Hello again!
I've managed to edit this chapter as well although, again, this is still too early in the story for me to say the style is quite to my taste but nevermind. It's got some fluffy DeiIno bits in so hopefully you fans of the couple will like it regardless. :)
Enjoy!
-edited-
Lying on the floor was a key and, picking it up, she turned back and shot him a questioning glare.
'It's your choice.' The puppet man replied emotionlessly, then walked over to the bed and sat down, waiting for her reply
chapter four:
Comfort.
Share a bed which was only meant to hold one person anyhow with the practical, emotionless and freaky puppet-man or sleep with an unpredictable, almost feminine looking blonde man who had stolen her first kiss.
This is one of the worst choices I have ever had to make. Why can't one of them just sleep on the floor and let me have the bed? After all - if Sasori is a puppet then why does he need to sleep on a bed? In fact does he even need to sleep at all?
'Thanks,' Ino muttered though, holding the key up ever so slightly to show what her choice would be - then she turned to walk out the door. Before she could leave though Ino heard Sasori mutter something that confused her no end.
'You'll regret that.'
Ino opened her mouth to speak but couldn't think of anything to say. What had he meant by that? Was he angry at her? Ino couldn't tell either way because his eyes were closed and face blank. So, shutting the door quietly behind her, Ino made her way to her parents room. She hesitated outside of it, wondering whether she should try and sneak in or alert him as to her arrival. Not wanting to anger him though she simply pushed the door open and looked in. It wasn't often that she went into this room although it wasn't off limits to her either. Plain and boring, the bed was actually the highlight of the room - being one of the big four-poster beds that everyone seems to want.
Gently closing the door behind her Ino walked towards the bed and stood at the side, suddenly not wanting to disturb him. He hadn't moved when she had come in and Ino wondered whether he was asleep. If so…why was she allowed in here? She suddenly realised what an opportune position she was in. If he hadn't woken thus far, she could easily kill him. Then she would have killed an Akatsuki member - that would more than atone for helping them into Konoha in the first place. It would prove her loyalty and she could escape out of the window as soon as she had done it. Just a simple hand signature and she would be in control of his body.
Despite these facts though Ino knew that she wouldn't do it. There were still questions she had to ask. But that's not all… Ino shook her head, not wanting to think about it further; but even so she couldn't avoid finishing that thought, I liked that kiss. Slipping under the sheets Ino found herself closer than she would like, Deidara having chosen the middle of the bed and leaving her without much room.
'If you're uncomfortable then come closer. You don't have to perch on the end, hmm.' His voice startled Ino who had been convinced that he was sleeping.
'Can't you move up?' She snapped back, her voice harder than she had meant it to be in an effort to hide her surprise. Deidara raised an eyebrow at her harsh tones.
'A bit touchy, hmm.' He continued to eye Ino carefully as she glared at him.
'Please,' Ino gritted out forcefully, not breaking the glare.
'You didn't stress it that time.' Ino heard Deidara mutter, echoing the words he had spoken in the woods before setting her free. Deciding that she wouldn't answer, Ino merely intensified her gaze.
Rolling onto his back and lazily resting his head on his arms, Deidara kept his gaze fixed on the top of the bed as he struck up a deal.
'Ok. But you'll have to do something for me in return, hmm.'
Ino froze. What did he want her to do? She found herself painfully aware that he had taken her first kiss and of how it had felt. Don't be stupid - I hated it! Ino tried to tell herself but she knew she was lying.
'Wh-what do you want me to do?' She asked with uncharacteristic quietness, mouth dry.
When Deidara turned his head to look at her Ino found that he had that look back in his eye again and blushed as he ran his eyes over her, resting on her face as the majority of her body was covered by the duvet. Ino considered asking him if he was ok again but remembered that that hadn't gone down too well last time. Instead she stayed still and held her breath, wondering what he was going to do. As if on cue, Deidara shut his eye and stayed like that for about a minute. When he reopened his eye Ino saw that the look had gone, just like before.
'Just let your hair down, hmm,' he muttered, then looked away. Ino blinked at him; Just let your hair down…what kind of an order was that? And why?
Sitting up, Ino reached back and took out her hair band, letting her hair fall loose. It was quite long, reaching a fair way down her back and almost to her bottom. Seeing Deidara watching her, Ino put her head on one side in a questioning manner before raising an eyebrow.
'What?'
Deidara shook his head.
'Nothing, hmm.' He looked away.
'Well…are you going to move?' Ino asked, more as a prompt than an actual question - the thought of him not keeping his side of the bargain not something she had even considered. Rolling over, Deidara gave her more room and Ino sighed in relief. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad night after all. Still, not one of her better ones either.
Minutes later and still not asleep, Ino glanced at the missing nin lying beside her. His face was buried in the pillow so she couldn't tell if he was still awake or not - but his breathing seemed regular, so she guessed that he was. His hair though was still held up in a ponytail, proving him to be somewhat hypocritical by asking her to let hers down; you weren't supposed to sleep with your hair up anyway - it was uncomfortable. Maybe I should let it down now he's asleep, Ino found herself thinking conspiratorially; after all he'd made her let hers down.
So, with a small smile hovering on her lips, Ino reached out her hand to find that she was just out of reach. Pausing for a moment, Ino decided that she would just have to move quickly before he could stop her. A moment later Ino fairly pounced on Deidara, grabbing at his ponytail. Hearing him give a muffled, surprised sound, she found herself fall to the side as he sat up quickly - but she was still holding his hair and a painful moment later Deidara found himself jerked back down. This time Ino managed to get his hair band and grinned as she pulled it out. Not before he had rolled over to try and stop her though...rolled right onto her, that is.
Ino grinned, her breathing slightly heavier as she held up his hair band in front of his face and stuck out her tongue. Then she dropped her hand back down and examined her 'work'. Although she wasn't going to say so he almost seemed more feminine with his hair down. At the same time he had the distinctly masculine look that had helped her distinguish in the first place, besides his voice that is, and his hair, although still long, wasn't as long as hers - only reaching to a bit past his shoulders.
'What was that for, hmm?' He asked, a bemused expression on his normally benign face. Ino found herself disappointed that he had cut into her examination; he had taken his Akatsuki cloak off and now wore only a black short-sleeved top over a fishnet shirt with slightly longer sleeves, reaching to a few inches above his elbow. Anything below that was covered but Ino could see that without his cloak he really had quite a nice body; a body that was currently above hers, only raised slightly by the hands that were either side of her head. He raised an eyebrow at the lack of reply and Ino blinked again, coming back to the situation at hand quite suddenly.
'I-I was bored,' Ino supplied lamely, causing the eyebrow to raise another few millimetres. Then he sighed and his face returned to normal. Although Ino could have been imagining it, she thought that he had bitten down on an answer back then and instinctively she wanted to know what it was.
'That's a stupid reason. When I'm bored I don't randomly attack the nearest person to me, hmm!' Ino noticed that it looked like Deidara was reconsidering his answer to see if it really was true or not but still felt like she should justify herself anyway.
'I didn't attack you! I just wanted to see what you looked like with your hair down!' Ino cried indignantly and then mentally kicked herself as she saw a brief look of surprise cross Deidara's features.
'Why? Hmm.' The seriousness made Ino uncomfortable.
'I, err, um…' She muttered, avoiding his eye. 'Just…you made me and…errm, well, you're not supposed to sleep with your hair up and…um…'
'Do I look better with my hair down?' He interrupted her, causing Ino to glance at him in surprise. Why is he asking me? Ino found herself looking up and studying his face once more. Because she wasn't used to him with his hair down she thought it looked a bit strange - but not overly different to be honest.
'You look…about the same,' she replied hesitantly.
'Which is…?' Why can't he just drop this? Why is he so bothered about it? He's even acting girly with all this vanity! Ino considered telling him the truth - that although still slightly effeminate, he actually looked quite hot. This wasn't the time though, not when he was practically lying on top of her in bed.
'You look, um, average I guess,' Ino finally lied, playing safe, but she avoided looking at him as she said it.
'No, hmm. What do you really think?'
'Why do you want to know?' Ino snapped, her head still on the side so that she could avoid looking at him.
'Look at me, hmm.' Ino felt compelled to obey him although she wasn't entirely sure why; he sounded almost upset. 'This is important to me yeah, so please answer.'
Ino blinked - had she heard him correctly? Had he really said 'please'? He was an S-Class missing nin for gods sake - surely he shouldn't be saying that?
I've got to lie. I've got to lie. I've got to lie, Ino thought desperately as she looked into his one clear blue orb.
'…' Ino contemplated what to say but found that she couldn't concentrate properly; Just tell the truth! After all, isn't 'honesty the best policy'? It can't harm anyway.
'You look…good,' Ino replied at last, adding a rather indifferent tone in to make it seem casual; 'but I've seen better,' she added as an afterthought, maybe a bit too quickly.
''Good' hmm? Then maybe you won't mind if…' Ino heard Deidara mutter quietly, almost to himself, leaving it hanging. A moment later and he collapsed onto her, causing Ino to gasp in surprise as the air left her lungs. What in all hells was he doing?
'Sorry Ino-san but my arms were killing me, hmm.' Ino heard Deidara's muffled explanation from somewhere in the pillow very near her head. With his body weight added now on top of hers Ino felt very strange. Despite him being quite thin she guessed that what there was must be muscle because he was actually quite heavy although the strain on her chest might just have been due to the fact that she was holding her breath and had been for the past minute or more. Letting it out Ino felt herself shudder slightly and realised that her whole body was tensed. Why am I so awkward? He's only lying on top of me, Ino tried to reason but it still felt uncomfortable.
They lay there for quite a bit longer, neither really sure what to do next. Then,
'Deidara…?' Ino started tentatively and felt him tense although he didn't respond verbally. '…why did you call me Ino-san?'
There was a pause. Then Ino felt him move his head and his warm breath against her ear.
'Sorry, hmm. Didn't you like it?' He muttered absentmindedly and his voice held something in it similar to when he had had the look in his eye. Ino wondered whether that was back again now but she didn't reply; partly because she wasn't sure if she liked it or not and partly because she didn't want to break the silence further. Somehow this position, this feeling, everything about it - it was comforting and she was tired. The two body heats mixing also helped to increase her drowsiness.
Kusou, I can't fall asleep like this! I have to get him off me first but, well, I guess I don't really want to in a way. I know I should do but it is confortable and it's not like we're actually doing anything...
Ino inwardly admitted defeat. It was true, nothing was happening, so why was she so stupidly worried about the whole thing? Shifting her body slightly so she was more comfortable, Ino failed to notice the catch of his breath and gave a silent yawn before closing her eyes. Without realising she was doing so, Ino murmured softly, 'Good-night, Deidara-kun…', and then drifted off to sleep with a small smile resting on her lips, unaware of the tightening of his hands on her sides as she said his name.
Ino woke up a little later to find that it was still dark and she was still in the same position as before. This time though Deidara really was asleep and Ino lay there for several minutes just listening to his breathing. The steadiness was calming somehow and it took a lot of effort on her part to motivate herself to move. Sliding out from under him carefully, Ino slipped off the bed and stood at the side, glancing back at him to make sure he hadn't woken. He was still asleep so Ino sighed and walked to the window, opening it carefully to allow the cool breeze to caress her face.
Staring out over Konoha, Ino thought about what she was doing; she was a criminal now. If she was ever found out she would be shunned completely, maybe even banished. Whatever the Akatsuki were here for it was not good; nothing about the Akatsuki was good. And yet she had the chance now to go and tell the Hokage, to even kill one of them potentially.
But if I tell the Hokage then I will have to admit that I let them in. She might be sympathetic because I was forced to in a way - but I would still be looked down upon to a degree, maybe even be punished for what I did. If I kill him…
'I'm cold, hmm.' Ino whirled around to see Deidara sitting up in the bed, watching her.
'Oh sorry, Deidara-san,' Ino sighed, turning back round to shut the window. She continued to look out at Konoha though, thinking about the town and the people in it. When Orichimaru had attacked it had been horrible and all those innocent people - even a lot of the ninja's - had died. Ino did not want a repeat of that. So why was she doing nothing to stop it?
'I'm still cold, hmm,' Deidara's voice once more cut across her thoughts and Ino frowned before turning to look at him again. He was standing a few feet away now although Ino hadn't heard him get up.
'I've closed the window,' she replied, a tad confused. He didn't reply, just continued watching her, so Ino took a last glance out the window and then came over to him.
'What's the matter? Are you ill?'
'Maybe, hmm.'
'Maybe? What kind of answer is that? Can I do anything to help?'
'No, just go back to bed.'
Ino felt him grab her wrist and lead her back to the bed but, 'Why? I'm not tired anymore!' Ino protested, trying to break free of his hold to no avail.
'Stop being so awkward, hmm,' Deidara replied darkly, ever so slightly annoyed. Ino tried to wrench her arm away once more, ignoring him, and a moment later she found herself lifted off the floor and dumped onto the bed. A creak and a shift of the mattress a few seconds later alerted Ino to the fact that he had joined her.
'Why can't I get up if I'm not tired?' Ino snapped, pushing herself up into a sitting position and turning around to face him.
'Because I'm tired, hmm.'
Ino frowned in confusion. What did that have to do with her?
'So? … I don't get why that means I have to stay here.'
'Surely you're not that stupid? You know too much so I can't let you out of my sight, hmm.'
Ino sighed and looked down at the bed sheets. That made sense but still…what was she supposed to do then? 'Fine, whatever,' she muttered grudgingly before lying down with her back to him. There was a long pause and then Ino heard the bed creak as he moved. Not long after, an arm snaked itself around her waist and she felt his warm breath on the back of her neck.
'…what are you doing?' Ino managed to hiss, her heart beating too fast for her liking and her breath caught in her throat.
'Why are you afraid, hmm? You weren't earlier.'
That was true. Why am I afraid? He's not done anything bad yet. The 'yet' though suggested there was something bad coming and perhaps it was this, as opposed to the immidiate 'danger', that Ino was afriad of. She knew the fear was based on unsound logic though and so was loathe to answer him. 'That didn't answer my question,' she told him bluntly instead.
'Ditto, hmm.'
There was a long pause after that in which Ino just lay there, the steady warm breath on her neck beginning to get to her. Is he asleep? She wondered curiously, perhaps hoping that she could shift away from him if he was; I'd better check though. Reluctantly Ino twisted in his grip so that she had turned to face him in one fluid motion. Blue eyes connected.
Ah. Awake then. There was another long silence after that and Ino averted her gaze from his face, glancing around for something else she could look at instead.
'Do you find me unattractive?' Deidara sounded confused and Ino glanced back at him with similar confusion.
'No.' The word left her mouth without her really thinking about it but it was the truth.
'Then why are you avoiding me, hmm?' That sounded strange considering their position but Ino guessed that what he was really referring to was the way she was refusing to look at him. Again though Ino didn't know how to answer because she wasn't even sure of the answer herself. Instead she continued to look into his eye, lips unconsciously parted as she half-heartedly thought of something to say - but, like before, she didn't want to break the silence because she felt safe in it.
Feeling a cool breeze brush against her shoulders from when she had opened the window Ino shivered and subconsciously pressed closer to Deidara, who in turn wrapped his other arm around her and held her tighter.
'Cold, hmm?' Ino heard him murmur and nodded.
Even though she knew she was too close to him she didn't really want to break free of the hold. Damn, I'm acting like a little child! My dignity should be more important than petty comforts. I'm seventeen now after all! Suddenly embarrased, Ino manoeuvred her hands onto his chest and pressed against him in an attempt to break free.
'Let me go!' Ino muttered when her escape failed, trying to sound annoyed but ending up as just tired.
'Why, hmm? You might 'escape' again,' Deidara replied, and Ino got the impression that he was smirking; 'Besides it's hardly worth the effort; We're both tired now so just go to sleep, hmm.'
'I'm not a little kid so stop talking to me like that!' Ino snapped in response to his almost condescending tone.
'Then stop acting like one, hmm.'
Ino fell silent at the brutal reply. She liked to think of herself as quite mature generally - and something like that hurt. In the silence that followed Ino closed her eyes and sighed. There was no point in lashing out in a temper - not that she would probably be able to anyway - because it would make her look like a little kid again. In fact anything she did might do so Ino resolved to do nothing. Besides Deidara was right - the position was comfortable and, with her eyes closed, Ino felt her earlier sleepiness return to her. Almost forgetting where she was, Ino felt contented for the first time in a long while.
Finito! :D
So how was it? Fluffy enough for you? Probably not but nevermind, :P.
Personally I didn't enjoy editing it; it was a bit too cringe-worthy although that might just be because it's something I wrote a year or two ago and I tend to cringe at things I've written a long time ago. Ahaha ;).
Anyway I should stop being so self-degrading about these early chapters. I hope you enjoyed it and, if you did, please feel free to review! The next chapter is somewhat similar but a bit more smutty, ;p.
Love,
~WfCP
-edited-
