Heeello, everyone! It's been a little while since I last updated this story. I'm aware that I have some requests to post and finish, but I'll get there. In the meantime, I want you to vote on the next multichapter fanfic I'll write. Send me hokage or zelda for the one you want!

I posted a little drawing to celebrate Sakura's birthday on askshikasaku! And here we have a oneshot to celebrate!

Enjoy!

xv: Birthday Girl

Outside the barbecue house, the wind is cool and crisp. Shikamaru stalls on the street for a little longer, savoring the fresh air before he heads inside the furnace that is the building before him. Besides, a little bit of pure air is welcomed to clear his mind and organize his jumbled thoughts. In his hands, the wrapped gift seems to weigh twenty pounds, but he knows it is just his nerves talking.

It is Sakura's birthday and Naruto organized a small get together of their little group to celebrate. Kakashi and Yamato are supposed to drop by for a quick visit at some point, none of them looking forward to spending the night with a bunch of young adults, but they are still considerate enough to show their faces and greet the only girl of Team 7. He thinks Sasuke will not be coming, because otherwise, Naruto would have been much louder about it in the past few days.

Shikamaru breathes in one last time and squares his shoulders before pushing the door open. He is confident that she will like the gift he got. After weeks of brainstorming, he decided to ask Ino for help. He loves Ino, but hates how easily she can read him. She figured his feelings out before Shikamaru himself could have sorted them out, and she teases him on a daily basis because of it. Regardless of that, she gave him a useful tip last week. Sakura prefers receiving practical gifts than getting pretty things that will sit on a shelf collecting dust. Even though she knows that and is her best friend, Ino still presents her with tight dresses and high heels in every opportunity, which Sakura stores in the back of her closes undoubtedly.

As much as her advice was appreciated, it still left him lost. What could he get Sakura that she does not already have? Sakura never seemed like the kind to own useless stuff, and everything he imagined that she would appreciate, he had a feeling she already owned them. In one of the afternoons spent in the flower shop, Ino revealed that Sakura had gotten the newest edition of a medical book and was living her life with her face shoved in it. He thought of getting her workout clothes, but he did know her size and did not want her to misunderstand his gift.

Yesterday, he had the perfect idea. The Nara hardly shares the results of their researches with anyone the Hokage does not approve, but he is sure a copy of it will be safe with her. Besides, such a precious gift can convey exactly what he wants to tell her but cannot. The leather-bound book in his hands is just a part of a massive tome lying somewhere back in the Nara Estate. He can give her the rest in other occasions.

Warm air caresses his face, accompanied by the strong smell of smoke and the sound of sizzling meat. It is still early in the evening, which means the restaurant is not as packed as it can be. It also helps that it is the middle of the week. Still, mindless chatter reaches his ears as his eyes swipe around looking for his friends. It does not take long, as it is hard to miss two heads of blonde hair, one of pink, and a massive dog sitting in the space between their booth and a table. He carefully walks over, sidestepping waiters and costumers alike, rehearsing his words.

Hey, Sakura. Happy birthday. I got you something I hope you'll both like and find useful. Uh... What am I supposed to say next?

He stops beside the booth, smiling slightly at his friends and finding a little comfort in the wrapping paper beneath his fingers. Kiba is having a mostly one-sided conversation with Choji, but his best friend nods in agreement between eating pieces of meat. Naruto and Rock Lee are being loud. Tenten and Hinata are talking behind their hands. Sai is showing Shino one of his latest pieces. Ino smiles at him from around the straw of her drink, smug.

Shikamaru turns to Sakura as she rises from her seat to greet him and his brain shuts down.

Whenever the group meets up, Ino goes to Sakura's apartment to dress her up. He should have known today would be no different, though he wonders how Ino got Sakura into this short, form fitting, dark blue dress. Shikamaru refrains from looking down to check if she is wearing heels (oh god, her shapely legs are in plain sight) and smiles as best as he can at her. Her red tinted lips pull into a grin, her arms wrap around him in a hug, the sweet smell of her perfume assaults his nose and her wavy hair brushes the exposed skin of his collarbones. When she pulls back, he sees her green, green eyes lined in black. It is all too much.

"Shika!" She exclaims, eyes shining. "I'm so glad you're joining us!"

He smiles, heart pounding in his chest, lungs working to get air inside his body. He offers the wrapped book to her and she reaches out for it, fingertips brushing his. "Hey, Sakura. I love you."

The booth freezes. Around them, life keeps on going. By the time his brain catches up with the words that left his mouth, it is too late to do anything to cover them up. His eyes widen minimally but hers are as large as saucers, her blush showing through her makeup. Ino has chocked on her drink, Choji dropped his chopsticks, and Naruto is gaping like a fish. Both Tenten and Hinata move to aid the choking blonde and Rock Lee has fallen into one of his usual dramatic antics, wailing about a new rival in love, attracting more stares in their direction. They stand looking at each other, holding the book together, unmoving.

Someone clears their throat behind him. "You do, don't you?"

Shikamaru jolts as if shocked, releasing the gift and whirling to come face to face with Kakashi and Yamato. Perfect. As if it had not been embarrassing enough, her former teachers had to be nearby to hear. He half expects Tsunade and Shizune to waltz from behind a curtain, but quickly squashes the thought before it can attract the both of them here somehow.

The men stand from their seats to let him sit the furthest away from Sakura as possible. He pointedly ignores the looks Naruto are giving him and the curious, inquisitives stares coming from Sai, and sits sandwiched between his best friend and the window. Sakura has recovered enough to greet the older men, although her smiles are a little tremulous and she obviously appears anxious. To top it off, he ruined her night. Great! She will never look him in the eye again.

It is easy to mind his own business surrounded by loud people, but today it is exceptionally hard. Shikamaru nurses his drink throughout the night, eats very little, and hardly engages in conversations despite Choji's efforts. Ino at some point threatens to hit Naruto with something, but he does not try to figure out what sparked that reaction, though he has a hunch. He dreads the moment when they have to leave; he promised Ino he would walk both her and Sakura to their respective homes. He just wants to go home, shove his face in a pillow and allow himself the indulgence of embracing his self-pity. Time cannot pass by fast enough.

One by one, people leave, placing in a bowl in the center of the booth their share of the bill, until it is finally just the three of them. Choji lingers around enough and offers to tag along so he will not feel as misplaced, but Shikamaru politely declines his offer. He got himself into this, now he has to deal with it.

The night air is cooler than before, and he carries all of her gifts as his way of silently apologizing for what he had said. Ino and Sakura walk ahead of him, chatting and laughing in quiet tones, and he finds it easy to keep his gaze turned away from the same pair of legs he found himself admiring from a distance a handful of times. Her curls bounce around her shoulders and she links her arm with Ino's, thanking her for the night.

Ino lives closest to the restaurant. She hugs Sakura one last time and turns to him with a slight twist on her lips. Shikamaru keeps his face carefully schooled and leans down so she can wrap an arm around his shoulders in a side hug. A sigh comes from her, but she says nothing else aside from a goodbye before disappearing into her home. Alone with Sakura, the words he said earlier weigh much heavier than the shocked silence that fell over their group. Sakura gives him a smile and falls into step beside him. Neither try to say anything in the seemingly endless track towards her apartment building.

Other ninjas and civilians share the streets with them, each going about their business alone or in groups. They pass by a cat sitting on a windowsill and do not stop as they come across display windows. Two children run past them hand in hand, followed by a dog, its tongue lolling out of its mouth. A disheveled woman comes next, probably their mother or caretaker. She smiles at the sight, but does not giggle or cast him a glance to see if he finds it amusing too.

A block away from her building, Sakura opens her purse and retrieves her keys. Shikamaru follows her up the stairs to her door after a quick exchange of words in which he refuses to let her carry all of her gifts by herself. She inserts her key in the lock and opens the door, reaching out to flick the lights on. Her living room is sparsely furnished and unkempt, scrolls lying around the coffee table and the couch.

When he comes to himself, she is facing him again, looking up at him from beneath thick lashes. He tries not to swallow. "Thank you for the help."

"Don't mention it." She picks up some of her gifts: a new pair of gloves from Yamato, a succulent plant from Kakashi (another one, it seems, her living room is full of them), a new notepad from Sai. "It's the least I could do after..."

Shikamaru remains at her doorstep, refusing to invite himself in after what he did. Sakura sets it all in the first vacant space she can find. "It's okay, I was just surprised."

"As was I." He huffs. "I'm sorry."

Sakura walks back in his direction, hands cupping her elbows, heels clicking on the floor. Now the top of her head reaches up to his nose; without it, he can easily tuck her head under his chin. She has always been so petite. "There's nothing to apologize for."

There is, but he knows better than to get in a discussion. If life has taught him anything, it is that one does not get in an argument with Ino because they will lose – and both women have been friends for so long he is sure the same applies to Sakura. So he dips his head and takes a step back to prepare for his departure.

She steps forward to compensate. "Shikamaru." He looks down at her, standing so close to the doorjamb it brushes her shoulder. "I didn't... I didn't mean to give you the... Wrong impression."

He studies her face, the lip caught between her teeth, the green eyes averted to the side. After a sharp intake of breath, Shikamaru closes the distance between them slowly. Her eyes move up to meet his own and her lips part, smudged with leftover lipstick and slightly bruised from her insistent nibbling. Leaning down to her level, he waits for her to do anything, to push him away or step back. Sakura tenses more and more the closer he gets, but stands her ground, eyes flicking from his own to his lips in a cycle that makes blood rush to his ears.

Her breath fanning the lower half of his face is distracting. "Is this okay?"

She nods after a pause, eyelids fluttering.

Shikamaru takes one last look at her and rests his lips over hers. She sighs in the same instant, shoulder drooping and fingers hesitantly grabbing the front of his shirt. He cups the side of her face with a hand, strokes his thumb across her cheek before pulling away. "How long have you wanted this?"

Sakura licks her lips, eyes still closed. "A while."

He hums in contemplation and dives in for another kiss. "Happy birthday. I got you something I hope you'll both like and find useful. That's what I wanted to say."

She smiles into him, fingers creeping up towards the back of his neck, confident. "I like what you said before." Her lids part. From this close, her eyes are impossibly green, like a field he could lie down for hours and hours to watch the clouds. "But what are you referring to? The book? Or you?"

"It depends," Shikamaru muses, walking her backwards into her living room after kicking the door closed. "What do you say?"

"I think I can find some use to you."

She squeaks when he presses her against the wall, a smirk on his lips. "I bet you can."