Disclaimer:Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

Ages:
Naruto: 23
Sasuke: 25

AN: It's been a while, for this story at least! I cannot express how much people's continued support of this story means to me especially since I took quite a long time to update. As an apology there is 2 new chapters, but the second one is chapter 8: moving forward. I realized as I went back through my chicken scratch notes that I did not include that chapter in and I should have. It's a short chapter, 800 words (roughly!) but it needed it's own place. It fits in the timeline as chapter 8.

Beat The Odds
Chapter 16: The Dating Game

May 28 2011 - 4 years and 8 months together

Finals had finally ended and Naruto could breathe without stress eroding his mind. His classmates had decided to celebrate the end of their first year with drinks at the local pub. Naruto usually opted out of these gatherings, not being much of a drinker or enjoying handling drunken people but this time was special.

It was the end of their first year. It was a tough year and he rightfully deserved some alcohol.

His move out day was tomorrow and Kakashi would be by in the mid-afternoon to pick him up and transport him back home. He was going to enjoy his last night away from home and final day of year one.

A few of his classmates sat with him in the booth, each one nursing some sort of drink –whether it was alcoholic or not. Very few were not drinking.

"So Ino," a girl beside her began, her fingers tightly around a cold mug of beer. The pitcher sitting untouched in the middle of the table. "I hear you hooked up with Sai behind the biology section in the library."

Her face morphed into horror as she pushed her pale blond hair out of her pastel blue eyes.

"What?!" She yelped, angrily facing the girl who had spoken. Naruto didn't remember her name. "I did not!"

"Oh," the girl murmured out with heartbreak.

"Who told you such a ridiculous thing?" She quickly asked eyes staying glued to their timid classmate.

Naruto tuned them out, not really caring for idly gossip. His eyes went towards the pool table, and the guys hovering around the table with beers lining the shelves on the wall. They laughed and a few girls lingered nearby obviously trying to catch their attention.

There were only two guys at the booth, excluding Naruto. His roommate Chouji (who although was not in his class was invited by Naruto for company) and a kid that Naruto really didn't remember ever having seen in classes.

"-eh Naruto?"

He cranked his head back to Ino, she was staring intently at him. He took a sip out of his rum and coke, enjoying the cool on his heated skin.

"Pardon?"

She laughed, weaving a hand through her blonde bangs with a soft smile on her face. He often hung out with Ino during lunch breaks, she was cool and often a little too opinionated that would borderline rude.

"I asked if you have a special someone."

Ah, he mentally chided. Figures that would come up, he had managed to keep his love life away from almost all his classmates. Chouji was probably the only one in the school who knew he had a boyfriend.

"I have a boyfriend." He shrugged out with a easy smile.

Mouths opened and a few people looked slightly paler. He wasn't sure if it was because he was gay, and they weren't comfortable with that or it was because he had a boyfriend – him, the boy with scars on his cheeks and was often told how annoying he could be.

Ino frowned, "you never told me that."

He shrugged, "you never asked."

Which was true. She hummed and nodded, "why didn't he come out with you tonight? You could have invited him."

She eyed Chouji, "unless Chouji-"

"No," Chouji interrupted with an awkward shift in his posture. Naruto knew it wasn't because people assumed he was gay, he was quite open to all sexualities, but because they literally had not talked to Chouji all night. He was just there, an idle statue.

"It's not Chouji," he replied resting a hand on his roommates shoulder. "He lives in near Lincoln."

They blinked, "where's that?"

"Oh do you mean by Niagara on the lake?" Someone commented, he flicked his eyes towards the voice of the boy he couldn't name.

"No, Illinois. Chicago, essentially." Even if it wasn't in Chicago or close to Chicago, most people weren't familiar with US towns and cities except the capitals and the states. Lincoln was situated in Illionis and well Chicago was the most capital. He didn't care if gave misinformation.

It was too complicated to go into exact detail of where Lincoln was, and to even go as far and say he lived near Lincoln. Not quite in Lincoln either.

"Oh." Ino murmured, "How did you two meet?"

Naruto blinked, wondering and debating if he should just outright lie or tell the truth. He puffed out his cheeks and decided he didn't care if his classmates judged him.

"Online game," he shrugged.

Nobody said anything and he felt quite uncomfortable in absolute silence.

"Well, long distance is…" Ino frowned obviously looking for the right words, "interesting." She lamely ended, "but it's not a real relationship. You don't get to hold each other, kiss each other, go on dates, have sex." She shrugged, "how do you do it?"

The fact she stressed the word 'real' made Naruto angry. He frowned, taking another sip of his drink and noticing Chouji looked quite upset with the comment as well if the frown on his face said anything.

"Thank you for reminding me," he said bitterly. He knew the lows to long-distance relationships, he was living it and he didn't need someone to point it out.

"It is real," Chouji decided to say, pushing his drink away from him. "They are dating, therefore it's real."

Ino blinked, her mouth opened slightly and a sadness in her eyes. "I didn't mean it that way."

Chouji frowned but didn't comment, instead glancing away from the pastel blue eyes.

Naruto decided not to take that comment, "but you said it."

She blinked. "I know."

"You do mean it," he shrugged. "I don't care what anyone thinks of my relationship to Sasuke. It's worth the struggle, and it's sad that you've never had a relationship where you felt that they were worth fighting for, even across distances."

He was thankful he was sitting at the end of the booth and quickly stood up, picking up his half-empty glass and making his way towards the bar. He deposited the drink there and shouted across to the barkeep that he wanted to pay for his drink (and Chouji's since he had dragged the poor boy out).

The dating game, the fact that people tallied their conquests like collecting Facebook friends left him happy that he never was in the 'game'. Sure it was awkward once in a while when people swap 'bad date' stories and he didn't have anything to contribute. It may have its downs but the ups were worth it.

Sasuke was worth it.