Yet another DeiTobi from the LJ. I'll probably wind up posting all of them here, because...out of pretty much everything I've written, these stories are my favorites. (No, my obsessive love for my darling Deidara has nothing whatsoever to do with that, un. Seriously. XD)

Fishing
Tobi doesn't remember when he started to enjoy fishing so much, but he does remember the first time Deidara-senpai chose to accompany him.

"Oy, Tobi…is that a stick?"

They had intercepted each other at the entrance of Akatsuki's current base—Tobi on his way out, Deidara on his way in.

"Not a stick, Deidara-senpai," Tobi corrected eagerly, a little elated at knowing something his senpai didn't. "A sapling. They're nice and springy, you see?" To demonstrate, he bent the top of the sapling with a finger. Rather than snap, the young branch formed an arch and sprang back to its original shape once Tobi released it.

Deidara's mouth turned down at the corners, though he eyed the branch in interest. "What do you need a sti—a sapling for?"

Tobi beamed beneath his mask. "To fish! I found a river over there," he motioned vaguely toward the left, "a few days ago, and I caught some trout. Zetsu-san made them for dinner."

"Oh," Deidara said, expression contemplative. After a moment, he added, "They were actually pretty good, un."

If Tobi smiled any wider, he thought his face would split in two. Though it was indirect, that was as close to a compliment as he had ever gotten from Deidara-senpai. "I'm going to try and catch some more. Zetsu-san said he'd like to experiment with a new dish tonight, so don't leave again until then, okay?"

But Deidara was already out the door.

Tobi tilted his head to the side, puzzled. "Deidara-senpai? Where are you—"

"Come on," he said without looking back. "I could use the fresh air, un."

From then on, Deidara-senpai didn't bother thinking of different excuses because Tobi never requires any others—truthfully, he doesn't even see the need for one excuse, but he hasn't said as much because Deidara-senpai seems convinced that the excuse is important.

Whatever makes him comfortable. Tobi can accept the fact that he doesn't understand everything, though a part of him still believes Deidara-senpai wouldn't be so excitable all the time if he stopped complicating things unnecessarily.

"Why aren't they biting?"

Tobi glances over at Deidara, who is glaring down at his line as if it offended him, and he chews on his lip to quell the urge to laugh.

"We haven't been here very long, Deidara-senpai," he says gently. Not long at all. Only about ten minutes. "Don't worry. The fish might just be lazy today."

Deidara makes an impatient noise. "Then how come you have three already?" He readjusts his posture, sitting up a bit straighter with his legs crossed Indian-style and gives the line a jerk. The water ripples slightly in response, but nothing else happens. Deidara's face sours. "Stupid fish…"

Tobi turns back to his own line for fear of losing his composure and grins, thankful his mask hides his amusement. It isn't fair, he supposes, since he's had lots of practice fishing. He survived on fish while he wandered around in Grass Country before meeting Zetsu-san, to the point where he could catch them barehanded if he lacked a decent sapling.

Of course, Deidara-senpai doesn't know he can do that, and he isn't about to tell him, either.

Bad enough he's caught three the normal way.

"All right," Deidara says suddenly, sounding both resigned and annoyed. "What's your secret? This is driving me crazy, un."

He probably shouldn't be quite as pleased as he is about Deidara-senpai asking him for advice, but Tobi can't suppress the warm, happy feeling that surges through his veins.

"Well…the trick is…you have to be calm, Deidara-senpai. I'm not sure how it works, but the fish sense if you're edgy, and they'll keep their distance. So…just relax. Breathe. Here, watch."

Rotating his shoulders, Tobi loosens his grip on his sapling so that it's merely resting against his palms, and he waits, breathing slowly and evenly. A minute or so later, there's a tug on his line, and he clutches the sapling again, then flicks his wrists back sharply.

A wriggling trout clings to the end of the line.

"There." Tobi grabs the fish around the middle with one hand pries it off the hook with his other. "Not so hard, once you get the hang of it."

Deidara scowls. "You make it look easy." Despite the scowl, however, he appears determined. Drawing in a deep breath, he closes his visible eye and allows his arms to go limp.

Tobi watches anxiously. If this doesn't work, Deidara-senpai will be grouchy the rest of the day, and he won't trust Tobi anymore, for certain.

A minute passes. Then another. And another.

And just when Tobi is about to apologize, Deidara's eye snaps open. Mirroring Tobi's actions, he seizes the sapling and flicks his wrists.

"You did it!" Tobi congratulates excitedly. "You did it, Deidara-senpai!"

Deidara grins for about five seconds, but the grin fades once he notices the size of the trout flopping around on the end of his line.

It is considerably smaller than all four of Tobi's.

"Che," he grumbles, though he still plucks the fish off and sets it beside him.

Relieved, Tobi says, "You'll get a bigger one next time we come."

"Next time?" Deidara snorts and casts his line. "Like hell, un. I'm not gonna let you show me up, dumbass."

Tobi decides it's acceptable to laugh now.

"We'll see, Deidara-senpai."

At least they'll have plenty of fish to share with everyone.