The Couple's Seat

Konoha only had one movie theater, which was about three blocks from Ichiraku's Ramen Stand (as Naruto related everything to its proximity in relation to Ichiraku's). Advertisements for the movie had been capturing Naruto's eye for weeks. It was billed as a tale of: Suspense! Love! Action! Drama! There were pretty people pointing guns at one another in a beautiful, rainy city. There were busty women barely contained by red satin dresses offering themselves to men who looked like they were rather musky-smelling. What better way for a ninja to take some down time than by spending a few hours in someone else's polished reality? Naruto was counting down the minutes until its opening day.

Sakura didn't want to see it. He had bugged her a week in advance to the movie's opening, but she said it looked violent and stupid, among other things.

"Men and women don't interact that way. No one actually says things that cliché and cheesy to each other."

"That's the point. It's like a trashy romance novel come to life. Only this one has bloodshed!"

"Please. I'd rather watch something realistic. Not some weak little girl willing to do anything for some stupid guy to notice her, even though the actress they have playing her could probably get noticed by any guy she wanted."

"Right." He stared blankly. "Because girls never get lovesick and follow around uninterested guys."

Sakura took a step back, absorbed the statement, and then raised her fist.

"Look at that! That one had bloodshed too." She turned and walked away, mentally patting herself on the back.

After walking around with a busted lip for the rest of the day, Naruto came to the conclusion that it was best to try and talk someone else into going to the movie with him.

First, he tried Kiba, figuring that their taste in movies was probably the same. No such luck. Akamaru had a vet appointment on that day. After asking Kiba, he noticed Hinata hiding behind a corner. He asked her to go to the movie with him, at which point she fainted. After finding a concerned Neji to help Hinata (Neji, he decided, probably didn't have the word "entertainment" lurking anywhere in his vocabulary), he noticed a lone figure walking on the sidewalk. A familiar head of spiky hair creeped into his vision.

Sasuke. He would ask Sasuke.

Initially, he thought Sasuke would probably be about as sure as Neji at saying "no," however Naruto figured that the bond of teammates may override the lack of "entertainment" in Sasuke's vocabulary.

"Yo, Sasuke!" He waved a hand and grinned, making the dark-haired boy stop in his tracks.

"What do you want?"

"Got a question. So what are you doing this weekend?"

Sasuke stood a bit stunned. He couldn't help but note how date-like the question had seemed.

"I don't know. Probably training," he shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, this awesome movie comes out this weekend that I've been dying to see! It's like this crime movie set in the 20's. There's a detective story and a love story in it too. And the girl who plays the love interest? Wow, I'd like one of those!"

Sasuke huffed, "Get on with it, Naruto."

"Oh, haha, sorry! Anyway, wanna go see it with me?"

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly. Well, friends do go see movies with each other and Naruto is his friend, so he figured that it would be okay.

"Sure, I'll go."

A huge grin spread across Naruto's face at finally finding someone to go see the movie with. Sasuke couldn't help the tiny smile that invaded his face in response to that.

"So, do you want me to pick you up from your place?"

Naruto laughed. "Sasuke, you make it sound like a date! We'll meet there at 6:00 on Saturday. I will see you then!" He waved and walked off, satisfied at the accomplishment of the day's goal.

"Yeah, see you Saturday." The tinge of hurt in his voice went unnoticed by the retreating blonde.

Sasuke showed up at the movie theater at 6:10, to a very excited Naruto waiting in a rather long line.

"10 minutes late! Couldn't you pick-up one of Kakashi-sensei's better habits?"

"Which other ones do you suggest?" The slight smirk in his voice didn't go unnoticed by Naruto, but he chose to ignore it on the basis that he wasn't entirely sure of what Sasuke was implying, and really didn't want an answer to his curiosity.

After buying their tickets, they made their way into the movie theater. Sasuke decided to buy something to eat, and told Naruto to find them a seat. He stepped into the theater, the nonsensical chattering engulfing him. The seats were quickly filling up. Couples would grab two, families would grab three, groups of friends who came in were dividing up in order to find a seat. Naruto felt a wave of panic rush over him. The day he had been anticipating, his perfect day at the movies, was about to end with him straining his neck in the front row if he didn't do something quick. And then he saw it, a perfect solution, only three rows up from where he was currently standing.

Sasuke walked into the theater, scanning it for his friend. He carried a large tub of popcorn and two sodas. He stood at the front of the theater, in plain view of everyone, and thus choosing to ignore the dreamy sighs of the girls, and the jealous glares of their boyfriends directed at him. He couldn't believe how full the theater was for such a stupid movie, and how the large crowd could make such a noisy person invisible.

"Oi! Sasuke!" There was Naruto, standing up and waving. Sasuke marched up the stairs, reached the seat Naruto had chosen, and froze. It was on the outside of the aisle, and it was one seat that was big enough for two, without anything separating one seat from the other. The theater had a loveseat on the end of all the aisles. Sasuke looked up and down the theater, noting that all the other loveseats were filled with actual couples, girls cuddling up to their boyfriends.

"You've got to be kidding me," he said to his friend, "You got us a couple's seat?"

Naruto shrugged. "It was easier. All the other seats were filling up so fast, and then there was this one which didn't have anyone trying to sit in it. It was just easiest."

"Of course, dumbass. The only people who want to sit in these seats are people who are dating each other." Sasuke sat down beside Naruto, feeling his cheeks beginning to burn. "I can't believe you got us a couple's seat. But, here, I bought you a drink." He handed Naruto a soda.

"Ah, thanks Sasuke! I was just thinking about how thirsty I was! How much do I owe you?" He grabbed the drink and licked the straw, directing it into his mouth, and then sucked the drink down with fervor.

Sasuke gaped slightly. "Um, don't worry about it." The lights in the movie theater dimmed to the cheer of the audience, and to the thankfulness of Sasuke at covering what he was sure was a blush that had arose in his cheeks.