TK: I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I won't dodge your tomatoes-there are too few scenes from the book, and I know that's what everyone is wanting to read! I put two in the beginning of this chapter. Hopefully it's enough to whet your appetites waiting for the Sasori vs. Sakura fight next chapter. Oops, did I just spoil that?

Heh.

It was very important to me that I progressed Sakura and Sasori's relationship in real life before Sakura finished the book. I didn't want them to start a relationship that could arguably be based around a book, or that the book was the reason for them getting together. So I had to make sure there were good amounts of natural chemistry, attraction, and overall 'togetherness' that worked for both of them. That's why book scenes have been so scarce. Had I planned far enough ahead, I would have spaced out the earlier book scenes further throughout the story. Alas, hindsight is 20/20, as they say.

I hope you enjoy the chapter! Please read and review :D

A Third Chance

TK Grimm

Chapter Thirteen:

Deidara Spills the Beans

Book

A jutsu that took three days to cast to completion. Sasori had never experienced anything like it. His impatience flared, and he knew that he would have to do this several more times for the other eight Jinchuuriki. Deidara had successfully captured the Kazekage, Gaara, Jinchuuriki of the One-Tailed Beast, but he was the first of many.

Confined to the body of his puppet, Hiruko, he focused his chakra. Even with the nine members of Akatsuki combined, the extraction process was lengthy. It had already been one day already.

It had taken some time, and the process had been grueling and bloody, but Sasori finally managed to turn his body into a living puppet shortly after joining the Akatsuki, preserving his youthful appearance for eternity. It was his masterpiece, his perfect art, the finale to his life's work. He no longer felt things like hunger or thirst, not for many years since he had turned his body into such. Therefore, the only annoyance of this jutsu was the constant strain on his chakra and his patience.

He wondered how his more mortal comrades in Akatsuki were handling it. The thought was brief, though.

The truth was, he just didn't care.

Book End

Sakura paused in her reading of A Third Chance to take a sip from her glass of water. She was lying in bed preparing to sleep when the urge to read took over. The Akatsuki still had Gaara in the book, and Sakura was worried that they might not get to him in time to save his life.

She set down her glass of water and proceeded to the next chapter.

Book

Temari was disgusted. She wanted to go with Sakura and the other ninja from the Leaf Village, but she and her squad were ordered to stay behind. She couldn't believe that she'd received actual orders to abandon her brother, the Kazekage, to die by Akatsuki.

"Then I'll go!"

Temari's eyes widened in shock. "Ch-Chiyo-baa-sama?"

Chiyo met the cluster of ninja near the Sand Village exit. Her black cloak billowed about her legs in the breeze. She felt younger than she had in a while. "You heard me, girl. Don't treat me like a fossil."

"B-but…"

A humorless smile came over Chiyo's withered face. "After all, it's been a long time since I've doted on my adorable grandson."

The ones who made the journey were Sakura, her teammates Naruto and Kakashi, and the Sand Village elder, Chiyo. Thanks to Kakashi's hounds, they had a scent that they could track, hopefully all the way to Akatsuki's base. It was a fair distance away, so they had to travel as fast as they could.

-X-

That night, they stopped to make camp.

Chiyo gazed into the flames of the campfire. It crackled and popped, and it warmed her to her bones. She never thought she would see the day when she relied on Leaf ninja to help the Sand Village, and yet, they were being more cooperative than the Sand was.

They were almost there. She knew it. By tomorrow, they will have caught up with Akatsuki and found Gaara, the Kazekage.

And she would see Sasori for the first time since he left Hidden Sand twenty years ago.

Chiyo's dark eyes drifted over to where Sakura slept. The resemblance was striking. Sakura of the Hidden Leaf had the same pink hair that the Third Kazekage's daughter had. She had the same sea foam green eyes. Those same eyes that once sparkled in wonder every time Sasori so much as looked at her.

Chiyo inhaled slowly through her nose and exhaled a long, weary sigh. But this Sakura was not the Third Kazekage's daughter. Sasori would not have made such a critical mistake in thinking she was dead. And this Sakura was too young. She only had memories of Leaf.

Not only that, but this Sakura was a ninja, and a powerful one. Chiyo saw first-hand a sample of the girl's monstrous strength. And before that, when she single-handedly removed Sasori's poison from Kankuro's body and then even developed an antidote for it in a matter of hours…

This girl was something special, that was for certain… but what, Chiyo had yet to decide.

Book End

The next day was Saturday, so Sakura didn't have class in the morning. She woke up, showered and got ready, and headed in to work. On the drive there, she reflected on Ino's advice and wondered if she should just admit her feelings to Sasori. As much as she wanted him to know how she felt, Sakura was terrified that it would change their relationship forever.

She didn't want to lose a friend or a job because she'd opened her big mouth.

Sakura walked into the studio and hung up her white coat. Deidara was at her desk spinning in circles in Sakura's office chair. Sasori was nowhere to be seen, but she knew he was at work because his car was parked outside. He was likely upstairs doing some actual work.

She wasn't sure what possessed her to do it, but Sakura decided to confide in Deidara.

"Hey, Dei…?" she started. "Can I talk to you?"

Deidara was using the end of his shoe to spin the chair in circles. He slowed down and said, "Uh, sure… yeah."

Sakura walked over to him and sat down on top of her desk. It was very sturdy and didn't shake. Her legs dangled off the side. She twisted her fingers together in her nervousness, wondering how to start.

"It's just…" she trailed off. "I, uh—does Sasori ever ask about me?"

Confusion swept over Deidara's face, and his spinning slowed considerably. "Uh… is that a trick question?"

Sakura grimaced. "No. It's just…" she started fidgeting with the fabric of her red skirt. "Well, I sort of… maybe… have feelings… for him… ish."

Deidara stopped spinning and was looking at Sakura as if she'd grown a second head. Her face felt like it was blushing on fire.

The only word Deidara seemed capable of saying was, "Uh…"

Sakura covered her face with both of her hands. Her words came out slightly muffled because of it. "I'm in over my head, aren't I?" She peeked between her fingers. Deidara looked to be in a bit of a stupor.

"Uh…"

"…Deidara?"

He shook his head, as if trying to snap out of his shock. His eyes were still a little wide. "Wow… yeah. I mean, I thought something was up, but I never thought—wow."

Sakura made a miserable noise in the back of her throat.

Deidara jumped, finally realizing just how upset she was. He reached over, wondering if he should pat her on the back, shoulder or what, and ended up very awkwardly patting her on the knee. "I'm sorry, yeah. Uh… you want me to tell him?"

Sakura lowered her hands, looking horrified. "What? No."

Deidara withdrew his hand from her knee and held up his arms in a motion of surrender. "Okay, okay… yeah." He lowered his arms. "So, uh, are you gonna tell him?"

There was a pause, and Sakura began fidgeting again. "Well I was kind of hoping… that maybe you knew if… he might feel the same way."

Deidara, who was never known for being one to read the atmosphere, merely looked puzzled and said, "I didn't know Sasori had feelings."

"Deidara!"

"Sorry, yeah!" he quickly replied. Deidara scratched the back of his head. He had no idea what to do in this situation. Aside from Sakura, the only girl he knew was Konan, and Konan had been with Pein for as long as he'd known her, so he'd never been exposed to this type of girlish drama.

"I just… I don't know what to do," Sakura said. Her words came out very quickly and high-pitched in her stress. "Sasori is just so perfect." Deidara made a disgusted face, but Sakura didn't seem to notice. "And he asked me to be his date when we went to hang out with your friends, and I, I didn't know what to do, so I said yes. And then all that stuff happened the other night, and it's just, oh, I don't know… am I being crazy?"

Deidara still had a baffled expression on his face. "Uh, yeah, definitely crazy…"

Sakura looked at him. "Deidara," she said, sounding slightly exasperated.

"I mean, no," Deidara said quickly.

Sakura sighed. "I'm sorry, Deidara. I shouldn't have bothered you with all of this. Just… forget I said any of it, okay?"

Yeah, like that was going to happen any time soon. "Uh… yeah. I'm gonna… go work now…"

He got up from Sakura's chair and slowly walked upstairs to the workroom, leaving Sakura feeling very small and miserable at her desk. Her attempt to get information from Deidara, as Ino had advised, had turned out completely wrong. She sighed and slumped into her chair.

Upstairs, Deidara entered the workroom in a daze. He looked at Sasori, who was engrossed in a wood carving of a scorpion. Deidara opened his mouth to speak, but he found he had no idea what to say. He closed his mouth and walked over to Sasori. Then, he sat down right in front of him.

And he stared.

Sasori didn't so much as pause his carving. "Deidara."

"Yeah?"

"What."

"What-what?"

Sasori sighed. "What do you want?"

"Oh, uh. Right."

Deidara stared at Sasori for a moment longer. His mind was still reeling from Sakura's confession. She had a crush on Sasori? Deidara couldn't believe it. He'd made a few passing jokes and comments, but it had all been in jest. He never actually thought Sakura might…

Sasori set down his wood carving and looked at Deidara irritably. "You know how I hate waiting, Deidara…"

"Right… yeah," said Deidara. "So uh, did you know Sakura had a thing for you?"

The look on Sasori's face was rather priceless. If Deidara hadn't been a bit mind blown from Sakura's confession, he would have laughed outright.

"Guess you didn't know either!" Deidara said, relieved. "Glad I'm not the only one, 'cause that is just awkward, yeah."

Sasori picked up his wooden scorpion and resumed carving. "Please endeavor not to be an imbecile, Deidara. Sakura and I were never in a real relationship."

"Uh, yeah, but she wanted to be."

Sasori's hand slipped, and his small woodcarving knife sliced straight through his thumb. He didn't react to the pain at all. He simply stared at his now bleeding thumb with a sort of dumbfounded expression.

"Oh shit," said Deidara. He looked around for something to grab, but the only thing nearby was a chunk of newspaper. Deidara tore a piece off and pressed the paper to Sasori's bleeding thumb. "You okay, yeah? I've never seen you miss before."

Sasori didn't answer. He couldn't. Was Deidara being serious? Had Sakura herself said as much to him? Deidara was incompetent—maybe he misheard. Or it was from a third party and unreliable. Surely Sakura would have told Sasori if she'd developed… feelings.

He couldn't really wrap his mind around that.

"Sasori?" Deidara asked. "So, uh, are you gonna date Sakura, yeah?"

"What? No, I… no." Truthfully, Sasori didn't know what he was going to do.

"What? Why not? Sakura's cute… yeah."

"It's more complicated than that, Deidara," Sasori said. He snatched the piece of newspaper from Deidara's hand and pressed it to his thumb to stop the bleeding. "I need to think."

Deidara sighed loudly. "What is it with you and thinking? Well, while you're doing that, I'm gonna go get some breakfast… yeah. I've got a buy-one-get-one-free Egg McMuffin that has my name on it."

Sasori didn't reply, so Deidara left the workroom. Downstairs, he saw Sakura with her nose in that large book she'd been reading for almost a month.

In an attempt to sound casual, Deidara said, "So, uh, I don't think Sasori feels the same way… yeah."

Sakura stopped reading and gaped at Deidara. "You told him?"

Deidara looked confused. "Wait, was that a secret?"

"Deidara, you idiot!" Sakura yelled.

She picked up A Third Chance and threw it at his head. Deidara's eyes widened, and he ducked just in time to dodge the assault.

"Sorry, yeah!"

She was looking around for something else to throw, so Deidara took that opportunity to quickly run out of the studio and not look back. He didn't stop running until he'd reached his car. Panting, Deidara put his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

"Today is just not my day… yeah."

McDonald's wasn't far—probably a short walk—but Deidara liked his car too much not to dive it. On the way, he decided to call the only woman in his life who'd ever made any amount of sense.

Konan answered after the second ring.

"Get lost on the way to work, Deidara?"

"Very funny, yeah," said Deidara. "Look, Konan, I need some, uh, advice."

Konan's reply was very droll. "Yes, you have to wear protection, and no, there is no subtle way to ask if she's over eighteen."

"Konan," Deidara said, sounding exasperated. "What I need is of the utmost importance! Even more than art! Even more than food!"

"Wow, I didn't know your priorities stretched that far."

Deidara made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat. "Listen, Konan, I don't know what all you know about Sasori and Sakura, but—"

"Is this about their pretend relationship?"

Deidara hit the brakes pretty hard. The car behind him honked on their horn. "You knew?"

Konan didn't sound surprised at all. "I had a feeling, given how awkward Sakura was, but it wasn't any of my business so I let it slide. What did you do?"

"Why do you assume I did something?" Deidara whined. "Fine, well, turns out Sakura actually has a thing for Sasori… yeah."

"Of course she does. Couldn't you tell?"

"No, because I'm not a girl."

"Could have fooled me…"

Deidara pulled into McDonald's and approached the drive through window. "Well, I may have accidentally told Sasori, and now Sakura's mad at me."

"Ah," said Konan. "I'll call her."

"Wait—" the line was already dead.

Deidara bought his two sandwiches and quickly returned to Akatsuki studios. When he stepped inside, he saw that Sakura was putting on her coat. She looked to be getting ready to leave.

"Are you still mad?" he asked.

"Still mad?" Sakura snapped. "It happened ten minutes ago!"

"Are you gonna throw a book at me again? …Yeah."

"If I get my hands on another book, I'll let you know," said Sakura. She tucked A Third Chance under her arm, apparently with the intention of leaving with it.

Deidara cringed. He reached into his bag and offered Sakura a wrapped Egg McMuffin. He wondered if food would placate her. "Want my other Egg McMuffin? …Yeah."

Sakura sighed. She lifted her hands to massage her temples as if to stem an incoming headache. "Just… no. Konan suggested I take a day off to get some space, and I think she's right. I'm going home."

She left then, and Deidara took his breakfast sandwiches and headed upstairs to the workroom. Once inside, he saw that Sasori was on the phone. Judging by his irritated expression, he wasn't enjoying the call.

"Fine," he said, sounding weary. "I'll meet you in an hour."

"That doesn't sound like a date… yeah," said Deidara. He plopped down in his working space and unwrapped his first sandwich.

Sasori pocketed his cell phone. "It wasn't."

"So who was it?"

"None of your business, Deidara," Sasori replied impatiently.

Deidara pouted. "Everyone's mean to me today… yeah…"

Sasori didn't feel the need to tell Deidara every detail of his life—especially his personal life. Sasori was still trying to figure it out for himself, after all. Still, he hadn't expected Konan to call him. Deidara's big mouth had apparently extended to her as well.

He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised when Konan told him she suspected his relationship with Sakura was a farce. Konan was very intelligent, and Sakura wasn't the best actress. For that matter, Sasori supposed he hadn't kept up the act as well as he could have, either.

He agreed to meet Konan at a local coffeehouse at her request simply because he wanted to put all of this behind him. Sasori didn't want to lose Sakura as an employee. She fit perfectly with Deidara and himself, and it would be tedious to train someone else to do all the things that Sakura did. They'd reached a level of casual rapport that was irreplaceable.

By the time Sasori arrived, Konan was sitting at a booth with a glass of iced tea. To Sasori's immediate displeasure, he saw that Pein was sitting next to her with a coffee cup and a bored expression. When Sasori sat down across from them, they both shot him matching wicked grins.

Sasori immediately frowned. He already didn't like where this was going.

"You had to bring him along?" Sasori asked, gesturing to Pein with a quick nod.

Pein's grin widened to show his teeth. "And miss a chance to poke holes in your masculinity for once? Hell no."

Sasori gave one of his usual sighs.

"So tell me, Sasori," said Konan, "how do you feel about Sakura?"

He narrowed his eyes. "She is a valuable employee." Konan looked unimpressed, so Sasori tried again. "And… I suppose… she is a valuable… friend." That word probably shouldn't have been as difficult to say as it was.

Pein finished his coffee and looked inside his empty cup. "I think I'll get another. Don't go on without me." He left the booth and headed for the clerk at the counter.

"How did you know Sakura and I were acting?" Sasori asked.

Konan replied in a sassy tone of voice. "Do I look like a sucker to you? I've known you longer than Deidara has." She took a sip of her iced tea. "Listen, Sasori, knowing you like I do, I can tell when you don't realize you have a good thing going. Sakura is good for you. And she totally loves you, so that works in your favor, too."

It was one of those very rare moments where Sasori was actually dumbfounded. "She what?"

"You honestly didn't know Sakura had feelings for you?" Konan asked skeptically.

He thought about it. "I suppose she's been… different. But no, I never realized."

"And how do you feel about her?"

"I… don't know," Sasori admitted. He rested his forehead on his hand, propped up by his elbow on the table between them. "Sakura is… I've hardly even considered…"

"But you have considered," Konan said, catching his mistake. She looked like the cat that had caught the canary.

Sasori lowered his hand and looked at her rather exasperatedly. "I don't have relationships, Konan. They're… complicated. Unnecessary distractions from my work."

Konan slowly ran her finger along the rim of her glass of tea. "So you see Sakura as an unnecessary distraction."

He frowned. "No, I…" Sasori realized Konan was using his words against him, and he sighed. "Fine. I don't see her as an unnecessary distraction. But Sakura is… she's my friend. This could complicate things."

"Do you care about her?"

Sometimes, Sasori wished Konan wasn't quite so blunt. He thought about it. Did he care? He had to, on some level. He thought about all the times Sakura worried over him, how nice she was to him, always smiling for his sake.

"I didn't realize," he said slowly. "Asking Sakura to pretend this whole time… it probably hurt her. And then, I told her we should stop…"

Konan reached for her glass of tea. She picked up the lemon slice from the edge and said, "This is a lemon. And these are your words." She squished the lemon slice to get out a good portion of the juice and pulp insides, all the while making squishy sound effects. "Once they're out, you can't get them back in."

Pein returned to them during Konan's demonstration. "Aww," he said, "did you have your first feeling?"

Konan waited for him to set down his fresh cup of coffee before she elbowed him in the side.

Sasori rested his chin on his hand, his elbow propped on the table once more. His gaze went out the window. "I don't understand any of this," he said. "I was fine with her before. Now everything's changing, and I don't know what anything means anymore."

Konan tried not to laugh. "It's called love, you Vulcan. Even emotionally crippled people like you and Pein are capable of it."

Pein frowned. "I'm not emotionally crippled…"

Konan rolled her eyes at him and said, "Please, you are so emotionally crippled, there's probably a disorder named after you." She ignored Pein's protesting response in favor of looking at Sasori, who was looking even more somber than usual. Konan reached over and placed her hand on top of his. "Sasori," she said, "I can't tell you what to do. That's your choice. But if you think you could maybe feel something for Sakura, like she feels for you, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to act on it. Give it a try."

Sasori looked down at her hand. Like his, her fingernails were painted purple. What Konan was saying made sense, but he still didn't know what he wanted.

He stood up from the booth then, deciding it was best to leave and consider his options alone where he could think them through. "I'll consider it."

When Sasori was gone, Pein glanced at Konan and said, "You are disgustingly nice."

Konan was completely unperturbed as she took a sip of her tea. "Well, you are so vain, it's disgusting."

Pein looked thoughtful. "I would have said egotistical."

Konan set down her glass and replied, "I was going to say that, too, or mean, even."

"Oh, do you want to keep going with this?" Pein asked in a deadpan voice.

A smirk crossed Konan's lips. "Nah, we covered all the bases. We don't have to hit home."

Leaving Deidara in charge of Akatsuki Studios while Sasori met with Konan and Pein probably wasn't the best idea in retrospect, but he was lucky enough to return to work and not find anything broken, melted, or exploded for once.

Sasori stayed downstairs and sat in Sakura's office chair at her desk. Deidara told him that she'd gone home early, probably when she realized Deidara had blabbed her feelings to Sasori. He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, wondering just what to do about the situation.

The professional thing would probably be to ignore it completely and spare Sakura any hurt feelings. Then, they could continue working together, and Sakura would hopefully get over it, and things would go back to normal.

Of course, the things Sasori knew about women and their feelings was only slightly more than Deidara's pool of knowledge, so there was a good chance that course of action wouldn't go exactly according to plan.

And he had to admit he found himself… curious. How long had Sakura been harboring those feelings? He supposed he should be flattered, and on some level, he was.

Konan seemed to think that he felt the same way.

Sasori considered that. She was beautiful… he'd admitted that before. If he was being completely truthful, he relished the way she worried over him and doted on him. Being with her wasn't the chore that he'd believed a relationship would be, and that was probably why he kept up the charade with her for so long.

Was it love, as Konan had suggested? Sasori wasn't sure. But he did want to see her.

He picked up his phone and dialed a number.

"Deidara. We're not working late tonight."

"What? Why, yeah?"

"We're going out."

Deidara's joy echoed through the phone. "Yeah!"

Meanwhile, Sakura was at home on her couch in her pajamas with a tub of ice cream and a spoon. Her original intention was to stay positive and watch a comedy to cheer herself up, but she ended up watching romantic movies, and it spiraled downward from there.

She didn't even know why she was so depressed. She knew Sasori was nothing if not professional. He wasn't going to poke fun at her or call her out on her feelings. If anything, he would be as calm and understanding as he always was, and things would go on from there.

But still… her mind was on that night they spent together, and she couldn't stop thinking about it. She wondered if he ever thought about it, too. That sent her into a very lonely place in her mind.

Her phone buzzed at her side with an unread text message. Sakura slid her finger across the screen to open it and read it quickly. It was from Konan.

You're probably at home watching chick flicks with ice cream. Want to get over him the grown up way?

Sakura furrowed her brow and sent a quick reply asking what the "grown up" way was. Konan's reply came quickly.

Get dressed. Pein and I are on our way over. We're going out and getting shit-faced. And you're coming with us.

Before Sakura had met Sasori's Akatsuki friends, she would have politely declined and continued moping to herself. And yet, something had changed since she'd met them. She'd learn to let go of a lot of her reservations and really have fun. It helped that she was now friends with a lot of people who she could rely on if things got crazy. There was no way she would go out partying irresponsibly. But with Konan, it didn't feel irresponsible at all. She knew she had a true friend looking out for her.

And so, without much second thought, Sakura decided she'd had enough moping and put away her ice cream. She knew the drive from Konan's place to hers wasn't a long one, so she sprinted to her room to find something suitable to wear. She settled on a slim red dress with a pattern of white circles along the belt. She didn't have time for a full makeover, but a little bit of mascara went a long way, and by the time she heard the knock on her door, Sakura deemed herself acceptable and ready.

She opened the door, and Konan immediately hugged her. In her surprise, Sakura nearly forgot to hug her back. She quickly wrapped her arms around Konan and said, "Are you okay?"

Sakura felt Konan's breath when she chuckled in her ear. "I should be asking you that. I'm sorry Sasori has the emotional capacity of a rock."

Sakura's mouth went a little dry. "I…" she trailed off. Saying it was okay wasn't really the right response here. Instead, she said, "I'm sorry I lied about being in a relationship with him. I never meant—"

"I know," said Konan. She pulled back, but she kept her hands on Sakura's upper arms as a comforting gesture. "It's okay. Well then!" She patted Sakura on the shoulder a couple times. "Ready to get smashed?"

"God, yes," Sakura said.

She followed Konan to the car and got in the backseat. It was a black Impala from the 50s, but it looked to be in really good shape. So Pein liked classic cars—who knew? Sakura buckled her seatbelt and caught Pein's gaze in the rear view mirror.

"Nice car," she said.

He smirked.

Konan got in the passenger's seat and fastened her own safety belt. As Pein backed out of the driveway, she turned in her seat to look at Sakura. "We're going to a club called Elixur," she said. Konan was wearing a heavy amount of blue eye shadow that matched her hair and a skin-tight purple halter dress. She looked stunning.

"Oh!" Sakura said with realization. "My friend Temari owns that club."

Pein actually looked impressed when he glanced at her through the mirror. "Nice."

"Is anyone else coming?"

"Hidan will be," Konan said with certainty. "I'm not sure if he'll be able to convince Kakuzu. He's kind of a miser with his money, even when it comes to alcohol."

Sakura smiled. "What if you told him I could get us in for free?"

"Text him," Pein said, addressing Konan.

Konan beamed at Sakura. "You are so awesome."

Sakura blushed. "I think you two bring out my inner awesome. I didn't use to be this cool."

Konan giggled at that. She said, "Pein told me earlier today that we were keeping you. Just so you know." Pein gave a half-hearted 'heh', but Sakura saw the upturn of his cheeks—he was grinning.

"I'm flattered," Sakura said honestly.

"Well, you should be," Pein huffed. His masculinity was on the line again.

Sakura couldn't keep the smile from her face.

The Elixur club was absolutely wild that night. Sakura was true to her word and got her friends in for free. The bouncer was Temari's middle brother, Kankuro. Of course, after reading A Third Chance, Sakura couldn't look at Kankuro the same way, but he didn't seem to notice her odd reaction. He let her and the others in without fuss. They didn't even have to stand in line.

"I still don't see why I had to come here," said Kakuzu. He looked a little grumpy, but Sakura had yet to see him not looking grumpy.

"You got in for free, asshole," Hidan complained. "What more do you want?"

"Free booze."

"Tell you what, Kakuzu," said Sakura. She was still in a good mood from Pein and Konan doting on her in their own weird way. "I'll buy the first round."

Kakuzu paused, looking at Sakura with his scrutinizing olive-green eyes. "That's… acceptable."

Hidan shook his head with a disgusted expression on his face. "You're supposed to say 'thank you', you cheap bastard."

True to her word, Sakura bought the first round of drinks for the five of them. It was an interesting experience, going out with Sasori and Deidara's friends without them. Still, she was already good friends with Konan (and Pein, by the sound of things), so Sakura wasn't too worried about winning Kakuzu and Hidan over. Kakuzu valued money, and her getting him into a club for free and buying him a drink seemed to do the trick.

As for Hidan, well, he was simple. Not stupid… just simple. If he was angry, he yelled, if he was happy, he laughed. And his vulgarity aside, he spent the majority of the night dancing and laughing. So Sakura counted that as a win, too.

She thought she was in for a night of fun, but it all seemed to change when, of all people, Sasori and Deidara showed up. Konan made a wild gesture with her arms, spilling part of her drink in the process, and said, "Hey, you made it!"

Sakura's head snapped in their direction, and her eyes widened. Judging by the look of shock on Sasori's face, he hadn't been expecting to see her, either. Perhaps Konan had invited him out without telling him Sakura would be there.

Sakura finally understood what Sasori meant when he said that Konan liked to meddle.

The look on Deidara's face was comic shock. "Uh… hey Sakura… yeah."

She felt a little bad for throwing A Third Chance at him. "Hi, Dei," she said, trying to sound nice.

He seemed to figure out that she wasn't mad at him, and he visibly relaxed. Deidara squeezed his way through the cluster of people to order a drink at the bar.

Sasori's original plan for the evening was to go out with Akatsuki and get as drunk as possible so he would stop feeling the beating of his stupid heart. If he could, he would cut it out of him, because it was getting exceedingly annoying. These feelings Konan was convincing him that he had were just… too much.

He really shouldn't have contacted Konan to go out. He was positive that she was the one who'd then asked Sakura to tag along. There were a few words on his tongue that started with 'manipulative' and ended with 'wench', but Sasori opted to order a drink instead of voice them out loud.

Sakura, on the other hand, sat at a round table in the corner of the club. The mood to dance had left her completely, and she found herself actually moping a bit. It was not her idea of a night out, being stuck on the side thinking about the object of her heart's desire. Especially since he very obviously knew about those feelings.

And Sasori sat at the bar with a drink in his head that he rested against his head. The ice in the glass was soothing on his forehead, but it didn't stop his mind from running rampantly over possible scenarios.

Konan sat next to him. She was sipping a fruity cocktail from a straw and fiddling with the little paper umbrella sticking out of a piece of pineapple. "So," she said casually, not even looking at him, "you can thank me later for meddling in your love life. Are you going to talk to Sakura?"

Sasori let out a heavy sigh. He rotated the glass so the colder side was pressed against his forehead. "Go away, Konan."

"Oh, I wish I could, but I really don't want to," she replied. "Come on, Sasori. She's right over there looking almost as miserable as you are. I promised her a fun night out. Are you going to deny her that?"

"You had to know that inviting both of us was going to exacerbate the situation."

"Or it could make you stop acting like repressed teenagers and start an adult relationship." Konan set down her drink and looked at him. Sasori's amber eyes were focused somewhere on the bar. "If you don't want to do that… then at the very least go talk to her. She's sad, Sasori. Go cheer her up."

The look on his face was incredulous.

Konan rolled her eyes as his emotional incompetence. Luckily, she had experience dealing with that from years of being in a relationship with Pein. "You're her friend, aren't you?"

He sighed again. "I suppose you're right."

He left Konan at the bar and walked over to the small table where Sakura sat alone. The rest of Akatsuki was conveniently absent, probably making fools of themselves on the dance floor, but Sakura was sitting with a cocktail and two empty glasses. Konan was right—she looked miserable.

Sasori fought down his trepidation and sat next to her. "How are you feeling?" He made a face at his poor choice of words. It sounded like he was asking if she was ill, not if she was okay.

Sakura's response was surprisingly droll. "Like I skipped drunk and went straight to hangover." She looked at him and offered a meager smile. "It's okay, Sasori. You don't have to say anything."

She was giving him an out, Sasori realized. Even in the wake of her embarrassment and her feelings, Sakura was still thinking about him before herself.

For the first time in many years, he felt true self-loathing. He had been thinking of himself the whole time, not about Sakura. And that was not only selfish, but it was also cruel. He owed her more than hurting her feelings by asking her to be in that pretend relationship for the dinner party, and for weeks after that.

"I do, actually," he said. "Because you're… my friend. And I value you. Our friendship. Your…" he trailed off. This was not going how he wanted it to at all. He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose in a stressed gesture.

Sakura couldn't help it. She laughed. Sasori was usually so suave and dignified that it was hard to remember he had little experience with this sort of interaction.

And Sasori had never quite realized how dazzling Sakura's true smile was before. Fuck's sake, what was happening to him? He averted his gaze from Sakura and took another sip from his drink. He'd grown somewhat attached to apple martinis.

He had apparently taken too long to think of something to say, because Sakura spoke before he could. "Actually, Sasori… I have a favor to ask of you."

Sasori looked at her, distracted from his thoughts. "A favor?"

She smiled somewhat sheepishly at him. "Well… Konan and Pein were my ride here. I was wondering if you could take me home." Sakura changed tactics right after that. "I mean, if it's no trouble. I can ask Deidara, too, or I could get a taxi."

"No," said Sasori, a little too quickly. "I can drive you home."

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked, feeling guilty. "I don't want to take you away from hanging out with your friends."

"I can go out with them any day," Sasori told her. "I'd rather be with you."

Sakura's eyes widened. She wondered if she'd heard him right just then. Sasori was staring at his apple martini as if it had betrayed him, making him say something so ridiculous. Sakura gave a nervous chuckle and asked, "Are you sure you're fit to drive? How many of those have you had?"

Sasori pushed the half-empty martini away. "Only that one. I'm perfectly fine, Sakura." He stood up with grace and offered her his hand.

Sakura's eyebrows rose, and she accepted, letting him help her to her feet. She was two and a half cocktails in, but her misery seemed to nullify most of the effects of the alcohol. When she stood, she didn't feel the usual dizziness that went along with being tipsy.

"Where is your coat?" Sasori asked.

"Oh, I forgot to grab it," Sakura told him. "It's at my house."

He nodded somewhat distractedly. Without really thinking about it, Sasori took off his black Akatsuki trench coat and offered it to her. "It's cold outside," he said by way of explanation.

Sasori's mind was racing about a mile a minute. He wanted to talk to Sakura about the possibility of being in a relationship—a real one this time—but he hadn't the slightest idea how to approach the subject in conversation. They'd started to, but Sakura had asked him to drive her home before it could come up naturally.

Sakura's eyes widened. "Won't you be cold?"

"I don't mind."

Sakura swallowed hard in her throat. She turned around and allowed Sasori to slip the coat over her shoulders. She slid her arms through the sleeves and buttoned it closed. It was warm, and the red cloud pattern was a strange sort of comfort. She lowered her chin and inhaled slowly. It smelled like wood, paint, and clay. She shouldn't have been surprised. It was very… Sasori.

Despite being so wrapped up in his thoughts, Sasori's keen eyes noticed this, and he saw the way Sakura smiled. "…Did you just sniff my coat?" The words came out before he could stop them.

Sakura turned quite red. "Err—I guess I did, yeah. It smells like art."

He raised an eyebrow, but Sasori also felt the corners of his lips tugging upward. He lifted his hand to cover his mouth in a gesture that would look contemplative.

Sakura wasn't buying it, though. "I know that pose. You're trying to hide your smile."

Sasori's eyes widened. Since when was Sakura able to read him so easily?

She didn't look quite as embarrassed now. "Thought so."

Sasori cleared his throat and looked away. "Let's get you home."

They didn't say anything else all the way to Sasori's car. Sakura sent a quick text to Konan letting her know that Sasori was driving her home. She didn't get a reply, though, but Konan was probably partying pretty hard and didn't notice her phone going off.

As Sasori drove, he kept his eyes on the road and considered his options. The logical side of his mind began comparing Sakura to Konan. He knew that Konan was a friend, even if she meddled in things that weren't any of her business. And he thought of her in that platonic way.

And yet, the way he thought about Sakura was different. He liked her company, he listened to what she had to say, and seeing her look so genuinely depressed earlier had really affected him. He wanted her to be happy. And as much as that logical side of his mind told him to let her down easy, Sasori couldn't help but think that it would make him decidedly unhappy if he were to be without her.

How inconvenient.

Unfortunately, no words seemed to come to either of them. Sasori drove his car into Sakura's driveway and turned the engine off. He walked her to her front door, his expression distant. When they reached the front door, Sakura unlocked it, but she didn't open it. She turned to face him.

"Sasori, I…" Sakura started, breaking him from his thoughts. "About what Deidara said…" She trailed off, trying to think of the words.

Sasori glanced at her, seeing her fidget with the sleeves of his coat. The Akatsuki colors looked good on her. "Sakura," he said, interrupting her. "I don't… you know I don't do relationships. But… if you wanted to… I'm willing to try. For you."

Her lips parted in shock. "Me?"

Sasori covered his mouth with the back of his hand. It was his contemplative pose again, and Sakura saw the telltale signs of a small Sasori smile. When he lowered his hand, he still looked amused. "Yes, you, you silly girl."

In that moment, he reminded Sakura very much of the Sasori in A Third Chance. It almost felt like a déjà vu, when he called her silly girl. Still the thought was so far in the back of her mind that all she could think about was Sasori asking to be in a relationship with her.

Sakura smiled brightly at him. She dropped her purse at her side and wrapped her arms around Sasori's neck. She kissed him, throwing him off balance. He pressed one hand to the door behind him to steady himself as his other hand held onto Sakura's waist. Memories of their night together flooded his mind like a tidal wave.

Sakura pulled him into her house, not daring to break the kiss. Her hands on him were restless and uneasy. Sakura's fingertips glided over his face, threaded through his red hair, and latched onto the fabric of his shirt. She relished the thought that Sasori wanted her as badly as she wanted him.

It was interesting how Sasori's aversion to physical contact melted away when he became aroused. Sakura didn't mind giving him space when he needed it, but she loved the way he was touching her now, as if all of those reservations had vanished into thin air.

Tonight was theirs, and this time, it would be without regret.

When Sakura awoke the next morning, her heart skipped a beat when she realized her bed was empty. She looked around, but Sasori was nowhere to be found. Her eyes drifted down to the sheets where he had fallen asleep beside her after their passionate night, and she saw a single red rose.

Sakura lifted the rose carefully, avoiding the thorns, and brought it to her nose to inhale its soft scent. It was beautiful. She smiled giddily. Sasori had woken up early in time to go to work, but he'd left her with a rose to tell her of his affection. It was wonderfully romantic, and it made her heart soar in her chest.

She glanced at the time. It was shortly after nine in the morning. If he was worried about her getting to work on time, he would have woken her up. Sasori was letting her sleep in, and she was grateful.

Her eyes drifted over to her nightstand. The book A Third Chance sat undisturbed. She was so close to the ending. Sakura and Sasori in the book were about to be reunited, she knew. She wondered what sort of ending awaited them this time.

She was sure Sasori wouldn't mind if she was a little later to work than usual.

And so, she reached for A Third Chance and opened it up, determined to read it through to the very end.