Neji hates closed doors. Shikamaru doesn't see the point in them.
To Neji, closed doors mean places he can't go, because he is a member of the Bunke. Closed doors emphasize that he is a caged bird. Closed doors are when he has been a bad boy and must be punished. They mean the day his father died and the door to Hizashi's room was locked, and they mean secret conversations deciding his future. Mean lectures and restrictions on his abilities every time he advances, jutsu kept hidden away under lock and key.
To Shikamaru closed doors are a nuisance, always requiring locking and unlocking, opening and closing. They're something to complain about. The only thing they're good for is shutting out nagging mothers and whipped fathers, as well as the occasional unwanted thought. Other than that, he thinks they're useless.
Doors are used to shut out feelings that are unwanted, or considered inopportune, but which there nonetheless, until a person can't stand it and either explodes into rage or breaks into pieces (Shikamaru has seen both scenarios; once was Neji). Closed doors mean much needed friends shout out in times of darkness, when the soul is floundering (Shikamaru has used doors for this purpose altogether too often, though Neji always finds a way back in). He knows that lies and secrets hide behind closed doors, poisoning those around them.
No, Shikamaru has a strong distaste for closed doors- they are nothing but trouble, in his book.
To Neji, Shikamaru is one of the few open doors he has come across in his life, and he loves Shikamaru for it, for Shikamaru is like magic. He slips in (like a shadow, Neji fancies) touching each of the closed doors in his world and leaving them open, one at a time, in his wake. With minimal effort and a lazy smile, of course, but he opens those closed doors for Neji, either way, and Neji loves him for it.
It is agreed, silently, that they look upon closed doors with great disdain and vow never to close doors on each other.
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Chapter notes:Kind of dark, kind of fluffy?
It's short, and a bit choppy and maybe I should have broken the thoughts up a bit better, but... I tried.