AN: SO SORRY about the late update, but AS levels take a lot of my time up, Christmas holidays now, I will try and update again in the next 2 weeks. TRY is the keyword.

Merry Christmas and a Happy Chanukkha

Title: No Strings Attached

Summary: The streets of Peckham are littered with crime and poverty while the borough of Mayfair lives in style. What happens when those from different sides meet by chance? SasoriItachi, GaaraSasuke

Disclaimer: I own nothing, end of. This fic was inspired by FiveFootAngel's "Intelligence is a curse" because SasoriItachi is a wonderful ship, lacking in fics. Did that rhyme? Not sure.

Dedicated to Peckham and Mayfair.

Chapter 8

Miserable

Sasuke Uchiha sat in his clean freshly ironed clothes, at the dining table. Around him was a bustling chatting, happy family. Sasuke looked at each of them, trying to suss them out. The tall man called Kankuro who was Gaara's brother obviously what someone would call a well educated idiot, and that would go for the same as the harpy air head sister of theirs. The mother seemed permanently stuck in a fixed radius of the oven, sink, fridge and kitchen counter. All mother's cooked, including his own mother, but all the same, who spent this long and this much effort on an everyday meal. The father was not present it seemed.

Sasuke remained silent while the family spoke fondly to each other. The two older siblings fighting, the mother fussing over dinner and her children like a mother hen and the red head…Gaara kept on staring at him. Sasuke had just realised that every time his head turned towards him the large aquamarine eyes were staring transfixed on the stray boy who sat with them.

"What you lookin' at?" Sasuke said loudly and menacingly. The family stopped their loud bickering and looked at the two younger boys. The mother seemed to shudder slightly.

Gaara seemed taken back and apologised

"Gaara help me dish up supper will you" the mother chirped up trying to change the cold atmosphere. Gaara seemed to be at her side in a matter of micro-seconds.

From that small sentence Sasuke had said, it became clear to him that he was not of their world. There world of polite chatter and polite arguments, a world of just being plain polite. Everyone was so…NICE to each other, even when they were trying to be nasty. Sasuke had never known anything like this. He had been swearing and insulting since as long as he could remember. Even in primary school the kids swore at each other and more often than not a fight would break out somewhere in the school.

Even at home. His parents showed no shame in yelling at each other. No shame in using language that would make these people blush and cringe in shame that the English language could possibly have created such words.

Sasuke was quickly distracted as he saw the plate put down in front of him. A hot steaming plate, laden with chicken, - white freshly cooked meat, not the stuff you got warmed up in ready made packets. Home roasted potatoes, broccoli, carrots - all smothered in rich dark gravy. The smell was so strong that you could taste the dinner by just inhaling the scent. Sasuke's hand quivered under the table, he had forgotten how hungry he was and his hands were just itching to grab at the cutlery or straight to the food itself. He noticed the others were waiting so he decided to do so to.

The mother noticed him, and she smiled a pleasant smile

"Oh, Sasuke dear, if you're hungry eat up, don't wait for me"

Sasuke did not need ask again he lunged for the cutlery and immediately started cutting the food and shovelling it into his mouth as soon as he could. Oh the taste, it melted in his mouth over his tongue. It was warm, and rich and comforting. He had not tasted anything this good for years. Not since his mother was alive. And she never cooked anything like this. He had food this good at a restaurant once or twice; the familiarities, the memories. He became oblivious to the characters around him and concentrated on his plate of food.

"You're enjoying that aren't you" Karura smiled sitting down opposite him.

Sasuke looked up to see the family looking at him with the same smiles on each of their faces…they were laughing at him. He frowned and swallowed his food.

"Yeah, well not all of us can afford to eat like this every night!" Sasuke snapped.

Karura seemed taken back and then blinked and tried to smile again

"Well…yes…we're very lucky here…I hope you're enjoying your food Sasuke" she said turning back to her own plate.

The blonde girl scowled at him before looking at her mother and then to her dinner. The brother looked to the redhead with eyebrows raised as if to ask "What the fuck did we bring back?". Gaara looked at his brother then at Sasuke then out the window, thinking to himself no doubt…making notes in his mind.

When they had all finished dinner and helped themselves to just as delicious second helpings, the family began clearing the table and preparing to wash up

"Ain't you got servants or nothing?" Sasuke said

Karura laughed

"Oh Sasuke…of course not" she said grinning ear to ear.

Were they laughing at him again? Sasuke thought to himself

"My my, I would like to have servants. But we can't all be lucky like Temari" Karura said smiling at her only daughter.

Gaara smirked at Sasuke's confused expression

"Temari's fiancé is rich on a completely different level" Gaara said scraping his plate of excess food and then placing it in the dishwasher

Temari smiled and flicked her hair behind her ears

"Yes, you see he's the Duke of Beaufort's son" she said pompously

Sasuke sniggered 'Gold digger' he thought to himself

"What's so funny?" She gaped

"Nothin' nothin'" Sasuke said waving a hand.

"So…Sasuke" Karura started "Do you have any family?" she asked curiously

"Yeah…a brother…Itachi"

"Is he also…well..."

"On the streets? Yeah…" he nodded

"I spoke to him" Gaara said to his mother "He was very nice indeed"

"What about your parents?" she asked…trying to be sensitive

Sasuke's face dropped slightly

"Mum's dead…dad…well might as well be" he said

"Oh…I see" she nodded sadly

"What 'bout your Dad?" Sasuke asked Gaara

"Away on business" Gaara said "In France…he'll be back soon-ish"

Sasuke nodded. So the father was in the picture after all.

Sasori let himself into the house tiredly before going into the lounge and collapsing on the sofa, closing his eyes. Only Kankuro was there reading the sports pages in the newspaper, interested in the outcome of the last rugby match.

"Hello Sasori, nice date?" Kankuro asked briefly looking up.

"Oh. Ha. Ha. Ha" Sasori said, his eyes remaining closed "With that one you set me up with?…I think not"

"Well you were out long enough!" Kankuro laughed

"I went to check on the refurbishments at my flat…alone" Sasori emphasised

"Gaara got his vagrant" Kankuro said folding the paper and lying it down on the table, sitting back in his arm chair and looking over at his cousin.

Sasori opened his eyes now

"And? What's he like?"

"Gaara's age roughly I'd say, black hair, skinny, bad tempered and arrogant"

"Well...not too bad then." Sasori said "He could be violent"

"I'm waiting for it" Kankuro smirked walking over to the whiskey cabinet and pouring to glasses for himself and Sasori

Sasori smirked

"Where is he now?"

"Everyone's asleep, oh except for Temari who is actually on the phone to Shikamaru and pretending to be asleep."

"How's Gaara?" Sasori said receiving the glass of whiskey from Kankuro

"Oh fine, I think he's waiting for the vagrant to settle in before he starts his questioning"

"Good good" Sasori taking a swig of the drink and then laying his head back with his eyes closed again.

"You're damn miserable aren't you Sasori" Kankuro said

"Mm" Sasori disagreed "No…I'm fine"

"Oh Sasori, for Christ's sake it doesn't take a genius to work out that you're sick of being single. You certainly don't seem to like these girls we're picking out for you"

"No I certainly don't" Sasori said coldly, he dislike having these sort of conversations with Kankuro, he found it much easier to speak about things like this with Gaara.

"Perhaps you need a taste of change?"

"You think?"

"Bring back someone different…very different"

Sasori sat up quickly, finished his drink in one gulp and put down glass and stood up

"Thank you very much Kankuro, now goodnight" Sasori said quickly leaving the room and going up the stairs.

Kankuro smirked to himself. Now this had given him a grand idea indeed.

Sasori lay in bed with his duvet tight around him and over his head. He longed for the soft touch of a perfect partner, he felt lost and lonely. He thought himself stupid for there were those suffering far worse than himself. But with all this talk of weddings, and seeing Temari with Shikamaru, and how much in love they were with each other, had got him wondering and worrying if he should ever know such happiness. He had travelled to so many places in the world, met so many people he felt…so why had he not met 'the one' as they call it. Why did everyone he had ever met, that was a potential partner seem so boring and so distant to him. What was it he was craving?

Read and Review

And I shall love you...