Resolutions
In honor of the upcoming new year, I wrote DeiTobi. Of course. XD I had such a great time writing this one. (I say that with every DeiTobi, don't I?) Seriously though. It seems like I learn more about these two with every story I churn out, and I'm loving it. As always, I hope everyone enjoys!
DeiTobi, Rated PG-13 ish.
Summary: Deidara never expected Tobi's resolutions to include him.
Deidara emerged from his workshop, muttering to himself under his breath. He had streaks of clay splattered all over his face and down the front of his shirt. Nothing unusual about that, especially since he’d been constructing a new line of bombs-he always got a little dirty when he experimented.
The muttering was the result of the state of his hair.
“Damn it…got too carried away, un. This shit’s gonna take forever to get out…”
Deidara hated having clay in his hair. It stuck and dried in clumps if he didn’t shower immediately, but at the same time, if he showered with it still wet, the clay mixed with his shampoo and made his hair stiff when he tried to blow it dry, so he’d have to take another shower.
For someone as impatient as Deidara, the entire process was sheer torture.
And to add to the frustration, he discovered recently that Tobi had been using his shampoo for nearly two months and hadn’t chosen to mention it. For a long while, Deidara actually believed he himself was responsible for his rapidly dwindling supply, and he probably would’ve carried on thinking as much had Tobi not opened his mouth.
“This is really great shampoo, Deidara-senpai! My hair’s a lot softer now, see?”
True to form, Deidara blew up.
“Dumbass, that’s my shampoo! Do you have any idea how expensive it is? What the hell? Why didn’t you ask me or something? That’s like…you using my…my toothbrush, un.” He paused, horrified. “You haven’t been using my toothbrush, have you?”
Tobi tilted his masked face to the side. “Well of course not, silly. I have my own toothbrush. It’s next to yours in the cup on the bathroom sink. Remember? The orange one.”
Deidara’s eyebrow twitched. “The orange one,” he said blankly. “Right.”
Tobi gave an enthusiastic nod. “But seriously, Deidara-senpai. Feel my hair! I don’t know how I ever got by with that other stuff.”
Deidara let the issue drop after that. Tobi obviously didn’t have a clue, and Deidara knew he wouldn’t get a clue, either.
The dumbass…
“Wonder what he’s doing,” Deidara mused, shouldering the door to their shared room open. He’d spent the entire day in the workshop without a peep from Tobi, and none of the other members of Akatsuki had burst in to demand him to take control of his partner-which already happened twice this week. The mysterious lack of any disturbance left him rather suspicious. And antsy.
But he needn’t have worried-not that he was worried about Tobi. He was more worried about the mischief Tobi could get into.
“Hello, Deidara-senpai.”
Tobi was sitting at his desk, bent over what looked like a sheet of paper. His mask rested beside his arm on the desk, and his youthful face was scrunched up in concentration as he scribbled.
Deidara chewed his bottom lip. Though he’d seen Tobi’s face before, the effect of it on him hadn’t worn off yet. Despite the scar that cut a track from temple to chin, Tobi’s features were exquisite, and Deidara often found himself staring. At first, he explained his fascination away as purely artistic in nature-Tobi had the sort of face any artist would commit murder to capture. But the more he studied him, the more Deidara came to realize his vocation had nothing to do with it.
Because he didn’t think about art when he looked at Tobi. He didn’t think about much of anything, aside from the overwhelming sense of possessiveness he felt, and the primal instinct to take what belonged to him.
“How are the bombs coming along?”
Deidara shuddered, dropping his gaze to the floor. When would it stop? It couldn’t go on forever. He’d lose his mind.
“They’re coming.” He crossed the room to his bed and stripped off his shirt, then crumpled it into a ball and tossed it. “What’re you doing, un?”
“Writing my resolutions for the new year,” Tobi replied cheerfully. “There’s a lot of things I want to change.” He set his pen down and stretched his arms above his head, sighing. “Finished.”
Deidara’s brow furrowed. He’d completely forgotten that the year would end tonight.
“Resolutions, eh?” He sifted through his disheveled sheets for his bathrobe. “Nobody ever keeps those. They say they will, but a few months in and it’s like they didn’t make them at all, un.”
Yeah, Deidara knew about resolutions. He knew it was stupid to plan so far ahead, because people just didn’t have the willpower to follow through when the shit hit the fan.
And he was no exception. He made resolutions once, as an ignorant kid with bright eyes and a hopeful future.
That was before his mother died. That was before incarceration in a dingy cell far beneath the earth, barred from light and sound and sensation.
That was before blood and explosions and clay.
Better not to expect anything. Better not to make promises you won’t keep, even if those promises are to yourself.
“I will.”
Deidara paused in his search, eyes flicking in Tobi’s direction. His partner had since stood up, and was halfway to Deidara’s bed when Deidara hazarded a glance.
Tobi stopped by Deidara’s pillow. Sliding his hand under it, he pulled out Deidara’s bathrobe and offered it to him.
Blinking, Deidara accepted it. How had Tobi known…?
“I’ll keep my resolutions, Deidara-senpai, I promise,” he said, his large, bright eyes solemn.
Large, bright eyes.
“My beautiful boy. Look out at the world with those eyes and tell me what you see.”
His fingers tightened around the bathrobe.
Tobi stepped closer.
“You know what my most important resolution is?”
“What?” His voice cracked a little, and he coughed to hide it. “What?” He repeated.
Smiling, Tobi said, “To quit being so dependent on you, Deidara-senpai.” And before Deidara could flee, Tobi put his hand on the back of Deidara’s neck and kissed him, a long, lingering kiss.
“Come downstairs after you take a shower, okay?” He whispered once he broke the kiss. “I want us all to ring in the new year together.” Touching Deidara’s cheek, Tobi turned and left him there.
Deidara clung to the bathrobe, feeling more exposed and raw than he’d ever felt.
And when he finally dragged himself to the bathroom, there was a fresh bottle of shampoo waiting for him in the shower.
"Dumbass..."
He pressed his forehead against the shower tiles, water running down his back.
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;__________________;
OH DEIDEI I FREAKING ADORE YOU.