Guess whose back

That's right, my brief ass winter break has finally allowed me some time to update this thing.

I told you i'd be irregular as fuck with these updates, but here we are.

Nothing but this disaster belongs to me! Enjoy!

Dinner ended up being an extremely pleasing event. After everyone calmed down, and Sai had gotten off the floor with his blank expression in place once again, Gai served the meal to the occupants of the table. Lighthearted chatter between the six coworkers broke was comfortable and abundant throughout dinner, everyone laughing and smiling as if this was a regular occurrence. Lee swore that he had never in his life had anything more delicious than the curry the duo had prepared. This is what it must be like to share a meal with a family, Lee concluded as he looked around at all of the people that had come to mean so much to him. When Lee was still at the orphanage one of the first letters Tenten had sent him spent a long time just describing the first family meal she had shared with her new parents. The brunette couldn't emphasize enough how the food tasted so much better than anything she had ever had in her young life. Lee had never understood how leaving the orphanage made food taste better and even when he finally left everything had tasted much the same (to his disappointment). Even around his friends things had been mostly the same, if not more fighting between Naruto and anyone he tried to snatch food from. It got to the point that the dark skinned male believed that Tenten's parents must have been exceptional cooks (even though the few meals Tenten had invited him to would say otherwise). However, as he ate the mouth watering curry he couldn't help but to recall his friends words.Tenten was right, Lee thought as he smiled to himself, food really does taste better when you are with people who feel like true family.

After plates were emptied and stomaches were filled Lee volunteered to wash the dishes, as a thanks for having him over which, in his opinion, was the least he could do. While Gai tried to wave off the offer, insisting that as a guest he had already done far too much, Sai cut his refusal short as he extended his assistance. Gai countered with insisting that Lee had to stay the night at least, since it was, according to him, "much too late Lee, we can not have my precious Lotus leaving at such an hour!" Despite his protests, he had some how been set up with a pair of loose fitting pyjamas and a tooth brush, along with the promise of sharing Sai's room for the night. After sending a quick text to inform his friends of the change in plans, Sai and him set off to start the small chore.

Once the sinks were filled they fell into an easy routine of washing and drying. The rest of the houses' occupants had presumably returned to their rooms, leaving the two dark haired teens alone to do the simple chore. The sounds of water sloshing and the clinking of dishes was the only thing that broke the amicable silence. As much as he loved his friends, there was never a silent moment between them (unless it was just him and the mostly silent Gaara). While Lee enjoyed being surrounded by the constant conversation the small group produced, he could also appreciate moments such as the one Sai and him were currently sharing. As Lee washed the dirty plates, his mind freely wandered, the repetitive action lulling him into a pleasant void. He reflected on the past week of his life, smiling at the ups and the downs and how much things had already changed for the better. Lee handed Sai another plate and they shared a small smile. One day I will tell Sai just how much his assistance has meant to me, Lee vowed as he resumed his washing.

Drifting back into his mind he found himself fixating on one memory in particular. This wasn't a new fixation either, ever since it had occurred Lee had replayed the scene in his mind on multiple occasions. I am g-gay…..I am gay…I am. No matter how hard he tried to move past it, his thoughts kept bringing him back to the moment he had finally spoken aloud the words he had so adamantly retained as his most closely guarded secret. That moment both empowered Lee and terrified him. To finally admit it to someone was like finally finding all of the pieces to a complex puzzle. Lee had become whole and the picture his puzzle made was beautiful. He loved that feeling and what it meant. However, while Gai had taken it extremely well, Lee was still afraid of how others would react to his sexuality. He knew, from experience, that being different wasn't the best way to make or keep friends. It was this fear that continued to conflict the young man. On the one hand, he really wanted to tell his friends this information he had kept secret for so long and remove that barrier he had created. On the other hand…. he shuddered to think of it. What if they are disgusted? What if they can not even look at me anymore. I do not…know if I can handle that. The increasing negativity of his thoughts must have showed on his face because Sai's monotone timbre finally pierced the silence.

"You need to relax your eyebrows before they get permanently stuck together like that" he chided without a hint of emotion inflecting his voice.

"Y-yosh! I am sorry I was just….concentrating very hard on making this plate sparkling clean!" the other teen diverted as he scrubbed harder at the already clean dish. I do not want to bother Sai with my problems, he has already done more than enough for me.

"I thought we had already moved passed this," the fair skinned male sighed as he swiped the plate from Lee's slippery hands. "I know you do not think your problems are worth listening to but I do. So," ebony eyes met in a serious stare, "do tell."

"I…it is…" Lee trailed off, breaking eye contact with his well meaning friend. "It is hard to…talk about. I-I have not had much practice…in speaking about it."

Lee whipped his head back towards his friend as the realization of how his words sounded hit him.

"THAT IS NOT TO SAY THAT I DO NOT WISH TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU," he shouted as he waved his hands in front of his face. "I do very much want to tell you but I do not know were to begin and I am worried that you will view me differently after I tell you an—"

"I am bisexual leaning more towards men."

"—d so I….w-what!?" Lee's fumbling rant halted at his friend's sudden admission.

"Well, I would say i'm more or less neutral in general, but when I do find myself attracted to others it does tend to be men more often than not," Sai clarified, his expression never changing.

"I…how did you k-know?" Lee questioned when he finally caught on to what Sai was doing.

"You aren't the first person i've talked through coming out," the older male confided as he put the final dish away. Returning his full attention to Lee, Sai grabbed his friend's trembling hands, steadying them in his own. "I have found that it's easier when I tell them my sexuality first."

"I….I…" Lee took a deep breath and closed his eyes. I can do this, I can do this, I can. Obsidian orbs opened once more and focused on the serene, un-judging face of his coworker. "I too….like men."

"Thank you for sharing that with me Lee," He sincerely acknowledged what he knew was a monumental admission on his friends' part. One of Sai's rare genuine smiles graced his features as he pulled the shorter into a hug. "Doesn't that feel much better?"

" Yosh! I can not begin to tell you how thankful I am Sai!" Lee buried his face further into his friends chest as he held back tears of relief. The second time had been just as overwhelming as the first, Lee realized. He felt a rush of adrenaline surge through him, making his feel powerful and giddy. The more he said it out loud, the more he truly felt like he was finally acknowledging all of himself. It was a wonderful feeling.

The two friends parted from their embrace, the smaller beaming at the taller.

"Now what else has been bothering you," Sai continued, signalling that this discussion was not over.

Despite the blunt delivery, Lee was pleasantly surprised at his friends concern. Warmth filled his chest at the realization. Sai really does care about me. The thought had his smile softening and his unease dissipating. Lee's resolve solidified, he would talk freely to his friend about his worries.

"Sai, what is the best way to tell someone your sexuality?"

"You mean coming out of the closet," Sai paused for a moment and contemplated the question. "There really isn't one best way. You just have to do what feels right to you."

"While I appreciate the advice…I do not know what… er, as you said, 'feels right to me'," Lee admitted shyly as he fiddled with the end of his braid.

"You just have to practice," Sai nodded to himself as an idea formed. "Come on let's go."

Reaching out to the other male, the pale teen grabbed a tanned hand and started pulling the other to the stairs at the back of the room. When they reached the second floor, the pair stopped outside of the second door in the long hallway. Sai gently knocked twice and crossed his arms as he waited for the occupant to emerge.

"When you say practice what exactly do you mean?" Lee asked nervously as footsteps could be heard from inside the room.

Before Sai could answer, Shikamaru's spikey haired head emerged from the slightly opened door.

"I was trying to sleep, how troublesome," he drawled as his eyes lazily focused on Lee, one eyebrow raised expectantly.

"Lee has something to tell you," Sai informed helpfully as the youngest male remained silent.

"…I!" Lee took a stuttering breath in as Sai nudged him from behind. So this is what he meant by practice! Lee panicked internally as he felt his face heat up.

Silence once again engulfed the hallway as the long haired youth tried to get the nerve to repeat the words he had spoken not even minutes prior.

"….This is taking too long, i'm going back to sleep," Shikamaru yawned and began to shut the door, no longer willing to wait for the other to speak.

"NO WAIT!" Lee shouted, startling himself and the chocolate haired teen as he rushed forward and grabbed the door's frame.

"I just…I j-just wanted to," Lee stuttered as dark eyes, which looked uncharacteristically interested, bore into his own. "I…I…I-I aM GAY!" he scrunched up his face as he practically yelled out his confession.

"Good to know, now i'm going back to sleep," Shikamaru deadpanned, completely ignoring the awkward atmosphere that had been building. He gently removed Lee's hand from the door, giving the soft appendage a brief squeeze, before shutting it behind him.

"See, easy," Sai stated as he patted Lee's back.

"He…He did not even react," Lee awed as he cradled his hand to his chest. "He just accepted it….well at least I believe that he was accepting of it."

"Coming from Shikamaru, that was practically a full-blown cuddle session. He doesn't concern himself with such things very often. Too much effort," the short haired male explained. "As long as you don't involve him, he's fine with anything. Now why don't you try one more?"

"Y-Yosh!" Lee exclaimed, clenching his fist in determination. "I will do my best!"

Feeling confident, the thin male walked over to the door just beside Shikamaru's and vigorously knocked. He really wanted to feel completely at ease with confessing his sexuality so that he could finally come out to his friends. Which, he was discerning, might go better than he previously anticipated. If my coworkers, whom I have known for less time than my dear friends, are all accepting of my sexuality than perhaps the gang will handle it just as well, Lee desperately hoped. Much faster than the previous encounter, the door opened almost immediately following his knock. The tall, graceful figure of Itachi entered the hallway completely, closing his door behind him. Lee felt his confidence drop slightly. While they had officially started their acquaintance over, they were not very familiar with each other and Lee still had some lingering hesitations.

"What can I help you two with?" Itachi prompted, his keen eyes moving between the duo.

While he looked alert, Lee was happy to note that he no longer looked on edge like during their previous encounters. His posture was relaxed as he leaned cooly against the wall and crossed his arms. His dark hair was once again pulled into a loose ponytail, but instead of the club attire had had been wearing during supper, he was now in a snug black wife-beater and a pair of soft grey sweatpants. Overall, he seemed much more approachable and open which was enough to kick Lee into action. He could do this.

"I wanted," Lee began before he lost his courage, "to tell you that I am interested in men." Lee did a small fist pump to himself, proud of his ability to say it so smoothly this time around. I am steadily improving! Sai's method is really working, he internally cheered.

Itachi didn't respond for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he assessed the teen in front of him. Lee started to feel uncomfortable as all Itachi continued to do was stare at him with no response forthcoming. Gradually something in the other's expression shifted, his sharp gaze turning to something Lee couldn't quite place. If he had to guess, he would say it looked soft around the edges but still hard and intense in a way that Lee was not used to.

"Are you telling me this because you're interested," Itachi's deep baritone practically purred as he pushed away from the wall.

Lee gaped at the unexpected turn of events, not sure what had just occurred to bring out this side of Itachi. A not so helpful part of his brain reminded him of the full body shiver that had been prompted by that dark voice, which he totally did not enjoy. Not at all (though his flaming face may say otherwise). Lee was snapped back to reality when a hand loosely grabbed his long braid. At some point during his mild panic, Itachi had closed the distance between them and was now holding the end of his braid up to his lips.

"I generally don't go for anyone younger than me," Itachi began, voice husky and warm as the braided hair slipped out of his hands in what must have been a practiced manner because of how smooth and suave it looked, "but…why should I waste something that has been so beautifully offered to me?" His eyes seductively swept over Lee's frozen form as he tenderly ran a hand down the younger's back to rest just above the curve of his ass. The older male licked his full lips when he finally re-established eye contact, adding in a wink for good measure. "Don't you agree?

Lee was certain he had actually died at some point before arriving at the Paradise apartment complex because there was no way this was his life. He wanted desperately to break eye contact with Itachi but at the same time he couldn't break away from the oddly sweet embrace he found himself in. He had always been prone to physical affection from the people he cared about, and this was no exception. A hiss of pain had Lee jolting out of his stupor as he turned to see Sai pinching the hand that was no longer resting on the dark skinned male's lower back.

"Itachi, we both know you are not foolish enough to actually believe that was Lee's intention, don't we?" Sai asked in a sickeningly sweet voice, his face pulled in a frighteningly threatening smile. "Now shall we take this a bit more seriously, hmm?"

Itachi chuckled as his hand was released from Sai's vice like grip. "Yes, you are right, we should be taking this seriously." Itachi focused on Lee once more, the predatory glint in his eyes replaced with fondness. "I'm glad that even after our less than ideal start that you would trust me enough to share this information. Thank you Lee and i'm sorry for playing around at a time like this."

Lee relaxed at the sincerity behind Itachi's words. He couldn't help but chuckle along at the small joke his new friend had played.

"Do not worry! I did not believe that you would seriously consider being with someone such as myself," he easily waved off, knowing that someone like Itachi could never like someone as unconfident as Lee. "But I am most grateful to you for listening to my confession!"

"I'm always happy to help," Itachi smiled warmly at the shorter teen. "If that's all, i'm going to go back to my room." The tall male nodded at the other men and headed into his room. The door was almost closed before Itachi's head popped back out. "Oh, and Lee?"

Lee, whom had been heading to Sai's room, turned at the sudden question.

"Yes Itachi?" he asked as he titled his head in slight confusion.

"I forgot to mention that i'm also interested in men," Itachi informed, a shared smile passing between them. The elder's smile stretched into an enigmatic smirk as he once again disappeared behind his door.

Puzzled, Lee shook it off and continued to Sai's room. Just before he closed the door he hear the distinct sound of Itachi's voice float down the hall.

"Oh, and let's not forget that I would most definitely be interested in someone just like you."

Lee was sure he had never blushed so hard in his life.

Comments are always appreciated and I still can't believe just how many of you have left comments or liked this little story.

I can't promise anymore updates soon, but just know that I haven't given up on this fic! Feedback is always welcome, I love to hear your opinions!