Flower Petals on the Wind

2

The boys spent the afternoon at an arcade, facing off against each other at any game they could think of. They tried to beat each other's high scores and even battled at DDR, though they both had to stop due to the plants growing in their chests. It was a fun afternoon, and both wish it didn't have to end. When it did, neither wanted to leave, so Shikamaru walked Naruto home, trying with all his might to stop himself from kissing the shit out of the blond. He knew that it'd ruin their friendship forever if he did.

When the brunette arrived home, he ignored his mother's nagging and headed to him room. Plopping down in front of his laptop at his desk, he opened the device up and began searching for Hanahaki Disease and its progression and treatment options. ten minutes later, he forced himself to push away from the desk and lie down in bed, processing everything he read.

"Hanahaki Disease is fatal if left untreated. Methods of treatment include surgical removal of plant roots from the lungs, which results in loss of romantic feelings; and having feelings returned by the object of affection. Symptoms include loss of appetite, sore throat, and coughing up flower petals. Can take anywhere from 3 weeks to 18 months before breathing is blocked by plants and death results.

If you suffer from Hanahaki Disease, confess already or wait to die.

Wikipedia" (this is not the actual explanation on Wikipedia.)

Shikamaru lay on his back, massaging his aching chest as he continued to think of the blond he loved, wondering if the boy would ever love him back.

Yoshino knocked on Shikamaru's door, only to receive no answer. She opened the door and found her son sleeping already. When she noticed his laptop still open and running, she went over to the desk in order to close it, only to catch a glimpse of what her son had been researching. Upon reading it, her eyes stung with tears and she let out a gasp of shock. Turning to her sleeping son, she pet his head for a moment, looking at him sadly before going to discuss what she read with her husband. She needed to do something for her son.

~

Naruto walked into the house, dropped his bag, and went to his bed, falling face first into the pillows. He slipped into unconsciousness quickly, dreaming about a life with Shikamaru, where he loved him back and they were both happy together.

He woke up the next morning, feeling his chest tighten. He coughed into his hand and saw more flower petals in his palm. He wondered why the petals would be yellow of all things, until he remembered talking about favorite colors with Shikamaru, and learned they liked the same color. He didn't understand why his friend said he liked yellow because it was the color of Naruto's hair, but it still made him feel happy that his hair was so blond. Thinking back on it now, he realized that his friend may actually like him, which eased quite a bit of the pain from his chest. He decided to come up with a plan to try and get his friend to confess first, though he knew it would be difficult.

As he walked into the school building, he went to Shikamaru's locker to wait for him, only for the warning bell to ring several minutes later and the brunette never showed up. Cursing himself silently, he went to class thinking of another way to talk to Shikamaru and get him to confess.

This pattern went on for the rest of the week, Naruto going to Shikamaru's locker only for the brunette to not show up. On several occasions during the week, he'd seen the brunette in the halls talking to random other students, only to not see him at the lockers at the end of the day.

Finally, Friday came around and Naruto decided to corner Shikamaru to ask what his problem was. After classes finished, Naruto hurried to Shikamaru and made sure he didn't leave the classroom before everyone else had left. The second the classroom was empty, Naruto went to the door and closed it before going to Shikamaru's desk to wake him up.

"Shika, wake up. Class is over," the blond said in the brunette's ear.  When that didn't work he came up with another tactic. "I want you to take me out today."

The last statement caused the brunette to sit up and stare at the blond with wide, sleepy eyes. "What did you just say?"

"I said I want you to hang out today," the blond amended now that Shikamaru was awake.

Shikamaru stared at him dubiously. "That's not what I heard you say. You wanted me to take you out today. Are you trying to ask me out on a date or something?" The question was asked as a joke, feeling his chest tighten in preparation for the denial while his cheeks reddened at the idea of it being true.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Perhaps you'll know by the end of the day." Naruto simply shrugged off the question, feeling his heart hammer against his ribs.

Shikamaru continued to stare at the blond, waiting for the punch line of the joke he was sure the blond was telling. When he was completely silent for several minutes, he realized the blond truly wanted him to take him out. He numbly nodded his head, unable to speak properly. He stood up and started walking toward the door though he felt more like he was flying.