Naruto could barely contain his excitement the next morning as he waited for the elevator doors to slide open, using all of his will power to make it seem as though he was intensely focused on the newspaper in his hands and not counting he seconds it was taking for the elevator to arrive.
Ding!
He'd never been a good actor though.
All pretenses of aloofness fell, a wide smile spreading on his face as he impatiently watched the doors slide open. Taking a step forward he opened his mouth to give her a warm greeting, only for the excitement building inside him to extinguish quickly as he looked into the compartment that seemed much duller and suffocating without her presence.
He'd be lying if he said he didn't pout and stand in the hallway for 10 minutes, repeatedly calling the elevator over and over and hoping that she would be inside, only for an empty compartment to greet him each time.
He'd be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed after reluctantly getting in an empty elevator, the ride down feeling much lonelier without her warmth beside him.
Maybe she was running late, or went in early? Hell, maybe she was just sick. He could think of countless reasons why she wasn't in the elevator that morning, each of them making plausible sense. Surely he was overreacting. It was just one day, right? 'Think positive, think positive.' Naruto gulped as one clear thought rung through his mind.
Maybe she was avoiding him.
He tried to cast out the negative idea. She wouldn't avoid him, not after he'd made such a good impression the previous day! Or maybe it wasn't good. Sure he was upping the charm factor a bit, but he really was just trying to do the right thing by helping her out! Had he been too pushy? He didn't think so; at least she hadn't given him the feeling that she thought he was a creep. Maybe she just wasn't interested and didn't have the heart to let him down. Had he completely screwed up? What if he never saw her again?!
To say it bothered him all day would be an understatement.
Naruto groaned and dropped his head on his desk; scattering papers as his secretary gave him a concerning look from the next room before picking up the telephone. Naruto rolled his head on his desk as though it might clear his mind, taking a deep breath and sighing deeply just as the woman put the phone down and a loud clicking of high heels rapidly approached his office. 'Oh no,' he thought as a figure quickly came into view. He knew that face all too well. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes as she swiftly made her way into his office with a frown on her face and a furrowed brow, Naruto sat up and leaned his head on his arm.
"I don't want to hear it, Ino."
"What is with you today? I've gotten zero work done with everyone's complaints of you sighing every five minutes, walking around the office with a groan, and dragging your feet!" The blonde ignored him as she slammed her hand on his desk in annoyance, her ponytail swinging as she fixed her eyes on him.
"It's nothing, just forget it." He mumbled through his frown, refusing to meet her irritated eyes as he absentmindedly toyed with the pencil to his left.
"…I know what this is about." She narrowed her eyes and he got the sense that she was analyzing him down to the last detail and he squirmed uncomfortably. "This is about a girl isn't it?"
"W-What!" He sputtered, scoffing incredulously and clearing his throat as a sly smile made its way onto her face. He'd always known Ino to have a keen perception for reading people, which worked really well for her as the HR head of their firm but bad for him when she turned it on him instead.
"You're so easy to read, Naruto, you wear your emotions written across your face," she shook her head with a haughty chuckle as she watched him flush deeply. "Lucky for you you're talking to a love expert. What, did she dump you or something?"
"No! It's not like that, I mean– I'm not going to talk to you about this!" He threw the pencil at her and she swatted it aside with a look of offense. "Love expert my ass, didn't you just break up with your latest boyfriend?"
"Ugh, men." She groaned as he pouted at her, pinching the bridge of her nose and lifting her watch closer to her face to check the time. "Look it's already 4:30, why don't we just call it a day."
"Don't have to tell me twice." Naruto stood up, gathering his papers into a messy pile and setting them to the side to be worried about the next morning. Sure his boss Tsunade had been hounding him to finish his report, but another day shouldn't make a difference.
"Not so fast!" She called to him as he grabbed his jacket and quickly began making his way out of his office. "Did you bring the papers Sakura sent for me?"
"Eh?" He paused as he scoured his memories for his last conversation with his pink haired friend.
'I gave Sasuke some important papers to give to you. Take them to work and give them to Ino, they're really important. Don't forget. Are you listening to me, Naruto?'
"You forgot." The look Ino gave him indicated that she wasn't surprised, pinching her nose once more as though the blonde was giving her a large headache while Naruto laughed nervously.
"I might have been a little distracted this morning." He gave her an apologetic smile and she shook her head at him.
"Forget it; I'll go get them myself from your place." She shrugged, turning from his office and heading back towards her own as her long ponytail swung behind her.
"Wait, I can bring them!" He trotted after her quickly, nearly tripping over his own feet as he entered her office and watched her gather her things.
"Like I trust you to do it! Besides, Sakura's birthday is coming up and I need to talk to Sasuke about a surprise party for her."
"What's that supposed to mean!" He retorted angrily as she slid on her rain coat with ease before picking up her umbrella and striding past him with narrowed eyes.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go."
And that was how Naruto Uzumaki ended up in the lobby of his building with Ino Yamanaka yammering away in his ear.
"But what do you think, would she like a surprise party?"
"Why wouldn't she?"
"Okay, but would she like a planned party more is what I'm asking."
"That's not what you asked at all."
"It's what I'm asking now!"
"Then why didn't you just ask that in the first place!"
"Just answer the question Naruto!"
He stared at the numbers above the elevator with a withering patience, Ino continuing to ramble to herself beside him, not bothered by his lack of attention as long as he mumbled a 'yes' or 'no' every so often. The dial seemed to move down to the first floor at an agonizingly slow pace, and he found his annoyance increasing the more time went on.
'She'll be in and out within 10 minutes.' He repeated in his head as he took a deep breath to calm his nerves, glancing around the lobby curiously as residents and workers hustled about. Unconsciously, he found himself looking for a glimpse of long dark hair, of fair skin, or silver eyes. She couldn't be at work all day, so maybe she'd gotten off early as well?
A ring from his left signaled that the elevator had arrived, interrupting his thoughts and he heard the familiar sound of the doors sliding open coupled with a disappointment in his chest. He couldn't help the pout that appeared on his face as he waved Ino ahead of him into the elevator, taking one last glance around the lobby before stepping inside himself.
"All I'm asking is if you think she'd like a new pair of hooker heels or some nice perfume? You're really no help at all, Naruto." Ino crossed her arms with a sigh as Naruto reached across her and pressed the 7th button on the panel.
"How am I supposed to know what to get her? I get her the same thing every year: a gift card to Ichiraku's!" Naruto shrugged his shoulders and Ino groaned.
"That's what you get everyone every year!"
"E-Excuse me! Hold the elevator, please!" A soft voice called and Naruto's heart stopped as Ino instinctively reached her hand through the closing doors, stopping them from closing at the last moment.
Oh no.
"Woah, that was a close one! You just caught it!" Ino laughed to herself as the doors slid open, revealing a petite girl staring inside with surprised eyes.
Not now.
Not when he was with the worst person he could absolutely be with at that moment.
The one person who was sure to never let him live down the fact that this girl was the reason he'd been slugging around work all day, this girl who he'd spoken to a total of two times.
"Thanks for holding the door!" An unfamiliar voice broke Naruto from his thoughts, and he tore his gaze from the girl to a man standing closely beside her.
A little too close.
"Scoot over, you dope!" Ino nudged Naruto, and he distantly felt a pain in his side as he watched the man place his hand onto the girl's shoulder, looking down at her with a wide grin that made Naruto's blood boil.
"Y-Yeah, sorry." He watched the duo with blank eyes, semi-aware of silver eyes on him but unable to take his eyes off the man guiding her gently into the elevator, pressing the 8th floor button.
Who the hell was this guy? And why was he touching her so comfortably?
'A BOYFRIEND?'
He desperately tried to cast the thought from his mind. Could she really have a boyfriend? He supposed he wouldn't be surprised; someone as gorgeous as her had to have men hitting on her all the time, but he had to admit that the thought had never even crossed his mind in the months that he'd spent building up the courage to speak to her. He felt something dangerous building up within his chest as he turned his attention onto the man standing beside her as the elevator doors slid closed; a mixture of anger and sadness and hesitation, his hope shattering into a million pieces.
Blue eyes narrowed as they took in the guy's appearance.
He guessed that the guy was alright looking; tall, tan skin, muscular. His unkempt brown hair stuck out in all directions, hanging from his forehead in thick tufts. Naruto supposed that he could understand how girls could find someone like him attractive; he could imagine the guy being funny and charming to women (if the light laughter lines on his face were any indication. He dressed casually, which pleased Naruto as he stood straightly in his button-down shirt and tie, but not so casually that he looked shabby. If anything, he seemed like the typical outdoorsy type that women in movies always seemed to faun over.
Naruto hated him.
"But really, what's up with the small pets rule? Akamaru is really offended. I bet a bunch of cat elitists live here. That's not a good environment, I keep telling you to move closer to me and Shino."
"Y-Yes, but this building is close to my work. And I…I like the people," she responded quietly, clenching her hands tightly in front of her and glancing in Naruto and Ino's direction warily.
How dare he stand so closely to her like that, chatting away about things that weren't the weather?! Who did he think he was? Didn't he realize how long Naruto had spent trying to have a conversation with her?!
"Okay but what do you think of a spring theme. We could have lots of flowers and invite everyone we know! Is that too much though? Maybe we should keep it private, only close friends." Ino brought a hand to her chin in thought.
"Yeah, that sounds nice." Naruto nodded numbly as the elevator rang and the doors began to slide open. He hesitated before stepping out, fighting the urge to turn and speak to her. Was this guy really her boyfriend? Maybe he was just jumping to conclusions. He could be being ridiculous, but the way he stood so closely and talked to her so easily wasn't his imagination. Whoever this guy was, he obviously was close to her.
"Are you gonna stand there all day?" Ino asked as she stepped out of the elevator, glancing back at Naruto curiously with her brow quirked.
"R-Right, sorry," he sputtered, sighing and stepping out after her just as he heard the doors begin to close.
"Wait!" He froze mid-step as a shout rang through the air, turning back and seeing the girl looking at him with a desperate expression as she held the doors firmly open with both hands.
"I just, um, I wanted to thank you! For the umbrella yesterday, and the taxi…T-That was really kind and I'm really grateful." She trailed off quietly, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment as Naruto took the few steps back to the front of the elevator.
"You don't have to thank me!" He replied a bit too loudly, coughing and chuckling to himself as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I mean, it wasn't a big deal at all. I just wanted to help you out."
"Oh, so this is the guy you were telling me about yesterday!" The guy next to her exclaimed, pointing at Naruto as his eyes widened in realization.
"Eh?" Ino asked in confusion, joining Naruto in front of the elevator. The guy stepped forward with a laugh and draped his arm around her shoulder with a wide smile, and Naruto felt his anger peak, clenching his fists at his side at how nonchalant the action seemed.
"That was really cool of you to give her your umbrella! And the taxi, she was talking about it all day!"
"K-Kiba…" The girl flushed more brightly, and Naruto suddenly had a name to go with the burning anger he felt inside him.
"You didn't tell me about that!" Ino slapped him lightly on the arm, a playful smirk on her face as she wiggled her eyebrows discreetly at him. He flushed brightly.
"It was nothing," Naruto mumbled as he shuffled his feet, refusing to meet any of their gazes.
"I-I'm still really grateful, thank you." She smiled a brilliant smile at him that made Naruto feel warm all over, but the feeling was short lived as his eyes focused on the arm draped across her shoulders so casually. "I still have your coat, and your umbrella?"
"You can give them back another day, don't worry about it." He waved a hand dismissively, forcing a small smile onto his face and she nodded with a smile of her own.
"Well! We better get going, it was nice talking to you!" Naruto felt Ino suddenly begin pulling him away excitedly, waving at the two in the elevator as they started making their way down the hall.
"Thanks again!" He heard the Kiba guy call gratefully once again, and Naruto turned in time to glimpse the mischievous grin he looked down at her with as the doors slid closed.
"Wow Naruto, who knew you could be such a romantic! Is that why you showed up soaking wet to the office the other day? Because you gave that girl your umbrella and got her a taxi?" Ino slapped his arm repeatedly, unable to hold her excitement at the latest bit of gossip she'd found and Naruto looked at the wall pointedly as they walked.
"Yeah, yeah, it's not a big deal."
"She's really pretty," Ino added with a thoughtful smile before giggling to herself. "But I was more interested in that guy with her; can you say hotty? Where can I find me a guy like that, do you think he was her boyfriend?"
"Who knows, sure looked like it to me." Naruto replied flatly as he pulled his keys from his pocket as they approached his door.
"Do you… No way, that's the girl you've been moping over all day?!" Ino exclaimed as Naruto pushed the door open roughly, a scowl on his mouth as she hit the nail on the head.
"Look Ino can you just drop it? I don't feel like talking about it right now." He gave her a desperate look and she opened her mouth to retort before seemingly thinking better of it and closing it once more.
"Alright. I'll give you this one, but this conversation isn't over." She pointed at him with a furrowed brow. "Hey Sasuke! Do you have those papers? I have a lot I need to talk to you about."
Naruto watched Sasuke sigh deeply, turning to meet the blonde woman as she stomped her way into the kitchen as though she owned the place. He glanced at Naruto momentarily, noticing the way his shoulders slumped and how he kicked his shoes off without regard before slumping onto the couch.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm listening." He waved Ino off as she began to get snarky with him. "The papers are over here on the table."
Naruto threw himself onto the couch, his heart filled with a flurry of emotions that he almost felt ashamed for feeling considering he'd probably spent less than five minutes actually conversing with the girl.
He couldn't help but feel jealous of the way Kiba talked with her so easily, a natural conversation flowing between the two as though they had known each other for a long time. His heart ached as he remembered his arm draped across her shoulders, casual and close. A simple motion that could mean so much or so little, a differentiation he couldn't make without more knowledge of their relationship.
'Their relationship…' Were they really dating? Did he even have a right to be upset about that? He wasn't angry with her; he didn't think he could be. He was angry with himself. Angry that he had taken so long to talk to her, angry that he hadn't made his feelings known sooner (in case that might have made a difference somehow). He was angry with Kiba. Angry that he had come to know the girl before Naruto had, angry that he seemed so comfortable with her whereas Naruto struggled to say one word. He was angry that he didn't have that kind of relationship with her.
He was an irrational kind of upset, and he hated himself for it.
"Hey hadn't Sakura been trying to set you up on a blind date with one of her friends Naruto?" Ino called from the kitchen and Naruto lifted his head from his hands.
"Yeah, she was… What about it?" He made eye contact with her as she walked past him on the couch, papers clutched neatly to her chest as she made her way to the door.
"I think that's a great idea! That girl is a pretty good match maker, I think you should give it a shot! At this rate, you'll be single forever. See ya, don't forget to call me about the party Sasuke!" Her laugh could be heard as she closed the door, and an image of the raven haired girl with the tan man on her arm entered his mind. He slumped back into the cushions as his chest tightened with disappointment.
He chuckled to himself at Ino's antics; obviously she was too good at reading him if she even thought a blind date might help him clear his head. But was a blind date really a good idea? He'd never been one for that sort of thing, but perhaps that was exactly what he needed right now. Ino was right, Sakura was a pretty good matchmaker and he could really use something to get his mind off things. Otherwise maybe he would be single forever.
"Maybe…Maybe I should give it a shot."
"Stop talking to yourself, you sound like an idiot." Sasuke replied indifferently, deftly dodging the cushion that came flying at his head moments later.