.disclaimer : don't own.
.chapter six : the marionette.
Sasori loved Saturdays.
He loved being able to sleep in and wake up at his own leisurely pace; instead of having to wake up at seven, he could wake up at seven by choice. It made all the difference, though Sasori usually went back to sleep and got up around ten. Choice was a beautiful thing, he would think as he snuggled into his pillows and blankets. Since he had very little choices he could make (whether it was law school or dealing with Deidara), he cherished the ones he had. So on Saturdays, Sasori always made his own choice of sleeping in and ignoring anything that might be occurring.
Except he was extremely worried this morning when he heard someone banging and cursing at his oven.
"Fuckin' piece of shit, un!"
The fact that Deidara was still speaking meant that the apartment wasn't in flames, Sasori reasoned and for that logic, he leisurely got out of bed instead of jumping out like he would have. As he stood up, he scratched his back and opened the door, frowning as he peered outside. What he saw was an interesting sight indeed: Deidara was standing in front of the oven and trying to twist the knob desperately as he kicked the appliance.
"What do you need the oven for this early in the morning?" Sasori drawled as he yawned and walked towards him. He saw Deidara's head jerk up in shock at the new voice and instantly grabbed a bowl and put it on the counter to cover something. Sasori raised an eyebrow and stared at the bowl with slight interest. "What's that?"
"Nothing, danna, un. You're up already?" he asked as Sasori reached the oven and pushed the knob in before turning it. He glanced at Deidara who sheepishly grinned, "…Thanks, un. Guess I never thought of that."
"Well, you were kicking and screaming at my oven. I figured I should resolve this problem," he sighed and yawned again, turning around to return to the comforts of his bed. "I'm going back to bed. Don't burn anything down, brat."
Deidara watched Sasori meander back into his room and close the door, smirking slightly. The first time he had woken Sasori from his slumber, he had found it odd that he was shirtless. Sasori, of all people, would sleep in pajamas, Deidara had assumed, because of his whole knack for privacy thing. But apparently he didn't care so much about physical privacy, only privacy of his items.
Gently, he lifted the bowl he nearly smashed down onto the counter and picked up the small clay sculptures as the oven began to preheat to the temperature he had set moments ago. He smirked as he turned them over in his hands; these were some of his finest works, no doubt. Every last detail was carved to perfection and he stayed up all night (with the help of coffee and power naps) to complete this. He would need all day to paint and so he thought ahead and called Pein and Konan to distract Sasori by taking him out later. He supposed he could have called Hidan and Kakuzu or some of Sasori's friends, but Deidara figured Sasori would enjoy the day most with Pein and Konan, seeing as they were the most normal. He wasn't sure about Itachi and Kisame (something about Itachi irritated the crap out of him), but he knew Sasori probably wouldn't live the seventeen hours to turn twenty five if he had to spend a whole day with Hidan.
When spending his afternoon with Hidan yesterday in the art store, the silver haired man, aside from his incessant complaining and whining, asked why Deidara was putting so much effort into celebrating an asshole's birthday, Deidara shrugged and smirked, replying with "He's my danna, un."
Putting down the clay sculptures and being careful to not ruin them (he hadn't worked this hard on a sculpture on a while), he pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at it. Seeing that he had no new messages or missed phone calls, he scowled and placed it on the counter. He leaned back with his hands on the counter and rested the back of his head against the cupboard, closing his eyes. Is Ino going to forgive me or what, un…? Now that more days had elapsed, he wasn't feeling quite as neurotic. He was still nervous, of course, and scared, but his heart didn't race every time Sasori mentioned seeing Ino at the university or seeing blonde hair and blue eyes (including his own; for the first three days, he avoided all mirrors.)
When he heard the oven 'ping' to indicate it had reached the correct temperature, Deidara opened it and welcomed the heat as he gently placed his sculptures in. He straightened up and closed it, setting a time and walked towards Sasori's door and knocked on it. "Danna, un! Pein and Konan said they're taking you out today!" He heard a groan and smirked, feeling slightly sorry that he was forcing Sasori to wake up but Deidara needed the redhead out of the apartment.
"What the hell for?"
"Konan said she wants to make you more social, un!" It was a lie but from what Pein had told Deidara about Konan, it seemed like something she would do. After hearing a sigh and scuffling sounds, Deidara smirked, knowing that Sasori fell for his lie. He walked back into the kitchen and hopped on the counter, watching as Sasori came out of his room with a shirt on and rubbing his eyes sleepily.
"I hate my friends," Sasori muttered and walked over to the refrigerator. He yanked it open and surveyed it for a couple of moments before taking out an apple and a carton of milk. Before Deidara could open his mouth and utter a single word, Sasori twisted the cap off of the carton smoothly and lifted it up to his lips and began to drink out of it.
"Danna, does it matter to you that I did the exact same thing earlier this morning, un?"
"Do you have herpes?"
"…No, un."
"Then I don't give a crap."
Deidara laughed slightly as Sasori recapped the milk and shoved it back into the refrigerator as he began to noisily munch on his apple. As he wandered over to the couch and opened the newspaper that Deidara had retrieved from the door, the blonde crossed his arms and watched his roommate with interest. "So danna, un. Where is the fine line between respecting your privacy and touching your stuff, un?"
"Anything in a drawer or locked away is off limits. Anything in the open, you can use," Sasori answered immediately as his eyes skimmed over the news and he flipped the page, "All I ask is that you don't sift through my belongings. If they are in clear sight, I have no problem with you seeing it. If not, then they are meant to be private."
"So I can't touch what I can't see, un?"
"Precisely."
"So if I had x-ray vision, I could touch everything, un?"
Sasori blinked and turned around, smirking at Deidara's grin. The stupidity of the comment almost resulted in a denunciation, but the playful smile on his roommate's face dissipated that anger. He sighed, the smirk still present, wondering how he could be so intelligent (he walked in on Deidara sleep talking about quantum physics once) yet so childish and naïve seeming at the same time. He was an enigma; a blonde, loud, reckless, annoying, blunt and oxymoronic enigma, which made him even more enigmatic.
"Yes, brat. That's if you had x-ray vision."
"You know, danna, I have a theory about x-ray vision, un…"
Sasori smirked as Deidara launched into a lecture about how he had put much thought into x-ray vision and how it would be attainable for an average human being. This was a classic example of the oxymoronic enigma that he was: the topic he was talking about was so moronic (humans with x-ray vision?) but the science and logic he had behind it all seemed possible and the scientific facts were definitely accurate.
"So with that, I propose we can fly like Superman too, un, if we decrease our bone densities…"
Rolling his eyes, Sasori continued eating his apple as Deidara continued to babble on. His eyes skimmed over the newspaper; years of burying himself in books had caused him to develop a near photographic memory. Compared to complex cases, a newspaper article was a piece of cake to memorize. He had successfully tuned out Deidara; as the blonde stomped around the apartment, waving his hands and explaining his theory and how he thought if he put enough effort into it he could get a Nobel Prize, Sasori appeared to be reading the newspaper until the doorbell rang.
"Oh, that must be Pein, un," Deidara stopped mid-sentence and walked over to the door, hopping over the garbage he left lying around on the floor (much to Sasori's annoyance). Unlocking the deadlock, he twisted the door knob and grinned as Pein and Konan walked in, the blue haired woman smiling brightly and waving at Sasori.
"Now danna, please get out of your own apartment, un."
Sasori looked up and growled. He knew better than to try to argue with Deidara when he had such resolve; it would only prolong this ordeal and probably end up with a bloody nose again. He sighed and stood up, grabbing his coat as he headed towards the doorway to join Pein and Konan when Deidara's voice rang out and stopped him.
"Danna, un?"
"What, you brat?" he turned around in irritation, blinking as a pair of his pants hit him straight in the face. He held it in his hands and looked up at him, raising an eyebrow.
"I've walked around outside in my boxers only, un. Not a very fun experience," Deidara answered and held up a hand as Sasori realized his current state of clothing and pulled the pants on, scowling as he then proceeded to pull on his coat. He glared at Deidara again before turning around and stomping out of the apartment. Konan followed him and Pein paused by the door, looking at Deidara and smirking.
"I feel sympathetic."
"Yeah, danna is a pain to deal with but I'm getting used to it, un."
"I meant pity for Sasori."
Pein chuckled as he closed the door just as he heard something crash against the door and waved off Konan's questioning look as she heard "YOU BASTARD" being yelled, the sound muffled by the door. Sasori sighed as he looked at the door.
"There goes another mug. Damn."
-X-x-X-
"And why am I with you?"
"I tried to go gambling yesterday but that bastard fucking left me to buy a present for that midget like he's his bitch now or something!" Hidan fumed as he stomped around the casino, eyes glancing at tables. Kakuzu sighed and followed behind his "friend" quietly; he knew better than to provoke Hidan even more when angry. And that was why when Hidan showed up at his apartment this morning, he immediately grabbed a coat and left with him. Arguing with Hidan when he was drunk or angry often resulted in a bloody fist fight and Kakuzu was in no mood to pay an extravagantly large hospital bill.
As Kakuzu was tuning out Hidan's ranting, he had discovered that Hidan had led them into a casino. Aside from the sight of the dimly lit, large room and people crowding around tables and machines, the sounds tipped him off. Sounds of chips clinking against each other, of cheers, of agonized cries, and of drunken people slurring their speech. Kakuzu hated the casino; it was where money slipped between one's fingers too easily and humanity's stupidity was taken advantage by greed.
"Really, Deidara didn't want to go gambling?" Kakuzu looked at Hidan with interest. Besides Hidan, Deidara was the biggest gambler he knew; he had the ability to be incredibly intelligent and save his money, but occasionally (with some prodding from Hidan) he would go to the casino and blow whatever he had. To hear that Hidan and Deidara were together and Deidara decided to not go gambling was a big surprise. Within him he felt a swell of pride. I'm finally rubbing off on one of these chunks of wood.
"Had to buy a present for his damn danna," Hidan said that last word in a high pitched voice and Kakuzu couldn't help but chuckle. Deidara's voice definitely was not high; anyone that mistook him for a girl realized their mistake when they heard him talk, if the lack of a feminine body didn't already give it away. "Like, what the actual fuck?"
Kakuzu smirked as Hidan paused by a poker table and watched the cards being dealt. Kakuzu got ready to stand by and watch as Hidan gambled away half of his life savings, but to his great surprise, the silver haired man sighed and walked off towards the bar without another glance. Kakuzu froze to the spot before regaining sense in his legs and following him
"…Hidan, this is where you go to gamble."
"Shut the fuck up, smartass! I know that!"
"Well, you aren't gambling," Kakuzu stated bluntly as Hidan slid into one of the booths and beckoned a waitress with a raised hand. Kakuzu slid in across from them, thankful that Hidan at least had standards for the casinos he chose. Deidara would choose the rattiest one where it was easiest to outsmart the workers and, as a result, Kakuzu dealt with many booths sticky with alcohol and, he shuddered, vomit.
The booth was a dark, mahogany wood with dark green, leather booths. Luckily there were no tacky flowers on the table; only a menu, salt and pepper (for alcohol?), and small packets of sugar. His eyes scanned the menu just before the waitress arrived, smiling charmingly at the two and being painfully obvious in flaunting her rather fake assets. "What can I get you two today?" The voice was sugary sweet and high pitched, causing Kakuzu to cringe.
"Two martinis," Hidan said immediately before Kakuzu could open his mouth. When the waitress realized he wasn't going to flirt with her, the expression on her face fell and she scribbled the order down and walked off. Kakuzu's gaze moved to Hidan with an eyebrow raised.
"I only want water."
"Chill out, asshole. I'm paying for it," as the waitress returned and placed their drinks in front of them, Hidan picked his up and took a sip, avoiding Kakuzu's wide eyes.
"…You're treating me?"
"Yeah. Got a fucking problem with that?" Hidan glanced at Kakuzu and looked away again. Despite the dark lighting, he could see the faintest of blushes taint the pale skin. Kakuzu blinked before it registered in his mind and he smirked slightly.
"Do you…" the thought was so foreign to Kakuzu but he had to ask it and if it were true, he would love to torture Hidan with it, "…like me?"
"W-what? Fuck no! Are you high on shrooms, dipshit?" Hidan sputtered immediately, flushing even darker and coughing, pounding on his chest. His eyes darted around and glared harshly at the smirking and amused looking Kakuzu. "Fuck no! It's to… thank you for…"
"For…?" Kakuzu prompted; he was thoroughly enjoying this. For some unexplainable reason, he was feeling quite happy, but he brushed the feeling off as being happy that Hidan was suffering. For as long as he had known Hidan, his favorite part about hanging out with him was watching the moron make an idiot of himself. He would have to end up bailing him out of jail but in retrospect, the feeling of amusement was always worth it.
"…You tried to take care of me when I fucked up," Hidan muttered quietly and finished his martini with a final gulp and coughed. His magenta eyes flicked up at Kakuzu and saw the usually stoic man shaking with silent laughter. "What the fuck are you laughing at?"
"Nothing," Kakuzu answered, a smirk still present on his face. He played with the stem of the glass of his drink and absentmindedly pulled his phone out to check it, a habit he developed to effectively ease an awkward situation. As he pressed a random key, he blinked and saw he had a new message from last night. He raised an eyebrow and opened it. Funny, I never miss a text message…
"Who the fuck is that from?"
"What's this? You're jealous I'm paying attention to someone else?"
"Shut up, dickwad!"
Kakuzu's dark eyes glanced up and he smirked at Hidan's annoyed glare. He leisurely pocketed his phone and played for time as he took an agonizingly slow sip. He could feel Hidan's very little patience wittle away with each drop of alcohol and Kakuzu's smirk widened. "Konan is planning to have everyone get together for a birthday dinner for Sasori together."
"It took you that fucking long to tell me?"
"So you are jealous."
Kakuzu smirked at his victory as he watched Hidan deflate slightly and scowl. His eyes darted around anxiously and he stood up, motioning for Kakuzu to stand up as well. When the magenta eyes landed on his dark haired friend, his response was a questioning look. "Where are you going?"
"That bastard's going to be expecting some kind of a present, isn't he?" Hidan said and Kakuzu sighed as the silver haired man left a few bills on the table and walked out of the casino. The bright lights pierced his eyes as they exited the dimly lit building and Kakuzu absentmindedly followed Hidan wherever he was going. In fact, he was surprised he was still following Hidan; usually he would go home after they left wherever they had met.
Before Hidan had rudely barged into his apartment (he could not remember when and why he gave Hidan a key), he had received a chilling text from Pein, asking if he "had fun" the day before. When he texted back a snappy answer of "of course not; do you want to take care of the drunken moron?" Pein immediately texted back "I wouldn't, but I'm positive you would." The conversation ended there and left Kakuzu in a stupor; just exactly what did Pein mean? Pein, of all should people, should understand Kakuzu's agitation with Hidan. The only reason he showed more leniency towards some of the things towards Hidan did was because he was annoying. But then Pein would ask why he was still walking around with Hidan and he would have to come up with a response, and Kakuzu realized he had none. He reassured himself that it was because it would be rude to leave Hidan after he let him buy him a drink and nothing else; after all, for what other possible reason would Kakuzu follow Hidan?
Because, as usual, following Hidan proved to be an absolutely horrible idea.
"Hidan…"
"Come on, Kakuzu! Don't be such a prude!" Hidan turned around and grinned as he headed towards the entrance, "I bet that guy's fucked a whole bunch of people! Have you seen that kid's face?"
"Hidan, can you at least try to be a bit more tactful when talking?"
"Do I have to fucking drag you into the damn store?" Hidan turned around and huffed, holding the door open with his foot and crossing his arms as he glared at Kakuzu. "Deidara's a guy and looks like a girl; it's two for fucking one for him!"
"How do you even know what his sexual orientation is?"
"Trust me, I can tell. Now get your ass in here."
"No." Kakuzu looked up at the store and grimaced; he was a respectable man in society. He was mature; he would not be caught dead in a place like this. It would be degrading if any of his colleagues saw him here (but he supposed it could go the other way, for his colleagues would also be at this particular location.) But he had to admit, he was glad Hidan was back to his brash self; it was almost boring when he was being awkward and quiet. "Why can't you actually be nice and buy him… wood or something? He's into puppets, Konan mentioned in her text if we wanted to bring him anything."
"Hm? Well, that's rather kinky, I suppose…" Hidan paused and stroked his chin thoughtfully, "I don't know if Deidara's up for that…"
"Hidan. There is an art store about three blocks away from here, why can't we just go there?" Kakuzu growled, feeling his reputation chip down slowly as more and more people passed by and glanced at the two curiously. Though a day off, Kakuzu still dressed formally in dress pants and a crisp white shirt; not the best attire to be in and to be standing in front of this atrocity of a store.
"Kakuzu," Hidan mocked and smirked, "You are coming into this store. Right fucking now."
"No."
"You remember when we were kids and your mom dressed you up in that really fucked up—" Hidan didn't even have to finish his sentence when Kakuzu's eyes widened with recognition and he growled, stomping in past his grinning friend.
"Fuck you, Hidan."
"I bet you'd really want to."
-X-x-X-
"Is there any particular reason why I'm forced to go out with you two love birds today?"
"As much reason as why you're dragging us into an art store."
Sasori paused in front of the store and looked behind him, smirking at Pein and his response. "Touché. You're one of the more intelligent people I've met," he said and opened the door. Behind him, Pein reached out and held the door open for Konan who grinned at him and walked in after Sasori, looking around with huge eyes.
"I never really realized how spacious this place is…" she noted and kept walking, ending up bumping into Sasori. Immediately she jumped back and hit Pein, who stared at her with an amused expression. She glared at him lightly as he chuckled and she rubbed her nose from when she walked into Sasori.
"I don't recall you drinking today."
"Oh be quiet, Pein!" she snapped and peered at Sasori who was staring at the bulletin behind the cash register. Her eyes followed his gaze and her attention landed on what had caught his: a large white piece of paper with big, bold print on it that covered some of the achievements of artists usually posted on the bulletin board. STORE CLOSING. 80% OFF MOST MERCHANDISE.
"Oh, hey Sasori and company," Genma looked at the three as he walked up to them from one of the aisles, a roll of stickers held in his hand. As he approached, Konan could see that they were bright red circular stickers and assumed they were to signify that the merchandise would be discounted. She opened her mouth to tell Sasori that this was good news and he could stock up on supplies but when she saw his face, she knew immediately that wouldn't be the best thing to say.
"This place is closing down?" Sasori furrowed his brow and looked around. As far as he was concerned, this place was in good financial standing. Even though he didn't see many people here, the people that he did see usually bought in bulk which he figured should balance out the lack of customers. This store was like a second home and a haven from him; it encompassed everything he loved and wanted but couldn't get because of his other priorities. To have it close down was like having a part of him go away; he would never be able to recreate what he felt here.
"Yeah, business is slowing down and our manager's tired of trying to keep up with rent payments and stuff. So we have one last hurrah before we close down in a couple of months," Genma reached behind the cash register counter and pulled out a pack of pocky, offering it to the other three. They declined and he shrugged and took one out and put it in his mouth, glancing up at Sasori and smiling slightly at his look. "Sorry, man. Can't help it. I'll miss seeing you around though."
"…Are you sure this isn't a temporary decline in profit?" Sasori asked as Genma headed over towards a display of yarn and began sticking the red stickers on the price tag. With each red sticker that was pressed onto a white tag with black print, Sasori cringed.
"Nah. Unless you can buy this place out or something… but you're a law student so you wouldn't even have time to run this place," Genma's eyes flicked up to Sasori and he smirked slightly, "But hey; you can stock up on whatever you need. We just announced this today so a lot of our good stuff is still left. If you see Deidara around can you tell him too? That kid's going to be ecstatic; some of the clay is marked eighty percent off."
"Yeah! You guys can bond now, Sasori!" Konan piped up and tugged at Sasori's sleeve, grinning widely and trying to alleviate the obvious explosion that would happen sooner or later, "Wouldn't that be fun?" She twitched when Sasori turned to her slowly, his brown eyes holding a murderous glint. But she was determined to not back down; if she did, Sasori would retreat into a quiet shell of isolation for a couple of weeks and she refused to let anything interfere with his birthday. He was stubborn but so was she; and as a female, she already knew he would eventually be obligated to let her win.
"Bonding?"
"They're roommates," Pein answered to Genma's confused look and his eyes widened and nodded, smirking slightly. He glanced at Sasori's cold glare to Konan and chuckled.
"They don't get along well, do they?" he laughed when Pein sighed and brought a hand up to his face, "They're both pretty cool people though; I think eventually they'll realize they have quite a bit in common. Deidara can be as calm as Sasori, and Sasori can be as passionate as Deidara is. I just hope nothing blows up before that."
The two watched the exchange between Konan and Sasori (a bright smile versus the death glare) for a few more moments before Genma sighed and reached into his pocket, producing a role of green stickers after he finished tagging the yarn. "I've got more stuff to discount. Have fun browsing and if Deidara can't come by today, tell him I'll hide some of the best clay for him, all right?"
Pein nodded and pulled out his phone as Konan and Sasori began to head towards the aisle that Sasori frequented the most often. He smirked as he scrolled through his contacts before finding his intended one and pressed the phone up to his ear; there was nothing more fun than agitating Deidara, especially about art.
"Make it fast, un," Deidara immediately said when he answered and he sounded irritated to be interrupted from whatever he was doing, "Painting danna's gift is taking a while, un."
"I've got some bad news for you," Pein said nonchalantly and smirked as he heard a groan from the other side of the phone. He ended up in the clay aisle and could see Konan and Sasori talking about the different kinds of wood and how Sasori typically started to make his puppets. He absentmindedly picked up a package of clay and noticed the red sticker on it. Glancing up, he saw a piece of paper that explained how the color of the sticker correlated to a discounted price. Most of the clay was tagged with red, which represented eighty percent off.
"…Don't tell me you lost sight of danna and he's coming back in five minutes, un. Shit, I'm nowhere near done… Damnit, I thought you were smart, un!"
"I am," Pein answered easily; he was used to Deidara's outbursts. He never meant badly, he just lost the part in his brain that registered tact whenever he was under stress and thought things were taking a turn for the worse. "But you know the art store you're in love with? It's closing down."
A silence. Then a screech.
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, UN?"
Pein sensed that Konan and Sasori were looking at them and he held up a hand, as if to tell them to not worry. He heard Sasori scoff something that sounded like "he's overreacting…" to which Konan replied "and you were completely calm, right?" which effectively shut him up and they returned to discussing what kind of wood was the easiest to work with for beginners. Pein assumed that Konan had made up a new found interest in puppets as to distract Sasori, which was the mission Deidara had assigned them.
"If you're messing with me right now, Pein, I will kill you, I swear, un!" Deidara continued ranting over the phone and Pein couldn't help but smirk as he continued to look at the clay that Deidara worshipped, "This is a sick joke, even for you! You've sunk to an all new level, un! You've been hanging out with Hidan way too much, you know!"
"I'm not joking," Pein chuckled and he could almost see Deidara's face turn red with anger, "It really is. Sasori dragged us here and we talked to the guy with the bandana. Business is bad so they're closing down."
"How the hell is business bad, un? Have you seen danna's work room? He's got a month's supply of what that place gets, un!"
"Won't help if Sasori is their only customer."
"I can't help that I'm dirt poor, un!"
Pein chuckled as he heard Deidara mutter curses on his breath and walk around, kicking whatever happened to be in his way. It was silent for a few minutes and Pein sensed the depression looming over him; he knew Deidara half lived in the art store and to lose it was hard for him. It was one of the places where he would go to to remember just why he made the choices he did; a decision that would otherwise see sudden and rash would always be defended when he came here and became engulfed in the atmosphere. "There's one good thing."
"What, un?" he was sulking, Pein realized, and he had to bit his tongue to not laugh.
"All the clay is like eighty percent off."
"…Get two of every kind and I'll pay you back, un." With a click, Deidara was gone and Pein smirked. This didn't mean he was over the initial shock; all it meant was that Deidara would deal with it later and reap any benefits of it now. His violet (he always had to assure people that they were natural and not contacts) eyes scanned the vicinity and he spotted a black cart nearby. He walked over to retrieve it and parked it near the clay display and began pulling two packs of every kind with a red sticker on it, placing it carefully in the cart because he noticed some of them were extremely malleable.
"Sasori likes wood."
"…That… that sounds kind of wrong, Itachi…"
Pein looked up and raised an eyebrow when he saw Kisame and Itachi standing a few yards away, looking at the scalpels and different kinds of wire in confusion. He straightened up and crossed his arms, smirking as he watched them looking for something that Sasori would appreciate, letting them be confused before enlightening them with wisdom. "This is the aisle for sculpting, you know. Sasori and Konan are in the aisle you're looking for."
The two finally seemed to notice Pein standing there and Kisame was the first to react, grinning and holding up a hand in a greeting. "Hey. You shopping for Sasori too?"
"I was told to keep Sasori busy because Deidara's working on his gift at the apartment," Pein answered and gave a curt nod to Itachi to greet him, "I have to say, buying a puppet maker more supplies for his craft isn't the most creative idea."
"It's the thought that counts. What's with all the clay?" he glanced at the cart half full with clay and frowned, looking at Pein, "Unless clay has some kind of a use for puppetry…?"
Pein laughed slightly, shaking his head. "The store's closing down so a lot of the items are on clearance. I told Deidara of the news and he instructed I buy him clay and he'll pay me back later. I must also deeply apologize to you," he added and turned to Kisame and bowed his head slightly, "My humblest apologies."
"…Wh—" Kisame's question was cut short when he felt a small but strong force tackle him, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to fall to the floor. "—at the hell, Konan?" he gasped out as Pein laughed and picked his girlfriend up by tugging at her arm. Sasori sauntered up behind her and smirked at Itachi and Kisame.
"Kisame! You're with Itachi!" Konan clapped her hands together, her lips spreading into a wide grin. "Together!" Sasori glanced at her and saw her grey eyes dart happily between them and smirked, looking at Pein.
"Is that what your apology is for?" he had heard Pein talk about apologizing just before Konan tackled Kisame and, after a few moments, he figured it out too. He wasn't surprised Pein had figured out Kisame's feelings for Itachi; it didn't take Sasori that long either.
"Unfortunately," Pein sighed as Konan reached out and grabbed the wrists of the other two and dragged them down the aisle she was just in with Sasori. She looked so ecstatic Sasori or Pein didn't have the heart to rain on her parade and tell her whatever she had in mind wouldn't work because of Itachi's incredible denseness (it was amazing how oblivious the prodigy could be) and Kisame's awkward stubbornness (which could successfully get him out of just about anything.)
"You guys should get Sasori something! Together! Because together you two can pool your brains together and come up with a really nice gift because you two work really well together, right?" they heard Konan distantly chatter away as she waved her arms energetically, gesturing towards the wall of puppet materials and then back towards them. The two looked extremely confused but played along, giving Konan falsely bright smiles and nods as if agreeing with her, which made her even happier. It was one thing they had learned from Pein: always keep Konan happy.
"It's painfully obvious."
"It is," Pein smirked and turned around, resuming to his previous activity. He had gotten about halfway down the display and wondered if Deidara would have enough to pay him back when Sasori interrupted him.
"Did the brat make you take me out today?"
Pein glanced at him in surprise when Sasori bent down next to him and began to pick out clay too. The orange haired man smirked; nothing escaped him, a few minutes of observing and logic, Sasori figured out just what he was doing. "Yeah. Said we had to keep you occupied."
"Pein, please control your girlfriend. She is acting rather peculiar today," Itachi had wandered up to the two of them sometime during their conversation, glancing over his shoulder slightly at Kisame who he had left there and then at Sasori. "Have you been able to contact Zetsu? Konan's planning you a dinner and has assigned me the task of reaching him but I haven't had any success yet."
Sasori shrugged. "We can contact him tomorrow then. Zetsu doesn't do much except stare at seeds anyway." He sighed and looked down the aisle, where Konan had Kisame backed up into a display and seemed to be questioning him mercilessly. The taller man looked around desperately for help but he was trapped by a girl that was at least seven inches shorter than he was. "How long are you keeping me out?"
Pein, realizing the question was directed towards him, glanced at his phone to check the time and saw it was still early. "Six more hours at least."
"And there's no chance of me sneaking back early?"
"Smart man you are."
Sasori sighed but smirked slightly; he was resigned to his fate of being dragged around for the next six hours. It wasn't his typical birthday but he had to admit it was nice to have a change for once; he wasn't holed up in his room until the time that Konan dictated for him to show up arrived. He hadn't touched any of his homework all day and it felt surprisingly refreshing. He pushed the thought of doing it out of his head as Konan returned and said they would all go to a nearby carnival (Sasori couldn't believe there was a carnival open in November) and followed them to the cash register, where they all began to help Pein lug all the clay onto the conveyer belt.
"Firehead."
"Stapler accident?" Sasori glanced at Pein, answering without a second to spare. Pein blinked and laughed at the nickname as he pulled out his credit card; the other three had gone out to the car already to drive it up to the entrance.
"About Deidara…" he paused as he handed his credit card over and glanced at Sasori, "He's unpredictable. Just… try to go along with it."
Sasori remained quiet as the transaction was finished and as the two loaded the clay into the cart and pushed it outside, waiting for the car. As the words rang in his head, images of the past few weeks with Deidara flashed through his head; everything from the Ino incident to the soy sauce in spaghetti. He chuckled quietly to himself, earning him a curious look from Pein. The shorter man looked up, smirking.
"You think I didn't know that already?"
-X-x-X-
When Sasori returned to his apartment about six hours later (the carnival turned out to be a fake and they spent the rest of the time trying to cheer up Konan), he was expecting dinner already made and the blonde mess to greet him. Instead, the kitchen table was empty, the stoves were off, and a pillow hit him square in the face. As he pulled it off and kicked off his shoes, he glared at Deidara, leaning against the couch with pillows and blankets piled on it. When he saw the grin, Pein's last words rang in his head.
"He's unpredictable. Just… try to go along with it."
"Let's build a pillow fort, un."
"…Why haven't I kicked you out yet?"
-X-x-X-
"Danna, I say this with respect, but you suck at this, un."
Sasori's eyes flicked up in annoyance and he chucked a pillow at Deidara, smirking when he heard the other grunt from the impact. He glanced around him and pushed the coffee table out of the way slightly to make more room before picking up a blanket and unfolding it. After Deidara's proclamation of a pillow fort, the two had set to work to create a space in the living room. The three couches were pushed apart; two were right across from each other and the third was to the side, right across from the coffee table which would act as the fourth "wall" for their fort. There was a corner between the coffee table and out of the couches to enter and exit since the table was shorter than the opposite couch and Sasori's OCD dictated right angles.
Deidara had taken the liberty of scouring the apartment for every single pillow and blanket that Sasori owned. Sasori was pleased that some of the blankets in his drawers were untouched, indicating that Deidara had taken his words to heart. As a reward, Sasori pulled them out, and the two with their combined pillows and blankets had six blankets and about two dozen pillows; Deidara, Sasori discovered, had something bordering a pillow fetish. But it didn't matter; all the pillows would be nice and soft.
Since Sasori had no experience with this, Deidara took charge. He took the two largest thin blankets and spread them over their space for the "roof". The good news was that the blankets were bigger than the area so they didn't have to be stretched; the bad news was that it was way too low and Deidara and Sasori did not want to spend the entire night on their elbows in their fort. And thus they were now in a predicament of trying to make the fort higher without putting a pole in the middle because that would just be annoying to navigate around.
"Danna, can I put one of your stools on the table, un?"
"…If you're positive it won't fall on me and give me a concussion."
Deidara grinned cheekily and stood up and wandered into the study room, where Sasori had a couple of stools in the corner back when he had time to work on his puppets. When he returned, he put it in the center of the coffee table and picked up a few of Sasori's old law books and stacked them around the stool until only half of the legs were visible, trapping the stool so it wouldn't tip over at some point during the night. Sasori blinked in shock; a pile of law books that high sat in his backpack on an almost daily basis?
"Okay, un. Let's try again," Deidara nodded in satisfaction and picked up an edge of the blanket and walked around the coffee table so he was on the other side while Sasori took the other edge and walked it to the other side of the opposing couch. Once it was draped, they each attached a weight to the edge of the blanket (Sasori's idea as to not have to keep redraping the blankets throughout the night when they fell) and the same thing was repeated with the other blanket since while vertically the stretch was more than enough they were not wide enough horizontally. Once that was completed without too much difficulty or tugging, they joined together again under the canopy of blankets. Two of the comforters were already laid down so they wouldn't be sleeping on the carpet and the other two were still folded in a corner. Pillows were scattered everywhere; Sasori couldn't move an inch without coming into contact with one. They sat in silence until Sasori spoke bluntly.
"…Is this it?"
"Now you can say you built a pillow fort, un! You can now die happy."
"Thank you for helping me to fulfill my life," Sasori glanced at Deidara who beamed back at him. He pulled out his phone and glanced at it and his eyes widened, seeing it was already 10:30; apparently, pillow fort building made the time fly. "…So we just sit in this thing for the rest of the night?"
When he received no response, he looked up curiously. It was not like Deidara to not answer him. To his surprise, Deidara was not there, but he heard the blonde mumble and after a few moments, the door closed and he reappeared in the fort, holding three boxes of pizza. Sasori raised an eyebrow as two of the boxes went on the table behind Deidara and he opened the other one, tucking the top beneath and taking a piece, looking at Sasori expectantly.
"Pizza?" he took a slice and was surprised at how unoily it was; he was expecting oily to drip from it and get all over his hands and make a huge mess but it didn't and he was thankful for that. He took a bite and blinked; he hadn't realized how hungry he was until he bit into the pizza and discovered it was the most delicious thing he had ever eaten. His stomach growled and he flushed slightly at Deidara's laugh and glared in response.
"Didn't feel like cooking, un. I was busy all day, you know," Deidara answered and leaned against the coffee table nonchalantly.
"And where is this present that casted me out of my own home?" Sasori's eyes darted around the fort, as if expecting something to pop out out of nowhere. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, his brown eyes landed on Deidara and he smirked suddenly. "Don't tell me you're giving yourself to me. Sorry, but no thanks."
Deidara threw a pillow at Sasori and was pleased it hit him right in the face as he smirked. "You'll have to wait until midnight, un. Because technically it isn't even your birthday."
"So why are you keeping me here?" Sasori blinked, frowning, "I have a lot of stuff I could be working on and…"
"That's exactly why," Deidara picked up another piece of pizza, glancing up at Sasori's surprised expression, "Because as long as I've been here, you work all day and all night, un. You barely stop to eat. It's the night before your birthday and I'm not going to let you work yourself, un. Relax, danna, un. You're turning twenty five."
"Twenty five isn't an important number."
"Shut up; don't nitpick what I say, un."
Sasori laughed, to Deidara's surprise, and relaxed against the couch, smirking slightly. School did seem to command almost his waking hour and he was grateful that Deidara forced him to take a break because Sasori, by himself, never would have; he would have kept working until he collapsed from exhaustion. To him, a birthday meant nothing except more communication between himself and a few other people. He almost forgot that people would celebrate this day.
Happy birthday, Sasori!
He blinked, a soft voice echoing in his head. He closed his eyes and pushed it away; he was actually enjoying himself even if it was with Deidara and he did not want to let dead voices ruin it for him.
"Danna, are you all right, un?"
Sasori's eyes opened immediately and they focused on Deidara, who was staring at him oddly with a half finished slice of pizza in his hand. He suddenly felt guilty for zoning out on Deidara, who seemed to have put quite a bit of thought into doing this for him. Sasori was not one to feel guilty but he would recognize work and knew to appreciate it because he of all people knew what it was like to be underappreciated. He smirked slightly and reached for another slice. "Yeah, just tired."
Deidara raised an eyebrow but let the issue slide, knowing to not press Sasori for any details. "So is this how you usually celebrate your birthdays, un?"
"With a pillow fort? Not exactly," he smirked at Deidara's glare, "Konan usually comes up with some kind of plan. Before I met them, I usually forgot it was my birthday after my parents died. It's just another day, after all."
"That's depressing," Deidara muttered bluntly and Sasori looked at him with surprise. The blonde took his time finishing his pizza before answering the questioning look in the brown eyes and dabbed a napkin to his mouth before speaking. "You need one day a year for exceptions, un. Even when I was barely surviving, I'd always save up just enough money so I could buy some clay on my birthday or something. Even the smallest of celebrations counts because, well, you were born on this day, un. Without this day, you wouldn't be alive."
Sasori let the words sink in for a few moments and blinked, chuckling slightly. "That's such an optimistic view; I'm surprise you've managed to maintain it even while living off of rat poison."
"I did not live off of rat poison, un."
The redhead smirked at Deidara's offended look and he sighed again. "I've been told I have to be happier," he wasn't sure why he was talking so openly about his past with Deidara; his childhood was a topic he tended to avoid with others. Maybe it was the "fort", the pizza, or maybe just the fact that someone he barely knew put in such an effort for a day he seldom remembered; whatever the reason was, he felt like telling Deidara everything he didn't share with anyone else, like getting a weight off of his chest, "But just being told to be happier doesn't make you happy. You lose your parents at the age of five and the only other living relative you have lies to you about them and you have to find out by yourself by finding their death certificates; you don't just bounce back from that like nothing happened."
"Well, danna, if it consoles you at all, I don't think you're too messed up, un."
"You sure know what to say, brat," Sasori answered dryly and reached over for a bottle of water and saw Deidara's phone beside him and he suddenly remembered Ino. "Has she called?"
"Hm?"
"Ino."
"Oh," Deidara glanced at his phone and grimaced, "No, un. She'll call eventually though… I just need to wait for it, un. She's gotten mad at me before too; she always apologizes eventually. Familial ties don't just sever like this," Deidara grinned brightly and Sasori smirked in response, feeling relieved that he didn't rip the two apart like he thought he had.
"She's that important to you, hm?"
Deidara nodded vigorously and suddenly his eyes had a far off, distant look to them. "She's always looked up to me, you know? Even those days when I was living on a mattress in a crappy apartment, I'd always remember how she still looks up to me and that would motivate me, un. I didn't mean to lie to her; I just didn't want to lose the person that still believed in me and didn't think of me as a fuck up," he paused and laughed slightly, "Because as long as I have someone that believes in me, I can still move forward, un. I was going to tell her the truth eventually, maybe at my first art show, which I'd dedicate to her and our dead parents, un. Lessen the blow and still have her look up to me. Oh, and here," Deidara's eyes became clear again as he threw a bottle of beer at Sasori.
The redhead blinked and stared at it for a few moments before smirking. He bottled his water and put it off to the side and opened the beer; it was a Saturday night and he was going to actually act like a college student for once. Besides, he figured he wouldn't get drunk off of one beer; his alcohol tolerance was much higher than that. "I don't think you're a fuck up," he said simply and took a sip, raising an eyebrow at Deidara when he heard the blonde sputter and cough violently.
"…Are you serious? This, this is coming from Akasuna Sasori, the genius lawyer-to-be, un?" Deidara asked, still pounding at his chest, grinning at Sasori's scowl, "I'm flattered, un."
"You chose to follow your passion," Sasori answered calmly, avoiding eye contact with Deidara, "That's not stupidity. That's courage and determination. That makes you braver than eighty percent of the graduate students I see on a daily basis. I bet only twenty percent have pursued schooling because it's what they truly love; the other eighty do it because of parents or the desire for a secure future."
"Oh, that reminds me!" Deidara had been listening quietly up until this point as he reached under the table and produced a hastily wrapped item. He picked up his phone and checked it, staring at it until Sasori rudely broke the silence.
"Did you forget how to tell time or something?"
"I'm waiting, un!" Deidara replied indignantly. Sasori rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, pretending he wasn't occasionally glancing at the wrapped item every so often. He was curious, he had to admit, and waiting was never his strong point. It was deathly silence for what felt like forever; Sasori was just about to snap at Deidara for being such an idiot when the contraption in Deidara's hand went off, filling the entire apartment with beeps, causing Sasori to jump in surprise.
"What the hell is that?"
"What I wake up to every morning, un," Deidara grinned and held the gift out towards Sasori; the newspaper was slipping slightly and Sasori caught sight of something mounted on a black board. He reached out and took it into his own hands, letting the newspaper fall away, revealing what was under it.
"What's this?" Sasori asked, looking at the item in his hands. It was a sculpture of him (he assumed, by the red hair) as a marionette doll, the strings and control bar suspended above him in mid air and a desk with papers and textbooks scattered on and around messily mounted on a black piece of wood. He had to admit, the finesse was incredible; he could see writing on some of the papers. If they actually said something, he didn't know, but he did know that they weren't simple scribbles. There were details on the textbooks, some of them almost looking exactly like the ones he lugged around all day. The strings were made of a metal wire he recognized as his own but he didn't feel any surge of annoyance since he did tell Deidara anything left out in the open could be used. And the sculpture of himself was so detailed he was afraid to touch it; every last wrinkle in his clothing, every last shade of color was done with such precision. He was surprised Deidara had the patience to do this and managed to finish this in two days; he was incredibly impressed. "…I'm a puppet?"
"Hey, you're smiling, un."
Sasori looked up at Deidara and he realized that he did indeed let a genuine smile tug at his lips. He smiled so rarely; he usually smirked. Deidara seemed extremely proud, taking his smile as the indication that he truly liked the gift. "It's the first time, un. Up until now, you've been giving me snobby looks and smirks the entire time," he paused and grinned. "And yeah, un. You're a puppet; controlled by all that law stuff, " he added nonchalantly and grabbed a nearby pillow to hug to his chest.
"What do you mean?" he looked up in surprise. He was fairly sure he never confided in Deidara how he felt about law school and he didn't think he openly showed his irritation enough for the blonde to make up that conjecture.
"You hate it, un. I can tell," Deidara answered as he decided to lie down instead and folded his hands behind his head against the crisp, white pillow, "I can tell because I was almost in that position, un. Law school isn't something you want, danna, like you were saying early about the twenty and eighty percent. What you want is to do your art but you can't because you feel this insane amount of pressure to be absolutely perfect, un. So that's why I made you a puppet; you're controlled by someone or something that I don't know of to do law."
Though he would never admit it, what Deidara just said hit the nail right on the head for Sasori. He was indeed forced by someone to practice law and he did feel that pressure to continue to do well and exceed expectations. If it were up to him, he wouldn't even be wasting his time in school. And if he did, it would be in art school, doing what he loved and not what someone else wanted for him.
"I have to admit, brat," Sasori looked at the sculpture with a raised eyebrow, "I am pretty impressed by the finesse of your work. I suppose you do have some talent mixed in with that naivety in your head."
"…Thanks for the backhanded compliment, un," Deidara glared lightly, but relaxed into a grin when Sasori laughed quietly. Deidara smiled slightly in response. "Again, un."
"Again what?"
"You're genuinely smiling, un," Deidara grinned, "I rarely see you smile, un. It's like law school's sucking out all your energy and all you have left with is a bitter hatred towards the rest of the world. Perfection comes at a price, hm?"
Sasori glanced up, smirking slightly. He supposed what Deidara said was true; law school was so tedious and energy consuming that he did find he was smiling less and less. He would be amused often but very rarely would he be actually happy. It was like all day he was being drowned with expectations and work; he just didn't have time to relax and be happy anymore. But what Deidara said about perfection definitely wasn't true; he was not perfect. "I'm not perfect. No one is. People can conjure up an image of you and make you seem perfect, but everyone has flaws that are unseen. People think all it takes to be perfect is smarts and a good work ethic," he paused and looked down at the marionette of him, smiling softly, "It's not perfection if you're completely miserable."
"So why don't you quit, un?"
The redhead frowned and looked up as he gave Deidara a tired, bored look. Deidara, he supposed, did have the credibility to say that, because that's what he did. But Sasori didn't have the courage to do that, something Deidara probably didn't understand. "I don't have a passion to just pick up if I drop out of law school, you moron."
Deidara gestured towards the strewn puppet parts shoved hastily into a corner as he lifted a corner of their canopy for a moment. "Puppets, un. You're good, un. I gave up med school for sculpting. You can give up law school for puppetry."
"It's not that easy."
"I know it isn't, un. Why do you torture yourself with living someone else's dream then?"
Sasori's mouth opened but he found he had no words, something rare for a lawyer-in-training. He scoffed and looked away. He had reasons for pushing himself through law school and dealing with his bitch of a grandmother (he was surprised she managed to find his grandfather to marry), but they were things that even his closest friends didn't know. Truthfully, even Sasori hadn't realized them until quite recently. He did just open himself up to Deidara more than he had to most other people, but he had no intentions of opening himself up even more.
"It's not that easy," he repeated again, in a soft but stern voice. "I'd need a good reason to quit."
"Your happiness isn't enough, un?" Deidara drawled lazily with a smirk as he picked up another piece of pizza, now slightly cold, "There's nothing more important than your happiness, un. Life's fleeting; you have to make the best of it while it lasts, un."
Sasori smirked at his immaturity. True, life was indeed fleeting in the grand scheme of things. However, from a person's view, life was the longest thing he had to deal with. To a person, life was eternity. He couldn't believe how Deidara would think it was fleeting. What did he think he was, God? He could appreciate Deidara as a roommate, maybe eventually even like him. But he swore he would never understand him.
"You know how I said everyone has flaws?" Sasori asked simply and motioned for Deidara to bring down one of the other boxes. The blonde obliged and Sasori opened it, taking a piece, glancing up at Deidara.
"Yeah, un."
He leaned back and took a bite, smirking again. "You have more than most."
"…You asshole, un."
Author's Notes: I'M DONE. IT'S DONE. IT'S FINALLY DONE. Oh my God I thought I was never going to get through this chapter. And I realize I forgot the existence of Zetsu and Tobi, but they will be in the next chapter. As well as Ino and Sakura (briefly). I feel like some parts were rushed but I hope it wasn't… too rushed?
Thank you for reading, please review!