AN: Thank you all for reviews/favs/follows, it makes me happy that you enjoyed reading my story :) Here is an update for you! It is the longest chapter so far and has some scientific terms, so hopefully you won't fall asleep while reading it, lol. Let me know what you think!
Story summary: Naruto meets a perfect stranger who turns out to be a bastard and keeps meeting him over and over again. And why does it seem that elevators conspired against humanity?
Chapter summary:Naruto tries to not think about the unpleasant bastard and turns to Iruka for help. Will they succeed? And what does Naruto's boss have to say?
DAMN ELEVATOR
Floor 3. Out of sight, out of mind?
Many questions were going through Naruto's mind as he was walking away from the building. Many questions with no answers... Why did the perfect stranger occupy his mind? What made him different comparing to Sai? Why did they meet? Why was he thinking that the meeting was important? Was it related to the feeling he got earlier today - like something was about to change in his life? Having someone in his life like the man he met would certainly change it, but he didn't need it. There is no way he was attracted to a total stranger. He didn't need any temes occupying his mind all the time!
Not ever, but certainly not today! Today was too important.
After graduating from UofT, Naruto stayed with the institute of astronomy and was working towards his PhD. While studying orbits of celestial objects, together with his colleagues and peers from other parts of the world he was mainly concerned about Earth-crossing asteroids and especially PHAs. Potentially Hazardous Asteroids. Well, you know, those space rocks big enough and at one point in the future possibly close enough to collide with our planet and do some scary shit. How scary? Go ask dinosaurs. Oh wait, you can't...So now, you have a pretty good idea of how scary that shit may be.
However, having an idea of what might happen is one thing, knowing exactly how the atmosphere of a planet is affected is completely different. So when a colleague from the planetary science department approached him asking if there are any asteroids or comets planning to fall onto nearby planets, he jumped at the opportunity.
Today was the day when he can get the final readings of several asteroids on their coordinates, compare with his predictions, and adjust their calculated orbits. It is highly possible that in just seven years one of them collides with his most favourite planet – Venus.
So, yeah, by any means necessary, he needed to be able to concentrate on this. But! Any thoughts about night skies and stars unfailingly led to the mysteriously black eyes, not his research! The worst part was that the man from the elevator probably forgot all about him by now..
Naruto frowned in frustration, frosty air gently pinching his cheeks. He needed to clear his mind, fast. There was only one place, only one person that could help him with that – Rasengan Café, Iruka's place and his second part-time job. There he could always be himself without anything bothering him. His farther will be able to help him without a doubt!
Smiling at the ingenious idea, the blond started running towards the café, thankfully it was not far. Another thought crossed his mind, since he started working for Jiraya, he hasn't been able to meet his dad so early in the morning. Days off were awesome! As soon as he reached his destination, Naruto immediately run through the welcoming door and..
!SHMACK!
"urgh..dammit..." It definitely wasn't his day today… after laying on the ground for a couple of moments, Naruto realized that it was too early in the morning for the door to be welcoming. The café was still closed and the door was definitely NOT welcoming yet…Urgh.. The blond lifted himself up from the ground felling a bit dizzy and disoriented. When the little snowmen stopped flying around his head and his sight came to norm, he saw Iruka's shocked face in the doorway.
"Naruto, what happened?" Iruka's asked but then saw a huge red bump on his son's forehead "..never mind, come on in..."
"Your door doesn't like me today..." was all that Naruto could say in his defence.
As soon as the blond walked in, he was surrounded by the familiar atmosphere of warmth and coziness and it seemed like most of his stress was left freezing outside. It was a good start!
The place was magical. He didn't know how his father did that, but everything at the café was just like Iruka – calming and homelike, caring and welcoming (except for the door). It wasn't magical only to Naruto, others felt it too. When people came here, they unfailingly became regular customers. Oh, and the best part: it did not have any elevators!
Naruto moved towards the bar and made himself comfortable on one of the stools, while Iruka's poured fresh coffee for both of them.
"So start telling me your story" Iruka started, it was very unusual for his son to come in this early. "Why are you here, what happened?"
"Would you believe me if I said 'nothing'?" Naruto tried to smile innocently. His goal was to clear his mind and forget about what happened just over an hour ago. As soon as humanly possible, he needed to get rid of the still fresh memory of those beautiful bottomless the colour of the... Damnit! Damn elevator that made me wait so long and stare at unnecessary things!
"Hm, nothing you say.. " Iruka looked at his son trying to figure out what bothered him so much. Silence didn't help, so he put his cup of coffee on the bar table with more force than necessary, spilling the contents out and making Naruto jump in his seat. "Why would I believe this nonsense? Don't you mess with me Naruto Uzumaki! Since the very first moment I saw you I could tell when you lie and when you don't!"
Does this mean that I lied to you the very first time we met?... Naruto thought, blush colouring his cheeks from embarrassment.
"Or am I not your dad anymore?.." Iruka continued with a very hurtful expression on his face, tears shining in the corners of his chocolate coloured puppy eyes... "You don't trust me at all, do you? Am I not needed?...sniff" yeah, Iruka knew how to play this game.
Naruto groaned and rubbed his temples suddenly remembering how around three years ago Iruka cried in front of him just like that about his unrequited love for one of the regular customers. The blond could never stand his delicate father's tears! So, the next time the regular came, it was with a bouquet of roses and a confession of eternal love for Iruka. It was one of the happiest days in his father's life. Though one thing was left behind the scenes: on a very dark night, in a deserted alley, the regular was properly educated on the importance of never ever making Iruka cry. In the process, the man's face mask was torn to pieces to ensure that he wasn't an ugly weirdo. Anyways, everything turned out fine as the love was in fact not unrequited and the couple happily remains together to this day.
"All right, all right! I met someone" the younger man gave in and immediately Iruka's face brightened up. Though Naruto was not happy at all, he looked at the porcelain cup and allowed himself to think about the stranger's unbelievably fair skin, dark liquid reminding him of black hair and eyes. It was scary just how much the meeting affected him, bringing up so many confusing feelings in him. There was attraction, curiosity, and the hope to become friends. "Dad, what did I do wrong to ruin everything that didn't even start?" Stared at him like the last idiot! He added to himself.
Iruka realized at once that he probed into something that his son was not yet ready to share, so he decided to let go and help in the best way he could.
"Okay, boy. As you came here today, I'll make you work so hard you won't remember your own name by the end of the day!"
"Wha-a-a-a-aht?"
"Get started!" The older man slapped the towel in front of the younger's face to get him moving.
And that he did… for the next four hours, Naruto helped with setting up tables, waiting on tables, assisting to cook, dish washing, and whatever other tasks Iruka sent his way. It was brutal, exhausting, and fun! Naruto loved it when he had to work hard on smaller tasks that didn't leave any opportunity for thinking too much. He barely noticed how time flew by and forgot why he came there in the first place.
Naruto got to meet some regulars that he didn't see before because his usual shift doesn't start until 5pm. There were people famous and not so famous from all industries: bankers, book publishers, students, politicians. There was also a news broadcaster lady with a high ponytail that kept flirting with him, saying that blue eyed blondes need to stick together. It seems that everyone loved the place and food here. He saw Sai again and learnt that his boss Jiraya is a frequent visitor too, but was not able to make it today due to too much work... Not that it was completely Naruto's fault...but he did take care of the take-out bill.
There were some customers that Iruka's waited on himself, showing them his utmost respect as the owner of the café and Naruto could tell just how much they appreciated the gesture. So, when his father asked him to do it for a small group of people that just arrived, it surprised him.
"Please do this for me once, Naruto. I have an urgent phone call I need to make. Someone needs to rescue Kakashi... Can you imagine, he got stuck in an elevator and his cell phone is low on battery? Well, or so he says... I swear, if he is just lazy and wants me to do everything, the bastard sleeps on a couch.."
"um..dad?"
"Oh, yes. The guests just arrived and are at the table number seven. You have to be very careful around them, though. First, bring all of them a glass of water, then take an order and leave. I will be back before then. Oh, and talk to the pink-haired lady only, do not address the two gentlemen. Be calm and talk as little as possible."
"Who the hell are they?! The Queen and Prime Minister?"
"Shut it!" Iruka's added before disappearing into his office.
Most likely some rich bastards with sticks up their asses, he thought while pouring water into three tall glasses, then putting them on a salver and walking out of the kitchen.
Eyes widening as he saw the ones sitting at the table 7, he felt a string of panic grow inside his stomach. The salver he carried slipped through suddenly numb fingers and crashed onto the floor spilling the water and broken glass everywhere. Eager to flee the scene and not thinking things through, he turned around sharply, tripped over his feet and, in an attempt to regain the balance on a wet surface, hit the door to the kitchen, knocking it wide open, and finally landed face down on the floor.
Truly, today was not his day.
Unbelievable.. he thought while getting up from the floor, cheeks flushed from embarrassment. He could only hope that Iruka did not see or hear what just happened. However with how lucky he was today he knew that would not be the case. Why was it happening to him? Why would the stranger from this morning be a regular at Iruka's cafe?
Well, why wouldn't he? Everyone else seems to be! Urgh.. Damn his black eyes, damn the pale skin, damn the perfect body, morning meeting, first and last fight, DAMN ELEVATOR!
Nope, nothing will ever leave Naruto's mind after this. As he walked back to the kitchen to change, he missed a flicker of light in the onyx eyes that intensely watched his back.
As soon as he changed from soaked clothing, which only took him a minute, and made sure someone cleaned the mess he made, Naruto went towards the table again. Sucking in a deep breath, he pushed back the thought that this was fate's some twisted way of giving him another chance to befriend this person. There was no way in hell, not that he still cared about that...
"Good day gentlemen and a lady. May I take your order?" He politely said, professional smile plastered to his face. Just as Iruka said, he mainly addressed the pretty young woman with short pink hair and bright emerald eyes. He did not want to look towards the source of his madness. No, not at all. Though his gaze did briefly slide towards the second man at the table who was also an owner of pale skin, long dark hair and very dark eyes. But just like Sai, he lacked something. It seemed that only one man had the kind of eyes he could not forget.
"We will ta.." the woman started but was rudely interrupted by the one voice Naruto hoped he would not have to hear.
"So are you an architect or a waiter? I am confused" everyone looked at him in surprise but not Naruto. He didn't look, nor was he surprised. He kind of got an inkling this morning that the man was a total prick, but he was not going to allow himself snap like earlier today. Not again.
"You were saying, miss?"
"I asked you a question" the annoying man persisted and the blond finally looked in his direction, mentally slapping himself for the mistake. The bastard looked even better than before with hair now neatly framing his face. So, you were late, jerk Naruto thought, guessing that the messy hairstyle of this morning was a sign of it.
"What would you like to order, sir?"
"I would like for you to respond" the dark eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"This is not on the menu, sir" the blue eyes narrowed in return.
"Hn." The man snorted and leaned back on the soft seat. "Just making sure you are not a stalker"
"What?!" Naruto gawked, eyes wide in disbelief. "I-I am not! Who would want to stalk your pale ass anyways?!"
"Then answer the question" lips curved in a slight smirk.
"Neither!" The blond finally snapped. "I work as an interior designer, not an architect, and I am not a waiter, I just help Iruka however I can. I also work at UofT observatory, if you are that interested, and as a tutor. Now, is anyone at this table ready to order?" He huffed the last part out looking at the other two people expectingly, steam coming out of the ears. It took a lot of effort to not punch the man in his perfect face and wipe the smirk off of it... What a joke, how could this man be Iruka's important customer?!
"Beef sukiyaki for the three of us, please." The second man at the table seemed slightly amused by the scene but the blond didn't care anymore. He just wanted to leave and let his father deal with them.
"Your meal will be here shortly. Miss, sir" he smiled at the pink haired woman and the man beside her and left, completely ignoring the infuriating bastard.
"What a dobe" Oh, he heard that...but decided to let it go and not turn around. They did not need to speak anymore... as Iruka said, he will handle the rest.
Indeed, they didn't speak afterwards, which was good. But while the bastard was eating his deliciously made lunch, the last comment was eating Naruto from the inside. It bothered him.. It bothered him that it bothered him.. which pissed him off even more.. he knew he had to do something. So, when the trio prepared to leave, the mysterious but impossibly rude man received a short note with the bill:
"I am not a dobe, teme!"
An hour later Naruto was still frustrated at everything that happened, at himself, too, for allowing the stranger get under his skin. He just could not help it, the man was able to piss him off much more than the elevators at his house!
"Argh!" The blond walked in circles inside Iruka's office, he finally got a break and tried to understand what the hell was going on. How was it even possible to have such strong reactions towards a complete stranger? They met only twice and for like fifteen minutes in total. But during these brief encounters, Naruto got to feel so many complicated emotions! And.. and.. it got him all confused and clumsy enough to drop salver and bump into doors, twice! He was angry at how everything in the man was getting on his nerves – the bastard's arrogance, tiny smirk on perfectly shaped face, and the look in his deep dark eyes. Everything was so infuriating!
Lost in thoughts, Naruto didn't notice a heavy presence in the office together with him. It grew with every passing second and already formed a dark cloud over his head with lightning strikes and thunder. This presence had a name..
I-R-U-K-A
...
...
The older man was standing in the doorway with arms crossed and watching his son walk circles around the desk, mumbling somethings to his nose. Whatever happened that made Naruto so distracted and clumsy was now affecting his business. That kind of behaviour was inexcusable, and he was not going to tolerate it, so the kid better have something to say for himself.
"What the hell was that?" he asked sharply, making the other jump in surprise. As his father closed the door and slowly walked towards him, Naruto realized just how pissed he was. He had all right to be, it was quite a performance there: overturned salver, spilt water, broken glasses...yeah, it was something! Sure it was entertaining for some, but it was a disgrace for Iruka as the owner.
"I am really sorry dad. It will never happen again" Naruto nervously run fingers through his hair. He truly regretted what happened, the issue wasn't just around spilt water, the way he talked to the customers was a problem, too. The bastard, damn him, was Iruka's important regular and should have been treated as such. If he stopped coming to the café, it would all be Naruto's fault.
The older man watched his son carefully and all his anger disappeared as he saw how tired and confused Naruto looked. Something was clearly wrong and time has come to find out what it was.
"Tell me what is going on."
"Urgh.. I don't understand it myself!" He's been trying to wrap his head around it for the whole day, dammit, unsuccessfully.
"You can start by explaining me what the hell happened. I mean, you have been acting strange for the entire day! First, you come to the café at 10 am instead of 5 pm. Which means you either didn't go to work or you left extremely early. Like 8 hours early! Moreover, you weren't even supposed to be here today! Then, you are not being as chipper as you usually are. You don't talk to me and the next thing I see is you making that scene over there, and now you are acting all weird going back and forth over here!"
Iruka was absolutely right, everything was strange, he was strange, but what could Naruto say?
"I.. um.. it's just.. er.."
"Just say something. You know you can talk to me about anything!"
"It's just that.."
"It's just what?" Iruka was losing it.. He was ready for anything already! Money problems, health problems, work problems – anything!
"THIS GUY IS DRIVING ME CRAZY FOR THE WHOLE DAY, DAMMIT! aaaaARGH!"
Well... he sure wasn't prepared for that...
"I mean, I don't even know the guy, not even his name, but a mere thought of him makes my blood boil!" Naruto was pulling out his hairs; if the bastard wasn't getting out of his head willingly, maybe that was a way to force him out of there?
To say that Iruka was stunned would have been an understatement. He has never heard his son raise a voice before, not since the elementary school. At the time, Naruto got into fights a lot, especially in the orphanage as older kids bullied him for having darker skin and naturally blond hair. In school, though, most students simply disregarded his existence. So, being loud, aggressive, and playing pranks on teachers, were just ways to draw attention to himself, to connect with others. After Naruto came to live with Iruka and started feeling more at home, he became calmer, very diligent in studies and extracurricular activities, also working part-time here and there. Eventually, even kids at school warmed up to him and he was able to make a lot of friends.
The older man was very proud of his boy, but thought that he always tried too hard to be mature. It was very rare for him to behave like a kid. And right now was one of those rare moments. The older man returned from the long past to reality, and in this reality his boy was breaking his head over not some conventional problems like money or work but about… about…
"So, wh-who is this b..b-boy?" he asked quietly and carefully, as if to not scare off some rare bird.
"Hugh? Boy? Oh hell no, he is not a boy!" Naruto finally looked at him. "Um.. It is your precious regular with a dark hair which only this morning looked like a duck's butt. He came here earlier with a pink-haired babe and a cool but creepy dude with a ponytail"
Iruka raised his brow and coldly looked at Naruto.
"You know, you would probably be in prison already if they heard you right now... And truthfully I feel like telling them this instant."
"EEEHH?" Naruto's eyes could compete with the decorative oranges that were on the desk in front of him. "Why is that? Who the hell are they?"
"I don't know what you did to Mr. Uchiha, but you definitely did something wrong. Explain to me, how do you know him?"
"I don't know him! Uchiha, hm?"
"Yes. The 'creepy dude with a ponytail', how you described him, was Itachi Uchiha, a politician. The 'pink haired babe' was Sakura Haruno, his head of public relations and communication. The third person was his younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha – a businessman. He inherited Uchiha Corp. from their father" Iruka looked at his son, who was acting weirder and weirder.
"Damn teme, even the name sounds cool, almost perfect, as expected of the asshole.."
"Naruto, I need you to tell me what happened. I know Mr. Uchiha is not the kind of person who 'drives somebody crazy' just like that, out of fun."
"Yeah? Well, the Mr. Uchiha, how you call him, and the teme, how I call him, is doing nothing but that! Drives me nuts! And kills my brain cells, one by one. And I need them! The cells. They don't regenerate!"
"Calm down, young man! Just tell me, finally!"
Naruto sat on a chair feeling the strength leaving his body. Iruka followed his example preparing to hear the full story.
"Well, today I was late for work"
"Again? Naruto, this is out-dated already."
"Yes, again. But, but it's not my fault, dad! You know the elev.."
"I know, I know. The elevators at your house..." Iruka yawned, there was no hope to change this part of his son. "You were late and then?"
"I was waiting for an elevator in the lobby of our building, I was bored and then I saw the teme.." catching Iruka's fierce look he slowly corrected himself – " …Mr. Uchiha standing beside me. He caught my eye because he was dressed like a model from a GQ magazine, a sight I don't see often. And you know me, if I find something interesting, I would just look at it, from a designer's point of view of course, trying to understand the colour combinations, style, whatever. He looked just perfect: designer clothes and accessories perfectly matching, the unreal contrast between his hair and skin colours, and then there was this light behind him that made the scene look surreal. I couldn't see his eyes but was wandering which colour they were. So, I was.."
"… shamelessly staring at him." Iruka finished, and Naruto just blushed trying not to look at his dad.
"Yeah" he admitted, scratching the back of his neck.
"So, it was your fault, then?"
"EH?! When did you become such an understanding father?" Naruto asked sceptically "It was not my fault! I said I am sorry, but he called me an idiot!"
"And you?"
"I called him a bastard, then he called me a moron, and I called him a duck-butt because of his hair, and then the elevator arrived, I said sorry again, but he, being a total asshole, ignored me completely. Still, I tried talking to him and he called me a dobe. Can you believe it? Isn't he the biggest teme in the world? I am even ready to make a super special crown for him!"
Iruka was sitting there speechless while the young man in front of him continued rambling, emotionally moving hands from side to side.
"…I would even put glittering letters on it, saying "The Biggest Teme in the World", if it is not too long. Whatever. And then I just couldn't concentrate on work. Everything that was black reminded me of him and even the eyes of my coworker Sai, and the coffee you offered me this morning… Then, he came here and been saying shitty things just to piss me off. Mission accomplished, by the way! What's his problem? I mean the guy looks perfect, just like a Japanese porcelain doll and everything but his personality is the worst! It ruins the image so much it hurts to even think about it! Still, I can't get him out of my head and it drives me mad! I am going crazy and it is all because of him! I hate this bastard!"
By the time Naruto finished talking, he was running out of breath and Iruka just sat there silently processing everything. It did sound like a hell of day his son went through, but one thing was very wrong. He sighed and tried to explain.
"You know, Naruto, Sasuke Uchiha is a person, not some beautiful doll as you described him. It is also very natural for a person to have a personality. I am sure that regardless of how perfectly he may look to you, Mr. Uchiha has his own imperfections as there is no such thing as an ideal person. However it is very amusing to know that he would call somebody a dobe."
"Amusing, hugh? Not so much for me!"
"Don't start, Naruto. This is knot what I meant. Usually, he is very polite, a bit arrogant and aristocratic, cold even, but it is natural for a man of his background and position. However, this childish side that would make him behave like this is amusing. And this applies to you too, young man."
"Me? How so?" Iruka talks weird stuff, Naruto thought.
"Well, you are all confused and emotional like never before! You are clumsy and make mistakes at work, unable to concentrate, and you have no idea what's come into you."
"True" Naruto said softly, surrendering; indeed, his behaviour from the very start was quite childish, there was no point arguing. "So what should I do?"
"For starters, if you do meet him again, try looking past the facade and understand the person behind it. Then, maybe you will come to like him. Though, on second thought, after what happened at lunch, you should probably stay away. The Uchihas are very powerful people and if they don't like someone, it may not end well for that someone"
The younger man gaped at his father like a fish gasping for air. Just what kind of mess did he get himself into?
"um..dad? Just who is he exactly? this tem..Uchiha?"
"Oh right, you don't read the morning papers... I suggest you get yourself something other than scientific or interior design magazines. Something like news or business, you know, it is important to be aware of the things that are actually happening around you. You can google him later, but it would be better for you to forget whatever happened today. It is unfortunate that you two had an unpleasant encounter, but these things happen and there is no way around it. Just let it go and try not to make things worse."
"I'll try"
Naruto felt a bit better after talking things through with Iruka. He was able to spend the next few hours in peace, helping around the café, without random things reminding him of the dark-haired man, not even black coffee. He left the café feeling refreshed. Totally exhausted, but refreshed. Like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders and once agin, he was looking forward to the night at the observatory. It was the best idea ever to go to Iruka for help!
The bus ride home was slow due to the roads not yet cleared. It snowed surprisingly a lot today while he was inside but the blond didn't complain, he was just glad that his day has taken a turn for the better. Naruto was so happy that he even smiled and chatted a bit with a person sitting beside him about the wonderful weather they were having.
Halfway through the ride, Naruto remembered that he needed to make a call to the office and properly apologize to Jiraya. Also, ask Sai to send materials for the new project to his home computer. Stars and porcelain accents didn't bother him anymore so he decided to take on renovating that condo Sai talked about. He happily dialled the number but...
"Brat, dammit! You even dare to call me after disappearing for the day?! I will fire you, I will definitely FIRE YOU, YOU HEAR ME-E-E-E?"
Naruto jumped in shock from the loud voice on the other end of the line and quickly moved the phone away from the ear to preserve his hearing. Unfortunately, the motion caused his neighbour to suffer instead. The man immediately changed his seat.
"S..sir, let me.." the blond stuttered trying to explain himself, but his boss was just too furious to listen.
"Don't even bother coming tomorrow! YOU'RE DONE!"
"But sir.."
"No, wait... You may come... I will be waiting for you tomorrow. Khe-Khe. Just you come, dear..beep-beep-beep…"
Jiraya's voice was as cold as the death itself causing icy shivers run down Naruto's spine and droplets of sweat appear on his forehead. He jumped in the seat again as the phone he was holding slowly slipped from his hand a landed on his lap.
He screwed up.
Badly.
Jiraya had plans for him tomorrow that could only end in Naruto being killed. Knowing his boss, it would be a slow, but very very painful process... At this point, he couldn't even remember if his will was finalized or not. His heart nearly stopped when the phone chimed, making him jump again. It was only a text message, but the frightened blond didn't want to look at it. The sound did indicate that it came from the office...
Deciding to finally take a look, Naruto sighed in relief seeing that it came from Sai. His colleague explained that Jiraya was furious. Well, he already knew that...It also mentioned that tomorrow is a Saturday and by Monday their boss would calm down and start demanding new designs for Ms. Tsunade and the new project, files for which have already been sent to his home computer.
The blond was relieved beyond belief and feeling his heart beating again promised to make himself some herbal tea once he gets home, a lot of herbal tea...
