i'll take care of you { shikamaru x reader }

ten.

After Shikamaru ordered all the food, he asked you to go find a place for you two to sit at. You saluted him in a playful way and went off to find a spot. As you were looking around, you stopped to check your watch. It was going to be 3 o'clock soon; you two were about to have a late lunch technically. You let out a sigh as your stomach reminded you that you also didn't get a chance to have breakfast this morning. You felt relieved more than anything that you were finally going to eat. 

As you resumed your search, you kept in mind that an ideal spot would be somewhere with shade. As you looked back to see the status with Shikamaru, you saw that he hasn't gotten the food yet. Great, still have some time. Then, you quickly wondered why finding a place to sit was taking you so long?

You let out a small huff as you did you best to hurry and find a spot. Your eyes wondered enough and there! You found a sitting area by a large tree; it looked very pretty. Right after, you spotted someone going for the same spot as you. You were about the feel bad because it was an ordinary person but you really wanted the spot and flashed over.

"Soooorrryyyyyyy." You said to the person you took the spot from. They simply waved you off and continued on with their search. Luckily, yours was over and then you spotted Shikamaru making his way over to you with the food. He set the tray down in front of you as he took the seat across from you.

"Sweet moves." He said as he sat down and starting digging into the fries.

"What?"

"I saw how quickly you took the spot. Sweet moves." He repeated himself. But, you became shy since you didn't think he saw you.

"You saw! I didn't think you did. Guess I took that long to find a spot then."

"No worries. There are other places for people to sit. Unfortunately, it has to be in the sun but I know you wouldn't want to sit in the sun. Finders keepers."

"You're right." You responded as you reached over for a cheeseburger and slowly began to eat it. You didn't want to eat too fast since your stomach is pretty much on empty. The last thing you wanted to do right now was to eat too fast and then pass a bunch of gas on your first date with your best friend. Shikamaru also bought himself a cheeseburger and took him time to eat it. After taking his first bite, he took a moment to gaze up at the tree the both of you were sitting under.

"Now that I'm here, I just realized how pretty this tree looks."

"Hmm?" You asked with your mouth full of burger. You looked up as well to really take a moment to admire the tree. You knew from before that it was lovely to look at but now you saw what Shikamaru was talking about. There was a soft breeze and watching the leaves ruffle was soothing to watch. The shine from the sun was reflecting off the leaves making them look a bit shiny. It was an ordinary tree - brown bark, tall with green leaves - but this one just looked nice in its own way.

"So. Are you going to tell me what made you wake up late?" He asked taking another bite and a sip of his soda.

You took a big bit trying to prolong giving him the answer because you knew he was going to laugh at you. You took your time to chew your food and swallow. You decided to answer after taking a long sip of your soda.

"Taking your time I see." You nodded. When you finished taking a sip, you set your cup down. 

"I stayed up late playing video games."

"Pfff! Ahahaha!" He let out a great big laugh. He laughed just as hard as you knew he would. He even had to wipe away a tear for how hard he was laughing.

"I'm not sorry for laughing that hard. I expected something along those lines."

"Yeah. Yeah. Laugh it up."

"I think I'm good for now." He replied as he continued to eat his food. You did the same as you did a little people watching. You also thought about seeing the pandas.

                                                    **

After you two finished eating, Shikamaru picked up the tray, walked over to the nearest garbage can and threw out whatever was left. You followed him as you two began to make your way over to the panda exhibit. You stretched your arms way up high as you felt great after eating a good meal.

"Thank you, Shikamaruuuu!" You said with a playful smile. You noticed him blush a bit as he scratched the back of his head.

"Anytime. Wouldn't want you to walk around starving." You smiled at his response. You checked your watch again to see that it was almost 4 pm. The zoo closes at 5 if you remembered correctly.

"How long would it take for us to get to the pandas from here?"

"Not sure. Why?"

"It's about to be 4."

"Doesn't the zoo close at 5?"

"I think so." 

"Then we need to speed it up."

It was then that you started to become a bit sporadic at the thought of not being able to see the pandas.

"You know what? I got this." You had a questioning look on your face because you didn't know what he was talking about. 

Before you knew it, he had picked you marriage style and you yelped a little. He leaped into the air and you scurried to hang on. You knew people in the village were used to seeing ninjas leap into the air but it could still appear a bit bizarre in certain areas unless there was some kind of serious situation going in. When you felt less surprised, you looked towards him as the sun hit his skin just right. He looked very mature and manly even.

You were taken in awe as you admired him.

In moments, you two were on the other side of the zoo. You couldn't help but think how come you didn't think of that before? Looking around, you spotted the pandas and quickly made your way over to them leaving Shikamaru in the dust. It didn't take long for him to catch up. Your smile was huge as you kept laughing in joy from seeing how cute the pandas were. There was even a panda cub that you didn't expect to see. Shikamaru was standing behind you and it appeared that he was admiring how happy you looked.

When you turned around the check up on him, you saw he was looking towards the pandas too. You could have sworn that it felt like you were being watched a moment ago. You shrugged it off and kept looking at the pandas while this exhibit was still open; the zoo is going to start closing very soon. You thought that in a little bit, you two would start heading towards the exit. You were able to see a lot of the exhibitions but it also felt like the visit came and went rather quickly.

"Hey. Want to go on the merry-go-round before we leave?" He asked while pointing to it with his thumb. Your face lit up as you hurried over to the fun ride. The line got smaller pretty fast and before you knew it, you and Shikamaru were in the front. He helped you get on one of the horses while he sat on one of the seats behind you.

"You're not going to get on one of the horses?"

"I'm good." He responded to you with a smile.

"I rather watch you have fun." You smiled and blushed at him. Then you felt the ride begin and you started cheering.