The dorm wasn't small; two bedrooms, a decent kitchen (all appliances included for a minimal extra fee per semester which they split), an awesome bathroom with a built in spa, a balcony overlooking the mountains on the south boundary of campus, and the coolest lounge slash entertaining area a college kid could hope for. They even had their own double garage which Sasuke had claimed and Naruto stashed his bike in.

Naruto pulled his pillow over his head; the darkness heightened his other senses, especially his hearing, and wished that he had been in on the layout planning of these rooms. See, he would have situated the bedrooms further apart, like faaarrr apart and added way more padding to the walls all to stifle the …

'Mm .. hah ..'

Naruto groaned and squeezed the pillow over his ears. It had been an awesome idea to move into the dorms at the start of semester. Awesome, because Naruto had come up with the idea, so of course, it was awesome. He'd more like dragged Sasuke along with him than acknowledge his protests about unsanitary mattresses, and questionable behaviours of 'public' living. Naruto had all but convinced him, playing off his best friend's reserved introvertedness, telling him it would be great to experience the 'whole college thing' and all the perks that went along with it, and when they saw what was on offer they commended themselves on their awesome choice.

'Hh … h … mmm …'

But once his roommate had discovered what else was on offer, Naruto had seriously doubted them living together. The guy was so quiet and reserved, who would've guessed he masqueraded on the weekends as a fucking sex pistol? It hurt Naruto that his best friend in the whole world had kept this dark side of him hidden for all these years. They had grown up together, gone to the same preschool, hung in the same circles, ate at the same places, shared baths (when they were younger, not by choice), and basically had lived together for years (again, not really by choice). They were pretty tight, more like brothers than friends, knew everything and anything about each other. But Naruto felt like killing himself whenever Sasuke brought home a stray and assaulted his senses every other weekend.

With another quiet groan of frustration, Naruto turned over onto his right side, facing the wall, squeezing the pillow even tighter. But, no matter how hard he tried to muffle the groans and … whatever else that was coming from Sasuke's bedroom, his imagination heightened every sound. It wasn't that he was annoyed that he couldn't sleep through it, it wasn't even that he was annoyed that Sasuke was getting some and he wasn't, hell, the guy needed it, it was more the fact that …

'I have finals in the morning …' Naruto hissed. No one heard his complaint. He was already failing, he just didn't get the studying thing; he just had never gotten into the groove of reading and regurgitating the information into a coherent and justified argument good enough for his grades to warrant anything higher than a C average, and if Sasuke – and of course Sakura – hadn't been beside him his entire academic life, he wouldn't even be averaging that.

He would be angry, he should be angry at Sasuke, but he couldn't be because he knew that Sasuke would die of embarrassment if he even thought Naruto could hear them going at it. He wouldn't be able to even look at Naruto if he had known that he was witness to his weekend antics. It was just the type of guy he was; private, reserved, reclusive to a point, and even more surprisingly, mostly anti social. He was a shy guy, and knowing that Naruto could hear them get all hot and heavy would, without a doubt, shatter him into a million pieces.

'Fuck's sake,' Naruto whined as the groaning and whatever became more frequent, 'you fucking owe me, bro.' Naruto took his headphones from his side table, shoved them over his ears, pressed play, not caring what drowned out Sasuke's fun from the other room, and hit the volume button, and screwed his eyes shut. He wouldn't be able to sleep with the noise in his ears, but at least he wouldn't have to listen to … that … anymor

The next morning, Naruto's head was in his right hand as he stared blearily at the swimming black smudges which were previously words the evening before on the page. Once the movement was established at the turn … at the … movement … century …

Naruto's head was spinning heavily. He felt heavy, and there was a slight ringing in his ears. The words danced and warped together and his eyelids dropped for a moment. Just for a moment … he blinked twice and forced himself to continue reading. He read each word, absorbing none of the text. With effort he commanded his eyes to look slightly to the left, the movement causing him to sigh involuntarily as he read the numbers on the small digital clock.

8.32. Two hours until his first final. His plan to cram in as much as he could before then was cruelly being sabotaged by the fact that he had slept for exactly one hour and twelve minutes before his alarm shattered his brain, and that his brain thought it would be so funny to torture him with the opening few bars of 'Kung Fu Fighting' over and over … and over again.

He inhaled, noticing how the action caused his vision to swim again. He was slumped at his desk under the window, figuring the more professional position would help in his revision, but now he was wondering if moving this little show to the bed would be more comfortable. If he was comfortable, then he would be able to concentrate better. Concentration however, was definitely in short supply at the moment.

When the movement was established at the turn of the twentieth century, the art scene in the Asia-Pacific region was forever changed. Where once stood … the Asian … art … art and century … When the movement …

'Kung Fu Fighting …'

For most critics the movement … which was at first considered a mockery of nuveau-eroticism and popular absurdism … eroticism …

'Whoa-o-o-oa dada dada da daa da da da … Everybody was kung fu fighting …'

Naruto gasped with dry laughter. He didn't even have the energy to get frustrated. He settled for a small disapproving grunt instead as he worked his fingertips into his forehead, trying to massage the fogginess away. He gave into his rather pushy eyelids for another moment, but opened his eyes again, and stared at the page, willing his brain to at least subconsciously absorb the stupid information.

A huge red mug came into his view over his left shoulder, and then a wrist, and a forearm. Naruto smiled wryly as Sasuke placed the mug on the desk in front of him, but he didn't have the energy to pick it up. The steam floated off the murky liquid, swirling visibly into the air. Naruto gave in instantly to the coffee's deep enticing aroma and, with only a small effort willed his heavy arm, shaking from lack of sleep, to lift the mug to his lips so he could drink it.

'Make that a double,' he said, once he lowered the mug. He was kind of weirded out how out of it he sounded. 'Nah, triple,' he said, lifting the mug again and gulping the contents. The coffee was warm on the way down, and Naruto felt it all the way to his stomach. He tried to ignore the slight sensation of nausea as he assaulted his body for the first time in a long time with any kind of sustenance, and hoped that the caffeine would do its thing soon.

He rubbed his eyes; they stung and pinched a bit, and took a second to refocus afterward. He knew if he had a mirror in front him, his good self would have bright red, watering, probably puffed up, eyes.

'You look like shit,' Sasuke offered, leaning his hip on the side of the desk, wiping his palm down his grey slacks. He wasn't dressed … Naruto scoffed in reply and scratched at the back of his head. Sasuke leaned over slightly, using his fingers to turn the textbook toward him so he could read the page. He straightened and crossed his arms. 'Don't you have a final soon?'

'No,' Naruto gasped in mock surprise. 'Do I? I didn't know.' He was proud of himself as he mustered the energy to roll his shrivelled eyes slightly at his friend's observation.

Sasuke sighed and reached down to the textbook once more. His fingertips curled under the cover and he lifted his hand; the book fell shut with a dull thud. Naruto looked up at Sasuke who was looking down at the book. He was in a loose black t-shirt, and his hair was all messy and all over the place. Naruto often felt privileged that he got to see Sasuke before he got all pretty for the outside world. He often laughed at Sasuke's bed hair, but also felt comforted that Captain Perfect wasn't so perfect after all.

'You'll do fine,' he said and stood, disappearing into his bedroom.

The next few hours flew by in a caffeine fuelled blur. Naruto had no idea what type of meaningless babble he'd written down on the test paper, but was slightly reassured that he had managed to write down anything and anything was always better than nothing, right? The words had flowed quite freely, and after two hours of sitting on an uncomfortable wooden chair with his fingers cramping from squeezing the pencil so tightly as whatever incoherent crap was forever immortalised on that paper came out, and the throbbing and pounding that had snuck up on him without him realising had finally let loose in his temples and at the base of his skull, Naruto was shattered.

Naruto was of a few minds as to what to do now. He wanted to spend the afternoon worrying himself sick about what he had written on his paper, scrutinising and analysing every word and syllable until he fell a mute mess on the floor of the cafeteria. He wanted to sleep; he wanted to go home and crawl into bed and sleep until it was September. Sasuke was in class so he wouldn't be disturbed. He could close all the curtains, and turn off all the lights and just … sleep. He wanted coffee; he needed coffee. He needed to stay awake because he had to prepare for another final for tomorrow afternoon. Psych one oh one. It is a fascinating subject, Naruto. I'm sure you would enjoy it. Naruto groaned. No. He didn't enjoy psychology, but he was too far into it now to say that to his teacher. He had to get through this semester. It was Sai's fault he was in this mess; next time, he wouldn't listen to him. He wanted to eat something fatty and greasy … no, he wanted to eat something fatty and greasy and gross in front of Sasuke so he could watch his nose screw up in disgust as he tried really hard to be as polite as possible when he told Naruto to 'fuck off and eat that poison somewhere else.'

Naruto grinned at that. Sasuke saw anything with more than two calories as poison. He'd never seen him eat a burger, never seen him touch pizza, in fact … never really seen him eat much at all. Come to think of it, when the gang was together at lunch or whatever … did Sasuke ever eat? Heh, he must, he's still alive isn't he? So he must eat something. Naruto scoffed at this, he'd never even noticed in all the time that he'd spent with Sasuke, that the guy ate like a rabbit. That is, except when Naruto was in the kitchen. Then he ate. He liked Naruto's food, but it was so rare that Naruto ever cooked that Sasuke just seemed to not eat. Ever.

So, Naruto compromised all his wants by swinging by a burger joint on his way back to the dorm, dumping the stinky little brown bag on his bed, along with the cardboard cup holder that held the prized liquid, pulling a textbook for psych theory from his shelf and started to leaf through it as he munched on the giant burger he'd practically lugged all the way back, and wait for Sasuke to get back so he could watch him falter in the doorway as the place was filled with the stench of that 'fucking heart attack waiting to happen.' Naruto grinned at the mental image. Payback for last night, buddy. You keep me up all night; I fill your living space with the stench of my nasty food. Heh. Good. Very satisfying.

A sound woke Naruto up; it registered a second later as a light knock on the door. He'd been dreaming … it was about … a fox … a massacre? Naruto shook his head and rubbed his eyes. His half-eaten burger had soaked into his t-shirt making him sticky. He pulled the thing off him as another knock rapped on the door.

'Yeah … just … give me a second,' Naruto called as he shoved the burger into the bag and picked up the coffee, gulping it, not caring that it was ice-cold. His brain registered the time as his gaze fell for a second on the clock on the desk. 9.27. He stumbled to the door and opened it a crack to see who was waking him up. He swung it open fully and stumbled back into the lounge area, slumping on the couch with a tired groan. He stretched and yawned as his visitor closed the door behind him.

'Where were you?' Sai asked, his tone lightly accusing. 'When you didn't show up, I thought I'd come looking for you.' Naruto yawned again. He noticed the heavy pack on Sai's back, and the four large books in his arms.

'What're you going on about?'

'We were … you asked me,' Sai said calmly. 'Last night, remember?'

Naruto sat up, for the first time all day, fully awake and alert. He'd been hungry, and since Sasuke was out and all, he'd texted Sai …

'Argh, sorry,' Naruto said, rubbing his neck as Sai sat down next to him. 'I was completely bushed after my exam this morning … I totally forgot. Sorry.'

Sai's eyes crinkled as his smile deepened. 'I thought as much. It's okay, just something to look forward to for next time. And,' he added, placing the pack on the floor and the books on the coffee table, 'I brought the revision here for you.'

Naruto groaned and rubbed his eyes. The Pysch final … 'Thanks.'

'You're welcome, Naruto.'

For a Pysch major, Sai was a bit weird. He was so fascinated with people, that sometimes his urge to observe the 'daily workings of humanity' came off more like creeping on people. But if Naruto wasn't used to his quietly deranged obsession with the inner workings of the mind by now, he would never be. The thought made him grin. Sai was insane. Well, not insane maybe but definitely left of centre when it came to his passion. His personality came out of a text book, and he was always relaying 'textbook cases' as he observed practical examples of what he read. Naruto didn't know if Sai knew his methods were a bit weird to other people, or just didn't care. At the height of his weirdness, he used to follow people unashamed, writing away on his notepad. The same notepad peeked out of his pants pocket at this very moment. Naruto grinned again.

Sai leaned over to Naruto; it was his usual sign that he wanted to say something important. Naruto leaned closer to him so Sai knew he was listening. 'I was reading something interesting this morning about body language … such a fascinating subject … you can tell what someone is thinking by the position of their body parts, their gestures and their expressions. I was reading that if the feet point toward someone in the room, then the person likes that person.' Sai's eyes hovered on Naruto's feet, which at that moment were perched on the back of the couch near Sai's face forming a vector. 'I see that your feet are –'

'Would you like a drink or something?' Naruto asked. The room span as he stood too quickly from the couch. He went to the fridge. All they had was peach iced tea. The closest thing to soda Sasuke would allow in his fridge. Naruto grinned at the memory of triumphantly finding something Sasuke would drink other than green tea or water. It was still tea, but it was cold and had sugar in it. Oh no. Sugar. Now you don't have to look like such a freak … Why am I a freak just because I don't want to subject my body to all that crap? Because you are a freak, Sasuke. Drink the damn stuff, would ya? An involuntary puff of laughter escaped from Naruto's mouth as he took two cans from the fridge, and returning to the couch, tossed one to Sai.

'Sorry, it's all we have.'

Sai opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself and smiled instead, opening the can and tasting the tea.

'Gross, huh?' Naruto said gulping the shit, hoping it didn't touch his tongue on the way down or cause any permanent damage on the way through. 'Aaahh,' he said, crushing the can in his fist and tossing it by his feet. Sai took a second sip.

'It's … not very nice. No.'

Naruto laughed. 'Yeah, I know, right? But my petal roommate likes it, so there you go.'

Sai's eyebrows twitched into a furrow, but he smiled again and took another sip. He looked like he was trying to figure out what to do with the two-thirds full can. He placed it on the coffee table.

'Shall we then?' Sai asked and opened one of the books he had brought with him. Naruto picked up a notepad which he had stashed under the couch, and searched around for a pen. He knew there was one …

'Scuse…' he said, waffling around in the cushions under and around Sai. He leaned right over the top of him, his hand steadying himself on the back of the couch behind Sai's shoulder as he pulled the pen from under the arm of the couch. He straightened holding up the pen triumphantly.

'Nice,' he said, clicking the end a few times almost enthusiastically. 'Okay, shoot.' Sai's gaze ripped from Naruto, falling to the page open in his lap.

'Okay, chapter twelve, social and cultural control …'

An hour later, Naruto had found his second wind. He was furiously underlining pieces which were important from his own notes, ready to archive them for easy reference. He pulled the pad of sticky notes out from under his butt, and scribbled a title reference on one of the bright pieces of paper. He stuck it to the page, and continued scanning his references.

'Here's another one …' Sai said, tapping a paragraph in a small textbook. 'Sports and the implications of control? Would you like me to –'

'Sure,' Naruto said as he highlighted one particularly brilliant line he was going to use tomorrow. 'Freudian …' he mumbled to himself as he spelt out the words on his sticky note. Sai moved closer, their arms brushed against each other. Naruto stuck the sticky note to the page and continued scanning.

His vision was invaded by a page of the textbook Sai was holding. A finger tapped on another paragraph Naruto barely took any notice of. He nodded anyway, and Sai dog-eared the page for Naruto to go over when he was ready. Naruto found a particularly juicy (and relevant) piece of info, but his heart sank as he realised it went from the middle of the page he was on, all the way over to the second next page. He cursed the fact that you couldn't just take the books into Psych exams and started writing.

Sai yawned, bringing his fingers up to cover his mouth. He leaned his head on Naruto's shoulder and pressed his torso into his arm, and closed his eyes. Naruto continued writing, concentrating on the personality profiles of those who were prone to spotlighting.

'Well, totally not Sasuke,' Naruto mumbled as he wrote down a list of personality points from the profile. He shifted slightly in his seat under Sai's weight, causing him to open his eyes. He blinked a few times and yawned again.

'Naruto …'

Naruto yawned and flicked his wrist a few times trying to alleviate the cramp from writing so much.

'Go back to sleep,' Naruto mumbled in Sai's ear, briefly resting his head against his. 'It's cool. I've got this.' He didn't even falter when he felt warm fingers on the back of his neck, massaging up into his hair. Didn't even react when he felt soft lips brush against his neck … Spotlight theory … the prolification for an individual to expect attention to be … to be … and socially … A quiet, involuntary groan escaped his throat as Sai's tongue softly trailed up behind his ear.

Shit, I need you … Naruto closed his eyes as the memories from last time invaded his concentration. Really? Show me …

'I was just …'

The tone of his voice was somewhere between a whisper and a purr. Naruto opened his eyes, unable to ignore that tone. It was that tone … the one … that … Sai's eyes, usually friendly and light to everyone else, were staring holes into Naruto's skull. They shone from the fluorescence of the kitchen's light. His eyebrows furrowed again and his eyes narrowed slightly as his lips tightened. He turned his body to Naruto who was … starting to react … a bit … as Sai trailed his palm up his leg.

If Sasuke walked in right now …

'I really need to … get this done … before …'

Sai was sucking his neck as he stroked Naruto's thigh.

It had been awhile; a long while since … but Naruto liked it. He didn't know what it was about the weird Pysch major, didn't know if it was the fact that it was only him that got to see this side of him. He didn't know if it was the fact that it was only him that actually brought this side out in him in the first place. All he knew at that point was those piercing dark eyes were blinking at him … again … after all this time … and his warm slow breaths were puffing against Naruto's cheek … again … after all this time.

Sai's eyes closed as he sighed; Naruto realised he was stroking Sai's arm with his thumb.

'Hi,' Naruto said, hooking a finger in Sai's collar and pulling him closer. He had an overwhelming urge to smile as Sai leaned over, tilting his head to the side. The tip of his tongue flitted over his lips as he stared into Naruto's eyes. Sai tried to stifle a giggle as Naruto pulled him into his lap and he wrapped his arms loosely around Naruto's neck.

'I should be studying,' Naruto accused lightly as Sai leaned into him, straddled over his legs. Sai's lips were warm … soft … he tasted of strawberries and salt … Naruto groaned as Sai's fingertips pressed into the flesh between his shoulder blades. His lips parted and Naruto slipped his tongue into Sai's willing mouth. Sai gasped as Naruto's fingers found the small of his back, trailing down, teasing below the hem of his pants.

'I just …' Sai started against Naruto's lips, but he was interrupted as Naruto engulfed his lips, kissing him roughly.

A familiar sound registered in Naruto's mind as he helplessly sucked and licked at Sai's lips. An invasive, quiet metallic sound … like the sound of … a lock? A lock … Shit …

Naruto slowed; Sai groaned from the sudden lack of contact. He tightened his hold around Naruto's neck, pressing into his crotch. Naruto groaned involuntarily from the sudden stimulation as he slowly raised his gaze over Sai's shoulder.

Sai sucked and licked and nibbled at Naruto's neck, sending pleasant shivers through Naruto's body, but Naruto was frozen. Sasuke's dark eyes were narrowed and unreadable, his lip was curled slightly as he watched the scene before him. Naruto, in his tired and over stimulated state just … couldn't … he tried smiling? … at Sasuke? But then he groaned as he sort of lost control a little bit as Sai found his tender spot, sucking vigorously. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly and his lips parted as his eyebrow twitched. He turned and went into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

'Sai …' Naruto whispered, helplessly trying to resist, helplessly trying to gently push Sai away. 'Come on …'

Sai pulled back, cocked his head to the side. His eyes shone with need, sparkling with …

'Come on, this is serious. I'm gonna fail …'

After a moment, and a lot of panting, Sai smiled. He brushed his lips over Naruto's forehead and removed himself from his lap. 'Another time?'

Naruto nodded and rubbed the back of his head. 'Yeah, sure. Another time,' he promised. 'I just gotta get this done, or I'm screwed, you know?'

Sai nodded. 'Yes, we don't want you failing.'

Naruto picked up his current pile of notes which had scattered to the floor, feeling a bit sick from the weird upside down angle. He straightened as Sai got up off the couch.

'Where are you going?'

The smile never left Sai's face. 'You need to concentrate. I will see you soon.'

'No, you don't have to leave. Stay. I can do with the company.'

A strange light flitted through Sai's eyes; his gaze lowered to Naruto's feet and raised back to his face as the smile crinkled in his eyes.

'I will see you later, Naruto.'

He left and Naruto slumped back against the couch. Sometimes … just sometimes … he wished … he groaned and scrubbed his eyes vigorously. He glanced at the clock. 11.54. He groaned again. The final was at eight in the morning. That was like … he counted on his fingers and groaned again. Eight hours and he had barely remembered anything. He either needed to sleep, or get more coffee into him.

He went to the kitchen and filled the kettle, wondering how many brilliant geniuses had done exams on zero sleep? Probably heaps, like loads of them. If it was good enough for them it was good enough for …

'Hey,' Naruto said as he turned; jumping slightly as he realised Sasuke was behind him, in his usual sleeping get up, holding a mug and a teabag. He dropped the teabag into the mug and moved toward the counter. Naruto stepped out of the way as Sasuke went to the drawer for a spoon. When the kettle boiled he poured hot water into his mug first and then into Naruto's.

'The place stinks of grease,' Sasuke said and headed out of the kitchen.

'Hey, Sasuke …' Naruto started, but his bedroom door was already closed behind him. He really was sorry that Sasuke had seen that back there. Sasuke was such a private person, and public shows of affection, and by 'public' Sasuke usually categorised as anything outside the bedroom, made him uncomfortable. He didn't want to make Sasuke uncomfortable or anything, he really should have taken it to the bedroom, knowing Sasuke would have come back, but he hadn't been thinking. Knowing Sasuke, he'd be traumatised for weeks now …

Naruto had to think of a way to make it up to him. He was pretty handy in the kitchen. Maybe a plate of pancakes in the morning? And by pancakes he meant one of those weird ass white omelette things Sasuke liked to eat so much. Naruto grinned at the image of Sasuke cutting into the poofy white flat round and the way he so delicately munched on it. Sometimes he would add salt and pepper … he was such a rebel.

But Naruto deflated slightly. He wouldn't have time in the morning. Between cramming in like an hour's sleep, and cramming at all … he grimaced. He was sorry though …

Naruto tore the corner of a sheet of paper from his notepad and scribbled a quick message on it, his vision and coordination getting fuzzier by the second. He needed to sleep. Now. Or he wouldn't function at all in the morning. He read the slurring words, and satisfied, slipped it under Sasuke's door. He then stumbled the five steps to his own bed and flopped, face first on the covers.