(UPDATED VERSIONNN😍)

The forest was quiet.

Their mission had ended just shy of sunset — a clean ambush, minimal effort, and for once, no casualties. Now, the sky above was painted in fading hues of burnt gold and ash-blue, the air thick with the calm that only came after controlled violence.

Shikamaru dropped down beneath a tree, arms folded behind his head, one leg lazily stretched out over the other. You followed a few feet behind him, boots crunching lightly over the fallen leaves.

“You gonna nap right here?” you asked, lowering yourself beside him.

He exhaled through his nose. “Troublesome question.”

You smirked. “So yes.”

A beat of silence passed. The kind that sat comfortably between two people used to sharing space without needing to fill it.

Then — the rustle of a wrapper.

You pulled out a slim cigarette from your pouch, letting it sit between your lips as your fingers dug into your gear bag for the lighter you always forgot. A small grunt of annoyance escaped you.

“I swear it was in here…”

Shikamaru’s voice came low, almost amused. “It never is.”

You turned toward him, cigarette still perched between your lips. “You say that like it’s my personality trait.”

“It is.”

You rolled your eyes — just as Shikamaru leaned forward.

You didn’t expect it.

The way he moved with lazy precision — his hand coming up to gently cup your chin, fingers barely brushing your jaw as he tilted your face toward him. You froze. Not out of fear, but from the sudden shift in the air.

The heat of his touch lingered as he flicked his lighter to life with the other hand, bringing the flame to the end of your cigarette.

Click. Burn. Smoke.

Your breath hitched. Just slightly.

The flame disappeared.

But he didn’t pull back right away.

He kept his hand there — thumb ghosting along your chin for a moment too long to be nothing.

“Don’t start a habit you can’t keep,” he muttered, finally letting go.

You exhaled smoke — but the heat in your chest didn’t come from the cigarette.

“Didn’t know you cared,” you said softly, lips curled in half a smile.

Shikamaru leaned back again with a sigh, arms behind his head.

“I don’t,” he said.

But the way his eyes flicked to you from beneath lowered lashes?

He did.

And you both knew it.