Chapter 4 - Question Marks

A/N: This would have been out sooner, but I’ve had sleepovers, parties and barbeques to attend.

(This chapter brought to you by my Green Day play list…Oh yeah, be afraid. Be very afraid.)

Disclaimer: If they were mine, I’d be much more possessive over them. (cackles)

Background:

Every day after school, The Group gathers in the office of their current Guidance Counselor to help them deal with their messed up lives and messed up problems. Naruto, the self-proclaimed leader and worst behaved of the six outcasts, always takes the job of scaring away the counselor that was sent there to help them. But when Sasuke takes the position, the blond is given a run for his money.

-xxXXlXXxx-

M I S F I T

Question Marks

-xxXXlXXxx-

“Uzumaki, for the fifth time, leave Hinata alone.”

Naruto smirks slyly at the red-faced Hyuuga one last time before leaning back in his seat. He gives Sasuke a sour look and crosses his arms.

Hinata’s lilac eyes remain focused on the ground and she continues to shake violently.

The raven-haired counselor eyes her from where he sits and bites his bottom lip for a moment. He seems to come to a decision, and then stands.

The dark-haired female looks up through her short bangs as he approaches her.

Sasuke gives her a small ghost of a smile and lowers himself to one knee so that the two are eye level.

“Would you mind sitting next to Kiba?”

Hinata averts her eyes from his and shakes her head. He stands and the humiliated girl scurries across the small circle to where Kiba is smiling gratefully. Anything was better than just Gaara.

Naruto scowls at his best friend and glares when Sasuke takes Hinata’s currently vacated seat.

The raven leans in close to the blond with a dangerous smirk on his face. The whisker-cheeked boy grips the bottom of his chair again to refrain from wiping the wolfish look off of his face.

“I told you not to test my patience, Uzumaki. Now you’re sitting alone.”

Naruto’s gritting his teeth so hard that it’s painful.

Sasuke’s face falls back into its usual apathetic expression, his eyebrows raised a fraction.

“But you’re used to that, aren’t you? What was that you said earlier today? Ah, that’s right. Once a misfit… always a misfit.”

And before the blond has a chance to even respond, Sasuke is back on the edge of his desk, surveying the slightly surprised faces of all six outcasts (excluding Gaara).

Arms crossed and eyes closed, he says, “I’m not here to be nice to all of you. I’m not here to hold your hand and tell you what to do every step of the way. I don’t care what any of your previous counselors have told you, but I’m not here to make your decisions for you. Your problems are yours and yours alone. Do not expect me to lose sleep over you.”

The silence that follows is thick and stiff and a certain blond doesn’t like it one bit. His life needs noise, because nothing good comes from anything quiet.

He grins. Face splitting and vulpine to the fullest extent.

“Hey, Uchiha,” Naruto calls out jokingly, “How’s your love life? Seeing any pretty girls? Or do you swing the other way?”

Sasuke lifts an eyebrow and slides something off his left ring finger. He slides the object back onto his middle finger instead, and flashes it towards Naruto.

The blond sputters at both the rude gesture and the gold engagement ring that glints back at him.

“You’re engaged?”

“Married, actually.” Sasuke replies with ease, placing the wedding band back to where it belongs.

Naruto lets out a round of barking laughter. “Who would marry you?”

“It’s none of your concern. Now, if we could move on, I believe we’ve forgotten introductions.”

Shikamaru let out a soft snore and Chouji snickered in between mouthfuls of junk food.

Sasuke sighs (yet again) and reaches behind him. He picks up a ballpoint pen from his desk and throws it.

It hits the sleeping boy square in the head and he lifts his chin from his chest. His eyes open groggily and he yawns.

“Welcome back, Nara.”

The lazy boy grumbles out an incoherent response.

“Nice to see some enthusiasm,” Sasuke comments dryly.

Naruto snorts loudly and Sasuke quirks an eyebrow.

“Something funny, Uzumaki?”

“Nothing, nothing,” the blond assures him, chuckling and waving a dismissive hand, “It’s just that you don’t exactly seem to be the most lively person here, either.”

“Not all of us are able to remain wired all day like you, Uzumaki. Some of us do our work.”

“With all do respect, Uchiha-sama,” he says mockingly, “I do my work. I just choose to do it at a slower pace than most.”

This earns him yet another raised brow and the blond nearly screams in frustration.

Another routine silence hangs in the office, ominous and foreboding. Sasuke and Naruto stare each other down and measure each other up.

When their gazes finally break, there is still fifteen minutes left before The Group is meant to end.

Sasuke dismisses them anyway, but not before commanding Kiba and Naruto to remain where they are. When the room is empty, save for the three, Sasuke actually sits behind his desk, in the small chair waiting for him.

Kiba looks as though he’s about to speak when the raven opens the top drawer and pulls out a small orange bottle. The cap on it is white, as is the label that neither student can distinguish from where they sit.

Without a word, the Uchiha opens the bottle and empties three small pills out. They’re small and round and the two boys gaze at them curiously as the man drops them into his mouth and swallows them dry.

Kiba’s brow knits together. “Isn’t that illegal?”

Sasuke rolls his eyes and drops the canister back into the drawer.

“Not if you have a condition that requires you to take prescribed medication at a certain time.”

Naruto raises an eyebrow curiously. “What kind of condition?”

Sasuke ignores the question and stares evenly at the two students.

“Jiraiya told me of your little escapade earlier. To be honest, I didn’t think you’d be that careless.”

Naruto snorts again. “You act like you expected it from us.”

Sasuke gives the smallest of shrugs. “Maybe. Either way, you two are stuck with me for a while.”

“Seems that way,” grumbles Naruto. Kiba grunts in agreement.

“I don’t think I’ll have trouble keeping you busy. There’s plenty of cleaning and filing to be done around here that I don’t really have time for.”

A collective groan is heard.

“Stop complaining. You’re dismissed.”

-xxXXlXXxx-

Sasuke can smell his wife’s cooking as he inserts the key into the door that leads to their shared apartment. He was lucky she hadn’t burned down the whole building yet.

He slips his shoes off after he enters, making sure to keep extra quiet.

The Uchiha enters the small kitchen and tries not to choke on the black smoke that fills most of the room.

Underneath the thick fog, he can see his wife’s legs currently clad in a pair of gray sweatpants. His gray sweatpants, most likely. She had a habit of wearing his clothes when they were home.

Sasuke creeps up behind her and very nearly laughs when he hears the string of profanities slipping past her lips. He leans forward so that he’s pressed into her back and puts his hands over her eyes.

She makes a small squeaking sound in surprise before smiling warmly and moving his hands down until they’re wrapped around her waist instead.

Much more comfortable, she thinks happily, no longer mindful of the choking smoke surrounding them.

She cranes her neck back so that it rests on his shoulder. He has to bow his head lower just to press his lips to hers.

When he pulls away, he’s smirking.

“What have I told you about cooking? Stick to instant if you’re too stubborn to wait for me to come home.”

He walks away, still amused, and opens their small window to let the room air out.

His wife pouts as they walk into the living room.

“I was only trying to be helpful,” she mumbles.

Sasuke gives a soft chuckle as he comes up behind her and rests his chin on her shoulder. His hands come around and grab her own gently and their fingers lace.

“How about take-out? You can choose,” he offers.

She sighs softly and nods once. “Ramen. Miso ramen.”

“Of course.”

He presses their lips together again.

-xxXXlXXxx-

I hate this stupid job.

Naruto’s grumbling as he walks down the hall in a relatively small apartment building. He holds a delivery bag with two orders of ramen steaming inside.

What’s the point if I don’t get to eat the ramen?

He knocks shortly on the third door to the right and smoothes out his brightly colored uniform.

A lock clicks open on the other side. The doorknob turns and it swings open.

Naruto gapes and nearly drops the ramen. “Uchiha? You live here?”

“Ah, Uzumaki.” He eyes Naruto’s work clothes. “Nice to see you committing yourself to something.”

Naruto growls and gestures towards the bag hanging from his hand.

“I never pinned you for the ramen type.”

“Funny, I never pinned you for the delivery boy type.”

“…Sasuke-kun? Is everything okay?”

A woman appears beside the raven and blinks at the sight of Naruto.

“Uzumaki-kun? Is that you?”

This time, Naruto does drop the ramen. He looks back at Sasuke.

“You’re married to our school nurse?”

“Aa.”

“You’re married to Sakura-chan?”

“Aa.”

-xxXXlXXxx-

Next chapter…

(Naruto and Kiba begin their punishment and Naruto makes a life-threatening mistake)

Naruto blinks as he looks up at the man.

The stranger smirks.

“I’m afraid my younger brother isn’t very…fond of me.”

-xxXXlXXxx-

A/N: Right, so the preview is so obvious that it hurts.

So, any suggestions for Sasuke’s ‘condition’? I actually think I know what I’m gonna do, but if you can think of anything, feel free to share. I’ll give you credit for it if it’s used.

Pairing One Revealed: SasuSaku (come on. It was SO obvious if you know me at all)

Meh, school starts tomorrow! (sighs) No more summer…expect slower updates.

Next chapter is a BIG one.

So leave a BIG review if you want it.

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