Written March 1, 2005

Mendokuse... Shikamaru rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest as he watched the rest of the group flailing at the retreating footsteps of 2/3"s of Konoha"s Team 7. How can they all be so oblivious... I had it figured out months ago... Then again, Shikamaru knew very well that he was far more observant than most of his comrades, and that was one of many reasons why he had worn the Chuunin vest before the rest.

He sighed at Sakura and Ino waging war in the doorway over the revelation as the celebration party slowly disintegrated around them and mused on the entire situation.

It really did seem obvious...after all, Uchiha Sasuke never really smiled before he became a Genin. Whenever he wasn"t frowning or looking blank, he was merely smirking instead. He was cocky and self-assured, a loner and a natural fighter, and he just wanted everyone to leave him the hell alone... not that Shikamaru couldn"t identify with that feeling. Sasuke"s smirk never got beyond the curl of his lips, never revealed anything deeper about him, and yet still left the female population swooning. That effect was admittedly still a mystery to the shadow master...

Uzumaki Naruto, on the other hand, had a grin that stretched from ear to ear as if the size of his expression was related to the amount of determination and perseverance he possessed. He wore his heart on his sleeve, ever desperate for someone to notice him, and try as they all might to ignore him, in the end, none of them had been able to escape. Naruto"s smile was simply disarming, able to crumble the toughest walls and bleed warmth into the coldest of hearts.

They were two extremes in some senses, and that was exactly why it had been easy for Shikamaru to pick up the subtle changes that happened over time.

At first, it was nothing but glares and sarcastic remarks, each trying to one-up the other in whatever way possible. As time passed and the true depths of their respective abilities began to emerge, they rose to levels that their comrades couldn"t match and that very few could even understand. For all their differences - and Shikamaru smiled as his eyes flickered to his own best friend, seated beside him, unaffectedly munching a bag of chips - the two rivals were really a great deal alike. Though one was fire and the other ice, though one reached out while the other pushed away, they each knew the unending pain of feeling alone and unloved.

Wit to wit and fist to fist, Shikamaru had watched them forge a bond that would not be easily broken. Maybe it was the fact that no matter how Sasuke insulted him, Naruto came happily bounding back for more... maybe it was the fact that Naruto"s antics started to amuse Sasuke, as one of the only lights bright enough to push away the darkness, a sun that could burn away the heaviest clouds. And as much as each always claimed to wish to be rid of the other, it had become obvious that neither could really live without the other.

Or perhaps, he sighed again, they would live, of course, but it would be a lonely and empty existence. And neither would smile the way they did now.

Yes, Uchiha Sasuke, contrary to popular belief, was capable of a genuine smile. His ever-present scowl would soften when his rival was around, and sometimes, once in a blue moon, Naruto would make him laugh so hard that his smile would hit his eyes and light up his entire face. In those moments, he seemed like another person entirely - someone capable of expressing joy. In return, with Sasuke by his side, acknowledging his presence, Naruto"s smile was less often a defense mechanism, and instead softened to give away just a touch of the vulnerability he so desperately tried to hide from the world.

"Maybe that"s it," Shikamaru finally concluded, letting his hands drop as he reached to snitch a chip from Chouji"s bag.

"Was waiting for your deduction," Chouji reached into the bag, and finding the very last chip, contemplated a moment before handing it to Shikamaru, who, recognizing the gesture for what it was, accepted it with a small smile.

"They are enough alike and enough different," he started slowly, "to fill in the missing pieces that neither will admit to not having. They bring out the best in each other, and most importantly, I would wager they are a lot like you and I."

"That kind of smile only appears when you can be yourself with someone else," Chouji started with a nod, and waited for Shikamaru to continue his thought.

"And be absolutely sure that you'll never need to change to have their..." Acceptance? Friendship? Affection? Shikamaru stuck the chip in his mouth and crunched thoughtfully.

Chouji smiled. "Love."

"HAH! Did you see the looks on their faces! PRICELESS!"

"Hn." Sasuke walked in a straight line, hands shoved in his pockets, doing his best to ignore the hyperactive blond who ran back and forth across the road, crisscrossing and weaving his path with Sasuke"s but never coming quite close enough to cause him to falter in his step.

"I thought Sakura-chan and Ino-chan were both gonna kill me but then they started glaring at each other instead and it was SO funny!" Laughing more than a little crazily, he jumped up onto the fence beside them to walk along it, trying to catch a firefly between his two hands.

Sasuke let the barest hint of a smile appear on his face as he watched the light of the tiny bugs illuminating Naruto"s bright blue eyes in the darkness before throwing out an arm when his rival, oblivious to the fence ending in the dark, nearly toppled off the end of it. "Dobe..." he muttered, and where this might have once caused Naruto to retaliate in anger, it was now... dare anyone think it... almost a term of endearment.

"You aren"t mad at me for telling them, are you? Are you? Are you!" Naruto queried as he jumped lightly off the fence to land at Sasuke"s side, turning worried eyes to look down at him. "It was just when they, and then I thought, and I got so mad, jealous I guess, and then--"

"Urusei, dobe..." Sasuke shook his head as he stepped closer, backing Naruto into the fence, deeply amused by the vaguely startled expression on his face.

"Demo-"

"I"m not mad," Sasuke actually laughed lightly as he fisted one hand in Naruto"s orange jacket, dragging him close to give that noisy mouth something better to do.

Naruto protested for a moment simply because he was Naruto, but when he gave into the kiss a moment later, he was acutely aware of a shared smile and absolutely positive that it was worlds better than what had once been their shared loneliness.