"For Jashin's sake, stop fucking fidgeting!" Hidan snapped, glaring daggers at his friend as the blonde - once again - attempted to re-tie his hair up in the Metro's darkened windows. Ignoring Hidan, Deidara stared at his reflection, which disappeared every time they passed an overhead light in the dark tunnel. Each time, Deidara hoped that when his reflection reemerged, his hair would miraculously be just as he imagined it.
No such luck.
"You look fine," Hidan said harshly, shoving Deidara's shoulder in an attempt to force him away from his reflection. Deidara, who normally wore his hair half up and half down with a humongous clump of hair falling over his left eye, had for some reason attempted to pull it all back this evening. Unfortunately, his bangs weren't quite long enough to fit into the ponytail, and with his hair all up, he looked far too reminiscent of that freshmen girl Ino Yamanaka.
Not that Sasori would have known that, but it apparently bugged Deidara.
"Dude, the guy likes you enough to invite you to this place, then he likes how you look normally, right?" Hidan said, matter-of-factly. Deidara cast him a soft glance, the furrowed his brow and tried, yet again.
Hidan sighed. At least it was a short walk from the Metro to the club.
Evidently not short enough though, as Deidara fidgeted the entire way there. To be honest, when they arrived in front of the club "Level", Hidan was a bit intimidated as well. Just like every other club on this strip, it was booming with music and people were flocking in and out in a melodic, orchestrated way.
The two high school seniors stared up at the neon lights, its bright pinks and blues shining loud and obnoxiously.
"Do I look okay? Like my clothes I mean, un." Deidara asked suddenly. Hidan looked down at his friend, who'd finally given up on his hair, allowing it to fall as it normally did. Deidara had dawned a really nice pair of jeans for this outing, along with red button-up shirt, pushed up to the elbows. Upon the breast of the shirt was some trendy-looking emblem sewn in a white thread. Deidara began to blush nervously under Hidan's examining eyes. He looked, to put it plainly, far too handsome to be about to oogle another man.
Strange as it may seem, despite Deidara's small stature, baby blue eyes and long blonde hair, he rarely came off as overly feminine. Even his art was pumped full of testosterone. He exhibited his exploding clay with the rowdiness and gusto you'd find on a playing field. He was often very loud and animated during both the creating process and the demonstration. He didn't ask you to sit back and ponder how his art made you feel and what it made you think. He demanded immediate feedback, and his interaction during his shows, at least Hidan felt, was ultimately part of the artistic experience in itself.
If asked, Hidan would say he liked Deidara's artistic style. Though Hidan would be the first to admit he didn't have an artistic bone in his body, he at least believed he understood Deidara's work. 'Art is a bang.' Fleeting, and momentary. An experience, there once second, and gone the next.
Like the 5 minutes between one class to the next.
Though, Hidan supposed, everyone saw art differently.
"Hidan?" Deidara's soft voice questioned. The blonde furrowed a brow, arching his neck to glare into Hidan's blank stare.
"You look good," Hidan blurted out, embarrassed for having dazed off in his thoughts. "And hey, if anything you'll look good by comparison," the platinum blonde joked, staring down at his boring jeans, and plain grey long-sleeve thermal, also pushed up to the elbows. The symbol of his god hung loosely around his neck, falling between the breast bones.
"Nah man, you look good," Deidara assured, heading up the steps to the narrow doors of the club.
At the door, Deidara nervously presented the bouncer with his brother's ID. Though his elder brother has significantly shorter hair than him, they are otherwise practically twins. The bouncer looked at the ID, then to Deidara, then back at the ID. He sighed, and stamped the blonde's hand. As Deidara passed him, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
Even though Hidan was old enough to get in, he admittedly was also nervous. He figured it was the guy's mustache.
"Stop staring at the door and deal the cards damnit," Sasori turned back to the table, giving Kakuzu that uninterested stare of his.
"Stop trying to rob me." Sasori snapped, slumping over a bit as he turned back to the table and took another swig of his beer. Kakuzu smirked slightly under his mask as Sasori dealt another round.
"Dude, why are you so nervous? You see this guy like every day." Kisame said while signaling the waitress for another pitcher of beer.
"Indeed, you're acting like a pansy. You seem to really like him." Though a few people in the surrounding tables looked questioningly at the small twitch the man with slightly green-tinted hair made, those at the table paid no mind.
"I agree," Kisame said, the slur beginning to become a bit traceable in his voice, "Total pansy." Sasori ignored his peers as they began to laugh, looking back at the door over his shoulder. He'd asked Deidara to be at the club around 8:30. It was 8:35.
"I don't like waiting," Sasori said plainly.
"Sorry, Sasori no Danna," Sasori jumped a bit at the familiar voice, turning quickly in his chair to stare at the apologetic face of his student. "The metro was a few minutes behind today, un." said the blonde. Sasori inhaled sharply. This was the first time he'd seen Deidara out of his school uniform.
"No, it's fine!" Sasori said quickly, rising from his seat. Deidara offered up a smile, glad for the way his hair fell over his face, as he wouldn't have to see the entire table staring intently at him.
"Oh, and this is my friend Hidan, un." Deidara said, nudging his friend to step a bit closer. Hidan extended his hand out to shake, grinning broadly.
"Nice to meet you," Sasori said politely, taking the gesture, though was a bit surprised by Hidan's firm grip and hard, kinda childish shake.
"You too man," said the boy, "I hear about you all the fuckin' time." Deidara's face burned bright red and his head snapped quickly to his friend, mouth open in preparation to scold.
"Alright, great, now pull up a chair! Sasori, deal!" snapped Kakuzu, fingers drumming impatiently on the table.
"Nah man, I'm done with this shit," Kisame said, pushing away his cards, and all the way around the table those playing followed in suit.
"Tch," Kakuzu scoffed, "You're all a bunch of wussies." he scoffed, though it seemed it was in vain, as his friends were already dispersing. As Kakuzu collected his winnings, Kisame made his way over to the newcomers.
"So, you like blowing things up then?" Kisame asked, his towering form staring down at the small blonde and his drunken stupor blatantly obvious. Deidara nodded nervously,
"Well yeah kinda, I-"
"Awesome!" Kisame interrupted, patting the blonde's back roughly, "I like watching things blow up!" Sasori let out a small sigh, then geared Deidara toward the bar,
"Why don't we get a drink or something," he said, attempting to lead Deidara and Hidan away from his drunken friend. Alas, Kisame opted to follow them.
"A soda's fine," Deidara said as he, Sasori and Hidan seated themselves. He cast a glance toward Hidan, obviously embarrassed as he noted that everyone around them was old enough to be drinking.
"How about you Hidan?" Sasori asked as he leaned over to get the bartender's attention.
"Eh," Hidan mused, absently playing with this cell phone, trying he best not to look awkward and uncomfortable. "Yeah sure, a soda." He said.
"Nonsense!" came the unnecessarily loud voice of Kisame as he leaned his weight against the bar beside Hidan's stool. "Bartender!" he bellowed, and the man at the other end of the bar looked up, slightly annoyed. "2 Coors!" He called.
"Kisame!" Sasori hissed, glaring incredulously at the tall man. Kisame waved him off,
"Pfft, c'mon Sasori, you know they don't check stamps. As long as we buy it, he's fine." he said. Hidan peered down at his hand which was adorned with a bright red stamp reading 'Level'. On the contrary, Kisame's hand bore a darkened black stamp.
Sasori sighed, running a hand through his wavy red hair,
"Fine, 3 Coors," he said, "and a soda." Kisame grinned broadly.
"Hey, 3 Coors!" Kisame corrected, "And a soda!"
"4." came the gruff voice of Kakuzu, who was shoving his money into his wallet, not bothering to look up.
"Gaah, 4 Coors and a soda!" Kisame hollered again. Sighing, the bartender turned to his tap.
"What kinda soda?" He hollered. Kisame looked over his shoulder at the blonde.
"Um...Coke?" Deidara said, his blush now heating up even more.
"A Coke!" Kisame hollered. The bartender slid the beverages down the bar,
"Who's tab?" He asked as Kisame quickly grabbed the drinks to hand them out.
"Mine," Sasori said with a small wave of the hand.
"Here ya go man," Kisame handed Hidan his beer as the bartender walked off.
"Giving alcohol to minors Kisame?" the sultry voice made everyone's heads turn to the young, blue-haired woman, whom had been at the table when Deidara and Hidan had arrived.
"Hey, it's on Sasori's tab," Kisame said in a joking manor. Sasori only rolled his eyes, turning to engage in conversation with Deidara. Despite how loud Kisame was, Hidan was suddenly thankful for his presence, as it was obvious Deidara's attention was fully adverted to his 'Danna'.
Hidan took that moment to get a good look at his company. Kisame was a sight on his own, with blue-tinted skin, dark cerulean hair and sharp yellow eyes. He was tall, bulky and often grinned broadly, bearing his sharp pointy teeth.
The woman who'd just joined them was about Hidan's height, with a sleek, slim figure and a distinct essence of maturity surrounding her, despite her numerous piercings. Besides her was a man with fiery red hair, also bearing a number of piercings, though far more extensive than the woman's.
The two others that had been at the table with them were now at the other end of the bar, seemingly bantering back and forth about something. Hidan couldn't quite see them at this point.
Oh, and then there was the guy with the mask. He approached Kisame, questioning him on his ability to drive, then stating he'd be driving despite his friend's protests. He was just as tall and bulky as Kisame, but with strikingly dark brown skin, and an unkept mess of dark brown hair than fell to graze his shoulders. He had a black, long-sleeve shirt on, which tightened around the neck to be able to pull that mask up.
Weird, Hidan thought.
The man's sleeves were also pushed up to his elbows though, revealing two blackened rings around both his wrists, like tattoos or something. Then up his forearm were a series of stitches that wrapped all the way around his arm. That was certainly no tattoo...
"So are you and Deidara from the same school then?" the man with fiery red hair asked as he came up beside the woman.
"Uh, yeah," Hidan blurted, taking the first sip of his beer. The taste sat in his mouth for a second, and he was thankful that it wasn't as bad as he has perceived it was going to be. "We're both seniors," he added.
"Konoha High School, right?" Kisame interjected. Hidan nodded, taking another sip. "My boyfriend's little brother goes there too," he added.
"Oh, what's his name?" Hidan inquired. Kisame licked his lips, savoring the beer he was already half way through, and leaning back against the bar as Kakuzu leaned over behind him, ordering himself another drink. Wow these guys really threw these things back. Hidan began to wonder if he should start pounding down his own drink.
"Uchiha. Sasuke Uchiha." Kisame said.
"Oh!" Hidan nodded, acknowledging that he knew the said brother. "Yeah he's a freshmen. He just started dating the blonde kid, ah...Naruto! Naruto Uzu...Uzu.."
"Uzumaki," Kakuzu supplied, reemerging from behind Kisame with a new beer and two for the pierced couple. "I used to live around the block from the kid," Kakuzu explained. Hidan 'oh'ed in acknowledgment. That meant he lived in the projects then.
"Yeah, I've had detention with him a couple times," Hidan added, "The kid's a fuckin' riot." He said, taking a much larger sip of his beer now.
"Yeah," Kisame mused, "He's a good kid, but Sasuke's parents are none-too-happy about Sasuke dating him, with all the fights he gets himself into and whatnot."
"He never starts them though!" Hidan said a bit defensively. "When him and that Huuyga kid got into it, it was the Huuyga that started the whole thing." Kisame nodded admittedly,
"Oh yeah, I know," he said, "But their parents just don't see it that way."
About an hour later, Hidan knew far more about the Uchiha family than he ever needed, or wanted, to know. When that pierced couple, who'd Hidan had learned were called Pein and Konan, had moseyed on over to the dance floor, Hidan, Kisame and Kakuzu migrated back to the tables.
"I think," Hidan slurred, now nursing his 6th beer and rapidly feeling the effects, "That it shouldn't fucking matter if he's from the projects. I mean the kid isn't any different than any other kid that walks through that door just because he ah...just because ah .."
"No I hear ya," Kisame said, "But some people just can't see it that way man, some people are just...well they're just-"
"Fucking assholes." Hidan blurted, receiving an abrupt laugh from Kisame.
"Yeah, assholes." As Hidan and Kisame shared a hearty laugh, Kakuzu pushed himself up from his chair.
"You want another beer?" he asked. Kisame nodded, handing over his empty bottle, then looking back at Hidan as Kakuzu made his way back up to the bar.
"Stop me if I'm being rude, but mind if I ask your orientation?" Hidan stared blankly at him for moment,
"My what?" He blurted, eyes squinting and brows furrowed. Kisame chuckled a bit,
"I mean, your preference, guys or girls? Are you gay, straight? In between?" As if a light bulb had suddenly been turned on in his brain, Hidan threw his head back with an 'oooooh', laughing and shaking his head at his own cluelessness. He leaned forward, clasping both palms around his beer.
"No, it's cool, it's cool. Yeah, I'm uh...I'm gay," he said, nodding his head softly.
"And your buddy?" Kisame asked, pointing over to where Deidara sat. Hidan took a sip of his beer, peering over at Deidara, only to near spit out his drink. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, brows lifting high on his forehead. Deidara was so close to Sasori he may as well have been sitting on his lap, and their faces were mere inches apart as they spoke.
"Well," Hidan began, eyes still on his friend, "He dated a few girls when we were younger, but nothing too serious, and he's dated strictly guys since we got into high school." Kisame nodded in acknowledgment. "What about Sasori?" Hidan asked.
"He's dated a few guys at school, but he's really into his work, and can never seem to give them enough time." Kisame explained, "We always told him to date someone in his own field, that way he'd see them more and well...they'd have more to relate on, ya know?" Hidan nodded. "But Sasori prefers uh, manly boyfriends." Kisame said with a slight raising of the brows, leaning back in his chair now and peering over at the couple again. "A lot the guys in the art department are very feminine,"
"Go figure,"
"Heh, yeah well, the ones that aren't girly are either taken or not what Sasori is looking for apparently." Hidan nodded again.
"Well Deidara doesn't act like a chick." Hidan assured. "He could look like a girl if he wanted too, but no, he's a man's man." Kisame laughed a little, looking back at Hidan. "What about you?" Hidan asked, "I mean I know you have a boyfriend but-"
"Actually Itachi's my first," Kisame confessed, grinning slightly when Hidan raised his brows. "I dated girls in high school, and I was dating a girl when we met. We got paired up for a class," he said with a laugh. "And it uh, just felt right ya know?" No, Hidan didn't know, but he nodded politely, none-the-less.
"How'd your girlfriend take it?" Hidan asked in a joking manor. Kisame laughed, shaking his head at the thought,
"Well she hasn't talked to me since." He said, "Though she did have a few choice words for Itachi. She sorta knew, I think. I mean it all happened pretty gradually and I think she saw it coming. Before I did even." Hidan nodded a bit.
"Okay so, Sasori's gay, you're freshmen gay,"
"Tch," Kisame scoffed with a laugh.
"I'm guessing those two are straight?" Hidan said, signaling to Pein and Konan out on the dance floor. Kisame looked over his shoulder at the dancing couple.
"Ah well, Pein yeah, straight as a board." He said, "But get a few drinks in Konan and that line gets pretty thin," he said with a laugh.
"And your buddy there with the mask?" Hidan asked. Whirling his head to the other side, Kisame peered over at Kakuzu, who was apparently arguing with the bar tender about the tab.
"Ah, Kakuzu?" Kisame said. "I can't say really. He never talked about ever dating anyone and he hasn't dated anyone since I met him." he said thoughtfully. "I mean he's had a couple girls ask him out, but he says he's too busy for a commitment." Kisame shrugged, "And he is, really. He's trying to finish up his bachelor's degree this year so he can start grad school earlier. And he works nearly 30 hours a week some weeks." Kisame looked up at Kakuzu as he began to walk back to the table, shaking his head at whatever dispute he'd just had with the bartender. "We're lucky we got him to come out tonight," Kisame added.
"Asshole put some other guy's shit on my tab," Kakuzu spat, practically dropping Kisame's beer on the table and sitting down with a thud, shaking his head angrily. "That's why I hate this bar. They never get anything right." He snapped. Kisame just laughed.
"Hey, you've got company," Kakuzu said, gesturing toward the door. Hidan and Kisame peered over the crowd of people at the entryway as a young man with long dark hair emerged. He had deep indent under his eyes, making him appear overly tired. Hidan could tell he was Sasuke's brother though, as the similarities were uncanny.
"Itachi!" Kisame called out, waving his large hand in the air. The young man was sporting quite the get-up, with a full button-up shirt and tie. He spotted Kisame and quickly made his way over. "How'd your interview go?" Kisame asked, standing as his boyfriend approached.
"Shitty," Itachi replied shortly. Kisame winced, placing a hand on Itachi's shoulder,
"Yikes, I'm sorry," he said. Itachi shook his head in a lackadaisical manor, then peered past his boyfriend at the table's occupants, and said in a monotone voice,
"I hope you guys don't mind if I steal him. I really want to get back to campus, and the metro's already closed-"
"What?" Hidan quickly pulled out his cell phone, sighing heavily as he stared at the large '12:06' on the screen. "Fucking hell..." he cursed, then turned quickly to let Deidara know of their situation. However, Deidara and Sasori were no longer at the bar. Confused, Hidan began to scan the whole vicinity, neck darting side to side in an attempt to look through people.
"Try texting him," Kisame said, then proceeded to pull out his cell phone, "I'll text Sasori,"
"No, I'll text Sasori," Kakuzu said, "You go ahead and get going. And Do Not let him drive Itachi." The Uchiha nodded taking Kisame's keys, slowly leading his boyfriend out of the bar as Hidan frantically began messaging Deidara.
"It was nice hangin' with ya Hidan! See ya 'round sometime!" Kisame called as he made his leave. Hidan offered up a wave, then looked back down at his cell phone.
"What, you kids have a curfew or something?" Kakuzu said with a gruff laugh as he pulled out his phone, slowly pressing buttons. Hidan peered up at him, un-amused.
"Fuck no," he spat, "I don't have a curfew, but Deidara's parents with flip a shit if he misses his." Hidan explained.
"And when is his curfew?" Kakuzu inquired, snapping his phone shut. Hidan sighed, looking up at the now vacant seat where Deidara once sat.
"One." He said glumly. "But the last ride on the Metro runs at midnight. If we're going to make it home, we have to start running... now." Hidan's phone then sounded, flashing brightly with Deidara's picture producing on the screen.
'Sasori said he'll drive us home. It's only like a 20 minute drive from here. We're in the parking lot. Can u hang out in there a little longer? :)plz? '
"Dah fuck," Hidan spat, cringing as he read. "They're in the parking lot," Hidan said with a bit of disgust on his tongue. Just then Kakuzu's phone sounded as well. Hidan watched as Kakuzu peered down at the screen, brow lifting, then he snapped it shut again. He sighed, then looked around the bar,
"Looks like everybody else left too," He said, seeing none of his friends. "You want to wait here for them, or you want a ride home, cuz I ain't stickin' around here." And with that, Kakuzu pulled his keys and wallet out of his pocket, thumbing through his money, ready to call it a night.
Hidan sighed, staring down at his cell phone.
"Yeah, alright." he said. Kakuzu nodded in acknowledgment.
"Okay, just let me pay the tab," He said, heading up to the bar. Hidan flipped his cell phone open, and began to type.
'Getting a ride home from that guy with the mask. Don't worry about me. Have fun .. :)'
"Asshole," Hidan said under his breath.