Shikamaru/Reader
A chilling wind blew through the streets of Konoha as you walked back to the apartment you shared with your boyfriend Shikamaru. You had just finished a long mission and were more than ready to curl up beside the lazy Nara and nap. Climbing stairs, you entered the apartment to find Shikamaru sprawled out on the couch, seemingly awaiting your arrival.
“Hey (Y/N),” He greeted not bothering to get up. Throwing your bag on the ground you collapsed onto the couch and onto Shikamaru which caused him to let out a surprised grunt. “You’re such a pain.” He groaned as you turned onto your stomach. You laced your arms around his neck and rested your head on his chest.
“You love me.” You mumbled into his shoulder.
“That I do.” He replied and ran his hand up and down your back. “If you wanna nap we should go to the bedroom.” You only grunted in reply. Shikamaru let out an exasperated sigh and decided to carry you to the bedroom. He hoisted you up with minimal effort and carried you to the bedroom, setting you down gently before pulling his shirt over his head. You followed suit and took both your shirt and pants off groaning with the effort it took you. It had been a long time since a mission had made you this tired. Shikamaru let out a quiet laugh as you struggled to remove your socks. He gently grabbed your feet and removed them for you. Shikamaru might be a lazy man, but for you he would move mountains, though he would probably complain that it was a drag once or twice.
Finally, you had removed your clothes, save for your underwear. Shikamaru climbed into the bed beside you and pulled you into his chest, resting his chin on the top of your head. You pressed your face into his neck and snuggled closer to him. These were the times you lived for. You loved to come home after a mission and curl up with the man you loved, sleeping for hours on end. You pressed a gently kiss on Shikamaru’s exposed neck. He replied with a content sigh. Shikamaru’s hand ran up and down your back, beckoning sleep to take you, and in no time it did.
While you were sleeping you dreamt about Shikamaru; specifically, how the two of you first officially met. It was around the time of the chunin exams. The two of you knew each other before then but never really talked seeing as you were in different friend groups. You were scheduled to battle a ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist when the Sand Village launched their attack on your village. Naturally you wanted to fight but your father wouldn’t let you. He told you to go to the evacuation point and wait with the civilians and non-combatants, but you, being a stubborn person, didn’t follow his orders. You argued with him and told him straight up that you wouldn’t sit back idlily while your friends and comrades died to protect the village. After that you stormed off to follow Naruto and the other genin who had gone after the sand ninja that attacked the village. On the way you came across Asuma-Sensi and continued on with him. It was then that you found Shikamaru who was facing a group of sound ninja. It was a good thing you came when you did, otherwise Shikamaru probably would’ve been another casualty of the attack. You and Asuma easily took down the sound ninja. Shikamaru was close to collapsing so Asuma instructed you to take him somewhere safe and let him rest.
“That would’ve been a drag if you hadn’t shown up.” He said as you sat down beside him.
“You’re welcome.” You replied and looked him over. “Here, let me heal those cuts.”
“You know medical ninjutsu?” You nodded and began to heal his wounds. They were minimal which was good. “My mother was a high ranking medical ninja. She taught me all she knew.” Shikamaru said nothing as you tended to his wounds. “So, you’re a Nara right? You guys are the ones who use Shadow Possession Jutsu.”
“Yeah.” Was all he replied.
“You don’t talk much do you?” You asked with a laugh.
“It’s just a hassle to talk right now.” Shikamaru shot an apologetic smile at you. “A nap would be awesome right now.”
“Then go ahead and nap. I’ll wake you if anything happens.” A surprised look crossed his face. “I'm (Y/N) by the way if you couldn’t remember from the academy. You didn’t seem to pay attention all that often.”
“Shikamaru.” He replied and closed his eye. Within a few minutes he was fast asleep and slumped against you, his head resting on your shoulder.
You let shikamaru nap for a while until you were anxious to get back to the village. Shaking him, you said his name in hopes of waking him easily. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. Finally, you yelled his name in his ear and gave him a shove. Shikamaru woke with a jolt which made you laugh.
“You’re such a drag.” He complained with a groan.
“Well we need to get back to the village. It’s been an hour and a half since we found you and it sounds like it’s calming down.” You got up and offered Shikamaru your hand.
“An hour and a half?” Shikamaru asked surprised. “You could’ve woken me sooner.” A small blush crept across his cheeks.
“It’s alright. You needed to gain some of your chakra back.” You said simply. “Now let’s get back.”
It took you half an hour to get back to the village and when you made it back you had to pause to comprehend the damage. You said nothing as you headed back towards where the chunin exams were being held. Before you got there, you were pulled away from Shikamaru by a medical ninja.
“(Y/N), it’s madness in the hospital. We need all the help we can get.” She said sounding distraught.
“Calm down,” You chastised gently, “We can’t be losing our head at times like this. Everything will be alright.” You offered her a reassuring smile. Little did you know, Shikamaru was staring at you in awe. He later told you that he was amazed at how calm you were in that situation, and that it was one of the reasons he fell for you. “I guess I’ll talk to you later Shikamaru. And make sure you get that one gash checked out later.” You waved and left with the medical ninja before Shikamaru could say anything else.
That day was full of horrors in the medical building. To say that it didn’t have an affect on you would be a lie, but you made sure to be calm and collected, just like your mother had taught you. By the end of the day you were exhausted and had expended most of your chakra. It was dark by the time you began to stumble home. One of the medical ninja offered to walk you home but you told him to stay with the patients and that you were fine. You weren’t. On top of the physical exhaustion, you were also emotionally exhausted. There were so many wounded shinobi in the hospital, more than you had ever seen before. You watched many of them die because you couldn’t do anything to save them. All of the sudden your foot caught on a crack in the pavement and you prepared yourself to faceplant onto the concrete. The impact never came. Instead, a pair of hands grabbed your hips and hoisted you onto your feet. “That was close.” Shikamaru said as you steadied yourself.
“Thanks.” You mumbled.
“Let me walk you home.” He offered and let you lean against him. “Looks like it’s you who’s used all your chakra this time.”
“Yeah. I’ve been at the hospital until now.” You leaned farther into Shikamaru, too tired to even talk.
“Let’s get you home. You look like you could collapse any minute now.” You grunted in reply and pointed out where you lived. Once you got home, your father would most likely be livid. But for now, all you cared about was sleeping.
There was a dark figure waiting at your door once you arrived. It was the Hokage. Shikamaru was practically holding you up by the time you made it to the waiting Hokage. “Lord Hokage.” Shikamaru greeted and the Hokage replied with a nod.
“(Y/N),” The Hokage began, his face grim. “Your father died during the battle.” You stared blankly at the Hokage, not comprehending what he said. “He fought bravely against Orochimaru’s forces.”
“Please take me inside Shikamaru.” You whispered while looking at the ground, tears gathering in your eyes. The Hokage stepped aside and let you through. Silently, Shikamaru brought you inside the house and was about to say something when you interrupted him. “Please leave.” You walked to your room before you could hear his reply. As soon as the door closed you slid down it and sat on the floor, too tired and too distraught to move anywhere else. By now, the tears began to fall. He was dead. And you had the nerve to argue with him just before a battle and not apologize. Now you could never apologize. In between your sobs you head a sigh from the other side of your bedroom door. It was Shikamaru.
“You know it’s a drag to be by yourself at times like these.” He said gently through the door. You didn’t reply. “If you want you could stay at my place for a while. We have a nice guest bedroom and I'm sure my mom and dad would be happy to have you stay with us.” The words mom and dad made you cry even harder, but you slowly slid away from the door and cracked it open. An invitation. Shikamaru entered and sat down beside you. For the rest of that night he stayed sitting beside you in silence until you fell asleep.
______
You stirred from your sleep, waking from your dream. Sighing you wiped away your tears. Even though the events of Orochimaru’s attack led to the death of your father and other Leaf Shinobi, it was also the cause of the ten year and counting relationship that had formed between you and Shikamaru. You accepted his offer and moved in with him and his parents. It was odd at first, but in a good way. It was the first time you had a mother figure since yours had died and eventually, they both became replacement parents to you. Smiling at the thought you stretched and noticed that the bed beside you was empty. There was a note on the side table.
(Y/N),
I'm going out for a while. Maybe we can go out for a nice dinner once I get home. Rest up because I have a fun night planned. Love you Sweetheart.
Love, Shikamaru
You smiled at the note. It was always nice when Shikamaru planned stuff for the two of you to do. You loved lazing around with him, but it was extra special for you when he actually planned things. Getting out of bed, you decided that before you went out with Shikamaru you would visit your mother and father’s grave. Throwing on a pair of leggings and a sweater, you headed out the door making sure to grab your scarf as you left.
The streets were relatively empty as you made your way to the cemetery, most likely due to the chilling breeze that was sweeping through the streets. You pulled your scarf tighter and quickened your pace. The cemetery wasn’t far from your house, so you made it there quickly. You made your way through the gate and headed towards your father’s grave but stopped when you noticed a figure standing at his grave. You hid behind a tree. It was Shikamaru. His hand was deep in his pocket as he stood in front of the grave with a bouquet of flowers in his free hand. Shikamaru set them on the grave and began to talk.
“Hey, Mr. (Y/L/N).” He began, “I have a question to ask you. It’s a drag because I wish I could’ve asked you in person but I'm sure you’re listening right now. It’s about your daughter (Y/N). You see, we’ve been together for ten years now, and they’ve been the best years of my life.” You stood silently as you listened to what he was telling your father. “(Y/N) is the most amazing woman and I'm so lucky to have her. I know that your death broke her in a way but a little piece of me is happy that things turned out this way. You gave me the chance to help her through your death and become closer to her so thank you for that. But I guess I should really stop rambling and get to the question part. So, like I said before, (Y/N) and I have been together for a long time now and I think it’s finally time for me to pop the question. So, I wanted to ask you if I could have your daughters hand in marriage.” You covered your mouth to stifle a sob. This was why he had planned something. A strong gust of wind blew, and you watched as a perfect circle of leaves blew past Shikamaru. “I’ll take that as a yes then.” You tried to hide behind the tree when Shikamaru turned to leave but you weren’t fast enough. “(Y/N)?” He questioned. Tears fell as you ran to him and threw your arms around his neck. “So much for my elaborately planned proposal. What a drag.” He said with a quiet laugh as he held you. Shikamaru let you go and reached into his pocket and pulled out a small blue box. Getting down on one knee, he opened the box and presented a ring to you. It was beautifully simple; a silver band with three small diamonds encrusted into the ring.
“(Y/N) (Y/L/N),” He said, looking up at you. “Will you spend the rest of your life with me?”
“Yes!” You cried with a laugh. “A thousand times yes.” Shikamaru slid the ring onto your finger and stood up.
“I love you, (Y/N).” Shikamaru said and wiped away your tears. Laughing, you kissed him deeply.
“I can’t believe that were getting married!” You said excitedly as you jumped up and down. Shikamaru laughed.
“Well, we still have reservations at our favorite restaurant, so we’d better go and get ready.” Shikamaru took your hand and led you out of the graveyard. You briefly looked back at your father’s grave. I wish you could be here to walk me down the aisle dad. Another breeze blew through Konoha and you could’ve sworn you heard your fathers voice.
I’ll always be with you.