"That was so good, un." Deidara said dramatically, happily leaning back with a stomach full of fast food and candy. He patted his belly and grinned up at Sasori.

Sasori smirked at him 'I still can't figure out how a small guy like you can eat that much food and still stay slim.' Deidara smiled and looked proudly over his empty food tray.

"Y'know, art class was so awesome, un!!!" Deidara said proudly, his grin widening. "We were making things out of clay and it was so good! My teacher said I had a talabsentmindedly, trying to stay enthusiastic about Deidara's morning, but staring at his tray with sad eyes.

"…Is something wrong, un?" Deidara said quietly, concern spreading across his face. Sasori sighed, and looked into Deidara's eyes. Eyes tt so clearly conveyed his mood. Eyes that, when he was happy, would sparkle, but were now dull and pale with concern.

"Nothing," Sasori said quietly, stroking the side of Deidara's face. He was overwhelmed by this small blond boy, and it amazed him how much of an impact one person had had on his life.

"Don't lie, un," Deidara said quietly, clasping Sasori's hand in his.

Sasori sighed again, heavier this time. "I'm just a bit down about today, y'know?" Deidara nodded, his eyes urging him to continue, to trust him to be there. Sasori squeezed Deidara's smaller hands with the hand that was being clasped.

"I haven't felt like this in a while, and I'm sorry for taking the shine off your day," Sasori smiled weakly, "I can tell how happy you are about this place, and I know you'll do amazing, Dei-"

Whatever Sasori was going to say was cut short, as Deidara flung himself at him. "I love you so much, un!" Deidara squealed, burying his head into Sasori's shirt.

Sasori smiled again, and blushed slightly. It was times like these that reminded him how grateful he was to the hyperactive blond.

They sat again, in their own little world, quiet and uninterrupted. No angry blue haired teen crashed into them this time, and they looked into each other's eyes and smiled.

Sasori felt dizzy again, but this time with the emotions that were completely overwhelming him. Deidara grinned and pecked him on his forehead.

"Love you, un."

"Love you too."

Deidara stretched and edged his way back onto his seat. He was a lot smaller compared to Sasori, probably around shoulder height. He was also more feminine, with his long, blond hair tied up in a white band. From the moment Sasori had met him, he'd always felt a need to protect him from the world.

It was for that reason, that Sasori swallowed his sadness, and mustered the biggest smile he could. He had to protect his Dei-kun from the world, and from the harsh realities of it, including his depression.

"Heh, ignore me Dei-kun, tell me all about your morning," Deidara perked up at that, all worry disappearing from his eyes. His Sasori-kun was alright, and telling him more about his day was what he wanted him to do. So he did.

Sasori did a good job of putting up a front, and nodded and "umm-ed" and "aah-ed" where it was appropriate.

Deidara seemed happy enough with this, and carried on talking about his day, adding dramatic hand gestures to emphasise how much he didn't like his one class mate, and pulling awkward faces to show how the teacher looked when she was faced with not-such-a-masterpiece.

With their hunger satisfied, they got up and made their way to the benches outside.

"..I couldn't believe it, I mean, she was trying so hard not to laugh, I was so surprised that she didn't..." Deidara's voice trailed off as he noticed the dark headed figure, sitting alone on the edge of one of the benches, studying his feet like they were the most interesting things in the world.

"Hero-kun!" Deidara smiled as he waved enthusiastically. He turned his head towards Sasori, confusion spreading across his face, "Why do you think Hero-kun's on his own?" Sasori shrugged, "I'm not sure, maybe you should ask him?"

With Sasori's okay, Deidara ran over to Itachi and started talking about his day almost instantly. Sasori smiled weakly. At least if… the worst were to happen, Deidara wouldn't be alone… Sasori shook his head at such a thought. Of course he was sad, but ending his own life? That was unthinkable, and he wouldn't be able to ever put Deidara through the pain of loosing someone close to him.


The three sat together for the rest of lunch break, and the time passed quickly as Deidara talked about how excited he was to be top in the art class already. He repeated the funny facial expressions and dramatic hand gestures to Itachi, while Itachi looked on, bemused.

The bell rang, signalling the beginning of afternoon lessons, and before Itachi or Sasori could move, Deidara had leapt up and ran towards his class, too excited to wait for them to walk with him.

Itachi and Sasori sat on the bench, watching as the blond haired boy disappeared into the double doors and towards the rest of his Art class.

Sasori smiled to himself, but felt a pang in his stomach as he wished he could be as enthusiastic about such simple things. He gradually eased himself off the bench, sighing loudly.

"Don't feel like class huh?" Itachi tilted his head questioningly at Sasori, his eyes glinting mischief.

"Do I ever?" Sasori sighed, half smiling.

Itachi grinned, "Don't go then. Come with me. I don't feel like going either."

Itachi stood, and started walking away from Sasori, who was torn between going to lessons and not getting in trouble, but facing the people in his class, or going with this new and interesting stranger.

"What if-" Sasori said, worrying about being caught. "We're caught?" Itachi smiled, cutting off Sasori's question, "we won't be. I know a place we can go, and no one ever goes up there anymore. We'll be pretty much invisible for the afternoon."

Sasori thought for a second. He wanted nothing more than to just disappear without a care in the world for a couple of hours. As Itachi was disappearing from his line of sight, he leapt up with the same speed as Deidara going to his art class, and ran after his new friend.

"So, where is this place?" Sasori asked breathlessly, intrigued at the thought of somewhere that was completely cut off from the world that he resented so much.

"Just through here," Itachi said, motioning at an overgrown field. As they trudged through the thick grass, Sasori realised that while it was tickling his chin, the grass barely reached Itachi's shoulders.

He studied the slightly older teen with great interest. He took note that his raven hair was actually down to his lower back, not his chin as Sasori had originally thought. It was tied with a red piece of material, leaving the shorter pieces of hair to fall down around his angular face.

Itachi wore dark clothing, dark blue jeans and a loose black shirt. He had crimson tinted contact lenses, but Sasori noted that his eyes were actually a shade of dark brown.

Earlier that day, Sasori had noticed how a group of girls had giggled as Itachi walked past them, and he was starting to see why. Itachi was handsome, but seemed oblivious to his popularity.

They trudged together in relative silence, with only the occasional polite question from Sasori and answer from Itachi breaking up the quiet.

"We're nearly there now" Itachi said as the long grass suddenly stopped, and a sandy clearing surrounded them.

In front of them was a bridge. It was old and made of dark, crumbling bricks, and at one stage seemed to have been used for trains to go over.

Itachi climbed up the sandy clearing, which seemed to gradually get steeper as they got closer to the bridge.

He pulled himself up to the flooring of the bridge, which was made of the same material as the walls. It was slightly damp, and slippery to climb if you didn't have practice.

Sasori stumbled slightly, and Itachi laughed and caught him by his upper arms, pulling him up to the rocky arch as he did.

Sasori looked in wonder. It was quiet here. He leant against the slanting wall that met in the middle of the arch to form a perfect curve, and realised that to his left, there was a vast lake.

Across from the deep blue water he could make out the shapes of a city skyline. It was perfect here; he'd have to take Deidara one day. He knew that Deidara would appreciate the understated beauty of such a place.

Itachi grinned and leant against the opposite wall, almost lying down. "Home sweet home," he sighed, crossing his feet and lighting a cigarette he had produced from a box in his back pocket. "Want one?" he asked Sasori, to which Sasori shook his head.

"No thanks," he smiled again. He felt comfortable with Itachi, like he didn't have to pretend.

"So…" Itachi murmured, exhaling a small ring of smoke from his mouth, "tell me about you and Blondie then."

Sasori shifted himself into a more comfortable position and shrugged. "Well…" he started, "I will, but… don't you mind that we're…" Sasori shifted again, uncomfortably this time, and cleared his throat, "…you know? Lots of people have a problem with that…"

Itachi smirked a little and gazed at Sasori. "It doesn't matter to me. It's not like you choose who you fall for… If it's a guy or a girl, it doesn't matter as long as you love them."

Sasori smiled, though he was slightly taken aback by how calm Itachi was about the situation, he was pleased to be fully accepted by his new friend… He experienced some pretty bad people in his life due to the fact that Deidara and he showed their love in public. "So, umm…what would you like to know?" he asked Itachi.

"Just start at how you two lovebirds met." Itachi said, still grinning, inhaling some of his cigarette. He blew some smoke in the air before him and watched it disappear into thin wisps in the air.

Sasori smiled and blushed slightly "It's a rather long story… so…" he muttered. Itachi waved with his hand as a gesture that he should tell it anyway.

"Alright, here goes." Sasori said, taking a deep breath. He never really told this story to anyone, especially since Deidara was his only friend. "Our parents were friends, and sometimes visited each other… That's how I got to know Dei-kun. At that time he was more an acquaintance to me than a friend."

Itachi listened carefully, while smoking the rest of his cigarette away.

Sasori's face fell, sadness clouding his features. He closed his eyes and breathed out heavily, trying to find the right words to explain the subject that had taunted his nightmares for so many years.

"Then…uh…" he murmured softly, "My parents were…killed." His voice weakened at the word, as if that single word carried the weight of the entire world on it. "Afterwards, because Dei-kun's mother was my legal guardian, I had to move into their house."

Sasori smiled weakly, "Dei-kun would always try and cheer me up, and I really appreciated it."

Sasori took a deep breath, glad that his worst sentence was over… He always hated talking about his parents, as the pain was still raw all these years later… Since it had happened, he had always tried to push it to the back of his mind, as he hated to seem weak.

"He was like a brother to me, I started to love him for who he was and I felt better after some time. Dei-kun never failed to cheer me up Y'know? He just kept me on my feet. If he wasn't there for me then," he paused, and shook his head slightly, "I wouldn't be here right now."

Itachi stared at Sasori, stubbing out his cigarette on the damp floor. "It must've been hard for you." He said, his eyes fixed on Sasori.

Sasori gave a weak smile and nodded. "It was… After a while I got a place of my own. I hated to feel like a burden, so I moved out and stayed by myself for a few days. After a week I began to feel miserable and alone. I missed Deidara's cheery, bright personality around me…" Sasori paused again, and mused, "It was like, now he was gone… his light was gone… and my darkness came to me again. I realised I missed him… a lot."

Itachi smiled a little and still gazed at the red head.

"I invited him over a few times and I felt happy again, but the butterflies in my stomach began to hint that I liked him as more than just as a brother. I loved him more than a brother." Sasori's cheeks went pink. "When we kissed sometime later, it felt like it was meant to be, it felt right. I knew he felt the same about me. He seemed happier then he already was."

"That's sweet." Itachi said, still smiling. A look passed his face, almost a tinge of sadness, but Sasori didn't notice.

"So how about you? Ever been anyone special in your life?" Sasori asked. It was Itachi's turn now.

Uchiha Itachi's smile vanished like snow lying in hot sun. He gazed to the lake and the skyline with sad, crimson tinted eyes. Slowly he closed them and took a deep breath. Sasori looked to his feet. He'd hit a nerve.

"Yes, there was… I had love once." He murmured quietly, still staring to the lake. "It was very special to me."

Sasori looked at Itachi curiously. "…What happened to her?"

Itachi's gaze went back to Sasori, and he looked at him with his crimson eyes… It was obvious he was going to say something that lay deep inside his soul.

Sasori looked into the crimson eyes and watched how Itachi's lips opened to say something.