Once again, I'm really happy about the reviews, thanks everyone. I need to get into a brief ramble before this chapter, so if you can't bear with me, skip the bolded part.

I had to do some major editing on this chapter and the reason was a common 'sin' yaoi fanfiction writers commit, ie. making one of the characters work like a female. Don't. Do. That. These are men, grown men in most cases. There are demonstrable differences in how women and men think. I know you all relate to the characters, that's understandable. I do too. But please take this into account to stay a little bit more in-character. Thank you.

Deidara felt horrible. Period. He tried hard to concentrate on other things beside his fever, but the occasional pain and the uncomfortable sense of boiling distracted him when he tried to picture new clay statues in his head. Actually, he had never been this sick in his life. Sometimes, he would catch a cold after a rainy night, but nothing more. He only had a fever once, when he was a kid, while his family was still sane, together and there to care for him. But after the war, his immunity system got stronger, as if his body understood by itself that any illness would be lethal for a 17-year-old who lived alone, isolated from everyone. But he had never felt this bad.

That explained why he was infinitely grateful to anyone who put that freezing cold hand on his forehead. The individual had said something, but Deidara couldn't remember what. He answered what seemed right in that moment, but he wasn't thinking while he did it. When the hand moved away, and the artist started feeling the pain from before, he demanded it back. The fingertips were cold and firm, pressing just lightly enough not to hurt. After some hesitation, they went to his torso, and somehow, the lower they touched, the better it felt. The palm of the mysterious hand was pressed to his heart. The artist could also feel the heartbeats of the other, as though they were linked together. He fell asleep completely despite the strange situation.

Deidara was standing on the top of a hill, gazing at the awesome display of the green forests and fields with small villages sprawled around. It was a beautiful day, and the sunligh was so bright it almost blinded him. His black cloak decorated with red clouds floated in the slight wind that was blowing, revealing pieces of the clothes he wore under it; his blue fishnet shirt, blue pants and his bags where he carried his clay.

"Time to go, Senpai!" a familiar voice said behind him. Deidara couldn't help but smile at Tobi when he turned around.

"Have you rested enough, un?" he asked. He remembered they had stopped before so that his partner could take a break.

"Hai! We can start walking!"

Even if the masked nin wasn't really helpful and bothered the blonde with his nonsense talk sometimes, Deidara valued him as a subordinate. Tobi was loyal and could always perform teamwork, at his own level. He didn't have it as bad as he thought.

"Tobi, un!" he turned to the taller man while they continued their journey towards who knows which tailed beast.

"What is it, Senpai? Want me to carry your clay pouches?"

"No, I just wanted to ask..." Deidara hadn't formulated the question yet, so he had to muse on it for a little.

"Was it better when you were with Zetsu?"

"Uhhh..." Tobi lifted his gloved hand to where his mouth was supposed to be to think about the answer.

"It's much better with Deidara-senpai. Zetsu-san was creepy..."

"I see..." the artist smiled. "I'm glad."

"Haha, I'm the one who's glad to be with Senpai!" the dark haired nin added.

"Why do you say that, un?"

,,Because Tobi really-really-really loves Senpai. I'm lucky to be your partner."

Deidara blushed. What kind of love could that be, exactly?

"You mean you care for me as a friend or a subordinate, right?" he asked. His eyes widened as the masked man stopped and held up his chin with his fingers.

"Not just that, Tobi wants to hug Senpai, and kiss Senpai, and see Senpai naked billions of times and do embarrassing things to Senpai, but Tobi wouldn't do that if Senpai didn't want to because Tobi is a good boy!" Deidara nearly fainted at that. When he regained his complete consciousness after a few seconds, he patted the other's head, trying to seem confident (the whole scene looked really weird since Tobi was taller than him). He felt as awkward as ever.

"Don't get carried away, kid! Keep that in your fantasies!" Tobi crossed his arms, probably pouting under his mask.

"Uff, Deidara-senpai... I think you're not taking me seriously!"

"How could I? You're so cute, hahahaha!" the blonde chuckled, caressing his partner's back a little. He couldn't help but ask himself why the hell was Tobi so hard and muscular, being a dumbass who had probably never done any kind of workout... He almost sank into the ground at how inappropriate that sounded.

The next time he could think, Tobi was already kissing him. It totally caught Deidara off his guard, making his eyes widen with surprise. He tried to free himself and ask the masked man what exactly was he thinking, but the other was stronger than him. When the kiss was cut off by their lack of air, their mouths parted. Deidara was about to say something...

"Wake up."

"What?"

"Wake up, Deidara"

The blonde sat up by reflex when his eyes opened. He was panting heavily and sweating from every pore of his body, the feeling of hotness bothering him again. He was shirtless, sitting on a futon in some horribly gray room, partially under the blanket.

"True, there's no such thing as time here..." he heard a voice behind a rice-paper door. Obito entered with a teapot and two cups on a tray.

"...But you've slept too much." he finished his sentence. The dark haired man kneeled beside the futon, laying the tray on the floor.

"I've dreamt something horrible, un." Deidara muttered.

"How do you feel?" Obito said while his mismatching eyes roamed over the sick blonde.

"Better, but I'm still too hot." the once masked nin reached out to his face, but he leaned away with a somewhat horrified expression.

"Don't touch me so casually, un!" Deidara was probably trying to yell, nevertheless, his voice was too weak yet.

"I told you you could trust me." Obito said, not understanding what he did wrong.

"Aside from the fact that it could be a lie, I don't want the hands of some random other man all over me, okay?" the artist yelled, pointing a finger at his former partner accusingly. The Uchiha felt like someone had just punched him in the stomach. Deidara was straight. Well, he also was. He loved Rin. And Deidara loved some other girl, probably. However, those were girls they probably weren't going to meet anytime soon. It was just the two of them, for the eternity, if Obito decided to stay for that much. This made him question himself why hadn't he left yet. Even if these counted as splits of seconds in the real world, he had a plan to accomplish. To revive Rin. To complete his existence. So why did he feel like staying?

To get back to the point, Deidara apparently 'didn't want the hands of some random other man all over him'. Was Obito really 'some random other man'?

"But you had Sasori's hands all over you, didn't you?" he said out loud. According to the bomber, those were just rumors, but something in the Uchiha told him they were true... He earned a punch on the left side of his face.

"You piece of shit..." Deidara gritted his teeth in anger. The blow Obito got wasn't hard since he was still weakened, but his pride hurt.

"I've already told you it wasn't true! And my love life is my business, so stay the hell out of it, un!" the taller man could tell, the other was really mad.

"Next time I'll stay quiet and just think about it." he said, rubbing his aching cheek. But apparently, that wasn't a satisfying answer for Deidara.

"Can you explain why are you so stuck on this subject? We all know the rumours about Akatsuki partners being together are usually fake! What makes you think we did that kind of stuff with Danna? He's a puppet, a child-puppet, to boot! Why should I be attracted to that kind of man?"

"Wait, you're attracted to men?" Obito asked, immediately finding the important part of the phrase.

"Shit, un." Deidara grunted, facepalming.

"Now, this is something interesting."

"I dare you to bring up the subject again and I'll blow you up, un!" the blonde threatened the other man, crossing his arms.

"You can blow me up all you want, I'm not going to die anyway. But... How does it feel?" Obito said in his usual calm tone, spiced up with a bit of curiosity, this time. In the meanwhile, he poured some tea in both cups (more objects with an origin Deidara couldn't figure out).

"How does what feel?"

"To like... guys. In the ninja world, I guess you usually have a rough relationship with other men." It was so amusing to lecture Obito about something that the blonde artist gave in and decided he would trust him with his personal issues.

"You just have to find the right ones. It's not different from girls. You like a person, you flirt with them and sleep with them, that's all. It's harder, because many times the other guy's straight."

"So, basically, there's a higher chance that you'll love a person who doesn't love you back." Obito said, a little lost in his thoughts about who knows what. Deidara nodded.

"Have you ever been in love with such a person?" the bomber sighed, looking away.

"It happens sometimes, un."

"Yeah, I think I know that feeling."

They sat in silence, not even looking at each other. They were both thinking about something that happened a long time ago. After a while, the Uchiha spoke.

"The right choice would be to give everyone a chance."

"That's also true in any other aspect of life, but I guess it's obvious, un." Obito could even say Deidara smiled a little, finally looking him in the eyes.

"I wouldn't take it for granted." he answered, finally taking a sip from the tea.

"Huh?"

"You didn't give me a chance." Deidara almost spit out his own drink.

"Why are you coming out of the blue with this, un?"

"You ran away from me two times already. Even if you know I can't hurt you."

"Hey hey hey! It's true that I'm immortal, but that doesn't mean I don't feel pain!" the blonde yelled, a little confused.

"It's not my lack of strength, rather my lack of... will." Obito said, closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead.

"You're saying... you don't want to hurt me?" the smaller man's blue eyes widened slightly, shining with curiosity. The dark haired nin lingered on them along with his long, blonde hair and pink lips, Deidara's sole features outshining the black sun in the red sky out there. It was too much light even for his eyes to bear.

"Don't give me that bullshit, un." Deidara said. Obito was still too stunned to be disilluded. He shook his head. What had gotten into him?

"Why don't you believe it?"

"You've already hurt me, that's why. How can I be sure it's not going to happen again?"

The Uchiha stood up.

"You know what, Deidara? Blow me up. Turn me into art. I'll let you do it, so maybe you'll realize something."

"E-excuse me?"

"You're healed, aren't you? We're going to the mine now, so you can throw bombs at me." Obito lent the blonde his cloak while already walking towards the front door.

"You're either a masochist or insane." Deidara muttered under his breath; he couldn't have any complaints now. He took the clothing piece and slipped into it, covering his torso comfortably again. They left the house not running, but walking at a quick pace.

The shadows of the black branches were cast on them as if they were moving along with the two men as they strode through monotone woods. Halfway there, Deidara hesitantly asked:

"Hey, Uchiha... Aren't you going to split in a thousand pieces?"

"It's true that my real form wouldn't feel pain, but we're in a dimension with a different set of physical laws. The only reactions my body can carry out are those which come natural in the normal world in the situations I get into. To simplify, I know I'm supposed to feel pain while being blown up, so I will feel pain, even though the physical harm doesn't come with it." his voice didn't sound as calm as usually, like a sick anticipation fuelled his mind. It was similar to what he always felt before blowing something up, Deidara thought. They finally arrived, Obito ending up from the edge of the cliff right on the hill in the middle with a jump. The bomber went inside the pit in the meantime, gathering some clay and forming the right jutsu. He came out again, to where he's been before and took a breath.

First of all, he created a bird and flew up with it. The next minutes were a sequence of explosions brighter than fireworks and louder than a crumbling mountain. The artist tested out again all of his creations, smirking sadistically at every pained hiss after the booms. Smaller insects and bigger animals exploded one by one, trying to destroy the fortress of Obito's body. All his pent up anger and frustration went into those attacks and each one of them brought him relief. After the twentieth blast, Deidara decided to take a break, looking down at the other man's black form laying on the rocky ground.

"Are you sure you cannot die?" he asked him almost jokingly, not expecting an answer. The artist maneuvered the bird to the hill and hopped down. The Uchiha kept on not giving signs of life while he walked towards him. But when he stopped, gazing the man from above, not even leaning down, the supposed corpse's head moved, a sharingan and a rinnegan staring back; the only visible parts of the incenerated man.

"Yes." he managed to say, pulling himself up slowly, groaning from the pain. As that half-dead man suppressed his shouts before him, images started to flow back to Deidara. Memories about him being beaten up in the streets, humiliated and treated like trash during the war, making the same face and trying to hide the same pain. He kneeled down, seeing what Obito would do. His pride told him to watch, but something else in him was stronger. Regret was creeping up his spine. He reached out with a pair of trembling mouthed hands, touching the ash covered shoulders of the victim of his art.

"I'm sorry, Obito. I'm sorry."