Ever since his birthday, Deidara has been distant.
By distant, Obito means that Deidara always seems to be thinking about something else, even if he's right there next to him. He won't go narcissistic and say that his partner should always think about him, but after the episode they had in the teahouse, it feels like Deidara is attached to his hip.
And it's utterly distracting if your other half always feels like he's never there.
Obito wonders, as he watches Deidara now in their shared inn room, if he acted the exact same when the beginning of February came. He wonders, as Deidara molds his clay, if Deidara felt the exact same things he's feeling.
He stops absentmindedly playing with a kunai and leaves it to clatter loudly on the table. Deidara doesn't seem to notice. He crawls away from the table and moves toward his partner.
Deidara doesn't move at all, seemingly completely absorbed in his molding. Obito wouldn't be surprised if Deidara has gone deep in the zone, like he has in the past, in separate instances, but this time it's different. His hands move much more carefully, digging his nails into the white clay and carving patterns that are unfamiliar, it would explain his hesitant movements which contradicts his usual bold strokes.
It makes him curious. He's obviously trying something new, which makes him wonder if he's trying a new design. Obito thinks it makes sense. An artist always has to try something new, right? He's sure that a lot of Deidara's sculptures didn't look like it does now the moment he picked up some clay.
He sits down next to Deidara, drawing up one leg to plant his foot down firmly on the ground, resting his arm on his knee. Still, even with him sitting in such close proximity, Deidara does not notice.
Obito would be concerned if he doesn't know that there is certainly something on Deidara's mind.
"Hey, what are you doing?" he says, catching Deidara's attention. He's so startled that he jumps and Obito barely has time to reach out to steady him before he speaks up again. "What's wrong?"
The pure shock on Deidara's face gives him pause, but he doesn't let that stop him from questioning him further. "Is something the matter?" he asks firmly.
Deidara seems to blink out of his reverie then, turning down to stare at the clay in his hands and then moves quickly to cover up the sculpture. "No, hm," he says quickly, body tensing beside Obito's.
He's not telling the truth.
Obito narrows his eyes and reaches out to gently take Deidara's hands into his own. "What's wrong?" he presses.
Deidara seems to relent for a moment and Obito considers using his Sharingan to — only — soothe his nerves, but he seems to manage that on his own when he lets out a breath and opens his mouth.
"I don't know what you like, yeah," he says.
Obito tilts his head. What?
"What?" he echoes his own thoughts, curious as to why Deidara is interested in confusing him with one-liners since the tenth.
"Ah," Deidara blinks, moving his hands away. "I mean, I didn't really give you a proper birthday present."
Obito feels his mouth press into a thin line, a bemused smile as he watches Deidara fondly. "You don't need to give me a gift, senpai," he says, reaching out to run his gloved hand through Deidara's long, blonde hair. "If you're as observant as you claim to be, you'll know I've no need for things like that."
"It's tradition, yeah," Deidara grunts out, but he doesn't move away from Tobi, accepting his touch.
Obito couldn't help but become even fonder. "Then just give me what you have," he says, reaching out with his other hand. "If it's your work, I would love it regardless."
Deidara seems to consider this as he remains quiet, staring down at the white bit of clay that's hidden within his palms. Obito follows his gaze, reaching out slowly. Deidara allows him to take the clay from his hands.
He watches it closely, unsure what to think of it. The small sculpture settles neatly on his palm, looking smaller than it really is as its white body contrasts his black gloves. It stares, just like the rest of Deidara's art, with lifeless, void eyes. However, unlike the rest of Deidara's art, it seems to be made out of a special kind of clay that's meant to last.
As he untangles his other hand from Deidara's hand to stroke its body, he realizes that this isn't just another generic bird that Deidara makes on a whim during battles. This is a special kind of bird of prey.
"It's beautiful," he tells Deidara, not looking away from the little bird.
"It's far from perfect, yeah," Deidara huffs.
"It's perfect as it is," Tobi says. "Did you spend the past four days doing this?"
Deidara looks away.
"That's longer than you'd usually spend on your work," Tobi teases. "I thought senpai's work was all about the fleeting passage of time."
"Shut up, hm," Deidara grunts, reaching out to try and snatch the bird away from Obito's palm. "You'll not have it now."
"Aw, you can't say that today! That's mean," Tobi whines.
"What? What's today, yeah?"
"Another dumb day," Tobi sing-songs, setting the bird somewhere far away and leaning close to Deidara. "It's Valentine's Day."
Deidara blinks. "Valentine's Day," he parrots, as though he doesn't really understand the phrase. After two heartbeats, he blinks and then he blinks again, his eyes widening for a fraction.
"Valentine's Day," he says again, dumbly.
"Yes, senpai," Tobi murmurs, reaching out to comb his hand through his hair once more. "Is there something wrong about that?"
"We don't celebrate Valentine's Day, hm."
"I didn't celebrate my birthday."
Obito doesn't hear anything else from Deidara, neither does he sees, as he leans in and buries his masked face into Deidara's sweet-smelling hair. He could even smell it through his mask. "But I do now," he murmurs into his hair when Deidara remains quiet.
Deidara makes a sound that Obito couldn't quite hear clearly and says, "you only started four days ago."
"It isn't too late to start celebrating Valentine's Day."
He reaches up and shoves his mask to the side, leaning down to press a gentle kiss on the end of Deidara's neck and the beginning of his head. He could hear the gasp more clearly now and he grins, pressing kiss after kiss at differing spots.
He pulls back when he feels Deidara's hands tug at his short hair.
"What do we do on Valentine's Day, hm?"
"We celebrate."
He reaches out and slides his hand past Deidara's tank top, the material of his glove sliding smoothly against his mesh shirt underneath. He feels Deidara's shiver through a series of ripples of his flesh and when he reaches his nipple, he delights to find it hard.
"Tell me one thing," Deidara gasps when Obito presses a thumb against the nub, his fingers digging painfully into Obito's scalp.
"Anything," Obito whispers, leaning back down against Deidara's neck now that he's distracted.
"What's your real name?"
Obito pauses but he doesn't move. He remains where he is, face buried in Deidara's neck and hand sprayed obscenely on his chest. He doesn't move for a good few seconds and Deidara seems to be content with that, his breathing still labored and loud beside Obito's ear.
He removes his hand that's tangled in Deidara's hair and grips Deidara's side, pushing him down against the padded floor and he could feel Deidara's legs spread to accommodate him as they both press against the ground. It's more erotic now that he could feel all of Deidara pressing up against his chest.
Obito takes a deep breath once, then twice, then he moves his hand to grab hold of Deidara's hips and he grinds down harshly.
Deidara moans in his ear and turns his head to the side, no doubt trying to catch Obito's gaze. Obito grants him this and stares at him through the thin material of the band of his mask, seeing the outline of Deidara's hair sprayed around his head, like a mess of golden ink spilled from its bottle.
He thinks it's alright.
"Obito," he leans forward and whispers against Deidara's lips, grinding against him once more and Deidara swallows his name with a moan.
The tiny clay sculpture sits further away on the floor, toppled onto its side.
Obito reaches down and uses both hands to keep Deidara steady as he presses his entire body against his partner's, pinning him to the ground. He does not remove himself as he continues to speak, licking Deidara's lips to coax them apart.
"Uchiha Obito."
This time, as the name falls into Deidara's mouth, his gasp is no longer as pleasant.
Hey guys, Red here!
Happy Singles Awareness Day, boys.
My eyes are so tired and I don't even know if my brain is completely awake at this point. I didn't really do much today save for going to a seminar and a tutorial, but somehow I am very, very tired. If this doesn't make sense (what is with me and stories that don't make sense, nowadays? Is it my new brand?), then you'll know why.
Oh, and yeah, I did accidentally make this a three-parter story that's going to encompass all special days in February. How am I going to link this cliffhanger to the Year of the Dog? I don't know, but I have two days to figure it out. Wish me luck!
If you liked, or didn't like, this fanfic, please leave a review to let me know!
Cheers,
-redskiez:)