The band was way too enthusiastic about the possibility of Sakura coming over, and it made Sasuke regret even bringing it up. He hated the idea of all of them fawning over her, and especially the fact that this would mean whatever he had with Sakura was no longer just between the two of them.

But Sakura had also become a much bigger person in Sasuke's life than he'd realized (or ever expected), and a part of him wanted her to meet them. Because no matter how irritating and obnoxious they were, the four of them were the closest thing he had to a family anymore.

They settled on the next Friday for Sakura to come over for dinner, and the rest of the band (particularly Naruto) was thrilled. Apparently it was too much for Naruto to contain himself, because Kakashi caught on when he was in the studio with them the day before. He stopped Sasuke before he left that afternoon. "I heard you have a guest coming over to the apartment tomorrow," he said.

"Did you." Sasuke shut his guitar case and shoved away his picks.

"Naruto mentioned it, but wouldn't say anything else. Is it your girlfriend?" Kakashi asked with a smug smile.

"Hn." Sasuke supposed Naruto or Shikamaru had told him. Of course.

"I assumed that's what it was," Kakashi said. "I guess I was right."

Sasuke frowned at him.

"You're not as hard to read as you think you are," Kakashi said. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"But speaking professionally as your manager, I completely agree with your choice to keep it quiet," Kakashi said. "I just hope you both know what you're doing."

"Of course we know what we're doing," Sasuke said, irritated.

"It's liable to blow up in your face, is what I'm trying to say," Kakashi said. "Which I'm sure you already know. And it'll be a change for your image." Sasuke rolled his eyes at that. "But it's your life. I'm not going to interfere."

"Aa." Sasuke muttered. This was the last thing he wanted to talk about.

"So who is it?" Kakashi asked. "Indulge me in a little gossip."

Sasuke glared at him. "You say the dumbest stuff," he muttered.

"I'm waiting, Sasuke," Kakashi said. "What if I said I wasn't going to leave until you gave me a name?"

Sasuke let out an irritated exhale, and knew Kakashi's threat was serious. "Sakura Haruno," he muttered.

"Hm." Kakashi looked smug.

"You already knew, didn't you." Sasuke said.

"None of your bandmates betrayed you, if that's what you're wondering. I just put the pieces together after your concert in Ishi. Looks like I was right."

"Whatever."

"I'll see you in a few days. Have fun tomorrow," Kakashi said, and then he left. Sasuke swung his guitar case over his shoulder irritatedly and went to meet his other bandmates.

Sasuke met Sakura earlier on Friday afternoon to make sure she knew the way. They took a taxi to the building next door to the band's apartment and entered through the back entrance. Sasuke led the way down a flight of stairs and then through the passage to the parking garage of their building.

"Wow. This is…Strategic." Sakura looked around, eyebrows raised. Sasuke had done this so many times it felt natural, but he realized to her it must be extremely strange.

"Yeah."

"Don't tell me these were linked when you guys moved in, though," Sakura said, a smile playing around her lips.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "No. They advertised it when we were looking. Came in handy." They got on the elevator and he pressed the number 15.

"For all your romantic conquests, I assume," Sakura said, amused.

Sasuke just frowned at her.

"That was a joke," Sakura said.

"Whatever."

"Some day, you'll laugh at something I say," Sakura said. "Maybe something more tasteful, but it doesn't matter."

Sasuke snorted.

"That counts!" Sakura said triumphantly.

There was an awkward silence, and then suddenly the two of them were aware that they were completely alone, in a very confined space. Sasuke saw the blush creep up on Sakura's face. They were only standing a few inches apart, and her arm was almost touching his…

And then the elevator dinged (loudly), and the moment was gone. Sasuke got out feeling slightly sheepish, and could've kicked himself for the feeling. Hooking up on an elevator was the last thing he would ever do. God.

The band's apartment was the only one on the floor, so a short hallway led to the door.

"They'll be really fucking annoying," Sasuke said right before they reached the door. He was deeply regretting this.

"I can handle it," Sakura said, looking amused.

"Hn." Sasuke unlocked the door and opened it.

Naruto was waiting inside, and he jumped when the door opened.

"Sakura!" he said, running up to give her a hug like they were old friends. "It's awesome to see you again!"

"Um, you too." Sakura said, surprised but smiling. Clearly she was taken aback by Naruto's familiarity (Sasuke just rolled his eyes).

"Teme," Naruto nodded to Sasuke, smirking. "You guys have a good afternoon?"

"Yeah, we did," Sakura said, looking at Sasuke.

"Well, come in! The other guys are in the living room." Naruto said, leading the way down the hallway. Sasuke watched Sakura, who was looking around with wide eyes. Her genuine naïveté about fame showed most clearly in situations like this, but Sasuke didn't hold it against her in the slightest. The band's success was evident just from the size of the place.

Shikamaru and Kiba both came out of the living room just as the other three reached the doorway.

"Hey," Kiba said, flashing Sakura a smile that made Sasuke want to punch him.

"Nice to meet you…again," Shikamaru said, looking amused.

"You too," Sakura said. She looked a bit starstruck, to be honest, and Sasuke realized she probably was. This was the band's apartment, after all. Still, the thought was amusing.

"So, you want the tour?" Kiba asked.

"Uh, sure," Sakura said.

Kiba and Naruto led the way around the apartment, followed by Sakura and Sasuke. They showed her the main rooms and the doors to their respective bedroom/living areas.

"We're always here during recording time," Naruto said, "which means we never see the end of each other."

"I can imagine," Sakura said, sounding amused. "So you guys don't have separate houses here?"

"Nah," Kiba said. "Easier this way."

The band spent the most time in Kumo, but Naruto owned his own apartment in Oto, and so did Kiba and Shikamaru. They'd all felt some kind of connection to the place, unlike Sasuke. He hadn't looked back when he left, and he didn't regret it. He had no plans to ever go back.

Naruto had also thought about getting a place in Konoha; it was his hometown, even though he'd moved away as a kid.

"And that's it, I think," Naruto said. "Oh, wait, there's the practice room." He practically skipped down the hallway to show it to her.

Sakura was clearly intrigued; she stared inside at the various instruments. "Oh, wow. This is…Awesome. Is it soundproof?"

"Yep," Naruto said, grinning.

"Hey, you guys want to eat?" Shikamaru had appeared. "Food's here."

"Cool," Naruto said with a grin. He led the way into their rarely used dining room, where there was a spread of Italian takeout.

"Sorry, we're shit cooks," Shikamaru said to Sakura.

"That's fine," Sakura said with a laugh. "I live off premade stuff and pasta, it's the only thing I can make."

The thought of Sakura not being able to cook only surprised Sasuke because he hadn't considered the fact that she wasn't good at anything. It had been a stupid assumption, and he didn't know where it had come from. Music. If someone was a good musician, nothing else ever really mattered to him. Well, except if they were an asshole or not.

"You want some water? Or something else, we've got other stuff." Sasuke said.

"Water would be great," Sakura said, smiling at him. "I can get it."

"No, I'll do it," Sasuke said.

Naruto coughed and Sasuke shot him a glare as he headed into the kitchen to fill glasses. When he came back out, Sakura was sitting down at the insistence of Naruto. Sasuke sat next to her.

It was an extremely strange feeling to be sitting around a table with all of them, and it had to be even stranger for Sakura. Sasuke glanced over at her when he passed a bowl to her, and she was biting her lap.

"What's wrong?" He muttered, knowing none of the other guys would hear (Naruto was in the middle of a story about a conversation he'd had with Killer B, an eccentric rapper the band had collaborated with in the past).

"This whole thing is just…Really weird," she murmured, shaking her head. She grinned. "I mean, it shouldn't be, but it is."

"Tch. Yeah." Sasuke had to admit it.

"Hey, Naruto, how come Hinata isn't here?" Kiba said.

"She's working tonight," Naruto said. "Some big thing at the arena. Plus she gets kinda overwhelmed with a ton of people. And Sasuke intimidates her."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"I doubt that. People stop being intimidating when you have to put body mics on them," Shikamaru said, sounding bored.

Kiba snorted. "That's for sure. God, I hated doing that stuff when we started. Remember the shitty sound equipment at those places downtown?" Kiba said, grinning.

"Don't remind me," Shikamaru said with a sigh.

"If you guys don't mind...How did you start playing together?" Sakura asked, looking genuinely curious.

Kiba grinned. "Oh, God, the getting-together story. What a tale."

"It's not a particularly interesting story, so don't listen to Kiba," Shikamaru said, rolling his eyes.

"You don't have to tell me," Sakura said. "I was just kind of curious. I figured I could ask, since this is informal or whatever."

"Yeah, sure we can tell you! You've missed out on the good stuff, Sasuke never wants to talk about the old days," Naruto said. He grinned at Sasuke, who shot him a glare. "He hates anything personal."

"I wouldn't say it's that bad," Sakura said mildly, and Sasuke glanced at her. He realized she was on his side more than Naruto's, and it made him smirk slightly. She took his hand under the the table and it sent tingles up Sasuke's arm.

Naruto looked slightly embarrassed to have made the comment (which was extremely unusual), but he recovered quickly. "Well, I was best friends with teme and we used to play together back in middle school. Then we met Shikamaru in high school and played jazz together."

Sakura grinned. "Wow."

"Yeah, it was jazz on Tuesdays and as much metal as Naruto could get in," Shikamaru said, sighing. "Fucking awful."

"Hey!" Naruto said.

"We wanted to form a legit rock band, but all the bass players we knew sucked. And then Kiba stopped by a rehearsal one day, he'd heard about us through one of his friends. So he played a few runs and we gave him a try. Partly because he had the best garage for rehearsing. That was what, junior year?" Shikamaru said, frowning.

"Yup," Kiba said. "You guys were total misfits."

"Why'd you join up, then." Sasuke said, raising an eyebrow.

"Dude. Everyone knew you were the best, even if you were completely antisocial." Kiba said. He turned to Sakura. "Sasuke and Shikamaru used to hole up in my garage, writing music."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, and Sakura laughed.

"Luckily we all got along, for the most part," Shikamaru said. "It was kind of a miracle. But somehow the four of us worked out, so we started getting gigs at crappy bars and stuff."

"And the rest is history!" Naruto said triumphantly. "What about you, Sakura? When did you start singing?"

"Oh, wow. Since I can remember, honestly." Sakura blushed, looking slightly embarrassed. "I used to have really bad stagefright, though, I hated singing in public."

"Well, that's changed," Kiba said, and the others laughed.

"Yeah, yeah," Sakura said, rolling her eyes. Sasuke couldn't help smirking slightly at how well she could hold her own with them.

"How about guitar? When did you start that?"

"Not seriously until freshman year of high school. Mainly because I wanted to be able to accompany myself. I played piano before that, but I haven't kept up with it so much. I'm not great." Sasuke hadn't known she played piano at all, but she was a singer-songwriter, so it probably should have been a given. She's probably good, too, Sasuke thought. It was that ridiculous modesty yet again.

"Aw, you're kidding!" Naruto said. "You've gotta jam with us sometime." Kiba nodded immediately.

Even Shikamaru looked more awake at the suggestions. "That's actually a good idea," he said. "I've wanted to talk songwriting with you since Ishi." That was news to Sasuke.

Sakura laughed, clearly surprised. "I—Wow. Yeah. That'd be fun."

They finished up about an hour later, after talking about touring and schedules. Sakura had checked the time and said she had to get back; it was past eight, and she had a phone call to make.

"I'll walk you down," Sasuke said, once she'd said goodbye to the other three guys and they were standing in the front hall once again.

"You don't have to," Sakura said immediately.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Come on," he muttered, and Sakura smiled.

The hallway was empty, and they waited for the elevator in silence. It reached their floor, dinged, and they got on.

As soon as the elevator doors closed, Sakura met his eyes. And then Sasuke pushed her up against the wall of the elevator. Sakura's hands tightened around his waist, and they were kissing.

"What are we doing," she breathed, pulling an inch apart. He knew they were both thinking of the club in Ishi.

"Don't know," Sasuke said, closing the distance between them. Sakura slid a hand around his neck and her fingers sent chills down his spine. Her waist was pressed against his, and Sasuke could feel his heart thrumming.

Ding. The sound made them both jump apart, and then the doors were opening and they went out into the (luckily empty) parking garage.

Sakura was flushed, and she smoothed down her hair. "God," she said. "Did we really just do that on an elevator?"

"…Yeah," Sasuke said. It had just come over him, and it looked like it had been with the same with her. He ran a hand through his hair and hoped his face wasn't bright red.

Sakura shook her head, smiling sheepishly.

They walked up to the lobby of the other building, and Sakura called a cab. "I'm free a few days next week. You should come over," she said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I've only ever seen a few paparazzi around, but they're easy enough to avoid. There's a side entrance."

"No, I mean...Being at your place. Alone." With privacy.

She looked at him for a second, a blush creeping up on her cheeks. "Yeah."

"Okay," Sasuke said.

"Cool." She gave him the address, and then got a call from the cab service. "They're here," she said, giving Sasuke a smile. "So I'll see you next week?"

"Sounds good."

"Thanks for this, too. I know you'll roll your eyes, but I had a lot of fun."

Sasuke restrained from rolling his eyes just for that. "Tch. Good."

Sakura gave him a wave and then went out to the cab.

Shikamaru and Kiba had disappeared to their rooms when Sasuke came back up to the apartment, but Naruto was in the main living room watching TV. Sasuke sat down on the couch without really thinking about it. He was still reliving the elevator ride downstairs.

Naruto muted the commercials for once and looked happily at Sasuke. "We should have Sakura over more often."

Sasuke was immediately pulled back to the present. "Hn."

"Oh, come on! She fits right in with us!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but he couldn't exactly disagree.

There was a pause, and then Naruto spoke again. "You know you're kind of a different guy around her, teme." Naruto said thoughtfully.

"What are you talking about." Sasuke said.

"You're not an asshole." Naruto said. He grinned.

"Shut up, dobe," Sasuke muttered.

A/N: Sorry for the lag time. Hope you're enjoying.