Muted Love

Chapter 13

The bell chimes could be heard from the other side of the door. The three waited patiently until the door opened.

Naruto grinned only to see an empty doorway. He looked down and nearly screamed in fright.

Standing in the doorway was a grotesque figure, hunched over with dark eyes, grey skin and black stringy hair. Its bottom half of his face was covered by a white scarf and he was wearing a black cloak.

Naruto looked back at Sasuke who was giving him a smirk, and then to Deidara who was outright laughing. The smaller blonde glared at the two his hands on his hips. "What is this?!"

"My puppets." A deep voice from behind him said.

Naruto froze before slowly turning his head to see who was talking. There now leaning in the doorway, stood a tall red-headed man. He had bright green eyes and a neutral expression. He was wearing a short-sleeved black hoodie and black shorts. He raised an eyebrow at Naruto.

"Hey Sasori." Deidara greeted. He walked over to Sasori and placed a kiss on his cheek. "This is Naruto, Sasuke's date." He sang the word 'date', giving the pair a smirk.

Both Naruto and Sasuke blushed.

Sasori nodded his head. "Nice to meet you. I gotta finish up some things before we go, you guys can come in if you'd like." He didn't wait for an answer as he walked back into his gallery and headed for his studio.

Deidara and Sasuke followed behind, Naruto warily trailing behind, keeping one eye on the puppet that was still at the door.

"Damn, that was," Naruto stopped talking as he took in the room around him. "Creepy."

"Thank you." Sasori replied.

The room was filled with more puppets, each of them looking as creepy as the first one. All of then were performing different tasks, like sweeping, dancing and even moving objects around.

"How are they all moving like that?" Naruto asked, sticking close to Sasuke's side and avoiding the puppets at all cost.

"With wires and gears, un!" Deidara replied, a big smile on his face. "My boyfriend is so smart."

Naruto visibly relaxed after hearing the answer.

'You didn't really think they moved on their own, did you?' Sasuke asked, a knowing smirk on his face.

His face darkened with a blush "O-of course n-not!"

Deidara snorted while Sasori shook his head. Sasori unlocked the door to his studio and allowed the three to pass through before closing the door behind him.

"Have a seat." Sasori gestured towards the workbench in the middle of the room where four stools were placed along the sides.

Wooden limbs were scattered about the table and Naruto's face paled as he stood frozen.

'You gonna sit?' The smirk was once again on Sasuke's face.

"Duh, Sasuke." Naruto replied with a air of confidence. He walked over and sat in a stool, only to jump up in fright as Deidara subtly pushed a leg towards him.

"This is hilarious, un!" Deidara managed to say between laughter.

Naruto glared as Sasuke sat down. He sat as well and turned to Sasori. "So, how does this all work?"

Sasori looked up from his seat and gave Naruto his attention. "Well, I carve out the limbs, body and head from a special wood that my grandmother grows. It's pretty soft and malleable. I make the bodies and limbs hollow so I can put the mechanics inside and set them to do tasks. It takes months for a puppet depending on the task."

"Wow, that sounds like a lot of work." Naruto replied, surprised.

Sasori shrugged. "It's easy when your job only needs a few hours of your time online."

"He's in the process of inheriting his family's business, un." Deidara said, a feeling of pride overtaking him.

Naruto's eyes widened. "What business?"

"Chiyo Toys."

"I love those toys!" Naruto grinned excitedly at him. "That's so cool!"

"Thanks." Sasori fiddled with one of the pieces before standing up. "Alright, I'm finished for the day, ready to go?"

The three of them nodded. "Itachi said he'll meet us there." Sasori replied, taking out his phone.

"Think we should invite Konan?" Deidara asked with a smirk.

'Definitely.' Sasuke signed.

Sasori rolled his eyes as he led them out of the studio and gallery and into the hall. "You guys are just asking for trouble."

'I just want my brother to be happy, and I feel Konan can do just that.' Sasuke shrugged.

"You're a terrible liar."

Deidara laughed and Naruto looked on in confusion. "Don't worry, Naruto. You'll see soon enough."

They stopped at Konan's door and Deidara knocked loudly.

A minute or two later, Konan stepped out and looked at them, bored. "What do you guys want?"

"Naruto really wants you to come out to lunch with us, un" Deidara smiled sweetly at her. Naruto gaped and tried to protest but was instantly jabbed by Sasuke's elbow.

Konan's eyes softened as she looked at the smaller blonde. "Really? I mean, why not, I have no plans! Give me a sec." She closed the door, going back inside.

Deidara and Sasuke smirked while Sasori shook his head. "I don't want her blaming me for whatever bad thing is gonna happen." Naruto pouted at Sasuke.

'It'll be all good. Don't worry about it.' Sasuke pulled him closer to him.

"Alright," Konan threw the door open, purse in hand. "Let's go!"