Hello there dear readers (if there is actually any of you left)! I am back with a new story :D I got the idea from a friend of mine and well, I wanted to try out writing about people in their fifties. Hopefully this does not gross you out ;D Two grown men fighting their pasts and trying to rebuild another - it is not easy even though growing old is more or less growing wiser too. I do hope you enjoy this and I have to admit I cried in the middle of writing it…I am so sad…haha.

Please do not flame (I do not find a reason for it so you better not either). I apologize for the possible misspellings and other errors.

CHECK OUT MY OTHER SASUNARU/NARUSASU STORIES TOO AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!

Pairing: Naruto x Sasuke

Summary: Sipping away sorrows in a bar leads to unforeseen events; being a fifty-year-old man does not help it at all. What if you encountered the love of your life and had the chance to make everything better again? Is it even possible? NaruSasu, MSEX

Disclaimer: I have no rights over the characters or whatsoever (do not sue me Mr. Kishimoto), I am just loaning them and returning to the rightful owner (Mr. Kishimoto).

That Was Then, This Is Now

I sit at the local bar sipping away my sorrows like I do on so many nights like this. The bartender does not even ask me what I would like to order, since my face is probably tattooed in the back of his mind. Pathetic. Vodka Martini on rocks and I close my eyes. The atmosphere is stuffed and worn like the customers in the place; people look like they have lost their everything and probably want to get rid of the rest too.

I may look like I do not fit, since I sit here in a wrinkled suit, but no one comes to say anything. They never do. We are all out of place here and yet this is the only place in which we belong to. I sigh and open my eyes, the air is thick with smoke and I am already sweating. I have to loosen my tie and unbutton the first buttons of my shirt in order to breathe. I take a paper tissue from the counter and wipe my face with it. Pathetic old man.

The door opens again, but none of us really care - it is just another lonely soul like the rest of us. I bury my head in my arms and rest like that for awhile. The bartender knows I am not passing out because of the liquor; I never do that at this time of the evening. He knows me and I know him - yet we are strangers to one another. My trousers are sweaty too and clinging to my legs. It feels nasty, but I let it slide, like I do with so many things in my life. Ten more years and I can retire, I assure myself. Ten more years.

I hear a rough laughter from next to me, but I am too tired to raise my head. One beer, says the voice and my eyelids open as fast as the lightning rides across the sky. The person next to me finishes off the liquid fast, I can hear that. He orders another one with his raspy voice full of life well spent. I envy him. Would you like another one Sir, the bartender asks me, since he knows how this will go from here. Now I am in the state of wanting to hit my forehead against the counter so many times that I forget everything. He is offering me a helping hand; a liquid one to ease my frustration and again save me from the night I fear so much. Yes, I answer back with a weak smile.

No, it cannot be you, the voice asks without really asking anything. Cannot be who? I wonder and turn my head towards the voice. My eyes meet the bluest ones I have ever seen - no, I have seen similar so long time ago. His blonde hair is ruffled and spiky and all I can do is just stare. Oi shit, you have become chubby Sasuke, says the voice to me with a snicker. No, no, no. One of the things I needed to forget. One of the things that made me become like this. Naruto Uzumaki, a friend from the past I would like to forget entirely. Why are you here, I ask tiredly even though I do not mean to sound like that.

Cannot a guy have a beer after a long day's work, he smiles at me. You are not a guy anymore, you are fifty; you do know that, I sigh. Well, I am still working even though you may consider me as good as dead, he then continues. The smile never leaves his lips. Fancy meeting you here, he says and takes another gulp from his pint. Yeah, I blurt back without realizing that I sound childish acting the way I do. Give this man another one of those fancy queer drinks and another beer for me, Naruto orders with a loud voice that rings in my ears and making them hurt. As noisy as before, I sigh and he just laughs. Do you have an umbrella to it, he then asks and the bartender takes a little green glittery one from under the counter. I sigh again, but I leave it at that and take a long sip.

You have got a suit, where do you work, Naruto blurts out. I am a teacher, you know, kids with learning disabilities and such, I answer without looking at him. I just keep my eyes on the floating ice cubes in my drink. Oh, well, I work at the near construction site, you know, I am an electrician. I also repair spacer plates and other joints in the wired hell, he smiles. I never asked, I say back at him. Old and cranky, I see, he sighs in turn. I decide to check him out and from the corners of my eyes I can see that he is well-built and a bit rough, like workers in that kind of field usually are. He looks good for a fifty-year-old guy - only the fine lines on his face reveal he is not in his twenties anymore.

Then I look at myself and I feel ashamed. Yeah, I have become chubby; since all I do is sit at school or occasionally stand when I am writing something on the blackboard. I am kind of amazed that you have let yourself to become like that, he says wonderingly. Like fat, you mean? I ask back, but I do not really need an answer, since I know it is the truth. Haha, you used to be into sports so much, he then says. Well, people grow up, they get married and then divorce, I say my voice sounding bitter. So, I take it you were married and now not? He keeps harassing me with questions.

She has cut all the ties with me and I and my son do not even keep contact anymore, I somehow blurt again knowing I have said too much to a person, who is not involved in this. Pretty sad, Naruto says. I can see from his expression that he wants to know more but probably does not have the nerve to ask. I never thought you would get married, he wonders aloud. How about you, I ask and empty my glass. Well, I have done this and that, but those things were never serious, he answers although he does not actually answer my question as such. So, you have a son…does he look like you? He tries to sound casual and I perfectly know the reason why. Maybe, I say back and shake the glass in my hand so I could get a refill.

I take out my wallet and give him the picture, in which is my eighteen-year-old son. Oi, he looks just like you back in our time, he says and studies the picture closely. Looks like a great kid, he says and gives the picture back. I would not know, I answer him honestly. I know why this is awkward; I could cut the tension and pretence with a machete the size of a lion.