Last two chapters tomorrow!

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'I can't believe you're letting me sleep alone on the first night we have this apartment,' Deidara commented, sending me a half glare, because he knew I couldn't do anything about it, yet. It wasn't easy to part now, but we had to. If I stayed away now, my parents would notice something was up and it would make all of this a whole lot more difficult. It was better to not test it and just sleep at home for now. Deidara was used to living on his own anyway.

Slipping on my coat I already stood by the door, keys in hand and ready to leave for the night. 'You know I have to. I wish it would be different, but it isn't,' I replied in a monotone, cursing myself for sounding so coolly. It was just a tone I had gotten used to over the years, because most people I had spoken to didn't have as much meaning as Deidara did now. A horrible habit I needed to get rid of.

'I know, I know,' Deidara replied, letting out a soft sigh. He was leaning against the wall beside the bathroom door, staring at me from his position. His eyes had turned a little sad as he looked at me and then he quickly averted his gaze. Of course this wasn't the ideal thing to do and I knew Deidara worried about me. He had heard the stories about my father and was aware of the things that might happen. So of course he didn't want me to go, but stopping me from leaving would not turn out well either. It was a tough spot we were both in. 'When…' He hesitated then, unsure if he should continue or not. 'When will you come live here with me?'

An honest question and one I couldn't really answer. We now had almost everything arranged. I only needed to take the final steps and then I was out of there, but these were the hardest to take. Leaving my family home was an odd idea. Even though I hated it there often enough, it was still home. Sasuke was there and even though my mother wasn't a very independent woman anymore, she was still always so sweet to me and I did love her. 'After I have gotten all my stuff from there and have told my parents about leaving,' I replied, trying not to let my emotions shine through too much. It wasn't a very clear answer either, because when would that even be?

Pushing himself off the wall Deidara made his way towards me and straightened out my collar, ignoring the emotions that did shine through, because of course Deidara understood how this felt. 'I could go with you, if you want,' he offered then.

'I wouldn't put you in that kind of danger. I don't know how father will react and I rather have him take out his anger on me than on you.' He nodded in reply, not fully agreeing with it, but he would accept my wishes. 'But you could be close by and wait in the car for me, so we are still together after I left,' I added, realising I would really like that. It would be as if Deidara was by my side, supporting me through every word I might speak to my father.

'Alright, we'll do that then,' Deidara replied softly, leaning up to give me a final kiss before I left. 'Tomorrow when you're here we'll plan when we'll do it then.' A sweet smile then formed on his lips as a reassurance that everything would be fine and I almost believed it.

'I love you, Dei,' I murmured as I finally opened the door and moved out to leave.

'I love you too,' was called after me.

Having the whole house to myself today I used this time to pack up the last things I needed to take to the apartment and officially move out. My parents had gone into town or something to do some shopping and would be back around dinner time, giving me enough time to pack the last things. After arranging everything with the college I attended I now felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. The person I had talked had not really cared about what I wanted to do and helped me through the process quite easily. It would become a problem once the news reached one of the professors, who was a good friend of my father. And since it was weekend, he would not find out until Monday. I now just had to deal with my father by myself.

Downstairs were both Deidara and Sasuke, keeping each other company while giving me the space to work it all out. It was good to be alone now, saying goodbye to everything I had here. I couldn't wait till I lived with Deidara, but still… It wasn't easy. None of it. And if it hadn't been for Deidara, then I might never have left. Or at least not until Father had set me up with a woman who was marriage material.

With the last bag slung over my shoulder I made my way downstairs. The car was already loaded with stuff, but this last bag should fit in there somewhere. My computer was carefully placed between two bags of clothes, so that should survive the journey. We might have no need for a second computer, but mine was slightly better than Deidara's and we could sell one to get some extra cash out of it. Maybe buy a TV or something.

Now it was all done. I was officially moving out. The only thing I still had to do was talk to my parents and that would be that. Though looking at it like that might not be the smartest move. This might actually be the most difficult part of it all. How would my father even react?

After closing off the car I got back inside and joined Deidara and Sasuke in the living room who were just sharing a light conversation. I sank down in the couch beside Deidara and heaved a heavy sigh, leaning my head against his shoulder to show of my misery.

Petting me on the head Deidara tried to make me feel better, but the motion was not that nice. 'It's all going to be alright, Ita. It will be over before you know it,' he said soothingly.

In the love seat on the side was Sasuke seated, glancing down at his phone while vigorously typing away at the keys, sending message after message. It was almost like he was trying to hook up with some girl again, though it might just be me reminiscing to those times. Sasuke really was a changed man if I thought about it. Naruto did him well.

'Naruto will be here in fifteen minutes,' he announced and then stuffed his phone away.

Grabbing a lock of Deidara's hair, I distracted myself by raking my fingers through it, sliding out any kind of tangle my fingers found on their way. 'Okay, that's good. Father should be home in about an hour, so you will be gone by then. Make sure you can stay at least a week at Naruto's place to make sure the mood has died down here. If you can't stay with him, give me a call and we'll make room for you.' Even that I had already planned out. Deidara couldn't be in harm's way, but Sasuke shouldn't be either. If he would get the blame in some way for this, then I would never forgive myself.

'I know already,' Sasuke replied like the little brat he was, rolling his eyes at me. 'We've been through this a thousand times now, so stop stressing. I'm settled. Worry about yourself instead.' And that was exactly what I didn't want to do. I didn't want to think about what was coming my way. Maybe it was better to just not prepare and go in blind.

Feeling a hand slide alongside my face I looked up in Deidara's bright eyes I came to love so much. 'I think we both worry enough about Itachi already, don't you agree?' he muttered to Sasuke while keeping our gazes locked. It did distract me a little bit, letting the words simply flow passed me. Focusing on Deidara was far better. It promised great thing, because I was about to spend my life with him and have all these new experiences. We would really build a home together.

'Maybe we should all just stop worrying then!' Sasuke announced stubbornly, but he knew we all couldn't. This was a very scary situation. One we couldn't exactly predict and this was about the people we loved. We didn't want to see anyone harmed in this situation, but what were the odds to that happening? Father was not going to be pleased with this turn of events.

After that the room stayed silent, the clock ticking the time away somewhere against the back wall. A clock that once belonged to my grandmother. When she passed it went to my father and I would be the next in line to receive it. Perhaps not anymore though. Finally the doorbell rang, signalling Sasuke's ride had come. At first we jumped at the sound, thinking it was our parents already, but then realised they would not ring the bell. Sasuke then quickly jumped up and moved to the door, first slamming the living room door open, it creaking under the pressure. Can't the brat just open doors the way normal people do it?

Naruto and Sasuke shared some words by the front door, but Naruto never came in, only accepting Sasuke's bag and then moving back to the car. He probably didn't own one, so a parent or something most have driven him here. Would that person know exactly what's going on here or did Sasuke even leave Naruto in the dark? I never really thought about asking, but the result of this was also important to what would happen to Sasuke and his relationship in the future.

Coming back towards the living room this time Sasuke actually did it softly and of course I needed to applaud that. I never thought I would see the day that happened. Sasuke responded with an eye roll to it, exactly understanding what I meant, while Deidara shot us both a confused look. One day he would understand our strange brotherly relationship.

Reaching the couch Sasuke leaned down for a tight hug, whispering in my ear about how much he loved me and that I should take good care of myself. I couldn't really make myself respond to it, because it only emphasized how scary this situation really was. We knew that Father could react physically in these situations, but we had no idea what his boundaries were. What was that man really capable of?

After the goodbye Sasuke left and with the slamming of the front door it all felt so final. This was it. Glancing over at Deidara I could see the rigidness of his body, showing off I wasn't the only one anxious about what was about to happen. We could fill the room with empty words and sweet "I love you"s, but what would it really do? We knew all that already. I could even practise what I would say to my father, but would it make a difference? Would father even let me finish speaking once I started? Or would he call it bullshit, making this ordeal only tougher?

'It's getting close to six, so I think I'll go wait in the car now, just in case they are a little early. Wouldn't do you any good if they saw me leaving the house,' Deidara said softly and stood up. I know he kissed me one last time before he left, but everything just passed by in a daze. My heart was beating rapidly inside my chest and I was breathing shallowly. Perhaps the stress would kill me before my father would even come home.

A few minutes later, even though it felt like a decade, I heard a car pull up on the driveway. The front lights flashed through the window for a second and then disappeared as the car was shut off. Pushing myself of the couch I slowly made my way towards the front door. Every footstep felt heavier and I could barely breathe by the time I got to the front door. But I was there and I would wait until they had entered on their own accord. The heels mother was wearing tapped loudly against the stone porch and then the sound stopped. It was as if minutes passed before a key was jammed into the lock.

I took one last deep breath just in time before the door flung open.

Characters © Masashi Kishimoto

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