Fixation

Toppling Over

"I think I fucked up my marriage," Were Shikamaru's words when he arrived at his father's doorstep a few weeks after the incident with Boruto and Naruto. Everything was fine, at least with his young blonde son. Boruto had bounced back and was even clinging to him but Naruto had grown distant. He was always gone before Shikamaru could wake up to make breakfast but he's kept his promise of coming home for dinner. But there was no romance. 

Shikamaru was scared. 

Would Naruto leave him? 

His father didn't say anything, only took him in and led him to the sofa. His father brought out a hard bottle of whiskey and while Shikamaru wasn't one for drinking he did partake in it. Shikaku listened to his son's drunken rant while he thought about some way to force the blonde's hand. He understood why Naruto was not keen on romance. The blonde had grown up taking verbal abuse from some of the denser sort of the village. He never wanted his son to experience any of it so to have his husband, nail their son to a wall with words was unpleasant to find out. 

"Shikamaru give him time," Shikaku answered after some time when Shikamaru had gone quiet. Shikamaru looked over at him with tears in his eyes. "I understand that this is the first time you've ever been in the wrong for your fixation." 

"But I'm not wrong!" He yelled. "I did what I was supposed to do!" He was so confused, why was this happening? "Anyone who approaches Naruto, my fixation with ill intentions is the enemy! You taught me that! Why are you saying otherwise!" 

Shikaku felt himself sting a bit at his words but Shikamaru wasn't wrong. He did teach his son that this was the way to go about it when his fixation was slandered. But he didn't set a great example of it. He knew Shikamaru took what he did when he was younger as an example of how to treat his children when it came to them disrespecting the parent who was the fixation. "I'm sorry, this is my fault. I never should have done that to you when you were a child," Shikaku turned away in shame. 

Shikamaru broke down crying. "It's not your fault, I'm the one who internalized it." 

"It's still my fault Shikamaru, I should have spoken to you, told you that this wasn't how things were supposed to be," Shikaku slung back straight from the bottle and he got up to pull his son into his arms. His son broke down crying in his arms like a child and eventually passed out in his father's arms while Shikaku lit up a cigar. 

Naruto had been distracted all day, hiding away from his duties by sitting on his father's stone head. He was numb, he knew the risks and he should've figured it out that no one was safe from his husband. But he at least thought that their children would be safe. Boruto was just 12 but he had seen the side of his Papa that was a practical demon. His body trembled softly as he thought about how traumatized his son must've been. It was clearly obvious that they had made up as Boruto had changed his attitude towards him and was even clinging to Shikamaru in these last weeks. 

He picked up Boruto, Shikadai, and Shikarui, they were obviously surprised to see him but flocked to him anyway. While Shikadai and Shikarui walked ahead by a large gap Boruto and Naruto held hands as they walked. Naruto looked down at his son who seemed content to walk alongside his father. "I'm sorry," Naruto broke the companionable silence. "I should've stepped up before Shikamaru snapped at you." 

"Dad, it's fine," Boruto waved his hand as he smiled. "Papa defends you so strongly and I understand the Fixation. There's also a possibility I will fixate on a person like Papa. I would defend them no matter who crossed my path." 

"No, that's not how it should be," Naruto spoke firmly as he tightened his grip on Boruto. "Shikamaru and I are your parents. We protect you from the world, not from each other. It never should have happened no matter how rotten your attitude was." 

"But I needed to snap out of my toxicity," Boruto countered as he tightened. "Papa defended you, he was thinking of you at the moment. I was insensitive Dad, you have to admit that much." 

"But I never want you to fear your Papa, to be afraid of speaking your mind in your home. You have an opinion, you have a voice and I don't want you to feel like you have to silence yourself because Papa scared you into submission." 

Boruto actually choked up a bit as Naruto lifted him into his arms. 

"You curse me and while it hurts it was your cry for the attention you deserved. You wanted me home, you wanted me there. And I'm here, what Shikamaru did wasn't right but I know he was defending me and he had reached a breaking point but it doesn't excuse his behavior so please accept my apology on his behalf." 

His son cried in his arms and Naruto felt he had finally gotten through to Boruto. 

When he had gotten home, the lights were out and it seemed Shikamaru hadn't been there all morning. He was worried for a moment before he sensed Shikamaru over at his parent's house. He got his children cleaned up and cooked dinner before getting them to play Shogi while he headed over to pick up his husband. 

Ten years had been a long time for them. 

He could understand it from Shikamaru's perspective. No one had hurled abuse at Naruto for an entire decade and to hear their son being the one to do it must've been jarring and rather irritating as the Fixation ordered him to eliminate whoever did so. He sighed as he made his way to the back of the house. Shikamaru was curled up on the patio while Shikaku played in his hair. Both men looked at each other before Naruto leaned against the post to note that Shikamaru had been crying. 

"It happened when he was 9 years old," Shikaku started. "He had cursed at Yoshino and brushed her off harshly when she tried to scold him," He paused his motions as he looked down at his son who had come crying to him. "I ruined him, this is the karma coming back to haunt us." 

The blonde sighed before hugging the older man. "I understand and I promise to do better as your son," Naruto picked Shikamaru up in his arms. "I'll sort out our marriage and educate our children thoroughly so this never happens again."

"You've always been such a tender soul Naruto, your parents would have been proud."

Naruto smiled at him before carrying his husband home.