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“This is so tedious. Being a good Hokage should mean giving your heart to your village, not losing your mind in endless paperwork.” Naruto groans, banging his head on the desk in Shikamaru’s office. Shikamaru continues reading his paperwork, unfazed by the tantrum his future boss is showing.
“All of this is important, Naruto. If you want to maintain a good relationship with neighboring villages, you have to learn the different policies and traditions that are set in place in order to-” Shikamaru’s speech is interrupted by Naruto’s moaning.
As the Hokage’s Advisor, Shikamaru has been assigned to help train Naruto in the rules and regulations of being the leader of the village. He knew this was going to be no easy task. Naruto prefers to deal with things in a hands-on way, and while these formalities technically fall under the advisor’s duty, it would be very beneficial for him to be knowledgeable in this area.
“Is it lunch time, already?”
“I need you to take this seriously, Naruto.”
“Hey! I never joke about food. What did you have planned?”
“I am going to enjoy a nice date with my girl. You are going to read this over and get ready for a quiz. Kakashi is coming over after to see how well you do.” Naruto huffs.
“Well, if I were you, I'd make sure to meet her at the restaurant. You don't want the chance of her running into Kakashi and getting all googly eyed.” He finally lifts his head and skims through the papers, not noticing Shikamaru’s pause.
“What are you talking about?” Shikamaru asks. Naruto gives him a confused look. He's known you a lot longer than Shikamaru has. So, naturally, he knows more about you than his friend does.
You and Naruto have known each other since childhood, similar to him and Shikamaru, but your friendship was different. You were also known as an outcast as a child. You didn't have any friends growing up, which led to no one being there to defend you when you got bullied. Naruto, being the kind hearted boy that he was, got in between you and some mean school boys. You admired him ever since, seeing him as an older brother more than anything.
Being shy also led to you not meeting his friends until your teenage years. It's not that Naruto tried to hide you, you just preferred to spend time only with him. He was the only family you needed at the time, anyone else would just hurt you. No matter how hard he tried, you refused to be friends with anyone else. It wasn't until the war, when you were forced to trust the people of the Hidden Leaf that you met his friends, more specifically Shikamaru. That’s when you met and fell in love with him. Although your relationship is not new, you guys are still getting to know each other.
“Have you never seen them interact with each other? I guess she does normally avoid him when she knows he's near. It's funny really, she gets all flustered in his presence and-”
“So what, she has a crush on Kakashi Sensei?”
“I wouldn't say a crush, necessarily. I mean she does think he's attract-” Naruto stops abruptly, as if he just realized what he was saying and who he was saying it to. Why did he bring that up? Your crush on Kakashi has always been a thing, even when you guys were younger. Naruto would always tease you about it. Now he feels guilty. He doesn't want to admit that getting ready to become Hokage has been stressing him out, so he really wasn't paying much attention to what he was saying.
Shikamaru gives him an impatient look.
“She finds him attractive?”
“‘Aggravating’ is what I meant to say. She doesn't like him at all.” Shikamaru rolls his eyes, knowing that Naruto is overcompensating for his word vomit. “There's nothing to be worried about. It's just a silly crush.”
“You just said it wasn't a crush.”
“Hey, you don't find Kakashi Sensei attractive? Let's be honest, here. You can find someone attractive and not feel anything else towards them.” Shikamaru blows out his breath. Why didn't you ever mention it to him? “Listen,” Naruto continues to ramble nervously, “Just please don't tell her that I said anything.”
“Hey, boys.” You knock on the door frame before letting yourself into the office. Naruto gives you a nervous glance while Shikamaru shoots you a weary smile.
“Hi, sweetheart.” Shikamaru greets you while you give Naruto a warm hug.
“Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt.”
“No interruption.” Naruto says. Shikamaru pats his leg, indicating to you that he wants you to sit on his lap. Usually you're uncomfortable with PDA, but Naruto is cool with it so you take a seat. “We were just discussing some regulations that I have to memorize.” You give Naruto a pout, knowing that he struggles to retain knowledge sometimes when he thinks the text is boring.
“Well Shikamaru is coming over after work today to help me try out some new cookie recipes, you should come over so I can help you study! And bring Hinata along, too! She always has some good tips to give me when it comes to baking.”
“I'm actually going to be testing him when we come back from lunch.” Shikamaru informs you. “So he's got an hour to at least lock down the basics to impress the Hokage.”
“Oh! Well Kakashi Hokage is very understanding. I'm sure you'll do good!” You give Naruto an innocent, comforting smile, not knowing the storm that's brewing behind you.
“What else do you think about Kakashi?” Shikamaru asks. You shoot him a confused look, but answer the question anyway.
“Well he's kind, he's a great ninja, and he's always been kind to Naruto.”
“What about to you? Has he always been kind to you?”
“I mean, I guess.” You see Naruto scratch the back of his head, a gesture he tends to do when he's uncomfortable. “What's going on?”
“Nothing! Nothing’s going on, everything is fantastic-”
“Naruto has just informed me about a crush you have on the great Hokage.” Immediately your head snaps toward your, now former best friend, eyes ablaze with anger and annoyance.
“Are you kidding me?”
“I'm sorry!” Naruto holds up his hands in defense as you rise up from your seat. “It just came out!”
“How does it ‘just come out’? I never told Hinata about all the times you've stared at Lady Tsunade’s boobs!”
“Hey! I never stare in a sexual way, they're just there in the way sometimes! And I've caught you looking, too!” A sound of indignation leaves your lips. “I've caught Shikamaru looking, too!” Like a caught toddler, Naruto points an accusatory finger to his friend who in turn shoots him a bewildered look.
“Why would you drag me into this?!”
“You dragged me into this!” Shikamaru lets out an amused chuckled, putting his hand against your back and giving you conforming rubs.
“I'm not upset, honey. I was just curious.”
“Well, it's embarrassing. Naruto shouldn't have said anything.”
“He shouldn't have brought it up, but you should have told me. It's not a big deal because I do trust you, but I feel like this is something I should know.” You nod your head.
“You're right, I'm sorry. I just thought this stupid crush would have gone away as I got older but I still act jittery when I'm around him.”
“What makes you nervous when he's around?”
“I don't know how to explain it. He's just so intimidating. I mean, he's known as the copy ninja! I've heard so many stories about all the fantastic and amazing things he's done. He's so tall, and fit. When you look into his dark grey eyes, you feel like everything is going to be okay. He has the aura of a leader. Especially now that he's older, he's just gotten even more handsome-”
“Alright, well, I didn't ask you to write a ballad about it.” Shikamaru cuts you off, piercing Naruto with a fierce glare when he hears him trying to hide his chuckle. You give Shikamaru an apologetic look, caressing his cheek and smoothing some flyaways behind his ear.
“I'm sorry, honey. I just get so anxious around him. I don't know how to get over it.”
“I think we just have to hang out more often so you can get over it.” He grabs your hand, leading you back to his lap. Although he was a little jealous at first, Shikamaru loves you and all your little quirks. He knows that the crush doesn't mean anything, and that you love him too. You still look upset as you sit there with him, so he rubs his nose against yours and gives your hairline a soft kiss. He gives you a small hum, and you respond with your own.
“Ugh, please don't start with the noises.” Naruto makes a gagging sound. You cuddle more into Shikamaru, now even more embarrassed.
“And here I came by to offer you guys some lunch. It seems like Shikamaru is already having his dessert.” At the sound of Kakashi’s voice, everyone scrambles to stand to attention.
“A bowl of ramen sounds real good right now, Kakashi Sensei!” Naruto says eagerly, wanting to get away from the paperwork and impending makeout session of his two best friends.
“Not just yet. I want to see what you've learned so far.” Kakashi walks in, making himself comfortable on the chair next to Naruto. Naruto rubs the back of his head sheepishly.
“Shikamaru said I could study until the end of the day.”
“If you don't know it by now, you won't know it an hour from now. Explain to me what you were able to retain.” Kakashi replies firmly.
Shikamaru, still standing next to you, leans over and whispers, “Nice boyfriend you've got there.” You give him a quick pinch to the ribs.