Title: Read Between the Lines
Author: Three AM
Rating: R for language
Disclaimer: Naruto and characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
Summary: The title says it all. ShikaSaku. Very short and lazy oneshot.
xxx
I stare at them for some more minutes before finally, resignedly, looking away. Only to catch another couple walking down the street. I sigh. What is the world coming to? Why is there such an overflow of foolish people in love, or at least pretending to be in love? Why am I--?
A shadow fall over me, clouding my vision of the street below. I stare straight ahead, feeling him sit down beside me.
"You're here again," I say, musing out loud.
"A very astute observation," he says back. Hearing his sarcastic note, I raise my brow.
"Are you irritated with me again?" I ask, then continue, "This isn't your territory, you know."
"And who says I'm irritated?"
I snort in a very unladylike manner. Hell. Whatever. "You're a possessive bastard, Shikamaru. That's why—"
"Why what?" he prods me to continue when I suddenly stop, challenging me with those dark calculating eyes. Damn him. He knows I really don't intend to say it. It just slips from my big fucking mouth…
Taking a deep breathe, I carry on, "That's why she left you, my friend. I can still remember how she would always go running to me, complaining endlessly how much of a possessive and protective freak you are, Shikamaru."
"It's not my fault, Sakura," he says flatly. Out of the corner of my eyes, I notice him look up at the sky. Again. "Ino's a flirty bitch. She can never stay in one place. She's like a fucking butterfly, needing to drift from one flower to flower."
"Are you saying that my best—er, ex-best friend is a whore?" I ask, feeling a bit outraged at his implied comment. "And excuse me, she's a pig. It's Chouji who's the butterfly, if I remember correctly."
His mouth quirks upward in a small smile. He shakes his head. "Nah. I don't blame her. It's in her nature."
Once again, I look down at the street below us. With my legs dangling along the edge of the rooftop, I feel the hard cement with such familiar roughness. And warmth. Then I notice our two long shadows painted across the street below, with barely a foot apart from each other. I assume that it might be early afternoon already; I can feel the hot rays of the sun burning through my back.
"You didn't answer my question," I say.
"No, I did," he answers back. "You used to be better at reading between the lines, Haruno. What's the matter? Aging already? Stress at the hospital too much for you to handle?"
Though we're not facing each other, I can almost see his smirk with those thin lips of his. "You're one to talk, Nara. Jounin general too much for you to handle?"
He let out a loud laugh. I smile too. I immediately know it's genuine.
"Fuck. Hardly," he replies with a smirk.
"Good," I say. "I'll report it to the Hokage." Pause. "I might even put in a good word for you. You know, favorite student and all."
I purse my lips, fighting the urge to grin. It isn't long before he let out another loud outrageous laugh. Finally, I give in and laugh with him.
"You don't need to, but thanks for the offer Haruno," he says, his lips still with a smile. "Rest assure I can do it all in my own."
Immediately, my brows rise up to my hairline (and that's saying something) in obvious surprise. I stare at him, my eyes wide in awe and amusement. It surely isn't everyday that the Shikamaru we all know and love… boasts.
"You're in a fucking good mood today, huh, Shikamaru." It is meant to be a statement, but the way I say it, it becomes more like a question.
He stares at me long. Longer than I expect and like. Instantly, I feel the urge to blink and turn away from his sharp eyes. But I don't. I refuse to be the first one to blink.
Fuck my women empowerment philosophy.
"You think?" he muses out loud. Finally, he tilts his head and looks at the light blue sky. "Well yeah, I guess so."
"You admit you're in a good mood?"
He shrugs. And knowing Shikamaru, I take that as a yes.
I narrow my eyes at him. "You're a walking contradiction, Nara."
"What?"
"Just a minute ago, I sensed your aura as irritated as hell a mile from here."
He raises a brow at me.
"Okay, so that's an exaggeration. But you were irritated! Admit it."
"And why would I be?"
"Because I'm here."
This time, his whole body turns and faces me completely. I breathe in sharply and refuses to look at him back. I stare at the street below us instead. So much for my fucking philosophy.
"You think?"
"Yeah. Why else would you be? After all, you caught me sitting in your territory."
"This isn't mine, Sakura," I hear him say softly. I am almost surprised at the change of his tone. Almost, because I am busy paying attention to the furious beating of my heart.
"But you always go here. And like I said, you're a possessive bastard."
At the corner of my eye, I see him shrug again. "This isn't mine."
"So it's okay for me to go here?" I ask.
"Of course."
"Sit here all day?"
"Yeah."
So we do. Sit there all day, I mean. How long we don't know. I certainly don't pay attention to the time when there is so much going on around me. The people are still busily darting across the street, going on in their own businesses. Somewhere down the busy and noisy street, I hear an old man begging for alms and a dog bark in response. And somewhere across, I see a fast blur dashes from one roof to another. Another blur speed by.
From the race in the roofs, my eyes go upwards to watch the sky. The clouds drift by slowly. A flock of birds suddenly come into view and they circle above our heads. I can still feel the hot glare of the sun behind me. Sweat trickle down my spine and forehead.
And there, beside me, is Shikamaru, lazily looking up at the sky. Again.
"Shikamaru?"
He blinks and turns his head to me. This time, I face him back.
"Yeah?" he asks.
"You didn't tell me why you're in a good mood."
"You want to know?"
I shrug.
"Because I'm here," he says and I suddenly remember myself telling him that a few seconds ago.
As I am about to accuse him of stealing, I stop as he continues with three simple words. Helplessly, I stare at him. Wordlessly, I open my mouth and close it again. Silently, I listen to the fast drumming of my heart.
And then I wonder, just how in this chaotic world can those three simple words stop me from thinking properly and functioning correctly?
"Because you're here."