Gaara was the first to wake from their nap. At first, he was startled, but then he remembered that Shikamaru had joined him, and he had, revealed a large part of himself. Carefully, he reached down into his pants pocket and dug out his iPod and headphones. He popped the earbuds in and When I Get Up by Tegan and Sara played softly. He laid there, still, listening to the beautiful Sara's voice. Gently, he did as he had thought to do for so long, and put an arm around Shikamaru, holding him closer to his chest.
It was comfortable. It was..., different, but not in a bad way. He thought, he might actually feel something akin to happiness, being like this. Having told him of his life. It was strange, but it was..., a good kind. The next thing he would need to do, was keep his mask off when around others. He could start with when he was around Naruto.

A collaboration piece was coming up, it could begin when the two began work on that piece. Lost in thought, Gaara didn't notice Shikamaru wake and gaze at him with a slight smile.

"Would you like to get dinner with me?" Shikamaru asked, jolting him from his thoughts.

A blushing Gaara nodded as his sea-foam green eyes met light gray. Shikamaru smiled and took Gaara's pale hand and gave it a very light kiss.
Shikamaru stood first, stretching before moving aside so Gaara could also stand. Gaara got up, turning his iPod down further before following Shikamaru to the cafeteria.
Shikamaru chose pizza, while Gaara went with the spaghetti. Shikamaru chose the seats with Kiba, Naruto, Zaku, Hinata, Ino, Sai, and Choji. Gaara joined him, his mask having replaced itself, but no one seemed to notice as Gaara ate in silence, as Shikamaru laughed and joked with his friends.

Eventually, Gaara realized now would be the perfect time to speak with Naruto about his idea.

"Naruto, I have an idea for the collaboration project coming up."

"Yeah? What is it?" He asked with a grin, coming over to sit directly across from him. Gaara pushed his tray away and took his mini-notebook from his pocket.

"I will sketch the whole thing, and you, on one of the halves, will use your paints, while I simply shade the rest as I usually would."

Naruto looked doubtful and so Gaara further explained his idea, Naruto gradually warmed to it, getting rather excited about it too.
"Wow! This is gonna be awesome!"

Gaara chuckled softly at the blond's enthusiasm.
Kiba and Naruto left shortly after, leaving only Gaara and Shikamaru at the table.

Shikamaru looked over at Gaara and studied him a moment, he was maskless, smiling, and seemed at ease with himself and his surroundings.

Gaara saw Shikamaru looking at him and smiled, and it was a beautiful sight. Shikamaru smiled back and they left the cafeteria, holding hands.
Upon arriving in their room, Shikamaru somewhat gently, pressed Gaara up against the closed-door and kissed him passionately. A blushing brightly Gaara returned the kiss as best he could, still not quite sure what exactly he was supposed to do in this situation.
Shikamaru pulled away, leaning in close still, his nose touching Gaara's lightly.

Gazing into each other's eyes, Shikamaru moved and buried his face into his boyfriend's neck, his arms circling him and hugging him tightly.
"Sometimes, Gaara, I see how happy you could make me, and I can only hope, that I can make you feel the same way."

Of course, Gaara had no idea what to say to that, so he simply hugged Shikamaru back, blushing even worse than before. Shikamaru leaned up and gently pressed his lips to the back of Gaara's jaw bone before leaning away completely and just looking at him with a sleepy smile. He laughed at Gaara's blush and left him to stand, going to lay on his bed and do some homework.
Eventually, Gaara managed to get to his own bed, where he just laid, gazing at the ceiling, listening to One Bedroom by Yellowcard.

It was..., getting easier. Not only being with Shikamaru, but not wearing his mask. It had slipped completely when he was talking to Naruto. He withdrew his little notebook and began drawing in it. It was a small-scale sketch of himself, Naruto, Gaara, Kiba, and the others. In the sketch, he saw how happy he looked. How happy Shikamaru looked as he was glancing over at him.
Shikamaru thought Gaara didn't notice, but he did, he always did. He saw the concern, the hurt, the anger, the sadness. And so he was trying, trying to change for the better. If for naught else but his wonderful boyfriend. Something, he was still amazed that he had. It was..., still after all these months, unreal. He hadn't yet told Temari and Kankuro, and he wasn't sure if he should or even would.
He wasn't sure the point of it, nor what of their business it was.

For now, he would keep to himself, if he told them, it would be after he had shed his mask completely. For now, he had to focus on him and Shikamaru and of course, passing his classes.
He found his bag and took out his text book, finishing his psyche homework before he had to go to bed.

In the afternoon, he and Shikamaru went to breakfast in the cafeteria, Gaara leaving first, going to his psyche class.
That day, was an interesting segment on how emotions were expressed, repressed, and what was done in each situation. For homework, they were to write an essay on which they more often did and why, and look deeply into the why and speculate about the probably long-term consequences. They were to be honest, not to pick expressed just because it was "easier." They were to do the paper on real experience.
Gaara was deep in thought for the rest of the day, eventually straying to the library to begin his writing. He began again and again numerous times before finally figuring out how to properly begin it.
Shikamaru was in a more advanced psyche class, so he would give it to him to examine before he turned it in. See if there was anything that needed further clarification, if he repeated himself, or if he mislabeled anything.

Of course, when he got to their room, Shikamaru was fast asleep in his bed, his phone on the floor, just beneath his outstretched hand. Gaara smiled and draped a blanket over him. He laid in his own bed, checking his phone. He had messages from Shikamaru, asking after him, and then telling him he would be waiting for him in their room. Oops. Oh well, there was always tomorrow.

He rolled over, gazing at Shikamaru, he fell into a deep sleep, at peace.