Title: Exotic Light
Authoress: Darka-Chan
Summary: Gaara is a dancer, a stripper, and Neji is always there to watch him dance. NejixGaara, SasukexNaruto

Chapter 05: Are you stalking me?
Naruto lets out a relieved sigh as TenTen takes over. He picks up his bag from under the bar before seating himself on one of the stools on the costumer side of the furniture.

Unlike Temari and Gaara, he and Kankurou can just do their shift in their normal clothing, having to abide to only a few things. So when they, or people with the same job but different shifts are done, they can just gather their things and go home.

Taking a Bacardi, Naruto looks up as someone plops down in the stool next to him. It's a boy around his age, meaning ranging from 17 to 19, with black bluish hair and onyx eyes which show just a slight hint of red which is mostly unnoticed.

"Hey." Naruto greets, his bartender skills also working at the other side of the bar.

"Hey." The other replies quietly, ordering a Pesoa.

"I've seen you around a few times." Naruto grins. "Don't you usually sit somewhere in the far dark and scary back?" he adds, jabbing his finger in the direction of a table that is mostly covered in shades.

The boy nods. "Aren't you the bartender that works an hour before and an hour after the red dancer?"

Naruto grins. "Hai! That's me! Uzumaki Naruto is the name, what's yours?"

"Uchiha Sasuke." The other replies casually, using his straw to mix his drink some more.

"Cool name." Naruto comments, grin widening a little.

"Say Naruto." TenTen says from behind the bar.

"Hai Ten-chan?"

"Don't you have a date in half an hour?"

"KUSO!" Naruto yells jumping up, making some people glare at him irritated, and others amused.

"Soz, Sasuke-kun, but I gotta run! See ya around some times, and don't hesitate to sit at the bar and keep me company, k? Bye!" and the blonde bartender is gone.

"He talks so much, it's funny." TenTen laughs, preparing a drink for a costumer, after all… drinks don't mix themselves, or she, Naruto and some others would be out of jobs.

Sasuke clenches his fist in anger. 'A date? he has a date? How dare he! he's mine! Mine! Minemineminemineminemine!' then something else occurs to him, and a soft smile replaces the angry expression. 'He called me kun...'

'Oh crap, I'm late I'm late I'm late! Sakura-chan's going to behead me!' Naruto thinks panicked, running to the place he was supposed to meet his girlfriend.

He is almost at the restaurant when he rounds a corner and runs into someone, sending them both to the floor. Jumping up quickly, Naruto starts to apologise.

"I am so, so, so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going, and I- Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke looks up from his place on the floor as he rubs his head. "N-Naruto?"

Grinning Naruto stretches out his hand to help the other up. "Where are you going?" he asks, still holding onto Sasuke's hand.

"The restaurant around the block." Sasuke replies in something akin to a mere whisper as he looks at the hands.

"Hey, me too!" Naruto laughs. "Care to run with me?"

Sasuke replies with an one-shouldered shrug.

"Great! Maybe I'll still make it on time!" Naruto grins, before starting to run, dragging Sasuke with him in the progress.

Sasuke just keeps looking at their linked hands the whole time, and a ghost of a smile appears on his lips.

'Maybe I have a change…'

"Where is he!" Sakura growls, pacing in front of the entrance.

People like Sakura don't just dislike being stood up; the loath it. And seeing that Naruto is more then his usual 15 minutes late, Sakura thinks she has been stood up.

"He's so going to get it when I see him again, I'll-"

"Sakura?"

Sakura looks up and grins. "Ino! What are you doing here?"

"Nyah, same to you." Ino replies, waving the question off slightly.

Sakura lets out a sigh. "Well, I was going on a date, but that was 25 minutes ago." she growls out.

"Same here, but my date was cancelled." Ino bites out harshly.

The two girls let out a sigh and bow their heads in defeat.

"Ne, Sakura-chan?"

"Hai?"

"Why don't we go somewhere together?" Ino suggests, making Sakura grin. "After all, we're aren't going to let some guys put a damper on our good moods, ne?"

Sakura laughs softly. "Too true."

When Naruto and Sasuke arrive at the restaurant, Naruto let's out a strangled sigh. "I knew I should've called I was running late." He whines. "Sakura-chan's going to kill me when she sees me again!"

Sasuke watches this all with an amused expression, even while his thoughts are less amused.

'A girl? My Naruto dares to go out with a girl? I'll kill her. I'll kill her so bad, she wishes she was never brought to life by her foolish parents.'

"Ne, Sasuke-kun?" Naruto asks, effectively breaking Sasuke's interesting thoughts, for the lack of a better word.

"Hai?"

"Wanna go out with me in her place?" Naruto grins.

"N-nani?" the raven-haired boy splutters.

Realisation on how that must've sounded dawns upon Naruto. "Just as friends!" he quickly adds in his defence, thinking he said something wrong. 'Maybe he's a homophobe?' Then something else dawns upon him. "Oh, how stupid of me! You probably already have plans, don't you? I'm really sorry for imposing like that! Really, really, really sorry!"

As Naruto continues to ramble, Sasuke can't help the smile that's slowly gracing his lips. 'Kawaii.' "It's fine, Naruto." He says, effectively hushing the other boy who had started to bang his head against a solid wall. "I'll go out with you."

"Really?" Naruto grins.

Sasuke's smile widens as he nods. "Hai."

"Thanks!" Naruto beams. "This is a wonderful opportunity to get to know each other better!" he grins, as the realisation dawns upon him that he just asked a complete stranger out.

"Hai, I agree." Sasuke says with a sly grin. 'A wonderful opportunity indeed…'

Well, that was the chap! You kinda haveta improvise on the date, though flashbacks to it will probably be there later in the fic, as the next chap will be about Hinata's thoughts mostly. -and Neji realising summit, muwahahahahaha-

VOTING TIME!

TemarixHinata
TemarixShikamaru