03. It's Called Organized Chaos
Fingers grasping quickly at fabric she stirs on a bed that isn't hers. Smelling faintly of vanilla and sandalwood it's sweet and pleasant. It also smells like Neji, it's that scent she picked out for him two years ago. He refuses to admit that he loves it. Or that she's a genius. Even in her half comatose state she can recall the brand, it's name, the year it came out and even down to the season.
Unfortunately for her it's also giving her nausea.
Her stomach flips and she lifts her head up too fast. Lightheaded, the darkness seems alive and distorts around her like a breathing, moving creature. Blinking in Neji's darkened room she groans and it takes a second for her senses to come about her and realize that the curtains are a deep yellow with blocked sunlight.
Where's my shoe?, she thinks sitting up and wiggling her manicured pastel pink toes. Her temples pound like a drum and she swallows around her mouth's need for water. Something must've died in her mouth, it makes her cringe. Muscles stiff she manages to drag herself off the bed and make it to the door. Turning to his mirror she can only take in her disheveled appearance with confusion. Her hair is falling out of its ponytail and her shirt is missing?
"Shit" she hisses and stumbles around looking for it. She would've been worried had she not been wearing her jeans. Putting it on she braces herself but the small amount of filtered light from the hallway is enough to make her recoil as if hit.
Stepping into the light she blinks rapidly and hears the slight shuffles and groans of people, clearly there are others in the apartment. Past the short hallway she turns into the kitchen and finds herself face to face with Shikamaru drinking straight from the faucet.
"Morning" she finds herself mumbling. He glances at her and goes back to chugging water. He backs away from the sink to lean against the counter on his elbows. Its her turn. She at least bothers with a cup.
She drinks until the water dribbles out of the cup and her stomach stretches uncomfortably and she hates herself a little more. She's a out of breath when she puts the cup in sink.
"Where is everyone?" She asks bracing herself on her elbows next to him.
"Everywhere, I imagine" Shikamaru's voice is rough whether it's from the hangover or an early morning cigarette she doesn't know. They turn to the sound of an opening door and just manage to catch some random person slipping out. His black hair is out of his usual ponytail and it grazes his collarbones. She can't help but stifle a laugh. He turns questioning eyes to her, she shakes her head playing it off as a cough.
There's lipstick all over his face.
He'll figure it out later.
The shuffling sounds of someone waking up carry from the living room and a headache inducing groan splits the silence. The springs on the couch creak and someone rolls to their feet. The sound of bare feet hitting tile floats into the kitchen and Kiba is half asleep. Shirtless and disoriented he's cradling his head. He looks up to them, swallows, and scrunches his nose.
"Who the hell are all the people in my living room?"
"I'd hardly call that a living room, at most you have a couch in there" she can't help but remark.
"We can't all be fashiony decorator people like you, Ino, besides...we needed space for the pool table" he says fishing through the cabinets and popping some pain killers.
"How is having more than a couch being fashion forward?" she says snidely.
"I don't know, it just is!" He says with his usual logic.
"Isn't Hinata awake?" Shikamaru asks.
"Doubt it, we went pretty hard last night." The cherry red triangles on his cheeks crack and flake with his words. His dark brown hair sticks out everywhere, he looks nothing short of wild on his best days. Kiba turns to offer them some aspirin when he fixes Shikamaru with a look.
Reaching forward Kiba slowly swipes his thumb across Shikamarus cheek alarmingly gentle, watching his face turn slightly pink and twist with confusion,
"Wha-"
And then swipes bright red lipstick straight across his forehead.
"You got a lil somethin' somethin' there, you dog" he winks and elbows him in the side. Shikamaru huffs with an unimpressed face as if swapping saliva with someone was more of an inconvenience than anything.
A sudden scuffle of clothes and a moment later Sakura walks out of the doorway, shoes in hand and disheveled to say the least. She walks towards the door without even a backwards glance.
"Hey, you look-" Kiba says laughingly but is cut off by her flipping him off. She stops at the door and breathes before yanking the door open and swearing colorfully into the white light of the autumn's morning. The slam of the door draws muffled protests from the living room.
"Looks like someone ain't having it today" Kiba says offhandedly.
"Get rid of those people" Shika says nodding towards the living room.
"Fine, fine. I always have to do everything around here."
"Ugh, as if" Ino tells his retreating back.
"Alright, everybody, get the fuck out!" Kiba shouts and claps into the living room and is immediately greeted to a chorus of groans and murmurs. It doesn't take long before people rouse like zombies clamoring around for their keys or shoes or shirts. A few of them try to thank Kiba for such a great party but he merely smiles, pats them on the back, and says "yeah, get the fuck out" before showing them the door.
Sasuke and Neji walk in at the same time. Sasuke doesn't look hungover, besides wrinkled clothes and a few mystery stains. The corners of his mouth curve just a bit deeper downward than his usual neutrally unimpressed expression. The shadows under Neji's lavender eyes give way to his wild night, it gives his eyes a penetrating gaze and the rats nest he's got sporting on his head doesn't help. He frowns at everyone, forever displeased.
Ino moves to sit down at the windowsill as Neji and Sasuke move towards the sink. She would have sat at a chair had they owned any. Her heart beats just a bit faster around Sasuke.
"Morning Sasuke" she smiles forcing aside her irritated mood.
He blinks at her for a second before he grunts. Obviously not in the best mood.
"How's the hangover?" She can't help but be pushy.
"Wonderful", he murmurs sarcastically, "at least I got some money out of Suigetsu." He almost smirks.
"Yeah and that money is going to the new sound system ooor a pool table-either or...I'm not sure which is more expensive."
Naruto leans against the door rubbing the tired out of his eyes and looking happy, hangover and all. With a rumpled shirt, major bedhead, both shoes and a sock missing he's nothing short of grinning.
"Morin' everyone" he smiles tiredly and as jolly as ever reaches for the aspirin and water.
"Uzumaki your morning cheer is despicable" Neji murmurs without his usual bite. Naruto can't help but bump into Neji playfully and drape his arm around his shoulder.
"Someone blacked out on the wrong side of the bed", he says patting his shoulder. Neji gives him a deadpan look and he flicks his long brown hair over his shoulder,
"I didn't black out."
"Ah, yeah, is that drool on your cheek?" He says pointing to him and laughing when Neji flips him off.
"Where's Choji and Lee?" Shikamaru asks.
"Choji was making friends with the toilet last night" Neji says setting up the coffeemaker.
Naruto makes a face, going to lean against the counter with Sasuke.
"Let's just hope Lee isn't on the other side of town by now" he says jokingly.
"Maybe he'll headline the news" Sasuke muses. Ino chuckles.
"Where's Sakura?" Naruto pipes up and Ino almost wants to roll her eyes.
"She went back to the apartment. Be warned she seems pretty cranky" she says. A chime later and a mug of coffee soothes most of the crankiness in the room.
"You're going to be a great homemaker one day, Neji" Ino smiles playfully at him.
He rolls his eyes at her and disappears towards his room.
There's a shared moment of content sighs as they all take sips of coffee.
That's when the shout comes. It's sounds like a cross between a yelp and a scream and it jostles Ino and splashes coffee across the countertops. Kiba materializes at the archway with a panicked face.
"Someone took my shit last night-or at least I think they did."
"What shit?" Shikamaru asks.
"I was going to go check on Choji and let Akamaru out and I'm missing money and my gameboy and my Bluetooth speaker."
"You were drunk you probably misplaced those" Sasuke says with an underlying duh in his voice. This was Kiba after all.
"No I didn't. I left the game boy on my desk with my speaker and I had fifty in my wallet. It's gone."
"Ugh, Kiba have you seen your room? You can barely see the floor. Clean it and you'll find it" Ino says dismissively.
He huffs and crosses his arms.
"Fine. But I got a bad feeling."
The quick shuffling of feet scuffle down the carpeted hall and Neji turns around the corner, annoyed.
"Who went into my room? Who took my stuff. And who slept in my bed?"
Ino feels heat wash over her so she sips her coffee quickly.
"What do you mean?" Kiba says perking up.
"My beds a mess. My expensive vintage camera is missing and so is my taser and my wallet is empty."
"I fucking knew it! They took my shit too and my money."
"Someone took your stuff? Your room is a mess how would they even find anything?"
"Hyuuga do you always have to be a smartass? Messy room or not I know where I left my shit. It's called organized chaos."
"Go ask Choji" Neji says to Kiba who strides out of the room irked.
"We should probably check out the apartment" Sasuke turns to Naruto with pursed lips.
"You think so?" He asks.
"Who would sleep in my fucking bed though?" Neji muses to himself and Naruto nudges him. "Maybe you have a special admirer" he wiggles his eyebrows and winks at him. Ino puts her cup down.
"I should probably go check mine too", she mutters and darts out of the room.
A hundred forty three dollars. It's not bad but not what he was hoping for, but it makes sense when their targets blow all their money in liquor. Gaara flips through the stack of bills like playing cards with his feet propped up on the coffee table.
Sai sits besides him on his laptop in deep thought. When the fuse is lit Gaara can't communicate thoroughly to Sai until he gets it out of his system.
He's doing his research.
Flipping on their sound system Gaara plays some music, Sai never minds. His new mini speaker is in their room on their desk.
Sai is an artist, he paints and sculpts and photographs what he pleases. He's like a chameleon with his work, Gaara doesn't know a damn thing about art but he thinks it's secretly impressive. Sai has made everything his canvas including the walls of their apartment.
The wall behind the tv is painted to look like the ground level of a forest, misty and melancholic and very real. Gaara has found himself staring at the murals all over their apartment and losing time over them.
Jiraiya doesn't mind as long as they paint it all back once they move out.
Putting some tea on the kettle he rummages through their drawers when the doorbell rings. Sai's illuminated eyes leave the screen and he stands at the doorway, laptop in hands with a neutral expression.
They're not expecting anyone over today. They never expect anyone over.
Dressed in sweats and a hoodie he opens the door with Gaara's stoic face peering over his shoulder.
A police officer stands on the other side of the door, quiet and assessing. He has blonde hair and light blue eyes, officer Yamanaka, his badge reads.
"Good morning, yesterday night a couple of possessions and money was stolen from your neighbors, do you happen to know anything about it?" His voice is careful as he studies them.
Gaara can tell he either doesn't like them or is suspicious and to him they mean the same thing.
"No"
"That sucks" Sai tskes and the officer shifts his eyes over to him, his eyes narrow a bit.
Sure it's insensitive but it's not incriminating. Gaara almost smirks.
"How old are you two?"
"I don't see how that is relevent officer, but we are both twenty two."
"Just curious,...and you weren't at the party? Seems like something right up a twenty-two year olds alley."
"Our partying days are over" Sai smiles bland and fake.
"Ah, and where were you yesterday then, by chance?" He asks tipping his head a bit and smiling as what could be mistaken as friendly.
"We were visiting my parents, they live in Konoha" Sai says slipping his hand into Gaara's. Gaara threads their fingers together and stares expectantly at him.
Officer Yamanaka's face turns slightly pink with his realization. Footsteps shuffle along the wooden porch and another officer comes to stand beside officer Yamanaka. He has a goatee and black hair pulled back into a ponytail. Nara, his badge reads. A lightbulb clicks over his head. Shikamaru Nara.
Officer Nara and Yamanaka look a little bit too much like two of the inhabitants.
Gaara can't help it.
He doesn't pounce on officer Yamanaka for his faux pas, instead his brain comes up with something else before the officers turn to leave.
"-We came back late last night and we heard a lot of noise coming from next door," he catches their attention and the officers turn to face them fully.
"-lots of noise-" Sai is just as quick to pick it up.
"...There were a lot of people overflowing the parking lot and the street but they were enjoying themselves,"
"Lots of fun from the sound of it" Sai says before going back to attend to the whistling kettle. He makes sure to sound earnest.
"Look, we were tired and we didn't want problems so no, we were not at the party. We don't even know them" he adds for security.
"They were all incredibly intoxicated and all packed in the driveway. Don't you think it would've been dangerous if they had drove home, officers?" Sai says coming back and leaning against the doorway.
Gaara wants to laugh. Officer Yamanaka still looks suspicious but the irritation is clearly playing across both officers faces.
"Alright, well if something else suspicious happens around here just let us know or if you know anything else." Officer Yamanaka says quickly and with that they walk back to the neighbors apartments.
Gaara closes the door and turns to Sai who's smiling wide.
Gaara doesn't resist the smile spreading on his face, wicked, cocky and smug. Sai's heavily amused black eyes glimmer in the cloudy light as he hands Gaara cup of tea.
"Do you think they fell for it?" Sai asks, tipping his head.
The tea burns his tongue just a bit,
"Who cares? That'll teach them a lesson" Gaara says huskily, electric seafoam green eyes meeting his partner's dark ones, both livelier than they had been in awhile.