Hidan carried the empty white container, moaning due to the heat of the sun as it beat down on his Akatsuki coat.

"Can we please take these fucking things off? It's only nine in the morning and it's already…," he stopped and adjusted the collar of his coat. Kakuzu kept walking, ignoring Hidan's childishness.

"Hello? Can we not be a slave for fashion?"

Hidan hurried to catch up with Kakuzu. The chunky necklace that indicated Hidan's belief in Jashinsim was sticking to his skin, the adhesive of which was his sweat. Gross.

Hidan was repositioning it when he bumped into Kakuzu, who had suddenly stopped.

"Oi, what the fu—,"

Kakuzu silenced Hidan with a glare and then motioned with his head to tell Hidan where to look.

"Huh? Who's that?"

Suigetsu turned his head at the voices. Two men in Akatsuki coats just stood there, looking at him. One had his face and hair hidden by a mask. Suigetsu could only effectively see the top half of his face, namely, his eyes. He had brown skin and alien eyes: greenish pupils on red. The other looked less intelligent, was carrying a white box with a red cross on the front, and had something metallic dangling from his neck.

Suigetsu cocked his head. Akatsuki. He looked in the direction he himself had come from. Surely, Itachi knew that he now had to hide lest he blow the lid on he and Suigetsu's intimate relationship, because they had no other reason to be in touch. He rested his weight on Zanbatou, knowing the duo won't attack him. Not as long as Itachi was around, that is.

"Morning," Suigetsu chirped. The guy who wasn't in the mask was clearly sweating his ass off. Unlike Itachi, his Akatsuki coat was practically open to his waist. Suigetsu could see the film of sweat on top of his chest.

Hot.

And while Hidan was wondering when Kakuzu was going to stop standing there motionlessly like a pole, Kakuzu was wondering how much this guy was worth.

Probably not much, considering I do not recognize him.

Then, surprise of surprises, Itachi appeared. His face registered no shock at seeing Hidan and Kakuzu. He barely looked at Suigetsu, and for a moment Suigetsu felt jealous that these guys lived, ate, and worked with Itachi.

Lucky bastards.

"Itachi?" Kakuzu said, his voice mellow. "Do you know this…?"

Itachi looked at Hidan who was looking at him in a weird way. It made Itachi slightly uncomfortable.

"I do," he answered hesitantly. He glanced at Suigetsu. "I followed him here,"

"I see," Kakuzu said.

"Why?" Hidan asked at the same time. Now this was interesting. Hidan felt a bout of boyish excitement at the prospect of dishing Itachi's dirt to Deidara when he returned to the Lair with a new head…and a new lead.

Itachi raised an eyebrow at Hidan's sudden, fervent interest. But then again, Hidan was always retarded, and got all up everyone's asses with his annoying questions. Itachi chose to relent.

"You ask him,"

Hidan and Kakuzu both turned to Suigetsu in unison.

Suigetsu threw up his hands in mock defeat. "He thought I'd lead him to Sasuke. But I didn't, and I'm not," he turned around, wrenched Zanbatou out from the ground and pointed it between Kakuzu and Hidan. "Itachi wouldn't listen to me, but do you dudes think that Kisame would like to see me?"

Kakuzu rolled his eyes at this completely random encounter. All he wanted right now was to decapitate that Yaushito guy and get his money. Hidan furrowed his brow.

"Why would Kisame wanna see you?" he asked stupidly.

Suigetsu smirked and swing his sword about, but didn't answer. Kakuzu snorted. Itachi said and did nothing.

Hidan coughed awkwardly.

"Alright, alright! I know I'm the dumbshit here. Let's go, Kakuzu,"

"About time," Kakuzu growled. He eyed Suigetsu suspiciously as he passed by him, and Hidan just unbuttoned his Akatsuki coat and threw it onto the ground.

"I'll pick it up later," he explained as they walked. Then he sighed.

"Two days, Kakuzu! Two days!"

"Until what?" Kakuzu grumbled.

"Valentine's, duh," as he said this, Hidan looked back over his shoulder. Itachi was looking at the blue-haired guy with a look Hidan had never seen in his eyes before.

Score.

Sasori shifted in his bed, feeling something hard and wooden. He opened his eyes slowly. The puppet he'd been cleaning up yesterday night lay limply in his arms.

The redhead smiled a little. Not at the puppet, but at Deidara's thoughtfulness. He sat up and stretched, propping his legs up on the edge of the table nearby to stretch his limbs out. He went and opened the door, almost colliding with Zetsu.

"Oh," Zetsu turned. "Hello, Sasori,"

"Yeah, hey, Sasori," black Zetsu hissed.

Sasori nodded respectfully at them and walked out to the kitchen. Hidan and Kakuzu were nowhere to be seen, but what was obviously Hidan's plate was still on the dining table, the sunlight glinting off the grease. Deidara was there, though, nibbling daintily on a lettuce leaf. He looked decidedly nervous on seeing Sasori.

"H-hey," Deidara stood up. "Do you want some of this salad?"

Sasori looked down at the large glass salad bowl. There was still at least one more serving left in there. Next to it was a squeeze-bottle of French salad dressing, Deidara's favourite. Sasori personally preferred mayonnaise.

"Alright,"
"Kakuzu gave it to me," Deidara explained. "He told me he wanted me to have it," Deidara paused and smiled. "Hidan looked like he wanted to kill him, because Kakuzu never lets Hidan have any"

"Haha," was all Sasori could offer. Hearing the other men's names come from Deidara's mouth with such a jovial air made Sasori kind of jealous. He spooned some salad into his bowl and squirted some mayonnaise onto it.

"I thought Hidan didn't like vegetables, though," Deidara went on. He had a fork, but he was using his hands to eat. He picked up a sliced piece of egg and put it in his mouth. Sasori ignored the comment. Since when was Deidara so into Hidan?

"Hmmm," Deidara sifted through his salad. Then he looked over at Sasori's bowl. "Do you have any bacon in that?"

Sasori smiled. He stuck a few pieces of bacon onto the tines of his fork and held it out to Deidara. The blonde nin looked around before leaning forward. He took the fork in his mouth and chewed on the bacon. "Thanks," he said, his mouth full. Sasori's face had grown hot. He slowly moved his fork back to him. Even though he had kissed Deidara many times, the thought that this was an indirect kiss still flashed through his mind. He hesitated to spear something on his fork and put it in his mouth. Deidara, meanwhile, seemed completely unaware that Sasori had suddenly been hit by the proposition that he was just maybe…actually in love with Deidara.

No. It's not possible. Sasori never harbored any feelings, not for anyone, ever since that damned childhood of his. Maybe I'm just misinterpreting things here.

"Danna? Hello? Danna?"

Sasori caught Deidara's wrist as the blonde nin waved his hand in front of him.

"Watch it, brat," he said lightheartedly. "What is it?"

Deidara smiled, his mouth full, making his cheeks appear chubbier and cuter.

"Nothing. You just seem dazed,"

Sasori smiled and looked at his bowl of salad. Maybe it was because Valentine's Day lurking ahead, or maybe because...well, just because, but Sasori suddenly felt like his heart had been pierced by Cupid's arrow.