A/N: I am glad everybody seems to be enjoying this story. I don't know why exactly, but this is one of my favorite chapters so I hope you all like it!
Warnings: There are some mentionings of boyxboy in this chapter - you have been warned
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto...I know, shocker right?
Naruto's plan was poorly formulated, but at least it was a plan; if he was lucky and it was properly executed, it just might work. The blond had perfect timing, he arrived to class after Sasuke but before anybody else had moved to take the seat next to him.
"Hey," Naruto said as he slipped into the chair next to his brooding partner, who seemed to tense immediately.
The blond made no argument when he received no reply, he simply shrugged and pulled out his things. Naruto took fastidious notes...for about 20 minutes. He stole a quick glance at the raven-haired boy; he was writing neatly in his notebook, highlighting key points and even referencing related pages in the text book. Naruto rolled his eyes and looked down at his own mess of notes, even when he tried it was nothing compared to the bastard, he might as well have been using crayon.
Deciding now was as good a time as any, Naruto set his plan in motion. He arranged his notebook so that it laid open, his active notes on the right and the blank back pages on the left. Between taking notes he scribbled onto the blank page. He tossed a few glances at the Uchiha who deftly ignored him, Naruto cleared his throat but still nothing, so finally he reached over and poked the boy's arm. He quickly returned to his notes, ignoring the glare that was being burned into him; however he did take notice when the dark eyes darted down to his notebook before returning to the front of the class.
Hey
Sasuke made no indication he was going to reply but Naruto was not easily deterred.
How are you?
The blond waited a few minutes, and finally curiosity got the better of the Uchiha – he glanced down again, but he still did not reply.
I'm good, thanks for asking.
I wanted to apologize for nearly splattering you with mercury the other day.
After several minutes passed with no response, Naruto grabbed another pen out of his bag and began to alternate between the two.
Don't worry about that, I am immune to mercury poisoning
How's that now?
You see I am actually a robot sent to Earth to learn about your culture
Oh, so that is why you are incapable of normal human interaction?
Not entirely, I am considered a dick even by robot standards
That makes sense...so what are you learning about humans?
They are insignificant life forms, my morning shit is smarter than most people
Wow...robots have sentient turds?
Naruto was quite amused with how his pretend conversation was going. He was forced to pause it when he noticed how far behind he was in his actual note taking. His pen stopped when he heard the quietest snort come from the bastard. He gave the pale boy a sideways glance and noticed he was shaking his head. Bolstered by this ever so slight response, Naruto continued.
So now that I know what you are...are you going to kill me?
No, you are not worth it
Are you going to do a bunch of weird experiments on me?
Naruto paused again when a hand out was passed to him from the student on his right. He moved the stack of papers along absentmindedly and thumbed through the pages, not 100% clear on what he was looking at – he really should have been paying more attention to the actual class. Apparently the 50 minutes had flown by, because shortly after explaining their assignment for the next class, students had begun to pack up their stuff. Naruto shoved his book into his bag, followed by his two pens. He went to close his notebook when he noticed something he hadn't written.
Do you want me to?
The sharp, clean letters written in a deep blue ink stood out on the page. Naruto's eyes widened and he jerked his head up only find the seat next to him already empty. He blinked a few times and looked around the room, but the raven-haired boy was nowhere to be seen.
His gaze settled back onto the page, his eyes slowly analyzing each letter. Naruto had never expected an actual response, he would have been satisfied with the little snort he had received earlier, but this was amazing.And a little suggestive. What's worse was that it meant Sakura had actually helped him, now he was going to owe her – and he knew exactly what she wanted.
"Wow," Sakura said as she read the transcript in Naruto's notebook.
"I know, right?" He was leaning back on the other end of the couch, watching her analyze the pseudo-conversation.
She pursed her lips and looked up at the blond, "this is what you did with my advice? You had a fake conversation about bowel movements?" she easily blocked the pillow that was tossed at her, "well, despite your strange methods, I think this may have worked. We will just have to see what happens on Friday."
Naruto leaned in closer, his eyes deepening with anxiety, "what do you think he meant?"
Sakura furrowed her brow, "I really can't speculate on that right now."
He sighed and returned to his recumbent position, but he knew she was right. Who the hell would be able to decode an emotionless bastard like Sasuke. He let his head fall on the cushion behind him and released a groan while he flicked his wrist at the girl, signaling he was prepared to answer her questions.
She perked up and shifted in her seat, setting the notepad on her lap and turning on her tape recorder. She tried to record every session, but there were several times – like the restaurant earlier in the week – where it just wasn't practical. Hell, some of her notes were scribbled on napkins during unexpected confessions over 2 AM dinner/breakfasts. Today however, she was prepared.
"How did you get your scars?" she asked, pen ready.
"Nope, you get to hear about Gaara tonight," the blond replied as he scooted further down on the couch, his feet inching closer to Sakura.
She shuffled through her notes, "Okay, Gaara...How did you two meet?"
"Gaara was in my English 101 class. He had...has, some anger issues. He was always arguing in the class, which wasn't necessarily inappropriate since it was a debate and persuasion oriented course. But he was really over the top. I don't know why I wanted to be friends with him, I guess he was just so passionate about everything, even though he was so cold – he was a paradox and I had never met anybody like him."
"So your relationship was purely platonic?" Sakura already knew the answer to that question.
Naruto sent her an annoyed glare, "We sat next to each other in class and hung out a few times afterward. Either he got fed up or got kicked out of class, I never really found out which it was, but about a month before the end of the semester he stopped showing up. I didn't expect to see him again, but he saw me walking to my dorm room one day and I invited him over." Naruto shifted a little on the couch and Sakura watched him as he examined his ceiling, "I never questioned his intentions. I always just thought he was this cool, angsty guy – you know eyeliner and tattoos and burgundy hair – and I thought he would be a good time," his eyes widened and he began to stutter, "...good time to hang out with. You know go to coffee houses and listen to bad music."
Sakura laughed lightly and her demeanor quickly put Naruto at ease, "so when did things change?"
"I had a shitty ass week. It was almost the end of my freshman year and I was stressed about my English 102 class - I had missed a deadline because my computer died on Monday, I got a flat tire and was late to work Wednesday and some asshole stole a load of my laundry on Thursday. So once I was done with my day on Friday I decided it was time to get piss drunk. Of course I was only 19 so I had to bum my booze off any willing neighbors." he laughed at the thought, the shit he was willing to drink before he could by his own beer, "I was about 5 cheap beers in when Gaara came to my room. I don't remember a lot from before he came over, but I remember I was laying on my bed, blaring my music out into the hallway."
Sakura smiled at him, he was such a good storyteller – no doubt it was something he picked up from his guardian, "so Gaara came over when you were drunk..."
"I wasn't drunk!" Naruto defended, his voice a little more aggressive than he had intended, "sorry, I mean...I had been drinking and I was definitely buzzing, but I knew what was going on," he raked his fingers through his hair and gave himself a second to calm down, "anyway, he must have been there for a couple minutes watching me. I think I realized that somebody was standing in the doorway but I didn't bother to acknowledge them, I just laid there. He finally came in and asked how my day was, retrospectively I realize this was a rhetorical question, but at the moment I didn't pick up on his sarcasm, so I started to rattle off all the crap that had led me to drown in bad beer.
"He approached me on the bed, I was sprawled out with my legs dangling off the edge. I don't know why...well I guess I know now, but in the moment, it didn't feel awkward when he straddled me. He took the beer from my hand - I remember the disgusted look on his face after he finished it – and he dropped the bottle on the floor. I thought it would break, but it must have landed on something soft because all I heard was a thud. I propped myself up on my elbows, I think I was going to bitch at him for finishing my last beer, but he settled into my lap and I didn't speak.
"Gaara didn't say anything, he just stared at me. He ran his fingers through my hair," Naruto paused as he performed the motion on himself, he moved his eyes from the ceiling to Sakura who had stopped taking notes, "it was really fucking intense. I mean, I had never felt anything like that before. I really don't know if it was because he was a guy or because I was tipsy or because the damn door was still open, or some combination but my heart was racing and I was really excited.
"When he leaned in to kiss me I remember a lot of thoughts going through my head, but I cannot tell you what any of them were – it was like an orchestra tuning up and then suddenly it was silent. And then it was just the sound of me moaning."
Sakura squirmed a little on the couch, the air seemed to be a lot thicker and she had to swallow a couple times to keep her throat from going dry, "so you developed a physical relationship with Gaara?"
Naruto snorted, "yeah, you could call it that," he shifted again on the couch and Sakura managed to maintain a serious expression despite her wondering what was currently going on in Naruto's pants, "we fooled around a lot, but I wouldn't say we actually dated. I don't think Gaara is capable of a real relationship, he is too self-absorbed. I don't mean that in a negative way, it's just that he acts in the moment and doesn't really consider the consequences his actions may have on others," he paused and furrowed his brow, "okay, that doesn't sound any better. Gaara is just...Gaara. He's fickle," the blond shook his head, "anyway, I realized what we had wasn't going to lead to anything substantial so we made a deal – if we ever needed a...release, and the other wasn't involved, we would get together."
"So you became fuck buddies?" Sakura responded coolly.
Naruto pondered the statement before responding, "you know that kind of relationship is nearly impossible to have with a girl, but it is surprisingly easy to have it with a guy. And to clarify, we were more like heavy petting buddies. There was one time, I guess it was about a eight months ago, that we actually had sex. He had come to me looking for a hook up and things got a little out of control, I guess I was needing it too," he looked at Sakura, a little concerned what she might think, but he was relieved to see not even a trace of judgment in her sea foam eyes, "I topped in case that is your next question."
Sakura rolled her eyes but they were still kind when she looked back at him, "what happened after you had sex?"
Naruto clenched his jaw slightly, "we both decided it was a mistake. An occasional hand job was one thing, but fucking was something else entirely and it seemed too intimate. Which is kind of a funny thing to say I think," Naruto mused aloud, "I mean isn't there supposed to be a difference between fucking and like making love? And as a guy, aren't I supposed to prefer the former over the latter? I guess it just seems like fucking sullies sex – you know? Makes it shallow. And I don't think sex is something to be shared with everybody," he shook his head and snickered to himself, "hand jobs are different, those can be handed out like candy." Naruto was not able to dodge the pillow that was hurled at his face.
