Lucky Chapter 13 -

With the swimming in his head distorting his vision and the aching in his chest and all over his body, the blonde clutched his skull if only to keep from doubling over on the beach and retching. Every part of him was distorted in some way or another and there was air in places where there shouldn't be; everything about the new condition making him feel sick as he'd ever been. It was like the kind of land-sick distortion of the inner ear a fish will be afflicted with after being held steady on dry land for too long to such a point that the world simply spun around like a nightmarish whirlpool. For a moment, Deidara thought as if he would pass out on the beach and to stave off the feeling, buried his eyes in his hands and groaned as if to block out his churning vision and alleviate his symptoms. His companion was by his side in an instant with a supporting hand against the curve of his spine and a soft cloth draped over the writhing man's shoulders.

Gradually the shuddering and whimpering subsided until the only motion and sound from Deidara came from the heavy breaths that heaved from his chest as he acclimated himself to the new apparatus. When finally he had overcome the initial pain and strangeness, the new man found the strength in him to raise himself up on his forearms so that he was supported on his hips, his spine arched, much the way he would have perched on the sand had he still possessed a ningyo tail. Stretching his freshly shifted spine caused several of the vertebra to pop, making both men flinch and Inuyasha suddenly retract his hand, allowing the other to regain his bearings. Suddenly and with an exasperated sigh, the blonde rolled over onto his back, finding the altered position greatly more comfortable than his previous state, finally allowing his breathing to even out as the nausea subsided. With a bit of a relieved sigh, Inuyasha smiled down at the other man who in turn looked up and gave his companion a weak smile. Gently the hanyou brushed the damp and gritty golden hair from Deidara's brow, eventually moving his palm so that he brushed the sand from the young man's cheek with his thumb, caressing the smooth skin affectionately.

"So… do you feel better now kid? Is there anything I can get for you?" In a kind of half response, Deidara's lips twisted into an odd smile before his jowls parted into a wide yawn and his toes curled while his fingers dug into the fine sand of the beach. "Here kid, let me help you up… do you think you can stand? I mean I know you've never walked on legs before, but can I help you try?" Deidara's nose twitched and he gave a quick nod as he propped himself up on his elbows, combing his fingers through his hair before accepting the extended hand of the hanyou. With a grunt of effort, the blonde was eventually hauled onto wobbly new legs, balancing awkwardly on the outsides of his new soles as he stumbled and struggled to support himself. However as soon as the support of Inuyasha was taken from him, his fragile knees buckled and gave way, leaving the half breed to barely catch the other man before he fell. Eventually the hanyou settled with being used as a crutch as Deidara's legs found their steady ground and he walked the young creature back towards his tent.

With the little alcove of privacy and the newly formed man's palm in his own, a few flashes of vivid imagery darted through Inuyasha's brain, causing his mind to race and struggle to banish the thought before it began to show through. He wouldn't… he refused to… he could not be so animalistic… the transformation had been engaged for Deidara's benefit, so that Deidara could find comfort in being by his side and learn more about the surface world… Inuyasha would not be the kind of beast that would take advantage of the new body the instant it was formed. If the subject came to mating, IF, it would be on Deidara's terms; else the silver-haired man doubted he would be able to live with himself afterwards.

Taking a firm hold of the fragile man's elbow, Inuyasha carefully lowered his companion to sit in the sand just outside the canvas tent while he crawled inside alone to gather a few necessary things. When finally he emerged, he bore in his arms a bundle of brown fabric and a wad of scarlet fabric. The dun-colored garments were passed to Deidara in no particular order while Inuyasha again retreated into the safety of his tent to clothe himself without the curious eyes of the other on him. While the half demon was busy with his own robes, the blonde man eyed the clothing he had been presented with curiously, spreading a pair of pants in the air and staring at them as if trying to analyze their purpose. With a curious snort, Deidara put one arm experimentally through one of the legs of the fabric, but finding the feeling of being confined into the clothing unappealing, quickly abandoned the prospect, putting his lent clothes aside as if electing to remain in the nude. Apparently Inuyasha had been expecting him to be at least partially dressed by the time he emerged from the shade of his temporary home, but laying eyes on the other man still happily bare, he blushed and turned away.

"D-Deidara, put the clothes on please. That's what landfolk do, and w-we wouldn't want anyone knowing what you really are… so please?"

"I don't like them un," the blonde retorted back with a kind of look of determination that took his companion aback. "I never wore clothes in my life and I don't want to now, they feel weird and I don't like them un." With that the new man folded his arms and folded his legs Indian style as if he was taking a stand, though he could not truly stand.

"B-B… But… Kid…!" Inuyasha scrambled across the sand to snatch up the rejected clothing and holding the bundle up to Deidara yet again as if presenting him with the new garments a second time might alter his opinion. "You've got to remember how your body has changed, kid… You've got… your... um…" He fumbled with his words for a moment, not wanting to say the rationale behind his reasoning. "Kid you've got a dick now… and landfolk like to keep their… stuff private… it's a… a thing that humans do and stuff… you're only supposed to let your lover see that sort of stuff… so you have to keep it covered." Inuyasha's pointed ears folded back and he looked up at the skeptical merman over the hems of the offered pants, careful to avoid laying eye on the new and exposed genitals. With pursed lips, Deidara contemplated this, but receiving enough silent begging from the hanyou he finally gave in with a sigh.

"Fine un, but I don't even know where they're supposed to go, so you're gonna have to help me out, otherwise I'm not doing it un."

Inuyasha chewed his lower lip for a moment before finally giving in with a slight nod and again rising to his feet to help the other man up. With a little situating, Deidara was made to lean his weight against a nearby bowing mangrove while Inuyasha did his best to wrangle the shielding clothing up the other man's unsteady legs. All the while the half demon did his best to keep from staring at the smooth, slightly flushed round of his companion's rear, staving off the thought of giving the supple flesh a good swat. Still after a bit of wriggling and griping, Deidara's lower regions were fully covered by knee-length, loosely fitting dun trousers. Heaving a sigh of relief that the stubborn blonde's sex had been clothed, the half-demon's eyes fell to the seal that still adhered itself to the other man's shoulders. Twisting his lips with dissatisfaction, Inuyasha had to come to terms with the fact that it too would need to be covered, and considering Deidara's resistance to simple pants, he knew getting his friend to cover his back as well would be very difficult.

Instead of informing Deidara what he would be doing, the hanyou simply abandoned him leaning against the gnarled mangrove to fetch the cloak which matched the fabric of the trousers he had managed to force around the other man's hips. Giving a confused and startled squeak, Deidara looked over his shoulder to see where Inuyasha had disappeared to, but was all too late as he was assaulted with a leather string being done around his neck and a lightweight cloth being draped over his shoulders. Shocked and afraid, the young man immediately began to thrash until Inuyasha had to simply wrap his arms around the struggling blonde until all at once they pair toppled over onto the other side of the twisted tree, landing both with their faces first into the darker sand before tipping and falling in a heap. Deidara screeched and hollered, writhing in the tight grip of the stronger half demon, bucking his hips the way instinct told him to when he was swimming for his life. The two struggled and wrestled until Inuyasha finally found a strong hold on the other man with his legs wrapped around Deidara's and locked at the ankles while his arms held the other's arms at his sides. The hanyou pinned the twisting man's back to his chest and held him fast while tying the knot tight enough around the slender throat so that he was certain Deidara would not be able to remove the cloak. When finally the cord was fastened tightly around the howling man's neck, Inuyasha released him and gave him a gentle shove such that he rolled off of his captor to lay face down in the sand for a moment.

With a gasp and a snarl on his lips, Deidara looked up and glowered at the silver-haired man who was busy standing and brushing the sand off of his robes. Furiously the blonde shook his head and rolled over such that he could sit on his buttocks, spitting a gob of sand from his mouth like a disgusted cat.

"Sondes che feux! Balthaka na mesha kak ōtus uuridwo shun feux!" he barked irately, hurling a fistful of rather filthy-looking sand at Inuyasha and giving him a powerful scowl.

"Kid, speak Japanese… I don't know what you're saying when you yell at me like that…" Inuyasha flattened his ears back, not needing to know what the words meant to know that Deidara was boiling mad at him; it only took the look in the other man's livid blue eyes.

"I said, 'You fucking bastard, I told you that I didn't want to wear fucking clothes!' un." The blonde hissed, narrowing his eyes at the other man. "And you didn't have to maul me with it you stupid vent un."

Inuyasha heaved a sigh as if giving in and knelt next to the miffed merman who in turn scooted a few inches away from him in the sand and turned to look away to show he was still displeased with the hanyou. Careful to keep his movements slow and gentle, the elder man placed his hand softly on Deidara's kneecap and rubbed it tenderly with his thumb before inching closer to the irked man.

"Kid… I didn't mean to get rough with you… but you have to understand… I knew you wouldn't want to wear the cloak, but you have to in order to cover the seal up so people can't see. C'mon kid, I wasn't trying to be mean." With that, Inuyasha placed a soft, loving kiss on the other's tender neck, feeling it invoke a shiver as the skin immediately heated with embarrassment.

"Y-you oaf un… d-don't think that you can make me happy with you again with a f-few kisses un… If you do, then you're dumber than you look un." Inuyasha first appeared as if he had paid no attention, humming low in his throat and continuing to kiss the supple skin and fanning his hot breath into the crook of his companion's neck.

"Mmmm… Deidara…" he murmured softly into the heated flesh, "I don't just kiss you because I want you to forgive me, though that would be nice… I kiss you because I love to kiss you… kid, you're so beautiful… I'm so glad you want to come into town with me… There's no one else I'd rather go with…" It took a second for the words to sink into Inuyasha's own head and it was a little difficult to understand for a moment; was it true that even if he had Kagome as an option, he would still rather to have Deidara by his side? It had to be, for at that moment he felt as if there wasn't another soul he wanted to have at his hip and against his mouth; it was this man now that his heart desired in companionship and in love.

Love.

The day dwindled on rather slowly as Inuyasha packed up the campsite onto his shoulders, and after a half hour or so of supporting Deidara by his side and trekking through the matted forest, he also fronted the weight of the transformed man on his back, his untrained legs having given up entirely. Like a contented child, the blonde man clung to his companion's shoulders, marveling in the wonder of the people, architecture and culture of the landfolk. Everything was so strange and hot. There were fires blazing in nearly every store weather for forging iron or baking foods and as the sun began to set, lanterns were lit all along the main road to hang from every awning. Deidara marveled at the glowing orbs, likening them to the beautiful bulbs of angler fish without the bad temper and terrible rows of teeth. However, with the evening came a chill in the air rolling in from the north east and heavy clouds began to shroud the stars just as the glittering specks had begun to pick their ways across the painted skies. Smelling the chill and the eminent rain, Inuyasha made the command decision that it was time to find shelter and settle in for the night and fortunately, he knew just the place.

It was a small cottage, only one room for there were no dividing walls between the sections that did exist. Though the hanyou would never admit to Deidara the original purpose of the home, it had once been the place where he had intended to share his life with Kagome before she had expressed her desire to return to her own time. Of course the departure was not bitter, but the memory of the future that could never be still stung like a pin in the sole of Inuyasha's foot. Still he kept his upper lip firm as he hauled the sagging man through the shoji. The house itself was rather dusty with the faintest air of mildew creeping up from an untended leak in the wall. There was a bed, a simple mattress lain on the floor, which had been made and never touched, the place having been abandoned before ever coming into use; after all it was supposed to have been a surprise for Kagome. There was an iron potbelly stove in the far corner, though all of the cookware had been pilfered from the abandoned home by looters, not that it irked Inuyasha terribly. There hadn't been much to steal anyway, and their scents were long gone.

With an exaggerated sigh of relief, the hanyou carefully lowered Deidara until he plopped onto the untouched bedding which molded slightly to the man's weight. The blonde man looked as if he was about to ask a question, but all too soon, he turned around and Inuyasha was on the other side of the house, letting his newly got rations and camping equipment slide to the floor in the corner and shutting the front shoji and turning it's wooden latch. The silver-haired man hadn't had his back turned for more than a moment, however and as he looked back to his companion who he'd deposited in good faith, the blonde had already removed his pants and was struggling vainly with the cord that held the cloak around his neck. With an exhausted sounding grunt, Inuyasha crouched before the other and caught his claws in the tight knot, picking at it until the leather went slack in his fingers and the cloth slipped off of Deidara's shoulders. Giving his a grateful smile, the younger blinked up at the half demon and nodded quickly, perhaps having grown so accustomed to silent communication in the air that it slipped his mind that he could speak. At the same time, however, Inuyasha had become very good at reading the ningyo's silent expressions and took the suggestion well and turned his back to the blonde yet again, this time only to let his own clothing fall away from his body.

As he rotated back to see his companion, he had been expecting Deidara to be where he had been, sitting quietly on the edge of the bed, maybe even with his eyes shining in that way that simply begged Inuyasha to kiss him. Alas the silver-haired man would have no such luck as the other man was lying on his stomach on the side of the bed nearest to the wall, his head resting comfortably on his folded arms. Inuyasha had to smirk at the way the silly kid lay on top of the sheets rather than between them, but still he found the ningyo's naiveté rather cute in most cases. Inuyasha climbed in next to the blonde, pulling the covers from beneath the confused man only to drape them over Deidara's body so that beneath the blanket, he could shimmy himself closer to other body. This time the younger did not protest to being covered up, instead letting out a contented noise before closing his eyes and allowing himself to be pulled into Inuyasha's embrace. It felt nice, to be sleeping so close to Inuyasha finally; it had been something he had been wishing for, but the one thing of greatest impossibility seeing as sleeping together would have caused one or the other to suffocate. Curling his arms to his chest, Deidara sighed as the half-demon's strong arms wrapped around his shoulders and held him loosely but near to his warm body. It was calming, relaxing and sweet, and the pair easily drifted off to sleep curled against one another.