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Waking up was never a pleasant experience; it was inherently bullshit, because it explicitly meant that Shikamaru was no longer sleeping.
But there were definitely ways to make it more pleasant. Not being woken up in a hurry by someone else was one. Waking up against the soft warmth of his boyfriend was another.
(He’d turned up at the Akimichi compound some time in the early afternoon, smelling of smoke and dirt after spending the morning out in the forest. After exchanging basic pleasantries with Chōza and finding out his boyfriend was out running errands, he’d gone straight to Chōji’s room to wait for him to get back.)
(Which, of course, meant he’d immediately collapsed on Chōji’s bed and dozed off.
(What the fuck time was it now?)
“Oh, hey sweetheart.” The man lying beside him shifted, and Shikamaru didn’t bother lifting himself as Chōji’s arm scooped smoothly under his shoulders. A gentle kiss met his cheek, and the advisor finally cracked an eye open. “Welcome back!”
Round face covered with freckles, reddy-brown curls piled up on top of his head in a messy bun; pretty and handsome and cute all rolled into one, Chōji sported the very definition of a smile that lit up the room and for a couple of seconds, Shikamaru was simply taken aback by it.
(Growing up, he’d always thought Chōji was pretty, but the confidence he’d developed through and after the war absolutely took his radiance to another level.)
Bringing one skinny hand up, he settled for cupping one soft cheek and running the pad of his thumb over the groove of one of the swirls carved into his skin. “How long was I out?”
He stole a quick kiss before Chōji could answer him, earning him a snort for his troubles. “You were already asleep when I got home, ‘Maru. I’ve been here for like an hour, but I dunno know when you got here.”
Shikamaru stiffened, and he felt his boyfriend do the same in kind. There was something in the way Chōji spoke, the way he was moving; something Shikamaru couldn’t pick up on in almost anyone else but Chōji wasn’t anyone, he was Chōji . “You good?”
“Mmhm!” The moment the hum left his throat, the facade dropped. (It was high and forced in a way Chōji’s voice went whenever he wasn’t being honest; Chōji was a terrible liar. But even if he weren’t, if there was one person he’d never be able to successfully lie to-) Instead, the man rolled onto his back with a huff of a sigh. “I’m just a little down. I’ll be okay.”
“You wanna tell me about it?”
“It’s stupid.” A sharp elbow jabbed into the bigger man’s ribs lightly, a concerned frown making its way onto Shikamaru’s face. “Okay, okay . I was just. Thinking about stuff.” Another silent nudge to his side, a little more insistent. “I just…? I miss Karui, that’s all.”
The last sentence sounded almost shy, or maybe even ashamed. “Don’t ‘ that’s all ’ me. C’mere.” The frown on Shikamaru’s face softened and he beckoned with his hand- an offer that Chōji immediately took. Rolling back, he settled himself down with his head on Shikamaru’s shoulder, half lying on the rest of him with the man’s arms wrapped tightly around him.
(Chōji was easily almost twice as heavy as Shikamaru, but as far as the latter was concerned there was no better way to pressure stim. It’d taken him a while to get his boyfriend to understand, but the weight was comfortable. Reassuring. One of his favourite things.)
“Is that all that’s up?”
Chōji huffed against his neck, breathing in the stench of tobacco clinging to his shirt and his breath. Mixed with Shikamaru’s own scent of dirt and trees and skin, it was simultaneously unpleasant and comforting . “Yeah.”
“You promise ?”
“Yeah, I promise.” The bigger man paused, closing his eyes as he brought a hand up to rest on his boyfriend’s other shoulder. “It’s just been a while since I got a letter from her. So I was rereading the ones she already sent, and… I guess I got a little sad.”
“Why don’t you just send her another one?” Using one hand to gently run his knuckles down the man’s back, Shikamaru craned his head forward to rest his cheek against Chōji’s hair.
“I don’t want to get annoying.”
“I dunno man, I’d be pretty stoked if you sent me a letter. Especially if I wasn’t expecting it.” Chōji huffed, and Shikamaru shushed him. “No, listen t’me. Think about it. There’s no downside to a cute guy sending you extra things just to let you know he’s thinking about you. Right?”
“... I guess you’re right.”
“You’d feel really great if you suddenly got two packages in a row from Karui, right?”
"Well, yeah , but-”
“So why wouldn’t she?”
(Shikamaru wasn’t particularly good at things like this, but it was always nice when he was . Except when it was about things that Chōji already knew and was trying to avoid or deny.)
(For all of the leaps and bounds his self confidence had made, there were still some snags.)
“Alright, yeah, I get your point. Maybe if nothing arrives in the next couple of days, I’ll… write another letter. Maybe find something nice to send with it.”
Something was feeling lighter in the man’s voice, and Shikamaru considered his work done. “Sounds good to me, sweetheart.” He punctuated his sentence with a little kiss to the man’s curls, and a squeeze around his shoulders. The weight on top of him relaxed, as Chōji hid his freckled face against Shikamaru’s neck. “And if you don’t, I’ll tell Ino about it.”
“Don’t do that.”
“Then she’ll write Karui a letter instead.”
“And then Karui will be her girlfriend instead, and then where will I be?”
“Stuck with me , reminding you about your hot ex-girlfriend.”
(Chōji’s laughter was one of the prettiest noises he’d ever heard.)