Stage Twenty Eight: Bits of Fluff

I woke up sometime mid afternoon in my own bed, feeling rather confused. That morning's activities left me wondering about Deidara. I felt great; sated, rested, and mellow, but I couldn't stop myself from thinking, 'Why Deidara?' Why did it have to be him? It wouldn't have been anyone else; at least, no one in the Akatsuki.

It made sense to me, though. Not the sex, but his actions leading up to that: going through my bedroom, volunteering to take Itachi his mission details and watch over me, or asking if I had someone special in my life. For him, what we did was a time bomb waiting to happen, and the sooner, the better. Maybe now that it was over, he'd revert to becoming just as jaded toward me as the rest of the members. One could only hope, right?

I walked into the living room to be greeted with a very cheerful yet sarcastic remark. "Good morning, sleeping beauty." He was sitting on the sofa, sprawled out in a lazy mess, bed head and all.

I threw a cushion at him. "We will never speak of that, ever." I glared in his general direction.

He chuckled. "But I wanted to rub it in Itachi's face." He sighed. "You're right. He'd probably kill me for it, anyway." He turned to look away from me. "You regret it already, hmm?" The joking laughter was gone from his voice, replaced by genuine hurt.

I sat next to him and propped myself up on my elbows. He ran his hand along my back, rubbing lightly on my skin. "No, I don't regret it. I just don't want the others to know, especially not Itachi."

"Why are you afraid of him?" he asked. "What can he do? You already said there was nothing between you two. You've done nothing wrong."

"He sees it as his job to protect me from all of you."

Deidara placed a hand under my chin and pulled me to look at him. "Did I hurt you at all?"

I shook my head in denial. He didn't hurt me in any way that couldn't be dealt with. Sure, I could have been a little less sore at the time, but that was circumstantial.

"Then what does he have to protect you from, hmm? I told you, you're safe with me. If you didn't agree, you wouldn't have allowed that, and you certainly wouldn't have nodded off afterward."

"He's just so possessive," I mumbled.

Deidara wrapped his arms around me. "No, he's just vain. He doesn't want to think you'd prefer anyone else over him."

I leaned against his chest for a moment, mentally agreeing with his words. Itachi's pride is easily wounded, especially if someone else approaches me.

"I think he loves you in more ways than you know," Deidara stated. "It wouldn't be that hard."

"Why is that?" I asked.

He took my face in his hands, looking down directly into my eyes. "Why would it?" he whispered softly. His lips brushed against mine softly without lingering, moving away as soon as we touched. "You're so easy to want." His lips covered mine fully.

"You're delusional," I sneered.

"You're so damn kissable," he retaliated.

I shoved him away from me. "Damn it, Deidara, you're obnoxious."

He caught my wrist and pulled me back. "And yet, you're so willing." He flipped me under him onto the couch and his mouth crashed to mine.

Minor Intermission

An hour and a half later, his couch was disassembled and cushions littered the floor. We had pulled our clothing from the dishevelled heap and dressed each other. As he slid my tank top over my mesh undershirt, a satisfied smile came over him.

"What?" I asked him, self conscious.

He touched a tender spot just above my hip where a blush of colour had risen. "I have marked you as mine," he softly answered. It was visible through the mesh, and was unmistakably a hicky. You could make out a bite mark or two. He then pulled his hair back from his neck. "Just as you have marked me as yours," he whispered. The hicky I left on him was smaller, though noticeably more red. "I told you, didn't I, that you would be mine?" He tucked my hair behind my ear and kissed me softly.

"I don't think you will," I challenged.

"You dare to bet against me, hn?" he smirked. "No worries; you're already mine. I don't think I'll give you back to Itachi unless I leave. I don't want to come back from a mission to find that you're gone."

"What would you do if you did?" I asked with my eyebrow furrowed.

"Track you down, dominate you wherever you happen to be, and then bring you back home with me. You'd find yourself tied to the bed, naked of course, and I'd feed you twice a day."

"Absolutely kinky," I stated flatly.

His brows furrowed. "You don't think I'm serious, do you?" His arms encircled me. "I'd come find you, sure, but I wouldn't drag you back here."

"Thank you, Deidara. That means a lot to me. You know Pein would have you followed, though, don't you?" I held him around his waist and rested my head on his chest.

"They really can't follow me if I don't want them to," he told me. "I have my ways to get around them." He took my hand in his, lacing our fingers together. He pressed his lips to my fingers.

"Guess what, Tsuki."

"Hmm," I hummed.

"We've trashed my living room, and it's driving me crazy."

We spent a small portion of an hour cleaning his front room, down to sweeping the floors clean. He is extremely clean for a single male. It was almost enough to drive me crazy. When we finished, he pulled me to him and kissed my forehead.

Things continued in that pace for three more days: playful banter, wild sex, random acts of gentle affection, and a few more marks of ownership. Deidara was a relief for me. He was a free spirit, yet serious enough to not make everything feel immature. There were moments when I would roll my eyes, but others when I just couldn't look away from him in surprise.

Itachi came home on the fifth day, early in the morning while I was still asleep next to Deidara. By then, I had taken to sleeping beside him. He didn't come to take me, which was a lucky thing for me. I didn't really look forward to Itachi finding out that I had grown so close to someone he was so competitive with.

I had woken up with Deidara leaving the bed that morning. We opted for a shower, vs. another run to the hot spring. When we settled down with coffee is when the front shoji slid open, and Itachi walked in.

I immediately dropped Deidara's hand, hiding my own under the table. He looked at me, startled, while slowly bringing his own away. Another sip on my coffee, and Itachi joined us in the kitchen.

He greeted us both, giving Deidara less emphasis than he did to me. He inquired about the stay from both of us, asking if I presented trouble, and asking if he needed to destroy Deidara. We both assured him that everything was fine, neither worried nor at complete ease. At least, I wasn't. I'm sure Deidara would have loved to just tell him everything, but I wasn't ready for that.

I finished my coffee before departing from Deidara. He smiled at me as big and as cheesy and irritating as he could manage. Before slipping through the door, I threw another cushion at him. Itachi chuckled at my side. "It seems that you weren't too bored with Deidara."

"I'm still here, aren't I?" I retorted. He had no idea how lively his "comrade" really is. I didn't think he wanted to know. "Besides, he's a little immature at time."

"He has his moments," he agreed. He led me through the streets, passing building after building. "I'm happy that you're safe."

"You don't trust him, do you?" I asked.

"I don't distrust him, either. Deidara is just another person within the Akatsuki." He continued further without any change in his demeanour.

The silence continued before Itachi broke it once more. "I thought you would have strangled him. You two were at odds when I left; all over a single strand of hair. How did that dissolve into what I saw?"

"Forced into close quarters with someone forces you to either kill each other, or learn to get along," I answered.

"So you learned to get along?" he inquired. He turned left down an alleyway, with me short on his heels.

"I to believe I have, yes."

He smiled; I could see it from the angle I was at. "So it would seem."

Later that day, Deidara sought me out. He was brought his mission assignment by Sasori to leave the next morning. He offered me lunch, and I took him up on it. It was a pleasant chat between us. He kept my hand in his under the table, alternating between kissing my palm and massaging my hand with his thumb, keeping it out of sight of the other members.

We then walked around the old shopping district (keeping a good distance from one another, yet sneaking soft touches and soft kisses once in a while) for a good portion of the afternoon. He explained to me the history of the city, and what it once was some twenty years ago.

Once we were back in his living room, I was supported by him sitting behind me, his arms wrapped around me once more. At the time, the silence was more profound than anything we could have said. He stroked my hair absentmindedly. I twisted the ring on his right index finger.

He pushed my hair behind my ear, exposing the bell Itachi always had me wear. He pulled the converted earring out gently, holding it in his left palm. "So this is his mark, hn?"

I leaned back and rested my head in the hollow space between his neck and his shoulder. "Uh huh."

He pulled his hand out of mine, stopping me from further toying with the ring. He sighed, exasperated. He slid it off his finger and pressed it into my hand. "You can't keep it forever, but when I'm gone, I want you to have it. Wear it under your glove, if you must." He slid off one of my black, leather gloves and slid the ring on my finger. It was very large on me. He looked at it and frowned.

"A little string around the band and it'll be fine," I assured him.

"You'll keep it safe for me?" he asked. "I feel naked without it."

I put my glove back on and curled up next to him. "Of course I will, but you have to promise to come back for it."

He put his arm back around me. "The ring?" he laughed. "I'm coming back for you." He placed a kiss on my lips tenderly. "You're my girl, now. Nothing can stop that."

I sighed.

"I'm not afraid of his reaction, Tsuki. I don't care what he thinks. I'm happy, you're happy. He should be happy." He brought my fingers to his lips. "Even if he doesn't approve, what can he do?"

"Kill us," I offered as response. "That's just an irrational, heat of the moment reaction. He could lock both of us in Tsukiyomi and torture us for days without rest."

"The worst he could do to me is hurt you."

I wanted to cry with that response. The last remotely steady relationship I had been in never paid off like that. Sweet nothings consisted of death threats and ill wishes.

Deidara then finished his thought. "I don't think he would hurt you."

"You're very sweet, Deidara-kun."

"Ne," he sighed. "Not too sweet." He winked at me. "I can't have you getting too spoiled. I do have to leave tomorrow morning, hopefully before you wake up."

"If I sleep tonight," I sighed.

He chuckled under his breath. "If you had your own room, I'd sneak in and spend the night with you. I love the way you curl up against me. The little noises your breathing makes; they're so sweet and cute. It'd be worth it if he did walk in on it."

"That would be nice, but he keeps me close at hand." I didn't mind sleeping next to Itachi. I didn't know how long he had to live, with Sasuke so bent on destroying him. It was added bonding time between him and me. It was nice to sleep next to a man and not be expected to put out. It got old and tiring sometimes.

"You could change that."

"I don't think I want to," I answered. I then explained my previous thoughts to him, reminding him of Itachi's reason for joining: to pass the time until he dies. I was going to lose what I had left as far as family ties go. He protested that I had Umi, or rather, Yahara as she goes by now. She wasn't really my sister. I didn't know her, we didn't have the sibling bond, and she hated me for not hating Hidan for what he did so long ago. Time and circumstance had driven us into separate people, too far apart to bridge the gap. Itachi was my brother, through and through, and even though I saw him as overbearing, controlling, and possessive, I knew it was because our time together was so short. Explaining that to Deidara just cemented that.

He looked me in the eye after I finished explaining. "Itachi makes you happy in ways I never could; and to be honest, I don't want to make you that kind of happy. I could never settle for a position to be your guard; not like a brother." He pulled me into his lap entirely, circling his legs around me as well.

"You can't have sex with your sister," I muttered.

"Well," he smirked, "it's only slightly frowned upon, ne?"

I shifted a bit and he lessened his grip. I turned around and faced him, wrapping myself around him, arms and legs. He settled back into his original position, resting his head on my shoulder. He continued to run his hands through my hair.

"You're obnoxious, Deidara."

He grunted. "You enjoy it."