A/N: Bear with me, it's a plot idea that's been eating away at me for months and i've finally managed to sit down and write something out. Also, first chapter so kind of introductory and short, sorry? I feel it necessary, though.
So yes, this is what you get when a diehard gleek starts shipping SNS. unbeta'd (looking for one though).
Naruto found himself slightly on edge. The interview had started with him waiting over more than twenty minutes from the arranged time, the manager's secretary bowing profusely, short black hair bobbing as she did so, and muttering apologies for her boss' tardiness. He shaked it off as he slouched more into the stool, leaning lightly against the bar. He was ready for these kinds of things, after all, this was his twenty third interview since he'd arrived back.
Digging his hands deep into his trouser pockets, his eyes trailed along the wall opposite him, admiring the different awards and singles that had been framed or shelved, along with various photos of different artists. Some, he recalled seeing on TV at some point or another.
The sound of chattering filled the early afternoon silence of the somewhat empty bar. He'd been told it was quite frequented, and that lots of upcoming artists came all the way from distant towns and cities just to get a chance to perform there. It was common knowledge these days that if you made it big in 'New Leaf', you made it big in Konoha. It was one of those steps artists had to overcome in order to "make their dreams come true", or some other sentimental crap along those lines that Naruto had overheard repeatedly since he'd arrived at the city.
His eyes paused on an older looking photo, tinged grey but nonetheless taking up the top centre of the wall, the frame surrounding it intricately carved from dark ebony wood, giving it a significant touch of importance. In it, Naruto made out the figure of two young men standing side by side, one clutching a giant pair of scissors and smiling brightly, pin straight brown hair jostled slightly by the wind, and the other cross-armed standing by his side, long dark hair enveloping his sour features but nonetheless smiling fondly at his friend as they stood outside what seemed to be the entrance of the 'New Leaf', a gigantic ribbon blocking the doorway.
He perused over many of the other photos, taking in lots of familiar faces that he seemed to recognize one way or another. As his eyes fall on a photo of a rather young Jiraiya—thanks to whom he'd even gotten this interview—he starts relaxing into the thought that maybe his absence these last few years wouldn't be as bad as he'd originally thought. It's then that his eyes lock on to another familiar face. Sharp features marked by blond locks, blue eyes shining back at him. His heart gives a twinge.
"Those were the good days, huh?" And suddenly he's snapped out of his trance, head turning to face whoever had spoken. He's greeted by a rather voluptuous blonde, eyes locked on his, seeming to see right through him. "I know. Sometimes I can't even figure out myself how I still look so good!"
He splutters out a cough as he realises this woman is the same woman that Jiraiya has standing on his other side in the photo he'd just been staring at. Scratching the back of his head, he lets out a nervous laugh. This woman also happened to be the one to be interviewing him shortly.
"Naruto, I presume?"
Way to go, dumbass. Spacing out before you're even hired!
She doesn't wait for an answer as she glides past him to behind the bar, Naruto following her movements with his eyes as he turns around on the stool to face her. "Jiraiya has told me much about you." Now she faces him directly, chin resting in her palms, elbows on the bar top. "I've been looking forward to this."
He gulps dismissively, lowering his gaze and staring intently on how his thumbs fiddled and tugged at each other. "Yeah. I've been travelling with him these last few years…"
Tsunade smiles fondly and keeps a steady gaze on Naruto, who can feel her eyes boring slowly into his forehead. A strange silence drags on, not awkward but not all that pleasant either. Time seems to pass slowly and Naruto can sense the steady chatter of the bar deafening him bit by bit, earlobes turning red and heart pace starting to quicken. He rubs his palms down his jeans to ease his nerves, the interview was really not going as planned—
"You're hired."
He snaps his head up, nearly biting his tongue in doing so, eyes wide as Tsunade pushes herself off of where she was resting on the bar top. She proceeds to walk away slowly as she explains that she wants him there sharp on 7 o'clock to help some guy Lee open up. Naruto nods, his body moving of its own accord.
Blood rushes to his head and he can feel himself becoming a bit dizzy, not quite grasping the situation and seriously wondering if he wasn't actually imagining everything. Tsunade pauses, muttering something about him sticking around for a while so Shizune can show him the ropes, and then disappears up a flight of stairs.
Naruto breaths in slowly, placing his palms on his knees and squeezing slightly, as if to steady himself. The only real reason he'd even considered coming to the interview was that he was positive that he didn't have a chance on actually getting the job, other than Jiraiya's insistence on giving it a go.
He catches Shizune looking over at him from the other side of the bar. Giving her a nervous smile back, he makes his way towards her.
"So I guess I should welcome you to the team?" She asks, letting out a chuckle. "Tsunade has already put me up to date on your situation, she and Jiraiya go way back, so when he asked about—"
Holding her gaze fondly, Naruto stops paying attention as he proceeds to pick up a rag to help Shizune finish polishing the stack of glasses piled up in front of her. They stay that way for a while, but finishing up twice as quick, which Shizune points out with a grin.
As they pass on to stacking the glasses onto the lower shelves, she explains various aspects about the 'New Leaf'. Naruto makes as if he's listening intently, but finding his mind racing through thousands of different thoughts all at the same time. He'd initially thought that his lack of experience in barman work would set him back, but as Shizune had kindly affirmed, there was nothing better than learning on the go, and they'd needed someone for quite some time.
She then went on to talk about how picky Tsunade was, not just with the staff but also on who got to perform at the key times every Friday night. In her boss' opinion, their bar wouldn't produce such fantastic talent if it weren't for her elite selection skills, or something like that.
He was beginning to feel a tingle of expectation in the pit of his stomach. He'd been away for so long now, on the go with Jiraiya jumping from one situation to the next with a thrilling lack of stability. It had been an OK way of living up until now, it prevented him of thinking about…
"Naruto? Are you there?" Shizune waved her hand in front of the blond's face to catch his attention. Dazed blue eyes clear as they focus on said hand. A chuckle escapes his lips as he brings his hand up the rub the back of his head shyly.
He fights the urge to let out some form of sigh at the relief of having his chain of thoughts cut off. He needed this. Needed to settle down finally and find some way of living day to day with his mind focused on what was to become of him in the future. Jiraiya had been going on about it for so long, warning him that he couldn't rely on being a freelance traveller like himself for too long. That they would have wanted more for him. Something better.
It had been two years of mindless travelling, and Naruto was finally coming to the realization that he had tasted enough of that life to know it was time to move on.
"Sorry 'bout that, kind of dazed off…" He offers Shizune a toothy grin for good measure, which she replies to with a fond shake of her head as she gestures him to follow her towards their next chore.
He yawns widely, stretching his arms above his head. Eyes slightly puffy from sleep, he pulls the collar of his coat tighter around his neck, damning the fact that he hadn't realised how cold it actually was in Konoha, and for not having any decent winter wear anyway.
As he sighs, he watches his breath disintegrate into the cold air, yawning again as he rubs his hands together, wishing he had a pair of gloves. He walks steadily but slowly, knowing that he's at least an hour early for opening time.
The late November chill eating away at him, he stares blankly ahead as he nears the bar. It's not until he's practically at the door, that he realises a flash of dark green propelling into his general direction enthusiastically.
"Good morning fellow worker! Is it not but a great day to start out fresh faced and energized for what is to come?!"
Not quite sure of the situation, he stares at the newcomer for a long while. Half spaced out and trying to concentrate at the same time, he zeroes in on tight fitting green clothes and thick, bushy eyebrows.
"You must be Naruto!" Bushy brows beams at him, clasping one of his hands and squeezing it between both of his own. "My name is Rock Lee. I am excited to spend this exciting new day getting our jobs done efficiently together!"
He finally lets go of Naruto's hand, who in turn stares back in even more of a confused state. He'd never been one to get things at the first go, and even less if it was thrown in his face so early in the morning.
"Yes. I'm Naruto." He blurts out clumsily, bringing his hand up to rub at the back of his head.
Bushy brows smiles back fondly, and then proceeds to energetically unlock the metal shutters and pushes it up in one swift move. "I'm normally in charge of opening because I like to start off the day with energy. Life only stays youthful if you live it to the fullest!" He makes his way in and Naruto follows, sort of mesmerized by the fact that it wasn't even hardly passed six in the morning and that this guy had so much energy to burn off.
He'd never been one himself to slack off, and had always thought that as far as motivation got, he had more than most people even dreamed of having. Despite this, meeting the ever so youthful and energetic Rock Lee made him feel both tired and more motivated on equal measures.
Nevertheless, even though Lee made working at the New Leaf somewhat fun and interesting, it still wasn't where Naruto chose to be out of his own free will. But a job was a job, even if it did stir up painful memories.
Throughout the morning they weren't overly busy. Naruto and Lee made a quick job of setting out the tables and chairs, prepping the kitchen and all sorts of other odd jobs. At around 8:30, some guy named Chouji turned up.
After a brief introduction, Naruto now knew that Chouji was the cook, and that he was in charge of the breakfast menu, every day except for Mondays, and snacks and dinner throughout the weekend.
He was quite cheerful and talkative, and while Naruto left Lee to his own devices—polishing all table and chair legs for the second time—he spent time in the kitchen washing the dishes in what he found to be the cook's pleasant company. He inwardly chuckled at Lee's antics, and also came to find that Chouji wasn't all that innocent either, if his constant snacking was anything to go by.
As the early afternoon rolled by, a new acquaintance by the name of Shikamaru dropped in, who Naruto soon found out was the New Leaf's technician. The lunch hour rush having come and gone, the establishment found itself empty of all customers and with the metal shutter pulled down halfway. Shikamaru lazily explained that this was due to it being Friday, and that most people started showing up later in the evening. This gave the staff enough time to clean up the place again and allowed the technician to prepare for the night's performances in peace.
Chouji excused himself, wandering off to the kitchen to prepare the workers some 'well-earned' lunch. At the same time, Shikamaru set off to hooking his computer up, a concentrated look pulling a frown at his features. Naruto pushed himself up from his perch atop one of the barstools and edged his way behind the bar, towards the kitchen and in direction to the closet that held all the cleaning utensils.
As he proceeded to set the broom and dustpan to one side, filling up the bucket and adding the necessary products to the warm water, he found his thoughts drifting away to how he hadn't expected to be enjoying the job to such an extent. He'd started off the morning with little motivation and with low expectations about pulling drinks and serving people, after two years on the go and living from thrill to thrill. But now, not a full day had passed and he found himself enjoying the companionship and the slight quirks of his fellow workers, smiling at the fact that he still hadn't found anything worth of dampening his mood.
Maybe this would work out.
He clumsily makes his way out to the front again, trying to keep his hold on all the cleaning tools he'd prepared. Lee quickly runs over to help him out from where he was making a quick job of re-stacking all the chairs atop the tables. He hums happily as he helps set the stuff aside, moving onto the stacking again afterwards.
Naruto moves over to the bar, placing the stool carefully on the bar top to make room for the sweeping and moping, once again lost in thought as he enjoys the kind atmosphere surrounding him. His muscles felt slightly tired from trying to keep up with Lee's pace all day, but he found the sensation oddly gratifying at the thought of doing his job so efficiently, and while enjoying himself nonetheless.
"What a drag." Shikamaru drawls as he stares down at the tangled up cables laid in front of him. He sighs, from where he's sitting cross-legged on the stage, and lifts his hand up in a come-hither motion, beckoning Naruto to sit with him.
"What a statement, Shikamaru, with all the things we still have left to do!" Lee chants as his eyes open somewhat in shock, but Naruto can't quite pinpoint if it's from dread or excitement at the thought of more work. Although he knows Lee little, he opts for the latter.
"Just because you have a warped understanding to the meaning of enjoyment, it doesn't mean that the rest of get a thrill out of actual labour" The technician drawls back, making quick work of untangling the cables and making it seem like he didn't need much of Naruto's help at all in doing so.
As if he'd been able to read the blond's thoughts, Shikamaru grabs at tan wrists and pulls them apart, leaving Naruto open-armed, and placed helpfully so the other would be able to drape the cable over them once untangled, preventing the cables getting tangled again.
From the other side of the lounge, Lee gasps at Shikamaru's comment. From the kitchen, Chouji shouts out a "Don't start him off again!" whilst laughing, to which the technician rolls his eyes and huffs, looking at Lee as if there wasn't any turning back now anyway.
Naruto looks over to his bushy-browed friend in confused curiosity. In turn, Lee enthusiastically picks up the broom, twirling it from arm to arm with a serious look on his face. Shikamaru sighs, getting back to untangling the cables while muttering out a low 'here he goes again'.
Suddenly, the broom flies up in the air, but Lee's hands catch it skilfully. Naruto's stomach clenches in anticipation as the other's eyes lock with his.
"Let's get down to business—" And no, that's definitely not what Naruto was expecting. "—to defeat, the Huns." A chuckle bursts through his lips, eyes following Lee's movements as he passes the broom from one hand to the other behind his back, his voice surprisingly smooth as it glides through the room.
"Did they send me daughters, when I asked, for sons?" By now, Chouji had made his way out of the kitchen, sandwich filled plates placed on the bar top, as he watched his friend with a fond smile and an amused look in his eyes.
Lee lets the broom fall purposely close to the floor, picking it up in a quick swipe while standing up straight, his face acting out a look of disdain as his eyes roamed over his companions. "You're the saddest bunch I've ever met… But you can bet, before we're through." As he moves closer to the stage, he pokes Shikamaru playfully with the top end of the broom. "Mister I'll, make a man, out of you."
He receives another eye-roll in response, but nonetheless twirls away and continues.
"Tranquil as a forest, but on fire, within." He sings, his hands coming up to rest palm to palm at the height of his chest, in a meditating manner, all the while balancing the broom precariously on his outstretched leg. "Once you find your centre, you are sure, to win."
Just as the broom starts to roll off of his foot, he scoops it up quickly, throwing it up in the air and catching it easily. "You're a spineless, pale, pathetic lot. And you haven't got a clue." He leaves the broom resting against a wall, then makes his way towards his new blond friend, hand outstretched for Naruto to grab it. "Somehow I'll, make a man, out of you."
As Shikamaru puts aside the untangled cables, his voice joins in gently. "I'm never gonna catch my breath. Say goodbye to those who knew me." His face looks bored but his eyes twinkle, amused.
"Boy, was I a fool in school for cutting gym." Chouji adds, from behind the bar. Chuckling, he changes his tone slightly to continue. "This guy's got 'em scared to death."
Naruto's hand latches on to Lee's awaiting one. "Hope he doesn't see right through me." He shyly sings along, trying to ignore the surprised looks received at the effortlessly smooth and natural tone of his voice.
"Now I really wish that I knew how to swim." Shikamaru continues quickly, as if noticing Naruto's distress, while the other two make their way to the centre of the room.
They all chant the chorus line "Be a man" together as Lee follows with the lead, skilfully moving his body in some sort of fluid taijutsu. "We must be swift as the coursing river." Naruto catches on quick enough, following Lee's moves as he sings out his line once again. "Be a man."
He doesn't notice the intent look that Shikamaru and Chouji send his way, "With all the force of a great typhoon." or the excited response that emanates from Lee as he follows his movements perfectly. "Be a man."
In slight challenge, Lee runs to impulse himself, gliding across the room on his knees. "With all the strength of a raging fire." Naruto follows not one second out of time, grinning toothily as Lee continued singing. "Mysterious as the dark side of the moon."
His eyes close in expectation, lifting himself to his feet as he feels the beat surge through his muscles and ache for more. His lungs open up to sing out the next line, unnoticing of the sudden pause in his friend's actions and the tension in the air.
His eyes fly open and he is met with a scalding black look that bores into him. His breath hitches and the built up spark that is bursting to come out deflates suddenly at the harsh look that his locked onto his.
"I thought you were getting paid to do your actual job…" And the newcomer prances in, nose upturned, the air surrounding him seeping arrogance. "Not mine."
Fire soars through Naruto's skin, his fists clench and an angry scowl pulls at his face. If his eyes weren't so intently trained on the onyx orbs that hadn't let him go since they'd caught his attention, he would have noticed his friends' likewise reaction to the newcomer.
His lips open as his anger bubbles out in a reply, but before his words tumble through his throat he is cut off,
"Now, now, Sasuke. I thought I told you to play nice."
A/N: So, what's the verdict?