Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Naruto.
"Why won't you just give up and admit it already? My art is as true as the sky is blue, un!"
"The sky isn't blue, you brat. Might as well just end yourself now if you're that much of an idiot."
"Kill myself, un? Danna, isn't that a little too harsh?"
"I meant every word. You're just like your clay, pretty much useless until it blows up."
"Gah, you son of a-!"
"Language."
Deidara clenched his teeth in anger, shooting and acidic glare at Sasori who looked as unamused as ever. "How dare you insult my existence like that, un?!" He silently cursed at himself for using up all of his clay on a mission Pein had sent them on.
A slight curve of his lips revealed the redheads tiny smug smile. "You're not needed."
The blonde's short temper was reaching his limit. "Lies! We wouldn't have completed half of our missions without my art, un!"
"If you think so."
No answer. Deidara was at a loss for words. Has Sasori no Akatsuna really made him doubt everything he's ever worked for? He closed his mouth and glanced down at the grass beneath their feet as they continued to take a casual pace back to base, his eyebrows furrowed up in worry and confusion.
After an hour of walking, Deidara finally spoke up, looking as Sasori. "Where am I going in life..?"
"Nowhere," came the blunt answer.
Pursing his lip, the blonde growled out, "You're a total dick, un."
A heartbeat filled with silence. "Don't take my words too literally," Sasori seemed to take back his comment. "Everyone amounts to something by the time of their death."
Deidara was taken aback. Had his Danna really apologized for once? He was shut up twice in one day by the redhead, something that both annoyed and surprized them both.
"Your art has depth only you can understand, and I can respect that."
A short snorted laugh was heard. Deidara looked at Sasori almost as if he had grown thirty arms and five more eyes, which was entirely possible. "That's a first, un."
"I've always respected you," Sasori grumbled out, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why do you think I still put up with you?"
"Cuz I piss you off until you talk to me?" Deidara suggested, his past composure regained at his partners defeat. He looked down at Sasori, waiting for an answer as they continued to trudge into a forest.
"I enjoy it."
The blondes mouth opened in a tiny 'o'. "Really, un?" he asked, voice filled with disbelief.
The puppeteer relaxed a bit. "Kinda," he said with a nod of his head.
"Ah..." Deidara twiddled his fingers, not knowing what to add to the conversation. His long blonde strands fell over his face as he want back to staring at the now patchy ground.
By the time they reached base, the air around them felt suffocatingly awkward, the humid cave making things worse, leaving them without knowing what to say to each other. Should Deidara thank him for saying that he respected his art? Or should he let things be, and keep Sasori from taking his statement back? Instead, he decided to focus on finding more clay, and letting things stay as they were.
