Achoo!
[name] looks up from her book, letting her gaze rest on the sleepy male beside her. He sniffs lightly then lets his breathing even out once more, eyes still shut. She smiles lightly and turns her gaze back to the pages of her fantasy adventure.
Achoo!
[name] frowns as she looks up once more. The male beside her merely sniffs again and settles back down into the grass, a light breeze brushing across their bodies. After a long moment, she finally turns her gaze back to the black squiggles littering the soft white sheets bound in leather.
Achoo!
[name] snaps her book shut. "Really, Shikamaru? This is getting a bit ridiculous!"
A soft mutter of "troublesome" carries over on the breeze before the male speaks. "Someone's just telling a story about me, is all, [name]."
"That's ridiculous, Shikamaru." The girl rises, wisps of her [hair color] hair lightly playing about her face. "Get up. You're coming with me."
An eye slits open to peek up at her. "… Coming with you where?"
"To the doctor." He snorts lightly at her statement, causing her to frown. "What?"
"I don't need to go to the doctor."
"It doesn't take a genius to realize you're sick."
"Ugh… if I go, will it keep you quiet?"
"Yes."
"… Troublesome."
ACHOO!
[name] comes back into the room with a damp cloth. She sits on a stool beside the bed and gently replaces the warm cloth on Shikamaru's forehead with the cool damp one. He groans softly and cracks an eye open to look at her.
"… This is troublesome." Of course… it comes out more like "dis is twubblesum."
"I told you that you were sick." [name] smiles gently. "But at least I can be here to help you feel better, hm?"
It's little wonder that, of all the expert treatment and medical advances available within the medical ninja world, they have yet to find a cure for the common cold. Thus, poor Shikamaru is left bedridden and miserable with a red, stuffy nose; itchy, watery eyes; a slight cough; a low fever…
ACHOO!
… and of course, the sneezing.
"[name]-chan, make it go away."
"I can't, Shikamaru. All I can do is try to make you comfortable."
"… Troublesome."
"Yes, yes, I know." [name] humors him with a soft smile. "Would you like me to make you some soup?"
"… Yes."
[name] smiles and rises. "You just rest here, and I'll be back soon."
Shikamaru waits until she's out of sight before slowly pulling the cloth from his forehead and pushing himself up; he winces lightly as the room starts to wobble, the congestion in his sinuses setting him slightly off kilter. He waits a moment for his vision to clear then stands, the entire room turning upside-down in an instant. He takes a step forward, determined not to let this… ugh, illness… get to him…
… and only manages to fall over, taking the lamp and nightstand with him.
[name] hears the crash and drops the cans she had been holding, rushing straight to the bedroom. She hurries into the room, only to find Shikamaru sitting on the floor and holding his head while groaning. "Shikamaru! Did you try to get out of bed?"
"… No." His answer only earns him a frown, and she leans down to help hoist him back into the bed.
"Shikamaru, you need rest."
"I'm tired of being stuck in bed, [name]. I have other things to do."
"Like what? Sleep under the sky in the cold?"
"… Maybe."
"… You're so troublesome." [name] crosses her arms. "Don't get out of bed again."
"… Or what?"
"Or I'll find a way to keep you in, that's what!" She replaces the blanket over his body and cloth across his forehead before turning. "Don't you move this time."
Shikamaru waits until she's out of sight again before slowly beginning to rise once more. This entire ordeal has been nothing but bothersome, and what's more, that medic had said he'll be sick for nearly a week. As appealing as being in bed for a week may have once sounded, he is now realizing it's not so attractive when he doesn't have the choice to remain here all day. He steadies himself and starts to stand again, just as [name] returns to the room. Her [eye color] depths flash with irritation, and she sets the soup down on the desk to march over to him.
"I said stay in bed!" She lightly pushes against his shoulders, sending him into a dizzy spell, and he has no choice but to fall backward onto the bed with a groan.
"I don't want to, [name]!"
"That's a first!" Her voice holds a scolding tone. "The lazy Shikamaru not wanting to stay in bed all day!"
"Were you always this feisty?" He questions with a vaguely annoyed tone.
"Were you always this troublesome?" She counters easily. Somehow, his being sick has allowed her to be one step up on him. Unable to think of a comeback, he slumps over onto the pillows again. Satisfied, [name] retrieves the soup and sits next to him. "Come on and eat. Or you'll never feel better."
Three days. Three long days in bed. Shikamaru has been held captive in his own bed for three long days. He still doesn't feel any better. If anything, he feels worse than before. He lets out a soft, pitiful groan, not even having tried to escape in the last sixteen hours.
Worried by his lack of escape attempts, [name] checks his fever and finds it higher than before. She'd been asking around for advice and so far, no one had any solid leads on how to break a fever other than what she'd already been trying.
… Well, except one. Kiba had been amused by her reaction to his advice when he ran into her piling cans of soup into her shopping basket.
Flashback
"No, he's had a fever for four days now, and it's getting worse instead of better." [name] had sighed in frustration. "I don't know what else to do."
"Well, there is one way you haven't tried yet."
"What's that?" She had looked up in desperation. If there was a way to help him that she hadn't tried, she wanted to know.
"Sex."
[name] dropped the can she'd been picking up straight onto her foot. "OW! What?!"
"Or even just a hand job. Something to stimulate him."
"J-just what good is that going to do him?!" Her cheeks were inflamed a nice shade of red, one that went rather well with the red fangs upon Kiba's cheeks.
"Well, think about it. Your body sweats to cool off. Sex requires strenuous activity, and naturally, it causes the partners to sweat." He smirked, flashing those pointed canines at her. "Besides, my sister is a vet. Sex releases endorphins and acts something like a natural antihistamine. I know what I'm talking about, [name]."
"Th-that just sounds ridiculous, Kiba!" Her cheeks were still red.
"Whatever you say, [name]. Just know it'll help if you choose to do it." He had turned with a shrug and walked away, leaving her crimson and shocked.
End flashback
[name] gazes down at the feverish male before her. She'd already tried everything else…. Maybe Kiba's advice holds some merit.
Ugh. That's how he feels. Shikamaru just feels hot and ugh. He'd long since lost track of how long he'd been in bed, and he's pretty sure he'd started hallucinating at one point. Now he has no idea what's even real anymore. He jumps slightly as he feels a weight on his groin.
That's new.
He looks down through barely-opened eyes, panting softly. He sees the blankets have been stripped away without his knowledge… and he watches as his innocent [name] starts to pull his boxers down. He's pretty sure this is a hallucination, too, but can't say he minds. He watches the blush grace her cheeks as she reveals him, and he soon gasps as her hand encloses around his most sensitive appendage.
If this is a hallucination, he might not mind being sick more often.
[name] can't believe she took Kiba's advice. But what's more… she can't believe it worked. Within an hour of the… treatment… Shikamaru's fever had dropped drastically. Now it was only a matter of time before he woke.
"Ngh…" Shikamaru lets out a soft grunt before his eyes slowly open. He doesn't feel that ghastly heat surrounding his body anymore. Now he's just pleasantly warm. His eyes shift to the girl sitting next to his bed. "… [name]?"
"Shikamaru! Oh, you're looking so much better!" Her eyes shine with relief and joy.
"I feel a lot better… thanks to you." He gives her a half smile and sits up, pleased that the room doesn't spin. "… Oi, [name]?"
"Yes, Shikamaru?"
"… I had a really odd dream recently." He glances at her from the corner of his eye, seeing her cheeks begin to tint pink.
"I-I'm sure you had a lot of strange dreams, Shikamaru. You had a really high fever…."
"Yes… but I had a dream about you… that I would deem highly inappropriate…" his brilliant eyes examine her darkening blush closely. "… unless it, of course, actually happened."
[name] rises so suddenly that she knocks over the stool, sputtering. "I have no idea what you're on about! But you seem fine now, so I'm going home! Good night, Shikamaru!"
He shakes his head as he hears the front door close behind her.
"… Troublesome."
Extended ending
"Ugh… I don't want to stay in bed, Shikamaru!" [name] whines. "You're so mean!"
"Not my fault you caught my cold, [name]-chan. Now stop trying to get up." His hand is firm against her shoulder.
"Yes it is! It's entirely your fault!" She struggles weakly.
"Well fine, if it's my fault you caught it," his dark eyes flash with wicked intention, "then it's my job to rid you of your fever… is it not?"
[name] blinks up at him in confusion. "Huh? What are you talking about?"
"I'm only giving you a taste of your own medicine." Shikamaru smirks as he tosses the heavy blanket aside and begins to pull down her flannel pajama bottoms. "And if you're lucky, you won't be sick for as long as I was.