Author's note- Did this seem to end abruptly to you? I would appreciate some feedback! Thanks to all who review!

It had just started raining on the old apartment complex before Tenten had gotten under the safety of her front porch. The sudden downpour had managed to drench her despite how close she was to her destination and she fumbled with the keys in the lock. Just back from a mission that she particularly did not want to go on to begin with, all she wanted was to get out of her now see-through clothes and into the shower. She wanted the shower to be so hot her skin turned pink from the heat and every mirror in the apartment complex fogged over. She wanted the shower to soak her aching bones and to remove all the dirt and blood from the exasperating mission. Taking on 13 guys by herself was never in her plan, but it happened, and she was almost certain that most of the blood staining her clothes wasn't hers. She took a sudden self evaluation of her physical pain.

Dislocated shoulder.

Large oblique cut along the opposite shoulder.

Minor and major cuts and bruises here and there.

"Damn! Where is my nail?"

She had cauterized the cut before she left, but didn't realize the whole nail bed was completely gone. No wonder she bled like a stuck pig. She shivered and promptly dropped her keys.

She bent over to pick them up and didn't need to turn around to know who had suddenly showed up noiselessly behind her.

"Can I help you?" she said flatly and tiredly as she fumbled again with the keys in the lock.

"We need to talk." He hoped of the porch rail and stood closely behind Tenten to show the seriousness of the situation, not to intimidate. Tenten hit her head on her front door.

"Not tonight, Shino." She tried again to open the front door and miraculously it cracked ajar.

He grabbed her wrist. She knew this to be completely uncharacteristic of the Aburame heir. She only closed her eyes from the pain instead of wincing. He was too consumed by whatever it was on his mind to notice her physical pain.

She opened her eyes. Shino's hood was down now, he sported an enormous bruise and gash from the angle of his jaw covering up to his cheek on the same side. It wasn't a pretty site to see. None of them were after tonight.

"Not now," Tenten pleaded in little more than a whisper. She knew it wasn't his fault his buddy had been showing off and had given away their position so that they got ambushed. She was just so tired and didn't want to deal with all of it so soon after battle.

He let go of her wrist. She could only imagine why he was here to begin with. To apologize? That seemed odd again of Shino. He looked down and noticed just how much blood she was covered in.

"You are covered in blood," he stated suddenly switching his train of thought.

"It happens." She said with out blinking or looking away. She simultaneously pushed on her door with her back to go inside.

"Tenten," he pleaded. "he likes you…"

"And I am supposed to take responsibility for that!" She recollected herself for a moment before reacting again. "I didn't ask for this Shino! I didn't ask for your face to get smooshed," she threw a hand to reference his face, "or for my shoulder to get dislocated or for Kiba's leg to get broken." She turned her back to him to go inside but he blocked the door with his long arm.

"Let me in, I can fix your shoulder." He had that pleading look on his face again. His words might not have given his concern away, but the look on his face sure did.

She considered this for a moment. Her arm hurt like hell. It would be more difficult to properly put the humerus into the glenoid fossa without some help.

She acquiesced with a nod then reprimanded that he leave his jacket by the door as to not get water on the floor. She herself began to quickly peel of her comingled torn, bloody, and soaked clothes in the near dark and left them in the entryway before heading to the bathroom.

Shino slowly took his jacket off as he watched the graceful Tenten strip her clothes down to her skivvies right in front of him. He was impressed at how quickly she moved with a dislocated shoulder. It was almost inhuman the kind of pain that injury inflicted. Clearly this was not the first time she had this type of injury.

He heard her turn on the shower.

He quickly put the kibosh on that.

"You need your shoulder put back in place before your shower." He folded his arms across his chest. He was lucky she threw a robe on before he walked in. He stood there not quite knowing what else to say…she either was going to agree or flip him off and jump in the shower anyways. Tenten was a bit unpredictable that way.

"You'll be able to wash the blood out of your hair if we get that done first."

She rolled her eyes. Sold.

He found a small stool in the kitchen and made her sit with her back to the wall. He held her arm firmly. She gave him permission with a nod.

The jerk only lasted a moment, but the pain was intense.

She let out only a somewhat audible grunted breath.

"Its in place, you can take a shower now." Shino stated turning his back to leave the bathroom.

She was already in the shower before he shut the door. His head ached and throbbed.

His favorite black shirt was damp and had a small tear in the stomach area where he received a superficial wound during their brawl with the nin from the hidden mist.

He could just kill Kiba. He not only gave away their position, but endangered them all. Any sane ninja would have run for their lives, but Kiba wanted to prove himself to her and nearly got everyone killed. She had every right to be upset. It wasn't her fault. It wasn't her fault that his teammate nearly killed them all because he was a big giant idiot.

So what was he still doing here? He knew, but wouldn't admit to himself. Kiba wasn't the only one that had fallen for the kinochi's charms. This mission with just the three of them was nerve wracking. Not only because Kiba couldn't stop drooling all over her, but because he secretly was too, despite her best efforts to mask her femininity. He could only imagine how awkward that must have been for her. He wondered if she knew how he felt about her. He seriously doubted that. He kept himself so well hidden it was a wonder he was starting to admit to himself what he had only recently starting to feel.

He put his jacket back on. Any further lingering might tip her off that he was not just here on his teammate's behalf. He opened the door. It was pouring out. He shut the door.

Perhaps Tenten wouldn't mind if he waited out the rain.

He was torn, but he took off his jacket nonetheless.