Oh gawd I haven't updated in forever. And this chapter DID NOT want to be written. BUT I DID IT. Much thanks to the sugar rush I had XD hence the weirdness of this chap? Anywho, FLUFF AND SMEX AND EVERYTHING NICE. YAYY~~

Chapter 14

Pein's lips moved slowly against Konan's. His hand crawled up and cupped the girl's face as she leaned into the touch. Her lips started moving, too, but it was only for a few seconds – the new best moment of Pein's life – before she broke the kiss.

"You've no idea what you're getting yourself into, you know that?" she whispered, sounding breathless. She gripped the hand that was holding her face and looked the boy deep in the eye, trying to read them like she had done with so many others. Only thing she could see was hopeless insanity.

Others might've referred to it as love.

"I'm afraid I don't care much anymore," Pein whispered back, pecking her lips gently. Her eyes closed for a second the moment their lips touched, opening again with an indecisive emotion.

"Just…" Pein trailed off. His eyes were closed and the eyelids wrinkled as his grip on Konan became tighter. "Just don't leave, okay?" he said, letting out a long breath. "I can handle everything else you throw at me. Just – stay." He opened his eyes full of hope. "Please?"

"Wouldn't you just follow, if I left?" Konan asked, raising an eyebrow.

Pein shook his head slightly. "There are places I can't go to."

"Like?"

"Wherever it is that souls go after death."

Konan's eyes narrowed. "Are you talking about suicide again?"

Pein shrugged a shoulder.

Konan let out an impatient sigh and pushed away. "Oh for the love of-" She picked up the revolver and popped open the cylinder. "You see this? This is an old gun I've had for ages. Like most revolvers it has six chambers."

Pein arched an eyebrow, unsure of where this was going.

Konan gave the cylinder a spin. "You hear the clicking sound? Tic-tac-tic-tac – like a clock. Getting it?"

"Not sure…"

Konan pushed the cylinder back home and tossed the empty gun to the back of the car. "It's all maths and timing," she explained. "You need to know in which chamber exactly you put the bullet in and then you gotta count the seconds. The cylinder spins at the same speed no matter how hard you spin it. You can calculate where the filled chamber is that way."

"So basically – you always know before you pull the trigger whether you'll shoot the bullet or not?" Pein concluded.

Konan rolled her eyes. "Took you long enough to get it."

Pein didn't look convinced. "What if you mess up?"

"I don't." Konan sounded dead certain.

"But what if?" Pein pressed.

Konan sighed. "Quit the game. Kill the opponent with a gun from the purse. I'm telling you, I'm not as reckless as you make me out to be."

"Still, it sounds quite insane. And stupid"

Konan snorted. "If it looks stupid, but works, it isn't stupid."

Pein scraped a hand across his face and leaned back in his seat. "This is insanity," he muttered. He was staring at the ceiling and closed his eyes. Deep down inside he knew that it didn't matter anymore how he labelled it. Insanity or not, he was still in. All in.

And there was no turning back anymore.

Pein turned to the side and caught the girl's chin in his palm. His lips were soft and gentle on hers at first. His hand crawled up behind her head, drawing her closer to him until he got her to respond. When Konan started kissing back, she did it with passion. Pein could feel the weight of her thoughts in her actions and pulled harder so he got the girl on his lap eventually.

The kiss got rough when Konan wrapped her arms around the boy. She bit down on his lower lip and Pein opened his mouth for her as she slid her tongue in. In his mind Pein was cursing the girl for being such a turn-on at the most unexpected times. She'd looked so fragile just a few moments ago, and now here she was dominating him.

Pein decided that if she was going so far, so would he. His hand slid down from her head; one of them groped her ass while the other one slithered beneath her shirt.

The response was exactly what Pein had expected. Konan pressed a hand against his chest and pulled away.

"You're going to kill yourself this way, Nagato," Konan whispered, her face mere inches away from his face. "I can't do this, I-"

"Shh," Pein said as he pecked the girl's lips to quiet her. "Let's forget about it for now."

"No-"

Pein cut her off again, "Just for now? Okay?" He pecked her again.

Konan closed her eyes and mouth and shook her head slowly. "It isn't possible this way. Just one time would tie you to me and whoever was after me, would be after you, too-"

Another peck.

"We'll deal with it when the time comes. For now, just forget about it, alright?"

"But-"

Pein sighed impatiently. "Konan. Stop. Worrying. About me. Okay? I can handle myself. They didn't make a puppy the leader of the Akatsuki."

Konan was shaking her head. "You don't know. You've no idea what you're dealing with. This is more than the Akatsuki has ever been involved in-"

"Konan," Pein snapped, finally sounding angry. "I would die for you. Do you understand?! I've never wished for death, I want to live for as long as possible and enjoy life, but when it comes to you - I would give it all up for you."

"Nagato, I-"

Pein closed his eyes and put his forehead against the girl's. "Just this once," he whispered. "Please, forget about the world for now and just be with me. Please."

Konan swallowed. Her arms were around Pein and she hugged him tightly, burying her face in his neck. She took a deep breath, breathing in and memorizing his scent. Her eyes were closed and she knew she was close to tears, but wouldn't cry. There was no reason to. She wouldn't.

"Alright," she whispered and pecked the boy's neck.

Pein smiled. He shifted so that he could see the girl's face and kissed her on the lips.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Konan chuckled. "So this is your idea of enjoying life? Sex in the car backseat?"

Pein laughed out loud and pulled away. He leaned back against the backrest and gave her an amused smile.

"Actually, I had something else in mind. Backseats are overrated."

-x-

The car's motor was only a silent purr as Pein drove down an almost empty road, which led out of town as far as Konan was concerned. They had visited a food store before and Pein had bought some groceries, ignoring the girl's inquiry. According to him, it was all a part of the 'plan', whose details he was not keen on sharing.

Apart from the car, there was complete silence between them.

Konan was staring out of the window, the warm breeze coming from the small opening above caressing her hair gently. It was dark outside and the stars in the night sky were clearly visible now that the city lights were gone. Konan caught herself sighing more often than usual.

"Nagato, where are we going?" she asked for what seemed like the hundredth time. Even though by now she'd come so far as to admit to herself her undeniable trust in Nagato, not knowing the destination made her anxious.

"The answer remains the same, dear," Pein murmurs, although the corner of his mouth twitches upwards in a crooked smile.

Konan sighs harshly again. "Then what's the purpose of all this? Or can't you tell me that also?"

"It's to show you what you've been missing out on," Pein said.

Konan gazed at the boy with a sceptic frown, but knew she wasn't going to get anything more out of him. She just decided to wait.

-x-

Pein pulled up in a beach parking lot and stopped the car.

"We're here," he announced and climbed out. He circled around the car to open the door for Konan, then walked to the back to get the bag with groceries and an additional bag.

Konan got out of the car, pushed the door shut and gazed around, unsure what to make of this. She could hear the sound of the sea as small waves washed the shore; there was little wind and the sea was calm. The moon was shining bright above them. Konan noticed that it was almost full moon.

Pein extended his hand towards the girl.

Konan eyed it momentarily with a frown, then looked at the guy.

Pein's smile was as dazzling as ever. "You promised," he reminded her.

She didn't argue. Taking her hand out of her pocket, she placed it on Pein's palm and felt the other's squeeze. She gave him a small smile.

"So, will you tell me know what we're going to do?" she asked as they started walking along the shore. "And what's that bag for?"

"Curious as always," Pein muttered.

"Like you'd expect anything else."

"Not really," Pein said. "But alright. I'll tell you. We are here to waste time."

Konan momentarily glanced away from Pein to look at the sea and had to take a double take at his words. "We're - what?"

"We are gonna waste time," Pein repeated almost cheerfully, the two bags swinging back and forth in his hand. "Now, before you say anything," he said, seeing how Konan was about to open her mouth, "tell me when was the last time you took some time off."

Konan let the index finger that she had raised fall and closed her mouth. Last time she had taken time off? Why would she need to do that? Time was precious, time was money. She didn't have enough of it to take it off!

She sensed that that was exactly the kind of answer Pein was expecting. She didn't reply and looked away in silence.

Pein smirked triumphantly. "Thought so."

"I don't see the point," Konan said. "Why waste time? Can you hear how negative that sounds? It's just wasteful. I've always so much to do, why should I-?"

"Because you're missing out on life," Pein interrupted her. "You're spending it, but not enjoying it. The result is the same - time is lost, only you've gained no joy from it."

"Joy…" Konan muttered looking down in front of her. Pein wasn't making much sense. Of course she enjoyed her life. Why else was she living it?

But it got her thinking, what exactly did she enjoy about it? There was a constant adrenaline rush, that was for sure. It was like her personal drug. She was always looking for a new dose, taking up challenges and finding new risks.

But was that all there was to it?

Her life couldn't be only about risks, could it?

Konan wasn't sure whether she wanted to admit the answer to that to herself.

Pein could see the girl was processing his words. "I'm not here to force you to change your life," Pein said slowly, letting his words sink in. "I don't wish to force you into anything. However, I do want you to know all your options. So far, you've only been introduced to one. I want you to know that's not the only way of living."

They settled down on the sandy ground after walking for a while. Pein took out a blanket from one of the bags and spread it out. They sat down on it and he opened the bag of groceries.

"Chips?" he asked, taking out a bag of them from the plastic bag.

Konan rolled her eyes and shook her head.

Pein rolled his eyes also. "Alright then. Apple?"

Konan gave him a look and almost laughed. It was humorous watching someone try so hard for her. She would've felt guilty turning him down this time also, so she gave in and took the apple.

"Thanks," she said.

Pein gave a nod. He took an apple for himself and put the groceries' bag away. They ate in silence for a while, observing the waves as they neared and drew back again into the sea.

"What's your favorite season?" Pein broached as he finished eating the apple and threw the core into a nearby bush.

Konan eyed him expressionlessly for a moment, then smiled as she looked down. This wasn't going to work, she knew it wasn't. However, she couldn't help but go along when she saw the guy trying so hard.

"I like autumn," she said.

"Why?"

"Because," Konan explained, "it's the only season that's unpredictable."

"I'm not sure I follow."

"Well, you see," Konan said, swallowing a bite, "every other season is so easy to foresee. Summer is the hottest, winter the coldest. In spring it's wet and muddy." Konan made a grimace. "But with autumn you never know. It could still be warm till the early winter months, or it could turn cold as soon as summer has said its goodbyes. That's why I'm fascinated by it."

"Fascinated by unpredictableness such as yourself," Pein mused.

Konan chuckled. "Not exactly. There's just too much predictability in this world. It's boring. I hate boring. Life needs to be interesting or it's not worth much."

Quick as a lightning, Pein pecked the girl on the cheek and jumped up. Konan snapped her head towards the other, only to see him on his feet already.

"Bet you didn't see that coming," Pein chuckled. "Tag, you're it."

It took Konan a second to grasp the situation. Well, she'd be damned if that didn't count as unpredictable. It seemed so ridiculous, so childish…

…but that didn't stop Konan from rising to her feet and chasing after the guy. It wasn't too comfortable running on high heels, but she hardly took notice of her shoes. She followed the guy and his laughter all over the beach.

Despite herself she caught herself chuckling, too, as she was forced to come to a sudden halt and change directions, because that was what Pein had done.

"You can run, but you can't hide, Nagato!"

Pein took that as a challenge. He slowed down a bit, leaving only about 5 meters of distance between them, before taking off again, this time into the sea. The water was still warm from the day and didn't bother the guy, however he was curious to find out how Konan felt about it.

Glancing back he saw that the girl was following him without a second thought. You can run, but you can't hide. Pein continued deeper into the water.

-x-

"A room for two, please," Pein said to the dumbfounded clerk at a hotel, who was staring with wide eyes at the guy's wet clothes and the girl who was soaked to the bone next to him. "For one night."

"R-right away," the clerk said, tearing her gaze away and opening a drawer full of papers. She placed a blank form in front of him and handed him a pen.

Pein took the pen and asked, "Could the lady get the key already?" He motioned towards Konan. "It'll take me a bit to fill this in, but, as you can see, she's quite freezing and-"

"Of course," the clerk said and handed the blue-haired girl the room key. Konan was expressionless and didn't show gratitude in any way. Without waiting for permission, she was already climbing up the stairs, hearing the woman shout "Room 408!" after her.

Nagato, you had this all planned out, I'm sure of it, she growled under her breath. In the sea she had caught up with him as soon as he'd reached deep enough for the water to slow him down notably. The moment she'd been ready to tag him back, he'd reached out also and pushed her down into the water, diving after her. They'd had a water fight and Konan had to admit that was one of the dumbest things she'd ever done. Yet she'd liked it. And even now that she was walking to their room, soaked to the bone, with no other clothes to change into, she was smiling.

When Pein entered the room, he found Konan lying under the sheets in bed, seemingly asleep. Her clothes were spread out on the floor and Pein smirked when he caught sight of a specific item lying among the others.

He peeled off his own clothes and set them among Konan's. He walked to the bed and raised the sheet a bit to climb under, catching sight of the girl's naked flesh.

A low growl could be heard from the seemingly asleep figure.

"You had it all planned out."

Pein chuckled and climbed under the sheets. "Maybe. But you can't deny it being an ingenious plan." He propped himself up on his elbow and eyed the girl with a bemused expression.

She remained with her back on him.

"On the contrary it was a child's play. It was so ridiculous, I couldn't see through it."

"But wasn't that what you were so fascinated by?" Pein purred, running a finger down the girl's arm and then up again. The touch was electrifying. "Unpredictability?"

Konan turned onto her back and glared at him. She was frowning, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. The latter were aflame with passion.

"Perhaps it was," she muttered, her eyes lingering on Pein's for a while, before running down to his lips.

The boy took notice and, without a second thought, connected their lips in a chase kiss.

Konan's hand crawled up behind his neck to pull him closer. Pein shifted his body so that he was hovering over the girl and pushed the sheets away. His tongue slid into her mouth to play with practiced skillfulness and her nails digging into his back let him know that he was doing a great job.

As his lips were on her neck, his hand was caressing her body and moved down from her shoulder to rub her boob. Her nipple turned hard as he continued teasing it and a bright red mark was left on her neck by his lips.

"N-nagato," Konan breathed heavily beneath him and he removed his lips from her skin momentarily to give her a soothing look.

"It's alright. Everything's alright, babe," he said and kissed her on her lips again. She kissed back and let him in again, their tongues playing hungrily the well-known game. "I love you."

After putting on the condom, Pein slid into Konan slowly, her gasp echoing in the room. He kissed her to silence her and continued kissing her mouth, her neck, her chin, neck and torso as he rocked in and out rhythmically.

"You've no idea how long I've been waiting for this," Pein breathed against her skin, listening to the quiet moans she emits.

"I - love you, N-nagato," she whispered as their lips connected again.

-x-

It was 4AM when Konan was woken up by the vibrating of her cell phone on the night stand. Moving out of Pein's arms, careful to not wake him, she got out of bed, took the phone and hurried to the bathroom. She closed the door to block the sound and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Konaaaan," her name was drawled into a long vowel and the girl could feel the hairs on her skin bristle at the sound of that voice. She knew it, she was familiar with it, even though the last time she'd heard it had been years and years ago.

"What do you want, Lauro?" she hissed.

"Oh, you still recognize me after all those years? How heartwarming." The male snickered. "I must've left quite an impression."

"Get to the point."

"The point, the point, the point… if you insist," he finally said. "You've got yourself in quite deep shit, missy. Of course, I would forgive you. For the sake of old times and all that. But you see, my friends and Ibizo's followers are not quite as fond of you as I am…"

"If harming me was in your capability, I think I'd already be dead," Konan said confidently.

The guy's laughter made her tense.

"That's the thing, my dearest Kon-Kon. We're not aiming at you anymore."

Konan's grasp on her cell phone tightened as she began to realize where he was headed. "What do you mean?" Not aiming at her anymore… they hadn't been able to touch her so far. But there was someone they had gotten their hands on… someone…

"The best way of taking down a monster is removing its head, yes? That's how we've decided to approach the Akatsuki also."

Konan had known his words before he'd even said them.

Pein. They were targeting Pein.

There was silence between them.

"You can't protect yourself and him," Lauro eventually said what Konan deep inside already knew. "We've reached him once, we can do it again."

Konan had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from shrieking.

There had to be a way out of this, she knew there had to be a way.

Think, Konan, think, she told herself, processing everything she just heard at record speed. He's giving you facts, driving you into a corner, threatening you - but not doing anything yet. That's it. He wants something.

"What do you want?!" Konan demanded, trying her best to keep her calm while her whole body was already shaking; partly from cold, mostly from the reality.

"Aah, backing down as I can see," Lauro mused. "Wise choice. And it isn't much, really. Just one little thing."

There was a pause while he was waiting for Konan to ask again, but instead she was counting seconds. At the count of 34, Lauro sighed harshly, giving up.

"We want you to go to the police yourself and confess, Konan."

To be continued...