Re:live

by redskiez

When bits of a life you didn't know you have lived slip through your current one, things do tend to get a little bit complicated. Obito wakes up on his desk at his school, but everything's flipped. What is a dream and what is reality? Everything's converging all at once and he must relive it all to understand. [Complete]

4. Re:calling

Although Tobi already knows when and where the art exhibition is going to take place, Deidara still spends his time handing him an invitation card, telling him proudly that he has a hand in creating it.

It certainly looks stylish enough. It's a small, rectangular card with a transparent sheet of plastic in the shape of a circle embedded inside it. The details regarding the exhibition and the name the graduates have chosen for it is printed on the transparent sheet.

And while it's completely unnecessary, because Deidara never lets Tobi forget the date and the principal have already allowed posters to be put up around the school that contains the same information as the invitation card, Tobi still appreciates the gesture.

It was almost cute as he watches Deidara, he's acting like he's shy and wondering aloud if Tobi would even go. Of course, he would go, Obito hadn't even considered an alternative to what he'd be doing on December 8th, anyway.

"Are you hinting that maybe I should go?" Tobi asks in a sing-song tune, humming it out as he leans in closer to Deidara, almost accusingly at this point.

"No! Hmm!" Deidara grunts, trying to back away from his friend and sporting quite an impressive shade of red on his cheeks. "I was just wondering, yeah. Ugh, if you're going to be a problem and acting like this during the exhibition, I'd rather you not go! You're going to embarrass me, hm."

"Aw but senpai," Tobi whines, closing in on Deidara easily since he's halfheartedly trying to get away. "Whatever you do, I always want to support you! If I cannot be there, then I cannot do that."

Deidara clicks his tongue, annoyed but doesn't bother to free himself when Tobi wraps his arms around his shoulders, only pretending that he hates it as he frowns. "If you keep doing this, then I won't be able to do anything worthwhile during the exhibition and you won't be able to be proud of me, hmm."

Tobi is fully prepared to tease Deidara even further, but Obito is aware of their surroundings and keeps himself reined in. "It's okay, Deidara," he purrs instead, his voice going just a tad bit more quiet, almost whispering in his ear. "I'm proud of everything you do."

It is then that Deidara struggles in his arms, twisting away and revealing a flushed face. "Weirdo, hmm!" Deidara huffs, crossing his arms once he's a safe distance away from Obito. He cools off pretty soon after that, but it doesn't seem like the pink hue on his cheeks is leaving anytime soon. "Whatever. Come if you want to, hm," he says dismissively, waving his arm and then turning around to head off, probably back to the art room.

Obito takes that as you better show up, or else you're going to get blown to pieces, yeah.

Well, he better not disappoint, then.

88

The art exhibition isn't as exciting as he thought it would be, though he doesn't know why he thought it would be like a party in the first place. It is like a museum, except the artists aren't famous and the questions they answer are mostly from parents.

It's an open day of sorts, Obito muses as he stands next to one of Deidara's artworks, pretending to admire it but instead making himself feel even more confused. Instead, he eyes the people around him. They're mostly parents who have taken time off work to show up at their kid's show.

Sasori's grandmother and her brother have come to support her grandson, but it seems like Chiyo is very moved by his piece 'Mama and Papa.' It's somehow shocking to Obito that this is the first time she has seen it. With the protective aura surrounding the old woman, Obito thought she would be like his own grandmother, asking about Sasori's school progress whenever she got the chance to.

Ah well, he shouldn't be judging other people's lives. Maybe Sasori is quiet at home, unwilling to talk about his feelings because he lost his parents. Obito would never understand, he has never personally met his parents. For as long as he could remember, Obito only has his grandparents. He doesn't mind at all.

Turning back around to look at Deidara's artwork, he tries to concentrate on the white bit on the dark creature's face. Is that a mask? Probably. Obito couldn't really tell.

It sports the same face of most of Deidara's work: large, gaping holes as eyes, a simple line near the bottom of the 'face' that is supposed to be a smile, and some semblance of a nose if he feels like adding any.

Right. Maybe he's not cut out to enjoy anything that isn't what the majority of humanity deems 'aesthetically pleasing.'

He huffs, crossing his arm as he continues to have a one-sided staring contest with Deidara's work until he could hear him from his stand, laughing.

Tobi perks up almost immediately, but he stays where he is. He doesn't want to bother Deidara too much, knowing that he's busy with... whatever that is he needs to do. Probably answering curious passerby's questions. As he understood it, it is indeed like an open day type of exhibition. Outsiders can come in for free to admire the artworks, too.

He doesn't recognize the person Deidara is talking to, so he assumes that she's a passerby that had some time to spend. Did she say something funny? Why is Deidara laughing like that? Tobi doesn't like that. Only he can make his Deidara laugh like that.

Obito pauses, brows scrunching together at the wording of his own thoughts. That's kind of weird, why did he think that Deidara is his? Shaking the thought away before it can do any more damage, Tobi begins to wander over to Deidara, who is trying to wrap up the conversation with the woman.

When Tobi comes to sight, Deidara is obviously a little happier. He waves his arm at him and then says something along the lines of his friend asking for his attention before saying goodbye to the woman and hurries over to his side.

"Thank the heavens you decided to finally come over, hm," Deidara says in a scolding tone, slapping Tobi's bicep. Tobi lets out a half-hearted 'ow' makes a show of rubbing his arm. "That woman would not stop being weird, yeah."

"Oh, was she hitting on you?" Tobi grins, but the words leave a strange feeling in his heart.

"Worse, hmm," Deidara grunts, making sweat gather on Tobi's forehead. "She's trying to set up a date between me and her younger brother, yeah."

Obito frowns, unconsciously stepping closer to Deidara. He doesn't seem to notice - or if he did, didn't care. "Well, that's annoying," Obito agrees.

"Right? Straight people seem to think that we need help with dating, hmm, pairing up one gay person with another that they know," Deidara scoffs. "I told her multiple times that I'm not interested in dating right now, but when it enters her left ear it just comes out her right one, yeah!"

If frowning really could give you wrinkles, Obito really doesn't care right now. He bites his lower lip in thought. Deidara's not interested in dating, huh?

"It's as though it doesn't matter to her that I barely know her - or her brother, yeah," Deidara continues, shaking his head. "Anyway, hmm, you must be bored. I saw you trying to fight your brain trying to understand my first work, yeah. It's fine, though, I literally made that only because I thought it would look cool, hmm. I made the meaning up when the teacher asked us to present it.

"Anyway, come over, hmm," he beckons Tobi to his stand, gesturing to the chair that's meant for Deidara to use when there isn't anyone around, or during their lunch break. "You should doodle on my notebook, yeah."

"This feels like I don't have a choice," Tobi laughs, sitting down and dragging the book across the clothed table, opening it to a new page. Seems like either Deidara successfully made people write messages on the other pages, or they did it on their own.

"It'll be a waste of money and time if I take this back home with only two pages of notes, yeah," Deidara waves away his potential kidnapping. "You know how expensive Muji is selling their things now? Unbelievably expensive, hm, so just fill the pages to make it look like it's worth it."

"Okay," Tobi laughs again, grabbing one of the pens Deidara put out and starts drawing. He's not much of an artist - or else why would he choose mathematics as his electives? - so he's limited to drawing stick figures all around the page.

He draws one holding a sword, fighting a crudely drawn dragon. He draws another one meditating underneath a tree, even scribbling down 'hum' next to him so that it looks like he's the real deal.

As he begins to turn the pages since he's drawing huge smiling suns everywhere, his stick figures somehow look a little less... stick-like. Eventually, Obito tries his hand on putting clothes on them, and then hair.

He draws a stick figure meant to resemble Deidara yelling at a stick figure meant to represent himself. He continues the story by drawing beneath them, trying to convey the message of Stick Obito buying Stick Deidara ice cream so that he won't be mad anymore.

Grinning at the rather cute image he's conjured, he ends it with Stick Obito holding hands with Stick Deidara, enjoying the shared ice cream.

His mind begins to wander for a moment, thinking about the time Deidara paid for his dango, wondering if he should repay the favor even though it's supposed to be Deidara's payment for Obito accompanying him to the museum.

As he thinks about whether or not he should get Deidara ice cream - no matter that it's the dead of winter - he doesn't realize that he's beginning to doodle something else.

His drawing of a mask with a swirl design is exactly what you'd expect. A simple drawing of a mask with a swirl design, of course. He stares at it for the longest time, glancing at an orange pen that Deidara has in his collection of pens.

He thinks about letting it go but somehow couldn't stop himself from reaching over and picking it up. The cap pops off easily in his left hand and he colors in the white gaps, turning the white, colorless mask into an orange one.

The way it stares blankly back at him, the lone eye-hole almost judging him, makes him shiver.

After the strange feeling passes, he feels his head beginning to hurt. An almost insistent throbbing right behind his forehead. It hurts just to the point of being a nuisance, rather than a cause for concern. He moves to cover the drawing.

Obito senses the connection between his untimely headaches with real life things that seem to mirror his dreams. Though he hasn't dreamed those weird dreams again since he finally got to spend time with Deidara, they have manifested in a different way - leaking into his life.

It's hard to tell if he's honestly still awake since some of the things he thought he saw are so outlandish that he must be in a dream. But when Deidara brushes against him he turns and sees whatever thing he might have seen has disappeared.

So either he removes the thing that is real, or he snaps himself out of the daze he is in, in order to get the image to disappear.

But before Obito could get rid of it, Deidara is already in front of him, almost as though he had teleported there in a puff of smoke. He leans over the table and grabs the notebook from Tobi's hands, staring down at what he's doodled.

Something in Deidara's expression makes Obito feel very, very uncomfortable. Tobi stands up and touches Deidara's arm, and the expression is replaced by a look of curiosity.

It feels as though he's hiding something. Obito doesn't voice it out, however, continuing to look at Deidara with a questioning expression.

"Why'd you draw this, yeah?" Deidara asks, and though Obito doesn't what he's referring to, he could feel every pore in his body tighten in fear and worry that he's referring to the mask.

How does he answer his question when he doesn't even know why he drew it? He just did. It didn't make sense. Obito might have been good at omitting the truth, but he doesn't know how to lie. Not telling the truth is different from lying, and you cannot not tell the truth if someone is asking you a question directly targeting the problem that you're trying to not talk about.

Tobi opens his mouth uselessly, but before he could even say anything, Deidara waves his hand dismissively. "I mean, why did you draw us holding hands, yeah?" he corrects himself.

Obito could tell that Deidara is lying, but he could help but feel relieved that Deidara doesn't seem to want to talk about the little doodle either. "What do you mean?" Tobi prompts.

"Here, yeah," Deidara says, lowering the notebook so that Tobi could see. He points to one of the earlier drawings that Obito made, the one that illustrated the story of Obito making Deidara forgive him by sharing ice cream with him.

"Oh," Obito blinks, once again at a loss for words. "I-"

Deidara laughs and cuts him off before he could even explain himself. "Is this you trying to say you want to hold my hand, yeah?" he grins, all smug.

Obito could only sputter, suddenly finding his tongue tied in a knot. "Wh- No!"

"It's okay, admit that you think I'm cool, hmm," Deidara laughs again, but Obito finds it strange. It is as though it is not really a laugh, more like he is forcing it.

Obito recognizes this as a ploy to distract. Tobi gladly plays along with it, standing up straight. "Well, so are you saying that you are allowing me to hold your hand?"

It is Deidara's turn to get flustered, but he handles it much better than Obito. Well, it's not a surprise, seeing as Obito doesn't usually get advances since he closes himself off to the rest of the world. Deidara probably has some experiences when it comes to flirting.

Oh heavens, is this the fabled flirting?

"Why don't you find out, hmm?" Deidara grins. Before they could continue the conversation, Deidara is already being called away by a schoolmate. As he turns to leave, Obito could not get over the fact that he very much likes the pink that dusts Deidara's cheeks.

The art exhibition is supposed to last for three days. Obito shows up all three days, much to Deidara's joy.

On the last day, Deidara and the other art students help shut off the lights and lock the doors, with Obito just standing idly outside since he's technically not allowed to be inside after opening hours.

And though he's slightly positive that Dokuzetsu would not mind as much, and won't go ratting him out to Principal Ōtsutsuki - seriously, what's the guy's deal on insisting to be the principal's pet - he doesn't want to risk it just in case the dark twin is in a rather foul mood.

He has never been as easy to manage as Jozetsu, but Dokuzetsu has become less and less agreeable and rational as of late.

It is as though he's upset that he's losing control of something.

The thoughts banish themselves from his mind once Deidara and his classmates pool out of the building, chattering about someone's encounter with a visitor, mocking their voice and questions.

Deidara breaks away from the group without even saying a word, hurrying over to Obito's side. He shoves his phone back into his back pocket as he greets Deidara, an easy smile already on his face.

He always smiles automatically when Deidara enters the picture.

Winter is here and Tokyo is taken to drizzling light snow. Everyone is wearing some sort of down jacket or other thick clothes, and Obito and Deidara are no different. Given that it is night time already, it's getting even colder.

"Hey," Obito greets Deidara verbally as they begin to walk out of the school, his breath pushing steam through the air. "Are you cold?"

"Freezing, yeah," Deidara grins, shrugging his shoulders so that he can tuck his head between them. "I forgot my scarf, hmm."

"A clever ploy," Obito notes but still reaches up to take off his scarf and wrapping it around Deidara's neck.

Deidara hums at the warmth and digs his hand into his blue jacket's pocket, taking out a slightly crumpled piece of plastic coated paper. "Here, hm," he breathes, holding it out to Tobi.

Tobi takes it into his gloved hand and holds it close to his face, trying to catch it in the streetlights as they walk. He sees that it is a ticket to the school show, the Merchant of Venice, something that is hard to get a hold of since the tickets are in high demand.

While it is a first come, first serve system for getting tickets, Deidara told Obito a few days ago that actors do get free tickets, but they're only limited to two - for the parents.

Since both of Deidara's parents would be going, Deidara had to do some favors in order to get the third one.

Speaking of parents, Obito had apparently been too busy drawing to notice that Deidara had been talking with his parents on the first day - about him.

That is rather strange. Deidara won't tell him anything more about it, but Obito hoped that his parents don't think he's rude for not coming over to say hi.

"Great," Tobi pulls out his wallet to shove the ticket inside. "Thanks, I'll arrive very early to find a perfect spot to nap."

"Ugh, don't you dare, hm," Deidara rolls his eyes, teasingly nudging his shoulder at Tobi's side. "You snore, so you're going to disturb everyone's experience, yeah."

"You hurt my feelings, senpai," Tobi complaints, putting a hand over his heart to portray the 'hurt' his heart has suffered. "If I do start snoring and you start scolding me, it would be a great comedy experience for the audience. You should thank me."

"Shut up, you ass, yeah," Deidara grunts, shoving his hands into his pockets. "And stop saying that, or else people will think that you're a school girl who's in love with her senpai."

"Oh, you know you love it, senpai," Tobi leans in closer, wrapping his arm around Deidara's shoulder. "And what if I am?"

Even though Tobi could see that Deidara is trying hard to suppress it, he's still smiling. "Don't be gay, hmm," Deidara tries to sound mean instead, but it's not working at all.

Obito laughs at that, patting Deidara's shoulder. He lets go though, sensing that he might not be the biggest fan of physical contact and lets his armrest on his side.

Even though it's a relatively cold night, with snowflakes gently resting on their shoulders, they don't find the need to hurry indoors or go underground. It might come back to bite them in the ass later, but Obito doesn't care. He gets to walk next to Deidara.

That's something he never realized he would treasure so much. It is as though he has done this for the longest time, heart yearning for it every time he isn't doing it.

And there is always an inkling of fear that he will never, ever get to do it again.

In a subtle movement, Deidara pulls his hands out of his pockets, cupping them around his mouth to breathe warm air into them. They look rather pale and Obito knows it's probably from the cold.

The weather forecast did mention the temperature drop this morning, and it is assumed to wear thicker clothing given that it is December... Why does Deidara have such little clothing on? Jeez, this guy.

Obito sighs inwardly, stepping just a little bit closer to Deidara. When Deidara lowers his hands again, he takes a deep breath and rubs the back of his gloved palm against the knuckles of Deidara's right hand.

He couldn't sense anything in the cold, but Deidara is only shoving his left hand back into his pocket, leaving his right one hanging out.

After a few more moments of just brushing, Deidara seems to get tired of Obito's stalling and twists his wrist, slipping his hand into Obito's slightly larger one.

An extra blanket of silence falls over them after that, almost sinful. Obito holds his breath and tries to will the tingling feelings away, and pretends that the redness in his cheeks is caused only by the coldness that surrounds them.

Deidara is blushing too, he could see it from the corner of his eye. He could also see that he's stealing glances at their hands, too. Obito didn't want to look yet.

"Hey," Deidara suddenly speaks up, but his voice is a quiet tone, barely above a whisper. "The glove's cold, yeah."

Obito looks away, wondering for a moment if he should let go of Deidara's hand to take off his glove or should he just take it off without moving his arm. But he isn't allowed the split-second decision because Deidara is moving again, removing his hand from Obito's grasp and digging his fingers into the opening of the glove, slipping in.

"Cold!" Obito complaints, but otherwise does not stop Deidara from burrowing his hand into his glove. He's quite surprised that these things that his grandmother bought him are stretchy enough for this.

With their skin touching now - Deidara can only insert his fingers, so now they wrap expertly around his palm - he's extremely aware of how soft Deidara's skin is.

Maybe he puts on lotion all the time since he's dealing with water and clay. He might want to keep his skin healthy and not dry and calloused with the exposure.

Whatever the reason, it's really soft and it's getting warmer by the second. Obito wants to say his body heat has something to do with it, but he is also willing to bargain that the pretty blush that is spreading across Deidara's features has a hand in it.

Haha, hand. Get it? Obito tries not to snicker to himself. Instead, he tries to squeeze Deidara's hand experimentally, feeling his fingers between the layers of his gloves.

Obito dwells in his mind. He knows having a glove on will not be as good as holding hands with nothing in between, but how does he say that he wants to hold his hand again later, when he doesn't have gloves on, without sounding like a creep?

He could take his glove off now, but maybe that would defeat the purpose because Deidara is 'seeking warmth.' So he tries something else.

Out of all his experiences with this 'Ninja World,' Obito has noticed one thing. He remembers things that have not yet happened to him yet, things that are relevant to him.

He remembers seeing red when he looks in the mirror, he remembers that there is a reason why he is not close with Uchiha Itachi, he remembers Uchiha Madara's name. He remembers spending time with Deidara. He remembers the fire he holds, the speech pattern in which he speaks with. He remembers, despite having never seen it before, despite having never heard it before.

He misses things that he has yet to encounter.

So Obito tries now, to remember if he could remember how Deidara's hand feel in his own. If he could recall the softness of his palm, perhaps even his own natural warmth.

But Obito does not remember anything.

And for a moment he wonders if something is wrong. For a moment, he continues to wonder but stops when he feels that it will break his mind if he continues. There is no reason to go down this dangerous fantasy path if he can live in today.

Besides, dreams are always unpredictable. Obito thinks that he read somewhere online that dreams take aspects of your days and turn them into a subconscious picture show. All the faces that you see in your dreams are the faces you see every day.

Your brain is unable to create new people. He only knows Deidara because of his infamous status in the school, remembered his speech because of his shows.

That is it and nothing else.

Deidara doesn't say anything when they reach the entrance of his apartment building, simply standing next to Tobi, their hands still in each others'. He's staring up at the building, probably counting mentally where his windows would be before stopping right there.

The lights are on. His parents have returned home from their business trip, but for some reason, Deidara didn't tell him it directly, so it was indeed a surprise to hear that his parents had been there on the first day of the exhibition.

"Deidara," Tobi says softly, squeezing his hand to catch his attention.

His fellow schoolmate turns and looks at him for a while, almost like he is getting to see his face for the first time and is determined to study it in order to remember every single feature that his face bears.

"What's wrong?" Obito speaks up again, nudging Deidara lightly in an attempt to snap him out of whatever trance he is in.

Deidara doesn't move to show that he is out of any trance, but then again, Obito isn't even sure he is in one, to begin with. He simply cracks a small smile, a soft smile soaked in pain, before parting his lips to speak.

"I don't want to go home yet, hm."

What a strange thing to say. Obito frowns at the pain that is evident in Deidara's voice, but he does not understand the source of it. He is not unhappy at home. His parents love him no matter who he is. The pictures on their shelves say so.

He is not bullied at school and unable to tell his parents about it, either. If Deidara is bullied, then Obito would be one of the first people to know since he spends nearly every second of his time that isn't spent in class with him. Sure, it is controversial to be so open about your sexuality that defies what society likes to consider as 'normal,' but it seems like no one at school is brave enough to even open their mouths in front of Deidara, so it can't be bullying.

If it's the snide comments or black-mouthing that people say when his back is turned, then it wouldn't make sense. Deidara is frighteningly good at ignoring things that happen around him - and even to him - to get to his own goals.

Obito somehow feels that that trait will be the death of Deidara.

"Where do you want to go, then?" Tobi asks instead of 'why?'

"Anywhere," Deidara says above the gentle wind, in a tone that Obito does not know how to deny.

They spent the night at a park until it gets too cold to stay out. They grab a hot chocolate from a coffee shop before it closes as well, slowly trekking through the slippery pavement.

They don't say anything else, rather content with the quiet. They sip their hot chocolates, the perfect temperature for such a cold night. Obito glances to his side and watches Deidara, eyes softening.

He was going through something, but it doesn't alarm Obito at all. It's almost as though he understands, even though he isn't sure what exactly the topic is. He doesn't want to say Deidara's is losing his mind just like he is himself, but a wicked side of him hopes that he is not alone when it comes to seeing strange creatures in his dreams bleeding into reality.

They eventually wander back into Deidara's apartment complex, with him letting out a sneeze to show that it is indeed getting way too cold. Obito finally lets go of his hand, patting his shoulder. "Go now," he coaxes. "Your parents will be worried for you."

"They don't give a damn about me, yeah," Deidara scoffs, but he does not elaborate further or goes against Obito's words. He obeys and turns to head deeper inside his complex, but he stops just a few paces in and turns back to stare at Tobi.

He just looks at him, like he is thinking about something, debating. Obito wonders what it is and he is going to ask before Deidara apparently decides that it's not really worth it and turns to leave once more.

He doesn't look back until he's at the gate. Tobi waves a little goodbye and manages to make Deidara smile a little.

Somehow, that makes it all better.

88

The cheap plastic tickets that the school hands out do not have seat numbers printed on them. Rather, the only numbers on there are the time and the ticket number. In order to really get the good seats, which is as far back as possible, you'd have to arrive really early and claim it before anyone else.

Obito knows from experience that the best seats are in the middle. So, abusing his status as a student and staying at school until it's time for the doors to open to pounce, he manages to land himself his usual seat when he watches Deidara practice.

Of course, Mrs. Sarutobi would be seated right next to him, eyes twinkling teasingly, so it is rather weird to be sitting alone tonight. Or at least for the moment. Family members are always unpredictable and they'd bring their own parents, or even siblings or cousins just to make everything seem more alive.

They allow a buffer time between the actual beginning of the show and the opening of the doors. Obviously, it's for people to slowly and orderly filter in and get seated before the show starts, or for giving latecomers a second chance.

So, during this void time, Obito fishes out his phone from his pocket and begins texting Deidara. He's been doing that non-stop after he was whisked away in order to prepare for the show, and Deidara did manage to get a few texts in reply before he's once again forced to put his phone down.

Though he isn't even sure if Deidara would be able to get to his phone right before performing, he sends a barrage of greetings and "how are you feeling"s to him anyway.

Obito looks up when a couple wants to get past him to get to the seats further to the side. He tucks his feet in and allows the couple to pass. When he looks down at his phone after they do, he finds that he received a few messages.

Deidara sent a bunch of sad faces, as well as the nervous face that has its face all scrunched up. "Nervous," he writes as a follow-up text. "I can hear that there are a lot of people outside."

"You can do it!" Tobi types up quickly, sending the message and adding an oil station emoji for good measure. Before talking to Deidara, Obito has never even used emotions save for the occasional smiling face.

He gets a pleased face that is tossing a bunch of sparkles around.

He is about to type something in return again, but one of the teachers stationed to be staff that night manages to catch his eye and motions for him to put away his electronic device.

Obito ducks his head down quickly and turns off the brightness of his phone just in case they could see it reflect on his face from afar and waits for Deidara's next message, since the typing bubble keeps popping up once and a while.

"I gotta go," Deidara eventually sends. "Final check-ups. See you when it's over."

Obito sends him a fighter emoticon and tells him to do his best. He sees that Deidara saw the message before he went offline and he can't help but imagine him smiling through the final routines.

After Obito puts his phone back into his pocket, an announcer steps up onto the stage and tells the audience to either turn off their electronic devices or mute them so that it won't disturb the rest of the crowd.

He can hear shuffling around him as parents and students alike scramble to turn their phones to silent and dim the display brightness to match the darkening room.

After a while, everything goes quiet when the announcer speaks up again. He's thanking the audience for taking the time to come and spewing out a basic and quick introduction of the play.

Though he isn't sure that the crowd needs it, Obito brushes it off as weird school writing - because he knows that all the master of ceremony's scripts has to go through the principal, no matter what kind of ceremony it is - that is aimed to impress with the sheer impressiveness of knowledge.

When the announcer is done spewing out the rest of his bullshit, he bows, and steps off the stage. The rest of the lights turn off and only the spotlights that are directed to the stage remain.

And thus the show begins.

It isn't any different than the 'shows' Tobi gets to see. Sure, they now don fancy outfits that seem more appropriate for a time when Shakespeare is still alive, and they no longer carry around their scripts, but other than that everything is the same.

Sure, he could spot a few mess-ups but he doubts the rest of the audience noticed because they didn't get to read the script or see the practices. He doubts that any of the people here knows every single line of dialogue and monologue from Merchant of Venice by heart.

Still, it's merely a school play. The sheer fact that they managed to gather enough kids that are interested in joining and have the talent to remain is impressive enough. Obito doesn't need to be any more critical about it.

Though he will say that Deidara is surely the best one out of them all. All these other kids seem like blabbering idiots when they stand next to him, kind of like Tobi himself.

Or maybe he's just an idiot from the start.

88

After the show ends, Obito wanders around the cafeteria area while waiting for Deidara to be done with whatever he has to do backstage. It is always weird to get to see the school at nighttime. It's not really an everyday thing that you get to witness. You aren't allowed to stay in school after four and teachers can't keep you after six.

At this hour, Obito gets to see the school shrouded in a complete darkness for the first time in all the years he's been in this school.

It's something spectacular. Seeing something that is supposed to be filled with noise and activity become so dead and quiet in just a couple of hours. The light and life just bleed away into the darkness as the sun descends from the sky.

Though a lot of people are beginning to appear in the cafeteria area, perhaps parents waiting on their children, but most other students chatting happily with the teachers that are responsible for the play but didn't want to stay in the theatre room because the cleaning crew has to get started.

The loudness of their chattering is also one of the reasons why they didn't want to stay in a room designed to resonate sound, it is also the reason why Obito no longer wishes to stay in the cafeteria area, even though it is much warmer than the school gates.

With a quick text, Obito heads down the stairs and steps out of the school, his sigh visible as vapor in front of him. He huffs and moves to stand beneath a lamp post, for the sake of gathering whatever warmth he could from the light.

Even though actors are supposed to stay behind to get their make up off and help clean up, Deidara manages to convince Mrs. Sarutobi to let him go early.

One of the reasons she allows it is because this is Deidara's last show. Although she wouldn't outright say that he is one of her star students, everyone kind of has a clue.

He does have a knack for everything artistic. His talents are well known, and even Onoki, one of the oldest and most bitter teachers in the school who is known to be distrustful and strict, thinks that he's impressive ever since the first year.

Rumor has it that Onoki even helped tutor Deidara when he needed the help. There are only two other students in the school other than him that get this kind of special treatment.

It is sort of unfair since Onoki is also known for his intelligence and skills. Every single student of his that he decides to teach on his own always passes exams with flying colors. If he starts a tutorial business, he no doubts would become one of the most popular tutors.

As Deidara waves to someone that Tobi cannot see from his position outside of the school, he remembers yet another whispered rumor that Deidara stopped attending those extra classes. Even though he could continue and become a straight-A student in any subject, he instead chooses to focus on his art, something that Onoki isn't that particularly good at.

Perhaps that is why Deidara quit, he thinks to himself as he watches said man head over to him, ducking his head to avoid getting noticed by passing schoolmates. He seems to know what he wants, and is completely sure and confident in his steps, so who is Obito to judge?

"Hi," Tobi greets Deidara with a grin when the other comes close enough to hear him. Even in the darkness, he can see that Deidara immediately smiles once he hears his voice, almost jogging over to close the remaining gap between them and stopping just shy of two meters away.

"So, what did you think, hm?" Deidara asks, grinning widely. His hands are shoved in his pockets, perhaps once again fending them from the cold.

Tobi grins, looking away from Deidara and pretending to be really interested in the people passing them by. There are a few students and their parents leaving after the show, chatting animatedly about what Obito thinks is the plot of the play, or perhaps simply something else.

Obito taps at his chin with his gloved finger as he hums, as though really debating on how to answer Deidara's question as he thinks hard about it.

"Oh, I don't know," Tobi mumbles, shaking his head and turning his gaze down at the melting snow on the sidewalk. "I don't think it's awfully impressive..."

"Ugh," Deidara grunts, throwing a punch against Tobi's shoulder and causing him to whine. "You're no help at all, hm. I don't even know why I bother asking you."

"Oh, senpai," Tobi laughs, reaching out to steady Deidara when he starts to lose his balance from the sudden force of him delivering a punch on the slippery sidewalk. "You know you love it."

"I do not, yeah!" Deidara blushes, trying to steady himself on the floor. "Damn winter, hm. I cannot even stand straight."

"Probably because you're not," Tobi laughs.

"Oh har-har, you're so funny, Tobi, hm," Deidara mocks him. Though he is trying his best to look unimpressed, there is an evident smirk on his lips. "Seriously, Tobi, what did you think about my performance, yeah?"

Taking a deep breath, Tobi closes his eyes and thinks about it again. "You were amazing, senpai," Tobi grins after a few moments. He does not need to really think about his answer. There is only really one thing to say.

If he tells Deidara that it isn't really anything impressive, he would be lying. Every time he hears Deidara deliver that speech as Shylock, it makes him realize things he has never even thought existed.

A lot of people suffer just because they are a little bit different from the usual crowd. The words used made him think and consider about a lot of things, even things that don't necessarily relate to being the black sheep.

Deidara blinks and looks as though he lit up, grinning brightly and practically glowing underneath the warm yellow tint of the lamp beside them.

"Really, yeah?" he says, smiling so widely he looks as though he might split his entire head in half.

It is rather amusing that Deidara seeks such validation from Obito when it is almost plastered everywhere that he is completely successful and talented at what he does.

"Yeah," Tobi grins back, beaming under the complete attention that Deidara is giving him. He doesn't think his parents even know he's out here. He grips Deidara's elbow just a little bit tighter and feels him take a step closer to him.

"That's great, now I know that everyone thinks my performance is okay, hmm," Deidara grins wickedly.

"Just okay?" Tobi tilts his head.

"Yeah, because you have unbelievably low standards."

Tobi stops smiling, turning away from Deidara in a mock-offended huff. He senses that Deidara is wiggling in his grip and loosens his grip enough to allow him to do whatever he wants to do.

A sudden flash of light tells Obito that Deidara is checking his messages, so he remains respectful and does not steal glances at the screen. Deidara huffs and shoves his phone back into his pocket, reaching out and grabbing Tobi's forearm.

"Don't be mad, hm," Deidara says, trying to cheer Tobi up again. "We both know you wouldn't care what anything is made of, as long as it's sweet and socially accepted as edible."

"Listen," Tobi huffs, trying to make it sound like he has a great argument, but what's a good defense against eating sweets? The sugar might help him with an energy boost, but does it really mean that he has to keep a tube of candy with him at all times and take it out whenever he feels like it?

"I have a really good reason for that, okay," he continues. He usually finishes an entire tube under thirty minutes if no one stops him. "I like sweets but that doesn't necessarily mean that I have low standards."

"Oh, shut up, yeah," Deidara grins, reaching up to slap Tobi again, but Obito sees it coming and blocks his hand.

They laugh and struggle to land mock-punches on each other, and they end up leaning against each other.

"Oh shit," Deidara gasps, gripping Tobi hard. "Don't fucking let go, hm. I'm going to fall!"

"Better hold on tight then," Tobi teases, letting his grip loosen purposefully.

Deidara sputters and takes a step forward, slipping his arms around Tobi's torso to try and regain his balance.

"Motherfucker, hmm!" Deidara hisses, ramming his forehead against Tobi's chest. He stops fighting for a second, as though he realizes what position he's currently in.

Tobi doesn't move. He switches his grip on Deidara's elbows to wrap around his shoulders, keeping him close. He could feel Deidara tense for a moment before relaxing, slotting his head under Tobi's chin.

They stand there for a while, unsure how their struggling turned into a soft embrace but neither of them really moves to break it and Obito enjoys it while he can.

He tightens his grip after a while, enjoying the warmth of Deidara seeping in through the fabric of the school uniform. Nothing around them bothers them, the only sound their heartbeats and breathing, mingling with the muted sound of several cars zooming by.

The sound of a car pulling up close to them startles the two and Deidara reluctantly pull away. Obito misses his warmth almost immediately, the cold wind a sudden stark contrast.

"My parents, yeah," Deidara whispers, turning to look over at the car. Though Obito couldn't see their faces, he could barely make out two figures seated at the front of the car.

"Should I go and say hi?" Tobi asks jokingly, though he isn't sure if he's keeping the tone light for Deidara or himself.

Deidara doesn't answer him, simply smiling a soft smile of his that seems both perfect and out of place for him and reaches out to Obito again, pressing his forehead against Tobi's shoulder for a few seconds more before pulling away.

"I'll see you, yeah," he says, grinning back at Obito. "Have fun during winter break, hm."

Obito waves his goodbye and watches as Deidara makes his way over to his parents' car, slipping inside effortlessly. He could see them talking for a bit before his father pulls out into the road.

In the brief second Deidara passes him, he waves again and sees him off.

Standing by his lonesome, Obito shoves his hands into his pockets and watches the tail lights disappear into the blur of the rest of the city lights.

Until he is sure he cannot even see the pinprick of red, he begins his walk to the train station.

88

Time moves rather slowly when he's not spending it with Deidara. Obito had been in a mad mood and terrible mindset when he and his grandparents moved to Tokyo. He was convinced that he won't meet any new friends that would be as great as Kakashi and Rin.

Well, Rin was obviously out of the question. His innocent little crush on her at the ripe age of thirteen simply made him even more upset upon learning her untimely death. After that, Obito is adamant on remaining alone and isn't completely aware of how time passes. After meeting Deidara, though, everything changed.

It feels like time moves a lot differently from what he is used to. He isn't sure what it means, but it feels like it's shifting through itself, like when you're weaving a piece of string when he's with Deidara.

Still, he doesn't want to think too hard on it. It's completely confusing and he feels like the fragile, woven fabric of time would wear through if he continues to attempt to unravel it in order to study the exact process of it happening.

He sighs, staring down at the glowing screen of his phone with what he hopes is a blank expression.

For what feels like the hundredth time, but in reality probably just the sixth, he presses into the text conversation he has with Deidara.

Of course, the contents remain the same. He could see the first message he sent Deidara last night. It had been a spur of the moment thing. After the first week had gone by for their winter holiday, Tobi had begun to feel bored at home.

Watching the snow fall outside, although flimsy at it was, he mindlessly picked up his phone and asked Deidara if he was free this weekend.

Turned out he was and he even teased if Obito was asking him out on a date.

To tease back, Tobi sent back a serious face and confirmed that he was.

Deidara took a whole ten minutes to ask where they were going.

Though Obito initially wanted to keep it a secret, leading Deidara wherever, he quickly decided that it might not be a good idea since he might have to leave a note for his parents.

So now he waits here at the metro station, leaning against one of the support poles and ignoring everyone that walks by him, not even bothering to pick up bits and pieces of their conversation.

He stares at the time displayed on his smartphone, eyebrows furrowing as he notes that he is five minutes early.

Irritated at himself, Obito shifts and presses his entire back against the cool support, eyes darting from advertisement to advertisement, eventually gazing up at the station signs hanging above.

Maybe he should have waited just a bit longer before heading out the house, even though he is completely restless and feels like he's sitting on ants if he waits around for a second longer.

His grandmother practically threw him out from the way he's pacing around the apartment.

Checking his phone again, he notes that only one minute has passed.

Obito sighs audibly and wonders if Deidara is on his way. Maybe he should text him and ask him where he is.

He shifts and moves to type the message out, but stops himself just before he could press the first button.

Maybe he shouldn't. He's acting like a clingy girlfriend who doesn't trust her boyfriend. Gah, they're not even dating!

Obito forces himself to lock his phone and shoves it into his pants, crossing his arms and hooking his fingers against the straps of his backpack and continues to wait patiently, counting out the seconds in his head.

He entertains himself by watching the people passing by. There are schoolgirls, friends, parents and their children, tourists, and staff members wandering around. They all have a purpose and are moving in their own direction, yet at the same time following the general flow.

Frowning, he turns and stares at the map of the metro opposite him instead, reading the labels even though he's already memorized it all by muscle, eyes following the exit paths and their numbers.

Something - or someone - appears beside him and before he could even react, a voice in his ear makes him jump, jolting him from his small reverie.

"Hey, hm," Deidara grins, gripping his own backpack and an additional bag of whatever he decided to bring with him on this small trip. "Sorry, did you wait too long, yeah?"

"No," Obito says quickly. It isn't a lie, since ten minutes isn't really that long, and it is his fault for heading out way too early. "I got here a few minutes ago myself."

Another not-lie.

Deidara nods and flashes him a bright grin, reminding Tobi of an explosion, and gestures to the escalator. "Let's go, then, yeah?"

"Let's," Obito nods, pushing himself away from the pole and steers himself toward the direction of the escalator. Deidara falls in step right beside him, but he allows Obito to walk forward in order to stand on the right side.

"Hey, where did you even find this festival?" Deidara asks, leaning forward and resting his chin on Tobi's shoulder now that he can do it without forcing himself to be on his tiptoes.

"I read it in an article somewhere," Obito replies. "Some news app. It's a special one unique to that village, that's why it's held in winter instead of summer."

"That's what I was going to mention next, hm," Deidara speaks, each word biting hard in an effort to ram his chin into Tobi's shoulder. Obito doesn't complain on purpose to make the other frustrated. "Must be something special if it's held in winter, yeah."

Obito scoffs, shrugging his left shoulder to get Deidara's head off when the escalator nears its end. They head toward the platform and stand in line. "It is something special because this is the first time I've ever been to one," he says. "And I think they're smarter, holding it in the winter. The fireworks would at least be at a more comfortable temperature, and the nights would be darker."

"And I guess being cold is better than being sweaty, yeah," Deidara nods.

Speaking of cold, Obito glances at Deidara and grins. "Hey, seems like you've finally grown a brain and wore a scarf out," he laughs.

"You're annoying, yeah," Deidara rolls his eyes, shoving Tobi's shoulder. "I hate you."

"Aw, you love me," Tobi coos, leaning in and resting his chin on the top of Deidara's head.

"Get the fuck off, hm!" Deidara complaints, ducking down. "I hate you so much, hmm!"

Tobi pouts, trailing close to Deidara even when the train arrives, sitting down next to him. "That hurts my feelings, senpai," he complains.

"You don't have any feelings, hm," Deidara scoffs.

His jaw drops in a false offended look, scoffing on his own. "I can't believe you just said that," he says, shaking his head. "My soul has literally shattered into a million pieces."

"You're very annoying," Deidara concludes without any heat in his voice, shaking his head humorously. "I don't even know why I like you, hm."

"You like me?" Tobi echoes, picking up something that Deidara seems to be accidentally putting down.

He jerks at his words and blinks up at him, and Tobi could hear the way his nails are digging into the fabric of his bag. "As a friend," he says quickly.

Obito laughs at the sound of his voice and nods once. "Okay, I believe you," he says in a sing-song tone. "But I feel hurt that you do not find me hot."

Deidara scoffs. "I know you find me hot, hm," he grumbles.

"Yes, I tell all of my friends that you are hot," Obito rolls his eyes.

"How far away is this town?" Deidara tries to change the subject now.

"About half a day," Obito nods, pulling out his phone to open up the photo gallery. He had looked up directions earlier and took screenshots to make their trip easier. "We have an awful lot of exchanging of lines to do."

"Fun, hm," Deidara mumbles, leaning down and resting his chin on his bag. "I hope it's worth it."

Obito knows that Deidara already thinks it's worth it. "Of course it would be worth it when you're spending your weekend with me," Obito grins.

"I'd rather stay at home and do homework, yeah," Deidara says, turning his head away from Obito's direction, but he catches the slightest upturn of his lips before his face moves away from his line of sight completely.

And it's worth it.

88

True to Obito - or more so the navigation application's - calculations, they arrived at the small town a little past noon.

Following the rickety road, Tobi leads the both of them to one of the very few hotels in the town. Deidara complains the entire way there, about how he's so tired and sleepy, even though he has slept most of the way.

Though Obito doesn't blame him since he is rather sleepy himself. Waking up at an early hour is not foreign to them, though it does not stop them from complaining when they can. Heavens know that they will no longer be able to complain when failure to wake up early in the morning means that they will not have a livelihood.

"Aren't you always the cool one between the two of us?" Tobi asks as they stand next to the counter, Deidara's forehead resting on his shoulder as he rests his eyes.

"I never said that, hm," Deidara says, his grin obvious in his voice. Sure, Obito thinks, he has never really said it out loud, but it sounds pretty damn clear that he has thought about it many times. "You said it."

"Yes, I did," Tobi nods, uttering 'thanks' to the counter-lady as she hands them their room card. "But you are acting very not cool right now."

"Bullshit, hm," Deidara says, whipping his head up and reaching for the room card in Tobi's hands, but the taller man uses his height advantage to raise it out of his grasp. It does not stop Deidara from trying, even when they are well on their way to the stairs.

"You're further proving my point, senpai," Tobi coos, pushing Deidara back firmly to unlock their door.

Deidara scoffs, crossing his arm as he waits for Obito to grab his bag and walk into the room. "I am simply very sleepy, yeah," he says defiantly.

"Okay," Obito laughs, tossing his bag onto the couch and reaching to help Deidara grab his, too. He ignores Deidara's comment on how he's trying to be a gentleman and places that on the couch as well. "Good news is that the festival is only really interesting at night. I was wondering if you'd like to sightsee the town in the meantime, or just to grab a drink at the bar, but I guess taking a six-hour nap is also an option."

Obito's words must have enticed Deidara's attention because he is no longer slouching toward the closest bed, instead of bolting over to Obito's side, eyes wide and attentive. "Bar? At this hour? You're such a player, hm," he grins, reaching into his bag to grab his comb.

He raises an eyebrow at his comment but chooses to ignore it, heading over to the counter to pour himself a glass of water instead. He is very glad that toilets are not a foreign thing in Japanese metros. "I'd prefer not to get you drunk so early," he says, sipping his water. "We can have lunch, though."

"Get drunk easily? Me?" Deidara speaks in an offended tone from inside the bathroom, trying to fix his hair even though Obito isn't sure what needs fixing. Maybe it's just to make sure there aren't any knots in that ridiculously long mop of blond hair?

"That is slander and I do not approve of it, hm," he continues, ignorant to Obito's thoughts. "I am not a lightweight."

"I think you are, senpai," Tobi chuckles, refilling his cup and heading into the bathroom to stand next to Deidara, watching him in the mirror.

Deidara narrows his eyes at him, his blue eyes darkening in a challenge. "You have no proof, yeah," he says, giving his hair a quick, lazy pony-tail tie and tossing his comb to the side of the counter. He turns suddenly and grabs Obito's glass from his hands, claiming it for his own as he drinks its contents.

Obito lets him and simply watches with indifferent eyes. "I think tonight will be proof enough," he says.

"Watch me, yeah," Deidara grins, finishing the cup with not a single droplet to spare. Obito gives him a dirty look and he replies simply by reaching up, fixing his short hair.

After Deidara seems satisfied, Obito snatches the glass back to refill it. "If you don't start mentioning about how much you love me by... hm... the fifth drink," Obito says as he sips his water once again, nodding sagely as he makes his bet. "I will consider you right and I will pay for your trip back to Tokyo."

"You're paying for this room already, hm," Deidara says, walking out of the bathroom and flopping down on the closets bed with a loud sigh, clearly already claiming it as his.

"So you don't want me to pay for your trip back to Tokyo?" he raises an eyebrow and sets the now empty glass back down after gulping the rest of the water down.

Deidara seems to think for a bit before shaking his head. "Of course I want to. Free stuff is free stuff."

Obito scoffs at his words and shakes his head, waltzing over to the edge of the bed and looks down at Deidara, who glances down at him before turning his gaze back toward the ceiling, seemingly bored. "Well, are you hungry then?" he asks when Deidara seems to have no interest in moving.

Deidara moans in complaint and rolls over on his belly, burrowing his face into the clean, fresh sheets. "I'm tired, yeah!" he mumbles into the bedding.

"There's a café here," Obito says, leaning against the wall.

"Café?" Deidara perks up, immediately rolling off the bed and standing next to Tobi, looking up slightly to gaze into his eyes. "That's where our first date happened, hm."

Obito rolls his eyes at Deidara's grin and turns to head out the door, picking up only his wallet and the room key. Deidara trails after him, quickly catching up with a sense of urgency and walking beside him.

The sunlight isn't uncomfortable on their face. It warms them up against the cold and though it does make the streets even more slippery, they manage to make it over to the other side of the street and step into the relative warmth of a dingy café.

The employees, presumably all townspeople, all scramble to greet them with enthusiasm, though they could tell that they are very understaffed. They probably only have those that live in the town work for them, which would pose an issue since the population is very limited.

"Brings back memories, hm," Deidara grins, snatching the menu from Obito's hands and glancing it over.

He rolls his eyes and crosses his arms on the table, leaning forward and wincing at the creaking sound it makes. Fearing that it would break if he continues, he leans back and watches Deidara from across the table, trying to read the menu at the same time. "Why are you so intent on expressing that we're on a date?"

Deidara narrows his eyes at him again, sliding the menu across the table and leaning on his hand. "Are you going to deny that you've asked me out, hm?" he says. "I'm very aware that I wouldn't be here if you didn't ask."

Obito chooses, wisely, to ignore what Deidara just said and busies himself with the menu, picking whatever looks good and calls for a waiter over. They get their orders down and for a while, they simply sit and stare at each other in a silent challenge.

Tobi doesn't want to admit that this might sound like he's asking Deidara on a date, since it's just the two of them and far away from their home. Sounds like an escape if anyone hears it out of Obito's context.

And, well, he isn't quite sure what Deidara doesn't want to admit. Maybe it's just because he knows he's right and doesn't want Obito to get away with anything.

He doesn't know if his genuine desire to just spend time with Deidara and share something cool with him could translate to a romantic get-away, even if he did not intend for it to happen, it might seem like it no matter what he says.

Doomed with being unable to convince anyone otherwise, Obito could do nothing but just hang his head. Of course, that silent defeat has not gone unnoticed by Deidara and he simply smirks at him, glad that they have come to the same conclusion and leans back against the chair, sighing loudly.

"What are we going to do next after this, yeah?" he asks.

"I was just thinking about walking around," Obito replies, glancing up when he notices the same server hurrying over with their orders. A small meal is placed in front of them, along with their coffees.

They enjoy it in silence and listens only to the ambiance of the store. The employees are chatting and there are vague sounds coming from the kitchen, as well as other patrons muttering in hushed voices.

It is a smaller town, after all. Even with the festival going on, it seems like visitors are intent on visiting after the sun has set.

Obito finishes his meal rather quickly, eagerly downing his coffee. The hot liquid leaving a hint of bitterness on his tongue as it washes down. He sighs at the warmth and slight energy it gives him.

He did wake up rather early to ensure that they would arrive before the main events of the festival even starts.

The sun is shining brighter by the time they step back outside, sliding the flimsy wooden door shut behind them. And though the light might be a little bit painful to the eyes, there is a constant current of winter wind that keeps them from rather chilly completely under the unrelenting plummeting of the sun.

"Lead the way, carefree boy, hm," Deidara says the moment Obito comes out behind him, putting his hands on his hips.

Tobi grins and turns to his right, heading down to the main street and watching as the buildings become more and more frequent, huddled together like a den of kittens striving to keep warm. The small buildings are not as tall as the ones in Tokyo, making it a breath of fresh air to be able to see such a large patch of sky.

The sky is very blue, without a hint of cloud spoiling the canvas. He stops by a store that seems to be open, peering at the various displays that it has set up.

The owner seems to notice him idle and hurries out to greet him. Obito smiles at the man and allows him to introduce his items, paying particular interest in the fireworks that he has on display.

"It is one of the cheapest in price here," he says proudly, picking up a box of sparklers. "This is a special kind of sparkler. There are over fifty in this box and you can't get this anywhere else."

"Fifty?" Obito echoes, feeling Deidara peering over his shoulder. "Do we need that many?"

"For the festival tonight? Yes," the old man says cheerily, waving the box around. "Though, if you don't feel like playing with fire, you can always dress up. We have masks for sale, too."

He puts down the firework, which is then immediately picked up and examined by Deidara. He shakes the box a little, listening to its contents and nodding as if to confirm that there are indeed a lot of sparkler sticks inside.

At the same time, the shop owner comes back out, holding two masks. One of them in a blue mask with a simple two-circle design. It is supposed to be a silly design, but it makes Obito uncomfortable at the sight. If he squints at it, he swears the eye holes are shaped like giant commas.

Turning his gaze from the blue mask, he watches the white one in his other hand instead. He smiles at the sight, holding out his hand. The owner places it in his hand and allows him to examine it.

"Hey, senpai," Tobi says in that tone that makes Deidara irritated almost immediately. "This looks kind of like your work."

"Don't, hm," Deidara mumbles, placing down the fireworks to meander his way over to Tobi, holding his hand to make a come-hither motion with all of his fingers. "Give it."

"Hey, hey," Tobi continues, holding the mask up higher. "Could it be that your work is-"

"Stop right there, yeah!"

"A rip-off?"

Deidara sighs, his hand dropping back to his side. "Son of a bitch, hm," he whispers under his breath, glaring up at Obito. If they aren't in public, Obito is sure that he would have leaped up at him and clawed his face off. Instead, he once again settles with just slapping his arm - very hard - and snatching the mask away from him as he whines in pain.

"Ouch, senpai!" Tobi mumbles, rubbing his arm and watching Deidara with sad eyes. "That hurt!"

"Hurts more than words, hm?" Deidara's voice is laced with a venom that Obito cannot get sick of, even though it might make you feel sick.

"Aw, you know I'm just joking, Deidara," Obito says, his arm no longer in pain as he takes a step forward and wrapping his arm around Deidara's shoulder. "Forgive me, please?"

He prolongs the vowel of the last word, making Deidara click his tongue in annoyance, which only serves to be more amusing for Tobi. He turns his head away from him and huffs.

Obito pouts, letting go of Deidara's shoulder and heads over to the stand again, picking up the box of sparklers that Deidara had discarded earlier and shaking it around, causing the sticks to rattle against the ugly, yellow box. "Hey, come on," Tobi hums. "You want this, right? If I get this for you, will you forgive me? Please, senpai. We can light it by the beach at night if the festival becomes too overwhelming."

Deidara watches him for a moment, his lips pressed into a tight line. Obito watches him carefully, trying to study his expression. Eventually, Deidara jerks his head violently to the side, refusing to look at his direction anymore. But before his face is out of view from his angle, he catches the slightest hint of a smile.

He knows he is forgiven.

The store owner is eager to head over and accept Obito's money, bowing. As he calculates the change, he tries to sell Obito the mask again. Managing to not feel nauseous and keeping to keep a straight face, Obito declines the offer politely but firmly, leaving no room for any more haggling.

Nodding politely, the owner stores the box into a plastic bag, hanging it over, along with his change. Obito accepts it graciously, shoving the coins into his pant pocket as he heads over to Deidara with the plastic bag in hand, a dopey grin on his face.

"Come on, then, hm," Deidara mumbles. Obito could tell that he is trying his best not to feel giddy at the prospect of playing with sparklers. It's not really allowed in city areas and he also doubts that they're allowed to do it in beach areas.

They wander around the streets of the town, glancing at stores that are beginning to open up for the night. It is strange to see that their schedule is the complete opposite for the men in the city. Usually, they close around this time. However, a mere glance at the wooden plaques hanging above the stores tells Obito that they're not really selling anything interesting. Some were selling 'Fun Snaps' throw bangers, and though it might be fun, he doesn't really want to toss a few of those things and then end up doing something not allowed.

Thankfully, Deidara doesn't seem to notice those bright orange boxes and they continue to wander the streets.

The sky is beginning to darken quickly, the sun setting faster and casting the land into a colder temperature. People are beginning to appear from either their inns, cars or by walking over from the train station. The streets are becoming crowded, a pack of warm bodies keeping the area toasty, but the air is still brittle and dry. Obito sighs, his breath becoming steam in front of him and he is grateful for his down jacket.

Deidara sticks closer to him when the streets become a little bit overwhelming, quite similar to Tokyo yet not. There are more tourists here and it seems that most of them are used to big crowds. They push against each other and it is way more physical contact than he is used to.

Suddenly, there is a whiff of squid in the air. Obito gasps. "Senpai," Tobi says, slapping Deidara's arm repeatedly to point at the general area where he thinks the smell is coming from. "Takoyaki! I want to eat it."

Without really waiting for a reply, Tobi grabs Deidara's hand and drags him over to the stand, bouncing up and down excitedly as he glances over the snacks.

"Want some Takoyaki, little boy?" the chief at the stand calls out to him, smiling. He is preparing someone else's batch and Tobi watches him work. "They're really good. Freshly made. Perfect for this cold weather."

"How many do you want, Deidara-senpai?" Tobi asks, turning to Deidara, who's panting beside him and rubbing his arm from the force Tobi used to tug him over.

"Ugh," he grunts. He is looking at the menu. "Get the one with twenty, hm."

"O-kay," Tobi sings, reaching into his back pocket to grab his wallet. He fishes out a five hundred yen coin and hands it over, pointing at the plaque.

The chief nods and accepts the coin, handing it over to his assistant. He starts cooking a new batch of Takoyaki, pouring batter into the special pans and Tobi watches excitedly.

The squid balls themselves don't take long to grill with the heat applied to the iron molds. The chief expertly turns them over and places them into a paper container, picking up a brush and adding extra sauce onto the balls. He also picks up a bottle of mayonnaise, glancing up at Obito.

Tobi nods and the chief pours on a generous amount, drawing a zigzag line across the neatly stacked Takoyaki. He grabs two pinches of katsuobushi shavings and sprinkles them neatly, evenly distributing the shavings across the snacks. He grabs two sticks and places them at the edge of the paper box, then hands it to Tobi.

He accepts it and thanks the chief, who wishes them a good night and Deidara reaches over to grab one of the sticks, stabbing it into the closest Takoyaki and takes it out of the box.

"Careful," Tobi hums. "You're gonna drop it."

"Am not, hm," Deidara sticks his tongue out at him, blowing at the snack and raising his left hand to make a cup shape under it so that even if he drops it, he could probably scoop it back into his mouth with his hand. Better than dropping it onto the ground.

Obito picks one up himself and nibbles on it, wincing when it burns his lips. "Damn, this is hot," he says. "Be careful."

As they tentatively chow down on their snack, they both agree that the market area is too rowdy for their liking and they branch off into one of the side roads, leading to the beach where the view for the fireworks would be the best.

"I hope there's no one there," Tobi says absentmindedly. The Takoyaki are of a perfect temperature now and Obito doesn't even bother blowing on them before shoving the entire thing into his mouth. The creamy octopus filling pours into his mouth and coats his tongue, mixed with the mayonnaise and sauce perfectly.

"Why? You want to kiss me under the moonlight without anyone seeing, hm?" Deidara snickers beside him.

"You're fucking gross," Obito grunts, taking wider strides to ditch Deidara.

It doesn't work, though. Deidara remains beside him and steals more Takoyaki, way more than his share. Obito lets him and once they were all done, he spots a trash can at the edge of the path that blends into the sand and tosses the box and the sticks into it.

"Give me the sparklers, yeah," Deidara says impatiently, tugging at Obito's sleeve. He snatches the plastic bag from Obito's hand and hastily shoves the bag into his pocket, taking out a sparkler and a lighter from his pocket to light the stick.

There are strong winds blowing in from the sea but somehow, Deidara manages to light the sparkler immediately, eyes wide and glinting at the wonderful red color emitting from the end of the stick. He waves it around almost magnetically, cackling around without care of anyone else that might be on the beach.

Tobi watches his senpai's childish glee and takes a sparkler and the lighter for himself before Deidara gets too far away. He struggles to light the damn thing as Deidara continues to frolic across the beach, kicking up sand along the way.

"Why are you acting like a child?" Obito asks from where he is standing, still trying to light the sparkler, but to no avail.

Deidara turns to, what Obito presumes, give him a raised eyebrow. He stomps back over, leaving deep footprints in the sand and points his sparkler at him, causing Obito to narrow his eyes and turn his face away.

The hissing noise is a constant and under the rhythmic, loud roll of the sea, he sees the highlight of green on Deidara's face before he catches the second set of sizzling from his sparkler.

Instead of being fascinated by the sparkler, even though this is the first time he has ever lit one at the age of eighteen, he is much more content with watching the way the colors dance across Deidara's face.

Strangely, the two colors compliment each other and remind Obito of a forgotten Christmas long ago. He momentarily forgets that he is on the beach and finds himself in the middle of some forest, Deidara standing just a few paces ahead of him.

There is a village in front of them, lined with fairy lights that sparkle brightly even from afar. The lights reflect on Deidara's face and time no longer exists in his mind, only Deidara and the waltzing light.

Deidara turns and Obito is back on the beach. He follows his friend promptly, struggling a little to get a footing in the loose sand. Deidara stops at the edge of the beach, the sea barely able to tease at their toes and seaweed lines the edges.

There aren't many people here yet, perhaps all too busy with their shopping.

Obito stands a little closer to Deidara and holds his sparkler out to be next to his, watching as they near the end of their fuel and burn out.

From Deidara's expression, he could tell that he finds that beautiful. Obito turns and looks up at the moon, watching as it illuminates the clouds from behind, unlike the way the city lights them up from below.

Though pointless, Obito does find himself enjoying the scenery once and a while. The moon itself is something fascinating and Obito always feels drawn to it, like there is another purpose for its being.

Tossing the burnt out sparklers into the box, Obito asks if Deidara would like to light another one.

He simply looks at him, the area bright with moonlight, and shakes his head. There is another look of strangeness in his eyes. Obito could see the reflection of his silhouette and the moon in them, watery and light.

Deidara breaks the eye contact and turns back toward the moon, staring up at it pensively. "Isn't it beautiful, hm?"

"I thought you only thought fleeting things were beautiful," Tobi teases him for a second, though Obito grasps the atmosphere and nods once. "Yeah, it is beautiful."

"It's art, yeah," Deidara breathes.

Obito turns and watches him, still watching the moon with wide, wide eyes. "Yeah, it is," he echoes himself, reaching forward and taking Deidara's hand.

Almost immediately, Deidara looks down. He watches their hands for a moment before tightening his grip, eyebrows furrow as though deep in thought.

Obito could not even begin to understand what Deidara is thinking so deeply about.

Even with the extra layers between their hands, with the air so cold, Obito is acutely aware of the soft, solid presence of Deidara's hand in his.

There is a feeling in the air. A pause that seems to extend to the rest of the world around them. Obito wonders, for a moment, if he is dreaming.

He shivers and the moment is broken. Deidara does not look up to meet his gaze again.

They get a few more moments of relative peace before the mayor announces that the fireworks would be on display soon, and asks for visitors to head to the beach for the best view.

Once the beach becomes packed with people, they let go of each other in fear of snide comments dampening the fun mood of the outing. From far away, Obito could spot the boats that carry the fireworks. He excitedly pats Deidara's arm, pointing out at the sea and though it takes longer and a lot more effort for Deidara to spot them, he eventually does see them and nods.

They don't need to wait any longer as the mayor speaks once more, announcing the starting of the fireworks show. It reminds Obito of Disneyland. Though he has only ever been there once, he heard that there is a show every night.

It begins with a hissing sound, released from one of the boats from further away. He could see the gray trail in the sky, rocketing toward the moon. It sizzles out behind it and becomes unremarkable when the firework explodes, a million sparkling noises accompanied by bright, vibrant colors in various shapes.

As Deidara enjoys the explosions, fleeting colors that exist for no more than five seconds, Obito wonders the technicality of them. The purpose. There is not a lot of reason for these things other than purely being decoration and aesthetics.

Though, as Obito turns from the fireworks to watch Deidara's expression, he thinks that maybe the purpose for these fireworks is to entertain those who know to appreciate the beauty in life around them, whether it is fleeting or not.

The colors flicker across his face and Obito decides that perhaps he should also start slowing down and enjoying the things around him rather than focus on some impossible goal.

And when Deidara turns to him, smiling the widest he has ever seen since meeting him and would probably bet that it is the largest he has ever smiled ever, Obito thinks that it is all possible at that moment.

88

The fireworks show doesn't really last that long. It is too expensive to keep up for longer than twenty minutes and even though it is quite windy that night, it is still not good to be constantly shooting smoke trails into the air to cloud the view of the night sky.

"Hey, senpai," Tobi says as the crowd behind them dissipates. They remain where they are, lingering around for the last of the sea view and so that they would not need to push against others in order to get out. "Remember that alcohol bet?"

"I thought you'd forgotten, hm," Deidara grins, whatever magical headspace he was in just a few moments ago already gone with the sea wind, just like his view of art.

"Of course I haven't," Obito scoffs, as though he is offended that Deidara would even suggest such a thing. He gestures toward the marketplace again, still bustling with activity and would quite possibly remain so until it is five in the morning when the last bars close.

"You're on, then," Deidara nods, stomping his feet to get his legs warm, but simultaneously also getting sand everywhere.

They eventually get out of the beach and even though the streets still feel a little crowded, it is much better than before the fireworks. There are quite a few bars open, but most of them are already packed full of patrons. The two of them have to walk around quite a bit before they manage to find a place that seems relatively free, though still getting more business than it is certainly used to.

The owner spots them and excitedly announces that they have many drinks and snacks to offer for the night to fend off the cold, despite it being an open bar. Since they don't really have any other choices to choose from, Obito accepts the offer and the owner gestures for them to sit out at the counter.

He brushes the curtains away from his face and lets Deidara sit down first, even though he's not nearly tall enough to be bumping his head on the drapes. Obito finds that both hilarious and endearing, sitting down next to him.

"Five drinks, Deidara," Obito says, raising a hand up to make his point.

Deidara seems to be hesitant now, though he still holds his challenging gaze and nods firmly once. "Five drinks, hm."

Obito suppresses a grin and helps the two of them order.

The first two drinks are all fun and games. They laugh and joke about school life and the absurd amounts of school work they still have to complete before going back, though, by the time half of the third one is consumed, Obito could tell that Deidara is losing it a little.

Even with the help of the snacks, Deidara doesn't seem to be handling his alcohol well. Obito, bored, picks at the dried fish as he watches Deidara down his fifth Asahi, grunting at the taste. While Obito isn't much of a drinker himself, he doesn't seem to be as bad as Deidara, who at this point, has already forgotten about the bet.

Deidara huffs and shoves the can away, placing his head in his hands and continues to sigh as though there are many worries clouding his mind, unleashing now with the help of alcohol.

And suddenly, Obito could sense the change in the atmosphere, the thickening of the air between them as the thoughts seem to continue to cloud Deidara's mind. He wonders what it is, but he also doesn't want this chirpy mood to turn into some sort of sad scene from a movie.

He desperately searches for a conversation, alcohol hindering his ability to read Deidara's body language as efficiently as before.

"I wonder why it's not snowing," Obito idly comments, looking up at the sky to emphasize his point of the weather in hopes it would get Deidara's attention.

There is no response.

He sighs through his nose and leans on the counter once more, staring down at his can of Asahi and feels the coldness of it through his gloves.

A breeze blows through and he shivers as his back takes the majority of the wind. It is then that Deidara talks.

"Do you ever feel that we met before, hm?"

Obito doesn't know what to say to that. He does not look up from his Asahi and stares at the contents within, even though it is technically too dark for him to see anything clearly. He is aware of the conversations happening beside him, among the other patrons and the shop owner and his employees, but their words do not register and it is as though they are not speaking at all, his mind whirring to make sense of what Deidara just said.

"We get along so well," Deidara continues, turning to only lean on his left hand, blue eyes - distant - studying Obito. "It feels like we met before, almost, yeah."

Obito laughs despite himself. "I think that's normal, senpai," Tobi says. "A lot of people meet other people for the first time and get along very well. I think it's called 'hitting it off.'"

Deidara scoffs, tearing his gaze away from Obito's face and reaches for his can of Asahi, practically wrestling out of his grip. "You know what I'm talking about, hm," he grunts as he takes a sip of Obito's half-finished can. "You feel it too."

Obito decides to ignore him and pretend to not know what he's talking about, ruling these ramblings off as the alcohol spewing nonsense. "Maybe it's time to stop drinking now, senpai," he says, reaching over to grab the can from Deidara.

His friend seems to have other intentions and refuses to let go of the can. "I'm not drunk, hm," he slurs. "Déjà vu, Tobi, have you ever felt that, hm?"

"Déjà vu is often felt because you aren't actively really paying attention and once you do, your subconscious remembers while your mind does not," Obito shakes his head.

He is about to say something else before a soft snore breaks through his mind.

Deidara has fallen asleep.

Sighing, he pays for their drinks and carries him on his back, hauling his friend back to their inn. Hopefully, he doesn't say anything about this in the morning.

88

They didn't meet again after the new year. Obito is far too busy with schoolwork and he doesn't even see his phone days at a time, though Deidara rarely texts him anyway, presumably also busy with work. He remembers, from their trip, that he had mentioned his sketchbook is due for inspection, which means it will be graded.

Art students are all so busy, after all.

So when he finally receives a message from him, saying that his parents are out and he wants to hang out with him again, Obito is rather surprised. Though, since he is already free of his work, he decides to agree and heads out before the sun even sets, having agreed to walk around the city first.

There isn't really anything to see other than vendors selling their steaming hot snacks and shivering themselves to near death in the cold. Deidara is still as he is before and Obito is glad that he doesn't seem to remember his strange ramblings at the bar back in that little town. He talks about his work and about how he copied most of his style on Pinterest because all his friends are doing it too.

He also mentions how Sasori has already handed in his work and how he hates the fact that he has. Deidara says it makes him feel like he's lagging behind since Sasori is supposed to be his 'partner' when it comes to art things. Obito doesn't really understand, but he nods along anyway, agreeing when he feels like Deidara needs someone agreeing with him, and then nodding when he knows Deidara doesn't want to hear anything else.

With nothing else to do other than wandering, Obito suggests they buy snacks and head back to Deidara's place for a movie or something. Deidara agrees.

"Hey, look," Tobi says, reaching out to grab a box off the shelf. "Pocky. Did you play the Pocky Game, senpai?"

"No, hm," Deidara grunts, reaching out to grab two bags of chips to toss into Obito's basket. "It's gross. I don't like randomly kissing people, even if they're my friends."

"Wanna play?" Tobi shakes the box like he did with the sparklers.

Deidara stares at him for a long time, eyebrows slowly coming together as he frowns deeper. "No," he says firmly.

Tobi hums, staring down at the box of chocolate flavored Pocky. "Are you sure?"

"Very," Deidara says, walking away from Tobi to grab something to drink as well.

"But like, are you really sure?" Tobi continues to ask, following Deidara, still staring at the box of Pocky.

He nearly bumps into Deidara as he stops in front of the glass doors, hearing his shorter friend growl at him. "I said yes, hm," Deidara almost shouts, though keeps in mind that he's in a store and shouldn't speak too loudly.

"Senpai doesn't want to give his first kiss to me?" Tobi pouts.

Deidara sputters, letting go of the glass door too early and almost hitting his head when it closes automatically, he tosses two bottles of drinks onto the basket and begins delivering punches to Obito's chest earnestly. "Shut the fuck up, hmm!" he screams in an indoor voice, baring his teeth.

Tobi laughs and waves him away, tossing the Pocky into the basket and starts heading toward the cashier.

"Hey, we're not getting the Pocky, yeah," Deidara says with a frown.

"Just 'cuz you don't want to play the game, doesn't mean I don't get to eat it," Tobi says matter-of-factly, nodding in a way to show that what he said was extremely intelligent and smart.

Deidara scoffs behind him and lets him go.

The road back to Deidara's apartment seems shorter than before, though it might be because Deidara is practically running back, exclaiming that it is too cold even though he already stole Obito's scarf already. When he enters the house, it is a déjà vu of when Obito first stepped foot here. The heater is on full blast and it is actually relieving rather than shocking this time since the weather is much colder than before.

Deidara tosses all of his jackets and gloves onto a chair and grabs the plastic bag from Obito's hand, taking out the snacks and drinks to put on the coffee table. Obito watches as he takes off his own jackets, curious as to why Deidara decides to keep on the scarf. He places his own on Deidara's clothes and heads over to the couch, sitting down comfortably.

"What do you want to watch?" Deidara asks, flicking on Netflix.

"You have Netflix?" Obito sits up, watching as Deidara navigates through the page expertly. Even he hasn't dabbled with unblocking Netflix, mostly because he's not entirely interested in watching movies or TV shows when he could be sleeping.

"Yeah, hm," he says, sitting down. "What do you want to watch?"

"Something scary," Obito says.

"No," Deidara grunts.

"Please," Tobi whines, leaning over and resting his chin on Deidara's shoulder. "If you're scared, you can hug me."

"No," Deidara repeats himself, flicking through and eventually finding some sort of animated adventure to watch. The film isn't awfully interesting looking, yet it's not boring to the point of him being at risk to fall asleep halfway through. He just continues to lean on Deidara as the film begins, snuggling up in the guise for warmth and Deidara lets him.

More than just the warmth from the heater snakes through his body and Obito is content.

Obito startles awake in the darkened room, rolling on the sofa in discomfort when he realizes he has been sleeping in the same position for hours. He glances at the clock stationed next to the television, noting that it's around five in the morning. He groans as he sits up, twisting and turning to get the last of the kinks out of his bones.

He leans against the back of the couch and runs a hand through his hair, sighing through his nose as he tries to gather his bearings. Obito glances around the room, his memory slowly coming back to him.

He has not left Deidara's apartment. But where is Deidara? He assumes he is in his room, sleeping, so he doesn't even think to look and bother him.

Obito walks past Deidara's work area again, noticing an open cupboard. Deidara doesn't seem like a person who would leave things open like this. He heads in without inviting himself, much like he did the first time, and leans down to inspect it.

There is an art book wedged inside. Using much of his strength, he pulls the thing out and flips through the pages, thinking it to be one of Deidara's many sketchbooks that aren't for teacher's gradings.

He may be right, but the contents of the sketchbook are startling.

Obito finds himself staring at his dreams. Forests that stretch forever and people that seem to sport magical abilities. He sees a special uniform that reminds him of the one in the reflection of their train ride to the museum, a cloud design with a border. He sees symbols that he thinks are supposed to represent elements, staring at a leaf with a swirl in the middle and a stone that is separated into three pieces.

He finds himself staring at a mask with a swirl design and he is no longer kneeling on the ground of Deidara's apartment. As his mind goes through seeing the white Zetsu that sports that very same design, asking him ridiculous questions while his body leans against the cupboards, eyes blank.

His mind remembers joining and eventually controlling the Akatsuki, meeting Deidara for the first time. He isn't any older than he is now, but he looks ages more experienced and no longer tolerant of Tobi's bullshit.

He sees that even if that's the case, Deidara still finds a friend within Tobi and Obito feels guilty for not telling him the truth. He remembers enjoying Deidara's presence and being Tobi around him. He remembers.

The poignant passage of time slips through him like an unrelenting wave, washing him over into the sea of stars and cosmos that bring him into a world that he thought could not exist.

"Deidara," Obito breathes, breathless and cannot even see properly. His gaze is still hazy, mind on the sickness that he has brought onto the world as though the idea of enslaving everyone was a good idea. He remembers lying on the ground, thinking of his life, dying.

"Deidara!" he stumbles out of the workspace of Deidara's studio apartment, losing his balance for a moment and landing on his knees. His mind is on his death, passing away after doing what he thought was right. He did not think of Deidara, the only person that really gave him a sense of innocence and childhood when his was robbed from him so soon.

Guilt wells up into his throat and he forces himself to stand up, calling out to Deidara but hears no response. He searches the apartment frantically. He was just here, yet there is no sign of him. Where did he go?

He turns his gaze toward the front door, breathing heavily. It is not closed properly, but he swears he remembers closing it when he came in.

Hardening his gaze, he hurries over and yanks the door open, swinging it shut behind him as he dashes out with urgency.

Deidara is gone.

But he will not lose him for the third time.

---

Hey guys, Red here!

I finally updated. I rushed to finish this chapter because I'm off to the airport in less than an hour. I'm going to England for studies, so I wanted to post something before I left just in case I'm going to take yet another five months to finish it. I hope it isn't too bad since I rushed it at the end, though the ending is already written months before.

Anyway, I actually paid money to do research for this fanfic. I went to Japan and studied the area. While I didn't go to Tokyo, I went to Osaka and I realized got the metro information wrong. Most interchanging stations do not connect like like MTR does in Hong Kong. I made that mistake, but I hope you can forgive me for that.

This story is one-year-old. What? (I started writing this on September 11th, 2016.)

On another note, a friend of mine is making something called a TobiDei week. For every day of the week, you can contribute to the pairing by creating artwork, fanfiction, or whatever that you like based on one theme. The theme is different every day. If you're interested, go to tobideiweek dot tumblr dot com for more information. The themes, the exact dates, the tags and whatever else you might want to know will all be there.

Thanks for still reading this,
-redskiez:)