"Everyone, I have an announcement to make."

The sound of Pein's voice catches Itachi's attention, as well as the attention of the rest of Akatsuki.

"Zetsu has just informed me that Sasori is dead. For any of you that wish to pay respects to our comrade, a funeral service will be performed tonight at sundown."

Shock fills the silent room, no one thought they'd see the day when Sasori was killed, he was notoriously known for his difficulty to kill and his fighting skills. Itachi feels bad, but probably not nearly as bad as Deidara was feeling. He looks around curiously for the blonde, but can't see him anywhere. He turns to Kisame.

"Where's Deidara?"

"He hasn't returned from Suna yet," replies the blue skinned Akatsuki, "I doubt he even knows Sasori's fate yet. Poor thing, it's gonna destroy him."

Itachi knew this to be true, although they argued alot, Deidara had alot of respect for the red head puppet master, and many in the Akatsuki had beliefs that there was more to Deidara and Sasori's relationship then that of master and student. These rumors were never confirmed nor rejected though. Itachi approaches Pein and whispers to him,

"Deidara hasn't returned, is there any word of his whereabouts?"

Pein looks at him with a flash of surprise, "Well now, it looks like our rogue Uchiha has a heart after all. Deidara is alive, if thats what you're worried about. He should be arriving with Tobi and Zetsu shortly."

"Have they told him?"

"They have not, it isn't their place to do so, it's mine as leader."

"Leader, with all due respect, allow me to be the one who tells him."

Pein eyes Itachi very carefully, "I have always wondered why you have such a soft spot for our little Deidara, very well, but don't tell him right away. I need him to go see Kakuzu and have his arms reattached. They were lost on the mission, but I had Zetsu retrieve them."

"Yes sir, I'll be sure to wait for the right moment."

Pein turns away from Itachi and departs. Not long after, the distant sound of yelling is heard, which meant Deidara and the others had returned, and Tobi had succeeded in pissing off the blonde yet again. Itachi couldn't help but smile, he knows that as much as Tobi had to learn about being a little less...Tobi, Deidara actually enjoyed having him around. At least, for now, Deidara could remain happy.

A few hours later

Itachi heads to the infirmary, he figured Deidara might want to know about Sasori's death before the funeral. As he enters, he hears Kakuzu giving Deidara strict instructions to take it easy for a few days, and to feel better. Deidara seems slightly confused about that, but Itachi knows that it was about what was gonna come when he learned of Sasori's death. Kakuzu stops next to Itachi before exiting.

"Are you here to tell him?"

Itachi nods and Kakuzu replies, "He's not gonna take it well. All he's talked about while I fixed his arms was how his Danna kicked ass and that he'll be home any moment saying what an easy task it was."

"I understand, I'll be as gentle as I can, this is gonna break his heart."

Kakuzu just gives the blonde a sympathetic look and continues out the door, leaving Itachi alone with Deidara.

"Itachi!"

The call of his name pulls Itachi out of his thoughts and he turned to face the blonde. Damn, does he look beautiful. His golden hair spills over his shoulders with unintended grace, and his bright blue eyes shine as brightly as the ocean, Itachi doesn't want to tell him what happened to Sasori, he just wants to stare at Deidara's perfect form.

"Itachi-san, have you seen Sasori?" the energetic blonde asked, "I wanna know what tactics he used to slaughter those Konoha ninjas. I wonder if any of them were worthy to join his collection." Deidara was bouncing up and down excitedly, like a little kid who just got a new pet. Itachi knows there's no avoiding it, Deidara needs to know the truth.

"Deidara, Sasori isn't gonna be coming back."

"Of course he is Itachi, we may have gotten separated, but it's happened before, all we do is meet up here."

"You misunderstand, Deidara, Sasori is dead."

"Wait, what?"

Itachi thinks Deidara is starting to get it.

"He was killed in that fight against the Konoha ninjas, from what we've seen he didn't suffer."

"Oh, god...no," Deidara chokes out, tears starting to cloud his perfect blue eyes, "No! Danna can't be dead! He just can't be! He was all I had left!"

Tears start rolling down the blonde's cheeks as Deidara makes his pain apparent, how it kills Itachi to see him this way. He sits down next to the grief stricken Akatsuki and throws an arm around his shoulder, drawing Deidara's attention to him.

"I'm sorry for your loss, there's a funeral service for him tonight at sundown, if you want to say goodbye."

"Are you going? I don't want to be alone."

"You won't be, I'll be there for you every step of the way, all you need to do is come, and I'll try to help you through it."

"Thanks Itachi"

Deidara throws himself into Itachi's arms and continued to cry those sapphire blue eyes out, by the time he was finished his whole body was shaking in grief.

"Go get ready for your Danna's funeral," Itachi tells Deidara softly.

"But Ita-"

"No buts, the service starts soon, and you'll regret it if you miss it."

Deidara nods and dries his tears, "I'm gonna see you there right?"

"I already told you I'd be there for you as long as you needed me."

Deidara smiles and walks to his room, leaving Itachi alone.

"He took the news alot harder then I thought," Thought Itachi,"I just hope I can make him see that there are others that care about him." Itachi starts to head to his own room to get ready for the funeral. There was a certain blonde that was gonna need him for moral support.

At the funeral

Itachi walks down to the where the funeral pyre was set. Sasori's body is laid out on the pyre, with torches glowing on each end. His puppet body is badly cracked, and the chakra spot in the middle of his chest has two large splits in the middle of it. Itachi looks around, everyone is dressed in the traditional black funeral attire, and it's painfully quiet. Deidara is nowhere to be seen.

"Come on Dei," thought Itachi, "You'll regret it if you don't come."

That's when the usually energetic blonde walked in. He looks absolutely horrible, definitely not shining with the same positive glow he usually has. He is dressed in the same black outfit as everyone else, but his eyes no longer shine with the same azure shine they normally carry. Instead they are as clear and empty as crystals, and he seems as fragile as a newborn child.

"Itachi," Deidara said, "You came."

"Of course, I told you I'd be here for you."

"But, you and Danna never got along, actually to be frank, you two hated each other."

"That may be, but I still have a lot of respect for him. He died a shinobi's death, and in the end, isn't that all that matters?"

"I guess."

The blonde sounds so defeated, god it kills Itachi to see him like this, he has to do something to cheer him up.

"Dei, I know this is painful, but you should go pay your respects."

"I can't, once I say goodbye I'll have nothing left! I don't wanna lose anything else!"

The blonde was crying again, he was in such pain over this.

"This is gonna be hard, but I'll be there for you the whole time."

Itachi was looking Deidara in the eye now, he knows the blonde understood he was right, but he didn't want to accept that Sasori was really gone.

"Alright Itachi, but go with me, I don't think I can do it alone."

"Of course Dei."

As they approach the pyre, Deidara makes a reach for Itachi's hand, much to Itachi's surprise. He meets Deidara's hand with his own and intertwines his fingers with the blonde's. Deidara is shaking from emotional turmoil, Itachi can feel it. When they reach the alter, Deidara looks down at his sensei's body.

"I'm here Danna," he says softly, "I always thought you'd be the one saying goodbye to me at my funeral, I guess I was wrong. I know we had our moments, but we worked well together. And I know what I've said about your art, but that was just pride. I've always held you in high regard as an artist, I just wish you were still here with me. I guess this is goodbye, Danna. I'll always cherish what you taught me."

A lone tear rolls down Deidara's cheek as the blonde starts crying again.

"Dei," Itachi began, "Don't you feel better now?"

"How can I feel better!? I have nothing left!"

"I know what you're feeling."

"How?! What have you lost?!"

"Everything."

"What?"

Itachi can see that Deidara was confused, of course he was. The only people in Akatsuki that know Itachi's past are Pein, Zetsu and Kisame. Before Itachi could explain, Pein started speaking.

"I think it's best we get started. It's with heavy hearts that we see Sasori off to the Land of the Dead. He was a skilled shinobi who died a warrior's death. We thank him for his service to the Akatsuki, as we say our final goodbye."

Pein takes one of the torches, and proceeded to light the altar ablaze. The fire hungrily laps up Sasori's body, white smoke rising to the heavens. The rest of Akatsuki start to disperse, and Deidara turns to walk away. Itachi stops him.

"Come with me, I want to talk to you."

After the Funeral

Deidara follows Itachi to his room. The raven shinobi shut the door behind them and locked it, which makes Deidara slightly uneasy.

"Dei, I want you to feel comfortable telling me anything that's bugging you, but I want you to know I'm not hiding anything. Ask me anything, and I'll answer."

Deidara thinks about this, he could ask Itachi anything, but there was one thing that's been bugging him since the funeral.

"You said you understood my pain and lost everything, what did you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. I ran from Konoha after receiving an order to destroy the entire Uchiha clan, an order I carried out. I killed nearly everyone, including my own father and mother, there was only one I couldn't bring myself to kill; my younger brother, Sasuke. I spared him and told him that I killed everyone simply to see if I could. I used the Mangekyo on him, and made him resent me, so one day, he would seek me out and kill me. He will never know the truth. But yes, I do understand, because I too, have lost everything."

Deidara thinks that, for the first time, he actually saw emotion in the Uchiha's eyes, pain, mixed with sadness.

"I'm so sorry, I had no idea."

"Now you know, would you like to know anything else?"

"Why do you treat me differently? I've noticed, you're cold and uncaring to everyone, but you give me special treatment. I'm the only one you're nice to."

"To be honest, when Pein told me to find you, I was planning on killing you, I didn't think we needed anyone else in the group, but the way you spoke of your art, your fighting style, the sound of your voice, I took a liking to you. Which, has developed into much more. Dei, I treat you different because I love you."

Itachi leans in and kisses Deidara. Deidara is stiff from shock at first, but soon responds and kisses Itachi back. It was a light kiss, and barely lasts a minute before they pull apart. Itachi looks the blonde in the eye with a hint of surprise.

"Well, what have we here? Dei, I need to know, what do you think of me?"

"Itachi, I love you too."

"I'm sorry, I never noticed."

"That's because I didn't want you to. I left Iwagakure because of a broken heart. I was loved by everyone, but I had my heart set on my best friend. His name was Kyo, and he knew everything about me, and I him. I developed a very powerful love for him, and I thought he felt the same way. When I finally acted on my feelings, he pushed me away, saying he cared for me more like a sibling then a lover. I felt my heart break, and the next thing I knew, I was staring at Kyo's body, covered in his blood. I lost control. I destroyed half the city and fled, swearing to never fall in love again. Then you found me, and my first thought was, wow, he's stunning. My first thought was to kill you, I didn't want to repeat what happened with Kyo, so I immediately lashed out. I was surprised when you beat me. When you told me what I was gonna be doing, I didn't care. Soon enough, my feelings for you turned into love. I hid my feelings from everyone, especially you, because I was afraid of being rejected again."

"Everyone thinks you and Sasori were lovers, is that true?"

"Me and Danna have never been anything but master and student. Everyone assumes we were a couple but it was never true. I feel so alone!"

Itachi leans in and kisses Deidara again. This was deeper, he pulls Dei closer, exploring his mouth with his tongue. Deidara responds to his advances by moving closer to Itachi, and pulling him closer. Itachi can sense what the blonde wants, and pushes him gently on the bed and gets on top of him. Itachi's lips leave Deidara's and begin to travel down the petite blonde's neck. He slides his hand under the hem of Deidara's shirt and strips it off. He continues to travel the length of Dei's body, coating his collarbone and chest with kisses. Deidara let out a slight whine, causing Itachi to pull away.

"Do you want me to stop?"

"Of course not, I'm just a little nervous."

Itachi placed a light kiss on Deidara's lips, "I won't hurt you, I promise I'll be gentle."

He captures Deidara's lips again and starts to move down his neck, chest and down to his abs. Itachi slides his fingers under the hem of the small blonde's pants and pulls them and his underwear off, revealing his shaft. He runs his tongue up and down the length of it, then takes the tip of it into his mouth, making Deidara moan. Slowly, Itachi takes more and more of the blonde into his mouth. After a while, he has to full length of Deidara's cock in his mouth. He sucks on the blonde and Deidara moans in pleasure, after a while Deidara cries out and releases inside Itachi's mouth. Itachi swallows everything Deidara just gave him and licks his length one last time.

Itachi travels back up Deidara's body and the blonde wastes no time in pulling his shirt off. Deidara shifts his weight and climbs on top of Itachi, straddling his hips. He runs his fingers through Itachi's raven hair, pulling it free from its bonds, then does the same to his own golden hair.

"You look more beautiful with your hair down, Itachi-san."

"I could say the same for you."

Deidara sheds off Itachi's pants and underwear, then starts leaving a trail of kisses from his neck to his chest and all the way down Itachi's body. He gets to Itachi's cock and proceeds to take his whole length into his mouth. Deidara lets him fuck his mouth and after a while, Itachi releases and the blonde swallows everything. He crawls back up Itachi's body and returns to his position on the raven Akatsuki's hips. Dei's hand reaches for Itachi's fingers and the mouths on them get to work. The hand-mouths take three of Itachi's fingers and slowly begin sucking on them. Once they're slick, Itachi pulls them out and lightly pushes Deidara onto his back again. He puts his fingers by Deidara's entrance and slides one in. The blonde lets out a small gasp and Itachi captures his lips as he pushes another finger in. He feels Deidara let out a small whimper through the kiss. He moves to laying small kisses along Deidara's neck and collarbone as he scissors his fingers inside of the blonde. Deidara lets out moans and cries of pleasure, as well as a sharp scream followed by "fuck!" when Itachi's fingers crooked to brush his sweet spot.

"Itachi, just fuck me already."

Itachi can't help but smile, "You have always been impatient."

He complies, pulling his fingers out of Deidara. The raven Akatsuki positions himself between the blonde's legs and Deidara wraps his fingers in the ends of Itachi's hair. He thrusts in and Deidara lets out a small cry. Itachi doesn't move for a while, letting Deidara get used to his length. After a few minutes, Deidara moves his hips upward towards Itachi's, signalling he could move. Itachi starts thrusting into the blonde slowly, hitting his sweet spot every few strokes. Deidara moans and cries for more, pulling lightly on Itachi's hair. The raven Akatsuki quickens his pace and starts hitting Deidara's spot with every thrust. He was sure Deidara would thank him if he could, but all the smaller Akatsuki was managing to do was moan, pant and occasionally let out a cry of pleasure. Itachi can feel Deidara grow tighter around him, the blonde was close to the edge. A well placed thrust to his spot causes Deidara to come on Itachi's chest. After a few more strokes, Itachi comes inside Deidara, filling him to the brim.

The two get cleaned up and lay with each other on Itachi's bed. Deidara's head is resting on Itachi's chest.

"Itachi, I want you to promise me something," the smaller Akatsuki says.

"Anything."

"I want you to promise you won't leave."

"Why would I ever want to leave you?"

"I'm not saying you would, but, if you die I'll be alone again."

Itachi tilts Deidara's chin up so that they're looking into each others' eyes.

"I would never leave you alone. No one will kill me, because now I'm fighting for the both of us."

He places a light kiss on Deidara's mouth and the blonde lays back on Itachi's chest, placing an arm around Itachi's waste.

"Thank you."

"I love you, Dei."

"I love you too."