Mask Boy

denying

Shikamaru was staring blankly at his cieling, laying on his bed with his arms spread out against the sheet. His mental state was slowly slipping away from him as he begins to register through everything he went through over the past days.

4 weeks.

It took him 4 weeks to convince Naruto to move into his house and within some of those days, he couldn't find him at all. Yeah he mentions things like training but how is he training with no guide or know where to start? It's kind of cute imagining him trying to train himself to be a shinobi though.

Anyways, when he first asked Naruto to move in with him, Naruto just sat and stared at him for maybe about 10 minutes before telling him a straight "No" and running away from him. He still remembers how he felt during that day, extremely confused and flabbergasted.

But of course, he wasn't gonna give up that easily. After that day, he continued to attempt to persuade Naruto into moving out of his apartment. He tried gifting, low flirting, offers, and even went as far as to beg the boy.

Ain't nobody gonna catch him begging again like that.

Even after all of that, the only close answer to a yes he got was,

"Uuhhh maybe"

That's progress right there, the most he's ever gotten away from a no. Maybe's are a 50/50 chance... no he's lying to himself, more like 80/20 chance with no being the biggest number but he still wanted to hold onto hope.

"Ugh I should ask Ino for some tips on convincing another person, she's good at these type of things" he said to himself.

He's worried that the longer Naruto stays at his apartment, the closer the villagers were to get their hands on him and do things Shikamaru would rather not think about. This sounds like he thinks Naruto is weak but he doesn't think Naruto is defenseless. He had taught him some basic skills to get away from people if he ever encounters anyone dangerous.

But after the bomb situation, he can't take any chances.

That's one of his worries, the other is that Naruto's attitude towards him was.. different. Whenever he talked to him, he gets all nervous and fidgets, more than usual. At some point, it looked like Naruto was trying to avoid him whenever he brings up about hanging out or something.

Could it be that his confession made him uncomfortable? He did it once before so maybe Naruto finally got the hint? Strange though.. he thought he read the atmosphere good enough at that moment and it's also kind of obvious that Naruto shares the same feelings.

"At least I think he does"

Big sigh, annoying.. not being able to understand something is annoying and he usually understands everything. He's not a Nara for nothing.

Why can't life be easy? Why does god have to add such difficult situations to his life like deadly missions that almost gets him killed or being overworked by the Hokage.

Most importantly, feelings! He's always confused 24/7 when it comes to his feelings and doesn't know how to act properly sometimes. Why can't anything be easy?!

. . .

A glass of milk sounds nice right now.

He lazily rolled himself off the bed and went out of his room. He yawned loudly while scratching his stomach as he made his way to his kitchen.

He grabbed his cup and then his milk. Just when he was about to pour it in, he hears a knock coming from the outside of his door.

"Troublesome, can't even pour my milk in peace"