It All Started With A Smell

Strategy Has Nothing On Naruto

He leant against the doorframe, staring hard at the wooden door until it was thrown open. Naruto glared at him. His eyes scanned over her form, noticing the messy hair, before moving down to her baggy night shirt. It looked... stuffed? That was the best word his alcohol lulled mind could think of. It looked like she had more chest than when she wore a jacket. Maybe she was more muscular than Shikamaru realised. He decided to ignore it and look further down, noticing something else.

"You're not wearing pants!"

Naruto huffed. "That's cause I was sleeping. This is my night shirt."

"You have nice legs."

She shifted uncomfortable as Shikamaru continued to stare at her legs. "Shikamaru, what do you want?"

"You." He finally looked up, seeing the confusion on Naruto's face.

"What are you doing here?"

"Choji left me at the bar and I was meant to stay at his place because my mum would kill me if I came home drunk. So I came here."

"Oh, you want to sleep on my couch." Naruto moved aside so that Shikamaru could walk in. "Why didn't you say so? I'll get you a pillow and a blanket."

Naruto disappeared into a second room as Shikamaru drifted over to the lounge. He stared at the doorway, waiting for the blonde to return. When she did, she dropped a pillow and blanket onto the couch beside Shikamaru before moving to close the front door that the male had left open. She went to the sink behind him, returning with a glass of water that she put on the table.

"Make sure you drink that." She put the pillow at the head of the couch, unfolding the blanket and putting it at the other end. When she noticed Shikamaru's blank expression she sighed, kneeling down in front of him. "You are more hopeless drunk than you are sober." She proceeded to remove his shoes for him.

As Naruto removed his shoes he started to feel overheated. To cool off he undid his vest, throwing it to the floor before struggling to remove his shirt. His arms didn't seem to want to work, making the shirt get stuck halfway over his head. Laughter reached his ears through the fabric before something tugged at it. He was free. Only he found himself looking at Naruto's shirt, making him ponder why it wasn't sitting properly again. The thought was dismissed when he realised she had freed him.

Falling forward, he buried his face in her stomach, wrapping his arms around Naruto's waist. She was warm and soft, making him want to hold her tighter. "Thank you, Naruto."

"No problem, Shikamaru, but is everything alright?"

He let Naruto go, raising a hand to remove the elastic from his hair. "No, I don't know what to do."

Naruto tilted her head to the side, sitting down on the coffee table and crossing her legs. She held out the glass of water. "Don't worry. Pervy-Sage used to get drunk around me all the time. Drink this and try to sleep. It'll make you feel better."

Shikamaru did drink the water, since he was thirsty, but when he was done he looked down at the empty cup, still feeling horrible. "It's not that. It didn't work. Naruto, have you ever loved someone who just doesn't notice."

Naruto crossed her arms, her eyes closing to small slits. She took the cup from him, sitting it next to her. "Maybe."

"It's a drag. Temari would probably call me a wimp." He laid down, watching as Naruto pulls the blanket over him. Reaching over, he put his hand on Naruto's leg, just above the knee. The skin was soft, feeling almost like water running over his fingers. He never wanted to stop running his hands over her skin. "I don't want to feel like this. But I've tried to move on and forget but... I can't. I've felt this way for so long that I don't even know who I would be if I stopped."