Attention Span

A/N: I've already posted and shared this fic on my Livejournal account about a couple weeks ago…I don't know why it took me so long to post it on FF…So if this fic looks familiar- that's where you saw it. Anyways on with the story!~

…

There was no way to ignore those dark eyes that were drilling into the back of his head. No way to ignore the echo of footsteps- the sound of sandals kicking up dirt and sand- behind him. No way to ignore the constant calling of his name in different pitches and tones. The ninja named Sai just simply couldn't be ignored…but that didn't stop Naruto from trying…and from failing miserably.

"For fucks sake…" Naruto mumbled angrily. "Stop following me, Sai." The blond-haired ninja turned around and faced his pursuer with narrowed blue eyes. "I already told you-"

"I know what you said." Sai interrupted, his pale face blank and seemingly innocent. "But people have the tendency to change their minds."

Naruto further narrowed his bright blue-eyes at the dark-haired ninja before him. "Don't worry, Sai. I definitely won't change my mind about this." The blond said dully with sarcasm. He was about to turn around and continue walking until a wide smile broke out on Sai's face. It was the kind of smile that always made Naruto inwardly cringe and question if Sai really was a human and not some kind of alien from outer space.

"I'll be waiting, Naruto," said the raven with confidence. Where he got this confidence- Naruto had no idea- but then again the guy must have some kind of confidence to wear a belly-shirt everyday. All he knew was that Sai was being a persistent asshole,…a very, very persistent asshole.

The blond could only groan aloud as he resisted the urge to pull at his own hair...and possibly strangle Sai in the process. "Please don't." Naruto pleaded, he then turned around and began walking again. The blond only made it five steps until he heard the echo of following footsteps behind him. "Sai!"

Sai held up his hands in a sign of surrender. Mock surrender but a surrender no less. "Fine. I won't follow you." Sai stated flatly.

"Thank you!" Naruto was relieved.

"I will see you tomorrow." That relief didn't last very long.

"Arrghh." The blond ran a frustrated tan hand through his wild locks. "Why are you doing this?" Naruto demanded. The dirt road that lead to Naruto's apartment wasn't exactly empty, a few passer- byers giving the duo a glance before swiftly walking past because of the tension that hung in the air. Naruto didn't mind that he was making a scene and the asshole, Sai, didn't seem to notice nor care either.

Sai replied in his blunt and direct way because frankly he didn't know any other way to speak. "Because I want to comfort you."

Naruto glared. His glares becoming more sharp and fearsome as the days prolonged. "I don't need comfort." Naruto hissed out.

"But aren't you lonely without Sasuke?" Sai asked with a tilt of his head. How can this asshole look so innocent when he asks such a question? Sai was far from innocent and Naruto knew that. The blond took a threatening step forward, his face so close to Sai's that their noses were almost touching.

"How many times have I told you! Me and Sasuke were not in that kind of relationship!"

Sai stood his ground. The innocent look remaining unflinchingly on his face. "Fifteen times, but I don't believe you. And your grammar is incorrect: It's: Sasuke and I." Sai watched as Naruto tossed his head back and released a long drawn out groan. His hands fisting at his blond hair and tugging.

"Just shut up, Sai! Me and Sasuke," Naruto evidently sticking to his 'incorrect grammar'. "Never had sex!"

"My research says otherwise."

"Fuck your research!"

At this Sai frowned. His research was very important to him. It helped him interact with his fellow ninjas. Without it he'll be lost. It was after countless hours of reading, book after book, that Sai realized something. It had became clear to him that Naruto was suffering because Sasuke wasn't in the village. After more research, Sai discovered that Naruto had hidden feelings for Sasuke. More digging concluded that Sasuke had returned the feelings. But why was Naruto denying it now? With a shake of his head and his voice uncharacteristically firm he said, "Either way, the fact stands that I'm offering myself to you."

Naruto was momentarily taken aback. The past month, everyday week, everyday, he was being confronted by Sai. Sai saying weird things and giving false accusations. Naruto was so angry and heated about the things that spilled from Sai's mouth that he had missed the most crucial part... Sai was offering himself to him. What the hell? "What the hell?"

"I'm offering to replace Sasuke." Sai continued. The firm voice gone and a nonchalant one now present.

"Wait, wait…" Naruto said, his voice coming out chocked and slightly out of breath from shock. "You want to have sex with me?"

Sai nodded.

"But only because you think it will help keep my mind off Sasuke?"

Another nod.

"Because you think me and Sasuke were in that kind of relationship?"

Another nod.

Naruto sighed. When did his life become so confusing? Sai was a strange one indeed. "I didn't have that kind of relationship with Sasuke." Naruto's hard look and steel voice confirmed he wasn't lying. He was tired of all these assumptions and he wanted to make everything clear before it got out of hand. Well, more out of hand than it already was. "We were just friends." Naruto released a bitter chuckle. "Hell, we were barely friends."

"Then why are you so sad?" Sai blurted, unable to contain himself. He wanted to know the reason behind Naruto's fake smile.

Naruto glanced at Sai, their eyes locking for the first time that evening. "Because…Because I failed him. I fuckin' failed him. And I'm miserable for that. 'Cause after everything I-" Naruto heartfelt ramble was cut off by a pair of lips crashing onto his own. Naruto stood rigged, the gears in his mind, which had abruptly stopped, began shifting again to process what was happening. Sai was kissing him. And it wasn't just any kiss…

The blond-haired ninja's back was pressed up against a tree. His shoulder blades rubbing somewhat painfully against the rough and grainy texture of the trunk. Sai arms, one around his neck and the other buried in his hair, were forceful and firm. Sai pulling apart Naruto's lips and using his tongue in a very, very erotic way.

Naruto was dumfounded. For a moment he couldn't make himself move and Sai took full advantage of that. When Naruto finally got his basic motor skills back he tried to push Sai away, only succeeding by separating him at arms length. "Stop!" Naruto gasped, his breath having been sucked out of him. "What the hell are you doing!"

Sai answered as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Comforting you."

Naruto groaned again, his head falling back and hitting the tree in back of him. The pain wasn't enough to wake him up from this insane dream. Oh, how he wished it was a dream. Naruto pushed Sai away; the force of the push making Sai stumble backwards. "I don't need comfort." Naruto stated and then walked away. Thankfully Sai didn't follow. Not right away anyway.

…

"Sakura, I'm telling you he's crazy! He's unstable! You've got to protect me and- oh shit- he's here! Hide me! Hide me, Sakura! Fuck! Fuck! Ow!"

Sakura smiled sweetly as her teammate, Sai, approached her. She flicked a strand of pink hair from her face and called out a greeting in which her raven-haired teammate responded.

"Good evening, Sakura." Sai said with one of his wide smiles- though this one seemed more sincere and realistic then his other smiles. "Have you seen Naruto?"

Sakura, feigning ignorance, shook her head in the negative. "Nope. I haven't seen him since yesterday. He had a meeting with the Hokage today though."

Sai nodded his head agreeing. "I caught him when he finished reporting in with the Hokage but he told me to leave him alone. Since then I've been following him but entering this district I haven't gotten a read on him."

Sakura blinked and then gave an amused smile that was poorly hidden. "Have you checked the ramen stand?"

Sai considered it and then agreed. "I will go check."

Within a moment the raven-haired-ninja disappeared in a cloud of smoke and the pinkette rolled her eyes.

"Thank the fuckin' lord!" Naruto exclaimed as he climbed out of a garbage can that Sakura had literally forced him into before Sai had arrived. "I knew that asshole was following me! Good thing I concealed my chakra. See, I told you he was crazy Sakura-chan!"

Sakura rolled her green eyes again and spoke in a bored but curious voice. "What was that all about?"

Naruto was dusting off his clothes and picking out stray garbage that had attached itself to him. "I told you… Sai's a psycho…"

Sakura made a point to raise her eyebrow in a way to show Naruto that she didn't believe a word he said. "Come on…What's really going on?" For the past month, Sai and Naruto had been acting weird. Well, more weird than usual. It was getting uncomfortable and really annoying. Just what was going on to make Naruto hesitate to tell her?

She watched as Naruto struggled with himself on whether to tell her or not. This only increased Sakura's curiosity and she gave Naruto a pleading puppy-dog look that she knew he couldn't resist. "Why…why won't you tell me?"

Naruto's blue eyes widened and he instantly turned away. He couldn't look at Sakura or else he would spill everything out. It was way too embarrassing, not to mention humiliating, to tell your ex-crush that their raven-haired teammate, Sai, was molesting and stalking him.

The blond felt a poke to his ribs and without looking he knew that Sakura was smiling, looking like a child in a candy store. "Come on, Naruto. Tell me."

"No."

Another poke.

"No."

Another - more forceful- poke.

"No."

Sakura's pretty face turned into a scowl. "Don't be a baby and tell me what's going on with Sai!"

"Noooooooo."

Sakura made a fist- she had no qualms on punching the information out of Naruto- but before she could execute her plan Naruto was already fleeing, already halfway down the street. "I got to go! Bye, Sakura!"

Sakura frowned. "I'll find out sooner or later."

…

"Phew, that was close." Naruto whispered. He didn't want Sakura knowing what was going on. It was enough for Sai to be jumping to conclusions but for Sakura as well…he didn't think he could take it. His life was becoming much more complicated than it should be. "This is all Sai's fault."

"What's my fault?"

Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin and he looked at Sai as though he were a ghost. "When the fuck you get here?" Naruto hollered, one hand pointing at Sai and the other over his jumping heart. "I told you to stop following me!"

"I came to see if you changed your mind." Sai stated as though it were obvious and by now it pretty much was.

Naruto growled. "It's barely been over an hour! How the hell am I suppose to decide if you don't even give me some time?"

Sai tilted his head. "Oh! You need time to think about it? Why didn't you say so."

"No, no, no! I don't need time to think about it! My answer is no!"

Sai again tilted his head in that innocent way. "Why do you refuse my comfort?"

Naruto waved his arms about in a panicked and frustrated way. "I already told you! There is nothing to comfort! There was no Sasuke and me! Your observations are wrong I am not-"

"They are correct."

Naruto lowered his eyes dangerously. "Wrong."

"Correct.

"Wrong!"

"Correct."

"Wrong!"

…

"I can't believe Tsunade-ba-chan gave me ten hours of community service." Naruto irately murmured. The blond kicked at the rumble at his feet and gave Sai, who was a few feet away, a heated look.

The pale, belly-shirt-wearing-fellow didn't seem the least bit fazed by what just happened.

"Why did I get ten hours when you only got five!" Naruto huffed.

Sai's dark eyes glanced at Naruto and he gave a shrug. "Perhaps, it was because it was you who started the fight." Sai raised a pale hand to rub at his jaw that had a bruise forming from where Naruto had slugged him.

"You provoked me, you asshole!" Naruto roared. "If you had only kept your mouth shut this wouldn't have happened!" the blond crossed his hands over his chest. "The Hokage didn't have to get involved in this."

Sai gave the blond an incredulous look, raising an eyebrow high on his forehead. "Are you serious? You were the one to suddenly go off and hit me. You tossed me right through that fence and you broke that table and disturbed those customers in that outdoor coffee shop. It took two off-duty Jounins to pull us apart since you seemed so content in grinding me into the ground,…unfortunately it wasn't in the good way. "

Naruto rolled his eyes and huffed "It was actually one Jounin, the other was a Chuunin. And don't act so goddamn innocent- you had it coming."

"Either way, I think you overreacted."

"Overreacted? Overreacted? You have been stalking me and molesting me for over a month. I got a right to react and I didn't over-fucking-react!"

"…I think you did."

…

"I can't believe Tsunade gave me fifteen hours of community service."

Sai, who was clutching his bruised ribs, chose to say nothing.

"Oh,…so you got nothing to say, huh?"

Sai remained silent.

Naruto sighed. It was thanks to Kyuubi that Naruto wasn't currently limping. Sai had gotten quite a few good hits in but Sai didn't heal as fast and was the only one who was currently hurt. Naruto felt bad. Maybe he did overreact. Naruto frowned. Maybe just a little.

"I'm sorry, okay!" Naruto blurted. His guilty conscious making itself known. "You just got me all riled up and you really did have it coming! You're lucky I even lasted this long! I should of kicked your ass when this all started."

They were standing on the side of the road, a couple of blocks away from the Hokage tower, alone. It was well past nine o'clock and it was getting darker.

In a quieter more earnest tone Naruto spoke: "Can you please just let it go? I hate talking about Sasuke and when you bring him up the way you do I just lose my temper."

"I'm sorry."

Naruto was startled by Sai's quiet voice.

"I know I'm bothering you but I can't help it."

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto.

"Using Sasuke was the only way I could get close to you." Sai looked directly into Naruto's eyes. "I truly do want to comfort you." Naruto opened his mouth to object but Sai interrupted. "Just once. Just once let me comfort you and I won't bring it up again." Sai began to walk away. "I'll give you time to think about it. I'll be waiting." And then Sai was gone before Naruto could say a word.

…

"If someone offered themselves to you would you accept?" The question left Naruto's mouth without permission and it seemed well out of place in the conversation that was present.

"What the hell?" Asked Kiba confused. "Where did this come from?"

Naruto, who was sitting across from Kiba in the outdoor training grounds, blinked. Sai's offer was as fresh in his mind as it was two mouths ago. Now that the question was out in the open Naruto decided to run with it. "If someone offered themselves to you- would you accept?" Naruto asked, eyes locked with Kiba's.

Kiba stuttered and looked about the grounds to make sure they were indeed alone. "What the hell you gettin' at?" Kiba whispered.

Naruto bit his bottom lip and mumbled.

"What I can't hear you?"

"I said, offered as in 'sexually'."

Kiba was momentarily dumbfounded. "You mean someone offered themselves to you sexually?"

"Hypothetical! Hypothetically!"

Kiba waved the poor excuse off. "Who was it? Oh my god, was it Hinata?" Kiba stood up. "You son-of-a-bitch! If you touch Hinata I swear I will fuckin kill you!"

"It's not Hinata-chan you dumbfuck!" Exclaimed Naruto.

"Oh,…thank god." Kiba exhaled as he found his seat once again. "You nearly gave me a heart attack." After a moment to get over his relief Kiba lean toward Naruto in eagerness. "Who was it?" He asked excitingly.

Naruto frowned. "It doesn't matter who it was…and I said it was hypothetical!" Naruto ran a hand through his wild blond locks. "Just…would you or would you not?"

Kiba gave a shrug, honestly unsure. "I don't know. I guess it demands on who and why." He gave Naruto an inquiring look. "So…?"

Naruto looked away. "I'm not telling you who, Kiba." The blond sighed. "You're no help at all."

"Well, I'm sorry. You asked me out here to train not to give you advise on hypothetical situations." Kiba said dully.

Naruto huffed and stood up to leave. "Don't make fun, Kiba. Anyways, thanks for your lack of advice. I got to go."

"Come on. Don't be like that!"

Naruto was already gone.

…

"When he says 'no' he really means 'yes'…?What kind of trash are you reading, Sai."

Sai looked up over his book toward Naruto who was standing before him with his arms crossed over his chest. "Put that book down. They're screwing with your head!"

Sai put the book down but not before he marked his page and he looked at Naruto in curiosity. "I haven't seen you in almost two months…To what do I owe this visit?" Sai asked.

Naruto looked side to side surveying the library and finally taking a seat across from Sai at the table. "I've been thinking about what we talked about last. I can't seem to get it out of my mind. It's-It's all I fuckin' think about! I feel like- wait- what the fuck is this!" Naruto shouted.

On the left side of Sai was a mountain of books and one of the book titles read: Spells to fulfill your desires. -

"Did you put a hex on me!" Naruto shouted, not at all concerned that he was in a library. "You cursed me didn't you! You put a spell on me so that I couldn't get you out of my head, didn't you, you asshole! I should-"

"I did no such thing, Naruto." Sai said quickly, he didn't want another fight to break out and then get thrown out of the library. He liked the library very much.

"Then what the hell is this!"

"Research. I find it interesting but by no means true."

"Oh,…" Naruto suddenly felt ridiculous and he gave a nervous smile and apologized to the surrounding people he had disturbed. He tossed the book back onto the pile and sat stiffly in his chair as he waited for Sai to say something.

Sai remained mute and unblinking.

"Well…" Naruto prompted.

"Well, what? You were the one who came to me?"

"I already said it!" A loud hushing sound came from behind and Naruto lowered his voice into a whisper. "I said that I can't stop thinking about it." The blond folded his hands on the table and buried his head into them. "This is all your fault." He said, his words coming out muffled.

Sai gave a small contemplating frown. "Does this mean that you are not completely against us having a sexual relationship?"

Naruto's head snapped up and his cheeks flushed. "Don't say it out loud like that, you asshole!"

Sai only stared at the blond waiting for an answer.

The blond ninja sighed. "I-I guess not. Okay! Are you fucking happy now!"

Sai gave a wide smile that for once reached his eyes. "Yes. Very much happy." He reached over and grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him out of the library.

"Wha- Wait, were are we going?"

"To my place," Sai responded.

Naruto tried to pull his hand out of Sai's grip but was unsuccessful. He continued to struggle as he choked out panicked words. "No! Wait, we can't just…"

"Oh, do you want to do this at your place?" Sai changed their direction so that they were now headed toward Naruto's apartment instead.

"No, I didn't mean that! I mean it's too early,…shouldn't we go on a date or something first?"

Sai stopped in his tracks and Naruto was finally able to pull his arm free. "You want to date?" Sai asked somewhat amazed.

Naruto, feeling awkward, scratched the back of his neck. "If we're going to do this, we might as well do it right, right?" The blond chuckled.

"But I only planned on comforting you."

Naruto narrowed his blue-eyes. "And I told you that there's nothing to comfort."

Sai stood unblinking. He wanted to correct Naruto but he thought otherwise.

The blond sighed once again. "Look, Sai," he began. "These past few months have been crazy and I honestly feel like I'm going insane. The only way to work this out- so that we can get past it or run with it- is to try dating."

Sai gave no outer reaction to Naruto's words except for the slight curving of his lips.

Naruto continued talking. "I think we should try it- no matter how much my common sense refuses."

"..Okay."

"Okay."

…

"See this isn't so bad." Naruto mussed aloud, his chopsticks hovering over an almost empty ramen bowl. "Aren't you having fun, Sai?"

Sai, who sat next to him at the counter, gave the blond a sideways glance. "I suppose," he said as he dipped his own chopsticks in his ramen. Silence stretched between them but Sai was the only one to take notice since Naruto was quite content on sitting there and eating his ramen. "I've read books on dating and I believe we are doing this wrong," the raven-haired ninja said unreservedly.

Naruto, with a mouth-full of ramen, blinked at him. "Wat you tating bout'?" he said- his words muffled by the noodles.

Sai gave one of his wide false smiles that made Naruto instantly frown. "I am not the one you wish to date. Sasuke is."

The blond-haired ninja swallowed his noodles and promptly responded. "Not this again, Sai, Why do you constantly mention Sasuke!"

"Perhaps it is because Sasuke is always on your mind."

Naruto couldn't respond to that and he watched as Sai stood up and left the ramen stand.

…

It was a couple weeks later when Team Kakashi got a mission. Sasuke was spotted in the Earth Country and the team was deployed in order to try and bring him back. The mission didn't succeed...It didn't go well at all. Sasuke remained a rouge ninja and Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Kakashi returned to the village empty handed.

A few days after their return, Sai found someone banging on his front door. The loud rapping resounding throughout his small apartment and it made him hastily stand up and open the door. "Naruto?" he questioned when he saw a distressed blond at his front door.

"You were right….You were right." Naruto panted. His blond hair obstructing his blue-eyes and his hands clutching the doorway as though it were a lifeline. "I love Sasuke." His voice was unsteady. "Seeing that bastard again…brought back things I tried to forget." He looked up at Sai who was remaining silent with curious eyes. "You said you would help me forget, didn't you? That you would comfort me…"

Sai gave a slow nod of confirmation and he pulled the blond inside, closing the door behind them. "Yes, I said I would comfort you."

"Good. Because I-I'm so close to fucking losing it."

Sai moved forward closing the distance between them. "So I finally have your attention?"

Naruto was momentarily confused but then he gave a positive shake of his head. "Yeah, you got my attention."

'Let's see how long his attention span is', Sai pondered.

A/N: Well, that was my first NaruSai fic. Did it work? Anyways, I couldn't seem to write a better ending, this ending seems a bit abrupt but considering that the title for the fic is "Attention span" I believe I got to my main point nonetheless.

Thank you for reading- 913