men yelped.

"Fine, I'll put you both out of your miseries. I don't need help packing. I'm going to do it tomorrow when I go back to the estate."

Captain Yamato turned towards them, his gaze catching Shikamaru's for a moment before he stared intently at the ceiling again. "So you two are going to stay here, only, until you go back to the estate."

Shikamaru bit back his noise of understanding. He had been warned by his father that Naruto would have to be closely guarded leading up to her leaving so that no one let slip about the war that everyone was starting to massively prepare for. They were at the moment in the plan were they had to watch all of Naruto's interactions to anyone other than those who were allowed to know where Naruto was going and the real reason why. His father had made it clear that when Naruto wasn't at the estate she would have to be with Shikamaru, Captain Yamato, Iruka-Sensei, or Kakashi-Sensei. Obviously Captain Yamato hadn't thought that Shikamaru was with Naruto in the new apartment.

"Our plan was to go back tomorrow afternoon and maybe have a going away dinner with my family," Shikamaru explained, making it clear that he would be with Naruto until the moment she left, which should have been a given to everyone.

"Oh, good. Well I'll just leave then. You too can go back to what you were doing – I mean, not that – not that I'm saying you shouldn't. You're allowed to do whatever you want. I mean, it's none of my business but I'm not going to tell you what to do, especially if it's that. Not that I'm a prude – "

"CAPTAIN YAMATO!" Naruto yelled, cutting through the man's senseless ramblings. "Feel free to run. We won't be offended."

"Thank you," the ex-anbu squeaked before turning and rushing out of the room. They heard the front door snap shut, making them both chuckle.

"And your streak of making your superiors awkward continues," Shikamaru laughed.

"You should have seen him at the hot springs when I walked out. He made a sound like a dying animal and dunked himself into the water so he couldn't see me… he forgot that boiling water and eyes don't mix though and jumped back up screaming and spluttering. It was pretty funny."

"That poor man." Shikamaru shook his head, his face slowly returning to normal colour. "Maybe we should have gotten him to leave his key so we didn't have to worry about him barging in again?"

Naruto sniggered. "I think he's too scared to do that again. Though I'm glad it was him and not Kakashi-Sensei. Or imagine if it was Iruka-Sensei!"

Shikamaru instantly blushed at the thought of that scenario. "If that ever happens I'd engulf myself in shadows."

"Is that possible?"

"We'd definitely find out."

The blonde laughed, curling into his side. "As long as you hide me too."

"Oh, have we actually found something that would make even Naruto Uzumaki blush?" Shikamaru loomed over her, grinning gleefully.

"The only way you'll find out is to also put yourself in that situation," Naruto threatened with a pout.

"Damn. Guess we'll have to find something else that embarrasses you. What about if I wrote 'I love you, Naruto' across the Hokage faces?"

"Wouldn't that just embarrass you?"

"No." Shikamaru shook his head, noticing the slight blush to the woman's face. "Is that something you'd like, Naruto?"

"You don't have to try and win me, Shikamaru."

"Doesn't mean I'm going to stop trying. You're worth it."

Once again Naruto gave me that look that he couldn't quite interpret. He had never seen such an expression from Naruto. "So are you though."

/ / / / / /

It wasn't until three in the afternoon the next day that they reluctantly left the apartment. They had postponed leaving with little tasks like doing the dishes left over after breakfast and lunch, and exploring the new apartment. They would have waited longer but Naruto had to pack. As she threw clothing into a backpack Shikamaru sat on the bed writing on various pieces of paper and stuffing them into envelopes. His parents had asked where they had been since the day before; Naruto started telling them all about the new apartment and how she had wanted a day to relax before she had to leave.

"Do you think there will be a place to wash clothing or should I pack enough clothing for a long stay?" Naruto asked, looking at the clothing she clumsily folded and shoved in the bag. "I still don't have a lot of outfits so I could pack all the clothing I can train in but then I'll still have the issue of cleaning the clothing."

"I'm sure they will have something if you're meant to train there for as long as it takes," Shikamaru assured before throwing a shirt at Naruto. "That's the only one of my shirts you're getting."

"You say that," Naruto teased, stuffing the shirt into her backpack. "What are you doing anyway?"

"Writing."

The woman huffed before crawling onto the bed and trying to peak at the words. When Shikamaru stopped her from seeing it Naruto instead kissed him. He started to return the kiss only for Naruto to jump back with a triumphant grin, waving the piece of paper in the air. As Shikamaru gave her a mocking frown she sat back and looked at the four words.

"What is this? Do all the envelopes have this in it?"

"Yes."

"Why so many?"

"So you can read one every day. There's enough to last you a month."

"And if I'm gone for longer than a month?" Naruto taunted, flashing the letter at him so he could see the words 'I love you, Naruto' written in his handwriting.

"Then start again from the start." Shikamaru grinned, snatching the paper back and putting it in an envelope to finish off the pile. "This way you can remind yourself that my feelings haven't changed, no matter how long you have to be gone for."

Naruto moved closer. "That's really sweet." She slid her arms over his shoulders, kissing him. "You know that you're too good for me, right?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "If you say so. Just don't go telling everyone that. I like to encourage the opinion that I'm cold and logical."

"Who actually thinks that about you?" laughed the blonde.

"Most people really. Anyone I don't really know well, those who mainly know me from missions. I like it though, it discourages people from putting their noses into my life."

"But you've never been cold to me, even before we were friends."

He shrugged again. "I've always liked you, even when I just thought you were a funny kid."

"Well, I'll keep your secret." Naruto smiled, kissing him again before grabbing the stack of envelopes to put them in her bag. As she did so the bedroom door flew open.

"Hey, you two," Uncle Inoichi practically cheered.

Whether he honestly thought he was succeeding in masking his true intentions when barging in the room was unclear. Either way Naruto and Shikamaru shared a discreet eye roll before looking at the man.

"How's it going, Uncle Inoichi?" Naruto asked, barely repressing the snicker that Shikamaru could hear.

"I was just wondering if you needed help packing," Uncle Inoichi said whilst he cast his eyes over the bedroom Naruto had been 'sharing' with Ino. He seemed relieved to see that Shikamaru was sitting on the bed whilst Naruto was on the floor in front of her bag.

"No thanks, I'm finished." Naruto smiled, zipping up her backpack.

"Oh, um, well, do you want to come out into the living room, so that everyone can spend time with you before you leave," suggested Uncle Inoichi.

"Subtle," Shikamaru sniggered. He got off Naruto's bed, cleaning up the writing utensils. After that he held his hand out to Naruto, pulling her to her feet. He kept hold of her hand as they followed the blond man into the lounge room. Once Inoichi was certain the two teens wouldn't retreat to the bedroom he wondered off into the kitchen.

Ino, Ryota, Hinata, Airi, and Eiji were sitting around the coffee table. Eiji and Ino were discussing the medical treatment Ino was giving Aunt Momiji. The older woman had became stronger, if only slowly. The treatments had taken a step forward when Sai had dug up the scroll containing the jutsu that had been used. Naruto had commented to Shikamaru that it had taken Sai a week straight to find it. Airi was happily laughing at her brother as he tried to hold a conversation with Hinata who was too busy blushing and stammering to converse. Although Shikamaru knew his cousin well, he couldn't tell if Ryota's attentions towards Hinata were out of amusement at her actions or because he had genuine feelings for the woman. Shikamaru didn't worry though, he knew his cousin would never push the joke far enough to hurt Hinata, since he clearly saw her as a friend at the least.

He and Naruto sat down on one of the couches. Instead of joining into the conversations Naruto leant into Shikamaru, lazily playing with her necklace as she relaxed against him. With a chuckle he started running his fingers through her hair after pulling the elastic out. When she pouted he just smirked at her, putting her elastic on his wrist so it mirrored his that she still wore. Instead of trying to get it back she nipped playfully at his arm before going back to lounging against him.

"Naruto," Hinata started, clearly just noticing the blonde and feeling relieved at a distraction, "I like your necklace. Where did you get it?"

"Shikamaru gave it to me." Naruto stopped playing with the pendant so that Hinata could get a better look at it.

"It was meant to be a birthday present," the Nara explained as he wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist.

"Did you forget to hide it, cuz?" Ryota asked with a laugh.

"He's not you! You always leave people's birthday presents out in the open. You always ruin the surprise for me," Airi teased.

"At least I've never forgotten your birthday. Where's my praise for being a great brother?"

"We share the same birthday!" Airi laughed as she hit Ryota in the face with a pillow.

"When I was your age we didn't hit our siblings with pillows," Ryota huffed.

"What? Seven minutes ago."

"Exactly!"

Shikamaru snorted at his cousins' behaviour before Ino reminded him of the fact they hadn't told everyone something.

"Looks like you'll have to buy Naruto another gift to give her on her birthday."

Naruto and he shared a look before Naruto cleared her throat. "Nah, he doesn't need to do that."

"Of course he does! Your boyfriend should give you a gift on your first real birthday," Airi stated, only to pull an uncomfortable face. "I hope you don't mind me bringing up the fact of your…um…"

"Lack of birthdays? Not at all. And Ino, I haven't had a chance to tell you, but I'm leaving on a mission tomorrow, and I most likely won't be back before my birthday."

"What, no!" Ino gasped.

"And if Naruto does get back within the two weeks we won't be holding a party for her birthday," Shikamaru instructed, watching Ino frown in confusion. "Naruto wants a quiet birthday after everything that's happened."

"I guess the birthday girl should get what the birthday girl wants," Eiji reasoned with a shrug. "I hope the mission isn't dangerous."

"It has its risks but it'll be worth it." Naruto shrugged, though Shikamaru could hear the slightest tremor in her voice.

It was wise though, that she didn't explain that the 'risk' was death and the Nine-Tails running ramped. Although Shikamaru did have fear buried deep in his stomach, he knew that he had nothing to worry about. Naruto had taken some of the most close-minded, arrogant, and aggressive people in the village and made them some of her biggest supporters. One giant fox with an anger management issue would be no trouble for her.

"When do you leave?" Airi asked, running her hand over her husband's back to remove the tension he was feeling.

"Tomorrow morning," Naruto sighed, "but in the mean time I'm here with you guys."

"Mum is cooking Naruto a goodbye dinner tonight, so that's something."

He was glad that the group didn't insist on fan fair for Naruto's last dinner. He could tell that Naruto just wanted to be left alone. Whenever the others were distracted, Shikamaru noticed that Naruto would let her smile slip just a little and she would look nervous, or even frightened. Her father, the Fourth Hokage, had put the Nine-Tails in her, with a specially designed seal because, even before meeting her he had known that she could do what the previous Jinchurikis had perhaps never even been able to comprehend. There was no denying though, that there were dangers. To pretend that there wasn't would to be an idiot. And Naruto was no idiot.

Hinata said goodbye to them all shortly before Yoshino and Aunt Momiji announced that dinner was ready. Aunt Momiji asked Naruto about her new apartment as they ate. Ryota, who sat beside him, had bumped his fist against Shikamaru's knee, in the only form of silent support he could give. Shikamaru was thankful for it, even if he didn't really need it anymore. He knew that Naruto's apartment was a haven for both of them, not just the blonde. He couldn't exactly announce that to his cousin though. Ryota would want to know what he meant by that and what Naruto had done to make him feel that way. If his cousin was to ask those questions, Shikamaru would not be able to hold back his blush.

A quiet dinner seemed to be exactly what Naruto needed, especially when it was followed up with her lying her head on Shikamaru's lap as he read a book and ran his fingers through her hair. Any fear or tension she had held throughout the day melted away under his fingers. She gave a soft whine when he moved his hand away from her head. When that didn't make him start again she peaked one eye open.

"You're falling asleep. You should go to bed."

"Only if you come with me," she whispered back.

She gave him a look that made his insides flip and his heart to race. Looking around he noticed that the only other person awake was Ino. Noticing this, Naruto stood up, taking his hand and pulling him off the couch.

"We're going to head to bed," Naruto told Ino, making the other blonde look up from her notes.

"Good night. And, Naruto, if I don't see you before you leave, good luck on your mission, and I'll see you when you get back."

Naruto nodded before the two said goodnight to Ino. Shikamaru let Naruto lead him by the hand into their bedroom but the moment the door was closed he pulled her to him, kissing her deeply. He held her close as thoughts he desperately wanted to voice washed through his mind.

Don't go!

Stay with me

Stay hidden.

Please be here when I come back from this war.

Please don't find out about the war!

Don't go!

Knowing he couldn't actually say any of that he let the words be lost between their lips. Part of him wished that Naruto could tell what he wanted to say but he knew that she couldn't do as he asked. She had to leave, she had to leave him, and eventually, she would find out about the war and when she did, she would rush in to help anyone she could. He just hoped that when that time came that they had dwindled the enemy's numbers. But that was something he could leave until tomorrow to worry about. At that moment he just wanted to focus on Naruto. The touch of her lips, the feel of her skin under his fingertips, and the feeling of safety they had that would vanish completely in the next couple of days. The soft moan that Naruto gave into his mouth certainly helped with redirecting his attention.

/ / / / / /

He woke up before Naruto, giving him the opportunity to kiss her awake. When she opened her eyes she gave him a soft smile as she stretched. She sighed when she saw the clock though.

"I have to meet Captain Yamato at the east gate in an hour," she lamented.

"I hate that it's so soon," Shikamaru agreed.

With clear reluctance, Naruto got up and darted from the room to have a shower. It seemed only moments later Shikamaru was walking Naruto to the gate to meet the rest of the team that was journeying with the blonde. Captain Yamato was talking to another man who Shikamaru assumed was from the Sealing Corp.

The two stopped just out of ear shot of the older men before Shikamaru pulled Naruto close. "Try to be safe cause I'm going to be pissed if you don't come back to me. I've grown kind of fond of your company."

Naruto gave a snort of laughed. "Well, with that incentive how can I not come home?"

"And don't forget the letters I wrote you. Whilst I will work hard to convince you again that I love you when you get home it would be nice if we could just pick up from where we left off."

"I suppose I can read the letters," Naruto commented in a voice that sounded as though it was a lot of effort for her. "And I have something to tell you when I get back."

"Can't you tell me now?" he asked, only getting a cheeky smile and a shake of the head in reply. "Why not?"

"It's more fun this way. Plus now you can know what it feels like whenever I've left, not knowing what I was coming back to."

"Troublesome woman!" Shikamaru playfully snapped, silencing her laugher with a kiss.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Naruto promised before she kissed him goodbye. With one last smile she stepped out of his hold and made her way over to the waiting men. With a wave at Shikamaru she walked out of the gate.

Heaving a melancholy sigh Shikamaru turned and made his way back to the estate, already running through the formations that had been planned for the army made up of all the various ninja villages. He had been informed the other day by his father that Shikamaru was being placed as the strategist in one of the largest squadrons, meaning his strategies could spell the failure of the war. However, he wasn't going to let himself fail. Not just for Naruto, but for those he will be fighting beside.

The next chapter will probably be very loooooooong. I might end up cutting it in half but probably not so it could take a fair while to update, especially with Christmas coming up. R and R