Title: The Expected Outcome

Author: Calendar
Rating: G / K
Disclaimer: So not mine.
Spoilers: None
Pairings: NaruSasuSaku
Notes: Written for 3measures, an OT3 theme community on livejournal. The theme was 'camera obscura'.
Summary: Occasionally on long missions, Team 7 gets to sleep indoors. Unfortunately for Team 7, they usually have to share a room.

xxx

Occasionally on long missions, Team 7 gets to sleep indoors. Unfortunately for Team 7, they usually have to share a room. The problem with three teenagers sharing a room is that once they get past the awkwardness, all that's left is three teenagers sharing a room. Added into that is a healthy spoonful of hormones and a dash of unequal ratio of females to males, and that can lead to rather scary situations.

Such as the time that Sakura and Naruto, sleeping on either side of Sasuke, woke up to find that they had moved in their sleep, and were curled up against their perpetually moody teammate. Sasuke woke up to Sakura's piercing shriek of pure joy and Naruto's howl of pure horror.

If there are scary situations, however, they're balanced by an interspersion of rather humorous situations.

Such as the time that Sakura threw a dresser at Naruto for picking a fight with Sasuke while she was trying to sleep. Sasuke privately entertained himself with Naruto's comically overexaggerated expression of desolation for several months after that.

Of course, on the rare occasions when there are neither scary situations nor humorous situations, there are simply the normal, everyday moments.

They all secretly like those the best.

"Um," Naruto said loudly, smiling his best "innocent" smile and clutching his pillow tightly. "Sakura-chan, can I sleep next to you this time?"

"No," she replied shortly, rummaging determinedly through her pack for some necessary girlish item probably neither of the boys would recognise. Once, Sasuke had spent nearly an hour trying to figure out the purpose of her eyelash curler, apparently believing it to be some sort of obscure weapon. After Sakura had explained its purpose, he refused to speak to either Naruto or Sakura for the next week.

His eyes filled with tears and his chin trembled. "But Sakura-chaaaaaaan, you always sleep next to Sasuke and he kicks sometimes, you know!"

She stopped searching, staring at him incredulously. "So do you. And you snore."

He abandoned tears for indignation. "I do not!"

Already lying on his futon a few feet away, Sasuke rolled over and snorted quietly.

Letting out an accusatory, "HA!" Naruto threw out his arm and pointed at her vehemently. "You're just saying that so I'll get distracted and forget the question!" His accusation was marred by a firm pout.

She threw her hairbrush at him, scowling deeply when he dodged and stuck his tongue out at her. "Don't blame me for your sleep habits! I'm just being honest!"

Sasuke rolled back over and glared at his teammates. "Would you two shut up already?"

Sakura turned pink, sinking down on her futon. Naruto frowned darkly, but refrained from replying, still smarting from Sakura's (totally unfounded, he was insisting privately) accusations. While she was fretting over Sasuke's annoyed outburst, Naruto also took the opportunity to lay his futon next to hers.

It didn't take her long to notice his boldness, but after a brief, obligatory glare, she couldn't hold back a tiny smile from coming to her lips. "Well, I suppose there's really no where else for you to sleep," she admitted reluctantly. "It's a small room."

He beamed at her, nodding emphatically. "Yeah! It's really small."

Almost as one, they glanced over at Sasuke and grinned. After all, the size of the room was best expressed by how close Sasuke was lying next to them. If it wasn't so small, Sasuke would've been sleeping at least ten feet away. That had started after the first (and only) time he'd woken up with the two of them cuddled against him.

Knowing the direction their thoughts had taken, Sasuke immediately scowled harder, sat up and glared pointedly. "Just go to sleep already!" He stood up, stalked crabbily to the light, and clicked it off with no little annoyance.

In the suddenly dark room, the sounds of the two most outgoing members of Team 7 climbing into bed seemed loud. And after all three of them were settled and lying in a row, the peaceful sounds of their combined breathing, soft and out of synch, filled the room.

At least, until a firm kick woke Sakura up in the middle of the night. She blamed Naruto.

It was Sasuke.