Chapter Text
Deidara looks up before he even arrives. Obito doesn’t let himself think about why he knows he’s near.
“I’ve got another mission, senpai,” Tobi says quietly. He places the scroll on Deidara’s outstretched hand and moves to sit down next to him. He draws his legs up to his chest and wraps his arms around them.
He turns his head when Deidara nudges him. He accepts the scroll when he gives it back to him.
“Another patrol, hm,” Deidara says. “If Hidan hears about this, we’re never going to hear the end of it, yeah.”
Obito scoffs. “Then we’ll just make sure he doesn’t hear about it then, huh, Deidara-senpai?”
Deidara laughs. He picks up a loose rock by him and tosses it into the river in front of them. “This is the fourth patrol mission this month,” he says. “I wonder why they won’t give us anything more than that.”
“Yes,” Tobi says, clearing his throat. “I wonder why.”
Deidara turns to him, thumbing the pebble he picked up. “You have something to do with this,” he says, matter-of-factly.
Obito chews on his bottom lip, unsure about what to say. Deidara knows whenever he lies.
“I, uh,” he stutters.
“You don’t have to say anything,” Deidara says with a shrug. “I know you do.”
Embarrassed, Obito clears his throat again and scratches the back of his neck.
“I get it, hm,” Deidara says. He tosses the pebble in his hand into the river, this time the stone bounds across the water before sinking to the bottom. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Obito burns to the root of his hair. “I, well, I didn’t realize that…”
“That I wanted to know I’d be mated soon?” Deidara says, his voice sharp.
Obito frowns. “It’s not as if I am forcing you to do this,” he replies, “you want this, too. You told me so.”
Deidara only clicks his tongue in response, as if he is missing the entire point.
It doesn’t take Obito longer than a second to realize what it is. He pales, throat suddenly going dry, and he swallows thickly. “Deidara,” he tries.
“Just leave it,” Deidara replies. “You’ll have what you want, in the end, hm. Your kind always does.”
Obito sighs, turning away. He cannot bring himself to look back, eyes trained on the dirt on the ground. There is a twist in his heart and something sour in his stomach, but Deidara doesn’t leave as he expected him to.
“I’m sorry,” Obito says after a long time of sitting in silence.
He doesn’t get a response, though he knows how Deidara feels exactly. There is nothing he can say that might improve this, and Obito feels terrible.
In the end, he does get what he wants. He’s not that different from your average alpha after all.
Two weeks pass and they are on their last patrol mission for the month.
Obito watches as Deidara tosses another spider into the dirt, the explosion causing the hole to become deeper. There is a certain warmth that surrounds Deidara, and it fascinates Obito. He reaches out, wanting to touch it, but stops short.
He clears his throat, realizing what’s going on.
Deidara throws a glance at him over his shoulder, eyes dark.
“We should go, senpai,” Tobi manages to say, voice strained.
Deidara frowns. “I’m fine,” he says and forcibly looks away from Tobi, continuing to mold another spider in his hands. “It’s fine.”
Obito reaches out once more, putting a hand on Deidara’s shoulder. It startles Deidara, causing him to lung forward, off the tree, and stumble away from Tobi.
Deidara looks at his shoulder, where Obito touched him, and then back at his partner. He scowls then, something washing over him. “Who said you can touch me, hm?”
The alpha stands up straight, peering down at the omega. He knows he should not reply, understanding the reason why Deidara is on edge, but he cannot help himself anyway. “I said so,” Obito rumbles.
He can see Deidara’s shoulder tense and his body quiver. He’s fighting his instincts and his attitude. Obito sighs, squatting down on the branch once more and says, much more gently, “We have to go, Deidara. We don’t know who’s out there.”
“Maybe I should stay,” Deidara mutters. “I don’t think I would like it with you, yeah.”
“And let some random strange rut you?” Obito asks, his temper flaring. “At least I promised to treat you right.”
“You did promise,” Deidara says, “but you haven’t seemed to act on it yet.”
Obito scoffs. “I don’t need to,” he says, “because you’re not my mate yet.”
“Am I just that to you?” Deidara asks. “Just an omega to claim, hm?”
“We don’t have time for this,” Obito warns. The hairs on the back of his neck are raised. He can feel the presence of other alphas.
Deidara shakes his head. “Take, take, take,” he says, “that is all you know, huh, Tobi?”
Obito leaps down from the branch and Deidara takes an instinctive step backward. He doesn’t continue to move away when Obito heads toward him. He even leans toward Obito’s touch when he wraps his arm around his shoulders.
“Stop struggling,” Obito mutters, though his gaze is trained behind Deidara, watching for any signs of movement. “We need to get this over with and then we can get on with our lives.”
“Until I have my next heat and you have your ruts, hm,” Deidara bites back.
“Omega’s heats even out once they’re mated, they don’t come every month like everyone says they do,” Obito says, pressing his mask against Deidara’s neck. Even through the hard material of the mask, he can smell the budding scent Deidara is creating.
He can feel Deidara wanting to retort once more. Quickly, he moves his hand and rubs his fingers against the gland hidden in Deidara’s neck. The reaction is even more instantaneous than before, and Deidara goes limp in his arms with a quiet moan.
Obito hoists Deidara up, carrying him bridal style. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see a few birds being startled into flight.
And before any alpha can burst into the clearing to challenge Obito, he activates Kamui and teleports the two of them away.