HEY GUYS AND GIRLS. SORRY ABOUT THE DELAY. I AM KIND OF BUSY. I MANAGED TO GET THIS CHAPTER AT LEAST. THANKS FOR ALL THE SUPPORT GUYS AND GIRLS. IT MEANS A LOT TO ME. THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS WERE JUST A TEST RUN BUT NOW I WANT TO CONTINUE. I'M SORRY ABOUT THE MISTAKES AND THINGS LIKE THAT AS WELL. HOPEFULLY YOU LIKE THIS CHAPTER.
HAPPY READING:)
Sweet. That's the only thing Shikamaru could smell when he woke up. A sweet, warm, comforting smell. Definitely wasn't his room but he was on a bed somewhere. The glare of the sun wasn't as bright as he expected it to be. That was a great comfort to his throbbing head. Hungover and possibly sick. He definitely shouldn't have drunk so much the night before.
"I thought you were going to sleep whole day." Her voice came out of nowhere. He didn't even feel her presence near him. Either she was just that good of a ninja or he was still a little too tired. He turned his head then looked at the young kunoichi lying next to him on the bed. She looked rested. Her flawless skin glowed next to him but he could see the tiny lines on her forehead and the darker skin under her eyes but she was still beautiful.
"I've done it before." He wasn't lying. While he was a genin he used to sleep as much as he could. He didn't need a reason to but he didn't care either.
"I really wouldn't put it past you." Her smile was playful as it danced on her lips. She moved a lock of her pink hair behind her ear. That movement slowly captured his attention before he came to his senses again.
"How are you feeling?" He could tell that she was being serious now and he liked it. No matter how strong she was, this soft and caring part of her seemed to conquer him more than any other side of her ever could.
"I'm okay."
"I'm a doctor and a damn good one at that. Don't lie to me. How are you feeling?" There was the scary Sakura coming out. For some reason he didn't find it all that scary though. He found it more amusing. Maybe it was because he grew up with her so it didn't have as much effect on him as it had on other ninja.
"I have a bit of a headache. Probably a hangover but other than that I am okay." He wasn't lying. He just wasn't telling her the full truth. Like the fact that his body ached right now or that he had a fever. She could probably still tell that he was lying though.
"You'll stay here then."
"Not going to happen."
"Do you seriously want to fight me right now?" She was definitely getting ready for a fight that Shikamaru wish he never picked but he didn't want to burden her with anything. She already hosted them last night so he didn't want to continue being a nuisance.
"You know I don't fight females." Everyone knew that about him yet he fought two females during the chunin exams and ended up fighting another female during his first mission as a chunin. He had his morals but the world clearly didn't care and neither did Sakura right now.
"Stop being so sexist. Females can easily beat the crap out of guys. Kaguya nearly conquered the world."
"She was defeated by you and four other males though."
"Are you really that sexist?"
"You know, I never ever said that females can't defeat males. I never even said that females are weaker than males. Why does everyone think I am sexist?"
"Because of your attitude towards females in a fight."
"That's just my morals and I always end up fighting them anyway."
"That's because it's your duty as a ninja. Why don't you want to fight females though?"
"I don't know. I guess you're all just too troublesome." She immediately rolled her eyes at that. She heard him say that line over and over again. You couldn't really think of Shikamaru without having that word rolling over and over in your head.
"You just haven't found the right female. One that will change your view on all females."
"I doubt that will ever happen."
"Not with the female that you are looking for. What is it that you always said when you were younger? You want a girl that's not too pretty or ugly but an average looking one or something like that. Or did you just want an average girl that wasn't a ninja? You didn't really elaborate." He knew she was trying to get under his skin and it was working just like she knew it would.
"What about you? The only guy you ever dreamed about was Sasuke. Not really exploring your other options now are we?" He got her there. Sasuke was always who she thought about when it came to guys.
"I wasn't the hypocrite though. Saying you want an average girl then dating the Temari who's father was the Kazekage and who's brother is the Kazekage. She is anything but average." Temari and Shikamaru's relationship was complicated to say the least. No one really knew what happened with their relationship (or in their relationship for that matter) and he wanted to keep it that way. All he ever said was that she broke up with him which was the truth.
"If you are trying to get information about my relationship with Temari out of me then you have a better chance of getting me to become a doctor."
"Why don't you ever talk about your relationship with Temari?" Her tone was sincere again. She wanted to know, not because she wanted to gossip but because she cared. He wanted to tell her but there was this uncertainty that surrounded him and stopped him in his tracks.
"It's in the past. It should stay there." He refused to make eye contact with her. He wasn't embarrassed or ashamed but he felt that if he looked into her caring eyes then he would open himself up to her. It's not that he didn't trust Sakura either, it's just that he wasn't ready to tell anyone what happened yet. After the break up he spoke to Choji about it but even he didn't know everything about what happened.
"I'm sorry if I hit a nerve Shikamaru." she reached over and placed a hand on his smooth shoulder. "You're hot. Like really hot." He immediately cursed himself because he knew what was coming next. Sakura moved her hand up to his forehead and felt the fever raging on inside his body.
"I guess it wasn't just a hangover then." He tried to smile as he looked at Sakura again but the focus and concentration on her face didn't waver.
"You're lucky I am not beating the crap out of you right now." Her angered expression then turned into a caring one as she stood up. He noticed that she was still in her cute pyjamas. He looked around to try and find a clock or something to tell the time because he couldn't really see how high the sun was in the sky. His eyes stopped on one mounted on the wall next to the door. Just after 2 in the afternoon. He really did sleep long. Hell, he was surprised that he fell asleep. Usually it was just 20 minute naps at a time.
"Take these." She handed him two round, white tablets then a glass of water. He swallowed the tablets and drained the glass of its contents to her satisfaction then handed the empty glass back to her before settling his body on the bed again.
"What were the tablets for?" He asked her before she did anything else.
"To poison you." Her sarcasm couldn't be missed in her answer. It wasn't without just cause; he probably should've told her the truth.
She left the room without another word leaving Shikamaru alone with his demons. Fortunately for him, his demons were just as lazy as he was. He sunk his head into the pillow and closed his eyes allowing his body to slow down and relax. He knew he was sick and he hated it. It gave him a reason to stay in bed and do nothing but it made his body ache and sweat which just made it uncomfortable.
He just wanted to lay on the soft bed and think about nothing. He wanted a clear mind but someone kept popping up in his mind and someone he didn't ever want to think about again; Temari. They broke up nearly a year ago and he was good at stuffing all of his thoughts about her in the furthest corner of his mind since he was too lazy to recall those thoughts about her anyway but Sakura dragged his mind over to think about her again.
"Troublesome woman." He mumbled under his breath. He knew why he was attracted to Temari though. She was beautiful, she was intelligent, she was driven, she was caring. She showed him so much more than she showed anyone else and he couldn't help but be mesmerized by it. She was the exact opposite of what he wanted in a female but he didn't care. He took the chance but then it didn't work out. He knew it probably wouldn't but who wouldn't take the chance to open a treasure chest when someone hands it to them.
"What are you thinking about?" Damn, he really was loosing touch with his ninja abilities. He didn't know if it was because he wasn't testing his abilities enough these days or if it was because he just felt safe being around her so he didn't need to be on high alert but he didn't like it. He needed to get back to being a ninja and soon.
"Are you listening to me Nara?" She was sitting on the bed next to him with a tray in on her lap. Either she moved at the speed of light, slowed down time or he was just lost in his own world because she couldn't have moved without him noticing. He really needed to stop letting his guard down around her.
"Okay, what's your deal? Why are you ignoring me?"
"It's nothing. I am sorry about that." He quickly pushed himself up against the headboard behind him fighting through the pain flowing through his body.
"It's not nothing. It's not like you to be lost like this." She really did know him. Growing up together did have its perks. He could plan out how Choji or Ino would react in any situation almost perfectly because they had grown up like siblings thanks to the bond their families shared. He knew a lot about Sakura and could probably figure out how she would react in a lot of different situations as well but there was still a lot about her that he didn't know. She still had a lot to learn about him as well but thanks to their long friendship, they understood each other more than most people did.
"If this is about the kiss last night then you don't have to worry about it. I was just trying to get your mind clear and you were kind of being sweet so I kissed you. It's not like we haven't kissed before."
"Kissing before we even knew how to do a jutsu doesn't really count you know." He could see what she was trying to do. He might have dropped his guard around her but he could still see through her plans. She was trying to lighten the mood hoping that he would open up more. He knew that she wouldn't let it go but he didn't want to open up.
"I'm just saying. We were just trying to see if we still knew how to kiss." Damn, he knew that the kiss was probably just a kiss to her but he was still struggling to find out how he felt about her and she wasn't making things any easier. One moment they would be having an intense verbal battle then it would turn into a sincere conversation or they would be flirting with each other which would turn into talking about real life problems. She was confusing. He wanted so much to tell her that but he didn't know where to start. This was all to damn troublesome. Emotions were troublesome. Relationship were troublesome. She was troublesome so why did he feel attracted to it?
"We clearly have no problem there." He wanted to reply with short sentences so that he didn't let anything slip. She could keep him here but she wasn't going to make him spill what she wanted him to talk about.
"Definitely not. Don't worry about the kiss. It doesn't suddenly mean that I want to be in a relationship with you or something else." He got her answer to the unasked question. She didn't want a relationship with him and didn't like him like that. Did he like her like that? Did he want to be in a relationship with her? What exactly did he want their relationship to be? Why did it hurt when she told him that?
"I wouldn't expect it to mean that." Short and sweet. That is what he was playing at and it was working.
"I made us lunch I guess." Sakura told him finally drawing his attention to the contents on the tray. Sandwiches and tea. Simple, he liked it. She handed him a cup and a plate then began eating.
"Not exactly breakfast in bed but close enough. First the kiss and now this. Are you sure that this isn't you hinting that you want to be in a relationship with me?" In a game of shogi, this would've been him starting his attack.
"Don't flatter yourself."
"I don't need to. You kissed me last night and now you're doing this for me. You're doing all the flattering for me it would seem." He corners. Perfect trap.
"Touché." She gave up. Just when he was enjoying their little game. "Are you feeling any better?"
"Not really. The tablets you gave me haven't kicked in yet."
"Maybe if you eat then it could help speed the process along."
"I still don't know if those tablets you gave me were to make me more sick or to heal me. I don't know if you put something in these sandwiches to do the same as well." He smiled as he watched her roll her eyes. She would most probably become fun or become irritated and angry but either way, he was going to enjoy it.
"Just eat before I drag you to the hospital by your ankles." Irritated and angry, he knew her all too well.
"Yes ma'am." He was going to enjoy irritating her now. She was probably going to blow it off since she wanted to make him feel better while he was sick anyway.
"Whatever." He called it right again.
"I have a question; how did we end up sleeping in the lounge to sleeping on your bed?" That was quietly bothering him the entire time. Now seemed like the perfect time to ask.
"I picked you up and put you here when we were cleaning this morning. You managed to sleep through all our noise. At one point I just your pulse to see if you were still alive."
"You should've woken me up. I could've helped."
"You needed the sleep. It's like you haven't slept in days." That wasn't far from the truth. Having short naps wasn't the same as having a deep, peaceful sleep.
"And you are sick so you wouldn't have been any help anyway."
"True. Are they all gone?"
"Yeah. Most of them were hungover but we all have the day off today anyway so it's not a problem."
"Unless someone decides to break the peace and attack the village."
"Who would be crazy enough to do that?"
"Orochimaru for one."
"He agreed not to cause any trouble though."
"And you believe him? The guy that betrayed us, destroyed villages, kidnapped Sasuke, conducted human experiments..."
"Okay, I get it. Orochimaru can't be trusted but Sasuke could easily take him down again." Her faith in Sasuke never wavered. She always believed in him no matter how rogue he seemed to go. That belief paid off during the war though. He helped everyone take down Madara, Kaguya and Zetsu. He ended up fighting Naruto straight after the war for some stupid reason though. They locked him up after that then Kakashi let him go. Apparently he told them that he would rule in the shadows or something like that. Shikamaru didn't really care what Sasuke did anymore. He gave up trying to figure him out and just let him do whatever he was going to do. Despite everything that happened, Shikamaru still considered Sasuke a friend. An arrogant, egotistical, bastard of a friend but a friend nonetheless.
"Are there any threats that we should be aware of though? No one have a revenge plan that they want to carry out?"
"Not that I know of. I guess everyone just wants to enjoy the peace for now." Who wouldn't want to enjoy the peace. There was free travel between most villages and all the major villages welcomed the trade between each other. It would definitely boost financial status and strengthen relations between them. Everyone wins.
"True. Let's just hope that it lasts."
"It won't last unless the Kage can meet and discuss the way forward."
"Haven't they done it already?"
"Every time they schedule a meeting then one of them are either too busy or they aren't welcomed in a certain region."
"They better sort it out soon. We don't need an uprising happening any time soon."
"You're going to be working with Kakashi so I am sure he won't mind you trying to get the meeting scheduled."
"I first need to talk to him about what my role will be exactly."
"I am pretty sure that it's like Shizune's but a little more advanced."
"I'm not running after him if that's what he is planning."
"You running at all will be a miracle."
"Shut up." Shikamaru told her as she had an amusing smile plaguing her face. This is what he liked. A comfortable conversation with Sakura. No challenges, no flirting, no confusion. Just a friendly conversation and a little banter thrown in for good measure.
"That was delicious." He finished eating and drinking the tea that Sakura had made then put the plate and cup back on the tray. He saw that she had finished as well while they spoke.
"I'm going to finish cleaning up inside so if need me then you know where to find me." Sakura grabbed the tray then exited the room leaving Shikamaru alone again.
He couldn't help but smile. Sakura was proving to be less and less troublesome. She was a normal simple girl when she was at home from what he could see. She wasn't as aggressive as she was when they hung out with everyone else. She wasn't as cryptic or challenging when they played games. She was just... normal. Was she the normal girl that he was looking for?
"Troublesome." He muttered as relaxed his down on the bed again. He turned on his side and hoped to fall asleep. He didn't want to think about Temari, Sakura or any other girl anymore. He just wanted sleep so that his body can rest up and heal. The sooner he gets better, the sooner Sakura would let him go home where he didn't have to think about any girls.
Arms wrapped around him, short breaths barrelling down his bare back, legs entangled with his. He slowly opened his eyes and hoped that he wasn't dreaming. Sure enough, he wasn't dreaming. He was still in her tidy room. He was still on her soft bed. He was still next to her. He turned around in her arms. Her moans of disapproval evident as his body separated from hers momentarily.
"Shhhhhhhhh." He softly told her as he wrapped one arm under her head and another one around her stomach. She slowly relaxed her body, entangling their legs once again as her soft breaths travelled over his chiselled abdomen now. She continued sleeping to his relief. If she woke up right now and saw the position they were in then it would definitely make things a little awkward between them.
Why would it be awkward though? It felt so natural. Having her in his arms made everything else fade away into nothingness. All he cared about at that moment was that she was safe and that she was his.
He found himself dozing off again but then he immediately felt someone else's presence nearby. It didn't feel like someone walking past outside the house. It felt nearer. It was nearer. He heard footsteps growing closer and closer to the room. His eyes stopped on the door of the bedroom waiting for the intruder to come inside. He slowly made his clans famous hand signs under the blanket, getting ready to trap whoever the intruder was as soon as they entered the room.
"Forehead, I swear to god, if you're still in bed then I am going to beat the crap out of you." Ino's voice was instantly recognizable. The irritating voice that always complained and threatened him followed him to the perfect moment he was in with the goddess in his arms.
The door swung open revealing his blonde teammate. His shadows reseeded leaving Ino standing with an unmistakeably surprised look on her face. Her surprised look turned into a more joyous one overrun by a devilish smile. It could only mean one thing; the gossip queen found a new story.
"Am I interrupting something?" Her giggles confirmed his speculations and he already hated her presence.
"If I hear one word about this from anyone else then I am going to make sure Kakashi gives you the worst missions you can think of." His threats never phased her and this time was no different. He was pretty sure that she wasn't even paying attention.
"You two look so cute together. Did you do it?" Yep, clearly not listening.
"What are you doing here?"
"Are you guys naked?" She immediately took off the blankets before he could answer.
"What is wrong with you? What if we were naked?"
"What? It's not like I haven't seen both of you naked before." True. He had gotten naked in front of Ino before and she had gotten naked in front of him before but he didn't know why it would be weird if she saw him naked with Sakura.
"How did you even get in?"
"Sakura gave me her extra key in case of emergencies."
"And you think this was an emergency?"
"I didn't know. She could've been lying on her bathroom floor bleeding to death." Highly unlikely but not impossible.
"What's with all the talking?" Sakura complained as she tightened her hold on Shikamaru while she snuggled closer to him probably trying to use him to replace the warmth she lost when Ino took the blankets off them.
"That was too cute." Ino commented. Sakura's eyes immediately shot open then slowly looked up to see the owner of the body she was clinging on to. Her eyes were accepting, caring, kind and even loving to a point but then her reaction immediately turned into a more shy one.
"If you two are finished looking into each others eyes..." Ino let her words trail off drawing their attention to her. Shikamaru and Sakura immediately released each other.
"What are you doing here Ino?" Sakura quickly asked her. She sat up on the edge of the bed then straightened her pyjamas refusing to make eye contact with her best friend.
"We have a breakfast date remembered." Ino immediately leaned closer to Sakura to whisper but still spoke loud enough for Shikamaru to hear. "Or did he screw you so hard that your brain is scrambled already?"
"Shut up Ino pig." Sakura's embarrassment couldn't be hidden as she stood up and dragged Ino out of the room by her arm. Shikamaru didn't know what was happening. He just laid on the bed dumbstruck by what happened.