"Thanks for the ride Sasuke," Naruto said as he got out of the car nervously. The day before had been slightly weird for him because everyone hated him for simply being at the same school as them when he wasn't nearly as privileged as they were. Now, though, the eyes that looked at him were filled with a different sort of jealousy. A sort of jealousy that he really wasn't used to seeing and he blushed under the scrutiny of it.
"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked.
"It's nothing," Naruto tried to smile pacifyingly, but Sasuke wasn't going to be fooled by that.
"Don't worry about it," Sasuke whispered in Naruto's ear making him blush by the sheer closeness of it. "They're just jealous."
"I know," Naruto nodded, "but I don't like it when people look at me like that."
"I'll protect you," Sasuke promised immediately. "I won't let any of them hurt you."
Naruto nodded, but he didn't really believe Sasuke's promise. He couldn't be there every moment of the day. Besides, even if he could, nothing would stop those stares and the cruel words that would inevitably follow. Naruto was used to it at this point. He had had to contend with that sort of bullying for practically his whole life, but that didn't mean that he had to be happy about it.
However, Sasuke didn't like the stares at all. How dare they think Naruto to be any less than any of them? In fact, Sasuke was pretty sure that Naruto was more than any of them could ever hope to be since he got into the school by his own talent instead of through the money. Sasuke had even heard, though he would never pass it on to anyone since he wasn't a gossiper, that several of the students were actually failing and the only reason that they were advancing to the next grades were because their parents were bribing the teachers to bumping the grades up a little. Or a lot in most cases. So the students of this school were in no place to be cruel to his new boyfriend and he was going to make extra sure that they wouldn't.
"Sasuke-kun!" And here came his two examples that he would use to show the rest of the school just what he thought of them: a pink-haired girl named Sakura and a blonde named Ino. Sakura shoved her way between Sasuke and Naruto, though it wasn't that hard since Naruto moved out of her way almost immediately, to wrap her arms around Sasuke's arm and Ino did the same on the other side. "How are you Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked sweetly while she batted her eyes in the most disturbing from of flirting that Sasuke had ever seen.
"I was good until you came," he mumbled.
"Don't be coy Sasuke," Ino smiled as seductively as she could, which, in Sasuke's estimation, was not at all. "I know you're happy to see me."
"Shut up Ino-pig," Sakura hissed at her so-called frienemy. "Sasuke's upset that you're here because he wants to be alone with me."
"Yea right Sakura," Ino responded in kind. "It's clearly the other way around."
Sasuke rolled his eyes and glanced at Naruto who looked like he was completely at a loss for what to do. It did make Sasuke happy, though, that Naruto hadn't even thought to just leave him behind and head to class. He knew quite a few people who would have done just that to avoid this awkward situation.
"Come on Sasuke," Sakura continued when they stopped their annoying fighting. "Let's go inside. We don't want to be caught anywhere near these lesser men." When those words slipped out of her mouth both she and Ino scowled at Naruto who immediately took a step back and away from them.
Sasuke growled as he ripped his arms from the girl. "That man happens to be my boyfriend and if anyone here is lesser it's you two for shamelessly trying to flirt with someone who is clearly not interested in you."
Naruto rang his hands nervously in his lap when they pulled up to the building that Itachi was having a company party. They had been on their way back to his house for the end of their date when Sasuke had gotten a call from his very irritated brother demanding that he join the company party immediately. When Sasuke had mentioned that he was on a date at the moment, Itachi had simply replied that he should just bring the girl along with him and then hung up before Sasuke could explain anything else.
"I could always have the chauffer take you back to your house if you don't want to go in," Sasuke offered as the care came to a stop.
"Do you not want me to go in?" Naruto asked. He had never been the type of person to be self-deprecating, but when it came to being with Sasuke he sometimes felt that Sasuke should be ashamed of being with him. After all, he wasn't from a rich family and he wasn't that smart or handsome and, most damning of them all, he was a man. Sasuke could never be ashamed of him and he proved that time and time again, but he still sometimes wants to make sure.
"Of course I do," Sasuke smiled, "but you don't have to come to my boring company party if you don't want to. I'm not going to drag you along with me."
"I'll come," Naruto answers after a moment of contemplation. It wouldn't be the first time that he went to one of Sasuke's company parties, after all, so he could fit in well enough not to embarrass the both of them. At least he hoped that was the case.
Sasuke smiled and offered his hand, which was taken, to help Naruto out of the car. He quickly looped Naruto's hand around Sasuke's elbow and that made Naruto relax just that little bit. That had always been their preferred method of walking anyway because it leant itself to a certain amount of intimacy that Naruto enjoyed.
The moment they entered the room, Naruto felt severely underdressed. It wasn't a black-tie party, but every one of the men was wearing nice suits and the women were clothed in fancy dresses. Even Sasuke's outfit, which could be considered an everyday work outfit, was totally underdressed compared to everyone else.
"Maybe we should have changed first?" Naruto suggested in an uneasy joke.
"Nah," Sasuke shrugged. "It's Itachi's fault for interrupting our date. He'll just have to deal with it."
"Are you sure?" Naruto asked.
"No turning back now," Sasuke replied as they both noticed that almost the whole room was staring at them. The only one who wasn't staring at them and the only reason Itachi wasn't staring at them was because he was too busy glaring at them.
"You dumped me for him?!" Ino yelled out in outrage, breaking the silence that had fallen over everyone when they dared to enter the room as they were.
"Always," Sasuke replied without even thinking.
"Look Sasuke," Ino calmed herself as best she could. "I understand that you're under a lot of stress right now, but I thought that you got over whatever stupid notion you had of being gay when that blonde loser broke up with you in college. Sakura told me that you went and started dating her almost immediately after it happened so I thought that you might have seen the error of what you were doing, but now you go back to another blonde idiot."
"Jealousy seems to never change," Sasuke said.
"That's not true," Naruto smiled as best he could while he stood their being insulted and learning that Sasuke had almost immediately gotten over his break up was a little heart breaking. He, himself, had almost dropped out of school when he realized what a complete and utter idiot he was and he hadn't dated since. "At least this time there's not two."
"I'm sure the other one's around here somewhere," Sasuke replied. Speak of the devil and she shall appear. Sakura came bounding over and latched herself onto Sasuke.
"I've been waiting for you to get here," she said in her best flirtatious voice.
"Let me go Sakura," Sasuke said in annoyance.
"Oh come on Sasuke," she said without relenting her grip. "We both know that the only reason that you broke up with me is because that idiot from high school broke your heart. We are perfect for each other. You just need to accept me now that enough time has passed."
"I think I'm perfectly fine with the boyfriend I have right now," Sasuke replied quickly.
Sakura moved back as though Sasuke had burned her and glared over at Naruto. "Whose this?" she hissed.
"This is my boyfriend," Sasuke introduced in an obviously fake polite tone. "Naruto, I think you've met these two."
Both girls stared shocked as they recognized the name and Sasuke took that moment to escape them. He would have much rather escaped the whole event, but by the death glare that Itachi was throwing his way, he knew that he had no choice but to stay for a while.