Naruto Fan Fiction / Naruto Shippuden Fan Fiction ❯ My Big Gay Path Wedding ❯ For Better Or For Worse ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: The characters, items, places etc of Naruto are property of Masashi Kishimoto. These objects are used without permission for entertainment only, not for making money. No infringement is intended.

Chapter 3: For Better Or For Worse

The light in the hallway still wasn't working. Deidara sighed in annoyance as he pulled the communal door closed behind him with a soft bang, walking the worn green carpet and glancing around himself as he did so.

Graffiti still covered the once cream walls and cobwebs still lined the ceilings like decorations. Nothing had changed in his absence but then again, nothing had changed in the years he had previously lived in the building so that was no surprise.

The light for the winding staircase was present, but flickered alarmingly as though it was moments from dissipating. Standing beneath such lights too long was prone to causing headaches, so Deidara traipsed the narrow steps quickly; he had learnt that was wise when he first moved in, since most of the lights were out or flickered.

He walked halfway across the second floor and stopped at his old front door, letting himself inside. A quick flick of the light told him the electric had been cut so he opened the drawn curtains, illuminating the room through the single dirty window.

The bedsit had always been dismal. He had known that, but having come from Itachi's well-kept home only made him appreciate where he now was a lot more. The walls were damp and the carpet was threadbare.

Promises by the council to fix the problems were always broken, and so he learnt to live with it. The kitchen and bathroom were shared per floor, leaving him just a single room.

There was a bed in one corner, along with a table by the window. Other than that, he had very little furniture. Furniture had cost money and he didn't have much of it, so the bills had been paid and he had existed on paint and air. He didn't eat much.

He grimaced at the thought, knowing back then he'd been well on the way to a disorder- and he certainly didn't live. Itachi was grateful for Deidara's influence on his life, but Deidara was equally grateful in return for so many additional reasons too.

"Time to say goodbye," he said resolutely to the damp walls. He had returned to pick up the last remaining items that hadn't migrated to Itachi's, before surrendering the property back to the council and officially declaring himself at Itachi's housemate and partner.

It also meant that finally, Itachi would be seeing the place he had been so ashamed of showing him. Deidara had made sure Itachi didn't even know where it was, let alone visit, but that was changing.

After college, which Deidara had skipped, Itachi would be coming and he would see the place Deidara had had no choice but to call home once he had left his parent's place.

He had things to do to pass the time at least, smiling slightly at the mess of artistic equipment strewn around the place. Most of the time when he came to collect things he'd rip the place apart for a particular item then leave it a mess.

The room looked ransacked as a result, but that was fine. He pulled the bag over his shoulder down and opened it, kneeling and sorting through the art supplies. Of everything left, that was all he cared for.

He was almost finished by the time Itachi finally called to say he was in the area. Deidara gave him directions and slipped back out of the room, going to wait outside. Letting Itachi inside made him nervous, but he told himself it wasn't his life anymore. He was past it now.

"I'm glad you found it okay," he said as Itachi got out of the car, having parked up next to him.

"You give pretty good directions," Itachi complimented. "Lead the way, then."

Deidara hesitated for a moment before nodding and taking them back inside the property, deciding to just take it in his stride as best he could. Itachi had never been one to judge people, and he wouldn't start now.

"Forgive the lack of lighting," he apologised as he led Itachi along the badly lit lower floor hall. "It's always been this way."

Without even asking Deidara knew Itachi had never been to such a place. He'd grown up in the Uchiha's modest home before moving to his current residence, both in nice areas of town.

He could see Itachi was stepping carefully through the hall, one hand on the graffiti-ridden wall to steady himself, but he kept his lips sealed. Deidara was impressed he even managed to keep quiet when ascending the stairs, barely flinching at the flickering light.

When they finally stood side by side in the scant room, Deidara spoke. Itachi may have been keeping his silence, but he couldn't any longer. "I'm sorry, yeah. Do you see now why I didn't want you to come here?"

Itachi narrowed his eyes in thought, putting one hand to the damp wall. "This is a nice sized room," he mused, which wasn't at all what Deidara was expecting. "I don't see why it's so bad."

"You're insane," Deidara remarked, earning a raised eyebrow from Itachi that he of all people was saying that. "Did you miss the lack of lights? The graffiti?"

"Those things aren't in your home," Itachi pointed out.

"What about the damp?"

"What about it? It happens in older places."

"You're never usually so optimistic," Deidara said suspiciously. "You're just trying not to offend me because you knew how I felt about showing you this place, yeah."

"A home is what you make it," Itachi disagreed. "I'm not superficial. I don't care how affluent something looks, Deidara. You should know that by now."

Deidara stared at him in disbelief before giving the room another glance around. "I never wanted you to think I spent time with you at your place because I was living here," he admitted quietly. "You might have thought I was using you."

"That's why you didn't want to show me?"

Deidara shrugged awkwardly, which meant yes.

"I would never have thought that," Itachi told him softly. "Look- I do come from a wealthy family, I can admit that. But that doesn't mean I look down on people with less than me, or automatically assume they're using me. Thank you for bringing me to your home, Deidara."

Deidara gave him a smile, brightening up slightly. "I'm going to knock on my neighbour's door, yeah. He might want some of this stuff, who knows? It's better than it getting junked outside."

Itachi nodded, finding himself alone in the room a few moments later as Deidara slipped off. Unable to help himself, he glanced around and took in the scene around him. Over by the nearby wall a pile of what looked like letters lay- presumably mail that had come, that Deidara had discarded to one side.

He walked over and eyed the top couple of letters to see if he was right, eyes widening slightly as he did so. He knelt down and picked up one of the letters. It was unopened, with a local council marker on the envelope.

The thing that drew Itachi's attention however was the name, Deidara Andersen. Deidara never used his last name. He had once mentioned it was because it was something he gained from his father and he wanted nothing to do with the man, including his name.

While Itachi had known it, seeing it in print was different. He dropped the letter, feeling immediately like he had intruded and pulling himself to his feet again. Instead of looking around further he waited against the wall by the front door, hoping Deidara would return soon.

When his boyfriend did return he had someone with him, who Itachi presumed was the neighbour. It was a man with short dark hair and a ridiculous orange mask covering his face. Deidara didn't seem too phased by this little detail, so Itachi said nothing.

"It's so good to see you, Deidei!" The man was saying happily. "I thought you'd died or something."

"Don't call me Deidei," Deidara hissed at him, folding his arms irritably. "You're just as annoying as ever, Tobi."

"So who's the cutie?" Tobi asked, directing his attention to Itachi. Itachi blinked a few times, unsure he had heard the man correctly, until he continued and all became clear. "She's not bad. No tits, though. Turn around sweetheart, let me see your-"

"He's a guy," Deidara cut in quickly, while Itachi simply stared at the man in disbelief. "Stop being a jackass."

"A guy? With eyes like that?"

"Pleasure to meet you," Itachi cut in swiftly, his voice polite as he stepped forward and held out a hand. When he was unsure how to deal with a person, he simply opted to such behaviour. "I'm Itachi. You are Tobi, correct?"

Tobi slowly took Itachi's hand and shook it. "Deidei, he scares me."

"Don't talk about him like he's not here!" Deidara screeched at him, looking moments from smacking the man. "And if you call me Deidei again I'm going to ransack your place and steal your stash of weed, yeah."

Tobi immediately straightened up sombrely, going to inspect the furniture while Deidara put one hand to his forehead with a sigh.

"Forgive him," he whispered to Itachi. "He's high pretty much all the time. Sometimes he's inappropriate, sometimes he's like a child, sometimes he's angry. It's like he has multiple personalities, yeah. He doesn't mean any harm."

"No offense taken," Itachi replied back quietly, eyes on Tobi as he rifled through Deidara's fridge. The kitchen facilities on the floor were shared, but it seemed Deidara didn't trust having a shared fridge.

"You have food!" Tobi called. "Can I have it?"

"If there's anything in there I doubt it's edible, yeah. I haven't lived here for a while, remember?"

Tobi reached inside anyway, withdrawing his hand with a carton of milk. He shook it a little, as if testing it, before putting his hand on the top to unscrew it. Deidara was across the room in seconds, snatching it from his hands and glaring sharply at him.

"I won't be responsible if you kill yourself on old milk, yeah."

Itachi watched them, eyes lighting up slightly in amusement. For some reason he was getting a vibe from Deidara- it was very much like the one he himself emitted all the time when the artist was acting like an idiot.

"So do you want any of it?" Deidara prompted.

"Oh- sure, why not? I'll take whatever you don't want anymore."

"All of it, except the art supplies. Itachi, can you help me take some of those down to the car?"

"What about your letters?" Itachi asked, indicating them to the side. Deidara hesitated before rifling through them, selecting only a few that looked important.

"Hey, Tobi, can you burn these old letters for me?" He called.

"Alright."

"Thanks, yeah. We'll be back up in a second."

A few trips to the car later, Deidara stood in the middle of the room that was now mostly empty. Tobi had been shifting the furniture into the hallway- Itachi, being the gentleman he was, had been helping him in-between loading the car. All that was left was the bed, which he and Tobi were struggling with while Deidara reminisced.

"Goodbye damp-infested hellhole," he muttered, a tiny smile on his face. "We had some good times and some bad times- wait, no, we just had some bad times, so good riddance."

With that he helped the other two out with the bed, slamming the door shut and locking it one last time. He studied the items Tobi had taken that were littering the hallway, frowning slightly as he inspected it all.

"Why did you take a cupboard door?"

"Why not?" Tobi asked innocently. "It might be useful."

"Alright- what about the medicine cabinet?"

"Why not?" Tobi repeated. Deidara stared at him before giving up, glancing across curiously to Itachi as he smothered laughter behind one hand for reasons he couldn't work out.

"Ready?" He asked his partner.

"I am when you are," Itachi confirmed.

"Good, yeah. Let's get out of here- later Tobi. Take care of yourself."

"And you Deidei," Tobi sang, pausing in the middle of dragging a chair into his room to wave. "Bye bye It-whatever you name was. Don't you want any money for this stuff?"

"You don't have any money," Deidara pointed out.

"That's true. It's polite to offer though, right? How about some of the good stuff then- you and your friend could do what we used to do in the good old days, when we'd just sit around getting high and-"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Deidara cut in loudly, practically pulling Itachi down the hall with him by the hand. "Bye Tobi!"

"I had no idea about your nefarious past," Itachi teased gently once they were on their way home. Deidara had glanced over his shoulder a few times as they drove away from the block, but eventually stopped when it was completely out of sight.

"Tobi over-exaggerates," Deidara explained. "We'd watch movies with snacks and he'd smoke dubious substances, yeah. He got so high once he spent ages explaining to me about how he's actually a two hundred year old man, and his entire purpose in life is to control people with mind-washing images projected onto the moon."

"He sounds... Interesting."

"He's crazy," Deidara concluded bluntly. "I just had to nod and go along with it else he got really upset. He was convinced I was a terrorist or something as well, and that I had bombs made out of clay in my bag."

"I think he might have been smoking some very odd things."

"You never know with him. Anyway- we'd just chill out and maybe once or twice I smoked a bit of whatever he had, but you can't tell me you haven't!"

"No."

Deidara stared at him blankly. "Are you serious?" He finally asked.

"Think about who you're asking that question to," Itachi reminded him. "Of course I'm serious."

"True," Deidara sighed. "I think your entire life might have turned out a little differently if you'd just got high when you were stressed, yeah."

"And I think you partook in such activities more than once or twice," Itachi smirked. "I don't care!" He rapidly added upon seeing the look on Deidara's face. "I was just teasing you. I really don't care what you did in your past, as long as you aren't going to get locked up for murder in the future or something."

"Speaking of murder, can we string your brother up for suggesting we dress up as girls on our stag night?"

"Apparently Kisame suggested it."

"Alright, can we kill him too? What were they thinking?"

"They were clearly thinking that if we humiliate us enough then we might get drunk to forget about it. Kisame has this thing about me getting drunk since he's never seen me that way."

"It's not exactly thrilling," Deidara shrugged. "You talk too much, then you pass out until morning when you wake up in a bad mood with a hangover. Much like many other people our age, yeah."

"I talk too much?" Itachi questioned, one eyebrow raised.

"Need I remind you of the night we went out before I left?" Deidara grinned. "You know, when you thought I was leaving for good, and you told me all about how you couldn't be perfect around me whilst crawling on your hands and knees?"

"Thank you for the memory," Itachi sighed, trying to ignore the burn on his cheeks. "Perhaps it's not that I talk too much- rather, that I say things that I have kept under lock and key until that moment. Anyway, I'm not planning on getting drunk. I will have a few but I will be sensible."

"What? It's our stag night! You have to get so drunk you fall over and throw up on someone's shoes- it's the rules!"

"There are no rules and I would rather not do either of those things, thank you."

"Sasuke won't let you get away with that."

"Sasuke is going to do as he is told. He has to remember that one day he might get married, and I will only gain revenge on him tenfold for any stunts he pulls on me."

"Can you see him marrying Naruto?"

Itachi laughed at that. "No."

"You don't think they'll stay together?"

"I don't know. Even if they do, I don't think they'd marry. Sasuke has enough problems admitting how he feels about the guy, let alone committing to him in such a manner. Plus he doesn't like too much attention on him, so the idea of a 'big day' would probably terrify him."

"You make him sound so much nicer when you speak about him, yeah. I almost feel sorry for him."

"Well we did grow up together," Itachi reminded him. "For all the tantrums and sharp talk I've heard from him, I've experienced equal measures of pleasant moments. It's difficult to feel frightened of someone's temper when you've had to rescue them from monsters under the bed."

"I suppose that's true." Deidara paused for a moment, a small yet sombre smile on his face. "No-one rescued me from monsters. My Dad just laughed and my Mum told me not to be so stupid."

"No-one rescued me either," Itachi noted quietly. "I was the big brother. I was supposed to show a good example to my brother, and being frightened of things wasn't an option. Plus you've met my family- I wasn't close to my mother and my father isn't exactly known for his comforting skills."

"The monster under my bed had ten arms and used to eat my missing socks, yeah."

"The monster under my bed was a small shadow that wanted to suck the air from my lungs."

"That sounds a lot scarier than a monster that eats socks."

"I don't know- I was a perfectionist, remember? I think a sock eating monster would have been quite traumatising for me."

"Please don't tell me you were so perfect that even your sock drawer was perfect?"

"You don't need me to answer that, do you?"

Deidara didn't respond immediately, eyes slightly wide before he burst out laughing. "I'm so glad you got over some of the more ridiculous issues before we met, yeah."

"Thank you for calling my issues ridiculous."

"They were!"

"Your hair is ridiculous."

Deidara paused again, before finally laughing harder. "I can't believe that you just made a joke like that. If I ever hear the phrase 'your mum' from you, I'm leaving."

"I'm glad your mood has been lightened," Itachi remarked with a smile on his face. Deidara stopped laughing abruptly, suddenly realising why they'd been having such an absurd conversation in the first place.

"Thank you," he said sincerely. "I appreciate the effort, yeah."

"And I'm just glad to see a smile back on your face," Itachi replied quietly, which Deidara smiled even harder at and promptly stayed that way for the rest of the journey.

Chapter End