All you could ever want is for him to notice you. That lazy ass ninja, the one everyone puts up on a pedestal engraved with "smartest shinobi of his time"; Shikamaru Nara.

You've had a crush on the boy for a while, ever since the academy. While all the other girls fawned over Sasuke Uchiha and his good looks and bad boy attitude; you were always smitten for Shikamaru; the boy with the brains who's spirit animal was undoubtedly a sloth.

You two have been friends for years. Too close to be acquaintances but not close enough to be considered one his best friends like Ino or Choji. Shogi was not one of your hobbies but cloud watching and taking naps in grassy fields was; and that was how you two developed a bond.

And as you two grew closer over the years, your feelings began to intensify. There were times you desperately wanted to just confess your feelings for him but what always held you back was the chance of rejection. Shikamaru is the laziest person you know, and if he has trouble committing to getting his work done in time, or rolling out of bed in the morning, then how could he possibly commit to a relationship? He's without a doubt unpredictable, but what scared you even more than the concept of rejection was the slight possibility that he already knew the way you felt about him.

Being penned as smartest shinobi should, in no way, hold back his skills in picking up on small things like who has a crush on him. If he can create a battle strategy, entirely on his own to kill two immortal Akatsuki members, then he should definitely be able to take hints.

"{Name}-chan, you're being awfully quiet today," stated Shikamaru as you both lie on the grass together.

For some reason, you just couldn't keep a conversation going today. Well it was more like keeping a conversation with Shikamaru that was difficult. The one day that you aren't in the chatty mood; Shika is.

Your out of the ordinary withdrawalfulness definitely had Shikamaru on edge. He felt that something must be wrong. Even though he always keeps to himself, most likely because he's too lazy to meddle or show compassion towards others feelings, he still felt unsettled. Today was out of the ordinary, and Shikamaru likes routine, he can only survive when things are in the ordinary.

You struggled for a response, because well, there really wasn't one.

"Eh, no reason really. I'm just enjoying the peace and quiet," you responded with.

To be honest, it was driving you insane. You were always the talker, the outgoing one who'd never shut up. You always had something on the tip of your tongue no matter the company, and Shika knew you. He's aware of your quirks and he knows that when you're silent: there's something wrong.

He sat up, sheltering his eyes from the blazing sun. You didn't. You only put your finger nails in front of your face, inspecting their glittery ruby red color; admiring the way they'd shine under the glare of the sun.

"Look at me," he demanded, settling into a criss cross apple sauce position with his legs, directing all his attention to you.

You kept your hands well in your vision, in attempt to hide your blush. Your heart began to beat ten time faster and the butterflies started to well up in the pit of your stomach.

Usually attention makes you feel great and on top of the world, even if it is from the opposite sex. But with Shikamaru staring at you, his eyes burrowing through your soul, trying to figure you out; it made you nervous and extremely anxious to the point where you wanted to run and never come back.

Shikamaru gently removed your hands from your face and you caved, looking in his direction. His brown eyes bore into your crystal blue ones. You couldn't help but admire his well sculpted face and eyebrows drawn together, his lips were drawn in a line, as if in deep thought. His hair was pulled back as usual, spiky and resembling a pineapple.

"Damn woman, I can't seem to figure you out," he spoke whilst inspecting every inch of your face. He even took your chin with his hand to turn your face this way and that; inspecting you as if you were some test subject, dissecting your thoughts with his eyes.

"Sh-Shika" you stuttered, not even able to utter his full name.

Your hands began to shake and you felt as if you couldn't hold in your feelings. Your first instinct was to run away before you do something stupid, yet he was so close and all you wanted to do was graze your lips over his soft pink ones.

"Spit it out, {Name}. It's eating you alive. Tell me," he urged.

While you struggled for something to say; a lie or maybe an excuse to leave, your eyes caught hold of the silver stud in his ear, glimmering in the sun.

You stood up before saying the most stupidly intelligent sentence that could ever fall out of your mouth:

"You make my cardiac muscle pump blood through my vascular system really quickly. Sorry, Shikamaru, gotta go!" You yelled before attempting to take off in the other direction.

Before you could get far, Shikamaru had wrapped his hands around your waist securely, pulling you down onto his lap.

"Troublesome woman. Can't you see, I'm trying not to love you but it just makes me love you more." He murmured, his raspy voice echoing in your ear.

Pulling you against him, he smashed his lips against yours, not even giving you an opportunity to reply. Your eyes widened at how passionate it was. Shikamaru's lips molded to yours perfectly and you wound your arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. It was hungry and hard, the complete opposite of what you thought a kiss with Shikamaru would be like. Expecting it to be sloppy and short, you allowed your tongue to slide over his bottom lip, in hopes to make this unexpected moment of intimacy last longer. He gladly obliged and his grip tightened on your waist before you both pulled away, gasping for air.

After a moment of panting and catching your breaths', you finally noticed the way Shikanaru looked at you; with fondness and care.

"Wow, Shika, I don't think I've ever seen you try so hard," you joked, feeling as normal as ever.

"If I didn't do anything to stop you I would've had to run after you, but that would be such a drag." He answered, groaning at just the thought of getting up.

Nestling your face into the crook of his neck, you inhaled his scent which oddly consisted of grass and dirt mingled with cigarette smoke.

"'You make my cardiac muscle pump blood through my vascular system very quickly'" the boy quoted with a chuckle -"couldn't you have just said 'I like you'?"