It All Started With A Smell

The Fall

Shikamaru walked into his house rubbing at his aching forehead. The water he had drank before bed hadn't been able to nullify all the affects of the alcohol, though he definitely felt better than the last time he had drank in excess. Walking into the kitchen, he stopped. There was something sitting on the bench, wrapped in foil, and on top of it was a note with his name on it. He couldn't help but smile when he saw Naruto's handwriting scrawled across the paper.

Shikamaru,

Encase of hangover, take two tablets with a side of pancakes.

Take care.

Naruto xx

With a laugh he looked at the foil covered plate, not seeing the pain tablets. Taking the foil off the pancakes, he found them sitting on top as a decoration for his breakfast. At the sight he couldn't help but laugh louder.

"I do love that weirdo," Shikamaru whispered.

"I'm guessing you're talking about Naruto."

Shikamaru jumped at the sound of his father's voice. He shot Shikaku an embarrassed smile, moving to pour himself a glass of juice to take the tablets with.

"She left me pancakes and pain killers," He explained.

"So that's what those two were doing in the kitchen. It was a bit of a disaster zone until your mother decided to help Naruto and Ryota. I'm a little surprised the house is still standing." Shikaku moved to make himself a coffee, watching as his son sat to eat the pancakes. "Are they edible?"

"Surprisingly, yes," Shikamaru confirmed after swallowing his mouthful.

"Good, give me some."

"No way." Shikamaru dodged his father with a laugh, taking the plate with him. "Get your wife to make you some of your own."

"Opposed to your wife?" Shikaku teased.

"Now I'm not even going to leave you some. I'm going to eat them all." He ran into the dining room, his father giving up on his attack.

His father came into the dining room, looking amused. He handed Shikamaru one of the coffee cups he held before sitting down across from his son. For a while they simply sat in silence. Shikamaru ate his pancakes, drizzling his syrup wherever he felt like, whilst his father appeared to sip his coffee contently. The younger Nara knew, though, that something was causing the corner of his father's lip to twitch in amusement. It was when Shikamaru took a particularly large piece of his breakfast into his mouth and went to wash it down with his half drank coffee that his father finally spoke, as though he had been waiting for the most opportune moment.

"So, some of the Clan members are asking about the woman they saw you with. I told them all it was Naruto."

His father got the desired reaction he was hoping for. Shikamaru coughed on his mouthful, barely managing to stop himself spraying it across the table. His eyes watered as a result. Shikaku sat back with a large grin on his face, unfeeling to his son's plight.

"You didn't!" Shikamaru yelped before gulping down some warm coffee. "You wouldn't, would you?"

There was a deafening pause. Finally, Shikaku shook his head. "I'm not that cruel... to Naruto. To you, I would be. "

"I feel the love. Really," Shikamaru replied with a sarcastic tone. He tapped his chest, where his heart was. "Right here. I feel it, right here."

"I'm glad." Shikaku smiled, taking a sip of his coffee. "I wouldn't want my son feeling unloved." Again, his father went silent, tapping his fingers on the table surface. When Shikamaru's eyebrow started to twitch in annoyance, his father finally spoke again. "Do you want to know what's being asked, and what I've said in reply?"