Naruto is the type to give his all.
That's why he will never fall in love. He is the one who loves harder than anyone. The one who pours a hundred percent of himself to some lucky person on Earth. He's the boy who'll love unconditionally and loyally, but he's not a boy anymore, is he? He's just fun and games now; he could also be kisses and condoms. It sounds immature but he likes the control he has over his life, and he's not about to ruin it with some petty thing called love.
He maybe a coward or just some guy with trust issues, but it's just his defense mechanism. He's only protecting himself, because he knows he'll break if he falls in love. It's stupid, really, but Naruto knows his limits. He should know, because he is the type to give his all.
The cinnamon roll that must be protected by the world.
He may be a hermit when it comes to love but he sure is undeniably irresistible. He makes everyone love him, with his hair that's spun from gold, and blue-bright blue-eyes that sparkle when he smiles, shy or sly, nobody's exactly sure. But then, the next thing you will know, you're trapped in his delicious hold. Trapped may not be the right word because you fell of your own volition, but oh well, you'll love him forever.
Astonishingly, he hasn't been in a relationship yet. Maybe he's kissed a girl or two, or three. Or was it sixteen? And there was also that guy from McDonald's. Oh, and never forget that young professor from the local uni. He may or may not have flirted with that waitress at the cafe. Could have winked at the guy with glasses in the library. He's not sure if he texted the dirty blonde back with a heart emoticon. But one thing is for certain: Naruto will never confuse fun with love, and love with lust.
He's afraid to mix it all up into this ugly blob called happiness, because it's all in his head really; but he feels that he'll never be truly joyous. He feels it in his bones, weighing him down and drilling deep into him. And no matter how wide he smiles, how hard he kisses, or how many he fucks, he can't get it out of his system.
He simply cannot become happy.
It is a flaw in chemistry, they say, not in the attitude. But whatever medication he buys, or how many pills he swallows, that stupid dark cloud still follows him where ever. It doesn't hurt like a knife to the chest, and it doesn't make him smile like how children do on Santa Claus' lap. He doesn't feel shit and he feels shit at the same time. All he understands is that he's absolutely fucked up, and that's that.
Even so, his heart is still so brand new after these twenty one years. His mother was afraid he'll die a virgin, that her pretty-lad son was gonna be some kind of wallflower, pretty to look at but so, so far and unreachable.
Naruto rose to the challenge, he was nineteen then. Snuck out at midnight and rode to the city, he walked right into the flashiest bar at the first street and ordered the strongest they had. He wasn't sure if he could do it, he needed the drink for a little bit of courage. Lots of people had told him he is attractive but he hasn't really put it to the test yet. So when a strawberry blonde girl sashayed next to him with a smile that of a predator, he knew then that it would be easy.
He knew then that he'd have a thing for blondes.
Blondes, blondes, blondes. No matter the shade as long as he could see the color of sunshine on your head, Naruto will choose you. Skip every other person and cut straight to you, because he knows that he will have you-with just the right smile anyway. He's that desirable and he is dangerous because he's aware of it.
If people noticed the pattern, they'd have thought him vain. Not exactly, but there could be a grain of truth to it. All those that he charms would be so engrossed in him that he knows-that he sees-how they genuinely enjoy his company.
How they are happy to have at least a peck on the cheek from him. The light in their eyes when they see him, or the small giddy grin they try to hide when he skims his palms on their thigh, or even the small almost imperceptible shiver they get when he brushes his lips next to their ear.
He is proud of how good he is at seducing, but all he's ever really enjoyed is their thrill of having to feel blissful, no matter how short lived. He sees their blonde hair as his own and he wonders if he could ever be like them, like the lovesick golden heads he's had.
When they approach him, they know that they don't always have a hundred percent chance of bagging him and taking him to their bed. God, no. So long as they're blonde they're good for him. Red heads? Okay. Brunettes? Hm, maybe, just maybe. But dark hair? Naruto has declined every single one so far.
He thinks those bunch are somehow dangerous. Like he's doomed to fail this abstinence of love when he accepts this dark haired person between his legs. They're his complete opposite, ridiculously at the other end of the world from blondes like him. He has this paranoia of them because once he's dreamed of a man with raven hair breaking his heart.
Naruto isn't superstitious but he woke up crying after that dream.
Now he denies anyone with hair like midnight to his bed, but he's not opposed to playing games and seducing them either. He's good like that and everyone knows this but they love him anyways.
I think we have a friend in common, he's supposed to say when he's finally chosen his flavor of the night. Taking whoever was lucky enough that night back to his bachelor's apartment. It's like a lottery with him, really, but no one seems to care. They try their damn best to catch his eye. Even as far as bleaching ebony hair to silver. Naruto thinks even that is part of the game.
The last person he's been with is that dirty blonde girl at the other side of the diner he's currently in. She smiles at him, furtive but deceivingly sweet, and he nods at her with a lazy grin. She's trying to seduce him to her table again-like she did last time-but Naruto's not in the mood for dirty blonde this morning, because it's the platinum blonde waitress he wants at the moment.
He's had her before but he loves the way her hips sway when she walks all over the place. He's already ordered two times just to see down the front of her shirt when she arrives with his full English. Naruto isn't really that hungry for food but he's starving for something else.
He wonders if she'll break her morning routine for him, if she's willing to go inside the broom closet and bend over as he fucks her from behind. Willing to risk her job as she tries her best to smother her moans. Naruto's already thought of how to corner her at the shadowed booth right next to the broom closet, when another customer enters the diner and all the sexy waitress' attention is torn from him to the newly arrived customer.
"Good morning, sir!" The waitress greets, more cheerfully than she did with Naruto, and quickly goes to where the man takes a seat. Naruto's nose is invaded by Floris and his head snaps towards the booth behind his.
He sees watermelon seed black hair and nothing more because the man is facing away from him. He should be pissed at this guy because there goes his plan on seducing the waitress. But the moment the expensive scent hit his nose, he can't help but smirk and mutter rich bastard under his breath.
Naruto is slightly intrigued with this man.
Floris is the type of perfume that only smells nice on dark and broody type of men. Naruto tried it once but he learned that he can't get away with it. He's too sunny and lacks mystery as Sai had once said, and even proved it when the pale man used it on himself and more girls fawned over him than Naruto. Sai is too blunt for his own good, but Naruto likes a critic sometimes. He likes to improve himself because if some things get too hard for him, that means he's fallen in love and it also means he's willing to go out of his comfort zone.
Naruto isn't willing to go out of his comfort zone just yet.
He's gotten another glance at the waitress' cleavage as she takes the dark haired man's order, but he's not entranced by it anymore, because-all the blondes be damned-the only person to smell perfect with fucking Floris on is the guy sitting just two feet away from him.
Naruto drums his fingers on the table. He'll make a move on this guy when he gets a face to match the dark and alluring scent.
There was a time when he was fourteen where he internally debated whether he liked boys or not. Gaara was the same as him, quiet and bullied because they were so tiny for their age. They were both clearly cast-aways then, so it's only natural that they gravitated towards each other. He never saw the other boy's red hair as a problem, only that Gaara was the most beautiful and fragile thing he's seen. Naruto wanted to protect him, to shield him from the hate; and that was when he started to like people other than just girls.
He's about to stand up and sit by the Floris guy when his phone buzzes in his jeans pocket. He quickly pulls it out and answers the call without looking at the caller ID.
"Uzumaki, who's this?" He says a bit irritably and stands up, walking out of the diner and leaning on the only motorbike in the parking lot that can get away with neon orange.
"Get over here!"
"Excuse you, Shika, I'm in the middle of Calculus class-"
"Bullshit."
"So what's up?" Naruto says and there's a sigh from the other line.
"Troublesome blondes. I'm covering for Ino's AND your quizzes, so don't tell me you're in Calculus because I'm here and you're not."
"What, where's Ino?"
"Probably still asleep." Shikamaru pauses and sighs again. "This is troublesome, the first time I don't get lazy I got three papers in my hands. Just get in here before Kurenai gets suspicious of extra quiz pap-"
"Nara Shikamaru, we're in a quiz. So if you don't mind?" A female voice says and Naruto sniggers.
"Ah. Yes, Sensei." Shikamaru says hastily and gets back on the phone call. "Get your ass here." He says angrily and the phone beeps closed.
Naruto pockets his phone and sighs, looking wistfully at the Floris guy through one of the diner's windows. The man is looking back at him and has a phone to his ear. Naruto didn't expect to see his face so suddenly that he stares to marvel at the sight of the man's face. He's got eyes as midnight as his hair and features too aristocratic to hold the title of handsome, so Naruto decides that the man is too painfully beautiful and his heart races in his chest unexpectedly.
Fuck.
He turns around and digs for his wallet. He pulls out a handful of bills and walks back in the diner, too aware of the dark eyes that are following him. He refuses to meet this guy's gaze, not yet at least because he can't fuck up if his heart decides to flip again.
"Misa-chan, my bill." Naruto pays at the counter, winking at the waitress and turns to leave. He is met with the scent of Floris once again and comes face to face with him.
His heart thuds in his chest and pounds in his ears. Heat forms on his cheeks and Naruto begins to lean away, very conscious of his personal space being invaded. He's losing his cool, standing there panicking when he's had lots of experience with flirting, and seducing, and fucking of all things. So why is he getting all flustered and shy when this guy is probably no different from the blondes?
Goddamnit, because he's not blonde.
There it was, the thought that has him packing and running. Because if they're not blonde enough Naruto doesn't see himself in them. This man is completely the opposite of safe and Naruto fears that his heart would latch onto this raven in the day. His body is giving clues now, that this man is different from the rest, and Naruto should heed the calls but he can't. He's glued to the spot as his protect-the-heart-from-falling-in-love instincts kick in. But he ignores that too.
Naruto honestly wasn't prepared for this guy's face and the man just caught him off guard. He thinks that this day is starting off horribly, and it's because of two dark haired men, no thanks Nara Shikamaru.
"Could you uh... move?" Naruto squeaks and the guy smirks haughtily at him.
Well, fuck you too. Naruto sneers because he's never had a devil walk right in his face smiling so handsomely, staring him down like he's a peasant, that it sends his tongue tied in his throat.
"You are in my way." Floris guy says and leans over him to reach the bills that Naruto placed on the counter. Taking the money back and placing a cash card in its place.
The blonde's eyes widen because ohmygod you could've just stepped to the side to reach for it. Naruto leans back as the man does and he can't quite breathe because if he smells fucking Floris one more time he's going to sucker punch-kiss-this guy.
He's so confused right now.
"Why don't you move, huh, Idiot?" The guy says and Naruto is offended.
This man is the one getting all familiar with his bubble of space, calling him an idiot, and he has the gall to act insulted? Naruto will definitely make a move on this guy. Just not the first idea that came to mind.
"Pompous asshole." Naruto mutters and his heart kicks from excited flips to concealed rage. That quick because he thinks he's embarrassed himself by taking a shine to a pretty faced bastard.
"Oh?" Floris guy laughs and Naruto feels a hand slide inside the back pocket of his jeans, making him freeze.
What the fuck? The guy just slyly groped his ass and Naruto just stood there and let him.
"You better be into power play and kinky shit, or that hand's gonna get shoved right up your ass if you don't get out of my face right now." Naruto growls, ready to pounce and beat the shit out of Floris guy when he sees the man lick his graceful lips.
His resolve weakens at the sight but hardens just as quickly when those lips curl into another arrogant smirk.
"Just my type of play." The guy tells him, squeezing his ass and dropping the bills into his pocket before pulling away to sit back in his booth. "I'll pay for your meals."
Naruto stands there, stunned beyond comprehension. He pats his back pocket, confirming that those were indeed his bills. He stares at the guy who's looking back with a challenging sparkle to his dark eyes. Naruto finally comprehends what just happened.
He's rage simmers down and his feet half-mindedly brings him to sit down from across the guy and his coffee.
"What the hell, man?" Naruto says roguishly with his brows drawing down, almost as if he's angry. He really is but not as much as before. He's still utterly baffled because this man is giving him mixed signals, that he can't conclude if the man's being too friendly or just weirdly offensive.
Naruto chooses to be aggressive because he's never seen anyone do passive-aggressive better than this guy. No one did passive-aggressive like Floris guy did. He just reintroduced the whole damn meaning to Naruto and the blonde isn't actually mad, he's amazed.
"I'm Sasuke." The guy introduces, staring Naruto down as he sips his coffee.
This isn't how Naruto planned to get this guy's name, but what is, is. He'll just have to make do. If this Sasuke guy wasn't too beautiful for his own good, then Naruto would have thrown a punch the moment the guy went full stuck up.
"Naruto." The blonde replies with a scoff, keeping up the obnoxious attitude that shows he's still pissed off.
"I know." Sasuke smiles slyly at him and Naruto's eyes widen in surprise. "I think we have a friend in common."
Naruto's heart skips a beat before flipping in his chest. This isn't happening.
But boy is he fucked.
A/N: Cover art photo by: Basana Leonardo. I am back with Naruto fanfics! This time it's SasuNaru! This would be slowly updated, sorry about that, but please tell me what you think about my work. Thank you for reading!