ALEATORY
(adj.) Relying on chance or an uncontrolled element on the details of life or in the creation of art.
"I've always been alone."
"Always."
A voice cut through twelve year old Naruto's dark thoughts.
"Your face looks constipated, what'd you do now blockhead?" The ebony eyes stared at Naruto with annoyance.
Sasuke.
The insult had infuriated Naruto out of his depressing moment, but in a way the arrogant, ebony eyed boy in front of Naruto was able to push Naruto out of his darkness. He would push Naruto to make something of himself, either it be a fool or an eager child.
He was a miracle to Naruto. He made Naruto get up on his own feet, stand up to Sasuke. To build up the will to never back down on Sasuke. Naruto proved to himself and everyone that he was in fact, strong. Of course, Naruto would never admit this to Sasuke. His friend's ego was already bulging.
"What do you want?!" Naruto snapped irritatingly at Sasuke, clutching at his shirt on anger, trying his best not to punch Sasuke. Unfortunately, today was not a day where Naruto wanted to talk with Sasuke.
Dispirited eyes looked at the attractive dark ones. Naruto looked away and dropped his head and eye sight to his feet. All of a sudden he felt something small, hard, and light rebound from Naruto's forehead.
A sharp pang intensified and spread on Naruto's throbbing forehead, Naruto lifted his hand to rub the tender, now red, skin. Sasuke had flicked him in the forehead
He jerked his head up, annoyed.
"What the hell was that for?" he grumbled. Sasuke brought out an object that had been in hidden behind his back in secret. He brought his slender arm down in a sharp motion and Naruto felt a section of his hair being yanked sharply, pain followed around a patch of his head.
Naruto let out a yelp of surprise from the pain, hands instinctively following the object that was knotted in his golden, knotted, hair. His fingers carefully trailed along the objects smooth surface, careful not to cause more pain, he gently felt the curves and felt it was something plastic and had a handle attached to something round.
His hair was entangled in rows of something plastic. He switched from pulling to lifting the object out of his hair with ease.
A hairbrush?
He looked up at Sasuke, Naruto was confused beyond belief. Wait.
Was Sasuke implying that Naruto was girl? That basta-
"Your hair looks like a bird's nest that got hit by lightning. Brush your hair, can't you manage that much?" Sasuke smirked, though Naruto no longer felt irritation in himself when Sasuke began to walk away.
"That's rich coming from a guy who spends more time in the mirror only to look like the ass from a duck." He retorted. Only for Sasuke to keep walking to raising his arm to flash his middle finger at Naruto, calling forth a beaming grin from Naruto, his amusement rose from Sasuke's hand gesture.
He wouldn't admit this to anyone but himself, but he was happy with how Sasuke had thought about him.
That someone acknowledged him as a human being.
But even the brush did nothing for taming Naruto's disorderly blond hair.
The thought counts.
Even now his hair looked the same.
It was the reason he kept it the way it was, despite it being unprofessional looking, he wanted to preserve the memory he had first received something from his friend.
Stubborn as his personality, the hair refused to stray from being its radiant gold, and untamed hair, as if it were also keeping the memory of his close friend.
Naruto woke up from his dream, a memory. The moment he wakes up, the face and name of the dark haired boy began to blur from memory.
He'd curse in frustration for not grasping the memory fast enough before it faded, he wanted something to go on, or specific details that would help him find the boy who encouraged by Naruto to become stronger.
Nothing would come to mind.
All Naruto knew was that the boy, who would be a man now, had dark black hair, smothering eyes, and pale skin.
The problem with living in the 21st century was that hair could be a different colour, and he might be tanned now, piercings could greatly change a person's look. All of these factors are able to change. Not to mention his friend might have a tattooed face, which would've been awesome but difficult to identify.
Hell, Naruto did not even know how tall the boy could be.
Naruto's ears perked up at the low ticking that was being registered in his head. His eyes glanced at the clock to figure the time.
The clock struck 5 o'clock at late afternoon. Naruto immediately stretched his sore arms for stupidly sleeping on his desk, which was covered with wet paint, luckily it was oil so it hadn't dried. He should not have watched that many horror movies last night, he ended up paranoid all night and settled on to painting to keep himself up before he passed out at 7 in the morning.
Still half asleep, his eyes found its way to the view outside the clear window. There was a sun set which captured Naruto's attention, pushing away the feeling of fatigue as the rays of colour and warmth comforted his body.
Bright, glowing, warm, orange hues extended to a soft red-tinted sky, the sun surrounded by soft pinks, purples, oranges, yellows, red, and lavender stained clouds.
In a way the sun reminded Naruto of an explosion of colours that fades into dark blue to be surrounded by stars. Naruto was very much like the sun. Bright, cheerful, expressive, honest, bold, and hot tempered. In contrast, the sun was often by itself with no stars; Or so it seemed. No matter what time it was, the stars were still there, never leaving the sun. Just like how Naruto's friends were always there, even the ones Naruto had yet to meet.
The sun always stood out of the stars, as the day passed, then night would come. The moon a beautiful, white glow. Solidly sewn into the dark sky, surrounded by sparkling stars.
Surrounded by close friends.
With friends in mind, he remembered that he should have been getting ready to see Neji for their plane outing, it almost felt too long for the week to finally pass by. Naruto grinned at the thought, quickly taking out is Nikon camera to take the picture of the sunset; every sunset was different and unique, Naruto took pictures of it every day before setting, it was a guilty pleasure for him to admire each unique shot.
He wrapped his fingers carefully around the delicate camera and brought it to his face as he bent down to get a better angle. He aimed the camera with careful precision to take in the sun, and the colour dyed clouds, his elbow propped up carefully to steady his camera.
With a quick click the camera saved the picture into its memory. Satisfied, he settled the camera back in its case.
Naruto was beginning to think that he should try to paint with watercolours to portray the sunsets he had been taking for years, to imitate the way the clouds crowded together like frozen mist.
Feeling satisfied, Naruto got to his feet to approach his ordinary closet in his ordinary apartment from his ordinary preference. Though Naruto couldn't afford luxuries like buying nice, expensive clothes, Naruto had a few nice shirts from friends and family.
He took out a blue, dress shirt and some nice fitting jeans.
It hugged slightly tighter than Naruto would have liked, but he looked into the mirror and found himself shrugging off the discomfort when he noticed that the air around him was a little more mature with the dress shirt.
Staring at his reflection with such dead seriousness erupted laughter from Naruto's chest.
Naruto classy and refined? Please, those were too plain of words to describe Naruto.
Though he did invite Neji so he should dress appropriately, or rather try his best to rekindle a friendship that had yet to bloom.
Satisfied with his shirt after buttoning it up, he changed into his fitted jeans he received from his friend Rock Lee.
It was either these pair of pants, or an exact version of Lee's tight, green, tracksuit. Naruto took the prior.
He shuddered slightly at the thought of himself wearing green tights, laughing a little at the idea of coming to the diner and Neji's dismayed reaction.
Naruto might have thrown on the tights without a second thought had he been twelve, but Naruto had grown older, his childish sincerity never wavered, but his sense of humour had matured; No longer did he go after other's attention with mischievous pranks, instead, he gave his best to give people encouragement when they needed it.
Nodding at his apparel. He looked refined, or as close as he could get. The idea of doing something with his hair seemed a bit overkill, maybe he'd slip in some gel, but he brushed the thought away when he glanced at the clock. He wasn't attending a formal event, it was just a reunion with a friend, am old one.
Suddenly he began to receive a phone call from his iPhone 6 he had received as a late birthday gift from his step father Kakashi. The sudden burst of ringing caused Naruto's heart to nearly shoot out of his chest, shocking him from his peaceful moment. He scrambled to find the phone in the mess he called 'laundry'―which was actually filthy paint stained clothes.
He quickly pushed gently with his finger to accept the call, and then pressed 'speaker'.
Rather irritated, he answered in a rushed annoyed tone, though he tried to maintain a neutral hush to seem polite since the number was unidentified.
"Hello?" he said, while slipping his wallet into his right pocket, taking a bus ticket as an extra precaution. He needed to go grocery shopping for food right after meeting with Neji, this random call was not what he needed.
A low, husky voice rang out the phone. It would have been lubricious had it not sounded dead and cold like a fish. Naruto knew very well this voice was a sexy male one, and would have found it attractive if the person on the other line sounded somewhat eager or lighthearted.
"Is that any tone to use against you're new boss Mr. Uzumaki?" the tone was teasing, yet obviously arrogant. Naruto was a bit amused with this, immediately recognizing it was Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto was wavering at the warning Sasuke had expected to switch Naruto's attitude. Naruto was not having any of that.
"Why the fuck do you have my cell number?" Naruto asked sharply, taking a seat on his smooth, dusty green, couch, settling with running halfway to the diner if this call would take longer than expected. "It's stalking, therefore creepy."
Almost sounding surprised, Sasuke replied "Simple. If you had any idea how to properly format and fill in a resume, you would know to place in contact information, which Shikamaru had taken the initiative to do so. Are you sure you didn't drop out of school?" he mockingly questioned, sounding somewhat bored and annoyed now. Was Sasuke calling Naruto so he could mock him?
"I don't have time for this, just get to the point already." Naruto spat, impatient and annoyed with Sasuke's overall rude egotistical attitude. He didn't care to place much though into his words if this was how it was going to be from now on. A typical asshole who enjoys manipulating other people with their power, Naruto wasn't the type to submit to that type of guy.
"Oh calm down. "Sasuke soothed, tone a shade softer, sounding almost caring.
"I called you to inquire your preferences in tools, style, and mood." Sasuke finished smoothly, shuffling sounds emitted from the speaker, resembling the ruffling of papers.
Naruto leaned against the side of his couch by shifting his weight, swirling a loose string he had found on the table between his fingers.
"What do you mean by that?"
"To be specific enough, tools as in brush sizes, types, and sets. Style, which should be obvious even for you," Naruto could almost see the sneer on Sasuke's expression.
"Well?"
"There is a range of styles, examples are Mona Lisa, which is realism. Impressionism, which Monet is famous for. Expressionism, Vincent Van Gogh's famous art piece Starry Night."
Thinking carefully "What about abstraction?"
"Depends, are you asking about abstraction or abstract art? Those two are different things you know."
"I know the difference." Naruto snapped, articulating his words to be clear, finding Sasuke's constant question of his intelligence insulting and degrading.
Naruto swore he heard traces of amusement in Sasuke's tone when he replied "Then yes. Abstraction is certainly a type of art that is acceptable." The fact Naruto had even asked to see if it was acceptable made it evident Naruto would say abstraction was his style, or at least part of his style since Sasuke had the opportunity to witness his skills.
Clearing his throat a little, Sasuke took a moment to continue "Mood, is the type of emotion you'd like to present to a viewer, this can include colour pigments you prefer using."
"Okay…" Favouring the prospect of multitasking, Naruto slid his phone gently on the table after switching to speaker mode, Naruto began to fit himself into a pair of newer shoes.
"…Any kind of brushes are fine, though I stick with acrylic paintbrushes more often than not, sometimes I use my hands to paint."
Tanned fingers began to wound up the laces by the aglet in quick motions.
"Sloppy. I'm not surprised." Sasuke deadpanned.
Ignoring the itch to smack talk Sasuke, he took a moment to concentrate back to the others questions, Naruto roughly continued, distracted by his current activity with the slow pressure of arriving late to his social appointment with Neji.
"If I think about it carefully, I tend to favour abstraction and impressionism, sometimes I'll add realism, it just depends on my moods and thoughts."
Checking he had everything, Naruto picked up his phone to head out the apartment, digging his other hand to find his key to lock up the apartment door before he exited the building.
"Creative, but not enough, have you had any experience in any other styles?"
"Does sculpturing count?"
"No."
"Then that's all."
Sasuke didn't speak for the moment, or the next. Pretty soon Naruto reached the elevator and Naruto couldn't help but wonder of Sasuke had fallen asleep on him. "Sassy Su, you up?"
"Don't ever call me that again, dead last."
Grinning at the obvious displeasure of the nickname Naruto had chosen, he switched to answering the next inquiry, though it was harder to pin point what mood Naruto commonly associated with each of his paintings.
"It's kinda bittersweet you know? Believe it or not, all my pieces of artwork have been about pain, but not as in the present if you get what I mean."
No, Sasuke did not pick up on where Naruto was going, but he refused to sound lost in the conversation and humoured Naruto.
"Every picture I've done is about overcoming painful obstacles. The feelings of anger and regret are part of a memory that always blooms when someone looks back on it, but remembering how far they've made it, make them feel strong."
"Melancholy and nostalgia." Sasuke offered a simplified suggestion.
Nodding eagerly Naruto agreed "Exactly." The brief pause seemed somewhat disapproving, Naruto couldn't help himself to break the silence first.
"Is it bad?" Being serious was one of Naruto's surprising traits he had since high school, though most don't assume, Naruto knew which things shouldn't matter and which things were worth giving deeper thoughts. This was one of the times.
Naruto needed this opportunity to find his lost friend in the city; Konoha was far too vast and overpopulated to be able to single out a person from the rest.
Right now, Naruto needed Sasuke's professional opinion on his approach to achieve his goal to being a (somewhat) famous artist.
Once again, silence settled between them cosily once again, difference was, Sasuke disturbed the quiet. "Bring samples of your preferred colour palette to my office tomorrow."
Before Naruto could protest, the sound of Sasuke hanging up interrupted him.
The bus finally arrived, the doors opening to Naruto the moment he had been hung up on, Naruto's expression slightly miffed.
What the fuck.
The following evening consisted of a mellowed drive downtown with few people that arrived to the bus, which was surprising since the busiest times for travelers changing routes was at night when the sun settled quietly in its blanket.
Naruto walked down the grey streets after he reached his desired destination. The wind was pleasantly soft, stroking his skin as he took a right turn to the restaurant where Neji stood in front of. He saw Neji in beige colours.
How very like him Naruto thought, wondering if Neji favoured any colour that was considered bold. Whatever the case, Neji was still Neji as long as his friend was satisfied with his life.
Neji looked up and noticed Naruto, tensing for a moment before his muscles relaxed to give a small smile.
Looks like I'm on time, Naruto thought, relieved he hadn't lost track of time.
Smiling back, Naruto eagerly jogged right up to Neji, excited and optimistic for the night they planned.
"Sorry to keep you waiting!"
Neji nodded "I had just arrived as well. No need to apologize." He assured with warm looking eyes, giving Naruto an odd sense of warmth.
Naruto grinned at Neji's mannerisms.
Still polite and refined as ever.
As they caught up on each other's lives, both had a few drinks to loosen themselves a little, feeling the stress slowly fade out as the night progressed.
Naruto was extremely able when it came to holding his alcohol. He found out about this right around his second year of university when he mistook vodka for water after he ran a fundraiser marathon for extra credit.
Naruto sipped his iced whiskey, setting it gently on the table before he turned to Neji with curious eyes.
"So...Neji, found a girlfriend yet? Or are you still ticking with the whole 'My destiny is to remain to my duty, and dating is not it.'" Naruto teased.
Neji almost choked on his tea from embarrassment.
If Neji could, he'd return to high school and kick himself for stating absurd words without properly thinking about it.
Calming down a little, he cleared his throat and wiped his mouth with a napkin. He glanced at Naruto's direction calmly.
"Well... It'd be a lie to say no. But it's quite compl-" he was cut off by Naruto's enthusiasm before he could even finish his explanation.
"Good for you, it's about time you found interest in someone. How far have you gotten with her? Need help?" he suggested eagerly.
Neji turned red in embarrassment and stared stupidly at the tea, blinking irregularly in hopes the dizziness would wane out, keeping quiet.
The odd pause confused Naruto, had he been too nosy too soon?
"...You see...It's actually a 'He'." he stammered quietly. Naruto's eyes widened, lips parted in momentary shock as his expression showed his brain was processing the truth.
Neji regretted admitting he was gay to this man who was the person of his affections, but also a bit of stranger with the amount of years between their last meeting, Neji didn't want to be rejected or viewed as disgusting for favouring the same sex. But if he didn't do this, his work might be in vain, Neji didn't want to suffer any unnecessary disappointment.
"You want to be a gay, go for it, got no qualms." Naruto told. Neji looked up, his lavender eyes shocked "What...?" he was clear expecting something entirely different.
Naruto smiled confidently and patted his chest to refer to himself.
"It shouldn't be too surprising, I mean, I don't judge people for their preference, it never mattered to me." He admitted with confidence.
Naruto turned to Neji, then to the brown haired waitress that had asked if Naruto would like another drink as he was almost done with his.
Ordering himself another whiskey Naruto turned to Neji and felt to see his worried and shocked, since Naruto had a day off tomorrow, except for meeting with Sasuke which Naruto was reluctant to even think about.
Neji's expression became softer, much more relaxed now that he knew Naruto was comfortable with the idea of sexual acts among the same sex.
This was favorable progress even if it was only baby steps.
"I see..." Neji said, quickly composing himself once more, taking his tea between his slender fingers, sipping the hot liquid; the taste of natural bitter leaves was therapeutic for his headache.
Neji opened his mouth after careful thinking but hesitated, Neji wanted to get straight to the point, ask of Naruto loved someone, but he wasn't sure if it was too soon, or maybe the reason behind his hesitancy was because of Neji's refusal to accept any facts that Naruto might not be interested in him.
"What about you? Anyone you find attracting your thoughts?" Neji asked, hiding the tightness of his voice. Naruto found himself smiling as if the idea of it was humorous.
"Naw, I haven't been exactly the dating type since high school. I'm trying to find this person you see..." The blond man explained as he wiped his hands with a napkin of the water around his chilled cup.
Neji's eyes gleamed with sudden focus, almost intense. "Oh? Someone important, yes?" he asked, sitting up, not wanting to miss a single syllable.
The waitress silently came by and placed the cold glass of whiskey on the table before carrying the rest of the drinks to the other customers she had to attend to.
Naruto rubbed his head in slight embarrassment, he bit his cheek before continuing.
"Well...The thing is...I may or may not actually know...who he is...I'm just trying to find a old friend I knew when I was at the orphanage. As it often happens to parentless children, we got separated."
Naruto shifted his seat to become more comfortable to tell his childhood story.
He reached out for his new cold whiskey, the ice making light tinkling noises as they clashed together from the tilting motion, the cold liquid went down Naruto's throat, leaving a burning sensation. He let out a tense sigh, recalling the bitter memory of their goodbye.
"...He was the only one who didn't hate me, he just saw me as an equal..." He looked up at Neji. Neji's gaze softened to empathy, nodding silently for Naruto to continue his story.
Naruto gulped in anxiety, this was the first actual time he had told someone about his past. It wasn't that he didn't trust Neji, it was the sense of vulnerability that made Naruto apprehensive since Naruto never had problems being open with people until today.
"A lot of people hate me in my birth town. During my last year of high school, my adoptive father, told me the truth; My biological parents were good people. But they were butchered by some crazy fuck, others were also killed." He looked to the ground, forcing himself to finish the rest of his whiskey to urge the irrational anger that spilled in his words.
"...He slit open my mother's stomach and took me when I was stillborn...But apparently I survived so the psycho kept me..." His eyes darting to meet Neji's before he continued. Naruto felt his throat choke his own words.
"...The man who took me..." He took a deep breath, his lungs and stomach were contracting oddly, he discontinued the sentence, he didn't want to talk about the gory stuff. He wasn't meeting with Neji to tell his life story while drowning in self pity. This was just a moment of sharing, opening himself to show a vulnerable part of his past, because Naruto wanted to trust people
"...They found me when I was one, covered in dried blood after the gunned him down... When I was returned to my home town, I was seen and treated as if I was the psychopath." Naruto finished, feeling his tightened lungs and throat calming. His heartbeat was settling back to its normal rhythm, leaving him feeling worn out and empty.
He felt the warm hand rub his shoulder gently, removing the negative traces of emotion from his body
"Thank you."
Naruto accepted the heartfelt words.
"And… I'm sorry." Neji added, with saddened eyes, to Naruto's relief the clear pools of milky lilac were filled with empathy, not pity.
"Why are you apologizing?" he asked, grateful Neji was gracefully understanding of his past, but somehow confused as to where the apology stemmed from.
"Someone has to. You deserve that much."
This time, Naruto thanked Neji.
The rest of the night was relatively enjoyable. Naruto and Neji laughed a good amount that cool evening, exchanging blunders of their past. The evening offered Naruto a chance to pick up from their last meeting which had been uncertain, to make sure their relationship would progress positively from this point on. Naruto made sure to.
The following morning, Naruto had mild after effects of his drinking. His ears were a little sensitive to sharp noises, his head reeled in gentle throbbing, his throat screaming for water.
Groggily, he dragged his body to the shower to dull some of the annoying symptoms which washed away with the water. Feeling rather lazy, Naruto fixed himself scrambled eggs naked before throwing on a dark blue shirt, the jeans he wore yesterday, and his favorite orange sneakers.
As usual, he went to follow out his schedule. By late afternoon, Naruto nearly forgotten his appointment with Sasuke. Rushing home, Naruto mixed with acrylic and oil paints, hastily separating colours in small jam jars. Shoving the class containers into his old knapsack, Naruto set out at 7:45 pm,
"Bastard could at least sound like he felt bad... Didn't even give me a specific time…" Naruto muttered to himself as he pulled the glass doors open of Uchiha Corps.
As he waited in the elevator, he awkwardly shuffled farther away from the woman who was coming on to him with not so subtle strokes on his ass.
Is everyone here a pervert? Naruto wondered, as he felt light hands wander dangerously up his arm and hips.
When he reached his desired floor, he bolted out the doors, nearly knocking out a fierce looking blond that shot dark glares at Naruto.
Just breathe, give him the stuff and you can easily get out and go back to bed. He reassured himself as he opened the door that had "Uchiha" in big black words, the intense looks Naruto received had left the air around him vividly uncomfortable, filling the corners of his space until he was practically swimming in discomfort.
When Naruto entered his office, the stupid bastard was sleeping.
Naruto just rolled his eyes, feeling his irritation wavering at the sight of the exhausted workaholic.
As he approached closer in quiet steps, Naruto noticed Sasuke's hand holding pen tightly, as if he was ready to write down important information, his curious eyes then took notice of the stacked files beside him. Was he working all day?
"Has he ever heard of asking for help?" Naruto sighed quietly, worried over the future health problems that would occur if Sasuke continued overexerting his human body. Neji had offered bits of information regarding Sasuke's habits of skipping meals, sleep, and breaks to dedicate his time to his work.
No wonder he was such a prick. The poor bastard never gets any rest, obviously he was sleep deprived, which resulted in Sasuke's cranky attitude.
Naruto placed his bag on a nearby chair and went to look for a blanket in what looked to be a closet(which was a little odd). He found a thick, cotton blanket that was definitely clean. Carefully Naruto spread the blanket out to wrap it over Sasuke's hunched back.
Naruto stared for a moment after placing the blanket over the weary body. Hard alabaster skin, a sculpted face, his hair looked like a duck taking a shit, but it amusingly fit well on Sasuke. His characteristics made him seem so organized, ambitious, and extremely attractive in every physical way.
No wonder woman liked Sasuke. Naruto shook himself to get out of his weird trance, he shouldn't have been admiring Sasuke's features. He must have been exhausted to even think of his boss as someone captivating.
Taking the last few minutes he was there, Naruto took a sticky note and scribbled a note to stick on the front of his bag before he exited the room.
He quickly headed out the building, secretly hoping Sasuke would wise up and sleep at his home next time, feeling content that he at least helped him get comfortable.
Waking up around the middle of the night, Sasuke had found himself frustrated with himself for stupidly falling asleep on his desk. It was irresponsible to fall asleep before his work had been finished.
Stretching his sore muscles, Sasuke didn't take notice of the blanket someone had been considerate enough to wrap him with, instead he noticed the raggedy sack on the chair across his desk.
It took a moment, but Sasuke safely assumed it had been Naruto that dropped the samples he requested the prior day. Taking the yellow stick note, Sasuke skimmed through the words.
Bastard, give me a specific time so I can kick your ass back home when you're awake. Get some rest smartass.
-Naruto U.
Finding the note nosy, Sasuke crumpled it, hesitating to throw it in the garbage, instead he threw it back on his desk.
Sasuke's hand wiggled around the center of the knapsack, taking out each glass jar, miffed that Naruto hadn't placed the colours in a plastic container since many jars had cracks rooting everywhere. Lastly, he felt a cool handle in the nearly empty bag. He gripped hilt with his fingers and pulled it out to get a better look on the unexpected object.
It was a decrepit looking hair brush that had ''Pokeball" messily edged on the chipping surface.
"What the hell is this?"