Author's Note: This chapter is so uneventful…but my creative juices are on low today

The clay piece Deidara was holding dropped as his hand did an involuntary tremble at the memory. Even the mouth on his hand had stopped chewing so vigorously, although that was probably a coincidence. And was it just Deidara, or did the room just go colder?

He looked at Sasori, who hadn't noticed the supposed drop in temperature, and was in the delicate process of weaving chakra threads through the puppet. He always did this, to test if the puppet was still usable. And it apparently was: with one movement of his little finger, the puppet's head jerked up with a wooden rattle. Come on, Deidara thought nervously. It does not look like Sasori has a lover. But no matter how much Deidara tried to dissuade Hidan, the Jashinist remained a firm believer that Sasori had someone. At the end of the night, Deidara forced himself to be grateful that at least Hidan wasn't suspecting him, and was actually enlisting him for help. At least he had some leeway.

"Danna?"

"Hmmm?" Sasori flicked another finger and the puppet's mouth dropped open with a weak hiss. There was a distant smile on his face. He looked like a kid with a new toy…and actually, Deidara realized, he kind of is a kid with a toy. He often forgot the young age that Sasori was at superficially. And he'd definitely forgotten his real age. It didn't really matter, anyway.

"Ummm…," Deidara couldn't bring himself to tell Sasori. He had the uneasy feeling that Sasori would probably confront Hidan about it, making him all the more suspicious. Or maybe he won't. Maybe he would act nonchalant. Either way, Hidan would know that Deidara had spilled the beans and would cut him off, and they would never know who Itachi was seeing, which was something Deidara wanted to know too. Surely it wasn't anyone within the Akatsuki. There was no one else who seemed into that kind of thing to Deidara.

The Iwa nin felt Sasori's eyes on him and looked up. The redhead was peering at him pointedly.

"You were saying?" he asked, giving Deidara the look he always gave him when he thought he was immature, stupid or inferior.

"Um…do you think…," Deidara struggled for something—anything—to say. He wrinkled his nose. "Do you think Itachi is up to something?"

Sasori raised an eyebrow and withdrew the chakra threads. "What do you mean?"

"I mean like—," Deidara glanced furtively at the doorway. There was no one. "Do you think he's seeing someone?"

Sasori let out a disapproving snort.

"Speculating now, are we?"

Deidara brought his hand up to his mouth and bit his nails out of habit.

"If Itachi Uchiha is seeing someone, none of us would know," Sasori said, sounding decidedly wise. Deidara nodded obediently. The puppeteer brushed some wooden chips off his table with the back of his hand and then stood up. "I'm going to get a drink. I'll be back,"

Unlike someone like Kakuzu, whose eyes flicked from side to side shiftily, Sasori's eyes seldom left the hallway in front of him as he walked towards the kitchen. He entered the cavernous kitchen-dining room-living room area of the Lair and opened the refrigerator, opting for a Popsicle instead. He knew it made him look even more like a boy, but it was a guilty pleasure he couldn't really hide. He reached for the distinct blue box at the back, avoiding Kakuzu's insulated ones that usually contained heads. It was a gross thought that Sasori's Popsicles were put in the same place as Kakuzu's decapitation trophies, but Sasori always made sure his box of treats were sealed again before he put it back. He turned around and put the box on the counter, nudging the refrigerator door with his head to close it.

"So they're yours?"

Sasori extracted a lemonade flavored one and looked up at the person who had just spoken. Kakuzu was standing there, carrying another identical white box under his arm. It seemed to glow ominously. Sasori tore open the wrapper neatly and disposed of it.

"Yep,"

"Hmph. I would have thought they were your little boy's,"

Sasori smiled politely and sucked on the Popsicle as he walked around Kakuzu. He had almost reached the workshop room he and Deidara were occupying when Hidan's bulk slid out from his room and blocked most of Sasori's path, smiling.

"Good day, Sasori,"

Sasori said nothing. Hidan leaned against his door frame like he had all day and he didn't really mind spending it being a complete fucking nuisance. Sasori felt some of the Popsicle melt onto his fingers, just a sticky drop on his pointer finger.

"Get out of my way,"

"I never knew you ate Popsicles," Hidan said at the same time. He scratched his head characteristically. "I didn't even know we had Popsicles," he added lamely.

Sasori took this opportunity and nudged Hidan aside, making a slurping sound as he sucked.

And this is the reason why I got the blonde one to help Hidan thought, unbothered by Sasori's blatant and inevitable rejection of his attempt at a jovial conversation. He scratched his head again in the same spot, this time more vigorously. Wonder how a guy like him gets a girlfriend.

Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief as the steaming hot water ran over his body. The shower was loud and the torrent was strong, just the way he liked it. It helped him clear his thoughts.

Neji stood awkwardly. The rain has started to spit, and the curtains were billowing slightly in the breeze. As soon as he heard Sasuke turn the shower on, the knots in his stomach had untied themselves because he could finally hear himself think instead of hearing his heart thumping anxiously. At first, he wanted to handle the situation with nothing but resentment, but after a while it became apparent he was the only one who could stay with Sasuke without running the risk of having his throat slit while his back was turned. Not Itachi, not that Suigetsu guy, not Naruto or Sakura…but him, Neji. It was kind of a responsibility. And Neji Hyuuga accepted all responsibilities.

He rubbed his arms and tried to pull his sleeves down. The outfit he was wearing wasn't very warm, and with the rain, it was getting kind of chilly. He looked at the bed and its messy sheets. He didn't even need to sniff them to know what had happened. He opened the front door and checked out the landing. There had to be a linens closet somewhere. Probably down the hall. He found an appropriate door and slid it open. Sure enough, stacks of fluffy clean towels occupied one shelf, while another offered blankets, pillows and even coat hangers. Neji took the blanket on top and carried it under his arm back to the room. He shook it out and wrapped it around himself, settling into an armchair with as much dignity as he could muster. The shower was still going. Neji wondered if he should have gotten an extra blanket for Sasuke as well, considering the awkwardness of using the same blanket that he and Suigetsu had—

Stop thinking of being such a good Samaritan, Neji berated himself. He hurt you. Don't forget that. He should be the one making up for all he's taken.

And for once in his life, Neji felt empowered to be mean.