Hello everyone! It's been…-checks calander- ten days…eep! Alright, so this is all my fault. –sighs- I don't really want to get into why, because I've already gotten scolded by Sasuchan for it. BUT now the chapter is up so it's all good! Thank you time. First, gotta thank narutoisuke for my first review! And don't get your hopes up yet! Now for the others. ShukakuKyuubi (aw don't cry! It'll be all happy in the end! Well…as happy as Sasuke can be), ISpeakSquirrelSqeak (well as long as you are satisfied! Haha and now you'll just have to wait for another time when they're sexual), blue-nuriel (Shikamaru? Pretending? Aw never, when has he ever done that….-cough cough- during the exams –cough cough-), norway22 (did you go on a trip or something? Or did you just randomly drive to different cities?), Lydia-chan (Orochimaru is pretty damn creepy. I'd be more scared if it was him chasing me around than some random person), miskie27 (haha! I never thought of Shikamaru and Neji together! They'd just be way too smart for all of us to handle!), jenniebennie (only Shikamaru would want a room change…all of us would be drooling happily), Wopsidaisy (haha I'm happy that you felt like me about the last scene. And practically everyone else that's read this story! Haha), Lilbakasaru (Everyone seems to think that Shikamaru was awake during the sex scene! Now would I be that mean…? –grins-), MasochistandSadist (haha I didn't mean to shock you like that Masochist! But I am happy that you both enjoyed the chapter, even if it was a little bit too mushy for you Sadist. –Grins- cant help it sometimes), Searafina (I don't like to write a lime or lemon unless there is a reason behind it. That's probably why my one-shots always turn into three or more chapters. So yeah, the plot has to be there! Haha), waterlogged27 (thanks for the sweet review! I try to add a little bit of everything into my lime/lemon scenes, so I'm happy that go through to you), Purpledemon22 (…you really enjoyed this chapter, didn't you?) , redfoxmoon (most people have wondered about Shikamaru…I promise it will be answered in this chapter!), Chiru-lili (haha well thanks for the adoration, but I'm pretty sure Sasuchan would be upset if you kept saying that! My beta is kind of uh…possessive, not that I mind it), Akuri-chan (everyone feels bad for Shika, and yet EVERYONE wants to trade spots with him! I bet if he knew how much money he could had made from his front row seat, he could have sold it and lived lazily for the rest of his life), mockup (haha a gay pride sign…that's pretty funny! And poor Shika, it's not like he wanted to hear it!), honey (don't worry about the caps, I suck at grammar so I didn't even notice! And I'm happy that you're enjoying this story so much. I wrote it for Italy because of personal reasons, but I'll explain at the end of the story), moontide (jeeze you all seem more obsessed with the guy than he was with Naruto and Sasuke! No he was a random dude, and it'll be explained at the end of the story), Gold Chocolate Cake (I can't get enough of SasuNaru period. Although I will be sneaking in some NaruSasu stories after I finish Therapy and this), -Nightly Halo- (yeah, I saw that I spelt that wrong afterward but I was just too lazy to go and upload the document again –scratches head- and I cant answer that question!), fabulosfan (aw thank you, but I'm not the best! I've read some really good ones, I'm just hoping I can catch up to them in skill!), wally's girlfriend (oh boy, you had me all kinds of blushing! Thanks for the really amazing review, I'm so happy that you really like my work. I actually had the most fun with Life, although Therapy is starting to become my favorite.), mistress0of0sin (it's like a tiny movie all crammed into one chapter! I try to see what the actual look of the story would be, that's why I guess it's kind of like a mini movie haha), Aiwin (Shikamaru is pretty good when it comes to sleeping….but then again, he's also pretty good at faking it as we've all seen before), kunf'you'z-ed (Im sure you could write like me if you wanted to! Haha I don't think it's that hard to get to my level), XxFirexDance (aw! Poor you. Sasuke is such a meanie sometimes…but that's why we all love him –sighs-), Black-Sky-Loves-Me (haha I'm happy that you enjoyed the alley scene. It was extremely hard for me to write them IC while still getting what I wanted, but I'm so relieved that it paid off!), Kimi333 (I just always thought that the reason Sasuke kept pushing was because he needed to succeed like his brother…so he had a fear of failing, something his brother never did. Hence the phobia in this), Pebbles of the Sand (of course he's attracted to him…but the real question should be, will Sasuke be able to accept these feelings for Naruto or not?), Sakurananachan (holy jesus you wrote a lot! Not that I'm complaining –grins- haha I am certainly not a god, but I'm happy that you liked the chapter! And Shikamaru may have to sneak in a few sneaky comments), Naruto-is-life (oh thank you so much! I love that people like my lemons, but knowing that my character relationships are just as strong makes me happy!), hollowsmile (sometimes I'll switch it up –though I'm sure you know that since you're such a nice person and have read my stories- but with a story like this, it works better to just have one POV), zerofangirl (haha of course I wouldn't kill them off! Although I am going to mix some Romeo and Juliet into there, just to add to the story…and to make fun of one of my other stories –grins-), kat10788 (uh…I have inspiration? From what you may ask…life I guess! Haha it's just the things that I think they'd say in the modern world…and I have to say, the finding of Iruka and Kakashi was one of my fav moments too), Mistress-Tsukiko (haha well if you were him, wouldn't you want to keep quiet too? I mean gosh, none of us really want to ruin the SasuNaru moments!), Itooshii Koneko (haha well imagine if their roommate was Lee? He'd be jumping around shouting out 'YOUTHFUL LOVE IS UPON US!' and it'd just completely ruin the mood), Robin Maxwell (well I don't mind late reviews, since I kind of…well…didn't write till now –scratches head- I'm bad like that, I know, but I couldn't help it! That silly thing called life got in the way), CoffeeNeurotic (yeah, nothing like a creepy stalker in a random Italian city to make you suddenly get much closer than before! Haha), Rogen-chan (aw that's not nice! Why on earth would I make Shikamaru be up during that…-snickers-), FireonIce (Oh wow, thanks so much! I'm glad that I made you happy with my two stories, and sorry for the wait. Silly life got in the way.), roxxihearts (aw thanks! I'm just hoping that I can keep the romance while keeping them in character), Disgruntled Minion (well I'm happy that you learned something from my story! For some reason, I keep informing people between psychology and Italy! Haha), Mallrats2007 (oh boy! I don't want to kill you, but I'm happy that you were that into the action), asdf (no problem, you're the reason I keep writing! If you people didn't like me, I'd never keep going.), Chiaki Megumi (don't worry about the late review, sometimes we just cant get around to what we want to do –like this chapter- but I'm happy that you're still reading my stuff!), Nana-Riiko (don't you apologize for shouting. I tend to laugh a lot during my review responses, it's all just natural. And I'm happy that you like the random tidbits!), Kib (haha thank you very much! I'll try not to disappoint you all with this chapter!), a rather slytherin griffindor (I guess I'll forgive you this time….-grins- just kidding! I'm just happy that you're still hanging with me!) , 7thtreasure (Well hello to you too! Haha you sure like the acronym 'omg' huh?), Eleanor Rigby 000 (haha I'm really happy that you are enjoying the story so far! And it's good that the smaller pairings are cute without being distracting), rina77 (and of course as soon as people tell me they cant wait, my life makes them! Haha but I'm glad that you like it so far), COFF33MAN1A (eh, sometimes hormones get in the way of rational thought….and you just end up doing it wherever is convenient for you! –says that as if she has personal experience when she doesn't-), dragontwin99 (hm, idk what do you think? You'll have to read the chapter to find out!), and hithurr (Yeah, he is pretty cute huh? Even in the manga, sometimes I just wanna pop in and hug him!)

Oh! And if you guys have read my other stories, I spoofed one. =P It's pretty obvious which one I did, but I thought 'well, since they're in Verona…'

Warning: Alright, there's some boyxboy action and lemons in this story so—GAH! –gets attacked by Sasuchan-

Disclaimer: Sasuchan: Hn. Niki is my Narukun, got it? No marriage proposals. No love confessions with expected returns. Niki ist meine und nur meine.

Love in Verona? Oh Please…

I expected to wake up warm and snuggled into the body that I had joined last night. In fact, I was kind of looking forward to it. So being greeted with nothing, not even the warmth of sheets, was definitely not the good morning I was expecting. I shivered and pushed up onto my butt, trying to locate just where my blankets had gone. Or Sasuke. Either one would make me heat up again. So when my eyes fell onto the teme finishing his packing, I blinked. Why the hell did he have to wake up to early anyways? Wait, was it early? I couldn't remember if today was one of our early days. Why was he dressed already? And why couldn't he leave the sheets?!

"Teme, where are the blankets?" He glanced up at me and gave me a look that questioned my sanity. I glanced around the bed again, seeing that everything had been stolen. I could faintly hear the shower from the closed bathroom door, and it reminded me of our other roommate. A flashback of glancing over at him last night was fresh in my head, but I tried to push it away to focus back on the present. The last thing I needed was to get aroused while Shikamaru was awake.

"I had them brought downstairs by the morning maid, since you decided to leave your mess on the sheets." I blushed and growled at the same time, torn between ripping his head off or burying my face back into his pillow.

"It wasn't just me ya know. You were a participating partner," I hissed out, deciding that glaring was still the best route to go. He stared at me silently, as if somehow his next sentence was somewhere on my face. After a few seconds of this he moved, finally zipping up his suitcase and slipping one of his arms through the backpack strap. It was just after he opened the door that I realized my voice box wasn't damaged. "Hey! You didn't even wake me up you bastard!"

"I'm not your mom," He replied, glancing back at me over his shoulder.

"No shit," I snapped back, silently wondering why we were both so angry. I mean hell, didn't we just dry hump on his bed last night? If you looked at the sheets, it'd be obvious. But watching the two of us fight would have made you think that nothing had changed. That we still hated each other as much as we had before. A part of me burned at the thought of going back, but I easily shoved it down. "But it's not a crime to stop being an asshole, teme."

"It's not a crime to use your brain either, but you haven't seemed to grasp that concept." I felt my fists clench at my side, and suddenly the thought of beating that solemn look off his face was extremely appealing. But he didn't give me time to react before he silently moved out of the room and shut the door behind him. Still feeling completely frustrated by his sudden coldness, I pulled a girl move and flung my (I'd remember later it was his and get even more pissed) pillow against the door. And when that didn't stop my upset feelings from calming down, I fell back on the bed and groaned.

What was his problem? Wasn't hethe one who kissed me first last night? And I'm pretty sure I wasn't the one who decided getting naked would be a good idea. But now it seemed like Sasuke almost forgot it even happened. Which I knew wasn't true, since he had the maids clean up the mess so Shikamaru wouldn't see it. So then what had gotten Sasuke's feathers in a bunch?

"Troublesome." I jumped at Shikamaru's voice. I glanced up to see him rubbing one of the towels from the hotel against his head. He sighed at my look and moved out of the bathroom doorway, not speaking until his ass found his bed. "Showers open. Bus leaves in twenty minutes."

"Why don't you people wake me up damnit!" I scrambled from the bed toward my clothes, fumbling to grab a pair of bowers while he answered the same way Sasuke had.

"I'm not responsible for you. If anyone should have woken you up, it should have been Sasuke." I froze at the sentence and looked over to him, watching his eyes glance up to the ceiling. "You did invade his bed and not mine."

"I didn't invade his bed!"

"You were in it though." I wanted to argue with him about how I was ordered into Sasuke's bed, but that would only make things worse. Plus, I didn't want to admit that I had listened to the bastard without any reason other than he wanted me to come over. That would be enough red flags for the genius. So instead, I finished gathering my clothes and raced into the bathroom. After nearly breaking my neck tripping over the side of the shower and almost dropping my clothes in a puddle, I managed to make it through the shower and shove everything I had packed into my suitcase. By the time I finished Shikamaru was gone, and I had to deal with another set of scolding looks from Iruka and the rest of the teaching staff. Really, if they were so concerned about me being on time, why didn't one of them check on me? I mean, the only time the pervert proctor checked in on us was when me and Sasuke almost kissed in the hotel room back in Rome. Stupid pervert, I swear he had a sexual tension radar in his body. Which part it was located in was something I never wanted to find out.

"I can't wait to get to Verona! It's going to be so pretty, especially since they took off all of the graffiti and stuff at the monuments of Romeo and Juliet." Sakura seemed to practically jump out of her seat with her excitement, which made me smile despite the anger I felt. Sasuke was staring down at his art pad, completely ignoring my presence when I sat next to him. Fine, two people could play that game!

"Hey, I remember talking about that city in English a while ago…isn't that where one of Shakespeare's boring plays was based?" Kiba's casual question had Sakura instantly huffing.

"It wasn't a dumb play! Romeo and Juliet is one of the most known pieces of theatre known in the entire world. It's the tragedy of love and how hatred can destroy even the most pure feelings."

"Not that Romeo and Juliet was even really Shakespeare's idea." The informative genius said next to Kiba, shrugging. "He took from two main stories. One was a Roman Myth about Pyramus and Thisbe who were also 'lovers' forbidden by their parents to see each other. But since their houses were connected, they were able to talk through a crack in the wall. The planned to meet at the mulberry tree, except some lioness caused both of them to kill themselves. Apparently the lioness scared Thisbe away, where she left her veil. Once Pyramus saw this, he assumed Thisbe was dead and killed himself. Of course Thisbe returned, and killed herself after she saw he was dead. What a drag."

"That doesn't sound romantic at all," Kiba said flatly, shaking his head when Shikamaru shrugged.

"The second one isn't any better. Matteo Bandello was the one who really made the idea of Romeo and Juliet for Shakespeare. He even had characters like the nurse and Benvolio. And then it got passed down and altered by some more people, eventually turning into Shakespeare's most well recognized play. Although Midsummer's was better."

"Isn't that the one with fairies and an ass?" Kiba sure had a way with words. Shikamaru looked at him slowly and sighed.

"Yes Kiba. It's all about fairies and an ass. I'm glad you got the concept." I laughed at the dripping sarcasm that Shikamaru normally was too lazy to use.

"So this Romeo and Juliet thing is just a load of crock? Then why are we going to Verona then?" I asked.

"Because they've got a building that's dedicated to the idea of Juliet. It's really just for the girls in my opinion."

"Shikamaru! Anyone whose interested in the work would want to come see it," Ino defended, crossing her arms over her chest. "Just because Juliet was an idiot and Romeo was horny doesn't mean that the story sucks. It's still a great piece of work."

"You only say that because you were Juliet in the tenth grade." Sakura rolled her eyes, ignoring Ino's instant glare.

"And you're just jealous that I was the main role while you were stuck as the nurse!"

"That was only because she felt bad for you."

"Not true!"

"Ladies, does it matter who played the role of the ill-fated Juliet? You both are beautiful flowers in my eyes." And to the rescue came Lee, who send both girls an admiring glance. Thankfully for the rest of us, it gave me enough time to interfere.

"Just because Ino got the main role doesn't mean she has to like it. I got stuck as Romeo and I still don't like the play." As if to prove my point, I wrinkled my nose in distaste. I mean seriously, who would want to go through all of that trouble for one run in the sack?

"Are we going to her tomb? I heard that it's supposed to be really fascinating." I blinked once at the fact that Neji finally opened his mouth. Who would have thought that Neji was a fan of Juliet? Then again, he kind of looked like a girl. I bit my lip to keep from laughing at the image of Neji in a dress in order to focus on Shikamaru's shrug.

"Whatever."

"How far away is this place?" Ino asked, leaning back on her seat when the bus jerked into motion. As if he had heard her, Iruka's voice shot through the speakers and momentarily deafened all of us.

"Good morning! I hope that everyone enjoyed the sights of Florence and Assisi while we were here. Our last two stops on our trip are Verona and Venice, the two theatrical cities of Italy. We'll be reaching our destination of Verona in about an hour and a half, but we'll only have a short time to explore the city. Make sure to check out the attractions on the map before we have to leave." I grumbled a bit at the mention of the maps that were handed out to everyone when they came onto the bus. I heard a few people laughing from the front of the bus, and I sunk lower in my seat to try and ignore the knowing stares. It had been pretty obvious when we had returned last night what had happened to us. But admitting that the school genius had been dragged into total cluelessness because of the school idiot was not something I was proud of.

I glanced over to Sasuke, who seemed to be completely unaffected by the snickers while he continued to draw. I wanted to ask him what exactly he was drawing, but I couldn't get my mouth to work right. The cold stare he gave me earlier had stuck in my head, and not in a good way. So instead, I quietly watched his pencil draw and hoped that he'd start the conversation. Sasuke could open his mouth to mutter a 'what' or 'stop staring at me', which naturally got me speaking. Now that I thought about it, it happened a lot more than I realized. But as far as I could tell, Sasuke seemed perfectly fine in ignoring my stare and continuing with whatever he was drawing. A dull pain ached in the lower pit of my stomach.

Why did I even care? Really, Sasuke had PMSed way too many times to count. In fact if I hadn't uh…felt what I had last night, a part of me would still question his gender. But that didn't mean he stopped having his little emotional shut outs. Not to say he was exactly obvious with his feelings the other three weeks of the month, but it was far more responsive than right now. Either way, it didn't exactly explain why I was so focused on it. Normally I would just brush it off and continue my conversation with Kiba about our current prank ideas. Somehow we'd get back into a fight and Sasuke would return into his normal half-jerky self. It was what we were best at, after all.

But this time, something was just different. Normally he'd glare or snort at me, giving me some type of indication that he recognized and despised my presence at the moment. Instead, I was greeted with nothing. Even when our arms would occasionally brush from his pencil stroke of my natural squirming, nothing seemed to make him acknowledge I was sitting next to him. And he stayed like that for the entire bus ride to Verona. Hell, he didn't even look up when the bus came to a stop. Instead, he simply tucked his notebook back into his bag and slung it back onto his shoulder when he stood. It was enough to make me storm off of the bus and into the wide square that we were parked in.

"Look the water fountain, it's so pretty!" I listened to the girls giggle at the small fountain that was shooting water from every direction it could. Really the architects in Italy were completely different then back home.

"Stop daydreaming kit, Iruka's talking." A short jab against my ribs jolted me back into reality, and I silently glared over to Kiba before focusing my attention onto Iruka's speech.

"…and please be sure that you stay with someone who has a watch or alarm." Hey! We did have an alarm! …It just didn't really help after we got lost. "We've only got a few hours in Verona because we're planning going down to the beach next to the hotels. Other than that, have a good time in Verona."

"Alright Shikamaru! Lead the way to my house!" Ino linked her arm with the brunette's and excitedly waited for him to start moving. It took one slow blink and a heavy sigh before our Verona tour guide languidly moved through the roads that were much more spacious than the past two cities we had been in. I walked with Sakura and Hinata, who both seemed fascinated with the high arches that lay over some of the streets. The city was less crowed than Florence, but seemed to have just as much energy. It was starting to make my own energy spike enough to ignore the confusing feelings from before.

The open space was suddenly filled with people, and it took me a minute to realize why. The wall in front of us was covered with hanging leaves that surrounded a bronze statue barely able to be seen through the throng of people. To the left of the space was a plain wall, but the right was a stone building with a small balcony at the top. Most of the attention was focused around the entranceway to the building, but several flashes of cameras still circled around the woman statue. I barely had time to get into the area before I was yanked by Sakura through the people. If we were still with the group I wasn't sure, but I made sure to keep a firm hold on Sakura's hand in case someone hit into us. The last thing I needed was to get lost again.

"Where the hell are you taking me?" She only laughed, barely loud enough to rise past the murmuring crowd.

"To see Juliet's statue!" And with one quick tug, she managed to pull me away from the group and I stumbled before falling flat on my face. I moaned weakly while I pushed up onto my hands, shaking my head once to clear the fog. I looked up from where I sat to be greeted with a group of girls, all staring at me weirdly. Really it should have been the other way around, since the three were molesting the statue.

"Why are you grabbing her boob?" I watched the embarrassed looks cross their faces as they quickly moved from the statue, which had me grinning in victory. Well, until I felt a sharp pain across the back of my skull.

"You idiot!"

"Sakura that hurt!" I whined when she crossed her arms and gave me a glare that told me somehow I was in the wrong.

"There's an old myth about the statue of Juliet. You're supposed to have good luck in love if you grab her left breast." Where the heck did Shikamaru come from? And seriously, how did he know that? I swear the kid lived in an encyclopedia.

"So basically if you feel her up, you get some lovin'? This entire country is just made to get guys laid!"

"Naruto!" That got me another hard strike against my head. I sighed and rubbed the second bump before looking around to make sure my eyesight wasn't affected. She gave me one final look before she followed the crowd away from me. Where did she learn how to hit like that anyways? Probably Lee, since he was always going on about how everyone should know how to protect themselves from harm. That or she learned to protect herself from Lee. Either way he was involved, and that was all that really mattered for bushy brows.

"The beautiful Juliet!" Hey, speaking of the happy-go-lucky kid! I watched with amusement and Lee dragged Neji toward the statue, barely letting my eyes linger on the dark haired boy that silently followed behind them. The large crowd from before had weaved its way into Juliet's house, leaving the courtyard much quieter than before. Lee happily grabbed onto Neji's hand, not noticing how the Hyuuga's eye twitched faintly. Even if he had, I doubted it would have stopped Lee.

"Lee." Neji's warning landed on deaf ears, and I swore the normally controlled boy's ears turned red when bushy brows thrust his hand onto the bronzed breast of the statue. Easily I burst into laughter, ignoring the death glares I was receiving from Neji while he desperately tried to yank his hand back. But my back fell onto the courtyard ground when Lee's strength kept the embarrassed boy's hand rubbing the metal.

"You must embrace your teen years and take every chance at love you can! Our maiden Juliet will lend her young love to us so we may find our own true feelings!" The loud exclamations brought the two boys unwanted attention from the few people left in the courtyard. Some whispered, though most giggled or cooed at them. The red hue on his ears easily flew to his face at the murmurings of him and his best friend, but nothing seemed to bother bushy brows or his attempt to find Neji happiness. And honestly, who was I to stop such a hilarious show?

"Do I even want to know why Neji's feeling up that statue?" Kiba moved from the exit of the house, giving a weird look to Lee and Neji before turning back to watch me try and wipe the tears of laughter from my eyes. "And why is kit on the ground?"

"Because he's Naruto," Shikamaru answered, shrugging. "And I'm not explaining the lucky love life again."

"Damn, these Italians sure have an obsession with love. First they get you with the Trevi fountain and the whole 'Rome is romance' thing. Then there's a whole city based on two lovers who don't even exists. Now they've got Neji's hormones in a bunch by getting to second base with Juliet."

"Kiba—" But that was all Neji got out before his attention was brought back to Lee's iron grip. Knowing I'd probably be killed by Neji if I laughed again, I focused my attention onto Kiba's complaint.

"At least the fountain seemed to work for you and Hinata. You two have gotten pretty close." At the mention of the shy girl Kiba grinned, but even his smile didn't hide the slight blush his cheeks created.

"Yeah, I guess. Doesn't mean that it was the fountain that did it though. Any girl would have trouble not falling for me."

"Easy boy, don't start drooling over yourself." Shikamaru yawned and ignored the look that Kiba gave in order to watch the clouds over our heads. "Troublesome fountain."

"Troublesome my ass! We all know you're totally digging Ino," Kiba said quickly. If Shikamaru was embarrassed by the accusation, he hid it better than any of us with a nonchalant shrug.

"Exactly." His answer that really didn't answer anything confused all of us except Lee, who now tore himself away from the molestation in order to move into the conversation.

"Congratulations on you and Ino's connection! I wish you luck in her courting." He watched Shikamaru scratch his temple warily before turning his bushy brows back to me. I jumped at the almost expectant look in his eyes. "And you, Naruto?"

"Me what?" I asked slowly, not really sure I wanted to get into this conversation. But like Neji's forced grope, Lee never acted out of malicious intent. He was good-nature and what he did he considered 'helpful' for his lost friends.

"Have you found your love from the Trevi fountain yet?" I probably would have fallen over if I wasn't already on the ground. It was bad enough that my face probably lit up like a stop sign at the blunt question, and I had to stammer through a couple of incoherent words before I could answer.

"W-what?! When would I have…how…I don't…"

"You're red cheeks tell no lies Naruto! Who is the one that has stolen your heart?" There were times I really wished I had a mute button for life. Or maybe a rewind would be better. I could just go back and make it impossible for Lee to ask me that. Or rather, rewind four months ago and never have signed up for this trip at all. I could almost feel the curious glances of Kiba and Lee, while Shikamaru continued to watch the shapes of white drift by. I had no clue where Sasuke was looking, but I was not going to let my eyes go near him. The last thing I needed to do was let them know that me and Sasuke were more than just roommates. Imagine what Shikamaru would think!

"Lee." I blinked once when I heard the returning on Neji's steady voice into the conversation. I could see that most of the red was gone, and he seemed to compose himself as well as he could given the circumstances. His attention shifted from Lee to me, and then strangely to something to my left. It wasn't until I heard a soft 'hn' near me that I realized it was Sasuke he was looking at. I tensed at bit at the thought. Did Neji know? But how?! "Let's go inside now."

"But—"

"I'm sure that Sakura would enjoy your company through the tour of the house." That seemed to catch bushy brow's interest far more than my hidden crush. Leaping at the chance to spend more time with Sakura, Lee nodded happily and said a quick goodbye to us before practically running into the house. Not without grabbing Neji and dragging him along first.

"Phew." I wiped my forehead with my hand, instantly feeling a pressure lift from my shoulders. I wasn't exactly sure why Neji helped me out, but I owed him.

"Hey!" I looked around quickly at the sharp call, but the feminine voice didn't come from any of the guys around me. "Up here!" I glanced up at the sound of Ino's voice, and blinked when I saw her and Hinata both waving from the balcony. Grinning, I pushed myself to stand and waved.

"Well hey there you two. I see that Juliet has taken her faithful place up on her balcony." I bowed dramatically to them before smirking, watching Ino roll her eyes while Hinata blushed.

"And I see Romeo is being as corny as ever."

"Aw come on Ino! You loved me as your Romeo. I came up to your balcony and said-" I stepped forward a few steps, clearing my throat loudly for the girls to hear. "Hey there Juliet, what's shaking bacon?"

"Naruto, that's not the line at all! Shakespeare would never use 'bacon' as a way to address a woman!" Ino snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well how the hell am I supposed to remember the actual lines? You know that's basically what they said!"

"Well I remember my lines." And to prove it, Ino easily slipped into character and leaned against the railing like a dreamy teenage girl would. "What man art thou, that, thus bescreened in night,
So stumblest on my counsel?" I grinned when the broken old English came to me, and I decided that having some fun in the actual city of Verona could be interesting. Especially since a few people had started to watch me and Ino's performance. Even Shikamaru stopped his cloud-gazing to look. But really, what got me going wasn't a stranger or friend. Feeling the lingering gaze on my left, I decided I wanted to keep the bastard's attention on me.

"By a name
I know not how to tell thee who I am.
My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself
Because it is an enemy to thee.
Had I it written, I would tear the word." If there was one thing I respected about Romeo, it was his ability to sweet talk. I could have used a few of these lines with Tsunade, except she practically knew the play by heart.

"My ears have yet not drunk a hundred words

Of thy tongue's uttering, yet I know the sound.

Art thou not Romeo, and a Montague?" Jesus she was good. I couldn't help but smile when she spoke her lines as if we had just done the play last week instead of almost two years ago. It was enough to catch me off guard.

"That sounded kind of kinky."

"Naruto!"

"You were talking about tongues and sounds!" But when I received a narrowed gaze from both Ino and the group watching us (particularly two sets of dark eyes), I quickly sighed and fell back into character. "Neither, fair maid, if either thee dislike."

"How camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore?
The orchard walls are high and hard to climb,
And the place death, considering who thou art,
If any of my kinsmen find thee here."

"Yeah yeah, uh…something about watching you…uh…oh! I remember this. It's where I'm trying to tell you anything you want so I can bang you."

"Naruto…"

"It's Romeo to you. With love's light wings did I o'er perch these walls;
For stony limits cannot hold love out,
And what love can do that dares love attempt;
Therefore thy kingsmen are no let to me."

"Jerk." I grinned at her heated glare before shaking my head.

"That's not the line, Juliet."

"I'm not getting married to you, even if it's for twenty four hours."

"But you're supposed to be in love with me!" She sighed as if somehow it was my fault that we had stopped our scene before she picked up again.

"If they do see thee, they will murder thee."

"Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye
Than twenty of their swords! Look thou but sweet,
And I am proof against their enmity." I paused before grinning mischievously up at Ino. "Besides, we both die in the end. So I say we skip this part and go straight for the honeymoon."

"You are the worst Romeo ever!" But even when she said that, I could hear some clapping in the male population of the crowd we had gathered. The girls didn't seem to enjoy me so much.

"You want it."

"I want a replacement."

"Fine, then take Shikamaru!" I yanked the brunette over to me, despite the slightly annoyed look he had on. "I don't even like girls. I'd probably just look crappy in tights now anyways."

"Fine, I will!"

"Fine, have fun making out with your new Romeo," I teased, enjoying the burst of color on Ino's face.

"Troublesome girl." Shikamaru rubbed his temple slowly, but I could see the faint blush dusting his cheeks.

"Your troublesome girl. And I bid you all adieu." I patted his shoulder before bowing to the crowd and walking away from the mixture of laughing, clapping, and scoffing. I made it back to Sasuke and Kiba, that latter of the two still laughing.

"How the hell did you ever pull off Romeo?"

"It was either that, or have detention for a month," I said, shrugging while casually glancing over to Sasuke. I felt my smile practically break my cheek bones when his glare narrowed on me. Somehow Kiba sensed the heated tension between the two of us, because he quickly took a step back and pointed back to where I had left Shikamaru.

"Well while you two have your cat fight, I'm gonna stay safe with Shika." And just like that, Kiba scooted away with his tail between his legs. But even if he had stayed, I doubted that I would have paid attention to him. Right now, my focus was Sasuke.

"You like?" It was casual, but I could feel the cocky tone rolling off of my tongue when I spoke.

"I'm surprised your brain has a big enough capacity to fit those words into it."

"I'm smarter than you give me credit for." At that he scoffed quietly before coldly smirking.

"You're still stupid."

"It wouldn't kill you to compliment me you know!"

"What's there to compliment you on? You made a complete fool of yourself." His words stung a bit more than I expected, and I had to clench my fists to keep from lunging for him.

"I was just having fun you bastard! You know, that thing you try to kill any chance you can?"

"Because parading myself like an idiot in the middle of a city is what I consider pleasurable." Alright, I had enough of this. Moving forward quickly, I snatched the front of his shirt in my hand and jerked him forwards. Even though I had to look up to catch his eye, I made sure to have it before I spoke.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! First you completely ignore me, acting like I don't even exist. Then you pull a complete 180 and start insulting me every time you open your mouth. You're acting like nothing's changed between us!"

"Who says they have?" The short comment froze me, but I quickly recovered by shoving him hard. Easily he caught his balance, but I didn't bother to wait for his glare to turn around and walk toward the entrance of Juliet's house. Whether he knew it or not, Sasuke had just sucker-punched me in the stomach. The air that had been so easy to breathe in before now escaped me. I didn't look at any of the artifacts of pieces of clothing that were displayed in the halls while I moved. Really I wasn't sure where I was going at the moment. I was flushing from pure anger, and I could feel my entire body shaking in the need to tear something apart. That fucking bastard.

"Naruto?" I threw my glance over to the questioning voice, and only halted my glare once I realized it wasn't Sasuke. Sakura's concerned gaze filled my vision, and I forced a smile onto my lips when I scratched the back of my head.

"Sorry Sakura! Teme was just getting under my skin again." Before she could ask what had happened, I quickly searched the room we were in. My interest was instantly brought to the set of computers that now sat in the middle of the room. "What the heck are those?"

"Oh, those are the letter stations. If you want, you can type out a letter to Juliet and she'll send you one back! I'm going to do one now just for fun." Normally, I would have rolled my eyes and made a comment that would have had Sakura hitting me for the third time that day. However, the idea of getting rid of some steam was seriously appealing. And since I'd get sent home and suspended for fighting Sasuke on the trip, this seemed to be the next best thing. So I moved myself over to one of the open computers, looking at the blinking marker at the top of the light pink document. I looked over to see that Hinata and Sakura were already typing at the computers, and I could only imagine what they were saying. Shaking my head, I cracked my knuckles before writing a slightly different letter.

Dear Juliet,

How the hell did you deal with Romeo? I mean really, he didn't even see you in a 'romantic' light until a couple days before your death. Then there was the whole 'courting' idea that never really happened. He decided that you weren't worth it really, and that you could do all the work in the relationship. Sure he fought some sword fights, but you were the one sneaking your way around your mother and coming up with the potion plan. Everyone gives Romeo the credit, saying he's so smart and handsome, when really you were the one who should get the credit!

Not to mention he completely rushed the honeymoon. Even an idiot can figure out that he was using you for sex! I mean yeah, you were probably a hot blonde that was hard to resist. And you probably wanted it too because you were infatuated with him and he just made you feel really good. But if he was so into you, why did he want to rush it so bad? Unless he was a fortune teller and knew that you two were going to die, he wasn't thinking with the right head. And he didn't, trust me. And then after that, it's like you're not even there! He just goes off in the morning as quick as he can and does his own thing without you. What a teme!

And let's not forget how he just screws everything up! Just goes off and kills Tybalt. Like that is going to help the situation any! And instead of just coming to you and talking through his problems, Romeo goes and leaves you alone. And I'm sure if you had gone and tried to talk to him, he would have just snapped at you or done something completely stupid. He's always doing that, just deciding when he's going to be calm and when he's going to be a complete dick. I can't even tell when he's going to change, or why. Who really says nothing's changed when just the night before, you two were giving each other hand jobs?! I'll tell you who. Stupid bastards like Sasuke! And wh—

"Sasuke?" I jumped and quickly jerked around to face two sets of widened eyes staring at me. The green pair slowly blinked while the pale eyes looked anywhere but my face. After a few failed attempts to open my mouth, Sakura spoke again. "You're writing a love note about Sasuke?"

"No!" I said, much too quick for anyone to believe. I winced and took a deep breath to calm my nerves. I could already tell by the way Sakura looked at me that she had read some of the note. I had been so distracted in my writing about 'Romeo' that I hadn't even realized both girls were behind me. Desperate to change the subject, I quickly crossed my arms. "What were you doing reading my note?"

"We just…we ca-came over to tell you w-we were leaving! We didn't mean to," Hinata answered quietly, seeming much more guilty than her pink-haired accomplice. Staying mad at Hinata was practically impossible, so I tried my luck with Sakura.

"So your eyes just happened to read everything that I was writing?"

"It's not like we planned on reading it. I just saw 'teme', which I thought was weird for you. You only use that name with Sasuke, but…this was supposed to be a love letter so I didn't really think you would write about him." There was an awkward silence between us that had me shifting my weight constantly to keep from bolting out of the room. The urge got even stronger when I noticed the confused look in Sakura's features. "But you said his name. You were writing about Sasuke."

"I….I was just pissed off! I needed to tell someone about what an asshole he was."

"You said you two…" But the flush in her features told me she really had read everything. I glanced hesitantly to Hinata and noticed how bright her cheeks had gotten. Well fuck, this was weird. What do you do when two of your classmates find out that you hooked up with the school's prince asshole? Not to mention the fact that he probably didn't want his dirty laundry aired out like that. If I wasn't so pissed off at him from earlier, I may have just felt a little bit bad. Pushing my thoughts about Sasuke away (I'd deal with him later if he ever decided to stop being a dick), I took a deep breath and nodded.

"I like Sasuke." I constantly switched my gaze between them, waiting for one of them to crack. Really I thought it'd be Sakura that said something first. So when Hinata gave me a weak smile and parted her lips, I felt surprised.

"Congratulations Naruto-kun. I'm…I'm happy f-for you both!"

"Uh…what?" My pointless sentence snapped Sakura out of her silence long enough to nod.

"Yeah, we're both voting for you. We already told you that we were fine with your liking guys, and having a crush on Sasuke doesn't change our minds."

"I-It's not a crush damnit! You make it sound all girlish or whatever!" They both laughed at my scowl, which really wasn't what I was aiming for. Either way, it felt nice to know that they weren't all talk. Sakura and Hinata both seemed honestly comfortable with the situation.

"Well whatever you want to call it, we're here to help." Sakura leaned closer to me, quieting her voice enough to keep the conversation out of any passerby's ears. "But just so you know…Romeo was only a really confused, teenage boy who probably had about as much experience in love as Juliet. It's why he fell back on his natural instincts and killed Tybalt. It was what he was used to. Romeo may not have been perfect, but Juliet couldn't see his—sorry, her life without him. That's why they both died in the end. You understand?"

"He doesn't love me." I didn't feel comfortable in thinking that he did.

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

"Does it matter?" Her eyes stared into mine as if she could read what I was going to say before my lips had even parted.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you love him anyways?" Our exchange was quick until this point, and it was the first time I let myself hesitate.

"What's the point in answering that? You said it yourself; Romeo and Juliet died." It was her turn to pause, flipping the statement over in her brainy head before smiling.

"Romeo and Juliet also had warring parents, a prince out for Romeo's head, another suitor looking for Juliet's hand, and a forbidden relationship that nobody accepted." Damn, she had a point. Really, I shouldn't give her time to think next time. "Not everything is the same, just the main points. Two teenagers in love that are having trouble being together. Your trouble is a little more mental than physical, but it's still the same."

It's still the same. That one fragment of a sentence ran through my head the rest of the day. I barely paid attention to Juliet's tomb, only nodding or looking around when someone would say my name. Sasuke seemed to be okay with staying on the other side of the group, quietly talking to Neji. I was fine with watching Kiba try to barter with the street sellers for knock-off watches. And this time, we made sure to leave a half hour early to get to the bus. I felt good knowing that we were the first group to get there. Now all I needed was a miracle to get me and Sasuke alone long enough to talk.

For a while, I didn't think it was going to happen. On the bus, Kiba decided to ask me something two seconds before I had built up enough courage to talk to Sasuke. At dinner, we were sat at different tables. The tables weren't even close together. Then the bus ride to Venice was filled with Iruka explaining our orders for the night. We were going to go up to our rooms, drop off our stuff and worry about setting up later. You'd think maybe I'd have some time to talk with him then, right? Nope. Iruka pulled me, Sasuke, and Shikamaru aside to tell us we weren't going to be staying in the hotel. They didn't have enough room for us, and so they offered an apartment next to the hotel. And hey, who were we to complain about getting a five room place to ourselves? There were even two separate bedrooms. By the time Iruka had shown us where our apartment was (we were right under the counselors), it was practically time to go. So I didn't even attempt to try and talk to the bastard. After all, I didn't really want to cram a serious issue like that into twenty seconds. Hell, that wasn't even long enough for a good kiss between us.

You ever heard the saying 'good things come when you least expect them'? It really should be more like 'good things come when you forget about the good things that you want to come'. Because when I stepped out onto the darkened beach, the rolling waves crashing onto the white sand was all I concentrated on. The water looked black from the cloak of night, and with each blow of the wind, we could feel the mist of freezing water brushing out skin. It didn't stop us from running over to the receding waves, and me and Sakura tried to outrun the returning crashes of water back onto the soggy sand.

It wasn't long before Ino called us over to the others to play some night tag. Sakura easily ran ahead, and I was going to follow until movement from behind me caught my attention. Glancing over my shoulder, I blinked once while watching Sasuke quietly walk along the edge of the water, letting the freezing ocean waves crash over his pale bare feet. Hesitating a bit, I decided that the gods were finally giving me a damn break. I easily jogged after him, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't sound like 'hey Sasuke, I might be in love with you. Wanna tell me everything that's been going on in your head?' I was pretty sure that would only make the situation worse.

"Why are you walking without shoes on?" If he was surprised that I followed he didn't show it, continuing to watch the dark water collapse on his feet before being sucked back into the ocean.

"Hn." I scrunched my nose in irritation at his lack of a comment.

"You're gonna get sick asshole." He didn't answer me. I rubbed one of my arms slowly when a cold wind tossed salty droplets against our skin. Here I was chastising him about being stupid while I decided to leave my sweatshirt at the hotel. I caught his silent glance over to me, his eyes lingering on the bare skin of my arms before he turned his face forward again.

"Dobe."

"Teme!" He snorted at my knee jerk reaction to his insult. Everyone knew our signature names for each other. When one of us would use it, the other had to respond. Dobe and teme just belonged together.

"Hn." After that we fell silent while continuing to walk down the beach. Several times I opened my mouth to try and ask him what really was happening in his head, but nothing came out. If he noticed he didn't say anything, preferring to watch his feet or the invisible path we were walking. Eventually we'd have to turn and go back, but for now it seemed alright to just keep walking straight.

"You're not supposed to go off on your own." It was lame, I know. But it was better than sitting in complete silence.

"I didn't." I didn't know if the sentence or the fact he made a sentence threw my off balance.

"What do you mean?! I don't see anyone but us here!" He slid his hands casually into his pockets while he walked, completely unaffected by my shouting.

"Exactly."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You're here." He said it as if somehow, that would clarify everything. So when I only growled in response, he seemed to realize I didn't get it yet. "If you're here, I'm not alone, idiot."

"But I wasn't with you when you started to walk!"

"I knew you'd follow eventually. You always do." If I looked close enough, I swore I could see him smirk. "Nothing's changed."

"Nothing's changed?" I jerked ahead of him, forcing him to stop. I didn't care that my shoes were now filling with water or that I'd be uncomfortable the entire walk home. I just cared about the almost passive look in Sasuke's features while I glared up at him. "Nothing is the same with us! Don't you get it? Friends don't just…just do that with each other! So for you to sit there and spew shit about 'nothing changing' is just stupid. I've changed, you've changed, my feelings have cha—"

"Feelings have what?" He challenged me, stepping forward as if daring me into a fight. I shook the hesitation I had before in order to finally shed light onto what the real problem was.

"Changed, teme. My feelings have changed. And so have yours." I felt my hands unclench and fall limp at my sides, not sure what else I was supposed to say. He stared at me and I stared back, because I really wasn't sure which one of us was supposed to speak next. Hell, I didn't even know what I expected to be said. Sakura telling me that Sasuke had feelings was one thing. Sasuke giving me a hand job was a much bigger, blunt thing. But when it came to actually having Sasuke give any verbal sense of agreement, and not being able to blame it on his body, was something entirely different. The bastard hardly opened his mouth as it was, never mind to tell me that he was interested in me.

So once again, he let his body do the talking. I closed my eyes in frustration when leaned forward, not sure if I wanted to accept his mouth against mine yet. But when his tongue pressed impatiently against my lower lip, I decided pouring my stress into his kiss was better than nothing. Harshly I pushed back against his mouth, only parting my lips to shove his tongue back where it belonged. I followed my pursuit into his parted lips, unwillingly shivering when his cold hands pressed along my sides. The warmth of his mouth amazed me, and I quickly darted my tongue to taste every part of the inviting heat. My tongue roughly pressed against his at the same time he yanked my body hard to him. The sharp movement slanted our mouths and I hissed when our teeth hit. He grunted in reply before forcing our mouths together again.

I couldn't stop his assault inside my mouth, because Sasuke had some type of fix with being in control. He dived past my lips and into my mouth, moving to interact with my idle tongue again. I mentally smacked myself for the moan I released into the kiss when his hands slid to my back. Their movements didn't stop until they cupped my ass, making me bite his tongue in shock. It didn't leave him immobile for long, and I suddenly felt myself being lifted. Immediately detesting the idea, I twisted and turned in his grasp until he finally put me back on the ground. Once I had my footing I shoved my mouth away from his. It was either that, or fall victim to the hazy warmth that was creeping in my head.

"Wh-what the hell are you doing?!" I panted to try and refill my lungs while I stared up at the silent bastard in front of me. "One minute you're preaching about how normal everything is, the next you're shoving your tongue down my throat. Which one is it? Do you like me or not?!"

"Dobe." I tried to pull back at the sharp tone, but he caught my chin with his hand and forced me to stay still. In retaliation I glared, showing my obvious aggravation with the situation he was forcing me into. If he noticed it he didn't show it, seeming satisfied in the fact that I wasn't trying to pull away again.

"What teme?" I finally muttered, not wanting to wait for him to break the silence. Something flashed in his eyes before he scowled, dropping his hand to his side and turning from me.

"It's time to go back." And that was the last thing he said to me at the beach. He didn't explain why he had grabbed my chin or how far he was planning on going with me. There was no reasoning for what he had been thinking about when he kissed me. And the answer to why he said we had to leave, when his alarm went off almost five minutes after we started to walk back, still remained unknown. Then again, I wasn't voicing my questions. I was simply rolling them around in my head, trying to wrack my brain for the answers that I had never been given. And even through the bus ride home and the return to the apartment, I still had no clue what was going on.

"Alright, how are we doing this?" I glanced over to Shikamaru, who sighed while he picked up the luggage we had tossed into the kitchen. That's right; we even had our own cooking area.

"Sasuke's already decided." He directed his gaze to the bastard who now was brining his stuff into the room on the right.

"Just because he's picked a room doesn't mean we have. You can sleep wherever the hell you want." I blinked when Shikamaru sighed and started to move toward the other room. I moved to speak again, but stopped when Shika sent me a lazy glance over his shoulder.

"After last night, I'll let you two share a room." My face instantly flushed at his reasoning. And yet he said it so casually, you'd think he was talking about something he read in the newspaper and not the fact he had heard me and Sasuke getting sexual in the bed next to his. This kid really was bothered by nothing, no matter how many times he said 'troublesome'. He gave me a lazy wave and moved into his room, shutting the door behind him. I grabbed my stuff, moving slowly toward the room I was forced into and wondering how long he had really been awake. I shook my head, trying to disperse the blush while I glanced into the small room I was now sharing with Sasuke. He was already in bed, his back facing me and his clothes strewn on the ground. He was already asleep? I felt the urge to throw something at his head just to feel better about today, but I didn't want to break anything. So instead I dropped my bags to the floor, mumbling to myself about annoying bastards while I tossed my shirt off. I then moved my solo conversation onto stoic temes while I slid my socks and soaked shoes from my feet. And by the time I had slid my pants down my legs, I somehow came to the conclusion that I didn't even care if he liked me.

So when I looked up to see his dark gaze on me, my heart shouldn't have stopped. And when his eyes flickered down my body, it shouldn't have made my cock jerk beneath my boxers. A motion he seemed to catch, because his lips twitch before he looked back up to me. By now my face was warm while my entire body shivered. How did he do that? When I was sure he was feeling one way about me, he completely turned it around and left me confused. I had given him a chance to just admit he liked me too and he hadn't taken it. But now that he was staring at me with an obvious interest, I wasn't so sure he would have said no earlier.

He quietly closed his eyes, returning his head back on his pillow as if nothing had just happened. The only difference was he was now facing me, and the same open space from the night before returned. He didn't command me to come, or look at me in a way that silently said that he expected me to do. One of his arms was slid under his pillow while the other rested on his side in a position I was sure was uncomfortable.

He finally shifted his arms to wrap around my waist when I lay silently against him, leaving the unknown feelings from today stirring in my stomach. I had one more day to figure out what he was feeling, right? A sense of déjà vu from last night washed over me, bothering me while I shut my eyes. Hadn't I had those same thoughts? But now a day later, I had even more questions that were unanswered. Hopefully Venice would bring me some answers.

Yeah, right.

Well that's it for this chapter! I'm sorry it took so long, I just...gah, I was being stupid this week is all. Sorry again for the wait and I hope you all don't hate me! We've only got two chapters left, and emotions are running high for everyone. Just what will happen in Venice? I'm not really sure you want to know…tell me what you thought of the chapter! Thanks.

Chapter Nine: Venice, the Sinking City of Heartbreak