Spin the Bottle

"Not again," Neji groaned in exasperation. "Come on then, Lee. I'm getting too old for this." He'd started saying that after his second year as a jonin. Laughter and smiles blossomed around the circle seated in Lee's living room.

"Sorry, Neji, But you did spin me the last four times." Neji grumbled as a laughing Tenten crawled out of his lap and Lee placed his hands on his teammate's shoulders.

"Ready? Go!" Lee leaned over and kissed Neji on the forehead. Those had been the rules for five years. You could kiss whoever you spun wherever you wanted.

"12345678910!" Naruto shouted. Neji jokingly pushed Lee away. Naruto counted to ten for boys couples or girls couples, being the fastest counter, and, being the slowest counter, Shikamaru counted for boy and girl couples.

"That one never gets old," Kankuro heckled. The team from Suna happened to be in town.

"I bet it would if you were on the receiving end," Neji retorted as he spun again. "Sorry, Sasuke," Neji grinned as the bottle stopped on Sakura.

"No, I'm sorry, Neji. Be careful with her," Sasuke smirked. There was the option of hugging for any couple if a panel of judges decided the couple was too bizarre. It consisted of Ino, for her impeccable sense of pairings, Kankuro, to increase the chance of any couple working out, due to his capacity for perverted scenes, and Hinata, for her modesty, which Neji maintained, must be preserved. The judges nodded approval. Shikamaru counted while Neji kissed Sakura's hand. "I guess she likes you better than me," Sasuke teased. "She tends to get…violent when I try things like that." Sakura slapped Sasuke's arm and smiled as she took her turn. The bottle stopped. Dead silence. And then Choji started an "Oooo," that passed around the circle and crescendoed to laughter and snickers.

"Heads up," Naruto said elbowing the silent figure next to him. "Hey! This is your first turn this game, isn't it? Haha! Lucky you!" His overflowing cheeriness made no affect on the glaring kage beside him.

I wouldn't have minded keeping it like that: no turns.

"Come on, Gaara," a timid nudge from his other side interrupted his thoughts. "We don't bite you know. Give her a chance." He turned his glare to his sister and the canine grin of her companion, who unhelpfully added,

"It's just a game." He returned his glare to the kunoichi kneeling in front of him.

I remember these eyes.

She was admittedly a little afraid but announced,

"Ready?" The panel nodded and she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, eyes delicately shut. The circle was stunned to silence for a second.

"Is she kissing his…" Ino trailed off.

"Lips," Choji whispered.

"She could have done his cheek," Shikamaru shook his head in bewilderment. Ino smacked him hard on the leg.

"Count, Shikamaru!"

"Oh yeah, uh, 1…"

"Double lucky, Gaara!"

Sakura opened her eyes slightly.

"2…"

"I can't believe they're actually…"

Gaara leaned forward fractionally, bracing his arms on his crossed legs.

"3…4…"

"Excellent perseverance, Sakura-san!"

Sakura wasn't listening, she was remembering the last time Gaara had touched her, five years ago, but was that really Gaara who had touched her?

"5…6…"

"Don't enjoy it too much brother!"

Gaara couldn't hear him, he needed to tell her something in four more seconds.

"7…8…"

"Maybe you should have called a hug,"

They both leaned forward, her hands joining his on his knees.

"9…"

"I can't watch anymore!"

She squeezed his hands in hers.

"10!"

They broke the kiss immediately and sat breathing hard into each others ears.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"It's just a game…"

"No. Before," he said, "when I-"

"You didn't have control. It was Shukaku," she whispered. Their breathing slowed.

"Thanks…"He watched her move back among the "What's they say"s, "Ask her"s, "What'd you say"s, "What'd he say to you"s.

"Hush!" Ino silenced the questioning. "If they wanted you all to know they wouldn't have whispered." Her eyes met Sakura's and she knew she'd know soon. Sakura settled back next to Sasuke and roped her arms around his. Gaara resumed his slumped cross-legged position, in emotional paralysis as the fact that he'd kissed a girl sunk in.

"Gaara," he turned wide-eyed to his sister, She smiled apologetically and laughed a little. He realized she was nudging his foot with something. "Gaara, you have to spin the bottle."