Hello~ It's been a while since I updated hehe. This one's a shorty! Hope ya enjoy and look forward to a new chapter! Leave me some suggestions!

"Okay you got that one, right?"

"Yeah, I did that one a few hours ago."

"Alright…"

Ever since their return from infiltration mission and all that happened, Tsunade of course gave the two of them more errands to do together. Shikamaru and Sakura were currently sitting at one of the tables inside the tea shop, checking boxes off a list. This list of many had taken most of the hours out of their day, that they ended up finishing the last ones as the sun was setting in Konoha.

"And that's the last one!" Sakura said with a cheer as she shot up from her seat and stretched.

The expression she gave off that Shikamaru caught was that resembling a cat that just had a nice stretch. Why he saw that, he didn't address. Instead his eyes focused back on the completed list on the table.

"Ugh, my back hurts from going back and forth with those boxes from that scroll place." Shikamaru groaned as he patted the bottom of his back with a closed fist.

"I got a headache from having to listen to that old man drone on and on again about how I wasn't cleaning the floor properly…" Sakura sighed as she rubbed her temples. "We're Jounin already…why does she keep giving us these tasks?"

Shikamaru shrugged as he finished the last of his tea and slammed his payment on to the table, standing.

"Who knows? Let's just go give it to her quickly before she decides to close shop." He replied as he went under the flap lining the entrance, the papers in hand.

Sakura quickly followed him, thanking the owner of the shop as she left. As she slowly caught up to him, she noticed how he was hunched over – probably from that back pain he was talking about—and remembered suddenly that he had hugged her on that last mission. She couldn't exactly remember what happened after that, having passed out from the pain of her injuries. But she did recall that she had been a blushing, sputtering mess as he had softly spoken in her ear.

Why had she done that in the first place? It's not like they hadn't teased each other before. They always had.

So why was this different?

Why had her heart raced?

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't see that Shikamaru had stopped walking and was watching her. So obviously, she ran into him and stumbled, only to have Shikamaru hold on to her arms to steady her.

"Whoa, you good, Sakura?" He chuckled lightly as he gazed down at her, a small smile on his lips.

"Oh! Yeah, yeah don't worry about me." She replied as she became hyper aware of the warm hands that were holding her arms.

"Alright then, troublesome woman." Shikamaru teased with a smirk, resulting in Sakura's dazed expression to shift into slight irritation as she shoved him back with a huff escaping her lips.

Knowing that she wasn't seriously angry, Shikamaru smiled as he caught up to her pace. To just confirm his thoughts that she was fine, he tucked the papers in his vest pocket, shoved his hands in his pockets, and leaned his head down to her height to try and catch her emerald gaze. Catching it within a second, Sakura held his gaze for a bit before darting it off to the side.

"…what?" She quietly inquired as she unconsciously began to furrow her brow in worry. Shikamaru saw this and gave her a shake of his head, a finger reaching up to push the lines between her forehead away.

"You shouldn't worry too much, Sakura. Otherwise this will be here all the time." He noted as his fingertips brushed against the locks of her hair as he pulled his hand away.

"Okay Mr. Worrywart." Sakura teased as she scrunched her nose with a grin. Inside, she was internally screaming at how her heart fluttered when his fingertips brushed her face.

Tsunade blinked at the completed list that was handed to her, not surprised that they had finished within a few days, but surprised that they stood a bit further away from each other than last time. Behind the paper she smiled, already aware of what was happening between them.

"You've done well guys! I'm quite proud that you finished this early." Tsunade praised as their gazes directed themselves towards her. Oh, man they were gonna have a toughie with this next move.

"Now…missions!"

Sakura and Shikamaru stiffened at this, surprised that they were being given another mission together right off the bat.

"You guys will be on separate missions for a bit. You'll be with your teams for now. I'll give your Captains the details soon." Tsunade took a moment to study their expressions, noting the slight disappointment in them with a quirk of her lips.

"Dismissed." She concluded as she watched them bow to her and exit the room, leaving with a gloomy atmosphere.

"So I guess this means the end of our little team, huh?" Shikamaru began with a light chuckle, surprised at how it sounded reluctant. He watched as Sakura turned to him with her hands clasped behind her.

"Yeah…" Sakura trailed off as she bit her lip for a moment, gaze pointed towards the ground.

"I wasn't that bad of a teammate I hope."

Her eyes shot up at his words and saw his gaze sheepishly towards the side. His cheeks dusted pink.

"No! No, of course you weren't!" Sakura burst out, surprising Shikamaru into locking his gaze back to hers at her sudden response.

"You were a great teammate, Shikamaru. Perhaps the smartest I've had." She said with a light smile, a hand coming up to run through the bottom locks of her hair. It was a nervous tick she didn't know she had.

Her words made that dust of pink on his cheeks grow deeper as the two of them descended into an grueling awkward silence.

"Well…I guess I can say the same to you...See you around." Shikamaru said after clearing his throat, blinking a bit before glancing at Sakura to see her head down. "Hopefully we'll be on missions together again." He added as he turned, about to leave.

Suddenly a hand grasped his arm.

"…Shikamaru, about that mission…" Her voice was so soft that he had to take a step closer to even catch what she said.

"Hm?"

He felt the hand that held his arm release with a shake and he gazed down at it to see it disappear. Then he felt a body collide with his and suddenly Sakura's arms were around his neck pulling him into a tight hug.

"I'll miss being your teammate." She whispered into his ear after a moment.

Before he could even utter a word, she tore away from him and was dashing down the street.

He stood there in the descending sunset, his shadow cast out in front of him.

Have some fluttery feelings~ Hope this chapter made sense!

-FallenWing21