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“Look who finally decided to wake up.” The moment you walked past the threshold, Pain started to speak. Though his eyes were still locked on what appeared to be a large map of one of the neighboring lands, you knew he had to be talking to you. “I thought you were going to spend the entire day in bed.”

Still standing in the doorway, his words caused you to pause. “What are you talking about?” You knew he was trying to tease you, but he couldn't honestly think that you had spent all day sleeping, could he? Though the thought might have sounded nice, there was simply too much to do to even entertain an idea like that. Not only that, but if you were going to lay around all day, why would you even to bother to get up now? The sun had set hours ago and you were sure some of the other members had already retired for the night. “I've been awake since sun up.”

“Oh?” Obviously suspicious, Pain cocked his brow, but still didn't bother to look at you. “Where have you been then?”

“I was with Deidara pretty much all day.” Now that you thought about it, it was no wonder he thought you were in bed. Other than coming back for a quick snack, you had been out from the time you got up until now. “I met with Konan too, but only for about an hour. They can both vouch for me.”

“Again?” Pain seemed to have stopped listening after your first sentence. Eyes now fixed on yours, his expression changed slightly. You weren't sure what had prompted it, but he didn't look pleased with you at all. “You've been spending a lot of time with him lately.”

“I have?” Thinking back, you couldn't deny that he was right. But why would that be a bad thing? “I guess you're right. I hadn't even noticed.” Figuring Pain probably suspected the two of you had been goofing off instead of working, you tried to shrug it off. Pain's silent stare however, quickly started to make you feel uncomfortable. Needing to escape his gaze, you cleared your throat and spoke again. “I think I'm going to turn in early tonight. I'm pretty exhausted.” Not wanting him to stop you, you quickly continued though the room towards your room. “Night.”

Lowering his focus back to his task, Pain waved you away with a quiet snort. “Right.”

Pain seemed a little bit cross, but you didn't think much of it. He had a lot on his plate with the approaching war and all, so it was only natural that he would get a bit moody from time to time. Sweeping any worries you might have had out of your mind, you quickly readied yourself for bed. You were so tired after the events of the day, you didn't even remember getting into bed. One minute you had changed into your pajamas, and the next you were waking up the very next day.

Feeling much better after getting some decent sleep, you hurried out of bed. Dressed and ready for the day, you left your room in search of something to eat. As you made your way through the labyrinth like hideout, you came upon Pain sitting in the exact same spot as he had been last night. All of his maps and reports were still as they had been the night before, suggesting that he had never even bothered to put them away. “Good morning Pain. Did you not bother to sleep last night?”

Completely ignoring your warm greeting, and your question, Pain asked a question of his own. “More plans with Deidara today?”

Though his tone was calm and flat, and his question hadn't seemed to have any dual meaning behind it, you could sense that something wasn't right. “I haven't spoken to him yet today, so I don't know. If I had to guess though, yes.” At this point, you had no idea why he was being so cross with you. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or maybe all this work was finally getting to him. Whatever the case was, you still didn't appreciate his rudeness. “Why?”

Yet again, he didn't bother to answer to acknowledge your question. “As I thought.”

The more he spoke, the heavier your heart felt. He was keeping something from you, but you didn't know why, or what. Despite his sudden coldness towards you, you walked over to where he was sitting and gently placed your hand on his all too stiff shoulder. “Pain, is something bothering you?”

“No.” He didn't pull away from your touch, but he was obviously bothered by the fact that you were touching him. “Go do whatever you were about to do. I'm busy.”

He could try to get rid of you all he wanted, but you weren't leaving until you knew what his problem was. “You're lying to me.”

“You think I spend the days lazing away while I send everyone else out to do my bidding then?” Pain still managed not to raise his voice, but the venom behind them actually made you flinch. Not once during all the years you had spent with the Akatsuki, or with him, had he ever used a tone like that with you. Trying to hide the flicker of remorse that flashed through his eyes, Pain lowered his lids and let out a weak sigh. “Just go.”

You could have just left him there, and a small part of you wanted to just that, but you refused. “That's not what I'm talking about. I know you're busy. But something is definitely bothering you.” Sighing, as you knew it had to have something to do with you, you tried yet again to get to the bottom of this. “What is it?”

Still trying to get rid of you, he began roughly rubbing at his temple. “I don't have time for this.”

“Well then make time.” Done trying to play nice with him, you shoved everything he was working on, off of the table and onto the floor. After the sound of scrolls, books and pens hitting the stone floor finally stopped, you sat down on the table in front of him and crossed your arms. “There, now tell me what's going on.” Almost immediately, Pain tried to stand up. You weren't sure if he was trying to leave, or just recover the items you had shoved onto the floor. It didn't matter either way though, because you weren't about to let him do either of those things. Clutching the front of his cloak in your fist, you narrowed your eyes at him. “Don't even think about it.”

Though he was a bit surprised by your actions, Pain tried to keep his expression as even as possible. “You should remember who you're speaking to.”

“I know perfectly well who I'm speaking to.” Pulling at his cloak, you brought his face closer to yours. “Now answer my question. You're acting ridiculous.” Even now, he didn't seem willing to tell you anything at all. If he thought he could just wait this out, he was wrong. You were more than willing to sit there all day long if need be. “I'm waiting.”

Still, he remained silent for a long, long time before speaking. “I don't appreciate all this time you've been spending alone with Deidara.”

“Wait, what?” He had finally said something, but it didn't make any sense to you at all. “What are you talking about?”

Only now managing to free his cloak from your grasp, he scoffed at your confusion. “You beg me for an answer, and then you don't listen to what I have to say.”

“I was listening, but what you said doesn't make any sense.” Try as you might, you couldn't figure out what he was talking about. Sure you were spending time with Deidara, but it wasn't for leisure, and there was certainly no reason for him to be upset over it.

“It's been going on a week at the very least.” Shaking his head, Pain took back his earlier sentence. “Actually, it's been closer to two weeks if I'm not mistaken.”

Suddenly it hit you. You knew exactly what he was talking about. Scurrying off the table, you quickly dug through the pile of papers to find an old, badly worn map. After looking over it to ensure it was the right map, you placed it on the table before him. “Pain, do you remember this?”

“Obviously.” He nodded.

“Good.” Glad for his answer, you continued. “Then you remember saying that you didn't trust it, and that you needed better information, right?”

Pain wasn't sure where you were going with all of this, but yet again, he nodded. “Yes, but I don't know what this has to do with anything.”

“I'm getting to that.” Placing your hands on your hips, a slight smile pulled at your lips as you finally put together all the pieces. “Deidara and I have been surveying the area this map showed. He 's been using one of his clay birds to fly over the area while I draw it out. That's why I went to see Konan yesterday too. She was turning my sketches into a usable map.”

Your explanation made perfect sense. Now, finally realizing that he had misunderstood the entire situation, Pain expression went blank. “Ah.”

Wiggling your way between Pain and the table, you took a seat on his lap. Trying hard not to laugh at the whole ordeal, you draped an arm over his shoulders and kissed his cheek. “You were so jealous, and all for nothing.”

Pain shook his head, trying to deny what you'd said. “I never said anything about being jealous.”

“No, but that's what this is all about, isn't it?” He didn't admit it out loud, but you knew him well enough to know that you were right. “I thought so.” No longer needing to worry about what was going on, you were able to breathe with ease. Though the argument hadn't lasted long at all, it felt like a massive weight had lifted off of you when it ended. Not wanting something like this to ever happen again, you took Pain's face in your hands, demanding all of his attention as you spoke. “Next time something like this happens, you should really just talk to me about it instead of assuming things.”

Actually a bit surprised that you didn't seem even slightly upset with him for the way he had acted, Pain didn't hesitate to agree. “Understood.”

“Good.” Now hugging him as tightly as your arms would allow, you kissed him again. “Now, let's get ourselves something to eat. All this unnecessary drama made me hungry.”