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Kicking the Habit	By : KohakuShadow Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1312 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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A/N: This
story I think won't progress quite as quickly as is my habit. First
reason, I haven't really planned it out very well and have no real
clue as to where I'm headed from one chapter to the next. Second
reason—a renewed obsession with Kyo Kara Maoh snuck up on me
unexpectedly. Third reason—Xenosaga. Okay, so only one of
those reasons is a 'good' one, it is what it is. I should still be
able to at least get up a chapter a week.

Kicking the
Habit

Chapter Two: The Taste of Regret

“Ah, Iruka-sensei, over here!” Naruto bellowed, exuberant
as always.

Iruka was still working, but it was recess and the children were
playing amongst themselves. He jogged over to the edge of the
playground. “Hey, Naruto,” he said. “Feeling
nostalgic?”

Naruto looked over the playground and gave a goofy grin. “Maybe
a little, now that you mention it, I just wanted to thank you for the
other day,” he admitted, shifting a bit awkwardly.

“Oh, don't worry about that sort of thing,” Iruka
answered. “I don't mind treating you guys to ramen once in a
while, and I know you've been really worried about him for a while
now.”

Naruto's cheeks colored and he looked out at the playground again,
remembering the past. “Sometimes, I think things would have
been a lot different if I met Shikamaru first.”

Iruka blinked. It wasn't like Naruto to say something so reflective.
He knew Naruto meant 'before meeting Sasuke'. The two were nothing
alike, but Iruka understood what the blond was trying to say. Sasuke
had acknowledged him in much the same way that Shikamaru had
acknowledged Chouji. He saw his strengths and drove him to be
stronger. For Sasuke and Naruto that had been a rivalry that became
a friendship that had all gone to hell in the end. For Shikamaru and
Chouji it had become a friendship based on trust that just grew
deeper as time went on until it was an unbreakable bond that even
months apart couldn't interfere with. “Naruto...”

Naruto offered a sheepish laugh. “I guess it's not the kind of
thing I'd normally say, huh? But you know, Shikamaru is kind of a
lazy ass who doesn't do anything he doesn't have to, but he's a
really dependable guy who you can always count on in a pinch, you
know? Since he's saved my ass a lot of times now, when he gets that
lost look in his eye I sort of feel like I'd be a really horrible
person not to try to return the favor.”

“I never realized you thought so highly of him,” Iruka
answered. “But he's lucky to have a friend like you looking
out for him.”

Naruto gave a corny grin to cover up his embarrassment—but
Iruka really knew him too well to be convinced. “When we were
kids I just thought he was kind of lazy and useless,” he
admitted. “But during the chuunin exams, when Gaara tried to
kill Lee, Shikamaru stopped him with that shadow jutsu of his.”
Naruto remembered it clearly. “I thought he was going to pass
out, he was so terrified. I was standing next to him and his hands
were shaking, but he still did his best to protect Lee. That's when
I started to think about it. And he was just the same when we tried
to rescue Sasuke the first time. Shikamaru is actually a pretty
amazing guy, you know? Anyone can fight when they think they can
win, but to fight when you're pretty sure you can't because you're
trying to protect something, that's pretty cool too. I respect that
Shikamaru a lot, but then there's this guy who just sits in his
apartment all day chain-smoking and staring at the walls—I want
the old Shikamaru back, that's all, but if I told him to come eat
ramen with me it would have sounded like a date...and it, it's not
like that! Am I being weird?” Iruka was still really important
to Naruto too and probably always would be. There was no one else he
could babble like this to who would just sit there and listen while
he tried to get his mind around things that were bothering him,
trying to understand his own feelings about things.

“It's not weird,” Iruka answered. “You're the type
of person who worries about your friends. You always have been.
Shikamaru is lucky to have you looking out for him, no matter what it
does or doesn't seem like. I'm sure he appreciates it when you
distract him. He tries to act like things are back to normal, but
anyone with eyes can see that he's still suffering. I'm counting on
you to help him pull through. You have a talent for that kind of
thing, Naruto.”

“I do? I mean, of course I do! Just leave it to me!”
Re-energized, the blond ran off without another word, intent to go
distract Shikamaru right this instant! ...he got all the way to the
Nara's apartment before he realized that, like Iruka, Shikamaru was
still at the academy and would be for a few more hours. He made a
face and then got a bright idea. “I'm gonna go inside and
clean up for him while I wait! He's such a lazy bastard, I bet he's
got his dirty laundry all over the floor and dishes practically
falling out of the sink.” It would be a good enough way to
kill some time now that he was already here. Besides, the Nara never
invited anyone up into his apartment. Chouji was the only person
who'd seen it since Asuma's funeral, actually, and he didn't say
anything because he respected the Nara's right to privacy, or some
crap like that. Naruto was intensely curious. He'd heard sometimes
people kept their lovers' things exactly as they were for years after
they passed on. Did Shikamaru dwell on it like that? Did he stare at
Asuma's things day in and day out like he half-expected the man to
just walk through the door someday as if nothing had changed?

He picked the lock like a proper ninja and pushed open the front
door. There was a stack of unopened mail on the counter next to some
surprisingly neatly lined up scrolls. A pair of kunai held up a
scenic painting of a river in the forest that probably should have
been framed and hung properly—but Naruto chuckled a bit; that
was just typical of Shikamaru. “I bet if I said something he'd
just say 'I never got around to it'.” Through the open door he
could see the bed was unmade and, predictably, there were piles of
clothes strewn across the floor that seemed to have blossomed out of
a wicker laundry basket that just couldn't take one more pair of
boxer shorts, so the pile had toppled over and the Nara had probably
been kicking the dirty clothes aside for days, frowning and saying
'I'll deal with this later.'

“Well, at least there are some things that will never change.”
Naruto found it a little refreshing. Lately everything had been so
different. Since Asuma had died...no, before that. The past few
years things had slowly been changing without the young demon
container noticing, and it felt like one day he woke up and
everything was different. Maybe that's why it was so important to
him that Shikamaru was able to find himself again. Once he got the
bulk of the laundry into the wash, he began to stack the papers on
the desk properly. “Honestly, this guy's a teacher? He must
lose people's tests all the time in this pigsty,” the blond
complained. Too bad Iruka-sensei had never conveniently lost any of
his tests. Naruto chuckled
to himself. Back then, he was a real pain in the ass. He was always
pulling stupid pranks—and even if he hadn't really changed much
he thought he had—but at the same time, those were the days
when he made a lot of good friends. He hardly got the chance to see
any of them anymore. Maybe that's why he was here. He felt like he
was being left behind. A laminate paper fluttered to the ground.
“Eh? What's that?” he wondered, bending over and picking
it up. It was a sheet of photo stickers, none used, but well cared
for. “Ah, this is...”

// “Hey hey! It's a photo booth! Let's take some pictures!”
Naruto declared, tugging Shikamaru along.

“Cut it out. Hey, let go! Who'd want to take pictures with a
spaz like you anyway?” Shikamaru complained.

“Stop being such a pain!”
Naruto griped. “It's a festival, a festival
and Chouji is making kissy faces at Ino now, so you have nothing
better to do anyway!”

There was some general kicking and flailing that resulted in some
hilarious photo stickers. Naruto had long since used all of
his—posting them up in the oddest places, much to Shikamaru's
disdain, but Shikamaru had saved his. “I guess that's just the
kind of way that Shikamaru thinks. Ten steps ahead as always.”
Now that he saw them he wished he'd kept his as a memento too. Ah
well, too little too late.

Shikamaru frowned to find his front door hanging partially open. He
sneaked carefully inside. “...hello?”

Naruto barreled out of the bedroom. “I've discovered your
secret!” Naruto declared, bounding out of the bedroom.

Shikamaru paled. What in the world could Naruto have found? There
were too many possibilities that he didn't dare formulate a theory.
“My...secret?” he asked tentatively.

“Yep!” the blond declared. “You're shy!
The Pervy Sage always has a shy character in his stories! You're the
type of character who complains a lot and says mean things to cover
up the fact that you're actually touched!” He held up the
sticker sheet and waved it around.

“...you're an idiot,” Shikamaru sighed. “Do you
make it a habit of breaking into people's homes to do their laundry
and wash their dishes?”

“Just yours, because you're such a lazy ass,” Naruto
said. “Make me ramen as a thank you.”

“Make your own damn ramen,” Shikamaru griped, snatching
the page back and returning it to the dresser in a bedroom he no
longer recognized. “I don't have to thank you for things I
never asked for in the first place.” Out of sight, he sighed
in relief. Naruto could have found any number of things that one
tended to not hide as well when one lived alone—like the two
dirty videos, vibrator, and lubricant in the top drawer of his
nightstand. Hey, he may still be sad over losing Asuma, but that
didn't mean his hormones had been completely eradicated. “I
guess I got off easy this time,” he said with a heavy sigh,
pulling out his cigarettes and putting one between his lips, lighting
it as he moved back into the main room to find Naruto rummaging
around the kitchen for cup ramen after all. “...don't you have
a life?” he complained.

Naruto didn't answer, turning instead with a disgusted look at the
smoke the Nara was exhaling and the cigarette burning between his
fingers. “Put that disgusting thing out!” Naruto
demanded, pointing at the Nara.

“It's my place. If you don't like it, then get out.”

Naruto frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. No, he was
stubbornly sticking to it. “Put it out damn it! I'm your friend
and I don't like it so be a little considerate!”

Shikamaru sighed and 'considerately' opened the window before taking
another drag. “...it's not as if I don't know it's a
disgusting habit, but you're too simple-minded. Things aren't always
as easy and straight-forward as you seem to think they are.”

“If you don't like it, don't do it!” Naruto demanded,
stomping his foot.

“I'm telling you it's not that easy!” Shikamaru returned
just as adamantly, brow twitching a bit. “Do something
incredibly unusual for you and listen when people speak for once!”

“I am listening!” Naruto insisted, “I just think
it's stupid! Find something else to do with your mouth!”

Shikamaru's eyes widened in surprise and the cigarette tumbled from
his fingers, burning a little patch in the hardwood floor. Those
were almost the exact same words he'd used on Asuma right before they
had sex for the first time. Without his permission, water welled up
in his eyes and he turned quickly away from the blond, covering his
eyes.

Naruto blinked. “Was it something I said?”

“Just...get out and leave me be. It's none of your business,”
Shikamaru said, his voice quivering with the effort not to burst into
tears. He was over this, wasn't he? It was just sometimes
particularly vivid memories caught him off guard and reopened the
wound in his heart.

Naruto awkwardly wrapped his arms around the Nara instead. “...you
never listen to what anyone says,” Shikamaru sighed.

“What you say and what you need are too different,” the
blond complained. “I'm not that smart, so I didn't understand
you for a long time, but there's no way I'm going to let another one
of my important friends destroy himself. No way. You're a real
asshole sometimes, but if I couldn't walk away from Sasuke, then
there's no way in hell that I can walk away from you either!”

“...Naruto...”

“...so...I won't tell anyone if you cry.”

“...like I'd give you the satisfaction,” the Nara
complained.

“And I'll help you quit those cigarettes! You're way too smart
to do something so stupid!”

“Give me a break. You're taking on more than you can handle
with that one.”

“Shut up! You never know until you try! I can do it for sure!
If I can't do even this much, I have a long way to go before I can
become hokage!”

Shikamaru found his soul eased by the stupid banter. “You have
a long way to go no matter what stupid tasks you take on,” the
Nara replied finally managing to make himself pull away from the
embrace and stomping the cigarette out before picking it up, frowning
at the burn mark in the hardwood flooring.

Naruto impulsively whacked the Nara in back of the head when he
turned to drop it in the ashtray. “Hey, ow!”

“You're an ungrateful bastard, Shikamaru,” Naruto griped.
“But that's okay. I know what you really mean is 'gee, thanks
Naruto! You're a really good friend and I appreciate any help you can
give me!'”

“I take it back,” Shikamaru said. “You're not an
idiot, you're delusional.”

Naruto awarded the Nara with a goofy
grin. “And you need me.”

Shikamaru looked down at the
half-pack of cigarettes and sighed. Quitting? With Naruto's help?
He didn't have to be a genius to figure out that this was going to be
way too troublesome.

~TBC~

To
Reviewers:

Devious
lil Devil: I
think the pairing has it's charm, and anyway, I like to mix things up
once in a while. Let's face it, if Naruto becomes hokage someday,
he's going to NEED Shikamaru's brain to survive the experience.
Desperately. Haha.

YaoiBK:
Pregnant
and married? I think I can answer that one with a resounding no right
off. For starters, it's WAY too soon for that! Shika is still
getting over his last lover, so don't go suddenly marrying him off!
Haha. In any case, glad you like it so far.

FairyNiamh,
Prpl Grl, mls, & llyoung: Thanks
for the reviews! Some of you are new to me, and some of you seem to
review everything I write. Haha. (you know who you are). In any
case, I appreciate you taking the time to leave a kind word. Helps
keep me motivated.
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Kicking the Habit