Deidara sighed and plopped down on the couch. He was bored out of his mind, and there was nothing to do, no one to bother. He didn't have any clay at the moment to sculpt into his beautiful explosives.

He surveyed his surroundings, though he knew it all by heart. The current Akatsuki residence was a large house, not new but not decrepit. He was in the living room currently, draped across the couch with one hand behind his head. Against the black couch, his golden hair and blue eyes appeared even brighter, and he somehow fit into the darkness despite his pretty appearance.

He closed his eyes slowly, and then jerked them open again as the front door banged open. It was Kakuzu and Hidan, both dressed in their cloaks and looking pleased.

Deidara sat up and itched along his left eye. The metal of his scope eye was cold and unforgiving against his fingertips. He hated it.

Withdrawing his hand from under his bangs, he waved at the two, not really feeling like chatting with either of them. Hidan was nice enough, but the person he really wanted to talk to­—

The door opened again, and a hunched figure shuffled in. Deidara immediately bounced up and practically skipped over to Hiruko.

"Hello, Sasori-Danna, where were you, I mi­—" Deidara cut himself off with a strangled noise and changed what he had been about to say, continuing in less of a rush. "I was bored with nobody to talk to, un."

Hiruko kept walking, his partner bouncing along at his heels. His unexpressive puppet face showed nothing except annoyance, but Deidara's was radiant with happiness. They reached Sasori's room, right next to the blonde's, and went inside. Deidara was till yammering at him, but neither of them was actually paying attention to what he was saying.

Sasori make Hiruko roll his eyes, the better to catch a sidelong glance of his partner. Deidara's mesh shirt left little to the imagination, his toned body slender and perfect. How beautiful he looked, how much Sasori wanted to take him and—

The puppeteer jerked Hiruko's eyes away. What was he thinking!? He felt nervous; Deidara's presence always did things to him, things that should have been impossible for a puppet to feel.

He tried to shove the thought out of his mind as he climbed out of Hiruko and placed it carefully back into its scroll. He could feel the blonde's gaze on him, and was uncomfortably aware that he was not wearing a shirt.

So he thinks my puppet body is ugly, does he? thought Sasori in a fit of spite. He shouldered past Deidara and snatched up his cloak.

Blue eyes widened and Deidara gasped, not at Sasori's uncaring attitude, but at the brief contact between their bodies. Unprepared for the touch, Deidara had been shocked when his Danna pushed past him. Normally Sasori would never allow them to so much as sit next to each other if he could help it. Deidara touched his arm where Sasori had touched him. He felt tingly. Drawing a shaky breath, he turned apprehensively to his Danna…

And smiled at the sight which awaited him. Sasori was apparently stuck half in and half out of his cloak. He had thought he'd be able to draw it over his head faster than doing all the snaps, but it hadn't quite worked that way.

"Danna? Do you need me to help you? Un…"

There was a moment's pause.

"Yes."

It sounded as thought it killed Sasori to say it, but Deidara took it as an excuse simply to be near him.

Sasori, for his part, was afraid. Afraid of what he might do if this gorgeous boy got too close, afraid of himself. Of course, he could not feel the delicate fingers tugging at his cloak, but could remember the sensation of being touched perfectly. His imagination did most of the rest, but he sometimes wished he still had a body.

Maybe Deidara would love you if you were human,snickered a traitorous, mocking voice in his mind.

The subject of the puppeteer's thoughts was quietly elated. He gently pulled the black coat down over the red hair and settled it into place. He took quite a bit longer than was necessary, savoring the sensation of being allowed to touch his beloved partner. Knowing Sasori couldn't feel it, Deidara surreptitiously ran his hand down the wooden side, separated only by the thin material of the cloak. So smooth, so beautiful, so…sexy. Deidara caught himself and he retracted his hand quickly.

"There you go, Danna. Yeah."

Sasori looked at the golden-haired sculptor curiously. His voice sounded unusually high and nervous. "Took you long enough. You kept me waiting, you know I hate waiting."

"Gomen, Sasori no Danna, gomen. I—" Deidara gulped.

"Yeah, whatever. Just go somewhere else. Go to your room." Deidara looked stricken and hurried out of the room like a chastised puppy.

Sasori felt guilt spread inside him. Why, thought Sasori, am I so cruel to him? It's not like I dislike him — quite the opposite. What am I doing? Fuck.

The next few days passed in monotony and avoidance. Deidara was miserable when he was away from the red-haired puppet, awkward when they were together. Sasori was distant, cold, trying to keep himself apart, but all he ended up doing was getting sick of himself and making everything worse. The other Akatsuki members didn't notice much, as the overall mood of the group was not exactly cheery anyway.

Hidan and Kisame did try to cheer Deidara up, talking to him and showing more compassion than you'd expect from S-rank criminals. It was almost a relief for all involved when Sir Leader announced that Sasori had a solo mission. Both needed some time to think. But nobody could have predicted the events of the two days Sasori was to be gone.

Akatsuki members came in and out like the tide. Only Deidara stayed inside all the time. Kisame and Itachi were gone, Zetsu was nowhere to be found, and the insane Hidan and Kakuzu were out 'practicing', though they hadn't said what. By the second day, Deidara was alone in the hideout, except for Sir Leader, who didn't really count.

Late afternoon found him sprawled on his bed, mulling over his thoughts about Sasori. Suddenly the door connecting to Sasori's room creaked open.

"Sasori-Danna?" he called hopefully. "I thought you were supposed to come back late tonight. Danna?"

"Not quite," rasped a hissing voice, which was certainly not Sasori. "So you're my replacement, are you? Let's have a look at you."

Deidara sat bolt upright and strained to catch sight of the owner of the voice. Since he had lit no lanterns, the room was fairly dark. Nonetheless, he was able to make out a tall shaped with long dark hair and pale skin. The eyes glinted for a moment. Snake eyes.

The blonde's breath caught. He knew who this was: Orochimaru, the snake ninja who had been Sasori's former partner in Akatsuki. Deidara didn't know much about him. Sasori refused to discuss him.

"Why so tongue-tied? Didn't expect me? How rude of me not to introduce myself properly."

The sound-nin lit several of the lamps and stepped fully into the room. As he did so, Deidara sprang to his feet and assumed a guard stance.

"Come now, why so hasty? We could be…friends."

Deidara watched in horrified fascination as Orochimaru flicked out a long tongue. The man was creepy. His weird costume with its large purple bow would normally have made the blue-eyed ninja laugh, but on this guy it was somehow threatening.

He sized up the situation. This man was tall, strong, and certainly had powers to reckon with, whereas Deidara was short, and not very skilled with tai-jutsu. To make matters worse, he had no clay. This did not look good. As he tried furiously to think of a way to gain the upper hand, the older man sprang.

It was over before it started. Deidara was pinned solidly down, and he prepared himself mentally to be knocked out at the very least. But Orochimaru did not strike him. Instead—

"You're quite a pretty little thing, aren't you? Not my usual type, but, well, they say new experiences broaden the mind," he mused, stroking Deidara's cheek. Flinching, the boy tried to turn away. Surely this man didn't mean…He redoubled his futile efforts to escape, but the former Akatsuki member was far too strong and heavy to dislodge.

"Shh, shh," crooned Orochimaru. "You know there's no point resisting. Your body at least will thank me in the end."

Without warning, he pressed himself hard against Deidara's slender body and forced their mouths together, His long, terrible tongue shoved its way through the other's lips and nearly gagged him. Deidara's eyes were bright with tears of rage and shame. He struggled one of his hands free and strove to throttle the snake-man. His hand-mouth bit down on the flesh of Orochimaru's neck.

Orochimaru retracted his tongue, eyes flashing. Deidara drew a coughing breath.

Grasping the blonde's wrists, his assailant pinned him once again. He was slow and effortlessly cruel, maintaining eye contact the whole time.

"We'll do it your way then," whispered Orochimaru into his ear, flicking his tongue out to graze Deidara's neck.

Deidara shuddered, revulsion in every line of his face, He knew it was no use to struggle, but he had to try.

At that moment Orochimaru transferred one hand to inside his victim's pants.

Deidara gasped at the sudden intrusion. The hand was cold, teasingly fondling his member. His eyes half-closed, but he bit his lip and forced himself to jerk his arms away form that unfeeling grasp. One hand free, he tried to shove the heavy body off, but Orochimaru merely tutted and made him lie still by applying pressure to his windpipe. The boy's eyes rolled up and he chocked for breath while the older man pulled his belt out.

Using the belt to tie Deidara's hands behind his back, the snake sannin returned his attention to his victim's lower half. Ripping part of the fishnet shirt in his haste he dragged Deidara's pants down and paused appreciatively, then began working his hands up and down Deidara's length, squeezing occasionally, while at the same time caressing the blonde's stomach with his skillful tongue. He shed his own pants, bow and all, and moved up Deidara's body until he was kneeling over the bomber's head, leaving him cruelly with a bulging hard-on.

"Don't even think of biting or it'll go badly for you." Deidara was sobbing, trying to keep his lips pressed together, but Orochimaru grabbed his chin and pried his mouth apart. He shoved himself in and snagged his hands in the golden hair, forcing the boy to move his head.

Choking and spitting, Deidara tried to get away. Death would be better than this, anything to make it stop. The cock pulsing in his mouth was shoved into his throat as the sound-nin bucked his hips, obscene hisses and mewls dropping form his lips. His face was distorted with sick pleasure and both were covered in sweat, as Orochimaru forced the rhythm faster, faster, FASTER—

The door crashed open and Sasori strode in, looking shocked, then furious. Deidara took advantage of the distraction to draw his head back and spit, eyes panicked and beseeching.

"Get. Away. From my partner. Now."