You stretched and peered at the brilliant full moon above you. You smiled with joy and thought about your recent elevation to Jounin rank. Hokage-sama gave you your exam mission this morning and you passed with flying colours. Basking in the light from the moon, you continued to walk to your house. With a light skip to your step and humming softly to yourself, you walked down the street and approached your door. Just before your hand reached the knob, you paused. Something didn't feel right.
Before you had time to further asses what was amiss, the door swung open and a chorus of congratulations broke out. "Huh?" Was all you could muster. "Congratulations on passing your Jounin exam." Sakura happily pulled you through your own door. "Oh, thanks…" You were still flustered by the group. Once you got into your home, you looked around at the group gathered in the house. Everyone was there. Your friends from the leaf village, the sand siblings, and even Sasuke lounged in your living room.
"Now that everyone's here, we should play this game I read about." Ino announced.
"Great, this'll be troublesome." Shikamaru sighed and you couldn't help but agree with him.
"What's the game?" Naruto asked full of curiosity.
"Well it's called 'Seven Minutes in Heaven'." Ino smiled.
"How do you play?" Tenten asked.
"When you have a party with guys and girls together you have the guys write their names, favorite animals, favorite colours, or something on a sheet of paper and put it in a bowl. The girls then draw the slips of paper out of the bowl and have to stay in a closet for seven minutes with the guy who wrote on the paper." Ino explained.
"What happens in the closet?" Kankuro asked.
"Ummm…the thing I read said the guy gets to do whatever he wanted with the girl." Ino answered. You looked around at everyone's faces and saw some people were excited while others looked like they dreaded the game
"I knew this would be troublesome." Shikamaru sighed.
"Let's play!" Naruto excitedly shouted. After some cheers mixed with a small amount of grumbling, you retrieved the materials needed to play. Ino passed the paper and pencils to the guys and told them to write the name of their favorite flower. Sakura passed the bowl around and the guys put their paper in it. "Since this party is for ______, she gets to draw the first name." Sakura smiled and handed you the bowl. You reached your hand into the bowl and pulled out a slip of paper with Anemone neatly written on it.
"Anemone…" You slowly read out. A slight movement caught your eye, and you turned to see Sasuke walking into the closet. Your face flushed ever so slightly and you turned to the closet. You turned your back to the group and felt a dangerous aura directed at you. Not wanting to see the evil looks you were sure Sakura and Ino were giving you, you quickly entered the closet. "Have fun." Tenten smiled as she closed the door. You were happy to have pulled out Sasuke's flower, but dreaded the exit from the closet since you knew the dangerous auras you felt came from Sakura and Ino. You heard a sigh from the other side of the closet and turned to face the direction of the sigh.
"What do you want to do?" Sasuke asked abruptly.
"Ummm…I don't know. What do you do in a closet?" You asked not really expecting a response. Sasuke didn't respond and you heard him slide to the floor. "We could talk…" You half-heartedly suggested, but didn't expect much of a reply.
"What did you want to talk about?" You felt Sasuke glare at you, and you knew you had to answer carefully. Obviously, he didn't mind talking, but you knew if the discussion annoyed him in the slightest he'd clam up and ignore you. Or tell you to be quiet. "Ummm…well I did want to ask why you chose anemone as your favorite flower." You meekly said.
"Does it matter?" Came Sasuke's gruff reply.
"Not really. I just wondered." You looked down at your feet. "You sound like Sakura." Sasuke admonished.
You slid down and sat on the floor. Sasuke's comment hurt a bit, but you knew he didn't necessarily mean to be harsh. "Sorry, I'm just not used to quiet places. I like having people around, but I'll be quiet now." You felt like crying, but at least Ino and Sakura wouldn't have a reason to get too mad. Suddenly you felt Sasuke get up and walk the few steps to you. Your heart beat a little faster and you reminded yourself you still had several minutes of the game left. You could hardly believe it when Sasuke stopped next you and sat down just inches from your right. His presence so close to you made you nervous and you involuntarily shivered.
"Are you cold?" Sasuke asked. His casual question surprised you a little and a tiny blush crept across your face.
"No, I'm fine." You quietly answered. Sasuke leaned closer to you and looked at your face.
"Your face is a bit flushed, are you sure you are okay?" He asked. You couldn't respond with his face so close to yours. Instead you stared into his dark eyes. The expression there wasn't warm per say, but it wasn't cold either. Suddenly he pressed his forehead to yours and your blush burned brighter. "I…I'm fine really." You stammered and tried to push him away. Pushing directly in front of you rather than to your right, you fell forward. Before you hit face first into the floor, an arm wrapped around you and pulled you safely to Sasuke's body.
"You are not alright." Sasuke proclaimed and continued to hold you. Rather than deny his statement and risk him pushing you away, you snuggled further into his embrace. A few minutes later, a chorus of angry words broke your bliss. "Alright, time's up!" Sakura and Ino flared. Tenten opened the door and Sasuke helped you up. He put his arm around your waist and supported part of your weight. You blushed and avoided making eye contact with either Ino or Sakura. "Woot! Sasuke's got a girlfriend!" Naruto whistled and several other guys joined in with a few wolf whistles. Tenten passed the bowl on and the game resumed. You spent the rest of the evening ignoring the game and avoiding eye contact with Ino and Sakura since Sasuke was hovering protectively near you.