A/N: Hey guys, Deni and Rama here! We've decided to team up and co-write some ShikaSaku goodies and this is the product. We hope you enjoy what we've spun up.

This story could also be found on AO3 posted by Deni - (denilmo).

Querencia; que·ren·cia \ kāˈrensyə \

(n) A place where one feels safe. A place where one feels home.

Chapter 1

There was something just downright antagonising about the way traffic decided to agglomerate when one was already running late.

Sakura's white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel trembled minutely with her mounting anxiety; she had slept through her alarm clock for the first time in her life and the result was her getting stuck in the morning rush traffic when her class was about to start.

"C'mon…" She chanted under her breath, foot tapping out an impatient rhythm. If she didn't make it to class in time, she wouldn't be allowed to take the exam. Which would result in an immediate fail; which would lead to her grades dropping; which would ultimately result in her losing her hard-earned scholarship.

And that wasn't an option.

Deciding she hadn't much choice, Sakura parked her car in a nearby parking spot, grabbed her purse, and dashed down the sidewalks like a madwoman.

Several blocks and a sore ankle later, Sakura was finally where she was meant to be, chest heaving and sweat beading on the back of her neck, sticky and uncomfortable.

It earned her an elegant eyebrow arch from Kakashi Hatake, her professor, and a few weird looks. It didn't matter; she made it in time, everything else (including her haggard appearance) was inconsequential.

Taking her usual seat in the third row, Sakura huffed and sincerely dreaded her walk back to her car in the scorching afternoon sun.

It was as if the gods were out to get her. Maybe it was Ruin Sakura Haruno's Day and she somehow forgot to mark it down on her calender? It was looking increasingly more likely with every passing hour.

After finishing her exam (which she honestly felt she could have done better at), Sakura found her usual lab partner, Neji Hyuuga, to be absent. She was instead paired with their class's worst student, Kiba Inuzuka. Needless to say, Sakura exited that room smelling of pungent chemicals and ready to pull her hair out.

It didn't get much better from there when she realised she'd forgotten her money in the car -stupid, stupid, stupid!- and was now running on an empty stomach and severe caffeine deprivation.

The seven hours of school couldn't have passed any slower and then came the aforementioned dreaded walk back to her car. The humidity had her hair sticking to the back of her neck, itchy and uncomfortable.

Today sucked. And Sakura planned to give Ino-pig a run-down of everything over a cup of rosemary tea or else she might go crazy.

Sakura trudged down the familiar narrow street leading to the Yamanaka's flower shop, feet aching and tired. If she didn't get coffee in her system soon she might just drop dead.

After a night full of studying and barely any sleep, all she wanted to do was crawl into bed and forget the world for a little while, especially since it seemed out to get her.

The purple door of Yamanaka's flower shop opened with a chirpy ding and Sakura quickly stepped into the cooler inside, letting out a sigh of relief and immediately turned left to head for the counter—

Sakura yelped as she collided with something firm and stumbled back a step. Two arms immediately shot out to steady her and Sakura opened her eyes to glance at the unfortunate man she just headbutted with her large forehead.

He had warm brown eyes and a crooked smile and Sakura's back immediately straightened, her face flushing in embarrassment. "S-sorry, I wasn't looking."

He chuckled, a lazy, pleasant drawl, and let go of her. "No worries— are you okay?"

Sakura quickly nodded. "Excellent. However today is just not my day so I won't be surprised if I walked into a wall or something."

The stranger let out a startled laugh and levelled her with a politely inquiring gaze. "And you decided the flower shop is the place to go?"

Cheeks still warm, Sakura was about to start explaining that her best friend worked here when—

"Forehead?"

Sakura's head snapped into Ino's direction and the rosette smiled at the sight of her best friend with a dirt smudge on her cheek. "Hey, Ino-pig."

"What are you doing here?" Ino frowned at the clock. "Don't you have class till four?"

"The teacher let us out early." Sakura shrugged. "I had a day from hell, fancy some tea?"

Ino smiled knowingly. "I have a better idea— hey since we're all here, let's get lunch."

Sakura paused, echoing, "All...?"

"Yeah, you know Shikamaru right? You go to the same school." Ino shrugged her apron off and was already grabbing her purse.

Both she and Shikamaru turned surprised eyes on each other and he arched an eyebrow. "I don't believe we've met before."

Sakura agreed and Ino let out an exasperated groan. "Really? You've never seen each other? You're both supposed to observant and smart!"

Shikamaru chuckled sheepishly. "That could be remedied."

And then he stuck his hand out for her to shake, smiling in that same crooked, lazy way. "I'm Shikamaru Nara. What do they call you?"

Taking his hand and shaking it, all while she felt her cheeks warm again at the feeling of a big calloused palm engulfing hers, she replied, "Sakura Haruno."

"Pleasure to finally meet you, Ino talks a lot about you." And then he let go of her hand just as his words sank in and Sakura whirled to face her friend. She talked to Shikamaru about her?

Ino skipped towards the door with a grin, "That's right. Me and Shika, we're childhood friends, I've slipped your name there a few times in conversation, now let's go! I'm starving."

Ino, as usual, took charge and lead the way out of the shop. Sakura started forward, only to bump shoulders with Shikamaru as he did the same. They both chuckled, but his sounded more smooth than her nervous one, and she nearly cringed at herself. He held the door for her and gestured for her to go first. She uttered a quick thanks as Ino called for them to hurry up.

Ino hooked her arm around Sakura's as she joined her side, chattering about the new latte her favorite cafe was serving up. Sakura tried to ignore that Shikamaru was walking a few steps behind them; wasn't he a part of the group, too? Was he being polite and giving them time to talk? She could swear she felt his eyes on her, that prickling sensation that raised at the back of her head. She didn't dare chance a look back at him to see.

Ino guided them across the street and up to the rustic building. The large bay windows were decorated with flowers that Ino took credit for, and its door was a vivid sunny orange color that welcomed any passersby.

Ino opened the door and then scoffed as she glanced back at Shikamaru. "Those things will kill you."

"Anything in life can kill you if it's determined enough," he quipped.

Sakura watched as he took another drag from the cigarette resting between his fingers, the ember briefly glowing hot before he flicked it away. A plume of smoke left his lips, and while Sakura hadn't particularly fancied smoking, he made it look strangely attractive, fitting. It was almost like it might seem out of place for him to be without the smoke surrounding him like a halo.

They were shown to a cosy table near the rear. The girls sat together on one side of the booth while Shikamaru stretched out opposite them. The talk was light as they perused the menu and decided on what to get, and for a moment Sakura was feeling better after her horrid day. Then Ino turned and poked Sakura on the cheek.

"So, what made your day so awful?"

Automatically her eyes shot across the table to Shikamaru. He was watching her with mild interest, awaiting her reply. "Oh… I… it's okay. We don't have to talk about it."

Ino snorted. "Please if you're worried about Shika, don't be. He complains to me all the time."

The man in question sighed. "I do not."

"Oh, really?" Ino countered. "Just yesterday you called me to bitch about your mom making you take out the trash while you were taking out the trash."

"Only because I was in the middle of writing a paper and she could've done it herself, or at least made dad do it," he defended.

Ino shot her thumb toward him and smiled at Sakura. "See? So spill!"

Sakura looked between her companions and then caved. "It was awful!" She went on to tell them about how it all started when she slept through her alarm and how uncharacteristic that was of her. She put her face in her hands. "I probably looked like a feral cat by the time I made it to class, and then the exam probably could've gone better. And then Kaka-sensei issued us a huge assignment due by the end of the week."

Sakura missed how Shikamaru's eyes slightly widened or how his head tilted so he could look at her better.

Ino gave her a puzzled look. "But it's Wednesday."

"I know!" Sakura whined.

"That's some teacher you have," the blonde commented with a barely contained giggle.

Sakura dropped her hands and cast a pout at Ino. "Why are you laughing at me?"

She shrugged with a smile on her face. "I'm not."

Shikamaru sat up and tapped his forefinger on the table. "Did you say Kaka-sensei, as in Kakashi Hatake?"

Sakura turned away from her friend who looked like she was about to burst and met Shikamaru's questioning gaze across the table. "Yeah, I have him for Anatomy first thing in the morning on Wednesdays and Fridays."

Something akin to surprise flickered across his features. "So do I."

Sakura was also a bit shocked to learn they were sharing a class, and had been for three weeks since the start of the semester. They stared at each other in quiet realization.

Ino's shoulder trembled with contained laughter and kept bumping into hers, and then she couldn't contain it anymore. Soft peals of laughter flowed from her painted lips; she obviously found this far too amusing. "How are two of the smartest people I know so dense?"

Shikamaru smirked at the comment and the sight made her chest tighten in an oddly pleasurable way. Sakura found herself entranced and copied the gesture. How had she never noticed him before? Surely someone as good looking as Shikamaru would've been memorable; she knew she certainly wouldn't be able to forget that smile.

Ino's laughter began to die and Shikamaru sighed, exasperated, as his eyes tore away from hers. "Oh, come on, Ino, it wasn't that funny."

Sakura felt the tension fade away as the stare was broken and resisted the urge to press her hand to her chest. What the hell was that?

"Oh, to me it was hilarious!" Ino teased. She stuck her tongue out at her long time friend. "There, I knew something you didn't."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered under his breath just as the server approached with their food.

The rest of lunch was a light affair, with Ino stealing bites from everyone's plates. Even though Shikamaru didn't say much, whenever he did jump in, he always had something witty to add. Sakura considered Ino her best friend, yet she'd never met her other childhood friends. She idly wondered if she hadn't been so shy as a kid if maybe she would've met him sooner. But then again, she grinned as he chuckled, and felt oddly content basking in the setting sun with his calm aura surrounding them. It felt strangely like she was meant to meet him today, just like this.

Sakura wasn't sure when the last time it was she'd smiled so much. She tried thinking back as she counted out her share of the bill, but nothing immediately came to mind. Maybe she'd been studying too much, as Ino liked to insist. They thanked the owner on their way out and then headed out into the late afternoon sun.

Shikamaru walked with his hands behind his head, cigarette perched between his lips. Sakura couldn't help but glance at him from the corner of her eye. He seemed to be far away in thought, but his lips would twitch or he'd make some guttural noise as a reply as Ino and Sakura talked. He certainly had that cool, nonchalant look down.

They came to a stop in front of the flower shop. "You guys should come in! Doesn't Chouji get out of class soon? We should keep this going and hit up that barbecue joint."

Sakura shook her head with reluctant resignation. "I have to get started on that assignment for Hatake's class. But maybe next time?"

Ino frowned but nodded. "What about you, Nara?"

"Hey, I have the same assignment to do."

Ino rolled her eyes and muttered, "Please, I bet you could do it in your sleep." The blond gave a sigh of acceptance and grinned teasingly. "Fine. There's always this weekend. Go study or something instead. I swear I'm the only one around here who knows how to have fun."

Sakura gave her a quick hug. "I feel better, thank you. I'll call you later."

"Sure thing. See ya, Shika."

He threw up his hand in a lazy wave, and then Ino was heading inside, the charming ding of the bell fading as the door closed behind her.

Sakura looked up at Shikamaru, her chest tightening again now that she was alone with that disarming crooked smile of his.

He pulled the cigarette from his mouth and ashed it. "Are you nearby?"

"Oh… I'm parked at the lot down the street."

"Me too. I'll walk you."

Sakura almost cursed at herself as she felt her cheeks warm and heart flutter. "Sure, thanks."

They set off side by side, and every now and then smoke would drift over and tickle her nose. After the second time she scratched at her nose, he muttered an apology and flicked the cherry off the top of his cigarette and tossed the butt.

"You didn't have to—"

"It's alright, I'm not a jerk ya know."

"I never thought—"

"Relax," he assured her. "Ya know, for one of Ino's friends you're not what I expected."

Sakura was temporarily dazed by his comment, but she shrugged and smiled at him. "The same could be said about you, too."

A quiet laugh rumbled in his throat, and Sakura discovered a new favorite sound. "I guess you're right," he agreed.

Sakura pointed out her ride, a little red convertible, as they entered the lot from the sidewalk. "It was nice meeting you," she offered, knowing that they were about to part ways.

"Yeah, though I suppose we should've been past this point by now."

"I've never seen you in class," she admitted with a shy smile.

And then she could've sworn she saw the faintest blush on his cheeks. "I get there early and sit in the back."

Perhaps that was why she never noticed him? All she ever focused on was what was in front of her. Maybe she should start slowing down and taking a look around every now and then.

Sakura dug her keys from her purse, her steps slowing. "So I guess I'll see you Friday?"

"Yeah, I guess you will," he affirmed, the drawl of his voice deepening. "Have a good night, Sakura."

The bottom of her stomach dropped; now her new favorite sound was the way he said her name. "You, too, Shikamaru."

He lingered for a moment and then smiled as he turned away. He threw his hand up in passing, and Sakura watched as he walked on. A goofy smile stretched her lips as she unlocked her car and slid into the driver's seat. She pressed her palms to her face in an attempt to gather herself, when she realized she didn't ask to exchange numbers or anything.

She bowed her head against the steering wheel, and then resolved herself to ask when she saw him next. Now Friday couldn't come soon enough.

Note: Deni and I have decided amongst ourselves that we'll post this fic simultaneously on both and AO3. You can read it wherever you're more comfortable. Drop us a line or two, we'd appreciate it. -Rams