"So…Temari tells me you gave her something yesterday," Sakura smirked, sitting down on the bench next to him.
"Shut up Sakura," Shikamaru said automatically, not taking his eyes off of his new magazine.
"You like her, don't you?" she asked slyly. "You're trying to woo her with gifts, aren't you?"
Shikamaru didn't respond and tried his best to ignore her.
"Well then, you've got to be more romantic! I mean, air spray? You got her air spray?" scoffed Sakura.
"Don't be so troublesome Sakura! I thought it was perfume!" Shikamaru said defensively.
That apparently was the wrong thing to say.
"You thought it was perfume?" shrieked Sakura in laughter, green eyes bugging out of her head. "Perfume? Could you get any stupider? If you keep on going like you are now, she's going to think you're insane!"
"She thinks I'm insane?" asked Shikamaru worriedly.
"No. Not yet. But she's going to unless you really do something that will…that will really send sparks to her heart," Sakura sighed almost dreamily. "Which is why you need my help."
He thought about it. Sakura was a girl. And the advice from the magazines weren't working. And Naruto never said he could get help…
"Ok," he said cautiously. "Let's say for a moment I want your help. What would you have me do?"
"Temari likes music you know. So I would set you up with a guitar and have you sing romantic songs to her in the firelight…"
"But I don't know how to play the guitar."
"All you have to do is play simple chords over and over again while you're singing. I'll teach you."
Shikamaru stared at Sakura for the longest time, and finally nodded. "Fine, you can help me."
"Yes!" Sakura yelled in triumph.
She looked to see Shikamaru going back to his magazine and snatched it from him. "'Tips on how to ask a girl out'?" she read, "This is such a lame magazine Shikamaru, you have to lose this."
She tossed it into the trashcan next to them.
"Hey! I spent my allowance money on that!"
"You don't need it anymore Shikamaru. You have me now. Come on, I have a guitar at my place."
---
"Sakura, why'd you bring me out here?" Temari asked, shivering in the cold. She rubbed her arms for warmth as she followed Sakura into her backyard.
She gasped a little when she saw what Sakura had set up hours before. There were two wooden chairs facing each other with a small fire in the middle.
Sakura grabbed her shoulders and steered her into one of the chairs.
"Just wait there." And she went to get Shikamaru.
"Temari, Shikamaru's going to sing for you," Sakura explained, sitting Shikamaru down on the other chair. She handed him the guitar and whispered, "Good luck."
Temari blushed slightly as they stared at each other awkwardly. Shikamaru took a deep breath and tried to remember what Sakura taught him.
"Mon Cherry Jettie me," he started singing.
"Shikamaru, it's Mon chere Jet'aime," hissed Sakura from the sidelines. "Not Mon Cherry Jettie me."
He stopped suddenly, unable to remember the rest of the french words.
Keep singing Shikamaru, he told himself, Make up the lyrics
"La la la la la la la la la la la la la la," he sang in different keys, strumming the guitar in a chord that didn't match.
"He's losing it," Sakura groaned as Shikamaru continued to sing. "It's like he's singing opera." But the weird thing was, Temari seemed to like it.
She was smiling, cheeks flushed, and looking at Shikamaru as if he was the most romantic thing.
"Laaaaa!" Shikamaru finished on the high C.
Okay, now this is the part where she says she hated my song and then walks away, Shikamaru braced himself.
"Oh Shikamaru, did you make up that song for me?"
That didn't sound like someone who hated my song. Maybe she liked it.
"Uh, yes. I made it up for you."
"I'll leave you two alone to chat." Sakura waved and flashed Shikamaru a thumbs up and went inside to make them some hot chocolate.
She handed them each a mug and listened to them from the back steps.
"That was really sweet of you Shikamaru," Temari said shyly, sipping from her drink. "I really liked your song."
"Thanks." Ha! I made Temari blush.
"Oh! Guess what?" Temari asked brightly.
"Hmm?" Shikamaru took a mouthful of the cocoa.
"I found out who my stalker was."
Shikamaru accidentally spat out the cocoa and sprayed Temari in the face.
"Oops. Sorry Temari. Now, who's your stalker?"
Temari wiped off her face with the back of her hand and stood up. "Never mind about that. Um, this was really nice of you Shikamaru. I'll see you later." And she was gone.
"Smooth. Very smooth Romeo," Sakura said sarcastically. "You really blew it."
"What? I just-"
"Goodbye Shikamaru. I'll have something thought up by tomorrow, but right now, I have this sudden urge to punch you…"
"Alright! Alright! I'm going!" Shikamaru set down his mug and walked out of there as fast as he could. "Geez, girls are so sensitive and troublesome."
His mug was hurled through the backyard and hit the back of his head with a dull thunk.
"I heard that!" He heard Sakura shout as he closed the gate behind him.
---
Silver Butterfly506: If you ever want to know what Shikamaru's song sounded like, close your eyes, plunk random keys on the piano, and sing "la". Special thanks to Silver Gingko for giving us the idea for part of this chapter and adding in some parts over the phone. Much appreciated.