Author's note: I'm baaaaaaack! It's good to be home again...even though I'll miss all of Japan's gorgeous bishi-boys, it's nice to have something to eat other than noodles or insert fish and rice.

Some of you have noticed: I set up a new yahoo community called The Pen Den. It's set up so that we can critique each others' works without worrying about people getting up in arms about it. Feel free to join!

sings I'm off to tackle jet lag!

Enjoy.

Blood pounded in his ears as he ran, his raven hair tossing in the howling wind. His feet slapping the pavement, Sasuke reached out for the handle of the bleak gray door before him and threw it open.

I'm not too late. I'm not too late. I can't be too late!

Gasping for breath, he ran down a long, narrow corridor as the tired halogen lights above sputtered and went out. Just before he was shrouded in darkness, he burst through the red fire door at the end of the corridor.

"Naruto!"

The Uchiha staggered to a stop, looking about him in bewilderment. He wasn't sure what he was expecting when he'd first sensed that Naruto was in danger, but this…wasn't it.

The room looked like a harem gone wrong during Mardi Gras. Thick, colored pillows littered the floor, gold trays with fruit were set upon intricately carved tables, and the scent of incense filled the air.

In the center of the room, Naruto leaned back against the pillows and leisurely finished off a ripe peach. He blinked at Sasuke as the boy stood, huffing, at the front of the room.

"Yo, Sasuke. What's up?"

"You…I—you…" Confused, Sasuke stepped forward. "Aren't you in…danger?"

The blonde laughed. "Does this look dangerous to you?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to reply, but just then a redhead appeared behind Naruto and crouched behind him, rubbing the blonde's shoulders. Glancing up at the Uchiha, Gaara smirked and nuzzled Naruto's ear, his tongue darting out to trace the folds of skin. Sasuke fairly growled.

"What the hell is going on here, Naruto?" His face darkened when Naruto ignored him, preoccupied as he was with laughing and hunching his shoulders at Gaara's advances. "Naruto!"

"You're too noisy, Uchiha." The calm voice preceded Neji's appearance beside the blonde, a tray of fruit in his lap. Giving Sasuke a mild glare, he dipped a strawberry in honey and held it out to Naruto, who cheerfully took a bite. "We were doing just fine until you got here."

"Yeah, you wouldn't believe it, Sasuke," Naruto piped in, smacking his lips. "These two are so…nice to me!"

By now, Sasuke was growling outright, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. "I wonder why," he snarled.

Naruto blinked at him as he munched on the grape Neji had just popped into his mouth. "What's gotten into you?" He shivered as Gaara shifted his attention to the blonde's throat.

"Are you a complete idiot?" Scowling, Sasuke strode over the multitude of pillows and glared down at the perplexed blonde. "You can't tell me that you honestly don't know what they're doing!"

Naruto tilted his head to the side, unknowingly giving Gaara better access to his throat. "What are you talking about, Sasuke? What's wrong with them?"

"You just don't get it, do you!" Dropping down onto his knees in front of the blonde, Sasuke viciously tossed Gaara and Neji away from Naruto. Before the blonde could protest, Sasuke fisted his hands in Naruto's hair and scowled at him.

"You're mine, Uzumaki!" He leaned forward to plant a kiss on Naruto's lips, but the other boy turned his cheek. The scent of incense abruptly disappeared from the air, and the rest of the room was suddenly shrouded in darkness. Only one shaft of light lit Sasuke and his companion.

Abruptly serious, Naruto gently pushed at Sasuke's chest. "Why?"

Sasuke's scowl grew. "Why what?" He leaned forward again, but Naruto firmly pushed him away. Frustrated and jealous, Sasuke fisted a hand at the collar of Naruto's shirt. "Why the hell is it ok for them to touch you, but not me?"

"It's not the same thing, Sasuke."

Naruto's calmness only infuriated the Uchiha further. "What the fuck, Uzumaki! Why the hell do they get special treatment?"

"And you call me an idiot." He glared at Sasuke. "They're not the ones getting special treatment."

Confused, Sasuke let his grip on the blonde weaken. Naruto immediately snagged Sasuke's hand and forced it away, pinning the slimmer boy's gaze with his own.

"You never answered my question, Uchiha. Why am I yours?"

Sasuke blinked at the sudden reversal of power, then scowled. "Because you are, Uzumaki. I'll be damned if I'll let either of them—"

"I'm not asking about them! Why am I yours!"

"Because…" Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows, knocked off-center by the intensity of Naruto's gaze. He looked away. "You just are."

Naruto paused, then scowled and shoved Sasuke away from him. "That's the best you can come up with?" The boy rose to his feet, disgust written all over his face. "I belong to no one, Uchiha. Least of all you."

Sasuke leapt to his feet. "What the fuck do you want from me!"

"Tell me why it matters so much to you!"

"Why what matters?"

"Me, dammit! Why the hell do you care what I do?" He scowled viciously. "Why should it matter to you if I let Gaara hang all over me or Neji pamper me? Why?"

"Because I—" For some reason, Sasuke's own throat cut him off. Lifting a hand, he rubbed his throat and scowled. "I don't like seeing them touch you!"

"Why?"

"Because I can't stand it!"

"WHY?"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

The two glared at each for a long moment, chests heaving. His blue eyes filled with contempt, Naruto turned his back on Sasuke.

"Then you're not worth my time." With that, he strode off into the darkness, leaving Sasuke behind.

His anger dissipated the moment Naruto left his field of vision. Worry wriggling through him, Sasuke took a step forward.

"Wait a minute. Wait a minute! Naruto! Come back here!"

Silence.

A cold feeling settled in the pit of Sasuke's stomach as he looked around. Naruto…left me? He swallowed hard.

"Naruto?" His voice felt dead in the suddenly stifling silence. The cold sensation spreading through him, Sasuke took a step into the darkness and squinted. "Naruto!"

When the other boy didn't answer, Sasuke swallowed and glared at the darkness around him. If he left because I wouldn't say anything…

Schooling up his courage, Sasuke took another step into the shroud of darkness. "Naruto! I…" He hesitated. "I…the reason I care so much is that I…"

A pair of footsteps walked towards him, and an unseen hand gently cupped his chin and tipped his head up.

"You what, Sasuke?" the other boy asked quietly.

Sasuke closed his eyes, feeling Naruto's breath ghost over his lips. "I…Naruto, I—"

"Say it, Sasuke." Naruto's voice was urgent. "Just say it!"

Sasuke opened his eyes, but he couldn't see the boy in front of him. Heart pounding, he reached up and fisted his hands in the other boy's unseen shirt. A wave of determination swept through him, and he glared defiantly before him.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I l—"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Jumping, Sasuke sat up straight on his bed and blinked at the morning light streaming into his room. He reached out with a fumbling hand to shut off his alarm.

…That was a really strange dream…He frowned as he climbed out of bed and got dressed. Is it possible that that's what Naruto really wants? A confession from me?

He hesitated as he pulled on a shoe, then shook his head. No way. That can't be it.

After another couple minutes to brush his teeth, wash his face and make himself presentable, Sasuke finally deemed himself ready to face the world. He snagged his calculus textbook and notebook as he left the room, his thoughts circling the events of the last day.

If I'd shown up a second later, it all would've been over. His expression darkened. What the hell was he DOING with Gaara, anyway?

As jealousy stomped its feet and made a general mess of things in Sasuke's mind, he locked the door and scowled. I swear, bet or no bet, if either of them lays a finger on Naruto again, I'll—

"Sasuke-kun?"

The boy nearly jumped at the soft voice behind him. Scowling, he turned and pinned a short, black-haired girl behind him with a withering glare.

"What?"

She flinched slightly from the venom in his tone, but she braved a coy smile as she clutched her books to her chest.

"Um, my name's Maria. We…we're in the same calculus class." Dipping her head, she looked up at him through her eyelashes. "I'm sorry for coming all the way to your room, but…I thought…maybe we could walk together?"

Ugh. Call my dentist; she's so sweet she'll give me a cavity. Rolling his eyes, he shoved his key in his pocket.

"I'd prefer to walk alone. Thanks all the same."

She blinked. "B-But, Sasuke-kun—"

"No." With that, he started to make his way down the hall, but the sound of books hitting the floor gave him pause. Lifting an eyebrow, he started to turn.

"Wait! I…" Schooling her courage, the girl launched herself at him. "I love you, Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke staggered backwards as he suddenly ended up with an armful of fangirl. He stared down at her in bewilderment.

"What the hell…?"

"I've been waiting for a chance to tell you," she murmured into his chest. Shaking her hair free of her face, she gazed up at him. "That's why I looked up your room and waited for you!"

Great. Nothing quite like a stalker first thing in the morning. Glowering, he tried to pry her off him.

"I'm not interested," he stated flatly. "Get off."

"But, Sasuke-kun!"

"I said off!" Losing what little of his patience he'd started with this morning, Sasuke tugged at the arms about his neck. "Come on, now, this is ridiculous. Off!"

She resisted, tightening her arms about her neck. "Why won't you listen to me?" she whined, looking up at him with tear-filled eyes. "My love for you is real!"

"And my patience with you isn't." He managed to pry an arm free of his neck. "Now, for the last time, get OFF—mmph!"

Desperate, the girl planted her lips on Sasuke's and clung to him like a burr, lifting her legs to wrap them about his waist. Revulsion swept through Sasuke as he kept his lips firmly closed, despite her probing tongue.

Groooooss… Wrinkling his nose, he placed his hands on her hips with the intention of flinging her off him. The door across from him swung open.

"Kiba, I'm going to get some food at the caf'. I'll catch you la…ter…"

Sasuke froze and his eyes grew saucer-wide as he stared at the blonde who'd just stepped out into the hall in his pajamas. Naruto blinked at him with surprised blue eyes, taking in first Sasuke, then the girl firmly splattered all over him.

The silence in the hall was thick enough to cut with a knife.

After a moment, Kiba stuck his head into the hall. "What's the matter? Why'd you trail…off…Oh." Clearing his throat, he glanced back and forth between the startled blonde and the frozen Uchiha. "I'll just stay out of this one."

When the spiky-haired boy ducked back into the room, Naruto seemed to snap out of it. His expression oddly blank, he turned and started walking down the hall.

Sasuke's brain took that as its cue to come back online. Tossing the groupie off him and ignoring her protests as she gracelessly hit the ground, he sprinted after the blonde.

"Naruto! Wait!" Reaching the other boy's side, Sasuke snagged Naruto's elbow. "That wasn't what it looked like!"

Pausing, Naruto turned to look at him, one eyebrow lifted into the air. "It wasn't?"

"No, of course not!" He scowled. "How dumb do you have to be to believe that I'd—"

"—Because it looked like you'd been cornered by one of your little groupies and were dumb enough to let her get a smacker in." His eyebrow climbed higher. "If that's not what it was, then what exactly did I walk in on, Sasuke?"

Sasuke opened his mouth, sputtered, and closed it. He cautiously watched Naruto's face.

"You're…not mad?"

"At you? Why would I be?" Naruto looked honestly confused. "It's not like you kissed her."

"True…" Eyebrows furrowing, Sasuke released Naruto's arm. He was glad that the blonde wasn't angry with him, but…would it kill him to at least be a little jealous?

"Kinda funny that after you ream me out for getting kissed by Neji, you let your own guard down." Naruto smirked. "Not so high and mighty now, are you, Uchiha?"

Sasuke blinked at that. Naruto's face remained pleasant, but that last comment had definitely contained an edge…not to mention that Naruto usually reserved calling him "Uchiha" for when he was either annoyed or pissed. When Sasuke didn't respond, Naruto grinned at him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"So, I guess we'll both have to make sure that stuff like this doesn't. Happen. Again." Punctuating the last three words with hearty slaps to Sasuke's back, Naruto chuckled and headed off down the hall. "Catch you later, Sasuke."

Rubbing his stinging back, Sasuke watched the other boy go. He played it off well, but…I think he actually was a little jealous.

After a long moment, Sasuke allowed a slight smile to cross his face. Maybe I have a better shot with him than I thought.

Running a hand through his ruffled morning hair, Naruto gave the cafeteria front desk clerk his ID and waited for her to sweep it through her card reader and hand it back. He snagged a tray and headed for the food lines, hoping to put together something vaguely edible. As he scowled at the limp bacon, his mind circled the little fiasco in the hall earlier.

Damn it. Who did that little bitch think she was? Clinging to Sasuke like that... He gritted his teeth, then smoothed out his face. Easy boy. It was a slim chance that even she'd get a kiss in, so Sasuke's not going to let any more slip past his guard. He's that kind of guy.

An easy-going expression on his face, Naruto packed up his mild jealousy and shipped it to Australia. Scanning the cafeteria, he spotted a head of pink hair and headed in that direction.

"Morning, Sakura!" He smiled cheerfully at her and the blonde girl sitting next to her. "Ino, long time no see. How've you been?"

"Fine," she replied, leaning forward and folding her arms on the table. "What's this I hear about you and Sasuke-kun going off together for the weekend?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Not that again. We're friends. What the hell should it matter if we go off for the weekend?"

The other girl watched him curiously, a pouting Sakura by her side. "I don't know. It feels a little...odd with you two."

"Odd?" Lifting an eyebrow, he shifted his gaze and stared at Sakura. "Why 'odd'?"

The pink-haired girl shifted uncomfortably. "Well, you told me that you liked guys, so..."

"Naruto likes guys?" Ino's jaw dropped open as Naruto leaned back in his seat, let his head fall back and groaned. "You're kidding me! I thought you were straight as an arrow!"

"I am straight as an arrow." He paused, then gave her a wicked smile. "I just happen to have more than one target."

Bewildered, the blonde girl shook her head. "Well, that explains why you two feel so odd together. Even in history class, you two give off a vibe."

Sakura frowned. "Naruto, you two didn't...do anything together, did you?"

"Not that it's any of your business, no, we didn't."

She sighed in obvious relief. "Good."

Naruto pursed his lips. "Why are you so convinced that we would've done something? Do we seem that into each other?"

The girls both hesitated, glancing at each other. "Well," Ino began, "you two have always had this kind of...focus on each other, so I guess it makes sense that if you went off together, you'd..."

"Have wild monkey sex?" He grinned when they both sputtered at his comment. "Give me a little more credit than that, ladies."

He took a leisurely sip of his orange juice. "I'd at least wait until the second kidnapping to bang his brains out."

Choking, Sakura pinned him with an embarrassed glare. "Naruto! Don't say things like that!"

"Why not? It's what you expect from me, isn't it?" Finally deciding to slaughter the French-toast-like and egg-like food on his plate, Naruto started vaguely ignoring them. "You think I'll tear him apart, don't you?"

The girls shifted uncomfortably.

"It's just that you're very aggressive about getting the things you want, Naruto." Ino frowned worriedly at him. "Are you after Sasuke?"

Naruto paused, looking up at them.

"...No, I'm not."

Smirking as they sighed in relief, Naruto dug into the last of his rapidly disappearing food.

"...But he may be after me."

Naruto never was very good at paying attention...so when the girls decided to grill him for another ten minutes, his brain took a trip to La-la Land. On autopilot, he made non-committal responses as he wondered how many eggs he could fry on a sidewalk in the Sahara.

"Naruto! You're not even listening!"

"...Forty-two..."

"NARUTO!"

"What?" Snapping his attention back to the two fuming girls in front of him, he gave them an annoyed glare. "Pardon me for not listening, but you two just keep asking the same questions over and over again!"

Sakura barely restrained a growl. "Well, it's a bit important, Naruto!"

"What's important? That you keep pretending to have a major crush on him when you probably haven't felt a damn thing since high school?"

Both of their jaws dropped open. "Y-you...how did you..." Ino sputtered.

"I do pay attention, you know." Glowering, he stood. "Now if you don't mind, I have better things to do right now."

Ino placed her chin on her hand as she watched him clear his stuff off the table. "You two are working together on that project for Dr. Hatake, aren't you?"

"For the last time, YES."

"Do you have six book sources?"

He paused, his back turned to them. Lifting an eyebrow, he turned back. "What's this about six books?"

The blonde girl sighed. "I knew you weren't paying attention. Dr. Hatake said something about wanting this to be a 'real' learning experience, so six of our seven sources need to be texts." Mimicking the boy across from her, she lifted her eyebrow. "Do you have them?"

Rolling his eyes, Naruto heaved a long-suffering sigh. "No, we don't."

"Well, it's due next week, so you may want to get cracking."

He grunted in reply, walking away from them. "Thanks, Ino."

"Consider it a present for you not raping Sasuke-kun."

Naruto smothered a smile when he heard Ino protest as Sakura solidly smacked her in the arm. Shortly after, as he placed his tray on a conveyor belt to the kitchen, he grimaced.

Dammit, that means I have to go BACK to the dumb library. He sighed again. So much for my morning.

Neji wasn't stalking Naruto. Of course he wasn't; it wasn't a Neji thing to do.

So it was, of course, by complete coincidence that he happened to spy Naruto outside the library that Tuesday morning and that he, also by pure coincidence, also had to go into said building.

His expression cool and collected, he wandered aimlessly down the aisles of books. One pale eye remained trained on that shockingly blonde hair, though Naruto seemed too preoccupied to notice Neji. Watching the blonde while appearing to peruse a magazine—it was Time, so it was possible that Neji would give enough of a damn to look through it—he followed the blonde's movements.

Grumbling under his breath about ass-backwards professors and their dinosaur grading methods, Naruto glared up at the top shelf of a book rack.

"Great," he muttered. "It figures that the ones I need are up there."

The blonde continued to grumble as he snagged a slightly shaky step ladder nearby and placed it beneath the books he wanted. Neji lifted a brow as the blonde climbed the few steps on the ladder, wobbling as he did so.

That looks incredibly unstable...and with Naruto's sense of balance, he's probably going to fall. Slowly and carefully, Neji put his magazine away. If I just happen to be there when Naruto falls, and just happen to catch him...

His heart started pounding as he considered the possibilities. The blonde would fall into his arms, start apologizing, and then their eyes would meet. Naruto would forget whatever he was talking about, and Neji could play the calm, dashing counterpart while Naruto fell under his spell...

...And it was definitely time for Neji to stop watching his cousin's soap operas. The next time they spent time together, they were watching Bruce Lee, and that's final.

Despite his potentially embarrassing train of thought, Neji casually slipped behind the blonde. He watched passively as the blonde awkwardly pulled two large books down from the top shelf, weaving unsteadily on his little stepladder. After a moment, Neji lightly cleared his throat.

"Do you need any help, Naruto?"

"Neji?" Startled, Naruto's head swung towards the slightly shorter Hyuuga...and his balance jumped ship. "W-whoa!"

Dropping his books, Naruto began to topple over. Neji allowed himself a slight smile as he lifted his arms to catch the blonde. Well now, that went amazingly we—

Neji's thoughts cut off as over six feet of muscled blonde smacked into him. Tripping over the books that Naruto had dropped, Neji found himself falling to the ground...with the less than feather-light Naruto landing on top of him.

"OOF!"

Neji let out an undignified grunt as the wind was knocked out of him. Pain shot through him when the larger blonde connected at all the wrong places as they ended up in a heap on the floor. Neji tried to blink away the stars suddenly wheeling in his field of vision.

Ok...that did NOT go as planned...

"Oh man, Neji, are you okay?" Concerned, Naruto lifted himself up onto his elbows as he gazed down at the Hyuuga. "I'm sorry about that!"

Neji would have loved to answer, but first he had to get some AIR into his lungs.

"Jeez, Neji. I'm sorry!" Biting his lip—god how Neji wanted to do that for him—Naruto sat up and gazed worriedly down at him. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Nothing that isn't being fixed by you straddling me like you are... As Neji regained the ability to breathe, he placed an arm over his ribs and winced.

"I'll live, Naruto." He stared up at the concern in those sky blue eyes and felt something warm take root in his heart. "You didn't damage anything vital."

The blonde winced. "Sorry again. I know I'm not exactly pleasant to have thrown on top of you."

"All a matter of opinion." The words were out of Neji's mouth before he realized it. Against his will, a light blush began to touch his cheeks.

Naruto blinked down at him, then laughed. "Ok, good point. Aside from the 'walking sex god' factor, I'm not pleasant to have thrown on top of someone." Standing, he held out a hand to the Hyuuga.

Grasping it, Neji gave him a vaguely sour expression. "Does your ego know no bounds, Naruto?"

"It has boundaries. It just takes a while to reach them." Grinning, he tugged the Hyuuga to his feet. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Neji winced again as he stood, his ribs protesting the movement. "I'm fine. I think my ribs took most of your weight."

"Your ribs?" Frowning, Naruto prodded at them. Neji froze, watching in shock as Naruto ran his fingers over his chest. "Are you sure you're okay? Taking a hit like that to the ribs could be trouble."

You touching me like that could be trouble. Swallowing, Neji took Naruto's hands in his own and pulled them away from his chest. He caught Naruto's gaze with his own.

"I'm fine, Uzumaki," he stated quietly.

The blonde stared at him, then frowned. "I still feel bad, though. Is there anything I can do to help?"

You could kiss it better. Neji shook his head. "Thank you, but no."

When Naruto pursed his lips, Neji had to physically restrain himself to keep from kissing the expression off the blonde's face. Amused by Naruto's consternation, Neji allowed himself a small smile.

"Well, if you truly feel awful about inflicting such grievous damage on me, you could spend some time talking to your victim," he suggested dryly. Naruto chuckled lightly.

"I guess that couldn't hurt." Picking up his books, he leaned against the bookshelf he'd toppled from. "So? What's new in your life?"

The pale Hyuuga calmly placed his hands in his pockets. "Regrettably, nothing." He paused, not normally one for idle chit-chat. Well, I did ask for it. "...Although I did receive a letter recently that said my so-called 'fan club' had changed presidents."

The blonde laughed, as Neji hoped he would. "Oh lord. Does that mean you're going to have a changing of the guard?" His eyes sparkling with humor, Naruto leaned forward conspiratorially. "You may want to start looking for new emergency escape routes. Never underestimate stalker networks under new management."

"And you would know, would you?"

"Don't forget, I've been friends with Sasuke for a while now. I've seen some of the inner workings of fan clubs." Shaking his head, Naruto missed the irritated frown that fleetingly crossed Neji's face. "I wonder what they'd do if they found out I was taking him to the show at the Comm—"

Neji's eyebrows arched as Naruto cut himself off. A show at the Commons? At the mention of the campus' tremendous food court, the Hyuuga wiped his face clean of his thoughts. Those two are going on a date?

"Er, I mean..." Running a hand through his unruly blonde hair, Naruto smiled uncertainly. Neji just gazed calmly at him, his mind racing. What show?

Coughing, Naruto shifted his books under his arm. "Um...I have to get going, Neji. I'll see you around, all right?"

The Hyuuga made a small noise of acknowledgement, already deciding to get do some research. When the blonde started to walk away, his eyebrows quirked as he remembered something.

"Will you be home tonight? I need to get my notes back from you," he called out.

"Oh! Right." Pausing, he glanced back at the Hyuuga. "Yeah, I'll be there. Even if the door's shut, I'm probably inside."

"I'll remember that." A small smirk tweaked his lips as Naruto gave him a genuine smile and headed for the front desk. Neji rubbed his ribs absentmindedly.

I don't want to be left behind by you. For some reason Neji couldn't fathom, his lips shifted into a melancholy smile.

"You take my breath away, Uzumaki."

Author's note: Hope y'all haven't forgotten about me. Make sure to review!

And, again, feel free to join my new community. All fandoms (including original works) are free game. Hope to see you there! Link's in my profile, since they won't let me post it here... sigh.