"Sakura! So you're the one this lazy bastard has been mooning over." Temari had zeroed in on them as soon as they entered the lavishly decorated room in the Hokage residence. She was dressed in a lower-cut variation of her usual black kimono, but her enormous weapon was nowhere in sight. Sakura smiled at her warmly and Shikamaru's arm tightened around her waist, as if preparing to flee.
"Hi Temari. This is the party, huh?" She looked around, seeing that the majority of the people gathered were much older than the two standing with her. "Looks like a real blast."
The blonde barked a laugh and said, "It would be if they had let me bring my fan."
"We'll just have to find some other way to have fun." Sakura and Temari grinned at one another mischievously, clearly ready to do something terrible that was sure to end in trouble.
Shikamaru just looked up at the ceiling in supplication and asked the room rhetorically "Why did I think it was a good idea to bring her here?"
Temari slapped him hard the shoulder. "Hey, don't be like that. Sakura is too good for you, anyway."
The three of them moved further into the room, mingling with the stuffy older representatives, some of whom had never even been shinobi. Between nauseatingly insincere conversations, Temari and Sakura chatted about her brothers, whom Sakura had visited with when she was assigned to escort Sasuke home.
"Gaara was very excited to see Naruto. I could tell by the fact that his lips twitched when he came to greet us."
"Wow, I don't know anyone outside our family who is so good at reading Gaara. Are you sure you wanna stick with this guy? My brother is the Kazekage, you know."
Sakura laughed and pretended to think about it, "Hmm, what are the benefits?"
"For one, I'd be your sister-in-law. Also, you'll be rid of that lump on your side, there."
"Hey!" Shikamaru knew Sakura wasn't serious, but felt the need to make himself known regardless. "I'm still here. Listening."
"We know!" They both laughed at him and continued to speak around him, not at all troubled by his possibly hurt feelings.
Sakura made a teasing face and stuck out her tongue. "But then I would also have Kankuro as a brother-in-law. I'm sorry, Temari, but that's a deal-breaker."
The other woman sighed dramatically. "I understand. At this rate, neither Gaara nor I will ever be able to marry unless we ship him off somewhere secluded." Her eyes brightened. "Maybe you can introduce him to someone from here!"
Shikamaru thought this line of conversation brought them into dangerous territory. "No. Don't encourage Sakura's matchmaking." His girlfriend pouted at him and he shook his head. "Nope. You've already got one project."
Before Temari could ask (and Shikamaru could just see the questions bubbling at the tip of her tongue), they were interrupted by two delegates from Iwa. One of them had fixed his eyes on Temari's cleavage while the other stared directly at the seal on Sakura's forehead.
"And who might this lovely young lady be, Shikamaru-kun?" He kept his face blank, but inwardly he was cringing. The Iwa delegates had been the ones who were arguing so passionately about chair colors this morning. He hated them with all the energy he could muster, but they were related to the Tsuchikage and thus, to politically relevant to insult. They exploited the connection in the worst of ways.
Sakura smiled at the man charmingly. "I'm Sakura. It's a pleasure to meet you …?"
"Hachiro." His eyes stayed on her seal, but he gestured to the other man next to him, "and my cousin, Saburo. We haven't seen your beautiful face at any of our meetings."
"I'm just here to keep Shikamaru company, Hachiro-san." On the far side of their group, Temari attempted to engage in Saburo in meaningless conversation while he responded with single syllables aimed at her chest. Shikamaru could actually hear her teeth grinding.
Hachiro's eyes lit up with a disturbing glee. "So you're free to leave him for more … esteemed guests?"
Did he just imply …
Sakura's pleasant smile gained a sharp edge. "I'm afraid that it isn't possible, Hachiro-san. Shikamaru is stuck with me all night."
She's playing into it. What the hell is Sakura thinking?
The man's lecherous gaze drifted down her body leisurely. "Please let me know if you change your mind, Sakura-chan. I can make it worth your while." He tapped his cousin on the shoulder and they left without another word, meandering over to where the Kiri delegate was hiding by an ice sculpture.
"Sakura, that man thought you were a sex worker."
"Mmhm, he did." She looped her arm through his casually. "Did you see the way he stared at the Yin Seal? It's a good thing I've gotten over my forehead." Shikamaru was surprised that she wasn't more offended about the whole other bit.
"He did the same thing when Tsunade-sama met with us at the beginning of the Exam prep."
Temari had managed to cool her temper enough to rejoin their conversation. "Some brothels mark their women with the house seals, especially if they are considered of particular worth."
"I won't even ask how you know that, Temari." The blonde just shrugged.
Sakura sighed. "Well, at least he didn't say as much to shishou."
"How do you know?"
"He's still alive, for one."
They resumed mingling with the rest of the gathering, leaving a large berth between themselves and the Iwa representatives. Temari and Sakura picked at the buffet table, choosing to stick to the fruit selections while Shikamaru considered drowning himself in sake just to get through the rest of the dreary night.
Sakura was content to introduce herself at Shikamaru's date, never mentioning her connection with Konoha's Hokage. He picked up on this when she had greeted the third delegate in a row with just her first name and a smile. After he went in search of champagne, Shikamaru drew Sakura aside, leaving Temari in the clutches of a dour woman from Taki.
"What's going on?"
"What do you mean?" She toyed with the ends of her short hair, not meeting his eyes.
"The name thing. What's your plan? I know you're doing it on purpose."
She huffed. "Caught on, did you?" He gave her a look that made her recoil in horror. "Don't ever do that again."
"This is just my face, Sakura."
"No, that was the same "excuse me, I'm a genius" look that Neji and Sasuke get and it is very unsettling to see on you."
Shikamaru snorted, amused despite himself. "Don't change the subject, woman."
"Fine, fine. As shishou's official apprentice, I have to make an appearance with her at the third stage of the Chunin Exams. I'm observing them in their natural habitat."
Shikamaru could feel the pieces of conversation over the evening come together. "That's why you didn't do anything to Hachiro for what he said earlier."
"I'm politically aware enough to realize that that straight up murder of the Tsuchikage's third cousin during a cocktail party is frowned upon."
"You knew who he was?"
"I have been Tsuande-shishou's apprentice for years. I have forgotten more about the political machinations of the Elemental Countries than that asshole would ever even know." She smiled at him with shining eyes. "I'll wring the neck of that puffed up little peacock."
"That might be the sexiest thing you've ever said."
Temari rejoined them. "Whoa, there. Should I come back later?"
Sakura's face was flushed, but she shook her head. "No, we're just discussing murder and mayhem."
"Sounds like my kind of date."
Shikamaru watched a familiar troublesome expression flit across Sakura's face. "You know, there's a guy in Konoha who you should meet. I think you would really get along."
"Oh?" Temari was curious now, damn her. "Is he cute?"
"Mhmm, you can trust me. I've seen him naked." Temari cackled happily, demanding more details. "He's part of Tsunade-shishou's guard." Shikamaru could see where this was heading and dreaded the end result.
"No, Sakura. Do not introduce this woman to Genma. Konoha won't survive." The blonde's eyes lit, far more interested now due to Shikamaru's disapproval. The two women discussed the logistics of introductions and where they would meet up the next day to accomplish their nefarious plans.
He tugged at Sakura's arm. "We've put in enough time here. Let's get out before I start screaming."
She grinned at him and waved to Temari, who was looking for her own exit strategy. "While that would be a sight , I'll take pity on you for now." Our of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw Hachiro watching them leave. She fairly plastered herself to Shikamaru's side as they walked, putting her arm around his waist and slipping her fingertips under his shirt, stroking his lower back. Shikamaru didn't stop moving, but it was a near thing.
"What are you playing at?"
"Hachiro is looking. I just want him to drown in his assumptions."
"That includes the assumption that I need buy a date?"
Sakura's hand froze on his back. "Shit, I didn't think of that. I'm sorry, Shikamaru." He sighed heavily as they crossed the threshold.
"It's fine. He'll find out the truth in less than a week anyway."
"Still, I should have thought of how it would affect you." She frowned. "I'm not used to being accountable to another person like this."
"You can make it up to me somehow."
They left the building and in unspoken agreement, headed towards her apartment. As soon as they jumped from the rooftops to land at her front door, Shikamaru pressed her against it and kissed her vigorously, tasting the melon she had earlier. Sakura responded happily, her hands traveling up his chest to wrap around the back of his neck. She arched into him as he slowly ran his hands down her sides, skimming her breasts and coming to rest possessively on her waist, thumbs stroking the soft skin under her shirt. He made a quiet noise against her mouth as she shifted even closer, rubbing her thigh between his legs teasingly. Shikamaru pulled away, both of them breathing hard.
He smirked at her and his eyes were teasing. "How much is this going to cost me?"
Sakura just tipped her head back against the peeling paint of her front door and laughed.
They disabled the front door traps through hurried kisses, not bothering to turn on the lights as they started tugging at one another's clothes. Sakura walked backwards toward her bedroom as Shikamaru kissed her lips, her neck, anywhere he could reach and she reciprocated in her touch, pulling at his belt viciously. He had a brief flare of panic about being unprepared before Sakura sunk to her knees and he forgot how to think at all.
Hours later, Shikamaru was woken by a horrific crashing noise and loud cursing. At the first sound, Sakura had fallen out of bed and was now adding to the cursing, clearly aware of who was in her apartment. He yawned and pulled his hand through his unbound hair, annoyed when it got tangled half-way. "What's going on?" He tied his hair up messily and rooted around for his pants, eyeing Sakura's half-naked form appreciatively.
She gave his bare chest the same admiring look and then scowled. "Naruto."
Shikamaru dropped his shirt and slumped. "It's like he has radar." She scooped the shirt up off the floor and put it on, where it fell to her mid-thighs. She shrugged and didn't bother with pants, scrubbing a hand through her own hair. He kissed her forehead and left the bedroom, her footsteps echoing quietly behind his.
"Hey, Sakura-chan, sorry for the mess-" Naruto looked up from the floor where he was sprawled to see Shikamaru staring at him with disbelief. "Ah! You're not Sakura-chan!"
"Oh good, he isn't entirely senseless." Sakura stepped out from behind him and contemplated the broken dishes spread all over her kitchen. "But he might be after I'm done with him."
Naruto curled up, trying to present a smaller target. "I can explain?"
She just quirked an eyebrow at him. "Can you?"
"I-no, not really. I have no idea how this happened, I just really needed to talk to you!"
Sakura squinted at the clock on the wall of her kitchen. "At one in the morning? Some of us have real jobs, you know." Naruto ignored the implied insult and looked at her pleadingly. "Fine, what do you want?"
He looked at Shikamaru, who just crossed his arms over his bare chest and stayed where he was. Naruto huffed, but spoke anyway. "Sasuke is getting married!"
They both started, but not for the reason he was suspecting. Sakura stared at him intensely. "He found someone else?"
"Someone else? What? He just told me that he was ready to revive his clan and he said that he was close to sealin' the deal with his future bride. But in Sasuke-speak." To his confusion, Sakura closed her eyes in resignation and Shikamaru looked highly annoyed.
"Naruto, Sasuke-kun isn't marrying anyone."
"How do you know? Did he tell you first?" Naruto looked hurt.
Shikamaru snorted. "You could say that." Sakura poked him in the ribs, hard. He rubbed at the spot, not looking any less irritated at the world in general.
"Sasuke-kun proposed to me and I turned him down. Twice, so far."
"W-what? Why you?"
Sakura smiled wryly and said, "That's pretty much exactly what I said. My refusal hasn't even gotten through his thick head yet." She sighed and started picking up the large shards of porcelain littering the floor, with Shikamaru moving to help.
Naruto was still in shock as she poked around him. "I can't believe it. He is the last person I expected to get married at all, let alone be the one who went first."
"Unless you hook him up with someone, I still think he's going to be the last." Sakura shared a look with Shikamaru who just shrugged and yawned, leaving the kitchen to return to her bedroom. "Naruto, I don't think Sasuke-kun is even interested in women."
He just frowned thoughtfully and said, "… You're probably right." He saw her shocked look. "What? Did you think I wouldn't notice? I mean, you saw that Karin girl hanging on him, right? Most guys would be all over that. She had great legs."
Sakura pressed her lips together, determined not to say anything else about that subject. If Naruto and Sasuke were going to get together, they had to think it was their own idea or it would implode in her face.
"I think that's why he's so insistent that it be me." She stood, finished picking up the largest shards and offered him a hand up. "I think the Council put the idea in his head, honestly. I know he's always said it was a dream, but we're still pretty young. I mean, can you see Sasuke-kun with a baby?"
She handed Naruto the broom and he swept while she watched. Quietly, he said, "I could. Maybe not now, but he deserves to have a family if that's what he wants."
"Then he needs to find someone who wants to start a family with him, not just some person he knows who might have the right parts for it." Sakura watched carefully as she spoke, trying to keep her pronouns vague. "I've told him this, but I don't think it's sunk in. Maybe you could bring it up? He's always listened to you more than anyone else."
Naruto huffed as he dumped the porcelain fragments in the trash. "Which is barely at all, Sakura-chan."
"Better than nothing. Please? I really think it would do a world of good if you talk to him."
"Anything for you, Sakura-chan." He smiled at her like he always had, but there was a slight tinge of sadness in his eyes. "You know you're my best friend, right?"
She touched his arm lightly. "And you're mine. Nothing's going to change that. Not even if Sasuke decides to go crazy again and try to marry Tsunade."
The blonde laughed loudly at the idea. "God, I would love to see that proposal." She giggled and he looked at her wall clock, wincing. "I'm sorry for busting in here so late, Sakura-chan, really. I guess it could have waited."
She shrugged. "It's okay, I understand. One day's worth of missed sleep won't kill me."
Naruto wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Just sleep, huh? Is that why you're not wearing any pants?"
"Well, if you must know, there's a great part of Icha Icha Tactics where the heroine takes out a huge-"
"SAKURA-CHAN!"
