Summary: He never found a reason why he had to have a neat bag, whenever he left for missions. She made him find a reason to learn, and a reason to step back down a little.

Pairings: Sasuke/Sakura

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, at all. All the characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi-sensei.

As Time Passes

Warming Up

Onyx eyes stared at the bag in front of him. It was mocking him, along with the things he planned to put inside it. For reasons unknown, he was with his teammates and Kakashi, packing the bare essentials needed for their mission. When the Jounin inspected their bags, he had to remove two stacks of instant ramen from Naruto's bag!

Sasuke glared at Kakashi sideways as he crouched down to fix the bag he had painstakingly prepared the night before. He was never good at packing, and never found the reason to learn. As long as the stuff he needed was there, albeit messily fixed, he was satisfied.

Picking p his clothes, he began to stuff them into the blue pack. Though it was slightly neat, it was messy over anything else. Grunting, his slightly calloused hands picked up the white cotton of his shorts and stuffed them into the slightly bulging bag. Turning to face the pack, his onyx eyes widened as he saw his clothes being pulled out.

"What are you doing?" questioned Sasuke, a skeptical look on his face.

"Fixing your bag. Your clothes with wrinkle and you'll have no room for your extra weapons," said Sakura with a matter-of-factly tone.

"Why? Don't you have your own bag to fix? I don't need help from anyone," mumbled Sasuke as he snatched his bag from her. Sakura shrugged and continued to fold his clothes neatly. "Really, I don't need your help," he mumbled gruffly as he stared at the neat pile of clothes."

"But I want to. If your bag is fixed neatly, it will be more efficient."

Kakashi smiled slightly, beneath his mask, as he watched Sasuke helplessly stare at Sakura who continued to fix his bag. Naruto was busy flailing from his grasp, trying to get to his instant ramen, to even notice.

Minutes later, Sakura smiled at her handiwork. Sasuke's bag stood on the ground, neatly packed. His clothes were at the bottom and extra packs of kunai and shuriken on top.

"There, your bag is neat now," said Sakura, a slight red tinge on her face, as she stood up, her hands clasped tightly together. Grunting, Sakura stood up and slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Thank you, Sakura," mumbled Sasuke before moving away from the pink haired girl. Her face reddened as she nodded, her jade eyes following his every move.

"Hmm… the ice block did melt, even a little bit," said Kakashi softly as he smiled beneath his mask.

- Owari -

Not much of a story really. It's just Sakura helping Sasuke pack but the thank you, at the end, means a lot, considering Sasuke's normally stoic attitude.

In any case, these stories aren't going to be long, since they're the type devoid of any major storyline. If these one-shots inspire you to write any more, by all means go ahead.