Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuuden or any characters in it.
Summary: AU Fic. Sasori was a successful businessman who sells puppets. On the way to a business meeting one day, Sasori's car broke down. Deciding not to make his fellow businessmen wait for him, he got off his car and decided to walk towards his destination until…
A/n: Thank you so much to Kyra213 for BETA-ing this chapter. Thank you so much!
Italics are thoughts.
Chapter 1
'What the hell was I thinking?!' thought Sasori as he hurriedly entered the building. He was LATE! Akasuna no Sasori was LATE for a meeting! That was a BIGGGGGGG thing! He had never been late before, not once in his lifetime.
The lobby of the FanTocHe building was pretty nice. Grayish-blue tiles…chandeliers…plants…decorations and all that, but the redhead was not in the mood to stop by and admire the place.
"Oh shit!" Not noticing that he had said that out loud, the redhead launched forward as the door of the elevator was about to close. His eyes widened as he found his suitcase caught in between the elevator door. 'Just in time.' Thought the redhead as he pushed the doors apart and glided into the elevator.
Sasori ignored the stares the people were giving him. Instead, his eyes were glued on his watch. '15 minutes late…that's just great', he thought.
The redhead burst into the conference room and all eyes were on him. He frowned and made a quick apology. Then, he proceeded to his seat. Certain snake-like eyes followed Sasori as he made his way across the room.
"So, you are the Akasuna no Sasori?" asked the one with reptilian eyes. He was extremely pale with almost inhuman features. "My name is Orochimaru, the head of the packaging department." He held out his hand, just as a voice interrupted.
"Ahem," the leader of the company, Pein, faked a cought, "Now that everyone's here, let us discuss our strategy to promote our latest product." He turned towards Sasori, "Mr. Akasuna, now would you please tell us about the items that you wished to market in this country."
Sasori stood up, took out his pendrive and walked towards the front where the laptop was connected with the LCD projector. After all the preparations, the redhead was ready to give a talk about the puppets produced by his company back home.
"As you can see, the puppets from Suna and Iwa are very different," the redhead started, "We used strings to control the puppets back in Suna. It will be new to the people here as glove puppets are more common…"
The meeting lasted about two hours, including the talk about money by the treasurer of the FanTocHe Company, Kakuzu. Kakuzu seemed to blabber on and on about the cheapest way to promote their latest product. The leader of the company shot Kakuzu a glare, claiming that the method was too cheap, and would affect the image and standard of their company.
Dinner started at 9p.m and lasted about an hour because a certain snake-like man seemed to be following the redhead everywhere, constantly occupying Sasori with things that he was not interested to know. Sasori responded politely with a certain "Oh, I see…" at random intervals throughout Orochimaru's incessant talk.
After dinner, Sasori stood outside the FanTocHe building, waiting for his chauffeur to pick him up. The redhead glared into the distance, tapping his foot impatiently. Everyone knew that he hated to wait as much as he hated to make other people wait for him. He bit on his lower lip, deciding whether or not to give his silver-haired chauffeur, Kabuto, a call.
Just then, the awaited vehicle arrived and Sasori took no time in climbing into the back seat, not waiting for Kabuto to open the door for him. "How many times have I told you? I don't like to wait," said the redhead coldly.
"I'm sorry, Sasori-sama," apologized the silver-head. "Well, I was having some problems in finding a mechanic here…all the stores seem to be closed at a time like this…"
"I don't need excuses, Kabuto." Stated the redhead. "I hired you because I had no doubt in your capability. Now, go."
Kabuto pursed his lips. 'Damn it!' Then he drove off.
The redhead stared out of the car window. His mind drifted off to the evening where he had seen the clay sculpture in his palm. They had looked so real to him, but then again, was his mind playing tricks on him? Or was the blond magician playing a trick on him? But then…the magician didn't know him at all. Why would the magician pull a trick on him? It didn't make any sense.
"OH SHIT!" A yell from Kabuto startled Sasori and pulled him out of his trance. The vehicle came to a halt all of a sudden as the tires screeched. Sasori fell forward and hit the divider that separated the passenger's seat from the driver's. So much for his unbuckled seat belt.
The redhead frowned as he rubbed his face with his hands. "What is it this time, Kabuto?"
"Whew! That was close," exclaimed the silver-head as he gave a sigh of relief. Just then, a knock at the side of the driver seat's door could be heard. Kabuto groaned as he wound down the car window. "What?"
Kabuto looked up to see a blond with a grin plastered on his face. One long front fringe covered the left side of the man's visage. "For your information, you almost ran into me, un," said the blond calmly.
"You said 'almost', which means I didn't hit you," argued the silver-head, annoyed. 'Oh great, some dude who wants to get some cash out of this, ' thought Kabuto.
"You've given me a mental scar, you know?" The blond stated. "I say you give me a hundred bucks and I'll forget it, un." He touched the front of the car, "I don't think a hundred bucks would mean anything…"
"Look, you aren't going to get anything from this," hissed Kabuto.
Sasori wound down his window and looked out. Surprise overcame him, when he saw the blond. He was no doubt the magician that the redhead had seen earlier. It was just that the man was wearing a different outfit right now. He was clad in jeans and a blue T-shirt, but he still wore his ponytail the way he had when Sasori first saw him at the sidewalk.
The blond shifted his attention towards the passenger. "Hey, kid, un," a smile crossed his face. "Remember me?"
"Sasori-sama, I'll deal with this…" Kabuto said.
"It's okay, Kabuto," Sasori cut him off and turned his attention towards the blond. "I'm curious, how did you do that…that…"
As if reading Sasori's mind, the blond responded. "Magic, un," nodded the magician, the grin not fading from his face as he walked towards Sasori.
Sasori frowned. 'As if I would believe that,' he thought. "Anyway, what do you want, brat?"
As if taken by surprise, the grin from the blond's face disappeared, "Brat?! Hey, a kid like you should have manners, un." Then his smile appeared again as if nothing had ever happened. "So, kid...care to give me a ride, un?"
Sasori eyed him suspiciously.
"Hey! I was just joking about that hundred bucks, un," he flung his hands in mid-air, and sighed, "Well, the thing is my pals had just dropped me in the middle of nowhere." He said. 'Some pals…' Thought the blond bitterly. "And ya know…"
"Why don't you call a cab?" Sasori asked flatly.
"As if there's a cab here?!" the blond almost yelled as he indicated his surroundings which consisted of only trees and dim streetlights. There were clearly no vehicles around, as they were out of town. (Sasori had preferred to stay in a hotel out of town because it was more peaceful and quiet.) He sighed, "Look, I'm sorry for faking the accident, un."
Sasori's eyes widened, amused. "So you were faking?"
"Grr! I did it to attract attention un, damn it!" the blond slapped a hand across his forehead. "No one would pick up a stranger in the middle of nowhere…especially not at a time like this, un."
Sasori looked around. The blond had a point. "Where do you live?"
The blond's face brightened, "You are willing to…?"
"Are you sure about this, Sasori-sama?" Kabuto asked.
"Get in," Sasori told the blond, ignoring his personal driver.
Kabuto sighed, "Oh well…so blondie, where do you live?"
The blond seemed to ignore Kabuto's question as he curiously scanned the interior of the car. "Whoa, nice, un!" exclaimed the blond as he climbed into the back seat and sat beside Sasori. His visible blue eye scanned the small room. Then, his attention turned towards the redhead. "So, erm, kid, where are your parents, un?"
"They are dead." Sasori stated flatly.
"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that." The blond pursed his lips. "Anyway, sorry that I haven't introduce myself. The name's Deidara. What's yours, un?"
"Sasori."
Just then Kabuto's voice interrupted. "Now would you please tell me where you live so that I can send you home, Mr. Deidara."
"It was at that corner…" The blond explained to the silver-haired man. Kabuto restarted the car after knowing the direction that he should be heading.
"So, erm, kid… how do you find Iwa, un?" Deidara asked.
Sasori raised a brow, "A potential market." He had kept his answer short and direct.
"Market, un? You sell things, kid?" The blond seemed surprised. "Whoa, at this age? Your parents must have left you with…"
"For your information, I'm already thirty years old." Sasori rolled his eyes. "Don't call me a kid. Brat." He muttered the last word under his breath.
There was a moment of silence. Then a sharp gasp cut through the air as Deidara's eyes widened, "YOU. ARE. KIDDING. ME." He had dropped the 'un' the shock was so great.
Sasori rolled his eyes. He had expected a reaction like this. It was nothing new to him. Whenever he went to a new place, the people there would stop him from entering the conference room and his private assistant, Itachi, would help explain things.
"THAT IS SO WICKED!" exclaimed the blond. Sasori had not expected this reaction. The blond continued, "Seriously, you look much younger than you should, un. Whoa, I wonder, will I look that attractive when I hit your age?" Deidara nodded.
Sasori raised a brow and was about to say something, but then Kabuto's voice interrupted, "We are here now." The car came to a halt. A house stood right in front. It was dark and there were no lights on.
Deidara looked out of the window. "Oh, thanks, un!" he immediately got out of the car. "Good night, Sasori-san, un." The blond said with a smile on his face, as he closed the car door behind him and rushed towards his home, unlocking the gates. Then, as if he'd forgotten something, Deidara turned and ran towards the limousine. He knocked on the door at Sasori's side.
Sasori wound down the window, "What is it?"
Before the redhead could react, Deidara had crushed Sasori's lips with his. The redhead's eyes widened with shock as a gasp escaped his lips, giving the blond a chance to slide his tongue into his mouth. Sasori soon melted into the kiss.
Deidara was the one who broke the kiss. Sasori was gasping for air but Deidara seemed fine. He grinned, "A present to say thank you, un." He then placed a finger against the redhead's lips. "You taste sweet."
Sasori was about to say something but the blond had already turned and disappeared into the house. He moved so fast that Sasori couldn't seem to catch his movement. The redhead blinked as he turned his attention towards his personal driver. "Go."
TBC…
A/n: T.T Argh! Does anyone sound way too OOC? XD Oh well…I've finally been able to finish this chapter. O.o R&R please…