A/N: Some ShikaNaru Valentine fluff.

This is set pre-series and I suppose, especially given their age is about nine or ten, this is probably more friendship than anything else.

Reviews = hugs and kisses

Edit: Updated 18/02/13

Maybe Not So Pointless

Uzumaki Naruto hated Valentine's Day. It was, in his opinion, a pointless holiday, promoted by candy companies and teddy bear factories so they could boost their sales and give smugly loved up couples an excuse to parade their sappy relationships in public.

Naruto had always been alone on Valentine's Day.

As much as it bothered him every year, this time around was a whole lot worse. The main reason for this was Iruka-sensei's bright idea of having everyone in class make Valentine cards for each other. This had of course provoked squeals of delight from the female portion of the class but had the effect of depressing the orange-clad almost-nin past the point of no return as he watched the pink and red monstrosities pile up on the desks of his classmates.

And, to make matters worse, he had spilled glue over the card he had been making for Sakura-chan and Iruka-sensei wouldn't let him do another.

Naruto's head hit his desk with a loud thump.

"Careful not to kill the few brain-cells you actually have."

The blond very slowly and obviously irritably turned his head to glare unenthusiastically at the pony-tail sporting boy beside him.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping or something?"

Shikamaru smirked before a genuine frown graced his features. "I can't. Every time I try -"

They both winced as he was cut off by an excited and unnaturally high-pitched giggle emanating from somewhere within the group of girls clustered around Sasuke's desk.

"That happens."

Naruto leaned back in his chair to glare instead at the mountain of cards piling up beside the disinterested Uchiha. "I don't see what's so great about a guy whose hair looks like a duck's ass anyway." he grumbled.

Shikamaru chuckled. "Jealous, are we?"

"Of him?" Naruto scoffed. Despite raising an amused eyebrow, the lazy genius didn't press any further. Instead, he watched as his neighbour rested his chin on his folded arms, muttering darkly about glitter and chocolate.

"You know, if it makes you feel any better, I didn't get any either."

Naruto turned to look at him. Shikamaru was surprised to see just how sad the boy looked. He shrugged half-heartedly.

"It's not just that." he intoned miserably. "When the bell rings, you'll walk home and your mother will make you dinner and your dad'll probably talk to you about your day and they'll be there when you wake up tomorrow and the whole thing starts over."

Shikamaru blinked. The usually hyperactive and painfully loud kid sounded completely deadpan and, truth be told, it was a little scary.

"I don't have that. And neither does he." He jerked his chin at Sasuke who was making a show of ignoring the catfight that had broken out between Sakura and Ino over who got to hand him their card first. "But it's obvious, especially today, that people at least give a damn what happens to him. No one can even be bothered to give me a stupid piece of folded paper." He buried his head in his arms again. "It's just a tad depressing, is all."

Not quite sure how you were supposed to respond to something like that, Shikamaru remained silent, staring at the mop of golden hair that was the only visible part of Naruto's head.

Order was slowly returned to the classroom, just in time for the final bell. A rather irate and exhausted looking Iruka ushered them from the room, grimacing and proclaiming "never again" to the disappointed girls.

Shikamaru caught a glimpse of Naruto, slumped on the old swing outside the academy, before his mother grabbed hold of his hand and dragged him off, ignoring his protests and claims that he was perfectly capable of walking on his own.

Once home, he shut himself in his room and sat at the small desk that was beside his window. He sat here most days - mainly because he could watch the clouds drift by without having to beg his mother to let him outside.

Today, however, he was thinking. He couldn't get what Naruto had said out of his head. They had never been particularly close friends, only teaming up occasionally with Chouji and Kiba to skip class or pull a prank on Iruka-sensei, but now that he thought about it, Naruto wasn't particularly close to anyone. He was always on his own. A guilty weight settled in his stomach as he realised he had never questioned it before because he simply had never taken the time to notice anything wrong with it. It was just the way things were.

Coming to a decision, he opened a drawer and pulled out some coloured paper and pens while formulating a plan to escape his house unnoticed.

Naruto was staring absent-mindedly into a nearly empty cupboard, wondering where his food went. There was no point in going to Ichiraku - the place would be packed with couples on dates. He sighed and pulled out a box of cereal, simply dipping a spoon into the packet since he had no milk.

Making a soon-to-be-forgotten mental note to go shopping the next day, he sat on his floor and leaned against the side of his bed, chewing quietly.

He would add this to his list of reasons to hate the 14th of February.

There was a small scuffle of noise at his door and a brightly coloured slip of paper slid out from underneath.

Naruto quickly discarded his meagre meal and darted across the room. He cautiously peered out into the hallway beyond his apartment.

There was no one in sight.

He looked down at the piece of paper and saw that it was, in fact, a bit of folded card. He bent down and picked it up curiously.

It was bright orange with a dark blue border and there was a picture of a fishcake in the middle. He smiled and, inexplicably nervous, opened it.

To Naruto

Just letting you know that someone cares

From A Friend

Naruto's smile turned into a huge grin and he laughed, turning back into his tiny quarters and closing the door. He padded over to his bedside cabinet and put the card in pride of place, where he looked at it happily while helping himself to more cereal.

Maybe this holiday wasn't so pointless after all.