Are you surprised at how soon I got ch1 updated? Yeah, me too, buddy. (^.^')

100% recommend listening to "in love with a ghost/heart of the woods (ending theme) ft. ukuletea" for this chap. I say this for those on ffn where I can't insert the vid/song in question.

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The silence in room was tense, yet Naruto only squeezed Shikamaru harder. He didn't want to see the other's expression—only soothe his chakra and hope his touch could comfort him.

"...Naruto?" He didn't answer, only burrowing further into his love's neck and gently stroking his lower back through a black turtleneck and what felt like mesh armor. His own worries seemed to abate at the comforting scent of Shikamaru and the Forest. Shikamaru started moving and Naruto moved with him, fighting to stay as close as possible. After a few stubborn steps of shuffling, Shikamaru sat on the edge of his new bed and Naruto followed, straddling him. 

They didn't talk until Shikamaru finally brought his arms up to return the embrace—either acceptance of the comfort or an offerance of his own. 

"What's wrong, Naruto?" he whispered, maybe just as afraid to ruin this moment as he was. 

It was a hard question to answer; so many things had gone wrong. He was wrong. But instead of this, he said, "I missed you." It was hoarse and a little broken from disuse and the bout of intense purring he'd unconsciously done, but he truly meant it. 

"I—weren't you mad at me? I couldn't do anything and now you're stuck here when I said I could fix things, and—" Naruto halted this self-doubt with his lips, an innocent touch that seemed to blow away all of the bad feelings both he and his Shikamaru had felt.

Pressing his forehead against the other's, Naruto made sure that Shikamaru's shocked grey eyes met his. "'m sorry." It was woefully overdue and should've been said a thousand times before, but nevertheless was worth every bit of his heart.

"Why are you apologizing? This was all my fault." The blame and edge of self-hatred in the brunet's voice made his heart constrict.

"It's not," he said stubbornly. "King knew this would happen and I kinda guessed it, but it's not your fault, Shika. I'm just—I'm sorry for expecting too much of you." A self-deprecating laugh told him that his words were being twisted in the other's mind, and he wondered if he could break through this wall that was building between them right before his eyes.

"Well, I'm sorry to be such a disappointment."

"No, that's not—! I mean, you're only one People. Shika, you're smart, but you're not the leader of your pack, are you? You did as much as you could. Thank you for that." A sniffle was his only answer and Naruto realized that Shika, his strong Shika, was crying. Why was it that whenever he sought to comfort him, he always made things worse?

He didn't know what to do, so he just laid them down and started softly kissing the tears away. 

From the corner of his lips to his temples and the tip of his nose, he kissed every inch of Shikamaru that he could reach. And when he finally stopped crying, Naruto set his last one square on Shikamaru's lips and settled to gently cupping his face, thumb stroking what he hoped to be soothing motions.

"You know, I don't think I've ever been touched this much before."

"No? Not with your littermates or...'mother'?" Shikamaru snorted, though Naruto was sure he hadn't said anything funny.

"I'm an only child. I have more family than I know what to do with, but I've never been this close to anyone beyond Chouji occasionally and sometimes my mother. But even then, we never touch for very long or often—certainly not to this extent." This was the first time he'd heard about Shikamaru as himself. Not as a learning tool or as one of the Village, but as Shikamaru himself.

"Is it bad then?" He hoped not. Although he could respect Shikamaru's preference for space, he hadn't touched anyone beyond King and the hoofed ones in years.

"No? It's just...different."

"That's good, because I don't really want to stop touching you." Finally, a laugh shook the bed a bit.

"I guess I won't say no to touches, either. But Naruto, I don't know what your father has told you, but kisses like that aren't meant for anyone other than the one you love. Like, a mate, or cheek kisses for family." He stiffened, just now remembering that no, Shikamaru was not his official mate, nor had had declared his interest in the other before now. (Whatever happened to ignoring those confusing feelings?!) He'd kissed him on instinct and hadn't thought this through!

"Father never said anything about kissing another. Did you dislike it?" His entire body felt overheated and his heart seemed to tremble. He hoped his feigned innocence could save him from having doomed his friendship.

"Uh—no, I guess I didn't dislike it."

"Does that mean you're my mate?" If he could, Naruto would've sunk into the floor then and there. He hadn't meant to blurt those words out so eagerly, hadn't meant to say them at all!

Clearly, neither had Shikamaru. "I mean...yes? I—" he cleared his throat and Naruto suddenly wished he could see what expression he was making. "I like you, Naruto. I didn't think this would happen when I first met you and—" Naruto cut him off once more by kissing him again, feeling light-headed with so much elation that he just couldn't contain himself. Unlike the others, this kiss was eager, hungry, and most importantly—reciprocated.

When they separated, Naruto was laughing a little breathlessly while Shikamaru, his wonderful Shikamaru, looked like he'd given him the stars.

~~~

Honestly, I am just as surprised as you are. The kiss and confession absolutely weren't in my game plan/outline at all! O///O

But the last chapter, this one, and the next are all a continuous scene that I'm probably going to combine in the future, but was written separately for conveniency's sake (& so I don't get intimidated by wordcount). I hope my exploration of a healthy relationship dynamic was successful!

Also: I grinned like a loon with the quick response to the last chap! I didn't realize that people actually look forward to updates. Sorry.