Blow Me Away 12 (Deidara x Reader)

“Ouch!” You shoved Deidara's hand away and turned your head so he couldn't reach the cut on your cheek. “That hurts!”

Deidara sighed and folded his arms, fed up with your constant complaints and fighting. “Well of course it does, idiot! You're totally beat up! Un!”

You squeezed your lips together and mumbled, “I don't need you to tell me that.”

He passed a hand over his face and stood up. “This childish behavior is ridiculous...” he said. You made to retort but he brushed his hands together and began to pack your medical things away. “Well, it doesn't really matter – seems I'm done here.” He looked at you over his shoulder. “Your throat is badly bruised but will heal in time, and the cut on your face isn't too deep, although it will probably leave a scar.”

You shrugged in indifference. “I don't mind scars.”

“Not very lady-like,” he replied, raising a brow.

“Since when have I been a lady?”

He snorted and shook his head, turning his back to you as he zipped the bag shut. You smiled gently as you watched his blond hair caress his cloak. It was like him to be such a jerk, but he always had a few surprises up his sleeve that would leave you in awe. Like protecting you and then fussing over your wounds like he was some kind of mother. You had thought you'd known his personality inside and out, but the more you were around him the more you wondered if you had really known him at all. You may have grown up as best friends, but was there a part of himself that he had kept hidden from you all those years?

You picked at the bandage on your arm. The thing that you had always favored most about him was his simplicity, but now it didn't seem he was as see-through as you had once thought.

“Ne, Deidara,” you murmured, running your thumb over the rough material of the gauze.

“Hm?”

“...”

He turned and gave you an agitated look. “Oi, don't just call someone's name for no reason. What is it?”

Whatever it was you were going to ask became twisted inside your mouth at his crudeness, and instead you blurted, “How long have you been part of the Akatsuki?”

A blond eyebrow shot to his forehead at your question. You had taken him by surprise. He hummed and leaned back against the table, hands bracing against the edge as he cocked his head to the side in thought.

“Well... After a left Iwagakure, I kinda just... wandered around for a while, practicing my art and perfecting my skills. I didn't really know what to do with myself. I was waiting for something...” You asked what that something was but he merely smirked and said he had no mind in sharing. He carried on, “Then one day I was admiring some artwork in an old museum. It was sunset and I had half a mind to leave and find somewhere to rest, but these three men in black cloaks with red clouds stopped me. One said I was coming with them to join the Akatsuki; I didn't really like his tone, so I got cocky and challenged him to a duel. I thought I had won, but in the end I found out I had been placed under a heavy genjutsu and had I blown up my creation, I would have gone with a serious bang along with it. I hated him ever since. Those stupid Sharingan...!”

“Of course, no matter how hard he tries he will never win against Itachi. He's still a brat even now, just less of one then he had been that day.”

You turned to the voice and jumped out of your seat in shock. “D-Deidara!” you squeaked, shoving a finger at the intruder. “There's a guy in here!”

Deidara glanced boredly from his sitting position and gave you a funny look. “Uh...”

“What's he doing here?! Hey, who are you and what do you want?!” you demanded, waving your finger around.

The red haired man continued to watch you apathetically, his eyes dull and uninterested.

His deadpanned stare was beginning to creep you out, so you jumped back a few steps and continued your outbursts, every once in while snapping at Deidara to do something. Finally, after about five minutes or so of your panicking, Deidara grabbed your wrist and threw you back into your seat.

“Would you shut up?!” he yelled. “That's no intruder – it's Sasori no Danna! Sa-so-ri! Geez woman, have a little respect! Un!”

“W-what?” You turned and looked at the stranger who was casually strolling around the hideout, picking up trinkets and things before moving to sit on a chair nearby. Blinking in disbelief, you turned back to Deidara. “Well how was I supposed to know that?! He always looks like that creepy, hunched-over guy and now he's all....” You stuttered around for a feasible word before exclaiming, “Handsome!”

Deidara gave you a funny look, but a quiet chuckle erupted from Sasori who was fiddling with a wooden hand. “I've been called many things in my lifetime, but I must say that handsome has never been one of them.”

Your face heated up. “O-oh, well….”

“Oi, oi!” Deidara stood up and gave you a nasty scowl. “Don't disrespect no Danna like that! He's a talented artist and doesn't deserve such feeble words like ‘handsome’ from someone like you! Hm!”

Bristling at his coldness, you pushed yourself off the couch and put your face in his. “Forgive me for being a little surprised that your generally freaky looking partner is actually pleasant to the eye (which is more than I can say for you)! And really, you can't get mad at me for not knowing it was him! Don't be so rude!”

Deidara opened his mouth to yell in return, but Sasori cut him off with his quiet, calming tone. “Deidara, don't be so harsh on the woman. She's not in the wrong.”

Rearing back, the blond shot you a chagrined frown before stalking off to another room, mumbling bitter things under his breathe. You stomped your foot like a child and collapsed back on the couch.

“You'll have to forgive him,” Sasori commented politely, albeit dully. “He’s a bit of an idiot. ”

A huff escaped your lips as you sulked in your seat, staring down at the ground. “But what did I do? It’s not like 'handsome' is degrading.”

Sasori gave an airy laugh. “No, perhaps not...”

“U-unless you find it so... Did I insult you?”

“Of course not, I was just surprised.”

“Then why did he react like that?”

Sasori stopped his fiddling and turned to look at you. “The both of you are blind, aren't you?”

You blinked. “Heh?”

“It's obvious he said it out of jealousy rather than spite. Can you not tell when your friend is hurt that you are paying another man heed?”

Air gushed into your mouth as your jaw dropped. No, that thought had never even crossed your mind. Deidara? Jealous of you complimenting Sasori? Impossible!

“You look incredulous,” Sasori muttered dryly. “It’s not really that hard to tell you guys lik–”

“I HAVE TO USE THE BATHROOM!” you cut him off, cheeks bright red.

As fast as your legs could carry you, you made your way to the other end of the dimly lit room and opened a random door. A bored, “That’s not where the bathroom is…” reached your ears as you passed over the threshold, but you didn’t stop to inquire the direction you should be going. You were too busy panicking inwardly over the fact that Sasori, Deidara’s most respected partner, had realized your attraction towards Deidara.

Once the door was safely shut behind you, you leaned against it and slid to the ground, hands on your heated cheeks. You had tried so hard to hide that bubbling feeling in your chest that you got whenever you were near Deidara, and now you could no longer suppress it. It was warm and mushy and made your head feel light – almost as if you drank too much alcohol. You hated the feeling more than anything because it was not what someone should feel towards a former friend and present enemy. Wrong, very, very wrong.

You slapped your face before placing your hands over your eyes. The butterflies in your stomach refused to settle down and now your throat was aching again; to add to your every growing pains, your neck was throbbing and the cut on your cheek was stinging. Why did you have to go through all of this? Why you?

It wasn’t fair!

“_____...?”

Your head snapped up to find the very source of your problems standing before you.

Clad only in a towel.

“D-D-D-D-D-Deidara!” you all but wheezed, quickly averting your eyes to ground. “W-w-w-what are you d-doing?! A-and dressed like th-that?!”

“Huh? Oh, I was taking a shower. You can’t expect me to run around for days all sweaty gross – I’m a ninja but I’m a hygienical one. Un.”

You risked a peek and quickly dropped your gaze back to the ground; your face was so hot you thought your head was going to explode. His chest was completely bare and out for all the world to see – every detail, every little muscle, perfect and out on display. Since when did your childhood friend get arms and abs like those?


“Oiii, ______,” he said, dragging out his words as he tapped you on the head with his knuckles. “You’re alive, yeah?”

Trying to regain your composure was not going so well, so instead of answering you simply stood, opened the door, and walked out.  You slammed it shut behind you, leaning against it as you attempted to steady your rapidly beating heart and burning face. Not answering him probably made the whole situation worse.

Sasori turned around to look at you.

“Oh, back already?” he asked.

You could have sworn he was smiling.

- - - - -

“Deidara!” you yelled. “Would you put on some freaking clothes already?!”

The blond turned and gave you an agitated scowl. “No. I happen to like the breeze this towel gives.”

“Wh–” You stared. “What the heck is wrong with you?! Why would you share something so disturbing like that?!”

“Just wait until tomorrow morning,” Sasori muttered, fiddling with a wooden hand. “He’ll be walking around in his boxers ‘til noon.”

Deidara shrugged, completely unperturbed by yours and Sasori’s comments. “It’s not like _______ won’t enjoy it.”

“Excuse me?!” you snapped, dropping the book titled How to Blow Things Up for Dummies that had been in your hands. “The sight of you in your pink boxers is not compelling to me – not at all!”

“I don’t have pink boxers!” he yelled back. “And besides, you can’t lie to me. Why else would you have been in my room? You wanted to see something, yeah?”

The leering grin he gave you was too much. You bent down, calmly picked the book up, and turned to leave. Pausing, you spun on your heel, brought your arm back, and let the book soar through the air and straight at Deidara’s grinning face. Curses were flying from his mouth in a frenzy (some you’d never even heard of and wondered where he learned them from) and before you could run from the room, the blonde was charging at you with his arms outstretched, blood dripping from his bruised nose where the binding of the novel had hit.

“Pervert, pervert, pervert!” you screamed, running from him as best as you could.

“Shut up, brat!”

He continued to chase you, tripping over furniture every now and again and griping about how his toes would be bloody stumps by the time he caught you. Alas, in the end, he was able to wrap his arms around your shoulders and hold you tightly while the both two you hurled insults at one another.

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Sasoria asked, causing the two of you to pause in your childish antics to look at him.

“Aaah, c’mon no Danna,” Deidara whined in reply, loosening his grip on you. “You’re such a fun sucker! No one’s here to see us fooling around, so there’s nothing to worry about. Un.”

Sasori’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “It has nothing to do with your stupidity.” He lazily pointed a finger at you and said, “It’s about her. What if your ‘fooling around’ gets her coughing?”

As if on you cue, you coughed again.

Deidara released you and stepped back to give you some air, forgetting about his bruised pride and wounded nose as he awaited a horrid coughing fit. After a moment of silence and awkward staring, the two men relaxed, Deidara more visibly so than Sasori.

The blond laughed quietly and dropped a hand on your head, ruffling your hair in a playful manner before turning to Sasori.

“No Danna, you seemed to be pretty worried about _______ there for a second, hm?” he teased, raising a brow at the older man.

Sasori cleared his throat and turned away, the sound of the wooden hand rattling echoed through the room as he nervously began to mess with the fingers. “Well, we do need her so it would be pretty pointless if she died on us because you were being an idiot.”

Silence.

“And she’s a bit entertaining.”

“No Danna!” Deidara laughed heartily, slapping his friend on the back. “You’re actually enjoying the company of someone (besides mine, of course)!”

“Stop touching me before I cut off your hand, brat,” Sasori growled, walking towards a door that rested on the east side of the foyer. “I’m going to bed. We leave tomorrow at dawn, no complaints and no boxer-trotting until noon, Deidara.”

The younger man sighed in defeated before giving a, “Whatever you say, no Danna. Hm.” He turned to you and motioned for you to follow. “It’s best we get some sleep too – we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow with Leader-sama.”

But you didn’t move. You stared at Deidara with a look of grave severity, and he recognized the stubborn appearance enough to cross his arms and sigh.

“What now?” he asked.

“I won’t do anything until you explain to me what’s going on. Everything.”

A few moments of quiet filled the room and then he dropped his arms and scratched the back of his head, clearly defeated. “How about tomorrow while we’re traveling? It’s too late right now.”

You reluctantly agreed and allowed him to tow you to an empty room with a single twin-sized bed inside and a nightstand. For being a bunch of villains they sure were decent at furnishing and making comfortable living quarters. It was nothing swanky, but it was enough to make you want to collapse on the bed and sleep for days.

Deidara left you to yourself and you crawled under the blankets, relishing in the feel of sleeping on a mattress rather than grass. But the moment your head hit the pillow all of the bodily pains and ailments that you had so easily forgotten about thanks to Deidara returned in full. With a groan, you curled into a ball and passed into a fitful sleep plagued with jumbled nightmares and dizzying dreams.

Feverish dreams.  

- - - - - - - -

The first thing you realized when you woke up was that you couldn’t breathe.

Your throat was taut and dry, raw with pain as if sandpaper had been rubbed repeatedly against it; your lungs were burning and gasping for air, air that you couldn’t get because of your body-wracking coughs. Each heave was like someone was kicking you in the chest, and you rolled out of bed to allow the cool air to wash against your clammy skin. Your coughs only gained in intensity, and you doubled over, clutching at your shirt as you coughed over and over again, tears streaming from your eyes.

The bedroom door burst open and Deidara rushed to your side. A gentle hand moved in slow, soothing motions on your back, but there was no cure once the fit had started. You needed your medicine and even then your coughs wouldn’t be fully suppressed, merely weakened so you could breathe.

“Can you walk?” Deidara all but yelled, looking frantic.

You shook your head as best as you could and he cursed loudly. He put an arm underneath your legs and one supporting your back as he picked you up, and then he tore from the room and into the main foyer where all of your bags were settled.

“No Danna!” he yelled, gently setting you on the couch and then tearing your bags apart to search for your medicine. “Help me! I need her–”

“Shut up, brat,” Sasori growled, already picking through your bags and looking a little unsettled. “Go sit with her – I’ll find her medicine.”

You pressed your hand to your mouth as a rather violent cough overtook you, making more tears squeeze from your eyes. Something hot and sticky coated your hand, and when you pulled it away you heard Deidara swear again.

“Blood– ! No Danna, this really bad! I thought she was supposed to get better!”

“She was,” Sasori answered, face strained as he unzipped pocket after pocket. “I don’t know why it’s suddenly escalated.”

“It wasn’t even this bad before,” Deidara hissed, holding you tightly as he attempted to steady your shaking body. “No matter how many fits she woke up with, they were never this bad!”

You grasped on to Deidara’s arm with one hand while covering your mouth with the other, more blood coating it as you gave another terrible heave. “I can’t…” you choked, “breathe…”

“No Danna!” Deidara yelled, whipping his head around to impatiently stare at the redhead.

“I’m working on it, don’t rush me!” He frantically unzipped another pocket and pulled out a bottle of pills. He tossed them to Deidara while pulling out more medical bottles, reading each label before carrying them over to your pitiful form.

He tossed a canteen of water to Deidara who immediately forced your mouth open, popped the pill in, and then shoved the canteen into your mouth.  You swallowed and tried to force down another cough as the pill flew down your throat. You pulled away and coughed, a wet, metallic taste coating your mouth and tongue once again.

There was nothing more to do be done than wait. So as you heaved over and over, Deidara and Sasori watched on anxiously, and every now and again Deidara would brush your hair from your face and place a cooled hand to your burning hot neck in an attempt to cool you down.

Slowly the medicine eased your suffering and you were able to get decent breathes in between your hacking. The coughing died down entirely, and it was only when you dropped your head exhaustedly onto the couch that Deidara and Sasori slumped down themselves, shoulder drooped in relief. Even Sasori wasn’t bothering to hide his worry.

Deidara reached over with a cloth and wiped your hands and mouth clean, muttering about how you would have to bathe to wash all the blood off. You felt like a child with the way Deidara fussed over you – his chilly fingers still pressed to your forehead and neck so you wouldn’t get too warm, his other hand either wiping the crimson from your skin or brushing through your hair. But he seemed perfectly content with this anxious touching, so you allowed him to continue as you rested your eyes on the ceiling.

“Sorry,” you rasped. “Usually they aren’t that bad.”

Deidara shook his head. “It’s not your fault, it can’t be helped that you’re sick. Hm.”

You turned to look at him, eyes glassy with water. “What’s wrong with me? I’m so scared.”

He frowned and shot a look at Sasori who stood up and scratched his head. “Forget about sleep – we need to get her to Leader-sama before things get worse. We need this antidote made as soon as possible or more villages will get wiped out. I’ll get the stuff around and you tell her what she needs to know. No more hiding things.”