This chapter took so long to get out. xx; Sorry, I had started it, but then my insane friends came over, rotted my brain a little by playing Halo 3 and killing things, yelling at the TV screen, driving off ledges in Mario Kart, and other things, so by the time I got to finishing this chapter, my mind was/is…not on the story. And before you ask, yes, for a week (The other week was me being lazy -cough-). But you're probably bored with this little excuse story (Which is real, I promise), so I'll stop typing it now.

This chapter is long. The longest chapter so far. It seems a bit choppy to me, but all of the scenes have some reason for being there. It starts off the same day as before, but the last scene is the day after.

Previous:

"Konan, take care of Kidomaru," Pein ordered, thanked with a nod, "And Kisame, Jirobo. Itachi…" He waited until Itachi's dark eyes were locked with his, "…Make sure Kimimaro is taken care of. Without betraying one of our own this time."

Itachi nodded. "I understand."

Deidara's eyes widened.

Hidan blinked. "Oi, Deidara-chan? What's wrong? You seriously look like you just shit yourself."

"It…" Deidara shook his head, "it's nothing, un."

"…" Pain gazed at the newest student, eyes narrowing down a bit. "…Is there something wrong with my plan, Deidara?"

"I said it was nothing, Pain-san," Deidara growled in return.

Pein's face grew brooding. "Sasori–"

"It wasn't me, dammit!"

"See?! Now you know how I feel, redhead! Getting fucking blamed all the damn time!"

Deidara stole a glance over at Orochimaru's table. He narrowed his eyes and stood, mumbling, "I'm going outside, un."

"What?" Hidan stared at the blond. "Are you serious?" He then promptly planted his attention to the bag, "Then, I can have–"

"No." Deidara picked up the bag of candy before Hidan could grab it. He barely managed to state out after seeing Sasori's almost begging face, "It's going back into my locker.

"Brat, what the hell?" Sasori growled, lifting his line of vision to meet Deidara's eyes, which abruptly looked away.

"You're not getting it either." Deidara answered. "You'll rot all your teeth."

"Tch!" Sasori turned the opposite direction, a tiny bit of crimson on his face.

Itachi's eyes narrowed as he watched Deidara through the corners of them, seeing the redhead's reaction.

"Deidara."

The blue-eyed male turned to Pain. "What?"

Pain's mouth curved downward into a deeper frown. "…I don't want you to be worried about something. Orochimaru might seize that chance to attack you, and–"

Crunch.

"My bad."

A gray eye twitched.

"Sasori, would you not interrupt me when I'm talking?" Pain snapped as Sasori removed the now bare lollipop stick from his mouth and asked Deidara for another piece of candy.

"Shut up, Pain, it was an accident," Sasori countered, bugging Deidara again for another sweet.

"How'd you get it to be so loud?" Kakuzu questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Luck," Sasori replied as Deidara finally gave in, sighing, and pulled out another lollipop for the shorter teen.

"You did that on purpose, Sasori!"

"Did not," Sasori retorted. He turned back to Deidara and smirked, glancing back at Pain before he continued. "If you ever need any help with your problems, just tell me, alright?"

"U-Un…" Deidara blushed lightly before he turned away and made his way towards the exit.

"What was the point of that?" Pain sighed when Sasori swiveled back around. "I was in the process of telling him the exact same thing."

"I'm not going to have him talk to an asstard like you if he has any problems," Sasori growled, earning himself a semi-dark look from Itachi. "He needs to talk with someone more responsible."

"What…?" Pain stared.

"Let it go, Pain," Konan reached over and placed her hand on his arm. "Just let it go."

Sasori's gaze washed over Orochimaru's table, watching the members' every move. Everything seemed normal…well, as normal as Orochimaru's table could be. Tayuya was harping on everyone about something, Sakon and Ukon were laughing like the idiots they were, Kabuto was sighing at the others' immaturity in front of his Orochimaru-sama…and Kimimaro–

Suddenly, he froze, eyes widening. He shot up, ignoring Itachi's question of what was wrong, and started off after Deidara. He wouldn't…!

"Sasori!"

He stopped, whirling around. "What now, Pain?!"

"Where are you going?"

"After Deidara, of course!"

"Why?"

With this, Sasori faltered. "J…Just because!"

"Is there something–?"

"Of course there isn't!"

"…He seems so upset about something," Konan commented softly. "I wonder what it is…he never gets this emotional over anything, or at least as far as I've seen…"

Itachi froze. "I'll come with–"

"No, you'll stay here, Itachi!" Sasori interrupted sharply.

"…!" The Uchiha was stunned.

Sasori spun back around and started sprinting off, ignoring Pain as he called the ash-rose-eyed student's name again.

"…What is up with that boy?" Pain breathed out, rubbing his forehead. "Ever since I've known him, he's always been so difficult…"

"It's alright, Pain…Sasori will be Sasori." Konan placed her hand on the leader's, lacing their fingers together. "There's nothing you can do."

"I know, but…"

Hidan whistled.

Both Konan and Pain froze. The girl clumsily withdrew her arm, blushing furiously. "A-Anyways, I think you should just go along with him. Let him be…himself."

"What that kid deserves is a slap across the face…" Pain argued, moving his hand down to cover his flush. "And I'll personally do it…"

"Pain." Itachi's eyes glowed a faint red.

"Brilliant," the orange-haired male ground out. "Now I have both of them hating me…"

––––––»»

Deidara ran around another corner, his feet pounding into the grass and dirt. Sweat trailed down his cheek, eyes wide and mind blank. Rounding yet another corner, he halted, the person of his target coming into view. "Kimimaro!"

Said teen looked over, prying his vision from the sky, jade eyes blinking in confusion. "Deidara-kun?"

"…Itachi-san…Akatsuki…" The blond panted, pressing his hand to the wall to support himself. "…You…!"

Jyuugo moved his hand to on top of Kimimaro's, holding it tightly.

"Deidara-kun, I don't really…" Kimimaro shifted his sitting position, setting his propped up leg down.

"Just…Just be careful…" Deidara managed out, seeing some of the puzzlement in the green irises fade away. "Pain…he told Itachi-san to 'take care of you' and…"

Kimimaro's eyes narrowed down slightly. "…Are you sure you should be telling me this?"

The newest student flinched. "Well–" His sentence was left unfinished as he was suddenly whipped back around the corner.

Orange eyes stared. "Kimimaro…?"

"It's fine, Jyuugo." Kimimaro turned his attention back to the sky. "Deidara-kun will be alright…I believe…"

"Ow!" Deidara winced as his side was smashed against the wall.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, brat?" Sasori hissed, gripping his fingers into the front of the taller teen's shirt. The lollipop dropped to the ground.

"I'm warning Kimimaro–"

"Did you forget he's with Orochimaru?"

"No–"

"Then why?"

"I–"

"He's Itachi's opponent!"

"I know–!"

"You want him to defeat Itachi?"

"I–"

"Do you?"

"No–"

"Why the hell would you attempt something like this?"

"He's my friend!" Deidara snarled, seeing the silver eyes widen. "I care for him, and you're going to accept that!"

Sasori loosened his hold, his voice shaky as he murmured, "I…you're trying my trust, Deidara…"

"Sasori-san…" Deidara felt something within him squirm uncomfortably. "…Calm down, un…"

Ash-rose eyes flared up once again. "Calm down–?!"

A finger quickly pressed against Sasori's lips. "Un…calm down…"

"…" Sasori's teeth ground together.

"I…" Deidara took back his arm, looking away. "I'm not going to let Itachi-san hurt him."

"I'm not going to let him hurt my boyfriend."

Boyfriend. Meaning Itachi. Deidara felt like crumbling at that statement. "…He saved me."

This made the other stumble with his words. "I-I'm fully aware of that, and I'm grateful that he helped…but…but that doesn't change the fact that he's with Orochimaru…!"

"Why should that matter? He's a good friend! He doesn't betray me, and he's even afraid of getting caught like me!"

"I don't care! He's the enemy! He hurt Itachi!"

"Sasori-san, quiet your voice…! He'll hear–"

"I don't give a damn if he hears or not! I won't forgive anyone who hurts Itachi!"

"…I won't forgive you if you hurt him."

Sasori's voice lowered, his eyes narrowing. "…If…If you care for him so much…then just go join Orochimaru…Akatsuki has no use for someone who can't decide whose side he's on."

Deidara stared as Sasori moved his gaze to him. "S-Sasori-san…"

"Deidara…is he…more important than us…?"

"…I…"

"…Than me?"

"O-Of course not…!" Deidara's face flushed a faint red. "But…Kimimaro is still my friend…" He turned around. "I-I need to talk with him–"

"No!"

A pair of arms wrapped themselves around Deidara's waist, pulling him back.

"…! S-Sasori-san!"

"I'm not letting you go to Orochimaru!"

"But you just said–!"

"Screw what I just said! I won't let you!"

"I wasn't even planning on going to Orochimaru! I just–!"

"I'm not letting you leave, dammit!"

"K-Kimimaro!" Deidara managed out as he poked his head around the corner. "I-I'll have to…talk with you…later!"

Kimimaro nodded slowly, watching as Deidara was pulled back around the corner.

"Is he going to be alright?" Jyuugo asked as more arguing was heard.

"If it's Akasuna back there with him, he'll be fine," Kimimaro reassured, moving closer to the orange-haired boy.

"What are you doing?" Deidara choked out, blushing furiously as he felt Sasori's whole body pressed against his in an attempt to hold him back.

"Not letting you go!" Sasori replied, staggering backwards.

"Let me talk to him–!"

"No!"

"Now, Sasori-san!"

"No!"

"You're acting like a child!"

"I'm not letting you!"

"Sasori–!"

"No!"

"Stop–!"

"Don't leave me!"

Deidara halted his struggles. How did he…? Agh, not now! Dammit, Sasori-san…!

"Don't go…"

"Shit…" Deidara made move forward, biting his bottom lip.

"No!"

"Kimimaro!" Deidara peeked around the corner again. "C-Could you ignore anything…weird that you hear?"

"'Weird?'" Kimimaro echoed. "What do you…?" A sudden whine rang out, and he paused. "…Was that Akasuna?"

"N-No!" Deidara hastily answered.

"…" Kimimaro was silent. "…Alright…"

"Thanks!" Deidara blurted before he disappeared again.

"Don't leave me alone…!" Sasori stared up as Deidara sat down in front of him.

"It's okay," Deidara murmured, brushing the shorter student's red bangs, "I'm not going anywhere."

Sasori met Deidara's eyes almost timidly before averting his gaze.

"Sasori-san," Deidara coaxed softly, bringing Sasori into a gentle embrace when the other crawled into his arms. "Don't worry, I'm staying right here…"

"Promise?" Sasori mumbled, nestling himself deeper into Deidara's hold.

"Promise."

––––––»

"Sorry I made you wait so long." Deidara walked over to Kimimaro, sitting down next to him.

"That was Akasuna with you before, wasn't it?" Kimimaro asked, settled comfortably against Jyuugo's side, the taller boy's arm draped around him protectively. "How'd you get him to leave?"

"I told him I was just going to talk," Deidara answered, propping up his legs. "He was only worried."

"Is that right…"

"He's understanding, once you get to know him. He might come off stubborn, but he really only cares."

"Mm…so what do you want to talk about?"

"Un…" Deidara folded his arms on top of his knees before hiding the bottom half of his face behind them. "…Why do you two love each other?"

Jyuugo blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Like…is there a reason? Do you have to have a reason to love someone?"

"A reason?"

"Un…" Deidara's eyes closed slightly. "I just wanted to know…I don't want to offend you, or anything."

"Well…Kimimaro really…was the only one that understood me. He helped me a lot and cared for me…" Jyuugo looked away. "If you want a reason, I guess it's because he cares for me, as plain as that sounds…"

Care… Deidara hesitated to answer to think a few things over. Sasori cared for him, right? And he cared for Sasori…

"…What if you don't have a reason for loving someone?" he asked after a bit. "You don't know why you love this person, but you know you do?"

"…You love someone but you don't know why?" Kimimaro raised an eyebrow. "Do you really love them then?"

"Kimimaro!" Jyuugo looked at the white-haired male before returning his attention to the newest student. "Deidara…if you don't know why you love this person…I…guess that's alright…"

"Does there have to be a reason?" Deidara tilted his head, remembering what Kimimaro said.

"Why are you asking us?"

"Well…"

"Why not that Yamanaka girl? I heard she was good with relationship problems and the like."

"I know, but…"

Kimimaro sighed. "If you're having problems with your feelings, Deidara-kun, you should confront this person and ask them."

With that, Deidara winced. "I…can't…"

Jyuugo opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it.

"…Ask Yamanaka," Kimimaro responded for Jyuugo. "She'd be better at this subject than us."

"U-Un…" The blond seemed to sink back behind his guard. Sasori-san…

––––––»

"So how was your talk?" Sasori asked bitterly after Deidara emerged from English.

"It was fine."

"Did you get any needed information?"

"…Kinda…"

"Really." Sasori sighed then turned his gaze to the other. "What about your test?"

Deidara made a face. "I failed, obviously."

"Let me see."

Hesitantly, Deidara complied, holding out his paper, which Sasori promptly took.

"…Are you serious?" he asked after a small while.

"What?" Deidara snapped, blushing slightly.

Sasori bit his bottom lip and covered his mouth with his hand. "You thought 'Don't run with scissors' meant 'I use shampoo?'"

"I, well–! Sh-Shut up!"

"Did you even study?"

"Yes I studied!"

Sasori tried to hold back his snickers. "Alright…"

"I guessed on most of them, okay?"

"Sure, sure…"

"Fine, all of them!"

"I can see."

Deidara bristled. Just as he was about to retort, he saw someone over Sasori's shoulder. Instantly, he froze.

The silver-eyed boy noticed, the smug expression slipping off his face. He tilted his head. "What's wrong?"

"Scorpling! What a coincidence to see you here!"

He stiffened, and spun around. "Don't call me that!"

Sai smiled. "Call you what, Scorpling?"

"You…!" Sasori's fists clenched, eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Sasori-san, what…?"

"He calls me that just because I'm shorter than him," Sasori growled. "Son of a…"

Sai's eyes opened. "New Guy? You know Scorpling?"

"Sasori-san…" Deidara put a hand on Sasori's shoulder as he felt him start to act up again.

"How the hell do you not have one of his Goddamn nicknames?" Sasori seethed.

"…W-Well…I think Scorpling is a cute nickname…"

"…!" Sasori gaped as Deidara looked away. "It-It is not cute! It's offensive!"

"R-Right, sorry…" Deidara apologized.

"Come on, let's go, brat," Sasori ground out, and began striding away.

"Un…!" Deidara flushed and hastily made his way after the redhead.

"Where are you going, Scorpling?"

"…Why you…!"

"Sasori-san…!" Deidara gently urged Sasori forward when he halted suddenly in anger.

Sasori exhaled sharply before complying, though his stride had turned into light stomping.

"Sasori–"

"I'm going to get a drink. You get to art without me."

"O-Okay…"

"Sai!" Ino called over, frowning slightly. "That's enough already!"

The dark-haired boy turned, a small smile lighting up his lips. "Oh, Miss Beautiful."

"Can't you stop harassing people for once?" Ino sighed as she sauntered over.

"Where's the ugly hag?" Sai asked, looking around. "Isn't she usually with you?"

"She's not with me, obviously," Ino answered, placing her hands on her hips. "All she does is hit you, anyways, so it's better that she's not here."

"Really?" Sai cocked his head. "Do you care for me, Miss Beautiful?"

"Wh–Of course not!" Ino fumed, reddening immediately. "I just don't think Sakura should hit everyone who offends her!"

"Ugly sure does seem to do that a lot, doesn't she?"

"C…Can't you just come up with nicknames that don't offend people?"

"I don't see what's so wrong. I'm only telling people the truth."

This only made Ino blush deeper. "S-Sometimes, the truth isn't the best to tell someone!"

"Is that so?" Sai blinked in confusion. "Principal Tsunade told me to tell people exactly how I felt."

Calm down, just calm down… Ino took a deep breath. "Why don't you just call people by their names? It'd be much easier."

"But the books said that it'd be easier to make friends if you give them a proper nickname."

"Yes, a nickname. Not something that would, y'know, offend someone. That won't help you make friends at all."

"New Guy and Scorpling call each other 'shit' and 'asswipe.' Should I be imitating them and calling the people I want as my friends names like that?"

"No!" Ino shook her head. "Those will make someone hate you. I don't know how those two find compliment in those names, but…"

A frown curved Sai's lips. "Nicknames are so hard…"

"Not exactly…"

"Would you help me then?"

"Wha…?" Ino's eyes widened.

"You know about nicknames, right?"

"Y-Yes, but…"

"You can help me then?"

"A-Alright…"

––––––»

"Eternal."

"Fleeting."

"Eternal."

"Fleeting."

"It's eternal, brat!"

"Fleeting, asswipe!"

"Artless idiot!"

And with that, Deidara pounced.

Asuma sighed. Another day, another fight about whether art was fleeting or eternal. Ignoring the jeers Tayuya was making about "those dumbfucks, arguing about this shitty art again!", Asuma pushed back his chair and stood up, sauntering over to where Sasori and Deidara sat.

"You two," he stared down at the boys, sighing once more, "Do this every single day. Only this time, you're not trying to beat each other senseless." Looking upon Sasori staring up at him from the ground and Deidara perched happily on the redhead's waist with his hands on Sasori's shoulders, the teacher shook his head. "On some days, you two go as far as ripping up the other's drawing and starting a wrestling match. Others, like today, you practically act like puppies. Can either of you explain this to me?"

"Un…" Deidara blinked, pausing to think.

"…Well, in any case…pick yourselves up and get back into your seats." Asuma ran his hand through his hair, seeing that he wasn't going to receive an answer.

"Yes, Sensei."

Sasori stared as Deidara watched Asuma walk back to his desk. "Are you just going to sit on me all day, or are you actually going to get off like you were told?"

"Sh-Shut it!" Deidara snapped as Sasori smirked. He immediately stood up and walked over to his fallen chair, setting it back upright while muttering, "Impatient bastard…"

Watercoloring was the task of the day. They had to draw a flower and watercolor it. Deidara had questioned Sasori at the start exactly why it had to be a flower, to which he was responded with a, "Because a flower's easier to paint than some animal?"

The squeak on the chair next to him informed Deidara of Sasori's presence, and he turned a bit more away. He concentrated on painting his flower, making the red color of the inside part blend with the orange of the outside.

And that's when he paused to think about something. Was Tayuya actually drawing a flower? Knowing her, she'd probably be drawing some gory fight scene, or something violent like that. Heh, maybe she was drawing a gory flower. Or some mutant flower eating something. …Wait, why was he thinking of Tayuya anyways?

Snapping out of his wonders, he refocused his eyes to see a hand painting on his picture. A hand painting with green paint.

"…! Sasori-san! What are you–?"

"You used red. Green is opposite of red on the color wheel, therefore, using it with red makes the shading and picture look better," Sasori murmured in response, lifting his brush to show Deidara.

Deidara looked in awe. Sasori was right. It did look better.

"Weren't you taught that before?" Sasori asked, tilting his head. "We learned it quite a while ago…"

"Un…but I never thought it'd look good, so I never tried it…"

"Heh. Idiot."

The blue-eyed of the two huffed. He didn't dare look at Sasori's picture; it was bound to be some amazing, life-like picture, what with what Deidara had seen of what Sasori could do in a short amount of time.

"…I like yours. The red and orange do clash a little, though…I would've used a darker orange."

"I like it the way it is," Deidara argued defiantly. "I don't need your help to make my art better than yours!"

"'Better?'" Sasori repeated the word in mock disgust. "Brat, the day your art is better than mine, Hidan will stop assaulting woodland creatures."

"What was that?" Deidara turned, glaring into the other boy's eyes.

"You heard me."

"…" Deidara bristled as Sasori gave him an amused look.

"Come on, shit." Sasori put his paintbrush on the table and slid his hand onto the newest student's shoulder. "Don't be that way–"

"…I'll prove it to you…someday, I'll show you that my art is greatest…"

Sasori's hand drew back, his eyes widening.

"I'll prove to you," Deidara continued, never breaking eye contact with those silver eyes, "that fine art is the beauty of a fleeting moment."

A few moments went by, with the two just staring. Sasori was the one to break the silence between them, countering, "…Fine art is eternal…eternal beauty, left forever…"

"It's fleeting, un."

"Eternal."

"Fleeting."

"Eternal."

"Fleeting!"

"Eternal!"

"Hey!"

Both boys looked to the front of the room to where Asuma was sitting at his desk.

"Stop it now," he ordered.

"Yes, Sensei…"

––––––»

"I still can't believe you failed that test."

"Shut up, un. Like I said, I guessed on all of them."

"But it's still so stupid."

"Alright! Enough! I'm horrible at English, we've been over that countless times now!"

"Heh." Sasori continued to complete his math homework.

Deidara scanned over what had been done, then stated out, "Number three is wrong."

Sasori paused. "What?"

"If two of the angles are 79.5º and 53º, how can the third be 59º?"

"…Then…the third one is…" Sasori narrowed his eyes in thought, almost glaring at the problem.

"The angles have to add up to 180º, un."

"…47.5º."

"Right."

As Sasori erased his previous answer, Deidara moved his chair a bit closer to him. I…I have to…now…

"…Sasori-san…"

"Mm?"

"…I…" Deidara placed his hand on top of Sasori's, causing the redhead to stop rewriting his answer and look up at Deidara with a flush staining his cheeks. "…Ever since Sakura told me what she did to you…I've had this queasy feeling…I've put it off so no one would notice…"

"Wh…" Sasori swallowed as Deidara's hand tightened its hold on his. "What is this, all of a sudden…?"

"I've wanted to tell you, but I've never had the nerve to…"

"Wh-What?"

"I'm sorry she said all those things to you, about your parents committing suicide…and that you got sick…you didn't deserve all that, and it wasn't true…none of it…"

"…You've said sorry to me countless times before…why was this one so hard?"

"I…it's a touchy subject for you…I didn't want you…"

Sasori looked away.

"I-I'm here…if you need me. I always will be, un."

He turned back, seeing Deidara's crimson face and averted eyes. "M-Mm…"

"If…If Itachi-san…doesn't meet your needs…I…I'll try…"

"…!" Sasori felt his eyes widen. "Are…you implying that Itachi doesn't take care of me correctly?"

"Well…" Deidara couldn't stop his voice from gaining a little disgust to it. "…He never seems to be…he barely noticed you, until he found out that I…"

"Itachi noticed me fine! He was just respecting the fact that I hate attention in public!"

Deidara faced the other instantly, shocked at the outburst. "All he does is hold you and press your mouths together, from what I've seen! That's it! Half-assed hugs aren't what you need, Sasori-san!"

"I don't need anything! Itachi does a fine job caring for me!" Sasori snapped in return. "And his hugs are not half-assed!"

"You need attention! You need love, which Itachi–!"

"Are you trying to tell me that Itachi doesn't love me?!"

"No, not–!"

"That was exactly what you said, you little shit! You dare question the affection Itachi has for me?!"

"N-No–!"

"You think you can do better?!"

"I–"

"Show me then! Prove it!"

The newest student stared, wide-eyed. Sasori was standing now, fists clenched and a venomous expression taking over his features. "B-But you're…! I can't–!"

"Tch." Silver eyes narrowed further. "I knew it. Jealous brat…" He promptly grabbed his paper and spun on his heel, stalking towards the nearest exit.

"Sasori-san–!"

"Don't follow me."

"But–!"

"I don't want you to talk to me again."

"But Sasori-san, that's–"

"I don't really care."

"You need me!"

Sasori stopped just as he was opening the door. He turned around slowly and muttered, "I never needed you."

Deidara could only watch as the shorter boy left him alone. Sasori hadn't been looking at Deidara when he said that last sentence. He had turned back around, but he didn't look at Deidara; he had looked over to the side.

But right then, that wasn't what was on Deidara's mind. That was probably the least important thing to him at the moment, because the fact that Sasori now hated him was the most important thing of all to him.

He leaned back in his chair, biting his bottom lip. Would Sasori ever forgive him? Doubtful. He had done a great job. Right, tell the guy you like that the person he likes doesn't like him back enough. That would surely make him like you better.

Idiot… Deidara thought bitterly. Stupid…idiot…

––––––»

"Oh, you're home?" Chiyo looked up from her book as Sasori walked into the house. "How was your 'meeting' with your friends?"

"It was fine, Grandma," Sasori replied, forcing a smile. In reality, it had not been fine. Deidara had been chattering with Kisame nonstop after the meeting; not that Sasori cared. It had just been a…shock.

"That's good," Chiyo said, going back to her book. "Did you have a nice time with Itachi?"

"Yes, of course."

"Is he going to come over again sometime soon?"

"I don't know."

"Well, you know he's always welcome over here, Sasori."

"I know."

Finally finished with his talk with his grandmother, Sasori walked towards his room, and with a sigh, sat down on his bed. Suddenly, something caught his eye. He looked over at his bedside table, and saw the ceramic golden eagle he had received. Feeling his like his stomach just received a heavy hit, he reached over and picked the statue up, admiring its fine details.

Deidara had been talking with Kisame about school, and Mitarashi-sensei, and other things. He was even telling Kisame things he'd never told Sasori. Like, Sasori didn't know that Deidara preferred the cold instead of the heat. Sasori didn't know that Deidara enjoyed the rain, or that Deidara hated singing with a passion. Sasori had clung onto Itachi a bit more after hearing a few more unknown tidbits of information, but the Uchiha failed to notice.

The blond had ignored him for the whole day, not even stealing one small glance. There had been one time that Sasori heard Deidara talking about him, and it was another piece of information he didn't know. One that made his stomach hurt even more.

"I gave Sasori-san this golden eagle statue," Deidara had said, his usual smile dropping off his lips, "and I put on the note that Mom won it or something and gave it to me to give to him, un."

"That's not what happened?" Kisame had asked.

Deidara had shaken his head. "I made it and painted it. Of course, I made it a few years ago, but Mom didn't have a golden eagle, and I felt bad that I had made Sasori-san stuck to a bed. I lied on the note because he probably wouldn't have accepted it if he had known I made it."

"How long did it take you to make?"

"I dunno. Days, I think?"

"Sasori-san loves eagles. He was probably overjoyed to receive it, either way."

Deidara had chuckled and shaken his head again. "Un, he's probably thrown it away by now."

Sasori stared at the statue, feeling the knot in his stomach tighten. Deidara had made this. It had taken him a long time, and probably was one of his best works, yet he had given it away. There was no doubt that Deidara had made this, either: it was definitely his style of painting. Messy, but messy in the right way. The way that made it look…beautiful.

Setting the eagle back on the table, Sasori laid down on his side, swallowing. Deidara was probably the best friend he had. Sure, it had been rude to suggest that Itachi wasn't good enough for Sasori, but…Deidara didn't mean to imply that on purpose. He had only wanted to comfort Sasori, to help him. That was all Deidara ever wanted. And Sasori had done horrible things to Deidara as well, but every time, Deidara forgave him. Even when he got yelled at, or insulted or ignored, threatened.

"Grandma!"

"What is it, Sasori?" Chiyo asked when she arrived.

"I'm going to take a nap…" Sasori answered, already bundling himself up. "Is that alright?"

"Of course." The old woman nodded, then caught sight of the eagle. "Do you want me to put that eagle with your collection?"

The redhead shook his head. "No, I…I want it here…"

"Alright. See you when you wake up."

"Could you shut off the lights?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, Grandma."

"Okay then." Chiyo took her leave, closing the door behind her and flipping off the lights.

Sasori reached up and drew the drapes before snuggling back into his bed. But instead of falling asleep, he lay there with his eyes open, staring at the eagle. Everything was all screwed up. It was going to be hell to get it all back to normal again, if that was even possible.

"I'll find out some way to straighten this all out in school," he murmured, his eyes half-lidded. "I'll make up for what I did to you yesterday…Deidara…"

Sai is taller than Sasori. And Deidara, by a little. At least, in Accel 2 he is. (lol videogame logic)
The next chapter should not take this long to get up. If it does, then, just…threaten me or something. 'Cause I've already got it started and have no excuse (Unless my insane friends come over again).
Chance by Vic Mignogna is a really good song. :D

〜Arrina