Whisper: A Deidara Love Story

[FINALE] ♣️ Chapter XXXVIII: A Home

His words seemed to bring everyone to a new, more optimistic conclusion. I looked at Deidara with a tender smile.

"Thank you," I whispered. He grabbed hold of my hand and gave it a single, tight squeeze. "I'm really, truly sorry, guys."

"Don't be," Kakuzu said, drawing even more surprise from everyone. "I can't even deny that that blondie has a point. It wouldn't be the same without you. We'd profit nothing if we lost you."

"Thanks, Kakuzu." I flashed him a grateful smile. "Alright, everyone. Enough with the sad news. I'm back, so let's live it up already!"

Everyone cheered in chorus of agreement. It felt like the last puzzle piece had finally fallen into place, completing the circle. That night, we cooked up a feast. The table was filled with so much food of so many different varieties; I could barely stomach sampling only half of them.

Hidan, on the other hand, scarfed everything down with no sign of faltering.

Kakuzu and Kisame were racing each other to see who could eat the most onigiri without vomiting out their insides. Itachi placed his bet on Kisame, and Konan, on Kakuzu. Tobi and Deidara cheered on the competitors, though the both of them seemed to be on Kakuzu's side. After all, he had five different hearts he needed to keep running; it seemed that they all had bottomless stomachs.

I laughed so much that night, I nearly lost my voice. In the end, Kisame was the one who took home the gold after finishing thirty-seven onigiri. Kakuzu had been following closely with thirty-four down, but he vomited before he could finish the thirty-fifth. It was such a ridiculous competition, but I couldn't remember the last time I was so entertained.

After the feast was over, with everyone's stomach full and every face smiling and the kitchen clean, we tried to think of something to do together. But it was late, and everyone was feeling groggy. The others apologized to me for lacking the stamina to stay up with me. But of course, it was fine. Now that I had returned, I had an endless number of days I could spend with them.

"Tomorrow," I told them with a smile. We agreed that the next day, we would party it the fuck up properly. Everyone dispersed with choruses of "good night," and I was left almost alone. Of course, the last person to stay behind was the person who had been anticipating my return the most.

Deidara.

"You're not tired?" I asked. He shook his head and came close to me, taking my hand. He was quiet, and I was curious. "Is something wrong?"

"No," he whispered, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles. "It just feels so... surreal, yeah. As if this is only a dream, and I'm gonna wake up any second, and I'm gonna lose you again."

"It isn't a dream." I squeezed his hand. "It's real for me, too."

Deidara gave me a kind smile and began pulling me away, guiding me to what seemed like the entrance of the hideout. I opened my mouth to question him, but he put a finger over his lips as we emerged outside.

We weren't supposed to venture out into the open because the Hidden Villages were on high alert for the Akatsuki. But maybe just this once, the rules were nothing but a waste of reality. When I gazed up, I saw the mountain in which the cave hid. The mountain was colossal—so tall that it looked as if it touched the sky. I could see why the village was named the way it was; the moonlight illuminated the entire village, and it looked as if the deep ebony sky was a reflection.

Pulling me toward the mountain, Deidara didn't look back once, with his eyes on the peak of the mountain. I felt something move beneath me shift and I nearly stumbled in surprise. We were on the back of one of his birds, and we were flying higher and higher. Soon, the peak was in our view, but the bird lowered us to the ground.