Author's Note: I'm giving a heads-up to all readers of my fanfics that I've started a deviantART account. The first artwork that I've uploaded refers to An Akatsuki Valentine's, but Repression artwork will surely come soon=) My deviantart account is under the same username (aminerklarinen). It'd be greatly appreciated if you can go check it out when you have time!

Hidan pushed the fabric away from him. He had dumped it unceremoniously onto his desktop after he'd spotted it. He must've come in while I was…

Hidan looked down at his own wounds. He'd applied pressure to them a while ago to slow the bleeding, but that didn't seem to help much. He shuffled around his drawers for a roll of bandages. He sometimes had one or two in stock because he'd stolen them from Kakuzu's room when the guy wasn't looking, just so he didn't have to troop over to his room to get them. Clearly, today was not one of those days.

"Kakuzu!"

Hidan poked his head into his partner's room. "Do you have bandages? I need bandages,"

Kakuzu snorted. "Clearly," he brushed some hairs off his desk and put the head in the white box next to it. He didn't question—no, he refused to question—why Hidan had suddenly had the want to bandage himself up. It was unusual because Hidan normally didn't care and paraded around with his ripped muscles on show. "But I can't help you. Brat can,"

Hidan groaned inwardly. Anyone but him. Why did this seem to happening to him so many times this week?

Fuck my life. Seriously.

Hidan leaned backwards to peer into the dining room-slash-kitchen-slash-living room. Only Itachi was sitting there, doing nothing, because that's totally fun, Hidan thought meanly. He backed up and slowly, because he didn't exactly want to see Deidara, looked into Deidara's room.

Empty.

What? Where is he?

Hidan could only think of one more place he could be. Deidara and Sasori always worked together, no matter how disagreeable they seemingly were over their divided opinion about art. They had occupied the last available room after everyone had picked a bedroom and they occupied it well. It was like a rabbit warren of things Hidan deemed useless, but clearly not to the two artists. The door was closed. Hidan closed a hand around the knob, hesitant. Then the door opened, and Hidan was propelled forward. Deidara stood there, surprised. Hidan noticed his neck was bandaged.

There was a silence as the two soaked up each other's presence.

That's right Deidara thought arrogantly. Come find me when I don't need you anymore, and when I need you, you're busy cutting yourself up.

Fuck, was all Hidan was thinking.

Deidara spoke first.

"What do you want?"

Hidan couldn't help but look behind him. Deidara seemed to have done a spot of cleaning, because the place looked as neat and tidy as ever. There were more of Sasori's puppets in here, looking more unfinished than broken.

"Um…w-well," Hidan stammered. Shit. If this was what it was like to have a crush, Hidan only wanted to ever have one. He held out both his forearms to Deidara. "I need the bandages, and Kakuzu said you have them,"

Deidara sniffed, as if to say that's it? He turned and took the roll from the table. As he placed them in Hidan's hand, Hidan's fingers closed around Deidara's.

Deidara furrowed his brow, but was slightly pleased. That's it, he thought, like he was training a dog to shake hands. A dog called Hidan.

Hidan didn't know what he just did. He couldn't let go, but he didn't want to hold on. He searched his brain for something to say.

"Can you do it for me?" he blurted stupidly.

Deidara's brow furrowed even more, making him look severe. "What?"

"Can you bandage my arms up for me?" Hidan repeated, growing more confident. Sasori had disallowed him from helping Deidara, but Deidara could help him right? After all, Hidan had been crestfallen when he saw Deidara had left his fabric there without a word and left. He wanted to make it up to himself.

Deidara sniffed. "Can't you do it yourself, hmm? Or are you too dim to even do that?"

Hidan ignored the jibe. Kakuzu and Kisame had given him worse, so it was really nothing.

"Please?" the Jashinist said. "At least once?"

Deidara smirked and pulled Hidan by their linked hands to a seat that was built into the wall. It was hard and rocky when Hidan sat down.

"Let go of my hand first," Deidara said, serious once more. Hidan reluctantly opened up his fingers, leaving Deidara's hand. A tongue whipped out from Deidara's hand and licked Hidan like a puppy. Even though he'd known Deidara for years, he still didn't know if Deidara directly controlled those mouths. Therefore, he didn't know if the lick had been intentional. If so, that was good. Or bad. Wait—that would definitely be bad. Hidan thought to himself. Deidara carefully unrolled the bandage and scanned the length of Hidan's arm, from his shoulder to his wrist. There were four wounds in all. Two stabs wounds, one that probably didn't need bandaging, and one very large gash.

"Don't you want Kakuzu to stitch you up first, un?"

"Huh? Oh, um," Hidan swallowed. "He doesn't let me ask him to do that when the wounds are self-imposed,"

At least that was true.

Deidara nodded, his lips slightly apart. He wondered if it was less time consuming if he just bandaged Hidan's whole arm, considering most of it was injured anyway, but he didn't want to waste all the bandages. Come to think of it…Hidan didn't ever use bandages.

Deidara wordlessly started from the top wound, which was just a stab. He eyed Hidan.

"Hold this down for me,"

Hidan held it down, their fingers brushing. Deidara wrapped the bandage around once, tugging on it so it was tight.

"You can let go now,"

Hidan let go.

Deidara continued bandaging. Hidan had nothing else to do other than look at the blonde, or look around the room. And to him, the room was pretty boring. So he just looked at Deidara. He didn't know he suddenly wanted to bandage himself up. He didn't know Deidara had the bandages in the first place, so clearly it wasn't an effort to be together with him. He just felt the need all of a sudden.

"How's your neck?"
Deidara tore the bandage apart with his teeth, reached behind him, found a metal pin and finished the first wound.

"It's fine. It's just itchy,"

"Oh,"

Deidara got to work on the second one; Hidan noticed that Deidara's fingertips were now wet with drying blood, but the Iwa nin didn't seem to care.

"Do you still like me, Hidan?"

"Huh?"

Hidan jerked back and Deidara looked at him furiously because the movement had loosened his work on the second wound. He pulled Hidan back towards him using the bandage, but ignored the Jashinist's question.

"Oh. Um…I…I guess?" he admitted with great difficulty.

Deidara looked annoyed all of a sudden and wrapped Hidan's arm up faster. He still felt surprised at how hurt he felt. Ever since he'd seen Hidan stab himself during that ritual earlier today, he'd felt miffed, left out. No, he berated himself. He was not developing any feelings for Hidan. Maybe he was just feeling sorry for him. Yes, that was probably it.

"Hey! That hurts you know!" Hidan withdrew his arm and rubbed it, the loose bandage dangling. Deidara made no move to continue bandaging, instead getting up and pushing Hidan in the chest.

"Do it yourself then," he snapped.

Deidara stormed out of the room and rubbed his neck for the thousandth time that day. He needed something to drink. His throat was parched.

He saw Itachi. Still just sitting there. He rolled his eyes.

"Don't you have anything else to do, ever?"

"I have to ask you something,"

"Well doesn't that sound familiar, hm?"

Itachi nodded. They'd only talked about half an hour ago.

"Sasori told me something. I think you should know what he said,"

Deidara gave a self-important swish of his blonde ponytail.

"Does he know that you're telling me?"

"He told me to ask you," Itachi replied instantly, evenly. Deidara turned around.

"Then ask me, yeah?"

"Have you been having bad dreams lately?"

Deidara eyes widened and then narrowed in a rapid succession.

"What?"

Itachi looked at him. You know what I mean.

"Yes," Deidara said bitterly. "What's it to Sasori?"

Not Sasori no danna anymore, it really does seem, Itachi thought.

"What were they about?"

Deidara bit his lip hard, drawing blood.

Itachi almost got up from the couch on seeing Deidara's stiffness. But he stopped himself for his pride.

"What were they about, Deidara?"

"I'll tell you…," Deidara replied slowly, eventually. "If you tell me what's going on,"

There it is again, Itachi thought. That something. He had never spoke with such control before.

"Okay," Itachi walked over to where the younger nin stood. He wasn't sure how he would put this.

"The dreams you've been having," he began. He looked Deidara in the eye. "They aren't dreams. They're real,"

Deidara's jaw tightened. He swallowed hard.

"What the fuck do you mean? They're real?"

Itachi knew at once they must have been really bad dreams. Or humiliating. Or both…and surprising. He wondered what they were, because clearly it was something Sasori knew about Deidara that Deidara himself didn't know.

"I mean…they're memories,"

"Memories?" Deidara interrupted before the whole word passed Itachi's lips.

"Yes,"

Itachi paused a moment, respectfully, to let Deidara collect his thoughts before Itachi asked him to withhold his end of the deal.

I was fourteen. He already did that with me when I was fourteen? Deidara's dislike for Sasori grew. It only fed his hatred and wrath that the ghost of him was still fucking floating around like he owned the place.

Itachi coughed. Deidara's face looked like a storm.

"Deidara…,"

Deidara's growled loudly and, with a dramatic sweep of the arm, he knocked the water jug off the counter. It hit the floor and shattered into a million pieces. It was the ultimate payback from the grave. A convenient reminder that Deidara still hadn't won Sasori entirely and hadn't accounted him for everything he had done.

"Sasori!" Deidara called out. "I know you're here!"

Sasori couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. His specter flitted into view.

"Do you remember now?" he asked. "Do you remember the night you really lost your virginity?"

Itachi was confused. He looked at Deidara, who practically had steam puffing from his body, he looked so angry. Wait, so...

Hidan looked up from his arm. He was almost finished his arm, but he still had his abdomen to go. What was that outside? He ripped the bandage and tied it with a messy knot.