Yeah, was being a bitch yesterday so I couldn't post. So i'm gonna post twice today.

Pairing: NejiShika

Genre: Romance

Warning: Yeah, no I cant think of anything. Fluff?

That day that I went outside for a walk I certainly didn't expect to meet you there.

I stepped onto the hill, out of the forest, expecting a clear path. However, that wasn't the case.

I had been taking a walk because the Hyuuga compound had been getting far too crowded and Hanabi had been bothering me. And now there was someone up on the hill where I wanted to sit.

I don't recognize the person lying up on the hill, but as I approach I can see a headband so he must be a ninja. I feel like I ought to recognize him…and then it hits me, he was in the chunin exam with me. He fought the sand female, and was the only one to actually become a chunin that year.

But I don't remember his name.

"Hello," he says.

"Hello," I reply, looking down at him. He looks up at me sleepily, "Hyuuga Neji isn't it?" He yawns.

"Yes, but I don't remember your name"

He laughs and looks up at me through his half-closed eyes, "Nara Shikamaru"

I nod and then walk around him, preparing to forget all about him.

Then when I saw you on the street you smiled at me and waved. That surprised me very much.

A couple of weeks later I'm on my way to training with my insane teacher. Anyone that wears that much spandex cannot be normal. I take the shorter way through the village center, passing by all the shops.

As I walk by the edge of the local flower shop I see the same chunin from the hill. He is sitting with his two teammates, the blond girl and the chubby guy that always eats chips.

He looks up at me and when I see his face I remember his name: Shikamaru. Then he smiles lazily and raises a hand in greeting. I get the feeling he's mocking me, in his own way, but I'm not sure what to make of him.

As I walk by I nod my head in acknowledgment and just see the shocked look on the blond girl's face. I find it strange that he would smile at me, someone he hardly knows, but perhaps he's crazy.

The next time I saw you, you were putting down the final piece of the shogi game to beat your teacher. That day I learned that you played shogi, which is something I didn't know.

A couple of days after our last encounter I'm walking home after training, as the sun is falling beneath the horizon, I see him, Shikamaru. He's putting the gold general into the final place and his teacher is cursing rather loudly. And suddenly I find myself walking over towards them.

"Checkmate," I say looking down at the board.

He looks up at me, "do you play?" he asks as he places the small wooden pieces back into the board before closing it. His teacher stands up and mutters a small goodbye.

"Yes, I do, sometimes. I've played with my uncle a couple of times."

"Would you like to play sometime?" he asks, "because my teacher just declared that he won't play with me anymore."

I find this interesting; is he really that good? My curiosity gets the better of me. "All right," I reply.

"Next week, then?" he says, standing and tucking the board beneath his arm. I find myself nodding and not knowing the reason.

"I'll see you then" he replies, walking away.

So we started playing shogi together because I was the only one who understood strategy. And then I realized that I noticed every time our hands brushed.

It's a couple of months after that first invitation to play shogi, and it has become a weekly occurrence, when we can fit it in. I reach out and move the shogi over two and up one. I look up at him and he's got his hands placed in that particular way of his. The first time I saw him do that I thought he was preparing to do some kind of jutsu, but it wasn't the case.

It's just his way of thinking. And usually when he comes out of it and opens his eyes he will move and then win. We've played many times but I've never beat him.

My hand is still hovering over my promoted pawn when suddenly he opens his eyes and reaches across the board to pick up his piece. As he picks up his silver general his hand brushes across mine. I pull my hand back, feeling slightly embarrassed, but he doesn't seem to notice and his next move is the last one.

Then we were playing shogi like any other day but instead I won. It was the only time I had won out of every time I had played you and you just leaned over and kissed me.

We have now been playing shogi for a while now, about six to seven months by my guess. And I still haven't won. Oh, I've come close before, or at least it seemed like it was and then he'd move just one piece and the whole game changed.

This was like any other game and I was heading on my way to loosing when I an opening in his defense.

Shikamaru has his hands placed in his thinking position. Then he opens his eyes and moves a piece. I laugh, and he looks at me, and then at the board as I move the promoted knight.

"Checkmate," I say and smirk at him. He looks at me in a state of shock and then grins. I've never seen him grin like that before.

"I lost," he's still grinning. He looks genuinely happy, too.

"Yes, you di--" I'm cut off as he leans across the board and presses his lips to mine. I flush, but in my mind all I can think is: 'I have to win more often.'

Then I realized, and I knew that I was in love with you. And you liked me back, even if you said it in a different way.

I've known for a while now, that I'm in love with you.

I don't know when it happened; I don't even know when I realized it.

Something like that happens so gradually you don't really realize it until it's there, staring you in the face.

It's been about a year since that first shogi game, and now we're friends, or maybe more.

I feel him link his fingers with mine as he smiles his sleepy smile at me.

"You know, you turned out way less troublesome than I thought you'd be.

I smile slightly and tighten my hand around his.

I never meant for it to turn out like this, that day I went for a walk, but I'm certainly glad it did.

Awww...yeah, whatever.