Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

I know I've been gone for a while, but I've been working on this off and on for roughly a year and I'm glad that I finally got somewhere with it! It's not an inspired piece, instead this one comes entirely from my crazy brain. I hope you all like it!

I am currently working on several APiWaTW stories. I've got portions of the next three all in the works. At the same time, I am writing a second chapter to School's Out as I've received a particularly good response to that story and I had so many ideas that never made it into the first one that I may be able to actually use in this next piece. So there is a lot of work going on…it's just that none of it is remotely approaching completion.

Dropping In

Naruto Uzumaki had a habit of just dropping in on Shikamaru Nara.

Or at least, in recent nights he has.

In fact, every night it seemed like Naruto dropped in for a different reason.

The first night he had lost his key on a mission and didn't feel like breaking down his own door when he could just wait until his landlord was awake tomorrow to give him a new copy of the key.

Instead he had made his way quickly across town to the home of Shikamaru Nara, one of the ninjas that he had just returned from his latest mission with who would still be awake.

Having rapped lightly against the window with his knuckles, a confused Shikamaru slid open the pane of glass. "Naruto what do you want?"

"I'm locked out until morning. Can I crash here?"

With a sigh, Shikamaru had opened the window wide enough for Naruto to slip in, pulled a futon into his room from the hall closet and quickly had it set up on the floor for the blonde who happily fell asleep with a satisfied grin on his face and a mumbled, "Thanks."

The second night, Naruto had been training with the Nara until late at night on the compound grounds and was apparently just too tired to make the trek all the way back to his apartment.

"Is this going to become a thing?" Shikamaru had asked as he pulled the extra bedding out of his closet once again.

Naruto pulled a shocked and affronted face, "Do you want me, your dear friend, to collapse in the street of exhaustion?" He gasped dramatically and clutched at his chest and staggering into the wall.

Shikamaru's response was to snort and throw the pillow at his friend's head. "Make your own bed ass." He summarily dumped the rest of the bedding on the floor and climbed into his own bed, turning on his side and facing the wall.

Shifting of fabric alerted him to Naruto's movements around the room as he prepared himself for bed. "Thanks Shikamaru." Was whispered quietly into the night.

The third night Shikamaru could smell the bullshit as Naruto rubbed at the back of his head doing that smile so big that it took up half of his face, standing just outside of the Nara's window going on about how the pipes had burst and since they were fixing it he was out of a place to stay again.

In the middle of summer.

A mild summer.

Without any of the temperature fluctuations that would cause a pipe to rupture.

But Shikamaru knew that there had to be something else going on that Naruto didn't want to talk about. Something driving him out of his place every night and if the blonde didn't want to talk about it that was okay for now. If all he was asking for was a blanket and a spot on the floor to curl up – Shikamaru could give him that. It would actually be more trouble than it was worth to try and stop his fellow ninja who wasn't so bad as roommates went.

Not saying anything, Shikamaru opened the window wider and pointed to the bunched up blankets in the corner. He'd been too lazy to put things away so less work for him.

Quiet as a mouse, Naruto sorted out the bedding himself and by the time that Shikamaru had made it back to the room after hitting the bathroom, the blonde was already sleeping peacefully, a small smile on his face.

Shikamaru shook his head and climbed into his own bed, falling asleep to the sounds of Naruto's deep breathing.

The fourth night, Shikamaru had more trouble pushing down his concern.

As Naruto explained that his water was still shut off, the blonde's eyes darted away, unable to meet Shikamaru's questing gaze as the Nara watched his friend with narrowed eyes.

Pressing his lips together, Shikamaru filed his worry away in the back of his mind to be contemplated later and grabbed Naruto's shoulder before hauling the blonde in through the open window.

As he pulled clean sheets out of the closet, the others having been taking to the wash and were now hanging on a line outside, Shikamaru contemplating saying something to his friend.

It was clear that there was something up. Shikamaru had happened to go passed Naruto's building today and there had been no work crews, no irate tenants, and no frazzled landlord. The water tank on the roof seemed to be fully functional and a glance into Naruto's window showed no damage to the room within.

Okay, so maybe he wasn't just passing by, but he was worried about his friend who was seemingly fleeing the place that he had called home for most of his life. And consistently seeking refuge with Shikamaru. Not any of their other friends, all of whom would be more than willing to help Naruto.

No. He was only seeking shelter with Shikamaru.

Shikamaru paused a moment in the hall outside of his room. Long since having handed off the bedding to his friend and started about handling his own nightly routine. Was it something about him then? Was this less about not being in the rundown apartment and more about being with Shikamaru or in the Nara home?

Shikamaru scratched at the back of his head, unsure if he wanted to continue following that particular train of thought.

He re-entered his bedroom and Naruto was already curled up under the blanket.

But he wasn't asleep.

If it had been the first night, Shikamaru would have thought that the blonde was out like a light. But after sharing the small space of his room for several nights in a row, Shikamaru could recognize the breathing pattern, and knew it to be too shallow, too quick to be a sleeping Uzumaki.

Genuinely confused, Shikamaru climbed into his bed and turned to lie on his side facing Naruto. Watching the back of the boy who had grown up without anyone to do so. He remained silent watching the tension slowly flow out of the broadening shoulders.

He gnawed at his bottom lip as he contemplated the scenarios, noting idly that his friend had finally fallen asleep. It was with that knowledge that the Nara finally started to drift off himself.

The fifth night Naruto never appeared.

No, the Nara wasn't worried.

And no, he didn't show up twenty minutes early to his shift to check the mission logs.

And no, he didn't breathe a notable sigh of relief upon seeing the Uzumaki's name down on the list for an escort mission to the Land of Tea that was thought would last about a week.

Nope.

Not at all.

On the sixth night, Shikamaru tossed and turned and found himself unable to sleep, a problem that no Nara ever had seemed to have suffered. He couldn't put his finger on the reason why his mind was simply refusing to settle down.

In frustration, he tossed his sheets to the side and slipped out of bed.

Warm milk was supposed to help people sleep right?

He padded his way quietly to the kitchen and set the kettle on the stove as quietly as he could manage.

He puttered around, keeping his ears open so he could pull the kettle before it started to shriek and broke the calm silence of the Nara household.

He had just clicked off the gas when he heard the creak of the floorboard from the hallway just outside the kitchen.

Shikamaru sighed and rinsed water through the kettle, settling it in the sink before turning, leaning against the counter and sipping his warmed milk, his eyes settled on his father over the rim of the cup.

Shikaku Nara leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over a bare chest.

"No houseguest tonight?"

Shikamaru hadn't been aware that his parents had known about Naruto staying over – then again, his father was the Jounin Commander, it would make sense that he would be able to figure it out over the past week.

"On a mission." Shikamaru answered simply with a half shrug as he sipped again at the warm liquid.

"Any reason he can't stay at his own place?"

Shikamaru shrugged again. "I'm not inviting him. He shows up and it's too troublesome to send him away."

Shikaku cocked an eyebrow at his son. "I thought you don't like sleepovers."

As a child, Shikamaru had never wanted a sleepover. He didn't want to stay at other peoples' houses, and didn't particularly want them in his space either. So it was a fair enough observation from his father. So really, it was strange that he had allowed Naruto in at all on the first night, let alone all the times after that. But that first night at least, Naruto had had a legitimate excuse, had known that Shikamaru would still be awake, and it had been wholly logical to seek out the Nara for a place to crash.

Turning that over in his mind, Shikamaru responded with, "Like I said – too troublesome" in a mumble. Pushing himself away from the counter, he headed back to his room, warmed milk in hand.

"Bring him out for breakfast next time." Shikaku chuckled lightly, calling quietly after his son in the darkened hall. "You're keeping him shut up in your room like your little secret; don't forget to share him with the rest of the world!"

Shikamaru grunted and darted into his room tripping over the edge of Naruto's (when had the blonde been granted ownership?) discarded blanket, which he then kicked off, jerking the heaped bedding into the center of his floor.

He kicked the door shut with a thump and turned and found himself cocking his head, studying the pile of blankets. Bunched up as they were, there could have been someone sleeping away under them.

"I'm fucking pathetic."

He downed the milk like it was a shot, grimacing as it seared his throat. Finally he lay in his own bed and pulled the covers up and finally drifted off to a fitful sleep.

For nights seven, eight and nine, Shikamaru was off on a mission of his own, guarding a small caravan to a village on the edges of Fire country. It was a nice mission to be honest. Nothing of note happened and the people of the caravan listened and followed the directions of the ninjas without question. They made it to the village with plenty of time to spare and were sent on their way with a warm meal in their bellies.

And so what if it took Shikamaru a little longer than normal to fall asleep?

The tenth night, Shikamaru sat up reading a book and smiled in relief when a sharp rhythm was tapped out on the frame of his window.

Naruto looked up at him with a sheepish grin. Before he could even open his mouth to produce his latest excuse, Shikamaru had already tugged the blonde through the window and even helped him set up the blankets.

Shikamaru sleep deeply through the night and woke up well rested the next day.

The eleventh night, Shikamaru left the window open and had the bedding ready. He grunted when Naruto came in, looking up briefly from his book with a small grin before darting his eyes back to the story that was reaching a climax.

Naruto had a strange look on his face as he flopped onto the blanket and studied Shikamaru in silence.

Shikamaru felt his eye twitch with the audience. "I can't concentrate with you watching me…and I really want to finish this book tonight."

Naruto snickered a bit. "That's a good book." He said calmly, stripping off his orange jacket.

Shikamaru almost dropped the book. "You've read this?" His eyes focused on Naruto. Out of all of the boys of their year, Shikamaru figured he was the only one who liked reading, who did it for fun. The girls he could peg as readers, but not the boys and least of all Naruto.

Naruto nodded his head. "Yeah," Naruto grabbed the book, careful to slide his finger in the pages to keep Shikamaru's place, glancing at the cover with a bit of a faraway look in his eyes. "Jiraiya isn't necessarily someone who you want to be talking to all the time…not that he was always around." Naruto rolled his eyes for a moment, "And since I wouldn't know anyone in wherever we had stopped for the night, I needed something to do when I was resting after training. I would drop into the local library and read for a couple of hours, a couple days a week."

Naruto flipped the book around to see where his friend was in the book. "Oh good part!" He thrust the book back at Shikamaru, "Finish it before you go to sleep or it's gonna bug you!"

Shikamaru studied Naruto a moment longer as the boy slid off his trademark orange jacket. He vaguely noted the dampness at the edges of the blonde hair – at least the guy had showered – but he found himself not caring to question why the blonde was constantly dropping in at night, when he was paying rent on an apartment.

Or rather, he found himself slightly afraid of the real answer.

And not afraid for what it said about Naruto. He was afraid of what his lack of caring for an answer would say about him.

Shikamaru raced through the last few pages of the book, closing the cover with a smile on his face. A smile that grew when Naruto asked what Shikamaru thought of the main character's decisions at the end. The boys whispered a conversation into the darkness of the room until the unknowingly slipped away into slumber.

The next morning, Shikamaru tugged a nervous Naruto out into the rest of the house and right up to the breakfast table. Naruto sat stiffly, his eyes occasionally darting towards Shikaku who sat at the table reading some papers and Yoshino who flowed about the kitchen, before darting them down to where his hands clenched into his orange pant legs.

Yoshino had managed to place a fourth place setting mere seconds after Naruto had become visible to the adults in the kitchen, so when Naruto had reached the table there was already a place for him.

There was a wispiness in Naruto's eyes as he looked at the place setting that made Shikamaru's heart thud hard a few times in his chest.

The meal passed with light conversation between all four of them and Shikamaru viciously shoved down the bubbly pleased feeling that ballooned within him as his parents just spoke naturally with Naruto, leading to Naruto finally relaxing and joining in the conversation in his slightly too loud but totally Naruto way.. Also suppressed was the slightly hysterical urge to fight pump the air when Yoshino told Naruto that he was welcome in the Nara home any time.

The twelfth night once again found them apart, Shikamaru out of the village on a reconnaissance mission. But Naruto had found the lazy chuunin at the gate before his team had fully gathered, to say goodbye and to give Shikamaru something.

"The next one." He said quickly, thrusting a neon green covered book hard into the Nara's chest.

Shikamaru stared down at the offered tome. It was by the same author as the book he had finished the night before, the cover displaying the same characters racing through a copse of trees. Shikamaru held the book loosely in his hand and rooting around his mind for something to say.

"I didn't realize that there was a series…" he finally gulped out, finally tightening his fingers around the book, securing its position in his grasp.

"There are only two now, but the next one should come out next month!" Naruto pointed out with his megawatt smile.

Shikamaru returned the gesture and held up the book, "I'll start it if I have the chance."

The blonde clapped Shikamaru on the shoulder and wished him a good mission before darting off as the rest of Shikamaru's team arrived to set out.

There was a week of no nightly roommate, and Shikamaru found himself happier than usual to see the gates of his village come into view. They were a bit bruised and battered. The intelligence they had been operating off of had a few gaps and the team had ended up fighting there way out of a bandit stronghold, one that housed several missing nin of considerable strength.

Shikamaru's pack had been completely obliterated, but the book had been stored away in his weapons pouch, Kakashi-style, and he had a ridiculous sense of pride that he had kept Naruto's possession safe.

Having explained the mission and its outcome to the Hokage, the team turned to leave and head out to the various homes to sulk and heal up their injuries, or just shower and sleep in their own beds. Shikamaru found himself rather hoping that there might be a blonde waiting in the twilight outside of his bedroom window for him, but he was called back by Tsunade.

She had an envelope in her hand, his name scrawled over the front of it in Naruto's barely readable handwriting. "The next time you two think to use me as your mail carrier I'm going to kick both of your asses!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "I didn't ask you to do anything," he muttered even as he grabbed the letter.

"Guilt by association." She grumbled back. "Now get the hell outta here!"

Shikamaru ducked something being tossed at his head and slipped out of the office, slipping his finger into a small gap between the sealed pieces of the envelope and ripping it open as quickly as he could without tearing the letter within.

The Nara sighed upon reading the note, Naruto was off on a mission of his own and he didn't know when he would return, but they could talk about the book when he got back. With a chagrinned smile Shikamaru smacked the letter against his hand before shaking his head ruefully. What was wrong with him? Why was he so disappointed?

It was a month before Naruto graced the Hidden Leaf with his presence once more.

And he was hurt.

Shikamaru had had an appointment with Tsunade and had walked into her office to find a battered looking Sai standing all alone delivering the report for his team that was in the hospital treating injuries sustained in the course of their mission.

Shikamaru's had felt a chill sweep through his body and forced himself not to stutter through his own report after Sai had been dismissed.

He slunked back to his own home, mood killed, knowing that visiting hours were over and there wasn't anything that he could do for his friend anyway.

But the silence and emptiness of his bedroom was oppressive. He glanced at his bedside table where Naruto's book, more battered than it had been when it had been given to him, was sitting, a bright orange covered book laying atop it. The next book in the series had come out while Naruto was out and Shikamaru had bought it just the day before though he hadn't had the chance to read it yet.

After an hour more of tossing and turning, he finally gave up and shoved the covers off of him and slipped on a pair of pants over his boxers. He snatched up the books off of his bedside and slipped out of the open window into the night.

It was easy to track down Naruto's room, it was the only one with the lights still on and the boy's bright blonde hair could be easily seen from Shikamaru's perch on the rooftop across the street.

Using chakra to attach himself to the wall, he rapped a knuckle on the window, smirking at the surprised jerk of Naruto's head at the noise and widening of his eyes when he saw the reason for it.

He pushed open the stiff window which creaked rather loudly for a moment before jumping inside.

Naruto was covered in ribbons of bandages, his right arm, including his hand and fingers were complete encased, his left arm seemed to be wrapped to midway of his forearm, a large piece of gauze had been taped into place on the right side of his neck, and the right side of his face was bruised deep purple and slightly swollen with some additional cutting there.

Shikamaru studied his appearance for a moment. Naruto had insane healing abilities – if this is what he looked like now, hours after he had been admitted, Shikamaru didn't want to think about what he must have been like when he arrived. He had already heard the report out of Sai, how Naruto had been tossed and dragged down a jagged cliff face. How despite that Naruto had gotten up and continued to battle. How he had made clones that carried the rest of his team to safety, and a good chunk of the way home until Sakura regained consciousness and started to treat the teams as best she could in the field, stabilizing them enough to get them all the way home.

"You look like shit." Shikamaru said mildly, breaking the silence.

Naruto snorted, then grimaced, rubbing his neck lightly. "You should see the other guy," he quipped, his voice raspy and not quite above a whisper.

Shikamaru pulled over a chair resting against a wall, he quickly spun the chair and straddled the seat, his chest bumping up against the back of the chair.

"Look what I've got," he held up the books. He passed the original one back, "Sorry about the damage – got in a bit of a spot on the mission, but it's still readable."

Naruto shrugged. They were ninjas, they know better than most that things can just be replaced.

"But I grabbed the new one from the store."

He smiled as Naruto's eyes lit up and he dropped the book on the bed. "Here, welcome home/get well gift." He made a mental note to go out and buy another copy later.

As Shikamaru was finally drifting off to sleep in that chair, his head propped up on his arms, it occurred to him that this was the first time he went to Naruto's room. And he also acknowledged fully that he slept better when the blonde was around.

He also admitted to himself why that was, as a small smile crept across his face and he was out.

There wasn't much keeping track after that point. Either Naruto would climb in through Shikamaru's window, or Shikamaru would amble up to the blonde's door.

He had laughed so hard when he finally got Naruto to admit that he had been making things up just to stay in Shikamaru's room.

"The first night was totally real!" Naruto had protested.

Shikamaru chuckled, "I know, I know."

"…and the second night was convenient…." He added, still defensive.

Shikamaru hummed in response. "Yeah, but nothing ever happened to your pipes…"

Naruto scratched the back of his head. They were in Naruto's apartment at the moment, the blonde sitting cross-legged and Shikamaru having hopped up on the kitchen table situated only feet away. "Yeah well…"

Shikamaru calmed himself a bit. He had been wondering, but unable to bring himself to ask for fear that it would shift the balance of the whole structure that they had built up around this odd…friendship…

However, right now, it was a perfect set up. There would be no better way to ask, no better time to bring it up.

"Why did you keep coming back?"

Naruto flushed pink, ducking his head into his pillow and mumbled out the answer into the stuffing that would not respond and wouldn't judge him.

"Naruto," he uttered softly.

Naruto pushed himself up enough to free his mouth, but his face was still turned away so Shikamaru couldn't read him as well as he would have liked. "Promise you won't laugh?"

Shikamaru nodded, the added, "Promise." Contrary to their light-hearting teasing a moments before, Shikamaru could feel tension and nervousness in the air, coming from both parties.

"I slept better there." Naruto spoke softly, so quietly that Shikamaru almost missed it. "Even if it was just blankets on the floor, I woke up more rested than I could ever remember."

Shikamaru wanted to respond, to say it was the same for him, but it all caught in a lump in his throat. Without input from the Nara, Naruto plowed on.

"I've always had to sleep lightly. At the orphanage, everyone steals everyone else's stuff, then once I moved here…it's not the best part of town and with me being me….yeah, so I was always afraid at night, especially as I was alone, and then on missions you have to be ready to jump into action at any moment…" He rambled on.

Shikamaru pushed his lips together in a line as he experienced the slightly queasy feeling that they all felt whenever Naruto's childhood was brought up. Having gotten to know Naruto, having actually tried to get to know him, after they all became ninja, they all felt horrible about the way that he had been treated as a child, and especially that none of them had really taken the time or put forth the effort to do anything about it.

"But with you…" Naruto's mouth gaped and he finally turned to check Shikamaru's reaction and the Nara could see a bared layer of fear in his friend's eyes. Naruto gulped at whatever he was reading off of the Nara and continued, "I slept so deeply. I never knew what it was to be truly rested until I woke up that first morning, not a bit of sleepy at all."

Naruto was blushing so badly that even his hands were red and Shikamaru was still struggling with the lump in his throat that was holding onto the confession that he loved it too, that he looked forward to the sense of the Uzumaki just feet away, that he worried about the blonde, more than he worried about anyone else, when his place was empty at night.

"It wasn't just the house though." Naruto's hair was shadowing his face but Shikamaru could see teeth worrying a bottom lip. "At the hospital, the nights you come here…I sleep really well then too…it's you." Naruto forced his head up again and locked his eyes on Shikamaru, something desperate in them, something powerful and terrifying.

Shikamaru swallowed loudly and gave his friend a nod. This moment was one that he was going to remember for the rest of his life, he could taste the anticipation in the air. His heart slammed about his chest like a rampaging rhino, seemingly determined to break free, not caring about the joyful pain it was causing. A slight tremor had taken up residence in his hands and he clenched them tight in an attempt to still them. His jaw creaked with pressure as he clenched tight to stop the chattering from affecting his hearing anything that Naruto was going to now say.

"You make me feel safe." Naruto whispered, looking mildly frantic after it had escaped him.

Shikamaru took that in. That would be an incredible admission from someone like Naruto. Never, at any point in his life, had the boy felt completely safe. Before he became a ninja, he was constantly dodging the snarks and glares and other things from the town, he always needed to look over his shoulder. After he became a ninja, of course he wasn't safe – part of the job was putting your life on the line, being in scenarios that would scare the piss out of normal people. To have found anything that took that fear away, even if only for a while, Shikamaru would clutch himself to it as tightly as he could, and he knew that that was exactly what the blonde had been doing.

Shikamaru wasn't sure when he had moved, but suddenly he was sitting on the bed, and his arms were going tight around Naruto's shoulders as he pulled him close.

Naruto wasn't the only person who felt safety in this relationship.

Shikamaru did too.

And the last thing that he was going to do was let it go.

So when sleeping at each other's places turned into sleeping in each other's beds, Shikamaru couldn't say that he was surprised. The trust that they had placed in each other had grown into something deeper. A desperate need to know that the other was safe, to be able to reach out and grasp them. Sure Naruto had said that it was because it was winter and it was getting cold and sleeping on the floor was like sleeping on ice before Shikamaru turned up the sheets and wordlessly invited the blonde in. Shikamaru hadn't had to say anything when they had gone to Naruto's place for the night, Naruto had just wrapped a strong arm around his middle and tossed him onto the bed.

Shikaku Nara had said nothing the night that he walked into his son's room one night, seeing his son propped up in the corner of the bed, book held aloft in his left hand, with Naruto thoroughly latched around Shikamaru's middle snoozing softly, Shikamaru's right harm wrapped securely around the blonde's shoulders. The man had merely quirked an eyebrow and sent his son a knowing look that his son elected to ignore.

He also choose to ignore the light blush that dusted across the tops of his cheeks as his father chuckled before turning and walking from the room.

It took the interference of Chouji for Shikamaru to finally admit it out loud.

"Are you ever going to tell me what's going on with you and Naruto?"

That was a blunt question. Blunter than he was used to from his kind-hearted friend, though the Akimichi had hardened since the death of their beloved teacher a few weeks ago.

Shikamaru noticed the hard line of his friend's jaw and realized with a startling jolt that the Chouji in front of him was a bit different from the Chouji in his mind. And with a sinking feeling, he realized why – because by increasing the amount of time he was spending with Naruto, meeting for meals, training together, relaxing together, even in times outside of their nightly sleepovers, he was sacrificing time with others, even his best friend.

And Chouji was changing and growing, the same and Shikamaru, except for the first time in their lives Shikamaru wasn't around to see all of the changes happening.

He remember his father's jibe from a while back, about hiding Naruto away from the world – his father was chiding him for trying to keep Naruto as something separate from the rest of his life. Now, by focusing on Naruto, he had cut himself off from the rest of the people that were important to him.

He had to bring these points of focus together if there was to be any hope of him being able to maintain these relationship, which he very much did.

Shikamaru sighed and tugged idly at the hem of his shirt, looking across the table at his friend at the Akimichi's favorite BBQ restaurant.

"It's…complicated…"

Chouji snorted. "You hate complicated. You don't do complicated. If it's really complicated, you would be running at top speed in the other direction."

Shikamaru fiddled with his chopsticks, "Unless it was worth it, even with the complications." He spoke softly, studying his friend, trying to see if Chouji was catching the true meaning behind his words.

The fact that the chubby boy's eyebrows disappeared into his fringe, mouth dropping open slightly in shock, showed that even if Shikamaru had been neglecting their friendship somewhat, Chouji still understood him well.

"Oh…how did this start?" Chouji reached to the grill and snagged a piece of meat before it all burned.

"Um…complicated…" Shikamaru scratched the side of his head. How did he explain this? It had started on accident, and then neither had wanted it to start. Progression from there had seemed so natural.

Chouji just shot him a look. Nonverbally calling him out on his lack of explanation.

"It's just…" Shikamaru grabbed a piece of meat and shoved it into his mouth, still trying to sort out what to say.

He chewed slowly, eyes unfocused as he worked it out.

He laid his chopsticks down and sighed again, from deep within his chest.

"We fit." Shikamaru tried. "Damn is this hard to explain…" He drummed his fingers on the table for a moment. "When Naruto is around…I feel…happy. Simply happy in a way that I don't remember ever being. I feel calm. Like just being in that moment is enough. It's more than enough. And there is this…like…connection. He is easy to talk to, and surprisingly we like a lot of the same stuff – did you know he is into reading? It's almost magnetic. And Naruto…" Shikamaru gapped for a minute but decided that it was important for Chouji to understand both sides, "Naruto said he feels safe around me."

Chouji almost choked on the meet he had apparently chosen the wrong moment to swallow. He was a ninja, from a clan of ninja, an heir of a clan, he knew what that meant that a ninja felt not just safe, but safe enough to share that knowledge with someone else.

"Damn…" Chouji muttered.

The Nara cleared his throat. The lump that had gathered up in his throat when Naruto had first explained his repeated appearances at the window seemed to have returned, but this time he forced his way through it. In a tight voice, he forced it out, "I think I want to stay with him. I want to be by his side…and not just as his friend or as a brother-in-arms."

As though saying it out loud had freed something chained within him, his chest felt lighter, his breathing calmer, his heart stronger, and his mind surer.

A small laugh bubbled up from his chest. Then a stronger one. Before he could end up hysterically laughing in the booth, he clamped his hand over his mouth and bit the side of his cheek.

There was something so immensely liberating about admitting it, and to someone else as well. He was giddy and elated and he knew a smile was tugging at his mouth and Chouji had ducked his own face into his hands as he laughed at Shikamaru's reaction.

"Fuck!" Shikamaru gasped once he had himself under control. "I'm such a goddamned girl!"

Chouji suddenly laughed even harder, "Oh! So Naruto is wearing the pants then huh?"

Shikamaru threw a napkin at his oldest and best friend. "Fuck off! We haven't done anything like that!"

"But you want to!" Chouji sang and slipped out of the booth, paying for the meal that Shikamaru had barely touched.

Shikamaru had decided then that when Naruto came home from his current mission, he was going to tell him. Tell him everything he had just told Chouji and more. He would bare his soul to Naruto the same way that the blonde had months earlier.

But Naruto next came home to the knowledge that Jiraiya had been killed in battle. It just didn't seem right to bring it up right then. But that night he had Naruto gathered up in his arms as the usually cheerful ninja cried himself to sleep and continued his sobs even in the realm of dreams. And Shikamaru cried too. Tears for the pain of his own lost teacher. Tears for the child who would never know his father outside of stories. Tears for the boy in his arms who had lost one of the few adults to ever give a damn about him. Jiraiya was more of a family to Naruto than anyone else had ever been, and now the man was gone.

Shikamaru would tell Naruto later, after he'd had time to mourn.

But then he was off training.

And then Konoha was in ruins.

And then Naruto was in the middle of all of it fighting but Shikamaru had a broken leg and couldn't do anything to help him.

He couldn't stand at Naruto's side.

Naruto was getting so far ahead. He was getting so strong. He was well on his way to becoming the strongest ninja of their age. He wouldn't need Shikamaru anymore. He wouldn't need the Nara to feel safe – because if he is the strongest, what is there to be afraid of?

Naruto of course saved the day and somehow managed to end it with people coming back from the dead but totally not as zombies.

How does that even happen?

Shikamaru got his leg tended to, and he curled up at the base of a tree away from the ruins of the village, having hobbled over there on crutches after the medic had let him go.

Silent tears were slipping down his face. The stress of the day, the shock of the aftermath and the terror of his realization were all culminating in Shikamaru unable to retrain himself.

When a strong, but trembling, arm wrapped around Shikamaru's middle he almost screamed in surprise. His back made contact with a warm chest and a scent well learned after months of sharing a bed wafted towards him and Shikamaru knew exactly who it was.

"Please." A haggard whisper flitted against his ear. "I need to know you're real…"

Shikamaru shifted as quickly as his battered and broken body would allow until he was facing the hero of their village and quickly wrapped his lanky arms back around the blonde.

"You fucking idiot!" He gasped out, clenching his fingers into Naruto's jacket, pulling hard on the fabric and furthering some of the tears that had formed in the course of the battle. He needed to confirm that Naruto was actually there. Prove to himself that this was more than a vivid dream, and was actually a part of their horrifying new reality. "He destroyed the village in a second, and you talk to him?!"

"I'm sorry…I had to…I just had to."

And Shikamaru knew. He had known for a long time that Naruto was really too gentle for the job of being a ninja. He wanted to be strong sure, and he liked seeing how he stacked up against other fighters, but he didn't want to kill anyone.

But they were ninja – ninjas killed. Especially people who had just flattened their home into a pile of toothpicks.

"He had no problems killing people. None. And you waltz right in. Alone. To have a chat."

"He was Jiraiya's student…" Naruto whispered, face burying into Shikamaru's neck.

Shikamaru shuddered for a moment. In their society, students of the same master tended to form sibling-like bonds. Much like parents, masters become the moral center of the students' world. To have to fight against your brother or sister…it was almost unconscionable. Shikamaru tried to imagine what he would do if it was Chouji, or Ino. Intellectually he knew he could figure out a way to bring them both down in any situation, especially if they were alone. But it wasn't ability that was the question – it was whether his body would react, whether the instinct to defend could be overridden by his mind.

Shikamaru pulled the blonde even closer. "Don't you fucking do anything like that again. You hear me?"

Naruto nodded wordlessly.

For several moments they just laid there, collectively proving to themselves that the other was still alive.

"I looked for you first."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "What?"

Naruto sighed. "In sage mode – I can locate people by their chakra signatures. Yours was the first one I looked for. I don't know what I would've done if I couldn't find it…I can't…" Naruto gasped for breath and Shikamaru could feel tears slipping against his skin.

Shikamaru tilted his head and kissed Naruto's temple. "Don't worry about it." Then he chuckled, "Actually, and I realize how weird this is to say, but I would have been better off had I died."

Naruto yanked himself back harshly, looking angry and betrayed and glaring at Shikamaru who was merely bemused in response.

He shrugged, "Seriously though. Kakashi-sensei died and now he's up and walking around like nothing happened. I lived and I get to hobble around on a crutch for a couple of weeks. What the hell logic is that?"

Naruto's anger slipped into confusion and settled on dumbfounded. "You are the stupidest smart person I know…" he uttered as he shook his head slowly from side to side. "How could you ever think that that would be okay to say?"

Shikamaru wanted to smack himself. It was an incredibly stupid thing to say. "Painkillers?"

Naruto shook his head, before laying down next to the Nara once more. "Still a shitty excuse."

Silence crept over them. True silence. In response to all of the destruction, the animals of the forest had fled en masse and now there were no noises to be heard in the lands around them. No owls hooted through the night, no critters scuttled across the forest floor, no insects chirped through the air.

The only sounds were the shifting and breathing of the pair who were taking refuge in the shadow of a tree.

"Naruto…" Shikamaru started, watching the sky above and hoping that he wasn't about to fuck things up beyond repair. "I know this probably is a weird time, but I've been sitting on this for a while and every time I want to bring it up something else happens and…" He gulped. "Things are getting bad and I want to make sure I told you…just so I know that I did. That whatever comes of this or doesn't, I didn't take the easy way out and I told you."

He could feel Naruto's curious gaze but continued on.

"I…I like you…" His fingers fiddled with the tattered edges of his shirt sleeves. "I like you in a way that is anything but plutonic…I…I…" Dammit, why did he have to be such a fucking coward?! "I…I…" Force it out! Do something! Say something! Don't just leave it here! "I want to be with you…always." Really?! Was he a fucking girl?!

He gulped audibly, he would have continued, babbling something into the darkness in a vain attempt to recapture his fleeing masculinity but suddenly Naruto was leaning over him, and chapped lips had been placed deftly against his in a perfect meeting, even in the dark of night. Calloused hands quested in the dirt for Shikamaru's and he sighed in happiness when fingers intertwined.

"God Shikamaru…" Naruto gasped, settling against Shikamaru's chest, and holding tight. "I thought maybe…I'd hoped…but I wouldn't let myself…" He took a shuddering breath, eyes closed, actively trying to calm himself.

Shikamaru wrapped his arms as best he was able around the blonde and buried his face into his hair, feeling the slightly course strands brushing against his face, smelling the vague remnants of sweat and dirt and blood but which all paled in comparison to the slightly spicy musk that was uniquely Naruto.

He wanted to remember this moment, which seemed somehow wonderful and glorious and fucking life-affirming after the day that they both had just had, in addition to terrifying and all sorts of troublesome. The path before them both was more shadowed than any Shikamaru had ever known. There were so many variables and possibilities that even his keen mind would never been able to know what was coming.

But he knew enough to know that he needed to be afraid.

"Naruto," Shikamaru whispered, "I know that you can't promise me to always come back. But I need you to promise to try. No matter what happens you will try to find your way back home. I know it's stupid and obvious but my brain doesn't seem to be operating in an entirely rational manner and I just need to hear you say it."

Naruto nodded against Shikamaru's chest. "I pro-pro-pro-promise." Naruto yawned wide enough to cause his jaw to crack, a noise which sliced through the night air like a hot knife through butter. Naruto repositioned himself, eyes drifting closed. "You promise too."

Shikamaru let his own eyes drift shut, "I promise too. No matter what. We do anything in our powers to get back."

Naruto nodded slowly, and then he was gone, drifting off to a well-earned sleep.

After a small glance at the resting warrior, Shikamaru soon did the same.

No more windows to knock on.

No more beds to share.

But it was all leading invariably to this one moment – when all of the pretensions would mean nothing, because there was no need to hide things anymore.

When Shikamaru opened that window on that first night oh those many nights ago, even his genius intellect would never have led him here.

But the outcome was desirable all the same.

All because one night, Naruto decided to drop in.

I hope that you guys liked this! It bounced around my head a lot and I'm glad that I finally finished it.

Comments? Questions? Leave it in a review please!