Okay, so maybe I lied... There'll be one more chapter after this one :D Happy reading; thanks to all my beautiful reviewers!
"…Naruto, why is there an Uchiha family symbol on your shirt?" Deidara asked in amusement when Naruto and Sasuke arrived for work later that very morning. Deidara was looking just a little bit too gleeful for Naruto's liking and he flushed red, refusing to admit that he'd forgotten to pick up some clothes and had had to borrow some of Sasuke's. Sasuke just smirked, finding that he quite liked seeing Naruto forced to wear items branded with his family's symbol. That shirt, combined with the hickey on Naruto's neck seemed to just scream, 'Property of an Uchiha' and the raven had to admit that it gave him a possessive sense of pride.
"…Is that a hickey –" Deidara suddenly inquired, his smirk growing even wider as Naruto self-consciously tugged at his collar. He wasn't used to the formal attire that Sasuke seemed to insist on wearing, and his pants were a little too tight. Sasuke rolled his eyes and headed over to knock on his brother's door.
" –Maybe don't do that, yeah…" Deidara remarked flatly, just as the raven was about to knock. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "…I'm pretty sure Itachi's getting head."
"What? From who?" Sasuke snorted, and the door was suddenly pulled open casually by none other than Neji Hyuuga; looking a little bit flushed and adjusting his shirt. Sasuke's black eyes slid over to his brother, who was sitting at his desk and looking rather pleased with himself.
"Oh you've got to be kidding me," he remarked flatly as Itachi chuckled to himself.
"Hello, little brother," he greeted casually.
" –You and Neji?" Sasuke inquired with a raised eyebrow, watching as the Hyuuga excused himself and adjusted his shirt a little, "…Since when?"
"Yesterday," Itachi shrugged, oh-so-casually checking his nails.
"…I thought you didn't believe in work relationships," Sasuke commented flatly.
"…I didn't," his brother informed him lightly, "But it turns out that Neji and I share a mutual attraction that we thought was better to act on than ignore. And we thought we'd perhaps take a leaf from your book, since you and Naruto seem to be working so well."
"…So you're…dating…Neji?" Naruto inquired mischievously. Itachi appeared to ponder over this question for a moment, and Neji was seemed to be listening rather intently to how he chose to answer.
"I suppose I am," he finally shrugged before nonchalantly beginning to sift through his paperwork. Neji grinned to himself before smoothly returning his face to its normal blank mask.
"Finally!" Naruto exclaimed in exasperation, rolling his eyes and tugging at his collar irritably, "Oh my god; now we can stop pretending to be together, Sasuke!" Sasuke facepalmed with a scowl as Itachi immediately looked up with a rather stunned look on his face. Neji and Deidara's mouths had both fallen open in astonishment.
" –Please tell me I just heard wrong…" Itachi commented is disbelief.
"…Naruto thought that you and Neji should date, so he made me pretend to be his boyfriend to prove to you that work relationships could work," Sasuke explained flatly, "…And on a completely unrelated note…Shisui owes me a grand…"
"Naruto…please tell me this is a joke…" Itachi said flatly. Naruto just chortled, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
"Nope; totally true," he chuckled, "I am so glad that our fake relationship is finally over!" He let out a dramatic sigh of relief that for some reason had Sasuke feeling a little…hurt. "I can't believe you fell for it!"
"…You do have a hickey, yeah…" Deidara pointed out, "…And your tongue was definitely in Sasuke's mouth the other night; and I'm positive you were fucking enjoying it, yeah."
"…Is that so?" Itachi called out curiously.
"Boner and all –" Deidara managed to get out before Naruto strode over and swiftly clamped his hands over his friend's mouth; threatening to wring his neck if he said anything else. Sasuke raised an eyebrow with a small smirk. Itachi still looked shocked, and was rubbing his forehead; rather perplexed.
"You're saying that you pretty much tricked me into having sex with someone?" he exclaimed.
"Yeah," Sasuke smirked, folding his arms, "And if you even think about breaking up with Neji on principle, then I am telling mother and father –" Itachi's eyes widened as he stood; looking concerned.
"You wouldn't…" he growled.
"Oh, I would," Sasuke chuckled smugly, "Mother's been waiting for you to show interest in someone for years. Imagine what she would do if she found out that you ended something with someone because you were being stubborn…" Itachi visibly shuddered and glared at his younger brother.
"CAN SOMEONE OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR?" There was suddenly a huge explosion of swearing from the floor below; a rather Hidan-sounding bout of swearing at that. Itachi sighed heavily, grabbing his ID card and stalking from his office.
"This is not over, Sasuke Uchiha," he snapped crossly, jabbing a very annoyed; (and slightly impressed) finger at his little brother as he stormed off to sort out whatever chaos Hidan was causing downstairs.
As the doors swung shut behind him, the lab was left in silence for a long moment.
"Shit," Deidara commented flatly, "…So you guys were never…"
"Never," Naruto instantly replied, leaving Sasuke to scowl darkly as he headed over to get his lab coat, "I knew Itachi would come around to the idea of a relationship!"
"…I don't know if that was a terrible plan…or a brilliant one…" Neji admitted with a sigh.
"Well, you got a fuck out of it so I wouldn't say it was a bad one, yeah," Deidara reminded him, "…And when Sasuke plays the 'I'll tell mother' card, there's pretty much nothing Itachi can do. It's kind of like blackmail –"
"Oh, it's definitely blackmail," Sasuke corrected with a snort.
"I've met Mikoto," Naruto informed Neji, "She really wants Itachi in a committed relationship –she would flip if she heard that he'd passed up an opportunity for one…Even tried to set him up with me once or twice…"
" –You never mentioned that," Sasuke instantly remarked darkly, hearing a distinct trace of jealousy seeping into his own voice. Luckily, no one noticed it –well, he thought no one noticed it. Deidara just chuckled to himself.
"Remember how you hated me?" Naruto snorted, rolling his eyes, "Like I'd even think about telling you that your mom wanted me to date your brother –"
"I didn't hate you," Sasuke sniffed, "…I just thought you were an annoying idiot; which you are."
" –And you're a smug bastard," Naruto shot back, but the insult lacked malice, and sounded almost like a term of endearment. The two of them glared at each other for a moment before both sticking their noses in the air stubbornly. Sasuke moodily began setting up his bench-space.
"…Not that I'm not happy that your little 'plan' worked out…" Neji frowned, " –But could you not have at least included me in it?"
"Where's the fun in that?" Naruto chuckled, " –And in any case, you two sure leapt into things fast?" Neji blushed a little.
"There was mutual attraction; it seemed illogical to continue to ignore it," he replied bluntly.
"…So, what you're saying is that you just wanted to fuck Itachi so much that you couldn't help yourself?" Naruto cackled, causing the stoic Hyuuga to flush deeper at the blonde's crude phrasing. Sasuke cringed at the mental image that offered.
"Must you phrase it like that?" Neji sighed, hanging his head in embarrassment.
"What will Hinata think?" Naruto exclaimed, his mouth falling open, "Her cousin; sleeping with his boss, at work?" Neji's eyebrow twitched and he began to think that throwing chemicals was definitely in the cards.
"Naruto; don't make us send you to time out…" Deidara reminded him flatly. Naruto just grinned.
"…Did you really think we were dating?" he suddenly queried of Deidara with a raised eyebrow.
"Um, yeah," Deidara rolled him eyes, "Jeez; we've been waiting for you to get around to it long enough –"
"What's that supposed to mean –" All of a sudden, the lab door opened again and Itachi cleared his throat.
"Deidara? Hidan would like a word in the hallway," he called out, "I suggest you hurry before he bolts." Looking apprehensive, Deidara sighed heavily and hung up his lab coat to head out into the hallway, Itachi slinking back into the lab as he did so.
Hidan was leaning up against the wall, looking at his feet.
"Hidan, what's this about –" Deidara was about to say, but the rest of his sentence was cut off as Hidan spun around, pinning him against the wall and kissing him hard. The blonde squirmed, and managed to break free from the kiss.
"Dump Neji," Hidan demanded flatly.
"What the fuck –" Again, Hidan stooped to kiss him again; his tongue delving deep into Deidara's surprised mouth. As the blonde felt himself wanting to give in, the bigger man pulled back; his eyes apologetic.
"I'm a fucking asshole," Hidan muttered, running a hand down the side of Deidara's tanned face; brushing the blonde hair from his eyes, "Deidara…you…you fucking deserve to be fucking happy…and if it's with Neji…" He leaned in and kissed Deidara's neck; the blonde biting his lip to prevent himself from moaning –Hidan knew exactly where he was most sensitive.
"Hidan –stop playing, and talk," he finally managed to snap, managing to push the bigger man off him, "You're not making any sense…"
"Deidara, I fucking love you."
Those words immediately had the blonde's mouth falling open in disbelief and his eyes blinking in confusion. Hidan just watched him carefully for a long moment before licking his lips nervously, "…That's why I want you to dump Neji; but also why I want you to stay with him. I'm a jackass who didn't treat you well, and I want you to be happy…even if it's not with me."
"Hidan –"
"Did I say I was fucking done? I've been in love with you for so fucking long, but I was never good at relationships and I knew that was what you fucking wanted…so I just kept fucking pushing you away and running…" he muttered, apparently not having noticed the way Deidara's breathing had just picked up speed.
"I was too into you; I didn't want to want to spoon with you or hold your hands or take you out on dates –but I did….and…when you said that you loved me…" Hidan sighed, "…It hurts! I didn't know that it would feel this shit not having you around!"
"What's your point?" Deidara asked flatly, trying to stop himself from leaping into the air with joy.
"My point is that…When I saw you kissing Neji; I wanted to fucking punch his face in. You're mine!" Hidan snapped.
"I'm not a thing, Hidan, yeah," the blonde sniffed, "You don't own me –"
"I fucking know that…" Hidan snapped, "But I just…I um…Dei? I just…I want you to be with me…It's fucking selfish; coz I don't deserve you…but I want you…Will you b…Be my…b-b…boyfriend?" He stuttered on the word and shuddered at the sound as though unable to believe he'd just uttered it.
"You really mean it, yeah?" Deidara inquired quietly.
"Yes, I fucking do, okay?" Hidan growled, "I want you to fucking leave Neji and be with me instead! I fucking promise I will treat you right; I'll take you out for dinner, and bring you coffee like Sasuke brings Naruto coffee, and even stay at your place sometimes…Just give me another fucking chance; I'm…I'm fucking begging you, blondie….I hate knowing that you're with someone that isn't me…"
"Did everyone hear that, yeah?" Deidara hollered, squirming away from the wall and licking his lips cheekily.
" –Totally recorded it!" Naruto squealed, sticking his head through the doors cheekily.
" –The fuck –"
"Funny story, Hidan…Naruto and Sasuke aren't in a relationship, yeah," Deidara smirked, "And I was never seeing Neji; he's actually fucking Itachi right now; we only kissed to make you jealous –" Hidan's mouth just dropped open, and his only response was,
"FUCK?" Everyone started laughing as he just looked at them incredulously. "Fucking hell, Deidara? You fucking tricked me? You little shit! I can't believe I just asked you out –"
"NO TAKE-BACKS!" Deidara laughed, throwing his arms around the bigger man and dragging him down for a deep kiss; immediately pushing his tongue against Hidan's astonished lips.
"Yeah Hidan; you just admitted you loved him," Naruto cackled, "…And if you try and take it back now, I'm uploading your confession to the internet –" Hidan pulled back from the kiss for a moment to glare angrily over at Naruto.
"Yay, we get to do cute relationship stuff, yeah!" Deidara cheered cheekily, glancing up at Hidan's annoyed expression, "Right, Hidan?" The elder man just sighed gruffly.
"Fine; but I get to fuck you at work!" he snapped back.
" –But –"
"Deidara, this is not a fucking negotiation," Hidan informed him flatly.
"…To be fair, you were pretty underhanded in the way you got him to ask you out…" Naruto admitted with a shrug.
"Exactly!" Hidan snapped.
"It was your idea!" Deidara exclaimed crossly.
"…It was actually Sasuke's," Naruto quickly passed on the blame, earning himself a glare from the raven.
"You're forgiven if you have sex with me right now," Hidan remarked flatly, grabbing Deidara again and pushing him up against the wall once more; grinding his hips against the blonde's eagerly, "…Although…I wouldn't say you have much choice…" he added in a sultry whisper, latching his lips onto the tanned skin of his throat and kissing passionately. Deidara let out a low moan, instantly grinding back against the bigger man.
" –Take it to the supply cupboard or people are going to complain again –" Itachi reminded them.
" –Sorry about saying I wanted to punch you, Neji –" Hidan hollered, before Deidara grabbed him again and melded their mouths together in a hot, deep kiss.
"Not the time out closet!" Naruto hurriedly reminded them as Hidan grabbed for the nearest cupboard door and wrenched it open as Deidara's deft hands began unbuttoning his shirt. The blonde was unceremoniously dragged into the small room and the door slammed shut behind them.
" –Complain again?" Neji inquired flatly. They all cringed as he looked at them inquisitively.
"…We saw too much that day…" Naruto informed him darkly, "…It's a painful memory."
"…They…did they just make up very fast…" Neji frowned in confusion.
"Oh, Hidan's fine as long as he's getting sex and it's with Deidara," Naruto shrugged, shutting the door and finally heading back to his bench, "And who are you to be talking about things going fast?" Again, Neji flushed a little and coughed awkwardly when Itachi smirked and kissed him on the cheek.
"Sasuke; I want to have a word with you," Itachi suddenly had his business voice on, and his little brother scowled darkly, "Neji, will you please see to it that Naruto actually does some work today? Actually, no; send him to time out; he's done enough meddling to earn himself at least an hour in there."
" –But Hidan and Deidara are in the cupboard next door to it!" Naruto complained, clamping his hands over his ears and whimpering slightly, "I don't want to listen to them having rough make-up sex!"
"Well, you should've thought of that before you decided to get involved in their love life," Itachi sniffed unsympathetically, waving him away with one hand. Naruto sulkily folded his arms and stalked off to go and lock himself in 'time-out'.
"This place really isn't like any other place I've worked," Neji admitted with a sigh as Itachi led his brother off to his office.
"Well, you probably weren't fucking your previous boss..." Sasuke couldn't help but say, earning himself a scathing look from his elder brother and a resigned sigh from Neji. The Hyuuga headed over to the incubator to inspect the plates, and Sasuke shut the door as Itachi took a seat.
"Wow…" Itachi muttered, "…It has been a very interesting morning…"
"And it's barely eleven," Sasuke reminded him with a small smirk, "…What's this about, Itachi?"
"You and Naruto Uzumaki," came his brother's serious response.
"What about us?"
"…Well, since the two of you decided you had the right to not only trick (and blackmail) me into dating Neji Hyuuga, but also ensured that there is a much higher likelihood of me walking into a cupboard to get some disposable pipettes and finding Hidan nailing Deidara against a wall…" Itachi had to pause to take a breath, "…I think I am perfectly at liberty to interfere."
"Interfere with what?" Sasuke frowned.
"…Are you aware that you want to have sex with Naruto?" Itachi asked bluntly, "Because everyone else in this building apart from you and Naruto are very aware of it and have been waiting for you to do so for quite some time now." Sasuke's mouth dropped open in astonishment; a very non-Uchiha expression that he was not proud of. "Really, Sasuke, the sexual tension between you has been killing all of us," Itachi assured him very seriously, but with a trace of amusement, "…Imagine how delighted we were to discover that the two of you were dating."
"Tch, as if I would ever seriously date that idiot –"
Sasuke ignored the unimpressed look his brother gave him at his immediate denial and maintained a neutral expression.
"Sasuke, this is literally the happiest I have ever seen you," Itachi snapped in exasperation, as his younger brother rolled his eyes and headed back for the door. "Get your head out of your ass. You like him. You're kidding yourself if you think that your relationship with him was fake."
"Whatever, Itachi," Sasuke snorted, rolling his eyes.
"…If you don't like him, then why'd you look so upset when he said that your relationship was over?"
"I was not upset," Sasuke sniffed crossly, "It was a fake relationship to trick you; nothing more; we both know that."
"I thought you were smarter than this," his brother remarked mockingly, looking down at his paperwork, "…The two of you were clearly made for each other –you fit together so nicely; and if you believe otherwise, you obviously never saw the way he looked at you." Scoffing at this remark, Sasuke stalked off back through to the lab to continue with his work.
However, Itachi's last comment bothered him.
It bothered him because he'd grown to know that he and Naruto did fit together nicely. It bothered him because he'd seen the veiled lust behind Naruto's eyes when they'd kissed and when they had been in bed together. It bothered him because everything Itachi had said was true...and he didn't know if Naruto knew it too.
Next chapter WILL be the last one this time, promise :) Hope you enjoyed! Things are looking up for ItaNeji and HidaDei... what will Sasuke's next move be?
xx K
