Okay, to everyone who read "choices", I have sort of bad news. I really liked choices, but I fell out of love with this story and I have a feeling it's messed up in some places. I stopped writing several times and recently found it and decided to finish it and up-load it. I'm not at all happy with the ending but I can't think of really any other way to end it so flame if you feel like it but I felt I had to post it. This is the best (maybe) of the several chaps I wrote to follow choices so I hope you like it.
It had been a little over a year since Shikamaru and Sakura finally got together. Two weeks after Sakura broke up with her boyfriend, she and Shikamaru began what they called a trial run, because neither of them could think of anything else to call their relationship. The first week they were together, it was pretty much sex with a few meals mixed in, neither of them had a problem with that. After the first week they started talking about what they wanted from this relationship, a simple fling or more. It hadn't taken more then five minutes for them to tell the other that they didn't want this to be a fling. Sakura stating that if she only wanted a fling she wouldn't have been so upset after their first night together, Shikamaru said that if he wanted nothing more then a fuck buddy then he wouldn't have put so much effort into getting together with her. That comment earn him a very tender kiss and a bright smile while she said, "Glad to know I'm worth the effort."
He smiled as well, shrugging and trying to appear as though he didn't care, even though they both new he did. After a month of meetings and sleep-overs they decided it would be smart to move in together and to tell their friends that they were together. Sakura had been avoiding telling people that she was seeing him, mainly she was avoiding telling three certain people that she was in a relationship with the well known lazy Nara. She didn't avoid telling them because she didn't think they'd stay together long enough for it to matter, she avoided telling them because she didn't want them to give Shikamaru the 'talk' they gave all her suitors.
The first night Shikamaru and Sakura lived together, completely unpack and moved in, Shikamaru told her that they needed to tell people now. Sakura curled closer into his side when he said that, thinking over the implications of telling her team. Normally, if she was with a guy she was uncertain about, she introduce them to her team, because her boys always managed to weed out the weak or insecure ones. Shikamaru was the first guy she hesitant to tell them about because she really liked him, she didn't want her boys to scare him off or bring up things that she and Shikamaru hadn't discussed yet.
"I know, I'll talk to them tomorrow, over lunch okay?" She turned her head up to him, his eyes were closed but she knew he wasn't sleeping. His arms tightened around her waist slightly as he nodded his head, allowing both of them to fall asleep.
The next day Sakura talked with her team, bringing up the topic without any pretenses, knowing that if she delayed telling them she might back out before starting. She turned to them and said, "Guys, I'm dating Shikamaru Nara, we just moved in together."
Three pairs of wide eyes turned to her, Kakashi nodded his head, seemingly not having an issue with Nara. Sasuke seemed to be thinking over her statement, taking into account her no bull shit approach and tone of voice. Naruto just looked surprised, wondering how he had missed her attraction to Shikamaru, because clearly she liked him a lot if she moved in with him.
"Did you move in with him or did he move in with you?" Was the first question asked.
"I moved in with him, his apartment is bigger then mine was." She raised an eyebrow, waiting for the rest of the questions.
Naruto was the next to ask a question, "What about the other guy? The one you were dating like two months ago?"
"I broke up with him to be with Shikamaru, I got together with Shikamaru two weeks after breaking it off with him." She leaned back into her chair, pleased with the way they seemed to be taking things. She had expected threats or loud questions, something more crazy then this calm discussion.
She watched as they nodded theirs heads, still very quiet for some reason, it was starting to concern her. "Is that it? No yelling? Threatening?" She cocked her head to the side, watching them warily.
Sasuke answer first, "You have been happier lately, we didn't know why but we knew you'd tell us. I don't think any of us expected the Nara to be the source of your happiness." He said, giving her a small smile. She smiled much more brightly at him, not bothered at all that they had picked up on her change in mood.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head saying, "Yeah, temes right, as long as your happy but we're still going to talk with him." He gave her his cheeky grin.
Kakashi said his first words of the afternoon, also ending the conversation and asking the most important question, "He does make you happy?" His eye were sharp and pined on her, watching for any signs of deceit. Sakura noted that Kakashi's reaction was the same, that put her more at ease, she was worried about the others calm manner but she wasn't going to fight it.
She smiled again, still confused at their easy acceptance, "Yeah, he makes me very happy." Kakashi nodded his head and turned back to his meal, the conversation over.
Everyone else took the news in the same manner, except for Ino who had screamed and hugged them both, saying how happy she was for the next few hours.
Two weeks after Sakura told her boys, they talked with Shikamaru, she had been at the hospital during this talk and had no idea that her boys had taken him aside to talk to him. She had only found out later that night when Shikamaru told her during dinner, he refused to tell her what they had said, telling her only that they were very protective of her and he was glad she had friends who cared about her so much.
By their four month anniversary everything was going smoothly, they had worked together twice and found that nothing had changed in that respect. They had fought a few times, over little things and once over something that caused him to sleep on the couch for three night, although if asked about it neither could recall what it was. The only major fight they had happened a little after six months of them living together, Shikamaru's parents had called him, asking the normal generic questions. It hadn't taken them long to figure out her was still dating the medic-nin and they realized that he had been seeing her for a while, needless to say, that wanted to meet her, after a lot of arguing, he agreed. They were going to have dinner at his parents house in two weeks, when Shikamaru was called off to a mission and they had to reschedule. After that, he kept putting off the meeting and it didn't take Sakura long to figure out that he didn't want her meeting them.
She called him out on this of course, asking him calmly at first why he kept delaying the meeting, he gave an evasive answer, saying he was to busy right now. It didn't get passed her that he wasn't busy, seeing as they lived together and she knew that they went out to eat at least twice a week and laid around the house for hours some nights. She glared at him from across the table and said she knew that they had time, this time asking in a blunt and harsh tone why he didn't want her to meet them.
He had looked up at her, hearing the tone of voice and noting the change in her posture, he knew she was angry and that he had to pick his words carefully. After a few minutes of mulling over his answer he said, "It's not that I don't want you to meet them, I'm just worried about them meeting you." The hardening of her eyes told him that those weren't the right words. He sighed inwardly, another fight meant another night on the couch or another day of being ignored, some times life with Hanuro Sakura was hard but he wouldn't trade it for anything.
"Why? Do I not measure up the to the other girls you brought home?" She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to reign in her anger. She closed her eyes, knowing that it wasn't smart to get angry so fast, knowing that she needed to keep a level head to understand his answer. Some days she wished she was with a simple guy again, one who she never had to try and understand, one whose motives and answers were always clear. But other days she loved his way of thinking, the way he made her think and loved his answers, loved him but days like this she hated it, she wanted simple answers to simple questions. She reminded herself that she left the simple guy for him because she wasn't nearly as happy with the simple guy as she was with Shikamaru, even when they were fighting she knew she was happier.
When she open her eyes she was met with his stare, "It's not that, your better then any girl I've ever brought home, I love you more then any of them." He said, watching her closely. He waited for her response, knowing she was trying very hard to keep her composure and that as hard as she was working to keep a calm face, her eyes were cold and the look she was sending him was enough to make him nervous because in mixed not only anger but pain.
"Then why don't you want them to meet me?" Her tone was no longer openly hostile, the anger was buried underneath her mask now but anyone could hear the stress in her voice.
"Because..my family is crazy and......." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "My mother..wants me to marry a civilian." He looked back up at her, watching her and waiting for the anger that was going to explode out of her any moment now.
"What does her wanting you to marry a civilian have to do with anything? I love you and you love me, she should want you to be happy." Her tone was soft again and her body language had gone from angry to open. He relaxed a little, she wasn't as angry anymore, even if she was hiding her anger it showed him that she had calm down enough to hide it. Still, she had asked the one question he hoped she wouldn't think to ask, there was no way to avoid answering the question, she would noticed if he avoided the answer and that would only anger her more.
"She wants me to be happy..with a civilian and she loved the last girl I brought home and now every time I speak to my mother I only hear how stupid I was for breaking up with her and I am told to go back to her." He sighed again, thinking over the last conversation he had with his mother. He looked defeated and conflicted, Sakura interpreted this as him wanting to get back together with this girl, even if only to please his mother, Sakura then went on to concluded that he didn't want her to meet his parents because then he'd be a disappointment to them for bringing her home, the exact opposite of what they wanted for him. If his parents wanted a civilian for a daughter-in-law then they weren't going to be happy once they, or if they, met her. She had been trained under the Hokage, a great honor to be sure but that meant she was worth the greatest ninja's attention, telling people she was a gifted ninja as well, not at all the simple girl they clearly wanted for him. She didn't want to revoke her apprenticeship, she loved it and it would be a dishonor to her mentor and she would never do something so disrespectful to her self appointed mother.
She felt her stomach sink and her eyes start to water, she forced her depression as far down as she could, refusing to jump to any conclusions. She took a few moments to compose herself, grateful for his closed eyes because she knew she looked like she was about to cry. She waited for him to say something, he looked like he was in deep thought and she knew he was trying to figure out how to say something, that look and what she knew didn't help her control the grief that was slowly over riding her mask. The only thing he would have to think so hard about after a statement like that would be that he was trying to tell her that he couldn't be with her anymore. She didn't want to hear it, didn't want to be here anymore, she got up and walked away, leaving without saying anything else. Jumping to conclusions or not, she couldn't sit idly by while he ended their relationship to please his parents.
Shikamaru looked up, stunned at her sudden movement. He watched her retreating back, trying to figure out why she was leaving, he hadn't said anything that would upset her that much or at least he assumed he hadn't. He thought back over what he had told her, factored in her emotions and what he knew she would be thinking. His eyes widened, she must have assumed he was going to break up with her, he ran after her, he wasn't going to let her walk out again. He found her sitting on the roof, a common spot when she wanted to be alone, "Sakura?"
She didn't respond. "I'm not going to break up with you, I was going to say my mother she'll...she will only talk about the last girl and tell you that you don't measure up to her. None of that is true but I don't want to put you or rather us through that, which is why I don't want you to meet them." He stood behind her, waiting for her answer or just for her to say anything, even to tell him off.
She looked at him over her shoulder and said, "Really? Why wouldn't you tell me that before? Why drag it out?"
"Because I didn't see what conclusions you were drawing from what I was saying, I thought what I was saying was clear but I wasn't feeling threatened and I didn't think that you would either, a miss judgment on my part. I'm sorry for upsetting you.." He stayed a couple steps behind her, not wanting to push matters by sitting next to her. She stretched the silence on, causing him to wonder if she believed him, if she didn't then she would think he was going to end the relationship which would mean she was figuring out if she should end it first. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her from behind her, refusing to allow her to leave him.
"I'm not going to let you go.." He whispered into her neck, tightening his arms around her. A few minutes later he felt her arms resting on his and her body relax under his, he felt himself relax even more. The fight might have only lasted half an hour but it was the worst fight they ever had and they silently vowed to never put things in such a complicated manner, they decided to speak in blunt terms with each other. Sakura didn't bring up meeting his parents again but she did meet them, over lunch, they didn't like her or to be more precise, they didn't like her for their son, stating in no uncertain terms that he should be with a house maker, civilian girl. Sakura smiled at the comment and said that she wasn't a civilian and didn't plan on being a house maker but she was with Shikamaru and that he had picked her so they could either hate her and drive their son away or they could learn to like her and have both of them in their lives. Shikamaru's father laughed quietly and smiled at his son, his mother sat shocked, not having expected that remark.
Shikamaru of course stood behind Sakura and his mother backed down and she even learned to love Sakura, finding her just as challenging as her son and therefore endearing her to his mother.
It was six months later, Shikamaru was due home from a mission and Sakura was rushing around the hospital, trying to finish her shift early so she could meet him at the gates. It was a slow day at the hospital, no major cases to speak of but mountains of paper work to be filed, paper work that she threw herself into with more energy then she would ever put into it otherwise. He wasn't due home till six or seven but she factored in delays do to the harsh weather and hoped he wouldn't be arriving till eight at least.
She all but slammed the last folder onto her desk, rushed to grab her coat and ran out of the hospital. She knew that he might not arrive for the next few hours or that he could've already walked through the gates but he'd been gone two months and all she wanted to do was make sure he was ok and of course kiss him senseless. She ran through the village, forgoing the roofs due to the recent rain fall and even though she could run across wet roofs she didn't want to chance it, she only slowed down when the gates were in sight.
She walked three or four steps at a normal pace before she saw a squad move through the gates, he eyes locked onto a spike of brown hair and a slouched walk. She launched herself at him with more energy then she thought she had left, smiling widely when she felt a par of arms wrap around her, she didn't give him time to say anything before she locked her lips with his. The very little part of her mind that wasn't focusing on how much she missed kissing him or how close they were holding each, knew that she should've examined him for wounds before throwing herself at him, but judging by the fact that he didn't wince when he caught her told her he was fine.
When she finally pulled away for air, she smiled brightly at him, her eyes scanning over his face, she noted a large scratch on his cheek. She frowned and ran her thumb over the cut, her other hand resting on his shoulder she streamed some chakra through his system and smiled when she found no other injuries. She relaxed against him again and kissed him again, murmuring "Welcome back." against his lips. She felt him smile and his arms tighten around her.
She heard some one clear their throat rather loudly behind her, she blushed a little a turned to face his team, all of whom were staring at her with large smirks of their faces. She had seen them around town before, had healed them a few times but she couldn't name them, she waved at them and smiled at them. Shikamaru wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder, "This is my team, team this is my Sakura..."
One of them, the shortest one with short blonde hair, smiled and said, "So your the Sakura we've heard about, glad to meet you..." He bowed slightly, telling her she was higher rank then him. The other followed his movement, bowing to her as well.
"All good things I hope, I'm glad to see you all in one piece. The mission went well?" They all nodded their heads, either waiting to be dismissed or waiting for their team leader to say something. Sakura's eyes slid over to the face resting on her shoulder, eyes closed, breathing steady, had it not been for the rather tight grip on her waist, she would've assumed he was sleeping. She rolled her shoulder, causing the man to open his eyes, he looked over to his team, "Hand in the mission scroll, I'm going home..."
With that Shikamaru removed his arms from Sakura, only to wrap his arm around her waist and begin walking home. Sakura returned the gesture and fell into step with him, glad to finally have him back home and more importantly in her arms. They walked home in silence, through the thinning crowds of the market, Sakura was mildly confused when they walked past the street that would take them home but didn't care enough to ask where they were going, she had a pretty good idea anyway.
They walked past the little shops, past their house and into the training fields, all of which were empty. Sakura soon found herself exactly where she thought she would end up, lying on the ground next to Shikamaru on a hill, watching black shapes drift across the sky. She didn't mind though, true she would've preferred to have been at home, in bed with him but just being with him was enough for the moment, she did wondered why he didn't drag her home the moment he saw her but that was a question for another day.
After a few minutes of lying with my head on his chest, I propped myself up on my elbows, leaning over him. He kept his eyes closed but he smiled a little, "Shika, are we going to lay here all night?" Sakura asked in a teasing voice. He wrapped his arms loosely around her waist, "Well I didn't plan to but if you like we certainly can..."
She leaned down and kissed him, slowly moving away from his lips and down his neck, stopping at the base of his neck to say, "Then what were your plans, O wise one?" He ran his hand up and down her back, slowly, almost like he didn't realize he was doing it. He was staring past her head, at the stars or maybe the clouds, Sakura didn't care, she was just pleased to have him with her again. She pulled her head up to look at him, he was ignoring her or he was distracted by his thoughts, which wasn't uncommon but normally he paid her some mind when they were together.
"My plans...." his eyes drifted back to hers, "They involved kissing, which we've covered and a few other things but I'm going to skip those and dive straight in." Sakura's first thought was that he just wanted to have sex, no foreplay or anything but if he had wanted that then why would they have laid here for the last half-hour? Since she couldn't think of anything else he'd mean by that statement, so she did the only thing she could, wait for his explanation.
He shifted under her, bringing one arm to his vest pocket and pulling a small bag out of it. She watched him with a confused look as he sat up, causing her to move into a sitting position across from him, he reached his hand into the bag and pulled out a ring. She froze, she didn't know what to think, he just help the ring in between the two of them, watching her with a searching look. She had no idea what to say so she waited for him to say something, to either ask her what she assumed the ring was for or to explain what the ring was for if the first reason was wrong.
His voice drew her attention from the ring in his hand to his face and to his nervous looking brown eyes. "I know this probably isn't how you wanted someone to ask you but..I don't want to wait any more." He leaned forward, taking one of her hands in his, "Sakura, will you....marry me?"
She was frozen, of course she had thought about marriage but to be asked so randomly was shocking to say the least. Shikamaru would've been thinking about this for weeks if not months and since they had only been together for a little more then a year, she was even more surprised. Her eyes moved back between his face and the ring, which was gorgeous. The ring wasn't complicated, it had a square cut diamond set in the middle of two smaller emeralds all set in a white gold band. She couldn't bring herself to speak, no matter how hard she tried, had he proposed in some cheesy way, like over a candle lit dinner, she would've been more prepared for this but this was so sudden.
After a few minutes of not talking she realized he looked very nervous so she decided to answer in the only way she could, be sliding the ring on her finger and smiling at him. He relaxed and drew her closer to him, burring his nose in the crook of her neck. She could feel him smiling and after a moment of letting everything sink in, she started laughing. It started slow and soft but grew much louder to the point of which she had tears leaking from her eyes, she could faintly hear Shikamaru laughing but his was much more uncertain then hers.
When she had calm down enough to look at him through tear blurred eyes, she saw his confused but happy smile. "Sorry, I just can't believe I'm engaged! I wasn't laughing at you but....wow...Shika.." She smiled and leaned over and kissed him. He of course return her kiss which was by no means chastised, when they broke apart for the sole purpose of breathing Sakura could see laughter in his eyes and it wasn't long before the two started laughing again.
The next day found Sakura and Shikamaru talking to their old teams, sharing the news. No one was a surprised as they should have been but the happy and newly engaged couple didn't wonder why because they knew their friends knew them better then anyone else and probably new they'd end up together the moment they found out they were dating. Telling his parents was more like a fight then the celebration it should've been. While his mother had grown to like Sakura, she still hoped her son would grow tired of the feisty ninja and settle down with a civilian who would stay home and take care of children. When she was told that Shikamaru would indeed by staying with and marring the ninja, she became upset, saying that any children born of two ninja parents could lose both or never even been born. Plus Sakura wasn't from a prominent family, her mother and father had died four years before leaving her with a family. Of course Shikamaru's father was very proud of his son for catching Sakura, the Hokage▓s apprentice, former student of the copy-nin and one of the best medic in fire but his mother cared nothing for those titles and took her son aside to beg him to pick a civilian girl.
Shikamaru refused and said, "Mother, you are going to have to accept this. I'm marrying her with or without your blessings." His voice was cold, he'd tolerated his mothers consent nagging and remarks on how bad of a match he and Sakura were, he'd always hoped she'd grow to accept if not love Sakura over time and for a while it seemed she was. His mother had invited them both out to lunch several time, she'd made small talk with Sakura and laughed with her, she'd even stopped nagging him about her. Shikamaru wasn't often confused but the turn about behavior did confuse him.
Her eyes went sharp, reminding of his childhood when she'd scold him was failing an exam, "Listen to me, Shikamaru Nara, I will have you cut off from the family. I will not allow you to marry a women who might never have children to carry on our family line and I will not see your children targeted to hurt the Hokage, everyone knows that she is like a mother to Sakura. You need a wife who will be around to raise my grand children not some ninja." She took up her best defensive posture, crossing her arms and bringing herself to her full height, which was still inches shorter then him.
He sighed, he didn't want to constantly have to fight with his mother over his choose, after all he was a grown man with his own life. He wasn't about to leave Sakura to simply please his mother but he'd told her as much plenty of times. "Mother, you liked Sakura not two weeks ago, why the sudden change?" He asked mainly to stall her for a moment while he thought of a way to explain that he wouldn't leave Sakura no matter what she threatened.
His mother rolled her eyes in a very child like manner, "I never liked this girl. I had hoped that my pretending to like her would make her more of a bore to you, I assumed you were with her simply to spite your father and I." Shikamaru looked at her like she was the child.
"I would never waste my time with someone simply to spite you, and father loves Sakura. You may cut me off from whatever you like, from inheriting the clan or money but I will not leave her. Sakura and I will make arrangements for our children if anything should happen to both of us but I will not ask her to give up the ninja life for them." He'd told her something like this many times before but know this argument wasn't as fictional. Of course they hadn't had this fight in a few months but that didn't mean he was out of practice with arguing, he was after all dating the most stubborn ninja in the village.
She looked at him with a cold look, which he returned. He knew she wouldn't cut him off from the family line or from becoming head of the clan at one point. The Nara clan might not the richest, largest or oldest clan around but it was an old clan with influence and he was the only child on the head as well as the oldest male in the clan; so however much his mother disliked his choice in a wife, she wouldn't cut off her son from gaining the title of clan head, she would however, cut off his funds until he gained that title.
His father told Shikamaru that he could over turn that decision but he told him not to, saying he could live well enough off their now combined incomes. His father agreed with him and didn't push that matter, he did tell him that if he ever needed his funds turned back on that all he had to do was ask, Shikamaru hugged his father and left with Sakura. He explained everything that happened the moment the two of them arrived at their house, Sakura was of course furious and it was he could do to prevent her from storming back to his parents house and yelling at his mother.
Three weeks later Shikamaru's funds were officially cut off, it didn't affect the two as much as his mother would have liked but it did prevent them from having an extravagant wedding. Three months later the invitations were sent out and one month after that only one person didn't show up to the wedding. Of course everyone who did attend was happy for the couple and Naruto and Hinata were chosen as guardians for their future children if anything should happen to them. They accepted of course and it also enraged his mother further that they hadn't asked her to be the guardian, they had explained that they didn't know it was an option since she never gave her blessings and didn't attended the wedding. They also said that since they were an older couple and they weren't having kids for a few years, they thought it best to pick a young couple who wouldn't be financially burden by a few extra mouths.
Six months after their wedding Sakura and Shikamaru were sitting at home, staring out the window. Sakura sat with her back pressed against his chest and his head resting on the top of her head. Sakura had early said that they needed to talk, Shikamaru's mind instantly went to brake up, after all nothing good ever followed those four words but if she wanted to end the relationship then surely she wouldn't be sitting so close to him.
He felt her take a deep breath before she spoke, "We probably should have discussed this before and I'm not sure why we didn't but we have to talk about it now." She didn't sound angry or upset, just tired. He wasn't sure what she was talking about, after all she could be referring to a number of things. She didn't say anything for a few beats and he knew she was waiting for him to say something and since he didn't she continued, "What are we going to do when we have kids?"
He was confused again, they had gone over this. If the two of them died after having kids then Naruto and Hinata would take care of them, they would also get a some money every month from the child inheritance until the kids could be on their own. He couldn't think of any other issue that would need a serious talk. "What do you mean? We have covered this."
She turned her head to look up at him and said, " We've discussed what will happen if we die but not if we live. Where would we live? This apartment could hold one child for a few years but what happens if we have more then one or once they grow older and need more space? And what about when if we both on missions at the same time, we cannot expect Naruto to watch them every time. Your mother is still an issue because she still hasn't spoken to us."
Shikamaru realized that she'd given the whole child thing far more thought then he had, mainly because they weren't even planning on having a child right now so why bother. He did however see her points. The home they shared did have an extra bed room that was currently a guest room but it was hardly big enough to hold to twin bed and dresser it had so storing toys, a crib and such might be difficult. As for care takers during missions they had a number of options, their teammates, past sensei▓s and the Hokage who had all but adopted Sakura. His mother was another issue, she was welcome back into their lives the moment she accepted Sakura and she would be allowed in the child▓s life.
He said in a lazy voice that she knew meant he'd thought every thing through well enough to his liking, "I'm guessing you've thought about all of your issues and I see one that we can fix right away, moving. Our home had served us well but it is to small for a family to be raised in so when we're ready for children we can move."
He heard he sigh and shake her head, flicking his face with her short pink hair, "You fool, don't you get it? We needed to talk about this now because planned or not we are having a baby soon, seven months or so." He froze. Some genius he was, he should've known she wouldn't bring up this topic without cause and that meant to she was pregnant. He leaned over her should and kissed her, smiling he said, "I guess that means we need to move now? And have a talk with my family as they will be expecting their first grandchild."
She smiled brightly at him and said, "So your happy?"
That was the dumbess question he'd ever heard, of course he was happy. "Of course, seven months from now we're going to have a baby. That means we're catching up to all out friends." He smiled again and kissed her.