Aurgh.
-:-
Deidara was glad he survived the night. But now he had the sense that someone was watching him. Like, all the time. It was like someone was up in the hotel across the street and using a telescope to spy on him. It was weird.
He looked to his right – Hinata looked like she was still asleep. So he got up and went to the bathroom, changing out of view in case Hinata decided to wake up at the wrong moment. He decided to put his pants on and work his way up – he imagined that if Hinata did wake up at the wrong moment, he'd at least be decent in the right areas.
As luck would have it, Hinata began to stir and wake up just as he slipped his pants on, leaving him shirtless, but his original plan working.
"Oh! Hinata! G-Good morning!" Deidara waved at her as she stared, blushing at his shirtless body.
-:-
His hair wasn't tied up, and it stuck to his surprisingly toned back, which was accompanied by a particularly muscular chest. He was very thin, but it was the kind of thin that suggested that he exercised every so often to keep in shape. However, Hinata didn't spot any exercising equipment around his small apartment.
Hinata blushed a little too darkly – and noticeably. Deidara noticed her discomfort and slipped on a shirt. It got a little wet from his hair, which he quickly rub-dried in a towel. "Uh… S-Sorry about that… I just got out of the shower and was changing out here. I didn't think you'd wake up so soon…" He chuckled lightly as he hung the towel on a rack just beside the bathroom door. He went into the kitchen to get a cup of hot chocolate.
Hinata sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What are we doing today?" Deidara stepped out of the kitchen and blew on his mug. "Um… well, I'm not sure… I know that I'm taking you out for lunch. But right now, what do you want for breakfast? I could go out and get something to eat… otherwise I could scramble an egg or two…" Hinata thought for a minute. "Well, maybe you could go and get something to eat… I don't think I can wait for something to cook right now… hehe…" she chuckled lightly, then slowly went to get her clothes. "I'll be in the shower for while you go… Is that okay?" She hoped she wasn't being too bossy.
Deidara nodded and smiled at her. "Sure! Of course! Anywhere you'd like me to go?" Hinata shrugged. "Anywhere's fine."
He left, and she went into the shower.
-:-
As Deidara hurried down the stairs – he was slightly paranoid about elevators – he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. It was Sasori.
"Hey, loser. Get your ass down to the lobby. We're snowed in." Snowed in? Uh-oh.
When Deidara got to the lobby, he saw the landlord, Sasori, and a few other of the weird looking residents of the building shoveling things out the front door. When he and Sasori made eye contact, Sasori threw him a shovel. "Help out, or I'll kill you." It was always perplexing as to whether he was joking or not. "But I have to-" Then Sasori gave him a look that practically pulled him into the situation, making him pick a spot and start shoveling.
"Oh! Deidara! Nice of you to show up!" Pein, the landlord greeted happily as he rested by leaning on his shovel. Deidara nodded awkwardly. "Y-Yeah… But I can't stay long… You see, I have a guest waiting upstairs and I have to get her some breakfast and-"
"Her? It's a girl?" Pein inquired, raising an eyebrow. Some of the other familiar residents raised their heads and paused work to look at Deidara. He suddenly felt very warm under his sweater and scarf. His cheeks turned red. "Y-Yeah… She's just a friend, though…" He assured. The resident's snickers made them think otherwise. Groaning inwardly, Deidara cooled himself off with his glove, which was slightly packed with snow. It helped cool his cheeks.
He ended up helping his neighbors with the walk way, to his dismay. He worried endlessly about Hinata and how she would get breakfast.
-:-
Hinata felt her stomach grumble. Where could Deidara be? She wondered as she walked around his apartment. She finally couldn't take it anymore and began to sift through his refrigerator. There was barely anything in it – he didn't even have the eggs he said he could make. She felt horrible taking from his fridge, so she just grabbed a piece of cheese and nibbled on it before Deidara came back.
But a few long minutes later, Deidara wasn't anywhere to be seen, and she had already eaten through half the piece of cheese. I hope he's alright… She stood up and made her way to the balcony. It had started snowing again. What if Deidara got stuck somewhere in the cold? What if no one's there to help?
Suddenly, she got up, hunger forgotten, and grabbed her coat and sweater. She was going to go find Deidara and save him! She made sure she had lots of warm clothes on and headed out the door. She walked to the elevator, passing many people with shovels. She noticed that many of them had weird clothing, and that – out of all of them – she was wearing the normal outfit and demeanor. Oh, I hope I don't mess up…
-:-
Deidara looked at the time on his cell phone. It had been well over an hour since he left to get Hinata some food. He wouldn't be surprised if she was lying dead in his apartment right now. "Um. Pein, Sasori… I think I should get going now. I really have to get some breakfast." He felt his stomach vibrate and realized that he was hungry as well. But first, he had to change his clothes, which were packed with snow and soaking wet. He propped the shovel up by the door before he left to go back to his apartment via stairs.
When he got there, however, Hinata was nowhere to be seen. Panicked, he checked the bathroom, then the kitchen. He was tempted to make himself a cup of hot chocolate to calm his nerves, but he had to find Hinata. She could be somewhere cold! Or, worse, kidnapped! Knowing his neighborhood and other people in his apartment, it was most definitely a possibility. Deidara cursed under his breath and ran out, running up and down the stairs and checking every floor above him.
He had asked everyone from floors 4-6 with no results. Where could she have gone? He practically jumped down every stair case to get back to his floor, whose residents had the same outcome: nothing.
"Hinata!" He called down stair cases and hallways. He reached the lobby again, finding everyone who was digging before inside and enjoying coffee. Sasori looked at him, half knowing what Deidara was so concerned about.
"Hey, have you guys seen a girl walk by here? She has long hair that's blue and she's probably the prettiest girl you've ever seen…" He cut himself off. "Have you seen her?" He turned to Sasori, who nodded. She walked off in the snow, wondering where you've gone. A shady guy was following her, too." Sasori looked off into the distance, dramatically, irritating Deidara. "Why the hell didn't you tell her where I was going!?" He yelled. "She didn't ask."
Deidara, though fuming, ran out the doors in a hurry to find Hinata. She had no idea how dangerous these parts were.
Pein, sipping his coffee said, "And there goes a man in love."
-:-
Neji spotted Hinata leaving the building unattended. Quickly, he put on his trench coat, sunglasses, and hat and left his room. He followed Hinata across the street, then crossed to where she was, nonchalantly. He walked by the apartment building, which was a bit less than satisfactory. But Hinata looked like she was holding up okay.
He was sure to keep some distance from her, especially when they stopped at the same crosswalk. She glanced at him and smiled, then turned away. He nodded to her, feeling awkward at how they seemed like strangers. They crossed the street, and he followed her all the way for three blocks.
He planned to follow her for as long as she was going, but a certain blonde haired boy came running and…
-:-
Deidara saw a pink hat that covered dark blue hair on the other side of the street. He realized that it was Hinata, and there was indeed a man who was following her. Angered, he ran across the street – even though it wasn't his right of way – and almost got hit by a car on the curb. "Shit!" He said, scared for a minute but determined to get to Hinata.
"Hinata!" He called as loud as he could. Hinata turned around, and so did the man following her. He ran over to where she was on the corner and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Hinata! Do you have any idea how…" He trailed off, staring into her confused eyes for a minute. "Deidara…" Suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes, and she hugged him tightly. Blushing, he hugged her back, almost as tightly, but he couldn't match her strength (which made him a bit sad, but…). She looked up at him and said, "I-I-I thought something happened to you… A-And that's why you were gone for so long… I got worried and…" She sobbed into his jacket, which was already soaking wet. Deidara closed his eyes, marveling the feeling of the hold of a girl. He soon realized that it was his turn to talk.
"Well… I'll explain to you later, but… when I went back up to the apartment, and you weren't there, I got so scared. I mean, I thought you got kidnapped or something and it would've sucked because… It would've been a bad first day in Washington." He chuckled a little. Hinata laughed, rubbing her eyes on his cold jacket. Her giggle was like music to his ears. "I'm sorry I made you wait…" he said softly, the relief of her being okay filling him up. "I-I'm sorry I made you worry… I mean, you're soaking wet!" Hinata pulled back a little and felt his wet jacket.
Neji, meanwhile, idly stood by and observed this tender moment. He was contemplating whether to let them be or kill Deidara for touching Hinata like that.
Deidara laughed out loud, taking a soft hold of Hinata's arm. He tugged at her, and she followed him as he started walking. "We could try getting a bite to eat – you know, while we're still out." He offered. Hinata hugged his arm and giggled. "Sure! Anywhere." He smiled.
They decided to get a meal at McDonald's, which was nearby.
-:-
As the two headed back to Deidara's apartment, he saw that his neighbors were out shoveling again. Not about to be pulled back into shoveling snow – which was, by the way, falling more than it was being shoveled away – Deidara pulled Hinata's arm and took her to a door behind the building. It was another entrance that led to a series of staircases leading up to every floor of the building. "I hope you don't mind taking the stairs…" Deidara said as he began walking up the stairs. Hinata followed closely behind him, still holding his hand. Deidara noticed this and turned a light pink, focusing his attention on the next step.
When they got back to his apartment, Deidara quickly went into the kitchen to get a mug of hot chocolate. However, a small mishap was the thing in one of his hands…
He looked up at Hinata, who was still blushing. She was holding on to his hand, looking absolutely adorable. "Um… Hinata… My hand…" Surprised, she quickly let go of his hand while hers retreated to her back. "S-Sorry." She mumbled, backing away in awkward strides to a chair at the table. Deidara stared after her for a few seconds before a chill ran up his spine and reminded him of the sweet warmth of Hot Chocolate. Of course, he prepared Hinata a cup as well.
They sat at the kitchen table in silence. Deidara absently stared at his right hand, which was significantly warmer than his other hand. He couldn't believe how soft her hands were… and warm. He could hold her hand forever.
-:-
Hinata sat silently in the chair, blushing like mad. He sounded so worried about me…Like he really cared… Not many people outside of family really show that… She glanced at Deidara, who was absently staring at his hand.
"…Ah! Deidara, shouldn't you change your clothes? You might catch a – "
"AAAAAA-CHOOOOO…."
-:-
Deidara sneezed.
It was a mighty sneeze.
So mighty, in fact, he spilled some of his cocoa.
And as it seeped into the old wood of the table top, Deidara stood.
And grabbed for himself a tissue.
-:-
Aah, my attempt at poetry.
Sad, sad…
New Year's Resolution: Change someone's life for the better.
Don't let me forget ;)