By the beginning of November Kakuzu had all the arrangements in place to temporarily move them out of London. Although he was very far from sure about how Hidan would take to a new life away from the capital, their old life had become so difficult that he didn't think a change of scene could make it worse. Despite the huge improvements that came with beginning to get their sex life back on track, Hidan's anxiety was still through the roof most days. He wouldn't leave the house alone and he couldn't even pass South End Green in the car without having a panic attack. His leg frame was finally taken off halfway through October, but the boost Kakuzu had hoped it would give him didn't immediately materialise. It was still painful, and actually harder to put weight on without the frame's support. He started having to use a stick for distances that he'd been managing before, and that drove him crazy. Kakuzu had had high hopes that the hydrotherapy Hidan's hospital care team managed to organise once the pin sites had healed would speed up his recovery immensely, but being out of the house - in fact being out anywhere in the city - made him so acutely anxious it did more harm than good.

His mental state was still utterly compromised by his physical state, but even if it hadn't been for that Kakuzu didn't think he would have been okay. It was very hard to help him, beyond being a loving and reassuring presence. He had a few sessions of therapy - organised by the hospital at first, and then when that swiftly broke down with someone Konan had recommended - but it seemed to Kakuzu that the perceived pressure to talk about what had happened only made him worse. And as much as everyone reassured him that he didn't have to talk about anything that made him uncomfortable, just being in a clinical situation was enough to put him in a dark place. The only times he was truly relaxed were in bed with Kakuzu or driving out of London, and after a particularly fraught discussion about it, starting with anger and tears on Hidan's part, ending in bed with Kakuzu willing to do anything just to make him even a tiny bit less miserable, they decided he'd take a break from it for a while.

They had good days and bad days. On a good day they might mess about in bed for half the morning; Hidan might play with the dogs or chat to Suigetsu or Jugo while Kakuzu got some work done; crucially, he'd eat - extremely frugally - but he would eat. He'd do his physio, and might even be alert enough by the evening for them to watch a film together, or just listen to music and talk. But on the worst days he wouldn't get out of bed until Kakuzu absolutely made him, couldn't manage even half his exercises without coughing and getting out of breath, and was very likely to vomit if he did more than pick at his food. He got debilitating headaches and they both had nightmares, though Kakuzu tried his best to hide his from Hidan. Most days were somewhere in between.

Then things escalated. Only a few weeks after the latest police visit there was a resurgence of the paparazzi at their gate. This was prompted by an article by Shikamaru Nara in The Times following a retrospective of Asuma's work, which despite not mentioning them by name, stirred up interest in the case again. Despite Kakuzu's immediate attempts to get an injunction in place, and calling the police to move them along multiple times, there was someone there to hound them every time they left the house and Hidan soon refused to do so at all. Moving over to his Docklands flat might have helped, but with the dogs that wasn't an option - in any case the end of the lease was coming up and they decided not to renew it. Kakuzu roped in Suigetsu, Karin and Jugo to clear it out for him, which meant that within another week all of his stuff was crammed into the spare bedroom. It was very lucky he'd been fairly minimalist and the flat had come furnished.

As well as all of that their support structures started breaking down. Kisame and Suigetsu - very apologetically, broke the news to them that they were going away for a month on a surfing trip to Australia. Possibly longer. London was increasingly difficult for them with the antagonism from Killer Bee's family - Kakuzu couldn't really blame them. Konan had made her move back to her roots in rural Wales at the beginning of the autumn. She'd asked for his help to set up her gallery and arts cooperative there, and for a short time he'd actually considered moving himself and Hidan into Wales to be closer to her while she was in the early stages, but the more he looked at property there the less he liked the idea. It was too disconnected from everything Hidan loved. The urban areas were grim and deprived unless they wanted to go as far as Cardiff, and he well remembered how much Hidan had hated the countryside on the Akatsuki weekend away - he couldn't take him fully rural. And he knew he'd be bored in a heartbeat in one of the pretty little Welsh border towns.

Kimimaro presented a solution when he popped round after a shift at the Royal Free to check on Hidan's leg. Kakuzu had texted him in desperation when Hidan had refused to leave the house even for his follow-up hospital appointments. He'd caught a slight cold which he didn't seem to be able to shake off and was feeling especially sorry for himself.

"I have to get him away from here," Kakuzu said despairingly as he met him at the door and three camera flashes lit up the hedge. "But I can't leave him for long enough to go and look at anything. Nowhere my agent has come up with seems quite right, and to be honest it seems like it's going to take about a month to organise anything anyway…"

Kimimaro tipped his head to one side. "Somewhere out of London, you said? Well, my mother is looking for new tenants right now! She rents out a wing of her house - completely self-contained of course - the whole place is much too big for her now. To be honest I'd be glad to find someone suitable for her, she does tend to get through tenants rather…"

Kakuzu vaguely recalled things Kim had said before - or at least hinted at - that suggested his mother was a rather difficult woman, but for the time being he set that knowledge aside, because as Kim laid out the details it started sounding almost too good to be true.

She lived in a reasonably sized town about two hours from London, he told him as they climbed the stairs, with arts festivals, good transport links and a liberal feel. It was a beautiful Regency house - slightly smaller, but actually with a similar feel to this house, Kim said - and the current tenants were actually moving out that very weekend.

"Mummy will want to have it professionally cleaned, of course, before anyone moves in," he added, just as they entered the living room. "And I believe there are a few maintenance jobs needed doing. So it may be another week or so." Kakuzu looked sideways at him, and wondered for a second if he'd misheard - but then he heard a snorting sound from the direction of the settee, and realised that Hidan was literally choking with laughter. Unwisely he glanced over."Mummy?!" Hidan mouthed at him, widening his eyes, then buried his face in the upholstery, quite obviously completely out of control.

Kakuzu strode over and patted him on the back, wondering if they could pass this off as a coughing fit, and Hidan hid his face in his shoulder instead, gasping for breath. At least it was giving him a laugh, Kakuzu considered. It hadn't been an easy day and he really needed it.

Kimimaro didn't seem in the least perturbed though and continued to refer to his mother as 'mummy' for the rest of the conversation. Kakuzu felt a little more awkward every time he did it, and Hidan was so near the edge of hysteria that he could barely talk at all. But Kimimaro showed them some photos of the house on his phone and Kakuzu flicked though them over Hidan's shoulder while Kim examined his leg. It did look very nice. The part of town it was in was handy for the station, Kim told them; and the hospital, where Hidan's care could be transferred and Kakuzu could keep on attending his cardiac checkups. There was a good choice of gyms nearby. And while it would hardly qualify as exciting after 25 years in London, it was pleasant enough, and calm. It was right in the middle of an area of outstanding natural beauty with lots of good places to walk the dogs within an easy drive.

Kim started prodding various points on Hidan's shin and reminding Kakuzu all about his mother's stellar career as surgical lead at a top London hospital, and the groundbreaking neurosurgical techniques she developed. He did vaguely remember her actually. Otsutsuki Kaguya. Terrifying woman. Now, though, with the beginnings of a Parkinson's tremor she couldn't perform surgery anymore and had retired. "Though she keeps her hand in writing letters to the Lancet after every issue," he told them, with a kind of self-deprecating pride. "She does a lot of lecturing and research still - she'll probably be away at a conference when you move in, actually, if you decide to go for it."

"It's a slower pace of life - Mummy certainly finds that. It'll give you a chance to lick your wounds, regroup…" He eased Hidan's trouser leg back down. "That looks fine Hidan. Keep up with the low stress exercise - I'll request another x-ray in a week or two. Hopefully in your new location! Mummy says their radiology department is very good."

Hidan, who'd just got himself under control, spat out the water he was drinking. "I'll call her, shall I?" Kim took his phone back from Kakuzu. "Just run it by her…" Hidan craned round, quite obviously trying to see if the number was listed as 'Mummy' - which indeed, he told Kakuzu when Kim went out to the landing, it was.

"Ahhh!" he wiped tears of mirth from the corners of his eyes and actually coughing a bit now, having stirred himself up a bit too much. "Don't get me wrong, I do actually quite like him now but that was fucking precious, seriously! Mummy!"

Kakuzu sighed. "Well I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, but try to get a grip, Hidan!" he told him. "He's doing us a huge favour here."

"I mean, it's not even just the word… it's the lack of the... what's-it-called… article…?"

"Possessive adjective." Suddenly Kakuzu couldn't help smiling either. Seeing him laughing, seeing him just having fun with life again- "You're ridiculous, love, you know that?" he told him, briskly stroking his hair back into place. "Calm down or you'll make yourself sick…"

Hidan lay back against the arm of the settee and giggled. "Whatever. It made my fucking night!" Suddenly he froze. "Shh!" he hissed, and Kim's voice floated in from the hall.

-look I'm not seeing him anymore, Mummy, I've told you that! Yes, I know he broke up with Kabuto, but I am not calling him. I'm not. I'm seeing someone else now. No! No he isn't. Christ, does that matter? Look, can we talk about this another time, I really-

Kakuzu quietly got up and pushed the door to, then turned back to Hidan who looked almost comically outraged. "I am having words with 'mummy' when we get there!" he declared in a furious whisper. "Trying to push him back into bed with that creep - ugh! Fucking hell, he's her son and he's finally happy- what the fuck-"

"Ssh." Kakuzu kissed him - always the quickest way to shut him up. "Best not to interfere I should think. I don't see that she has much chance of detaching him from Jugo now, anyway."

When Kimimaro came back into the room he was as composed as ever - Kakuzu suspected that this was just how he and his mother conducted their relationship; nothing out of the ordinary had happened as far as he was concerned. And with Ms. Kaguya's seal of approval, they arranged to rent the house on a six month lease then and there. Hidan was still indignant though. He managed to stop laughing and treated Kim like he was made of glass for the rest of his visit instead - Kakuzu began to feel that the less he saw of Kim's mother once they'd moved in, the smoother their new life was likely to be.

On the day of the move they set off in the early evening, after the rush hour traffic had subsided. Hidan hadn't been well for their last week in London - the cold he'd been struggling with when Kim had come round had gone to his chest and he'd been back on the antibiotics. That had made him sick again, so he'd lost the little weight he'd been starting to put on. Kakuzu had almost decided to delay the journey by another few days, but Konan was coming over from Wales especially to help, and after all, Hidan wouldn't have to do anything. And anything was better than him lying on the sofa and staring at the wall, eyes filling with hopeless tears every time he tried to get up and rediscovered how much strength he'd lost just in a fraction of the time it had taken him to build it back up. So he bundled him into the car, gave him a pillow and wrapped him in blankets, got the dogs into the back and they started off. Everything else they were taking had gone ahead with the removal company that morning.

Hidan propped his pillow against the window and went to sleep as soon as they hit the North Circular. Kakuzu glanced at him intermittently as he drove. His face was all angles now. All cheekbone and eye socket and strain, even while he was sleeping. Kakuzu reached over and gently stroked along his sharp jawline as they waited at a red light. "When are you going to give him a break, Jashin?" he said quietly, not without bitterness. "You're not pulling your weight." Remembering how he'd laughed that evening with Kim, and how two days after he hadn't even been able to get out of bed, he felt in a sudden desperate surge that they could really really do with something going their way right about now. He hadn't expressed it to Hidan, but leaving Parliament Hill was a huge wrench. His beautiful house - with his art collection, his library, the view over the Heath - had been one of his life's few satisfactions before he met Hidan, and even now it held so many precious memories for him of their earlier time together. Even now he wasn't sure this wasn't a huge mistake - going somewhere they didn't even have happy memories to sustain them.

Hidan slept all the way, which Kakuzu was very glad of - he hadn't been sleeping at all well for the last week, and some good quality rest could make a huge difference. He must have been exhausted - even when they pulled up in the quiet dark street where their new life awaited them, he didn't stir. Kakuzu tucked the blankets snugly around him and since he was warm and peaceful he decided to let him be while he unloaded the car. He let the dogs out and they obediently scrambled down onto the pavement and waited. As he turned towards the house, clicking his tongue against his teeth for the dogs to follow him, the front door opened and there was Konan silhouetted in the hallway. He suddenly felt a pang of now-painful memory - Konan coming down the dark drive to meet them on holiday - not so far from here actually. Hidan, covered in cum and sweat, sitting next to him on the bonnet of the car. That awful fight they'd had on the way, so comprehensively made up before their arrival… He remembered how he'd been so tired, and Hidan had been so sweet to him. The first time, really, that he'd seen that side of him. They'd passed Tobi's Lamborghini on their way up the drive to the chapel, its bright orange illuminated by Konan's paper lamps in the trees. And Sasori's little rattle-banger. He shook his head impatiently. Now was not the time for thoughts like that.

Konan took their bags from him, and went to get the kettle on. Kakuzu shepherded the dogs into the house, then came back for Hidan. He opened the passenger door and crouched down beside him.

"Hey, love, we're here," he said, reaching over to unstrap him.

"Mm, where?" Hidan murmured, half falling out, pillow and all, into his arms.

Kakuzu adjusted his grip around him, then lifted him out of the seat easily. He weighed ridiculously little right now. This must be what it's like to be Kisame, he reminded himself. Some guys were into being able to do this. But to Kakuzu it felt so wrong. Lifting Hidan ought to be an investment. It ought to make him stagger, and put his back out for the next two days. In any case, once they reached the end of the path Hidan woke up and slithered down.

"'M awake…" he mumbled, hooking an arm around Kakuzu's neck and coughing a little. "Are we here?"

"Yes," Kakuzu said, half lifting him up the steps anyway. "Welcome home, love."

Konan stayed to help out for a few days, which Kakuzu appreciated enormously. The house came only semi-furnished so they'd brought a fair amount of furniture from Parliament Hill - not to mention artworks Kakuzu couldn't bear not to have around, including the sculpture of Sasori's that Hidan had modelled for and Deidara's last sketches of him. The removal company had taken everything to the right rooms, but inevitably they wanted to do a fair amount of rearranging - Kakuzu and Konan moved furniture about while Hidan reclined on the sofa and had opinions, and all three of them laughed a lot more than they had in months. Kakuzu nearly dropped a controlled environment tank on his foot, and Konan nearly fell off a ladder when Kaze and Kaminari figured out the kitchen door handle and came charging into the living room - it was Hidan who actually made it across the room in time to catch her, something that gave his self esteem an enormous boost, even though Kakuzu had to charge over to catch him then, the two of them being clearly about to wobble over together like ninepins.

Despite these near misses Kakuzu felt very privileged to have a professional curator on hand to hang his paintings, even if she did keep asking to borrow things for her exhibition space in Merthyr - and Hidan actually managed to persuade him to let her have one of Deidara's sketches. It was nice to have the company as well - particularly in the evenings, while Hidan was still getting over the fatigue from the infection and going to bed early. It also gave Kakuzu a chance to take the dogs on some long walks to get accustomed to their new neighbourhood.

All in all, he wasn't left in doubt about the wisdom of the move for long. Even when Konan had gone back to Wales, Hidan remained in better spirits than he had been since Deidara had left them. He made a remarkably quick recovery from his chest infection, and Kakuzu wondered if the air quality was something to do with it. Certainly the pollution levels here were a lot lower than in London, even in Hampstead. Once he was well enough to move around the new house on his own he said it felt like being on holiday and Kakuzu knew what he meant. Somehow it felt like the old pressures and responsibilities didn't weigh on them here like they had back home.

Of course, Kakuzu didn't have his day job at the bank any more - hadn't for a while - but his own collection and investments still created a lot of work and it didn't feel like a chore now, the way it had been doing before the move. Maybe it was because he couldn't be going to all the galleries and studios from here anyway, so that frustration was gone. He amused himself texting back and forth with Karin - who he was sending along to anything promising as his proxy - and giving her executive control over an increasing budget to buy anything she thought was interesting. Her choices weren't always exactly what he would've gone for himself, but she didn't like being micromanaged, which he thought was fair enough. He resigned himself to having a much younger and hipper collection by the spring - probably it was the breath of fresh air it needed anyway.

Kimimaro's mother was indeed away at a conference, so they didn't have to deal with her yet, and meanwhile, they were having some crisp and sunny early November weather which brightened Hidan's spirits even further. One morning Kakuzu came out of the kitchen after doing the washing from a breakfast where Hidan had delighted him by actually eating more than half a slice of toast - to find him standing at the open front door.

"Where are you off to?" he asked him, going over and putting an arm around his waist. The air from outside was chilly and he pulled him close. "You should put a coat on…"

"It's nice not having the crowd there, hm?" Hidan said, gesturing at the hedge - empty of paparazzi - and leaning his head into Kakuzu's shoulder. Kakuzu dropped a kiss on top of it.

"Yes," he agreed. "We've been very discreet about the move - I don't think anyone will bother us for a while."

Hidan stared down the garden path a little longer. "Hey, let's go out," he said finally.

Kakuzu found his heart thumping wildly. He took a long slow breath - if Hidan ever felt his pulse racing he got anxious. "Shall we take the dogs?" he said lightly, to cover his agitation.

Hidan nodded. "Can I take Kaze?" he asked, looking up into Kakuzu's face, his expression somewhere between a challenge and an appeal.

"Of course you can." Kakuzu gave him a little squeeze. Actually he always worried now about how strong and boisterous Kaze was for Hidan. He'd've preferred him to take the quieter and more biddable Mizu. But he wasn't about to say anything that would compromise his confidence in himself any further. "Coat!" he said again, instead. At least he could fairly claim he'd always bugged him about that.

Though as he tucked him into his beautiful Comme des Garçon wool overcoat (made specially for him last winter and barely worn because in those days he never wore anything more substantial than a leather jacket) it gave him another pang of worry. He looked like one of the Sargent portraits in the Tate, he thought - W Graham Robertson, that was the one - particularly as he handed him the stick that he'd still been using intermittently around the house since the leg frame came off. Pale and swamped, but with a heartbreaking upright pride. At least the dog wouldn't be a ridiculous fluffball like the one in the painting, though. And when he'd got leads on them all and handed Kaze's to Hidan he felt a surge of pride in him himself. He was so beautiful it made his heart turn over.

He was frowning though. "I don't want to take this." Hidan proffered the crutch back at him. "It looks so fucking lame."

"Pun intended?" Kakuzu raised an eyebrow.

Hidan gave a snort of laughter - he had such a dumb sense of humour. "Of course!"

Kakuzu was still worried though. It would be a shame if they had to turn back by the end of the road... "Really though, love, wouldn't you rather have the option? I can carry it for you til you need it."

"No!" Hidan shook his head adamantly. "I just don't want that shit anymore, I-"

He was quickly getting overwrought, and Kakuzu leant the crutch against the coat stand and pulled him into his arms, quieting him with a kiss. "Sh-sh-shh," he said. "It's okay, no one's making you! You'll just have to lean on me if you get tired..."

Hearing Hidan's distressed tones, the dogs ran through from the living room. Kaze wound around them with a little whine and licked Hidan's hand, making him jump.

"Eurgh!" He snatched his hand away - licking was the one thing he still didn't quite like about the dogs. Kakuzu laughed at his disgusted expression and wiped it for him with his handkerchief.

"Don't do that Kaze," he said firmly, urging him back around the other way as he was binding them together with his lead. "You know Hidan doesn't like it. Sit! Wait!"

He turned back to Hidan. "Alright?" he asked gently.

Hidan nodded, but his eyes were bright and he already looked tired, Kakuzu thought. "There's an 18th century sword cane in my office at home…" he told him, thinking of that picture again - wishing he'd thought of it before, but he'd had so much on his mind. "Shall I have Karin send it down for you?"

The corner of Hidan's mouth twitched. "I thought they were illegal," he said.

Kakuzu raised an eyebrow. "Well, who's to know?"

The twitch turned into a smirk. "I didn't expect you to be encouraging me to break the law!"

"Well, it's very beautiful. Malacca and ivory with a silver inlay. And of course reasonably deadly - it would suit you much better." He stroked a fingertip along his sharp cheekbone. Setting Hidan off beautifully was reason enough to break the law a bit. He texted Karin to have it couriered asap and it brought a shadow of Hidan's former sultry grin to his face, anyway.

Kakuzu had been walking the dogs along an ex-railway line cycle path just around the corner from the house while Konan was there to stay with Hidan, and he wondered whether he might make it far enough to explore that a little, but as they descended the little flight of steps - Hidan with a hand on Kakuzu's shoulder, Kakuzu's arm around his waist - he watched his whole attention be utterly captivated by the immense Victorian Gothic church that loomed at the end of the road instead. "Fuck…" he breathed, the hand holding Kaze's lead drifting to his chest to touch where his Jashinist rosary lay beneath several layers of coat and scarf. "That is fucking imposing." His eyes shone with reflected devotion. 'I didn't know that was even there!"

"Jesus stuff, though, no?" Kakuzu looked at him quizzically.

"Does it matter?" Hidan navigated the rest of the steps and slipped his hand off Kakuzu's shoulder, down into the crook of his elbow. "I wanna go in."

Kakuzu shot him a sideways glance. "Okay. Well, I'll have to wait outside with the dogs." He bit back 'will you be alright?' It was a church for Christ's sake. What the hell was going to happen to him in a church?

It was less than 100 yards and Hidan made it there with no trouble, not even putting any weight on Kakuzu's arm, though they did take it slowly. The front doors were open, and Kakuzu stood back and watched as Hidan walked in like he owned it. Which in a way he did, he supposed. He felt a little bereft, like he was watching his history take him back. He remembered thinking - again in that holiday chapel - 'you can't take the church out of the boy,' and it was true. These places were his spiritual home. It struck him that whatever god he was worshipping, it was the devotion itself that mattered most.

As soon as Hidan was through the doors he felt a spiritual calm descend on him that he hadn't experienced in months. The huge vaulted wooden ceiling high above him was like a ship, he thought, and the high tall windows cast beams of light across it where he could see dust motes dancing. The place was deserted and he made his way slowly up the aisle, holding onto the pew ends for support. There was a modern crucifixion in etched glass hanging above the altar and a shaft of red light through the stained glass above was striking it - it looked like blood and bone and Hidan found himself transfixed by it. It was like a sign. "Jashin?" he whispered. "Jashin, are you here?"

Somehow he got himself to the chancel steps and knelt there. He was still aware of the pain and fatigue flowing through him but something in him felt contained, held. The heightened emotion made his head spin and he was so dizzy for a moment that he leaned forward until his forehead was resting on the wooden rail. "Jashin?" he whispered again. "Am I doing the right thing? I'm trying... I'm really trying."

He pulled his rosary out from the layers of coat and scarf that Kakuzu had swaddled him in and clasped his hands together around it. He looked up to where the week's readings were displayed on wooden tablets which slid into a grooved board, and at the top was Lamentations 1:12. He knew that verse from his childhood - his aunts had drummed it into him every Easter. Behold, and see if there is any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of His fierce anger.

He found himself speaking the words out loud and it felt like the spirit of Jashin moving him. He had a sudden conviction that Kakuzu was right, he had suffered enough. Jashin had laid him back upon the earth transformed, to exist in his glory. He knew he would have died there in the dark at South End Green without his faith. His very life was testament to his love for his God. Like Christ, he'd passed through the highest suffering, he continued to walk through it - his whole existence was an act of worship now.

The doubt and guilt fell away. He felt that the channel between himself and Jashin was open without restraint. He knew he didn't need rituals to be close to him now he understood this. He was already complete, his recovery was Jashin's will. The time it was taking was only due to the limitations of the flesh, it wasn't a judgement on him, or Jashin finding him wanting.

He slipped easily into prayer, barely noticing his surroundings or the time passing. It wasn't until he heard a door close at the back of the building that he remembered Kakuzu was waiting and struggled to his feet again, feeling lighter than before. He walked back along the aisle, slowly but not limping, living the pain without flinching from it. He knew it would lessen; he trusted Jashin to hold him until it did. Kakuzu and Jashin would hold him between them, because their relationship was consecrated by him now. He knew that Kakuzu felt it too. He heard him speak to him when he thought he was sleeping. Happiness and peace filled him. Their love was his kingdom on earth. Everything made a bit more sense now.

Kakuzu walked the dogs up and down the street, making sure to keep the church doors in sight, After five minutes or so, just as he was beginning to wonder if he ought to tie them up to the bike hoops and go in after him, an old lady in a yellow beret put her head out of the door and asked disarmingly kindly if she could help him. "Oh, I'm just waiting for my partner," he said swiftly. "He's inside." Then he shot her a suspicious glance. This woman was a Christian, how open minded was she going to be? Was she going to be shocked? Disapproving? Oh well. Not like it mattered. He gestured at the dogs. "We were walking the dogs, but he saw the church and wanted to see inside."

"Oh!" She beamed at him, clearly not judgemental at all though perhaps rather over-keen to show it. "The very beautiful young man with silver hair?"

Kakuzu nodded, guardedly.

"Well he was very deep in prayer when I came through," she told him, smiling indulgently. "I wondered if he was…" She paused. Clearly she'd been about to say 'alright' and thought better of it. But no, she was going there! "Can I ask, has he been unwell…?"

"Yes," Kakuzu said tersely. "He was… badly injured, a few months ago. It's been a very long recovery. He's still far from-" Suddenly he found he couldn't talk anymore. He felt drained. It was actually the first time he'd had to tell anyone what had happened, who hadn't at least gleaned most of the details from the news. He began to understand a little better why Hidan had had such a problem with therapy. This was awful. He didn't want to talk to anyone about this, other than maybe Hidan himself.

"I'm so sorry. I'll keep you both in my prayers," his new acquaintance said, her eyes crinkling sympathetically behind her round glasses. Kakuzu grimaced.

"Are you new to the area?" she asked, not seeming to notice.

"We moved in a week ago," Kakuzu told her unwillingly. She seemed very nice, but he really hadn't banked on having to engage with his neighbours.

"Oh, well then, you're just finding your feet! I do hope you'll decide to join the congregation once you're settled. You'll find our vicar is very progressive! We're a very inclusive church family here!"

Kakuzu let his eyes slide away sideways. "Well, Hidan may... I'm... not a believer, personally..." He didn't suppose he'd better share any details about what Hidan believed.

She didn't miss a beat. "You'd still be very welcome!" she urged, and it was lucky really, that Hidan emerged at that moment because Kakuzu really didn't know how to respond. Why on earth would anyone want to go to church if they didn't believe in god?

"Hey babe, sorry I kept you waiting so long," Hidan said. His eyes were shining and his face seemed illuminated. He put his arms around Kakuzu's neck and kissed him on the mouth, only then noticing they had company. "Oh hi," he said. "Are you trying to make friends with Kakuzu?" He grinned. "Good luck! He's really grumpy and antisocial! You'd better talk to me instead!"

He was certainly in a chatty mood now. In the few minutes before they managed to get away somehow he'd told the woman - Sansho was her name - exactly which house they lived in and where they'd moved from, that Kakuzu was an art dealer and he himself was 'the life model he fell in love with'. Sansho told them all about her son's battle with depression and a young art student she was friendly with who'd gone on to study at St Martins, so she was delighted when Hidan told her he used to model there. She seemed to be involved in countless volunteering projects, was a foster carer to a young boy as well as looking after the troubled adult son, and altogether seemed like a wonderful person. Kakuzu felt emotionally bludgeoned just listening to her talk to Hidan, who was flexing his older-woman-charming ways and seemed to have agreed to accompany her to a service that very Sunday.

"Grumpy? Antisocial?" he complained as they walked away. "Do I not do every little thing you ask for? Am I not charm itself to you?"

"To me you are!" Hidan smiled as he took his hand. "Not so much to any other fucker to be fair…"

"So, you liked it in there, then?" Kakuzu guessed.

"I …" Hidan gave an incredulous half laugh. "I had a revelation, babe." Somehow he was intense and dreamy at the same time. "It was... like Jashin called me there. I felt like I could really speak to him. For- for the first time since it happened..."

"Well… that's good…" Kakuzu said. "What did he say?" He looked down at Hidan's transported expression and wished he could find the words to meet him where he was, but it didn't seem to matter - Hidan seemed satisfied.

"Everything you've been saying to me, pretty much…" he said. "I think Jashin speaks through you sometimes, seriously, Kakuzu. I should listen to you more."

Kakuzu wasn't sure what he thought about that but he gave Hidan's hand a squeeze. "Of course you should…" he agreed. "Does he know it's Jesus's house though?" he couldn't help asking, after they'd gone a little way in companionable silence.

"It can be Jashin's house too…" Hidan twined his fingers tighter in Kakuzu's. "It's not really about the name of the God, is it? Anyway, Jesus was an ultimate Jashinist, I can see it now. You were right. It's the church that laid all that crap over his original message. And maybe now I can spread His true word among them again…"

"Mmm-" Kakuzu began doubtfully, then decided not to say any more. This was something for Hidan to figure out himself and it wasn't worth upsetting him over, though it seemed like a highly dubious plan. They were nearing the entrance to the cycle path now and Kaze bounded forward in excitement before he'd thought of anything else to say, anyway. He called him back sharply, covering Hidan's hand on the lead - it jerked to the end of its extent just as he grabbed it.

"I can manage!" Hidan protested.

"He'd've had you over in another second!" Kakuzu told him as Kaze came meekly back and received a stern reprimand. "What did you just say about listening to me?"

Hidan sighed theatrically. "I'm fine! Don't be mean to him!"

"I'm not being 'mean' to him," Kakuzu stated. "I'm just being firm. You spoil him, you know that? I've seen you, teaching him to jump for treats… encouraging him to beg..."

"He's funny…" Hidan muttered, pouting so ridiculously that Kakuzu just had to stop and kiss him.

"You won't find him so funny if he forgets his training and jumps up on you," he told him. "Trust me." They were getting a few looks from other dog-walkers, but he ignored them, locked the lead short and handed it back to Hidan. Not without qualms, but he knew he had to let him. "Give him an inch and he'll take several miles," he said. "Show him you're in charge."

They didn't go much further that day - Hidan soon got tired, and he wanted to go back to the house and think over his revelations, but over the next week as he began to build back his strength and confidence, they managed to go a little further every day. There was a children's play area to the side of the track which was conveniently located just where Hidan would get tired enough to need a rest, and although there was a bench he liked to sit on the swings and talk. They worked through a lot of anxieties there. A little further on the path went up a slope and popped out across the road from the station where there was a nice little cafe there that they ended up frequenting a lot.

From there they could get home quicker by the road, and that became a regular dog-walking circuit. Other dog walkers started recognising and greeting them, and they kept seeing the woman from the church around too. If she was with anyone else she'd introduce them, and soon it felt like the only neighbour they didn't know yet was Kimimaro's mother.

They'd been in the house for about two weeks by the time she finally returned from her round of medical conferences in the States. They saw her arrive by taxi late in the evening, and caught glimpses of her at her windows over the next day. Hidan met her for the first time while putting the bins out the following morning, wearing only a pair of crimson silk pyjamas (Kakuzu had got them for him when he left hospital since he felt the cold so much more now) and his Akatsuki dressing-gown (undone). Perhaps she had been watching from her window, because her appearance on the path at that very moment was extremely coincidental otherwise. Kakuzu witnessed it all as he came back fast from his morning run - he'd forgotten it was bin day and he'd just come across the lorry working its way up the next street. He slowed down as he saw that miraculously Hidan was on the case already, then sped up again as their voices floated over to him.

"Hello!" she was calling in a very carrying voice as Hidan rumbled the wheelie bin around to the end of the path. "You must be one of my new tenants!"

"Oh! You must be Kimimaro's mummy," Hidan called back, clearly in a most facetious mood. "We've been so excited to finally meet you! We didn't like to knock on your door yesterday in case you were jet-lagged..."

"Oh I never get jet-lagged. I don't require more than five hours sleep a night, so adjusting isn't ever a problem for me." She had a smile like a piranha, Kakuzu thought, pausing at the bottom of the steps to send the dogs in through the open front door. Cold eyes. But maybe it would be fine. Hidan could hold his own for a minute, couldn't he? He didn't really want to go and introduce himself to her unshaven and covered in sweat like this.

"Now, which one are you...?" she trilled to Hidan. Oh dear. But Kakuzu hesitated for another fatal moment before deciding he'd better go and join them after all.

"Oh I'm the top!" Hidan said brightly, then dissolved into cackling laughter. "Kakuzu likes to get absolutely railed by me, hot and hard, at least twice a day. Otherwise he pines. It's hard work keeping him happy but it's the sacrifice you have to make isn't it?"

"Oh!" Ms. Kaguya frowned, clearly taken aback. Kakuzu broke into a jog across the lawn.

Joking, Ms. Kaguya, joking." Hidan patted her on the arm. "Do I look like a top? It's exactly as you've no doubt been imagining! Kakuzu—"

Kakuzu luckily reached them at that moment, before he or Ms. Kaguya could hear how he ploughed into Hidan like an express train night and day, as he was certain was going to be the next thing out of his mouth.

"Hidan!" he said quellingly, taking his arm. "That's quite enough." He turned to Ms. Kaguya, who looked quite disturbingly like Kim, though her hair was an elegant sheet of grey, not white. "I'm sorry," he said abruptly. "Kim - Kimimaro will probably have told you that Hidan hasn't been well... in fact he's due for his medication now! I'd better take him in..."

"Do you mean my vitamin D, Kakuzu?" Hidan said innocently, and Kakuzu nearly choked. He pulled him away without another word.

"How could you, Hidan?!" he hissed at him as they went back up the steps. "That poor woman! What's got into you?! Kim's mother, as well!" But he didn't really have the heart to be annoyed, not when he got to see Hidan laughing like that.

"Mummy," Hidan corrected him, grinning wickedly and not troubling to keep his voice down as they stepped into the hall. "Ah, but her face, Ka-kuzuuu!" he chortled. "And you know that's what the straights mean when they ask that question! I only gave Mummy what she wanted...!"

Kakuzu closed the door firmly behind them. "Alright. Very generous of you I'm sure. And I daresay we'll be hearing all about it from Kim by this evening." He took a deep breath. Hidan was still laughing and it was doing things to him. Suddenly he was snorting with laughter as well. He lowered his voice a little. "Now, what was that about Vitamin D...?"

Hidan's face went from wicked to sultry in a heartbeat and Kakuzu had given him a firm slap on the ass before he'd even thought about it. Hidan gave a delighted chuckle and pressed up against him. "Ohh, I reckon I'm seriously deficient in it, Ka-kuzuuu!" he purred.

"Hmm, I'm sure we can put that right." Kakuzu gave his ass a squeeze, making him wriggle against him even more. "And my Vitamin A deficiency at the same time. Unless you want to rail me hot and hard like you were telling mummy— "

"Mm-mm, I'm good getting fucked actually, babe..."

"Oh really? Maybe I want to relax and have my pleasure taken care of, for once," Kakuzu teased him, but still slipping his fingers under the silky waistband of his pyjamas, then reaching all the way in, feeling Hidan stiffen in his hand.

Hidan half laughed, half gasped. "I don't think you do, though!" He grabbed the back of Kakuzu's neck and pulled his head down to kiss him, sliding his other hand under his running top where he was slick with sweat. "Maybe not today anyway…" Kakuzu took his hand out of Hidan's trousers to start unbuttoning his pyjama top, but before he was half done Hidan had jumped up onto him, wrapping his legs around his waist and his arms around his neck. "We won't be able to do this much longer I reckon," he smiled into another kiss. "Better make the most of it…"

Kakuzu did actually stagger slightly, though mostly from the element of surprise. "Hmph," he said as he carried him towards the staircase. "Is that all your opinion of me is worth? I could take another stone or two I think… do you want to pose by the landing window for Mummy's benefit..."

Hidan started to undo the rest of his buttons. "Yes, but wait. I've got to be-"

Kakuzu dragged his top the rest of the way off for him, and mussed his hair and kissed a flush into his cheeks as they approached the window. "- properly dishevelled?" he finished for him.

"Ow!" Hidan gasped, laughing. "You haven't shaved yet! You're like fucking sandpaper!"

"Oh, you've just got soft, baby," Kakuzu purred into his ear, perching him on the windowsill and actually pretty glad to put him down. He gave him another abrasive kiss for good measure, then pulled him to his feet to walk to the bedroom. Perhaps fortunately, Ms. Kaguya was gone, although someone in the house opposite appeared to be watching with a pair of binoculars.

"What do you want today, then?" he asked him, once he had him on the bed and was sliding off his pyjama bottoms. For all his talk, if that was what he really wanted it would be the first time they attempted anal sex since the incident - they'd been building back their sex life slowly and cautiously. He tried not to have any expectations - God, he'd missed it, though.

But, "I want you to fuck me, like I said…" Hidan looked up at him, definite and challenging.

Stomach flipping with excitement, Kakuzu reached over to his bedside table for the lube. "Are you prepared?" he asked quietly.

"I certainly am…" Hidan smiled. "That's what I was doing before I took the bins out…"

Kakuzu sat back down on the bed beside him and set about thoroughly lubing him up. "You put your pyjamas back on afterwards..." he observed.

"Because they're fucking sexy- ah-" he gasped as Kakuzu's middle finger, which had been sliding up and down against his entrance, slipped inside. "Oh my God, Kakuzu-"

"Oh, let's leave him out of it, shall we," Kakuzu suggested, leaning forward to kiss him, slipping a second finger inside. It seemed Hidan had done a little more than just douche. This had been somewhat planned in advance... "Just you and me…"

"Heathen!" Hidan breathed, but still reaching for his dick. "Stop blaspheming…"

"Oh, you love it…" Kakuzu added more lube and went a little deeper. "Ah, baby, you are opening up beautifully for me… you really were out there talking to Mummy all prepped and ready to go, weren't you…?" Rolling him back, he gave him another little slap on the ass with his free hand. "What depths of depravity you do sink to…"

"Mm, yes, and you have no idea how fucking horny I w- aah- fuck- I've missed this-" Hidan pushed back against his fingers, making himself gasp. "Haven't you...?"

"Of course I have…" Kakuzu said seriously. He angled his fingers a little upwards, eliciting a sweet little moan from him. He pushed his legs back a little further, gently, making sure not to put any weight on him as he lowered himself over him and slowly drew his hand out, positioning his cock ready to glide in. "But til now…" He teased Hidan with just the tip of it, making him buck his hips up towards him. "Til now you just didn't seem ready…" Hidan groaned and bit his lip, unable to reply, opening even more for him.

"Ohh, but you are now, aren't you?" Kakuzu whispered, looking down at him with something akin to amazement. He added more lube, stroking it along the length of his cock, making himself even harder in the process, then pushed slowly in.

Hidan arced up off the mattress as he felt him go in. "Oh my fucking God Kakuzu…" he whimpered, locking his arms around his neck.

Kakuzu paused. "Are you okay? he whispered in his ear.

"Yeah," Hidan whispered back breathlessly, still clinging to him. "Move! Move!"

Kakuzu gently detached his clinging hands and laid him back down on the bed, then he obliged, long and slow. "Fuck! Fuuuuck…!" Hidan gasped, head thrown back.

Kakuzu wanted so badly to go hard and fast, and Hidan clearly wanted it too, but if anything would make his spleen flare up that would. Frustrated with Kakuzu's pace though, he was fruitlessly grinding back against him, which probably wouldn't be very good for him either.

"Hey, relax," Kakuzu told him, slowing more to get himself under control. "Just feel me inside you a minute… feel that…?"

"Mmm..." Hidan did try to - Kakuzu could feel him tightening and relaxing in a rapid flutter around his cock, which he pulsed for him in return. Hidan moaned. "Ahh, I love to feel you there, fuck, I love it…"

"Oh yes?" Kakuzu sank in a little deeper and Hidan grabbed his hips and pulled him towards him.

"Fuck yes!"

"Okay, okay," Kakuzu gasped, breathless himself now. He slid out almost all the length he had inside him and glided back in again, then again, holding him as still as he could, trying to resist Hidan's attempts to make him slam in faster. "Baby, calm down… hold on…"

Gripping Hidan tightly by the upper arms he slowly rolled them both over so that he was underneath, Hidan sitting astride him. "There you go… now you can do what you want..." he breathed. He couldn't hurt himself like that, even if he might tire himself completely out.

Hidan took a second to look down at him, breathing hard, flushed and triumphant, then he went all the way down, throwing his head back again, crying out as Kakuzu's cock went deep inside him. He had the energy today - Kakuzu was supporting him lightly at the hips, but he was moving like he used to, riding Kakuzu like his life depended on it. Kakuzu lay back and watched him through a haze of ecstasy. "God, I love you, Hidan," he gasped, arching his hips off the bed to connect with Hidan even more.

Hidan leant forward to try and reach a kiss - Kakuzu curled upwards to meet him halfway. "I love you too, babe," he murmured against his lips.

There might have been a knock on the door then, but neither of them paid it the slightest attention. Hidan kept moving, Kakuzu gazing up at him, when he tired a little he leant back against Kakuzu's thighs, changing the angle but not stopping. They went slow again for a while, just enjoying the sensation of being absolutely together again, Kakuzu stroking Hidan almost lazily as he moved incrementally on top of him. Then suddenly they both felt an urgency for more. Jackknifing forwards again, Hidan was taking him fast and deep, and Kakuzu thrust up as well, tipping both of them over the edge. Kakuzu's hand closed tight around the base of Hidan's cock just as he began to shoot his own load deep inside him and Hidan collapsed forward onto his chest, quivering with every movement of Kakuzu's hand as he pumped cum out of him in to no space at all between them, still thrusting up into him just a little, and a little more, and then still.

After a long moment of just lying there in each other's arms, Hidan slid down beside him and looked deeply into his eyes. "Fuck…" he said.

Kakuzu gave a half laugh, half gasp. His heartbeat still wasn't quite back to normal. He raised a trembling hand to stroke Hidan's cheek. "I hope you didn't wear yourself out too much…" he murmured.

Hidan experimented with propping himself up on his elbow, then flopped back down onto the mattress and groaned. "I might've actually but it was worth it... fucking hell…"

Kakuzu propped himself up instead and ran a fingertip that was still slick with cum along his bee-stung lower lip and as his tongue flicked out to meet it, bent down to kiss him. "Shall I run you a bath?" he asked tenderly.

"You'll need one yourself," Hidan chortled happily, getting both hands onto Kakuzu's chest and spreading cum everywhere.

Kakuzu gasped again as Hidan's slippery fingertips toyed with his nipples. "You do not need a repeat yet, Hidan!" he said as sternly as he could manage, catching one of his hands and bringing it up to his mouth to lick and kiss it. "Don't tempt me…"

Hidan giggled. "That tickles! Alright, run me a bath then… and… maybe bring me some breakfast…?"

"Of course…" Kakuzu said solicitously. He gave him one more kiss on the mouth and rolled off the bed. Nothing could have given him more pleasure to hear. He was a little perturbed, when he went downstairs, to find a curry in a casserole dish on their doorstep, but he chalked it up to the strange ways of the suburbs.

From that point they quickly settled into a routine. Kakuzu would go for a run first thing, taking one or two of the dogs, then joining Hidan back in bed after he'd showered - or before if Hidan was lying in wait for him and felt like getting hold of him sweaty and dishevelled. Then they'd both go for a short walk with the dogs after breakfast - which usually ended up being mid-morning once they were done in the bedroom - and Kakuzu would take the ones who hadn't been on the run with him for a longer walk in the afternoon while Hidan rested. He didn't mind being alone here, so long as he had a dog or two with him.

They found a gym with a pool just around the corner, so Hidan was able to start getting the low-stress exercise he needed. And a couple of times a week they'd drive into Wales to see Konan and help out there, sometimes staying with her a few days at a time.

Kakuzu was reminded of a twinge of guilt he'd once felt at how he'd transplanted Hidan into his life as though he didn't come from anywhere. Now, in a place that held nothing of the past for either of them, he realised that Hidan was embracing the community far more than he was himself. Before long, he would quite often come back from walking the dogs to find him in the front garden chatting to Kim's mother - far from alienating her with his bad behaviour they seemed to have developed a kind of passive-aggressive rapport - or having a cup of tea in the kitchen with Sansho, who lived across the road, sometimes with her depressing older son tagging along as well. And as he became well enough to leave the house by himself he surprised Kakuzu by starting to do exactly that.

His first destination was once again the church. At first he started going up there to pray to Jashin by himself, but devotion drew him like a moth to a flame and he soon let Sancho introduce him to the rest of the congregation. He was quickly surrounded by middle aged women who couldn't resist this beautiful, damaged and devout young man for even an instant, and in turn he found it difficult to resist their adoration. At first he couldn't sit through an entire service, but by mid-December he was a regular fixture there, still worshipping Jashin, of course, just in a communal setting. If he went down with the slightest cold they could expect an organised rota of casseroles to appear, and well-wishers offering to get in groceries and walk the dogs. Kakuzu found it rather disturbing, and wished people would leave them alone, but he remembered what Kabuto had said as they left hospital and tried not to alienate them. And Hidan seemed diverted by it, at least. Coming up off the cycle track and finding him at the church doors arguing about theology with the vicar became a thing, or chatting to groups of mothers from the primary school down the road, with one or two of the dogs in tow. Somehow he even started occasionally helping out with the church youth group, and feeding them certain Jashinist philosophies. No one seemed to be able to tell the difference, which made Kakuzu laugh out loud every time he thought of it.

He soon grew less comfortable about the intense little group of acolytes that gathered to him though - led by Ameyuki, a young teen who within a few weeks was completely obsessed with Hidan and embraced every Jashinist ideal he presented him with. He was a sweet boy, polite and helpful, but there was definitely something a bit off about him.

"That child adores you quite a bit," he told him warningly as they walked home together shortly before Christmas. "Be careful, won't you?"

"It's Jashin's teachings he adores, not me personally." Hidan brushed off his concerns. "He's a spiritual kid, that's all."

"Hm." Kakuzu was not convinced. "All the same. You wouldn't introduce him to any of the ritual stuff, would you?"

"No!" Hidan assured him. "Of course not! That was only ever my way of worshipping! Not everyone could do that. Definitely not a kid!"

"Okay, well, do me a favour and don't even talk to him about that side of it. And - keep a little distance, hm?"

Hidan promised - rather casually - that he'd be careful, and with that Kakuzu had to be content.

At the other end of the scale, there was Sancho's son Karashi, a young man who Kakuzu found utterly repellent. Being generally weak and charmless, he was obsessed with power and influence, and Hidan's notoriety and charisma were magnetic to him. According to Sancho, who still drew Kakuzu into long chats every time they met in the street, he'd got drawn into some rather unfortunate political groups online a few years ago (Kakuzu immediately assumed neo-Nazi stuff and men's rights) and it had only been the intervention of her art student friend Lee that had got him out of it. So she was delighted by his renewed enthusiasm for the church, and saw Hidan as nothing but a good influence. And Karashi used the excuse of Jashin to worm his way into a close association with him that even Hidan himself found a little distasteful.

"I feel like it isn't God with him, it's... I don't know... what God can do for him maybe...?" he said uncertainly to Kakuzu. "Though he says all the right shit. I feel like I owe it to Jashin to keep trying."

Kakuzu wished he didn't. "You're wasting your time with him," he told him. "It's not God - it's you he's after." He'd known the kid was trouble as soon as he set eyes on him, and felt enough jealous resentment directed his own way to know exactly what it was that he wanted. But Karashi was a pretty spineless individual - he couldn't feel like he was much threat. And Hidan laughed off his concerns and he didn't want him to feel he was being over-protective. He muttered to Jashin about it on his way home instead of bringing it up with him. "You might want to smite that one down,' he suggested after witnessing a particularly revolting display of feigned devotion. "Or I may have to! Isn't that exactly what taking your name in vain is? Jesus fucking Christ!"

He'd take his chance to get some work done, or take the dogs for longer walks or go to the gym if Hidan wanted to spend a while at the church, but would always make sure he was there to meet him when he was done. Every time he picked him up, members of the 'church family' would all tell him how lovely it would be to see him at services with Hidan. He normally just gave a sort of noncommittal grunt in response to this sort of thing, but Hidan would laugh and soulfully tell them 'Kakuzu talks to God in his own way'. Kakuzu didn't have the heart to deny this, and anyway, in all honesty he couldn't because he kept catching himself addressing Jashin out loud even now that Hidan was so much better. Admittedly not ever very respectfully, in fact, generally with a kind of passive aggression that made Hidan laugh and tell him off, but he couldn't seem to break himself of it.

Christmas itself - which might well have been too much Jesus even for post-revelation Hidan, they spent with Konan in Wales, and had a relaxed if slightly melancholic time. Once they were back Hidan really hurled himself into his recovery with everything he had. He was on first name terms with everyone at the gym by the time Kakuzu was only just beginning to exchange nods with the staff. He started using the pool daily and the impact on his recovery was huge. However, it wasn't an environment that was completely free from trauma for him. He was still inclined to overdo everything and exhaust himself, and when he was exhausted he was prey to hallucinations and flashbacks. After Kakuzu found him on the verge of a panic attack in the showers - triggered by the metro tiled walls - he determined that he shouldn't be there alone and made sure he always accompanied him. Luckily Hidan didn't seem to mind - he was always happy to be with him.

By the end of January he was using the sword cane less and less and he started taking the dogs out on short walks by himself. Kakuzu worried about that at first - Kaze and Kaminari were so strong that he was still afraid they'd pull him over, or jostle or nudge him hard enough to make his injured spleen flare up again. But nothing ever happened to justify his fears. He knew he had to let him try to become independent again - it was just so hard to let him take any risk. He began to be aware that while focusing on Hidan's health he hadn't really given much thought to himself beyond the physical, and he wasn't really in a great place. The holiday feeling had thoroughly worn off and without Hidan's talent for engaging with people he was struggling to find enough to occupy his time.

He still had nightmares - most centred around not being able to find Hidan, often set in the London Underground or in warren-like hospital corridors. There was always the same accompanying dread, a sick, whole-body knowledge that something awful had happened to him. Often he knew clearly where he was but couldn't get to him - he was helpless, couldn't make his body move. He'd wake up with his heart pounding, drenched in sweat, and he began to be dwell on the idea of his ICD going off, and the ramifications that could have on their life. He wouldn't be able to drive, for one thing, and although Hidan was not at all as dependent on it now there were still bad days when it was the only thing that could quiet his anxiety. It would be hard to give up driving into the surrounding countryside with the dogs, so much harder to go and visit Konan, getting to hospital appointments would be awkward and time-consuming - it worried him more than he could easily dismiss.

At the end of January Kakuzu needed to go up to London to attend a court hearing for Deidara. Hidan didn't want to come. And because neither of them wanted him to be alone for so long they'd asked Konan to come and spend the day with him. However the afternoon before she rang to say she had a bad cold. Kakuzu would absolutely not hear of allowing anyone to bring any kind of infection near Hidan. He suggested that Hidan should come with him - he'd get to see Deidara, even if only briefly. But Hidan really did not want to go to London - so much so that they could barely discuss it. And Kakuzu knew when he got white around the mouth like that, and that haunted look in his eyes, there was really no good to be had out of pursuing the subject.

After an evening of calling round all their friends only they came up with Zetsu, who was flying into Bristol airport around mid-morning and said he'd call in on his way back to London and spend the afternoon with Hidan. He said something about dropping in on his mother afterwards, so it didn't seem like they were putting him out too much. Kakuzu was still worried about Hidan being alone all morning, but he insisted he'd be okay. Anything to stop Kakuzu bringing up the subject of taking him again. He was confused and ashamed of his own reluctance and he didn't want to look into it too deeply. He'd have the dogs, he reminded him, and he could go to the pool or the church for a bit. There were neighbours he could call on if he was lonely. Kakuzu was anxious but by that point there wasn't really another option.

He didn't need to leave until quarter to nine and they both woke early from anxiety, so they had a little time together, which they made good use of. Then Kakuzu grabbed a quick breakfast and set off for the station. "Call me if you get worried," he told him, repeatedly. Hidan stayed in bed a little longer, eking out the time. Also he'd just been pretty comprehensively fucked, so he needed a little time to recover. But finally he ran himself a bath (to take more time than a shower) and Kakuzu texted him from the train to remind him to eat some breakfast. He went downstairs while the bath was running and had a few bites of a banana just so he could tell him he had, but he wasn't really hungry. The dogs asked to be fed again, and he gave them treats like he wasn't supposed to, then let them out of the kitchen to keep him company.

He managed to spend three quarters of an hour in the bath, frequently topping up the hot water. He heard the church clock strike ten as Kakuzu texted to ask him if he was okay, and said his train was just coming into Swindon. He sent him a selfie of himself in the bath - and the three dogs on the bathmat - then got out. He trailed through to the bedroom and sent Kakuzu another nude pic from the bed - 'miss you but im fine x' he sent with it.

By the time he was dressed he still wasn't hungry but he knew he ought to be. He decided to walk up the cycle path to the cafe opposite the station and get coffee and breakfast there. Maybe the exercise would give him some appetite. He had another couple of bites of the banana, out of duty. He wanted to take the dogs, but Kakuzu had told him very firmly not to take them all. "I'll walk them when I'm back," he'd said. "It shouldn't be much after 4. Don't take both the boys, they wind each other up. Take one of them and Mizu, or preferably just Mizu!"

It felt a bit mean to leave just one dog out - Mizu wouldn't have cared, but Hidan felt like either one of the boys would be hurt. He wanted to take them all. And he didn't want to be out alone with only one either. In fact, he couldn't get out of the house with only one. As soon as he got his shoes on and got the leads for Kaze and Mizu they all came swarming round him. Neither could he get them to go back in the kitchen. At that point his phone buzzed again and he pulled it out of his pocket expecting another message from Kakuzu. But it was from Zetsu. "Sorry man, flight delayed. Might be an hour or so late. I'll keep you posted.'

Hidan felt a flutter of anxiety in the pit of his stomach, then stoically ignored it. Kakuzu would nearly be in London by now. If he told him he'd want to come straight back, or he'd worry all day. He'd keep on with his plan. He'd go to the cafe, then he'd go to the pool and after that if Zetsu still hadn't arrived he'd go and pray to Jashin in the church for a bit, while it was likely to be nice and quiet. And he could probably sleep for most of the afternoon, to be honest, if he exerted himself enough in the morning.

For now, there was no way he could get out of the house without all the dogs though, so he got them on their leads and took them all. It was long past school run time, so he didn't meet any of the mums he knew, who probably would've taken a dog or two for him, and it was more of a strain than he'd expected. Kaze and Kaminari pulled on the lead and barked at other dogs they passed, which they never did when Kakuzu was there. By the time he reached the cafe he was exhausted. He ordered a latte and some toast and checked his phone again. There was a text from Kakuzu saying he'd arrived, and another from Zetsu saying his flight was cancelled, he was really sorry, he had no idea when he was going to make it back but probably not til much later. His appetite vanished. He drank his coffee in tiny sips and forced himself to eat one of the pieces of toast even though he didn't want to, and then he took the dogs back by the road.

Once he was back at the house he almost considered going right back to bed, but that seemed like admitting defeat. So after lying on the settee for 15 minutes he grabbed his kit and headed back out - to the gym this time.

Hidan knew as soon as he got out of the pool that he'd stayed a bit too long - he was shaky with tiredness - but he managed to keep it together in the showers, thank goodness, and when he was changed again he got a protein bar and an energy drink from the vending machine and figured that could do as lunch. He sat on one of the leather sofas outside the changing rooms and flicked through a newspaper as he ate to pass the time - but unluckily caught sight of Shikamaru Nara's byline photo in the Times. He didn't read the article, just closed the paper and pushed it away from him, feeling sick. He checked his phone again for distraction, and there was a message from Kakuzu. He felt a tiny bit better seeing that, and sent him one of the gym selfies he'd taken earlier. It was enough to make him choke down the rest of the bar anyway.

He thought the food and the rest would be enough to perk him back up, but by the time he was halfway home he was really struggling. At that point the church was just across the road, so he went there instead of going back to the house first like he'd planned. He sank into a pew at the back because he couldn't face the walk all the way up the aisle, and laid his head on his forearms, resting on the pew in front of him. Finally he relaxed. He let his mind drift away to Jashin, and settled into a reverie that was almost a doze and then he must've actually gone to sleep - he didn't know for how long - because he jerked awake on the edge of one of his nightmares.

He gripped the wooden back of the pew with both hands and took some calming breaths. He'd woken up just in time - nothing really horrific was in his mind yet. He supposed seeing Nara's face in the paper had put it all back in his head. He held his rosary tightly and murmured a final prayer, but he was cold and a bit stiff, and felt like it would be really really nice to be back at home now. He still had the rest of his bottle of lucozade in his gym bag, so drank that and then got himself to his feet. Home. Go back to bed. Sleep til Kakuzu arrives, he told himself, and made his rather unsteady way to the door.

Sancho and Karashi were coming in as he made his out - probably to do the week's flower arrangements - and exactly as he passed them, forcing a smile he really didn't feel like, his leg started cramping. "Oh my dear, you are worn out, aren't you?" Sancho caught his arm as he stumbled. "You've been overdoing it at the gym again I expect! Karashi will walk you home, won't you Karashi? I think you need a nice afternoon nap!"

Hidan didn't have the energy to protest, but it was the last thing he wanted. Karashi was a weird guy, and he had converted suspiciously easily to Jashinism. Hidan was pretty doubtful by now about whether he was fully committed to its ideals. He really wasn't in the mood for him and he was also uncomfortably aware of being pawed slightly as Karashi supported him under the elbow. It was unfortunate that he did actually need something to lean on right now. He put up with it as best he could, and when they got to the front door he thanked him curtly and made to close it smartly behind him. But somehow Karashi managed to slip inside before he had, and before Hidan could even so much as back away he had his hands on his shoulders and was declaring a whole lot of sappy feelings for him. It seemed that Kakuzu had been right all along.

Hidan stared at him with extreme distaste. "For fuck's sake, Karashi, I'm not a single man!" he protested, backing away anyway and ending up pinned against the wall. "That's enough!"

Karashi didn't think so, it would seem. The feelings were reiterated, along with petty criticisms of Kakuzu that made Hidan want to punch him in the face. Six months ago he'd've been able to take a guy like this out with one hand. But now he had to be more careful. "Karashi," he said, the disgust filling his tone. "Get your hands off me. "

But he didn't. He sulked, and whined, accused Hidan of leading him on, and Kakuzu of being controlling and possessive. "He's literally always with you! He never leaves you alone!"

"He's with me because I want him to be!" Hidan growled. "And I wish he was here now because he would fucking kick your ass like I'd be doing if I was how I should be right now!"

"I don't think you want to," Karashi said, his voice revoltingly silky. He put his hand on Hidan's chest. "I can feel how your heart's beating," he murmured, leaning closer. "I know you want this too, you're just too afraid of him to say so, even when he's not here…"

Hidan's heart was in fact beating wildly because Karashi's hand, sliding around him, was caressing him where he'd had several broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and wasn't so very far from his still healing spleen. Panic rose up in him. No-one but Kakuzu could touch him there. He thought about headbutting Karashi in the face but if he responded with any kind of force he'd have him on the floor in seconds. He even glanced about for the sword stick but it was out of reach. "Don't touch me," he gasped, his throat dry, his voice high and strained. "It hurts!"

"I'm not doing anything," Karashi protested, though he did in fact lift his hand off him. There was a loud thump from across the hall, and a noise like an engine starting up. "I was barely-"

But before he'd finished his sentence there was another thump and the kitchen door burst open - there was a volley of barks and growls and Karashi leapt back as Kaze sprang at him, teeth bared. "Fuck!" he screamed.

Kaminari followed, and knocked him off his feet. He pinned him on the floor, growling into his face. Kaze latched onto his ankle, then looked at Hidan as if to say, 'shall I?', still snarling and growling.

Hidan sank to the floor himself, with Mizu crouched protectively in front of him. "No, Kaze," he said, as firmly as he could manage with so much contempt dripping from his tone. "Let him go."

Kaze gave him a soulful look, without letting up the internal bass rumble, and chewed a little. Karashi screamed again. "Fucker isn't worth it, Kaze," Hidan reiterated. "Kaminari, get off him…"

Kaminari glanced at him, then got his teeth into Karashi's shirt front and snarled even more savagely.

"Kaze! Kaminari! Down! Let him go!" Hidan resorted to imitating Kakuzu, and they did obey him this time, slinking unwillingly to his side, still growling like sleek black machines. Hidan crawled across the floor and grabbed the sobbing Karashi by the throat himself.

"If you say a single word about this to anyone," he hissed savagely, "like if you try reporting the dogs for this, for example - you will have the police at your door arresting you for assault!" He knocked his head back hard against the floorboards. His hand was aching and his arm shaking with effort but he didn't let go. "Do you understand?"

Karashi nodded, crying and retching. Hidan tightened his grip a little more before releasing him and thrusting him away in one gesture. "Now get out of here. I never want to see you here again.

Karashi scrambled backwards towards the door. "I can't walk," he whined.

"Fuck off!" Hidan snarled, looking contemptuously at his ankle. "Kaze didn't even break the skin." Well. Maybe there was a little blood trickling slowly out of his trouser leg... "Barely anyway," he amended, with a sneer. "Try having a smashed tibia and fibula and then you can come whining to me!" Karashi shuffled away slowly, stared at him with wide eyes, clutching his ankle and whimpering, making him angrier than ever. "Out!" he roared. "Now!" The dogs backed him up with a volley of barks and Karashi scrambled hesitantly to his feet. He seemed to think if he made any sudden movement the dogs would go for him again, and limped theatrically slowly backwards. "Fuck, you disgust me!" Hidan told him, keeping a firm hold on Kaze's collar. He kept trying to leap forward. "You disgust God! And what the fuck d'you think your mother's going to think of you when I tell her? Which I won't hesitate to do if you even so much as lookat me again! Now get out of my sight before I tell these guys to rip you apart!"

Karashi got up a turn of speed at that, miraculously managed to run the rest of the way to the door and practically fell through it. From the sounds of it after the door slammed he fell down the steps as well, and Hidan was glad. For a moment he just sat where he was in the huddle of dogs, adrenaline coursing through him. They were all anxiously winding around him and snuffling at him. He put his arm over Kaminari and pushed Kaze's big whiskery face aside a little as he tried to lick his cheek. "Hey, hey, guys," he said. "What the hell? Are you sweet and cuddly or are you killing machines? Make up your minds!" His heart rate started to return to normal and he leant his head on top of Mizu's. "You were fucking awesome, you know that?" He patted Kaze's side, comforted by his massive warm presence and the feel of his neat smooth fur under his fingers. "Yes you were! Good boy! Yeah! Daddy'd be proud of you! Yes he would!" He ruffled the fur around his face and pushed his fringe up so he could see his eyes properly. "I fucking wish I could've let you eat that fucking creep," he told him, stroking his ears, "but you'd've got in trouble you know… I couldn't let that happen..."

After another minute he crawled over to the door and hauled himself upright, then peered through the coloured glass. The street was empty. He took a deep breath, and surprised himself by feeling alright. Because he'd dealt with it. Sure, with a lot of help from the dogs, but the other guy was fucked up and he was fine, and that was something. It was really something. He hadn't had to depend on Kakuzu, and he felt a little surge of pride. Still, he wished he'd come home now. He went and sat down in the living room. Cold January sunlight slanted through one corner of one of the two tall windows, falling uselessly across the desk and ending up in the waste-paper basket. He shivered. He picked up Kakuzu's dressing gown from where he'd left it earlier and huddled under it. It smelt of him. Suddenly he felt incredibly tired. He'd done a lot today, after all, and he laid his head on the arm of the settee and pulled the dressing gown tighter around him. Kaze got up next to him, Mizu and Kaminari flopped down on the rug. He closed his eyes.

The next thing he was aware of was the church clock was striking. Four he thought, but he must not have been awake for the first chime because the clock on the mantelpiece said five. Where was Kakuzu? He'd said he'd be back shortly after four. Blearily, he checked his phone, and sure enough there was a missed call and a message. 'I'm sorry love, hearing ran over so I'll be on the later train. Should be in by 6. Have a surprise for you though. Call me when you get this.'

Hidan called him straight away, but there was no reply, and he wasn't that surprised - if he was going to be back at six he'd be on the train already - he was probably just in a bad signal area. He swallowed down his disappointment and texted him. 'OK. Sorry I missed your call, was asleep xx'

He got up and went to the window. It was still nearly an hour to wait, and he so much wanted to hear Kakuzu's voice - even if it was just his answerphone saying tersely, 'Kakuzu Taki, leave a message' - that he called him again but this time it didn't even ring. Definitely bad signal.

He wasn't sure why, but he suddenly didn't want to be alone in the house anymore, and he wandered outside and looked up and down the street. He could hear Kim's mother on the phone. But dear, he was so good for you… this ridiculous young artist is just another of your silly phases... His lip curled and he went further down the path so he couldn't hear her anymore. He knew he couldn't expect Kakuzu yet, but the thought of seeing him walking down the road was comforting and he stood at the end of the path a moment, imagining him into the scene.

"All by yourself?" Ms. Kaguya's voice suddenly intruded on his daydream.

Hidan turned round, startled. He hadn't heard her come out. He nodded. "Kakuzu's running late," he said sadly.

"Well, why don't you come in and have a glass of wine with me. I was supposed to be having a visit from my son, but he's cancelled at the last minute. Well, I am only his mother, after all..."

"Uhh," Hidan said. He didn't want to be on the receiving end of passive-aggressive jabs at Kimimaro… "I haven't had a drink for fucking ages… I don't even know if I can… would it react with the drugs I'm on or…?"

"Do you have a medication log?" Ms. Kaguya snapped.

"Yeah…" Kakuzu always insisted on filling it in religiously.

"Well, go and get it then. I shall be able to tell you."

Hidan found her authority hard to resist despite his intense disapproval of her parenting, and he did as he was told. He went back to the house and retrieved it from the desk drawer in the kitchen, left a note for Kakuzu and fed the dogs, then came back with some trepidation to Ms. Kaguya's door.

She ushered him into an immaculate kitchen, then took the notebook from him and riffled through it. "Hm." She was starting a long way back, looking at his entire drug history from the look of it. Hidan felt an irritable urge to seize it back. "Well it's no wonder you haven't had anything til now…"

"Well, Kakuzu doesn't drink anymore, either," Hidan said, slightly defensive. "Because of his heart."

She carried on flicking forwards. "Goodness, you've been through it, haven't you… you've been taking antiemetics for a very long time…"

"I was sick." Hidan said shortly.

She turned the current page to face him. "And this is everything you've had today?"

Hidan peered at it. "Yeah."

"And you're not regularly taking any opioids any more? You won't be wanting more pain relief later?"

Hidan shook his head. "I try not to now. I feel good today anyway."

"Well then," she said, smiling briskly, "you'll be fine. But I'm only going to let you have a small glass because I don't want your husband to come home and tell me off!"

"We're not married," Hidan told her, sitting down on a white stool at the gleaming island counter as she went to the fridge.

"Oh?" She took out a bottle of Chablis, three-quarters full. "Well, why on earth not?"

"Well…" Hidan shrugged defensively. "I dunno, it hasn't come up! We could only be civil partnered anyway, couldn't we?"

"Well that's what I meant, of course." She poured out two glasses. "You look like you've been together for decades," she added - slightly accusingly, he thought. "I should think you're entitled to call him that if you want to."

"We haven't." Hidan took a sip from the glass she handed him. It was a nice wine, minerally and complex tasting. "Not even a year."

"Well, you surprise me." Her tone was arch. "I only wish my sons would find a relationship like yours."

"Kim's on his way there," Hidan said firmly. "Jugo's an awesome guy. You should like him more." He drank some more wine - it felt nice, actually, as well as tasting nice. Just to be doing a normal pleasant thing, not connected in any way with his Recovery, which always seemed to capitalise itself in his mind now. God he was bored with it. "Anyway, sons plural?" he asked, twirling the glass by the stem. "I kinda assumed Kim was an only child, he acts like one…"

"Well, actually, I have four," Ms. Kaguya told him triumphantly. "Twins from my first marriage - they're quite a bit older. Kimimaro from my second, and he'd gone off to school by the time I met my third husband and Zetsu was born-"

Hidan stared at her. "Zetsu?" Pieces started clicking together in his mind. "You're Zetsu's mum as well…?!"

"Do you know him?" Ms. Kaguya asked. "Oh, of course, you were part of that silly organisation he used to run around with…"

"You mean the Akatsuki Group? Yeah..." He couldn't really argue with her characterisation of it after everything it was putting Kakuzu through now. Suddenly all the pieces fell into place. "So it was Zetsu coming to see you?" He laughed. "Well actually he was coming to see me! I guess he thought he'd just tack you on to the visit!"

"Hm." Ms. Kaguya chose not to engage with that. "Well, I have to say I wish he'd gone into a sensible profession like his brothers, and I've made that abundantly clear to him. Though they're all disappointing in their own ways. Unfortunately none of them get on. I can't have them visit at the same time - I'm sure they do it to spite me."

Hidan fixed her with a dark look, draining the rest of his glass. That had really gone down quickly… "Uhh, Ms. Kaguya…" he began determinedly.

"Oh do call me Suki, dear. All this formality is getting rather a bore."

Hidan rolled his eyes. If it was a ploy to make him more sympathetic towards her it wasn't going to work! "Okay...!" he said. "Suki, then. Just… stop being fucking disappointed in your sons, alright? I know if- if my mum was alive today- she would've given anything to be here and see me, whatever I was doing- but particularly she'd've loved to see me in a happy relationship, and at the top of my career, like I was before this, and like your kids are. But she can't be, cause she died when I was 15. And you've got- you've got the fucking privilege of time with them. And you're squandering it. You're literally chucking away all their love for you like trash."

"I'm very sorry to hear you lost your mother so young, but I hardly see how the situations are related." Ms. Kaguya went back to the fridge and brough the bottle back with her. "In fact I would argue that because of that you may not have much idea of how parent-child relationships mature-"

"Mature?" Hidan almost howled the word. "God, Kim fucking still calls you 'mummy'! And- and you can't even be kind to him! You criticise him and infantilise him and try to push him back to Orochimaru - the guy who broke his heart - no, fucking broke him 15 years ago! Because you say he's 'good for him,' like- like there was something Kim needed fixing! Like he wasn't good enough by himself! He's a fucking top orthopaedic surgeon for God's sake! He's the fucking reason I can walk today! He helped me when Kakuzu had his heart attack - he might not even be alive if Kim hadn't been there. And then I definitely wouldn't! And you say Zetsu cancelled on you - his fucking flight was cancelled! He's probably sleeping on a row of fucking plastic chairs in some godforsaken departure lounge right now! It's not his fault!"

"My children are tough! I don't need to mollycoddle them!" Ms. Kaguya drained her glass too. "They know they're valued, I don't need to-"

"There you go!" Hidan jabbed an accusing finger towards her. "What a fucking passive statement! Valued by who? You can't even say that it's you valuing them!"

"And Zetsu's a fucking awesome artist." He cut her off as she opened her mouth again. "He collaborated with Deidara on my most famous piece, the one that got me and Kakuzu together, and the art world went fucking wild for it! No way should he have gone into a sensible profession! Not everyone needs to be a fucking doctor! But that's not even the problem, really, is it? The problem is that you can't be happy, but you can't admit that the reason for that is just who you are!"

"Hm." She topped up his glass. "Anything else to say? While your tongue's loosened."

"Sure." Hidan was on a roll. "The only time I met Orochimaru I elbowed him in the face, and he deserved it and I'd do it again. And I don't know your twins, but I'm willing to bet you played them off against each other their whole lives. I bet all your kids have a group chat you're not part of, and they get together secretly every other weekend and-"

"Alright!" she snapped, refilling her own glass. "Enough. Your turn now. Kimimaro told me all about Kakuzu's heart attack - you're the reason he's alive. Don't do yourself down. He told me he barely did a thing. So why are you pretending you were so helpless? Is it so you don't have to face the contrast between then and now?"

Hidan found tears pricking his eyes. Maybe it was the wine, making him over-emotional. Or maybe that was just him now. "No, it isn't!" he claimed, not very convincingly. "I've blamed myself for months, for everything I did that day… and ever since..." he admitted. He took a gulp of wine. "The only reason I knew CPR was that Kakuzu taught me… he's the reason he's alive himself-"

Ms. Kaguya reached over the table and took his hand. He didn't resist. "You silly boy," she said. "Goodness me, all you young men are the same! You learnt it, didn't you? What else do you have to reproach yourself with? Hm?"

"Letting myself get taken down by that seven-stone-weakling Nara - what the fuck? Even today I was better than that!" Hidan couldn't hold back a dry sob. The image of Shikamaru ahead of him on the road that frequented his nightmares swam in front of his eyes, filling him with shame. "And then making Kakuzu's life hell ever since. I really really fucked up everything… and he - Nara - got away with it all. Nothing sticks to him!"

"Living well is the best revenge," Ms. Kaguya told him firmly. "Get better to spite him and don't give him the satisfaction of any more of your regard. Now, finish your wine and dry your tears, and soon your Kakuzu will be back to take you off my hands. Goodness me!"

Hidan took a bunch of tissues from the box she proffered at him and blew his nose. "Sorry, Suki," he said, feeling a strange urge to call her mummy like Kim did. "I don't even know how we're talking about this."

"Don't apologise. It's a sign of weakness," she snapped. "You've made great strides since you got here - don't think I haven't been watching. Just remember it doesn't matter what happens to him so long as you can put him out of your mind."

"But I can't," Hidan sighed. "That's the thing. Kakuzu went up to London and I couldn't even go with him because I was too scared I might see him. Though that was dumb because it ended up being here I got in trouble."

"Mm, yes, I thought I heard a bit of commotion earlier. And saw a young man falling out of your door..." Ms. Kaguya said. "You seemed to handle it well enough. What happened?"

"Well, I did have a bit of help from the dogs," Hidan told her. "It was Karashi from across the road. He got a bit handsy. It wasn't welcome."

"Yes, I thought it was him. That young man is absolutely toxic. I'm sorry for Sancho, because she's clearly a good soul, and the little boy is sweet, but heavens above, Karashi ought to have been drowned at birth!"

"Bit harsh…" Hidan objected, but had to admit it was a fair assessment. He couldn't imagine anything good coming from that guy.

"I nearly called in, actually," Ms. Kaguya continued, "but then I saw you settling down on the sofa and thought perhaps I'd better not disturb you."

Hidan blushed a little at the thought of being observed snuggling up with Kakuzu's dressing gown. "Yeah, it took it out of me a bit I guess. But I was alright. That wasn't what upset me. It's probably just being by myself."

"Hm, I'll be having words with that son of mine about that!"

"His plane was cancelled! What d'you want him to do? Fucking swim here?!"

"Or!" She ignored him and opened up his medication log again, turning it around to face him. "It doesn't say here that you've had your vitamin D today," she said archly. "Maybe that's why you're in such a state."

Hidan snorted. "Well, my husband's away!" he said. "How am I supposed to-" He paused and held up a finger. "Actually, no! I did have it this morning, before he went." He pushed the log back over to her. "Why don't you write it in for me."

She got a fountain pen and actually did it. "Orally?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Rectally," he said, not breaking eye contact. "No, hang on, both. Oopsy daisy, might've overdosed…"

They didn't talk about any more difficult subjects after that. ("I'm not a psychotherapist," Ms. Kaguya said sharply. "Though in my professional opinion you certainly need one! And not necessarily just for the recent trauma!") Her large house rabbits, Uchiha and Senju, woke up and hopped around the kitchen, and she let Hidan feed them some cabbage leaves, and they talked about their pets for a while instead. Uchiha was a black Lionhead, she told him, and Senju was a Belgian Hare - which was in fact still a breed of rabbit.

"Fucking stupid name for one," Hidan said, regarding Senju askance. He was a bit freaky looking; smooth, glossy and etiolated. Uchiha, in contrast, was just a giant black fluffball.

"Perhaps," she acknowledged. "Descriptive though. Would you like to give him a Woodland Loop?"

"And what the fuck is a Woodland Loop when it's at home?" He held out his hand for it anyway. It turned out to be like a large pinkish Cheerio. Senju snatched it from his fingertips and dashed away to eat it under the table.

Hidan was sitting on the floor having a mini tug of war with Uchiha for a carrot he was meant to be sharing with Senju when there was a knock on the door, and moments later Kakuzu walked into the kitchen. Hidan surged to his feet and hurled himself at him, making Uchiha thump the floor and scarper, and it was only once he was safe in his arms that he spared a glance over his shoulder and saw Deidara coming in after him. "Fucking hell, Dei!" he yelled. "They let you out? I didn't even know there was any chance-"

They ended up staying another half hour and finishing the bottle of wine, though after a glance in Hidan's medication log where he found 'Vitamin D: administered orally and rectally by husband, 8am,' written in a beautiful flowing script, Kakuzu wouldn't let him have any more and only had half a glass himself. Deidara was more than happy to take up the slack. He was absolutely on form, and entertained everyone with stories of life in prison, and the art therapy group he'd set up there which he intended to continue running despite his release. "People are depending on me, hn," he said. "Art's transformative, it changes lives - I'm the living proof of it." He and Ms. Kaguya - or Suki, as Deidara was immediately invited to call her - got on like a house on fire, and Hidan knew her sons were going to get unfavourably compared to him for months. But he couldn't find it in him to worry too much. Now he knew there were four of them he figured they could spread the load of her disapprobation between them a bit.

He felt almost unbelievably relaxed - perched on the edge of the stool Kakuzu was sitting on, between his legs, leaning back against his chest with Kakuzu's arms tight around him. Being back together was such a huge relief. Privately he resolved that if Kakuzu had to go to London again then fuck the fear, he was going with him.

"Were you alright?" Kakuzu asked quietly, right on cue. "How was your day?"

"Kinda lonely…" Hidan pushed his cheek against Kakuzu's jaw. "I'll tell you all about it later…"

"I almost went crazy without you," Kakuzu admitted in a low murmur, under cover of a loud burst of laughter from 'Suki' and Deidara. "I was worried every moment, actually. I hope I didn't annoy you texting so much…"

"Course not!" Hidan wriggled back against him a little. "Did I annoy you?!"

"Baby! What an idea! Though I did open rather a compromising picture in front of a bunch of commuters…"

Hidan giggled. "Mm, I was hoping you would… so they'd all know you're taken..."

Kakuzu held him tighter. "Devil," he whispered in his ear. "Wait til I get you to myself…"

When he did finally get him to himself, in bed after supper, with Deidara safely ensconced in the guest room, Hidan told Kakuzu everything that had happened, from accidentally taking all the dogs out and overdoing it at the gym to Karashi making a move on him and getting bitten by Kaze. Kakuzu was as horrified as he'd expected, but not surprised.

"I could see that boy was getting a bit of an obsession with you…" he mused. "Though I didn't expect him to get physical or I'd certainly never have left you alone here. Do you think he really would have tried to force you into something?"

Hidan shook his head. "I think he might've tried to kiss me, but he didn't have it in him for anything more. Mainly I was worried that he'd accidentally grope my spleen. Fuck, if I'd thought he'd go any further I'd've let Kaze take him apart and we'd've all had to go on the run like Tobi! But he certainly took a long time getting his hands off me. That surprised me."

"Little shit," Kakuzu growled. "Do I need to go and have a word with him?"

"Nah, he's shitting his pants already," Hidan said, snuggling into Kakuzu's shoulder. "And he won't be saying anything about Kaze. I dealt with it."

Kakuzu kissed the top of his head. "I know. You're amazing. Though I'm most impressed that you managed to rein the dogs in, actually. I wouldn't fancy the boy's chances against you anyway once you'd got riled up, but I imagine they were absolutely wild and not much inclined to listen…"

"I just imitated you - that normally gives them a moment's pause."

Kakuzu laughed, a deep rumble that Hidan felt through his chest, and turned so that he was spooning around him. "Let's get some sleep now, shall we?" he said. "Now that everything's alright again..."

Apart from Ms. Kaguya, who was exactly the same as ever, the neighbourhood didn't seem quite as welcoming after that. Apart from Ameyuki, all the Christians were just so depressingly Christian still. Hidan gave up trying to get any more of them following the Way of Jashin and started only going to the church when it was empty. Deidara hated the whole town from the get go. "How the fuck have you stood it here so long?" he asked incredulously. "I want to bomb the shit out of this place, seriously, hn! Get back to London, guys!"

That said, he didn't show much sign of wanting to go back to London yet himself. He stayed with them for a week and then went on to Konan's for a while, where he was going to run a live exhibition in her performance space. Hidan and Kakuzu dropped him off in the morning and spent the day there. Kakuzu mowed Konan's lawn for her and checked over her accounts while Hidan modelled for a short life class - just a few reclining poses. They set off for home in the mid afternoon.

They were just past Monmouth, going over the Black Mountains, when Hidan began to feel a bit sick - he'd been off the antiemetics for a few weeks now - and they pulled into a carpark that was attached to some kind of local landmark for a break. Deserted apart from two other cars, it was a sandy, gravelly area with grassy banks and quarryish walls rising up around it. A footpath led the way to a gate in a low fence, signposted with a fat yellow arrow and the National Trust's black acorn.

"Shall we walk a little way?" Kakuzu suggested, and they set off across the carpark. "There may be a viewpoint…"

They went through the gate and a little way along a footpath, passing a few dog-walkers going in the other direction, but the ground was uneven and muddy, and the overcast afternoon felt gloomy. Hidan took hold of Kakuzu's arm and he guessed he must be tired or in pain because he didn't tend to hang off him unless he couldn't help it now. "Are you ready to go back to the car?" he asked.

Hidan didn't answer straight away, just looked out across the gorse covered plateau of the mountains and sighed.

"You don't really want to go back at all?" Kakuzu guessed after a moment. The holiday feeling had well and truly worn off for him too.

Hidan shrugged a still thin shoulder. He seemed to be about to speak, but then didn't.

"You're bored there, aren't you?" Kakuzu said. He got it. He had too much energy for that sleepy town now, and going back without Deidara would be making it feel greyer than ever. If he was honest, he felt the same.

Hidan sighed. "Yes," he admitted, leading the way back anyway. "But I don't want to go back to London either. I don't know…"

"We could move nearer to Konan - find a nice country house in the valleys…" Kakuzu suggested.

Hidan shook his head. "It's Konan's thing. I love her but I think she needs her distance from us too."

"Maybe you're right." Kakuzu felt tired suddenly and when they reached the car he sat down on the bonnet rather than open it up and get in. The other two cars had gone now. Another change? But still not home. He felt a sudden stab of longing for the Heath, and the Tube, and the knowledge that everything they could possibly need was half an hour away at most, the South Bank, Covent Garden, the East End galleries, the London Institute Art Schools… not to mention the hospital five minutes down the road.

"What's up, babe?" Hidan sat down next to him, a hand on his arm.

"It's nothing really," he told him. But suddenly the tiredness got the better of him. "Oh Hidan, I- I'm not-" he began desperately. I'm not the tower of strength you think I am, he wanted to say, but he couldn't do it to him. He got a grip and stopped talking, looking away.

"Babe!" Hidan was standing again, and putting his arms around him so that Kakuzu could hide his face in his shoulder instead. "It's okay. Whatever it is, I can handle it, I swear, just tell me-"

He was shaking though, his voice getting increasingly urgent, and Kakuzu knew it was his greatest fear, that something would happen to him. Knew it from what he told him of his nightmares, from the tension in his face whenever he came back from a routine checkup at the hospital. "It's nothing medical," he said quickly, to reassure him. "I've just been thinking." He touched the site of the pacemaker/ICD. "What if this was triggered… I know you think about it too… For one thing I couldn't drive for six months… and that's the best case scenario." He stopped short of saying ' my health might deteriorate,' but it was in his mind. "I just want to be sure you'll be okay," he carried on fast, knowing Hidan had picked it up from his face anyway. "That we're settled somewhere you could manage, that you'd have some support..." He pulled him onto his lap. "Don't worry, love, please." He stroked his face, feeling the tension in his clenched jaw. "It probably won't happen… I just can't stop thinking… what if it did?" But then he could only look away again. He couldn't bear to have put the anxiety in Hidan's eyes that he saw there now.

A thump on the car bonnet made him look up. Hidan was looking into his face with stern determination. "So I'll learn to drive this thing!" he said. His eyes were bright with tears. "Then you don't have to worry anymore!"

"But you hate cars," Kakuzu said weakly. "Do you mean it, sweetheart?"

"Yes!" Hidan looked around the deserted carpark. "Hey, let me have a go now!" he said, jumping to his feet. "No one's here!"

Kakuzu laughed suddenly. "You're unbelievable!" He shook his head, tiredness dropping away from him. Of course it didn't solve everything, but, god, it felt like a lot right now. "Oh, why not!" He let Hidan pull him to his feet and handed him the keys. "Other side." He turned him around and gave him little push as he instinctively made for the passenger door.

Meeting again inside the car they looked sidelong at each other and laughed. "I never thought I'd see the day…" Kakuzu said. "Right. Key in ignition. Check the gearstick is in neutral - don't make me buy you an automatic." He put his hand over Hidan's. "Like that."

"Hey, this is sexy!" Hidan grinned. "Maybe you can teach me archery next…"

"Concentrate," Kakuzu said sternly. He explained the pedals. "This is good for you as ultimately the right leg does more. But your left foot will be doing the tricky bits for now, so tell me if it gets tired."

Hidan nodded, deadly serious. "Okay, key a quarter turn towards you." Hidan did it, and jumped as the engine turned over. Kakuzu laughed at him. "Calm down, it won't bite. Now, clutch down, and we'll go into 1st gear." He covered Hidan's hand with his own again and they moved it together. "Right, now we need to find biting point." Hidan snapped his teeth at him. "Concentrate," he said again, laughing. "So, as you begin to ease off the clutch, put the accelerator down - a little." The car strained forwards, roaring. "A little!" Kakuzu reiterated, knuckles whitening on the dashboard. Hidan pressed it down a bit more before he figured out how his foot and his brain went together, then eased off. Kakuzu let out the breath he'd been holding. "Christ…" he groaned.

"Sorry!" Hidan said chirpily. "I reckon I've got the hang of it now! So now what?"

Kakuzu took a deep breath. He had got it - he could feel it in the car's vibrations himself. "Now you ease off the clutch all the way and we release the handbrake-" Again he covered his hand and they did it together. "And then… just give it a little more juice..."

They crawled forwards, then moved a little more definitely, and almost immediately, "can I go faster?" he asked. Then he did anyway, without waiting to be told.

"Wait!" Kakuzu said sharply as the car revved up. "Not in this gear, you can't!"

Hidan revved up the engine more. "Well then, show me how to get into the next gear or I'm just gonna try and figure it out my-"

"Ugh, you're a nightmare, why did I agree to this? - I must be mad! Clutch down, then." They moved into second. "And then just go…" Kakuzu shrugged. Driving was so much second nature to him now that it was actually hard to verbalise, and Hidan certainly wasn't being tentative. He shot him a sideways grin and drove pretty neatly down to the other end of the carpark, turned around in a big circle, and drove back again.

"Um… how do I stop again?" he asked, with a sudden look of alarm, heading towards the bank.

"Foot off accelerator, onto brake, gently depress it, clutch down, into 1st, that's it…" He let him do it by himself this time, his hand hovering. "Press the brake until the car fully stops. Then get the handbrake on - squeeze and lift - and clutch down again and into neutral."

Hidan did it, grumbling a little that Kakuzu was making it sound complicated.

"Well, you did it!" Kakuzu was actually quite impressed. "Think you can remember how to start up again?"

He could, and in half an hour he was making laps of the carpark in 3rd gear, steering very accurately, and had learnt how to reverse around a corner completely by accident. "Have you done this before?" Kakuzu asked him suspiciously, leaning over to flick the headlamps on - it was getting dusky already..

"No… it's just a bit like a cross between go-karting and driving a speedboat," Hidan said nonchalantly.

Kakuzu blinked at him. "You… know how to handle a boat?" He was incredulous for a moment, then he laughed. After all, Hidan had grown up by the sea. "Of course you do, Essex Boy! Why didn't I think of that? Can you sail as well?"

"A bit, yeah."

"Well then, do you want to go to the seaside?"

Hidan just looked at him for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Not the east coast though," he said. "I don't wanna to go home."

"I saw Kisame and Suigetsu when I dropped in at home before Deidara's hearing," Kakuzu told him. "They're back from Australia and they'd just arranged to rent a place down in Cornwall. Going somewhere remote didn't seem like an option with me as our only means of transport... but if you're going to drive too…" He smiled and shook his head a little. How could he have forgotten how capable Hidan was? He'd got too used to seeing him as an invalid. "Why don't we see if we can go and stay with them for a while? If you like it, we can get a place of our own."

It was testament to the strength of their relationship, Kakuzu thought, that he was able to fast-track Hidan to the point of being ready to take his driving test in three weeks without any major upset. They probably 'debated', as Hidan put it, more than they had since they'd both been ill, but if anything that was a good thing. It helped Kakuzu remember to stop treating him like he was made of glass and helped Hidan take back a bit of responsibility and self-control.

Prepping him for his theory test was more of a struggle, though he was already extremely hot on the rights of cyclists. They spent a lot of frustrating winter evenings testing him on the Highway Code, but miraculously he managed to scrape a pass on his first time. By the time they set off to join Kisame and Suigetsu in Cornwall at the end of February, Hidan had passed his practical test as well, with flying colours. It was a weird time to go to the coast, as Hidan said, but they'd both come back from Wales feeling stale and in need of change - without the project of teaching Hidan to drive they would have been bouncing off the walls already. They had two months left on their lease which allowed them to leave the house fully furnished while they decided what to do next, but there was no doubt for either of them that they wouldn't be returning there long term.

They set off early, to avoid the worst of the traffic and to give Hidan some motorway practice while it was nice and quiet. As they drove through the nearly deserted town in the pale pre-dawn light, Kakuzu looked at Hidan's beautiful hands on the steering wheel and felt contented and proud of him. He was absolutely confident and even though he couldn't drive much longer than half an hour at a time without his left leg aching, Kakuzu felt completely at ease as his passenger.

Hidan took them out of town and onto the motorway, and they stopped for coffee at a classy farm shop services just before the next exit. Then Kakuzu took over while Hidan rested his leg, and the sun rose as they passed the Bristol junctions and headed South towards Exeter.

Hidan slurped coffee and put his feet up on the dashboard. "That was fun," he said. "I liked going that fast."

"I could tell," Kakuzu said dryly. He drove fast himself, but Hidan certainly gave it an extra little edge. "You're going to have to learn to look out for speed cameras…"

"Doesn't really matter on the motorway though, does it?"

"Not most of the time," Kakuzu agreed. "Do you want to swap over again at the next services? Make the most of the fast roads?"

"Sure." Hidan stretched his legs and massaged his left calf muscle. "It doesn't actually feel too bad at all," he said, wonderingly.

"Because you're not stopping and starting all the time," Kakuzu pointed out.

So Hidan made the most of all the fast driving where he didn't need to do too much with the clutch, and Kakuzu navigated the endless roundabouts and traffic lights as they bypassed various Cornish towns. Hidan took over again to race over Bodmin moor; then as the roads got windier and narrower Kakuzu swapped into the driving seat again. But not for long. Being a passenger on roads like that made Hidan feel sick. So they swapped back.

Almost Hidan immediately started showing his true colours as a motorist, taking the narrow Cornish lanes like a local, beeping the horn at blind bends, playing chicken with anyone coming the other way, and only reversing back to passing places (at top speed with his hand on the back of Kakuzu's headrest) if they confronted anyone more stubborn than he was. This seemed to mainly be anyone in a tractor.

"I'm not fucking with them," he told him at their third such encounter, zooming straight back up the road without trying to brazen it out. He neatly shimmied up to a five bar gate as Kakuzu wound down the window to make sure his paintwork wasn't going to get scratched. "Anyone obviously involved in agriculture can have the fucking right of way, as far as I'm concerned. It's not worth it."

"Good..." Kakuzu murmured. "Don't piss off the locals is a good rule of thumb…"

"Any fucking hooray Henrys in red trousers, though, can fuck right off."

In this way they made the journey in record time, getting to Kisame and Suigetsu's house well before lunchtime. The place they were staying was a tiny village on what was technically a tidal river rather than the open sea, and they had to go all the way along one side, then cross a ford and come back up the other. It would've been a much quicker journey by water, and soon Hidan was craning out the window for every glimpse of the sea through dips in the hedges, excitable as a puppy. So Kakuzu was driving again when they finally came into the village, but Hidan made him swap over so that Kisame and Suigetsu could see him at the wheel, and they pulled up the drive with a screech of brakes, spraying gravel onto the lawn. Kakuzu could see he was going to have to get a little stricter about how his BMW was treated, but for now he just enjoyed watching Hidan practically fall out of the car in his eagerness to get going. He let the dogs out of the back, nearly got bowled over by them, pulled Suigetsu into a bone-cracking hug, high fived Kisame and then let Suigetsu lead him off to give him a cup of tea and a tour of the house, all while Kakuzu was still winding up the windows.

Kisame brought mugs of tea out for himself and Kakuzu as well - after ascertaining that he wouldn't prefer a beer - and they drank it sitting on the edge of the decking that ran along the front of the house at the top of a sloping lawn. There was a stunning view out over the water and the opposite headland, and they watched the boats and the dogs galloping about exploring the garden and didn't say much at first.

"He's so much better," Kisame said finally, voice cracking with emotion as they finished their tea and started to unload the car. Kakuzu nodded.

"We're nearly there." He found his own voice was husky too. He cleared his throat. "There are still some things we have to be careful about. The leg's still delicate. His chest is vulnerable. And he still doesn't eat properly… oh Jesus Christ!"

He'd looked around to see what the grinding noise behind them was, and saw Suigetsu and Hidan, already wetsuited up, manoeuvring a pair of kayaks down the gravel path. Hidan and Suigetsu each had a handle of one between them, and Suigetsu was dragging the other solo with his other hand while Hidan carried the paddles. "Are you insane-" he began, but Kisame put a hand on his arm.

"No cotton wool, remember?" he said with a grin, and he hopped down onto the path and grabbed Suigetsu's kayak from him, easily hoisting it onto his shoulder. "Don't scrape the bottoms, kiddo," he said with a wink. Kakuzu followed them down and took the paddles from Hidan, who didn't have too much pride to get his other hand on the kayak too, once it was free. He saw Suigetsu hefting up his side to take more of the weight and relaxed a little.

They only had about 100 yards to go anyway, before they reached a cobbled slipway that led down to the water. Hidan let Kakuzu take his side of the kayak while he navigated the uneven surface and Kakuzu felt considerably grateful that he hadn't compromised his pride earlier - otherwise he probably would have insisted that he could do it alone.

But once he was on the water it was clear that he was in his element. It didn't take a lot of strength to handle a kayak, and he and Suigetsu zipped around happily while Kakuzu and Kisame watched them from the jetty of the local pub - closed for the off-season - and Kakuzu felt months of strain releasing their grip on him. "He's going to build up his upper body strength quickly if he's into that," Kisame observed.

Kakuzu just nodded. He couldn't trust himself to talk. Kisame put a hand on his shoulder. "They're the bikes of the water - no wonder he's a natural. You alright, big guy?"

Kakuzu nodded again. "Just… seeing him so happy… after so long…"

It had just taken so long to get him to this point. He knew that even a month ago he wouldn't have had the strength for this, and would have been cast down and frustrated here. For once, they seemed to have made the right decision at the right time. In his head he found himself thanking Jashin.

After a week of zipping around in kayaks and jumping on and off pontoons manhandling the speedboat Kisame had hired, Hidan had not only built back a lot of upper body strength, but a lot of agility and stamina as well. He started to lose his translucent pallor and his appetite improved, even if he was mainly eating seafood and icecream. As March progressed and the weather got nicer he and Suigetsu were out on the water every day, Kisame started teaching him to bodyboard and he began to develop an obsession with learning to waterski. It became his highest aim, and everything he did became a stepping-stone towards it. Once he was strong enough - and Kakuzu had nearly had another heart attack watching him get wiped out again and again on his first try - it became absolutely clear that they were here for the long haul. To get out from under Kisame and Suigetsu's feet they took out a 6 month lease on an extremely desirable property of their own - a converted boat house and sail loft right down on the water with its own slipway. But the four of them were closer than ever and still in and out of each other's places all the time.

Kisame and Suigetsu had started up a watersports e-zine while they were in Australia, based mainly on windsurfing til now, but Kisame would put articles together about anything that was going on around him. He was incredibly excited about the progress Hidan was making and ended up featuring him a lot. Hidan was as photogenic as ever, and the images filtered back to the fashion world. Suigetsu was still going up to London regularly for work, and more often than not if he'd been working for Yugito she'd send something back with him for Hidan with a note begging him to put it on and snap some pictures. Come back darling, we miss you, she'd add. But Hidan still showed no sign of wanting to.

"Fucking hell," he'd moan, slipping off the board shorts he'd taken to wearing around the house with nothing else, and rolling his eyes and he pulled on some exquisite hand-finished piece. "Just because I'm fucking sample size now!" He really wasn't anymore, actually. And Kakuzu could tell he was delighted not to have been forgotten, but although he'd pose in anything for anyone, he couldn't see him really wanting to work in fashion again seriously.

Zetsu and Deidara came to visit for a week and filmed and drew him obsessively, which was clearly far more up his street, and before Kakuzu had quite got a handle on what was happening he'd made himself a youtube channel and started vlogging. It was a bizarre mix of art, personality based reality tv and watersports, with a side of religion, but it seemed to quickly find a niche. From then on every time Kakuzu was on the phone with Karin Hidan would be hanging around asking for a quick word and getting advice from her. Towards the end of March she came down to visit too and they spent hours together at the kitchen table in the evenings, honing the day's footage and planning posting schedules.

By the time Hidan's birthday came around Kakuzu had bought him his own speedboat, and was looking at property for sale. Even a little cottage around here cost about 1.2m but if he let go of a few investments that was no problem. If something like the place they were renting came up for sale it would be more than double that but as far as Kakuzu was concerned it would be money well spent because Hidan was so absolutely in his element here. He'd never seen him more content, even before the accident. Exhausting himself on the open water seemed to have a more wholesome effect than exhausting himself in the gym, and there were no metro tiles here to freak him out. His nightmares were almost non-existent, and at last he seemed to feel enough in control of his life to satisfy his pride. He was just uncomplicatedly happy.

Kakuzu supposed he'd be buying him a yacht as well before too long, if he carried on the way he was going - Kisame had started teaching him to sail - but it wasn't as if he couldn't afford it. Karin's handling of his collection had been a great success, and things that they'd acquired in the autumn were now selling for vastly inflated prices. The section of it that was currently showing in Merthyr Tydfil with Konan was incredibly popular, and becoming a destination show even from London. Kakuzu was in the curious position of being Hot Right Now, but also completely out of the scene, and between them Konan and Karin had persuaded him that an Akatsuki St Ives, to rival the Tate gallery there, would be a good idea. Since he had time on his hands and they were only half an hour away he'd decided to go for it, aiming to open when the summer tourism started up again. Already the hype about it was huge, and they were planning an opening involving new works of Deidara's and some of Zetsu's films of Hidan. Hidan and Deidara kept texting back and forth cooking up some kind of performance piece as well, and Kakuzu soon found himself busy, satisfied, and happy too.

At first Hidan's videos got modestly respectable amounts of views, and they kept growing. He'd been a minor celebrity after all, and extremely notorious for a while, so there was still a base level of interest in him that he quickly capitalised on. He became a youtube partner after just a month, and they received a cheque for a laughably small amount of money in the post. Then after Zetsu featured him on his channel there was a little surge in subscribers, and when Karin did the same there was a bigger one. Then, after the first trailer for the latest Harry Potter film was released, he and Suigetsu made a totally dumb 10 second video of Hidan waterskiing while wearing a wizard's hat and screaming 'I'm the boy who lived!' before getting wiped out by a medium sized wave, and a star was born. Kakuzu never could see why that was the one that did it. Certainly the wizard's hat was topical, and Hidan looked very handsome, but beyond that he supposed that he just didn't understand the internet. Their follow up video - his head bobbing out of the water, still in the hat and saying "right, let's do it again!" popped up as a reaction meme everywhere, and legions of fans flocked to his channel, discussion of exactly why he'd chosen that particular line brought up the news articles from last summer and his bizarre mixture of tragic hero and absolute idiot seemed to be the flavour of the month.

Hidan was very open about the fact that he was recovering from being badly injured - in fact his vlog was in a large part a documentation of his recovery, only one filled with dumb antics and a lot of fun chat to the camera from someone who was definitely qualifying as serious eye-candy again. It helped that it also contained regular tantalising snatches of other hardly less interesting personalities - Kisame had his own fanbase within Hidan's subscribers, all thirsting for a glimpse of him topless, and Suigetsu was on the cusp of the sort of modelling fame that Hidan had been resisting before the attack. Collaborations with Zetsu and Karin pulled in the culture crowd; Kakuzu himself, and their home life, was clearly another draw, as were the dogs, and Hidan was very adept at giving his fans just enough to keep them on the edge of their seats.

And that might've been all, if Shikamaru Nara hadn't written another spiteful article about them. Perhaps he was annoyed that they seemed to be well and happy again - perhaps it was all the press attention Akatsuki St Ives was getting. Whatever the reason, he decided the time was right for a savage takedown of the remaining Akatsuki members. The fugitive status of Tobi and his many genuine crimes were raked over; Konan's Arts cooperative was painted as a cynical attempt to take commercial advantage of young artists; Deidara's prison sentence was held up as evidence of their dangerous debauchery, with no mention of all his prison outreach work since. Kisame was ridiculed for starting a blood feud over his cat and prudishly condemned for his 'May-December' relationship with Suigetsu. ("More like April-July!" Kisame protested, hurt.) But the most vitriol was of course reserved for, as Nara put it, 'the seemingly immortal duo of Taki and Yu.'

'These two just won't stop, will they?' he wrote. 'This emerging generation of artists has made it clear that dinosaurs like Taki aren't who we want to sell our work to anymore, but his cold-hearted money-grubbing style of collecting hasn't slowed down at all even with his thuggish model boyfriend incapacitated. The pair relocated last autumn, apparently due to Yu's fragile state of health, but being out of London hasn't cramped Taki's style, and the overpowered collector is once again in a position to make or break artists. I challenge the art world - don't forget what this pair did to Asuma Sarutobi. Before you click on Hidan Yu's trashy videos or stop in at the flashy new seaside gallery where Taki flaunts his power and influence, consider whether you really want a future dominated by these two men, dead inside and with no moral compass. At first glance their union may seem touching - on closer inspection it looks more like a cynical grab for the pink pound and a codependency intended to hide their absolute irrelevance - taken separately no one would give them the time of day.

It upset Hidan. Kakuzu hoped he wouldn't have to see it, but of course a commenter on one of his videos linked to it almost immediately. And nowadays, if something upset Hidan, he talked about it. To his thousands of viewers. He cancelled the live thing he'd scheduled with Suigetsu out on the water and Kakuzu walked in on him talking to his computer alone, sitting curled up in a tense ball on their bed and looking out over the estuary. He paused in the doorway, holding the cup of tea he'd made for him and waiting for him to finish.

"There's not going to be a normal video today," he was explaining sadly. "I'm sorry guys. I had a load of fun stuff I wanted to share with you, but... " He took a deep breath and Kakuzu put the tea on the bedside table, wondering if he should stay or go. "Fuck it," Hidan said, voice breaking. Kakuzu stayed. "So, most of you will know I'm still recovering from some serious injuries - but I've never really talked about why." He gave a soulful and sincere look to the camera and Kakuzu watched little hearts and devastated looking emoji faces floating up from the corner of the screen and suddenly realised he was actually doing this live after all. "Because you know what?" he carried on. "It's not fun. It's not why I do this. And it's not why you guys are here. But… something happened today and I can't stop thinking about it, so here it is - I nearly died after a vicious attack that happened last summer. It happened when I was on my way to the hospital to see my boyfriend, who'd just had a heart attack. And that… it wasn't a coincidence. It was planned. It was attempted murder. But the person who did it got away with it, and now he's coming after me again in other ways. I …" His fist clenched and Kakuzu thought he'd break down. He forgot it was live and went and sat next to him, putting his arm around him and kissing his hair. Hidan grabbed his hand and held it tight.

"I still struggle with that a lot," he said wearily to the camera. He looked down as he talked, then again there was the flick up of those haunted eyes, causing another flurry of emoji heartbreak. "But there's nothing I can do. Despite the fact that I know who did it, there won't ever be a prosecution because I was sick and hallucinating when I gave evidence and that was enough to completely discredit me." He looked out to sea for a moment, biting his lip. "I've come to terms with the fact that I'll never be the same physically. It's a lot harder to deal with the fact that I'll have to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life, because this guy still has it in for me and the people I love." He gave an effortful smile. "Thanks for watching." Almost a whisper. "Don't worry, I'll be back to normal tomorrow, I expect."

Then he crawled around into Kakuzu's arms and stayed there motionless for the next half hour, until Kisame and Suigetsu, who'd seen the video, came round to see if they were okay.

"How can he still reach me here?" Hidan said hoarsely, leaning against Kakuzu on the settee, still snuggled into his side and lethargic with misery.

Kakuzu just tightened his arm around him. "He can't," Kisame said, trying to reassure him, visibly distressed by the state he was in. "To show his face here would be like an admission of guilt. It would be enough to make the police reopen the investigation. He wouldn't dare."

"I didn't think he'd dare even write about us again," Kakuzu said furiously, too angry to be sensitive. "I thought he'd want to keep his head down…"

Suigetsu, on his phone, suddenly laughed. The others stared at him in surprise. "He probably should've!" he exclaimed. "I'm just reading the comments on his article - fucking hell, Hidan, your fans really love you… I can't believe this…!"

Hidan was pretty much back to normal the next day, to Kakuzu's immense relief - if a little wan and relying on Suigetsu for the comedy value. But his fans had become crusaders. It was easy enough to put together who Hidan meant from the timing of the video and the news articles from last summer and below the line on Shikamaru's article had swiftly become a hellish bloodbath. His blog crashed from the volume of traffic and his twitter was inundated. By the following day it was bad enough that he'd suspended his account.

Over the next few weeks Kakuzu kept expecting it to die down. It didn't. It got nastier, but he really couldn't find it in him to care. Shikamaru got doxxed, and it turned out he had a lot of sock puppet accounts that he used to boost his blog interactions and comment positively on his articles. His email was hacked, spilling some really compromising stuff that confirmed his obsession with Hidan and his ceaseless campaign against him - and then his home address was leaked and he had to move out. There were death threats, the police got involved, Shikamaru's girlfriend left him, and a major publication he wrote for regularly dropped him. Below the line on all his articles became completely toxic, to the point that editors simply didn't want the hassle of having him there. Even if they closed comments on his articles, Hidan's more rabid fans simply moved onto other articles on the sites to continue their vendetta. Now he was the one being harried by paparazzi - there were shots of him looking pale and underslept on the front pages of the tabloids for a few days, and then he disappeared completely from the public eye.

Other journalists wrote opinion pieces about it for a while and there were some calls for Hidan to ask his fans to back off, or clarify that he hadn't meant Shikamaru. He did neither, and there wasn't anything in the video - much picked over and analysed - that anyone could really find fault with at all. From that point on he never referenced it again, beyond a wicked smile as he signed off his videos with "thanks for the support everyone, you guys are awesome!" He didn't need to. Shikamaru's reputation was ruined beyond repair.

The other side of it was that the police handling of the case came under a lot of criticism and scrutiny, and it even came to light that Shikamaru's dad worked in the department that had been handling the case. Kakuzu began to feel that there was a definite chance that their appeal to have the investigation reopened would finally be successful. But it was a long process and he wasn't holding his breath for that. For now, it was enough that Nara's career was in pieces, and that he would most likely never write about them again.

In another month Hidan seemed to have put it completely behind him. There was pretty much nothing he couldn't do now - his stamina rivalled Kakuzu's again and though he was still slimmer than he had been - and frustrated by that - he was fit and toned. Water sports equipment manufacturers were constantly sending him products and asking him to review them; other big channels were doing collaborations with him; and if he'd been willing to work as a model again he could have been in constant demand. As it was, he'd only do anything if he was absolutely passionate about the project. That was more likely to be art than fashion, and he developed a relationship with the art school in Falmouth, taking the speedboat round the coast to drop in and model for special life classes while Kakuzu roamed the studios looking for students with a bit of edge. So when the owner of the house they were renting wanted to sell up, and got in touch asking them if they wanted to buy it for 2.5m the answer was most definitely yes.

That raised another question. "Hidan," Kakuzu said as he peeled him out of his wetsuit one May evening that just happened to be the anniversary of Deidara's Akatsuki Gallery private view. "If we're going to buy this place together there are a few legal considerations that we need to think about…"

"Huh?" Hidan wriggled his arms free of the clinging neoprene and turned to face him. "Do I seriously have to think about legal stuff before I've even had a shower?"

Kakuzu eased the wetsuit the rest of the way off and then pulled Hidan, wet, naked and cold as he was into his arms. "Mm, you taste salty," he murmured, kissing him. The pit of his stomach was a mess of nerves and he wasn't going to wait for anything. "Alright, have your shower, but I'm coming in with you. I want to talk to you now ," he told him.

"Okay…" Hidan raised an eyebrow. "If you think you'll be able to keep my dick out of your mouth long enough to talk…"

"I can do that while you're talking." Kakuzu gave him a well-deserved slap on the ass. "You probably wouldn't make much less sense than usual… and maybe you'd be more likely to say what I want you to say..."

He stripped off and followed him into the shower, where Hidan proceeded to hog most of the flow of hot water. Fair enough, Kakuzu supposed, since he was the one who was wet and cold. He'd just been reading poetry by the log burner while Hidan exhausted himself on the river. He leant on the cool tiles and watched him a moment through the clouds of steam. One year on from that night when a face he couldn't get out of his head had turned his life upside down. Life had changed beyond anything either of them could've predicted, but they were both here. Hidan was doing so well. In another few months he'd probably be almost indistinguishable from how he'd been before. True, his chest might never be quite as robust as it had been, or his left leg, but the difference from just a few months ago was amazing. He looked up at Kakuzu then, brown-violet eyes as startling as they'd ever been.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" He reached out and pulled Kakuzu into the flow, then slid his hand down to his cock.

"Well." Kakuzu gasped a little as Hidan's hand closed around him. "As things stand now, purchasing a property, to have both of us on the deed we can be joint tenants or tenants in common, both of which have... drawbacks…"

"Mmm." Hidan clearly wasn't listening with much attention, he was tracing his fingertips over Kakuzu's chest and planting a trail of kisses along his collarbone.

"And so I thought maybe now might be the time to ask you something I've had on my mind a while… uhh... Listen, Hidan…"

"I'm listening..." Hidan murmured.

"So... while I obviously hate this Tory government as much as the next man..."

"Well, that's me…" Hidan pointed out, licking his nipple. "You can't hate them as much as I do when they give you so many tax breaks…"

"I can hate them while still taking advantage of them…" Kakuzu steadied himself on the tiles, "but they have pledged to get a marriage equality act through parliament, though your friends the Church of England are going to take some negotiating with, so it could be literally years from now before it-"

"What..?" Hidan stopped playing with him a minute and looked up.

"So unless you really want to wait for that," Kakuzu said in a rush, "I feel like maybe we should think about a civil partnership…"

Hidan's mouth dropped open and Kakuzu felt another wild rush of nerves. "You - you don't hate the idea, do you?"

Hidan slowly shook his head, his eyes locked on Kakuzu's. Was he smiling? It was hard to tell through the steam... "I don't hate the idea…"

"Well then," Kakuzu rushed on, words tumbling over each other, "what I mean is, even though we can't actually get married. Will you… sort-of marry me? So that. So that I can be sure that you'll be… that you'll always have somewhere to… that you won't have any legal problems when I-"

"Hey Kakuzu." Hidan's voice was a little husky. "You can stop talking now, babe. Of course I will fucking sort-of marry you."

"Thank god!" Kakuzu felt his voice cracking in his throat. "I mean. Thank you ... Christ , Hidan, I love you so much- you- you've changed my life since the day we met! Which if you haven't realised was a year ago today..."

"Dei's private view," Hidan whispered, just audible under the noise of the running water. "Kakuzu, you fucking romantic!" He took his face between his hands. "I mean, I feel like we're already married in the eyes of Jashin. But hey, let's make it fucking legal!"

Kakuzu laughed weakly. He felt a little lightheaded. "I didn't know you felt that way." He wound Hidan's rosary around one finger as he pulled him towards him by the back of the neck. "Or he did. Thanks Jashin…" he murmured up into the flow of hot water, then looked back at Hidan. Suddenly he couldn't stop smiling. He felt a crazy euphoria that nothing could suppress. "I feel like this makes me his son-in-law or something…"

"Well actually we're all his children," Hidan corrected him, but he was smiling.

"Oh. Well then, thanks Daddy," Kakuzu directed upwards.

Hidan snorted with laughter and wound his arms around Kakuzu's neck. "You're fucking trembling, Kakuzu! Did you really think I might say no?"

"I... don't know. No... But it just… it meant so much."

"Promise it's not for tax reasons…?" Hidan teased him.

"Once I've put you on the Parliament Hill title deed I'll actually have to pay more tax!" Kakuzu told him. "I promise you, you're the only one benefitting financially from this… But I love you, so I'll take the hit."

"I love you too, babe." Hidan's fingers played through his hair and he sighed contentedly, laying his head on his chest. "That night at the private view… I've never forgotten how you made me feel… like everything was okay… and I just never stopped feeling that way when you were around. You just keep on fucking doing it..." He looked up into Kakuzu's face, then reached out and turned off the hot water.

"Much as I was looking forward to you sucking me off in the shower - let's go through and really do this, hm?"

Kakuzu didn't need telling twice. "At your service," he murmured.

Afterwards, watching the moon rise over the estuary and the mast lights swaying in the deepening twilight Kakuzu felt as contented as he could imagine being. "Do you think you'll want to go back to London?" he asked.

"Maybe." Hidan shifted himself up the bed a little til he was settled in the crook of Kakuzu's shoulder. "I could probably even revive my fashion career now… but seriously. I don't want that. I feel like I could happily leave that to Suigetsu." He sighed. "It's true, I always needed something to put in front of 'model'..."

"Like I needed something to put in front of 'Investment Manager'…" Kakuzu kissed the top of his head. "You don't have to do anything, you know, til you're ready. You can just have fun with your youtube channel and your… watersports…" He could never say that with a straight face ever since Hidan had first broached the idea in the hospital toilet.

He leant off the bed and reached over to the door to let the dogs in to join them. One by one they piled onto the bed. Now, looking at Hidan with Kaze's head in his lap and his huge paws draped across his thighs, completely relaxed, he thought about that first night together - Hidan frozen with fear in the hall while Tsuchi growled at him. He smiled. He'd successfully made a dog man of him, even if he did still play with cats in the street… and Hidan did need keeping busy...

"I've always had four…" he said casually, playing with Mizu's ears. "I suppose you think it's a bit excessive, but four has always felt like the right number."

"I don't think it's excessive. I think it suits you," Hidan said. "So how old are they, then, actually? I can't believe I've never asked you… "

"Well Tsuchi was the oldest, she would've been ten by now. Quite an old lady, to be honest, though she didn't ever behave like one! Mizu's a year younger. I got Kaze and Kaminari together as puppies when I'd already had the girls for 4 or 5 years."

"Did you have others before these, then?" Hidan asked.

Kakuzu nodded. "I started keeping them after I left the NHS. One upside of working more regular hours… I started with four - litter mates - and every time I lost one I got another before too long. I got Kaze and Kaminari after I lost two dogs within six months of each other."

"Are they brothers then?" Hidan asked, scratching the top of Kaze's head in the particular way he liked.

Kakuzu nodded, and glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

"So, how come four…?" Hidan asked.

"Well, I went to my local animal shelter, and they had a litter of puppies in that had been abandoned… I had been planning to get two of them. But when I saw them together..."

"You fucking got them all! Kakuzu you big softie!"

"They were already quite big and rather wild and boisterous. They needed a firm hand… I wasn't sure if anyone would come along who could handle them… so..."

Hidan caught the look and tipped his head on one side. "So, what you're saying is, you want to get a puppy?"

Kakuzu smiled. "Well… yes… if you like the idea too..."

Hidan sat up, eyes shining. "Fucking yes! When can we do it! Hey, maybe this one will actually like me best!"

"Hidan, you spoil them so much I think they all like you better than me by now! Anyway, I called around a few breeders and one had a litter due this week with only three pups spoken for. So depending on the number of puppies we might be able to get one in as soon as nine weeks or so… Otherwise it's a case of waiting while they arrange a successful breeding and-"

"Basically bagsying a puppy…?" Hidan said, in tones of wonder. "Whoa, I didn't know it worked like that…"

"How else?"

"You had this whole conversation planned, didn't you babe?" Hidan demanded.

"Of course. There's pink champagne in the fridge as well, if you want some. But we'll need to take the rest of the bottle round to Kisame and Suigetsu when we're done because we can't drink it all."

Hidan gestured at Kaze sprawled all over his legs. "You're not suggesting I disturb him are you?! Also I am way too fucked to get up… and that's on you..."

Kakuzu slithered out from under Mizu and grabbed his dressing gown. "My love, I didn't expect you to be the one who got it!" He leant back over the bed to kiss him. Hidan grabbed him and held him there a moment.

"I'll text Suigetsu to kayak round for the excess in half an hour," he said, "I don't want you to have to go out…"

"Make it three-quarters of an hour. I want you to myself a little longer."

They were married in a registry office in Helston within a month of Kakuzu's proposal - neither of them ever bothered calling it a civil partnership - and in another month had completed on their sail-loft home, so that when they collected the lucky fourth puppy of the litter that Kakuzu had dibs on he had a permanent home to come back to. Hidan was smitten immediately - he was intoxicated by his new puppy smell, his proportionally massive head delighted him, and having a little creature to look after was just as much of an occupation for him as Kakuzu had hoped. It was nice for Kakuzu too - cradling a sleepy puppy against his chest with one hand while standing at the end of a jetty watching Hidan fall into the water multiple times definitely lessened the anxiety somewhat, and it was something to lavish the excess care on that Hidan increasingly didn't need.

Hidan may not have anticipated quite all the joys of parenting a new puppy, from sleepless nights to the regular 'surprise' left on the polished floorboards in the first weeks - a particular hazard to someone with a habit of going barefoot everywhere. And Kakuzu would never forget the sight of him dangling a squirming pup over the slipway in the pouring rain, precariously balancing an umbrella tenderly over him with his chin, wailing, "Jesus fucking Christ just piss already, would you?!" But there was no doubt that he adored little Kaen, as they named him; he became yet another star of Hidan's youtube channel and his constant companion on land - and more often than not on the water too one he was big enough to sit on a kayak without falling in.

He even came to the opening of Akatsuki St Ives because he was too little to be left alone in the house like the big dogs, and he got more press attention than any of the featured artists. Hidan spent almost the entire evening holding him while he slept or playing with him among the installations - any critic who wanted to take a pot-shot at 'the immortal duo of Taki and Yu' now would have braved the wrath of every dog lover in the UK.

Kakuzu soon had an embarrassing number of pictures on his phone of Hidan sleeping on the couch after a day of exertion on the water, Kaen in his arms and Kaze - just a little jealous - on top of him. He loved to see him coming back through the village from their short puppy walks together, Hidan's stride barely uneven at all anymore, Kaen frisking around him, tumbling over his outsize paws. As he got big and long-legged more and more often they all went out together; and surrounded by his proper pack of four again, his beloved partner at his side, Kakuzu was entirely satisfied.

By the autumn, they had begun to think about spending a little time in London again. Summer at the coast had been an absolute blast, and although Hidan didn't intend to stop waterskiing for anything as insignificant as winter, there would be considerably more time spent inside in front of the log burner. There started to be more rainy and windy weather, the village shop and the pub reduced their opening hours, and the idea of the city became more enticing. For months they'd been invited to everything and gone to nothing, and finally Karin started to get really impatient. "It's your collection!" she snapped at Kakuzu down the phone. "Stop acting like you're retired and come and take an interest!" The weather forecast was abysmal for the next few days, so they went up together on the train from Penzance for an opening of an artist she wanted Kakuzu to seriously invest in. They let Kisame look after the dogs and planned to spend the weekend at Parliament Hill catching up on the culture of the capital, maybe with a view to sorting it out for a longer stay in a few weeks time.

Kakuzu had been up to London for various reasons quite a few times by then, but it was the first time Hidan had been there since Kakuzu had driven him out of the city the autumn before; bundled up, sick and miserable, barely able to make a decision for himself. As they got out of the train under the huge Brunel arches of Paddington Station, he suddenly remembered what he'd said to him only a few weeks before that - 'in a year's time you'll hardly be able to believe how you felt now." It nearly was a year, and it was true, sort of. He could still remember vividly - his body and his mind both bore the reminders of what he'd been through. But he knew without a doubt that he was as strong as he'd ever been and that none of it needed to affect him. He glanced up at Kakuzu, taking his arm not for support but just because he wanted to. And Kakuzu looked down at him with an indulgent smile that held no hint of the anxiety-behind-the-eyes that had been a feature of his glances at him for so long.

It was also the first time Hidan had seen the inside of Paddington since the day they'd come back from Edinburgh with Deidara and Sasori, and he lingered for a moment at the end of the platform, tugging on Kakuzu's arm to make him wait, thinking of that day. Kakuzu had taken the tube while he rode off through the rain on his bike. He remembered texting him from the junction, sitting at a red light like he never did, just because Kakuzu had told him to. And turned on like an absolute fool by the idea as well… It reminded him that the bike was still at Parliament Hill, and he resolved that as soon as they got in he'd take it apart and order the new bits it needed. It was time for his beloved shiny steed to have its own recovery. And just maybe he'd add some biking to his youtube channel too...

This time, though, they headed to the Underground together. They took the steps - quicker than the escalators, and joined the crush at the bottom, drawing out their oyster cards in tandem. The immortal duo - Hidan had to laugh. Nara's words had been used out of context by every critic or columnist who'd written about them since, almost always in a complimentary capacity. He could see from the glances their way that they were being recognised quite a lot, but no one approached them - this was London after all.

Hidan swiped his card on the reader at the barrier and paused on the other side for Kakuzu to follow. He caught sight of his own reflection in the dark glass of the ticket attendant's booth and grinned. His hair gleamed more brightly silver than anything else down here and from the lines of his leather jacket you could see how built he was again. He flicked the collar up how he liked it - Kakuzu would always smooth it down while he was kissing him... and as he did so his eyes picked out a familiar figure in the crowd coming up behind the booth from the Circle and District Lines. The spiky ponytail and the olive green puffer jacket - of all the coincidences, it was Shikamaru Nara himself.

Only a few months ago even imagining this encounter was like a sucker punch to the stomach, taking him straight back to that awful night. Picking himself off the road at South End Green - the pain in his side, his busted knee - and all soon to be much worse. Now that it was actually happening it wasn't as though he didn't think of it all - he did - but he surprised himself by feeling nothing. No panic, no flashbacks. Most of all, no fear. He took a couple more steps forward so as not to block the barriers, and just stood a moment, calm and curious, waiting.

As he came closer Shikamaru looked worn out and depressed - there was a slump to his shoulders and his head was down. A very different silhouette from the one that had stood looking down at him in the halo of a streetlamp as he lay broken and bleeding. Now it was Shikamaru who seemed broken down and diminished. Seeming to sense Hidan's gaze he raised his head and their eyes met for a moment. Hidan could sense his jerk of surprise, feel the fear coming off him - and he held the connection, raising a hand in acknowledgement with a tilt of his head, just as if to say 'I see you there.' Shikamaru's eyes widened - he turned his head away and hurried forward, fumbling for his travel card, almost tripping in his haste. Then Hidan felt Kakuzu's arm around him and they moved on together.

"He's looking like shit, isn't he?" he said casually as they headed for the Bakerloo Line.

"Are you surprised?" Kakuzu asked. "He'll never know another day of peace in his life." That was pretty much a given already, but Kakuzu's tone told him he was, as always, ready to personally make sure of it if there was ever any doubt. Then their eyes met and they didn't waste another thought on him.

Kakuzu slid his hand down to take Hidan's. "Still feel like home?" he asked with a smile.

Hidan nodded. "One of them, for sure," he said, and their future, shared between the city and the coast, seemed to stretch out bright and full of possibility ahead.

A few steps further and it felt like they'd barely been away a day. They headed into the hot wind of the tunnels side by side - hands clasped, in step, aware but heedless of the curious and admiring eyes on them. They were strong and secure, in everything together - ready at last for their triumphant return to the scene.