I came up with the idea for this one while listening to Time of Dying by Three Days Grace :) SasoDei (can be looked as romantic if you squint I suppose, I never really thought about it while writing)

Big thanks to Etch who proof-read it and gave me lots of help ^-^

Time of Dying

"I won't die, un." Deidara grinned.

Deidara's last words before he rushed into battle echoed through Sasori's head as he scanned the silent battlefield for a sign of his blond partner.

He was currently without his puppet, Hiruko, as it had been destroyed in battle. And although he should have been picking up the pieces, he had a sudden urge to find Deidara. Make sure he was safe. And so he had half-ran out in search of him.

Finally he spotted familiar blond hair and black akatsuki cloak and he felt a sharp pain in his heart. He hadn't felt pain in years and it made his head spin. But there was Deidara, lying in the dirt, eyes closed.

Sasori knelt down beside him and lightly touched his shoulder.

"B-brat?"

Slowly Deidara opened his one visible eye and looked up at Sasori.

"Danna." He smiled weakly. "I was waiting for you." When Deidara had realised he couldn't move he had been certain the one to find him would be Sasori.

"Brat...you're going to be fine we just need to get you back to the base..."

He trailed off as a soft wind blew and lifted open the front of Deidara's cloak, revealing a gruesome sight of blood and bone. His ribcage had been smashed in and there was blood pooling from a deep gash in his chest, it was a miracle the attack had missed his heart. Sasori's eyes widened as he stared at the mess, slowly lifting his gaze back to Deidara's face.

"Sorry Danna... I guess I lied..."

"…You're going to be fine. You'll pull through, you always have." Sasori said firmly.

He didn't know if he was trying to convince himself or Deidara. Probably himself as Deidara looked pretty accepting of what was happening. In reality, it wasn't that Deidara had accepted death; it was just he felt a lot better now that Sasori was with him. He felt more alive. Before, when he had been lying alone in the dirt, his thoughts had been spinning and he thought that usually when you were dying your life flashed before your eyes, but all he saw was his time in Akatsuki. His time, specifically, spent with Sasori. And it was in those thoughts he had decided that he wouldn't die, at least not until he saw Sasori again. He wasn't one to just give up anyway.

"...Aren't you scared?" Sasori asked suddenly.

Deidara grinned as much as he could despite the pain, "HA! As if, Danna. It's just as you said, I'll be fine. Besides, I haven't had the chance to show off my ultimate masterpiece yet."

Sasori bit his lip before gently pulling Deidara's head into his lap. As much as Deidara denied he was dying, the evidence was clear, he wouldn't last much longer.

"ow! Dammit Danna, un!" Deidara grunted as pain burst through him.

Sasori simply stroked his hair by way of an apology.

They sat in silence, the only sound being Deidara's shallow breath and the distant caw of crows as they began circling the bodies scattered across the battlefield.

"Bet you're gonna miss me."

Sasori nearly missed the whisper and he looked down at Deidara with sad eyes. He poked a pale cheek gently, "You're not going anywhere. I... I won't allow it..." He muttered the last part under his breath, hoping slightly that the blond hadn't heard it.

Unfortunately for Sasori, he did.

"Don't worry, un. Nothing's going to change; you'll always be my Danna." He forced a smirk.

Sasori snorted, "And you'll always be a brat."

"Yeah, but I'll always be your brat." His smirk looking more and more forced as he coughed roughly.

The hand that Sasori had been stroking Deidara's hair with moved down to his face and rested lightly on his cheek. He felt the soft skin getting colder with every minute that passed by. Sasori frowned sadly, Deidara had always said true art was fleeting but life… life was a completely different matter. Deidara's life was supposed to last a lot longer than his bombs; he was only nineteen for heaven's sake! Sasori curled his hands into fists, lightly hitting Deidara on the cheek while muttering under his breath. "Stupid, stupid, stupid…"

"…Sasori… are you crying?"

Sasori had started shaking, his feather light punches to Deidara's cheek not ceasing, although there were no tears, for a puppet this was as close to crying as he would get.

"Don't be stupid, brat." Sasori tried to say but the words got caught in his throat.

"I'll miss you…even if your idea of true art is completely wrong." Deidara smiled gently, his voice getting quieter, breaths shallower.

Sasori smiled sadly back at him, not bothering to argue that he wasn't dying, because it was clear now that there was no saving his partner.

"But you know, Danna?"

"Hm?" Sasori made a questioning noise, not trusting his voice anymore.

"I had.. a blast, un…" And with a final grin he closed his eyes.

"…I'll miss you too…"

So.. what do you think? Reviews gladly accepted :)