Chapter 16: The Fool on the Hill- ShikamaruXNeji
Note: Oh, this is gonna be GOOD! Lol, Shika's Cloud Gazing Paradise. That would be a great title for this other than the Beatles title, but I think both fit. Shika, you're a moron…
Neji sighed and glanced towards it. You could see it so clearly from the Hyuuga compound. He could see so clearly that Shikamaru was standing up there, leaned against the tree, cloud watching as usual. Neji ripped his eyes away and turned back to training, throwing his blows in a furious flurry of barrages, just trying to rid himself of this frustration.
For someone as intuitive as Shikamaru and so intelligent, he was a fool. An idiot. He just couldn't see the way Neji did. Not with his Byakugan, with his eyes. He couldn't see the things he did to the older Nin, the way Neji looked at him, had looked at him for years. He couldn't see how protective he got when they were in the company of the sand Nin girl, couldn't see that he was attractive and that Neji loved him.
His mind he's honed to such a deadly weapon.
His emotions he tries to stifle to keep his mind rational and that inability to block out how much his comrades matter.
His victorious smirk when he's won a game of shogi.
His laugh and his blush when he says something stupid by accident.
He loved every aspect of Shikamaru Nara and the idiotic fool just couldn't see it.
Cloud watching had lost its appeal. Sure, it was a nice excuse to go up to his cloud watching spot and sleep, but the clouds themselves had grown boring. Naming shapes and animal in the clouds had begun to get boring. And it wasn't until Shikamaru stopped looking skywards when he sat up there that he realized he had a perfect view of all Konoha. Sure, he'd have to be a Hyuuga to appreciate the entire thing at once but the vantage point was perfect to see in most the clan homes and to see all the beauty and golden light that Konoha had to offer.
"Not many clouds today." Chouji commented, Shikamaru nodding but not really looking at his friend.
"Nope." Shikamaru sighed and crossed his arms. "Chouji, did you ever notice how Konoha looks?"
"Whatcha mean Shika?" Chouji frowned, looking out at the city.
"When the light hits it just right, the whole south end sparkles."
"is that what you do when there's no clouds? Examine the city?"
"Sometimes." Shikamaru answered. Sometimes I watch Shino train, sometimes I laugh at the Inuzuka family's daily happenings. Sometimes I wait for Neji to come up here and stop just looking at me like that.
"Hate to be cheesy, but glad to see you've got your head outta the clouds. It's good information to have about certain parts of the city." Chouji smiled.
"This isn't about tactic. It's just about beauty." Shikamaru muttered, his eyes traveling back to Neji training with Hizashi.
"Beauty? How so?" Chouji frowned.
"Just that Konoha is beautiful. You should bring Ino up here at sunset some time. The gold light refracting off the academy windows is really nice." Shikamaru smiled, Chouji's frown deepening.
"You sure, this is kinda your spot." he asked, Shikamaru chuckling.
"heh, it's not mine, it belongs to everyone. You should have a date here or something." he grinned.
"Shika!" Chouji punched him in the arm.
"what it's true, she'd love it. Just let me know so I don't come up here and catch you two makin out." Shikamaru made kissing faces at his friend who went a shade or two past red.
"Shikamaru! You jerk!" Chouji growled, Shikamaru laughing at his friend's blush. "I just kissed her once!"
"So? Kiss her again, she deserves it." Shika smirked.
"Yaw make it sound like a punishment…" Chouji grumbled.
"Reward." Shikamaru corrected.
"Hmm?" Chouji asked, looking back up at his friend.
"it's a reward, she hadn't nagged at me in two weeks." Shika smiled widely at his friend who punched him in the arm.
"Jerk." Chouji griped.
"Maybe but you two really need to start going out already." Shika chuckled.
"If you wanna start talking about people who need to go out, start with you and Neji."
"Huh?" Shika choked a little.
"How many times have you blown us off to play shogi with him?" Chouji asked, lifting an eyebrow.
"Three times?" Shikamaru estimated.
"Try ten." Chouji grinned, standing and brushing himself off.
"Really?" Shika frowned, looking up at his friend.
"You really are a fool Shikamaru…" Chouji shook his head and walked off down the hill.
"I suppose." Shikamaru muttered to himself, looking down the hill at Neji again.
Neji sat beside Hinata, the girl scribbling furiously and scratching out words and generally brutalizing a piece of paper.
"What are you doing Hinata-chan?" he asked, the suffix almost not coming out. She'd asked him to stop treating her like a superior a few months ago and he still wasn't used to it.
"Trying to write a letter. To Naruto-kun." she blushed but didn't stop.
"Cousin, there is enough lead on that paper to poison someone." he sighed, shaking his head a little.
"Pencils are made with graphite now, not lead." she commented, the blush not waning.
"Would you like to spar?" he asked her frowning and arguing with her love life versus being stronger.
"I should concentrate on this." she muttered. "I started it first, I should finish. Maybe later."
"I suppose so." Neji nodded and stood, Hinata holding up a hand.
"You could ask Shika-kun to spar with you." she suggested, Neji frowning.
"Hmm? Shikamaru?" he asked her nodding and pointing at the hill.
"Yes, he started coming down the hill when you were speaking with Tou-san." she said, Neji spinning and looking to see that the chuunin was nowhere to be seen.
"I'll… I'll ask and see what he thinks." Neji swallowed. His mouth was suddenly dry and he didn't know what to do. Shikamaru hadn't come to the Hyuuga home in a few months, missions and the fact they had practically none of the same friends to pass messages through, they hadn't set up a shogi match in a while. And suddenly all that immunity and those barriers he'd been able to throw up around himself around him slipped his mind completely.
God… what do I say when he smiles at me? What do I do when he asks me something? Oh… I think those are reversed a little.
"Neji-kun?" Hinata asked softly, Neji shifting his gaze back to her.
"y-yes Hinata-chan?" he asked, her smiling a little and pushing her hair away from her face.
"you have time to change before he gets here, it's a big hill." she smiled in a knowing but still pleasant way, Neji thankful that his cousin was such a sweet uncorrupted girl and bowing again.
"Thank you for the advice Hinata-chan." he smiled and walked off.
Shikamaru swallowed and stepped over that threshold, walking to the courtyard. Hinata smiled softly at him.
"Hello Shika-kun." she smiled. He looked up at the sky, just moments away from being 5:48.
"Hello Hinata-san. Where's Neji?"
"he's coming." Hinata pointed over her shoulder, Shika slightly suspicious she was using Byakugan in a banned way but nodding. The shoji opened slowly and Shika's breath caught.
This was not your normal Neji, he was wearing a cream colored yakuta, the same color he normally wore, and regular uniform pants under and his hair was free flowing around him, untied from the normally prim ponytail. Shika turned his eyes away and swallowed hard, not quite trusting his voice.
"Hello Shikamaru." Neji said the smallest of smiles on his face.
"Hey, I was wondering if you'd come somewhere with me." Shika answered, not looking over at him.
"Sure." Neji shrugged. Shikamaru glanced back to see him tie his hair together again and nodded.
"Come on."
They climbed the hill, Neji feeling fluttery, like his stomach was going to implode, and when they crested it there was a worn spot on the grass from where Shikamaru laid all the time. Shikamaru sat and patted the spot beside him.
"Sit. Please." Shikamaru said. Neji noticed that he hadn't looked at him the entire time but didn't mention it.
"what's this about? Usually you just suggest we go to the main room and play shogi." Neji tried to sound nonchalant, Shikamaru smiling a little.
"We can play after this if you want." Shikamaru answered, Neji frowning. Is there a fireworks display tonight? What day is it? "it's starting."
Neji looked in the direction Shikamaru was looking and saw the sun wavering just over the edge of the village gate, the soft gold light refracting off the clouds and any glass on the buildings, the clouds getting a beautiful gold outline and the buildings glittering and twinkling as the sun slowly lowered. As time passed the gold faded into orange and red then to purple and finally it was dark. Neji sat there beside Shikamaru for a while, not saying anything. Then Shika sighed.
"Chouji said we should date." Shikamaru said baldly, Neji blushed. Sheet… am I that transparent?
"Why?" Neji asked, trying not to let his voice crack.
"Our shogi matches are more important to me than missions apparently." Shikamaru laughed a little. Neji looked over at him and frowned. What is he getting to?
"Shikamaru, why did you bring me up here?"
"Because I'm a fool." Shika sighed and shook his head before looking directly at him. "What did you think about it?"
"It was probably the second most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Neji answered, pushing his hair out of his eyes. Stupid crappy elastic… he pushed his hand back through it and realized that the elastic was completely gone and not just a bad one. Shikamaru nodded at the answer and turned back.
"what's the first?" Shikamaru asked. Neji swallowed hard, pushing his hair back again.
You. It's you when you're laughing. The soft way your eyes catch the light more and the little crinkle in your nose, and the soft way your lips turn up in a smile.
"I don't know. That probably was it. I don't know why I said second." Neji answered, looking away. He pushed his hair back again and suddenly felt it lifted off his neck and twisted into a ponytail.
"You should wear your hair free more often." Shikamaru said, Neji looking back to see Shika's free and hanging around his shoulders. He reached back and touched the hair tie before smiling a little.
"that's unhygienic." Neji smiled, Shikamaru rolling his eyes.
"I don't have lice. And if you do you can keep the tie…" he smirked just a little and Neji stood.
"Let's go back." he said, Shikamaru looking up at him.
"Neji." he said.
"Yes?" Neji asked, looking around them.
"Do you think we should date?" Shika asked his eyes directly on him.
"What do you think?" Neji asked back, feeling his heart speed up.
"That you didn't answer my question." Shikamaru smiled, Neji smiling a little and glancing away.
"I do. I have for a while." he answered. Shikamaru stood suddenly, Neji blushing just a little when he stepped closer.
"The first most beautiful thing. Hmm." Shika whispered and connected their lips. Neji let him kiss him, slowly moving his hands up to grip in Shikamaru's sleeves. Shikamaru took another step forwards until he was pressed flush against him, one arm slinking around his waist. Neji was lost. Utterly and completely.
And he couldn't tell which one of them had been more foolish.
End! Maa maa, do not cry though you wish to for the end draws near, but I've been thinking… I know more songs than this and just because I couldn't come up with a pair for Penny Lane or The Ballad of John and Yoko, doesn't mean that you can't suggest them! And I want seasoned Beatles know-it-alls making the requests! You have to know the song, have seen at least one old Beatles Movie, and know that Abbey Road isn't just a place.
You know who you are…