Luck

When Uzumaki Naruto woke up Christmas Eve morning, he was set on one thing: tonight, he was going to make someone love him.

And he figured, certainly fate had it written out somewhere, that hanging around Top of the Stairs - his favorite bar, not to mention favorite place of employment - was going to help him achieve this aim. It was a relatively good place to start if anything else.

“Oi, Uzumaki! What’re doin’ in here on Christmas Eve?”

“Yo, Kiba!” Naruto returned the greeting, giving a lazy wave of his hand. “Where else am I gonna go this time of year? Besides, figure I might get lucky tonight.”

The bartender gave a short bark of laughter. “You and luck don’t belong together. And it has nothing to do with luck and everything to do with you being a senseless showoff.”

“Hey, hey now! It’s Christmas Eve! Cut me some slack,” the Sociology senior laughed as he pulled off his jacket, a warning-bright orange, and hung it on the pegs beside the door. With a rough shake of his head, he sent the snow that had gathered among the blond strands spilling onto the floor. “Besides, you’re not one to talk about sense, you reckless bastard.”

Bright blue eyes scanned the room, sweeping from the pool tables at the back to the snow-drenched porch, finally settled his sights on the bar. A few girls hung about in the back, laughing and drinking around one of the pool tables. He knew a few of them from various classes he had taken, parties he had attended. Simply casual acquaintances. Up at the front end of the bar, two older men were watching the basketball game on the television screen.

“Kinda dead,” Naruto commented as he took at seat.

“Yeah, it’s something called Christmas. You know, family gatherings and stiff parties up the ass. You generally don’t spend it in a bar, Uzumaki.”

Unable to help it, Naruto found himself laughing heartily. He kept imagining some large hand boxing up a party, tiny people milling about with glasses of champagne in hand and dressed in their holiday finery, red and gold and green sparkling like gaudy Christmas wrapping. Smaller and smaller until it sat as a neat little suppository in the palm of that gigantic hand. Perfect for shoving.

“Yeah, I know, Kiba,” the blond replied, hardly able to get the words past his lips without breaking into giggles. “So, why are you working then? Your family’s only an hour away.”

“Yeeeah, but they went off sledding. Something about camping in the snow, getting the dogs some ‘real’ experience. They’ll be back tomorrow though.”

There was a clink of glass, ice cubes falling into place. Naruto threw a glance back at the girls, nearly choked on his own spit at the scene greeting him. The one currently bending over the table apparently had no problems with the cold, black mini-skirt rising onto her hips with every inch she slipped over the green felt top. It was like an obscene holiday greeting card, those ones where they forced the kids to pose and show off their best smiles. He caught the muffled snickering of the girls around her, knew they were probably watching his reaction.

“Double rum and Coke,” Kiba stated, setting the Collins glass before Naruto. “And I know you’re all about luck, but Ino there set a whole new standard for town bike rides. Not that I’m going to stop you.”

“I didn’t order a drink. And there's no harm in looking.”

Kiba shrugged. “Figured you should start your ‘night of luck’ off right.”

“Thanks.” Naruto lifted his glass, inclining his head towards the dark-haired bartender then gulping down half the contents in one go. He liked the drink. It was cheap, easy to make, and the rum always sizzled down his throat. At least it did when he and Kiba made them.

Three rum and Cokes and a failed attempt to draw the girls to the bar later, Uzumaki Naruto found himself playing quarters with one of the older men, who as it turned out was actually a professor of human sexuality at the university. The white-haired bastard was surprisingly good, and Naruto found himself failing miserably at the game.

“I give up!” the blond gasped. Defeated, Naruto dropped his head down, resting his forehead against the top of the bar. Besides him, he could hear the professor laughing.

“This was not how I intended my night to go,” Naruto whined into the wood. He could taste the stale leftovers of spilt liquor and disinfectant as his lips pressed into the top. To keep from gagging, he twisted his head to the side, sending wisps of sunflower yellow hair into his eyes.

“The night is still young!” the professor guffawed, clapping his hand hard on Naruto’s left shoulder. There was the sound of coins dancing along the counter, echoing through the wood. With a rough shriek, the stool was scraped back along the floor. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, it’s time we were off to better things. Merry Christmas, boys!”

“Ah, same to you!” Naruto mumbled from the bar’s top. His cheek felt swollen when he talked, though he knew it was just because of the weight resting against it. Why did the human head have to weigh so damn much?

With an aggravated moan, he watched as the two elder men slipped out the door. It was still snowing outside, the silvery flakes coming down fast. Adding yet another inch of white on white. Everything outside was white. And cold. Thinking on the whole scene sent a shiver spilling down his spine.

“Ne, Kiba?” Blue eyes shifted over to the young man. A stray thought, alcohol induced, entered his mind. Why he didn’t see Kiba more often? Outside of the bar and weekend parties, they rarely ever crossed paths. Didn’t they have three classes together? Or was it two? Maybe it was more than that.

“Already there,” the bartender replied, setting a glass of water next to the fourth rum and Coke of the night. “Now get up. I know you aren’t that drunk yet!”

“Mmmm…I wasn’t going to ask that,” Naruto mumbled. It was Christmas, so they didn’t have classes together any more. That’s why. Ha! Brain trying to fool him. He always figured it out eventually. “And I know I’m not that drunk. I can still feel the cold from the door.”

“Hey, you know we’re closing in an hour, right?” Kiba called to the front of the bar.

There was a brief rustle of movement, bells chiming as the door was shut. “That’s still an hour I have, right?”

The voice was cool, yet Naruto could sense the fire beneath the words. Bubbling quietly beneath the stolid rock surface of control. Lifting his head from the bar, he glanced over at the young man pulling off the coal-black coat wrapped around his form. He knew this kid. Not from any classes they had had together, nor even any parties. As far as he knew Uchiha Sasuke didn’t party. But it didn't stop the entire campus from knowing who he was.