Well, it's been a while. I must apologise for the extended absence - my post-graduate thesis is on a bitch of a topic and has taken over my life. Anyhoo, I wrote this while watching Eurovision.

Disclaimer: Carpe Diem.

Sasori climbed into Temari's sleek Porsche Boxster and took a final look at the map Deidara had scrawled for him earlier and signed with a kiss. The house was, inevitably, in the most expensive district. Long private driveways led to large, sprawling homes shielded from each other by tall trees creating the illusion of seclusion. The dusky light made it harder to see and Sasori almost missed the turn off to Deidara's driveway. He was a little perplexed to see a Lamborghini wrapped round a tree.

It was a few hundred yards before Deidara's hilltop house came into view; a sprawling modernist masterpiece made up of white walls and expanses of tinted glass that had been designed by one of Fire Country's leading architects two decades earlier. Sasori parked next to Deidara's Bugatti in front of the house. The whole of the front wall was constructed of massive glass panes of the kind that would allow the occupants to see outside perfectly while anyone lurking outside would not be able to see inside. It took Sasori a few moments to locate the entrance. He had less luck trying to find the doorbell and was about to knock loudly when it suddenly swung open.

"I've been waiting by the door for the last twenty-five minutes," the blond grinned. He pulled Sasori through the door and into a welcoming kiss. "You look amazing."

"You have Temari to thank for that," Sasori laughed.

"Well, I wasn't gonna say anything…but it's kind of obvious," Deidara winked, taking Sasori's hand. He led the redhead through to the living space, "Have a seat. Red wine?"

"Please," Sasori glanced around the room, slightly awed by the sheer size and openness of the place. "Wow…" he noticed the glass ceiling; the bright stars clearly visible now that he was in the hills.

"That's pretty much the only reason I bought this place," Deidara set two large glasses of merlot on the coffee table and slipped onto the sofa next to his boyfriend, "Well, that and the size of the place. It makes it easier to escape from Tobi and Hidan for a few precious minutes, yeah."

"So Tobi is your PA I'm guessing from this morning, but who's Hidan?"

Deidara rested his head on his fist, "Hmm, how to explain Hidan…Well I'll start by saying that I've never slept with him and I don't fancy him, so you don't have to contend with any underlying sexual history or tension." Sasori gave him a flat look, "I'm joking, yeah! I met Hidan back when I first moved here. It was a bit of a crazy time nearly four years ago – I had just turned eighteen and was looking to make it big. Needless to say – I did, and very quickly. Going from broke, first-year art school drop-out to suddenly being fawned over by the art world and presented with a succession of six figure cheques meant that I was totally out of my depth. I fell in with a bad crowd and developed a pretty hardcore coke habit. This was before I hired Tobi, so I was still very much on my own. I tried rehab on the advice of my then agent, but it didn't work. I came back to the city and scored straight away from my one of my friends. I don't know what they had cut it with but it seriously fucked me over. It was Hidan who found me in one of the club's corridors, and I basically went into cardiac arrest. He called an ambulance and gave me CPR, he was an officer in the army for three years so luckily knew exactly what to do. He got my heart started again, and when the paramedics took me to hospital he came too. He's been my best friend ever since. I dropped the friends I used to hang round with. Don't get me wrong, Hidan is no saint – he got me in touch with an army pal of his who turned coke dealer, but at least I know what it's got in it.'

Sasori had to bite his lip to keep from chastising the blond for his drug habit. He knew it wasn't his place – not yet anyway. There were a few moments of uncomfortable silence. Deidara smiled nervously, he so desperately wanted things between him and Sasori to work out that he was beginning to regret his honesty, 'Are you hungry, yeah? I was so nervous that you weren't going to turn up that I haven't eaten all day.'

'Sure, I can eat now. Do you need any help?'

'No everything's prepared, just sit there and look pretty and I'll be right back,' Deidara disappeared into the kitchen. As soon as he was out of sight and earshot he leant against the wall for support, banging the back of his head against it a few times, 'Stupid fucking idiot!'

Sasori heaved a sigh and held his head in his hands. Screw it not being his place to say anything – he had just found out that his boyfriend had almost died from his addiction only a few short years ago. It could never work out between him and the blond like this; he needed stability, not to live in fear of a phone call from a distraught Tobi to tell him that his lover had overdosed. He snapped out of his macabre thoughts as a chipper Deidara returned carrying a large tray covered in small dishes of tapas. The tray was set down on the coffee table and Deidara returned to his seat, 'I thought it would be nice to have an informal-ʼ

'Deidara.'

The blond's breath caught in his throat, a terrible sense of déjà vu settling over him, 'yes?'

Damn, both late and short.