Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto series, Deidara, Sasori, New York, or a penthouse. I do, however, have Frontline on my iPod… no, wait, I still don't own it. Whoops.
Author's Note: Sorry that it's mainly dialogue. I'm sick and not feeling too… descriptive right now. Trust me, I have a new one coming up I think most of you will like… or hate. Either way.
After the door slammed, there was a rather soundless dark, save for the gentle breathing of the two men.
"This is stupid." The younger looking of the pair grumbled. "I mean, we're older, we're sophisticated, we're not… teenagers."
"Actually, I'm only 21." The older admitted. His sheepish grin could not be seen, for there were no lights. "That's pretty close to being a teenager, I guess."
"I'm 46." The red haired boy said, a tinge of pride in his voice.
"Hell no! Really?" the blond one said, obviously in awe. "You look way younger."
"No, not really. I'm 21."
"You look 16."
"No. 21."
Again, silence. The blonde one now tapped his fingers lightly against his jeans.
"So… your name?" the red haired boy asked.
"I'm Deidara." Deidara said, sounding rather nervous. "It's a stupid name, isn't it?"
"No worse then mine. I'm Sasori."
Another awkward pause from the two men, broken only by Deidara's nervous tapping.
"Are you natural born Japanese?" Deidara ventured.
Sasori nodded, and then remembered they were locked in a closet. "Yeah."
"Oh. Yeah, me too. So, how long have you lived in America?"
"America in general or just New York?"
"Just New York, I suppose."
"A year. I used to live in Oregon… that was 10 years of my life down the proverbial drain. What a hellhole."
"Oh, Oregon? I think it's nice."
"If you're one of those 'save the trees' idiots."
Sasori waited for a confirmation, but heard none. "Ahh, shit. I'm sorry."
"Oh, no, I'm not really one of those… types… but I don't really like the whole global warming idea."
"Me neither. I mean, who would want to be flooded by melting ice caps?"
"Not anybody I know."
"I don't know very many people."
"Why's that?"
"I'm not very likeable, I guess."
Deidara searched for a way to reply to that that wouldn't sound rude, but no ideas came, and so the two sat in silence.
"I think they thought I was a girl." Deidara finally said. "That's why they threw us both in here."
"Nah. If you were a girl, you'd have huge boobs."
"What?!"
"Ahh, see? I'm not likeable at all."
"I didn't mean to shout, sorry. But, what do you mean?"
"You look like the kind of person who if you were a girl, you'd have big boobs. And you'd like yappy little dogs and pink leather purses with silver straps."
"And I'd be stupid?"
"I don't believe in stereotypes."
"Then, do you get sunburned easily?"
"No… not really."
"Well then, I don't believe in stereotypes either."
"That doesn't make any sense…"
"I heard redheads get sunburned easily."
"That's fact, dumbass. This isn't my natural hair color."
Deidara laughed. "See? Blonds are dumb."
They both laughed for a while. Outside, somebody had started up Pillar's "Frontline", and the beat boomed through the entire penthouse.
"Oh, I like this song." Deidara said happily, bobbing his head with the music.
"What the hell is that? Oh, it's just a fur coat…" Sasori said, running his hand along the silky fur of the coat.
"Actually, that's my hair…" Deidara said, slowly. The hand quickly withdrew, Sasori wiping it on his pants, as if that did any good.
"I'm sorry!" Sasori quickly apologized.
"No, no, that's all right… all my coworkers stroke it for good luck. Honestly." he said, and gave a small sigh. "I'm used to it."
"It's very soft." Sasori said, smiling wistfully. "I wish my hair was that soft… I just can't tame it. I've broken at least four brushes on it."
"Hmm. Mine's just long, that's all."
"Is it naturally blond?"
"Yep." Deidara admitted, proudly. "Its work, but I love it."
Somebody slammed against the closet door. Sasori glanced up. "Hey, let us out! Hey!"
The patter of footsteps running away. Silence, save for the music. Both of the men gave small sighs. "Great." They both grumbled.
They paused, not saying anything for quite a few minutes. The party sounded like it was getting quite rowdy.
"Maybe it's not so bad, being in here." Sasori said, listening as something broke. "At least we're safe, in here."
"Safe from what? Party-goers?" Deidara mused, listening to a woman's happy screams as she was chased by someone. The footsteps ran past the closet, but the two didn't bother to yell.
"Yeah… and the cops, maybe."
"They'll come… knowing my friend, they will come."
"You know the guy?" Sasori asked.
"Yeah. I know him from college, I was a transfer student for a semester, and he's the one who got me an apartment and a job when I called up my friends."
"Is it a good job?"
"Yeah. I work in a coffee shop, I'm a waiter, and I help people set up their WiFi connection." Deidara said, leaning against the wall of the closet. "It pays well and I get free donuts."
"That's a good bonus." Sasori said, and they both laughed.
"So, you got a job?" Deidara asked, fiddling with a small chain he had found near the wall.
"I used to work at Powell's Bookstore, but I moved here… so I'm looking for one."
"A whole year here and you still don't have a job?"
"I want to… well, I want to invent stuff." Sasori said, embarrassed even though Deidara couldn't see him.
"That's pretty cool. I want to make art for a living." Deidara said. "Fat chance of that, though, I can't find any galleries who want my stuff."
"What medium?"
"Sculpture."
"Hmm. Nice."
Somebody knocked gently on the door. "Is this the bathroom?" the man drawled, obviously drunk.
"Umm… yeah. Come on in." Deidara said, quickly.
"Ooooh. It's occupied… I'll come back later." The man said.
"No, wait! Open the door!" Sasori cried, but the man had stumbled off, probably to puke on the carpet.
"Dumbass…" Sasori muttered.
"Hey, I think I found the light switch!" Deidara said, suddenly, and pulled on the chain.
With a loud chhchhdethunk, a staircase popped out of the ceiling, small wooden staircase sliding outwards, thanks to gravity. Sasori and Deidara pressed themselves against the wall, and when the noise stopped, they walked forward.
Faint light came from the room above, gently illuminating the cramped closet.
"There's light." Sasori whispered. "Should we go?"
"Yeah." Deidara said, and Sasori climbed up first, followed by Deidara.
It was an attic of sorts. However, the entire left wall of the room was a giant window, revealing the city's glimmering nightscape, full of glimmering glass towers that seemed to reflect the stars. Times Square shone in the distance.
"Do you think we'll be able to see the ball drop from here?" Deidara mused, stepping into the light. Sasori watched. The blond haired man seemed to glow in the light, almost like a… angel. Sasori shook his head, quickly. Thoughts, thoughts only.
"I guess-"
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" came the ringing cries from below. The pair of men sighed.
"Not." Sasori finished. "Looks like we're too late."
Deidara leaned against the glass window. Sasori expected him to be sad, but there was a gentle smile on his face.
"Got party poppers?" Sasori asked, stepping beside him. Deidara was only a head taller then him. Sasori had expected him to tower over him, seeing him from the other side of the party.
Deidara reached into the breast pocket of his white, button up t-shirt, pulling out a red popper. "Mind if I?"
"Go ahead."
Deidara pulled the string, and it popped loudly, spraying three strings of lime green confetti. Sasori smiled. He wore a simple short sleeved black t-shirt and khaki pants that stopped at his ankles… much more casual.
"Did you come from work, or something?"
"Nah. I just felt like dressing a bit fancy. It is New Years, after all." Deidara said, shoving the empty canister into his pocket.
Deidara glanced at Sasori, only one of his pure blue eyes shining out from under the blond hair. "Got a resolution?"
Sasori thought. "I'm resolving to find a job that pays well, offers good benefits, and suits my interests."
Deidara laughed. "That'll be hard to fulfill… but they're always more fun when they're hard, right? Well, let's see, I have to tell you mine, don't I?"
Deidara glanced back out the window again, and Sasori was almost sad to lose sight of those eyes. They were quite beautiful.
"I resolve to have a romantic relationship."
Sasori's eyes widened. "Geez."
"Yeah." Deidara said. "I've never had much luck in love… a highschool fling, once. But I want… a real relationship. Maybe even get married. I have a steady job, a nice apartment, I'm ready for it. Bring it on."
Sasori gently shook his head. "No, you're not."
"What?"
"That's what I've heard a lot of people say. They always say, I'm ready for love. Then… their heart gets broken. Nobody is really ready for love, and nobody will ever be, until they try it for the first time. You have to dive in, learn from your mistakes. There's no such thing as finding your true love on the first try. If love was that easy…"
Sasori bit his lip. "I'd be married by now. Yeah."
Deidara looked shocked, mouth hanging open a few inches. He closed it, firmly. "Oh. I get it."
They stood there, hearing the party downstairs. It was quite loud now, beat thumping, people whooping, poppers popping.
"Deidara, who do you want to find?"
"Someone who understands me… someone who shares my interests… someone who knows me well. Someone who will be there for me, through the good and the bad. But not someone who is perfect. I'm so imperfect that I'm not good enough for a perfect person. Maybe… someone who has flaws that my good parts can understand, and someone who has good parts to cover up my flaws."
"And would you care if this person was a man or a woman?"
Deidara paused. "No. I wouldn't say I prefer one gender over the other in general… but if the person's like that, then I don't care what he or she looks like, or how old he or she is, or even if the person is human. I just want that person by my side… forever."
Deidara gave a contented sigh, and walked away from the window. Sasori glanced after him.
"Where are you going?"
"Back to the closet… maybe it'll be unlocked by now."
"I like it better up here." Sasori said.
"Then stay up here. If the door's unlocked, then I'll come get you when the party's over."
"No!" Sasori suddenly said, whipping around. Deidara stopped, one foot on the staircase. He turned, glancing at Sasori with a look that was both unnerving and comforting… a strange mix of emotions. "I mean…"
He couldn't say anything else, for Deidara had come back up the steps and grabbed Sasori's hand. Sasori just stared, brown eyes blank.
"If you want me to stay, Sasori, I will." Deidara said, a smile crossing his face. "Don't get all upset."
Sasori didn't reply. He couldn't.
"If I'm making you nervous…" Deidara said, pulling Sasori into a gentle hug. "Go ahead and tell me."
Sasori shook his head. "After being stuck in a closet, honestly, I couldn't get any more-"
The female climbed up the staircase. "Hey, guys, I bet with Luke that you guys suffocated and I'm… oh."
Her eyes lit upon the pair, lips together, in a gentle embrace. Her eyes shot open, then she smiled and shook her head. "Great, there goes five bucks." She muttered to herself, climbing back down the staircase. "Looks like they did suffocate. I'll have to tell everyone."
Fin