sorry for the wait. i don't own Naruto.

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Sleeping With Strangers

Chapter Two

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Ino tilted her head back against the large bathroom mirror, panting. The man in front of her leaned forward and licked a path from her collarbone to the top of her shoulder. She slowly unlocked her arms from around his neck as he pushed her back so she could sit on the counter with the sinks without falling. The only sounds that could be heard in the restroom were their harsh breathing and tap water spraying into the sink from when Ino had accidentally turned it on.

"That was... nice." The blonde managed, detangling herself from the man and pushing her bra strap back onto her shoulder. Luckily for both of them, they only had moved aside the articles of clothing that had hindered them from fornicating; it would be fairly easy to become presentable.

"Mmm." The man mumbled one last time into her neck before pulling away. He discarded the condom in a nearby garbage can, then did up his pants as she pulled her underwear back up, then hopped off of the counter, nearly twisting her ankle as she landed on her two inch high heels.

"Not so talkative, are you?" She asked with a smile, washing her hands for the sake of it before shutting off the water. Using the water still on her hands, she smoothed her hair out and teased it back up into a ponytail, using the purple scrunchie she had around her wrist.

He shrugged, adjusting the collar of his black polo shirt. "You want me to buy you a drink?"

Ino laughed. "That's okay." She went over to stand next to him, planting a quick kiss on his cheek. "I would like to know your name though, handsome."

He grabbed for her wrist, pulling her close to him before kissing her hard on the lips. "It's Kankuro. Yours?"

She slid her hands down his chest, tugging slightly at the bottom of his shirt. "Ino." She smiled again and pulled away.

Ino straightened out her dress one last time, then walked over to the door, wincing slightly. She removed the CAUTION: WET FLOOR sign they had wedged between the door handle and the floor so it couldn't be opened and threw it aside. When she pushed open the door, she was met with the sight of at least five women angrily waiting to use the bathroom. She flashed them a cheerful smile as she exited, Kankuro not far behind with his hands on her hips. "Sorry!"

Outside of the bathroom, the music of the club was loud enough to make the walls shake. The entire place was mostly dark, with random colored lights panning the room continuously. It was packed from wall to wall with people, most of them dancing, but some just hanging out at the tables to the left. After the pair got far enough away from the bathroom where they wouldn't receive any death glares, they parted ways with one last kiss and a cordial goodbye. She made her way back to the table where she had left Sai, Naruto, and Sakura about half an hour beforehand.

Ino sighed, shaking her head. It looked as if the two weren't any closer to hooking up than they were when she had first gone out to the dance floor. They were sitting across from each other, making idle conversation, when Ino sat down on one of the chairs between them.

"Hey guys." The pounding techno music was a little bit hard to hear over, so she had to talk a bit louder than normal.

They both noticeably perked up when she sat down. I guess I just have that effect on people. She grinned to herself.

"Where've you been?" Sakura asked, swirling her drink around in her glass.

Ino smirked. "Getting laid."

"Ah." Sakura took a sip, then made a face. "Ew, Sai-- what is this?"

The pale man smiled. "Bourbon Sour. You don't like it?"

"It's gross. Ugh, why did I listen to you?" She pushed her drink away. Ino would have taken it, but she didn't like them either.

Sai just smiled again and took a sip of his own drink.

"Where's Naruto?" Ino asked, beginning to regret not letting Kankuro buy her a drink. She wondered if she could sucker the blond into buying her one. Ino never bought drinks when she went to clubs; there were always plenty of people around who would buy them for her.

"Doing the same thing you were just doing." Sai replied.

"Damn." Ino rolled her eyes. It figured; Naruto was never around when she needed him. "So… did anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

"Nothing." Sai told her.

There was a blond, black, and orange blur, and then a heavy weight settled on Sakura's lap. "This seat taken?" A deep male voice purred in her ear as a tanned muscular arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Naruto! Get off, you're all sweaty!" Sakura shrieked, pushing the blond so he landed on the floor.

"I wonder why." Sai murmured to himself. Naruto looked up at Sakura and made his eyes go wide and watery. "Sakura…" He sniffed, rubbing at his nose. "Where did our love go?"

"Get off the floor, Naruto." Sakura rolled her eyes. Naruto hopped up and grinned as he pulled a chair from another table and turned it so the back was facing the table where they were all sitting at. He sat down, leaning over the back for Sakura's discarded drink.

"Are you gonna finish this?" He asked her. She shook her head. He grabbed it and downed it in one go.

"Naruto? Buy me a drink?" Ino asked sweetly, latching on to the tanned male's arm.

He snorted and shook her off. "Sorry, Ino. All my money's reserved for buying drinks for potential sex partners. And you—" he poked her in the forehead, "—Are not a potential sex partner."

Ino put on her most seductive expression. "I could be." Sakura sniggered.

"You're my cousin, Ino."

Ino pouted. "But Narutooooo! Come on, you must have had sex with at least two people since we got here. That has to be enough."

"Three, actually." Naruto grinned, giving them a thumbs up. "Two girls and a guy."

"I don't even know why I bother coming to nightclubs with you guys. You two--" The pink haired girl gestured to Naruto and Ino. "Always go off and have sex with random people, and you--" She pointed an accusing finger at Sai, "Have bad taste in drinks."

"Guilty!" Naruto and Ino said simultaneously, then high fived each other.

The left pocket of Naruto's jeans started to vibrate, and it took him a minute to realize that it was his cell phone.

"Hello?" Naruto yelled into the phone so he could be heard over the music. He listened for a moment, then a smile spread across his face. "Sasuke! Hey baby, you just got home? ...Okay. I'm out with Sakura, Ino, and Sai. We're at the club down on 23rd and Fourth Avenue, you wanna swing by?" The blond frowned. "Why not? C'mon, it'll be—oh. Okay, fine. I'll see you at home."

"Sasuke never seems to want to come out with us." Sai remarked casually.

"I know!" Naruto looked around at his friends suspiciously. "I think he doesn't like one of you. That's why he doesn't come to clubs with us."

Sakura, Ino, and Sai exchanged a look.

"Naruto," Sai began slowly. "You don't think the reason why Sasuke doesn't like going out with us is because… maybe… he doesn't like seeing you going off and sleeping with strangers?"

"…Just a hunch." Sakura added quickly.

Naruto laughed. "Come on, guys, it's not like he's my boyfriend or anything. He's totally cool with it. I mean, you guys are okay with it, right?"

"Yeah."

"Sure."

"Of course."

"So? Why wouldn't my best friend be?" Naruto concluded.

Sakura, Ino, and Sai exchanged another look.

"You guys really need to stop exchanging these looks all the time." Naruto frowned.

---

Halfway across the room, the four of them were being observed by a pair of siblings. Kankuro was reclining in his seat, a satisfied smile permanently etched onto his place. His sister was next to him, touching up her lipstick. She pursed her lips, then blew a kiss to the reflection in her compact mirror. She then closed it and dropped it back into her bag, then began fishing around for her nail file.

"I tell you, 'Mari, it was fucking amazing. Especially when we just walked out of the bathroom, all these women were just glaring at us. It was hilarious." Temari smiled triumphantly as she pulled her nail file from her bag.

"That's her? The blonde one?" Temari asked her brother, filing her nails while sneaking glances at the other table.

"Yep."

"Who's the guy next to her?"

"The one with the dark hair?"

"No, idiot, the other blond."

Kankuro stared at his sister in disbelief. "That's Naruto Uzumaki! Don't tell me you've never heard of him."

"Who?"

"Naruto. Uzumaki. Everyone knows him, he's the most infamous non-celebrity there is." Kankuro took a sip of his beer. "I could introduce you two."

"I'll pass."

""You sure? He throws wild parties."

"Whatever. I'm not interested in him. What about the girl, did you get her name?"

"Yeah. Ino or something like that. Why are you so interested in her, Temari? I was the one who fucked her." He paused.

Then scowled. "Ugh, Temari, you don't want her, right?" Temari merely smirked, putting her nail file back into her bag. She tapped her finger against the rim of Kankuro's beer. "Maybe."

"Come on, Mari! You can't keep going after every single girl I fuck, it's unsanitary! And kind of gross."

"At least I'm not the one having sex with other women behind my girlfriend's back!" Temari countered with a scowl of her own.

"Me and TenTen broke up a week ago, so don't try to make me feel guilty." Kankuro huffed. "And Ino's obviously not a lesbian, 'Mari. Believe me, I know."

Steely blue eyes fixed onto his. "Are you doubting my abilities?"

Kankuro winced, his gaze darting from her eyes to the small purse she was clutching in her hand. He knew that there were other things in there besides makeup, things that could possibly cause him bodily harm if his sister was provoked.

"No ma'am." He coughed.

"Good." Temari continued studying the table, a certain blonde woman in particular. After a minute of listening to Kankuro grumble to himself, she stood up, tucking her handbag under her shoulder.

Kankuro eyed her. "Where are you going?"

She grabbed him and hauled him up. "Come on. I think I want to be introduced to Mr. Uzumaki after all."

---

It seemed as if Neji had done all of his crying on the way over; now it looked as if all he could do was stare at the wall and sniffle. Gaara was sitting across from him, resting his chin on his hands with his green eyes fixed on the man in front of him. After a quick inspection of the kitchen by Lee, it was determined that the only beverages Gaara had in the house were half a bottle of iced tea, milk that expired two days ago, and some instant drink mixes in the cupboards. Lee had decided to run out to the store and pick up a few items.

Gaara leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. This was the normal routine for them;

whenever Neji broke up with someone, he would show up unannounced at Gaara's apartment. They would both sit in silence for at least fifteen minutes, during which Neji would sulk and Gaara would watch him sulk.

The two of them had been friends since they were young. Gaara's mother had been Neji's sister Hinata's babysitter, for a while. She often brought Gaara over so Neji wouldn't be bored—the heir never really took to well to having all of the attention being put on someone else. At first Gaara ignored Neji, not seeing why he had to be dragged along to entertain some bored rich kid. Neji, who was not used to being ignored, would constantly pick fights with the younger boy, which would normally result in numerous injuries for both of them. Eventually, the boys formed a sort of companionship, which only grew stronger once they entered school together. Later on, they became best friends without even realizing it.

The Hyuuga started to drum his fingers on the table, and Gaara knew an outburst wouldn't be far off. 'Five,' he thought in his head. 'Four, three, two, one...'

"Can you BELIEVE him?! Ugh, he is SUCH a jerk. How dare he!" Neji exploded, slamming both hands onto the table, making it shake.

"What happened?" Gaara asked, standing up and moving to the opposite side of the kitchen, leaning against the counter. Sometimes Neji got a little too emotional when ranting, and Gaara liked to be out of the way if and when that happened.

However, though it didn't show on the outside, Gaara was actually... happy that Neji was here in his kitchen. He was glad that Neji had come to him. Not because he had broken up with Itachi-- even though Gaara had seen that one coming-- but because this was the first time Neji had been in his apartment since they were still in college. The last breakup Neji had been involved in was with Lee, after a two and a half year relationship. Gaara had waited up all night in hopes that Neji would show up at his door, crying like usual. However, he had subconsciously known that the other male wouldn't-- mainly because the reason Lee had broken up with his was because he had fallen in love with Gaara. It had one of the worst nights of Gaara's life.

"He's just so-- ARGH, he's such an asshole!"

"If I said, 'I told you so' would you start crying again?" Gaara asked, sitting back down across from Neji.

"Worse, I'd kill you." Neji said, wiping the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand.

There was the sound of keys jingling in the front lock, and seconds later Lee came into the kitchen, balancing five bags full of groceries and a steaming cup of coffee in his arms. He set the coffee in front of Neji, who looked surprised for a moment before smiling warmly at Lee. The Hyuuga reached out and grabbed a hold of the front of Lee's hoodie, pulling him down and kissing him softly on the cheek. "Thank you." He murmured. Gaara remained expressionless.

Lee blushed, turning quickly and setting the bags down on the counter. "I am sorry I took so long. Your body guards stopped me in the hall and made me show them what was in the bags." Neji smiled at his back. Gaara coughed, and Neji turned quickly to face him.

"Tell me what happened with the Uchiha." Gaara said, tilting his head to the side.

---

"Naruto!"

Said male, who was in the middle of describing to Sai the time he fell off of his fire escape and broke his arm, looked up.

"Oh, hey, Kankuro! I haven't seen you in a while, how've you been?" Naruto stood up and clapped the man on the back. However, the eyes of the three remaining people at the table were glued to the woman who was with him.

She was taller than the man next to her, even without the two inch red heels she was wearing. Her black spaghetti strap dress was obscenely short as well as tight, revealing a decent amount of cleavage. A red choker adorned her neck, matching her shoes and her lipstick. Her hair was up in four different ponytails, which might have seemed odd but only served to accentuate her beauty. Sakura's jaw dropped. Sai's eyes widened. Ino stared, looked away, looked back, then looked away again. She hoped that the woman wasn't Kankuro's jealous girlfriend—she looked as if she could kick Ino's ass without even trying.

Naruto hadn't even noticed his friend had approached the table with someone else. "So anyway, these are my friends, Sakura, Sai, and Ino."

"We've met." Kankuro smirked towards Ino, who winked at him.

"You guys, this is Kankuro. He's Gaara's older brother."

"Really?" Sakura raised an eyebrow. She didn't think that any relative of Gaara could be so… sociable.

"Yep. This is our sister, Temari," Kankuro gestured to the woman on his right. Naruto noticed her for the first time, and his face took on a similar expression as Sakura's. He shook it off quickly, and soon snapped into predatory mode.

"Temari, is it? That's a beautiful name." Naruto flashed her a thousand megawatt grin. "It suits you very well."

Sakura made a retching noise.

---

Neji took his time taking off the lid to the Styrofoam cup, and took a long sip before indulging Gaara. Lee, meanwhile, was putting away all of the groceries as fast as he could and counting the seconds under his breath.

"We were fighting. Like usual. But this time I made the mistake of bringing up Akatsuki. You should see him, Gaara, he goes crazy if anyone insults his band. So he started talking about Hinata and Hanabi, which set me off. So I told him that we were finished and I hated him and that he could just go get an STD from Deidara for all I care."

"Deidara?" Gaara asked.

"Some blond asshole that's supposedly a friend of Sasori, the bassist. He started traveling around with them, and he was always all over Itachi." Neji glared at the table in front of him as if it were the artist himself.

"One minute and twelve seconds!" Lee exclaimed triumphantly. "A new record. I--"

RING.

The dark haired male was interrupted by the sound of Gaara's phone ringing. The three of them looked at each other, puzzled; the only people who ever called him were Lee and Gaara's Landlord. It had to have been something pretty important.

RING.

"Gaara, where is your phone?"

The redhead shrugged.

Lee frowned. Within seconds, he was out of the kitchen and digging through a pile of books and clothes in the living room, searching for the ringing electronic device.

"I found it!" Lee exclaimed, then quickly picked it up before the person on the other line hung up. "Hello, this is Gaara Sabaku's residence. Can I help you?"

He listened intently, the expression on his face suddenly turning stoic. "Yes… I see. Yes, he is here. I will tell him for you. Yes, that too. Of course. Thank you very much. Good bye." He hung up the phone and turned to Gaara and Neji, who were both staring at him expectantly.

Lee cleared his throat. "That was your sister Hinata. She called to see if you were here, because apparently reporters are swarming both of your houses. She also called to remind you that you have a photo shoot tomorrow at noon. And that she is very sorry about you and Itachi."

"Shit. I forgot." Neji dropped his head back down on the table. Lee returned to the kitchen and patted him on the back. "Perhaps you should go home."

Neji snorted. "Not if every news station in the city is there." He lifted his head and looked at Gaara imploringly. "Gaara, you'll let me spend the night, right?"

Gaara very nearly smiled. "Of course."

---

Naruto entered his apartment as quietly as possible, which, considering the amount of alcohol he had consumed that night, was no easy task. The only light in the house came form the screen of Sasuke's laptop, which illuminated the sleeping male on the couch, tinting his hair blue and making his skin look even paler. Naruto hung up his jacket then made his way over to the other male, nudging Sasuke's legs out of the way so he could take a seat on the couch.

He leaned forward and pulled Sasuke's computer on his lap. A word document was up, and there were about three and a half pages full of notes from Sasuke's Latin course. After stealing a glance at his black-haired roommate, who still looked to be fast asleep, Naruto grinned and typed 'UZUMAKI RULEZ!' at the bottom of the document.

While Naruto and Sasuke were the same age, after High School, Sasuke had decided to spend a couple of years living with his Uncle Orochimaru instead of going to college. It was around the same time that his brother's band started gaining popularity. Sasuke had a hard enough time warding of the affections of 89 of the boys and girls during high school, but now that his older brother Itachi was well on his way to become a celebrity,

"C'mon, Sasuke, time to get up." He tapped the male on his thigh. Sasuke didn't budge.

Naruto sighed, though there was a smile tugging at his lips. He leaned down, gathered the dark-haired man up in his arms, then picked him up bridal style and proceeded to navigate over to Sasuke's room in the dark. Once there, he paused. Then, after thinking it over for a bit, he decided to take his roommate over to his own room, which was directly across from Sasuke's.

He pushed open the door to his bedroom using his shoulder, then gently set Sasuke down on the unmade bed. Naruto removed his shirt, sneakers, and jeans, leaving him only in a wifebeater and his boxers.

He crawled into the bed next to Sasuke, then pulled the bright orange covers up over both of them. Sasuke stirred a bit. Naruto wrapped his arms around the male's torso and pulled him closer.

"G'night, Sasuke." He murmured into Sasuke's hair as his eyes slid closed.

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Reviewer Replies

Penbee of Treewood: Thank you! I'm not sure if I can promise you everyone will be in character all the time, but I'll try. Actually Lee isn't a celebrity at all, he's just a twenty-something year old who inherited a Gym (big surprise) from his father. People sometimes recognize him as 'the guy that once dated Neji Hyuuga' but that's all.

d00mfuzzball: Yeah, I know the summary was kinda… iffy. I was trying to fit this whole big description in only three hundred something characters, and it wasn't working out. Neji's bodyguards were definitely my favorite characters in chapter 1, too. I'm debating whether or not I should make them actual characters from Naruto, or just leave them nameless.

KakaIru: Sorry, I know this update wasn't soon at all. Hopefully I'll get future chapters out quicker. Thank you for reviewing!

SlippingSanity: I'm glad you like it! Thank you.

otaku no baka: There will be plenty of Gaara and Lee, just not with each other all of the time… heh. Thank you for your review. There will definitely be a lot more drama in the future.

Next Chapter: Neji's photo shoot, Ino wakes up in someone else's bed, and Shikamaru has a revelation.