A smile and a grin are not the same thing. Few people know that, but Shikamaru does. Thesauruses claim them to be the same, but Shikamaru is not called a genius for nothing. He knows better, always has and always will.
A smile is a sign of happiness – it's the sort of thing people do only when they are truly pleased with the world and all around them. A smile is quiet and gentle, it is subtle and has no need for unnecessary flash. Grins are false smile – imposters that never quite work on those who are actually paying attention.
Naruto, Shikamaru noticed all the way back during his Academy days, never smiles. He grins, and it's always obvious how fake it is. Naruto closes his eyes so that they cannot be read, swallows his sorrows, and grins. Nothing has ever been so fake in Shikamaru's eyes, nothing so ugly. What makes every grin uglier is that everyone notices them – all of Naruto's so called friends know just how false his grins are and no one says a thing. Like the faithful tick-tock ticking of a clock, Naruto's vile grins are popped out and every one is accepted without a thought just as every passed hour is accepted. Without question – as if the slow crumbling of Konoha's favorite blond martyr was as inevitable as the passing of time.
Shikamaru hates inevitability almost as much as he hates Naruto's grins – but he is not immune to time and so the genius shinobi simply allows them to flit past like everyone around him does and ignores the painful pulling in his chest with each.
Years passed just as Shikamaru knew they would, with them went countless grins from Naruto and two rather scaring 'talks' from his father. 'Nara are known for falling prey to love at first sight' the old coot had said, 'pay attention'.
Pay attention to what? All Shikamaru really noticed were those damnable grins that Naruto constantly flashed. All Shikamaru paid attention to was Naruto... and god was he an idiot.
Geniuses were not supposed to be idiots and yet Shikamaru rather felt he was. How could he have not noticed? How did he not know? 'Nara are prone to love at first sight.' 'You know those Nara, always falling in love with a glance.' 'A Nara must only know their bride for five minutes to love them.' Shikamaru had been teased and reminded of his family's odd habit since he was old enough to know what love was, but he had always been distracted. By Naruto and those damn, fake ass grins.
What ugly grins they were, such hideous wrong things. They were inevitable of course, just as Shikamaru falling in love with Naruto was. Nothing could stop Naruto from ever feeling pain again, nothing could stop him from hiding his pain underneath the guise of a false smile. Shikamaru could, he thought, try. He could pull Naruto into his arms and hold the squirming ball of sunshine tight until the younger boy realized that Shikamaru was not going to let go. When Naruto stilled, he could kiss the blond. Nothing fancy, Shikamaru had never had the energy for such things, just a light little peck. Then, Naruto would smile – of this Shikamaru was sure.
Nothing could be more beautiful then a smiling Naruto. Those blue eyes would remain open and brightly showcasing his soul, his surprisingly small pink little mouth turned at the corners in a small but oh so sweet smile. That mental image alone was enough to pull Shikamaru from his contemplative state, the sky above a blue that could never compete with that of his Naruto's eyes.
The Nara sat up, glancing around the empty training field he had dozed off in today before pulling himself to his feet with a groan. He had an Uzumaki to make smile.
A.N. Just a short little oneshot about smiles and grins, lol. I LOVE ShikaNaru and there isn't nearly enough our there so I knew I simply had to write this when the bunny attacked. So, what did you think?