Domestic Nightmare
Author's Notes: Written for the LJ community 31 days, for the October 26th theme, "--but I'm having your baby!!" Written because I've always wanted to write something like this for Shikamaru, but didn't know who to pair him up with. So I cheated. XD
Ever since he was old enough to think about marriage (think about how he would never marry because women brought nothing trouble), Shikamaru had this nightmare.
He would dream that he was preparing for another match, just like the ones they had in the Chuunin exams. Sometimes he was standing in the middle of a ring, in a forest clearing, or inside one of the training rooms in the Academy.
His opponent had her back turned to him, and he would call out to the girl, telling her to hurry. He really wasn't all that enthusiastic about having to fight another match, as he was even in waking; he really just wanted to get the match over with. And why did his opponent have to be a woman, anyway?
And then his opponent would scream: "But I can't fight with you, Shikamaru!"
"Why not?" he would say archly.
"Because…because…oh, Shikamaru…"
"What?" Women, always wasting too much time with melodrama, he would mutter.
His opponent would finally face him, tears falling down her cheeks.
"Because I'm having your baby!"
And he would wake up, eyes wide, shivering all over in disgust. And he would vow, once again, to never, never be foolish enough to ever let that happen to him.
That morning he woke up from that dream again, and he groaned as he opened his eyes. He held his hand out, reaching for the other side of his bed, and was surprised to find it empty.
He sat up. He finally heard the distant sound of someone vomiting into the bathroom sink, and he stumbled onto his feet, eyes wide with horror.
She finally went inside the room, hair rumpled, eyes a little bit red; but she was smiling. A little sheepishly, even, but Shikamaru gave little notice.
"Well," she said, "So I think you're going to be a father, then."
And he sank back on his bed, and buried his head underneath the sheets.