Naruto Shippuden Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Preferable Path to Perfection is You ❯ When in Doubt, Hide ( Chapter 9 )

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 9: When in Doubt, Hide

Deidara was up to something.

Itachi knew it. However, he had absolutely no idea what scheme his artistically minded friend had come up with this time, so he had no feasible way of rejecting his overly eager offer to go and buy milk when Itachi had offhandedly mentioned they were getting low.

Deidara had smiled and disappeared once his offer was accepted, only to reappear forty minutes later with a bag of items that was too full to be just milk.

"The shop is a two minute walk away," Itachi reminded him when Deidara reappeared in the living room, depositing Itachi's keys and the blue carrier bag on the table. "What took you so long?"

"I got sidetracked."

Itachi instantly moved to the bag to find out its contents, hoping it would give him an answer. He pulled out a rental DVD, eyeing Deidara suspiciously.

"Did you take my rental card from my wallet?"

"Maybe," Deidara shrugged sheepishly. "You're the one who told me to take cash out of it."

"Cash," Itachi highlighted. "Not my rental card. Did you pass yourself off as me?"

"You haven't rented a movie from there in all the time I've known you," Deidara replied sulkily. "It's not like they know what you look like, yeah."

The rest of the bag contained popcorn, ice cream, soda and the originally requested milk. Itachi opened the movie box without another word, frowning as he studied the DVD inside.

"Horrors of the House on the Hill?" He read sceptically. "This sounds terrible."

"It sounded interesting, yeah," Deidara countered lightly, snatching it from him. "We were told to draw a horror piece for an assignment so I thought I'd study the genre."

"With ice cream and popcorn?"

"Who watches a movie without popcorn?" Deidara protested, grabbing the carrier bag and heading into the kitchen with it.

"My brother," Itachi pointed out with a heavy sigh. "Deidara- I need to study tonight, so I'll just leave you to it."

Deidara whipped around, looking scandalised at the thought. "You need to study every night!" He pointed out. "It's only an hour and a half, and then you can go right back to your work. Just sit down and I'll prepare everything, yeah."

Itachi did as requested- not because he wanted to, but because he found it impossible to argue with Deidara. They could spend thirty minutes arguing the point and the idiot would show no signs of giving up the fight, leaving him the victor by default since Itachi simply decided it wasn't worth it the vast majority of the time.

Ten minutes later they were sitting on the sofa underneath Itachi's duvet, watching the movie in question with a shared mixture of intrigue and scepticism. Itachi certainly hadn't complained when Deidara had practically curled up to his side so they could share the cover, wondering if the impromptu movie night was going to be more enjoyable than he originally thought.

Besides, he couldn't turn down decent ice cream in good conscience. Deidara had given him the small tub of cookie dough flavoured sweet and a spoon knowingly, refusing any for himself. It didn't stop him leaning over and stealing a bite though, causing Itachi to freeze as Deidara used his thigh to steady himself and practically climbed into his lap for the spoon.

Deidara had insisted they turn all the lights off for an authentic feel, so the room was bathed only in the low glow of the television. It spurred some nostalgia in Itachi, taking him back to a few years previous when Sasuke had convinced him to stay up all night and watch movies.

They had watched horrors as well, both of them declaring there was nothing to be frightened of because they were just movies, but ending up equally jumpy before the night was over.

That in mind, Itachi really wasn't quite sure why he had agreed to this when he knew his disposition to scary movies wasn't particularly great. As a victim of a brutal murder on the screen screamed, he almost dropped the drink he was holding in fright and then almost dropped it again in shock as Deidara curled up closer to him.

Itachi resisted the urge to smile, feeling slightly coy. So that's how it was going to be, huh? Perhaps he would have to overemphasise a little fear to take advantage of the situation.

Fifteen minutes later when both Deidara and Itachi were unabashedly hiding (not cowering) under the cover, Itachi realised he wasn't going to need to fake anything at all.

"Did you deliberately pick the most realistic movie you could find?" Itachi hissed at Deidara, locking eyes with him as best he could in the blanketed darkness.

"Well, you're supposed to be perfect," Deidara replied sulkily. "I didn't expect you of all people to get scared of horror movies, yeah."

"And what about yourself?" Itachi bit back lightly.

"I've never seen one before."

Itachi frowned at him, both of them jumping slightly at the sound of a scream from the movie. "You haven't?"

Deidara shook his head, finally pushing the cover off of his head and turning back to the screen. Itachi followed his example, begrudgingly turning his eyes back to the television. They said no more on the matter, attempting to concentrate on the movie.

Somewhere along the way, they'd ended up with their hands entwined. Itachi noticed- oh he'd definitely noticed, but he was unsure whether Deidara had done so. Either way he was in no hurry to release the hold they had on each other, revelling in the contact as they shared the mutual terror at the surprisingly decent movie.

He snaked an arm lightly around Deidara as the artist jumped and attempted to curl up against him again, feeling pleased when it wasn't rejected. If anything, Deidara relaxed when he did so and made himself _more_ comfortable. Itachi tried not to look too much into it, turning his attention back to the movie instead of letting his mind wander like it wanted to.

Deidara was the one to finally break their touch, reaching down to the floor to pick up his drink and snatch up the popcorn. Itachi didn't protest because that would be blindingly obvious, instead stealing a handful of the popcorn and trying to look like he was watching the movie when he was really just attempting to watch the wall next to the television.

"I think I got some inspiration at least," Deidara said, his voice wavering slightly as they witnessed another mindless bloody murder committed by something that may or may not have been human. "I just need to paint the page red and pretend its blood, yeah."

"Sounds accurate," Itachi muttered, trying to pretend he hadn't nearly thrown his drink down himself for at least the fifth time that evening. He had been surreptitiously attempting to hide behind the red glass a lot, bringing it up to his face to slowly sip the contents in an attempt to obscure his view of the screen.

Unfortunately refilling the glass three times already from the conveniently placed bottle by their feet probably hadn't been the smartest idea. He set the glass in his hand down and pushed the cover back, slipping off the sofa. Deidara grabbed his arm as he attempted to walk away, looking up at him with wide, pleading eyes.

"Are you leaving me alone, yeah?"

"Pause it," Itachi suggested, pulling his arm free. "I'm only going to the bathroom."

"If you hadn't spent the last half an hour drinking constantly to hide behind your glass you'd be fine," Deidara sulked, folding his arms and looking offended at the thought he was to be left alone with only a horrific movie to keep him company. The gleam in his eye said he was only joking, but Itachi felt the need to defend himself.

"I wasn't hiding," he argued weakly, even though he knew it was true and was feeling a little humiliated for it. How could Deidara read how he was feeling so easily most of the time, yet still be so completely oblivious to Itachi's affection for him? The guy was either an idiot, blind or in denial- possibly all three.

He stepped out into the hallway, feeling for the light switch in the darkness. Just as his fingers connected with it he jumped in fright at the sound of knocking coming from the front door at the end of the hall. Behind him in the living room, he could hear screaming that indicated Deidara hadn't bothered to pause the movie as suggested.

Itachi stood completely frozen with his eyes fixed on the front door, knowing the sensible thing would be to open it because there was no way it was a murderer or demon or whatever his mind was thinking up right then.

He hadn't yet switched the light on. His hand hovered uncertainly over it before he did what his frightened mind deemed as the most sensible thing right then as the knocking came again- turning and fleeing back into the living room, slamming the door behind him and leaning back against it to compose himself.

"What?" Deidara asked, glancing across at him and sensing his dismay.

"There's something at the door."

Deidara looked rather unimpressed, raising an eyebrow in question. "You're imagining things. It's the movie doing things to your mind, yeah."

"There's something there," Itachi hissed, shaking his head rapidly. "I'm absolutely cert-"

He was interrupted by a rapping sound on the window, making Deidara yelp and hide under the cover and Itachi freeze and turn his eyes sharply to it. The curtains were drawn so he couldn't see what was causing it but as the television elicited another scream he, too, dived back under the cover.

"What the hell is that, yeah?" Deidara asked, his voice a whisper.

"I have no intention of finding out," Itachi whispered back.

The sound came again, harder and more urgent this time. They both stayed where they were, the movie suddenly forgotten. Itachi barely noticed when Deidara clasped his hand once more as they waited with baited breath for the being to go away.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Itachi knew they were being ridiculous. That didn't stop them from staying exactly where they were, listening out for further sounds.

"You just ignored the front door?" Deidara finally spoke when they'd been curled up in silence for a couple of long minutes, hands so tightly entwined their knuckles were white.

"Would you want to go and find out what it is?" Itachi countered, taking the silence that followed as a negative.

"It wasn't a murderer," Deidara informed him after they had been silent for a while save for the sound of their own breathing, his voice stronger than it had been previously. "Or a demon."

"I know," Itachi replied, sounding affronted- but he stayed exactly where he was.

At some point the movie ended, but they hadn't moved from their post under the covers to see any more of it. They were lying against one another with their hands joined together- in any other circumstance, Itachi would have been overjoyed. As it was, all he could muster was a flicker of delight as he focused his hearing to their shared gentle breathing once the room became silent.

Deidara's breathing was slowly regulating itself into the recognisable deeper tune of sleep so Itachi pulled the cover off of their heads softly, finally unlinking their hands and slipping down off the sofa to his knees. Readjusting the cover over Deidara to keep him warm, he hesitated for a moment before pulling himself to a stand.

Walking around the dark house with something potentially hiding outside wasn't high on the list of things Itachi wanted to do, but unfortunately nature called and was refusing his desire to continue ignoring it.

He slipped out of the living room, shutting the door behind him and holding a finger waveringly over the hallway light. He refrained from flicking it on once more- he didn't want to alert anything out of the ordinary that they were indeed home.

"You're being stupid," he muttered to himself softly as scaled the hall in darkness and pushed the bathroom door open, eyes falling to the window as he stepped guardedly into the room.

It was open. Considering what could be prowling around in the night, that was a very bad thing.

The window was small and tricky to reach without first stepping up to the edge of the bath, so he did so- though not without difficulty, since he had refused to turn the bathroom light on as well. One hand trembling, he reached for the handle and wrapped his fingers around it carefully as though it might bite.

"What are you doing?"

Itachi yelped and tore his hand away, losing his precarious balance and landing on his knees on the floor with a sharp jolt. Glaring up at the doorway, he attempted to stop his racing heart as Deidara stood before him, frowning in complete and utter bewilderment.

"Weren't you asleep?" Itachi snapped, feeling a little shamed to have been caught checking for monsters in the night. Well, murderers- but technically that was the same thing, right? His pride said it could be so, anyway.

"I woke up when you shut the living room door," Deidara shrugged. "I wasn't really asleep- just drifting, yeah. What were you doing?"

Itachi refused to answer with the truth and no lie would be acceptable, so he stayed silently on the floor until Deidara stepped across and held a hand down to him. Accepting it, he let himself be pulled up, steadying himself further using the side of the bath.

"Maybe we should go outside and see what's there," Deidara suggested, eyes lighting up at the thought- the tiny nap he'd taken seemed to have reset his fear and turned it into excitement. "Maybe I can get a photo and use that as a base for my art, yeah."

"There's nothing out there," Itachi replied flatly, brushing his clothes down and wincing slightly as his knees ached from their unpleasant connection with the ground. "You'll get photos of the garden and nothing else."

"Then why were you looking?" Deidara asked with a knowing grin, ignoring the mortified glare he received in response.

"Get out," Itachi muttered instead, shoving Deidara in the direction of the door. Deidara laughed and let himself be exiled, flicking the light switch just before Itachi pushed him out into the hallway.

Unfamiliar brightness assaulted Itachi and left him feeling rather like an idiot as he shielded his eyes with one hand and closed the door, taking a couple of deep breaths to calm down and reminding himself that there was nothing outside, inside or anywhere to be afraid of.

It didn't stop him bravely checking behind the shower curtain- you know, just in case.

Once he stepped back out into the hall a minute or so later, he noticed Deidara had the front door open slightly, peeking his head out to scan the garden. He turned as Itachi approached, giving him a huge grin that clearly suggested he was about to propose something absurd.

"I'm going to take a look, yeah."

Common sense told Itachi that yes, it would be perfectly alright for Deidara to scour the garden for potential beings with murderous intent because it was unlikely he'd find any- perhaps somebody who was lost and looking for directions and had therefore knocked for some, or maybe a newspaper delivery boy. Not a murderer, because that was stupid.

The less sensible part of his mind gripped the other's arm tightly as he made to step out of the door, wishing to convince him it was a terrible idea so he could keep him safe.

"There was something out there," he reminded. Deidara simply waved a hand dismissively at him in response and stepped outside, leaving Itachi with the decision to either follow him or go back inside and study like nothing had happened.

He realised with a start that Deidara seemed to have recovered from his fear awfully quickly, lifting his keys off the hook by the door and slipping out into the night after him.

A tiny part of his mind suggested that maybe it had been mostly acted fear, but he dismissed it- what possible reason would Deidara have to do that, anyway? Itachi had wanted to for the contact between them but that was because he had fallen hopelessly head over heels for the artist. That was different.

"There doesn't seem to be anything here, yeah," Deidara sighed as they crept around the edge of the house, lowering the camera he had poised once they were back on the garden path. He sounded disappointed, snapping a few shots of the darkened garden regardless simply because they were there and it seemed appropriate.

"Isn't that good?" Itachi muttered, turning his eyes to the sky. The night was cool and bright with stars and hazy moonlight- the type of night he would have enjoyed a lot more if he wasn't so on edge and aware of a potential intruder hiding somewhere.

"It's a nice night, right?"

He glanced across at Deidara, who was now standing much closer to him than Itachi had originally realised- had either of them made that extra distance at some point, or was Itachi now so used to standing in close proximity that it had felt normal?

Deidara smiled at him and took a couple of steps forward, lightly tugging on Itachi's hand as he went. Itachi let himself be led, finding himself standing at the bottom of the large tree Deidara had attempted to sleep in the night he hadn't wanted to go home.

Itachi was left to follow Deidara's example of scaling the tree trunk, feeling a little tentative as he did so. The tree was sturdy and he had no doubt it would support their weight, but he wasn't quite so certain of his ability to cling to it safely enough. He managed it however, seating himself on the same branch as Deidara about a third of the way up, giving him companion a confused glance.

"Look," Deidara breathed, indicating the sky above them and raising his camera. "It's beautiful, yeah. You're always stuck in your room every night studying so you don't see it."

Even though it wasn't an attack, Itachi still felt a sharp sting at the comment. It was true, but that didn't mean he necessarily wanted that to be the case every night. It just had to be so.

He could let just one night slip though, surely?

The conversation with his father filtered back to his mind and he closed his eyes with a soft sigh, fingers tightening as he gripped the branch they were sitting on. Deidara seemed to notice his change in demeanour, frowning a little and setting a gentle hand on his arm.

"I didn't mean to upset you, yeah."

"I'm alright," Itachi replied, opening his eyes and focusing on the sky above them. "Just thinking, that's all."

"What about?"

In any other circumstance, Itachi would have ignored him or attempted to run away. This time however, he stayed put and genuinely considered answering the question. Ever since the incident in the art classroom where Deidara hadn't deserted him for being imperfect, Itachi had been mentally trying to loosen up a little.

"My Dad," he finally answered quietly. "He told me not to get distracted from my work."

Deidara laughed at that, eyes fixed on the stars as well. He kept his hand on Itachi's arm- a comforting presence that Itachi didn't question nor push away. "Itachi," he sighed lightly. "One evening enjoying yourself isn't going to cause you to fail."

"I know."

"Then just enjoy this, would you?"

"I'd have preferred to just come and sit up here tonight than to watch that movie," Itachi replied, a little proud of his own candidness. Deidara seemed to appreciate it too, smiling and shifting along the branch until they were sitting right next to each other, their shoulders lightly touching.

"Me too," Deidara finally agreed. "But I was serious about having never seen a horror movie. I was completely stuck on the assignment, yeah. I have an idea now though."

"Care to explain?" Itachi asked, genuinely interested in what had inspired his friend this time. "Are you really going to colour a page red?"

"Nah," Deidara shrugged. "I'm going to draw a guy falling off the edge of his bath because he's standing on it to check outside the window for monsters, yeah."

Itachi glared at him, turning away in shame. "I see."

"That was pretty adorable though."

Adorable? Itachi snapped his head back so quickly he risked giving himself whiplash, blinking a couple of times to try and process what he had just heard.

"I thought only kids checked for monsters but apparently I was wrong," Deidara was continuing, oblivious to Itachi's shock. "I think I'll put some blood on the window or something though. Can't have my teacher thinking the guy in the picture was frightened of nothing, yeah."

"Adorable?" Itachi articulated when Deidara was done, ignoring the thinly veiled taunt. "What?"

Deidara laughed outright at that, smiling and nudging Itachi's shoulder. Itachi gripped hold of the branch hastily, not wishing to fall as his centre of balance was temporarily disrupted. "I told you once already- my artistic eye's going to get me in trouble, yeah. Sorry."

They stayed seated in the tree for a little while longer- Deidara was snapping photos and Itachi was simply watching, feeling both subdued and contented.

The two of them were both so comfortable in each other's company that they were now sitting close enough to class as lovers- Itachi had to really restrain himself against reaching out and clasping Deidara's soft hand once more. There was no fear to cover himself with now- only starlight and a soft, chilly breeze.

"Were you really scared?" He asked when they had finally made their way down from the tree, stepping back inside the threshold of the warm house.

"Of course not," Deidara laughed. "It's just a movie. I thought we were just playing the part to be authentic."

"Right," Itachi sighed, closing the front door behind him as his hearing picked up on the sound of the phone ringing. Thankful for the distraction, he slipped down the hall and into his bedroom to pick up the extension there.

"Where were you?" His brother demanded on the other end of the line, sounding rather peeved. "I stopped by this evening and you didn't seem to be home, so I called your mobile and you didn't pick up."

Itachi's eyes fell to his college bag, where his mobile rested switched to silent as Sasuke continued.

"And I've been ringing the landline for a good ten minutes or so- you had me worried!"

"Sorry Sasuke," Itachi replied softly, sitting in his desk chair and closing his eyes with a tiny smile. "What was it you wanted?"

"I made cinnamon cake," Sasuke muttered, sounding a little embarrassed. "I was going to surprise you."

Itachi locked eyes with Deidara, who had appeared in the bedroom doorway. "That was kind of you," he replied. "Why don't you come by tomorrow? It's a bit late now."

"Yeah, yeah. Where were you anyway?"

"Stargazing," Itachi replied, aware it was only half a truth and not really caring. "In the tree in the front garden."

"You didn't see me?"

"No. I was looking up, Sasuke- there aren't many stars on the ground."

Sasuke exhaled wearily, and Itachi could almost see him rolling his eyes. "I'll remember to check the tree next time. See you tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure," Itachi nodded, even though it couldn't be seen. "See you tomorrow."

"Our visitor was Sasuke?" Deidara queried, though it was more a rhetorical statement.

"He was bringing cake," Itachi confirmed, seeing Deidara's face fall at the knowledge he'd missed it. "Don't worry, he's coming again tomorrow."

"Can we take the cake and kick him out, yeah?"

"No, Deidara," Itachi sighed, suppressing a yawn. He really was rather ready for the night to end, eyes falling on his coursework in front of him in contempt. He struggled for a moment with the decision before deciding against touching it for once, removing his contacts and falling back onto the edge of his bed.

Deidara was still watching him in the doorway, seemingly either intrigued or confused. Itachi narrowed his eyes, attempting to read him but he was cut short as Deidara gave him a short wave, turning to leave.

"Sleep well, yeah."

He closed the bedroom door behind him, leaving Itachi to feel as though something had just gone unsaid and for once, it hadn't been on his behalf. He mulled it over as he cleaned his teeth and changed for bed, still thinking about it by the time his tired head hit the pillow.

Just as he was drifting off, he awoke with a start at a lingering thought at the back of his mind. Deidara had admitted he hadn't been scared. He'd said he'd been acting the part for legitimacy, but who did he need to verify his reaction when his only companion had been Itachi himself?

Deidara was near impossible to understand and even more difficult to get inside the mind of. Nothing made sense in his little world, but to be fair on him Itachi knew that very little made sense in his own sometimes too.

With that notion in mind he let his thoughts drift to the memory of being curled under a blanket with the object of his affection, a tiny smile finding its way to his lips. Without all the screaming and murdering going on in the background it really might have been quite the moment.

Chapter End