Upside-Down

TK Grimm

Chapter Nine:

The Party

"Sakura… we need to talk."

Sakura looked up from her glass of wine and gazed into Sasuke's midnight blue eyes. She set the glass down with a soft clink on the table and asked, "What do you want to talk about?"

Sasuke reached over and took hold of Sakura's hand in his. "I feel like we're drifting apart. I know I've been busy with work, and I should make more time for you, but it's difficult."

A twinge of guilt passed over Sakura. Ever since Deidara moved in with her, she felt several rising emotions and feelings for him, frequently forgetting about Sasuke. It was Tuesday, March 18th. Sasuke called her during her lunch hour at Akatsuki Studios and asked her to meet him at their favorite restaurant. She felt bad, she admitted that. She was dating Sasuke – she was in love with Sasuke.

"You're right," she said at last, squeezing his hand reassuringly. "I've been a bit too needy," Sakura realized. "I understand you have work; your job is very important and you have a lot of responsibilities there."

Sasuke nodded his head once, "I'm going to try to put forth more effort in our relationship. I talked to Karin-" Sakura's gaze turned to steel for a split second "-and she helped me realize again how important you are."

Sakura paused, trying to avoid the Karin subject. "Deidara moved in with me," she said, getting to the point. Now was as good a time as ever. "He needed a place to stay, and I didn't want him to take out a loan just so he could keep his apartment. It's only temporary until he saves up enough to get his own place."

Sasuke's expression remained stoic and emotionless for a few minutes before he finally seemed calm and replied, "That's fine. I know how you are about your friends. You go to great lengths just to help them out." There was a brief pause, just long enough. Sakura was unsure, but she felt as if there was a possibility Sasuke was using this time to avoid showing tinges of jealousy and anger. "Sakura, I don't want us to fight anymore." At least he calmed himself down. Making progress; the Deidara moving in thing would have been worse had he allowed it to defeat the purpose of meeting Sakura that day.

"Neither do I," Sakura said, finally smiling. Sasuke really was amazing. All she had with Deidara was a little crush, and he didn't feel the same way, so she had to just move on and get over him. That's all there was to it. Besides… Sasuke loved her. He told her so. "We should just put the past couple weeks behind us."

"I agree," Sasuke said, a grin crossing his lips at last. "My brother's best friend is celebrating his birthday today. Normally I wouldn't give a damn, but since Itachi is hosting it, mom and dad say I have to make an appearance at least. And hey, a lot of people will be there, so it can't be that bad. What do you say?"

"A party, huh?" Sakura repeated. "Who all is going?" She didn't want to go to some guy's party whom she had never met and only know one person.

Sasuke shrugged, "A lot of people. Kisame told his friends to all bring their friends, so it's gonna be big." He paused, trying to think of someone Sakura knew. "Temari is going; she'll probably bring Ino."

"Okay, it sounds like fun," Sakura agreed. "I'll go; what time does it start?"

Sasuke glanced at his watch and said, "It's 4:45 now. Kisame said it starts at six."

Sakura smiled, "Lets take our time then." That was when something clicked, causing several high school flashbacks to pass through her mind. She remembered Kisame – he was a senior like Deidara and Sasori when she became a freshman. They had never really talked though. She left him alone, and he left her alone because she was friends with Deidara and Sasori. Kisame and Itachi were part of that 'Akatsuki' high school gang. I wonder if Deidara and Sasori are going to be there, then…

"Come on," Deidara sighed, pausing momentarily from the details of his current clay bird sculpture. "It's Kisame's birthday."

"I rarely speak to Kisame," Sasori said, not once looking up from his own wooden creation. He was carving a scorpion.

"We all hung out in high school, yeah," Deidara pointed out.

"That was high school."

Deidara rolled his eyes, "Don't be so boring, yeah? It'll be fun."

Sasori looked at Deidara with a raised eyebrow, "Assuming that you find drunken idiots amusing?"

"Yeah, actually I do," Deidara shrugged.

"I have more important things to take care of," Sasori said nonchalantly. "Go. Just so you know, if you come to work tomorrow with a hangover, I'm only going to rub it in."

"Why does that not surprise me," he sighed.

"Do you think this is a little much?" Sakura asked when she finally came out of her room. "I mean… we're just going to a party…"

Deidara took his blue eyes off the television set only to have them practically glued to Sakura. Her hair was up in a messy pink bun with several spiky wisps. She wore a cute purple dress that went just above her knees that tied around her neck at the top, leaving her back exposed. Sakura wore black high heels, two purple earrings, and a petite silver necklace.

Sakura grinned, seeing Deidara's eyes wandering all over her, stopping in a few very feminine areas every so often. "Okay… maybe it is a bit much."

"No… no, I like it, yeah," Deidara said, still staring at her. "Looks… was just… driveway."

Sakura raised her eyebrows, "That wasn't even a sentence."

Deidara blinked a few times as if brought out of a trance, "Sorry, what? Oh. Yeah, looks good. You ready to go then?"

"Yes," she said giggling. She followed him out to the Trans Am and they left, headed for the party.

Deidara turned the radio on and when 'Listen to Your Heart' started playing, he looked at Sakura suspiciously. "Did you mess with my radio?"

"Just a little," Sakura teased. "Sorry."

"Its fine, yeah," Deidara replied, rolling his eyes as he tried to find the rock station again. Once he found it and heard Godsmack playing 'Keep Away' he appeared satisfied. Sakura smiled slightly as she looked out the window. Deidara wasn't like other guys, that was for sure.

"You know, I've always liked that about you," Sakura couldn't help but mention. Deidara glanced at her briefly to show he was listening. "Most guys let the lady choose, whether it be a movie or a radio station or whatnot. Like, I'll mention a movie that I like, and Sasuke will immediately go on and on about how he likes that movie, too. But you're not like that, you choose what you like, and if you don't like it, you say so." She chuckled lightly, "Dunno why, but I really like that."

Deidara paused for a moment before laughing, "You're weird."

"Hey!" she retorted, playfully punching him in the shoulder.

Deidara shook his head in amusement and parked his car. "Come on, cherry chick, yeah. Can't keep Prince Charming waiting." Sakura wasn't sure if he was teasing her with that line or being sarcastic, but she decided she was better off not asking.

A lot of people had already arrived, proving that the party was going to be just as crowded as Sakura expected. As soon as she and Deidara walked through the door, Ino came rushing up to them. "Hey guys!" she squealed. "You made it! Wow, Forehead, you look great."

"Gee thanks, Ino-pig," Sakura scoffed.

Deidara decided it was better to not ask questions – girls were weird. "I'm gonna find Kisame… yeah."

"Okay," Sakura said, smiling at him. He gave her a quick grin before heading off in another direction.

Ino watched him leave and then looked at Sakura, "Hinata wasn't kidding; he looks just as good as he did in high school."

"Yeah, he does…"

A sly grin crossed Ino's lips as she looked at her best friend whose eyes were glued to Deidara's back. He was talking to Kisame and Itachi. Ino waved her hand in front of Sakura a few times, "Hey, Forehead! Yo!"

Sakura blinked several times, shaking her head once. She looked at Ino and said, "Oh, sorry, I was miles away. Did you say something?"

The grin on Ino's face only seemed to increase with this. "You were staring at him."

"At who?" Sakura asked, though her shaking voice revealed she had just figured out she actually had been staring at Deidara.

"That sexy blonde artist over there."

"Ino!" Sakura scolded. "First you try to ask my boss out, and now you want to ask Deidara?"

"Hush!" Ino demanded, clamping her hand over Sakura's mouth. "I never said that! Though I think you should go say hi to Sasuke rather than ogle Deidara over there."

"I was not ogling!" Sakura shrieked. She quickly clamped her hand over her mouth to shut herself up. The last thing she needed right now was to draw more attention to herself.

Ino shrugged, "Okay, okay. I'm gonna find Temari; Sasuke's over in the kitchen." Sakura nodded and walked into the kitchen area of the flat. Ino smirked and headed downstairs. Temari was playing darts with some guy she barely recognized but couldn't remember his name. He had slicked back platinum blonde hair and a cocky smile – not to mention nearly every obscenity she had ever heard and then some was coming from his mouth every time Temari scored higher than he did.

Temari saw Ino out of the corner of her eye and turned to wave her over. "Hey, Ino! Sakura and Deidara here yet?"

Ino grinned, winking at her friend, "You bet they are."

"Deidara's here?" the guy Temari was playing asked. "Damn, better go see how that asshole's doing. I heard he fuckin' moved out."

"He's probably upstairs with Kisame, Hidan," Temari said. "Oh, and I heard he moved in with Sakura, isn't that right, Ino?"

"Yep," Ino replied. Hidan grunted and walked back upstairs, giving Ino an opportunity. "Play a game of darts with me, Temari. I wanna have some girl talk."

Temari raised an eyebrow, "All right. Black or purple?"

"Purple," Ino said, accepting the violet darts. "Who's first?"

"You can go," Temari replied, pushing the red button on the dart board to start the game. Ino threw a dart, hitting the triple 20. "Wow, nice start," Temari smirked. "Okay; what's on your mind?"

"Sakura and Sasuke," Ino said, throwing another dart. She hit a regular five.

"I thought you were over Sasuke," Temari said; as soon as the words were out of her mouth, Ino's dart was flying and completely missed the board, hitting the wall and bouncing to the floor.

"I am over Sasuke," Ino retorted, walking over to pick up her darts. She reached down and picked up the fallen one, "I haven't crushed on him since junior high school." Pulling the other two out of the board, she walked back and leaned against the opposite wall.

"Heh." Temari threw one of her black darts, hitting the green circle outside the red bull's-eye. "Nice… fifty so far for me, against your sixty-five." She threw another, hitting a fifteen-pointer. "What about Sakura and Sasuke?"

"Do you see a spark in their relationship?"

Temari threw her last dart and, to her frustration, hit the double-two. "Is this about your Sakura-Deidara suspicion?" she sighed. When Ino didn't reply right away, she continued as she took out her darts. "You can't go around meddling with people's relationships."

"I know that!" Ino retorted, feeling her temper rise. As soon as Temari was out of the way, she threw a dart and hit triple eight scoring her twenty-four points. She paused a moment to calm herself down and threw her second dart, hitting the black space outside the point wheel. With a sigh, Ino continued, "Sakura's my best friend; I want her to be happy, you know? I don't like the idea of meddling with a relationship, but they say the people outside the relationship see it better than the people actually involved."

Temari raised an eyebrow when Ino's last dart hit a four. "So you're saying that because you're an outsider, you believe that you are one hundred percent correct when you say that Sakura would be happier with Deidara."

Ino hesitated, repeating Temari's words in her head. "Yeah, actually. That's what I think."

Temari shook her head once, slowly. "Ino, it's not your place. If it doesn't work out with Sasuke, she could try it with Deidara, but that's only if it doesn't work out. You can't tell Sakura what to do, especially in her love life."

"Yeah, I know," Ino said. "I'll finish this game later; sorry Temari."

"Don't do anything you'll regret later," Temari warned as Ino headed back upstairs.

"Sasuke, there you are," Sakura said, smiling at her boyfriend. "Some party, huh?"

Sasuke smiled at her briefly and took another drink of …something; Sakura couldn't tell what it was. "Yeah. It's not as bad as I thought it would be."

Sakura shook her head once, "Nah, I think it'll be a fun night. So what do they have to drink here, anything good?"

"Glad you asked," Kisame's deep voice sounded. Sakura turned her head and saw him walking past her and opening the fridge. "Sakura, right?"

"That's right," Sakura nodded. "Happy Birthday, Kisame."

"Thanks," he grinned. He took out a bottle of something green and set it on the table. Sakura's gaze traveled from Sasuke, who was looking at Kisame with a raised eyebrow, to Deidara, who was standing off to the side next to Itachi. Itachi seemed as stoic and emotionless as usual, but Deidara had what she believed to be a slightly worried expression. Kisame set out two glasses and a salt shaker with the lid off, grinning madly at Sakura.

Sakura took a step back and asked cautiously, "So… what's that for?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, smirking in amusement, "I think it's time for a drinking contest."

"W-what?" Sakura panicked.

"Oh, shit," Hidan said from the top of the stairs, eyes on the table as he entered the kitchen. A grin crossed his lips as he folded his arms across his exceedingly bare chest. "Who's going first?"

Kisame set down a bowl full of limes, still grinning. "I think pinky here should give it a shot."

Sakura looked at Sasuke, who nodded his head in her direction, his usual smirk still on his face. For some reason, her eyes traveled to Deidara after that. He gave her a warning look and shook his head ever so slightly, silently telling her to just walk away.

"Not giving up now, are you Forehead girl?" Sakura froze when she heard Ino's voice. Her green eyes traveled to the staircase leading to the basement and stopped when they saw Ino. Her hands were on her hips and a grin was plastered on her face. "Or are you just afraid you'll lose to me like you do in everything else."

Sakura slammed her hands on the table with frustration, glaring at Ino. "All right, get over here, Ino-pig. Let's go."

Deidara slapped his forehead; what the hell was Sakura thinking? Ino grinned and sat down at the table, Sakura took her seat across from her. Kisame glanced at Itachi with a raised eyebrow, but the older Uchiha sibling shook his head, waving his hand once in dismissal.

After Kisame poured two glasses of the strange green drink – part of Sakura wishing it was something simple like a margarita – he sprinkled a circle of salt around the edge of both glasses. "The first one to give in is the loser. You girls sure you can take this?"

Ino shrugged her shoulders, grinning in Sakura's direction. "Of course! What are your terms, Sakura? If you win, which won't happen, what do you get?"

Sakura paused, thinking this over. She was never a party girl; she had never been in a drinking contest before, especially not with weird, green, salty things. And what were those limes for? She swallowed hard with nervousness, praying that no one noticed. "If I win, you have to stop making me ask Sasori on a date for you."

Deidara suddenly chuckled with amusement, "She made you ask Sasori out, yeah?"

"Several times," Sakura told him with a sigh.

Ino shrugged, "Whatever." She smirked at Sakura, "If I win, your sexy artist here is spending a night with me."

"Out of the question!" Sakura said, standing up and glaring at Ino.

Deidara looked between the occupants of the kitchen, "Since when am I a bet?"

"Nah, let them have their fun," Kisame said, leaning against the wall nearby.

"Hey, you've got Sasuke," Ino pointed out. "I want a night with Deidara."

"That's not exactly mine to give!" Sakura panicked. She frantically looked over at Sasuke, whose smirk had disappeared. He appeared to be staring at the table with an emotionless expression that resembled Itachi's.

"Eh, go for it, cherry chick… yeah," Deidara said, waving his hand in front of him a couple times.

Sakura sighed in defeat, sitting back at the table. "Fine." She looked at the bowl of limes and reluctantly asked, "But what am I supposed to do with those?"

"All in good time," Hidan smirked. Oh yes, he knew exactly what those were for.

Ino lifted her glass and raised her eyebrows in Sakura's direction. "Here's to you, Forehead girl!" Sakura rolled her eyes and lifted her glass to her lips. Both girls quickly drank the strange green drink. Ino then ran her tongue along the side of the glass to get the salt, so Sakura mimicked her action. The blonde girl grinned, "One down."

Six drinks down. Somewhat of a crowd was beginning to form in the kitchen and area around. Lots of party guests were looking at the two women with their contest. The things they said were getting more and more amusing as time went on as well. When Temari came up and saw what they were doing, she nearly panicked and forced them to stop, but Sasuke told her to let them continue. Temari hesitantly agreed, but she kept a close watch on them.

"When are you going to realize you can't beat me in anything?" Ino asked, her voice strangely high.

Sakura set her now empty glass down on the table and gave her a sluggish grin. "When are you going to realize that I already have beaten you in everything?"

"I think its time for a lime," Ino said, a smirk crossing her features. She took one from the basket and effortlessly cut it into fourths, handing Sakura one of the slices. "Where to start…" she mused. "Sakura, give me your wrist."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, but in her slightly intoxicated state, couldn't form words into a question, so she reached her arm over towards Ino, her wrist facing up. Ino kept her teal eyes on Sakura's sea foam green ones as she leaned down, bringing Sakura's wrist to her mouth. Ignoring Sakura's baffled look, she licked her best friend's wrist. "W-what the hell are you doing?"

"It's part of the game, Sakura," Sasuke said, folding his arms as he continued to watch.

Ino grinned and sprinkled salt on Sakura's wrist, holding it firmly in place when the pink haired woman squirmed a little. "Now you go."

"A-are you serious?" Sakura squeaked. Ino nodded, and Sakura, having seen the many stares she was getting, hesitantly took Ino's wrist. She slowly brought it to her mouth and licked a small area. Then she sprinkled salt on it.

Ino gave Sakura what she hoped her friend would call an encouraging look. Doing great, Sakura, she thought, glancing at Deidara. He was staring at Sakura with a strange expression, backed completely against the wall. One of his hands gripped a doorknob nearby tightly, and the other was flat on the wall behind him. He swallowed hard, staring at her and waiting to see if Sakura would go through with it.

Ino turned her gaze to Sasuke, to see that he, too, was slowly becoming affected by this. It was turning him on, seeing the two of them playing this game. His arms were crossed, but his eyes were glued to Sakura. Ino returned to looking at Sakura, who was staring at the lime slice with uncertainty. Ino raised her refilled glass to her lips, as did Sakura, and they slammed their glasses. After that, Ino bit directly into the lime slice, forcing Sakura to do the same. Then they brought each other's wrists to their lips yet again, this time to lick off the salt.

Sakura shook with the sour and salty tastes mixing around in her. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. Not only was it weird, it was embarrassing! Judging by everyone else's expressions, she must have been doing it right though, and that was a bit of needed relief.

"Your turn," Ino said. There were two lime slices left; might as well use them. She handed one to Sakura and slid the salt shaker in her direction. "Where to?" Pick somewhere sexy, Sakura, Ino thought. You've got to get their attention! You've got to get Deidara's attention!

Sakura bit her lower lip in concentration. Come on, girl! cheered a voice in her head. Be adventurous! Go for it, these guys are all over you! Thanks to newfound resolve, Sakura had a bit more determination. "Come here, Ino," she said, hoping that her voice sounded calm. She was shaking on the inside, but she had to play the part to impress these guys. No idea why, but I just have to!

Ino stood next to her, so Sakura stood up. She leaned in closely and brought her tongue to Ino's neck, making the blonde visibly shiver. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Deidara staring at her with this strange look in her eyes. She dared not venture to figure out what it was. Then she sprinkled a bit of salt on Ino's neck and waited.

Ino grinned at her and leaned in to do the same. Just after running her tongue across the side of Sakura's neck, she whispered only loud enough for her best friend to hear. "Doing great; keep it up, you've almost go them." That was when Sakura caught onto Ino's plan – or at least what she thought Ino was planning. She couldn't have been more off, though. Ino sprinkled a little salt on her neck.

The girls lifted their drinks and crossed their arms, downing the glasses quickly. Then they bit into their lime slices and licked the salt off their partner's necks. Several low whistles and cheers from the male audience rang through their ears. When they pulled apart, Ino rubbed her arms, aware that she had goose bumps. Sakura did the same, but Ino knew it was time. Now she just had to play the part.

"Damn… Sakura, I forfeit," she sighed. "You beat me – that last one decided it."

Sakura's eyes widened, but she beamed despite herself. "I won!"

While Sakura and Temari were talking with Tobi, a guy who arrived late to the party, Ino was watching a very interesting game of pool. Sasuke, Deidara, and Temari's brother, Kankuro, were playing just for the hell of it. She sat there, slowly sipping her ice water and trying to sober up, yet she couldn't help but listen in on their conversations.

It was Kankuro's turn, and while he aimed, Sasuke's dark eyes traveled to Sakura, who was still giddy about beating Ino in that drinking game. He was standing near Deidara, whose eyes were also on Sakura. "She's great, isn't she?" Sasuke said, smiling despite himself. Sakura wasn't great; she was amazing.

"Yeah, she is…" Deidara replied, not completely aware of what was going on around him.

Ino observed the two of them with perceptive teal eyes. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as small feelings of regret passed through her. Maybe that drinking contest wasn't as good an idea she originally thought. She knew there were a few sparks between Deidara and Sakura, but in her excited, girly, matchmaking mode, she never considered the sparks between Sasuke and Sakura.

"Her birthday's coming up on the 28th," Sasuke said, accepting the chalk from Kankuro. He aimed and made his shot, successfully hitting a striped ball into one of the pockets. "That's when I'm gonna make my move," he said, a grin crossing his lips as he thought about it. "I'm gonna ask her to marry me."

Deidara coughed a few times, setting his drink down. He looked at Sasuke, "You serious, yeah?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said, patting him on the back. He handed Deidara the chalk since it was his turn and continued. "Sakura's amazing; I want to be with her for the rest of my life."

Ino's jaw dropped. Oh shit…

Deidara made his shot but missed completely, his mind distracted in more ways than one. He passed the blue chalk to Kankuro and turned back to Sasuke. "Whoa, man, this is a big decision, I mean… You sure about that?"

"Positive," Sasuke replied, looking at Sakura again. She sat there, smiling brightly and perfectly.

"You're gonna be tying yourself down for the rest of your life… yeah. It's a big deal."

Ino bit her lower lip, miserably watching the two of them before her. Sorry, Temari. I should have taken your advice..

"Who better to tie myself down with than Sakura?" Sasuke pointed out.

No kidding…

The party ended, and Sakura was more than a little intoxicated from the alcohol. Sasuke walked her out with his arm around her waist, making sure she didn't fall. Deidara unlocked his car, so Sasuke helped Sakura sit down. He looked at Deidara, "Thanks, man. She needs a designated driver."

"Obviously," Deidara said, glancing at Sakura. He sat down in his seat and gripped the steering wheel extra tight when Sasuke kissed Sakura on her forehead, wishing her goodnight. As soon as he closed the door, he put the Trans Am in reverse and headed home.

"That was such a good party!" Sakura squealed with delight. "Don't you think? Those freaky lime things were weird, but it was so cool! I beat Ino!"

"Yeah…" The remainder of the drive back was similar to this. Sakura chatted on and on to her heart's content and Deidara gave half-hearted replies, mostly just 'm-hmm' and 'uh-huh.' He pulled into the driveway and looked at her, "You sure you can walk?"

"I'm fine," Sakura said, stepping out of the car rather clumsily. It was a good thing she had discarded her high heels or she would have fallen already. Seeing her struggle, Deidara sighed and walked over to her, putting her arm around his neck. "Dei, I'm fine, I promise… I just-ah!"

"No you're not, yeah," Deidara pointed out, catching her before she tripped again. He rolled his eyes and lifted her up, carrying her to the front door. Sakura fumbled with her keys from her awkward position in Deidara's arms but managed to unlock and open the door. Deidara walked through the doorway, carelessly kicking the door shut. Gently laying Sakura down on the soft couch, he said, "Hang on, I'll get you some water."

Sakura rolled over on her stomach, stretching out comfortably. Deidara came back after about a minute and handed her a glass of ice water. "Thanks, Deidara," she said, gratefully accepting it. "Ugh… I think I had too much to drink."

Deidara grimaced, unable to handle the thought of Sakura vomiting. She seemed to have it under control in that area, though, and just appeared woozy and light-headed. "You need anything… yeah?"

"I'll be okay." Sakura gave him a lopsided grin. "Just stay here," she said, reaching out with her free hand and taking hold of his black coat. She absent-mindedly ran her fingers across the red cloud design, smiling like a giddy schoolgirl. "Sasuke never stays…" she said. "But you always do… stay with me…"

Deidara hesitantly sat down on the floor, facing Sakura. Don't listen to a word she says, yeah, he thought. She's drunk… she's gonna say things she doesn't mean. Sakura laid on her side, facing him and holding both of his hands in hers. She was playing with his fingers, and as she did so, several images of Sakura and Ino with their limes shot through his mind.

"S…Sakura…"

Sakura looked at him. "Are you feeling all right?" She raised her hand to feel his forehead and said, "You do feel sorta hot. Want to lay down?"

Oh God yes… Deidara shook his head a couple times, trying to get his mind away from the extremely sexually attractive woman who was by all means drunk and right in front of him. "I'm fine… yeah."

"Come on," Sakura said in a teasing voice, tugging him closer to her by his coat. "We slept on this couch together before. If you don't feel good, just lay down. I feel better already!" She tugged a couple more times, and Deidara found his resolve quickly disintegrating. Sakura sat up straight and tried to pull him up on the couch again.

Finally, Deidara sat down by the arm rest, ignoring the traitorous thoughts in his head as he brought Sakura towards him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head on his chest. Deidara laid back, bringing Sakura with him. She's engaged… don't do it… He's gonna propose…

Sakura brought her head up slightly and smiled at him, gently running her left index finger down the side of his face and to his chin. Suddenly, she looked away, blushing and giggling. "I keep wanting to do things to you that are naughty! I think I had too much to drink!" Slowly bringing her gaze back to him, that same, goofy grin crossed her features again as she leaned in closer, steadily but surely.

Fuck it, she might tell him no.

Deidara didn't need to think that twice. He gripped Sakura by her shoulders and turned them around so Sakura was on her back on the couch and Deidara was on top of her. She had that same, drunken giggle going on, running her fingers through his hair. Without a second thought, he leaned in and kissed her.

Sakura responded immediately, opening her mouth and granting him full access. At that moment in time, he didn't give a damn that it was just because she was intoxicated. Sakura had occupied his mind and thoughts for way too long. He broke away for a moment and started a trail of kisses down Sakura's jaw to her neck and shoulder blade. It was her own fault for wearing such a revealing, tiny dress.

"Deidara…" Sakura whispered in delight, her fingers massaging his shoulders and urging him to continue. Something in the back of her mind, a subconscious urge told her that this was wrong, but it felt so wonderful. How could anything that felt that amazing be wrong?

Wanting to take control and make him feel the amazing sensations she was, she mimicked his actions and turned them over. However, it had quite the opposite effect; the two of them landed on the floor because the couch was only so big. Thrown into a massive giggling fit, Sakura continued her drunken laughter as she rested her head on Deidara's chest again, her left hand squeezing his shoulder. "S-sorry!" she laughed.

Deidara was suddenly woken up from his trance-like state. What the hell am I doing, yeah? He rose up, helping Sakura get back on the couch. For some reason, he couldn't even bring himself to smile. If Sakura remembered this the next morning, she would be heartbroken.

Deidara took off his coat and put it over Sakura as a blanket. "Get some sleep, chick," he said. Sakura smiled at him and nodded obediently, closing her eyes to fall asleep. Deidara walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table, resting his head in his hands. Damn it, damn it, damn it…