And another one! Feel free to send me prompts; I'm running low on ideas for these two!

Twins Timeline: sleep; pregnancy i; pregnancy ii; pregnancy iii; birth

LOZ AU: Triforce


xii: Blind Date


Sakura glanced inside her cup, lemon slices sunk at the bottom and covered with sparkling water, and placed her chin on her open palm, sighing exasperatedly and casting her face to the fairy lights that lined the junctures of the ceiling. Not for the first time that evening, she wondered just what she had in mind when she agreed to Ino's brilliant idea and let her set her up on a blind date with one of her friends. The kunoichi did not know what to expect from any of the guys her best friend was acquainted with, but now she was pretty certain she should have stayed at home.

Crossing her arms on the tabletop, she glanced around expectantly. She arrived a bit early at the nice little restaurant and was directed to a booth reserved under Ino's name. If that meant anything it was that her friend was in for a blind date, too, and Sakura was not sure if she liked that idea much.

Still, she busied herself by looking at the menu for the nth time that evening and smiled at a passing waitress. She flipped through the pages just to keep her hands busy and her mind occupied. To say Sakura was growing anxious because of the situation she found herself in was an understatement. Her palms were sweaty and wiping them on the covered section of her thighs did little to dry them up. Maybe wearing a dress that reached her mid thighs was not a good idea after all. She should have picked pants; they were more proper and the chances of the guy thinking she was allowing him to touch her a little more would be very slim.

"Sakura?"

Startled, she jumped in her seat and released the booklet, letting it snap shut as it fell on the table. Green eyes swiveled up to stare into shocked brown eyes, tan skin and dark hair that fell down past his shoulders. Sakura stared at him, speechless, lips parting and moving, but no words coming out. This had to be one of the most handsome men she had ever seen, and he was friends with Ino? That pig needed to invite her to go out with her other group of friends more often if that meant she would get to see more guys like him. She needed to impress him!

Finally, her vocal chords worked, but the words came out a squeak. "Who?" So much for trying to be cool.

Eyes crinkling, his lips twisted in a lopsided smile and he chuckled. "What do you mean 'who'?" Shoving his hands in his pockets, Sakura found that act oddly familiar. "It's me, Shikamaru."

She jolted back, face growing unbearably warm. Shikamaru? The Shikamaru? Ino's childhood friend and teammate, Konoha's number one lazy genius? Was he really the one she found incredibly hot on the meager twenty seconds she stared at him upon arrival? Did she just admit that Shikamaru was handsome?

Wait. Was Shikamaru her blind date?

Now that was unexpected. "Hm, sure, of course!" She laughed and if her cheeks got any redder, she might just bolt out of there. "Sorry, I was a little distracted."

"Yeah, the menu seemed really interesting."

"It was; there are many options for drinks and whatnot..." Wringing her hands together on her lap and glancing anxiously about, she cast her gaze in his direction and inquired in the most neutral sounding voice she could muster. "So, what are you doing here?"

Shikamaru sighed, shoulders slouching and eyebrows pinching together. "Ino set me up on a date, that troublesome woman." Thankfully, he seemed to miss the way her body froze completely. "Didn't expect to find you here, though."

"I'm sure the waitress got it wrong," she squeaked out as soon as he had finished and fanned her burning face with the booklet. That pig set up her two best friends on a blind date. What the hell was she thinking? Was she out of her mind? She was so going to pay for this!

Shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly, he pulled back the chair across from hers and sat down. "Well, I'll stick around until your date arrives and then I'll go looking for this mystery girl." Nodding dazedly, she set the menu down and slid it towards him, and then curled her fingers around her seat.

Was this all because she once complimented Shikamaru's skill while in Ino's presence?

Needless to say, no other person approached their table to claim a seat and introduce themselves as Sakura's date, and if there were any boys looking her way before, now they had their eyes focused elsewhere. Shikamaru said nothing about her 'date' never showing up, nor did he look at her with pitying eyes and sad smiles – nor did he go look for the 'mystery girl', either. Rather, they stayed together, chatting amicably and ordering food, eating with stiff movements (on her part) and smiling awkward smiles (also on her part).

When the time came to leave, he offered to pay the bill, but she insisted that they split it instead, and so they did. Slipping her wallet into her purse, Sakura walked past Shikamaru with a small grin on her face and led them to the front door of the restaurant. The air outside was too crisp for a summer night, and goosebumps rose on her skin as she did a very poor job in masquerading the shiver that rolled up her spine, and just as the sensation faded away, a jacket was draped over her shoulders. She glanced back at her date, only to find him looking up at the cloudy night sky with his shoulders exposed to the weather.

Knowing that trying to get him to take his jacket back would only grate on her nerves, Sakura curled her fingers around the fabric and pulled it closer to her body, unintentionally smelling the whiff of his scent. Nearly scoffing, she did not find it surprising in the least that Shikamaru smelled like grass with faint traces of smoke from his teacher's cigarette. Yet, combined with the smell of the soap, it smelled... Nice. Almost too nice, and Sakura never thought she would say anything related to cigarettes could be nice. Ever.

She did not notice it, but he walked her to her apartment. He could have left her at some point and say she could return his jacket later, but he did not. Well, she rolled her green eyes; this was Shikamaru, after all. Of course, he would walk her home, what was she expecting?

Sakura whirled around on her heels, her hands behind her back as she regarded him curiously. There was nothing different on his expression that could give away any of his thoughts, and she found that a bit enervating. She was not about to lose her cool now, though; just a few more steps and she would be inside her apartment, away from him and from his stupid jacket that was making her stomach do somersaults inside her belly. Taking in a deep breath, she decided to end this night before things could get more awkward.

"So, this is–"

"I know you're my date."

Mouth snapping shut, Sakura threw her head back and stared at him with wide eyes and a flushed face. "What?" Her voice came out strangled and her embarrassment increased tenfold, but his face remained the same and that fact was oddly comforting.

"I knew all along."

"Aside from the fact that I was in the table booked under Ino's name," she started, busying her fingers by playing with the long sleeves of the article of clothing, "how did you know?"

Shikamaru was quiet for a handful of long seconds, his eyes searching her face, a frown on his forehead and his lips pressed tightly together. Finally, he sighed once again and scratched the back of his neck as he turned to look at something much interesting to his left. "I kinda asked her to set us up."

Oh. Oh. Lips parting and skin growing even hotter, her heart flipped and her stomach turned and that was one of the most pleasant sensations she felt in a while. He was still refusing to meet her eyes, and she was still trying to calm her insides down so she could think clearly, but her brain was overworking itself and she could hear it sizzling inside her head. Sakura gently nibbled on her nail, peeking at him through her lashes and waiting for something, only to realize that he was waiting for her reaction. A proper reaction.

"Well," she started, and his face turned minimally to the side to better look at her, "it was nice."

"Would you do it again?"

She smiled shyly. "I wouldn't mind. I mean, I don't see why it's not worth giving a shot."

His form visibly relaxed and he faced her properly again with that lopsided smile on his lips, and this time her breath hitched. She needed to return this jacket to him and as she made to take it off, he stopped her. "You can keep it."

Hands slowly falling back to her sides, she murmured. "Thank you." Sakura tucked a strand of hair behind her ears and stepped closer to him, debating on her head whether or not she should do something, before throwing all caution to the wind and rising on her tiptoes to place kiss on his cheek.

She should have known he would not stand still. The moment her lips touched his with all the delicacy of a feather, he smiled against her mouth and lightly brushed his fingertips on her jawline. "Goodnight, Sakura." The words were whispered against her skin and before she knew it, he was gone.