A/N: The title of this chapter comes from the wonderful song by Tegan and Sara 'Love They Say' from the album 'Heartthrob'. Why I chose it? You'll see in the next chapter ;) And also because, in all truth, it was thanks to this very song that I got the inspiration to write this fic.
Betaed by the AMAZING fangirlandiknowit.
Chapter Fourteen: Love They Say – Part I
The rest of their co-workers – people Sasuke really didn't care for – didn't comment on the sudden display of proximity he was sharing with Naruto. Some of them threw weird looks their way, but as long as they refrained from commenting, Sasuke wasn't going to let it affect him or his unusual good mood.
Counting fellow teachers, along with a few tag-alongs, they were a group of twenty, randomly seated at a long rectangular table that seemed to occupy most of the elegant restaurant. Sasuke and Naruto had sat side by side close to the other music teachers. In spite of the several strangers, everybody seemed to be in good spirits and the conversation flowed rather easily.
After dinner, the group chose to go by foot to the bar they had chosen. Sasuke had never been there, but Naruto assured him that it was pretty cool. The walk there was spent in noisy chatter, and he and Naruto got involved in a small banter where Naruto insisted that he wanted Sasuke to dance with him and Sasuke vehemently refused. Dancing was in his treasured list of 'Things Uchiha Sasuke Definitely Did Not Do', and not even the blond would change that.
The night was still young, but when they got to the bar, the place was already half-full. It was pleasantly clean and very tasteful, decorated in tones of grey, black and white. There was a small stage with instruments tactically positioned on the wall opposite from the entrance with an empty space in front of it that looked like a small dance floor. The bar was on the left; on the right, one could see several large 'C'-shaped booths that could be occupied by at least six people, and all over the place, several small four people tables were scattered about.
The flickering lights were colorful, and some catchy pop music could be heard.
As soon as everybody got there, people started splitting up into several small groups, which Sasuke was thankful for since, once again, he and Naruto were easily reunited with their own group, consisting of the rest of the music teachers, Anko, Temari and Gaara. At this point, he felt like everything was just as it was supposed to be and that they would definitely have some good old-fashioned fun.
The eight of them immediately made their way to the bar since everybody seemed eager to get started on the alcohol, and Sasuke couldn't say that he disagreed.
"We should so get a few shots to get things heated up!" Tenten said excitedly, her voice screeching and loud above the blasting music.
"I want to start with the Kalashnikov!" Naruto said, raising his hand up in the air like one of his students.
"I'm fine with whatever," Shikamaru shrugged.
"I have no idea what a Kalashnikov is," Sasuke said, genuinely interested.
The group looked at him, and Temari actually smirked nastily, and patted him on the shoulder – and her hand was rather heavy, Sasuke had to give it to her. "My friend, we will introduce you to the joys of the most fucked up shots ever in no time."
"Don't be a bad influence on my boy, you crazy woman!" Naruto said, throwing an arm around Sasuke's shoulders while laughing. "I know for a fact that he can't hold his booze like the rest of us."
Sasuke threw him an unimpressed glance. "Are you actually challenging me, or are you just trying to act tough to impress someone?" he asked, producing a fake annoyed expression.
"Maybe a bit of both?" Naruto said, waggling his eyebrows in a comically suggestive way that had absolutely no sex appeal to it. "It depends on what gets your gears going faster, baby."
Well, if anything, Sasuke was definitely feeling amused.
"Oh, please, some of us are trying to keep our food in our stomachs," Anko replied, rolling her eyes in disgust. "Eight Kalashnikovs, then?"
"If you pay for the first round, sure," Genma, who was beside her said with a shameless grin.
Anko flipped him off and dragged Temari by the wrist towards the bar so they could order the shots, and the group ended up following them.
Once at the bar, Sasuke watched with fascination as the heavily tattooed bartender filled eight small glasses with vodka and then neatly placed half a slice of lemon over each one of them. Then, he seasoned the slices with sugar before grabbing a green bottle of what looked like absinth and pouring a bit of it over the lemon.
"Wow, that's a fucking bomb right there," Sasuke couldn't help but comment. He really wasn't used to doing shots, he was more of a tall glass drink kind of guy, but he was all for trying out new things.
"You're gonna love it," Naruto assured him, smiling excitedly. "It's strong, but it's pretty good."
The bartender then proceeded to set the eight slices of lemon on fire before effectively sprinkling some sort of brownish powder over them that made the small flames flicker a bit more wildly.
"All yours guys," the man said with a satisfied, cocky smile, and Sasuke and Naruto didn't hesitate in reaching for a glass each like the others did.
Sasuke eyed his tiny glass that was on fire with suspicion. "How the hell am I supposed to drink this?"
"You have to put the fire out first," Gaara, who was behind them said, expressionlessly. "You just blow on it." Then, he proceeded to exemplify for Sasuke to see, effectively blowing on the lemon and putting the fire out. Naruto laughed and Sasuke merely glared at him but did as he was told.
"Okay, so now you pick up the lemon," Naruto explained, once he, too, had put out his own small fire, and grabbed for his half-slice. "You drink the shot, and then suck on the lemon right afterwards." Sasuke nodded his understanding and also grabbed for his own lemon between his pointer finger and thumb. Naruto looked from him to Gaara and raised his glass with a large grin. "Bottoms up, guys!"
The three downed the shot at the same time in one go. Sasuke felt the burning feeling of the alcohol filling his insides and for a second there, the sheer power of the combined drinks he had ingested made him wonder if his lungs stopped functioning. It wasn't exactly pleasant, at all, and he was almost brought to a state of anxiousness until he remembered that he still had the lemon, so he bit down and sucked on it. The soothing effect of the acidity of the lemon combined with the sugar and cinnamon was immediate, like water putting out fire.
Lowering his glass, Sasuke considered the taste on his tongue, feeling a bit torn at the conflicting feelings he was experiencing towards what he had just ingested. It had sort of been like… a rush of adrenaline that assaulted him one moment and abandoned him the next.
He decided that yes, he did like it very much.
"Good?" Naruto asked, noticing Sasuke lick at his lips with a rather pleased look on his face.
"Very good," Sasuke agreed, with a solemn nod, putting the remnants of his lemon inside the glass.
"I'll pay for the next round for the three of us," Gaara said easily in his disinterested demeanor, as the three of them set the glasses down on the counter. He gestured for the bartender to get them more of the same and Naruto took the chance that the red-haired one had his back to them to place a small kiss on Sasuke's lips that made him smirk a bit.
That's when Naruto's eyes traveled to some spot over Sasuke's shoulder and his grin became huge. "Kankuro!"
Sasuke all but looked over his shoulder to see who Naruto was calling, but his eyes didn't land on the person, but on the people apparently accompanying him and he felt his insides turn to ice in less than a second.
There was no mistaking it. Sakura was there, and so was Neji and his girlfriend, Ino.
Oblivious to his sudden change of mood, Naruto pulled him by the hand towards his friend, who, oh-so coincidentally seemed to come with Sasuke's friends.
Was this some kind of sick joke by fate? It didn't seem real that Sasuke's friends knew one of Naruto's, it just… seriously?
"You made it!" Naruto said jovially, stopping in front of a brown haired, tall guy that, in fact, had Sakura clinging to his arm.
"Of course! I said I'd come, didn't I?" the guy, Kankuro, said, shaking Naruto's hand. Sasuke felt his mouth close tightly as Sakura, Neji and Ino looked at him with equal expressions of bewilderment. He could swear he was going to throw up his heart when three sets of eyes looked down at the obvious and not at all just friendly way his fingers were intertwined with Naruto's. "Naruto, this is Sakura, Neji and Ino. We're kind of on a double date thing."
Naruto was going to say something, probably greet them or introduce Sasuke, but Sakura, in her blatant shock, clearly had other ideas.
"Sasuke?" she said, gaping.
Sasuke's eyes traveled to his three acquaintances, but he could feel Naruto tensing and his smile fading.
"Oh, so you guys know him?" Kankuro said easily, extending his hand to Sasuke who automatically took it. "If you're Sasuke then you're Naruto's guy, right? Nice meeting you man, I've heard so much about you."
"I bet you did," he said, trying not to flinch at the way Neji's eyes narrowed. "Nice meeting you too."
"Actually, Kankuro, Sasuke happens to be best friends with Neji and me," Sakura said in an oddly dispassionate tone, looking at Sasuke and then at Naruto when the blond tensed, his hand instinctively releasing Sasuke's.
"Ah… really?" Kankuro muttered, sensing the sudden change of moods in the air.
Naruto seemed lost, unsure of how to react or what to do towards the unexpected turn of events.
Sasuke sighed. Great. Now his friends were aware that he and Naruto were together, and Naruto knew that his friends knew nothing of their relationship. Just fucking great.
"So, you're the Naruto!" Ino said, ever the happy person. She took a step towards him and grabbed for his hand, but not before winking conspicuously at Sasuke. "Oh my, you're so much more handsome than what I had imagined!"
Of course, Sasuke thought. Of course Sakura and Neji would have told Ino about Naruto, he should've known. Still, he was thankful that she seemed so bent on saving the day for him. Ino had always been perceptive of her surroundings like that. She was pretty smart, too, as was Sakura.
"Er… thanks, I guess?" Naruto said, doubtfully, offering her a small smile. "I mean, this is such an odd coincidence it's actually a little awkward…"
"You should introduce Naruto to us properly, Sasuke," Neji said, his voice smooth but loud enough to be clear over the music. Sasuke glared at him, but deep down, he knew it was his fault that he was in such a situation. He had never expected to come face to face with his friends, but this was only the living proof that he was being more than a little reckless in his relationship with Naruto.
"I'm sorry for being rude," he said. To ease Naruto's mind, he put his hand reassuringly over his shoulder. "Naruto, this is Ino, Neji's girlfriend. That over there is Neji and that's Sakura, they're both the friends I told you about."
"Okay," Naruto nodded but the tenseness in his demeanor got Sasuke a bit worried.
"Guys, this is Naruto, and you already know who he is."
"Yes, he's your boyfriend," Sakura said, frowning with hurt at him before looking back at the blond, her eyes becoming softer. From her demeanor, Sasuke could tell she had perceived the situation as well. "I'm so sorry, Naruto, this is rather unexpected, but it is a pleasure to meet you! I've been wanting to get a glimpse of you since forever!" Sakura took a step towards Naruto and gave him a short hug that he reciprocated with an evident relief that Sasuke shared. She leaned away to take a proper look at him. "And Ino's right, you are quite a looker! I kind of expected for Sasuke to have bad taste in men since his taste in women is absolutely atrocious."
"Don't be mean, Sakura!" Ino laughed, giggling a bit as the two shared a knowing look that made Sasuke simply know they were talking about Karin. "But you guys look so good together!"
"Can I please greet the man, for God's sake?" Neji huffed, pushing his girlfriend to the side and extending his hand to Naruto, who eagerly shook it. "Please, don't misinterpret it. We actually invited Sasuke out today and he told us he was busy, so we weren't exactly expecting to find him at a club."
Sasuke's relief seemed to expand as Naruto relaxed at this, and he couldn't help but send a thankful look towards his best friend. For a second there, he felt guilty for a lot of things, but especially because he had actually considered that his friends might screw him over – even if, all things considered, he probably deserved it for keeping secrets.
"I see," Naruto said, smiling softly but genuinely at Neji. "I'm sorry for the awkwardness, this was pretty unexpected, but it's really nice meeting you all."
"It's just a get together with co-workers," Sasuke explained blandly, turning to Neji. "I'm not exactly out clubbing just for the hell of it."
Naruto gave him a look. "Yeah, it's true, but all this confusion just proves how much of an anti-social bastard you are, Sasuke!" he replied, good-naturedly hitting his arm with the back of his hand. "You could've told me your friends wanted to go out and we'd have invited them!"
Oh, yes, of course that would've been a wonderful idea, Sasuke thought sarcastically.
"Ah, I'm sure there has to be a reason why Sasuke didn't want us to tag along," Sakura intervened, smiling rather devilishly and glancing over at the Uchiha. "After all, it's not like he dresses up this nicely every day."
Naruto was now looking rather amused as he joined Sakura in the teasing. "He does look pretty good, doesn't he?"
"Sakura…" Sasuke warned, gritting his teeth.
"I'm just saying you look good, and Naruto thinks so, too," the girl retorted, her voice becoming deceivingly sweet. Then, she looked back and forth between Naruto and Kankuro. "And how do you guys know each other?"
"Well, Naruto and my little brother are studying music together," Kankuro replied, seeming glad that he had some input to offer to the conversation. "Where's Gaara, by the way?"
"Ah, he's over at the bar, we were having a few shots," Naruto explained. "I'm sure ours are ruined by now."
"Who cares, he's the one paying for it," Sasuke said, with a smirk, and Naruto all but grinned widely at him.
"My thoughts exactly."
"Wow, he's in a generous mood," Kankuro joked. "You have to meet him, Sakura. And Temari's here, too, isn't she?"
"Yeah," Naruto said, looking around in search for said female. "Oh, there she is! She's been glued to Shikamaru since dinner, though, so I wouldn't try to pry her away if I were you."
Kankuro smirked. "Yeah? Well, that's too bad, 'cause she's gonna have to put up with me since she was the one who told me that I definitely should come today." He threw a meaningful look at Naruto and added, in a singsong way. "I heard someone is planning something…"
"Ahhhh, you guys can come hang out with our group!" Naruto interrupted urgently, turning to Sasuke's friends again and releasing a rather ridiculous laugh. "Since we're all acquaintances already and all that…"
"That sounds really great!" Ino agreed, looking at Sakura and Neji for confirmation, who both nodded their approval, even if they seemed rather curious over what Kankuro was talking about. Sasuke didn't miss the way Naruto's neck and cheeks turned a brilliant red.
The group made their way to the bar once more, where Gaara was waiting for Sasuke and Naruto, patiently protecting their Kalashnikovs that were waiting to be set on fire. The slices of lemon on top of the tiny glasses seemed a little wrinkled already, but it wasn't as though either of them would complain.
Kankuro introduced Neji and the others to Gaara while Sasuke tried to catch the bartender's attention. He was thankful that his friends' attention was now focused on meeting new people, and was actually only able to relax a little after they distanced themselves a bit more to meet Temari and the rest of their closest co-workers. Since the bartender was busy taking an order, Sasuke decided he was going to use his own lighter to light up the lemons. He picked up his glass, and handed Naruto his.
"You're so full of shit," Naruto said calmly, while Sasuke took out his lighter from his pocket.
Sasuke flicked the lighter and lit Naruto's lemon first. Only when he was doing the same to his own, did he speak. "Why would you say that?"
"I don't know, I could almost swear for a moment that your friends had no clue about the current status of our relationship," the blond replied, even though he was smiling rather playfully. "You didn't want them to meet me?"
"That's not it," Sasuke defended, letting the lemon burn for a bit before blowing on it, Naruto imitating him. "But they have enough misconceptions about us as it is, and I just… I didn't think it was the time. I'm sorry"
Naruto eyed him for a few seconds, almost thoughtfully. "Is there ever even a perfect 'timing' for such things?" He asked, his voice soft, but Sasuke could definitely hear him. "Besides, it's not like it really matters. Some things just come and bite you in the ass the more you run away from them; it's how the world works."
The blond shrugged his shoulders and grabbed his lemon before raising his glass. "Just like some things are meant to happen, I guess. Some coincidences are just too fucked up to be just that. At least that's how I see it."
Sasuke stared at him impassively, but inside, he wasn't sure how to respond to such a statement, even though he could understand where Naruto was coming from.
Sometimes, it felt like fate itself pushed him towards Naruto. The more time they spent together, the more life seemed to adjust to them, to what they wanted and needed as a couple. The more Sasuke tried to avoid certain things, the more did they seem to follow him around. It was like Naruto was becoming a constant in his life and in everything he did, and he had no control over it. Naruto was everywhere, consuming everything without even meaning to, and the thought was both magical and frightening.
Sasuke felt a sharp pang in his chest and his breath got stuck in his lungs. Once in a while, he wondered if that feeling would ever disappear – that painful yet powerful overflow of conflicting feelings for Naruto. His Naruto. Someone he didn't want to hurt, yet he knew he did it, every single day. However, he had no idea how to even begin to make up for it.
Well, he did, of course he did, but it wasn't as if things could simply… go that way, just like that. Although, sometimes, Sasuke wished they could and that he could one day go to sleep and wake up to find Naruto on his bed instead of…
Swallowing hard, he cleared his throat. It felt horrible to think such things. It made him feel desperate and hopeful and just… anxious.
"Hn…" he muttered, grabbing for his lemon as well, eyes never leaving Naruto's. "I can't really disagree with your logic."
"Of course you can't," Naruto said, grinning cockishly. "You know it as well as I do. Still… I'm glad I got to know someone from your life. I know so little about what you do and who you're with when we're not together."
"You don't need to," Sasuke replied, frowning gently. "I don't want you to be involved with the elements of a life that's not 'ours'." He bit his lip, knowing he had just confessed to something very serious and personal. "My friends are my friends, and yet, they don't agree with this. That's why them meeting you for the time being felt meaningless to me."
Naruto's expression turned into one of helplessness in the blink of an eye. Clearly at loss of what to say, he downed his shot and sucked on his lemon. Then, he slammed the glass down on the counter of the bar and made a face, gesturing for Sasuke to hurry up and drink his, and the dark-haired one all but complied, thankful for the welcomed feeling the alcohol provided.
As soon as he was done with his shot and put everything back on the counter, Naruto broke the distance between them and hugged him tight by the waist, immediately burying his face in the curve of his neck. Sasuke was a little taken aback by the sudden display of needy affection, yet he hugged Naruto around the shoulders, unsure of what else to do.
He wasn't sure how he was going to survive the night.
That day marked the end of a particular stage of his life, as well as the beginning of a new one. There was no telling what lay ahead, but it looked a lot more promising than it did before meeting Naruto, but clearly, a million times more troublesome.
Sasuke only hoped that he could deal with it.
ooo
After spending some time with their colleagues, the two of them ended up sitting at one of the huge booths with Kankuro, Sakura, Neji and Ino. It appeared that Kankuro was actually Sakura's new boyfriend (or better, Sakura's fourth in the last five months), and she seemed pretty into him in her own way. Still, Sasuke knew her all too well, and was surprised that she had chosen someone so… vulgar, because she tended to like refined, attractive men. And Kankuro, while having a good enough appearance, was not exactly handsome, and neither was he particularly gentlemanly – he was more like Naruto, actually: simple and easy-going.
The environment was pleasantly cheery and friendly, even though the bar had become rather packed with newcomers and the music was now blaring louder. Some people were already filling the small dance floor.
Naruto, of course, was charming and managed to make easy conversation with Ino and Sakura, Kankuro intervening here and there. The two girls seemed genuinely interested in getting to know the blond, too. Neji, on his part, was quiet but relaxed, which was usual for him since he wasn't really a very sociable person anyway, and neither was he very fond of the night scene. Still, he was expectedly observant of the way Sasuke and Naruto interacted, and his eyes would always focus on them whenever they touched, leant in to talk to each other or even so much as share a look.
Naruto didn't seem upset by this, and while he wasn't pushy or clingy, he made no effort to act any differently than he did when they were alone. So, no, Sasuke couldn't say that he was upset by them holding hands under the table, or by the occasional kisses to his cheek or neck. They even made out a bit when Ino and Sakura were telling Kankuro some story of their times at university. It was a little embarrassing that his friends were right there, but at the same time, it felt like they needed to see him and Naruto together. Sasuke didn't really know why this was important to him, but now that they were aware of his relationship with Naruto, he just wanted them to understand.
Their co-workers passed by the table sometimes to check up on them and just chat. Some lingered for a while and then disappeared into the crowd again. Genma actually dropped by and stuck around for half an hour or so before deciding to go and talk to a woman that he had been ogling for a while.
At some point, Gaara approached their table and put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto looked at him and merely nodded with a small smile.
"I'll be back in a second," he said to Sasuke and the rest of the table's occupants, standing up.
"Ah, I'll go help you guys out," Kankuro offered, standing up as well.
"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked, surprised by the sudden interruption.
"I just have something I need to do," Naruto answered, smiling down at him reassuringly and reaching out to brush his fingers lovingly over one of his bangs. "Don't worry, I won't run away."
"As if I'd worry about such a thing," Sasuke muttered, crossing his arms over his chest, even though he really didn't like the idea of Naruto leaving to do whatever it was that he had to do.
Naruto shook his head from side to side and leaned down to press his lips to Sasuke forehead, afterwards poking the same spot with two fingers. Sasuke scowled at him, but he merely laughed and winked at him before following after Gaara and disappearing in the sea of bodies.
Sasuke watched him go with a dispassionate sigh, and not even ten seconds went by and he was already feeling the atmosphere changing.
"Holy shit, Sasuke, are you for real?!" Sasuke sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. There it was, he thought. This was what he knew was going to happen as soon as he was alone with his friends. Sakura's voice was high pitched and loud over the music, which was quite a feat considering she was sitting across from him on the large table. "You're dating him and haven't even told us about it? How could you?! And you're still with Karin! Where the hell is your wedding ring?! Are you for real?"
"I didn't tell you because of this same reaction, Sakura," he snapped, coolly, gesturing towards her. "I don't need you lecturing me about stuff I already know."
"If you know it why are you even doing it?" Sakura snapped back, frowning heavily at him. "How long have you been together, anyway?"
"None of your business."
"It is my business if my best friend is going to be in trouble!" she defended, slamming her hand on the table. "You know this isn't going to end well. What the hell are you even thinking?"
"He clearly isn't," Neji intervened placidly, watching the interaction with great interest.
"Sakura, don't be harsh," Ino said, trying to placate the green-eyed girl by placing a hand over hers carefully. "It's a complicated situation, and you can't control certain things. They obviously like each other."
"I know that!" Sakura hissed, shaking her hand away with an annoyed gesture. "Which is why it's painful to watch! I've never seen this idiot looking at another person like that, ever. This damned fool is head over heels and instead of doing something about it, he's just waiting for the chaos to settle…"
"What's your point?" Sasuke spat, his patience running thin rather quickly. "What exactly am I supposed to do?"
"Break up with Karin!" Sakura exclaimed, exasperated. "Don't you understand that the fact that you even chose to do this with Naruto is already a sign of your feelings for him? Of what you really want?" She clenched her hands over the table. She looked feral, sad, disappointed and, worst of all, scared for him, and it was an expression he had never seen on her face before. "Karin and I were never on good terms, but she doesn't deserve you doing this behind her back, and neither does Naruto deserve to be kept waiting. I've only just met him, but it doesn't take a genius to understand that he's in love with your stupid, sorry ass."
"You don't understand," Sasuke said, glaring at her. "It's not that simple."
"You're in love with him!" Sakura yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. "There's nothing complicated about that! The more you think it over the more you will complicate things for yourself, and in the end, you will lose both of them. How the fuck can you not see it?! If you could see yourself, you would understand what I'm talking about."
That was the problem – Sasuke didn't want to see himself and realize just how pathetic his feelings for Naruto made him. He knew Naruto was a weakness to him, and this didn't please him. Still, he knew he was pathetic because his longing for the other made him that way – because wanting Naruto, wanting this life with him and not having it was what rendered him helpless.
But it wasn't that simple. Why couldn't they see that about him? Why couldn't they understand that leaving his wife for another man would have an impact in his life he needed time to prepare to?
It wasn't just about breaking up with Karin – it was telling the whole world that he was now pretty much gay and in a homosexual relationship. His parents would be devastated, especially since Itachi himself had chosen a path they didn't approve of already, so they were setting the bar pretty high for Sasuke. He could already see his mother crying and his father telling him he was crazy and that he was just dying to find a way to kill himself with all sorts of diseases. And kids? Both his and Karin's parents kept nagging them about having babies, how could Sasuke even begin to explain that kids were the last thing in his priority list nowadays? In fact, he wasn't sure he ever wanted snotty brats, anyway.
Also… being with Naruto could mean that he might change everything he had planned for his future. His previous so-called dreams would take a whole other shape and he'd do all the things he knew he couldn't right now because of Karin's job. But Naruto had said that he'd follow him everywhere, and Sasuke believed him.
So, no it wasn't just about breaking up with Karin, being with Naruto and living happily ever after. It would be terrible, painful and overly dramatic, he was sure, and he just… didn't think he had the strength to do it yet, even though he really, really wanted to.
Sasuke glanced at Neji, daring him to say something, but his friend simply looked back. There was nothing but gentle contemplation in his eyes, though, and it made Sasuke want to punch him.
'Tsking', Sasuke leaned back on his seat and looked away from his group. He could feel Sakura's eyes on him but he didn't care – he just kept looking around the room trying to get a glimpse of Naruto. He just wanted to get the hell out of there. Why had he even agreed to this in the first place? He should've known someone he knew was bound to bump into them. They should've just had dinner with the guys from school and then left to spend some time together, just the two of them.
Biting his lip, Sasuke closed his eyes, knowing he was being unreasonable. Life wasn't just about the two of them, and neither could their world revolve solely around just the two of them. That was what pissed him off the most.
Suddenly, the Pop music playing was silenced and the flickering colorful lights were turned off so that the only light in the room was a dimmed one over the bar, and a bright yellow one lighting up the stage. Some protested, but mostly murmurs of curiosity could be heard from the crowd around them. A few people moved closer to the stage. He couldn't see much from his sitting position, but over the crowd he could see Gaara up there, sitting behind the drum set, Kankuro next to him, making some last minute arrangements, it seemed. There was another guy on stage on the right side. He had rebellious brown hair and wore a leathered jacket, looking rather punkish but stylish either way. The sound of his red electric guitar being tested filled the place noisily for a few seconds.
It was when a bright golden mop of hair made an appearance that Sasuke's eyes focused on what was really happening and he noticed that Naruto was on the stage as well, carrying a regular acoustic guitar to which he plugged a long, black wire. There was no denying that his outfit was very bland compared to the other two, but still, he drew eyes to him rather quickly. Only when he saw Naruto sitting on a high stool in front of the microphone did Sasuke truly come to the conclusion that Naruto was going to perform.
He could swear his heart stopped. Sitting straight in his seat so he could take a better look at the stage, he felt his eyebrows rise and his chin fall because Naruto had kept this a secret from him.
Nevertheless, he had always wanted to hear his friend truly sing, even if he had heard him play the guitar many times already. The eagerness he felt made him forget all about his previous irritation at Sakura.
People were beginning to speculate. All around him, Sasuke could hear girls commenting on the artists' looks, pointing out how obviously Naruto stood out because he was the cutest one and not matching the other two, visual-like. It annoyed him, but in the end, he felt arrogant enough inside his head to not care because Naruto was his all the way.
Naruto adjusted himself on the stool, then adjusted the microphone to match the height he was at. He strummed a bit on his guitar to check the strings, and the crowd started to whistle to cheer them on, to which Naruto smiled, blue eyes traveling across the room briefly. Sasuke couldn't help but think he looked really confident on that stage, as if he was meant to be in such a position.
Clearing his throat, Naruto grabbed the microphone. "Good evening guys!" He started, cheerfully. "How are y'all doing tonight? Having fun?" A few people growled exclamations of excitement and some clapped. Naruto's smile became wider. "Well, I'm just going to guess that most of you are probably not drunk enough yet."
Most of the room laughed at that, and Sasuke would've, as well, if he didn't find the sight of his friend mesmerizing to the point where he wasn't able to come up with any sort of coherent facial expression.
"Okay, so, I'm Naruto, and these are Gaara and Kiba, 'The Hot Dogs'," Naruto introduced, gesturing with a thumb to Gaara and then to the other brunette right beside him. "The name sucks, I know, but it's still in beta version, so give them a break." More laughs followed that. Vaguely, Sasuke heard Neji actually chuckling beside him. "Anyway, I'm not part of this awesome small band, I'm just here because I bummed a chance to play one song with them tonight." The blond looked down and tested his strings softly a bit more, before proceeding. "This song I'm about to sing is a cover by Tegan and Sara I hope you all know. I want to dedicate it to someone that is special to me in so many ways. He kind of turned my world upside down from the moment I laid eyes on him. So, yeah, ladies, I'm totally taken. If you look for the hottest guy in the room, aside from myself, of course, that would be him."
Sasuke tensed at this.
What?
Noises of disappointment filled the place, at the same time as everyone looked around. Some people, who already had seen them together looked straight at Sasuke, but he didn't really take notice of them. Some people from their group at school released a few excited catcalls.
His name was uttered in a breathless whisper, and Sasuke only had half a mind to recognize Sakura's voice.
Naruto's smile softened. Blue eyes scanned the wide room and settled on Sasuke for a couple of seconds. Their gazes met intensely and meaningfully for that short amount of time that seemed to last forever before Naruto looked away at the crowd again. "Anyway, I guess there are many things I want to say to you but I can never really bring myself to tell them. I also really wanted to sing to you, but was a bit embarrassed about it for some reason. So, Sasuke, this one is for you."
TBC…
Guest: Ah, I already said this a million times, but no, I'm not planning on this being strictly SasuNaru. It will be what it has to be, but I don't like to establish who tops or bottoms. Who tops first will depend on the chemistry they share and who needs what more. About Karin… hehe, don't worry, she'll have her moment when you least expect it ;) Thank you for commenting!
Guest2: Well, if I have to be very honest and straightforward, your review truly hurt to read. I know I can't please everybody, that's just how things go. I already knew I was dealing with the issue of cheating, which is quite a sensitive topic for many, but quite frankly, you're the first person that tells me that my characters act like women. I mean… I have many stories and no matter what negative things some people have to say about certain things in them, that's something no-one has EVER said to me. I have some of the best authors out there reading my stories and enjoying them for what they are, including this one. This is not me trying to be arrogant, I'm just trying to tell you that this is why your comment upset me because I was genuinely shocked that you think they act like women. And I was also upset that you mentioned they act 'Gay'. I don't understand this. Is acting 'gay' supposed to be some kind of particularity nowadays? Do all gay men act 'gay'? What exactly is 'gay' in your book, and why would acting gay have to mean they act like women? I mean, yeah, they are currently gay. Two men who are in love with each other. People act sappy when they're in love and do stuff they never thought they would. So I guess gay men are sappy. And apparently, all people in love act 'gay'.
All negative criticism hurts, to be honest, but, as I said, I know I can't please everybody. I respect your opinion. It's your choice to continue reading or not, so… thank you for reading this story up to this point, and I'm sorry that it has become a disappointment to you.
I know, I know. You guys who follow me on tumblr have seen a teaser that had a bit of smut. That's for next chapter. It was supposed to be only one chapter, but it was already over 20 pages long. So… sorry I had to split it up! But that meant an earlier update! Everything's finished, so I'll post it as soon as my lovely beta has it ready, okay?
Also, I want to tell you guys that this story (as well as Recycling Hearts and Wishing for Happiness) were nominated for The Naruto and Sasuke Awards. I don't know who nominated what, but thank you a million times! If you wish to vote, the link in on my profile page. You can vote for more than one story per category, which is great! The stories are under my Y!Gal name, though, which is DebbieSilver.
See ya in a couple of days or so!
Lots of Love!
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