FOLLOW YOUR ARROW

.

"Do you ever remember the most random shit at the most random times?"

Hidan was again sprawled over the couch at his house, his head dangling off the edge of the cushion, feet bobbing in the air, propped over the back of the couch at the diagonal corner. Itachi stopped in his current act of washing the dishes, eyeing his roommate between the floating cabinets. He had one hand up in the air, fingers splayed, as if he were reaching for something invisible just above him.

"Sometimes. Why?"

Hidan's hand flopped backward, narrowly missing hitting his knuckles on the coffee table. "It pisses me off sometimes. It's like, I have all these random unimportant memories floating round in my fucking head, I can't find the ones I fucking want. Like a fucked up filing cabinet."

Itachi paused again, one brow raising in suspicion. Hidan had been acting strange since last weekend, awefully speculative and calm. The Uchiha caught him smiling softly sometimes for absoloutly no reason, sometimes he would burst out laughing at something that wasn't even particularly funny, and the biggest phenomenon was the fact that he hadn't teased Itachi about he and Kisame's sex life even once since he'd come back home Sunday morning.

Or perhaps that wasn't the most noticable change, though it certianly came second. Now that he actually stopped to consider it, Hidan had not complained about his boss either, not even once, not even when he'd called Itachi out of the blue earlier today to ask him if he could bring him another shirt because he'd spilled cleaner all over the one he was wearing. Not about work or about whatever kind of complicated relationship the two were developing. And it was that exact lack of complaining that made him assume that things were going well between them, and made him smile softly to himself as he scrubbed some old baked cheese off the dish he made lasagna in two days ago.

"What memories are you randomly remembering?" He finally questioned, though it was drowned out by Hidan's loud and slightly agitated voice when the albino began speaking at the same time.

"Do you think it's possible to live too much in the present?" He lifted his hand up again when he spoke, this time his palm facing down toward his face, wriggling his fingers ever-so-slightly. He either didn't hear Itachi's question or was choosing to ignore it.

The slightly younger man blinked slowly, witholding a sigh. The man may be more thoughtful than normal, but he was twice as distracted and distant. Hidan had always had a sort of tunnel vision, only one thought could occupy his head at a time, but honestly the Uchiha had never seen him quite in this state before. Whatever it was that was bogging down his thoughts, it was incredibley important.

"Of course it is. Just like being too caught up in the past or plans for the future." He replied, not persueing their earlier subject. To his surprise and pleasure though, the subject was brought back around when Hidan replied again.

"Maybe that's my problem... Maybe that's why my memory sucks... I'm too caught up in what's happening right at this exact moment, I can't pay attention to anthing else. Or maybe it's the fucking opposite, I'm always focusing on what's going to happen next, waiting for it, or fearing it, I can't pay attention to what's happening at the moment. That one makes more sense... Would that count as living in the future or present?"

"It depends on how you perceive it, Hidan." Itachi replied calmly, while his brain sizzled and sparked as he tried to put these cryptic pieces of some puzzle together.

"It is huh? It's always about perception. But still, that doesn't make my fucking memory any better... I keep trying to remember... Uh.. what I did last weekend. All I can think of was how awesome that lasagna tasted, and that it reminds me of my first day at Highschool here in town. That's what we had, you remember?"

"Of course I remember, you stood up on the table, proclaimed the food to be inedible, and started a food fight."

"Got two days of in-school-suspension, then when I finally got out three stupid fuckers ganged up on me and gave me a swirly..."

"And you came to Graphic design sopping wet. Mrs. Blehm tried to tell you to go to the office and call your parents until you loudly informed everyone that you didn't have parents. Then she made you paint with watercolors until you dried so you wouldn't harm the computers. You made a very loud entrance... It's difficult to forget your first day."

"See, that's what I'm talking about though..." Hidan said sadly, finally letting his body flop sideways and pushing himself into a normal sitting position. "Why can I remember something that happened a million fucking years ago with God-even-knows how much drug and alchohol abuse occuring in between with fucking precise clarity, but I only have some sort of foggy fucking recollection of something that happened only 5 fucking days ago?"

Itachi finally set the dishes down, curiosity beginning to eat almost painfully at him. He wiped his hands on a handtowel before slipping quickly into the livingroom while still trying to appear neutral. "What is it that you're trying to hard to remember with precise clarity, Hidan?"

"Nothing." Came the far too quick reply.

Itachi's face twisted in suspicion. "I thought you said nothing of interest happened last weekend. That you went to the park and played guitar for a bit and then it started to rain so you came home."

"Yes. That.. is what happened."

Itachi sighed, crossing his arms and cocking his hip. "Hidan I don't know if you've ever realized this but you're the worst liar I've ever met."

Hidan suddenly sprung from the couch, fists clenched. "Fuck you! I'm a badass liar! You still haven't figured out that it was me who accidentally dumped out all your expensive shampoo in the shower a month ago."

"First of all, I knew it was you, no one else has stepped foot in this apartment in almost four months. I just didn't have the energy to force you to tell me the truth at the moment. Second of all, you just told me it was you."

"Well... you... What about your prissy fucking bathrobe that inexplicabley turned pink!?"

"Again, I knew it was you. I didn't harass you for it because I chose to focus on the fact that you were attempting to do me a favor by washing my laundry for me." He said, pinching the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath, continueing on before Hidan launched himself into a fit of misplaced anger at finding out he'd been 'deceived' in his acts of deception. "What exactly did you do this weekend? You've been acting strange, your mind is obviously somewhere else, I'm only curious. It's not as if I'm going to berate you for whatever it was, unless you defaced public property again..."

Hidan rolled his eyes and groaned dramatically, turning away. "I'm not always in fucking trouble, mommy. Nothing happened. Nothing that's any of your business. I'm not going to tell you, so fuck off."

So something did happen. Itachi raised a brow again, the pieces taking a step closer together in his head. Hidan was embarrassed. Something embarrassing had happened to him last weekend... Something he didn't want to share even with Itachi.

The memory of Kakuzu appearing mysteriously at the coffee shop suddenly invaded his head, making him blink in confusion for a moment. 'Do you ever remember the most random shit at the most random times?' He did, right now, in fact, though it wasn't all that random. It was something he'd found incredibley strange that also occurred last weekend. At the time he'd thought it strange that Dr. Hoku would happen to show up at the new coffee house in town, especially directly after someone had had the gall to throw their piping-hot coffee all over Kisame.

The whole week after the party, Hidan had been obsessivley listening to old 80's music, claiming that he was trying to 'decode that stubborn old fuck' whenever Itachi asked him. Then Kakuzu mentioned that Hidan 'Seemed to think he had certian liberties now that he didn't have before'. Immediatly the image of Kakuzu bent of the counter with Hidan beneath him flashed through his mind, and it had taken every ounce of strength he had not to burst out laughing. Then they'd gone on to hold a conversation that centered around Hidan, and then at the end of it the doctor had actually asked what his employee was doing out of the blue.

"-Rather admit to every stupid little prank and apologize for every rude thing I'd ever said to you than ever tell you. So just get it out of your fucking head, 'cuz I'm not going to tell you, 'Tachi." Hidan was saying when Itachi blinked himself back to reality and smiled.

"Something happened with Dr. Hoku, didn't it?" He said, smile only growing further when Hidan froze like a deer in headlights and sputtered out a weak 'n-no!' Of course that was it, why else would he seem so irritabley content with everything? Why else would he smile or laugh for no reason? The Uchiha almost wanted to slap himself, what with how obvious it should have been from the get-go.

"Did I tell you I ran into him at the coffee shop on Saturday? He was incredibley curious about you, I thought it was kind of strange at the time, but I never expected anything to come of it, you two are so damn stubborn."

"Nothing happened Uchiha! Fuck off!" Hidan shouted, storming past him and rushing to his room. Itachi chuckled and followed him, pouncing on him in a Hidan-like fashion after bursting through his door half a step behind him, not even careing how uncharactaristic it was in his excitement. Something had happened, something incredibley significant, and he had to find out what it was. He had to find out if he could finally wash his hands of this mess known as the 'KakuHida' project, Named teasingly at first by Kisame, until the name had stuck. Technically speaking, he had pretty much left things where they were after the party, thinking that was the farthest the two would go for quite awhile. But something had happened that Saturday, and Itachi was not a stupid man, he could make plenty of assumptions, but he wanted to know for sure.

Besides, it was time to turn the tables on the relentless teasing over Itachi's sex life for once.

"Get the fuck off me fucker!" Hidan shouted, trying in vain to throw his best friend off him.

"Tell me what happened!"

"Nothing happened!"

"If nothing happened then why are you so upset that you can't remember it?"

"When I say nothing happened I don't mean 'nothing happened' you fucking idiot. I mean I'm not going to fucking tell you."

"What did you and Doctor Hoku do!?"

"Why the fuck are you so fucking curious!?"

"Because you won't tell me."

"Oh my GOD!" He shouted, giving one final heave that successfully detached the smaller man from his back and threw him to the mattress. "We went out for coffee! For fuck's sake, mind your own goddamn business!"

"You're lying again." Itachi said, scrambling to sit in a more dignified position and smoothing the rumples from his clothes, still fighting giddy laughter.

"How the fuck do you figure that?"

"Did you not hear me earlier? I ran into him at the new coffee shop in town. He complained about the prices and said, I quote; 'I came for coffee, but it seems all I paid for was a cup of shit.' He'd never spend more money on another cup, I don't even know him that well and I'm sure of that much."

Hidan rolled his eyes. "You still can't cuss, for one. And we went to his goddamn house..."

Itachi's eyes fell wide. His suspicions were ringing more and more true. "He invited you to his house...?"

Hidan's face tinted, and he averted his eyes. "Nothing happened. Get out of my room."

"I don't understand why you keep lying even though You and I both know that I know what you did last weekend."

"If you know then quit fucking interrogating me!"

"Not until you confirm my theory. And you know I want details."

"I'M NOT GIVING YOU FUCKING DETAILS YOU FUCKING PERVE!"

"Oh my God Hida, you DID have sex with him!"

"NOO!"

"Oh my God that's ... scandelous, Hida."

"If you're gonna be gay about it I swear I'll move out."

"Did you have to get him drunk?"

"What? No! I'm not some predatory fucking rapist you godamn woman!"

"What!? I had to get you both drunk out of your minds just to make you kiss and you're telling me you had sex while completley sober?"

Hidan grabbed both sides of his head, fists clenching at his silver, choppy hair still gelled back from work. He said nothing for a minute, only snarled at himself, and when his hands fell away his hair stuck out in a way that made Itachi fight to contain his laughter. "I..Can't really remember. Just as something that happened, I.. fuck. I don't know..."

-o-

"What's the opposite of a cradle robber?"

Kakuzu hesitated in the act of turning around with a fresh new mug of piping-hot coffee. He'd forgotten Hidan was here for a second, damn, he was so tired now. His body felt... rediculously light, clean, like some sort of toxin he'd been holding in for as long as he could remember was gone now. Damn it, damn all of it. Why was he still here?

"A grave-robber? Hah, I'm a grave-robber!"

He started back into the livingroom again, Hidan was flopped across the couch, his head dangling off the edge of the cushion, feet bobbing in the air, propped over the back of the couch at the diagonal hands rested on his chest, eyes closed with a soft smile stretching his lips.

"Are you suggesting that I'm a cradle robber?" He finally replied, coming to stand to the side, taking a sip of coffee and pretending to be interested in the weather channel still flickering out over in the corner of the room. He couldn't bring himself to look at the limp body that looked as if it had been thrown onto his couch. Or maybe it was more the fact that he feared he wouldn't be able to look away once he did.

"If the fucking shoe fits... I'm surprised you know the term though, old man."

Kakuzu only gave a drawn-out grunt in return. It wasn't as if it weren't true, Hidan was... quite literally half his age. God, what was he doing? What had he already done? Did that really just happen? Was this really happening now? And furthermore, what came next? How would Hidan act, especially at work? How was this going to be kept a secret. Kakuzu did not like lying, it offered nothing but stress, stress of constantly lingering on the possible outcome of getting caught. Like clinging to the edge of a building so he wouldn't fall, if he brushed it off for even one second, he would hit the ground and it was over...

"It's actually kind of fucking hilarious. I used to try and convince myself that your age made you gross... Like 'Ugh, he's so ooold.' But now... it's more like 'Mmm, an older man.' Does that make me classy? Am I at least a classy grave-robber?"

Kakuzu finally couldn't resist sending him an incredulous stare. What the bloody hell was he rambleing about? Is that supposed to be some kind of compliment? Or did what little bit of brains he had get ppounded into a pile of goo and he simply couldn't contain his idiotic thoughts in his head any longer? "There is nothing classy about you, Hidan."

"Shit. What good is being a whore if you can't be fucking classy about it?"

"What the hell are you on about, you bloody idiot?"

Hidan flailed suddenly, somehow managing to twist his body like a damned cat and plant his feet on the floor, leaning over his knees and crossing his arms over his face. "Fuuuck, I don't knoooowww..." He moaned loudly, then took in and let out a heavy breath, mumbling much quieter. "Stupid brain's being stupid..."

Kakuzu stared for a moment, a sinking feeling in his gut as he debated on whether to do something or not. And if he were to do something, what the hell it would be that he did? A whore? Where the hell was that coming from? "If you're about to tell me that you're secretly a male prostitute I should inform you that I'm allowed to kill you when you're in my house. I only have to make it look like a breaking and entering."

Hidan looked up, his expression mirroring what the elder man's had been only a moment ago. "Are you calling me a fucking whore?"

Kakuzu blinked. Dear fucking Benjamin, what the hell was going on here?

Hidan's face relaxed into a smile and he chuckled. "I'm just kidding... don't listen to me for like.. an hour, okay? I'm not going to make any sense."

"Why is that?"

"Eh, I think I'm having some stupid mental disorder attack or something. I can't think straight, I'm resisting the urge to scream and break things, look." He held out his hands, which were shaking in a way that suddenly reminded Kakuzu of Hidan's history of drug use. He blinked the thought away and sighed heavily. Great, of course he was going to have one of these stupid attacks, as if what had just happened wasn't humiliating enough.

What the hell was he supposed to do? Normally he'd just be an ass, wait for it to pass and then berate the little idiot for throwing his hissy fit. That's what he'd done last time this had happened, on Hidan's very first day at the clinic. This was different though, he wasn't shouting and swearing and going off on some tangent. He was just sitting there, breathing steady, deep breaths in and out, stareing at the table, wringing his hands. He couldn't just sit there and wait for it to pass, maybe he should insult him? Piss him off? Give him something to actually freak out about...

"If you break my things, I will break your fingers."

"No shit, you materialistic bastard."

He ground his teeth, forcing his jaw apart to take another drink of coffee before rolling his eyes and setting the cup onto the table, then seating himself next to the troubled man. What would that Uchiha boy do in this situation? Well... that was obvious. He's swoon and coddle him like the child he was behaving like. Kakuzu wouldn't do that, but maybe he could do something. Because Hidan didn't like being alone, even though the doctor was still in the room with him, he couldn't just leave him alone... If that even made sense... God what the hell was he being reduced to?!

"What is it that you're trying to think 'straight' about?" He forced out.

"I don't know..." Hidan replied immediatly.

"How do you not know what you're thinking about?"

"I don't know! That's the whole point of being fucked up in the head. You can't control your thoughts!"

"Are you even trying!?"

"OF course I'm fucking trying you son of a bitch! God just shut up you're making it worse!"

"Watch your tone boy, I'm only trying to help."

"Well you're doing a fucking shit job. And don't fucking call me 'boy'."

"I'd be happy to kick you out of my home if you're going to continue being an insufferable moron."

"GOOD! Fuck! What the fuck was I thinking!? I fucking hate you! Of course this would never fucking work!" Hidan shot to his feet, voice rising as he waved his hands around in his ranting.

Anger rushed into Kakuzu, and he pushed to his feet as well. You hate me? You insolent little shit. How could he say that, acting the way he did, practically forcing himself on him. Don't you turn this around on me, Hidan San. You're the one who started all this. You hate me? You have no right to hate me, this is your fault, all of it, stupid broken little moron. Act like a fucking adult and maybe this would work-

He stopped himself there, just as he was about to let the little idiot have it. 'Of course this would never fucking work!'

He'd come rushing into the bathroom after himwhen he'd gotten up and left without a word. Kakuzu had seen the minor panic of his face for half a second as he rushed past the bathroom, then backtracked. Without hesitation he'd wrapped his arms around the elder man, pushing into him, squeezing, burying his face in his back despite the dampness of his skin from the perspiration. 'What are you doing?' Kakuzu had asked. 'I don't know.' Hidan had replied.

That's what he was afraid of, that's what was bringing on this fit. He was thinking the same thing Kakuzu was, but in different context. Instead of What happens now? it was as if they'd reached the end of the road. The deed had been done, there was no more What now? Only parting. That was what the whore comment had been about. Hidan thought the doctor was going to dump him and wash his hands of it...

Suddenly he felt this wierd sensation in his chest, a sudden pang of... what is that? Is that remorse? Is that guilt?

That's what he'd wanted to do. To just do it, get it over with, and end this charade. Put this troublesome situation behind him. That's all he'd wanted. To just end it, stop existing in this uncomfortable plane, stop fighting this confusing internal war. He'd done it, they'd both done it, and yet it was still there. The problem was not going away. But that was the difference between them, Hidan didn't want it to go away. Hidan had nothing else to keep him stable. Kakuzu had nothing but stability, except for Hidan.

The fleeting thought that this relationship was somewhat parasitic flitted through his head before he suddenly realized Hidan was right in front of him, his forehead resting on the taller man's chest. He tipped his head to look down at him, Hidan was absoloutly still, leaning slightly against him.

"I did it again..." He mumbled. "I need rehab. I can't get rid of this addiction. Fucking self-descructive tendancies. That's what 'Tachi would call them..."

he stared down at him, confused, but not confused.

"I always do this that I know is going to fucking hurt in the end. I know it's going to, I know it's bad for me. But I do it anyway..."

That's right, after the anger and frustration passes, the self-loathing and depression sets in. And Hidan gives up. Just like that very first day. He gives up and walks away.

Another jolt of pain, right there in his chest. What was this one? Fear? Is that what fear is?

He didn't realize he was doing it until it was done, his hand moved up to rest on the back of Hidan's head, smoothing through his hair. It was so soft when it wasn't done up with gel...

This isn't right. It should be gone, but it wasn't. It was stronger, still there, even moreso than before. He hadn't let Hidan leave that day, and that was when he hadn't even liked him. He couldn't stand him then, and he couldn't let him leave. How could he do it now? How could that brat even think...

"Are you good for me Kakuzu?"

No. I'm not. And you're not good for me either.

"That's good. And bad. But mostly good. So you can come with me?"

Yes. Yes I can. And I will. We can go together. As long as you get away from that cliff...

.

He woke up with a start, his body jolting like some natural reflex, as if he was about to fall and his subconcious yanked him away from whatever edge he was about to topple over. He stared at the ceiling for a few moments, just breathing, blinking again and again. Then he sat up.

A quick glance at the clock had him stepping through the lingering sleep and back into reality. Then he was glaring at it. Ten minutes until three a.m. Ten minutes before the alarm would go off. Ten minutes until he began his day, same as always. Get up, shower, get dressed, go to work. Meet patients, make money, deal with that annoying employee of his.

Hidan...

It took a few seconds before he realized he was smiling. Why was he smiling? What the hell? He didn't smile, he was Kakuzu Hoku. Resident asshole of this shit little town. He kept smirking though, he couldn't force it away until he made it to the bathroom and glared himself into submission in the mirror. That bloody little pest. Throwing that stupid fit and bouncing right back. He'd been damn close to tearing the little pests head off several times this week. That idiot refused to behave himself, no matter how Kakuzu punished him for his insolence. And the stunt he'd pulled yesterday... no. He didn't even want to think about it. It was far too early to be so angry...

It was Friday again. Another weekend was glaring him in the face, offering its usual challenge. How will you get through this one? And as usual, he ignored it. He had a full day of work ahead of him before he had to decide that. The real challenge wouldn't come until tomorrow when he once again found himself bored out of his mind with nothing to do. It was different this time though, it wasn't so much a question of what he would do, but how he would do it, how it would happen.

Because something always happened. Something stupid, but something.

Thus was the burdon of developing affections for someone pronounced halfway insane. Unpredictability. And he was slightly bothered by how un-bothered he was by that. Hidan's rediculous behavior had always pissed him off, and it still did, but now it was a different kind of anger. Mainly because every damn time he got angry enough to physically harm the little idiot, he ended up wanting to do other things to him. Damn that little masochist, annoying little gnat. Today would be different, surely, after the fight they'd had yesterday.

.

Hidan was already at the clinic before he arrived, he knew before he even pulled up, as the lights to the lobby shone out through the windows when he drove past, casting dull yellow rectangles on the sidewalk in front of them.

He'd already made coffee too, he noted as he shut the door behind him and was assaulted by the smell of the brewing beverage. With a secret deep inhale of it, he made his way to his office, not noticing the person sitting in his chair behind his desk until he'd set the briefcase down on top of it.

"'Morning Boss." Hidan said, giving him that damn mischevious smile.

Kakuzu stared blankley for a moment before whooshing out a sigh. Well, so much for today being different. Apparently he hadn't pounded the message into that empty little head well enough yesterday. Four a.m. and he was already up to something... "What are you doing?"

-o-

It was obvious what had changed between them in the following week. Yet at the same time he still couldn't quite place his finger on it. Kakuzu was a man set in his ways, Hidan knew that. He was a stubborn old bastard, and nothing irritated him more than disrupting those set ways. And that's why he continuosly found himself unable to resist doing just that.

"Just having some coffee." He replied, grinning. His boss had been showing more emotion ever since that embarrassing little fling they'd had on Saturday. Granted, it was always irritation and anger, but it pleased the the albino to no end to see anything other than stoic indifference on the old misers face, knowing full well that he was the only one who could bring it out in him.

He just couldn't leave him alone, in all honesty. Whether they were fighting or argueing or fucking, any interaction with the stubborn miser always lifted his spirits, even when he was so frustrated and angry that he wanted to punch a damn hole in the wall. For whatever reason, he'd thought for sure Kakuzu would be done with him after that weekend. It was an amazing experience, fuck, he got excited just thinking about it, even though he couldn't remember certian portions of it with much clarity. But what had settled with him the most was what happened after. Kakuzu hadn't made him leave, he'd stood there and let him have his little fit, just like that very first day when he'd startedon this job. And afterwards, he'd kept him there. The old man didn't want him to leave, he wasn't rejecting him. He let him stay there, leaning on him, knowing full well what kind of mess he was getting himself into.

It wasn't just some fling. It wasn't just some crush. It was something that was going to last. It was something real. Something tangible. Kakuzu wasn't going to leave him, he was going to be his God, his solace, his reason to want to be alive. Not a drug that slowly killed him.

"Why are you in my office?" Kakuzu said, still standing in the same place. "I believe I made it clear on your first day that you weren't to be in here unless supervised."

He only smiled back at the weary look he was receiving. Doctor Hoku, Kuzu. His Kuzu."I know. I'm such a rebellious little shit, huh?"

"Get out of my chair."

He just wanted him, even though he already had him. All the time, in a deeper way that just sex. To be near him, hear his voice, even if it was yelling. To feel his touch, even if it was rough. "Just makes you want to wring my neck huh?"

"Hidan. Move."

What else could he do but provoke the man? He'd already accepted that he basically had to do all the work in this twisted little relationship. Kakuzu was too refined to ever make any moves. He could probably tone it down from time to time, yes, but that was boring. And if there was anything Kakuzu didn't need to be, it was boring, he was more than enough of that already. And as he'd come to find out, the old bastard had a hard time controlling himself when Hidan forced himself on him. "Or throw me across your desk and have your way with me."

Kakuzu spun with a growl and left the room. Hidan grinned to himself and took another sip of the cheap coffee in a cheap styrofoam cup.

.

Monday had been relitively normal, he had actually been little nervous, returning to work to face the man he'd yet again embarrassed himself in front of. He'd tried to mind his manners, honestly. But it was irritating, going on like nothing had changed. Maybe this little dance they'd had before had been acceptable, before all this had happened, but it wasn't anymore. And more than that, he didn't want to accept it. He never wanted to go through that bullshit again, purposely acting like an idiot just for the sake of avoiding a topic that was uncomfortable for the old man. Not after that weekend, not after Kakuzu had been the one to make the move, not after what they'd done.

The fact of the matter was, they wanted each other. Just because Kakuzu thought it was inapproprite didn't change that. There would be no more pretending, at least not on Hidan's part, at least not when they were alone. To just act like nothing was going on was a lie, to not make his desires clear was a lie. Hidan hated lying, and Kakuzu hated being lied to. So this was obviously the only course of action, whether that codger liked it or not.

Which is why he'd given up his resolve to be 'good' when he returned on Tuesday. That was why, during their lunch break, he'd come into Kakuzu's office, scooped up all his paperwork and set it to the side, ignoring the man's angry protests and insults, and climbed across his desk and kissed the shit out of him. The Doctor had barely resisted.

On Wednesday he'd followed the man secretly as he went to the bathroom, standing just outside the door with his body tensed until it opened, then he'd lunged at the man like a jungle cat attacking it's prey. He'd been heavily insulted and berated after Kakuzu finally came to his senses and managed to shove him off nearly half an hour later.

Thursday had been a little bit overboard, he thought now in retrospect. He was cleaning the examination room after a client left, another one wasn't scheduled for nearly an hour.

Returning the sanitizing wipes under the sink, his eyes landed on a bottle of Window cleaner. Kakuzu used that on metallic surfaces like the sink or the tray he kept his doctoring instruments on so there wouldn't be 'unsightly smears'. It was blue, and smelled like pure cat piss. Hidan hated using it because the stench always lingered on his hands even after washing them repeatedly. Once he'd gotten some of it on a white button-down he was wearing and had had a blue stain on his shirt for the rest of the day on his chest, as if he were lactating blue cat piss.

After staring at it for a few heartbeats, he snatched it up, then grabbed a paper-towel from the dispenser. He stepped over the the examination table, unscrewed the top, and poured the entire thing out making sure to splash a good portion of it onto himself, then dropped the body while still holding the spray-trigger in his hands, letting out a loud swear.

On cue, Kakuzu came to invesitage, his nose wrinkling in disgust as the smell of ammonia tainted the air. He stared emotionlessly at the mess for a moment before meeting Hidan's eyes, set in a fake glare.

"The goddamn top came off."

Kakuzu didn't reply immediatly, his eyes flicked to the nozzle in Hidan's hand, then to the table, and then to the floor where the liquid had poured down onto. Then he reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes and sighing. "Clean it up."

Hidan grinned and saluted him. And then quickly stripped off his shirt and tossed it down into the puddle.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Kakuzu barked.

"Cleaning it up. The shirt is already fucked, and I'm not gonna fucking sit there and smell like piss for the rest of the day."

"You really have no intelligence at all do you?" Kakuzu snarled, stomping over to the paper towel dispenser and pulling a key from his pocket. After unlocking it and pulling out the whole roll and shoving it into Hidan's hands, he hesitated. Hidan didn't even try to conceal his grin as those christmas-colored eyesflicked over his bare upper-body. "If you think you're going to finish the day at all without a shirt, you're an idiot."

"What? Just give me your freeking fancy lab coat! It'll be fine."

"No. You're going home. I've had enough of your incompetence."

"You can't make me leave."

"I most certianly can. I may not be able to fire you but I can certianly expel you from the building on the grounds of indecency."

"You'll have to pick me up and fucking throw me out then."

"That can be arranged. Clean up this damned mess. And get rid of that stench. Then go home."

"No."

"Don't be a damned child. I won't let my clients see you like that."

"So gimme your coat!" Hidan said, stepping over to him and attempting to yank it from the man's shoulders. His wrist was seized and squeezed painfully half a second before he was shoved against the wall.

"If this is another one of your seduction attempts, I'm going to kill you." Kakuzu snarled, crushing the pale man against the wall with his own body. Hidan brought his other hand up to attempt to shove him away, and it was also grabbed by his boss and slammed into the drywall along with his other. "I've put up with it until now, but I won't be tolerating this kind of idiocy. You are threatening the reputation of my business, and I won't have it."

"Why the fuck would I spill that nasty shit all over myself on purpose? You the fucking one who won't just give me your damn coat." Hidan half-shouted back. It took all of his power to not laugh victoriously. He couldn't do that yet, because he hadn't won.

"You think I'd be so stupid as to let my clients see you wearing my clothes? You're dumber than you look. Get out of my building." He said back, growling so low that it was almost a hum. He didn't move though, only pressed harder into Hidan, squeezing the air from his lungs and keeping him from provoking the man any further.

In the end, Kakuzu hadn't given in. They'd stayed there like that for a minute or two, Hidan glaring defiantly up at him. Kakuzu liked it when he fought back, at least he did normally. He probably did go a little bit overboard, as he admitted to himself later, after the elder man had stepped back, pulled Hidan slightly off the wall and shoved him back into it before storming away. He hadn't ended up having to leave, as they still had quite awhile before another client came, giving him the time to call Itachi and have him bring another shirt.

He kind of fucked himself over, as he had to walk around the rest of the day with his skin all itchy where the chemicals had soaked through his shirt. And there was the smell too. Fuck, stupid impulsive brain...

But, it was a learning experience. On his mental checklist he had this far learned; Crawling across Kakuzu's desk worked. Ambushing him in the bathroom worked. Pouring window cleaner all over himself, NO.

The chat with Itachi had unfortunatley helped too. He hadn't wanted to tell him, and he still hadn't really. But with the little bit of information he gave the Uchiha, the man had somewhat set him straight. Like he always did. Of course he hadn't told him about his stupid little 'seduction attempts' throughout the week, or onestly really anything at all. But his roommate had assured him that he didn't need to worry about being able to remember all the details, because after all, they were finally together. And there was still time...

So, today would be different. At least he knew where the boundary was for his admittedly childish games with the old man. And besides, it was Friday. Which meant tomorrow was Saturday. Which meant Kakuzu wasn't working, and neither was Hidan. Which meant...

"Sooo..." He drawled after strolling into the man's office and plopping down in the chair across from him. It was just after two in the afternoon, the next patient wasn't scheduled until 3:30, and he'd been patient long enough.

Kakuzu only glanced up at him for a moment before returning to whatever paperwork he was busying himself with. "No."

Hidan puased in confusion for a moment. "What?"

"The answer to whatever you're about to ask is no."

"But I was going to ask what you're doing tomorrow."

"No."

"That doesn't make any fucking sense!"

Kakuzu suddenly slapped his pen down on the desk and massaged his eyes. "After putting up with your nonsense all week, the last thing I want to do on my day off is look at your rediculous face and hear your insufferable voice. The answer is no."

"But-"

"No."

Hidan's face twisted in anger and he stomped his feet onto the floor. "I'm not your goddamn kid asking for permission to go to the fucking movies here you wrinkley sack of shit!"

"You know I hate repeating myself, Hidan. If you wish to be treated like an adult then you should act like one."

Hidan huffed and flopped back in the chair, crossing his arms. Kakuzu stared at him for a second in mild disbelief before rolling his eyes and picking up his pen again.

"Well maybe I'll just show up at your house without permission then. I know where you live now."

"Doesn't mean I'll answer the door."

"Tch. Why the fuck are you always resisting?"

"Because you're always pushing."

"Well maybe if you'd get the goddamn stick out of your ass-" He was cut off by the sound of the bell going off at the front door. His eyes met Kakuzu's unreadable gaze for a second before he glanced up at the clock in confusion. The next patient couldn't be here already. With a groan, he pushed himself out of the chair, whirling to point and glare at the older man, who continued regardingly him expressionlessly. "This isn't over, fucker." He swore, before turning to half-jog up to the lobby.

He just went straight into the waiting room instead of detouring through the examination room, words of greeting already on his lips before he stopped short, a brow raising in interest.

"Oh hey Kid. I forgot you work here..." His neighbor said after turning calmly from the desk where Hidan should have been sitting. The first thought that went through the albino's mind was that the man looked like absolute shit. He was rediculously pale, with giant bags under his eyes, shoulders slouched in a posture that radiated exhaustion.

"Yeah... What's up?" He said, hoping Kakuzu wasn't listening to that unprofessional greeting. The second thing that went through his mind was the question of why he was here. From what Kakuzu had mentioned awhile ago, his girlfriend dropped Dr. Hoku because of some stupid disagreement they'd had about her pregnancy or some stupid shit. But directly following that was the repeat of the fact that he looked like shit, which was probably why he was here.

"Well I just wanted to see if Dr. Hoku accepts walk-ins, and if not I guess I should probably make an appointment."

"Uh.." It was strange not seeing the guy being as full of energy as he usually was. Well, not really energy, he was never a hyper sort of man, but he always had some sort of emotion in his voice. Right now he sounded like he was about to keel over and die. "Well no, he usually doesn't. But uh.. let me go talk to him. He might have time."

"Thanks kid, that'd be great. Kurenai would break my balls if she found out I came here."

Hidan's face twisted. "What the fuck is her problem anyway? Kaku-er.. Dr. Hoku doesn't like her either. He's never done shit to her."

Asuma gave him an amused look before chuckling lightly. "She's just... well. I don't really know anymore kid, to be honest. But as for the doctor, she said she refused to come here anymore because he hired you."

"What?"

"Oh yeah, Good God she went on about it for days. She ran into your boss back after that big snowstorm, musta been visiting or something. From her side of the story she makes it sound like he verbally attacked her for no reason. I'm sure she brought it on herself though. She said she didn't like the fact that you were working here, and yaddayadda, he told her to mind her own business." He said, stretching his back and then reaching up to rub his right eye. "I don't have anything against him though, and I'd rather just get a checkup here than have to drive half an hour for a ten minute checkup."

Hidan blinked in stunned silence. Thoughts racing too fast to comprehend. He shook his head and held out his hand. "Wait a fucking second here. She stopped coming here because of me?"

Asuma nodded. "More or less. Dr. Hoku came to your defense, I guess she thought that was unacceptable. Can you.. uh.." He said, gesturing with a nod toward the hall, swaying in place.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry..." He mumbled before turning and walking on autopilot back to Kakuzu's office.

After the snowstorm... That was the night he'd finally realized he liked the miser. Kakuzu must have ran into her when he was leaving... And.. he'd defended him? Fuck, he always knew the bitch was a bitch, but honestly, he'd never fucking done anything to her to make her hate him so much! He knew she was the one always complaining to the landlord, trying to get him and Itachi kicked out. Shit, so maybe he was a little loud sometimes, maybe he 'disturbed the peace' a little too much, but really? Hidan was no woman, nor a mother, but she was willing to fucking stop coming to Kakuzu, the most capable doctor ever in the history of history when she was seriously about ready to pop the little demon spawn out all because he'd hired Hidan? That seemed a little fucking rediculous to him.

Was he really that bad of a fucking person?

And what's more, Kakuzu had defended him. Even then, when they'd hated each other's guts. He's actually lost a client over it... he's lost money because of Hidan, and he'd never said a word. Surely it was just out of desperation. He knew he couldn't fire him at that time, admitting that he'd accidentally hired a psycho would do more harm than pretending like he knew what he was doing. Surely it hadn't been for Hidan's sake.

But then why hadn't he ever mentioned it before?

Fuck, if he was going to lose clients just because Hidan worked here... He'd always known Kakuzu had a lot to lose. But for some reason it hadn't really sunk in until now. If people hated him so much that they'd rather inconvenience themselves by driving to a different town than to associate with him, what would they do if they found out about...

"Hey..." He said, unable to keep the solemn tone out of his voice as he leaned into the doorway of the office. Kakuzu looked up to him in an almost annoyed fashion. "Uhh. Mister... uh... Shit. I can't rememer his last name... My neighbor Asuma, he wants to know if you had time to give him a walk-in. We don't have another appointment scheduled till 3:30..."

Kakuzu raised a brow, as if silently saying 'You know I don't do walk-in's, Hidan.'

"He... really looks like crap. And his old lady is a bitch, she didn't want him to come here..." He added as explanation.

"Asuma Sarutobi?" Kakuzu questioned, looking genuinely surprised.

"Yeah! That's it."

"Hmm." Kakuzu set his pen down, glanced at the clock, then took off his glasses which really should look hilarious on him but actually only made Hidan want to attack him even more, and set them on the desk. "Yes. I remember his... woman. I'll be there in a moment, get a copy of his insurance card and write him in the book."

"Duh.." He said, trying to force a smile. He only received a quizzical glance before he whirled and started back to the front.

He'd lost business just by hiring him, if society found out what they did, what they'd already done... His neighbor wasn't the only bitch in this town, she was far from it, in fact. Kakuzu was already giving in so much just being with Hidan, and yet there he was throwing a fit because it wasn't enough...

God he really hated this defective brain.

Fear coursed through him, barely restrained as he informed his overjoyed neighbor of the exception being made for him and got his card, instructing him to wait in the examination room and shutting the door behind him. He made the copy on autopilot, and plopped back down at his desk.

"Self-destructive tendancies..." He muttered. This relationship had been doomed the second he'd stepped foot in this building. And he'd been walking through it blindly, thinking only of himself, worrying only about himself. God... It was a wonder it had even progressed as far as it did... He sat there, letting the self-hatred pool in him until he heart Kakuzu's deep voice murmering behind the door. His eyes flicked up, settling on the wood, listening but not listening to the muffled voices.

No... no. He was taking this the wrong way. It wasn't doomed. It was the opposite. Kakuzu liked him despite everything, he'd come to his party, tolerated his rediculous behavior, talked him down out of two fucking brain attacks... No, right, every single force in the universe was working against them, and yet it had still happened. Yes. That's what he should focus on.

"You're bad for me too..." Kakuzu said to him. Hidan blinked and pulled his head off the mans chest, looking up at him. Kakuzu had stared back, his hand still on the back of his head, the other one had snaked it's way up his side, and he pulled Hidan flush against him.

"If you think I'm going to kick you out after all the shit you've put me through, you're an idiot."

Hidan continued stareing up at him, heat building in his chest. Another attack, another pitiful, embarrassing attack brought on by nothing more than fucking fear of what would happen next, and Kakuzu was slapping sense back into him again. "I'm your God, If I recall correctly. Which mean's I own you, which means I'm stuck with you. You damn imbecile."

And then he kissed him again.

Yes. He had to stop fucking doing that. If this didn't prove that what Itachi said was true, that they were soul-mates, (Ugh, such a pussy word.) then nothing did. Even before either of them knew what was happening, Kakuzu had been there, willing to lose the thing he loved most in the world, money, to keep Hidan. Whether that's what it was or just the old man trying to save his own skin didn't matter, that's how Hidan was going to take it.

And that being said, he needed to stop being such a little bitch and get his shit together. He knew who he was, and even if he didn't really like himself all the time, he wasn't going to fucking change for just anyone. But maybe a little bit of tweaking was in order.

God, how the fuck could he think he was the one doing all the work in this relationship?

Fuck. Stupid defective brain. Something had to be fucking done about this, once and for all...

-o-

A/N-

Whhheeeellll I could not find a decent point to end that chapter for the life of me. So there it is.

Fuck. I don't know how satisfied with it I am, but It's certianly better than the last few piles of shit I've crapped out. Lol, damn I'm tired.

Alright. So I was actually going to take a hiatus from FYA for awhile, but I'm thinking there's probably only about two more chapters left after this, I finally thought of a half-way decent ending. So I'm just going to try to go ahead and finish it. Then I'm going to try and finish the trilogy. So anyway... Idk. I'm drawing a blank now... so I guess I'll just say; Love you guys, thanks for reading don't forget to review aaaannnnddd forgive the typos and shit.

And I will see you next chapter.