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Earth Angel	By : PrplGrl Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Shikamaru/Neji Views: 1488 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Angelic Access

Shikamaru’s eyes widened considerably when his angel voiced his request. Had he heard that right? Was Neji really asking him to…? “You’re… you’re joking, right?” he asked with a nervous chuckle.

The Hyuga raised a slender eyebrow. “I would never joke about something like this, Nara. I’ve talked it over with the team and they’re all in agreement to this happening. You really impressed all of us at the last game.”

“B-but… I mean….” Shikamaru was at a loss for words. The older teen was really offering him… well, a promotion on the field was one way to put it. So he saved one game in the many that they’ll be playing all summer. Did that automatically qualify him to be…? “First base?” he whispered.

Neji nodded. “I would like you to play on first instead of right field.”

The Nara shook his head, one hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. “Hyuga… it was just one game….”

The older teen sighed and crossed his arms. “Yeah, the first game of the season, and one we damn near lost. In case you’ve forgotten, Nara, you’re the reason why we won. You watched five minutes of the game Suna sent to us, you were not taught the hand signs Gai, Kakashi and I decided on for the game. Yet you were able to assess what the batter was going to do from what little bit you saw of that tape and able to figure out the hand signs to relay to me what to do. In all honesty, Nara, I’d like to see what you can do while being closer to the batters and watching the visitor’s games with me.”

Shikamaru’s eyes dropped to the floor as a faint pink hue touched his cheeks. Man, the way his angel put it, one would think that he’d saved the world or something. He didn’t think it was that big a deal. The Nara had merely walked in to ask Kakashi a question in his office, only to find Gai and Neji with him, watching a video of a past game from their then-upcoming visitors, the Suna Whirlwinds. He was curious as to why they’d be watching such a thing and the coaches had explained that it was necessary when devising some kind of strategy to use against them. In watching an old game, they were looking for any kind of weakness within the Whirlwinds’ defense or offense.

While they were explaining it, Shikamaru noticed one particular player that made his angel frown. He was some kind of hard hitter, someone not very easy to strike out, with a sharp eye and heavy swings. That was basically all he’d caught before having to leave for his next class.

During their first game against the tough Whirlwinds, Shikamaru had spent most of the time daydreaming in his right field position. It surprised him that there weren’t a lot of people who could hit the ball out toward him; most of them went into left field or were hit along the ground.

It was at the top of the ninth inning that Shikamaru snapped into attention. The visitor was up to bat, there were two outs with the Leaves in the lead by one run, but the Whirlwinds had what everyone called the “tying run” on second, simply meaning that they had a runner on second base, and the “leading run” coming up to bat.

The person branded as the “leading run” Shikamaru recognized from the video and remembered that Neji told him this guy liked to “chase the ball.” He guessed that meant the player would swing at baseballs that would be thrown outside of home plate, but he would do it with good results. It gave Shikamaru the idea to make the batter do just that, and he was fortunate enough to have his angel, all sweaty and panting on the pitcher’s mound, notice him way out on the field.

To the Nara, it seemed to be an easy task to decode the hand signs Kakashi, Gai and Neji were using that night. It was a simple code all ball players used, he was told, to communicate with the team without the other team knowing what they were doing. So, he merely signed to the Hyuga what pitch to throw, adjusted his position in right field a bit, and bam! The batter hit the ball and it shot straight at Shikamaru, just as he’d thought it would, and he caught it easily. End game.

Shikamaru really could not see what was so special about that. He fidgeted a bit as he could feel those moon-hued eyes bore into him. His heart was telling him to go for it; that he’d be spending more time with his angel and it was worth a little extra work. At the same he wasn’t sure if he’d be up to the challenge, and if there was one thing the Nara never wanted to do, it was to disappoint his angel.

“I… I don’t know…” the younger teen mumbled, slightly surprised as a pair of pale hands landed on his shoulders and he finally raised his dark orbs to gaze at the Hyuga.

Neji had a small smile on his lips and a tiny spark of excitement shot up his spine. “I’ll let you think about it, Nara,” he said, voice lighter than it had been a few moments before. “In the mean time, enjoy the museum. The team’s just a bit further down the hall and we should probably meet up with them before Gai freaks out.”

To Shikamaru’s shock, the older teen wrapped an arm around his shoulders and gently guided him around the exhibits. His heart was pounding frantically; his angel was touching him! The Nara found it difficult to leave the older teen’s side the rest of the day.

~~~~~

The next few days were very… odd. It seemed obvious to Shikamaru that his angel very much wanted him to take him up on his proposal, seeing as the older man was showering him in kindness every time the Nara turned around. It had started out small, Neji walking through the Baseball Hall of Fame with Shikamaru, answering any questions he had and making sure he had a good time.

On Tuesday, the baseball team captain greeted the Nara once he arrived at school and with a warm smile walked with him to his locker. In all reality, Shikamaru was grateful his angel wanted to spend time with him, but his mind was starting to become a bit disturbed at it. Neji Hyuga never went out of his way for anybody and the Nara had never seen the older teen walk with any other person to their locker before.

Shikamaru voiced his concerns to his good friend Chouji at lunch, who merely gave him a lopsided smile.

“It’s a good thing, though, isn’t it?” the larger teen asked, munching on some potato chips. “And playing on first base sounds like it could be a lot of fun.”

The Nara sighed and stared uninterestedly at his food. “There’s more to first base than that, Chouji.”

“But… uhm,” Hinata’s small voice reached him from the other side of Chouji, “doesn’t that mean you’d be spending more time with Neji?”

“And if I’m not mistaken,” Shino added, sitting across from the only female among them, “that is what you wanted, Shikamaru.”

The teen folded his hands together, slightly irritated, and he was pretty sure he wasn’t the only one. Once baseball season started, he found himself sitting with the others who were not on the team, as everyone else only talked about the sport during their lunch break. It had been no exception now; this was actually the first time Shikamaru had gone into detail about it since he’d joined the team.

“It’s not just about that,” the Nara stated. “Playing first base, it’s… well, there’s a lot of responsibility that goes with the position and, hierarchy-wise, first base is second to Neji’s position alone.”

Shino gave him a long considering look, eyes forever hidden behind dark shades. “I still don’t see a problem, Shikamaru.”

Shikamaru sighed again. “If I screw this up I knew that will piss off Neji, and then where would I be? He’d probably kick me off the team and glare at me every chance he gets. I don’t want to risk that.”

The three teens he was seated with gave each other an understanding glance. Of all the people in the school, the Nara had slipped his secret with the ones around him alone. Well, he had actually only told Chouji about his infatuation with the Hyuga, while Hinata and Shino had pretty much figured it out on their own and asked him about it. Damn perceptive teenagers. The good thing was Shikamaru knew his secret would be safe with them.

“B-but you said it yourself,” Hinata mentioned, leaning a bit over Chouji so the Nara could hear, “it would probably happen. There… there are risks in everything we do, Shikamaru. Y-you just have to have the courage to take them.”

“She’s right,” the Aburame added, a small smile coming to his lips as Chouji nodded his agreement.

A devious little smirk came to Shikamaru’s lips; he knew exactly how to shut them up about this. His dark eyes gazed evenly at the female teenager, almost wanting to laugh at the slight fear that wavered within pale eyes. “All right,” he began, “I’ll do it, if you’ll admit your feelings to Kiba,” he averted his gaze to his larger friend, “you tell Ino about all those wet dreams you have about her,” his eyes darted over to the teen in sunglasses, “and you tell Naruto about all those times you got an erection just by smelling his sweat.” He sat back and looked at what he’d accomplished.

Hinata’s face was the color of a tomato, Chouji’s features had paled a little, one hand still full of potato chips and half way to his mouth, while Shino’s dark eyebrows had darted high on his forehead. All three were staring at him with wide eyes—at least he thought the Aburame had wide eyes beneath the dark lenses.

Shikamaru’s smirk widened. “You’re not the only perceptive ones around here,” he gloated a bit, taking a drink from his milk. There was a sharp poke to his arm and he looked at Chouji to find him looking over the Nara’s head.

He turned and his own dark eyes widened. Neji Hyuga stood beside the table, tray of food in hand and a small smile on his pale lips. Shikamaru gazed around the lunchroom, suddenly realizing how quiet it had gotten. All eyes were on them as the star of the baseball team started talking.

“Is this seat taken?” he asked, motioning toward the spot right across from the Nara.

He dumbly shook his head, eyes still wide, taking glances to the others surrounding them.

“Mind if I sit here?”

There was a collective gasp around the room as once again Shikamaru just shook his head and very quietly whispered, “No, I don’t mind.”

When his angel sat himself down, the room erupted into noise once more. He caught some of the things said as they drifted to him on the stale air.

“Oh my god! Why is the school hottie sitting with them?!”

“Isn’t that Neji Hyuga? What would he want with the losers?”

“I thought the captain of the baseball team only sat with his players.”

“Is he dating someone at that table?”

Shikamaru felt his face begin to burn as he stared hard at his food again. He hated being at the center of attention. He could feel three sets of eyes give him cocky looks and he retaliated by sending each of them a steady glare, to which they all just softly laughed away.

“Is something wrong, Nara?” his angel asked.

The teen quickly shook his head. “No, nothing.”

For the rest of the week, Neji sat with Shikamaru and his group during lunch and had friendly conversation with them all. It was starting to really freak him out, especially that his angel would want to talk to his friends, the ones who have nothing to do with the team.

Speaking of the team, it seemed this “be extremely nice to Shikamaru” thing was not exclusive to his angel. The Nara found all the players to be extremely kind as of late, helping out almost to the point of annoyance during practice. They’d even coaxed him into “trying out” first base by having him stand there while everyone did batting practice.

It so was not helping Shikamaru in making a decision. From first, he was only about twenty feet or so away from his angel while he was pitching. For some reason, he knew being that close during a game could probably be dangerous, what with his Neji gazing and all. Deep down, a small piece of his soul wept; taking up first base would mean a final end to his beloved pastime, one that had given Shikamaru so much comfort and happiness, not to mention some of the best wet dreams he’d ever had.

He found himself sighing sadly as he pulled the plug, putting more focus on practice and watching the ball instead of noticing how tiny beads of sweat ran delicately down his angel’s neck to vanish into his shirt. Neji gazing was officially over.

By Friday, Shikamaru was feeling a bit depressed about it. He had yet to make a final decision on the matter, for the pros and cons of each were making him teeter from one end to another. Taking first base would entail cutting off his precious Neji gazing forever, but he’d be spending a lot more time with the Hyuga and thus get to know him better; however, dating would most likely be a no-no, since his angel was the captain and all. Staying at right field would ensure his pastime could continue, but Neji would probably feel like he’d let the team down immensely and not talk to the Nara for a while, thus dating wouldn’t be an option there, either.

Fuck. Shikamaru really was not sure what it was he really wanted… well, besides Neji Hyuga. Maybe he would have to try his last resort and actually… discuss the options with his parents. The very idea made him shudder.

Not that he didn’t love his parents; Shikamaru knew he was lucky to have them. They just liked to pick on him or nag him all the time, which was why he had never talked to them about his angel before. After all, the way they acted when hearing him moan in his sleep was enough.

Shikamaru sighed as he pulled his backpack over his shoulder. There was no practice today after school, since both Kakashi and Gai were off chaperoning a field trip. He made his way amongst the heavy crowd, which he hated immensely, toward the front doors to find his bus.

A gentle tug to his wrist made the Nara turn, dark eyes immediately finding his angel grasping his arm, a gentle smile on his lips. His cheeks began to burn as he looked away.

“Would you like a ride home, Nara?” Neji asked, gently trying to pull him closer so he wouldn’t be overrun by excited teenagers. Yeah, that’s what it was.

“Uh… no thanks, Hyuga,” Shikamaru replied, still unable to look at his angel. The hand on his skin was so very warm, but not as soft as he imagined it. “I don’t want to be a bother. I can take the bus.” The grip upon him tightened a bit and he was tugged firmly to stand just a breath away from his angel.

“Are you all right, Nara?” Neji whispered into his ear, causing the other to shiver. “You’ve been acting kind of depressed today.”

Shikamaru closed his eyes. Damn his angel smelled so good! The scent of earth and dirt and grass wafted around the older teen, mixed slightly with a soapy body wash type smell, but it only managed to increase the sexiness of it. The warmth around his wrist moved away to reappear through the thin material of his shirt upon his shoulder.

“Nara?”

His eyes shot open as that heavenly voice reached his ears. Neji’s moon hued orbs were looking at him in great concern, something that made him look like a guardian angel… one which Shikamaru felt he didn’t deserve to have.

“Fine,” he finally answered. “I’m… I’m fine, Hyuga.” The Nara moved to turn away, but his angel’s strong hands gripped his shoulders tightly.

“No, you’re not, Nara,” he said sternly. “I’ll give you a ride and you can tell me about it.”

“B-but,” Shikamaru tried to protest, but a hand was gently placed over his mouth as the older teen began escorting him to the opposite entrance, the one closer to the student’s parking lot.

“I don’t want to hear it, Nara,” Neji insisted as they walked through the crowd. “I am your team captain and I make sure my players are fit both physically and mentally.”

The Nara didn’t say anything as the warm appendage was dropped from his face. He remained quiet as they left the building and went to his car, some newer model of a hard-top convertible. It was quite a chore to keep the blush from his cheeks as he sat in the vehicle; his angel’s scent was strong here and swirled around his nose in a teasing fashion.

The Hyuga got in the line to leave the lot and soon they were cruising down the road. Shikamaru hoped that maybe if he could just sidestep the subject, he wouldn’t have to answer anything before they reached his house.

“So, Nara, what’s—”

“This is a really nice car, Hyuga,” Shikamaru interrupted, plastering a smile on his lips and forcing the color that wanted to stain his cheeks away.

Neji sighed. “Thanks. It’s not really mine, though. My uncle is letting me borrow it until I can afford my own.”

The Nara chuckled. “No one in my family would lend me a car. My parents are letting me have an old beater truck when I get my license.”

“Better than nothing.”

“Yeah, I know. It’ll just be a little hard driving around a piece of junk when I know most of everyone else I know will be getting newer vehicles.”

“Nara,” Neji tried again, “I didn’t do this so we could talk about cars. What’s—”

“Hey, uh,” the younger teen interrupted again, dark eyes following a street that just went passed his window, “you missed the road to my house, Hyuga. Do you know where I live?” he asked, giving the other a curious gaze.

His angel gave him a small smile. “Of course I do, Nara. Didn’t I tell you that I wanted to talk? We’re going to that little park right next to Kikyo Castle.”

“…oh.” Silence reigned in the vehicle for the rest of the short trip.

Dark clouds covered the sky, giving an eerie feeling with the sticky humidity surrounding the area. Heavy drops of water began falling from the heavens as the teenagers stepped out of the car at the park.

“Crap, it’s raining,” Shikamaru complained. “Guess you’ll just have to take me home.”

Neji rolled his moon hued eyes. “Don’t be an idiot, Nara. The walkways are sheltered.” He shut his door and began heading toward the entrance.

Shikamaru sighed in defeat and slowly followed the older teen. Rain poured heavily from the sky, making tattering sounds on the wood covering the paths as they walked amongst gorgeous flowers and tall trees. The walkway crossed over a small marsh, where frogs and toads quickly jumped away at their footsteps upon the manmade, wooden path.

It was here, in the middle of the marsh, Neji told him to sit. Shikamaru obeyed with a small smile, placing himself on the edge of the bridge, crossing his legs beneath him so his shoes wouldn’t get wet, his angel’s posture being similar. The swamp was just a foot or two under the wooden structure, and the sound of the water seemed to soothe Shikamaru, if even a little.

The rain brought with it a pleasing cool breeze to counter the humid air around them and the Nara breathed in the refreshing smell of fresh water. For several minutes they sat in silence, merely watching the water beneath them and enjoying the sound… at least, Shikamaru was.

It wasn’t until the rain started letting up a bit did Neji finally speak. “So Nara, are you going to tell me what’s bothering you or do I have to pry it out of you?”

Shikamaru lowered his gaze to his lap, not even sure of what to say. How could he explain his situation without revealing his feelings toward the other teen?

The Hyuga sighed beside him. “It’s about this first base thing, isn’t it?”

The Nara shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Is there that much pressure, Nara? You know you don’t have to do it.”

It was Shikamaru’s turn to sigh. “Yeah, I know.”

“So then what’s the problem?”

Shikamaru fidgeted, playing with the laces on his shoes before undoing them. “I guess… you’re just too perfect, Hyuga.”

There was a small pause as the older teen gave the other a confused gaze. “What do you mean?”

“Well,” the Nara struggled for words as he removed his shoes and socks, “baseball is your life and you’re the best at playing it. I’m the lazy type and don’t like putting a whole lot of effort into anything and playing first base…. I don’t think I’m up to it, Hyuga.”

“What are you talking about?” Neji asked, smile evident in his voice as Shikamaru rolled up his pant legs. “You seemed to adjust pretty good during practice.”

“That was practice. A real game won’t compare and you know that. I just… don’t want to let down the team.”

“You won’t,” Neji insisted as the Nara placed his feet into the cool water. “I’ve seen you on the field, Nara and I know you will do your very best, which is what I only ask of my players. What are you doing?” he asked as the younger teen scooted to the edge of the platform.

“Still, Hyuga, I’m not looking forward to having my friends mad at me for an extended period of time because I fucked up during a game.” Shikamaru’s dark eyes looked over at his angel and couldn’t help the tiny smile that spread onto his lips. “And I’m going for a walk.” With a final push, the Nara slid from the wooden walkway to land gracefully in the few inches of water below. A small sigh of contentment left him as he took a few steps further into the marsh, finding he had greatly missed the relaxing feeling surrounding his feet.

“Nara!” his angel shouted, almost sounding a bit panicked. “Get back here!”

The younger teen turned back to see the Hyuga standing at the edge of the platform, moon colored eyes looking a bit frantic. Shikamaru chuckled. “What’s the matter, Hyuga? Afraid of a little water?” The rain had settled to more of a sprinkle around them, not even making the slightest noise as the drops collided with the earth.

“No!” Neji protested, a light scowl touching his face. “How can you walk in that? There are leaches and snails and other creatures in that muck, and besides, you’re getting dirty.”

“It’s just my feet and it feels pretty good, having mud between your toes.”

The Hyuga made a look of disgust. “Ew, Nara, that’s gross.”

Shikamaru chuckled again. “No, it’s not. Me and my dad used to do this all the time when the creek behind our house would flood. And I wouldn’t think you of all people would be afraid of getting a little dirty; you get dirty all the time when playing baseball.”

“That’s different! There I have no choice, but if I had one I would prefer to be clean.”

“Well, in this situation,” the Nara stated, taking a few more steps out, “the water itself is pretty clean. I wouldn’t drink from it, but it beats the other stuff.” He bent down and reached into the water, scooping up a handful of mud and bringing it out of the water. “This is what can get you really dirty.” Without warning, Shikamaru acted on impulse and threw the wad of wet soil at the older teen, hitting him square in the chest.

“Damn it, Nara!” Neji shouted, wide horrified eyes looking at the mess on his shirt. “You’re going to pay for that! Now it’s gonna stain!!”

“Wrong on both counts,” the younger teen noted, silently hoping his angel would take his now soiled shirt off. The Hyuga gave him a bit of a pissed off look as he continued, “That mud won’t stain; any basic detergent will be able to get it out, and I highly doubt I’ll be paying for anything. Since you don’t like to get dirty, I think I’ll just stay down here in the marsh for a little bit longer.” He gave the older teen a very smug expression as he turned and took a few more steps out into the water. Laughter was bubbling excitedly inside him, but Shikamaru kept it at bay; no need to add insult into injury… or would that be his angel was already insulted and laughing at him would be the injury?

Shikamaru didn’t have much more time to think it over as he heard splashing from behind him. He didn’t even turn before he was knocked into the water, drenching him in the cool refreshment and damn near shoving muck up his nose.

He immediately sat up and turned to find Neji kneeling beside him, confident smirk on his face as he stood. “That’s for nailing me with a mud ball.” The Hyuga turned back toward the walkway, but Shikamaru didn’t let him get very far.

Neji hadn’t walked two steps when another wad of muck slammed into his back, tangling with his dark hair.

The Nara grinned mischievously, a look he didn’t even think he could make before as he also stood, water dripping from him. “And that was for tackling me into the mud.” The comment started a mud war, Neji throwing perfect balls of muck that always nailed his target, while Shikamaru tried his best to keep up with the ace pitcher.

The younger teen was actually quite shocked. He had no idea his angel knew how to have fun, let alone participate in it. He allowed the Hyuga to tackle him a few more times, although he got a few good trips in too.

By the end of it, a good ten or twenty minutes later, both teenagers were covered in mud and dripping with water. They called a truce on the fact that the rain started coming down a bit heavier again, which made it a bit hard to see with water constantly dropping in one’s eyes. Together they walked to the edge of the marsh to get back onto the trail.

“I can’t believe you made me do that,” Neji complained, looking over his soiled attire and running muddy hands through his tangled and muck covered hair. “Man, my hair is a mess!”

Shikamaru shrugged as he stepped onto dry land. “I don’t know, I think you needed it, Hyuga. Besides,” he added, a light blush creeping onto his dirty cheeks, “you look good covered in mud.”

There was a loud smack as the final muck ball hit the back of the younger teen’s head.
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Earth Angel