Hey guys. So here's another chapter. This one's a bit on the shorter side, but it does have a purpose. Hope you enjoy.

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Naruto looked through another shelf, but frowned and moved to another. He just couldn't find anything that he thought Shikamaru would like.

"Naruto?"

He turned and smiled when he saw Hinata. "Hey, Hinata."

"What are you doin?"

Naruto looked back at the shelf. "I'm trying to find an anniversary gift for Shikamaru, but I can't seem to figure out what he'd want."

"Anniversary?"

Naruto smiled at her. "Yeah. Today, Shikamaru and I have been together for a whole year."

Hinata smiled. "That's wonderful. I can help you, if you want."

"That would be great," Naruto sighed out in relief.

Shikadai fussed and squirmed in his carrier that Naruto had on his back.

"Hey. It's ok, Shikadai," Naruto said as he tried to reach around and rub the boy's cheek. He really didn't like the carrier being on his back, but that was how Yoshino said it's supposed to go.

"Here," Hinata said as she plucked the boy out of the carrier and placed the boy in her arm, tickling his stomach with her free hand, making the boy smile up at her. "How old is he now?"

"Around three months," Naruto replied as he repositioned the carrier. He didn't care if it was supposed to go on his back or not, he was putting it on his chest. He then reached in his pocket for a bottle. "It's about time for his feeding, and he usually only wakes up for that or his diaper being dirty," he said as he held out the bottle.

Hinata smiled and took the bottle, placing it in the boy's mouth, who quickly started chugging it down. "You've changed a lot, Naruto," she said as she looked back up at him.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Naruto asked as he turned his attention back to the shelf in front of him.

"You've always been so quiet, kind of reclusive, but ever since you got with Shikamaru, you've started opening up to people."

Naruto smiled at her. "Yeah. I'm really grateful for Shikamaru. Honestly, if it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't be here right now."

Hinata frowned. "What's that mean?"

Naruto looked down sadly, but with a smile on his face, laughing a bit. "I was really unhappy with my life. No one wanted me around, and even store owners didn't want me to buy their stuff. I went hungry a lot of nights, even after I got older. I felt like a waste of space, and that everyone would be better off without me."

Hinata gasped, realizing where he was going with this.

"I... I almost killed myself. It was after one of my shopping trips. I bought a few things, but got attacked on my way home. They beat me, called me names, and then destroyed a lot of my food. I couldn't stand it anymore. So, when I got home, I laid down on the couch, pulled a kunai out, and put it up to my throat, fully intending to end it there."

"Naruto," Hinata said sadly.

He finally looked up at her. "The nine tails stopped me from doing it, but it was Shikamaru stopping by that dissuaded me. If he hadn't, I might have ignored Nine Tails and done it anyway.

'Brat.'

Naruto chuckled. "Shikamaru brought me some food over that night, and it gave me a little hope that maybe someone cared about me, and then two weeks later, I ran into Shikamaru again at the store. The shop owner yelled at me, Shikamaru defended me, then took me to his home and I had been living with them ever since, until me and Shikamaru moved into our new apartment."

"Oh, Naruto," Hinata said, tears in her eyes. "I never knew that happened to you."

"It's 'cause I don't want people to know. I'm only telling you 'cause you're one of my best friends."

Hinata smiled and grabbed his hand. "I'm sorry I didn't try to be friends with you sooner. I was scared to approach you because of what my family said, but I never thought you were the monster they said you were. I'm so sorry."

"It's alright, Hinata. Because of all that, I met Shika. I wouldn't change any of it for the world."

Hinata's smile got bigger. "Come on. We have to find a good present for Shikamaru."

Naruto beamed at her, and the two moved from shelf to shelf looking for something. It took them another hour, but Naruto left the store with something he thought Shikamaru would really like. With his bagged present in one hand, and Shikadai snoozing away on his chest, he waved at Hinata as they parted ways. "Thanks for your help, Hinata."

Hinata waved back at him, then walked off.

Naruto smiled as he placed his hand on Shikadai's back, and headed down the street. He had a few hours before Shikamaru was due to be back from his mission, and he wanted to make a special dinner for tonight. He stopped by one of the stores and picked up some groceries, happy that the store cashier smiled at him as he paid. Things really were good now.

He stopped by the Nara compound before heading home to see if Yoshino would watch Shikadai for the night. She was more than happy to watch him for the evening, and so he thanked her and headed home to start on the dinner he had planned. This was something Yoshino showed him how to make a few months back, and he never had a chance to try it on his own yet, so he was a little nervous, but Shikamaru liked his cooking, so he wasn't too worried.

Several hours passed and Naruto was just putting the finishing touches on the table when he heard Shikamaru calling out that he was home. He went over and grabbed a bottle of wine that Choji had brought over earlier to help celebrate, and sat it on the table next to the wrapped gift. He smiled as he walked toward the living room. "Welcome home, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru smiled back at him, and walked over to plant a loving kiss on Naruto's lips. "Glad to be home. Where's Shikadai?" he asked as he looked around.

"At your parents."

Shikamaru nodded at that then looked back with a smile. "Smells good in here."

Naruto beamed. "Yeah. I've been working on it all afternoon."

"Oh? Why the extra effort?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh, well," he started, now a little embarrassed. Maybe he was going way too far for a first anniversary of something like this.

"I'm kidding, Naruto," Shikamaru said. "Happy Anniversary."

Naruto hit him gently on the arm. "Jerk. I thought you really didn't know."

Shikamaru smiled and pulled the boy closer. "I wouldn't forget something that's special to you," he said before he leaned down and gave him another kiss.

They walked over to the table, and Shikamaru looked at the present on the table next to the wine. "The wine's from Choji. He heard about my plans from Hinata and decided to bring it over," Naruto said.

Shikamaru nodded and picked the present up. "Can I open this now, or do I need to wait?"

"You can open it."

Shikamaru did just that and when he pulled out the wooden carved deer, his eyes went wide. Inside the body of the deer was a carved forest, with three miniature deers, a buck, a doe, and a fawn. "This is beautiful, Naruto. Where did you find it?"

"An antique shop that I've been going to for years. It's one of the only shops that didn't kick me out when they saw me. I've always tried to support them by getting stuff from there. People bring in new stuff all the time, so there's always new stuff every time I go in. Hinata helped me look and we finally found that."

Shikamaru smiled, got up, and pulled Naruto out of his seat to kiss him again.

"So, you like it?" Naruto asked. He loved to feel Shikamaru's arms around him.

"I love it, Naruto."

Naruto smiled and kissed him again, but then pushed away. "Come on, let's eat before it gets cold."

They both enjoyed the food, talked about random things, and then cleaned up together. As he was washing the dishes, while Shikamaru put the extra food in containers, he was surprised to hear Nine Tail's voice.

'Brat. I have something to tell you.'

'What is it?'

'I guess you can call it a gift.'

'A gift? From you?'

'Shut up. Do you want it or not?'

Naruto chuckled. 'Yeah. What is it?'

'I'll give you your own kit.'

'My own kit? What's a kit?'

'A child.'

Naruto's eyes went wide and he nearly dropped the glass he was washing.

"Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto looked over and saw Shikamaru's concerned face. "Uh, yeah?"

Shikamaru walked over to him. "What's wrong? You look... surprised."

Naruto looked into Shikamaru's eyes and saw the worry. "Uh, sorry. I just... I was talking to the nine tails."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "The fox spirit inside you?"

"Yeah. He talks to me every once in a while."

"So that's why you zone out every now and then?"

"Yeah. It's nothing to worry about."

Shikamaru looked at him concerned. "Ok, but don't let him convince you to do anything."

Naruto smiled. "I won't."

Shikamaru went back to putting the food in the fridge and Naruto turned to continue the dishes.

'What do you mean you'll give me my own child?'

'I mean just that. I'll make it so you can conceive and carry your own kit.'

'Wait. How's that even possible? I'm a male. I can't conceive a child.'

'It'll take a lot of chakra on my part, but it is possible.'

'How do I know this isn't just some kind of trap?'

'You brat! You really think I would do that after all this time? If I wanted to do something like that, I would've just done it! Now do you want my gift or not, because I'll only do it once.'

Naruto looked down, face scrunched up in thought. 'So, I'll only be able to have one child with Shikamaru?'

'That's what I said. Don't go thinking I'll just go doing this for you any time.'

'But why are you offering it in the first place?'

Nine Tails was quiet.

'Hey! Don't ignore me!'

'Shut up. I'm thinking.'

Naruto smiled then full out laughed. He saw Shikamaru looking at him out of the corner of his eye and tried to calm down.

'What's so funny, you brat.'

'You care about me.'

'I do not! Don't go making assumptions.'

'I'm grateful that I have you, Nine Tails. Even though you only started talking to me after I tried to kill myself, you've always been there for me.'

Nine Tails was silent again, and Naruto knew the conversation was over. His smile wouldn't leave his face, and it got bigger when he felt Shikamaru's arms wrap around his waist.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

"What did the nine tails say that was so funny?"

The smile on his face got wider, and he heard Nine Tails scoff. "Nothing." He rinsed off the final dish and put it in the drying rack, then turned in Shikamaru's arms to wrap his arms around the boy's neck. "I love you."

Shikamaru smiled and kissed him. "I love you too."

They kissed passionately for a few more minutes, then retreated to their room. They made out passionately, removing clothes and exploring each other's bodies, until Shikamaru looked down at him, love in his eyes. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Naruto's breath caught in his throat. "Wh-what?"

"I love you, Naruto, and I don't want anyone to take you away from me. I want you to be by my side forever. I want us to raise our son together. I want to grow old with you."

Naruto's heart was beating rapidly. If he didn't know any better, he'd think that Shikamaru was...

"I want you to marry me."

He said it. He really said it. Shikamaru was proposing to him. "Sh-Shika..."

"Marry me, Naruto. I don't care if it's tomorrow, next year, or ten years from now, but say that you'll marry me."

Naruto searched Shikamaru's eyes, praying that this wasn't a joke. No. All he saw in Shikamaru's eyes was love. "Yes. Yes, I'll marry you, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru let out a breath of relief, then leaned down and kissed him. Over and over again, he kissed him. Naruto could feel the love Shikamaru had to give.

'Hey, Nine Tails?'

'Hmm?'

'I'd like to take you up on your offer, but I want to wait. I don't think we're ready for another child just yet. I want to wait until Shikadai's a little older, so can I take a rain check?'

'Fine, but just remember, I'll only do it once.'

'Deal.'

Naruto smiled as Shikamaru pushed himself inside him. He wrapped his arms tightly around the boy... no, around the man that he loved. He knew that tonight's love making was going to be even better than all the previous ones combined.

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So, like I said, shorter, but I think it's kind of an important chapter... or maybe just a filler. What do you guys think? Leave a review and let me know

See you in the next chapter