"You know what we're getting ourselves into, right, un?" Deidara asked Sasori as they left the bustling town behind them for a second time that night, each holding a bag of their own art supplies they had picked out at the art store.

It had been strangely exhilarating and thrilling and they had felt much like children sneaking off to the candy store after school without telling their parents and the excitement laid in the fact that they might have been caught any time, though they were sure that their "punishments" would be way more severe than a simple scolding. Still, despite that threat looming over their heads, they took their time choosing the materials they wanted. If they were only going to have one chance at this, they were going to make their art perfect, in every sense of the word.

Though, the fact that they were practically concealed was probably the reason why they felt so safe. The only way to look into the art store would be through the transom which would require a fair bit of height and a lot of obvious peering. The display window blocked everything else of course. The art store was like a cozy little house. At any rate, it surely felt like home.

"Into a black hole, except that the black hole is really more like heaven," Sasori replied with a brief comforting smile. He wasn't going to back out on his decision; it was too cowardly to do so, and if Deidara needed someone to convince him, he didn't mind being that person (besides the fact that he's the only person who could anyway).

Maybe it was wrong of him to do that, to be the tempter and lead Deidara into this. It was really nothing more than escapism at the moment and while he thought that he actually had the strength to draw himself away from it after that night, he wasn't sure that Deidara was the same. This surge of certainty he felt was completely new anyway.

He had been so afraid before that even a moment of art would pull him into it so much that he wouldn't be able to focus on medicine, but now he knew that that wasn't the case. He had just been a coward before. He didn't have the courage to do what he liked – loved – because he was just terrified that Chiyo would find out and what her reaction would be. He didn't want to disappoint her, but tonight he decided and realised that she wasn't the person he didn't want to disappoint; it was Deidara.

If Deidara had any difficulty coming out of that fantasy land that they were going to erect for themselves, Sasori would be there to help him and he was more than certain that he would be able to do a good job at it. Anyway, by assuming, he knew that Deidara wanted this as badly as he did, and that Deidara could definitely pull himself out of it.

What were the chances that of all assumptions he made about Deidara, these two would be the only wrong ones? He wasn't about to break his perfect score. He never did.

"I wish heaven doesn't have an exit door, un," Deidara muttered but Sasori caught it all the same.

"It doesn't have to have one," Sasori replied, choosing to look ahead even when he felt Deidara tilting his head slightly to look at him with a questioning gaze.

Sasori didn't elaborate and Deidara eventually looked away. He probably got it. They could lock themselves in heaven in time to come; now just wasn't it.

"You know, we can just throw all these away and pretend the last two hours didn't happen, un," Deidara said and he sounded so serious that Sasori almost believed him for a moment. The lack of conviction in his voice was all it needed to convince Sasori that he wasn't actually too inclined to doing that. In fact, he was probably aghast at the mere thought.

The brat probably just wanted confirmation that Sasori wanted this. The redhead almost burst out into laughter right then and he would have done so if he hadn't already been behaving so out of character the whole day. The blonde might just have enough reason to drag him to the psych floor the next day. But really, Deidara being insecure was too hilarious.

"Where did the confident Iwa Deidara go?" he asked with a slight smirk which earned him a glare.

"I was concerned about your fragile nerve, Danna, un," he retorted, eyes flashing in annoyance.

"You have nothing to worry about then. I'm better than fine."

"Do you really want to do this, un?"

Sasori gave Deidara a look which conveyed how much that yes, he really wanted to do this, and how annoyed he will be if Deidara didn't stop acting like a lost child. Deidara rolled his eyes in response and murmured something inaudible under his breath. Sasori let it slide, but only because he was feeling kind.

"Right, if you really want to do this, then where do you suggest we do it, un?" Deidara asked sceptically.

"Why do you sound like you're coming up with excuses to get out of this?" Sasori asked. His patience was running thin and he was actually certain that Deidara wanted this too. If he didn't, then he was fine to walk away. Sasori wasn't going to change his mind.

"It was an innocent enough question, un," Deidara said, rolling his eyes again. "If we're doing, I want to do it properly."

Okay, so it was true that Sasori didn't have anywhere in mind, and he most definitely couldn't use his apartment because his security guard might tell Chiyo what he had been up to. He wasn't a tattle-tale by any means, but he was an active chatterer and Chiyo loved to chat with him to find out more about her beloved grandson.

"Fine, I don't have a place in mind."

"Thank God for me then, un," Deidara said with a wide smirk on his face. Sasori was wondering why exactly (because he thinks that that wasn't exactly something to thank God for) but he was just too glad that the usual Deidara was back.

"Why?" Sasori demanded after too many seconds of silence.

Deidara just laughed in response and that resulted in a glare thrown his way from Sasori. Really, the redhead thought that he had already waited long enough just to come to this decision to touch his art again. He was in no mood and he certainly didn't have the patience to wait any longer than necessary.

"I was waiting for you to ask that, un," Deidara said and laughed some more but stopped abruptly when he realised that Sasori was more than unamused. "I know just the place, un."

"And where exactly is that?" Sasori asked, feeling just a bit worried that the place would be too far away. Yes, they had tonight to do whatever they wanted and they were free to let themselves be happier than they have ever been in years, but they were still firmly attached to reality. They still had to return to the hospital the next day.

"It's near, un," Deidara assured him though there was a hint of sourness in his voice. Apparently he wasn't all that enchanted as well and still remembered their commitments.

Sasori wanted to find out more but he realised that he really didn't want to wait any longer. Anyway, if Deidara said that it was near and that he was confident enough that they wouldn't be late the next day, who was he to doubt it? He certainly did trust Deidara.

"What are you waiting for, Brat? Lead the way."

Deidara started smiling and Sasori found himself relaxing more and becoming slightly happier again now that they weren't so tense. The fact that their plans were actually going to come true soon in a matter of minutes (he hoped) was more than enough to let him feel joy as well.

"As impatient as ever, Danna, as impatient as ever."

Deidara hadn't been lying when he said that the place was near, not that Sasori doubted him. The surprisingly thing was that they didn't even have to turn around or anything because the place that Deidara had in mind was on that particular hill.

Sasori found that slightly weird because he had been to that hill more times than he could count and while he admitted that it was a pretty much secluded place, he didn't find any spot which he found useful for the creation of art. Well, he supposed that the house located the top of the hill was an ideal place for working, what with the scenery and breeze and all, but that was out of question obviously.

When they stopped in front of that particular deserted small house located at the top of the hill, Sasori contemplated killing the blonde.

"Brat, the place you're talking about is not this house."

Deidara raised a curious eyebrow at Sasori.

"Why not, un?"

"Because this house isn't yours and using it will be considered trespassing and I, for one, am not going to be found guilty of that charge."

"Have you ever seen the owner around, un?"

"No, but that's no reason to go barging into the house."

"That's 'cause the owner is me, Danna, un."

"You mean after you kill the owner?"

"No, I mean now."

Naturally Sasori was shocked. As usual, the blonde was full of surprises though he had to admit that this was the best one so far. Still, it didn't eradicate any of the shock Sasori was feeling. More than the fact that Deidara was the owner of the house, the thing that caused Sasori to be so stunned was because he, on more than one occasion, found himself wondering about the owner of that particular house.

It was no secret to anyone who knew him how much he liked this particular hill, it being away from the general crowd and all, so naturally he would spend some of his free time there. It wasn't exactly his favourite spot but it was near to his house so he supposed that it convenience played a part, not that he would mind travelling 4 hours to get away from the world.

The house had caught his attention of course. The owner was never around and of course the most prominent rumour that arose from that situation was that the house was haunted. Some kids had, on more than one occasion, tried to break into the house to take at the "red-headed ghost" which was said to reside inside, but all to no avail. Some had simply freaked out and ran away, while others simply couldn't find a way to climb the Palisade gate. The only way to really get into the house was to climb the tree beside it and drop from the branch which was so long it extended past the gate. Though, no one was actually brave enough to try it because the way down was rather long.

Though, it was the one incident which scared off anyone else from attempting to trespass into the estate and which he saw personally that sparked the most curiosity in him and he found himself starting to think about the owner.

Some boys had actually (finally) picked up the courage to try said method only to run away like panicked chickens when a bomb went off. It was actually only a minute explosion (if it could even be called that) which sent a few stones flying and its only redeeming feature was the fiercely loud sound it produced. Whatever the case, the intended effect was obtained and no one tried to enter again.

Sasori had been obviously amused. The kids failing to get over the gate was amusing but this was on an entirely new level. Being curious as he was, of course he would start wondering about the owner of the house and the creator of that bomb.

He had never attached any name or appearance to the owner in his imagination. All he thought about was the situation the owner was in. He had imagined that the owner was someone who was in the same shoes as him, except that he had made the choice to run away, to escape the house which had held him captive. It was really just to make himself feel better, to know that there was a possibility of getting out of his own situation some day and to be free.

The irony here of course was that the owner was really in exactly the same pair of shoes as him; the owner didn't manage to escape. The owner was still very much in captive. That thought was depressing to say the least, because he had unconsciously been making that very owner his hope of leaving medicine behind some day and soon, but now that hope was dashed. Still, he did feel a bit of happiness that he wasn't alone.

"Are you going to just stand there and gawk like an idiot, or are you going to move, un?" Deidara snapped.

Sasori let out a small chuckle. Okay, so Deidara was really serious about accomplishing some form of art piece that night. He really shouldn't have doubted it. They both wanted this; they just never had the courage or motivation to do it. Now that they had both they weren't going to let it go.

"Let's go, Brat," Sasori said and started walking off only to realise that Deidara wasn't following. He turned back around. "What?"

"There is something really wrong with you Danna, un. Where's the glare?! Gosh, I'm totally sending you to the psych floor tomorrow, un," Deidara said seriously.

Sasori did glare at him then just for the sake of it. He didn't put it past that crazy blonde to actually call up the psych floor the next day and book an appointment for him. If word of that got to Chiyo, he wasn't quite sure if he would able to explain his way out of it.

On the more serious side, if Chiyo did link it back to Deidara, who knew what would happen? He was quite (read: more than very) happy not to let his close relationship with Deidara be known to Chiyo, though he had his suspicion that she did somewhat know already, especially after his encounter with Deidara's mother.

But he stopped himself from thinking about that issue any further; Chiyo had made enough of an appearance that night.

"Brat, can we just enter the house so we can start already?" Sasori asked in annoyance. If he was going to stop thinking about Chiyo then he was going to have to start on his art soon. Besides, he had waited long enough already.

"As impatient as ever, Danna, un," Deidara replied easily, as was his usual answer, but even Sasori could see how impatient Deidara himself was feeling.

Normally, just for the sake of pissing Sasori off and testing his patience, Deidara would take his time getting things done, but he wasn't pulling off any of his antics now. He fished the key out his wallet and unlocked the gate deftly.

"Danna, I'm being serious now, so listen, un," Deidara said as he locked the gate after Sasori had entered the compound. "There are bombs around, un. So follow me and not set anything off."

"I know," Sasori said in amusement while Deidara shot him a look of shock.

"Were you one of the bloody idiots who set some of it off, un?" Deidara demanded, a look of incredulity replacing the surprised expression on his face.

"No," Sasori said and rolled his eyes to emphasise how mentally challenged Deidara must be to even suggest that. Deidara shrugged. Sasori couldn't blame him; why else would he know about the bombs? "I saw some kids set them off, and by the way, the explosives weren't so impressive."

"Danna, if I made them any bigger, I risk damaging the house or even destroying it altogether, un," Deidara said in his matter-of-fact tone that he always used when he thought that he was saying something that made Sasori look stupid.

Sasori ignored him and instead focused on his steps. Knowing Deidara, the place must be filled with the bombs. Dangerous or not, he was not risking setting off any of those contraptions which Deidara created… which reminded him…

"Why did you make those bombs?"

"To keep trespassers out, un," Deidara said happily and the lingering wide smile on his face told Sasori that that wasn't the only reason.

"Well?"

"It's my favourite form of art, un. It's so sudden and it only lasts for a few seconds at most. There isn't even any time to admire its beauty to the fullest extent before it disappears into nothingness. It's transient and perfect," Deidara gushed and Sasori was sure that he had never seen the blonde so happy and animated before, and that was saying a lot.

Still, that didn't mean that Sasori agreed with his point of view, and neither was he kind enough to let his opinion go unheard.

"If you don't even have time to fully appreciate its beauty, how is it perfect?" Sasori asked, and the flash in Deidara's eyes told him that the blonde was more than up for this endless debate between them.

"That's what makes it so beautiful and flawless, un," Deidara replied, shooting Sasori a smug smile. "Because it lasts for only such a short moment, the only time you can embrace its beauty is in that moment and that makes it all the more worth it."

"A perceived beauty," Sasori corrected. "Precisely because it lasts so short that you imagine it to be better than it actually is. It's just like how people always think that the past was better than it really was; because it's already gone so they can imagine how they like it to be and visit it as a "perfect" memory when they want to."

"And how is a perceived beauty different from real beauty? And if a person perceives something to be beautiful, then are they not entitled to their own opinion of what is "real", un?" Deidara retorted.

"Are you admitting that the beauty is but make belief?" Sasori asked with a smirk, though he knew that Deidara wasn't going to lose just like that.

"I'm suggesting that perceived beauty is beauty enough to the subject in question, un," Deidara replied. "Meaning your claim is invalid."

"A truly beautiful thing is one which withstands time and remains beautiful to all who see it no matter when," Sasori said as Deidara shook his head.

"If something remains there forever, then it'll just become part of the background, un. Say, even if it really is attractive, people are bound to get sick of it if they see it every day, un," Deidara argued.

"I agree with you," Sasori said but before the look of triumph could fully show on the blonde's face, he continued, "but it's the concept of eternity, the fact that it can withstand so many things and still remain beautiful, regardless of people's opinion of it, that is so flawless and perfect."

"How the heck would you appreciate it if it's going to be there forever, un?"

"How would you appreciate something that will only impact your life for three seconds?"

Deidara looked like he was about to retort but he realised that they had reached the door already and all thoughts of arguing flew out of his head in anticipation of what was to come. Sasori appeared to have reached the same conclusion as well because he wasn't saying anything anymore.

Without taking out a key or anything, Deidara simply pushed the door open and entered the surprisingly well-furbished house.

"It's not like anyone can even get to here anyway, un," Deidara said, smirking.

Sasori didn't disagree.

After looking around for a bit, Sasori eventually came to the conclusion that Deidara actually came to this house quite often. The most telling factor would be how clean the house was. There wasn't even a speck of dust anywhere. He obviously took care of this house more than the one he was staying at. If Deidara liked this house so much, why didn't he just stay here?

"I don't stay here because this house isn't technically mine; it belonged to my father, un," Deidara said.

Sasori didn't even feel shocked that Deidara practically just read his mind. He was seriously getting too used to the blonde and his uncanny ability to seemingly, well, read his mind.

"He's dead, un," Deidara elaborated and the tone in his voice told Sasori that this was a story for another day. Though he wanted to know more, he wasn't going to pry obviously and the blonde knew that by now because he didn't even bother explicitly telling Sasori that. Besides, they both knew that there was something more important that night.

"Make yourself comfortable, un," Deidara said distractedly. He was already pulling his art supplies from his bag and was setting them on a study desk nearby.

Sasori went over to the sofa and started laying out his stuff on the coffee table as well. It had been a while since he felt as excited as he did at that moment. He never realised how much he missed the rush of adrenalin upon the touch of wood against his skin. He was a narcissist but he had to admit that he did really well to be able to put off touching art for so long.

Afterwards, time passed by in a blur. He hadn't forgotten any of his skills at all. If anything, it would seem that he had gotten better but it must be because of the pent up desire and want that his hands were moving as quick as they were. He didn't have any particular design in mind but his hands knew what to do, and so he lost himself in the heaven that he found.

He didn't know if Deidara attempted to talk to him and honestly he didn't care. He was feeling more alive than he had ever felt in years and he wondered how he managed to live his life without any art in it. He really had been but a living corpse.

When he was done, he took a moment to admire his work. He found some spots which he wasn't so pleased with but overall he was satisfied. This was already more than he could wish for and while this definitely wasn't one of his finest work, it was still up to his standard so there really wasn't anything else he could complain about.

"Are you done, un?" Deidara asked, content laced in his voice. Sasori had never heard him sound so at peace before, and he supposed that Deidara had never seen him so relaxed before either.

He gave a nod in response and looked over to the desk where Deidara was working at. It would appear that the blonde had just finished as well because the clay stains on the table were still wet. He stood up to walk over. Just because he didn't agree with Deidara's form of art doesn't mean he didn't appreciate it… to a certain extent anyway.

When he saw bottles of chemicals on Deidara's desk as well, he turned to look at the blonde with a questioning look. The last time he remembered, clay work didn't require any chemicals.

"Oh stop looking at me like I'm about to set the entire place on fire, un," Deidara chided with a playful roll of his eyes.

"There are bombs surrounding this very house we're in," Sasori told him and realisation lit up in Deidara's eyes.

"I never thought about it that way, un!"

Sasori sighed in exasperation. It was so typical of Deidara to not think things through, or even think actually. Somehow Sasori was quite convinced that the only reasons there were bombs buried in the ground was because Deidara just wanted to make them and later had nowhere else to place them.

"Where is your work anyway?" Sasori asked when he realised that there wasn't a sign of Deidara's art work anywhere. He knew that Deidara loved transient art but surely he couldn't have let them go already.

"There, un," Deidara said, inclining his head towards a small, brown, wooden box on the desk. He pulled it over to him and opened it. Inside was a moulded clay bird which was carved so skilfully that it looked too real to be fake. Sasori was more than impressed and Deidara must know that because he was giving the smuggest grin ever.

"You are an artist," Sasori said and that was enough for Deidara, because Sasori didn't just call anyone an artist. And to call someone whose view on art differed so greatly from his own to the point that he potentially didn't even see it as art was something that Sasori didn't do likely. He affirmed Deidara as an artist; there was nothing more Deidara wanted.

"That's not the end of it though, un," Deidara said with a rather sardonic smile.

Sasori was just about to ask what was going to happen (hopefully it wouldn't explode) when Deidara took the bird out from the box and carefully attached it to a spring. Sasori then realised it was a music box, just that the ornament was missing and Deidara was replacing it with the bird instead. Now Sasori was interested.

Deidara picked the box up and winded it before settling it down again as a soft melodious tune filled the room. At first, the music box worked as how a music box should; the bird spun in rounds as music flowed from it. Then, the most peculiar thing happened.

The bird started flaking, but it didn't happen in an uncoordinated manner nor was the bird ever disfigured. With each turn, the bird shed a thin layer of its coat, each time bearing a new colour until there was no more clay left and the bird disappeared in a swirl of gold, ending in time with the tune.

"And explosives aren't the only form of transient art, un," Deidara said proudly, because he was pretty sure that he was the only person in the universe who could make Akasuna Sasori wear such a shocked look upon his face. Okay, so Sasori didn't look all that shock but the fact that he was visibly shock was more than accomplishment enough.

"Brat, you're better than I think," Sasori finally said in the end. "You're good."

Deidara beamed happily. He didn't tell Sasori but he did respect the man a lot, in terms of medicine and even art though he had never actually seen any of Sasori's art pieces, so the fact that Sasori found it necessary to compliment him outright was possibly one of the best things that had happened in his life.

"So that's what the chemicals were for?" Sasori asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course, Danna! Did you really think I was going to make more explosives, un?" Deidara asked in indignation.

"I wouldn't put it past you," Sasori said.

Sasori had a really fine point there so Deidara didn't bother disagreeing with that statement.

"Well, as you can see, that was the work of a lot of math and science in the form of art, un," Deidara said before sighing in satisfaction. "I'm a bloody genius."

Sasori rolled his eyes. He admitted that Deidara was a genius but he wasn't too fond of fanning his ego; it was already big enough and Sasori was sure that Deidara had no problems inflating it himself.

"Let me see yours, un!" Deidara demanded, sounding so much like a child that Sasori wanted to say 'no' just to see if he would literally throw a tantrum and start throwing things around. But of course he was too sensible for that.

He walked back to the coffee table with table close behind him. He almost burst out laughing at how eager the blonde was.

"Wow, Danna, wow," Deidara said in pure amazement as he stared at the marionette laid on the table. "I knew you were good, but how did you do that with wood, un?"

Deidara held it up by the strings and gasped at how life-like the marionette was. It was a lady wearing a tube dress with a flared out bottom. A single rose was intricately carved onto the top part of the dress and many patterns of roses were shaped on the bottom such that they looked like intertwining vines. The hair was styled into a French bun and Sasori even added butterfly ornaments onto it. Deidara was already amazed beyond speech when he realised that even the high heels worn by the marionette was specially designed.

"How the heck did you manage to do that in such a short amount of time, un?" Deidara demanded, knowing fully well that he was stroking Sasori's ego to a whole new level but finding that he couldn't being himself to care.

"I'm a genius," Sasori said with a smirk, looking haughtier than ever.

That was the expected answer of course but that didn't stop Deidara from feeling like he should set off a bomb in Sasori's face. But before he could say anything, he suddenly realised something, and apparently so did Sasori before the proud look was gone and he was looking at Deidara apprehensively.

"So Brat, when you said that I managed to do that in 'such a short amount of time', how much time did I take exactly?"

"I have no idea, Danna, un," Deidara replied slowly but the burning glow of the dawn was indicative enough.

"It's sunrise," Sasori stated simply.

"Way to be captain obvious, Danna, un," Deidara replied and Sasori shot him a look.

"Brat," Sasori said slowly and Deidara looked at him and raise an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Run."

And before Deidara could say anything else, Sasori had already sprinted out of the house. Deidara spluttered for a moment before he gathered his wits and switched off all the lights before sprinting off as well. It was probably about five, meaning he had about two hours before he had to be at the hospital, and he still had to get back home to wash up and grab his stuff.

Deidara was pretty sure he had never felt so screwed in relation to medicine before but as he sprinted to the subway, he found that he couldn't care very much.

He was much too happy.

Hope you guys enjoyed that! ^^ I know this is late again but it's the longest chapter so far (I think) so I hope that makes up for it! I probably will be updating later and later. So sorry!

And I'm so terribly sorry that I haven't replied to any of you guys! D: I was having my exams and my piano exam so I didn't have time. D: I'll try to reply them this time! ^^

Thanks so much for your support up till now! ^^