Somehow Shikamaru had managed to fuck up his stitches. He wasn't sure how, but when he took that shower and came back out, his side was bleeding. Sakura had been furious, obviously, though she only helped clean him up before anything got worse. He apologized profusely in hopes she wouldn't take away his showers. Also, to keep her from nagging him to death.
Sakura didn't say much as she cleaned up his wound and made sure the stitches were back in place. She was silent through the whole thing, which made him more than uncomfortable. Most times he enjoyed a woman not talking his ear off, but with Sakura… that whole issue was weird.
When she was done, she left the room, and he was alone again. The next day Ino and the Uzumaki's returned to visit him, giving him his phone that had been confiscated by the police. He was thankful for that because the Shogi board could only entertain him so much. Not only that, another game against himself grew tiring. That wasn't fun enough. Not mentally challenging.
He asked Hinata to play after returning the bento box. She gave him another one filled with his favorite meal, and a part of him almost felt jealous for Naruto. He had a beautiful woman who could cook, what wasn't to love about that? She didn't play with him though, so that was a little bit of a drawback.
They had left when it was time for them to go for dinner. Shikamaru was laying back on the bed with his arms behind his head and stared at the ceiling with disinterest. If only he could be allowed outside. He would be able to watch the clouds as they strolled by him silently. It was one of his favorite past times, and he couldn't even enjoy it right now.
A soft sigh released from his lips the longer he laid there. Sakura hadn't been by to visit him, though he tried to claim it was because she was so busy with other patients to tend to than him. He played it off like his wounds were bothering him, so she needed to come by and help him out. He didn't want to think it was because he wanted to see her.
But that was very much in play as well.
As soon as he heard the door open, Shikamaru shot up from his position, nearly hurting himself in the process, though he managed not to mess up his wound again. A young woman and an elderly man walked through, and he stared at them for a moment longer, obviously unsure as to who was visiting him. It wasn't until the girl spoke when he realized who it was.
"I'm Ayame and this is my father," She started to say, "I have been trying to visit you since you've been admitted to thank you for saving my life."
Her father approached him and held something in his hands, which caused Shikamaru to look at Ayame in question until she nudged for him to take it. Once he opened the packet, he realized it was a few tokens to eat ramen from Ichiraku's shop for free. He was relieved to see that it wasn't money. Shikamaru didn't do this to be recognized or for fame. He just wanted to make sure she was all right.
"It isn't much, but it's all we can spare. I wanted to thank you for saving my daughter. If she had been killed, then…" Her father trailed off after looking in her direction, "Anyway, that's what I came to give you. I'm sorry it isn't a proper reward."
'What a drag…' Shikamaru said inside his head with a sigh. "I didn't even need this but thank you all the same. I'm glad you're doing okay."
The two nodded in unison and spoke to him a few more minutes before they finally left. He was silent and stared down at the tokens with a frown. They thought he needed a proper reward, but that wasn't what he wanted to help her out for. He wasn't a hero by any means, but a male shouldn't hurt a defenseless woman.
Ah well, his ex-fiancée Shiho always called him chauvinistic for a reason.
He placed the tokens by his jacket and leaned back again, keeping his brown hues focused towards the door, though he wasn't expecting anyone else to come by. At least most of his friends visited him to make sure he remained busy. Sakura said he was stuck in here for a week, but he hoped it would be less than that. He was driving himself nuts just laying in this hospital bed with nothing to do.
Shikamaru didn't know when he dozed off but by the time he woke up it was nearing ten at night. He sighed and grabbed something, so he could wash out his mouth before he did anything else. After debating for a while, Shikamaru grabbed his phone to play a game on. He wasn't particularly interested in this game, though it was better than nothing.
The door opened again, and he looked up to see Sakura finally coming inside. She held a sponge and a few other things in her hands which caused him to look at her in curiosity. Sakura gave him a small smile, "I'm giving you a bath tonight. You reopened your wounds last night which means I have to show you how to do it."
"Absolutely not!" Shikamaru said before he could even help himself, "Have you lost your-?"
Sakura placed her hands on her hips, "I guess I can get the Nurses Kotetsu and Izumo to come give you your bath, but you are not taking one on your own. I want to make sure you're set for when you leave."
Shikamaru eyed her carefully and thought back to the two nurses she had named off. They mostly fought about stupid things, which was more annoying than he cared to admit. He sighed and shook his head, "Not sure if I will regret this… but fine."
Sakura gave him a moment to fill the bath with water so he could undress and get inside before she came into the bathroom. She told him to be careful with his bandages, so he did, and managed not to get them wet. "I'm ready Sakura." Shikamaru didn't want to admit how embarrassing this was, but he hoped Sakura wouldn't tell anyone about what transpired between them while he was here.
'This is stupid…' He thought, 'It's just a bath.'
When she came in, she knelt next to the tub and grabbed a few of the things she needed to make sure she could wash him correctly. Shikamaru stared at the wall with his muscles tense and his back rigid, which made her nudge him lightly. "You need to relax."
He tried to relax and failed every time. It didn't help that her hand sometimes brushed his flesh, or her fingertips glided over him in a way that made his cheeks heat up from the feeling. He tried to distract himself as best he could, but most of it wasn't working. A part of him knew she was used to this because she was a doctor, though that didn't help him feel less embarrassed.
Her breath fanned his cheek as she reached for his other shoulder and that caused him to turn in her direction. It was an accident, pure in nature, but if someone came in to see them like this then they would both be in trouble. Their eyes met briefly though his scanned her face before settling back on her emerald hues. They were so close, too close, and Shikamaru felt his heartbeat quickening slightly until she broke the spell to pull back.
For a moment he wondered if he had imagined it, but there was something in her gaze that resembled something else other than being a little friendly. He wondered if he was the only one effected by this exchange until he noticed the blemish on her cheeks and the way she shifted uncomfortably from where she was.
With a shake of his head, he looked away, hoping to get the thoughts that flooded his mind to go the hell away.
She was the one to break the silence first, "Remember our homecoming dance sophomore year?" Sakura began to question, which caused him to chuckle.
"How could I forget? It was the one I tried to skip, but Ino wouldn't let me."
"Neither one of us had dates. We stood in the back like losers and tried entertaining ourselves."
"It was such a drag," Shikamaru said with a light groan, "It didn't help that the girl I actually liked tried dancing with every guy to make me jealous."
Sakura went back to washing him as he spoke, though she tried keeping her distance this time. Shikamaru didn't really notice. "I remember you asking me to dance. You said something about a girl didn't need to be sitting there alone while all her friends danced like that."
"Well it's true. Despite you not wanting anyone else to notice, Sasuke dancing with Karin was bugging you."
She stifled a small laugh, "Back then I think the whole school was obsessed with him."
Shikamaru wrinkled his nose, "Yeah I never understood why. It was such a pain in the ass. No one could really ask a girl on a date without competing with Sasuke in some way. I never liked him to be honest. All of it was such a drag."
Sakura's hands moved to his hair; gently massaging shampoo into it. This caused Shikamaru to clear his throat uneasily, obviously still thinking of what happened to them earlier. "You know there was one moment I though you were going to… you know…"
When she trailed off, Shikamaru turned his head to look at her, though she seemed focused on his hair. At least that's what she tried playing it off as. "I thought you were going to kiss me." She finally finished her sentence and he blinked a little in surprise, but he didn't look away from her.
She was right. There was one moment that night where he planned on kissing her. It felt right with the way he held her hand and the way her arms were wrapped around his neck. The lights had dimmed, most of them were shining on other parts in the gym, giving them almost a romantic feeling. He had chickened out by the end of the night, deciding it was too troublesome to worry about.
Real life wasn't a fairy tale. Most times high school relationships never worked out. Exhibit A: Sai and Ino. They dated through most of high school but by the time it was over, they both had to go their separate ways. He went to an art school in Suna while Ino remained in Konoha to become a model. They're still friends, but Ino was trying to focus on moving on. She knew they weren't going to get back together.
"That's all in the past now though," Sakura stated as she rinsed out his hair easily, "I just figured I would say something about it. I… appreciate all you've done for me Shikamaru."
At this moment everything around them stopped. Her hand was still in his hair and he was watching her intently, obviously wondering what he should say to her next. That's when she moved her hand to his cheek while he wrapped his own around her wrist; his thumb gently brushing against her skin. The embarrassment between them was gone, and there was something else in the air around them. Neither of them knew what it was, and they didn't care.
Before either one of them could do or say anything, a loud beeping from Sakura's pocket snapped them out of whatever trance they had been in. She jumped and immediately tore her hand away from him to check the pager. "Oh… I have to…" She looked at him again, "Please be careful getting out on your own. One of my patients needs me and I—"
"Go, I'll be fine." Seconds later and she was gone, running from the bathroom so she could tear through the hallways. He sighed softly and ran a hand through his hair as he thought about how much he hated hospitals. Shikamaru got himself out of the bath a few minutes later and dried himself off, being careful about his wound, and got dressed again.
He cleaned everything up to help Sakura out before he moved into his room, walking over towards the windows which had the moon shining through them. He and Sakura had a confusing history. They spoke in school, hung out sometimes, and yet here they were years later, acting like they never stopped for one second. He had a crush on her when he was 12, but she was the unattainable one who paid more attention to that Uchiha asshole than anyone else.
His crush eventually faded away, but a part of him wondered if it was coming up again. Was he imagining what happened in the bathroom back there? Was it because he was naked?
'I hope getting out of this hospital will give me a little more perspective.' He dug his nails into the wall he was holding onto, feeling the craving of a cigarette rising inside of him. Tapping his fingers against it slightly, he did his best to distract himself long enough to stop thinking about his nicotine addiction.
But then his thoughts strayed back to Sakura and he realized he was in a lose-lose situation either way.
Dammit.
