Author's note: this is a very quick drabble-one shot thing. The original idea was mine and Vicucha's, we thought of it at her home around 4 a.m. while watching the first season of Naruto Shippuden. Please bear in mind that I haven't read the manga/watched the complete anime series, I'm merely borrowing the characters for this little AU universe I thought of. Basically, Sasori and Deidara are in art college, they have just finished their first year and are coming back to spend a few week at Sasori's house. Sasori's parents are dead and he lived with his grandma - that was the original idea. This went from humor to angst to slight fluff. I don't know, I'm too tired to care.

Warnings: College AU, possible OOCness, very slight yaoi of the SasoDei kind. Also, my very shallow knowledge of the Naruto universe.

Dedicated to Vicucha, for letting me invade her place during the last weekend, keeping me up until 6 a.m., and giving me this idea. Also, Sasori's house is kinda based upon hers - I imagined the stroy taking place there!

This is why…

…you should never let your crush near your grandma.

A Naruto alternate universe fan-fiction by Raven

"Granny!" Sasori called as he pushed the wooden door opened, frowning at the creak it emitted. He would have to take care of that later. "Granny, we're home!"

Nobody replied, but that was to be expected. The short-haired redhead nudged the door with his shoulder and stumbled inside, carrying a big suitcase in each hand. Behind him, Deidara strolled in casually, hands behind his head as he looked around with a smile. It was nice to be back, even if it was only for a few weeks, before they had to go back to college. First year had been good, but tiring, and he was looking forward to a month at his best friend's house, with Sasori's lovely grandmother, Chiyo, looking after them as if they were little kids again. His friend disappeared into his old room, dragging the suitcases with great effort, and the blonde made his way towards the kitchen, throwing his black coat aside as he walked across the dining room.

He found Granny Chiyo in the kitchen, humming mindlessly to a random tune on her old radio as she stirred a deliciously smelling stew. He leaned against the wall, grinning at her.

"Hey, grandma."

The woman looked up, not startled, but definitely surprised to find the long-haired blonde standing right before her, when he had been many kilometers away just hours ago.

"Deidara, dear!" the old, wrinkled woman smiled brightly, leaving her spoon on the counter and wiping her hands with a dishcloth. Deidara stood up off the wall and leaned down to give the woman a loose hug. "How nice to see you! You came to stay too?"

"If you don't mind, un."

"Of course not! I'll tell Sasori to set up the guest room for you!"

Deidara followed the woman into the dining room, but something caught his eye and made him stop in his tracks and grab Granny Chiyo's shoulder, stopping her.

"Hey, grandma, what is this?"

The woman looked up, blinking. Deidara had a book with a pink cover in his hands, and was inspecting it as if it were some interesting encyclopedia written in a language he couldn't read. She smiled softly and gave a small nervous chuckle.

"Oh, that's just an old photo album. Sasori phoned last night and I felt like looking at it again. Seems I forgot to put it back in its place…"

Deidara nodded absentmindedly, opening the book at a random page. A young Sasori dressed in light blue pajamas looked back at him from the picture. Puppets, their strings tangled and limbs bent in awkward positions, were scattered all around him. One of them sat perched atop the child's shoulder, and the other was sprawled on his head, little inexpressive face buried in red tresses. Deidara smiled at the sight; the picture was so perfectly taken, so well-lit and delicate, that even Sasori's long lashes were visible. The boy's eyes were half-lidded and bored-looking, but a small smile was curving his lips. Deidara knew he was having fun.

"That was his third birthday" Chiyo commented, smiling affectionately as Deidara lowered the book so she could see it better. "It was his first set of puppets… He adored them."

"He still does" Deidara chuckled, flipping the page. The pictures didn't seem to be in any particular order; on the next page there was a picture of Chiyo holding a tiny bundle of light-colored blankets in her arms. A puff of red hair was visible near her shoulder. The blonde suppressed an urge to giggle madly at the sheer cuteness of a baby Sasori. "So cute, un…"

"That was the day we brought him home from the hospital, he had just been born. He was so tiny…"

Deidara flipped another page, and couldn't stop himself from laughing. A child Sasori was grinning, resting his hands on the table where an empty plate sat just before him. His face was practically coated in chocolate and cream. Chiyo stifled a small laugh.

"Fifth birthday. He loved his cake."

"Such a messy eater, un!"

Flip. A two-years-old Sasori sitting naked in a bathtub, playing with a rubber duck. Deidara's laugh echoed throughout the house, and in his room, Sasori's head perked up. He was taking his favourite puppets out of the box he had kept them in during his time in college, hanging them from the racks that were above his bed so their strings wouldn't become entangled, when he heard the sound and instantly felt his cheeks flush. He loved hearing Deidara laugh, the sound clear, pure and sincere. He had had a crush on Deidara since he had first seen the boy, back when they were in high school, and after more than five years of friendship, he still hadn't decided to confess his deepening feelings towards his friend. Deidara was very smart, but he could be very oblivious when he wanted to. Deidara laughed again, and without realizing it, Sasori hugged a puppet to his chest, smiling shyly. What could his secret crush be laughing about?

"O-Oh, that's p-priceless, un!"

Chiyo snickered, flicking the page. Deidara let out a small sigh at the sight of a very young Sasori crying over a broken puppet. Who had been cruel enough to take that picture? It was horribly heartbreaking, yet moving and artistic like nothing else. The blonde didn't know how to feel about it.

Flick. Little Sasori dressed up as a bunny. Deidara laughed again.

"Aw, s-so cute, un!"

Flick. Sasori in his underwear, jumping on his grandmother's huge bed. Flick. Sasori standing in front of a school, a dejected look on his face and a puppet dangling from his hand. Flick. Sasori curled up in the carpet, asleep, surrounded by a dog and a bunch of puppets. Flick.

Sasori walked into the room just as Deidara leaned against Chiyo, laughing loudly while the woman giggled and flicked the page. Sasori's cheeks, which had been slightly pinkish before, went crimson when he realized what his best friend and his grandmother were doing.

"H-Hey, put that away, granny!"

"No way, un!" Deidara grabbed the book, turning to keep it out of Sasori's reach. "You were so cute, Danna!"

Flick. Flick. Flick.

"Deidara, I mean it! Give that back!"

Flick.

"Aww, look at this!"

"Dei!"

Flick. Flick.

Stop.

"Oh…"

Chiyo, who had been amusedly watching the two young men argue with each other, promptly went pale upon catching a glimpse at the picture Deidara had just stumbled upon. Sasori gasped and took a step back, light brown eyes clouding over. Deidara simply stared at the page, his blue eyes wide with shock.

In the picture, a young woman with long brown hair sat cross-legged on the floor, a two-years-old Sasori on her lap. The boy was watching intently, transfixed, as a redheaded man, crouching in front of him, made a puppet dance on the carpet. Behind them, the little spots of light of a Christmas tree were visible. Both the man and the woman were smiling at Sasori's fascination.

Deidara heard hurried footsteps behind him, but he couldn't take his eyes off the picture.

"Sasori!" he heard Chiyo's voice muffled and distant, as if she were underwater. Sasori had evidently left the room. Deidara couldn't blame him; seeing his parents smiling in that picture surely came as a shock.

"Danna…" Deidara whispered, running a black-nailed finger over the image of his younger friend. He looked so blissful…

Chiyo flinched as the book was violently closed and slammed on the table. There was a flicker of blonde hair, and she looked up as Deidara rushed out of the dining room, towards Sasori's room, where the puppeteer had obviously locked himself up.

"Danna!" the blonde banged on the door as soon as he reached it. "Danna, I'm sorry! Open up, please, un!"

Sasori certainly hated him now, for being a nosy idiot and peeking into his personal issues, he'd probably kick him out of the house and he would have to spend the rest of the summer on his own, or worse – at the Uchihas'. He shuddered at the very thought.

"Danna!"

"It's unlocked, brat."

Deidara stilled, and blushed as he pushed the door open slowly. Sasori was lying face-down on his bed, head turned to the side, staring at the wall. He looked sad, and Deidara felt a tightening in his chest. He approached the redhead, who didn't turn to face him.

"Danna… Are you okay, un?"

Sasori didn't reply; he simply frowned and kept staring at the wall, eyes narrowed and lips trembling the slightest bit. Deidara looked around wildly, nervously twisting his hands, a nervous 'un' escaping him. Suddenly, his eyes fell on a puppet. The room was full of puppets – big, small, detailed, beautiful, ugly, even Hiruko and Sandaime were sitting in a corner, the latter resting on top of the former. But the puppet that caught Deidara's attention was sitting at the feet of Sasori's bed. It was a plain wooden puppet, faceless and naked, with long blond hair. It looked unfinished, but there was something Deidara liked about it, and it was perfect to serve his purpose of cheering his best friend up. He would've liked to use one of Sasori's favourite puppets, but Hiruko was too difficult – and dangerous – to manipulate, and he had no idea how to control Sandaime. So, in a quick and fluid movement, he grabbed the small blond puppet and crouched down, hiding from Sasori's view.

The puppeteer sensed the movement, and rolled onto his back to look at his friend. Instead, he found a puppet standing on the edge of his bed, one of his arms bent at an awkward angle, while two inexperienced hands held it up by the strings.

The black nail polish gave him away. It was Deidara. Sasori raised both eyebrows.

"Hello, Sasori-sama, un!" Deidara said, faking a high-pitched voice – yet the characteristic speech flaw was ever present, and Sasori rolled his eyes at that. So unprofessional. The puppet flopped around pathetically; obviously the blonde had no idea how to move it. Still, watching the puppet bounce up and down, yellow hair shifting, brought a small smile to his lips. "You look sad, Sasori-sama! Cheer up! Puppet-chan doesn't want to see you sad, un!"

Puppet-chan? Sasori couldn't contain a small chuckle. Hiding practically under the bed, Deidara grinned in victory, clumsily moving the puppet.

"Why don't you tell Puppet-chan what's wrong, un?"

Sasori sighed. What wrong could it do to simply play along for a while?

"I'm sad, Puppet-chan" he said, and immediately snickered at Deidara's pathetic attempt at a name. "Heh… It's just that sometimes I wish my mom and dad were still here… It's stupid, because it was so long ago, and yet… I still miss them sometimes."

Deidara swallowed a lump in his throat, his voice faltering a little when he spoke again.

"B-But you have a lot of people who care about you, un!"

"Mh" Sasori smirked a bit. Now that could be interesting. "Like who?"

"Un… L-Like Granny Chiyo, for example… Your friends from high school… Some of the teachers in college who admire your art, un…"

"Mh, right" Sasori replied, but he didn't sound convinced. If anything, he sounded quite disappointed. Deidara bit his lower lip, the puppet trembling in his hands. He didn't want to have to say it, but he felt compelled to; it had been his fault Sasori had seen that picture that reminded him of those sad things. He spoke again, stumbling upon his words, and Sasori chuckled when he noticed the speech flaw was becoming more and more evident.

"U-Un… Well, un… There's also Dei-Dei!" he finally blurted out, blushing madly. "Dei-Dei loves you more than any of them, un!"

Oh, he hadn't just said that. He gulped as Sasori took the puppet from his with ease, and then slid up to face the redhead almost shyly, cheeks bright red and blue eyes downcast. Sasori looked down at the puppet, smiling, before placing it on the bedside table. His eyes immediately returned to Deidara's, and his smile became brighter, happier. A spark of hope was lit up in his chest. Maybe…

He reached out to caress Deidara's cheek, and the blonde tilted his head lightly, blushing more and emitting a faint 'un'.

"That was a nice show you put up there" Sasori whispered, Deidara's eyes widening, awestruck. "Thank you" the puppeteer added, before leaning in to kiss his blonde crush's cheek, very close to the corner of his lips. Deidara closed his eyes, taking in a shaky breath.

"Danna, un…"

Sasori smirked. Maybe…

Maybe this summer his deepest wish would come true.

Author's note: I'm thinking of doing more drabbles/short one-shots in this same alternate universe, the Naruto characters are so much fun! Also, I adore Hiruko and Sandaime Kazekage!