Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

Subtleness, honesty and whatnot

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who matter don't mind and those who mind don't matter."

(Dr. Seuss)

They weren't a subtle couple – if anything, they were as honest and open as possible. Actually, Shikamaru was sure that, while it was too troublesome for him to lie, Naruto simply didn't know how to be subtle. Go figure.

(And he wouldn't want her any other way.)

When they met for the first time – and the years that followed – there was nothing but mutual help connecting them. Naruto needed someone to talk to and not go crazy over the loneliness, and Shikamaru needed someone to cover for his naps. If there ever had been a feeling of fellowship during their ninja-school years, none of them had felt it in any form.

Somewhere during their months as genin and Team 7 and 10 gatherings, a type of friendship took shape. It wasn't discreet like Naruto and Sasuke's, as the two of them could shout at each other for weeks and still save each other asses at the end of the day.

No, of course it wasn't like that.

Their friendship was as obvious as the sky was blue. There were no masked feelings and false smiles. If one was uncomfortable with what the other was doing, said one would say so. It was clear that Shikamaru and Naruto were friends only by the calm way that they sat next to each other during group dinners and talked as they normally did around they own friends – sleepy or loud.

(Shikamaru was sure to tell Naruto that her voice was too high-pitched sometimes.)

(Naruto was sure to tell that he snored sometimes. Even if it was only out of annoyance.)

Contrary to popular belief, Shikamaru wasn't the first to notice the love flourishing between them. As crystal as the water, Naruto had come to him one day and declared that she liked him. Not might like him, but like him – unwavering as a horse running through grass fields. And, certainly, there wasn't any flirt phase. Shikamaru decided right then and there that he liked her too, since it was too troublesome to think over it.

Their relationship went like this for months. They were comfortable with each other's flaws and qualities. Naruto learnt to tolerate Shikamaru's laziness, naps and annoying intellect on a whole new level and, likewise, the man learnt to endure her boisterous, always sunny personality.

(Shikamaru discovered, along the way, that Naruto could – and would – feel depressed some moments of her life. He was there for her.)

(Naruto realized that her boyfriend might be dumb in some situations and she shouldn't make fun of him for being human.)

When the topic of marriage came around, it was during Sakura's baby shower. Their usual group of friends had grown up to be Chunnin or Jounin, working in their desired career. Most of them were twenty-four and married or, at least, committed. Naruto was the only girl in their group that still had a boyfriend and for more than five years.

Later, arriving at the house that Shikamaru and she shared, Naruto had questioned the former what he thought about marriage. When the brown-haired Chunnin (as he had never bothered to become a Chunnin until then) had replied with a "Do you want to?", Naruto was sure that they were ready. Just because he hadn't been too annoyed to respond with only a "Troublesome blonde". For some strange reason, though, Shikamaru only married her after becoming Jounin.

(He never told her that it was because the man wanted to be sure that he was good enough to protect her from their enemies.)

(She never told him that she wanted to marry him simply because her friends suggested it. She was sure he knew her reasons.)

All in all, their life wasn't the most subtle one. That, perhaps, was the reason that the couple rarely fought. They didn't bottle up their feelings and let them explode during a especially bad fight. No, Shikamaru had his fair share of "Troublesome blonde" every day and Naruto was happy hit him over the head for it daily.

When the woman discovered that she was pregnant, there was no fuss over it. She had went to Tsunade and asked about the reasons for her symptoms. This same day, Naruto took her husband to a baby's shop and questioned with her usual high-pitched, too loud for him, voice if "He preferred yellow or green for light colors, since they didn't know if it was a boy or girl yet".

(Shikamaru really started to love her voice.)

(Naruto decided that naps with him were nice.)

They weren't a subtle couple, but they wouldn't want it any other way.