AN: Merry belated Christmas everyone! Happy New Year, as well!

Story summary: Naruto meets a perfect stranger who turns out to be a bastard and keeps meeting him over and over again. And why does it seem that elevators conspired against humanity? Modern AU. SasuNaru, KibaNeji, implied KakaIru

Chapter summary: Gaara makes an entry and gets Neji all confused. Nothing seems to be going right for Kiba and Naruto realizes that people were totally right about restless sleep leading to disastrous days.


DAMN ELEVATOR


Floor 6. Demonic device

Kiba waited impatiently for an elevator to arrive. What was wrong with it lately? He called the service company several times over the past few weeks, but they couldn't find anything wrong with the damn thing. It run like a well-oiled machine during the servicing but slowed down and stopped every single time Kiba was using it to go to Neji's lab. Strange thing was that no one else complained—aside from Naruto, who always complained. It's like no one seemed to notice, not even Neji who used it most often, and there were never any problems with the thing on the way up and away from the Time lab. Weird.

Maybe Naruto was right to hate these useless metal boxes that seemed to conspire against them.

Kiba looked at his watch—it's been five minutes. He estimated that Gaara's been downstairs for longer than ten minutes now. It was ten minutes too long for his liking, too many things could happen. Too damn many things.

"Fuck it!" Kiba exclaimed and run towards the stairs, there was no way he was letting Sabaku remain in Neji's lab any longer without his supervision.

Just as he opened the door to the stairwell and prepared himself to flee down the stairs two-three at a time, the elevator chimed and the brunet stopped dead in his tracks.

Kiba looked at it in suspicion, the damn thing was totally mocking him. He cautiously moved towards it, still considering his options. Deciding that as the thing was finally here it would be much faster to use it than take the stairs, he sped up and run the last few steps to get there before the doors closed.

Once in, he pressed the button for the basement and let out a slow breath—he was on the way to Neji's and just a minute away from kicking the Sabaku's pale ass out of the observatory.

Yes...

He was so looking forward to it that he could almost feel it, how awesome it would be to see the boot print on dark expensive jeans the prick always wore. Then he was going to make sure Hidan at the gates did not let the man on the premises under any circumstances.

Ever...

Neji's lab was only four floors below. The doors were about to open any second now, but instead, the elevator suddenly slowed its movement and then stopped completely. Kiba's eyes went wide.

"No-no-no-no!" he banged on the metal furiously "Fuck! I knew I should have taken the stairs!" The brunet pressed the emergency button and waited for the call go through. Unfortunately there was no sound. He frantically took out his phone as he remembered the elevator guy giving him a special number to call, but there was no service. He hit the door few more times and swore to have the darn thing replaced immediately, but only after he wreaks it with a hammer. At that, the only light inside went off and Kiba was left alone in complete darkness.

"DAMN ELEVATOR!"


"It is very uncharacteristic of you to smile, Gaara." Neji looked curiously at his friend, who was fiddling with his phone. "Something good happened?"

"You could say that" the redhead said, quickly putting the gadget away and trying to change his facial expression to the usual indifference. "There is someone who keeps me entertained as of late"

A mischievous glint in the green eyes did not come by unnoticed to the young professor. They have known each other since they were kids and though on the inside Gaara was one of the most fun and caring people Neji knew, on the outside, the redhead always appeared to be cold and emotionless. A display of emotions like the smile just now was a sign of a fairly recent change in him. His friend was changing and someone Neji didn't know was responsible for it, but for now, he was willing to let it go, so he smiled and offered his visitor some coffee.


Naruto paced around the lab nervously, biting his nails and drawing hands through his hair. He looked at the wall clock in the umpteenth time, then at his wrist watch and, not liking what he saw, groaned. "Dammit. Where is he?!" It's been almost 20 minutes!

"Calm down Naruto, I am sure he will be here soon" Temari tried to soothe him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

"No, he wont!" the blond cried, throwing his arms up in frustration and storming off to the side. "You're partially to blame. Why did you have to bring Gaara with you?" he whined knowing fully well that it wasn't her fault but his idiot dog-loving friend's. Yes, Gaara came by to flirt with his crush but it happened all the time! Asteroids on a collision course with Venus, on the other hand, didn't! As the lead mechanic, Kiba had responsibilities, for god's sake, which he completely forgot about, or so it seemed.

"I am sorry, Temari." Naruto sighed. "It wasn't your fault. It's just been a hell of a day for me and something was bound to go wrong tonight. Shika," he addressed the tall brunet on the couch. "Do you think we can actually do this without that good for nothing boss of yours? I really-really can't mess this up."

Too many stars needed to align for this night to happen, both literally and figuratively. It was not easy to get both Tokyo and Suna universities to agree to collaborate. Then, it took ages for the grants to be approved. Naruto was still not certain how Temari pulled it off. The Konoha Observatory was a small, but functional one and was used by many Japanese and foreign astronomers throughout the year, so to actually get the time booked with the main telescope here was next to impossible. In addition, the Beast's time was not cheap, so in order to make the most of the grant's funds, they had to find a short window when all of their objects of interest would be visible. Oh, and don't forget that the night had to be moonless and with clear skies.

Miraculously, all of the above happened to lead them to tonight and it was unclear if there would ever be another chance as good. Naruto had two nights to get the readings for a total of 5 asteroids. He would try to use them both to read the same objects just in case there are any discrepancies. However, the forecast for tomorrow was not good and the weather may not allow it. So there really-really was no room for mistakes and he was damn hoping the lead mechanic would be here to support him!

"It is troublesome, but we are good. Even though Kiba is usually the one working with the Beast, I am fully trained. We have 2 minutes till the passing. Let's get ready?"

"Yeah" Naruto breathed out slowly and sat next to Shikamaru behind the controls. "Here goes nothing"

"Once the object is in the zone, we will start the readings and extrapolation of the course. It will only last for 3 minutes. The photos will be taken automatically, it is already programmed in."

Soft clicks of the keys from the keyboards filled the room as both men worked quietly, fully concentrated on their tasks, only exchanging a few words when the object finally came into view. Temari stared excitingly at the big screen that showed the real-time broadcast from the telescope's camera. It didn't provide as clear picture as the photos were going to, but it did bring some sense of reality to what was actually happening. She looked at it in awe—that moving little dot right there, that tiny star-looking dot might just be the one to collide with Venus in a few year's time. It was surreal... She could not stop looking at it until it moved beyond the camera's field of vision.

"That was not nerve wrecking at all!" Naruto exclaimed standing up and smiling but then he brought both arms to his face and let out a shallow breath"Okay, it was—"

"What are you saying? That was awesome!" Temari cried out in pure delight "Thank you for letting me be part of it"

"Oh, it is nothing" Shikamaru answered his expression impassive but light pink dusted his cheeks to Naruto's amusement, who swiftly kicked him under the ribs with an elbow.

"She wasn't talking to you, Shika, don't get all flustered. It was nothing, Temari!" Naruto grinned and gave her a hug "We have four more to go! Now, let's get some coffee while the lazy boy here sets everything up for the next guy. "


In the meantime, at the Time lab, Neji was entertaining his guest.

"You must tell me one day about this mysterious friend of yours. It is not the first time I am catching you with that smile, you know" the young professor said, giving his visitor a hot mug of coffee that just finished brewing and making himself comfortable on a small couch the lab had. It was always too cold in the basement, as the equipment required it, but the couch and a hot beverage made things bearable.

"It is nothing really." Gaara said with a shrug sitting near the brunet and taking a sip from his mug "I wouldn't even call him a friend. You are a friend; it is hard to explain what he is"

"Oh, a special someone, perhaps?" Neji teased, nudging Gaara with his shoulder playfully.

"No." The redhead said dismissively. "More like a partner in crime. Don't assume weird things"

"Is it so weird for me to assume that you may have a special someone?" The answer Neji got at first was a cool glare, but then the green eyes softened a bit.

"I was told I am not exactly emotionally available" Gaara said quietly, his expression impassive, only a tight grip on the mug was giving away the fact that he was not too happy with their discussion.

"You know," Neji put an arm on his friends shoulder in comfort and continued "the idiots upstairs decided to do a popularity contest among the employees and forced everyone to vote. Their small brains could only be entertained with simple things like this. 'The Konoha's Heartthrobs', they called it—the most ridiculous name, but it is not the point"

"And what is?" Gaara cut in, now clearly annoyed at the topic.

"The point is that your name is the third on that list, and you don't even work here" Neji said taking a sip from his mug.

"I don't understand how this relates to me having a special person" the redhead furrowed his brows in confusion.

"You are young, attractive, and people notice it, Gaara."

"I do not appreciate you calling me 'young', I am only two years younger than you"

"What I am saying is that you should have a special person, someone to make you happy."

"Being with you makes me happy. That's all I need" the redhead countered.

"It warms my heart hearing you say that but you know it is not what I mean. Maybe it is time for you to give a chance to someone"

"Funny hearing it from you" Gaara said quietly and placed the finished mug on a coffee table and faced his friend again "Who did you vote for?"

Caught off guard by the question, the brunet put his own mug down with an embarrassing clutter. That was not something he was ready to talk about. His face gave nothing away, but the way he nervously folded arms on his lap and suddenly found an interest in an ugly painting on the opposite wall spoke volumes. Why did his lab have a painting of clowns? He always hated clowns.

"Neji.." Gaara pressed, studying his friend with interest.

The young professor was suddenly on his feet, putting the mugs away to a cabinet as if it was more important than anything else at the moment. "Well, if I knew that your name was an option, you would have had my vote, obviously" surprisingly his voice didn't come out as shaky as he was afraid it would.

He stood with his back to the redhead and didn't notice how the other approached him, so when a gentle hand touched his shoulder, Neji spun around startled, finding himself face to face with Gaara. He never noticed it before, but his friend was actually slightly taller.

"Do you find me attractive, Neji?" The redhead's voice was low and even as he leaned closer and with a free hand tucked a loose strand of long hair behind the brunet's ear.

With lavender eyes clouded with confusion Neji stared at his friend—this closeness was not something he was used to. He was about to respond that just as he said earlier, Gaara was attractive and certainly better looking than the idiots upstairs, but the door to the lab suddenly opened with a bang.

Jumping a bit in shock at the loud noise—body moving closer to his friend's—he turned towards the entry. He felt Gaara's protective arm finding its way around his waist when a furious brunet stormed inside.

"Sabaku" Kiba spat out the name as if it in itself was an insult.

"Inuzuka" Gaara was not happy to be interrupted but he responded evenly, not letting any emotions show, though tightening his hold on the brunet in his arms.

The lead mechanic suddenly noticed the intimate setting he found the two in and felt a pang of disappointment. "Neji?" He inquired not quite sure how to read the atmosphere.

"It's is professor Hyuuga" Neji said coldly, pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing, not noticing the instant hurt in Kiba's dark eyes.

"A-am I interrupting something?" He asked dejectedly, scratching the back of his neck nervously—eyes on the floor. It was painful to see Neji so close to Gaara. All the times the man would come here, he would just talk, maybe insult Kiba one way or another, but never before he saw the two embracing as they did now. Maybe he was already too late...

Neji finally noticed the position they were in and panicked, trying to step away but Gaara's hand kept him in place.

"As a matter of fact..." the redhead let the sentence drag off, drawing an annoyed growl from the brunet in the doorway.

Kiba may have been too late, but it did not mean he was to run away with a tail between his legs. Inizikas were not afraid of a challenge and they sure as hell did not give up.

"You are not supposed to be here." He said firmly clenching his fists, all hurt and uncertainty from before pushed back down in the centre of his stomach—he would deal with it later. "This is a research facility and only employees are allowed" but somehow you always find a way to sneak in damnit he added in his mind.

"I am visiting Neji" he didn't like how the bastard always called Neji by the first name when Kiba was never allowed to.

"Then apply for a visitors pass like all normal people!" He barked out. "Rules are rules and, Professor Hyuuga, I expected more from you and your guests"

Neji did not appreciate Kiba's tone, but acknowledged that they were in the wrong with a nod. When his friend was about to say something back he stopped him with a gentle "That's ok Gaara"

"I'll see you tomorrow?" The redhead asked and then leaned to whisper in his friend's ear "I will tell you all about the person that's been entertaining me lately"

Immediately curios, Neji brightened up—lavender eyes raising to meet the green ones "Absolutely! Get a visitors pass this time?"

"Sure" Gaara gave him a peck in the cheek and let go knowing exactly that it looked more like a kiss in the lips from Kiba's point of view. Heading towards the exit, he stopped right next to the brunet, looked straight into the dark eyes and said so that only he could hear—words void of any emotion "Time is slipping right through your fingers, isn't it?" With that he left the lab.

Kiba's jaw tightened as he watched the redhead go. Damn, he was mad at the truth of his words. All his chances with Neji were slipping away and if he didn't do something soon, he would end up lonely, heartbroken, and with no chance for happiness.

"I never took you for such a sticker to the rules, Inuzuka." His favourite arrogant voice broke the silence in the room. "You could have given him a slack. He is a friend who was just visiting, as he often does. It is not like he actually breaks in and steals stuff or anything"

He steals you... Kiba just sighed, looking at the back of his crush who was busy tidying up already perfectly stacked papers on the desk."He is evil" he voiced out.

"Don't be absurd" Neji countered, shooting a non threatening glare towards the mechanic. Noticing the time on the wall clock just above the spiky dark hair his eyes narrowed in annoyance. "You're late, again. What was so important that made you late? Was it Uzumaki?"

Kiba's eyes widened as he realized that the passing of the first asteroid was already over. Completely blinded by Gaara's intrusion to Neji's lab, he didn't realize how long he was actually stuck in the elevator for! Naruto was going to eat him alive.

"Bloody hell, that damn elevator!" he exclaimed drawing hands through his hair in frustration "Why can't this thing just work properly?!"

"You're even starting to sound like him" Neji snorted, nose scrunched up in annoyance. The blond astronomer has been occupying too much of Kiba's time lately and he didn't like it in the least. He knew they were friends outside of work too and it was pissing him off even more. Damnit, he should have another talk with Naruto.

"I don't sound like him!" Kiba opposed at first but then frowned noting the similarity. "Ok, maybe. But you would too, if you were stuck in the demonic device for as long as I did! Anyways, is the Time Machine acting up or what did you need my help with?"

"You do know that it is not really a time machine, right?" the young professor's voice carried a hint of amusement in it—leave it to Kiba to give names to all equipment in the building.

"It measures time in this Time lab—you named it, not me—so the Time Machine it is" the mechanic said matter-of-factly and then his face split in a warm, friendly grin, dark eyes lighting up with it making Neji's heart swell. That smile was what originally attracted him to the brunet – it was so open and warm, it might as well melt all the ice in the Arctic. Oh, how he wished he was the only one on the receiving end of that smile.. "Plus when we add the leap second every year, it is like we travel to the future!" Kiba continued, not realizing the thoughts running through Neji's head, who just huffed out an amused breath.

"Ok, I give up" he said, lips twitched fighting a smile, "You do make a sound argument. Then, we need to prepare our Time Machine for the next leap into the future" It was alright to go with the flow once in a while, especially if it was to keep his favourite mechanic smiling a bit longer.

"There you go, Neji! I knew you would come to like it!"

Hearing his name coming from Kiba's mouth made Neji tense instantly—the easygoing atmosphere they finally managed to create broken. He did not like Kiba saying his name like that. Like they were close, like they were friends.

"It's Professor Hyuuga" Neji said evenly though the voice sounded tired from trying to keep his emotions in control. "Or professor, or just Hyuuga, for gods sake"

Inuzuka felt his heart seize for a moment from the sudden change in the mood "Why? Why can't I call you Neji?" Why was it such a big deal?

We're not close...

"Because we are not friends" was the cold answer.

Anger rushed through Kiba followed by confusion "Why aren't we?" he growled at the scientist who blatantly avoided his gaze letting out an annoyed breath.

You're not a friend...

"I don't want to!" Neji cried out, turning sharply to look at the stunned brunet, his cold pale eyes locked with the widening dark ones.

Kiba turned around and stormed towards the door, dull pain ached in the lower pit of his stomach. He paused before exiting and said without looking back "I'll send Shikamaru to assist you further, Professor Hyuuga"

It hurt...


Once Naruto was out of the car that drove him home and on the way to the building, he let out a slow breath and saw the steam dissolve in front of him. All in all, it was a good night at the lab—not without a few hiccups here and there, but nothing too catastrophic.

After he and Temari came back to the lab with their coffees, Shikamaru had the photos of the first asteroid ready. The object was of irregular shape, which is very common, resembling a peanut in a shell and was about 2km long as they estimated before. It was the second largest of the five and looked rather impressive, Temari could not believe that was the same star-looking dot that she saw on the screen earlier.

The second asteroid seemed to be the smallest among their chosen ones, only about 200 meters in diameter in its widest part; it was somewhat pear-shaped. It was dullest too, so the photos didn't turn out as good as they hoped, but it was an indicator that it most likely belonged to a group of carbonaceous objects (i.e. in addition to rocks and minerals, it contained large amounts of carbon which absorbed light).

Right after they reviewed the photos of the second object, Kiba showed up looking all gloomy and depressed. Something really pissed off that guy as to Naruto's 'you're okay?' he just grumbled 'fucking brilliant' and took Shika's place behind the controls. The genius filled his boss in on the details about the first two asteroids and explained what remained to be done for the next one. Kiba listened and thanked the man for making sure everything went well and then sent him to the Time Lab to help Professor Hyuuga for the remainder of the night.

To say that Naruto was surprised would have been an understatement. Kiba never called Neji a professor, especially when the man was not even in the room, and Shika hasn't been to the Time Lab for months! Because the lead mechanic always made it top priority to spend more time there, with his crush. Something really bad must have happened.

Despite the foul mood in the lab after Shika left, Naruto and Kiba fell into comfortable routine. It seemed that occupying his mind and hands with work helped his friend a little.

The highlight of the night was the object number five. Quite literally as it was the brightest one—almost too bright—indicating the high levels of metal in its core. The photos turned out to be fantastic showing the reflective surface in all its glory, even several craters were visible. Kiba noticed that the asteroid was also moving faster than initially predicted, perhaps it received some acceleration after coming too close to Mars or some larger asteroids that cross its orbit. They would need to do proper calculations to know for sure.

The young astronomer couldn't believe how lucky they were to get a full night of clear skies in the worst season possible and just after a snowstorm. But they did it – they have managed to get the readings of all five asteroids in one night, and even if tomorrow all hell broke loose, he's got enough data to work with for the next few months.

By the time Naruto made it to the elevator, every part of his body was numb with exhaustion and demanded the comfort of his soft pillows. It was a Saturday and he looked forward to a few extra hours of sleep. Especially after the hell of a day he had before followed by restless sleep. Oh no, why the hell did he think about that now?... It was such a good night with no thoughts about the teme and he ruined it! He theatrically banged his head on a wall in despair.

When the elevator arrived, refreshing the memory of the dream, he groaned and walked in, thanking the lord that it was bastard-less. Though what did he expect at 5 in the morning? Wait—expect? What exactly did he expect?—

The elevator stopped and opened the doors not to his floor (again) but to something else completely. Tired and with mind occupied by thoughts of a certain teme, Naruto didn't realize that the elevator was actually going down and not up, not until it stopped at the concourse level where the gym was located. Well, where it was supposed to be located, what he was seeing now was not a gym, it was something he has not seen before.

He walked out of the elevator in awe and plastered himself to the large glass window not believing his eyes. Right before him was a pool, not the pathetic pool-wanna-be-puddle he saw here three years ago when moving in, but an incredible Olympic-size swimming pool. It had ten lanes, starting blocks and all that shit he saw while watching Summer Olympic Games with Iruka and Kakashi couple of years back. So this was the recent 'renovation project' that the building manager talked about. Completely mesmerized and still not quite believing the whole thing he moved through the glass doors to get a closer look.

It was very nice inside – warm and humid, but pleasant, Naruto decided taking off his scarf. He walked past the entry to the gym, it was actually there too, hiding to the left of the main attraction. Change rooms and showers were conveniently located on the side, he noted for future reference—he was definitely coming back here. When he moved closer to the pool, he heard music playing from a few speakers in the ceiling filling the huge open space with soft sounds.

A splash from the other side of the pool attracted his attention—it seems like someone was already enjoying the freshness of water. It must be nice to swim here in solitude when the rest of the building still slept, Naruto thought, he should probably make a habit of it. Curious, he tried to catch a glimpse of whoever that was. It was hard though, at first, as the person started all the way from the other side—too far away—but they swam closer and closer with an impeccable speed and soon the blond could see strong long hands helping their owner move swiftly with powerful strokes.

The butterfly, Naruto thought, standing completely stunned right on the line so that the person was now swimming towards him. It was the most difficult of all swimming strokes, as he remembered from watching the games with his dads. Wow, did the folks on TV swim that fast?... The man, he could clearly see it now, glided through the water with fluent ease as if he was born in it—arms exiting the water in perfect unison, hovering above the surface and hiding underneath it again and again, wave-like body movements smooth and efficient and.. "Beautiful" he breathed out, feeling his chest tightening for a moment in honest fascination.

Naruto was so hypnotized by the rhythmic strokes that didn't notice how the person reached his end of the pool. Only when the man got out of the water and bent down to put goggles on a starting block, did he realize it.

They were standing just few meters apart and the young astronomer, unable to tear his gaze away from the body that was exposed to his widening eyes, slowly took in the sight: strong lean legs in black knee-long speedos that contrasted with pale skin, taut abs covered in shiny droplets of water, broad chest rising and falling from heavy breathing caused by the extreme exercise— The man took off his cap, letting dark hair fall freely framing his face, thin lips curved into a condescending smirk, and then Naruto saw—and felt—as the arrogant dark eyes lifted themselves to stare at him, acknowledging his presence.

Of bloody course.

The swimmer was none other than Sasuke-the-teme Uchiha and the blond could only roll his eyes. Just what exactly did he do to piss off the Universe so much?

"If the memory serves me right, the last time we met you were set on forgetting all about me." Sasuke said, fiddling with his sport watch and asked nonchalantly "How is it going so far?"

"Not as well as I was hoping for..." Naruto answered honestly "...with you popping in wherever I go."

"I was here first, which means you followed me. As you don't even have the decency to hide or blend in, it officially makes you the worst stalker ever" He said, drawing both hands through his wet hair, and Naruto felt his cheeks starting to darken "You are not supposed to be walking in here in the outdoor footwear"

Embarrassed and ashamed and not just for walking into the pool area in his dirty winter boots, the blond flushed and mumbled something about being curious, but then shook his head of all uncertainty and growled back at the brunet "How many times do I have to tell you that I am not a stalker?!"

"Yet, here you are" The man pointedly looked at Naruto, folding arms at his chest "How many times have I met you in the last 24 hours? One time could have been by pure chance; the second – a coincidence, maybe; the third – already suspicious; now fourth?—" he let the sentence drag off thrusting his chin up in challenge and sneering at the astronomer "you tell me"

"Elevators!" Naruto exclaimed like it was the most obvious answer. Met with a curious brow and a doubtful snort, he continued with the theory "They conspired against humanity and do everything in their power to inconvenience people! All four times we met were because of them! First at work, remember how slow they were? Then Kakashi got stuck in one and I was forced to service your table, which I never do. Then both times here – they just miss the floor I need to go to. Every time! Those damn eleva—, damn ele—" Damn teme! He added mentally. He still couldn't finish the phrase properly without feeling the guy's lips brushing over his. Urgh.. Having the bastard—the practically naked and head-to-toes wet bastard—right in front of him did not help either. He was flustered, couldn't stop rambling and why was it suddenly so hot in here?

"Elevators? Quite a conspiracy theory you have here. Still not convincing, though. Any other theories, stalker?"

Naruto needed to think fast. He was still convinced that the elevators were at fault, but if he were to come up with something else good enough to get the teme off his back, he would consider it a win. There must be something hard to argue with... Something like—

"Fate! Ha!" It was genius and he almost did a happy dance right there. In your face, bastard "Have you thought about that?"

"Oh, I am not a big believer in fate, but this got me curious" The brunet said thoughtfully "so what does fate have planned for us?"

"I don't know! But it's a valid theory, right? The one you can't deny!" The blond hasn't thought this far ahead, it's not like he needed it.. The elevator theory was so much better, it explained everything! Suddenly, a string of panic started to grow in the pit of his stomach "Why are you coming closer?"

"Testing your theory, of course" Sasuke's predatory smirk made Naruto glare and shiver at the same time. "If this is fate's doing, then it would want us to be closer, don't you think?"

"Urgh, you don't have to test anything!" He needed to get out of here, fast. This was not going according to plan... The bastard was supposed to accept the theory and give up. That's it. "We don't really need to know why we are meeting like that. I am sure there is a reasonable explanation behind it! I am just going to leave and let you swim here in peace, deal?"

"No." Was a curt reply. "That would be equal to a stalker fleeting the scene of his crime and I will have to report it"

"What?! You can't so that! I am not stalking!"

"Then stay where you are" Despite the urge to strangle the man, Naruto couldn't ignore the slight warmth that started to build at the intense stare he received.

"Ok, but don't come too close" Naruto nervously shoved hands into his jean pockets, forgetting that he still had his scarf in one hand making the whole process look ridiculous.

"Why?"

He wasn't sure what would happen, but what he was sure of was that he didn't want to know.. Naruto was not looking at the man but heard the steps approaching. "You will get me wet" even he knew it was a week argument.

"How else are we going to test your theory?" His breathing slowed with every step and every word said in that deep vibrating voice.

"I don't know!" Naruto had to shut his eyes tight, because they kept wanting to look at that porcelain white skin to memorize every inch of it. It was definitely his eyes only, not him.

"Scared, dobe?" The man chuckled. How dared he!

"I am not scared, teme!" The astronomer cried in outrage pointing his finger at the bastard.

"Prove it" Sasuke said and his lips curved in another predatory smirk that had Naruto's insides flip again.

"Argh!" The blond threw his arms up in frustration and took a few confident steps towards the brunet. At the last step the astronomer's eyes widened and he gave out a small cry of surprise as he lost his footing on a slippery surface, his right foot got thrown up in the air and he landed heavily on the ground, tripping the annoying man in the process causing him to fall forwards with a loud grunt right on top. Pain shot through Naruto's elbows and he growled at the heavy weight on top of him. "Get off!"

Trying to push the guy off of him, he suddenly became too aware of the heat of Sasuke's bare chest beneath his fingertips, hips pressed onto his jeans, and warm breath too close to his suddenly sensitive ear—what the hell? He gasped for the much needed air while discovering, and immediately trying to rid of, the sparks that ignited in his stomach, face flushed in embarrassment.

The brunet raised on his forearms enough to look straight down at Naruto, who felt his heart stop for a moment as dark eyes stared right through him and into his soul. July. They were like the sky in July, when nights are the darkest and stars – the brightest. "Fate, Hn?"

For the sake of his irregularly beating heart and the now unnatural colour of his cheeks he needed to get the hell out of there. "What's with you and this sound? It's not even a word!" Eyes shut tightly, he struggled some more but instantly froze and then shivered, feeling slightly damp hands trailing up an invisible line to his face, where they cupped his cheeks, thumbs brushing back and forth at the corners of his still closed eyes.

"Don't do that," Sasuke's deep voice was almost at a whisper "don't take them away"

Naruto opened his eyes to look at the man above him questioningly and felt the air around them become even more humid. "What?"

"The oceans. Don't hide them." The voice was soft with the usual arrogance absent from both the tone and expression.

"What do you mean?" Yeah, what did he mean? He talked about the ocean back in the elevator too.

"How can they be so blue, so deep?" Sasuke continued, not really responding to Naruto but simply voicing out his thoughts, thumbs still brushing over at the corners of blue eyes "I just want to dive in"

"you aren't really—" doing what I think you are doing. The astronomer's suddenly dry throat refused to let the last part of the sentence out.

"oh yes, I am—" the man breathed out the answer and leaned closer, the rest of the world dulled out, leaving the two of them in their own universe.

It felt right...


AN: Please review! Kiba here needs some comforting, Naruto – assurances that he can run away from fate, Neji... not sure what, but he definitely needs something... I think Gaara and Sasuke are the only ones who got everything covered, maybe. lol, feel free to leave something for them too!