Eight: Cocktails for Two
“Lolita, don’t worry. I’ll have a restraining order put on Itachi. . . No. . . No, he won’t hurt you. . . Yes, I’m sure. I’m his brother. . . Yes, you can have the rest of the week off. . . Here, how’s this? You don’t have to work at the house anymore. Just come to the Main House and clean a couple of the rooms that we use regularly? I’ll hire some other ladies to work under you. . . Yes, it’s a promotion. . . Okay. . . okay I’ll see you next week. . . Yes. . . You’re welcome. Bye.” Sasuke said, hanging up the phone. From what Naruto could make out from the hysterical voice and Sasuke’s annoyed calmness, Lolita the maid had had a run-in with Sasuke’s older brother and was now thoroughly afraid of him. Apparently Itachi had been warned not to “molest” Lolita, but had kept leering at her anyway. Needless to say, Sasuke didn’t look happy.
“You okay?”
“I’m about to drive out an hour to go kill my brother, but, yes, I’m fine.”
“An hour?”
“He’s working.”
“Oh.”
“Apparently life doesn’t seem to be liking me at the moment.” Sasuke said, flopping on the couch next to Naruto and turning on the television. Though the blonde could feel the tension in the air from Sasuke’s anger, he decided to attempt to break it anyway.
“So, why don’t you just take a break? You’ve been really stressed, right? Sakura found out about Ino and the others, Hiashi’s whole deal, your family, Itachi, work. . .”
“Don’t even get me started on work.” Sasuke said, exasperated. Jiraiya had lied, saying that there would be newbies coming soon, and had, instead, up-ed Sasuke and Naruto’s work hours. Granted, it also meant more money, but there were barely enough hours in the day for work, school, friends, and sleep, particularly since Naruto had no car and needed a ride to school (which somehow Sasuke felt generous enough to give him).
“So, take the night off! Grab a drink or something!”
“What about Jiraiya?”
“Screw him. I’m kinda pissed that he didn’t recruit like he was supposed to anyway!” Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes. A night off would be nice, but it was Tuesday! Who went off to a bar with their friends on a Tuesday? Neji wouldn’t go, Shika was too lazy to go even on a Friday, Ino wasn’t speaking to him, Tenten needed her sleep, Kiba. . .
“No, not Kiba.” the brunette muttered aloud.
“Who’s Kiba?”
“He’s bi with a mind for sex and parties.”
“Sound like fun.” Naruto said. “Except the sex part.”
“He’s funny but. . . for both our sakes I’m hoping that you won’t run into him before the housewarming.”
“Why?”
“Notice I said ‘sex’ before ‘parties’.”
“Oh. . .”
“At least he waits until the second encounter until he tries anything, but. . . the housewarming would be the second encounter and. . . the Uchiha mansion has a lot of empty rooms.”
“Say no more.” Naruto said, shivering a little. “So, why were you thinking about Kiba?”
“I was running through a list of people I could hang out with tonight.”
“Neji?”
“He wouldn’t go on a Tuesday.”
“Oh. Anyone else?”
“Not that I can really think of. Hinata would be forbidden from it, Ino’s not speaking to me, Shino doesn’t drink, and Chouji’s not in the state.”
“Wow, is your circle of friends that small?”
“How big is yours, Mr. Home Schooled?”
“Hey! I went to a normal middle school and high school!!”
“Whatever, will you answer?”
“I have about six, but mostly it’s just Gaara.”
“Wow, you’re a lonely person.” Sasuke said, smirking. Okay, it was childish, but he had definitely more friends than Naruto. “But back to the matter at hand.”
“Yeah, don’t you have ANY friends who would go to a bar with you?”
“Not on a Tuesday.”
“That sucks for you.”
“. . .”
“Well, tell me how it goes, okay? Maybe you’ll find yourself a girlfriend you actually like!” Naruto said, snickering and leaving Sasuke to go check his e-mail. Sasuke sighed and stuffed a pillow in his face. Why were his friends so set in their ways? Especially Neji. . . he could really use an intelligent conversation. . .
“FUCK!!” he shouted, aggravated.
“Happy you came?” Naruto asked, smiling. Sasuke actually was, but it was slightly questionable whether he enjoyed his company or not. The only person free that he even remotely knew was. . . yes, Naruto. The blonde was only too happy to go and told Sasuke they might want to go to this café with a bar in the back. They usually had a local band playing for the evening, and on occasion the café had a celebrity group come in for the night. Tonight, it seemed, that there was a pretty popular local group playing, for the bar was full. Sasuke enjoyed the music the band played (a mix of rock, jazz, pop, and alternative), and he almost forgot that he was with Naruto while he listened, but as soon as the music stopped. . .
“Yeah, I guess.” Sasuke said, sighing. Naruto was a constant reminder of his problems, whether the boy knew it or not. Then again, it may just be the alcohol that was making him forget for a while. He couldn’t exactly blame Naruto, either. Sasuke had been the one to ask him to go to the bar, and Naruto was trying to help Sasuke relax a little. It seemed that as dim and obnoxious as the blonde was, Naruto had a big heart and wanted to help in any way he could. For that, Sasuke could not bring himself to hate Naruto.
“Tired?”
“A little. Why?”
“You seem like you want to go back home.”
“Nah, ’d rather jus’ go somewhere else. As much as I like this band, I think I migh’ haveta sober up a little before driving back home.”
“Okay. Hey! I know of this great place!”
“’S not loud, is it?”
“No, a lot of people go to this park after the band leaves. Think of it as an outdoor after party.”
“It’s a party, though. Loud.”
“Not now it’s not. How long were you planning on sobering up? The band won’t stop playing until about one or two. Probably two, since that’s when the bar has to close.”
“What time’s it now?”
“About midnight.”
“Fine, let’s go.” Sasuke said, putting a few bills out to pay for the drinks. Naruto hadn’t wanted to drink because, even though they didn’t check for IDs, they were both underage, but had one about an hour into the evening. Sasuke, however, kept the drinks coming at about every half hour interval, which meant that now Naruto had to help Sasuke out of the bar as to not run into the wall.
“You good?” Naruto asked, seeing Sasuke lurch forward a little.
“Fine. Just a little queasy from standing up.” Naruto laughed a little and continued to pull the brunette out of the bar. “Oi,”
“What?”
“I kun stan’ up.”
“But can you walk too?”
“. . . Yes, I can.” Sasuke said, giving Naruto a half glare. Naruto shook his head.
“Nah, I’ll help you to the park and we’ll see how you do from there.”
“’S gonna be really obvious that it’s public intoxication, ya know.”
“Yeah, but if the cops actually cared, half of that bar would’ve been put behind bars years ago.”
“Wha'ever.” Sasuke said, trying to pull away from Naruto once they were out of the door. “Wherz the park?”
“A couple blocks. It’s not far.” Sasuke sighed, thinking that was a little too far, but sucked it up and continued forward.
Once they arrived, Sasuke found a bench to sit on almost immediately. His legs felt like jelly, and he was too hazy to keep upright without support. Of course, he would have made it further into the park if he hadn’t been too proud to lean on Naruto. That’s what worried the blonde. Naruto could drive, but if Sasuke didn’t trust him or was too proud to not listen to reason. . . they’d be in trouble.
“I’ll drive home, okay?” Naruto said.
“Why?”
“You seem a little too. . . marinated to drive.”
“Marinated? I’ll be fine in a couple a hours.”
“I don’t think so.” Naruto said, looking at Sasuke’s eyes. “You’re swimmin’.”
“Naruto, I’ll be fine.”
“We’ll see.” he said, sitting down next to the drunk brunette. “So, how’s life?”
“Sucks.” Sasuke said, sighing and leaning his head back on the bench. “I’d give anything not ta be an Uchiha.”
“Why?! You’ve got everything!”
“But a life.” he said. “Inherited money doesn’ mean shit. I could do nothin’ for the rest’a my life and be okay but. . . it’s so borin’.”
“Better than struggling for a life.” Naruto said, trying to cheer up Sasuke.
“Maybe.” he said, rolling his head to the side, fading out fast. “’M not sure which is better hones’ly.”
“Would you rather have my life? Graduate last in your class, go to a community college and pay for that by working at a sex shop run by your guardian–” Sasuke laughed out loud. “What?!”
“Don’ forget I work there too.” he said, his eyes completely closed. Naruto smirked.
“Yeah, and work with the hottest straight guy I’ve ever met.”
“Yeah, I know.” Sasuke said, just about asleep. Naruto blinked.
“. . . You know?”
“Yeah. . .”
“. . .” Naruto looked over to the brunette and poked him. “Oi, what did you mean by that?” Sasuke didn’t answer. The Uchiha was fast asleep on the park bench. “I hope you were just being full of yourself and not horny-drunk.” he said, watching Sasuke’s shallow breath. Naruto tilted his head, looking at his friend in a different angle and thinking. “Well, if you were, I don’t think I’d mind much. You look nice in a reclined position.”
“. . . Zzz. . .” Naruto laughed under his breath.
“Nice answer.” he said, shrugging off his jacket and putting it over Sasuke. He’d probably get cold soon and get all grumpy because of it (not to mention he’d likely have a hangover).
Naruto sighed about ten minutes later and pulled out an old cigarette pack. He didn’t smoke often, and wasn’t really addicted to the tobacco or nicotine, but every once in a while he wanted to smoke or was bored enough to light one.
“Hey there,” someone said from behind, arms wrapping around Naruto’s neck. “Nice evening, huh?”
“Sure,” Naruto said, glaring at the anonymous, unwanted hands.
“This your lay for the night?”
“No,” the blonde replied.
“You lovers?”
“No,”
“Wanna come back up to the bar with me?” Naruto pushed the man’s arms off of him and stood up to blow a couple of lungs full of smoke in the guy’s direction.
“Who the fuck are you?”
“You were watching the band, right? I’m the bass guitarist.” he said, and once the smoke dissipated Naruto saw that he was telling the truth. “I’ve been watching you all night, and I like you.”
“What makes you think I’m interested?” Naruto asked.
“What teenaged male isn’t?”
“Me.” he answered.
“Naruto shut the fuck up.” Sasuke said, flailing his hand toward Naruto and hitting the blonde’s ass on accident. The bass player smirked.
“You his bitch?”
“No, asshole.” Naruto said, whispering. The guitarist laughed.
“I bet you are! Wow, I didn’t know this town had male whores!” Sasuke rose from his drunken sleepiness and glared at the band member.
“Di’you just call Naruto a whore?” the Uchiha asked, his eyes still swimming with the alcohol, but there was a definite coherent anger underneath. “Well, fag-hag? Did you?”
“What of it?” the man asked. “What’re you gonna do about it?”
“You wan’ your band ta make money?”
“Yeah. So?”
“I have enough power n’ money to make sure you never get a gig for the rest of your goddamn life, not to mention I’ll beat the shit out of you even if I am drunk.”
“I’d like to see that.”
“Sasuke, it’s fine.” Naruto said, trying to pull the brunette away from the situation. “I’ve been called worse.”
“He called you a fucking whore!”
“It’s just because I won’t sleep with him.” Naruto said. “Don’t worry about it. He can’t do anything.”
“What? You don’t think he could back up his talk?” the man said, laughing at both of them. Sasuke pushed off Naruto and lunged at the man, proceeding to use all the rest of his energy to attack the bass player. “Get off of me!!”
“Sasuke stop it!” Naruto shouted, trying to pull the brunette off the other man, seeing blood gushing from the man’s nose and mouth. Sasuke eventually gave in to Naruto’s pulling and fell into Naruto’s chest, having not enough energy to stand up properly. “You all right?”
“Yeah,” Sasuke answered. “If you couldn’ tell, he was the one gettin’ his ass kicked.” Naruto sighed and looked over to the man, coughing on the ground. “Should’ve punched his balls.”
“You’ve done enough I think.” Naruto said, putting an arm around Sasuke and picking up his fallen jacket. “Let’s go home.”
“You’re not drivin’ my car.” Sasuke said, stubborn to a fault.
“Shut up. You can’t even stand.” the blonde spit, looking back at that bass player who was still lying on the ground, bloody and nearly beat to a pulp. “Think we should leave him?”
“He deserves to lie there in pain.” Sasuke said, spiteful.
“Why’d you do that? It was unnecessary.”
“He insulted you, then me.”
“Haven’t you heard of turning the other cheek?”
“Uchihas don’t turn the other cheek when their honor is compromised.” Naruto shook his head, amazed through the alcohol that Sasuke could come up with those words.
“Prideful git.”
“Besides, you’re not a whore.”
“I didn’t know you cared.”
“I do.” Sasuke said. Naruto stopped walking and looked at Sasuke.
“You do?”
“I live with you.”
“So? You were kinda forced to.”
“Is it a crime to care?”
“No, but–”
“Then shut up.” he said, glaring at Naruto. “So what if I care? I just do damnit.” Naruto was disconcerted about what Sasuke ws saying, but continued to walk toward the car. “You’re not bad.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t hate you. I can’t hate you.”
“You’re rambling, Sasuke.”
“I thought you were, but you’re not.” the brunette said, ignoring Naruto. “You’re–”
“Sasuke I need your keys.” Naruto said, interrupting Sasuke so that he would think of something else and maybe make sense.
“Pocket.”
“Can you get them out for me?” the blonde asked, not wanting to reach for them in case Sasuke took it badly. The brunette looked upward toward the sky and scrunched his face, trying to think of where his keys were.
“. . . Don’t remember which pocket.” Sasuke said after a while of skewed thought. Naruto sighed and started reaching for Sasuke’s right pocket, since that’s where Naruto himself kept them. Sasuke sighed. “Sorry.”
“What?”
“Just sorry.” Naruto shook his head and pulled out the keys to the car.
“Com’on, let’s get you home.”
TBC...
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A/N: Well, that’s eight chapters down. I suppose I should thank you all for your support and reading my story I sold my soul to TONFA for. . . but I emplore you, go read my other pieces of work!! It’s sad to have disappeared for a while and have nothing but “no new reviews” to see when I return. It’s quite depressing (almost enough to make me not want to write).
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A/N: Thanks for the 11 reviews last chapter. That's more than some of my other stories. . . combined.
Have pity on the other stories that don't get enough attention and read my other works!! They're actually better than this one!!!
- Yumi TT___TT