The Fourth

It was late in the afternoon when they returned to the hotel after the winery tour. Mr. Igleheart had enjoyed the trip visibly more than the others, and Kakashi had to support him while they walked up the stairs to the hotel.

"Naruto", Mr. Igleheart slurred, patting the younger man on the back. "You– You're ready to hit the clubs, right?"

"I was born ready", Naruto said, and Mr. Igleheart looked quite pleased.

"Please, do tell your friend to relax", Mr. Igleheart mumbled, motioning Naruto to come closer. "Otherwise we will have to spike his drink, you see—with drugs", Igleheart whispered, his voice so loud that Sasuke could easily hear the words.

Naruto actually had the decency to look appalled, but nevertheless he gave a small laugh. "I'll do my best", he answered, sparing an apologetic glance to Sasuke.

xxx

Sasuke rarely set his foot in a nightclub. Last time had been when he was still a student—and he couldn't say that he missed those days.

He didn't understand how people could voluntarily spend their time in a shady room filled with lousy music, watching strangers basically dry-hump each other on the dance floor. Cheap drinks only made the whole scenario more disturbing, and women in short, skin-tight dresses weren't really his thing either. Just thinking about it made him uncomfortable. This day with all its trials truly was one for the books.

Sasuke clenched his hands into fists and reminded himself about the promotion. He couldn't give up just because he was out of his comfort zone. Naruto seemed to be getting along with Mr. Igleheart extremely well, and even though Sasuke didn't want to admit it, he felt threatened by it all. He would just have to swallow his pride and—as disturbing as the idea was—be more like his blond-haired co-worker. It shouldn't be too hard. He would just have to relax and go with the flow.

Sasuke glared at his reflection. He had spent an alarmingly long time in front of the mirror, scrutinizing his appearance for the second time that day. He was practically wearing the same outfit from earlier, but he had gone for a less casual look by combining the jeans and the suede jacket with a black, loose-fitting T-shirt. The T-shirt had been a present from his brother, so it was undoubtedly ridiculously overpriced designer piece—although to Sasuke it just looked a bit worn-out in a way that some might perhaps consider fashionable. He didn't understand the appeal, but he could appreciate the way his outfit accentuated his physique. He might have disliked the attention was getting on a daily basis, but he did still dress to impress.

Sasuke run his fingers through his hair, hoping it would look messy in a carefree way. He felt somewhat silly standing there, fretting over his appearance while dressed like a twenty-something renegade—sans the motorcycle.

He took a deep breath and grabbed his phone and wallet from the dressing table. With a deep-seated irritation he headed back to the lobby, wishing for the umpteenth time that he could have just stayed in his room.

As he entered the lobby, he noticed Naruto sitting in one of the overly cushioned couches that were situated around the dimly-lit space. Sasuke felt a weird sense of déjà-vu, as he walked up to his colleague.

Sasuke allowed his gaze to linger on Naruto for one short moment—just to make sure that the idiot was properly dressed, of course.

Naruto was dressed in dark colours in similar fashion as before, but he had changed his shirt and was wearing a white T-shirt underneath his jacket. The shirt was tight and left a little to the imagination, and Sasuke quickly averted his eyes. It wouldn't be wise to get caught staring again.

Focusing on keeping his gaze fixed on the floor, Sasuke made his way towards Naruto. He seated himself in the armchair facing the couch, pretending to be very interested in the decorative flower arrangement that was placed on the table between them.

"Hey", Naruto said.

"Hn", was Sasuke's answer, as he wasn't particularly in a mood to talk. He could practically feel Naruto's eyes on him, and he mentally prepared for some kind of snide remark, but for once Naruto was silent. Sasuke tried not to be bothered by it, but in the end he couldn't stop the fed-up grunt that left his lips. He turned to glare at Naruto. "What?"

"N-Nothing", Naruto said, running his fingers through his hair. "It's just… You don't look very relaxed. Mr. Igleheart is not going to like that."

"Oh, but I am relaxed", Sasuke gritted out. "I couldn't possibly be any more relaxed."

"Ah, yes", Naruto snorted, his smile a bit crooked. "We both know how much you enjoy taking part in social activities, such as clubbing."

"Indeed", Sasuke scoffed, trying to stop the smile that was tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I can hardly wait."

"Oh, really? And here I thought that Mr. Igleheart would actually have to slip something in your drink after all."

"I don't think that he would actually go that far", Sasuke said, but truthfully he wasn't sure about that.

"I wouldn't be so certain", Naruto muttered, his expression more serious now. "He does seem kind of shady, don't you think?"

"Oh, just a bit", Sasuke said.

Naruto nodded, but didn't continue on the subject. They sat in silence for a while, until Naruto spoke again. "Hey, Sasuke", he said, nudging the floor with the tip of his shoe.

"Yes?"

"I just… You know." Naruto shrugged. "It wouldn't actually kill you if you would ease up a little."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"You don't have to control everything all the time", Naruto continued, looking a bit sheepish. "Relax and have some fun, yeah?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as a warning, not particularly fond of the direction the conversation was taking.

"Would it be so bad to–", Naruto started, but then he shrugged and shook his head. "Never mind. Forget it."

Sasuke was about to ask Naruto to elaborate, but Mr. Igleheart decided to make his entrance right then. The man truly had a weird talent of walking in on them mid-conversation.

Mr. Igleheart was less drunk than he had been earlier, and he managed to walk without support. He was dressed in a disturbingly purple suit that he had accessorized with huge gold-rimmed sunglasses. A wide smile was plastered on his face while he skipped through the lobby and towards them.

Kakashi followed his boss almost lazily, dressed in a much more discreet attire. For some reason Sasuke got a feeling that Kakashi didn't want to be seen, and thus dressed himself in such an uninspiring way that he could hide in plain sight near his flamboyant boss.

"Well then", Mr. Igleheart announced, adjusting his sunglasses. "Are you ready, boys?"

Sasuke and Naruto both stood up, greeting Mr. Igleheart politely, but Mr. Igleheart, unsurprisingly, paid no attention to their greetings. Instead, he pointed his hand towards the main exit in a theatrical fashion. "Our limousine awaits!"

Sasuke swallowed another irritated grunt. He glanced at Naruto, who just shrugged and followed Mr. Igleheart, who in turn was already skipping towards the door. Sasuke straightened his clothes swiftly, trying to buy himself a few seconds to muster up a less vexed look on his face. He didn't have much luck, because Kakashi was standing nearby, apparently politely waiting for him.

There was something unnerving about Kakashi and his thin smiles, but Sasuke couldn't quite put his finger on it. Afterall, there had to be something wrong with the guy if he was content on following around a man like Igleheart.

Sasuke ignored Kakashi and headed for the door. Tentatively, he glanced at Mr. Igleheart, who was walking just a few feet ahead, conversing with Naruto in a carefree manner. Then Mr. Igleheart reached out to pat Naruto on the shoulder, leaning closer to whisper something in his ear. The hand lingered on Naruto's shoulder, and Sasuke felt something unfamiliar stir inside him.

He wanted to reach out and swat the hand away.

The idea was ridiculous, of course, and Sasuke had no clue where it had came from. He would never risk the promotion for something so stupid. But the hand was still there, resting on Naruto's shoulder, and Sasuke had to grit his teeth together to stop himself from marching over and intervening.

Mr. Igleheart had basically been all over Naruto since the cursed scenic cruise, but there was no reason for Sasuke to be annoyed about it. And yet… There was something about the older man that made his skin crawl. Mr. Igleheart most certainly was more than a bit shady—Naruto had been right about that.

The limousine was parked in front of the main entrance, and a very pompous-looking driver opened the car door, so they could step in. When they were seated, an unnaturally wide smile took over Mr. Igleheart's face. "Nightlife, ahoy!" he declared and opened the sunroof, standing up with his hands in the air.

Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment, trying to channel his irritation into something other than a scowl. He only needed to get through the next few hours and then he could finally go to sleep. Then he would just have to survive Sunday, and to make sure that Mr. Igleheart would sign the contract. After that they would all go their separate ways and Sasuke could go back to avoiding Naruto around the office.

Sasuke turned to glance at Naruto, but to his surprise Naruto was already looking at him.

Naruto flinched when their eyes met, and then he turned to look away. His ears looked oddly pink under the dimmed lights of the limousine.