Author's note: My apologies for taking nearly a year to come up with a new addition to this collection! Didn't mean to keep this story on the back burner for so long, but I'm finally here again with a new prompt! If nobody reads this story anymore, I'd totally understand ^^;

This one takes place a bit after chapter 48, so around a couple of days after Deidara and Naruto had been abducted.

Thanks to the following reviewers: sasunaru1214; KitsuneJen; Iraheta 127; richon; Anonymous Syd; Kalos; TigrezzTail; lara5170

Warnings: Deidara's pov; references to abduction scene; references to past non-consensual drugging; short reference to past attempted assault; set after chapter 48

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.

I hope you'll like it!

Chapter 54

"Any plans for today?" Itachi murmured, running his fingers slowly through Deidara's hair.

Deidara opened his eyes and turned onto his side, sliding his leg across Itachi's. He wrapped his arm around his mate's lower waist, his thumb rubbing small circles around Itachi's hipbone.

"Naruto-kun wants to visit," Deidara answered softly.

Itachi's fingers paused for a couple of seconds before they resumed their caressing. "He wants to talk about it?"

"I think so, un," Deidara said and worried his lower lip between his teeth. "He only texted that he was coming over. I'm not sure how he's feeling. For all I know he might be coming over to tell me to fuck off entirely," he said despondently.

"No, he won't. You two have been best friends for years; he's not going to drop you that easily," Itachi chided.

"Yeah, but I also kept a major secret from him for all these years," Deidara muttered and grimaced. "I doubt he's going to be happy."

"So you'll talk it out," Itachi said calmly. "I'm sure you two will be fine. He might be angry, but at the end of the day you're still best friends."

Deidara wished he possessed the same level of confidence as the Alpha, but the truth was: he wasn't sure at all what to expect from this upcoming meeting. The last time he had seen Naruto had been when they had both been examined at the hospital and Naruto had been told the truth about their family for the first time. They hadn't exactly departed on the best terms and Deidara couldn't help but worry what that meant for their friendship. He hadn't dared to contact Naruto earlier, thinking he might want some space, but now he was second guessing himself, wondering if he hadn't fucked up by not contacting the other Omega first.

"You're still best friends, Deidara," Itachi murmured and brushed his lips against Deidara's forehead. "That's not going to change so quickly."

"If it does, I will tell you, 'I told you so', un," Deidara grumbled.

He could feel Itachi smiling against his forehead. "You're welcome to do so in that case."

The hint of smugness audible in the Alpha's voice invited a slap against his thigh, which Deidara did, but it was half-hearted at best. In an hour he would see Naruto again and would know just how badly he had fucked up.

For the first time since becoming friends with the younger man, Deidara felt sick with nerves at the thought of meeting him.

Preparing tea for the both of them was as much a habit as it was escapism from the inevitable conversation they were going to have. As the water started to boil, Deidara listened to Naruto taking a seat at the kitchen table and heard in the distance some dogs barking. It was raining softly, as if the weather had decided this was the perfect moment to match their mood.

"Here you go, un." Deidara placed the steaming mug in front of Naruto before filling his own and taking a seat at the table as well. Lost for words, all he could think of to ask was, "How are you holding up?"

He closed his eyes for a couple of seconds, angry at himself for the stupid question. What kind of question was that, to ask of someone who had been drugged and abducted nearly a week ago?

"Fairly well, I suppose. Guess it's a good thing I was unconscious for basically everything," Naruto smiled humourlessly; both his hands resting loosely around the mug. "You?"

"Fairly well," Deidara echoed mirthlessly. "Going to take a bit before I get used to loud noises again, but …" He hesitated before asking tentatively, "How are you and Sasuke-kun?"

Itachi hadn't received any bad calls from his younger brother, nothing that would indicate that Naruto had decided he had had enough and wanted to leave Sasuke, but Deidara needed to hear with his own ears that their family being what it was hadn't irreparably damaged Sasuke's and Naruto's relationship.

"We talked about it after we got home," Naruto replied and breathed out slowly. His eyes were focused on his mug as he went on, "He told me he isn't part of all that."

"He isn't, un," Deidara reassured him quickly. "Sasuke-kun has always been very clear in keeping away from that part of our family. He's not lying about that."

"He went to see Itachi later on," Naruto said, pursing his lips.

Deidara didn't think he had merely gone to see his older brother for a visit, not right after –

"Only to watch apparently. He didn't join but …" Naruto sighed deeply and rested his chin on his hand. "He stretched the limits of the promise he gave me, but he respected the ultimate limit of not joining, I guess." Another humourless smile. "We're not going to divorce if that's what you're wondering."

"Naruto-kun …" Deidara trailed off, unsure of what to say.

Itachi had mentioned of course that Sasuke had been present when he had punished Sakon, but had been adamant that the younger Alpha hadn't joined the punishment. Deidara would have been surprised that Sasuke had wanted to be present, but considering what had nearly happened to Naruto, his decision hadn't been that odd.

"I'm not … I forgave him and it's done," Naruto said abruptly. "I'm not going to keep holding this over his head, but … You know what hurt the most?"

Deidara shook his head.

"The fact that he kept this a secret from me throughout the entire time we've known each other," Naruto explained and his voice grew stronger; anger and frustration leaking through it. "He never once told me that the entire family is yakuza - "

"Not exactly yakuza, un," Deidara muttered, but Naruto ignored him.

"And probably would have never told me at all if this whole shit hadn't happened," Naruto continued agitatedly, squeezing the mug between his hands. If it was still too hot, he didn't show any sign of it. "That's what pisses me off the most. He knows how much I hate secrets after that whole crap with Gaara and yet he kept this a secret from me for all these goddamn years!"

He laughed bitterly, shaking his head. "I feel like there's this whole big joke going on and I'm the only idiot not clued into it. Everyone fucking knows the truth, but me, even though I've been a part of this goddamn family for years already!"

The look of utter betrayal he shot Deidara next stung badly. "Even you couldn't be arsed to tell me the truth!"

"Sasuke-kun has always been adamant that he will never be part of this side of the family," Deidara began and licked his lips, wondering how to explain this. "He didn't want us to tell you, because he didn't want to worry you. I didn't necessarily agree with that, but it wasn't my place to tell you the truth. I'm sorry. I never wanted to make you feel like an outsider."

"But you were never going to tell me either, huh?" Naruto said bitterly.

"I don't think so," Deidara admitted. "It was never my place to begin with and … I guess I also didn't want you to be part of this. It can get pretty ugly and the less you know, the better you're off, trust me."

"Yeah well, it's a bit late for that, isn't it?" Naruto scoffed before eyeing Deidara. "How come you know about it? Did Itachi tell you?"

"Eventually," Deidara admitted and sipped carefully from his tea. He rubbed his thumb across the ear of the mug. "I think I kind of had a suspicion at the start already to be honest, un. He knew how to tailor his courting gifts for me when we had barely talked, which had already been weird, but my first real suspicion started to grow after I got nearly assaulted in Nagato-san's club."

Naruto frowned heavily.

"I was drugged back then, but still aware enough to catch Itachi's conversation with Nagato-san," Deidara remembered. He preferred never to remember that particular evening again, but it was hard to forget his first glimpse of Itachi's absolute ruthlessness. "Itachi had been choking that son of a bitch and Nagato-san had interfered, saying something along the lines of taking the bastard somewhere else so Itachi could drag out the punishment."

He slowly breathed out and tapped his fingers against the table. "I remember thinking that had to be some kind of weird fucked up joke, because who would be so casual about discussing someone's death, right?" He chuckled mirthlessly. "I didn't pay it much attention back then, because well, I had other shit to be worried about, un. But as some other things happened after that, I kind of put most pieces together eventually. When I confronted Itachi about it eventually, he came clean."

"What made you confront him?" Naruto questioned; the furrow between his eyebrows deepening.

"I had found his gun and seeing as he wasn't in a profession that required gun use, I got really suspicious," Deidara replied.

It hadn't only been the gun, of course. Him finding it had just been the trigger to put all the other clues together. The occasional odd remark he heard whenever he happened to visit Itachi's office; the odd late nights Itachi would make and that had him returning home in a strange, wound up state; the way he always seemed to know everything about everyone. All little things that had built up throughout time until they all clumped together into one big warning sign.

"So how long have you known?" Naruto demanded.

"I confronted him after we'd been together for nearly two years," Deidara answered and grimaced when Naruto's eyes darkened a bit. "We should have told you, un, I know, but -"

"Sasuke didn't want you to, yeah, you said that," Naruto cut him off and stared down at the table. "Do Akihito-kun and Shion-kun know about this?"

"No, though I think Akihito is starting to become suspicious," Deidara said and sighed.

It wasn't like his oldest son was still an oblivious young kid after all. He was sixteen, very curious and far from dumb. It wouldn't surprise Deidara at all if Akihito managed to piece the puzzle together soon. He wasn't sure how to feel about that, though.

"You're going to be honest about it to them?" Naruto asked and looked at him again. All the ire was abruptly drained from him, leaving nothing but exhaustion behind.

It made Deidara ache for his best friend. "If they ask, yes," Deidara said. "Do I want them to be a part of this? No, but it's going to be up to them in the end. Once they're adults, there's nothing really that I can do to stop them if they want to join this side."

He would do his best to discourage them, but honestly, his sons had definitely inherited his stubbornness so he foresaw a lot of discussions happening in the future.

"My kids aren't going to be a part of this," Naruto stated firmly; a fire finally flashing up in his eyes again. "I don't care; they won't be. I'm not going to let them. They are not going to be a part of this."

"And they don't have to, un," Deidara hastened to reassure him. "This isn't a case of being forced into it. Not everyone in the family is part of it either."

"I don't want them hearing about this either," Naruto said forcefully. "I can't – getting abducted myself was already bad enough, I don't want to see them in any sort of danger."

"They won't be," Deidara promised. "They won't hear anything from us, I swear. Sasuke-kun has been very clear about that as well. He wants to keep you and your kids as far away from this side as possible and we respect that."

Sometimes Deidara wished that could be the case for his family as well, but he had chosen to stay with Itachi even after knowing the truth. There was no point in regretting what could have been. He had made his choice. He loved Itachi and couldn't imagine a life without him, not even if that meant being away from the darker side of their family.

Naruto slumped into his chair; a hint of relief crossing his face. That sight made Deidara even more resolute in keeping his nieces and nephews safe from this side of their family. He had little chance of accomplishing the same thing with his sons, but he could do his best for Naruto's children.

"Did Itachi kill that guy?" Naruto asked quietly after a long moment of silence.

"I know he punished him severely," Deidara replied and pushed his hair over his shoulder. "But that's all I know. I didn't ask for more details."

Just knowing that the guy had got what had been coming to him had been more than enough for him. Chances were very likely that Itachi had ended up killing Sakon, but Deidara didn't need to know that.

"It's just a lot, you know?" Naruto muttered, somewhat subdued. "I thought I had married a doctor, not someone who's part of a yakuza clan. It's all a bit much to be honest."

"I get that," Deidara said and dared to reach out and touch Naruto's hand. Naruto didn't pull his hand away, which was quite frankly a relief. "It was all a lot for me as well. Sometimes it still is to be honest. I'm really sorry we kept this from you, but I promise from now on, if you have questions, we'll answer them. No more secrets."

"I'll hold you to that," Naruto said, a tad wearily.

"Are we – are we good still?" Deidara asked hesitatingly.

Naruto's eyes softened and he reached across the table to punch Deidara's arm softly. "Yeah, we're good still. Just – no more secrets, please. I'm kind of tired of them."

"No more secrets," Deidara promised and meant it.

Things were still a bit shaky between him and Naruto, but he was sure things would get back to normal soon again. After all, they had been friends for too long to just give up now.

They both shared a smile over the rim of their mugs.

Yeah, they were going to be just fine.

AN2: Can't promise when another update will appear, but just know that I haven't given up on this collection yet!

Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.

I hope to see you all back in the next chapter! Please stay safe and take care of yourselves!

Cuddles

Melissa

P.S. For more information about my upcoming and posted stories, please visit my profile.