Akatsuki Drabbles

Charity date auction (Itachi)

You couldn't believe you were doing this. This was not you in the slightest. Going to charity events was one thing—it was a way to have something to do for the night while giving to a good cause in the meantime—but those events usually involved a dinner. A raffle—a sale, at most. But this was the first time you had come across a charity date auction. Regardless, that hadn't mattered to you. There was a dinner as part of it as well, and you had had to pay for tickets to that, so you didn't feel guilty for not taking part or that you weren't donating any money. You would just sit on the side-lines and watch. Rather than doing the traditional method of auction, where all the guests were sat in a room as the 'bachelor/bachelorette' was walked across the stage, while everyone made their bids by raising their hands, the organizers had opted for something a little less overwhelming. It would only end up getting rowdy with people yelling out bids at the tops of their voices, and so instead they had chosen a silent auction. This would involve placing out pictures of all of the available 'dates' with a bit about them, and then anyone could write down their bid on the paper in front. Whoever gave the highest bid, won.

Simple enough, and you nodded in approval as you walked past. It was certainly proving to be popular, as numerous people were walking along the table, taking a look and choosing who to bid for. It wouldn't have been the kind of activity you would have picked when dealing with a charity event, but you had to admit that it was a definite way of drawing in a younger crowd. Anyone could organise a dinner, but this made it special, so you merely smirked at the excited conversation rippling through the crowd of people, all of them looking forward to the results. You, however, made your way to the bar to order a drink, not interested in making any offers. As your friends arrived you all gathered together, talking and enjoying the evening, but you couldn't help but sigh as they tugged you over to the table to take a look at all the available 'bachelors'. Unlike the majority of them, you were single, and they were determined to get you a date somehow. You'd dealt with numerous attempted set-ups, but none of them had been successful. You doubted this would be any different—you weren't interested.

As such, you ignored your friends reading out the 'biographies' of the available bachelors, concentrating on your drink and looking forward to the dinner afterwards, when this would all be over. A little while later and the ten-minute announcement came, encouraging any last-minute bids, and eventually the auction period came to an end. Hiding a relieved sigh at this news, you followed your friends to gather in a crowd in front of the podium at the back of the room, waiting to hear the results. Even though you weren't bothered as to the results, you couldn't help but smile at the sight of everyone looking so intently at the 'auctioneer' in order to hear who had won, knowing without being told that this event had been utterly successful. The results of all the bachelors had finished, and now they moved onto the bachelors, the women seeming to get more and more excited as each one was called out. Shaking your head at it all, taking another sip of your drink, you only focused back in on the last result of the auction—it just wasn't what you had expected.

You were the winner.

Frowning in confusion as to just how that was possible when you hadn't even put in a bid, it abruptly occurred to you and you turned to face your friend. She had money, so coming up with a high bid wouldn't have been a problem, and just like the rest of them, she wanted you to get a date. Staring her down, she eventually looked down, apologising, but pointed out it was done now, and there was nothing you could do about it. Shaking your head, you knew she was right, and asked just who you'd won a date with. But even that answer surprised you—Itachi Uchiha. You knew of him. His family was well known, often hosting charity events of their own, and he was popular in every sense of that word. Not that you really knew too much about him as a person. Sure, he was handsome, and from what you'd heard he was a nice guy, but that was rumour. There was no telling if that was true. But as it occurred to you, you realised that you were about to find out. You would only feel awkward if you backed out now, meaning you walked over to the auctioneer to 'claim' your prize, smiling slightly as he led you over to Itachi.

As you made eye contact, you instantly felt better about the situation. He had piercing gaze, true, but it was gentle. Kind. Somehow you got the feeling that the rumours you'd heard about him were true, and automatically a genuine smile flickered across your features. Plus, it was hard to ignore how handsome he was when you were up this close. Greeting him softly, he smiled back at you, replying quietly,

"It's a pleasure to meet you. May I know your name, if we're to be going on a date?"

Introducing yourself, the auctioneer then gave you the details of the date: you had reservations at a restaurant tomorrow night. Agreeing with this, neither of you having plans, you exchanged numbers, before beginning to part ways, Itachi saying as he did so,

"Then I'll see you tomorrow night, (y/n)."

And suddenly this seemed like a good idea after all.

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