Log: TLH The Other Side of the Door

[endless_scrolls]

Title: The Other Side of the Door
Type: RP Thread
Fandom: AU!Naruto
Character(s): Tenten, Aburame Shino; brief mention of Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, Haruno Sakura, Yamanaka Ino
Pairing(s): Shino/Tenten
Warning(s): None
Disclaimer: I own only the part that I played in this.
Note: Thread taken from the WOULD YOU GO OUT WITH ME MEME over at love_hotel_ooc.
Dedicated to: My love of mafia games

[ It's the easiest thing in the world, snaking into his room and placing the hastily scribbled chicken scratch neatly written script on his desk. He would be out tutoring all afternoon and wouldn't be back until after the sun came down the train system in Tokyo was efficient and eco-friendly, but it wasn't exactly a friend to time. Plenty of time to rip up the evidence should the sudden bout of confidence fade.

Still... it was the hardest thing not to burn the sucker the second after Tenten had written it... or after she had folded it up... or after she stood outside of his door for ten minutes staring at the desk. But leave it she did. And there it remained... for most of the night. And there it will still be when he finally came home to it... ]

[There were a lot of layers to process. There was an initial moment of attempting to understand what was wrong about his room. There was finding the note. There was unfolding it. There was recognizing her handwriting. There was reading the contents.

There was scrutinizing each last inch of the lines printed there to be as certain as humanly possible that it was her handwriting.

And, far too late at night, there was sitting staring at his phone, hoping it would dial itself before finally, finally hitting the button and pulling the phone to his ear. This was too important for a text message. This required hearing her voice for the last layer to be processed.]

[ At the first sound of footsteps sounding outside, Tenten had panicked. - They had been living together for sometime now, and hanging out for longer before that. She knew the sound of his steps. She knew the silences of his life. - It took every strength within her not to run for Shino's room and throw the note in the garbage disposal. And then it was a few seconds of standing in the middle of his room debating with herself whether nor not to actually go thru with the idea.

And then there were the jingle of keys and Tenten thought it better if he read it while she wasn't in the room. And there was where she had been locked up since, sprawled across her bed with her arms over her face to hide the shame from whichever deity was watching... that is, until her phone rang.

Cue classical Rock ringtone. ] Shit.

[ Glancing at her nightstand, there was a moment where she thought to simply let it ring and go to voicemail. And another five seconds later, she found her hand bolting out to flip open the phone to answer the call. Might as well bite the bullet now before he starts knocking down on her door. ] Um... h-hello?

[He could hear her phone ringing through the wall, soft and distant but distinct. There was nothing unusual about sending one another text messages while locked in their own spaces, so it was almost habit to tilt his head back and search through the little noises of their apartment for the distinct sound of her phone.

And then her voice. Tinny, almost awkward through the artificial distance between them, but distinctly her voice. His lips quirked without thinking, without feeling the weight of the unfolded page in his hand. She sounded flustered, tired, a little nervous, but it was still her.]

...did I wake you? [His own voice, he was pleased to hear, came with its usual calm monotone. A little heavy, perhaps, with the late hour of the night, but not thick with the emotions he felt swirling in his own mind.]

[ Absently, she rubbed at the corners of her eyes, finding a bit of crust there. But no, she hadn't been sleeping. Tenten had been too nervous all day to find the courage or strength to sleep, not when there was a note waiting for Shino when he got home that could potentially break everything they had built in the years they had known each other.

It had been a delicate balance from day one. He was a student of hard sciences, and she was one of a lesser, lighter study. And yet, somehow, they had managed to find a middle ground fairly quickly. And from then on, it had been an easy road that avoided some... unspoken tension. At least that had been the case for her. Tenten wasn't sure of his thoughts on the matter, and she hadn't been one to ask. That is, until now.

Oiy, now... ] Uh... no. No, you didn't. I was just... washing my face. [ And a horrible lie when he could clearly hear such a thing when a single wall was all there was in separating their two living spaces. If he could see her literally facepalming, he might find it endearing. ] Um... was there something you wanted?

[The pause wasn't comfortable. Pauses between them usually were. They could sit in silence, could pause conversation in conversation or over the phone or with a long stretch between text messages. It was something he liked about her; more than any other friend, even than Kiba and Hinata, Tenten could Sit and Be.

But this pause... He could feel himself breathing a little too hard, a little wrong. Maybe it was the standing. His movements came carefully. Slow deliberate shifting back his chair, slow careful sitting, slow deep breath as he carefully scrutinized the page in his hand again.]

I... got your note.

[ He would be able to see through her lies. Of course he would, she knew. Shino had a wonderful endearing knack for breaking down her words and analyzing every bit of her mannerisms to find the truth. And she... found him so endearing for that. For the longest time, it was a quirk that she admired. Among other things... When her feelings for him had shifted from friendship to something else, she couldn't and wouldn't have been able to tell.

But it was too late to turn back now. ] Yeah, I... I kinda figured.

[ It was very difficult for him NOT to see the folded yellow paper against the dark wood of his desk. Even with the worse of eye conditions. It had been only a matter of time after he came home. ] So... did you... call to ask for advice? [ Because she could play this game a lot better when the focus wasn't entirely on her. ]

[He doesn't laugh. It might feel good to laugh, actually, but he doesn't. He simply smiles in silence a moment. The lingering that follows is an overwhelming sort of thing--suddenly, it's just the two of them talking, even if it is about something big scary overwhelming too much just right.

She's the only person who has ever claimed to hear him smiling over the phone. And she'd left him a note asking him out on a date.]

...yes, actually. [Words never come easily, now least of all. He speaks slowly, deliberately, without inflection, hesitating only to take off his glasses and rub carefully at his eye.] I was not... sure how to proceed.

[ A single breath - a single moment - and Tenten managed to think of a response that was calm and collected. Ordered like she usually was. This was not Shino asking questions about her. This was a friend asking for advice on matters of the heart. Or, rather. about a simple note. A simple question. This was a problem that needed an answer.

Tenten was good at figuring out answers. Not so much when they were answers concerning her. But she couldn't think of it that way. Any other way and there was a chance for a biased answer. And that wasn't what Shino needed. ]

Well... it's a pretty simple question. I'd say you... answer truthfully. A girl has to appreciate a guy's honesty.

[It was astounding how much her breathing told him. Her sounds, her looks, were already well-known vocabulary. When he closed his eyes, he could picture her exactly. The way her limbs were arranged, the exact degree to which her eyes were open, the little furrow on her forehead.]

Honesty about such... delicate things...

[Shino set his glasses down carefully, knowing she'd hear the click otherwise. It felt better to make things unreal, hypothetical, just a bit beyond their actual situation.]

...this girl. [Following her lead made sense.] She is... very important to me.

If she is... [ A heart beat. A single breath. ] ...important to you, doesn't she deserve your honesty?

[ Then again, for some, complete honesty was easier with a complete stranger was easier than with someone... close. There was no fear of rejection. Because rejection from them mattered as much as a hat on a cloudy day. It was unnecessary. It didn't matter. But this... this was hard. ] ...Look at it this way. Would is very different from will. Would... can be hypothetical. Will is more direct. No harm, no foul. [ And purely by accident because she didn't think of that until right this moment. Yay, pulling things out from nowhere. ]

[He barely shared his own emotions with himself. Now, here, suddenly, he wanted to share them with her. It was a delicate flower he was offering, almost impossible to find but beautiful in its simplicity.

Without thought, he picked up his glasses, lifted himself from the chair, began the quiet process of moving toward his door. She'd hear him, but with any luck she wouldn't run away.]

...I don't think I've ever... lied to her. Or... misled her.

No... you wouldn't. [ The response came softly, then, carrying with it a fondness that... he might be familiar with. The subtleties of Aburame household were vast, after all. And he could appreciate the unspoken sentiment behind the words. That is, if he wasn't too busy managing his own. ] You're not the type to... mislead.

[ Another breath, short and quick. ] You wouldn't really... pick up on it most of the time, would you? [ Not that she's implying anything negative. Not at all. This is merely... fact. And stating facts that he, himself, has admitted, more or less. ]

[His door creaked when he opened it, a little too loud. Stepping out into their communal space was easier, quieter. He didn't like the nerves in the way she was breathing.]

Then... you think, if I would... [A slight pause, his hand with the slightly crumpled note gently touching the wall by her door. She can probably hear him properly now, the actual inflection of his tone outside her door. Time to be careful.] ...if I would like to...

[ At the creak of the door, both oh the phone and echoing through their shared apartment, she sat up from the mattress and inched towards the edge to stand. And then it seemed that every dull step he took, Tenten took one as well, smaller in stride but equal in intent. ] If you would... [ Would, would would. Feeling the word turn and roll around in her mind, the young woman lightly licked at her lips before continuing. ]

If you were given the choice...

[ By that time, she was leaning against the space of the wall between her bed and the door, feeling the coolness of it against her skin and sensing his presence hovering just on the other side. ] ...Would you...

...I have to call you back.

[He hung up without waiting for a response. It was much easier to pull out the keyboard and start tapping on the keys. She could probably here the patter clearly through the wall, under the door barely separating them.]

May I take you to dinner tomorrow night, Tenten?

[ It almost seemed anti-climatic, the way he simply just... cut the line like that, before she even had a chance to utter a single noise in response. And then she was left curled against the wall, wondering what could have happened between his words and hers to have caused...

Bizzzzzzz - bizzzzzzz - bizzzzzzz... bizzzzzzz - bizzzzzzz - bizzzzzzz

- And he can probably hear the buzz of her phone as the text popped up. The silence that follows after would be telling if only he could see the smile spreading across her lips as Tenten rested her head against the door frame. But he'll hear the soft chuckle. Maybe. If not, it'd likely be drowned out by the tick and click of her own keys. ]

What should I wear?

[It wasn't how he had built it up in his mind. In an ideal world, he would have had flowers, been dressed in something less rumpled from tutoring all day, maybe even brought some bottle of something (likely sparkling cider). Just a touch of something grand and romantic.

But this? Fit them even better.]

Would a dress be overwhelming?

[ They were anything but conventional. So it was only fitting that this potential start of... something would play out in the same manner. It was the only way it could. Anyone else their age would not have resorted to something as secondary as a note. But given who they were and how they tended to function, it had been perfect. This had been perfect. Was still perfect.

Sighing softly and keeping the light smile on her face, the young woman quietly slid to the floor and seated herself against the actual door. He will most likely see the shadow of her body shifting under the frame. ]

I think my closet would survive a search and rescue for one.

[The shift is reciprocated on the outer side of the door, although Shino opts for leaning against the wall next to the door rather than against the very same wood. He doesn't expect it to open any time soon, but it's better to be prepared for such things than surprised by them.]

If you're sure it isn't too dangerous, that would be very nice.

[Because he's going to take her somewhere nice. Not a strict dress-code sort of nice, but nice enough that a suit and skirt will make them fit in better.]

[ From his vantage point, he might be able to discern her hand moving to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, a light illumination marking the message popping up on her phone. Either way, the young woman will allow a glance at the door of her closet as she ran through the pieces she remembers throwing in there when they had first moved in. There had to have been something nice and skirt-like in there. Because Sakura wasn't exactly her size and Ino... well, she was Ino.

This was a dinner with Shino. She wanted to out as herself, not anyone else. ]

I think I can brave the treacherous tundras of my closet fine enough. An avalanche of socks would be my worse concerns.

[ Or an avalanche of boxes and bags was more likely, but she wasn't gonna tell him that. ]

[It was comfortable being with her like this. There was a door between them, but they were still comfortably close, talking the way they always talked.

Despite the fact that they had just decided to go out on a date. Despite the fact that, at this time tomorrow, they might be 'dating.'

He couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face, strangely enough.]

Good. Then I suppose I will see you tomorrow night in a dress.

[ With the door or without, this was normal for them. There were days when the both of them would sit for hours and simply text each other back and forth from across the table or on opposite ends of the room. It was strange, it was unusual, and anyone who knew what they were doing would probably think it odd. But that was just typical Shino. That was just typical Tenten. There was no need or no want to follow conventions. At least not when it came to each other. ]

What time should I be ready?

[ For their date. They were going on a date. They were going out... on a date. And in spite of herself and her usually guy's girl mannerisms, there was no helping the smile that spread across her lips, or the way she buried her face into the folds of her arms with excitement.

It felt like she had accomplished a great goal. ]

6pm sharp.

[Which would require lots of machinations, plans, putting things into motion almost immediately to get a reservation for them somewhere nice on such short notice--

But it was worth it. She was worth so much more than a bit of arguing with restaurants for a table.

He was going on a date with Tenten. There was no end to the quiet grinning.]

I'll be ready.

[ And even as the message was sent off, she felt a warm and happy feeling spreading over her limbs. And as she listened for the telltale beep of his phone to indicate the text being received, there was no wiping the grin from her face.

Leaning her head back against the door, the young woman turned her head to watch the shadows under the frame. And with a whisper, she repeated the message to herself... and maybe even to him if he could hear her through the wood. ] ...I'll be ready.