#so it’s just idiots in love/mutual pining to the highest degree

[volvolts]

The fake dating trope is so weird cuz I read a lot of those when I was younger and a lot of these were “person says they’re dating a friend/acquaintance cuz creep who is harassing them won’t leave them alone and creep demands proof so they keep up the facade in hopes they’ll leave” and suddenly now it’s “what if 😳😳 we go on dates no one will know of 😳😳 and maybe hold hands when no one is looking 😩😩 but I swear it’s for the bit”

[aquariius-rising]

Lavender Latte (Shikamaru x reader)

Thinking about a slow burn situationship with Shikamaru Nara, who you meet during your first year at university. I got carried away with the mutual pining, but I’d like to eventually make this into a series of fics that can also be read as standalones.

feat: fem!reader, university student! reader, fluff, angst, comfort, mutual pining, two idiots in love

wc: 2.4k | masterlist

It was a general education class, which had little to do with your major, but you were determined to maintain a perfect GPA. Shikamaru did not care too much about GPA, he just wanted to graduate (D’s do get degrees, after all). 

On the first day of class, he was the last person to arrive. The only seat available to him was up front, next to you. You smiled at him and passed him an extra copy of the syllabus, which you saved in case someone came in late. He mumbled a quiet thank you. 

He found your attitude grating at first, especially since the class was at 9am. He couldn’t understand how you managed to show up early, eyes bright and well-rested with your color coded notes that you took ahead of each lecture. 

You answered every discussion question and hosted study sessions in your dorm room. Shikamaru, on the other hand, showed up late (if he showed at all). He didn’t talk unless he had to, and he certainly didn’t take notes. You were sunshine in human form, and Shikamaru preferred to stay in the shadows. 

When he showed up 15 minutes late one morning, he noticed that you’d saved his seat and left an energy bar with a smiley sticker on it. A sticker! 

‘Tch. troublesome.’ 

He cursed you for being so sweet, but the lazy man made a point to grab your favorite coffee as a thank you for the next class. He scoffed at your order, a flowery latte with plant milk. 

‘Women,’ he muttered to himself, ordering it and a black coffee for himself. 

Despite your differences, the two of you got along.

You only see each other in the context of the single class you share, but you make a powerful study team. The rest of the class, sensing that they could never keep up with your high energy and his intellect, slowly stopped showing up to your sessions. 

Noticing this, Shikamaru began to come each week. Eventually, you two had a private study session. You tell him you need an A in this class because you want to apply to law school, and for some reason he decides he wants to help you get there. Your grades soared, and Shikamaru found himself making a point to get to class only 5 minutes late.

His group of friends teased him about it every time they met for a kickback. Since when do you care about gen eds? They’d ask. Shikamaru could only curse at them and roll his eyes. 

Your friends were equally confused. They couldn’t understand why you’d spend time with a slacker like Shikamaru. You laughed them off, assuring them that he’s actually the smartest person you’ve ever met, and that he’s just waiting until his higher level classes start next year.

Exam week looms over campus like a thick fog. You were especially anxious to set the best foundation for your academic performance, which is why you were camping in the library. You spent a solid 6 hours staring at your textbooks, willing your brain to understand what you were reading. 

“The answer is C,” a voice drawled behind you, startling you back to reality. And there he was, smirking down at your disheveled appearance, your latte in hand. 

He’s never seen you so flustered, and for a moment, he wondered what else could make you look like that. He wanted to be the one to tousle your hair and make you stare up at him with those wide eyes. A slight blush crosses his face and he averts his gaze. You don’t notice. 

He offers the caffeine to you and you accept it, your eyes filled with gratitude and he settles in a seat beside you for a quick tutoring session. It helps, and you try in vain to offer anything in return. 

You both get the highest grades in the class, of course. Your friends go out for a night to celebrate and to loosen up after 16 weeks of focusing on classes, volunteering, and internships. They meet you in your tiny dorm room with 2 bottles of cheap red wine and dress you in your roommate’s old little black dress before sneaking out to a bar on campus.

The smell of cigarette smoke mixes with greasy pub food, and you can’t maneuver around the space without bumping into someone. The experience is equal parts mortifying and exhilarating.

Shikamaru notices you walk in. He’s surprised you’d come to this shitty establishment since he’s never seen you out during the regular semester. He puts out his cigarette and ambles toward you, ignoring his friends’ prying questions. 

You beam when you meet his gaze, and emboldened by the unfamiliar territory, you offer to buy him a drink. To make up for all the coffees he got you, of course. Shikamaru lets out a laugh at this. 

‘Troublesome woman,’. You giggle at the nickname and loop your arm with his, dragging him to the bar. Your shoes stick to the linoleum flooring, making your inebriated steps clumsier. 

He steadies you, rolling his eyes despite the mirth dancing in his eyes. You let him order for both of you since you don’t know what you like, and he hands you a yellow drink. The bartender smirks knowingly at Shikamaru, and you quietly pay and offer a meek “thank you”. 

His eyes drink in the way your hair sticks to your neck and the soft sheen of sweat that gathers at your hairline, causing the tiny hairs there to curl from the moisture. You smell like summertime, citrus and wildflowers. It cuts through the heavy smell that lingers around the venue. 

“Tequila pineapple,” he offers. You look at him with slight confusion. 

“Your drink. It’s not a real cocktail since this isn’t a real bar, but it works,” he said simply. You thank him again and try it. It burns, of course, but the pineapple juice offers sweet relief. He laughs at your attempt to drink without wincing. 

Your friends find you before you can talk properly and you follow them to the dancefloor, careful not to spill on anyone. You shoot him an apologetic glance before getting lost in the fervor around you. It’s sweaty and maybe a little gross, but the tequila makes it difficult for you to concentrate fully. 

Shikamaru returned to his friends, his beer half finished. Lately, your conversations have left him feeling uneasy. He’d hoped it was because of exams but he knew what was happening. Every shared laugh, every conspiratorial look, felt like a punch to his gut. It was a tangled mess of emotions he was ill-equipped to deal with. 

He tried to pay attention to whatever Kiba was talking about, but his eyes kept flickering to you. Eventually, Choji followed his gaze to your form. 

"So that’s why you’re up at 8AM on Mondays?" Choji asked, darting between his childhood friend and you. The rest of the group, sensing a juicy conversation taking place, turned to face you too. Kiba whistled, causing Naruto to burst in a fit of laughter.   

“It’s not like that,” he muttered, watching some guy wrap his arm around your waist and whisper something in your ear. The dazzling smile you give him in response could have stopped Shikamaru’s heart. His hand tightens around his beercan, denting it a bit. Choji looks at him, sympathy clear on his face. 

You swayed, holding onto someone’s shoulder for extra stability. The air around you was electric. You hummed in tune with the music, loud and overpowering. 

A guy from your political science class, Sasuke was it?, approaches you. He tells you he was impressed with your final project, making you blush. He was handsome, but the connection between you was friendly. He leans into you and asks you about your roommate and you grin, ecstatic to play matchmaker. 

You grab your roommate to introduce her, but she surprises you with her own observation. 

“He keeps staring,” 

You blink, once, twice. She motions for you to turn around, so you spin dramatically. Your friends groan at your lack of subtlety. You lock eyes with Shikamaru, who finishes his drink without breaking eye contact. A shiver races down your spine.  

Shikamaru Nara didn’t like girls with so much energy. Shikamaru Nara will never put in the effort to date. You knew this, but the hours you spent together made it impossible to ignore the way you craved his attention. 

Frozen on the dancefloor, all you can do is watch as he leaves the bar. The night continues, wholly unaware of your pity party. 

Shikamaru stalks toward the exit, ignoring the calls from Choji and pushing past drunk people more forcefully than he should. He needed air. Stepping outside, he leaned against the brick wall, a cigarette dangling unlit from his lips. The cold air felt welcome after being in the hot and humid bar for the last 2 hours. 

He groaned and searched his coat pocket for his lighter. It was unfair how much you affected him. He hasn’t felt quite like himself for months, and you seemed to be completely oblivious to the effect you had on every fiber of his being. 

Taking a long drag of his cigarette, Shikamaru reflects on just how much he wishes he could say something to you. He has no idea if he’ll see you again once he left campus for winter break since you were going to be in different programs. 

Tonight felt like a gift until you were ripped from him by circumstance. He hears commotion near the exit, so he turns to the source of noise. His heart rate skyrockets when he sees you, searching for something. 

You talk to the bouncer, but the wind makes it difficult for him to hear your words. The burly man motions in his direction, and you see him. You start to head in his direction with that same dazzling smile. 

He offers you his cigarette and you laugh. Of course you don’t smoke, but he wanted to break the ice somehow. There’s a heaviness that lingers between you both. And for once, he notices, you seem to realize it too. 

You shiver, December weather finally penetrating your liquid jacket. He shrugs out of his jacket and offers it to you, ever the gentleman. It’s hard not to swoon when he treats you so sweetly. 

The jacket smells like smoke and his cologne, a distinctly masculine scent. You nuzzle the collar and inhale, earning a laugh from your normally stoic companion. The sound sends goosebumps over your skin. He tells you the dress looks good on you, that it makes you look cool with his jacket. He asks you how it feels to go out for the first time. You retreat into the jacket, but will yourself to respond. 

"It's...different," you admit, the words muffled by fabric. You weren't sure if you meant the change in style or the shift in your dynamic that you both seem to be acknowledging tonight. 

Shikamaru chuckles again,"Good different, I hope?"

You meet his gaze, the playful teasing you usually shared replaced by a hesitant vulnerability. "Different...and confusing."

He pushes off the wall, shoving his hands into his pockets. 

"Confusing?" He echoes, his voice a low murmur. He looks dangerous and you gulp despite yourself.

"You," you blurted, surprised by your own boldness. "You looked upset. And then you were gone,"

Shikamaru flinches, a flicker of something akin to embarrassment crossing his face, seeming to wrestle with the right words. You take a step closer to him. 

There was a beat of silence, thick with emotion. Finally, Shikamaru sighs.

 "Look," he mumbles, scratching the back of his neck, a nervous habit you noticed on the first day of class. "Don't get the wrong idea about… back there."

You feel the moment slipping away before you’ve said what you’ve been too afraid to say for 4 months. You reach for him, desperate to prevent him from sabotaging what they had before they could confess to each other. 

“Sasuke was interested in my roommate. He’s my friend,” you say, firmly. 

He meets your gaze, the air crackling between you, tension reaching a fever pitch.  "This isn't..." He paused again, frustration evident in his furrowed brow. "This isn't how I thought things would be. I hoped to tell you before now, I guess"

Your heart hammers against your ribs. Did he just...? But before you can press him further, a mischievous grin spreads across his face. "Besides," he continues, a hint of his usual playfulness returning, "You wouldn’t want to waste your time with a troublesome guy like me, would you?"

The playful tease sent a wave of relief and confusion washing over you. Before you could decipher his mixed signals, he flicked his cigarette butt onto the ground, an almost defeated sigh escaping his lips.

"Come on," he said, offering you his arm. "Let's get you back inside before you freeze."

You hesitate for a moment, the weight of his unspoken words hanging heavy in the air. Then, with a small smile, you grab his hand, intertwining your fingers with his. Before nerves can convince you otherwise, you brush your lips against his.  Time stands still as he takes a step toward you, deepening the kiss for a second longer before parting. Your breath heaves from excitement and he swears he could cry tears of joy. 

“Okay, now let’s go back,” you whisper against his lips. He nods, unable to say anything. 

You join him inside, this time meeting his friends. 

Choji watches Shikamaru joke with you, his demeanor more excited than he’s ever seen. And you stare up at him, the depths of your feelings obvious to everyone but the two of you. Even Kiba, normally the jokester and playboy, can’t help but smile at your obvious chemistry. 

Sasuke buys everyone in both groups a round, as a thank you for setting him up with your roommate. Despite your differences, everyone chatters excitedly about their upcoming plans during break and your schedules for next semester. 

You have no idea what the future holds, or what tonight means for you and him, but you decide not to think about it for now as you take a sip of your second tequila pineapple. 

Shikamaru never thought a troublesome 9AM class would inspire gratitude, but looking at you tucked beside him warmed him like a sip of perfectly brewed coffee on that fateful morning.