I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. Naruto and all the characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Jin belongs to me.

Amazingly, for the first time since Jin had arrived, the Akatsuki HQ had been quiet for over n hour. As much as he hated to admit it, Deidara had to give Itachi some credit; he was certainly good with children. Somehow, the infuriating Uchiha had managed to keep Jin from wailing at the top of her tiny little lungs for more that five minutes, which Deidara had definately not expected.

'Itachi-san must be handling Jin-chan well,' Zetsu said, popping up out of the ground next to the blonde sculptor.

'Don't sneak up on people like that, hmn!' Deidara snapped.

Oh, stop whining, you baby,' Black Zetsu growled, almost as irritably as Deidara.

'You started it, you stupid-'

'Both of you should keep you're voices down or else you might wake up Jin-chan,' White Zetsu said, in a sing-song voice. 'Itachi-san's just got her to sleep.'

'He actually got her to go to sleep?' Deidara, cursing himself, felt even more impressed with the Uchiha's childcare abilities. 'This I have to see.'

Heading up the stairs to the Sharingan weilder's room, Deidara felt more and more like hitting the older Akatsuki just for being so damn infuriating. Without bothering to knock, the bomber flung open Itachi's door and marched into his room.

'I would advise you to know next time, Deidara,' Iatchi said, cooly. 'Or else you may just find yourself trapped in my Tsukuyomi.'

Completely ignoring Itachi, Deidara focused instead on the annoying little child who, sure enough, was fast asleep in Itachi's arms, curled up against the Uchiha's chest with what could only be described as a smile upong her face.

'How...?' was all Deidara could manage, pointing at the infant.

'Unlike you, Deidara, I actually know how to relax a child and not scare it,' Itachi replied.

'But she's a demon, how did you get her to sleep, hmn?' Deidara demanded in a hushed whisper for fear of waking Jin and enduring more of her screaming.

'I repeat my former statement,' Itachi shrugged. 'The only reason she cried so much with you was because you scared her.'

'How come she's not scared of you, hmn? I'd have thought you'dbe terrifying to kids.'

Itachi raised an eyebrow, eyeing Deidara as if he were some particularly annoying animal that wouldn't leave him alone. The bomber, sensing that he was standing on paper thin ice, wisely decided to keep his mouth shut for once.

'Wise move,' Itachi said.

'I hate you, hmn,' Deidara mumbled, like a child that had just been reprimanded by a parent.

'Don't you have somewhere else to be, Deidara?' Itachi asked. 'I highly doubt either of us actually want you to be here.'

Deidara got the feeling that he had just been insulted but couldn't quite work out which part had been the offending part. While he stood in the doorway trying to figure it out, Itachi rolled his eyes before returning his attention to Jin, who had started to stir.

'Oh, God, she's waking up!' Deidara looked horrified as Jin opened her eyes and gazed, blearily, around the room.

Itachi shot Deidara look that clearly said, 'Shut up.' Deidara, looking like a rabbit caught in headlights, froze as Jin's eyes fell on him. Praying that she wouldn't start crying, he shut his eyes and prepared for the screaming that was surely going to come.

Silence.

Deidara cautiously opened one eye, the one that wasn't covered by his scope, and peeked at Jin. The infant was looking at him curiously, arms stretched out towards him, the universal sign of 'Up.'

'Well?' Itachi asked the young sculptor. 'Are you going to take her or not?'

Deidara stayed exactly where he was, afraid to move in any way in case he set off more wailing. Jin opened and closed her fists, moaning ever so slightly, eyes fixed on the bomber at all times. Deidara wanted o run away and never return but he suspected that that would be the trigger for her crying. Feeling more and more like an idiot, he slowly stepped closer to Itachi, keeping eye contact with Jin at all times.

'Took you long enough,' Itachi muttered, holding out Jin for the sculptor to take.

'If she starts crying, I'm blowing this whole place up, hmn,' Deidara said, picking up the infant and holding her at arms length.

A rather irrtable grunt and more outstretched arms from Jin told him that she wasn't satisfied with their distance, looking at Itachi with a pleading look in his eye, he knew that he had to ask the Uchiha for help even though every fibre of his being hated the very thought.

'I don't know how to hold her,' he admitted.

Currently, he was holding Jin under her armpits, which was clearly uncomfortable for her. Itachi sighed and carefully manouvered Deidara's arms into the right place so that Jin was now resting against his chest, his left arm around her shoulders, his right under her legs to keep her from falling.

'There.'

Jin, now seeming quite happy, snuggled into Deidara's chest, giggling. Giggling! Deidara was sure this child must be an evil genius trying to mess with hsi head, first screaming and putting him on edge before burrying her face in his clothes and giggling, of all things.

'This kid's got it in for me, hmn,' he muttered.