AN: I don't own the characters, but we all know that! There will be swearing and a few fluffier scenes; you've been warned! Enjoy -

OOO

The blonde vampire was past caring about the blood he was trailing on the floor. It had been too much in one night, in one go for him to even try cleaning up his tracks. They could track him back to his apartment for all he cared. He just needed a drink and four walls - somewhere to hide him for a while.

The attack wasn't anticipated. There had been at least a dozen men with multiple weapons per body, and Deidara hadn't sensed them at all. Embarrassingly, he'd run himself right into a trap that even his boyfriendwould laugh at. It had been foolish - but he was far too wound up to currently care what anybody else thought. He knewhe'd made a mistake, he knewwhat it had cost him - and yet they'd spared his life when they had it within their grasps to take it. They wanted him alive and he didn't know why. But that was a problem for another day - even if he knew it was another mistake that he was making.

He bashed in the door to his apartment and closed it behind him, despite its barely-held hinges. He trailed to the kitchen tiles and reached for the alcohol, debated the blood bags in the fridge but alcohol was better, before stumbling to the floor in fatigue. It had been a long trudge home - they'd battered him at the scene of the attack, tormented him as they kidnapped him - tying him up in a vehicle of seemingly tiny proportions - before repeatedly mutilating his quick-healing body. After a few hours his body couldn't keep up and the damage took its toll - so they'd started breaking bones and maiming his skin, mangling his limbs as far as possible.

It would take decapitation, cremation, or a whole heart-out-of-chest scenario to kill him - but even with his elderly strength, Deidara had to praise his attackers for their creativity. It was going to be a hellish recovery over the next few days.

His mind went blank.

There was a ghost of a hand on his cheek; everything felt cold in comparison to its warmth. He blinked open his eyes, horrified for a moment that he could see. His vision came back in blobs of colour, pinpointing a familiar red and black blur. But his head was pounding, pulsing with adrenaline. He needed blood. He licked his dry lips and felt his head grow heavy in anticipation.

"Hang on" A quiet voice reached his ears, calm but focussed. Deidara saw the light of the fridge and then the smell of blood assailed his senses with elation. The cool liquid reached his lips and he didn't even care that he preferred it warm. "Slow down" The blood bag was pulled away and he felt his anger race.

"Don't" The voice echoed in his ears and the liquid was slowly poured back into his mouth. Habitually, and now a little stronger, Deidara's hand reached for the blood bag to squeeze more of it out - but something had him pinned.

"Just wait, brat" The name soothed him. The blood craving left him, his body a little more energised now. He could focus, feel every cut on his body and every bruise that marred him. Sitting on a particular sore patch of his stomach however, was none other than his boyfriend.

"Off, 'n" Deidara wriggled and the red head fell back onto his heels. The blonde sat up groggily, aware of the fact that the kitchen tiles were trying to replicate a crime scene. He wasn't bleeding as much, but his head still felt like a brick.

Looking up, he saw Sasori clearly now despite only having one working eye - the other one merely provided a blank blur. But it didn't mean he could see any less. Sasori's face was bruised, his usually elfin features tarnished, his eyes darkening with rare and obvious anger, his cheekbones blemished with repeated attacks. Deidara lowered his gaze to the red head's pale hands, his knuckles split, his fingers lacerated with slashes as far up the sleeves as Deidara could see. And some of them were still bleeding. He felt his anger break.

"What the fuck-" His head split, a cracking pain across his forehead. He quietened his voice, a cool but rough finger over his mouth in an instant.

"Shh" Sasori moved his finger to Deidara's jaw, tracing a cut. "You need to get cleaned up - if they get infected it'll take longer to-"

"What happened to you, un?" He asked, moving his face away from Sasori's touch. "Don't ignore things like this" He reached for Sasori's cheekbone but couldn't bring himself to touch the wound. He knew the amount of self-control that the red head had over himself; he wouldn't need reminding that he was damaged and pained. Deidara pulled his hand back but Sasori didn't even blink.

"I was jumped. I thought they were hunters - but they weren't. They mentioned your name so I came to check" Sasori tipped his head, trying to take in all of the vampire's wounds. A few seconds of study and Sasori's hand brushed back the lengths of Deidara's fringe, revealing the cold, blank, baby blue eye that couldn't see him. He smiled nonetheless, running a thumb underneath it.

Deidara moved his hand unconsciously to his exposed and useless eye, Sasori's hand slipping to meet it from the blonde's matted hair.

"Don't mock me" Deidara knocked away the others hands and rearranged his fringe back over his eye. "Damnit, they took my scope. They broke my scope -"

"I love it" Sasori whispered, leaning close. "You're an oddity, Deidara"

"So you've told me, un" The blonde rolled his shoulders, testing their strength before wobbling up to a stand and leaning on the counter for support. "I'm gonna' shower" He announced. "Bones will seize up like a bitch and you know I don't cope well with infection"

"Nobody does" Sasori braved a smile, his head tipped fondly to the side. "I'm broken too" He muttered, his voice low and teasing. He pulled off the beanie hat he'd been wearing to keep warm. It was then that Deidara noticed that his apartment had been slowly heating itself up. Sasori must've put it on for himself.

Then, off came the red head's black puffa jacket and then the black Doc's. Deidara didn't miss the wince that betrayed Sasori's feelings as he pulled at his jumper.

"Well there goes my sexy strip tease" Sasori sighed and placed his hands in his lap as he paused, his head lolling backwards in tiredness. Suddenly, Deidara's face was inches away - but whereas once it would've startled him, Sasori now associated it with the cheekiness of his boyfriend's attitude.

"Shower now" Deidara suggested, slowly pulling up the offending jumper. "Strip later"

"Hm" Sasori agreed. The two stumbled to a stand and helped their aching selves towards the bathroom, barely making it into the shower before stumbling - fully clothed - into the shower wall.