This is a gift fic for C0mdLicAt3d, who has always been so supportive and just plain amazing. I had been intending to finish since forever. Sorry I'm late, C! But I really hope you like it. I know I...twisted your idea up to suit my fancy, but I wrote this over like 5 times and this is the way my muse loved it. Hope it doesn't disappoint you. That would suck!

It was almost done like two months ago, but I had this burst of social life and I was enjoying myself a little too much, so I haven't written a word since then. I enjoyed it a lot though, and I hope you all like it.

But tell me if you find anything that doesn't fit, any stupid mistakes (of which I make plenty), and please let me know, everyone.

Warning: Rated M.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one.

Beauty and the Silent Type

Itachi stared at his Advanced Calculus without seeing a word.

It was at that moment that he realized just how much time he was spending with one lithe blond, and just how attached he was staring to get. Seeing his self-appointed college friend had become something he expected and often actually looked forward to. He saw that now. The emotional connection they had. Simple and not so simple, because just as he realized that Deidara had somehow become important to him, Itachi realized that he found the blond man…attractive.

He had looked at other men before and saw them as handsome, sexy even. But he had never had the urge to run his hands down their strong backs, or cup their hips, or feel the firmness of their buttocks. That was pretty fucking gay.

He had nothing against gay men and if he had figured that he was gay at any point growing up, he would have been fine with it. But finding a man sexually attractive on his senior year of college? That was just bizarre.

Deidara flipped a page in his own History of the Modern Arts and looked up at him. And smiled. Itachi could hardly breathe at the beauty of that face. He had thought the man beautiful from the first moment Deidara slid into the seat alongside his in Astronomy and chattered at him like a squirrel with a sugar high. Beautiful and annoying.

Slid in next to him at his empty table in the cafeteria. No amount of cold stared and silent treatments drove him away.

"I noticed you sit here alone. Which I thought was odd, considering you're the most interesting guy here." What was odd was that this guy, who knew nothing about him and had only so far sat next to him on the classes they shared. When no one else dared come near him, knowing his dangerous and filthy rich family.

"You know who I am?" Itachi asked darkly, implying the threat his acquaintance could result in. The blond burst of unwanted sunshine, however, didn't seem to see it that way.

"Sure. Uchiha Itachi. Effortless genius and lover of animals."

And how the fuck the man had noticed the animal thing about him, Itachi could not get him to admit.

So he shut up while they ate lunch together, and was silent during their classes while the blond whined about boring professors and their obnoxious TA's, and stood aside, stunned, as the other man marched into his dorm room at 7 pm and commented on his lack of roommate and morbid décor.

"I brought chicken dumplings and ice-cold beer."

Fuck if he didn't love those.

So they sat on his bed while Deidara laid out the meager but delicious feast neatly between them. Five large dumpling for each of them, two bottles of frosty beer bottled on the floor and two others in the freezer, awaiting their turn.

"I took one look at you and knew you ate like a man." Meaning pig? "Meaning you enjoy it and burn it off like it's nothing."

And that was another thing. The man read him like an open book. And foolishly, he started getting comfortable having him around. Enjoyed it. Enjoyed having someone who knew what he was thinking without his having to say a word. Who could read the meaning behind the words he did say. Who, it turns out, knew who his family was and didn't give a shit.

"What have they got to do with you?" And that was the question that broke the ice between them completely. Itachi spoke 80% more with him than he did with anyone else, and actually invited Deidara over on the weekends. It seemed "Come over" to Deidara meant bringing Itachi's favorite foods, drinks…and sleeping over. In his bed. With him. And hogging the covers to boot. Itachi had a big bed and Deidara still managed to drape one part of himself or another over the Uchiha.

And once Itachi got used to the blatant invasion of even more of his personal space, he realized that he enjoyed it. Many a mornings he found himself hugging Deidara close, or spooning him. So warm, sometimes even hot, and Itachi enjoyed the closeness more than he could ever have guessed. Every weekend together. Eating, watching TV, playing board games, catching up on college and world news (mostly Deidara), and sleeping together in the same bed.

"You're snuggly. Who knew?" the blond told him their first morning waking together.

It sneaked up on him, this sexual attraction. Or maybe it was that he wasn't paying attention. Because looking back, his more frequent morning erections, his strange new habit of smelling Deidara's hair when he was close enough, his enjoyment of stroking the blond's hard, smooth and exposed belly in the morning, his pleasure at the sight of that smile, luminescent blue eyes, and the feel of that golden, silky hair against his face and chest and arm when they were close….

He had missed all the clues, until now, when he realized how badly he wanted to kiss his best friend, and explore that tanned, lithe body he enjoyed sleeping against so much.

"What is it? Calculus too boring for you?" the blond teased.

Did he look bored? Thank God. He thought he looked ravenous, and that the blond might read him too well again and make their relationship very awkward. And Itachi did not want to lose this. Them.

So he said "no more than usual" and looked back down at his book.

He felt the bright stare of his first and most precious best friend, and was so afraid of his emotions coming through despite his neutral expression that he didn't dare look back.

There was someone in his room. He knew it wasn't Deidara because, for one thing, whoever the hell was in there was completely silent. A silence he wanted very much to be wrong about. A familiar, sinister kind he knew too well and was trained in mimicking.

He got out the kunai he had hidden in his boot and opened the door as he usually would. And was faced with his father and brother standing just behind the door.

"Itachi," he father greeted coolly, just before launching six shurikens at his head and chest.

Itachi dodged the ones aiming for his head and struck the rest aside with his kunai with a swift movement of his arm and wrist.

"Not bad, big brother. You still remember your lessons," Sasuke said from a little behind their father, an amused smirk on his too-pretty face.

"Father, little brother," he said with a small bow for his elder. "What are you doing here?" This was not good. He may be infamous as a result of his family, but that was beyond him. If he could, he would have walked away from his heritage the way he walked away from their family mansion and decided to finish his education. Get a job he actually enjoyed. And while making friends had honestly been the last thing on his mind, he did eventually want that. And got it sooner than he could have guessed.

"I'm not going back," he added for clarification, in case they came here with any ideas. He may not want their life of politics and covert ops, but he was one of the best, and could hold his own in case either or both of them took a crack at him. Besides, even if they took him in, they could never contain him for long. And they knew it.

"Can't we just be here for a visit? So distant, big bro."

"What do you want?" he asked again, addressing their father.

"We heard about your friend. We saw some…interesting photos of you together," his father and head of the Uchiha clan said, an odd sparkle in his eyes. Eyes Itachi shared.

The older son quirked a brow even as he froze inside. If they even thought about hurting-

"We just want to meet him. It looked like you really…bonded with this man," his father said, crossing his arms and staring at his older son speculatively. "Are you lovers?"

Fuck it. "No. And I don't want him to meet you."

"It's all right if you've slept with him, son. Our clan is known for exploring the possibilities. But we will be meeting him, whether you like it or not."

"We won't hurt him," Sasuke said, looking almost guileless with his large dark eyes and flyaway hair. "Much," he added with a wicked smile. Itachi wanted to kill him, be that statement a mere jab at him or not.

"Your mother will be here shortly," his father stated calmly, like that wasn't the kiss of death right there. Their soft-spoken, sweet looking mother with her laser-like powers of perception and deadly intent where either son was concerned. If she felt that Deidara was in any way bad for him, his blond friend was as good as dead. And the only person more deadly than himself…was his mother.

"I don't think I've ever seen him look closer to panic," Sasuke stated conversationally to their father.

"He really cares about this one," the older man said. "We're having lunch at The Crab," he continued, this time addressing Itachi. "Your mother is meeting us there. Bring your new friend. We'll see you at five."

They walked to the door, his father brushing past him and his younger brother rudely bumping into him. He didn't feel it much. Not when he was running all the possibilities and maneuvers in his mind on how to keep Deidara safe.

"And Itachi…"

Itachi turned to the older man, who was looking back at him with the same neutral expression. "Don't make us have to find him."

Itachi stood there, barely aware of the two men disappearing from sight, and trying to see how he could warn Deidara about the landmine-filled lands that were his family. And trying…to imagine what would happen to him if Deidara quit him because of it.

"They want to meet me?" Deidara was wide-eyed and obviously awed. They were in the lunch room, where Itachi had stopped the blond from ordering anything and gave him the news. They only had a couple of hours to prepare for the upcoming disaster, after all. "But that's great! I want to meet them too. I just didn't think I would get the opportunity with them in another precinct and all."

The man was insane if he thought meeting a family of politicians (assassins) was something to look forward to. "They're dangerous. They're interested in you because I am. Because we became close," he amended.

"So they're checking up on you? That's sweet, right?"

Sweet as a fucking lemon. "Not the way they do it," he said darkly, lips pressed in frustration. "You're wearing a bullet-proof vest and a steel-lined hat, you understand?"

Deidara smiled at him and shrugged. "No."

Itachi stared at him hard. "Do as I say."

"We're meeting for lunch. Showing up looking like I'm preparing for war would be rude."

The fuck? "That's exactly what I'm preparing for. If they don't like you- no. If my mother doesn't like you-"

"She'll like me," he said confidently and practically strutted his way out of the cafeteria.

"You don't know what any of them are like," Itachi hissed under his breath, one step away from throwing the blond over his shoulder and running away with his overly optimistic ass.

The blond shrugged again and turned to him just outside the cafeteria. "I don't really care what they're like. If I like them, I like them. If I don't, I don't."

Itachi had no idea what to say to that, except: "Are you out of your fucking mind? It's not about you! It's all about how they like you," he growled.

"They will like me," he stated confidently once again, making the Uchiha want to strangle him.

"How are you so sure about that when you haven't even met any of them? They're deadly, Dei. Do you understand me? Deadly."

"Yet they came all the way here to check up on you. They assured you that they weren't going to hurt me, which means they're here to check me out to see if I'm using you or something. Do you agree?"

So calm. And at the moment so sincere and serious in the way only Deidara could be while still being positive and just a little wacky. "Yes," he admitted reluctantly, still not seeing how any of that could be reassuring.

"And that's how I know they'll like me. Now I'm going to get dressed. I'll meet you there. 4:45. I don't like to be late to important meetings." And he was off, leaving Itachi confused, and gaping for the first time in his life.

The restaurant was brightly lit, even late into the afternoon. Which was good, as that meant that Itachi could spot any hidden weapons, or any weapons flying through the air from any direction. If Deidara wasn't going to play it safe, then Itachi was going to have to crank it up. Pull out all his skills of combat and be as hyper alert as possible. Nothing would happen to Dei. Not today or any other time.

"Relax, E. Jesus!"

Itachi whirled around, surprised. He'd been so occupied by his own thoughts he'd missed his friend's approach. "It'll be fine. Come on, let's get in."

Biting back an angry retort at the ridiculous reassurance, Itachi followed the blond inside and quietly sat down next to him. "You could have at least worn the vest." Which brought his attention to what the blond was wearing. A soft blue dress shirt that brought out his eyes, and cream jeans just tight enough to show off his legs. And tight ass. Itachi gulped silently and looked away to survey their surroundings.

"If your family is as good, oh I mean deadly, as you say, they'll be able to spot it. Plus, I won't need it or anything like it. It'll be fine," he said coolly, picking up a menu. "I've always wanted to try duck. But they've only serve it half or whole. Wanna share?"

Blue eyes looked up into his excitedly, making Itachi even more tense. "Sure. It's good," he said in resignation. Maybe nothing would happen. Maybe there weren't hidden ninjas around the restaurant, waiting for his mother's or father's signal. Maybe they would have a lovely, almost normal lunch together and his family would leave and never fucking return.

"E," Deidara called softly, making the Uchiha flinch minutely and turn to him. The blond put his hand gently on Itachi's arm and pulled it around his neck, pulling the darker man closer as a result. Now nearly nose-to-nose, Itachi looked back at unusually intense blue eyes. "You're tying yourself up in knots over nothing. Please relax. I'll take care of you." He leaned in and kissed his nose, stunning the Uchiha even more speechless than usual. "Though I'm touched that you're that scared for me."

"Itachi."

Still feeling his nose tingling with the memory of soft lips, Itachi turned slowly to his brother.

Sasuke didn't wait to be introduced, and instead walked right in and took Deidara's hand from the older Uchiha's arm. "I'm this guy's younger brother. Uchiha Sasuke. Pleased to meet you, Deidara. We've heard much about you."

Itachi looked at his best friend and found him staring wide-eyed at Sasuke. Which made him so angry he pulled their clasped hands apart. Deidara didn't seem to notice the possessive gesture. "Itachi talked about me?"

Sasuke gave one of his charming, fly-catching smiles. "No." He walked around the table and sat on the blond's other side. Itachi glowered. His brother had no problem flirting with anyone, gender not withstanding.

Deidara grinned at his brother. "Very cool. What's my favorite kind of sushi?"

Itachi startled at the amused laugh his brother gave. His brother who almost never laughed for real. Which he was doing now.

Sasuke leaned intimately close to the blond, genuine smile still in place and whispered "Ebi nigiri sushi."

Deidara looked impressed. "I can't believe you remembered that. But let me guess." Itachi watched, grinding his teeth as the blond leaned a little closer. But his eyes didn't look flirty. He looked focused. Intense. The way he did when he was trying to read Itachi. "You love ikura-gunkan maki. Chihuahuas (not for eating). Blonds, preferably boys (also not for eating). And your older brother, though you'd die rather than admit it to him. "

Sasuke pulled back, failing to hide his shock. Itachi was maybe slightly less shocked at his best friend's insight.

The stunned silence stretched for a minute before Deidara spoke again. "You don't look much like Itachi. I'll bet anything you look more like your mother, and Itachi your father. Right, E? I'm right, aren't I?" He nudged the older brother playfully.

"E? You got a nickname now, big brother?" Sasuke spoke again, clearly over his shock now that he was presented with an opportunity to tease his brother.

"Everyone should get one from their friends. Maybe when you find the right boy for you, he'll give you one."

That shut Sasuke right up, and made Itachi grin.

"Well, I never thought I'd see the day when an average boy got the better of you, Sasuke," the head of the Uchiha clan's voice practically boomed across the restaurant.

They all stood in greeting as Itachi's mother and father approached the table. Itachi felt a little pissed at himself for having missed their arrival. If he was this out of practice, Deidara was doomed if things went south.

"Deidara, my father, Uchiha Fugaku. My mother, Uchiha Mikoto. Father, mother, Uzumaki Deidara."

His mother looked serene and friendly, but Itachi could practically see the wheels turning in her head. He looked at Deidara, and saw his eyes studying his mother curiously. "It's an honor, Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha ," Deidara said serenely with a bow.

They all sat down after some small talk that a sulking Sasuke didn't take part in. Weather, restaurant atmosphere, weather. Itachi's mother didn't say much, but kept her eyes on Deidara, which made Itachi very nervous and just as on-edge. The blond was all genuine smiles and sparkling eyes. He didn't feel or look the least intimidated, though he did seem awed when mention of the President's enormous dining room and kindly wife came up.

Deidara jabbed his side with an elbow several times as he laughed at one of Sasuke's jokes and shameless flirting. Leaned into him and draped his arm around his shoulders as he talked about their studies and how annoyingly smart Itachi was.

"The man hardly tries but he beats me at all our shared classes. But that's okay because he buys me lunch after we find out how badly I lost to him."

Itachi's mother was looking intensely at the blond, and so far had only asked the odd question about college life. "You love him?" she asked suddenly after Deidara had bumped his shoulder teasingly in response to Itachi's "not on your life" when he'd been asked if he would visit when the semester ended.

Itachi startled visibly. Deidara just looked wide-eyed at his mother and smiled. "I thought that was obvious, how much I love him."

Itachi sucked in a breath and stared at his friend. That sounded…

"Have you been dating for long?" she went on, her eyes getting that spark the older sibling associated with a good chess game she knew she would win.

"We're not dating."

"Would you like to?"

Itachi wanted badly to tell his mother to mind her own damn business, but he stopped himself at Deidara's rattling breath. He looked at his friend and found him playing with his lasagna, eyes downcast and a ruddy look to his tanned cheeks. "That's very personal. Ask me when he's not sitting right there."

Itachi's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he sat back, not knowing what to think of that. Was Deidara…? Did the blond look at him in the same way Itachi himself looked at the blond? He would have considered the self-conscious response to be an act to win his mother over after how direct and genuine Deidara was about everything so far. That he was unwilling to be direct about this, that he was blushing like that over it, meant that it meant more to him than most everything in his life; which he'd had no problem discussing.

"Are you gay, dear?"

Holy fuck, his mother was relentless. Though that flush her fair skin had taken was a good sign; she was enjoying herself, and not in the sadistic way.

Deidara blinked and flicked a nervous glance at him before turning to his mother with a resigned sigh. "Since I was 10 years old. At least that's when I realized I was." He looked at Itachi then, his smile unsure but sweet. "I didn't share your bed or get that close to get my rocks off, just so we're clear. I liked you. Something about your eyes…" he broke off and stared at a gaping-Itachi's mother. "He's special. But I think you already knew that."

"We do," his mother said simply, her answering smile not smug in the least even though it's what Itachi would have expected after she'd succeeded in baring his best friend's soul like that.

Sasuke let out a snort and fell back in his own chair with what looked like stunned disbelief. At Deidara's sentiments or their mother's approval, Itachi wasn't sure.

The walk back to the dorms was silent. Almost awkward. Itachi didn't dare look at his best friend as they walked side by side in the early evening. The sun was starting to set and the air was cool and refreshing. The smells of grass and lemon blossoms were in the air, but they had no effect on Itachi's roiling thoughts and emotions. What had it meant?

Deidara was gay, Deidara loved him, but just as a best friend or something more? He wouldn't answer the question about whether or not he wished they were dating, but hadn't said no and considered the question personal when asked in the presence of Itachi. Did he just not want to embarrass him by saying 'no' when he was there? Or did he not want to make their friendship weird by saying yes?

Itachi had never known the blond to shy away from anything. The guy was honest about how often he farted, for heaven's sake. Itachi took a deep breath and looked at the object of his thoughts. Deidara was sober and unsmiling, but when he felt Itachi's eyes, he looked up at him and smiled. It wasn't bright and it wasn't happy, and Itachi felt his heart break.

He should have known.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

The dull look on the blond's face morphed into surprise, then into a kind of anguish that stunned the raven into motionlessness. "I didn't want you to think that I was interested in you just because of that. I was drawn to you and I could see how amazing you are and I wanted to be as close to you as I could. I liked you and it had nothing to do with being gay, I swear."

Somehow, that assurance made the picture even clearer in Itachi's mind. How had he not seen it before? "Dei…I appreciate your honesty. My family respected and liked that about you and that isn't exactly easy to achieve. But…" How did he say this? And what if he was wrong?

"Don't, E, okay? If being gay is such a problem, then I guess we're screwed, but I was gay before and did you feel I was sexually harassing you in any way? I act like that with people I love, no matter what their gender."

The shaky calm in the blond's voice stopped the raven cold and he swung in his best friend's direction. Deidara was staring ahead, eyes shining and mouth a tight line. His body was tense and his breathing shallow. Itachi had never seen him so agitated. Had he been doing what Itachi had, but for longer? Suppressing his true feelings and desires, putting their friendship above everything and anything else? Fearing he would lose it if the true depth of his feelings ever came out? The way Itachi's mother had forced them to the surface…?

"Don't be foolish," Itachi said around the tightness in his throat. Maybe he would get that one illusive thing he never even imagined he could find? "I love you too, and I think it's the same way you do. Tell me if I've read everything wrong."

He waited. Deidara blinked and looked at him, clearly confused.

"I want to sleep with you," he continued, feeling that Deidara might need him to actually say what he meant out loud this time around. "I've wanted to for months. I may be gay too, or bi, or just into you. Not because you're the only one who ever dared to speak to me or get close to me. Because you're Uzumaki Deidara, my best friend and so fucking gorgeous it hurts to look at you sometimes." He panted lightly and watched Deidara's eyes go impossibly wide and his pretty mouth part in shock. "Tell me if I've read everything wrong," he said again, weakly.

They were standing at the door to one of the neighboring dorms, the street lights had just come on as darkness started to fall. Deidara's face was all shadows and light, and the shine in his eyes was a dull glow. The brilliance of his smile, however, was anything but. "You want to sleep with me?"

Itachi suppressed a giant sigh of relief. "I want much more than that. But yes."

Deidara's smile disappeared, and his eyes were intense and searching. "More…"

"Yes."

"You love me love me?"

His lips twitched in amusement, and he reached out and took the blond's slack hand. "I love you love you."

The smile was back. "I love you love you too," he said around a grin.

Itachi smiled and pulled him in, hugging him close. "Good."

They stood like that for a minute, soaking in the new 'them' before Deidara started fidgeting and breathing deeply. "I haven't slept with anyone since before I met you," whispered the blond against his neck. Itachi blinked and pulled back, looking down at him questioningly. "What I'm saying is, can we please have sex as soon as you're ready? Not before, okay? That's not what I'm asking. Just…don't make me wait if you're ready to be with me like that. No rush," he added shakily, looking up at Itachi with his big blue eyes that would have seemed so innocent if not for what he was asking.

Itachi laughed softly and leaned in, capturing Deidara's lips, which were even more soft and supple than they appeared. Deidara grunted in surprise and instantly melted against him. They kissed for an endless moment, Deidara opening up for him like no one ever has, his body going pliant in a way no woman's ever had or could, and Itachi felt his heart try to escape his chest, and his own body throb and pulse with a kind of want and emotion he didn't think he was capable of.

In his arms he held the one human being meant just for him, that was clear. His forever.

They parted, panting and staring into each other's eyes, both ignoring the jeers and taunts from passing college kids. The ones that didn't recognize Itachi anyway.

"I was ready for you months ago. But we're doing it properly. Will you go out with me tomorrow? Chinese."

Deidara laughed and buried his face in Itachi's chest. "I knew it. You're going to make me wait." He looked back up, his eyes holding so much happiness that Itachi could only grin in return. "And only you would take me to a Chinese restaurant on a first date."

Itachi smiled and pulled Deidara against him, kissing him gently, savoring the man's sweetness. "Sex on the second date," he promised and felt the blond gasp.

"Okay."

"I'm on top," he clarified.

"Okay."

"You like to top?"

"Only occasionally."

Itachi grinned. "Okay."

Deidara groaned and kissed Itachi's neck. "I knew you were perfect for me. I just didn't think you would ever want that."

"Neither did I. But how canI resist you when you're so perfect for me too?"

"Ugh! Have mercy! I love you enough as it is, don't say perfect shit like that."

Itachi laughed and pulled Deidara behind him, back to his room. Their room now, if he had anything to say about it.

After all, they had, since the moment they met, only ever belonged together.

The End…

Finally! I had this 75% done for a couple of months and I got through it at last. Why no smut? It felt perfect without it. Sorry! Maybe in its own chapter…probably not, though.

Please review! I live for the stuff. Sigh.