"Hey. I'm sorry. Please call me back. I can explain." Beep.
"Naruto? Look, it wasn't supposed to happen. I'm really sorry. I still really like you." Beep.
"I miss you. Don't do this. Call me back." Beep.
Naruto kicked the sofa with his left foot, a groan leaving his throat, and as he clutched his little toe in pain, he pressed the button on his cell phone to delete all of the voicemails.
"That's it. I'm no longer doing relationships!" He cried to the empty room. Frustrated, he put his phone on the coffee table and sprawled on the soft sofa cushions. He needed comfort, so deciding it was his only option at that moment, he grabbed the small pillow behind his back and hugged it to his chest, shutting his eyes angrily.
His now ex-boyfriend, Sai, had cheated on him. With a woman. They were only together for a month and he had already been cheated on. Of course, in retrospect, it was better than his previous relationship - which had lasted for only about a week and ended horribly. Wishing one of his friends were here so he could unload onto them, he took a deep breath to calm himself.
He failed.
With a sudden movement, he sent the pillow flying toward the TV. He couldn't afford an LCD anyway, and the old TV set wasn't affected much by the impact.
"Fuuuuuuuuck."
He was angry at himself for finding the most unreliable and disloyal people to be attracted to. Every single relationship he'd had ended either with being cheated on or the other person giving him the it's not you, it's me crap. It was so sickening.
"That's it, this is the end. I'm not ever doing relationships again! Wait, maybe one night stands on occasion - if I'm smashed enough to not remember their faces," he scrunched up his nose when he realized he was talking to himself again. "But absolutely no relationships." He nodded furiously. His grip on the fabric of his shirt tightened. "I swear to lecherous Zeus, I will not have another boyfriend for the rest of my life. Or girlfriend." He curled his toes in disappointment. He needed something to distract him. A snack would be nice. Wondering if he had any chocolate, he sat up and glanced at his kitchen counter from his seat. He saw nothing, but he probably had a box of chocolate liquor since Sai liked to eat them. He got up and started to open the cabinets one by one, eyeing the items inside and closing them. He finally found the red box he was looking for, and although the half of it was empty, he let out a relaxed (and partially annoyed) sigh and started to shove pieces of chocolate into his mouth. He lolled on the cushions again, placed his head against the armrest and made himself comfortable by putting his legs on the back of the sofa. It was an interesting position to be in, but he was heartbroken!
Naruto was probably the most social person among his friends, but whatever he did, his lovers never stayed. The longest relationship he'd had was in high school. Gaara was… nice. They got along. Being horny teenagers, they would mostly make out and experiment with each other instead of having deep conversations, but Naruto liked it anyway. He had discovered he was bisexual around that time, so he was Naruto's first boyfriend, but Gaara leaving for college had been the end of them, hence, Naruto was alone again.
Alone… Did he want to be alone?
Suddenly, he put the box down and raised his hands, putting them together in a praying motion. "Wait! I change my oath. I'll give myself 12 hours to find true love. If I don't come across 'the one' in 12 hours," he stopped and whispered 'which would be a miracle'. "Then my oath is valid." He hastily grabbed his phone and opened contacts, easily finding Sai's number and deleting it without hesitation.
XxX
After 6 hours of sulking on his own, Naruto walked into Starbuck's, the smell of freshly brewed coffee filling his nostrils and enticing him into taking a deep breath. It was relaxing. He walked to the counter and waited for the barista to finish writing the waiting customer's name. With the corner of his eye, he looked at the man. The black trench coat he'd pulled on looked nice on his lean body, Naruto thought. He couldn't see his face entirely because of the ridiculously long bangs blocking his vision, but suddenly, he noticed the sunglasses.
Who wore sunglasses indoors?
Douche. All men were the same, and he couldn't care less about the fact that it included him, too. This guy was no different.
"Here you go, umm, Kesusa?" The barista exclaimed with a pretty smile on her face. He heard the man offer a silent thanks before he disappeared. Naruto didn't bother looking back to see if he was leaving or sitting down. "What can I get you?"
"Hey. I want…" He licked his lips and studied the menu board for something he'd never tried before. He'd heard Chai Tea Latte tasted terrible from a friend, so, his decision was made. "…Chai Tea Latte?"
"Are you sure?" She chuckled heartily. "You sound indecisive."
"Yeah, I am sure," he nodded and looked down to regard his sneakers.
"Well then. Who's it for? I know there's no one else waiting. It's just standard procedure."
Naruto offered an understanding, tired smile. "Naruto."
"Okay, Naruto. One Chai Tea Latte coming up!"
He let out a sigh, pivoting on his heel to look over the not very crowded Starbuck's. Several teenagers were occupying a booth and looking at their phones instead of talking, and tables were empty except for one. It was the douche 'Kesusa'. What kind of parents named their children Kesusa? He briefly wondered if it was a foreign language or a nickname.
Not that it mattered.
"Here you go, Naruto," the woman put the cup on the counter. "Hope you enjoy your drink."
"Thanks, ergh," he quickly glanced at the name card. "Misa."
"My pleasure." She swished her medium-length, strawberry blond hair over her shoulders and turned around to enter the staff room. Naruto didn't wait further to pay for his drink and take a seat. The weather was quite nice actually, but he wasn't really in the mood to interact with people. A quiet Starbuck's seemed like the perfect place for sitting down, chilling and listening to some music. And maybe he could keep sulking over how lonely he was.
He sat down in an empty booth. The wooden column thankfully prevented him from seeing the irritating guy – who seemed… familiar somehow. Naruto was sure he didn't know someone like that; sure, he knew a lot of douchebags, but none of them matched the definition of this man.
Taking a sip from his drink, he grimaced in disgust. Why did people even drink this thing? He was about to puke, yet, he kept drinking just because he wanted to be a different person now as if that could change his fate.
The cup was left on the table as he pulled his phone out of his back pocket and unlocked it. He checked his Twitter (and blocked Sai).
Something was bothering him. He could feel eyes on himself, trying to pierce through his skin and read his thoughts. He lightly massaged his temples, moved his feet and glanced sideways to see if it was someone from the occupied booth, but they were all so busy taking photos of their drinks and posting them, they probably hadn't even noticed Naruto's presence. Was there a possibility he was losing his mind? Break-ups didn't do that to a person, did they?
Then, his eyes stared ahead. The man with a black coat was now sitting at the table right across him.
His lips muttered a short curse and he took a breath. If this guy was planning to hit on him, Naruto was so gonna kick his ass.
Shoving his earphones into his ears, he opened Spotify and started playing one of his favorite playlists. This one had mostly David Matthews Band and Nirvana, so it wasn't surprising when Tourette's started to play. It was strangely relaxing to hear Kurt Cobain scream 'Hey!' and all Naruto wanted to do was to join him until his throat started to hurt.
He was too lost in the music, sort of relaxed in a way. When he realized the man was now standing right in front of his booth, his sunglasses still on, and the black spikes of his sticking up, Naruto pulled the cords of his earphones, startled beyond belief. "What is wrong with you?"
The guy sneered. "Turn the volume down. The whole café is listening to Nirvana because of you."
"Good for them! Japan needs to hear Nirvana more."
"It's disrespectful. They were supposed to teach you that in prep school."
Naruto, with a frown, grabbed his drink and stood up, ready to leave. Who did he think he was to order Naruto around like that?
"Uzumaki. You forgot your wallet."
He turned around. Indeed, his black wallet was standing on the seat, abandoned. With a hiss, he retreated it and stuffed it in his pocket. "Thanks, asshole."
"You're welcome," a small smirk played on the man's lips as Naruto took a step toward the door, and froze.
"How do you know my name?"
"You really didn't recognize me," the other murmured to himself before taking his sunglasses off and glaring at Naruto. "How about now?"
Naruto's mouth opened agape. His eyes roamed over the man, who looked irritated as much as amused, and stopped when they reached his black orbs. "Of course. The only douche who would wear sunglasses indoors without a reason: Uchiha Sasuke."
Two girls looked their way upon hearing the name, but returned to taking selfies a moment later. "The only idiot who wouldn't recognize his high school friend: Uzumaki Naruto."
"We are not friends, Sasuke," Naruto declared. "You pointed that out very clearly when Gaara and I started to date."
A spark of regret flashed in Sasuke's eyes before he put his sunglasses back on. Naruto clenched teeth to not roll his eyes. "I admit that punching you wasn't the ideal way to express my disapproval."
"I don't have time for this," Naruto left the tea on the table before he started to walk. A hand gripped his forearm, not very gentle, but not harsh either.
"Let me buy you lunch."
"What for?" Naruto shook the hand off and folded his arms over his chest.
"To make it up for my misbehavior."
He sucked his bottom lip between his teeth and checked the time on his phone. He had about 6 hours left. Sasuke would keep him for at least 2 hours, which would leave Naruto approximately 4 hours to find true love.
"…Fine," he said with a defeated sigh, running an aggressive hand through his unkempt hair. "Where are we going?"
"I know a small place nearby. We can walk there," Sasuke answered.
Naruto nodded. "Wait. I'm not coming if you're gonna keep those sunglasses on all the time."
"I can sacrifice them," Sasuke smirked, just like the old days when he would playfully insult Naruto in front of everybody. Naruto felt his hands get sweaty. It had been 6 years since he'd graduated from high school and 7 years since he'd last seen Sasuke.
It was sickeningly nostalgic.
Showing unexpected courtesy, Sasuke pushed the door open for Naruto, and hearing the ringing of the small bell hanging over the door, Naruto stepped out. Sasuke followed him.
XxX
"Sooo," Naruto drawled out, fidgeting in his seat with discomfort. It had been 5 minutes since they'd gotten here, and except for ordering food, they hadn't spoken a single goddamned word. "What have you been up to since graduating?"
Sasuke -now thankfully without sunglasses- put his eyes on Naruto, almost measuring him. "College."
"How explanatory," he mumbled quietly.
"What about you?" Sasuke propped an elbow on the table and placed his chin in his palm. "I don't recall you to be a hardworking student."
"I got better after you were gone. My grades went up. Too bad Gaara was a senior too and left along with you, though. We could've had more time to spend together."
Sasuke's left eye twitched just slightly, but his piercing gaze was still on Naruto. "I'm not proud of what I did, but I suggest not bringing it up constantly."
"Still an asshole, I see," Naruto took the menu in his hand and averted his gaze from Sasuke, studying the paper even though he'd already ordered. "What do you do for a living? Pull ice sticks out of people's ass' and shove it up yours instead?"
"Very funny," Sasuke said dryly. "I haven't missed your lame sense of humor in the slightest."
"I don't think you get to say that today," Naruto breathed out. "You brought me here to 'make it up for your misbehavior'. Not to make me hate you even more than I already do."
"Do you really hate me?" Sasuke asked. Naruto was having a terribly difficult time reading Sasuke. First of all, the bastard was wearing a ridiculously stoic face. An improved version of the one he wore back in high school and Naruto was out of practice. He believed the eyes would betray the emotions, but Sasuke's eyes were charcoal black and looked pretty much dead. Naruto knew Sasuke had emotions, but he was just… so damn good at hiding them.
"What if I do?" He put the menu down and leaned back in his seat. "It won't change anything. Off with the redundant questions. Like you always believed, brevity is the soul of wit, eh?"
"It's not… redundant," Sasuke exclaimed calmly. "I do want to know."
Naruto glanced at his watch. 5.30 hours. "I don't exactly hate you, but can't say I like you very much either. You fuckin' punched me and cut all our bonds just like that. Just 'cause I was dating this boy from your class." He felt a tingle of pain in his heart at the memory. "We were best friends, Sasuke. And you abandoned me."
Sasuke was silent. Naruto angrily chewed on his lip. If the bastard didn't have anything to say, neither did Naruto. He would eat –because it would be rude to cancel his order- and leave. Remaining hours were too precious to waste on someone like Sasuke.
Just as the waitress brought their sandwiches and drinks, Sasuke's phone went off. Naruto wasn't exactly surprised when Sasuke answered it without even bothering to excuse himself. Weird thing was, he didn't leave the table.
"Yes?"
Naruto shrugged, figured he would start and grabbed his sandwich, taking a bite.
"I'm with a friend," he glanced at Naruto, who wrinkled his nose at the word, before looking down again. "We'll have to reschedule then."
"You don't have to—"
Sasuke hushed him by putting his index finger on his lips. Naruto drew his gaze to the finger, then the Uchiha's lips.
"Maybe next week? I have Asian Kung-Fu Generation tomorrow."
Naruto's brows quirked in bewilderment. What did Sasuke have to do with one of the greatest bands in Japan?
"I'll call you back later then."
Without a comment, Sasuke put his phone back in his pocket again and offered an apologetic, small smile to Naruto. "Sorry about that."
Naruto slowly nodded, still trying to connect the dots. "What exactly is that you do for a living? I'm asking for real this time."
Sasuke took the straw out of his iced tea, put it on the table and sipped at his drink. "I'm a songwriter."
"No way. Holy shit!" Naruto 's eyes widened and he put his sandwich on the plate. "Wait. What does AKFG have to do with this? I thought they write their own songs?"
"They certainly do," Sasuke approved. "I'm just helping with concerts. I give them advice on preparing the setlist."
"But if you write songs, don't you sing them?"
Sasuke shook his head. "I prefer not to. Or, to be honest, my family doesn't want me to."
"Right," Naruto mumbled, a bit disappointed. "I remember how strict they are." He didn't admit that he'd hoped Sasuke would make his own path instead of following the one his parents' chose for him. Although, he guessed Sasuke being a songwriter wasn't exactly what they would want. Perhaps Sasuke had found a middle ground.
"Tell me about you," Sasuke changed the subject with ease. "What did you study?"
Naruto started playing with his straw. His own was still in his drink, unlike Sasuke's. "Sociology."
Sasuke bit his sandwich, chewing on it before he swallowed. "That is so you."
"I know," Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. He felt a little anxious. Despite the bad blood, they still got along better than how he did with most of his friends. Sasuke was so familiar and so distant at the same time, but Naruto was still hurt. What they had with Sasuke wasn't just a temporary friendship for him. He had connected to Sasuke, he would share his food, his water, he was there to sit silently beside Sasuke when the other was upset, and when he was down, Sasuke was the one to pull him outside to cheer him up.
Then what had changed?
Sasuke wiped his mouth with a napkin. His actions were still as graceful as Naruto remembered them to be. "I'm sorry about what happened, Naruto."
Naruto blinked in a daze. This was the first time he was hearing Sasuke apologize to anyone. "You…" He started, but couldn't finish his thought. "At least tell me why you did it."
"I thought I was being obvious. I was jealous, Naruto. Jealous that you started spending more time with him. That you walked home with him instead of me."
Naruto clenched his fists, yet, a soft smile curled his lips upward. "The Sasuke I knew would never admit these."
"He wouldn't. But… I've changed. Grown up. I'm not the 18-year-old boy I used to be."
"But he's still in there somewhere, isn't he? The boy that stole sake from his brother's cupboard and drank with me in the park. The boy that made fun of me whenever I embarrassed myself."
Sasuke's eyes glazed. Naruto placed his hands on the table, on top of each other, and continued.
"The boy that offered me one of his rare smiles whenever we were alone. The boy that beat up someone - just because they called me a faggot - and got grounded for a week."
He saw a small smile tug on the left corner of Sasuke's lips. It was barely noticeable, but it was there.
"I'm still hurt over that boy's actions, and mad at him for leaving me and never looking back, but Sasuke," he drew a deep breath. "You seem to be mad at him more than I am."
The silence was his cue to go on. Or Sasuke was simply at a loss for words. Something that had never happened in high school.
"I think you should forgive him and let him go. The past is in the past, and if you care about our friendship enough to be mad at yourself for leaving me, then I can forgive you too."
Sasuke looked up. The moment their eyes met, Naruto saw it. Sasuke's eyes were burning like he was a teenager again. His charcoal eyes were lit with fire, with passion and whatever it was that fueled it, Naruto secretly hoped it would never end. He knew in his heart that Sasuke was a good person despite his mistakes and occasional bastardness, and he would want him to be happy.
"Thank you," Sasuke finally said. "But I don't think I can ever let him go. I don't think… I want to."
Naruto's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but in the end, he leaned back and grabbed his own iced tea. "Suit yourself." He sucked the straw until there was nothing in the glass and the suction of air started creating awkward noises.
"Be right back."
Naruto watched Sasuke's back as he made his way to the cash register. Okay, maybe Sasuke wasn't that big of a douche now. Now that Naruto knew his profession, he guessed the sunglasses were just in case if he got recognized. The girls looking at them when they'd heard Sasuke's name made sense now. His name was popular, but his face wasn't.
He sniggered. Back in the old days, both his face and name were popular.
It was no secret that Sasuke worked his ass off during high school and probably in college too, and on the inside, Naruto was proud of his friend.
"Shall we?" Sasuke interrupted his train of thought by calling to him. Naruto nodded, standing up and pushing the chair back to its place before casually strolling out with his hands in his pockets.
They stood just on the right side of the door, the breeze gently swaying Sasuke's hair. Naruto remembered Sasuke's hair would stick up even more in high school. Maybe he was using less hair product now. He shifted his weight from one foot to another. "I guess this is it?"
A reluctant nod was his respond. "Thank you for letting me buy you lunch."
"Ah, no problem," Naruto dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "Thanks for doing it. It was… nice seeing you again. I'm gonna be honest, I thought I would leave in the middle of it, throwing a fit and laughing hysterically, but it turned out to be quite nice."
Sasuke only made a sound, indicating that he heard it. "Naruto."
"Hm?"
"Are you free tonight?"
The scorching flames in Sasuke's eyes. They reappeared.
"I want to invite you to karaoke. Like old times."
He tried his best to wipe the baffled expression off his face and replaced it with a small smile. "We never went to karaoke before."
"I—" He fingered his dark bangs to the side. "I know."
"Um," Naruto licked his lips and checked his watch. 5 hours to go. "I actually have this thing I need to be there for…"
The sparks of anticipation disappeared from Sasuke's eyes, leaving their place to a dark void in an instant, like a bucket of water had been poured over them. Naruto sighed.
Screw it. I will die a monk, so what?
"But I can come. It doesn't matter that much."
Sasuke's brows furrowed. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure," he grinned for the very first time that day. He handed his phone to Sasuke. "Save your number."
Sasuke quickly did as he was told.
"I'm gonna text you," Naruto said. He quickly typed Hey, bastard. and hit send. Sasuke's phone dinged, he pulled it out and unlocked, smirking at the message. Naruto didn't see him save the number.
"Alright," Sasuke nodded and looked into Naruto's eyes. "I have to leave for a meeting now. I'll text you the address."
"Okay," Naruto shrugged. "See you later tonight."
Sasuke smiled genuinely before he walked toward the opposite direction they came from and disappeared out of sight. Sasuke's smile was actually a lot brighter than Naruto remembered it to be. Happy goths usually scared people off, so that was unusual, but it was still nice. Then again, Sasuke was more of an emo rather than a goth.
Half an hour later, he was back in his apartment, cleaning out the other snacks Sai had left that he didn't want to eat. Also, his clothes and stuff went straight to the bin, the sheets were changed and the place was finally free of any traces of the cheater. Naruto took a deep breath, checking his watch. He had 4 hours until his vow turned eternal, and he would be doomed to live alone, but at this rate, he was sure he couldn't find 'the one' even if he ditched Sasuke.
He raised his arms and sniffed his armpits. The cleaning had made him sweat, and he could definitely use a shower. He was quick at rubbing his body with a clean, soapy rag. Realization of the fact that he would spend the rest of his days here, jerking off, all by himself didn't make him feel any better.
But he'd tried. He'd been his best, treated his partners with respect and love, and the outcome had always been the same.
It wasn't his fault.
He wrapped a fluffy, orange towel around his waist and looked in the foggy mirror. His reflection wasn't clear at all, the small droplets of water and fog blocking the clarity, but all he did was to reach out and touch his index finger to the mirror, writing Naruto is a loser.
It was exasperating him. He wanted to punch and smash the mirror to pieces until there was nothing left of the writing. Instead, he grabbed his toothbrush, squeezed a ridiculous amount of toothpaste on it before starting to brush his teeth.
The strong scent of mint filled his senses. It was almost too much, burning both his mouth, tongue, and nostrils, but he kept brushing for a minute before spitting it and rinsing his mouth.
Slowly, he made his way to the bedroom where he would spend the rest of his days sleeping alone. The crisp, white sheets felt cold under his touch when he put a hand on them, and without thinking, he let himself fall to the bed. The ceiling wasn't an unfamiliar sight. After all, he'd spent hours staring at it and wondering why before. He'd had lots of boyfriends and a couple of girlfriends since he'd moved here 5 years ago.
His phone buzzed on the side table. With narrowed eyes, he crawled on the bed to retrieve it and looked at the text. It was Sasuke, letting him know about the address and the time. He had about an hour to be there.
With deliberate slowness, he got up and dried off, finding worn out jeans and a black sweatshirt in his wardrobe. He didn't need to dress up for anyone today, or ever, per say. He put cotton briefs on, then his attire.
He hadn't shaved for a few days, so when his hand brushed against his stubble, he sighed and continued to put cologne on. Who cared even if he didn't shave at all?
There was thankfully one cup of instant ramen left. The boiling water in the kettle was poured into it, and he left the cup on the coffee table so it could cook as he turned the TV on and laid down on the couch. He was a big boy, he wouldn't fucking cry over this, but damn. Knowing that he would be alone from now on did hurt. And worst of all, he wasn't sure if things would be different without the oath. When he felt his desperation reach high levels, he grabbed the ramen and started to eat.
It was tomato flavored.
Now that his memory was triggered, Naruto remembered that Sasuke liked tomatoes very much. Whenever they brought sandwiches for lunch, Sasuke would bring a tomato one and complain that the bread was soggy from the juices, but he never brought anything else. It always had to be tomato.
Suddenly, the good memory was gone and replaced with the one of Sasuke punching him.
It had been a normal day, they were going out with Gaara for almost two weeks and Sasuke was avoiding him. He'd waited for Sasuke's class to end so they could have a talk, but instead, his sentences had earned him a punch on his right cheekbone rather than an apology.
For 5 months, he had tried to contact Sasuke. He'd knocked on his door countless times only to Sasuke's mother offering him an apology and saying Sasuke wasn't home at the moment.
Was he still pissed at Sasuke? Yes. But the Sasuke he'd seen today was a lot different than the Sasuke he'd known years ago. Sure, they shared charismatic looks, an asshole-ish personality, and wit, but today's Sasuke had improved himself on human relations. He'd told Naruto directly the reason why he'd acted like that in high school rather than trying to make him understand. He'd actually apologized. Naruto couldn't help but feel his heart melt in sympathy. Sasuke had always been his closest friend, even after they were separated, Naruto had never found someone like him. Being mad or hurt didn't change the truth.
But Sasuke's attitude aside, if Sasuke was that jealous – enough to erase Naruto from his life, maybe Naruto wasn't as innocent in this as he thought. He'd obviously hurt Sasuke. He always knew the boy didn't have many friends and entrusted his back to only a number of people he could count on one hand, including Naruto, so giving up on Naruto's friendship had surely been difficult for him as much as it had been for Naruto.
He drank the remaining soup and threw the empty cup into the trash bin. Now that he'd pondered about it for a while, he was starting to feel bad. Maybe he was at fault, too. Maybe he too should've apologized today.
He retrieved his phone and put it in his pocket, then wore his sneakers and locked the door to his apartment. He had his earphones in his ears, the radio on. A song he'd never heard before started to play.
The karaoke bar Sasuke had sent the address of wasn't very far away, so he decided to take the bus rather than driving.
xXx
He looked at his phone screen one more time. This building he stood in front of looked… expensive. Well, being a songwriter and a musician, he'd already figured Sasuke wouldn't settle for a cheap place with scratchy microphones and speakers, but this looked almost too much.
Licking his lips, he waltzed in. The woman at the reception immediately stood up.
"You must be Uzumaki-san," she spoke with respect. "Come with me. Uchiha-san has instructed me to lead you to your room."
Naruto nervously thanked her and started worrying on his lip as he followed suit. Every time her high heels touched the floor, Naruto got more anxious.
They walked past a few rooms. No sound came, but the neon signs on the doors stated they were occupied, so they probably had a really good sound isolation system. He saw drink stands with a couple of different flavored juices on.
"You can drink as much as you like. They're free for our customers," the woman explained.
"Oh. Okay," Naruto nodded.
"And this is your room. Uchiha-san will be here in about 15 minutes. He has a quick meeting and he asked me to deliver his apologies."
"It's okay. Thanks for bringing me," Naruto smiled at her. He would've usually grinned at kind people like this woman, but he had no emotional strength to do it now.
"I'll be at the reception if you need me for anything." With a quick bow, she walked back to where they came, disappearing from the narrow corridor.
Naruto pushed the door. The material looked thick and he guessed that the gray fabric covering it helped with not letting the sounds out. Glancing over the room, he saw a huge touch screen that was waiting to be powered on. He also noticed the big speakers, two microphones, and a comfortable looking, leather couch long enough to touch three of the walls.
If he was going to wait for Sasuke, he at least wanted to have a drink. He headed to the stand and took one paper cup out of the small mountain, filling it with the pink liquid. The moment he took it to his mouth, he realized it was strawberry.
He apparently wasn't lucky with his drinks today, so he didn't throw it away and held it in his hand as he walked back to their room, closing the door behind himself. He stood in the middle of the room, contemplating his surroundings before he sat down on the couch, crossed his legs at the knee and sipped from his drink.
Somehow, he was still down about his oath. But there was no turning back now. He checked his watch. Only 3 hours. After that, he'd be done. He liked the leisureliness of being single, but for Christ's sake, he didn't want to die alone!
"Sorry for making you wait."
Lost in his thoughts, he hadn't realized the door opening. Naruto jumped at hearing Sasuke's voice all of a sudden. Some of the strawberry juice spilled, but his jeans were dry. "No worries," he shook his head.
"Why are you drinking that thing?"
He looked up to Sasuke for the first time. Unlike earlier, he was wearing black jeans and a casual, dark red button down shirt. He had a bottle of sake in his hand.
"There's a restroom at the end of the corridor if you'd like to wash your hands," he said before placing the bottle on the small coffee table. "This room's a bit different than the rest. There's no neon lighting and fancy decoration. They give me a headache. But I guess you'd like them. We can go to another room if you want to."
Naruto closed his agape mouth and shook his head fervently. "Um. Nah. This one's fine. I'll be right back," he awkwardly showed his empty hand to Sasuke as if reminding him that he was leaving to wash his hands, and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
He let out a breath and threw the cup into the bin by the door and started strolling to his left. When he reached the end, he saw the men's room. The lights automatically turned on when he walked in, and he hastily washed his hands with soap.
He pulled out a few paper towels from the dispenser and while he dried his hands, he looked in the mirror. Stress was showing on his face, his undereye areas were darker than usual and he looked tired.
Even if he did find the love of his life, say, walking into the restroom right now, Naruto was sure they wouldn't give him a second look.
To prevent Sasuke from waiting any longer, he left the restroom and halfheartedly walked down the corridor, pushing the door open when he found theirs. It was a miracle he'd found the right room. In his state of mind, it wouldn't be surprising if he'd interrupt 50-year-old men singing as a tradition after signing a business contract.
Sasuke had already poured sake for both of them. He was by the touch screen, looking at song titles. When he heard Naruto come in, he turned around and his eyes roamed over Naruto for a minute. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, why?" He sat down and eyed the bottle of sake. It did look inviting.
"You look like you're in trouble," Sasuke murmured, making his way to Naruto and sitting down beside him. "You were a lot more cheerful in high school."
"Apparently you're not the only one who's changed," Naruto scoffed.
"What happened?"
He shrugged. "Life."
"Maybe sake can help?" Sasuke offered one of the small sake cups to Naruto, who gladly accepted it. They shared a look before toasting. "Kanpai."
"Kanpai," Naruto nodded. They both drank.
The feeling of warm alcohol burning his throat didn't make things any better. He looked at Sasuke, who was silently staring at his empty cup.
"I could use another one," he said. Sasuke's head jerked so his eyes were on Naruto's, and the intense flames reappeared. He couldn't help but twitch the corners of his lips.
Sasuke took the cup from him and placed both of theirs on the table, pouring more from the bottle. "Do you want to go first?"
"…Go first?"
"As in, sing first," Sasuke smirked, amused. Naruto snatched the cup away from him and downed it in one go.
"Fine. I'll do it." He got up and stretched the muscles of his back, then walked to the screen and touched the song list. "Wow, so many options," he couldn't help but say out loud. This place surely was great. They had almost everyone Naruto could think of. Both in Japanese and English.
"I hope you didn't think I would run a low-quality karaoke place."
Naruto almost choked on his spit. "Shit, you own this place?"
"I'm a business partner," Sasuke explained. "But the other partner is not much interested in running it. And of course, I'm the one who made the song list."
"That's super cool, Sasuke," Naruto said in a hushed voice. "Can I sing Bohemian Rhapsody?"
"Technically, you can, but please don't."
"Ass," Naruto folded his arms. "How about I Want To Break Free?"
Sasuke sighed. "Count Queen off the list. My ears are not ready for you to ruin fantastic songs."
Naruto loudly chuckled. "It's great how you're so sarcastic after all these years."
"I know. Maybe you can go with Skillet? I'm assuming you want to sing something in English because you offered Queen, but we have," he touched Japanese and hundreds of song titles in Japanese appeared. "These too."
"Hmm," Naruto hummed. "I know exactly what I'll go with."
He chose the song and grabbed one of the mics as Sasuke sat back down. "Really? KANA-BOON?"
With a grin that didn't exactly radiate happiness, he spoke. "Shut up."
The song started. Naruto swallowed, half nervous and half so-ready-to-do-this.
"Itsudatte wagamama bakka de kodomo mitai ne (You're always just so selfish, just like a kid)
Kimi datte naimono nedari nani ga hoshii no? Oshiete!" (And you're asking for the moon. What do you want? Tell me!)
He clearly felt he was spitting the frustration of the past. He hadn't memorized the lyrics, and he told himself that it was the only reason he didn't turn around to see Sasuke's reaction.
"Acchi mitari socchi wo mitari bijin ga suki na no ne? (You keep looking here and there-you like beautiful women, don't you?)
Kimi datte sakki no KAFE no ten'in-san ga TAIPU desho? Kotaete!" (And the shop assistant at the cafe earlier is your type, isn't he? Answer me!)
"Yura yura yura yura boku no kokoro kaze ni fukarete"(My swaying, swaying heart is blown about in the wind)
"Yura yura yura yura kimi no kokoro, hanare banare!" (Your swaying, swaying heart is scattered!)
On a whim, he angled his body so he could see both Sasuke and the screen. Sasuke was watching him intently with narrowed eyes, his body leaning forward and his hands connected together. Naruto stayed in this position for the rest of the song, sometimes losing himself and yelling too much and causing Sasuke to wince.
When the last note was played and the song was over, he turned off the microphone and set it next to the other one. His throat hurt a bit from singing almost violently, but after all, it had worked. He felt at least half of the frustration was gone.
"Are you enjoying yourself? You seemed really into it," Sasuke commented. His sitting posture was still the same.
Naruto cleared his throat. "Yeah. It was good. I like the instrumental track," he said and sat next to Sasuke. "Your turn."
After looking at him as if he wanted to make sure Naruto was alright after venting like that, Sasuke took a deep breath and got to his feet. "We're pouring out emotions, huh?"
"I thought you didn't have any," Naruto smirked and poured himself more sake.
Sasuke snorted. "Just watch and see how I prove you wrong."