It All Started With A Smell

Awakened

He gave a luxurious stretch, feeling muscles that had been tense from stress for weeks stretch and loosen. As his arms flopped back down onto the bed, he let out a content moan. He heard a sigh in response before he felt the weight on top of him shifted and he felt the tip of a nose brush against his neck before lips pressed against his jaw.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. Naruto was laying on top of him, her head on Shikamaru's pillow over his shoulder. All their blankets were falling off the bed. It wasn't hard for him to realise which one of them did that. He barely moved when sleeping, but Naruto, she was a different story. Like when awake, she seemed to always been in motion. She rolled over, kicked the blankets off, pulled them back up, and she even, often, ran her hands over Shikamaru's shoulders, held his hand, or kissed his skin. Her lack of movement had been one of the things that had made him hesitate sleeping beside her. Even though he could see her breathing, she still resembled the corpse.

He blinked, looking at the blankets pooled on the ground before turning his eyes onto the woman who was using him as a bed. Her eyes were still closed, her lips, her face slack, but she was laying on him, she had kissed him. As though feeling his stare, she squirmed, burying her face in his neck and peppering him with small, lazy kisses.

"Naruto," He breathed, "Are you awake?"

"You have stubble," Naruto muttered into his neck.

Shikamaru couldn't help chuckling, making Naruto sigh again.

"I missed this."

"Missed what exactly?" Shikamaru asked.

"You, waking up beside you, hearing your sleepy noise that you make every morning-"

"No, I don't."

Naruto laughed. "Yeah, you do. And I love it. Same as your laugh, I always liked how deep it is."

That made Shikamaru pause. "My laugh isn't deep!"

"Yeah, it is," Naruto countered, "So is your voice. The first time you talked after I came back from training with Jiraiya I had a hard time concentrating when I could hear your voice. Especially if you said my name. I nearly ran into a wall once when I heard you with your team."

He laughed at that confession. He could picture Naruto getting distracted, leading to injury, but he couldn't imagine him being the one to cause it.

"If it helps, I get distracted whenever you wear those shorts of yours."

With a chuckle, Naruto lifted herself up on her elbows, looking down at Shikamaru. "I had noticed that, actually. I may have worn them a bit more regularly than I would have because I liked the way you looked at me."

"I'm not complaining." Shikamaru reached up, pushing Naruto's hair back, burying his fingers in the strands. "I'm so thankful you're awake."

"Did something happen? How long have I been out?" Naruto sat up sharply, looking around as though she expected to see signs of aging in the room to show the passage of weeks or months.

Shikamaru sat up too, cupping her face so she looked back at him. "This is the fourth day since we returned home. I just missed you. You just... make my life better."

Naruto kissed him. "You make my life better too." She took a deep breath. "How is your dad, and Uncle Inoichi?"

Shikamaru gave her a sad smile. "They are still unconscious. Dad hasn't shown any change but Uncle Inoichi is starting to show improvements. Ino is hoping he wakes up soon but it's hard to tell."

Gently, Naruto ran her fingers through his hair, making his eyes close at the pleasant sensation. Her hands ran over his shoulders with a soft pressure, down his arms whilst drawing them around Naruto's waist. Her hands glided back up to rest on his shoulders.