this...is something that happened. all ilys go to my beta, who is both genuine and wise. ;-;
oOo
Finals are over.
Kiba calls him up first.
Then Lee happens to call up Kiba who then redials Naruto, and Naruto, of course, goes on to enlist his best-friend-slash-roommate to come along with them via a few harmless half-truths.
It's the night before June and the weather's the kind of good between estival-cool and midnight refreshing.
Now they are here, about six yards away from the bar's crowded entrance, and Sasuke is crossing his arms, looking him up and down as if he's only just realized some spine-stabbing ploy at deception.
"You lied," he says flatly. "There's people."
Naruto takes a few steps back, keeping it quiet between them.
"It's Sac, there will always be people."
"There's a lot of people."
"But that's just it," Naruto sputters, "they're just people."
Sasuke stares at him a moment longer, as if assessing an unpopular opinion.
"I'm leaving."
Naruto reaches out, reels him backward by the shoulder.
"Dude, come on."
Sasuke glares at him.
"Your friends are idiots and I hate crowds. I'm not going in there."
"Just for a bit, then," Naruto carps. "One hour, tops."
Still, Sasuke does not react. Naruto exhales through his nose.
"You know, I can't just ditch them. It's Kiba's last day before he's off to his sister's and—"
"I don't care about Kiba and his sister."
"Fine. But you do care about our deal, right?"
"What deal, you moron."
"You get the car," Naruto simpers, feeling smart. "All month, no bullshit."
Again, Sasuke scans him up and down. This close, the gap in their heights is glaringly obvious. Sasuke closes in, serious-silent, and for just one second Naruto starts to feel a little bit weird with only those four inches between them.
Then, slowly but surely, Sasuke's gaze strays towards the side, as if considering the shrinking mob of people lined outside the bar.
He frowns, furrowing his brow.
It's faint, and hardly authentic, but no less a frown.
Naruto grins, knowing he's won.
"It'll go fast," Naruto promises. "Like swoosh fast—"
Sasuke scoffs. "Whatever, dumbass."
He heads towards the entrance.
Naruto rounds the curve, and follows behind.
oOo
Twenty minutes later they show ID and they're inside.
The place is stuffed in with florid perfumes and it's all reddish-lit with torch songs playing from the backdrop. The waitresses are wearing skintight dresses with black and blue lisles swaying from the edges. Heels, too, and sparkly corsets. Cabaret-style, Naruto thinks. The type of "bar" Kiba would obviously recommend for his going-away.
It's packed.
And Naruto can see from the corner of his eye that Sasuke is steadily beginning to lose his calm.
Luckily, Naruto spots Kiba at the far corner of the lounge, flailing at him to come on over.
He and Sasuke maze through, zigzag pattern, dodging beetling waitresses and wandering customers.
All goes well and Kiba immediately zips up, pulling Naruto in for an enthusiastic shoulder-hug. Lee's on the other side of the bistro table, flushed all over with a half-gone mojito cradled in his hand.
"Sup," he says, and hiccups.
Naruto doesn't have to look to know that Sasuke is rolling his eyes.
"Glad you could make it, man," Kiba tells him. He sits back down, lounging back against the wall. "And uh," he gestures with his hand. "Your broody friend there."
"Yeah, man, totally." Naruto says, pretending he hadn't actually heard the last part.
He sits down, but not before Sasuke sits down first, arms crossed and with his glower dead-set at Kiba's direction. Naruto clears his throat, loud enough to snap Lee out of whatever stupor he'd dozed in. Still, Kiba's glaring right back, grinning with teeth like he's just wanting Sasuke to go and start something.
"So, uh," Naruto starts, straightening up. "Excited for Jersey?"
Thankfully, Kiba leaves it alone and veers his attention.
"Kinda, yeah," he says. "I mean, it's not like it's the first time. Plus side, sister'll recommend me to her boss down at the auto shop for the weeks that I'm there. Enough for half a truck, at best." He sips on his water. Then grimaces. "Damn, these girls take forever." He signals at a passing waitress. "But hey, how's Akamaru doing? He doing the potty thing like I taught'im?"
Naruto can feel Sasuke stiffen aside him. Last Naruto heard, Akamaru had taken a generous dump right outside of Sasuke's doorway.
"Yeah! I mean, kin—"
"Great!"
Then Kiba's smacking Lee on the back, jolting him.
Thereon, Lee drunkenly joins in on the conversation while Sasuke just sits there, scowling at the window.
Minutes fly as the three of them are cackling, with Lee teasing Kiba about his off-and-on crush on his Calc tutor and Kiba questioning Lee's devotion to his monomaniacal football mentor.
"Guy is the best," Lee slurs, slipping off his chair. "Like MLF-best."
Kiba snorts and Naruto takes the opportunity to bring up a potential bonfire down by the river.
"S'long as Karin's there," Kiba smirks, wolfish. "Like the last time she was there, I'm cake."
Sasuke scoffs at the mention.
"Got somethin to say, priss boy?" Kiba fleers. "Or are you just all hot'n bothered 'cause Naruto here is paying about," he brings up both of his forefingers, poising them apart by about four provocative inches, "this much more attention to me?"
Sasuke glaciates on impact. He shifts to stand, a second away from either flipping the table in hopes of killing someone or pouncing head-on.
Fortunately, the looming shadow of a woman materializes before anything can happen. Naruto exhales, tacitly thankful.
"Good evening, gentlemen," she greets. "I'll be your hostess for tonight. What can I get for the four of you this evening?"
Naruto whirls in his seat, eager to order a beer and two rounds of Matador, but becomes more or less spellbound, the instant his eyes settle on the willowy cast of their waitress.
Slow, he gazes upward, towards the artful shapes of her face, and swears to himself that he's caught her glimpsing back at him. His heart palpitates. His throat clogs up, gargling fractioned noises in English.
He can't be blamed. She's got eyes like gems and glitter-glossed lips and hair trimmed short like sugared cotton and—
Kiba mans the wheel.
"I'll have a Nixon," he announces, arms crossed suavely at the back of his head. "And a doubled on the rocks Paloma." He thinks a moment. "Also, an ice-cold Tecate for leapfrog over here."
Lee hiccoughs his agreement.
"And you, sir?"
Sasuke crosses his arms, brows crinkled in.
"Nothing," he grits.
She nods. Her gaze lingers on him. Then her attention drifts towards Naruto.
"Sir?"
Naruto clears his throat, fumbling in place whilst trying his damndest not to flat-out stare at her.
"Ah, I uh," he turns towards Kiba, as if hoping for his help, but Kiba's got his eyes glued on the girl twirling in all sorts of ways on one of the bar's plum-lit podiums.
Seconds pass. The waitress cocks an eyebrow at him—pale-pink like her hair—then she rounds on her heel in order to leave, as if figuring his indecision. Naruto calls out. Not sure as to what, but she doubletakes her steps and looks at him again, notably peeved and with her bottom lip gnawed terse between her teeth.
And really, the sight is just another arrow to the bashing organ in his chest.
"Just, ah." He wracks his head. "A beer. A beer's nice."
He feels dumb. But also he feels like he needs to know her name and all of her favorite things.
"Is that all?" she asks.
"Yes," he says, businesslike. "Definitely."
She nods at him slow and then leaves, the din of her stilettos leaving heart-shaped flutters in his ears.
He sinks back into the cushions of his seat, aloft, in another world far beyond, until he notices that Sasuke has been watching him, inexpressive.
Naruto shoots him a lopsided grin. Wordless, Sasuke gets to his feet.
"Hey," Naruto hushers, managing to grasp him by the sleeve of his jacket, "where the heck are you going?"
Sasuke doesn't answer him, just snatches back his arm and starts walking, disappearing into the transit of the crowd.
Naruto, of course, does not hesitate to go after him.
Kiba notices.
"Dude, you leavin?"
"Naw, man," Naruto assures him. "I just—" he looks back, trying to spot the jagged giveaway of Sasuke's haircut. "Uh—"
"Ah, I get it," Kiba snickers. "Alright, man. We'll be here."
Naruto nods, truthfully embarrassed, and heads towards the exit.
oOo
He stops Sasuke at the lobby, gaining the attention of the bouncers bouldering by and by the open double-doors.
Sasuke huffs.
"What."
Naruto reins him back, away from the exit. The bouncers look at them funny.
"You said an hour," Naruto hisses. "It's been like—"
"An hour."
Naruto flusters. "Come on, just—"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because your friends are idiots and I hate crowds."
"But that's exactly what you said earlier!"
"Yeah," Sasuke says. "It is."
"You know, I thought you'd like it," Naruto admits. "Like at least enjoy it."
"Huh."
"Alright, okay," Naruto says. "But what about the car?"
"Take it." He pauses. "For now."
"Then how are you—"
"I'll walk."
Naruto peers at him, suspicious. Still, Sasuke looks pretty indifferent and the house is not exactly far from K Street. Naruto sighs.
"Fine. I'll see you at the house."
"Whatever."
Sasuke leaves. And Naruto heads back, realizing he's not as flipped out about it as he thought he would be.
oOo
In truth, it starts to feel a bit empty without Sasuke.
Not talking-Sasuke nor laughing-Sasuke (god forbid) but just...Sasuke.
Still, Naruto eases into it, figuring his bestest friend would still be there if he genuinely wanted to be there.
Kiba's on his third shot of tequila by the time he gives in to Lee.
Lee sits there looking pretty shitfaced, but no less responsive as he was a few hours before.
"It's a fucking talent, man," Kiba groans, flagging in his seat. "I'm so done, dude, my soul is broken."
Naruto laughs, oddly sober at that point. And really, he's been too busy taking tactical glimpses, spotting the waitress taking orders at all four margins of the room.
She's tall. Heels, or no. He's mulled it. She wears neon polish on her fingernails and the viridian ribbons of her dress graze the back of her thighs like pixie-petals. Tinkerbell, he thinks. But real and ten times better.
And, god. She's pretty.
So pretty.
Naruto nips his lip, thinking up scenarios in which he actually gets off his ass and tells her that she is.
Kiba snaps him out of it.
"Dude, I think we should get going. I feel like I'll barf this place up any second."
Naruto turns to look at him. Kiba looks flat-out smashed, flushed all over, but the vulpine smirk he's wearing suggests he's finally fulfilled his ideal curtain-call.
"Should I drive you guys?" Naruto offers, setting down his glass.
"Nah," Kiba waves. "I texted Nara while you were busy with them heart-eyes." He sits up, pocketing his phone. "He'll come and get us. And his girl'll take Lee's car."
"It's so trippy," Naruto muses. "Knowing how well they're settled, and that Tem's literally pregnant with their kid."
"And, man. Does she wear it, or should I say, him, well."
Kiba cackles, then choke-laughs, obviously not in his right mind.
Not long after, Kiba's on his phone and Shika's telling him in five different variances that he's been waiting outside. Kiba stands, balance compromised, hauling Lee up by the arm.
Naruto steals a gander for a moment.
Kiba's got the build of an athlete. Always had, his abs readily ripped from under the close-fitting wrap of his V-neck. He's tall. Tanned and tattooed at his arms and at the side of his neck, and he's...well, he's tan enough, too, but Naruto supposes that he could definitely be spending more of his time getting shredded.
And that's not even putting in Lee. Who might as well put a stamp on his head that reads "Bruce Lee" and be Bruce Lee.
Naruto veers his gaze, feeling a little bit shitty for envying two of his best friends.
Quietly, his spirits start to deflate. The waitress was a knock-out. Supernal. And, most inarguably, a hundred miles out of his league.
He starts to reason that maybe he just wouldn't have fit the bill even if he'd tried to, that maybe she already has a boyfriend, or a girlfriend, or cats, or all three—
Kiba smacks his shoulder playfully.
"You comin?"
"Um."
Naruto takes one last glance at her direction—at the sprightly shapes of her complexion and at her heart-stopping presence—then he starts to get to his feet, resigning the woman of his dreams to the nonrepeating vortex of what is Sacramento.
"Yeah. No point in sitting here," he says.
"Cheer up, man," Kiba slurs, tripping on his feet. "There's a whole lot of'em coming up from Frisco every damn year."
Not like her, Naruto wants to say.
He doesn't say it.
Instead, he forces a grin, realizing he's really sort of sick of all the music, anyway.
He starts to follow Kiba until, out of nowhere, she passes him by, brushing his shoulder aside before storming out the back door. It hammers shut, loud enough to strum momentum all along the walls.
Naruto pauses, looking back to where she'd marched from.
Some big guy with a tacky suit, sepia-checkered. Still, he looks important.
Her boss, he gathers.
No-one's going after her. And from what he's heard the back to these sorts of gigs can get pretty shady pretty fast. He wracks his logic. He doesn't want to come off creepy, but…she's got his heart and he doesn't even know the last letter to her name to remember her by.
Fuckfuckfuck—
"Hey, Kiba!" he calls, catching up.
Kiba looks at him, pupils blown wide.
"I think," Naruto swallows, steeling his guts. "I think I'm gonna...network a bit. You know. For practice."
Kiba looks at him funny, like he's grown a third head.
"Yeah, man, go for it."
Naruto nods, taking a breather.
"So. I'll see you?"
"Always," Kiba whispers serious-funny. He flounders forward, but Naruto makes sure he lands the bro-hug before he can fall over. "Just, you know, look after Akamaru."
Naruto assures him and then Kiba wobbles into the lobby with Lee.
He straightens himself up, running a single hand through the wild mass of his hair.
He makes for the back door, heartbeat pummeling his chest.
oOo
She's there, pacing back and forth in angry circles.
He steps into the light, as nervous as he's never been before in his life.
The instant she sees him, she stops, immediately reaching down her left leg.
She slides off one of her stilettos and aims it at him, vicious, as if daring him to come any closer.
Naruto stands there, feeling like he's fallen face-first in love.
"Uh. Hi."
oOo
leave me a line and i'll flail.