It All Started With A Smell

Truth

It took him a moment after waking up to remember where he was. He had stayed up until late with Naruto and the Children of Iron before he had found himself too exhausted to make it back to the Nara Estate. He had ended up finding a room that residents had recently vacated in favour of their new homes. Shikamaru had missed Naruto's presence beside him though. He wasn't even sure she had been to bed. However, shortly after he had woken up he spotted Naruto walking into a room with a tray.

"Good Birthday," Naruto said with a smile, putting the tray down on the low nightstand next to the bed. "Don't worry, Dai cooked, but I did help."

Shikamaru chose to not comment on her getting the saying wrong and instead looked at the omelette. "You did the carrot smiley face, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Naruto watched as Shikamaru sat up but didn't reach for the tray. "Are you not going to eat it?"

"Not right now." He pulled Naruto down onto the bed. He pressed her into the mattress, kissing her. There was something freeing about not being at home. Even though Shikamaru would be surprised if his family and Ino's family hadn't realised that Naruto slept in his room the two still tried to minimise how likely it was that someone in the house would find her sleeping in his bed. They had also had to limit the amount of times they had been in one of their bedrooms alone. It wasn't by choice but for the fact that Uncle Inoichi had taken to randomly coming into the room as though looking for something, or needing an answer to a simple question. What he was doing was transparent and awkward, so the couple had taken to leaving the house and finding time to be together by the river or in the Nara forest. They had somewhat claimed the secluded clearing they had had their first dating in as their personal clearing.

Even though they had found ways to have privacy it was refreshing to be able to lie in bed for however long they wanted without interruptions. He was able to enjoy the look of Naruto's hair sprayed out over the pillow, the feel of her increased heartbeat as he kissed her neck, and the sound of her shuttered breath as Shikamaru's hand slid up her orange t-shirt. He was so focused on the beautiful woman beneath him that if Anko had knocked before barging into the room he didn't hear it and apparently neither did Naruto. She jump as much as Shikamaru did, yanking her shirt back into place as Shikamaru looked over his shoulder at the Jonin in surprise.

"Whoops," Giggled the woman, a whiff of sake coming from her. "Did I interrupt something?"

Shikamaru looked at Naruto, his face turning red. The blonde woman raised herself up onto her elbows, glaring at her drinking friend.

"Anko, how are you still drinking?"

The Jonin winced. She walked deeper into the room, dropping onto the bed. "Cause when I stop I'm going to have to face stuff I've buried so deep I could almost convince myself that they didn't happen. I'm glad the evil bitch is locked up but if I can be drunk for two days I'm not going to complain."

"It hasn't been two days, Anko. The trial was midday yesterday and went for a few hours," Shikamaru reminded, putting the tray with his omelette on his lap.

"Oh, she was already a bit drunk at the trial," Naruto informed him casually as she sat up.

"Not so drunk that I won't remember her face when she was told the verdict and the fact that you beat the shit out of her at one point." Anko cackled.

"There you are!" Genma declared, walking into the room. "Iruka suggested I come get you." He looked at Shikamaru, who hadn't put a shirt on yet, and Naruto, whose orange shirt sat snugly on her torso. "Nice chest, the both of you."

"Genma, it's too early for your perverted behaviour," Naruto rolled her eyes before stifling a yawn.

"But not Shikamaru's?" Anko asked gleefully, only to yelp when the blonde nearly kicked her off the bed.