OHAYO, MINNA! Chapter 7 is now up and ready for your reading pleasure...and you may hate me for this one xD But still...ENJOY IT, MY LOVES! R&R, please! ^-^
It was the bright sun that awoke the sleeping blonde the next morning.
As he opened his tired blue eyes, his gaze caught sight of the dust particles undulating through the warm rays that filtered in through the windows and landed on his face. Groaning, he rolled until his back faced the brightness, throwing the duvet over his head, nearly succumbing to sweet dreams, once again, when his nose caught the scent of something sweet…
And savory.
Scrunching his face, he concentrated on the smell.
What was that?
Faintly, he heard the sound of clanking dishes, as if someone was cooking.
Sighing, he sat up and stretched, hearing his bones pop. He threw the covers off of him and made his way out the door and down the stairs.
Sasori stood there over by the stove, flipping what looked like pancakes. He had long blue lounge pants on and was shirtless, his lean-muscled upper body finally apparent now that he wasn't wearing his normal fall/winter attire.
"Morning, un," Deidara yawned, sitting down in one of the island's stools. The redhead glanced over his shoulder, and then proceeded to flip another pancake, the dough sizzling in the pan. "Morning. You hungry?"
"I could go for something, un. What are you making?"
"Pancakes and sausages."
"Enough for two, un?"
"I can make enough for two."
"So you weren't making breakfast for me, un?"
Without warning, Sasori swiveled on his heel to face the blonde, and the latter was shown yet more piercings the other boy had.
On top of the snake bites, gauges, eyebrow, tongue, and industrial, the redhead had four dermal piercings on both of his collarbones, one on each side of the slanted cartilage. And nestled gently in between the more than slightly defined abs was a silver navel ring, the sun glinting off the shiny surface.
Still somewhat shocked, it took Deidara a moment to realize that Sasori was pointing a spatula in his face. He blinked a few times to escape the haze. "What, un?"
"I said, 'I'm not your maid,'" the redhead harrumphed, still waving the cooling cookware at the blonde. "I'll make you breakfast, but you have to ask."
"Fine, will you please make me some breakfast, un?"
"Better. Yes, I will," with that, Sasori turned back around and began pouring more batter into the pan. Deidara gazed at the granite countertop, mind still reeling over what he just saw. Before he could comprehend what he was saying, the words were out before he knew it:
"You have a lot of piercings, un."
"What did you say?" obviously not clearly hearing him, the redhead looked over his shoulder at the blonde, whose face was flustered from his non-filtered sentence. He frantically racked his brain for a saving grace. "I – um – I was just wondering…how many – um – piercings you have…un."
"Oh, that. Well," turning back to the pancakes to flip them, he continued, "in total I have 14 piercings."
"Why did you get them, un?"
"Long story."
"You're not going to share, un?"
"You know that reason you have for not wanting to tell me what job you got?" Sasori asked, voice growing lower and less friendly. "Think of it that way as to why I don't want to tell you why I got all these piercings."
"…Alright, I'm sorry I asked, un," Deidara retorted, defensiveness lining his demeanor.
"It's fine. Here," the redhead turned around and slid a plate full of pancakes and sausages over to the blonde, along with a glass of white milk and syrup, "enjoy your breakfast."
As Deidara began to eat, he noticed Sasori suddenly making his way over to the stairs. "You're not gonna eat, un?"
"I already ate."
"Where are you going now, un?"
"To change. I have work in an hour."
"Oh…have fun, un."
The sound of the door shutting was the only response he received.
Locking the door to the bathroom, Sasori leaned forward against the sink, staring intently at his face. His gaze traveled from the industrial piercing, over to the left gauge, ghosting over the ring in his right eyebrow, and finally landing on the two spikes jutting out from just under his full, lower lip. And when he stuck his tongue out, the familiar silver ball glinted under the lights. Sighing, he lifted his hands up and began to take each one out, leaving only the tongue piercing and industrial behind due to the fact that it was a bitch to have to put back on later. His blood-red hair just barely covered the piercing and with the rest of them out, he looked almost normal.
And he hated that with a burning passion.
He twisted the ball off the navel ring, sliding it out and placing it among the other shiny pieces on the granite sink, desire to put them all back in coursing through his veins. Obviously since the ones on his collarbones were dermal, he didn't touch them as he turned on the shower, letting the water warm to a near burning temperature. He stepped in and let the water run over his cold skin, scalding his back slightly.
He didn't care, though.
Letting his head droop forward, he closed his eyes, recollecting his encounter with the blonde downstairs. His golden tresses had been slightly tangled and his own upper body had been exposed, letting the redhead know that he, too, had more than slightly defined muscles threading his arms, chest, and abdomen. On top of that, his blue eyes had still been glazed over from sleep, adding a hint of near innocence to the otherwise manly demeanor the younger male gave off.
Why did he have to be so damn attractive?
He honestly felt like an asshole for how he had responded to Deidara's curiosity about his piercings, but like the reason the blonde had for not wanting to say what job he got, it was a reason that he didn't necessarily want to touch upon.
It brought up bad memories he too often wished he could forget.
Clenching his teeth, he began to feel those memories surfacing, latching onto the back of his brain and sliding forward like black slime, clogging the places where happiness and security usually lie, but were now pain and heartache. Entangling his hands in his hair, he snatched at the strands, hearing the distant, yet familiar voices echoing in his mind, the echoes growing louder and louder, heavier and heavier, drowning his ears with the words that broke him, cut him, left him lying in a useless heap, unable to fight against them.
The black slime continued to move forward, shattering the joy and contentment he often felt, but were now madness and fear. He wanted to scream, but his throat felt too tight and too full, the words lodged inside him, begging to be free.
And no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't escape. The slime was reaching its final destination; where he felt loved. His inner self was screaming at him to do something; fight, yell, kick, whatever he could do to keep that from happening.
But he felt frozen in place.
He clutched his hair tighter, to the point where he began ripping out a few strands, in a desperate attempt to rid his mind of the thick and heavy blackness that had now pooled into every limb in his body. The voices were now screaming in his ears, deafening his hearing until all he heard was a loud, seemingly endless roar of cruel and hateful words. It felt like he was drowning, sinking lower and lower though his arms and feet were kicking frantically, trying desperately to push his body to the surface.
Searching, he saw a slight glimmer amongst the blackness, gazing intently at it.
Where was that light coming from?
Though he questioned it, his mind was grasping for it, reaching, stretching, fingers slightly grazing the warmth. The roaring in his ears had finally become inaudible, like white noise. Feeling his body beginning to collapse, he gave every effort he could into moving towards that light.
That light.
Where was it coming from?
He needed to know.
Why was it trying to save him?
Why did it want to save him?
Why did it-?
"Sasori, un?" a sudden voice easily broke the roaring noise, instantly shattering it to quietness. The slime collapsed and disappeared in an instant, and the warm light was all the redhead could see. He opened his eyes, staring down at the tiled floor of the shower, the hot water still scalding his back. His ears picked up the sound of a knocking and he turned his head to the door. "What is it?"
"I'm sorry…about earlier, un," Deidara said, sounding apologetic. "I just wanted to tell you that. And…um…your pancakes they were…pretty good, un."
Sasori couldn't help but smile. "It's fine, brat; no need to apologize. And thanks."
"Brat? Why that nickname, un?"
"Just for kicks. Now leave me be."
"Fine, un. Have fun at work."
The redhead shook his head as he heard the door to his room close back.
He did wonder why he had called Deidara 'brat'.
Shaking his head, he already knew the answer.
The blonde was a stubborn child who had already stolen his heart.
Deidara fumbled with his tie as he walked through the crowded sidewalks of the city. The silk fabric around his neck felt uncomfortably tight, the wind hitting his face felt colder than usual, and the normal throng of pedestrians felt more claustrophobic than it normally felt.
Why did he feel like his senses were on high alert?
Oh right…today was the day he finally started his new job as Co-CEO at Iwa Stratos.
He was excited, no doubt; he would be working alongside his cousin, Ino, who had been the lead CEO for going on three years now before he showed up, and he would be working with his uncle, who he looked up to with the highest honor.
But, of course, he was extremely nervous.
Sure, he had an advanced degree in Business and Management, but suddenly taking on the role of Co-CEO was a huge step on the ladder of experience, and Deidara honestly hadn't a clue as what a CEO really did, other than be the top manager of a company/business.
Checking his watch, he had about 30 minutes until he needed to be there, but he wanted to arrive early to make a good first impression on everyone.
As he waited to cross an intersection, his mind began traveling back to earlier that morning, when he had apologized to Sasori for pestering on a subject he shouldn't have tried to pester into.
The redhead's whole aura had definitely changed within a matter of minutes, and when the blonde had finally finished his breakfast and made the conscious decision to say sorry, when he had made the trek to the bedroom and over to the door that led into the bathroom, he remembered hearing what had sounded like Sasori crying, but as soon as he had started speaking, the older male had sounded completely fine.
He had called him 'brat', in fact.
Thinking about that, Deidara smiled as he finally reached his destination.
The building was about as tall as the apartment complex he was living at; around 20-30 stories, stretching into the light grey clouds that covered the otherwise normal blue sky. The front of the building was covered by windows that were no doubt windproof, the sign IWA STRATOS easily visible near the rooftop for the entire world to see. Women and men dressed in suit attire, alike, moved in and out of the sliding glass doors, many chattering speedily on their smartphones, others waving to hail a taxi to go a specific location for, perhaps, a meeting, while many just mingled around the giant fountain surrounded by wrought-iron benches, some of which were taken up by random citizens on their laptops or reading a book.
It was so completely normal that Deidara instantly felt more relaxed as he entered the foyer. The high ceiling with its bright lights glimmered off the giant, dark-tiled floor in near paralleled semblance, the sitting area was equipped with a black, buttery leather L-shaped couch and a dark cherry wood coffee table, and the front desk with its gleaming, stainless steel surface and the company's logo embedded in the metal as well, sat off to his left, and he calmly walked over, smiling at the pink-haired girl behind it, who was busy clicking away on the keyboard in front of her, her pale green eyes trained on the computer screen.
He cleared his throat, instantly grabbing her attention. She abruptly turned her head towards him. "Hello! Pardon my rudeness, just typing up an email to send out. What can I help you with?"
"I'm here to speak with Mr. Iwa, please, un?"
"I'm sorry, but he only takes appointments if people wish to speak with him," the girl explained sadly. "But if you would like, I could leave a message," she quickly extracted a pen and paper, clicking the pen open and beginning to write. " Who may I ask is this message coming from?"
"Deidara Hayashi, ma'am, un," the blonde nearly laughed at the girl's shocked expression. Her delicate mouth had fallen open slightly, her eyes widening as realization hit her like a freight train. As her face began to fluster, she stumbled over her words. "My apologies, Mr. Hayashi I – um – if you had said that beforehand, I wouldn't have put you through all this trouble. I do sincerely apologize, sir."
"It's perfectly fi-"
"Deidara, oh how I've missed you!" a loud voice suddenly interrupted their conversation. Deidara turned his head to see Ino walking over, clad in a purple blouse tucked into a long black pencil skirt and black heels. Her hair, the bangs normally covering half her face like his, but on the other side, was curled and pulled into a high up-do, and minimal makeup covered her eyes and cheeks. As she reached her destination, she wrapped her cousin into a hug, slightly squealing. "I'm so excited for you to start working here!" she pulled away to gaze at his face. "When I heard the news, I just about screamed!"
"I'm glad to know you're excited, un," Deidara grinned, catching the pink-haired girl trying, but unsuccessfully, to listen in on the conversation.
"Well, you arrived just in time!" Ino remarked, starting to pull on his wrist. "Daddy was just about to leave for a business meeting, but he wanted to welcome you personally on your first day at work."
He began to let his cousin drag him over to the elevators when he remembered something. Lightly pulling away, he turned back to the girl at the desk, her fingers, once again, flying over the keyboard. "Hey, un."
Startled, she gazed up at him. "M-may I help you, Mr. Hayashi?"
"Don't worry about earlier, un. No need to apologize."
"Sir, it was my mistake and I must own up to it."
"Why call me 'sir', un? It sounds so formal."
"Policy, sir."
"Well, answer me this: what is your name, un?"
"…M-my name, sir?"
"Yes, your name, un."
She seemed hesitant to tell him, almost like if she did, she would be yelled at for doing so. She blinked a few times, then spoke. "I-it's Sakura Haruno, sir."
"Sakura, un," he let the name roll over on his tongue and slip gingerly into the air. He tapped the desk three times with his index finger, gazing into the girl's green eyes as he smirked. "I'll remember that."
At that, he swiveled on his heel and proceeded to walk over to Ino, who was waiting, slightly impatiently, by the elevators, but not before catching a glimpse of the dark pink flush that had invaded the other girl's cheeks as he strode away.