The apartment Temari stayed in when she visited Konoha was spacious; more importantly, it was the one residence where they didn't have to worry about parents. While Temari was protective of her privacy, desperate times called for desperate measures. She was willing to sacrifice some of her comfort for the sake of a friend.

Hinata was beaming. She was more animated than Temari had ever seen, and she recounted her ramen run with Naruto like it was the most important event in her life. She sat with her legs tucked underneath her, looking smaller than she was in the oversized, plush chair.

"Did he pay for you?" Sakura asked, trying to glean further details.

Hinata shook her head, admitting "Mr. Teuchi told us we didn't have to pay."

"He was probably happy to see Naruto out with someone of the opposite sex," Tenten pointed out, amused. Naruto had never been the type to date. Mr. Teuchi had known Naruto since he was a child, and, in Tenten's opinion, he had probably given up hope that Naruto would ever settle down. It wouldn't surprise anyone if he chose to live his life like his master.

"Well, what did you talk about?" Ino pressed. "What did he say?"

"Not much. He doesn't talk much when he eats." Hinata shifted in her chair. "On the way there, he talked about Sai for a bit. I don't think he likes him…"

"Welcome to my life," Sakura mumbled, rolling her eyes. Those two would be the death of her.

"He also complained that Shikamaru ditched him. I think he felt left out."

"That was his choice," Tenten argued. "No one was stopping him. He chose to be the last one to join us."

Hinata nodded. "I think he figured that out after a while. It was making me anxious, and I think he noticed. He apologized, but he didn't say why."

Sakura gave a low whistle. "Talk about a breakthrough. You should charge him for therapy."

This earned a laugh from the group, even Hinata.

"What else?" Temari inquired once she stopped laughing.

"He told me he was happy I went with him." Hinata couldn't help but blush. "He said that we don't get to talk a lot or really hang out. He sounded kind of sad about it… At least, I think he did. I don't know. Maybe I read too much into it."

"If he said it, he meant it." Sakura smiled. "That's just how he is."

Hinata smiled to herself, looking down as she inspected a lock of her hair for split ends to avoid eye contact. "We stayed at Ichiraku for a while. Mr. Teuchi was really nice and stayed open a little late. I felt guilty about that… so I asked if we could leave."

"And?" Ino arched an eyebrow.

"He said he was going to walk me home. He didn't like that there was a new moon and he couldn't really see. I think he forgot about my byakugan, to be honest. He walked with me up to the gate of our clan's property, but then he came up with an excuse to leave. I'm pretty sure he's scared of my father. I don't blame him, but I wish he would have told me instead of giving that bad excuse."

"God, what did he say?" Sakura groaned.

"He just sort of stammered. I think it was something about Kakashi-sensei needing him to walk his dogs."

Sakura put her palm to her face.

Temari turned to her friends, daring to ask, "Does he even have a dog?"

Ino shook her head. "Ninja hounds."

Trying to get the conversation back on track, Tenten turned to Hinata. "Did he make any plans with you before that?"

"Not exactly. He said that the next time everyone goes out, we should skip and get ramen instead, but he didn't really ask."

"I have to say, for Naruto, that's pretty good." Sakura crossed her arms in thought. "He's far from suave, but it sounds like he was being genuine…"

"Hell yeah!" Ino grinned and pumped a fist into the air. "Way to go, Hinata!"

"She's not done yet," Temari reminded them. "He didn't set up any solid plan, remember?"

"Easy. We just need to get everyone together again." Ino stopped to think. "We need to think of something to do that Naruto wouldn't like."

"Sakura? This seems to be your area of expertise." Tenten turned to her pink-haired friend.

"Well, we can't get everyone to go to a bar two nights in a row." Sakura's brow furrowed in thought.

Temari glanced at Hinata, deciding that helping her friend was more important than her solitude. "I'd be okay if you just come over here and watch a movie."

"Are you sure?" Ino asked. "That's a lot of people in your space."

Temari nodded. "As long as you actually leave, it'll be fine. Besides, Hinata needs our help."

Hinata's eyes shone with gratitude. "I don't know what to say."

With a dismissive wave, Temari brushed the comment aside. "We'll order in and watch something Naruto won't like. It'll be fine."

"He's terrified of horror," Sakura suggested. "So is Hinata, but she'll be going with him."

Ino pulled out her cellphone and flipped it open. "I'll let everyone know. Is seven okay?"

"Sure." Temari shrugged, accepting her fate. "Tell them it'll be on Suna's dime. I can spin it as fostering inter-village relations or something. Gaara won't mind."

"They're sure to show up for free food," Tenten agreed.

A series of sharp knocks sounded on the front door. "Speak of the devil," Temari mused, recognizing the pattern. To her surprise, the pattern repeated before she could turn the knob. When she opened the door, Shikamaru's fist fell awkwardly, having nothing to rap against.

"Dammit, woman." Shikamaru huffed, although she could easily see his relief. "I thought you'd died or something when I didn't get a call demanding that I take you somewhere." He was doing his best to seem annoyed. When Temari laughed, his annoyance became more real than feigned.

"Shikamaru Nara, were you worried about me?"

"You're such a drag," Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"No, it's sweet!" Ino exclaimed, having turned around on the couch. Her arms rested on the back, propping herself up.

Shikamaru peered past Temari into her living room, realizing that she was far from alone. This was so much worse than he'd thought. His friends were here to see him caring about something; he'd never live it down. He looked accusatorily back to the sand princess, demanding "You actually have people here?"

"Fuck you." Temari turned her back on him, but the door was left open. Taking this as a sign that he was allowed inside, Shikamaru stepped over the threshold.

"Just in time!" Ino beckoned him over. "We need to get everyone here at seven. We're trying to set Naruto up with Hinata, so we're doing a horror flick and take-out. Think you can get the guys on board?"

Shikamaru turned from his teammate to Temari. "If they're holding you hostage, blink twice."

"She offered," Ino snapped, annoyed by his attitude.

"Alright, alright, I'll tell 'em. God." Shikamaru scratched the back of his head before reaching for the pack of cigarettes in his pocket. After putting one between his lips, he asked Temari, "You're really on board with this?"

Temari looked him straight in the eye and blinked twice.