Lee stared at Ren for a few seconds, his thick eyebrows knit together as he probably contemplated whether to bolt out of the door and surrender the responsibility of catering to the drunk girl to another individual or to honor Naruto's request and babysit Ren until she sobered up. He chivalrously decided on the latter, swallowing nervously before inching his way across the carpeted bedroom to stiffly hand her the bottled water.
"Here. This will help." He was normally so talkative and bright, but not tonight; his words were taciturn and calculated, and his gaze was everywhere but on her. Oh, I've really hurt his feelings! She thought miserably. The alcohol coursing through her system heightened her emotions, especially her guilt, and so without much care or thought to how she would look she began blubbering pathetically.
"Lee! I'm so sorry! Please don't be sad! I didn't mean what I said in the hallway! You're not troublesome!" she wailed and cast the water bottle onto the bed as she sat up on her knees and grabbed onto his shirt. Lee squawked in fright, back-pedaling at the girl's sudden movements, and Ren's lack of body awareness certainly did not help matters. The sliding of his feet across the carpet fibers made him slip backwards, and Ren did not relinquish her grip on the fabric of his shirt as she leaned far forward over the edge of the bed; as she flopped against him, her face still smeared with dribbling tears and completely unaware of what was happening, he became disbalanced. With another alarmed cry he grabbed her by the shoulders as they both went down, with him landed hard on his back on the floor and Ren landing a drunk, crying mess on top of him. She had not the sense to readjust herself from straddling his waist as she curled her fingers into his shirt, her tears dropping down onto his flushed face while the image of his retreating back and slumped shoulders danced in her already blurry vision. "I'm so sorry!" she repeated again in a whisper as she hung her head, and her bouncy red curls fell into her face to conceal her tear-filled eyes. It was exceptionally dramatic, but, well, she was pretty much plastered so there was no stopping her at this point. She felt Lee's hands twitch on her shoulders. One of them moved to then gently brush the ringlets out of her face so that she could look down at him once more.
"I am the one who should be sorry, Ren," he sighed, and when he flashed her a kind smile, she deflated like a balloon in relief. "Regardless of the situation, it is never acceptable to make a girl cry! I should have been honest about it instead of avoiding you. Please forgive me." At his explanation, she vigorously shook her head in refusal, which was a mistake because it made her head swim like her brain was sloshing around in a punch bowl. She reeled for a second, her swirling vision preventing her from speaking, before her tongue actually began to do its job again.
"No… I shouldn't have said those awful things. You can't help it if people want to gossip, and I shouldn't make it out to be like it's your fault," she insisted while lifting a hand to hold her head, which felt like it was swaying from side-to-side though it really wasn't. That's what she thought she said, but who honestly knew what the hell was coming out of her mouth at this point? Somehow, through her slurred speech and unsteady thoughts, Lee got the message, though. He grinned brightly up at her with a small chuckle.
"Perhaps it is best that we simply agree to apologize to and forgive each other," he suggested in amusement. Ren really didn't care as long as he wasn't upset anymore, so she smiled and nodded in agreement before straightening up. I'm so glad that we worked it out! she thought happily, actually humming a tune under her breath, until Lee coughed quietly. She looked down at him quizzically to see that his face was flushed a beautiful shade of pink. Pretty… Like flowers… "Ren, now that we have addressed the matter, could I kindly ask that you not sit on me anymore? It is rather, er, compromising." She stared at him for a second while her alcohol-dulled neurons attempted to fire and make the connection, and after much too long the spark finally ignited in her brain.
"Oh!" she gasped in horror and slapped her hands to her face while throwing her body sideways, which made Lee panic, grab ahold of her, and land them in another awkward position. As her body rolled across the floor, her not-so-much ringlets anymore falling into her face and making her spit the strands from her lips, Lee's hands were gripping her waist while he hovered over her, one knee between her legs and the other planted next to her hips. His face turned from that pretty, flowery pink color to one of fresh roses, and random noises sputtered from his mouth as he became the one unable to utilize his brain cells. Ren, too drunk to act appropriately, just lay delicately beneath him.
They both glanced at the door as it opened and Naruto came strolling back in.
"Yo, Lee, is Ren doing any be- holy shit." His hand remained curled around the door handle as he gaped open-mouthed at Lee pinning the girl to the floor, and Ren swore she could see every emotion pass through his face at once. Finally, he arrived at what he wanted to say. "Lee! How could you do that to a drunk girl?" he accused hotly and pointed a finger at him. "You know better!"
"Ah! Naruto! It is not what it looks like!"
"It looks pretty damn bad!" As Naruto glared at him accusingly, Lee hopped up and scrambled over the bed to hide behind it lest he face Naruto's wrath, his wide eyes and caterpillar-like eyebrows hovering over the comforter. Ren rolled onto her belly, head flopping for a second before she smiled cutely up at Naruto.
"Oh, Naruto, don't worry about it! I just fell off the bed, that's all!" Resolving things with Lee had put her into a fantastic mood. She kicked her feet back and forth, her toes bumping against the mattress, as he raised an eyebrow at her. "You know Lee would never do something so horrible." He frowned slightly and scratched the side of his head with a quiet hrrm, and then his face split into a big grin and he laughed.
"Yeah, 'course not! That's why I sent him in here to watch you while you sober up!" he cackled before looking down at her in amusement. "Which, by the way, you are still very drunk," he added with a snort. Ren, in her inebriated state, found it similarly amusing and giggled girlishly as she grabbed onto the comforter to pull herself into a sitting position.
"Ino is gonna be soooooo proud of me~!" she laughed. Lee, having deduced that Naruto was not going to beat him to a pulp, jumped back onto the bed and sat crossed-legged there while staring at Naruto with a mildly concerned expression.
"Speaking of, I cannot believe that Ino just left Ren to fend for herself knowing that she has never been drunk before. It is a little irresponsible, if you ask me." Ren missed the obvious dart at her best friend, too busy trying to clamber up onto the bed but failing miserably as if she were some shambling kitten. Naruto sighed deeply and walked over to grab her underneath her armpits and lift her up onto the bed, making her swoon again and compliment his powerful physique. She collapsed on her bed beside Lee, again captivated by the ceiling fan. Lee watched her with a frown. "… She is… An interesting drunk, no?"
"Like a puppy. I'm kinda enjoying it, really," he snorted as he tugged at his tee shirt and fanned himself, the sweat from the hot party bellow and probably his body attempting to purge all the beer from his system making it stick. I'm a puppy! Ren thought with glee, glad to be compared to such a cute creature. She sat up, her legs sticking out on either side of her and leaning forward on her arms, and tossed her head as her increasingly messy curl flopped into her face again. "Still less of a handful than when you're drunk, Lee." At the mention of the seemingly straight-laced Lee consuming alcoholic beverages, Ren's eyes sparkled.
"Oh? What is he like drunk?"
"An absolute fucking maniac," Naruto answered without missing a beat, and Lee smiled sheepishly while scratching his head. "One sip of beer. One goddamn sip, and he was tearing my house apart like a lunatic wanting to fight everybody. It was hell getting him sober! Ten of us had to wrestle him in the kitchen and dunk his head in a sink full of cold water! And then he just passed out on the fucking floor for the rest of the night!" As Naruto recounted the tale, emphatically waving his hands about, Ren could tell by the playful glint in his eyes and the small smile playing over his lips that it was a memory he couldn't help but look back fondly upon. Lee laughed nervously as he flushed that lovely pink color again, side-eyeing Ren to see her reaction. Her face scrunched up as she smiled big.
"That sounds absolutely wonderful."
"No, Ren, it wasn't. It was a goddamn tragedy. Do you know how long- and how much duct tape and hot glue- it took to clean up after him?" He snorted in derision, but his expression was teasing as he eyed Lee. He then snickered and jumped forward to put him in a headlock. Lee squirmed and protested as Naruto ruffled his bowl cut playfully. "It's okay, though! I still love the man!" he howled with laughter so great his entire body shook. When Lee finally managed to shove him off, his black, shiny hair was sticking up in places and his clothes rumpled, but his radiant smile matched that of Naruto's.
"I'm glad Lee has you, Naruto."
"Don't make us sound like a thing. Please."
"No," she laughed and held a hand to her mouth as she giggled, rocking back and forth slightly on the bed at her amusement. "It's just nice to know he has such a good friend to back him up." Ren wasn't quite sure why it was so important to her in that moment. Perhaps knowing that Lee was happy and surrounded by good people made her happy, for whatever reason. She tilted her head to the side as she smiled sweetly at him. His face remained that summery pink hue as he wiggled his shoulders a bit and tried to decide what expression his face wanted to make.
"Speaking of, I'm glad you two are getting along better. Lee was moping around my house, 'Oh, Naruto, Ren does not like me, what do I dooooooo?'" Naruto sighed, dropping his voice an octave and making a pouty face to mimic the track star. Lee's face blazed red as he leaped forward to clap a hand over his mouth.
"Na-ru-toooooo! You promised that you would not tell anyone about that!" he hissed and then looked back at her in mortification. He probably expected her to start crying again at the thought that she had made him mope about, but she had morphed into a perpetual state of contentment and giggles.
"Aw, that's so cute!" Lee's eyes slid to Naruto in befuddlement.
"She thinks I am cute?" he whispered to the blonde, who raised a hand to pry his fingers away from his mouth so he could respond.
"No, man, she's just a happy drunk, don't take anything she says seriously." Lee melted back onto the bed in a puddle, seemingly disappointed. Naruto smirked down at Ren. "Anyway, I'm glad to see that you're friends again."
"Friends?" she echoed and scrunched up her eyebrows. Friends. She didn't dislike the thought of them being friends. Sure, he was a bit odd and somehow they ended up in compromising situations, but somehow she found his boisterous personality refreshing. Maybe that was the alcohol talking, but she really didn't care. She practically put off a radiant aura and she beamed happily. "That's right! We're friends!"
"Naruto. Call an ambulance. I think I am dying," Lee groaned from beside her, his face in the pillows as his soul proceeded to ascend to Heaven from achieving nirvana. After a second, he shot up and inhaled sharply before throwing his hands in the air and crowing loudly. "Woohoo! Ren and I are friends! I am so delighted!" Ren's head bobbed in a nod of agreement as she wriggled her shoulders, similar to the way Ino did when she was embarrassed or wanted to seem cute or endearing. In that moment it just felt like something she should do.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, Lee, but we're gonna need an ambulance for Sakura." Once again, their attention was captured by someone waltzing in through the bedroom door; this time it was an extremely irritated Shikamaru with an entirely drunk Sakura clinging too him and crying miserably.
"What the hell happened to her? She was supposed to be Ino and Ren's D.D.!"
"Yeah, well, Sasuke shot her down and she decided to cope with a bottle of wine." The pink-haired girl chimed in with a miserable groan of the beautiful basketball player's name, and dragged her feet along as Shikamaru hauled her over to the bed. Ren scooched closer to Lee so he could drape Sakura across the end of the bed, and the girl just miserably grabbed a pillow and buried her face into it with a sniffle.
"Annoying… He called me annoying," she whimpered into the pillow.
"There, there, Sakura. You aren't annoying," Ren chirped, unable to properly comfort her friend in her drunk state but still trying very much to do so, and smiled as she stroked the girl's bubble-gum hair. Sakura just continued to pout into the pillow, mumbling about her failed attempt at courting Sasuke. "Where's Ino?" Before any of the boys could answer, the girl barged in through the open doorway as if she had been summoned, her cheeks hazy with alcohol and her eyes unfocused. She was certainly the most sound of mind of the three of them, though, having barely a sway in her walk as she crossed the room to put her hands on her hips and lean over Sakura.
"My, goodness. So much for that Calculus test, huh?" she tutted. Her response was a wheedling whine, which made her roll her eyes. As Sakura turned on her side and curled against Ren, hugging the pillow like it was her lifeline, the cheerful redhead beamed up at her.
"Ino! There you are! I'm drunk."
"Yes, yes you are, sweetie," she sighed and wrapped her arms around Ren's head to hug her, rubbing her cheek into her fallen red curls. Her blue eyes flickered to Naruto and Shikamaru, who were standing there watching the exchange with smirks. "Thanks for looking out for the two of them, guys. Who knows what sort of trouble they would've gotten up to."
"Yeah, next time, watch 'em yourself," Shikamaru grunted under his breath, and after Naruto elbowed him sharply in his ribs, he added with a wheeze while using the nightstand as support to keep from falling over, "Y-yeah, no problem…"
"There is a problem," Naruto cut in. "You three are in no shape to drive home."
"Oh! I have an idea! I have an idea!" Ren cried and raised her hand, her green eyes sparkling from the shadows of Ino's embrace. "Let's have a sleepover!" Ino pulled back to look down at her, blinking in shock, before turning quizzically to Naruto.
"She's a happy drunk."
"Yeah, we've noticed."
"Pleeeeeeeeeease?" Ren pleaded, pulling down on Ino's arms so they fell about her shoulders and she could shake her head free to smile breathlessly up at the owner of the house. Naruto blushed and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, cocking his head to the side as he pondered the notion.
"I mean… I guess… My parents aren't gonna be home until Monday, and I can't just turn you guys loose like this…"
"I'm going home," Shikamaru snorted and made to exit the room, but Naruto snatched him by the back of his tee-shirt and yanked him back.
"Uh-uh. You ain't goin' nowhere." The lazy boy sagged in Naruto's grasp with an exasperated whine, but obediently stayed put when Naruto released him. Ren cheered in delight and clapped her hands together with glee.
"Oh, boy! This is gonna be fun, right, Lee?" she asked and turned to him, making him blush and sputter affirmatives. As Naruto went to see about chasing the rest of the partygoers out of his house so they could settle in for the night, Ren hummed one of her cheers loudly as she swung her legs.
Turns out this party is not so bad!
When she woke up the next morning with the feeling that her head was splitting open and crammed between Naruto, Ino, and Sakura on the small bed and uncomfortably hot, she did not have the same thoughts.