Deep End (ShikamaruXOC)

11.

I shot up like a bolt at the sound of someone tapping on my front door and due to today's earlier encounter I made sure to grab a kunai as I made my way over to answer the door. Taking a deep breath, I braced for the worst as I pulled the front door open only to reveal a very sheepish Shikamaru holding a bundle of hydrangeas.

His cheeks had a light blush to them as he rubbed his neck awkwardly, "Hey, um sorry for just dropping by but I noticed you looked kind of upset earlier and I- are you okay?"

My eyes landed on what he was staring at and I realized how deranged I looked with my kunai in my hand only wearing a shirt long enough to cover the fact that I wasn't wearing any actual pants, "Oh sorry, I'm sure you heard about the book shop earlier. Just a little on edge."

He hummed in response and looked down at the flowers in his hand before pushing them towards me, "Ino helped me pick them out, I hope they're alright, I just thought maybe it would cheer you up."

I felt my own cheeks heat up with a small blush as I accepted the flowers from the tall man in front of me, he got me my favorite flower, "Oh they're beautiful, these are actually my favorite. Thank you Shika."

His eyes lit up at the sound of his nickname, "Well, um, I guess I'll see you in the morning I just wanted to come check on you. If you need anything feel free to track me down."

I smiled at Shikamaru suddenly feeling my raging hormones derail into another direction, a sappy direction as I fought back a swell of awe in my chest, "See you in the morning, thank you again."

With that he gave me one last cheeky grin and turned to walk away, leaving me to close the door and fall against it inhaling the flowers deeply. He bought me flowers and came to check on me! That has to mean something! As much as I wanted to find Ino and pour all of this to her I knew I needed to prepare and get proper rest before leaving for however long tomorrow. Leaving with Shikamaru alone for that matter. Gods! Could this get any more heart racing for me?

I made sure to place the flowers in a vase and beautifully display them in the center of the main living room so that I could look at them for the rest of the night as I made my way around the apartment gathering things for my journey and cleaning up so I could come back to a clean home. Soon enough the sun dipped below the horizon outside and cast a soft purple hue over the sky. I decided to continue my reading of the Icha Icha novel and actually focus on the words that were so marvelously written and enjoy a hot homemade ramen before calling it a night and finding my way into a deep sleep.

Time Skip because I did not know how else to space these parts oop

My alarm blasted ungracefully through the air as the sun started to barely cast its rays into my window. I groaned in disapproval before stretching and deciding that having a coffee and looking put together would do me a favor if I were going off with just Shikamaru. Getting dressed in one of my usual ninja outfits, I tugged on my sandals and made my way out to the kitchen so that I could get a little perk up to really complete looking alive this early in the morning. The smell of coffee alone brought a smile to my face and I looked over at the hydrangeas, once again feeling warm and fuzzy inside. I quickly grabbed a mug to drink my coffee (with just a hint of cream because yes, I am a wimp about coffee and I will die on that hill) and tried to drink it quickly as I slung my backpack over my back. Finishing my mug, I set it in the sink and wiped my mouth before heading out towards the main gate which thankfully wasn't a super far walk for me. It maybe took all but 10 minutes before I saw the entry way to the village in sight, no pineapple head in sight. I'd certainly have to relish in this moment of getting here before mister boring 'what a drag' Nara. Leaning against the gate I admired the mass of trees and clouds while I waited, absolutely blown away by the beauty of the world at sunrise. If only I could wake myself to actually enjoy it when not on a mission, maybe one day I'll break my sleeping in habit.

Not long after I saw a cloud that resembled a cyclops, I heard a slight shuffle of feet approaching and looked behind me to see Shikamaru looking absolutely exhausted. He grumbled something that slightly resembled a 'morning' and I couldn't help but laugh a little.

Shikamaru's POV

Gods how was she pretty this early in the morning? Walking up to the main gate of Konoha, Choi stood there watching the clouds, a hobby we both shared and she looked like an angel that had fallen from those very clouds. I mustered a weak good morning to her as I was beyond tired and slept like dog shit last night. She laughed lightly and while the sound chimed in my ears like sacred bells, I couldn't help but think what a drag it might be travelling with her when I'm this tired.

"Good morning to you too, Shika," her voice cut through the air in the smoothest way, I couldn't help but let the corners of my lips turn up slightly, "you look like shit."

And just like that, my scowl was back.

"Gee thanks, Choi. I slept great obviously."

Her large amber eyes bored into me as we walked out of the village to begin our journey, "Why didn't you just have a coffee?"

I sighed, already slightly annoyed, "Coffee doesn't really work for me."

She hummed in response, I expected another rambling or question from her, but instead she was silent. In fact, she stayed silent other than asking for directions for almost the entire duration of the morning. It was nice, travelling with her in comfortable silence knowing she was just as content observing nature as I was in order to enjoy the time passing by. We came to lunch time and decided to stop by a near river and eat our packed lunches. It seemed we had both packed a nice fresh lunch for our first day out on the road, she had made onigiri and I had prepared...well just rice and seaweed honestly.

Choi once again giggled lightly at me, "Shikamaru, would you like some onigiri? I made plenty to share."

A light blush crossed my cheeks and I froze under her gaze, "Oh, I don't want to take your food, you can always save that for later when we stop for the night."

Her locks bounced as she shook her head at me and stuck out her hand, onigiri in palm, "Nonsense, it won't stay good for too much longer and yours can always be mustered into a snack for us when we stop for the night. No offense. Just have some, really. Consider it repaying you for those beautiful flowers last night."

I sheepishly rubbed the back of my neck at her words, she thought the flowers I got her were beautiful? I'll have to remember that she likes hydrangeas...

"Well alright, thank you Choi."

We sat in continued silence other than the sound of the rushing river and us enjoying our lunch. The onigiri was absolutely delicious! I almost couldn't believe Choi had cooked up something so simple yet amazing, not that I doubt her talent I just can't believe it took this long for me to have something prepared by her. Choji and Ino praise her cooking all the time I couldn't believe I hadn't tried it before. I hummed in satisfaction and could just barely feel Choi's stare as I enjoyed the lunch, she had shared with me.

Choi's POV

I let a small smile crawl onto my face as I watched Shikamaru enjoy the lunch I had prepared for us. It was no coincidence that I made enough for both of us, after he had dropped off those flowers last night, I couldn't help but feel like I needed to repay the kind gesture and make a nice lunch that we could both enjoy for our first day travelling. Who knew when we would be able to not be on guard after this? He looked over at me with his cheeks stuffed with food and blushed lightly at me watching him.

"What?"

I scrunched my nose at his full mouth, "You just look really..."

Cute.

"...interesting while you eat."

He scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Gee thanks."

Oops. Gods could I be any worse at this? I still don't know how to act around him since discovering I don't actually hate the shadow ninja, quite the opposite actually.

We finished our lunch quickly and decided to get back to our path and I felt a little concerned as Shikamaru veered off a little ways from the original direction he had told me, but maybe that river had gotten us a little off path to begin with.