Things had become very interesting after Sakura and Shikamaru's exchange in the labs that night.
Sakura had wanted very much to indulge in a more physical appreciation of Shikamaru, but held herself back, because she wanted to do this deliberately, and she thought that Shikamaru would likely desire to take things slowly and deliberately as well, as he did with everything else.
But, admittedly, that left Sakura in a very unfamiliar position.
She knew that Shikamaru liked her, maybe not as much as she found she liked him, or maybe he did? She could hardly tell anything from that nonchalant attitude and those un-shifting eyes, and those even, slow-paced responses he graced her with that, while answering her questions, still managed to reveal nothing.
Sakura would like to say that she wasn't getting impatient, just more and more psychologically and sexually frustrated every day.
Spending time with him now became exhilarating and exhausting; she felt hyper aware of every movement she made and every comment she spoke, constantly worrying over their potential dissection within Shikamaru's mind. And then there was the worrying over whether or not he actually did that. He certainly never revealed that tendency; always at ease, though she had picked up on a certain distance he gave off perpetually. (It was in his eyes, and in the amount of time he'd sometimes take to leisurely respond in a conversation.) The worry stemmed from simply knowing that he full well had that very ability and then some, and not being able to distinguish when he was utilizing it.
Never mind all of that. When it all boiled down, Sakura just wanted to know when the right time would be to make a move. When she could ask him to come over to her apartment a little later than usual, or when she could hug him in a way that wasn't purely platonic. When she could hold him up against a wall and kiss him until there wasn't anything left going on in that big brain of his but her.
But she continued on, continuing on. They had finished their assignment in the labs and had recently taken to spending time together elsewhere, usually by her own prompting, but never anywhere intimate enough for Sakura's tastes. A coffee here, a walk together there, a dinner-after-a-mission and then off to her apartment and him to the Nara compound.
No, nowhere near intimate enough. Their activities could be observed as something plain. Activities typical between friends, and Sakura was becoming more concerned that "friends" was all that they were.
She decided that she'd confront him soon, if he didn't clear things up himself before her.
Sakura was lying in the grass in a clearing just outside of town, eyes closed, feeling the warmth of the sun lightly hitting her skin.
She opened her eyes and turned her head towards Shikamaru, who was also lying in the grass, to her left.
She'd found him out here during her afternoon walk, a habit she sometimes entertained when given the time to do so, and had sat down next to him without a second thought.
They'd spoken a little, but not much past the usual.
Sakura was tense.
She observed him, silent and quite still with his eyes trained on the clouds. Chewing her lip, she watched the steady rise and fall of his chest and the material of his shirt stretched over arms that were folded behind his head.
Sakura lie back, flat against the earth again, before speaking, in order to seem less oppressive and overbearing.
"Shikamaru," She almost sighed, "Are we…I don't know. Together?"
"You tell me." He didn't miss a beat.
Sakura became irritable immediately. He was being elusive.
"You know, you could just give me a straight forward answer."
A pause this time.
"I'm being straight forward..."
"Uh…" Sakura began without tact. Shikamaru turned his head towards her in the grass.
"I'd really like your opinion, because I don't know myself."
Sakura stared at him for a second, and then laughed outright. Shikamaru regarded her with a half smile and sat up, looking down at her.
She sensed an unexpected change in the atmosphere and her laughter settled as she looked back up at him.
There was something very unfamiliar in his gaze. No, not unfamiliar exactly, she was actually sure that she'd seen it before, but maybe at a different level of intensity. She suddenly felt very vulnerable and small, lying in the grass with her arms up beside her head and Shikamaru looming beside her with a strong presence.
"We're…well. I'd definitely like us to be." She said, steady enough, though she was quickly becoming more uneasy.
Shikamaru sighed in what seemed to be relief.
"That was a lot easier than I thought it would be." He scratched behind his ear and he half-smiled again.
Sakura let his statement sink in.
"Wait, so have you been waiting this whole time to-"
"Ask you out?" Shikamaru finished for her. "Yeah, basically."
He was pulling up blades of grass in one hand and resting his chin in the palm of the other.
He continued, "And I had no idea how. Actually, I was hoping you'd beat me to it. Looks like that sort of paid off." He smirked down at her and sent her heart racing.
He crossed his arms in his lap then. "So for your straight forward answer, now I think I can say 'yes'."
"Yes," Sakura echoed quietly. "Then, if we're together, will you do something for me?"
Shikamaru seemed a little puzzled, not at the question itself, but of what it might entail. He tilted his head a bit, thin eyebrows drawn up just slightly.
"Hm," There was a breeze as he hummed his response and Sakura could smell the intoxicating scent of him being carried through the air.
"Kiss me?" She was anything but shy and demure when she said it. It was daring.
Shikamaru's eyes widened for a fraction of a second; nearly unnoticeable, but Sakura caught it.
She watched him for any further response, and was seconds away from making a vaguely taunting remark to spur him on, but was thwarted as he moved silently and quickly over her, pressing his lips to hers.
At first they remained very still. He was leaning over her, and supporting himself with hands on either side of her head to keep his weight off of her. Sakura's arms were still spread in the grass, lifeless as she felt his lips firm against her own.
Then, as if they both lost their mental control simultaneously, they gripped each other fully. Shikamaru pressed himself hard against her lithe body and made love to her mouth while Sakura fisted her hands into his hair, yanking out the ponytail and tugging hard at the locks.
He groaned into her mouth at the feeling, grinding his hips down into hers without much permission from his brain. He stilled for a moment, thinking he might have crossed the line, but then had to bite back a moan as she broke off from his mouth and nipped and sucked his earlobe while rolling her hips up into his in appreciation.
Feeling himself already straining against his pants though, he swiftly kissed her once more and then lifted himself off, settling cross-legged beside her with his head in his hands.
Sakura sat up herself and watched him curiously.
Shikamaru inclined his head and looked at her through threaded fingers, hands folded over his face.
"I've wanted that," he began, grave, "For so long."
She laughed shortly.
"You've been holding back?"
"Quite a bit, yeah."
"Why?"
Shikamaru exhaled heavily through his nose.
"There are some things," he stared at the grass, "That I just don't know how to process. It's almost like my brain short circuits. I'm left without any possible strategy or course of action."
"You?" Sakura raised an eyebrow and sort of frowned and smiled at the same time, disbelieving.
Shikamaru noted her expression. "I know. I've been labeled this genius. And I even think that I've come to live up to that title from time to time-"
"Way more often than that Shikamaru," Sakura interrupted.
Shikamaru shrugged at the correction and then turned his head to her, piercing her with his sharp, dark eyes. Sakura noticed that he hadn't bothered to tie his hair back up since she pulled it down. It was extremely distracting and made him twice as ridiculously attractive. Then he was speaking again.
"But still, I can't say I know how to handle this." He gestured between the two of them.
Sakura was near ready to interrupt him again, but he quickly continued.
"You're one of the most beautiful young women in Konoha. You're the top medic. You're powerful, sought after, and brilliant. And I find out you very well might like me as much as I like you. How am I supposed to accept that as fact? I've been so careful because I have no idea what wrong move I could be making. One mistake and I could ruin this before it's even started. That's the last thing I want. "
Sakura was incredulous.
"But Shikamaru! You're all of those things too! And so much more-"
"I'm a beautiful young woman?"
"Shut up," She searched for words and tuned out his melodious laughter. "You're…" She eyed his hair again, falling in waves around his neck and brushing his shoulders. God…
"You're a genius. I know that seems a bit typical to fall back onto, but frankly I don't think you realize how highly you're regarded because of it." Sakura stared him down. "You're a genius Shikamaru, the most intelligent shinobi in the entire Leaf Village- and don't argue against that, you know it's true." She finished as she saw him about to interject. "Every division and every organization wants you first, above everyone else. You're constantly recruited, and what's even more amazing is that you always decline, because you want to keep fighting side by side with your comrades so that you can protect them."
Shikamaru seemed a little stunned at her little speech. Always put off by compliments, Sakura thought. It was one of his most endearing traits in her opinion.
She began again, a little softer, "You're modest, and you don't even realize how strong you are. You're unbiased and you don't judge anyone for anything, and you've got this voice that makes me really just want to take you an-"
She cut herself off, blushing slightly and staring down into her lap. She'd nearly forgotten he was still sitting right there, listening.
Slowly, she looked back up to see him smirking fully with raised eyebrows.
"Go on?"
Ergh! Stop Shikamaru, you're a danger to yourself and those around you with those kinds of looks.
Sakura took a deliberate, calming breath. Who cares? Not like she had anything to be embarrassed about.
"It makes me want to throw you down on my bed. And keep you there. Maybe using that voice in a different way for a while."
Shikamaru made a low, dangerous noise upon hearing this.
"It sounds like you've been holding back too."
"You don't know the half of it."
"I'd like to." His voice was getting darker and darker.
"Oh, and one more thing," Sakura added. "Something you seem to be particularly insecure about."
"Hm?"
"Shikamaru, you're hot. Like, hotter than hot. I can't even begin-" Her thought broke off and she shook her head. Words were useless.
"Really?" He sounded genuinely skeptical. "I mean, I know I'm not ugly or anything. I've just always thought I was…plain. Average."
"What, you want pink hair?" Sakura asked dryly.
Shikamaru smiled at her. "No, I don't think it would look as good on me." Sakura rolled her eyes, not without envisioning Shikamaru with a spiky, pink ponytail. It really was a ridiculous sight.
"And I wouldn't say I'm insecure exactly, I just accept it, you know? It's not something I spend time thinking about. If you want to get stuck with someone of my caliber, who am I to stop you?"
Sakura could hardly believe her ears.
"Get stuck with you? Your caliber? Shikamaru, do you even realize how many women use your face as material for their 'alone time' late at night?"
"Woah…" Shikamaru's eyes widened. "What are you on about."
"It's true." Sakura said, straight faced.
"That's…enlightening."
Sakura couldn't help but be a little baffled by his usual, bored-ish expression. Not in the least bit smug or further interested in what she revealed.
"Well, it doesn't matter really if you aren't part of that statistic." He looked her square in the face, smirking. Sakura got goose bumps and felt her neck heat at what he implied.
"Well…recently…"
"Don't." He held a hand up before she could go into detail. "If you keep talking like that I can't guarantee that your clothes will stay on."
Sakura laughed nervously, agreeing. Shikamaru just made her so…willing. Ready. Her heart raced at those sudden glances and half-smirks of his and they made her want like she'd never wanted. They made her want him and everything about him.
"So, it may be a little self-indulgent of me," He began more seriously, "But why do you find me as attractive as you do?"
"Like I said it's not just me."
"And like I said, you're the only one whose opinion matters."
Sakura grinned at his comment.
"Well…it's…" She regarded his features intently, skimming from his smooth black hair to his cute, straight nose to his studded ears. Really, she never knew a simple stud in a man's ear could be so. Sexy.
"It's everything, really."
Shikamaru just gave her a doubtful look, one eyebrow raised, obviously expecting her to extrapolate.
She sighed. "Look, if we start to talk about this, I can't guarantee that all of your clothes will stay on."
Shikamaru's eyes widened and he got that adorable look that he got whenever someone talked about him in a really good light.
"So," Sakura continued, sly, "Let's go somewhere where that will no longer be a problem."
