endgames | 010 -- [Voice || Action]

[Forward-dated to early Tuesday morning - Unfortunately for you, Luceti, the paperweight Shikamaru usually keeps on his journal seems to have been knocked off during the night. If he knew, he might apologize for the BLARING alarm clock as it goes off at six in the morning.

But he doesn’t, so instead you get complaining.]

Nn… again? Forgot I set the thing… [BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. And a sigh. He could get up and get it. It’s annoying enough that he considers! But… it’s also a whole five feet away. Is that much effort worth it this early in the morning?]

How troublesome. [APPARENTLY NOT. He opts to instead bury his head under his pillow and go back to sleep.

But fear not. Lazy geniuses may not be so genius when they have to wake up early in the morning, but a certain

dangerouswind of his is troublesome no matter what time it is. That ringing will probably last no more than a minute or two before getting cut off loudly. And violently.]

[…MUCH LATER. After a trek in his pj’s through the snow: a secret transmission from the restaurant.]

[Filtered from Temari || 100% Unhackable]

…I need clothes. Preferably something warmer than pajamas. Shoes would be nice. I’d offer something in return, but money’s out for obvious reasons, and it’s not like I have much else to offer. [Long pause. He’s desperate enough.] But by all means – if anyone else can think of something, I’m all ears at this point.

[He’ll offer Chouji’s cooking if he has to. Okay, and maybe he’ll do something himself. ~~He’s going to regret this, isn’t he.~~]

[ooc: ~~First response is obviously reserved |D~~ IT'S ALL GOOD]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

This one, anyways. We have a few more I can worry about. S'probably only a matter of time, between you and Chouji.

You can always go somewhere else. [But there's really not too much bite in her words. Some, because, really. It's Temari.]

That would be troublesome. Besides. I was here first.

Troublesome.

[There it is again. Damn it, Shikamaru. One conversation without that word is all she asks.

Well. Not all, but a good bit of it.

She's silent for a moment before she decides to just plow ahead, consequences be damned. She needs to know before they tear themselves apart over this.]

What else is too troublesome?

[Is she? Is this? Let him and his giant brain figure out what she's asking because she's not sure if she even knows.]

[And just like that, this isn't just a conversation anymore. He frowns, lowering his arms and looking at Temari as if he's trying to figure out what exactly she wants him to say.]

...fighting over every little thing ranks pretty high up on the list.

[She would love it if he spoke his mind, instead of looking at her like she's a shouji piece to be manipulated into doing what he's planned.]

You think that's my idea?

I think we've both played a hand in it, no matter how much we don't want to admit it.

[A pause.] We have. [That's marginally better than saying "You're right."]

I dunno, Shikamaru. This is just... [Ridiculous? Insane? Sad? All of the above? Hell if she knows.]

[It's troublesome, woman. Just admit it.]

...not what I was expecting, that's for sure.

[Shut up. She doesn't say that word.]

Not really.

[Damn it, she really liked you, Nara.] Maybe we just latched onto the first familiar thing in this place. Didn't think it through.

[Except she.... really liked you.]

Maybe. [Only he thinks everything through. He's not the type to date a girl if he can't imagine a relationship in the long term.

Could he have really made such a huge miscalculation with you?]

...so what do we want to do about it?

[Yeah, she knows you do. Which was part of why this relationship seemed to have so much promise.]

... Are you actually suggesting something? I would have thought it would be troublesome.

[Some things that are troublesome deserve the try. But he can't if he's the only one who thinks that.]

Look, if you're not interested, you can just say so. But if you are... then, yeah. I am.

[Her response is automatic and sharp.] I didn't say that.

[And then she realizes that that's tantamount to picking a fight. She takes a breath and then nods.] All right, then. We're in agreement.

[We are?

He wasn't expecting them to be, but for once he's not going to question it.]

First time in a while. [Let's shoot for a few more.] But okay. Let's take another day or two to cool down and get our heads clear. After that, maybe we can sit down with someone and talk things out.

[She nods -- almost like she was accepting a mission, truth be told -- and turned away from the wall. Or, not-wall, as the case may be.

She hates the idea of bringing in another person but they can't seem to talk to each other without snapping, so it might be necessary.]

All right. It's a plan.

[He nods, watching her go. Then stares at the not-wall some more. What are the chances it'll fix itself before either one of them go to bed?

Low, most likely. Stupid Malnosso.]

I guess I'll go take the couch tonight, then.

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