Chapter Three
"Hot damn," Moe said, flipping her blond hair and regarding Emi and Deidara's interaction, "looks like you'll be gettin' some!"
Ruo glared at her, "shut it."
"Oh, loosen up!" Moe giggled, "it's fun to flirt," she said, as if Deidara and Emi couldn't hear her, "you should try it sometime."
Moe raised her brows at Ruo, hint-hint-hinting at something that made Ruo blush. "I - uh - thought I told you to shut up!"
Moe giggled again, in her typical flirty manner, and turned towards Kisame. "Well, aren't-cha gonna invite us to sit down? That fire looks awwwwwful cozy!" She shivered.
Taken by surprise, like he had forgotten something, Kisame hustled the girls into the living room. "Right, sit down, make yourselves at home."
They did. Any tension in the air dissipated as soon as they got their jackets off and hung up. Slowly, like an animal warming up to its owner, conversation began to flow.
Moe and Kisame polished off their lattes and spoke about how weird Christmas was, and how they didn't get anything for anyone. When asked whether she wanted wine or vodka, Moe said, "hit me up with that hard liquor!"
Kisame obliged and they toasted, "to never giving gifts and getting drunk!" Followed up with a shot each. Moe gagged on the harshness of the alcohol. "I'm used to only," cough, "drinking it mixed with," cough, "soda or something," she said, spluttering.
Hesitant, Kisame patted her back, like you would a choking child. Despite her flirtatious and adulterous demeanor, Moe was actually quite innocent and childlike. "Well, no more shots for you," Kisame said, smiling.
Saki sat on the arm of the couch, tapping her fingers on her glass of wine. She periodically glanced at Ruo's bag. She caught Ruo's eye. "Pass me my book?" Saki asked, extending her hand. She retrieved her book, some dark adult novel, spine wrinkled and bent.
"Haven't you read this, like, a hundred times?" Ruo asked, returning her bag to its hook on the wall.
"One hundred and two, actually," Saki said. Her tone was, as usual, very matter-of-fact, as if Ruo's rhetorical question was actually something that should be answered.
Ruo smiled and rolled her eyes at her friend. "Typical you," she said.
Saki forced a smile, and then opened her book, at ease as soon as she entered the fantasy world.
"You're not very social, are you?" Kakuzu's deep voice asked. Upon hearing his question, Saki startled and looked over at him. She nodded. "Well, there's no reason for you to be stuck up on the arm of the couch. Sit down. We don't bite-"
"I do," Kisame said, smirking. Apparently the vodka was making him more relaxed around Moe, as he directed the comment to her with a wink. She blushed and grinned wide. Kisame put a nonchalant arm around her shoulder and hugged her to him. Moe laughed and let herself be snuggled. She was aware of Kisame's warm breath on the top of her head, and silently hoped for that affection that Christmas was supposed to bring.
Kakuzu grumbled something about Kisame being a complete nuisance, "but he brings in the money, so I can't kill him."
Saki looked borderline horrified as she stiffly sank onto the couch next to Kakuzu. She resumed her reading and ignored the watchful eye of her fellow bookworm. While trying to push his narrow, strange, chiseled features out of her mind, Saki felt her insides grow warm, and hoped that blush would remain internal.
It apparently didn't; out of the corner of her eye, she saw the slightest of satisfactory smirks tease Kakuzu's partially stitched mouth.
He watched Saki carefully. He had to be tactical in his approach. Scaring off Saki and the lot wouldn't do them any good. And why, just why, did he feel so... caring and... soft towards this girl? The urge to pull her against his chest while they both were engrossed in their books plagued him.
Back in the kitchen, Deidara and Emi were going on about art and form and shape and the like. Deidara informed her that he was an artist. "Hm... Are you interested in seeing some of my work?" He smiled, hopeful.
Emi nodded and clasped her hands together in excitement. Her eyes glittered.
Looking just about dumbstruck, Deidara reached into the pouch at his hip and pulled out a lump of clay - the same clay he'd used to make the ornaments. "Watch closely... This is true art, hm!"
Emi stared in amazement as mouths on Deidara's hands opened and devoured the clay. They chewed it, just as a human mouth would. His right palm produced a round, puffy owl-like figure; his left, a second round creature reminiscent of a chubby kitten. His palms seemed to breathe life into the creatures and they leapt onto Emi's shoulders. The owl fluffed its clay feathers on her cheek, and the kitten kneaded its miniature paws and rubbed against her jaw.
Deidara smiled, as Emi looked absolutely enchanted with his creations.
"These are so... so cool!" Emi held them in her own hands, staring with wide-eyed wonder.
"Hm," Deidara said, tilting his head, blond bangs falling off to the side, "you can keep them if you want. Huh... In fact, I'd be really pleased if you kept them! Hm."
"Really?" Emi said, her voice a surprised gasp. "Oh wow! Thank you," she grinned up at him.
They stared at each other for a long moment; Deidara looking into the face of a spunky grey-eyed, red-haired beauty, suddenly feeling the enchantment of Christmas; Emi looking into the face of an artist with a cocky smile, vibrant blue eyes, and hair that looked - most definitely - pull-able. She blushed then.
Tobi and Kayo burst into hysterics from near the tree. They'd been laughing about the childish idea of making snow angels.
"You know, that kidna sounds fun," Tobi said. He grabbed Kayo's hand, intertwining his fingers with hers - an uncharacteristic grip for both of them, but completely lovely all the same. Kayo followed without much prompting and they flung themselves out the door into the blizzard.
"It's so cold! But look at how pretty this looks!" Kayo threw the fluffy snow into the night air and watched as it twinkled back to the ground.
"Pretty, yeah... Pretty... like..." Tobi put a thoughtful hand on his hip, then pointed to Kayo, "like you!"
Kayo blinked at him. "What? Oh..." she giggled then, "well, um, thank you!" She reached to him and held his hand. His skin was cold like hers, only more chapped. "Make a snow angel with me!" She smiled as she fell onto her back. Tobi followed suit.
They laughed for a while before Kayo jumped to her feet, shaking off chunks of wet snow that accumulated in her sweater. She shivered once and knelt beside Tobi. "We're alone... you could always take off your mask, you know," she said, gripping his hand again.
"For you, I suppose I could," Tobi's voice changed from a high pitched, funny, kiddish tone to a deeper, more serious one. Kayo was taken aback. He removed his orange spiral mask to reveal a fierce, red Sharingan eye, several facial scars, and a normal, dark-colored eye.
Kayo wasn't fazed by this sudden shift. In fact, oddly enough for her, she found the surprise quite hot. "I guess you're name isn't Tobi, but you're still Tobi in my book," she smiled and kissed the knuckles of his hand she held. "Your secret," whatever it is, "is safe with me."
Tobi smiled - smirked, rather. "Then why haven't you kissed me?"
Inside, unaware of the unmasking and lip-locking occurring outdoors, Tamara was deeply involved in a tense game of chess with Itachi. Ruo and Hidan watched skeptically.
"You know he's gonna win. Fuck, with those eyes," Hidan said, gesturing to Itachi, "he can crush anyone."
Tamara, not once taking her eyes from the board, told him he could go eat a dick and made her move.
"You two aren't helping," Itachi murmured, "so kindly remove yourselves. You're quite... distracting." He was choosing his words carefully, eyes trained on Tamara. He liked her determination to win. Maybe she would. He was feeling unusually grateful, and even... dare he admit it... affectionate.
Hidan laughed once, loud and harsh, a big ol' as if! to Itachi's request.
Ruo frowned, shooting him a sideways glare. He didn't notice.
Itachi moved a piece on the board, and Tamara bit her thumbnail. "This isn't looking good for me," she said. "You really are distracting," she said, attention drawn to Hidan and Ruo. "Get outta here!" She tried to shoo the two bored friends away.
"I have an idea," Itachi said, "my room is quiet and no one will," he stood and threatened Hidan with a simple glance, "bother us."
Hidan grinned and raised his hands, "hell no, no one fucks with you!"
Ruo observed as Itachi gathered the chessboard and led Tamara into a hallway and up a flight of stairs.
Tamara felt her heart race in her chest. It was just a simple board game! Why was she feeling so flustered? She hadn't even had a drop of alcohol - she should have felt ready to win. But instead, all she could imagine were Itachi's hands going places they shouldn't, his monotone voice urging her to - Oh, no! Tamara shook her head, momentarily clear minded.
Itachi nudged open the door to a room at the end of the hall. There were several other doors, each marked with the name of the Akatsuki they belonged to.
The two entered and Itachi set the board on the ground. He faced Tamara, looking rather ominous - and sexy - in the moonlight that trickled in through half-open blinds.
To him, Tamara looked anything but slight. Her light hair caught the little bit of moonlight just right, and her eyes captivated him. And he thought the Sharingan was intense. Tamara's wide blue eyes, accentuated with mascara, shone mischievously, though he sensed her nervousness.
They stared at each other, never moving, as the air between them seemed to thicken.
"S-Shall we continue?" Tamara asked, moving to sit at the board.
Itachi snatched her hands in his own and pulled her flush against him.
Suddenly, Tamara felt warm palms with cool fingertips on either of her cheeks.
They stared again, feeling each other's heartbeat, chests rising and falling together. Tamara closed her eyes as Itachi gently swept his fingers through her hair to her bun, undoing it and finger-combing it. It was comforting and somehow very seductive.
In response to this hair-play, Tamara let her hands wander up Itachi's pale neck, behind his head to his low-hanging ponytail. She slowly slid the elastic off, and proceeded to let his hair fall around her fingers. It was cool and smooth... just like him.
Downstairs, Ruo sat, pouring herself a second glass of wine.
"Too scared to try the vodka?" Hidan teased, shaking the near empty bottle of hard liquor. "Fuckin' lame." He took a swig.
Ruo scoffed, "it tastes like shit!" Plus, she thought, I like the wine drunk better than the vodka drunk. Wine is sexy. She took a rather large sip, and upon inhaling felt the effects of the first glass come to fruition. Her head was a little fuzzy, and her limbs felt warm and tingly. It was pleasant to her. "I haven't drank in a while," she said, "this is niiiiiiiice." She put her arms up and stretched, and decided she didn't need to polish off the second glass. So she rose slowly, almost lethargic, and placed the wine glass on the counter. "Look at me, being all responsible," she grinned and laughed to herself. Out of nowhere, a feeling of loneliness overtook her. I thought alcohol was supposed to loosen you up... Why the hell am I not doing something about feeling so lonely?! Ruo hated feeling vulnerable, and masked it with a harsh humor.
Hidan chucked the now empty bottle of vodka in the trash. He liked that Ruo wasn't a drunk asshole like he was. But she was such a cold bitch, that was certain. He wondered if she liked him at all. I mean, he thought, everyone else here is getting it on, and here I am, waiting for this bitch to make a fucking move! Pathetic. She's a heathen, too... Ugh, even worse. But still... He hated to admit his hardass attitude was being bombarded by this stupid, weird, warm feeling of... What is it?... Passion? Affection? Jashin would fucking kill me for thinking this way. Shaking his head, Hidan breezed past Ruo, suppressing the urge to do unspeakable things... in the name of Jashin, of course.
All thoughts were interrupted upon the return of Tobi and Kayo. A gust of freezing air followed them in as they ran through the room and up the stairs, leaving a trail of melting snow behind. Chaos seemed to ensue after that as Moe leapt to her feet, sick from alcohol. Kisame nervously led her to the bathroom.
He held back her beautiful hair as she threw up. Even with her head halfway in the toilet making hideous noises, Kisame still found her cute.
Once she finished retching, Moe lifted her head shakily and with dulled enthusiasm in her eyes, requested to go to sleep. Kisame obliged and helped her to her feet. He decided it would be best if he carried her, and did so with care. Moe's head lolled back and she groaned, "ugh, this is terrible. No more alcohol ever again."
Kisame smiled, "you wear White Girl Wasted well."
Moe managed a laugh and put a hand to her forehead. "Damn," she said, "this really hurts."
"We'll get you settled with some water." Kisame knew all too well the dehydration alcohol brought on.
The gang still gathered by the fireplace, Ruo, Hidan, Kakuzu, Saki, Emi, and Deidara, were quiet.
Ruo was glad she hadn't gotten any more drunk.
Hidan fought the urge to laugh at Moe's misfortune.
Kakuzu and Saki remained reading, engrossed, and - who knew - closer together, almost playing footsies.
Emi and Deidara exchanged nervous glances. Emi decided that Moe would be okay and munched a cookie. Deidara smiled as his clay critters moved around on the counter by Emi.
"I think," Deidara said, moving close to Emi and putting his hands on her waist, "we should migrate upstairs as well, hm."
Emi brushed the cookie crumbs from her lips. "Oh?" she asked. "It couldn't hurt... I am getting tired." She winked.
"Get a fucking room!" Hidan bellowed from in front of the fireplace. The vodka didn't seem to really effect him, which was a fucking bore. Apparently it's all work and no play being me. Shit.
Emi blushed and Dei led her away and up the stairs, leaving only Saki and Ruo, and Hidan and Kakuzu.
Hidan threw his head back and let out an obnoxious sigh.
"Shut up, Hidan," Kakuzu said, "or I'll kill you."
"Y'know, I wish you fucking would," Hidan growled.
"You're asking for it."
"Good luck, partner." That meant, to Hidan, why didn't you help me get laid?
Kakuzu shot him a knowing stare, and nudged Saki's foot with his own, earning a small smile from Hidan.
Saki looked up and dog-eared her page. "Hm?"
"I think," Kakuzu began, unsure of how to phrase it, "there's a more comfortable space available... away from this one." He motioned to Hidan.
Saki blinked, and out of the corner of her eye, saw Ruo's irritable frown. Oh, I get it. "Yeah, that sounds pretty nice. It's a little hot in here anyway," she said, grinning.
Kakuzu led the way to the staircase, and Saki looked over her shoulder quickly, making eye contact with Ruo. Saki winked. The wink said, I guess I'll leave you two aloooooone.
"Why the hell do you look so damn sour?" Ruo directed her attention to Hidan. His purple eyes held onto hers, his eyebrows knitted together.
"Why do you fucking think?!"
"Because you're not drunk and fucking? Yeah, I could say the same," Ruo said.
Hidan glared. "Think what you want, bitch."
"Well, why else would it be? That, or you hate the holidays."
There was a quick back and forth before the two obstinate sourpusses fell silent.
Ruo admittedly felt guilty; Hidan, sitting with his back to the fire, looked absolutely, undeniably pissed off. She joined him, and looked at him, hugging her knees to her chest and resting her chin on her knees. He met her gaze and said nothing, did nothing.
Overcome with guilt and finding that she did, actually, kind of like Hidan, Ruo shifted and rested her head on his shoulder. It's so weird being close to someone like this... in this situation. But it feels nice. She closed her eyes and momentarily reveled in the warmth and the closeness and the glow.
Hidan, feeling her soft black hair against his sleeve, decided that, fuck Jashin, he'd enjoy this. He allowed his cheek to brush against Ruo's hair, and then put his lips to the top of her head. It wasn't a kiss, but it also kind of was a kiss. Fucking insane, he thought.