AN:

JK: Well...my life currently sucks monkey balls, so this chappie will have a big shock at the end. BTW, I'm a little...horny...thanks to Eye-Freak (Good story, man!), so...if things sound a little...mleh...don't blame me.

EDIT:

I forgot about the previous kiss (Ch. 31), so some text has been edited. Thank you for your cooperation.

To Eye-Freak - Well, thank you very much! That's very sweet!

Current chapter contains: References, mild Ita/Dei.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

--

"Mmmmmm..." Itachi stretched in his bed, then snuggled with Deidara again. (Thank you, Kisame...!) he grinned.

"Mornin'..." Deidara whispered sleepily.

"Hey..." Itachi grinned.

"Thanks for keeping me company last night."

"No prob, Dei!"

"Hey, uhm...do you have any lotion?"

"Lotion?" Itachi sat up, wincing slightly. "Yea...I think so. I'll check." He got up and walked into the bathroom, swiftly locating the bottle of lotion. "Found it!" he called, walking back in.

"Could you put it on, un?"

"Sure..." Itachi blushed. He had done it before, but this time...

"Careful, careful!" Deidara whimpered.

"I am, I am..." the black-haired shinobi snapped out of his sick fantasy and quickly applied the lotion, taking a little longer then needed. "There, that should help."

"Need me to do you?" the blonde asked, oblivious to the fact that Itachi's face just turned as red as the Sharingan.

"Uhm...y-y-yea...th...that w-w-would be f-f-fine..."

"Cold?" Deidara guided his friend to lay on the bed. "That's what you get for sleeping in your boxers, un!"

"Um...huh..." Itachi blushed bright red as Deidara lightly rubbed in the lotion, enjoying the artist's delicate fingers slide over his still warm bottom.

"All done, un!" Deidara chirped.

"Th...thanks..."

"No problem, un!" the blonde paused for a moment. "Well...Ita, what to do today? I mean, it's a little too soon to get back into trouble..."

"Wh...why don't we..." Itachi searched for the right thing to say. "Go...ice-skating?" (What...the...hell...am I smoking...?)

"Ice-staking, un? Why not!"

(Hunh?) "What? I didn't think-"

"Well, it could be fun, and it should be freezing enough for us to heal some."

"So...that's what we're doing?"

"Yup!"

"Okay..."

-At An Ice-Skating Rink in a Nearby Village-

"Not that crowded today..." Itachi observed.

"Yea...makes it better for us!"

"Mmm...hm..."

"You sure you're okay? You're flushing, un."

"F...fine..."

"Okay..."

The two went to get their rentals and were soon out on the rink. Deidara seemed perfectly at home, but Itachi...

"Deeeeeei!! I'm gonna faaaaall!!"

"Oh, stop whining, un. I've got you." Deidara grinned at him. Itachi had his arms wrapped around the other male - who at the moment, looked like more of a girl - and was shaking.

"But, Deeeii..." he whined, oblivious to the face that his pale-blue sweater and hat made him look like a girl just as much as Deidara's red made him look, "If I fall, I may land on my ass..."

"So? All that ice may be good for something!"

Itachi pouted.

"Not funny!" he fumed. "Whoa-" Suddenly, he slipped and crashed on top of Deidara. Their eyes flew open in surprise when they realized on awkward detail -

Their lips had met.

Itachi hadn't done either intentionally, but he felt a blush creep up his face when Deidara actually returned the kiss. They pulled apart after two minutes.

"Sorry..." Itachi attemted to stand, only to fall again.

"Here, un..." Deidara stood and helped Itachi up, placing a hand around his waist. "Y...You, uh...skate like this..." Itachi noted that Deidara's face was just as red as his normally was. Did that mean...?

"Th...thanks..." Itachi muttered back, allowing Deidara to guide him. He looked around to see if anyone noticed, and - to his relief - no one had.

-On the Way Home-

"See, un? I told you we'd have fun!" Deidara said, trying not to sound awkward. Itachi only nodded, still thinking about that kiss. It had felt so right...just like before...but...even though Deidara had returned it, there was now an awkward air around them.

(Should I have just broken away? Does he now think differently 'cuz I kissed him again? Should we have even gone skating? Maybe...this was all a mistake...) Just as Itachi was about to cry, they were home.

"We're back, un!"

"Oh, welcome back you two." Kisame greeted from his chair in the living room.

"Hey..." Itachi waved, his mind still foggy.

Over the next few days, he and Deidara didn't see that much of each other, especially since Pein had sent Sasori and Deidara to Sunagokure in order to capture the Kazekage for his Shukaku. Itachi began to feel lonely, even with Kisame to talk to. He knew that things would never be the same.

Shortly after they had completed the extraction, Itachi was wandering around the woods when he got a text message reading 'Come back to base, urgent.' He hurried back to the base to find Deidara sobbing on the couch, Kisame trying to comfort him - and surprisingly, failing - and everyone else waiting.

"W...what happened...?" Itachi stuttered. Leader stepped forward.

"Itachi...Sasori is dead."

--

AN:

JK: Wow. My fingers hurt. I hope that wasn't too random, but I had to push the story forward somehow. Until next chappie, JK is gone.