A/N: Sorry I haven't written much lately. The last several months have been up and down—and then I just moved to LA about a week ago, lol. So, things are all kinds of crazy. Second day here, I got hit by some dude at a stoplight. Life is funny.

This is just a little something for me to work on at night while I figure out life. No more than a few short chapters, I hope.

After nearly five days of driving and finally reaching his destination, Naruto opted for a quick dinner at an In-N-Out (something they didn't have in Illinois) before walking to a nearby restaurant slash bar off of Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice. It was a Sunday night, and though there were several occupied tables, there was still plenty of room for him at the bar. He'd been nursing a whiskey (neat), trying to calm his nerves after driving around Los Angeles for the first time. He'd thought driving through the mountains in Colorado was bad, but once he hit the border between Nevada and California, he knew Californians were, hands down, the worst damn drivers in the country. It probably wouldn't take long before he got hit by one of them; until then, however, he (and his car) were safe here.

The bartender came over—Asian, reserved, piercings, tattoos, extremely efficient—to bring him another water and a fresh napkin. The man lingered, washing some glasses, and without looking up from his chores, asked:

"Not from around here?"

Naruto eyed him with interest, studying what he could see of the tattoo on his left forearm. "I am now, but, nah, I just got in this morning."

"Oh, where from?" The bartender's voice was casual, but it didn't come off as if he were forcing conversation in the hopes of a better tip.

"Midwest," he replied. "Illinois. What about you? Have you always lived here?"

"For the last five years, yeah." The dark-haired man glanced up from his work briefly before grabbing a towel to wipe down the counter. "You're not an actor, are you?"

Naruto barked out a laugh at his brash tone. "What if I am?"

"I didn't mean offense. You look like you could be."

His eyebrow went up. "Oh? Can I take that as a compliment?"

The bartender—Naruto squinted at his name tag: Sasuke—threw the rag to the side and pushed his hair out of his face.

"It's an observation," he told Naruto. "Well, are you?"

"Not that I haven't thought about it, but nah. I'm in sports marketing."

"I won't pretend I know exactly what that entails."

"No?" He asked, smiling. "Not a big sports fan?"

"Not team sports, no. Surfing, scuba diving, sure. Any team in particular?"

"Yeah." He brought the glass to his lips, sipping. "The Rams."

"Ah, aren't they going to the Super Bowl?"

"They are. I'll be headin' to Atlanta for a few days, I guess. Lucky me."

"Indeed. Want another, or something else?" Sasuke nodded in the direction of his empty glass.

Naruto thought on it for a second. "Another, but make me somethin' else. Do you have any specialties?"

"I'm sure I can come up with something." Sasuke, taking his glass, headed to the other end of the bar to make him a new drink. Meanwhile, Naruto pulled out his phone, checking his email and a few other messages he'd received from his new supervisor. He drank his water while he waited, noting the sound of ice being shaken in the cocktail mixer. Minutes later, Sasuke returned with a tall, slim glass containing a yellow-ish liquor combination.

"Are you gonna tell me what's in it, or should it be a surprise?"

"If you want it to be a surprise, I won't ruin it for you."

Naruto picked it up, gave it a sniff, and took a sip expecting it to have a lemon taste to it. He didn't taste lemon. It was banana, orange, pineapple, rum, and, likely, other things.

"Too fruity for you?" Sasuke asked, a curious smirk lighting up his features.

Taking in his mischievous expression, Naruto licked his lips and picked off the cherry the bartender had speared and set against the rim of the drink. He offered a charming smile.

"How does one respond to a question like that, Sasuke?"

"So you can read."

"Oh wow, you must not be hurtin' for tips tonight, huh?"

"This is how I show my affection," Sasuke answered. "Constant sarcasm."

Naruto wanted to ask if this was him flirting, but didn't want to assume despite being almost 100% certain Sasuke swung (his) way.

"What do you call this anyway?"

"Yellow Bird," Sasuke answered.

"Uh huh. So, how much will you give me if I can take this cherry stem and twist it around with my tongue in less than a minute?"

"It depends." Sasuke set both hands onto the bar counter, showing off even more of his tattoos. "Am I paying in currency, or… something else?"

"You are forward, aren't you?" Naruto bit off the stem, and, applying what he considered to be his hidden talent, twisted the stem into a knot in about 30 seconds. "Does your manager know about this?"

He showed off the knotted stem to Sasuke and dropped it on the napkin.

"My manager thinks it's important that the customer is always right," Sasuke insisted, leaning now on his elbows so that they were at an eye-to-eye level.

"God, you have nice eyes," Naruto blurted without thinking, and, Sasuke, after staring at him like he was in idiot for a good 10 seconds, eventually burst out laughing.

"Ask me when I get off."

"Oh man, this is really gettin' personal, huh?" Naruto started biting his lip just to keep from grinning.

"I meant off of work." Sasuke picked up the stem and studied it. "Impressive."

"When do you get off of work?" Naruto asked dutifully, cradling his face with a hand while watching Sasuke's expression. He really was a good looking guy. "I'm Naruto, by the way."

"Naruto, I get off in a couple of hours."

"Wow, you really make a guy work for it, don't you?" Naruto leaned forward, enjoying the flirting and the chemistry growing between them.

"You should be so lucky."

"...Maybe you can help me get lucky later?"

Sasuke's laughter was soft, but husky, and, smiling, he grabbed for Naruto's napkin. The bartender reached into the black apron wrapped about his waist and took out a pen. He handed it over to Naruto when he was finished writing his number.

"In case I get busy," said Sasuke. "Or you have to leave. I make an excellent tour guide."

"Tryin' to get rid of me?" Naruto took the napkin, memorized the number, and shoved it in his back pocket anyway.

"Not really. I've grown rather fond of looking at you."

Before Naruto could respond to such an obvious come on, one of the waiters appeared and asked Sasuke to fill a large drink order. Sasuke excused himself, looking disappointed; Naruto watched him for a while, and they did get to chat some more, but, sadly, the bar began to fill up, making it more difficult to carry on a conversation.

Not wanting to keep him from doing his job, Naruto waved a quick goodbye once he'd finished his third and final drink. He'd be driving home, after all, and on that horrible 405. Regardless of whether it was a scheme or not, Naruto left Sasuke a generous tip, and rather than go straight home, decided to take a drive by the coastline while his mood was good and his ego... well fed.

TBC