TWO SASORIS

Deidara and Sasori were walking down a dirt road, returning to the Akatsuki base after recently completing a mission. “Sasori danna, how much longer, un?” Deidara whined.

Sasori’s eye twitched. “We’ll get there when we get there, brat!” he snapped.

Deidara flinched at the hated nickname. “You don’t have to be so mean, un.”

“Obviously I do, since nothing else will get through that thick skull of yours, brat! Now shut up, before I make you.” Deidara nodded his head, gaze averted. Sasori felt a small stab of guilt; the harsh tone and cruel words hadn’t been necessary. It was just him being too short tempered and acting before thinking.

The two continued on in silence for a while longer, before Deidara spoke again, this time requesting a break. Sasori agreed, and they stopped a little further up the road. Deidara almost immediately disappeared into the woods, leaving Sasori alone.

Time passed, and after an hour the blonde still hadn’t returned. There were many things in this world that Sasori hated, and waiting was one of those things. He was tempted to go into the woods and drag the sculptor out by the roots of his blonde hair. Unfortunately, the foliage around here was so thick, Hiruko wouldn’t stand in a chance of getting through the woods without being damaged or becoming entangled in the plant life.

So, he had two options. Go out and search for the blonde without his main form of defense, or just wait here for the rest of eternity to see when Deidara would come back.

It was a tough call, but he finally climbed out of Hiruko and began walking through the woods, calling his partner’s name.

Sasori ventured deeper and deeper into the woods, growing more annoyed with the blonde with each passing second. Vowing to strangle the sculptor as soon as he found Deidara, the puppet master gave up on calling out Deidara’s name, more out of laziness than anything else.

Because he was no longer making any noise, Sasori was able to hear the soft crying sound permeating the air.

Curious, he walked towards the noise, stepping softly so as not to startle the distressed creature. Sasori got closer and closer, and suddenly stepped into a small clearing.

There he found Deidara, sitting on a fallen tree and crying softly into his hands.

A mixture of relief, sadness, and anger filled Sasori, with the third emotion winning control of his voice. “Are you just going to sit here and cry all day?” He asked in an annoyed tone.

Deidara was on his feet in an instant, a knife in his hands. “What do you want, un?!” he demanded, shifting to a fighting stance.

“What the hell?!” Sasori was about to smack Deidara over the head and throw a few choice words in the blonde’s direction for his insolence, when a realization hit him. Deidara was freaking out because he’d never seen Sasori outside of Hiruko. He thought Sasori was some stranger, maybe even a ninja bent on hurting him.

He thought Sasori was a stranger. The redhead inwardly grinned. He could use this to his advantage. “Calm down,” he finally said, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I just heard you crying and came to se what it was.” That was true enough; best not to risk lying to the bomber.

Deidara frowned and put his knife up, flopping back down onto the rotting wood. “If that’s all, you can beat it, before I kill you, un.”

“Somebody’s in a bad mood,” Sasori remarked, sitting down on the log, albeit a few feet away from the blonde.

“How perceptive of you,” Deidara said bitterly. “You’re right, un. I’m pissed off because of my stupid partner Sasori.”

The Akasuna felt a small stab at his heart, but let it pass. “Does he always do this to you?” he asked in an inquiring manner.

“Oh yeah, un. He yells at me, hits me, locks me out of our room with no warning, and treats my art like it’s lower than the dirt we walk on, un.”

“In short, he’s a complete bastard?” Sasori asked quietly.

“Uh-huh. And you wanna know the worst part, un?”

“What could be worse? What?”

“I’m madly in love with him, un.”

Sasori’s heart sped up. There was no way the blonde had just said the words he so badly desired to hear. It couldn’t happen; could it? “How can you love someone like that? From the sound of it, he’s a cold, heartless monster,” Sasori said, his own words dragging him back to reality.

“I know. I don’t get it either, un. But there’s something about him that I love more than you’d ever believe, un. Even if he hates me…” Deidara’s eyes clouded over with pain at the words, and Sasori felt incredibly guilty right then.

Sasori reached out and gently touched Deidara’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. The guy’s a jerk, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Just go and find someone better.” It hurt Sasori deeply to say that, but he knew it was true. Deidara was amazing. He deserved someone better than the cold, heartless puppet that he knew himself to be.

“But I don’t want someone better, un! I want danna!” Deidara answered stubbornly, gritting his teeth in frustration.

“Speaking of him, where is this Sasori guy?” the puppeteer asked calmly.

Deidara’s eyes widened drastically. “Oh crap, I’m dead, un!” He took off through the woods, crashing his way through the plants and making Sasori shake his head as he quietly followed behind.

By some miracle of fate, he was able to reach Hiruko before the blonde, and quickly ducked back inside his puppet. A few moments later, Deidara came stumbling out of the forest, panting heavily, twigs stuck in his hair. “Sorry…hah…I’m late…hah…un.”

“Whatever. Come on, we need to go.” Deidara raised a brow at these words. Ordinarily Sasori would chew him out for making the puppeteer wait. Deciding he’d gotten off very lucky, Deidara let the matter drop and walked silently behind his partner. Sasori remained silent as they continued on, deep in thought.

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They stopped at an inn for the night. Deidara quickly checked them in, and soon they were in their room. The blonde went into the bathroom to shower, while Sasori went over the fine details of his plan. As soon as Deidara reemerged from the bathroom, he began to speak. “Deidara.”

The blonde started; the redhead had probably remembered that he’d forgotten to yell at Deidara for being late earlier, and the sculptor was probably going to get yelled at now. “Yes danna, un?” he asked as he got dressed.

“I want to ask you something. About puppets.”

“Hmm?” That didn’t seem too dangerous. Unless Sasori planned on killing him if he answered the question incorrectly. “What is it, danna?”

“Do you know what defense is best for a puppeteer in battle?”

Damn, he didn’t! “Um, a really strong puppet, un?”

“No.” Oh crap, he was done for! “It’s actually fighting from within another puppet.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It’s a technique that many puppeteer’s use. Including myself.”

“Huh? But I’ve only seen you like this! How could…you…danna, are you in your puppet right now, un?”

“Give the brat a cookie, he finally figured it out.”

Deidara would have snapped at Sasori, but his anger was being overpowered by curiosity. “Sasori danna, what do you look like without that thing, un?”

“Watch it. ‘That thing’, as you so bluntly put it, is called Hiruko. And do you really want to see?”

“Yes please, un,” Deidara replied, almost eager enough to blow up Hiruko in order to see what was within it. Almost.

“Alright.” Deidara heard several clicks, and suddenly Hiruko’s back seemed to split open. He watched silently, eyes widening as the man from earlier stood up. Smiling at him. “Well, Deidara?” he asked calmly.

“You’re-but you-and I-two Sasoris…” and with that, Deidara did the only thing that could logically be expected of him in this situation.

He fainted.

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“Mmmm…” Deidara slowly blinked his eyes open, looking around the room. “Danna?”

“Right here.”

Deidara looked up and realized Sasori was holding Deidara in his lap. “Ahh! Sorry, un!” The blonde tried to move away, but Sasori had a firm grip on his waist. “Sasori danna, let go, un.”

“No. Now stop squirming, brat.” Deidara froze, not wanting to anger the puppet master. Sasori’s mouth moved to Deidara’s ear. “Deidara, did you mean what you said earlier?” he whispered quietly.

It finally hit Deidara full force what had happened. Not only had he practically called Sasori a cold-hearted bastard TO HIS FACE, he’d also admitted that he loved the guy. Deidara’s mind was racing, trying to figure out what to do. If the first two things weren’t enough to get him killed, lying about them probably would. “Yes, un,” he finally answered, eyes screwed shut as he waited for certain doom.

Suddenly, he felt a soft pair of lips against his own. The blonde’s eyes snapped open, only to confirm his suspicions; Sasori was kissing him.

His mind shut down, unsure how to respond. Sasori began pressing a little more firmly against him, and Deidara finally kissed back, blue eyes once again drooping shut. When they finally pulled away, Deidara stared up at Sasori, slightly shocked. “Danna, um…”

“Yes?” Sasori muttered, hugging the blonde to his chest.

“You didn’t do that as a joke, right, un?”

“No.”

“Then you like me, right, un?”

“Yes.”

“In that case, why do you always act like a freaking bastard to me, un?!”

“How else can I deal with having all these emotions for you?” Sasori asked quietly, fingers moving to stroke the bomber’s hair.

“A simple, ‘I love you Deidara’ would have sufficed, un,” the sculptor answered, pouting.

“Alright. I love you, Dei.” Deidara yawned and snuggled into Sasori’s chest. “Tired?”

“Un.”

Sasori moved them and slid their two bodies under the covers, which was a little difficult since Deidara was pretty much dead weight by this time. “Goodnight, danna, un,” he murmured, burying his face in Sasori’s chest.

“Goodnight, my Dei-chan.” The sculptor smiled at the words; he was already enjoying Sasori referring to him as the puppet master’s.