Heat stroke

The three ninja sat together at the Ichiraku; Naruto slurping happily at a steaming bowl of miso ramen, his partner shikamaru stared listlessly at the gently drifting clouds overhead. Jiraiya watched Naruto shovel ramen into his mouth ruthlessly, no chewing was seen. Shikamaru sighed loudly and turned to Jiraiya, glaring boldly.

'Are we going to do any private training, or are we just gonna sit here watching Naruto eat ramen?' To this, Naruto turned around, mouth full of ramen and said a few rude things, of the many Shikamaru was able to decipher ' Shove--- pummel---- miso' and 'che' Jiraya turned to Naruto as well, and patted him on the back.

'Shikamaru is right, Naruto-kun. We should get going.' Naruto made a face akin to a small child's disappointment, but obliged.

'Alright, you pervy old man...jeez.'

Naruto kicked his feet to the gravel, and grinned at Shikamaru, who grimaced back. The heat was astounding, and all three men were shirtless, walking down a dirt road to the training grounds.
Naruto loved the heat; it made him want to fight. Shikamaru hated it for taking away the clouds and replacing them with an insufferable, blue, never-ending bowl. Jiraiya did not care for it much, but he was not prone to outbursts or sulking.

The leader surveyed his pupils, each young man a marvel in his age. Naruto had mastered the rasengan at 16, and Shikamaru was now a Jounin, who specialized in enemy tactics and infiltration. He closed his eyes peacefully, thought moving in sync with his footfalls. As he fell into the rhythm, a shrill yell broke his concentration

'Shikamaru, what are you staring at!' Naruto yelled, grinning and bringing his hands to his chest. Shikamaru groaned and turned away, 'Don't yell so loud, idiot.'

'Don't ogle my man pecs!' Naruto retorted. Shikamaru snorted and tried to cover his laughter. His eyes drifted back to Naruto's chest, his slender shoulders moved in rhythm with his hips as he moved. A bead of sweat made its way down his chest, over tan skin and taut muscles. Shikamaru shuddered to himself, and turned his eyes away, returning to the cloudless sky. It was the lack of cumulous that drove him mad. Naruto was just…an idiot.

Jiraiya curiously watched Shikamaru shift uncomfortably, grimace at the sky and glance at Naruto occasionally. His behavior was curious indeed, as the usually bored and stoic man had a look of confusion and concern on his face.

'Shikamaru…do you have heat stroke? You're going red…' Jiraiya offered, passing the Jounin a bottle of water. Shikamaru glared at him again, and brought the water to his lips. It's not heat stroke…I'm just bored, he thought uselessly. The cool water was gratefully accepted, and Shikamaru passed it to his teammate after drinking his fill. Naruto slurred a 'domo' as he greedily opened the bottle. In his messy manner, only half of the water got to its target, and the rest poured down his chest.

Shikamaru watched in enraptured attention as a trickle made its way down Naruto's abdomen, and dried on the hem of his orange shorts. The part where his hips met his pants…that…part. He shook himself, tearing his eyes away from the boy. This time, he was not fast enough, and Naruto caught him. Naruto looked at him for a moment, unreadable. Shikamaru just stared back in his usual manner, trying his best to appear innocent but uncaring. The blush creeping up his cheeks was an incredibly troublesome giveaway, as he tried to be aloof. The blonde opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again, and turned around and kept walking instead.

'Ero…' He mumbled, barely audible.

His shoulders rested against the rough tree trunk, Shikamaru's shaking hand held a sharp kunai, glistening blade reflecting the dark canopy above. The trees creaked gently to themselves, and the agitated man shifted in his position. He could see almost everything from this spot. The clearing was 15 or so yards away, and the trees allowed light to filter through them, illuminating different spots of the forest floot in intervals. The puzzle of color would be nice to watch, if not for the inevitable feeling of unease in knowing that someone was trailing him. Shikamaru was already tired of running, and he needed his chakra for future sparring.

A single twig snapped a few yards away, and Shikamaru shot from the base of the tree, nearly tripping in his flight. He was too slow, however, and in moments his pursuer was on him. Naruto's fist made the first contact, and Shikamaru was sent backwards, the force of the punch throwing him into a small bush a few feet away. He recovered in moments, and made an attempt to create some distance between the two. He made it to the clearing, hearing Naruto's feet crunch the leaves underfoot behind him. Shikamaru summoned all of his chakra, his foot falling into the sunlight of the clearing. He turned abruptly, absolutely sure of the location of Naruto.

'Shadow possession technique!' He cried, falling backwards, remaining eye contact with the thread of shadow attaching itself to Naruto slowly, like a serpent, climbing up his leg. Shikamaru coughed from the fall, and then laughed. 'That was too easy Naru—' Shikamaru began to say. His words died in his throat, as the man before him turned to smoke, the image disappearing quickly. Shikamaru inhaled sharply, turning around too slowly. His opponent was standing behind him, kunai at his throat. He could practically feel the cut of the metal, cold as glass, cutting his skin like water. The two made eye contact, and Shikamaru glared gently at Naruto for a moment, before the blonde broke his stern expression into a grin, giggling.

'Too easy, huh?' Naruto said smugly. He put away the sharp kunai and dropped down next to Shikamaru, breathing hard. A series of pops were heard from the forest as his doppelgangers dispersed. The blonde fell on his back, next to Shikamaru, squinting at the bright sun.

'Did you have to punch me so hard?' Shikamaru complained, rubbing his jaw gently. Naruto just exhaled, closing his eyes to the light. Laying next to a friend, exhausted from training, Naruto could not picture a nicer afternoon.

'I'm dying here…' Shikamaru complained. Naruto was tempted to roll over and punch him for being so unappreciative.

'What more could you want?' Naruto asked, looking at Shikamaru with half lidded eyes. 'It's a beautiful day, and we had ramen--' '--you had ramen' '—and these training grounds are great.'

Shikamaru looked at Naruto as he smiled at the sky. His innate ability to enjoy every moment was not something Shikamaru envied, but regarded as curious. At that moment, a dragonfly drifted over Shikamaru's head, and he watched it move, ducking through the air, flashing green and red. The bug flew around the clearing for a bit, and finally landed. On Naruto. Naruto had not noticed it, as he was laying silently, eyes closed as if in prayer.

Shikamaru wanted to reach out and touch the bug, its transparent wings beating slowly. It was perched on a fold of Naruto's shirt, quivering slightly. His stomach moved gently when he breathed, lifting the bug in rhythm. Naruto's broad shoulders rested comfortably in the grass, green blades poking out from between strands of blonde hair. He was staring again. Shikamaru shook himself, and returned attention to the insect. He reached his hand out, trembling fingers slowly opening to grab it. His fingers were inches away from the bug when it took off, flying away into the grass.

In frustration he brought his hand down, forgetting who the bug had been resting on. Naruto grunted, and opened his eyes, looking down in surprise. Shikamaru's palm was resting on his lower abdomen, and both boys looked at each other in surprise. Shikamaru opened his mouth, blushing red, and mouthed something that looked to Naruto like 'Dragofyumm.'

'Uuhm, Shikamaru, do you have heat stroke again?' Naruto asked awkwardly, bringing his hand on top of Shikamaru's to move it. Shikamaru glared off at the cloudless sky silently, removing his hand from Naruto's. 'Sitting here is troublesome,' He groaned.

'That's it; if you won't enjoy yourself, I'm going. You're making me feel bad.' Naruto began to get up, when Shikamaru grabbed his arm, and pulled him back down. Naruto lost his balance, falling to his knees in front of Shikamaru, their faces inches apart.

'Wait…Sorry, Naruto; I actually was enjoying sitting here...kind of.' Shikamaru mumbled, letting go of Naruto's arm, looking away. The blonde was silent for a moment, becoming suddenly interested in the blades of grass between his fingers.

'Shikamaru,' He said quietly, his voice barely breaking a whisper. Shikamaru turned his head at the sound of his name. He inhaled in surprise; they were so close, he could feel Naruto's breath warm his lips. Breaking into a smile, Naruto fell on top of Shikamaru, their lips meeting clumsily.

Shikamaru opened his mouth in surprise, moaning into the kiss. In the confusion, He was pushed onto his back, Naruto toppling after him, their legs tangling in the cool grass. Shikamaru pulled away first, breathing heavily, observing the position they were in. Naruto looked down at him, swollen lips forming the words Oops. Wiping his mouth, Shikamaru tried to apologize. He was cut off by a Naruto's lips covering his own again, gently tugging at his bottom lip. Naruto released his mouth, and dropped his head in the crook of the brunettes' neck, hugging him tightly.

Naruto's hands explored underneath His shirt, fingers tracing shapes in Shikamaru's soft skin. Humming gently, He leaned back, allowing Naruto investigation of his torso. He moaned contentedly as fingers brushed the line of his pants. The day was hot, the clouds were gone, and for all he knew Shikamaru was suffering heat stroke. These reasons excused his insanity, and for the time being, these alone were enough. Ands so he lay, watching a cloudless sky, suffering the heat.