Pranksters

To those of you who reviewed, thanks so much. :) I'm sorry that updates are slow, but I'm working on multiple stories. Sometimes I just forget to post ^^; Anywho, here is the next chapter. As light hearted as the first chapter was, this one took a turn a more serious turn. I hope all of you find this one equally as enjoyable.

Pranksters 2: Getting Even


The morning light filtered through the living room window. Papers shuffled, lattes were sipped and a pleasant buzz of conversation remained consistent. Pleasant that is to everyone except Uzumaki who sat grumpily at the kitchen table. He slammed his fist down on the stapler with uncharacteristic violence, shifted the packet to the “done” pile before arranging the next packet. He glared at the peaceful looking red head who sat amidst a crowd of smiling men and women. He slammed his fist down again. No one in the living room seemed to notice. No one.

“Oi Naruto, if you didn’t want to work here you should have told me. It would have saved me the trip.” Shikamaru glared at him from the other side of the table, exacto knife carefully posed to cut the next sheet. Naruto turned his head to look at his partner. He refused to say anything, but this time he picked up the stapler and squeezed it instead of slamming his fist down.

“I told Gaara a week ago that you were coming over here to work on this stuff. But nooo, he had to have this meeting today- something urgent that just had to take place here. I made plans first, I refuse to budge,” Naruto ranted. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and went back to cutting.

“Fine, but slam that stapler one more time and I’ll let you cut these damn things.” He shook his head, concentrating on the edge in front of him as he slid the knife along the metal ruler. Naruto watched him a moment before sighing. He stapled with more precision, less aggression, though his gaze constantly wandered over to the living room where the supposedly important meeting was taking place.

From what he could tell it was some sort of new advertising campaign. Tall poster boards leaned against the wooden entertainment stand. Tan men and women clad in skimpy bathing wear sported stylish sunglasses. Or what he assumed was supposed to be stylish. He couldn’t tell what was being advertised- the lack of clothing or the shades. No wonder this was considered urgent. Whoever designed this campaign was confused.

Gaara sat comfortably on the leather couch pouring over some form of report or other. A neat stack rested in his lap while the top one was being flipped through. He appeared deeply immersed in its contents, pointing things out to the people around him and explaining it to them. Naruto snorted, wondering how much the girl next to him was actually paying attention. Naruto didn’t miss the fact that the top two buttons of her shirt were undone and that she leaned over excessively to look at the report in Gaara’s hands. Her shirt gaped open each time she leaned down far enough, her thigh brushed against his from sitting too close. Gaara didn’t seem to have noticed, but the slip of a smile in place since she sat down told Naruto that it was deliberate.

He squeezed the stapler a bit more than necessary. Why didn’t Gaara move away from her? Why did he let her get away with this? It was obviously sexual harassment. Even *he* could see that. Or had Gaara really not noticed? Or worse yet- maybe he welcomed it. He took a closer look at her. Young, slim, attired in the latest fashion- she wasn’t bad looking.

Naruto immediately dismissed that idea. Attractive or no, his roommate was dense. Naruto had been subtly hitting on him since high school and had yet to receive the slightest reaction. He snorted, thinking of how the pretty little intern had a lot of frustration and disappointment ahead of her. Naruto knew- he had experienced it all first hand. Hell, even when Naruto thought he was being obvious, his roommate just interpreted the situation as a prank. Trying to prove he was serious was turning out to be a lot harder than he thought.

Naruto’s gaze rested on his roommate. Maybe he took that last prank a little too far, but he had hoped to convey his feelings. Not start a prank war. Now his roommate thought this was all just a game. And he had only himself to blame.

Naruto had spaced out while staring at Gaara. He blinked a few times when he realized his roommate had caught him. Naruto blinked and pretended to be looking out the window. He didn’t miss the amused smirk on Gaara’s face. The intern next to him also noticed him as she rose to her feet. Naruto gripped the stapler again when Gaara’s hand moved to the small of her back to help her up. He looked at her kindly and Naruto wondered what she could have possibly said to make Gaara look so angelic.

“Naruto!” he smiled. “Could you help Matsuri bring out the pastries in the kitchen?” The girl was smiling at him politely. Naruto gave out an audible huff, but got to his feet. The chair scraped against the floor and Gaara cringed a little. Naruto smirked and turned a charming smile to the girl.

“Right this way,” he led her into the kitchen. The strong scent of her perfume followed him. The smell reached him before she did. He resisted the urge to scrunch up his nose in distaste, ignoring how the scent burned down his nasal passage. He turned away trying to avoid it, listening for her hushed footsteps on the hardwood floor. She followed behind him not at all put out by the fact that Naruto kept his back to her.

“You two have a great apartment,” she began. “It was so kind of Mr. Sabaku to offer his place for the meeting. When we were given the Monday deadline I think half of us were just about ready to quit!” she laughed. Naruto failed to see what was funny. Deadlines were one of the few things he took seriously. “He really saved us.” She paused. Naruto could hear the admiration in her voice. He felt irritable knowing he had one more competitor. “It must be nice to have such a kind and considerate roommate,” she continued. Annoyed, he chose not to respond, opening the refrigerator door. A sizeable white box was placed on the top shelf sealed with the bakery’s name in a clean font.

“This must be the one,” Naruto pulled it out and set it on the counter.

“I picked it up myself,” she smiled. She seemed particularly pleased with herself. Like picking up a box of pastries was rocket science.

“Let me guess, you’re the intern,” Naruto smiled. In other words, the slave.

She smiled a little sheepishly, toeing the ground. The pose struck him as feminine, and had he not seen her give an eyeful to his roommate just five minutes prior, he would have interpreted her clasped hands as a sign of bashfulness. Oh yeah, she knew how to play it.

“Yes. It’s my first year. But I feel very fortunate to be working under Mr. Sabaku. He’s such a great mentor!” Her eyes were sparkling again. “Perhaps he mentioned me? I’m Matsuri,” she added hopefully. Naruto knew what she was fishing for. He thought about giving her false hope, constructing stories of Gaara’s praise and hinting at a secret admiration on his part, but he didn’t feel like encouraging her. He shook his head.

“Sorry, but Gaara and I don’t usually discuss our work. He’s a rather private sorta guy,” Naruto winked. She nodded in understanding, not at all put out by this information. She broke the seal on the box and opened up the top. He noticed she did so delicately. Probably to preserve her well manicured nails from chipping. Naruto reached to open a wooden cabinet, rummaging through the cupboards for a plate large enough to fit all the pastries.

“So, is it just you two living here?” she asked hesitantly.

“Yep,” Naruto replied without much thought. He pulled out a large serving platter, checking to make sure it was clean and placed it on the counter. Normally they used the ceramic dish for sushi, but it would do.

“Your place is very well kept for a bachelor pad,” she added casually. “Do you entertain guests often?” she added rather cautiously. Naruto was sliding a cheese Danish onto the plate when he realized the import of her question. A smile slid across his face as he continued to arrange the dish.

“Oh yeah, that Gaara. The quiet façade fools most people, but deep down he’s a real party animal, if you know what I mean,” he shot a wink in her direction. “Of course you’d never be able to tell unless you really knew him. He’s pretty good at hiding his wild side.” Matsuri looked up at him with wide, brown eyes. She seemed taken aback, averting her gaze to the pastry box as she digested this new information. Slowly she relaxed, the tension leaving her shoulders as she began smiling to herself.

“Like his tattoo,” she offered.

“Yeah,” Naruto looked at her suspiciously. “Like his tattoo.” His curiosity was piqued. Maybe he had underestimated her. Not many of Gaara’s coworkers knew about his tattoo. He usually covered it up pretty well with makeup and combing his bangs in the right direction- a relic of his wild youth he now had reason to hide. “So you know about that, huh?” he raised his eyebrows at her playfully. She blushed and looked away.

“He’s my supervisor. We work closely together. Naturally I’m going to find out a little more about him than the average coworker.” So she did think there was something extra between them. Naruto had a suspicion that her finding about the tattoo wasn’t natural in any sense, but he didn’t press her further. Personally, he didn’t think he wanted to know.

“I think these are ready to go,” he picked up the plate. “Grab that pot of coffee over there in case people want some,” he nodded toward the far end of the counter. She nodded and diligently complied. Together they went back into the living room, distributing pastries and coffee. He was met with less than cool thanks, but Naruto let it slide. It’s not like *he* had to work with them. They probably thought he was their slave too. Even his own roommate regarded him with disinterest. Not that this was unusual, but Naruto thought he could have at least tossed out a thanks for being imposed upon. He was too absorbed in his work, apparently.

“Save me a croissant,” he ordered before going back to his document. Naruto was about to retort when a man in a dark green dress shirt with an even darker green tie grabbed the croissant and set it atop a napkin on the coffee table.

“Let me take care of that for you,” he said enthusiastically. “I’ll guard it with my life!” His dark brown eyes were wide in all earnestness, mouth set in determination. Hell, he even had a fist bunched up in the air. Talk about a freak. Naruto rolled his eyes and continued around the room. When he was done he took the rest of the pastries to the kitchen table and set it before Shikamaru with a grin.

“Breakfast,” he smiled. He grabbed an apple Danish and bit into it with relish. “Wan eny cahee?” he asked.

“Yes,” Shikamaru’s face scrunched up in distaste. “But next time, don’t ask with your mouth full.” He shook his head and went back to work. Naruto went back into the kitchen to retrieve two mugs and some cream and sugar for himself. He brought them to the kitchen table. Matsuri was back to oogling her supervisor under the pretense of concentrating on his explanations. Naruto picked up the forgotten coffee pot and brought it back to his corner. He filled his mug, poured out a cup for Shikamaru and returned the pot to the kitchen. He shook his head wondering how long she was willing to suffer for Gaara’s affections before she gave up or decided to jump him altogether. No matter. Gaara was an expert in evading unwanted situations. Naruto knew that first hand as well.

He went back to stapling the never-ending stack of packets for their presentation. He went back to watching the events across the room as his hands went on autopilot. Occasionally he stopped to take a bite of his pastry. The bread flaked and a large clump of apple and syrup fell- right onto his papers.

Naruto searched for a napkin but realized that was the one thing he forgot to bring. Cursing he jumped from his seat and rushed to the kitchen for paper towels. He reached for the roll sitting on the counter and ripped off a few sheets. He berated himself for his clumsiness knowing he would have to make another copy.

Sitting back down at the table he wiped at the mess only to notice that the damp sticky, syrupy mess had soaked through the paper slightly. He lifted up the page to find a slight spot on the next page. Naruto groaned. He’d have to replace that page too. He yanked up the second page to check on the third page and paused.

That wasn’t part of his proposal. He raised an eyebrow at Shikamaru. He didn’t think Shikamaru had the motivation to do this one himself, but still, it didn’t hurt to ask.

“Hey Nara, is this your handiwork?” He held up the third page for his partner. “I mean, I have nothing against using tricks to boost our evaluation, but isn’t this a bit much?”

Shikamaru’s mouth hung open. He stared at the picture in Naruto’s hand and not for the usual reasons. “It’s not mine. Temari made me throw away all my magazines.” He turned his head sideways to get a better look. “Is that the only one or were we just about to embarrass ourselves on Monday?”

“Haven’t checked yet,” Naruto added. He slid the photo over to Nara so he didn’t have to strain his neck. “Keep this one. As a memento.” Shikamaru didn’t look amused.

“Check the other packets. This may just set us back another hour.”

“Yeah, I know,” Naruto grumped. He had a bad feeling about this and was trying to avoid checking what he suspected was a rather substantial amount of damage. He began with the packets that were already stapled. He flipped to the third page. The same woman was spread out on this page, exposing all her charms. Naruto flipped through the next packet- the same naked legs spread for him and in the next one and the next. He pulled up the bottom of the stack and flipped through the pages- same sultry eyes, same rounded breasts. Naruto threw down the pages in frustration. “What the hell? Where did this crap come from?” He began flipping through the unstapled papers and began pulling out the extra additions. All of them depicted the same woman. He flipped the stack over hurriedly just as one of Gaara’s coworkers walked past, heading towards the restroom.

“They were in every single packet. I have to undo every one of these now,” he whispered harshly. As much as he enjoyed a prank, he had a feeling he was beginning to understand how his roommate felt.

Naruto looked up at his roommate with pure anger. Gaara knew he was pushing a deadline. The next hour lost would be another hour of sleep he would not get tonight. He looked at the stack of pornographic photos next to him. He was pretty certain he knew who was responsible. Naruto rose to his feet quickly, chair scraping against the wooden floor loud enough to grab the attention of most of their visitors and stomped to Gaara’s office. He opened the door regardless of his roommate’s request that he not enter without permission and began to rummage in his desk. Being as anal as he was, there had to be a stapler remover somewhere. Naruto was half way through the second drawer when he stumbled across the source of the numerous copies on his table. Naruto scowled and tossed it onto the desk. He would deal with that later, when he had time. He moved onto the next drawer where he finally discovered the desired object.

“I believe I forbade you from entering without my permission.” His roommate leaned against the doorway, arms crossed leisurely across his chest.

“Yeah, well I needed something for my project,” Naruto replied testily. He held up the stapler remover and made to leave the office. He was blocked by Gaara’s unmoving body.

“You couldn’t ask me?” Naruto felt like he was twelve again, being lectured by Iruka-sensei.

“You were busy,” Naruto didn’t feel like playing this game right now, his patience wearing thin. “Speaking of which, shouldn’t you be in the other room staring at your intern’s rack right now?”

Gaara smirked. “Oh, so you noticed it too? Shall I introduce you two better? Send you on another errand with just the two of you? Maybe she can help you with your homework,” his green eyes sparkled. “I don’t mind sharing.”

Naruto’s heart rate accelerated. “What the hell does that mean?” Panic seeped into his voice. “Are you and her..?” he paused. He couldn’t bring himself to finish the question. The casual touches and smiles replayed themselves in his mind. The cold burn of jealousy rolled through him.

“Are we what?” Gaara challenged him. Naruto was dumbstruck for once, unable to speak while his imagination spun out a million different possibilities. He began to wonder why she did know about Gaara’s tattoo. “Not that any of that is your business.” Gaara replied as though reading Naruto’s thoughts. Naruto was hurt by the playfulness in his tone. He watched as his roommate turned away. “Next time ask before you barge into my office.”

The conversation was over. Naruto missed his chance to find out- to find out the answers to any of his questions. Suddenly the mess on the kitchen table didn’t seem so important anymore.