Shikamaru and Gaara sat at the Ichiraku Rame Shop in The Hidden Leaf Village after a long journey from the Hidden Sand Village. Shikamaru had becomeone of the Hokage's assistants and he often made trips to the Sand Village to meet up with Gaara, the Hokage of the Sand. This time though, Gaara had wanted to return to see some old friends. Gaara and Shikamaru often met up to discuss political matters, And they had actually become friends. Ever since Gaara had the demon Shukaku removed from his body, he actually became a sociable person to be around. He smiled and sometimes even laughed, and the dark circles around his eyes had disappeared because he could now sleep peacefully. Gaara had just finished a meeting with Tsunade before him and Shikamaru went to grab a bite to eat. They each finished off two bowls of ramen when Gaara asked a surprising question.
"So Shikamaru, How's the love life going?" Gaara asked.
"Not great. I have my eye set on someone, but I don't think they like me. What about you?" Shikamaru asked back.
"Same here." Gaara replied. "The person I like doesn't know at all."
"Well..." Shikamaru trailed off. "Who is it?
"If you tell me who you like, I'll tell you who I like." Gaara answered.
"Nah. I hate talking about my love life. It's kind of a drag. Anyway, I should get going. I told Temari I'd stop by to say hi." Shikamaru said as he slid some money across the table to pay for the ramen. "So, you staying over at my place tonight Gaara?"
"Yeah, I'll be by later. I could use a good sleep, but I gotta stop by and say hi to Sakura first." Gaara said as he stood up.
Shikamaru couldn't help but notice how tight Gaara's robe was. It accentuated his curvy, feminine but strong look. Shikamaru stood up quickly and followed Gaara out of the restaurant. He quickly said goodbye to Gaara and walked off in the other direction, feeling stupid that he could not tell gaara how he felt. Little did he know, Gaara was feeling the exact same thing.