Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any shape or form. I write this fic for my own amusement and make no money or profit from this fic.

Warning: ooc-ness, boyxboy, pre relationship, deviates from canon, Shikaku survived.

Deer's love fishcakes

A Late Valentines Special

As the sound of the alarm clock blared out, a pale hand shot out from a pile of blankets atop a bed. Blindly reaching for the alarm clock the hand ended up knocking over a lamp and picture frame until it finally found the clock. Picking it up it then threw the clock across the room. Where it gave one final ring and then fell silent.

The pile of blankets moved and where eventually drawn back revealing a young man in his late teens.

With black hair pulled up and black eyes, Shikamaru gave a mighty yawn then mumbled a quiet "Troublesome."

Staring blankly in front of him at his bedroom wall Shikamaru mumbled another "Troublesome."

Then stood up revealing a tone body from training and wearing only a pair of green boxers. Grabbing some clothes off the floor Shikamaru brought them up to his nose and gave a sniff. Finding that they didnt smell to bad he started to put them on and then headed out the door into the hallway.

It was as he headed down the hall that he found himself bumping into something. The something reached out and grabbed Shikamaru preventing him from falling on his ass. Looking at what he had bumped into Shikamaru found himself looking at a man with black hair pulled up in a hairstyle like his own, with black eyes and two scars that where on the side of his face.

Yawning again Shikamaru mumbled, " morning dad" to the man.

"Your up early," Shikaku Nara told his son.

"Mmmm. Forgot to turn off my alarm clock before I went to sleep last night and I was planning to sleep in today too." Shikamaru explained and then continued saying, "is breakfast almost done" as he headed into the kitchen looking for something to eat.

"Already made it." Shikaku stated.

Shikamaru found a plate of rice balls on the counter and took one. Taking a bite he turned to his father with a raised eyebrow.

"You made breakfast?!" he asked in disbelief, as Shikamaru wonder if he had somehow woken up in an alternate reality.

"You may still be a little young to know this, but one day Shikamaru you will meet a woman who…" Shikaku began but was interrupted.

"Yeah yeah, who will make me a better person and who will make me want to do a whole bunch of troublesome things for her and yada yada …" Shikamaru grumble under his breath and then said, "As if I hadn't heard that before."

"So where's mom," Shikamaru asked as he looked around.

"In bed." Shikaku replied.

"Ha, Mom sleeping in, what is it the end of the world." Shikamaru gave another laugh as he thought about it. The only time he had ever know his mother to sleep in was on…

Freezing Shikamaru stiffly turned to look at his father and asked. "What day is today?"

A sinister smile spread across Shikaku's face as he answered his son, "why Sunday of course."

It was then that a loud knock was heard.

"I wonder who that could be," Shikaku said to himself as he headed for the front door.

Meanwhile Shikamaru lost his grip on his rice ball, which fell to the floor with a splat. His mind was assaulted with images of being forced to work in a friends flower shop, of being force to take pushy Suna diplomats to expensive restaurants or even finding yourself knock out by a blonde I&T girl that you did't even know the name of.

In his panic state Shikamaru knew there was only one logical way to handle this day…

As Shikaku reached for the door he thought he heard the sound of glass breaking, deciding to ignore it for now Shikaku opened the door to find a familiar platinum blonde and blue pupil less eyed girl looking up at him.

"Why hello Ino. Is there something you need?" Shikaku asked his longtime best friends daughter.

"Yes. Is Shikamaru up yet?" Ino asked politely.

"Actually he is. He's in the kitchen." Shikaku answered as he stepped back to allow Ino to enter.

"What?! That lazy ass is already up?" Ino asked in disbelief.

"Mmmm," Shikaku replied. Deciding to ignore the fact that apparently Ino had come over this early because she thought that Shikamaru would still be asleep.

As the two entered the kitchen they found the room to be empty.

"That's odd he was just in here." Shikaku muttered as he accidently stepped on a half eaten rice-ball

"Why is the window broken?" Ino suddenly asked.

Shikaku attention then shifted to the kitchen window that was indeed broken. Putting two and two together, Shikaku decided to go get some replacement glass. It would be troublesome if Yoshino woke up to a broken window. As Shikaku headed out of the room he head Ino complain.

"Dang it! I was going to force Shikamaru to take my shift at the shop." Deciding to ignore the blonde Shikaku continued on his way.

Shikamaru watched Ino leave his house as he hid in some nearby bushes. Although he had managed to avoid his blonde haired teammate and childhood friend, Shikamaru knew this wasn't the end. Because today was the day… The day Shikamaru hated the most, Valentines Day.

That dreaded commercial holiday that stores used to sell over priced chocolate and flowers. So Shikamaru found himself in a bit of a dilemma. If Ino caught him she would definitely force him to work in her family store. That meant that he couldn't hang out or hide in any of his usual places. This also meant that Shikamaru had to avoid anyone else who might be looking for him.

As Shikamaru thought to himself he got up and brushed the glass off his shirt and started to head for the Nara clans main gate. If he was lucky he could get to one of the old storage rooms in the Hokage tower. No one ever went into the old storage rooms, so he could hide out the day in there.

As Shikamaru headed towards the gate he noticed two women standing nearby. Women that married into the Nara clan where often times strong willed and bossy. So the idea of being dragged into a conversation with them was less than desirable. As he got closer he couldn't help but hear some of their gossip.

"Hey hey did you hear?" one woman asked the other.

"About what?" her companion asked.

"You know about Kasuga?" The first woman asked excitedly.

"No. What about the boy?" The second woman asked.

"Apparently he's going on a date!" The first explained.

This caused Shikamaru to pause. Kasuga is an older cousin. Shikamaru had known him since he was little. While the guy was nice enough and was an alight shoji player Shikamaru hadn't known the guy was interested in anyone. The only conclusion that Shikamaru could think of was that some woman must have nagged him into going on a date. The poor sucker. Sighing Shikamaru continued on his way listening to the gossip.

"Oh so someone is pursuing that boy?" The second woman asked not the least bit surprised.

"Actually it's the other way around…" The first woman corrected.

"You mean?" The second woman asked.

"Yes!" the first excitedly confirmed

"But that never happens." The second woman said.

"I know." The first said.

"To think that someone managed to catch Kasuga interest. Not to mention to the point of causing a Nara to actually pursue someone!" Second woman loudly proclaimed.

"It's so shocking." The first agreed.

"So who's the lucky girl?" The second woman curiously asked.

"That's just the thing. It's not a girl but Konoha resident hero Naruto Uzumaki!" The first woman explained.

"Oh my! How exciting!" The second woman said as the two started giggling.

Shikamaru found himself stopping as he heard that last part, Kasuga and Naruto? But that was impossible. Shaking his head Shikamaru continued on his way.

It had to be a joke, right? Shikamaru thought to himself.

Shikamaru thought a bit more about it. Naruto was relatively good looking he supposed with his blonde hair; big blue eyes that reminded one of a clear blue sky, tanned and toned body that was kept in shape by constant training.

Shikamaru felt his face heat as some drool slid down his chin. Wiping it away Shikamaru signed and looked up finding himself in the Konoha shopping district.

As he took in his surrounding Shikamaru notice a familiar blonde. The object of his thoughts stood leaning against the wall of a dango shop.

Naruto wore his standard orange outfit as leant against the wall. Shikamaru noticed that Naruto didn't seem to be paying any attention to his surrounding and instead seemed to be staring into space as he looked up at the sky.

If Shikamaru wanted to know if Naruto really was in some kind of a relationship with Kasuga now was the chance. It certainly would be easier to just ask Naruto and get it over with.

But as Shikamaru took a step in Naruto's direction he felt his stomach clench and couldn't help but think 'what if it was true.' The idea that Naruto was dating Kasuga left a bitter taste in Shikamaru mouth and he didn't know why. Not to mention the weird feelings he felt whenever he thought about Naruto.

It was all just so troublesome! It would be so much easier if he simply forgot about all of it and went to take a nap.

Making up his mind Shikamaru started to turn around intent on heading back the way he had come, only to freeze when he saw something from the corner of his eye.

A man coming from the opposite direction of Shikamaru and who seemed to be heading straight for the blue eyed Jinchuriki.

The man had black eyes and black hair which was pulled up in a ponytail, a common trait among most Nara men. The only difference being that he had bangs.

Narrowing his eyes Shikamaru watched Kasuga slowly walk down the street.

Turning around with the intention to leave Shikamaru instead found his body moving on its own and walked over to Naruto. Slamming his hand on the wall above Naruto head. He then looked over to Kasuga and watched the man.

"Wow shikamaru! You scared me!" Naruto said in surprise.

Shikamaru made eye contact with Kasuga and watched the other man come to a sudden stop. Naruto kept chattering on in the background but Shikamaru kept his focus on Kasuga who had flushed a brilliant shade of red.

Watching Kasuga clench his teeth and fist, Shikamaru smirked slightly as he saw Kasuga turn on his heels and head back the way he had come.

That's right just go back the way you came. Shikamaru thought to himself watching Kasuga until he was out of sight.

"Hey Shikamaru, are you listening?" Naruto asked.

Looking over at the blonde Shikamaru smirked, "yeah yeah, I hear ya."

"Well what are you doing here?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru mind went blank at the question. What was he suppose to say? He had heard that Naruto was on a date and decided to scare the guy off. Sweat started to form on his brow as he thought about how unreasonable that would sound.

"Well," Shikamaru started as he stuck his hands in his pockets. "What are you doing here?"

"Hmmm" Naruto hummed a bit surprised at being asked but then answered. "Waiting for a friend. He wanted to meet up today so we could check out some new restaurant or something."

"Ah is that so?" Shikamaru said in relief. So it wasn't a date or at the very least Naruto hadn't thought of it as one.

Thinking back to Kasuga Shikamaru said, "Actually I was sent to tell you that Kasuga won't be able to make it. Sorry."

"Is that so," Naruto said then smiled. "I see. Well, why are you apologizing? It's not as if you had anything to do with it." Naruto explained with a laugh.

Scratching the back of his head Shikamaru blushed a bit "yeah. I guess your right." But then thought 'no Naruto. Its actually all my fault I was the one who scared him off.'

"Well in that case," Naruto said and started to turn around, "I'll be going. Bye Shika."

"Wait a sec," Shikamaru surprised himself as he called out to the blonde.

"Hmm?" Naruto asked as he turned back to Shikamaru.

Clenching his fist and gulping Shikamaru said "If…if you don't have anything better to do, do you want to grab some ramen…My treat."

"Really?!" Naruto asked expression lighting up to the point that Shikamaru could have sworn that sparkles had appeared around Naruto.

"Yeah," Shikamaru confirmed with a smirk.

"Oh yeah free ramen is the best," Naruto declared loudly as he headed in the direction of Ichiraku Ramen.

"Yeah yeah," Shikamaru mumbled as he walked beside the blonde

As the two continued walking Shikamaru suddenly asked, "So Naruto, how long have you know Kasuga?"

"Lets see." Naruto said in thought "I think I met him around the time I came back from training with Jiraiya."

Shikamaru found himself choking on his own saliva at this information.

"Seriously!" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah." Naruto answered.

"What do you two usually do?" Shikamaru asked as he tried to dig for more information.

"What do we do?" Naruto said in thought.

"You know, when you hang out." Shikamaru said.

"Well sometimes we talk." Naruto paused then continued by saying, "although a lot of times we play shogi."

"You know how to play shogi!?" Shikamaru asked in disbelief.

"Hey don't sound so surprise!" Naruto shouted, "its not like I'm stupid or anything!"

"It's just that…you and shogi?" Shikamaru asked trying to absorb this new information.

Naruto puffed up his cheeks in anger and Shikamaru blushed at the expression.

"So where did you learn to play shogi?" Shikamaru asked.

"Huh? Well from old man Hokage." Naruto answered.

Shikamaru eyebrow rose as he heard the old nickname and asked, " the third did?"

"Yeah. He said that it would be useful for when I became Hokage." Naruto proudly revealed.

"Ahhh" Shikamaru said as he thought about it.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Naruto suspiciously asked.

"Nothing nothing," Shikamaru quickly denied.

As the two continued on in silence a thought struck Shikamaru.

"Hey Naruto, do you know what today is?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well its Sunday. Right?" Naruto asked raising an eyebrow at Shikamaru's question.

Shikamaru paused as he looked at Naruto. Did Naruto not know what today is? He thought to himself

"What?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Nothing." Shikamaru replied.

"So, to bad about you not being able to see Kasuga." Shikamaru found himself saying.

"ah not really." Naruto replied with a smile.

Shikamaru wondered about the smile and continued by saying. "I would think you would be a bit more broken up not seeing your friend."

"Not really, where suppose to be getting together tomorrow to play a game of shogi anyway." Naruto explained.

Shikamaru felt his eye twitch at this news.

"Is that so?" Shikamaru asked

"Yeah." Naruto confirmed.

"Can…can I come?" Shikamaru asked.

"Really? You want to come watch us play shogi?" Naruto confusedly asked, not understanding why someone would want to watch such a boring game.

"I like shogi." Shikamaru stated

"Yeah but I'm not really good. I hardly ever win." Naruto admitted.

Shikamaru smiled and said, "That doesn't matter."

The two had reached Ichiraku Ramen by this time and as they stepped in Shikamaru said, "actually after we eat, how about we find a shogi board and I'll teach you a few moves. That way you can have an advantage over Kasuga tomorrow."

"Really." Naruto asked in surprise.

"Yeah." Shikamaru confirmed.

"Ok! That sounds nice." Naruto happily said as a large smile formed on his face.

Shikamaru couldn't help but silently agree.

Authors not and random ramblings:

It's late but

Happy late Valentines Day everyone, in the spirit the holiday I decided to write a last minute Valentine special one-shot. It was like the middle of the day and I was all like "crap I should write something for the holiday." Unfortunately it wasn't done in time but close enough.

It's just a bit of pre-relationship fluff. It's not super funny or romantic. Shikamaru still hasn't realized he's in love with Naruto and Naruto is just oblivious about everything. While Kasuga needs to decide if he really wants to go through all the trouble, that comes with trying to date Naruto (that means dealing with a pissed out jealous Shikamaru).

This one-shot is set a few years after the 4th shinobi war and if you hadn't noticed some things have been changed from canon. Shikaku and the rest survived the war. I also changed Kasuga age, so he's only a few years older than Naruto.

As always I would like to thank everyone who favorite and followed this fic and a huge thanks to those that either pm'd or left a review.

Reviews.

Your review are really a highlight of the day so if you have tha time and feel like it please leave a review.

Aktaiy: Thank you for the review. That was exactly what I was going for. Hopefully you didn't injure yourself. There will be tones of NaruxShika, that's one of my favorite pairings. If you like this pairing you may want to check out my fic "Naruto Uzumaki is Inoko Yamanaka" because there will be tones of interaction between Naruto/Inoko and Shikamaru.

Guest: thanks for the review. I defiantly will be writing some narutoxshikaku later on. As for the cousins you got to see one in this fic although not that much this time.

SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION

don't forget to check out my other Naruto fics...XD

Also if you want to see a particular Nara paired with Naruto let me know.