Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Of Silver Linings and Blue Yonder	By : Sasunarufan13 Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Naruto/Sasuke Views: 18517 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or make any profit of it. Kishimoto owns it

Chapter List
- 36
- 37
- 38
Author's note: Many apologies for taking so long with this chapter. I had wanted to finish it sooner, but this particular part gave me a lot more trouble than I expected. I had the scenes in my mind, but actually getting the words on paper … I apologise in advance if this chapter isn't up to standards, guys *winces* I've rewritten several scenes, but I eventually gave up before I drove myself insane.
I hope it isn't too bad!
Warnings: Itachi's pov; some drama; smidgen of violence; small mention of blood; follows up directly to the previous chapter
I hope you'll like the second part ^^;
Chapter 37
"Not that it's any of my business," Nagato said casually, almost flippantly as he looked through some documents with an uninterested look on his face, "but I feel like following your mate into the club right after he reamed you out precisely for doing that same thing earlier without his knowledge will leave you in the doghouse for a lot longer than the time you're currently facing."
Itachi glared at him and gritted his teeth, barely keeping himself from unleashing his sharp remark. Instead he turned back to the wall in front of him, of which a part was taken up by ten medium sized screens; each one showing a different section of the night club. One particular screen, screen number five, was the subject of his intense scrutiny as it showed a particular long haired blond man dancing with his friend while a red haired man watched amused from his place at the bar.
He knew he was royally fucked if Deidara discovered he had followed him into this night club. His mate would be well within his rights to get pissed off at him, but …
"Well, Itachi's always liked playing with fire," Kisame snickered. He was lounging in one of the chairs, nursing a beer and being too amused with the situation.
"Shut up, Kisame," Itachi murmured; the sharp edge of irritation lacing his voice warning the older man not to push him too far.
"You do have to admit, though, that this is not one of your smartest plans," Kisame said casually, placing his bottle of beer on the table. "If he finds out you're here, you're beyond screwed, man. You already pissed him off this week – you're really going to go for a second fight?"
Itachi remained quiet, crossing his arms to hide his balled fists. Yes, he was all too aware of how much he was fucking up right now. The fight he had had with Deidara – their first real fight since they had officially become a couple – was still fresh in his mind, having taken place only a couple of days ago.
"What the hell do you think you're doing!"
He had never witnessed Deidara so enraged before and he stilled in the doorway of the living room, uncertain whether it would be a smart move to approach the Omega. What had he done to elicit such a reaction when he was just arriving home? "Deidara, what are you - "
"You think I wouldn't notice, un? A hint: if you want to stalk me, un, make sure you ask someone who isn't a fucking giant like Kisame!" Deidara sneered, balling his hands into fists. His eyes were practically spitting fire as he stood there in front of the fireplace.
At his words, Itachi froze and wanted to close his eyes. Fuck, he should have known better than to send Kisame. You should have known better than to send someone to follow him, a dark voice in the back of his mind reminded him but he resolutely ignored that one.
"I can explain this, Deidara," he said, taking a deep breath and lowering his briefcase on the floor.
"Oh, this is going to be interesting," Deidara scoffed and crossed his arms, glaring at the Alpha. "Go on then, un. Enlighten me as to why the hell you thought getting someone to stalk me was necessary!"
The dark haired man winced, realising he was treading on very thin ice at the moment. "I just wanted to …" He realised at this moment that whatever answer he could come up with, would not be good enough. Not even the real reason would be accepted, he feared. "Make sure you were all right," he finished after a stilted pause.
"Don't bullshit me, Itachi," the blond man said bluntly. "Why wouldn't I be all right, hm? What's so different about this week that you had someone following me now, un? Oh wait, let me guess: you don't trust me with Sasori."
The name of the Beta man had him unconsciously grinding his teeth together and it took a lot of effort to remain calm. "That's not it, Deidara. Of course I trust you with him."
"Yeah?" Deidara's smile was so dark, so cold that it made Itachi still and regard his mate warily. "Because it doesn't look like that from my point of view, un. You're going to tell me that me being followed right in the week I'm meeting up with Sasori is just a coincidence, un? Do you think I'm stupid?" he snapped, taking a step closer.
"I'm not …"
"I don't fucking care what stupid reason made you do this, but I want you to stop! Or don't you trust me, is that it? You think I'm off screwing my ex-boyfriend?" There was hurt bleeding into his voice and Itachi took automatically a step forwards, everything in him screaming to comfort his mate, but Deidara raised his hand, warding him off.
"Is that what you think of me? That I'm a cheating slut?" he went on, voice rising and breaking at the last part. "Then why the fuck did you want me as your mate, huh?! If you think I'm going to cheat on you the first chance I get, why the hell did you ask me to Mark you then? You told me to trust you, remember! If I'm supposed to trust you, why the fuck can't you do me the same courtesy and trust that I won't hurt you!"
The last words came out in a scream and some tears slipped down his cheeks, glistening in the evening sun, before he whirled around, turning his back towards Itachi. "God damn it!" he hissed, slapping his hand against the wall, sounding more pissed off than upset even as his body trembled slightly.
Slowly, aware of the way his mate's body became tenser and tenser with every step he took, he approached the blond man, coming to a stop right behind him. "I don't think you're a slut and I don't think you're cheating on me at all. I do trust you, Deidara. I trust you completely," he said softly, willing the younger man to believe him.
Deidara turned around again, a heavy frown marring his forehead. The anger on his face had made place for weariness and Itachi's heart clenched at the sight. He had never meant to cause such a look on his lover's face.
"If you trust me completely, why do you have someone following me then, un? Why if not for the reason that you don't trust me alone with Sasori?" Deidara demanded, crossing his arms and hunching up his shoulders.
I do trust you - I just don't trust Sasori. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back, not ready to discover what the result of that admission would be.
"I do trust you," he chose instead to repeat, hoping, pleading that Deidara would hear the sincerity in those words.
The silence that descended over them was heavy, growing more awkward with each second that passed.
All of a sudden a strange smile unfurled across light pink lips and Deidara uncrossed his arms and looked straight in dark eyes. "I love you, Itachi," he said to the Alpha's shock as he hadn't expected to hear that in this particular situation. Calmly the Omega continued, "But at this moment I have to restrain myself from punching you in your face. I'm only going to say this once, so listen carefully: I don't love Sasori anymore. I don't want him anymore. You're the only one I want. He and I are just friends." He paused and his eyes darkened. "But this is the last time you ever have someone following me again. We Marked each other, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to accept this shit."
He slipped past the older man. "Either you trust me like you said and you stop following me or you don't trust me. If that's the case – then I know enough."
With those heavy words lingering in the air, he disappeared upstairs. Itachi remained in the living room and tried to remember a time when he had ever felt this small before.
He knew what he was doing was beyond stupid. If Deidara caught him here, he would most likely never forgive him. Yet even that daunting realisation wasn't enough to make him turn around and go home. He was risking a lot and for what?
For his own damn insecurity.
He trusted Deidara completely, knew the Omega wouldn't even consider the idea of cheating on him. The one he didn't trust was Sasori. He knew almost nothing about the Beta, except for what Deidara had told him and that irked him. A quick investigation had turned up nothing unusual, bar a couple of speeding tickets. By all accounts the older man appeared quite normal, spending most of his time at his work as a lawyer. A rather successful one, apparently, given the amount of cases he had won so far.
Sasori was a normal guy – and yet he set Itachi on edge. Perhaps precisely because he appeared so normal. The Alpha knew of his mate's bad past regarding former partners. More often than not Deidara's previous lovers had been arseholes, simply put. One had cheated on him, some had been too uncaring, others had been stuck in the outdated opinion that an Omega should be submissive at all times.
Itachi had come across one of those men a couple of months ago and hadn't been impressed by the guy. Sasori was a whole different matter, though. He still had a good relationship with Deidara and they had parted rather amicably – a rarity compared to how Deidara's other relationships had ended. Itachi guessed he should be glad that at least one guy hadn't mistreated his mate, but …
He couldn't help the unease that settled in his gut whenever he thought of Sasori being around Deidara. Despite their age difference, they had worked out as a couple for quite some time; the only reason they had broken up had been because Sasori had got a job offer at the other side of the country. If the Beta hadn't received that job offer – would they still have been together? If Itachi hadn't come across Deidara in the alley that day, would he have given Sasori another chance eventually?
The dark haired man was more than aware of how ridiculous he was being now – he didn't need the comments of his colleagues to realise that. He and Deidara had given each other the Mark – a deeper connection than that didn't exist. He loved Deidara and he knew the blond loved him. And if Deidara had wanted to go back to Sasori, he would have done so already, given that the two of them had stayed in contact with each other. There was no reason for him to be anxious about Deidara hanging out with Sasori.
He was, however, keenly aware of the differences between himself and the Beta. There was the age difference, of course, but more importantly: Sasori hadn't been so persistent in pursuing Deidara as the Alpha had been. Deidara hadn't exactly been very perceptive to his advances at the start and Itachi had toed the dangerous thin line of becoming a nuisance towards the Omega. He still considered it a miracle that the blond man had given him a chance at all. Of the two of them, Sasori definitely had had the better approach. Did that make him a potential better mate as well? That dark thought kept nagging at him, even as he rationally knew it was moronic to worry about that.
Here he was now, though: hiding away in the security room, because he was being an idiot. This was definitely the lowest he had fallen so far.
God, what am I doing?
"Just for the record: if he asks me about this, I'm going to say you forced me to stay here," Kisame piped up, breaking through Itachi's thoughts.
Dark eyes shifted from the screen to the larger man and Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked; a bit of contempt filtering through.
"Look, man, your mate can be very scary when he wants to be and I'd rather not be on his bad side," Kisame retorted with an apologetic grimace. "I suspect that would be a very unhealthy place to be."
"Worse than Konan's temper?" Nagato smirked; his eyes gleaming with amusement.
"Your wife is a kitten compared to Deidara," Kisame chortled.
"You're both being – wait, where did he go?" Itachi abruptly cut himself off, his eyes flitting across each screen, searching for that familiar blond hair. None of the screens showed the Omega and he clenched his jaw. "How many dead corners are there in your club?" he demanded; still focusing on the screens, rapidly going over each one in the hope of catching sight of his man. Where had he suddenly gone? He had been dancing not even a minute ago!
The sound of a chair scraping over the floor rang through the room and Nagato appeared next to him, staring at the screen with a frown. "There are no dead corners in my club," he murmured; his purple eyes trailing across the screens. "I made sure of that after the incident with Deidara-san before."
"Sasori-san is still at the bar," Itachi muttered and couldn't help but tense when he noticed another anomality. "But Naruto-kun's gone too."
"Maybe they both went to the bathroom?" Kisame suggested, still lounging in his chair, but his eyes were sharp, assessing each screen carefully. "Give them a bit longer. If they don't show up after five minutes, you can storm out there. Although I don't get why you're worried. Like anyone's going to try anything in this club," he added with a snort.
Itachi turned his head to give him a poisonous sweet smile. "Funny, I remember that a certain Toneri did try something at this club – with my mate, I might add."
Kisame pulled a face, waving his hand. "That was then, not now."
"I tightened the security in this place as well," Nagato said mildly. "Several employees have been replaced after the incident in addition to that."
"I'll wait," Itachi said clipped, pressing his lips together. Perhaps he was being ridiculous; there was no reason why he should get worried just because Deidara had disappeared from sight for a moment. His mate definitely wouldn't thank him if he went down there like an overprotective Alpha. Besides, Deidara could handle himself.
He knew all that, yet his stomach remained cramped with nerves for some reason.
"I still don't see him," Itachi said tersely; his fingers cramped around the back of a chair. Enough time had passed for his mate to return from wherever he was, but the Alpha still couldn't spot him on the screens.
Naruto had returned from the direction of the bathroom a few minutes ago and he and Sasori were chatting from the looks of it. But no Deidara.
"I can't spot him either," Nagato mumbled, crossing his arms. He furrowed his eyebrows. "Perhaps he went home?" he suggested, but he didn't sound like he himself believed that.
"Without Sasori-san or Naruto-kun?" Itachi retorted sceptically.
"They're not joined at the hip, Itachi," Kisame drawled, stretching his arms.
Ignoring his comment, Itachi turned around and marched to the door, having made his decision.
"Where are you going?" Nagato called out curiously.
"I'm going to look for him."
"He's going to be majorly pissed off if he sees you here," Kisame warned him.
"I'll deal with that then. Something feels off," Itachi murmured and disappeared into the dark hallway, ignoring the two guards stationed at either side of the door. Unease was squirming around in his gut, no matter how many times he told himself he was worrying about nothing.
A second pair of footsteps right behind him had him twisting his head around. "Nagato-kun?"
"I'm coming with you," the red haired man announced calmly, falling into step with him. "If your mate does end up being around, I can claim you were here to help me with some business."
The corners of his mouth curled into a smile at Itachi's surprised look. "You're useless to me if you're moping around," he said lightly; a teasing lilt to his voice.
Dark eyes rolled, but a reluctant smile tugged at his mouth in response as they descended the staircase to the ground floor. Here the heavy bass of the music seemed to shake the walls, the noise only half muted by the closed door. The guard at the door inclined his head and opened it for them, letting the loud music stream through the opening.
As soon as Itachi set a foot inside the club, his eyes were assaulted by the red and purple lights currently brightening up the dancefloor. Anonymous faces of Alpha, Beta, and Omega alike lit up red one moment and purple next as their bodies moved to the rhythm of the song currently being played. He paid no mind to the greedy eyes following his every move, ignoring some of the braver ones who reached out and tried to drag him into a dance. Eyes zoning in on the bar, two men in particular, he cut his way through the swaying mass.
Cerulean blue eyes widened in surprise when they caught sight of him. Leaning forwards, Naruto yelled, "Itachi, what are you doing here?" Even with the yelling, his voice could barely be heard over the loud music. His cheeks were flushed and sweat glistened on his skin; he looked a bit tipsy judging by the way he was steadying himself against the bar.
"Meeting with Nagato," he answered curtly, looking around him in case Deidara had come out from wherever he was holed up. "Where's Deidara?"
The Omega blinked, looking taken aback before he glanced around. "Eh, I'm not sure," he said bemused. "He was here when I left for the bathroom, but …"
"I thought he went to the bathroom with you," Sasori cut in, pushing his glass away.
Naruto cocked his head to the right. "Nope, I didn't see him there. At least he didn't come in when I left, so."
A growl of frustration escaped Itachi before he could hold back. "Did you see where he went to?" he demanded, directing the question at Sasori.
The older man frowned, tapping his fingers on the surface of the bar. "No, he was talking with some girl, but I didn't keep track of where he went to after that. I just thought he was dancing again."
"Clearly not, as he doesn't show up on the camera footage," Itachi said annoyed.
"He's not in the club anymore?" Naruto asked sharply; his eyes shimmering with worry.
"He didn't say he was going to leave earlier?"
"No, we were going to leave together." Naruto pushed himself off the bar, looking sobered up. "You're sure he's not showing up on the footage?"
"Nowhere," Itachi confirmed, starting to feel more and more restless the longer he was separated from his mate.
"Let's go outside," Sasori decided; his face blank but his eyes stirring with something. "Maybe he just needed some fresh air."
As he followed the two men outside, he caught Nagato's eyes and the man nodded almost imperceptibly. The sudden drop in noise when he stepped outside the club jarred him for a brief moment and he shook his head slightly; the humid, warm air – even at this late hour of the night – not enough to clear his head.
"So much for fresh air," Naruto muttered, right before a loud curse rang through the night, followed by the unmistakable sounds of a struggle.
The noise seemed to emanate from the alley right next to the club and the three men shared a look before they sprinted to it, drawn by the noises.
"Don't even think about it, you fucking prick!"
The sound of Deidara's voice had Itachi's heart stopping for a moment before he whirled around the corner, anger already pumping through his veins at the thought of his mate being hurt.
A man with bright blue hair was fighting with him, trying to pry Deidara's phone and wallet from his hands. The man snarled when Deidara lashed out with his leg, hitting him straight in his gut and he stumbled backwards, clutching his stomach.
"Hey, you arsehole!" Naruto barked, storming forwards with both Itachi and Sasori right on his heels.
The blue haired man – a Beta now that Itachi was close enough to pick up his scent – jerked around and a look of utter panic swept across his face before he suddenly reached for something at his hip and lashed out with it. Metal sheen caught the glow of the nearest streetlight for a few seconds and then Deidara suddenly cried out, clutching at his left arm.
"Deidara!" Itachi snapped and was nearly bowled over by the blue haired man when he raced past him. Snarling he went to turn around and chase after the guy, but Sasori stopped him with a hand against his shoulder.
"I'm going after him, you look after Deidara," Sasori said quickly and sprinted after the guy.
"He's hurt!" Naruto called out; his voice wavering.
Dark eyes snapped back to his lover – and saw blood trickling down heavily from a cut in Deidara's arm, dripping down on the ground as the blond himself stood there, growing paler as shock clearly startled to settle in.
Fuck.
"Would you stop worrying? I'm fine, un." Deidara's exasperated voice cut through his pacing and he looked up with a scowl.
"Don't tell me you're fine when you were just attacked and landed in the hospital," he hissed, coming to a halt in front of the blond man.
Deidara flushed and looked away, muttering chagrined, "It's just a couple of stitches. The doctor said it most likely won't leave a scar anyway, un."
"That's not the point!" the Alpha snapped, clenching and unclenching his fists.
Instead of waiting for an ambulance, Itachi had bundled Deidara and Naruto in his own car, ordering the younger blond to put pressure on the wound with a handkerchief. He had gone way past the speed limit, but luckily nobody had been on the road this late; he'd deal with any possible speeding tickets later on. Fairly quickly Deidara had been seen to by one of the doctors on call, who had cleaned his wound and stitched it up carefully. The cut had only required a couple of stitches, that was true, but those were still several stitches too many.
Now they were waiting for one of the nurses to come back with the discharge papers. Naruto was waiting downstairs, nursing a coffee – or what was supposed to be coffee in this place. Itachi wasn't planning on finding out whether the dark brew was of decent quality.
"You should have given him the stuff," he continued tersely. "Stuff like that can be replaced – you can't."
The Omega's cheeks tinted a deep pink at his comment, but he looked at the older man with a scowl. "I wasn't planning on giving that son of a bitch anything," he spat. "Like hell I would reward that guy for trying to steal my stuff!"
"It's just a phone and a wallet, Deidara," Itachi repeated, his patience running thin after the events of tonight. "Everything in your wallet could have been replaced after a trip to the bank. A new phone is easily bought as well."
"You don't get it, un," Deidara retorted agitatedly, the fingers of his non-injured hand curling around the edge of the bed. "I wasn't about to give that douchebag anything! I've got pictures of us, of my friends in there – those can't be replaced!"
Itachi opened his mouth, but no word came out and he shut it again with a sigh, rubbing his index fingers over his temples. He felt a headache creeping up, which was just great.
"Why were you there at the club?" Deidara's question rang loudly through the room, drowning out the hushed sounds of the night crew behind the door.
"Nagato-kun wanted to discuss some business with me," Itachi answered in a neutral voice.
"At his club. Tonight. What a coincidence, un," Deidara remarked flatly. Silence fell for a moment before he said, "You followed me there, didn't you?" His face and voice were blank, not giving anything away, but Itachi doubted he was really as calm as he looked like.
Ashamed, he found himself tongue tied, knowing there was no way he could talk himself out of this. He had screwed up, even after promising he wouldn't do it anymore. Question now was: how angry was Deidara?
Deidara snorted, shaking his head with a weird smile. "Of course you did, un. You couldn't trust me after all, huh?"
"That's not it," Itachi retorted sharply. "I trust you, I just – Sasori-san and I are different," he said abruptly, crossing his arms tightly.
Blue eyes blinked. "Yeah, I know. Different is good, un."
The Alpha released a noise of frustration. "No, it's not … The way we approached you – it's different." He didn't pursue you to the point of being an annoyance, was the unspoken thought he still didn't dare to voice.
Something knowing flashed in cobalt blue eyes and Deidara sighed softly. "Of course it is – it would have been boring otherwise, un. Like I said: I like the difference."
"Do you ever think …" Itachi cleared his throat, forcing himself to finish the question, "do you ever think about whether you would have got back together with him at a later moment?"
Deidara cocked his head to the right, studying him with a level of scrutiny that made the Alpha slightly uncomfortable. "I've thought about it," the younger man said eventually and shrugged. "He wasn't a bad boyfriend after all."
Something in Itachi's chest cramped.
"But we don't fit," Deidara continued, a faint smile lingering across his mouth. "We had a great time together, but in the end, we're just too different, un. He couldn't handle my temper, I couldn't deal with some of his quirks. We're better off as friends in the end." He laughed softly, shaking his head.
"Oh." Hearing this should have made him happy, but Itachi still felt off. Deidara might only want Sasori as a friend, but Itachi had still fucked up by having him followed and following him even after having fought about it. All because of his stupid insecurity.
"I don't get why you're so worried, un," Deidara sighed, rubbing his forehead with his non-injured hand. "You've met an ex of mine before and you didn't act like that then."
Itachi couldn't help but grit his teeth slightly. "That ex wasn't like Sasori-san," he said roughly. Deidara had barely paid any attention to that guy anyway, even ignoring his less than savoury remarks.
"You mean, I didn't get along with him like I still do with Sasori, un?" the Omega commented dryly and shook his head. "You're being ridiculous, you know that, right?" His voice suddenly hardened and he gazed at Itachi with a heavy frown etched into his forehead. "It doesn't matter whether I get along with Sasori or not – you're my mate. I'm not going to leave you just because Sasori made a better first impression than you did, un."
"It's not about that," Itachi tried, but was cut off by the other man.
"Yes, it is. You're worried that I'm still going to choose Sasori, because you annoyed me at the start and he didn't. Guess what, un? You're an idiot," Deidara said heatedly. "Sure, you annoyed me at times, but it wasn't that bad overall. Your courting gifts were actually very thoughtful and you proved that you were interested in me and not just in a quick fuck. I wouldn't have agreed to give you the Mark and get yours if I didn't truly love you, you dick."
"Be that as it may, I still followed you, even though you told me to stop. I'm sorry; I shouldn't have done that," Itachi said softly; shame still swirling around in his stomach.
"No, you shouldn't have," Deidara retorted brusquely before his features softened and he uttered a small sigh. Sliding off the examination table, he quickly crossed the small distance between them and slipped his arms around Itachi's waist. He kept his left arm stiff to prevent disruption of the stitches and the bandages, but he squeezed the Alpha's waist with his right one.
"And normally I would be so incredibly pissed off at you," he continued, "but honestly – I'm glad you did."
Itachi couldn't help but stare at him stupefied. Just a couple of days ago the blond had nearly ripped him a new one for having him followed and threatened worse if he ever tried to do it again. Now he was glad? He could state with absolute certainty that he had never been so confused as now – and that included the time Deidara had surprised him by accepting a date with him.
"Because if you hadn't followed me, who knows what could have happened?" Deidara grimaced, looking down at his arm. "Should have known that the woman's story about her friend being in trouble was bullshit, un," he added with a grumble.
"I wasn't on time to stop him," Itachi said bitterly, feeling like the pure white bandages around Deidara's arm were mocking him, a clear sign of his failure to protect his mate. If he had just been quicker, if he had listened to his gut feeling sooner …
"But you were there. You were there for me, you took care of me, un," Deidara insisted and pressed a soft kiss against his cheek. "And I have no doubt that you'd have protected me from worse."
"Still, I'm sorry," Itachi murmured, but allowed himself to relax in Deidara's embrace, hugging him back.
"I know." The blond man nodded. "Just know that I'm not going to leave you, okay? You're stuck with me for life, Uchiha. No take backs, un." He stared at him with fiercely glowing blue eyes, his face taking on a stubborn look.
"No take backs," Itachi echoed and they shared a soft kiss. He felt lighter with the knowledge that his mate had forgiven him for this stupidity after all, but still resolved to make it up to him. That was the least he could do for being such an insecure idiot.
After a moment Deidara backed away, leaning against the bed, but kept his right hand wrapped around Itachi's. The nurse still hadn't come back with the discharge papers; he'd have to hunt her down it seemed if they ever wanted to leave this place.
"Did they – did they catch the guy?" Deidara questioned, the fire having left him, leaving him subdued. For all his anger and bravado, he was still shaken up by what had happened to him.
The dark haired man couldn't blame him. "Yeah, they got him," he answered, lowering his hands. "Sasori-san tracked him down and led the police to him."
"God, Sasori must have been pissed off, un," Deidara groaned and grimaced when he jerked his arm a little. "Please tell me he didn't beat the shit out of that guy – he doesn't need to get into trouble with the police for my sake. It wouldn't really reflect well on his job either," he added with a snort, but his eyes were devoid of amusement.
"He didn't beat the shit out of that bastard," Itachi confirmed, still finding that particular fact a pity. What was even more a pity was that he hadn't been able to get his hands on that arsehole before the police found him. "But he's at this hospital," he added.
Blue eyes widened. "What? Why?"
The Alpha shrugged. "He suddenly collapsed apparently. I spoke with the officers after you gave them your testimony and they told me that he developed a fever out of nowhere and they're trying to figure out just what exactly caused him to collapse."
"He collapsed just like that?" Deidara quirked an eyebrow, looking incredulous.
"Yes, just like that," the dark haired man confirmed. "The doctors can't pinpoint the cause immediately apparently."
Deidara snorted, running his fingers through his hair. "Maybe they should ask Sasori's help, un," he said amused.
"Why would they do that?" Itachi furrowed his eyebrows. "He isn't a doctor."
"No, he's not, but he was incredibly good at chemistry and biology during secondary school and he even followed some medical courses at university before he decided to go for the lawyer route," Deidara explained and rolled his shoulders. "He'd considered becoming a doctor for a while until he realised that would mean he'd had to have personal contact with his patients and that was not his schtick." He snickered, still amused at the Beta's reasoning. "He said he's better at dealing with people as a lawyer than he would be as a doctor: less personal contact, un."
"Hm." Even as he listened to Deidara heralding an amusing anecdote about the time Sasori had discovered his aversion to close contact with patients, a part of his mind was occupied elsewhere, mulling over the new elements he had just been told.
He hadn't known Sasori had followed medical courses before, even though his research had been quite thorough. The man could have made any information of his related to those classes disappear, of course, but why would he do that?
You only made something disappear if you didn't want anybody to know about it. Why would the Beta man think it was necessary to make that particular information disappear?
The events of this night suddenly took on a whole other spin with this particular information …
"Uchiha-san." Sasori nodded at him politely, accepting the paper cup with his coffee from the bartender. If he was surprised to see Itachi, his blank face didn't show it.
"A black coffee for me," he ordered and the barista smiled, a faint blush colouring her cheeks, as she hurried to make his coffee. "Sasori-san, good morning."
"How's Deidara doing?" Sasori inquired, picking up his cup to take a sip from it. His briefcase was resting between his legs and he was dressed smartly, in a deep grey suit with a dark blue tie.
"He's doing better," Itachi told him and offered the girl a small smile when she handed over his own cup. After paying he followed the red haired man outside. "The stitches are holding and he isn't at risk of an infection."
"That's good to hear," Sasori murmured. He eyed the dark haired man with an inscrutable look. "Any particular reason why you're walking with me?"
"I wanted to talk to you."
Whatever Sasori had inferred from his answer, it was enough to make the man cock his head and study him before stating blandly, "My car's just down the street. We can talk inside."
"Fine with me," Itachi agreed and they continued the rest of the trip to the car in silence, each sipping from his own cup.
As soon as the doors closed behind them, Sasori turned to face him. "Something tells me you being there in the coffeeshop now wasn't a coincidence," he said. "What do you want?"
"I'd like to offer you a job," Itachi smiled and a bit of glee flared up when for the first time Sasori's mask jarred, showing his surprise.
"A job? At your company?" he asked and narrowed his eyes slightly. "I didn't send any letter to you. Why do you want me?"
"Someone with your particular skill set and experience doesn't come along very often," Itachi answered silkily and Sasori stilled. "We'd be interested in having you join us."
"You need a lawyer? Don't you already have several ones in your employment?"
"We do – but not with the skills and the knowledge that you have," Itachi smiled serenely. "My partners and I were quite impressed with your accomplishments." He let the words hang between them and had the pleasure of witnessing realisation slowly dawning upon the older man.
For a while they seized each other up, silence filling the car. Sasori knew Itachi knew about him. The way he had wiped his records had been quite impressive – unfortunately for him, one of Nagato's men had been better at recovering them. From there it had been just a matter of connecting the dots, of digging up old cases, reading old newspapers articles and linking them with the new knowledge they had now.
Reviewing all the information in front of them, he and his partners had all agreed that Sasori would be a huge asset to their company. While he might still distrust the older man a little, he could acknowledge that he was good at what he did. As long as he didn't become too friendly with Deidara, he wouldn't mind working with the man. And now that he no longer had the haze of jealousy covering his eyes, he had to admit – begrudgingly – that Sasori so far had given him no reason to be suspicious of him.
At least not when it concerned Deidara.
Sasori rapped his fingers against the steering wheel. "I have to think about it," he said in a neutral voice, but his eyes were glinting.
"Naturally. Take all the time you need it. Here you have my card in case you want to take us up on the offer," Itachi smiled and pressed his business card in Sasori's hand. He grabbed his empty cup and opened the door, setting one foot outside. Before he completely stepped out, he added nonchalantly, "By the way, the doctors think they have finally worked out an antidote against the poison they found in the body of Deidara's attacker. He might still lose the feeling in his hands, though."
"What a shame," Sasori droned, looking absolutely not sorry for the other man.
"Indeed," Itachi smirked and left the car. "Have a pleasant day, Sasori-san."
"You too, Uchiha-san."
He'd give the man a week before he would give in and take up the job. There had been intrigue in his eyes – they could work with that. They could be quite convincing when they had to be, after all.
For now, though … His smirk melted down into a real smile as he made his way to his own car. For now he would return home: he had a mate to attend to.
AN2: I hope it wasn't too bad, guys. This definitely gave me a lot of trouble when writing it *sighs*
Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
I see you all back in the next chapter!
Cuddles
Melissa
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Of Silver Linings and Blue Yonder