A/N - Welcome to my very first FanFic! To give you a heads up, please know that I like portraying Sasuke and Naruto without feminine qualities. So if you're only interested in one playing the male role while the other takes the female role, you have come to the wrong story. In my world, these two men are men. Strong-willed, passionate and ever always desperately needing each other. There will be SasuNaru and NaruSasu. I like being able to interchange them at any moment.
In this story THERE WILL BE SURPRISES. There will be deaths and a possible side character death. In the words of Virginia Woolf "Because somebody always has to die."
Warning: There will be HARD YAOI in this. Everything from rough sex to some BDSM, masturbation and the like will be featured at some point in this story. I also enjoy cursing a lot in real life so there will be cursing here and there.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and make zilch off of this. I just do it for the pleasure.
And last but most definitely not least, a HUGE thank you and much LOVE to KizuKatana! Thank you for being not only my beta for this story but also an invaluable source of advice and inspiration. Your constant encouragement kept me going and I couldn't have done this without you! I dedicate this story to you, luv!
Chapter One: The old bait and hook
"You're shitting me."
"Orange groves and palm trees. I swear!"
"What the fuck do I care about orange groves and palm trees?" Gaara shot his best friend a sideways glare. Why did Naruto always think that somewhere else would be better than wherever he was? Always believing things would get better. Their luck would change. Everything would be okay. No amount of sleeping in alleyways or eating out of dumpsters had ever diminished his friend's optimistic view of their future.
"Because we'd be outta this fucking city and away from all this… shit." Naruto passed his hand out toward the cold, wet city street laid out in front of them. They had been walking their way through Queens trying to get into Brooklyn before nightfall. The Chinese ran most of Queens. And while there were a few Japanese holdouts, the Chinese generally didn't put up with Japanese street-gang members crossing through their turf after dark. Especially, well-known Japanese street hoods like Naruto and Gaara. It wasn't as if the two men rivaled Chicago's Capone or any of the heavy-hitters vying for power in the boroughs of New York City. But given how many headaches they've given to some of the well known crime syndicates in Queens, a few cases of hootch missing here, a register till emptied there, just the sight of the the blond haired petty thief and his red-headed cohort hanging around after dark would piss off even the lowest level foot soldier enough to give chase. The two lifetime crooks had yet to ever get caught by the big boys, though everyone sure as hell suspected them.
"Yeah, well, getting outta this particular shitty place seems like a good idea, Naru. Pick up the pace." Gaara shot another glare at his friend.
"We'll make it." Naruto shoved his hands into his pants pockets and gave his stoic friend a lopsided grin. "Look, we're just a few blocks from The Tokyo Palace." Naruto jerked his chin up and to the right, indicating the turn off up ahead that would take them straight to the largest Japanese owned establishment this close to Queens.
The Uchiha Clan owned The Tokyo Palace. They were what Gaara called, Old World Japanese. All of the hierarchy and ruthless loyalty of the feudal days of Japan flowed strongly through their organization. No one ratted. No one disobeyed. The Uchiha brothers ruled their turf with an iron fist that even the toughest Chinese Tongs couldn't touch.
Though technically in Brooklyn, their hotel and nightclub was situated right near the border of Brooklyn and Queens. As if taunting the Chinese with its presence.
Years ago, the the Uchiha Clan had purchased the run down hotel and restaurant only to fix it up and turn it into a luxury hotel and nightclub. It didn't look like much from the outside as the Uchiha hadn't wanted to draw too much attention to themselves, but both the men had heard tell that the hotel mainly catered to the wealthier Japanese who had left Brooklyn for Scarsdale and Long Island. And those now well-off Japanese were more than willing to venture back into Brooklyn and enjoy the only upscale Japanese nightclub in downstate New York.
Naruto and Gaara had never been inside the club or the hotel but they knew that the Uchiha were running a speakeasy through it and were ruthless when it came to protecting their businesses from the Chinese tongs. Naruto and Gaara would be much safer once they reached it. No Chinese would dare go within a hundred feet of it.
The two of them had made it a point to never mess with any Uchiha property. In kind, the bouncers had never made a fuss whenever Naruto and Gaara would sometimes hang around near the entrance, smoking cigarettes while checking out the coming and goings of the elite patrons.
Oh, the Uchiha clan was a tempting mark alright, given the amount of money the clan took in. But both men knew it was much safer to pick off the scraps left vulnerable by the Chinese or even the rich snobs in uptown Manhattan rather than risk pilfering goods off any of the Japanese syndicates in Brooklyn. Especially the from the Uchiha. Even dogs knew better than to shit where they ate.
"Palm trees and orange groves. You're serious, aren't you?" Gaara fixed his green eyes on his lifelong friend and regarded him thoughtfully as they turned right on the street that would take them to the nightclub.
"You really wanna stay in New York, Gaara?" He turned to look at his friend, noting how his stern eyes and set jaw didn't budge. Naruto couldn't read the redhead's face for clues, but he didn't have to. He knew Gaara would agree to go with him if Naruto really wanted him to. Just as Naruto knew he would stay if Gaara insisted.
They both quickened their steps and kept moving toward the bright neon lights of The Tokyo Palace.
"No. I don't wanna stay here." Gaara's voice lowered and Naruto knew he was thinking back to their old orphanage days. Saying Gaara's father ran a state funded orphanage was the lie the man fed the public. In truth, his father ran one of the slimiest child labor rackets in all of New York. Both Gaara and Naruto had escaped, but not before suffering enough abuse to keep them always choosing a dark, cold alley to sleep in rather than ever going back.
Gaara was already nineteen, but Naruto wouldn't be eighteen for a few more months. They had to do jobs here and there to survive but everything rested on them not getting busted and keeping their orphan status quiet. If Naruto got sent back, Gaara's father would be all to happy to throw the blue-eyed man a rounding welcome back party.
In New York, money was being made hand over fist these days. Some said the boom couldn't last much longer but most people didn't care. There were swindlers and moochers, counterfeiters and racketeers. All of them trying to elbow each other out for a piece of the pie. And sure, there were a lot of legitimate businesses in New York City, but most of them had politicians in their pockets and crooked cops on their payrolls. Gaara's father was no exception. He'd make sure Naruto was sent back to the orphanage rather than serve time Upstate. A prospect Naruto needed to avoid at all costs.
As dusk began to settle over New York, Naruto could faintly make out dinner being prepared in various apartment as the smells wafted through the open windows of the tenements as they passed. Drab grays and browns colored the apartments and clotheslines draped in between the buildings walkways from one set of windows to windows across the way. Kids were being shooed inside by their mothers and teenagers were scurrying out of tenement doors, as if trying to chase down the approaching nightfall.
Gaara remained quiet beside him. Not wanting to encourage those lonely, desperate memories, Naruto looked at Gaara and pushed his original question. "So whaddya say? California here we come? Once I'm eighteen, Shika said he could help snake my papers like he did for you, and we'd have a chance to start fresh. I mean, I know it seems like a long shot that we'll have better luck out west but at least we'd finally get away from all this- "
"Shit!" Gaara cut Naruto off, grabbing his arm and yanking him to a stop. Naruto had been looking at his friend and not ahead, missing the three Chinese goons that had quietly moved their way toward the street corner cutting off the direct path to Tokyo Palace. A flash of movement caught the corner of Naruto's eye and he turned to his left to see a fourth man, climb down from the last landing of a fire escape before jumping down and walking over to join the other three. The fourth had been their lookout, waiting and signaling to the others that Naruto and Gaara were headed their way. It was clear the hoods had planned the ambush.
Good thing Naruto and Gaara always planned ahead too.
"Bait n'hook. Go!" With wicked speed, Gaara broke into a mad dash back the way they had come. He was the faster sprinter so he would be the one to double back, hoping the goons would take the bait and think he chickened out, leaving the blond to fend for himself.
Naruto darted to the right, disappearing in between the two sets of the city block-long brownstones that were just a hair's breadth away from the large empty lot that bordered the nightclub. He could hear the heavy slaps of the footfalls behind him. The idiots took the bait, Naruto thought, and smirked as he beat a path down the narrow walkway leading toward the back alley.
It wasn't hard for Naruto to keep an easy lead on the street rats. He and Gaara made it routine to test out escape plans by racing each other home using only the alleyways so they would have to climb over dumpsters, swing from fire escapes, and scale brick walls and chain link fences to win. The loser had to scrounge up that night's dinner.
It was the best way to stay in shape while also maintaining constant awareness of any neighborhood changes. A moved trash bin or a recent junk dump could end up costing them precious seconds and when you're trying to run from getting your ass beat or worse, every second really was life or death.
The blond had to hand it to the Chinese gang. They definitely had some balls. They were one block away from Brooklyn and two blocks away from The Tokyo Palace. Risking a confrontation with the Uchiha for a little payback was brazen.
Three days ago, Gaara and Naruto had spotted the morons trying to unload an appliance truck in Hollis, deep in Chinese territory.
The two of them had ways of going relatively unnoticed in Queens. With the exception of Gaara's father, the other Japanese holdouts in the predominantly Chinese borough were more than willing to let the two hooligans leapfrog from one safe house to the next. Naruto always insisted on giving the small business owners a cut of whatever they boosted in the area and Gaara wholeheartedly agreed with this tactic. It meant taking home less, but New York was a hard place to live without friends. If you didn't take care of the friends you had, you had no business being in the racket to begin with.
On their way back from Teuchi's place where they were happily dropping off a cut of their prior days earnings, Naruto and Gaara had almost stumbled into the Chinese group of thieves.
The men were trying to unload an appliance truck one piece at a time from outside a warehouse in Hollis. Vacuum cleaners, washing machines and state of the art refrigerators, all slowly being moved like they knew they had all the time in the world to get the job done. What the morons hadn't worked out was that only a schmuck would use all their muscle to unload the goods while leaving the already laden getaway truck completely unguarded.
Gaara and Naruto had watched from a safe distance as all four of them lugged a standup icebox to their flatbed around the corner. Naruto and Gaara doubled back and came around the corner from the other side just in time to watch the men load up the icebox, cover it with a heavy burlap tarp, and then head back to the warehouse delivery truck to grab the next appliance.
Naruto's blue eyes flickered with amusement as he shot a knowing look at Gaara.
As Naruto and Gaara watched the four men disappear around the corner and back to the warehouse delivery truck, they did what any self-respecting criminal would have done. They boosted the Chinamen's truck.
They had each wore flat caps that day to cover their red and blond hair but it now seemed someone must have spotted them. Or ratted them out.
Naruto effortlessly picked up speed as he reached the alley and nimbly scaled the back wall. With help from the milk crates stacked up against it, he lifted himself over and dropped down on the other side. He bolted through the warehouse lot behind the tenement, and was just about round a tool shed and hook a sharp left so he could maintain a line toward the nightclub, when he heard the sound of his pursuers hitting the pavement behind him one by one. Apparently they too had made it over the brick wall. Naruto reached the shed and immediately cut a hard left.
On the far west end of the warehouse lot where Naruto was headed, a stack of pallets about three feet high, were laying flat on the ground next to a 7 foot concrete wall. On top of the pallets were about a dozen cinder blocks, haphazardly discarded by some long ago work crew. This was the spot.
Naruto headed straight for it, lept up onto the pallets and over the wall with athletic ease. And just like during their alleyway races, Naruto remembered to push off the wall as hard as he could to avoid the barbed wire and broken glass directly below.
He landed on his feet and somersaulted to help with the impact. He had had enough of a lead on the gang to get to his feet and reach into a nearby stack of dumped mildewed carpet that had been left to rot in the dead end alley. Inside one of the rolled up shagged rugs was a Louisville Slugger. A buck eighty-five well spent, Naruto casually thought as he pulled it out and twirled it in his hand, readying himself and waiting for the four idiots to jump the wall.
Three of the hoods had followed right over the wall one after the other without pause, landing straight onto the barbed wired and glass. Screaming and bleeding and unable to detangle themselves from the wire, Naruto was happy to reward them with a few hard hits to their backs and knees. Naruto wasn't interested in killing the guys but it was a hard life they all lived and restraint was a sign of weakness. And weakness made you a marked man.
The fourth thug had the good sense to pause for a split second before vaulting the wall. His rage flared when he looked down and saw his friends trying to frantically detangle themselves with gashed hands and legs, screaming like loons, down and bleeding at the blond man's feet.
"Gan ni niang!" He screamed at Naruto as he scaled alongside the wall for a clear spot to jump. When he finally jumped down off the wall, Naruto faced him and leveled his bat at him. The man pulled out a balisong and whipped it open with fluid grace, lunging at Naruto.
Naruto had seen butterfly knives before and knew as long as he kept the man at a distance with his bat, he'd be alright. Just as the street hood attacked, Naruto swung his bat in a low golf swing motion aiming upward at his assailant's face.
Neither man got a chance to find out who had the better weapon. Seemingly out of nowhere, a cinder block came crashing down atop the Chinaman decidedly ending the battle. The man hit the floor and his friends began shouting at the now unconscious man in rapid Chinese as if somehow the sound of their voices would instantly revive him.
Naruto looked up at the wall they had all come over to see Gaara looking down at him. "Took ya long enough." Naruto smiled at the redhead.
Gaara reached out a hand to him and helped pull him up and back over the wall, leaving the downed men with no easy exit routes from the dead end alley Naruto had led them to. They'd have to follow it northward until it let out almost 3 blocks in the opposite direction of the nightclub.
The two men sprinted off into the dark and sailed over a few chain link fences until they finally came to the side door of The Tokyo Palace nightclub that was located on right of the hotel entrance.
Stopping to catch their breath under the bright neon signs, Naruto slapped a hand across Gaara's back and the redhead raised an un-amused brow at the boisterous gesture. "Told ya we'd make it." Naruto flashed a full grin that made Gaara let out an uncharacteristic low chuckle. Naruto couldn't help himself and quickly followed suit with raucous laughter.
The redhead moved away from the shadow of the club's side door toward the front walk near the main entrance of the hotel and Naruto followed him. They always kept a respectable distance from the front door when they loitered around the club. Sometimes they'd go through a whole pack of smokes, remarking on the who's who of Japanese society. Gaara and Naruto considered it a necessary education. Not only did the two of them never want to accidentally hit any of the Japanese syndicates in New York, but they also wanted to steer clear of any Uchiha business associates.
The Uchiha had several Chinese partners on the border of Chinatown and the Lower East Side in Manhattan and the two men had no desire to cross paths with them.
It made sense for the Uchiha Clan to make nice with a few of the Chinese organizations. After all, the Chinese population exceeded the Japanese population due most in part to the Asian Exclusion Act of 1924. Chinese were included in the ban but thousands more Chinese than Japanese had already immigrated to the U.S. by then, so in the end it was the Japanese who were left outnumbered. The Chinese also had a stronger foothold at the docks than the Japanese did and everyone knew that having access to the freights coming in overseas was the linchpin of the Uchiha's success in New York City.
"Orange groves and palm trees?" Gaara said without looking up from the two cigs he was lighting before passing one to Naruto.
"In four months I turn eighteen. You know Shika will get it done and you and I could be outta here." Naruto looked out into the neighborhood, now dark and slowly coming to life. Some of the people now roaming the streets were experienced operators like themselves, while others simply had the money and power to move freely in the rough borough after dark without fear. Naruto took a slow drag of his cigarette and silently wondered if he'd ever get a chance to live without having to always look over his shoulder.
Gaara looked him over with critical eyes. He knew Naruto was tough. His friend had never backed down from a fight or cried off, even when outnumbered. But Gaara also knew Naruto had never been comfortable with the violence of the streets. Most people were thrown by the fierce aggression hidden behind the blue-eyed man with the kind face. Quite a few adversaries had underestimated Naruto and suffered the consequences. Still, Gaara knew that the man's soft disarming charm and buoyant smile were his preferred natural state. He knew Naruto longed to live a more peaceful life. And Gaara would do anything to make sure his best friend had a chance at one.
"I go where you go." Gaara's eyes moved away from Naruto's face and scanned the dark corners of the streets out of habit. He didn't have to meet Naruto's gaze to know those blue eyes were now fixed on him.
"And I go where you go." Naruto looked at the redhead. He'd never had a brother. And though they weren't blood related, Gaara was his family. Naruto thought back to when they were kids at the orphanage and shuddered. The memories were painful but if it hadn't been for Gaara, things would've been much worse for the blue-eyed blond. Those were hard memories to swallow. They hadn't come out of it completely unscathed but they had made it out together and Naruto was grateful for that much.
The two men were barely finishing their first smoke when a familiar Mercedes 680s pulled up to the curb where they were standing. Gaara and Naruto didn't have to guess, they knew the owner of the sweet ride was none other than Uchiha Sasuke. He would always arrive at The Palace early to oversee the opening of the club every night.
At the sight of the car slowing as it neared them, Naruto's heart skipped a beat. He backed away from the curb and moved a bit farther down the street to give the man a respectful berth to park his shiny roadster. Gaara followed his friend's lead.
Naruto had seen the dark haired man many times over the past year and had actually met him roughly two weeks ago. Sasuke had taken over the nightclub after his older brother was killed in a mob hit last year. A shadow crossed Naruto's face at the memory of Itachi's death. Though he had never met the man, he remembered the man's sharp features and sublime beauty. The first time Naruto had ever laid eyes on the strikingly beautiful older brother, was two years ago as he and Gaara stood out in front of the nightclub.
Uchiha Itachi's driver had pulled his Rolls Royce up to the front of the club and parked. Itachi hadn't waited to be let out and with smooth grace, stepped out of his car and headed toward the side entrance. He had had a regal quality that seemed to radiate authority. Yet, as he passed the two men that day and his cold calculating eyes had settled on Naruto, the blond could have sworn he had seen a flash of kind regard in them.
His brother Sasuke was a whole other ballgame. While his older brother seemed untouchable and sublime, the arrogance that permeated off of the younger Uchiha was thick enough to pull at Naruto's innate desire to bring the bastard down a peg or two.
About two weeks back, Naruto had been hanging around the front entrance of the hotel waiting for Gaara when he had his first encounter with Uchiha Sasuke.
It was a steamy Sunday afternoon and Naruto had been surprised to see Sasuke pull up to the hotel. Maybe it was the hot day or his irritation at Gaara's tardiness, but Naruto hadn't felt like moving an inch out of the way for Sasuke's over-priced cream colored automobile. He had simply stood his ground and shot the car an irritated look.
He was still smoking his cigarette when Sasuke had climbed out of his car and narrowed his black eyes directly at Naruto.
Naruto's annoyance was suddenly stilled as he felt his pulse quicken at sight of Uchiha Sasuke up close and in the bright burning light of the hot afternoon. He had only had brief glimpses of the man before today. From a distance he had been able to gleen his similar resemblance to Itachi, but now he was able to see just how much he not only looked like his brother, but how breathtakingly handsome the man truly was.
He didn't understand why his eyes were drawn to the man's pale sharp cheekbones and rich dark hair. Before he could stop himself, his eyes had begun to roam freely over the Uchiha's frame, drinking in the sight of the perfect man in front of him. His lean figure. His stunning good looks and deep dark eyes.
Probably due to the weather, Sasuke hadn't been wearing a jacket that day. He had stepped out in a thin cotton button up dress shirt and tailored pinstriped slacks. A double-breasted pinstriped vest covered his torso and a blood red tie was fixed tightly around his neck. Being only a few feet away had allowed Naruto to catch the sight of Sasuke's muscled shoulders shifting softly underneath the thin cotton shirt.
Naruto couldn't make sense of his emotions. He had never looked at a woman with such heated lust. He had to admit that it unnerved him a bit to be looking at a man with such intensity. Especially a dangerous man like Uchiha Sasuke.
As soon as he remembered himself, Naruto looked up to find Sasuke regarding him with a gleam in his dark eyes and a smug grin on his face.
Naruto's heart skipped and he silently rebuked himself for it. A flash of annoyance spiked through him at the sight Sasuke's smug look. He didn't like giving the bastard the satisfaction of seeing his obvious interest.
'And why am I even interested?' Naruto's irritation rose at his sudden weakness and he blamed Gaara and the miserable weather for his slip up.
He obstinately held the Uchiha's gaze and then widened his eyes in surprise as the elegant man in turn allowed his gaze to slowly lower and trace the blond's fit, lean body without the slightest bit of hesitancy or shame.
Naruto had worn a white muscle shirt with his brown corduroys due to the unbearable weather. His tan skin was already sheened with sweat from the noon heat and beads of moisture had begun to fall from his well-defined arms. The muscle shirt had seemed like a good idea when he put it on that morning, but now under the intense scrutiny of Sasuke's eyes, he suddenly felt exposed.
When Sasuke had finally looked back up to catch the blond's eyes, a slight flush warmed Naruto's cheeks despite the sweltering heat.
It was all Naruto could do to keep from bolting. Yet he held his ground and locked his blue eyes onto the beautiful man's dark piercing orbs. Sasuke walked toward him.
"The club isn't open on Sunday," Sasuke said to him in Japanese. His deep velvet voice sent chills straight down Naruto's back, prickling at his skin.
"Wouldn't waste my time even if it was." Naruto answered back in flawless Japanese, causing the Uchiha to raise his eyebrows in slight surprise at the blond's impeccable use of the language and then quickly narrow his eyes at the obvious insult.
"Then why are you always hanging around at the club?" Sasuke tilted his head, waiting for a reply.
Naruto shrugged his shoulders and took another drag from his cigarette. He didn't trust himself with words at the moment. Telling the Uchiha to shove it seemed like a ridiculously moronic move but hell if Naruto wasn't tempted.
"Uzumaki Naruto." Sasuke's eyes gleamed with delight at Naruto's sudden shock at hearing the Uchiha use his full name.
How does he know my name? Naruto's mind raced.
"A blond-haired, blue-eyed Japanese street hood can hardly go unnoticed around here." Sasuke dropped his gaze and spoke with an almost bored tone as adjusted his cufflinks.
"I didn't know Uchiha Sasuke bothered himself with affairs of us common folk." Naruto shot the man a bold glare. "Better hurry inside before someone sees you talking to me."
He had no idea what he was doing. Mouthing off to an Uchiha? But he just couldn't help himself. That smug look. Those dark eyes. Naruto felt helpless. The need to rile the man up was all-consuming.
"I was going to say the same thing to you." Sasuke took a step closer to Naruto and hardened his eyes at the blond. Daring him.
Naruto didn't budge. He breathed in Sasuke's scent and felt his groin respond almost immediately. Something in his eyes must have given him away because Sasuke let out a barely audible short chuckle.
"Bastard." All thoughts of how dangerous it was to insult someone from the Uchiha Clan fled Naruto's mind. He knew Sasuke was messing with him and deliberately trying to rattle him. The man's ego had no boundaries. Naruto felt his breath quicken. He had no idea if it was because of the closeness of Sasuke or the flash of his temper at being played.
But Sasuke simply regarded the man, nodding his head at the insult and smirking at him as they both stood under the hot noontime sun. "Hn." Sasuke settled his gaze on Naruto's tan glistening biceps then back up to his eyes. Without another word he abruptly turned and walked into the hotel without looking back.
Naruto hadn't known what had possessed him that day to say something so haughty and defiant to the powerful man. He never told Gaara about the encounter out of fear his best friend would kick his ass for doing something so stupid as smart mouthing a fucking crime boss.
But here he was at it again. Feeling that same urge to get another look at Sasuke and provoke that damn smug look the bastard had given him that day.
Gaara dropped his cigarette butt on the sidewalk and ground the last of it out with his boot, as the Benz parked along the curb. Had he been looking up, he would have caught Naruto staring intently at driver's side of the 1928 roadster.
Uchiha Sasuke stepped out of his luxury car and into the cool Brooklyn evening. Dressed to the nines in a high end tailored black and white tuxedo, the nightclub proprietor turned to face Gaara and Naruto and began to walk toward them.
Naruto tried desperately to stop his heart from racing at the sight of the ivory skinned man, but it was useless. He marveled at how Sasuke's black tuxedo jacket gently hugged his broad shoulders and then tapered down to his waist just barely exposing the white vest underneath. He caught a small flash of gold from Sasuke's pocket watch chain and noted how his black silk bow tie and matching silk lapels seemed to shine with the same light that shone from Sasuke's onyx eyes. The man was alluring.
Gaara looked up and was surprised to see the Uchiha walking toward them. He shot Naruto a look and was surprised to see Naruto's eyes locked on the nightclub owner without a shred of shock on his friend's face. It was as if Naruto had been expecting the approach.
Naruto tore his eyes away from Sasuke to quickly glance at Gaara and give him a stupid look of 'what?' Gaara rolled his eyes and shot his best friend a glare that said they would be talking about this later.
When Naruto looked back at the approaching man, he saw Sasuke's eyes dancing with smug regard as he locked his gaze on Naruto.
"I thought you weren't interested in wasting your time." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the blond and waited for a response.
There was barely a flicker in Gaara's eyes at the sounds of the familiar Japanese but he didn't react any further to the fact that the two men had obviously met before.
"We were just passing by and stopped to have a smoke. We were about to leave." Naruto didn't want to leave but there was something about Sasuke that made him want to either try to get closer to the man or turn and run the other way. The Uchiha made his blood run hot and Naruto wasn't sure if he was willing to give in to this new emotion yet, if at all.
"Hn." Sasuke turned his gaze away from Naruto and glanced at Gaara. The redhead gave him a nod hello. "Uchiha Sasuke. And you are?" The dark eyes narrowed ever so slightly as we waited for a response.
"Gaara. Nice to finally meet you Uchiha-san." Gaara wasn't sure yet what was happening but he wasn't taking any chances. He followed the Uchiha's lead and answered formally in Japanese.
Sasuke nodded back and then turned his attention back to Naruto, taking a step closer to him. "Interested in wasting some time tonight?"
Naruto's stomach flipped and he had to remind himself to breathe. He forced his brain to kick in and not get lost in the deep tenor of Sasuke's voice. "I doubt we'd fit in with your high class clientele." Naruto gestured to his and Gaara's choice of fashion. The blond was wearing tan corduroys with black suspenders and a dingy, white long-sleeve fitted cotton shirt.
He doubted the Uchiha could make out the difference between which stains were blood and which were the usual grime and filth from the streets, but he hoped he could. Gaara had on pretty much the same, right down to the blood and dirt, except that his cords were grey.
Naruto smirked at Sasuke, letting him know that he knew it wasn't a serious invitation but only another pathetic attempt at trying to rattle him. Trying and one-up the Uchiha, was a stupid move, but he wasn't about to back down no matter how uncomfortable the handsome man made him.
Sasuke noted Naruto's use of the word "we", then looked to Gaara's attire and back again to Naruto's choice of clothing. "I can fix that." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the blond, letting him know the challenge was accepted and he was upping the ante.
The smooth grace at which Sasuke had turned and begun to walk toward the club had Naruto's head spinning. When the dark-haired man abruptly stopped and turned back to the two men, Naruto thought, this is it, I'm officially losing my mind. And what the hell was this feeling in the pit of his stomach?
"You two coming?" Sasuke waited to see what the two street hoods would do.
Gaara looked at Naruto but the blond simply shrugged his shoulders at him.
Gaara wasn't stupid. He had picked up on the sexual tension between the two almost immediately. The Uchiha was interested in Naruto. But what he wasn't sure of, was whether or not Naruto had a full grasp of what Sasuke was up to. Naruto was no innocent but Gaara was pretty sure his friend had never even considered men in the same way he had women. He had felt Naruto's instant reaction to Sasuke. Hell, anyone could have felt it had they been standing within 10 feet of the two men.
Still, not being entirely trusting enough to leave his friend to figure it out on his own and a bit concerned at involving themselves with the Uchiha Clan in such a way, Gaara ultimately decided to follow Naruto's lead on this one. "I go where you go."
Naruto flashed a lopsided grin at his best friend and turned to follow Sasuke. Gaara followed his lead.
Unlocking the side entrance to the nightclub, Uchiha Sasuke led the two criminals out of the darkened streets of the rough Brooklyn neighborhood, and into the prodigal world of Japanese elite.
Sasuke was pretty sure the redhead already knew what level of interest he had in Naruto but he wasn't so sure just how much Naruto was aware of.
It amused him to no end how bold the boy had been when they had first met. It was just as obvious then as it was now that they were both attracted to each other. However, Naruto's face was still clearly showing confusion. Sasuke could see the simmering lust playing on the surface of the man's face but it was Naruto's quiet apprehension that ate at Sasuke's curiosity.
As he led the two men through the back of the nightclub, it was clear to Sasuke that Naruto was inexperienced. He figured Naruto had probably been with women before but he was positive the young man had never taken a male lover. Sasuke had read it all in Naruto's expressive eyes. The petty thief now following him to his private suite inside the club had a terrible poker face.
"I have what you need in here." It was clear Sasuke preferred Japanese to the English street slang the two friends were used to. Sasuke unlocked the door and entered the suite first, holding the door open for them to follow. He motioned them to come inside and closed the door behind them.
Sasuke's private suite was elegant and refined. Gaara and Naruto exchanged a glance and quickly pulled off their dirty boots, falling effortlessly back into the well-mannered behavior that had been beaten into them at the orphanage.
The suite held two identical red velvet couches in the front sitting room. They faced each other, separated only by a dark wood coffee table, topped with a large crystal whiskey decanter and several matching glasses. Farther back were two doors. The one on the far right led to a washroom while the one on the left was wide open, exposing the large walk-in closet within.
To the immediate right of the couches was a stunning, large standing room divider. At least seven feet high and twice as long, the mahogany divider was carved with opulent Japanese characters and designs, and what looked like small round-ended fans that Gaara recognized as the Uchiha Clan's emblem.
The heavy wooden divider had been carved straight through in some areas, allowing the large bed on the other side of it to be somewhat seen from the sitting room. From what Naruto could make out, the bed was draped in blood red satin sheets with two dark wood nightstands bookending the over-sized bed. He thought he caught a glimpse of red silk drapes hanging above the bed and wondered briefly about the mobster's need for such opulence.
Sasuke walked to the dark wood end table at the end of the couch on the left and reached for the phone that was there. "Yes, bring two extra sets of towels to my suite." He glanced over at the two men looking back at him. "Make sure to bring a laundry bag and inform Juugo to bring me the new Ferragamo shipment."
He hung up the phone and gestured for the men to follow him to the walk-in closet. "This way."
Looking back to them, Sasuke watched the redhead nod to his friend to take the lead and then caught the blond's gaze with his own as Naruto led his friend to where Sasuke was waiting.
The questions and nervousness written on Naruto's face were easily readable by Sasuke's skilled eyes but Sasuke gave nothing away. He steeled his composure while silently allowing himself to enjoy the sight of the hardened criminal sauntering toward him.
The blond intrigued Sasuke since their first meeting. And it wasn't just his physical attributes. Although he had to concede to the fact that Naruto's build had on more than one occasion caused a low heat to settle in his groin whenever he spotted the hood hanging around the club's entrance.
It was Naruto's complete lack of artifice. The way he brazenly sassed him the day they met and the way he had innocently regarded Sasuke's body without even being aware that his open face and expressive eyes were betraying his innermost thoughts.
"You'll be able to find something that should fit on the rack to left. The sizes are all listed." Sasuke motioned to the closet and left them to look through the suits as he walked back to the sitting area.
There was a knock at the door of the suite and Sasuke opened it, letting in an elderly Japanese woman who was carrying the towels and laundry bag he had asked for.
The woman carried the items directly to the washroom and came back empty-handed to where Sasuke was waiting. Without looking up, she bowed slightly to the stoic man and took her leave.
Just then, a wall of a man with bright red hair entered the suite, pushing a shelved cart in front of him. He nodded to Sasuke and parked the cart just outside the walk-in closet and then turned and left back the way he came.
Sasuke closed the door behind him and went back to check on how the two men were faring with the suit rack.
Naruto and Gaara turned toward his approach. Sasuke let a small smile play on his lips at the sight of Naruto's confused look and Gaara's suspicious glare.
"You can shower in the washroom and leave the clothes you're wearing in the laundry bag. I'll make sure to have them returned to you before you leave… if you like." Sasuke's tone slightly teasing at the fact that the men would still want their street clothes after having wore the fashions he would be providing them with this evening.
Naruto had just about enough of Sasuke's arrogant mocking. "Look, I don't know what you're trying to p... "
"Arigato, Uchiha-san." Gaara cut in. The redhead's composure may have remained stern while he regarded Sasuke's remark, but he was not fooled by it. If the Uchiha wanted to play sugar daddy with Naruto and let Gaara come along for the ride, it was fine by him. As long as Gaara was able to keep a lookout for his friend who was at the moment being uncharacteristically distracted, he'd play along.
"Sasuke."
Gaara and Naruto looked at the dignified Uchiha standing in front of them. They noted how his bravado immediately left his eyes when he requested they drop the formalities and use his given name. Both men nodded in return.
"Arigato… Sasuke." Naruto locked his eyes onto Sasuke.
"I'll leave you to it then." Sasuke turned and without looking back he headed toward the door leading back to nightclub. "The rack outside the closet door contains shoes that might please you. I have a few things to attend to but will return shortly," Sasuke said flatly and closed the door behind him.