Chapter 3:
"Ugh...where am I?" Deidara struggled with those words, trying to sit up.
"You're at my house. Don't move Dei. Dad said it's best not to move you, and that you won't be able to go to school for the rest of the week." Tala answered handing him a glass of water, after pushing him back down.
"What happened?" Deidara asked drinking the water all in one go.
"Kushina stabbed you. I was going to take you to the hospital, but Tala said it'd be better if we brought you to his house, because it was closer and his father could fix you up faster." Itachi answered this time taking Deidara's hand and nuzzling it.
"I was so worried that you would die Dei." He said getting up off the floor, and going to get another blanket. Deidara was cold as an ice-cube right now.
"What time is it?" Deidara asked as Itachi covered him with the blanket.
"Almost midnight." Tala replied from his right.
"Why are you guys both in here sitting on the floor watching me, huh? You should be asleep now." Deidara looked back and forth at his friends questioningly.
"Itachi was too worried about you to even think of sleeping, and I was running the tanto Kushina stabbed you with, through testing for finger prints. At present it's your story against hers if you want to press charges, because both your prints, and hers are on it." Tala explained taking out his cellphone.
"She did imply she did something to you though, by telling me I couldn't prove anything." He said playing back the conversation between him and Kushina.
"If I did anything about it, my dad would throw his support onto her side, in the blink of an eye." Deidara said wishing to roll over and cry into the pillow under his head.
"Is that so?" Someone asked from the door.
"Minato?" Itachi asked in disbelief.
"Hello Itachi." Minato said waving.
"You are Tala right?" He asked turning to the redhead who nodded.
"I'd like to thank you both for helping my son." Minato said bowing.
"If you really want to thank us," Itachi started.
"You'll make sure that woman gets what she deserves." Tala finished.
"I intend to." Minato said seriously.
"Now then, I would like to speak to Deidara alone for a bit." He didn't have to repeat himself because Itachi and Tala left the room closing the door behind them instantly.
"What do you think will happen?" Tala asked trying to listen in on the conversation in the next room from the vent in his own.
"I like to think Minato loves his son," Itachi sighed out. "Move will ya? I'm coming up there." He retorted and started climbing the ladder.
"I can't hear anything." Tala said after a few minutes of silence between them.
"Neither can I." Itachi said lifting his head. There wasn't even a shock-wave from the voices next door.
Back in the guest room, Deidara was having a staring contest with his father. He refused to talk to him. His father hadn't shown any sign of giving a damn about him since Kushina came around, and he wasn't willing to go back to before that time, if it was just temporary. At least before Kushina came around his father would call to make sure he was okay, and tell him good night. Since she had come around Deidara didn't even have THAT simple luxury. He wasn't mad, he was just trying to avoid being hurt.
"Deidara, will you please talk to me? I need to know what's been taking place if I'm going to help." Minato took out his cellphone, and turned it off as he spoke.
His pager soon met the same fate. Thereafter he took out his planner, and ripped the pages inside to shreds. If Deidara still wouldn't speak to him after all of that, he wasn't sure he could do much more of anything, to show his son that he was serious about this.
"Dad..." Deidara was tempted but decided against it.
"Can I ask you a question?" Minato wasn't going to just give up. Deidara was silent indicating that he didn't care.
"What happened to the trust between us?" Minato asked his son seriously.
"Do you think I would've asked your opinion about me marrying Kushina if I didn't care how you felt?" He added.
"Or do you just believe I'm her lap dog, and can't think for myself anymore?" Minato felt like a sword was thrust through his chest at the knowledge that his son had lost his trust in him. That had been the one thing he'd stressed while raising his son, that in a family there had to be trust, there had to be communication.
"If you didn't want me to lose my trust in you, why did you stop calling dad?" Deidara finally spoke, only to cause a look of confusion to appear on his father's face.
"What are you talking about? I never stopped calling to check on you. You just never answer anymore." Minato grabbed his cellphone, and turned it back on showing Deidara the calls he'd made to their house over the weekend, and earlier that day.
"That's why. Dad, this isn't our house phone number anymore. Kushina called the phone company and got it changed not long after you two started dating again. That was before she even moved in. How could you possibly not know of it?" Deidara was the confused one now.
Dialing the number his father had apparently been calling to check on him, he got redirected to their old answering machine. His own voice from when he was ten years old greeted him. Deidara knew what he'd rehearsed so much back then by heart now, and he blinked trying to figure out how the number was still in effect, if the phone company had changed it. Surely another family would've had it by now.
"I know what you're thinking son, and no another family does not have that number now. I paid the phone bill myself yesterday." Minato said taking a receipt out of his wallet and handing it to Deidara to prove it.
"This has to be a joke. Dad, I sleep with the phone next to me just in case you call. I never got a single call." Deidara said giving his father back his cellphone and the receipt. "I can't believe I honestly thought you didn't care anymore."
"That woman is still as devious as ever. I thought she had changed after so many years, but I was wrong." Minato said taking out another cellphone. "I got this last week. She doesn't know this number yet, so she can't ignore the call. I'll be back in a bit kiddo, there are some things I have to say to Kushina, that you shouldn't hear." He said patting Deidara on the head.
No sooner had his father left the room, and Deidara layed back down to try and get some rest, had the blond heard a crash. Looking around frantically after sitting up, he spotted Tala and Itachi in front of the bed and blinked. "What the hell happened to you?" He asked. "Mind getting off me?" Tala asked from beneath Itachi. "Sorry." Itachi said helping him up.
"A vent?" Deidara asked looking up. "Were you two listening in?" Now the blond was mad.
"Well yeah, but it didn't work, so spare us the lecture will ya?" Itachi was the one who answered him.
"I'm too tired to care enough to give you a lecture now." Deidara said laying back down.
"So, what'd you and Minato talk about?" Tala asked too curious about it now to care if he was rude.
"I didn't tell him what she did yet if that's what you mean." Deidara replied.
"You have some nosy friends son." Minato commented as he came back into the room.
"Out, both of you, and this time don't listen in!" He growled out glaring at them.
"So, what did she say dad?" Deidara asked as Minato kneeled on the floor next to him.
"A lot of things, but it was all lies. I told her to pack her things, and leave. I'm going to fight her for custody of Naruto, and if you will tell me what happened between you two, I will have a much better chance of making her pay for what she did to you." Minato replied staring intently at him.
"You know that I'm gay right?" Deidara waited for his father's nod and sighed.
"She made my first time a nightmare dad, she used a sex toy to take my virginity away. If you married her, she was going to...she was going to use me as a play thing when you weren't around." That said Deidara grabbed the pillow behind him, and started crying into it. It was so humiliating. He could feel an upset stomach coming his way again.
"I cannot possibly tell you anything to help you through this son, however, I know someone who can. When you go back to school I want you to go see your school counselor. Orochimaru helped me a lot back in high school. If anyone can help you, he can." Minato said getting up. "I'm going to schedule the appointment for you. Try to get some rest. I'll be coming to check on you every once in a while."
Deidara heard the door close after his father was done speaking. The words awkward and uncomfortable didn't even begin to describe how Deidara felt around his father, especially now that he had told him the truth. Minato seemed to feel the same. Deidara knew in his heart that things between him and his father, would never be the same again. Laying back he wiped his tears away, hugged the pillow tight, and sighed. Eventually, he fell into a restless sleep.
"So how'd it go?" Itachi asked as Minato entered the living room.
Tala was sitting next to him on the wrap-around couch hugging his knees, and staring at the muted television screen ahead. Try as they might neither one of them could get to sleep, so Itachi had started flipping through a magazine that was on the coffee table, deciding now was not the best time to try getting closer to the redhead. Minato sat down supporting his head with his hands, hunching over somewhat, and sighed.
"I feel his pain, but I admit I also hate him a little right now." Minato started shaking just a bit then. "I know she only thought of him as a play thing, but I can't help feel like I've been one-upped by my son." He had to slap himself at his own stupidity, and to keep himself from lashing out as he was truly at war with himself at the moment.
"Suck it up." Tala said glaring at him.
"Deidara needs you now more than ever, and all you can think about is something trivial like that? You're pathetic." If possible the glare Tala was giving Minato went up a level in the scary department. Tala actually looked like he was just about ready to attack the man.
"You're right, but I do love my son." Minato supplied a half-hearted glare in return with that.
"I intend to keep things between us, as similar to how they were before all of this happened." His voice was dead serious then.
"Good." Itachi said sounding relieved. He knew that it would break Deidara if his father distanced himself from him now.
"You have been a good friend to my son for all of these years Itachi, I ask that you not abandon him now." Minato's eyes did the begging in his voice for him.
"I wouldn't dream of it. You do what you want to do. I however, will always be here for Deidara." Itachi told him seriously.
Time passed, and gradually Deidara healed enough to move around the house, instead of having to be helped to the bathroom and back. Minato had returned to work the very next day, but called five to six times to check up on his son each day. All things considered, Itachi had to say things were going rather well. Stuffing the books he wouldn't be needing over the weekend into his locker, he turned his attention to Tala with a smile.
"We're still on for tomorrow right?" He asked. He had rather grudgingly gone home upon orders from his parents by Wednesday.
"Yes. Deidara'll be watching too. I hope you guys will be able to see them." Tala replied, and didn't miss the glimmer of disappointment that filled Itachi's eyes when he mentioned Deidara, but decided not to say anything about it.
"What about Sasori, Kisame, and Hidan did you remember to invite them?" He asked instead.
"I didn't, but I'll call them tonight and invite them. Sasori has detention, and Kisame and Hidan are on that field trip to St. Mary's University till sunset." Itachi replied. He had honestly forgotten all about inviting them while worrying about Deidara's recovery.
"OK." Tala said putting his backpack on. "I still can't believe Sasori thought it was a good idea to paint dicks on the cafeteria walls." He added unable to keep himself from laughing. Itachi joined in remembering it clearly and followed Tala down the hall and out of the school.
"In time you will learn," The Uchiha started as he stilled his laughter. "As long as Sasori and Deidara are around, obscenities are quite common." He finished before laughing again.
A/N: Okay there's chapter 3. I hope you enjoy. Now then, because Amuto/Katalalover wished it, I am now debating making this ItachiDeidaraTala. As far as I'm concerned the decision is yours. Vote for ItachiDeidaraTala or ItachiTala. I will let you know when the votes are closed. See you next chapter and remember to RNR and vote!