"Stop."
"No." She giggled.
"Stop it."
"Nope!" She giggled again.
"Ugh!" He turned his back to her. She just poked his back. Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke…He whipped around. "Stop it!"
She flinched, and stared at him with wide eyes. He was towering over her, his hands clenched into fists next to his stomach. His right eye twitched, along with his eyebrow. A vein stood out on his forehead. She blinked at him. He sat down fully and crossed his arms tightly over his chest, scowling deeply.
Poke. He slumped down even further. Poke. 'Damn…' Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke. 'Troublesome…' Poke. Poke. Poke.
"Shikamaru?" She had stopped poking him for a moment.
"What, Sakura?" He turned his head to look at her, a frown plastered to his face to show he was angry with her.
"I'm sorry." Her head hung low, her pink hair hiding her face. "It's just…I haven't had anyone to be around for a while, and when you said I could hang out with you in the forest…I was so excited…"
"What about Ino?" He asked suddenly, cutting her off.
"Ino is busy with the flower shop…didn't you hear? She inherited it from her mother. She runs it, and she's only part-time shinobi." She said, crossing her legs Indian-style and putting her hands in the middle.
"Really?" He said, raising her brow at her. "Ino's only half-shinobi now?"
"Not even half. Barely any anymore…" She said, obviously sad that her friend wouldn't be able to take joy in talking about ninja-stuff.
"Hmm…" His brow furrowed in thought, then he caught a glimpse of her. There were tears brimming her eyes, and her mouth was pressed into a thin line. She was staring down at the ground in front of her, and then she squeezed her eyes shut.
"I miss her so much," She whimpered. "She was all I had left. Naruto went on that stupid 2 year mission with Jiraiya, and…Sasuke…"
Shikamaru watched her with sad eyes. 'She really doesn't have anybody, does she? Man…that must suck…' "Hey Sakura," He said in a soothing voice.
"Hn?" She looked up at hi with tears streaming down her face.
"You're welcome to hang with me anytime." He smiled softly at her, causing her to stare.
"Really? You wouldn't mind, Shikamaru?" She asked, pulling her legs back behind her to sit on them.
"Nah. Come by my house and get me, if you like." He continued to smile at her.
She smiled back, but then her expression changed back to one of sadness. "I miss Naruto so much…" She began to cry again.
Shikamaru watched as fresh tears began to roll down her cheeks, and she began to sob quietly. He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, her bottom lip trembling. He pulled on her shoulder and she scooted closer to him, snuggling into his embrace. She rested her hands on his chest, and her head on his shoulder. She cried on him, and he held her…
She had stopped crying, and was resting her head on his shoulder. He was still holding her, and she thought that he might have been holding her a bit close…
"Shikamaru?" She asked, cuddling further into him.
"Yeah?" He replied, refraining from playing with her silky pink tresses.
"Thanks for letting me cry on you…sorry I've been such a bother." She said, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"It's no problem. I don't care." He said, letting go of her. She let go as well. They looked each other in the eye, and sat there for a moment. She smiled at him, and he couldn't resist smiling back. Despite the look on her face, her eyes said that she wasn't happy like she portrayed.
He just looked at her and she smiled wider, closing her eyes. He leaned in, and pressed his lips to hers, her eyes snapping open.
Sakura struggled against his hands on her upper arms which were holding her in place. He then pulled away, looking her in the eye again.
"Feel better?" He asked, smiling at her.
She nodded. "See you tomorrow?"
"You bet." He stood, helping her up. They parted, going home for the day.
'Wow…I'm glad I did that… ' He smiled to himself, blushing a bit.
'Wow…I never knew he could…wow…' She blushed, touching her lips lightly.
They both sighed at the thought of meeting up the next day.