Chapter Three

Sakura had had a very long night.

A very long night.

And not just because she'd been kept up into the early hours of the morning by Ino and Naruto … God … having sex.

It had been like they were trying to break down the wall that separated the two bedrooms with how hard they'd been going at it.

And she'd never heard Naruto's name said like that before. With such carnal and deeply satisfied pleasure coating each syllable. It was distracting to picture him doing things that would cause that sort of reaction.

Something she'd not been able to stop doing by the way, right until they'd finished and then for another hour after they'd finally fallen asleep.

If they hadn't been so loud about it, she'd probably have been able to turn on some music, or turn the TV in her room all the way up and drown them out. But if she could hear them going at it in the living room, where there was at least some distance between them, her first mistake had been assuming it wouldn't get worse when she was in her bedroom.

You know, the room that shared a wall and that both beds were shoved right up against.

Ino had been so loud it was like Sakura was in the damn room, and on the rare occasions she had heard Naruto … God, she'd never heard him sound even remotely like that … grunting and panting it was like she had him on top of her instead of Ino.

Especially when he started pounding her so hard the wall damn near shook and Sakura could have sworn the vibrations were going through her bedframe and making her bed shake.

But the noise and literal wall shaking wasn't all that had kept her awake.

She wished it was. It would have been far more bearable if she was just angry at the inconsiderate behaviour. That her belly deep rage was just because she didn't want to walk into her roommate having loud sex without even a courtesy sock on the door sort of thing.

That the hours and hours, without a break longer than ten minutes she swore to God, of hearing her best friend making another woman moan like she was in her own little sex paradise … was only pissing her off because it'd been a while since any man had made her feel that way.

Because that kind of jealous? More like envy than jealousy, she could deal with.

It had been a while since she'd had even a lick of sex … excuse the pun, ugh … and the last time she'd had an orgasm that hadn't come from her own fingers or the little pink vibrator she kept hidden in her underwear drawer … well it measured in the years.

But that wasn't how she felt. She wasn't envious Ino was having great sex. Hell, if she was having it with anyone else, she'd be overjoyed for the woman. There was nothing quite like having a man who knew what the fuck he was doing and was determined to make you feel as good as he did.

Those men were rarer than gold dust and just as sought after.

No, she was jealous that she wasn't the one under him. Under Naruto. That it wasn't her body he was lifting to Nirvana. That it wasn't her every nerve he was setting on fire with pleasure. And that it wasn't her dragging out those toe-curlingly hot moans from his mouth that Ino managed sometime around one a.m.

And as much as her brain would tell her that she wasn't jealous, that she was just sexually frustrated because it had been a while, and that this time she couldn't escape to Naruto's place to get away from her roommate's obnoxiously loud sex … he'd make Ino moan in ways that even porn stars can't fake and the reality would beat Sakura over the head.

She had feelings for Naruto and it was killing her to hear him with another woman.

The pain that came from it was just too intense to be anything else. And she'd had all night to chew that one over. Running through all the different hints that she had feelings for Naruto and had just ignored them or not noticed. Because it was too complicated, because their friendship was the stuff people dreamed their friendships could be.

Come rain or shine, whatever one of them needed … the other was there. Sasuke had dumped her horribly? Naruto had been her shoulder to cry on. Hinata had cheated on Naruto with Kiba? Sakura had watched the strongest man she knew crumble into pieces and helped put him back together again.

They were rock solid and that was not something she was prepared to risk. Even if it was on a subconscious level.

And because of that … now Naruto was with someone else. Someone absolutely gobsmackingly gorgeous. Even Sakura had thought Ino was hot when she'd stepped out the other night.

Someone, who by the sounds of it, matched Naruto's apparently very high sex drive too.

Someone who Sakura shared a bedroom wall with. A surprisingly thin one at that.

God how was she ever meant to survive this? It would have been bad enough to figure out she had feelings for Naruto if he hadn't been seeing someone, that would have just been a matter of weighing the pros and cons and if the pros outweighed the cons, which they would by the way, taking a shot.

But to have to figure out those feelings while listening him fuck some other woman's brains out in the next room? And what if it became a running thing? Like if they actually became a couple and he was now round her apartment being lovey-dovey with another woman when her soul would be crying out for him to be acting like that with her.

Whoever said you didn't know what you had until you lost it didn't know the half of it.

Thankfully sometime around three a.m. the two of them had finally worn themselves out and Sakura's own personal little hell had come to an end. She'd been so relieved that her body had just slammed down the handbrake on her brain and she'd knocked out.

And when she'd woken up, she'd woken up to silence. Well, silence from the bedroom next door.

There was the sound of someone in the kitchen and she wasn't sure who she hoped it was. They were clearly making breakfast and it smelled so damn good she was willing to risk bumping into Naruto after last night.

She wrapped herself in a big fluffy dressing gown, and padded out of her bedroom, decidedly not glancing back at the door that led to Ino's room.

Following the heavenly wafting of breakfast filling the air, Sakura turned into the kitchen and her whole body tensed as she saw blonde hair. It lessened a little when she realised it wasn't Naruto.

But only a little, because now she was going to have to face Ino about last night and … well that wasn't much better. She still would have given anything to be in Ino's metaphorical shoes last night.

'Hi Sakura!' Ino said in a bubbly voice as she turned to see who'd come in behind her. 'How'd you sleep? I'm just making breakfast, do you want some?'

Sakura grumbled and lowered herself onto one of the stools set up at the kitchen island. 'Not great to be honest,' she said. 'It was really noisy last night.'

Ino had the good grace to blush though, that helped Sakura's mood.

Though Sakura felt bad for being catty about it. She was allowed to be annoyed at the lack of warning over the very lengthy and loud sex last night but the sudden desire to kick Ino out on her pretty little ass wasn't really fair to her.

Naruto wasn't her boyfriend or anything. Hell, he wasn't her anything. They were friends and that was it. If her hunk of a best friend wanted to hook up with the beautiful blonde she'd brought into his life … well he was allowed to.

Because again, she only had herself to blame. If she'd just realised her feelings for Naruto earlier … maybe it would have been her he screwed so good the walls shook.

She shifted on her stool, pushing that thought very, very far back into her brain. If Ino was now dating Naruto she'd have to stomp down on those feelings before she said or did something she'd regret.

Not that she knew what that would even be.

'Yeah …' Ino said with a bashful smile, turning away from the stove and blushing at her. 'I'm sorry about the lack of warning … and if I've crossed a line or anything … With Naruto I mean.'

Sakura's eyebrows shot into her hairline. 'What do you mean?'

Ino gave her a measured look, frowning slightly and crossed her arms over her pyjama top. 'Well … you're clearly pissed and with your body language being so guarded is … it's either because of the sheer amount of volume or because of who was helping me make it. Either way that's gonna need addressing if we're gonna stay living together right? And for the record, I really want to live here. I like you, it's a nice apartment and it's really convenient for work. So I just think cards on the table is the best solution for this one yeah?'

Sakura didn't really know what to say to any of that. She was too busy trying to figure out how her body language had given away how upset she was to be honest. But being honest did sound like the best policy.

'Okay,' she said warily. At least it sounded like Ino wanted to work it out so they could still live together. Which Sakura would like, Ino was nice and fun and after the last year of a shitty roommate … well it would be a relief to have Ino stay.

And again, she really couldn't be mad about her and Naruto. Naruto was not her boyfriend. He could sleep with whoever he wanted.

Maybe if she said it enough times, the thought would stop hurting.

'So, first things first … you and Naruto, not a thing right? Like I've not just helped some asshole cheat on his girlfriend have I?' Ino asked, so bluntly Sakura's cheeks burned more out of shock than actual embarrassment.

'No!' Sakura said quickly, defensiveness building up rocket fast as she leant forwards on her stool angrily. 'We're just friends, besides Naruto would never do that to anyone!'

Ino held her hands up and smiled apologetically. 'Okay, okay, I'm sorry I just had to check, I've been on that merry-go-round before and it's made me a little jaded. Sorry if I upset you. But I do gotta ask … you have feelings for him right?'

'No,' Sakura said firmly. Because she would not be the reason why Naruto lost out on a possible girlfriend if that's what Ino was just because of her confused feelings. Because now she was able to think without the building horny she was actually beginning to wonder if she was even sure what she was feeling.

Sure, Naruto was hot. He always had been, but sexual attraction and romantic attraction were two different things. She really could just have been extra frustrated because it had been a while since she got laid and … well the last couple roommates had never warned her about hook-ups. So she could just be salty.

'You sure?' Ino asked, raising a neatly trimmed brow, briefly turning to check on breakfast. 'Cos you looked way too upset when you sat down, if it's gonna cause an issue I can cut it off, we're not dating or anything.'

They weren't? Then what the fuck were they even doing?

And damn the little flicker of hope that sprung to life in her gut at those words. Wasn't she just convincing herself her feelings for Naruto were purely because it had been a while?

'So what … you guys just hooked up last night or something?' Sakura asked, hating her curiosity. Because even if she was just his best friend, she still didn't really need to be thinking about Naruto in that way.

It would actually be creepier if they were just friends she felt. At least if her feelings for him were genuine, her wanting to know could be because she had a vested interest.

She felt kind of perverted even asking about Ino and Naruto's sex life to be honest. Especially given that Ino was essentially still a stranger.

And if a stranger asked her about her sex life, she'd kick that stranger in the balls.

But also there was a tic at the back of her head that wondered if they'd hooked up the night they'd all gone out and just been going at it ever since … and that only made her complicated feelings about Naruto and sex more complicated.

Shut up, she didn't know how she was feeling either okay?

Ino didn't seem put off by the question though and wound up dishing up some breakfast in front of Sakura, on the plate that had clearly been meant for Ino.

Why did she have to be nice? Bitch.

'Well, I don't want to make it awkward or anything but if you really wanna know how … that happened.' The pause and little happy smile on Ino's face did not go unnoticed. 'I can just tell you? If it isn't weird?'

Oh it was weird, but she had to know now. Her curiosity would eat her alive and the only other person to ask was Naruto and that … would not end well.

'Besides, if you don't have a problem with it …' Ino just grinned and started loading up her own plate of food. The words left unsaid speaking volumes of Ino's intentions for Sakura's best friend. His body at least.

Not that she'd blame the woman.

Ino, appearing to take Sakura's silently chewing on some bacon as permission, sat down next to her and smiled. 'So, and remember if this gets too weird to talk about, even if you don't have a thing for him, he is your best friend and I know I'd be weird about hearing how good one of my childhood friends was in bed …'

Well that cleared away any doubt of Ino faking how much she was enjoying herself last night. Naruto really did know what he was doing. Great. Fantastic.

Fuck she needed to get laid.

'But yeah, so we hooked up the night at the bar and well … given how we both have stressful jobs and have no time to really honestly date… we decided we'd kinda have a 'you up?' thing? You know?'

She did, she'd received a few of those texts from drunk guy friends over the years. She'd never acted on them, mostly because she didn't want to hook up with any of them. She couldn't say she'd have turned Naruto down if he'd sent her one but well … that was best not thought of right now.

'So you're not dating?' Sakura asked, trying to smother the hope in her voice. Whether for her own benefit or Ino's she wasn't sure. 'You're gonna have like a fuck-buddy thing?'

Ino nodded happily and then frowned. 'Is that okay? Cos seriously Sakura, if me and him occasionally blowing off steam is gonna be a problem for any reason … I'll put a stop to it right now.'

It was tempting. Really tempting. And she could tell by the sincerity in Ino's face that if she asked the blonde to stop fucking Naruto, she'd do it. Possibly no questions asked.

But it wouldn't be fair. Weird and complicated feelings aside, Naruto was in fact free to have as many fuck buddies as he wanted. He could have a slew of one night stands all across Konoha and beyond if he wanted.

Hell, for all she knew, he already did and Ino was just the one who happened to live with her.

Though honestly, she doubted it. The blond idiot could never keep a secret from her and he'd never be able to keep a steady flow of hook-ups quiet. The idiot hadn't even noticed a smudge of lipstick on his cheek that she'd put there when they'd had a jokey kiss at their last New Year's Eve party.

She'd have caught him getting lucky even if it hadn't been in the next room.

Besides, she really could just be jealous because she needed to get laid. And Naruto's undoubtable prowess in bed was just making her grumpy she wasn't getting that kind of sex.

Could really be wholly separate to Naruto and Ino and just be her horny brain wanting to get some.

She sighed heavily and swallowed a groan.

And if this stress relief thing with Ino would help Naruto …

Which a small, very quiet part of her brain whispered that if he'd told her about needing that kind of stress relief she'd have been happy to help.

His groans from last night rumbled through her memory and she shifted on her stool again.

Yes, she'd have been very happy to help with that sort of stress relief.

But would she really though? She really couldn't shake the doubt that her sudden jealousy wasn't him related. That it really was just the need to get laid.

Goddamn hormones.

'No,' she said, forcing a smile that she thought was pretty convincing. 'Just … I don't know warn me next time? My last two roommates never warned me and it was infuriating.'

Ino made a sympathetic and guilty face and nodded. 'Well it won't be a regular thing or anything. Not to go TMI or anything but … I haven't been this stress free in ages. So yeah, I'll hang a sock on the door or something if it happens again yeah?'

If. Yeah, sure if.

'Sure,' Sakura smiled and they sat and ate their breakfast in a silence that felt like she was being pushed into the floor. The unsaid warning she wanted to give Ino, which she didn't feel justified in saying wouldn't go away and finally she sighed and turned to her, finding the blonde already looking at her like she'd known.

'Just …' Sakura said, meeting her gaze head on. 'Don't hurt him okay? He's a wonderful man and if you hurt him … I'll kick your ass.'

The threat hung heavily in the air until Ino broke it as Sakura was finishing her bacon.

'I believe you,' Ino said, propping her head up with her fist under her cheek and smiled at her. 'Don't worry, that's the last thing I want to do.'

'Good,' Sakura said stiffly and then yawned. 'Thank you for breakfast, but someone kept me up all night and I'm still exhausted. I'll talk to you later.'

'Sure,' Ino said softly. 'Sorry again.'

Sakura just waved and tromped back to her bedroom without a look back. She could feel the other woman's eyes on her all the way.

But she couldn't care right now, she was too tired and confused for this day already.

Maybe she'd wake up next time and all this complicated crap would end up being one really long, lucid dream.

If she was lucky.