1In Order to Ask Out a Troublesome Medic

Disclaimer: Alright, you know the drill. In no way do I own Naruto. Because if I did my favorite crack pairings would actually be a possibility in the series.

The First Attempt

Shikamaru was usually a very straightforward man. He always said exactly what he meant exactly when he wanted to say it. So naturally, when he stood in front of the woman he was in love with, stuttering, he was a little surprised. And from the wide eyed look he was receiving was any indication so was she.

"Are you okay Shikamaru?" He could see the light gold flecks in her green eyes as she leaned in to examine his face. "Your face is bright red. Do you have a fever?" One of Sakura 's hands came up to rest on his forehead. "You feel a little warm."

And getting warmer every second. How troublesome.

A bright smile cleared away all of the concern her face held. "I was wondering why you would decide to visit me at work. Don't worry," she said turning around and walking to a cabinet or the other side of the room. "A teaspoon of this will clear up that little bug." She pulled a small bottle of some questionable liquid from the now open cabinet.

Shikamaru sighed inwardly. This was not heading in a direction he liked.

It was supposed to be easy. Just walk up to the woman and ask her out. He did not anticipate tripping over her cat as he walked in to her office, or the fact that when it came down to the time to ask her that his mouth would fail him. He also really did not want to take any of that brown sludge that was in the teaspoon she was walking toward him with.

So now he was acting fool who couldn't walk, talk, or take care of him self.

Quickly he opened his mouth to clarify exactly why he was here... and got a mouthful of some nasty liquid that should be outlawed. He abruptly started to cough as the medicine seemed to go down his throat despite his instincts telling him to spit it out.

Sakura smiled as she removed the spoon from the coughing man's mouth. "There," she said patting him gently on the back with her free hand, to help ease his choking. "That should help stop you from getting worse. You came to me at the right time, but sleep helps the body heal so you should try to get as much as possible."

Her eyes gave the man in front of her a speculating once over. " From the looks of it you haven't been getting enough." The woman tsked and put her hands on her hips, her hand still wrapped around the spoon. "I know that your position in Anbu gives you a rather large work load but you really should not let that get in the way of keeping your self healthy."

Shikamaru snorted. Like she was one to talk. As one of the top medics she was given a large majority of the cases that came into the hospital everyday not to mention that she was also in Anbu herself so she went on as many missions as he did. He couldn't count on both of his hands and his feet how many times she had worked herself into chakra depletion, in all the years he had known her.

How troublesome.

When he was younger he already had his simple life planed out. Work for a few years, get married to a plain, simple woman, have equally boring children, retire and spend the rest of his life watching the clouds.

He had never expected to climb the ranks of Anbu as the top strategist and end up in a position to have so many people rely on him, making it impossible to retire so early in his career.

He also hadn't planed to fall for Konoha's most complicated female, who unfortunately, was anything but plain.

Shikamaru was actually quite impressed with the genetics that formed the woman in front of him. Apparently they had decided when she was around fifteen that they were going to transform her from being a weak, gawky, lovesick preteen with a large forehead into the freakishly strong, confidant, bombshell of a woman who was currently waving her hand in front of him trying to get his attention.

He snapped out of his own thought to focus on Sakura, who had a worried expression on her face..

"You must be worse off than I thought," she said when she had his attention. "You just spaced out on me." She grabbed a hold of the sleeve of his uniform and began to shove him out the door. "You need to go home and get some sleep. I know for a fact that you are off duty for the rest of the week so I do not want to see you around Anbu headquarters during that time."

As soon as she succeeded in herding him out of her office he turned around to tell her that he was feeling fine and the real reason he had come to talk to her. Only to find a door closing in his face and Sakura shooing him home all the while telling him that she didn't want to hear any of his complaints and that she didn't want to see him until Monday when he came back on duty.

With that the door shut in his face firmly. He stood there staring at the now closed door contemplating the chances that if he knocked on the door, she would actually let him say what he had been trying to say all day. None, he decided, mentally uttering a few choice words.

Dammit! Thwarted.

He sighed and started to walk away from the pushy medic's office. He would have to try again next week. Though next week he decided, he would have to control his body temperature.

A/N: Okay the first chapter thing is up. Any thoughts? Complaints? Funny feelings that you really can't identify? Please tell me by reviewing.Do it even if you don't want to. The first step to solving the problem is to review.