Alone in the grey light of dawn, he laid his head down on the grubby pillow. Carefully, Kakuzu threw a thin blanket over the unconscious form of his partner, worrying over the paleness of his skin and the lack of light in his once bright eyes. The mattress was old, the bedclothes were moth eaten and the place smelt of damp, but it was a roof over their heads at least. In his condition, Kakuzu could hardly expect Hidan to go trooping round the city looking for a decent place to rent. Besides there was the question of money.

Everybody had always imagined Kakuzu to be rich, he was the Akatsuki banker -'was' being the operative word -he thought miserably. But in reality he was as broke as the rest of them, the bounties he chased never paid out much, and if it wasn't for that small amount of income their organization would have gone bust years ago.

"And then they kick me out over this" he cursed, aiming a kick at the bedpost. His pockets were feeling light, only a few coins left from the mission they completed only yesterday. Was that only yesterday? Everything had happened so fast. He'd had a job, a place, even friends...and now it was all cruelly snatched away. Now he had nothing.

"Uhhh" a painful groan from behind him jolted him back to his senses. No, he had something, but that something had gotten him into this mess. He turned around to see his lover fretting and twitching in his sleep – a nightmare? Standing tall above him, reflecting back on all they'd gone through and watching that beautiful face twist in imagined fear, Kakuzu's heart broke. Quietly he slipped under the covers, removing his shirt and shoes and snuggling close to the body beside him. Strong arms locked around Hidan and his trembling stopped. Sub consciously he rolled closer into Kakuzu, burying his face in the other man's chest. His eyes felt wet to the taller man, had he actually been crying? The unlikely couple lay together as the sun rose higher in the sky, safe in each other's arms and hiding from the world. The abandoned apartment was no suitable place to stay but it would do. The rough neighbourhood beyond the filthy window would probably take as kindly to them as the Akatsuki had, but all that mattered now was Hidan, Hidan and him...forever.

He slipped into a dreamless sleep, far from his worries and pain until the sun reached it summit and began to descend over the city. It must have been coming on for dusk before the ex falls nin raised himself from the sagging bed and rubbed his eyes. Beside him, Hidan rolled over in his sleep searching for the missing body. The priest had slept too much lately, was he ill? Kakuzu wondered.

Deep inside Hidan's tortured mind a desire stirred and the pink shade of lust descended over reality, settling itself on his consciousness. The blow to the back of his head had muddled his thoughts; no longer could he think clearly and his eyes were permanently unfocussed. He remained constantly in the state he'd been in the moment he was struck, confused and dazed in Pein's office. Lust and heat burned through his body, desperation and need joining them as he found himself alone again. Goosepimples erupted along his arms and he twitched in his sleep, he hadn't eaten for days but this was a different kind of hunger.

"I'm going out" Kakuzu muttered, planting a kiss on his lover's forehead before striding out of the door. He needed a drink, and nothing on the earth was going to stop him. The door banged shut in the wind, the old window panes rattling in their frames. There was no lock but between them they had nothing worth stealing. Alone Kakuzu disappeared between the high-rise buildings with their broken glass windows staring like eyes. Crumbling bricks and fading posters lined the alleys he walked through, far above washing lines stood out stark against the dimming light. The stink of various overflowing dumpters reached his nose and he choked, hating this place already, people lived in boxes in the gutter down by his feet and he thanked his lucky stars that he at least had a place.

He walked and walked, not admitting he was lost but not wanting to turn back either, there had to be a pub somewhere in this ghetto, if not he would have to find a shop. He needed a drink. He glanced up at the sky, having to squint between rows of washing and broken shutters – it was late.

Relief somersaulted in his stomach the moment he caught sight of the dark bricked, run down pub sandwiched between a strip club and a motel. The hefty building loomed over him as he reached for the door handle, a cracked drainpipe leaked dirty water over his head and he scowled. The bar was full of people, some betting, some fighting and others just sitting still as statues. He mingled between them, finally blending in with the crowd now he'd ditched the trademark Akatsuki cloak. He was one of them now, a nothing, a nobody. With this heavy thought playing on his mind he ordered a drink and gulped it down in one. The bartender – a curvy woman in her late 20's – gave him a look as if to tell him to slow down. Her gaze was patronizing and Kakuzu – never a woman's man- returned it with steely silence.

People in this part of town seemed poor but talkative, no doubt eager to get a strong intimidating man like him into their gang. After a few hours he found himself arguing amiably with a man next to him whilst downing rounds and rounds of the bar's cheapest liquor. The hours flashed by in a daze of sticky alcohol and half hearted bar fights, all memories being happily scattered to the winds.

Tumbling and stumbling from a haze of tobacco smoke, Kakuzu left the bar in the small hours of the morning and made his way down the now damp streets. His head spun and his wallet felt dangerously empty. Despite these setbacks his mood was light and their situation no longer hovered like a deadly cloud over his head. The alcohol rushed through his system convincing him he was an unstoppable force and with this feeling in mind he bounced down the grimy streets. The moonlight was dim here, as if the heavenly sphere would not cast its rays on such an unworthy town as this, Kakuzu had to pick his way through the litter-clogged alleys by touch alone. He tripped – the alcohol was making his legs unstable. The bottle between his fingers felt lighter than it had when he'd left the pub, had he really drunk all that?

A tingling started in his fingertips and energy raced through him, exited, he burst back through the door of the dingy flat.

Hidan lay sprawled atop the bedcovers, his skin shining with perspiration and his eyes half lidded. He was naked save a pair of boxer shorts, creased and damp with sweat. The only thing he'd ever truly wanted in this world, in akatsuki and now in this cramped dingy flat, was Kakuzu. He'd lain and fixated over this single thought for hours and hours, neither moving or even sitting up. He surrendered to his weakness and in his vulnerable state he reached out for him. Again, his aching head throbbed driving images and insatiable greed to the front of his mind. The place where Pein's fist had struck glowed crimson and black, dried blood clung to his usually light hair and the skin seemed to be peeling away. The blow had reverberated around the bone causing Hidan's memory to fade, he remembered intense pleasure...and his lover, he recalled being rescued...that was Kakuzu too. Kakuzu...kakuzu...voices seemed to whisper his lover's name to him, taunting him and frustrating him further. His heart sped up double time, until it was all he could hear, the blood was pumping loudly in his ears – would it ever stop! He moaned and reached down, gripping himself securely, he'd been hard for as long as he could remember and it was beginning to hurt, where was his lover when he needed him?

"Kakuzu..." he murmured, spreading his legs gratefully when he sensed his partner's presence in the room. Kakuzu stood there, stunned, Hidan was turned on, sweating, shaking, desperate... What had brought this on? When he'd left, the priest had been asleep, peaceful. He was never this unpredictable, something was definitely wrong.

"Ka-kuzu..." he moaned again, parting his thighs further and allowing a view of his bulging pants. Kakuzu didn't need asking again, he almost threw himself down on the bed, struggling out of his pants and throwing them out of reach into the dark corners of the room. With equal vigour he tore at his lovers clothing, aching for their skin to touch. His heart pounding, Kakuzu gripped onto his lover's hips, there was no turning back now -Hidan clearly needed this more than he could ever have guessed. Carefully pushing forwards, Kakuzu thrust himself inside.

He was rewarded with a high pitched squeal, the thin sound emanating from his partners lips was the most he'd heard out of him for hours. Without remorse of his blatant cruelty, Kakuzu pushed again not having prepared his lover for a pounding such as this. His strong hands didn't let go of those bony hips and his eyes never left the half lidded disconcerted gaze of his partner's. His hair swung in dizzying circles with the motion he adopted and sweat dropped from his brow as he worked harder. Hidan's legs were bent and twisted out of the way, crushed beneath his fiery body, but he didn't care in the slightest. The pace was fast and brutal, he was drunk and feeling rough. Hidan would have to take it. He was leaning over him now, their stomachs almost touching and the zealot's breath hot on his cheek.

He was overtaken by the moment, so caught up in the heat and passion that the absence of Hidan's voice never bothered him. By now his partner would have been demanding this and that, bossing him about and swearing but tonight...nothing, total silence. Two weak hands rested on his shoulders, shaking with every fresh thrust but apart from that he could have been a corpse, his body was almost lifeless. Kakuzu held on harder and pushed forwards with renewed vigour, hoping to shake some sort of response from his comatose lover. He looked down again, squinting in the dark, desperately looking for signs of emotion on Hidan's face. Something glittered in the inky gloom...it wasn't a tear?

"Not again Hidan" he muttered, concerned

Beneath him Hidan began crying out in pain and alarmed, Kakuzu paused. It was dark inside their hot room now but glancing down Kakuzu could still see faint lights reflecting from his lover's eyes. The pale irises were dazed, looking at something only he could see, yet a glimmer of pleasure danced there. Delicately, Kakuzu cupped his face in his larger hand, reminding him he was still there – Hidan was still safe. Regretfully he started to ease himself out, tangling his fingers in the sheets and shifting his weight off his lover's frail body, suddenly Hidan cried out again

"No!" he yelped, "stay Kakuzu, please stay" his hair was plastered to his face and in the faint glow from the moon he looked sick, but this had been his only request all night. Kakuzu had no choice but to obey.

"I'm here, Hidan" he whispered into the priest's ear, "It's all right"

With a sigh he pushed back inside, feeling himself meet with the soft skin of his lover's backside. Hidan didn't move, but his muscles relaxed and he laid his head back on the pillow, surrendering to sleep. Kakuzu lay atop him, their chests together as one and his head lying against Hidan's shoulder. Like this he could listen to his breathing becoming even again, check he was ok.

But deep in his heart Kakuzu sensed something was wrong with his zealot. Hidan had lain in bed all day, never rising or eating. He had forgotten about his prayers and rituals, his scythe and spear stood unused against the wall. What was wrong with him? Kakuzu wasn't a doctor, all he could do was stand by and care for him, hoping and maybe even praying for the old Hidan to return.