Luck of the Draw
Luck of the Draw (1/3)
Disclaimer: Naruto is certainly not my property. I do own the plot as far as I know :).
AN: By the way, was misbehaving big time while I was trying to post this, so if you spot any errors, I can almost guarantee that they're not completely my fault!
"You've got to be kidding me."
"Please Sasuke? You know that I would do anything for you. I really don't want to go in there alone. Can't you be, I don't know, emotionally supportive of me here?"
"Sakura…"
"Okay, so maybe that was stretching it a little. But, it would really mean a lot to me if you would go in with me." Sasuke rolled his eyes at the clichéd phrase, but he could feel his inner resentments and hardened resolve dissolving at the sight of the girl's worried posture. But honestly, a –
"It's only a dating service company! Please, Sasuke! None of the guys at work are appealing to me and I haven't found anyone in a long time. I know this sounds silly, but I want to try it." Sasuke sighed. It was true, not that he understood why. Sakura was bright, pretty, had a job, and a nice sense of humor. However, he had not seen her with anyone serious for quite some time.
And they were friends. And he did sort of owe her for covering for him during the Incident with the Evil Goat at the Zoo. He shuddered.
"Whatever. I'll go with you to this place, just so that you stop whining." He said the last with a smirk that grew in response to her ensuing pout.
"Maybe," she began with an answering smirk of her own, "you'll find someone for yourself. God knows you haven't been with anyone seriously since… well, when was it? Ever?" she asked with wide innocent eyes and a sadistic grin. He spluttered.
"Sakura! I just- well. Never mind. I don't need to explain my dating history to you" he sniffed and tried to pretend he didn't notice Sakura laughing at him behind her hand.
"Besides, Sakura, does this company even cater to people of my preferences?" he said at last. Only a slight blush on his cheeks belied his distaste in talking about his sexual orientation so openly.
"In fact, Sasuke, they do. It said on the flyer that they are open to people of all sexual orientations from ages eighteen twenty-six. They instruct everyone inside in how to show what you're looking for." She said all this without directly looking into his face. And then it hit him.
"You planned all of this ahead of time, didn't you? You planned that I would be coming with you and therefore you looked for a company that advertised for both straight and gay customers." He stared at her expectantly, and sure enough, her face began to flush guiltily.
"Maybe…"
"Sakura…" he sighed, torn between exasperation and fondness. The latter won in the end.
"Sometimes…" he stared over her shoulder and paused for an inordinate length of time. He smirked as she fidgeted.
"Sometimes, I'm very glad you are not an enemy." Sakura perked up at his words and she laughed, giving him a quick punch in the arm for making her suffer.
"Jerk. You know I could never hurt you. This is for your own good, Sasuke. Who knows! Maybe you'll actually find someone you like and you'll fall desperately in love with him," she said with a grin.
"Not going to happen, Sakura. You'll see." She shook her head and continued to grin. Someday, love was going to knock her friend flat on his ass. Then he might take back those words. And perhaps treat her to dinner at that nice five star place she liked so much when he remembered who instigated it. She smirked to herself.
Ten minutes later, she was pulling him away from a parking lot and towards the rented storehouse where the meeting of 'Luck of the Draw' would commence in twenty minutes. Sasuke let himself be dragged with minimal fuss and prepared himself internally for what he imagined to be the chaos of the dating spheres
Naruto looked at the sign warily. 'Luck of the Draw' had seemed like such a good idea when he was in his apartment eating ice-cream and wishing he had someone special to share it with. He had buddies, but having friends to hang out with and having someone special to share things with were two very different things. His friends all had someone too, making it all the more lonesome when they spent time together. In their happy couplehood, none of them seemed to remember the long nights and ceaseless troubles associated with the single life and the dating world.
Seeing the flyer at the gym where he worked had seemed like a sign from above. It was also open to both males and females of different sexual orientations – something that suited Naruto just fine. At twenty-two years of age, he had been open as a bisexual for the past six years and had dated several people of both sexes. Some of his dates had felt intimidated by his bisexuality, and others felt – inaccurately – that it would cause his eyes to wander more than any other man. And then, he remembered with a scowl, there was that one bastard who thought that it was an invitation to have an "open" relationship.
But despite relative success in the past, here he was. Single again. Nothing seemed to stick and he'd be lying if he said that it did not hurt just a little bit. Sometimes he found himself becoming irrationally jealous of young lovers he saw around town, and he even caught himself snapping at his friends. Yes, it was time to have a solid relationship. He did not like to think that he was dependent on lovers to make him happy, but all the same… It would be nice to have someone to come home to other than his kitten Mr. Spiky. And someone in his bed…
Despite his interest in finding someone and the appeal of the flyer at the gym, Naruto could not help himself from having second thoughts. The appearance of the sign was certainly not helping his last minute worries. It was pink. Hot pink. With glitter on the edges and puffy red paint that spelled, "Welcome to Luck of the Draw! Come on in and show us your hand". Someone had thoughtfully glued playing cards under the word 'hand' to make the metaphor painfully obvious. Valentine hearts of different colors floated amongst the words and glitter.
Naruto inhaled and let it out slowly. He knew as well as anyone that appearances could be deceiving. Maybe this was a false front to something truly awesome, and the flyer at the gym really had seemed organized and put together. He also considered that maybe he was making too big a deal over the sign in an attempt to talk himself out of this. He hated to think that he had to resort to something like this to find love. And, he thought ruefully, he had watched enough TV to be more than a little paranoid of dating services.
He looked at his watch to see how early he was. Five minutes. The perfect time to make an appearance. Taking another deep breath, he grasped the handle, turned it, and pushed his way in.
"Oh…my," he said in bewilderment. The room was carefully organized. Fifteen tables were placed in three rows of five. They were spread apart to give the appearance of privacy for the people sitting at each. Two chairs were placed at opposing ends of the small tables to be best conducive to conversation. Each table held a pad of paper, two pens, and some colored cards. Naruto filed all of these details into the back of his mind as the bulk of his thoughts were overcome by the decorations. It was a ménage of pink – pink streamers, pink posters with pink inspirational messages, pink balloons, and pink tablecloths. Naruto was about to turn back, sure he had stumbled somehow into an alternate universe or some horrible joke, when he was approached by a thirty-something woman with a kind smile.
"Hello and welcome to Luck of the Draw. My name is Jenny and I am the person in charge of the company in this area. My partner, Allison, is standing over there," she said in one breath as she pointed to a far corner of the room where a willowy brunette woman was affixing hot pink streamers to the window ledge with an air of extreme concentration.
"She was in charge of the decoration, I'll have you know. I'm not taking any responsibility for this Pepto Bismol™ monstrosity," she said with a wry grin1. Naruto relaxed a bit at that and gave a returning grin, if a nervous one.
"I tried to tell her that it would just scare people away, but she insisted and she likes being 'helpful' so much you know. Not to mention her strange appreciation of the color pink. And I have trouble saying 'no' because she gets that cute look on her face…" her eyes went far away for a moment as she smiled, and Naruto understood the connotations of her use of the word 'partner' better than he had before.
"Sorry. You probably didn't need to know that," she said with a shy smile before continuing, "and here I am being terribly rude. I haven't yet asked your name or shown you how to get started!"
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki. It's nice to meet you Jenny," he said cheerfully while sticking out his hand for a shake. Her soft hand took his in a firm grip before he was released.
"Nice to meet you too," she said warmly.
"You'll meet Allison later, but first let me tell you about LoD."
"Legion of Doom?" he asked, confused2.
"What? I don't- Wait. Sorry. Allison and I abbreviate the name some times. We originally called it 'Lucky One's Draw' and then we decided that sounded too cheesy and we changed it, but the abbreviation without the 'T' seems to have stuck. Sorry again. I don't know where my mind is today. Let's get back on track shall we? Follow me please." Naruto did as bid, a bit bewildered but charmed all the same.
Jenny stopped at a desk in the back of the room and turned to him.
"Sexual preference?" she asked. Caught off guard, Naruto stumbled a bit before responding.
"Wha-? Ah. Oh right. Bisexual."
"Alright then," she replied. She made a note on a clipboard on the desk before picking up a blue sticker and a pink one.
"Please wear both of these where it is easy to see them, like high on your chest, or perhaps your shoulder. After you finish that, can you please fill out a nametag and put your name on this list next to where it says '6 – Bisexual – Male'," she pointed to a pile of white nametags, some pens, and the clipboard in turn3.
"While you're busy with that, I'll explain how our extremely successful scientific dating process works," she said with a wink. He smiled and grabbed a pen.
"We will start in about ten minutes or so. I know that it is now time to start, according to our flyers, but we like to greet each person individually, so the process takes a bit longer. Also, we like to give people time to wander in. You'd be surprised at how many people come to places like these just to stall at the door and maybe venture in."
"Yeah, um, I bet…" Naruto laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head in what he hoped wasn't a 'guilty' way. She paused to flash a brief smile at the sight of his reddened ears before continuing.
"Everyone will begin the process on their feet. When I say, 'Go', everyone mills around until they find someone that they'd like to sit down with for that session. As a bisexual, you should look for men and women with blue tags, or both blue and pink like yourself. I understand that some people are going to be left out sometimes. For example, a straight man and a gay man may be paired up because of the lack of suitable partners available. In that case, the two are free to sit back and enjoy the offered refreshments, or they can sit at a table and talk amongst themselves for that period of time. My job is to wander over to these people and point out others who meet their preferences. That's why there is a number on your nametag – I can keep track of you more easily with a number, and it's also easier to point you out.
"Oh! And you remembered to bring your calling cards, right?" Naruto nodded. The advertisement asked that each person bring twenty calling cards with their name and contact information.
"Those are to be with you at all times. If you are feeling a good vibe with someone, you can exchange cards. If you happen to run out, there are pens and paper on each of the tables."
"I'm sure that you've also noticed the cards on the tables. Those are conversation starters for you guys. The purple cards have different topics that you might want to talk about if the conversation is running a little dry. The red cards are gaming cards. Each of the cards has a different conversation game that you can use. Some of them are word association games, charades – things like that. You don't have to use them, however. We want you to do whatever you're comfortable with.
"Well, that's the end of my talk. If you have any questions, feel free to ask at any time. And now, I'll leave you to mingle for a bit while I go induct a few more people," she said with a head-tilt towards the door. A man, and a woman with pink hair had just entered. Naruto smirked at the look of appreciation on the woman's face and that of dawning horror on her companion's.
"Thanks, Jenny. I'll do that. And help myself to those cookies over there." With a smile, they parted ways and Naruto meandered over to the cookies. A few people were also enjoying the fine cuisine, while others still sat stiffly at tables or indulged in awkward conversation with each other. Naruto chose a few chocolate heart shaped cookies and a bottle of pink lemonade before going to find a chair.
Munching on his chocolate treats, Naruto sat back to observe his peers. Normally, he would try and make pleasant conversation with someone, but he felt unusually shy in that atmosphere of 'LoD'. There seemed to be quite a few people in the room, at least twenty or maybe more. To his relief, he spotted several men and women with blue tags. At least he would not spend the evening by himself or having stilted conversation with straight men and gay women, he thought with a grin.
He looked for Jenny and found her placing a sign that read "Admission Closed, Sorry!" on the outside of the door before closing it. Naruto shoved the last two cookies in his mouth and attempted to drain his lemonade at the same time in order to be ready for the beginning of the meeting. After a brief choking fit, he looked expectantly towards Jenny with watery eyes.
"Hello and welcome to 'Luck of the Draw'. My name is Jenny and I am in charge of the Seattle branch of this company. By now, you should have received information from me, my partner Allison, or one of our associates. Could you guys please raise your hands? Thank you. Those four over there can help answer any of your questions.
"That being said, why don't we get this show on the road? There are twenty-eight people in the room right now. Thirteen of you have pink stickers, twelve of you have blue stickers, and three of you have blue and pink stickers. Each time that you find a partner, you will have twenty minutes to talk to that person. We have this room rented for three hours. That means that there will be nine sessions total. If you like how we run this program and you'd like to try us again, we're having another meeting Wednesday of next week at 5:30 pm in the same location.
"All right then. Any questions? No? Then, GO!" Naruto jumped a little at the command before heading into the crowd. He made eye contact with a pretty blonde woman and smiled after seeing her blue and pink tags. She smiled confidently back and stuck out her hand.
"Hi, I'm Ino."
Sasuke had known that this was a bad idea from the start. He glared over at Sakura who was happily chatting with an attractive man with long dark hair. He turned his glare back to the man in front of him. This 'Kabuto' person was trying his patience.
"So, Sasu-baby, you simply must have millions of admirers. I can't think of why you'd have to go to a place like this. You must have a really horrible personality in order to drive people away from your hot body."
Really trying his patience.
"I don't know, though. If I had you in my bed, I don't think I'd really care about your personality. I bet that I could get you to a state where you wouldn't even be talking at all. What do you say, Sasu-baby. Want to take this somewhere else?"
Sasuke stared. Sakura was going to die when this was over. Die or treat him to dinner at that nice new Japanese bar that had opened up on 2nd and Broadway.
"First of all, no. As in never. The day I let you touch me is the day that I have contracted the Ebola virus4. My name is Sasuke, not Sasu-baby. I am not interested." Sasuke believed in the blunt approach.
"Ooo, Sasu. I love a forceful bottom in a relationship!"
He would kill her. Kill her dead.
"-and I like ramen and having fun outside," Naruto finished happily. This day was really going well after all. This was his fourth simulated 'date' and third female companion. She had dark hair and lovely pale eyes. And such a pretty name too, Hinata.
"That's, Um. V-very n-n-nice. Um. Naruto," she said in a quiet voice without making eye contact. Naruto sighed mentally. He only wished that she wasn't so very nervous around him. It was making him nervous. Maybe he had something on his face that had made her to think that he was an idiot or a psycho. He placed the purple conversation starter back in the pile before turning back to his companion with a cheerful – and hopefully harmless looking – smile.
"So, Hinata, I noticed that I lot of people seem to have come here with friends. Did you come here with anybody?" He scrubbed around his mouth in what he hoped appeared to be an absent-minded way as she responded.
"Y-yes. I, um, yes. M-my cousin Neji c-came with me. Um. He said that a g-girl should n-n-not, um, go to a place like this alone. I-er, that is. Um," she said while her face flushed an alluring pink. Naruto waited a moment for her to go on, but it appeared that she was quite finished.
"Oh… Well, I think that's great!"
"R-r-really?" she stuttered.
"Definitely," he said with a wide grin. "A cute girl like you must have to fend off the boys with a stick! It's great that you have a cousin to do that for you and look after you. He must really care about you," he said sincerely. She flushed an even darker red.
"Oh… I, um." Her response petered out. Naruto began to speak again, but he was soon interrupted by Jenny.
"All right folks! Session four is now over. Please exchange cards if you are compatible and then say goodbye and look for another partner," she said enthusiastically before resetting the pink timer on her desk. Naruto turned to Hinata once more.
"Well, Hinata, I had a nice time talking to you. May I give you my contact card and have yours please? I would love to talk to you later."
"Yes!" she almost shouted. Naruto almost jumped and watched in wonder as she once again blushed profusely and avoided his eyes. He scratched his head. She would not have agreed if she thought he was psycho, but she was acting so oddly. He gave a mental shrug decided to talk to her about it later. He grinned. It was so nice to meet new people. He dug in his pocket for his orange calling card.
"Here. I work most days, but if you don't reach me on the first attempt, you can always leave a message and then I'll call you back." He gently folded the card into her hand.
"T-thank y-y-you, um. Here is m-my c-c-card." She held out a lilac card in trembling fingers and he took it happily.
"Thank you, Hinata. I hope to talk to you soon," he said with a smile and a wink before turning away. He did not notice Hinata sink into her chair behind him with her hands covering her red face.
He was so happy with his results thus far. People around him were friendly, and even if things did not work out romantically with any of them, it was always great to have more friends. He pocketed Hinata's card before walking back into the midst of people.
Before he could make his way into the middle of things, he was stopped by a hand on his elbow.
"Hey there. I don't think we've met," the stranger said in a silky voice. Naruto turned around to meet the dark eyes of a handsome man wearing tight jeans and a shimmering shirt. He felt an odd premonition, but decided to shake it off.
"No. I don't, uh, think so. My name is Naruto," he said with a cheerful grin. Appearances could be deceiving. Right?
"A pleasure. I'm Sai".
He had to admit, this was almost nice. The man in front of him was certainly good looking. He was also pleasantly quiet – something that Sasuke could appreciate.
"So, Shino. What is it that you do?"
"I work in the Woodland Park Zoo." Sasuke fought a sigh. Yes, the newcomer was quiet, but it would be nice if he could give Sasuke a little more information about himself. He hated having to be the one to instigate a conversation or more in a relationship. He wished that his companion would at least make it so that Sasuke did not have to push his own comfort levels with dating by becoming the main talker.
"And? What do you do there?"
"I work in Bug World," he said quietly without expression.
Pause. Sigh.
"And why did you decide to work there?"
"I like bugs. I think that they make interesting companions." Okay. That was a little… odd. He could handle that. So what if it is a little unusual. And besides, it isn't like it mattered if he was strange anyways. It isn't as though he was actually looking for love here or anything. That was Sakura's gig. He was just along for, what did she call it? Emotional support? He snorted.
Feeling irrationally annoyed, he decided to see if he could be even less talkative than his companion.
Needless to say, it was a long ten minutes after that.
He was traumatized. Trau-ma-tized, and that was that. That Sai person was a nightmare. Naruto shuddered and tried to regain his composure as he staggered over to an empty chair. Maybe he would just sit this round out and spend some time recovering. It had all been going so well too…
At first, Sai seemed to be perfectly charming. He asked Naruto where he worked, he had grinned at him, told him he was handsome, been generally nice. He even offered to draw Naruto a picture and he began to do so immediately. Sure, he had a strange smile and a sort of predatory look in his eye, but Naruto decided to ignore the leering demeanor in favor of good faith. However, everything had gone downhill with the word-association game.
Sai had managed to associate all of the proffered words with penis. At first, Naruto thought that it was daring and sort of funny. Then, it became embarrassing and irritating. And horrifying. Although that part did not come until Naruto had asked him to show how the word 'penis' could be associated with all of the other words mentioned. He shuddered at the reminder of Sai's explanation of how 'penis' could associate with 'microwave'.
From there, it had only gotten worse. Sai had asked him if he had a penis, and when he had gaped and flushed to his hairline, Sai had concluded loudly that if he had one, it couldn't possibly be very big. After that, they had spent the rest of their 'date' discussing the issue. At the switch time, Naruto had rushed away only to be followed by his pest.
Sai had had the gall to act hurt, before delicately slipping his hand into Naruto's back pocket and giving him a squeeze. Naruto whimpered. He had never felt so… violated. And the guy had the nerve to tell him that he was merely searching for Naruto's calling card. In his back pocket. He snorted. His friends liked to call him gullible, but even he was not so naïve. He then extracted himself forcefully and told Sai that under no uncertain terms was he to ever approach him again. Sai had pouted, and handed Naruto a drawing before turning away.
He had seen his own eyes staring back at him. Sai had drawn him beautifully on the notepad. Drawn him beautifully… in the nude and with a miniscule penis. As soon as his brain had realized what it was seeing, he ripped up the paper and tossed it in the trash.
Maybe he would just leave. That was awful. And he did already have the numbers of four nice people who he thought he might want to meet again. He put his head in his hands with a moan, hardly noticing as Jenny called for another switch. He took his cards out of his pocket and played with them idly, head still in one palm.
"Hello." Naruto jumped in his seat, scattering his cards left and right and almost toppling himself out of his chair. He had not noticed anyone approaching in his miserable and angry daze. He bent down to retrieve his cards before looking up – into the most beautiful green eyes he had ever seen. Laughing green eyes. Oh. Right, he had just made a total idiot of himself. He blushed and gave a rueful smile.
"Hi. I'm Naruto. And I'm really not an idiot. Or this much of an idiot. I mean, I think that everyone is an idiot sometimes. And. Um. Not that you'd ever be an idiot. Because I'm sure that you're more than just a pretty face. Shit! I mean. Sorry, I mean. I would date you even if you were just a pretty face. No! That's not what I meant. Oh God… I- I should just-" Off myself, he thought miserably. He looked down at the ground again. That was just horrible.
He was shaken from his depressing thoughts with the sound of laughter. He looked up again into her smiling face.
"That was pretty horrible, wasn't it?" She grinned and gave him a 'light' punch in the arm.
"My name is Sakura. Do you want to find a table for this session? I think we have about twenty something minutes left if you're interested."
"I am so interested! Let me just gather my cards and then we can go," he said winningly. She nodded and helped him gather the cards. When they finished, she rose gracefully before turning and leading him to a table. He followed after her eagerly, absentmindedly rubbing the spot she had punched earlier. Maybe today was looking up.
Sasuke glared balefully at the clock. It was the beginning of the eighth session. Forty minutes left and then he and Sakura could leave this pink plaza of doom. He sat on an isolated chair away from the schmoozing and the matchmaking. He would put on a face for Sakura and find a 'date' to sit with in the last round in order to give the impression that he had 'played nice' for the entire experience.
To be fair, there had been some vague connections. He might decide to call the brunet he had talked to in his second encounter, and the red head from the seventh was very easy on the eyes.5 And maybe even Shino if he was desperate.
But there had been not very solid connections. Sasuke could count the number of people who he had solid connections with in his life on one hand. Or, if he were to be truly honest with himself, with one half of one hand. And none of those relationships had been romantic – excepting that stupid crush he had had on Kakashi when he was twelve, but that didn't count. It did not.
He was not the sort of person who sought out friendship readily. Most people usually were attracted to him. Be it because of his intelligence, his looks, his money, or his family name, people had always flocked to him. Especially in his younger years. At his job, he always had several people willing to sit with him at his scheduled lunch break. But he would consider none of them his friends.
He liked being alone. It was what he often told himself, but it was also the truth. He liked the comfort of being alone, of being separate from the rest of the world. Of feeling that he did not need to depend on others. And yet he liked spending time with others too. He liked Sakura, even if their relationship had spawned from an ill received crush. He sometimes wondered what it would be like to have someone like Sakura who he could… do things with. He blushed, thought for a moment, and then quickly blanched away from the mental image of a muscular male Sakura.
He did not want to be somebody's trophy boyfriend, and he did not want a trophy of his own. If he were to have someone, that someone would have to be challenging and strong and self-reliant. He did not want someone to cling on him, or to rely on him to make all the decisions in a relationship.
He was knocked out of his musings by the sound of Jenny calling for another switch. He rose dutifully from his chair and found a table to sit at. Sinking into his new seat, he decided that his next companion could very well find him, because he was not moving.
Last call. Last chance to find a possible future boyfriend or girlfriend. Naruto grinned. His 'date' with Sakura had recovered his spirits and he spent the last session talking with a man named Suigetsu who seemed to be interesting. He had six numbers so far and he was confident that he could become friends with all of them.
After looking around, his cheerful mood quickly abated. Sai. The creep was heading over to a handsome man with black hair and eyes. Naruto felt the need to intercede – no one should be subjected to that. He narrowed his eyes and charged forward, slipping into the chair facing the other man moments before Sai reached the table. Facing forward, he grinned at his new companion. The other man simply stared in return and Naruto felt his smile wilt.
Surely. Surely this could not be as bad as his date with Sai.6
"My name's Naruto. It's nice to meet you."
Pause.
"My name is Sasuke. It is nice to meet you also." Naruto waited hopefully. Maybe this guy would embark on a new and interesting topic that would dazzle him. Maybe not. He shrugged. You win some, you lose some…
"Hey, I don't know about you but I'm feeling a bit conversation-ed out. I'm having a lack of ideas here. Do you want to try one of these conversation cards?" Naruto looked expectantly at the other man. Sasuke shrugged languidly.
"Do what you like." Naruto bristled at the apathetic attitude, but he tempered his feelings and reached for one of the purple cards.
"Ah. This is an interesting one. Who was your first crush and why?"
Sasuke would rather eat slugs than answer the question put to him by the blonde idiot in front of him. How the hell could he relate his weird fixation on Kakashi? But he couldn't back down. He'd already told his companion that he could ask him a question. As he formulated his thoughts, he took a moment to observe his partner through thick bangs. He was attractive, in a fierce sort of way. Sasuke could tell that he had a nice body under the simple jeans and ugly orange shirt. Nice blue eyes too. Beautiful even. If you liked that sort of thing.
He wanted to ignore the question. He really did. But he was not a coward, even when he really wanted to be.
"My first crush was when I was twelve. There was a friend of my family that I… admired. I confessed my feelings for him at my elder brother's birthday party. Let's just say, the experience taught me that confessions are not meant for public parties at which the entire family is present," Sasuke said the last with a smirk and Naruto winced sympathetically.
"And you, Naruto? Who was your first crush?"
"Well, when I was ten there was this really pretty girl in my-" Sasuke jumped.
"Girl?"
"Yeah. I'm bisexual. Didn't you notice?" Sasuke had not noticed. He had noticed other… things, but the stickers on the blonde's chest had indeed escaped his notice. And there they were, one blue and one pink, just as he had said.
"Oh. You're one of those," said Sasuke with less than full charm. He had had experience with so-called bisexuals in the past. His experience had found them to be more on the bi-curious end of the scale.7 Unsure straight men who figured out they wanted women right quick when the dating became physical past casual touching.
"Excuse me?"
"A bisexual of course. What is it; women couldn't fulfill all of your urges?"
His companion flushed angrily. Sasuke noticed in the back of his mind, and would remember later, that it was an attractive look on the tanned face.
"You have no idea what you're talking about! You don't know me. Don't pretend as if you understand my sexuality just because of a few bad dates that you've had or something. I'm right, aren't I? You've already placed me into some stupid box and you're trying to label it with words that you understand. Well, screw you!" Sasuke sat back, quiet. This was new. Most people let him say what he liked. Except Sakura. He still had the scar from that one time in New York. Kakashi would just laugh. Bastard.
So his companion had a mind of his own. And a temper. Interesting. A quick glance at the clock told him that he had a good fifteen minutes left. He wondered how far he could push the guy until he snapped. He had the feeling that he would be fun to tease.
Naruto didn't know why he was still sitting with this bastard. He was cocky, rude, and downright mean sometimes. Naruto just knew he had to be the type to use his good looks to get himself whatever he wanted. Stupid handsome features and nice black hair. Probably got away with anything.
And how the hell had they gotten onto the topic of Mr. Spiky?
"What kind of idiot names his cat that?"
"I don't know. I didn't name him, you jerk." Naruto was fast losing his resolve to stick out the remainder of this 'date'. They had spent the last ten minutes sniping at each other and teasing and, in the midst of their arguing, talking a bit about themselves.
"My friend Kiba gave him to me for my birthday last year. I didn't even know that I wanted one until I realized-" he cut himself off and looked away, embarrassed.
"Until?" Bastard was going to make him say it, was he? Hell if he was going to back down in the face of that cocked eyebrow and annoying smirk. All the same, he did not meet that gaze as he talked.
"It's nice to… have something to… come home to. I have been alone all my life- sorry, that sounds mopey doesn't it? I mean, I've lived alone for as long as I care to remember. I've had girlfriends and boyfriends," he paused to give Sasuke a dark glare before returning his gaze to his nail-bitten hands, "in the past, but it never got so serious as to have us living together. It just never seemed to work out. And it was always me too. They'd be all ready to move all their crap and then suddenly I'd have a massive 'this-is-a-big-mistake' panic attack and call it off. No one likes to be rejected like that, so they usually called it quits soon after I failed to commit there.
"I don't know what it wrong with me. I like to be alone. I like that I can depend on myself for everything, and I like knowing that I'm strong. But sometimes… I just want a little bit. You know?" In his deep staring contest with his fingernails, Naruto missed Sasuke nodding his head in agreement.
"I don't think that people are meant to live their lives alone. I know that I'm not alone alone. I mean, I've got buddies and stuff, but it isn't the same. I think that people are meant to have a someone. To, you know, share moments with and all that stuff. I want a someone.
"And this is why I have a Mr. Spiky," he finished and turned up towards Sasuke with a wide self-depreciating grin. He was met by a blank stare. He turned away, frustrated. What was he expecting anyways.
What a miserable 'date'. No connection whatsoever. Not even a maybe, baby.
Sasuke was speechless. This Naruto person, he was. He was just right. He had endured Sasuke's teasing, and even jabbed back with barbs of his own. He was interesting and funny too – Sasuke had trouble keeping his stoic face together during the blonde's amusing stories about his one of his graduate school professors. And just now – where had that come from? How did this bumbling blonde know about things that Sasuke himself could not put to words?
Sasuke was jarred out of his thoughts by the sound of Jenny speaking once again.
"Thank you for coming, ladies and gents. We do hope that you choose to come again next week. If not, we wish you success on your own! It was great to meet you all, but I'm afraid that we do indeed have to kick you out. We only have the room scheduled for about forty-five more seconds and I'd really hate to get in trouble with this building head. Thanks again for coming! And don't forget to get those last numbers and names in order!"
Sasuke was already one step ahead of her. Even before she had finished speaking he was reaching towards the pile of cards Naruto had placed on the table when he had sat down. Reaching towards his target eagerly, he failed to notice the look on the blonde's face.
He did notice, however, when a tanned hand swooped into his line of vision and took the cards off of the table in front of his face. His eyes widened and he looked at Naruto, incredulous.
"I think you misinterpreted my actions," he said with a smirk and then continued on quickly as Naruto shoved all of the cards into his pocket, "I want to have one of your cards."
"And I don't want you to have one. Look, Sasuke. I really don't think that we're compatible. I don't want to be a part of the type of relationship you seem to want."
"Wait- look. Why don't we talk for a bit more? I think there is a nice café a few minutes from here," he said quickly. Sasuke wasn't sure how much more of his pride he was willing to put on the line if the blonde said 'no'.
"I should- I just need to go now. I have stuff to do, people to see. It would never work between us. I just, I need someone who can be more open with me." With that, his 'date' turned and walked away. He smiled to a few people on the way out – and Sasuke couldn't help but notice that it was a very nice smile – and then he was gone.
Well, fuck.
He turned dazedly to find Sakura looking fondly at the door. At the door through which his idiot had just departed. His eyes narrowed.
He would kill her dead for sure.
Author's Notes:
Hey all. This is my first Naruto fic. Let me have your constructive criticism please! And - I hate to advertise like this but I feel the need to - does anyone know a goof beta-ing group or anything? I'd really like one but I'm having trouble finding one. Any volunteers? Bueller?
Thanks for your time. Take care everyone :).
- FP