HELLO EVERYONE! I'm back! As promised, here is my new story called 'Habits'. Please understand that this is my baby, my child. I've been working on this story since last August and knowing that I can now share it with you all is a honor and a blessing. Please enjoy this story. Be warned that in later chapters, the story will turn pretty serious, but continue to enjoy it, nonetheless. I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story. All characters are copyrighted and owned by their original creator, Masashi Kishimoto. Review, please! I enjoy getting feedback from you all! ^ _^

"Damn, Deidara, you're one lucky fuck, huh?!" the silver-haired man cupped his hand on the shorter guy's shoulder, smiling widely.

"Thanks, Hidan, un, but would you mind not cursing so much? We're actually in society right now," the blonde next him said curtly. The two had just grabbed a quick bite to eat at a little café on the corner and were now making their way through the throng of the many people that invested the sidewalks every day. The silver-haired guy, Hidan, had just been told some good news by the guy next to him.

That guy was none other than Deidara Hayashi. A 6'2½" 24 year old just coming out of grad school and already landing a job as co-CEO of the worldly known company, Iwa Stratos.

"How much is it paying you?" they had stopped at a crosswalk, waiting for the signal that it was safe to cross. A line of taxis moved like a yellow serpent through the intersection. Deidara looked up at him with his bright, cerulean blue eyes, thought a moment, and then looked away. "I'd rather not tell, un."

"The hell not?!" his friend suddenly yelled, igniting a few passing glares from pedestrians as they received the signal that they could walk. He gave his normal, pale red, wide-eyed stare. "You're co-CEO of Iwa Stratos! Not even those that work in the lower ranks of the company can get an opportunity like you have and you're just coming out of Graduate School!"

"Doesn't mean I'm not paying for that decision, though, Hidan," Deidara exclaimed. "Because of what I've done, I've racked up a total of nearly $400,000 in student debt, un. I just got the first payment deadline sent to my email yesterday. If I don't meet that deadline with the first payment, the bank will start charging interest and one only knows the consequences of banks putting interest on loans, let alone ones that are overdue, un."

"But your new job will easily help pay that off, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so, un."

"…You still haven't given me an answer as to how much they're paying you."

"And like I said not two minutes ago, I don't want to say, un."

"And I repeat my question, why the hell not?"

"Damn, you're a pain sometimes," the blonde took a deep breath before continuing. "There is a thing called modesty in this world, Hidan, un. A concept you may never understand, but a concept, nonetheless. And in this concept called modesty, it is a widely accepted rule and law that you shall not discuss the amount of pay you receive with someone in a public place, un."

"…And why is that?"

"It's rude," Deidara said bluntly.

They had reached an area where the crowd had thinned out to about four or five people passing every so often. Noting this, Hidan took the opportunity, grinning like the Cheshire cat. "Well, now that we're not in a huge crowd anymore, mind telling me now?"

"You're persistent, aren't you, un?"
"Bet your ass I am."

Deidara thought for a moment, tugging on his beige scarf as he did so. His eyes traveled to the ground as he mumbled a quick response.

"…$1.4 million, un."

"$1.4 million?! You're shitting me, right?" his voice raising several octaves higher caused many to turn towards the two men standing leisurely off to the side.

"Would you please mind keeping your voice down, un?! This is the exact reason I didn't want to tell you!" the blonde snarled.

"Well, damn, sorry man, but what would you expect my reaction to be?!" Hidan laughed loudly, finally composing himself. "I mean, with that pay, you should easily be able to pay off that debt, right? You'd be done within a year."

"I guess, but I have to worry about paying for the other things, too, un."

"Like what?"

"Now that I'm not living on campus anymore, I have to find a place on my own, un," Deidara explained. A sudden cold wind sent a chill down his spine. It was nearing the end of October, two weeks away, to be exact, and he started his job officially in five days.

He would like to find a place before then.

"I know this swanky new apartment complex that just opened up near the HQ building for Stratos," Hidan explained. "Kakuzu and I stopped by the other day and that fucker bout nearly passed out at how expensive it looked."

"I'm trying to find an affordable place, Hidan, un," the blonde said smugly. Yes, he and Hidan had been friends since middle school, but there were many times when he questioned whether his friend had his best interests at heart.

"It can be affordable! On my and Kakuzu's salaries, no, but on yours and someone else's, yes."

"Mine and someone else's?" Deidara knitted his brows together in confusion.

"I'm saying that if you don't want to have pay so much, think about having a roommate to help split the cost."

"Never pegged you as the smart one," Deidara laughed at his friend's smug look. Hidan harrumphed and crossed his thickly muscled arms over his chest. "Oi, I'm trying to fucking help you here, ass wipe."

"And I appreciate it," the blonde's grin faltered slightly, "but I don't think I could trust having a random person living with me, un."

"The apartment complex offers applications that you fill out if you're interested in having a roommate."

"So you're telling me it's just like college all over again?"

"Basically."

Deidara sighed, not really believing a single word the guy was saying. He ran a hand through his long blonde bangs that hid half his face. The idea of living in an apartment right near HQ was definitely a check plus on the right end of the spectrum, but the idea of having a roommate was a check minus on the very wrong end.

The purpose of getting his own place was so he could be on his own, not worrying if some other random person would be able to make payment every month or not.

"Look, I can see you don't believe or are seriously doubting me, so here," Hidan pulled out a piece of paper and pen from inside his jacket and scribbled something quickly onto it. He handed it over to Deidara, and he scanned the words.

It was an address.

"It's for the apartment," the silver-haired man explained. "At least go and take a look at it. A co-CEO of Iwa Stratos deserves to live like one."

"Thanks, Hidan, I'll think it about, un," he folded the paper up and stuffed into his back pocket. "I need to get going, though. The art shop closes at 5 and it takes about 30 minutes to walk from here, un."

"You still sculpt in your free time, huh?" Hidan smiled, hands on hips. Deidara laughed. "When I can, yeah. See ya."

"Before you leave," his friend said, his face suddenly growing serious. "I'm going to tell you something that might piss you off."

"Okay, what is it, un?"

"We've been friends for ages and I've noticed you've become so dead fucking serious now."

"It's called growing up and maturing, Hidan," Deidara gave his friend a stern look. "Happens to everyone."

"Yeah, I understand that, but it happened to you so fast," Hidan exclaimed, averting his gaze. "You aren't as laid-back and easy-going. And you even talk fucking serious, too. Before you started grad school, you never told me to keep my voice down when I started cursing. I could say shit, fuck, cock, hell, ass, you name it and not get 'scolded' once."

"What are you trying to say, un?"

"I'm saying that you need a fucking break," Hidan said, placing a finger on the blonde's chest. "Right before you start your job. Come grab a drink with the guys and have one last free night before you get chained up in that job of yours."

"Alright, alright," Deidara threw his hands up in mercy, a small smile igniting his face. "A drink for old times' sake. What day and time?"

"I'll talk to the others and let you know on a later time," the silver-haired guy smiled as he turned away, not even saying 'good-bye', just giving one of his signature waves.

Deidara shook his head, turned on his heel, and headed off in the direction of the art shop.

Clicking away rapidly on his keyboard, the redhead scanned over the 5 pages of code he'd just typed out, looking for any errors. He'd been working on this particular program for days and he had only finished the first level with a whopping 500 pages of code to go along with it just this afternoon and was finally getting started on the second one.

"Mr. Akasuna, how are we doing over here?" one of his co-workers asked as he walked by. The redhead didn't look up from the screen as he replied. "Fine."

He clicked on, stopping for a second to run the program, seeing if there were any errors. Noting none, he continued on, getting another three pages completed before his phone buzzed the alarm.

Sighing, he leaned back and stared up at the ceiling with his bright amber eyes. He clicked his tongue, the piercing knocking against the back of his upper teeth.

He wanted to stay and work more on the program, but he had somewhere to be in an hour and his phone had just reminded him.

So, he unplugged his laptop from the universal cable, saved his work, and stuffed it into his lap bag, slinging the strap over his shoulder.

He trudged down the tiled hallway, passing his boss's office room. He knocked on the glass to get his attention. The man looked up from a call. "Yes, Mr. Akasuna?"

"I'm taking my leave for the night. I'll get more of it done once I can."

"Roger that," he promptly returned to the call.

The redhead continued on down the hallway and passed through a door that led to the main stairwell of the building.

He was one to take the stairs due to the fact that he didn't trust elevators much.

Staring out the glass walls as he made his down to the first floor, his eyes grazed over the buildings that seemed to touch the cloudy sky, yearning to reach the stars above.

The redhead went by the name of Sasori Akasuna, a 6'2", 25 year old computer programmer who'd been working for the same company for going on four years now.

The job paid very well; a whopping $350,000 a year, to be exact.

However, in the four years he had been working at the company, he had yet to find a place of his own. He'd been staying at his friend's, Pein's, house for the longest time, and no doubt the spiky, orange-haired guy was getting annoyed with the redhead's overdue stay.

Sasori just didn't know where to start looking.

Reaching the first floor, he stepped out into the late afternoon bustle of the city, the cold wind slapping his face like needles. He grunted, pulling his scarf up closer to his chin.

He hated the cold.

Hated the harsh winds, the constant stuffy noses, and the chances of getting sick go up ten-fold.

Summer was the best season.

However, November was beginning in two weeks, which definitely placed him closer to summer, but he'd have to endure almost another four full months of winter to get there.

He stopped at a crosswalk, eyes traveling up to the grey clouds rolling overhead.

If anything, it'd start raining soon.

This made Sasori curse under his breath.

Cold rain was the worst.

He moved through the crowd of people in the intersection, their voices mingling together to create a loud, indecipherable sound that rung rather annoyingly in the redhead's ears.

He hated large crowds.

This was why he questioned every day why he even lived in the city.

Suddenly, his phone began ringing. Pulling it out of his black coat pocket, he noticed it was his friend, Pein.

He touched the green icon and held it up to his ear. "What do you need, Pein?"
"I need you back at my place in 10 minutes."

A smile quirked at the edge of Sasori's lips. "That sounds a bit wrong, Pein."

"Ha ha ha, Sasori, you're so funny," he heard the sarcasm in his friend's voice. "Seriously, though, you need to be here."

"I have a meeting to go to, Pein," the redhead said matter-of-factly. "I can't just call and cancel 30 minutes before I'm supposed to meet the guy."

"Well, you're going to have to," Pein's voice had grown serious. "My place in 10 minutes or I'm changing the locks."

With that, the line went dead and Sasori placed his phone back in his pocket.

Guess that meeting will have to wait.

He reached Pein's apartment in less than seven minutes, relief washing over him when his key still fit in the lock. He opened the door and walked in. "Hey, Pein, what was it-?"

He immediately ducked as a book came hurtling towards his head. It hit the door with a loud thud and fell to the ground. He turned his amber eyes to his friend, glaring. "What the hell was that for, Pein?"

"I have been kind to you for the past four years, Sasori, but I'm at my limit here!" the orange, spiky-haired guy said, his face turned into a very angry snarl.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your damn puppets, that's what I'm talking about!" Pein yelled, holding up a puppet arm. "I came back to find a bunch of these littered around the living room! Thought you were one to keep everything organized?!"

"I am," Sasori stood up and walked on into the apartment. However, seeing the living room, he even doubted himself.

Puppet parts were scattered everywhere. A few arms were on the couch, a leg and a hand were on the glass coffee table, and a few heads were on the floor.

Even he was appalled at the state he'd left the apartment in.

"Well it obviously doesn't seem like it!" Pein yelled, joining him in the living room. He heaved a deep sigh, running his hand through his hair. "Sasori…I'm glad you have a hobby outside programming; really, I am. You aren't consumed with your job. But, we had an agreement that these would stay in your room and not overtake the rest of this place. My apartment isn't big, so even a tiny bit of clutter looks like a lot. I mean, Konan came over last night and screamed bloody murder when she saw one of your damn puppet heads on the coffee table! This has been happening frequently just recently and, I don't know why, but you have to change something or…"

"Or what?" Sasori asked the question, but already knew the answer.

"You get a place of your own," his friend gave him a sidelong look, almost pitiful. "You're making enough money now, Sasori. It's time you live on your own."

"I know, I just…I don't know where to start," the redhead plopped down onto the couch, inspecting one of the arms off to his left, noticing a slight scratch near the joint.

He'd have to fix that later.

"I'm not throwing you out on the streets yet, but…" Pein didn't finish his sentence, which made Sasori worry. He gazed down at the floor. "But what?"

"I'm giving you five days to find a new place," his friend said bluntly, walking back into the kitchen. "If you can't find one, oh well. I'll change the locks without making a new spare. You've been my friend for years, but it's time you about grew up."

Feeling more annoyed than anything, Sasori picked up the scattered puppet parts and took them to his room, slamming his door as he did so.

Five days to find a new place.

Awesome.