Why Hallo thurr. :D I'm Eddy. L is too lazy to help me with this story (JK) But yeah...

WARNINGS: There will be guyxguy relationships involved. If you do not like, LEAVE NOW. THIS STORY IS RATED T FOR SLIGHT CURSING, BLOODY DESCRIPTIONS,
AND SOME ADULT THEMES. Some.

Disclaimer: I, the author, write this to state that I DO NOT. DO. NOT own any characters mentioned here. The characters and everything mentioned here respectively belong to Masashi Kishimoto, unless stated otherwise.

Now that that's done, let's get staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaartttteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed!

"Sasori-no-Danna, hmm." A voice called out. "Damn puppet..." The blonde boy grumbled, currently looking for his Akatsuki partner. "Danna!" Deidara called out. His voice echoed a bit in the empty house Kakuzu had given them for the mission. It was meant to be their "hideout" for the next three weeks. Deidara caught a bit of red at the corner of his eye, and turned to face his partner. Sasori currently had his head hanging out of the doorway, his mouth covered by the door. The rest of his body was still in his room, while his thin hands clutched onto the door frame for some support.

"Danna, we need to go into the village to get some supplies, hmm."

Sasori stepped out into the hallway and Deidara tried as best as he could to not stare at the currently shirt-less puppet.

"You can go alone. It's not like I have to escort you. You're an Akatsuki member for Kami's sake."

Deidara scowled at this.

"I just wanted to let you know where I was going. Remember last time, how you asked me to let you know where I was during any mission?"

Sasori shrugged, his face giving no emotion. "I honestly couldn't care less where you went. So long as you don't mess up our mission." He said. Deidara rolled his eyes. Not one day, and he already had Sasori in a bad mood.

"Look, Sasori-no-Danna, now I'm asking you if you want to come along. It's not going to kill you." Sasori placed a hand on his hip, a somewhat feminine gesture. "I don't feel like going out, Deidara."

Deidara inwardly smirked. He wondered if perhaps he really could convince Sasori to do something he wanted. "What are you, scared?" Deidara questioned. Sasori gave a slow smile. "And what? You want me to go out into a village as a puppet?"

"If you put it that way, it sounds bad, hm. Just put your stupid heart into another body. I thought you were a genius, Sasori."

"Y'know, I think you secretly like it when I am shirtless."

Deidara narrowed his eyes at his partner "Like I want to see you shirt-less, you sick, perverted, pedo-" Before Deidara could finish he was facing the tip of chord that resided where Sasori's stomach used to be. "Go ahead. Try it, Sasori." Sasori showed no emotion as poison dripped from the very tip of the chord.

"I dare you, hmm."

Sasori gave Deidara a glare and sulked off into his room. Deidara knew Sasori didn't have the guts to truly harm his partner. Which was an enjoyable weakness to the blonde artist. Deidara sat on a chair near the doorway, waiting to see if Sasori would perhaps change his mind and join him. When ten minutes passed, Deidara sighed and went to get dressed. The normal attire for the Mist village was a variety of simple coats, pants and shirts. Deidara went with black pants and a blue shirt for that day. As he closed the door to his room, he turned to see Sasori, standing there with one of his more human bodies. "Come on." Sasori said, beckoning Deidara. "Yeah I know Danna. You hate waiting, hmm." Deidara grabbed some money, along with the hideout keys, and followed Sasori out the door.

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"It's pretty nice weather Danna, hmm." Deidara said, walking through the forest, shielding his eyes from the sun.

"It won't be as sunny in the mist village. And their economy is none too good. Try not to flaunt how many coins we have."

Deidara looked over to see Sasori walking, his head looking down. It was cute, the way Sasori would unconsciously act like a child. They had been partners for almost two years. Deidara knew the way Sasori worked. As well as the dark past to Sasori's sadistic puppeting skills.

"Deidara..."

Deidara snapped out his thoughts and turned to face Sasori. "What is it-?" Deidara froze, understanding why Sasori was playing the 'innocent look'. Intense chakra was around them. Anbu, Deidara thought. Around five of them. The two Akatsuki continued to walk towards the village, seemingly unaware of their welcoming party. "Should we fight them?" Deidara whispered. Sasori gave a small cough. Deidara, because he was close enough, heard Sasori's masked "No." Deidara put his hands in his pockets, hiding the mouths on his hands.

If the Anbu decided to interrogate them for any reason, both Deidara and Sasori had a plan. And if acting like innocent travelers didn't work, they could always kill them. It made no sense, what with all their arguments and differences, but Deidara and Sasori could make the perfect team when they wanted to. "Stop!" A voice cried. Both partners froze, turning to face in every direction. If they showed they knew exactly where the Anbu were hiding, it would most likely reveal their true potential. "Who's there?!" Deidara shouted, facing up. Immediately, five Anbu greeted the artists. All had the same Mist masks.

"Who are you? You have never been seen in these parts."

Deidara waited to see if Sasori would perhaps respond. The silence was broken when a woman Anbu called out, "Answer us!"

"... My name is Reikon," Deidara called out, his voice significantly lighter, "And this is my traveling partner, Ichigo." Sasori bit his tongue, none too fond of his new name. "We are travelers whom want nothing but to restock our supplies. Please, understand that we mean no harm." The Anbu looked at each other and then back at the two boys.

"We will be watching you closely, for our village's safety. We hope you can perhaps understand."

Deidara smiled and held up his hands. "My partner and I will not object." Sasori, as the conversation as going on, felt the chakra on each Anbu. If Deidara and Sasori wanted to, they both could have easily gotten rid of their pesky followers. But for the sake of the mission as too high. "Come, Ichigo." Deidara said, wrapping his arm around Sasori's shoulders in a friendly manner. The Anbu left as fast as they appeared and after a few moments of silence and more walking, Sasori shoved Deidara's arm off of him. "Hah, those idiots, hmm. Thinking they could just give us a false warning, hm."

"What the hell was that Deidara? Ichigo? Are you making fun of my hair color again?"

Deidara snorted and whispered, "Look, your hair is red, hmm. Sort of like a strawberry. Even if it does look pink sometimes, hm. Even Kisame and Kakuzu agree with me on the pink thing, hmm."

Sasori scowled and folded his arms across his chest.

"And here I thought a guy around thirty years old would be more mature than me."

Sasori ignored his partner's comment and calmly made his way to the village gates.

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The village was all in all... very vacant. Sasori scowled, watching the blonde boy look for whatever goods were buyable. Poor and sickly looking merchants stood in a very depressing looking bazaar. The air was moist, which Sasori could slightly feel in his current, more human body. "This place is filled with all sorts of nasty characters," Sasori whispered to his partner.

"Relax. I can take care of myself, Sasori-no-Danna, hmm. Question is can you really handle being in your "human" body, hmm?"

Deidara was obviously aware of Sasori's various puppets and how they worked. The blonde ninja knew Sasori was sensitive, emotionally and physically, in his current state. It almost made him feel bad. Almost being the keyword. "Anbu." Sasori breathed out, letting Deidara hear his warning. Deidara was careful about hiding his money. The last he wanted was to attract attention from any villagers, or Anbu.

"Grandma, I want that bear! Pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaasee."

Sasori turned around, eyes wide at the scene before him. A young boy, probably no older than ten, was clutching onto an older woman's sleeve. "Please grandma!" The boy pleaded again, pointing at a poorly made teddy bear in a small stand of broken looking toys. "Akiyori, you know we have to be more careful how we spend our money." The elderly woman said, looking down at the boy. Sasori couldn't help but frown and feel lonely. He tried to break his gaze, but one sentence from his childhood caused a pang of pain within his heart.

"Grandma Chiyo, when are Mother and Father coming back...?"
"... Just wait... a little longer Sasori. They'll be back... soon... I promise..."

"Liar." Sasori hissed unknowingly. Deidara turned around, and stared at Sasori curiously. His eyes went from the young boy and his grandmother to Sasori. Deidara quickly tried to get Sasori's attention somewhere else. "Sa-... Ichigo look!" Deidara cried turning Sasori around and pointing at rotting strawberries at a stand. Sasori's thoughts were broken and Deidara's words registered in his mind. "Very funny." He said coldly. Deidara laughed, blatantly giving Sasori a small peck on the cheek. "That's the partner I know and love, hmm."

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Deidara and Sasori walked side by side in silence as they made their way back to the hideout in the forest. The Anbu had given up on them the second they left the village. It was a good sign, which meant for both that they hadn't aroused suspicion. "Danna..." Deidara questioned, holding three small bags over his shoulders.

"Hnn?"

"You were upset... well uncomfortable around that kid and his grandmother, hmm. The ones we saw at the village, weren't you?" Sasori gave no answer and merely turned his head away from Deidara. "Hey c'mon, it's not like I don't know your past. You really were at least a little fazed, hmm?"

There was silence and Deidara was about to drop the subject when Sasori whispered in a small voice, "... You know me too well, brat."

Deidara smiled, and dropped everything he was holding. He wrapped his arms around Sasori's smaller frame. "If you think I'm such a brat, why let me know you so well?" Deidara breathed in Sasori's scent. It was a flower-like smell that Deidara found relaxing. "Deidara, let go." Sasori's emotionless voice filled Deidara's eyes. Deidara smirked into the mass of red hair before him and whispered, "Do you really want me to do that, hmm?" Sasori found it hard to think with Deidara holding him so protectively. He would've loved to just give up in the other's arms, but then again that wasn't Sasori's style. He pushed away from Deidara playfully, and held out his hand.

"Gimme the keys Dei."

Deidara pulled the keys from his pocket and dropped them in Sasori's palm. "Good luck with that ugly as hell puppet, hmm." Deidara said picking up the supplies he had dropped.

"It's Hiruko, brat."

Sasori opened the door, leaving it wide open for his partner. Deidara dropped the bags he was holding onto one of the tables and lay down on a couch. "Already tired?" Sasori questioned closing and locking the door. Deidara stretched a little and pointed outside. "It's almost seven. We got here at five, and you had me walking non-stop yesterday and this morning. This place sure is far Danna. Hmmm. Not to mention those bastard Anbu know-it-alls. I think I pretty much deserve a break, hmm."

Sasori left the keys next to Deidara's belongings and called out, "Don't bother me. I'll be working on Hiruko." Deidara smiled and whispered to himself, "In other words, 'Bother me and die', hmm. What a twisted personality you have Sasori-no-Danna..."

Yes. Ichigo means strawberry.
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