Chapter 2

After a long day at school Itachi was at the coffee shop near his university studying. He had stayed a little bit after his last class so he'd already missed dinner anyway. The coffee shop was open 24/7 and there were constantly a bunch of students there with their laptop computer – either working or social networking.

It had been a few days since he'd gone to that Silver place. He was still thinking about Deidara sometimes. And that was unusual for Itachi. If he met someone relatively interesting at a club, he usually enjoyed a good one night stand, and then never wanted to see them again. He didn't believe in relationships. Not for him, anyway. He had never been in one, even though there had been more than a few requests from girls - and some boys.

And there he was, spacing out in front of his computer screen, thinking about a skinny blonde guy with piercings – and probably tattoos even though he hadn't seen them – and an obsession with metal music. But he brushed the thought away, thinking that it was probably only because he hadn't been to a club, and hadn't had a one night in a while. A while being about a month and a half. But still…

They were playing dance music in the coffee shop, and it made him feel like going out. He liked clubbing because it took his mind off things. The gym worked too, Itachi went once in a while actually. But dance clubs were something else entirely. He could just forget everything and dance all night, and meet someone and have a good time. Itachi was a great dancer, and he was even greater in bed, he knew it, and liked to show off those skills.

For the second time he brushed these distracting thoughts away and tried to concentrate on his project.

But a few minutes later he looked up as someone walked in the little restaurant, and his onyx eyes widened as he saw that it was Deidara. The latter didn't see him though, he walked straight to the counter to order, then he paid and just stood there waiting, thumbs in his belt loops and glancing down. He was wearing grey converse this time, but the rest of his outfit was similar to the one he'd been wearing at his work; skinny jeans and hoodie, all black. His long hair was tied up, but it didn't look like he had eyeliner this time. Itachi wished he could see him more closely.

When Deidara got his coffee he went to sit at a small table at the other side of the restaurant. No luck, Itachi sighed. Now he would look really stupid if he walked all the way there to talk to the blonde, and got turned down. And Itachi didn't like looking stupid. The fact that Deidara was actually sitting over there was quite distracting though, and he kept glancing in his direction. Deidara was drawing in his sketchbook. He seemed to be in his own little world, completely oblivious to the other people sitting around him.

Suddenly the blonde stretched his arms a little, and then took off his hoodie. He had a striped red and black tank top underneath, with grey arm warmers. From the way he was bent Itachi could see that he had a tattoo on his left shoulder blade. He couldn't quite make out what it was though. He pondered putting on his glasses to be able to see it better, but then realized that would be creepy. He just needed to stop looking at him.

Itachi actually managed to concentrate on his school work after that - but only for a few more minutes...

…

Deidara liked going to the coffee shop because it allowed him to relax with a nice latte, and just let the inspiration flow out of him. It was a nice change of atmosphere from his small apartment. He liked drawing, and also writing, sometimes. But tonight he felt like drawing. Tribal tattoos were his specialty, but he also liked drawing flowers. Actually right now he was working on a rose design. This was a really popular flower for tattoos, especially for girls of course.

About thirty minutes after Deidara got there, the coffee shop became rather crowded, and a group of three young guys came to sit at his table. Deidara frowned as he glared at them. He was a little bit antisocial, and he didn't like when people bothered him.

"Sorry but there's no other place." One of the guys said as he put down his iced cappuccino on the table and sat next to Deidara.

The other two guys imitated him. Deidara instinctively leaned back in his seat and closed his sketchbook.

"I was waiting for someone," he lied.

"Oh, well when they get here we'll just leave all right?" Another one said mockingly.

Deidara sighed, annoyed, and then he picked up his black messenger bag to put his sketchbook back in there. But the guy sitting beside him stopped him, and actually stole the sketchbook from him.

"What the hell?" Deidara said angrily, trying to get it back.

"Oh come on, I'm just curious. What do you write in there, love poems?" He mocked, still struggling to take it from Deidara.

Suddenly another voice was heard. "Hey Deidara… hum… what's going on here?"

Deidara continued holding his sketchbook, but he looked up, quickly flipping his bangs aside. That low, deep voice sounded familiar. And indeed it was that hot guy who had come to his job with his brother and Naruto the other day.

"Guys if you don't mind… there's a free table over there," Itachi continued, pointing at said table at the other side of the restaurant.

The stupid guy finally let go of the damn sketchbook. Deidara glared at him. The three guys finally complied, picked up their iced cappuccinos and went to sit at the other table.

Itachi put down his laptop case and sat in front of him. His hair was loose this time, and he wasn't wearing his glasses. He was even hotter like that, if possible. His dark eyes were deep and intense, and framed by long black eyelashes. His raven hair had bluish tints in it, depending on the light, and it was framing his handsome face nicely. It was sleek and looked incredibly soft, it was only curling slightly at his shoulders.

"Thank you," Deidara said, "I didn't even see you were here."

"Yeah I know." Itachi made a little amused smile, "You were so focused on your work."

Deidara glanced down at his sketchbook. "Yeah well…" He shrugged helplessly.

"Can I see your tattoo…?" Itachi asked.

Deidara looked up, and he realized Itachi was looking curiously toward his left shoulder.

"Oh, sure…"

He turned around slightly, to show him his left shoulder blade. He also reached with his hand to pull on his tank top, moving the fabric so that Itachi could see properly. It was a tribal raven bird, all black. The largest part was the wings, which was about four or five inches long.

"It's really beautiful."

Deidara turned again to face him, and he saw that he looked sincere.

"Thanks," he shrugged and his lips twitched into a small smile.

He took a sip of his latte, and then pushed it away, making a disgusted face. It was too cold now.

"Do you want another one?" Itachi asked.

"Ah no I'm good." He said, and then glanced at the laptop case. "You were studying…?"

"Yeah. Well, trying."

"University?"

"Yeah… second year computer engineering." Itachi answered. "You? I mean… are you a student?"

"No," Deidara answered simply. Then he realized Itachi was probably wondering why he was at that particular coffee shop. "But I actually live really close so I come here sometimes…"

Itachi nodded slightly, and glanced away for a moment. He seemed lost in his thoughts.

"What is it?" Deidara asked.

The raven turned to look at him again. "I've been thinking, I don't particularly like tattoos, but just a small one is really nice. Or even one the size of yours… I also like that it's all black, I really don't like colored tattoos."

"Well it depends on the personal preferences but I also prefer black. Actually all my tattoos are black," Deidara said. "But what are you getting at?"

"I think I might want one after all." He smiled, "I just decided that like, right now."

Deidara smiled back. "That's awesome. Do you have an idea of what you'd like?"

"Not really." He admitted, "But I do like birds I mean… I don't want to copy you or anything but… it just represents freedom to me."

"Yeah exactly. And I don't care if you copy me having a tattoo of a bird is not trademarked you know?"

"Well…" Itachi glanced down at his sketchbook. "Show me your drawings maybe it'll inspire me."

"All right…"

Deidara brushed his long blonde bangs behind his ears and opened the sketchbook, turning it toward Itachi. He flipped the pages until he got to the part where he'd drawn animal tattoos. Together they looked at all the animals in there, and discussed the possibilities. Deidara felt great, because this is what he loved to do. At work he rarely got to have talks like this with customers, it was always Sasori, or the other tattooist. So with Sasuke it had been really fun, and now, with Itachi, it was even better. Probably because he was so attracted to him…

This handsome face, full lips, pale skin, and damn, Deidara didn't know what his perfume was but it smelled so good. He particularly liked when they locked eyes together… those mysterious dark eyes were almost entrancing.

Deidara brushed those thoughts away forcefully. He had a girlfriend for Christ's sake… And here he was fantasizing shamelessly about a man.

With Itachi's explanations, Deidara eventually had an idea. He turned the sketchbook toward himself again, and flipped to a blank page. He started making a quick draft of what Itachi's tattoo could look like. He said he wanted it on the upper part of his arm. So Deidara drew flying birds in a wavy pattern, so that it would go from one side of Itachi's arm to the other, and then all the way up to his shoulder. It could look really great.

He looked up at Itachi, and blushed slightly…

"What?" Itachi asked, amused.

"Can I see your arm… it's just… it would help."

It was true, but for some reason he was shy to ask. Itachi complied though. He took off his long sleeve black shirt, revealing a simple white t-shirt underneath. He even rolled up the short sleeve of his left arm.

Deidara snapped out of his daze – he'd been staring at Itachi's defined muscles – and looked down at his drawing again. He flipped the page, and started over. When he was satisfied with the draft he showed Itachi.

"See, it would do this…" He reached with his index finger to show Itachi directly on his arm. "And then it would go there, and there…"

As his finger brushed against Itachi's pale skin he marveled at how soft it was. A light blush appeared on his cheeks and he pulled his arm back.

"I really like it," Itachi smiled. "Honestly, this is like, a crazy, spontaneous decision but… I feel like getting it done."

"Well that's great," Deidara laughed. "I'm certainly not the right person to try to talk you out of it. I also think this style of tattoo would look amazing on you so… If you just give me a day, I'll use my free time at work to draw it again, really make it perfect… And then we can schedule an appointment with Sasori…"

"Aren't you a tattoo artist as well?" Itachi raised a fine black eyebrow.

"Well yeah but I'm technically still in my training so…"

"But have you done it before?"

"Yeah on a couple of friends… well I mean the staff, pretty much."

"Do you think you could do mine?"

Deidara's blue eyes widened, and he scratched his hair nervously. "Yeah of course but… are you sure?"

"Yeah I want you to do it," he smiled.

"Wow… thank you… thanks for trusting me, seriously, you won't regret it!"

…

Later, at his small apartment, Deidara was lying down on his single bed, sketchbook in front of him. He was still working on Itachi's tattoo. He was really excited about this; his first real customer. He'd done a small flower tattoo on Konan's ankle, and also other small ones for Sasori, and his boss Yahiko. But that was it. He knew perfectly well how to do it; he'd been working at the place for almost three years now, and watched Sasori and the other tattooist, Nagato, so many times. But they didn't trust him enough yet. Granted, he was only 19 years old, and that the customers could feel insecure. But it wasn't fair, really, Nagato was 25, and Sasori was 23 – it wasn't that much older.

He eventually rolled on his back, and closed his eyes. It was way past midnight. But Deidara always had trouble sleeping. He was afraid of the nightmares haunting him. He was really tired though; he hadn't slept much the night before. Besides, he had to be at work at 10 am the next day. He didn't have a car, and either with the bus or subway it could take up to forty five minutes. So he had to get up at 8 am. So early…

He sighed, put his sketchbook away, and went to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth, and then proceeded to untangle his long, thick blond hair. He washed his face and then went back to his bedroom, glad he hadn't put on any eyeliner that day. He liked the style it gave him, but he hated having to take it off.

He stopped the music on his computer, and turned it off. Before turning off the light, he stripped to his boxers, tossing the clothes on the floor, sat on his bed and glanced down at his arms. There were many cuts in the insides of his arms, some old ones, some fresher ones…

He'd started doing this a year ago, and he just couldn't stop. It had been after a particularly vivid nightmare. He'd felt so hurt, so scared, so ashamed, and disgusted with himself all at once. He'd gotten up in the middle of the night, and pressed his scissors blade to the inside of his arm. It'd taken the painful feelings off his mind for a moment, replacing them with physical pain, and a certain numbness. It felt good and comforting, to be able to escape those dreadful feelings at least for a moment…

Konan wanted him to see a therapist. But he knew it wouldn't help…

He finally flicked off the lights and crawled under his sheets. He didn't fall asleep right away. He was still thinking about Konan, actually. They had been together for six months now. She was his first girlfriend. His first relationship at all. He was gay, but he pretended to be straight. He knew it was lame, but he just couldn't be with a guy…

And, just as so many other nights, his dreams reminded him again of the very reason why he was so afraid to be with a man. He woke up at 4:30 in the morning, panting and trembling, images of guys raping him still fresh in his mind. He could almost feel the pain in his body… But of course it was only a trick of his subconscious.

He pressed the blade to his skin, reopening a tiny scar. His breathing evened, and he calmed down. A few silent tears rolled down his cheeks, but he ignored them. He just crawled back in his sheets, feeling even more tired than before. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that this time no nightmare would haunt his sleep…

…

On Saturday afternoon, just like precisely a week ago, Itachi was getting ready to go to the tattoo and piercing place where Deidara worked. He put on fancy black sneakers, stylish dark gray jeans, and a simple dark red v-neck tee with a slim black leather jacket. He let his hair down, and placed his bangs in his mirror. He was trying to look good for a straight emo guy. He chuckled quietly. He wasn't so sure about the straight part. He'd noticed how Deidara had been looking at him at the coffee shop. And he knew that look. He'd gotten it often enough.

He went alone this time. His mother didn't question where he was going. She usually got more worried when it came to Sasuke. As he got in his car and started driving, he thought about the fact that he was getting a tattoo. He was surprisingly not freaking out about it. He really liked Deidara's drawings and ideas, and now he couldn't wait to see the final version. It would suit his style, and look really hot. And besides, for school, or future jobs, he'd always wear shirts with long enough sleeves to hide it, so it really wasn't a big deal.

Mikoto would totally freak out if she ever found out that her boys had tattoos, but that was another story. Minato would probably comfort her and bring her around, anyway.

Itachi luckily found a parking spot near the store, and then he made his way there. He was glad Naruto had shown him the place last time, because he definitely wouldn't have found it alone. There was a little 'Silver' poster in the window displays of the building, but it was easy to miss. He pushed the door open, and walked down the stairs on his right. At first he wondered if he really was at the right place. But yeah, he recognized his surroundings, only the people were different. There was a tall, skinny guy with long dark red hair behind the counter, and another guy with short, spiky, paler red hair and tons of piercings in his face was talking with a customer around the piercings displays.

Itachi walked up to the counter. The guy looked up, replaced some red strands behind his ear, and smiled at him.

"Hey, how can I help you?"

There it was, the look again. Except Itachi didn't care about this guy.

"Well I'm here for a tattoo…"

He cut him. "Perfect. You're talking to the right person."

"Uh, no, actually, I'm supposed to… have an appointment with Deidara?"

"Oh…" He looked disappointed. He glanced toward the last booth in the back of the room, hesitated, then looked back at Itachi. "Yeah he's getting ready but… Actually, I have a lot more experience. Deidara told me this would be your first tattoo, so… I don't feel too comfortable with a beginner doing it instead of me."

On the meantime the other customer had left. Itachi supposed he'd just wanted information. So the other red-head joined them.

"Oh shut it Nagato. If we never let Deidara practice, he'll never be more than a beginner, right? Anyway…" He turned to look at Itachi and offered his hand. "I'm Yahiko, I'm the owner of this place, actually. It's always nice to meet a new customer."

Itachi shook his hand. "I'm Itachi. Nice to meet you too."

The other guy looked jealous that Itachi's attention had been stolen from him. He walked around the counter to stand right next to him.

"Let me introduce myself properly. I'm Nagato, and if you don't feel comfortable with Deidara doing your tattoo, don't hesitate to ask me."

Itachi also shook this guy's hand, but just to be polite. He was kind of annoying.

"No it's fine," he said.

Yahiko went to tell Deidara that Itachi was here. A few seconds later the pretty blonde made his appearance. He wore black arm warmers and a black Skillet t-shirt. His hair was tied up as usual, but a few loose strands came out of the tie and it looked really cute and sexy. Actually those were two words, Itachi thought, which defined Deidara very well.

"Itachi! Hi!" He smiled.

"Hey, what's up?" He replied casually.

"I'm ready, actually. What about you? Still certain about your decision?"

"Absolutely."

"Awesome. Come on…" He motioned towards the last tattoo station where he'd been working earlier, and Itachi followed him there.

The blonde sat at the little desk, and Itachi took place in the chair next to him.

"This looks really great," he said sincerely as he glanced at Deidara's drawing.

"And it'll look even better on you," Deidara smiled as he picked up the carbon copy of the tattoo.

Itachi took off his jacket and rolled up his left sleeve. Deidara got up and took his time to apply the tattoo stencil. He finally pressed it to Itachi's arm, keeping it there for a moment. When he took it off he looked at it, smiled appreciatively, and invited Itachi to look in the mirror. So he did.

The flying birds design was in a circular pattern around his arm, all the way up to his shoulder. And it was so perfect that it even seemed to follow and flatter his muscles. It clashed with his pale-white skin, just like his hair and eyes. And of course with the stencil it was a dark violet shade, but it would look even better black.

"Well, it's perfect," he told Deidara, voicing his thoughts. "Let's do it."

Deidara's smile widened, "Great!"

Itachi sat down in the chair again, and Deidara moved his own seat closer. He brought an arm support and put Itachi's left arm on it, that way it was easier for him to do the tattoo.

He prepared the tattoo gun and the black ink.

"The most important thing is that you don't move," he said, "If you want me to stop don't hesitate. Some people are a little scared for their first tattoo, so I'm supposed to say some reassuring things right now," he chuckled, "but you don't look scared at all."

"I'm not," Itachi looked up at him, giving a slight shrug.

"All right…"

The blonde leaned closer, a concentrated look on his pretty face. He placed his left hand on Itachi's arm, right above his elbow, and with his right hand he started applying the ink.

It did hurt a little, but it wasn't so bad. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, that was for sure, but it wasn't as painful as he'd expected.

"You're okay so far?" Deidara asked as he paused to wipe the excess of blood and ink with a soft cloth.

"Yeah I'm good," he answered.

"Okay!"

Deidara was very focused on his work. Which meant Itachi could check him out the whole time, of course. He was wearing eyeliner this time. Itachi thought he was pretty with or without it, but it did make his bright eyes stand out more. Depending on the light there were grey and even some violet tints in that unique blue shade. Damn, Itachi was certain he could look at this guy for hours and never get tired of it…

A funny fact was that Itachi's arm was in a rather awkward position. Since Deidara was sitting really close, and was holding his arm to be able to tattoo him, well it was kind of touching Deidara's thigh. But nothing could be done about it. Besides, no one was complaining.

He decided to try to start a conversation. He figured, if it distracted Deidara too much, he could just stop.

"So you don't only listen to death metal, huh?"

Deidara paused to wipe his skin again, and their eyes met before he continued tattooing him.

"Why do you ask that?"

"Well, the band on your shirt is more rock alternative, no?"

"Oh, you know them," Deidara made a little smile, but he was still really concentrated. Which was a good thing.

"Yeah. Well Skillet's one of my brother's favorite bands so… They're not bad."

"I'd say I listen to anything from rock, punk, screamo, and of course metal. All that good stuff."

There was a silence, and Itachi tried to pay attention to the music currently playing in the store. Again, he couldn't make out the lyrics.

"What's playing right now?"

"That's uh… My apocalypse, by Arch Enemy." He answered, taking a little break, "You still doing good?" He looked up.

"Yeah." When Deidara continued his tattoo, he asked, "What's he singing?"

"Neglecting existence repulse and repent," Deidara repeated the lyrics he was hearing, "An endless journey into the morbid, whispering voices distorting all senses, buried beneath a scarred heart for too long."

"That's incredibly cheerful," Itachi said sarcastically.

Deidara ignored his comment. "I like this part," he said.

Itachi listened to the music for a moment. Actually he liked this particular part too, because there was no singing. It was just instrumentals, featuring a really good guitar solo. But then the screaming started again.

"By the way it's a girl singing," Deidara informed him.

"You're kidding, right?"

"No it's true," he chuckled.

Itachi's arm was starting to hurt a little bit more, but he stayed very still. At least they were talking, and it distracted him from the pain a little.

"I'm sorry I don't believe you," he said.

That voice just couldn't be coming from a girl.

Deidara looked up at him for a brief moment, and smiled, amused. "It's true," he repeated. "Her name's Angela Gossow."

Itachi was still doubtful, and it must have shown on his face, because Deidara continued.

"Tell you what, some other time, I'll show you one of their music videos."

They stayed silent after that. Itachi didn't mention that it would be easy for him to just go check out said music videos on his own, because the fact that Deidara wanted to show him implied that they would see each other again soon, and that made Itachi's heart warm up.

After twenty more minutes Deidara was almost finished. He was looking at his skin intently, doing touch-ups here and there just to make it perfect. Itachi liked that he was being really professional. After all, he was doing this on a whim, and he could've ended up regretting it if Deidara screwed up. But it was obvious that he was really talented for this. Seriously, Itachi hoped that the rest of the staff would realize this and give him a chance.

When Deidara pulled away and put down his material, Itachi glanced at him. Deidara looked up and smiled happily.

"All done! Take a look."

Itachi stood up and looked in the mirror again. The skin was red and swollen but it was normal obviously. The tattoo was nice and simple, and the details were great. Deidara had really done a great job on such a short notice.

"I really like it. Thank you," he said as he turned to look at the blonde again.

He gave a slight shrug. "You're welcome! Actually, thank you for letting me do it. It was my pleasure." He blushed slightly and glanced down, "I just need to bandage it, and we're all done, for real."

Itachi sat back in the chair while Deidara applied a thick lotion on his skin, and then the bandage gently around his arm. When he was done he pulled down his sleeve.

"There you go."

"Thanks," Itachi said. He got up and put his leather jacket back on, wincing slightly when he lifted his left arm.

Deidara noticed this and made a face. "Ah yeah it might hurt for a day or two when you lift your arm. But don't worry it won't last long."

"I think I'll survive."

Deidara chuckled, and then they stayed silent for a moment, just looking at each other. Deidara seemed a little bit shy and nervous all of a sudden. Itachi thought he was the cutest thing in the world.

"So…" the blonde finally said, "I'm just gonna charge you minimum amount. Sixty dollars, like your brother. Yours is bigger, but it was practice for me, so you were kind of doing me a favour at the same time!" He shrugged.

Itachi frowned as they made their way towards the cash.

"You can charge me full price… It's really okay."

Deidara shook his head firmly as he took place behind the counter. "Nope! 60 dollars, I won't take more!"

Itachi chuckled as he took out his wallet from his jacket pocket. He gave him seventy dollars.

"What did I just tell you!" Deidara exclaimed, chuckling, as he handed him back the extra ten dollars.

"No keep it," Itachi protested, "It's for, like, tips. I mean, you guys take tips, right?"

Deidara hesitated, but since Itachi wasn't taking it back, he put it in his skinny jeans' pocket reluctantly.

"Yeah… well thank you," he said shyly.

Glancing around, Itachi saw that Yahiko was busy cleaning the piercing room, and he couldn't see Nagato anywhere. Maybe he was taking his break or something. But at the moment he was alone with Deidara, and he didn't feel like leaving just yet.

"Your colleagues… I mean, Nagato and Sasori, they have so many tattoos. Like even on their arms and neck… Do you want to look like that too or…?" Itachi asked, curious.

"Oh, no," Deidara shook his head. "I don't plan on having that many."

"Just curious, how many do you have now?"

"Well… five. Why?"

Itachi shrugged, smiling. "Told you, just curious. Will you show me?"

Deidara's beautiful blue eyes widened, and he replaced his hair behind his ears nervously. A cute blush covered his cheeks.

"Sure… hum… if you want."

He walked around the counter to face Itachi.

"You already saw the raven tribal I have on my back. And hum… I have this small one…"

He turned his head and pulled on the hair behind his right ear, showing Itachi the small kanji, which meant hope, he had there, and his piercings at the same time. Itachi realized he was already used to it, and actually he thought those silver studs looked good on this guy.

"And I have… this…" Deidara continued.

He let his hair down and instead he pulled back his left arm warmer, revealing his wrist. Itachi noticed he was careful not to roll back the sleeve more than necessary. He had the words true freedom written in English, on the inside of his wrist in elegant cursive letters.

"I guess I can show you this one…" Deidara said, this time bending over and pulling up his pants.

He had a guitar tattoo on the side of his left calf. It was tribal style, with flames surrounding it. It looked good, and fit his style and the rest of his tattoos. It was also all black, but then Itachi remembered Deidara had specified all of his tattoos were black. Also, he really didn't have much body hair, and it was very pale, so a tattoo at this place worked for him.

"Well, you said five, right? Where's the other one?" Itachi asked, amused, and Deidara's blush returned. "What? Is it, like, at an embarrassing place or…?"

"Not really… It's just…" Deidara fumbled with his ponytail nervously. "I don't know I feel like you're gonna make fun of me, but whatever…"

Itachi raised a brow, but didn't comment. Deidara grabbed the hem of his t-shirt, on the right side, and he lifted it up to show him his fifth tattoo. It was the word metal written vertically on his side, in a gothic writing. Just like the other tattoos, it looked nice on him and fit his style. Besides, Itachi enjoyed the sight of that revealed torso, even if only partly. Deidara seemed to have a really nice and toned body, even if a little skinny. Itachi definitely wouldn't mind seeing more. But Deidara replaced his shirt nervously. The raven wondered if he was self-conscious. He definitely had no reason to be…

"Why would I make fun of you? I mean you're passionate about your favorite music so it makes sense…" Itachi said. "Seriously, for a moment there you scared me. I thought you had like, a tattoo of a silly cartoon or something."

Deidara laughed, "No."

Yahiko chose this moment to leave the piercing room and walk up to them. He slapped Deidara's back in a friendly way.

"So, your first customer! Did it go well?" He asked, glancing from Deidara to Itachi.

"Yeah he was amazing," Itachi nodded, smiling.

"Good, I'm glad," Yahiko smiled back, "All right hum…" He glanced towards the entrance of the store, "I guess I'm gonna go tell Nagato to bring his ass back in here. Smoking break can't be that long. Be right back."

Deidara watched him walk away, and then looked back at Itachi.

"So… before you go… I… I don't have a business card yet but…" He sighed shakily and glanced away.

"Do I make you nervous?"

Itachi couldn't help but take advantage of the situation. He was a little bit cruel sometimes. Even with the people he liked.

Then he realized he had just admitted to himself that he liked someone other than his close family. That was a first.

"No!" Deidara replied a little too quickly. Then he took a deep breath. "Look, I just wanted to give you my phone number…"

"I was gonna ask you anyway," Itachi smirked.

Deidara's expression was a mix of relief and annoyance. It was amusing, really.

"Okay but… it's really just if you have questions about your tattoo."

"Sure…" He said in a low, sexy voice.

"I mean you can call at the store instead if you want, but as you can see those idiots are not always here to answer…" Deidara continued.

Itachi already had his own cell in his hands, ready to enter a new contact. So Deidara interrupted himself, and gave him his cell phone number. Itachi saved it, and put his phone back in his pocket.

After that Yahiko and Nagato got back inside.

"Anyway," Deidara said, "bye Itachi, take care."

"Yeah you too," he smiled.

"Bye Itachi!" Nagato smiled at him, but all he got from Itachi was a quick glance and a polite nod.

As he walked toward his car he had a small smile on his lips. Of course, he wasn't planning on using that phone number only to ask questions about his tattoo…

...

I just realized the ending to this chapter is very similar to the first one... it wasn't intentional lol it kinda just got written that way. Anyway, thanks for reading, I hope you liked it.