A Virgin Kiss

A/N: I edited this to add a little more dialogue at the end.

Chapter 13: The Dinner

Temari and Shikamaru were kissing when Neji and Gaara exploded into the hallway less than two minutes later. The four of them looked at each other in a rather embarrassed way, and the silence was only broken when Shikamaru said, “Well, I guess you two are really hungry.”

Temari just said “Gaara” in a shocked voice.

“What big sister?” asked Gaara as they started down the hall.

“When did you get that shirt, Gaara?” asked Temari, her voice still sounding surprised.

“It was a gift from my new boyfriend, Neji,” said Gaara, “Do you like it?”

When Temari just stopped and stared at Gaara dumbfounded, Neji felt a spurt of anger. He pulled Gaara into his arms, saying, “I like it, Red, so who cares if your sister doesn’t? She’s not the one kissing you.” And the look of love in Gaara’s eyes made Neji forget everything but the need to kiss Gaara. It was hard to remember this was the much-feared Kazekage when the mouth beneath his was responding so passionately. Fuck, it was hard to remember anything when he kissed Gaara but how good it felt to have a part of his body inside his.

The shock of his forehead hitting against a thin layer of sand that had suddenly risen up to cover Gaara's head made Neji pull back from the kiss. Shikamaru had tried to knock their two heads together to make them stop making out.

“You two can’t go out and eat if you don’t cool it,” said the shadow nin in that lazy slow voice of his. “Act like shinobis, not lovebirds.”

Then Temari threw herself at Gaara. When his sand finally went back into the small gourd at Gaara's waist, she kissed him and burst into tears. Gaara, Neji, and Shikamaru exchanged glances—then grins. They all knew better than to say it, but in their minds each one was thinking how women and men were so different.

“Hey, Temari, hey,” was all Gaara said.

“Oh, Gaara, you look wonderful, you look fabulous,” said Temari pulling herself together.

“Of course,” said Gaara smugly, “Neji’s a genius.”

“Oh, yes, yes, he is a genius,” agreed Temari.

“Well, ah, let’s get the Neji fanclub rolling, eh? It’s already 6:10, folks, so if we want Chouji to leave us anything to eat, we’d better hustle,” said Shikamaru bringing the other three back to an awareness that the hallway of a public inn at dinner time wasn’t the best place to have a bonding moment.

They made their way to the barbeque restaurant without any more words, tears, or drama. They were shown to the special banquet room in the back with several small grills set into the huge rectangular table. There they found not only Shino, Kiba, and Akumaru, but also Hinata, Iruka, Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, Chouji, Ino, and Sakura.

Team Asuma was sitting at the right end of the table, and they had saved two chairs—and Chouji and Ino were immediately calling Shikamaru and Temari over. Team Kurenai, minus their sensei who was next to Asuma, was on the left side. In between the two teams on the far side of the room was an empty chair, Kakashi, and Iruka. Across from them in front of the door was another empty chair and Sakura.

Gaara and Neji stood in the doorway looking at the two chairs, the one between Kakashi and Kiba and the other between Hinata and Sakura.

“Gaara-sama, so glad you made it, come over here and tell me how your shopping went,” called out Kiba, patting the back of the empty chair next to him. “Come over here and sit next to me.”

Gaara moved about two feet in from the doorway before Neji reached out and grabbed a tuff of that red hair and jerked Gaara back. Abruptly the welcoming chit-chat of a dozen ninjas stopped, and the room was shockingly silent. Gaara stumbled back and saying, “Dammit, Neji, that hurt. You’ll pay for that.” Sand swirled up out of the small gourd hanging at his waist on Gaara’s back, but it just whirled above Gaara’s and Neji’s heads before returning back to the gourd with a soft hiss.

Gaara turned around slowly to face Neji in the doorway and reached up and caught two fistfuls of Neji’s dark black mane. His white hands stood out clearly against the dark hair, but then no one was looking at those white hands anymore as Gaara pulled Neji’s head down for a kiss—a “serious” kiss that clearly involved a lot more than just lips.

Chaos reigned as if some crisis had arisen, not a kiss. Kakashi had pushed up his headband to reveal his Sharingan. Asuma’s cigarette fell out of his mouth and burned Kurenai, who jumped up cursing. Hinata fainted, her chair tipping over, but she was saved from a nasty impact with the floor by a stream of Shino’s bugs. Sakura was yelling at Shino that bugs at dinner were gross even as she was pulling out a vial of smelling salts to hold under Hinata’s nose. At the other end of the table, Ino’s nose was gushing blood, and Iruka, next to her, was frantically dabbing at it with a napkin. Akamaru howled, and Chouji actually stopped stuffing his face with appetizers.

Shikamaru was holding Temari, who--although she hadn’t lost consciousness--was doing a good job of getting close to it. Her warm beige skin was now looking as white as Gaara’s. Only Kiba seemed unaffected, but he had a little bit of blood under his nose, and he seemed to feel the need to move his chair extremely close to the table, so his chest was against its edge.

Gaara and Neji didn’t seem to notice the uproar, and their kiss continued for a bit before they pulled apart from each other and turned to face the table again. Kakashi covered his Sharingan and jerked Kiba into the empty chair next to him. Shino’s bugs smoothly moved Hinata into the chair next to Sakura before disappearing like Gaara’s sand. Shino shifted over as well, so he was still by Hinata's side, and now Kiba's and Shino's original two chairs were empty next to each other.

As these seating changes were being made, Asuma was apologizing to Kurenai and holding an ice cube over the tiny burn on her forearm. Kiba ordered Akamaru out to reduce the chaos while Ino and Temari pulled themselves together. Gaara and Neji moved together and sat down in the two seats next to each other. Gaara, the first to reach the chairs, sat in the one next to Shino as if he hadn't heard Kiba's earlier request. Neji coolly took the last chair next to Kiba, saying, “I think I found a good shirt for Gaara, Kiba, wouldn’t you all agree?”

Fourteen pairs of eyes fixed onto Gaara in his tight white silk shirt. With the white shirt against Gaara’s white skin, the black and purple hickey on Gaara’s throat seemed remarkably dark.

“It’s my first present,” said Gaara, “so I don’t care if everyone hates it.”

The silence that fell after that comment was awkward. Temari looked like she was about to cry and lost all her color again.

Iruka was the first to speak, “Well, I think it looks great, Gaara-sama. Kakashi’s birthday is in two days on September 15th. Maybe I should get him one just like it.”

“Yeah, I’m all for that,” said Ino, grinning, “Hey, Shikamaru, our birthdays are coming up on the 22nd and 23rd, you want a sexy silk shirt too?”

Shikamaru just snorted, and at that point the waiters came in with trays of raw meat and seafood to place on the grills on the table, and the conversation was switched to food.

After everybody had placed what they wanted on the grills and drinks had been ordered for the four late arrivals, the talk became general. The fact that no one had bothered to invite TenTen came up, and it was decided that another dinner should be held tomorrow with TenTen, Gai, and Rock Lee. The upcoming chuunin exams and memorable ones from the past were then disussed around the table. Since they all had been in or to several of the exams, there was a lot to chat about. The meal went surprisingly smoothly with more food and drinks coming in periodically. Chouji didn't steal anyone's food, and Iruka didn't criticize anyone's table manners. Shikamaru, Hinata, and Gaara hardly said anything at all, but still it seemed like the dinner party was well on its way to being a success.

About thirty minutes after Neji and Gaara's kiss, Asuma leaned back with a grunt and lit a new cigarette, indicating he was finished. A number of the others set down their chopsticks as well, picking up drinks. In the silence that fell, Kakashi asked, “So will I be visiting Suna for a while, Kazekage-sama? I hear my name came up in the negotiations today.”

“No, Kakashi-san, Suna has few ninjas who equal the famous Copy-cat Ninja of a thousand jutsus, and we will be keeping our best shinobi at home.”

Kakashi bowed, acknowledging the complement Gaara had offered him.

“Hey, no talking politics, this is a dinner for relaxing,” protested Kiba, “So tell us how are you going to celebrate your birthday, Kakashi-sensei?”

Iruka suddenly sputtered, turning red, and just gasped out, “Water down the wrong tube, sorry.”

“Oh, I expect I’ll just spend some time with Icha, Icha Paradise unless a mission comes up,” said Kakashi in slow drawl like Shikamaru's, but instead of just sounding lazy like the shadow nin's, it sounded sensual, even sexy.

“Kakashi-sensei, how many times are you going to read that book?” demanded Sakura. “Maybe you should grow up since you’re going to be a year older and try to make a more mature choice of reading material.”

“Oh, my reading material is mature, Sakura, of that I can assure you,” answered Kakashi, the sensuality in his voice even stronger now, making a number of the others snicker or laugh outright.

Then the inevitable fight between Chouji and Ino over food broke out, suprising only because it hadn't happened yet. While the quarrel went on, Hinata, blushing bright red, stammered out that she liked Gaara’s new shirt. Evidently, it had taken her thirty-five minutes to work up the courage to say so. Sakura added her praise, and then, in a mischievous voice, asked Gaara if he wanted her to heal his neck.

Kiba snorted and muttered, “I’ll bet I know some place else that needs healing,” earning a deadly glare from Neji.

“No thank-you, Sakura-san,” said Gaara. “I’m not ashamed of my first love bite. So do you heal all of yours?”

Sakura blushed as pink as her hair, and immediately the teasing began. “So, you’re going to break Rock Lee’s heart, are you, Sakura?” asked Kiba.

“Shut up dogboy, or you’ll be eating a knuckle sandwich tonight,” snarled Sakura, then adding in a hurt voice, “I don’t have a boyfriend right now, Gaara-san.” Her pointed use of the san not sama honorific, made Neji intervene.

“Sakura, Gaara wasn’t trying to insult you or suggest that you are in anyway a kunoichi not deserving the highest respect. He wouldn’t know if you were dating or not.”

As Gaara opened his mouth to comment, Neji plucked a piece of meat up with his chopsticks and put it in Gaara’s mouth, “Here, Red, tell me what you think of this meat? Should I take the rest off the grill?”

“Red? Red? Oh, god, you two have pet names for each other. What’s Neji’s pet name, Gaara-sama?” asked Kiba, adding, “Stop shoving things in the Kazekage’s mouth, Neji, that’s not the way to treat your boyfriend. Let him speak for himself.”

“Neji likes my red hair, Kiba, that’s why he calls me that,” said Gaara when he'd swallowed the meat. “So what do all your lovers call you, Kiba? From what you said this afternoon, you have had quite a few, some even in this—“

“Feed him, Neji, feed him,” ordered Kiba. “So, Kakashi, tell us the latest news from the Mist country. That’s where you were for the last month, isn’t it?”

As Kakashi began talking about his last long mission, Neji leaned over and whispered in Gaara’s ear, “Try to keep sex out the conversation, Red, and save it for later tonight. I was clearly first in the hallway, by the way.”

Gaara pulled his head away from Neji and just looked at him for a moment. Then he lowered his eyelids halfway and raised a scallop to his mouth and sucked it into his mouth. He made a little sound of pleasure and slowly licked his lips. Neji could feel himself getting an erection as he fixated on Gaara’s mouth.

“Hmmm,” said Gaara eating another scallop the same way before finally saying, “Yeah, I guess I was a little slow there, making us late. Want one of my scallops, Hyuuga? You’re not eating. Open up.”

Neji’s mouth obediently opened, and Gaara set a scallop in it. Kiba started cursing, as his nose began to bleed. He jumped up and raced out of the dining room rudely, causing Kakashi to fall silent.

“It’s very hot and dry in here, isn’t it?” said Hinata. “I fainted, and both Kiba and Ino have had nosebleeds. I think we need more circulation in this room. The grills are putting out a lot of heat, aren’t they?”

Shino stood up, “You’re right, Hinata. I’ll go talk to the manager and also order some cold drinks to help with the heat.”

Gaara turned from Neji, asking, “Shino-san, please order some shochu also, an otsurui type on the rocks for everyone, and charge it to me.”

Shino bowed and left the room. A squabble then broke out over who would pay for the drinks and meal. No one was willing to let Gaara do so. Chouji took advantage of the distraction to eat the last pieces of Shikamaru’s, Ino’s, and Iruka’s pork, which of course led to another noisy protest from Ino.

Gaara looked around him and sighed, disappointed that once again he’d clearly said something undiplomatic, creating discord instead of harmony.

Bizarrely, the shochu arrived without either Kiba or Shino. It was drunk and more pork ordered for Iruka, Shikamaru, and Ino to replace that eaten by Chouji. When the pork arrived, and there was still no Kiba or Shino, Hinata said, “Do you think Kiba-kun is ok? They should be back by now. Maybe I should go look for them?”

“No, Hinata, no—I’m sure that Shino is just being very thorough in making sure Kiba is fit to return to the table,” said Kakashi. “It can take a while to get blood out of a shirt, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Kiba’s pants need some cleaning too.”

Neji, Gaara, Iruka, and Shikamaru all snickered at that, leaving Hinata and Sakura confused.

“Screamer, put your cousin at ease and use those beautiful white eyes of yours,” said Gaara.

Iruka dropped his shochu which splashed on to the grill, sending up a mass of steam and a bit of flame. Kakashi, who could have easily caught that glass, seemed suddenly to be choking behind his mask.

Neji turned pink while Hinata activated her Byukugan and once more fainted dead away. Gaara used his sand to catch her since Sakura, instead of trying to help Hinata, just grabbed her glass of shochu and drained it. Ino, Temari, and Kurenai burst into giggles while Chouji was frowning and anxiously rearranging the meat on the grill that Iruka had dowsed with drink.

“I think your cousin is ill, Neji,” said Gaara, “maybe we should skip the rest of dinner and take her home?”

At that Kakashi lept up, pulling up Iruka with him, “No, no, Gaara-sama, you’re the guest of honor here. Iruka and I will take Hinata home. Iruka’s been feeling a little shaky himself, that’s why he’s having so much trouble with his drinks.”

Before anyone had time to protest that, Kakashi was gone in a poof of smoke with Iruka and Hinata.

“Dammit, I knew he’d skip out before it came time to pay,” said Asuma.

“Shush, Asuma, don’t bring up the bill again,” ordered Kurenai.

“I’ll just eat a few of these,” said Chouji, “to make sure that they are ok, and I’ll take Iruka’s share.”

“Chouji! Don’t you dare touch a piece of my meat!” shrieked Ino as she lunged out with her chopsticks to make sure her dinner didn’t go down her teammate's mouth a second time.

“Hey, where’d Hinata, Kakashi, and Iruka go?” asked Kiba from the doorway.

Shika said with a wicked grin, “Oh Kiba, just ask Screamer about where his cousin went and why. I think you and Shino will be very interested in the reason she had to go.”

“Screamer? Screamer?” asked Kiba in disbelief, “Holy shit, Gaara-sama, please, please date me when you get tired of that white-eyed loser,” said Kiba dropping into Hinata’s empty chair by the door. At that Ino’s chopsticks just froze, and she didn’t even say a word as Chouji finished off the rest of the pork.

“Why did Hinata leave, Neji?” asked Shino, calmly sitting down as if Kiba hadn’t said anything remotely unusual.

“She was worried about her teammates being away from the table so long, so she used her Byukugan to check up on you two. I don't know what she saw, but she just fainted away,” said Neji.

“I’m sure her chakra levels were low,” said Kurenai hastily, standing up. “She’s been training at night to make sure she can do the best job at the academy. I don’t think she’s getting any sleep. You know, maybe Sakura and I should go and check on her, too. She might need a medic, and I’d like Sakura to heal my burn too.”

“Hey, you’re not skipping out before paying your share like Kakashi and Iruka,” said Asuma grabbing Kurenai’s wrist.

“I’ll pay for Kakashi-sensei, Asuma,” said Sakura earnestly. “Here, Kurenai-san, I’ll heal that right now. It was rude of me not to do it earlier.”

“This is the best dinner party you’ve ever arranged, Kiba,” said Ino in an awestruck voice.

“Yes, thank-you, Kiba-san, you’ve been so kind to my brother and me,” said Temari, now getting up also. “But I really need to talk to him a bit about the negotiations tonight, so I hope you won’t mind if the Kazekage and I leave now.”

“Oh, no not all Temari-san,” said Kiba, “but will Shikamaru and Neji be leaving us also?”

“Yes,” said Neji.

“No,” said Temari.

Gaara stood up, bowing, offering thanks and goodbyes. He then leaned down and kissed Neji, ignoring the scowl on his face. “See you in a hour about that deal we had, eh?”

“Yeah, Red, I’ll be there, I’ll be there,” said Neji as the two sand nins left the room. “Now, Kiba, do tell us what hard problem kept you out of the banquet room so long. Surely not just a nose bleed?”

“Yeah, I’ll tell if you spill how you got your nickname, Screamer,” said Kiba. “I’d have bet your vocal cords wouldn't even know how to make that sound.”

Neji, to his horror, felt himself getting red again. He said coldly, “Unlike you, Kiba, I don’t kiss and tell. And there are kunoichi present.”

“No, I’m leaving," said Sakura. "Seriously, come on Kurenai, Ino, let’s leave these disgusting pigs to pay the bill over their dirty stories," added Sakura, but she didn't even stand up.

“Hell, no, Forehead-girl, I’m not leaving! I want to hear every juicy detail. I’ll pay your share, Neji, if you just give us the details on naked Gaara. Does he have red hair everywhere? Tsunade insisted you two were clothed when she left you the other night.”

“Down, Ino, down,” said Shikamaru, scowling. “God, woman, have you no sense of decorum?”

And that was when Neji stopped trying to be his usual cool self and just groaned and put his head down on the table.


A/N: A reviewer wanted to know what Hinata saw. With her Byukugan and familiarity with her teammates' chakras, Hinata was able to see that Shino was helping Kiba get off in the bathroom (as for the details of how he was helping, just imagine your favorite technique).