A/N: Here you go!! A fresh chapter, just for you, my lovely reviewers!! XD

Too Many Interruptions
Chapter 9: Gaara

Silence. That was all; just silence.

The woman kept blinking. Naruto and Sasuke tried—and failed—to not look guilty. Naruto noticed that the room behind the woman was empty unlike before when everyone had been in there. He wondered what had happened to make everyone leave. He made a split-second decision to ask Sasuke about it.

"Sasuke." Naruto tugged on his sleeve, his mind set on his current goal.

"Shut up, Naruto," Sasuke replied irritably, wondering how they could possibly convince this interrupter that what she saw was anything but what she saw. But these people seemed pretty good at convincing themselves so maybe he wouldn't have to do anything.

He realised suddenly that he knew who she was. This woman was Kurenai, chief of police. What was she doing at this party? He noticed that the room behind her was empty. He put two and two together and inferred that something must've happened.

Kurenai stepped out and shut the door. Sasuke and Naruto were shocked, to say the least. Then she opened it again and looked inside at them. Then she shut it again.

"What is she doing?" Naruto whispered loudly. Sasuke didn't bother answering, although he did find it exceedingly odd that the grand commander of the police force actually liked this peek-a-boo game.

Kurenai repeated the process of opening and shutting the door many more times before she finally confronted the two men.

"You aren't hallucinations," she stated, her voice quivering. She was probably still recovering from the surprise of walking in on that.

"Well, hello to you, too." Naruto seemed offended. Then it hit Sasuke; Naruto was acting so strange because he was drunk! That made sense. It also explained every single stranger-than-usual thing Naruto had done since they arrived.

Kurenai shut the door once more for good measure then opened it again.

"Hello!" Naruto greeted merrily, no longer seeming offended. In fact, he was delighted with this new game.

"You kids… What are you doing in here?" she asked seriously.

Sasuke wondered if she would believe him if he told her Naruto had raped him. It was the only explanation he could come up with so he decided to try it.

"He… r—raped me," Sasuke said, starting up some fake tears and stepping away from Naruto.

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed in surprise, the smile rapidly disappearing from his face. So he wasn't drunk enough to play along. Drat. "I didn't, ma'am; he was… I was… we…" Naruto was at a loss for words. Sasuke took pity on him.

"Okay, I lied. The truth is…" Sasuke paused. Now he really had to think. What could he possibly say—apart from the truth—that wouldn't get one of them in trouble?

"I think I get it," Kurenai said, still looking a bit flushed but acting professional.

Oh, good. So my theory was right. She will come up with something all by herself, Sasuke thought happily, without letting it show on his face.

"You each thought the other was someone else, right?" she said in an understanding manner, making Sasuke wonder if she'd been in a similar situation in the past. "Don't worry, Naruto, Sasuke, I won't tell anyone about this mistake." She nodded, a slightly wild look in her eyes. Maybe what she'd seen had permanently scarred her. She didn't seem to be handling it well.

"Now, you boys should go outside. We've got some people testing for drugs, so you'd best cooperate," she told them seriously. They obeyed and went outside where they found the mass of people that they'd wondered the whereabouts of. What had happened to get the police there?

After doing what they'd come to do, the police left the broken party and the people who were still there slowly dissipated, making their ways back to their respective homes. After asking a few people, Sasuke got the full story.

Ino had been sitting on the steps of the front porch when a police car rolled by. They stopped, upon noticing the young girl smoking, and found that she wasn't just smoking; she was smoking cocaine. They tested everyone else for the drug but only a few had taken it. Sasuke decided he would share this information with Naruto the next day.

THE NEXT DAY

Naruto invited Sasuke to the beach. They'd never gone to a beach together before, so this would be a totally new experience.

"The beach!" Naruto announced as soon as they arrived.

"Yes, Naruto. I can see it," Sasuke responded, patting Naruto on the head in a condescending way. Naruto smiled, understanding the love Sasuke put behind that single act.

Yes, in Naruto's universe, condescension was equal to love.

They ambled across the beach towards the water's edge, dumping their stuff higher up on the beach as they went.

"Let's swim," Naruto suggested, taking Sasuke's hand and pulling him to the water.

Maybe it was the heat; perhaps the fact that they were alone. Whatever started it, twenty minutes after arriving, Naruto and Sasuke ended up making out in the shelter of a weather-beaten old shack.

Sasuke was leaning against the only intact wall, kissing Naruto like his life depended on it. Naruto was clutching at every part of Sasuke he could reach, bringing their bodies closer together. Their tongues tangled together in the warmth and sounds of approval were released by both men.

Naruto suddenly reached down and snuck his hands into Sasuke's shorts. He then proceeded to cup his hand around Sasuke's hard shaft. Sasuke gasped in shock and arousal.

"Naruto… Don't," he muttered, moaning and contradicting himself by pulling Naruto closer and forcing the blonde's hand to grasp him tighter. He shut his eyes, letting himself fully enjoy the feeling of those hands fondling his—

"What the hell?!"

The sudden exclamation greatly surprised the busy ninjas. They broke apart, glancing around wildly for the source of the voice. It didn't take them long to notice the man standing alone further down the beach and staring right at them.

His red hair glowed in the sunlight and his eyes had dark rims around them. There was no mistaking that face. It was Gaara.

Sasuke's first reaction at seeing him was confusion. What on earth was Gaara doing on a beach?

He looked at Naruto and saw that he had reacted similarly. It was easy for Sasuke to follow Naruto's chain of thought just by looking at him; his expressions were as easy to read as that giant "Hollywood" sign on those hills in California.

Sasuke's second reaction was more fearful. Gaara saw what they were doing; would he be like Shikamaru and Tsunade and join their small circle of people who knew, or would he be like the others and come up with something stupid? Sasuke hoped for the latter, but doubted it. Gaara was smart. Really, really smart. It would take a lot to fool him.

"What on earth is Gaara doing here?" Naruto muttered his question. Sasuke's answer was a shrug.

"I mean, what does he need all the sand here for? He carries the beach on his back!" Sasuke agreed that his lover had a good point. But before Naruto could ponder the reason behind Gaara's presence more, the sand man walked up to them.

"Hello," he said quietly. Sasuke thought for a moment about how to answer that. Should he pretend nothing had happened, or should he advise Gaara to never tell anyone else about this particular beach adventure?

He decided a simple "hello" would suffice. He also stood up so that Gaara wouldn't be any more intimidating than usual. To have him glaring down at them like that was scary; much better to be glared at face-to-face.

Gaara, the interrupter, didn't look like he was planning on saying anything else. Sasuke was afraid to say something. So Naruto took it upon himself to lighten the mood.

"Awkward silence," he said.

"I'm just giving you a chance to deny it," Gaara explained, quiet and calm as usual. Sasuke decided that feigning innocence would be the best course of action.

"Deny what?" he asked innocently.

"That you two were kissing." Gaara's bluntness was inspiring. As such, Sasuke responded with similar confidence.

"No, we weren't."

"Yes, we were!" Naruto argued gleefully. Sasuke was irritated at Naruto's constant insistence that it wouldn't be a bad thing for their relationship to become public. He wondered how he could deny it without Naruto disagreeing.

Then a light bulb flicked on above Sasuke's imaginary head. Not that his head is imaginary; it was just that the light bulb was in his imagination, and so the head that it flicked on above was also imaginary. His real mouth on his real face on his real head then opened and he said something cleverly thought-out to deny Gaara's accusations and discredit Naruto—all in the same sentence.

"No, Naruto, we weren't. I know you want me like that but I just don't feel the same way." The malice in his voice was false, but believable. Naruto's face fell. Like when you get a chainsaw and cut into a tree and then said tree falls down.

"Oh. Sorry." Gaara apologised for his assumption, seeming quite convinced.

"That's fine," Sasuke said dismissively.

Then there was that awkward silence again.

"So, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked, pointing at the sand dunes nearby, and looking at the red-haired sand ninja meaningfully.

"Practice," Gaara answered shortly, proceeding to change the subject. "By the way, did you hear about Shikamaru?"

And just like that, Sasuke was suddenly reminded of the night before. He had been rather curious to find out what Shikamaru was doing with Kiba and Neji and Temari. Him and Naruto had—to the best of their drunken abilities—interrogated Neji themselves and gotten nothing out of him. They wondered what the truth was behind Shikamaru's distorted love life. It stood to reason that Gaara would know, being Temari's brother and all.

"What happened with all that?" Naruto asked excitedly, before Sasuke could get a word in. "Was it Temari, Neji, or Kiba?"

"Shikamaru proposed to Temari last night," Gaara said somewhat happily. Sasuke almost fell over in shock. Gaara, happy? Perish the thought! Then what Gaara said hit him.

"Oh my god!" Naruto reacted first.

"Seriously?" Sasuke smiled. Gaara nodded. Usually he wasn't the type to offer information—you had to ask or you got nothing—but he was eager to tell about the latest development in his sister's life. And thus, they got the full story of what had happened at the party while they were enjoying their time in a small closet.

Kankuro had confronted Shikamaru, angry because he'd thought Shikamaru was cheating on Temari. Shikamaru had tried to calm him down and explain before things got out of hand but then Neji and Kiba had arrived at Shikamaru's side. Accusations were flying left and right when Temari wandered over. There was no choice but to tell the reason for his being around Neji and Kiba so often. He was getting advice from his friends for the best possible way to ask for Temari's hand in marriage.

And with that confession, he got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. He had planned it slightly differently, but he didn't care; and neither did she. Almost immediately after he asked, she threw her arms around him and told him yes, she would marry him.

Mystery solved. Sasuke knew there would be a normal explanation for everything that had happened.

"But wait… How old are they?" Naruto asked. "I didn't think Shikamaru was old enough to marry."

It was Sasuke who answered, "Shikamaru turned eighteen last year. September twenty-second, if I remember correctly."

"Temari was eighteen in August," Gaara added.

"Oh, an older woman!" Naruto teased, although not seeming quite as upbeat as usual.

Gaara glared.

Naruto took the hint and shut up.

"Congratulate them for me, okay?" Sasuke told Gaara. He nodded his agreement. A sudden beeping startled them all. Sasuke pulled a phone—most likely his own—out of his pocket and answered it. After listening for a few moments, he said, "Alright." He then snapped his phone shut and turned back to Gaara and Naruto, not noticing that the latter was avoiding looking directly into his eyes.

"I have to go now," he said, departing the beach, completely oblivious to Naruto's cold gaze.

If anyone had been near Naruto as he walked home later that night, they would've heard him mutter in a hurt voice, "Sasuke, you liar."

A/N: Bet you weren't expecting that. So TMI is going well, I hope. Tell me any thoughts you have on this particular chapter, because I seem to be having more trouble than usual getting it all to flow smoothly… Maybe because I'm back at school now and there's so much other stuff to concentrate on… Baa, I'll do my best. Ganbare!!

By the way, I would've put this chapter up on Wednesday… but my beta-reader was on camp, so she couldn't beta-read it.

BR/N: I would apologise, but camp was really fun, so I'm not sorry for not being there to beta-read this sooner. ^^