Fic: Snapshot Moment 02/03
Title: Snapshot Moment 02/03
Fandom: Naruto
Word Count: 3400+
Rated: R - Swears, alcohol consumption
Summary: [AU - Oneshot] Attraction only takes a moment to happen, most of the time, you don’t even notice it. Falling in love, however, requires thinking and alcohol. In which Sasuke was not happy when a pale eyed Japanese girl showed up at his apartment and shoved a mobile in his face.
Author’s note: Again, Sasuke’s opinions do not represent my own. Part three is close to being done so I should have it up next week. And that’s it. Enjoy.
Parts: 01 / 02 / 03
Snapshot Moment
Part 02/03
by: Naito Kiseki
Mind and body moving at snail speed, Sasuke stepped out of the elevator to hell and ambled through reception to the big room with the twenty or so cubicles. The moment, he got to his desk, he immediately sat and dropped his head on to the desktop. The shadows under his eyes were evidence of his three hours of sleep, goddamn phones and their caller ids.
Maybe, he thought, I can kill myself before work is over. A moment’s thinking made him realize that a woman was a stupid reason for suicide. Sasuke shook his head and proceeded to repeatedly bang his head on the table. A concussion, maybe a coma would be a better idea.
“Good morning, Sasuke!”
“Leave me alone,” Sasuke gritted, hitting his head on the table after each word. He knew who it was, that guy who always wore those green dress shirts and ties with the hair. Sasuke hated that guy; he really didn’t want or need to deal with him this morning.
“What’s with the gloominess?” He heard the bowl-cut guy say. The cheer in his voice was absolutely despicable and gave Sasuke a worst headache than the head banging. “Are you okay, Sasuke?”
“Just peachy.”
“Uhm… May I ask why you’re hitting your head against the table?”
“I’m trying to block out all idiocy in existence. Apparently,” Sasuke glared at the bowl-cut guy. “It’s not working.”
“Do you know what would cheer you up?” Bowl-cut guy asked, and really it wasn’t even a question because he completely ignored Sasuke’s ‘no,’ and gave his suggestion anyway. “Some of us are getting together after work and going for drinks. It’s going to be fun; we’ll bask in the springs of youth, as my mentor would say. You should come.”
“No.”
“Come on, Sasuke. It’ll be great.” The guy’s voice was starting to become a whine now. Why was he so irritating? “You never hang out with us, ever. You never go to company parties or anything. You want to be friends with everyone don’t you?”
“Did I say, ‘no?’” Sasuke asked performing an exaggerated expression of being affronted. “I meant to say, hell no.”
“But Temari will be there, and Kiba, and Tenten! Kankurou from the fifth floor is coming too. You should come! You don’t have other plans for the evening.”
“You know, that sounds fine and dandy, but I in fact do have plans.”
“You’re not going to sit at home eating PB and Js alone, are you?”
“No,” Sasuke snapped, not liking the encouraging smile on Bowl-cut guy’s face, though that was his plan for the next ten years. “I have a life that does not revolve around home and work.”
“Date?”
Sasuke would’ve screamed at him if it weren’t sort of, almost true. Though technically, it wasn’t even true for two reasons. The first being that Sasuke Uchiha most certainly did not date because it was a waste of perfectly good time that could be better spent plotting the demise of a certain blond friend who deserved nothing more than a really good beating. The second reason being that the person that he would accompany for the evening was already in an intimate relationship with the formerly mentioned blond friend.
“No, I-“
“Then come!”
Sasuke sighed, thinking. A non-date with his friend’s girlfriend, or drinking himself stupid to forget the humiliation of even inviting said friend’s girlfriend on a non-date with a bunch of people he did not like. Which was the lesser evil? But there was option ‘c’ which involved neither of the first two options, and it wouldn’t take much to pull it off.
“Fine,” Sasuke relented.
“Great! I’ll get you after work then!” And then Bowl-cut guy walked away, waving happily… a little too happily.
Staring intensely at the top of his desk, Sasuke came to the only reasonable solution and began to bang his head again. Maybe it wasn’t too late for the comatose thing.
-:-:-
There comes a time in every man’s life where he either goes for it or not, thus disgracing himself forever. People thought that Sasuke Uchiha was a ladies man of the best sort, well bred, a gentleman, and fairly attractive. None of that was true of course, with the exception of the ‘well bred’ part; even then, Sasuke would deny teeth and blood.
Fortunately, Sasuke was the sort of person who was fairly blasé about everything and could do things fairly easily and without a second thought as to sparing someone’s feelings; he never regretted things he did before and he definitely wasn’t starting now.
“Something came up.” Sasuke could almost hear the ‘hah’ in his tone that following that sentence. He knew he sounded cocky but he’d gotten out of that non-date with her; that made everything in his world look better.
“Oh, did-did something happen?” she asked, and he wanted to curse her for sounding concerned, because that would make lying just a little difficult.
“One of my co-workers’ birthday,” Sasuke answered, wanting to gag at having to call his co-slaves of society ‘co-workers.’ “It completely slipped my mind.”
“I-I guess we’ll have to cancel our... our dinner plans then,” she sighed into the phone, and Sasuke bit back the ‘yes!’ on the tip of his tongue.
“Sorry,” Sasuke smirked into the phone.
“N-no.... It’s fine.... uhm.. maybe another time.”
“Right.” Sasuke glanced at the little clock on the corner of his computer monitor and realized that it was time for his lunch break. “Well, I have to get back to work.”
“Bye,” he heard her say before dropping the phone back in its cradle. He gave a slow grin at accomplishing his mission before he stood to go to lunch, whistling a merry little tune.
-:-:-
There was a plan, a perfect plan. The plan was supposed to involve Sasuke ditching both outings, and going home to eat microwave dinner. The plan was infallible. What the hell happened and why was he here, sitting at this noisy and loud pub during happy hour with these people he did not like?
Sulking, Sasuke swallowed his second shot of vodka and glared at the bowl-cut guy who was apparently waiting to meet with someone or another. Really, Sasuke didn’t give a damn. But he wasn’t the one paying for the drinks; bowl-cut guy said he’d pay.
There was the blonde woman who was yelling at the blonde man who was yelling back with the same sort of vigor. All the while, the bowl-cut guy was trying to calm both of them down yet supporting their arguments as ‘wonderful sibling love’ or some other load of crap. The only one who was remotely tolerable in this group was the Chinese girl, and that’s because she mostly kept quiet in her seat as she munched a basket of French Fries (yes, French Fries, not Freedom fries or whatever the hell you wanted to call them).
Sasuke watched, sending a glare to everyone occasionally when some girl with pink dyed hair walked up to their table, smiling.
“Lee!”
“Sakura,” the bowl-cut guy broke from his mediating preaching to greet the pink-hair waitress. “Hi. How’re you doing? Let me introduce you to my co-workers. That’s Temari,” he said, pointing at the female blonde with the bushy hair who nodded. “And her brother Kankuro.” The other blond gave her a wink before he returned to his conversation with the woman. “That’s Tenten.” The Chinese girl smiled and nodded at the pink haired woman. “And Kiba’s the one holding the bottle.” The tattooed guy smirked at Pinkie and then poured more alcohol. “This sulking brooder right here is Sasuke.”
“Nice to meet you,” Pinkie chirped. Sasuke could’ve listened more attentively had her blinding pink hair not distracted him (not that he would’ve paid attention regardless). He hated people who colored their hair like that. It made her look like a tart. “I’m Sakura. Is there anything I can get for you? More alcohol?”
“Sure. More vodka, guys? Or maybe something different?” Bowl-cut guy asked.
The Chinese girl giggled as she waved a hand at the table, “I think we should finish what we have before we get something else; I think Sasuke looks a little drunk. Though I’d like another basket of fries.”
“Not drunk. Who the hell gets drunk off two shots of vodka?” He muttered as he took the small bottle that barely had enough for two more glasses. It looks as if the guy with the tattoo drank most of it, inconsiderate asshole.
“I’ll bring some buffalo wings too,” Pinkie told them as she walked away to serve another group.
It took a moment before the Chinese girl said anything. “So, Lee, she’s the one you’ve been talking about?”
“The one who’s captured your attention?” The blond girl added, smirking.
Sasuke, of course, had no idea what was happening, so he just drank his alcohol and tried to forget that he was among people.
“She’s kinda hot,” Sasuke heard tattoo-guy say and restrained himself from snorting at that. “Right, Sasuke? Pink hair and all that; did you see her rack? Man, I’d like to show her a good time.”
“That’s all you ever think about, isn’t it dog-boy?” The blond guy sneered as he pointed at the one with the tattoo. “Fucking people.”
“Don’t talk about Sakura that way,” Bowl-cut guy scolded them. “She’s a nice girl.”
“Nice girls are kinky,” Tattoo guy answered, and Sasuke realized that he really didn’t need to hear the rest of this conversation while he was sober.
Standing, he muttered something about using the restroom and then headed for the bar, far away from the table where his co-workers’ sat. The bar stools were more comfortable than the booths which really didn’t make sense considering the booths had more cushioning. Somehow, Sasuke thought that perhaps, going on that non-date with Hinata -no, Naruto’s girlfriend- would’ve been better than this loud and irritating insanity. Of course, Sasuke never makes bad choices, so he tried to convince himself that this was better than having an awkward dinner with Hina-Naruto’s girlfriend.
“What’ll it be, Mac?” The bartender asked him.
“Scotch on the rocks.” Sasuke told him, needing something strong to numb whatever he was feeling. It was not regret, damn it. The barkeep pushed a glass to him and Sasuke sipped at it, letting the flavors meld in his mouth before swallowing.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Hinata. I’m off in another hour or so; we’ll go to dinner then.”
“Okay.”
Sasuke looked up from his glass in disbelief when he saw Hina-Naruto’s girlfriend waving Pinkie away. He knew the best course of action; pretend that he didn’t see her.
“Hey.”
Once again, Sasuke wondered what the hell he was doing. He hadn’t even realized that he got up let alone walked over to her and opened his cursed mouth. Wasn’t he supposed to be pretending she didn’t exist? What happened to his plan?
“Sasuke? Uhm... What’re you doing here?” Hinata asked surprised at the coincidence. Of course, she wasn’t even half as surprised as Sasuke, not that he would ever admit that.
“Drinking,” He told her, waving his glass in her face before he sat next to her, looking slightly surly. “You?” Why was he still talking pleasantries? He was Sasuke Uchiha, he didn’t give a rat’s ass about other people. When the hell did he learn small talk? Finding he didn’t know, Sasuke blamed his parents.
“I’m waiting for... an aquaintaince to get off work,” She answered thoughtfully, taking a sip of her… was that a smoothie? Sasuke squashed the thought of it being adorable, and drank the rest of his scotch. “You don’t look comfortable… is the environment too much for you?”
Sasuke waved the bartender to refill his glass and stared at the woman... something was different about her. “I don’t like people. I don’t like being around people. And I don’t like you.”
Hinata frowned and then shrugged, “You don’t even know me well enough to not like me.”
Oh, she wasn't breaking her sentences apart... not stuttering... that was the difference... probably drank too much.
“You’re Naruto’s girlfriend,” Sasuke stated, drinking from his newly filled glass. The woman flushed at the comment and sipped her drink; Sasuke couldn't tell whether it was a good flushing or not. “You’re my best friend’s girlfriend.”
She was also the one who kept making him do things he didn’t realize he was doing. She was the person that was annoying him to no end and he didn’t really know why she nettled him so much. Also, she was the person who he kept thinking about with intended venom only to realize he can’t completely stop thinking about her. But, Sasuke was not going to tell her that. That’d be an equally stupid and pointless action because there was nothing to tell.
So, Sasuke did what he did best; he brooded.
“And you’re my boyfriend’s best friend. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were jealous,” the young woman muttered, probably assuming that Sasuke didn’t hear. Unfortunately for her, Sasuke's ability to hear hadn't been impeded with the drinks.
“I’m not jealous. Why would I be jealous?” The brunet demanded wondering when did the girl get so close to him. Or did he get closer to her?
“Because you haven’t seen Naruto in a long time and you miss him and you don’t even know if you know him anymore,” she listed, almost as if she were reading him. Too bad she was completely off because Uchihas did not get jealous, especially when Naruto was the object for said jealousy.
“I do not get jealous,” he growled, almost breathing on her. “And I do not think you’re attractive.”
There was a moment when he stared at her, feeling as if he could laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Sasuke realized that he was actually making conversation with someone who was not an acquaintance or a friend. Well, not the second part anyway.
“I’m... not attractive, I can... concede to that point. You’re… still not a very pleasant person, Sasuke,” she told him as she leaned away from him. When had he even gotten so close to her? “And you smell like you’ve bathed in alcohol. I’m beginning to think it’s safe to assume you’re drunk.”
“I’m not drunk. I don’t get drunk off two glasses of scotch.” But then again, he had drunk a few shots of vodka earlier.
“Sasuke, you’ve refilled your glass five times in the last fifty minutes.”
“Fifty minutes?” Confused, Sasuke tried to make out the numbers on the cheap clock behind the bar to find that he had trouble reading it. He could not have possibly have talked to this woman for twenty minutes. They barely had a whole conversation. “What time is it?”
“That clock says 7:40 but who says that clocks are always right?” She asked stirring her drink into liquid.
That made some sense... it also explained why Sasuke found that himself feeling slightly queasy from the bright lighting and half-pondering where the closest bathroom was. It was almost eight. How the heck did he spend the last two hours of his life drinking at a restaurant-bar? Damn bowl-cut guy. Meeting Hi-Naruto’s Gi- oh forget it, he could at least grow-up enough to call her by her name in his mind, Hinata in the building didn’t really do anything but make him… socialize… ugh, that word was like poison.
“Fuck this; I should be at home making sandwiches for dinner,” he reminded himself, nodding to no one in particular. He briefly thought it was slightly pathetic, going home alone to his sandwiches… Damn, he must’ve really been drunk if he thought being alone was pathetic when he loved it.
“Being alone isn’t so pathetic... At least you admit you’re... you’re drunk though,” Hinata’s mouth was twisted in a strangely amused smile. Wait… did she just repeat what he thought?
“Did I just say that? Out loud?”
Appalled, Sasuke figured that he must’ve been really intoxicated if he was speaking his thoughts out loud… for her to hear. Crap, what if something that shouldn’t slip out does? What would he do then? Okay, it was really time for him to go home and lock himself in his apartment where he knew it was safe to rant all he wanted without incriminating evidence. “I’m going home.”
“Maybe I should ride back with you? Naruto did tell me that you get slightly violent when you two went drinking.”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass about Naruto. I do not need his pretty little girlfriend to take me home like I’m some sort of invalid.” He did not just call her pretty. He… oh screw it, Sasuke didn’t care anymore, couldn't bring himself to do it. Thinking took too much energy.
“Are you... always this harpy or just when you’re inebriated?” She asked, settling her glass on the counter for the barkeep to clean. Hinata pushed herself off the stool and left a tip under her glass.
“I’m not harpy. Women are harpy, and Naruto… and bowl-cut guy,” Sasuke defended setting his glass on top of someone else’s glass. Their problem now. Sasuke nodded the barkeep to bowl-cut guy. “He said he’s paying for my drinks.”
“I’ll be right back,” she murmured quietly before disappearing into the crowd. Sasuke thought it was the perfect opportunity to leave and save himself from looking like an ass. Unfortunately, she caught up to him as soon as he reached the door.
-:-:-
“I told you, I didn’t need you to take me home. I’m not a girl,” Sasuke hissed. He tried to find the right key to the gate using streetlight, only to give up and start randomly trying keys on the lock. “Fuck. Where’s the lock?”
Having his keys wrenched from his grasp, well, not really, Hinata more of.... eased them away from his hands, before searching for the fitting key. Meanwhile, Sasuke crouched by the floor, trying to not think because it hurt his head, trying to damn the entire world because everything was the world’s fault, and mostly to stop that throbbing pain at his temple that made him want to retch.
Maybe that entire trying to put himself in a coma thing was a bad idea. Then again, it sounded really good right now, to be unconscious.
Upon hearing a click, Sasuke glanced at the brightly lit lobby and ambled toward the stairs with little difficulty. The concept of an elevator made him feel queasy at the moment.
“Wouldn’t it be faster if we took the elevator?”
“Don’t you think it’s time for you to go back to wherever it is you came from?” Sasuke glared at the first steps, trying to get it to focus. He didn’t need railings to help him climb a measly five floors.
“You’re going to pass out in the stairway and drown in your own vomit if I don’t make sure you get back to your apartment.”
“Better that way, I wouldn’t have to deal with the fucking world.” How many floors was that? One? Damn, he was so tired.
“Is… is there a reason for you to be so pessimistic all the time? I mean, I’m the first to admit the world isn’t a field of daisies, but... the world’s not that bad.”
Sasuke realized that on some level, she was right, not that he’d admit it out loud. “Keep talking. I might actually make it back to my apartment without falling asleep.”
“You… you don’t like me very much, do you?”
“Not really,” Sasuke answered, using one hand to feel for the wall. Three more floors to go… Could his room be any higher? Maybe he should’ve taken the elevator.
“Why not? You don’t even know me.” Which, when Sasuke thought about it, was really true. But then again, Sasuke’s never been good with people. He liked his mean, hostile exterior, thank you very much.
“Though, I’m not a very interesting person. But I haven’t… done anything to make you not like me. You’re not very friendly either, and that makes it… difficult... to talk to you… But somehow, though that is uniquely you, I know there’s a gentle side of you. Maybe... you don’t realize it, but it comes through, if rarely.”
“Now that isn’t right; I’m supposed to be mean and snarky at all times,” Sasuke snapped, learning against the wall, eyes screwed completely shut. “… I hate this.”
“I... I don’t think anyone... likes being drunk,” Hinata quietly remarked. She smiled taking his arm and led him up the stairs. And Sasuke found that he didn’t really mind her doing this.
End part 02
Fandom: Naruto
Word Count: 3400+
Rated: R - Swears, alcohol consumption
Summary: [AU - Oneshot] Attraction only takes a moment to happen, most of the time, you don’t even notice it. Falling in love, however, requires thinking and alcohol. In which Sasuke was not happy when a pale eyed Japanese girl showed up at his apartment and shoved a mobile in his face.
Author’s note: Again, Sasuke’s opinions do not represent my own. Part three is close to being done so I should have it up next week. And that’s it. Enjoy.
Parts: 01 / 02 / 03
Snapshot Moment
Part 02/03
by: Naito Kiseki
Mind and body moving at snail speed, Sasuke stepped out of the elevator to hell and ambled through reception to the big room with the twenty or so cubicles. The moment, he got to his desk, he immediately sat and dropped his head on to the desktop. The shadows under his eyes were evidence of his three hours of sleep, goddamn phones and their caller ids.
Maybe, he thought, I can kill myself before work is over. A moment’s thinking made him realize that a woman was a stupid reason for suicide. Sasuke shook his head and proceeded to repeatedly bang his head on the table. A concussion, maybe a coma would be a better idea.
“Good morning, Sasuke!”
“Leave me alone,” Sasuke gritted, hitting his head on the table after each word. He knew who it was, that guy who always wore those green dress shirts and ties with the hair. Sasuke hated that guy; he really didn’t want or need to deal with him this morning.
“What’s with the gloominess?” He heard the bowl-cut guy say. The cheer in his voice was absolutely despicable and gave Sasuke a worst headache than the head banging. “Are you okay, Sasuke?”
“Just peachy.”
“Uhm… May I ask why you’re hitting your head against the table?”
“I’m trying to block out all idiocy in existence. Apparently,” Sasuke glared at the bowl-cut guy. “It’s not working.”
“Do you know what would cheer you up?” Bowl-cut guy asked, and really it wasn’t even a question because he completely ignored Sasuke’s ‘no,’ and gave his suggestion anyway. “Some of us are getting together after work and going for drinks. It’s going to be fun; we’ll bask in the springs of youth, as my mentor would say. You should come.”
“No.”
“Come on, Sasuke. It’ll be great.” The guy’s voice was starting to become a whine now. Why was he so irritating? “You never hang out with us, ever. You never go to company parties or anything. You want to be friends with everyone don’t you?”
“Did I say, ‘no?’” Sasuke asked performing an exaggerated expression of being affronted. “I meant to say, hell no.”
“But Temari will be there, and Kiba, and Tenten! Kankurou from the fifth floor is coming too. You should come! You don’t have other plans for the evening.”
“You know, that sounds fine and dandy, but I in fact do have plans.”
“You’re not going to sit at home eating PB and Js alone, are you?”
“No,” Sasuke snapped, not liking the encouraging smile on Bowl-cut guy’s face, though that was his plan for the next ten years. “I have a life that does not revolve around home and work.”
“Date?”
Sasuke would’ve screamed at him if it weren’t sort of, almost true. Though technically, it wasn’t even true for two reasons. The first being that Sasuke Uchiha most certainly did not date because it was a waste of perfectly good time that could be better spent plotting the demise of a certain blond friend who deserved nothing more than a really good beating. The second reason being that the person that he would accompany for the evening was already in an intimate relationship with the formerly mentioned blond friend.
“No, I-“
“Then come!”
Sasuke sighed, thinking. A non-date with his friend’s girlfriend, or drinking himself stupid to forget the humiliation of even inviting said friend’s girlfriend on a non-date with a bunch of people he did not like. Which was the lesser evil? But there was option ‘c’ which involved neither of the first two options, and it wouldn’t take much to pull it off.
“Fine,” Sasuke relented.
“Great! I’ll get you after work then!” And then Bowl-cut guy walked away, waving happily… a little too happily.
Staring intensely at the top of his desk, Sasuke came to the only reasonable solution and began to bang his head again. Maybe it wasn’t too late for the comatose thing.
-:-:-
There comes a time in every man’s life where he either goes for it or not, thus disgracing himself forever. People thought that Sasuke Uchiha was a ladies man of the best sort, well bred, a gentleman, and fairly attractive. None of that was true of course, with the exception of the ‘well bred’ part; even then, Sasuke would deny teeth and blood.
Fortunately, Sasuke was the sort of person who was fairly blasé about everything and could do things fairly easily and without a second thought as to sparing someone’s feelings; he never regretted things he did before and he definitely wasn’t starting now.
“Something came up.” Sasuke could almost hear the ‘hah’ in his tone that following that sentence. He knew he sounded cocky but he’d gotten out of that non-date with her; that made everything in his world look better.
“Oh, did-did something happen?” she asked, and he wanted to curse her for sounding concerned, because that would make lying just a little difficult.
“One of my co-workers’ birthday,” Sasuke answered, wanting to gag at having to call his co-slaves of society ‘co-workers.’ “It completely slipped my mind.”
“I-I guess we’ll have to cancel our... our dinner plans then,” she sighed into the phone, and Sasuke bit back the ‘yes!’ on the tip of his tongue.
“Sorry,” Sasuke smirked into the phone.
“N-no.... It’s fine.... uhm.. maybe another time.”
“Right.” Sasuke glanced at the little clock on the corner of his computer monitor and realized that it was time for his lunch break. “Well, I have to get back to work.”
“Bye,” he heard her say before dropping the phone back in its cradle. He gave a slow grin at accomplishing his mission before he stood to go to lunch, whistling a merry little tune.
-:-:-
There was a plan, a perfect plan. The plan was supposed to involve Sasuke ditching both outings, and going home to eat microwave dinner. The plan was infallible. What the hell happened and why was he here, sitting at this noisy and loud pub during happy hour with these people he did not like?
Sulking, Sasuke swallowed his second shot of vodka and glared at the bowl-cut guy who was apparently waiting to meet with someone or another. Really, Sasuke didn’t give a damn. But he wasn’t the one paying for the drinks; bowl-cut guy said he’d pay.
There was the blonde woman who was yelling at the blonde man who was yelling back with the same sort of vigor. All the while, the bowl-cut guy was trying to calm both of them down yet supporting their arguments as ‘wonderful sibling love’ or some other load of crap. The only one who was remotely tolerable in this group was the Chinese girl, and that’s because she mostly kept quiet in her seat as she munched a basket of French Fries (yes, French Fries, not Freedom fries or whatever the hell you wanted to call them).
Sasuke watched, sending a glare to everyone occasionally when some girl with pink dyed hair walked up to their table, smiling.
“Lee!”
“Sakura,” the bowl-cut guy broke from his mediating preaching to greet the pink-hair waitress. “Hi. How’re you doing? Let me introduce you to my co-workers. That’s Temari,” he said, pointing at the female blonde with the bushy hair who nodded. “And her brother Kankuro.” The other blond gave her a wink before he returned to his conversation with the woman. “That’s Tenten.” The Chinese girl smiled and nodded at the pink haired woman. “And Kiba’s the one holding the bottle.” The tattooed guy smirked at Pinkie and then poured more alcohol. “This sulking brooder right here is Sasuke.”
“Nice to meet you,” Pinkie chirped. Sasuke could’ve listened more attentively had her blinding pink hair not distracted him (not that he would’ve paid attention regardless). He hated people who colored their hair like that. It made her look like a tart. “I’m Sakura. Is there anything I can get for you? More alcohol?”
“Sure. More vodka, guys? Or maybe something different?” Bowl-cut guy asked.
The Chinese girl giggled as she waved a hand at the table, “I think we should finish what we have before we get something else; I think Sasuke looks a little drunk. Though I’d like another basket of fries.”
“Not drunk. Who the hell gets drunk off two shots of vodka?” He muttered as he took the small bottle that barely had enough for two more glasses. It looks as if the guy with the tattoo drank most of it, inconsiderate asshole.
“I’ll bring some buffalo wings too,” Pinkie told them as she walked away to serve another group.
It took a moment before the Chinese girl said anything. “So, Lee, she’s the one you’ve been talking about?”
“The one who’s captured your attention?” The blond girl added, smirking.
Sasuke, of course, had no idea what was happening, so he just drank his alcohol and tried to forget that he was among people.
“She’s kinda hot,” Sasuke heard tattoo-guy say and restrained himself from snorting at that. “Right, Sasuke? Pink hair and all that; did you see her rack? Man, I’d like to show her a good time.”
“That’s all you ever think about, isn’t it dog-boy?” The blond guy sneered as he pointed at the one with the tattoo. “Fucking people.”
“Don’t talk about Sakura that way,” Bowl-cut guy scolded them. “She’s a nice girl.”
“Nice girls are kinky,” Tattoo guy answered, and Sasuke realized that he really didn’t need to hear the rest of this conversation while he was sober.
Standing, he muttered something about using the restroom and then headed for the bar, far away from the table where his co-workers’ sat. The bar stools were more comfortable than the booths which really didn’t make sense considering the booths had more cushioning. Somehow, Sasuke thought that perhaps, going on that non-date with Hinata -no, Naruto’s girlfriend- would’ve been better than this loud and irritating insanity. Of course, Sasuke never makes bad choices, so he tried to convince himself that this was better than having an awkward dinner with Hina-Naruto’s girlfriend.
“What’ll it be, Mac?” The bartender asked him.
“Scotch on the rocks.” Sasuke told him, needing something strong to numb whatever he was feeling. It was not regret, damn it. The barkeep pushed a glass to him and Sasuke sipped at it, letting the flavors meld in his mouth before swallowing.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Hinata. I’m off in another hour or so; we’ll go to dinner then.”
“Okay.”
Sasuke looked up from his glass in disbelief when he saw Hina-Naruto’s girlfriend waving Pinkie away. He knew the best course of action; pretend that he didn’t see her.
“Hey.”
Once again, Sasuke wondered what the hell he was doing. He hadn’t even realized that he got up let alone walked over to her and opened his cursed mouth. Wasn’t he supposed to be pretending she didn’t exist? What happened to his plan?
“Sasuke? Uhm... What’re you doing here?” Hinata asked surprised at the coincidence. Of course, she wasn’t even half as surprised as Sasuke, not that he would ever admit that.
“Drinking,” He told her, waving his glass in her face before he sat next to her, looking slightly surly. “You?” Why was he still talking pleasantries? He was Sasuke Uchiha, he didn’t give a rat’s ass about other people. When the hell did he learn small talk? Finding he didn’t know, Sasuke blamed his parents.
“I’m waiting for... an aquaintaince to get off work,” She answered thoughtfully, taking a sip of her… was that a smoothie? Sasuke squashed the thought of it being adorable, and drank the rest of his scotch. “You don’t look comfortable… is the environment too much for you?”
Sasuke waved the bartender to refill his glass and stared at the woman... something was different about her. “I don’t like people. I don’t like being around people. And I don’t like you.”
Hinata frowned and then shrugged, “You don’t even know me well enough to not like me.”
Oh, she wasn't breaking her sentences apart... not stuttering... that was the difference... probably drank too much.
“You’re Naruto’s girlfriend,” Sasuke stated, drinking from his newly filled glass. The woman flushed at the comment and sipped her drink; Sasuke couldn't tell whether it was a good flushing or not. “You’re my best friend’s girlfriend.”
She was also the one who kept making him do things he didn’t realize he was doing. She was the person that was annoying him to no end and he didn’t really know why she nettled him so much. Also, she was the person who he kept thinking about with intended venom only to realize he can’t completely stop thinking about her. But, Sasuke was not going to tell her that. That’d be an equally stupid and pointless action because there was nothing to tell.
So, Sasuke did what he did best; he brooded.
“And you’re my boyfriend’s best friend. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were jealous,” the young woman muttered, probably assuming that Sasuke didn’t hear. Unfortunately for her, Sasuke's ability to hear hadn't been impeded with the drinks.
“I’m not jealous. Why would I be jealous?” The brunet demanded wondering when did the girl get so close to him. Or did he get closer to her?
“Because you haven’t seen Naruto in a long time and you miss him and you don’t even know if you know him anymore,” she listed, almost as if she were reading him. Too bad she was completely off because Uchihas did not get jealous, especially when Naruto was the object for said jealousy.
“I do not get jealous,” he growled, almost breathing on her. “And I do not think you’re attractive.”
There was a moment when he stared at her, feeling as if he could laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Sasuke realized that he was actually making conversation with someone who was not an acquaintance or a friend. Well, not the second part anyway.
“I’m... not attractive, I can... concede to that point. You’re… still not a very pleasant person, Sasuke,” she told him as she leaned away from him. When had he even gotten so close to her? “And you smell like you’ve bathed in alcohol. I’m beginning to think it’s safe to assume you’re drunk.”
“I’m not drunk. I don’t get drunk off two glasses of scotch.” But then again, he had drunk a few shots of vodka earlier.
“Sasuke, you’ve refilled your glass five times in the last fifty minutes.”
“Fifty minutes?” Confused, Sasuke tried to make out the numbers on the cheap clock behind the bar to find that he had trouble reading it. He could not have possibly have talked to this woman for twenty minutes. They barely had a whole conversation. “What time is it?”
“That clock says 7:40 but who says that clocks are always right?” She asked stirring her drink into liquid.
That made some sense... it also explained why Sasuke found that himself feeling slightly queasy from the bright lighting and half-pondering where the closest bathroom was. It was almost eight. How the heck did he spend the last two hours of his life drinking at a restaurant-bar? Damn bowl-cut guy. Meeting Hi-Naruto’s Gi- oh forget it, he could at least grow-up enough to call her by her name in his mind, Hinata in the building didn’t really do anything but make him… socialize… ugh, that word was like poison.
“Fuck this; I should be at home making sandwiches for dinner,” he reminded himself, nodding to no one in particular. He briefly thought it was slightly pathetic, going home alone to his sandwiches… Damn, he must’ve really been drunk if he thought being alone was pathetic when he loved it.
“Being alone isn’t so pathetic... At least you admit you’re... you’re drunk though,” Hinata’s mouth was twisted in a strangely amused smile. Wait… did she just repeat what he thought?
“Did I just say that? Out loud?”
Appalled, Sasuke figured that he must’ve been really intoxicated if he was speaking his thoughts out loud… for her to hear. Crap, what if something that shouldn’t slip out does? What would he do then? Okay, it was really time for him to go home and lock himself in his apartment where he knew it was safe to rant all he wanted without incriminating evidence. “I’m going home.”
“Maybe I should ride back with you? Naruto did tell me that you get slightly violent when you two went drinking.”
“I don’t give a rat’s ass about Naruto. I do not need his pretty little girlfriend to take me home like I’m some sort of invalid.” He did not just call her pretty. He… oh screw it, Sasuke didn’t care anymore, couldn't bring himself to do it. Thinking took too much energy.
“Are you... always this harpy or just when you’re inebriated?” She asked, settling her glass on the counter for the barkeep to clean. Hinata pushed herself off the stool and left a tip under her glass.
“I’m not harpy. Women are harpy, and Naruto… and bowl-cut guy,” Sasuke defended setting his glass on top of someone else’s glass. Their problem now. Sasuke nodded the barkeep to bowl-cut guy. “He said he’s paying for my drinks.”
“I’ll be right back,” she murmured quietly before disappearing into the crowd. Sasuke thought it was the perfect opportunity to leave and save himself from looking like an ass. Unfortunately, she caught up to him as soon as he reached the door.
-:-:-
“I told you, I didn’t need you to take me home. I’m not a girl,” Sasuke hissed. He tried to find the right key to the gate using streetlight, only to give up and start randomly trying keys on the lock. “Fuck. Where’s the lock?”
Having his keys wrenched from his grasp, well, not really, Hinata more of.... eased them away from his hands, before searching for the fitting key. Meanwhile, Sasuke crouched by the floor, trying to not think because it hurt his head, trying to damn the entire world because everything was the world’s fault, and mostly to stop that throbbing pain at his temple that made him want to retch.
Maybe that entire trying to put himself in a coma thing was a bad idea. Then again, it sounded really good right now, to be unconscious.
Upon hearing a click, Sasuke glanced at the brightly lit lobby and ambled toward the stairs with little difficulty. The concept of an elevator made him feel queasy at the moment.
“Wouldn’t it be faster if we took the elevator?”
“Don’t you think it’s time for you to go back to wherever it is you came from?” Sasuke glared at the first steps, trying to get it to focus. He didn’t need railings to help him climb a measly five floors.
“You’re going to pass out in the stairway and drown in your own vomit if I don’t make sure you get back to your apartment.”
“Better that way, I wouldn’t have to deal with the fucking world.” How many floors was that? One? Damn, he was so tired.
“Is… is there a reason for you to be so pessimistic all the time? I mean, I’m the first to admit the world isn’t a field of daisies, but... the world’s not that bad.”
Sasuke realized that on some level, she was right, not that he’d admit it out loud. “Keep talking. I might actually make it back to my apartment without falling asleep.”
“You… you don’t like me very much, do you?”
“Not really,” Sasuke answered, using one hand to feel for the wall. Three more floors to go… Could his room be any higher? Maybe he should’ve taken the elevator.
“Why not? You don’t even know me.” Which, when Sasuke thought about it, was really true. But then again, Sasuke’s never been good with people. He liked his mean, hostile exterior, thank you very much.
“Though, I’m not a very interesting person. But I haven’t… done anything to make you not like me. You’re not very friendly either, and that makes it… difficult... to talk to you… But somehow, though that is uniquely you, I know there’s a gentle side of you. Maybe... you don’t realize it, but it comes through, if rarely.”
“Now that isn’t right; I’m supposed to be mean and snarky at all times,” Sasuke snapped, learning against the wall, eyes screwed completely shut. “… I hate this.”
“I... I don’t think anyone... likes being drunk,” Hinata quietly remarked. She smiled taking his arm and led him up the stairs. And Sasuke found that he didn’t really mind her doing this.
End part 02