A little prezzie for my Manu-Seme, since I know you're lemon-deprived at the moment darling! Betaed by my little sister, so hugs and thanks Squidit!

And if anyone is interested there's an illustration to this on my deviantart page: cip-rochnaug./art/Predator-96934558

WARNING: YAOI!! Descriptive lemon, boy/boy action and a little bit of amateur surgery.

Hope you enjoy it Manu-Seme xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

An owl called, somewhere out in the wilderness beyond the Akatsuki base. Its shrill sound – chilling and atmospheric to any humans hearing it – merely meant death to anything small and squeaky. Inside the base at Ame, one of the Akatsuki members was woken from his light sleep by the call. He rolled over with a groan, trying to recapture the threads of dream that still lingered. The owl had flown on, but a different sound caught his sharp ears and caused him to immediately lay still. A few tense moments passed as he strained his hearing to its limits. Just as the young man brushed it off as nothing and settled back down again there was a shuffling directly outside his bedroom door that caused him to half sit up. The bed-sheets slid down his body to pool around his waist as his hand slipped silently under the pillow to curl around the kunai he'd stashed there.

There was another little scuffling noise, just on the edge of hearing, and he allowed chakra to flow to his eyes. Instantly the room jumped into sharper focus, the colours that hardly existed in the darkness inverting and blazing under the gaze of the Sharingan. With the superior focus Itachi was able to make out a chakra spike outside his door, confirming what he already knew; someone was out there. He narrowed his eyes and increased the chakra to them to identify the night-time wanderer.

As the chakra outside classified itself he relaxed and removed his hand from under the pillow. At the same time the door handle slowly moved down and the door opened a crack to reveal a sliver of light across the carpet. The glow was wavering, suggesting that its source was a candle. Itachi sat up properly, waiting to see if his visitor was actually going to make themselves visible.

Finally the door opened enough to reveal a hand holding – and yes, he'd been right – a small candle. Then the person moved forward to expose long blonde hair and dull blue eyes in the pool of light.

"Itachi, can I come in?" The usually vibrant bounce to his voice was missing and the shadow he cast looked too small in Itachi's eyes.

"Sure," The Uchiha lit the candle that sat on his bedside cabinet. "Come on in."

He hadn't seen Deidara for nearly a month thanks to missions and he had missed the little blonde. Even so the sense of euphoria he'd felt at realising his friend was back dissipated rapidly as the bomber stepped into the dimly lit room. He looked a lot thinner than when they'd last seen each other, his cloak hanging off his tiny frame.

"Bad mission?" Itachi asked softly, deactivating his Sharingan. Deidara merely nodded wearily, shedding his cloak and blowing the candle out so that he could drop it without causing a fire hazard. 

He crawled up onto the bed and theatrically collapsed onto the pillow beside the Uchiha. Itachi rubbed his shoulder sympathetically. "Want to talk about it?"

"Mmmph." Deidara turned his head to face his lover. "It sucked, that's all there is to it." He muttered. "Fifteen days in the Suna desert, not enough water, too few ration packs and Tobi! I got heat stroke three days in, we ran out of food by day nine, and were out of water by day eleven. It wasn't fun. And all Pein cares about is the stupid scroll – which I still managed to get, despite it all."

Itachi smiled softly, brushing the blonde's hair away from his face. "You really are tougher than you look." He whispered.

"I do keep trying to tell you that." A small smile crossed Deidara's face at the tender gesture. He rolled onto his side so that they were face to face. "It shows, doesn't it? I look like crap."

"You've lost a lot of weight." Itachi replied truthfully. His eyes flicked up and down Deidara's gaunt frame and a smile curled the corners of his mouth. "A lot of weight. But you don't look like crap, just anorexic."

Deidara laughed quietly at that. "Thanks I think." He shifted over and snuggled up against the Uchiha with a sigh. "I'm a wreck, I know it."

Itachi folded an arm around the blonde's slender waist. "I don't care what you look like, I'm just glad you're back safe."

"That's incredibly soppy, you know that right?"

He laughed and lent forwards to capture Deidara's lips. The blonde responded warmly, letting Itachi roll him over and settling underneath the Uchiha without the dominance battle they usually had. Itachi gently pushed his tongue against the smooth lips under his own and was granted access to the sweet mouth. He felt Deidara trembling lightly under him and broke the kiss to gaze down at his lover.

"Are you okay with this right now? Maybe you should just get some sleep." He whispered.

"No, I need this; it's been too damn long."

Itachi ran the backs of his fingers down the blonde's cheek, smiling at the way his lover moved into the caress. He knew the stone Nin was right – it had been too long since they'd last been together, and he'd missed the feeling of the small lithe body under his own. His own missions had been strenuous and this small reprieve was something he wanted to make the most of. Leaning down he hungrily attacked the blonde's mouth again, hands fisting in the mesh shirt his lover still wore. The kiss barely broke as he pulled it over Deidara's head and threw it to one side, not caring where it landed. The small tremors running through the blonde's body increased in the sudden cold and he pressed up closer to the warm weight that hovered over him, one hand coming up to cup the Uchiha's face.

Itachi felt a gentle kiss pressed against his cheek, and broke away so that he could see where it had come from. The mouth in the palm of Deidara's hand grinned back.



"I never get tired of these little guys." The Uchiha murmured, eyes glinting with mischief as he took Deidara's hand and raised it to his mouth to press a kiss on the palm. The mouth there responded, returning the kiss shyly.

"They certainly make things more interesting." Deidara's voice was husky and prompted Itachi to drop the hand and kiss his lover again properly. This time it didn't last long, and the Uchiha left the blonde's mouth to begin to nibbling along his jaw-line. He worked up to Deidara's ear, and started tracing the delicate shell with his tongue, causing the blonde's shivers to increase tenfold.

"You know you're mine, right?" He whispered gruffly, only just on the edge of hearing. Deidara moaned softly in reply, not really capable of much beyond that, which caused a smirk to pass across Itachi's handsome face. The Uchiha let go of the earlobe he'd been playing with and looked down at the small blonde lying helpless beneath him.

Deidara's hair had escaped its tie, and lay in a tangled halo around his head, glowing in the light of the single candle. He didn't look as vibrant and full of health as he usually did – his features were too gaunt and his eyes sunken – but he smiled up at the predatory Uchiha that held him captive all the same.

"I'm yours."

Itachi only just caught the murmured words, and they made his pulse race. He buried his face in the blonde's throat, nipping and licking until a dark passion mark bloomed against the tanned skin. Deidara mewled, pressing up against his lover whilst his hands twisted into the bed-sheets. Itachi moved away from the love bite he'd created and began kissing a line down the smaller Nin's chest. He paused when Deidara let out a hiss that sounded more pained than pleasured, and sat back a little to let the candle light flood across his lover's slim body. Anger bubbled up his throat at what he saw.

Deidara's torso had a few scars and burns that Itachi hadn't seen before, but it was the bruising across the blonde's chest that really angered him. How dare someone hurt his lover like that! You didn't need to be a medic Nin to know a broken rib or two when you saw them. It was obvious that Deidara hadn't been able to find medical help, and one of the bones – very visible thanks to his half-starved state – was twisted at an odd angle. The Uchiha ran gentle fingers along it, frowning at the unnatural heat from the inflamed skin.

"You need to have this seen to." He said quietly.

"It can wait until tomorrow I'm sure." Deidara wasn't impressed with Itachi's concern, preferring to resume their previous activities.

The Uchiha was well aware what his lover was trying to do, and shook his head firmly. "No, I'm not doing anything that might hurt you; if that ribs slips any further out of place it could go through your lung!"

The blonde pouted, wishing that he had been able to keep the tell-tale reaction to the pain better hidden. "Fine then, you put it back in. Then you needn't worry about pierced lungs or whatever when we continue from where we left off!"



Itachi frowned at his lover, knowing damn well that this was one of the very rare chances they had of seeing each other and not wanting to spend it merely cuddling, but not happy with Deidara's proposal either. He didn't have an issue with setting a broken bone, but lacked the ability to do it with chakra that would have knitted the pieces back together as well. He sighed and reached over to move the candle closer.

"Fine. Just keep still and no screaming the place down." He ignored his lover's affronted snort and gently felt around the area again, gauging where the two ends of the rib were. It was a clean break, and wouldn't require too much effort to fix thankfully. "Brace yourself, this'll hurt." His voice was gentler than before.

"This isn't my first broken bone Itachi, just get it over with!" Deidara's grip on the bed-sheets tightened despite his bravado, and he squeezed his eyes shut. A shrill whimper escaped his lips as Itachi began to manipulate the bone back into place, and despite his best efforts he tried to squirm away. Such an action was futile with the Uchiha sat astride his chest and all he could do was bite his lip in a vain attempt to keep quiet. It didn't take long for the bone to slide home, but he had begun to sob all the same in the short period of time.

Then the callused – yet surprisingly gentle – hands disappeared and were replaced with soft lips, kissing all around the tender area. Deidara whimpered a little – more for sympathy than anything – and squirmed again.

"How does it feel now?" Itachi asked softly, placing butterfly kisses across the bruise.

"Better I guess." The blonde whispered back. He sighed and closed his eyes, content to enjoy the pleasant sensations that were soothing and chasing the pain away. Then the light touches suddenly vanished, and he moaned quietly. "Don't stop..."

The tiny plea reached Itachi's ears as he sat up to survey his lover again, and he smiled slyly. With his eyes closed, the blonde was unable to predict what he'd do next which was perfect to his mind.

Deidara let out a startled gasp as Itachi attacked with renewed fervour, kissing voraciously along his throat and collar-bone to raise a succession of flowering passion marks that he'd be hard pressed to explain in the morning. His gasp rose to a languid moan as gentle lips closed around his nipple, sucking and biting at the nub until it hardened into a little peak.

"Itachi..." His back arched slightly in response to the stimulation and he pressed up against the warm body overpowering his own. Itachi grinned slightly at the desperate mewl, and moved his interest to the other little nub that was begging for some attention. Deidara moaned again, his head tossing from one side to the other so that his hair flickered and shone in the candle light. It didn't matter that he was half-starved, or was covered in ugly injuries, or had mouths where there shouldn't be any; to Itachi he was simply beautiful. A work of art.

The Uchiha raised his head to capture the artists lips again, Deidara's hands coming up to tangle in the loose raven hair that fell around them like a curtain. Itachi could remember so well how this had all started out; all that adrenaline and machoism left over from a sparring match causing them to throw caution to the wind right there and then on the training field. Heh, what a night that had turned out to be! He lifted his head a little to gaze down at the blonde sprawled out beneath him. 

But when had that animalistic desire turned into something so serious? When in all those long months that Deidara had repeatedly sought him out had he stopped doing this out of lust and begun to care so deeply for the artist? So deeply that it was Goddamn painful to see the injuries that marred pale skin. So deeply that he felt that gnawing worry in the pit of his stomach whenever they weren't together. What would he do if something happened?!

But this wasn't the time for such thoughts.

Deidara seemed to have forgotten all about the discomfort his newly set rib had been causing as he moaned into Itachi's mouth, hands tangling in the raven hair to draw his lover even closer. He realised that the Uchiha was troubled, and put the silent promise that he would help him forget all about it into the kiss, letting one hand run down the smooth back that hovered over him to squeeze one perfectly formed buttock.

That little manoeuvre drew a growl from Itachi and he bit down hard on the blondes lip, earning himself an appreciative moan. The lithe body under his own squirmed as he let his hands whisper across pale skin, skirting around the bruises and burns until he reached the hem of the blonde's trousers.

"What do we have here then?" His voice was like molten chocolate as he caressed the bulge in the material, eyes gleaming with mischievous intent.

Deidara whined and bucked his hips. "Oh God, don't tease!" He whispered, half opening his eyes to send a lust-filled glare to his lover.

"But it's so satisfying to hear you beg." Itachi smirked, but began to slowly slide the blonde's trousers down the long lean legs and discarded them on the floor. "And no boxers today?"

"They only get in the way..." Deidara broke off panting as warm fingers closed around his length. Itachi peppered the insides of the blonde's thighs with kisses as his hand began a steady pumping motion, and he smirked evilly at the strangled whimper he received in reply. He nibbled and sucked at one spot of smooth flesh until a possessive mark bloomed like a flower and he hummed appreciatively as Deidara moaned in response. The artist's hands tangled in the raven hair, pulling slightly to convey his desperation. "Itachi...Please..." He whispered breathlessly.

"Please what?" Itachi purred, continuing to lazily stroke his lover's erection. "What do you want Deidara?"

Deidara groaned loudly, his back arching slightly as he tried to get more friction. "You...Now!" He panted, glaring at the smug Uchiha. "Please stop teasing me!" There may have been more that he wished to add, but Itachi effectively stopped him from forming an intelligible sentence by taking his straining erection into that sinfully hot mouth.

The blonde bucked up with a loud moan, tossing his head from one side to the other in abandonment as Itachi skilfully sucked along his length. The wicked tongue swirled around the tip before the Uchiha dipped his head down, taking the blonde fully to the hilt. That little trick drew a veritable scream from the artist, and Itachi had to hold his lover's hips down to stop himself from 

being choked. He pulled back a little, licking along the thick vein that ran underneath and lapping up the thick pearly drops of precum that dripped from the tip.

"Un...Ita..." Deidara moaned breathlessly, unable to even finish the whole name. He had let go of Itachi's hair, but only to grip the bed sheets tight enough to begin tearing them. The feelings coursing through his body were ones that he never tired of, and had not had nearly enough of recently, causing him to act even more wantonly than usual. He squirmed and whimpered pleadingly, unable to articulate any better.

"Is this not enough for you?" Itachi purred seductively, leaning up enough for Deidara to see the Uchiha's lips glistening with precum in the candle light.

"N...No..." He gasped, chest heaving as he tried to get his breath back under control.

"So what do you want?" The Uchiha folded his arms across Deidara's thighs and rested his chin on them, grinning wickedly as he lent forwards ever so slightly to lick the tip of the artist's straining erection.

"Ngh...Oh God..." Deidara's head fell back against the pillows and his eyes squeezed tightly shut.

"Well? If this isn't enough, what will be, my insatiable little artist?" Itachi's voice was like molten chocolate as he kissed and licked the blonde's member like a cat with a bowl of cream.

Deidara tried to form a coherent thought. "I...You...You...Inside..." He whimpered desperately, squirming and tossing his head about.

Itachi would have continued teasing him a little longer normally, but this time he too was feeling the burn after so many months apart. His own erection was aching and heavy as he crawled back up Deidara's body like a huge feline, his muscles rippling and gleaming in the flickering light. Deidara moaned at the sight, reaching up to pull Itachi into a fierce and sloppy kiss.

"Where's the lube?" The Uchiha hissed between breaths, barely breaking contact with the blonde's sweet lips.

"Don't...have...any..." Deidara pulled away and stared up at his lover with a coy smile. Reaching down he grabbed Itachi's hand and pulled it up to his mouth. "But this will suffice nicely..." He murmured.

The blonde drew three fingers between his lips and began to nibble and lick at them, extracting a groan from his lover. Itachi took a deep shuddering breath in an attempt to keep himself in check as the artist's wicked tongue danced over his fingers in a representation of what he had been giving his partner just a moment earlier. Deidara released his hand with a small murmur that the Uchiha didn't quite hear and gazed up at his lover with needy half-lidded eyes.

"That should do." He whispered. "Now get on with it already!"

Itachi knew that technically it wouldn't really do, and that his lover would be limping the next day in all probability. But as much as he was loath to hurt Deidara, these things need to be looked at in 

context. And with those deep blue eyes gazing up at him so desperately he reasoned that they both needed this; consequences be damned!

Reaching down he circled his lover's tight entrance, gently but firmly pushing against the ring of muscle until his finger slipped past. Deidara moaned softly, beautifully, letting his hand move up to tangle in Itachi's hair again as his eyes closed in bliss. The soft sound rose to a high mewl as Itachi carefully slid a second finger in past the tight guardian, and the dull ache became a burn that had Deidara squirming in discomfort. The Uchiha lent down to capture the artists lips in a soft kiss, distracting him enough for Itachi to scissor his fingers.

"Ah!" Deidara suddenly broke away from the kiss, arching his back as Itachi found the little spot that suddenly made all the pain worth it. A cry slipped past his lips as his prostate was brushed again and he clung blindly to the man above him, the teeth in his palms biting deep into the firm muscle of Itachi's upper arms and extracting a rumble of approval from the Uchiha. A third finger was eased in, causing Deidara to mewl again and press down onto it. "Enough...w-with the...Pre-preparation!" He panted imploringly. "Now!"

"It will hurt-"

Deidara moaned languidly, his head falling back against the pillow. "I swear I'll castrate you if you don't get on with it!"

That was a threat Itachi knew to take all too seriously. He pulled the blonde's legs up over his hips and positioned himself so that he could slowly sink into the delicious heat. Deidara wrapped his legs tightly around the Uchiha's waist, whimpering as Itachi's length invaded his tight cavern. Kisses along his neck and cheeks managed to distract him enough to relax and allow Itachi to hilt himself fully.

"Are you alright?" Itachi whispered, his voice strained with arousal and the effort it took not to move yet.

Deidara opened his eyes to gaze up at the Uchiha and smiled warningly. "I will be, get on with it!" He insisted.

Itachi moved slowly to start with, until Deidara snarled at him and raked his nails down the Uchiha's back, drawing blood.

"Faster!" The blonde demanded, his voice harsh with the arousal and slight pain. His gaze was pleading and forced his lover to comply – it was nearly impossible for Itachi to resist the artists longing puppy-eyes. The Uchiha gave the smaller Nin a wicked grin and braced his arms on either side of the blonde's head.

Deidara let out a sharp cry at the almost violent thrust that hit his prostate and had him arching up under his lover in ecstasy. He'd barely recovered before Itachi did the same manoeuvre, his aim dead on as he slammed back in and drew another wild mewl from the blonde. The mouths in the artist's palms bit and tore at the Uchiha's shoulders, although the raven barely seemed to notice the stinging pain as he immersed himself in the enthralling sensations buzzing through his mind.

Itachi relished in the sweet sounds he was coaxing from his lover nearly as much as in the feelings that set his own body on fire. He pumped in and out mindlessly, fire rushing through his body with 

each movement. Lowering his head, the Uchiha sank his teeth into Deidara's throat, sucking and biting almost viciously to raise another dark flower against his lovers pale skin.

The artist hardly noticed. He moaned and writhed, his body shuddering and squirming uselessly. Stars were continuously pin wheeling across his eyes, boxing in his vision until Itachi's gorgeous face was the only thing he could focus on. Another mewl left his lips as one of the Uchiha's calloused hands wrapped around his straining arousal and began to pump it in time with the firm thrusts.

Feeling Deidara begin to buck up against him with approaching release Itachi lost all finesse and grace, pumping in and out with abandon. He suddenly felt the blondes tight cavern constrict around his erection and the hands on his shoulders felt like they were clawing to the bone. Deidara let out a wild scream, his back arching completely off the bed as he came. He buried his head in the crook of Itachi's shoulder, riding out his orgasm as his seed covered the Uchiha's hand.

Itachi himself came at almost exactly the same time, releasing deep inside his lover with a feral cry. He managed to keep his eyes open though, gazing upon Deidara's face as the blonde climaxed. To the Uchiha this was the greatest expression of art that could be contrived.

The visual enjoyment could barely last longer than a second before Itachi succumbed to the far more intense pleasure shooting through his body that caused him to collapse bonelessly on top of his lover. Deidara managed to wrap his arms tightly around the Uchiha's neck before letting the warm haze envelope his mind completely.

Quite a while passed before either recovered from the euphoric glow that followed such intense sex. Itachi finally found enough energy to raise a hand and gently cup his lover's cheek, his thumb running over the flushed skin. Deidara purred, turning his head into the caress and opening his eyes to smile up at the man now lying on top of him. His gaze was met with the crimson Sharingan – Itachi always lost control of his Kekkei Genki in the throes of an orgasm. And to think, the first time they'd met he'd hated seeing those red eyes; now he could stare into them forever. With his mind still a warm mushy mess the thought made Deidara giggle quietly.

Itachi quirked an eyebrow at him. "Boy do you know how to destroy my ego." He murmured, brushing his cheek up against the blonde's to whisper in his ear. "What's so funny?"

"Just how much I love you." Deidara replied with a brilliant smile. His giggles made Itachi chuckle in turn, and the Uchiha nipped at his lover's ear playfully.

"I love you too." He said softly. "And I wish we could see each other more often."

Deidara smiled sadly "As do I, but I would rather we at least have these few precious times together than not at all."

The Uchiha kissed his forehead. "Amen to that." He glanced over at the bedside table where the candle had grown considerably shorter. "It must be nearly dawn by now." He murmured sleepily.

"Dawn?" An expression of dismay crossed the blonde's face. "I'd better get back to my room..."

Itachi wrapped his arms firmly around the slim waist, preventing Deidara from moving. "You aren't going anywhere!" He growled, burrowing down into the covers and making himself comfortable with the artist safely ensconced in his embrace. "You're staying here!"



Deidara smirked at the possessiveness of his lover. "Since you insist..." He snuggled down against the Uchiha's well muscled chest, curling into the body heat without putting up a fight against the command. "You're very demanding, you know that right?"

"I don't hear you complaining." Itachi whispered right into the blonde's ear. All he got in return was a small snuffling giggle that he admittedly found very endearing. "Now for heaven's sake shut up and let's get some sleep!" He felt Deidara nod and shift slightly to get more comfortable. Then a kiss was pressed to the tip of his nose.

"Night, 'Tachi."

Itachi ran his fingers through the golden hair that pooled across his shoulders and smiled fondly. "Goodnight Deidara." He whispered.

END!! WOOT!!