Shikamaru came to slowly, mind and body protesting at waking up when he was so warm and comfortable. Contemplating going back to sleep he wondered what had roused him when he heard a sniffle and someone moved right up against his back.

He tensed for a brief moment before it all came back to him. "Oh right... Naruto." He thought and stifled a yawn. Just this morning the blonde had confessed to liking him and wanting to go out. It had surprised him as the thought of Naruto not pursuing his teammate Sakura had never crossed his mind before. It had just always seemed like a fact that Naruto would always pursue and have feelings for the pink haired girl.

Shikamaru wondered when that changed and why him. Not that he was against Naruto liking him. Shikamaru after all had been nursing a crush on the blonde since graduation but had shoved his feelings into a box and then buried them under sarcasm and laziness.

There was always something more important going on than feelings... especially the romantic type.

Shikamaru could feel Naruto's breath against the back of his neck and the blonde's arm, that Shikamaru had draped over himself so Naruto would stop pouting and sleep, was not only still around him but also firmly under his shirt.

He could feel blunt, calloused fingers splayed against his stomach, causing a red flush to creep along his cheeks lightly.

"Naruto..." Shikamaru said and attempted to wiggle out of the blonde's grasp. There was no reply other than the grip Naruto had on him tightening.

"Naruto." He hissed in embarrasment. Moving had jostled the blonde's fingers southward and it was getting rather difficult to ignore the warmth of them.

"Hng.. wha-huh? Shikamaru..." He heard mumbled into his ear as Naruto finally started to wake up. "What's going... !" The blonde trailed off as he remembered what had occurred. Shikamaru cleared his throat and shifted some, bringing Naruto's attention back to him. "If you could move your hand that'd be appreciated..." Shikamaru intoned dryly and felt Naruto's fingers stiffen before the hand, and arm, rushed off of him like they'd been burned.

"I'm sorry!" The blonde hastily exclaimed as Shikamaru turned over with a yawn. "It's fine..." Shikamaru mumbled, starting to wake up completely even though he didn't want too. Naruto watched him nervously, face bright red as he gripped the covers. "S-so..." The blonde stuttered out, looking down at his hands as he picked at some loose threads on the covers.

"What now?" Naruto asked and peeked up through his bangs at Shikamaru. Shikamaru blinked lazily back at Naruto as he sat up in bed. "Well... now we go on a date..." He said and Naruto perked up a little before wilting as he remembered something Shikamaru had said a few months back.

"Hey Shikamaru, why did you turn that girl down?" Naruto asked curiously. The girl was gorgeous and seemed to be really into Shikamaru yet the pony-tailed boy had point-blank refused. Shikamaru took a drag of the cigarette he had lit after the girl left and shrugged, "Dates are troublesome and not worth the effort... besides, I'm not that interested in going out with people I know, much less people I don't know."

Naruto shook his head "No, no... I remember you said you didn't like dates...". Shikamaru grunted, averting his eyes as he mumbled out "It's usually troublesome going on dates but maybe it won't be so bad if it's with someone I actually like...". A red flush had worked it's way up Shikamaru's neck and Naruto watched it spread to his cheeks in fascination before the words registered.

"Y-you... you like me?" He asked, surprise in his voice. Shikamaru stared at him incredulously. "Naruto... I wouldn't have agreed to try going out with you if I didn't..." He said slowly, starting to become uncomfortable because he was fairly certain tears were forming in Naruto's eyes. "Are... are you crying? Did I say something wrong?" Shikamaru asked nervously. Dammit, of course he had already screwed this up somehow. This is why he didn't do dating and romance... he just wasn't good with people and their emotions.

Naruto laughed lightly, hiccuping as he wiped at his eyes. "No! I'm just... no one's ever said they liked me enough... liked me enough to want to be with me." He said and smiled happily at Shikamaru. Shikamaru blinked a few times before smiling softly and chuckling "Well... their loss, I guess.".

Naruto tilted his head and stared at Shikamaru questioningly, "Their loss?" He asked curiously. Shikamaru grinned and leaned forward, into Naruto's personal space. Their lips were almost touching and Naruto could feel each puff of breath Shikamaru expelled as he said "Yep... it's their loss if they couldn't see how worth it you are.", before leaning in and pecking Naruto on the lips.

Naruto froze, stunned into silence as Shikamaru quickly moved away, jumping up off the bed. He watched in silence still as Shikamaru stretched and then slouched over towards his apartment's bathroom. Only the click of the bathroom door closing shook Naruto out of his shock and he turned bright red, putting his face in his hands he stared down at the bed.

Now he really felt like crying. He never had any idea that Shikamaru felt that much for him... if he had known sooner, well, he would have confessed long ago.

The bathroom door opening caused Naruto to look up and he registered that Shikamaru had changed out of his pajamas and into his usual black turtleneck with a mesh shirt underneath, black canvas pants and standard Shinobi sandals.

Shikamaru seemed a bit surprised that Naruto was still on the bed and apparently hadn't moved at all. "Are you going to get ready?" He asked with a brow raised. Naruto blinked dumbly back at him, "Huh?".

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and grabbed Naruto's jacket from where it had been flung too when Naruto had quickly took it off. "Troublesome..." He grumbled as he walked up to Naruto and tugged him onto his feet from the bed. "The date we were going to go on? Ring a bell?" He sarcastically asked with a slight smile.

"Oh! Right, yeah!" Naruto said quickly and grabbed his jacket, tugging it on and fumbling with the zipper. "Where we gonna go?" He asked excitedly as he dashed to where his shoes were laying haphazardly on the floor.

Shikamaru chuckled and leaned back against the wall, watching Naruto rush to get his shoes on. "I was thinking about that noodle place you worship or Yakiniku Q.". Naruto jumped up and pointed a finger in Shikamaru's direction "That 'Noodle' place happens to be called Ichiraku's and it is the greatest, BELIEVE IT!" He said loudly and then scratched the back of his head sheepishly, blushing. "I'm uh... I'd love anywhere you choose!" He said with a nervous grin. Shikamaru sighed and turned around, leaving the bedroom. "Noodle place it is then... troublesome..." He said lacklusterly. Naruto followed him, ranting all the way to Ichiraku's about how it wasn't just a 'noodle' place but a God-given gift to mankind.

He never noticed the amused smirk Shikamaru wore or the way his eye's softened around the edges the whole way there.

I honestly didn't plan on continuing Noticing, but a few people expressed their interest in another chapter. I write one-shots much better than continuous stories so I highly doubt I'll add anymore to Noticing as I really don't know where to move forward with it, so please don't get your hopes up!