A/N: Damn my mind for getting ideas so late at night...anyways here you go!

(T)

She felt warmth in front of her and a slight breeze on her back. There was a sharp pain that jabbed at her right side and numbness that traveled down her right leg. A sturdy structure supported her chin and arms clamped around legs. She could swear she was moving, but she was giving no effort to do so. The sound of heavy footsteps was all she could hear. Her teal eyes slowly fluttered open and looked at the path in front of her. A slight yawn escaped through her lips.

"Oh, you're awake now." The voice was awfully close and she shifted her head to find a sloppy ponytail. "You've been out for thirty minutes now."

"Huh? Thirty minutes?" She tried to think of what lead to this but a throbbing headache prevented her from doing so. "What happened?"

"It's a long story. Too troublesome to tell right now."

She was slowly escaping her half dazed state, now full aware of her position. She was being carried by Shikamaru, piggyback style. "H-Hey, let me down from here!"

"And you leave you here to die? No thanks, I'm not trying to start a war with Suna."

"Then I'll force my way out." She rearranged her arms to where she could give a slight push but a jolt of pain traveled through her body.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Your leg is busted up pretty bad." Temari tilted her head and saw the messy bandages that wrapped around her leg. She decided not to fight this for now, but she wasn't going to surrender yet. She was going to walk alongside him, not let him carry her like this.

.

.

A couple of minutes had elapsed since their last talk. They, or rather Shikamaru, kept trekking along the familiar road that lead to Konoha. There was only about an hour left of walking to do.

"Shikamaru."

"Hm?"

"Let me down."

"Tch. It's like you want to die, troublesome woman." He hadn't faced her yet, not that he really could, but she wanted to see his current state. Walking for forty minutes straight with someone on your back was not an easy task to do. "You're in no position to walk right now. You can't even if you wanted to."

"I do want to. So at least let me try."

"I don't want to risk you further inuring your leg, Temari." She could only pout and remain where she was. Another ephemeral period of silence passed until her voice broke it.

"I shouldn't have let my guard down." She successfully recalled all the events earlier.

"Don't worry about it."

"It's my fault we're in this situation."

"No, it's not. I didn't know they were going to do that either. So I guess you can say the blame is on the both of us."

"No, Shikamaru. It's really my-"

"What? Can't you let me enjoy the fact that I actually saved you for once?" His voice softened. The usual blunt and laziness ring in his voice was no longer there. He turned his head to face her. "Really Temari, it's ok. You shouldn't worry. Call it a favor if you want."

Her eyes widened as she examined the streak of blood that began at his forehead and ran past his left eye. In an instant, guilt overcame her mind. "Y-you..."

"I'm ok. We're almost there."

"You're stubborn you know. Alright, I'll call it a favor."

"Not as stubborn as you. Just doing what a man should do."

"We're taking a break whether you want to or not. You need it."

He let out a sigh of resignation and let a smile out. "I can't argue with that. We'll stop at the nearest store, which shouldn't be far...until then, just hang on."

A huff of content was her response. Temari tightened her grip on him and leaned her chin on his shoulder. A slight blush emerged and the corners of her lips tugged upwards. She could get used to this.

.

.

"I told you I could've walked all along."

"...What a drag."

A/N: Yeah idk what this is haha