"Good work today," he smiled. "Make sure you do at least one of those practice papers before I see you next week, okay?"

"Uh, Shikamaru," she said pointedly. "I won't see you next week."

"Eh? How come?"

"It's winter break."

"Oh. Right." He'd forgotten about that entirely. "Well, have a good holiday, then. Keep working hard and have a think about what colleges you may want to apply to next semester. Enjoy yourself, of course, but don't slack off, okay?"

"Don't worry, I know," she grinned. "Now, close your eyes."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it, will you?"

Reluctantly, he complied, wondering what troublesome thing she could be planning.

"I hate surprises," he muttered.

"You'll like this one," she assured him. "Merry Christmas."

He opened his eyes and saw a package in front of him on the table. He unwrapped it sceptically, waiting for something to pop out at him or spray in his face, but nothing of the sort occurred. Instead, he removed the paper to find a luxurious box, inside which was a crisp, white shirt, freshly pressed and folded.

"Woah," he raised his eyebrows. "Temari, you didn't have to-"

"Hold your horses, Nara," she smirked. "Before you think I splurged on a Christmas present for you and feel terrible about it, I should let you know that this is not a new shirt, but the same shirt you gave - sorry, loaned - me."

"Oh," he replied blankly. "You didn't have to give it back. I would've forgotten about it."

"Well, you were so insistent the other week that I felt bad. So here." He accepted it sheepishly, casting his mind back to that week he spent breeding in his own unspoken bitterness.

Temari then dug around in her bag and pulled out one more present. "This is something that's actually new, which I bought for you."

A few seconds later, a deep green silk tie sat in his hands.

"Wow," he said, inspecting it closer, feeling the material between his fingers. "Thanks, Temari. I don't think I've ever owned a tie as nice as this before."

"Really? Well, consider it a rite of passage."

"I'm curious, though - why green?"

She cocked her head. "Why green? Hm...I don't know. I just thought this colour would look good on you. It reminds me of a forest, woodlands, all that crap."

He swallowed. "I'll take your word for it."

"Take my word for it? Nara, just try it on."

"Now?"

"No, when hell freezes over. Yes, now."

Praying his face wouldn't give him away, he slipped the tie over his head. She leaned across the table to fix it for him, inadvertently offering him a titillating glance at her bust. He quickly averted his eyes to the ceiling, reminding himself of their age gap and the fact that, to her, he was no more than a kid, really.

And yet, she didn't move to increase the distance between their faces long after the tie was already secure around his neck. She hovered there, over the table, eyes studying his face curiously. Then, a wry smile broke across her mouth.

"I was right," she smirked, shoulders relaxing as she sat back down.

"So...I look good?"

"The tie looks good. Don't get ahead of yourself, Nara," she chuckled, but there was a warmth to her laugh that lit up the whole library. She packed up her belongings and stood up from her seat. "Have a good holiday. Try not to sleep through it, okay?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "See you next semester."

"Merry Christmas, Shikamaru."

"Here, son," Shikaku grinned, handing him a gift box. "I was browsing in the airport, and thought of you when I saw this. Go on, open it."

Cautiously, Shikamaru took off the lid.

"I thought it was about time a father got his son a proper tie," Shikaku winked. "Pretty soon you'll be attending dances and meetings and other formal events. You're a smart kid, so you've gotta look the part."

"Uh, I don't know what to say...thanks, Dad."

"What's wrong?" he immediately asked. "I thought you'd be thrilled. You never get the chance to wear anything half-decent. Your mom tells me you're always in jeans and a t-shirt."

"No, the tie's great, Dad, really. It's just...I already have one."

"Eh?" He looked at his wife. "You got him one already?"

Yoshino shook her head. "I thought we agreed you would buy it."

Her husband looked all the more confused. His eyes flickered back to his son. "So, where'd you get it from?"

"It was a gift. From...a friend."

"You kids give each other ties these days?" Shikaku said sceptically. "Let me see it."

He sighed, but knew full well that there was no use to arguing with his old man. He escaped to his room and returned a minute later, green piece of silk in hand.

"It's a nice one," his father nodded. "Who is she?"

"Eh?" Shikamaru reacted in surprise. "What makes you think a girl gave it to me?"

"Shikamaru," his dad said emphatically. "Teenage boys don't buy each other ties. Definitely not ones like this, either." He smoothed the fabric between his fingers. "She knows her stuff."

"She has brothers, that's all."

"So it is a girl."

Damn. "Just the person I'm tutoring. It was a Christmas gift."

"Well?" Yoshino looked at him expectantly. "What did you get her?"

"Me? Nothing."

"Shikamaru Nara," she scolded him. "This girl spent her time and money buying you this lovely tie, and you gave her nothing? I raised you better than that!"

"Hey, I didn't know she was getting me anything! She sprung it on me, how was I supposed to return the favour on the spot?"

"Don't tell me you couldn't have arranged to meet with her. You're her tutor, I'm sure you could have taken some initiative! I'll allow no son of mine to be so rude to a poor high school girl. Tomorrow, you go out to those sales and you get her something, understand?"

"It's not as easy as that!" he grumbled. "Girls are difficult. Even they don't know what they want. How the hell am I going to get her something she'll like?"

"Do you not have mutual friends you can talk to?" Yoshino fired back at him. "Think, Shikamaru."

So that was that.

"How about some beauty stuff?" Matsuri proffered. "You can't go wrong with some makeup or bath bombs."

Shikamaru shook his head. "She'll definitely know I had nothing to do with the actual gift. Is she even the kind of person to pamper herself?"

"Not as much as other girls, but all the more reason!" Matsuri said brightly. "She'll realise what she's been missing out on all this time."

He thought it about it for a moment; what with her family history, it did seem like Temari rarely had a minute to relax. Perhaps some pink, glittery toiletries and other scented paraphernalia would remind her to take care of herself every so often?

Okay, pink and glittery were a step too far. Even if he went for something more sophisticated, he could already imagine her reaction.

"Really, Nara? Bath stuff? What am I, six? Or worse, sixty?"

"Wow, you get full marks for creativity and originality on this one."

"Are you trying to tell me I smell bad, or something?"

"Better not."

"Okay, then makeup."

"She doesn't need it."

"Au contraire," Matsuri countered. "She was telling me the other day about how she needed a new foundation-"

"She looks better without."

"Ah." Matsuri nodded understandingly. "Shikamaru, you still remember that she has a boyfriend, right?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"So, it's probably not a good idea to get too involved."

"I'm not."

"You're just tutoring her. Why do you need to get her something, anyway?"

"She gave me something. It'd be rude not to return the favour."

"I'm not convinced."

"My mom was bugging me about it."

Matsuri laughed. "So long as it's not because you want to sweep her off her feet, you should be good."

He raised an eyebrow. "Since we're on the topic, what's your motive for helping me?"

"Huh?"

"Well, you didn't have to say yes. It's extremely handy that you did, but honestly, I wasn't expecting anyone to bother replying when it's winter break."

"She's one of my best friends," Matsuri said firmly. "I want her to be happy." Then, an idea popped into her head. "You could get her a scrapbook or something, a place for her to keep mementos of her high school life. People love looking back at that kind of stuff."

"That's the cheesiest thing I've ever heard."

"It might not have occurred to you since you skipped three grades and all that, but it's her senior year: the last chance she has to make these kinds of memories with her friends, her boyfriend, etcetera. She'll want to remember this."

She had a point. "Okay. Fine."

"Great. Let's go."

S: hey, i hope you had a good xmas. i know this is out of the blue, but can we meet later today?

T: Sorry, Shikamaru, it's not really a good time right now. Can it wait until the semester begins?

T: Oh, and Merry Christmas to you, too.

S: i promise it'll only be 2 secs.

T: What happened? Are you okay?

S: dw, i'm fine. but it's important.

T: ...

T: Two seconds. 3pm, the fountain in the park by school. Got it?

S: see you then

When he spotted her coming, she had wrapped a giant scarf around her neck, so bulky it practically drowned the lower half of her face.

"You're that cold?" he wondered.

"It is December, Nara," she said, voice muffled by fabric and cold air. "Now, what do you want?"

"Here."

"What's this?" she asked when he placed it into her gloved hands. "A gift? You didn't have to, Nara. When I gave you that tie, it was just a courtesy-"

"Would you stop talking for one moment and open it?" he huffed. "The more words you waste on me, the longer this will take."

She frowned, but was effectively silenced.

"A scrapbook," she murmured when the present lay open in her hands. He studied her face for any sign of a reaction, but she remained stoic until the very last moment, when the corners of her eyes creased in happiness.

"Thanks, Shikamaru. That's really thoughtful." She flicked through the pages, each with different patterns and colours. "This'll be great for this year."

Note to self: thank Matsuri later. "You always go on about not missing out on things. It sounds like the last few years were pretty hard on you, so I guess this'll remind you to enjoy yourself and have fun while you can."

"I plan on it," she grinned. "Really, this...this has made my day. Worth being dragged out into the cold for."

He was ready to bid her farewell and turn on his heel, when she gave him yet another surprise by hugging him, the first and only time she'd done so. She lingered, too, long enough to make him feel obliged to reciprocate, even though this feeling was completely foreign to him. He allowed his arms to press her to him ever so slightly, and she didn't move away.

"What are you..."

"Shut up. You're warm."

Guess she really is cold.

When she finally pulled away from him, her scarf caught onto one of his coat buttons and slid down to her shoulders, leaving him stunned.

"Temari," he whispered. "What happened to your mouth?"

He should've known she couldn't be that cold; when he exhaled, he could barely see his own breath. No, the reason she hid her face from him was not so black-and-white. Her lips, which he'd paid attention to before for how perfectly they formed her smile and her cackle, were bleeding, bruised and swollen.

Immediately, she tugged her scarf away from him and covered herself once more. "It's nothing."

"That," he said sharply, stepping forward and pulling the material out of the way, "is not nothing."

"I get bad cold sores-"

"You're a terrible liar."

"Your two seconds are up, Nara. I'm leaving."

"Temari," he caught her wrist as she turned to walk away from him. "Tell me what happened."

"It's none of your business."

"We're friends, aren't we?" he posited. "So what happens to you is my business."

She sighed, too exhausted to argue with him anymore. Sinking down onto the nearest bench, she waited for him to join her. "I just got into a little fight with my brothers, that's all."

"And they did that to you?"

"We used to wrestle and scuffle all the time as kids. Things just got a little out of hand today."

"That's not right, Temari. If Gaara's being violent, or Kankuro becomes aggressive, you need to get out of there."

"Shikamaru, you need to chill the fuck out. You're blowing it way out of proportion," she hissed. "It's a sibling thing, okay?"

Silence fell. He could tell that she immediately regretted what she'd said as she retreated behind her scarf once more.

"Sorry," she said quietly. "That was uncalled for." She turned on her heel and walked away without looking back.

"T-" he began, but she was already out of earshot.

S: happy new year, temari. study hard.

He checked his phone every hour after sending it.

She didn't reply.

Finally, he found her.

"Hey," he greeted her as she replaced books in her locker.

"Oh, hey," she said, forcing a smile. He could practically feel just how uncomfortable she was, now trapped in conversation with him.

"How was your break?"

"Good, thanks." As she closed her locker door and prepared to leave, she stopped herself. "Did your dad come home?"

He was momentarily thrown by her question; he hadn't expected her to remember that detail at all. "Yeah. It was nice."

"I'm glad." She still wouldn't look him in the eye.

"He liked the tie you gave me," he added, knowing that if he didn't make the effort, she would happily let their pleasantries end and escape at top speed. "He knew instantly that a girl got it for me. I told him it was just the person I'm tutoring, but I think he's got his suspicions," he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Well, you can assure him that there's nothing going on," she half-smiled. "Tell him I have a boyfriend, if that gets him off your case."

"Nah, it's not that troublesome."

"What isn't?"

He paused. "Nothing."

"If that's all, I'll be going-"

"Hold on," he interjected. "We need to sort out tutoring, remember?"

"Is Wednesday after school no longer good for you?"

"It's fine, I just wanted to double-check..."

"Don't," she said sharply. Quieter, she added, "Please."

They both knew she wasn't referring to chasing up on academics.

"Sorry," he mumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

He swore he heard her whisper, "Me too," as she walked past him and out of sight.