"You know, you could just stay here," Sasori suggests the next morning, trying to wake a sleepy Deidara up with the enticing smell of coffee, "I mean, you're on suspension right? It's not like you have anywhere else to be."

"Gee thanks for reminding me un," Deidara scowls, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"Hm, someone is cranky in the mornings," Sasori mutters.

Deidara turns over and looks up at Sasori, more seriously this time, "I can't impose on you like that un. I should get home and make sure things are okay there."

Sasori gives Deidara an odd look, "Why would you think you're imposing? You're my lover, of course I'd want you to stay here. I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it…but if you really don't want to…" his voice trails off quietly and he looks hurt, and Deidara starts to panic.

"No un! I didn't mean it like that!" Deidara sits up and grabs Sasori by the waist, pulling him in for a hug, "I already told you I love you Danna, so of course I want to stay here with you. I just…don't want to be a burden to you."

"How the hell do you think you're a burden?" Sasori asks.

"Well, I have a stalker after me…and if I stay here, I'll definitely be putting you at risk too," Deidara says ashamedly.

Sasori turns Deidara's face up to look at him, "There's cops patrolling the area night and day, I think it's safe to say we'll be okay here. Didn't I tell you to stop worrying? Besides, with you by my side, I know you'll be safe. I want to protect you." Sasori bends forward to kiss Deidara, and something passes between them. It's like a charge of energy – they are opening up to each other more each day, with newfound trust in one another. All the pain from their past together fades away as Sasori kisses Deidara comfortingly, soothing Deidara's worried soul.

"Okay then," Deidara says, giving in, "I'll stay over here for a while. Let me at least go home to get my stuff though un."

"Sure, but first, breakfast," Sasori says excitedly, bouncing up off the bed and rushing to the kitchen. Deidara chuckles, he's never seen Sasori so thrilled to cook before. He'll make a great husband someday.

A week goes by in a flash, and Deidara soon forgets all of his troubles. He and Sasori have entered the 'honeymoon' stage of their relationship, due mostly to the fact that they've spent every moment together since Deidara moved in. Of course, Deidara was worried at first about living with Sasori, since that's quite a big step for an early relationship, but things have been working out surprisingly well. After all the petty bickering and fighting they went through over the past few months, it was nice for both of them to bond in an intimate way and truly begin to form a trusting, loving relationship built on respect and loyalty to one another.

Whenever Kakashi comes to do his routine visits on Sasori, Deidara asks him about the investigation. From the sounds of it, they haven't had much luck with tracking down this Zetsu person, and there hasn't been any suspicious activity around Deidara or Sasori's homes. Deidara takes in this information with a grain of salt though, remembering that Itachi got attacked when he least expected it.

But for now, things seem to be alright. Deidara is actually enjoying his time off from the task force, and taking advantage of the ample time he has alone with Sasori. They may never have this much time together again once Deidara starts work back up and Sasori's probation ends.

Sasori and Deidara are lazing on the couch, watching a movie and cuddling on a Friday night when Kakashi comes to visit again. Deidara pauses the movie, insistent on asking Kakashi about Zetsu once more. Before he can say anything, Kakashi hurriedly states, "No leads yet Deidara. Will you relax? With any luck, this stalker guy will get smart and just go away on his own."

"Madara wouldn't ever allow that un," Deidara says, "it's only a matter of time."

"Yes, well, you already know that we are working on the case, so leave it up to us, okay?" Kakashi says, annoyed.

Deidara nods, sitting back on the couch, sighing audibly. It seems like the police are putting this matter to the wayside, and simply waiting for Zetsu to make another move. Kakashi does his quick inspection of the place, and heads back to the doorway. "You two take it easy. Curfew is in an hour."

"Yeah, like I would forget," Sasori says sarcastically.

Kakashi waves goodbye and heads back to his patrol car, wondering to himself if he has time for a snack before getting back to the station. His thoughts are interrupted by a call on his radio, "Officer Kakashi, we need you to respond to a call made on Lincoln High School."

"What's going on over there?" Kakashi asks back into the intercom.

"We've got a bomb threat, and there's a big football game there tonight, the stadium is already packed. We need our best guys over there asap to help evacuate everyone from the premise," Tsunade states.

"Roger," Kakashi says, hopping into his car and turning on his sirens. It looks like his snack will have to wait till later.

"Man, I'm hungry," Sasori complains, rubbing his stomach, "do we have anything good to eat?"

Deidara feels a faint surge of happiness at the term 'we.' Although they've lived in the same dwelling for over a week, it still feels surreal to him. He knows it isn't permanent either. Once this stalker is caught, Deidara will have to go back to living by himself again. He's soaking up his time with Sasori though, and trying not to think about that.

"Um," Deidara gets up and searches Sasori's fridge, which is severely under stocked. "There's only some leftover lasagna from two nights ago…"

"Gross, toss that," Sasori replies, pinching his nose at the smell as Deidara throws it in the garbage, "do you think you could do me a big favor?"

"Yeah I know un. I'll go to the grocery store and grab us some food. It's nearly past your curfew, so you can wait here," Deidara says, reading Sasori's mind.

"Thanks Dei," Sasori says, kissing his cheek.

Deidara grabs his wallet and heads for the door. He's stopped before reaching it however, and he turns to see Sasori holding his wrist, as though he has something more to say. "Yes un?" Deidara asks, looking back at the door.

"Deidara, I just want you to know that I love you," Sasori says.

Deidara stares back at him, jaw dropped and heart about to burst. Deidara's been waiting for Sasori to say those words, unsure of whether or not Sasori would even say it. He has no idea what prompted Sasori to tell him this now, or how long Sasori's known, but a newfound feeling washes over him and there's something warm and fuzzy dancing around inside him, and his body feels light, like all the weight of every worry from his past was just lifted off his shoulders.

Deidara rushes forward and kisses Sasori full on the mouth, a sloppy and somewhat overzealous kiss. Sasori chuckles, "You're making this a big deal. Didn't you already know how I felt about you?"

"No un! You never said that to me before," Deidara says, still holding Sasori tight.

"Well, I felt like saying it now," Sasori says, as though it was that simple. Deidara, overcome with joy and head over heels in love, kisses Sasori again. Sasori smiles into the kiss but breaks it off before it leads to something else, "we can do that later," he whispers, "but I really am getting quite hungry."

"Right, un, I know," Deidara says, stepping back a few paces, "I'll get us some food and then we can have a romantic dinner together!" He rushes out the door, with Sasori teasingly rolling his eyes at him.

But when Deidara leaves, Sasori busies himself with finding some candles and a lighter, eager to surprise his boyfriend with a true romantic setting for their dinner.

Deidara makes a quick shopping excursion, buying all of Sasori's favorite foods at the grocery store and adding in a few of his own favorites. His hands are full with grocery bags, stuffing his car with groceries while he hums a silly little tune to himself. He's so preoccupied with thoughts of Sasori and making a romantic dinner for the two of them, that he barely registers the formidable stranger drawing close. By the time he does notice him, the stranger is already upon Deidara, merely inches away, gun drawn.

Deidara sneers, fumbling in his own pockets for his gun. He realizes with panic that he's been stripped of his gun and his badge, since he's on suspension. All he can do is reach for his cell phone, which he pulls out in a flash.

The stranger is smirking at him, gun hidden beneath layers of his thick cloak. "Hello there Deidara. Let's go for a drive," he says in a deep, raspy voice.

Deidara frantically tries to dial 911, but the stranger notices and grasps the phone from him roughly. "Tsk, I wouldn't want you to call up your friends. That's what got in the way with Itachi, and I won't let the same mistake happen twice. Now get in the car, and drive home. I'll be a good passenger, I promise."

Deidara knows better than to fight back at this point. He'll have to play calm, and find the right opportunity to surprise this person, who he is pretty sure is Zetsu. The man is exactly as Obito described him. He tries to hide his face beneath a hood, but the musk of light brown spiky hair is clear and he's pale, almost as pale as a ghost. He thrusts the butt of the gun forward and Deidara gets moving, towards the driver's seat. Zetsu scurries into the passenger seat, gun still directed at Deidara, never faltering.

Deidara and Zetsu drive in silence, Zetsu glaring at him the whole time. Deidara drives as slow as he can, mind racing. He has to get out of this situation somehow…so he waits, bides his time for a distraction.

Zetsu interrupts his line of thought, "If you so much as try to take advantage of this situation, I won't hesitate to kill you immediately."

Deidara grits his teeth, hands gripping so hard on the steering wheel his knuckles go white. Perhaps he should just crash the car? He might die alongside Zetsu, but at least this nightmare would be over…

"Oh, and another thing," Zetsu says with a snarl, "I have my accomplice eyeing a certain redheaded friend of yours. If you don't cooperate with me, if you try to get the upper hand, I will call my accomplice and end his life."

That stops all of Deidara's planning and he nearly slams on the brakes. His breathing becomes short and shallow, and his fingers are visibly trembling against the steering wheel. He knows that begging with Zetsu for Sasori's life is pointless.

He's been caught in a hopeless trap. If Sasori's life is truly on the line, then he'll cooperate, he won't even hesitate to do anything that Zetsu asks of him.

Hot anger surges through his veins, "What are you going to do to him? Even if I do cooperate with you, are you going to kill him?"

"That remains to be seen. You see, Madara isn't particularly mad at him, but I tend to get easily provoked…if you make me upset, I might act out," Zetsu's teeth curve upwards in an evil smile, and Deidara holds back a slew of curses. He feels feint, and sick at the same time. He feels like he's running through a narrow tunnel, with no way out. The light ahead is becoming slimmer and slimmer, and slowly fading away.

Is this his end?

If so, at least Sasori knows that he loves him. It's the only comforting thought in his mind, and it helps him to keep driving ahead, towards his impending doom.

/

Sasori still felt elated for several minutes after confessing his love to Deidara. It was the first time that Sasori's ever told anyone he loved them. And he meant it, too.

Perhaps it was the way Deidara looked right before he was about to head out the door, or the way that Deidara already knew what Sasori wanted without having to ask...whatever it was, something sparked inside of Sasori and the words had sort of just tumbled out. But he's glad he said it, finally. Those three little words were always difficult for Sasori to say, but it had felt natural telling Deidara. And that look that Deidara gave him in response - it made Sasori fall madly in love with him all over again.

Naturally, Sasori wanted to prepare the perfect ambience for a romantic dinner. He had found some old candles in his closet that he set up at the table, so all that was left was to find the damn lighter.

Sasori was digging through his drawers looking for his lighter when he noticed it. A tiny sliver of a shadow by the window, very slight, but it still caught his attention.

He slowly closes his drawer, then walks casually to the window, as if he's simply lost in thought. But he's sure what he saw – it was a masked man, clad in a skin tight black suit, just like how Itachi described his attacker.

Sasori rushes to grab the baseball bat under his bed and then he is at the door, looking through the peep hole, his suspicions confirmed. The masked man, presumably Zetsu, is standing there, ready to knock. Sasori steps back and lets him wrap three times on the door, sharp and loud.

With trembling fingers, Sasori opens the door a crack, and asks, "Who is it?"

The door is pushed in forcefully by Zetsu, who holds out a gun. Sasori hides the baseball bat behind his body, feigning complete surprise. "What do you want?"

"I'm here to simply keep an eye on you," Zetsu seethes, jutting his gun jabbing forward as he slams the door closed behind him, "to make sure things go well for my companion."

Sasori's mind is racing a mile a minute, "companion? What are you talking about?"

"Just be a good boy and sit still, and you can go free in an hour or so, just so long as your blonde friend follows my accomplice's directions. You have nothing to fear," Zetsu explains.

Sasori's heart drops several stories, and panic sweeps up through his body, clouding his judgment and hiding his fear. Before he has time to think of a plan, before Zetsu can even take a breath, he whacks him on the head with his bat, as hard as he can.

The action surprised Sasori as much as Zetsu. But the hit was hard, and effective. Zetsu sways on the spot for a split second before tumbling to the ground like a chopped tree. Sasori winces at the loud thud of his body smashing to the floor. What's done is done though, Sasori can't just sit here and worry about it. He has to take action.

Sasori hops over the unconscious body and pulls out his cell phone while simultaneously grabbing his keys. He pounds the number into his phone and rushes out the door, not caring that it's past his curfew and not thinking about the consequences of his actions. His mind is set. He's going to save Deidara.

"Hello, 911 operator, what's your emergency?" says a calm voice on the other line.

Sasori frantically explains the situation as best as he can, emphasizing that officer Jiraiya or Kakashi should come to Deidara's house. Then he's on the road, driving faster than most would ever dare – dashing past other vehicles and running through yellow and even some red lights.

All Sasori can think is one recurring thought – please let Deidara be safe.

He hopes he can make it in time.