Someone rigged this. Ren is sure of it. Her friends have a habit of teasing her and Shikamaru about their friendship, asking when they were going to get together and how their date went when they showed up to an event at the same time. Ren and Shikamaru agreed to keep their distance from each other for a majority of the time if they were ever at the same party. It wasn't the most pleasant arrangement—of everyone, Ren would rather hang out with Shikamaru than anyone else in any context—but they considered it a necessary sacrifice for the sake of keeping positive attitudes in front of their friends.
As Ren fumbles for the light switch, she can't think of who would have done this and with what jutsu, but she knows someone is putting them up to this. And when she figures out who it is, she is going to kill them.
A light flickers on and buzzes. Shikamaru has his hand on the string tied to the overhead light. He kicks aside shoes and empty boxes to clear a space for them on the floor. He doesn't look at her as he says, "We might as well sit and wait for this to be over."
Ren says, "Or we can just walk out."
She twists the door handle and pushes the door open, only to have it shut in her face again. "You still have six and a half minutes!" comes Ino's muffled voice.
"I've learned it's better not to fight Ino on some things," Shikamaru says and sits.
Ren grumbles, shoving the coats back so they won't bump her head when she sits. Shikamaru stretches his legs across the length of the closet, but it's still too cramped for him to fully extend his legs. He sits half-folded, slumped, hands shoved in his pockets. Squished in the closet, Ren realizes how tall Shikamaru is. Even with her legs outstretched, Ren's feet only reach Shikamaru's hip.
The closet is warm, the smell of fuzzy coats and something like stale dirt from the shoes mixing to create this aroma of a well-lived home. Ren clasps her hands together over her stomach.
They have two options at this point. They can sit in silence or they can talk about something. Shikamaru's scowl has relaxed, but his brow stays furrowed, his gaze averted. Ren purses her lips. She ducks her head, trying to catch his eyes, but Shikamaru continues to avoid her.
Ren taps him with her foot. "Hey," she says. They have at least six minutes left in here. Conversation will past the time more quickly than if she speculates on how he's feeling. "Are you bothered by what Kiba said?"
Shikamaru leans his head back and sighs. "I'd rather not talk about it," Shikamaru says.
Ren bristles. Although Shikamaru's response isn't a confirmation, it isn't an outright denial, either. Does Shikamaru want to kiss her? Well—maybe the question more pertinent to her is does she want to kiss him? She hadn't thought about it, really, hadn't had time to think about it in the moments between the bottle stopping and being shoved into the closet. Now that the question is before her, Ren searches his face, a face she has known her whole life, a face she has memorized and admired—which maybe is her answer.
"Fine," she says. "Truth or dare."
Finally, Shikamaru looks at her, brows arched in disbelief. She grins. "Are you serious?" he says. "Weren't you the one who complained that spin the bottle was too juvenile?"
"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," she says. "Truth or dare. I won't ask you about Kiba again. Or you can ask me a question first if you want, since I was the one to spin the bottle and get us stuck in here."
Shikamaru glances at the door, like he's willing Ino to open it and say their time is up. When nothing happens, he says, "Fine. Truth or dare."
"Truth," Ren says.
Shikamaru pauses. Then he says, "Would you have kissed me if we stayed out there?"
It takes a moment for her to process the question. Would she have kissed him? Would she, Kagiru Ren, have kissed him, Nara Shikamaru, her best friend since childhood? The question causes a bundle of unexpected nervousness to bubble out of her stomach in the form of laughter. She hides her face behind her hands, feeling her cheeks heat up.
"Never mind," Shikamaru says quickly. Ren feels his legs pull away, like he's shrinking. "Forget I as—"
"Yes."
Shikamaru freezes. Meets her eyes.
Ren's chest feels heavy, an immense weight pressing against her lungs and making each of her breaths a drag of air, like the oxygen in the closet is limited and she has to do her best to conserve what resources they have.
"I would have kissed you," she says. "Truth or dare."
Shikamaru shakes his head. "Truth," he says.
"Do you...want me to kiss you?"
The question lingers. Shikamaru relaxes his legs, letting them span the closet again, his right leg bumping her left. But then he shifts, getting onto his knees and crossing the closet. He moves toward her, leaning over her, one arm bracing him on the other side of her hip as he puts his face close to hers.
Ren presses herself against the wall, back flat, not trying to escape, really, more like trying to ground herself, to remind herself that she's here, this is happening, and Shikamaru continues to lean in. He pauses with only a few centimeters of space left between them.
"Yes," he says, so close that she can feel the movement of his lips. "Truth or dare."
Ren swallows. "Dare," she whispers.
Is there a part iii? How long is seven minutes anyway? Who's to say? Thanks for reading.
