Muted Love

Chapter 11

Sasuke rolled his eyes before reaching in and unbuckling his seatbelt. ‘Don't be ridiculous, Naruto. Let's go.’

He skeptically got out of the car and followed behind Sasuke into the building.

Once inside, Naruto was surprised at the interior.

The entrance was painted a darker blue, the sound of techno music filling the small room. There was a desk situated in the back corner of the room where a blonde man was casually leaning against, a magazine in his hands.

“Ah, Sasuke!” He glanced up and smiled, he stood up straight, his ponytail swaying with the movement. “It's been awhile hasn't it, un?”

Sasuke nodded with a smirk and gently nudged Naruto with his elbow. ‘This is my date, Naruto.’

The blonde was silent for a moment, staring at Sasuke before smiling brightly. “A date, huh? Nice to meet you, Naruto!” He walked out from behind the desk and held out his hand for him to shake.

“Nice to meet you too, uh?” He trailed off, not catching the man’s name.

“Deidara.” He smiled brightly.

“So what is this place?” Naruto asked, noticing the art on the walls. It was different than any museum he's ever been too. The paintings seemed to be more alternative in style.

“This is Akatsuki!” He threw his arms up. “An interactive art studio and gallery, un!” He walked back to the desk and pulled out a brochure and waved them over. “I'm surprised Sasuke never mentioned any of this before, he use to come here a lot.”

Naruto shrugged as he reached the desk, Sasuke standing beside him. “He's not much of a talker.”

Deidara stared at the smaller blonde before laughing loudly, scaring him. “That's pretty funny! I think I'm going to like you, un.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes before impatiently tapping on the opened brochure.

“Yeah yeah, little Uchiha! Calm down.” He snickered. “Anyways, a lot of our artists actually create their work here and then display them, un. Each of our artists bring something unique and out of the ordinary and a lot of guests can interact with their art or create some of their own depending on the artist. For example, I mostly work on sculptures, clay to be more specific. But my work also is temporary, un.”

Naruto raised an eyebrow. “Temporary? How so?”

Deidara gave him a smirk. “It explodes.”

Naruto's eyes widened. “E-explodes?!”

He nodded. “Yeah, pretty cool, ain't it?”

“How does it explode?”

‘We can check out his stuff later.’ Sasuke signed impatiently. He reached for Naruto's hand and tried to walk away when Deidara spoke again.

“You know, Itachi use to come here too, un.”

Naruto stopped in his tracks, pulling Sasuke back. He turned to face Deidara, his eyes wide in shock. “Itachi?! Like, Sasuke's older brother, Itachi?!”

Deidara nodded with a smirk. “He was one of the original artists. He stopped coming once this one went off the deep end and tried to kill himself.”

Sasuke glared at the taller blonde as Naruto just stared at him in fascination. “What's his art style?” He asked excitedly.

Deidara’s smirk grew wider. “I'll let you find out on your own, un. It’s a special one, alright.” The smirk left his face to be replaced with a bright smile. “Have fun you two!” He waved them off and went back to his magazine.