Chapter 2, Rakki's Ramen

Believe it or not, Tobi was right about a ramen shop being in the area. Unsurprisingly however, he was completely wrong about the direction and distance. The little restaurant was actually eastbound, and the walk took them a little over forty minutes. This upset Deidara, and he wore his heart on his sleeve about it. Tobi took note of Deidara's aversion. He's barely said anything for the past half hour.

After they get their meal, the pair choose a table far away from everything else. The restaurant was rather spacious yet humble. It was quiet, perfect for a winding down for the evening. Tobi took advantage of this, and decided to ease the tension with some humor.

"You're so kind, Deidara!" Tobi exclaimed, "You didn't have to pay for all of this!"

Tobi's gratitude was met with silence. Deidara kept to himself as he picked at his food.

Tobi didn't want to eat in silence, though. He wanted to have a good time with Deidara, despite the situation. Trying to be optimistic, Tobi reached across the table to grab his partner's attention. "...Deidara?"

"Tch- it's a shared fund, Tobi. I didn't pay for anything, hm."

"Oh…" whimpered Tobi. He retracted his hand slowly and sat back down.

The air was silent once again, Tobi's attempt at breaking the ice had failed. Deidara had such a bad habit of putting up walls. Tobi was still trying to figure his way around it. It was time for Tobi to play the thinking game. What would garner Deidara's attention? What would cheer him up? Oh, this situation was so awkward, Tobi couldn't stand it for much longer.

As Tobi was trying to think of what to do, he started clicking his chopsticks together. "Hmm… hmm… hmm…" he hummed. "Ya know- you do that a lot! Hmm?"

Deidara let out a guttural sigh.

"Oh c'mon! Stop with the long faces- hey! Why aren't you eating, Partner…?" Tobi asked. He was trying to tease while still trying to sound sympathetic.

"I'm not hungry," Deidara commented.

"Then why'd ya get ramen?" Tobi asked, sounding quizzical.

"I don't know, hm."

"I think ya do know!" exclaimed Tobi, "you wouldn't have gotten it, otherwise. You should dig-in! Rakki's Ramen is a good shop! It's good to eat… and stuff!"

"Then you eat, Tobi. I'm not hungry," Deidara said with a scoff. As he spoke, he pushed his bowl away and towards Tobi.

"Huh? No, no, no!" Tobi protested. He was quick to push the bowl back."You have to eat, Deidara! You're a growing boy- and besides, I can't eat all of that!"

Without any intention to do so, his words offended Deidara. The blonde tensed up and he let out a gruff scoff. "A boy-?! Hm- that's coming from a man who acts like a damn child!"

Tobi's eyes widened under his mask. He wasn't trying to push Deidara's buttons like that! "Woah! There's no need for all of that! I was just saying-"

"You're annoying, Tobi!" Deidara retorted. He was quick to cut off Tobi and snark him out. "what's with you, today? Huh?"

"Now, what are you talking about?" asked Tobi. Deidara's attitude and accusations were starting to wear him thin. "I'm just trying to be nice! Good golly, calm down!"

"Calm down-?" Deidara was ready to argue further, but Tobi waved his arm to interrupt.

"You're causing a scene! It's embarrassing!" Tobi remarked.

Deidara held his breath and bit his tongue. He settled in his seat as he tried to collect himself. As much as he hated to admit it, maybe Tobi was right. He got so caught up with overthinking that he lost his cool. There wasn't any need to embarrass himself in public. After a few moments, he let out a breath and shut his eyes.

"...you're embarrassing, you know that? Hm."

"Ahhh…" Tobi whined in defeat. He was glad to see Deidara tone down his attitude, at least. Still, the comment was unnecessary, but that's typical for Deidara. Regardless, Tobi found an odd humor in it. Clicking his chopsticks together, he leaned his elbow onto the table and teased, "ya still gotta get the last laugh, don't cha?"

Deidara tried to hide his grin. He felt as if he won some sort of argument, despite still being annoyed with his partner. "...yeah, I do, hmm. Shut up and eat."

"Right-o…"

As Tobi settled into his seat, he dipped his head to hide himself. He was careful to raise his mask ever so slight to only expose his mouth. Deidara watched him do so, as if he was investigating some sort of mystery. The scars on Tobi's mouth intrigued him, but he neglected to outwardly comment on it.

In between chews, Tobi flicked his chopsticks toward Deidara and asked, "well? Are ya gonna eat?"

"...yeah- I guess, hm," replied Deidara. His tone was almost awkward, but in reality he was just trying to shake off his curiosity.

With a nod, Tobi said approvingly, "good! You need the energy- plus, the food's great!"

"I'm sure it is, pal…" Deidara agreed halfheartedly. With that, Deidara grabbed his chopsticks and took a bite. Tobi could tell that Deidara approved of the flavor, and it seemed to ease him a bit.

"What a relief! Grumpy Deidara likes something besides his own art… we should rejoice!" Tobi joked. He was surprised by the grin that grew on Deidara's lips.

"Shut up, Tobi. The food's just good. I know good when I see it," remarked the blonde with a slight chuckle.

"Or taste it!" quipped Tobi. Deidara's mild laughter encouraged him to lighten the mood a bit.

With a playful eye roll, Deidara mumbled a passive, "whatever."

The two of them finally took a breather and ate. It was a mild, quiet time between the two of them. After swallowing his final bite, Deidara's eyes gazed outside. The sun was about to set, which made Deidara uneasy. With a frown, his eyes trailed back to his partner. Deidara's stare caught Tobi's attention.

"Hey-…" murmured Deidara.

Tobi sat up from his bowl and fixed his mask. He tilted his head and asked, "what's going on?"

Deidara let out a sigh and set his chopsticks aside. He leaned over the table to quietly discuss matters with Tobi. "It's getting late, hm. This ate up a lot of our time, alright? We need to get going. I want to make up for lost time and cover some ground before we set up camp, hm."

Tobi thought for a moment as he drummed his fingers across the table. He said, "Oh, right! Of course- great idea!"

His reaction made Deidara's mouth to go slant. "You need to take this more seriously."

"I am! I am! Here-" Tobi began to explain himself as he stood up from his seat. "We'll leave a nice, handsome tip and we'll be on our way, right now! Alright? Don't worry so much, Partner! We've got it!"

Wordlessly, Deidara stood up as well. He tried to contain himself and keep his cool, but Tobi's carelessness started to irk him again. "Yeah? Then let's go. No time to waste, hm."

"You got it, Pal!" Tobi said cheerfully with a salute. Haphazardly, Tobi left some Ryo on the table. He looked over his shoulder and saw Deidara trying to leave without him. "Wait for me, Deidara! Please!"

Tobi desperately scurried after Deidara in a panic. Their next task was to find a place to camp for the evening.