Sasuke grimaced as he sat beside Neji at his table, poking at the food skeptically as he tried to determine whether it was edible or not. It was supposed to be pizza, he believed, but there was so much oil that all the toppings and cheese had slid off of the bread, leaving a sort of pizza soup on his plate.
"Don't bother." Came a lazy drawl on the other side of Neji, and Sasuke recognized the teen as Shikamaru, the one Neji had threatened him over earlier. "You'll only end up spending next period hunched over a toilet. That's why we have vending machines." he explained, offering Sasuke an apple from the small pile of fruit, candy, and chips in front of him.
"Thanks." Sasuke murmured, watching as Shikamaru pushed the pile to the center of the table and Neji grabbed a bag of Chex Mix.
"There's a vending machine by our dorms that's broken, but they never notice because the Student Council's supposed to collect the money so they keep refilling it, and we just take stuff everyday instead of risking the food." Neji said in way of explanation.
"Sasuke! How nice it is to see you again." A loud, yet slightly tamer than earlier voice came from behind him. Lee came into view, sitting down across the table from the three teens and grabbing a bag of cookies. "How has your day been so far?"
Just as Sasuke opened his mouth to tell him exactly what he thought of the school so far, he was interrupted by Lee's sudden obvious lack of interest. Sasuke turned slightly to see exactly what had captured the brunette's attention so, and was presented with a somewhat disgruntling sight.
Although he refused to quaver or look away from what should have been the most terrifying glare he had been on the receiving end of, had he not already seen his father's and Itachi's, the site was nevertheless unnerving.
The green eyes that were so fiercely glaring at him belonged to a redhead that, now that Sasuke thought about it, could only be the infamous Gaara that Neji had warned him about.
His suspicions were confirmed when Lee jumped up from his seat with an exclamation of 'Gaara!' a wide grin spreading across his features as the redhead slid into the seat beside him, offering the faintest of smiles before he turned to once again glare at Sasuke.
Sasuke couldn't help raising an eyebrow as he noticed Gaara's lack thereof. He did, however have a tattoo that read 'love' on his forehead, that Sasuke couldn't help scoffing at. The redhead wore black combat boots, black bondage pants and a black fishnet shirt, a pattern that Sasuke thought greatly contrasted with his pale skin and bright hair.
"Gaara! Have you met our new student Sasuke?" Lee said, tone surprisingly quieter but no less enthusiastic as he offered another grin. He frowned slightly as he noticed Gaara's glare, noticeably confused by the redhead's dark countenance.
The redhead's expressions softened a bit as he slid a reassuring arm around Lee, lessening his glare to a severe warning look as he held out his hand to Sasuke, grunting a mere, "Gaara."
"Sasuke Uchiha" he murmured, shaking the hand firmly before picking up his apple, more for something to do with his hands than anything else.
"They're not dating." Neji murmured seeing as Gaara and Lee had gone into their own conversation, Lee's enthusiasm thankfully focused solely on the redhead.
Sasuke relaxed slightly now that the look was gone, "They're not?" he asked just a bit skeptically, "He certainly seems possessive."
"He likes Lee" Neji said, "that much is obvious to anyone. And Lee likes him; he's just a bit oblivious to it all."
Sasuke nodded, there seemed to be quite a few oblivious people in the school.
Speaking of which . . .
"Teme!"
Sasuke cringed at the voice so close behind him. If he had had less composure he would have jumped.
He turned to raise a dark eyebrow at the smiling blond before him as Naruto took a seat next to Gaara, who offered a small smile compared to Lee's large grin and exuberant greeting, before going back to their conversation.
"Dobe, are you always this loud or am I just special?"
"What are you trying to say teme!" Naruto shouted, face flushed.
Sasuke smirked "That if you're happy to see me idiot, there's no need to shout."
Naruto's face reddened, whether in anger or embarrassment Sasuke wasn't sure, though he'd bet it was a nice combination of both. "Bastard" Naruto muttered, "Who'd be happy to see you?"
"Fish cake!"
Sasuke cringed, what was with everyone yelling greetings? Neji smirked as he noticed Sasuke's slight grimace.
"Don't worry; I think they're just particularly hyper today."
Kiba bounded up to sit next to Naruto, stealing one of the cookies the blond held only to get kicked roughly in the shin.
"Ouch!" he whined, glaring as he stuffed the cookie into his mouth.
Sasuke glanced to the side as the boy Kiba had walked in with sat beside him. Sasuke thought it odd that the teen wore such a thick jacket inside, but didn't care enough to ask. Along with the odd article of clothing he wore dark sunglasses, and faded blue jeans, hair spiky but not nearly to the extent of his companion's.
"This is Shino." Kiba said, introducing the quiet teen for him as he took the pack of animal crackers Shino offered him.
The brunette sighed, as if socializing bothered him before he offered a hand out to Sasuke, finally turning to face him as he said "Shino Aburame."
"Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke said shortly, extremely tired of introductions.
"Give me back my cookie dog breath!" Naruto shouted, lunging to tackle Kiba, lifting up his retrieved cookie triumphantly before Kiba snatched it from his hand once more and shoved it in his mouth, earning a hard slap on the back of his head from the blond.
"God, you're as bad as Sakura!" Kiba whined, rubbing the back of his head ruefully as he glared at an amused Shino. "Hey, aren't you supposed to defend me or something!"
A dark eyebrow rose, "Are you some kind of damsel in distress?"
Kiba pouted, "Damsel my ass, see if I'll come to your rescue next time you're tied to train tracks."
Shino chuckled, a dark tinge crossing Kiba's cheeks at the sound as Shino murmured, "I'll keep that in mind."
-x-x-x-
"Neji, no." Shikamaru murmured a bit breathlessly, a dark flush tinting his cheeks as he pulled away from the light eyed teen. It was last period and Neji had invited Shikamaru to his dorms as neither of them had a class "You know we can't do this."
Neji sighed, pulling away slightly though his arms remained firmly wrapped around the teen in his lap as he raised an eyebrow, "It certainly looked like we were."
"Neji." Shikamaru said quietly, closing his eyes as Neji gently moved a stray strand of hair that had escaped his ponytail behind his ear.
"Why is this so wrong?" Neji demanded, "Why can't we be together Shikamaru? We both know that we both want this, so why can't we?"
Shikamaru's eyes darkened as his eyebrows furrowed in frustration "You know why!" Neji frowned, the words sounding painful as they came from the shorter teen's throat. "I can't let you risk it, what if someone finds out?"
"It's my life; I can do whatever the hell I want." Neji said lowly."Whatever the consequences are I can handle them."
"And when your uncle disowns you, how do you plan on dealing with that?" Shikamaru demanded. "I can't let you just throw everything away for me. He's only let you come here because he thinks it's some place for mental cases. What happens if he finds out? What about Hinata, what'll happen to her if you're kicked out?"
Neji huffed, running a hand through his hair in frustration as he looked at Shikamaru pleadingly. "Just give me a fucking chance Shikamaru! I'll think of something, but just give this a try. I'm not afraid to be open about us, but I can keep it from my uncle if you're really that worried about me."
Shikamaru bit his lip, quiet for several minutes as he thought. Despite his protests, Neji was right. He wanted it just as badly. "That should be fine . . ." he said reluctantly, unable to help his answering smile as Neji grinned triumphantly.
"Thank you, Shikamaru." he said quietly, cupping the brunette's cheek gently as he leaned in to place a light kiss on soft lips.
-x-x-x-
"Well, these are our dorms . . ." Naruto said, pointing to a nondescript white door with the number 408 painted on the top.
Sasuke remained silent, staring at Naruto expectantly until the blond shifted uncomfortably under his scrutinizing gaze.
"What?"
"Dobe" Sasuke began slowly, "I don't have my key yet."
Naruto flushed, muttering an obscenity or two under his breath as he fished around in his pocket for his key.
"Talking to yourself only makes you look like a bigger idiot." Sasuke pointed out, leaning against the door frame and arching a dark eyebrow as Naruto stuck his tongue out at him, flushing slightly as he realized how childish his actions were.
"Bastard" he muttered. Shoving the key in the handle as he unlocked the door, stepping inside as Sasuke followed, looking around in mild interest.
It was a standard dorm, two beds pressed against the opposite wall facing them with a window in between. There was a walk in closet to his right and what he assumed to be a bathroom to the left. It was painted a pale blue and was near spotless except . . .
"Dobe, what the hell happened to your side of the room?"
Naruto flushed, hurrying in to pick up the mounds of clothes on his bed and floor and dump then in a nearby longue chair, "I was looking for my shirt." he said defensively.
"And you found it was necessary to create a hurricane in the process?" Sasuke drawled condescendingly.
"Bastard, sexiness takes work!" Naruto huffed, only earning a mocking eyebrow raise from the Uchiha who, though he'd never admit it, agreed that the blonde's efforts had paid off.
"Just keep your stuff on your side." Sasuke said, walking over to his suitcases that stood beside the dresser by his bed and beginning to unpack his belongings.
"Teme." Naruto huffed as he sent a scowl at the Uchiha before pointedly beginning to fold and put away his clothes, Sasuke dutifully ignoring his glares.
"Dobe, glaring at my back won't help you change your horrid housekeeping habits." Sasuke said calmly as he put the last of his things away, hearing an indignant noise come from the blond behind him.
"You wish teme, how do you know I was even looking at your back?" Naruto demanded.
Sasuke turned, raising a dark eyebrow as a teasing smirk graced his lips, "So were you looking at my ass then?"
"You wish bastard! If anyone's ass should be looked at it should be mine!" As soon as the words were out Naruto's face burned a curious shade of red though he refused to back down.
"So, what you're saying is that you want me to notice your ass dobe?"
"Bastard!" Naruto muttered, grabbing a loose pair of pajama pants, boxers, and a t-shirt before stalking to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.
Sasuke chuckled quietly to himself; maybe this whole roommate business wouldn't be so bad after all.
-x-x-x-
"So how are things going baby brother?"
"Don't call me that." Gaara snapped, more out of habit than any real malice towards his brother as he lay back on his bed, cell phone pressed to his ear.
Kankuro chuckled, "Fine, but seriously, how have things been?"
Gaara shrugged before realizing his brother couldn't actually see him before replying, "Fine."
Kankuro scoffed and Gaara could practically hear his eyes rolling, "Care to elaborate?"
"Classes are boring; students are idiots, along with most of the teachers. We got a new student, Uchiha Sasuke."
"Uchiha?" Kankuro murmured the name familiar until it finally clicked. "Sasori's friend Deidara's boyfriend?"
"I assume you're referring to his boyfriend's younger brother."
"Mhmm, I'm surprised his parents let him go."
"Beats me." Gaara sighed, "Does it matter? How are things with you and Sasori?"
"Fine." Kankuro hedged, though Gaara knew his brother well enough to know that Kankuro was happy. "We're going to the seaside tomorrow, I guess it's some sort of a mini vacation."
"That's nice." Gaara said, equally evasive, though Kankuro could hear the unspoken 'I'm happy for you' behind it.
"So how are things with Lee?" Kankuro asked, his tone telling Gaara exactly how he meant it.
Gaara groaned, throwing an arm over his eyes as he sighed, "Nowhere, he's as oblivious as ever."
"Well, besides being overly protective bordering on possessive, you're not very forward with your feelings."
The younger of the two grunted, not too keen on answering as he opted for silence instead.
Kankuro sighed, "Just tell him how you feel. I talked to Naruto; even he sees how much you two want each other, just go for it."
Gaara shrugged, once again realizing that Kankuro couldn't see him as he murmured, "I don't want to blow this."
"That serious?"
Gaara shrugged, "It's not like how it's ever been, the last person I dated was Neji and it felt nothing like it does now. I can't screw this up."
"You won't, just try, okay?" he asked. "I've got to go, still have to pack and all. I'll talk to you later; think about what I said, alright?"
"Alright." Gaara murmured reluctantly, clearly unhappy with the idea.
-x-x-x-
"You were right dobe, it is a rather nice ass." Sasuke murmured from his bed as he looked over at Naruto, the blond bending to rifle through his drawer.
"Don't call me that!" Naruto snapped, standing up as he glared at Sasuke, the Uchiha utterly unaffected. "And don't mentally molest me either; you're as bad as Sai."
"I would hardly call it mentally molesting, after all, I was merely doing what you suggested earlier."
"I didn't mean it like that." Naruto huffed, cheeks staining pink as his glare intensified.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware there was another understanding of the words, 'you should be looking at my ass.'"
Naruto huffed, grabbing his pajamas and standing to face the brunette, looking at him awkwardly as he shifted a bit.
"What?" Sasuke asked bluntly, smirking somewhat at the blonde's obvious discomfort.
"I can't change with you just staring at me like that."
"I'd hardly be staring, don't get so full of yourself idiot. Stop being such a baby and get dressed."
"Shut up!" Naruto snapped, blush still somewhat staining his cheeks as he tugged his shirt up and over his head giving Sasuke a rather nice view of his subtly sculpted upper body and torso. "Stop staring teme." Naruto murmured, insult overshadowed by his fierce blush.
"Can't help it." Sasuke smirked, a bit surprised by his forwardness but reminding himself that he didn't have to worry so much about appearances at a place like this. "I'm going to shower." he added before Naruto could comment, grabbing a few of his toiletries and walking past the flustered bond to the bathroom.
On his way he couldn't help wondering about the tattoo on Naruto's stomach. He'd make a mental note to ask later . . .
Sasuke had never given much thought to boys in the past, although he knew he was gay he always considered it more of a vague self revelation and nothing that would immediately concern him since it wasn't as if he could have a boyfriend. But now, he could actually be himself, and for once take the possibility of a relationship into consideration. And, while he did find the blond idiot obnoxiously loud, he couldn't deny that Naruto was attractive.
Sasuke sighed as he stepped out of the shower, drying his hair before wrapping the towel around his waist and stepping out into the room.
"Staring dobe?" Sasuke smirked as the blond looked up at him from the bed, mouth slightly agape, his game console forgotten in his hands.
"Hardly" he snorted, "don't get an even bigger head teme."
Sasuke barely restrained himself from saying 'that's not the only thing about me that's big.' Instead he merely shrugged before turning to change, feeling the blonde's eyes lingering on his exposed back. He figured he should get some sleep as soon as possible, he didn't know where this side of him was coming from and why he was having so much fun with it, but figured he should rest before things went any further.
Both teens looked up at a knock on the door, Naruto frowning before he rested his game on the nightstand.
"Put on a shirt bastard." Naruto huffed, striding past Sasuke towards the door.
"Just enjoy the view moron." Sasuke drawled, looking over the blonde's shoulder curiously as he opened the door.
The door opened to reveal a boy that unnervingly resembled Sasuke, if not somewhat thinner, leaning casually against the doorway. He wore simple black jeans and a form fitting black shirt that cut off at the midriff to reveal surprisingly toned abs.
"Dickless, I heard you got a roommate."
"Don't call me that Sai you jerk!" Naruto snapped, pinching the bridge of his nose as he slammed the door shut behind Sai who sauntered smoothly into the room, sitting back on Naruto's bed as if he owned it.
"Hello, I'm Sai." he said, a wide, somewhat strained looking grin taking over his features as he extended a hand out for Sasuke to shake.
Sasuke sighed, taking the hand briefly before saying, "Sasuke Uchiha."
"Hmm, Uchiha, I'm surprised to see you here."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked curiously, taking Sasuke's bed as it was currently unoccupied.
"I just find it hard to believe that an Uchiha of all people would be 'allowed' to be gay, let alone permitted to go to a gay school." Sai shrugged, grin once again taking over, unnerving Sasuke a bit.
"My father doesn't know what it's for." Sasuke said, opting for the truth deciding that neither would ever figure to use it against him.
"How nice," Sai muttered, "I'd never think an Uchiha to be a coward."
Sasuke paused, fingers twitching against his sides with the sudden need to strangle the teen.
"Fuck off Sai." Naruto said, glaring, the first time Sasuke had seen the blond genuinely angry. "You know it took you forever to get the balls to come out to your uncle, and a bunch of us still haven't come out."
Sai was silent for a long moment, his face going pale at the mention of his uncle, "Sorry" he finally muttered, the Uchiha nodding as he glanced at Naruto, the blond giving a huff of frustration before laying back down, an easy smile coming back.
"So what's up?" he asked.
"Well" Sai said, "aside from trying to win your undying love fishcake I just came to gawk at the new kid."
Naruto snorted, "Well, as flattering as I'm sure that is to him, I don't think you're his type, or vice versa."
Sai grinned, sitting on the edge of Naruto's bed as he offered Sasuke a lecherous grin, "Maybe not, but he'll be a good enough replacement for you as any."
Naruto laughed, shooting Sasuke a sympathetic glance as Sai continued to leer at him "Don't worry, Sai's harmless, he's totally whipped for the old new kid, Sora."
Sai's face instantly went blank, though Sasuke noticed a small furrowing between his brows. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You know, I think he likes you too." Naruto said with a large grin, completely ignoring the brunette's denial. "You should ask him out sometime, he still hasn't made a lot of friends, I'm sure he'd be more than willing to go."
Sai said nothing, but Naruto knew he was considering his words as he stood with a barely noticeable grin. "Well, I should be going, it was . . . nice to meet you Sasuke. Goodnight dickless." he said, adding the last just as he shut the door behind him.
"I have a fucking penis!" Naruto shouted at the closed door, a loud laugh being heard from the other side. "Sai, that jerk." Naruto huffed, crossing his arms as he glared at the door.
"Well, on that note, I'm sure the entire dorm is now aware of your lower anatomy." Sasuke drawled sarcastically, smirking at the blonde's dark flush.
"Whatever teme." Naruto muttered. "I'm going to sleep, night."
Sasuke chuckled. "Goodnight dobe." Sasuke said, reaching over and turning off the light as he climbed into his bed, hearing Naruto do the same.
Sasuke wasn't quite sure how he felt about the school after his first day, but he was certainly getting an idea. And maybe, he thought dismissively as he began to fade into blissful sleep, having a roommate wouldn't be as much of a pain as he'd originally thought.
