Working Together

2.

Waking up to both breakfast and packed lunch was a welcomed surprise for Naruto who wanted to laugh at Shikamaru who wore his white frilly apron without shame. The Nara was already dressed for work, digging into the drawer space Naruto had for him as he stayed over far too often. The blonde hurriedly got ready to join his best friend as they sat down for the first meal of the day. Shikamaru had opted not to go for any hot fluids as today was worst than yesterday.

"We have an upcoming mission to the Land of Snow right?" Naruto questioned as he rested a bottle of cold water on his forehead.

"We do, just some typical treaty business," Shikamaru confirmed as he flipped through the morning paper.

"I can't wait, might request leave for a few extra days. We can play in the snow before we have to hike back into this heat," He complained about a miserable expression. Shikamaru couldn't help but agree and both men were out the door after finishing up breakfast.

The morning was by far the smoothest time as several people were flying in and out dropping off-mission reports and picking up requested documents. It certainly didn't leave room for idle chitchat as they realized it would have to wait for their lunch session. Shikamaru and Naruto spent the day working side by side with each other. Their dynamic made it obvious they were comfortable in each other's presence as they bounced off each other. Things just seemed natural as they worked together to deal with the hordes of people coming to discuss something with the Temporary Hokage and his right hand.

By the time noon came around the traffic to the office had tapered off as the summer heat reached its peak. The secretary outside the office came by to drop off an igloo full of cool drinks to get them through the rest of the day. Naruto made note of the lock sliding into place as Shikamaru showed her out. The blonde stretched his arms above his head and groaned as he heard some of his bones crack. "That felt amazing," He sighed as his body became relaxed. He had pulled some of his buttons loose which left his chest exposed.

Shikamaru averted his eyes as he unpacked their lunches and slid Naruto over to him. "It's noodle base but I figured you wouldn't want to be given hot broth at this hour."

Naruto gagged at the thought. "Are you trying to kill me out here?"

Shikamaru laughed at the notion as he opened his lunch to dig in. They ate in relative silence, bickering softly as Naruto would casually drop vegetables he didn't like in Shikamaru's lunch while stealing the ones he did eat. Shikamaru had even gone as far as to steal meat from the blonde's meal but Naruto countered by taking an egg roll. After downing a few cold drinks Naruto buttoned back his top as Shikamaru unlocked the door and they went right back to business as usual.

When it hit four in the evening people started clearing out as the work day was done but it was just the starting hours for an all-nighter which they did pull to set up the scroll Kakashi had to take to the Cloud the next few days. Shikamaru yawned as the clock struck midnight and turned to the blonde who was stamping documents with an absent mind. He walked around to look over his shoulder at what he was doing.

"You're utterly lost aren't you?" Shikamaru had settled his head next to Naruto's cheeks and the blonde seemed to lean into it unconsciously. Though the night was heated the physical contact was appreciated. "You've been in this position for the last two hours."

"I do feel sore, I could go for a dip in the lake," Naruto sighed as he reached up to run his fingers through Shikamaru's hair. The Nara bowed his head to give the blonde access as his nails lightly grazed his scalp.

"We can stop here for today and go to the river," Shikamaru's voice was muffled as he rested his head on the blonde's chest as he fell into the comfort as the blonde pulled his ponytail loose.

"You're always indulging me, you're too sweet," Naruto chuckled softly. Shikamaru was blushing so he didn't dare show Naruto his face. He only closed his eyes and listened to Naruto's steady heartbeat.

"Are we going or not?"

"Let's go, it's times like these that you need to get out and have fun," Naruto made a move to stand and Shikamaru got off his chest. The Nara pushed his hair back but didn't put it back up as they packed up for the day before heading to Training Ground 10. It was the only training ground that had a river they could soak in to get rid of this heat. Shikamaru stripped down to his boxers before climbing in while Naruto opted to jump in.

The Nara was content to rest against the cool stones with his head rested in the grass but Naruto yanked him under water which admittedly made him feel refreshed when he got back to the surface. Naruto's eyes were shining as he took in Shikamaru's profile. His raven hair was naturally soft and seeing it pool around his shoulders was enthralling. He swam over to him and wrapped his arms around Shikamaru's shoulders.

Shikamaru opened his eyes to see the blonde looking right at him. He rolled his eyes as Naruto started laughing. "Get off me," He said in a tone that told Naruto that he wasn't serious, the blonde instead leaned on him even more, their bare chests pressing together.

"You're not serious," Naruto mumbled as he placed their foreheads together. "You love me too much. Not that I'm complaining, I love you too."

Something struck Shikamaru with those words and he opened his eyes to see Naruto had closed his own eyes and was blushing. He smiled as he wrapped his arms around the blonde. "I do love you too much. You aren't wrong."

Again that energy brewed to the surface and this time it was Naruto who took note. It wasn't unpleasant but it was certainly daunting to feel something new like that after he and Hinata parted ways. He wondered if Shikamaru felt the same whenever they had moments like this.