SasuNaru
Locked Up With You
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
--
He woke to the sound of Kiba snoring, as usual, and couldn't help but smile. He could tell that this was the way that things were going to be from now on; waking up to Kiba, going to sleep to Gaara flicking pages of his book. The redhead wasn't in his bed, which was perfectly made. Snaking his hand under his pillow, he grasped the ribbon in his hand and took it out. It looked much whiter in the day light.
Shifting out of bed, he walked to his trunk and opened it, fishing around for a pair of shorts. He heard Kiba rustle and groan a little as he let the lid fall shut with a 'snap'.
"What time is it?" Kiba whined, rolling over and struggling to sit up, blinking at his blond friend.
"Time to get up, most probably," Naruto said with a grin. "Now, I'm up for some breakfast, what about you?"
The boy nodded grudgingly, clambering down the ladder and shifting through his own trunk to find some clothes.
"You noticed, we haven't moved our stuff into the cupboards yet…" Kiba muttered, looking at the two empty cupboards longingly. "They're empty now…"
"I just thought-" Naruto's words got stuck in his throat. "That…you guys were waiting for them to be filled or something."
Kiba looked at him curiously.
"I mean, when one of my cupboards went empty at home, I just waited for the person who used to use it to just come back and fill it up again."
The brunet sucked in a breath and shook his head. "Let's go, it's starting to get stuffy in here."
Everything was the same. There was Gaara and Neji where they always were, Sasuke in front of the TV, and noise coming from the lunch room. Kiba caught a hold of Haku, who was just coming from breakfast and dragged the male with them, a wolfish grin on his face. Haku simply giggled soundlessly, while Naruto looked at the nurses.
Sakura was talking to Ino, who laughed at something she said, while he caught a glimpse of Shikamaru in the office, typing away furiously at one of the computers. A redhead was next to him, filtering through some papers and pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
"Naruto, what do you want to eat?" Kiba asked, breaking Naruto's chain of thought.
"Eh…nothing much…cereal is good."
The boy nodded and walking into the line, Haku smile sheepishly and guided the blond to a table. The silence was awkward, seeing as they couldn't really communicate, and for once in his life Naruto was at a loss of what to say.
Then there was Sai.
The dark haired male strode over with the same small smile he usually wore, sitting on the chair next to Naruto, ignoring the fuming Haku completely.
"Naruto-kun," Sai greeted. "How are you?"
"I'm good thanks…you?" Naruto asked, fully aware of his angry friend.
Sai's smile widened somewhat. "I'm very well, thank you- oh, Haku, I didn't see you there," he noted, casting an uninterested look at the boy. "It's hard to hear you sometimes."
The long haired boy slammed his fists on the table in fury as Kiba came over, one hand holding a bowl of cereal and one with a plate of bacon, eggs and mash.
"What do you want, Sai?" Kiba spat, moving closer to Haku protectively.
"Oh, nothing," was the calm answer. "I was just saying hello to Naruto-kun here, that's all."
Kiba's eyes narrowed and he put his food on the table. "Well, you've said hello now. If that's all, I'll ask you to leave."
"I'm surprised, Kiba," Sai purred, folding his hands and resting his chin on them. "Not too long ago you'd happily have my throat."
"Sai," spoke a voice from behind them. They turned to see Shikamaru, hands in his pockets and his regular bored look on his face. "I guess Kiba's getting better. I'm very proud of him. I'd love it if you would help, and I'd be sure to make a note of it next time someone writes your report."
The boy stood, plastered smile not leaving his face as he nodded his head at Shikamaru and left the room, taking everything in his stride. Shikamaru sighed and looked blankly at Kiba, who sat down immediately, blush evident on his face.
"I meant it, you know," the dog boy hissed. "I would've asked his to leave. I would've done it my way."
"I know," Shikamaru said sucking in a breath. "And I meant what I said too. Please don't make my words go to waste."
As he walked off, the other two kept a close eye on Kiba, who looked slightly dazed.
Haku grinned and looked to Naruto, tossing his head to Kiba. The boy remained oblivious, and Naruto chuckled.
"What?" Kiba asked. "Am I missing something?"
Haku put his hand out to Naruto, who quickly caught on and took it. Haku held a hand against his chest and batted his lashes, while Naruto pretended to look serious and took Haku's hand in both of his, looking deep into the brown eyes.
"Fuck off," Kiba growled, stabbing the bacon strips. Haku and Naruto laughed a little, the blond grabbing his bowl and digging into the food.
"Thanks for getting me food, by the way."
"Don't expect me to do it again."
--
Naruto looked down at his hand, screwing his face up somewhat. He had to think of a way to give this to Neji, and from Gaara's reaction, it wasn't going to be too easy. The fact he knew nothing about the Hyuuga didn't help. Looking at the window, he noticed that the pale eyes were half lidded, and he only occasionally muttered things, mouth hanging open slightly. He looked so vulnerable and off-guard. And what would he say? 'Hey, I found this and thought it was yours'? For some reason, he felt marginally guilty for the lack of communication between Gaara and Neji. He didn't know what happened before- heck, he didn't even know if they talked before, but they must've been close, right?
If there was anytime that he should hand it over, it was now.
"Here, Neji!" Naruto exclaimed with a bright grin on his face as he handed over the ribbon.
"What…where did you get this?" Neji asked, looking more embarrassed than angry. He took the ribbon, eye considerably wider than they were.
"I, err…found it?"
"…Thanks," he muttered, regaining his 'I don't care' air and pocketing the fabric.
Naruto paused, sucking in a breath. It was wrong to lie! "Gaara gave it to me!"
"Oh…well," the Hyuuga said, a strangled emotion passing through his pale eyes. The redhead was off talking to the doctor, however Neji couldn't help letting his eyes slip to the book that was reserving the corner chair.
"Why are you angry at Gaara?" Naruto asked, knowing it was the stupidest question in the world; Neji had been thrown out his room…maybe not because of Gaara, but because the redhead grassed on him.
"Wouldn't you be?" Neji asked, eyes seeing right through Naruto's happy face. The blue eyes turned sharply, so not to reveal anything…scared almost.
"I don't know how things were before for you guys," Naruto said, choosing his words carefully. "But in all honesty, no, I wouldn't."
There was a silence that hung in the air as Neji scanned the boy's form. He looked like the kind of person who said what he meant, and nothing else.
"Well then," Neji said, amusement laced in his voice. "Aren't you the little saint?"
For some reason, this comment made Naruto's blood boil somewhat. Then something snapped inside his head. He had no idea what it was, as everything became blurry. He remembered hearing someone shout, some people pulling at his arms and trying to contain him, and someone punch him in the gut.
Bite him! Get them! What gave him the right?!
Then everything seemed to dull down and there was a throbbing in his head that seemed to echo in the room. He didn't even know if he was in the room still.
Then all fell silent. Shrouded in a thick ink.
--
"What happened to him?"
Neji scoffed as the brunet glared at his back, white eyes not tearing from the window.
"How am I meant to know?" he asked. "He just suddenly snapped at me."
"You punched him in the bloody gut, Neji," Kiba spat. "What-happened?"
Sighing, the Hyuuga stood, making the height and age difference clear. "I don't know, Kiba. Why not ask Shikamaru? Or Sakura, seeing as she's his damn nurse rather than coming to bug me?"
A redhead came over, a non-existent brow raised at the two. Neji turned his gaze away, while Kiba looked right into wan green eyes.
"He punched Naruto in the gut!" Kiba stated, not happy at all. "The gut, Gaara, the gut."
"Neji," the solid voice said. "Why did you-"
"He attacked me, he leapt at me and bit me neck. What do you think I was going to do?" Neji asked, finally turning to Gaara, staring directly into the eyes, which only stared back, a hard wall behind them. He'd tried to look past the wall so often…it made him go crazy- or at least, crazier.
"Kiba, go find Haku or Shikamaru," Gaara ordered, not looking at the boy in question.
"But-"
"Now, Kiba."
With that, the Inuzuka frowned and walked off, glancing nervously at Neji, who was seemingly oblivious.
A staring contest followed, no one looking like they were going to give up, or wanting to give up. Wan eyes stared directly into the white ones, and white eyes looked through wan. An opaque wall meeting a misty back drop.
The two blinked suddenly, eyes widening a bit as someone clapped right between them. Glaring, the two turned to a dark haired boy who looked marginally bored.
"Hey," he said. "Lunch, food, you know? Ino's been calling you from the door, and it's pissing me off."
Neji snorted. "I never knew you cared if we ate or not, Uchiha."
"Neji…" Gaara started, eyes softening somewhat. Sasuke looked at the redhead for a moment before sneering at Neji and walking off, passing the blonde nurse who was in the door, looking at Neji and Gaara nervously. She was probably afraid they'd attack each other or something.
"Naruto gave me the ribbon," Neji said, not looking back into the wan green eyes.
"Oh…" Gaara said, a loss for words. "Good."
There was a moment of silence before Neji walked to the door, nodding to Ino as he passed. She looked at the redhead who had his back turned to her, looking out the window.
"Gaara, lunch is ready," she called.
"I'm not hungry."
--
He really didn't expect to be able to stand the other's presence for more than ten minutes, never mind an hour. Sure, he didn't seem too bad, but he still seemed highly arrogant, emo-ish and generally depressing. Naruto didn't like depressing people…they were depressing.
"You do know you're talking out loud, don't you?"
Jumping, tanned cheeks darkened horridly. "So, you shouldn't be listening!"
Sasuke scoffed, not turning away from the TV. "I'm watching the news, and that tiny voice of yours is getting irritating."
Deciding not to point out that the news finished well over fifteen minutes ago, and now there was some random 'AFM' show on, the blond returned to pondering on his thoughts for the day. Minus Haku almost throwing his lunch at Sai, nothing interesting had really happened. Sitting here, next to one of his least favourite people in this place was pretty boring as well.
With a heavy sigh, Sasuke stood, stretching a bit.
"I thought you were 'watching the news'?" Naruto asked.
"The news finished a while ago, weren't you paying attention?" Sasuke teased, smirking at the irritated look on his face. "Besides, I've seen this episode. It's crap, and if you sigh again with boredom, I'll punch you or something."
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
Sasuke shrugged. "I have a jigsaw," he said. "I've been meaning to do it."
"But?"
"I haven't found time."
Naruto scoffed. "That's a likely excuse."
"My uncle's friend brought it round. Do you want to help?"
The blond cocked a brow. "Why do you want me to help? Why do you even care?"
"I can't be bothered to do a 2000 piece jigsaw on my own," Sasuke said with a shrug. "That's all."
Naruto grinned, nodding furiously. Sasuke couldn't help but smirk with amusement, turning round to retrieve it from his room.
--
Kiba would've had a heart attack if it wasn't for Haku beside him to calm him down. He remembered Naruto and Sasuke not liking each other, yet there they were on the floor, separating jigsaw pieces into piles. When he looked again, he could see they were arguing a little about something being in the wrong pile.
"What you doing?" Kiba asked, standing over them, Haku beside him.
"A jigsaw. Sasuke-teme's friend's uncle-"
"Uncle's friend."
"-gave it to him."
Kiba looked at the box lid and grinned. "Man, Sasuke! 'He is my master'? I never thought you would watch that show."
"Isn't it surprising?" Naruto teased.
Sasuke flustered somewhat. "Forget it; my uncle's cousin watches it, not me."
Kiba sat down, motioning for Haku to do the same. The four started to work on the jigsaw as soon as Haku and Kiba understood the piles.
After a while, Naruto caught Neji looking over from his perch on the windowsill and grinned.
"Oi, Neji!" he called, waving. "Do you want to join in? I'm sure we could use the extra hand!"
The Hyuuga looked directly at the owner of the jigsaw, who winced and looked away.
"I'm good," Neji said, turning back to the window.
"What's wrong, Hyuuga?" Sasuke started. "Scared of a jigsaw?"
By the time Gaara had exited from speaking to Shikamaru, there were five people crowding round a jigsaw, chatting animatedly. Shikamaru was right next to him, smirking a little.
"Sasuke…"
"And Neji," Shikamaru finished. The redhead nodded, a lump in his throat. The look on the pale eyed boy's face was a new one that he'd never seen before. Like he was…having fun. With Sasuke Uchiha.
"Gaara!" Naruto shouted, grinning madly and holding up a box lid that had a picture of a girl in a revealing maids outfit on the front. "Come join us!"
"I have a book to read," Gaara said briskly, holding up his new book from the library, via Shikamaru.
Haku stood, grabbing the redhead's arm and smiling brightly, dragging him over to the group. Gaara looked helplessly at his nurse, who simply shrugged before walking back into the offices.
"I have a book to-"
"You'll get through it in no time flat," Kiba reassured as Haku placed him opposite Neji, who was next to Sasuke. There was a small awkward silence between the two as the other four started to interact again. Neji let a rare smile filter across his face before snapping at Kiba for something, Sasuke siding with him.
Wan green eyes snapped out of a daze to look at Haku, who was giving him a sympathetic look.
"I don't get the piles," Gaara stated. The others sighed, bar Neji, who went onto explaining them.
--
Kitty: I'm proud of it. It's late (ish) but I'm proud. My work load's doubled in IB, so I won't be updating like I did my other stories for those who read them.
R+R
Ja ne
Kivea
Preview –
"Neji, I mean it. If you don't stop acting up-"
"Then ban the damn visit! Who said I wanted to see her?!"
"Because it's your-"
"Hey guys, what's up?"
"Nothing Naruto…"