The ground was wet from the rain of the other day. The overcast sky hadn't allowed the sun to dry it, and the temperature kept dropping until it felt well below freezing to the unfortunate people walking around in the windy weather. Then, at last, the first flakes of white and fluffy, snowy goodness fell from the sky, much later than usual, but completely welcome to the students emerging from the school as they were freed from the educational prison. A few had stopped, trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues with little success, while others rushed to their modes of transportation to watch the first snow from someplace warm. But the wonderful scene was wasted on two people as they came running out of the building.
"Sai get back here! I'm gonna kick you in the balls, beat your face in, feed you to rabid monkeys, and after you're dead, I'll resurrect you and do it again!"
Sai merely laughed as he ran through crowds and around obstacles with a certain blonde chasing after him. The blonde let out an enraged noise as he pressed himself to be faster as he dodged things left and right pursuing the cross dressing boy.
And why was Naruto chasing Sai like a madman while spouting off death threats? Well, despite the fact that the two now had a silent understanding and had become friendly with one another over the week, Naruto felt very violated at the moment. The two had last period together, and just as they were leaving the class, Sai had decided to cop a feel. Naturally Naruto had wanted to punch him right then and there, but when he had turned to do so, Sai had already disappeared into the crowd of people. He had looked for him for a moment before deciding to let it go until later. He'd tried to keep his guard up ever since the almost kiss on Sai's first day. The boy seemed to see nothing wrong about flirting openly or trying to molest him in public despite the fact that he was a flaming gay and, to everyone else's knowledge, Naruto was a girl. And a flaming gay flirting with a girl just doesn't happen.
Naruto had gone to his locker to collect the books he needed for homework that night after realizing he wouldn't find Sai in the crowded hallway. Then, just as he closed his locker, a hand groped him once again. Turning with a glare, there stood Sai with his innocent smile plastered on his face though it didn't fool Naruto for a second. Sensing the murderous intent flowing from the blonde, Sai had taken off at once with the other not far behind. They had passed by Sakura, Hinata, and Sasuke, whom they were supposed to meet with after school had let out, and tossed their bags at them. The trio had followed both outside and watched with some amusement.
Sai pushed threw a couple, breaking their hand holding while yelling, "Red rover, red rover!"
Naruto just followed through without a word except a curse at Sai, ignoring the confused looks of the couple Sai had broken apart. Noticing a way to cut the black haired male off, he took the chance. It worked and he tackled the unsuspecting Sai. They tumbled in the snow-covered ground until one sat on top of the other. Sai was on top. Naruto flushed in embarrassment and anger as they boy in a skirt smirked down at him. He was about to say something (probably something perverted), when a snowball nailed him in the face.
Naruto looked in the direction it came from and saw Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata coming toward them. He had a feeling it was Sasuke who had thrown it. Sai wiped the snow from his face. Some of it had dropped onto Naruto's stomach, making him shiver as it touched his bare skin where his shirt had ridden up.
"That wasn't very nice, Sasu-chan," Sai said matter-of-factly.
"You did something stupid, so why do I have to be nice?" Sasuke replied.
"Because if you were nicer, no one would think you're such a teme," Naruto told him. Sai shifted on top of him, reminding the blonde of the cross dressing boy sitting atop him. Sasuke scowled at Naruto who smiled childishly, ignoring the fact that Sai was on his hips wearing only a skirt.
"Fine. I'll go away if you don't want my help," Sasuke said, turning to walk away.
"What? No! Get him off me!" Naruto cried. Sasuke just kept walking away. "Teme!"
"Alright then. Since there's no one to stop me, I'll just proceed to molest Naruko-chan here," Sai said with an innocent smile. A horrified expression came over Naruto's features. He certainly never wanted to be molested by the cross dresser, but now Sai was admitting to wanting to do it!
Before Sai could do anything, another snowball had found his face once again. He was shoved away, and Naruto found himself being helped up by Sasuke. Sai was laughing from his place on the ground.
"Um, thanks," Naruto said with a slight blush. He didn't understand why there was heat in his face, but he wished it would go away.
"Hn," was Sasuke's response.
Sakura and Hinata approached finally. Sakura stopped in front of the blonde with her hands on her hips and asked, "Hey, what was that all about?"
"Sai-"
"It was nothing, my dear Sakura-san," Sai said, cutting Naruto off as he stood up, wiping off the snow that clung to his clothes. Naruto glared at him.
"Nothing? I don't think grabbing my ass is nothing," he grumbled. Sai shrugged in indifference, causing the blonde to sigh.
"Hey guys," Ino called as she jogged toward them. "What are we all waiting for?"
"You, obviously, Ino-pig," Sakura said.
"Billboard brow," the blonde retorted. Although the two were getting along better, they weren't above calling each other names.
"Okay, okay. Stop it guys," Naruto said, walking between the girls. They shrugged and looked off in opposite directions. He knew how stubborn they were and just rolled his eyes.
"Hello Naruko-chan," Gaara said, appearing from thin air beside the blonde cross dressing boy. Naruto yelped in surprise. He never knew how the red head did that, but even after knowing him for years, he never got used to it. He just hated it in general when people snuck up on him.
"Jeez, Gaara, you trying to kill me?" Naruto exaggerated, clutching his hand to his chest.
"It would probably be a lot less loud around here if it worked," Sasuke said, taunting the boy. The blonde glared at him, though unsuccessfully since he was pouting as well.
"You know you'd miss it if I weren't here to make noise," he said.
"Hn. Whatever dobe," Sasuke said with a roll of his eyes.
"Teme! You know it's true; you're just in denial!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Think what you want, dobe," Sasuke replied in an uncaring voice. He really was in denial; he just refused to admit it.
"Gah! Damn it Sai! Stop grabbing my ass!" Naruto yelled suddenly. Sai had managed to slide close enough to the blonde once again with out his notice and repeat the action that had gotten him into trouble in the first place. Gaara swiftly hit the brunette over the head and glared at him. Sai was unaffected by it after having suffered under Sasuke's glare long before he had met the red head.
"What was that for Gaa-chan?" Sai pouted while holding his head. Gaara blanched. No one had given him a nickname before, and certainly not one so…cute. He decided to ignore it for now, knowing that Sai seemed to have a fetish for nicknames. He just glared in response to the brunette's question in a you-know-what-you-did way. Sai stuck his tongue out and continued to pout.
"Are we ready to go yet, or not? It's freezing out here, and I'd like to get inside some time soon," Sakura said, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Yeah, just as soon as Neji gets his butt over here," Naruto told her as he put as much distance between himself and Sai as possible. The brunette just kept following him.
"Ah, N-Neji-san said that he couldn't come today, Naruko-chan. H-he said f-father asked him for his help with something," Hinata said, remembering just then that he had told her that.
"Oh. Okay. Well then, we can go I guess," Naruto said.
"Yes! Who wants to come with me?" Sai exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air, forgetting about following the blonde for the moment.
"Do you even know where we're going?" Sasuke asked.
"Uh…the movies right?" Sai replied with a thoughtful look.
"Do you know how to get there?" Sasuke asked again.
"…no…but I'll get there eventually. Don't worry so much about me Sasu-chan, I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself just fine," Sai said, patting the Uchiha on the head. Sasuke glared at the cross dresser. Sai only smiled innocently. He then walked over to Naruto, who had started a conversation with Ino in the meantime, and wrapped an arm around the blonde's shoulders. "Besides, I'll just take little Naruko-chan here with me. I'm sure she knows how to get there!"
"What are you going to do to me now?" Naruto whined, poking the brunette's side. Sai jumped, being ticklish in the sides as he was. Naruto grinned and started poking him continuously.
"She's already going Subaku," Sasuke said.
"Huh?" Naruto said, stopping her attack on the brunette. He inched away from her while she was distracted, taking note that she had no qualms about poking him to death.
"You're riding with me apparently," Gaara said. He could see something was going on between the two brunette males that had something to do with his blonde friend, but he certainly didn't want the blonde to be in the crossfire.
"Oh. Ok," Naruto said happily. He started to advance on Sai again to renew his attack, but his victim began to speak.
"But Naruko-chan, I wanted you to ride with me!" he said, using puppy dog eyes. "I'm new so I still don't know where everything is, so I was thinking you could come with me and tell me how to get there!"
Naruto raised an eyebrow, not believing the innocence of the man. "Why don't you take Sasuke, or Sakura, or someone else? Why me?"
"Please Naruko-chan?" Sai asked, turning up the intensity of the look. "Pleeeeeeeeeease?"
Naruto bit his lip. Nothing good could come from it. Nothing good at all. Sai would probably be a pervert the whole way, or just be a plain jerk. But that look…
"Ugh, fine. Whatever," he said, rolling his eyes. He looked back over at Gaara with an apologetic look. The red head just shrugged, telling the blonde it was all right. He turned back to Sai, ignoring Sasuke who was frowning at this new development. "But someone else has to come too! I'm not being left alone with a pervert."
"Fine, fine," Sai said, waving his hand in a dismissive manner. Naruto stuck his tongue out at him and then turned to pick whom he wanted to use as a human shield against the brunette.
"Damn it Sai, keep your eyes on the road!" Naruko yelled at the brunette who was currently flipping through the stack of CDs he had in his car and ignoring the road. Eventually he found what he was looking for and after popping it in, he turned back to the road in time to swerve away from a car they were about to hit. Ino and Sakura were about to have heart attacks in the back seat.
"Why'd you have to pick us to go with the crazy driver?" Sakura demanded.
"I didn't know!" Naruko shouted.
"Nobody knows!" Sai cried with a grin on his face. He weaved in between cars breaking the speed limit easily in the process.
"Slow down!" Naruko cried, noticing the speedometer.
"You're gonna kill us!" Ino said
"I promise I won't if Naruko-chan will let me go out with her later," Sai said quickly.
"Sure, whatever. Just don't crash!" Naruko shouted, only hearing her name.
"Ok!" Sai said happily, slowing down immediately causing the person behind him to beep loudly. "So I'll come over tomorrow then."
"Wait, what?"
"You said you'd let me go out with you later, so I'm telling you when I'm picking you up, which would be tomorrow. Roughly around one or two, if you want to be picky," Sai replied. All three passengers gave him a strange look.
"I didn't agree to that," Naruko denied.
"Oh, but you did, my blonde friend!"
"Well—now I'm telling you I don't want to go out with you later."
"Naruko-chan, you hurt my feelings." The smug look was still on his face.
"…You're still gonna come anyway, aren't you?" Naruko asked. Sai only grinned in response, and the blonde sighed heavily. Naruko looked back at Sakura and Ino for help, but they only gave him shrugs and apologetic looks.
"I promised Hinata I would take her shopping tomorrow. Sorry…" Sakura trailed off.
"My family has me working all day at the flower shop tomorrow. Sorry Naruko-chan," Ino said.
Naruko turned forward again and sank into her seat with a groan. She gave the driver a sideways glare. "No funny business then, okay?"
"Alright," Sai promised. The blonde didn't quite trust his word, but knew it was the best she would get from the other.
Finally they arrived at the theater, and none but Sai were surprised that they were the first to arrive. They bought their tickets as they waited for the others and eventually stuck up a small conversation. Gaara's group arrived not long after, and soon they were all finding seats in front of the big screen. They had picked a foreign movie about ninjas that had subtitles the whole way through. The girls, with the exception of Naruko, had complained at first, but had no problem when they were assured that the film had an intense love story in it as well.
Naruko had taken a seat by Hinata and was annoyed when the seat on her other side had been occupied by Sai. Gaara had taken the seat beside him, and she was grateful, knowing the redhead would stop the pervert from doing anything. Or he'd at least help her beat him up if he did. Sasuke had been trapped between Sakura and Ino on Hinata's other side.
By the end, they were swooning at the couple's tragic secret love and crying over the main male character's death. Afterwards Naruko said it reminded her of Romeo and Juliet. The girls and Sai had agreed. When everyone was ready to go home, Sakura and Ino refused to be driven by the maniac.
"B-but…but you can't just leave me alone with him!" Naruko cried.
"Sorry Naruko-chan. I don't want to be killed off just yet," Sakura told her.
"I agree. I think a three-year-old could drive better than him," Ino said.
"So harsh!" Sai cried, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead in a dramatic gesture. Naruko rolled her eyes.
"Still! I'd rather not die alone with him," she pleaded.
"Oh, Naruko-chan. Don't you trust me?" Sai said suddenly, clasping his hands together in front of him. He poked his lip out in a pout, causing Naruko to groan and roll her eyes again. He persisted and she gave him a halfhearted glare.
"Despite how much of a pervert and hassle you are, I trust you. But I don't trust your driving skills and I doubt I ever will," she said. He continued until it was clear she wouldn't say any more and then gave up with a shrug.
"I'll go with you. Sai's going my way anyway," Sasuke said, interrupting the moment. The blonde looked at him with sparkling eyes.
"Really?"
"That doesn't mean I'm being a human shield dobe," Sasuke replied. She deflated. Sai smirked.
"That's right, you'd probably be more like a force field or full body armor wouldn't you?" he said. Sasuke glared, silently denying the statement as Naruko looked between the two with a raised eyebrow and wondering if she was missing something.
Gaara watched as the two brunettes and blonde piled into the car, hoping the Uchiha really would prevent Sai from doing anything inappropriate to the oblivious blonde. He sighed, knowing it was out of his hands now. He'd been a bit surprised about Naruko's statement of trusting Sai. The blonde normally didn't trust many people after such a short amount of time no matter how friendly she was with them. It took either years to develop or a common understanding that only they shared for it to happen. He was thinking it was the latter, but wasn't sure what the common understanding was about. He found it rather humorous that the Uchiha's friend nearly had Naruko's full trust before the Uchiha himself. But he also knew Sasuke was well on his way to earning it. The redhead started the engine of his car and glided out of the movie's parking lot in silence.
"I can't believe Naruko-chan actually trusts that guy with how much he bothers her," Sakura stated once they were on the move. Ino nodded in agreement.
"N-Naruko-chan had told me that Sai-san isn't that bad, as l-long as he keeps his h-hands to himself. She said he's s-surprisingly i-insightful," Hinata said quietly. The pinkette and blonde raised their eyebrows.
"I'll believe that when I see it," Ino said skeptically.
"Uzumaki can trust whomever she wants. She's a good judge of character so there should be no reason for your doubt in her decision," Gaara said in a serious, monotone voice. The girls stared at him, but he kept his eyes on the road as though he hadn't said a thing.
Sakura sighed heavily. "Whatever. But that doesn't mean I trust that pervert yet," she said.
"Me too," Ino agreed. Hinata opted to stay silent and Gaara simply shrugged. If they didn't understand the connection that was there, that was their problem. Hinata seemed to realize it, but Gaara had always known the Hyuuga girl was perceptive like that.
He dropped off Sakura first and then Ino soon after. Hinata's house was further out of the way. When they arrived, he parked the car and got out as well. She sent him a questioning look.
"Your cousin has something to give me and I thought I could pick it up now, if that's all right?" he explained.
"O-of course," she replied with a shy smile. She led the way up the path to the front door and into the house. It was quiet, almost as though no one was there. Hinata slipped off her shoes before continuing on with Gaara behind her, following suit. As they were walking down a hall, a man suddenly walked out of a room just before them. Gaara assumed the stern looking man to be Hinata's father. He had long brown hair and the same pale eyes as Hinata and Neji only slightly colder and wearier from past experiences. He looked learned and strict, like someone who had little tolerance for things out of order. He only looked at Hinata for a second before appraising the red head.
Gaara spoke when the man's eyes finally met his, "I'm here to see Neji."
The man's eyes flickered to Hinata, who offered him a tentative smile, before returning to Gaara with a small frown. "He's in his room," he said finally.
"Arigatou, Hyuuga-san," Gaara said politely. The man didn't respond, and only walked on around the pair. Hinata motioned for Gaara to follow her. It was honestly his first time in the Hyuuga's household. He'd driven Hinata home a couple times that year as a favor to Neji when he hadn't be able to himself, but he'd never been invited inside. He'd never had a reason to either. He could have waited for the next day, but for some reason he didn't want to wait.
"T-this is his room," Hinata told him quietly when they stopped.
"Thank you," Gaara replied. She smiled at him and continued down the hall to where he guessed her room was. Taking a slight breath, he knocked on the door. He heard some rustling and waited for Neji to answer.
"Was there anything else, uncle?" Neji asked as he opened the door. Surprise flitted over his face as his eyes met cold teal instead of his uncle's pale ones, but he quickly composed himself once again. "Is there any reason you're here, Subaku?"
"I'm here for my book," Gaara replied simply. Confusion entered Neji's eyes before recognition took its place.
"It's over here," he said, retreating into his room. Gaara followed after him, looking around the Hyuuga's room as Neji searched for said book. The brown haired boy pulled it triumphantly from under a stack of other books and took the bookmark he'd been using from it. He returned to the red head's side. Gaara was currently looking over the other books Neji kept in his bookcase. His finger traced one book's pale green spine in particular as he read the title.
"Interested in borrowing it?" Neji asked, hoping to surprise the stoic boy. Gaara shook his head and turned to the other, undisturbed.
"I've already read it. Temari let me read it last year," he told the other. "It was interesting."
"I only finished it last month. Hinata had recommended it," Neji replied, handing Gaara his book.
"What did you think of it?" Gaara asked, curiosity seeping into his expression. He took his book. Neji smiled just a bit, seeing the other's expression, and decided to see what would come of such a simple question. Perhaps this was one person he could have an intelligent discussion with aside from is stuttering cousin.
Naruto waited. His foot was tapping already to his imaginary beat once again as his eyes glanced at the clock. It had been…one minute since the last time he looked. He was sure five minutes had passed, at least, but that obviously wasn't the case. It was nearing two o'clock. Hadn't Sai said noon? Naruto let out an exasperated sigh as he leaned back on the couch, letting himself deflate. He wasn't anxious for the cross dresser to get there. No. He was anxious for the time when Sai would leave, which, Naruto hoped, would be as soon as he got there. He was supposed to pick up his mom later on with Tsunade. He didn't want to be late for that.
Yumi was finally going to be coming home. Well, not to their exact home. They would all be living in Tsunade's house, but anywhere he could be living with his mother would be home to Naruto. She had been living at a center relearning things and seeing what she already knew. She was finally done with that and would be able to return home. Tsunade still had custody over Naruto ever since Yumi had been taken to the hospital in the first place, but she was willing to give it back to Yumi if she proved to be stable enough. Until then, she had agreed to have Yumi live with them since she was still worried about her old friend and wanted to keep an eye on her as well.
Finally the doorbell rang and Naruto sprinted to answer it. He paused to take a breath before opening the door as though he hadn't just run to it. Sai was standing there, as he expected, with that same smile of his plastered on his face. He raised a hand in greeting.
"Hello Naru-chan!" he said happily.
"Yeah, yeah. Come in," the blonde responded, holding the door open and stepping aside for his friend to enter.
"That's not a very enthusiastic greeting," Sai pouted as he walked in.
"Well you are the one who invited yourself over here. Sorry if I'm not exactly enthused by your presence," Naruto replied sarcastically. He stepped back to let the Sai in for a moment while he grabbed his coat. He checked to make sure he had his wallet and wrote a note for Tsunade who had gone out with Shizune earlier that morning. Done with that, he returned to Sai who was waiting patiently by the door. "Ok, I'm ready."
"Shall we?" Sai said, his arm making a sweeping gesture toward the open door to allow his companion to exit first. Naruto walked out, locked the door once Sai was out as well, and they were off.
A few minutes later, due to Sai's reckless driving, they were sitting in a nice café, right in front of the window. Sai had told him the day before when he'd been dropped off, not to eat lunch. Naruto hadn't and was quite glad that Sai hadn't asked him not to eat, only to have them do something else entirely. He wasn't quite sure why he had thought Sai would do something like that, but then decided he'd been thinking of Kakashi for some reason since that seemed like something he would do. Naruto looked at the menu again before placing it on the table and meeting Sai's stare which hadn't left him since they'd sat down.
"So, is there some purpose to taking me out to lunch?" Naruto asked. Sai shrugged.
"Not really. I know I've been bugging you lately, and I just wanted us to get to know each other better," he replied. Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"Right," he said. He was about to say more when a waitress approached them. They gave her their drink and food orders at the same time and she told them it would be out in a short while. They lapsed into silence while they waited for their drinks. Sai flipped through the small dessert menu for something he would like while Naruto just drifted off into his own thought. The waitress returned soon enough with their drinks; water for Sai and a hot chocolate for Naruto. Naruto blew on his beverage, not noticing Sai's smirk over his water until he was taking his first sip.
"So…which side of the fence are you on?" he asked in a curious voice. Naruto choked in surprise as Sai grinned. Naruto could just tell he'd been waiting for the perfect time to spring that question.
Finally able to breathe, Naruto retorted, "Why are you asking?"
"Well," Sai began, "normally cross dressers are gay, or at least bisexual. But mind you these are people who cross dress willingly. You, my friend, are an exception to this. I just want to quench my own curiosity." He smiled that innocent smile Naruto was really beginning to distrust. The blonde blushed despite himself and frowned.
"I mean if you're into girls still, that's great. You'd be able to understand them much better than any other guy could, anyway," Sai told him with an air on nonchalance. Naruto looked down at his drink.
"I don't know, I've never really been in a relationship before. With the whole keeping my gender a secret thing, I didn't really think about it, you know?" he said quietly so no eavesdroppers could hear accidentally. Sai stared at him and then shrugged.
"So then you're bi-curious," he said.
"What?" Naruto said, raising an eyebrow again.
"Bi-curious. You don't know, so just leave it open to interpretation. Go experimenting with both and see what you're more comfortable with. You could be attracted to both. Who knows? You certainly won't unless you try it both ways," Sai replied.
The waitress returned with their food once again and asked if they needed anything else before leaving once again. Naruto mulled over Sai's words as they ate, seeing as Sai was too busy eating to initiate conversation for the time being. The cross dresser was finished quickly though, and started on a new train of thought before Naruto could finish his food. They talked about random things and whatever came to mind. As the waitress brought their check, Naruto realized he was actually having a good time with his usual harasser. Instead of heading back to Sai's car, they decided to take a bit of a walk since the wind wasn't blowing so hard and the sun was out, making for a beautiful day with the snow still on the ground from the day before.
Finding a small kiddie park nearby, they stopped there. They played around on the monkey bars and jungle gym for a little before settling on the swings. No one else was around since it was still rather chilly out, but neither minded the cold. They were warmed up from playing around and welcomed the cold air that surrounded them. Naruto moved back and forth slightly, twisting a little from side to side as he did, while Sai had begun to swing higher. He didn't let himself get too high before he jumped off and landed on his feet, stumbling a little bit. Naruto laughed and Sai grinned. He skipped back to his swing and jumped onto it facing the opposite direction that Naruto was. He looked bursting to ask something. Naruto decided to humor him.
"What?" he asked.
"What do you think of Sasuke?" Sai asked. He looked as if he were waiting to hear a juicy tidbit of gossip, which it was, in a way. Everything about the Sasuke was gossip, to the girls at least. Naruto rolled his eyes at the mention of the Uchiha.
"He can be a jerk, but he's starting to grow on me," he replied honestly. Sai giggled.
"Yeah, he can be like that," he said. He looked out, watching the few people outside as they walked by. "He's starting to act like he used to, though."
Naruto looked at him questioningly. Sure Sasuke was starting to act a little differently than he had been when they first met, but she had chalked it up to his becoming more comfortable around his new friends. Then again his family had been killed and that could have changed him.
"What was he like? I mean, before…" he trailed off, feeling as though he shouldn't say it aloud.
"He was sarcastic and didn't really like large groups even though he had so many people trailing after him. But I guess that's how he is here too, so that's not much of a difference," Sai told the blonde, not looking at him. "He liked to go out a lot. We used to just walk around the city and play around… You know, once you see past his jerk act, he's actually a really good friend."
Naruto noticed the far away look that came over Sai's face as he talked and smiled slightly.
"He does it because he doesn't really want to bother with others. But if you manage to get past it, he'll be there for you if you need it. I didn't really have any friends before I met Sasuke because of, you know, how I dress and then always getting tossed around and moving to different places. I ended up sitting next to him and started annoying him one day, just to see if I could get a reaction from him. He didn't really do much, so I got bored and just started talking to him instead. He didn't say much to that either, but eventually we had a couple good conversations. I didn't really think he was my friend since I didn't know if he wanted friendship from me in the first place. But I got cornered one day by a couple of guys, you know the kind. The stereotypical bullies who gang up on others. I could have handled it and I was about to, but Sasuke was there before I could do anything. He chased them away while I just stood there. I didn't really know what to do, but he just turned around and asked if I wanted to go do something after school with him. I said yes and I knew he was a really good guy despite the vibes he had been putting out."
"He gives me that feeling too," Naruto said, a thoughtful look coming over him. "I think he just got a little lost after what happened. It's a hard thing for anyone to go through."
Sai nodded in agreement. They lapsed into silence for a moment before a devious grin came over Sai's face once again.
"So. What do you think of Sasuke?" he asked in a suggestive tone. Naruto gave him a confused look.
"What? You just asked...oh! What? No way. I wouldn't think of him like that." A blush was starting to creep across his face, betraying his denial. Sai saw it and grasped it happily. He jumped up from his seat on the swing.
"Don't denyyyy how you feel insiiiiide!" he sang in no particular tune.
"Sai! Come on. I don't even know if I like guys anyway, so what makes you think I would like Sasuke?" Naruto exclaimed with a frown.
"Hmm, true. If only there were a way to see if you did…" Sai said, ignoring the groan coming from his blonde companion. He walked around to stand in front of Naruto, rubbing his chin in a thoughtful manner. An idea struck him and he snapped his fingers as a smirk came on his face. He placed his hands on his hips and leaned forward, making Naruto gulp in fear of what Sai's triumphant expression may mean.
"Kiss me."
Naruto's eyes widened and he nearly fell off the swing in surprise.
"What? Why?!" he shouted when he regaining his balance. Sai stood back up, hands still resting daintily on his hips.
"Why not? It's just a kiss, and it's not like we're with anyone. Besides, I don't mind kissing others, especially if they're a cutie like you," he said with a wink and a smile.
Naruto glared a little at the other, though it was obscured a little by the pout that had appeared as he replied, "I didn't ask why you would. I just mean…why? How would kissing you solve anything?"
"It solves everything!" Sai exclaimed, striking a heroic pose. When no response but the wind blowing was awarded him, he pouted and replied more seriously, "Because I'm a guy and if you kiss me and it feels right, you'll know if you like guys or not."
"Um, I'm not sure it works that way," Naruto said, raising an eyebrow at the other's explanation. Sai stuck his tongue out at the other.
"So what? Just try it. It won't hurt anything if you do," he said. Naruto paused to think about it. He knew he probably shouldn't since it would allow the pervert a new way to harass him, but still…he was curious. He hadn't thought about it until Sai had brought up the topic, but it vaguely disturbed him that he didn't know. So maybe if he did this…
"You know you waaant toooo," Sai said in a sing-song voice, egging him on. "Just one little kiss. That's it."
Naruto frowned as he looked into Sai's eyes that sparkled with amusement at the situation.
"…Fine. But only because I want to see if it will help me figure this out. If you come within a ten mile radius of me with the intent to do what we are about to do or even think of mentioning that we have kissed to another person, I will personally castrate you and then have rabid dogs maul you," Naruto relented. Sai grinned, unaffected by the threat, and walked closer to the blonde who was still seated on the swing.
Naruto fidgeted, wondering if he should stand or not, but Sai simply leaned down, grasping the swing's chain with one hand and cupping Naruto's face with the other. He smirked at the uncomfortable look on the blonde's face and leaned ever closer.
"As you wish," Sai breathed when they were barely centimeters apart. And then their lips connected.
The kiss was something completely unexpected to Naruto. He wasn't even sure what he was expecting, but he was quite sure it wasn't what he got. It was soft and new and altogether amazing for a first kiss. In the back of his mind, he vaguely remembered Sai almost stealing his first kiss, and guessed it was better that it was consensual for Sai to be his first kiss than for the cross dresser to just take it of his own accord. When it was over, his eyes fluttered open as he caught his breath, unaware of when his eyes had closed in the first place. He stared into coal black eyes and was somehow reminded of someone else who had them. He found himself wishing it had been that other person he'd shared that first, amazing kiss with, but he couldn't quite recall who it was he was thinking of in the leftover hazy that clouded his mind. Words pierced it as Sai spoke, his face still close to Naruto's and his hand still on the other's cheek.
"So?"
Naruto took another breath before answering, his mouth moving into a bit of a playful frown.
"You're too girly for me to judge with," he said finally.
Sai grinned as he pulled back and then laughed, thanking the blonde for the compliment. Naruto stuck his tongue out at the other, but laughed along with him anyway.
A/N: Hey…(dodges sharp object being thrown) I know, I know. I'm sorry! I've been keeping you waiting for forever, but it's finally here! Unfortunately, it's basically just another filler chapterrr…. (eh heh, don't kill me please!) I wanted some relationship development between Naruto and Sai, and I know a lot of you are going to be like, what? Naru and Sai kissed! What happened to Sasuke! But you have to understand that they are both in denial. They don't actually have a relationship until the end… (eh heh, don't kill me again…) Thankfully we will soon be getting to the exciting parts soon such as Naruto's (gasp!) return to being a boy, and something terrible which will bring this whole shebang to a close! You can probably guess what that is, but I can hope you won't know. I'd love for it all to be a surprise, and I've got an idea that won't stop poking my brain for it. But alas, it will have to wait a while longer to come out.
What has kept me from updating was finals for school, school in general, my family coming up for my sister's graduation, and then having to entertain my cousin who normally stays with us for the summer while said sister goes off to Spain (Normally my cousin's off with my sister, but she wasn't allowed to go off to Spain so we got to spend some quality time together)! Add some major writer's block and that's it in a nutshell. But my sister is back so I got some good time in with my computer to provide you with this. I hope you are all satisfied with it for the moment until I am done with the next one. I tried to make it longer to make up for my absence, but I probably just drew it out more than I needed to. And about the scene with Gaara and Neji, I just couldn't resist. I seem to have developed a liking for NejiGaa. There may or may not be more development between them, but in any case it's just an extra thing I decided to add when I forgot to look at the outline I made for this thing.
So, I'll leave now. Thank you so much for reading this far, and to all of you who review, I love you very much. It really brightens my day to read them. We're almost at 100 people, so I'll be happy even if only one or two people review this chapter. Reviews are appreciated as always and flames will be used to burn random things I may find.
Disclaimer: don't own Naruto or any characters associated with it (with the exception of Yumi, I do own the crazy woman...)