DON'T KILL ME!!!! Please, I swear it's not my fault I'm late on the update. My internet connection's wrecked at home and I had to use the wi-fi on campus. Seriously. Oh, and try not to murder me either for whatever's going to happen in this chapter. The ending's still good.
Disclaimer: Sasuke just killed Karin in canon. Kishimoto's turning him into a complete ass, and right now I'm happy I'm not the author of the manga. So no, no, no. I do not own Naruto.
Enjoy, sorry again for updating so late...
If only things simple
I waited nervously on my doorstep, aware that the teme wouldn't miss the opportunity to comment on the fact that I was up and ready to go a 7: 10 a. m. I had showered twice, before and after breakfast, and had carefully chosen my clothing, for what seemed like the first time in my life. My lucky orange T-shirt wrapped my chest just right, and helped me relax. Orange always felt good.
The black mustang finally came into view, and I sighed, looking back at my house. This was the last time I'd see it before long; somehow I didn't like the idea things might change while I was away. I went to the car, and climbed in under Sasuke's quiet gaze. He didn't look so enthusiastic either.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked, throwing my bag in the rear and shutting the door.
"I've learned to trust my brother's judgment," he replied tightly. "For this at least. He thinks it's a good experience."
"You don't sound like you're ready to blindly follow his orders," I remarked as he drove out.
"No." His answer surprised me. "I know Itachi has intuition, and that I would've done something like this sooner or later, but that doesn't mean I'm going down without a fight."
I frowned. "Meaning..."
"Whoever's in charge of us will have to prove himself before we start anything." His eyes burned dangerously, and I gulped. This could just slip from Hell to worse if the teme decided to add his personal spice to the mix.
"What did you pack?"
Confused, I looked up. "Huh?"
"I told you not to pack anything." His thumb rose away from the steering wheel to point at the back of the car.
"You can't expect me to believe they'll provide us with everything," I argued. The teme sighed, clear indication to how much of an idiot he though I was. "I didn't take clothes," I told him, rolling my eyes. "Not even to sleep, since you said not to bring any about fifty times last week. Just my toothbrush, ipod and some ramen."
Sasuke drummed his fingers on the steering wheel in a too-patient manner. "I told you they'd bring you some if you asked." See? The voice was off too. I was in trouble.
"What if I'm hungry before they bring it?"
"Then I'll hire someone to teach you how to gain control over your stomach." Something wasn't right. Usually the teme had no trouble hiding how annoyed he was, and at the moment I could actually tell he was on the very limit of stopping the car and punching me in the face just to get some steam out.
"Are you alright?" I asked. He must have sensed that I was truly concerned, and didn't answer. "I mean, if there's a problem you're afraid to talk about, you should just spit it out," I blurted. Great. I had just switched to pointless talk mode. As if the teme would ever tell me anything. "Like if you're really gay, or you're afraid you'll get raped, or if you have an embarrassing tattoo you don't want people to know about-"
"Said people would already have noticed," Sasuke replied dryly. Nevertheless, he had smirked at my random accusations. Inwardly, I sighed with relief once I saw he had returned to his usual prick self. "Keep doing that," he ordered.
"Doing what?"
"Distracting me."
I felt my eyes widen, and quickly decided to follow his advice. "You're really stressed, aren't you?" I asked in a teasing voice. "Is it because you know what they'll do to us or that you don't?" Without waiting for him to answer, I continued, "I dunno, maybe they're going to make us wear weird costumes; I bet our agent will be some kind of crazy fangirl of yours and will force you to put on female clothing -if they make you wear a maid's outfit I'm taking pictures- or stuff...Or maybe a perverted old man with pedophile tendencies-"
"In that case you should start worrying," he remarked with another smirk.
"Hey!" I pouted, grumbling about ungrateful temes who couldn't see how mature their friends really were. Sasuke kept his smirk the entire time, right until the studios came into view. There, both his amusement and my confidence evaporated in an instant. Lips pressed tightly against one another, Sasuke parked the car and led me to the entrance. A woman greeted us as we passed the sliding doors.
"Mr. Uchiha?" she asked with a polite smile. Wordlessly, Sasuke nodded. "And Mr Uzumaki, correct? Mr Uchiha's brother called this morning to warn us you might come to accompany him. Now that you're both here, things are settled."
This morning?, my mind repeated, outraged. That bloody-
A hand on my shoulder kept me from releasing the wrath the elder Uchiha would be subject to as soon as soon as I got my hands on him, and Sasuke thanked the woman. "Are we expected?"
She nodded. "I'll take you to Mr Hatake's office. If you'll follow me..."
Said office was big. Too big for my taste; I sat down nervously on one of the two luxurious chairs facing the desk, behind which sat a man whose sense of fashion needed explaining. His face was almost completely covered; the nose and mouth by the tight, sleeveless turtleneck he wore beneath a equally sleeveless jacket of the same dark shade, and his left eye by a black cloth tied diagonally across his head. His hair was silver, yet he seemed no older than thirty.
I turned toward Sasuke, to see how the teme would react and stared when I saw he was standing defiantly next to his own chair, glaring at our new manager. Remembering what he had said in the car, I sighed, turning back to the weird guy.
He didn't seem intimidated by the Uchiha glare, one-eying him from head to toes in wordless contemplation. Sasuke remained perfectly still as the older man checked him over. His glare's intensity had lessened, and I saw his taunting look gradually switch to respect as the guy got to his feet.
"Turn around?"
To my disbelieving eyes, Sasuke obeyed without a word, allowing the man to inspect every inch of his body. Finally satisfied, he beckoned for the teme to sit. "Your brother wasn't lying," he stated with what I assumed was a smile. Of course, with his hidden mouth is was hard to tell. "And you" -he turned towards me- "must be Naruto."
I nodded, still nervous.
"I believe I got more than what I asked for," he said with another invisible smile. Slowly his gaze swept over my features, apparently satisfied. "You exercise often?" he then asked.
"I'm on the track team," I replied, gulping. "Best long-distance runner. And the teme keeps me in shape." I jerked my head in Sasuke's direction, forcing myself to hold his gaze. Man, even with one eye he was intimidating.
"What do you mean?"
I flushed, realizing my words could have been taken in a very different way than I had meant them. "He's on the track team too," I blurted quickly. "We're rivals, so we run a lot, outside training."
"I see." He paused, then seemed to remember something. "I haven't introduced myself," he stated, sounding surprised.
"You haven't," Sasuke confirmed dryly.
"My sincere apologies. My name is Kakashi Hatake. I'll be taking care of most of your work here. I wanted to meet you before we started, however. Your real work begins tomorrow.:
My eyes lit. "You mean we won't be in front of the cameras today?"
Kakashi nodded, and I wooped. To this, Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You'll have to excuse him," he told our new manager.
"No need, no need. I'd rather see him relaxed. That way he'll be able to speak freely."
"About what?" Slowly I felt my unease inch back to my mind.
"Nothing too serious," I was assured. "Your social habits, preferences and such. I need to get an idea of what you like and don't like, the way you behave in given situations and such."
I frowned at him. "You're not a shrink, are you?"
This time he laughed. "No, but I find it better to know about a model's way of thinking before I put him in front of the camera. That way I can choose the setting that suits them." Since I was still frowning, he sighed and added, "Try to imagine your friend here in a kid's birthday party. Flashy balloons everywhere, cakes and presents, and toddlers running under his feet. He'd hardly fit in the picture, don't you think?"
The image was so clear in my mind that I burst out laughing, only calming down after the teme shot me a warning glare. "I get it."
"You'd be hugging the whole lot of them, from what I can see," Kakashi continued. "Moreover, your physical aspect is much more adapted to the scene." He waved a lazy hand towards my hair and eyes, and I nodded.
We talked for what seemed like hours. I soon relaxed, and Sasuke let me do most of the mouth work. The lazy teme even made me fill in his side of the story, and barely opened his mouth.
It was only when our manager's secretary came in with lunch that I realized how loud my belly was. "God bless cooks on Earth!" I cried merrily, grabbing my platter with a huge grin as it was handed to me. My reaction was welcomed with one smile, one eye roll, and one chuckle. I'll let you guess who did which. I emptied my plate in less than five minutes, noticing Kakashi ignore his food in favor of speaking a little.
"Since your mouths are busy, I'll take care of the talking, for now." He paused, then continued. "I thought you might want to know how you're going to work. This is the first time for both of you? In gay magazines, I mean."
We both nodded.
"See, I'll never force you to do anything you're uncomfortable with. Since you're both beginners, I understand you'll find most of what I'll propose 'uncomfortable', but that shouldn't bother us for too long. What I need is a bottom limit." He turned towards Sasuke. "Your brother already gave me his opinion on the matter. He agrees to everything as long as we -as in, even the casting crew- don't get to see what's hidden between your legs. For both of you. That means you won't be posing naked at all, even if we want to shoot your back. Does that seem reasonable?"
Slowly the teme nodded, and they both looked at me. I hesitated.
"You'll both be able to refuse any removal of clothing," Kakashi assured. "I'll never force you to do anything you don't want to -God knows I don't want to feel Itachi Uchiha's wrath upon my company- although I might insist if I think you're refusing from shyness and not because you're feeling I'm going too far. But I want to know what limit I mustn't cross under any circumstances."
I nodded. "Like the teme, then, I guess."
"Good. He clapped his hands. "Here are your schedules." He handed them, adding to Sasuke, "Since we're also doing some of the contracts your brother had been holding off until now, you'll be working in the morning as well. I'd advise you to come as well, Naruto, to get an idea of how we work. I'll explain it more properly afterward, but it's always good to know what to expect." I nodded again, obediently this time, wondering if Sasuke would mind. I knew how much he disliked the attention.
"We reserved rooms in the hotel facing the studio. All the models will reside there during the month. Rin will show you around" -he indicated his secretary- "and I'm giving you the afternoon to get acquainted with the place."
* * *
Ten minutes later, we sat down on Sasuke's bed; our rooms had a connecting door, which I had not failed to use. I was sprawled halfway onto his pillows, while my legs rested on the teme, with the sole purpose of annoying him.
"Well, it could have been worse," I sighed after a relatively stretched silence.
"Your optimism amazes me," the teme replied dryly. "Stay in utopia; you coming down to Earth tomorrow will be so much more amusing."
"Aw, come on, teme, that Kakashi guy's a little strange, sure, but he's not that evil."
"If he really wasn't, he wouldn't be the head of Chidori Inc. You need more than talent to get up there."
"You're such a sourpuss," I informed him with a sigh. He ignored me, and I poked him with my foot. Getting no reaction, I poked harder. When the teme persisted in his refusal to acknowledge me, I slammed my foot into his ribs. He grunted and caught my ankle, pulling me as he rolled to the far side of the bed. Yelping, I tried to tug my foot out of his grasp, but failed, and twisted to leap onto his back.
He blocked me with my own leg, but I had enough momentum to bring us both to the floor. With an angry snarl, Sasuke slammed me down, making sure I couldn't move, and glared. "What is wrong with you?"
I met his eyes squarely. "Nothing. You need to blow off some steam. You've been keeping it in ever since we left this morning." Groaning, I pushed him back brutally, trying to pin him to the floor. A snake would've been easier. He twisted out of my grip and kicked me, with enough force to keep me from avoiding the second blow.
He hit my sternum. I doubled over, crying out silently as air burst out of my lungs. Sasuke got to his feet and walked away without a word, leaving me to catch my breath. Still wheezing, I edged towards the connecting door, crossing the threshold on all fours and locking my side of the passage.
It took me several minutes before I started breathing normally again, and eventually I glanced at my surroundings. This was a mirrored version of Sasuke's room; only the paintings differed. Curious, I went to the closest piece of furniture I could find -a closet- and opened it.
It wasn't empty. I figured Chidori Inc. owned the hotel, since they could put whatever they wanted in the furniture pieces. Suits of various shades met my eyes, along with several pairs of leather shoes, which had been placed at the bottom of the closet. The fabric was softer than anything I had ever worn, and looked nothing short of perfect. Even I could look good in those. Drawers contained more casual clothes. Their contents were carefully labeled, and indicated the season in which their contents should be worn.
Grinning despite myself, I went through every drawer I could find, and could only marvel at what welcomed my eyes. I suspected Itachi to have somehow communicated my measurements to our manager, since everything was my size. Most of the clothes were light -there was very little gray, black of dark blue- suiting my personal taste.
The main door to my room opened before I could muster the courage to take something out and try it on, and Sasuke entered. He stared at me for several seconds, and I noticed he had put on a jogging attire. "There's a track behind the studio," he informed me. "Get dressed."
I could tell he didn't want to talk about what had just happened. I nodded, and went back through the drawers in order to find something I could run with. Wordlessly Sasuke walked over, opened one and pulled out some clothes, which he tossed me.
"Thanks," I mumbled, and changed hastily as he took out some shoes. Once I was fully dressed, he led me to the track.
We walked towards the starting line without a word, immediately moving into position. I was breathing normally again, and hoped the teme hadn't done any serious damage to my lungs. Glancing at him, I noticed that his face was as serious as ever; he clearly intended to win this, as he always did, and would give it everything he had.
"How many laps?" I asked.
"Two."
I mentally scolded myself. Of course he'd want a challenge. One was too short; I'd never manage to catch up. Three laps were too much for the teme if he ran his hardest. Two was perfect; I'd have to be faster that usual, and he'd need to spare his energy. Grinning, I waited for Sasuke's signal.
"Go."
No Ready, set for us. Go figure. I sprang to my feet and lurched forward, just as the teme zoomed past me. We both knew he needed to create as much distance as he could before my adrenaline kicked in. I was a slow starter, which was why I liked long distances. Yet here, I knew that Sasuke wouldn't wait.
By the end of his first turn, I was only a quarter-lap behind. And just as he passed the starting line, I felt adrenaline start pumping through my veins.
"Incoming, Uchiha!" My grin widened as the bastard accelerated. I hadn't realized he'd been keeping some speed in. Despite this he was tiring, and I gradually caught up. By the time we'd done half of the second lap, we were shoulder to shoulder, running at equal speed. This was the final sprint.
I grinned madly, glancing at Sasuke. His eyes were focused on the track, alight with the thrill of the race. Noticing my face, his lips twitched up, and, with what seemed like his ultimate ounces of energy, sped up ahead of me. I threw my last reserves of fuel into my legs, and began laughing like a maniac. I couldn't help myself. My legs accelerated, and I caught up with the teme.
The finish line was within view. We were shoulder to shoulder once more, both pleading our legs to go faster. I could feel my lungs burn twice as much as my calves, and yet my laughter kept echoing around the track.
I closed my eyes as I crossed the line, and crashed to the ground. Sasuke stopped so abruptly that from the sound I half-thought he was going to fall as well. Instead, he turned around and crouched next to me.
"Flip over," he snapped, kneeling.
I barely heard him. My head spun dangerously, and I gasped for air, wondering why my lungs were pumping fire instead of oxygen. Water suddenly poured over my face, and Sasuke helped me sit up as I sputtered. Thank God he'd thought to bring a bottle. The top was unceremoniously shoved into my mouth, and I drank greedily, lessening the overwhelming heat that filled my throat.
Looking up, I saw that the teme was glaring at me. I forced another grin upon my face. "Who won?" My voice cracked.
"Who cares?" he snapped angrily. "Stay down."
I ignored him, and got to my feet. "I'm fine," was my tired sigh. " I just though running as fast as you usually do wouldn't be a problem on a short distance."
He snorted, taking a gulp from the bottle. Done, he rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot," he informed me as we headed back towards the studio.
"I am not." Turning to glare, I noticed he was frowning at something that wasn't me. Puzzled, I turned back around, and spotted a guy whose paleness nearly rivaled the teme's. His hair was equally black, although not spiked, and his eyes were the same pitch dark pools I often glared into. And it wasn't Itachi. Weird.
Weirder even, the traditional Uchiha glare was replaced by a cheerful smile as he came over to greet us. "You're the new models, right? My name's Sai." Oh, and he even had the two same first letter in his name. I mentally smirked.
"I'm Naruto," I replied, extending my hand and grinning back. He ignored it in favor of the teme. "And you're the famed Uchiha. It's quite an honor to work with you." The two of them shook hands. The sight was utterly bizarre. Like Sasuke had found his positive mirror image. Unreal.
The two Sasukes -what was I saying, Sasuke and Sai- noticed my slight stupor. Sai was the first to react. "Don't think I've forgotten you, Kit. But I believe ignoring that raven friend of yours might have been rude."
I frowned. So maybe he wasn't entirely positive and non-evil. "What about ignoring me?" I asked. "And what's with the nickname?"
I froze as Sai's fingers gently caressed my face, tracing the whisker-like marks that adorned my cheeks. "You look like a fox," he told me softly. "It's pretty cute. Would you like us to pose together?"
"He's posing with me." My eyes snapped to the left, glancing at the teme, which for some reason looked pissed. "Get your hand off; you're slowing his brain down."
Sai obeyed with another bright smile. "I'm sorry. I hadn't realized you were together."
I flushed, and later realized the only reason Sasuke didn't reply was because he knew I'd supply for us both. "I'm not with him! He thinks I'm way too loud, and he's completely stuck-up!"
"I'm afraid I must agree with him," Sai sighed, wincing. "You are loud. But you looked really good out there" -he pointed at the track- "so in case you're interested, my room's number is 204." And before he left, that unholy bastard did the one thing that triggered everything that followed. And what was it, you ask? He kissed me. In the crook of my neck, right in front of Sasuke, and in a way that left no possibility to misinterpret his intentions. When his lips left my skin, I remained still, unable to react.
"See you tonight," he stated with the same bright smile. Then he turned and disappeared inside the studio.
Before I could get my thoughts in order, Sasuke decided to help by emptying the remaining contents of the bottle on my head. "Quit daydreaming," he snapped. "Else I'm leaving you here."
I shook my head, sputtering. "Teme," I growled. "I get kissed by a guy and this is how you react?"
"Sorry," he replied dryly. "Perhaps 'congratulations' would have fitted better."
"Don't say that." Almost reflexively, I pressed my hand against the side of my neck, where Sai had kissed me. Sasuke glanced at me before letting out an angry sigh.
"Why didn't you just tell him you were straight?" he finally asked.
I blinked. "Huh?"
"When he said we were...together." I didn't know the teme could look uncomfortable. And yet he shifted, ever so slightly, as he spoke. "Instead of rambling about how much we couldn't stand each other, why didn't you tell him you didn't like guys?"
My face must have shown some type of guilt, because he rolled his eyes before I even spoke. "I forgot," I admitted sheepishly.
"Dobe, your sexual orientation isn't something you forget."
"I was confused!" He gave me a look that clearly stated 'like that wasn't obvious' in bright, blinking capital letters, but said nothing. "You brought me someplace new, with people I don't know and in a completely different lifestyle, where I only work two hours each day while the rest's taken up by picture-taking, and where you tell me I have to play gay!"
He glared at me. "I didn't tell you anything."
I ignored him, still gripping my neck. "Then your twin bastard shows up saying I'm hot, and I'm asking myself if this is some kind of setup or if I really have to consider what he's saying, and since I've never dealt with a flirting guy before-" I shut up as the teme covered my mouth with his hand.
"You need a shower," he told me. "After that your brain should be able to function properly. He grabbed the arm still hanging off my neck, and dragged my back to the hotel.
Leading me back to my room, he took me all the way to the bathroom, and shoved me inside, closing the door after I passed the threshold.
"Wash," he ordered through the wooden door.
Morosely I did as I was told. After a few minutes of letting the water flow over me like a transparent coat, I began scrubbing my body and hair, shutting off any thought in order to concentrate solely on the task at hand.
Fifteen minutes later, I stepped out of the bathroom, only to find the room empty. The little composure I had gathered beneath the water evaporated in an instant. "Sasuke?" I called, not caring that my panic clearly showed. That bastard had abandoned me in this foreign place, and the precise moment where I needed to find something familiar to get my thoughts in order. Bastard. Bastard. -
The connecting door opened, and the teme appeared, clad in a pair of jeans. His bare chest was still wet, and he rubbed a towel over his hair. "I'm right here, dobe."
Relief flooded me, and I didn't care if the teme saw. I saw down weakly, causing Sasuke to sigh and walk over. "Leave it to you to panic when you're alone," he scoffed.
"I don't know anyone here." I grumbled. "Except you."
"You know the manager," Sasuke said in an ironic tone. He paused. "You know Sai."
At the mention of the name, my left hand automatically snapped back to my neck, but Sasuke caught it.
"Stop doing that," he said, annoyed.
"It feels weird," I mumbled.
"Sai's a guy. You shouldn't bother about it."
"But he kissed me!"
That seemed to bring the teme to the point where he stopped thinking about consequences. Angrily he grabbed my shoulder, pushing my head away and leaning down. And kissed me.
Hehehe...So by now I think you might be interested in the next chapter. Coming soon... No, review, and I'll update as soon as I finish dealing with one seriously annoying paragraph. Chapters four and five may be fused together (the former's really not fun to either read or write), so the grand total may be 9 chapters in all (prologue included).
Review please!