Chapter Text
Deidara has been looking out of sorts all week.
He’d ask him what’s wrong, maybe even up his game and make his partner some soup, but Deidara never stays long enough for him to breach that topic. He always slinks back into his rooms, or whatever other room there is, after a while.
Obito is beginning to think that Deidara is avoiding him. What could Tobi have possibly done to make Deidara this upset? He has never seen him like this before, not even when he was fresh-faced and just escaped from his village.
“Tobi,” comes Deidara’s voice from the other side of the room. “We’re going out.”
“Where to, senpai?” Tobi asks.
Deidara doesn’t reply immediately. He just looks at the ground and at his hands for a long time and then he says, “Just out, yeah.”
Obito doesn’t think it’s wise to ask any more questions so he lets this answer be satisfactory. He follows Deidara’s orders and grabs his cloak. He throws the cloak over his shoulders and slips his arms into the sleeves.
“Don’t—”
“Huh?” Tobi asks. He looks up at Deidara.
“Nothing,” Deidara says and then he is out of the room.
It is a shame that this is not an unfamiliar sight for Tobi. Tobi finishes dressing up and he fills a water bottle and shoves some crackers into his pockets.
They don’t seem to be going anywhere. They have a mission report in less than three hours so he doesn’t know why Deidara is insisting on wandering now. Ever since being partnered up with Sasori, Deidara picked up his habit of insisting on being on time.
Obito doesn’t mind. It’s easy to remember to be on time when Deidara insists on being a little terror.
They pass by the same store for the third time.
Obito decides that he doesn’t want to walk around in circles anymore and says, “What are we doing, Deidara-senpai?”
“We’re walking, hm,” Deidara says. He sounds different but Obito doesn’t know how. He is looking at his hands again, and Obito can tell that he’s glancing at the store. Obito follows his gaze and sees that it is a pharmacy.
“Are you feeling ill, Deidara-senpai?” Tobi asks. There is a strange feeling deep inside Obito’s chest that tells him he should know.
“No,” Deidara says. “Yes,” he corrects.
“No, or yes?” Tobi asks.
“Yes,” Deidara says meekly.
“Are you okay?” Tobi asks.
“No,” Deidara admits.
“Why haven’t you said anything?” Tobi asks. He steps closer to Deidara and pretends not to hear Deidara squeak. He puts a reassuring hand on Deidara’s shoulder and finds it strange that he can feel the heat even through his glove. Deidara is not wearing his cloak. “You’re burning up,” Tobi says.
“Yes,” Deidara replies and then he is stepping closer to Tobi.
“Let’s get you some medicine,” Tobi says. “But the fever is a good sign,” he says. “It means your body is battling.”
“Hm.”
“Come on,” Tobi says and he guides Deidara toward the store. He places his other hand on his other shoulder and grips hard. Every instinct in his body is burning and he doesn’t understand why.
The structure of their society is strange. Obito never bothered with understanding too much of it when he witnessed a potential mate pass away. He never bothered looking for another. He assumed, back when he didn’t think it was a big deal, that he’d bed some nearest omega in heat and be done with it. That was one way to continue the Uchiha bloodline.
As he grew older, however, the sight of other alphas with mates made him wonder if he should settle down too, with someone he might be able to call a good friend.
He didn’t know. He thought about it for a long time.
The smell of the store is pungent. It masks every scent in the room and Obito feels put off that he can’t immediately tell who is who.
Deidara stops walking and Obito walks into him. Deidara lets out a sound and he presses back against him.
“Hey, you okay?” Tobi asks. “Do you want me to find pills for you, senpai?”
“You don’t,” Deidara says and he cuts himself off. “I don’t think,” he says again but then he trails off. “Can I do it on my own, please, yeah?”
Tobi looks at Deidara for a long, long time. He doesn’t understand.
“I’m doing it on my own,” Deidara says when Obito doesn’t say anything. He sounds like he’s announcing it. Obito lets Deidara go. He watches as Deidara wanders down the aisles of herbs and spices and other pills, a mix of western and eastern.
He turns to the clerk at the counter.
“Give me something for fevers,” Obito says.
The clerk stops reading the newspaper and looks up at him. He’s chewing gum, a constant smack-smack sound that drives Obito nuts. Obito takes a step forward. The clerk leans forward, takes a deep breath, and stops chewing.
“Sorry,” he says. He spits out his gum and tosses it into a trash can. He puts down the newspaper and reaches inside the desk. He pulls out pills and jars and some bottles too. “What kind of fever are you dealing with, sir?”
“A common one, for my friend,” he says. Obito jabs his finger in the aisle.
The clerk follows his finger. He doesn’t seem to find Deidara. The clerk looks back down at the bottles and jars and boxes. “This one is good for any type of fever,” he says and pushes the small box toward Obito.
“Good,” Obito says and he reaches for it. He tosses some coin down.
The clerk accepts the coin and writes down the bill. “Oh,” he says and then he reaches over the counter to fish into one of the buckets of herbs. He fills up a baggie. “Cook and drink this every night and it will make sure what’s causing the fever won’t come back. Put in half a pinch until you finish it. Make sure it’s completely boiled into the water. It should look black.”
Obito accepts the baggie. He reaches into his cloak for more coin.
“No need,” the clerk says. “It’s on the house.” He reaches for the bill. Suddenly he stops and then looks in the mirror placed in the corner of the store.
“Your friend,” the clerk says.
Obito turns and looks at the corner of the store. Deidara is reflected in the mirror. He sighs through his nose and tosses the coin on the table anyway.
“For whatever he’s eating,” Obito says and he pockets the fever pills and the herbs. Obito heads further back into the store and places a hand on Deidara’s shoulder.
“What are you doing, senpai?” Tobi asks.
Deidara grunts out something that Tobi cannot make out and pushes Tobi’s hand away.
“Leave me alone,” Deidara bites out. He sounds more like his usual self now but there’s still something strange in the air. He can barely make it out through the thick scent of herbs but the fragrance is hard to mistake. Did an omega walk by?
“I got you some pills and herbs for the fever, senpai,” says Tobi. He takes them out of his pockets to show it to Deidara.
Deidara takes one look at them and says, “I don’t need them, hm.”
“But senpai,” Tobi begins but then he stops because he finally reads the label on the pills Deidara is holding.
“Those are…” Obito trails off and then the scent makes sense.
“None of your business,” Deidara screams. “Leave me alone, hm!” he shouts.
Tobi stops Deidara before he could put his hand into his pouch — he didn’t realize he had put on his utility belt when they came out — and says, “Senpai, you can’t do that here. This is a pharmacy.”
“Stop touching me, you dolt, hm,” says Deidara.
“I will when we’re out of here,” Tobi says.
“Uncharacteristic of you, Tobi,” says Deidara. He has a smile on his face. Tobi doesn’t like this smile.
They walk out. Obito gives an apologetic nod to the clerk who just shakes his head. Tobi drags Deidara out of the small town and finally lets his wrist go when they are a safe distance in the nearby woods.
Deidara moves as though he is going to make a bomb. Tobi tenses.
“Lighten up,” Deidara says and then he laughs. He stops laughing after five chuckles and he lowers his arm to his side. They are quiet.
Quiet doesn’t suit either of them, Obito thinks. He thinks of what to say. Without the cloud of spices and herbs and pills to mask everything, Deidara’s scent is more prominent but it is fading. The pills are kicking in. He thinks of what to say.
He stops himself from thinking about Deidara. He doesn’t want to imagine Deidara’s body heat pressed right up against his. He feels warm. His entire body feels a little too warm. He must smell like it too because Deidara is taking a step back.
“There’s nothing wrong with being an omega, senpai,” Tobi says hurriedly.
“As if you understand,” Deidara replies. “What are the rest of the Akatsuki, yeah?”
“Mr. Hidan isn’t an alpha,” says Tobi.
Deidara gives him a look and says, “He is a beta.”
“He doesn’t act like one, though,” Tobi laughs and then he quiets himself when Deidara says nothing. “I get it,” he says. “I’m sorry, senpai.”
It makes sense. Most of Deidara’s actions make sense. He tries so hard to prove himself – his art. He never really even talks about himself, only his art. He never puts emphasis on the creator, only the creation.
Obito feels bad. Even if he couldn’t have known, he still feels bad. He should have paid more attention, especially since his coming of age was with the Akatsuki. He thinks that he must have gone through hell. Somehow, he cannot forgive himself for this.
“I’ll get you more of those pills, senpai,” Tobi decides to say. “You don’t have to worry.”
It had always bugged Obito that he couldn’t tell what Deidara was. It will bug him even more now that he knows.
Deidara looks at him for a long time and then he nods. He looks down at the box of pills he downed. He holds it up to him and Obito takes it. He tries not to think about the way their hands brushed against each other. The feeling lingers as Obito lowers his hand to his side, the empty box in hand.
Deidara nods again and says, “Thank you, Tobi, hm.”