Naruto Shippuden Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Preferable Path to Perfection is You ❯ Metaphoric ( Chapter 2 )

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 2: Metaphoric

"Deidara."

Itachi stood in the doorway of one of the rooms in the art lab, not entirely sure why he was doing what he was doing, but still doing it none the less. Deidara was buried in a piece of work at a table- the only one in the room because it was now home time and everyone else had gone. He didn't notice Itachi despite his call until the elder man stepped across the room, waving a hand in front of his face.

"Uchiha Itachi? What do you want?"

Itachi held a plastic box out to him, looking a little awkward. He was supposed to possess incredible acumen so he was a little confused by the thought process that had led him to be standing in front of a man he barely knew, offering him cake. It was just so completely out of character.

He refused to admit that he liked that.

"Cinnamon cake," he spoke after a moment. "I thought..."

Deidara's face lit up and he took the box, opening it up and taking the slice out. Taking a bite, he nodded enthusiastically and looked back up at Itachi.

"It tastes as good as you did," he remarked.

Did the blond not realise that was a slightly inappropriate comment to make? Itachi stared at him for a moment, feeling strangely fascinated though he couldn't put his finger on why.

"Thank my brother," he eventually spoke, finding his voice. "He's the one who made it."

"Well you're here and he's not, yeah," Deidara shrugged, finishing another bite.

Itachi nodded, taking the plastic box back and wondering why on earth he was still standing there. It was unlike him to be so forward in the first place, and now he didn't want to leave?

"I haven't eaten all day," Deidara admitted with a small smile. "So I really appreciate this."

"You shouldn't neglect your health for the sake of your work."

Deidara glanced up at him, narrowing his eyes curiously. "You've never skipped a meal because you got caught up in something, yeah? You're so skinny I'm surprised you eat at all."

Itachi sat back on the edge of the table, frowning as he did so. "I'm perfectly healthy."

Deidara didn't seem to be listening- his gaze was fixated on Itachi's right arm. He prodded it, causing Itachi to wince slightly in pain. The skin was red and sore- sunburnt, as he had predicted might happen the previous day from sitting in the sun.

"Its sunburn," he remarked. "It's painful, so don't touch."

"Did you get that yesterday?"

Itachi shrugged as if it didn't matter. "Seems so."

Deidara looked apologetic, finishing the cake and standing up. He packed away the things he had been using, glancing across at Itachi. He still hadn't moved. "Come for a drink with me, yeah."

"A drink?"

"It's an in-vi-ta-tion," Deidara spelled out, giving him a grin and slinging his bag over his shoulder. "It'll be fun, yeah."

"I don't even know you."

"You go around giving cake to random strangers a lot?"

"Well, no."

"Then you know me well enough," Deidara concluded. "Besides, you'll get to know me better then."

Itachi was too polite to ask if that was a good thing or not, so he simply pushed himself off of the table and headed after the eager blond. "I need to study," he remarked lightly as they headed out of the door. "And I can't say I usually socialise in bars."

"One drink won't kill you."

"One drink might kill you if you haven't eaten more than a single slice of cake all day."

"Are you offering to take me out for dinner, yeah?"

"No I am not," Itachi replied sharply. "I'll come- but I want to go home and get changed first."

"Give me your address- I'll come and pick you up at seven."

"Are you deliberately trying to make this sound like more than it is?" Itachi demanded to know, wondering as an afterthought why that idea didn't upset him very much.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

No, apparently the ditz was oblivious that he was making this venture sound like a date. Why was Itachi agreeing to this again?

"Just give me a pen and paper," Itachi sighed, holding out a hand and stopping their walk. "I want to be back home by eleven at the latest though, got it?"

Itachi stood in front of the bathroom mirror, pinning his hair back into its usual ponytail. His mind politely reminded him that he was getting smartly dressed up for a casual drink at a bar and nudged him to think about why that could be. He shoved it aside, brushing the front of his smart red shirt down and exhaling heavily.

He wasn't a social person by nature. The only person that had ever succeeded in getting him to be even vaguely social was his brother, and that was only because he wouldn't shut up if he got it into his head that he wanted to do something. Going out for a drink was usually out of the question, and especially with someone he didn't even know and had thought it was good practise to kiss him only hours after meeting him.

He'd enjoyed it.

He shook his head, flicked off the light and stepped out of the room, unwilling to listen to the tiny part of his brain that was becoming more vocal. He had enjoyed it and that was why he'd turned up the next day with homemade cake and agreed to go for a drink. Sasuke would probably fall over in shock if Itachi told him he'd willingly agreed to the latter at least, though he'd probably be happy with the Deidara's flattery of the former.

Itachi had always maintained he was too busy for relationships when asked. What he really meant was he'd never cared to look and- previously- had no desire to change that. A relationship would mean opening up to people and that just wasn't on his agenda any time soon. The small matter of gender hadn't even come up- he'd never got further than simply dismissing relationships as a whole, so his current thought track was a little bit of a surprise.

The doorbell interrupted his thoughts so he grabbed his keys, heading to answer it. Why was he nervous? It was a casual outing with a friend! Well... If you could even call him that, since they barely knew one another.

"I'm surprised you gave me the right address, yeah," Deidara told him, looking genuinely surprised.

"Of course," Itachi protested as he closed the door behind him and walked up the path, Deidara quick on his heels to follow. "I'll repeat this again- I plan on being home by eleven. We have college tomorrow."

"How old are you?" Deidara sighed, folding his arms. "Twelve?"

"Old enough to be responsible," Itachi replied flatly.

"I'm nineteen. You're a year or two older, yeah?"

"Twenty one."

"I thought so. I took a gap year before joining college, yeah." He paused for a moment before rephrasing. "Well, gap two years. How about you?"

"Just one year."

Itachi was leading the way- despite not going out often he still did occasionally and he knew the area better than Deidara seemed to. Almost subconsciously he was taking them to a small bar he and Sasuke usually went to- small, usually quiet and close to Itachi's home. Sasuke sometimes protested he knew of better places but Itachi had always refused to go anywhere else.

He sighed to himself- his brother was underage and went to more bars than he did, getting away with it simply by being tall and having good genetics to dazzle barmaids with. Perhaps being less social than his younger brother had been the subconscious reason why Itachi had agreed to this. That had to be it, right?

"So how did you spend your gap year?"

Itachi shrugged dismissively, unwilling to engage the conversation. He didn't like to talk about himself. "Work experience. Nothing that interesting. You?"

"I went to Europe. Nothing that interesting."

A smile quirked the corner of Itachi's lips at Deidara's flagrant teasing of his own words. "Europe sounds remarkably more interesting than work experience."

"It got me out the country for a while, so yes- it was good. I needed that," Deidara replied cryptically before changing the subject. "Thank you for actually coming, yeah. It's nice to have some company."

Itachi nodded, mulling over what the blond had said as they crossed the road. How was he so comfortable to admit such a thing? He was appreciating the company as well but he'd never admit it, not even under duress.

He led them inside the small bar, taking them into a quiet corner near a snooker table and some slot machines. It was the table he liked the most- despite being close to the snooker table (potential sociability) it was also near the exit (potential escape route).

"What do you drink?" Deidara asked instead of sitting down, indicating that Itachi could do so. Itachi didn't protest, but he wasn't going to let Deidara pay- he pulled a note from his pocket and passed it over

"Does it have to be alcohol?"

"Of course," Deidara replied easily, rolling his eyes and taking the note, eying it like it was going to bite him. "Are you sure about this?"

"Positive," Itachi responded in a firm voice that made it remarkably clear Deidara wasn't to argue.

"Then what will it be?"

"If you're going to insist, you can choose."

Deidara slipped off to get drinks, leaving Itachi alone with his thoughts. He hated this kind of thing- why couldn't Deidara have suggested something a little less daunting, like bowling or a movie?

His mind swiftly reminded him that he hadn't suggested either of those things because those were things you did on a date. This was most definitely not a date, it was just a drink between friends. Almost friends. Two people. Not a date.

He gave up trying to pin a name to it, accepting whatever was handed to him when Deidara returned and taking a sip. It tasted familiar and he tasted again to be sure.

"Vodka and Red Bull," Deidara told him, sitting down with one for himself. "That's okay?"

"Tastes fine," Itachi remarked, putting it down. Deidara reached across the table and nudged his hand gently, giving him a kind smile.

"Relax."

Itachi picked the glass back up, taking another sip to appease his companion. Deidara was probably right- relaxing couldn't do him much harm, after all, and he was probably long overdue doing something stress relieving.

"So tell me about yourself, yeah," Deidara asked him with a smile. "You said you're pretty plain and I don't believe that for a second."

"I am," Itachi insisted. "There's nothing interesting to learn about me."

"I think I'm going to prove you wrong."

Itachi was saved from having to reply by his mobile phone ringing, pulling it from his pocket and glancing at the caller ID. Sasuke- of course it was, no-one else called him.

"My brother," he explained. "He's probably wondering why I didn't pick up at home."

Deidara laid a hand over his to stop him answering it. "So he's checking up on you, yeah?"

"That isn't what-"

Deidara snatched the phone from him, tapping the button to answer the call and holding the phone to his ear.

"Oh, Itachi!" He moaned seductively, causing the man in question to choke on his drink. "Oh yeah, do it like that, yeah, oh! Oh!"

He disconnected the call and dropped the phone back down on the table in front of Itachi with a shrug. "He won't check up on you again now."

Itachi simply stared at him completely stupefied for a moment before he covered his reddened cheeks with his hands, mentally going through his mind a way of explaining this to Sasuke. The truth was plausible but his mind was far too focused on the moaning the other man had emitted to realise he didn't have to lie about it. Deidara was an idiot, enough said.

"You have no common sense, do you?" He eventually uttered, taking a deep breath and attempting to push some sudden unwelcome images out of his mind.

"You have no sense of fun, yeah," Deidara countered.

The phone rang again and Itachi hurriedly snatched it up before Deidara could answer it again.

"Sasuke, ignore that," he said quickly. "I'm out with a friend and he's mentally deficient."

"I don't know who he is but I'm not going to disagree," Sasuke replied- Itachi could almost see his eyebrow raised in question as he spoke. "Regardless, I'm impressed you left the house of your own accord. I'll leave you to it, Itachi. Have fun."

He hung up, leaving Itachi staring dumbly at the phone in his hand. He felt like his IQ had dropped a few points just by being in Deidara's company but as he put the phone away, he realised it really wasn't all bad. At least he was good to look at.

He had accepted that much internally, at least. That didn't mean he was going to accept that he was feeling something more- something new, something different...

Deidara had been speaking. He snapped out of his reverie, fixing the younger man with an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry- what did you say?"

"I said you're a person with a small garden."

Itachi blinked at him, perplexed. He guessed Deidara wasn't talking about his actual front garden, but he had no idea what he could mean instead. "Is that supposed to be a metaphor?"

"Imagine a garden," Deidara replied patiently. "It has boundaries and everything you do is kept inside, because that garden is your own personal space. You keep the things you're comfortable with in and the things you're not out, yeah."

He jumped up before Itachi could protest otherwise, slinking into the seat next to him and curling up to his side.

"What are you doing?" Itachi asked slowly, trying to back off.

"You're uncomfortable with that, yeah?" Deidara pointed out. "I'm expanding your garden."

Itachi could think of other things that might expand if Deidara kept his hand on his thigh like he was.

"My garden is huge," Deidara continued, keeping his lips close to Itachi's ear. "I want to share my garden with you."

Yes, he definitely wasn't straight was he? Oh no. Itachi was very unaware of how not-straight he was feeling right then.

"Can you stop talking in metaphors?" He eventually managed say, covering his alarm well considering the circumstances.

"I like you and I want to get to know you better, yeah," Deidara explained. "And I want to show you what you're missing by having such small garden boundaries. There are so many fun things you can do if you just relax."

Itachi's mind filled in quite a nice blank there for 'relaxing'. He beat it down once more, finally picking up Deidara's hand and removing it as he stood up. "I'm sure there are," he said smoothly, getting up to leave the table.

"You're running away because I made you uncomfortable," Deidara commented, moving back to his own seat as Itachi began to step away.

"If you say so," Itachi remarked, pausing to glance over his shoulder. "I'm actually going to the bathroom, but if you want to flatter yourself and pretend I'm 'running away' then you're quite welcome to."

"Convenient timing," Deidara noted, raising a suspicious eyebrow but saying no more about it. "I'm going to open your eyes and show you what you're missing, yeah. Trust me."

Itachi didn't respond, heading away and ducking into the bathroom quickly- absolutely, definitely running away despite his words but he suspected he had been transparent about it regardless. The thought made him uneasy and he ran a hand up into his hair with a heavy sigh, looking up at the ceiling.

So he had established that his body at least had an interest in this guy, frowning with disdain and splashing cold water on his face to calm himself. What was with him all of a sudden anyway? Why was he acting like a mystified schoolchild over someone he barely knew? It was the kiss, he decided. It had to be the kiss. There was no other explanation for someone as logical and, well, unsociable as he was to be seemingly falling for another person, regardless of gender. It just didn't make any sense.

When he returned to the table in a much more reasonable state, he noticed Deidara was setting up the nearby snooker table. The drink he'd finished before leaving was refreshed too, he noticed- and of course it was another alcoholic one.

"Let's play, yeah," Deidara indicated the table, holding a cue in his hand and giving Itachi a sly grin. Itachi thought for about half a second before finding himself walking to the table regardless. It seemed his mind had been made up for him as he picked up the other cue, running a finger over the tip to check how chalky it was. It was a good thing Sasuke usually forced him to play on the rare occasion they came out so he wasn't going to be terrible in front of Deidara.

He let Deidara break, frowning as he used more force than was really necessary- it sent the balls flying across the table, bouncing from the sides and smashing loudly into one another before settling quietly.

Itachi took the first shot perfectly- of course- earning a frown from Deidara as the red ball spun easily into the pocket he had been aiming at.

"Are you kidding me, Uchiha? Don't tell me you're good at snooker as well?"

"My name is Itachi- not Uchiha," Itachi noted tersely, lining up his cue with the most accessible colour- the green. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

Deidara either didn't pick up on his touchy tone or ignored it. "Well, is there anything you're bad at?"

Itachi knew a possible answer to that question might be 'social situations like this', but he held his tongue. Instead he took another perfect shot and ignored that he had been spoken to, fishing the green ball from the pocket and returning it to the table in accordance to the rules. Deidara chalked up the points awarded for it, sighing and leaning back against the table.

Itachi had no idea how he managed to miss the next shot.

The white ball glided past the red one he had been aiming at and bounced uselessly off of the side, leaving Itachi staring at it with a rising sense of panic. Panic was a perfectly reasonable reaction to such a small thing, right? He hated his mind sometimes.

"Oh?" Deidara said inquisitively, raising an eyebrow.

Of course the idiot was going to pick up on it, amplifying his internal horror even if his exterior facade was still perfect.

"You have some warped views," Itachi remarked lightly, stepping aside to let Deidara took his shot. He was a hypocrite of course, since he knew _he_ was the one with a perfection complex. "It isn't possible to achieve perfection all the time."

Deidara took his own shot, watching the white ball carelessly glide off the edge of the red one he had been aiming for. He stepped back, waiting until Itachi was lining up his next one to answer.

"You try though, yeah?"

The question was casual and Deidara probably hadn't meant any harm, but it caused Itachi to halt in the middle of bringing his cue forward to shoot with wide eyes.

The moment passed and he took the shot- it landed perfectly and he nodded in satisfaction as the red ball landed cleanly in the pocket as he had planned. The flaw was recovered as if it hadn't existed and that suited him absolutely fine.

The walk home was actually remarkably pleasant- they'd left the bar at quarter to eleven by Itachi's request, but Deidara apparently wasn't happy with the plan of getting him home on time. He'd led them the other way and onto the edge of the nearby town- Itachi had followed, quite unsure where he was going and partially excited to find out. He stamped on that part of his brain and set it on fire just in case it tried to re-emerge.

Deidara took them to a bridge and stood on it, leaning against the stone edge and looking down into the river below. He looked melancholy for just a moment before smiling, looking across at Itachi as he joined him looking down.

"It's nice, yeah? I come here to sketch sometimes when I want a quiet place."

"It is nice," Itachi agreed. He'd never really taken much notice of his local towns- he simply didn't bother with recreational trips just 'because'. There had to be a reason and he would fulfil that reason swiftly and then go home.

Deidara passed him a piece of paper from his sketchbook almost shyly, looking away as Itachi took it. "Can you do origami?"

He pulled a piece of paper from his notebook for himself as Itachi took the hint and set to work on folding his own piece.

"Of course you can, yeah," Deidara sighed, answering his own question. "You can do everything."

He folded the paper expertly and swiftly, holding out a bird when he was done. Itachi admired it, impressed- he was good but then again, given it was a form of art he wasn't really surprised.

"You're very good at art," he said quietly, still folding his paper. "Why are you so worried about how good I may or may not be at things?"

"I'm good in one area," Deidara replied, tossing the bird down haphazardly into the river. It bobbed on the water, slowly floating downstream. "You're good at everything."

"You only met me yesterday," Itachi countered. "How can you be so sure?"

"I picked you because everyone says it, yeah? I wanted to see for myself," Deidara admitted, a slight blush on his cheeks as he spoke. "I also thought if you really were so perfect that I'd get a perfect painting."

"Did it come out how you wanted?"

Deidara thought for a moment before grinning, watching the bird float underneath the bridge and out of sight. "It did when I kissed you- it made you more natural. Less like a doll and more like a person, yeah."

"A doll?" Itachi frowned at that- he'd heard many words to describe himself but that wasn't one of them.

"A puppet," Deidara elaborated after a moment. "The strings get pulled and you react perfectly."

"Puppeteers can still make mistakes."

"If the puppeteer makes a mistake he might be able to catch it before the puppet reflects it, yeah."

Itachi glanced across at Deidara, wondering where this sudden articulate conversation had come from. He turned his attention back to the half-folded paper in his hands, feeling quite subdued.

"It's difficult to catch most mistakes," he pointed out quietly. "Once you pull the string, getting it to stop before it reaches the puppet takes excellent reaction time and might reflect another mistake in the attempt to stop it."

"Maybe you just need to lighten up."

So they weren't talking in metaphors anymore it seemed. Itachi finished folding his paper, opening his hands to reveal a flower. Deidara plucked it from his fingers, looking it over with a strange brightness in his eyes Itachi had last seen when he'd been painting the picture the day before.

"You're good at this," he commented, flicking it over the bridge and into the water. "Though we just had that conversation."

"You aren't who you seem," Itachi spoke quietly after they'd been standing watching the flower drift serenely downstream, only speaking when it disappeared under the bridge and out of sight.

"You aren't who you project yourself to be either," Deidara responded just as quietly. "Even if you don't show it you aren't who you try to be."

Itachi gave no response, straightening himself up and letting go of the edge of the bridge. Deidara copied him, indicating over his shoulder and starting to stroll away.

"Hopefully the detour was worth breaking your curfew for, yeah?" He joked as they walked.

"Oh no- my younger brother will ground me," Itachi replied flatly. Deidara glanced at him like he'd just grown a second head, eyes wide.

"Did you just make a joke?"

Itachi shrugged, a tiny smile on the edge of his lips giving him away. "Maybe."

Deidara laughed slightly, looking rather satisfied. "I like you. Can we meet up tomorrow?"

"We'll see," Itachi replied, preferring to stay non-committed. Deidara took that as a satisfactory answer, giving him a wave and stepping off ahead.

"See you tomorrow then, yeah," he called over his shoulder before picking up the pace and jogging away.

Itachi watched him go, biting his lip nervously- he wasn't used to this level of interaction was anyone- Sasuke included.

"I didn't agree," he attempted to call, but Deidara was already gone. The words floated on the wind between them before dissipating into nothingness, leaving him standing wordlessly on the edge of the bridge and thanking Deidara hadn't noticed his origami flower had been salvaged from the remains of an attempt at a bird.

Chapter End