Atopos - I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. I do, however, have a strong love for anything SasoxDei such as this story, which is proof of that love. This is an odd Yaoi type story which many people have done before and now it is SasoxDei style. This will be my first attempt at posting a story with more than one chapter so please bear with me :P

The Dreaded Love Potion

Chapter 1

Sasori tinkered away at the puppets before him. He could usually leave one out for days at end before he would go back to it with new plans in mind. Though he was a puppet, the process became exhausting at times. Sometimes there was nothing new to add to his favourites or sometimes the newer ones needed so much work that he didn't even feel like ever picking them up. After some time, he decided to leave the room for a break, especially since it was just before midnight and he'd been at it for seven hours straight.

The workshop in the basement was strictly his. The only person brave – or dumb – enough to enter was Deidara. The blond was now afraid of the room, though, since the last time he walked in only to find a powerful ninja trick on it that sent him miles from the hideout. Needless to say, Deidara remained far away from the basement if he could.

Sasori took the wooden steps that led to the kitchen carefully. They looked fragile and he didn't want to break them. If he did, he would be the one to fix them after Kakuzu whined about the problem. He just couldn't afford a few bucks for proper steps or wood.

In the kitchen, Hidan seemed to be the only one awake. His torso was covered in blood meaning that he'd just put himself through another ritual. They both stared at each other before they both shook their heads.

"I don't know how you can stand being in that fucking basement for so long," Hidan scoffed. "All you do down there is work on fucking dolls."

Sasori remained calm while someone else talked trash about his art. For some reason, the words coming from Hidan's mouth made him angrier than when Deidara talked about it. "That's rich coming from someone who gets off impaling himself on the bathroom floor."

Hidan glared coldly at him. There were sparks of electricity from both ninjas' eyes. Hidan was the first to turn away so he could dig something out of his pocket. Judging by how he looked, it was a miracle anything survived in his cloak at the moment.

Finding what he wanted, Hidan tossed it to the puppet master. "That's something that might interest you, you fucking bastard."

Sasori caught it easily seeing as it wasn't thrown too hard; Hidan must have been tired. It was a small vial with a light pink coloured liquid in it, a cork closing off the only hole at the top. The vial sat in the palm of his hand as he studied it with a curious look the best a normally emotionless puppet was capable of. Never before had someone given him something after a mission, especially something that seemed to be worth money.

"What is it?" Sasori asked uneasily.

Hidan shrugged with a bored expression. "We thought it was fucking poison, so that bastard Kakuzu thought we should try it on a fucking dog to make sure. It seems safe enough. We thought that if it was some kind of poison, you'd sure as hell be able to fucking figure it out."

Sasori stared even harder at it. If it were some kind of poison, it would have to be a new type. The poison he used was never such a bright pink. "Maybe I'll try it out in battle."

A chuckle escaped Hidan's bloody lips. "I'd try it on that fucking blond bitch of a partner of yours. That could be a fucking exciting experiment."

The idea of using Deidara for an experiment seemed promising. Maybe the young ninja would still be awake now. Nodding his thanks to Hidan, he headed towards the bedroom he shared with Deidara. Hidan only watched with a smirk as his teammate walked away as if in a daze.

"Did he take it?" Kisame's voice asked from the shadowy doorway behind Hidan.

With a sharp laugh, Hidan smiled at him. "It's about damn time something funny happened around here."

Sasori, on the other hand, had no clue what it was he held in his hand. A new discovery like this gripped him like a claw and it was the most excitement he ever had to find a way to get out. All he wanted to do now was figure out what he now owned. He threw open the door to the bedroom, finding the desk he preoccupied when he worked there for a change. He shoved all the plans and maps off it to make room for his new toy and a pad of paper to write down his discoveries.

"Danna?" The soft voice of his partner carried across the room to where he sat. Sasori didn't stop what he was doing to turn around. He was currently testing the substance for any poison that could burn human flesh. "Danna, what on earth are you doing at this time of night, un?"

"Experiment," Sasori stated without looking over at the boy. He knew what the blond was doing at this point. Deidara would probably be rubbing his visible eye and throwing his tousled hair over his shoulder. "Go back to sleep."

Deidara didn't comply; he rarely did. Instead he got out of the bed to look over Sasori's shoulder. Normally this would bother Sasori to no end, but now he was aggravated with the new discovery and welcomed the company to bounce ideas off of. Deidara knew about stuff like this, right? He would know if this could explode if struck right or heal open wounds.

Sasori held the now opened vial out to Deidara who took a step back from the sudden action. "What do you think this is?"

Deidara stared at it for a moment as if trying to decipher it. Clearly nothing came to his mind. "Well, un, it's definitely not toxic if inhaled--"

The redhead snorted. "Clearly or you'd be dead right now."

The bomb master seemed to shrink back at that. "Well, un, it doesn't look like any explosive material I know of. And I don't think it could heal someone, hm."

None of that helped Sasori in any way. He knew the moment Hidan handed it to him that it definitely wouldn't heal someone; Hidan wasn't interested in that. He also knew that they wouldn't give him an explosive compound. That would be Deidara's specialty.

"You know what it looks like, danna?" Deidara spoke up after awhile. "It looks – and smells – like shampoo. Maybe Hidan tricked you, un."

That was a distinct possibility. Hidan was just the suicidal maniac that would do that kind of thing. No sane person would get Sasori mad. Believing Deidara to be right for once, Sasori put the cork back in it and pushed it away. There would have to be more interesting experiments for him to do that morning, he hoped.

Instead of leaving the vial out on the desk, he handed it over to Deidara. "Try this out tomorrow morning. Maybe all it is is shampoo, but we still have to test it."

"You want me to be a guinea pig?" Deidara raised a delicate eyebrow, "What happens if I die from it, un?"

Sasori shrugged, "I could get a partner that actually does what I say."

Deidara's expression fell and his shoulders slumped as Sasori walked by him to the far bed. He would just have to listen to Sasori this time. It would prove to him that he did do what he said. After all, it was only a shower with some unknown substance. If it was any type of poison, Sasori would have figured it out already.

Tbc…