Chapter three

Itachi was at a loss for words. Did Deidara seriously just ask him if he liked someone? What was he going to say? He wasn't even sure if he liked anyone. And if he did, it was the blonde sitting across from him.

So, what was he going to say?

"I - I don't know. Maybe." He finally answered. Deidara snorted.

"Maybe? That's a lousy answer. So, who is she yeah?"

"No one. There is no she Deidara."

"You said maybe, that means there has to be someone. You can tell me yeah." Deidara looked at Itachi, patiently waiting for an answer.

"Fine there is someone."

How did he end up admitting this to Deidara, sooner than officially admitting it to himself? There was no turning back now, he definitely liked Deidara.

Itachi saw Deidara's eyes lighting up.

"There is? Who is she? How do you know her? Is she in your class? Is she pretty yeah? Is she..."

"She's not in my class." Itachi interrupted.

Why was he calling Deidara a she now? Why not just tell him it's him? Could he do that? No, Deidara would definitely be freaked out about it. It wasn't so usual to be gay.

"Not? Then how do you know her? Tell me, I want to know yeah."

"I can't tell you who she is. Maybe you'll find out sometime."

"That's not fair. What's her name?"

"Deidara." Itachi sighed.

"What? You're my friend, I want to know who you think will make you happy."

Itachi almost wanted to laugh now. Deidara had no idea that Itachi already knew who made him happy. His friend. When had they officially become friends?

Fingers snapped in front of his face and as he looked up, Deidara was hanging halfway over the table, snapping his fingers in front of Itachi.

"Itachi, snap out of it yeah."

Itachi looked at Deidara for a while and then nodded.

"You're taking this serious too. She must be important. So who is she? Tell me yeah."

Itachi shook his head.

"I would like to keep this to myself for a while, ok?" He wasn't ready to tell Deidara. He didn't know if he would ever be ready. Because what if Deidara didn't approve of two men being together in the first place? Then a relationship was never going to happen and he would ruin their friendship too.

He heard Deidara sighing.

"Ok. But you have to tell me someday. I'm dying to know what kind of girl would be able to steal your heart yeah."

"I will." Itachi nodded and they ate their breakfast in silence.

When they were done, Itachi brought the plates to the sink.

"Hey Itachi, we should go buy new furniture today yeah." Deidara said cheery.

Itachi smiled at him while shaking his head.

"As you wish Deidara. But please promise me that you will not talk me into buying a couch full of caterpillar pictures." He smirked and Deidara laughed.

"Promise. I'll have to talk you into buying caterpillar chairs then yeah." He joked and this time it was Itachi's turn to laugh.

"Yippee." He said sarcastic and both laughed.

"Itachi." Itachi looked at Deidara, hearing the change in his voice.

He waited for Deidara to continue.

"If you and that girl get together, will you still be my friend?"

Itachi frowned now.

"Of course I will." That girl was Deidara himself after all.

"Cause we haven't known each other for that long. So I could understand if you didn't mind if we'd spend more or less time together yeah."

"Idiot. I enjoy your company. Don't worry, I'm sure I won't be in a relationship any time soon anyway."

Deidara looked at Itachi questioning now, but let it rest. Itachi wondered why, but he didn't feel like bringing this all up again. He had some thinking to do about the subject before talking about it.

"Hurry up, ok? I wanna go get that furniture yeah." Deidara said after a moment of silence. His grin was back on his face and Itachi smiled.

The blonde was right, he was taking things way too seriously.

Itachi smiled at Deidara again, like he always did and then nodded. Things would at least be fine for now. Itachi would just have to wait and see how it would go in the future.

-.-.-

Itachi was cooking dinner and thinking of everything that had happened. After having bought an entire new living room over the past few weeks, Deidara had decided that the bedroom could use some work as well.

So earlier that day, the two friends had bought blue and white paint, to paint over the grey walls. Itachi had to admit Deidara knew what he was doing. The living room looked great, Itachi's taste, but a lot brighter.

When they had come back to Itachi's home, Deidara had almost immediately left, saying he had other stuff to do. Itachi had been rather disappointed to think of spending the day alone. It barely ever happened, Deidara was near almost all the time.

So Itachi had called Sasuke to come over for dinner. He had promised to be there at least an hour early to help with the cooking, but as usual Itachi was standing behind the stove alone. He was almost done too.
And of course, at that moment, the doorbell rang several times, indicating Sasuke was at the door. Itachi chuckled a little as Sasuke rang the doorbell again after several moments of silence. His little brother was so impatient.

Itachi quickly made sure everything was save on the stove, then went to get the door (from which the bell was still ringing).

"Sasuke jeez." Itachi said as he opened the door for his little brother, who walked inside.

"What took you so long?"

"The food maybe. Which you were supposed to help me with by the way."

"I'll help you eat it." Sasuke smirked and Itachi shook his head.

"Fine. Then at least set the table." The two brothers walked to the kitchen together, where Sasuke got the plates and cutlery.

Itachi handled the food again.

"What have you been doing Sasuke?" He asked.

"Nothing much. You've been so busy lately that I had Naruto come over pretty much every day."

"Well at least you haven't been spending all that time alone."

Sasuke snorted.

"You're lucky I have friends, unlike you did before Blondie entered your life." He spoke.

"His name is Deidara. And yes. I'm glad you have friends 'unlike me'." He gave Sasuke a smirk, which was returned.

"So why do you hang around with him? He seems a little odd. And he changed your house and all. I thought you liked it the way it was."

"I did, but it was a nice change. Deidara is a nice change."

Itachi earned a confused look from Sasuke now, and he knew perfectly well why.

"He's just a very nice guy Sasuke." Itachi quickly said.

"Oh come on. You don't just hang out with nice guys. I know you're gay so you must like him."

Itachi gave Sasuke a look now, a look that said 'what the hell would you know'. But he knew Sasuke spoke the truth.

"I never said anything like that. And since when am I gay? I've never been with anyone." He said.

"Oh please, that is exactly why you're gay. Girls practically launch themselves at us, you could have had a girlfriend ages ago."

Itachi had to admit, it was funny how well Sasuke read him. They never talked about relationships, since neither Sasuke nor him had ever had a solid one. Yet here Sasuke was, telling him he was gay, which was definitely the truth, he found out.

"I haven't exactly been with guys either." He said though and smirked to himself.

Sometimes, arguing with Sasuke was just fun.

"Neither have I, does that mean I can't be gay?"

"Are you?"

"No."

"Exactly. But you are right. I'm gay."

Itachi turned off the gas and put a pan on the table.

"Well then, are you into that blonde?" Sasuke asked as he sat down and eyed the pan.

Sasuke was obviously hungry and it amused Itachi.

"Deidara. His name is Deidara. And I have to admit that he has caught my attention."

Itachi was glad to finally admit it out loud like this. He knew Sasuke would understand, although he seemed to have a certain resentment towards Deidara.

"You like him, just say it. You want to kiss him and touch him and do stuff to him." Sasuke laughed.

"You're such a child. Yes, I like him. I'll leave it in the open what I want to do with him."

Sasuke smirked at that.

"So, what are you going to do with it then?" He asked.

"I don't know."

Itachi sat down as well and Sasuke and him dished up their plates.

"You're going to tell him, right?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"I don't know Sasuke. I don't want to ruin the friendship I have with him."

"But you like him. You have to tell him."

"It could ruin things."

"It could give you a boyfriend. Not that I want you to be with that weirdo."

"Sasuke." Itachi said stern.

"What? You have to admit he's a weirdo."

"He's not a weirdo. He enjoys life, he does what he likes."

"He draws on everything, decided you needed that freaky caterpillar on your wall. He's weird."

"You know, I didn't except you to offend the person I just admitted I liked." Itachi said.

"Sorry. I'm glad you found someone, I just don't get why you picked him. I know I would never ever pick such a wei-"

"Sasuke stop. I don't wanna hear it anymore." Itachi interrupted. "He's not a weirdo."

"Ok sorry. I'm happy for you. But you have to tell him." Sasuke said.

"Maybe someday."

"No, you have to tell him. You've been trying all these new things, so try having a relationship with someone you actually like."

Sasuke looked at Itachi stern this time.

"I guess I will tell him soon. I really do like him."

"He's your complete opposite."

"Opposites attract apparently is a fair saying." Itachi grinned at Sasuke, who returned it.

"For some people, I guess it is." He said.

"Now let's finish this meal, I didn't spend my time in the kitchen to let it go cold."

Sasuke nodded and the two brothers ate their dinner, talking about life. In the meantime, Itachi was contemplating on how to bring the news to Deidara.

This was really a bigger deal then he had expected. He wanted to do it right.

-.-.-

A week later, Itachi was sitting on the couch, waiting for his blonde friend to pop up. Deidara had called him and told him he had exciting news. Itachi had insisted he tell him on the phone, but Deidara wanted to tell him in person. He had hung up before Itachi could protest.

So now Itachi was waiting and while he was, he was thinking of telling Deidara about his feelings. They had grown even more that week and he just had to tell him. Now that Deidara was so excited for some reason, it seemed like the right time.

As Itachi was about to get something to drink, the doorbell rang and Itachi felt his heart suddenly beating in his throat. He was nervous about this and he was barely ever nervous about anything.

He made a turn to the door and opened it to find a beaming blonde before him.

"Hi!" Deidara said and let himself in, amusing Itachi like he always did.

"Hello Deidara. You're happy."

It made Itachi happy too, to see Deidara this way.

"Yes I am. Big news! My best friend is coming to town, I haven't seen him in ages yeah!"

That threw Itachi off a little. He looked at Deidara, urging him to go on.

"He's been my friend for ages when I was still living in Europe."

"You lived in Europe?" Deidara had never told him that.

"Yeah, during my childhood. I moved here when I was sixteen yeah." Deidara answered.

"Are you from Europe?" Itachi asked.

He had thought about it before, that Deidara must have been from somewhere else. He was so blonde and his eyes were extremely blue.

He hadn't expected Deidara to have lived in Europe for sixteen years though.

"From Germany. My mother is German and my father is an American. You probably figured I'm not from here before yeah?"

Itachi nodded.

"But you were telling me about your friend." He wanted to know who this person was.

"Right. His name is Sasori. He's thirty-five now and he's been my best friend since forever yeah. I haven't seen or talked to him in ages." Deidara continued.

"Why not?"

"Oh, just because we didn't really have a nice goodbye."

"What happened?" Itachi asked. He was both curious now as a little nervous about the answer.

Deidara was fidgeting with his hair and he only ever did that when he had done something he regretted. Like the day he had painted Itachi's pants pink. Itachi had been angry, but he had noticed that Deidara was fidgeting with his hair when he came to apologize.

"Well, he wasn't just my best friend." Deidara explained.

Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly at that. This wasn't what he wanted to hear, he was sure of that.

"He was my boyfriend yeah." Deidara spoke softly, not meeting Itachi's eyes anymore.

Itachi wasn't sure if he should be happy about the fact that that meant Deidara liked guys, or sad because Deidara's ex was coming to town.

He was upset about that, that was for sure.

"You don't think that's disgusting right?" Deidara asked carefully and Itachi looked at him.

"Of course not. Why would I?"

"Because he's a man. And he's sixteen years older yeah."

Itachi had to admit that he found the age distance a little disturbing. He had not expected that. But all he cared about now was the fact that he could not come clean with Deidara about his feelings now.

Because what if Deidara still had feelings for his friend? He had to find out about that first.

"Do you think differently of me now yeah?" Deidara asked, snapping Itachi out of his thoughts.

"No Deidara. It's a little weird you had a relationship with someone who's so much older than you." He answered.

"It's a big age gap yeah."

"Yes, it is. But if it made you happy." Itachi said. "Why did you break up?"

"I decided to move away. He wasn't happy."

"I can understand that. You moved far away."

"I told him he could go with me, but he declined. We got into a fight after that yeah."

Itachi noted that Deidara didn't look happy about that. It did make him jealous, because it made him think Deidara did in fact still have feelings for that Sasori guy.

"He called me today, telling me he was sorry and he wants to reconcile. He's even thinking of moving here yeah." Deidara looked happy again and that frustrated Itachi even more.

He wasn't showing it though, that would be far too emotional.

"Do you think the two of you could get back together?" He just had to ask. Deidara shrugged.

"Dunno. I don't know what he's like now." He said. "I don't think we will. Things have changed in my life yeah."

"When is he coming?" Itachi asked.

"Tomorrow. I'm going to pick him up from the airport. You should really meet each other, I think you might like him yeah."

"You should introduce us then." Itachi wasn't looking forward to that. What would he say to Deidara's ex-boyfriend?

"I will. Can I stay the night today? Your place is closer to the airport yeah." Deidara asked.

"Sure. What would you like for dinner then?"

"Let's make more pancakes yeah!" Deidara already hurried himself to the kitchen and Itachi slowly followed. Itachi knew he normally would have smiled at how Deidara acted.

However, this time he was upset.

He had lost his chance to tell Deidara his feelings. And with that guy coming, he wasn't sure if he would ever get a second chance.

-.-.-

The next day, Itachi was driving in his car to the airport, Deidara by his side. He had offered Deidara a ride to go get his friend from the airport and he had no idea why he had done that. Deidara had happily agreed, thanking Itachi over ten times, but Itachi really wasn't pleased.

He knew this was going to be odd and he knew this was a stupid idea. But Deidara seemed pleased with it, and that was what mattered.

"I'm so excited yeah." Deidara exclaimed. "Are we there yet?"

Itachi grinned at that. Idiot.

"Almost, just a few more minutes." He told Deidara.

In those few minutes, Deidara told Itachi all about how excited he was that Sasori was coming, that they had been such good friends, that he couldn't wait to tell Sasori about his life just like in the 'good old days'.

It annoyed Itachi to no end, but he plastered a small smile on his face. Not even five minutes later, Itachi had parked his car away and the two friends were walking to the gate where Sasori would be picked up.

As they stopped between the other people who were picking up friends and family, Deidara grabbed Itachi's arm, jumping up and down slightly.

"I wonder what he looks like yeah!"

Itachi smiled at his friend, then was suddenly yanked to the side by Deidara.

"There he is!" He yelled, earning some foul looks from the people around them.

Itachi saw Deidara waving and followed his gaze. He saw people come out of the gate, meeting their friends and family, before his eyes rested on a redheaded guy.

The guy looked at them and then walked their way. Itachi figured that that should be Sasori. The guy looked rather bored, and as he neared Itachi and Deidara, Itachi noticed that he was fairly small. Even smaller then Deidara was.

The word 'shrimp' immediately came to mind, but as much as he wanted to kick the guy's ass and make him leave again, he wouldn't say or do anything inappropriate.

Sasori finally reached them.

"Deidara. It's been a long time." He said, still no expression on his face. And there Itachi was thinking he was bad with showing emotion.

Itachi felt Deidara letting go of his arm and almost jump on top of Sasori. He was psyched, that was for sure.

Itachi wanted to grab Deidara and just leave again.

"Way too long! How have you been yeah?" Deidara asked as he let go to look at his friend.

"I hear you still haven't gotten rid of that annoying habit in speech." Sasori bluntly said. "I've been doing good. How about you?"

Itachi met eyes with the redhead and he felt like he could feel Sasori had more intentions with Deidara then he was letting on. Itachi just gazed at him, not about to feel intimidating by Sasori's emotionless stare.

Deidara seemed to catch on the staring contest.

"Err, Sasori, this is Itachi. Itachi, Sasori." He said.

The two nodded at each other and Itachi could feel the air getting thick. He wanted to put the redhead back on a plain to where he came from.

Sasori turned away and looked at Deidara again.

"We have a lot to talk about, should we go? You could show me around." He said.

Deidara smiled at that.
"That would be nice yeah. Itachi, can you drop us off in the city?" Itachi saw Deidara putting up an apologetic look.

Itachi just smiled back.

"Sure. Let's get to the car."

He turned around and started walking, hearing Deidara and Sasori follow him while Deidara was excessively telling Sasori about how it was to move here.

They got to the car and Itachi dropped the two off in the city. He watched them walk away and noticed Sasori looking back and giving him another one of those unreadable glares. Itachi was sure he wasn't just here because he wanted to be Deidara's friend again.

And he was also sure Sasori had picked up on Itachi's feelings at least a little. He wondered how this would turn out. Right now, he was pretty sure he would never be able to be honest with Deidara.

All that mattered was that he was happy.

-.-.-