Black Fingernails, Red Wine
Chapter 7
Itachi showered and changed clothes, which Deidara vetoed and made him try again saying he hadn't meant to dress like he was going to a job interview. Why he needed to wear something specific to meet this Daichi, he couldn't figure out, but Deidara spent a good twenty minutes digging through his drawers and closets for clothes he deemed presentable. Itachi didn't like people going through his things and tried several times to stop him, but the blond was determined and made a huge mess of the clothes his mother had neatly packed away. The blond finally selected jeans and a long sleeve shirt, stating that Itachi had the most boring wardrobe he'd ever seen.
They went downstairs together, Itachi stuffing his wallet and keys into his pocket and entered the kitchen where his mother was preparing lunches for the next day. "Mom," he said to catch her attention. "Would it be alright if I went out with Deidara?"
"Sure, sweety, how late?" Mikoto asked, smiling at him as she used a small cutter to make shapes in carrots. He hoped that wasn't for his lunch.
"Uh..." he glanced at Deidara, who mouthed the word 'late'. "I was planning on going over Deidara's…" He smirked at the blond as he let that trail off in a would-be-embarrassed manner. Deidara glared at him as Mikoto asked if that meant he was spending the night, which Itachi said maybe.
"Take your school things with you then," she reminded him with a smile.
Five minutes later, one smirking, one glaring, they walked to Itachi's car again, Deidara's arms folded so tightly Itachi wondered if he'd ever unravel them. "Where too?" Itachi asked smoothly as he sat down, turning the car on and letting the engine warm up.
"My place," Deidara said, pulling his helmet on and zipping up his leather jacket.
"Why?" Itachi asked, leaning his head out the window to watch him walk to his bike.
"I'm not taking my bike there, un!" Deidara called as he got onto his motorcycle, kicking it into gear and making a U-turn out his cul-de-sac and driving away. Itachi frowned and followed, glad he knew where Deidara's place was because the blond didn't wait for him to catch up. Deidara was waiting for him when he finally pulled up, his bike and helmet nowhere in sight. He looked a little different and it wasn't until he got into the car did he realized that the blond was wearing a smudge of eyeliner that made his eyes seem a little bigger and bluer. Itachi started to comment on it, but decided against it.
"Where to?"
Deidara began giving him directions, but was otherwise completely silent. He seemed agitated and wondered if it was because of his comments to his mother, implying that the two were dating and possibly having sex. Given Deidara's profession, he didn't really understand why he was pissed off about it. Maybe he just really didn't like him. The buildings they passed became less residential and more commercial. Strip clubs, bars, dancing clubs. Itachi stopped counting when he almost hit a drunk person stumbling out into the road without looking, but still Deidara didn't tell him to pull over. He had assumed that they were meeting at a club but that was apparently a wrong assumption as there were suddenly fewer and fewer cars until the black Mazda was the only car on the street, with two very silent teenagers inside. Finally Deidara spoke, startling Itachi out of the day dream he had been drifting into.
"Turn down this street to the mall, un," was the command. Simple, calm, flat. Just as they'd been since they'd gotten into the car. The difference was he pointed this time.
"That mall has been closed for years," Itachi commented with a frown, but turned into the parking lot anyway.
"Who says we're going shopping?" Deidara questioned, pointing again towards the parking garage on the other side of the lot they were on. Itachi drove obediently, feeling stupid for doing so, but to his surprise, there was a man standing at the gate, smoking a cigarette with a set of headphones over his ears. He glanced at the car, looking in to see who it was. When he saw Deidara, he nodded and opened the gate for them. "Drive on," Deidara said, motioning dramatically with his hand, a familiar smirk finally back on his face again.
Itachi drove up into the empty parking garage. The first floor was empty of cars and people, his engine echoing slightly against the concrete walls. The second was just as empty. Itachi was beginning the think the blond was trying to pull something on him. Idiot him for stepping into a trap if it was, but then he got to the third floor and noticed cars. Nice cars of all different models. Some foreign as well. The next floor had people on it, car stereos pumping out music while people talked and danced. The fifth floor was even more crowded, covered in cars decked out and painted to be shown off. People danced, people made out, people leaned over car engine, people flirted and people drank. Itachi didn't know how many people there were here, but it felt like a lot. A party, but what was Deidara doing with all these people who looked so upper class? Looking closer, Itachi recognized a few people from the skatepark Deidara had played in when they had their first assignment together. These weren't just rich people, they were people of all classes, all dressed their best and showing off in a genuinely good time. The only thing then that seemed out of place were the cars. Where did they come from? They couldn't belong to half the people here. People like Deidara. Deidara seemed to barely be able to afford half a day's meal, let alone a car.
Finding a parking spot, Itachi was upset when Deidara jumped out of the car and left him to be stranded in this group of strangers he didn't know, nor did he want to know. Itachi was not a social person, and his head still hurt a little from Saturday morning. A part of him whined. It was a school night. Another part of him, one that surprised him, was intrigued. He tried to keep the blond's swinging pony tail in sight, but didn't follow him when he disappeared, preferring to stand guard by his car and protect it from possible damage.
"Deidara, you're late," a man called from a group he was heading to.
"Better late than never," he replied coolly, taking the bottle from another to open and enjoy.
"Who'd you bring with you?" a girl leaned against the open hood of a Honda asked, glancing over at the new comer. "He's cute!"
"It's him," Deidara said, not to her, but to Daichi leaning against another car. "He wants to meet you, un."
"Oh?" Daichi asked, sticking something sweet and sugary in his mouth, as if he hadn't instructed Deidara to bring him. Dark eyes looked the Uchiha over, then moved to examine his car. RX-7, nice condition, new looking tires, leather interior. He hadn't heard the engine, but was willing to bet on there being several thousand under the hood. Daichi knew Uchiha Fugaku, and assumed his son had inherited his family's rich ways. "Nice ride."
"That's the car he was driving, un," Deidara told him, shifting from one foot to another. He was waiting for Daichi to tell him he could go enjoy himself. That he didn't need him for anything else. He was given a nod and off the blond was, going into the crowds of dancers with a few others, looking for free drinks and fun.
Itachi looked up when someone approached him and his car. He looked familiar, but Itachi couldn't place where he'd seen him. Dark eyes met Itachi's red-stained ones, immune to the glare Itachi was giving him, warning him silently to stay away from his car. Where had he seen him before?
"Nice ride," the man commented, chewing on something lazily as he examined his car from a few feet away. Itachi thanked him curtly, not wanting to engage anything with the stranger. He was here for one thing, not to make friends with people who were probably looking more for his wallet than anything else. "Deidara tells me you're a natural, self-taught drifter."
"Look, no offense, but Deidara brought me here to give me answers, and he's disappeared," Itachi told him, shrugging slightly, then folded his arms. "I don't want to stay, I just want the answers, then I'll be going."
"You're going to leave Deidara here then?" the man was still examining the car, yet Itachi felt his attention was focused completely on himself.
"He's a big boy," Itachi said, sneering slightly. "I'm just here to meet Daichi."
"I am Daichi," the man told him, tipping his blue spiked hair in a calm greeting.
Itachi started, not expecting the man to just walk up to him. Now he remembered where he had seen him before. This was the man who he'd seen at Deidara's apartment, speaking to the pregnant woman who had led him up to Deidara's room. Daichi was tall, slightly taller than Itachi himself. His blue tipped hair was spiked up with hair products, tattoos visible under the black shirt he was wearing over a pair of plain jeans. Itachi was surprised. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting of this Daichi, but it hadn't been this person. Despite his multitude of piercings and hair color, he gave the air just being an average nobody. Daichi moved closer to the car now that Itachi knew who he was and could allow him to get closer without fear of damage to the car.
Itachi fought to find his voice, bring up questions he'd planned out from what Dediara had told him. "Deidara said you are his boss, but wouldn't tell me what you did," he said, watching him.
"I am a mechanic," Daichi replied, tracing his fingers feather soft over the roof of his car, looking at it as if he were getting to know the machine personally. "I own my own garage, fixed up half the cars in this place," he added, placing his hand on the hood, but not yet asking permission to open it yet.
"Deidara works on cars too?" Itachi asked, staring in disbelief.
"Sometimes," was the reply.
"What is this place?" Itachi asked, gesturing to the party going on around them.
"Just people with the same interests getting together to enjoy themselves and have fun," Daichi replied. "Business mixed in pleasure and passion to bring together someone the greatest racers and hottest people together." He grinned at Itachi, who stared around at the crowd again. Street racers. "Basically," he began explaining as Itachi began looking at the cars again in earnest, "among this group of partiers are several groups. Like gangs. Each has a leader who makes the big decisions for them, but they're also sometimes the main racers. We race for money, for slips, we race for girls or boys, sometimes we even race just for the fun of it." Daichi motioned for Itachi to open the hood.
Itachi listened to him talk, liking the slow, casual tone the man used to speak with. He seemed almost bored with talking, but it was clear you had his full attention while you spoke to him. That he wanted to hear you and wanted you to hear him. He complied without thinking and opened the hood of his car. He was quite pleased with the inside of his car as he was with the outside. Daichi leaned in to examine it, giving little nods and soft 'hms' before stepping back and letting him close the hood again.
"Sometimes the heads of these groups are only in it for the money. Their people race for them, their racers get to keep part of the earnings," Daichi told him, slipping another piece of candy into his mouth.
"Are you one of those gang leaders?" Itachi inquired, looking at the man to study him as he was being studied.
Daichi laughed shortly, then nodded. "I suppose I am. A friend of mine and I started these street racings when we lived down south. It started out with us racing each other on streets. Then friends started coming to watch, then more came to watch, to bet, to party. People started asking to race too…That was about thirteen years ago," he said, nodding as if to confirm with himself. "Had to move up here because your father reported me the racings to the local authorities, but we settled here and it built up to this."
Right under his father's nose. A sudden thought came to him and he stared at Daichi. "Did you drive a Mustang then?" he asked.
Daichi raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I did."
"I saw you," Itachi exclaimed, eyes wide. "My family was on vacation and we saw you racing. My father was angry about it, but…" he blinked, feeling embarrassed now, "it inspired me to learn about cars and drifting."
Daichi gave an impressed 'hmph'. "Small world."
"Was Deidara one of the people who came to watch?" Itachi asked, after a moment of pause as he thought on the coincidence. The drivers he had seen as a child had been so incredibly fluid and in control of his cars. He'd never seen anything like it. No wonder his father hated Deidara. Street racing on top of everything else, underground dealing with cars, drugs, underage drinking. He was sure if he mentioned any other names here, it'd spark the same hatred in his father. "He said you gave him his home."
"Ahh…Deidara's special," Daichi told him, leaning on the car next to Itachi's. "Deidara's been with me about ten years. About five years ago, my wife and I bought the apartment he lives in and she petitioned to be a foster parent for children living on the streets. We also rent the rooms too, as a halfway house sometimes, but most of the people who live there work for me. Deidara calls my garage his home. There are spaces to live and sleep there too, but to live there you have to work regularly. Deidara likes his freedom, so he comes over, works on cars, stays a few days then leaves. Why are you so interested in him?" Daichi inquired with a friendly grin.
Itachi frowned. He made it sound like he seemed interested in him as a person, like a crush. That was stupid. "He's an interesting person," Itachi replied, spotting the blond laughing with a group of people dancing.
"That he is," Daichi agreed. "Deidara's mad at you cause of your actions and disrespect towards him." When Itachi looked confused, Daichi raised an eyebrow. "Just because Deidara has a certain reputation, doesn't mean he can't say no and expect it to be honored."
Itachi's jaw set slightly, looking across the crowd at the blond. "I don't understand," he said, bitterly. "I've never done that," he gestured towards Deidara where people had their hands all over him.
"Deidara resents them too," Daichi replied, glancing across the floor where a race was being started between two young men, their cars given the go to peel away towards the sharp curves of the landings. Itachi wanted to watch them, but the cars disappeared around the sharp bend. People cheered and some raced to the elevators to see the end of the race. "He resents anyone who takes from him, even me."
"Why does he resent you?" Itachi asked, confusion ringing in his voice. "I thought he liked you…"
Daichi smiled, pulling a box of pocky out of his pocket. "Would you like a drink?" he asked, motioning him over to where iced chests sat together against the wall.
"It's a school night," Itachi stated.
Daichi grinned and handed him a bottle of soda instead. He took it and tossed the cap into the trash can provided. "I provided for Deidara since I met him, but I told him he had to earn his keep or leave, just like everyone else. Deidara likes his freedom. He didn't want to work for me, but he didn't want to work for anyone else either. I challenged him to a race when he was thirteen. If he won, he could do what he wanted, if I won, he earns his keep."
Itachi almost laughed. "He's so arrogant."
"Very," Daichi agreed with a nod and a fond smile. "In his defense, he is a very good racer himself." The mechanic opened a bottle of water and took a long drink. "What did you want with me? Unless it was to get information on our dear little blond friend."
"I didn't want anything at first," Itachi admitted. "Deidara kept mentioning you and I was curious. Now…I'm interested in your garage and how you fix cars. Deidara was curious because I drifted, but I feel like it was really you who was interested in me."
"Intuitive," Daichi commented, sucking on one of the pocky sticks with another grin. "I sent Deidara to look for a new racing place. We never stay in one place for long periods of time, you see. He saw you drifting and told me."
Itachi thought for a moment, wondering what this man wanted with him. He thought about the way this man looked at his car, the way Deidara said he had fixed up his bike. One thing he felt he strongly lacked was a good mechanic for his car. He also wanted to learn himself. You couldn't exactly go to a normal mechanic and ask for modifications that helped speed him up. Even harder to do if you were the son of the head of police. "Will you work on my car?" he asked, hopefully.
"I don't work without anything in return," Daichi told him. Before Itachi could protest and say that he would pay him, Daichi raised his hand to let him continue. "Do me a favor tonight and we'll talk."
He thought about how Daichi had said many of the leaders here raced for money, but he had a feeling Daichi didn't care much for money. A favor… To have this man work on his car was something Itachi wanted very much. If he had worked on many of the cars here, he could work wonders on his car. "What is the favor?" he asked, sitting straighter.
Daichi emptied his bottle and tossed it into the trashcan. "Our dear little blond friend has a tendency during these night races when he isn't in them to get either very high, or very drunk, sometimes both," he said, pushing off the concrete slab he'd been sitting on. Itachi followed suit. "I don't like seeing people taking advantage of him when he's like that."
"You want me to take him home?" Itachi said, wanting to make sure he was fully understanding what it was Daichi wanted him to do.
"Take him home, get in his good favors," Daichi said, glancing back at him, seeing the scoff that came on Itachi's face at the thought of the impossible task of getting Deidara to like him. "I know Dediara better than anyone in this building, probably the whole city. Don't let anyone take advantage of him. Take him home, let him sleep. He'll thank you for it in the morning…in his own way. It is a school night after all. It was nice to meet you Uchiha Itachi," he added as he walked away, leaving Itachi alone and not really liking the task he had been given. But he wanted Daichi to work on his car, so he got up and searched for Deidara.
When he found the blond, he was definitely drunk, talking and laughing in a loud voice. One person had their arms around his torso, hands groping suggestively which Deidara ignored, but allowed to happen. He watched for a moment, disgusted at the public display in front of him. It was gross to watch unless you were a complete pervert. It made him think less of Deidara, seeing him like this, but the blond didn't seem to mind, maybe it was the alcohol.
"Deidara," he said, drawing attention to himself when he decided he had had enough.
The blond spotted Itachi and grinned drunkenly. "Hey, Itachi!" he called, though he was only a few feet away. "Did you meet Daichi? Having fun, un?"
"I did," Itachi said.
Deidara laughed as though he said something funny. "Come dance with us," he said, beckoning to him. The person who was holding Deidara gripped him tighter, giving Itachi a look that warned him of his claim to the blond.
Itachi didn't want to join an orgy with clothes on, for that's what their dancing looked like to him. Everyone there looked rather drunk, those that weren't were patiently waiting for the ones that were willing to go home with them for their own private entertainment. "I want you to come with me, Deidara," Itachi tried, smiling at him. It was a little forced, but it wasn't unfriendly.
Deidara stilled as though he were thinking hard on something that needed his full attention. The person holding him whispered something in his ear, but Deidara brushed him off. "Where are we going, un?" he asked, stepping out of the embrace to move closer to Itachi. He must be really drunk. He could be wanting to take him some place and seriously fuck him up and he still approached him. Itachi wondered why he was so trusting and realized suddenly that it wasn't trust, but self-destruction, foolishness and desperation. It was sad.
"Your place, my place, anywhere you'd prefer," Itachi told him smoothly. He reached out to help steady Deidara as he stumbled, but he suspected it was intentionally as Deidara clutched him, his body pressing up against him. Arm around the blond, he led him towards his waiting car, ignoring the disappointed cries behind him that made Deidara turn his head back to look at the other hopefuls, but with a way out, Itachi wanted out now. He wasn't leaving without Deidara. Tightening his hold on him, he pulled the blond closer and whispered breathily in his ear, "it'll be worth it."
Deidara shivered a little and a sly grin spread across his face. "Alright, un," he replied, getting in the car with him. "We can go to my place, un. Don't wanna scare your mom." He leaned over the console as Itachi drove, draping himself against him with his hands roaming artfully over his torso. Itachi just nodded and drove back to the apartment, helping him up the stairs and into his room.
The sun was shining dimly through the window when Deidara opened his eyes the next morning. He wondered what time it was and what had woken him up. He became aware of a constant beeping and rolled over to pick up his phone that was ringing obnoxiously. He picked it up and glared at the screen reading '6:30AM SCHOOL ALARM'. Gross. He felt awful and felt he might skip today. He tried to recall his thoughts from the night before. He didn't remember getting back home or falling asleep, perhaps if he laid still and thought about it, he'd remember, or just fall back asleep. As he laid there, he realized he wasn't wearing his shirt and his pants were too loose to be belted and zippered closed. He groaned and buried his face in his pillow. What had he done last night?
The door to his bathroom opened with a soft creak, signaling his worst thoughts. He had brought someone here to spend the night with last night. The other house occupants would be just as dead as he was so it must be someone new. He must have been seriously wasted to bring someone here…he never brought people to this place, or Daichi's garage. He didn't think he would ever be drunk enough to take someone to the garage. Daichi would murder him. He had to play cool now, not confused and twinged with fear of not knowing, the uncertainty.
"What time is it, un?" he murmured sleepily, sliding onto his back to sit up, pulling the blankets innocently up to his chest.
"6:35." He froze at the voice that answered, whipping around to stare at his bathroom door. Itachi stood in his bathroom doorway, dressed in his school uniform, looking at his watch to answer him. Itachi's face was full of amusement at the look of horror on the blond's face. "Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad," he teased.
"I… I mean… No way. We didn't…" Deidara stammered, backing away from the teenager as he approached the bed.
"Now Deidara, is that any way to talk to someone like me? After last night?" he asked, kneeling in front of him. Deidara backed up until he hit the wall, but Itachi kept leaning forward until he was only inches away. "Here," he said, dropping a bag in his lap. "Eat up, then get dressed."
Deidara stared down at the bag, seeing a hot breakfast sandwich wrapped in tin foil, a can of hot coffee, a large bottle of water, and a tiny packet of headache medicine. He stared at the bag, then up at Itachi, utterly confused. "What?"
"For school," Itachi said. "Don't make me late because of you." The brunette watched the blond take some of the medicine, downing it with the water. He had bought the smallest bottle he could, worried that the blond would lead him to overdosing on the painkillers. He couldn't do much harm with that tiny packet. He ate, but was watching Itachi with suspicious, accusing eyes. "Nothing happened," Itachi finally said, deciding to put a stop to the blond's worry. His eyes became critical, glaring at him. With a sigh, he explained, "I brought you home, I put you to bed. You tried to get me to fuck you, hence your lack of clothes, but I told you no and to go to sleep."
"Bullshit," Deidara snapped, smashing the empty coffee can in anger.
"It's true," Itachi said with a shake of his head.
"Why would you do that, un?" Deidara demanded, sitting up straighter to lean forward like he wished to hit Itachi, but wasn't angry enough yet. "You've been drooling over me with your touchy hands since that kiss. Don't think I haven't seen you staring at me, un! And I get so drunk I'm willing and you refuse? Bullshit!"
"It's not bullshit," Itachi told him. "I'm not like those assholes who'd drag off someone who could barely walk for a quick fuck. I respect you more than that." Deidara's glare faltered slightly, starting at him. It wasn't entirely true, he didn't respect him, but it was true that he wasn't interested in drunken sex. "Sorry if I dragged you away from a couple more bucks last night," Itachi said, standing upright. "I just didn't think you'd appreciate being left to the wolves. Hurry up and finish. We'll leave in thirty minutes."
There was silence from the blond, who ate his sandwich and considered what he had said. Itachi waited patiently for him to come to a decision on how he should process what he'd been told and if he should believe it. It was true. Getting Deidara to bed last night had been a task because the blond had been doing his best to seduce him. It had been very difficult to resist because Deidara was absurdly good at it. Once the blond was finally asleep, he'd taken a cold shower in Deidara's bathroom before coming back out to sleep himself. Finally, Deidara finished his breakfast and went into the bathroom to shower and dress in his uniform, confused into obedience.
They were silent as they left the apartment – forty minutes later – until Itachi finally spoke. "I met Daichi last night," he said. He decided he was not going to tell Deidara that Daichi had asked him to bring him home. Watching the blond last night, he felt bad for him. Pitied his self-destruction. His choice had been work for Daichi or support himself. Why had he chosen to support himself when he was forced to place himself into such dangerous positions to support himself? After seeing Deidara's reaction to what might have happened and with who, Itachi realized that Daichi had been right about Deidara. He had expected and accepted to being taken advantage of, but being shown some form of…mercy surprised him. Mercy, he supposed was the right word. It confused the blond.
Deidara finally looked over at him, face unreadable for a moment before he looked down at his lap. Shame? Was that the expression on his face? "Was he mad?" the blond asked, fidgeting with his uniform buttons.
"No, he seemed pleased to talk to me," Itachi mused. "He was interesting."
"No, I meant…never mind, un," Deidara mumbled, getting out of the car as soon as Itachi parked the car.
Itachi watched him walk towards the school, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. He wondered at the blond for a moment, then pulled his phone out and text his brother to make sure he had arrived at school as well. Fugaku had given him a ride on his way to work, he'd replied. Itachi swallowed and asked if he was mad Itachi wasn't there, but Sasuke assured him that he seemed fine with it, their mother hadn't said which of his friends he was staying with. Perhaps that was the benefit of his mother assuming he was dating Deidara. She wouldn't have cared one way or another, but their father probably would and she wouldn't tell him.
After school, Deidara approached him in the locker room, not looking at him as he fidgeted almost shyly. "Hey," he said.
"Hey," Itachi replied, buttoning his coat up as he closed his locker.
"You… you want to see Daichi's garage right?" he asked, not looking at him. "I'll show you where it is, un."
Itachi stared at him, surprised, but pleased as the blond turned to leave the locker room. He followed, his heart racing excitedly. As he walked, he pulled his phone out and text his family group chat, to let his parents know he was taking his car for an oil change and asked Sasuke if he needed a ride home. Sasuke replied he was playing soccer with friends and didn't need a ride. His mother replied first, requesting that he be home for dinner. His father didn't reply, accepting his mother's reply as adequate. A few hours seemed enough time. Deidara was silent again as he got in the car except to direct Itachi into the city.
The garage was larger than Itachi expected, appearing on the outside to be about two stories high. The outside wasn't fancy, but the bricks were clean and dark, two of the three garage doors were open, the third painted a dark color with a matching customer door next to it. Deidara instructed him to park outside, which he did, and together they entered. The inside was a car lover's fantasy. It was clean and open, smelling strongly of car oil, and divided into three parts. One was where the cars were fixed, the lifts either brand new or extremely well kept, the walls were lined with hooks for parts, shelves and tool chests. The other was up a flight of stairs and was a social area where people could take their breaks. The third, Itachi could see only a glimpse from where he stood, was an area filled with bunks for people to sleep. There was a fourth space, but Itachi didn't learn about that till later. That area was where Daichi kept all the cars that had been won from street racing, or ones Daichi had bought with his own money.
The first part was where Deidara took him, several men were standing around talking or leaning over to work on engines of the three cars set up in the spacious area. He recognized two of them as the men who had been with Deidara when he had brought him his breakfast after his concussion. Daichi was standing under a raised lift, looking up at the underbelly of a red Supra, making comments on it. Someone nodded towards them and the mechanic turned and smiled as though he'd been waiting for them to come. Itachi wondered if Daichi knew that Deidara would eventually bring him over. He couldn't tell, but everyone seemed to stop their work to glance up at the new comer. He wondered, also, what Daichi wanted with him.
Whatever it was, he was sure he would find out soon.
