Shikamaru pov
"Wait....abuse?" I asked quietly and shocked.
"Bingo" Naruto said making awkward finger guns at me.
"Shit for once I was really hoping I was wrong"
"Well you weren't"
"Does sasuke know?"
"Yeah I was with him before this happened" he said pointing to his knee.
"So he knows who did this to you? Wait isn't his brother with the police? Does he know?"
"Yes to both of those questions. I made them both promise not to tell anyone or do anything about it. It would probably end up ruining my life if I'm honest"
'How would it ruin his life? Wouldn't that make it better if they got rid of the person who did this to him? Unless the person was someone who played a big part in his life. Siblings? No I don't think he has any. Parents? Oh fuck I hope not' I thought yet I found myself asking anyway.
"Is it your parents?" I asked crossing my fingers hoping I was wrong.
"W-what?" He asked nervously.
"Is it your parents?" I asked again now worried due to his reaction. I already knew what his answer would be but I was still hoping he would prove me wrong.
"I- fucking God shikamaru why couldn't you just be stupid? Yeah it's my dad" he muttured.
"Why won't you let sasuke and itachi help though?"
"Because if I loose my dad then I loose my source of food, shelter, school money, and everything else that I need"
"But wouldn't sasuke and itachi just let you stay with them?"
"Oh I'm sure they would but that would mean them spending money on me that they could have been spending on themselves. Plus I'm scared of what my dad would do to me if the police were after him. In complete honesty he would probably kill me" he said fearfully and my eyes widened.
"Itachi works for the police though....he wouldn't be able to get to you right?"
"Not at sasukes house no. But anywhere else? It would be fair game for him. Shikamaru I already had this conversation with sasuke and itachi. Maybe one day I'll get him sent to jail but not any time soon" he told me shaking his head saddly.
"Naruto what if he breaks your bones again? Or even stabbs you like your hands?" I asked now fearing for my friend.
"Then I'll just deal with it. I know how to heal myself plus now I have sasuke to help me if something like that happens again. I really appreciate your concern though" he said and put a hand on my shoulder smiling sadly at me.
"I-but you have to do something soon right? What about when school starts? How will you go home to him everyday"
"I don't know yet but hey I've made it this far haven't I?"
"Wait how long has he been doing this?!" I asked getting more worried and sad for naruto by the minute.
"I was what seven when my mom died....so yeah since I was seven" he told me and I covered my mouth with my hands.
"You've been dealing with that for ten years?!" I asked in complete shock.
"Yeah...sorry to worry you about anything. Just try not to worry to much. I'm probably not going to see him again untill school starts" he told me trying his best to smile.
"When you turn him in...let me know ok?"
"Yeah I will" he nodded wearing a small grin.
"Ok thanks" I felt sick to my stomach. I couldn't believe that he had to go through that.
When I was seven I could barely ride a bike meanwhile naruto was getting beat! No one should have to go through that especially not him. True I haven't known him for more than two weeks but I know him well enough to know that he's probably one of the best people I'll ever meet.
Wait if there's marks on his face does that mean he's hiding more bruises?! How bad is he really beaten though? Does sasuke even know how bad it is? He must right? I mean he knows what happened to naruto's knee and face i assume.
How does he keep that smile on his face everyday? And his energy? How is he so energetic?! Is that all fake? It can't be he would eventually slip up wouldn't he?
All those thoughts raced through my mind and that brought me to my last question I was gonna ask naruto "how are you always so happy then?"
He looked surprised at this question but for some reason it made him smile "Well thats easy! It's because I have friends that make up for my problems. Especially sasuke. Despite the fact that he just found out about my dad he's helped me out more than he'll probably ever know. You guys now to. I assume you think that it's all fake though right?"
I nodded but I smiled a little at his response 'he really does appreciate sasuke, I'm happy they found eachother'
"Heh I knew it but nothing about my smile is fake! Despite my asshole father I'm actually a quite content person belive it or not" he said smiling at me and I was just completely baffled.
"You're friends mean that much to you?" I asked surprised and he nodded.
"Yeah you bet they do"
"Then I'm happy I'm getting the opportunity to be your friend" I told him and despite still feeling sick to my stomach I smiled along with him.
"Thanks shikamaru. I'm happy that I got to meet you and everyone else. You're all great people despite being little bastards at times" he joked "now do you wanna take some food before it's all gone?"
"Nah I'm good I'm not really hungry but you can go ahead. Sorry if I made anything upsetting for you tonight I was just curious and worried"
"Nah it's fine I'm just happy I can trust you!" he said before standing up and hopping over to the coffee table where everyone else was.
'How the hell did he just do that?! He turned a completely sad and upsetting moment into a casual one. He even ended it on a happy note!' I thought in bewilderment.
I looked over at the food table and saw him talking normally with everyone else like nothing happened.
Naruto pov
I was completely surprised that shikamaru had figured out about my knee all on his own and in the matter if a day. I mean I heard he was smart but I didn't know he was that smart.
Sasuke nudged my arm and I looked over at him "you looked really upset over there what just happened?" He asked worried.
"I'll tell you later ok? And don't worry about it everything's fine!" I told him and grabbed his hand under the table to reassure him.
"Ok just making sure"
I smiled before kiba wrapped an arm around my shoulder "hey wanna make a bet?" He asked grinning.
"Depends...what's the bet" I asked skeptically.
"I bet twenty dollars that you can't finish five sandwiches before me" he said.
"Have you never eaten with me? You're totally on and your totally gonna loose. Get ready to pay up" I said and held out my hand so he could help me up.
He grabbed my hand and helped me up. I grinned back at sasuke and he just laughed quietly.
I grabbed my crutches and went to the other side of the table where kiba was waiting with 10 sandwiches split evenly on two plates.
"Ok when I say go we start eating ok?" He said and I nodded setting my crutches aside.
Kiba pov
"Ok 3...2...1 go!" I exclaimed and grabbed a sandwich off my plate and started eating.
Just as I finished my first sandwich naruto took the first bite of his second and he practically inhaled it.
'Ok maybe I should have challenged gaara for this or something' I thought trying to eat as fast as I could.
We were actually pretty close but naruto finished before me. I almost choked on my sandwiches about ten times trying to eat as fast as him.
"Ok pay up kiba" he said holding out his hand.
"Dude you're insane! Did you even chew?!" I asked taking out my wallet and pulling out a twenty dollar bill.
"If you think thats crazy you should see him eat Ramen. He can finish about three bowls before you can even finish one" sasuke said from the other side of the table and naruro snatched the twenty from me.
"Yeah I can't argue with that. If those sandwiches had been ramen you would have lost even worse" he laughed as he stuffed thr twenty in the back of his phonecase.
"Yeah next time I make a bet about eating I'm betting with gaara or shikamaru. They eat slow" I said putting my wallet back in my pocket.
"That would be the smarter choice" he said before neji loudly dragged an air mattress into the room.
Lee got up to help him. It was a queen sized mattress too.
'dragging in a bed? Isn't it only like 8 though?" I thought and checked my phone "Holy shit its almost 11 o'clock?!" I shouted I surprise.
"Congratulations your the last to figure it out" neji said sarcastically as he set down the air mattress in the middle of his room.
"Oh shut up! sorry I don't constantly monitor the time unlike some smartass I know" I rolled my eyes.
Neji flipped me off before he plugged in the air pump thing to blow up the air mattress.
(Random an: i just choked on a fucking dorito help)
Sasuke laughed and leaned back on the couch. I was gonna say something but the loud sound of the air mattress stopped me.
I heard a thud from behind me and I saw a sleeping shikamaru now laying on the floor.
"Did he just fall off the couch?" Lee asked.
"Yeah...I think he just did" gaara responded.
We all stared at him for a minute in silence before we burst out laughing.
I took out my phone and took a picture of him then sent it to him.
"How'd he manage to fall off the couch it's not like he moves a lot. He barely moves when he's awake" Naruto choked out from laughing.
That comment just made us laugh harder. I was rolling on the floor from laughing, sasuke and gaara had their hands over their mouths trying to calm their laughter, and naruto and Lee were holding their stomachs.
It took us about five minutes to calm down. Neji had already finished putting sheets and blankets on the air mattress by then.
I thought putting sheets on it was unnecessary but I didn't say anything to annoy him.
Neji sighed and shook his head "you guys are all so immature"
"Oh you can shut up I saw you trying not to laugh over there" I said and he rolled his eyes. "Yeah that's what I thought" I said grinning.
Naruto pov
Neji picked shikamaru up and carried him over to his bed then dropped him on it "ok where's everyone gonna sleep later?"
"I'll take the smaller couch" kiba said shrugging.
"Ok I'll take the other couch" Lee and gaara said in unison then both their faces flushed red. I smirked at this.
"How about you guys just share then" I suggested grinning evily. I knew they would have to be almost on top of eachother the whole night if they slept on the couch and I also knew they would be extreamly embarrassed.
They both looked at eachother with red faces "ok" they said in unison yet again.
"Ok then sasuke and I will take the air mattress" I said and tossed my orange onto the air mattress.
"Ok that works for me" neji said.
Gaara and lee still had red faces and I almost laughed 'no I can't laugh! Then they'd know something was up' I thought.
I was actually pretty tired and I yawned. Apparently gaara was tired to because he was laying down on the couch with a pillow and blanket.
"Does anyone wanna watch a movie before we go to sleep or are we all tired" Kiba asked.
"I dunno I'm pretty tired" I said.
"Yeah me too" almost everyone besides sasuke said.
"Ok then 'night guys" Kiba said and curled up.
"G'night" neji said and climbed into his bed next to shikamaru. I could have sworn he had a red face but he turned the light out to soon for me to notice.
I layed down on the air mattress next to sasuke and wrapped my arms around him using his arm to rest my head on instead of my pillow.
Sasuke pov
After a while of silence I figured everyone else was asleep so I took this as my chance to ask naruto about earlier.
"Hey naruto?" I said quietly.
"Hm? Yeah what's up sasuke?" He asked tiredly, rubbing his eyes.
"It's about earlier, what were you so upset about?"
"You mean when I was talking to shikamaru? Oh him and his smartass found out about my dad" he mumbled and my eyes widened.
"How'd he do that?" I whispered surprised.
"Apparently he didn't believe my story about how I broke my knee and even the way I would flinch when I had the gashes in my hands was a giveaway. He also said I was to nervous when he asked about my knee"
"Do you think he's gonna say anything?"
"No I don't think he will. He was confused though"
"About what?"
"Well a few things but the main thing that he asked that surprised me was how I was always so happy. He thought it was an act I think. I explained to him that it's because I have you and all my friends and how since day one, despite you knowing it you've helped me more than you'll ever know" he said quietly and I felt my eyes get watery.
He was right though. I probably wouldn't ever understand how much I've helped him without knowing it but thats not why my eyes were watering. I was teary eyed because I was happy. I was one of the reasons that I had kept my dobe happy all these years even if just a little bit and that made me overjoyed.
"I think that answer satisfied him because he smiled at me and said he was happy to be my friend" he finished and I wrapped my arms around him.
"I'm so happy that I've been able to help you through the years dobe. Even if my dumbass didn't know I was" I whispered.
Despite the fact that it was dark I could tell he had a smile on his face as he wrapped his arms back around me.
"Sasuke you always have. When you didn't even know you were doing anything and now that you do know. You're more precious to me than you will probably ever know. Weather that be as a friend or lover you still mean the world to me" (An:I'm crying now bc of this)
I was struggling to not let tears stream down my face. Those words right there meant more to me than any other words I've ever heard. I buried my face in his hair and smiled.
He didn't seem to need to hear anything back because he laughed quietly and drew figure eights on my chest "gnight sasuke I love you" he said quietly.
"Love you too naruto" I said and kissed his head before closing my eyes feeling like my heart was going to explode.
Extra:🤩
Gaara pov
Normally sharing the couch with lee wouldn't have been a problem for me. We've been having sleepovers the whole summer and sharing a bed but it was just this week that I came to terms with my feelings for him. I had been denying them for months, telling myself I only cared about him as a friend and what not.
At the moment I'm currently laying on top of him and I mean that litterally. We couldn't sleep side by side so somewhere in the middle of the night I ended up sleeping on him.
I'm not gonna lie I was actually pretty happy with this little setup and Lee was really comfortable. I just hoped that when he woke up he wouldn't feel weird about the situation.
'Well to bad because he already took up the entire couch so this is his fault' I thought when I looked to the side to see if there was room for me to get off him.
I layed my head back down on his chest and wrapped my arm around him 'eh whatever he probably won't mind' I thought and closed my eyes.
Lee pov
I was very confused. I did not know how to feel at the moment but it was a mixture of happiness and embarrassment.
I have liked gaara for around three months and was very happy that we have been hanging out almost all summer.
Now he was laying down on me with his arms wrapped around me. I will admit that I was more happy than embarrassed I just did not want gaara to be weirded out when he woke up.
I felt him move around on top of me so I pretended to be asleep. He lifted his head off my chest for a minute then I felt him lay back down and re-wrap his arms around me.
I smiled and wrapped my arms around him before falling back asleep.
Neji pov
Earlier I wasn't having a single problem sleeping and neither was shikamaru. That was untill the guy decided to roll over and drape his body across me.
I tried moving him but he wouldn't budge. If anything he just gripped onto me tighter.
I was extremely grateful to the fact that the lights were out because my face was hot and bright red.
Fun fact actually: I really like shikamaru. Would I ever admit that out loud? Absolutely not that would be embarrassing plus the lazy bastard hardly ever shows emotions.
I can see him finding out I liked him and then going back to sleep as if he energy heard anything. It was kinda funny actually.
I almost laughed but as if on cue shikamaru slapped his hand over my face 'are you fucking kidding me right now?!' I thought and glared at the ceiling.
"Ok thus isn't gonna work" I mumbled to myself and moved his hand off my face and onto the pillow that was beside my head.
He mumbled something in his sleep and rolled off me. He didn't fail to elbow me in the stomach though.
I coughed and glared at him "I don't know what's worse when your awake or when your asleep" I muttured angrily.
I swear I saw him smirking "shikamaru I swear if your still awake I'm gonna slap you" I whispered sitting up.
The only response I got was him rolling back onto me causing me to lay back down. This time he had almost a death grip around me.
His left arm was around my waist and his right arm was over my shoulder. If he didn't have such a tight grip on me then I would find this really cute.
I knew I wouldn't be able to wake him up without receiving a slap in the face or something like that so I figured I might as well try to sleep even though I could hardly breathe.
Stupid shikamaru. I don't even have the heart to move him and he's cutting off the airway to my lungs.
I took a deep breathe before I moved onto my stomach in his grip and I closed my eyes.
Finally after that he didn't move again and he let his tight grip loosen on me. Only a little but at least I could breathe again.
Ok now he was being cute. I'll admit it since I can breathe again. His hand was on the back of my head now and he actually seemed relatively peaceful.
I smiled to myself and closed my eyes waiting for sleep to overtake me which didn't take very long considering i was tired and happier than usual.
TBC!
ok I litterally cried while writing the ending to this chapter don't mind me while I leave to get tissues.
Anyways I hope you all liked it!
Thanks for reading <3