R&R
Roomies
The Realist: I kind of like this chapter...
Chapter Eight
Fuckshitfuckholyfuckingkamifuckingshitfuck.
Ino's mind seemed to screech to a halt as profanities swarmed through her head and her body tensed. The emotions that she had pushed to the back of her mind surfaced like a tsunami, and the panic and anxiety that she felt when she thought of her boyfriend meeting her roommates hit her like a ton of bricks.
The whole world suddenly felt like a dangerous place, as if a single movement would mean her immanent death, and even breathing felt painful.
Everything around her was a blur, unfocused as her mind became clouded by her fear and the feeling of a deer caught in headlights. Her chest felt tight and she felt her eyes burn.
Were she anyone else... She might have cried then and there.
But no.
She was Ino Yamanaka damn it!
And she would be damned if she let the situation get out of her grasp.
The realization was a slap to her reeling mind, and with a will power that was characteristic of the fiery blonde, she reigned in the troublesome emotions as she forced herself to analyze the situation.
The room around her seemed to clear, and the stoic face of her boyfriend came into view as his gaze fixed on the four men that she called her roommates.
She fixed her own gaze on the four men, noticing their half clothed bodies, shocked and apprehensive faces, and tense bodies.
And with those details, Ino Yamanaka did what she did best.
"What do you guys think you're doing coming in here sweaty and filthy!" She yelled, breaking away from Sasuke and putting her hands on her hips as she walked towards them and regarding them with a reprimanding glower.
"I didn't spend this whole week cleaning so you could just barge in here with those muddy sneakers smelling like you rolled in a weeks' worth of gym clothes! Now explain yourselves!"
The boys suddenly straightened, unconsciously reacting to the Yamanaka's reprimand and forgetting what had happened moments earlier and the man behind her.
"W-well, un. You see... Kiba hosted his annual flag football tournament. We ended up being skins, and someone took our shirts... But we totally won, un!" Deidara quickly explained, a wolfish grin on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Hmph. Couldn't you win in a more cleanly manner? I told you we would be having company tonight! Now go make yourselves presentable or Kami help me, you will regret it!" She scolded, and the boys felt themselves tense.
The last thing they wanted to do was test the creativity of the blonde when it came to punishments...
"Now march!"
The boys frowned, feeling the pressure and resisting the urge that told them to rebel against their roommate. They knew in the back of their mind that it would only cause more trouble.
"Yes ma'm, un..."
"Troublesome..."
"Hn."
Gaara remained silent as he led the way around the almost forgotten figure of the man he assumed was Ino's boyfriend and to the stairs that would lead to their respective rooms, the other three men silently trailing behind him.
As she watched the four shirtless backs retreat up the stairs, Ino once more turned to her boyfriend, apprehension once more returning to her tense body.
As she met his gaze, the look on his face was unreadable.
"Sasuke..." She started, and was both relieved and afraid when he frowned and folded his arms in front of him.
"I can explain..." She continued.
./.
Deidara walked into Gaara's room, and left the door slight ajar as he sat on the chair where his desk was. Gaara lay on his bed, eyes closed and arms folded behind his head.
"Guess the victory party will have to wait, un?" He voiced as a familiar loud voice drifted up from down the stairs.
./.
"How was I supposed to tell you when you didn't even bother asking me about my roommates! When I first told you do you remember what you said?" Ino accused as she stood her ground in the living room where they had somehow relocated to.
It had been twenty minutes since her roommates had returned to find Sasuke and her home, and as she had expected, the argument she had dreaded began.
"What did I say?" He challenged, his frown somehow deepening.
"'That's great'. That's what you fucking said. Because of course, the great Sasuke Uchiha can't bother himself with asking his girlfriend more than that. Because as always, there must be more pressing matters than talking to his girlfriend about something like who her roommates are, and what they're like, or why she chose them."
"So it's my fault?" He asked with a heavy accusation in his tone.
Ino bristled.
"No! But you can't blame me for not telling you when you didn't even bother to fucking ask! And you know what was more? You didn't even talk to me for the next few days because according to you, you were too 'busy'. You always make me feel like you're too busy to bother with my personal life! So forgive me for not bothering to tell you about my new roommates!" She sarcastically bit out.
And of course, arguments meant bringing up more than the issue at hand. But it was true, the reason she never told him was not because she had forgotten about it, but because of the resentment and insecurities that surrounded their relationship. She never fooled herself into thinking their relationship was perfect, and this was one of the very problems that affected their relationship.
"That's no excuse Ino. I have every right to be told that you are rooming with four men."
As Sasuke narrowed his eyes on her, Ino felt a new wave of fury.
"Unfucking believable! This is exactly what I mean! You completely ignored what I just said to assert your damn right you pompous asshole!"
Sasuke knew that Ino was furious when she started calling him names. But it wasn't as if he was happy himself, and he was hardly restraining his own anger as his hands tightened their grip on his crossed arms.
The last thing he expected when he visited Ino was to be in an argument with her.
Scratch that.
The last thing he had expected was finding out that her roommates were four men. Two of which he had a strained relationship with at best.
And it took every fiber of his being to raise his own voice and remain rational as several unwanted thoughts flashed through his head.
The truth of the matter was he was upset. He was upset that Ino didn't tell him her roommates were male, and for good reason. It wasn't that he thought she would cheat on him. He didn't see Ino as capable of cheating on him, not after all she had gone through to be with him. He knew she would never damage their relationship in that way.
It wasn't that he didn't trust her, it was the implications of what rooming with men that weren't him meant.
"I love you Sasuke... I've loved you for so long. But sometimes it sucks you know... Feeling like the person you love with all your heart only gives you 1% of their attention. Sometimes you go weeks without speaking more than a few sentences to me. Its not that I want to know what you do every second of every day, but it would be nice... If you bothered to share that even half the time. I only ever see you during breaks when we go back home, and sometimes you don't even go back home so you can work at school! So I was really happy when you said you would visit me for the first time. So that distance really gets to me... And it makes me mad. Why should I share every aspect of my life if you won't do the same for me? Maybe it's childish of me... But I can't help it. Isn't a relationship supposed to be equal?"
"Ino..." He started out softly, and felt his heart clench when he saw that tears were pooling in her eyes and the way he could see her fight to hold them back.
He hated making her cry, but even as her eyes turned red from the strain of holding back tears, he couldn't help but find her beautiful.
Ino was strong and independent. She wanted others to rely on her, and she worked hard to make sure she reached her full potential and became someone great to the world. He had always known that she didn't need him, that even if he had turned her down all those years ago, she would be fine. She had every man in the world to choose from.
But she had chosen him. The one man that would have gladly overlooked her if it meant he could focus only on himself and becoming worthy of his family name.
She was right in that regard. He didn't give her half the attention that she deserved.
He unfolded his arms and slowly approached her. She watched him with a guarded expression as he wrapped her arms around her, and he hated how she tensed in his arms.
"I don't mean to make you feel this way..." He continued, holding on to her and resting his chin atop her head.
"You're right. You're my girlfriend. You deserve more than what I give you. Anything I tell you otherwise would simply be an excuse. I wish I could promise you that things could change. But I would be lying. This is how I am. Perhaps how I'll always be."
At his words, he felt Ino's body start trembling, and he felt the part of his shirt where her face rested slowly become damp with tears.
"Work will always be important to me. But it doesn't meant that you're not important either..." One of his hands moved to stroke the back of her head as she continued to sob softly into his shirt.
"I love you Ino. You're the only woman I've ever loved like this."
At his words, Ino couldn't help but sob more as she wrapped her arms around him, pressing her face deeper into his chest so that it was almost harder to breathe.
"So don't be surprised to find out that the thought of you living with four men bothers me..."
He sighed, tightening his grip on her.
"It's not that I don't trust you. I do. It's the fact that despite being with you for three years, these four men are the first to live with you after your father. These four men are able to see sides of you that even I haven't..."
Ino pulled back, tear-streaked eyes wide as she looked up at Sasuke, shock evident on her face.
"I... I never thought of it that way..." She admitted softly, and Sasuke couldn't help but smile softly.
The dumbfounded look on her face was incredibly adorable, and he couldn't help but lean forward and place a kiss on her forehead.
"Of course you didn't."
He frowned as a thought flashed through his mind, and he felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment as he debated whether he should voice the thought. He sighed, knowing the situation seemed to call for it.
"If anything... I always thought I would be the first man to live with you..." He grudgingly admitted, averting his gaze from Ino's deep blue eyes.
Ino in turned giggled, loving the look on his face. In fact, his words made her very happy indeed.
Not being able to resist, she brought up her hands and rested them on his face, gently forcing him to look at her.
"It makes me happy to hear that," she said, smiling genuinely.
"And I'm sorry... I never thought this is how you would feel. If I had known... I wouldn't have done it," she admitted.
"But it's a little late for that now... And I promise that they're the best possible roommates I could have here. They're all great guys..."
Sasuke's face lost its warmth as it was replaced with annoyance and apprehension, but it only made Ino giggle again.
"I'm serious! If you bothered to get to know them, you would understand..."
Sasuke frowned.
"I came to see you, not get to know them," he replied gruffly.
Ino leaned up and pecked his lips with her own, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Well I can't say I want to share you either..." She commented as she leaned in for another kiss.
"Hn..."
He once more tightened his grip on her, and kissed her more fully on the lips, having every intention to make up for the time they had been apart and deepening the kiss.
"W-wait…" Ino said, pulling back before she could get caught up in the kiss.
"What?" Sasuke asked, a little more than impatient.
Weren't they supposed to make up now?
"I still have to introduce you to them…" she replied, and Sasuke sighed.
As much as he would have loved to skip introductions, he knew it was better to get them over with.
"Fine."
Ino smiled, before placing a small kiss on his cheek and walking in the directions of where the stairs were, but not before catching sight of herself in a mirror that hung on the hallway wall.
"Gah! I look terrible!" Ino cried, wiping at her face and rubbing at her eyes to clear the smeared makeup.
Sasuke sighed. Give it to Ino to be worried about her looks when introducing them.
The Realist: Okay, so I was going to make this longer, but I kind of want this chapter to focus on them so...
Yeah. A little short, but I hope you enjoyed it.
I thought really hard on what Sasuke's reaction should be, and I consulted with some of my guy friends that I know to be more on the rational side(because I see Sasuke as rational). So that helped me a bit. I figured Sasuke isn't the type to be insecure to the point he'll be threatened by guys in a an overly jealous sense. I see him as upset for the reasons I mentioned above. I'll build more on this for sure during his stay, but I wanted their imminent argument to happen sooner than later as I imagine any couple in this situation would have it.
That being said, my next challenge is making their interactions happen as I want them to! Let's see what our boys will think of each other!
Review :)