Bujinkan is basically Japanese martial arts that has no rules but one: survive. Hence why they don't have competitions for it.

This fic is just so random but when I had my training on Friday, I was taught some techniques that I just couldn't NOT directly link to yaoi xD

So this is basically what my Bujinkan lessons look like.

Okay, not really.

It's basically just a random idea that got turned into a short story of fluff and smut and minimal plot.

Enjoy.

Lessons in Bujinkan

Deidara is walking down an icy street with hands in his pockets. The sky is dark already and the alley is lightened by street lamps, despite it being only 5 in the evening. He hides his nose in the scarf to provide some warmth for himself and regrets not putting on a warmer pair of pants over his black kimono pants. Just like he regrets not taking any gloves with him. The wisest, and perhaps the only wise decision, he seems to have made before leaving home are his combat boots, which provide enough friction for him to not slip on the ice.

Fortunately for him, it is only a short walk from his home to his Sensei's, and as he turns a corner, he can already see the house at the end of the street. As he approaches he notices the lights go off in the windows. Soon he reaches the gates and lets himself in, into the dark yard. From the force of habit he glances around warily, even though he knows Sensei's old dog to be indoors in such cold weather. Deidara is not keen on dogs.

From the shadows Deidara hears a familiar voice say, "Hello, Deidara." It takes the blond a few moments for his eyes to adjust before he can make out his Sensei's figure by the dojo door.

"Morning," Deidara greets with a smile, although the time of the day is anything but. It is just a habit he has picked up from a friend involved in show business - no matter what the clock says, "morning" is still a valid form of greeting.

Deidara's Sensei is a middle aged man with a balding head and a rather round figure. With the addition of his short stature, the man is certainly not someone one would suspect of being a master in martial arts. Deidara has got used to paying no heed to stereotypical characteristics like that - in the dojo what actually matter are the black belt and the badge of red background, black kanjis and white borders sewn onto his kimono. From experience Deidara can say that those show a lot more than the person's body mass index.

"Today's training will be a bit different since I won't be able to participate, but I'll tell you more inside," the man tells Deidara, opening the door. "Step inside."

A slight frown crosses the blond's face but he does as he's told without a word, walking into the narrow hallway lined by tall shelves. It is not the most traditional dojo as it is built inside what probably used to be a storage room or a garage. The entrance to the dojo from the short hallway is blocked by a boxing bag hanging from the ceiling. Deidara places his hand near his neck to protect his face, and shoulders into the bag, stepping through the opening as it swings aside. It is the routine he always repeats when leaving or entering the dojo, the real purpose of it being to get past a person blocking a doorway. The protective hand in this case is more a formality than anything; it is not likely for the boxing bag to come to life and attack the blond's face or neck.

Inside the dojo the lights are already lit and Deidara freezes momentarily as his eyes come across a figure standing across the room with one hand bent forward before he lunges into a graceful somersault, finishing on one knee with both his hands fixed forwards. Deidara catches himself staring at the scarlet red hair that is sticking out in every possible direction like from a hair gel commercial, although Deidara knows him to put the least effort into styling his hair - he told him so himself, on a night the blond does not wish to remember.

Deidara is brought out of his frozen state quickly by his Sensei who has followed him into the dojo.

"I reckon you two have met before," Sensei starts, "since you go to the same school and all. If not then, Deidara, this is Sasori; Sasori, this is Deidara."

The redhead, known as Sasori, stands up and turns to the blond, bowing down the same time as Deidara, who refuses to meet his gaze. Without saying anything as he straightens up, Deidara turns around and takes off his jacket, taking his time as he does so.

"We've met," Sasori admits and Deidara easily recognizes the bored tone in his voice that seems to be an inborn trait of his. "We're not in the same grade, however. I'm a senior. He's a…"

"Junior," Deidara finishes with a hidden frown. He is sure that the redhead must remember that. Or he should at least. Deidara sits down on the edge of the mat and unties his boots.

"All the better," Sensei says. "The thing is it is my wife's birthday today and I need to finish the cake before she comes home. I'm hoping you don't mind playing teacher-and-student for this one lesson - Sasori is a few weeks away from his first Tan exam and I thought this would be a nice experience for both of you."

Deidara can feel his heart sinking with discouragement and frustration. Frustration, because his Sensei did not warn him about this so he could pretend to be sick and skip out on the lesson, and discouragement, because first Tan meant a black belt, while he, with his a single year and counting of experience, was still on his white belt. This will be just another night of embarrassment for the blond and the irritating part is that it is not even the first time for him to embarrass himself in front of that particular redhead.

With a sigh as he mentally resigns himself to his grim faith, Deidara gets up and steps onto the mat, facing the redhead. He has changed little since the last time he saw him outside of school, which is not really a big miracle, since that was only a few months ago. To Deidara the time that has passed seems a lot longer, though. Probably, because ever since then, he has been continuously aware of the redhead no matter where he is - be it at the other end of the canteen at school or half a meter from him.

It happened at the very beginning of the school year - Deidara's second year in high school. There had been an accident during the renovation of another high school in the vicinity, which had resulted in a fire, burning down nearly a quarter of the building. A lot of that school's students had been forced to transfer to Deidara's and other school, that included Sasori. Through his connections with Kisame, the redhead became quickly a part of Deidara's clique.

The two did not talk much with each other. Mostly they were just a part of the same conversation, but rarely addressed each other. The lack of communication in no way stopped Deidara from developing a crush on the redhead, though. Who would not fall for a handsome guy with a secretive personality and an interest in art? (Even if their view on the topic is completely off.)

It had not taken Konan long to organize a big get-together at her place when her parents were out of town. She invited the entire clique, plus a few more people she deemed chill or cool. Deidara played stepmania on her dance pad most of that night as there was not much else to do: there was a circle of people that were engaged in a conversation and eating together, but all of them were seniors, and Deidara as the youngest of them all and without knowing most of them did not really feel welcome in the chat.

The only time he actually decided to leave the dance pad was when they started playing truth or dare. Not that he actually liked the game, there was little in it that appealed to him. Watching other people do silly or embarrassing things or listening to their stories was okay, but revealing secrets about himself was not something he would have enjoyed. In addition, he was wary of the dares - there was always the chance of being dared to kiss someone and Deidara was not sure what was more awkward - admitting that in the 17 years of his life he had never kissed anyone, or actually kissing someone for the first time in front of others.

Despite the long list of downsides to the idea, he still chose to take part in the game, mostly because he felt uncomfortable and selfish hogging the computer to himself for the entire night. So he sat down between Konan and Tayuya and prayed for the bottle to never stop on him.

He should have known better than to bet on luck, with which he had never had the greatest relationship with. The bottle was spun only three times before it already pointed its cap towards the blond. Upon the obvious question "truth or dare?", Deidara quickly stammered "truth". Whatever they could ask him, it could not have been more embarrassing than kissing someone. Or so he hoped.

There couldn't have been a more predictable question than the one Konan came up with.

"Who's your crush?"

Quite a few voices agreed with Deidara's thoughts on it being 100% lame by shouting out their opinions. Unfortunately, they had no effect whatsoever on Konan's determination - she had no intentions of changing her question.

Deidara did not want to answer. He knew he should have just said that he did not have a crush on anyone, but by the time he thought of that, too much time had already passed and the lie would have been obvious.

Konan found it hard to persuade the blond. After a while, with a look that clearly said "why're you even playing this game if you're choosing to be such a baby", Konan went for a compromise and asked for the colour of his crush's hair.

"Red," Deidara answered with a blush as scarlet as this particular guy's hair who glanced up at the answer and at the blond, while the latter made his best efforts to hide his entire face in his hair while disappearing into the ground.

He did not succeed with the latter.

It took six spins for the bottle to find Deidara again, but in the blond's opinion it was definitely too quick to be a coincidence and he suspected a magnet being hidden somewhere in his clothing.

This time it was Tobi that had spun the bottle.

Even before Deidara could pick truth or dare, there was already a mantra of "make him spill the name of the redhead!" going on. Intimidated by the crowd, Deidara quickly chose the only way he could see out - he picked dare.

Tobi fell in thought.

A few seconds later his childish face lit up with excitement and he raised a finger, pointing it at Sasori.

"Sasori has red hair so Deidara should kiss Sasori!"

Had there been no eye-witnesses, Deidara would have killed Tobi right then and there. In his thoughts he even did, but it had little effect on the reality that he was supposed to face. He knew that he could not back out of it for the second time unless he wanted to pay the price of complete loss of respect from his friends.

Saying that it was awkward was an understatement, but Deidara lacked better words for it. With a face as red as Sasori's hair he crossed the circle they were sitting in and squatted down next to the redhair.

As fast as humanly possible, Deidara pecked Sasori on the cheek and swung around with a glare that threw daggers towards Tobi.

"Satisfied?!" he demanded, irritation and embarrassment lacing his voice.

The voices sounding from around him did not seem to be.

"What was that even?! Who kisses like that?"

"Dafuq, Blondie? Did you imagine you were kissing your granny a good-night or what?"

"Even first graders don't get that prude!"

There was anger boiling inside of Deidara. A part of him wanted to just flip everyone off and go back to his spot - he had done Tobi's stupid dare, it was his turn to spin the bottle. Nevertheless, he could not make himself leave and found himself turning around towards the redhead again.

There was a peculiar expression on Sasori's face - it was stoic as always, but Deidara could see the amusement dancing in his eyes as he said, "Come now, Brat, how can you leave the crowd so dissatisfied? Let 'em have what they want."

And with those words Sasori grabbed Deidara by his shirt and forced his lips onto the blond's. He did not let go right away, not before he had bitten the other's lower lip and slid his tongue in very briefly.

And that is the exact memory that has been haunting Deidara ever since, which has made his heart beat faster even more than it used to in the redhead's presence, even though nothing visibly changed between them.

"Quit standing there. Start with the warm-ups and then somersaults," Sasori says as the door closes after Sensei has left them. He said it with such casualness, as though he does not remember what happened that night at all, or does not give it any importance in his mind.

Deidara suspects it to be the latter. After all, Sasori has always been the calm and nonchalant one, like nothing fazes him, while overthinking and embarrassing himself has always been Deidara's part to play.

But if Sasori can act like nothing has ever happened, and that they are only two guys that happen to know each other, so can Deidara, he decides. The only difference between them is that Deidara still has a major crush on the redhead, while the latter is completely indifferent towards the blond. This, though, should not be an important factor. Deidara is old enough to know the difference between his dreams and reality - he can shove away his unrequited feelings for one lesson and pretend that they do not exist.

Without a comment Deidara starts with the warm-ups like in any other Friday evening with his Sensei. After that he begins to feel the tension knotting in his stomach again. Even after the one year he has still not got the hang of many types of the somersaults, and if he was not self-conscious about them before, then seeing Sasori's nearly perfect performance disheartened him to the point he is reluctant to try even the most basic one in front of the redhead.

"Start with the basics," Sasori orders, and Deidara walks to one end of the mats and sets himself ready. Usually when feeling uncertain like this, it could take up to several minutes for the blond to get his feet off the ground and roll into the somersault, but with Sasori watching him, he does not dare to even do that.

Not giving himself time to think and therefore to hesitate, Deidara presses his chin against his chest and puts his hands forward, pushing himself off the ground and rolling into the somersault. A loud pat-pat-pat sounds as he rolls onto his butt and manages to get up onto his feet.

"You need to curl up more, you'll hurt yourself if you smack against the ground like that," Sasori instructs.

I know, Deidara mouths behind his hair so that the redhead cannot see. He fixes his hands and feet, and goes again. The same pat-pat-pat follow. This time as he stands up he can even feel the effect in his back, but the feeling is drowned out by the embarrassment that makes him wish he could disappear into thin air. He never does it this badly in his normal lessons!

He can hear a low sigh from the redhead, which only adds to the discomfort.

"You're too tense," Sasori says. "You need to loosen up."

"Like that's not impossible at all under your judging gaze," Deidara grunts. His original intention was not even to say it out loud, but now that it has been voiced, there is no taking it back, so he just lets it be.

Sasori raises an eyebrow that asks, or more like demands, for an explanation. "My judging gaze?"

"Yeah, the "geezus, how hard can it be to get a simple somersault right what a loser""- Deidara mimics a lower voice - "kind of look. The one that you always wear when looking at me. Like you're so superior or something."

"Of course I'm superior to you in Bujinkan," Sasori says, his voice indicating that he does not really get where the blond is coming from. "I've been training since I was a kid, you're still on your white belt."

"It's not just in Bujinkan! You give me that look in school as well," Deidara argues, the somersaults all but forgotten. He has turned his entire body towards Sasori and is using hands to explain. "It's like a smirk, only your mouth is still in the same straight line. It's in your eyes or something. Like amusement, only stuck-up. It always feels like you're laughing at me, just like at Konan's party. I-"

"Stop with the self-consciousness, brat," Sasori sighs. "No-one's laughing at you, it's all in your head. I don't even know where you get that idea from. Just try to relax and do your somersaults."

Deidara frowns and looks away. He does not have anything to counter with, so he just turns around wordlessly. He rolls into another somersault, with the same pat-pat-pat, gets up and, ignoring the slight ache in his back, whips around and walks back to the other end of the mats.

He prepares himself for a one-handed somersault, when a pair of hands on his shoulders catch him off guard and he jumps up with a yelp.

"Easy, tiger," Sasori says as he slowly kneads the shoulders with his firm hands. "You'll end up injuring yourself, if you keep going like this. You're far from the worst white-belts that I've seen, so you should take it easier."

Deidara stands completely frozen with his face flaring red like a tomato from embarrassment. He can only thank God for Sasori not getting to see his face.

"Or is it my presence that's so intimidating?" Sasori asks in a half-amused voice, and if Deidara was any less tense, he would be able to tell the other is joking.

Instead, even more blood rushes into his face and he shrugs the redhead's hands off without answering the question. He stammers, "I-I'm fine," before lunging into another somersault. This time, through some miracle, only two pats can be heard and they are a lot lighter than the previous ones.

Sasori watches him go a few more rounds before deciding that it has been enough and it's time to practice throws.

"Sensei gave me a list of techniques we should practice," Sasori says as he grabs the blond by his jacket on the chest and sleeve. Deidara does not need to be told to follow suit and mirror the position.

"You'll need to pardon my memory, though, since I cannot memorize the different names to save my life."

"It's fine," Deidara gives a curt reply. He is trying to find a suitable spot to focus his eyes on without directly meeting Sasori's or seeming too awkward, either.

"Okay, I'll take it slow. Watch closely, all right?"

Deidara gives a nod.

A sharp hit against his knuckles makes Deidara let go of Sasori's jacket with one hand. The redhead takes a step to the side, turns and bends slightly, so that Deidara is only slightly leaning against his back. A quick twist and the blond flips over, finding himself on the floor.

Only it does not go that easily.

Deidara did not expect that and the moment he was flung off the ground, a loud scream escaped his mouth before he found himself on the floor under Sasori's knee, his hand still holding onto the redhead's jacket.

There is a moment of silence during which Sasori blinks and looks with a dumbfounded expression, before he breaks into a chuckle. Deidara's expression is wide-eyed and completely red.

"What was that?" Sasori laughs as he gets off the blond and offers his hand to help the other up.

Deidara reluctantly takes it.

"I didn't see that coming," he mutters as an explanation.

"I could hear that," Sasori chuckles. "Do you always scream like that in your lessons?"

No-one's laughing at me, my ass, Deidara thinks in his head while growling lowly, "He's used to it."

"I wonder if I could get used to it, too."

"What did you say?" Deidara asks, not sure if he heard it correctly.

Sasori shakes his head. "Nothing," he says as they take in the same position again. "Now, I'm going to repeat it, so you'll know what's coming, all right? Pay attention."

With the same routine Deidara is flipped over again and this time without a squeak.

"Did you get it?" Sasori asks with his knee on the blond's chest.

A light blush tints Deidara's cheeks and he tries his best to ignore the warmth that spreads out in his body from being in a position like that as he looks the redhead in the eye.

"Y-yeah, I think so," he says.

"Good," Sasori says and helps the other up. "Now it's your turn."

Deidara tries to mimic what Sasori has just shown him. He does not succeed on the first try, but with a few tips and reminders from the redhead, Deidara soon finds his knee on the redhead's chest, a firm grip on his kimono.

A faint smile crosses the blond's lips at his success.

Sasori gives a nod of approval. "Very good," he says. "Only," he adds, and - with a slight pull and a push, he flips them over so that Deidara finds himself beneath the other again - "Don't bend forward that much, or this will happen."

This time there is a real smirk on Sasori's face as he watches another blush shade Deidara's cheeks.

A frown knits the blond's eyebrows together.

"You're making that face again!" he accuses.

"What face?" Sasori asks, puzzled.

"The superior look, like you're laughing at me." Deidara purses his lips into a pout.

Sasori stares at the blond for a bit until realization strikes through him and clears his face. He chuckles. "I can stop making that look," he starts.

"Yes, please!" Deidara puts in.

"-if," Sasori continues and his hand travels up to touch the blond's bottom lip, "you stop looking so damn adorable."

"Wh-what?" Deidara stammers as his eyes widen with disbelief, "I-I'm not even- stop teasing me like this!" he finally exclaims and tries to get up, but does not get farther than an inch before he's forced back down by Sasori's knee. "It's not funny," he growls as his face grows more and more in its resemblance with Sasori's hair.

"All right," Sasori replies and removes his knee from his chest. Before Deidara can get up, however, he is pinned to the ground by another factor - that being the pair of lips pressing against his.

"I'm sorry," Sasori mutters, "I just can't wait anymore for another lucky chance at truth or dare." His lips move slowly against Deidara's, who is staring wide-eyed at him the entire time. The next time Sasori breaks off the kiss and lifts his head so that their eyes meet, the only thing Deidara can get out of his mouth is, "W-why?"

The familiar smirk returns to Sasori's face, but this time, Deidara is not irritated by it - he hardly even notices it as he is stunned completely speechless and left staring into the redhead's dark eyes.

"Don't act like you're the only one capable of falling for someone, brat."

Another peck on the lips.

"N-no, but that's not an-" Deidara starts, but is cut off by Sasori's lips meeting his again, this time for a longer and deeper kiss than just a peck. Sasori bites the blond's lower lip to get him to open up his mouth and slides his tongue in, carefully exploring the orifice, before pulling apart again.

A string of saliva is connecting their mouths when Sasori whispers, "Do you want me to stop?"

"N-no, but-"

"Then shut up," Sasori tells the blond.

Deidara's eyebrows knit into a frown at the comment and his grip on the redhead's sleeve tightens.

"Or what?" he challenges.

Sasori takes in the younger male's rebellious expression with a soft look. Even while acting completely ridiculous, he still manages to have the kind of effect on Sasori that makes him forget about everything else and just wish for the chance to be with him.

"Or I'll take you out on a date," Sasori replies and kisses Deidara again.

This time Deidara closes his eyes and his grip on the other's kimono loosens. Their lips move together in synchrony and Deidara's lips part to let Sasori's tongue in again. He continues exploring as the quietest moan escapes the blond's mouth.

Sasori's lips soon move away and trace down Deidara's jawline to his neck while his hand smoothly slides in between the kimono and finds the bare flesh, pinching a nipple.

"Sa-Sasori," Deidara moans, sounding reluctant, which belies the way he cocks his head to one side, revealing more skin for the redhead. "Sensei could come check on us any moment."

"He won't be back before the end of the lesson," Sasori assures the blond and continues to lick and suck on a spot on his neck, leaving a red-purplish hickey once he removed his lips. "It just means that we'll have to make this quick, doesn't it?"

His voice is silky and soothing and effectively fights off Deidara's fears as their lips re-connect. Sasori's hand travels down to undo the belt on the blond's kimono. As his lips are busy captivating Deidara's, his hand already slithers into the younger male's pants and grabs the semi-hard cock in there.

Deidara's breath catches and his back arches as he emits a loud moan that makes the heat in Sasori's body rush right to his lower regions.

"I'd love to hear more of that," he murmurs against Deidara's neck and gives his cock another tight squeeze.

"S-Sasori," Deidara pants, his eyes half-lidded as he looks at the redhead, sounding already out of breath, "I'm a v-virgin."

Sasori's hand halts instantly. He lifts his head above the blond's and gives him a measuring look.

"Do you wish for me to stop, Dei?" he asks.

Deidara bites his lower lip hesitantly.

"I don't want to force you into anything," Sasori says and removes his hand from the other's pants. "You don't need to feel guilty for saying no."

"W-would you still take me out on a date?" Deidara asks shyly, a blush creeping up onto his face again.

A small smile crosses Sasori's lips as he plants a kiss with them on the other's nose tip. "Of course, silly brat."

A hand crawls up onto the upper hem of Sasori's jacket and pulls him back in close for a kiss.

"Don't stop then, please," Deidara breathes.

Sasori halts for a moment of consideration before getting up and going to his jacket. He shortly returns with a small silver pack in his hand.

Both of their pants are quickly pulled down and Deidara shyly parts his legs as Sasori rolls the condom onto his length and leans over the blond again.

"Ready?" he asks and Deidara gives a quiet nod.

Moving slowly and capturing the blond's lips in a kiss, Sasori slides in. A low whimper escapes Deidara's mouth, but it gets swallowed by the redhead's mouth. Sasori slides out again and next he thrusts in. Deidara cries out, shortly after the routine is repeated again. Sasori keeps thrusting in and out until he hits a certain spot that makes the blond see stars.

"Oh God, Sasori," Deidara moans loudly, his tone of voice sending shivers down the redhead's back.

Sasori continues rocking back and forth, aiming for the same spot and building up speed. Deidara's hands grip tightly Sasori's kimono as he breathes heavily with continuous moans, the redhead covering his entire face and neck with kisses as he does so.

"Let me hear you say my name again, Dei," Sasori whispers in his ear as he slams in again, hitting the sweet spot.

Deidara screams out loud, so loud that if he had any sense left in himself he would have felt serious embarrassment and worry over whether anyone could hear them. But as it happens, his mind is long gone, providing no hindrance to his mouth repeatedly voicing, "Sasori, Sasori, Sassorii-"

After a few more thrusts Deidara can feel himself slipping closer to the edge, his muscles contradicting as he's about to reach his climax.

"Sasori, I'm gonna-"

Sasori captures his lips in a passionate kiss and swallows the rest of the sentence. His hand moves down to grip the other's member and the second he does so, Deidara's back arches and white liquid spurts out from the tip.

Sasori keeps going as the heat builds up in himself until he cannot take it anymore, either, and he cums inside the blond. After rocking back and forth a few more times to milk it all out, he pulls out and collapses by the blond, his breathing as heavy as Deidara's.

"Two," he hears Deidara say and turns his head towards him.

"What?" he asks.

"Two dates, at least," Deidara says as he tries to slow down his breathing, "for stealing both my first kiss and first time."

Sasori chuckles as he gets up and removes the condom to pull up his pants. He goes to the trash can to dispose of it and stops by the sink next to it to wash his hands before returning to the blond and helping him up.

"I don't think I'm gonna want to let you go that soon," he says and watches Deidara's face light up in the most adorable manner that clenches his heart and he needs to hold himself back from kissing the other in fear that he would overdo it.

"Let's clean you up now, though. We've still an hour of practice left."

Deidara groans as he lets himself be dragged to the sink.

"First he screws me, then he expects me to still have energy left for training!"

"Come now," Sasori says as he turns on the tap and leaves Deidara there to wash as he goes to his bag to retrieve a towel. He gives it to the blond and watches him dry his stomach off and fix his kimono with a deep frown on his face.

"We can try something easier, all right?"

Deidara continues sulking without uttering a word.

After not receiving a reply, Sasori sighs and reaches out for Deidara's chin, lifting it up to make the blond look at him in the eye.

"All right?" he repeats.

Deidara cannot argue when those dark brown eyes are staring directly at him. Even after the recent incident, he catches himself blushing due to the undivided attention given to him by the redhead.

"All right," he says in a small voice.

Sasori's face is content. "Good boy," he says and pecks Deidara's forehead.

The hour goes by rather quickly, even for Deidara, whose weariness shows in his slow motions. Sasori is a good tutor and, as promised, does not torture the blond with harder techniques that night. They mainly focus and a choice of easier hand blocks.

Nevertheless, Deidara is glad when the lesson finally ends and their Sensei steps into the room. He is physically worn out and mentally still in a bit of a shock that he would like to think through in private.

After getting dressed as Deidara is about to leave through the door, Sasori calls after him to wait up outside since he needs to have a quick word with Sensei and would then walk the blond home. Deidara gives a nod and leaves the dojo.

"I assume it went well," Sensei says as he watches Deidara leave and Sasori look at him go with that stupid lovestruck expression he has been wearing for weeks.

"Yeah," Sasori replies, the grin evident in his voice. "I owe you, old man," he says as he turns to Sensei and digs out twenty bucks from his pocket, handing it to the guy.

"Not anymore you don't," Sensei says as he takes the money. "Honestly, though, you could've just asked him out at school. This was unnecessarily complicated."

"He's always surrounded by friends at school and so unapproachable. The only times I've seen him alone is when he's sitting somewhere in the hallway drawing or reading and I don't want to disturb him then."

Sensei rolls his eyes. "Admit it, you're just a coward."

Sasori gives him a sharp look. "You got your money, now zip it." He pushes past the boxing bag and the man follows him after turning off the lights in the dojo.

"See you next week," he says.

"Yeah, yeah, see you," Sasori mutters, his hand already on the handle.

"Oh, and Sasori?"

The redhead turns back to him with a questioning look.

"Good luck," the man says, giving him a thumbs-up.

The corner of Sasori's mouth twitches upwards and gives a nod, before opening the door and leaving outside.

While waiting Deidara has taken out his phone. Out of boredom he has gone onto the facebook app and looked up his Sensei's profile. He knows that his Sensei sometimes posts pictures of his students on there and wants to see if there are any of Sasori.

He momentarily halts when the man's profile finishes loading and his eyes fall on the personal information section where, under his current location is written his relationship status, showing Single.

Deidara frowns as he notices this. Didn't his Sensei say that the whole reason why Sasori had to substitute him was so that he could bake a cake for his wife's birthday?

Now that Deidara thinks about it, though, he can faintly remember his first practices from a year ago when his Sensei happened to mention a divorce from his wife. If that was true, though, then why did Sensei skip their lesson…?

Before Deidara can ponder on it longer, the door behind him opens and Sasori steps out, offering his hand.

"Ready to go?" he asks.

Deidara nods with a smile and shyly takes the hand, the gentle squeeze Sasori gives it making his stomach flutter and mind forget all the questions that popped out before.

-x-

Two months later (Short epilogue)

Sasori is talking in the school hallway with Nagato, Hidan and Kakuzu. The topic has smoothly gone from Kakuzu's ranting over the rising trend in gas prices to planning out a party for the next month due to a certain blond's birthday.

Sasori is just about to mention the idea he had for a group present that they could make when he senses presence behind him. It is not that he can actually hear it, but it is just the feeling that he gets in his gut that has yet to betray him.

A second later he can feel the hands reaching out towards him, but he is already prepared then. A quick step to the left to make room for the fall, and the body weight that his attacker had initially directed towards him is left without support and finds its new direction towards the ground.

Quickly, Sasori extends his arms and before the other can meet the floor, catches the blond teen safely.

"No fair, Danna!" Deidara complains as he's heaved up and held captive against the redhead's chest by the pair of strong arms.

"It's not nice to eavesdrop, brat," Sasori says, the rebuke of his words getting lost due to the softness in his eyes as he looks at the blond.

"But I know that you were talking about me!" Deidara declares cheerfully. "It's my birthday next month! Are you planning a party?"

"Yeah, with teletubbies and a clown," Nagato says. "Now you've ruined the surprise."

"The fucking brat is finally turning 18," Hidan laughs. "You'll lose your pedophile status, Sasori."

"You guys are so mean!" Deidara whines.

Sasori chuckles behind him and presses his lips against his ear. "Don't listen to them, babe. I'll make sure they don't screw it up. And even if they manage, I've plans after the party that'll surely make up for it."

Hearing those words makes Deidara blush tomato red and he quickly shields his face with his fringe to hide his embarrassment while Hidan bellows, "Oh my fucking Jashin, GET A FUCKING ROOM!"

The others laugh. Deidara is still hiding behind his hair as Sasori continues to nuzzle his neck, but his lips that no-one can see are smiling. Despite the embarrassment that he feels being like that in front of his friends, he knows that nothing could make him happier than being pressed like that against Sasori and hearing the words that reach no-one else's ear being whispered to him.

"I love you, Deidara."

THE END