Spring Fever

A year out from turning thirty Sakura began to panic. She wasn't married, she wasn't in a serious long-term relationship-or any relationship at all. Almost every date she'd gone on for the past 3 years ended disastrously and she absolutely blamed it on her job.

Being the private doctor to Sunagakure's royal family was without a doubt prestigious. It had given her wealth way beyond what she'd ever dreamed of and had undoubtably exposed her to more then she'd expected. One found themselves well traveled after having been to every country more than once in the span of five years. Sakura had met world leaders, dignitaries and more famous people than she could recall. A large percentage of which she didnt wish to.

It was also trashing her meager personal life and destroying any hope she had of getting married before she hit middle age. Sakura was in charge of 6 people. Chiyo and Ebizō were quite old and had chronic issues so she expected to be needed by them frequently but the rest of them…She was convinced Sasori was a hypochondriac or just in possession of a sadistic streak bigger than the nation. 'Why not both?' she thought bitterly. He'd gone to medical school himself, realized he had no patience and even less of a bedside manner before moving on to the more clinical side of things.

'Now he owns several phamacuetical companies in conjunction to being a Lord or whatever the hell his stupid royal title is.' and whatever other shady dealings he undoubtedly got up to. Once, Sakura had to sew up a bullet wound and he had the audacity to complain that her stitches were too big and that it would scar. 'And he never did tell me what the hell happened.' Vain bastard. As a selfproclaimed artist he certainly did fit the eccentric stereotype. 'He really can make beautiful things when he wishes...' she's seen him hand carve lovely little figurines to pass the time.

It was beyond tempting to tell him to heal himself especially when she got 4am calls demanding she come and look him over after some return trip from a foreign country and adding into that the fact that Kankurō was accident prone, Gaara was an insomniac and until very recently Temari had been the blessedly normal one. 'Except now she's just had a baby and is also acting insane.'

9 pm on a Sunday and Temari had called-which wasn't unnatural because If 3 month old Shikadai so much as breathed in a way Temari deemed odd while he slept it was grounds for calling Sakura and demanding she come over just to check on him-this time he was apparently crying like mad, nothing she did seemed to be enough and Shikamaru was away for business.

It was less of a medical problem and more of a "You're my friend please come help me." plea and Sakura couldn't say no.

By that point she was already very familiar with taking care of Shikadai and assuaging new-mom fears. 'Maybe I should have gone into pediatrics.' She thought, pacing the floor and rocking the mostly silent babe-most likely suffering from a bout of colic and and just waiting for a second wind to start up again. She was finding that infants were far easier to appease than adults as a whole.

"He likes you." Temari yawned, collapsed into a nearby rocking chair. Even though she was clearly exhausted there was a visceral happiness to her, she practically glowed with it. "Any time Gaara or Kankurō pick him up he just fusses...sometimes I don't think he even likes his dad."

"That's because Shikadai is a boy of discerning taste." Sakura grinned, cheek rubbing against dark downy hair. It was clear he was fresh from a bath from the scent of soap and that in her opinion was one of the best smells in the world. It was more likely that Shikadai just preferenced boobs as his criteria for liking someone at that point in his life.

Temari snickered, using a stuffed green T-rex under her head like a pillow. 'Sounds like someone else we know.' but that was not her business-she just didn't have the energy or the inclination to get involved with Sasori's version of courting which seemed to revolve around running Sakura ragged with weird requests. 'Just last week he asked her to run a blood sample like she was a lab technician.' And she'd done it because by the rosette's reasoning she was being paid way too much money to just refuse.

No, Sasori's business was his own but if he kept dithering around thinking Sakura was going to have a sudden epiphany towards his interest he was beyond wrong and no amount of sabotage run by him or for him by helpful family members was going to help. 'Sakura is a genius but when it comes to romantic pursuits subtlety is completely lost on her.' Her cousin who preferred endeavors that were high risk and high reward was so focused on trying to be a stealthy needle edging it's way under Sakura's skin when what he really needed to be was a hammer.

The sigh that filtered out of Sakura's lips kept her from slipping completely into the desired state of sleep Temari was longing for. She dragged her eyes open and got a good look at Sakura cuddling her cheek against her son's. Not for the first time she found herself feeling pretty blessed that they were friends and not simply employer and employee. "You know you'd make a good mom yourself."

"Now you're just flattering me so I keep running to your aid no matter the time." Sakura teased, though she did pause rocking as hands wet with spit began tugging at her hair.

"Well two things can be true at once." Temari huffed. "Honestly I'm surprised you're not married by now. Youth doesn't later forever, before you know it poof-your window is gone." She hadn't meant it to be disparaging towards her unwedded friend, it was more of a commentary on the sad state of mankind as a whole that they let quality just slip through their fingers out of hubris. 'At least Shikamaru had sense.' she thought, eyes finally giving up their fight against sleep. The T-rex was surprisingly comfy.

Temari in her innocent commentary had hit the nail on the head. It was everything Sakura was thinking but wasn't saying put in the simplest of terms.

If Sakura wanted to examine where her sudden concerns were coming from she didn't have to think too hard about it. Frequently being around Temari and Shikadai were more than enough to push the thoughts to the forethought of her mind. As annoying as having to drag herself out of bed before the sun even rose and drive down to Temari's modest mansion might have been chubby hands and cheeks made her forget all about it. 'And there was what Temari said too…'

She'd always wanted to get married and have kids-in the same vein that she'd always wanted to be a doctor. There had never been any reason for her to think she couldn't have it all eventually. 'Except eventually suddenly seems like a very long way away.' and she just wasn't sure she could keep waiting for a perfect partner to make it happen. The sad facts of biology dictated that while men got better with age women didn't. The prime childbaring years were from a woman's late 20's to mid 30's and she was fast approaching that benchmark.

'Well, there is just one thing to do.' Quit. She had to quit. It might be painful because she'd grown so close with everyone over the years but surely they would understand.

Even though she resolved to do just that Sakura couldn't exactly just run out of the house now that Temari was asleep and Shikadai wasn't, which was how she found herself wandering down the master staircase with an increasingly fussy baby.

"Oh, I see you've added nursemaid to your resume. How quaint."

Sakura strangled the scream that lingered in the back of her throat purely for Shikadai's sake when she caught sight of the man reclining in one of the wing-back chairs that dominated the formal room. Temari and Shikamaru might have had more modern tastes but old money and old houses came with a certain aesthetic that needed to be fulfilled. "Do you even knock?" She supposed it wasn't really her place to be offended at his method of entry when it wasn't even her house. If anything she was just sore that by nature he was like a cat and someone should have put a bell on him ages ago.

"When necessary." Cryptic, ominous. Just what she'd come to expect from him.

"Temari is sleeping so…" Scram, buzz off, the words came to mind but didn't tumble from Sakura's lips because she never knew if Sasori would take amusement with her nerve or affront and the last thing anyone wanted was to be targeted by a vexed Sasori. She'd seen it often enough to know that getting too far on his bad side was grounds for having one's career and entire life destroyed with a phone call or a story slipped to the press and while she didn't have any proof Sakura was pretty sure he'd killed at least one man after a failed assassination attempt. 'It's hard to be proven dead when you go missing from jail and are never seen again though.'

Once the thought might have bothered her but in the years that she'd been in residence Sakura had come to the realization that Suna was very much mired in the old ways even as the countries around it modernized. They were a true monarchy, not the parliamentary sort or the ones with figure heads adored by the masses for essentially nothing. Every member of the Kaze line had an active role in running the country aside from their other pursuits. The problem with that sort of power was that it was often under attack, sometimes it came in the form of political movements and sometimes it came as a rifle from a rooftop or a knife in a dark corridor.

Sakura had the misfortune of seeing both the event in question and the results they left behind.

As such she knew that Sasori and his cousins often used less than savory methods of their own to deter others who sought to try their own couldn't say that she wholly approved but after being stuck under sniper fire herself she'd become more...flexible by necessity. Whatever stopped someone from blowing her head off as she crossed from one building to another was fine by her.

"You don't say…" Sasori held up the baby monitor from which Temari's soft snores filtered through with perfect quality-it was so high tech it even had video although the woman's form was out of frame since it focused on the crib.

Shikadai took that as his own cue to begin full blown wailing and no amount of bouncing, rocking or humming was of comfort. A quick check told Sakura he wasn't soiled which only left hunger or just plain malcontent with the world. "Alright, I get it." she glanced half hopefully in Sasori's direction. "I don't suppose you'll hold him while I prep a bottle?"

Blood relatives or not, Sasori's lips curled faintly with distaste. "You know I detest children that aren't mine."

"You don't have any." At least none that anyone knew of but then again the general antipathy he seemed to treat just about every being with made her pretty sure Sasori wasn't one to sow his wild oats but It wasn't the first time he'd said that and Sakura still found the phrasing to be nonsensical.

There had been a time early in their acquaintance where she'd truly thought he was gay because the only person outside his family that he seemed particularly close to was that blonde guy with the long hair who didn't seem to have any issues invading the shorter man's personal space. In time Sakura's opinion had evolved to assume he was completely asexual until that too proved to be unfounded. Walking into his office one day only to get an eyeful of some woman going down on him was sufficient proof for her to reconsider everything she assumed about him.

'I mean he knew that I was on my way after he called me.' and to this day Sakura swore Sasori was looking over the head of the woman sucking him off and right into her eyes. It wasn't like she hadn't seen him naked before but the entire situation had been such a shock that she quite literally just went home without saying another word. The next day had been predictably awkward-for her. Sasori acted like nothing happened besides chiding her for running off.

He gestured a few feet away from him where there was a pram. "Exactly. I'll watch him but that is all."

Knowing that the quicker she went the faster she'd be back, Sakura settled the squealing infant down and left to warm up the milk she knew Temari pumped and saved. She came back in short order to see Sasori's foot stretched across the floor idly rocking the bassinet, likely for the vain hope that the crying would stop. Digging her phone out of her side pocket, Sakura tossed it onto the table before gathering Shikadai back into her arms and taking a seat on one of the sofa's. He took to the bottle with a voracious appetite. "And all's right with the world again." She sighed in relief because baby cries had a way of not only piercing the ears but crushing the heart.

"I wouldn't go that far but it's certainly an improvement." Sasori drawled, head propped on the lack of his hand after having crossed his legs now that one was no longer occupied. "Temari must be keeping you busy if he cries like that all the time."

Sakura figured that by the way he was dressed he'd come over from some high society function that he hated. "No busier than someone else I know." The words were barbed for a variety of reasons-mostly that she was sick to death of him calling her in the middle of the night and having to sleep in his guest room because she was too tired to drive home. 'I mean he's 37, his heart is fine, why do I keep having to check it? Not to mention the fact that he doesn't even have the decency to fully clothe himself at breakfast!'

Then again he was the one making breakfast and it was his house so maybe she shouldn't be too harsh about it but focusing on her blueberry pancakes was hard when bare-chested Sasori and all his svelte muscles were on display. 'The sad fact of life is that he's good looking and he knows it, we all know it.' and the pancakes were nothing to scoff at either. 'The best pancakes…' and the time before that had been homemade muffins and perfectly cut fruit. Sakura hummed at the pleasant memory because if left to her own devices breakfast was usually cereal or a granola bar and worst case scenario nothing at all.

"Girl-"

And that was another thing, she had a name-one he seldom used but why off all things did he have to call her Girl?

Bzzt ...
Bzzt...

Her phone buzzed across the table obnoxiously. "Hah?" By the time she'd already stretched across the table to answer it Sasori had already snatched it up and typed in the passcode, pressing it to his ear. He didn't fully retreat, fingers reaching out to snag the glittering trinket that fell out of her dress top. Sakura could have jerked away if she wanted to break the chain but it had been a recent present and likely an expensive one if she knew the man even a little bit.

Sasori wasn't very good at verbally expressing his feelings-or rather he preferred not too. He was a rather firm believer that deeds weighed more than words and as such it wasn't uncommon to receive gifts for something or another-the one he was currently seizing had been a recent birthday present.

"State your business."

Sakura hissed at him because could he be any more rude? 'Probably.' and there was no point in asking how he knew the numbers to get in because of course Sasori would know secret things. she couldn't fight him for the phone between Shikadai in her lap and the arm she was using to hold the bottle.

'And the damn yoke around my neck.' She was basically half stretched out across the space between them and was second guessing her earlier decision not to break the thing he was holding her by. "Sasori…" There were times, usually when he was feeling insulted by some imaginary slight on her part that he insisted on being called by his title but such instances had become less over time.

The phone was cradled between his shoulder and ear as he shushed her.

He liked to be in control and he sought to remind others of their place. 'Which when I think about it is sort of funny considering he cooks me breakfast.' but that might have been out of necessity on Sasori's part. If Sakura were to cook for him he'd probably assume it was an attempted poisoning and murder her. 'But he could just cook for himself rather than for both of us.' Her thoughts often went in circles concerning the nature of the man sitting before her.

"Oh? What a pity." Only he didn't seem so upset by whatever the person on the other line was saying, in fact he was clearly pleased by it. "Yes, I'll be sure to tell her." the words came out in all but a purr as the call disconnected and he let the phone drop. Long, dextrous fingers fiddled with the golden scorpion at the end of the chain, lengthy enough to fall just below her breasts. "You left your date waiting for an hour, he sounded livid." The way his lashes fell over sienna colored eyes didn't look sympathetic at all.

Sakura gasped because when she'd gotten Temari's call she had completely forgotten about the fact she was supposed to meet Idate. "Oh no…" A part of her knew that there was basically nothing between her and Ibiki Idate-at least on her end. It was simply nice to be admired on occasion and not be left confused about whether the comments were genuine or not. 'But this is only like...the fifth time I've stood him up.' She could understand why he'd be mad.

The sound of quiet laughter the world seldom heard made her breath catch, green eyes growing wider. "I'm glad my misery amuses you." Sakura shook the wonder from her bones with the toss of her head, pulling back enough that the jewelry began to bite into the back of her neck. A brief glance at Shikadai showed that he was almost to the dregs of his meal.

Sasori tsked, but the look in his eyes reminded her of…'No! don't think about that.' she chided herself, swallowing heavily. She really wished she'd never seen him getting a blow job. Things had been so much simpler when she thought of him as a really good looking sponge.

"As amusing as that is, it wasn't what I was laughing about." His index finger hooked within the chain and gave it a good tugg. "It's just...wouldn't most consider it poor form to wear one man's gift to see another?" One look at it and most people who knew anything would scurry away.

Her brow furrowed as she considered the question. "Why would that be a problem…?" The weight of it dropped back against her sternum and the strain of being stretched out was relieved with the roll of her neck and shoulders.

"It isn't for me." Sasori replied looking like a cat who slaughtered a whole slew of canaries for no reasons that Sakura could discern.

'I am absolutely writing my resignation tomorrow.' and then just to make she wasn't tempted to stick around she'd go halfway across the continent.

I have literally no idea where the fuck this thing came from but here it is¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ...Sakura is entering that stage in her life where she's got babies on the brain and Sasori is constantly confusing her and making life difficult.
Any further chapters of this are likely to be small in length.