Ugh. Chapter 330 ripped my heart out, and I had to write this. I know it's super short, but I think making it longer would've undermined the power of the moment, if you see what I mean. Hope everyone enjoys.

Thorns

Yuuhi Kurenai is a strong woman. She has always been a strong woman, else she never would have survived in the life she chose.

The life that could end at any moment, whether she is prepared for it or not.

Like every proper shinobi, she has resigned herself to this.

"Kurenai…there's no easy way to say what I have to say, so I'm just going to say it."

But unlike every proper shinobi, she didn't guard her heart. She didn't lock it up where he couldn't find it; she didn't heed the warnings that had been drilled into her since she was a child.

"Asuma's dead."

She breathes. In and out through a tight throat that only seems to get tighter with each breath she takes. Her eyes are wide but they don't see anything. They don't see anything at all.

Shikamaru's voice is quiet.

"He asked me to tell you that he…would've given you roses next."

There is a roaring in her ears, and her knees buckle, though she doesn't try to stay on her feet, not now.

Yuuhi Kurenai is a strong woman, but she is a woman who's had her heart stolen and buried before she could steal it back, before she even realized it was gone.

"If you leave, I won't try to stop you, Asuma. It's important, isn't it? This mission…" She brushes her fingers over the petals of the tulips, avoiding his eyes. She's afraid to look, afraid of what she'll find there.

But he makes her look, his hand tilting her chin up, his eyes clearer than she's ever seen them.

"Yeah." He touches her cheek. "It's what I was born to do."

Part of her knows that already. Part of her always knew. And that's the part she's ignored.

"Okay," she whispers, leaning her head against his chest. "Okay."

The tears fall, hard and fast, and she's gasping for air that she doesn't want because it drives her further and further away from where he is, but her selfish body demands that she breathe. The tears aren't enough to keep it satisfied.

"I should've brought roses. You're probably sick of tulips after three years of 'em, huh?"

Three years of saying they loved each other without saying it. Three years of tulips instead of roses.

But he would've given her roses next.

"Hopefully it won't take me three more years to get things right."

Shikamaru kneels in front of her, his hands on her shoulders.

"Here," he says, and pulls her forward gently, into an embrace. "I'm sorry…"

He would've given her roses.

Yuuhi Kurenai is a strong, broken woman, and she clings to Shikamaru, sobbing, mourning the death of her heart. And Shikamaru lets her, stays with her until her tears run dry.

She notices the scent then, something very, very familiar.

"You smell like him."

Wordlessly, Shikamaru reaches into his pocket and draws out a package of cigarettes, the same brand Asuma used to smoke before he quit.

"These things'll kill me some day," he says with a wry smile, and flips the package open, removing two cigarettes. He offers one to her, and puts the other one between his lips.

Kurenai follows suit, allows Shikamaru to light it, and they sit together in silence, the smoke curling around them.

She is a strong woman, after all, and there are no tears left.

There are no roses.