Hello everyone! I hope that you all have had a nice week and read the new Naruto chapter (which you should go do if you haven't). It's a gloomy day here, and so I've been locked into my house to right. And even though Rachel isn't happy I'm writing this chapter before tattoo (which is my new two-shot and you should also go read that =P), I want to be fair to my therapy readers. Soooo I hope you enjoy!
Oh! And go see Star Trek! No matter how much I tried, I just kept seeing Sasuke as Spock and Naruto as Kirk! And if you think of it like that and Ahura as Sakura…a beautiful triangle is formed
Warning: Terrible fluff in this chapter! I know, it's a change from…-looks back at the emo chapters- yeah…those…
Disclaimer: Really, can anyone pwn Naruto? Maybe Sasuke if Naruto steals his hair gel or something…
Kind of Sort of Almost Yours
If there was one thing Sasuke was better at, it was silence. Especially prolonged days of silence. Two days, two long days passed by without one word from the bastard. I spent the rest of Saturday trying to get him to talk to me, but he avoided me like the plague. He went to sleep before me, and I woke up to an empty bed the next morning. The alarm that I thought I had set up was off, and the clock now glowed '12:32'. I frowned when I realized how long I slept into the afternoon. After getting changed, I set off on my journey to find Sasuke. I searched the entire house, using the green hallway as my focal point to keep from getting lost. Finally, when I thought I had checked everywhere, I mumbled my way into the kitchen to make breakfast.
I nearly tripped over the air when I stepped into the kitchen. I stared at the walls, which had once been white and boring. Now, the cream yellow that I had picked out splashed the kitchen with light. The tape was still along the edges tops of the walls to keep the yellow from the white ceiling, but the tarp and painting materials had been stacked neatly in the corner of the cabinets. I couldn't keep my jaw from dropping when I realized that Sasuke had painted the entire kitchen by himself. Just how early did he get up? And why didn't he ask me for help?
I wracked my brain for an answer that would make sense, but I couldn't figure out what possessed Sasuke to do that. While I made lunch, I found a note from Sasuke that claimed he was practicing for Friday's game at Neji's. Really, I knew it was to get out of the house and away from me. He knew I worked later that night. After all, he had left his note right next to the work schedule that I had gotten from Jiraiya the night before. I doubted that I'd see one strand of black hair from the teme until after work. Throughout the afternoon, and most of my work shift, I all I could think about was Sasuke's strange behavior.
In reality, I hadn't done anything wrong. Sasuke was the one who offered to give me a handjob, right? And we were…well…not enemies, so it was okay. But from the way Sasuke was acting, he made it seem like I was the one who suggested the whole thing. I had just wanted to show Sasuke that he wasn't the only one trying something new. All throughout the night, I tried to figure out what I had done to make him act so coldly to me. But even after I flipped the 'closed' sign in front of the restaurant and locked the doors, I had nothing. I sighed quietly to myself as I dropped the last of the dirty dishes into the sink, rolling my sleeves up past my elbows to wash them. When a pair of delicate hands grabbed the soapy dish from my hand, I didn't have to look up to know who it was.
"You working overtime, Ino?" I asked casually, glancing over to my blonde co-worker. She shrugged before she slid the dish into the rack.
"I just felt like something was bothering you. You were pretty quiet tonight." Not to mention I messed up three orders, and nearly lit myself on fire while I covered the cook's break. Jiraiya had already asked me if something was bothering me earlier, but I couldn't bring myself to bother him with it. Even if I wanted to, how was I supposed to tell him? I don't think explaining Sasuke giving me a one-sided handjob would really make it easy to look him in the eye ever again. I lied, saying something about school. I knew he didn't buy it, but Jiraiya didn't pry. It was one of the benefits of having such a lackadaisical guardian.
"I bet you've already guessed who it is." As her soft smile I scrunched my nose and glared down at the bubbly water. "This is starting to piss me off."
"That Sasuke keeps bothering you, or that you keep thinking about him?" Both. But I didn't want to admit that Sasuke was slowly taking over my mind, so I avoided the question.
"Me and Sasuke…we…well he touched me." Of course she squealed, which only helped deepen my blush. Seriously, my cheeks hardly got a rest from the past three weeks.
"You mean you let him get to second base?"
"What are we, twelve?" I hissed quietly, trying not to kill Ino. I would have to wait to get my revenge when the tables were turned. Then again, knowing Shika's motivation, I could be sixty before I got to cash in.
"I was just asking a question, Naruto. You don't have to get all embarrassed." But really, the grin on her face proved that she enjoyed my blush.
"That's not the point! What matters is that the teme has been avoiding me for two days now! I'm going to pull my hair out if he keeps up his silent treatment."
"Maybe he didn't like what he saw." I nearly slipped on the floor before recovering my composure at Ino's curious guessing.
"What?!"
"I'm kidding, relax. I'm sure it has nothing to do with your body." I sighed before draining the sink, watching the water spiral down the drain. Once it was done, I started to wash off the soap from my arms. "Have you tried talking to him? Maybe he's just embarrassed or something."
"Sasuke doesn't get embarrassed. Besides, he's making sure to avoid me. He even made plans with Neji just to get out of his own house. Every time I tried to talk to him he'd just…walk away." I didn't want to admit that it hurt more than I would have thought knowing Sasuke didn't want to be near me. My gaze closed halfway, letting the water pour over my arms. I could feel Ino's soft hand rubbing my back in sympathy.
"Well…maybe you should leave for a night." I blinked slowly before I looked up at her. She shrugged before smiling weakly. "Come stay at my house tonight. I bet that'll catch his attention."
"You think so?" She nodded enthusiastically, and I felt a grin curling my lips. "Alright, it's a date then."
"Just call me when you're on your way over. My dad's going to wanna show you his family's heirlooms again, so you better be ready to be bored out of your mind." I laughed at the roll of her eyes, showing her lack of interest in her family's antiques. Really it didn't bother me, but it embarrassed Ino to no end.
"I'll see you soon." We parted after clocking out, and I wasted no time getting home to pack stuff up for the night. Since the front door was unlocked, I knew that Sasuke was home and somewhere in the house. Part of me wanted to go find him, but I knew that there was no point. Going with the way the bastard had been acting, he would probably avoid me anyways. So quickly, I moved into his room and started to throw some of my clothes into my bag. I had just finished shoving my deodorant and toothbrush in the front of my backpack before I noticed someone standing in the doorway. Slowly, I looked up from my packing to see Sasuke quietly watching me. It felt strange to have Sasuke watching me after being so distant, and for a minute I felt like an antelope on the discovery channel. If Sasuke had a tail, I bet he'd be swishing it with a predatory intent.
I hated to admit that I noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt. He looked tired and sweaty, and it amazed me that he had stayed so late at Neji's practicing. From the way his pants hung unbuttoned and low along his hips, I could tell he was getting ready to shower before he noticed me. Naturally my mouth dried when thinking of Sasuke in the shower, but I didn't want to get wrapped up in my thoughts. Especially since I knew I wasn't staying here tonight.
"I'm sleeping at Ino's house." He didn't speak, but raised an eyebrow in my direction to persuade me to go further. "She asked and I said yes. So you're gonna have the house to yourself."
"Are you waiting for my permission?" I slightly gaped at the careless tone he took while moving into the room, casually picking out his sleepwear for the night.
"I-I didn't say that. I just was letting you know." He didn't even look back at me while he closed his drawer and spoke.
"Fine." And with that, he left. Not one question or act of concern came from him. There was no anger for ditching him, or even sadness that I wouldn't be here. He acted like I just told him the weather. Like really, it didn't matter at all what I did. To me, it felt like I just…didn't count. It affected me enough me more than I ever thought possible. I had to sit on the bed before my knees gave out. For a while, I just stared at the wall in front of me. I tried to explain the ache in my heart as heartburn, but I knew it wasn't true. Sasuke hurt me. Much more than any punch or kick he had physically damaged me with.
It took the sudden chiming of the clock in another room to remind me that I was supposed to have left by now. As it was, Ino probably thought I had gotten into an accident. Remembering that I left my cologne downstairs, I jogged downstairs to try and remember exactly where I last left it. Finally finding it in the living room (how it got there, I wasn't sure), I paused slightly to glance up at the kitchen again. I had been so distracted by Sasuke's weak reactions that I hadn't even remembered to ask him about the kitchen. I sighed, then yelped when something was dropped behind me. Swiveling around, I moved out of the room to see Sasuke standing behind me bag, his arms crossed and his back leaning against the doorway. His hair was wet, showing me just how long I had daydreamt. Still slightly upset by his earlier attitude, I didn't look up at him as I walked forward to snatch my bag off the ground.
"What?" I muttered, not caring about the anger I knew I was showing. Like normal, he made me wait in silence for a few moments before 'gracing' me with his answer.
"You left this upstairs." I didn't like how somehow, he made it sound like he wasn't an asshole. I didn't look at him while I threw my cologne into the front of the backpack. Finally I flung it onto my back, tilting my head to look up at him. I expected a glare or sneer, but I got neither. I hesitantly shifted my bag on my shoulders to ignore the quiet look he gave me.
"Thanks."
"Hn." A new type of silence fell around us, and I slowly coughed to try and break it while I moved to walk around him.
"I've gotta get going, Ino is—" But I didn't make it out the door. My body stilled and stiffened while my eyes flared open wide. Sasuke had shut his, focusing on the soft connection between our lips. There was no hunger or emotional baggage as Sasuke's tongue gently slid against my lower lip. But really, who was complaining? Confused by the sudden rushing of emotion inside of my stomach, I closed my eyes and willingly allowed him to deepen the kiss. One of his hands cupped the side of my neck, tenderly sliding his thumb along my pulse. This kiss was completely different from any other kiss we had shared. It had my toes curling inside of my shoes, and my fingers trembling against my sides. Finally, when Sasuke barely pulled back from my mouth, I let out a shuttering breath to try and calm my racing heart. But it only continued to skip around when I felt him press his forehead against mine, continuing to caress my neck.
"Go with Ino tonight. But…tomorrow morning, before school..." He seemed to struggled with his wording, and I nodded quickly while pressing my hands against his cheeks. Being so close to Sasuke helped me memorize his scent all over again. I would never get sick of cinnamon. I watched him through half-lidded eyes, Sasuke's features filled with concentration. His hold tightened against my neck, but it didn't hurt. It almost seemed like he tried to grip onto me to keep himself composed. Finally, he opened his eyes to mine, not pulling away from me despite how tense he had gotten. "Come back here."
"Why?"
"Because I said so." Normally, I would get irritated with the weak reasoning. I would shout and holler for a real answer. But now, breathing quietly against his lips while staring into his own heavy stare, I couldn't muster the energy to care. I nodded our heads again and closed my eyes, not sure why my stomach was flipping. Me and Sasuke had been through every emotion I could think of. Angry, happy, sad and confused were just some. And yet this feeling felt slightly…different than all that. Something stronger and more permanent. It was something I couldn't explain or remember ever feeling. And I wasn't sure if I was ready to feel whatever it was yet.
"I'll be here." He seemed satisfied with my response, because he ghosted his lips over mine before pulling back from me. I quietly watched him move away from the doorway, and we exchanged mumbled goodbyes before I found myself outside of Sasuke's front door. I looked back slowly, tightening my hand on my backpack strap when I saw the last of the hallway light disappear from the closing of the door. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that Sasuke was still watching me while I made my way to my jeep. I pulled myself up, glancing once more at Sasuke's house before driving away.
Like Ino promised, I was walked through her family's past. From swords to armor, headbands to scrolls, nothing was left for questioning. He talked about his family lineage, and how his family had been trained ninjas or something like that. I tried to focus as intently as I had the first six times I had heard the stories, but Sasuke's taste lingered inside of my mouth. I tried to place my finger on what he tasted like, but nothing seemed to fit just right. By the end of the tour, I knew one thing. Sasuke's taste should be put in bottles and sold to people. It would make millions.
"I'm really sorry about him," Ino said, opening the door to the guest room I was staying in. Her room was connected to mine by a bathroom, making it easy to 'talk if you need it' according to Ino.
"Really it's fine. Your dad is cool." I dropped my bag onto the bed, slowly looking up at her and grinning. "You're lucky to have him."
"I know." She smiled softly and leaned against the doorframe of my room, resting her head against the framing. "But you seemed like you were spacing out. Did you have a talk with Sasuke?"
"Something like that." At her curious look, I shrugged and looked around the room. "Sasuke's just being his normal teme self. Wants me to swing by the house before I go to school tomorrow, but he won't tell me why."
"You think it's something important?" I shrugged as if I hadn't asked myself that same question repeatedly over the past half hour. She watched me for a moment before she took a step back and glanced to the connecting door. "Well, if you need anything, don't hesitate to come over."
"When do I ever hesitate to bug you?" She laughed because she knew I was right.
"Goodnight Naruto." I watched her close the door behind me, and for a minute I didn't move. I glanced around the room, which was bright with light green walls and different accessories that could keep any guest occupied for hours. It was so alive and colorful, so…unlike Sasuke's room. That should have made me happy. I had left the house to get away from Sasuke, right?
"Damn him." I shook my head, pushing myself off of my borrowed bed to get ready to sleep. Tossing my bag onto the bed, I started to pull out my body wash and shampoo. Rushing hadn't left me time to shower at Sasuke's, and I was not going to school smelling like old food. It wasn't like I needed to impress anyone, but Ino refused to let me sit at the lunch table the last time I had tried it. Muttering at the old memory, I yanked open the wider part of my bag and froze. There, slightly shaken but still most folded, was a dark blue hoodie resting on top of my other clothes. Slowly, I pulled the mysterious garment out of my bag, knowing that I hadn't packed it. I unfolded it to let it fall out in front of me, and I scowled as the hoodie seemed slightly bigger than I normally wore my clothes. In fact, it seemed more like something Sasuke would wear inste—
Sasuke. Of course it was the bastard's hoodie! Who else would have had access to my bag? And he brought it down from his room, which meant he had time to toss it in there. The thing was way too big to be Ino's, and I doubted that her dad would give me a sweatshirt in such a weird way. But Sasuke, who had always been extremely strange? Oh yeah, this wreaked Uchiha of Sasuke.
"Literally," I mumbled while I pulled the hoodie closer, already getting a smell of Sasuke. Like a drug, it made my eyes close and my body relax. How did a simple smell get to me like that? I got why being so close to Sasuke in bed made me tired, body heat could do that to anyone. And yeah, the hoodie seemed pretty warm. But his smell? I slowly dropped it back onto the bed and moved to grab my sleepwear, continuing to get ready for bed. I showered, changed, and checked my dental hygiene before I returned back to the dark room. I crawled onto the bed, almost immediately noticing the size of the large mattress. Still, I favored the right side of the bed, instead the middle. It seemed old habits died hard, which I realized when I turned to face her wall. The silence was comforting, but it wasn't until I dragged the hoodie to rest against me that I finally felt the darkness of sleep creeping behind my eyes. Only that bastard would assume I couldn't sleep without him.
Figures he was right.
I woke up without the help of my cell phone alarm, which surprised me. I took the extra morning time to relax, simply enjoying the rising sunlight that was starting to spread across my sheets with every passing minute. I debated doing homework until I realized I had left all of my school crap at home. Maybe it was a good thing Sasuke had cornered me last night. I paused at my own wording, instantly disliking the way my mind reminded me how little force it took me to give in. By the end of it, I was the one grabbing onto him. He always had that effect on me, which seriously bothered me. I was starting to realized that Sasuke was influencing my life way more than I wanted.
I knew I seemed eager to get back home by how early I had left Ino's house. One hour before school even opened, to be exact. She was probably going to yell at me for not saying goodbye, but I could deal with that. It was the curiosity of why Sasuke told me to come home that I couldn't. The speed I used to get across town and back to Sasuke's mansion was much higher than the limit. The only time I really stopped (and didn't do one of those very illegal roll stops) was when I got to Sasuke's gate. Seriously, that thing took a year to open. Even though I wanted to seem casual when I pushed the front door open, I knew I had practically slammed the door in my impatience. I was never the type of guy who liked locks anyways. In all those horror movies, the never kept the killers out anyways. Either they just hacked the door down, or the freak found a way to be in the room the girl ran into. It was another reason I hated scary movies.
"Idiot." Oh, right. Back to reality. I looked up at the stairs, watching Sasuke calmly walk down to stand in front of me. He looked past me to the door which still hung wide open and sucked out the heat of the house. "Did you grow up in a barn?"
"Not my fault your door sucks. If you throw mine hard enough, it bounces back and shuts itself." He stared at me with his normal 'you're such an idiot' look.
"Were you born this stupid?" See, I was getting good at reading him.
"Were you born with a stick up your ass?"
"Moron."
"Why'd you do it?" He arched an eyebrow slowly to show he had no idea what I was talking about. "The hoodie…why'd you put it in my bag?"
"Hn." That was all he said before walking away from me. "Shut the door before you come into the kitchen."
I wanted to tell him to close it himself, but my interest got the better of me again. That didn't stop me from muttering unflattering things under my breath while I shut the door and followed his lead. The only thing that halted my mouth was the array of ingredients that were resting on the island in the middle of the kitchen. Sasuke seemed bored with the situation, but I could tell by his tense shoulders that there was more to this than just a display. Taking the bait, I moved slowly to stop next to him before looking down at the several items on the island. Everything was arranged by size, which I almost expected from the perfectionist.
"What is all this?" I looked back up at him while Sasuke moved away from me. I almost thought he was going to leave me stranded in the kitchen until he paused at the archway.
"Make breakfast. Whatever you want that I'll eat." I didn't even have a chance to argue. Sasuke moved out of the room, and left me with a table full of possible breakfast ideas. I would have gone after him to give him a piece of my mind, but I didn't. The fact that Sasuke had prepared all of this, and then just left me with the assumption that I would do what he said could be seen as being cocky. But a small part of me wanted to believe that it wasn't confidence, but…trust. Sasuke had set this up before he knew I was home. He believed that I wasn't lying to him last night. And sure, it was just a meal that probably didn't mean much to me since I had made food for Sasuke a lot in the past couple weeks. But the fact that he asked me (in his own jackass way) and left without getting a positive answer made me think that he was trusting me more and more each day.
It was a while before I finished breakfast. I didn't make anything extravagant or exotic. Eggs and bacon with toast was more than enough food for the both of us. However, I made sure that what I did make wasn't sloppy. Nothing was burnt, soggy, cold, or anything less than Naruto approved. I felt myself grinning as I finished setting up the food at the table, giving myself a mental pat on the back. It felt good to cook again. Making food at the restaurant was good, but it felt better to do whatever I wanted instead of following the customer's demands.
"Damn I'm good." Whistling at my work, I turned to start putting away my ingredients. I stopped when I noticed a blob of black resting against the archway. Sasuke stood quietly, his arms crossed while he looked at me. He had been doing that a lot lately.
"Don't stare, it's impolite." But I continued anyways. Really, when did I ever care about what was proper?
"How long have you been watching me?"
"I just got here. Unlike you, I tend not to waste my time staring at other people."
"Shut up or I won't make your breakfast ever again!" He rolled his eyes before brushing past me, sitting in his normal chair as he looked at the food. I watched him like always, making sure he didn't spit out my meal. Once I was sure it was up to his standards, I finished putting everything away. I finally shut the door of the fridge, blinking once at the small drop of yellow that was smeared at the top. Sasuke must have missed it when he was cleaning up yesterday. Oh! Speaking of which… "Hey!"
"What?" He paused in cutting his eggs to look up at me. I pointed to the walls around me before speaking.
"Why the hell did you do this without me?! And in the morning of all times!" He slowly looked around the walls, as if seeing the paint for the first time. Then quietly, Sasuke returned to dissecting his breakfast.
"I felt like it."
"You felt like it? You hated painting the last time I checked." I finally sat across from him, knowing the food would get cold if I didn't eat soon. And nothing was grosser than soggy, cold food. I shoved a chunk of bacon into my mouth and nearly chocked when Sasuke unexpectedly answered.
"It helps me relax." We exchanged a quiet glance across the table, and I could tell it was a struggle to admit that. Apparently, the night alone changed something in Sasuke. He was finding ways to open up. They were small, and they only came out occasionally, but they were a definite improvement. It had me smiling for some reason, which quickly brought back Sasuke's annoyed scowl. "Hence why I didn't want you there."
"Bastard!" We shared insults throughout the rest of breakfast and during the ride to school. The only time we stopped was when Ino cornered me in the hall, demanding to know why I hadn't bothered to say goodbye. After a few lame excuses, I found my ever so pleasant best friend chasing me through the school and into my science room. Anko, who had always favored the girls of the school, simply pretended not to notice the maniac running around in her classroom until the bell rang. She then proceeded to write Ino a hall pass and sent her on her merry way. I ended up getting a stern look before she started to teach us about moles. And no, I don't mean the furry ones. I mean the measurements that I never quite understood.
But I would take a final full of moles over the lunch surprise that was awaiting me that Monday afternoon. It started off normally. Kiba and I had gotten into our normal daily debate about something completely 'childish' according to Neji, who normally spent the lunch time talking to Sasuke about politics and basketball plays for the next game. Ino was the bridge between us, always finding a way to mess our conversations together by the end of lunch. Being the only girl didn't matter to her.
"You're crazy if you think Optimus Prime could ever beat Megatron! I mean, look at the size difference." I scoffed at Kiba's weak point and rolled my eyes.
"Too bad he did beat him in the Transformer movie. And so what if he's big? The bigger they are, the bigger they fall. Megatron is just too cocky for his own good."
"He can friggen fly. All Optimus can do is drive around on the ground. It's like easy target practice for Megatron to come down and kill him."
"If it was so easy, he would have done it. But Optimus is just too smart for your stupid bad guy to win. And that's it."
"Foolish." And like normal, Neji made clear to us that our conversation was immature. Despite his distaste in our topic, I laughed and shrugged.
"Come on Neji, you know you watched transformers when you were little. And you came with us to see the movie. Who was your favorite?"
"I'm not answering that." He didn't look up at me as he quiet bit into his salad, continuing to eat.
"I bet it was one of the Decepticons! You seem like a guy who likes the evil type." I barely saw one pale eye twitch before I grinned. "I knew it. Which one? Megatron?"
"I do not have to continue with this pointless conversation." We stared at each other for a few silent seconds, Neji seeming to get more irritated by my stubbornness. Finally, the genius finally figured out I wasn't going away and sighed. "But, if you must know in order to leave me alone…it was Starscream."
"Megatron's lackey? Dude, wasn't he always sneaking around doing shady stuff?" Kiba asked. Which was completely true, since Starscream always seemed to switch between loyalty to his clan of Decepticons and his own ideas. He was lucky Megatron didn't rip his mechanical head off.
"I liked Bumblebee! He was so cute in the movie. I got so upset when he got attacked by the humans." Ino put her two cents into the conversation, sighing at the sad memory.
"Only you would get emotional over a robot movie," Kiba said, taking a swig of his milk.
"Says the one who was tearing up when Jazz died." I smirked when Kiba sent me a glare, but I didn't get time to tease him before two hands slammed down on the table in front of me. Blinking once, I looked up to see Sakura, who leaned between Neji and Kiba to stare at me.
"Naruto, is it true?" By the worried look in her eyes, I knew that something bad was about to happen. Trying to think of something I did that would have bothered her, my mind instantly went to Sasuke (who, in reality, I had done more than one thing with). I darted my gaze over to him, and was surprised to find his interest had been caught. Normally, Sasuke avoided and ignored Sakura as much as possible. Today, however, he seemed to notice the strange tone in her voice as well. She worried her bottom lip with her teeth, and I was pretty sure she was going to bit straight through it if I didn't answer her.
"Is…what true?"
"Have you heard what's been going around about you today?"
"Besides everything they talked about last week?" Because really, I wasn't sure there was anything else to discuss. Sure, me and Sasuke had been getting closer than before. Still, all of it was in a closed off area that nobody would have been able to see or know about without one of us telling. And by the way Ino leaned in to hear what Sakura had to say, I knew she didn't tell.
"They're saying that…Naruto, are you bisexual?" I felt my throat dry out at Sakura's question. It was so blunt, so forward, that I couldn't prepare myself for the sudden rush of panic inside of my stomach. How the hell did Sakura know about that? I mean, I told Ino and Shikamaru, but I knew that neither of them would say anything. From the corner of my eye I could see the deep scowl on Sasuke's face, showing just how affected he was by the news as well. Quickly I shot my gaze back to Sakura, making sure not to let myself linger anywhere near the bastard. This was much harder than I thought when I remembered he was sitting right next to me.
"Now where the heck did you hear that garbage? Naruto being bisexual? Let's get serious Sakura! And why do people think he even likes men?" Kiba, completely oblivious to my mental panic fest, took the question as a joke. He followed the questioning with a laugh and a roll of the eyes, showing how quickly he ignored Sakura's theory.
"I didn't think so either! But I was getting changed during gym and I heard these two girls talking about Naruto and then I…I heard them talking about this rumor going on about him…and I wanted to talk to him before it spread anymore, but I could only remember what lunch you all had so I came down as quick as I could." Two girls in a locker room? Now that didn't make sense. I was pretty sure if two girls had been spying on me and Sasuke, one of us would have realized and immediately stopped. If I had learned one thing about girls around Sasuke, it was that they couldn't seem to keep from giggling or squealing.
"And what did this rumor state?" Neji now willingly entered the conversation, deeming it much less immature than Transformers. Sakura looked over at me, and for the first time she glanced at Sasuke as well. I felt my spine tense slowly at how careful she was being. Normally, Sakura had no trouble saying what was on her mind when it came to me. I couldn't even remember all of the times she had publicly humiliated me or insulted me. But now that she was pausing, I was 99% sure I knew what people were talking about. And mentally, I cursed. Me and Sasuke were caught.
"They said Naruto was kissing Sai in their art class Friday." …Or worse. Now, there was no mistaking Sasuke's 'interest' in the conversation. His shoulders tensed, and I could practically feel the change in his mood while he continued to listen to Sakura dig my grave. "They said that Naruto came in and was talking to Ino, and then Sai came over and you two were kissing. And he said something about you being cute too! Is that true, Naruto?"
"No! Uh…I mean, yes. But not like that!" I knew I kept darting my eyes between Sakura and Sasuke, not sure which one I was directing this conversation to. Apparently, I was completely off in my assumption that it was about me and Sasuke. Sakura was probably just checking out Sasuke again! Normally I would have brushed that off as Sakura being normal, but I assumed today that it was because she figured out why Sasuke didn't seem interested in any girl's short skirts.
"What Naruto means is that he didn't kiss Sai. Naruto was asking me for art supplies, and while we were talking, Sai kissed Naruto. But it was one for a few seconds and Naruto didn't even want it!" By the end of Ino's explanation, Sasuke had already pushed up onto his feet while grabbing his books off the table. I turned to face him quickly, scrambling to think of something to make him stay. But in front of Sakura and the others, I was completely stuck. I couldn't say anything without implying one side of the rumor was true. If I tried to explain to Sasuke that it meant nothing, the others would realize that me and Sasuke had something intimate going on. If I tried to deny that the kiss meant anything, Sasuke would think I really did kiss Sai.
"Sasuke-kun? Where are you—" He didn't let Sakura finish before he spoke.
"I have to prepare for my presentation in English. Excuse me." He was such a liar. Sasuke had more stage presence in his pinky toe than most people had in their bodies. I knew he wasn't going to practice; he was just trying to get away from me. And after the slight amount of trust I saw him show me this morning, I would have been completely stupid not to jump up to go after him.
"Yo! Why are you getting all worked up about this? I mean, it's just some stupid rumors, right?" I glared at the table, not wanting to meet anyone's gaze. By the way Kiba's voice wavered toward the end, I knew he was starting to see why nobody else was laughing. Knowing that even Kiba would eventually put the pieces together frustrated me.
"I…Damnit, I have to go find Sasuke!"
"Why?" I jerked my head up, suddenly remembering who had accidentally started this whole thing in the first place. Sakura stood on the other side of the table, staring at me in pure confusion. I tried to hide my wince when I realized she was another person I wasn't ready to tell yet.
"Sakura."
"Why do you need to go to Sasuke-kun?" She pressed, and I knew I couldn't give her the answer she wanted. Mainly because, I didn't know what that was. What I did know was that Sakura did not want me to tell her the truth, and she didn't want me to lie. "Talk to me."
"I…" Essentially, I was screwed until Ino came to the rescue.
"It's a really long story, Sakura. But if you don't leave now, Naruto, you'll never catch up to him. You know how Sasuke gets." I nodded quickly and let my eyes linger on Sakura's green stare, which for once in my life was finally focused on me. But now, I had more important things in my life than Sakura. Like, ironically, Sasuke. I hurried to grab my stuff while tossing my trash onto Kiba's tray.
"I promise I'll explain everything to you soon. Dog-breath, take my trash up for me will you? I'll see you guys later." I didn't even wait for any type of goodbyes from the group before I was running through the same exit Sasuke had taken. The hallways were deserted as I tried to think of where Sasuke would possibly go before class. I nearly tripped myself when I remembered the extra books that he was carrying from his morning classes. He'd probably want to get rid of them, right? Which meant that Sasuke would be at his locker.
"Sasuke!" He didn't seemed surprise to find me running toward his locker like a lunatic escaping prison. Calmly he shut his locker door while I moved next to him, panting to catch my breath. "Damnit, why do you have a locker on the third floor? You'd think they'd give us the first floor ones since we're seniors."
"Did you come here to debate our locker space?" I shook my head and took another gasp of breath before looking up at him.
"Look, about that whole…thing. It wasn't my fault, I promise! I know I screw things up a lot, but this time I really didn't!"
"That's hard to believe." I knew he was glaring because he was hurt. I winced slightly at the possible damage that could be done if I didn't explain myself in the next five seconds. Luckily, Sasuke made it easier for me. "This Sai. Is he the same one from Lowes?"
"Yeah, go figure. The asshole just happens to go to our school." He seemed to like that even less than I did by the narrowing of his eyes.
"Did you kiss him?"
"He kissed me. What I really wanted to do was strangle him!"
"You still kissed him." I felt the nerves creeping up my spine when Sasuke took his gaze off of me to stare at the lockers. It was evident that he was pissed. What he had his so easily at the table was slowly becoming obvious by the vice grip he had on his books and the almost snarl tugging his lips back. So when he took a slight step back, I panicked.
"The only asshole I want is you, teme! Don't you get that?!" I shouted it like he was across the country. He blinked uncharacteristically and looked over to me, but didn't comment about my loudness or even what I said. He simply stared, and I felt it was a good sign to continue. I moved to stand in front of him, slightly leaning on the lockers to leave some space between us. "You're so friggen frustrating and you've got some major inner issues, I get it. But…you're not making this easy to understand. One second you're calling me an idiot, the next you've got me pinned up against something making out with me! You storm off when I want to get intimate with you, and then you storm off when I get forced into something intimate with someone else! Well, what the hell do you want?"
I watched him for a second, suddenly realizing that I didn't want to talk anymore. I didn't even want the distance I had made sure to put between us. I wanted Sasuke. And so quietly I lifted my hand, grabbing his shoulder and yanking him close enough to kiss. The rumors were already circulating, right? If they were going to talk about me kissing guys, I wanted it to be the right one. And by the way he pressed his hands against the lockers to lean deeper into the kiss, I could tell he didn't want me and Sai's names in the same rumor either. I lazily slid my arm around his shoulders, simply enjoying the slight thrill of being so public with Sasuke. I bit his lower lip when he pushed me hard enough to bounce head into the locker, not liking the slight pain in my skull. Still, our mouths didn't separate while the kiss started to heat up. Easily I parted my mouth to him, which I expected him to go for without hesitation. So when suddenly Sasuke pushed back from the kiss and yanked me away from the lockers, I was momentarily confused. Confused, and slightly pissed that he didn't take my offering.
"Naruto-kun." There was only one evil guy who called me that. I jerked my head up to see the worst possible person that could have walked into the hallway. Hell, a group of Sasuke fangirls would have been better than him!
"What the hell are you doing here, Sai?" I gripped tighter onto Sasuke's shoulder when I felt his muscles clench. Note to self: Sasuke had sharing issues.
"Aren't you supposed to be attending lunch, fishcake?" God damnit! I hated when he ignored my questions. He didn't seem to care about his own question as he glanced up to Sasuke before smiling. "Oh, I see you're re-acquainting yourself with your friend again. If I remember correctly, Ino called him Sasuke."
"How do you know Naruto's lunch schedule?" For someone who seemed ready to rip off Sai's head, his voice was extremely well controlled. But I felt a slight struggle in his body when Sai answered.
"Ino tells me stories about the idiot during art." Oh sure, he answers Sasuke's questions. I was surrounded by bastards.
"I'm not an idiot!"
"Why did you kiss him on Friday?" Sasuke really didn't like to beat around the bush. I looked up at him, watching his eyes narrow faintly as he glared at Sai. The artist didn't seem scared or nervous to answer the question, which surprised me. Sasuke was known for scaring the crap out of anyone in the school. Then again, I didn't think Sai was playing with a full deck to begin with.
"Is that not what you do to acquaint yourselves with one another? From my observations of you and fishcake, I could only assume that it was how he greeted his friends."
"Wait, when the heck did you see me and Sasuke?"
"I was walking back home from the supermarket a week back, when I spotted you two intimately touching outside of a therapist office. When I asked Ino about the situation, she was quick to say that you two were only friends. And since you are such an important friend to Ino, I wished to establish that relationship as well. A kiss seemed very appropriate to me."
"I was yelling at you about how much I hated you, and you thought it'd just be okay to kiss me?!" If I wasn't holding onto Sasuke, I would have fallen over at Sai's cheerful nod. Like I said, missing some crayons from the box.
"I simply assumed you treated all of your friends that way, since you are extremely loud and obnoxious." Without thinking, I opened my mouth.
"Me and Sasuke aren't just friends!" Suddenly, I felt both pairs of eyes on me. One set was curious and completely unaware of the embarrassment I had just walked into. The other, closer gaze had an unreadable look in his gaze.
"So then, what type of relations do you have with Sasuke-kun?" Unwillingly, I felt myself flush at the innocent question. And here I thought I'd make it one day without getting embarrassed. I opened and closed my mouth a few times, and Sai couldn't help but insult me. "You do act like a fishcake with your silent flapping."
"Shut up Sai." I took a deep breath, trying to ignore my protesting mind while I answered him. Naturally, my voice sped up as I talked. "Me and Sasuke are together. Not…like friends. We're closer than that. We're what you'd call…call…boyfriends. It means I only want to kiss him that way, not you idiot!"
"Boyfriends?" Sai seemed to study us for a few seconds, mentally debating if the explanation was acceptable. Finally, he nodded his head and proceeded to speak. "No wonder you look so womanly. You must be the uke."
"UKE?!" I was going to kill Sai. And I would of done it right there if Sasuke didn't have such a good grip on my arm. I still struggled to get away from him while Sai laughed.
"Well, continue with your relationship. Goodbye fishcake, and remember to try and locate your brain sometime soon." And like that, Sai was gone. I stayed tense for a few seconds, waiting to see if the annoying prick came back. When no such interruption happened, I sighed and relaxed. Well, until a quiet breath curled around my ear.
"Boyfriends? Explain how I was unaware of this sudden advancement in our relationship." I shivered and tried to glare at the same time.
"Well…you don't know Sai! If I didn't say something, he'd never get it through his thick head. It was the heat of the moment; I didn't know what else to say." I grunted when once again, my back met the lockers behind me. Seriously, Sasuke had a power complex that made him press me to whatever was convenient. He was probably into bondage, the freak. I huffed at the harsh treatment while rubbing my back. Well, at least he didn't pin my wrists this time. "What the hell was that for?! I'm getting really sick of this treatment you know."
"Is that all it was? An excuse?" Just the low tone of Sasuke's voice made me fight back a blush. Damnit, when did I become so god damn girly?! I took a deep breath, trying to cool myself down before I challenged his gaze. By the way he watched me, I could tell he wanted a specific response. But I didn't know which one was right. He had been running me in circles, and I knew I was going bang my head against the wall if I answered this wrong.
"I already told you I wanted this," I muttered, making it sound more like a complaint than a reply. And when he didn't respond, I added to the slight pouting by crossing my arms and nudging his leg with my foot. "Just accept it."
"Hn." I really needed to get a word that I could whenever I didn't want to answer something. It seemed to work for Sasuke very well. He must of noticed the slight growl I produced, because he smirked and leaned close enough to speak against my frown. "We're going out."
"You're supposed to ask, bastard."
"I don't need to ask when it concerns you." That made my eye twitch.
"Oh yeah? And why do you say that?"
"Because I know you'd say yes, dobe." I gave him the opportunity to kiss me when I opened my mouth to yell at him. And there, for a sweet seven minutes until the bell rang, Sasuke 'convinced' me that saying yes wouldn't be quite so bad. I fought, of course, because nothing would be us without some type of struggle. Plus, when I squirmed just the right way, I could make an interesting noise come out of Sasuke's normally composed mouth. It would have been better if I didn't continuously vocalize Sasuke's kissing expertise. It was only afterward, when I was grumbling in English about swollen lips and pushy boyfriends, that I remembered something extremely important.
How the hell was I going to tell everyone else?
See? I CAN write without adding emoness! I know, it's a shocker. So, we found out who was watching Sasuke and Naruto, we discovered why Sai kissed Naruto, Sakura is starting to figure out what's going on behind her back, and Sasuke and Naruto are officially a couple. The story is starting to come to the end! –gasps- I know, shocking. So with only a few chapters left, will Naruto be able to find out why Sasuke wouldn't let him return the favor? What unknown feelings does Naruto have for Sasuke? Are they mutual? Will Sasuke and Itachi ever talk again? How will Sakura, Kiba, Kakashi, and everyone else react to the new relationship? And what twists and turns does this evil writer have for you? Well, review and find out! Till next time =)