A/N: It would seem that I am alive. Yay. Okay, here's the deal: I have a ton of stuff for you to read. ...But you will not get everything at once. So. This new fic right here. It's for Halloween. Which was yesterday. But I had stuff to do! No time for FF, s'much as I love it, and you. Why should I bother writing this absolute crap if there's no one to pick it apart for me and tell me (if it's possible) that I did a good job? Okay. Here's the fic.
A/N EDIT: So, I hated the first version of this and decided to edit it. A lot. And add to it. It's better now, and much longer. Like it or not, it's here. And it was posted on Halloween, the clock just doesn't care about my opinion.
Sasuke: 22 Naruto: 21
"speaking" 'thoughts'
—
Sasuke traipsed into the Halloween shop, hopeful that this store would have what he wanted. No sign of his irritation showed, other than the slightly drawn down angle of his ebony eyebrows. The raven had visited three other small, seasonal Halloween stores today, and the larger party store that was open year round, without finding anything so much as near what he wanted. This was his last chance. Sasuke asked a nearby employee for the section for more serious costumes, things such as heavy material costumes, durable rubber or silicon masks, and weapons actually made of metal, but the youth only looked at him and pointed towards the cheap crap he'd passed at the front of the store. Sasuke sighed; obviously, what you see is what you get with these places. The Uchiha then scowled and turned abruptly to leave, passing the flimsy plastic, rubber, and foam costume pieces once more. He glanced left, down the aisle of not-so-scary garments and props, with the last hope that his eyes had deceived him, and felt something grab his ankle.
Sasuke's coal-black eyes shot down to glare into fathomless ocean blue ones, when he was yanked behind a display featuring plastic trick-or-treat buckets styled like pumpkins, ghosts, skeletons, and various other symbols of the family-friendly Halloween. When the raven had regained both his feet, kneeling on the tile, and his composure, he once again aimed that glare at those blue eyes, his Uchiha pride running on overload. 'What kind of idiot would... Damn. He's hot.' First, those eyes: cerulean like the sea. Then, that hair: golden blond like so much pirate booty (upon which Sasuke was kneeling on the floor), glimmering even in the artificial light. And finally, the face: strong golden eyebrows, perfectly formed nose and slightly plump lips, and the biggest and most infuriating damn grin Sasuke had ever had the shitty misfortune to see, framed by natural tan skin (because one can always tell the difference). Everything about the man's face just enraged Sasuke, possibly because the face was way too handsome, but probably because it screamed cockiness. The raven's sight ended up fixing itself, so that he could put together the whole man, rather than just parts. Which was difficult, considering the hotness of each individual part he'd already seen. The whole was too much to take in. '...What...?' The blond spoke in low, yet rich, tones, apparently afraid of being overheard.
"Hey, you want the heavy stuff, right?"
Sasuke's mind still struggled with the dazzling godliness of the man before him. "Huh...?"
"The good kind. Of Halloween costumes? I know where you can get the best stuff in the state They've got everything! It's not cheap, though."
The raven's brain finally pulled together, he now understood the man's statement, though not why he remained hidden by the candy buckets. The blond started flipping what seemed to be apron stings around in his hands, and for the first time, Sasuke noticed he was wearing an apron and name tag belonging to the Halloween store. It all clicked. Naruto, for that was the name printed on the tag, wished to help the Uchiha, but was careful not to get caught giving out the name of a rival business.
"Money is not a problem," the crushing boy eventually responded. As the initial shock of the gorgeousness that was Naruto faded, Sasuke could feel the hint of a blush fighting to show. He had to get out, fast.
"Cool, then you're gonna have a blast picking stuff out! Don't get there before nine. At night. Just tell the guard at the door my name and he'll let you in."
"Thank you," was the raven's last reply, and Naruto gave him a slip of paper with the name and address of the business, and quietly slipped out the back end of the aisle. Sasuke pocketed the note and dazedly stood up. The near high he had gotten from only the blond's looks dissolved as he neared the shop's doors, and Sasuke realized that he'd likely never see Naruto again. So. It was for the best that he forget all about those sapphire eyes, golden wheat locks, and tawny skin. Damn.
—
Sasuke arrived at the warehouse soon after the sun had set, abandoning the world to darkness. The youngest Uchiha's mood was low; this was his last chance, and judging by previous experience, it would not yield the results he needed to survive a lifetime of being scared half to death by his brother every Halloween. He stared through his Mustang's tinted windshield into the inky void above. In that darkness shone tiny lights. 'A sign?' Sasuke wondered. He wasn't the superstitious type, but he'd take anything that had the barest possibility of raising his hopes. He knew he'd given off a very dark air as of late, and needed to give his family, or his mother, anyway, some assurance of his normalcy before they, or she, sent him to some quack shrink to cure his "depression." Resolve thus bolstered, the raven left his car and approached the security guard lounging on a plastic chair before the small metal door. Sensing movement, the guard raised his head, tipping up his cap with a finger. Sasuke first noticed red triangle tattoos on his cheeks, the jewel-tone ink radiant in the security lamp's yellow glow, then a phosphorescent keychain hanging on his belt. The warehouse keys, no doubt.
The young man's gaze drifted freely over the Uchiha's frame, and he grinned saucily. "Hey princess, you're on the wrong side of town. You look like one 'uh them prissy asses livin' in the biggest fucking mansion on the boulevard." The guard let his head drop again and made a dismissive gesture. "Go on back to your fancy life. This ain't no place for fucking princesses." Despite the annoyed tone, Sasuke could see the tiny corner of that cheeky grin peeking under the cap.
The raven was neither riled nor deterred from his mission by the rude guard. He was above speaking to simple rabble, and thus spoke only one word: "Naruto."
The guard looked up once more, smile still in place, got up, and unlocked the warehouse door. Darkness beckoned. The Uchiha hesitated a moment, then walked through to the welcoming cave.
"Here..." Sasuke turned. The guard, face now inscrutable, held a tiny plastic lantern. The raven took it and nodded slightly. This man may be rabble, but Uchihas knew when politeness was required. Now only a shadow in the doorway, the guard touched his cap and gently closed the door; Sasuke found and pressed the button on the small light just before the last sliver of light from outside vanished. The room before him lit up; a bare anteroom was revealed. Nondescript walls, floor, and ceiling stretched for about ten feet, ending in another plain door, this made of wood. Its only decoration was a note taped at eye level. Sasuke approached the paper, raising the lantern. It read, in somewhat clumsy letters:
Hold the button and say your name and business.
The raven lowered the lantern, searching for the foretold of button. Spotting it, he said his name and expressed his need for a truly frightening Halloween costume, one that could cause even the hardest, most experienced scarer to stain his pants. A few moments passed, then the lock clicked back and Sasuke pulled the door open.
Tall metal shelves loomed before him, strewn throughout the dimly-lit warehouse. They were arranged almost randomly; not one made a perfect line with another, although the shelves did seem to be clustered into haphazard groups. Next, the Uchiha observed a small office to the right of the anteroom door that had just shut behind him. It extended past the anteroom three walls with large windows, the last wall being part of the warehouse. Two office windows were covered with curtains; the one facing him was yanked back, exhibiting the room within. No one was inside, which made Sasuke wonder... how had someone unlocked the door if the buzzer system resided in the office.
'The owner must be fast, to unlock the door, then disappear so quickly.' Sasuke liked this thought, therefore, his traitorous mind forced Naruto to the fore; the thought of that California king stirred his guts, and, somewhere deep inside him, the tiny, girlish part of him squealed and giggled. The blond had appeared out of nowhere. They'd been so close, kneeling on the shop's floor, and Naruto had looked at him him so intently. And... he'd truly wanted to help Sasuke. Put together that man's looks, personality, and Sasuke's attraction to him, and what do you get? Vulgar language and a very long, hard fall for this Uchiha.
A light flickered slightly overhead. Damn. He'd been daydreaming for far too long. He'd be worried someone had seen his weird pause, but Sasuke hadn't seen anyone since the guard outside. Not entirely surprising, considering the time, but then, Naruto had told him to come at this time, so it was possible that this time of night was part of the store's open hours. Possible, but... not likely. So, why was he here? At night? This was too creepy.
As crushing as he may be on the blond god he'd met only hours before, Sasuke knew nothing about other than his name, his day-job, and how much he fucking fancied the man. As such, his attraction couldn't make him trust Naruto, and sure as hell wouldn't stop images of a painful death at the hands of a crazed lunatic from flitting across his mind. How stupid he was! This sort of thing happened all the time in horror movies! The innocent young victim was lured into a scary abandoned warehouse by the very charming and sexy killer, with various accomplices hanging around to help out or smooth out any unforeseen chinks in the plan. And of course, the helpless victim always died. Horribly, painfully, and spirit completely broken. Provided that this really was the situation, Sasuke already had the one-up on the killer, though that amounted to little, given that he had at least one friend, the security guard, around to help in the dirty deed.
So, where was Sasuke at in the movie? He'd just come into the spooky abandoned warehouse, there was no one around, and the door had most likely locked itself behind him. The raven didn't want to even bother trying it, but knew he'd be peeved at himself later if he didn't try now. So he grabbed the handle and jiggled it. Locked. Shocking. So, next, the lights would go out, and he'd fearfully decide to walk around the warehouse, looking for an emergency exit or someone to help him, possibly believing it was all just a prank he'd laugh about later. He'd jump and cower at every sound, and see shadows in the corners of his eyes. The Uchiha would get jumpier and more panicked, eventually dashing full tilt down the seemingly endless aisles of shelves, finally be cornered, and taken to the murderer's secret hideout, wherein he would be slain, and possibly raped beforehand.
Well, the lights hadn't gone off, yet. And, as much as the killer might wish it, Sasuke wasn't the type to panic; he was proficient in tae kwon do, and had quite a temper when provoked. He wouldn't go down without a fight. Provided that this was really the situation, of course. The youngest Uchiha looked to the office. Noting it's door was closed, he decided to go for a walk, after all. He knew better than to think that door would be unlocked, while the other was not. As Sasuke turned towards the nearest cluster of shelving, refusing to believe the stirring shadows in the corner of his eye were real.
