Taming Sasuke
Step Four
The week passed uneventfully. Iruka seemed pleased with Sasuke's performance on the rare occasions he flitted between the shop and an unknown destination he had eventually uncovered to be the village orphanage. Naruto had been surprisingly possessive as he learnt that, which Iruka was quick to point out was the reason he hadn't told the blond right away.
Iruka had also been fast to point out to Naruto that he was nineteen now, and his 'fatherly' duties ended the day Naruto had cited his independence and willingly moved out of his home. Naruto had sheepishly agreed- he couldn't argue with that, but he also couldn't quite quash his jealously. Iruka had become his father figure over the years, and sharing him was a strange feeling.
Beyond thinking about Iruka's new job- which was technically unpaid volunteer work, but Naruto thought it may as well be a job for the lengths of time he was gone- Naruto had made a few observations to himself about Sasuke in the week that he had worked with him. Some were on a professional level, and some were on a more… Personal level.
Firstly- he was never late. Ever. He was always there before Naruto, standing outside leaning against the wall and giving Naruto a look that suggested he should have been here earlier- even if Naruto turned up half an hour early. He arrived before even Iruka, who unlocked the shop in the mornings and came anywhere up to an hour early. Naruto wondered why the hell he wanted to spend valuable time he could be asleep standing patiently outside his work place, but didn't dare ask.
Most of the time, he would be smoking- of course, Naruto had thought. He'd come to realize that the only time Sasuke ever disappeared from the store floor without asking first was when Naruto would tease him and deny him cigarette breaks, or when Naruto was daydreaming and he got fed up with asking permission. It was a quirk Naruto quite liked- a small imperfection that he seemed to lack elsewhere, if you will. He continued to deny him sometimes because he liked to see it.
Secondly, he was professional. His uniform usually consisted of black pants and shirt, and a differing plain tie each day. It always looked freshly cleaned and ironed, and his hair was always styled perfectly. He always followed instructions exactly as they were given, and was a fast learner.
Thirdly, he was capable of being sexy in every single thing he did. Naruto found this small fact slightly distracting. He could be standing around doing nothing, and Naruto would find something to focus on- something he found attractive, from the way he was standing, to the way he would idly play with nearby items to relieve boredom- or nicotine cravings.
So, the following Wednesday morning, after a week and a half of being subjected to all of these things each day without fail, Naruto was surprised when he arrived for work twenty minutes early and found Sasuke wasn't waiting outside. Iruka had just arrived himself, opening the door for them both.
"No Sasuke yet?" Iruka asked. Naruto frowned.
"No."
Iruka frowned, too. "How strange."
They both set about doing their usual jobs- Iruka making himself tea, and Naruto feeding the rodents. They came together at around five minutes to nine, Naruto seating himself with the water Iruka had poured him, and Iruka leaning on the counter, checking his watch.
"Should I call him?" Naruto asked.
Iruka waved a hand at him. "He's not even late yet. Give it time."
"He's never late," Naruto protested.
"Never say never," Iruka said with a wink, taking a sip of his tea. "I'm sure he's fine- he probably overslept. It happens to us all- especially you."
Naruto scowled at him for that.
Nine came, and Iruka unlocked the door, looking up and down the street for Sasuke. Nothing. He came back inside, finishing his tea and checking his watch again.
"I have to go, Naruto. Give him until ten past, then call him. If he still doesn't show, call my mobile and I'll try and come back if you need me."
Naruto nodded. "Alright."
Iruka made his way out of the store, leaving Naruto alone, sipping his drink while deep in thought. Part of him wanted to gloat to Sasuke when he arrived about his lateness, but another part of him was worried. This was out of character for his friend, and it concerned him.
Seven minutes past nine, the door flung open, admitting a disheveled looking Sasuke. Naruto opened his mouth to comment on the still-lit cigarette he held in his hand as he walked through the store towards him, but closed it instantly when Sasuke was close enough to him that he could see him better.
He was… Crying?
Naruto shook his head slightly. No, not crying, but he definitely had been at some point in the very near past. His eyes were red and swollen, still slightly watery with the remnants of unshed tears. His hair was a mess, like he hadn't even brushed it, let alone bothered to style it.
Sasuke stalked past him without a word to the back staff area, snapping something rude at Barney, who had chosen that moment to attempt to come through the door as well.
Surprisingly, Barney didn't hiss- instead, he mewed slightly and rubbed up against Sasuke's leg. Sasuke looked down at him, blinking and sending tears falling down onto the cat. Barney jumped slightly, but mewed again and rubbed himself against the upset boy again.
Naruto thought for a moment before scrawling a 'back in five minutes' sign, taping it to the front door and locking it. He stepped out the back, where Sasuke was leaning against the wall finishing his cigarette, the hand that was holding it shaking visibly. He looked tired, like he hadn't slept in a week.
Barney was still rubbing up against him. Naruto looked down at him, smiling slightly. He was glad the cat had clearly sensed there was a problem, and had chosen not to give his coworker a hard time that morning.
Sasuke looked over at Naruto, eyes narrowed slightly. He opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, staying that way for a moment before deciding against it and sidestepping into the bathroom instead. Apparently, hiding was better than giving an explanation.
Naruto sighed, walking over to Barney and scooping him up from outside the door Sasuke had just gone into, where he was mewing sadly at it. He leant on the wall next to the door and tapped on it a couple of times.
"I closed up for five minutes," he said. "Get yourself composed and come out to the shop when you are."
He didn't wait for an answer, heading out to the store floor with Barney in his arms. He decided against sitting in the chair- Sasuke could have it this morning- propping the cat on the counter and stroking him absently.
He kicked the very small part of his brain that informed him that Sasuke could even have what seemed like a small mental breakdown sexily. Now was not the time for wandering thoughts.
A few minutes later, Sasuke joined him, throwing himself down in the empty chair with a heavy sigh. His eyes were glassy, but he was definitely more composed. He'd straightened his hair out somewhat, too.
"I overslept," Sasuke said quietly. "I'm sorry I was late."
Naruto shrugged. 'Overslept' didn't even touch the surface of whatever was going on here, but he didn't push it. "It's alright. Clearly you're not having a good day, and I don't want to make it any worse for you."
Sasuke looked up at him, clearly thankful that Naruto was choosing to ignore the rest of the details. "Thanks."
Naruto bit his lip- he wanted to ask what the hell had just happened. Sasuke had just managed to break almost all the observations Naruto had made about him, and was offering no explanation for doing so.
Sensing he wasn't going to get his answers, he figured now was a good time to re-open the shop, and walked over to the door to so do, deep in thought.
Sasuke grabbed a pen from the counter in front of him, spinning it in his hands. Naruto smiled slightly, noticing as he came back to the counter, glad that at least some things were normal in this morning of confusion.
-.-.-
Another week or so passed by. Iruka was at the shop less and less, and was occasionally late in coming to lock up. He had found himself volunteering more of his time to the orphanage, telling Naruto- who, of course, protested- that he and Sasuke were more than capable of running the place whilst he was gone.
At the end of one particular Friday, instead of letting the two boys out of the shop as he usually did, Iruka stood in the doorway and held a hand up to show he wanted their attention first.
"As you both know, I've been quite busy lately, and haven't been around very much," he began, giving Naruto a sheepish smile as he glared at him. "So, Naruto- congratulations. Since I can't be around as much anymore, and Sasuke seems to have fitted in nicely, you just earned a promotion."
"Promotion?" Naruto said excitedly, immediately no longer sulking about Iruka.
Iruka nodded enthusiastically. "You just became Assistant Manager." He handed Naruto a set of keys, grinning at the huge smile on face. "You can open up and lock up, now, and you can till up the money at the end of the day. It means I don't need to come by at all if I get caught up."
Naruto punched the air, cheering. Iruka smiled softly at him.
"Now, let's check those keys work- I got them cut this afternoon."
"Sasuke," Naruto said, turning to him. "How about we go for a drink to celebrate?"
Sasuke shrugged. "Sure," he said, surprising Naruto. He'd been expecting him to instantly decline. He didn't seem the type to frequent bars.
Naruto grinned wider, ushering the other two out of the shop. He locked the door successfully, pocketing the keys with a satisfied nod.
"Open up tomorrow," Iruka told him. "And have fun tonight boys- don't get too drunk, I'm trusting you both to turn up on time and functional tomorrow."
"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said, waving a hand at him dismissively. "Have a nice weekend, Iruka."
Once Iruka was gone, leaving the two standing in the street, Naruto shrugged at Sasuke. "Shall we go as we are? We're pretty dressed up."
He removed his name badge, Sasuke nodding in agreement and doing the same.
"Do you know any good bars?" Naruto asked as they walked towards the town.
Sasuke looked a little sheepish. "I can't say I do."
Naruto rolled his eyes, sighing. "Well, we should change that. I know a good place- follow me."
-.-.-
They found themselves in a small bar on the edge of town, sitting in a corner so they could speak above the music that emanated from the speakers above the bar. It was Friday night, and they'd been lucky to get a table, even at six pm in the evening. Naruto told Sasuke that he frequented this place, which became apparent when all three barmaids had instantly squealed his name in delight and clambered over each other to serve him.
"So," Naruto said, raising his glass. Sasuke followed suite. "Congratulations to me?"
"Congratulations," Sasuke agreed as they clinked glasses, both of them downing the shot they had had each instantly.
"This is going to be an expensive night, isn't it?" Naruto sighed, looking down into his empty glass.
Sasuke pulled out his wallet, handing him a note. "My treat. Get however many shots you can with it."
There was an evil twinkle in his eye, and Naruto accepted the note gleefully, fully intending to make use of it. Sasuke took the moment he was gone to light a cigarette, smiling at his retreating back. The blond had succeeded in getting under his skin- that was for sure.
Naruto came back with a couple of glasses of double-shots, putting the meager change down on the table. He frowned at the cigarette in Sasuke's hand.
"That's so unattractive," he sighed, snatching it from his hand and putting it out.
Sasuke gaped at him- though it had nothing to do with the destruction of his cigarette. He recovered quickly, covering it with a smirk.
"So I'm attractive without it?" He asked.
"Well, I imagine kissing you is like kissing an ashtray," Naruto said matter-of-factly, not meeting his eye.
"Wouldn't you like to find out?" Sasuke said smoothly, ignoring the rude comment.
Naruto gave him a sly look. "I don't think I've had enough drinks to allow you to flirt with me yet."
Sasuke picked up one of the glasses, looking suddenly distracted.
"There's nothing wrong with a light bit of flirting," Naruto urged, giving him a wink.
"Aren't you straight?" Sasuke snapped at him. Naruto looked taken aback for a moment, before sighing slightly and refusing to answer.
"You were encouraging it a minute ago," he pointed out instead. "What changed?"
Sasuke sighed, picking up one of the glasses on the table. "It's nothing."
Naruto opened his mouth to push it, but changed his mind, standing up instead.
"These glasses won't last us very long," he said, indicating the ones on the table. "I'm going to buy a bottle of something."
He walked to the bar, glancing at Sasuke over his shoulder. He was lighting another cigarette, apparently deep in thought. It seemed flirting wasn't such a smart idea after all, and he willed his mind to remember that when drinking that night.
-.-.-
Naruto had returned with a small bottle of vodka. Sasuke didn't think it was a very good idea to let Naruto keep hold of it, as the shots he poured were, at an understatement, generous and he seemed to pour a lot of them. He'd gone through seven of these 'generous' shots before Sasuke even touched his first.
Naruto was currently sitting on Sasuke's side of the table, attempting to wrestle his cigarettes off of him. Sasuke was having none of it, holding them up out of the slightly intoxicated blond's reach- he'd already had to buy a new packet since his previous ones had ended up in the trash, thanks to Naruto. He sighed as Naruto clutched at the air, aimlessly trying to grab them.
"It's bad," Naruto was slurring, attempting to clamber over the dark haired man to get at them.
"Naruto, get off me."
Naruto gave the packet one last swipe before letting his arm drop down onto Sasuke's shoulder.
"I said get off me."
Naruto frowned, climbing off of him. "I thought you were supposed to be gay."
Sasuke scowled at him. "That doesn't mean I want you climbing all over me, moron."
Naruto gave him puppy-dog eyes. "I'm offended."
"And you're straight," Sasuke added, standing up and walking around to Naruto's old seat, sitting in it and folding his arms.
"Nope."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "What?"
"I never said I was straight, did I?"
Sasuke shrugged. "I don't care if you're gay, straight, whatever- I don't want you touching me like that."
Naruto poured the last of the vodka into his glass, holding it up and in Sasuke's direction. "You're attractive, you know. When you don't smoke."
"You told me that already."
"Don't you find me attractive, too?"
Sasuke glared at him. "Would you please reconnect whatever wires between your brain and your mouth you've managed to sever with alcohol?"
Naruto blinked at him. "Eh?"
"Stop with the suggestive comments."
Naruto finished the glass, slamming it on the table and attempting to stand. He fell to one knee instead, laughing. Sasuke stood, grabbing Naruto's arm and yanking him upright.
"You'd better sober up outside," he threatened, dragging him to the exit. "I'm not going to baby sit you all night."
-.-.-
The next morning, Naruto had managed to crawl out of bed- he had no idea how he'd ended up there, or even home- and make it to work on time. He'd had the help of painkillers and a taxi instead of walking, and all he wanted to do was stay curled up in bed, but duty called.
Duty sucked when he'd been drinking, he decided.
He wondered how Sasuke was feeling- and hoped he could fill in the blanks in his memory. The last thing he remembered was buying a small- and expensive- bottle of vodka, and then nothing.
At least he hadn't been late for his first day as Assistant Manager and opening up the store, he reasoned with himself as he practically fell out of the taxi onto the sidewalk.
Sasuke was waiting outside as usual, smoking a cigarette and giving him a very dark glare.
"What happened last night?" Naruto asked, picking himself up and attempting to still his pounding headache with one hand to his forehead.
"You were a jerk," Sasuke replied sharply, folding his arms and looking away.
Naruto stared at him, eyes widening. "I did something stupid, didn't I?"
Sasuke laughed sharply. That indicated 'yes', it seemed.
Naruto opened the store up, stepping aside to let his irate co-worker enter first. Sasuke ignored him, lighting another cigarette.
"Aren't you going to tell me what I did wrong so I can fix it?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke didn't respond again.
"Or you could just give me the cold shoulder, that's fine too," Naruto snapped sarcastically, stepping inside the shop and slamming the door. He set about feeding the rodents, trying to still his temper. He may have been in the wrong with whatever it was he had done, but there was no need for Sasuke to be so uptight about it!
…Was there?
He frowned, hoping he hadn't done anything too serious.
Sasuke entered the store, stalking past him to the staff area out the back.
"Let Barney in and feed him," Naruto called to him, not expecting him to do it, but figuring it was worth a shot.
"Feed your own damn Hellcat."
Hellcat. That had been Barney's name from Sasuke ever since he'd accidentally trod on his tail and ended up with scratches all down his leg for the trouble. Not that Barney and Sasuke had been on good terms before then, really- it just fueled the very-lit fire.
"That's no way to talk to your superior," Naruto tried instead.
"Fuck you."
Naruto sighed heavily, making his way out the back where Sasuke was pouring himself a glass of water.
"Let's get something straight," Sasuke said before Naruto had the chance to say anything. "I meant it when I said I don't like people. I don't like physical contact, and I certainly don't like repeated propositions."
Naruto's eyes widened.
"And I don't appreciate dragging your drunken, moronic ass across town to your apartment, only to have you half-strip and try to drag me into the bed. What the hell is wrong with you?"
Naruto leant against the doorframe, holding his head in his hands. His headache had suddenly got a lot worse.
"Sasuke, I'm-"
Sasuke held a hand up to silence him. "If you're going to say sorry, you can go fuck yourself- which probably wouldn't be such a bad idea, since you clearly need to get some."
"My, aren't we harsh this morning?" Naruto replied sharply. "Stop speaking to me like that."
"If you're going call the superiority card on me again, I could get you arrested for harassment."
"Look, I was drunk," Naruto said evenly. "I am sorry. But you can't hold that against me, what more can I say other than that? I can't take it back, much as I'd like to."
He stepped past Sasuke, opening the back door and letting Barney in. Barney looked up at Sasuke, hissing- as usual.
"You can fuck off as well," Sasuke snapped down at him.
Naruto snapped.
"You're right about not getting on with people," he said sharply, grabbing Sasuke's arm. "You can't even get on with a cat. So let's fix that, shall we?"
He opened the store cupboard next to him, flinging Sasuke sharply into it, and nudging Barney gently inside with his foot. He slammed the door, turning the key in the lock and angrily yanking the key from the lock and putting it in his pocket.
Silence. Then hissing. Then scuffling, and a bang on the back of the door.
"Naruto, are you crazy?"
"Freaking out so much at the possibility of another human being interested in you is not normal!" Naruto yelled back, not caring how indignant and childish he sounded.
"So you're locking me in a cupboard with the Hellcat?"
"That Hellcat can hopefully teach you something about getting on with people and not acting like a prick."
"Me acting like a prick? Naruto, you're the one who tried to force yourself on me, don't try to turn this around!"
Naruto didn't have an answer for that. Somewhere deep inside his conscious, he knew he was overreacting, but he couldn't find it in himself to unlock the door and let the other boy out.
Instead, he walked away, heading out into the main store and unlocking it. It was a couple of minutes past nine, he noticed. Not too bad for such a hectic start.
-.-.-
Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews so far! I'm having far too much writing this, and it's nice to know you guys are enjoying it too XD