Chapter Ten
Sasori sighed, "Come on Dei, we're gonna be late. I hate being late, you know that." Deidara rolled his eyes, "You were late to our date a few days ago," he reminded his boyfriend. Sasori glared at him, "I felt bad about it." Deidara raised an eyebrow, "Didn't seem like it." He knew Sasori hated to keep people waiting, but he loved giving him a hard time about it. It wasn't like Sasuke really cared if they were five minutes late. "It was your idea to have me meet him today, so the least you could do is make sure we're on time." Sasori reminded him. Deidara nodded, "I know… but it's not my fault my car is a piece of crap! Thank god Christmas is coming up, hopefully I'll have enough to buy myself a new car." Sasori smiled, he didn't seem like the type to enjoy holidays but he really loved Christmas. "It's only a week away," Sasori noted. Deidara grinned, "I hope you're excited, I got you something that I think you'll really like." Sasori tried to hide his smile, which was getting bigger by the second, "You got me something?" Deidara nodded, "Well, more like made you something. I hope you like it."
"I'm sure I'll love it." Sasori reassured him. I really need to get him a present. Sasori thought. "Are you going anywhere for Christmas?" Sasori asked him. Deidara frowned, "No, I haven't spent Christmas with my family since my parents split up." Sasori reached his hand over to Deidara's and squeezed it, "We can celebrate it together if you want." and gave him a smile. Deidara lit up instantly, Sasori rarely showed this side of himself and it made him really happy when he saw it. Deidara squeezed his hand back, "You're the best." and leaned over to give Sasori a quick kiss on the forehead. Sasori blushed and looked away. He glanced out his window, it was snowing outside. The beautiful snow glistened on the ground, a whole world of white surrounded them. Sasori loved the pretty lights that decorated the houses and trees. Winter time was so magical to him because he grew up in a town located in a hot desert, a place where it never snowed. He hated the cold, but in the end it was worth it to see this magical time of the year. "You're awfully excited," Deidara teased. Sasori looked at him thoughtfully, "Do you like Winter, or Christmas?" Deidara thought about it for a minute, "Honestly I'm not a huge fan. It's way too cold, everything is dead, and I never got anything cool on Christmas because my parents were too poor." Sasori frowned. He wished Deidara saw it the way he did, but that was part of the reason he loved Dei, they always saw everything differently. I'm going to do something amazing for him on Christmas, and then, just maybe, he'll appreciate it as much as I do. "Hey, we're finally here!" Sasori snapped out of his thoughts, "About time!" Deidara shot him a look, "Let's go" Sasori nodded and they walked up to Sasuke's apartment door and knocked. A few seconds Sasuke emerged, "You guys are a little late, were the roads bad?" Sasori gave Deidara the 'I-told-you-we-were-gonna-be-late-and-he-even-noticed' look, while Deidara nodded, "Yeah it's snowing out there, but we made it in one piece." and Sasori muttered 'barely'.
Sasuke smiled, "Nice to meet you, you must be Sasori?" Sasori looked up at the boy, "It's nice to meet you too, Sasuke." Deidara realized this was the first time he had been to Sasuke's apartment, and as Sasuke led them into the living room he noticed everything was pretty empty. "Sasuke, don't you have a t.v.?" Deidara asked. Sasori elbowed him in the ribs, and whispered, "Don't be rude." Sasuke frowned, "No, I don't really have the money for one." Deidara smiled, "I'll buy you one for Christmas!" Sasuke's eyes widened, "Fuck, Christmas is next week isn't it?" Sasori nodded and turned to Deidara, "How are you gonna afford a t.v.? I thought you were gonna buy a new car." Sasuke motioned for them to sit down and they all took a seat on the couch, "You're getting a new car, Dei?" Sasuke asked. Deidara nodded, "Hopefully. I don't know, I have some money saved up but I'm definitely gonna try to buy you something." He knew Sasuke probably hadn't celebrated Christmas in the last few years considering he had no family and barely any friends until this year. Sasuke shook his head, "You don't have to do that, it's not a big deal." and hoping to change the subject, he added, "Do you guys want some hot chocolate? I think I have some marshmallows and whipped cream too." They both nodded. Sasuke got up and made the hot chocolate. Sasori looked around, he was surprised at how bare the apartment was. He had no posters or pictures or anything on the walls. "I take it he isn't a very creative person." Sasori commented. Deidara shook his head, "I don't know, he never use to be into art so I doubt he is now," Sasori nodded.
A few minutes later, Sasuke emerged from the kitchen, "Here ya go." he said, handing them their drinks. Deidara raised his eyebrow, "Are you not drinking any?" Sasuke shook his head, "No, I'm not really a fan of sweet foods or drinks." Sasori shrugged, "Suit yourself." There was an awkward silence that lasted a few minutes until Deidara broke it, "So, tell me about your boyfriend, Naruto." Hanging out with two extremely quiet people was tough Deidara thought, looks like I have to keep up the conversation. Sasuke smiled, "Yeah, he's great." Sasori looked at Deidara, "Isn't he the one who was with that pink-haired girl at that party?" Deidara's eyes widened. Sasori normally was silent but the one time he decides to really take place in the conversation he goes and says something like that. Deidara could tell that Sasori realized what he said and instantly regretted it. I always say the wrong thing dangit. Sasori thought. "W-What are you talking about?" Sasuke said confused.
Deidara panicked, "U-um. Well, I went to Neji's party the other night to find you, because I heard that's where your friends were headed. I found out you weren't there and Naruto gave me your number. He has with a group of people, a pink-haired girl, Neji and a guy named Lee" It was the truth, I mean those were the people that Naruto was last with at the party before he wandered off with the girl, at least that's what Neji said. He felt bad for lying to his best friend but what was he supposed to say? Yeah, I went to a party, caught your boyfriend cheating, no big deal. Sasuke slowly nodded, "Oh." he said. Deidara couldn't tell if he bought it or not but it seemed like he was going to drop it either way. Sasuke had no choice but to believe what Deidara said and hope nothing else happened. "Did you stay?" Sasuke asked. Deidara shook his head, "No, I was tired and ready to go home by time I got off work and got to the party." Sasuke nodded again. He wanted more answers, he was even more suspicious now about the party. He never got a chance to as Naruto anything about it. But the more he thought about it the less he wanted to know, things were finally seeming good again and he didn't want to ruin it.
"Speaking of working, do you work on Christmas?" Sasori asked Deidara. Deidara smiled, "Nope, I'm off. Although I could definitely use the holiday pay." Sasori smiled, "Maybe we could have a small get together at my house on Christmas." he said to Sasuke, "Me, You, Deidara, and Naruto? I mean if you weren't planning on going anywhere." Sasuke pondered it for a minute, "It sounds fun, I should be able to go but I'm not sure what Naruto's plans are. I'll have to ask him." Sasori nodded, "Alright, just let Dei know." Deidara turned to Sasori, "Hey, have you gotten my present yet?" Sasori blushed, embarrassed, "No." he muttered. Deidara grinned, "I have an excellent idea." Sasuke and Sasori gave Deidara a confused look, "What is it?" they asked in unison. "You," Deidara said pointing to Sasori, "And Sasuke could go Christmas shopping together. While me and Naruto go together. It'll be a bonding experience and this way we won't know what each other is buying for the other."
Deidara wasn't 100% comfortable with being around Naruto but he had to give the kid a chance, he knew Naruto made Sasuke happy so why not? Sasori shrugged, "Sure, why not?" Sasuke nodded, "Sure, when?" Deidara frowned, he hadn't really thought about that. "Um… how about tomorrow?" They all agreed. "Alright, tell Naruto I'll pick him up at 3. And ask him for directions to his house and text them to me." Deidara said. Sasuke nodded, "Alright." Sasori turned to Sasuke, "I guess I'll pick you up at 3 too?" Sasuke agreed, "Sure that's fine."
The next day Naruto woke up and checked his phone. A text from Sasuke reminded him that Deidara was going to be there to pick him up at 3 and warned him to be ready on time. He scrolled through the rest of his texts, which were overflowing with texts from Sakura. She was constantly trying to get ahold of him. She would send him angry texts, "Stop ignoring me." and "Wow, I see how you are. Sleep with me and then just treat me like I don't exist." He rolled his eyes, he wasn't the one who forced himself on her in the first place. He sighed, he was really tired of dealing with her. Some of them made him feel bad though, the ones like, "I'm sorry I just.. I love you Naruto. Please text me back." and, "This really hurts me… I wish you would stop avoiding me." He scrolled down the last few, "Where were you tonight? You didn't come to the movies with us." He didn't go to the movies last night with the group, honestly he had to avoid the group because of her. He still spent time with Kiba though, they hung out the day before yesterday and they had plans tomorrow. He did miss the rest of the group though.
He sent a quick reply to Sasuke, giving him directions to his house to give to Deidara, and then locked his phone, tossing it on his bed beside him. He got up and ran a hand through his hair. Guess I better take a shower. He thought and went to his bathroom, turning on the hot water and filling up the tub. He liked baths, they were relaxing and he honestly needed to relax right now. He was pretty nervous about spending the evening with Deidara. Would they get along? Would he be nice to him? Why would he be nice to him, he doesn't deserve his kindness. He took a deep breath and expelled all the thoughts from his head. He needed to relax, not let his mind wander. He turned off the water and slowly slipped into the tub. "Ahh, so warm," he said grinning like an idiot. Today will be fine. he reassured himself and wondered what he should get Sasuke for Christmas. What did Sasuke even like? He didn't have any posters, and he didn't really talk about anything he liked. Did he even like anything? Naruto remembered the first day he met Sasuke, it was in Chemistry and Sasuke seemed to be drawing in a notebook. Maybe I'll get him a sketchbook. Or a nice journal, I bet he's into writing. Naruto smiled, he was excited to get Sasuke a gift.
Naruto knew it was getting close to 3 so he finished up in the bath and got out quickly. He felt a lot better now that he had a little time to relax and take his mind off things. He rummaged through his clothes, wondering what to wear. He wasn't a huge fan of sweatshirts or long-sleeved shirts, they were too hot or uncomfortable for him. He preferred a t-shirt and jeans but sadly it was too cold for that. I'll wear a t-shirt anyway, at least I'll have a coat on. he thought. He got dressed and checked his phone, Deidara should be here any moment. Naruto decided to wait outside, he sat on the stairs leading up to his house and looked out into the white wonderland. The cold wasn't too bad, his body heat usually kept him warm enough. I can't believe Christmas is less than a week away. He never really enjoyed Christmas until he lived on his own. Growing up, he always had to hear how the other kids celebrated it with their family. How they made Christmas cookies, and opened presents. How they got candy in their stockings and decorated the tree. He never had a chance to do any of those things. He grew up in an orphanage, his mom died at birth and his father died shortly after in the war. His grandparents were supposed to take care of him, but they couldn't afford it. They had no choice but to send him to the orphanage.
He didn't know what it was like to have a family and he never experience the true holiday feeling. He spotted a family across the street, a mom and dad and a little girl. The girl stood in between the parents and held each of their hands. She laughed and smiled, "Daddy, the snow is so pretty!" she exclaimed. Her dad nodded, "It is." The mom looked down at the little girl, "Are you excited for Christmas sweetie?" The girls face lit up even more if that were possible, "Yes! Can we decorate the tree tonight?" The mom smiled, "Of course we can!" Part of Naruto wanted to frown, he had always wanted that. A family. But instead, he smiled. He was glad the little girl was so happy, and had a mom and a dad. He was the type of person who envied everyone else deep inside, but ultimately he was happy for them because he wouldn't want anyone else to go through what he did. Seeing other people happy made him happy. I wonder if Sasuke is going to spend Christmas with his family he thought.
Honk. Honk. A car horn snapped Naruto from his thoughts and he looked up to see Deidara in his driveway. He got in the car, "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." he mumbled. "It's no big deal, I just got here." Deidara replied. The first half of the drive was filled with awkward silence. Naruto glued his eyes to the window, pretending to be engrossed by the snow, while Deidara focused on the road. "Say something will you?" Deidara said, half-annoyed. He hated the tension and wanted to blonde to say something, anything at all. "Sorry.." Naruto said. He glanced at Deidara. He remembered Sasuke saying that Deidara had fun making up 'what-ifs' and tried to think of his own. He studied Deidara, honestly if Deidara cut his hair short and spiked it up, they could pass as brothers. "Don't stare at me like that." Deidara yelled. Naruto forced a smile, "What if you cut your hair short? We would almost be identical." Deidara gave him a serious face, "What if I don't give a fuck." Naruto was about to yell something like, 'hey, I'm trying here so stop being an asshole' but Deidara burst out into laughter. "You should see the look on your face, that was priceless. You looked so pissed off. I was totally kidding."
Naruto started laughing too, this guy wasn't too bad. "Listen, I don't think what you did was right-" Naruto interrupted, "I know, it wasn't right at all…" Deidara nodded, "and I don't forgive you at all. But I'm giving you a chance. You make Sasuke happy and it's the least I can do." Naruto smiled, "Thanks, that means a lot." Deidara smiled too, Naruto wasn't half bad. A few minutes later they pulled into the mall parking lot. They entered the building, enjoying the warmth of the mall after being out in the cold. Naruto was normally warm but Deidara's car didn't have heat and at one point Deidara threw a piece of trash out his window and his window got stuck. So they were both very thankful for the warm mall. "Where do you wanna go first?" Deidara asked Naruto. "Um… I was thinking about getting Sasuke a journal or something. Do you know where we could get that?" Deidara nodded, "I think that would be around the art department, and I needed to go there anyway." They headed towards the art department in silence, but it was a comfortable silence. Deidara broke the silence first, "So, are you doing anything on Christmas? Me, Sasuke, and Sasori were gonna spend it together and I wanted to see if you wanted to come. It was Sasori's idea, and it'll be at his house. I could give you a ride if you needed it."
"I would love to go," Naruto answered. "No one is going to celebrate Christmas with their families?" he asked. Deidara shrugged, "I guess not. I never really liked Christmas, and I haven't celebrated it with my family in years. My parents split during high school and even when they were together we were too poor to get a tree or presents." Naruto looked at Deidara intently, "I'm sorry to hear that." Deidara shook his head, "It's fine. It's only Christmas." Naruto nodded, honestly Christmas was just a day like any other day of the year. But that didn't stop him from wanting to enjoy it like everyone else does. "What about Sasuke? Why isn't he going to visit his family?" Deidara frowned, "Oh um… He's not really close with his family." Deidara wasn't sure what to say, he knew Sasuke would tell Naruto eventually but for now that was a good enough answer. "Well, here we are." They looked for a journal first. There were a few really nice ones but they were really expensive. Naruto frowned, "I don't have enough money for any of these." Deidara glanced at a few journals and after a few seconds of inspecting them he pulled out a simple black one, "How about this one? It's only twenty bucks and the pages looks nice. It's pretty plain and simple, so I'm sure Sasuke would like it." Naruto grinned, "Thanks, that's perfect!" Deidara laughed, "It's just a journal. It is pretty nice though. Does Sasuke write?" Naruto shrugged, "I'm honestly not sure but I sure hope so." Deidara gave him a reassuring smile, "I'm sure he'd like anything you get him. Come on, I gotta pick up a few art supplies for Sasori."
They went down a few aisles looking at various art items, paintbrushes, paint, tortillions, and more. Deidara looked through the items, trying to decide what to get Sasori. He reached out to grab one of the paintbrushes to see it closer when he felt somebody really close next to him. "Naruto give me some space," Deidara said, turning around. Deidara's breath caught in his throat and his eyes were wide, "I-Itachi?" He had so many things to say. Itachi grabbed Deidara's arm, "Come with me." Deidara broke away from Itachi's strong grip, "Naruto, I'll be right back. You can go pay for that if you want," Naruto looked puzzled but he let it go. That guy, Itachi I think it was, looks really familiar… Naruto noted. As soon as Naruto was out of earshot Deidara yelled, "What the hell are you doing here?" Itachi covered his mouth, "Be quiet will you? Do you know how dangerous it is for me to even be here?" Deidara furrowed his brows, lowering his voice, "What are you talking about?"
Deidara felt fear spread through his body as he suddenly realized what he meant. "No… you didn't. You weren't the one who… Itachi how the fuck could you?" Deidara wanted to cry, when he left all those years ago it was partly because deep down he knew what Itachi was going to do. "You decided to join them.. you killed your entire family for them didn't you?" Deidara said softly, feeling sick to his stomach. Itachi nodded, "When the Akatsuki gave me the chance to join them I was thrilled. They said all I had to do was kill my parents. You know how I felt about my parents, Dei. I was never good enough for them." Deidara felt anger and sadness running through his body, "They're criminals Itachi. You're a murderer… I know.. I know they didn't always treat you fairly, but how could you do that to Sasuke? And then just leave him there all by himself?"
Itachi crossed him arms, "Don't try to give me a guilt trip, you left him too. You left right before I did because you knew what was going to happen. Why didn't you accept the offer, Dei? We could've joined together." Deidara couldn't believe what Itachi was saying, "Are you serious? I-I couldn't do that. And I left because I knew the Akatsuki would come after me next. I wouldn't be surprised if you were here to kill me." Itachi shook his head, "No, I'm here to ask you to join again." Deidara refused, "Of course the answer is no. I didn't join then and I never will." Itachi frowned, and stepped closer to Deidara, cupping his cheek with his hand, "Aww, Dei. I thought you wanted to be with me, I thought you would do anything to stay with me." Tears pricked Deidara's eyes, "You've changed Itachi… Our friendship, our feelings… It's all in the past now. And sadly, that's where it belongs." Itachi frowned, pulling his hand away from Deidara's cheek. He walked passed Deidara and whispered, "You've made a big mistake.. everything could've been perfect for us Dei." and with that, he disappeared.