Detention Date

I'm apparently a liar. As it so happens I had to just edit this just slightly before posting it but seriously don't expect the next chapter any time soon for the reasons mentioned in the previous chapter. I still have exams upcoming, it was just good fortune that I like to plan out future scenes.

A more serious note in this chapter and I do apologise if anything seems too abrupt and sudden. It'll make more sense once you read it. It's got some humour but as it's a serious chapter, it's more toned down when it needs to be. Also, if the T rating wasn't apparent before, this chapter contains allusions to more mature themes which is why this fiction is T rated and not recommended for kiddies. XD

I hope you like it!

Chapter Twenty - I Lost My Sleeping Bag

As the group headed out to the showers, Kiba was the last to leave the tent rubbing his palms together impishly, unbeknownst to the others of the group. That was never a good sign.

The game of Truth or Dare only had three players that evening due to Shino and Sasuke opting out. After Sasuke had made something for the group to eat and cleaned up after everyone, he retired to bed early deciding that he was pretty damn exhausted. That was also when Naruto started the Truth or Dare game.

A couple of hours later, the three players decided to end the game and head off to bed, finding it was getting rather cold.

Naruto carefully made his way over to his and Sasuke's compartment and opened the zip. He passed his torch over the sleeping figure of Sasuke, careful not to let the light linger on the boy's face. Quickly discovering that his sleeping bag was missing, Naruto leant out of the compartment and checked over the middle section of the tent but there was no sign of it. Sighing, Naruto got into the tent compartment and zipped it shut. Shivering a little from the night's chill, he knew he had to find something to keep him warm and he realised his only option.

"Damn it," he cursed to himself. Kneeling beside Sasuke, he reached to the dark haired boy's shoulders and shook them gently. "Sasuke?"

Groaning, Sasuke cracked an eye open and glared at the one who woke him up.

"You know I don't normally dare wake you for fear of my life but this is important," Naruto quickly explained.

"It had better be, moron," Sasuke growled.

"I… um… lost my sleeping bag, can I sleep in yours?" Naruto lowered his head. Damn, he hated how badly that sounded like a pick up line and, by the raised eyebrow that he could just see in the dark, Sasuke had also thought the same thing.

"This had better not be one of those stupid dares," Sasuke grumbled and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"I value my life more that that! Can you see my sleeping bag? No!"

"Alright, just shut up and get in. Just let me take off my shirt first."

Naruto nodded and also took off his shirt.

Meanwhile, outside the tent, Kiba and Shino were crouched near Sasuke and Naruto's compartment listening to every word said. Kiba was near choking with laughter and had quickly ran off to the edge of the woods so he could let out his laughter. Meanwhile, Shino remained near the tent and listened. He listened to the zip of the sleeping bag being pulled down and the rustling as the two carefully got into the sleeping bag. There was a pained grunt.

"Careful you heavy oaf," Sasuke groaned. "Your knee just hit my stomach."

"Ah, sorry," Naruto apologised with a nervous laugh. "There's hardly any room."

"Of course there isn't, it's only meant to fit one. By the way, moron, you owe me for this. Do you have any idea of what happened to your sleeping bag?"

"I think Kiba's got something to do with this."

"Say no more," Sasuke chuckled. "It seems like something he'd do. So why did you risk asking me?"

"It was you or Lee," Naruto chuckled, "I doubt that Kiba would let me steal Shino from him and I'm not going to Kiba after that."

Sasuke snorted with laughter. "I understand."

"Sorry about disturbing your sleep," Naruto apologised.

"Just try not to disturb me too much."

"I'll try and thanks."

Kiba crouched back beside Shino: "I wonder how they'll end up in the morning." His voice was quiet and he whispered into Shino's ear.

"Where did you put Naruto's sleeping bag?" Shino whispered back.

"It's hidden beneath your airbed, in case he poked his nose into our compartment." Shino didn't have to look at Kiba to know that the boy was grinning deviously.

"We'd better get some sleep," Shino stood up and they quietly entered the tent and zipped it up after them. They dressed down to their shirts and boxers and got into their sleeping bags.

"Shino?" Kiba spoke up.

"Hmm?"

"Why did you come along?"

"To break the routine and you were going," Shino replied honestly. He removed his dark glasses and turned away from Kiba.

"Thanks for coming," Kiba said warmly.

"It's no problem," Shino chuckled. "Uh, Kiba?"

"Yeah?"

Shino rolled back over to face Kiba and had a serious look on his face. His dark eyes were conflicted and Kiba could see the fear in Shino's eyes. It wasn't something he'd ever expected to see on Shino's face and it worried him. Shino was meant to be the unreadable one, but now his feelings were exposed to him, and only him, and that thought alone made Kiba both scared and honoured. Clearly something had been bothering Shino, and had been for a while even if Kiba wasn't sure exactly what that was. Kiba had been concerned, deeply concerned and now he knew his concerns were not unreasonable.

It was after a heavy, tense moment that Shino broke the silence between them:

"I've been wanting to tell you something for a while now. For the past year, I… I've been in love with you."

Kiba gasped and raised a hand to his lips. Shino rolled to his back and looked at the roof of the tent, scared to see Kiba's reaction.

After getting over the initial shock, Kiba smiled. He sat up and looked at Shino. The movement made Shino glance at him. "I can't seem to find the words at the moment." Kiba rubbed the back of his neck and smiled nervously. "But I hope this explains it," he added before moving over towards Shino and hugging the boy tightly and closing his eyes. "Was this why we stopped talking last year? After I told you I liked Hinata?"

"Yes," Shino nodded. Kiba shifted to look Shino in the eyes.

"It turns out that there's someone I like more than I ever liked Hinata," Kiba smiled. "I'm so sorry for the hurt I caused you."

Shino smiled back and reached to Kiba's face. "Perhaps it was for the better," he smiled wryly, "I'm only more certain about how I feel about you."

Kiba's eyes swam with emotion that Shino could see even in the darkness of the tent. Still, Shino was a little startled by the gentle press of Kiba's lips against his own. "I love you, Shino," Kiba murmured softly.

"You've made me so happy," Shino confessed and wrapped his arms around Kiba. He shuffled across to allow both of them to fit on the airbed. They slept like that, in each others arms. Kiba's head rested in the crook of Shino's neck.

Sasuke had been listening in carefully and smiled knowing that Shino was finally happy after a miserable year. Maybe he would settle his own feelings for the blond that now lay snuggled into his chest and sleeping peacefully. His fingers gently toyed with strands of golden hair and he smiled. Sasuke could believe that Naruto's sleeping bag was enough to keep him warm because the boy simply radiated an almost suffocating amount of heat. The boy was a human furnace. That also explained how he could walk around in a thin short-sleeved shirt in winter. Sasuke inhaled the warm scent of Naruto's body and closed his eyes.

Surprisingly he slept well that night, even with Lee snoring with a vengeance.

Lee shot bolt upright at the crack of dawn to hear the gentle snores of the other four. After five laps of the campsite, Lee returned to the tent and poked his head into the other boys' compartments. First he looked at Kiba and Shino's compartment and saw that the two were cuddled together on Shino's airbed. Deciding not to think any further of it, he closed the compartment and moved over to Naruto and Sasuke's. He withdrew his head and closed the compartment soon after looking in. His eyes were wide and he looked shell-shocked.

Naruto stirred and opened his eyes and blearily looked about. The first thing he noticed was that it was light and that he was ridiculously warm. The second thing he noticed was the pale thing his head was resting against and that the pale thing breathed. He then noticed that said pale thing was coated in a sheen of glistening sweat, similar to Naruto. That was when he realised that he had slept in close proximity to the person he found himself attracted to and that his chest was comfortable against cool skin. That and he and the body he was sprawled across had morning visitors. He was still in a state of bliss from sleep so he didn't care about it though.

It surprised Naruto a little to realise how cold Sasuke's body was in comparison to his own despite the sweat that covered his skin. There couldn't have been much difference in their temperatures but it was enough to keep Naruto a little cooler than he would have been if he'd shared with someone else. Though he was cold, it wasn't unbearable but allowed him to wake up and become alert a lot more quickly than he usually would.

In his sleep, Naruto's arms had found their way around Sasuke's shoulders and were numb from both of their weight pressing down on them. Similarly, Sasuke's hand rested on the back of Naruto's neck and the other was touching one of Naruto's arms. A groan sounded from Sasuke's throat and the dark-haired boy shifted and noticed the lack of free movement. "Hn, Naruto?" Sasuke murmured.

Naruto looked up at him and met his dark eyes head on. He yawned and stretched his back as far as the sleeping bag and Sasuke's weight would allow. "Good morning, Sasuke," he murmured back.

Naruto smiled at the slight look of surprise on Sasuke's face. "Good morning," Sasuke returned.

"Hey Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you move a moment? My arms are numb and uh…" he glanced pointedly downwards.

"Oh right, sure." Sasuke lifted his shoulders up and Naruto moved his arms. The blond winced and the look didn't go unnoticed by Sasuke. "What's up?"

"Not the best thing you could have said," Naruto chuckled.

"It's the morning, you can't expect perfect brain function from me," Sasuke groaned. "You looked pained."

"I've got pins and needles," Naruto complained. "Ah, shit." He flexed his arms despite the pain though and the pain helped rid himself of morning wood.

"Oh right, uh sorry."

"It's not your fault," Naruto smiled at him. He shifted around and laid the back of his head on Sasuke's chest. He drifted his eyes shut and listened to the rushing of air inside Sasuke's chest and birdsong. Absently, Sasuke toyed with the blonde locks of hair and found himself completely relaxed. Naruto hummed deep in his chest at the gentle tickling feeling.

"Still tired?" Sasuke asked him.

"Not really, just relaxed I guess."

Sasuke hummed causing Naruto to snigger slightly.

"Sorry, it sounds strange from here when you hum," Naruto explained.

"It figures."

Naruto smiled and leant up slightly into the gentle touches. Seeing the relaxed expression, Sasuke smiled warmly and ran his fingers through Naruto's hair.

"By the way, Shino's confessed to Kiba," Sasuke informed Naruto quietly.

"Seriously? When did that happen?" Naruto jolted up and looked down at Sasuke, on his hands and knees above the other boy.

"You'd already fallen asleep by that point but last night I overheard Shino and Kiba talking," Sasuke continued in a whisper. "Shino has finally got the happiness he deserves." Sasuke smiled and Naruto's heart stopped for a moment. Regaining himself, Naruto smiled back and instantly crushed Sasuke into a hug.

"I'm so happy for them," Naruto gushed. Hesitantly, Sasuke patted Naruto's back and the blond pulled himself off Sasuke. "Uh sorry about that."

"No harm done apart from mild suffocation," Sasuke smirked. "At some point this morning, I would like to get dressed."

"Ah, right," Naruto grinned nervously and unzipped the sleeping bag so they could both get out.

"Are your arms okay now?" Sasuke asked him as he pulled the sleeping bag off himself.

"Yeah, still a little tingly though," Naruto chuckled. He rummaged through his bag and pulled out some clothes and Sasuke turned away as the boy got dressed and pulled out his own clothes. Before he got dressed, Naruto left the compartment and stumbled across a quivering Lee.

The teen was mortified and shaking with his knees hugged to his chest.

"Uh Lee, are you alright?" Naruto asked him. Lee seemed to snap out of his daze and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Did you and Sasuke… you know?" Lee asked him.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched. "No, Lee, Sasuke and I did not do what you think we did," Naruto explained patiently. "I was the victim of an unfortunate prank which left me with no sleeping bag. Between freezing my ass off and asking Sasuke for his help, asking Sasuke was the lesser of the two evils."

"Oh okay," Lee chirped, accepting the explanation. "It is very youthful of Sasuke to help out a friend in need."

Naruto groaned: "I'm going to do some sit ups, care to join me?"

"Of course, I would love to join you my youthful friend!" Lee declared. Naruto clamped a hand over Lee's mouth.

"Quietly please," Naruto smiled dangerously, "other people aren't as youthful as us and are still sleeping."

Lee nodded and stuck his thumb up. Naruto removed his hand from his friend's mouth.

"By the way, Kiba and Shino were cuddling," Lee informed Naruto.

"I don't doubt they were," Naruto replied knowingly. "Come on then." Beckoning Lee to follow him, Naruto walked over to the fence near their pitch site and sat down in front of it, hooking his feet beneath the bottom horizontal. Lee followed suit. After removing his shirt, Naruto started his sit ups.

After getting dressed, Sasuke stepped out of his compartment and closed it up after himself and Kiba and Shino stepped out of theirs at the same time.

"Sleep well?" Sasuke asked the pair of them.

"Yeah thanks," Kiba smiled and Shino nodded. Sasuke picked up one of the folding chairs and headed out. He paused at the exit to the tent.

"Good, oh and Kiba?"

"Yeah?"

"Naruto's sleeping bag doesn't belong beneath Shino's airbed." There was a nervous laugh from the brunette. Satisfied, Sasuke stepped out of the tent with a book and the chair and placed the chair near the fence where Naruto and Lee were. He opened the book to where he'd left his bookmark.

"So, that's where Kiba had hidden it," Naruto said amusedly. "What are you reading?"

"4.50 from Paddington," Sasuke replied.

"Another Agatha Christie?"

"She's a brilliant author. Besides, I like books that get you thinking." Sasuke chuckled.

"This is the part where you usually say something to insult my intelligence," Naruto grinned.

"Normally, yes, but today I don't feel like it. Besides, you're not as stupid as I used to think you were."

Naruto laughed: "That could be taken as an insult."

"Well it's the closest to a compliment as you're going to get from me," Sasuke chuckled.

"Then I'll take it and run shall I?" The three of them laughed.

"Breakfast after showers again?" Sasuke asked them.

"Yeah, sounds good," Naruto huffed as he put more effort into his sit ups. Sasuke glanced to the shirtless blond and quickly averted his eyes again. He quickly decided that seeing Naruto shirtless this often had to be bad for his health.

"We'll be striking camp soon," Naruto mused.

"Indeed but we've still got the whole day," Sasuke nodded. "Is there anything in particular you want to do?"

"Why do you ask?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Just wanted to know," Sasuke chuckled. "It's not a crime is it?"

"Nah," Naruto laughed. He stopped doing sit ups and thought for a while. "I'd… like to go back down to the lake."

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, it was fun wasn't it?"

"I think I'll hit the showers," Naruto announced. He took his wash stuff from the tent and headed to the shower block with Lee following. Sasuke set up the gas cookers outside the tent and started cooking up breakfast for the five of them. He was still cooking when Naruto and Lee returned from the showers.

"That smells delicious," Lee commented. "We could smell it from over near the shower block."

"Really?" Sasuke chuckled. "There's some bacon already done if you want some." Sasuke waved a spoon towards some plates set out on the table. "The eggs are a while away yet though."

Lee smiled and took a plate.

"Naruto?" Sasuke spoke up, "could you find Kiba and Shino for me? I'm kind of tied up at the moment."

"But they'll be making out or something," Naruto pulled a face and laughed. "Alright, I suppose I'll have to bear the scarring."

Sasuke shook his head, smiling to himself amusedly. "Just get moving," he shooed Naruto away.

"What did Naruto mean by that?" Lee asked Sasuke.

Sasuke looked at him and frowned slightly. "It's not my place to be telling you, I'm afraid. Only Kiba or Shino could tell you that."

"Oh… right," Lee frowned, a little puzzled. "Thank you anyway."

Sasuke smiled wanly. "I'm pretty certain they'll tell you though. I don't see any reason for them not to."

Lee cheered up at hearing that. "Oh, that is good! The bacon is very nice."

"Thank you," Sasuke smiled.

"I have been wondering something," Lee mused aloud.

"And what would that be?" Sasuke's curiosity got the better of him after seeing the thoughtful expression on Lee's normally carefree face.

"Why do you look at Naruto differently than how you used to before?"

Sasuke spluttered, instantly turning away from the food. "I don't know what you mean." His face betrayed him though and he could feel the redness of his face. He felt a little panicked, despite himself. Lee could even see his feelings for Naruto so he had to watch himself.

"Very well, if that is what you wish," Lee returned to cutting up his bacon, flashing an understanding smile Sasuke's way.

Naruto returned with Kiba and Shino behind him. He and Kiba were both red in the face so Sasuke deduced that Kiba and Shino had indeed been making out. With a chuckle, Sasuke checked on the eggs and knew that they had been in the water long enough. He poured out the water and placed an egg on each plate with bread. He turned off the cookers.

After their breakfast, they sat at their chairs. "Uh, guys, I want you to be the first to know this but Shino and I are boyfriends," Kiba said nervously. His hand rubbed at the back of his neck as he watched the other three faces carefully.

"Sasuke and I already knew," Naruto nodded. "We're completely comfortable with it. You're so dense, Kiba!"

"Hey!" Kiba protested.

Lee was looking between Kiba and Shino for a moment before his face broke out into a blinding smile. "The fire of youth burns in both of you!" he enthused.

"Thanks Lee," Kiba smiled, being almost completely fluent in Youth!-speak.

"Kiba, did you know that you're a matchmaker's worst nightmare?" Sasuke spoke up. "Naruto was practically tearing his hair out over the two of you."

They laughed and Kiba mumbled and looked at the ground, embarrassed. Shino simply moved to crouch by Kiba and held his hand to Kiba's arm. The simple affectionate gesture made Kiba turn his head to Shino and they were caught for a moment in each others eyes. With a smile, Shino pressed his lips to Kiba's for a moment.

"S-Shino," Kiba stuttered quietly.

Naruto coughed: "As sweet as the pair of you are, I think I'm gonna throw up or something." He said it with a laugh and Kiba looked to Naruto. Kiba raised an eyebrow and Naruto averted his eyes before heading towards the path to the lake.

"What was that about?" Sasuke asked Kiba. "I thought he said he was comfortable with you."

Kiba chuckled. "He wasn't lying but I think there's something else. Until he comes to terms with it, I don't think he'll be completely comfortable around us. You, on the other hand, surprise me. May we speak in private?"

"I don't see any problem with that," Sasuke nodded and rose to his feet.

"Shino, could you keep Lee company in the meantime?" Kiba asked quietly. Shino nodded and took his seat. As Kiba and Sasuke walked to the other side of the tent, Shino started up conversation with Lee.

"Why do I surprise you?" Sasuke asked him.

"From your lack of reaction when Shino… uh, kissed me, I take it you've come to terms with your sexuality. I'm not going to try to suggest which way you swing, by the way; but Naruto isn't so certain of himself."

"Oh, I see," Sasuke nodded. "That is the reason for the sudden disappearance, I take it?"

"Naruto doesn't really tell me that sort of thing but I'm pretty certain it is. You were there when he chained me to the fence, weren't you?"

"Yeah," Sasuke nodded.

"Well, Naruto did that to help me realise a few things. He knew before I did that I could trust Shino completely and he said something to Shino that subtly told him that he knew of Shino's feelings for me. Man, it's weird saying something like that. Shino and I have been talking a lot this morning, before Naruto found us, and he said that Naruto had told him as he passed him the combination that he 'may find something that he wants up by the tennis courts'. Shino was a little confused at the time. Naruto is definitely more understanding than I had figured he would be. He was the one that opened Sakura's eyes to Lee and they've definitely got the foundations for a long happy relationship there.

"But the sad thing is that Naruto doesn't think he's deserving of anyone which is where he's wrong. He doesn't see Hinata's feelings for him which is probably a good thing because somebody else has caught his eye. And, again, he doesn't think it's possible for any feelings to be returned. He's a lot harder to get his trust from than you may think since he's practically completely opened up to you. He trusts you, Sasuke, more than he ever trusted me. This is why I'm going to tell you that if you ever even think about hurting him, I'll be the one you have to face."

"I don't understand why he trusts me. He used to hate me."

"The first time he dragged you along to football, you saw the way he looks back and did something that nobody else had ever done for him: you told him something that nobody else had ever told him. I couldn't hear it from that distance so I'm not certain what that was. Could you tell me?"

Sasuke searched his brain for what he had said. "I think I said something like: 'I'm not going anywhere other than where you're dragging me, moron'."

Kiba gasped and his hand flew to cover his mouth.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked.

"No, there's nothing wrong," Kiba told him and lowered his hand. "It's just… you… I hadn't ever thought… Oh God, that's why he left."

"What? Why did he leave? I thought you told me," Sasuke frowned in confusion.

"I can't tell you why exactly he left but I can tell you why he trusts you. Naruto is a very lonely person, and that doesn't begin to cover it. His parents died on the night of his birth and his guardian is often out on business and as much as he cares for Naruto, he can't always be there. I'm pretty sure that you can understand how that feels," Kiba gave Sasuke a wan look. A lot of the town knew of the death of the Uchihas which was what Kiba was referring to.

"Anyway, he's never had anyone say that they're not going to leave him in the way you did. You probably thought the way you phrased it meant he wouldn't think much of it but he felt happier than he had ever felt before. He knows all about your family's death so he didn't pick fights with you for nothing. Naruto… he admires you really and he finds it annoying to see everyone skirting around you because of your family and trying not to anger you. It's his way of saying that he doesn't want to be forgotten again."

Sasuke paled. He'd never realised that the pain went that deep.

"He also likes seeing you smile, which we don't see very often."

"I… see," Sasuke said slowly. He looked to Kiba. "I would never intentionally hurt Naruto. Hell knows he hurts enough."

"Good," Kiba smiled a small smile. Sasuke walked away. "Oh and Sasuke?" Sasuke looked back over his shoulder and stopped. "You love him, don't you?" Sasuke looked back forwards and his hand unconsciously rose to his chest before he continued walking away without a word.

Please let me know what you think ^_^ I worked hard in making my brain function at 00:50 for you guys so a little offering of opinion is always nice. Anyways, even without that, I love you guys!