Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Love At First Sight? Well, Anything's Possible With These Two... ❯ Chapter 2

I don't own anything but my ideas. Be warned, a lot of POV changes in this chapter

 

Schemes and Unforeseen Outcomes

 

By the time we reached the bar, I'd slowed down to normal speeds—well, normal if you own an Aston Martin Vanquish with tops speeds of 190 miles per hour, and I'd nearly given Neji three heart attacks and four aneurysms. I screech into a parking spot and step out, slamming the door behind me as I walk down the alley, Neji—a little shaken, the wuss that he is—following me as I walk.

 

The flashing neon sign's as bright as day again, and I shield my eyes as I pull open the door, ducking inside. Neji walks in behind me, wincing at the sudden blare of music at 160 decibels as I lead him toward the counter.

 

The guy behind the desk grumbles, “20 bucks each,” and holds out his hand lazily.

 

I pull out my money, ignoring the attitude and try to hand it to the guy. He probably has drug-withdrawal symptoms. He looks up, takes one look at me, freaks out like he's just seen the devil and promptly falls backwards out of his chair. Yep, paranoid, definitely drugs.

 

“You Uchiha's kid?” he asks breathlessly, scrambling back up into his seat and looking at me wide-eyed.

 

My neck clenches and I grit my teeth as I try not to attack someone. Son? I think I'm going to hurl, and if I do, preferably all over this egotistical asshole. “Brother.” I grind out and shove my money harshly in his face, practically sticking it up his nose.

 

He holds his hands up and shakes his head frantically. “No sir, you're admission is on the house. Mr. Uzumaki said he'd have our hide if we charged any of the Uchihas.”

 

I know that he's talking about Deidara, but I can't help the way my heart splutters at the mention of Naruto's last name. Well, this proves I'm gay. This could also prove the theory of love at first sight. We've exchanged all of two sentences, and I haven't been able to get him out of my head for two days straight. Hell, I had a wet dream about him last night, and I'd stopped having those a good year ago after my father walked in on me jerking off. As a result of that horrific incident, I haven't touched myself since then, and every time I think about my father's face, how disgusted he seemed, any `problems' in my lower regions immediately go down. Well, apparently not anymore.

 

“Is he with you?” the man stutters nervously, pointing at Neji.

 

“Yeah.” I nod, still trying to keep my lunch inside my stomach.

 

“You're on the house too, kid, enjoy.” He waves us in, his arm actually shaking. Evidently, I'm not the only one freaked out by Deidara, though I'm not really surprised by that.

 

I lead Neji through the people, picking out a table by the wall and sitting down heavily.

 

“Hey, Sasuke!” Kiba walks over to us, a tray under his arm, a notepad in one hand and a pen in the other, then he turns to Neji, clearly confused. “Um, does Tenten know about this?”

 

“I'm not here because I want to be!” Neji barks. “I was dragged here!”

 

“Ah.” Kiba nods, still not entirely convinced. “Well, can I get you guys something?”

 

“I'm still underage.” Neji shakes his head.

 

“No one checks your age here.” Kiba says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. “We have french vanilla white russian.” he suggests. “Long island ice tea, vesper, margarita, we got a bunch or different fruit daiquiris, piña coladas, martini… black Russian, Kamikaze…? We have rum and coke if you want to start of light, our own blend. It's three parts coke and one part rum, good for first timers.”

 

“Sure.” I say blandly, looking around inconspicuously for that mop of golden locks. Anything as long as it isn't an Everclear; my head was killing me that night just from one sip of that stuff.

 

“I guess I'll have that too.” Neji gives in finally.

 

“Alright, be right back.” Kiba smiles at us and walks off to the bar.

 

“Is that him?” Neji asks after a while, nodding discreetly at the bar.

 

My eyes wander over to the shadows where Neji is indicating and my heart splutters unevenly for a split second when I meet those sky blue eyes, but it ends too soon when he looks away embarrassedly. What was that expression? Jealousy? No way, just because I'm sitting with Neji?

 

************(Naruto's POV)************

 

“Gaara!” I shove the piece of paper I was carrying into his hands. “See? It's cheap, roomy, comfortable… what do you think?” I blubber, a thing I tend to do when I'm excited.

 

Gaara sets the apartment add on the countertop and scans over it briefly. “It's alright.” He mutters disinterestedly. Translation: Good find, I'm looking forward to this and to getting away from Kankuro and Temari.

 

I smile widely and lean against the counter, waiting for the next round of people to serve. And then I see him.

 

His midnight hair and porcelain skin are unmistakable for anyone else's, as I've never seen anyone so pale before, not even Itachi, Deidara's freaky boyfriend. I inwardly wonder how much our skin would contrast when next to each other, his is so white, and mine in contrast looks like I live on mercury it's so tan. He's flawless, and he looks so delicate, like a China doll that would shatter with one wrong move.

 

“You're staring.” Gaara chuckles.

 

“Huh?” I ask, slightly in a daze. Ok, I'm not even going to try to deny it, he's fucking hot. But who's the guy with him? Didn't Deidara bring him in two days ago to introduce him to me? I know Deidara's cracked, but I couldn't help but notice everything about this boy the second I saw him, maybe Dei wasn't too far off the mark this time. The way his black eyes caught the light like onyxes, the way he gripped something tightly or fisted his hand when he was flustered, the pink taint that stained his pale cheeks… I was so turned on I almost had to excuse myself in the middle of the conversation to go relieve myself of my `problem' in the bathroom.

 

I can't help it—hell, maybe there actually is such a thing as love at first sight—I'm actually getting jealous over a kid I've said all of two sentences to. Am I shallow or what? Hey, it isn't my fault! He was the one staring at me first! I just snapped at him out of my embarrassed, stupid self-defense!

 

And in my stupor, my reactions are too delayed and dimwitted to realize that he's looking at me staring at him like a wide-eyed owl until our eyes have met for a good two and a half seconds. My head snaps to the side the second my brain catches up with me, breaking our gaze. Shit, please let me not be blushing.

 

“Hand caught in the cookie jar?” Gaara teases me, sipping at his drink. I just huff embarrassedly.

 

************(Sasuke's POV)************

 

He was staring at me. The actual make-the-effort-to-turn-your-body type of staring. I was stunned; he seemed so disinterested two days ago.

 

“Here you go, enjoy.” Kiba smiles widely at us and thunks our drinks down in front of us before walking back to the counter, the place it seemed all the waiters hung out if they had nothing to do.

 

Neji sighs loudly and picks up his drink, downing half of it before turning to me.

 

“Which one's his friend?” he asks, clearly wanting to get this over with as soon as possible.

 

“You see the redhead over there?” I ask, staring at the table as I sip my drink. Hmm, not half bad. A hell of a lot better than Everclear at least.

 

“The deranged insomniac?” Neji asks. I can here the skepticism and the hope in his voice that we aren't talking about the same person. Sorry, too bad for you.

 

“Yep.” I say around my glass.

 

“You sure you want to try and hit it off with this guy? If he has friends like that…” Neji says in an almost warning tone.

 

“And if that's just the way he looks?” I interrupt, slightly ticked at the comment.

 

“You're defending him?” Neji chuckles.

 

My grip tightens around my glass and it takes all the self-control I have not to break it. Out of what, embarrassment? Anger? I have no idea, but for whatever reason, it rubbed me the wrong way.

 

“Are you going to do this or not?” I snap.

 

Neji sighs and stands. “You're lucky you have me as a friend, no one else would do this unless they were getting paid in the hundreds.”

 

“I'm not asking you to get laid by him.” I point out.

 

This times, its Neji's turn to be flustered as he flounders around for words. “Whatever.” He grumbles and stalks off to the counter. I can't help but smirk triumphantly. Sasuke, 1, Neji, 0.

 

Well, now it's my turn. But how the hell do I make my first move?

 

************(Neji's POV)************

 

Sasuke owes me big for this. I'm straight, and he wants me to pose as a gay guy and go hit on a disturbed waiter to keep him busy until he hits it off with a different waiter. Oh yeah, he owes me a lifetime of servitude for this, that is, after I'm done harassing him until the apocalypse about being gay and after I blackmail him a little bit on his sexuality. Hell, if I play this the right way, it could even be fun.

 

I sit down at the bar quietly, not watching anything in particular for the first few minutes. I know how to get dates, I picked up Tenten like this at a school dance, so I've set up my positioning perfectly. Sit a seat or two away from where they are, don't invade their personal space, but don't sit so far away that it's a nuisance for them to come over to you.

 

The bartender walks over and asks me if I want something to drink.

 

“In a little bit.” I nod politely. Never turn down a drink flat-out, it's a clear sign of disinterest.

 

After about four minutes (long enough to get everyone's curiosity going), I turn my head just a little so that it becomes more obvious that I'm looking at him.

 

It doesn't take long for Naruto (or whatever Sasuke said the blonde was called) to notice me, but he's good and inconspicuous about letting his friend know. He nudges the redhead with his elbow, tipping his head towards me without looking up.

 

The redhead's also good. He waits a minute before glancing up to see who Naruto was motioning to, and when he meets my eyes, he doesn't look away. There really wouldn't be any point after I'd already seen him looking at me. So, no embarrassment, huh?

 

“Can I get you something?” he asks me finally, breaking the ice.

 

“Can I buy you a drink?” I ask, looking pointedly at the seat next to me. Hey, I'm not going for subtleties, I'm not trying to hit on him, I just need him distracted for an hour or so. Not too hard to do if you know what you're doing.

 

“…A drink would be nice.” He says after a moment, sitting down at my side. I can tell from his stance that he's just doing this because he's getting paid for it. Well then… I can feel the smirk pulling at the corners of my lips as my plan unfolds in my head.

 

I have this weird thing I do, where I turn everything that resists me into a challenge. This was just a job routine for him? Well, I was going to have some fun challenging myself into taking things a little… deeper. Maybe tonight wouldn't be a total waste after all.

 

“Neji.” I hold out my hand.

 

“…Gaara.” He says after a moment and takes my hand, evaluating me. His grip is firm, like he could crush my hand easily if he wanted to, but also like he could bandage up a wound delicately, causing no pain. Interesting contrast.

 

“What would you like?” I ask, leaning forward on the counter and toward him inconspicuously.

 

“…Something not to strong, I still have to work until two.” He puts his elbows on the counter.

 

I wave the bartender over and give him our orders, turning back to Gaara with a light smile, which he seems to be… immune to. This is going to be a resistant one, huh? I can work with that.

 

“Here you go.” The bartender sets the glasses in front of us, winks at Gaara, and walks over to the next man at the bar, leaving Gaara glaring at him. Jesus Christ that's a scary glare.

 

He picks up his glass and swirls the liquid around in it a little before turning to me. “You here with Uchiha?”

 

I nod and sip my drink, a virgin something, I don't remember what I ordered (to preoccupied on my challenge), but I remembered specifically asking for virgin. I'm not a wuss, but this is my first time drinking alcohol, I need to take it easy.

 

“Is he here to see Naruto?”

 

I nearly choke, but manage to swallow before it travels down my windpipe and suffocates me. What a way to die, smothered by a virgin drink. Geez, my uncle would have a cow that I wasn't `manly' enough to at least die on some sort of hard shit alcohol. He probably wouldn't even care that I was dead.

 

I set my glass down as smoothly as I can and look over to Gaara. He's watching me, scrutinizing my reaction and my answer.

 

“What makes you say that?” It's denial, I know, but Sasuke will disembowel me with a butter knife and eat my soul if I say something I'm not supposed to. Maybe I can use his owed lifetime of servitude to get out of that fate if I screw up, but the chances are slim. Sasuke's got a twenty-foot long icicle stuck up his ass and doesn't bend easily, I should know, I've known him since he was born, when I was a year old.

 

“Because he's been staring at Naruto for the past half hour, and he's barely touched his drink.” Gaara returns easily, sipping at his drink again.

 

Well, no point in hiding it now. “Yes, he is.”

 

Gaara seems to weigh something for a second before reaching a conclusion. “Excuse me for a second.” Gaara turns around and snags Kiba's shirtsleeve.

 

“Naruto's going to serve Uchiha now.” He says quietly.

 

“Why?” Kiba asks accusingly.

 

“Because I'm going to cave your head in with a bottle opener if you go near him again.”

 

Another near choking experience at that last comment, but I'm quiet enough that no one notices me clawing for air and I can continue to listen to what they say.

 

“No, I meant, like, why?” Kiba says, acting exasperated, but I see him take a wary step backwards and away from Gaara anyway as he speaks. It's the self-preservation units, the ones that keep you from saying stupid shit or move you out of harm's way as much as it can, which can be quite useful at times I'll admit.

 

“The Uchiha's here to see him.” Gaara turns back to the bar.

 

“Oh… Oh.” Kiba nods. “Alright, I'll tell him and save my head.”

 

“Hmm.” Gaara says around his drink, staring uninterestedly at the wall in front of us.

 

Wow, he had one hell of a personality. The way he was so laid back and uninterested yet, just barely out of reach… it was fascinating. I'd never tried to pick up a guy before, and none of the girls I'd ever `challenged' myself on had ever been… well, they'd all thrown themselves willingly into my lap, so there was never really a challenge there.

 

“Nice tattoo.” I comment, looking at the red kanji for `love' on his forehead right above his eye.

 

“It's a scar.” He corrects nonchalantly, like it was an everyday thing to see someone with the kanji for love carved in their skin.

 

“…Abuse?” I ask quietly, and hopefully, if I'm being honest with myself.

 

He shakes his head. “I did it, with a letter opener.”

 

I turn back to my drink, suddenly wishing that it wasn't virgin, or even more so, wishing that this conversation would end. I'm going to need some really strong alcohol if he asks—

 

“And what about yours?” he asks.

 

“…My what?” I'm resisting the urge to nail my hand to the counter, because the natural human impulse is to touch things when they are being mentioned. And presently, I'm trying to keep my fingers as far away from my forehead as I can.

 

“Your scar.” He elaborates.

 

My blood runs cold and my hand clenches in an effort to stay away from the mark that runs across my forehead. I committed that `crime' when I was fifteen, when I was really starting to have had it with my uncle and his dictatorship on my life, and now I wear a leather sweatband to hide the scar, and myself. It's leather, thick, you can't see through it with light, and no one ever asks me about it, though I'm pretty sure Sasuke and Hinata—well, and now Gaara—have figured out why I wear it. To hide the mark on my forehead.

 

“I'm wearing a band…” I choke out, “how did you see…?”

 

“…Once you do things yourself, you notice them easier in other people.” He says quietly. “What was yours for?”

 

I know what he means, everyone has a reason for doing something, and even though half of me desperately doesn't want to talk about it, the other half is begging for relief, to be able to confide in someone, and who better than someone I'll probably never see again, and has also done it to himself? Exactly, there isn't anyone.

 

“…It's for trapped bird, caged, or whatever you want to call it. My father and mother died when I was young, I've never been on very good terms with my uncle.” I raise my glass to my lips, when out of nowhere, he sets his glass down in front of me with a small thunk. I pause, looking between his eyes and the glass, my drink in midair.

 

“You need to relax.” He says quietly. “It's not strong, but it's got alcohol, try it.”

 

I pick it up gratefully and sip at the drink, letting the liquid fire start to soak into my bloodstream and calm my heart rate down.

 

“What about yours?” I ask when I've got my breathing under control again. I don't relieve those memories very often, they're painful, I always shove them into a corner and tell myself that I'll face them some other time, but I never do, I tell myself that same thing every time.

 

“…My mother died giving birth to me, and my father hated me for it, before he died in a car accident. My uncle tried to kill me when I was six, and my siblings have hated me for the past twelve years of my life. I've just been… deprived of love for a very long time.”

 

Jesus hell. And I thought I had it bad.

 

“Do you still want to be…?” I don't even know how to attempt to finish that sentence.

 

“I don't really know. Naruto became my family, and that sort of filled the gap. He's always stuck by me no matter what I did… he's technically the reason I'm still alive right now too. I was going to bleed out because of this thing,” his fingers traced his scar idly, “but he wouldn't let me, like the stubborn idiot that he is.” Gaara grumbles. “He stopped the bleeding, dragged my sorry ass to the hospital, and then did a hell of a better job than my dumbass therapist did in making me see that I had reasons to live, that I wasn't just a waste of space… like my family thought.”

 

“You two seem close.” I note.

 

“…Yeah.” He nods.

 

My eyes glance to the side, and watch as he stares off into space, casting the occasional glance towards me. His eyes… the black rings from insomnia makes them a little creepy, but they're actually a pretty and gentle blue. Not to say that my eyes aren't a little creepy either, pearl white and no pupils, but underneath, his show much more depth than mine.

 

“Do you want to dance?” I ask, completely unsure as to why the hell I did ask.

 

“…Sure.” He pushes slowly way from the counter, waiting until I'm standing before leading me out into the dance floor.

 

Well that was a hell of a backfired plan, but… I got my scar and my issues off my shoulders anyway, so it was worth it. I glance over to Sasuke, and see the mop of golden hair standing over him. I smirk, planning all of my ways to make him pay me back for being here. Yep, this was going to be fun.

 

************(Sasuke's POV)************

 

I have no idea how in the hell I plan on doing this.

 

Neji's distracting his friend, but now what? And so I'm sitting here like an idiot, drinking my… my… whatever Kiba brought me, trying to figure out how the hell I plan on wooing Naruto in submission… or at least, into sitting down with me.

 

Ok, this is not my fault. I never dated. Ever. My father was a grade fanatic, I was sent to the highest fucking private school in the country, and passed highest in my class all throughout high school and middle school. My father is the kind of man where anything lower than a ninety-eight is punishable by electroshock therapy, so I had no time for girls. Yes, I know I'm gay, you don't have to inform me of that again, but if I'd started dating guys in high school… well, my father wouldn't have disowned me, because Itachi was already a loose cannon around him and he trusted Itachi about as far as he could throw him, so he needed me like a pawn, but I shiver to think of what he would have done to snap me out of my `mental illness', which is what he refers to `gay' as. A lobotomy maybe… and ice baths. Probably some carbon dioxide treatment sessions too.

 

“Did you want something?”

 

I look up to the voice, and choke on my tongue. Naruto's standing above me, with the cutest fucking flustered expression I have ever seen on any human being.

 

“Huh?” I don't even remember what he asked because his expression is so cute. He's looking down at the floor with a pink dusting on his cheeks, he's gripping the tray under his arm just a little too tightly, and his body is rigid. Wow, I have to remember to breathe before I pass out. I think my heart stopped there for a second.

 

“Kiba said you wanted something.” Naruto grinds out, his lips tight in agitation. Damn he's cute.

 

“No.” I say quietly, taking in his features while I have the chance because he's not looking at me. The sexy scars, the long blonde bangs, the blue eyes, the defined features, the cute nose, I'm drooling, I just know it. I wipe the corners of my mouth just to make sure I'm not. Great, now the paranoia is sinking in and I'm starting to loose it. Ok, clam down.

 

“Oh.” Wow, his face just went an even deeper red. I didn't think that was possible.

 

I look around quickly, and find Neji dancing with the redhead of all things to distract him. Wow, he doesn't even like to dance with Tenten… he better not be expecting me to pay him for this. Well, while the Naruto's friend is preoccupied, I might as well use the situation to my advantage.

 

“You want to sit down?” I ask quietly, sipping my drink.

 

“M-me?”

 

No, the Naruto standing on my other side.

 

“Oh, um—I mean, I'm working, but I have a little—I guess—I mean… ok.” He finishes stupidly, sliding into the seat opposite me, placing his tray on the table with a small clang.

 

Silence is always uncomfortable, but presently, I have absolutely no idea what to say, so the silence continues. Oh well.

 

“So Deidara and Itachi brought you here to meet me?”

 

Was that hope in his voice? …I'm going to classify it as just one of my absurd delusions and just pretend it never happened.

 

“Yeah. Blackmail. My father doesn't know I'm gay.” Why the hell did I just tell him that? Sewing lips together now.

 

“Oh.” He paused a moment before my words sank in. “Your brother blackmails you?” he asks in disbelief.

 

“Regularly.” I reply dryly. What? It's the truth!

 

“Mine probably would too, but I thought he was the only one.” He laughs loudly.

 

“You have a brother?” Good, topic for conversation. I feel my stomach sink when his awkward smile takes a sharp dip.

“…Had.” He says slowly.

 

Shit, not a good topic. Damn it. Think, think, think!

 

“He went missing a while back, three years now.” He says quietly, his hands folding tightly in his lap.

 

I'll try and side step that. “Was he older or younger?”

 

“Older… technically.”

 

“…Twins?”

 

“Yeah. And Itachi's obviously older.” He snickers.

 

How can he still look so happy? We're talking about the possible death of his twin brother, and only three years ago! “You said he went missing?”

 

“Idiot was always running with people on the dark side of the city, and yeah, he and his freaky friends disappeared one night and left me with my dumbass guardian.” Naruto smiles sheepishly, like it was a joke. How can he be so happy talking about this?

 

“Police?” I suggest.

 

Naruto shakes his head. “No point, if he doesn't want to be found, he wont be. His gang is like… almost as bad as Dei's, they really know how to hide underground and still be active.”

 

I look at him in confusion. Underground and active? How the hell does that work?

 

He crosses his arms, leaning back against the booth as he thinks of how to explain it better. Please do, now I'm interested. I know enough about these things because of Itachi. They aren't underground, per say, but Itachi's so high up in the business world that they're kind of left alone.

 

“Hmm…” Naruto taps his bottom lip with the knuckle of his forefinger in thought and I have to remember to not blush at all costs, or drool for that matter.

 

“You heard anything about the recent Juvy (Juvenile Hall) break of Shukaku Suna? He's my brother's best friend, he broke him out.”

 

“How do you know?” I ask around my drink. Wow, this kid had some serious family history. Intriguing.

 

Naruto smirks. “Cause he used to do the same thing to get out of detention. He'd show up, and then just disappear.”

 

I nod and finally finish my drink, setting it down on the table with a small thunk.

 

“Enjoying everything?”

 

I look up to the cool voice and instantly grimace again. It's Sasori, another bastard friend of my brother. In case I forgot to mention, Sasori and Deidara are business partners that own this bar, my brother's business partner is Kisame, a freak that I can't consider human because of how much he looks like a shark mutation, and a bunch of other fucking creeps that Itachi calls his friends. Sasori and Deidara used to be in a relationship, but after they broke up, they stayed friends and went into business with their fucked up art and their so-called `creative' ideas.

 

“Nice to see you again Sasuke, how is your brother?”

 

The grimace starts to become permanent on my face. “Fine.” I say curtly. “And what about your grandmother?” I'm just asking to be polite, nothing else. If I had any say in this, Sasori and Deidara would have been locked away with the titans a long time ago.

 

“Dead, she died three days ago.” He says with a light smile before turning to Naruto. See what I mean? Fucking creeper.

 

“And what about you Naruto? You know Deidara wants you to move in permanently with him.”

 

Naruto scratches the back of his head sheepishly. “Actually, Gaara and I found an apartment, to get away from his family and stuff.”

 

“I see.” Sasori smiles, his eyes—always half-lidded—making him look especially tired, or like he's high or something. “He's very lucky to have a friend like you.”

 

“Thanks.” Naruto smiles up at him.

 

“Well, you two enjoy your drinks, and I will hopefully see you again soon.” Sasori smiles again before heading into the back.

 

“I hate him.” Naruto whispers once he's gone.

 

Huh? “Why?”

 

“He has a thing for Gaara, and Gaara doesn't need anything else wrong in his life.” Naruto lets his head drop into his hands. “And what's worse is that Gaara's looking for someone.”

 

“Well, he looks like someone who can defend himself.” I say idly, hoping that we're both talking about the redhead and watching how his cute face lights up with hope.

 

“Yeah! Gaara's really strong, he wont let something like that happen to himself!”

 

I hear myself chuckle. Well, that was easy.

 

“YEAH GAARA!!” Naruto suddenly bellows, shooting out of his seat and throwing his hands in the air. I turn around to see what the hell the commotion was about and I think my drink fell right out of my mouth. I think. I don't know, I'm having trouble thinking right now.

 

The entire bar goes silent as I try to register what I'm looking at. I sorry, but my mind is a little fried right now from what I think I'm seeing.

 

Breathe and blink. Ok, blink again. Nope, I'm not seeing things.

 

Neji kissed Gaara.

 

Over on the dance floor, right in the middle of everyone in the entire bar.

 

My straight cousin, who has a girlfriend, has kissed a boy.

 

…Like hell I'm paying him for this, this is just extra voluntary work.

 

But he looks… happy.

 

And if that wasn't shocking enough along with Naruto's crazy-ass outburst, the entire staff starts to cheer.

 

************(Gaara's POV)************

 

He kissed me.

 

My first kiss.

 

He bent down, put his finger under my chin, and kissed me.

 

He kissed me.

 

He's still kissing me!!

 

Give me a moment………………………… ;…………………………