Cheater [ShikaNaru]

Ch. 5 Into Something More

"Oi, Niichan!!" Naruto turned, his eyes moving from Shikamaru who had entered the tower to Konohamaru running up to him.

"Oh, Konohamaru. What's up?" He gave the other a smile, putting his bandaged hand on his waist as he waved with his other hand. The other grinned, grabbing something from his back pocket and handing it over.

"Kakashi asked me to give you this. It's his mission report but he knew you were gonna be gone most of today. It's a good thing I caught up to you before it began raining." Naruto read through it, as always it was perfect, before putting it away.

"Thanks Kono, need anything else?"

"Nah, that's it. Oh, he did also tell me that he brought back a gift. It's on your desk. Something from Rice Country. I'll stop by so we can chat sometime though. " Naruto nodded, waving as the other quickly left.

And that's when it happened.

It rained. Hard.

"Gahhhh!!! My cloak is all wet now!!!" Naruto moaned out as he took it off. Thankfully, it kept the rest of his clothes dry. Shikamaru sighed as the other cried over the drenched piece of clothing.

"Give it here. I'll ask someone if they can put it to wash." Naruto shook his head, sighing loudly as he began wringing the cloak out the window. He was careful not to drop it or get it even more wet.

"It's okay. I should just head home and ask Hinata if she could send it to get cleaned after it dries a bit." He brings it back in, closing the window and hanging it on a nearby coat stand. Thankfully it wasn't as wet as before but he should hurry before it begins picking up weird smells.

"Don't be stupid, idiot. It'll end up getting some weird smell that we won't be able to take off for weeks. Give it here and I'll be right back." Shikamaru grabbed it, waving him off before exiting the room. The room was quiet, however outside the occasional sound of thunder made it's presence along with the light thrumming of raindrops hitting the windows of the Hokage Office.

It was comforting but, at the same time, overwhelming.

It brought on thoughts of what just happened a few minutes ago. He had kissed the other. What's worse, he could still feel the painful squeeze of his heart as he remembered the kiss. It was just one second but it shouldn't have happened in the first place. Now what was he supposed to do?

"Geez, how troublesome. I'm glad I left when I did. Almost everyone is gone for the day." Shikamaru's voice forced him out of his train of thought, and probably for the better if he was honest.

"That's good. Sorry for being troublesome," Naruto apologized with an awkward laugh as he rubbed the back of his head with his hand.

"You're not troublesome Naruto. If anything, it's the rain fault. Not your fault you got soaked in the doorway." That isn't fair. Not at all. How was he supposed to forget about the cheating incident if the world kept throwing him in these positions that made him blush like an academy girl!?

"How long do you think it's going to be raining?" He asked as he saw a flash of lightning illuminate the village below before it became shrouded in darkness that was barely illuminated by the street lights. He wondered if, one day, there would be so much light in the city that it'll feel like they could never drown in darkness again.

"Don't know. It's probably not going to stop for at least another hour." Shikamaru answered, sitting in front of the other and watching it all come down.

"You know, I used to hate the rain when I was young." The blond mused as he smiled down at his folded hands placed on his desk.

"It's was always cold and reminded me of how lonely I used to be." Shikamaru knew this must be a hard subject to talk about. Naruto had come so far but even know, when it came to his childhood, he only explained what he experienced but never what he felt about his experiences.