Time with You

13. Sunrise

The following day Naruto awoke to knocking coming from his front door. 

"Uuuuuuuuugh." Naruto groaned, placing his pillow over his head for a moment before tossing it aside and getting out of bed. 

He sluggishly walked over to the front door, rubbing his eye with one hand as he turned the doorknob with the other.

"Shikamaru!" His face lit up, eyes twinkling with delight as a grin spread across his face. 

Shikamaru looked Naruto up and down, smiling at his disheveled appearance. "I like your pajamas." 

"Thanks." Naruto nervously laughed, scratching the back of his neck before straightening himself out, "So, what's up? Did ya need something?" 

"Well, you made it pretty clear in your letter that you wanted to spend time with me once you got back. So, do you want to come sit by the tree for a while? I brought some snacks."  Shikamaru rose his arm, revealing a small bag filled with different types of snacks. 

Naruto beamed, "Wait one sec!" He yelled, slamming the door as he ran throughout his apartment.

Clothes were thrown left and right as he tried to quickly dress himself. Once complete, he slid into the bathroom, vigorously brushing his teeth. As he finished rinsing his mouth he paused for a second to smile widely in the mirror before sprinting to the front door and yanking on his shoes. 

Shikamaru jumped a bit as the door swung open, revealing a shining Naruto in his usual attire. 

He couldn't hold back his grin, "Ready?" 

Naruto closed the door behind him, throwing up a thumbs up before replying, "Yup!"

As they turned to the stairs, the blonde suddenly stopped. 

"Shikamaru?" Naruto spoke, eyebrows furrowed.

"Hm?" Shikamaru turned around to face him, swinging the bag of treats over his shoulder.

"Why is the sky still dark?" Naruto's eyes widened, "Did I sleep all day again." He lowered his head, squinting at Shikamaru as he murmured, "Am I dreaming right now.."

Shikamaru stepped closer to him, staring into his eyes as he brought up a hand to his cheek. 

Naruto's breath hitched, eyes widening once more. 

Shikamaru proceeded to pinch the other's cheek, "Did you feel that?" He slightly tilted his head to the side, retracting his hand.

Naruto flinched at the small pain. "Ouch." He rubbed his cheek as he nodded, letting out a deep breath. 

"It's still dark since it's only 6 am." Shikamaru pointed up towards the sky, shrugging.

"Shikamaru, w h y are we outside at 6 am." Naruto crossed his arms as he yawned. 

"I thought it'd be nice to watch the sunrise together." Shikamaru cleared his throat, feeling a twinge of embarrassment wash over him. 

Naruto raised his eyebrows, smile beginning to appear. 

"But, uh, in all honesty, I just couldn't stand to be at home." Shikamaru turned his head to the side, in an attempt to compose himself. 

Nice save. He internally groaned.

Naruto's smile faltered for a second before settling on his face. 

"Alright then, let's go or we'll miss the sunrise!" He cheered, walking over to the steps.

"Right." Shikamaru followed, tightening his grip on the bag as he walked down the stairs.

As the pair made their way to the lone tree upon the hilltop they shared a few snacks as well as laughs. They were delighted to be in one another's company, even though they had seen each other just a few hours before.

As they reached the base of the hill, Shikamaru tied the bags handles, ensuring nothing would fall out. Climbing a tall grass filled hill in the dark with one hand though, proved to be a bit difficult.

"Oh fuck." Shikamaru mumbled as he tripped, balancing himself with his free hand. 

Naruto, who was a few feet ahead of Shikamaru, turned to look down at him, "Here, I'll hold the bag."

He carefully descended, eyes lowered as he watched where he was stepping. Once he got close enough he outstretched his hand towards the Nara. 

Shikamaru looked up, not fully hearing what Naruto had said, he took hold of the other's hand with his own. "Thanks." 

Naruto raised his eyebrows as he processed what was going on. This is basically just holding hands- No, no, he just thought you were trying to help him climb. That's all.

Upon reaching the hill top, the two boys continued holding hands for a few seconds, neither wanting to let go. 

"Oh uh, the grass looks kinda wet don't ya think?" Naruto let go of Shikamaru's hand, bending down as he ran his now free hand through the grass. 

"Hm? Oh, you're right." Shikamaru bent down as well, getting lost in his thoughts as he placed his hand onto the grass.

"Here!" Naruto said, taking Shikamaru out of his thoughts. 

Shikamaru looked over at him, he was standing by the tree with his jacket off, pointing down at the orange cloth laid out on the grass. It was on the opposite side of the tree, where they normally sat, aligned with the sunrise's location.

"We can use my jacket as a, uh, sitting mat!" Naruto grinned, plopping down before patting the spot next to him. 

As Shikamaru took a seat, he realized how stupid he must look with the smile that had found its way onto his face. He rubbed his face with his hands, trying to return to his usual expression.

"Are you tired?" 

"Huh?" Shikamaru lowered his hands, turning his head to face Naruto. "No, no. I'm fine."

"Oh, alright." Naruto turned his head so he was now looking out towards the village, though it was still dark out he could make out the faint outlines of buildings. However, he wasn't really paying attention to them, his mind was occupied with something else.

Shikamaru opened his mouth to say something when he noticed a glint of light out of the corner of his eye. He turned, now staring straight ahead, he watched as the sun slowly made it's way out from the horizon. It wasn't anything special really, he'd seen a sunrise many times before, but this one seemed to warm him more than the others. 

He softly smiled, turning his head once more to face Naruto. "W-"

"Are you worried?" Naruto questioned, still looking at the sunrise.

"Worried about what?" Shikamaru furrowed his brows, confusion present on his face.

"About Temari, and your mom. I know you said you aren't interested but.." He trailed off, eyes lowering.

"She's leaving for the Sand today, probably getting ready now. Once she's gone I can just keep avoiding contact. I'll need to be more careful in the future about knowing the dates and times she'd be visiting again though." Shikamaru didn't really understand the issue with this, he figured pretending it wasn't happening was easiest.

"Shouldn't you just tell her you don't feel the same way? I know I'd hate to be led on by the one I liked.." Naruto's voice became softer as he reached the end of his sentence. He began picking at the grass next to him.

Shikamaru watched him in silence for a few seconds before replying, "You're right."