It All Started With A Smell

Chakra

He was warm. Not the type of warm that was uncomfortable, or indicated a fever, or even the warm that meant he should lose a layer to reach perfect temperature. It was the warmth that made him want to burrow deeper into his blankets and keep sleeping. However, the faint smell of ramen was making his empty stomach grumble. Without opening his eyes, he slowly detached from the blankets, noticing that he was still rather pleasantly warm. He shuffled his feet along the floor, heading in the direction of his door. With a hand groping in front of him he found the door handle, venturing into the hallway.

Stumbling blindly he made his way to the dining room, hoping it wasn't too late for breakfast. The ramen smell stayed with him, making him wonder if his mother had gotten them take out for lunch... or was it dinner. He had no clue how long he had slept or when he had even went to bed. When he reached the dining room he heard a rumbling chuckle.

"Well look at that!"

Shikamaru frowned in the direction of his father's throaty voice, rubbing his eyes with the cuff of his sleeve. "Is that rhetorical or do I actually have to open my eyes and look at something?"

His father chuckled again. "You look so bright this morning."

"So it is still morning?"

"For another hour, yes. Your mother made you breakfast. It's keeping warm in the oven. Sit down and I will get it for you."

Shikamaru peaked his eyes open long enough to find a seat before folding his arms on the table and putting his head down. The material covering his arms was slippery, and rough, carrying a scent of a cold breeze and ramen but it was warm and for some reason made him smile. He was poked hard in the shoulder, making him sit up. With a grumble he looked up at his father's amused face.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better, thanks." He brought a hand up to push his hair out of his face only to stop. He frowned at his arm, looking at it as though it was a foreign object. It certainly did not look like his arm but it moved at his will. Looking down he found that his entire torso looked wrong. It was so... orange! Fighting to keep his voice level he spoke to his father. "Why am I wearing Naruto's jacket?"

"Same reason you're wearing Naruto's shirt," His father nodded at the flannel collar poking out from under the assaulting bright jacket. "From what your mother explained to me you passed out in the street whilst talking to Naruto and the boy took you back to his place until you regained consciousness and could tell him where you lived. He also dressed you to keep you warm."

Instantly Shikamaru's head snapped down to look at his lap, making his father laugh. He ignored him, sighing in relief when he saw that he was wearing his own pants. For some reason the words 'Shika-maruuu', and 'Naru-doe Nara' kept ringing through his mind. He really hoped it was just in his head and he hadn't actually said either of those phrases out loud at any point. Unfortunately he had a distinct memory of him speaking those words, as well as him saying something about Naruto marrying him. He groaned, dropping his head into his hands.

"I hate being sick!"

"I think everyone does."

"Not as much as I do!"

"Is that because you tend to say anything and everything that enters your mind when you become bad enough?" His father sounded far too amused.

With a glare at the older man he picked up his fork and start digging into the meal in front of him. He would have to make sure to thank his mother for making him breakfast that was easy on his stomach. He was feeling a lot better but he was still weak. At least he would be able to skip training today, but he would have to return Naruto's jacket. As he rinsed off his plate and put it on the sink he remembered Naruto's arm around his waist, holding him close to her as she put her jacket on him. He blushed so hard that he became dizzy for a moment and had to grab hold of the bench. When his father looked through the doorway, distracted from the report he was reading Shikamaru blamed it on a sudden fever spike that had passed.