Naruto woke up more comfortable than she could ever remember being in her entire life. Warmer too. Heat wrapped around her ever so snuggly, causing her in her half-lucid state to burrow herself even further into the source of his great warmth. A sigh of contentment inevitably escaped her chest, and it only grew when the arms wrapped around her flexed ever so slightly and pulled her closer to his chest. Her eyes fluttered open dreamily, her lips curled upwards as she took a whiff of the enticingly familiar smell sandalwood and cigarettes.

Shikamaru was still asleep as he gently pulled her frame near. Naruto smiled up at his resting face, her eyes tracing his features as he slept. He looked younger like this. Almost… vulnerable. She had to stifle a laugh at that thought, for Shikamaru was never one to call vulnerable. However sleeping like this, his features relaxed and his calculating eyes closed, he truly looked like a normal boy of 18. A devastatingly unfairly handsome boy, but a normal one nonetheless.

And Kami above he really was unfairly handsome. A perfectly sculpted jaw and high cheekbones, his lips pursued ever so slightly in his slumber. His hair was loose for once, tendrils falling across his forehead and covering his eyes. His eyelashes were long and curled, almost unfairly as truly no male should be able to boast eyelashes such as those. Naruto let her gaze drag downwards, from his Adam's apple to his defined collarbones and muscles. He slept shirtless, a fact Naruto had intimately come to learn in the last few days. A fact that often caused Naruto to go multiple nights without sleeping. In the first night when Naruto stayed over at Shikamaru's, he acted like a complete gentleman by sleeping on the couch as she took his bed. For the last few nights however the two had to share a bed, as they did not know if anyone would want to confront them. It was something that Naruto had absolutely no problems with.

Yeah. Naruto could get used to waking up in Shikamaru's arms. Kami above, Shikamaru Nara really was the perfect specimen. Handsome, kind and ridiculously intelligent. A good man who would sacrifice his entire life for the future of Konoha. A man who risked his own romantic entanglements to assist Naruto. A man Naruto couldn't help but admire.

She fit perfectly in his arms, she reflected. Her head tucked under his, her body molded seamlessly along his. Her soft curves meeting his hard muscles in a delicate hold. Her fingers digging into this back as his press into her waist. Her lips gently caressing the pulse point on his neck throughout the night. Unwittingly her lips pursued even further, brushing across his cool skin as his arms tightened even further around her lower back.

Slowly she dragged her hands from their comfortable position on his back around his body to rest firmly on his abdomen. She had been unnaturally curious about his abs since the first time she had seen him shirtless all those days ago. Tentatively she let the tips of her fingers trail across his stomach, watching with unabashed curiosity at the goosebumps that arose in the wake of her ministrations. Back and forth she slowly dragged her fingers, her nails lightly scraping the skin as she goes. Two days ago, during the exciting time they had before getting caught by Ino and Sakura, Naruto was a little too over stimulated to truly appreciate the sheer masculinity that was Shikamaru's body. Now, however, she was not letting the opportunity slip her by.

"Having fun there?" A low drawl interrupted her devotions, lips softly brushing against her ear as her stomach clenched.

Naruto halted her actions suddenly, her face rapidly turning red as she finally woke up enough to realize what she was doing. A chuckle cut through her embarrassment, deep and groggy and seriously how was a chuckle attractive?!

"If you wanted to play with me," Shikamaru huskily whispered in her ear, "all you had to do was ask."

Naruto gulped, her voice shaky as she attempted to respond flippantly, "Y-you're just teasing me again, aren't you?"

Slowly— carefully, she raised her blue eyes to meet his. Dark eyes stared back at her, with no trace of humor to be found. Instead a searing look scorched her very soul, and oh Kami was that lust?

"Sh-Shika?" Naruto stuttered nervously, her skin tingling as Shikamaru used his tight hold on her to bring her even closer, their chests practically plastered together and lips mere millimeters apart.

"Trust me Naruto," Shikamaru drawled, his thumb coming to rest ever so gently on her bottom lip, "not a single man in this world is stupid enough to joke when there's a girl as beautiful as you in his bed."

Naruto's brain short circuited. All of a sudden there was nothing in the world but she and this gorgeously masculine specimen who held her close. She inhaled sharply, and all thoughts of the future just melted away. There was no Temari; no complications nor secret missions. There was just Naruto and Shikamaru and Kami above she was not going to let this opportunity slip away. Not with him.

Naruto tilted her head upwards, ever so slowly, and just as her lips were to meet his a knocking at the door interrupted her actions. Jolting away from her, Shikamaru sat up in his bed and ran a hand through his hair, "Who could that be?"

Naruto scowled angrily, softly muttering, "I don't know, but whoever it is, I'm going to kill them."

Shikamaru shot the disgruntled blond a smirk before launching out of his bed and lazily making his way to the door. Naruto slammed back down onto the bed, throwing her arm over her eyes as she silently screamed. What. The. Fuck. Was. THAT?!

"Sai," she heard Shikamaru's unamused voice greet, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for Dickless; Beautiful told me that she might be here," Sai answered in his creepy faux cheerful tone.

Naruto heard Shikamaru sigh, "Ino always was one to take too much stock in gossip, but Naruto has no reason to be here."

Naruto gently hopped from the bed, slowly creeping her way along the wall to peer carefully out of the bedroom door in order to catch the odd interaction. Her heart hammered in her chest as Sai tilted his head in confusion, "Beautiful told me that you and Dickless have been working on an assignment together. She thought she may have accidentally slept over. Is she not here? I couldn't find her home."

Shikamaru dragged a hand down his face, his voice still laden with sleep, "Sai, I haven't seen Naruto since last night. Knowing her she's probably training or something equally as ridiculous at this time of day."

Sai shook his head, the stupid smile still fixated on his features despite the oddly somber tone of voice he employed, "I already checked, she's not in any of her normal training fields."

The Nara visibly bit back a groan, as though the conversation was physically draining him, "Look Sai, I genuinely don't care about where Naruto could be. She's the strongest ninja in this village, so I'm sure nothing happened to her. She probably got drunk again and crashed at Sasuke's place."

Sai's smile turned visibly more genuine as he replied, "Oh. I haven't thought about that. Yes, it does seem plausible. Thank you, Lazy!"

Shikamaru scowled as he waved the former Root member off, "Yeah, yeah. Try not to ever wake me up before noon again."

Hearing the door slam shut, Naruto crept out of the bedroom, her face contorted in confusion, "Ino kept her mouth shut?"

Shikamaru sighed, "It looks like it. Gossiping to Sai was a perfect opportunity, but it seems like she held back."

Naruto tilted her head to the side as she jutted out her lower lip in concentration, "But why? It's not like Ino to let such a good rumor slide."

The Nara shut his eyes in exasperation, "We always knew that it was a possibility, Naru. Ino does care about Temari's feelings after all, and while she's probably cursing me for being a 'two-faced bastard', she probably doesn't want to risk Temari finding out about my 'betrayal'. It's all just too troublesome."

Naruto marched towards the lazy man, interlocking their fingers before forcibly pulling him towards her body, snaking her arms around his torso in what she hoped was a comforting hug, "You're not really betraying Temari, you know."

Shikamaru hesitated for a beat before wrapping his arms around her, "Temari and I broke up far before we got involved, Naruto. There's no need for you to feel guilty, I am more than capable of making my own choices."

Naruto tilted her head back to grin up at the man, her heart hammering as he let a lazy smirk crawl up onto his face. She always found that expression ridiculously hot. Wrapping her hands around her neck, Naruto stood on the tips of her toes and locked her lips with his.

Kami, it was just as good as she remembered. For a moment there she had wondered whether or not her mind had been playing tricks on her regarding the last kiss they shared, because there was no way it was actually as good as she remembered. She was glad that her memory proved to be correct, a fact she took much joy in as Shikamaru moved his lips against hers, his fingers gently gripping her waist.

From the other side of the window, Sai watched dispassionately as he quietly whispered, "I knew it."

From where Shikamaru was currently peppering kisses on Naruto's neck with such efficiency that she barely heard him, he whispered, "Step two is complete, Sai is definitely watching."

Naruto masked her mischievous grin of victory with a loud moan that Shikamaru inflicted, shivering in his arms as he used that sinfully wicked tongue of his to bring her to ecstasy. She really hoped that Sai was as much of a voyeur as she presumed, because she didn't want this to end anytime soon.

Naruto found herself being walked backwards, Shikamaru's grip on her waist tightening as he pushed her on the couch and climbed on top of her. For a moment he detached his lips from hers, smirking at the moan of protest she let out. She knew that she should be embarrassed by just how passionately she was reacting to him, but she just couldn't help it. Shikamaru Nara was just too damned good at this.

His lips quickly found her neck, sucking, biting and kissing in different intervals as Naruto squirmed beneath him. She fit perfectly against him, he noticed. His knee resting between her legs as her entire body lifted off the couch in a desperate attempt to mold with his. With one hand held at her waist, he kept her firmly planted onto the couch. Shikamaru didn't think he could handle it if Naruto insisted on teasing him any further with that body of hers. His other hand wove through her long blond locks, tilting her head backwards to give him more access to her neck.

Shikamaru had been practically dreaming at the thought of being in this exact position for the last two days, ever since the last time Naruto had her lips locked with his. He shouldn't feel this good with Naruto, he knew. Not when he was in love with another woman. But Naruto was unjustly hot, so it technically wasn't his fault. Perhaps if he repeated it to himself a few more times he just may believe it himself.

She was too good at this, Shikamaru reflected as she scraped her nails along his bare back. But she was a virgin, of this he was certain. Hell, he was fairly certain that two days ago he had even stolen her very first kiss. He should feel bad about this. He should feel like an awful person taking advantage of a beautiful young woman, but frankly he couldn't bring himself to care. Not when Naruto kept moaning in his ear, and really he should have known that she was loud in bed.

With that he forcibly forced his thoughts to turn elsewhere, lest he start contemplating seeing his fellow partner in more intimate scenarios. For this he thanked whichever deity that watched over him that Sai was still being a perverted voyeur, because the pale effeminate boy served as a great turn-off. If Shikamaru was in this situation without the fear of a peeping Tom… well… he wasn't sure that there was a thing alive that could have stopped him from escalating this current situation.

Not that he would have been here, making out with Naruto on his couch, if it weren't for the fact that Sai was watching… although he didn't really believe that. This morning served as great proof that regardless of this mission, Naruto was just as attracted to him as he was to her. Now wasn't that just a concerning thought, he was almost afraid on how he would act on that tidbit of knowledge if things kept progressing this way between them.

Temari. Right. He just had to kept reminding himself of the woman he was in love with, the one who would inevitably be heartbroken at the knowledge that Shikamaru was sleeping with a girl she considers a friend. Even worse, he was sleeping with a girl who could definitely kick her ass. Shikamaru Nara almost groaned, it seemed like he had a type: hot blonds who could fight better than most.

Being with Naruto like this probably should have been a betrayal to Temari. He didn't need to do this whole charade for Sai; Ino would blab sooner or later without Sai's assistance. However this was Naruto's idea, and frankly Shikamaru wasn't idiotic enough to say no. She thought that there was a high chance Sai would come looking for her if he hadn't seen her in a few days, and not finding her in her apartment would have him asking Ino, the only of the Konoha 12 who could stand being around him for extended periods of time, for assistance. If Ino were keeping quiet about what she had seen due to not wanting to hurt her friend Temari, then at the very least she wouldn't be able to help herself in telling Sai exactly where he could find the blond. And when Sai knows a secret, one can be certain that the entirety of Konoha will know soon enough if for no other reason than he couldn't differentiate between something intimate and something that should be made public knowledge.

So yeah, it was Naruto's idea. And he should have stopped her from forming it, really. But it was a good idea, and they were tight on time. Plus, Naruto Uzumaki really was way too fucking hot, the thought echoing in his head while Shikamaru bit back a groan as the girl gripped his hair and pulled his lips back to hers.

He quickly slid his tongue alongside hers, almost cheering as Naruto quickly relinquished control and allowed him to set the pace. The hand that had yet to move from her waist began traveling across her stomach, the tip of his thumb gently brushing against her breasts before traveling downwards once more. He laughed against her mouth as she let out a whine— yeah, she was definitely as attracted to him as he was to her. That was dangerous. Too dangerous. He had to stop.

Expanding his chakra in a small pulse, he noticed that Sai was no where near, probably having left soon after their displays of affection began. Slowly, reluctantly, Shikamaru peppered Naruto's lips with gentle kisses. One. Two. Three. Before finally easing away and raising himself from where he was molded against Naruto.

"He's gone," Shikamaru spoke gruffly, his voice laden with lust as he attempted to ease his bodies rather bold reaction to her. Not that he could help it. She was stupid hot.

Naruto could barely open her eyes, yet when she did even a moron could see the absolute desire that was reflected in her blue irises. Timidly she snaked an arm around Shikamaru's neck, pulling him down for one last searing kiss. She wasn't an idiot; there was no denying that she was attracted to Shikamaru, and he obviously had to feel some type of attractions towards her as well. So while she should probably feel embarrassed by this action, well, it wasn't like Shikamaru wasn't already vividly aware of his affect on her.

Naruto's eyes practically rolled to the back her head as Shikamaru gently caressed the strip of skin between her pants and shirt, his tongue knotting skillfully with her own. She almost saw stars when his other hand made her way down her thigh, picking it up and hooking her leg around his waist. She quickly used her leg to drag him lower, until every inch of her body was touching his, his flexing muscles hard against her curves. Fuck. It was dangerous how much power this man held over her.

Soon, much too soon in Naruto's opinion, Shikamaru pulled away, his ragged breathing mixing with her own as his face hovered a mere inch above her own. Dragging his thumb along her cheek, Shikamaru let out a small husky chuckle, the sound causing Naruto's nerves to stand deliciously on end.

"Well, I think we managed to convince Sai."

Naruto laughed, using the leg that was still around his waist to pull him down on her once more, her body joyfully reacting to the feel of Shikamaru molded against her, "Told you the pervert would be too curious to not want to watch."

Shikamaru clicked his tongue, "Think we can convince him to come back for an encore performance?"

Naruto's eyes darkened as she licked her lips, "I'd prefer no audience for our next performance, to be completely honest."

Nara dared another man to not kiss the blond had he been in his shoes. Because surely, no one could have resisted the urge to kiss the hot blond that was currently giving him such lustful bedroom eyes. And Shikamaru Nara had a strong resolve, but no resolve was that strong.

So without giving it another thought, he swooped down to kiss her once more. He can think about the consequences later.

Sai tilted his head in confusion as he stared back at Kiba, unsure as to why the mutt was being so odd.

Kiba stammered as his attempted to pick his jaw off the floor, "You're kidding me. Please, please oh Kami tell me that you're kidding me!"

Sai frowned a tad, his nose wrinkling in confusion, "I don't understand your reaction. Neji, Choji and a few others had the same odd response when I informed them. What is so grave about Lazy and Dickless having sex?"

Kiba noticeably flinched, his face pulled into a depressed frown, "Because it's not fair! How the fuck does Shikamaru Nara of all people keep sleeping with all of these hot blonds! First Temari, now Naruto!?"

Sai nodded in understanding, "Ah, I see. You wanted to sleep with Dickless instead."

Kiba sputtered, "I don't want to sleep with Naruto. It's just— uh— just…"

"…That you wanted to have sex with her?"

"NO! She's hot, okay?! I'm a male, I have eyes. And… and why Shikamaru!?" The Inuzuka bemoaned, his face drooping as though in agony.

Sai contemplated it for a few moments, "Well I suppose he is good at sex. He has the most experience in our age group after all."

Kiba turned green, "Dude! I don't want to think about Shikamaru's sex life. Ever."

"And yet you don't mind discussing Naruto's?" Sai questioned, genuinely confused.

Kiba's jaw dropped, "What? I— uh, no! I mean— um… shut up!"

"…Are you sure you don't want to sleep with Dickless?"

"NO! Wait— I mean YES! Wait… Ugh! You're infuriating!" Kiba sputtered out, turning on his heel and walking away from the effeminate man and his incessant questions. There was no way it was true, he decided. There was only one choice, he'd have to talk to Naruto about it himself.

Sakura winced as she took a sip of her drink, "Really now?"

Tenten nodded seriously, leaning forward in her seat as she shared the gossip, "It's true! I heard it from Lee who heard it from Kiba who heard it from Sai who witnessed the whole thing! Naruto and Shikamaru are hooking up!"

"That doesn't sound like a trustworthy source," Sakura attempted to say unconvincingly. She cannot believe that the two idiots had gotten caught again, a mere two days after being walked in on by Ino and herself. Really the two had to be more careful. Although it's all moot point now.

Tenten frowned, "Sai doesn't know enough social cues to lie about something like this, so it must be true. Did Naruto not tell you?"

Sakura shook her head, "If it is true, then obviously they wanted to keep it a secret. After all it could get a bit messy if everyone knew."

Understanding crept on the weapons mistress face, "Is Shikamaru cheating on Temari?"
"No," Sakura spoke forcefully, "They broke up over three months ago. Shikamaru would never cheat on Temari, never. He loves her."

Tenten snorted in her cup, " Oh please, if he really did love Temari then he wouldn't hop into Naruto's bed at the first opportunity."

Sakura's jaw dropped, "You can't be serious! You know they're not like that."

"Don't I?" Tenten questioned with a brow raised, "Sure the Naruto part is a bit confusing, I didn't even know she was interested in sex. But Shikamaru Nara has never kept his slag tendencies a secret."

"This is different," Sakura insisted, her face slowly turning red in anger.

"I thought you didn't know anything about their relationship," Tenten prompted, suspicion coloring her tone.

"I don't," Sakura answered uneasily, "But I know Naruto and Shikamaru. They're our friends, and they're not like that. How could you even say such cruel things about them?"

Tenten shrugged, "I haven't said a single thing that everybody isn't already thinking."

Sakura muttered darkly, "That's the problem."

Shikamaru calmly raised the cup of tea to his lips, softly blowing the smoke before taking a tentative sip, his eyes never leaving his host who sat before him, "I take it you've heard the rumors then?"

Hiashi hummed in affirmation as he poured himself another cup, "Are they true?"

The Nara raised a brow, "Does it matter?"

Hiashi clicked his tongue, a habit that Shikamaru had come to learn meant that the older man was amused, before speaking candidly, "I suppose not. Is Naruto safe?"

Shikamaru sighed, "She will be. The daimyo is many things, but he's not a moron. Insulting me is perhaps equal to insulting Tsunade herself, a risk no leader is willing to take. It may be a while before she is completely in the clear, however."

"I presume you mean to wait until Hiro is married and thus unavailable?"

The younger man nodded curtly, "You presume correctly. Until he is no longer looking for a bride, Naruto is in danger. The smartest action for now is to maintain the course, and for me to continue acting as her shield."

"And where does young Temari fall into all this?" Hiashi questioned.

Shikamaru chuckled lowly, "I wasn't aware you cared for my love life. Been keeping up with the civilian gossip, have you?"

"A mere observation from a concerned party, I assure you. We do not need strife with Suna over this; after all we both know how the Kazekage feels for your presumed paramour, and that is without taking into consideration his sisters feelings about the entire ordeal," Hiashi reminded the strategist.

Shikamaru frowned, "I can deal with Temari, she won't cause any issues. As for the Kazekage, Naruto is more than capable of handling any sort of response from him."

Hiashi chuckled, "Already have so much faith in your lover? Careful, Nara, people may start presuming that you're sincere in your affections."

Shikamaru smirked, "Kami forbid."

Walking down the crowded streets of Konoha, Naruto payed no attention to the gawking stares of her fellow citizens. She had long ago grown accustomed to the looks, remnants of her childhood notwithstanding, so it was with practiced ease that she shook off the curious bystanders and continued to stroll along unbothered by gossiping idiots.

Sai had blabbed, it was obvious from the incredulous looks that were being shot at her throughout her walk. She knew that he would, her teammate was a tad too predictable. She would have blushed at the thought of the entire village knowing the sordid details that had occurred this morning, but frankly she was still a bit too busy processing them herself.

What the fuck happened today?! Shikamaru Nara was hot, Naruto had long since come to terms with that fact. Hell, she'd even come to accept that it was obvious to Shikamaru himself how hot she found him. But to pull him down for another kiss when there was no audience to play for? Naruto would have run away in sheer embarrassment if it weren't for one thing: that the next kiss was initiated by Shikamaru himself.

Now that was giving her pause. Shikamaru Nara was still in love with Temari, it was obvious just by the way he spoke about the older woman. Yet he was quite responsive to her during their little moment earlier that day. She supposed he found her attractive…

Naruto shook her head forcibly, as though it would shake the thoughts from her brain. For some reason or another, despite his absolute love for Temari, Shikamaru Nara kissed her without the mission forcing him too. Well, she did kiss him first, but she supposed that was besides the point. Anyways, it wasn't as if the two did anything wrong. Sharing a kiss or two meant nothing in the grand scheme of things, and she was honest when she told Shikamaru that there was nothing wrong with the two sharing a casual relationship, fake or not.

She let out a bitter chuckle. There must be something seriously wrong with her. She was crushing on a man who was emotionally attached to another, and even worse: she was plotting just how to get said emotionally attached man to set aside his reservations for a few moments to at least get a bit physical with her.

Naruto supposed that she could blame Shikamaru and his skill with his tongue for the curiosity that was now sparked within her. To be honest, she had not even been kissed before Shikamaru pulled her to him two days ago when Ino threatened to barge in. She knew that Shikamaru was the most experienced out of the men in their age group; he made no secret to her that he was a bit of a slag. But even when he and Temari would break up, he never slept with someone that his girlfriend knew. Too messy, he claimed. Temari was too jealous a woman to handle knowing that a ninja who worked on a daily basis near Shikamaru had once shared a bed with him. Shikamaru had warned her that Temari may be petty, but Naruto had laughed him off claiming that after this whole charade was over the Suna ninja would understand and be relieved that the two had never actually been together.

Naruto knew that sleeping with Shikamaru probably wouldn't happen. She knew that even having the thought of sleeping with Shikamaru was a bad and dangerous one. But she couldn't help it. Ever since the first time Shikamaru had kissed her, she had been positively dreaming about ending up in his arms. But he didn't like her. He loved Temari.

Naruto let out a huff and she locked her hands behind her head. Well it wasn't as if Naruto wanted Shikamaru like that, he could keep Temari for all she cared. But while they were on a break, there was nothing wrong about having Shikamaru assist her with her more physical needs. Love had nothing to do with it. A casual relationship was both plausible and possible, now all she had to do was get Shikamaru to agree.

Finally she had arrived at her apartment, only to be startled by the dark countenances of her two closest companions.

"Naruto," Kakashi called darkly from his spot on her couch besides Sasuke, "we need to talk."