Work Text:
Waaah sorry its so late, but here we goooooo
Day 1 of sasodei week 2021 done!
Genre: Friendship / Romance
Rated: K+
Naruto © Kishimoto
Story © Happii Haden
Sasori tapped his foot impatiently, checking the time on his phone multiple times. He chewed his lip nervously. The redhead had never done this before, not to mention his history with this kind of thing wasn't the greatest. His eyes fluttered to the large glass window. The sky was bright and clear, birds flying overhead. Just below sat a metallic bird. It’s wingspan stretched fields wide. His palms sweat, nervously.
“Good afternoon, passengers. This is the pre-boarding announcement for flight 22A to Konoha. Passengers with children or in need of special assistance are now asked to begin boarding at Gate 2. Please have all passes and identification ready. Regular boarding will begin in ten minutes. As always, thank you for flying with Iron Sands Airways!”
The redhead took a deep breath.
Children ran past him, their families not far behind. Young and old passed him by as he stood frozen.
If these people weren’t scared then why should he be?
Sasori needed to escape. He felt sick. Looking around frantically, he spotted the bathroom. Making his way through the crowd, he reached his destination. The door swung open in his face before he could reach it.
“Watch it, kid,” a rough voice grunted.
The redhead hung his head low and muttered a soft apology. He darted in after the other man.
The bathroom was empty and gross, just like any other. The fluorescent lights above flickered against the tacky green tiles. The smell of industrial cleaner alone was enough to make Sasori want to vomit. On top of his anxiety, he felt his stomach churn. The redhead turned to the only closed stall, jiggling the handle.
Out of Order
He hit a fist on the door, forcing the retch back down. He turned to the sink, running the water before splashing his face. It was cold, but not as refreshing as he had hoped it’d be. Sasori looked to the mirror, watching droplets of water roll down his cheeks. He absolutely hated this. Everything that could go wrong would.
He was going to die.
The sound of the door swinging open made his heart jolt and his spine shiver. He didn’t move, but his eyes followed the noise.
A blond male with long hair. Looked around the same age as him - a college student. He was tall and lanky, probably just a bit taller than himself. As soon as he made eye contact with Sasori, he smiled brightly.
“Hey,” the other started with a chime.
Sasori would’ve mistaken him for a female if he didn’t know any better. Shutting off the water, he briskly passed the blond, accidentally bumping shoulders on the way out. “S-Sorry…” he stuttered out. He practically stumbled out of the restroom. He couldn’t handle talking to people on a regular day, but now of all times? Definitely not.
A chime rang out across the intercom.
“This is the final boarding call for passengers of flight 22A to Konoha. Please proceed to Gate 2 at this time. Final checks are being completed and doors to the flight will be closed in five minutes. Again, this is the final call for flight 22A to Konoha. All passengers are to proceed to Gate 2 …”
Sasori’s eyes widened at the message. It was now or never. He couldn’t miss this flight. He searched the signs for his gate, shoes squeaking as he sprinted across the airport. When he finally did reach his destination, he dug through his pockets desperately. “Here,” he panted, showing his ID and boarding pass.
The attentandent raised an eyebrow at the crinkled documents, but allowed them nonetheless. “Enjoy your flight,” she smiled.
Sasori nodded.
She looked at him expectantly.
He blinked.
“You… you can go in,” she tried sweetly.
“O-Oh! Right…” Sasori laughed nervously. His legs felt heavy as he tried to move. It seemed his body had caught up to his brain after all. The redhead could feel judgmental eyes on him. His eyebrows furrowed in frustration and worry. “Ahaha, sorry…” he tried again. His ears burned as he could hear other people begin to chatter angrily behind him. Shit. He had to get it together.
The woman frowned, “Sir, the plane is ready to board. You need to get on or move to allow other passengers on.”
“I-I… I’m getting on, I just-”
“Hey, my man,” someone else beamed.
Sasori’s eyes widened at the sudden contact of an arm around his shoulder. He shot the stranger a look of bewilderment. It was the guy from the bathroom!
“I was afraid I lost ya for a minute, yeah!” The blond grinned. “Let’s go?”
Without giving Sasori any room to protest, he pulled the redhead along with him. Closer to the flying death trap. Somehow, the redhead’s feet managed to follow the blond’s. “I.. uh, thanks,” he muttered.
The blond smiled and led the redhead onto the plane. “It’s no biggie. Ya mind if I sit with ya, yeah?”
Sasori shook his head. “You want the inside seat?” he asked meekly.
The male’s eyes lit up. “No kiddin’? That’s like the best! Course!” He cheered, bouncing into the seat nearest the window. “Thanks a lot, man! I love lookin’ out the window. Love seeing the sky and the birds really. Not to mention, how tiny everythin’ looks from the sky, yeah.”
“I’m not really into.. Uh flying,” Sasori admitted. “You have a strong accent,” he noted as he buckled into his seat. “Shouldn’t you buckle?”
The blond waved a hand in dismissal, “Nah, the light hasn’t turned on yet.” He shoved his hand toward Sasori. “Oh, by the way, I’m Deidara! Nice to meet ya!”
The redhead loosely shook his hand. “Uh… Sasori.”
“That’s a cute name, yeah!” Deidara chirped.
The redhead blushed.
“So, Sasori, why’re you going to Konoha?”
Sasori fussed with his jeans in an attempt to pull out his phone. “School.” He focused his eyes on his phone, thumb scrolling mindlessly. “Uh, you?”
“Same!” the blond grinned. He whipped out his own phone. He typed quickly.
Sasori peered over to admire his long polished nails. Though his nails seemed nice, there was a hint of calluses upon his fingers. Made the redhead wonder what exactly the blond studied. It was too long before Deidara’s phone was in his face.
“I’m going to Uzumaki University, yeah! I’m gonna major in pyrotechnics and minor in pottery!”
“That sure is-”
“Where are you going? Maybe we’ll be close? We could hang out!”
Sasori was taken aback by the blond’s forwardness. He must’ve been wearing his emotions visibly, because Deidara seemed to notice.
“Ah, shit. Sorry,” he laughed sheepishly. “Sometimes, I get carried away.”
The redhead cleared his throat and tapped the blond’s phone with a nail, pointing at the school. “I’m going there too.” He retracted his hand, “The university, I mean.”
Deidara bounced in his seat.
“I’m majoring in toxicology.” Sasori fiddled with his seatbelt. “Actually, I’m also mino-”
“Attention all passengers, Flight 22A is next in line to take off. Please follow all emergency precautions and procedures as we prepare for take-off...”
At the sound of the overhead message, Sasori flinched. Suddenly he forgot about the rambling blond next to him. He felt the plane rumble, dropping his phone and immediately clawing at the arm rests. He glanced over at the blond who still hadn’t buckled up. “H-Hey! You need to buckle up. I think the light is on now,” he said in a wavering voice.
“I’ll be fine! Ya worryin’ too much!"
As soon as the plane began to take off Sasori was nearly in tears, on the verge of a panic attack. Not only was he afraid that something was going to go completely wrong, but now his seat buddy wasn't taking the proper precautions and something was surely going to happen to him. At the slightest sight of Deidara lifting off his seat, Sasori made the brash decision to fling his buckled body over the blond in an attempt to hold him down. Biting his lip, he contained his scream of terror as Deidara squealed in excitement.
Sasori held onto him even after the plane settled into the air.
"Hey, we're in the air now, yeah," Deidara grinned. "You don't have to hold onto me." He paused for a minute. "Unless ya really wanna," he muttered the last bit.
Sasori pulled away like he was fire.
"I can't believe you! You… you… you brat!" The redhead huffed. "That was so dangerous!!! Who knows what could have happened! What if you fell out of your seat and got hurt?! What if the plane didn't take off right?? You could've died!" His eyes bugged, "I could've died. Oh my god, we all could've died just now. Oh, fuck me." He jumped in a startle as Deidara grabbed his hands, which again were gripping the armrests so tightly that an anaconda would be jealous.
"I'm sorry, yeah. I didn’t mean to scare ya," he gave a small smile.
Sasori glared at him, but relaxed a bit. He let out a long sigh. "Just don't do it again."
Deidara nodded. "You're really scared of flyin', yeah? How come?"
"It's dangerous…" Sasori frowned. Although his voice was calm, there was an undertone of sadness that carried in the words. "Planes crash and people die."
The blond hummed. He then smiled softly, "Yanno, they say that there's a 95% chance of survival in a plane crash! I'd say it's about a one in a million chance, yeah!"
Sasori looked him dead in the eye, without hesitation. "My parents died in a plane crash."
Deidara eyes widened and Sasori's turned away.
"Oh, Sasori… I'm so sorry, my man."
The redhead held his head with his hand. "You didn't know…"
The blond still held his other hand. He squeezed it. "Still, that was really insensitive of me. Geeze, Deidara how dense can ya be?"
Sasori smirked a little in amusement. "Did you really just refer to yourself in third person?"
Deidara smiled shyly.
"You're still holding my hand," Sasori pointed out.
The blond's face flushed brightly as he practically snatched his hand. "Sorry!"
The redhead intended to make another smart remark but was caught off-guard by a violent shaking. He grabbed Deidara’s hand, nails digging into the poor boy's skin. It was already over by the time Sasori shut his eyes.
"Jus' a lil turbulence, yeah," Deidara informed.
Sasori met the blond's eyes. He was sure both of them were an embarrassed mess at this moment.
"I don't mind," the blond admitted, squeezing his hand again.
Sasori quickly glanced away. "Y-Yeah… if it's okey."
"Of course," Deidara beamed.
The redhead smiled back.
The rest of the plane ride seemed to pass by quickly. The two talked almost the whole way - well Deidara mostly, Sasori liked to listen. At some point they had hit another bout of turbulence, causing Sasori to have another anxiety attack. This one, the blond was more prepared for. Sasori would never be able to admit or explain why he felt safe in a stranger's arms.
Sasori learned a lot about the blond. He loved art, just like him - even if his opinion of it was completely wrong. Deidara had three tattoos that were all exclusively mouths. The redhead joked he should've been a dental hygienist with his fascination. Deidara retaliated with his own joke, but Sasori dare not repeat such an embarrassing thing. He was pretty sure, in that moment, that Deidara was not straight. Not that he minded any - he was in the same boat too.
"You're a really cool guy, Sasori," Deidara whispered. "I hope we still talk when we get to the university, yeah."
The redhead swallowed, eyes watching Deidara carefully. "I'd like to…"
The blond smiled and Sasori swore his heart gave out. Maybe it was because the redhead was never good at sorting emotions. Maybe it was the way the moonlight hit the blond's face. Maybe it was the impending fear of dying at any moment. Sasori wasn't sure, but he also didn't really care.
"I must be going crazy," he stated.
Deidara tilted his head. "Whattya mean?"
Sasori leaned forward in his seat. "I… uh…" his hand grabbed Deidara's - fingers trembling. "I don't know why, but…I want to kiss you." As the words left his lips, he closed his eyes and leaned in closer. His eyes opened in surprise as the feeling of calloused fingers. He blinked up at the giggling blond.
"You're definitely a cutie, yeah," the blond blushed. "But don't think I'm that easy. You'll have to take me out on a date first, mister!" Deidara winked. "Perhaps when we land?"
The redhead flushed and scrunched back covering his face. "Oh, shit. I'm sorry. I didn't even ask- I, oh, God. Why??"
The blond laughed, intertwining his fingers with the other's. He nuzzle his head into Sasori’s shoulder. "Don't worry 'bout it, yeah. Just don't forget to ask me later."
Sasori's cheeks and body burned at the touch. "Of course," he said breathlessly. Carefully, he returned the affection the best he could. And like that, they fell asleep.
Everything went well to Sasori's surprise. The plane had landed that morning with no troubles at all and Deidara still didn't mind his presence! After gathering their bags, the two met up to grab a cab.
"Sooo," the blond drawled, tucking a piece of hair behind his ear, "you've got something to say to me?"
Sasori flushed, "A-Ah! Right. Uh…" he scratched the back of his neck. "Would you like to go out… sometime?"
"Sometime?" Deidara teased.
"Tonight?" A pause. "Tonight! Would you like to go out tonight?" Sasori tried with more confidence. "After, we both get settled into our housing, of course…"
The blond laughed at the redhead's award attempt. "I'd love to, yeah."
"Cool," the redhead grinned.
The first cab approached.
"Ah, you can take it first," Sasori offered, opening the door for him
Deidara smirked, "Oh, what a gentleman, yeah." The blond intended to climb in, but was stopped by the redhead grabbing his hand. "Hm?"
Sasori bit his lip. "Thanks," he said sincerely. "This was my first time traveling by plane and you made it feel safe… You made me feel safe. So," he swore his face matched his hair, "thanks."
The blond smiled and pulled the redhead down to his level. With a loud kiss noise, he place a big, nice smooch on the other's cheek. "I'll text ya later, my man."
Standing up, the redhead was dizzy. His face set to a love-sick stupor. "Uh, yeah." He waved the blond off, grinning like an idiot.
In his own cab, Sasori looked up to the sky to see the metal bird taking flight once more. He smiled. Maybe planes weren't all bad.