Deidara slept all through the night and well into the next morning. Sasori didn't get an ounce of sleep; how could he, when a Falkian enemy was curled up on his lap, slumbering peacefully?

Several times Sasori was tempted to simply take his pistol, press it to the blonde's temple, and then shoot the male. His problem of what to do about Deidara would be solved, and he could then wait for his ship to recharge, fly back to his commander, and pretend that this whole encounter with the Falk had never even occurred.

Yet no matter how many times he ran the plan through his head, the Akasuna couldn't bring himself to actually do it. It didn't seem right to shoot the male, when he was lying so helplessly before Sasori. So trusting of his danna-

Whoa, stop that thought right there. The blonde may have called him by that suffix, but Sasori refused to be his danna. But to be honest, he wasn't entirely opposed to the idea-

The flyer violently shook his head. He needed to stop thinking that way. Such musings could lead to treason, if he wasn't careful. He had to use good judgment and logic if he wanted to find a way out of this mess.

Deidara mumbled softly in his sleep and nuzzled his head into Sasori's lap, distracting the redhead from his thoughts. He looked down to see the Falkian male smiling happily in response to whatever dream was dancing through his pretty head at the moment.

Well, maybe logic wasn't always the best course of action.

-mm-

Morning came soon enough, and not long after the sun rose Sasori's computer calmly informed the redhead that his ship was completely recharged and ready to take-off. All that was missing now was the pilot.

Even now, Sasori could very easily rid himself of his little blonde problem. The Akasuna could send the blonde off into the woods to get water or something, and then depart before the alien could return.

The idea was shattered when Deidara popped up in front off him, a joyful smile painted on his face as he asked, "Are we leaving now, danna?"

Against his better judgment, the redhead nodded. "Yeah. Go ahead and hop in." Eyes sparkling with delight, the blonde scrambled onto the plane's wing, and quickly leapt into the cockpit.

"I'm going to regret this," Sasori muttered as he rubbed his temples. Nevertheless, the flyer soon found himself inside the spacecraft with Deidara. In only a matter of moments, they were off.

But now, Sasori was presented with a bigger problem than simply deciding whether or not to get rid of Deidara. He realized that if he wanted to avoid being court-martialed, he'd need to sneak Deidara into his room. That would involve getting around an army of highly-trained, Falk-hating soldiers who were armed to the teeth, never mind the surveillance cameras plastered all over the walls of the base.

The Akasuna swore and tossed his head back, eyes shut. This blonde was becoming a huge problem.

"Danna? What's that word mean, un?"

A VERY huge problem.

Fortunately for the distressed Akasuna, an answer presented itself to him in the form of very familiar swearing in his communicator. "Sasori? Dumbass, say something, damnit!"

"Hidan?"

"Who else? Jashin damnit, we thought you were dead-hey, this means Tobi owes me five bucks!" Loud cackling was soon heard over the communicator.

"Hidan?" Sasori broke in.

"Yeah?"

"Is there an actual reason you contacted me? Besides to confirm that you've won your little bet?"

"Just telling ya that those Falkian bastards shot up the ship pretty damn bad after you left. The Akatsuki's gotta go back to Konoha Station so the mechanics can clean up all the shit that got shot up. Damn those Falks to hell…"

"Anything else?" Sasori asked while casting a nervous glance down towards Deidara. The blonde had spent the better part of their flight seated quietly at the redhead's feet, in order to hide himself from sight. The Jashinist's words had caused a worried look to come across Deidara's face, and he curled himself tightly into a little ball.

"The whole ship's down right now. No lights, no elevators, we're lucky we still have fucking life-support!"

Sasori felt his heart leap at the words. With no security cameras on him and no way to definitely tell the blonde apart from another solider wandering about in the dark, the Akasuna could most assuredly get Deidara to his room. "Thanks Hidan. Is it at least safe to dock?"

"Tch, I guess. The damn hangar doors are running on a generator or something, so you should be able to dock if you do it fast enough."

"All right, thanks." The line went dead, and the redhead proceeded to fly towards the Akatsuki.

Upon closer inspection, Sasori could definitely see that the battleship had been on the receiving end of a rather brutal battle. It appeared as though the entire vessel had been shot at, with melted portions of the side testifying that lasers had been involved at some point. Part of the ship's rear was completely gone, and broken bits of metal and wires were now floating around the damaged warship.

Refocusing his attention on the hangar (which miraculously appeared to have sustained relatively little damage) Sasori maneuvered his way into the ship. Once inside, he waited for the hangar door to close before shutting off his engine and opening his own spacecraft.

The human extracted a flashlight from the emergency supply pack in his ship, before using it to survey his surroundings. A quick look around told Sasori that no one else was in the area. Nodding to himself, the Akasuna hopped out of the cockpit to land on the plane's wing. From there, he slid off to land on the floor, barely making a sound as he did so. Sasori then turned his head to look up at the ship, only to see that Deidara had yet to emerge. "Deidara, come on," he ordered.

The blonde cautiously poked his head out, giving the area a quick once-over before deciding that he was not in any danger. Deidara hurriedly removed himself from the ship, and leapt down to stand beside the flyer. "Now what, un?"

"I'm taking you to my room," Sasori answered. The Akasuna was already crossing the room as he spoke, and Deidara had to hurry to catch up with the redhead. "Deidara, keep your eyes down and ears covered. We don't want to be caught."

The blonde chuckled. "I'm not stupid enough to give myself away Sasori danna, un." Nevertheless, Deidara heeded the human's orders and moved his blonde locks to cover his pointed ears, before following the Akasuna into the main body of the ship.

A look up and down the hallway confirmed that the duo was alone. Sasori hurried forward, and the Falk was fast on his heels. The trip to Sasori's room was among the most stressful moments of the Akasuna's life. Every little sound sent a wave of fear over his body, and each and every shadow appeared to be the approaching figure of Kisame. His anxiety did nothing to ease Deidara's fears; it was actually a miracle the poor blonde didn't faint from the stress.

After an agonizing ten minutes, the two found themselves in the sanctuary of Sasori's private quarters. At least, he hoped it was his room. The Akasuna hadn't actually been in his chambers yet, and had been forced to wander around the living quarters until he came across a door with "Akasuna" in the nameplate. Now he had to hope that he was the only Akasuna on this ship…

Hurrying Deidara into the room, Sasori was quick to shut the door behind them, before heaving a sigh of relief. They were safe.

Deidara wandered around the room, trying his hardest to observe his new surroundings by the light of Sasori's flashlight. "Danna, we'll be staying here until the ship returns to Konoha Station, correct?"

Sasori was about to say something to the blonde in regards to Deidara's frequent use of the word "we", but decided not to make a mountain out of a molehill and let it slide. "Correct. And you will be staying in here longer than that, for your own safety."

"How long, un?"

"Until I can figure out some way to get you back to my home without getting caught," Sasori admitted. He couldn't keep the Falk with him on the ship; that would be suicide. He'd need to transport the blonde to Earth, somehow...

"What's your home like, un? Where is it? Do you have any family, un?" Deidara inquired eagerly as he took a seat on the Akasuna's bed.

"Why should I tell you any of that?" Sasori demanded.

"Because I wanna know, un! And it's not like we have anything better to do, un."

"Deidara-"

"Tell me tell me tell me!" Deidara commanded as he bounced up and down on the bed eagerly.

Sasori was beginning to wonder if he'd acquired some sort child from the plane crash instead of a full-grown male. "Deidara, how old are you?"

"I'll tell you my story if you tell me yours first!" Deidara negotiated.

Sasori could barely see a smirk on the blonde's face in the darkness. With a sigh, he settled down beside Deidara. May as well start at the beginning. "Deidara, I've lived on Earth for my whole life…"