When logic fails ...

Suddenly, something was different

About a week later.
The scent of freshly brewed coffee was already in the air early in the morning, and Shikamaru sat at the kitchen table with his arms crossed. In front of him lay loose sheets, filled with formulas and notes from his lectures. All the things he had to memorize for the upcoming exams. But his gaze did not stay on the paper for long, because it kept wandering to his phone lying next to the cup.

Exam time was approaching, tomorrow was the big party before the so-called Black Weeks, and he should actually have been devoting every free thought to studying. Failing was not an option, since that would mean losing his scholarship. Yet to his own surprise, he could hardly concentrate, because his thoughts kept drifting to Temari.

In the past week, he had spent two of his free evenings at her place. Of course only to play shogi, because she needed someone to practice with. At least that was what he told himself. They had laughed together and teased each other a bit, and by now they were also writing to each other regularly.

The soft vibration of his phone pulled him out of his thoughts again. A barely noticeable smile appeared on his lips as he reached for it. At that very moment, Naruto entered the kitchen, grabbed an apple, and leaned against the counter with a grin.

He watched Shikamaru for a few seconds, chewing slowly, then said, "Just ask her already if she wants to go out with you. You've spent every free evening at her place. That's a sign."
"It was only two evenings," Shikamaru corrected him, slightly annoyed, and began to leaf through his papers in the hope that Naruto would leave him alone.

Naruto raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Two, three, whatever. Really now, just ask her on a real date. Or at least ask if she's coming to the party tomorrow. I thought I took my time with Hinata, but compared to you I was lightning fast."

Shikamaru slowly lifted his gaze. He tried to appear calm and neutral, but the slight tension in his jaw gave him away whether he wanted it or not.
"I just don't know if I'm reading her signals right, or if there are even signals to read. Maybe she's just being nice," he said after a short pause for thought.

Naruto snorted quietly, set the apple on the counter and put his hands on his hips. "You think too much, man. That's your problem. You plan every move ten steps ahead, even in things where there is no right or wrong."

Shikamaru ran his thumb thoughtfully along the rim of his coffee cup and had to admit that Naruto was not entirely wrong. Of course, he had already gone through all possible situations, in more than one version. How she would react, what could happen, what he should say if she laughed or turned him down. So many different outcomes had formed in his mind that he no longer even knew which version he had imagined most often.
"I just don't want things to get complicated. It's going well as friends and neighbors," he finally murmured.

"Sometimes you have to take a risk in life," Naruto replied, more serious than usual. "But honestly, you've been writing to each other for days. If she wasn't into you, you would have noticed long ago."

Shikamaru stayed silent. "I'm not so sure. So far we've kept everything more or less friendly," he said after a moment.
But he could not deny that he had been thinking of her more and more these past days. Of her laughter, which seemed to reach him even through text. Of the casual teasing she slipped in so effortlessly. Of the small pauses between her replies, during which he caught himself staring at the screen, waiting for her name to light up.

Naruto grabbed his jacket and patted his roommate on the shoulder as he passed. "I'm off. Hinata's waiting. But at least think about it, alright? You can think a hundred times about whether it's the right moment, but in the end you still have to jump. Otherwise you'll never know."