Time with You

3. Enjoyment

"You want to talk about feelings with me..?" Naruto slowly turned his head to look over at the Nara sitting next to him.

"I- Uh, I guess so?" Shikamaru shut his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck, sighing.

"That's kinda..uh. Weird." Naruto scrunched up his face, a mix of confusion and disgust present. He'd never had anyone want to talk about his feelings with him before, it was new and confusing. He was grossed out by the thought, he'd never been one to take things seriously, and by Shikamaru's tone it seemed this talk would be nothing but serious.

Shikamaru opened his eyes before scoffing at Naruto's face. "If you don't want to we can just sit in silence." Shikamaru turned away, falling back onto the grass, placing his arms behind his head as a makeshift pillow. "And stop looking at me with that facial expression. It makes you look uglier than you already are."

Naruto's face twisted into anger. "OI! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO WANTS TO BE ALL MUSHY WITH ME AND TALK ABOUT OUR FEELINGS. WHAT ARE YOU IN LOVE WITH ME OR SOMETHIN'?"

Shikamaru groaned, shutting his eyes once again. "You're too loud. I'm trying to nap, it was just a suggestion."

Naruto scooted closer to Shikamaru, and began shaking him. "Wake up wake up wake up wake up wake u-" Naruto was cut off as Shikamaru swiftly sat up and pushed him off the hill, sending him rolling down. He half yelled-half laughed the whole way down, practically forgetting all about Shikamaru's suggestion, his focus now being on how fun the ride down was.

"Oiiiiiiiiii, Shikamaruuuu!" Naruto called from the bottom. "Roll down too! It's so fun!" He laughed, placing a hand on his hip as the other rested on the back of his head.

Shikamaru looked down at him, he was covered in grass stains shown clearly against the orange clothing, a few slightly present on his face as well. "Pass." Shikamaru waved a hand. "My mom'll kill me if I get those stains all over my clothes." He laid back once more, shutting his eyes, a small smile present on his lips. The blonde was an idiot, a cute idiot, but an idiot no less. Shikamaru was ripped from his thoughts as he felt himself begin rolling down the hill at high speeds, his eyes shot open as he yelled.

Naruto cackled, holding his stomach as he watched Shikamaru roll down before throwing himself on the grass, rolling after him. When he reached the bottom he was met with a less-than-happy looking Shikamaru standing over him. Naruto stayed laying on his back, eyes shut from smiling so widely up at the other. Shikamaru looked down at him, his anger fading as he began to laugh. Despite being a bit tiring, spending a day with Naruto truly was never boring.

Shikamaru squatted down, his laughter slowly transitioning into a soft chuckle as he reached a hand up to Naruto's hair. "You have grass in your hair, idiot." He brushed the grass away, smiling a bit as he stood back up before offering Naruto a helping hand.

Naruto stared at the offer for a second before taking Shikamaru's hand, placing his hands on his hips once he was standing. "Wasn't that fun?" He grinned.

"It was." Shikamaru smiled, before grimacing. He looked down at his clothes, they were covered in grass stains. He sighed. "My mom's really gonna let me have it this time." He groaned, already getting a headache from the lecture he was bound to receive.

"Well, there's no use in whining about it now! We can deal with that when it happens!" Naruto patted Shikamaru's back, laughing. "Come on! I'll let ya push me down as payback!" He began scrambling up the hill, attempting to quickly get to the top.

"We?" Shikamaru repeated, following Naruto back up the hill at a much slower pace. He found himself agreeing with Naruto's statements, deciding to just enjoy his time with the boy rather than tire himself out from looking too far ahead like he normally does.

"Of course we idiot!" Naruto yelled, turning to face Shikamaru as he reached the top. He placed a hand on his hip, using the other to point down at Shikamaru. "I'm not gonna let a friend endure a lecture on their own!"

Shikamaru stopped climbing. He stared up at Naruto, who grinned upon making eye contact. He sighed, smiling as he shut his eyes, and began to shake his head. "You're just gonna walk me over to my house and then disappear."

Naruto chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Can't fool a genius huh?"

Shikamaru continued climbing, smiling to himself as he thought of how nice it was to spend time with Naruto. If you had asked Shikamaru a few days ago if he'd ever willingly spend an afternoon with the blonde you'd probably just be met with a yawn and pass. As Shikamaru finally neared the top he came face to face with an extended hand.

"Here!" Naruto took hold of Shikamaru's hand, pulling him the rest of the way up.

"Thanks." Shikamaru nodded, sighing as the exhaustion from climbing up the hill caught up to him. He took a seat on the grass, propping himself up with his hands as he leaned back. Naruto took a seat next to him, before speaking up once again, "Sorry for getting your clothes dirty." He mumbled, picking at the grass.

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows, a bit taken aback by this sudden apology.

"It's alright, they needed to be washed soon anyway. Besides, what kind of ninja would I be if I wasn't able to hide a few grass stains from my mother." He joked, wanting to let the blonde know he wasn't mad in the slightest.

Naruto looked over at Shikamaru, who offered him a smile paired with his forever tired looking eyes. He grinned, glad he hadn't already ruined their newfound friendship. Shikamaru, content with Naruto's expression, looked up at the sky. He was a bit shocked when he saw how much the color had changed. The high up afternoon sun had become a fleeting sunset. Had they really spent such a long time out here? I guess time-

"Phew! Time sure does fly by fast when you're havin' fun huh Shikamaru?" Naruto nudged the Nara with his shoulder, smile still glued to his face.

"Yeah." Shikamaru looked over, returning the smile, "It really does."