Chapter 5:
"Come on Tal," Kai started tiredly. "You know you're going to regret not talking about it." He blew at his coffee as he finished. Tala just sighed, and mixed some sugar into what Kai considered an insane mix, a cup of coffee and herbal tea. The slate haired teen grabbed the redhead's hand, and gave a shake of his head when Tala looked at him questioningly. "That's quite enough sugar." He said confiscating it.
"Still bitter." Tala stated sounding just as tired after tasting it.
"I miss him." He confessed preparing to finish his drink through spoonfuls.
"I'll never understand how you can drink that." Kai said disgusted. "He asked me to give this to you." With a grudge in his heart Kai placed the promise ring Tala had given Hiro on the kitchen table.
Two seconds, that was all the time it took for Tala to start crying. "He said that if you really want to end it, you should fork over the one he gave you." Kai explained as he put a Tylenol pill in his mouth. He had such a headache. "You, are so lucky I care about you." He droned.
"I know." Tala said wiping at the tears on his face furiously.
"I'll settle all of this come the Japanese finals for the championships." He sighed knowing there was no way he could avoid seeing Hiro come that time.
"I have to leave him. I know that, but a part of me keeps nagging at me not to, and it's so not helping that everything reminds me of him." Tala let his head hit the table and groaned. "I keep wandering the streets at night, trying to clear my head, but all I can think about is him."
"If you don't leave him, you're going to end up in a hospital one day Tal." Kai was glad his friend couldn't see his face then because it spared him the need to explain what the fear on his face was all about.
"As far as I'm aware, we ARE over. He's just torturing us both, by waiting till I say it to him myself." Tala said crossing his arms and placing them on the table before resting his head on them. "That damn voice in my head won't leave me alone. I haven't slept since we talked about this visit. Mind you this has not been a pleasant visit at all."
"I was right to worry about you." Kai said remembering how he himself had been having trouble sleeping because of his friend's predicament. "I've gotta say Tal I'm tempted to take you back with me."
"I wouldn't mind being locked up in that mansion of yours. Lord knows Paulo could find some way to make me fall asleep." Tala retorted sounding a little happy and a tad nostalgic. "Best damn chef in the world that man, yes he is."
"No arguments here." Kai agreed one hundred percent. "Stay with us till the Japanese championships are over?"
"My pleasure. Aside from having to see Voltaire it's all good." Tala said and yawned.
"No matter how tired I am," He lamented. "Sleep just won't come."
"You have to get some rest somehow." Kai said putting the dishes in the sink.
"I've tried. I even asked dad to sing me to sleep, and you and I both know I can't stand his voice. It's just not happening Kai." Tala said following him until they were in his room.
Anything the two might've said thereafter was lost to the two listening in. Due to the fact it had gotten late, Tala had invited Itachi, Sasori, Hidan, and Kisame to stay at his house. With Deidara still using the guest room, he'd accommodated the rest in the living room, with the exception of Kai whom he had so kindly decided to share his own room with. Tala was a ticking bomb, and Kai was the only one who could defuse him, that was a good way to put it. Kai understood, and made no objections when he was dragged off to the redhead's room.
"Great, what are we supposed to do now?" Itachi texted to Deidara after hearing Tala's bedroom door click shut.
"Hm." Deidara sighed upon receiving the text in his room.
"Honestly, I have no idea. I'll text you if I think of something." He wrote back.
"Well hurry up ok?" Itachi texted in turn.
"Hn. If only you knew." Deidara muttered inside the vent in his room trying to keep his weight from betraying him.
"I'm in the vent 'Tachi. I hid a walkie-talkie in Tala's closet earlier like you asked, but this is the only place I don't get static trying to listen in. You should've bought the more expensive ones. You get what you pay for remember that." He wrote back.
"Spare me Dei. What are they talking about?" Itachi texted back.
"Hiro, what else would they be talking about?" Deidara wrote back mentally scolding himself for his jealousy.
"Hey, don't be a bitch. You can stop spying whenever you want to." Itachi's response came almost as quickly as he had sent the question.
"Good. I'm going to bed then. Bye." Deidara didn't give Itachi a chance to text back signing off and putting his phone away.
"Bloody hell, I'm gonna fall!" And fall he did.
Finally betrayed by his weight, the blond felt the floor of the vent under him collapse. "Shit!" He growled out bracing himself for impact, but the impact never came.
"And that's all she wrote." He heard and opened his eyes only to see Tala's face.
"...Uh hi...I...I can explain..." He studdered.
"Uh huh." Tala said leaning in.
"I was wondering when you'd fall." He whispered before placing a brief kiss to the blond's lips.
"Kai found this little nuisance earlier." He said holding up the walkie-talkie Deidara had hid in his closet after putting the blond down.
"So, did you hear what you wanted?" Instead of anger there was a hint of a teasing tone in his voice as he smirked at Deidara.
"It was Itachi's idea not mine, and um...that is to say...did you just kiss me?" Deidara's face was covered in a bright red blush as he stammered that out.
"Itachi hm? You got any proof of that cutie-pie?" Tala tilted Deidara's chin up, and smirked at him after asking that.
"You got a problem with it?" He added giving him a second kiss, and sucking his lower lip for a moment.
"Tal stop playing with him will ya?" Kai knew Tala couldn't see it, he was always oblivious to what was right in front of him. He on the other hand could see. He could see it all very clearly.
Everything about how Deidara was reacting, implied that he liked Tala. Kai was actually a bit surprised that Deidara's legs hadn't failed him yet, from how weak at the knees he looked, and he figured that if Deidara's face turned any redder it would explode. The constant studdering and stammering wasn't working in his favor if he was trying to hide it either. Shaking his head Kai went over, and poked Tala's shoulder.
"Enough already. You're going to make his head explode." He said as Tala glared at him.
"...I...I gotta go...Satan please kill me now." Deidara rambled as he left the room once Tala let go of him. He nearly tripped on the way.
"So you fell?" Itachi asked as Deidara closed the door to the guest room.
"...Go away..." Deidara muttered sinking to the floor as he leaned against the door.
"...I swear, he has no idea what he just did." There was something between his legs that needed serious attention thanks to Tala's actions.
"Dei, what happened in there?" Itachi asked.
"Get out Itachi, before I force you out." Deidara replied trying to flush the scarlet blush off of his face.
"You don't look hurt." Itachi noted looking him over.
"That does it." Deidara said forcing his body to obey him as he got up and opened the door then pushed Itachi into the hall and closed it.
Sighing he locked the door, and took off quickly to take a cold shower. It was becoming routine for him it seemed. "God damn it, why do I have these feelings for you?" He exclaimed before curling up on the shower floor, and bursting into tears. Although he wanted what Tala had given, and more, Deidara hated himself for it because he was betraying his best friend, and that was the last thing he wanted to do.
"Come in." Tala said looking over at the door, as he placed a bookmark, in between the pages of a book, to keep record of where he'd left off.
In spite of wanting to stay up with the redhead, Kai's being had given way to sleep, and now Tala was alone with a book, and thoughts of Hiro and Deidara. He hadn't missed the way the blond nearly tripped on his way out of the room, and that got him thinking if his playing meant something deeper to Deidara. It hadn't been his intention to hurt him, and now he was feeling rather guilty, although he'd enjoyed himself greatly.
"Sorry to disturb you. I heard a crash and got worried." Itachi said as he entered, and closed the door behind him.
"Deidara fell from the vent. I caught him. There was no crash here Itachi, as he never made it to the floor. Why don't you explain to me why you had Deidara spy on me? I've got all the time in the world." Tala supplied nodding towards the other chair at the table for two he was at.
The lamp above the table casted a soft glow over the area, and as he sat down across from Tala, Itachi couldn't help take notice of how that glow made Tala look angelic. "Go on. I know it was your idea." He had to sigh as Tala pressed on. He'd get Deidara for this later he vowed, before focusing on thinking of a lie.
"I was just trying to find out more about you." Simple, and half true at least, he figured.
"Bullshit. I'd tell you anything if you'd just ask me, and you know it, so don't give me that." Tala wouldn't have it. With a glare he hissed at the Uchiha. "Tell me the truth Itachi. Be honest with me, like I have with you." He was beyond angry.
"It's true. I wanted to know more than I could get out of you. It's not like you'd pour your life's story out if I asked you, you're not THAT honest are you?" Itachi managed a counter somehow returning the redhead's glare evenly.
"Isn't a friendship supposed to blossom slowly?" Tala countered in turn.
"That's just it Tala. I don't want to be your friend, I want to be more." Itachi blurted out after a few minutes.
"First off, thank you for being honest. Secondly I am not ready for another relationship of that kind, and considering I don't know you very well yet, I need more time to even think of you as someone I might want to have such a relationship with. Take that however you want, goodnight." Tala didn't react at all like Itachi was expecting him to. Instead he returned to reading his book waiting for Itachi to leave as the word 'goodnight' had been said with a tone that practically screamed 'we're done here' and the redhead had pointed to the exit as an extra hint either way.
"I have to get over you Hiro." Tala said looking at what he had chosen to use as a bookmark, small pictures of him and Hiro.
In one of them they were kissing, in another Tala was making bunny ears with his fingers at either side of Hiro's head, the third was of Hiro hugging him while he directed a peace sign at the camera, the fourth was of Hiro feeding him soup when he'd gotten sick on his birthday, the last picture was of them showing off the promise rings they'd exchanged. Tala couldn't help the tears that spilled forth as he thought back on those memories and more.
After composing himself Tala went over to his closet, and pulled out a guitar case. Opening it up he took the guitar inside, and left his room. Settling down in the highest recesses of a tree in his backyard, the redhead began to play. The notes came out sour, but he was a clear expert at playing the instrument.
"You'd always tune this thing for me, so I never had a need to learn how to do it myself." He sighed solemnly as he attempted to tune the guitar. Failing miserably he watched one of the strings break. "Sorry." He whimpered. "You're just like my heart now." With that he closed his eyes, and to his surprise, he was finally able to sleep.
A/N: Well...I'm happy with it, are you? Keep voting and RNR!