Chapter Text
Seven months ago, late October
Shikamaru cleared his throat for the tenth time that afternoon. Ino looked at him strangely from across the table at Yakiniku-Q and paused in her dramatic retelling of her latest dating escapade.
“Shikamaru? Do you need some water? That’s the third time you’ve cleared your throat since we sat down. You’re not sick, are you?”
He waved her concern off, brushing it aside as he wordlessly gestures for her to keep going. Choji side-eyed him from his spot next to the window and Shikamaru shook his head silently. The rest of the meal was spent listening to Ino vacillate on the qualities of her newest catch and discussing non-particulars of their most recent missions, in case of eavesdroppers. Classified information had to remain just that, after all.
When they had paid the bill and stood to leave, walking out of the entry together, Shikamaru felt a tickle in his throat and turned away while Ino and Chouji talked about their next planned meeting at the training grounds. He cleared his throat more forcefully this time, and blinked in surprise as he felt something delicate in texture settle on his tongue. He discreetly reached into his mouth to pull it out and palmed it before it could be seen as he turned to agree to the time and place of the next meet-up. He nodded tiredly through Ino’s scolding threats about what would happen to him if he was late or bailed on them. He gave one final nod to Chouji before lifting his hand in a wave as he turned to walk away.
He waited until he’d rounded the corner before ducking surreptitiously into an alcove and opening his hand to see a delicate petal, shiny and damp with spit and crumpled from being clutched in his hand, resting in the center of his palm.
“... what the hell...?”
Nine months ago, mid-August
It had been less than a year ago that he realized he was well and truly fucked. Of all the girls he could have taken a fancy to, of all the women he could have fallen for, it had to be Sakura.
When the realization had hit him, he had stopped breathing for a solid minute, watching clouds roll by above him unseeingly. A pink haired woman moved her head into his line of vision, frowning at him.
“Shikamaru? Did you hear what I said? I said that I needed your help getting a look at some of the Nara clan’s medical texts for a project I’m working on. Tsunade-shishou said you’d be able to get me in to look at them.” She paused, looking a bit unsure for once. “... you can, right? I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t really need to look through them.”
She must have been concerned with how long it was taking him to respond – that kind of uncertainty in her voice was rare these days. She was, after all, trained under Tsunade-hime. The Godaime Hokage didn’t tolerate wishy-washy people in general, and would never have taken a student who didn’t have an already sturdy backbone waiting to be dipped in steel.
He cleared his throat to get her to stop furrowing her brow while battling a fierce desire to reach up and smooth it out for her.
“Sure, Sakura. Let me know when you have time and I’ll go with you to our clan library.”
He watched as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, momentarily distracted by the sight and what was he, thirteen? He shifted his head to dislodge the thought, letting out a huff of air.
“... would you be willing to go sometime later today, then? I know you’re trying to relax and you’d be doing me a favor, but this is pretty urgent – the project is A-class in terms of rank, so it needs to be started and completed as quickly as possible.”
Shikamaru regarded her for a second before he patted the ground beside him.
“Watch the clouds with me for a bit and then we can go. Tell me about your project, if the information isn’t above my clearance level.”
Sakura hesitated for less than a second before she sat down, sprawling next to him on the ground somewhat gracelessly. He found it endearing – he recalled the fawns from that year doing something similar when they got tired of running after their mothers. He carefully smothered his smile as she tried to find a comfortable spot to lay on the ground, inadvertently edging closer to him in the process.
He closed his eyes when the sun shone through the clouds on their faces and listened as she spoke, practically feeling her voice soak into his pores in the same way the sunlight did.
Oh, yes. He was absolutely fucked.