When logic fails ...

Unexpected Synchronization

Shikamaru jumped in surprise. For a moment, he thought he had misheard, and he needed a moment to truly grasp her words. He quickly recovered, however, and shook his head decisively. "Truly just a friend... trust me... you should have seen how quickly she kicked me out of the house after your message just now," he assured her, and a short laugh escaped his throat. "You see, she's been trying for years..."

He abruptly cut off the sentence for no apparent reason to Temari, pushed his hands even deeper into his jacket pockets, and lifted his gaze to the sky.

Temari tilted her head, scrutinizing him skeptically. Her gut told her to get to the bottom of the matter. "She's been trying to do what for years?" she asked cautiously.

Shikamaru cleared his throat and expertly avoided her gaze. "Oh, nothing. I was just thinking aloud," he mumbled, clearly caught off guard.

Grinning mischievously, Temari tilted her head until it slid into his field of vision. "Come on, tell me. What has Ino been trying to do for years?" she pressed further, though this time a hint of amusement resonated in her voice.

Shikamaru sighed quietly and weighed the situation. He already suspected that he couldn't escape this situation anymore. He knew Temari, although not as well as Ino, but the interested look and the slight sharpness in her eyes inevitably reminded him of his best friend when she had latched onto something. Resignedly, he sighed softly. "To set me up," he mumbled.

Temari chuckled slightly and nudged him gently with her shoulder. "And has she been successful so far?"

His gaze wandered to her. For a moment, every sound around them faded away as he carefully observed her, then a dry laugh escaped him. "Not really. We usually have different views on what would be appropriate."

Temari's eyes gained a warm glow; her heart was pounding in her throat. "And...," she began tentatively, "would you say that I would be appropriate?" The words had left her lips before she had properly thought about them.

This question had caught him completely unprepared. His lips opened, but then closed again. He blinked a few times, and his mind was blank.

"Uhmm... well..." he began hoarsely. He knew it was up to him now. He swallowed hard. "Well... uhmm... Yes," he finished quietly. This single small word sounded fragile, almost shy, and his gaze immediately darted upward to the stars to avoid her reaction. Somehow, he was afraid of how she would react to this indirect declaration of affection. His jaw tightened, and he was already contemplating how he could wriggle out of this.

Then Shikamaru suddenly felt a gentle warmth wrap around his hand. Surprised, he looked down and saw Temari's fingers carefully closing around his. Her smile looked calm and, at the same time, so sincere that his chest felt tight, and the feelings that overwhelmed him in that second were hard for him to interpret. "But why haven't you said anything before?" she whispered. His heart was beating far too fast. The now-familiar tingling, which he had always suppressed, spread through his body with relentless intensity. "I... I don't really know," he brought out. Because he didn't want to air his doubts in front of her at that moment.

Before he could search for more words, Temari leaned forward and stood on her tiptoes. Her lips touched his cheek a moment later, barely more than a breath. Yet this fleeting gesture burned itself right into his core. Temari stayed close, her breath brushing his skin as she leaned further toward his ear, the kiss smoldering on his skin. "That works out quite well, because I would find you very appropriate too."

He swallowed hard. For a moment, he wasn't sure if he had misheard. Then he felt the warm blush rising in his cheeks. His body reacted to her words before his head had even processed them.