Lobster
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters
A/N
Dedicated and special thanks to smonkey, as she helped inspire the idea :)
Sooner or later I'll cook you that lobster ;)
The two of them peered over the boiling pot, watching the poor crustacean within squirm.
The first one blinked, a slightly disturbed look on his face.
The other just smiled, waiting for the little guy go deep red in the boil.
"He's just... struggling."
Chouji looked at his friend hide his horror at the lobster boiling in the pot. It didn't occur to him until now that Shikamaru would have been too lazy to have done this before, so of course he wouldn't be very comfortable with the situation.
"Think of it more as him in a nice, warm spa?"
Shikamaru thought back to the time he fell asleep at the public bath, as red as the lobster would soon be when he woke up.
He found the lid and covered the horror show, it was too troublesome to watch anyway.
As he did, he heard a wolf whistle behind him. Kiba gave a couple of girls a smirk as they walked across the late afternoon beach. They giggled in response, before continuing their walk.
Chouji and Shikamaru looked at him, and he rolled his eyes in response.
"Just 'cos I'm single and have all the rights to do so, doesn't mean you should get angry at me," he said jokingly.
"How's the lobster?" Another voice asked, as two people emerged over a sand dune.
Chouji peeked into the pot. The fire still hadn't been lit long enough to boil the water, so the creature inside still moved around nervously.
"Still alive, Neji," he answered.
Tenten pouted slightly. "I'm hungry, can we hurry it up?"
Kiba laughed. "Just wait it out. Besides, the others aren't even here yet."
"Where are they anywhere?"
Kiba shrugged. "Lee said he was going for a run around the beach with Akamaru, Naruto and Hinata, well, I don't really want to know where they are, and Sakura got Shino, Ino, and Ms Ambassador and are somewhere collecting shells."
Chouji walked over to his bag and pulled out a pack of chips. "Here you go, while you wait."
Tenten smiled in thanks, before finding a nice spot to eat with Neji, watching the waves crash onto the shore.
He turned back to check on the lobster, to see Shikamaru looking at the pot. The water within had finally started to warm up, but boiling point was still a few minutes away.
Chouji put a hand on his shoulder. "You seem very uncomfortable with this."
The lazy one shrugged. "At least when I was too lazy to cook, I didn't need to see something this troublesome."
He looked out into the horizon, and saw four figures collecting shells.
"Besides, she'd probably kill me if I said no to lobster."
His best friend laughed. "In the end, it comes back to Temari. What else is new?"
Shikamaru smirked, closing the lid, before hearing a shout of pain from another direction. Naruto came into view, trying to pull a crab's claw off of his nose, much to Hinata's distress behind him. He was too busy with the pincered foe that he didn't see the seaweed beneath him.
Although he did when he tangled his feet in it, falling in the process.
Kiba walked up to his friend and crouched to inspect him.
"I found Naruto," he said with a smile, as the crab released its claw from his nose, scurrying away.
His screams had attracted attention, for some of those collecting shells had returned, worried about who and what the cry in pain was.
When Sakura heard of Naruto's stupidity, she acted with violence, blaming him for her dropping a certain shell in surprise. Lee and Akamaru returned, confused at the situation.
"Idiot," she said, as she walked off, returning to Shino who had not bothered checking out the situation.
Temari walked over to Shikamaru after the little debacle was over, smiling her same, arrogant smile.
"How's the lobster, lazy ass?"
Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck. Sunburn, probably, she thought.
"It was being troublesome, but I've handled the situation."
"You make it sound like some sort of mission," she laughed.
"The lobster should be ready by now, right?" Asked Neji.
They turned to the pot, which had been left alone since Naruto's arrival, to find that the lobster was gone.
"Crybaby, you were meant to watch over it!"
Shikamaru shrugged. "I must have left the lid open. The troublesome thing must have gotten away."
Chouji looked at him confused. He clearly remembered Shikamaru put the lid back on.
His friend shot him a glance, before briefly putting a finger to his mouth.
Chouji laughed once he understood what Shikamaru had done. "Ah well," he said. "It's nearly seven, and the sun is nearly set. Shall we just find somewhere nearby then?"
Ino took his arm. "Lead the way."
Kiba got up, brushing off the sand and signalled Sakura and Shino to come back. "Where to?"
"Somewhere with lobster," Temari replied.
"Shikamaru's treat," she added.
He tried to retaliate, but she linked arms with him and began to walk before he had the chance, head on his shoulder.
"Troublesome," was all he could come up with as they walked off.
He looked back at the red-purple ocean, and the lobster that he'd let go. He thought about whether or not the consequences were worth that little lobster's life.
Shikamaru sighed. "Definitely not."
End.