I went to a drag show some odd months back and came up with this plot. This was supposed to be a oneshot, but...eh.
Dedicated to Neon Renaissance (who is now 'the boulevard') because she's been pushing me to finish this ever since I told her about it.
Enjoy!
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Two Months Ago
Sasuke was sprawled on a park bench, one arm over his eyes, one leg forced to hang off the edge. The sun was warming up the morning air, and he steeled himself to get used to the temperature change. Around him, parents watched their toddlers and owners watched their dogs closely to make sure they didn't get too close to the shady young man. He would shift by the slightest degree whenever the low rumble of his stomach began to demand attention, but he otherwise ignored it.
His stomach was such a wimp.
Time passed—maybe a few hours—when the sun was blocked from his face, a very distinct presence by his side.
"Itachi told me what happened."
Sasuke shifted, grunting.
"He's been looking for you, ya know."
"He does that."
Naruto huffed, shifting his weight. "Just go home. Your ego can't be that big, can it?"
"It's weighing me down, can't you see it?"
"Geez, Sasuke, you can only push people away so much."
"I'm not pushing you away." He moved his arm, staring up at him with dark circles under his eyes. "You are blocking the sun, after all."
Naruto raised one unamused brow and stepped to the side. Sasuke grimaced, setting his arm back in place. And his stomach growled again. "Fuck, Sasuke," Naruto hissed, and the older boy hadn't the will to determine why he sounded so distressed. "C'mon, get up. We're gonna get something to eat."
"Pass. You sound like a wimp."
Naruto huffed, almost a growl, and tore the Uchiha's arm away. "GET YOUR ASS UP SO WE CAN FUCKING EAT, TEME!"
Sasuke regarded him for a minute, then the many people who were looking at them in complete horror and hurrying on their way. He smirked.
That got rid of them.
"Sure."
o0o0o
"I don't see what your problem is," Naruto said through a mouth full of eggs. "I mean, your dad just wants you to have a future."
"He wants me to have his future."
"And you act like that's bad. Your old man's a...a...corporate...guy or whatever. He bosses people around—all you do is boss people around."
"Itachi's taking over, so I have no interest in having a legal reason to be bossed around by him, too."
Naruto scrunched a brow. "When the hell has Itachi ever bossed you around? He gives you advice, and you take it upon yourself to listen."
Sasuke ignored him, steadily shoveling food in his mouth.
"Look," Naruto huffed, setting his utensils aside, "you've been disowned. Do you even get that? You're sleeping on park benches. Why? Because you think your father is trying to control you. Even if he is, so what? Your life was great, and you didn't even have to do much for yourself."
"What's your point?"
"You're lazy. I'd be all for you doing your own thing if you weren't so damn lazy! You could easily be living the high life, but you haven't done a thing."
"Kinda hard to do much when you're no longer an Uchiha. My birthright has pretty much been stripped away." He shrugged, taking eggs from Naruto's plate. "Life."
Naruto leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. Now he really was troubled. "So...you sayin' you can't get a job or somethin'?"
"More or less."
"Even a fast-food place?"
"I eat there, not work there."
The blond cracked a smile, shaking his head to the side.
"So, can you pay for all this or what?" The Uchiha eyed the various plates, the majority of it being his own.
Naruto waved him off dismissively, searching for his wallet. "I knew what I was getting myself into." And when he opened his wallet, which was actually a frog shaped coin purse, Sasuke froze, his blank face not giving off his utter astonishment. Naruto had...a lot of cash. The frog was stuffed with cash.
No coins.
No small bills.
...What the hell?
"Anyway," Naruto huffed, depositing money on the table, "I can't just leave you like this. I'd let you live with me, but I don't think dorms do that." He eyed the Uchiha, not noticing anything odd. "Well...you could always work with me."
Sasuke blinked, shaking his head. "What?"
"My job... Then again..." Naruto smiled, his cheeks tinting. "That is, I started doing this as a joke, but it is kinda—fun. And you make so much money in one night."
"Oh. You're a stripper."
"No, I'm not a stripper! I'm... Well..." Naruto folded one arm over the over, resting his chin on his fist. "Am I a stripper?" He shook himself. "No, I'm not! Keh! Whatever. I think you'd be good for it, but you're so uptight."
Sasuke picked up his glass and drank from it, not stopping until it was empty. "Alright," he sighed. "What do you do?"
Naruto grinned, a gleam in his eye.
Present Day
He stared at the woman across from him in the elegant, seductive flowing black dress that shimmered as it cascaded to the ground. Silky jet black hair billowed to her waist and glided from side to side whenever she moved. Sultry pink lips were masterfully down turned in a displeased frown, accentuating the sophisticated, dangerous aura emitting from her. Her long lashes kissed smooth, pale cheeks every so often, dark eyes plaguing the world with disdain and malice, and he hated the way she was looking at him.
She hated the way he was looking at her.
Sasuke hated—was utterly repulsed—how he was staring at his own reflection.
"You ready, teme?"
Through the mirror, he looked at the dirty blonde behind him. The locks were tousled in a way that implied the aftermath of intense, animalistic bedroom antics, which was only amplified by the short black, silken gown and the orange robe with fur at the ends. Sasuke grimaced at the eerily feminine red lips puckered in naive air-headedness. His eyes trailed to the generous bosom that pulled together the Bedroom Bunny facade, and, to this day, he never took it upon himself to figure out how that was possible. In the back of his mind, he noted the smokey eyed make-up was actually done well on Naruto this time.
Sasuke rolled his eyes to the back of his head.
He wasn't actually bothered. He didn't think so, anyway. He was merely going through the many stages of detachment as the night began of his very odd job.
For him, it was very odd indeed.
When it was his time to take the stage, he would be back to the indifferent, stoic person he has always been—only he'd be wearing make-up and a dress. And, perhaps, maybe he would still be in a state of detachment because he would look at the mixture of drunken and sober faces and deem them as the ones to be gawked at because they were wasting their money on men dressed as women when there was a perfectly legitimate strip club directly across the street.
His job as a drag queen was very simple, though. Twice a week (Fridays and Saturdays), he had to put on the dresses, wear the wigs, suffer through the make-up, and spend two to three minutes lip syncing to a song while dancing around the dark yet seizure-inducing establishment while people shoved cash at him in any article of clothing it would fit. After the show, he had to take pictures as many times as the 'well paying customers' wanted to, and then do it all again next week.
Of course, he refused to even do that much, but, somehow 'Satsuki' was the house favorite.
In the two months he's been working, he has not once lip synced. He never allowed anyone to shove money on any part of him no matter how large the bill. He did—not—dance. He's never even had the patience (or was it actually the dignity?) to walk for an entire song. And pictures? Not even in his normal clothes—not that many knew what he looked like in them. Still, people regarded "her" as the sophisticated, stunning ice queen of Gai's Youths, whose chilling and utter neglect heated up a room better than any summer day.
He also raked in the most money in tips.
The manager, Gai, or one of his fans set out a jar during his performances simply for him. Whoever was in charge of music always played a slow, underground tune that topped off the venomous vixen appearance he so skillfully pulled off (whether he liked it or not), so people were either too distracted or too intimidated (in the most sexually tense sense of the word) to ever actually tip him personally.
Not like some didn't try.
And it must be noted that he neither hated nor enjoyed his job. When he wasn't working, he didn't think much of it at all. In truth, it didn't bother him because he made so much money doing it. Working twice a week, he easily made enough money for a normal person to live for a whole month. That included an apartment, food, school, and miscellaneous affairs.
But Sasuke wasn't normal.
He lived in the complex Gai himself had bought specifically for his queens whenever they needed a place to stay for a while. Sasuke merely stayed all the time. He also hadn't been in college long before he was disowned because, education or not, he would be involved in his dad's corporate business one way or the other, so he didn't see the point in wasting his time or finances on a place he didn't need. As far as miscellaneous affairs went, he couldn't be bothered.
But Sasuke wasn't going to live up to 'daddy's' expectations because his family fortune was merely something to fall back on and not something to depend upon—not like he could do either at this point. Besides, he had shared some choice words with his father while he was in the middle of a conference, so it was either this or go back and admit he was wrong.
He sure showed him.
"Alright, everyone, places, placeeeees!" Gai entered the gaudy room, standing in the middle. "The line-up will be a little different from now on. Naruko and Satsuki are the crowd favorites, so they will be closing the show—Naruko then Satsuki, of course. This place has really flourished—not to mention we're profiting more than Jiraya's club—so keep up the good work!"
As the room erupted in cheers, Sasuke clamped his jaw tight. They were only stopping him from leaving early. It was... They just-
"You okay?"
He looked at Naruto—Naruko—and shut his eyes, exhaling. "Whatever."
o0o0o
"Laaaaaaadiiiiiiiiiiiies aaaaaaaaand geeeeeentlemeeeeen! The woman of the hour—the treat you have all been waiting for—is our last and final queen for the night! I hope you've brought your coats because I present to you the one—the only—Ice Queeeeeeeeen Saaaaaaaatsukiiiiiiiiii!"
Sasuke winced as the curtains rolled back, a blinding light bombarding his eyes. He was attacked by applauds and cheers, hoots and hollers, screams and tears-
He's so beautiful.
-and he rolled his eyes. The music began to play—another track he's never heard before—and he began his labored walk down the steps to circle around the club-esque establishment. Men and women alike stared at him in complete awe, lust, and envy. Women were more likely to visit these places than men, and he didn't know if that was normal. Maybe they thought it was fun. Maybe male strip clubs were rare. Maybe they just needed a reason to feel good about themselves. Or maybe-
You can't even tell he's a guy.
-they just had to see it for themselves. There were those who actually did this for a living—men who actually wanted to be women or liked the clothing and lifestyle that thrived in places like this. Then there was Naruto, whose lust for fun apparently had no limits.
And then there was Sasuke, who just needed money.
He walked past the waving hands making offerings to him, not sparing anyone a glance, which only made them pull out more cash. An occasional hand would would brush his arm or his abdomen just so they could touch the man who looked impossibly stunning.
Maybe he really is a woman.
Sasuke picked up the pace, gliding past a party of women who called out to him, just wanting to look into his eyes. When he was halfway across, his gaze shifted to the right, and he saw her—the woman he's seen since the first night he's worked here.
She had long dark hair and eyes void of anything in the dark room. Like the first time he saw her, he thought she looked out of place among the other visitors. As far as he could tell, she didn't yell or scream; she watched, her eyes always trailing him. She used to wear baggy clothes that made her appear bigger than she was, but now she wore form fitting jeans and V-neck shirts. She also used to come with a hoard of girls, but she's been alone lately. Alone, drunk, with money clutched in her hand in the hopes that he'd take it.
He didn't know why.
Her entire being pleaded with him, wanting him to go off his course to walk to the center of the room where she was.
He never did.
He looked away and finished his round.
o0o0o
"You gotta take pictures at least once," Naruto said, hand grasped around Sasuke's wrist before he could yank the wig off. The Uchiha had darted straight for the dressing room as everyone else was leaving, and he had to put a stop to it.
"I don't do that."
"Sometimes the customers slip you a little more money before they leave. It wouldn't kill ya to give the people what they want."
"They get what I give, which is one more night until next week."
"There are some real cute chicks, Sasuke. You can't tell when the lights are off, but we get some amazing girls in here."
"Have your fill." He freed his wrist, removing the wig, and proceeded to undress. "I'm going home."
Naruto sighed, crossing his arms. "Diva."
o0o0o
Sasuke exited the building, make-up free and back to looking like his normal self. The parking lot was filled with people waiting to take pictures or talk to the workers. Naruto, he could see, was doing a great job at being flamboyant and social. Everyone else—the other men he never talked to—were all preoccupied in some way or the other. He walked on, pocketing his hands and tried to look as unapproachable as possible until he made it to the apartment complex behind the building.
"Excuse me." Someone stopped him, standing a little too close, hand on his chest, the smell of alcohol meeting his nose. It was her—the one who stared and always looked outta place.
The one always too drunk for a girl who was by herself.
"E-excuse me," she said again, patting his chest, eyes swimming. "Is Satsuki... Is Satsuki coming out?"
"No." He stepped around her, putting space between them.
He really couldn't be bothered.
The Next Night
"Heeeeeey, Satsuki, got a minute?"
Sasuke stopped, Gai blocking his way to the dressing room. "That's not my name."
"Icy as ever, I see." The man grinned, his teeth gleaming. "Listen, I have customers come to me wanting to see Satsuki up close, but she's never around after the show."
"Satsuki doesn't exist."
"Oh? Then is it Sasuke who looks so good in these dresses?"
The Uchiha ground his teeth, exhaling slowly through his nostrils.
"All I'm asking is that you take pictures every once in a while. Start tonight, maybe?"
"Pictures are optional."
"Yes, of course, but you are living in one of my apartments without the burden of rent."
Sasuke flinched, glaring harder. "You'll kick me out?"
"So negative! The patrons who step foot in Gai's Youths are either in their prime of youth or want to relive iiiiiiit! We want everyone to have a good time, so just live a littlllllllle, eh?"
"And if I refuse?"
"Hm..." Gai rubbed his chin thoughtfully, staring at the ceiling. "Legally, I can't force you, but, then again, you don't have to work here."
Sasuke clenched his fists. He certainly had him backed into a corner.
Gai looked at him, pleased that he had gotten his point across. "See you after the show, Satsuki."
o0o0o
Life.
What was it about life?
He just wanted to do his own thing, his own way, when and how he wanted to, but life didn't seem to agree. As if being forced to take pictures wasn't bad enough, thus keeping him in this get up longer than he wanted, Gai had it arranged for someone to take his normal clothes all the way back to his apartment during his performance.
So much for fast getaways.
To add insult to injury, the announcer made it very clear to everyone that Satsuki would be available for pictures after the show, which only sent the crowd into absolute chaos. Money flew at him before the music could even start. Hands were much more aggressive as he walked. His stage name was called throughout the entire time he was out there.
There was one comfort, though.
The girl who always stared was more miserable than he was, for whatever reason. When he caught her staring, she looked devastated, a bottle in her hand, limp currency in the other, and she was channeling something to him he couldn't understand. It got him through his performance, though, because no matter how crappy he felt, he wasn't 'drunk-at-a-drag-queen-bar-all-alone' crappy.
He smirked, an act rarely seen, and the crowd ate it up.
o0o0o
"Satsuki! Satsuki, us next, please!"
Yet another group tripped over themselves to have their picture taken with him. It had disturbed him how many men broke their necks just to be the first to have their pictures taken, but now that crowd had died down, and he was at the mercy of 'high on life' females. They crowded around him, pressing as close as possible, some even comfortable enough to wrap their arms around him, and flashes went off.
After three groups of young females, the next to have their picture taken was a very voluptuous redhead with one eye covered. She wore a short, sequenced blue dress, and, he had to admit, was quite the attractive woman—for someone who was middle-aged.
"The name's Mei," she introduced, hips swaying as she approached him. She gestured across the street. "I work at Jiraya's and wanted to see where all our business was going, and now I see the cause."
Sasuke didn't intend to reply.
Mei chuckled, low and seductive. "I should expect no less from Gai's Ice Queen." She pulled a cellphone from her cleavage, pressing her body against his. "Selfie?"
With nothing more than an amused smirk, he went along, going as far as to wrap his arm around the woman's waist, and allowed her to mesh their bodies together.
"Say cheese," Mei said, raising her phone in the air.
Before the flash, he caught sight of the girl again, standing across the parking lot, looking at him with such pain—such heartache—such longing.
And he smiled.
Another week came and went, and Sasuke found himself a bit eager to do his job tonight. He made almost too much money last week, so he didn't need to come in, but...why not? Give them what they want, right?
"You're taking pictures, right?" Naruto asked, applying his own make-up in the vanity mirror. Sasuke wouldn't admit it, but it was...a sight to see—Naruto's make-up skills.
"I guess."
"Eh? Really?"
He shrugged. "It's more money."
o0o0o
When it was his time, he immediately looked for her. The place was completely packed, people occupied everywhere he looked, some standing because there were no more chairs, but he didn't see the drunken girl—the drunken girl—anywhere.
Well...that was disappointing. Now he was back to being the most pathetic person in the room.
He rolled his eyes, no longer amused, and focused on maneuvering through the crowd. Ignoring all the money in his face and the hands sliding on him, he tuned out the noise until he had finally made it to the other side and up the stairs to the stage. He made a move to push through the curtains, but movement from the other side of the stage caught his eye.
A woman in a black mini skirt and a low-cut, dark blue blouse under a black half jacket walked onto the platform. She was very shapely, full hips swaying his way, large breasts hardly covered by her clothing. When his eyes finally looked up to her face, it was almost hard for him to place where he's seen pale, shinning eyes like hers before. Her hair was curled when he was used to seeing it straight. She was showing more skin when he was used to seeing less. However, the glazed look in her white orbs and the bottle in her hand were the identifiers.
It was her.
The crowd, thinking this was all part of the show, increased in volume, the cheers almost deafening. The young woman walked up to him, cheeks red, eyelids fluttering, and he turned to her, waiting.
It was...strange...to see her act so bold when her eyes were still so sad.
She slid her hand over his shoulder, wrapping around his neck, and pressed her body against his as the crowd went wild. "Please talk to me."
And she slipped currency in the front of his dress.
Making good decisions probably wasn't his strong suit. All throughout his life he acted for his own amusement or to counteract someone who deemed themselves on a higher pedestal than he was on, but, if he thought about it, the result of his actions had always ended well or blown over because of his brother's or his father's influence. Now that he was on his own, he actually had to endure the consequences of his actions.
No one stopped him from defying his father, which was why he ended up homeless.
No one stopped him from becoming a drag queen for pay, which is why he was still working as one.
And no one stopped him from listening to a drunk girl, which is why he left with her right after the show.
She had staggered the whole way, clutching tightly to his arm as they walked to the apartment complex. People stared at the curvaceous temptress in the tight clothing latched onto the arm of the tall, lean beauty with the icy stare, but Sasuke was focused on the slurred mumbles of the young woman. He couldn't make out all she was saying, but she was pleased and asking questions.
When they reached the apartment complex and began to walk up the steps to his floor, the woman's grip tightened. He had an idea about where this was going, but he didn't know how committed he was to actually going through with it. Her being drunk was an issue of sorts, but he only found it less humiliating to walk the streets still in his work clothes with her around.
He wasn't the type to hook up.
Sasuke retrieved his clothes from the doormat, reached inside the mailbox next to the door, and searched around for the spare key. When they were able to enter, he led them inside, closing and locking the door behind them.
His apartment wasn't extravagant.
Upon entering, a bed was at the far left, under a fairly large window with the blinds closed. A flat screen television was mounted on the wall not too far from it, and it faced a black sofa with red stitches on the other side of the room. A doubled folded door was directly across from his bed and served as his closet and storage room. He didn't have many clothes or things to store, so everything he wore and anything he needed were kept in there. In the right corner of the room, a door led to the bathroom, which was equipped with one sink, one toilet, and one shower. It was smaller than what he was used to and completely void of color, but he had grown accustomed to it. The bathroom also led to a kitchen (a design he didn't particularly like). The kitchen was as spacious as his bedroom, but the fact that it only had one way of entry bothered him.
But this was the first place he truly thought of as his.
He walked to his bed and detached the woman from his arm, watching her fall into a clumsy sit. She looked at him, and this was the first time he saw her in good lighting. He was slightly surprised that her pale eyes were, in fact, white.
"I've never done this before," she said, blinking sheepishly. "I don't... I've never done this before."
"Really," he said disinterestedly.
She looked at him for a moment, her drunken eyes struggling to focus. She brought her fingers to her lips, becoming bashful. "Oh... Your voice is deeper than I imagined."
Sasuke frowned at her, wondering how she could remember her thoughts if she was drunk like this.
"But it's okay," she said, a small smile graced his way. "I still... It doesn't change anything. I just... I've never been with a woman before."
...
...
...
Did she just...?
Did she really think...?
Just how drunk was this girl? She comes to a drag show every week and had no idea that the women were actually men? Did she not listen to the announcer every night announcing that it was a drag show? Did she not know the meaning of a drag queen? When she woke up from her drunken escapades, did she not realize she had swarmed herself around men dressed as women?!
She really thought they were all women?!
"Satsuki-san?"
Sasuke breathed in deeply. "Right. You want to have sex with a woman. Right."
"Ah, i-it's not just that. I don't just want to be with a...a woman. I want... That is, you are v-very pretty, Satsuki-san. Beautiful, really. And it's not just the way you look. You're also confident and calm... I see...a lot of what I want to be in you."
Sasuke almost laughed, but huffed instead. It was extremely hard to blame this all on her inebriation, because she had made the conscious decision to change up her style and hold onto these feelings every night. In that regard, her emotions were probably genuine; maybe she did think she had fallen for a woman the mornings after her nights out.
But it was still pretty stupid.
Sasuke decided to end this, and pulled the wig off his head. The woman stared at him, blinking many times.
"You wear a wig?" she finally said, smiling. "I like your short hair, too."
This couldn't be real.
"S-so," she said, briefly looking at her lap, "how does this work? Do we just-"
"Let me take this stuff off," he said, turning right before her face exploded with color. It had to be the make-up and dress that were throwing her off.
He walked to the bathroom, keeping the door open, and pulled out rags and facial washes. Make-up was a stubborn thing, but it gave him time to think. When she realized he wasn't who she thought he was, what would he do with her then? She didn't bring a phone with her, but maybe she was still capable of remembering someone's number. She left every night on her own, so maybe she lived close by. He just didn't want her sleeping here, but he couldn't turn her away before he saw her reaction.
After his make-up was off, he stared at his reflection. Though his face was red due to intense scrubbing, he was pleased to see it was his face again. He never realized how much he liked the way his face was set. He proceeded to unzip his dress and step out of it. Turning to the mirror once more, he looked himself over.
Sasuke walked back into his room. The woman was seated on his bed, her jacket removed, and was staring blankly at his pillow. Her blouse was actually strapless, and, for the strangest of brief moments, he wondered what she was like when she wasn't like this. She looked at him, glazed eyes taking him in. He stood as he was, trying to read her expression and wait for the realization to kick in.
"You're..." She blinked, meeting his gaze. "You're flat."
Sasuke opened his mouth, intending to shut her whole way of thinking down, but then her words registered in his mind, and it was his thinking that shut down. "What?"
"I mean that's good!" she gushed, standing and walking his way. "It's like...you're my opposite." She smiled, running her hands up his arms, her touch as delicate and hesitant as he expected. "I'll admit that you look different now...but it's nice." She reached his shoulders, inching towards his chest. "I think I...like this, too."
Well...
Damn.
Damn it all.
The tables turned a little too well for his tastes.
"Oh!" The girl jumped, hands flying to his shoulders to steady herself. She looked down for a moment, identifying the pressure she felt against her. She stared at him, blinking rapidly, and a bashful smile curved her lips. "I-I didn't know you'd use a...a fake...one." She pressed her lips together, stepping closer, pushing into him to increase that pressure. "Maybe I...could...t-t-try it on."
Sasuke lifted her up, causing her to squeal, and swiftly walked them to his bed. He was on top of her the next moment, looking down at her. "What's your name?" he asked.
"Ah... My...? H-Hinata."
"Hinata..." He nodded, staring at her again. "I don't usually do this either."
There wasn't much talking the rest of that night.