A week later it was 2am on Friday and Naruto was back at work. He was mixing a drink for a lonely looking older man, definitely retired, when he heard a voice behind him.
"Pardon me," Naruto turned, expecting it to be some other partygoer looking for a cocktail to stir up the night. Instead, he spotted that strange, butler-guy with the creepy face from Sasuke's place. What was his name again?"
"Sai right?" Naruto said as he poured the mixed drink into a glass full of ice. "Not wiping Sasuke's ass, I see." He turned and smiled kindly at the older gentleman as he slid over the drink. The older man accepted it with a sultry smile and slid a twenty Naruto's way. Naruto grinned as the man turned to leave.
"No," Sai said sounding humored, "I suppose I'm not."
Naruto went over to the register to ring up the order, peeking at Sai who was quietly smiling at him as he worked. Was he just going to look at him like that?
Once Naruto finished the transaction he walked over to Sai, "I'm guessing you're here because you have my wallet?"
"Yes," was Sai's simple reply. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the small object and handed it over to Naruto. "You seemed to have misplaced this in Uchiha-sama's room."
Naruto grabbed it and held it up to his face to examine it. Naruto felt himself beginning to smile as he rubbed over the rough leather fabric with his thumb.
"Isn't it customary to thank someone when they give you something?" Naruto looked up at Sai. He didn't seem to be joking.
Naruto ignored the question and slipped the wallet into his back pocket. He reached his hand out after that and waited for Sai to accept it.
Sai looked down at the outstretched hand. He seemed to think about the gesture for a moment before he grabbed hold of it.
Naruto gave the hand a firm shake and smiled, "Well thanks Sai, this thing means a lot to me."
"Yes well," Sai nodded and smiled. For the first time it reached his eyes, and he looked a whole lot less creepy. He continued, "I should be going now." Naruto moved to turn away, but Sai's voice stopped him. "But, before I go, Uchiha-sama has asked me to give you his number."
"His number?" Naruto parroted, feeling his skin go hot at the thought of Sasuke thinking about him in that way. He physically shook the thought from his head. "Wait, no way! That jerk's got a family!"
"Uchiha-sama is well aware of his family…" Naruto paused. Sai was looking at him with genuine curiosity. He was beginning to realize that Sai's comments weren't so much condescending, as they were just strange and almost kid-like.
Naruto shook his head, "I don't want it. Tell him he can go fuck himself."
Sai smiled as if something dirty had just popped into his mind, but he didn't seem interested in sharing what it was. Instead he shrugged and pointed down at the wallet. "I took the liberty of placing it on a small slip of paper in your wallet. I just wanted to make sure you knew what it was. I suppose you can do with it as you wish." Naruto looked down at the wallet, then back up at Sai. "Well, have a pleasant night, Naruto-san."
Sai turned and left after that. Naruto was left standing behind the bar feeling flushed. Call him? For what? So he could be his mistress? His booty-call? No fucking way.
Naruto opened the wallet and easily found the small slip of paper decorated with neatly scribbled numbers. He figured he should get rid of it now and be done with it.
Somehow, he just ended up staring at it for a full minute before a customer pulled his attention with their needy call for drinks. Naruto closed the wallet and pocketed it, choosing to deal with the number later.
After work Naruto decided he'd head over to his dad's so he hopped on the train to Ginza.
A little over 30 minutes later he was at his old house opening the door with his spare key. It was still barely six in the morning so he didn't expect his father to be up quite yet. Once inside, he quietly toed his shoes off before making his way up the stairs to his old room.
His room looked the same as it did when he was in high school. The walls were blue and his bedding orange. There were posters of soccer teams and old Kung Fu and ninja movies plastered on all the walls. Knick-knacks and sporting gear were neatly placed in baskets or on shelves, clearly his father's doing. And on the nightstand, there was a picture of ten-year-old him and his mom when he'd won his black belt in karate. It was perfect. Standing in this room he was always able to forget about how life turned in a direction he'd never imagined it would go.
He shrugged off the jacket he wore to fend off the brisk October cold and threw it onto the floor. Next went his pants, then his socks and shirt. He was down to his boxers by the time he was ready to slip underneath the comforter on his old bed.
A second or two after getting comfortable he remembered something that all but forced him out of the bed to his crumpled pants on the floor. He reached into a heavy pocket and pulled out his wallet. Flipping it open, he was faced with that slip of paper holding those godforsaken digits. He dropped his wallet and carried the paper back with him into bed.
"I shouldn't call him." He whispered to himself. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought of that asshole every night for the past week. But who could blame him? He was the only other guy he'd slept with aside from Neji. And damn…
He closed his eyes, thinking that maybe it would help him get the images out of his head, but it only made it worse. He reached down and grabbed himself over his boxers. He was getting hard. He was imaging Sasuke's body, and how it felt to run his hands down his chest and press up against him. He turned his head to the side and bit his lip.
"Fuck," he hissed and reached over to where he barely remembered dropping his phone on the nightstand. He quickly dialed the numbers and stared at them on the screen. His thumb halted over the call button. He sat there staring at it for a moment before deleting everything and placing his phone to the side. "Stupid…"
Naruto woke up a little past three to a call from Sakura. His eyes were barely open when he held the phone up to his ear.
Sakura's voice rang through the speaker, "So I heard that you're not going." The statement nearly made him hang up and go back to sleep. It was too early for this. At least, it was too early for him.
"I'm not." He knew she was referring to the trip to the onsen. As much as he appreciated the gesture, he didn't think he had it in him to go. "I tried to give the tickets back to Ino, but she won't answer my calls or texts. She's probably still mad at me." He yawned, waiting for Sakura's reply. When she didn't immediately respond he asked, "You're not gonna yell at me are you?" He rubbed the sleep from his eyes with his free hand.
"I'm not gonna yell at you. I wish you'd change your mind though."
"Sakura," Naruto breathed out, sounding even more exhausted than he'd originally felt.
"Naruto," she mimicked.
"Don't do that."
"Do what?" Naruto sat up and rested his back against the headboard, feeling more awake now.
"Don't try to get me to change my mind. Because I won't," he knew he sounded like an asshole. A part of him wanted to just accept the gift so that he'd make his friends happy. But that part of him, the part that lived to please people, had seemed to slip from him each day over the past year. He heard Sakura sigh.
"I'm not gonna." She whined. He could imagine her pouting face. "I was just saying… That's all," she sounded defeated.
Naruto let out a heavy breath. He knew what she was doing, and she was damn good at it. "Look." He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his tired brow with his thumb and index finger. He spoke again, "I'll think about it."
"Really?" Sakura seemed to be beaming, he could tell even over the phone.
"Yes, really." Naruto laid back down and curled over in bed. He pulled his covers tight over his shoulder before he spoke, sounding tired again, "Now can I go back to sleep?"
"No."
His eyebrows rose at the seriousness of her statement, "Why not?"
"Because I'm outside waiting for you to let me in."
Naruto chuckled and shook his head, even though she couldn't see it. "I'm not at my apartment. I'm at my dad's."
"I know…"
Naruto paused.
He pulled the phone away from his face and looked at it.
Naruto opened the front door to his childhood home and was greeted by Sakura and Hinata, who were carrying bags full of snacks. He greeted them in his boxers and high school soccer T-shirt.
He scratched his belly before he spoke in a yawn muffled voice, "G'mornin'." He reached over and grabbed the grocery bags, then stepped aside to let them in. "What're you guys doing out here? Don't you have class or somethin'?"
"I'm out of class at two today," Sakura began, speaking for the both of them. "And I just found out that Hinata's free on Fridays so I invited her to tag along since her apartment is so close to here." Hinata nodded and smiled cutely. Naruto led them to the kitchen where he sat the bags down on the table. He began sifting through.
"Ooooh, you brought me some ramen!" He retrieved an instant noodle cup from the bag and cradled it. "Sweet ramen," he cooed. Sakura gave him a disgusted look while Hinata let out a gentle laugh. Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sakura's expression. "You're just jealous."
Sakura scoffed, "Of what? The noodles or the Idiot?" She snatched the ramen out of his hands and placed it back in the bag. Naruto gasped at the feeling of the salty treat being ripped away.
"So mean," he sighed playfully. Sakura ignored him and carried the bag over to the stove. She pulled out a pot and began the process of boiling water.
"I heard that you're not going to join us at the onsen, Naruto," Hinata spoke for the first time. Naruto's goofy expression left him and he was left feeling anxious again.
He gave her an awkward smile, "Yeah, I said I'd think about it." He shrugged and scratched the back of his head.
"Well, I hope you decide to go. My family has already rented the rooms to accommodate seven people. It would be a shame if you didn't join."
"Everyone's going, huh?" He sat down at the table and Hinata did the same. Sakura busied herself with preparing the noodles.
"Mh-hm," Hinata nodded happily. "I'm very excited. But, it will not be the same without you," again she gave him a soft, gentle smile. After that the room fell silent. The only thing to be heard was the sizzling water on the stove. While Hinata was fiddling with the hem of her shirt, Naruto wasn't sure what to say.
Thankfully, before the silence got too awkward, Sakura interjected by placing a steaming cup of noodles in front of him. He accepted with a smile and immediately dug into the hot dish.
"So, Hinata!" Sakura spoke up enthusiastically, "Did you hear that Naruto's sleeping with a celebrity?"
Naruto nearly spat out all of the noodles from his mouth. Instead, he choked them down before he ended up making a mess and glared at Sakura who was walking around to claim an empty seat at the table.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Naruto sputtered.
"A celebrity?" Hinata said curiously and looked to Sakura who nodded with a wide grin.
"He's not a celebrity!" Naruto argued, "He's just some rich asshole…"
"An Ambassador's son," Sakura corrected.
Naruto slapped both of his hands on his face and groaned.
"Oh, that's nice." Hinata nodded kindly at the information. "Is he sweet?"
"NO!" Naruto shot his head up and immediately responded. "He's a total dick. And, for the record, we slept together ONCE." He calmed down from his outburst and looked away. For some reason he was feeling embarrassed. "Besides, I found out that he has a family. I don't think I'll see him again."
Hinata looked sad for him, and sat a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Naruto. Maybe he just wasn't the one."
Naruto chuckled, and looked over to return her sweet look with a nod and halfhearted smile. "Yeah," he let out another chuckle, "The one." Naruto wasn't even sure something like that existed in this world. He'd thought with all his heart that Neji was "the One", his "love at first sight". Was it possible to be so in love with someone that you didn't want anyone else? Was it possible that there would never be a "two" or "three" to your "one"? Naruto couldn't say he believed in that anymore.
"Hey! She's right, you know!" Sakura straightened up in her chair with her encouraging words. "You'll never see that asshole again. So what? At least you had a good time, right? Besides, there are so many guys who'd love to sleep with you… with strings attached."
Naruto laughed and shook his head. "I don't think I'm looking for 'strings'. Besides, he uh…" Naruto stopped himself.
"He what?" Sakura inquired, leaning forward over the table.
Naruto realized he'd forgotten about his noodles and shoved a few in his mouth while he debated on whether or not he should tell them.
"Well?" Sakura pushed again just as Naruto swallowed the heavy bite. Naruto sighed and slumped back in his chair.
"Well… He sort of had his assistant/servant/butler/whatever-guy give me his number."
"HE WANTS YOU TO CALL HIM AGAIN?" Sakura stood up, nearly knocking the table over.
Naruto held his hands up in his defense. "Hey, I didn't call him yet."
"Yet?!"
"No! I…" Naruto looked away.
"Naruto, don't tell me you're thinking about calling this guy."
"I'm not!"
Sakura settled back down in her seat. "Good."
Naruto ate a few more bites of his noodles as the room fell silent. He grumbled after his third bite, "Weren't you all gung-ho for him, like, two minutes ago?"
Sakura shook her head, "I was only kidding. No way would I be okay with you sleeping around with a married man."
Hinata nodded as she thought about this mysterious man. Again there was a lingering silence settling in before she spoke, "Yes but…" Both Sakura and Naruto turned to her. She seemed to become nervous as all eyes landed on her, but she didn't back down. "Well, Naruto, I think that if you want to call him and he makes you happy, then you should."
Both of their mouths hung open at the words.
She continued, "I hate what Neji did to you. I think we all do." She nodded at her own musing, "But, as much as it stunk, I know that he wouldn't have done that to you if Kiba didn't truly make him happy."
After hearing that Naruto looked away. He'd suddenly lost his appetite.
"I'm sorry for saying that." Hinata looked down, dejected. "I shouldn't have said anything."
Naruto quickly looked back at her and smiled, it was his turn to be the reassuring one. "No! Don't apologize. It's okay. Really…" He leaned back in his seat. "I'm glad you said that. And, you're right. But… Hell, I don't even know this guy. And, either way, he's seriously an asshole. I don't plan on seeing him again."
Hinata lifted her head and smiled. "Well, whatever you decide to do, I'm sure you'll make the right decision."
Naruto smiled, "Thanks."
After having his lunch with the girls, Hinata drove them into the city so that Naruto could get there in time for his evening class.
He waved goodbye to the two through the car window as they drove off. After watching the car disappear around the corner he turned towards the school building and made his way inside.
As he went through the double doors a figure stepped in front of him, halting his path.
The first thing that hit him was the smell of a particular, expensive cologne. Naruto's heart was ramming in his chest the moment his eyes met the familiar face.
"Naruto…" Neji spoke.
And incredible amount of anxiety bubbled at the pit of Naruto's stomach. He felt like the air was becoming dense and it made it difficult to breathe.
"Hey," Neji tried again, this time snapping Naruto out of his temporary trance.
Naruto glared and all but growled out, "Hey yourself."
"Look, Naruto…" Neji persisted.
"Don't." Naruto pushed past him and began walking towards the center of the building where the elevators were. He quickly realized that Neji was following him and he could feel his nerves getting the best of him.
"Naruto, I'd really like to speak with you." He heard Neji say and it took everything within him not to turn around and slug him right across that perfect face. Once he made it to the elevators, he moved to press the "up" button when a pale hand covered it before he had the chance.
Naruto breathed out an unsteady breath before he turned and glared hell and fire at his ex.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"
Neji smiled humorlessly, "I'm trying to get your attention. Clearly, it has worked."
"Clearly, you're out of your fucking mind." Naruto could feel his temperature rising. His skin was beginning to turn red. Neji had maybe one full minute before Naruto's patience broke along with Neji's perfectly angled nose.
"I may be," Something in Neji's head made him smile at the thought. The sight only made Naruto want to vomit. Neji continued after his brief moment of thought, "Naruto, I haven't been able to speak with you in a year." Though they'd passed each other on occasion and have even made eye contact from time to time. Even so, they hadn't spoken a word to each other since their breakup. They'd never even formally broken up. The sight of Neji on top of Kiba on their couch was breakup enough for him.
"So what?" Naruto looked away, feeling flushed and frustrated.
"I wanted to apologize to you. I never got to." The words triggered another rush of anger in Naruto, and he realized that Neji was standing a little too close so he took a step back as to not be swept away. It was also then that he realized that there were other students watching them, trying to seem inconspicuous when they were just plain nosy. Naruto sneered and turned his back to Neji.
Finally Neji moved his hand and he was free to press the "up" button whenever. For some reason, he didn't immediately go for it. He felt compelled to listen.
Neji spoke again, his voice sounding soft and comforting, "Naruto, I'm very sorry about what I did." Naruto hung his head at the words. They hurt. His chest was feeling heavy. It made him want to cry, but dammit, he'd cried too fucking much over this. "I wasn't sure how long I'd have to tell you this." Naruto looked back at Neji. What did he mean by that? Not sure how long?
When Naruto's eyes met his they widened at the emptiness in them. Neji looked so terribly sad and dejected. It was a look that rarely overcame Neji. Naruto had only ever seen it those few times he'd spent the holidays with Neji and his family.
Those times when Hinata's father, Neji's guardian, would talk down to him as if he was some sort of house pet. In the past, that same look would have had Naruto running into his arms and kissing his cheeks. He remembered the times where he wanted Neji to rely only on him, and his strength.
At this moment, Naruto's anger seemed to be washing away and the familiar need to console Neji became an overwhelming feeling.
But then, as the next words came from Neji's mouth, everything that Naruto hated, everything that tortured him became so real. "We miss you." We. That word: "We". Naruto knew he was referring to him. It made him sick to think about it.
Naruto's eyes became cold and distant. He turned his head away without another word and pressed the button on the elevator. A second later it dinged and the doors slid open for him to enter along with the rest of the nosy crowd. Neji looked confused, as if he didn't understand Naruto's change in demeanor.
Of course he didn't. In Neji's world, he fucked up, but maybe he thought it was in some way rectifiable. To Naruto, he wanted to be cleansed of both him and Kiba. He wished so badly for the chance to make it all go away. What if he hadn't met Neji? Would Kiba still be his best friend? Would he be happy? Would his mom be alive?
A warm tear threw him from his thoughts. Naruto quickly wiped it away before more threatened to fall.
He needed to get away. Maybe his friends were right. Maybe a vacation was just what he needed. And also, the weight of his wallet was heavy at that moment.
After class, Naruto took a long nap before his shift at Club Locust. He'd gotten a few texts from Sakura, but ignored them. By midnight he was standing outside the club's entrance with a cigarette in his mouth and his eyes on his phone. Kisame, the bouncer, was standing in front of the door watching him.
"You comin' in, kid?"
"Yeah, in a minute," Naruto responded, sounding distant. Kisame shrugged and turned his attention back on the growing crowd. Naruto was doing it again. He'd typed in those dammed numbers and was staring at his phone screen. His thumb was hovering over the call button and his heart would not stay still. He knew he was making a stupid decision. He also knew that this decision was likely to get him hurt in the end. But…
He pressed down on the screen and it lit up, showing its attempt to connect his call. His palms were sweating as he hesitated to place the phone up to his ear. The ringing only made it worse for his nerves. By the fourth ring he was tempted to hang up and pretend that he'd never called, but just then…
"Hello."
"…" Naruto covered his mouth. Then, in a panic, he hung up the phone.
That was definitely Sasuke's voice.
The feel of his phone vibrating shook him. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a moment to breathe, before instinctively hitting the connect button and raising his phone to answer.
"H-hello?" He knew he sounded nervous and he hated it.
"Naruto! Oh my God, Takahara-san told me what happened today!" Naruto felt suddenly deflated. That was definitely not Sasuke's voice. He tried not to think about the disappointment he felt.
"Sakura?" He asked to make sure.
"Yes! Jesus, I can't believe Neji came up to you like that. What a prick." Sakura nearly sounded as pissed as Naruto was earlier. While she still remained friends with Kiba, she was not shy about her disgust with Neji.
"Sakura slow down. Wait… who's Takahara?"
"She's not important. Just some girl who's in the residency program with me."
"But I thought you didn't go to the hospital on Fridays..."
"I got called in. I'm here now. Jesus, Naruto! Stop asking questions! What happened with Neji?"
Naruto sighed and shrugged to himself. "Nothing good." He crossed an arm over his chest, and used it to prop up his elbow as he held the phone to his ear. "He told me that they missed me."
"They?" Sakura questioned, then scoffed. "Okay, ew. Barf. What the actual fuck."
"Yeah, I know." His phone buzzed against his ear. "Hold on, I think I got a message." He pulled the phone away and went into his messages.
It was from that number. His heart was hammering.
He clicked on the message to open it. It read: That was short.
Naruto stared at it. He wanted to respond, but he didn't know what to say.
He lifted the phone back up to his ear. "Uh, Sakura. Let me call you back."
"Wait, Naruto!" He hung up before he heard anything else. He got a message from her a second later.
SAKURA: NARUTO!
Another message.
SAKURA: You asshole!
He ignored them and went back to the previous message. He bit his lip as he thought.
"Hey kid," Naruto jumped at the voice. He quickly put his phone away, as if a teacher was about to scold him for having it out, and turned to face Kisame. The bouncer ignored his skittish behavior and pointed to the entrance as he spoke, "You heading in or not?"
Naruto noticed that the line once formed outside the club doors had disappeared. People were inside and his manager was probably wondering why the customers upstairs weren't being served any drinks.
"Shit, see ya!" Naruto scurried through the club doors, which Kisame had graciously held open for him, and headed up the stairs, two at a time, to his bar.
"You're late, buddy," his manager said in a lazy voice. He was behind the bar handing a couple cocktails to two giggly ladies in short sequin dresses. The man's name was Kakashi. He was a tall, perverted man with silver hair and a young face for someone in his forties. At least, that's what people who've actually gotten a good look at his face say. Kakashi wore a tightly drawn mask around his mouth. Rumor was that he had missing teeth. Some people say he's so handsome that he hides his face as to not send the customers into shock. Naruto just assumed it was because the guy was a complete weirdo.
"I know! Only by like, five minutes." Naruto said as he rounded the bar and scooped the glass from Kakashi's hand, as he was about to cook up a whiskey sour for the half drunken businessman drooling at the bar. Naruto quickly took over the order as Kakashi stood back and simply watched.
"Five minutes is a long time here, Naruto. And," Kakashi leaned back as he spoke, sifting a small book out of his back pocket as he thought. "Didn't I see you standing outside the club before the doors opened?"
Naruto shrugged as he handed the businessman his drink. Next he fixed up a margarita for a skinny, American-looking man with chocolate brown skin. The man gave him a flirty smile as he accepted the drink. Naruto gave him a wink before turning his attention back towards his boss.
"I was on the phone," Naruto answered halfheartedly.
"Ooooh," Kakashi leaned forward, peering at Naruto over his book. "On the phone with who? Was it that cute pink haired girl? Or is it the blond with the big breasts?" Naruto grimaced and pushed Kakashi's book into his face, successfully getting the man to back away.
"That's none of your business, creepy old man." Naruto turned and smiled at a young man who managed to push his way through to the bar.
"Well it's my business if it interferes with my workplace." Kakashi walked by and slapped Naruto hard on the butt with his book. "Later." Naruto held up a middle finger at him before taking a few more orders.
Time went by fast, which was always great. It was already nearing four o'clock and the crowd was growing thin.
He was cleaning a glass when he turned at the sight at someone crossing his peripheral. He nearly dropped the glass when he saw who it was. Fumbling with it instead and setting it carefully on the counter, Naruto wiped his palms on his jeans as he approached Sasuke.
The aristocratic man was looking just as handsome as he did a week ago, and undoubtedly more attractive than he did in those sordid dreams Naruto hated to admit he was having. He wasn't wearing anything too professional, rather a more comfortable look that Naruto had yet to see on him: just dark jeans and a long sleeve, snug sweatshirt. Naruto wondered if something so plain costs as much as he assumed it did. It looked perfect on him, and exposed his creamy neck and collar bone, something Naruto's eyes were hungrily drawn to just before they met Sasuke's amused ones.
Before he got too caught up, Naruto looked away and found something to clean. He took out his rag and began wiping things down as he spoke with a tone of disinterest, "What are you doing here?"
"Well," Sasuke spoke, his right hand messing with the expensive watch on his left wrist. "We didn't get to finish our conversation from earlier."
"What conversation?" Naruto feigned innocence as he continued to wipe down the same spot.
Sasuke didn't respond, and a long enough moment passed that Naruto thought he might've gotten up and left.
Naruto stopped his obsessive cleaning and straightened his back with a heavy sigh. Turning slowly, he saw that Sasuke was still sitting there fiddling with the face of his watch.
Naruto threw his cloth onto the counter and approached. Once he was in front of him, he leaned against the bar with both hands and glared at Sasuke. "You shouldn't be here," for some reason Naruto was whispering. It was as if he was afraid of being caught by some secret organization. "You've got a family. You shouldn't even be talking to me."
"Is that why you called me?" Sasuke said, sounding uninterested. Naruto, on the other hand, was suddenly flustered, but wasn't going to back down.
"Yes, as a matter of a fact! I was calling to tell you to fuck off, and that you had no business giving me your number when you're married and… hell on TV for crying out loud!"
Sasuke turned his intense gaze onto Naruto and it seemed to physically push Naruto back and pull him in at the same time.
"Oh?" Sasuke spoke as he stood. He leaned, ever so slightly, over the bar with his arms crossed over his chest. Naruto was only a few inches away, but couldn't find the strength to retreat. Sasuke smelled so good, like honey and lavender. And when he spoke his next words in that low, husky tone, Naruto could swear that all of the noise around them became muddled and distant, "I was sure that you called me because you were remembering how it felt having me inside of you."
Time seemed to stop. Sasuke smirked and Naruto's eyes widened.