Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm really sorry this took so long. I'm taking summer courses and my time suddenly disappeared. I also had trouble deciding what to happen in this chapter. I am happy how it turned out though, despite it being a bit slow. The story should speed up a bit from here though! Please don't forget to follow and review because it really encourages me to update faster. Anyway, please enjoy the show!
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Naruto nor do I make money from using them.
Naruto shifted as he woke up to shuffling and the sound of cursing. He blinked open his eyes and grabbed his phone, looking at the time. 9 AM. Way earlier than Naruto had planned to wake up. Naruto groaned and sat up, looking towards the man who had woken him.
"What are you doing?" He asked, yawning and rubbing tears from his tired eyes. Sasuke continued yanking on a pair of jeans, not bothering to answer.
"Yo. What's with the rush?" Sasuke still didn't respond. Naruto just watched as Sasuke rushed out of the room. It didn't look like he had even combed his hair, some loose strands making their way across his face.
After a few more moments of sitting and yawning, Naruto decided to get up and ran a hand through his hair as he walked out of his room and into the kitchen.
"Nice pajama pants," Sakura said, giggling as Naruto entered. Naruto grinned and made his way to the fridge. Sakura was sitting at the bar eating some cereal. Naruto pulled out the milk and grabbed a bowl for himself.
"So, what was with Sasuke?" Sakura asked once Naruto took a seat next to her at the bar. He hadn't even noticed Sasuke had rushed out after him. Naruto shrugged.
"I guess he was running late for something."
"Yeah. I've never seen Sasuke look so disheveled. It was kinda hot," Sakura said with a smirk. Naruto laughed.
"Are we the only ones up?" Naruto asked as he ate.
"Yep. We were up pretty late last night. Though I didn't think it would affect Sasuke like that."
"Well, we weren't tired, so he and I went for a walk around campus after everyone went to bed," Naruto said before drinking the milk from the bottom of his bowl. Sakura turned shocked eyes on him.
"Really?"
"Yeah. We ended up walking around for a while. We didn't go to sleep 'till real late so I guess it's not surprising," Naruto said as he stood. He took his and Sakura's dishes to the sink and began washing them. "I know I wouldn't be up now if his shuffling and cursing hadn't woken me. Dude's got a mouth on him."
Sakura began to laugh and Naruto turned, questioning eyes staring.
"You speak so casually about him. It's funny. It's like you've been living together for a while."
"I guess." Naruto replied, shrugging. He hadn't realized he was acting differently, but now that he thought about it, he felt much less tense around the other man. It had occurred to Naruto that after last night's more…intimate conversations, and his own personal musings, he would be even more nervous around the man. After all, Naruto wasn't really that open about sexual affairs. He felt embarrassed whenever sexual topics came about, even in high school when it was basically part of the culture. Sasuke seemed to be the opposite, and was very nonchalant when it came to speaking about such personal things. And Sasuke had confronted him about his interest in Hinata, which was even more embarrassing, at least, it should be. There was no way he wanted his love life being spread around, particularly when the girl he liked was living in their dorm. Was that even allowed?
But, Naruto didn't feel worried, or nervous. Sasuke, for as willing as he was to speak about Naruto's love life, didn't seem to be quite so open with the others. Or maybe he was, and Naruto didn't know about it? Either way, it didn't seem like Sasuke would air out his dirty laundry, and now that he had seen Sasuke smile, he seemed way less intimidating.
"Oh, 'morning Hinata," Sakura called. Naruto turned and smiled.
"Hey," he said. Hinata looked up from the foot of the stairs and smiled, a light blush filling her cheeks.
"Good morning, Sakura, Naruto." Naruto followed her gaze and only then remembered he was only wearing his pajama pants. He blushed and quickly made for his room.
"I'm just gonna get dressed real quick." Naruto could hear Sakura giggling as he closed his door. He felt his cheeks burning as he slipped on some basketball shorts and a black tank top. He didn't plan on going anywhere today, so comfy clothes were his attire of choice. When he walked back out into the kitchen Hinata had taken up the spot next to Sakura that he had previously occupied, and was munching on her own bowl of cereal. She was wearing a pair of fuzzy pajama shorts and a tank top. On her feet were a pair of fuzzy slippers. Naruto had to hold in a grin at how adorable she looked. He wanted to hug her, and it was only the entrance of Neji that stopped him from walking over to her and doing something that would most probably embarrass him.
"'Morning Neji," Hinata said as her cousin descended the stairs. He looked up at her and gave a small smile and nod.
"Hey Neji," Sakura said.
"'Morning," Naruto also greeted. If there was anyone in this house he felt awkward around it was definitely Neji. Even before Sasuke had said anything to him he knew Neji didn't like him. At least, didn't like that Naruto liked Hinata. If it weren't for that, Naruto liked to think that they would actually get along. After all, he was a lot like Sasuke, and Naruto was getting along well with him.
"Good morning," Neji greeted them and walked past Naruto into the kitchen. He pulled out a bowl of fruit and began eating it with his fingers. Naruto noticed that he too was wearing a pair of basketball shorts, but instead donning a t-shirt, unlike Naruto. Naruto chuckled. He supposed he wasn't the only one who felt like having a lazy day. Now that he thought about it, Sakura was also wearing pajamas made up of baggy pants and a t-shirt. Well, they had about two more days until classes started, so he didn't blame them. Their university was known for having a pretty tough curriculum and Naruto knew he would be completely overwhelmed, so he wanted to enjoy the down time while he could.
"So, and plans for today?" Sakura asked, and everyone shook their heads.
"Well, most of the other houses have started to fill up. Our neighbors moved in sometime yesterday. I saw them walking around this morning. You want to come with me and say hello?" She continued. Naruto immediately nodded his head. He loved to meet new people, and if everyone was as nice and welcoming as his own roommates, save for Neji, he was excited to meet them.
"Let me just change first," Hinata said, standing from her stool. Sakura nodded and both jogged up the stairs leaving Neji and Naruto alone in the kitchen.
"So, where's Kiba?" Naruto asked, trying to break the awkward silence. Neji looked at him a moment before shrugging.
"Still asleep." Naruto nodded, and the silence continued until the girls returned. Sakura came down first wearing a pair of flowy pants and a crop top. She looked very pretty and Naruto could imagine her walking through a field of flowers. When Hinata came down though, Naruto felt his stomach clench. She was in a pair of leggings that hugged her legs and accentuated her delicate hips, and a tank top with a vest. Suddenly Naruto could imagine what Sakura and Ino had been saying about her being a tiger. Now Naruto could see the firm physique she had and she looked quite agile. It was only by sheer will power that Naruto didn't drool. Really, Hinata was such an interesting girl. She was sweet and delicate in appearance, while also maintaining a sort of…cool air about her; as though she shouldn't be underestimated.
"Cool it." Naruto was startled out of his thoughts by Neji's harsh tone and Naruto immediately felt himself blush.
"Is, uh, Ino not coming?" Naruto quickly asked Sakura. The pink haired girl looked to him and shook her head.
"Nope. Her mom is in town and she wanted to go see her."
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.
"Well you heard that her mom works with celebrities and stuff right? Doing catering?" Naruto nodded. "Well she's out of town a lot for work, and now that Ino isn't living at home, she won't get to see her as much. So, she wants to see her before classes start," Sakura explained, and Naruto nodded. That made sense. Although he wouldn't say he is really keen on visiting Jiraiya, Naruto knew he was going to miss him once the semester started and he got busier.
"Are we all ready?" Hinata asked as she walked up next to Naruto. Neji followed her movements but didn't say anything. Naruto grinned and nodded.
"Yep! Let's go!" With that, they all made their way out of their house. Naruto could see many more people walking around now compared to the previous few days. Some were talking to friends while others were busy moving their stuff inside. They followed Sakura as she led them to the neighboring house on the right side.
As they approached, Naruto could see a guy with a bowl haircut dashing around carrying miscellaneous items. Naruto watched him for a minute and realized he must have been carrying more than his own things because the dorms came pretty much set with furniture and the guy was carrying way more stuff than one person needed. The next thing Naruto noticed were two other boys sitting on the front step. One was lounging back against the wall next to the door, seemingly asleep, while the other munched on a bag of chips.
"Hey there!" Sakura called, getting their attention. She waved happily and walked up to the three men as they met at the entrance. The sleeping man opened his eyes while the other two turned to look at them.
"Hey," the guy eating chips said giving a small wave.
"Why hello there, fellow students!" The one with the bowl cut yelled. Naruto grinned back and waved. The sleeping fellow remained quiet but gave a nod. Naruto wanted to roll his eyes. Was it mandatory to have a 'strong silent type' in every dorm? He supposed there were two in his dorm though, so maybe he was just lucky.
"We're from next door, house 7. We thought we would come say 'hi'," Sakura said smiling. "My name's Sakura, this is Naruto, Neji, and Hinata. There are a few more of us, but they aren't home now," she explained as she introduced them all.
"Except Kiba, he's just asleep," Hinata said with a soft laugh. The sleeping man nodded and stood, the eating-boy following suit. The sleeping man had dark hair in a high ponytail and matching eyes; although while his hair defied gravity in its short tie, his eyes seemed to sink. Naruto couldn't help but think this man looked like he was perpetually tired.
"I'm Shikamaru. This is Choji," he pointed to the eating-man behind him. "Lee, and TenTen." Naruto watched as a girl with brown hair tied up in matching buns on her head walked out of the front door.
"Guys, it's not fair to make Lee carry everything," she said, her voice firm. Shikamaru shrugged while Choji at least had the decency to look embarrassed.
"Don't worry! I am excited to have such a vigorous workout!" Lee exclaimed, holding up the items in his arms nearly above his head. Naruto felt slight worry for the man. It looked like he was carrying several boxes of books and other heavy objects.
"He's carrying your stuff too," Shikamaru said lazily, yawning and putting his hands behind his head to rest. Naruto watched as TenTen's cheeks grew slightly pink.
"That's, well, at least I'm helping set everything up in the house. You guys are just sitting here." Naruto laughed.
"Hey, we can give you a hand if you want," Naruto offered.
"Yeah, we weren't doing anything today anyway," Sakura agreed. TenTen looked at them in surprise.
"Are you sure? You don't need to."
"It's not a problem!" Hinata said joyfully, smiling at TenTen. Sakura nodded and Neji shrugged, giving his silent consent.
"How wonderful! I'm happy to have such youthful neighbors!" Lee yelled before dashing inside with his boxes.
"I'm sorry, I didn't get your names," TenTen said smiling, ignoring her crazy roommate.
"I'm Sakura. This is Naruto, Neji, and Hinata," Sakura once again introduced them.
"Well thank you very much. If you want, we can leave carrying everything in to the guys, and you two can help me set everything up in here," TenTen said, giving sharp looks to Shikamaru and Choji. Naruto grinned and nodded. They quickly took to their assigned tasks and got to work.
With all of them helping out, it didn't take them long to finish unpacking. In that time, Naruto had also met their other roommate, Shino. He was very quiet. Not so much in the way Sasuke was, as though he thinks he's too good to speak to anyone, but more so that he just doesn't speak. He always seemed to pay attention to what was going on around him though, so Naruto figured he wasn't another asshole.
As they brought the last few boxes in and the girls finished organizing everything, Naruto caught site of Kiba bounding over.
"Hey why didn't you guys wake me?" Kiba asked as he walked into the house uninvited.
"Sorry, we came over to say 'hi' to the neighbors and ended up staying," Sakura said.
"Hey, my name's Kiba," Kiba said, turning to the people whose dorm he had just barged into. Once again a round of introductions was enacted. After that, everyone took seats in house 8's living room. There weren't enough seats, but they managed, Naruto sitting on the floor next to Hinata who had been given a chair. Sakura and TenTen were on the couch along with Neji, Shikamaru and Choji were on the other couch, and Kiba sat on the floor as well. Shino was sitting on one of the kitchen stools.
"So is this all of you?" Kiba asked. TenTen nodded. "Man, we have nearly every room full except for Hinata's. How's that fair?" Kiba complained. Naruto thought about it and Kiba had a point. As far as Naruto understood, Shikamaru and Choji shared a room while Lee, TenTen, and Shino had their own. TenTen, Naruto understood, after all, despite the dorms being co-ed, the actual room assignments weren't, and although there was nothing stopping the inhabitants from switching that up, it was still made out that way. It was the case with Hinata; there just weren't as many female freshmen he guessed.
"Well there aren't many freshmen this year in total. And they usually room people together who request it, so it makes sense. Shikamaru and I have been friends since we were kids, same with TenTen and Lee. Shino, we only just met, but he fits in well," Choji answered, licking salt from his fingers.
"That makes sense. I requested to dorm with Neji, and Sakura requested to be with Ino and I. I suppose Sasuke might have requested to be with Neji, but who knows," Hinata explained with a thoughtful look. Naruto watched her as she glanced at her cousin, who didn't appear to even acknowledge her statement. Suddenly Naruto wondered as well, if Sasuke had requested to be with Neji. He said they were friends, but maybe it was just a coincidence. Naruto really wanted to know, his earlier suspicions making themselves known once more. Was Hinata suspicious as well?
"Well that just leaves Naruto and me. Why room us with these guys?" Kiba grumbled, eyeing Neji. Neji glared at him but said nothing. Naruto chuckled.
"He has a point. Even if we were still assigned the same dorm, it would make more sense for Kiba and I to room together."
"Who's your roommate Naruto?" TenTen asked.
"A guy named Sasuke. He's as quiet as Neji over there but acts way more pompous." Honestly Naruto thought Neji acted just as high and mighty, but he didn't think insulting him would bode well for his maybe-relationship with Hinata.
"Uchiha?" Shikamaru asked.
" Yeah, I think so. You know him?" Naruto asked. Shikamaru shook his head.
"Not really. Just by name. His mom used to own the candy shop in town," Shikamaru replied.
"I remember as well. It's awful what happened!" Lee jumped in. He was finishing up with the truck before but was now sitting on the floor as well. Naruto perked up and turned to face Lee.
"What happened?" There was silence in the room before Shikamaru finally answered.
"There was a fire," he said simply. Naruto felt like there was more to it than that, considering the sudden tension in the room, but he didn't pry.
"So, what are your plans for today?" Sakura asked.
"Nothing really. Besides, we were unpacking for a while, it's already getting late," TenTen replied, looking out the window. Indeed, the sun was past center mast and was inching towards the other side of the horizon.
"We should have a party!" Lee shouted, jumping up and standing with his hands fisted, as if ready for a fight.
"What for?" Shikamaru asked. He looked very tired. He hadn't napped since they'd been there and Naruto was wondering if it was really affecting the other man.
"To celebrate meeting our new friends and the beginning of the school year!" Lee yelled animatedly.
"That would be so much fun!" Sakura said, sitting up in her seat. "We could have it at our place."
"That would be fun, but are you sure? Lee suggested throwing it, so it should be here," TenTen explained. Naruto smiled. She was very polite and considerate. Naruto imagined her making a perfect girlfriend or wife. She wasn't dainty or delicate in the same way Hinata was, but she was warm and welcoming.
"No way! We should definitely have it at our place! Besides, you guys just moved in. We have everything we would need for a party," Kiba agreed with Sakura. Naruto nodded. They already had everything they might need, except for some drinks.
"Besides," Naruto began. "I want to see Sasuke's face when he comes home to a loud ass party!" Naruto laughed and Sakura, Kiba, and Hinata joined him, while Neji slowly shook his head.
"Alright if you insist," TenTen said.
"Whatever. But I'm not taking responsibility if something goes wrong," Shikamaru said, standing and stretching. "Come on Choji, let's go buy some food." With that, the two men stood and walked out the door. Naruto could only assume they meant food for the party, and everyone else must have assumed that too because they all soon stood and began making plans.
"Neji, why don't you and TenTen go get drinks? You're old enough right?" Sakura asked. Neji nodded and the two left. "The rest of us can go to our place and start setting up." Everyone left house 8 and walked over to 7. When they got there, Ino was back, eating a sandwich at the kitchen bar.
"Um, who are they?" Ino asked, pointing to Shino and Lee.
"This is Shino and Lee. They moved in next door," Hinata said.
"Okay, what are they doing here?" Ino continued.
"We're throwing a party! Now hurry up and eat so we can get ready!" Sakura grinned and Ino quickly ate her last bite before grinning back.
"Let's do it!" Ino quickly joined their group and party production was soon under way. Sakura and Ino began giving out orders, only butting heads once.
"Naruto and Hinata, you guys can handle food. Lee, Shino, you guys move the furniture around so there is more room out here. Ino and I will start working on the music and find out where Shikamaru and Neji are." Naruto grinned and he and Hinata made their way to the kitchen. Naruto was excited. He loved cooking, even if it was just stuff for a party.
"So, what should we make?" Naruto turned and asked Hinata. She looked up at him and shrugged.
"I've never really been a big party person. So I don't know what food is typical," she said, looking a bit embarrassed.
"Me either," Naruto chuckled. He gave her a warm smile, and she seemed to appreciate it. "I never really got invited to many parties, so I'm winging it too, but I'm a pretty great cook, so just name something you'd like."
"Well, I guess it should be stuff that's easy to make. Maybe sandwiches? Or, pizza? But we could just order that." Hinata stuck the tip of her finger in her mouth and nibbled on it as she thought. Naruto stared at that finger for an extra few seconds before guiding his mind away from darker thoughts.
"Well what about pizza bread? It's easy to make and eat. We could also make nachos and maybe guacamole?" Naruto suggested, getting excited himself.
"Alright! That sounds great!"
It was only a moment later that they began cooking. Naruto used the premade croissant dough for the pizza bread and Hinata began on the nachos. After about ten minutes the pizza and Nachos were in the oven. Naruto got started on the guacamole while Hinata stood by watching.
"Hey Naruto?"
"Yeah?" Naruto glanced at Hinata before going back to the avocados.
"You said you were never invited to parties. How come? I can't see you being unpopular."
"Really?" Naruto asked, grinning at the smaller girl.
"You're too friendly and handsome," she said matter-of-factly. Naruto was both embarrassed by her comment, as well as flattered. He had never thought of himself as an unattractive person, but hearing it from a girl, particularly the one he liked, was great.
"Really, you think I'm handsome?"
"Of course. So it's strange, because I'm sure you had lots of friends." Naruto smiled at her confidence in him, before looking back to cutting onions.
"I had some problems back in school. Mostly I got in too many fights. I was a real punk in middle school, and I picked a fight with anyone who would let me. I got better in high school, but there were a few, and so I got a reputation for being bad tempered and reckless." Naruto was rather sensitive about his past attitude problems. He wasn't good at controlling his emotions when he was young, and usually lashed out in anger as a way to deal with it. As he got older, and with Jiraiya and Tsunade's help, Naruto had learned how to better express himself.
"But you seem so friendly. I can't imagine you fighting someone," Hinata said and Naruto laughed.
"I've studied martial arts all my life. And I was still friendly back then, I think that was the problem. I wanted people to like me, but, when they didn't, I got mad." Hinata appeared as though she wanted to say something, and Naruto was happy when Ino interrupted them.
"Hey, Shikamaru and Choji are here." Naruto turned to see the two guys walking into the now almost cleared out house. Naruto had been so distracted cooking and talking to Hinata he hadn't noticed all the work Lee and Shino had done. The living room was almost completely clear of furniture save for one couch and the beanbag chair which were pushed nearly against the breakfast bar to make room. Naruto had no idea where the other couch was. The dining area had even been altered. The table was pushed all the way to the wall and the chairs were placed around it and along the wall.
"So what did you guys get?" Naruto asked as Shikamaru and Choji walked into the kitchen, beginning to unload bags.
"Well we bought a ton of chips and salsa. We also got queso, because what are chips without queso?" Choji grinned as he unloaded said food.
"We got some donut bites too," Shikamaru said as he set the boxes of donuts on the counter.
"This looks great. I'll put it out," Hinata said and started grabbing the food. Naruto quickly checked on the pizza bread and nachos. By now it was starting to get darker, and Naruto turned to see Neji and TenTen walk in with what looked to be a lot of drinks.
"We weren't sure what everyone wanted, so we got some of everything, plus some mixers," TenTen said, smiling as she held up two bags. Neji moved to the kitchen to unload and it was quickly becoming crowded. Naruto pulled out the pizza bread and nachos, set them on the stove, and tugged on Hinata to lead her out of the kitchen. Now that everyone was here, save for Sasuke, the party could begin. Naruto lead Hinata over to the couch still in the living room and sat her down.
"I'll go make us some drinks, since it's so crowded in there. Any requests?" Naruto asked. Hinata smiled and shrugged.
"Not really. Something sweet maybe?" Naruto nodded and walked over to the kitchen. Shikamaru had vacated the area but Neji, Choji, and TenTen were still there. Naruto could feel Neji's eyes on him as he made his and Hinata's drinks. He decided he wasn't going to let Neji bother him. Hinata seemed to like him, and he liked her too, and Neji couldn't really say anything then could he? He didn't seem like the type to be overly controlling.
Naruto wasn't the greatest bartender, but growing up around Tsunade he had learned a few things. He grabbed some cranberry juice and vodka and made a simple cosmopolitan for Hinata, and mixed vodka and Gatorade for himself. He was a bit worried she wouldn't like it, after all, he had only ever made drinks for himself, Tsunade, and Jiraiya, and they liked it strong. When she smiled at him after taking a sip, Naruto relaxed and took a seat next to her.
"It's great! Thank you."
"No problem. It's not too strong, is it?" She shook her head,
"It's perfect." Naruto smiled and looked back to the room. It was only then he noticed they had set up a foldable table in the open space left by the dining table.
"Who wants to play some beer pong?" Kiba called with a grin.
"Or, liquor pong, whatever suits you," Ino added, laughing. Naruto turned excited eyes to Hinata and she laughed.
"You wanna play?" She asked him, and Naruto nodded.
"Yeah, will you be my partner?"
"Sure. I've never played before though," she confessed as she stood. Naruto joined her and they walked over.
"Downs!" Naruto called over to Kiba. The other boy grinned and waved them over. Ino looked to be his partner as she stood by the table setting it up. Naruto and Hinata took their spots at the far end. All the cups were filled with water, just to keep the ball clean, and they each had their selected drinks nearby. Hinata and Ino shot to see who went first. Hinata's ball almost made it in, but bounced off the rim, while Ino's plopped happily in the water.
"Pass it over!" Kiba yelled over the music that had been turned on. Naruto tossed him the ball. Both Kiba and Ino sunk their shots like they were pros, and suddenly Naruto was worried for Hinata, because he didn't think he was that great at the game. Naruto turned and watched as Hinata took a sip of her drink. She looked at him and smiled, taking another. Naruto laughed and took a large gulp of his own, feeling the alcohol burn his throat. As long as she didn't mind losing, neither did he.
Naruto watched her for another moment, her cheeks turning slightly pink as the alcohol began to warm her system. She was absolutely adorable. Naruto took another gulp and passed the balls back to Kiba and Ino. He was ready. Tonight, he was going to make a move, and honestly, he thought he would need the extra liquid courage.