28. Sorrow
In the first few years of its creation, the Blue Bar was always very slow as it was to be expected from a small town pub. The music was slow, but it was as predicted of the title, the bar was known for its blue's music. Aspiring musicians started to slowly flood to the bar, all to make a name for themselves or simply to enjoy the good music that played.
It eventually drew in crowds, the musicians for the music and the fans that followed the musicians. It eventually became the watering hole to a few budding celebrities as well, and a tourist attraction to the wandering business man. It was fair to say that the Blue Bar was one of Konoha's hottest spots as of recent years. And indeed, the Blue Bar brought in quite a crowd at that: it was rumoured that the famous pink-haired celebrity. Sakura Haruno, was becoming a regular visitor to the bar.
"Yeah, and?"
"That means we absolutely have to go Naruto!" A black haired man yelled, running a hand through his bowl-cut from frustration. They weren't moving nearly as fast as Lee wanted, and dragging reluctant Naruto along was beginning to annoy him. Every moment they spent dilly-dallying their way away from the company business meeting, the less chance the company's youthful, green beast had with the graceful young cherry blossom. "We're going to miss her! I cannot afford to miss her!"
"I don't see why we absolutely have to go, damn it." The young blond frowns, being dragged along for a ride he didn't want to be on. "I don't even like Sakura hell of a lot."
"What?"
"I told you, I don't like Sakura." He says weakly, rubbing his temples trying to ignore the 'I don't believe you' look written all over his coworkers face. He couldn't see the magic by hair dyed cotton-candy pink, and sparkling jade contacts. She really wasn't all that beautiful in the first place if you took away the make-up and the fancy dresses. "She isn't all that Rock Lee. And she has the personality of a pig."
"You take that back." The older male of the two growled, taking a swing at the young blond who merely stepped out of harm's way.
"Hey, look at that Lee, we're here already." A tongue flickered past the junior executive's lips, slipping inside the bar to escape the wrath of his flamboyant friend. Smoke, soft music and laughter filled the air, just hitting the two in floods. Naruto smiled softly, weaving into the bar to order a drink before finding a seat by a small make-shift stage bathed in blue light. The blues were playing, a small trio playing -a bassist with flaming red hair and thick eyeliner; a drummer with triangular tattoos over his cheeks; and finally, an ivory skinned pianist who looked like an angel- and on top of that, they were good.
For a moment or two, Naruto lost all track of time: he was in complete bliss, lost in the music. Nothing could have ever touched him in the way this music reached out to him, resting immobile in his chair. It was such a sad sound, so sorrowful, but with such an entourage of other mixed emotions.
He stayed there long enough to catch the attention of a band member during the last few moments of their gig. The drummer prodded the bassist, grabbing his attention away from the music and to their newest fan. They all shared a soft chuckle with each other, then continued playing. The gig went along smoothly even after the little interruption, and once the instruments went away for a break, so did Naruto.
It was getting really late, and he was supposed to get home earlier. He had a meeting early, early in the morning, and he needed to find Rock Lee and get his ride home. The blond looked about trying to find his co-worker, seeing the bar pretty much cleared out and null of life. And upon not seeing him, a sigh of discontent bubbled up from his core, going to drown his sorrow in a few cups of alcohol.
It was the wee hours of the morning by the time that the band had finished, the bassist and the drummer breaking away from the bar to go party, then probably an after party with some females they'd picked up. But, the pianist didn't go.
"It's alright guys. I think I'll stay here, and -y'know- clean up and drink a little I'm not a party person anyways. So go, have fun without me." Sasuke smiled weakly, looking at the few straggling musicians heading over to bang on some open instruments. Oh, the memories: that's how they'd all started.
"So, you're going to stay behind with that new, cute little fan of ours? The Great Uchiha going to knock a few boots tonight? That's a first." The drummer smirks softly, pushing Sasuke with a wide smirk. The boy merely rolled his obsidian eyes, staring blankly at the dissipating crowds of people. The Uchiha frowned, ordering a drink and then taking it into the crowd to sip at it with a soft smile, to sit and be in solitude. And-
"You write great music." A young blond says, sitting at the pianist's side. Sasuke turned his head, looking at his little visitor.
He had soft blond hair that even if almost combed, still was awfully messy. It tumbled into two beautiful eyes, bright and full of wonder, like they'd captured an ocean. Soft babied face, a bright smile full of delight.
Sasuke couldn't say anything, but only summon a bright smile for him. A soft 'thank you' escaped his lips, looking down at him. He could only wordlessly ponder the boy next to him, smiling weakly. He opened his mouth every once and a while as if in attempts to say something to him, but just shut it after deciding it futile.
It was Naruto to break the silence: "Hey, your songs are really sorrowful. Even if they're the blues, you have just a really sad flare to them. May I ask why?"
"I-" The question caught Sasuke off guard, looking down at his drink before looking back up. "A while ago I was in a very intimate relationship, and she upped and left me suddenly."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Naruto smiles weakly, looking at his hands before he met the musician's eyes.
Another silence fell over them, again, broken by Naruto. The young blond looked over with a weak smile, "S-so... My name is Naruto. I work for a large company as a junior executive. Who are you?"
"Sasuke," The boy says with a softer smile, looking at him with sparkling obsidian eyes. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha, budding musician."
"That's cool."
"..."
"...So," The pianist rubbed back his black hair, letting his smile widen as he looked Naruto over. He called the bartender over, keeping contact with the blond, heart-warming smile over his face. "Can I buy you a drink?"
An equally happy smile kissed Naruto's cheeks, almost feeling a little flustered in the other's presence. He looked down, murmuring shyly: "I'd like that."
FelisMargarita: Holy crap, I finally got around to writing this. It is Christmas morning, and I've not slept at all, and my insides are revolting on me. Fuck you strep, or tonsillitis.
Sasuke: Excuses!
Naruto: Hey, come on. She's actually really sick right now: maybe you can give her a break.
FelisMargarita: He can, doesn't mean he will...
