Sasori grumbled to himself as he worked. Some pathetic ninja had shown him up, done a lot of damage, and then, the little bastard had called reinforcements. He had caused Sasori to retreat like a pitiful little dog with his tail between his legs. It had been disgraceful and he hated it. So now he was doing some repairs, complaining about it all.

Footsteps outside his room made him stop. He set the screwdriver down and looked over his shoulder. His battle partner and fellow jinchuriki hunter Deidara was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed and a smug look on his face. Sasori's scowled at him,

"What're you looking at brat?"

"Sasori, my man, don't get so defensive. You failed your mission. The world hasn't ended." Deidara said with a grin.

"I didn't fail. I obtained the information that Pein-sama needed me to get. Little bastard wasn't supposed to have the whole damned Waterfall Village on speed dial." he growled, going back to his work. Hopefully, if he ignored Deidara, he'd go away.

Deidara laughed, "Oh, you really think that? Honestly? That was like, ten shinobi. You're weak."

Sasori whipped around, "Get out!"

Deidara mocked him, sticking is bottom lip out, "Why Sasori, you getting mad at me? Truth hurts, don't it?"

Sasori glared at him, "Deidara, if you don't leave now, I'll make sure you don't wake up in the morning."

Deidara shivered, "I'm scared. Little kid like you coming to kill me while I sleep?"

He crossed the room, picking up the screwdriver. He held it to Sasori's throat, "You know kid... Sand, it's just crushed Rock."

Sasori took the screwdriver from his hand, going back to screwing and unscrewing the segments of his arm, replacing damaged pieces with new pieces. Underneath the panels were lines of chakra, much like what he used to control puppets. Deidara had never asked, mostly because his partner was creepy as hell as it was, but he had always wanted to know how it all worked.

The little red head looked back up at him, "Just get out."

Deidara chuckled, "Looks like you're having issues pipsqueak."

Sasori slammed the screwdriver down, standing up, "Deidara, I have at least 15 years on you. I may look younger than you, but I've seen and killed far greater things than you could ever dream of. I am in no way your lesser."

Deidara snickered, "You're shorter."

Sasori's jaw set. He sat back down, working on his forearm, "Get out." he repeated.

Deidara shrugged, "I guess you don't need my help. With your little arms and all, I thought you'd be begging for help or something."

"What?" Sasori asked, tossing the broken piece onto the pile.

"Oh, just an observation is all."

Sasori sighed loudly, "What the hell are you talking about Deidara?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing." he laughed, "Just the fact that your lower back panel is busted. Huge crack down the middle. And your scrawny arms aren't going to be able to reach it. I thought you let me in so you could grovel and tell me that you wanted my collaboration. You know, turn this shitty mess into something women would cringe in pleasure over."

Sasori's eyebrows pinched together, "No! What? No! Get out!" he pointed towards the door.

He shrugged again, "Come crawling and I'll consider helping."

With Deidara gone, the room was quiet save for the grandfather clock in the corner, ticking to a faster than normal pace. Sasori finished his arms quickly, and thankfully only had to replace one knee joint. He'd have to make a few more, as that one was the last. He ran a finger across his back and cussed. Deidara had been right, his lower back plate was split clean in half. And he wasn't going to be able to get to it.

Sasori stared at the wall, the scowl on his young face making him look even more childish. He blew a strand of red hair out of his face and stood up. Deidara always had his back in battle. They may have been a very mashed together team, the two artists, but deep down they both valued the others artistic expertise. Or, at least Sasori did. Even though he really hated when Deidara pointed out things without Sasori asking. The more he thought about it, the more he hated the idea. Honestly, he could just as easily just ask one of the other members for their assistance.

He shuddered at the thought. He ticked through each other member and shook his head. No! Deidara's help would be the easiest, and least disturbing in the long run. Half of the Organization would either black mail him about it, or make him repay the favor and the other half would just outright refuse. Being in an evil organization didn't mean you had to like everyone. Sasori sighed, and left his room. Deidara's room was down the hall, last door on the right. Across from Kisame. Sasori knocked on the open door. Deidara spun around in his chair, his concentration broken up into a smirk.

"Told yo-"

"Don't say a word." Sasori said sharply, "Just help me, okay?"

Deidara snickered but complied. Sasori had to take most of the weight off his back, leaning against Deidara's work table. A little model of his own puppet body was in pieces of clay across the table. Deidara unscrewed the bolt, setting it down on the table,

"Prototype." he said as he noticed Sasori's interest.

"For what?"

"If there are six Sasori's out on the battlefield, and only one of them is a real puppet master, and the other are explosives, the enemy is going to be screwed six ways to the moon." he chuckled.

"You're making clay clones of me?" Sasori asked, not really believing it.

"Strategy kid, strategy. I overheard Zetsu and Pein-sama talking about how we, as an organization, aren't clever enough. Most of us are just brute strength."

He coughed Kisame's name into his hand before unscrewing the second bolt. Sasori watched him set the bolt and half of the broken plate on the table. Deidara was unscrewing the third bolt when he asked,

"So, these chakra strings, they're like you're chakra pathways?"

Sasori looked over his shoulder, "Yes. But it's more complicated than that."

He set the third bolt on the table, "Care to explain?"

"I don't think it's wise to explain my inner workings to a brat like you." he snapped.

To be honest, not even Sasori fully understood it. He just knew it worked. It was like math. He didn't know why certain equations made sense, but they were right, so who was he to question something that furthered his work? Behind him Deidara sighed, setting the other half of the panel and the screw on the table. A sudden sensation shot through Sasori, making each segment rattle for a moment. He spun around, his face inches from Deidara's.

Deidara put his hands up, "Sorry Sasori, you had a loose chip in between a few of the strings." he said, putting the wooden splinter in between them.

Sasori sighed, letting his shoulders slump. He turned back around, handing the replacement panel to Deidara. His red locks fell in his face in a mess. They were both quiet as Deidara finished up. He set the screwdriver on the table and stood up, still quiet. Sasori turned to him, looking him over. He shook his head, walking towards the door, screwdriver in hand. He stopped in the doorway, "Thank you Deidara-sama."

Sasori left back down the hallway, leaving Deidara to ponder his thoughts. He sat back down at his desk with a huff, folding his hair out of his face. He looked over the things on his table. The miniature Sasori clay figure, the two halves of Sasori's lower back panel, and his Akatsuki ring. He always took it off when doing delicate work. Another scan and Deidara sighed, frustrated. A lone screw left on the table. He wiped his hand across his face, groaning.

Those same footsteps in the hallway made Sasori look up from his work. He glanced over his shoulder to see the blonde. He didn't even ask to enter. Instead he just crossed the room and grabbed the screwdriver. Sasori stood up, what would have been muscles tense. Deidara stared at him blankly. Sasori soften a bit, confused. Most of the time when someone grabs a weapon, they plan to use it. Deidara lifted up his hand, a screw pinched between his first finger and second finger. Sasori let his head drop, then nodded, turning around.

Deidara pressed on his lower back, screwing it into place. When he was done, the pressure from his hand lingered. Sasori looked over his shoulder, uncertain of what he was doing. Deidara stood up slowly, dwarfing the smaller rogue. Slowly his hand raised to Sasori's face. Feeling the wood underneath his hand was strange. It held the same warmth any normal person's skin would. Probably the constantly flowing chakra strings that held him together. Sasori's eyes met Deidara's.

Deidara's hand dropped, "Sasori, my man... you're short."