Clouds, Storm and Sun
By MaroonSorrow
( Shikamaru/ Naruto)
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. All repetition is intentional. All flames will be used to keep poor Shikamaru from catching a cold. Oh, and Naruto- kun's going to be a bit out of character at first, but within reason.
Shikamaru has been watching clouds all day, as he so often does... Today, the sky is filled with dark storm clouds that obscure the sun, huddled around its warmth. Shikamaru might love the white clouds that cluster in imagined shapes around the sun, but he doesn't appreciate the rain bearing storms. Today they are huddled like old women around a fireplace.
XxxxxxX
Yesterday, Shikamaru was strolling home when his musing was interrupted by the sight of a crying blond huddled under a tree. ' Which one is it now? Has Sasuke cast him out again? Did he injure Neji's pride, or perhaps Gaara was in a bad mood? '
XxxxxxX
Shikamaru wonders why there are rarely clouds during eclipses. If the sun ceases to shine, even for a second, it is no longer attractive. Instead, the eclipsed sun is an icon of terror, wickedness. Shikamaru doesn't understand this. The one thing he has learned from years of watching is that nothing is constant, that everything changes under the sky, with the clouds watching.
Although many people claimed to care for Naruto, Shikamaru was witness to the fact that they hurt him more than they did anything else. When Naruto and Sasuke started dating, Sasuke threw him out after seven months. It was the longest relationship Naruto had been in to date.
Shikamaru both enjoys and dreads rainy days. The rain soaks into the ground, spattering indistinct shapes against the glass. There is little or no sun to be seen.
When Sasuke threw Naruto out, Naruto was bleeding, covered in bruises. Sasuke doesn't ever bother to acknowledge the darkness of others. Sasuke is stupid, but smart enough to realize that he can't handle any kind of darkness from Naruto. One of the things Shikamaru often pondered was how Naruto spent seven months without showing any negative emotions....
Stupid, Stupid Sasuke... his presence doesn't make anything better.
Shikamaru dreads rainy days because he is trapped inside with nothing worthwhile to do, trapped with no sunshine in his neatly lifeless house. No one who will play Go with him or keep him from brooding. Well... almost brooding. More like a deeper shade of grey than an actual black.
Shikamaru used to wonder as a child, " What does the sun do when it's cloudy? Does it leave?" His father had told him that the sun rested during the storms to recover from the task of lighting the world. The clouds sheltered the sun and kept the people from seeing the sleeping sun and panicking... It was the one time his father told him anything non-educational.
Shikamaru is suddenly tired. Tired of lurking in shadows anonymously, tired of seeing Naruto cast out again and again. Tired of all the idiots who won't let Naruto have a bad day, they treat him like their own personal night light. Suddenly Shikamaru is sick, sick of all the people who are determined to drown Naruto into their own personal darkness. Shikamaru doesn't have much light... but he doesn't have any darkness either.
XxxxxxxxxX
Shikamaru moves closer to Naruto's still form, huddled under the tree.
Shock #1 : Naruto is wearing grey.
Shock # 2: Naruto is wearing an exhausted, almost...jaded expression when he looks up at Shikamaru.
His eyes soften, but just a little. He's still on guard. Mentally Shikamaru curses his bad timing. It's a good thing that Naruto is being a little more perceptive now, but any offers to help will be viewed very suspiciously. Naruto's eyes are red and puffy from crying. Shikamaru doesn't say anything, recalling memories of his mother screaming, " So now I can't cry! Is that it?!" It was the only fight Shikamaru ever saw his parents have.
" What are you doing out here? Or do you watch rain clouds too, Nara- san?" The last was said in a slightly sarcastic tone.
" You know, Naruto, my name is Shikamaru..." and with that, Shikamaru stretched out beneath the tree.
" What... what are you doing? "
" I'm watching tree branches sway in the wind."
Shikamaru sat even further back, if that was possible, and dedicated all of his energy to being RELAXED! while a puzzled Naruto looked on. Nara Shikamaru has just made up his mind.
Either Naruto is coming home with him or he's staying and personally making sure that Naruto doesn't catch pneumonia. He's going to stay with Naruto. And he's going to do it without once darkening his sun.
:: The Sun loves the Clouds, so it leaves them Rainbows...::
tbc?
If the general response to this is positive, it'll go to two or three parts. If you really like it, I might try writing something longer. The things stated about Sasuke/ Naruto are SHIKAMARU'S opinion, not mine. Don't jump at me defending the pairings slighted in this story... This just happens to be my take on the Naruto centered love infinigons floating around- with a Shikamaru/ Naruto twist, of course.
-MaroonSorrow