At the sound of a twig breaking behind her, she scrambled to her feet, rubbing at her eyes. She tensed as a figure moved out of the shadows toward the tree she was lurking at.

"Sakura?"

She let out a sigh of relief. "Shikamaru. Uh, hi."

"Are you-what are you doing here?"

Sakura looked around and realized that she had managed to wander onto the edges of the Nara forest. "Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that I had walked this far. I know I'm not supposed to be here."

"Somehow I think we can forgive you," he said dryly. "Are you okay?"

She gave him a watery smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just being a crybaby like usual." She wiped at her eyes again, annoyed at herself and annoyed at being found out. He shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, uncomfortable with her tears.

"Would you like a hug?" She stared at him wide-eyed, annoyance and tears momentarily forgotten. "Ino always forces hugs on us when she feels bad. Apparently it helps."

She laughed, feeling like it was the first time in days weeks, months. "That sounds exactly like Ino-Pig, shoving herself right where she's not wanted."

"She also likes to mention that it's for our own good, but everything I know about her leads me to doubt that." He moves closer to her and places a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay? You know, most people who fit that description aren't wandering the woods in the middle of the night."

She sniffled quietly and said, "Naruto's coming home next week." After a beat of silence. "I think I'm going to take you up on that hug, Nara."

Before he could react, she had wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder, exhaling in what sounded like relief. After a brief second of panic, he put his arms around hers. Shikamaru tried to pick up the conversation as if nothing had happened.

"Aren't you happy about that? I mean, he's a loud, bright annoyance, but you seemed to get along with him okay before he left."

"I am happy." When he made a sound of disbelief, she heaved a great sigh. "Well, I will be happy to see him. I won't be happy to see how much further behind I've fallen."

"Behind? You're already a rank ahead of him and the Godaime's apprentice. If anything, Naruto needs to catch up."

She made a pained noise and pulled away from him. He let his arms drop. Sakura slumped down by a tree facing a large field, where he could see several of the herd grazing in the moonlight. Shikamaru sat next to her with his back against the tree, waiting for her to speak again. She drew her knees up to her chest and stared out at the deer, one hand drawing nonsensical designs in the dirt.

"His letters, when he remembers to send them, are always filled with the 'super powerful' things he's learned. His ability to just be powerful is ridiculous. I guess I'm just a little jealous. My teammates …" she pauses, knowing what a minefield the Uchiha subject is. "Well, we've always been Team Overkill plus that pink girl. I'm tired of looking at their backs."

He snorts derisively at that statement. "I was on the last mission you took, remember? I don't want to ever get in the way of your fists. Overkill applies to you too."

She laughed again. "Yeah, now maybe." She clasped her arms around her knees, shivering. "I came out here to look at the stars, you know. It's a beautiful night for it. I guess I didn't dress the part."

He looked over at her and sighed. "Troublesome. C'mere." Shikamaru grabbed her arm and dragged her over to him, placing her between his outspread legs as he leaned against the tree. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her against his chest.

"Taking the hug offer seriously there, Shika-kun." He grimaced at the horrible nickname, but her teasing meant that she wasn't crying anymore, so he took it as a win. He couldn't handle crying.

"This way I can also look at the stars without it being ruined by your chattering teeth."

Sakura huffed, but didn't reply. Slowly, she relaxed against him and he gazed up at the stars, picking out all the constellations he knew. His mind wandered to the paperwork he had left behind when he felt the forest wards being breeched. Izumo was going to be very unhappy when he unloaded it on him tomorrow, but he was assigned to greet the Suna representatives for the Chunin Exams. He felt Sakura's head drop back against his shoulder and her soft, even breaths let him know she had fallen asleep.

How do I get myself into these situations?

Dawn peeked over the horizon, the light slowly filtering through the trees. Sakura squinted at the sun and tried to stretch, only to realize she was trapped in a pair of arms. She rotated her neck and nudged Shikamaru awake, surprised that her movements didn't do it first.

Poke. "You know, Shikamaru, a shinobi of your caliber should really have woken up by now."

He didn't open his eyes when he responded. "I've been awake, I'm just trying to ignore it. The sooner I'm awake, the sooner I have to go meet Temari." He moved his arms and she hauled herself up, stretching to loosen up sore muscles. Shikamaru resignedly stood as well, brushing off his pants.

"Shikamaru." He looked up from trying to puzzle out what had stained the knee of his pants. Sakura grabbed him in a fleeting hug. "Thank you. You're a real sweetheart." He frowned at the idea. "Don't worry, I won't tell a soul. It will be our secret."

She turned to leave, ready to start her day hours early. "Sakura … you can come here, you know. When you need to." He felt more awkward than he ever had in his life.

Briefly, she touched his arm and looked at him gratefully. With a quick, hesitant kiss on his cheek, she was gone.