AN: Thanks again for the reviews and fav's! I'm terrible at responding to them but I really do appreciate the motivation .
OOO
Everyone was gone and he took his chance.
Sasori had his bags packed, one with clothes in for him and Deidara, and the other full of his medicine cabinet's contents.
He tugged on his jacket and then his coat, swapping the bag between hands as he shoved it on and moved towards the lab at the same time.
Deidara was still, his eyes half-open with dried blood trails from his nose and mouth and ears. His wrists were damaged where he'd strained against the chains, and his body was so, so thin…
Just as he reached for the table, Zetsu flashed in from the shadows.
"Don't fight me on this" Sasori said quietly, taking the spare chains from the cupboard without bothering to look at his brother. "Please, Zetsu?" The man disappeared back into the shadows and Sasori could only hope he'd not told his siblings.
"What're you going to do?" Deidara asked, his voice a whisper. "Play nurse?
"We're playing truant" Sasori clarified, taking advantage of the sluggishness of his boyfriend and undoing the chains at his ankles. He quickly tied them together again, closer this time, but free of the marble table.
"Bad idea" Deidara murmured. Sasori did the same with his hands, placing them over his chest before securing them again.
"I don't care" He quickly kissed Deidara's lips, pulling back before a fang could get caught, and was upset when Deidara didn't react. He helped the blonde upright, his body now colder than ice, despite the humanly pink look to his skin. Patches of his skin began to show the beginnings of web-like black veins. Hadn't Kakuzu said he saw those on the dead bodies of his Bounty's? Sasori swallowed.
"You can't….do anything" Deidara was feather-light as Sasori lifted him from the slab.
"Just stay with me" Sasori held him closer. "Don't die"
Deidara was silent, barely able to walk with his chained ankles and his unstable balance. Sasori fisted his ring to the wall, making sure his bag was secure.
He took them to a new safehouse, one that had been built and decorated in the past year. It was to be their shared home when Sasori turned twenty one and his family couldn't stop him from moving in with the vampire. It was funny how they liked human things when it suited them.
It was still in the Arcane Territories, the same realm as their Home and one of the most peaceful of all the different places, but if luck was on his side - perhaps his brothers would start by assuming he'd go back to the human world first.
The house was compact, designed and decorated how they'd both wanted it to be. The bedroom was spacious but warm and inviting - that was there where Sasori put Deidara down on the bed. It was dark outside, but he drew the curtains more so he could forget about the sun going up and down and reminding him of the passing time.
"I remember this" Deidara's eyes opened a fraction, taking in the room's contents. Sasori sat on the bed next to him, taking a hand in his. Deidara tried to remove it. "I don't know how long…I'll be this good. Zetsu gave me something before but…nothing's-"
"I've decided I don't care" He replied, tightening his grip. "If you die, I'm going back to the human world and forsaking this shit-hole" Deidara frowned in disapproval and Sasori quickly explained. "I don't want to stay here if you're gone. It's simple" Deidara shook his head, his hair messing up. Sasori reached for it and marvelled at its colour. It was duller now, lifeless. "So don't die" Sasori reasoned, and Deidara let a sigh escape his chest.
"I don't want to hurt you again, 'n" He grimaced, his hands tightening underneath Sasori's. "You shouldn't have-" Sasori dared another kiss. He sensed no threat from his boyfriend and as long as he was content in that, he wouldn't ignore his desires. He placed another one for good measure.
"This is…bad idea" Deidara whispered, seeming to try a laugh. "So, so bad"
"I know - they'll not be happy" Sasori took his chances, leaning down and lying next to Deidara. He had his right hand still over Deidara's two - loosely lying on his stomach and cuffed together. "But I am. With you. Here"
"Un" Deidara sounded.
"No killing instinct yet?" Sasori asked after a moment, when he realised that he'd spent the past silent minute waiting for Deidara to 'switch' on him.
"No" Deidara said quietly.
"Pain?" Sasori asked tentatively.
"Un" But Deidara smiled. "Can't help…don't feed"
"I know, I got that memo" Sasori nudged himself closer. Deidara still had his Deidara-smell.
"Didn't want you to ….see like this"
"Shut up" Sasori said, perhaps a bit too violently. "You think I care that you're all sweaty and sick? That you're as weak and defenceless as a newborn?" He touched his head to Deidara's arm and said, "There's so much more to care about, brat" After another spell of silence, which Sasori was enjoying because it seemed like Deidara had lost his argumentative streak, he found a dull thought.
"I can't hide this place from them" Sasori's thoughts had taken him there as he began to consider his family's plan of action. "When one of them starts to look, they'll find us here eventually. But it'll be okay - we'll move again"
"No"
"We can, it'll be fine. This place has your old car, remember? It'll just be another roadtrip"
"Sasori"
"I won't let them kill you"
"They….aren't" Sasori closed his eyes at that. Sometimes he wondered… "They're trying…so hard" Deidara's voice was slowing. "They don't even like….me. For you. All for you"
"Dei…."
"Don't run ... Keep …here. I like…here"
"If you die, I'll burn it for you"
When Deidara didn't reply, Sasori sat up to see why. Was the blonde asleep…or…
He had to check, hand to chest, and felt a faint rise and fall. He was sure now that before the infection, Deidara's chest had never done that.
"Wake up, okay?" He whispered, placing another few kisses for good luck.
OOO
Sasori slept fitfully, waking at intervals and finding Deidara's condition different each time. He'd be cold, then hot, then bleeding or awake or asleep. He'd not made a single violent pass at Sasori, but then he'd not done much of anything other than lie on the bed.
Sasori got up, saw the vague outline of light outside and hated how his body clock had gone back to normal. He blamed the infection - all that sleeping had clearly knocked his wake-up-in-the-morning habit back into play. This was going to set his plan back - it wasn't safe for the blonde to travel during daylight hours.
He kissed Deidara's cheek and went to get washed and changed. When he was done, Deidara had shuffled into an upright position and had managed to flop his legs over the side of the bed. Sasori rushed to his side, concerned.
"What can I do?" He said quietly, his brows dipping as Deidara swiped his nosebleed away - his hands still bound. Sasori immediately felt guilty and reached for them.
"I actually feel much better, un" Deidara frowned, clearly confused. "Whatever Zetsu gave me might have acutally worked" Hope flared in Sasori's veins and he immediately uncuffed his boyfriend.
"Your fingers are cold" Deidara noted, and then glanced about. "Is the heating on?"
"…It can wait…" Sasori glanced to the windows, the sunlight bordering the curtains. His stomach sank; Deidara was awake during daylight.
"You know what I miss, un?" Deidara murmured, leaning in and brushing his nose by Sasori's ear. "You" It didn't take much - Sasori was deprived of everything that was his boyfriend and clearly, the blonde felt the same way. He stepped back, away from the bed and measured him up. He did look a bit better, more…refreshed. It must've worked, he convinced himself. Half torn between taking him back and keeping him where he was, Sasori's fingers fiddled hesitantly with the belt loops on his jeans. Did he take what he had while it was good? Or…
He thumbed his belt loops and tugged his jeans down, swishing his hips all the way. He watched Deidara stiffened body reacting to it, a sense of achievement settling in his gut. Yes, he'd take what he had while he had it. Deidara was permanently shirtless now anyway it seemed, and blood-free apart from the small streak left by his nose. Deidara leant a hand out, tugging Sasori forwards by his underpants. All it took was a smirk and Sasori abandoned any foreplay ideas. He pounced, hands and fingers in the blonde's array of hair - legs around his bare waist - their bodies crushed together.
OOO
When Sasori woke up and Deidara wasn't there, he panicked. He searched the upper floor, calling out his name - and by the fifth shout he realised that Deidara wasn't in the house at all. He couldn't sense him, couldn't pick up on anything but a trail leading right out the front door. And what was worse, night had come. Deidara could be anywhere.
"Hunting, he'll be hunting," Sasori repeated it to himself over and over, the only reason for his calm breaths was that it meant he could inhale Deidara's lingering scent that much longer. He'd convinced himself that Deidara would be hunting right until the trail left the next-door forest and continued out into the nearest town. Sasori dreaded to think why or what for.
"Shit" He groaned. He'd automatically assumed the worst because at least then he was prepared for a bad situation. If Deidara was fine, though his gut told him otherwise, then at least the only thing to come of it would be an argument. He really should have left a note, and to leave without being fully certain of his health?
"I'm going to fucking kill him - and then they're all going to murder me" Sasori decided, gritting his teeth as he marched onto the main street, demons and vampires and witches on all sides of him. It was at times like this that he preferred the simplicity of the human realm.
The magic distorted the scents and he hated it, and Deidara's was significantly weaker. He had managed to trace it into a club of sorts, and while he couldn't figure out if it led out, he couldn't decipher it at all once he entered. The assault on his nose was enough and he attempted to lower his hightened sense of smell. It'd do more damage now trying to sniff Deidara out against the different scents.
Sasori found another wolf pack in the corner, drinking heavily by the bar with amicable faces and barrelling laughter. The manliness flowing off them was enough to make him nauseous. What was it about pure breds that made them need to be so…manly. He shied away from them and sought out 'blonde'. Anything blonde that moved and he zeroed in on it - there were a few witchy-types, but their glassy eyes weren't blue enough.
"You," A hand steadied him against the wall. "Are one slippery little thing" Sasori raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the guy. Didn't smell like wolf, or look like a witchy-warlock. Might be a demon in human-form, but why he'd hide his true nature in a supernatural bar was strange.
"And?"
His arm was seized, the guy leaning closer. Not this again. Sasori whacked the hand away. Yes, Deidara practically owned his ass but he was by no means a sissy. Speaking of, that blonde over in the corner had just the right hair length.
"Your boyfriend isn't paying you any attention" The man tried again and Sasori ground his teeth.
"And?" He repeated. The thing didn't need to know that- wait. "How the fuck do you know what my boyfriend is doing?" The mans eyes glossed over like spherical mirrors for a flash. "Ah, shit" Sasori grumbled. Oracles. If you got a nice one, they were useful. If you got a bad one, they were annoyingly insightful.
"You deserve all the attention you can get"
"Get off my leg" Sasori snatched the invading hand.
Oracles weren't particularly strong, much like humans in that respect, but they were usually quick to see the attack and react accordingly. This one was drunk and now suffering because of it. He doubled over as Sasori twisted his arm and shoved the man into the wall and levelling his knee to his groin. The man gripped Sasori's wrist and tugged, holding his hand in midair. Sasori cursed himself; he didn't have much experience with Oracles at all.
He was hoisted over the oracle's shoulder like a sack moments later.
"You're gonna' die, fucker. Put. Me. Down" But Deidara was in sight, his lips a glossy red as he danced and drank from what looked like one of those witches. His eye was on him the entire time while the Oracle attempted to manouver somewhere less crowded with Sasori slung over his shoulder, and Deidara was just feeding. The witch twisted out of his grasp and Deidara seemed reluctant to let go, but then he found someone else to distract his attention. Sasori almost screamed at him.
Blue coated his vision and then Sasori was plucked off the oracle's shoulder as easy as removing a bit of dust. A quick shove sent the oracle panicking, and then he quickly made a retreat muttering his apologies to the demon.
"Kisa-"
"Save it" The demon hissed. "I didn't think you were this stupid, Sasori"
"I'm sorry" He wailed, the music too loud and Deidara too fucked up and he was so damn tired. "I'm fucking sorry!"
Deidara was causing havoc. The happy wolf pack at the bar had been disturbed - and a vampire wasn't a match for a pack of them, even one as old as Deidara was. And those witches were talking, rubbing their necks sadly as the wolves 'played' with the vampire.
"Stay here. I swear to Jashin, if you move an inch - I'll let them tear him to pieces" Sasori froze against the wall as Kisame stormed over to the wolf pack - but Deidara had other ideas. He'd escaped the wolves and disappeared off down a corridor; Sasori expected Kisame to follow, and he was confused when he walked back to him.
"He's bleeding again; sniff him out"
"I can't, it's too much" The scents in the street had been enough and he'd been breathing through his mouth to avoid the enslaught in the club.
"Suck it up. Find him" Kisame ordered. Sasori tried, vaguely following Deidara's bloody trail while trying to remain conscious. His senses were flooded, everything becoming hazy and burning his nose.
"In there" He motioned to a side room and Kisame opened the door first. Deidara was splayed out on the ground, his hair everywhere, his body all one sliver of length. Blood pooled around him, his face pale and corpse-like. Sasori rushed to him, heart erratic.
"I'm sorry, Dei" He wiped back the hair from the face, the blue eyes open and sightless. "I'm so sorry"
"Ko," Kisame breathed, and Sasori's head jolted up. Konan was stood in the corner of the room, just as sightless as Deidara was. Her face was pale, her eyes blue and her hands shaking at her sides, her fingertips dotted with blood. Sasori realised the blood had pooled collectively around Deidara in an outline of a circle - a magical trap - and Konan's bare toes were dipped at the trail she'd made to keep her distance.
Despite her glossy gaze, her eyes were amber now and tempestuous - magical - and betrayed as she stared back at him.
"Sasori. Open a portal back Home. Now" Kisame said, deathly quiet as he stared right at Deidara's still body - refusing to look at Sasori. Clearly, he'd done enough damage for one night.
OOO
Deidara's body was dumped on Sasori's bed with a 'thump'.
"Pass me those chains" By the door was an open bag full of thick, strong, silver chains and Sasori eyed them carefully.
"All of them?" He said quietly, wondering if Deidara's thin body could handle even more strain.
"Do not argue with me" Kisame warned him and Sasori lugged them over and wordlessly, handing them to his brother. The demon proceeded to chain the blonde to the bed and Sasori refrained from howling in despair.
"I don't think you realise how selfish you're being" Kisame uttered, bulky arms folded across his chest once he was finished. He loomed over him like an angry parent.
"The favours we've all done, the sacrifices we've made, the patience we've endured to make sure that this son of a bitch stays alive" A quick head motion to Deidara and Sasori's confidence plummeted. "And you take him out of the home that we allowed him into - for everyone's safety"
"I just wanted-"
"I know" Kisame's voice deepened, but not in anger. "I know" He repeated. "You can't do anything with him like this, Sasori" He said quietly.
"But at least I can see him and talk to him…even for my own peace of mind…"
"The only reason we kept you apart was because we couldn't risk another infection - he's not completely sound. He's a danger to everyone. Fuck knows how many people he bit in that place - we don't know if this is contagious. We don't know what we're dealing with. You should have known better"
"He's been fine" Sasori whispered. "He was fine. Not even a scratch on me…"
"Yet"
"What about your project?" Sasori tried to deter him.
"He's okay for a day or so; which means a day or so is all I have to spare" And then, after a while, "I know he broke your wrist" Kisame said quietly, eyeing the unconscious blonde. "I don't care what Zetsu said and you were stupid to go down there - even stupider to take him out"
Sasori remained silent and the demon assessed his work.
"We're not doing this because he's a vampire, you know. You're our brother; we're doing this for you" Sasori would rather they not do anything at all. "Konan even-" Kisame flinched and sighed, rubbing his hands over his face and through his hair. Sasori felt sick. "Look, he can't move; you can sleep next to him if you want. Put cushions on the chains for padding or something. I'll be downstairs. When he freaks out, come and get me"
OOO
Flashback.
Deidara was used to being on his own, fending for himself and keeping away from the other vampires and their trouble-stirring lives. He'd never expected to find anything more than a few friends, and certainly not a friend in the form of an eight year old human-thing half breed. There was something about having Sasori around that made him feel less dangerous - and that was a thought that he'd later spent years mulling over.
Sasori didn't know that Deidara had been starving that night they came across each other - that it would have been so easy for Deidara to just kidnap him for a few minutes and return him to the market place where someone else would worry over his blood loss. But that fierce look in his eyes, determined to find whoever it was he was looking for, Deidara had watched him wander in circles for a good ten minutes before his hunger ebbed and curiosity took over. When the boy finally showed some signs of distress, and happened to start moving in the opposite direction of the market, Deidara simply followed.
He kept an eye on him as the boy weaved in and out of people, looking around frantically for something to recognise. It was only when the cheeks tinged with pink and his heartbeat turned erratic that Deidara thought maybe he should offer some help. But surely there were more help-inclined people - who could resist such a cutie?
Some witches had stopped, circling him with curious faces and their long nails at their chins. The boy was turned around, their comely bodies and their long hair and big eyes were always a distraction. They bent to his level, beckoning him closer like sirens, and he watched with ever-ready limbs. He'd get the boy out of trouble if it found him, but the witches fought like cats and he hadn't yet been for his hunt.
The boy defiantly turned them away and they left with pouting faces and waving into the crowds. The boy was abandoned and despite the determination in his eyes, his heartbeat felt like a punch into his gut when he zeroed in on it. He wandered around some more, trying to find a high spot for a better vantage point to navigate back to the market. The best he could do was a brick wall, leaping up to it with practiced precision and balanced there like a dog. He stilled, concentrating, and Sasori watched his eyes scan the roads and his ears twitch at their sounds. Something about the human-thing half breed was animal. Perhaps he was a shifter, or a wolf - though, a young one of either might have already learnt how to find their way back to their family. The boy was either a hopeless case or hadn't yet properly learned how to hone his talents.
His surrender was obvious, he groaned and thumped the wall before he jumped back to floor level. The night was darkening and the older creatures were out now, a few vampires lingering in the doorways while the demons debated which bars to go into. It was amicable and friendly, it had to be because anything else wasn't tolerated. If you couldn't maintain peace in the Arcane Territories then you were thrown into a cell until they decided what to do with you. They wouldn't hurt the boy, but there was nothing to stop them from scaring him, which they obviously did.
The demons were big to his small frame, monster-like, he supposed. His heart was racing so much that Deidara felt like passing out for him - it was strange. The vampires smiled at him as he passed, but the boy probably perceived it as something else because his walk quickened into a jog.
He was running in the opposite direction, panicked. Deidara dropped down from his rooftop meanderings and 'accidentally' bumped into him. The boy wheeled himself away and burst into tears.
Those salty tears were reminding him very quickly about his lack of nourishment. That heartbeat was taunting him; all he could hear was it's pumping and all he could imagine was the wasted blood that was working its way around the boys system.
"Hey, come on" He said softly, keeping his body loose so as not to appear too threatening as he crouched down. "Calm down, okay" The boy must have been half-something, but clearly he was too human to deal with anything. "You're okay, just breathe, un" He didn't need some kind of 'change' on his hands - which would probably happen if the thing got too scared or started to hyperventilate or something. He had no idea how to handle changelings, or shifters or wolves for that matter.
"I hate this place" The boy whined, turning away to brush away his tears. "I hate everything here - it's so stupid"
"What's your name, un?"
"…Sasori" He admitted quietly. "I need to get back to the market" He then said, the panic returning. "What if she leaves without me?"
"How could anybody leave without you, un?" Deidara smiled a little smile, careful to keep his lips closed and his fangs hidden. "I'm Deidara"
"You're human, right? You smell human…." Sasori was all of half of his height with eyes wider than dinner plates. Deidara avoided lying and gave another close lipped smile, leaning down and giving the red head some more reassurance.
"You said you needed to get to the market?" Sasori nodded eagerly. "I can take you"
"If you could even point me in the right direction, I'm sure I'd be okay" He replied nervously. "But… the mean ones are out and I don't like-"
"Mean ones? Other kids?"
"No - the bad ones. The demons and those weird horned things and the vampires" Mean ones, Deidara might've laughed had he not been so stunned. He was a mean one? He was going to have to rectify that problem instantly.
"I'll take you straight there un, and I'll fend off any 'mean ones' that come at you"
"Really? I can pay you, I have some money left, ah, wait" He rummaged in his pockets and brought out something that Deidara didn't recognise. "No, it's foreign - and human. That doesn't work here, huh?"
"Unfortunately not" Deidara eased Sasori's money-loaded, gloved hands back into his pockets. "It's alright; I'm sure we'll think of something on the way, yeah"
Deidara stood up and walked ahead, despite sensing the boy standing still in the spot he'd left him at. Three seconds after he'd rounded the corner, the boy caught him up and glued himself to his side. He was silent for the first few minutes, but the roads got busier and Deidara was getting impatient. Kids walked so slow! And it wasn't as if he could drag him up to the rooftops and scale them with his new red-headed attachment in tow. The kid would throw a fit.
"Deidara," Sasori said suddenly holding his hand. "What are they?" He motioned with his free hand to the winged demons huddled around a table outside a bar.
"Winged demons" He said simply, nobody could pronounce their actual demon titles. Sasori flinched and leaned in closer and Deidara's plan settled in his mind, perhaps starting with something a bit easier than those winged demons.
He spied a few witches that he knew were walking in the same direction - towards the market. He called them over and Sasori stiffened and tried to hide beside him, but he quickly introduced them all and the boy was being fawned over before he could say 'nice to meet you'. They did little sparkler tricks which he seemed unimpressed with, so they wrapped him up in vines and tickled him with flowers until he gave in and said they were 'nice'.
After that, Deidara worked his way through the streets, seeing people he knew and introducing Sasori to them with cautious care.
He'd been tight lipped with the demons until they'd asked him to choose the winners prize in their arm-wrestling game. When Sasori picked that the winner had to ask a witch out on a date - and all hell had broken loose because the others wanted to play as well. Sasori had loved every minute - wanted to stay - but Deidara reminded him that his time was probably running out. They moved on quickly through the ranks, eventually ending up in the middle of the market after a kindly 'horned demon' had given Sasori a fake tattoo.
"Deidara," Sasori was on Deidara's shoulders, keeping an eye out for his grandmother among the crowds. Though he was half convinced that Sasori was 'scenting' him, he couldn't be sure and didn't want to alert the boy to the fact that he knew. "I'm sorry I said they were mean ones"
"Un" Deidara smiled, but doubted Sasori could see it. "Then that's payment enough, yeah"
"You sure?" He asked hesitantly.
"I'm sure" And he was also very starving. Like, contemplating the kidnapping plan again, kind of starving. Despite all of their stops, Sasori had gripped his arm whenever he'd tried to leave. If the kid didn't find his grandmother soon…
"There! I see her!" Sasori shuffled down before Deidara was ready to release him, but had no trouble dropping to the floor and tugging Deidara through the crowds to his grandmother.
They shared a quick reunion hug, and he got a brief scolding before she rubbed his hair and eventually listened to his story - about how he got lost and this really nice human had walked him back and made him see that not all the 'mean ones' were actually mean.
Deidara had left before the guilt could stab him in the chest and the boys look of betrayal could paralyse him. He'd sort of liked the kid, ignored his hunger (mostly) to keep him occupied - he didn't do that for just anyone. When Sasori was ready to introduce him, spinning on the spot to try and find where he'd 'left' his new friend, the confusion on his face was evident. Deidara watched from the shadowed rooftops, his grandmother encouraging him along despite his protesting.
"He's got to be here somewhere, I know it" He was saying, frowning, looking betrayed and looking everywhere - his ears twitching, his eyes scanning everything. Deidara's gut clenched, his head fuzzy. Need to hunt, he reminded himself.
He poised to move and Sasori's head swept up, wolf-like and alert and straight to Deidara's position. His face fell in realisation as Deidara grinned, fangs and all. He expected the red head to gape, swear, throw a fit - but instead he raised his hand and waved. Deidara had never been so relieved about anything since he'd been successfully reborn as a vampire. It wasn't going to be the last time he saw that red head, that was for sure.
End of flashback.
OOO