The Elastic Clause

by shizuos

Deidara, the self proclaimed artist, has medical school chasing him. Sasori, the prodigal law student, has his grandmother on his back. And to make things worse, they're shoved into an apartment together. Oh joy. SasoDei KisaIta KakuHida PeinKonan

4. housewarming

.disclaimer : don't own.

.chapter four : housewarming.

Ding dong.

Sasori groaned and rolled out of bed as the doorbell rang again. He sleepily navigated his room, rubbing an eye as he used the other hand to feel his surroundings so he didn't walk into anything. His foot occasionally made contact with something solid and he would mutter some kind of a curse under his breath. He was in only his boxers but it didn't matter; this person probably wasn't awake enough to remember being greeted by a half naked man. Back when he was rooming with Zetsu, he never had to worry about the awkward moment of Zetsu waking up to see Sasori not dressed. Zetsu slept until the very last minute and he would always rush out of the apartment towards his classes, probably not even realizing Sasori was in the room.

Yesterday he had finally let Deidara back in after he finished his homework. The minute he opened the door, the blonde came running in with his hands around the redhead's neck, trying to strangle him as they began wrestling on the floor. The fingers were icy cold and that bothered Sasori more than the actual asphyxiation that he was enduring. Zetsu had wandered in to drop off the key he had taken with him by accident. Pausing, he looked at the two, dumped cold water on them, and walked back out nonchalantly. The two then ignored each other until dinnertime, when Sasori came out to discover Deidara washing his hair in the sink. He had stood by and watched in amusement for a couple of moments before he decided to take a risk and ask.

"…What are you doing?" Sasori asked. After he wandered in and saw Deidara leaning over the sink with his blonde hair completely drenched, he stood by and watched for a couple of minutes. He was met with an intense and angry glare and he couldn't help but snicker; it was hard to look threatening with half your hair wet in the sink.

"Your fuckin' stove almost burned my damn hair off, un!"

"Who told you to make dinner?"

"You did, asshole, un!"

They had settled on Chinese takeout and even then they argued over dialing and ordering. The one thing they did agree on was paying, which they split in half. Neither wanted to allow the other to treat him yet neither wanted to treat the other. It was the easiest decision they made that day. After dinner, Deidara locked himself in his room and Sasori returned to his studies, keeping his ears alert for any explosions. He heard thuds but later he would find out Deidara was playing with his clay and throwing it at the wall (with the intention of annoying Sasori); as long as nothing exploded in his apartment, he was fine with whatever Deidara did to keep himself occupied.

The floor was freezing cold, much to Sasori's displeasure, as the sound of bare feet shuffling against the floor filled the otherwise silent apartment. He supposed he could find something more to sleep in, but it would become such a bother in the summer. He muttered soft curses as he bumped into random pieces of furniture and sighed as he reached the door; who in the world would come to the door at six in the morning? Rolling his eyes, he unlocked the door and yanked it open, peering curiously at the person there, holding a pizza and grinning.

"Who the hell are you and why do you have pizza?"

"Deidara-senpai told me to come at six! With pizza!"

"…DEIDARA."

Needless to say, Deidara did not wake up pleasantly that morning.

-X-x-X-

"When I said six, I meant six in the evening, un!" Deidara hit Tobi on the back of his head, causing the younger man to whine in pain and hold the spot he was just hit. Sasori sat at the kitchen table eating the pizza and watching the scene unfurl. It had been an hour since Tobi had arrived and Deidara was just now beginning to lecture him because it took him an hour to get out of bed. Pizza wasn't necessarily a good breakfast food but ever since Sasori started law school, his diet had become incredibly messed up. How Tobi found a pizzeria this early in the morning was a mystery to him.

"But senpai didn't specify…!"

"Use logic, you moron! Why would I ask you to bring pizza at six in the morning, un?" Deidara was very irritated that he had been woken up in this manner. He spent most of his night decorating his room to personalize it. Finding old tubes of paint and asking Sasori for his extras, he filled up balloons with the respective colors and pinned them to the wall. Then, taking darts, he threw them absentmindedly until he was out of darts and would remove the balloons and let the wall dry, resulting in an unplanned, spur of the moment, nonrecreatable wall. He supposed he should have moved the bed first but the paint he used was also washable, so he decided to let Sasori take care of paint stained bed sheets. He growled and jerked his head towards the door. "Get out, un."

Sasori watched with amusement as Tobi let out a strangled cry and threw himself onto Deidara, effectively knocking the two over. Deidara's blue eyes bulged and he yelled at Sasori to help him as he tried to crawl away from Tobi, but the black haired boy had his arms tightly around the other's waist. Sasori smirked and prepared to walk away but his phone suddenly began to buzz in his pocket. Taking it out and pressing it to his ear, he ignored the two on the floor. "What do you want?"

"Get the hell off of me, un!"

"Nooo! Senpai!"

"If I do recall, you were the one calling me this morning," Itachi's voice came through the phone and Sasori frowned for a few minutes, stepping over Deidara who crawled his way over and walked to the other side of the room. He heard a swear in his direction but ignored it as he searched his memory. He was certain he would recall calling Itachi since he rarely called anyone; if he did call that usually meant it was life threatening or…

"Oh. Yes. I would like to invite you, Kisame, Zetsu, and Konan over at ten," he suddenly remembered watching Tobi sit on his couch with great irritation and decided to invite the rest of his friends over. He wanted to show them firsthand what their little prank had done to his solitary life; he wanted them to die from guilt. He glanced at the clock and saw it was 7:40; still a bit more than two hours before they would arrive. That would be enough time to tell Deidara, he figured (he tried to put off any communication with the blonde if he could.)

Sasori always gave people a chance before he made a final judgment. Thus, he didn't hate Deidara. But he did severely dislike him. Last night Sasori watched him drown his fried noodles with soy sauce then eat them as if it was delicious. The smell was so strong that Sasori, who was crowned the soy sauce lover in his circle of friends, had to wrinkle his nose in disgust; he liked soy sauce, he really did, but he wondered if Deidara drank soy sauce like water.

"How can you handle all that soy sauce?" Sasori asked bluntly, watching as Deidara casually tipped the soy sauce and let the liquid drown his dinner as he stared at sheet of daily horoscopes. Sasori usually used it as a placemat or threw it out, but Deidara had grabbed it the instant the delivery boy dropped their dinner off, ignoring Sasori's insults about him being superstitious and childish. "Isn't it too salty?"

"No way, the more flavorful the better, un. Your bland personality must match your taste buds," he muttered the last part under his breath, squinting. He smirked suddenly. "These things aren't as stupid as you think they are, un. See, the horoscope for Taurus says that," he paused and cleared his throat, putting on a scholarly expression, "'Get involved with something artistic – you need to let your creative energy out today. You may be finger painting or writing a song—"

Sasori snorted.

"—but somehow, your deepest soul is sure to come to the surface—"

Sasori snorted again.

"Something funny, un?" Deidara looked up and glared as he took a mouthful of noodles and grimaced; he had been so caught up in reading that he added a bit more than he was accustomed to. Sasori smirked and shook his head. Deidara rolled his eyes and picked up his chopsticks, scanning the page again. "When's your birthday, un?"

"Why do you care?"

"Maybe it'll reveal that you're a coldhearted, life-hating prick, un."

Sasori glared at him, picking up another piece of orange chicken with his chopsticks. "November 8th," he answered before popping it in his mouth and chewing, "Are you going to stay here forever?"

"Yes. And Scorpio, un? 'Ideas are meant to be shared on a day like today, so don't hold anything in,'" Deidara blinked a few times and looked up. "Sasori, you have any brilliant ideas you want to share, un? They are meant to be shared after all."

"Actually, yes."

"Oh?"

Sasori smirked, picking up the last piece and chucked it at Deidara, hitting him square in the forehead. The smirk widened as he watched the chicken slide down the bridge of the blonde's nose in slow motion, leaving a trail of warm, sticky sauce on the pale skin. Deidara clutched his chopsticks and next thing he knew, he had hurled a huge chopstick-full of fried rice at Sasori, watching in satisfaction as the noodles and soy sauce became entangled with his fiery red hair.

Sasori could still see traces of the food fight from last night. There were a few carrots littered around the floor and dried soy sauce; he had forced Deidara to scrub the floor but he should have known Deidara wouldn't do a very thorough job. He would have to redo the cleaning someday later, he realized with dread. He supposed he could hire a maid but he hated the idea of someone he didn't know in his house, touching all his stuff. With a sudden start, he realized he was in that situation right now.

"All right. Will you introduce us to Deidara?" he heard Itachi chuckle over the phone. He probably thought that the plan he devised with Kisame was working out splendidly; like he and Deidara had become fast friends and now stayed up every night gossiping (really, who even did that?) instead of throwing food at each other and wrestling. Deidara had used Sasori's toothpaste by grabbing it out of his hand, and what resulted was a war in the bathroom. It still smelled minty.

"I'm going to show you how you have made my life into a living hell."

Ignoring whatever Itachi may have decided to say, he removed the phone from his ear and hung up, rolling his eyes as he took another step away from the conjoined twins of Deidara and Tobi that were nearing him again. He sent a glare down at them as he opened the front door. "Tobi. Please leave. Deidara and I will have company over and we will need time to clean up the apartment."

"Oh! Senpai, you're having guests over? Can Tobi come too?"

"No you cannot you albino-freak, un!" Deidara managed to wiggle out of Tobi's grasp and picked him up by the back of his collar, hauling him out the door like some kind of a dog. Immediately, he slammed the door shut and locked it, leaning against it, as if Tobi was going to break the door down to come back in. Sasori raised an eyebrow.

"I have my friends come over at eleven."

"Cool… shit, un!" Deidara's eyes widened suddenly and he darted into his room. Sasori felt his hair swish as the blur moved past him. Slightly curious, he sauntered over to Deidara's room and leaned against the doorframe; it was like déjà vu. However, instead of watching Zetsu pack his things at lightning speed, he was watching Deidara unpack at lightning speed. Clothes came out of the bags and were thrown carelessly towards the closet and random art supplies were taken out and sprawled onto the bed. Leaning in, he frowned as he looked at the wall. Art splatters. Interesting concept. Doesn't look half bad, I suppose.

"…Are you going to ask, un?" Deidara paused as he opened the duffel bag with his pottery wheel and was heading towards the door when he looked up at Sasori with an eyebrow raised. Sasori smirked and leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, an arrogant look crossing his features. Deidara couldn't help but scowl. "Just because it's your place doesn't mean you can act like you own it, un. Don't you rent?"

"I own more of it than you do." Came as the response and Deidara sighed impatiently, rolling his eyes. "So are you going to ask me what's up with me or not, un?"

"I'd only ask if it interests me," Sasori continued to stare at Deidara, his brown eyes never once quivering as he held eye contact. The two stood there quietly staring at each other; with each passing moment, Sasori grew calmer. He wasn't intimidated by Deidara; only irritated. Severely irritated but he was always good at hiding it. Deidara, on the other hand, was growing more annoyed with each passing second. He absolutely loathed people that gave him that condescending look. He received it when he told people he didn't continue his schooling, when he told them he lived in a ratty apartment, and when he told them he blew things up and that was his art. That snotty, presumptuous attitude that made him want to rip their raised noses off their face and throw it on the floor.

"…So does it interest you or what, un?"

Sasori pushed himself off the doorframe and shrugged. "Not particularly," and he turned around, walking straight across the hall. He entered his room and closed it behind him and Deidara heard a click, indicating that Sasori had locked the door. He growled and chucked a small ball of dried clay rolling around in the bin on top of the wheel, feeling slightly satisfied as he heard a loud thud.

"Asshole, un!"

-X-x-X-

"Zetsu, have you seen the new roommate?"

Two pairs of eyes turned to Zetsu as they stopped in front of Sasori's apartment. All three had been here before but this visit was different; it was almost as if they were going to a zoo and meeting a wild animal. They were interested as to what Deidara was like and how the two were getting along well. Konan had mentioned that she would be late but would love to meet Deidara and expected that he and Sasori would already be friends. Itachi and Kisame answered politely, yet hoped that she was wrong. Zetsu nodded. "They were wrestling on the ground when I came in to drop the key off. Yeah, had to dump cold water on them to get them to stop. They got really close and physical."

Kisame and Itachi exchanged glances and smirked at each other. "Not a bad idea, Itachi. Seems like he's getting along with him," Kisame laughed and rang the doorbell and the three waited patiently. Patience was something all three of them shared and something that Sasori lacked; while they had no problem waiting up to half an hour, Sasori would bite their heads off if they were thirty seconds late.

"That is quite disappointing," Itachi noted, "I was hoping for some form of entertainment." Itachi didn't dislike Sasori; he just liked to mess with him. Sasori closely resembled him in terms of personality, which was why Itachi liked to make life difficult for him. He knew how much he hated when people interfered with his life, so he decided to mess with Sasori to see why people liked to mess with his. It was quite entertaining, he had to admit.

"Itachi, Kisame," Zetsu looked over, smirking slightly, "I didn't know that you two were sadists. What were you expecting, someone that walks around half naked? I doubt Sasori would let someone like that stay for more than ten minutes."

"…Who the hell are you people, un?"

The three pairs of eyes riveted to the door and Zetsu's last words rang in their head as they took in the dripping wet hair and naked state of the person, save the towel around his hips. His brows were furrowed as he pushed his wet strands of hair back so he could see them more clearly. Water still dripped off of him; it looked like he literally grabbed a towel and ran out of the shower.

"Oh yeah, this is him. Where'd your clothes go, buddy? Sasori invited us over. Let us in," Zetsu half chirped and half growled at the half naked Deidara. The other two just stared and immediately Kisame and Itachi felt a chill go through them. They were looking forward to an irritated Sasori, yet they were not expecting this. What have we done to Sasori…?

"Oh," Deidara nodded in acceptance, undisturbed by the two personalities of Zetsu as he stepped aside to let them in, "Come in then, un. I don't know where Sasori is; last time I saw him he was studying or something, un. I'm Deidara, by the way!" he grinned and gave a two finger salute to them, "I have no idea how you handle that asshole on a daily basis, un." He scowled and looked away for a moment and the other three simply stared at him.

"So Deidara," Kisame cleared his throat wondering if first impressions were wrong and broke the silence, "You're an artist?"

"Yeah, un! I blow stuff up," Deidara grinned again, looking smug with himself.

"…Oh my God. You're the guy from the park?" Zetsu asked incredulously, blinking his yellow eyes, "…And he hasn't kicked you out? You must've drugged him or something."

Deidara shrugged. "He locked me out on the balcony for half an hour, un. That kind of counts as kicking me out, wouldn't you say? Sasori should be out in a few seconds so you can just sit down or something, un," Deidara gestured towards the couch with a random wave of his arm. With his other, he ran his hand through his hair as a habit then paused, picked up a wet strand of hair and scowled. "I need to dry off, un. I'll see you guys soon… SASORI, YOU'VE GOT PEOPLE OVER, UN," he yelled and disappeared into the bathroom. A few minutes later, Sasori came out and blinked.

"Hey. When did you get here?" he asked as he frowned, "I don't recall hearing the doorbell."

"Your half naked roommate let us in," Itachi answered calmly. His eyes darted to the kitchen just in time to see Deidara, drier this time but still without clothing, enter. He seemed to not notice the four of them standing in the middle of the room, despite speaking with them just a few moments earlier.

At that, Sasori turned around quickly just in time to see Deidara, fresh out of the shower with a towel around his waist, lean over and inspect the contents of the refrigerator. Long strands of blonde hair stuck to his naked back and chest and judging by his expression and the fact he didn't react to the sound of conversation in the living room, Sasori deduced that Deidara didn't care that he was half naked. He cared more about finding food.

"Deidara."

"Hmm?" Deidara pulled a carrot out of the refrigerator and bit into the end, looking at Sasori. His gaze then traveled to the other three and he grinned, holding his free hand up for a wave. "We've already met, un."

"Deidara," Sasori put two fingers to his forehead, looking as if he were suddenly immersed by deep thought and what he was going to say next was of the utmost importance. Deidara blinked and crossed his arms, leaning against the kitchen table expectantly, taking a bite out of his carrot every now and then. "Will you do something for me?"

"If you ask nicely, un."

"Put some clothes on and move out."

Deidara rolled his eyes as he finished his carrot and threw the end into the garbage, walking over to them and stopping by the couch. He put his hands on the backing and leaned forward slightly; instantly, Sasori turned away, ignoring the radiating warmth. "What's your problem, un? It's not like there's a girl in here or anything; we're all guys, un."

"Sasori! Sorry I'm late!" the door flew open and Konan ran in, her cheeks flushed from running and the cold weather outside. After she looked up from making sure she didn't trip over her feet as she took her shoes off, she stared at Deidara who stared back. They looked at each other for a few seconds before Konan flushed dark red, her voice suddenly an octave higher. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry!"

"Did you plan that or something, un?" Deidara muttered as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly and left. Sasori smirked as he heard the bedroom door slam shut and held up a hand, motioning for Konan to come over and sit. She obliged, though head still cast down and cheeks a brilliant shade of red, as she sat down on the other couch next to Itachi.

"Sorry about the rude welcome," Sasori sighed, glaring at Kisame and Itachi, "Those two found him for me." He shot another glare at the two and immediately they looked away, humming and drumming their fingers against their arms. Sasori scowled; he wanted to have Deidara blow their heads off. There was very little that Sasori was willing to verbally threaten someone for, as he preferred to hold murderous grudges. However, this would be an exception; those two had literally ruined his life and it was obvious they were not going to take responsibility for it.

"I'm going to make puppets of you two and burn them."

"Thanks Sasori; we love having you as a friend too," Kisame grinned. As Sasori glowered at them again before looking away, he glanced at Itachi and they exchanged knowing smirks. They saw what Deidara's presence was doing to Sasori and of course they felt slightly guilty. A calm, peaceful, orderly life had been turned upside down by a blonde hurricane. Everything about Deidara would act like a toxin to Sasori. Which was exactly why he was absolutely perfect.

"So," Sasori's eyes snapped open when he felt a new presence next to him, the sudden weight causing him to jump slightly. His brown eyes glanced to his right and he scowled again; this day was not doing well. Deidara was now clothed, to Sasori's slight pleasure, but in an old, blue, ratty-looking t-shirt and plaid boxers. Konan flushed again and looked away. "Who are you guys anyway, un?"

"Zetsu."

"Kisame."

"Uh… Konan…"

"Itachi."

Deidara nodded as he ran his eyes over Sasori's acquaintances. Zetsu seemed a bit odd but Deidara always liked those who weren't perfect. The mature, sensible, high achievers reminded him of the person he used to be and he promised himself he would never think back on his decision and regret it. Sasori was a prime example of this, Deidara noted bitterly and glanced quickly at Sasori. He looked back at Kisame, who resembled the type of person that would beat him up in middle school, pull at his hair, make fun of him for looking so damn "pretty" (Deidara hated that word) and was the type of person Deidara wanted to boss around in the future (no chance of that anymore). Itachi reminded him of Kakuzu and Pein; quiet, mature, sensible. Konan just seemed very flustered, but he supposed he did wander around half naked when she came in so it was understandable.

"Oh hey," Deidara's eyes widened suddenly, looking at Itachi, "Didn't we talk on the phone, un? I called you that night?" That voice had made him feel respected yet degraded at once. The tone was so formal and polite that Deidara almost felt as if someone was treating him with more respect than he deserved, yet the stiffness and eloquence of it made it seem like the person was talking down to him. It was difficult to tell whether he was being belittled or not; looking at Itachi now, Deidara still wasn't sure if he was super polite and stiff or arrogant.

Itachi nodded, smirking slightly as he darted a glance at Sasori. Since he was fairly sure both of them probably didn't bother asking each other to learn more about them, he decided he could be the catalyst to their bonding. If he made Sasori want to rip his own hair out even more, that was just a bonus. "Deidara, on the phone, you mentioned you dropped out of medical school before it began. Care to elaborate?"

Sasori's eyes widened slightly and he glanced at his roommate, his interests slightly raised. Growing up, he learned that giving up was never an option; that perseverance and hard work would always be rewarded later. The harder one worked, the more he would be rewarded. Happiness came second; the feeling of success was always the most exhilarating thing he could feel. In Sasori's world, those were the standards. He couldn't believe how Deidara could just drop out and choose probably some stupid, petty reason over the feeling of success. Deidara grinned and shrugged nonchalantly.

"Nothing much to say, un. I'm a smart kid, you know," he glanced at Sasori and stuck a tongue out at him, "Everyone told me so. Math and sciences were no problem, history was just a matter of reading the book, and I'm a good writer and speaker, un. I just decided that my art was more important to me than being a doctor, un," Deidara answered, "I'm not going to torture myself by living someone else's dream, un. I don't have to satisfy anyone except for myself."

"You're even more moronic than I thought," Sasori mumbled and everyone looked at him in surprise for talking as he reached towards the table for a spare piece of wood, "Did you even think about the consequences? What were you going to do when you ran out of money? When you got evicted? You haven't worked hard enough to do nothing yet."

"Life is short and it's to be enjoyed," Deidara answered, smirking, "What's the point of putting myself through hell if it's not what I want and I'm going to be miserable, un? We only live for so long; you have to make the best of what you have." Deidara's view on life was like his art; it was beautiful and fleeting. True art couldn't be dragged out and forced to be longer, just as life could be instantaneous. How Sasori disagreed with this he couldn't imagine, so he laid back and waited for an answer.

Sasori eyes flicked up from the block of wood he had been playing around with in annoyance at Deidara. He sighed and looked at Itachi, as if willing to convey look-what-I'm-dealing-with. "Life is long. Art is eternal. True art outlasts the artist's life and withstands the test of time. The longevity of life gives plenty of time to relax after one has worked hard first." He turned to glare at Deidara who shrugged, smirking.

"How long did you plan on working hard for, un? After law school, what's next? Becoming the best lawyer in Tokyo, un? Then Japan, then become world-renowned? At the rate you're going, the only time you'll relax will be the ten seconds before you die because you won't have any energy to stress, un."

"What gives you the right to predict my life?"

"I'd say we're pretty close. Thanks for the boxers by the way, un. I have none left."

"Hey, we picked a pretty good one," Kisame whispered to Itachi, grinning. Itachi looked back and smirked, sending a new swarm of butterflies through Kisame that he pushed aside. He looked at Sasori, coughing to cover up his laugh at the disgusted look the lawyer-to-be gave the blonde. Zetsu glanced over and chuckled; this was far too amusing. They were friends with Sasori so deep down they wanted the best for him. But on the surface, they just liked to tease and make fun of him.

"That's sick."

"Do you really want them back, un?"

"Hell no."

Meanwhile, Konan continued staring at her knees, playing with her fingers. Something about Deidara made her slightly nervous; she was used to calm men, the kind that would keep her on her feet and help her make logical decisions. Deidara was the exact opposite; he was like an explosion in the air, full of vibrancy and life. She wasn't used to all this energy and optimism; it was like she was in the middle of a pasture at night and Deidara was the sun that suddenly decided to appear and blind her. It wasn't a bad thing, she decided as she looked up, smiling as she watched the two of them bicker about laundry. Change was good. Deidara's view on life made sense to her. To be honest, she wanted Pein to be slightly more like Deidara. Not a lot (she would go crazy) but to have some vibrancy and life; she could only watch him coop himself up in his office and burden himself for so long.

"Konan?"

The blue haired woman looked up, blinking in surprise and feeling a faint blush settle over her cheeks as she saw Pein stand in front of her, with his dress pants and white dress shirt, the loosened tie and collar giving him a more rumpled look. His hands were in his pocket and his hair was slightly messy and she smiled. No matter how uptight he was and no matter how much she looked at Deidara and wondered what kind of boyfriend he would make (his partner would definitely have to be on his toes), Pein was irreplaceable to her. For the first serious, serious boyfriend she had ever had, she was scared it was going too smoothly. She liked him, her parents liked him, her friends (the most overprotective bunch she had ever met) liked him. She was afraid that she was exaggerating her feelings as the hopeless romantic she was.

"Pein!" she grinned and knew the butterflies in her stomach weren't something that could be exaggerated or forced; they were genuine and sickening, in the best way possible. As he smirked and sat down next to her (Itachi and Kisame instantly moved over), Sasori looked around.

"How the hell did you three get in?"

"Oh, gave them a key, un. Actually, I mailed it to Kakuzu," Deidara answered as Kakuzu sat down next to him and Hidan paced around the living room, looking at the place. Sasori slowly turned to give him a skeptical look again but Deidara shrugged again. "No big deal, un. None of them are crooks. Besides, I mailed it to Kakuzu, un. He's responsible."

"You mailed my key?"

"Yeah, un. Way too much work to find him at work; he'd charge me money just for walking into the place."

"How moronic are you?" Sasori could not believe his new roommate gave a copy of the keys to his friends, giving the friends that Sasori had never even heard of a copy of keys fewer than twenty four hours after knowing Deidara himself. He couldn't believe that Deidara would stupidly mail out a key; what if it fell into the wrong hands and he was robbed? Deidara probably didn't have much worth stealing but Sasori had things he knew he would dearly miss if they were stolen. "What if the key got lost in the mail? What gave you the right to give out a key before consulting it with me? And where did you even get a copy of the key?"

"Your desk drawers aren't locked, un," Deidara answered casually, crossing his ankle over his knee and folding his arms across his chest. He then turned to Hidan who just wandered out of his room, smirking. "You like what I did with it, un?"

"…You went through my belongings?" Sasori asked again slowly. Clearly, Deidara had absolutely no understanding of privacy. Sasori didn't search through his belongings for any explosives (though he was pretty sure he saw everything while Deidara was quickly unpacking) because no matter how irritating he was, he still deserved his privacy and Sasori would respect that. However, Deidara just crossed a fine line. He went through Sasori's things as if he didn't care about his wishes and personal space and what was the most irritating was that he didn't seem to care. He sat there, smiling nonchalantly as if it were the most normal thing in the world and Sasori couldn't stand that. He absolutely couldn't stand presumptuous pricks. He clenched his fist and glared at the blonde who seemed not to notice.

Deidara just wandered in one day and announced he was going to live here, giving absolutely no consideration as to what Sasori wanted. Then he completely vandalized the wall, used his things without permission, and apparently now sifted through his belongings. He absolutely didn't give a care in the world about what anyone else wanted. He was in his own world, where no one else mattered and only what he wanted mattered. He was immature, ignorant, and selfish and Sasori decided he would hate him for that. He spent his entire life obeying selfish people, doing what they wanted and he sure as hell wasn't going to take it from Deidara.

"Oh shit, un," Deidara's eyes widened as he glanced at his phone. He looked up suddenly at everyone, clearing his throat, "Okay uh… I need a favor from you guys, all right? My little sister's coming over and, well, I need you all to act as if I've been going to med school for the past year, un."

Pein, Kakuzu, and Hidan all made an 'ah' sound and nodded. Itachi, Kisame, Konan, and Zetsu frowned and exchanged glances. "But… you just told us that…" Konan started, frowning in confusion when the doorbell rang and Deidara literally jumped a mile into the air as he stood up to answer it.

"He's lying to protect her," Pein answered for him and everyone turned to look at him, "He's Ino's role model. He doesn't want her to lose that image of him because after their parents died, she's always looked up to him." This was one of the things that Pein admired most in Deidara. Most people would frown upon what Deidara was doing, but there was more to it than a simple lie. It would be much easier for Deidara to come clean about the whole situation and to relieve himself of the guilt, but he was lying to protect her, not him.

Deidara was the kind of person that was genuinely kind deep down, but a caustic and arrogant demeanor hid it. Once his trust and respect was earned, one would realize that he was a good kid with a good heart. He may seem rude, arrogant, and unorganized, but it was all genuine and with good intentions. And, as Pein glanced at Sasori, Sasori seemed to not realize this. He just hoped Deidara didn't piss him off too much before Sasori realized what kind of a person he really was.

"Ino, hey, un," they heard Deidara's voice as the door was opened and a blonde, that looked almost exactly like him, threw her arms around him, grinning. He seemed so natural; the smile was bright and the tone was relaxed; no sign of any lying as he approached them, letting Ino take his seat. A rosette sat down next to her. Sasori blinked, temporarily forgetting his anger at Deidara. People have to stop giving me crap about my bloody red hair if that girl's walking around with cotton candy on her head.

"Hi!" the girl, presumably Ino, grinned and looked around at them, holding a hand up, "I'm Ino! And this is Sakura, my best friend. Nice place, Deidara," she noted and looked around. She turned around, and looked through the open door leading to the bedroom, laughing slightly, "I can definitely tell you live in there. It's a mess. Things haven't changed since we were little, huh? Hi Pein, Hidan, Kakuzu!" she turned her attention to the other three and waved happily, "Keeping my brother in line?"

"As fucking always," Hidan smirked, "You know, I'm the one that has to actually make him do his damn work. Kid spends all day obsessing over the dead bodies he's cutting up and forgets to study for a little thing called the final-fucking-exams."

As a laugh went around the room (a nervous giggle with some shifty eyes from Sasori's friends), the redhead frowned as he watched Hidan and Ino converse easily. He couldn't believe that Hidan was lying so smoothly and easily to Ino; he couldn't believe how selfish Deidara was to make even his friends continue his deception. Sasori felt anger bubble in him as he watched Ino laugh, without the slightest clue that she was being completely deceived. He then looked at Deidara who looked equally relaxed, even joking around and Sasori couldn't handle it; he wouldn't stand by and let Ino be deceived like this. He didn't know her, but no one deserved to be lied to like this.

"You know, he dropped out of medical school."

Deidara felt chills go through him when he heard Sasori say that. Feeling prickles crawl through his skin, he turned to the redhead slowly, his face paling at Sasori's serene yet fake smile directed at Ino. It was the first smile Deidara had seen; Sasori was usually smirking. Even so, the smile was fake and forced; it probably easily deceived Ino, but Deidara could see the evil intentions lying underneath. The brown eyes met Deidara's wide blue ones and the smile changed into a smirk for an instant, as if he were saying this is what you deserve. He opened his mouth but closed it, gulping slightly, his eyes wide and pleading. What are you doing, Sasori? Everyone in the room fell silent and looked at Sasori. Hidan looked absolutely livid while Pein and Kakuzu looked confused, yet interested. The others looked mainly horrified; the Sasori they knew definitely would not just rat someone out like this.

"He only moved in here yesterday," Sasori continued easily and shrugged as if what he was saying didn't make the room ten degrees colder, "Before that he's been bumming around on the streets. No job. No income. All he does all day is his so called "art." He's just wasting his time and being immature. Frankly, I'm surprised he's made it this long."

"Sasori," Deidara hissed and Sasori smirked, seeing fear quiver in his eyes, "What the fuck are you doing, un?"

"What's with Sasori?" Kisame leaned over, whispering to Itachi. "As far as I'm concerned, he's one of the most loyal people I've ever met." Sasori would seem like a cold bastard at times, but deep down he was extremely loyal to those he cared about. Even if he disliked Deidara, Sasori never betrayed anyone like this. In school, Zetsu got have gotten expelled for some of his pranks but Sasori never told the dean it was Zetsu and, instead, accepted the punishments of helping him clean the greenhouse.

"I suppose he harbors a certain dislike for Deidara," Itachi noted in his deep, quiet voice, "We all know how he feels about deception like this." Sasori was secretive and though Itachi enjoyed teasing him, the two shared a bond that ran deeper than words could describe. Very few things would elicit an emotion from Itachi, but hearing certain things about Sasori's childhood would make even the stoic Uchiha cringe. He sighed and looked at Sasori, noting the cold smirk. He told Kisame he wanted to ruin Sasori's life, but he also had his own reasons.

"…Huh?" Ino furrowed her brow and looked at Deidara questioningly, "No way. He's been studying there for a year now, right, Deidara?" her bright smile faltered as she noticed how her brother avoided her gaze and that everyone else in the room was deathly silent. "…Right?"

"…" Deidara cleared his throat and looked away, feeling his heartbeat quicken. Not now, un. Not like this. I can't tell her like this. She'll never talk to me again, un. He couldn't believe Sasori did this to him. Instantly, he felt anger rise up in him as he looked up to meet Sasori's smug face. And what the hell did I do to him, un? rang in his head. Sasori had to be the most bipolar person ever; one minute he was locking him out on the balcony as a joke and next he was ruining the most important relationship he had. Deidara believed that people were innately good; some people just didn't make the right decisions when it came to choices. However, he scrapped his beliefs; Sasori was a cold, cruel person that didn't care about anyone else.

"I cannot believe this," Ino bit her lip and stood up, tears brimming her eyes. Sakura looked up at Ino with sympathetic and sent a glare at Deidara as she stood up as well, putting an arm around Ino comfortingly, whispering something in her ear as the two began to head towards the door.

"Ino—"

"Don't even. No. Don't, okay? Don't," Ino spun around suddenly, breaking Sakura's hold on her shoulders. Her blonde hair whipped around her and her baby blue eyes flashed dangerously at Deidara. "Look, it's one thing that you dropped out of med school. With enough reason, I could probably understand that. But lying to me for a whole year? I can't believe it. I used to look up to you. You know? Ever since our parents died, you actually became responsible. You'd help me and cook for me and I believed everything you told me. And when you said that you couldn't live with me anymore at our aunt and uncle's, I figured your work was busy. So, I dealt with it. It wasn't easy, okay? Because you're the only one I have left. You're my only real family left. So why'd you lie? Was it because you didn't want to hang out with me anymore? You got sick of your pesty little sister?"

"Ino, it's not that, un," Deidara stood up and headed towards her, but she instantly held her hand up, signaling for him to stay put.

"Don't. Leave me alone. This time you're not the one escaping. I get to leave you and you get to know what it's like to be abandoned." She spun around on her heel and yanked the door open, storming out and slamming it shut. Sakura sighed and put a hand to her forehead, then looked at Deidara, her eyes tired. "Deidara, I'm sure you had your reasons. But really? I'm not here to judge. But talk to her again in a week or so. She'll forgive you eventually. But you should really come up with a clear explanation," she said and opened the door, exiting in a much more calm manner than Ino did.

Deidara groaned and sank down onto the floor. Hidan scooted over, and put an arm around his friend's shoulders and dropped his head, whispering something that sounded encouraging. Pein glanced at them and stood up, motioning to Konan that they should leave. One by one, they all filed out silently until only Hidan and Kakuzu were left. Sasori shrugged at Kakuzu's questioning look and smirked. "Why aren't your hands around my throat for ruining your friend's relationship with his sister?"

"I'm sure you had your reason. I don't judge someone before I get to know him," Kakuzu answered, "Of course I'm not pleased with what you did and how you went about it. Come on, moron," he delivered a sharp jab to Hidan's side, earning him a yelp and a glare, "Let's go."

"I'm helping out a fucking friend here for once! Why can't I just do something nice?"

"Because that's not in your nature. Let's go."

Hidan muttered something incoherent then looked back at Deidara, a slight smile gracing his lips. "Keep your head up, all right? Don't make me be nice to you. It's fucking weird."

As Sasori heard the door slam shut, he closed his eyes, leaning back against the couch and crossing his arms. He smirked expectantly as he waited for the outburst. Possibly a book to his head or fingers around his throat or, probably, a lot of yelling. What he didn't expect, however, was just what Deidara did.

"Why, un?"

Sasori opened an eye and looked at Deidara. He was still on the ground, sitting cross legged and staring at his open palms. The whisper was ragged and pained, a look of complete heartbreak was on his face when he looked up. His strands of blonde hair seemed dull suddenly as they laid limply, cascading down around his slumped shoulders. Bags Sasori hadn't noticed before had formed under his eyes and suddenly he looked so much older and more tired; not the same person that bounded into his room under twenty four hours ago.

"No one deserves to be lied to like that."

"So what the hell made you think you could just butt into my business like that, un?" Deidara clenched his fists and felt his nails dig into his palms, his knuckles turning white from anger. "We've been living together for like, what, twenty hours, un? If you wanted to know why, okay, I could've told you, un."

"I don't care why," Sasori continued impassively, "All I know is that you were deceiving the person most important to you and that's wrong. No matter what reason it was for, there's no good reason for lying, especially to a family member." As soon as he was finished, he felt a heavy weight on top of him, knocking the wind out of him as the two of them tumbled onto the ground, still wrestling. Sasori growled and coughed as his fingers pried at the ones around his neck. He could feel his air supply shortening and spots danced before his eyes when one hand released the death grip. He didn't have a chance to get more than one grasp before he felt a splitting pain in his nose.

"Shit," he managed to gasp through the pain. As he clenched his jaw, the pain went searing and he used his non dominant hand to grab the fabric of Deidara's shirt and delivered a well aimed punch at the jaw, sending the blonde off of him and sprawling onto the ground. As the two sat up, huffing, Deidara glared at him, using the back of his hand to wipe away the blood trickling at the corner of his lip.

"Fuck you, un," he muttered and stood up. He grabbed his wallet from the counter and stalked out of the apartment, leaving Sasori alone. He staggered towards the kitchen and grabbed a paper towel, pressing it against the nose. He winced as he pressed with a bit too much force, cursing when he saw the blood and made his way to the bathroom. He flipped on the switch and scrutinized his nose; aside from the blood, it seemed fine, he decided. No reason to go to the cops and get a restraining order, he noted solemnly as he walked back into the kitchen and sat down next to the paper towels.

"Chiyo-baachan," a short, red haired boy tugged at the hem of the dress his grandmother was wearing. The elderly woman looked down and smiled, scooping her grandson up in her arms and tickling his nose; at the age of five, he couldn't discern the look of pain beneath her smile when she looked at him.

"Yes, Sasori?"

"Where are oto-chan and okaa-san?" the little boy inquired innocently, as he sucked on the ear of his teddy bear. His parents had left a week ago and as the little boy he was, he missed them dearly. It was lonely in the big king-sized bed. Of course, the toddler liked to be able to roll around without bumping into his parents, but he missed them, their warmth, and their affection.

Chiyo opened her mouth and closed it, looking away slightly. She had received a phone call a week ago on the day Sasori's parents left. The plane's crash was covered on every news channel, reporters reiterated that "there were no chances for survival." Though a week had passed, the words still rang clearly in her mind. The chilling sensation that went through her would never be forgotten. That moment where everything changed and there was a hollow void in her that she knew would never be filled.

I am so sorry for your loss.

Empty words. What did they mean to the one who delivered them? Did he ever lose the two people he cared for more than anyone? Did he wonder how he would have to tell their five year old son? Did he ever have to deal with death yet put on a smiling face because he didn't want to watch a bubbly face crumple. She looked back at Sasori, a forced smile plastered on their face. "They'll be back soon, Sasori."

And Sasori believed every word.

The twenty four year old sighed, removing the blood soaked paper towels from his nose and dropped them into the nearby trash can. He touched his nose gently a few times and winced as he went over to the freezer and retrieved an ice bag. He carefully touched it to his unusually red nose and sat back down, leaning back. No one deserves to be lied to. Especially not family.

A knock came at the door and Sasori frowned as he glanced at it. He sighed and left his icepack on the table and frowned as he held his hand over the nose and opened the door. If it's that punk Tobi again, I swear…

"…Piercings."

"…All right, I'll call you Hair," Pein smirked and laughed dryly. Konan appeared next to him looking nervous and smiling shyly at Sasori. "H-hi Sasori. Are you still mad? We can leave… if you're going to kill someone, kill him, because it was his brilliant idea to talk to you after you flipped out more than I've ever seen you flip out and you didn't even actually lose it you just kind of—"

"Konan. Save your breath," Pein glanced at her and smiled slightly, then turned back to Sasori. "I need to tell you something about Deidara."

"That he's an irresponsible, immature, compulsive liar?" Sasori scowled then grimaced as the movement of his face caused his nose to cry out in pain again. He sighed and leaned against his doorframe, lowering his hand, giving Pein a blank stare. Pein smirked at his nose and took the stare as the signal to keep talking.

"Did Deidara do that to you?"

"I didn't know he could actually hit."

Pein laughed. "He is unpredictable, I suppose. Anyway, I came to tell you that you probably think Deidara's irrational, immature, spontaneous, and reckless. Which, I suppose, in certain ways he is, as you saw at the park," he paused and smirked at Sasori's expression at the mention of the park, "And certainly, it's wrong to lie to his sister like that. I understand your reasons for exposing the truth to Ino. However, he has his reasons. Trust me, he does not like to lie to her but he did it for her own good at the cost of his sense of moral. Maybe you don't understand it and you might never truly understand him, but despite all the stupid things Deidara does, he has a reason for everything. He has a good heart. He just has blunt ways of dealing with things. He's reckless; he doesn't think before he acts. So don't judge him based on this one lie," Pein paused, smiling softly as he noticed Sasori looked away in something resembling guilt, "Don't judge him. He has a lot more offer than what you saw today."

"Sasori, please don't kick him out," Konan blurted out, her face flushed, "I know you hate lying more than anything, especially to your family, but please. He did this for her sake, you saw how she reacted. He just wanted to protect her; maybe he had plans to go to med school later, you never know! Give him another chance. Please?"

After a few moments of silence, Sasori sighed and spoke in a low voice. "If he comes back, I will allow him in," Sasori stated quietly and slammed the door shut, the sound of footsteps getting more and more distant.

Pein and Konan stared at the door and glanced at each other, smirking and smiling, respectively.

"I think we got through to him."

"Of course we did! You're a very persuasive speaker."

"Oh, am I?"

"Yes! With everyone! Except me."

-X-x-X-

"Fucking arse, un."

Deidara grumbled as he walked along the sidewalk. He wasn't watching where he was going and so he occasionally bumped into people, earning a glare then an odd look. He supposed he could have grabbed a pair of pants before he stomped out, but by the time he realized it he refused to swallow his pride and walk back into Sasori's apartment. He sighed and continued kicking the empty beer can that was on the sidewalk, scowling.

"What gave him the damn right to do that, un?" he continued muttering to himself. While he had to admit that Sasori was right in that he shouldn't have lied to Ino like that, he just couldn't fathom how Sasori could so easily sit there and watch what he had to desperately tried to preserve wither away. The smug look and arrogant smirk would forever be etched in the panic-stricken Deidara's mind. He looked like he was enjoying it. Like he was some kind of hero for revealing the truth.

"Whoa, hey there."

Deidara looked up with a start and saw the blue haired one from earlier, Kisame?, standing in front of him with an amused expression. After a few moments he seemed to recall what happened earlier and cleared his throat, looking away. "Sorry, forgot about that whole… er, you want to go get some coffee or something?"

"Yeah sure, un," Kisame turned and headed back where he had just come from and Deidara raised an eyebrow at this but disregarded it. There was an awkward silence between them and Deidara laughed bitterly suddenly, earning a curious look from Kisame. "Is he always like that, un?"

"Huh?" Kisame answered immediately, seeming relieved Deidara had spoken, "Nah. We were all pretty surprised, to be honest. Sasori's a cool guy; we don't know what made him snap. Did you break one of his puppets or something?" he meant it as a joke but based on Deidara's glare, he instantly regretted saying it. "Uh… kidding. What do you want?" he asked as they turned into a Starbucks.

"Grande mocha, un," Deidara muttered as he brushed past Kisame and waited at the end. He leaned against the wall, lost in his own thoughts, as people brushed past him to get their drinks. He didn't notice Kisame come up to him until the taller man waved a hand in front of Deidara and flicked his forehead to get his attention. Instantly, Deidara blinked and looked up.

"Did you get into a fight with Sasori?" Kisame asked and gestured towards Deidara's slightly swollen lip. His fingers flitted over the corner for a moment before he smirked and nodded. Kisame chuckled, "Guess he got really riled up then. Sasori only fights if he's seriously pissed off."

"He's got some problems to sort through, un," Deidara muttered, darkening at the mention of Sasori. "What's his problem, seriously? He has no right to do that to me, un. He doesn't even know anything about me," Deidara grumbled and took his drink, taking a deep gulp and hacking as he felt the steaming hot liquid scorch his tongue.

Kisame chuckled in amusement as he and Deidara walked over to one of the window seats and sat down, leaving their drinks on the counter in front of them to cool down. The seat was cool and the counter was smooth, with no traces of residue from other drinks left over. People walked past the glass wall and occasionally glanced it, scowling at how many people there were and walked past. It was usually a comforting atmosphere, but after what happened today, even a sauna would seem like a tense atmosphere. Kisame played with the lid for a few moments before speaking. "He's not that bad."

"What, un?"

"Sasori," he said, "he really isn't that bad. I've never seen him like that; he only gets angry if something really annoyed him. How much do you know about him?" Kisame asked and turned to Deidara. The blonde's eyes widened in surprise before he scoffed and turned away, showing his profile to Sasori's friend. He couldn't even bear to think of the name. Just the thought irritated him; he needed to call one of his friends and ask if he could stay for the night. He absolutely refused to go back to that apartment.

"Nothing. Except he's a prick, un."

The older man smiled in amusement and instinctively, reached out and ruffled the blonde hair. Deidara jerked back and glared at him, to which he laughed. "Sorry, natural habit. Sasori's just as stubborn as you are and I do that to annoy him. Glad to see it works on you too."

"Don't you dare compare me to him, un," Deidara growled and took another long sip of his drink. He rested his elbow on the table and leaned against his palm as he stared out the window lazily, annoyance still etched on his face. He thought that getting out of the apartment would help him to cool off but he certainly didn't expect to meet up with Kisame. He was about to leave and wander around by himself outside when the other started talking again.

"Did you know he hates having his things touched?" Kisame asked lightly, taking a sip. He heard no retort from Deidara and when he looked over, he was looking down. He still seemed angry but it wasn't as severe as before; he was playing with a straw wrapper left behind under the counter and seemed to be focusing on that but Kisame knew better. He had an uncanny resemblance to Sasori and he knew that despite how he didn't seem like he was listening, he was hanging onto every word. "So when you said that you went through his stuff, that was strike one. He's also extremely antisocial, so strike two was when you said you just mailed a key. I have to say, I agree, it was kind of rash to mail it in case it did fall into the wrong hands. You're lucky the right person got the key."

"That's still no reason to ruin the way my sister views me, un," Deidara muttered quietly. He supposed he had been reckless when he went through Sasori's stuff without permission first. He had just been living alone for so long and even before that, he would go through Ino's things whenever he suspected something that he had forgotten about respecting one's privacy at first. And the key thing, he supposed he could have taken more precautions such as asking Sasori first and delivering it himself. He liked to live on the edge, but he forgot that not everyone was like him. And it was Sasori's apartment. He had just been crashing there for twenty four hours; he had no right to make any rules yet.

"But strike three was when you lied to your sister," Kisame looked over, smiling softly, "You don't mess around with lying in front of Sasori. He's had bad experiences, especially with lying in the family. Not trying to judge you because I don't know what it feels to be the one lying, but Sasori was the one that was lied to and it completely messed up his relationship with his grandmother. So he doesn't look very favorably on those who lie to loved ones." Deidara kept looking down, feeling guilt claw on him from the inside. While he was always thinking of protecting Ino's feelings, he never considered what would happen once he told her the truth. But just imagining it, she would probably be more devastated than she was and if Sasori experienced that then…

"Fine, un!"

Kisame was startled to see Deidara jump off the stool and stalk towards the door. The outburst had been sudden and Deidara refused to look him in the eye. "I'll apologize to the damn bastard, un! So get off my case!" he huffed, his face completely red, as he pushed his way out of the Starbucks and quickly walked past in front of Kisame back towards the apartment. Kisame chuckled; it was ironic how similar the two were yet how they were polar opposites as well. He sipped his drink again; this was definitely one of his better ideas with Itachi.

Meanwhile, Deidara barely realized where he was going as he stomped through Tokyo in his pajamas with a Starbucks drink in his hand and the other clutching the key tightly. He weaved through the maze of people, a look of determination etched across his face. Deidara was a very proud person, but he knew when he had to apologize. He had messed up this time and Sasori deserved an apology, not only for what happened while their friends were there, but also for the bloody nose. He thought about making a joke out of it, how it matched his hair, but then he figured he'd have a lot more than a slightly busted lip.

It was almost November and he could definitely tell as the cold wind bit as his exposed limbs and face; pajamas were not meant to be worn outside in fall. Usually he would take his time and take in the fall scenery but he was impatient to get back; he hated feeling guilty and he wanted to get rid of it before he felt so guilty that he actually apologized with a bunch of flowers or something.

He glanced up and realized he had reached the apartment complex. Sighing to calm his jumping nerves, he yanked the door open and stomped through the lobby, barely glancing at the 'welcome back' greeting from the front desk. He pressed the button on the elevator impatiently, watching as the light descended ever so slowly. When the sleek doors finally opened, he slid in, barely noticing the other presence in the elevator. A teenager glanced at him and smirked. "Nice pajamas, bro."

The elevator reached the sixth floor and Deidara smirked at him as the doors opened. "At least I've got something to put in them, un," he retorted and slipped out, leaving the self conscious boy to flush darkly and look down.

Deidara paused at the door, his hand a few inches away from knocking. He bit his lip and decided to use the key instead. With a click, the door opened and he stepped in cautiously, looking around for any signs of red hair. He closed the door behind him quietly and slipped out of his shoes, leaving his drink and key on the kitchen table, peering around. "Sasori, un?"

"Sasoriii? You're not going to jump out at me from behind a door with a knife or something, right, un?" Deidara called as he peered into his study room. Seeing that the desk was empty, he frowned and was about to try to pick the lock to Sasori's room when something caught his eye. Poking his head through the gap again, he looked at the walls and his blue eyes widened. The door creaked as he pushed it open slowly and stepped into the room, walking carefully as if the floor were made of thin glass. He held his breath as he made his way through the large, empty room towards the left wall, staring at it in amazement.

Puppets.

Everywhere. Small ones that were set up in some kind of a scene like miniature dolls depicting either a scene from a book (there was a small card that identified the book and scene) or just puppets in general, carefully propped up with a stand, the strings either hidden behind them or holding them up adorned the bookcases against the walls. The bookcases didn't have the normal horizontal shelvings; instead, there were boxes of different sizes and Sasori made the use of every size possible. Nimbly, Deidara ran his finger along the face of a two foot puppet of Romeo next to a puppet of Juliet. The small card in the front corner had Sasori's handwriting on it. Deidara glanced at it and smiled slightly, feeling impressed.

Used by the Tokyo Puppet group in 2007 for their production of Romeo and Juliet.

Deidara knew very little about the world of puppets, but he knew of renowned puppeteers and groups that traveled and performed throughout Japan and the rest of the world. He was impressed; the Tokyo Puppet group was definitely one he would go to if he had time (and money). The scenery was always beautiful and the puppets were absolutely exquisite. To think that Sasori's puppets would be used by the elite almost made him busy. That placed Sasori on a much higher level of art skill than himself and he suddenly felt ashamed for treating him so disrespectfully.

Traveling down the wall, he nodded as he looked at each puppet. There were so many yet the quality of each never lessened; each one had the same precision and perfection. There was no dust on the bookshelves and no clothes were rumpled. Turning around, he looked at the other wall. Like the one he was just examining, there were all different kinds of puppets everywhere, yet this wall was different in that it had a huge puppet in the bottom middle. Eyes wide, Deidara walked over and squatted down, glancing at the name card.

Hiruko. First puppet ever made.

It looked quite grotesque at first, but that didn't stop Deidara from staring at it. The tan head was bald with the exception of five oddly strands of hair looking like claw marks. The back was a large, orange Goblin-looking mask with a scorpion tale coming out of it and resting on the floor around him, and though human, it was positioned like a bulldog with its arms bent and hands in and the legs in an odd position that Deidara couldn't even fathom attempting. A mask covered the lower half of the face and the eyes were open and piercing, as if it was a real person. The resemblance to a real human was almost terrifying; Deidara was half expecting Hiruko to come alive suddenly and attack him with the scorpion tale, but as he ran his finger against the face it was cool and wooden.

"They're beautiful, un," Deidara breathed as he stood up and surveyed the wall again. He wondered just how much time went into each of these. Hours? Days? Weeks? Months, even? He couldn't believe how Sasori would spend so much time on something and just leave it there; if it were Deidara, he would blow everything up as soon as he could to see something beautiful become real art.

"Brat?"

Deidara looked towards the door where Sasori's voice carried and he quickly exited, closing the door behind him softly. Sasori had his back towards him as he surveyed the living room before he sensed the other's presence and turned around, frowning slightly. After Pein had left, he had retired to his room to focus on his homework but found he couldn't keep but wonder if and when Deidara would return. Something resembling an apology was at the tip of his tongue, but his pride refused to let him say it and he crossed his arms, looking away.

"Danna, un."

Sasori looked up quickly, his eyes wide with surprise at what Deidara had addressed him as. He thought it was a joke but seeing the grin and slightly bashful scratch to the back of his head told him otherwise. He had been addressed as that before, but it was odd being addressed like that by Deidara. "…What?"

"Danna," Deidara repeated, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary, "I'll make dinner, un. I saw some spaghetti and tomato sauce lying around," he brushed past the redhead and opened the cupboards, taking out a pot. He walked over to the sink and began filling it, feeling Sasori's questioning eyes on him. "Your puppets are beautiful, un," he commented offhandedly as he decided he had enough water and placed the pot on the stove, turning it on and covering it with a glass lid. He turned around and leaned against the counter, smiling slightly, "They really are, un."

Sasori, who suddenly felt awkward with this praise coming from the person who just bloodied his entire face a few hours earlier, scoffed and looked away, clearing his throat to hopefully clear the embarrassment. "…I don't want that much sauce."

"Okay, un," he heard Deidara say as Sasori turned around and headed back towards his room. Just as he was about to enter, he glanced at the balcony, noticing the sheets outside. He hadn't realized what he was doing until he was hanging them out; he barely even remembered taking them and using the washing machine. Sometime between going into his room to do his homework, Sasori imagined that he must have come out and looked in Deidara's room and seen the dirty sheets. Having nothing better to do, he then decided to wash them because if he didn't they might be permanently stained.

"Brat."

"Yeah, danna, un?" The nickname was going to stick, Sasori noted with dry amusement.

"…I washed your sheets. Be sure to take them in when they're dry," Sasori said after a brief pause and slipped into the room, closing the door behind him. Deidara blinked and looked out the balcony and laughed, seeing the sheets he had stained with paints the night before. He thought the minute Sasori saw them he would be evicted but the fact that they were washed and hung out to dry for him proved otherwise.

He grinned. "Thanks, danna, un."

Author's Notes: I have this paranoid feeling that, like most of my stories, as the story progresses, the quality of each chapter deteriorates… literally, the first chapter of every one of my stories is THE most well written. So if you notice a decline in quality… don't feel bad to tell me so… I will be very grateful…

Is this getting too sappy and sentimental? I have a feeling it is. People are overflowing with kindness and feelings and these people are not supposed to be kind and emotional. I need to fix that.

I have a problem with words. I'm sorry. I thought this was going to be a shorter chapter, around 6k words or so, but it ended up being more than 11.5k… I don't even know how it happened. Thank you for your lovely reviews last chapter I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review!