Chapter Text
“And that’s how I met the lady with a mold of her teeth,” Tobi says.
Deidara’s walking slows. “I think I’ve heard you tell me that before, yeah,” he says.
Tobi’s walking slows too. “Really?” he asks.
“It sounds familiar, hm,” says Deidara, tapping his chin. “I swear you told me it before.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever told you this story before,” says Tobi. He gestures to an inn and the two of them head toward it. “Do you want to know about the ugly baby?”
“What ugly baby, hm?”
“The couple had an ugly baby. It was fat and looked more like rubber than a baby,” Tobi says. “I mean, babies are supposed to be fat but I’ve never seen a baby as ugly as it. I got scared when I saw it.”
Deidara scoffs. “Must take a lot to scare you, Mr. Strapping Alpha,” says Deidara.
A strange feeling flutters in his belly. He ignores it. “Don’t be mean, senpai,” Tobi says instead.
“I’m not being mean,” Deidara laughs.
The strange feeling returns tenfold.
A bell rings when they push through the door. Obito glances at the cat statue and Tobi pretends to be enthralled by it. Deidara clicks his tongue and snaps his fingers at him. Tobi forces himself to look away from the cat and they head to the bar.
“Sake,” Deidara says to the innkeeper, “for two.”
The innkeeper sniffs and the hair on the back of Obito’s neck rises. He glares at the innkeeper and even though the man, another alpha, couldn’t see his expression, he seems to be smart enough to back off.
“Sake coming right up,” he says to Deidara and leans into the counter to grab the bottle and two flasks. He slides it across the bar and rests both hands on the wooden table. “What else can I get for ya and ya mate?”
Deidara reaches for the bottle and then he stops. Obito sits down next to Deidara. Deidara turns to look at Tobi. Tobi looks at Deidara and then at the innkeeper.
“Dango,” Tobi says innocently.
“Two dango coming right up,” the innkeeper announces and he heads into the kitchen to shout at someone they can’t see.
“Really?” Deidara asks.
“Hm?” Tobi hums.
“We’re mates now, hm?” There is a bitter taste on Tobi’s tongue.
“I didn’t say it,” Tobi says, confused, “and he asked me what else I wanted.”
Deidara pours himself a flask of sake and downs it in one go. He goes for another. Tobi sighs and reaches for the bottle. Deidara growls at him. Obito growls back and Deidara’s jaw snaps shut.
There’s something strange in the air and then Deidara scoffs.
“So you are like the rest of them after all,” he says.
Obito immediately lets go of the bottle of sake. A sour taste lingers on the back of his throat and he shakes his head. He swallows thickly.
The innkeeper comes back out and places two plates of dango on the table. He raises an eyebrow at the tension in the air.
“Need some space?” the innkeeper asks with a sickening smile.
“We’re not mates,” Tobi says.
“What was that?” the innkeeper asks.
“Earlier, you said ‘you and your mate,’” Tobi says. “We’re not mates.”
“Ah,” the innkeeper says. He leans forward and sniffs the air again. “My mistake. I can barely smell ya.”
Deidara merely nods. Tobi grunts and takes a plate of dango.
“So, are ya single?” the innkeeper asks Deidara. Obito decides that food is no longer interesting and he feels like he’s thirteen and impulsive again.
“’M not interested, hm,” Deidara mumbles into his flask before he downs another drink of sake.
“’Scuse me?” the innkeeper says sweetly and Obito snorts at the scent that is radiating off of him.
“I said,” Deidara says, putting down the flask of sake. “I’m not interested, hm.”
With the deep voice and the aggressive demeanor, Obito would have never have guessed that Deidara is an omega. Omegas never really put up much of a fight, especially against alphas. Obito shifts his mask up and quickly eats his stick of dango.
“Not interested?” the innkeeper scoffs. He folds his arms on the table and leans on them, reaching for the other plate of dango and pushing it toward Deidara.
“That just ain’t possible,” says the innkeeper. “Everybody here is interested in me.”
“I’ve seen better,” Deidara says. He shoves the plate of dango away. “My partner wanted this.”
“Partner?” the innkeeper raises an eyebrow and then turns to Tobi. Tobi adjusts the mask on his face, licking his lips to clean them from the excess sauce. “So you two are mates, after all.”
“We’re not mates,” Tobi says.
“Partners, mates, significant other, dates,” the innkeeper says. “They’re all the same.”
“We’re work partners,” Tobi says.
The innkeeper sniffs and then narrows his eyes. “Is this the ‘better’ that you’ve seen?” he asks Deidara.
“Sure,” Deidara waves a hand. He looks at Tobi and then at the extra plate of dango.
“It’s all yours, senpai,” Tobi says. “I ordered it for you.”
Deidara looks uninterested but he takes the plate anyway. Tobi reaches into his pockets and grabs a few coins for the innkeeper.
“Really?” the innkeeper asks. “Is this what this is going to be?”
Tobi places the few coins on the table and pushes it toward the innkeeper. “Thank you for the food,” Tobi says. The innkeeper sneers at him but takes the money.
“You’re wasting time on him,” the innkeeper says to Deidara. Tobi leans over to grab the bottle of sake.
The innkeeper glares at them for a few moments before he turns to serve other customers.
“That was interesting,” Tobi says.
“It was not at all, hm,” Deidara says. He glances at Tobi and then he looks back down at his plate of dango. “You need to get me more of those pills.”
Obito feels like he has lost something important.