7: OOO

Deidara's body felt sluggish and drugged. He recognised the symptoms, could feel the burning where the gun had shot through to his muscles. Something was lodged in there, but his body was numb to it. He felt oddly calm, lying face down in the rapidly falling snow. His mind had gone blank, unable to fathom what had happened. One minute he'd been walking out of the door to keep his distance from Sasori, and the next….he was face down, paralysed in the snow.

He could see the trees, eerily lit by the moonlight with their naked branches like bony hands. They stretched shadows over the drifting snow, but all Deidara could make out was grey.

It happened again; he remembered, his thoughts slowly coming back to him. I'm losing time.

And he was burning. The blood in his body was boiling to the point where he was sure steam was rising from his exposed skin.

I am sick. He admitted, silently and to himself. There's something wrong with me, and Sasori was right. The black outs at the club were the beginning, then came the adrenaline rushes, the need for something more, the carnal instinct for fucking, the relentless headaches - the unyielding craving to feed - unable to keep it down…

The temperature had dropped and the animals that frequented the surrounding woodland had disappeared.

His fingers moved in the snow, testing their ability to move. A new thought; My wound is lodged with a tranquiliser.

It explained the sluggishness of his reactions, as opposed to a gunshot would that would have caused a different feeling.

He sniffed around, trying to scent out the closest way back to the house so he could barricade himself in the basement again. He'd been doing it for Sasori's safety, knowing the red head wouldn't just leave. But when the headaches started and the tiredness crept up on him, and then losing chunks of his time and memory… he'd promised to himself that the next time The Psycho came, he could happily take Sasori away from him.

Deidara would deal with his on his own, but he wouldn't risk Sasori's safety anymore than he-

"No" He murmured, eyes wide as he locked onto another scent. He groaned and forced his body to move, slowly managing to his knees and then to a pathetic crawl. Warm and cinnamon, his nose told him, but his brain screamed Sasori-smell. Accompanying that familiar scent was the after-taste of iron. It stuck in the back of his nose like a cold and made him nauseated with every shuffle closer.

He's bleeding. Deidara dragged his body closer, willing it to be anything other than Sasori's corpse. Please be inside the house. As the scent got closer, and Deidara was nowhere near the house, his stomach plummeted.

The temperature was hovering around zero. The snow was falling thick and fast and was filling the woodland with a clean slate.

The smell of blood was almost sickening. He didn't know how long he'd slept and so in that respect, the blood was appealing. But it smelt thick and rich and that usually meant enough for a puddle.

Sasori couldn't afford to lose masses of his blood - he was only a halfling-

And there he was, almost lost in the snow.

The blood wasn't as bad as Deidara originally thought - he wasn't lying in a pool of it - but it was slick enough to prove its damage.

And Sasori had shifted, his arctic-wolf self lying on his side, breathing erratically. His upper body was the source of the bleeding, a great tear across the left side and around to the back, damaging muscle so Sasori wouldn't have been able to move, much less run, without severe pain. Halfling, Deidara chanted to himself. Perhaps a pure-bred arctic-shifter might be able to overcome these injuries, but Sasori was half human.

"Fuck" Deidara's legs gave out, seeing Sasori's closed eyes and his snow-white body wrapped in clumped, matted, bloodied fur. Deidara had hunted in that woodland many a time before and had found not one predator that could or would have approached and attacked a human like that.

The only predator in the woods was himself - and the evidence was tucked under his fingernails.

While the snow and the temperatures continued to fall, Sasori would remain in that state. It was why he endeavoured to keep so warm all the time, why others made sure to keep him so warm… shifting randomly was a no-go area for the red head who liked his human lifestyle.

Sasori accepted what he was and controlled it - used it sometimes for leverage, but he never truly wanted to change. He always hated the change just before and just after, where the worlds merged and his thoughts grew weaker and less clear before he'd wake up not entirely sure what he'd just done.

Deidara loved all sides of his boyfriend, even the beautiful animal he'd become - so much like himself, an instinctual, curious predator. He wouldn't like him dead.

Need to warm him up, Deidara forced himself to think clearly. It was his damage, his fault and he would bloody well fix it. He gingerly moved the arctic wolf that was his boyfriend into his arms, hoping to whoever was listening that he wouldn't wake up. The last thing he needed to deal with was staring into his boyfriend's wolf-eyes - those eyes that would look back at him and see him for the predator that he was. Those eyes that wouldn't immediately recognise him as 'Deidara', but as 'threat'.

It's what you wanted, he reminded himself, but he knew that was a lie. He wanted Sasori out of the way for his own safety - he didn't want him dead.

He struggled to the house and guiltily dropped the wolf by the fireplace in the living room. He immediately set to work on the fire, grabbing blankets from everywhere and shoving them over the body.

When a wave of nausea hit him, he convinced himself to ignore it as he found the rope and bound Sasori's front legs together, and then the back legs. He didn't want Sasori to freak out and injure himself. Firstly, he took off the ring on the chain that was still around Sasori's neck.

He then set about fixing the wounds. The garish rip from Sasori's side across his back was the worst of it, but there were smaller cuts on the pads of his paws that were probably caused from fighting. His claws were broken for the most part, and there was a definite kink to his front right leg. It would be better to fix them up when he'd shifted back, but if he couldn't get a grip on the blood loss then Sasori wouldn't make it that long.

When the fire roared and crackled and he was convinced that he'd done all he could do, he attempted to fix his own wounds.

He was mortified to find just the tranquiliser darts - all three of them - as his only injuries. It was entirely unfair. He sat across from Sasori, staring at the wolfs body and watching every rise and fall of his fur.

OOO

YEARS AGO,

The little thing was panicking and running every way it could. Of course it would, that little bundle of fur would only register him as a 'threat' - and being as young as he was, there was nothing the fluffball could do other than hide.

"Sasori, come on" Deidara was on his stomach across the floor, sprawled out with impatience as the little white arctic wolf shot under the bed and sank down. "I'm not going to hurt you, un"

The thing wouldn't listen, rooting itself down and letting out a growl that sounded like a sore throat. Deidara was not used to uncontrollable shifters. Most shifters of wolves were kept trained and secure within their packs and relations until such 'uncontrollable' situations were resolved. It was an embarrassment to be changing to suddenly and recklessly without any thought or provocation - he was lucky they were still in the apartment.

Plus, Sasori had told him that his grandmother Chiyo had already trained him enough to hide his 'condition' from the humans. Deidara was sure he'd had this shifting-thing under control.

They'd just got back from one of their 'outings' where Deidara would show him something new of the Arcane Territories - a weekend sort of homework that his grandmother had set Sasori to encourage him with his confidence there. He wasn't wet, and couldn't catch a chill. Deidara had been stunned when the eight year old had suddenly dropped and shifted and shot away within seconds.

Deidara held out his hand, wondering if his scent might register somewhere in the back of Sasori's mind - clearly nothing else was going in. The little wolf was wide eyed and twisty-eared with heightened senses galore.

It was a white furry ball of fluff. His little red head from the human world, who had relatives in Suna of all places (known for its long daylight hours and high temperatures) - was reduced to a shaking ball of arctic fur.

"Won't hurt you, un" Deidara shifted closer and the pup hankered down, whining with his paws close to his nose. "Damnit if you don't get out I will grab you by the neck and drag you. I can't handle you like this, un" Deidara shot his hand under the bed and brought it back mangled.

Sasori couldn't 'sass' him back like he normally might, but it didn't mean he could give it a go. "That's it" Deidara shot up, pried the bed frame up and over and watched the fluff ball race away with terrified yelps.

Deidara grabbed the pointless duvet and raced forwards, shoving it ahead of him and onto the wolf's cornered position at the end of the corridor. He then flung his body on top of it, keeping his arms and legs down and then drawing them closer and closer until he could feel the lump secured and still underneath him and the blanket.

"Calm down, un" He murmured, feeling the shaking increase and the whining elongate. "Calm down" He scooped the blanket up, keeping the wolf inside it like a sack the entire time until the wriggling and shaking and whining came to a stop. When he wondered if he might accidentally suffocate it, he put the bundle of wolf and blanket on the sofa and tried to find the snout. Once located, he made a break in the blanket for the head and then proceeded to wrap the rest of him up. After a long hour, the fur gave way to skin and Sasori eventually opened his eyes.

"You fucking shifted on me. What gives?" Deidara snapped, his head aching from concentrating so hard. He'd not let his attention slip in case anything went wrong - he'd never dealt with a child shifter or wolf before and having Sasori do it so suddenly… Sasori's eyes welled.

"I didn't mean to!"

"You told me you were warm enough, un"

"I was!" When Deidara gave him 'the look', he mumbled, "Maybe it was the cold drinks"

"You said they were fine, un"

"I thought they were!"

"I'm never buying you a cold drink again, yeah" Deidara smiled though and Sasori half-smiled back.

"I'm sorry I worried you" He said softly. "Could you maybe…get me some pants?" Deidara might've blushed had he been human - and Sasori definitely was.

OOO

NOW:

Under the blankets, as his body temperature began to grow and the wolf shifted back to human form.

Deidara thought it was the worst thing he'd ever witnessed as his human body tried to assume the injuries of the wolf. That tear across his back that looked savage on an animal would be causing pain beyond belief. The cuts on the pads of his paws would be painful scuffs on the palms of his hands, his broken claws would be shattered nails. The kink to his front right leg would make for a plausible broken wrist at best, arm at worst. Had there been any broken ribs? There was cause for possible puncture during the change, if there were. Though he'd patched up a wolf's injuries, those wouldn't hold for long during the change, or be much use to a human afterwards. Deidara might've attacked a wolf, but Sasori would bare the repercussions as a human-bodied casualty. He'd need to see that they were fixed and treated as such once Sasori was back in his usual state.

It was unfortunate that Sasori had been led facing the way Deidara had been sat. As soon as those muddy eyes opened to him, Deidara's stomach clenched with guilt.

Neither of them said anything, Deidara sure that if he could - he'd be crying. Sasori was, his eyes filling up with tears and falling down his cheeks in rapid succession.

"It hurts" He whispered, his body shuddering underneath the mass of blankets, his wrists and ankles loosely bound. "Dei, it hurts"

He wanted to comfort him, but knowing he'd done the damage in the first place prevented him from moving an inch closer. Didn't Sasori know? Surely he knew that Deidara was to blame for the entire situation they were currently in.

"Dei" Sasori choked, his eyes pleading. "Don't freak out on me" Oh, he knows.

Deidara wasn't aware he was freaking out. If he was, he had no right to.

He stood up; Sasori was conscious and the waiting was over. The situation was now something that Gaara's limited emotions could deal with and it was probably for the best that Deidara contact him.

"D-Don't!"

Deidara continued into the other room, hearing Sasori's breaths quicken and his movements shuffle, and he guessed that Sasori had figured out that his ring was missing, or that he was trying to undo the ropes.

"Not Gaara!" He heard Sasori shout, his throat sounding as rough as gravel. I did that, Deidara reminded himself. "Dei, please. G-get back in here - Don't call Gaara"

If Deidara was the adult he thought himself to be, then he'd call Gaara regardless of what his boyfriend wanted him to do. He was a danger to Sasori and Gaara was the most efficient way of forcing the red head away from him.

But…Sasori….

"Why shouldn't I?" He asked, more to hear Sasori attempt to argue his way out of it, keep him distracted.

"Because I'm asking you not to" Sasori replied; it wasn't enough. He put Sasori's ring to the wall and silently called for Gaara. The shadow closed and the message would echo in there until Gaara received it, which shouldn't be too long.

Deidara silently retraced his steps to the living room and hovered in the doorway. Sasori was sat on the floor, three blankets over his body as he tried to work out the best upper body position for his injuries to be pain-free in as he fumbled with untying the ropes. "It was my fault; I went out there" He whispered, spying Deidara at the doorframe. "Don't punish your-"

"Don't" Deidara scowled as Sasori opened his mouth to retaliate. "This is my fault and we both know it, un"

"But I - I went outside and-"

"And nothing. You went outside" Deidara shook his head in disbelief. "You'd have been fine doing just that if I hadn't attacked you, un" Which all of the evidence was proving.

"It's not your fault, brat - listen to what I'm telling you" Sasori gasped and gripped his stomach.

"There's pain medication to your right. I'll keep myself in the basement until Gaara comes for you"

"Deidara, don't - please. Can you just untie me, we can talk-"

"It shouldn't be long, un"

"Dei!"

OOO

He'd finally managed to undo the ropes, but wasn't convinced that it had been worth the additional pain he was feeling because of it. He'd then done the best he could to fix up his injuries after taking obscene amounts of pain killers to try and numb everything.

Deidara had done a good job of bandaging him up wolf-form, but those were either too tight or too loose for his human body. He shakily managed to sort it; Deidara wasn't coming out of the basement to help him and he refused to alert anybody else to their disasterous situation. Hell, if Gaara knew - his family would within the hour.

At first he'd hoped that Gaara wouldn't notice the message at all, but that was wishful thinking because Gaara was as diligent as they came.

He changed into some new clothes and hoped that by some miracle, Gaara wouldn't notice the injuries - or the brilliantly clean living room and the rearranged rug to hide the blood stained wooden flooring.

Then he hoped that perhaps Deidara had gotten it wrong somehow - delivering the message - and so maybe there wasn't any message for his cousin to receive. But Deidara knew how to do such a simple thing, he wouldn't mess it up. He'd taken the ring with him into the basement, too; Sasori couldn't even send word to Gaara that it was a mistake and really, there was no need to come.

In the end, all Sasori could do was hope that Gaara would miss the injuries and wait. Sasori found that his wounds weren't as bad as he'd originally suspected; sure, they were like tears down his back and the pain meds had probably dulled his worries, but they only hurt occasionally and Deidara had done a fantastic job of shielding them from any friction against the bandages or his shirt. His hands were dusted with grazes, his fingernails cracked and maybe missing a few, but he'd plastered those up and told himself to grow a pair.

He convinced himself his wrist was a sprain, but the swelling was looking more like a break. But he told himself that could've been a total arm dislocation and suddenly a sprain was manageable.

He was sat against the wall leading down to the basement again, awkwardly on his side so that his arm and shoulder took the brunt of his weight. He had no book in his lap, no ideas in his head and no motivation to do anything when he felt the ominous presence, the portal shifting open across from him.

Gaara took one look at his cousin and instantly boiled with rage. His eyes fell on Sasori's fingers, wrapped in medical tape and plasters, and then slipped to his bandaged wrist.

"What did he do?" He ordered. When Sasori refused to move or say anything, Gaara shifted into action. The heating was turned on, the nearest fires were checked, another blanket was found and draped over him and something quick and basic and warm was put in his hands. Sasori's head was fuzzy and his body was perfectly calm; perhaps the painkillers had reached their peak.

"Now will you explain?" Gaara asked, an odd look on his doll-like face. Sasori didn't think Gaara had ever looked so…eager.

"Don't" Sasori flinched, his voice naught but a whisper. The only thing Gaara was eager for was an excuse to kill Deidara.

"Did he do this?" He still had a mark on his face, Gaara's fingers motioning to it but not touching.

"We had a misunderstanding; you can leave"

"But you called me" Gaara stated, confused. He couldn't tell who had 'called' him - only that the 'call' had come from Sasori's ring - which Deidara still had. There'd never been an occasion for Deidara to (steal and) use Sasori's ring for anything - and Deidara didn't have one of his own. The thought had probably never crossed Gaara's mind because stealing a family members ring was something akin to treason in their family.

"Then I'm un calling you" Sasori shot. "Just go away"

"What's wrong?" Gaara stilled, lowering himself onto his knees as he studied his cousin's depressed expression with those eyes that always tried so hard to understand. "Tell me what's wrong"

"And give you the perfect excuse to- no, just no" Gaara watched in expectation and Sasori finally gave in. "Damnit, I'm being serious," He started.

"With that face, I'd expect nothing less" Gaara shrugged and motioned for him to continue.

"… he's…I think he's sick"

"Vampires don't get sick" Gaara confirmed instantly. "They don't have time to be" He explained, and Sasori frowned in confusion. "Their blood circulates their system in a day. If they drink contaminated blood, there's no way to get it out of their system before it starts to circulate through the body. They're dead before they know it"

Sick for a day, Sasori had thought. More like dead in a day. He hadn't realised…and Deidara must've known.

"There's something wrong with him, Gaara" Sasori said softly. "He's not himself. He sleeps through the night as well as the day sometimes. He…he's never attacked me before. Not like…"

"Attacked you?" Gaara growled.

"He's pale. Don't look at me like that - he's pale" Sasori continued, hoping to shift Gaara away from any mention of the word 'attack'.

"Is he in the basement?" Gaara's jaw twitched, a possible smile forming.

"He keeps holing himself up in there…can stay in there for days"

"Has he fed?"

"I don't know anymore" Sasori whispered. He knew Deidara could go for days without blood but only if he was in perfect health. Being darted with three tranquilisers wasn't even close.

"Shit," Gaara offered a rare smile. "Is it that bad? Is he going to die?"

"It's nothing to smile about" Sasori snapped. "There's something wrong with him, and I can't figure it out and you're fucking desperate to kill him and it's pissing me off-" That was when he heard that sound, retching. Heaving and human and sick.

Gaara stilled, the possible-smile slipping from his face as curiosity took over.

"I told you" Sasori's head swam. "Something isn't right; Gaara - don't kill him-"

But the small red head had already pried the door from its locks and hinges, his sand grains everywhere as he stormed to the bottom of the steps. Sasori followed instantly, hovering over his cousin's shoulder and spying his boyfriend bent over the small sink.

Blood; the smell of it burned his nose.

Deidara retched, the horrible sound of the contents meeting the sink filling the space. Gaara hissed a clear dislike and Sasori fought to keep on his feet. His knees went numb, his body feeling cold and his spine prickled with sweat. Or was it blood? Had it leaked through the bandages? Had they torn?

Deidara dropped to the floor, writhing. Sasori stumbled awkwardly under the rail, and ran to him ignoring his own wounds, keeping Deidara's body turned in the recovery position. Another stupid human movement but he didn't know what else to do. His side and back ached where Deidara had swiped him, but it was nothing compared to the agony of watching his boyfriend's health deteriorate in front of him.

Gaara watched and it was making Sasori angrier by the second.

"Do something!" He begged, as if his younger, smaller cousin would know what to do. As if he would even help.

"Come with me" Gaara's hand outstretched and Sasori laughed at the idea.

He refused and Gaara grew impatient. The room darkened with dread and fear as the demon that Gaara housed made its displeasure known.

Sasori knew it, didn't fear it so much as find it an unbelievable force, but Deidara was sick. Sasori wasn't going anywhere.