Hello, 505 here.
Gah, so this is my first story on this site, so cue general nervousness and stuff, you know the drill :-/
Standard disclaimer; if Naruto characters were mine... well. We can only imagine.
Enjoy! and please review! this is my first story, so any feedback is super appreciated, even constructive criticism. Ill love you all no matter what (but please be nice). Thanks :-)
Chapter 1.
Sakura sighed as the doorbell rang. She was sure it was Ino, considering the blonde had managed to extract a promise of going out tonight from her. She briefly considered ignoring it, but knew that a simple door would never keep her best friend out.
"Hey," Sakura huffed, opening the door. Sure enough, Ino was standing on her doorstep, tapping her foot and looking at her watch impatiently. She hated waiting.
"Oh, shush," the older girl rolled her eyes at the pinky's obvious reluctance. "You'd think I was putting you through torture or something."
"You practically are," Sakura argued, following the blond as she swept into the apartment as if it was her own. Considering how much of her time she spent here, it could have been.
"Whatever. Let's get you dressed."
"I can't believe I'm letting you do this to me," Sakura groaned as she stood in the middle of her room, Ino circling her to admire her own work.
"Letting me do what? Dress you like a woman for once? Or making you live your life a little?" Ino grinned at her best friend.
"Shut up, I do too dress like a woman," Sakura protested weakly, knowing she rarely wore anything other than her training or medic gear. Ino's grin grew wider as she sensed the defeat behind those words. "Okay fine, I don't really dress up, ever. Happy?"
"Of course not sweetie," Ino sighed, "I just wished you did things other than work and train. You need to cut loose a little bit. Have some fun."
"I have fun."
"Puh-lease. When was the last time you went out?"
"Uhhhh," Sakura racked her brain for an answer, knowing she wouldn't find one. She never went out. She had never felt that comfortable in the clubbing scene anyway, and ever since Tsunade-san had started giving her more responsibility at the hospital a few years back, the work had piled up. Not to say that she didn't enjoy it. Sakura loved her job. But it was true that between work and missions, she hadn't really had any time to relax lately.
"Yeah, that's what I thought," Ino smirked at Sakura's prolonged silence. "Now, what do you think?" She asked, pulling her friend towards the mirror.
"Oh!" Sakura gasped at the reflection of herself. Ino had dressed her in a strappy black dress that clung to her curves and reached mid-thigh. Her back was left mostly bare, which was perfect for the summer night's balmy weather, and also made wearing a bra impossible. Sakura had been nervous about that part, but seeing how good it looked, and how you could barely tell she wasn't wearing one, her worries melted away. Her trademark shoulder length pink hair was swept up in a messy bun, and the bare minimum of mascara lined her eyes, just enough to make the green in them pop. She looked stunning.
"Well?" Ino prompted, looking smug.
"You're amazing!" Sakura laughed. Ino immediately brightened at this and broke into a wide grin.
"I know. Now come on, let's go," she laughed, throwing matching black heels to her friend before grabbing her purse and heading to the door. "We're going to be the last ones there."
Zinc was one of the most popular nightclubs in Konoha, so it was no surprise that it was packed when they arrived, filled to the brim with the usual friday night crowd. Sakura winced as they pushed past a loud group pressed against the bar. She recognized a few of them from the times she worked the saturday morning shift at the hospital. There were always a few hardcore partygoers with alcohol poisoning or bar fight injuries passing through around that time.
Thankfully, after passing a drink to Sakura and grabbing one for herself, Ino led the way to the back, where the dim lights revealed some tables set up for people who weren't dancing or glued to the bar. There Sakura spotted the rest of the rookie 9, plus Neji and Tenten. She cringed slightly when she noticed Rock Lee there as well. He was a nice guy, really, but always went overboard with his declarations of love. Also, he was an incredible lightweight and a horrible drunk. She hoped everyone was keeping him away from the alcohol.
Naruto noticed them first, jumping up and waving at them.
"SAKURA! INO! OVER HERE!"
"So loud," she muttered, but waved back anyway, a smile spreading across her face despite herself when as soon as she got close enough she found herself wrapped in a bear hug.
"Air!" She she finally gasped when she couldn't take it any more, pushing Naruto off her.
"Oof," he gasped, rubbing the spot she had shoved. "Please don't break me Saku-chan, imagine how sad you'll make all the girls here."
Sakura snorted delicately, knowing Naruto was as gay as a fairy, albeit a tall, rugged, tanned and muscled one. She might have been attracted to him, had he not been more like an older brother to her. "More like I'll finally give Sasuke a break from dealing with you. God knows how much he probably needs it," she smirked, brushing her chakra infused fingers over the bruise forming on his arm anyway. It faded immediately.
Naruto's eyes widened and he turned to his boyfriend. "Ne, Sasu-teme, you don't need a break from me, right?"
The boy in question merely looked back at him, no expression on his face. "Hn."
Naruto's pout turned into a sly grin as he leaned forward and whispered in Sasuke's ear, the latter's face turning unnoticeably redder as a glint appeared in his eyes. "Hn," he repeated, making Naruto grin and swing an arm around his waist.
Sakura smiled at the obvious affection between the two boys she considered her brothers, then turned back to the rest of the group, where she was immediately accosted by Lee.
"MY BEAUTIFUL FLOWER OF SPRINGTIME, HOW LOVELY AND FULL OF YOUTH YOU LOOK THIS EVENING!" He started. "IT IS AN HONOR HAVING YOU GRACE US WITH YOUR PRESENCE TONIGHT, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE DRESSED SO SEDUCTIVELY!"
Oh lord, thought Sakura as Ino broke into giggles. "Thank you Lee," she managed, before escaping to the furthest end of the table from him, next to Shikamaru, who was leaning on the table, half asleep.
"How can you possibly sleep here?" Sakura asked, curious. Shika cracked open an eyelid and squinted up at her.
"Easily enough," he drawled in his low voice. "I just pretend I'm not actually here."
"Oh, were you forced along too?"
"Yeah, Kiba. You?"
"Ino. Why does Kiba need you here?"
Shikamaru sat up and leaned over slightly so that his next words were spoken directly into Sakura's ear. "I believe he plans on asking out Hinata tonight, and needs the moral support. Especially with Neji here."
Sakura shivered slightly at the feeling of his breath on her ear, and glanced over to where Kiba was sitting, regaling Hinata with stories of Akamaru and the baby pups they were raising. Hinata was blushing happily and giggling at Kiba's excited hand gestures. They looked good together.
"Cute," She said softly, unaware that she had spoken aloud until she heard Shika's low chuckle, still frighteningly close to her sensitive ear.
"Yeah," he agreed, drawing back a bit to take a gulp of his beer. Sakura followed suit, sipping her untouched drink.
Across from her, Ino slammed down her own finished drink and stood, smiling widely.
"Let's dance!" She crooned, tugging Tenten up beside her. Tenten, already slightly drunk, giggled and swayed her hips a little to the rhythm of the music blasting from the dance floor. Ino glared at Sakura until she stood up as well, deciding to give up without a fight.
Naruto immediately pulled Sasuke out on the floor after them, and Kiba managed to ask Hinata to dance as well, saved by the fact that Tenten had come back and grabbed Neji from his seat. Only Shikamaru, who was too lazy to dance, and Chouji, who accepted Ino's kiss before waving her on, were left sitting.
Sakura let herself be pulled to the center of the dance floor, where the music was loudest and the crowd the thickest. Facing Ino, she started to move her hips back and forth in time to the music. Ino laughed and pulled her friend closer, so that they were dancing together.
"See? It's not so bad to let loose once in a while," Ino shouted above the noise. Sakura grinned and let her hands raise above her head as she got pulled into the rhythm of the bass. Ino was right, this wasn't bad.
The two girls were dancing slow, losing themselves in the music, and it was fucking sexy and they knew it. Soon, they were surrounded by a circle of guys, all trying to get their attention. Ino huffed and shook her long blond hair at them, keeping them at bay just by the force of her aura. Sakura giggled, leaning back slightly against one who dared brave the force that was Ino to dance with her. Soon she got bored with his overly sexual gyrating and pushed him away, only have him be immediately replaced by another.
After a while of this, Sakura started to feel overheated and dehydrated. She signaled Ino that she was getting a drink and left, heading back to the table.
She leaned over Shika and grabbed his beer, relishing the coolness of it as she gulped it down.
"Hey," he growled, and Sakura raised a delicate eyebrow at him, daring him to say anything. "Troublesome woman," he sighed.
Sakura giggled. "I'm going to get some air," she said, grabbing her purse.
"I'll go with you," Shika said, standing up and following her out.
Once outside, they turned into a nearby alleyway, where Sakura found a half broken chair to sit in and started to massage her feet. Shikamaru pulled out a packet of smokes and lit one, taking a deep drag.
Sakura looked up at him and watched him exhale, eyes sliding down to half mast, the smoke blurring his features slightly. It was oddly erotic, the way he smoked. Something stirred deep in Sakura's belly. How strange, she thought.
Suddenly his eyes were on her. "What?" He asked.
Startled at having been caught staring, Sakura blushed and changed the subject the first way she knew. "You really shouldn't smoke those things, you know."
A corner of his mouth curved up in a wry grin. "Always the medic, huh?" He asked in his gravelly voice. She had never noticed how deep it was, or how sexy.
Sakura blushed again at the direction her thoughts were taking and looked down, afraid he'd see it in her face somehow. Good lord, she must be drunk or something, she thought, thinking about Shikamaru like this, of all people. Never mind that she'd only had a drink and a half. I should fix that, she thought, standing up again.
"Going back in?" Shikamaru asked, eyeing her through the smoke once more.
"Yeah, I'm going to get a drink."
"Okay," Shikamaru took one last drag of his cigarette before flicking it aside. "I believe you owe me one anyway," he smirked, following Sakura in again. She stuck out her tongue, but agreed nonetheless.
Shikamaru smiled slightly as the girl next to him leaned over and grabbed his drink. He'd been sitting at the bar talking to Sakura since his smoke break over an hour ago, and it hadn't taken him that long to realize he was enjoying it. Sakura was interesting and intelligent, and the way her face lit up when she spoke about her work made the air around her glow. The best thing was, she didn't just talk, she listened. Shikamaru could actually have a conversation with her that didn't revolve around only her life, which was often the case with Ino, and Sakura was actually interested in the things he had to say.
It was a new experience, to say the least, and neither of them even noticed the time passing until Sakura laughed a little to hard and almost fell out of her chair and onto Shikamaru. At which point he realized that they'd been sitting at the bar for more than an hour, and that Sakura was more than a little drunk. She had been stealing sips out of his drinks half the time, after all.
"Sakura, I think this is a good time to stop drinking," Shika said, trying to make her sit up.
"Noooo, I like this, this is fuuun," Sakura giggled, slurring her words slightly. "Ahrent you having fun too?"
"I am, but you're pretty drunk, and that might ruin the fun a little bit, don't you think?"
"Ah, ahm never drunk. Just once wont hurt," Sakura leaned back onto Shika, who's face flushed slightly at the close contact.
"You say that now," he muttered under his breath, pulling Sakura to her feet. "Can you stand?" He asked, loud enough that she could hear.
"Mmhmm," Sakura giggled, holding her self upright. At least she's not that wasted, Shika thought, before Sakura interrupted his thoughts by throwing her arms around his neck. "Hey, let's danshe, okay? I wanna dance now." She emphasized this statement by moving her hips slowly against him.
Shikamaru swallowed, willing his mind away from any thoughts involving sexy, intoxicated pink haired girls grinding against him. "Uh, Sakura, I don't dance," he managed. "Why don't you go find Ino?"
"Cause I wanna dance with you," Sakura pouted up at him, and Shikamaru groaned as he tried not to think about how soft and pink her lips looked like that, and how much he wanted to lean down and kiss them until they were swollen.
Sakura, unaware of his thoughts, grabbed his hand, "C'mon," she said, tugging, and damn if the woman wasn't still freakishly strong even while drunk.
"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, resigned to his fate.
Sakura dragged him out to the floor and started swaying to the beat, making Shikamaru uncomfortably aware of how close she was once more. This time, though, there was no easy escape. The crowd had closed in around them and the only bubble of air around was between them. Sakura glanced up at him and scowled.
"You aren't dancing."
"I told you, I don't dance." Sakura narrowed her eyes.
"Do you even know how to?" Shikamaru glared down at her.
"Yeah, I just choose not to. It's too—"
"Let me guess, troublesome." Sakura interrupted him, her pout turning into an unexpected smirk. She turned and took a step back, pushing herself almost completely against him, and continued to dance to the music.
"Wh-what are you doing Sakura?" Shikamaru gasped out, his face reddening. Sakura looked up over her shoulder at him grinned.
"Getting you to dance," she giggled.
As soon as he registered the teasing look in her eye, all of Shikamaru's self control shattered, and he found himself wrapping an arm around her and pulling her flush against him, his other hand coming to rest on her hip and grinding her slightly against him. Sakura gasped slightly at the sudden contact before moving against him again.
Suddenly they were hot, they were burning, and the pounding of the bass was pushing them for more, was engulfing them in heat. They were spinning and grinding and and gasping and dancing and Sakura's arms were wrapped around his neck and his hands were running from her hips up her sides and down again, pulling her closer every time. They couldn't breathe and their lips found each other, trying to steal each others air, kissing without thought. Sakura was facing him now and her hands were tugging on his hair and Shikamaru was kissing her like he wanted to consume her, biting her lips to gain entrance, dominating her mouth with his. She could feel his erection through his jeans, and the knowledge that he was aroused, that she was making him aroused, only incensed her desire for more. She moaned into his mouth as he ground into her.
The sound, sudden after the lack of any noise between them but panting, shocked some sense into them and they broke apart, eyes wide.
They stared at each other a second before Shikamaru broke the silence.
"That was…unexpected," he rasped out, his voice slightly hoarse.
"Yes," Sakura agreed, "It was. Um, do you want to go find everyone else?" She suggested, a wavering smile almost hiding her embarrassment.
"Sure, yeah," Shikamaru said, forcing his face back into the usual bored expression he wore, the only sign of his own embarrassment the flush covering his face. He turned and started walking towards the table.
Sakura, still a little drunk, almost giggled when she noticed that his ears had turned bright red as well, and grabbed his arm, letting him pull her along.
"Where's Ino?" Sakura asked Sasuke as soon as she got back to the table. His eyebrow raised at the sight of her still hanging off a flushed Shikamaru's arm, but he answered nonetheless.
"Left with Chouji. Said she couldn't find you."
"Aw shit, we were supposed to go home together, that bitch," Sakura groaned.
"Do you want me to get Naruto to take you home?"
Sakura frowned. Their apartments were on the same side of town, but…
"Wasn't he going to go to your place tonight?"
"Hn. He can come afterward," Sasuke said.
Sakura hesitated. She didn't want to drag Naruto away from the bar, and it made no sense for him to have to cross the village twice just for her. Sure, she was a little drunk, but she could probably make it home alone no problem. She was about to decline when Shikamaru spoke up.
"I'll walk you home," he said. He had been watching the thoughts fly across her face and had immediately known what she had chosen. A decision he was not okay with.
Sakura glanced up at him, surprised.
"You don't have to," she said.
"We're going in the same direction anyway," Shikamaru sighed. "Besides, you're drunk."
"No I'm not!" Sakura frowned. "Well, not really."
Shikamaru grunted, already steering them towards the exit.
They walked mostly in silence until Sakura pulled them to a stop halfway to her house.
"Sorry," she said, bending down, "but my feet are killing me. Can we take a break?"
"Mm," Shikamaru agreed, eyeing her heels. "Why wear them if you know they're gonna hurt?"
"Normally I wouldn't," Sakura sighed, "but Ino dressed me and it's impossible to say no to her."
"Sounds familiar," he nodded, and Sakura was reminded that Shikamaru was on the same team as the forceful blonde. He would know. "Why don't you just take them off?"
"Huh?" Distracted by her thoughts of Ino, Sakura had completely forgotten what they were talking about.
"The shoes. Why not just take them off?"
"And walk home barefoot?" Sakura cringed. "The sidewalk is really dirty."
"You can wash your feet afterwards."
"Ugh, I'd really rather not though."
"Sakura," Shikamaru said. "That makes no sense. You're torturing your feet."
"I know," she whined, "but i still don't want to walk home barefoot." Shikamaru sighed and crouched down next to her.
"Get on."
"What?" Sakura said, staring at him.
"I'm going to carry you. Get on." Sakura's mouth fell open, and she stared at him until he turned his head to look at her. "What?"
"Shikamaru, you can't be serious."
"I am." And since he was looking at her with his usual bored expression, Sakura was willing to believe him.
"B-but you can't, I mean, w-what-"
"Sakura," Shikamaru sighed, "just get on."
"I'm not that light," she finally warned him, putting her arms around his neck.
Shikamaru chuckled softly, and Sakura felt it reverberate through his chest to his back. It was a nice sound, and the giddy feeling it gave her made her want to hide her face.
"I'm not that weak," he said, and stood up easily, seeming not to notice her weight at all. He started walking, keeping up a steady pace.
Sakura was surprised. She had known that Shikamaru was no longer the awkward gangly kid he had been as a teenager; that would be impossible in their line of work. But she had somehow missed his transformation from weirdly tall and skinny to ruggedly handsome. She could feel his muscles moving through his shirt, and that combined with the way his rough hands kept brushing her thighs where her dress rode up was making her really want to rip his clothes off and run her hands all over him. I bet it would feel divine… Sakura giggled quietly as the thought popped into her head.
"How can you be so strong when you're so lazy?" She said, half to herself. Shikamaru chuckled again, in a way she found extremely…delicious, for lack of a better word.
"I'm not the captain of the Anbu for nothing," he said.
"Mhmm," Sakura hummed, unaware of the effect she was having on Shikamaru. Her mouth was right next to his ear goddamnit and every breath and hum and sigh went straight to his groin as he imagined all the ways he could make her make those sounds. And shit, he was pretty sure she wasn't wearing a bra under that dress, either. It was enough to drive a man crazy.
I really need to calm down, Shikamaru thought. This is Sakura, dammit. Pure thoughts only, pure thoughts only…
When they got to her apartment, Shikamaru discovered that Sakura had fallen asleep on his back. He called her name a few times, with no response, so grumbling slightly about how troublesome the situation was, he fished the key out of her purse and let them in.
Her apartment was small, and it only took two tries to find her room. Shikamaru hesitated slightly before entering. A girls' room was supposed to be private, right? Shrugging slightly, he figured she wouldn't mind that much and opened the door.
Laying Sakura down onto the bed, he studied the girl below him. She really was very pretty, and with the dress she was wearing showing off all of her curves, she was downright stunning.
Shikamaru sighed at the direction his thoughts were once more taking him and distracted himself by squatting down and unstrapping her ridiculous shoes. He had taken care of a drunken Ino enough times to know the drill by now.
Dropping the shoes on the floor, he reached up to take out the stick thingys she had put in her hair. It would probably hurt like a bitch to sleep with them in, he figured, running his hands through her hair to loosen the hairdo. Damn her hair was soft. He bet it would feel great to sink his hands into it while kissing her, and then pulling slightly to make her bare her neck so he could kiss his way down to her—
He was pulled out of of his fantasy by a small groan. He looked down to see Sakura squinting up at him.
"Whatchu doing?" She asked, yawning.
"Putting you to bed." Shikamaru deadpanned, hoping the darkness covered his flushed face.
"Mmkay," Sakura sighed, throwing her arms back around his neck. "That's nice."
"Sakura, you should sleep. It's late."
"Mmhmm," she hummed in agreement.
"I should go." Shikamaru sighed, trying to remover her arms. Sakura frowned slightly.
"No," she said, tightening her hold. "Stay."
"Sakura, please let go of me," Shikamaru said. He knew she was half asleep and not saying what he thought she was saying, but any more might be dangerous for his fragile self control, and he had no desire to take advantage of an intoxicated girl.
Sakura pulled him towards her and gave him a sleepy kiss on the corner of his mouth. "Stay," she repeated, pulling him down onto the bed. She kissed him again and promptly fell asleep, leaving Shikamaru frozen beside her.
Once he was sure she was asleep for real this time, Shikamaru tried to free himself, only to find that Sakura had a death grip on him.
"Troublesome," he sighed, figuring it would be easiest to give in. He kicked off his shoes, pulled the cover over them, and made himself comfortable.
/505
Phew! So that's finally over with :-)
Wanna know what happens next? Will there BE a next? Reviewing will give me incentive to tell you (ahem update), and it's not that hard, either :-
Till next time
Peace
505/
