Final chapter! What happened with Sasuke and Naruto! And shall there be resolution? Will Iruka finally see those bright smiles of junior-high-schoolers again?

Lemon warning.

Naruto opened the eyes that he hadn't known he'd closed, and found that his knees were currently planted firmly in the dirt either side of Sasuke Uchiha's hips. Blue eyes widened at the position, but for some reason discovered that he was unable to leap up.

Looking down, he quickly realised that this was because pale hands were gripping his thighs.

"S-Sasuke?" he inquired quietly; looking over his shoulders and seeing that they were completely out of sight of the path. "Y-You can let me…" He was about to finish his sentence, but found the words falling apart as he looked down and saw that Sasuke's mouth was set in a hard line. Not making any attempt to get back to his feet, Naruto sat back on his haunches and averted his eyes awkwardly.

"…Uhh…" he commented quietly, "Oops?"

"Naruto?" Sasuke queried in a low tone that sent a shiver down Naruto's spine. "You seem to keep ending up on me like this today."

"It's an accident!" Naruto hissed, "Keep your voice down!"

"…An accident, you say?" the raven muttered disbelievingly. "Naruto…"

"We had an agreement, I know," he snapped crossly; folding his arms, "And I've kept to it." He looked down again and regretted it immediately, unable to look away from Sasuke's deep, black eyes. "Sasuke…don't." He could feel the raven's pale thumbs rubbing circles against his inner thighs.

"Deny it all you want," Sasuke muttered; looking away. "There's a reason we agreed not to get close."

Naruto nodded shortly; closing his eyes for a moment and just savouring the feel of Sasuke's hands against his thighs. He knew that people had been saying that he and Sasuke had been different these days. They weren't as close; they fought more, and with real anger as opposed to general banter. Ever since summer, they had been…different.

And no one knew why…(or at least, that was what they thought).

Some people of their year group had holiday homes out at the beach, so they'd organised a huge event over the course of the week to celebrate summer and the fact that they were going to graduate soon. The Uchihas were one of the families that opened the doors of their holiday home to the excited teenagers. There had been drinking; a lot of it –for an extensive period of time. They'd had games, and swum in the ocean, and generally had a great time.

On the final night, Kiba and a few of his friends had set up a huge bonfire on the beach. There was music and food and drinks and dancing, and a big barbeque. Naruto had been having a fantastic time; pretty damn drunk and getting nowhere with Sakura, and then Sasuke had appeared and the pair of them had gotten into a pretty bad fight.

In the end, they'd both wound up covered in sand, nearly fallen in the fire, and eventually been separated by Suigetsu and Shikamaru. Together, they'd been sent back to the house to sort their differences out –Naruto didn't even remember what the fight had been over; it was just a drunken brawl.

Back at the Uchiha crib, they'd discovered that everyone was out. Naruto had toppled onto the couch; drunk and disorientated.

"Ugh…give…me some of that water…bastard…" he groaned queasily; and a glass of water was shoved into his hand. He gratefully held it to his face before promptly spilling it all down his shirt.

"Moron…you're going to get the couch all wet…" Sasuke growled angrily; taking the glass back from him and trying to tug the wet shirt off the blonde.

"Hey! What're you doing?" Naruto complained; swatting at him weakly and squirming underneath him.

"The couch will get wet," Sasuke snapped; finally succeeding in dragging the shirt off over Naruto's head before throwing the offending item across the room. Unfortunately, the movement made his drunken form unbalance, and he ended up tumbling straight on top of the blonde. Instantly, he found tanned hands latched around his neck.

"Go away, Naruto…" Sasuke complained; pushing at the blonde's face; only for Naruto to retaliate by taking one of his fingers into his mouth and running his tongue across it. "Gross!" Naruto just giggled; pressing their foreheads together and cheekily pressing a kiss against the raven's nose. "Naruto; stop it!" Naruto just laughed again; liking his game of 'make Sasuke uncomfortable'. He leaned up again and planted a kiss on his lips.

"Pfft! Naruto! Don't be fucking weird!" Sasuke snapped; pulling a face and sticking out his tongue distastefully. Naruto giggled and touched the tip of his tongue to Sasuke's, before kissing him again and taking his tongue fully into his mouth.

Sasuke pulled back again; only to find another open-mouthed kiss pressed to his lips. Once more, he tried to escape. Then, with the next kiss, he began kissing back. Not pulling away, he pressed his mouth against Naruto's; tongue sliding deep into his mouth as he pushed the blonde back against the couch.

Naruto let out a throaty moan; hands sliding up to grip Sasuke's damp, sandy hair; their kiss deep, sloppy and highly arousing in their inebriated state. Sasuke's fingers clawed at the couch as he ran his tongue along Naruto's jawbone; descending to his throat to press hot, wet kisses against his skin.

"Sasuke?" Naruto panted, his mind fuzzy as he found his legs spreading to either side of the kneeling raven.

"Mmm?" Sasuke murmured; sucking at the skin beneath his ear and making him gasp a little.

"Have you…ever done it?" the blonde questioned nervously; feeling Sasuke's groin rubbing up against his and making him arch a little in appreciation. Running a hand down the raven's chest, he discovered that his nipples were hardening with arousal.

"You offering?" Sasuke asked in a husky voice in Naruto's ear; grinding sensually against him and making the blonde beneath him quiver; grabbing at his back to urge him to continue. He moaned; rolling his hips up against Sasuke's; feeling himself growing hard as the Uchiha rose up and devoured his lips again.

"I-I'm serious," Naruto breathed; sliding a hand up Sasuke's shirt and the raven promptly taking the hint to take it off. Hindering item removed, he stooped again; their chests meeting as Sasuke ran a hand down Naruto's bare side and under him to grab a handful of his ass. As their hips pressed against each other again, he became completely distracted from his question.

After that, there was a bit of a time skip for Naruto, up until the point where he found himself lying on top of Sasuke with a cock halfway down his throat, and his own erection being sucked by the man beneath him. There was…something forcing itself inside him; Sasuke having dragged the blonde's pants down as best he could. Naruto gave a moan; his tongue swirling around the throbbing erection in his mouth as he felt whatever was inside him brush past something that felt so good. Sasuke let out a groan at the vibrations reverberating around his cock and pushed a third finger into Naruto's entrance; stretching it wide and trying to find that spot that had made him make sure erotic noises.

"…E-enough…" Naruto suddenly whispered; dragging himself upright and into the Uchiha's lap. "S-Sasuke…you wanna…"

"Yeah," Sasuke immediately muttered; reaching up and dragging him in for a hot; fierce kiss as Naruto rose up high on his knees and grabbed the raven's erection; guiding it to his entrance. He flinched at the foreign heat making contact, but he was in too much of a drunken, rose-tinted state that he didn't care. Slowly; ever so slowly, he began sink down onto Sasuke's cock; the raven unable to resist bucking up slightly.

Naruto let out a cry of pain; forcing himself downwards again; panting heavily and tears beading in the corners of his eyes. He pressed his hands to Sasuke's chest, and slowly rose again before sinking down again. Slowly, he began to ride Sasuke; leaving the Uchiha to just moan in pleasure; bucking up to meet him as his pace increased.

"…Mmm…Sasuke…" Naruto moaned; finally used to the intrusion enough to actually start to enjoy it. He let out a gasp as a sudden wave of pleasure shot through him; nails digging into Sasuke's chest. With such an action, Sasuke suddenly flipped him onto his back; cock driving particularly deep in as he began savagely slamming his hips forwards; Naruto's legs pressed up against his chest.

"….Harder…" Naruto mewled; despite how hard he was already being pounded into. He could feel Sasuke's hips slapping against his ass as he buried himself to the hilt; could feel his cock pushing against his muscles and moving against his inner walls. He reached up and wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck; dragging him in for a deep kiss as the pair of them spiralled towards release.

Needless to say, it was an uncomfortable time waking up in the morning.

Naruto had woken up in the grass outside the Uchiha house; his pants haphazardly hanging low on his hips. Getting up had been painful; walking incredibly uncomfortable, and stairs nigh impossible. Everyone else was still fairly drunk, asleep, and hung over, so he managed to make it through to the shower without waking anyone; despite how much he was groaning and stumbling. His back hurt. His ass hurt. His hips hurt. His entire lower half ached like nothing else.

And then, when he'd clambered into the shower, he had discovered to his horror that his thighs were streaked with cum that, from the way it seemed to originate from his ass…didn't belong to him.

Fuzzy memories had swum back to him in flashes; snapshots of time where he saw himself arching into Sasuke Uchiha's touch. As he curled up in the shower on his throbbing ass, with his face in his hands, he remembered the touch of Sasuke's hands on him; the feel of his lips; the pleasure from having him inside him; the warmth against his inner walls when he'd cum inside…

Oh god. He'd…he'd sucked another guy's dick. Sasuke Uchiha….his sworn rival. Not only that; he'd had sex with him –lost his virginity to him! And hell…he'd liked it!

…Liked it so damn much!

He and Sasuke didn't speak about it.

At school, they acted completely normal; acted like nothing had happened…but they both knew, that that incident was on their minds whenever they were close.

And then, one day after school, they'd both stayed after gym class use the weights, and ended up fighting in the locker room after their showers. Before Naruto knew what was happening, their towels were on the floor and he was pressed up against the lockers; Sasuke's tongue down his throat…and they were having sex again; Naruto bent over and letting him pound into him relentlessly from behind.

One other time that happened; disturbed by someone else before it could escalate to sex –but by that point it had become very clear that things weren't normal between them. That drunken night together had ignited something that burst into flame whenever they were too close. What the pair of them had always thought was rivalry; competition…well it was that…but mingled with desire.

But this was their final year of high school. They didn't understand what there was between them, and desperately didn't want anyone to know, so they had agreed to keep their distance. Somewhere, though, that distance grew into hostility, and everyone around had noticed. Despite that, both Sasuke and Naruto had kept up this new, strained friendship…and things had changed.

Naruto let a small breath escape from between slightly parted lips as he felt Sasuke roll his hips up against him.

"…We can't," Naruto growled warningly; feeling the raven grind a little harder against him. Instead of replying, Sasuke grabbed his hands and yanked him forwards so that their foreheads were touching.

"Kiss me…" Sasuke demanded in a hoarse voice. "…It's almost graduation…"

"We swore it wouldn't happen again," Naruto reminded him flatly; but already his voice was growing husky from the proximity. Before he could stop himself, he was eating his own words as he leaned down and furiously locked lips with Sasuke.

Sasuke dragged the blonde in close; his hands coursing down lithe sides longingly as he kissed back passionately. He'd been trying to deny it for so long…that he was attracted to him; that there was more between them than either of them had ever thought.

"Nothing…nothing more…" Naruto warned quietly; feeling a hand slyly sliding down to grip his ass. "…I am not going to be like Suigetsu and Karin…"

"What?" Sasuke inquired with a raised eyebrow.

" –They were totally fucking in a bush just before," the blonde chuckled.

"Holy crap," the raven breathed in surprise. "Sexual tension with them pretending to hate each other?" They both paused and looked at each other before smirking and leaning in to kiss each other again. Naruto gripped Sasuke's face tightly; savouring the warmth emanating from him. He hadn't realised how much he'd missed this until now –how much he'd just missed Sasuke. The whole game today…it had felt like how things had used to be.

"Fuck no," Naruto suddenly exclaimed, shaking off Sasuke's hands and getting to his feet, "Not again. This always fucking happens, and it fucks with my head. And just…no. It can't happen!" He grabbed at his blonde hair in exasperation and made an aggravated noise as Sasuke got to his feet as well; brushing dirt from his hair. "Ugh! Dammit!" With a disgruntled noise, the blonde stalked out from the bushes, cursing as he did so.

This was what happened whenever he…did stuff with Sasuke! He'd just wind up getting attached…and he knew that for whatever reason, he and Sasuke was just…never going to happen. He was furious that he'd snapped again –after so long. Sasuke just had a way of making him…lose it.

He sighed heavily. There was the unpredictability of their classmates' reactions if any of them found out that he and Sasuke had at least experimented with the same sex…

But more to the point, Sasuke Uchiha was loved by all, and sure, they'd slept together twice, but Naruto didn't know if the Uchiha was…exclusively into males. He'd likely had his share of women; the chicks seemed to throw themselves at him –so why the hell would he; plain old Naruto Uzumaki; be special? Sasuke likely had his pick of anyone he wanted. He probably just thought it funny messing with Naruto -he'd always loved screwing with the blonde's head. But after they'd slept together the second time, Naruto had actually gotten it into his head that maybe he could...like Sasuke. But...Sasuke was probably just playing games.

So he couldn't get attached.

Which meant that he couldn't be near the Uchiha.

Annoyed at himself, but also trying to ignore the way his cheeks were burning and his lips were tingling, Naruto stalked off and started running towards the closest source of yelling.

"…This is all your fault," Neji declared flatly. Shikamaru just looked up at him; bored with the attitude, as he lounged back on his seat precariously, "And stop that! We're going to fall in!"

"…It'd do you some good," Shikamaru rolled his eyes with a yawn, "Sit down."

"No, I will not 'sit down'," the brunette snapped hotly.

Somehow, the pair of them had wound up running alongside each other as they were pursued by a rather smug, cackling Suigetsu, who seemed determined to catch one of them. Shikamaru had wanted to just slow down and get caught, but Neji had growled at him, saying that it would ruin the game for everyone else since he'd just find it all too troublesome and not bother taking the role of 'it' seriously.

And so they had ended up running along the path by the river. Some of the canoes that were rented out, for paddling around the pond, were waiting at the little dock, and both Neji and Shikamaru had found themselves heading in that direction.

Now, they were stranded in the middle of a filthy, dirty pond; surrounded by water weed, dregs of slime and ducks. And they didn't have a paddle.

"Shikamaru! Stop being lazy and help me figure out how we're going to get back to shore," Neji growled darkly.

"We'll get there eventually," he shrugged, and looked up to see Neji glaring down at him; arms folded, "Jeez, Neji, lighten up, will you?"

"Shikamaru, we're floating in the middle of a filthy pond," Neji reminded him flatly. "Don't tell me to lighten up." Shikamaru just rolled his eyes and leaned back again; the boat wobbling precariously. Why did Neji have to go and become so…troublesome? A few years ago, he could've sworn that there was…well, maybe something between them…but Neji these days…

He yawned again.

"If you're so worried about getting to shore, just jump in," he shrugged, "It's not deep."

"The depth is not the problem," Neji sniffed, "…The duck shit is." Shikamaru looked over the side of the boat and acknowledged that the pond was filthy. He looked up at Neji and watched him with his head leaning on one hand.

"…Quit staring at me," Neji sniffed haughtily; looking away, "…Two geniuses in a boat, without a paddle…sounds like the start of a bad joke."

"Come on, we'll just wade back," Shikamaru advised, sitting up on his haunches.

"No."

" –The old Neji was a lot more fun," he yawned.

"I don't know which Neji you're talking about," he replied flatly. "I would never have gotten into this pond water."

" –You were more open to suggestions," Shikamaru shrugged, and Neji's gaze darkened.

"Why are you bringing that up?" he inquired coldly.

"Bringing what up?" the lazy genius remarked innocently, "I'm just saying; I remember a Neji who, once-upon-a-time, won a mud-wrestling tournament and who we convinced to join our flour-bomb war on Iruka-sensei…"

"That was in junior high," Neji reminded him flatly. "I'm not like that anymore."

"Yeah…" Shikamaru sighed. "Sure…you grew up. We all did. But when did your little 'identity crisis' start?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know what I mean. The obsession with Instagram and becoming someone that's accepted and adored on the internet," he rolled his eyes, "The Neji we all knew didn't care what other people thought."

"Things change," he sniffed.

"…Was it because I kissed you?" It was silent for a long moment, before Neji glared at him angrily; Shikamaru's face a little bored.

" –Why would you bring that up?" Neji snapped.

"Well…we're stranded in the middle of a pond," he pointed out with a yawn, "…Thought we might as well sort that out. You've barely spoken to me since."

"You're deluded."

"Am I?"

"It was a stupid game, and that year you became lazy and unreliable; and I had no time for people like that."

"…I've always been like that," Shikamaru scoffed, "…And that wasn't the kiss I was talking about."

About two years ago, their friend group had been having a bit of a party. Sakura had brought out 'spin-the-bottle' –probably hoping to get a chance with Sasuke. Unfortunately, they were drunk enough to think that this was a good idea…and had wound up playing.

Shikamaru had had to kiss Neji. They'd been sitting next to each other at the time; Neji not even really participating.

"Ooh! Neji! You're finally getting a kiss!" Tenten teased brightly, and Neji had looked astonished.

"Pucker up, Hyuuga!" Kiba chortled. He'd never liked the guy all that much. He'd turned to face Shikamaru, who was sitting lazily; leaning back on his hands. With a sigh, the lazy genius had moved over to him, and before Neji had a chance to properly register what was going on, Shikamaru's lips were pressed up against his in a slow, open-mouthed kiss.

It might've been shock…or something… but whatever it was had made him automatically kiss back. A chorus of catcalls had risen up as Shikamaru went to draw back, but discovered that Neji moved with him to continue the kiss. It had continued for a few too many seconds longer than it should have; and had left Neji bright red and stalking from the room.

But that wasn't the only kiss they shared that night.

Now, Shikamaru had always had one eye trained on the Hyuuga. The pair of them had had reputations as geniuses since practically grade school, so he was always a little intrigued by him. Sometimes they'd play strategy games together; just to see exactly which of their genius prevailed. In grade school and junior high they'd almost been friends. Shikamaru had even…well; he'd even started to feel something a bit more for him –and from him, for that matter.

Sometimes Neji would sit too close, or when he thought Shikamaru wasn't looking, he'd turn pale eyes to him. Of course, Shikamaru always noticed, and found it a little…amusing. But he felt drawn to the Hyuuga, and thought it was reciprocated.

Hence why, later that same evening, in a slightly inebriated state, he'd found Neji and kissed him again. And by found, he'd accidentally run into him in the bathroom after breaking up the latest in the Sasuke versus Naruto fight saga.

He was still a little fuzzy on the details of how it happened, but he clearly remembered pushing Neji back against the sink and kissing him absolutely senseless. The Hyuuga's hands had gripped his back tightly; tongue determined not to yield. But eventually he had; Shikamaru dominating the kiss and ravaging his mouth.

…It was possible that things could've gotten…stickier…had Ino and Sakura come a-knocking on the bathroom door wanting to know if he was okay –since Naruto had sucker punched him in the gut by accident.

Ever since then, the pair of them had never been the same. Neji had started ignoring him…and his crazy obsession with all things Instagram had sprung up.

"You know what I think?" Shikamaru yawned as he got to his feet; the boat rocking precariously as he did so, "I think…that you liked it when I kissed you, and that freaked you out, and you thought people would judge you –blah-blah –so you found a place where you'd be accepted and adored and reassured of your self-worth…and that was Instagram…" He rolled his eyes dramatically and shrugged.

"It's hilarious that you think that you –" Neji suddenly went quiet as Shikamaru took a step forwards towards him.

"I kissed you coz I wanted to, you know?" he commented dryly, "I really thought we had something. But then you had to go and get all troublesome."

"Back off," Neji warned him; holding out a hand to stop him; only to realise that Shikamaru had taken a hold of that hand and used it to yank him a bit closer.

His eyes widened as he became suddenly aware that they were close. Too close. Their faces were merely inches apart, and automatically, Neji found himself tilting his head expectantly; the situation familiar, despite their last kiss having been two years ago. Most people he would've punched for getting this far into his personal space, but up until that night, he'd always been comfortable around him.

After that kiss though –that proper, full-on make out session in the bathroom of Kiba's house –he couldn't look him in the eye. His pride didn't want to let him admit that he liked it; that there was the possibility that he wasn't straight. What would his family and his peers think? His oh-so-traditional family; that would probably disown him if they knew; probably think him worthless.

So yes, he had maybe suffered a bit of an identity crisis…and retreated into the world of the internet, where the people were understanding and accepting, and where, if he put effort in, he could gain praise and fame; all the while hiding from reality and the fact that he didn't know who he was or what he wanted anymore.

Well; he had known what he wanted; and even if he tried to deny it, he couldn't stop dreaming about Shikamaru.

Smirking to himself with the knowledge that he was a hundred percent right about Neji's Instagram obsession, Shikamaru teasingly leaned forwards; as if to kiss him.

…And then, in a surprisingly swift movement, he grabbed Neji and leapt sideways into the pond.

Pond water erupted up around them in a ginormous splash. It was only thigh deep, but the dive had forced their entire bodies under the dirty water.

Shikamaru stood up first; obviously not too bothered by the filth. He looking down at his soaked, disgusting clothes and just shrugged as Neji emerged from beneath the surface like some kind of water monster; weeds and slime and god knows what clinging to his long, beautiful hair.

"Shikamaru!" Neji snarled; aggressively tossing his waterlogged hair off his face and turning to glare at the other boy. His white shirt was muddy and had gone completely see-through, and he looked furious. "Why did you do that?"

"Well, we weren't going to get back any other way," he shrugged.

"If you wanted to jump in so bad, you could've towed me back in the boat!" he reminded him darkly; splashing him with filthy water, "This is disgusting! It smells awful! I don't know what is touching my feet…"

"…On the plus side, you were going to let me kiss you," Shikamaru commented with a small smirk; clearing the water out of one of his ears. Neji glared at him for a moment; gritting his teeth.

"You're a menace," he growled, before flicking water up at his face and storming off through the disgusting water; cringing and muttering angrily under his breath; leaving Shikamaru to tow the boat back to shore.

Well, he didn't deny it.

Maybe he should've snuck in a kiss before throwing them into the pond?

Nah.

"Let's go to the fountains; we can clean off there," he suggested; getting a middle finger flashed back at him but no protest. Maybe the old Neji was still there?

Or maybe he just hated being dirty enough to jump in a water fountain?

Either way, Shikamaru was amused.

"I don't understand," Iruka commented flatly as he and Kakashi approached the giant water fountain near the centre of the gardens. All around him, his students were appearing; hot, flustered and covered in all manner of flora. Kiba was scratched and tattered; like he'd been dragged through a rose garden; Gaara was covered in sand and mud; more than one of them was dirty with bark chips, and Neji and Shikamaru were both soaking wet –and apparently smelling terribly, from the way their classmates were pulling away from them.

" –Naruto, Sasuke; get down from there," Kakashi called out lazily; shielding his eyes with a hand as he looked up into one of the trees and saw that the two students were scaling one of the bigger trees; apparently seeing who could get the highest, "It's not safe up there." Iruka turned and nearly fainted from shock at seeing how high up they were.

"Get down here immediately!" he called out in a pain voice, "Both of you!"

"But I was winning!" Naruto's distant voice could be heard whining.

"No you weren't," Sasuke argued.

"If Iruka says down, then come down," Kakashi hollered. The two boys paused for a moment, seemed to settle on a draw, before slowly beginning their descent again. The two teachers wandered over to the tree to make sure that they weren't struggling.

"I…I can't run anymore…" Sakura declared in exhaustion; toppling onto the grass and just lying there. Kakashi elbowed Iruka in amusement and Iruka stared in wonder.

Those smiles! Those adorable, happy smiles; they were back! There was light back in their eyes, he noted with delight. Ino had collapsed beside Sakura, and the two were giggling amiably; he heard a snatch of something about Suigetsu and Karin…It was so nice to see them talking to each other.

"Did you see the way I dodged Juugo?" Kiba was exclaiming dramatically to Sai –who had never really been included in group activities, but was sitting amongst them now like he was one of them. " –It was totally awesome; I did like this dive roll…"

" –You almost hit a wasp nest," Juugo reminded him disapprovingly.

"Almost," Kiba assured him, "But that probably would've been nothing compared to the amount of rose bushes Neji pushed me into!"

"…You did kiss his cousin," Shino pointed out.

"How does everyone know about that?" Kiba whined.

"…Neji was trying to kill you," Kankuro reminded him, "…And you hadn't said anything more about his Instagram. Had to be Hinata related." Kiba glared at him and then blushed as he caught Hinata waving shyly over at him before turning away sheepishly to giggle with the other girls.

"I don't understand," Iruka repeated and Kakashi just looked at him knowingly; seeing Shikamaru and Neji pulling off their shirts and apparently trying to wash them in the relatively clear water of the fountain. There was suddenly a loud 'oof' from behind them, and they discovered that Sasuke and Naruto had finished their descent; Naruto promptly falling from the last branch and landing on top of Sasuke's.

"Oi; watch it, you clumsy moron," Sasuke snapped in irritation.

"Hey! Not my fault you were underneath me, bastard!" Naruto growled crossly as he got up with a yank of Sasuke's hair.

" –Pulling my hair? What are you, five?" the raven sniffed.

" –Boys; why are you still fighting?" Iruka exclaimed in exasperation; hands on hips like a scolding mother. "Can't you play nice?"

"…He's a using bastard, that's why," Naruto snorted, getting up and folding his arms; elbowing Sasuke in the forehead.

"I'm a 'using bastard'?" Sasuke glared aggressively.

"Yeah! You just take-take-take, without any thought for other people!" the blonde snapped.

"…Oh, here we go," Shikamaru muttered under his breath; facepalming.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke was genuinely confused.

"You just think it's fun to play with people; even if they don't mean anything to you!"

"That's what you think I'm doing? Jeez…you're a fucking moron, you know that?"

"Stop calling me a moron!" Naruto snapped.

" –Someone fill me in; I don't know what's going on," Iruka exclaimed in confusion.

"Hey, Uzumaki!" Suigetsu hollered lazily from the fountain, "…I don't know why you're going and accusing Sasuke of playing you. He let you steal his virginity, didn't you?" There was a shocked gasp (and a few squeals) from their entire class.

"I didn't let him –"

"I didn't steal his –what?" Naruto exploded; glaring at the Uchiha, "You were a virgin?" There was another gasp as his accidental slip, as opposed to a denial, proved to everyone present that they had slept together. He clamped his hands over his mouth and made a horrified squeaking noise.

"Suigetsu, are you fucking kidding me?" Sasuke snapped angrily. Suigetsu just shrugged.

"Oh come on, Sasuke; half the class knew."

" –What do they know? What's there to know? I don't know what –" Naruto rambled in his belated defence, before seeing that everyone was looking at him deadpanned –wondering why he was trying to deny things now.

" –Who do you think re-dressed and separated you guys when you both coma'd on the couch naked at the beach party?" Suigetsu sniggered. "You probably didn't notice Hinata accidentally walking in on you either." Hinata blushed fiercely.

" –And I saw you guys fucking in the locker room," Shikamaru added from where he was washing his hair in the fountain. Naruto just stared at them in disbelief; probably fighting off the urges to run away or faint.

" –Hah! You cannot tell dad about Suigetsu now!" Karin exploded, coming up and punching her cousin viciously in the gut, "I can't believe that you're the asshole that took Sasuke's virginity!"

"…Pun intended?" Kiba sniggered, and everyone burst out laughing; only to try and repress it when Karin glared at them all, "…So…Karin….you and Suigetsu, eh?" Karin's cheeks suddenly turned the same colour as her hair as she turned to look at her class nervously. Suigetsu blew her a mocking kiss and just gritted her teeth; tossing her hair as she headed back over to sit with the girls.

"My…my innocent little students…" Iruka whispered, a hand over his mouth, "Kakashi…I can't believe this…"

"Remind me again why I'm a using bastard?" Sasuke commented flatly, and Naruto turned to look at him sheepishly.

"…I um…I kinda…thought that um…I was just…kinda…"

"You thought that I just slept with anyone that was offering?" the Uchiha remarked dangerously.

"Well, kinda, yeah," Naruto snorted, "I mean, everyone's totally all over you, and…"

"…That doesn't mean I want to be inside them." Naruto's cheeks lit up in embarrassment at that, and the catcalls started.

"You uhh…you wanted to…be…" he couldn't finish the sentence; just pointed at himself and blinked blankly.

"…I thought that was implied by the fact that I was."

"Don't say it like that!"

"Why not?"

"It's embarrassing!" the blonde squawked.

"Wait, wait," Iruka frowned; his own cheeks hot with embarrassment for Naruto. "So…all of this…"

" –Sexual avoidance," Shikamaru offered as a suitable phrase.

" –Sexual –" Iruka mumbled the word, "…Avoidance…was because Sasuke and Naruto slept together…but Naruto didn't want to get involved…because he thought that Sasuke was a player that didn't like him, and just thought he was easy?"

"I think you summed it up perfectly, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi commented; apparently trying to withhold his laughter.

"And you wonder why I call you a moron!" Sasuke growled flatly.

"Well, how was I supposed to know?" Naruto stammered.

" –To be fair," Suigetsu reminded him, "…If Sasuke had actually had sex before you, don't you think that everyone would know about it? Much like how they currently do." Everyone present nodded in agreement; still giggling to themselves.

"Wait…why is everyone okay with this?" Naruto demanded to know, "You find out that we had sex with each other, and this is your reaction?"

"…To be honest, Naruto; I think everyone's had their suspicions about the two of you for years now, even if we didn't want to believe it," Sakura pointed out, "…Everyone knows that all you and Sasuke can focus on is each other."

"That is not true –" Naruto was immediately shouted down by the rest of the class. "I hate the –" The rest of his sentence was suddenly cut off as Sasuke swiftly turned him to face him and kissed him right there; in front of everyone. Again; the catcalls went up as an incredibly embarrassed Naruto pulled back; only to have Sasuke lean forwards insistently and press their lips together once more. This time, he visibly kissed back; amid cheers.

"See, Neji," Shikamaru commented conversationally to the boy standing beside him, "I don't know what you were so worried about." Neji was blushing slightly, and fiddling with his shirt. Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "…Hey, I know something you can Instagram…"

"…What?"

Before Neji had time to react, Shikamaru leaned forwards and kissed him deftly on the lips; withdrawing beyond the Hyuuga's reach to escape any punch that might be let off in retaliation. Instead of swinging, Neji just stood there; his brain flat-lining as he blinked in disbelief.

"…I didn't have my iPhone," was all he managed to come up with as a response.

"Well then, we might just have to do it again," Shikamaru replied smoothly, turning away with a shrug, "…Somewhere where our classmates aren't watching." Neji's eyes widened in horror as he turned to see the smug, excited faces of his class chuckling gleefully at him.

"That wasn't –" he immediately exclaimed, "No; he just…I didn't…"

"Neji and Shika, sitting in a tree…" Tenten sang in delight.

"…Or pashing in a bathroom!" Ino and Sakura shrieked in delight; their mischievous eyes knowing. Neji paled drastically as Shikamaru took a seat on the edge of the fountain and just smirked at him simply.

"Is there anyone else?" Kiba hollered obnoxiously; referring to the fact that four of their classmates had in the last half hour, been outed.

"Well, Iruka and I are getting married, if that counts?" Kakashi offered with a shrug. This time, roars and gasps erupted from the class as they looked over to Iruka to confirm this fabulous news. Iruka swatted Kakashi crossly.

"I told you to keep this professional!" he snapped in embarrassment, "I didn't want them knowing!"

"Ooh, Iruka-sensei; dating a co-worker!" Sakura teased as Ino squealed, "OH MY GOD, CUTE!"

" –Have you had sex at work?" Kiba inquired crudely.

"No! Don't wanna know that!" Karui snapped; swatting him over the head. Iruka just wound up stammering and covering his face in embarrassment as Kakashi just smiled at them mysteriously. Thankfully, the situation was saved by Sakura squawking, "Oh come on guys; get a room!" All eyes turned to Sasuke and Naruto, who were on the ground now; Sasuke on top of Naruto as the two of them made out ferociously.

"…Or maybe a bush?" Kiba teased; looking pointedly at Suigetsu, "I hear that gardens are a perfect place for sex."

"…They're better than a locker room," Suigetsu mocked, and Naruto extracted his tongue from Sasuke's mouth to glare at him and yell, "Shut up!"

"But, you know; you'd have to ask Naruto…" In a split second, Sasuke was on his ass on the ground and Naruto was sprinting after a laughing Suigetsu. As he passed by the fountain, he took a flying leap through the air and tackled the other boy directly into the water; sending a fresh wave pouring over both Shikamaru and Neji.

All four of them spluttered and coughed; completely drenched and bedraggled. Suigetsu was helpless with laughter; splashing around like a little kid.

"God…you're such an idiot…" Sasuke hollered out, in a way that Iruka had now decided was his way of making sure that Naruto's attention returned to him. It worked, like usual, and with a wicked gleam in his eyes, a drenched Naruto was hurtling across the grass towards a suddenly very worried, rather dry Sasuke. Getting the idea, Suigetsu leapt up and made a beeline for Karin; water scattering everywhere.

Within minutes, the entire class was involved.

Iruka and Kakashi watched from a safe distance as their eighteen-year old students frolicked through the water fountain; splashing each other and chasing anyone who made an attempt at staying dry. Sakura and Ino were drenched and squealing as dragged Sai through the fountain by his arms. Tenten and Omoi were using their shoes to scoop up and throw water at anyone that came near. Lee was dancing in the fountain.

Only Neji refused.

"Oh come on…" Shikamaru rolled his eyes as Hinata dumped yet another load of water over her cousin's head. "Neji…"

"Come frolic!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I don't frolic," Neji snapped, "I have never frolicked. I shall not frolic."

"But it's so much fun!" Kiba teased, "Even Gaara's doing it!"

"I'm not frolic –" Gaara informed him as Naruto kicked up a huge wave of water in his face. "…ing…" He glared at Naruto; his red hair plastered to his face and his baggy clothes sticking to his thin frame. "…Uzumaki, you are going down." Naruto cackled gleefully as he ungracefully leapt through the water; knocking down a waterlogged Shino as Gaara stormed after him; kicking up water as he went.

"Come on, Neji," Sakura teased; flicking water at him. He didn't budge.

"Neji…" Shikamaru sighed and then just nodded pointedly at Omoi and Lee. The pair of them nodded, and the three of them physically picked up the Hyuuga and dropped him in the fountain.

"That's it; you are all so dead!" Neji snapped, as he rocketed out of the water; his hair momentarily blinding him as he blundered around; kicking up water. Everyone burst out laughing as the stuck up Neji finally properly joined in.

"Iruka…are you tearing up?" Kakashi teased.

"No!" the younger man retorted hotly, "I…I just…hay fever…" He smiled down at the students down in front of him as they raced across the grass –the students from the other classes having heard the commotion and arrived to find a full-scale water fight in progress. Suigetsu was dancing flamboyantly along the edge of the fountain; apparently making fun of Karin, who was hot in pursuit.

"You know what?" Iruka added, rubbing his eyes and looking down fondly on his students as he watched Sasuke openly mocking Naruto; only to have the blonde chase after him; clutching at his waterlogged pants to keep them up, "…You know how with children…if a boy likes a girl, he'll tease her?"

"Mmm."

"And if a girl likes a boy, she'll always choose to chase him?"

Kakashi just chuckled to himself in agreement.

"…Do you think they ever really grow out of it?" Kakashi appeared to ponder this for a moment.

"Nope," he admitted, before hoisting Iruka up over his shoulder and jogging down to the fountain to toss him right into the water along with their students.

"Kids!" Iruka shouted out urgently; and almost as soon as he touched the water, Kakashi found himself drenched by Iruka's students, rushing to their teacher's defence. He laughed, as the two teachers joined the water fight –much to the disbelief of the other classes…who were quickly forced to scatter as the water fight escalated.

Iruka chuckled to himself in delight as he squirmed uncomfortably in his seat on the bus ride back home. The floor of the bus was slippery with water, and all of them were completely drenched. As he looked over his shoulder, he was happy to discover that it was like looking back in time to the beginning of junior high –despite the fact that they'd gotten their technology back.

Sakura and Ino were sitting together; laughing and talking and teasing Karui and Omoi who were in the seats in front of them –phones forgotten. Kiba and Hinata were sitting together; smiling –with Neji two rows in front of them, glaring back at them –but being held back from lunging for Kiba by a bored-looking Shikamaru. The bus was full of noise and excitement, and he knew that they were all having a good time. Things were back to how he wanted them to be.

" –Seventy-three bottles of beer on the wall! Seventy-three bottles of beer! Take one down…pass it around…seventy-two bottles of beer on the wall –" Naruto, Lee and Sai were singing enthusiastically.

"Shut up!" Sasuke complained; hands over his ears, "That's enough!"

" –Seventy-two bottles of beer on the wall!" Naruto's voice rang out even louder –directed right at the raven, who was sitting next to him in the back seat of the bus.

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled.

"SEVENTY-TWO BOTTLES OF BEER!" The shoving started.

"Naruto! Don't make me come back there!" Iruka warned.

"TAKE ONE DOWN, PASS IT AROUND; SEVENTY-ONE BOTTLES OF BEER –" The entire bus shouted at their teacher; all joining in the song –even Sasuke. Iruka clamped his hands over his face and dragged them down his cheeks in aggravation as they all doubled their volume excitedly; singing along and rather pleased with themselves. They were dirty, wet, bruised, battered and stiff from the day; but they were light-hearted, in good spirits and actually interacting. All because of one stupid game of tag started by his ridiculous boyfriend.

"SEVENTY-BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL…."

"Would you rather we hadn't let them bond?" Kakashi teased. Iruka just shook his head with a weak smile as he clamped his hands over his ears.

"TAKE ONE DOWN…" the class chorused.

"SASUKE, STOP MOLESTING ME!"

"STOP SINGING THEN!"

"SIXTY-NINE BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL!" Naruto crowed in Sasuke's face.

" –I LIKE THE SOUND OF THAT –"

"SASUKE, GET OFF ME!"

"I'll separate them," Kakashi laughed, seeing Sasuke's hands wandering and Naruto not really protesting. The pushing and shoving intensified…but then again, so did the singing; Naruto apparently determined to not stop singing no matter what.

Well…Iruka had wanted them to end the year united; parting as friends -maybe as more. Or maybe they wouldn't be parting forever. He smiled softly to himself. If a migraine and burst eardrums were the price for seeing his students happy and laughing together as friends again, he supposed he could listen to another sixty-eight bottles of beer.

And done!

Sorry it's a bit fast and all over the show; just really felt like writing something like this, and this is what I ended up with! Hope you liked! In some ways, we stay kids, right? And some things don't change, right? And high school... well... It's something that it's nice to end on a good note. Happy endings, yay!

xx K