Efflorescence- the action or process of developing and unfolding as if coming into flower, to bloom

"Holy shit, un."

Deidara stared wide-eyed at the huge camp. The buses had arrived on the outer skirts of an area about the size of two football fields, known as the commons, as the driver had said, and were now letting out all of the soon-to-be campers. Unfortunately, he was one of them.

Don't get the wrong idea; he didn't want to be at a summer camp any more than the other poor guys whose parents had also made them come. The whole idea sounded girly and lame to him, which was why his mom had decided it would be good idea. Deidara was, in short, a troublemaker. He always got into fights at school, vandalized (though not in your typical way; he preferred to blow stuff up), and was a rule breaker on a high scale. And he was proud of it.

Until he learned he was going to be spending his whole summer break at Konaha Summer camp. But now, seeing the camp, he decided that maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.

It looked like it was well kept. Green grass swaying with the warm winds, the sun casting its brilliant rays upon the land, a sparkling lake in the distance, and a forest surrounding the area. Definitely not what he was used to in Iwa where it was mountains, mountains, and oh look—more mountains. Buildings, mostly cabin looking and made of wood, were arranged in two neat rows right where the woods met the plains.

"Hello campers!" a voice said. Deidara turned to see a woman coming towards the large group, carrying a stack of papers. She was average height with dark hair that touched her shoulders, an inviting look on her face. "I'm the assistant manager Shizune. I'll be showing you around and assigning you your rooms. The manager would normally be here, but I'm afraid she's got some business to take care of…"

Deidara tuned her out. Instead of listening to stuff he probably wouldn't care about anyways, he opted to fix his half-ponytail, which had gotten messed up during the bus ride. Tugging out the elastic band, he put a little more up than usual because of the early June heat. His long blond hair was like a personal space heater.

"…follow me and we'll get started," Shizune concluded, motioning for the group of teenagers to follow her. Deidara felt way too old for this; he was seventeen, dammit! He should be able to make his own choice about going to some camp. Sighing, he shouldered his large duffel bag and grabbed his suitcase handle, following the perky woman.

The bag made him a little top heavy as he walked. Now off the parking lot, rolling his suitcase in the grass didn't make it any better. "Shit!" he said rather loudly as he staggered and fell, confused when he landed on something other than the grass. Looking down, he saw he had landed on another boy.

He was immediately pushed off. "Watch where you're going, why don't you?" the boy, a redhead, hissed. His chocolate brown eyes glared at Deidara's azure ones angrily as he got up.

"Who pissed in your cereal?" he spat back, quickly standing and glaring back. It had been an innocent mishap; why was this guy being such an asshole about it?

The boy made an irritated noise and turned, catching back up with the group. Deidara stood there for a moment, trying to calm himself down and remember his mother's final words to him before he got out of the car at the bus stop.

"Get into any trouble and you'll never see another piece of clay in your life."

Shuddering at the thought of never being able to sculpt again—and she had been serious—Deidara exhaled through his mouth and decided to let it slide. He could get the guy back later, if needed.

The tour was long and drawn out. Shizune decided it would be best for them to know everything about the camp. All the blond wanted to do was go to his cabin and rest, maybe draw some. If there was one thing he was certain of, it was that he would not be lost anytime soon.

To occupy himself, Deidara stole brief glances at the redhead he had knocked down earlier, observing the little things he did. He didn't know why, but it was somehow entertaining. The boy kept the same face the whole time; stony and expressionless. Nothing Shizune, or probably anybody for that matter, could change it. He didn't say a word to anyone else, only following the herd when it moved. He didn't even look back once to catch Deidara in his act.

Finally, the papers the lady had been holding on to were passed out and the group was dismissed to find his or her cabin. The Akatsuki cabin was his, the farthest cabin to the east. Deidara liked the name; he spoke some Japanese and knew the word meant "dawn." Clever, as the sun rose in the east. He smirked to himself for figuring that one out.

He knew exactly where to go from the tour. Heading towards the back of the commons area, almost to the woods, he took a left to where the cabins were located in an even more secluded spot. The passage way into it took them to the middle of the area, where there were ten cabins on the left and the right side, making for twenty in total. They were split into gender (of course) and age. Boys, which were on the right, had a cabin for kids ages six through eight, a cabin for nine through eleven, a cabin for twelve through fourteen, a cabin for fifteen, three cabins for sixteen and seventeen, and two for eighteen. Eighteen was the maximum age for the camp since college kids were probably too old for it.

Picking up the pace, Deidara looked around at some other boys heading in the same direction as his cabin on the end. There was a tall guy with spiked up blue hair walking beside another person with long black hair gathered into a loose ponytail. He had seen them on the bus but hadn't paid them much attention except for questioning the taller one's choice in hair color. There was also another guy with slicked back off-white hair that was shirtless, practically running to the cabin. Great.

After trekking across the field for another couple minutes or so (and after watching the blue haired guy, the ponytail dude, and the shirtless albino go into the cabin labeled Akatsuki), Deidara stepped onto the small porch of the wooden building and opened the door, revealing a living room like area with two couches, beanbags, a table, and a TV mounted on the left wall. About four guys were in there talking. Choosing to ignore them for now, Deidara swept past the boys and glanced down at his paper that showed him his room number in the cabin.

He was assigned room number two with some guy named Sasori Akasuna. There were two small hallways within the cabin; one that had all the rooms and the other that led to a hopefully large bathroom. Deidara needed his personal space when he was getting ready in the morning.

He turned left and walked down the short hallway and found the room marked two. It was at the end, being diagonal from room one and next to four. He hoped his roommate wasn't that weird shirtless guy.

Opening the door, Deidara suddenly wishedit was that guy. Instead, as luck would have it, it was the redhead from before. The boy, Sasori, he presumed, looked up from where he had been lying on one of the two beds and instantly grimaced. "Of course," Deidara heard him mutter under his breath.

"What was that, un? Wanna say it again?" the blond said, going in and kicking the door closed. Out of all of the people in the camp, of course he had to be stuck with this one.

Now Sasori was sitting up. "I think you're on the wrong side, brat. Girls are over there," he replied, pointing to the side the girls were on.

"I would say you're in the wrong cabin too, but I don't think there is one for assholes. And who gave you the right to call me a brat?"

"Nobody has to give me the right, brat. I can do what I want."

"Yeah, well I bet you won't get many friends with that kind of logic, un." Deidara hauled his stuff over to the unoccupied bed, setting down the duffel bag on top of the plain black and red bedspread and rolling his suitcase to the side.

"Who says I have any?"

"Lemme guess; you're one of those antisocial outcasts with no purpose in life and nobody that loves you. Did I get it?"

"Right on the money."

Suddenly there was a loud thumping in the hallway and then the door had been burst open by a tall boy in a mask that concealed most of his face. "Did somebody say money?" he asked, looking around.

"Who the hell are you, un?" Deidara practically yelled, temper on edge.

"If you pay me I'll tell you."

"No way. I don't care that much," he replied. Glaring, the boy left the room, slamming the door shut on his way out. Deidara stole a look at Sasori to see his face still blank, not disturbed at all. It was pissing him off! "Why do you always have that stupid look on your face, un?" he asked, saying what he had been thinking out loud.

"You've only seen my face twice now," Sasori stated. "Unless you've been watching me."

"Like hell," the blond spat back. He would never admit that he had watched him throughout the entire tour.

"Whatever you say, brat."

It turned out sharing a room with Sasori was like rooming with the devil himself. The littlest things he did annoyed Deidara to death. The guy had the most irritating habits he had ever seen; he would lay his dirty clothes everywhere on the floor (neatly, of course), just asking to be stepped on. And when Deidara did step on them, the redhead would grit his teeth and tell him to fix the wrinkles he had made in the fabric. He would turn the lamp on and off throughout the course of the night, claiming he needed to see what time it was and the digital clock wasn't bright enough for him. But worst of all, he actually set an alarm that went off every morning at six. Deidara was ready to kill a man by the end of the first few days.

"What's wrong, Deidara?" Kisame, the blue haired guy, asked him one day at dinner.

Kisame was nice, friendly, and very athletic; especially when it came to swimming. It seemed almost seemed like he belonged in water; he could hold his breath for two minutes! He was probably a popular jock back at his school in Kiri.

"Yeah, what the fuck is going on with you?" Hidan said in his usual vulgar tone. "You look like hell."

"Because I'm sharing a room with the devil, un," he answered, stabbing his fork into his dinner.

"You mean Sasori?" Kisame asked.

Deidara groaned and took a bite of his mashed potatoes, looking up to see Sasori staring at him from the other side of the round table their cabin sat at. He smirked. Deidara gave him the finger.

"He can't be worse than my asshole of a roommate," Hidan stated, completely aware that Kakazu was right next to him and rolling his eyes. "At least yours doesn't GO THROUGH YOUR FUCKING BAGS AND STEAL YOUR FUCKING MONEY AND THEN HIDE IT."

"What were you going to use it for anyways?" Kakazu shrugged.

"Shit I wanted!" the albino pouted. "I'm going to find it, whether you like it or not."

"You never will."

"Shut the hell up!"

The two began to bicker, Hidan swearing to Jashin that he would find his stolen money if it was the last thing he would do. Deidara wanted to slam his breakfast into their faces. "What is he like?" Itachi, Kisame's even less expressionless roommate, asked.

"He's a brick wall with no emotions and a shitty sense of humor," the blond answered.

"How so?"

"Allow me to explain: he got some butter from the cafeteria staff, rubbed it everywhere in front of the door, and made me clean it up after I slipped in it three times, un!"

"Sucks," Kisame commented.

"What are we talking about over here?" Konan, Pein's girlfriend from his town, asked, turning from her conversation with said ginger and butting into theirs. She normally hung out in their cabin and sat with them during meals. No one really questioned her presence; after all, Pein was the closest thing to a cabin leader they had and she was enjoyable to have around.

"Deidara has boy problems."

"They are not 'boy problems, un!'"

Konan giggled. "Problems with Sasori?"

"How'd you know?" Deidara questioned.

"If you think your glares at each other are discrete, they're not. And you don't seem to have a problem with anyone else," the girl answered. "So is it him?"

Finishing off his plate, he didn't answer. Instead, Deidara got up, mumbling a quick "be right back" before going. He gave his plate and utensils to the nice cafeteria lady before heading outside to the vending machines under the covered area on the side of the building. A few campers were eating outside, but Deidara didn't find it too pleasant now that the bugs were coming out to play at night. He grinned when he saw one of the girls squealing and swatting at a rather large one.

Digging out some coins from his pocket that Kakazu hadn't managed to sniff out yet, Deidara contemplated what to get. He was in the mood for something kind of tangy—

"What are you doing out here, brat?" a voice he knew all too well asked.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Deidara turned to face Sasori. "What does it look like I'm doing, un?"

"Wasting your money on an overpriced soft drink. Give me a quarter."

"Why should I?"

"Just do it, brat."

Deidara huffed, tossing a quarter to the redhead. What could he do with a quarter? He was probably just going to throw it at the girls or something, being the tormentor he was.

But that was not what he did. Instead, Sasori pulled out a piece of long string and tied it around the quarter, faster than the blond had ever seen someone tie a knot before. Then, elbowing Deidara out of the way, he inserted it into the coin slot and let it drop all the way down. The machine made a cha-ching noise. Then, he pulled it up slightly and dropped it again.

Cha-ching.

"Oh man, that's awesome," Deidara laughed as Sasori repeated it countless times. Cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching. Soon enough, there was a total of eleven dollars at their disposal. Sasori pulled the coin up all the way and got it out of the thin slot, his nimble fingers pulling on the string delicately. A satisfied smirk settled over his boyish features as he untied the string from around the quarter and handed it back.

"Now then, what do you think everybody would like?"

Nobody at their table paid them any attention as the two walked back in, each with an armful of drinks. Not until the drinks were set on the table and people were told to take their pick. Deidara ended up with a Fanta Orange, which he was pleased about. He was about to open it when he noticed that Sasori, who had taken his seat across the table again, had two drinks.

"Hey, Sasori, how come only you get two, un?" he questioned, gesturing towards his second Dr. Pepper.

Sasori only shrugged in response. "Maybe because I wanted two."

"Maybe I wanted two too, un."

"Too bad. I was the one getting the drinks."

"It was my quarter, selfish asshole!"

"You should thank me for helping you out, brat."

"Whatever!" Deidara grit his teeth. "See you at the cabin," he mumbled to his new friends before he grabbed his soda and stormed out of the building.

What was up with him? It was like he was some over emotional girl when it came to Sasori. The guy knew how to get on his very last nerve; and he did it often. He didn't even want to think about having to share the same room with him for the entire summer. The thought of it put him in a worse mood. He thought about asking one of his cabin mates to switch rooms with him, or possibly beg them to let him sleep on the floor or something, but ruled out both options. From the stories he told about the redhead, probably no one would want to switch with him. Besides, everyone else seemed content with their roommate.

Everyone except him and most likely Sasori, unless tormenting Deidara was his twisted way of saying he liked him. Hah, like hell they could ever be friends, or even acquaintances. He decided the best way to neutralize the situation was by simply ignoring him. Maybe that would put a stop to his endless need to make Deidara's life miserable. Even Tobi would have been better, no matter how annoying the masked boy was.

Maybe some music would help him. Once he reached the cabin, he went straight to his room and rummaged through his suitcase until he found his Ipod and earplugs. Not wanting to have Sasori show up and disrupt him, Deidara moved to the small area in the front of the cabin and opted for lying on one of the sofas, plugging in the earplugs in the device and his ears. He was in the mood for some rock music. Turning on one of his favorite bands, he dozed off with the sound of guitars and drums.

He didn't know what time it was when he woke up. The sound of muffled snoring behind a closed door along with the call of a nocturnal bird was the only sounds to be heard. Deidara suspected the snoring was Hidan and felt bad for poor Kakazu. Not even someone as greedy as him should have to put up with that.

Groaning, the blond dropped his feet to the floor and ran a hand through his hair, feeling tangles and knots galore. Joy. Unfortunately, he knew what he would be doing in the morning (besides getting woken up early by Sasori, of course).

Deidara now noticed he wasn't in his shared room cursing up a storm when the lamp light was flicked on and off. Huh. Well, he might as well sleep on the couch since he was here. Then he noticed his Ipod was missing, as well as his earplugs. Internally groaning, he fumbled around for some source of light before placing his hand on the wooden table and feeling the slick surface of a screen, along with a familiar crack.

Deidara picked his Ipod up, glaring at the brightness when he turned it on. The time read a little past midnight. Shining the light on the table, he found his earplugs on it as well. Thankful nobody had taken them, he fluffed the hard sofa pillow he had been sleeping on and placed the two items under it before lying back down and wrapping the blanket around him. He didn't have time to wonder who had put the blanket on him before he drifted back to sleep.

"This is gonna be good!"

"Shhh! Don't wake him up, idiot!"

"Senpai is going to be very angry when he wakes up… Please make sure he knows Tobi had nothing to do with this! I don't want my Senpai to be mad at me!"

"Yeah, yeah. We get it, Tobi. Now shut the hell up and give me the fucking cup."

Deidara cracked an eye open to see Hidan, Zetsu, Tobi, and Itachi (who hadn't said a word) standing by the sofa he rested on, getting ready to put his hand in a cup of warm water. Very mature. Then he saw who was behind them on the other couch; Sasori. He seemed to be very absorbed in a book he was reading.

Deidara had been so busy watching the intent faces Sasori was making at his book that he didn't notice his hand had already been dipped into the cup of water. Deciding to play the part, he shuffled a bit and began to mumble.

"What's the fuck is he saying?" Hidan whispered loudly, leaning into his personal space.

"Something about water," Zetsu answered.

"Kisame… that's not what water's for… don't do that to Itachi…" he murmured quietly. Hidan began to crack up, trying to hold in his hysterical laughter. Tobi probably blushed while Itachi remained dead silent until—

"I believe he is having yaoi fantasies that he wishes for us to fulfill. I am sorry, Deidara, but I do not swing that way."

"Does Senpai like boys?"

"I'm awake, you idiots, un!" Deidara shouted, abruptly moving his arm and knocking over the cup of water, which spilled on the floor. Tobi leaped backwards and began flinging his arms around wildly before apologies flew out of him like running water.

"I'M SO SORRY SENPAI, THEY MADE ME DO IT! HIDAN SAID HE WOULD MAKE SURE TO TELL EVERYONE I WAS A BAD BOY IF I DIDN'T! BUT I'M A GOOD BOY, SENPAI! TOBI IS A GOOD BOY!"

"Shut up, Tobi!" he yelled. Turning to Hidan and Zetsu, who were whistling and looking away, he added, "What kind of a fail prank was that, un?"

"The kind that didn't work," Zetsu said.

"Hence the word 'fail.'"

Shrugging, the green haired boy walked off to his room, Tobi scampering to follow him and crying a final "sorry" to Deidara. Hidan merely plopped on the couch.

"Damn, and I thought it would work," he pouted dejectedly.

The blond laid a hand on the albino's shoulder. "I bet it would work on Kisame, un. He's probably still asleep… Why don't you go try it now?" He grinned.

Hidan rolled his eyes but got up anyways. "Fine, I will. And it'll fucking work this time!" He picked up the cup (disregarding the spillage, but it was only water so it would dry) and headed for the bathroom to refill it.

Now the only ones were in the room were Deidara and Sasori. The redhead, who had finally looked up from his book, raised a questioning eyebrow at him. His face still held the same expressionless look and probably would no matter what happened. Hell, he could probably fly in on one of his clay birds and the guy would still only look at him and say, "What are you doing, brat?"

Deidara pulled his Ipod and earplugs out from under the pillow. It wouldn't unlock. "What the hell, un…" he mumbled to himself as he typed in his passcode for the sixth time before getting locked out for twenty seconds. After waiting, he tried again. Same thing.

"Did you do this?" he questioned, waving the device at Sasori, who merely shrugged.

"Did I do what?"

"My passcode, un! Did you change my freaking passcode?"

He didn't expect Sasori to confess. "Actually, yes. And there's only one way you're going to get it unlocked."

"And how's that?" the blond growled.

The redhead smirked and set down his book. "You have to call me Danna from now on."

"Call you Master?! Like hell, un!" Deidara exclaimed.

"Guess you don't want to listen to your music anymore. Too bad, I actually like Thousand Foot Krutch," Sasori shrugged. "Maybe I'll use it for myself."

So Sasori had been the one to move his Ipod; and he had broken into it as well. "How'd you even figure out the passcode, un?" he grunted.

"One-one-one-one wasn't that hard to figure out, brat."

"…Go to hell."

"Well? Do we have a deal?"

Deidara knew he couldn't go without his music for more than a couple days. It was what calmed him down when he was in one of his moods. Unfortunately, he had to comply. Sasori unlocked it (not showing him what the passcode had been) and allowed him to change it to something else—something that didn't even have a one in it.

"What do you say to your master, brat?" Sasori asked deviously as he reclined on the sofa, obviously pleased with himself.

"Like I said earlier, go to hell, un."

"If you don't say it, I'll break into it again. But this time I won't give it back."

Deidara could tell he was serious. "Fine," he said, relenting; something that was not like him at all. "Thank you, Danna, for giving me back my Ipod."

"You're welcome," the redhead returned before resuming his book and leaving Deidara wondering what to do next.

The blond watched as he read, unable to figure out why he couldn't get rid of the small smile on his face.

Two weeks later.

"So, remind me why you're walking with me to dinner, un?"

"Because you're highly entertaining."

Sasori had begun to occasionally walk with Deidara to activities and meals for some odd reason unbeknownst to anyone—including said person who was being walked. Deidara didn't know why; all the redhead seemed to do was try to irritate him. But then there were sometimes that he didn't mind the extra company. That was when Sasori was unusually nice, but these moments were usually fleeting. That's why the blond took in every second of it so he could remember it later, just like his artwork.

He had found out Sasori was an artist as well, but not the same type. Actually, the exact opposite. Sasori preferred to work with wood and especially liked creating working puppets, which explained why he was so good with his fingers. Actually, that sounded kind of wrong. Why was he even thinking like that?

Going back to the art thing, the two had very contradicting views about the subject. It would always end up with them in an argument as well as others, as they would drag them into it. Still, nonetheless, they enjoyed working by each other when they worked and often found themselves using their free time together in their room to work on their pieces.

It was strange, really. Sometimes he would hate him, sometimes he could stand him. It was off and on—but that wasn't his fault. It seemed like Sasori couldn't pick a personality towards Deidara to go with, being either an asshole all of the time or not being an asshole. Frankly, Deidara wished he would choose to not be an asshole because then he was actually somewhat pleasant to be around. Of course, as said earlier, those moments when he wasn't one usually didn't last very long.

They passed by the vending machine, where Sasori did his coin trick with Deidara's quarter (he carried it at all times) and, of course, got himself two drinks and the blond only one. Deidara didn't bother to argue; he was getting used to the boy's stuck-up ways and plus, he was too tired from attempting to race Kisame around the lake.

"C'mon Deidara, it'll be fun!" he had said.

It had not been fun.

"Hey you two," Konan said, greeting them when they got in line for food behind her. "Are you guys gonna join in on tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow night, un?" Deidara asked. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know what 'tomorrow night' was.

"We're going to play hide and seek after dark," the girl answered proudly.

"No," Sasori stated blandly, not giving it any thought.

Konan put on her pouty face. "Oh c'mon, we need you guys to play. It's more fun with more people. Please?"

"What's in it for us, un?" Deidara asked, moving to get a tray.

"I don't know, free snacks from the vending machines?"

"Got that covered," Sasori stated.

"Hugs from Tobi?"

"I would rather be mauled by a grizzly bear," the blond remarked in disgust.

"Please! I swear it'll be—"

"Ah, Deidara, Sasori, you're joining us for tomorrow night's game, aren't you?" Pein asked, approaching them.

Oh shit. How could he say no now? The guy was freaking intimidating with his piercings and weird purple eyes. Not wanting to find out what would happen to him if he said no, Deidara hastily agreed. Pein smiled and turned to Sasori, who rolled his eyes as an agreement.

"Great! You two can be a team since we're hiding in pairs," the ginger grinned before engaging Konan in a conversation neither of the other two cared about. Rolling his eyes at being paired up with his roommate and moving along in the line, Deidara was happy to see one of his favorite dishes being served tonight; lasagna.

"Finally, something good! I bet I could eat this whole thing," he grinned, piling his plate high with only lasagna. The two sat down and it was then that he noticed Sasori had also loaded his plate with it as well. Well, he guessed they both liked lasagna.

Picking up his fork, he began ate slowly so he could preserve the taste of the cheese and sauce. It was amazing, much better than his mom's. "Isn't this good, Danna—"

Sasori had already eaten almost half of his plate, going at a much faster pace than Deidara. That was odd. The redhead usually liked to take his time when eating, unlike himself.

The blond took it as a challenge.

Deidara shoved a huge piece into his mouth, bits and pieces falling out. "Deidara, that's disgusting," Kakazu said, watching him as he put even more in. "Ugh."

But he didn't care. Instead, he only swallowed and crammed another large bite into his mouth, looking to his side to see that Sasori was now going even faster as well. Soon enough, his roommate had cleared his plate and hurriedly got up for more. Deidara, three quarters of the way done with his plate, leaped up and moved to serve himself more. He would not lose.

"This is so gross," Konan whispered to Pein as the duo continued to go at it, now looking each other in the eyes as they did. Food went everywhere as their lasagna eating competition got even more heated.

"Yeah… fuck this," Hidan said, getting up from the table and dumping his tray. The others were soon to follow until it was only Sasori and Deidara left at the table, both of them on their third serving.

It was only when a cafeteria attendant took away their trays did they stop, both glaring at each other.

"I… won, un," Deidara stated with difficulty. Oh man, his stomach hurt. Maybe that hadn't of been the best idea.

"No, I did, brat…" Sasori returned, but there wasn't much venom in it. In fact, the redhead himself looked a little nauseous. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

Deidara did the same until he felt like he was going to be seeing some more lasagna again—and soon. Jumping up and running to the cafeteria bathroom (with Sasori not far behind), he burst into the closest stall just as his dinner made a reappearance. This was just great.

Well, at least Sasori's did too.

After lying in the infirmary for a few hours and then going back to the cabin to sleep, Deidara, for once, didn't wake up to the sound of Sasori's annoying alarm at six. Light shone through their single window in the room, indicating it was probably midmorning and giving him a clear view of his roommate's sleeping form.

He was currently balled up under the covers and looked like a cocoon, only the top of his head with its red hair visible. Deidara couldn't help but think he looked so small and innocent like that. He would never admit to himself he had ever thought that, though.

"Rise and shine, Danna, un," he said loudly, deciding to wake the other up as payback for the two weeks he had had to deal with his stupid alarm had gone off. The lump only let out a low groan and shifted. Deidara chucked his pillow at him and he was up in a flash.

"What the hell do you want, brat?" Sasori spat, glaring at the blond venomously.

"Get up, un."

"If you want me to walk you to the bathroom so you can take a shit, the answer is no."

"Go suck a dick."

"You'd like it to be yours, wouldn't you?"

For some reason that really rubbed Deidara the wrong way. "I wouldn't let you near me if my life fucking depended on it, un," he said. He could have done better.

"Is that so?" Then in an instant, Sasori was hovering over Deidara. Before he could move or do anything—preferably kick the guy in the stomach—the redhead had pinned him down to the bed. Sasori's arms held Deidara's firmly over his head, his knees planted on both sides of his torso. With no idea how to get out of it, he had been successfully captured.

And that pissed him off even more.

"Get the hell off, un!" he shouted in outrage. He did his best to squirm around, but it was no use. Sasori was a lot stronger than his thin frame gave him credit for.

"Why should I, brat?" Sasori smirked, leaning closer and into Deidara's personal space. Deidara didn't flinch, only focusing on clenching his teeth even tighter. He turned his head to the side so he didn't have to look at him.

Sasori gave a low chuckle and leaned even closer. "Does this… bother you?" Deidara could feel a warm breath on his neck breathing heavily and why was his heart fluttering and why did his legs just squirm oh god.

And just like that, he was off. Deidara sat up immediately, his body now free, and scowled in an attempt to hide his blush. What had all that been about? Whatever. He could take him on any day… probably.

He didn't say anything as Sasori went back to his own side of the room and pulled out his wood carving kit from one of his bags. Even though carving wasn't his thing, Deidara had to admit it was a fine kit. It had an assortment of knives from dull to razor sharp, long to the size of a toothpick. There were also some other things that he didn't know the purpose of; he hadn't seen them being used. The only thing Sasori was working on at the moment was an extremely detailed marionette. He was still carving the features.

Deidara got out his clay and began working as well, deciding what he should create. Maybe a bird. Those were his favorite to make.

The two artists worked silently for nearly hours. Deidara couldn't help but wonder what had gotten into him earlier. He had been pinned down by a guy he hated and felt… something? Was that the right word to call it? There wasn't really anything else, right?

Sighing, he tried his best to focus on his creation. Thankfully, he had time to work on it, unlike their usual hour breaks scattered throughout the day. They had both been excused from camp activities for the time being, which Deidara found himself relishing. As much as he enjoyed tripping over roots on hikes or "accidentally" falling into the lake (aka being pushed in by Hidan), it was a welcome relief to kick back and relax.

Finally, after two hours, the bird was done. Neither one of them had moved an inch since the fight, not to mention spoken. Deidara, hands messy with still-wet clay, was the first to get off his bed. He stepped back and admired it, grinning to himself at the fine job he had done in such a short amount of time.

Now it was time to blow it up.

Gently lifting the wax paper the sculpture was resting on, the blond quickly made his way outside, getting a good distance away from the cabins. He was checking to make sure all was well when Sasori, who had apparently followed him out, spoke.

"It's a shame you don't keep your work. It's actually decent," he said.

"I do keep it, un. I always remember it," Deidara replied, carefully removing the bird from the slick paper and holding it up. "Watch this."

Fishing out a small button from his cargo pants' many pockets, Deidara brought his arm back and swung it with all his might, sending the bird into the sky in an underhand throw. He watched as the wings actually flapped, having been built with lightweight wooden supporters that allowed for movement. Then, once it was at its peak in the air and was about to come down, he pressed the button and it blew up, sending blue and green fireworks everywhere.

"How was that?" he grinned, turning to Sasori who had his eyebrows raised. His chocolate eyes held something of curiosity in them.

"That was… interesting. I still don't see why you felt the need to destroy it, though." He looked up at the sky, watching as embers landed softly on the ground. "Brat," he added, like he had almost forgotten.

"Because art is a blast, un! Deidara exclaimed. "It's something that you'll remember forever, right Danna?"

"Right…"

"Deidara! Sasori!"

The duo turned towards Konan, who had appeared around the grove of trees and was running towards them, followed by Tobi, Pein, and Kakazu. Konan bent over once she reached them, gasping for her breath.

"Sorry… just ran… long way…" she breathed. The other three were soon caught up.

"What were those fireworks?" Pein questioned.

"My art, un," Deidara answered.

"I didn't know Senpai was an artist!" Tobi burst. "Tobi wishes he were an artist!"

"In your dreams," is what Deidara wanted to say. Instead, he shrugged and turned his attention on the others. "What's up?"

"We just wanted to check on how you two were feeling and if you were going to play tonight" Konan stated.

"They obviously look fine, can we go now? I really need to use the bathroom," Pein complained.

"Tobi has to use the bathroom too!"

"I'm only here because I was promised a dollar."

Before Deidara could answer and say that he was feeling very sick and could most definitely not do anything tonight for fear of rupturing his heart or contracting a fatal disease or come up with some other excuse, Sasori interjected. "Of course we're playing," he said, smiling a sweet smile that only Deidara knew meant he was planning for something to go horribly wrong. And that something that would go horribly wrong would probably involve him.

Maybe he could just fake a heart attack. Yeah, that sounded like a good plan.

"Awesome!" the girl smiled. "Okay Pein, you can go use the bathroom now."

The ginger didn't even reply, running to the nearest cabin so fast it seemed like his life depended on it. Deidara found it funny that, while he acted like the leader, Konan was really the one in charge of him. She was kind of like his mother and his girlfriend rolled into one.

"Wait for me, Pein!" Tobi called after the running boy.

Kakazu held out his hand to Konan, who merely glanced at it before walking away and saying, "I lied about the dollar."

"Konan, so help me, I will search your entire cabin for your bag…" Kakazu began as he followed her, trying to get his promised money. But nobody could really argue with Konan; she was too sweet.

Sasori still hadn't lost his mischievous smile. "Great. Thanks for dragging us both into that one, Danna, un," Deidara sighed. He had gotten pretty used to calling him Danna.

"I like hide and seek."

"That doesn't mean I had to play, too."

"I needed a partner."

"Why not be with someone else?" the blond prodded, frustrated. Sasori didn't answer as he begun to walk back to the cabin. "Answer me, un," he said, grabbing the redhead's shoulder. Sasori turned, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Because I wanted to be with you."

He walked off, leaving Deidara speechless for the first time in his life.

"Okay, so here are the—Hidan, would you shut up and listen?! Thank you. Now…"

Konan explained the rules to the group in the sitting area of the Akatsuki cabin. The time had finally come upon them to play hide and seek. And just to make a rebellious statement that nobody owned them, they were playing it after the curfew. The only person giddy about that was Tobi, who had probably never broken a single rule in his entire life. He was currently sitting in the corner murmuring to himself over and over again, "Tobi is a good boy, Tobi is a good boy, Tobi is a good boy…"

Aside from Tobi, everybody else was fine. After Konan had explained the rules, she told everybody to put a hand in and began the normal procedure for selecting which team was it. Kisame and Itachi ended up being the seekers, much to the blue haired boy's dismay.

"Dammit, I had the perfect place to hide," he grumbled on their way to the woods. They counted in the middle of the set boundary, which was relatively small due to the fact that they were in the woods and it was dark. The moon was the only source of light, its brilliant luminous rays dancing around the forest when a cloud passed over the glowing circle in the sky.

"Ready?" Konan asked them once they were facing the large tree that was considered base.

"Go," Itachi said, beginning to count with Kisame.

Deidara grabbed Sasori's arm and pulled him along, knowing it was best to get far away in the beginning. "Do you know where you're going, brat?" the redhead asked as they wove in between trees and leaped over rocks.

"We're getting away," the blond answered, trying his best not to stumble over anything.

After running to what Deidara deemed to be the edge of the boundary (they had scoped it out earlier), the two stopped to catch their breaths. "He should be… done counting by now," he said. Sasori nodded.

They sat quietly for a few minutes, waiting to see if something would happen. "Let's go," he whispered to his partner. They stealthily began to make their way to base, keeping a sharp eye out for any other movements.

Sasori actually spotted something. Or, rather, heard. "Stop," he commanded, abruptly crouching down and pulling Deidara with him. "Listen."

There was the sound of hushed voices, one rather loud for whispering and the other shushing nearly every five seconds. And then—

"Shut the fuck up! I know what's I'm doing!"

"Hidan," Deidara rolled his eyes. "Let's—"

"HIDAN, RUN YOU IDIOT!"

"OH SHIT!"

"Itachi! Over here! I found somebody!"

"Shit," Sasori cursed, jumping up immediately. He grabbed Deidara's arm (much like he had done earlier) and tugged him to his feet before taking off in a sprint.

"Slow down, un!" Deidara hissed as they leaped over roots and rocks that seemed to spring up in their way. "We're gonna fall!"

The frantic yelling of Hidan, Kakazu, Kisame, and Itachi were beginning to fade behind them and he knew they were clear. Pulling his arm loose from the redhead's iron grip, Deidara stopped and looked over his shoulder. Yep, they were good.

"Okay, let's go," he said.

They found their way to the base a few minutes later and saw that Konan and Pein had already beaten them to it. Zetsu and Tobi were probably still wondering around the woods.

"Who was screaming out there?" Pein asked when they saw them.

"Hidan," Sasori answered. "They're caught."

"Most likely," Deidara, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead.

The four waited around ten more minutes until there was the sound of a bush rustling startled them all. All three of the other teams appeared, Kisame and Itachi looking rather pleased with themselves.

"Hidan and Kakazu are it," Itachi said.

"Fuckers," the albino spat. "Money lover here tripped me to save himself!

"All is fair in love and war," Kakazu shrugged.

"But, Kakazu, you need your partner to win, don't you?" Tobi questioned.

"Yeah, that's right!" Hidan pouted. "Listen to Tobi, Kakazu."

"Okay, okay," Konan said. "Count, you two."

Both boys groaned in unison as they approached the tree and began arguing about who got to start the count off. "Same place, un?" Deidara asked, receiving a nod in answer. They made their way back to the border and situated themselves in before the blond felt a drop hit his forehead. "Don't tell me…" He looked up as another one fell.

"Great. Rain," Sasori stated.

"Captain Obvious strikes again, un," Deidara said, rolling his eyes. He had been wondering why the light had disappeared, but the answer was now obvious. Looking through the not-so-shielding canopy of trees, the overcast sky and covered moon was clearly visible. "Should we go back?"

"Yeah."

They got up and began to walk, the rain becoming harder every minute. Deidara didn't particularly like the rain; it always made him feel tired and bored because a rainy day in Iwa was spent with nothing to do. Soon enough, it was a full-on downpour. Both boys were soaked to the bone, despite being in the forest. Hopefully it would just be a summer shower.

After walking for around fifteen minutes and seeing no sign of the base or any other teams, Deidara knew something was wrong.

"I think we took a wrong turn or something, un," he said, looking around.

Sasori sighed in frustration, his brows furrowing. "Then we should turn around, brat."

And they did; or at least they thought. Instead of doing an about face, they turned more to the right. It didn't help that obstacles kept getting them off-track as well. Finally, after fifteen more minutes of walking, they were officially lost.

"This is just fucking great!" Deidara groaned. He was wet, cold, and damn tired of walking around aimlessly. Plus his feet hurt. Deciding he had had enough of the rain, he waited until they walked under a large tree and sat down.

"Come on, brat, we have to get back," Sasori said, kicking him half-heartedly.

"You go. I'm waiting here until the rain stops, un," Deidara declared.

Sighing instead of arguing (which was very un-Sasori like), Sasori sat down next to the blond. The only sound was the pitter-patter of rain on the trees and ground and the occasional call of a bird. It would have been nice if he wasn't so exhausted he could go to sleep right then and there. It was probably already midnight and the blond did not look forward to hearing the alarm go off in the morning after they finally got back.

Silence always bugged him. He was a loud, outgoing person that always felt awkward when nobody spoke. So, he decided to say what was on his mind.

"I wish it wasn't so damn wet," Deidara said.

"It's rain, brat."

Why did he even bother? The guy was just going to make stupid comments that made him feel stupider. "How long do showers normally last, un?"

"About five to ten minutes, but it depends on if you use soap or not. I'm not sure if you do."

"That wasn't what I meant."

"I know."

Another silence. Well that didn't work. It felt like the temperature was dropping and he was cold, despite it being mid-June. Shivering, Deidara brought his knees up to his chest and pulled his shirt over them, trying to conserve body heat. The rain was making him feel sick again.

"Are you cold?" Sasori asked after a moment. He nodded and expected him to say "Sucks for you, brat. I'm warm."

But that was not what he did. After seemingly contemplating the idea, Sasori scooted over closer to Deidara and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulling him closer. The blond stiffened suddenly before relaxing into it, allowing the redhead to slip another arm around him until he was encased in a hold, head resting on the other's chest.

"How's this?" Sasori murmured in his ear. Deidara nodded, absorbing the boy's body heat. His heartbeat had picked up.

Nodding as well, Sasori shifted himself against the tree before leaning his head back. Deidara couldn't help but close his eyes from fatigue, only opening them slightly when thunder rumbled overhead. He felt the arms around him tighten and the ends of wet red hair tickle his ear. "Thank you, Danna," he whispered.

And that was how he fell asleep.

"You tell nobody about what happened, un," Deidara said as he and Sasori trekked through the forest hours later after they had woken up, darkness still covering the land. Even though the rain had stopped, they were both still quite wet. At least there wasn't a downpour anymore.

Sasori didn't say anything. Honestly, Deidara wasn't quite sure how he felt about what had happened. One part of him was dying to see that side of the redhead again, while the other (and more logical) part was screaming at him to get away and to not trust the bastard. Granted, yeah, he was a bastard; but a hot one at that.

They continued walking for who knows how long until they finally found the large tree that was base. In an attempt to humor the redhead, Deidara walked up to it and said, "ABC base on me. Guess we won, right, un?" he grinned.

"If that's what you'd like to call winning, brat, then yes," Sasori replied, not amused. Deidara let his smile drop.

Why was he acting so distant now? He certainly hadn't been distant earlier.

Whatever, not my problem, the blond told himself. Not my fault if he's on his man-period and his hormones are running wild.

Truth was he actually wanted to help his… friend become more social. But he couldn't do that if Sasori insisted on sulking every time he was annoyed about something. He couldn't live his life in the shell of a human, pretending not to feel anything. Deidara knew that the boy felt things. He could feel it from his heartbeat earlier.

I think Konan is probably more suited for playing counselor than me. Maybe I could get her to talk to him…

After walking a few more minutes, the two found themselves at the border of the cabins and the woods. "Finally, un!" Deidara shouted, sprinting towards the Akatsuki cabin and leaving his roommate behind. The first thing he was going to do was sleep. He was dog tired.

Not caring about how much noise he made when he burst through the door of the wooden building, the blond practically leaped over Kisame—who was passed out next to Pein on some beanbags—and raced to his room, feet thumping against the wood. He threw the door open and leaped onto his bed before snuggling under the covers. He heard the sound of the front door being opened and then his own as Sasori entered and went straight to his bed too.

For some reason, Deidara had been hoping he would come to his bed. He quite liked being held—

Stop it already! He's not interested and neither are you! Just go to sleep…

But no matter how tired he was, he couldn't fall asleep with thoughts of the boy who had kept him warm.

Two more weeks passed. By now, it was early July and the weather was blistering. The Country of Fire was really living up to its name. Dips in the pool and lake were now allowed at any time during the day whether you had on a swimsuit on or not, along with the daily hour and a half spent doing lake-related activities. The only person that seemed completely unaffected by the heat was Sasori.

"I live in Suna, brat. This is winter weather to me," he had claimed.

Deidara sighed at the thought of the redhead as he slipped his swim trunks on and tightened his ponytail. Unlike him, Sasori seemed completely and utterly indifferent to what happened the night of the downpour. The blond always smiled a bit at the memory, wishing the other would bring it up so he could see that softer side of him again. He hated to admit it—and he meant really hated it—but he was beginning to have feelings for Sasori.

But that wasn't the worst of it. He couldn't help but sneak glances at his roommate whenever he changed and admired the boy's body. It was thin and pale, but not in a bad sort of way. In fact, it looked better than any bodybuilder's in Deidara's opinion. His skin was soft and milky, not a flaw on it. His build, as said before, was small; but that didn't mean he didn't have muscles. Now having seen the boy's body, Deidara understood why he was strong.

While he had to admit his own body was good (he had abs, to say the least), Sasori's was better. What he wouldn't give to be held by—

"Come on, fucker! Why the hell are you so slow?" Hidan yelled, crashing into his room and grabbing Deidara's arm. "Let's go!"

"I was coming, un! Let go!" he said back, trying to pry the albino's large hand off his arm.

"I thought you'd be faster than that, shithead. Your loveris waiting for you," Hidan grinned.

"My what?"

"You heard me."

Hidan abruptly let go of Deidara's arm. "You think nobody fucking notices that you two are all over each other like a big fucking orgy?"

"Hidan, that didn't even make sense, un," Deidara sighed, rubbing his arm.

"So you don't deny you're fucking him?"

"No! I'm not, un! Never in hell."

"But you're not denying that you like him," he smirked.

"Well, I don't. Happy?" Deidara snapped.

"Look, Deidara," Hidan said, suddenly serious. "I know something happened that night. And if you try to deny that, then you're fucking lying. You guys were out there for hours. What happened?"

"The way you say it makes me not want to tell you," Deidara muttered, trying to push past his cabin mate who only followed him.

"Come on dude, don't be a shit. Tell Uncle Hidan," he pleaded.

The blond stopped. "Fine, but only if you tell me how you can tell I like him, un."

"So you do like him! I fucking knew it! Kakazu better be ready to pay the fuck up!" Hidan shouted gleefully, causing Deidara to whip his hand over his big mouth faster than you could say, "Shut the hell up, un!"

After the boy had calmed down, Deidara removed his hand, thoroughly disgusted by how many times it had been licked. Hidan was back to normal; a smirking asshole. He was now going on about how many bricks Kakazu would shit when he found out he had won. The number was around fifteen.

"Tell me how you knew, un," Deidara said.

Hidan stopped his talking and grinned at the smaller boy. "Like I said, it's pretty obvious. You guys are always staring at each other and secretly smiling and it's kind of fucking creepy but whatever."

"I do not stare at him," the blond pouted.

"Actually, now that I think about it, it's mostly him that stares. Especially during art. I swear it's like you're a goddamn TV screen to him…"

He stares at me?

"…always making these stupid faces at you. They make me want to puke…"

He smiles at me?

"…and he's always even pissier when you're not around. He once drop kicked me into the lake when I said you looked like a girl," Hidan concluded.

Deidara didn't even bother to register the fact that Hidan had called him a girl, instead shaking his head. "There's no way, un. He hates me," he said more morbidly than he thought he had.

"Hates you?!" Hidan laughed. "That's the best fucking joke I've ever heard. Go talk to him or something and see if you can get laid."

"…Right. But first, I think I'll put in a good word with Kakazu for you, un," he winked and then laughed when the albino turned fifty shades of red before running off.

"Get back here you little fucker! You didn't even tell me what happened!" he heard his friend call behind him. He didn't stop running and laughed even more when he heard, "Fuck you!"

The lake was pretty much parallel to the cabin area. There was a large trail in the woods that people used to get to it that led to the clearing in which it was in. Coming out of the woods, Deidara spotted his group a little ways down. Itachi, Kisame, and Konan were already in the lake swimming around while the others were in a circle talking. Sasori was among them.

"Hey guys, un," he said, approaching them and sitting down between Pein and Zetsu.

"Where's Hidan?" Kakazu asked.

He saw the opportunity and took it. "Lost in your ass, probably. Maybe he went too far in."

Everybody laughed except Kakazu, who was glaring murderously at the blond. Even Sasori cracked a smile. Just then, almost on cue, Hidan burst through the trees and began to run over to them.

"Well what do you know," Pein mused, "he's not in your ass after all, Kakazu. You'll have to try harder." Another round of laughter.

Kakazu stood as Hidan reached the group, marching over to the latter and grabbing him by the ear. "Ow! Kakazu, what the hell?!" he yelled as he was dragged towards the water. "Wait, WAIT!" Then he was thrown in, landing on top of Kisame, who was reenacting jaws.

The tall boy wiped his hands off on his dry swim trunks as if Hidan had gotten germs all over them—which he probably had. "I'm going to get a snack," he stated, stalking away.

Once he was out of range, Zetsu said, "How much damage do you think he'll do this time?"

"Enough to clean the bathrooms, hopefully," Pein smirked.

"Do not remind me of cleaning the bathrooms if you know what's good for you, Pein."

"Was that the time you got mad at somebody for peeing in the woods and hit him in the bad place with a very large pointy branch, Zetsu-senpai?" Tobi asked.

"He deserved it," was all the green haired boy said about the matter. Deidara felt bad for the kid, as funny as it had been. The poor boy had been stuck in the infirmary for a day, the nurses plucking splinters out of his groin. He made a mental note to never do any harm to a plant when Zetsu was around.

Hidan, who had emerged from the lake and was cursing up a storm, plopped down beside Sasori. He then directed a smirk at Deidara, who only rolled his eyes. No matter how much of a nonchalant attitude he had about Hidan knowing he liked Sasori, it was all just a front. Internally, his stomach was doing leaps like an acrobat. What if he says anything? Had he already talked to Sasori before him?

The thoughts shot through his head as fast as a train zooming by. All he could do was hope that Hidan would keep his mouth shut. And he intended to tell him to.

Once the rest of the group decided it was time to cool off and everybody ran into the lake to join Itachi, Kisame, and Konan, Deidara grabbed Hidan's arm and pulled him back.

"Don't you dare say anything, un," he hissed. "If you do, I'll make sure to blow up everything in your room. Including your precious religious shrine or whatever."

Hidan's eyes went as wide as spoons. "I won't, I swear to Jashin."

Deidara nodded. "Good, un."

The next hour and a half was spent splashing, racing, and nearly drowning. Nobody could have guessed that Itachi was as good of a swimmer as Kisame, nearly beating him at a long distance swimming race. Both boys had to catch their breath for ten minutes before being ready to go at it again.

Meanwhile, Sasori had been enjoying using Deidara as a personal flotation device. The redhead would pull him under the murky water and try to stand on him, efficiently making him lose his breath multiple times. And no matter how much he fought, he always went down.

By the end of the session, everyone was tired and ready to dry off and go to the next scheduled activity. After waving goodbye to Konan, who had to go with her cabin for her activity, they changed and headed to Deidara's favorite thing at the camp; art.

Each cabin went to art twice a week, as well as the other activities. There was also horseback riding, a high ropes course (that was always entertaining), hiking, swimming in the pool, etc. Most of them were actually pretty fun.

The group of nine boys entered the wooden building for art in the commons area and was greeted by the art instructor, Ms. Anko. "Okay!" she said excitedly. "Let's get started for today, shall we?"

"Alright, un!" Deidara exclaimed enthusiastically when everybody was handed a large lump of clay. Not the kind he was used to, but hey, he could work with it. Sasori grimaced at it.

"Create whatever you feel like making and we'll present them to each other at the end of the session. Go!" Ms. Anko said.

"Did you see the look on her fucking face when she saw mine?" Hidan laughed, the rest of the group joining in. "It's like she'd never seen a dick before or something."

"To be fair, it was actually pretty good. Too bad she destroyed it," Pein commented, everybody remembering how she had taken Hidan's sculpture of a penis and thrown it at the wall.

"It was worth it."

After the Hidan fiasco, Ms. Anko had run through the rest of the presentations rather quickly (which annoyed Deidara because he had wanted people to have time to admire his art) and soon dismissed them. They now had free time and dinner later, as well as—

"I'm so pumped for the bonfire," Kisame said.

"Right. Nothing like watching little kids throw themselves into the flames," Kakazu remarked, rolling his eyes.

"I like them," Itachi shrugged.

"That's a first."

"Am I not allowed to like things?"

"You—"

"Shut up, both of you," Pein interrupted, rubbing his temples. "I already have a headache. Anybody seen Konan?"

Headshakes from all around caused him to sigh again and then mumble something about going to find her before walking off. The rest of the group decided where they were going to go and split off as well, soon only leaving Sasori and Deidara walking to the cabin. That was where they both normally spent their downtime; in the cabin working on their art.

"Well that was interesting, un," Deidara said.

"I'll admit, it was one of the more amusing things that's happened here," Sasori replied.

"That sculpture was really detailed," he mused. "I wonder how he made it so well."

"Probably looked at Kakazu's." Deidara cracked a grin at that one. Sasori looked over and smiled as well, his chocolate orbs gentle. Maybe that's why I like him, the blond thought. When he's not being an ass, he's actually nice to be around.

Stepping onto the cabin porch and opening the door, the two walked to their room and brought out their art supplies. Deidara sat on the ground, back to his bed, not wanting to accidentally spill wet clay all over it and have to wash it again like a few days before. Sasori took a seat on his bed and brought out his wood.

They worked in silence, as usual. Finally, Deidara couldn't help but voice a burning question he had been itching to ask the other. "Hey, Danna?" he said. Sasori looked up from his wood and he took it as a sign to continue. "What's your family like, un?"

Deidara expected for the redhead to narrow his eyes and not answer. It seemed like his family was a very personal matter that he didn't discuss often. He knew he was taking a chance of having Sasori rebuild the walls he had already begun to let crumble for him.

"My family, huh…" he said, a slight frown on his face. "My mother and father are dead. They died in a car crash when I was five. I live with my grandmother, but she's on her way out. I don't have anyone else."

"I'm sorry to hear that, un," Deidara apologized, lowering his eyes.

"It doesn't matter. I've been fine by myself for twelve years. I don't even need anyone," Sasori stated. Well that explained his reclusive personality. Before the blond could reply, though, he said, "Tell me about yours."

What was there to say? Not much, really. "I live with my mom. My dad left us when I was little and we've been on our own since. I have a few cousins and a granddad, but he's a whiny bitch that always gets on to me," Deidara answered, rolling his eyes at the mention of Onoki. Every time he saw him, the first thing that would come out of the old man's mouth was, "Deidara, you need a haircut, you hippie!"

"At least yours actually pays attention to you," Sasori replied, face expressionless.

"Yeah, well, it's no fun to get scolded all the time by somebody over a century old, un."

"You don't realize how good you have it, brat," the redhead murmured.

Deidara pretended not to hear the sadness in his voice.

"Alright, everyone! Welcome to the Konaha Bonfire!"

This statement by the camp's manager, Tsunade, was met with loud whoops and cheers from all the campers. Shizune had already begun to pass out a large bag of marshmallows to each cabin, along with graham crackers and chocolate bars. Deidara could feel his mouth watering already. Smores were amazing.

"Please try not to make a mess," she sighed. "Otherwise, have fun!"

"Tobi loves smores!" Tobi exclaimed when the bag was passed to him and he dumped a pile of fluffy white marshmallows on his paper plate. Deidara snatched it from his hands before he could take all of them and poured a good amount on his own before giving it to Sasori. He speared one and held it over the fire.

"My mom and I used to always roast marshmallows together, un," he said absently as he watched the redhead spear his own. "We used to have bonfires a lot. Then I accidentally got too close to the flames and my hair caught on fire, so…"

"Was your hair always that long?" Sasori asked, gesturing to his back-length hair. Deidara nodded.

"It actually used to be a little longer. I wore it in a low ponytail when I was younger, un," he remarked, running his hand through it.

"Why don't you cut it?"

"I like it long."

Sasori shrugged and returned his attention to his marshmallow, which had begun to brown. Deidara plucked his off his stick and put it on a graham cracker, then added a piece of chocolate and mashed another cracker on top. Man, was it good. He had missed making smores like this. It reminded him of home.

For the first time since he had been dropped off at the camp, he actually felt a little homesick. He realized he hadn't called his mom in over weeks. Their only contact had been through simple texts that were rarely sent.

Deidara fished his phone out of his pants pocket and pulled up the camera. Then, when Sasori wasn't looking, he crept closer to him and readied his hand over the large onscreen button to take a picture. "Sasori!" he said.

The redhead turned. Before he could react, the phone went snap and there they were on the screen. Deidara snickered at his friend's confused looking face before saving it and going to his messages.

"Hey, brat, delete that!" Sasori demanded.

"Nope," the blond grinned, uploading the photo and typing a message under it, all while avoiding Sasori's flailing hands attempting to snatch the device.

To: Mom

i'm having fun at the camp, we're having a bonfire tonight. here's a pic of me and my friend

He hit send and that was that. Sasori pulled back, huffing. "You could have at least taken a proper picture, you know," he snapped. "Who did you send that to?"

"Geez, relax, un. Just my mom," Deidara answered. A reply came a few seconds later.

From: Mom

I'm so glad you're having fun, I knew you would! :))) Your friend looks very nice. What's his name?

Deidara sighed and smiled. That was his mom alright.

To: Mom

his name is sasori and he's actually a total douche

From: Mom

Deidara! That wasn't very kind. I'm sure he's fine.

To: Mom

yeah ok. i have to go, so i'll text you later

From: Mom

Okay sweetie! I love you!

To: Mom

love you too

Sasori stole a piece of chocolate from Deidara's forgotten plate and popped it into his mouth. "Can we take a good picture now, brat?" he questioned.

"Huh? You actually want to take a picture?"

"If it keeps you from taking anymore surprise photos of me, then yes. Pull it up," he instructed. The blond did as he was told and pulled up the camera again.

They ended up taking at least twenty pictures until Sasori was happy with one. "You're like a girl when it comes to pictures, un," he said.

"What—"

"Hey! Have you guys seen Tobi?!" Zetsu asked frantically, appearing out of nowhere and scaring the two half to death.

"No. I don't keep track of that moron," Deidara said. "Why?"

"I'm afraid he's on a sugar-high. This is bad… This is really, really bad… TOBI! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

With that, the boy disappeared into the crowd around them. Sasori looked skeptically to both sides before saying, "I think we should lock our door tonight."

"…Yeah, un."

A couple hours and a stomach filled with smores later, Deidara was in his room reading one of the random books he had packed. Honestly, why was he reading about Vincent van Gogh? It's not like his works interested him. Sighing and setting the book aside, he slumped down in his bed just as Sasori entered the room. He sat up slightly as he went to his suitcase and began to rummage through it, bringing out his wood.

They sat in silence as Sasori whittled away until Deidara spoke up. "I still don't see how that's true art, un," he said.

"You're one to talk, brat. Your little explosions are nothing but that; explosions. There is nothing artistic about them," the redhead countered, not missing a beat.

"Everything about them is artistic! They leave an everlasting memory in your mind. That's how art is supposed to be, Danna."

"No, art is being able to admire the creation endlessly. It is eternal."

"Fleeting."

"Eternal."

"Fleeting."

"Eternal."

"Art is fleeting, un!" Deidara yelled. It probably hadn't been the smartest idea to start a conversation about art; it always got them into arguments.

Both boys stood up and marched over to each other, staring each other in the eye. Deidara liked that he was an inch taller than the other, it made him feel tougher. They grabbed each other's shirts, glares never faltering. The blond was so concentrated on Sasori's face he didn't notice that the other had brought his foot back and before he could react—

Wham!

Sasori hit him with a hard dropkick, sweeping his feet out from under him. Then Deidara was pinned again in the exact same position as he had been before. Are you fucking kidding me? he thought. He took me down that easily?

Sasori towered above him, smirking. "You know, brat, it's almost like you enjoy being pinned down by how easily you go," he said.

"Fuck off," Deidara hissed, his temper getting the better of him.

Tightening his grip, the redhead leaned closer until he was (once again) right above the blond. Deidara didn't look away this time, as if daring the other to do anything else.

Suddenly Sasori's eyes lost their edge. His grip loosened slightly. "I'm sorry, Dei…" he whispered.

What?

Sasori leaned in and the space separating their faces, their lips, was gone. His lips were soft and smooth and they felt amazing on the blond's own. Deidara was surprised that he didn't do anything, couldn't move, until he felt Sasori withdrawing and he tilted his head up and recaptured the retreating mouth.

Maneuvering his hands out from under the ones that still kept him down, he pulled the other boy closer so that they were almost lying on each other. Sasori entangled a hand in his hair and used the other for support. They kissed back and forth, hungrily battling for dominance with their tongues. It seemed to last forever.

Finally, they had to break apart for air. Both boys were panting and flushed. Sasori leaned down and placed gentle kisses along Deidara's neck, moving up to his mouth where he placed another before sitting up and then standing.

Deidara propped himself up on his elbows and allowed himself to be helped by the redhead to his feet. He didn't really know what to say.

"I guess you can already guess how I feel about you," Sasori said.

"Y-yeah. Me too, un," he stammered. Sasori smiled one of his rare, beautiful smiles before wrapping his arms around Deidara and pulling him close. They moved to his bed, where he pushed aside his work and lied down with the blond. Deidara snuggled close to him, still enveloped by his warm arms.

"You know," he breathed, eyelids heavy, "you should really smile more often. They're nice, un."

"They're only for you," Sasori replied, kissing the top of the blond's head.

With that, they drifted to sleep in each other's arms.

"So did you two losers finally get together?" Hidan asked at breakfast, grinning from ear to ear. Deidara rolled his eyes at the albino, nodding. He couldn't help but smile a little at the thought of waking up every morning as he had today, with Sasori's arms wrapped around him, holding him close. "Are you gonna tell anybody?"

"Probably," he answered, "but before you tell anybody—"

"Fuck that! Hey, everyone!" Hidan said loudly to get the table's attention. Deidara, in an attempt to stop the oncoming announcement, began to flail his arms wildly only to have them swatted away. "Sasori and Deidara got together!"

The news was met with whoops and hollers. "Bout time!"

"I'm so happy for you, Senpai!"

"Good for you two!"

"Pay up, shithead!"

"Dammit Hidan, that bet didn't count!"

Sasori chose that moment to sit down, interrupting Deidara's struggle to choke Hidan to death (even when they all knew he was practically immortal; the guy stabbed himself in the stomach repeatedly and still managed to smirk, for god's sake). He raised his eyebrows. Deidara pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, cursing himself for ever befriending the religious freak. Well, they were bound to find out sooner or later. Soon enough, the table settled back down to normal conversation.

Itachi suddenly stood and went to where Deidara sat. "I have some extra lube if you would like it," he whispered in his ear. Deidara went rigid and slowly shook his head no, then proceeded to scoot as far away from the black haired boy as possible. Itachi shrugged and went back to his seat, acting as if he hadn't just offered somebody lube.

Wait a second, why would he have—

"You know guys, I think we should have a party," Konan said, stealing one of her boyfriend's biscuits. "We haven't done anything fun in a while."

"One with lots of plants," Zetsu suggested. "Perhaps a forest party."

"Tobi thinks we should have a big party with cake and balloons and rainbows!" Tobi exclaimed.

"I would rather get hit by a car," Sasori deadpanned. For once, Deidara actually agreed with him.

"How about—"

"No." Everybody went silent and stared at Tobi in confusion. The boy's voice had dropped a whole octave and taken on a serious, not to mention scary, tone. "We are going to do my idea. My idea dominates over any of your pathetic, weak ones. It will spit them out and stomp on them, just like I will to do all your hopes and dreams. We are going to have a party with cake, balloons, and rainbows. You will all do as I say and work nonstop to create such a party. Do I make myself clear?"

He slowly turned and looked at everyone with the single eye that was visible behind his mask. Pein gulped and shrank in his seat before saying, "I think we should do Tobi's idea."

"Yes!" Konan said quickly. "It's the best one, obviously!"

Nods from all around, including the blond.

"Yay!" Tobi squealed. "This will be so much fun!"

It had taken a lot to get everything set up for the random party. Deidara decided not to voice his complaints and went along with it a little less than willingly (truth be told, Tobi had scared the shit out of him earlier). Every team had been given an assignment. Itachi and Kisame were to get and put up decorations. Hidan and Kakazu were to get utensils, plates, cups, and anything else pertaining to the kitchen. Pein and Konan were to get a cake either by finding it or baking one themselves. And, of course, Tobi and Zetsu oversaw the whole production.

Sasori and Deidara had been put on cleanup duty in the cabin and were currently messing around in Hidan and Kakazu's room. "What the hell is this, un?" Deidara recoiled away from the albino's suitcase—which he had certainly not been snooping in—completely disgusted. Did he seriously carry a detached human hand in his luggage?

"Move, brat," Sasori said, trying to get a better view. "…I think we should go to the next room."

They soon finished up the rest and moved on to their own, which would be easy. Sasori's side was spotless as he was just a naturally well-organized person. Deidara… not so much. He sighed as he stuffed countless items that had been strewn on the floor into his suitcase, kicking a few others under his bed.

Then he felt arms encircle him and pull him close. The redhead buried his face in Deidara's hair before placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. Deidara sighed and leaned back into the embrace, cleaning forgotten. Turning and facing Sasori, he pressed their lips together and wrapped his own arms around the smaller boy.

This feels… right.

The blond had always known he had some attraction to guys, but he had always maintained some for girls too. Now, he knew his days of liking girls were over. Sure, he thought they were pretty but he hadn't felt a drop of romance for one since freshman year. Yep, he was officially gay.

And he was okay with that, as long as he had Sasori.

They broke apart, the redhead's face tinted a light pink. "You know," he said, "you're not half bad at kissing, brat." Deidara smiled smugly; all those how to kiss videos had finally paid off.

"You're not too bad yourself, un," he replied, tossing the last of his things in his suitcase when Sasori let go.

Suddenly there was banging at their door and Tobi burst into the room. "Everything is ready, Senpai! Come out!"

"Yeah, okay. We're coming," Deidara sighed. The masked boy ran excitedly out, chanting that they were coming.

"I guess there's no way out of this," Sasori observed. "Let's just hurry up and get it over with."

The two exited their room and went to the front area of the cabin to find all eight of their friends waiting for them, huddled around a cake that looked like a deformed pentagon. The room had been decorated to its maximum extent; ribbons, rainbows, and—was that paper?—hung from the ceiling and were plastered on the wall everywhere, balloons were in each corner, and everybody had on party hats. "Here!" Konan said, putting a hat on both of their heads.

"Who would like the honor of the first piece?" Pein asked, holding up the cake cutter.

Kisame looked down warily at it. "Um, I don't know Pein, that cake doesn't look exactly—"

"I said, who would like the first piece?"

"ITACHI DOES!" the blue haired boy announced.

"I don't even like cake," Itachi proclaimed. Pein gave him the first piece anyways. Soon after, everyone else was served and talking happily amongst another. The cake, surprisingly, was not as terrible as it looked.

"I made the mix, so of course it's good. It was Pein that messed up everything else," Konan explained. Well, that was believably. He didn't seem like the baking type.

"This is the best cake Tobi has ever had!" Tobi yelled, jumping up and down on one of the sofas. "Tobi can do anything right now!"

Zetsu chose that moment to come back from the bathroom, eyes widening at the sight of Tobi. "Please don't tell me you gave him cake…" he murmured to Pein.

"Well, it was his idea to have a party, so—"

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'VE DONE."

"TOBI CAN FLY!" CRASH! All eyes turned to the masked boy who had just jumped off the couch, soared through the air, and landed on Hidan, bringing them both down to the ground.

"What the fuck?!" Hidan shouted, shoving the hyped-up boy off of him. Kakazu laughed and flung a piece of cake on his face as Tobi hopped right back up to try again. "Stop flinging fucking cake on me, asshole!"

Deidara spent most of his time avoiding the chaos that was partaking in the room, huddling in a corner next to Kisame, Itachi, and Zetsu. Sasori had long excused himself to go to the bathroom, but the blond wouldn't be surprised if he found his friend's corpse in there. He came back after Tobi's third attempt to fly—which ended up breaking the wooden table—and joined them in their safety huddle. Thankfully, all good things had to come to an end. Once the cake was gone, Hidan was incapacitated, Pein was with them in the corner, and Tobi was passed out, the party was over.

Kakazu dragged the albino's motionless body into their room, bidding everyone goodnight and silently murmuring that he hoped none of them ever woke up again. Konan went to her respective cabin, leaving a sad and lonely Pein that would only leave the corner with coaxing from Kisame. Deidara went back to his room before Tobi woke up, Sasori not far behind him.

"I officially want to murder Tobi, un," he stated as he climbed into bed, exhausted from all the "fun" they had had.

"Scoot over, brat." The blond looked up into the same chocolate eyes he had seen when they first met and gladly scooted over. Funny, he hadn't thought about that day in a while. It was those same brown orbs that held so many emotions when Sasori's own face didn't. He had learned that it was sometimes the only way to tell what the redhead was feeling.

Deidara never would have guessed he would be lying next to the boy who had ruined his first few days at camp and called him "brat." Now it was different. They no longer constantly angered each other or tried to be absolute dickwads (they had their moments, of course, but they weren't nearly as bad as they were) and actually got along quite well. The word that had been used to denote him before was now a term of endearment—almost like a pet name. "Danna" was the same way.

Heh, Danna and Brat, huh? Sounds like a shitty show…

He figured some things would never change.

Deidara sat down at dinner, feeling unusually happy. Maybe it was the fact that they were serving hamburgers tonight (which had become his new favorite food after the lasagna incident), or maybe it was because Tobi had jumped out a tree earlier and landed on Hidan, sending them both to the infirmary. Whatever the cause, he was in a good mood.

Hidan was retelling the occurrence earlier to Kisame, Pein, and Konan, who had missed it. "And I was just minding my own goddamn business and suddenly Tobi falls out of the fucking sky and lands right on top of me! I was like, 'What the fuck, man?!' And then he goes, 'Tobi is so sorry is Hidan alright I didn't mean to fall on you!'"

"Nice Tobi voice," Pein commented.

"And I was just so done with that little fucker. First he flies on top of me at the party, now he jumps out of a tree and lands on top of me, next thing you know—"

"He'll be topping you," Sasori smirked.

Hidan turned red when laughter broke out and pointed an accusing finger at the redhead. "Shut the fuck up! If that's how you wanna play, then who tops in your relationship?"

This was met with a prolonged "oooh," like when a kid got in trouble in elementary school.

"Oh man, he got you," Kisame snickered.

Deidara was about to speak up and say no, they weren't going there when Sasori replied, "Me, obviously. He's my brat."

"OOOH!"

"DANNA?!" Deidara yelled, turning as red as Hidan. The albino was now laughing boisterously along with the rest of the group. "We haven't even—"

"But more importantly," he continued, "how are you and Kakazu? Are you still butthurt from that other night, Hidan? I heard he really messed you up."

Kakazu spit out the drink he had been calmly sipping. "What?!"

"Okay, that's enough," Pein said. "You guys can talk about your sex lives together somewhere else, but for now, just let me eat my burger in—"

The doors to the cafeteria slammed open. "Tobi is okay everybody!" Tobi exclaimed, running over to the Akatsuki's table and taking a seat by Pein, who breathed a long sigh. Deidara cursed. He had hoped the guy had broken a couple limbs at least.

"There is no such thing as true peace," Itachi reminded the ginger, who nodded solemnly. Konan patted him on the back. Hidan shot Sasori and Deidara a look that said 'this-isn't-over.'

"I think we won that one, Danna, un," Deidara remarked, watching as the table fell into chaos now that Tobi had recovered.

"All thanks to me. Got a quarter, brat?"

The blond grinned as they stood and went outside to the vending machine, leaving the fray. He tossed Sasori a quarter and watched as he worked his magic on the old machine. Same routine every time, but it always worked. Soon enough, they both had a drink in hand. Deidara was about to go back in when the redhead grabbed his hand.

"Let's go somewhere else," Sasori said. The blond nodded and followed him. It turned out somewhere else was by the lake, where they admired the scenery. It was a beautiful night. The dark sky was as clear as glass, stars twinkling softly overhead. The moonlight was like a waterfall, reflecting off of the lake. The trees and grass swayed softly with the almost non-existent wind. It was nights like these that made Deidara feel calm, at peace.

They lie in the grass together, which tickled their arms and legs. Sasori reached out and grasped Deidara's hand. The silence was tranquil and pleasant, neither feeling the need to speak. Only after a few minutes were the first words spoken, quietly though, as if anything louder would disturb the environment.

"I think I can see why you believe beauty is eternal, Danna, un. This really is… beautiful," Deidara murmured. "I wouldn't mind looking at it forever." He tightened his grip on Sasori's hand.

The redhead tightened his in return. "I never thought I'd hear you say something like that, brat. I think this means I win." He cocked his head to the side and smiled pompously at the blond.

"In your dreams, un. I think Hidan would have to prove Jashin was real for that to happen."

There were so many things he wanted to say, but he couldn't seem to form the right words to express them. Sasori opened his mouth then closed it, probably looking for the correct words as well. But he didn't need to. A look at his eyes told Deidara all he needed to know.

"I'm sorry for being such an asshole."

"Please don't ever go."

"I want you."

"I need you."

He wondered if his eyes gave away that much. Then, out of nowhere—

"HEY FUCKTARDS! OVER HERE!"

Deidara and Sasori both sighed and sat up, watching as Hidan barreled towards them, dragging an enraged Kakazu behind him. Yep, there went the peace. The rest of their friends were waiting a bit away, probably impatient to get back to the cabin.

"Come on, we're going back to the cabin to have game night!" Hidan said excitedly before turning the other direction and sprinting back to the group. Kakazu's threats to let go of him were ignored.

Sasori sighed again. "Guess we better go," he stated, getting up. "Maybe we'll get lucky and witness 'The Flight of Tobi' again, as he put it."

"Sounds fun, but I have something else in mind."

"What?"

"Beating you back to the cabin, un!" Deidara grinned before taking off.

Sasori smiled before chasing after his boyfriend. "You're on, brat."

IT'S HIGH TIME I WROTE SOME SASODEI

This was just a random idea that popped into my head because I like writing
hormonal teenagers falling in love (as that is what the majority of my fics are) and I couldn't help myself. ovo
I also seem to enjoy writing really long and pointless oneshots. Yeah, those are always fun.

Anyways, so recently I've been catching up with Naruto and of course I can't just get back into it without celebrating
my beloved OTP, so here we are. I think this satisfied my needs some, to say the least. xD I also love the Akatsuki
with all my heart and soul and them being dumb idiots is always great.

I hope you liked it! Reviews are love, friends! c: