Twenty Days till Sundown
Chapter 2 Running on Empty
T Minus 19 Days
Dim light from the too-old street lamps flickered into existence as he pulled into the small side street and expertly maneuvered his Volkswagen into the minuscule parking space. There was plenty of space for parking all along that street, but that space - so impossibly small that it seemed as though pinched into existence - was his space, reserved for him alone. Well, for him and his 'baby,' or as his friends called it, the red-hulking-monstrosity-that-belonged-in-a-museum. How they came up with that name, he would never understand. It wasn't even that large, just that there was a chronic lack of space in the trunk, so he'd had to attach a trunk to the top of his Volkswagen Beetle, which balanced precariously over the sleek red hood, which - admittedly - was in desperate need of a wash.
So what if the model was discontinued or the make of the car was outdated? The classy exterior - much better than the New Beetle, mind you - combined with the sleek, custom orange-and-beige leather interior was admittedly attention-grabbing in all the right ways. Normally, Naruto didn't like to stand out too much, but it was love-at-first-sight for him. It was the perfect car.
Thus, as he stepped out of his baby into the dewy morning air, he felt rejuvenated. Not even the stars winking at him in the god-forsaken hours of morning - when nobody should be awake - nor the lack of coffee could stall his brilliant grin. With crisp steps and that unwavering smile, he strode to the dusky edifice that was his office. In daylight, it was a gorgeous architectural marvel, commissioned by him in a tasteful combination of renaissance and avant-garde elements. The delightful melody of Sunday Morning by K-OS - another one of his unique implements to "make things more homey" as he often told his staff - of the unlocking system resounded in the quiet street, and he bounded over the threshold.
He made a beeline for the caffeinated goodness in the kitchen - installed just for such purposes - and soon the aroma of coffee filled the workspace. Humming slightly out of tune, he retreated to his private office on the second floor, which doubled as a studio and settled down on the comfy sofas to work on his more creative projects.
This, was how his coworkers had found him, 3 hours later. He lay belly-down on the floor, having run out of space on the coffee table, with designs and empty coffee mugs littering the floorspace about him.
"Naruto," Gaara called when the blond had yet to stop muttering to himself, obviously not noticing their entry.
Naruto started and sheepishly rubbed his neck in apology. "Hey Gaara, d'you just get here?"
"Yes," the redhead answered, then paused. "You should go wash your face."
"Okay!" The blond cheered, jumping up past his friend on the way to the bathroom. It was a good thing he had listened too, since, as he looked in the mirror, he noticed the faint inked markings of one of his designs on his cheek. Evidence from lying on his designs, no doubt. Then again, it was always good to listen to Gaara. When he returned to his study, Gaara had collected all the papers and cups from the floor, putting them in neat piles on his desk.
"Thanks Gaara!" Naruto smiled, and reached for his friend in a one-armed hug, rubbing his face into Gaara's simple burgundy turtleneck.
"Stop it. Your hands and face are still wet."
"Oops," he laughed. "You caught me!"
Gaara heaved a long-suffering sigh and turned to their two pattern-makers in the room who had been to busy bickering to take any notice.
"Sasori. Deidara. Stop arguing and get to work."
Deidara stopped mid-sentence. "Fine! I'll prove to you my designs are better. We'll ask Gaara to judge after, then you'll have to admit it. Yeah!"
"Fine," Sasori said gruffly. Despite being his cousin, everyone knew that Gaara was infallibly unbiased when it came to work. There was no bribing or threatening the man. That settled, the two print-makers walked back to their desks and settled down for the day's work.
Gaara heaved another sigh. Now to persuade his friend to take a break from working himself to death. Sure, it was what made Jinchuuriki a name in the fashion industry, but that was unnecessary now. Now they had more than enough to expand, hire others to do the small-time work in their stead. But Naruto wanted to keep a small boutique instead, preferring to make unique creations instead of mass-producing the popular items. And as far as Gaara knew, what Naruto wanted, he got. If through persistence alone.
"Naruto, take a break."
"Hmm?" The blond had stealthily made his way back to the drawing board behind his desk, where he was deliberating old and new designs.
"You've been more obsessed with this design than Dr. Frankenstein. You need a break."
"Gaara," Naruto turned his puppy dog eyes to his friend and confidant, whining, "but I have to finish this for the competition."
"The due date isn't for another two weeks. You know you can crank out at least 5 within that timeframe. But if you keep overworking yourself, you won't be able to finish anything."
"Fine." Naruto pouted. He knew a losing argument when he saw one.
Rather than let his friend stew and sulk, Gaara grabbed his arm and manhandled him into the spare room that had been converted into a bedroom for his personal use. Pushing him onto the mattress, the redhead turned back to the door.
"Stay." He said just before closing the door on his friend's shocked face with a quiet and final 'click.'
Naruto slowly closed his gaping maw. He didn't want to 'stay.' He didn't want to rest and he most certainly didn't want to be alone with his thoughts. He came early to work just to escape them. But, he sighed, Gaara really knew best. He could just feel the strain of keeping his eyes open. Maybe he would relax, just this once.
He could have authored "101 Ways to Murder Your Colleagues" in the 5 minutes after he was woken by a loud screech and all-too-crude cussing.
Which, was why the five people in the vicinity chose to keep their sarcastic remarks to themselves when Naruto burst out of his unofficial bedroom with a loud roar that sounded entirely too squeaky to be intimidating.
"Naruto." Gaara intoned.
The huffing and puffing blond swivelled to face his friend.
"I've reviewed your designs and set aside my choices for the competition. You can look them over after lunch." With that, Gaara dragged the blond to the kitchen and proceeded to ignore him while he made them both sandwiches. Although, he watched with well-hidden amusement when Naruto deflated in his peripheral vision. His charismatic friend could never stay mad when the object of his anger wasn't there. It was a part of his charm.
"Here." He set the plate of braised beef brisket with pesto, mozzarella, and Sriracha hummus in front of him. Spicy, just how Naruto liked it. (And the blond lit up like a child, a grin threatening to break his face.) Then, made his own pulled turkey chilli sandwich with pickles. He had to admit; designating a kitchen and lounge room on the ground floor was one of Naruto's best ideas.
"Good food inspires great designs!" His friend had said before scrawling whatever the hell he wanted on the once-pristine office blueprints.
They enjoyed a comfortable silence as they finished their respective lunches before Naruto bounded up the stairs to his studio to look at Gaara's picks.
"Gaara! Hurry up!" He called, resembling a hyper child urging his mother to go faster. Gaara cringed at the thought. That was one role he didn't want to fit into.
Naruto wasted no time hustling his staff into the studio room for their opinions. He had set the three crude designs against the drawing board and pulled out a pad to take down suggestions.
The first from the left was a two-toned, sleek-looking blazer, with hidden seams and pockets. The collar was a dark grey and black wide-peak lapel, the grey highlighting the broad shoulders. The edge of the cuffs were also of the same grey. The tail ends trailed to mid-thigh, although the frontispiece was of moderate length, but tapered off along the centre-fold to seem slimming. One hidden button held the piece together. This was paired with a straight tab-collar black-lined shirt piece that was done up with hidden buttons along the length.
The middle design was a simple white button down with a black mandarin collar, just visible behind a wide draped-neck sweater with looser material around the shoulders. It seemed to emphasize the neckline. The shirt had 3/4 length bell sleeves, as though inspired by the kimono, but the excess material could fold be pinned by a button at the cuff.
The last was a grey-lined cross between a tab and swan neck shirt. It seemed to be designed for unisex wear, or for a very feminine man. Naruto took a more liberal approach to this piece. Although the piece was structured, with wire frames along the sides, there was a cut of loose material that extended like an open curtain from the upper back to mid-thigh. There were the sleek, traditional folds down both sides, but the piece was sleeveless. An optional leather belt, which matched the lining along the neck, tied the piece together.
After a round of 'oohs' and 'ahs,' Naruto blushed and sheepishly rubbed his head in a familiar gesture.
"They're just rough drafts," he said. "I'm open to any suggestions."
The first comment was, "You, my friend, are disgustingly modest." Which earned the platinum blond a slap upside the head, courtesy of the resident tailor and finance-manager.
"Hidan. Shut up." The behemoth of a man deadpanned in a rumbling baritone.
"What's the concept?" Nagato interrupted.
"Well," Naruto stalled, "there wasn't really a concept."
"You're hedging. You always have a concept when you design." No one - least of all, Naruto - could fool Gaara. He was incredibly perceptive, especially when it came to his work.
"Okay," the blond stammered before regaining his voice, "I was thinking of how clothing is so gendered nowadays. Even Jinchuuriki subscribes to gender-exclusive clothing. I think a unisex clothing line would put more emphasis on individuality, rather than how feminine or masculine you are."
"Hmm." There was a chorus of nods around the room. When it was clear that all important questions had been asked, Gaara quickly delegated the jobs and sent everyone off.
"Hidan, look into accessories for the three designs. Deidara will make a couple prints for the first design, while Sasori will make the prints for the second and third. Nagato, please consult Hinata for suitable material for the mixed-media pieces. Kakuzu and Konan will start tailoring them for the crude configurations."
Once the pieces were reexamined by their marketing expert and sales rep, there would be the making of advertisements, which involved contacting photographers, the models, and set-designers to prepare the backdrop. Then finally sales. Sometimes, the lengthy process they went through seemed to dwarf the design. But then, they would see the final placard above the main sales area and it would all be worth it.
Soon it was, "Uzumaki! I need an opinion on this!" and "Deidara, get your butt to work!" And pandemonium resumed in the headquarters of Jinchuuriki.
After a productive day at Kyuubi, the boutique under which Jinchuuriki was founded and operated, the staff would usually file over to Naruto's apartment to mooch off their boss's delicious cooking. But since noticing his friend's drooping posture, Gaara steered the wayward group to their regular joint, Akimichi's Sushi, a block away. It was run by Naruto's high school friend, and they so often got a discount.
"Chouji!" Naruto shouted over the bedlam of his staff get-together.
"Naruto!" His jovial friend greeted. "Back again, I see!"
"Yup!" He clamoured, "Give me ramen!"
Chouji merely laughed, having readied a bowl as soon as he heard the commotion outside his establishment. Gaara rolled his eyes.
"Naruto. How are you and Sasuke doing?" He sometimes blindsided his friend purposefully knowing that Naruto was all-too-good at dodging uncomfortable topics otherwise. Now that they were outside the workplace, personal questions were fair game.
"Hmm," the blond muttered noncommittally through his ramen. "Remind me to notify the city that the streetlights seem to be broken."
His companion sighed at the not-so-subtle deflection. He knew that when his closest friend got this way, there was nothing more he could do. Naruto could out-stubborn Ino, their exclusive model, on a bad-hair day. It happened once for a photoshoot when the hyper blond withheld her clothes - she was in the midst of changing behind the curtained room - purse, and phone until she agreed to the job.
He was the epitome of pigheadedness. And so, Gaara did the sensible thing and waited him out. The blond usually gave out in the end after a couple hours of uncomfortable silence of Gaara's blank stare into the back of his head.
The end, it turned out, was far in sight. Naruto had yet to relent on the subject, even as they were filing back to their cars a block away. The duo stopped beside his red Beetle, as the others waved goodbye. As it was now, the familiar boutique seemed to loom over him, ever-so-threateningly. Naruto wouldn't meet Gaara's stare, instead, opting to study the cobblestone under his feet.
Gaara sighed. It was a more serious matter than he'd thought.
"I'm coming over tomorrow for dinner." He finally said.
"What?" Naruto squawked, finally meeting his friend's perceptive eyes. He sighed to himself before relenting with a quiet, "Fine."
Then, "Want to visit the cineplex first and grab a movie with me? We can watch kids stick their buttery fingers up their noses." Naruto snickered.
"And be dragged into whatever misadventure you may stumble into next? No thank you."
The blond laughed heartily, watching his good friend walk to his sleek black Lexus and drive away. Then he went home to his empty flat and lonely bed.
Let me know if the characters are getting too OC.
Made this chapter much, MUCH longer out of love for those who reviewed, favourited, and followed this story. Thanks for the support! Please keep reviewing. It gives me the motivation to update.