A Tree on a Hill

I was waiting outside my apartment, Shikamaru was running late. I shifted from one foot to the other, wondering where we would go for this date. The past two dates had been at our favorite restaurant, where we talked a little and ate.

A breeze played at my hair, I was getting bored. Damn it, he probably over slept. I turned to head back to my room to do something else. Only I couldn't move, my body wouldn't respond to me. I found myself turning to face a man sitting in the shadows.

He walked out of the shadows and I towards him, I felt my heart beat heighten as his face came clearly into view.

"Where are you going?" he asked smugly.

"Where were you fifteen minutes ago?" I jibed back.

Without blinking he said bluntly "Walking. It would have been a drag to run here just to be on time."

"huh, maybe I don't want to go on a date anymore." I teased, trying to keep a straight face.

"Too bad, you're not going anywhere. It's a drag but I guess I could keep you trapped in my jutsu for half the afternoon. Troublesome woman." He tilted his head, smiling dryly.

"You are an ass, Shika." I can't keep a grin off of my face.

"Whatever," he grumbled as he released the jutsu. His hands falling back to his sides.

He turned and started walking down the road towards wherever he was heading. "Hey!" I said, hurrying after him. I felt exasperated at having to chase after him.

"Where are we going?" I asked curiously.

"A date." Was his clever answer.

I glared at him, "Seriously, where are we going?"

He smiled at me smugly, "you'll find out, troublesome woman."

I sighed and followed the lazy ninja until we came to a little hill, it was only a little was outside the village, not that far away though.

"Here…" he said flopping down on the ground.

"Here?" I echoed, sitting down hesitantly.

"Yeah."

For a while we laid there quietly, I tried I really did to stay awake and watch the clouds with him but after a while I felt my eyes begin to get heavy. I fought it for a short while, but eventually my eyes slid shut and I just didn't open them again.

I woke to something brushing my face, at first it was light but then it became more persistent and then something blew on my face roughly right over my eyes. My eyes flew open and sitting next to me was Shika. He had an amused look on his face.

"I didn't realize I was that boring." He stated bluntly.

I felt guilt wash over me and I scrambled up right. "Oh no! I'm so sorry, I just shut my eyes a moment and then." I babbled, horrified that I'd ruined our date.

He laughed dryly. "Relax, I don't care. Hell sometimes I fall asleep too."

I opened my mouth and shut it, he laid back down and patted the spot right next to him. Gingerly I scooted over and also settled down. But I kept a few inches between us, I don't know why but I'm so afraid to touch him like it's all a dream and it won't be real.

He sighed and his arms wrapped around my shoulders pulling me close. He was warm and very relaxed; he turned his head to look at me. He had a sardonic grin on his face. My heart began to beat hopefully, but he didn't do anything else and disappointment washed over me.

He began to look at the clouds again and once again I struggled to stay awake, in what seemed like no time at all my eyes were sliding shut and I just didn't care.

~Shika~

I could tell she struggled to stay awake; every time she started to relax she'd tense up until finally she just fell asleep. Clouds crept across the sky and I could hear her breathing softly next to me.

It's quiet, this is a lot better than I thought it would be, I glanced over at her and felt a smile spread across my face. She didn't look worried or serious at all, so relaxed and at peace. At times her face would develop an expression like irritation but it never lasted. I brushed some loose strands off of her face and pecked her on the forehead lightly.

Contentedly I watched the clouds creep across the sky until it began to turn pink. Gently I nudged Nyla until she woke up. Her eyes were groggy at first but then they flew wide open.

~Nyla~

Slowly I opened my eyes, I didn't feel drained or gross. Just contentedly refreshed. As I opened my eyes however I noticed the change in the lighting and they flew wide open.

"Shit!" I slept through the whole date. I sat bolt upright worriedly.

"What?" He asked obliviously.

He propped himself up lazily but didn't bother to do much more than that.

"You didn't wake me up! You just let me sleep through all of it!" I hissed angrily.

"Yeah, it was quiet and you looked happy. It would have been a drag to have to listen to chatter," He said bluntly.

I opened my mouth and shut it again; I seem to be doing that a lot around him. That damn genius.

"It would have been a drag to listen to chatter, besides I figured it'd be more fun to watch the sun set." He continued.

"Oh…" I said weakly, I really don't know what to think.

He stood up slowly and strolled over to a nearby tree. The branches hung low in some places, it had gnarled branches. It really was gorgeous, I wonder what color it will be in the fall…

He plopped down and leaned against the trunk he waved me over and I hurried over, what is he doing now?

I ducked underneath some of the lower branches and when I reached him he patted the ground next to him. At first I tried to keep some space, but then I got tired of sitting upright and I ended up leaning on the tree and Shika.

The sun began to set even further and slowly the clouds evolved into a golden and crimson beauty, I whispered shyly "it's beautiful."

As the sun sunk even lower the colors changed again to various shades of purple and pink, the whole sky was painted brilliant colors and we were the only ones in the world watching it.

When the last of the colors disappeared and there was nothing left but a dark, dark purple Shika shifted next to me. It didn't seem like we were going anywhere

It was so beautiful, I feel like I'll never see anything as lovely as that again.

He said quietly breaking the silence. "What do you think about doing that again sometime?"

"Yes!" I said with a smile. I didn't even think about it for some reason.

"Good," he answered and without any thought he leaned over me.

I paused, afraid to breathe. In the span of a few seconds we leaned into each other and our lips crushed against each other's hungrily. I didn't want it to stop; I leaned as close as I could to him, one of his hands pressed against my back possessively.

Abruptly we stopped to breathe, I was practically attached to him I was so close.

"Definitely doing this again." I breathed and then we were back to where we were before, kissing under our tree in the dark.

~+~