Hey guys! As the summary suggests, this is a multi-chapter one-shot sort of deal that puts select members of the Akatsuki into the words of The Fray's hit song "How to Save a Life." I started this fic back in March of this year and waited until now to upload any of it because I couldn't find a way to relate the third verse with any scenario that would fit the characters who appear in that chapter until...yesterday! So with the next 2 chapters finished and waiting to upload, and the last chapter left to write still, I present to you the first installment of "How to Save a Life" and hope you enjoy it!

Oh, and one more thing! I highly recommend listening to the song first; this chapter covers the first verse, and hopefully you will be able to pick out some of the lyrics (I don't mention all of them) and relate the concepts back to the song ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of its characters; all rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I also do not own the song "How to Save a Life;" all rights belong to The Fray (my all time favorite band!)


~For The Secret Sal and AbsoluteAnarchy; the ones who encouraged me to finish this~


Chapter 1: We Need to Talk

There's something to be said for a twenty-four year to be lounging around in his pajamas all evening, binge-watching Marvel's "Agents of Shield" on Netflix while eating a bowl of fruit loops, but Deidara didn't care; he wouldn't have it any other way.

A tiny explosion sounded from beside him, alerting him to a newly received text-message. Eyes glued to the TV screen, he fumbled for the little electronic device until he held it comfortably in his hand. He glanced at the name of the sender and placed his bowl on the coffee table.

"Wanna have a few drinks 2nite?" The text from Sasori read.

A year ago, Deidara would've happily agreed. In fact, Deidara only remembered one or two Friday nights he didn't spend at a bar or club of some sort. On the first occasion, he had spent the entire day sick in bed with the stomach flu and the second he'd just been released from the hospital for a broken leg when he fell out of a dumpster while dumpster diving. He seemed to remember Sasori urging him to "suck it up" and go out regardless, but both times, Deidara refused.

In the months since then, Sasori had found a new job working for a business that specialized in providing entertainment for children's birthday parties and other special events, while Deidara had scored his dream job working downtown doing graphic design for a monthly arts magazine.

Each led the men their separate ways with Sasori working odd hours on commission and Deidara working a salaried job from nine to five on the weekends. The funny thing about it was that the nine to five part was really only on paper. Most weeks, he had massive projects and assignments that he needed to complete long past five and come in on Saturdays and even Sundays sometimes to finish which quickly destroyed his and Sasori's weekend drinking plans.

It wasn't what either of them wanted, but Deidara eventually learned to get on without getting completely wasted every Friday night and hung-over every Saturday. Sasori, on the other hand, grew more dependent on the pastime, using it to escape his chaotic, less-than-pleasant line of work, and searched for ways to cram it in, with or without Deidara.

It was Friday. Sasori might have had the luxury to go out and spend the next day hung-over without any repercussions, but Deidara had a date with his Netflix account and work the next morning.

"Yes, no, maybe?" Sasori texted back.

Deidara glanced at his phone, then at his long-forgotten cereal bowl, then at the ending credits flashing by on the TV screen, and then back at his phone again.

"I'll be there in 15." He typed back with a sigh and set off to change into his street clothes.

If he kept to his limits tonight, he might be able to work the next day with a mild headache or none at all. But drinking with Sasori never ended well. In that case, he'd have to call in sick and he had way too much to get done to afford missing work.

By slipping his phone into his pocket, he resigned himself to his fate and grabbed his keys. He had no reason to say no, and now that he'd said yes, he had no excuse to back out.

-8-8-8-

"Ready?" Sasori asked when Deidara arrived, running his hand through his short hair to give it more volume. Deidara nodded, stepping out onto the pavement. "Are we taking your car, or mine?" Sasori asked.

"Mine, I guess." Deidara answered uncertainly. Taking his car would give him a reason to stay sober in order to drive them both home later on, which was a plus.

"Oh good." Sasori said, locking the door to his apartment.

Deidara opened the door to the driver's side once more and sat inside, waiting for Sasori to claim shotgun.

"If we took my car, you'd still have to drive." He said, upon getting in. "And we'd have to stop for gas on the way there."

"Did you eat yet?" Deidara asked, ignoring the comment. Ever since Sasori got this new job of his, he'd been steadily neglecting his diet in favor of work. And knowing what they were about to do, Deidara wanted to be safe, rather than sorry.

"I'll eat something when we get there."

Deidara forced a grin and chuckled at his friend's comment but made no move to start the car.

It wasn't long before Sasori noticed this, waving his hand in front of Deidara's eyes. "Hello? Earth to Deidara, are you going to start the car or not?"

"Sasori," he said, "we need to talk."

Sasori stared at his companion like he'd just proposed they murder a guy instead. "Talk about what? Can't this wait until we get to the bar?"

"We need to talk…about your drinking habit." Deidara uttered, finding the words he had been too afraid to say for a month now.

Sasori's look of confusion quickly morphed into one of betrayal. "I knew I shouldn't have asked you to come out tonight." He spat, opening the car door.

"Sasori, come on!" Deidara yelled after him and rolled down the driver's side window. "It's just a talk!"

Sasori glared at him and stalked over to the window. "Go home and watch your TV shows if you're worried about being too hung over to work tomorrow, Deidara. I'll go by myself." He smiled smugly.

He watched Sasori's retreating back as he walked up the steps to his front door and disappeared inside. He emerged a few minutes later, car keys in hand, and refused to make eye contact with him. Even after he got into his car and pulled out of the driveway, all Deidara could manage to do was stare out the passenger side window where Sasori's car had been.

Deidara knew that Sasori was unhappy with his job. He hated working for the people he worked for, the hours were long, the pay was terrible, and what's more, he hated working with children. He knew that Sasori was a party-animal; he hadn't changed in the years since Deidara had first met the man. Sasori loved to drink, that, Deidara knew. Deidara also knew that combined with the stress of his job, Sasori had developed a drinking problem.

Deidara knew that if something wasn't done, Sasori would eventually overdo it. He also knew that if no one intervened, nothing would be done. Deidara was the only person who could do anything for Sasori, and all he had managed to accomplish was angering him.

And now that Sasori was angry, he would probably drink more. And since he was driving, he would probably drive home drunk. And if worst came to worst, he might accidentally kill someone, or kill himself in the process.

Deidara could help but wonder if he'd driven them both to the bar, he could've stopped Sasori there. Instead, he only managed to make things even worse.


I hope you enjoyed the first chapter...the second is soon to come and focuses on a different Akatsuki pair as we delve into the second verse of the song (I'm saving the chorus for the end ;)

Until next time~

-Sasori33-001

PS: The idea for this is loosely tied to a music video I saw on YouTube that is no longer available for viewing in my country which is a shame as that was one of my favorite videos of all time! (But the concepts I've use here are original to me ;)