Chapter 5, my loves! This was actually mine and my best friend's favorite chapter, mostly because who doesn't love laughing at a drunk Hidan? Enjoy, darlings, and R&R, please! :)
It had been a few hours since Sasori had arrived at the bar with Pein, and everything was going just as he had predicted.
Pein and Itachi were having a drinking contest, Itachi being on his 12th shot, Pein being on his 14th.
Kisame was trying to work his way into the giant fish tank in the back of the restaurant, while one of the employees so helplessly tried to get him to stop.
And Konan was dancing around the tables and booths, yelling every so often at random strangers.
He growled under his breath.
They should've gone to a club instead.
But no…a bar was more 'civil' as Pein had put it.
Tightening his grip on the glass he was currently holding, his gaze traveled over to the blonde who was quietly sitting in one of the stools.
His long, blonde tresses fell nearly all the way down to his waist, tied together by a very loose blue hair tie near the ends of the hair. Even with the layers of clothes he had on due to the bitterness of the air outside, the redhead could tell he had some muscle in his physique.
Honestly, when Itachi had told him he and the blonde were roommates, he was, yes, shocked, but at the same time, he was honestly happy.
He found the blonde, Deidara, now that he knew his name, attractive.
And being roommates with the guy was kind of exciting.
Though, Deidara didn't seem the least bit happy to hear the news.
Of course, that may also have to do with the fact that Sasori was still treating him like an asshole.
With that, the redhead sighed and stood up from where he was sitting, and calmly made his way over to the blonde, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Deidara looked up and, immediately seeing that it was him, shrugged his hand away. "What the fuck do you want, un?"
"We obviously started on the wrong foot and-"
"You think?"
"And I wanted to start again after I say this," Sasori sat down beside him, noting the slight inching away from the other. He sighed, looking at the male. "I'm sorry for what happened at the café. There is no rhyme or reason for why I acted that way, I just did. And I'm sorry."
Deidara turned to him and it honestly took all of the redhead's willpower not to kiss him right then and there.
He was even more attractive up close.
His eyes, though a cerulean blue by default, had hints of white and purple specs in them, swimming around the black pupil in the middle. His skin, flawless, looked soft to the touch, with not a hint of facial hair in sight. The jawline was neatly cut, strong and defiant. And with a careful glance at his mouth, Sasori could tell that the lower lip was more than just a tiny bit fuller than the upper.
As soon as their eyes connected, the redhead felt his heart slightly skip a beat.
…What the hell?
When was the last time that that had happened?
The younger male blinked, and then sighed. "It's fine, un. Accidents happen. I wasn't angry that you had bumped into me, un. I was upset that you had called me 'ma'am'."
"You have the longest, thickest hair I have ever seen on a dude before!" Sasori retorted. "What else was I supposed to think?!"
"And I am also around the same height as you, un!" Deidara came back. "Have you ever met a girl who was 6'2"?!"
"No, but who knows! Maybe it could have been that day and it just ended up being you!" It was only for a brief second that they glanced at each other when laughter overcame both. It started out as just a chuckle, and then grew to an all-out fit, causing a few people to glance at them, curious.
After catching his breath, Sasori grinned. "Well, now that that's been taken of, I should introduce myself a little better than Itachi did. I'm Sasori Akasuna."
"Deidara Hayashi, un."
"We gonna play 20 Questions or should we just say whatever about ourselves?"
The blonde chuckled softly. "Doesn't matter to me, un."
"Well, alright. Guess I'll start," the redhead got himself comfortable, twirling the glass in his hand on the granite. "I'm 25 years old and have been working as a computer programmer for the last four years. In that same time, I have been rooming with my friend Pein and just recently decided to move out."
"Move out or forced out, un?" Deidara asked, giving him a smirk. Sasori laughed. "Okay, okay, I was basically forced out. My stuff was starting to overrun the apartment, so Pein decided I needed my own place."
"At least your story doesn't sound as cliché as mine, un," the blonde leaned forward to place his elbows on the bar. "I'm 24 years old and just recently came out of Graduate School with an advanced degree in Business and Management. I was also lucky enough to land a well-paying job straight out of school, and I am still living with my parents in the suburbs, so I decided I needed to move out, un."
"Wow, that does sound cliché," Sasori chuckled. "What job did you get?"
Almost immediately, he watched Deidara's face fall, almost as if his question struck a chord deep inside that was never meant to even be plucked. His blue orbs traveled down at the granite, gaze nearly lifeless and vacant. "If it doesn't bother you too much, I'd rather not say, un."
"…No, no, it's perfectly fine," the redhead exclaimed. "I'm sorry I asked."
"It's fine, un," the blonde continued to stare at the bar. With his amber eyes, Sasori looked down at the blonde's hands, noticing something familiar. "You an artist?"
Again, Deidara's face changed within seconds; his eyes suddenly looked alive and he turned to the redhead. "How'd you know, un?"
"You have an artist's hands," Sasori explained, grinning. "They're calloused in the palms and fingertips. By the looks of it, I say you sculpt."
"Wow, all that just by looking at my hands, un," Deidara lifted them to stare at the palms, noting that they did look calloused. "You Sherlock Holmes or something?"
"Hardly; I'm an artist, too."
"What do you specialize in, un?"
"Puppetry."
"That's…sorry, but that's kind of creepy, un."
"And why is it creepy?"
"Well, ever since I could remember, dolls and puppets scared the living shit out of me, un," the blonde explained. "Think the Saw movies are what did it for me."
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but the main reason Pein kicked me out of his apartment was because my puppet parts were littering the entire place," Sasori explained, grinning at how Deidara's face scrunched up.
"Well, as long as you keep them hidden from me, I guess I'll be fine, un. As long as you don't mind that my clay will be stored in the fridge."
"Why in the fridge?"
"Keeps the clay fresh, un."
"Alright," a few moments of silence began to grow between the two, which Sasori didn't like.
He didn't talk much, that was certain.
He often felt that unneeded conversations were pointless, so he regarded them with little interest and kept to himself.
However, when he did engage with others, he found he couldn't, and didn't, stop talking. So, when awkward silence fell in, he found it rather annoying and disruptive.
Taking a swig of his whiskey, he broke it. "So I noticed you haven't had a drink yet. Any particular reason?"
"I don't drink, un. The taste of alcohol isn't something I fond over," Deidara explained, taking a sip of his water for emphasis. "I haven't had a beer in months, un."
"I know how you feel," the redhead placed his finished glass off to the side. "Rarely do I ever drink anymore, too. Yeah, I chose to come to a bar tonight, but it was mostly to get Pein off my back about my anti-socialness."
"Pein sounds just like Hidan, un," the blonde gulped down the rest of his water. "I was getting rammed with the exact same thing. That I was being anti-social and needed to let loose for a change, un. Of course, even though I came, I haven't had one drink. Honestly, though, it's fun to watch my friends get drunk, un. Especially Hidan; he often gets the most wild when he isn't sober, un."
"Yup…I can tell," turning his amber gaze to the left, Sasori noticed Hidan was over by the karaoke stage, belching 'Sweet Home Alabama' into the mic, while Kakuzu just hid his face in embarrassment. "I'm surprised Konan hasn't started stripping yet."
"She does that when she's drunk, un?"
"Oh yeah; I think my friends are worse, to be honest."
"Really? How long have you known them all, un? Cause I somehow was never introduced to any of them, even though Hidan knew at least Itachi and Kisame."
"Well Pein and I go way back," Sasori explained, swiveling in his seat to lean up against the bar with his elbows propped. "When he started dating Konan, that's how I met her. I met Itachi in college and then he started dating Kisame, who's brothers with Kakuzu, who's dating Hidan. That's how I met everyone."
"And yet, somehow we never met until the café," Deidara shook his head, a smile spreading across his face. "Fate sure is fucked up sometimes, un."
"Fate? You call this fate?" the redhead turned to give the blonde an incredulous look.
"Well think about, un!" the blonde looked back, blue eyes bright. "Somehow all our friends knew each other before we did. We somehow chose the exact same apartment complex to look at, both deciding that we wanted roommates, un. Yes, Itachi was the one who placed us together, but we became roommates and just so happened to run into each other unexpectedly at the café. It's fate, un."
"It's purely coincidence," Sasori exclaimed, shaking his head. "Pure coincidence and only."
"You don't believe in fate, un?"
"Unfortunately for you, no. Everything is factual and can be proven with either science or math. If it can't, than it merely doesn't exist," the redhead explained.
"So you're a realist, un?"
"Basically."
"That's boring."
"Says you."
"It is too, boring, un!" Deidara retorted. "Being a realist, you're often far from being creative because you believe so solely on science and math, anything that can't be explained, you write off as either non-existent or fantasy, un. That's pretty boring."
"Yet, I create realistic puppets that I carve with my own two hands," Sasori explained, looking the blonde straight in the eye. "Now tell me how that isn't creative?"
"That's probably the only creative thing about you, un," Deidara smirked.
"Really? Well how about-"
"You two having fun?!" Hidan suddenly appeared, placing an arm around the blonde's shoulders. His pale red eyes were glazed over from the booze and even from where Sasori was sitting, he could smell the alcohol on his breath. He scrunched his nose in disgust, somewhat peeved the meat-head interrupted their conversation. Deidara laughed, fanning the air with his hands. "Hidan, lay up on the alcohol, un. You're literally drenching in booze."
"I'll say," Kakuzu remarked, appearing beside Sasori. "This idiot isn't watching how much he's drinking."
"Aw, come on, Kakuku-"
"Kakuzu, dip-wad!"
"…Isn't that what I fucking said?" Hidan cackled, throwing his head back as he did so. Composing himself, he tightened his grip around the blonde's neck, almost into a choke hold.
A wave of protectiveness suddenly washed over Sasori, and it took all his strength not to move to fix the problem.
"Let's go fucking sing, Dei!" Hidan screamed, pulling Deidara along with him. "I wanna hear that angel voice, again!"
"Hidan that wasn't me, un," Deidara said, looking slightly annoyed, yet, he allowed his silver-haired friend to pull him over to the microphone, idly picking out a song to sing. Sasori watched in quiet amusement, grinning at the random goofy looks the blonde would give Hidan every now and then.
"My, Sasori, you starting to have a thing for Hayashi over there?" Kakuzu asked, noting the redhead's viewpoint.
"Starting? More like growing," Sasori admitted, shaking his head. "Guy's fucking amazing."
"You know he's straight, right?"
Sasori felt his ego slightly deflate at the news.
Deidara was straight?
Yeah, he could see it, but it just sort of surprised him.
He hasn't met many guys who've been able to maintain being straight when surrounded by gay men all time.
For a while, Sasori had felt Pein was starting to head down the rainbow trail, but then he met Konan, and the two have been inseparable ever since.
Even now, where Konan was walking around drunk, Pein was right there behind her, holding her hand in an act of protectiveness.
"That's fine, Kakuzu."
"Really? You're fine with liking someone who'll never like you back?"
"Well yeah. And besides," the redhead turned his gaze back to Deidara, who was trying desperately to become the back-up vocals in 'Chicken Fried' while Hidan was screaming like a banshee.
As if on cue, he suddenly looked up, locking eyes with the amber ones staring back, a wide grin igniting his face. Feeling his heart skip in rhythm again, Sasori returned the smile. "I know how to wait."