[ Soothing sounds, sights, & sensations intermingled with peaceful listlessness with the coming night-- intake and out-breath of smoke, tabacco smell rich, warm as it puffed in clouds against his cheek & contrasting vividly with cold rushes of clean wind. Birds sang more quietly in these hours; their slow footfalls crackled leaves, twigs, & the boy was momentarily taken with the soft scene of he & his friend walking along, eyes fogged in unspoken thoughtfullness, watching the taller's grey exhales disappate among the trees.
Moments like these he would always recall fondly; it was reminiscent of the many hours, miles, he wandered with Jiraya, & he was thankful for the new, old company that eased his sorrows & disregarded his loneliness. In a fet for his impulseiveness, afraid to say too little or too much, Naruto strolled quietly at Shikamaru's side, hands rested behind his head, & was thankful to renew reason for conversation when they came upon the crossroads of their unexpected journey.
The dark-haired shinobi seemed contemplative; Naruto awaited his reason for pause, anticipating it must have meant that he had changed his mind & would rather carry on without him-- reality, however, was of completely opposite polarity.]
"Uh. You want me at your place?"
[ he asked, & after reviewing his potentially ungracious tone, he quickly, apologetically waved his hands. ]
"WAIT not like that! Ah-ha-- Mm. All I'm sayin' is, it's weird, you know? --NOT THAT your place is weird, or it's weird that you'd ask somebody over there or even weird that you cook, which is totally unexpected, and-- I think it's great! Really a neat hobby. But uh. I dunno, it's just-- Weird. I don't think anybody's ever asked me over to a-- house...before... Eeeh--”
[ Naruto grimaced at the word-vomited coming out of his own mouth, really sweating it, & searched Shikamaru's face for offense. I looked less like a moron before I started talking, he thought, and he was not wrong.]
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