Thanks to Ohhbabygirl for the Follow, I appreciate it!
Disclaimer: Should have done this ch1 but I am pretty sure I forgot. Floret, NY is a place I made up as is the school that Naruto talks about for the meeting. The band talked about in this chapter is a real and freaking awesome band so check em out if you can. If Naruto belong to me there would be so much Boy x Boy pairing especially NaruGaara. I think that's all for now.
Naruto drove toward Willow Road, Willowry Elementary School. He hummed to the J-rock blasting in his car, L'arc en Ciel always made him want to dance. He parked five blocks away from the school which was where Shukaku had agreed to meet him.
The young man was dressed in an orange with black jacket which had a swirling design in the back which was black, he also had on a long sleeve orange shirt underneath and black trousers, finishing it off with orange boots and had tried controlling his unruly blonde spiky hair to no veil, it had a mind of its own.
Naruto got out of his neon orange with black mini-cooper, it was obvious which was his favorite color. He looked around and checked his message, having told Shukaku that he would be driving a bright mini-cooper, hard to miss. He had arrived fifteen minutes early from their agreed time to meet up and almost an hour early to the event
The blonde waited for a few minutes, checking his phone then saw a redhead figure approach him. The young man that was fast approaching him had dark sunglasses with spiky, crimson hair that made Naruto think of blood. He was dressed in a crimson jacket with grey trousers and what looked to be a brown gourd and...was that a tattoo on the young man's forehead?! Wow that was daring.
The gourd made him think of Shukaku's avatar, there was no way that this young man was Shukaku...he was expecting an old man!
"S-Shukaku-san?!" Naruto asked surprised, cerulean blue eyes widening. He saw the redhead falter for a moment before stopping in front of him.
"Kyuubi-san?" The familiar deep voice asked.
Naruto smiled brightly, tempted to hug the smaller male but stopped himself. "Hai! Nice to officially meet you, believe it!" The tanned male offered his hand, from the bit of skin he could see, he could tell that the redhead was quite pale...and seemed to have no eyebrows. What the cerulean blue eyes couldn't stop staring at was the bright red kanji on the corner of Shukaku's redhead which said 'Ai' meaning 'Love' in Japanese. Now that he thought about it, the little racoon in Shukaku's avatar had a little heart in the same spot.
The redhead stared at the offered hand for a moment then seemed to stare at the blonde.
"Likewise." The deep voice responded, Naruto trying not to pout as he retreated his hand, feeling a bit disappointed.
"Would you like something to drink while we wait? I think I need some coffee in order to function, I am a total coffee addict...well coffee second only to ramen but who doesn't like ramen? It should be a crime not to like ramen!" Naruto knew he was rambling and that his cheeks were probably bright red but he couldn't help it!
"Very well." The redhead quietly replied, which made the blonde smile, moving to grab the pale hand without thinking but felt it pull away.
"Ah sorry...I do get accused of being very affectionate and physical." Naruto murmured, looking like a kicked puppy.
"I...have never been touched before." The redhead quietly replied, so quiet that for a moment the blonde wondered if he imagined it.
"You've never been touched?" Naruto asked with furrowed brows, seeing the redhead shake his head which made the blonde stare in shock.
"Not...not even your hands or hugs?!" Naruto asked in surprise, looking aghast at the thought.
"No." Was the simple reply, heading toward the coffee shop.
"Do you have a fear of germs or something like that?" Naruto asked, tilting his head slightly.
"...Something like that." Shukaku replied, opening the door and letting the tanned male go first.
The cafe was small with beige colored bricks and dark wood floors, there were plants everywhere from cactuses to roses, each small table seemed to be made out of ashwood and had a succulent plant in the middle.
Naruto read through the menu, humming until he made his choice and went to the cashier, looking at the name tag "Hello Amy, how are you today?" He brightly asked her.
The young girl stared in shock for a moment before smiling brightly "I am well thank you, sir...how may I help you today?"
"I am fine, thank you for asking! May I please have a black coffee with 5 sugar...and can I please have an extra fudge brownie with loads of cream...what would you like, Shukaku-san?" He asked brightly, turning to look at his companion for the day.
The redhead was quiet for a minute or so "...Aloe juice, please." A pale hand moved to remove his gourd but Naruto moved his hand forward in a stop motion.
"Oh no, my friend...it's my treat, you are joining me today without needing to, at least let me do this for you!" Naruto asked, offering his card before the redhead could stop him, then added a $5.00 cash tip in the jar.
The young girl apparently wasn't used to it because she stared at the money in shock "Oh wow...thank you so much sir! That's really generous of you!"
"Not at all, thank you for your hard work, Amy!" Naruto seemed oblivious to the blush on the girl's cheeks.
"Your order will be done in a moment, please choose a seat and I'll bring your order to you!" Amy brightly said, glancing between Naruto and Shukaku curiously.
Naruto nodded, looking at the smaller male "Are you sure you only want aloe juice? You can get something else if you'd like." The blonde said, walking toward the end of the cafe, sitting by the window so that he could people watch.
"I am fine, thank you." The redhead replied, moving to sit across from Naruto, setting the gourd down on the floor.
The blonde was curious about the dark sunglasses, wondering what was hidden behind it, wondering if Shukaku was like Shino, shuddering remembering the bug boy "How come you are wearing sunglasses indoors, Shukaku-san? Not that you have to answer or anything if you don't want to!"
The redhead was quiet for a bit before responding "My eyes are sensitive to light."
"Oooh, sorry for prying! If it makes you feel any better I have a really sensitive nose...Sasuke used to say that it could rival a dog." Naruto brightly said before the smile faltered thinking about his best friend before pushing the bitter thoughts away.
"...Sasuke?" There seemed to be a hint of curiosity in that aloof voice.
"Yeah, he's my best friend! You remind me a lot of him but much nicer, that bastard was always insulting me or ignoring me, believe it! But he was really nice deep down...he is really nice, deep down. He's just a bit misunderstood, that's all." Naruto tried to keep up the bright smile, feeling an ache in his chest, as if someone ripped off his heart. No, he couldn't give up, Naruto Uzumaki was not a quitter!
"Hm." Just in time their drinks came and Naruto's fudge brownie with extra whip cream. The taller male offered the smaller one a bite but the smaller one politely declined.
"I don't think you are a killer, Shukaku-san. I think we all have a monster inside of us...sometimes good and sometimes not so is always a voice in our head that tells us to do things or makes us sometimes believe something that is not true." The blonde was talking from personal experience, turning to look outside, having the perfect view of his car from where they were sitting.
"How do you know if I have or have not killed someone, Kyuubi-san?" Shukaku quietly asked, looking down at his lap.
"I know real killers...you aren't one of them, Shukaku-san. At least you understand that you have a darkness inside of you and are brave enough to admit to it...most people don't, they let that fear take hold of them and break them." Naruto replied, moving to take a sip of his coffee then stuck his tongue out as he felt it get burned "Ow...ow...one of these days I won't burn it!"
A snort escaped the paler male, moving to take a sip of his juice.
The tan male did a fake offended look "How dare you my good sir! How dare you laugh at my pain." He said dramatically, holding on to his heart then started laughing, enjoying his time with the redhead. It felt as if they've been friends for years.
"You are surprisingly clumsy, Kyuubi-san." Shukaku murmured, seeming to be staring at the blonde.
"Surprisingly?" Naruto asked with a laugh "Oh, I am extremely clumsy but it gets overlooked due to my dashing good looks." The blonde grinned, wiggling his eyebrows then threw his head back in laughter "I am just kidding about the good looking part...but yes, I am quite clumsy especially with my coffee."
"I think you are good looking, Kyuubi-san." The redhead said matter of factly, without a hint of embarrassment.
The blonde felt his cheeks brighten and his eyes grow wide, staring at Shukaku in surprise. Was the redhead hitting on him? No, it didn't sound like it.
"T-Thank you." Was all that the writer could say, looking down almost shyly, rubbing the back of his neck. He tried drinking his coffee again, glancing at the redhead then down. "Is your hair really that red?" He blurted out.
"Yes." It felt as if Shukaku was staring straight at him through those dark sunglasses.
"Oh wow...I really like it especially with your pale skin, you look like a doll...wait maybe it's not a good thing to call another guy a doll, is it? I don't think any guy wants to hear that they look delicate." The taller male said with a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his neck.
When Naruto heard that snort again, he laughed, by now associating that sound with the closest thing he'd get to a laugh from the smaller male. "That is the first time I've been called delicate." Was that a hint of amusement behind the aloof voice?
"Well ya know what they say...I am all up for breaking firsts." Naruto teased with a wink. He broke his fudge brownie in half, offering the other half to the redhead with a bright smile.
Shukaku looked down at the offered brownie, then back to the blonde "...Thank you." With that the smaller male took a small bite of the brownie, it tasted good.
Naruto was having a good time, he couldn't remember how long it's been since he laughed so much and felt so at ease, a small part of him feeling guilty about it. Shukaku seemed like someone he could become good friends with.
'Friends...it's okay for me to have more friends, right?'The blonde thought, taking a bite of his brownie. He kept laughing and joking with the redhead, trying to remind himself that it was okay for him to keep on living.
A.N:/ This is one of those chapters that makes me chuckle, only Naruto could call Gaara delicate and only Gaara could be blunt enough to call Naruto handsome, haha. Wait until you guys get the meaning of Cactus.