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Shikamaru has had a massive headache even before he opened his eyes this morning. He remembered becoming conscious and his head feeling heavy and hurting like he had drunk until he lost consciousness. He didn’t want to go to work, but he had to. 

Sighing, he opened his eyes just to feel the headache intensifying, he let a growl escape from his lips and got out of bed to change his clothes and walk to the Hokage Tower. The young man was tired and he didn’t try to hide it, he barely talked to his mother before abandoning his home, he wasn’t hungry, and if he had the chance, he would’ve thrown up the dinner he had last night.

Trying his best not to bump into someone who might think talking was a great idea, he finally reaches the Hokage Tower and prepares himself to feel annoyed by his boss and mostly by Naruto and… well, Naruto in general. God bless Naruto and his personality when someone was feeling blue, but Shikamaru was not in the mood to even have the blond at his side just breathing. He wanted that day to go as easily as it could be, so he could at least feel less miserable. 

Shizune was the first one to notice, but since she noticed his bad mood too, she tried to approach him slowly and show him she didn’t want to be a bother. 

“Shikamaru-kun… Are you perhaps feeling ill?”

Shikamaru tried to answer as friendly as possible. “I have a headache, I’m sorry if I was acting rudely”. He apologized sincerely, it wasn’t anyone’s fault, but still, he knew his expression was worse than the one he usually had. 

Shizune nodded, watching him a bit concerned until she offered her help. 

“Maybe I can try to dissipate it with medical jutsu.”

The short-haired woman didn’t wait for an answer as she came closer to the Hokage’s Advisor in training, acting fast and kind of serious. Her hands started to glow in a green light, expecting his pain to disappear as soon as possible, Shikamaru waited for his head to stop throbbing so damn hard.

A few seconds passed, but the headache didn’t stop. Shizune took her hands away from the taller’s head. 

“Did it work?”

He considered lying, but it was too troublesome to act differently for her not to discover the reality. He sighed and shook his head. It was weird. This should count as a type one difficulty illness, so why wasn't it working? She was going to talk again, but another Hokage employee asked for him. Kakashi was looking for Nara. 

“Try to take it easy, Shikamaru-kun! See you later.”

His luck was not as great as he loved to think, again, God bless Naruto, but he was not in the mood to deal with his energy. No matter how hard he tried to avoid him, Naruto found a way to break the little peace he had found throughout the morning, and it was not very difficult for the blonde to find his second best friend, considering they worked in the same place.

The future Hokage was being his usual self: loud, active, and friendly, while the shadow master was losing his patience second by second. He thought his head was going to explode when Naruto called him. 

“Oi Shikamaru, are you listening? We’re going to Yakiniku Q with the boys, are you coming?” Shikamaru signed. 

“I have a hideous headache, I’ll pass this time…”

“Oh, okay. I hope you feel better, tho!” 

Nara closed his eyes, feeling the headache intensify with the loud voice. “Can you not talk so loud, please? I’m sorry, I just feel really bad.”

He didn’t want to be rude, especially to the blonde, but between nausea and trying not to lose consciousness, it wasn’t an easy task. 

“Oh! Don’t worry, Shikamaru. You’re not being rude, but hey! Why don’t you ask Kakashi-sensei for the day off? He’ll sure understand, right?

Naruto exclaimed, the black-haired man closed his eyes trying to cease the intense throbbing he felt in his head. 

“Naruto!” He called him trying to make him shut up. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll see you later.” With that, the blond left him alone by his desk. 

Naruto’s idea wasn’t bad, he could get up, knock on Kakashi’s office, and ask for the rest of the day to go back to his home and rest. But, deep down, Shikamaru took his responsibilities seriously, it didn't seem worth it to leave the place before his shift ended. 

He sighed for the thousandth time while resting his head on his desk. 

“…maru-kun”

Maru-kun? Who was that? 

“…maru-kun” something touched his arm trying to move him softly. 

He tried to open his eyes, but the heavy feeling over him was an impediment to doing as he wanted. The drowsiness was leaving his body, so he was more aware of his environment.

“Shika?” The clear but soft voice made him open his eyes. Slowly his and Naruto's office stopped being blurry and two silhouettes appeared near him. 

A worried Hinata and Shizune were near him, Hinata's hand was on his forehead and somehow, the heat from her hand was helping his throbbing head.

“Shika… are you okay?”

“Earlier he had a headache, are you still having one Shikamaru-kun?”

The black-haired man thought about how to respond, as by the first movement with his head, the pain intensified, making him growl. He gave a soft answer indicating to both women that indeed, he still has an awful headache. 

Hinata looked more worried as he found some strength to stand. Immediately, he got dizzy and supported himself leaning on his desk. 

“Shikamaru-kun, I think you should rest, have you talked to Hokage-sama? I’m worried something’s wrong as the medical jutsu didn’t work earlier.” Shizune tried to advise him.

Before Nara could even say something, Kakashi interrupted. “No, he hasn’t talked to me, but people around here seem worried about our little advisor. At least five people have informed me about an angry shadow user.”

Even with his mask on, you could tell Kakashi had a funny expression, plus his voice revealed how much he wanted to annoy Shikamaru. Nara didn’t know what made his head feel worse, Shizune revealing to his comrade his condition, the Hokage trying to annoy him, or the fact that some of his coworkers went their way to talk to Kakashi. 

Shikamaru sighed again, closed his eyes, and pressed the bridge of his nose. Hinata put her hand on his arm, making him open his eyes to watch her. Hinata’s characteristic lavender aroma went straight to Shikamaru’s nostrils. 

 Right.

Hinata was there. 

Shikamaru tried to smile to reassure her that everything was okay, he didn’t want to worry her, especially not her. Both young adults looked at each other for a few seconds before Kakashi interrupted while clearing his throat, “Hinata-chan, I summoned you for a special task, but I think that one needs to be put aside for the moment. I have a new and more important one.” 

Kakashi’s eyes disappeared behind his smile, no one could ever think of what Hatake was going to say, but that didn’t stop the younger man from glaring at him. “Hinata-chan, as an official mission, please make sure our advisor in training reaches home and that he rests for the next hours, maybe two-to-three days.”

Shikamaru intervened, “Kakashi, come on, you can't do that, can he?” With the last sentence, he looked at Shizune trying to find an answer to this clear power abuse, but the expression she had told him everything.

“He can, he’s the Hokage and he’s giving one of his shinobi a mission. Although he’ll need to pay Hinata-chan for that”, Tsunade’s apprentice said. That was true, it was a mission after all but before someone else could say something, Hinata denied the payment.

“Hokage-sama, that’s not necessary, I accept the ‘mission’”, with a light bow she looked at her comrade waiting for him to move. She didn’t want to impose, but the fact that Kakashi gave her a new “mission”, and that she was worried for him, made her a little bit more forward than ever. 

With a light tuck on his sleeve, Hinata signaled Shikamaru to take his things so they could leave the place. He did as he was supposed to, he only got some food that didn’t have the chance to eat, and leaving it on Naruto’s desk, he started walking down the corridor with Hinata by his side, both ignoring the fact that the Hokage and his advisor were watching them.

“They don’t know they like each other, right?” Shizune asked her Hokage, he just nodded before telling her they got some work to do.

Everybody in Konoha, including the new Konoha 12, knew something was happening between the two clan heirs. Based on Ino’s comments, the village thought they were dating or close to, since they spend a lot of time together, of course, everything went around Mirai, but sometimes they just spent time together as friends, everyone had those, right? Konoha 9 were close, always been and with the addition of Sai, the group grew bigger. With the history between their senseis, team 8 and 10 were the closest ones, and with how everything ended, both Nara and Hyūga acquired “godparents responsibilities” as Sakura liked to call them, eventually, both teenagers, and now adults, grew closer . 

The talking began again when both shinobi were seen together, Shikamaru was looking notably sicker by now and somehow, almost fallen if it wasn’t for Hinata to catch him, she hugged him and helped him to walk slower, they turned right to pass through a less concurred street and a shortcut to the Nara Clan’s territory. Step by step, Shikamaru felt like he was going to collapse any minute. 

“Is someone home?” She asked in a low voice, both clans were different, and while she had the second branch to “serve” the main one, even though she didn’t like that, Shikamaru’s clan had a different system where the whole family, no matter Clan head or not, would take turns doing various tasks. In a low growl, he let her know that he had no idea. “We’re almost there, okay? Uhm… Shika, I’m going to stay with you, so don’t worry.”

He wasn’t worried at all, if he wasn't feeling like he was going to pass out any minute from now, he would’ve been thrilled about having her at his house spending time with him. He wouldn’t admit it though, he wouldn’t admit how much he likes her, and how right the village was with their not-so-subtle comments. Reaching the Clan’s gates, Hinata nodded her head towards the two clansmen that looked worried about the man she was helping standing. 

“Is mom home?” She heard him ask, both men shook their heads while one of them answered, “Yoshino-san left early and hasn’t returned yet, do you need something, Shikamaru-san? Are you okay?” He dismissed them with his hand, not wanting to be rude but also, not having the energy to continue talking. 

Hinata thanked them and continued walking with him toward the inside of his house. She has been there plenty of times: with her team, with Mirai and Kurenai, only with Mirai, other times with his team, and recently, mostly by herself. At first, his Clan was shocked watching another woman with him besides his teammate, but eventually, they grew used to it.

Feeling familiar with the territory, she moved ahead trying to get as fast as they could so her friend could rest. “Hinata… I'm gonna throw up”, Shikamaru told her when they reached the main door, and as fast as he could, he opened the door to run to the nearest bathroom. 

Nara hadn’t even taken his shoes off, and while Hinata wanted to give him privacy, she thought it was dangerous to leave him alone. She followed the sound and knocked on the door asking, “Shika? Are you okay? Do you need something?” She didn’t receive an answer right away, but exactly when she was going to open the bathroom door she heard her friend talk. 

“I’m okay, just give me a few minutes”, he asked. No one would like the person they like seeing them throwing up, so he emptied his stomach once again and brushed his teeth before getting rid of his pineapple-styled ponytail. The movement sent Shikamaru’s head another throb and walking slowly, he collapsed on the sofa. The teapot announcing the water was ready brought him back to reality. “Hinata?” He called her.

It took a few seconds, but the black-haired woman appeared with a cup of tea in her hands. Sitting beside him, she placed the cup on the small table in front of the sofa, seeing as he could not take the object in his hands. He was trembling, and even when he had closed his eyes, his discomfort was plastered on his face. Hyūga took one of Shikamaru’s hands between hers so she could get his attention, giving him a worried look before touching his forehead with the back of her hand. 

“I think you should sleep, Shika. Shizune-san said something about the healing jutsu not working before, right? I think you have a migraine… I made you some chamomile tea, it’ll help.” Hinata took the cup and Shikamaru resented the loss of her heat, he opened his eyes and took the cup so he could start drinking it after he muttered his thanks. 

She sat quietly the whole time he drank his tea and with a final sigh, he looked back at her. Did he even deserve her attention? She could’ve been doing something more important or enjoyable instead of taking care of him, but once again, he thanked her, trying to make it as sincere as possible. Shikamaru then got up and while still trembling, Hinata rushed to help him. Words weren’t needed between the two, she helped him get to his room and rest on his bed, and while he tried his best to sleep, Hinata closed the blinds hanging over his windows, allowing him to engulf in darkness.

Shikamaru didn’t know how much time passed since he lost consciousness, but once he was aware of his surroundings, he felt a cold piece of cloth on his forehead and another one in constant movement. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and Hinata appeared right in front of him making sure his fever went down.

Beautiful. Even with a worried expression, she was beautiful .  

“Shika, how are you feeling?” Her hand stopped right on his cheek, he put his on top of it while looking at her. Beautiful .

“Better, my head still hurts, but I’m feeling better than before.” He said before opening his eyes a little wider and sitting on his bed. Hinata had come near him, and a lavender smell went to his nostrils. After so much time together, he came to recognize that she smelled like that, especially her hair, and without her knowing, her aroma always helped him relax.

“May I look with my Byakugan?” She asked while. Va blushing, it was a daily rule: no Byakugan within the walls of her house, and obviously, that applied to every house she went to. “I’ve been thinking that you might’ve strained a chakra path or there’s something else I can see with my eyes.” With her reasoning, Shikamaru couldn’t refuse her help, and with a nod, he let her know she could proceed. 

Immediately, Hinata activated her dōjutsu and with a quick scan, her hands went to the sides of his head. Fingers with infused chakra moved along the area, and even though it hurted, Nara could feel his head releasing all the pressure he had felt since early morning. Feeling dizzy again, he crouched a little bit resting his forehead on Hinata’s shoulder, her fingers were doing miracles with his headache, and being this close to her, the sweet smell of lavender coming from her calmed him down. 

After a few minutes, Hinata stopped and Shikamaru sighed, he didn’t want to move. “Shika”, she called him. “You had a few blocked chakra paths, I suggest you go back to sleep for a few hours, okay?” The young adult only groaned, but he still didn’t move. Hinata stayed still until he had the strength to do so. 

“Can we stay like this?” His question surprised her, his cheeks were blushed, but she thought it was because of the temperature. Hinata bit her own lips for a few seconds, her own cheeks blushed, but she couldn’t say no. She was enjoying the closeness too, and even if he was sick, she wanted to stay like this too. 

She didn’t respond, instead, she got up from his bed to move closer to him. She sat down, this time, sitting behind him and with her face red as a tomato, Hinata called him so he could support his back and head on her chest. Shikamaru sighed when he found a comfortable position and quickly went back to sleep as his friend recommended. Little by little, the Hyūga relaxed too, enjoying the warm feeling of his body against hers. Her cheeks went back to her usual color, her hand went to his hair, and slowly, she played with it, caressing it with fondness. 

Hinata sighed for the first time in the day, she wasn’t particularly tired, but the worriedness she felt throughout the day quickly fatigued her. Moving her head, she checked on him, noticing how Shikamaru was asleep she smiled and sighed again. She took the opportunity to think about the situation. If she was sincere with herself, Hinata knew she liked him, she would even dare to say she was in love with him, but her previous experience kind of stops her from saying it outloud. Even her friends didn’t know about it. She kept her feelings buried, in fear she could lose someone really important for her if things get awkward. 

With that, Hinata decided she would remain as his friend, hoping one day her feelings would go away. She felt her eyes heavy and while her hand still caressed Shikamaru’s hair, slowly she started to drift away. “-Nata…” His voice sounded far but awakened her enough to be aware he was calling her. “I love you…” With that, the young man turned around, hugging her body more comfortably. 

Hinata froze and immediately opened her eyes, did he mean what she was thinking? Her heart began to beat rapidly, maybe he didn’t mean it like she had hope to, right? There was no way Shikamaru felt the same way as her. Maybe he loves her as a friend, and even felt thankful in his sleep. Yeah, that must be it. 

Right? Right?!

“Shika… what did you say?” She asked him just to confirm, but he didn’t respond. Hinata was going to move a little bit, but suddenly Shikamaru’s mom opened the door to enter the bedroom. 

If Hinata thought she couldn’t blush more, she was so wrong. She was so, so wrong. 

“Shikamaru you- Oh, Hinata sweetie, hi!” Yoshino stopped mid entering her son’s bedroom and while the woman was known for her strong character, she suddenly turned her worried expression into a sweet smile, not minding the fact that her boy was hugging the Hyūga princess. 

The Nara matriarch seemed to not care about his son sleeping as she continued talking loudly, Hinata, with a soft smile put her hand over Shikamaru’s ear, covering it with her palm while her fingers continued to caress his hair. “Yoshino-san, hi. I’m sorry, but Shikamaru-kun wasn’t feeling well at work and Hokage-sama sent him back home.” It was weird, now that she thinks about it, how Kakashi gave her that kind of “mission”.

The older woman smiled again while looking back and forth between his son and Hiashi’s first daughter. She would love to have her as a daughter too, but apparently, her son was stupid. So much intelligence for a stupid boy. She sighed and shook her dead. “Well, honey, would you like to stay for dinner?” 

“It would be my pleasure, thanks Yoshino-san”. Nodding her head, Hinata gave a light bow to the older woman, her cheeks still red but somehow, her heart felt calmer than before. “Oi, Shikamaru, wake up. Stop harassing poor Hinata-chan.” And poor Hinata-chan blushed again with this, Shikamaru released a low grunt before slowly moving.

“What a drag… I’m not harassing anybody”. Shikamaru’s bored tone surprised Hinata, he was awake and with the same pace he had been doing everything since he had woken up for the first time, he stopped hugging Hinata and sat on his bed.

Yoshino rolled her eyes before leaving the door. “Dinner’s ready”. The room turned silent and Hinata felt aware of what happened. Was he asleep when he said that? Now she didn’t know what to think. 

“Shika you… Uh”, Hinata bit her lower lip, not knowing how to ask him. “Did you mean what you s-said earlier?” Shikamaru raised an eyebrow feeling like he was entering dangerous territory. If it was someone else, he would’ve said something out of spite just to miss the shot, but with Hinata he didn’t want to be that much of a bastard. Additionally, he didn’t know what she was talking about.

“I’m sorry, Nata. Did I say something while I was sleeping?” He saw Hinata’s cheeks blushed but then, the young lady shook her head.  “N-nevermind, I must’ve heard wrong.” She gave him a sincere smile before standing up. “I’ll help your mom, don’t take too long, okay?”

Somehow, Shikamaru felt like he messed up. Why? He actually didn’t remember anything, and by the feeling of her hand caressing his hair, she wasn’t mad because he had hugged her. Nara sighed before standing up and going downstairs to eat something, hoping this time he wouldn’t throw up. “Troublesome…”

By the end of the evening, Hinata offered herself to wash the dishes. Yoshino offered Shikamaru to dry them, and let the young adults alone. If she was patient enough, one day Hinata would be her daughter-in-law, they just needed a little push so her stupid son could actually do things right. 

The room was quiet with occasional comments about this and that, nothing too deep as Shikamaru was still thinking what he said earlier to Hinata that made her ask him. Hyūga had just passed him the last glass when Shikamaru remembered how he said to her “I love you”. His eyes widened as he gasped and let the glass fall, he clicked his tongue as he watched the disaster he had made with the now broken glass. Without thinking he extended his arm towards the pieces in order to start cleaning, and when he took one, his hand immediately hurt. 

He has cut himself. Hinata gasped when she saw his blood, she took his wrist with one hand and with the other she opened the faucet to guide his hand to the cold water. “That was a little dangerous…” Shikamaru couldn’t help his smile when he understood that Hinata was scolding him for his actions. He snorted but didn’t refute her words. The whole day was a drag, why start caring now?

“Hinata”, he called her after a few seconds of silence. Hinata was thoroughly cleaning the cut under the water, but hummed to let him know she was paying attention. He decided to be a man, and whatever happens, would be for the best. It wasn’t fair to claim he didn’t remember what he had said when his friend was preoccupied with it before. “You asked me if I meant what I said, so the answer is yes. I’m in love with you, I think I’ve been for a while now.” 

Silence. 

Nice, just nice. 

He messed it up.

He felt panic thinking about how he had misunderstood everything. Hinata was being friendly, yeah, loving too, but maybe it was as a friend, and he had believed that something was there. Maybe he read it all wrong and now everything will not be okay.

“Shika… I’m… I’m in l-love with you too.” Hinata turned her face to properly see him, her cheeks blushed again, but her eyes showed him some determination that he didn’t think was possible to see in this kind of situation. He was surprised, his heart was beating so fast that he thought Hinata could hear it against his chest.

“May I kiss you?” He suddenly asked her, expecting a full positive answer. With the nod of her head and her even more blushed cheeks, he smirked before closing the gap between them. Their 17cm height difference became too much for him, and watching Hinata closed her eyes, he did the same. 

Their lips touched softly, feeling shy because of the discovery of thousands of fireworks exploding. Hinata felt like an old cliché, but she didn’t care. Closing the faucet with one hand, Shikamaru turned his body completely to Hinata, his non-injured hand went to the back of her waist while Hinata’s arms went around Shikamaru’s neck. Their initial kiss broke when they separated their faces only to look at each other, a smile full of reassurance posed in each other's lips, and with more confidence, they kissed again this time, moving their lips at a slow pace. 

“Oi, oi, love birds, I’m glad you finally made it to this point, but let’s clean this. Shikamaru, it’s your turn with the clan children.” Yoshino interrupted faking her annoyance as the shards were still on the ground. With a broom, she started to clean but her son took it from her hands to do it himself. Hinata smiled at the action. “When you’re done, take Hinata with you. The kids will love her.” With that, the older woman left them alone again, happy to see the redness of Hyūga’s cheeks. 

“Do you want to stay? I just need to train them for an hour. I’ll take you home when I’m done”, Hinata smiled before nodding, her answer clear. She stayed by his side while walking through the corridors of the clan’s territory once his wound was treated properly, it wasn’t that bad, so a basic healing jutsu worked.

Most of the children have already arrived at the training space so the session started as soon as she sat in the engawa. Hinata felt mesmerized as she discovered a new side of him, he could be a really good teacher, but she knew just how much Naruto and the village would need him when the appropriate time comes. He wasn’t lying, the training lasted for about an hour before he sent some kids to their houses, others stayed for a little while. One of the older ones walked towards Hinata with a shy expression, watching this, Hyūga smiled and gave him her attention. 

“Are you Shikamaru-san’s girlfriend?” The question surprised her, but smiling again, she looked at Shikamaru. “Well, that’s up to him”, giggling she looked back at the kid who looked troubled with the answer. He bowed to her and then walked a few steps to where Shikamaru was looking at him, slightly annoyed. “Shikamaru-san, is the pretty lady your girlfriend?”

What a drag. He hasn't asked the question, why is the kid troubled for this? He looked at Hinata who was looking back at them, she was still sitting at the engawa, and he noted her expectancy in her expression. “Do you want to?” He asked her shortly before scolding himself for his unromantic way of making her his girlfriend. “Hinata, would you be my girlfriend?” 

Her cheeks blushed but with a wide smile she nodded, her answer was yes . “Well, there you have it, buddy. She's my girlfriend .”

The kid looked sad which confused the future clan leader, Hinata walked to them and lowered herself to watch the kid. “When you grow up, you’ll find a special person for you, mh? So just wait a little longer”. The younger one looked at her with a smile, he nodded and bowed again to leave.

“So you’re already breaking everyone’s hearts around here, mh?” Shikamaru helped her to stand again, a smirk permanent in his face as he teased her. Her giggles made his heart flutter. “Are you ready to go?” She nodded. 

“Uhm… Shika, is it okay if I stay for a little longer? It’s okay if not…” It was okay, he wanted to stay a little longer with her too. 

He guided her to the front garden, sitting on the engawa, Shikamaru sighed before putting his hair down again. “How are you feeling?” Hinata asked, her back pressed against one wooden pillar. 

“Tired, but better”, his answer was simple, but sincere. Nara moved closer to his now girlfriend and Hinata extended her arms, silently asking him to support himself against her. He understood, and resting his back on her chest and his head on her shoulder, he closed his eyes, trying to calm his beating heart. “You know? It was thanks to you”.

“It was the chamomile tea, it’s magical”, she refuted with a small laugh. “The tea helped, but you made me feel better. You took care of me, released the chakra points, you supported me just like this… Thank you, Nata.”

Hinata thought her heart was going to explode at how fast it was beating, he was grateful, and that made her happy. Both adults looked at each other, and with a new kiss, Shikamaru concluded that, if he got sick again, he wouldn’t mind spending his day engulfed in chamomile tea and with a lavender-scented girl.