I don't own Naruto.
Roommates
Business Parties
As soon Naruto came home, he ran to the bathroom and grabbed his toothbrush. He started brushing his teeth furiously, walking out of the bathroom and to the kitchen, the brush still going back and forth over his already white teeth.
"What are you doing?" Shikamaru asked, the awkwardness between them starting to wear off. Though, the brunette had been unconsciously avoiding to talk to Naruto.
"Um bwashing ma tees." Some toothpaste flew through the air and landed on Shikamaru's cheek. "Sowy." (1)
"It's okay. Really. Just try to avoid doing it again. Did you eat something nasty?"
Naruto spit out the foam in the sink, turning on the water to wash it away. "You could say that, yeah." He put the toothbrush in his mouth again.
"You're gonna start bleeding if you continue that." Shikamaru calmly stated.
"I'm gonna brush as much as I want!" Naruto yelled, after having spitted the foam out again. He washed it away and cleaned his toothbrush, putting it on the counter as he grabbed a glass and filled it with water. "Where's Sasuke?"
"He went out with Kiba and Hinata."
"..."
"It's true. They're just getting some pizza."
"Okay." Naruto shrugged and walked back to the bathroom, putting the toothbrush away and looking in the mirror. Why would Orochimaru like to kiss him anyways? What was so special about him? Orochimaru was a designer; he was supposed to be disgusted by Naruto's horrible clothing.
Maybe it was like Sasuke said. That he gave off the wrong vibes. That he gave off invites without realizing it.
A sigh escaped his throat and he left the bathroom to join Shikamaru in doing nothing. He sat down by the counter on one of the barstools next to Shikamaru. "What's Gaara doing?"
"He's out with Rock Lee."
Naruto smirked. "Gaara and Lee, huh. What an odd pairing. One of them is totally stoic and cold and the other is like energy itself."
"Much like you and Sasuke, then." The brunette said. "I guess it's true that opposits attract."
"Blah. Whatever." Naruto muttered. He was still in a little cranky mood from having being molested. "I worked with Tayuya today."
"So I've heard."
"Total bitch ... I like her."
Shikamaru snorted. "She's a bitch, but you like her?"
"Yep. Though, I wonder where she came up with all those blonde jokes."
"Maybe blondejokes. com," Shikamaru shrugged. (2)
"There is a site called that?!"
UAUAUA
Sasuke's dark brown eyes never left Naruto's slim form. The blonde was sitting on the floor in front of the armchair where Sasuke was seated, leaning against it, the Uchiha's legs on each side of his shoulders.
Tonbo was in the blonde's lap and Akamaru next to him. He had a big glass in his hands, filled with coke and his blue eyes were stuck on the TV.
Kiba and Hinata were snuggling in the sofa, Gaara sitting in an armchair and looking bored. Shikamaru was preparing for tomorrow's test in the sofa, like Gaara, Sasuke and Kiba also should have been doing.
Sasuke couldn't help but notice the absent look in Naruto's eyes, no matter how hard the blonde seemed to stare at the screen before him. He leaned down, placing his hands on Naruto's shoulders and massaging carefully. Naruto tensed, but relaxed quickly. Sasuke scowled, leaning down further and nuzzling his nose down in Naruto's hair.
"What's wrong?" He whispered.
Naruto didn't answer, as if he hadn't heard, but he put the glass away on the coffee table and climbed up in Sasuke's lap, Tonbo having to jump off in the progress. The kitten seemed to glare at Sasuke, as if it was the Uchiha's fault that Naruto stood up, and then laid down next to Akamaru.
Naruto closed his eyes and listened to Sasuke's heartbeat, and he wondered how the thumping sound could be so soothing. Or maybe it was Sasuke's hand that stroked his back gently that was soothing him. Or maybe the soft kiss Sasuke placed on his now yellowish bruise.
He gripped the Uchiha's shirt harder, as if trying to rip it apart. Sasuke pressed him closer to his chest. He looked over at Gaara, who was looking a little worried. Even Kiba and Hinata had stopped snuggling and feeding each other with pizza to look at the blonde.
The aura he gave off was sad, as if something had happened. It looked as if it was itching in Kiba to comfort the blonde, and Gaara looked annoyed - as if Naruto was supposed to be in his lap instead. Shikamaru was glancing over his book at Naruto, and didn't care to hide his worried face.
"You wanna go to bed, Naruto?" Sasuke asked sweetly. The blonde nodded, and Sasuke picked Naruto up, bridal style. Naruto's slim arms wrapped around his neck as he carried the blonde to their bedroom.
Naruto didn't even bother opening his eyes as he was put down on their soft bed, Sasuke laying down next to him.
"What's wrong, baby? Tell me." He tried to make Naruto look at him, but the blonde avoided his eyes. He took Naruto's chin between his index finger and thumb, trying to force the blue eyes to focus on him. "Sweetheart?"
"I love you, Sasuke." Naruto sniffled, still not meeting Sasuke's eyes.
"I love you too, Naruto. You're worrying me. I can't read your mind, you know." Sasuke sat up, pulling Naruto up with him. He let the blonde lean against his chest, supporting his pale chin in Naruto's blonde hair.
"Today ... I was at the Hebi building and worked, right? And when I was on my way home ..." Naruto groaned. "It's stupid, I'm sorry for worrying you."
"But I want to know, tell me, dobe."
"Bastard." Naruto took a pause before continuing. "When I was on my way down to the lobby I met Orochimaru, you know, the designer that owns the entire fashion world."
"What did he say? Did he insult you?" Sasuke placed his hands on Naruto's thighs.
"Don't do stuff like that when we're talking about him." Naruto said, slapping Sasuke's hands away. The Uchiha scowled, not liking being denied what he wanted.
"Why not?"
"Because ... because he kissed me."
"He kissed you?!" Sasuke yelled in Naruto's ear. Naruto winced at the loudness. "You're telling me that this Orochimaru freaking' kissed you?! Did he touch you too?!"
Naruto flinched, now regretting having brought it up at all. "Sasuke, calm down, pleas-"
"I'm not going to calm down! Oh no! I'm going to kill-mmph-"
Naruto clamped his hand over Sasuke's mouth. "Uchiha Sasuke, you're not going to do anything."
Sasuke took a deep breath as Naruto removed his hand. "Fine."
"An Uchiha 'fine' is the same thing as 'I'm going to do it anyways'." Naruto's ocean blue eyes never left Sasuke's dark brown.
"Okay, okay. I promise I won't do anything."
Naruto gave Sasuke a half-hearted slap on his shoulder, not bothering to hit harder. Sasuke muttered something about 'abusing boyfriends' before relaxing slightly and letting Naruto lean against his chest again.
"Why can't you tell me things like this anyways?"
Naruto frowned at the question. "I can tell you things."
"No, I have to force it out of you." Sasuke pointed out. Naruto sighed.
"You go into this 'possessive-mode' and I don't like it."
Sasuke snorted. "I do not."
He wrapped his arms around Naruto, hugging tightly and placing a kiss on the blonde hair.
"I won't do anything this time. But trust me, baby, that if he touch you again ..." He let the threat hang in the air, and Naruto knew Sasuke could and would go through with his threats.
UAUAUA
A week later, Naruto and Sasuke found themselves getting ready for the business party. Their week had went too fast, in Sasuke opinion.
Naruto had gone out with that 'childhood friend' of his, Momoichi Zabuza, almost every day. The SC-students, though, had no time for catching up with friends, go out on dates or even take a shower.
So Naruto had been the only one in the apartment not smelling sweat or dog, because the others were really studying for the test in business and service.
"I'm so glad you're finally taking a shower." Naruto said, his nose scrunched as Sasuke entered the shower and slid the shower-door shut. Naruto didn't remove his eyes from Sasuke, because he could see perfectly through the glass, though it was getting a bit steamy in the bathroom. "I hope Kiba is taking a shower today too, because, I mean, really, you know."
"Hn." Sasuke agreed. Naruto checked his mirror reflection one last time, deciding that yes, he looked alright. Hinata, Sasuke and Itachi had all been on him and forced him to wear other clothes than "the rags" as the oldest Uchiha brother had so nicely put it.
"Oi, bastard, try to be nice over there, okay?"
"I'll try."
"And that translates to a very simple 'never'."
"It doesn't. But if that blue ... thing, tries anything, I'll rip his heart out and feed it to the little devil in disguise."
"Who's 'the little devil in disguise'?"
"Tonbo. He wakes me up half an hour before the alarm clock even starts beeping!"
"Hm." Naruto smirked, glad that his not-so-little kitten actually used his talents. Tonbo had liked Sasuke from the first glare, because the Uchiha always fed the grey soon-to-be cat, even though said Uchiha never would admit it. Tonbo had grown since October, since it now was already December.
He was already thinking of Christmas presents, though it wasn't all too hard to buy presents to people you knew better than yourself. The hardest to get a present for was always - always - Sasuke.
Even though he knew the bastard would be pleased with anything he got, Naruto always put some extra effort in that.
Gaara's walls were covered in modern, abstract, beautiful and expressful artworks, mostly made by students that went to TAD that Naruto knew. The red-head always became happy, and Naruto knew it by the small twitching in the corner of his lips, and the hug he would get once they were alone. Kiba mostly got DVDs or things to Akamaru, because the dog lover never got tired of movies. Shikamaru always wished for the same thing - books. It wasn't too troublesome, it wasn't too annoying and he loved to learn and read - even though he didn't show it.
"Naruto!"
"Huh?" The blonde looked back to the shower, where he could see the lines of Sasuke's pale, well-toned body through the foggy glass door.
"Have you gone deaf or something? The shampoo, under the sink!"
"What?"
"This bottle is empty. Check if there is any under the sink." Sasuke repeated, seemingly annoyed.
Naruto checked, finding nothing. "I'll go to Gaara's bathroom and check if he has anything. Stay here."
Sasuke snorted as Naruto left the bathroom, leaving the bathroom door open just to mess with the Uchiha. He walked through the kitchen, where Gaara was sitting by the counter and marking text in the book before him with a yellow pen.
"Shampoo?"
Gaara narrowed his eyes while thinking. "In the shower. A green bottle."
Naruto smiled and jogged through the living room to Gaara's and Shikamaru's bathroom. He found it almost immediately, and then hurried back to his and Sasuke's. Kiba was the only one having a bathroom of his own, because he usually showered Akamaru in there too. And he was far too messy to be placed with Shikamaru. Kiba sharing bathroom with Gaara wasn't even an option.
"Moron." Sasuke said when the blonde arrived again, handing him the bottle. "Took you long enough."
"Shut up, or I'll get Akamaru's shampoo next time."
UAUAUA
"Damn." Sasuke sighed, sitting down outside the big house in the winter cold. The snow had been falling gently the entire day, but now it had stopped and the darkness was lit out by both the white snow and the lanterns handing from the elegant mansion.
It was a bit cold to his butt, having just brushed away a thin layer of snow from the bench. He was a bit startled when his 'date' came outside and sat down. Sasuke only reached to the Hoshigaki's chest, which said a lot about Kisame's length.
"Barbie seems to enjoy himself." Kisame said, trying to start up a conversation.
"He does." Sasuke agreed, though he didn't really like it. Well, sure, he wanted Naruto to have fun. But not with his brother! Itachi wasn't funny at all, how could he possibly amuse Sasuke's blonde?
"Someone sounds jealous." Kisame smirked knowingly.
"Hn." It wasn't even deemed worthy a reply. "I'm just here to be your date."
"... Thank you, chibi. It's hard to get a date when you look like I do."
Sasuke looked up, as if wondering how Kisame looked like. He wasn't a beauty, to be honest. He had sharp teeth, a blue hue on his skin and blue hair, his narrowed eyes dark and his body built, well, like a giant. Kisame looked a bit like a criminal, had he not been wearing 'proper' clothes and flashing the name Hoshigaki.
"It was either coming or die slowly." Sasuke shivered at the threat Naruto had made.
"So ... He denied you sex."
"Yep."
They sat in silence, watching the garden before them. It was hard to see anything else than the snow-covered threes and the gates that towered up between the brick-fence. Kisame was the one breaking the silence.
"Have you talked to Itachi?"
Sasuke frowned in confusion. "No? About what?"
Kisame shrugged. "It seems that he is keeping something away from me. And it's damn annoying. Have you any idea what it's about?"
Sasuke stared at the giant. Kisame looked a bit bothered by the stare. Then Sasuke said, slowly and quietly. "How the fuck can you tell if he's keeping something away from you? My brother is like a stone statue, Kisame-san; you can't possibly see something like that. Besides, what makes you think Itachi-nii has feelings?"
Kisame shrugged again. "It just looks like something is bothering him."
Neither said anything for a long while after that, until they heard the music change from classic to ... more classic. Well, at least they switched tempo.
"It's almost half past ten, c'mon. Let's call the driver." Kisame grinned, showing off sharp teeth. He flipped his cell phone open, pressing a button and then putting the phone to his ear. "We're ready to leave." He snapped it shut and put it away again. "Let's go get the party monster ... and Naruto-kun"
Sasuke snorted, but followed Kisame inside, smirking as he saw Itachi look a bit uncomfortable. Though, his smirk disappeared as soon as he understood why Itachi looked uncomfortable. Normally, Itachi would never let something as stupid as emotions to slip into his face, but both Sasuke and Kisame could see his distress pretty badly.
Sasuke growled, and Kisame scowled. A man, in his late fifties perhaps, was coming on to Naruto. It was so obvious that no body, except for Naruto, could see through it. The wrinkled man held the blonde's hand, telling something that Naruto seemed to be very fascinating.
Sasuke stalked through the dancing mass of people in all ages, and stood next to the man. "Hello."
Naruto and the man's head snapped towards him. He offered a polite smile, which made Naruto's eyes widen. He became a bit worried; because Sasuke didn't smile to people he didn't know.
"Who're you?" Sasuke demanded.
"Since you asked so nicely," the man smiled - or maybe he grimaced, Sasuke couldn't tell. "I'm Osage Manure."
"Osage-san, would you remove your hand from my boyfriend, please." It wasn't a polite question, in fact, it wasn't even a question. It was a demand that promised pain to anyone who disobeyed.
The man took his hand away from Naruto, looking a bit sour. "It was nice to meet you, Naruto-kun."
"A pleasure." Naruto smiled as the man walked away. He glanced at Sasuke.
"What?" Sasuke muttered.
"That was the principal of TAD."
To Be Continued
Next Chapter: The First Meeting
(1) Go get your toothbrush! Now, brush your teeth with loads of toothpaste and try saying it yourself. This is the result I got. What did you get?
For those who didn't get it, Naruto said "I'm brushing my teeth" and then "sorry", but I think you all got it. Right?
(2) There is a homepage called this.