Marionette part 2- a SasoDei

“DAAAAANNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! I’m hungry, un!” Sasori’s eye twitched, almost involuntarily. The brat had been whining about his apparent “starvation” for the past hour, and it was really starting to get on his nerves. An explosive rumble came from the blonde’s stomach and Sasori ignored him as he clutched himself and whimpered.

I don’t see what he’s whining about. Humans can go for DAYS without food…or is it weeks? I can’t really remember….but he should be fine, it’s only been eight hours.

“Danna! You’re being cruel un!! Aren’t you hungry too?” Deidara asked incredulously, still keeping his arms wrapped tightly around his midsection. Sasori frowned deeply while trying to think of an adequate response.

“Should I be?” He asked, doing his best to portray a tone of cockiness, as opposed to the uncertainty he felt. It seemed to have worked, because the Iwa nin scowled before he replied snappishly.

“YES, you should be! People should eat at least three meals a day!” The Suna nin’s eyes widened almost comically as he considered these words. Had he really eaten that often? And if so…what else had he forgotten that was important when it came to taking care of a person? There was another loud sound from Deidara’s stomach and Sasori felt mild panic as he watched the pain that crossed his partner’s face. The blonde really wasn’t kidding with this.

“Alright. Next restaurant we come to, we’ll get some food. Think you can hold out?” Sasori did his best to disguise his concern with a tone of impatience. Apparently it worked, for Deidara brightened up considerably.

“Thanks Sasori, un!” The red head rolled his eyes as he allowed a small smile to cross his face, thankful he was still in Hiruko and the clay artist couldn’t see it.

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“So, what are you gonna get, Danna?”  Deidara peered over the top of his menu with a small, grateful smile that made Sasori swear internally that he would never let his partner go hungry again. They had finally come to a small Tea House outside of the Village of Birds, and the blonde had shot off through the doors like a rocket. A hungry rocket.

But he had to admit the place was at least decent. It had been a while since Sasori had last been in a restaurant of any kind, but the floors seemed clean, and there were no vermin in sight. Plus, the waitress was fairly old, and when she winked at Deidara he cringed as opposed to smiling, which had brought up Sasori’s mood considerably. Of course, the downside was that he’d had to put Hiruko away, since he wouldn’t fit in the booth inside him. He glanced back over at his partner who was chewing on his lower lip as he glanced down at the menu. Sasori resisted the urge to sigh. He supposed the sight ought to have been erotic, but seeing as he’d done away with all his hormones…he wondered how Deidara would take it if he found out that technically the puppet master didn’t have a gender anymore, and almost laughed at the mental image of his partner’s disbelieving face.

“Hey Danna!” The red head snapped his attention to his partner with a start, having gotten lost in thought. Deidara snickered slightly from having gotten this reaction before tucking his hair behind an ear and saying, “You still haven’t answered me. What are you getting?”

Sasori wracked his brains hastily for a response. Either he could refuse to order and be pestered about it or order and not eat….and then be pestered about it. Fighting the urge to slam his head on the table for having gotten himself into such a mess, he forced a smile that made it look like he had a toothache and turned to Deidara.

“I told you, I’m not hungry.” Deidara’s smile died immediately and so did the joy in his eyes, concern flashing through the dark blue orbs.

“But Danna…you have to eat, un. It’s important, and you haven’t eaten in at least eight hours…”

More like twenty years… “Look, Deidara I’m fine. Really. If I was hungry, I would eat; I know the importance of nutrition. So just get your food and don’t worry about me. Maybe I’ll eat later.” Yeah right. And I’ll let Tobi play with my puppets.

“Are you sure un? I think it’d be best if you ate, even if you’re not really hungry, un.” Despite the gentle tone of Deidara’s voice, the puppet master’s left eyebrow twitched. Really, shouldn’t HE be the one to make those decisions. Reminding himself that Deidara was only interested in his well-being, Sasori forced himself to remain patient, a difficult task for him.

“Yes, I’m sure. Go ahead and eat Dei, I’m alright.” Sasori almost sighed in relief when the blonde smiled and nodded after only a small hesitation. The waitress came back and they ordered their food. Sasori was fairly certain he’d seen her wink at Deidara again, but when it went unnoticed by his partner he decided to let it slide. Once she had left however, the conversation slipped into a rather awkward silence. Their eyes locked for a good two minutes, during which Sasori tried not to let any emotion slip into his expression. He knew Deidara was studying him, and he didn’t want to let on that anything was out of the ordinary. Apparently, he had failed, because Deidara had given another small nod and said with a serious expression:

“Tell me what’s bothering you, Danna.”

Sasori froze at the impact of these words. Had it really been that obvious?! His eyes continued to bore into his partner’s catching flecks of concern among a deathly seriousness. It wouldn’t be easy to shake him off this time.

“Nothing is wrong, brat. What made you think there was?” Sasori figured that as long as he had the opportunity, he might as well question the bomber, and then do his best to never make whatever mistake he’d made again.

“You’ve been really quiet un. More so than usual, I mean. You’ve been kind of spacey, and you’re also not hungry when you should be practically starving, un. So I wanted to know what’s wrong.” The red head momentarily cursed Deidara’s insight, although he had to admit it didn’t take a genius to figure that anyone with these symptoms was probably depressed. Well…any HUMAN with these symptoms at least. Although, he had to admit his partner had a right to worry about him spacing out when he was usually so down to Earth…

“It’s nothing. I’m telling you, I’m okay.” The clay artist narrowed his eyes into a glare worthy of Itachi. Sasori couldn’t really blame him; he hated being lied to as well. In fact, if the brat ever tried it, he’d be facing a serious lashing, courteousy of Hiruko’s tail.

“Sasori-Danna, I know there’s something wrong. And, as your partner and your lover, I think you should tell me, un.” Sasori’s scowl deepened. Great, now the idiot was guilt tripping him. Not only that, he actually had a point. The puppeteer was starting to regret his agreement to stop for food. If the blonde had just passed out from hunger, he could have carried him there in silence…

“Trust me, Deidara. You wouldn’t understand.” He knew it would probably make the bomber angry to hear that, but it was the truth. There was simply no way Deidara would understand what the problem was, unless he’d found Sasori’s scrolls and decided that the Puppet Transformation Jutsu would be a fun thing to try. Which Sasori sincerely doubted. Deidara’s eyes did narrow a little more in annoyance, but his voice was still soft, which the Suna nin had to give him credit for. If it had been him, he’d have probably exploded by now. (Knowing Deidara, this could be taken literally or figuratively)

“Listen Danna, I know there are a few things I don’t know about you…”

Damn straight Sasori almost snorted at the understatement.

“…But I really do love you, un. So whatever it is, I’m sure I’ll understand.” Deidara placed his hand on the nape of Sasori’s neck, only to have his partner jerk away, his eyes narrowed to near slits.

“D-danna?” Deidara had never seen such a reaction to being touched before. What was Sasori’s deal anyway???

“It’s nothing. Just don’t touch me.” Sasori hissed out the last part before turning on his heel almost gracefully and storming out of the tea house, not bothering to wait for his partner. Deidara hurriedly ordered his food to go while the puppet master uncovered Hiruko from the roots of a tree and a genjutsu, which took all of ten minutes.

Why the hell do I bother with all this security anyway? It’s not like anyone in this country WANTS it…

Sasori returned in just as foul a mood as he’d left. He didn’t even pause in his walk past the restaurant, nor stop when he heard his partner’s hurried footsteps and shouts of “Wait up, Danna!”

Deidara glared at his Danna’s back, cursing him for being so unpredictable. His hand still tingled from where he had touched Sasori for that brief moment.

Sasori’s skin is so cold, un.