NaruHina: Clandestine

Chapter Six: The Courtship

Notes: So I ran with it and ended up with three extra chapters for this story... LOL. Whoops.

Predictably, when Naruto and Hinata got home to Konoha, everyone's reactions to their sudden engagement differed.

"Engaged?" Shikamaru blinked. "To the Hokage?!"

Hinata nodded. "Yes, you heard that right."

She proceeded to explain what had happened during the mission but was interrupted by something she'd never heard before.

"Bahahahahaha!" Shikamaru was suddenly howling with hysterical laughter. He was bent at the waist and clutching at his stomach.

Hinata folded her arms and glared at him, but she looked longingly at her sword strapped to his back. He'd come to meet her at the practice field to return it to her when she'd suddenly blurted the news to him.

Every time she thought he was done giggling, he'd look once more at her scowling face and erupt again into laughter.

It took Shikamaru a while to finally settle down. "Serves you right, Hinata!" he chortled, wiping the tears of hilarity from his eyes.

He sighed and the grin that lit his face was pure evil. "Ah, sweet comeuppance! I'm still mad at you for almost blinding me with that flash bomb!"

"Comeuppance?" she repeated.

"You're in such trouble now," Shikamaru said mysteriously.

She glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"The fact that you're here in front of me talking calmly about Naruto and this sudden relationship between the two of you guys means this is serious."

She was frowning. "Serious?"

"Yup," he said smugly. "You have no idea what you're getting into because you've only known him for days. I've known him since we were young." He stabbed her with a finger to her solar plexus. "You, Hinata Hyuuga, are going to get your butt kicked emotionally."

She shook her head. "No, I'm not."

Shikamaru was smirking. No matter what she said, she had no idea that Naruto was one of the most passionate and loving people he knew, the evidence shown by how much he felt the loss of his mother. That grouchy exterior hid depths that she still didn't understand, and Shikamaru would let Hinata find that out for herself. Once Naruto got it in his head to love someone, he was all in and would pour his being into adoring her.

Which was why he'd gambled and recommended her for the job when it suddenly came up. He hadn't been able to resist trying to get Hinata and Naruto together on this mission.

Hinata, seeing that inscrutable expression on Shikamaru's face, wanted to wipe it off so she said, "Oh, and I went above you and got myself a raise and a possible promotion. Maybe next week I'll be your boss. We'll see who'll be laughing then."

Shikamaru only continued smiling. "Look, Hinata, I knew from day one when I recruited you that you'd be gunning for my job someday."

Secretly touched by his faith in her, Hinata finally smiled at him. "Well, you are the smartest person I know after all."

"Flattery? That's not usually your style."

"I know, I'm just trying some different tactics for when I finally get to order you around."

He snorted, but his eyes were still smiling fondly at her. "Still, this is some mess you've gotten yourself into."

Hinata snorted back at him.