The Calm Before The Storm

The beginning of the storm

They had decided to go eat first since Naruto had been rather hungry by the time they managed to leave. Bare minutes after they'd eaten, it started to rain. It was pouring, to be exact. So, since they couldn't really go cloud watching in that particular weather they had decided to just head back home.

Shikamaru had gone to change his wet clothes right away since he really hated feeling soaked. As it happens, he was wet and cold and his mood had gone bad because of the rapidly worsening storm that had cancelled their plans. He wasn't usually this bothered by such small things but he had really been looking forward to cloud watching with Naruto. It had been a while actually since he'd been able to do his favorite hobby. And he had also been kind of looking forward to trying to explain the beauty of it to Naruto too, he had to admit. Now, who knew when their next chance would be?

He was walking out of his room towards the living room but stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed Naruto in his room.

Naruto was just sitting there on the floor facing the window. But that wasn't what captured Shikamaru's attention. It was the look on his face. It was almost... sad - if Shikamaru had to put a name to it. There was a quiet aura surrounding him that Shikamaru didn't like. He didn't think he'd ever seen Naruto like this.

Why would Naruto look like that..? How often did he look like that when he thought that no-one could see? Shikamaru hoped that it wasn't a regular occurrence and that there was a simple enough reason for the gloomy look. Anyway, seeing Naruto sad proved to be almost physically painful for Shikamaru as he felt his chest constrict more and more the longer he looked at the expression that looked almost foreign on Naruto's face.

"Naruto?" Shikamaru prompted softly when he couldn't just quietly watch the strange scene before him anymore.

"Hm? What is it?" Naruto said with a bit more normal expression, though the underlying feeling was still there. You could see it in his eyes.

"Are you okay..?" Shikamaru knew just how inadequate the question was and had never hated it more than now. He knew how it was just something people asked without really wanting to hear the answer. He just couldn't think of anything else and he had to, just had to, say something to alleviate the dull pressure in his chest.

He had to get Naruto to stop making that face.

As if he was fine when he so obviously wasn't. Naruto's eyes were incapable of lying and in there Shikamaru could see everything at times. And right now he could see something that left him feeling colder than the rain had.

"What? Of course I'm okay." Naruto laughed a bit awkwardly, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You don't look okay."

Naruto's expression became almost blank again. His eyes though... They were still a deep blue with the storm clouds reflected on them.

"It's just... heh. I really don't like the rain. Especially storms like this one. They remind me... how alone I really am. I remember I used to be scared of them and it was awful. I never felt more alone than on stormy nights. I know it must sound stupid but... It just feels like I'm all alone in the world and all I can hear is the rain, the lightning and it only gets louder and louder and louder - until it feels like the roof will collapse on you. But even that would be better than the crushing..." Naruto's voice wavered on the word, "...loneliness."

Shikamaru's chest felt so tight he could hardly breathe. Why had he even asked? And why did hearing Naruto's answer hurt so much? Shikamaru once again had no idea what to say or if he was even supposed to say anything. All he wanted right then was to wipe that face of off Naruto. Naruto who was like the sun. He spread light from within even into the darkest of abysses and was able to remake them into something good.