Beta'd by Chillybean


"It's been how many fucking moons now?" Hidan shouted as he slammed his fist into the table. "Blondie missing is bad enough. We don't need your stupid love quarrel getting in the way of our search!" The dragonfly said sternly as he glared at Itachi who was sitting across the table.

The Scarlet Tiger Moth said nothing, choosing to simply stare at the Jashinist with his indifferent onyx eyes.

"Just swallow your damn pride and fucking apologize, asshole. You can't really blame Kisame for his reactions. If I was in his shoe, I would have fucking sacrifice you to Jashin!"

"Enough already." Kakuzu sighed as he pulled himself from the wall. "Hidan, it's late. We're going home."

"Yeah, yeah." Hidan snapped at his mate before turning to glare at Itachi again. "You guys better make up, ya hear me? If I wake up tomorrow and still see you two going at it, I'm gonna beat the shit out of both of you!" With that warning, Hidan and Kakuzu retired for the coming night. Itachi sat for a few minutes longer, staring around his empty shared home before spotting a package of nectar Kisame had set on the table edge.

At the sight, Itachi's gaze fell at the remembrance of his mate whom he hadn't seen since they flew off their separate ways after the argument over Orochimaru. He knew the wasp had been secretly coming back to drop off food for him, but Itachi would always miss him since he only returned during the day, confident in his knowledge that Itachi would not be able to stay up due to fatigue.

The moth gently brushed a finger over the bundle of unopened nectar before releasing a soft breath he had been holding. Stretching his colourful wings, Itachi took flight into the twilight.

~0~

"Danna!"

"Shut up, brat." Sasori snapped, ignoring the noises outside as he tried to focus on the scroll he was reading.

"It'll only take a second, un. Please, Sasori no Danna?"

Growling in irritation, the mantis tossed his bamboo scroll away. Jumping to his feet, he strode over to the door and swung it open to reveal the free-loading butterfly. "If you want to go out, do it yourself." Sasori snapped, not liking how the blond was going around wasting his precious time.

"But the exit is too high up." Deidara mumbled before taking a quick glance at his broken wings. "I can't fly and can't really climb either."

"Didn't you learn to climb when you were a caterpillar?" Sasori sneered, before pausing at the remembrance of the blond's background. He stared at the blond, noticing how the butterfly had to fight back a frown that was threatening to cross his face.

"I'm–" Deidara's voice cracked, but he continued on; he was trying to sound as natural as possible. "I'm just not good at climbing, un."

The mantis leaned his shoulder against the door as he stared at the butterfly with a much softer gaze.

"I mean…umm– because of my wings! They're heavy, unlike yours Danna." Deidara quickly explained, waving his arms out in front of him to emphasize his point.

A moment of silence passed.

When Deidara noticed that Sasori didn't even move a muscle and was still continuing to stare at him, he gulped nervously. "S-so um…can you please…help me?" The butterfly's face flushed when his voice squeaked at the end, but quickly shook it off as he stared at the mantis, waiting for his answer.

At the butterfly's slip up, the mantis shifted before his muscles visible relaxed beneath his robe. His expression softened until the scowl he was wearing just a second ago completely vanished. Then, to Deidara's amazement, the mantis smiled.

Not a smirk or anything sinister for that matter. It was a warm and genuine smile!

The butterfly stared at the mantis, wondering if the other was feeling alright while being completely oblivious to the heat rising to his face.

"So you want to get up, is that it?" Sasori asked. It took Deidara five whole seconds before he finally registered what the mantis had said. When he saw Sasori waving his hand at him, he knew the mantis was telling him to come closer, so he did.

The minute he was within arm's reach, the blond gasped as a large hand grabbed him by the chin and pulled him over, closing the last space of distance and making hot breath gently ghost over his ears. Everything became silent as Deidara's heart began beating so fast that he swore it would leap out of his throat at any time. When the mantis brushed his lips over the shell of the butterfly's ear, the blond's breathing and heartbeat stop all together.

"No."

Whether it was that single word that sent Deidara's spirit crashing down or the door that was slammed to his face, the butterfly didn't know. By the time he had come to, he was on the ground with his nose throbbing in pain from the impact with the door. He stared blankly at the tightly shut door for minutes before his entire face flushed a deep crimson.

'What the heck was that?' The blond panicked as he quickly put a hand over his chest in a useless attempt to slow his heart that was pounding painfully against his ribcage.

Why was his hearting beating so quickly?

Why was he feeling so restless all of the sudden?

The butterfly mentally screamed when he felt the hotness on his face. He was blushing! Why in the world was he blushing? 'And moreover…' Deidara gritted his teeth, the tension in his muscles forcing his veins to pop out. He grabbed the nearest pebble he could find and hurled it at the door with all his strength with the full intent of hoping the door would break.

"DANNA YOU JERK!"

Sasori smirked faintly as he listened to the butterfly's heavy footsteps as he stomped away.

Once he could no longer sense the butterfly's presence, he slowly pulled himself from the door. The mantis soundlessly made his way to the shelf where all his scrolls were.

As he looked over the scrolls, wondering which to read, he couldn't help but recall the brat's flustered face. His smirk widened as he recalled every detail on the blond's face and every small bit of his reaction.

When he realized what he was thinking, Sasori quickly snapped out of his daydream. His smirk was now replaced by a deep frown.

'Why did I…?' Honey brown eyes narrowed as the mantis found himself questioning his actions.

He didn't know why he did what he did. When he saw the way the blond was pouting and asking for help, he couldn't help but felt this strong urge to tease the butterfly. There was this strange warmth in his chest that he couldn't describe. And when he saw how Deidara was blushing, all his reasoning seemed to evaporate into thin air.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance at how he couldn't figure anything out, Sasori randomly reached for another scroll, hoping that it would at least keep his mind off the butterfly for now.

~0~

Itachi panted softly, feeling exhausted from the long flight as he slowly fluttered down and landed on a blade of grass. He used his kimono sleeve to remove some sweat from his face as he glanced around, hoping to catch even a glimpse of his mate.

"I told you to shut up." The words that ended their argument was embedded deep within the moth's mind. For the first time, Itachi didn't know what to do. Although he would never show or admit it, he was shaken by the fact that Kisame had actually yelled at him. Thanks to that fear, he wasn't able to bring himself to confront his own mate, leading to how things were right now.

Now, Kisame was purposely avoiding him.

With the land so big, the wasp could be anywhere. He hadn't been able to find him the other moons, so what were the chances of this time being any different? From the way Hidan spoke, he obviously had no clue what was going on between them, meaning that Kisame definitely did not go to their place.

"You foolish…" Itachi's voice trailed off as he stared into the darkness of the shadows around him. Whether those words he spoke were directed to his own mate or him, he didn't know.

"I promise I'll always protect you, Itachi. You don't have to suffer anymore." The sweet words the wasp had spoken to him that night resurfaced as Itachi buried his face into his arms.

"Kisame." He whispered that name in a hush voice. He just wanted to hear it, the name of his mate rolling off his tongue.

"No matter where you are…"

"Kisame."

"Yes, love?" Itachi froze, his breath catching in his throat as he felt the arms that were wrapped tightly around his shoulders; his back pressed against a muscular chest.

"Ki…same?" Responding to the name, Itachi let out a silent gasp as he felt gentle kisses showered on his nape.

"I told you, didn't I? That no matter where you are, I'll always be with you."

"You…" Itachi tensed, immediately knowing the meaning behind his lover's words. "You were following me?"

"Did you think I would have left you alone?" Kisame asked, sounded slightly offended. Not knowing how to respond, the moth parted his lips. He was about to apologize when the wasp's strong arms that were wrapped around him tightened.

"I'm sorry." The two words that he was about to say were whispered tenderly in his ear. "I wanted to apologize sooner, but you were avoiding me. I thought you were angry so I couldn't–"

Whatever Kisame was going to say was lost as Itachi spun around and sealed the wasp's lips with his own. It was a sloppy kiss, as Itachi has very rarely – almost never, took the initiative. Kisame smirked against his mate's soft lips. He titled his head, adjusting a better angle to deepen the kiss.

"I should be the one to apologize." Itachi tried to control his pants once they finally parted due to the lack of air. "Forgive me, Kisame. I was out of line."

"You were just worried for Deidara." Kisame whispered. His arms were still around Itachi as he pulled the moth close against him. "It was understandable."

"No. It wasn't–" Itachi was cut off when his mate gently hushed him and buried his face into his raven hair.

No more words needed to be exchanged. Itachi leaned into the arms of his mate as he savoured the warmth he had missed. As the two enjoyed the company of one another, the peaceful air around them was shattered by humming. Pulling away from each other, the two insects turned to see a being step out from the shadows of the bushes. It was a spider, Itachi quickly realized with his sharp observation. It was a fairly carefree spider, atop his head short raven hair and an orange mask. He was humming a joyful tune with his hands behind his head.

When Kisame saw the scarf and mask, his rounded eyes immediately narrowed into a deep glare.

"Hm?" The spider stopped. As though feeling gazes upon him, he turned and was met with two pairs of eyes. One pair was practically burning holes into him while the other pair was staring at him in surprise.

"Wait…" The spider's jaw fell when his eyes caught a familiar wing splashed with shades of crimson, black and white. Slowly letting his gaze trail up, the spider's jaw dropped as he found himself staring at the elegant, pale face of the moth.

"You're–!"

"Spider!" Kisame growled and in an instant, he had pulled Itachi behind him protectively with one hand and gripped the hilt of Samehada with the other.

"Eh? W-wait!" The spider cried, shaking his head furiously as Kisame's wings stretched to their full length. Just when he was about to attack the spider, he was quickly held back by a pair of arms hugging him, preventing him from successfully pulling Samehada out.

"Itachi?" Kisame turned to his mate, but was ignored as Itachi quickly stepped out from behind him.

'Tobi.' Itachi whispered the name quietly in his mind as he took in the spider's form. Although it had been a while, there was no mistake.

It is him.

"It is you!" The spider gasped in delight before he suddenly rushed forward and pounced towards the long haired moth. "ITA–GYAAA!"

Itachi, now trapped within his mate's arms, stared at the scene that was now moving in slow motion as Samehada mercilessly whacked the offensive spider away.

~0~

"Stupid cold-blooded jerk…" Deidara mumbled, trying to think up as many names as he could for the red haired mantis. He stared at the pair of doors that led to the surface high above him, frowning before looking around, hoping to find something – anything that could get him out of this place.

Deidara knew that the sun had long set, but he didn't want to go to bed so early. He didn't know what came over him, but he wanted to see the world under the moon. Sure he sometimes woke up in the night, but he was always half asleep at that time so he never took note of his surroundings.

The butterfly never cared much for the life in the night. None of his friends spoke about it, so he never really gave it much thought. However, after hearing stories from Nagato and Tobi of their own little travels, it got the butterfly curious. It made him want to see exactly how the life of moon dwellers were led. Even so, he never dared to ask Sasori, seeing as how their relationship was pretty bad at the time. But after that night when Sasori told him about his and the others' past, the mantis seemed to have opened up greatly. He didn't ignore him or seemingly avoid him anymore. On the contrary, the mantis would tease the butterfly on a daily basis, much to Deidara's annoyance, and he was seen more occasionally than before.

"Guess I'll have to do it myself, un." Deidara sighed as he glanced around the wall, looking for a part with more bumps so it would be easier to grasp. Using the non-existent muscles in his arms, the butterfly tried to pull himself up, only to quickly loose balance due to the heaviness in his wings and crash, once again, onto his rear.

The blond whined, rubbing where it hurt as he shot a glare to the innocent wall. Unfortunately, his glaring contest with the wall didn't last as long as he had hoped because of that hateful snicker that echoed down the tunnel.

"Go away." Deidara murmured, feeling a bit embarrassed that he was actually seen.

"Butterflies are famed for their gracefulness." Sasori said as he stepped out of the shadows. "I suppose it's only a superstition."

"Leave me alone! Did you come to mock me?" Deidara turned, about to show the mantis the scowl on his face when he suddenly felt strong arms wrapping around him and pulling him off the ground.

"Da–Danna?"

"Fold your wings, brat."

Deidara stared at Sasori, but before he could question, the mantis suddenly kicked off the ground as wind slammed against the butterfly's back. Yelping in surprise, Deidara quickly wrapped his arms instinctively around Sasori's neck.

"Wait– Stop! We're going to crash into the wall!" Deidara shouted at the sight of the wall coming towards them. The mantis once again, ignored the butterfly. When the wall came near, he stretched out his long legs, kicking off from the wall to change their direction as they soared into the air again.

'He's using the walls to scale up the tunnel!' Deidara thought in surprise. He had never seen anyone do something like this in his entire life, and with Sasori's frame too. The butterfly would have never guessed that the mantis had such strong muscles. He was carrying two insects' weight, yet he moved with such ease that it was almost like the redhead was flying.

With one last jump off the wall, Sasori flicked his wrist, attaching threads to the door and making them open just as they flew out onto the surface.

Deidara gasped, inhaling the fresh, crisp air of the night as he opened his eyes to find himself staring up at a full moon.

~0~

"Ow! I-Itachi-senpai! Lightly! Lightly!" Tobi whined as Itachi gently tended to the large lump on the side of the spider's head.

Kisame sat near them, glaring slightly at the spider with Samehada in his hand, ready to strike at a moment's notice. "Itachi…you know this spider?" The wasp asked cautiously, clearly not pleased with how his mate being so close to one of the most feared predators in their world – let alone treating the thing's injury.

"We used to travel together." Itachi replied. "Together with Kakuzu, Konan and Yahikiko along with some others." With a hard tug to secure the knot, the moth finally finished bandaging the spider's head with thin strips he had carefully cut from the nearby grass.

"So this spider is one of the others?" Kisame asked, seeming more relaxed, though his grip on Samehada remained firm.

"Itachi-senpai! Who is that?" Tobi demanded, pointing a finger rudely in Kisame's direction. "Just because I'm a spider doesn't give you any right to attack me! Tobi is a good boy you know!"

"What did you–!"

"That is Kisame." Itachi said calmly, ignoring the wasp who looked as though he wanted nothing more than to tear the spider into pieces. "He is my mate."

"M-m-m-mate?" Tobi spluttered the words in disbelieve. "Senpai you've mated already? Wow! Time sure flies by!" The spider exclaimed while Itachi responded with only a faint nod in agreement.

"Hate to break your little reunion, but shouldn't we get going?" Kisame asked as he climbed to his feet.

"Whaaat?" Tobi whined like a larvae. "But we just met after so many cycles!"

"We will speak another time." Itachi promised, getting to his feet as well as he joined his mate.

"Come on. We have to find Deidara." Kisame spoke with eyes never leaving Tobi as though afraid the spider would attack his precious mate at anytime and devour him.

"Deidara?" Tobi perked up at the name as the couple began to walk away. "Where have I…"

As the Funnel-Web spider began mumbling to himself, Itachi turned at his mate, giving the wasp a stern and disapproving look. "Kisame." Itachi said lowly so only the wasp could hear. "Tobi isn't harmful."

"I know." Kisame sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose before stealing another glance at the spider. "I'm just…not used to being around spiders. I just can't be comfortable around them."

Itachi, although he looked indifferent, was actually frowning on the inside. He can't say he liked what his mate said, but he knew where Kisame was coming from. Spiders are known for their cold-blooded nature. Friend and family are foreign words that meant nothing to them. Like the masks they wore, they had no emotions, caring for no one but themselves. That is their nature.

Although Tobi fit into none of those descriptions, Kisame didn't know that; the moth couldn't blame his mate for being cautious and overprotective.

"Ah! I remembered!" Tobi suddenly exclaimed, catching the attention of the couple as they turned to the arachnid. "If you're talking about Deidara-senpai then you don't need to worry! He's fine!"

The wasp stared at the spider, dumbfounded while the moth stared for a moment before he reacted first.

"Tobi, you know Deidara?" Itachi questioned, quickly getting to the point.

"Huh?" Tobi stared at the anxious moth before he realized what he had done. "Crap…!" He instinctively slapped his hand over the lower part of his mask, where his mouth was located. However, that action only made the moth's dark eyes narrow into a glare.

The slip up and the follow up action was enough to tell the world that he indeed knew about the object of their discussion.

The spider quickly turned, about to make a mad dash for it when a large blue hand grabbed his scarf and forcefully pulled him back. Tobi yelped as he fell to the ground, opening his eyes only to face two angry looking insects. Kisame showing his anger more on his face while Itachi had a murderous aura leaking from his body.

At the sight, Tobi immediately began to sweat.

"Tobi."

Tobi jumped when Itachi called his name menacingly. The moth leaned down dangerously close to the spider with his raven eyes morphing into a familiar shade of crimson.

"You know where Deidara is, don't you?"

"W-wait–!" Tobi shook his head with a waterfall of tears leaking through the only visible hole for his eye. He quickly avoided looking into the moth's eye and tried to crawl away, but couldn't get far as Kisame's foot had firmly pinned his scarf down.

"Will you tell us, Tobi?"

"I-Ita-Itachi-senpai! C-Calm dow– GYAAAAAAAAAH!"