Usually, Tobi would be the first one of the two to suggest to lay back and slack off for as long as they can, which was what made it so much of a surprise when it was instead Deidara who pointed out the teahouse in the distance and suggested to take a rest before they hike the rest of the way up the mountain.
Obito didn't complain. He has no reason to, considering he has a role to play and that role would never give up a chance to kick back and relax. So he sits now, elbows resting on the cheap wooden table as Deidara enjoys a plate — or two — of bakudan-yaki.
He knows he should be ordering something to eat, or at least pretend to eat since Deidara has long since given up on spying on him, but for some reason, he cannot seem to slip into character today as smoothly as he does any other day.
Deidara doesn't seem to be sensing anything is amiss. He simply sits and enjoys his giant snack, chewing slowly. It's slightly mesmerizing watching the way his jaw works. It reminds Obito of the way his hand-mouths would while not in battle, carefully chew the clay as Deidara experiments with different levels of chakra infusion.
Obito blinks at himself at the train of his own thoughts. It is only recently that he has found his thoughts rotating around his partner when he isn't planning his next move for Pain to enact. There's just something about that fiery, feisty blonde that makes every moment a surprise for him.
It feels a lot more refreshing than just following an age-old plan that has already been roughly mapped out before his involvement.
Maybe it's when a lot of Deidara's tactics is just to wing it in the heat of battle, or the fact that it actually works.
Then again, Obito does have to take in the factor that a lot of Deidara's plans are just to brute force his way into victory, without much finesse at all.
His tea goes cold in his hands, untouched.
It is then that Deidara looks up at him, eyes already suspiciously narrowed.
"I think I have you figured out, hm," he says simply, out of the blue and completely confident. Obito blinks at the suddenness of his statement and tilts his head a fraction to the right, eager to remain in character.
"What does senpai mean?"
He thinks maybe if he plays dumb, Deidara wouldn't say anything else.
He thinks wrong.
"Only one type of person in the world wants to wear a mask and insists on hiding their own identity, yeah," Deidara says between a mouthful of bakudan-yaki, waving a stick around in the air. "That person is either dead to the world, or dead inside."
Deidara does not give Obito a chance to raise a question because he continues on. "You're still chipper and eager to go, which means you still have a purpose left in this world. Whether that is just to be an idiot all day, or something else entirely, doesn't really matter as long as it keeps you going, yeah, so who are you hiding from? I want to know, hm."
Obito furrows his eyebrows and sits uncomfortably in his chair, shifting his weight left and right. He didn't expect to be interrogated today, especially not by his hotheaded partner who has almost never expressed the ability to see anything beyond the horizon. His eyes dart everywhere, trying to find something to look at that isn't Deidara. Even though Deidara would have no way of seeing it, he seems to sense it and scoffs.
"What is today, hm?"
Obito is startled once more, eyes attracted back to Deidara. He turns his head in confusion as he echoes his partner, "what is today?"
"Today is special, hm," Deidara says in a matter-of-factly tone once more. "You're quiet. You're thinking, yeah. So today is something from your past."
If Obito could describe Deidara in one word, he would choose 'dense,' or any other word that is its synonym, but at this moment, he cannot say that the boy is dull. Perhaps he should stop underestimating his partner, even though Tobi holds his senpai in such high esteem.
"Today is nothing," Tobi shrugs his shoulders, letting go of his cup of tea. There's no use drinking it now.
"You said something like this before, yeah," Deidara says. "The first day we trained together, I asked about you and you said you're no one, hm."
Obito is surprised Deidara even remembers this. "And?" Tobi asks, his chipper tone beginning to crack as he tires of the conversation quickly.
"Today reminds you of when you were someone, hm," Deidara deduces, smirking to himself. Obito doesn't like that he seems so proud at his detective skills and couldn't help but let out a harsh breath through his nose. Deidara catches the soft sound rather keenly, latching onto it and glaring daggers at his masked partner. Obito feels as though Deidara is going to dig the knife deeper into his open wound.
"Today is your birthday, yeah."
No, he's managed to dig deeper and twist it at the same time.
The heavy feeling in his chest grows even heavier after Deidara gives it a name.
Tobi grows silent and finds the soft rippling of the tea immensely interesting. He doesn't know what Deidara is doing, but there is a soft shuffling and then there is a solid presence next to him, brushing up against his shoulder in an almost intimate manner.
"I just wanted to say happy birthday, hm," Deidara murmurs, sounding as though he's approaching an injured and startled deer. He leans in closer ever so slightly, applying his weight on Obito more and more.
Obito does not lean away. "How did you know?" he asks instead, as though he is really interested in understanding the inner thought process of Deidara's earlier intelligent verbal deduction.
"I asked Zetsu, hm," Deidara admitted. "You were extra quiet when February rolled around."
"Zetsu doesn't know," Obito shoots back.
"It wasn't hard to guess," Deidara defends himself, sounding harsh but then softens his tone once more. "Zetsu says it happens every February."
Obito scoffs once more. Betrayed by his own subconscious actions. "Well, you've had your fun, senpai," Obito says, "I guess I should ask for a present n—"
He cuts himself off when he realizes Deidara hasn't stopped leaning in. His eye widens at their proximity and in instinct, he almost leans back to get some space between them, but Deidara's hand is suddenly at the back of his head and he cannot move away. The next three seconds of his life may perhaps be the longest as he watches, as though in slow motion, Deidara lean toward him.
He doesn't feel his lips as he plants a soft kiss on where his cheek would be if his mask isn't in the way, but he imagines that they would be soft and he thinks that it's sadder that he did not get to feel them than never having anyone know it's his birthday. He blinks again when Deidara pulls away.
Suddenly, he doesn't think it's a bad idea to actually start celebrating his birthday again.
"Happy birthday?" Deidara tries.
Tobi lets out a bark of a laugh. "It's my birthday," he confirms. "Was that my birthday present, or did you always want to do that and it's more a present for you instead?"
Seeing Deidara turn red is truly a sight to behold. Even though Deidara tries to be cool or whatever façade he thinks criminals should have, it's very obvious that he's just a book waiting to be read. It might take some time to open his pages, but everything is revealed to you once you manage to do it. But all this time, as he's reading Deidara, he doesn't even know he's being read in return.
"Happy birthday to me," Tobi sing-songs, reaching up and pushing his mask to the side. He doesn't need to see with his eyes to know that Deidara is stunned — after trying to sneak so many glances in ludicrous ways, what he's always wanted to know is now right here in front of him. Too bad he doesn't get too long to admire it as Obito leans down not a moment later, their lips connecting in a chaste kiss.
A soft, delicate brush against, as he suspected, very soft lips. He could taste the bakudan-yaki lingering in Deidara's lips and as he laps it, he is granted access into the rest of Deidara's mouth. However, he pulls back before things can get out of hand, poking his tongue out to lick at his lips, savoring the last of the kiss.
He moves his mask back and is pleased to find Deidara looking as dazed as he feels. He reaches up and taps against Deidara's forehead protector, the vibrations snapping Deidara back to reality. "Let's get going now, shall we, senpai?" he asks in a soft tone.
"Uh," Deidara utters a sound of confirmation. "Happy birthday, yeah," he says dumbly, a moment later.
Obito breathes out a laugh. "It's my birthday, don't wear it out," he says as he stands up, tossing a few coins onto the table to cover the cost of free tea and two — no, three — plates of bakudan-yaki. He waves at Deidara, who is still staring dumbly at his mask.
"Come on, Deidara, let's go," he says after a heartbeat of admiring the delicate features on his young face.
Deidara blinks and stands, tossing the stick back onto the table and continues to walk toward him without caring if it clatters onto the ground. Once Deidara reaches his side, he turns and the two of them leaves the teahouse as the owner calls out her thanks after them.
If anyone sees them walking out hand in hand, it's probably because they have eyes.
Hey guys, Red here!
Surprisingly, it's very hard to write nowadays. I'm always tired even though I didn't really do anything. What's even more damning is that I've phrased this sentence almost five times by now.
That being said, I have also rewritten this fic three times. If I'm not 100% pleased with it, or if there are things that seem out of place, or doesn't make sense, it should be self-evident (also, remnants of its past reincarnations).
Also, I know I am one day late. As I said, I've rewritten this multiple times. If I haven't, I might be able to make it in time. Oh well, whatever, right? Happy birthday, Uchiha Obito, you piece of shit.
If you enjoyed this fic, I would much appreciate a review!
Cheers,
-redskiez:)