Trust || Narushika

Acceptance

Not proof read y'all- so if you see any mistakes, just pretend you didn't

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"Naruto, can I ask you something?" Shikamaru asked, pulling away from the hug a little to look at his best friend, receiving a nod as the go ahead for him to continue. "Tell me, why do the villagers treat you the way they do?" he questioned, watching as Naruto's eyes widened, the blond trying to stand up and get away. "Naruto, you can tell me-"

"No! I can't, you'd hate me and- I don't think I'd be able to handle you hating me" the blond said, shouting in protest as he moved away from Shikamaru's hold.

"Nothing could make me hate you, you already know that, Naruto" he replied, gently pulling Naruto to sit back down "you can trust me, I would never hurt you"

That promise was enough to break Naruto, how could he doubt his own best friend? "The Kyuubi attack seventeen years ago, on my birthday...I was born just before the attack commenced and the Kyuubi took many innocent lives, including the ones of the Fourth Hokage and his wife...my parents. My father sealed half of the Kyuubi inside me and the other half inside himself before they died, naming me after my mother's clan to avoid potential attempts to kidnap me as a child because of my relation to the Fourth Hokage himself. The Kyuubi is actually a really nice person, his name is Kurama and he was forced to the attack the village. He is not the one to blame for the mass destruction seventeen years ago, but they blame him and me- seeing us as each other, which is why they treat me the way they do" Naruto answered, Shikamaru listening intently, not interrupting at all as he saw the blond was going to continue. "That day you found me, the villagers had just finished beating me and even pulled out a knife on me, stabbing me in the eye, which is the reason for my half blindness" he finished explaining, his head lowered- as if waiting for the rejection and disgust he normally got from others.

Instead, Shikamaru just placed his hand on the blond's head, wrapping the other around his shoulders to bring him in for another hug, holding him tightly. "Naruto, you are not what they say you are- you're not a demon, monster- any of that, you are...special, special to me- my family- even my clan, we love you, I love you, okay? Don't forget that we're here for you- those villagers are ungrateful, you are so strong and so brave, you put your life on the line every single fucking day to make sure people are happy and that's one of the things I absolutely adore about you- despite how anyone treats you, you go out of your way to help them- that's a trait I've only seen in you- you're a one of a kind, Naruto, and you will become Hokage one day, you will make it that far because I believe in you and I will be your assistant when the time comes. Call on me for help and I will be there- Naruto, stop hiding things from us- from me even, I will always be here for you, no matter who or what you are because- to me, you are Naruto, just Naruto, my best friend" the brunet replied, hearing Naruto gradually break down. The blond gripped onto Shikamaru's shirt with the both of his hands as he burst into a fit of tears, crying his heart out, resulting in Shikamaru bringing him closer, silent as he let Naruto release all of his pent up emotions. These heart-wrenching sobs angered the brunet male to no end, they've suppressed him for so long- making him bottle up everything, otherwise they'd probably beat him even more. How disgusting.

Naruto was shocked to say the least, Shikamaru hardly spoke this much- he had trying to knock some sense into the blond the whole day, he wondered how the genius wasn't tired of him yet. I love you was all he could think of as he cried and cried endlessly- Shikamaru was always there for him, without a doubt, the other male stayed by his side whatever he did and wherever he went; did he really just take this friendship for granted? His best friend accepted him with his whole heart and Naruto knew that was obvious to anyone- everyone but him.

"Naruto" the brunet said, causing Naruto to look up at him "it's okay to be yourself" he started, bringing his hands up to cup his friend's cheeks, using his thumbs to gently wipe the tears as they continued to fall. They locked eyes and Shikamaru could practically see the years of pain behind the other male's pupils, hating how much he had missed out on- if only they had this conversation a few years earlier. Shikamaru knew that Naruto had technically just gotten out of a relationship, but maybe he could be selfish- just this once. Leaning down, the brunet pressed his lips against Naruto's capturing his lips in a soft kiss; Shikamaru was hesitant, feeling the blond tense at the sudden advance, before relaxing as he reciprocated like his life depended on it, he had taken Shikamaru for granted this whole time.

Reluctantly pulling away, Shikamaru looked down at Naruto- he had just kissed his best friend- what did he just do- how could he screw up such an important bond? "I'm sorry for that- forget that even happened, let's just go home back home" he said, getting up (although with a bit of difficulty) and taking Naruto with him, helping him get onto his feet.

One thing Shikamaru miscalculated -for once- though, was that Naruto would never be able to forget what he just did.