Cold Hands, Warm Hearts

There was always something so pure about the first snowfall of the season.

ShikaNaru Christmas Weekend 2020

Day 2: First Snow Fall | Sharing A Scarf


Shikamaru buried his nose in his white scarf, hands shoved deep in his pants pocket as he wandered through the village absently. The wind out of the north was quite cold on that dull, grey day, sending goosebumps over his exposed skin so he hunched up his shoulders and sped up his walking.

Shikamaru had stopped by Naruto's apartment earlier that day, but the blond ninja hadn't been home and Shikamaru knew that Naruto didn't have any missions for the week so the next logical place to check was the training ground and Ichiraku. Shikamaru veered down the path on his left that led to the training ground and sure enough, a few minutes later Shikamaru came across the blond practicing his taijutsu with a few clones.

Shikamaru leaned against a tree, content to watch his boyfriend twist and duck under his clone's multi-front attacks. Shikamaru lowered his eyebrows when a dot of something cold hit his nose, Shikamaru resisted rubbing at his nose like he was a cat. Instead, he tipped his head back and his lips twitched up as soft, fat, snowflakes started to fall from the grey clouds above.

Well it was cold enough for snow today there was no doubt about that and there was always something so pure about the first snowfall of the season.

Shikamaru's attention was drawn away from the sky and the first flurries of snow and back to his blond boyfriend. Naruto had let his clones pop away in small plumes of smoke and was standing alone in the middle of the training field. His hands were outstretched, palms up in front of him and his head was tilted back. A broad, amazed smile on his face as he watched the snowfall and Shikamaru was struck by how much he loved the blond.

Naruto looked at peace and calm in a way that Shikamaru had rarely seen save for the moments the two of them were tangled together between missions, sharing soft kisses and loving touches. Shikamaru wanted to let Naruto look like this all the time, it was such a wonderful look for the Jinchuriki.

Naruto snapped himself out of his amazed look before his whole body shuddered and he tucked his hands under his armpits as his shoulders hunched up. Shikamaru pushed himself off of the tree and sauntered over to Naruto.

"Hey," Shikamaru stated as he came to a stop beside his boyfriend.

"Shika!" Naruto's face lit up when he laid eyes on his boyfriend before he made a surprised, confused noise when Shikamaru's scarf was wound around his neck, pink dusting Shikamaru's cheeks and the blond knew it wasn't from the cold.

"You looked cold," Shikamaru grumbled as he tugged his hair free so the dark strands hung loosely around his neck, not a proper substitute for his scarf but he could deal.

"Thanks, Shika," Naruto nuzzled his face into the white scarf, eyes shining with unspoken emotion that had Shikamaru looking back up at the sky and the falling snow to avoid getting a lump in his throat.

Naruto stepped closer, fingers plucking at the scarf around his neck before he seemed to settle on a choice. Naruto unwound the scarf from his neck and coiled it around both his and Shikamaru's neck, plastering himself to his boyfriend's side. Naruto looped his arm around Shikamaru's arm, lacing their calloused fingers together.

"There, now we can stay warm together," Naruto chirped, happy to be close to his boyfriend as he enjoyed the first snowfall of the season.

"Troublesome blond," Shikamaru muttered, his cheeks bright pink now as he rested his cheek against Naruto's forehead as Naruto beamed.

"Come on Shika, let's go to Ichiraku!" Naruto tugged at Shikamaru's hand and the two took off walking through the softly falling snow. The white scarf keeping the two of them close together as warmth and happiness coloured their cheeks as their fingers stayed lace together as they walked through the village together in the peace that only the first snowfall can bring.