Chapter Two: Perceptions

Uchiha Sasuke hated the way everyone looked at him. The same kind of adoration, mixed with fear of putting a foot wrong and facing his wrath. No one dared to ever speak their own minds during any meeting he held; they all simply agreed with his own projections unless explicitly asked to voice their own opinion. Very rarely did they disagree, either. Sasuke wondered how his brother could deal with this day in, day out. He had only been here a day and already it was getting on his nerves. Why couldn't they just treat him like a normal person? He wasn't going to fire them for having a voice of their own. In fact, the only interesting thing that happened yesterday was when that stupid coffee boy unloaded a tray of coffee all over his suit. Well, initially Sasuke was pissed. The day had already been dragging along with everyone brown nosing him and to suddenly have a hot liquid envelope a £1250 suit was not the best thing that could have happened to him.

But then the stupid boy argued back. He clearly had no idea who Sasuke was. He relished the moment, being shouted at, being a nobody for one moment. Everyone else in the room couldn't believe it. He had gotten a good second look at the boy and saw he was shorter than he was, with blond spiky hair and faint scars that almost looked like whiskers across his face. He was curious as to how they came about, but had been distracted by the enraged look in the boy's big blue eyes. His eyes burned into Sasuke with true dislike. There was no adoration there that was for sure.

Was he interested in the man? Sasuke shrugged the thought away. He didn't have the time to deal with this right now. He turned over in his large double bed to see the woman he had spent the night with fast asleep. He struggled to remember her name. Susie? Something beginning with 'S', he was sure. Her red hair spread across the pillow like a halo and she looked truly serene in that moment.

"Wake up." Sasuke ordered her in a loud voice.

She mumbled something incoherent, but didn't open her eyes.

Sasuke frowned. He raised his voice higher. "Wake up!"

This time she did fully wake, startled by the sudden noise. She saw Sasuke was now sat up in the bed and sat up with him, absent-mindedly adjusting her hair to make it look more presentable. "Sorry, have I overslept?" She asked timidly.

"Just go." Sasuke snapped, bored of her already.

"Don't you want to…have some more fun before I leave?" She smiled, ignoring the bluntness of him. "I can stay a lot longer, you know."

"Not with you I don't." Sasuke replied coldly. "Are you going to leave or am I going to have to drag you out of bed?"

The woman blinked, a little taken aback by his rudeness. She plastered a fake smile on her face, lips trembling slightly, and proceeded to get dressed. She was out of the door in less than five minutes. Not a word was spoken in that time, the atmosphere heavy and awkward.

Why did he waste his time with these countless people? They were all basically the same person. Some hopeless person at a bar, who approached him and asked if he was single, then didn't mind when he ignored their requests for a drink, then came back with him and fucked him and if they were lucky, fucked him again in the morning. It was the same old story every night. None of these people actually meant anything to him. They were just a way of getting quick pleasure. It was all too easy to achieve them. One smile and they thought he really understood them. It truly was pathetic.

As he showered off the smell of sex surrounding him from the night before, he wondered what that hopeless boy was doing right now. Did he work in the building regularly? Would he be there today? Stop it, he thought suddenly. Don't you dare waste your time with that lost cause. He slipped himself into a brand new suit, bought for him courtesy of some executive who had witnessed the entire debacle yesterday. He figured he'd appreciate it if he wore it today. Maybe people would stop being so scared of him if they saw he did acknowledge kind actions and was behaving nicely. Maybe people would actually talk to him like a normal human being.

"Lovely day, isn't it, Mr Uchiha?" His driver commented as he opened the door to his car.

It was true; despite the rain yesterday, the sun was now shining and there were barely any clouds in the sky. It felt like a good day to try something new. "Very nice," Sasuke muttered as he settled himself in the backseat. "Step on it, I don't pay you to make me late." He added, frowning.

As he strode confidently through the front doors to the building, the pink-haired woman at reception called him over. He sighed, exasperated already with the day and went over to see what she wanted.

"I am sorry to bother you, Mr Uchiha," she started politely, before indicating a form in her hand with a nod, "but I was wondering if I could clarify something with you. It's about your new job opening for a new Chief Networking Officer."

Sasuke cut across her immediately after hearing this. "If you have any enquiries, please address one of my associates."

"Wait! It's just one thing. Please?" She appealed.

He was supposed to be being nice today, he remembered. "Well?" He said.

"They have to be good with people, don't they? So qualifications aren't as important as say for the Treasurer?"

"They would still have to have some degree of understanding about the world of business, Miss…" Sasuke paused, wondering if it was even worth knowing her name.

"Sakura. Haruno Sakura." She filled in the gap for him anyway; hardly able to believe she was actually having a conversation with Uchiha Sasuke himself. She had to admit, she was a little in awe of the man and couldn't help but find herself blushing a little. "But suppose they did? But they didn't have a degree or anything like that. Would you give them a shot?"

"Miss Haruno, why would I hire someone without the qualifications required when I could hire someone with them?" Sasuke asked her.

Sakura faltered. "He…he really wants to make something of himself?" She murmured.

"What?" Sasuke barked.

Sakura shook her head. "Never mind. Thank you for your time."

"I am not sure why you are thanking me. You have simply wasted my time and yours with these pointless questions you should already know the answer to." Wanting this to be his final word on the matter, he turned away and headed towards the lift, just as the front doors opened and he heard a breathless voice shout, "Yes! Only twenty minutes late!"

It was the boy. The blond boy. He looked rumpled and excited and tired all at the same time. Sasuke stopped where he was and simply observed him run over to Sakura and chatter to her about waking up late and not believing his luck. Sakura glanced over at Sasuke questioningly, obviously wondering why he was still here. The boy followed her gaze and made direct eye contact with Sasuke for a moment. Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, but straight away the boy looked back at Sakura and carried on talking.

Sasuke felt strange. How dare he just blank him like that! He felt like going over there and shaking him by the shoulders. He wasn't sure why he was so bothered by that, but he was. No one ignored Uchiha Sasuke. Even as he thought them he realised his thoughts were largely hypocritical, but it was as if he wanted everyone else to ignore him, and the boy to pay him some attention.

That was enough of that. He stepped into the lift as it opened and purposefully kept his eyes above normal level, so he wouldn't see Sakura and the boy laughing together. At least he knew one thing – the boy did seem to work here every day. And he appeared to be friends with Haruno Sakura.

"What was he doing looking at us?" Naruto asked Sakura as Sasuke vanished inside the lift. He had felt good about ignoring him a few moments ago, as though he was nothing to him and might as well have not been there for all the attention he gave him.

"I spoke to him just now. Just before you came in, actually." Sakura told him almost reluctantly, but there was a hopeful look in her eyes that made Naruto shake his head straight away.

"Oh God, what have you done?" He groaned. "Please tell me you weren't asking him about some stupid job up there. I was just being emotional last night; I don't even know what came over me. Just leave it, Sakura. I'm fine the way I am. Making coffee for people is clearly my calling in life."

Sakura poked him in the arm, hard. "Stop being so defeatist! You could become the CNO for Uchiha Powers. You'd be interviewed by Sasuke himself."

Naruto laughed at that. "Oh yeah, that'd work. Hey Sasuke, remember when I spilled coffee all over you on your first day and then yelled at you? Can I have your really important job please? What, qualifications? No, I don't have any." He rolled his eyes. "You're right. I'm going to nail this interview."

She raised an eyebrow. "So you're going to go for it then?"

"No!" He burst out. "I mean…maybe. I might as well. No harm in trying, is there? When is it anyway?"

Sakura's eye flickered to her computer screen as she attempted to hide a smile. "I can fix you up an interview at 5pm this Monday in Sasuke's office on floor ninety six. Aren't you lucky? That means you won't miss a minute of work."

"Sakura!" Naruto protested limply. "Can't you give me an earlier slot?"

"Nope," she shrugged, "this is the last spot. They're only interviewing ten men and women. You'd be number eleven."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at this. "So, wait. This sounds like you're just sneaking me into this list."

"Pays to be friends with the overall secretary for management, prospective employment and staff issues, doesn't it?"

Despite his nerves about this, Naruto grinned at her. "Well, at least we can laugh about it after when it all goes horribly wrong."

"Oh ye of little faith," Sakura said fondly, "you never know. This time next week you could be the new Chief Networking Officer…you'll forget about me and turn into the men you despise. There will be a new coffee boy for the top ten floors. I'll be a distant memory." She clutched her heart dramatically and pretended to weep.

"Don't be ridiculous." Naruto chuckled. "How could I ever forget you?"

"That's the spirit. Believe it will happen." She said. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have a quick alteration I need to make to this list…"

Naruto nodded. He gave her a sudden hug, surprising her, but withdrew before she had time to react and hurried to the lift. Big displays of affection in public weren't really his thing, despite how overly loud and brash he could be. But he was overwhelmingly grateful to Sakura for basically forcing him into this opportunity. The worst that could happen was that he'd be laughed out of the office, and it'd be awkward from then on serving coffee on that floor. It was pretty awkward there anyway. He kept waiting to bump into Sasuke again but never seemed to.

The day pressed on, largely uneventful. It was amazing how much had suddenly changed in the space of a couple of days for Naruto. He had gone from wondering if he was ever going to escape from the monotony of his current job, to the opportunity of a lifetime handed to him on a plate. It was too easy, he knew that. He wouldn't get the job. For one thing, Uchiha Sasuke hated him, clearly. But he'd have tried and that was the most important thing. One day he was going to be a successful businessman, working hard for his money. He felt inspiration for the first time in years, ever since he was a little kid and told his foster parents he was going to be king someday. He didn't listen to them when they told him that wasn't possible – he was going to make it possible. Of course, that didn't happen. But perhaps this time, this actually could.

He had just finished delivering biscuits and tea to a meeting going on on floor eighty eight when the lift opened to reveal Uchiha Sasuke inside it and a smart-looking woman. She stepped out, barely avoiding Naruto as she rushed back to her desk with some paperwork. Naruto hesitated for a moment as they made eye contact, then stepped in and pressed the button for floor one.

He knew he would have to travel up to floor ninety six with Sasuke before he could escape him.

There was some faint music in the lift that could be heard, which was comforting, to say the least. Naruto didn't fancy complete and utter silence, which could often be louder than any words spoken.

Then, suddenly, Sasuke was in front of Naruto and pushing him up against the back of the lift, their faces close to touching. Sasuke's hands were placed either side of Naruto's head and he stared into his eyes.

"What the fuck?" Naruto shouted, immediately trying to push away from the taller man.

Sasuke placed a finger to Naruto's lips. The gesture was surprisingly delicate. Naruto stopped still in shock. He was feeling very strange all of a sudden. Sasuke leaned in further, his mouth an inch away from Naruto's ear, when he whispered softly, "I don't know your name."

His breath tickled Naruto's neck, making him feel almost…tingly. Naruto shook his head fervently to try and shake himself out of this sudden trance Sasuke had caught him in. He couldn't help but smell a strong scent of musk and vanilla. As he stared at the man two inches from him, he noticed how dark his eyes truly were, and how soft his skin was touching his own. "Uzumaki Naruto." He murmured through Sasuke's finger, not sure why he was keeping his voice low too. Nor was he sure why exactly he was answering Sasuke, giving him exactly what he wanted.

"Naruto." Sasuke repeated. This whole time he had been expressionless, but the faintest flicker of something crossed his face then at this utterance of Naruto's name. Naruto couldn't figure out what it was, it came and went too quickly. There was a second where they simply looked at each other, but it felt like minutes. Naruto couldn't even hear the music from the lift anymore.

The lift doors opened abruptly, shattering the intense atmosphere that had suffocated the small space. Sasuke turned around just as fast, his dark hair brushing against Naruto's face a confirmation for just how close they had been. He didn't look back as he walked away and as the lift doors closed once more Naruto was alone.

He put his own finger to his lips, where Sasuke's had just rested. What the hell had just happened? And why did he feel so nervously excited about it? A feeling of disgust washed over him at that thought promptly. This guy was a humongous jackass. He probably only wanted to know his name so he could report the incident yesterday and clearly had no understanding of personal space. He had no idea how Sasuke was going to react when he turned up to the interviews on Monday. The man was suddenly very unpredictable with his behaviour.

Something about the way he had acted made Naruto keep quiet about that moment in the lift to Sakura, as he signed out with her at the end of the day. She was buzzing about his interview next week, but he was too busy musing over Uchiha's strange manner. She didn't seem to notice his distraction from their conversation, or if she did, she didn't comment on it. Perhaps she assumed he was nervous.

Hinata was already home by the time he got in, exhausted and weirded out by the afternoon's events. She greeted him with a small smile and the promise of her special home-made lasagne, which pleased him to no end. He was truly lucky to have a roommate like her.

"Thank you. You have no idea how strange my day was today…" He said as he joined her at the table.

"It seems like all of your days are becoming eventful." Hinata commented with a smile. She poured some wine and took a self-conscious sip, careful not to spill any on her clothes. "Unlike mine." She added, very quietly.

"Are you looking forward to Friday?" Naruto asked, skirting past anymore mention of today. He hadn't meant to let slip it had been a weird day. It was weird in itself that he didn't want to tell his friends, but something in him was stopping him, telling him to hold back about this.

"Somewhat." Hinata replied. She chewed her lip, realising that response was hardly enthusiastic. "I mean, yes," she backtracked hastily to avoid upsetting him, "it's just, I have only really met Sakura properly out of all of your friends…how many are coming?"

Naruto paused to think. "Well, Sakura is coming, so you can talk to her and me if you feel a little overwhelmed by it all. I don't have that many friends though, so I wouldn't worry. Kiba and Shino are coming anyway, aren't they?" A nod from Hinata allowed Naruto to continue. "There you are then. Sai is coming…Shikamaru, Temari, Ino, Choji, Kankuro, Lee and Gaara. Trust me, you'll love everyone."

"I'm sure you're right," Hinata agreed, although she was a little alarmed at the large number of people. Still, she was doing this so she could get along better with Naruto. And what better way of doing that than getting along well with his friends?

After dinner, she offered to wash up again. Rather than usually protesting for a bit and then agreeing, Naruto offered to help her instead.

She washed; he dried and put away. It was a wonderful ten minutes together. She felt it was more personal than ever before. Naruto even laughed at some of her jokes and splashed water at her. When she splashed him back, they fell into even more peals of laughter. She wondered why Naruto had helped for once. She tried not to let herself grow hopeful for it meaning anything other than a random kind gesture.

Naruto had surprised himself by offering to help Hinata, but he wanted his mind taken off the surly businessman for as long as possible before retiring to his room and obsessing over it. He realised he hadn't even told Hinata about the job interview on Monday, but he was surprisingly having too much fun to bother talking about serious things right now. This was a new side of the usually shy girl. It was like she had forgotten who she was for a while. Seeing her laugh uproariously was actually the best thing Naruto had seen all day.

His brain instantly objected to this thought, thinking of Sasuke's plump lips forming Naruto's name so solemnly. Damn, Naruto growled. Just as he was getting distracted, the Uchiha crept back in. He was unwanted as far as Naruto was concerned. He wasn't sure why exactly he stayed on his mind. He especially wasn't sure why he remembered that Sasuke's lips were plump…

When the dishes were done, Hinata whispered, "Thank you, Naruto."

"Why are you thanking me, nutcase?" Naruto grinned. "I should be doing them every night. In fact," he hoped he was going to stick to what he was going to say next, "we should do this every night from now on. It makes it fairer, doesn't it? And maybe if I ever learn to cook as well as you do, I'll cook you your own meal one day!"

"Oh!" Hinata squealed, a high pitched gasp that startled Naruto. A crimson blush appeared across her cheeks and she turned to hide her face.

"Man, you'd think I'd just told you we'd won the lottery or something." Naruto joked. He yawned suddenly. "I'm beat. I'm off to bed. Thanks for waking me up this morning, by the way, Hinata. I appreciate it."

"It's – it's no problem." She mumbled.

"Really, you're a great friend." Naruto persisted, treating her to a wide grin. He reached out and ruffled her hair fondly. "I don't know how I'd manage without you! Good night."

With that, he was off into his bedroom. He didn't notice Hinata's expression had dulled a little at what he thought was a tremendous compliment. She sighed. Of course she was a great friend. That's all she ever was, it seemed. She walked into her bedroom and shut the door before allowing the first signs of tears to appear at the corners of her eyes.

It was always going to be like this. She remembered the day she first came to see the apartment, to see if she would be a suitable roommate for the current tenant. She hadn't imagined a boy her own age with a cheeky self-confidence, a dazzling smile and messy blond hair. They had gotten along well in the quick, informal interview where he asked her what she did and what her hobbies were. He told her she was the first person he had seen and he liked her so much he didn't need to see anyone else. It was around that moment she fell in love with him.

It was a hopeless love. The kind of love you knew was doomed when you succumbed to it. She probably should have politely refused to become his roommate after all and found somewhere else, but she did want to be his friend if not anything else and so excitedly agreed. At first their relationship was a bit awkward, a mere hello or occasional breakfast together, but eventually they made a point of having breakfast and dinner together every day – unless Naruto woke up late or they were doing something in the evenings separately, which happened often, unfortunately for Hinata. She never would tell Naruto outright her feelings for him; it would make things awkward again. She did sometimes wonder if he had guessed them, but she imagined he would have said something. He would have at the very least dropped a hint that would set her straight. In a way, sometimes she preferred it like this, where she could pretend that if she did say anything he would take her in his arms and sweep her away. This was opposed to the reality of the situation, which would be more like a sad and tactful rejection, followed by her moving out due to the mortification of it.

Yes. She was fine with how things were. That was what she told herself anyway.

XXX

Sasuke was, as usual despite the late hour, awake.

His apartment was the penthouse suite of the building not too far from work, with brilliant views of the city and the harbour side a fair distance away. It had two bedrooms, not that he really required the second and the front door opened into a huge living room complete with a fireplace and flat-screen TV on the wall. The whole place had a rather boring white and brown colour scheme going on, including the kitchen, although the surfaces were a warm honey-brown colour that looked far more inviting. He was out on the balcony he could get to from his bedroom. The glass double doors revealed a dozing figure in the middle of the bed inside caught in the moonlight, but the rest of the room was in darkness.

Sasuke propped an elbow up on the safety wall protecting him from certain death and smoked lazily. As it was quite a cold night, the smoke looked thick and greyer than ever. His normal breath paled in comparison. He gazed out into the city and wondered where all of the cars out there driving were going at such a time like this. What was so important? He could see his own work building from here – he guessed it would be an approximate twenty minute walk to get there even though he would always be chauffeur driven. Perks of the family name, he thought bitterly.

He stamped the dying ends of his cigarette out on the ashtray next to his elbow, and then returned to his bed. He carelessly shoved the other person in the bed, not too bothered about whether they would wake up or not.

The man in the bed with him had blond tousled hair and freckles across his cheeks. He reminded Sasuke of the boy at work. Naruto. Perhaps that was why he chose him for tonight. Perhaps it was time to check out Naruto himself. Sasuke smirked. He pondered whether this Naruto would be as easy as his double in Sasuke's bed right now.

He reckoned it would be pretty easy. No one could resist Uchiha Sasuke. And if they did? Well, that made the chase all the more fun.

Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. :) Next update should be same time next week. Thank you so much for the reviews. They are much appreciated and keep me motivated to continue this. Keep them coming!