Yes, yes I know. I said I'd have this up around Wednesday of last week…as you can see that didn't happen. But to my defense, it was so nice outside! The warmest it has been since the start of spring! So sorry for procrastinating…I ventured into the outside world and enjoyed the pleasant weather.
Anyway, as you can see this chapter is hellava long, so that should make up for the late update? *begs*
Also, a little shameless advertising: If any of you enjoy watching abridged series then there is a new episode (ep1) coming from my team for Naruto Shippuden. Just google NarutoSASPS and our youtube channel should be one of the first things you see. Check it out!
Warning: You'll see^^
Chapter 10: See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil-Part 2
Sasuke angrily threw his keys onto the side table as he stormed into his apartment. Gripping the scarf around his neck, he pulled it off with one agitated tug. Sliding out of his coat, he stuffed the navy blue scarf into the left sleeve and then marched over to the closet by the front door, threw it open and grabbed for a hanger.
All day.
Not just today but the day before that and the day before that, it was like some vicious cycle! Sasuke prided himself on being a man of control. He was as cool as a snake, figuratively speaking of course. Unhinging his jaw and swallowing whole one obstacle after another. There was nothing he couldn't handle. Nothing!
He thrust the coat onto the plastic hanger and hung it up before slamming the door closed. Then running a shaky hand through his damp hair, he strode purposefully towards his bedroom all the while berating himself in his head.
It wasn't normal to be so sexually frustrated. He was sure of it. People who were constantly getting horny over the most absurd of things sought medical attention.
Yes, he needed medical attention.
Throwing himself on the bed, Sasuke rubbed the corners of his eyes as the events of the day replayed in his mind. Early this morning he had woken to a hard on, thus requiring a quick shower under the biting cold water. The spray had hit him like a thousand sharp needles, biting painfully into the skin of his back. It was quite an unwelcome feeling when you knew it was below freezing outside. Not to mention the fact that he'd have to trudge through masses of snow while fighting off the heavy winds from the North that decided it would be fun to see how many times they could piss him off within a span of five minutes…but back to the shower. It was cold.
Afterwards he had dressed as quickly as he could in an attempt to regain some much sought after heat. Then when scrambling his eggs for a good nutritional breakfast, he felt it coming. That slow aching throb in his groin. That heightening of the senses that made every breeze and every movement feel erotically stimulating. Swallowing hard, he forced an image of Ino and Chouji into his mind. Making himself imagine them doing the unthinkable in the privacy of his own bedroom. Almost immediately, he felt his body cool down and the blood rush back to his brain. With a grunt, he finished cooking his meal and sat down to eat.
For the rest of the day, random things kept making him want to rush towards his office, lock the door and relieve that aching throb in his pants.
The yellow, number twelve pencil.
The large banana Gaara had been eating.
The lesson on derivatives in his Calculus I class.
Bending over to pick up a student's dropped notebook.
Anything and everything was setting him off.
Then lastly Sai with his stupid art stock list of chaos. As soon as his eyes landed on the word 'anatomy,' his cock twitched and all the blood began to charge straight down to his groin all over again. When Sai had excused himself to go to the bathroom, Sasuke took this as an excellent opportunity to escape. Quickly, he scribbled a nonsense note and ran out of the university building before Sai could come back.
Now here he lay on his bed, with the most painful erection of his life.
When cold showers stopped working and the images you conjure to ride yourself of desire malfunction, there is only one option left, only one way to handle such a bothersome situation. Sitting up, Sasuke began to pull off his belt.
Silent like the dead, Kiba and Neji lay beneath Sasuke's bed with worried expressions on their faces. Sasuke hadn't bothered to turn on the lights. Which left the two interlopers heavily dependent on the dim LED light coming from Kiba's phone. Thanks to the dark bed skirt, the small source of light they had was well concealed beneath the bed.
When Neji heard Sasuke grunt, he held his breath not even daring to breathe.
The springs of the mattress creaked as the two men heard something fall to the ground. More rustling was heard before the springs creaked again and they heard Sasuke lay back on the bed. Shikamaru's face stared at them from Kiba's phone, his eyes focused as he trained all his attention on listening to whatever the microphone on Kiba's cell was picking up. Both Neji and Kiba looked nervous as they had their eyes trained upwards. Breathing had become optional to them at this point, so Shikamaru quickly sent them a message.
Don't move. Don't talk. And don't you dare sneeze. Eventually he will either fall asleep or go to the bathroom. Just wait it out.
Kiba and Neji shot their leader angry looks, wanting nothing more than to reach through the screen of Kiba's phone and take the crazy Nara by the neck and squeeze. Squeeze hard enough so his eyes bulged and face turned purple.
"…Ah…"
Kiba's eyes widened as another throaty hum escaped from the Uchiha. He cast a look in Neji's direction only to witness an expression of horror displayed quite clearly on the man's face. Swallowing hard he shut his eyes, forcing himself to imagine himself in a place far away from here. Far, far away from the noises he knew were going to be coming next.
Sasuke looked down at himself with a hint of pride. After removing his clothes, he noticed that his dick had extended quite a bit further as it now was pointing upwards. Obviously ready for a good quick session. He sighed, thinking of how nice it would be to plunge himself fully into a blindingly hot, tight ass. Unfortunately, he didn't have any random men lying about at his disposal. Leaning back against his pillows, Sasuke reached for his cock and began stroking it very slowly with two fingers. If he was going to do this, he was damn well going to enjoy it.
With his other hand, he reached for his balls and gently began to pull on them. Leaning further back onto the downy pillows, he tugged downwards while at the same time rubbing his fingers against the sensitive flesh. A moan escaped his lips as he gripped the base of stone hard dick, rubbing it leisurely with his hand.
Feeling the soles of his feet begin to tingle, Sasuke worked his hand up from the base and along the shaft while still stroking his balls with the other hand. It felt so good. He rubbed again, teasing himself by ghosting his fingers over the shaft. The tingling from his feet was now deliciously reverberating into the tip of his cock sending pleasurable jolts of electricity across every nerve fiber of his being.
He let out another moan, already beginning to pant with want. Obsessively, his hand stroked his length. The friction he was creating felt incredible! It was like after days of walking in the blistering desert he was finally getting a taste of the cool, crisp water he had so longingly searched for. Continuing his stroking, Sasuke moved his hand upwards slowly. Teasing the throbbing flesh while working his way up to the sensitive spot right below the tip of his cock, "…Mngh…" His toes curled as he rubbed the area harder. It felt so good. So wonderfully, inexplicably good. The head of his dick twitched with desire as his fingers moving eagerly against the hard flesh. Moaning as his fingers squeezed around him, breathlessly plunging him into a sea of desire. His mind raced unintentionally picturing a lean, naked blonde man with fiery eyes. The fictitious blonde had his legs spread widely, showing off a perfectly stretched hole in need of a large dick to fill it. Sasuke rubbed harder, unaware that he was now masturbating to the image of Naruto fisting himself before him.
His attention was now completely focused on the pressure building within him. The heat and blood pulsing rhythmically inside his erection was now the one controlling his body. Anything. He would do about anything for that sweet release waiting just around the corner. He squeezed the head of his cock again, letting a pleasured cry echo off his lips. Cum started to leak forth from the stimulated head, coating his long, slender fingers in its warm sticky juices. Grunting, Sasuke rubbed his dick harder, spreading the precum all the way down to the base. His cock jerked wantonly in his hand, begging for more attention…and that is exactly what Sasuke gave it. He rubbed his hand faster along the shaft, alternating between thrusting into his fist and rubbing the head.
It felt so incredibly good.
He could feel the pressure building, feel the sweet release edging closer to the surface. His movements became more erratic as the pressure built. Toes dug into the bedding, twisting in the sheets as he continued to squeeze. His other hand tugged ruthlessly on his swollen balls, bringing him closer and closer to that point where he knew he'd feel himself floating amidst a river of ambrosia. He panted harder, rubbing, squeezing and tugging. Clamping his eyes shut, Sasuke arched his back as he felt the spring inside him release. A shout escaped his throat as a stream of hot cum shot out and coated the dark linen sheets of his bed. He moaned, riding out the orgasm and milking it for all it was worth –eyes still shut tight and hand still fisted around him. His lips parted as he finally took in a breath and collapsed with a satisfied grunt.
It felt so good. Raw and unrestrained. He had half the mind to do it again but one glance at the clock reminded him that he had an early class in the morning. Muttering nonsense under his breath, he lay on his back and waited for his breathing to even out.
After a few minutes, Sasuke sat up and looked at the mess he made. With an audible sigh he stood to his feet and walked over to the edge of his bed, sliding his feet into a pair of black slippers. Unhurriedly, he bent down to the floor and began picking up the articles of clothes he had thrown off in his hurried effort to jerk off. He then strode naked towards his bathroom door, intent on washing off the residue of his indecent performance.
Kiba and Neji didn't dare move a muscle until they heard the shower start to run. They then waited another extra three minutes to be sure it was safe to move.
"Okay," Neji whispered shakily, "I think we can make a run for it."
Kiba nodded his head, wondering to himself how many years would have to pass before he could completely forget this event. He made a mental note to write out a check for some charity as soon as he got home. No doubt it was God's doing that he hadn't sneezed during this whole ordeal. Knowing his luck, they would have probably gotten caught five minutes after Sasuke came in. Again, Kiba thanked the heavens that Sasuke was such a neat freak that there wasn't even a speck of dust beneath the bed.
Trying to make as little noise as possible, Neji and Kiba rolled out from under the bed and tiptoed hurriedly towards the door. Taking a deep breath, Neji grabbed the door handle and turned it. The lock clicked open and the two scurried across the living room towards the front door. Neji hurriedly pulled out his key as Kiba turned the locks. Upon swinging it open, the two bolted out with Neji quickly locking the door behind them.
They were a sight for sore eyes as they power walked across the small parking lot. Once they were safely sitting inside Neji's car, Kiba unmuted his phone and glared at the LED screen. Shikamaru had his head bent down, busily working on the Final he was writing.
"Shikamaru!" Kiba yelled at his phone.
Nothing.
"He probably put us on mute so he wouldn't have to…" Neji swallowed, looking a little green, "…hear that."
"Oh…right."
Neji pulled out his own phone and dialed the psychology professor. They watched their friend through the screen lift his head and reach across his desk. Upon picking up the phone and seeing the caller ID, his eyes flickered to the computer screen.
Two clicks later.
"Wow, Sasuke sure took his time."
"Fuck you!" Neji and Kiba yelled in unison.
:::
Sasuke walked into the staff lounge and immediately headed for the coffee machine. A few of the professors were present namely Shikamaru, Neji, Kiba, Shino and Sakura. After pouring himself a large cup of coffee he walked over to the round table and took a seat.
"Good morning, Sasuke!" Sakura chimed brightly.
"Morning."
Taking a sip of his morning medicine, Sasuke watched Neji and Kiba fidget in their seats. Both were staring down at the tabletop as if it were the most interesting specimen they had ever seen. All week the two of them had been avoiding eye contact with him. It seemed rather strange to Sasuke, however he chose not to say anything on the matter. In all likelihood the two were probably tired from composing Finals for the end of the semester. Unlike him, most of his fellow professors left test making to the last minute. He nodded to himself, no wonder these two looked so downtrodden.
"You two shouldn't leave things to last minute." Sasuke grunted, "How are you going to proctor the exams when you look like you hadn't had a good night's sleep for over a week?"
Neji wanted to clamp both hands over his ears to muffle the sound of Sasuke's voice. Every time he spoke all he could hear in his head was the moaning and groaning…not to mention the panting. Oh god, he winced as memories of laying flat on his stomach in the darkest of night replayed in his head. The fear that a single noise could end it for him…he shuddered.
Kiba suddenly stood up, his chair almost falling backwards in his swift departure from the staff lounge. The usually boisterous biology professor was now barely keeping it together. Everyone watched as Kiba hurled himself at the door and left with a resounding bang.
"Excuse me," Neji muttered before getting up and leaving the staff room right behind Kiba.
Sasuke raised one fine eyebrow and looked at Shikamaru who was trying but failing at concealing a grin from forming on the planes of his face.
"What's wrong with them?"
Shikamaru cleared his throat and without daring to look the Uchiha in the eye said clearly, "They had a bad experience."
:::
Naruto scanned over the final copy of his end of semester Exam with a satisfied grunt. After banishing himself from the staff lounge, he found that he had more time to grade his papers and get everything he needed done for his classes without having to rush or experience sleepless nights like before. Grinning to himself, he put aside the Final and leaned back in his armchair. There were just a few days left until the start of Finals and after that, there would be a nice long month of vacation. No getting up at ungodly hours of the morning. No hiding from Fuka. No tests to grade or exams to write. Nothing. There would finally be some peace and quiet to enjoy the finer things life had to offer.
The gang was already planning a nice vacation once they finished calculating grades for the fall semester. It would be a good, relaxing few days enjoying freedom. The girls were already looking into resorts and places they could go. Yes, life was going to be good for a change.
The sound of someone knocking on the door had Naruto's thoughts racing back to the present. Standing from his chair the blonde tiptoed towards the door and peered through the peephole he had installed a few weeks ago. To his relief there was no big busty redhead standing readily at his door.
"Come in." Naruto returned to his seat as Sai walked into his office. The man had a spatter of blue paint on his cheek right below the eye. Grabbing a tissue from a box on his desk, Naruto handed it to the art instructor. "You got a little paint on your face."
Taking the tissue, Sai muttered his thanks and sat down in a chair. Bringing the soft paper towards his face, he began to rub. Naruto waited patiently for his friend to finish before enquiring as to the reason Sai had come to his office.
The dark haired man rubbed fiercely at his cheek trying to get the paint off. No one had even bothered to tell him that he'd been walking around the campus all morning with a splotch of paint on his face. Sometimes he wondered why he stayed here, working with people who clearly didn't give a rat's ass about him. Crumpling the now blue tissue, he threw it into the trash bin and sighed.
"Is something wrong, Sai?" Naruto frowned when the usual smile didn't appear on his comrade's face.
The pale man shook his head, "No. Just a little annoyed." Reining in his emotions, Sai smiled up at his friend. At least there was one person here he knew that cared a little. The worry in those azurite eyes was genuine and made him feel a little better. Here was a person who wore his heart on his sleeve. Usually that wouldn't be considered a good thing but at the moment, Sai was grateful that the blonde was so easily read.
"Hm," Naruto leaned back in his chair and gave it a little swivel, "Okay. What's up?"
Remembering the reason he came, Sai cleared his throat, "I would like you to come by the studio tonight around seven thirty. There is something I'd like to talk about with you."
The blonde sighed and rubbed the back of his head, "Geez, Sai. I was really hoping on getting out of here at six."
"Oh," Sai looked down in his lap, "I guess…"
"Can't you talk about whatever it is right now?"
Sai shook his head, "No, I need to do it in the art studio. Everyone will be gone at seven so there won't be anyone there. I want to talk to you in private."
Privacy. The guy wanted privacy. Naruto didn't like where this was heading.
"Sai," he leaned over the desk, "You know I think of you only as a friend, right?"
Confused, the older man nodded, "What does that have to do with this?"
Naruto blinked. Okay, maybe that wasn't the kind of privacy Sai was thinking about.
"I just need to talk to you and then maybe get some painting in." Sai repeated, "Please say you'll come."
Now there was that magic word. Please.
Sighing, Naruto nodded, "Fine, I'll be there."
"Great!" Sai got to his feet and grinned, "See you at seven thirty!"
"Yeah," Naruto muttered as the door closed with a bang.
:::
Sasuke brought his messenger bag down hard on his office desk causing a black balled pen to roll off the table. All at once, three heavy textbooks the size of cinderblocks slid out onto the desk. The colored post-it-notes within each one sticking out at all angles, marking concepts Sasuke had definitely put on the exam. Calculus, Pre-Calculus and Algebra…all full of fairly complex algorithms none of which Sasuke was going to be testing on. Most of the students in his class were deemed by him as incompetent. In all honesty, he wondered how some of them managed to graduate from rudimentary mathematics. More than once, he found himself revisiting the concept of fractions and percents. A truly embarrassing feat that he very much liked to avoid at all costs. He could not for the life of him understand how someone could mess up a fairly simple equation. You just had to solve for the damned variable!
Opening a draw in his desk, Sasuke pulled out three manila folders. Each containing four different variations of the same exam. He opened the Algebra one first, spreading the exams before him in order of difficulty.
Version A had two challenging quadratic equations while version B had one…though version B also had the logarithmic equation that would require a graph. His eyes shifted to version C which had a fairly simple exponential equation…though it did contain a difficult matrix inversion problem which consisted of at least five steps. He could solve it in three, but most of his students would probably have difficulty comprehending the question altogether. Version D was by far the most difficult and challenging version of the exam. Certainly not for the students who no doubt would turn out to be pencil pushing zombies of the workforce. It consisted of two tricky hyperbola equations, a somewhat difficult quadratic, two matrix questions, three devilish logarithms, the use of the binomial theorem, a somewhat easy parabola and a sprinkle of rational expressions with a side of polynomial inequalities.
Which one would he pick?
A knock on the door delayed Sasuke's decision. He muttered a quick, 'come in,' and was surprised (although very far from pleased), to see Sai walk in with a folder in his hand.
"What do you want?" Sasuke asked stiffly, not even bothering to offer the other man a seat.
Nonetheless, used to the Uchiha's rather gruff personality, Sai took the liberty of taking a chair, "I need you to come by my studio today at seven thirty."
"No."
"Why not?"
Finally looking at the other man Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "Because I don't like you."
"I don't like you either," Sai smirked, "However, it wasn't my idea for you to come to my studio. It was a request by the higher ups. Just be there, okay?"
Intrigued Sasuke straightened to his full height and crossed his arms. His pose was indeed intimidating and would probably scare off any other professor in this university, however Sai was on a mission. Nothing was going to keep him from claiming his objective.
"What is this about?"
Sai wiggled the folder in his hand before standing up and walking to the door, concealing the smirk on his face, "I'll let you know at seven thirty. Be there." The door shut behind him and Sasuke was left staring at the wooden finish of his office door.
"Hn."
Swiftly he sat down in his armchair and grabbed the most difficult version of the exam. He stuck it into a crisp white envelope and labeled it 'Algebra Final for section 4 and 5,' with a thick sharpie marker. Licking the enveloped closed he threw it atop his messenger bag and crossed his arms, focusing his glare on a snow globe sitting in the corner of his bookcase.
:::
Naruto rushed to shove all his things into his orange backpack. He had roughly ten minutes to get assembled before he needed to meet Sai in his studio. Having just finished giving a full blown lecture he was making good time…that was until Kiba pounced on him in the hall. The blonde let out an 'oomph' as the bigger man collided with his chest.
"Yo, Naruto!"
Rubbing his mock injury, Naruto gave his friend and indignant look. You would think that being considered a legal adult by a considerable amount of the populace meant that all childish whimsies be checked at the door. Not if you were Kiba. The warm hearted man had still remained a boy even through the dark and long voyage of adulthood. Naruto smiled as Kiba rubbed the back of his neck. A sign the blonde had long since unraveled as his friend being embarrassed. The man smiled ruefully at Naruto before muttering an apology.
"Sorry about that," Kiba waited for the blonde to reset the backpack on his shoulder before bombarding him with the initial reason he had run into him, "I need to borrow your phone."
"My phone?" Naruto frowned, "What's wrong with yours?"
The biology professor paused, having not considered a reason as to why his phone was at the moment –out of order.
"Um," he stuttered, "I f-forgot it at h-home and I need to call s-someone b-because I need to t-tell them s-something i-important." Wincing internally, Kiba prayed that the blonde didn't pick up on the lie. He watched as Naruto pondered for a moment before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his sleek cell phone.
Caribbean blue eyes stared intently into Kiba's face, "Do not lose this, Kiba."
Frowning, Kiba took the phone and grumbled, "Gee…thanks for having so much faith in me, Uzumaki."
Naruto shrugged, "Experience has taught me otherwise." He grinned at the sour look displayed on Kiba's face and chuckled, "I'm heading towards the studio right now so I don't know how late I'll be. Tell Shikamaru that I'll walk home."
Kiba nodded and watched his friend walk down the hallway. He waited patiently until Naruto turned the corner before pulling out his walkie-talkie, "The egg has been cracked. I repeat, the egg has been cracked and the yolk extracted."
Static sounded over the radio device before Shikamaru's voice came on, "Good…Flamingo, what's your status?"
Another bout of static ensued before Sakura's angry voice came on the line, "My codename is not Flamingo, Shikamaru! We discussed this! I am white rose! Embodiment of innocence, virtue and goodness."
"More like a red rose," Kiba muttered to himself, "Embodiment of guilt, lust and evil."
"Fuck you, Inuzuka!" Sakura growled having heard every single word since Kiba forgot to let go of the button, "Will you let that go?"
"Shut up both of you!" Shikamaru's voice boomed over the walkies, "Just get Sasuke's cell phone before he enters the studio."
Sakura sighed, "Alright. White rose in route to intercept."
The rosette quickly tucked her walkie-talkie into her bra, having forgotten to wear pants with pockets this morning. She strode purposefully towards Sasuke's office, avoiding the many students who were anxiously trying to leave the campus grounds. She was almost run over by a heavyset woman if not for her quick ducking abilities. A feat she mastered after playing ultimate Frisbee with Naruto, Kiba, Gaara and Lee.
When Sasuke's office door was in sight, Sakura took a deep breath and barged into the room. Unfortunately, Sasuke was nowhere to be found. The chair at his desk was as empty as a classroom after dismissal.
"Code red!" Sakura put the walkie to her mouth, "The fish is not in the bowl! I repeat, the fish is not in the bowl!"
"Damn it!" Shikamaru's voice rung in her ear, "Okay Chip and Dale, give us the feed!"
Sakura rushed across the hall with the radio device firmly pushed against her ear as her eyes scanned the floor for signs of Sasuke.
A minute later the static crackled over the walkie-talkie and Kotetsu's voice came on line, "We've got visual on Broody. He's heading towards the exit on the left side of the building…the history classrooms!"
"Bones, you in position to intercept?" Shikamaru asked.
Ino's voice answered, "Affirmative. I have Broody in sight –intercepting now."
"Alright," Kotestsu's voice answered, "Cutting off live feed from the art studio now…Van Gough, you're good to go."
Sakura ran down the stairs, her heels making a click clacking sound as they hit the floor. She had half the mind to slide down the rail but thought against it when she nearly ran into a passing student walking up. Finally reaching the first floor, Sakura threw open the door and barreled down the hallway. There was no time to waste. This could be it.
Eyes began glowing with excitement when she spotted Ino standing in front of the entry door, blocking Sasuke's path outside. As soon as the blonde History professor spotted her, she stepped away from the door and said her goodbyes. Leafy green eyes watched the mathematics professor push open the door and leave the building. Sakura was right on his tail. With one mighty swing, she pushed the door open and followed Sasuke into the biting cold December night.
"Sasuke!" She called, "Wait!"
The raven stopped midstride and turned around to see the bright haired woman running towards him. His eyes narrowed as he took in her appearance.
"Get back inside." He said severely with ebony eyebrows knit together, "It's too cold out here for you not to be wearing a jacket."
Rubbing her sweater enclosed arms Sakura shook her head, "I'll be quick. I just needed to ask you something."
"Hn," Sasuke grabbed Sakura's arm and dragged her back inside the building. When they were once again within the university he sighed and looked up at the shivering girl, "What is it?"
"Can I borrow your phone?"
"What?"
Crossing her arms in an attempt to warm herself Sakura repeated, "I said can I borrow your phone? I lost mine somewhere inside my office and the desk phone hasn't been working since the start of the semester. I have to make an important call and the number is on my phone. Please, Sasuke."
He stared at her for a minute, pondering the pros and cons of giving Sakura his phone. Lending his phone wasn't the problem, getting it back was. The meeting in Sai's studio couldn't take more than half an hour.
"Are you done for the day?" he asked.
She nodded her head.
With a sigh Sasuke stuck his hand in his coat pocket and pulled out a shiny navy blue cell phone, "I have a meeting starting at seven thirty so take the phone home with you. I'll come pick it up when I'm done."
"Sure!" Sakura smiled prettily, "That's no problem."
Sasuke nodded his head and gave an audible grunt before turning back to the door, "See ya."
As soon as the door closed the rosette gave an evil smirk, "Not today." Pulling out her walkie-talkie Sakura pressed down on the knob, "Mission success. Target acquired. Grumpy is on his way I repeat, Grumpy is on his way. Heading towards you now, Doc."
Shikamaru's chuckle reverberated over the radio wave, "Good job, rosey. Dumb and Dumber are at the apartment hooking up the television to the live feed from the hidden camera installed in the studio. Head on over there, we'll meet you."
"Alright," putting her walkie away, Sakura walked towards the elevators. She was going grab her coat and car keys and drive over to Naruto's apartment at the fasted speed her little car could go. Speed limits be damned, she wasn't going to miss this for the world.
Sasuke trudged along the campus path until he came to the building hosting all the art programs. With a quiet grunt, he swung open the Picassoisque painted door and walked inside. Having never had the need to venture into the world of clay, paint and charcoal, Sasuke found himself admiring the vast array of sculptures and paintings sitting appealingly in the hallway. Not a single inch of white wall was visible in the building. Each corner hosted some exquisite painting or drawing done with the utmost skill. Sasuke found himself pausing to examine piece after piece, appreciation lighting up his face.
"I'm glad to see your enjoying yourself." Sai's voice said from a few feet away. At once, Sasuke straightened his back and set his features into a mask of boredom and irritation.
"I give credit where credit is due," he said simply and followed Sai up a flight of stairs. The art professor led him into an enormous room with two large windows. Easels of all sizes sat against one wall while stools were heaped up five to a stack in the corner. Like the hallways leading up to the studio, the walls were arrayed with work done by the attending students. There were nature scenes, still lifes, abstract paintings and sketches hanging all over the place. Even heavily ornate paper with beautiful calligraphy was displayed on the wall. Sasuke peered closer at one piece and took note of the fine brush strokes and the in all delicate nature of the work. He grunted in approval.
Sai walked over to a door, "This is the bathroom."
"Hn."
"Over there is the stock room, "He pointed to a door on the other side of the room, "We keep most of our supplies there.
At that moment the supply room door opened and out stepped Naruto, "Hey, Sai I couldn't find the costume ins –what's he doing here?" The blonde narrowed his eyes and glared at the Uchiha who all of a sudden became stiller than the statues next to him.
Sai ignored the question and smiled at the two men. Right on cue the phone is Sai's pocket began to ring, sounding the familiar cellular ringtone. Muttering unnecessary excuses Sai pulled out his cell and brought it to his ear, "Hello?"
Both Sasuke and Naruto watched as the expression on Sai's face changed.
"What? Is he alright?" panicking, Sai grabbed his coat, "I'll be right there! Don't do anything until I get there, you here!" Shooting the two bewildered men an apologetic look Sai rushed out the door, "I'M COMING!"
Silence.
The slow tick tock of the overhead wall clock was the only contributing noise to the deathly silence that followed Sai's departure. The two professors just stood there. Worry plain on Naruto's face while a look of confusion played over Sasuke's. He turned to look at the blonde man, realizing he hadn't seen hide nor hair of him since the rally. Well…there was that one time but it didn't count.
Naruto's head turned towards the wall and quickly found himself staring at a rather large bout of calligraphy. However, one project stood out the most. Maybe because the name held some meaning for him, maybe because the script was stroked more elegantly then the rest or just maybe because it was the first one his eye landed on.
Michiru was written on a long strip of tea stained paper, as evident as the surprise displayed on Naruto's face.
"I'm leaving," Sasuke stated as he headed for the door. He grabbed the knob of the door only to give it a frustrated jerk.
"What's wrong?" Naruto grumbled as he strode over to the Uchiha with all intent to run out the door and race home leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.
"Hn." Sasuke let go of the knob and glared at the door, his displeasure evident in the way his nose scrunched.
Grabbing the knob himself, Naruto gave a sharp pull.
It didn't budge.
A little irritated the blonde jerked the knob once more without success, "Is it stuck or something?" Muttering more to himself then to his equally annoyed companion.
"I think it's locked," Sasuke finally said stepping away from the door, "Sai must have accidently locked us in when he left."
"That can't be," Naruto shook his head in disbelief, "All doors lock from the inside…"
"Must be different in the arts building," Sasuke grumbled as he grabbed himself a stool from the stack in the corner.
Naruto let go of the knob and turned to face the man he'd successfully been avoiding for the past two months now, "Can you call security?"
"Hn."
"Oh don't give me that," Naruto spat angrily, "The least you can do is talk to me in this situation. Grunting isn't going to get us out of here."
"Why don't you call?" Sasuke said mockingly, earning himself an icy glare from the blue eyed blonde.
Shoving his hands in his pockets Naruto glowered, "I don't have a phone on me."
"Neither do I."
With the now clear depiction of their situation, Naruto leaned against the wall and let his shoulders droop, "Great."
"After ten, the security guards will no doubt see that we're in here and come release us." Sasuke said confidently, "Just have to be patient."
Naruto shook his head, "No they won't. Apparently the security camera in this studio had been malfunctioning so Sai said they took it down to get replaced. No one knows we're here."
:::
Ding!
"The popcorn is ready!" Choji yelled from the kitchen.
All heads nodded in acknowledgement as eyes focused on the television screen displaying the forms of Naruto and Sasuke sitting on stools within the confines of Sai's art studio. Everyone was piled into Shikamaru and Kiba's living room, squeezed in so tight there was barely any room to breathe.
Earlier that day Shikamaru had Raidou and Kotetsu install a hidden camera in Sai's studio so that they could all watch their plan unfold within the comforts of their home…namely Shikamaru's leather couch.
"It's been two hours and they've barely said anything!" Kiba growled as he stared at the motionless figures on the screen.
"Sai, you did turn off the thermostat in the studio, right?"
The ebony haired man nodded, "They should be cold now. It doesn't take that long for the room to drop in temperature, it's big."
"Well they're going to have to snuggle together if they don't want to freeze to death," Sakura stated as Choji came in with two bowls of popcorn, "Any minute now…any minute."
Ino bounced out of the kitchen with a bag of corn chips and a hearty bowl of salsa. Tenten and Temari grinned and made room for the blonde to sit down beside them.
"Here, Sakura," Ino held out the bowl of salsa. The tomatoes were diced into tiny red cubes; the finely chopped dill lay scattered over the diced vegetables letting the exotic aroma blend perfectly with the different array of herbs and spices mixed into the salsa. Compelling many a mouth to water, "I made it extra spicy, just the way you like it."
Sakura stared at the bowl as her stomach began to churn, "No thanks, Ino. I don't feel like spicy today."
"Pass it over here, Ino." Shino called from his perch on the chair angled at the TV, "We'll eat it." Kankuro and Lee nodded in agreement.
:::
Naruto was starting to lose feeling in his toes.
He had long since abandoned the hard metal stool and taken to sitting atop a purple decorative pillow that had been part of a set up for a still life scene. Sasuke too had grabbed himself a quilted blanket, courtesy of the sewing club. He had folded it up nicely and sat on it, creating a soft cushion for his aching tailbone.
It had only been four hours since Sai had left them locked in the studio but to Naruto and Sasuke, it felt like an eternity.
"We should probably sit close together," Naruto finally said. Unable to bear the cold any longer, "So we won't freeze to death."
Sasuke nodded and waited for Naruto to come across and sit beside him. Gritting his teeth, the blonde stood once he realized Sasuke wasn't getting up. Grabbing his purple pillow, he crossed the room and sat by the Uchiha, his shoulder brushing slightly against the other's.
"Hn."
"Oh god, what now?" Naruto groaned.
Sasuke threw him a dirty look, "Nothing."
Now sharing body warmth the two took to staring at the floor, both feeling innumerable amounts of awkwardness.
Naruto internally groaned. The slow aching throb of his bladder was proving to be quite difficult to ignore at this point. He stared yearningly at the door leading towards the bathroom. If he could just…no. His body would not move. It remained frozen in its spot not daring to let the blonde even move a muscle. Fear assailed his senses as the memory of his first grade trip to the zoo replayed in his mind. He shivered as those snake like eyes taunted him from the dark recesses of his mind, reminding him of the terror he had felt when that man had pulled his shorts down and squeezed him painfully. That sickly pale hand clamped over his mouth held back the screams his six-year-old self begged to let out. He could still hear him panting in his ear. That voice, that unforgettable throaty chuckle ghosting his ear as the man continued to assault him in the stall of the bathroom. No one was there. No one could help him…. pushing the memory as far away as possible, Naruto shook his head. He'd have to hold it in until morning and wait for Kiba or Shikamaru to arrive before asking one of them to go to the bathroom with him.
Sasuke watched the man beside him stare at the bathroom door. Even through the darkness he was able to sense the blonde's distress. A frown played on his lips as his mind reverted back to grade school. Before that whole fiasco in third grade, he remembered Naruto avoiding public bathrooms. He had found it odd that all of a sudden his best friend developed a fear of stepping into the tiled boy's room down the hall from their class. His frown deepened as he remembered walking the scared Naruto to the bathroom and staying in there with him until the boy had a chance to relieve himself. Sasuke never asked why and the blonde never talked about it.
"I need to go to the bathroom." He heard himself say, "Do you want to come?"
Naruto's head snapped towards Sasuke not even bothering to hide the surprise he felt, "Yeah."
Just like they did all those years ago, the two boys stood and walked towards the bathroom. At the door, Sasuke felt Naruto grab the sleeve of his jacket as they stepped inside. They walked over towards the urinal and Sasuke put his hand on the blonde's shoulder just like he did before. He waited patiently, listening to steady stream hitting the ceramic surface of the urinal. Once the blonde was done, he walked towards the sink and began scrubbing his hands furiously.
"Aren't you going to go?" Naruto asked after drying his hands with a paper towel.
Sasuke shrugged his shoulders, "I don't feel like it anymore."
The blonde looked up, shock displayed on his face quite clearly. His eyes searched the Uchiha for any signs of mocking, unable to fathom a reason for the sudden change in his companion's demeanor. Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hand and led him out of the bathroom, walking purposefully back to their spot on the cold stone floor.
After sitting back down the Uchiha let go of Naruto's hand, letting it fall back to the blonde's side. Naruto stared at it, still wondering why Sasuke had done that for him. It wasn't like he had asked the Uchiha to do it. Hell, he had even succumbed to the assumption he wouldn't get to pee until the morning. A foreign feeling twisted within his gut, churning his stomach and creating this suddenly uncontrollable urge to cry. How did this guy manage to invoke the most powerful emotions from him without doing much of anything? There were times he was sure if not for the consequences, he would have been glad to murder the pompous asshole. He'd even imagined a few scenarios depicting a headless Uchiha lying in a pool of his own blood. Then there were other times, although these were much recent, that he found himself wondering what it would be like to simply throw all pretentions away and simply feast on that ivory skinned body. Lick those taut muscles and trail butterfly kisses down that elegant throat. Shaking his head, Naruto pushed those ridiculous thoughts out of his mind. Things weren't going so well for him right now and fanaticizing about killing or kissing his nemesis was one thing he shouldn't be concerning himself about.
Presently he felt like a flat glass of champagne…no fizzle, no taste, no nothing. Just empty, knowing there was a part of him that had long since disappeared after the bottle had opened and everyone had taken a tentative taste. He was half empty and wishing to once again be filled with the fullness life had to offer. To fizzle and sparkle like everyone else. Problems be damned. He couldn't do anything about them at the moment since he was stuck in a studio.
Hesitantly, he pressed himself close to the Uchiha's side. Eyes cast down as he soaked in the warmth radiating from Sasuke's body.
"Thanks," he said finally, "For doing that. You didn't have to."
"Hn."
Naruto rolled his eyes in the dark but a smile still formed on his face. They sat there in the encompassing silence, which was neither unpleasant nor comfortable.
Nonetheless, it was uncharacteristic for Naruto to stay silent for a long duration of time. The blonde grew steadily more agitated with each passing minute. Ultimately, he couldn't take the silence anymore and blurted out the one thing that had been spinning about his head, courtesy of Sai's subliminal messaging, "Why did you sell me out?"
Sasuke slowly opened one eye, "What?"
Naruto hardened his resolve, "I asked why you sold me out, and don't tell me you don't know what I'm talking about. I know it's in the past and all," Naruto scratched his ear, "But I still want to know. I didn't cheat, Sasuke. I really didn't cheat."
Sasuke remained silent, his face a stony mask. Gruffly he pulled himself away from the questioning blonde, eyes harsh and unforgiving.
Naruto narrowed his eyes at the response or lack thereof, "I would have never thought you'd do something like that to me. I had trusted you, put my faith in you and then what did I get? Some kid telling me you were the reason I failed that exam and then you later confirming it!" Angrily, Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the shoulder and turned him so that he could look into the face of the man that betrayed him. "I waited, Sasuke. Hoping that you'd tell me why. Then you told all the girls that I was scared to go to the bathroom myself! Embarrassing me in front of everyone! I trusted you!"
"How can you say you trusted me?" Sasuke snapped angrily, throwing Naruto's hand off his shoulder, "You didn't trust me at all!"
"What the hell do you mean?" Naruto yelled back angrily. "I did trust you! I went over to you right after Michiru told me and asked you!"
"You didn't ask me," Sasuke growled out, "You accused me of telling!"
"I did not accuse you!"
"Like hell you did!" Sasuke's voice rose, "I remember everything! I was sitting at my desk waiting for you like I did every lunch break. You came into the classroom slamming the door open and started yelling at me. I could barely make out what you were saying you were so angry! From all the hollering I managed to gather you wanted to know if I was speaking with the teacher earlier and I had been. So I told you. Then you just blew up in my face! You slammed your fist on my desk and continued to rage! I was so shocked I couldn't even understand what the hell was going on!" Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the collar of his jacket and brought his face so close that his nose almost grazed the blonde's. "I got so angry at you. How could you doubt me? What had I ever done to you that made you have so little faith in me? I would never have betrayed you! Hell, even if you were cheating I wouldn't have told anyone. I was your best friend, damn it! You should have trusted me!"
"So then you decided to let everyone know my little secret? You decided to hurt me back and make me feel even worse?" Naruto's eyes stared coldly into fathomless black, "In that week my best friend, the person I went to for everything became my enemy."
"Obviously I wasn't your best friend since you couldn't even trust me."
"I did fucking trust you!" Naruto spat, "Why didn't you just tell me that you didn't do it?"
"I shouldn't have needed to," Sasuke growled out, "The definition of trust is that you believe someone without a shadow of a doubt!"
"Well someone told on me," Naruto lowered his voice, exhaustion becoming apparent in the pools of liquid blue, "I had the right to be suspicious, especially after being told that you had spoken with the teacher after the test."
"Yes, I spoke to the teacher," Sasuke rolled his eyes, "She wanted to know if my family would be attending the sport's festival. So no, I didn't rat you out."
Naruto's shoulders slumped, his eyes lowered to stare at the ground as his head drooped, "I'm sorry," he whispered after five minutes of silence.
"Hn."
"I wish my fuse hadn't been so short back then," Naruto sighed, "Would have had a whole lot less detentions. Imagine all the pain and humiliation that could have been avoided if I had just fucking took a moment to think."
Sasuke frowned, "Well it wasn't completely your fault." He cringed, never really one to admit his faults, "If I had been a little less prideful I'm sure things wouldn't have escalated to this state…and I apologize for telling people that you were afraid of going to the bathroom."
Naruto smiled wanly, "Thanks."
Clearing his throat, Sasuke let go of Naruto's collar and leaned back against the wall, "By the way, why are you afraid of going to the bathroom by yourself?"
"I'm not afraid of going to the bathroom," Naruto grumbled, "I'm afraid of being alone in a bathroom or having people in it that I don't know. I can pee perfectly fine in my bathroom at home without having anyone come with me. It's just the public bathrooms that creep me out."
"Why?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
Sasuke grunted, "Well it's not like anyone else can hear you. I'm the only one here."
Naruto shifted uncomfortably on his pillow, "Well…remember that trip to the zoo we had in first grade?"
Sasuke nodded although the memory was foggy.
"I really needed to pee and everyone was watching the monkeys…there was a bathroom house a few feet away so I thought I'd just run on in and go and be back before anyone noticed I was gone. I thought the bathroom was empty when I ran in so I just walked over to a urinal and began doing my business. Before I knew what was happening a hand clamped over my mouth and dragged me into a stall and…he…he did things to me." Naruto shook his head in an attempt to block the memory, "He touched me, and it didn't feel good. It actually hurt." He squeezed his eyes shut, "When he let me go he made me swear not to tell or he'd find me again. So I ran out of that bathroom as fast as I could. Everyone was still at the monkey exhibit…"
"I'm sorry," Sasuke said quietly, "I never thought it was anything like that."
Naruto shrugged his shoulders and attempted a smile, "Well, I'm a pretty good actor when I need to be."
Sasuke cleared his throat, "You know what? I have a pretty high suspicion that Michiru was the one that told on you."
"What? Why?" Naruto's puzzled face looked so innocent that Sasuke wanted to find that bastard who molested him and beat him senseless with a drainpipe. Friend or not, no one should get touched like that when they didn't want to. No one.
"After you stormed off he came into the classroom. Apparently, I looked like I'd just seen a ghost so he asked me what happened. I told him and he said you were an idiot. I agreed," Sasuke ruffled his own hair in an attempt to appear detached, "I think he was just trying to cover his own ass. Probably was the one who told on you and wanted to cover his tracks."
Naruto grit his teeth, "That little shit! You know I had to weed out Grandpa Sarutobi's flower garden for the whole summer because of that? It was awful!"
"I had to deal with Itachi's emo phase," Sasuke grunted, "Do not complain about gardening. That was child's play compared to what I had to go through."
Naruto chuckled, "I liked Itachi. He was always fun to hang around with until he hit puberty. Then it was always girls, girls, girls."
"Hn," Sasuke smiled, "Yeah. He's getting married."
"Really?" Naruto perked up, "Last I heard, he was telling me he'd never get married."
Sasuke did a double take, "You talk to my brother?"
The blonde nodded, "Yep. Just because we were fighting doesn't mean Itachi and I couldn't still hang out."
"Hn."
"Jealous?" Naruto joked.
Sasuke rolled his eyes, "What time is it? I lost track of the beeping sound of your watch."
Naruto rolled back his sleeve and lit up his watch by pressing a small button on the side. A bright green light illuminated his face as he peered at the time, "It's about one thirty."
Sasuke sighed and stood from his seat before peeling off his jacket. "We should get some sleep then." He picked up his folded quilt, "Grab the pillow and take off your jacket. We'll cushion the floor with our coats and use the quilt as a blanket."
Naruto nodded and began to unzip his jacket while Sasuke worked at creating a makeshift bed. Within a matter of minutes, the two men were lying on their coats and covering themselves with the quilted blanket. Sharing the small pillow proved impossible so Naruto let Sasuke have it. He had no qualms sleeping without one. He stared into Sasuke's face as the Uchiha tried to get comfortable.
Never would he have guessed that one day he'd be lying on the floor, in the dead of winter with Sasuke as a bedmate. It was completely ludicrous…yet here he was. Snuggled into his rival's front, sharing the warmth their two bodies created. Yes, it was strange that he didn't feel appalled or disgusted. In fact, he found the situation somewhat soothing. For the first time in quite a while, he didn't feel so empty.
:::
Most of the group had fallen asleep having downed a couple of beers each and filled their stomachs with a considerable amount of junk food. The few that had remained awake exchanged glances before turning off the television.
"Needless to say that what we've heard wasn't meant for our ears," Neji stood to his feet and looked at the two still functioning adults.
Gaara nodded, "It makes my blood boil." He drew his hands into fists by his side in an attempt to remain calm, "Back at college, I thought it was just a weird quirk. I never asked him about it…never imagined…"
"Hm," Shikamaru rubbed his temples, "As long as we don't talk about it, no one will be the wiser." He grabbed an unopened can of soda from the floor and held it in his hand, "By the way, there's something else I need to tell you."
Two pairs of eyes focused their attention on their unelected leader. Imaginations already thinking up worst case scenarios, "Naruto bought a ring."
To be continued…
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