I. HAVE. NEWS.

I know I've said this before, but this time I rly mean it: I'VE THE FINAL ENDING OF THIS FIC FIGURED OUT. I was plotting on paper this fic and when the idea hit me, half of the voices in my mind were yelling at me coz it's so horrible and the rest were like doo iiiiiiiit! Oh man people are gonna hate me :'D

Though I can promise you two things:

1) There's no point in trying to guess what will happen because I can ASSURE you, you're way way wayyyy off

2) In the end, it will all still make sense. You won't see it coming, but once you understand, everything will just click.

There'll be quite a few more chaps to go then but I don't really think we'll hit the 30 chap mark.

SO YEAH.

I'd like to say that this is payback for the lack of reviews on my birthday, but it rly isn't. It's just destiny.

Chapter 23

Sasori did not sleep deeply that night; he stayed alert and was woken on multiple occasions by the blond shifting in the bed next to him. Deidara had long ago slithered out of his embrace and was currently curled up on one side with his back on him, but Sasori did not mind. He did not mind being woken - he knew it was mostly his own mind that kept waking him, Deidara was not loud at all. Beside the content that being able to sleep next to the other filled him with, Sasori was grateful for the chance to keep an eye on him.

Lying on his back, his eyes shifted onto the ceiling and fell closed until he heard a low murmur that made them snap open again. He glanced at the blond. The moonlight coming from the window shined directly on the younger male's face, which looked crumpled up and troubled. He was shifting uneasily and after while another murmur, too incoherent and quiet for Sasori to comprehend, left his lips.

Sasori rolled onto his side and gently placed his hand on Deidara's shoulder. The blond cringed again and gave a whimper, drawing his knees closer to his chest. His breathing was erratic and Sasori's forehead creased with worry as he monitored the younger male struggling in the grips of a nightmare. His own restlessness weighed heavily on him, but Sasori all but ignored that as he propped himself up on his elbow.

He considered waking the blond, but before he could make up his mind, Deidara gave a loud yelp and bolted up, panting as though he had just run a marathon. He bent forward and covered his face with his hand, waiting for his breathing to slow down.

Sasori sat up ran a hand up his bare back, coming to a stop on the shoulder. It was then that he heard a quiet sob.

"Dei…" Sasori said as he wrapped his arms around the blond and pulled him against his chest.

Deidara turned around in his arms and returned the embrace, burying his face in the redhead's neck wordlessly.

Sasori rubbed his back soothingly, which he knew, or hoped at least, would work better than words, because honestly, he was out of things to say.

Deidara took comfort in the physical contact and his sobs soon ceased. Sasori did not let go, however, but simply lay back down again, letting Deidara rest on his chest. His fingers were drawing patterns on the blond's skin, sometimes wandering over to his arm and tracing the kanji inked onto the shoulder.

"I don't want to fall back asleep yet," Deidara murmured after awhile, snuggling his nose against the redhead's chest.

"What do you want then?" Sasori asked.

"I don't know. I'm so tired."

Sasori considered it for a moment. "I could talk to keep you awake."

"Yes, please, Danna."

"What do you want me to talk about?"

"Anything." Deidara yawned. "Just talk."

Sasori sighed. He was not much of a talker to begin with, and in the current state of tiredness without anything to say it would be a challenge.

"You once asked me why I'm a pirate."

"Really?" The blond's voice was weary. "When?"

"Back on Madara's ship."

"I'm surprised you remember."

"I've had a lot of time for reminiscing."

Deidara did not respond to that. He waited for the other to proceed.

"Truth is, it's the only way I know how to live. My parents died when I was young and I was left to fend for myself. Life in the orphanage wasn't too pleasant and unless you wanted to lose all strength and get picked on, you needed to steal, either food or money.

"I find it a lot more peaceful out on the sea, though. I first joined a crew in my teens and it all just escalated from there. Living on the streets had provided me with a reasonable set of skills to survive and that's just how it went."

There was a moment of silence.

"Still awake?" Sasori asked after receiving no response.

"I am," Deidara murmured quietly. "Just a bit baffled. You rarely speak of your past."

"I didn't know what else to talk about," Sasori admitted.

"That's alright," Deidara said tiredly, nuzzling his nose against the other's skin. "I like it when you share things like that with me."

"That's awfully lovey-dovey coming from the blond that claims to hate my guts," Sasori teased. When Deidara stayed quiet after that, his face and tone turned serious again and he let out a sigh.

"Deidara," he said.

"Hm?" came the barely audible reply, indicating that the blond was very close to falling asleep.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For leaving you back then," Sasori finished. He took a long breath as he gazed up at the ceiling, his hand still caressing the blond as the latter lay in silence. Sasori could feel him rising and falling on his chest as he breathed.

He closed his eyes and his hand stopped on the blond. Saying what he had begun to say required a lot more preparation, which Sasori had had none of. He had pondered over it for a long time, but still had not found a better alternative for what he had done. The only thing he did know was that he did not want Deidara to hold it against him. And he wanted him to know that, for which he might have not gotten a better time for.

His lack of skills in putting his thoughts into words had to do for the moment and he just hoped Deidara would not misinterpret them.

"I shouldn't have done that," he said. The pin-drop silence weighed on him heavily as he tried to figure out what else he should say. "I still don't know what I could have done differently, though. You may not believe me, but I tried my best. It came off as selfish, which I've never claimed not to be, but if I had believed that you would've been better off somewhere else than with your family, I would've done that for you."

Saying those words and looking deeper into the reasons behind his actions than he had ever had to made the hairs on Sasori's body bristle and he briefly wondered if Deidara could have been feeling something similar.

"Seeing you like this now, though…" Sasori paused. He was not certain he should have brought up Deidara's current state, but now that he had said it, he could not take it back anymore. "It makes me realize the gravity of human nature that I still don't grasp. And I realize that if I had known what you really felt back then, I probably would have done a lot of things differently. I never wanted you to suffer."

Then there was silence.

Sasori had run out of things to say and he could not help but wonder whether Deidara had finally fallen asleep. The darkness was devious like that - it could hide a lot behind its curtain. But Sasori doubted the blond would have fallen asleep on a confession like that. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling in silence, waiting for a response.

"I believe you," Deidara whispered finally.

Sasori's eyes widened. He had expected some kind of counter-arguments since he did not think his explanation could have been considered exhaustive enough to cover all the details, but none of it ever came. Maybe the blond was just too tired.

"I am sorry, too," Deidara added.

"What for?" Sasori asked.

"For torching your ship."

Sasori chuckled. "That indeed wasn't completely necessary," he agreed. "But I've experienced both lives now - without the ship and without you. And I finally know which one I'd choose."

In the darkness, so no-one could see, Deidara's lips stretched into a smile.

"A pirate's wealth is determined by his treasure, not ship."

Deidara frowned in confusion and lifted his head off the redhead's chest to look at him. "I thought your ship was your treasure?"

Sasori smiled as he ran a finger down his cheek and tucked away a strand of hair behind his ear in a tenderly fashion. His eyes held an affectionate look as he gazed at the blond and noticed the other's gaze fall on his lips momentarily. His did the same and without a reply he pulled Deidara in closer, connecting their lips.

The kiss held tender passion that not even their half-asleep states of mind could hinder. Their lips moved together slowly and Sasori's tongue invaded Deidara's mouth as his hand crawled behind his head and pulled him closer.

Deidara rose up more without breaking the kiss until his entire torso was hovering over the redhead's. He felt Sasori's hand slide down his back onto his ass and grope it, the fingers eventually hooking onto the hem of his pants.

"I'm too tired, Danna," Deidara whispered against Sasori's lips, his warm breath brushing against the other's face as his one hand caressed his cheek. He rested his forehead against the older male's and let his eye fall closed. "I could just fall asleep in this position," he said.

"Maybe you should," Sasori suggested, pecking his lips once more.

"I want to wait till sunrise," Deidara said. "I don't have that many nightmares with the sun up."

"We could go out and wait for it on the deck. The warm wind would keep us awake."

Deidara opened his eye and looked at Sasori.

"I can do that. You can go to sleep, I don't want to keep you awake."

Sasori snorted. "I'm fine, brat."

An unmistakable tsk sound left Deidara's mouth as he sat up and gave the redhead a cold look with his arms crossed.

"I'm the Captain of this ship. Are you sure you're in the position to act so superior?"

Sasori chuckled and flipped them over, pinning the blond to the bed. It was not as though Deidara had resisted, he was too tired to fight back and having the redhead hover over him had always filled him with a sense of content and satisfaction, which made it harder to resist than the force Sasori actually used on him.

Sasori traced up the blond's neck slowly with the tip of his nose. His hands were firm on Deidara's arms and held them in place against the bed so that the latter could not move. The utter control Sasori had over him sent shivers down Deidara's body and he let out a low whine as Sasori's lips found the side of his neck.

"I'd say my position is favorable enough," replied the redhead.

"I could kick your ass, if I wasn't so tired," Deidara growled. "You're just taking advantage of my exhaustion."

The corner of Sasori's mouth twitched upwards. "Once a pirate, always a pirate," he said. "Now how about that sunrise?"

Deidara sulked. "If I'm such a brat, you can carry me there."

Sasori did not object and the only possible comments on the younger male's sudden childish behaviour could be seen in the redhead's half-smile, which reflected amusement. He grabbed his jacket from the floor and lifted Deidara, wrapped in a blanket, into his arms.

He carried the blond onto the empty deck illuminated by bright moonlight falling down on them from the dark sky. A light breeze ruffled Deidara's hair and he breathed it in hungrily; the refreshment cleared his mind and washed away the daze, making it easier to keep his eye open.

"The sky is so beautiful," he murmured, gazing up at the brilliant nature's ceiling with patterns of stars so marvellous and breathtaking he could have kept staring at it for the rest of his life.

Sasori sat down by the bulwark and set the blond onto his lap. It was warm outside, but Deidara still his nose in the blanket and snuggled closer to the redhead. Sasori's arms were wrapped around him tightly, providing comfort Deidara could not have found anywhere else.

"East is that way," Sasori said, pointing in front of them. "It shouldn't be too long now."

"Thank you, Danna," Deidara murmured as he rested his head against the redhead's chest. They sat there in silence for a while, Sasori occasionally fingering a strand of the blond hair, and wrapping it around his finger.

They watched the night sky wordlessly together, listening to the waves down below on the sea and feeling the occasional swaying of the ship. Those moments were perfect and precious to Deidara, but even they could not win against the mighty opponent that was sleep.

By the time the lower half of the sky started turning pink, Deidara's eye had already closed. Sasori listened to the other's quiet breathing as he let his fingers caress his hair gently. The outdoors seemed to do the blond good; his face was peaceful showing no signs of torment from his dreams.

Sasori watched the sun rise alone.

Until he wasn't the only one awake on the deck anymore.

A figure emerged from one of the hallways and paced towards him. Even without her eccentric blue hair, Konan would have been easily recognizable by her elegant gait that differed from that of other sailors like day differed from night. Even in the company of slobbery male pirates and poor manners she refused to let go of the few feminine traits she could still hold on to.

She did not utter a greeting as she approached and came to a stop by the bulwark, leaning against it and admiring the view of dawn with complete disregard towards the couple on the ground.

While Sasori would have been more comfortable in solitude with her at a greater distance and out of sight, he was not going to heed her more than was being paid to him.

They stayed in tranquility with lack of attention towards each other's presence until Konan broke the silence.

"You're walking on thin ice here, Sasori," she said with passiveness that was missing all qualities of a warning or a threat, yet the real meaning did not get lost on the redhead.

He gave the woman a sharp glance. "Is that of any concern to you?"

Konan ignored the question. "We're walking into Kikuchi's lair here. You're gonna have to tell him sooner or later, if you don't want him finding out from someone else."

Sasori's eyes narrowed. "What're you even doing here, Konan?" he countered. "You've been out of the waters ever since Yahiko's death. I'd be a fool to think this is even remotely related to Deidara."

The glare Konan sent him was deadly. Apparently he had hit bull's eye in getting the woman out of her comfort zone.

"Mind your own business, Akasuna," she snapped.

"Gladly," Sasori responded. "I suggest you, too, follow your advice."

Konan straightened up. "I might as well do so," she said dismissively. "But mark that secrets are much like water - if it can't invade through cracks in the boat, it'll thrust upon you from above as rain. And even if you conceal all holes in the walls, the moist will still come through. He will find out."

With those words she turned around and left the deck.

To be continued...