Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… *cries*

Warning: Naruto and Sasuke get slightly steamy… *winks*

Before You Read: Thanks for all the reviews again guys! I really am sorry to those that wanted SasuNaru, but NaruSasu is just so much more… realistic in my mind I guess. Just a forewarning: I'll probably have a SasuNaru scene for some shits and giggles in the future at some point. But yeah… thanks for the response so far! Keep up the love!

Important: I changed Naruto's age from 26 to 22. It was 26 because that's my cousins age that I'm basing his character off of, but now I think 22 is a better age for his personality in this story. I think you guys would get a real kick out of my cousin though, the dude has literally held just about every job and been to just about every place and has all these great stories and has this real funny way of describing things… anyways he reminds me of what Naruto would be like if he was a person in this world and not the Naruverse. So yeah, thought I'd share that bit of "inspiration information".

On with the fic!

…

Chapter 4: Meanwhile, At the Meridian

…

Ever since their last encounter at the yoga studio, Naruto hadn't been able to really focus on anything else but Sasuke. He zoned out in his classes, at work, in the bathroom, and when he was trying to go to sleep at night.

He simply couldn't get him out of his head.

So about a week after the "Yoga Incident", as Ino had taken to calling it, when Naruto was whining to Ino over the phone about the injustice that was Sasuke Uchiha's fine ass, the girl finally snapped something awful and told him that if he was so obsessed he should just look him up on facebook like any normal person these days did before yelling at Shikamaru to go on a run with her and hung up.

Naruto really did love that girl.

So that's what led him to staying up all night on his computer, ogling the politely titled pictures that were littered down his timeline. Naruto noticed that while there were a lot of pictures of Sasuke, there weren't any pictures of him with someone.

There were no pictures of parties or chill sessions with friends, just Sasuke shaking some old guys hand, or Sasuke dressed in a suit and speaking at a podium, or Sasuke in a lab coat stirring some green clear liquid in a beaker, his dark eyes covered with a pair of protective goggles.

All his status updates were about his research or thanking someone for inviting him to some convention. It was a regularly updated account by any standard, but nothing even hinted at a social life. At first Naruto was confused as to why, but after some brief snooping through his friend list, realized that he was friends with some rather important people, an example being the towns mayor.

But then Naruto got to thinking: did this guy even have a life outside of school and his research? From what Naruto could gather he sure didn't, he was hardly even friends with anyone near his age listed to begin with.

Naruto frowned as he settled down to bed that night, why was someone so loved so alone? The thought bothered him even in his dreams, visions on empty christmas presents and windowless rooms plaguing him through the night.

…

Naruto was woken up late the next morning by Ino calling his phone, "Hellooo?" Naruto yawned into the phone as he picked it up.

"Naruto! There you are~!"

Naruto sat up in his bed slightly and raised an eyebrow at the excited tone, "Did something good happen Ino? Ya' sure sound happy this morning."

"You could say that," Naruto could hear Ino giggle and half-heartedly scold her boyfriend in the background, "I had some pretty fantastic morning sex and a shower with a new loofah, so today has been a pretty good day so far. But that's not why I'm calling."

Naruto smiled into the phone and pulled himself up out of bed to go make some oatmeal for breakfast, "And you're calling because…?" Naruto prompted as he debated whether or not he was hungry enough for some eggs or not. He decided he was.

"Oh, I just wanted to make sure you're still going to help out at Meridian tonight," Ino said, still giggling as Shikamaru spanked her ass with an audible slap.

Meridian was an old warehouse at the edge of town that had been converted into a giant club/concert building and Naruto sometimes helped out at the bar as per request of the owner. Ino got paid promoting events and one was being held that night at the club, and since Naruto was such eye candy, he was being recruited for work there that night.

"Yeah, I didn't forget. I start work at nine and work till midnight right? Then I'm free for the night?" Naruto stirred his oatmeal and flipped his eggs and scowled a bit at what he was making before going to the freezer to get out some hashbrowns, deciding he was hungry enough for that as well.

"Yep! I'll be there with TenTen from our lit class last year and this chick Anko that I just met. She's a real trip. You'll like her."

"Oh, TenTen is coming, huh? That'll be fun, she really knows how to dance. Remember the break dancing contest she started with Neji last time? God I hope that happens again. Be sure to invite him, yeah?"

"I already have Boojins, I mean who do you take me for really? I've been planning their rematch for weeks already, haven't I Shika sweetie?" at which point Naruto assumed Ino held up the phone to her still groping boyfriend, "She totally has Naruto. Do not doubt her commitment to the cause."

Naruto laughed and used his stirring spoon to taste if his oatmeal was done enough. TenTen and Neji were two people you really didn't expect to be good at break dancing, but they totally were. Two months ago at Meridian during an ABC (Anything But Clothes) theme night the two had made eye contact when they were busting some moves on the dance floor and one thing led to another until the entire club had surrounded the two, watching then flip and break to the DJ's mix. Neji had won the battle in the end with some never ending windmills but TenTen had demanded a rematch before she'd let him buy her drinks. The two had had some serious sexual tension ever since, and since Ino was shipping the pair, you could bet your ass that the two would be getting together sometime soon.

Ino was a bit of a wizard when it came to love.

After talking a bit more about classes and his observations of Sasuke's lifeless facebook profile they said their goodbyes so Naruto could eat and get ready to go to his next class.

Naruto really was thankful to have a friend like Ino. She was crazy smart, crazy pretty, and crazy awesome. She was vain and selfless all at once, and Naruto wouldn't have her any other way.

Ino was twenty-one and in her second year of school, having taken some time off pursue a career in modeling before she realised she was better at taking pictures than posing in them, though she was wonderful at the latter as well. She's won multiple awards for her work since then and couldn't be happier.

He'd met her a year earlier in the gym and they'd been inseparable ever since.

So when she came over to his place to help him get ready for the night he thought nothing of it. She liked to make a mess of his closet while trying to find something for him to wear and Naruto liked letting her.

"So what about you Naruto?"

"Hm?" Naruto replied. He'd been spacing out staring at his computer for awhile, his thoughts lingering on Sasuke lonely facebook profile. Ino gave him an annoyed look as she tossed one of his green shirts onto his bed.

"I said today, my favorite color is green. I usually don't like green, but I read something online that says that the human eye can see more distinctive shades of green than any other color and then I saw this dress at the mall and thought, 'Oh, what the hell?' and bought it. As it turns out I'm rather loving what it's doing to my eyes," Ino blinked prettily to emphasize her point, the slight lime green flecks in her eyes were much more pronounced with the deep color of her dress hugging her smooth flesh, "So have you thought about what yours is today yet?"

It was a little tradition that the two had: they both each picked a favorite color for the day since it felt too childish to just say "rainbow" and it gave them an excuse to search for some meaningless symbols in their everyday lives.

After a beat Naruto replied, "Red", he was thinking about about a picture Sasuke set as his profile picture. Sasuke was standing with his brother, Itachi, in a picture with the caption "Backyard family banquet" and was posed in front of some glorious red rose bushes that seemed to fit his image absolutely perfectly. Naruto told Ino all this and she laughed.

"You know, I really can't tell if you hate this guy, are obsessed with him, or want to screw his brains out. Pick one please so that I know what I'm dealing with," but the smile playing on her shiny lips told that she'd already made up her mind and whatever Naruto tried to say to sway it would not work.

So Naruto just sighed and began to put on a soft black t-shirt Ino had thrown at him. She came over and started fussing with his hair, just three inches shy of his impressive height with her heels she was wearing.

"You look hot Booga-Boo, wanna take some selfies before we head out and sweat off our good looks?" at that Naruto laughed outright and nodded, his white teeth glinting.

…

The club was packed thanks to the all the event promoting Ino had been doing, and everyone was having a good time. TenTen and Neji had yet to have their epic rematch however and while Ino worked her magic on TenTen up by the balcony, Naruto was doing his best to play matchmaker for Neji at the bar where he was mixing some drinks.

"I don't know man, I think she really just wants to have a rematch with me and that's it. It doesn't seem like she likes me that way…" Neji sighed as he took another sip of his beer.

Naruto made some quick eye contact with Ino who gave him a double thumbs up, a sign that yes, both the pairing and the dance rematch were indeed happening.

Naruto smirked, "Well I have it on good authority that she does like you that way. But the thing about TenTen that ya' gotta understand is that she hates losing, especially to boys. She's a real big feminist if ya couldn't tell already, so she's still pretty sore about losing to you. So give the people what they want and have another epic dance battle."

Neji scowled but Naruto could tell he was hopeful that what Naruto was speaking was the truth, "Well I'm not just gonna let her win."

"Good, she wouldn't want you to. Plus, I've been seeing her around the gym lately looking pretty ripped, so she's definitely be practicing. She might give you a run for your money,"

Neji smiled into his drink as he took another sip before handing Naruto some money and making his way over to the DJ, probably requesting some songs he wanted to dance to.

Naruto waved his arms above his head to get Ino's attention, holding up two thumbs before gesturing towards Neji. Ino's reaction was hilarious, Naruto thought, she went full on fangirl for a solid five seconds before she calmed herself with a few breathing exercises Naruto had taught her before she started pulling TenTen towards down to the main dance floor in the place.

TenTen was one of those girls that was pretty in uniquely feminine way that allowed for a constant no-makeup look, flat bottomed shoes, and pants at a dress party. She was half cherokee native american and half Japanese, a combination of nationalities that made her skin a smooth caramel dream and hair like a black waterfall of silk, though she usually kept it up in two snappy buns on the sides of her head. How she was dressed that night catered to her usual fashion, and that meant she was ready to bust some serious moves.

Naruto could feel the excitement radiating off the others in the club as the DJ announced the dance off and started playing "What's Golden" as Neji began his set. Everyone had crowded around the pair of dancers, everyone cheering and jeering, clapping and laughing at the moves the two performed.

Naruto had his foot on top of the empty bar, ready to jump over and push his way to the front of the crowd when a voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Skipping out on work, are ya' dobe?"

Naruto whipped around with an automatic snarl, ready to tear into the stupid idiot, but all words left him as his eyes rested upon him.

Sasuke in anything dark and tight was a sin, Naruto decided as he stared open mouthed at the succulent piece of ass in front of him. Sasuke was by no means small, he had layers of lean, tight muscle and tastefully broad shoulders. Naruto only wished he'd turn around so he could see what his ass looked like in those jeans.

"Nah, Ino's probably recording the whole thing anyway. So what'll you have?" Naruto asked as he settled himself back behind the counter, his palms resting on top of the bar as Sasuke took a seat.

"Since you're offering I'll take whatever your favorite drink is," Naruto grinned at Sasuke in a way that made him raise an eyebrow.

"What?" Sasuke demanded.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Naruto continued to smile as he gathered ingredients, "So what brings you're prickly ass all the way out here tonight? You sure you're not stalking me?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at that, "Hardly. It's not my fault you have an insane amount of part time jobs. And I'm here because I was very kindly invited actually."

This time Naruto raised a brow, "Really? Someone invited a pooper to the party? Who on earth would do that?"

Sasuke glared but nodded towards the hollering group of college kids all surrounding what appeared to be a very heated dance battle, "One of the idiots over there I'm assuming."

"Sure Sasuke, whatever you say man. Here's your drink dude."

Naruto could only hold his laughter for about three seconds when he saw Sasuke's overly serious expression in regards to the ridiculously fruity drink placed in front of him. it was complete with sugar around the rim and a pink umbrella.

"Hey, it might not be cool, but that's my favorite drink. Ino and I made it up one night when I was helping out here and business was slow. It's kool aid mix, strawberries and a whole lot of vodka, it tastes great, looks ridiculous, and gets you drunk as a skunk. Ino named it the "Stargazer" she said it sounded romantic."

Sasuke hesitated a moment before taking a sip of the pink concoction, his eye widening a bit in response, "Damn that's actually pretty good. You actually go around drinking this?"

Naruto glanced up from the glass he was drying, "Yeah, sometimes. Though I usually go without the umbrella."

Sasuke actually laughed at that, and Naruto thought his laugh sounded better than his favorite song, "Ya' know, people probably wouldn't think you're such an ass if you laughed more," Naruto said gently, his chin resting in the palm of his hand as he leaned on the bar.

Sasuke ducked his head a bit and sipped at his drink, mumbling, "The only one that thinks I'm an ass is you."

"Exactly."

The two stared at each other for a long moment after that, good humor dancing in their eyes.

"Heeyyy! Naruto my boy! What are you still doing working? You're off the clock kid," Zabuza, the club owner called as he slapped Naruto on the back, giving a hearty laugh when he noticed Sasuke's drink, "I'll never get tired of seeing people drinking that fruity ass drink, kid. Shit, that's funny," and with that comment, he walked back through a door behind the bar that was an employee breakroom of sorts only to be replaced by what looked to be a very cute girl, but was actually born a boy.

Haku was Zabuza's long time boyfriend turned girlfriend when she finally decided to start making the transition. Haku had always suited a dress better than pants.

"Hey Haku, you taking over for me?" Naruto said as he already started taking off his apron.

"Yeah, thanks for filling in again, Naruto, and tell Ino she did a great job with this event," Haku said as she puttered about Naruto in much the same way Ino would, fixing his hair and holding his chin to give each of his cheeks a kiss before she let him escape to go enjoy the rest of the night.

Just before Naruto hopped over the bar, Haku pulled him gently by the ear so that her breath tickled his ear, "That's a real cute boy you're talking' to, don't go breaking any hearts tonight, 'kay hun?"

She gave him a look once he pulled away and a wink before playfully spanking his ass as he vaulted the bar.

"Hey bartender, how about fixing me and my buddy here another fruity drink to keep the night going?" Naruto said as he slung an arm around Sasuke's smaller shoulders, liking the way he fit underneath his arm.

Haku gave a breathtaking smile and said, "On the house, hun," and began mixing two more of the same drink, adding umbrellas with a wink.

Sasuke chugged the rest of his first one and grabbed at his second one as Naruto led the way over to where TenTen and Neji's epic breakdancing battle was still taking place.

"What's up with this by the way?" Sasuke asked when they finally found a good place on top of the balcony to watch the scene from above. It was louder than the bar had been, but since most people were watching and shouting from downstairs it was quieter and more suited to talking then the alternative.

"Well," Naruto began as he sipped at his drink and put the silly flowered umbrella behind one of his ears, "Neji and TenTen both have thing for each other, but their both the kind of people that are usually to proud to say it straight out. As a result, they're having a dance off: if Neji wins, he gets to buy TenTen a drink and if TenTen wins, well, she'll probably still let him buy her a drink," Naruto hollered down at the pair as TenTen did a front flip into some pretty hard looking floor work.

"So what's the point then? If in the end, Neji is going to buy TenTen a drink and quite possibly get lucky soon afterwards if that look means anything," Sasuke asked as he gestured to where Neji was moving his body in a way that elicited crazed screams from all the girls watching.

"Well, they're using the dance off as a sort of justification for their actions. TenTen won't say yes to a date with Neji otherwise, even though she really does like him back. Neji is also too much of a chicken shit to ask her out normally, he's a man that's used to grand gestures and doesn't go about things the way everyone else would. He likes the drama even if he pretends to be all calm and cool all the time."

Sasuke grunted in response, and it was then that Naruto realised Sasuke was almost finished with his second drink, "Dude, you're going to get, like, really drunk in a few minutes."

"Pish-posh," Sasuke said as he loosely waved a hand as he finished off his drink, licking the sugar off rim, "I'm already drunk. What'd ya' call it earlier? As a skunk?"

Naruto laughed loudly and tried to reply but his response got drowned in the deafening noise from below. Naruto looked down to see TenTen grinding quite expertly against Neji, who was grinding right back.

"Damn that looks dirty," Sasuke observed, "I feel like I'm watching a porno."

As the two finally started making out, relieving the sexual tension between them, Naruto turned back to Sasuke with a grin, "That reminds me: you totally watched my porno. I don't know whether I'm flattered or worried you're going to go viral with it."

Sasuke laughed too loudly and put down his empty glass, playing with his own umbrella, "That was some porno you made Kitsune, it's made me into quite the pervert."

"So you liked it that much, huh? Was it me or my co stars that did it for ya?"

"Oh god! Your co stars were so ridiculous! I mean Rock Lee and Maito Guy? Were those their real names or aliases?"

Naruto snickered at the memory, "It was their real names. The funniest part about the whole thing was that between takes they'd give each other these little pep talks. Lee would be all 'The power of youth is flowing through us!' and Guy would be all 'Naruto-kun! Your ass is like the budding flower of youthful energy! It is my honor to make you into a man at long last!'"

"Christ, that sounds awful. Did you really lose your virginity to those guys? Or was that just a ploy to make the video more popular?"

"No… that was my first time. With a guy, with anyone really. It definitely wasn't my first job though."

Sasuke gave a small smile, "Yeah, I've noticed you have a lot of those, don't you? What was your first job then?"

"Well when I was a kid I mowed everyone's lawns to make some pocket money and held lemonade stands just about everyday in the summer time. The group home where I grew up had a whole little grove of lemon trees is the back. But my first real job was when I was fifteen, I got a job at a little bakery, learned how to make just about any baked good ever my first month working."

"That's kind of amazing to me. I've never really had a job. I mean, I do research, but I've never really had a job, ya know what I'm sayin?" Sasuke slurred a bit, looking happier than Naruto had ever seen him before. Naruto also appreciated he didn't ask for him to expand on the group home comment, not because he was ashamed, but because he was having too good of a time to think about sad things right then.

"Yeah, I guess I do. But you're amazing at what you do, so. Keep it up, I guess?" Naruto took the umbrella from Sasuke's hand and put it behind his ear as well, letting his hand linger there for a moment as he fingered the soft tips of Sasuke's bangs.

It was then that Naruto noticed just how close they'd gotten to each other, how flushed Sasuke's cheeks were, and just how badly Naruto wanted to kiss him.

"I'm a very jealous person you know," Sasuke said with a glare, reaching up a hand to touch the umbrella in his hair, but didn't take it out.

"Is that right? So what are you jealous of then?" he took a step towards Sasuke, the both of them leaning against the railing with their arms, close enough now so that their arms touched.

"I'm jealous of that camera man, that stupid karate master, and, mostly I'm jealous of that Rock Lee kid though. He looked like he was having a great time."

"So you're saying you're sad because you weren't in a porno with me?"

Sasuke shook his head, then scrunched up his face in concentration, "Hey, is it normal that I can't feel my face right now? Or should we call someone?"

Naruto let out a bark of laughter and tugged on his hand, "No, that just means you're in for one hell of a night! So, would you like to dance with me?"

…

And Scene! I mostly ended it here because I wanted to publish it and get your guy's response (I love reviews). I'd also like to beg for a beta (mine has been a-wall for the past… I don't even know how long and I hate proofreading my own stories) so any grammar nazi's are more than welcome to apply (though, at this point, anyone would do really).

So yeah… REVIEW! And tell me what you think about: Should I write about them dancing in the next chapter? Do you guys like Ino? Where should I have them meet next time? I'm a little wishy washy about the next chapter, so any ideas are more than welcome!