Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Summary: There was a start to all romances. In fairy tales, it started with damsels in distress on a land far far away. His started in a park, with a troubled girl catching butterflies.

Catching Butterflies

one

It was a perfect day. The wind was calm, the sky was littered with a few clouds that didn't obstruct the sun's rays. The grass beneath him was soft and the earth was cool on his back. The tree close to him provided enough shadow to shelter his eyes from the sun, so he could enjoy the day peacefully.

Lazily.

There was rustling.

Heavy footsteps sent vibrations through the ground.

Shikamaru hoped it was a stranger. A stranger would leave him alone or ask a simple question before going their merry way—like directions if they were lost.

A shadow loomed over him.

It wasn't a stranger.

"You're in my class right?" she leaned over him, a bright smile on her face, and her blonde hair tickling his nose. "Shikamaru, isn't it?"

"Naru." Shikamaru saw the smile broaden on her petite face that seemed to split it in half. "What brings you here?"

"I was out exploring, seeing what else Konoha has to offer... but—" there was a hopeful gleam in her eyes.

Oh no. No, no, no. In all his years in life, "but" never preceded anything good—at least for him— and this "but" definitely meant trouble. Anything with Naru Uzumaki was trouble.

"—seeing as you are here, it would be great to hang—"

He nipped it in the bud. "No, I want some time by myself today." Shikamaru saw her smile falter.

No.

"Oh that's fine." Naru laughed it off, drawing her hands behind her as she leaned away from him.

Ignore it. He was going to ignore it.

"I had things to do anyway." Naru turned away, flashing him another smile before she did so.

But he couldn't. He couldn't miss it.

He saw her hands clench in a fist before she pathetically made an attempt to hide it from him.

He heard the way her laugh quivered at the beginning before she obnoxiously forced it out.

And when she turned to him, to give him that pathetic attempt of a smile, he noticed her eyes were drowning in tears.

Shikamaru could have lived without knowing all that. In fact, he wanted to lecture her about how to save face; don't say anything, turn and leave the offender alone. But no. She had to be nice. He didn't want nice if she was just going to have him feel like crap.

Why was he even caring anyway? This was a girl he barely knew, he barely spoke to her in class, and technically this was the first time they even spoke to each other—and yet here he was feeling guilty for hurting her feelings. Why should he care?

But as he watched her walk away slowly, he noticed her shoulders shake.

She was crying.

Shikamaru knew he was going to regret this. "Wait." Naru stopped walking but didn't turn around. "You can stay, I wouldn't mind it if you stayed."

It took a while for her to answer, and Shikamaru didn't realize he was holding his breath until she replied.

"I don't want to be a bother." Her voice was soft and slow, probably trying to hide the fact she was crying. Which was a complete fail, because he noticed the strain she put in each word, trying to keep it controlled.

You are already a bother. "As long as you aren't loud, it would be okay."

"Okay." She turned to him with a huge smile on her face, drawing her arms behind her, cradling her head as she usually does.

It was subtle—but he noticed that he used that move to wipe her tears away.

Shikamaru just watched her as she settled herself beside him, looking at the sky after giving him a wide smile.

But he wasn't going to go there.

"So you were cloud watching?" Naru's voice was a mere whisper.

He wasn't going to ask questions. "Yeah."

She was biting her bottom lip as she observed the sky above her. "That one looks like a snake."

But he had to.

He couldn't help it.

Naru turned blue eyes at him again, but this time didn't say anything.

He had to know why.

Why a girl that was known to not know the meaning of "staying still" was there lying on the ground beside him watching clouds.

Why a girl that didn't need a megaphone, was speaking so low the wind could drown it out.

Why, for the past half hour they were watching clouds, she was frequently looking at him like he was going to disappear.

What was the use of being a genius if all he wanted to solve was this girl beside him. Shikamaru gestured vaguely towards the sky. "That one looks like you."

Naru turned her whole attention towards the sky.

That should keep her busy for a while.

A/N: I fell in love with this pairing. So I gave it a shot.