Black Fingernails, Red Wine

Chapter 3

Itachi winced at the bright lights around him, squinting as he tried to see where he was. His head turned to the side. White walls, white floors, fluorescent lights, the aura of franticness…it could only be a hospital. He'd been in them so many times when his father's hand gotten out of control as a child. He had been 'such a reckless child', prone to accidents, and fights with neighborhood boys. No one believed anyone's story, but his father's. Not that he had ever given a story to counter it. He hated coming to the hospital, his mother crying over his injuries, his father looking on with the hint of a threat. Why was he here now though? He couldn't remember. They were pushing him into an operating room. Through the circle of doctors, he saw Deidara leaning against the wall. Why was he in the hospital? Why was he in this room? Why did he look so scared? Like a deer caught in headlights, a mouse with a hawk nearby. Why was he so scared? Deidara didn't seem like the kind of person who gets scared.

His father turned and saw the blond, his face growing angry. Itachi tried to sit up and yell. Yell for his father to leave him alone, yell for Deidara to run, but he couldn't move, he couldn't talk, and his father stalked up to him. Deidara was just rooted to the spot as he was as Fugaku approached, grabbing and slamming his head against the wall over and over again. Itachi yelled for the doctors to help the blond, but they didn't react. There was so much blood. Itachi squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see, but he could still hear the thud of skull hitting wall. Over and over.

Itachi's eyes flew open with a start, sitting up in bed. He was panting heavily, staring around to regain his bearings. Just a dream. He glanced at his clock, which stated 2:00AM, and dropped back onto the bed, rubbing his hand over his face to push his bangs away from where they stuck to his face from sweat. The thudding didn't stop though. Sitting up again, he glanced at the door then the window. What the hell…

"What the hell are you doing here?" Itachi demanded as he opened the window. "And how did you get up here?" He glanced down briefly then turned to Deidara. Coincidence? It was odd to dream about him and for him to suddenly show up. Climbing in through his window no less.

"Can I stay here tonight?" Deidara asked, slipping his shoes off without touching them and sat down on Itachi's bed.

"…huh?" Itachi frowned, taken aback by the question. The moron expected him to just let him sleep here after all he'd been through? Let him go through his things and take stuff while he slept. "Hell no, go home!" he hissed, pointing at the window.

"Please?" Deidara asked, the softness in his voice catching him off guard. Reaching over, Itachi turned the nightstand light on so he could see him.

"You look like shit," he commented, giving him a onceover. He was still in the clothes he'd worn earlier, but they were distinctly rumpled and his hair was disheveled. While he still had the smell he'd had earlier, Itachi could also catch the smell of expensive wine. "Are you drunk?"

Deidara shook his head, rubbing his temple with his fingers. "Not really, un…" he mumbled. "Please can I stay? I don't feel like walking two hours to my house in the dark, no one was answering their phones. Your place was closer." Itachi glanced at the clock again, then back, raising his eyebrow at the blond.

"Why are you on this side of town so late?" he asked.

Deidara was quiet for a brief moment, then gave him an innocent expression. "Working," he replied vaguely. When Itachi kept looking at him, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a roll of bills to show him before putting it away. Was he that dense that he needed more explanation? Itachi was good at math, and put two and two together, a sneer appearing on his face.

"They don't give you rides home afterwards? Let you sleep on the couch?" he asked with a snicker. Deidara didn't answer, apparently immune to mocking. "Too sore to walk two hours?" That one earned a glare. Itachi stared down at him with smug arrogance that wasn't nearly as good as Deidara's smug look, but the blond looked annoyed.

The Uchiha walked around the bed towards the door, leaving him alone in the room. There was a slight moment of panic thinking he was going to sound some alarm, but the window was still opened. He stood to move towards it slightly. A bad dive out a window was still better than Uchiha Fugaku finding him here. The man had yet to actually catch him of much of the things in his file, but he wouldn't put it behind him to bury him in the backyard.

Itachi returned a few minutes later with a glass of water and pain relievers. Deidara stared at them, confused and suspicious, but Itachi just continued to hold them out. Without an explanation, he took the pills and downed them with the water. "Thanks," he mumbled. "Look, just let me crash here. What do you want, un?"

"Want?" Itachi asked, confused.

"In return," he replied with a one shoulder shrug.

Itachi stared at him, looking stunned, but shook himself out of it. "You can stay," he said, turning away. Deidara grinned at his embarrassment. "But you have to leave before I do for school." His grin dropped. That was really early. Deidara cursed silently, wanting to sleep a little more than three or four hours, but the way Itachi said it sounded like it was nonnegotiable. "Just stay on your side of the bed."

Itachi sat down on his full size bed, complete with extra pillows and blankets like he just stole the bed out of a department store display. Deidara was sure the bed was like clouds to lay on, but Itachi not asking for anything in return seemed just odd. He peeled his jacket off, leaving it on the window seat so he could grab it easily if he needed to run. Finally, he climbed under the covers closest to the window and relaxed. Oh yes…just like clouds. One of the most comfortable beds he'd ever been on. He didn't think he'd be able to wake up if he fell asleep on a bed like this and if he did he definitely wouldn't want to get off it. Someone would need to pry him off with a crowbar or something.

"Thanks," he whispered softly, not sure if Itachi had gone back to sleep or not. When he didn't get a response, he decided he'd fallen asleep so he pulled his hairtie out and slipped it around his wrist. With a heavy sigh, he let himself drift off, not wanting to waste a minute of sleep.

Itachi waited until the blond stopped shifting around and fell asleep before rolling over to face him, watching the covers rise and fall with steady breathing. Why had he agreed to let him stay? If his father came in and saw him there, his dream might come true. When he had offered to do something for him in exchange for staying over, it was so pathetic he caved. He should have told him no. Now he was asleep and Itachi didn't really want to wake him up to tell him he changed his mind, not because he was an asshole, but he doubted the blond would believe him if he just came out and told him that his father would beat them to death before they could explain themselves. Sliding out of bed, he went to the door and locked it for good measure, crawling back under the covers to face the sleeping blond next to him. Itachi watched him until the night took him into his own fretful sleep, but at least he didn't dream again.

When Itachi opened his eyes again, the sun was coming up and his alarm was beeping for him to get up and shower. Rising from the comfortable bed, he stumbled over to his dresser and closet to pull out his clothes for the school day. He could hear voices in the kitchen, his parents were already awake. Suddenly remembering his nighttime visitor, he whirled around, first glancing at the door as though he expected his father standing there with Deidara in his hold – the door was still locked, then to the bed to wake up the blond and tell him to hurry and get out – the bed was empty. A piece of paper taped to the now nearly shut window caught his attention as he looked around the room for Deidara.

Thanks.

Itachi pulled the paper off, reading the word again then tossed it into the trashcan next to his desk. He did not understand the blond at all.

Deidara tapped his foot on the hood of the car he laid on. He hadn't gone to classes that day, but returned to school to meet with Itachi. He needed to talk to him. Stat. He would track him down inside the school, but he had weighed the pros and cons of that and concluded that if none of his teachers spotted him, Itachi would most likely turn him in if he interrupted his classes. He'd been so tired after waking up when the shower in the master bedroom turn on and grabbing his shoes and jacket to crawl out the window, he'd left his bag behind. He'd woken up on a park bench halfway between his house and Itachi's and panicked thinking some idiot had stolen it, but when he couldn't remember if he had it when he left the Uchiha's house. That bag contained important items in it he couldn't go long without, so checking with Itachi was first before going into full blown panic.

"What the hell are you doing on my car?" He grinned, stretching his back against the warm RX-7's hood. It beeped as Itachi unlocked it with his keys.

"Working on my tan," he replied, opening his eyes and sitting up to face him. Itachi's dark eyes narrowed at him, waiting patiently for him to give him the real reason. "I think I left my bag at your place, un," he told him, pulling his cigarette pack out of his pocket and chose one.

Itachi waited for more of an explanation, but Deidara left him alone to figure that one out while he lit his cigarette. "And you want me to take you to the house so you can get it?" Itachi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sure! That'd work," Deidara said, moving to the passenger side of Itachi's car. He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He gave Itachi a questioning look at his set expression.

"I'll bring it to your place later," Itachi said.

"No, now. I need it," Deidara frowned, shrugging his shoulder off. "Trust me, you don't want that bag in your room."

A fearful look crossed Itachi's face for a brief second, before it slipped back to a stoic one. He began to protest but a car pulling up behind him stopped him. The brunette turned to yell at the person blocking his car, but stopped short when he saw his father get out of the familiar car. Fugaku approached him, pushing Deidara out of the way like a tree branch in his path and shoved an old, dark green messenger bag against Itachi's chest. Stumbling into the car, Itachi's hands automatically moved up to grab the bag.

"What the hell is this?" Fugaku demanded angrily. "You're bringing drugs in my house now?"

Itachi blinked, eyes wide in confusion. Drugs? He glanced down at the bag in his hands, then passed his father at Deidara who was eyeing the bag with guilty recognition. The bastard. Fugaku's eyes followed Itachi's, seeing Deidara for the first time with his arrival. Itachi felt his chest tighten at the angry look Fugaku was giving the blond.

"You."

Deidara gave a winning smirk and waved his fingers at him. His casual air was marred by the way he'd take a step back and looked poised to run. "Yeah I go to school here, seems like something you'd already know, un," he said, then tossed the cigarette down and stamped it out. "That's my bag, un. Did you steal it? Mr. Uchiha? Trying to plant evidence to get me busted?"

"This is yours?" Fugaku demanded. "What the hell were you doing in my house?"

"Admiring the architecture, un," Deidara replied. Itachi stared at him, half impressed, half horrified.

"Possession is violation on your parole," Fugaku stated.

Deidara gave a short laugh, his foot inching slightly to give him better sprinting position. "Can't prove you didn't plant them in my bag, un," he countered.

"Carrying drugs onto school property is also illegal."

"Good thing I didn't carry them on, un," he stated, "you did. Gonna arrest yourself?" Itachi felt panic rising in his chest even more, his fists clenched so hard they shook. "Also, you can't arrest me on school grounds without a warrant, per a judge's order, so…"

Itachi glanced at his father, watching him struggle with his words. He was trying to find a loophole in his knowledge of the law, but the angry look on his face told him the blond had somehow one-upped his father. The bag was snatched out of his hands and riffled through. His father took something out and shoved it into the blond's chest, knocking him back against the other car. He loomed over the blond who looked smaller than normal as Fugaku leaned down. "Soon," Itachi heard his father whisper angrily. Deidara didn't bat an eyelash as the head Uchiha turned away, demanding Itachi to get in the car. Itachi started to protest, but his father repeated himself angrily and he quickly obeyed, getting into the passenger seat, glancing back only to give his car a wistful look as his father got in.

Deidara watched the car go, a thoughtful look on his face as he watched them turn out onto the street and drive away. When they were out of sight, he set his bag down on Itachi's car and dug through it. Fugaku had only found the weed. Excellent. He never thought Fugaku was that smart anyway. It had been stupid to leave it behind, but how could he have predicted he needed to make a getaway out the window? One shouldn't have to prepare for such an incident, but he was supposed planning ahead for things would have made for better out comes.

He was so bad at planning ahead.

A grew BMW pulled up next to him where Fugaku had been moments before. The tinted window rolled down, causing Deidara to smile brightly at the person inside. He'd nearly forgotten that he'd promised this person company tonight. Deidara was never good at remembering the names of people who wanted his company in exchange for money. He knew them by their cars. That was easiest and they never asked to be remembered, wanting to hide their shame of fantasies taken out on him from the rest of the world. It would be simple to find out their names and destroy them and their reputations, but then where would he get all his money? Unfortunately for Mr. BMW, Deidara wasn't in the mood to entertain all night. After spending a dinner of teasing foreplay and a short hour, Deidara had the man return him to the school and waved him away.

The parking lot was empty except for Itachi's black car. He examined it, peering inside the windows and crawling down to look underneath it for a moment. This was really a beautiful car. He stood back and thought for a moment, replaying Itachi's approach to the car earlier in his mind. He had unlocked it hadn't he. If the alarm went off when he opened the door, he was pretty sure he could disable the alarm in less than thirty seconds. He reached out and opened the driver side door. Nothing happened. Grinning happily, he sat down and worked to hot wire the car. He drove the car out onto the street, his fingers moving between shifting gears and feelings over the nice leather interior. When he came closer to Itachi's house, he turned the lights off and quietly crept up and parked the car in the street in front of the house, turning it off. Every yard had their grass cut, no bush or flower out of place in their gardens. No one played outside on the pearly white sidewalks after ten. How boring living here would be. Deidara was quite happy to be out and about whenever he wanted without worrying about what neighbors would think. Other than the others in his apartment building, the people who lived in the building next to his were artists for hire, sometimes known as squatters. Would they really complain about the apartment not clipping the hedges if they had any?

Strolling up the driveway he had hurried away from early that morning, Deidara gave another glance at the houses and scenes within the windows. People were getting ready for bed, naïve to the world that came alive at night, waking up the city with music and neon lights. A pity they didn't know it. They might change their ways and not be so stiff with their desire for perfect things. They might even forget to cut the grass for a week. The light thunk of his combat boots on the concrete slabs stopped at the Uchiha's house. He was sure this was the most daring, reckless thing he'd ever done. Sure he'd gotten under Uchiha's skin as much as he could, but he had never actually repeatedly come to his house. Actually he had never been to his house before until he had spotted Sasuke looking annoyed and worried outside the school.

All the lights were out in the house despite it only being 10:45 at night, save for maybe a hallway light on the first floor to ward off robbers who might wonder if the house's occupants were home. Looking up, he saw another light was on and grinned. Excellent. He jumped up to grab an overhanging branch of a tree in the front yard and climbed up. Carefully crawling onto an outer branch, he jumped onto the overhanging roof of the first floor and went over to the dimly lighted window, knocking softly on the glass.

He knew the first question he would receive would be, sad thing was he didn't have a good answer to it.

"What do you want now?" Itachi asked in a grumble, opening the window once again. "If you're asking for a place to stay, the answer is no."

Deidara shook his head and sat on the roof by the window, obviously not welcome since Itachi didn't open it enough to allow him inside. "I guess I came to apologize for getting you in trouble, un," Deidara told him with a shrug.

"I got myself into trouble letting you into the house in the first place," Itachi replied from his position on his window seat and continued reading his book.

That was very true, though Itachi wouldn't have known before. "My bad," Deidara said casually. "I brought your car from school, un. As an apolo—"

He was cut off as the window flew open and Itachi grabbed his shirt violently. "What?" the brunette demanded in an angry hiss. "What the hell were you doing touching my car?!"

"It was super lonely in the parking lot. So I hotwired it and brought it over," Deidara told him, Itachi's fist tightening its angry grip. "Hey! Seriously, I felt bad. I didn't meant to get you in trouble…" his voice trailed off as he looked at Itachi, seeing him in the light of his reading lamp. Itachi was dressed in light cloth pants for sleeping and a sleeveless muscle shirt, but Itachi's muscles weren't what caught his attention. Reaching out, he lightly touched the ugly looking bruise on Itachi's jaw. It looked faded and old. Another darker, newer one could be seen under the strap of his shirt. His wrist was grabbed painfully tight to keep it away from Itachi's body. Itachi was glaring at him, looking like he wanted to slam the window down on his arm.

"Are you okay?" Deidara asked quietly.

"I'm fine," Itachi snapped angrily. "Nothing is wrong." Deidara stared at him, wondering how the brunette could say such a blatant lie. "Fuck off," Itachi growled at him. "Go back to sucking dick for lunch money."

Deidara blinked slowly, his head tilting slightly to the side to observe him. He never expected Uchiha to be a dick in his own home too. "Why do you let him do it, un?" he asked.

Itachi looked ready to shove him off the roof for a moment, but he finally let go of the blond and reached for the window. "I appreciate your concern, but it's none of your business. Go home. Leave me alone." He shut the window and closed the blinds.

The reading light went out, leaving Deidara alone in the sleeping night.