Oh look plot
Gaara and Deku stopped in a village, an incredibly touristy one by the look of it.
There were food stands and shops and to Gaara it looked like a movie setting.
"What place is this?" Deku asked.
"Like I know."
It was cool, though. Maybe not wonderfully secure, but cool.
It was nighttime, two days after the pair left. The stars shone, and the lights on in the town made it seem like a dream. There were lots of people, mostly tourists and not people who actually lived there.
They were probably asleep.
It was no problem. But the city seemed like an easy place to attack. It seemed like a target.
It, of course, wasn't. But they didn't know that.
Gaara debated getting a hotel, but as they were broke, there was no way that would be possible.
Well, Gaara was broke. Deku had plenty, but Gaara refused to take any. Probably out of politeness. Maybe out of shyness. Either way, Gaara wouldn't take a cent, no matter how many times Deku offered.
He had woken up with some cash in his pockets, on occasion. He used that to pay for food.
Deku looked around at stuff, and got lost in a knick-nack store, debating whether to get a wooden bird or not.
Gaara made him leave before he died of old age.
It was one in the morning. Deku looked tired to Gaara, even though it had only been 48 hours.
That's when he remembered that normal people slept for eight hours or more every day, and that Deku was probably on the brink of collapse.
Gaara tapped him on the shoulder, walking down the dark yet bright streets.
"Yeah, Gaara-kun?" he asked, tilting his head back to see him.
"Do you need to go to sleep?" Deku laughed, shaking his head.
"I have a philosophy, 'Ra-kun."
"Did you just call me raccoon?"
". . . No. the philosophy is that:" Gaara raised his not eyebrows, "if I feel like I can do a backflip without passing out from exhaustion, I'm fine!"
Gaara sighed.
"Go to bed, Deku."
Deku shook his head.
"See, I so would, but we don't have enough for a motel or anything."
"Sleep in the forest, then. But you're going to die because of your stubbornness, I swear."
Deku laughed. He looked brighter than the eerie lights around the city. Gaara needed soul sunglasses to block himself from falling desperately in love with him.
. . . What? Nothing.
So they left the small, touristy village, back for the woods.
There were bird sounds, and cicadas, and probably angry squirrels.
Gaara sat on the branch, taking his gourd backpack off and hanging it on a smaller, forking branch.
Deku laid down, using his arm as a pillow.
He did not fall asleep.
Gaara thought he did, with the silence, but at one point, he said, "This is not very comfortable."
Gaara chuckled, adjusting his position to sit on his knees.
"'Ra-kun, what are you doing?"
Gaara did a very small nod, and Deku took it as an invitation to rest his head on his lap, which was definitely the intention. He fell asleep within seconds.
Gaara wondered if it would be too invasive to hold Deku's hand while he was asleep.
. . . Yeah, probably.
Izuku awoke. He didn't want to, though. He was really comfortable. The pillow was warm, which was great because it was cold out. And this useless Deku doesn't get cold easily.
That was a total lie. He got cold in 70 degree weather.
Anyways.
He yawned, feeling warm and happy and drowsy and the perfect feeling to feel.
A voice, deep but still childish, said something, and the owner shook his shoulder, trying to awaken him.
Izuku opened an eye, expecting to be in a crappy bed with a high quality pillow because DAAARN.
Nope. He was in a tree.
On Gaara's lap.
He did, for a fraction of a second, think about staying there, resting his head against his friend, him playing with his hair. . .
Blushing madly, he sat up, round eyes wide and brain functions shutting down.
Gaara smiled softly.
Izuku did the same.
Awkwardly enough, Gaara put a hand on Izuku's hair. The simple touch made Izuku turn into a blushing mess.
The removal of it caused Izuku an unpleasant shock.
Then a very pleasant and very mind-screwing shock when he placed it on his cheek.
Gaara was smiling, his expression soft.
But there was a look in his eyes. It wasn't of any bad intent, but it seemed big. Huge, even. A huge, unreadable feeling behind his eyes. Izuku had the same feeling. At least, he thought. It was innocent, and warm, and fuzzy. Like a fuzzball in his chest.
Gaara put his other hand on Izuku's other cheek, causing a small happy squeak to escape.
A smile. Softer and happier.
Izuku felt his face turn red. He was far too flustered to not smile. So he did.
Deku was smiling. Genuinely. Cutely. His face was red and his eyes were green.
Actually, green with dots of gold. Gaara wondered how he'd never noticed that before.
He traced his thumb around Deku's face. He had a feeling, one he wasn't used to. It was warm Innocent. Sweet.
So Gaara cupped Deku's round face in his hands, waiting for a strike of bold courage to allow him to do what he wanted.
Deku murmured something.
Gaara tilted his head to the side in question.
"D-did you know th-that kissing was- was invent- first d-done- over three th-thousand years ago, a-and described as in-inhaling each- each other's souls?"
Gaara turned pink.
"Is that an invitation?" he asked. Deku nodded. Gaara hesitated. He was afraid.
Of what, he didn't know.
It was fine. Deku did so for him.
He reached his head up slightly, Gaara's hands still cupping his face.
It was a totally innocent kiss, no tongue and very little movement, but it was quite literally the best moment of Gaara's life.
He felt something like electricity glow between them, and they pulled closer. Deku's arms were around him in a way that pulled them together while being gentle.
But Gaara was more concerned with his lips, kind and soft and loving but what could only be described as shockingly sweet.
The pair broke apart. Izuku could feel the ghost of Gaara's mouth on his, and his head was still in his hands. Gaara moved his thumb repetitively across his cheek, causing Izuku to go light headed. Not literally. But he did feel like flying.
"You're glowing," Gaara muttered.
Izuku squeaked and blushed.
"I mean literally," he clarified. "You've turned green."
Oh. One For All must have acted up.
He quit glowing, and Gaara smiled in a way that made Izuku smile. Grin, even.
He wasn't ready to let go of him, but he probably never would be. He was soft and warm. The world was hard and cold. If he had the choice he would be there forever.
He did not have the choice.
They heard something. Loud. Tragic. Interrupting.
An explosion, where the town was. An explosion where people were. An explosion in a place that Gaara and Izuku needed to save, or hundreds of people would die.
Gaara was still stroking his cheek and holding his face, but he was less kind. More urgent.
They looked at each other. Deku wanted to save them. He wanted all of them to be safe and happy again.
Gaara voted to leave.
He'd gotten all he'd ever wanted, he wasn't planning on letting that go so soon. Saving the town would only kill them. He couldn't let Izuku, even himself for that matter, to be killed.
Gaara had better logic. Deku had a better moral code. Guess which one they picked.
"Deku, we can't save them. We don't know them, we have no obligation to-"
"But they know them. They know each other. They will all die painful deaths if we don't do something."
Gaara nodded.
And they ran. The kiss still on their minds.
Good thing they did it before they couldn't.
The front entrance to the town was practically decimated, covered in rubble. Luckily, it was not on fire. Fire would have been very, very bad.
Standing in the middle of the rubble was was some dick in a weird jacket.
He is hair was blonde and in a ponytail, with bangs covering his right eye. He was somewhat tanned, and Izuku briefly wondered if he had a tan lone where his bangs were.
His eyes were grey and he was short, and looked about as old as Gaara, because I aged him up to fifteen so it wouldn't be weird.
Izuku heard screams. He smelled smoke. And all he saw was this smirking son of a fuck with a weird mouth hand thing and a fanny pack.
"Who are you?" he asked calmly.
"Why should I tell you that?"
"Because I'm going to kill you," Gaara interrupted.
"Nice save," Izuku whispered.
"Thanks."
"I seriously doubt you could do that," the dickhead laughed, "but my name is Deidara."
And Deidara lunged at the pair, and they fought.
Gaara was fully prepared for Deku to go fully unhinged and beat the crap out of Deidara.
He didn't.
He was fully in control of his movements, and had an acute awareness in his gaze.
Hot.
Wait. No. Fuck.
Izuku merely stood as Deidara ran at him.
He was aiming for his head.
Izuku activated One For All, stretching his arm out in front of him looking like he was about to flick at a pesky fly.
He basically was.
Deidara grinned, and as the wind blew his hair away, Deku saw that he had a covering over his eye. And he did, unsurprisingly, possess a tan line.
He needed to use some Maybelline Super-Stay 24 hour foundation.
While in the air, Deidara turned, somehow.
Izuku made a surprised noise and widened his eyes, turning to where he thought Deidara would be.
He was incorrect.
A pressure was felt on his back, then he felt himself fly.
Oh, Deidara kicked him in the back.
He tensed his muscles just before he rammed into the ground, feeling it crater under his weight.
A cry tore from his mouth.
He stood, only to watch Gaara beating the shit out of Deidara. Not even with sand, he was actively punching him.
Izuku snickered and stood, hoping nothing was broken as he used OFA to jump to the fight.
Daidara's side was open for a split second as he threw a wad of clay for some reason.
Izuku stuck his leg out (and did not break it) and kicked him, hearing something that was luckily not him let out an awful crack.
Deidara slid back, holding his side and yelling.
Then, he stood up straight.
"HAH! YOU THOUGHT!" And then Gaara used sand to stab him right through the calf, and while it was covered by his cloak they could all see the blood pooling on the ground by his foot.
"Fuck."
He shook his head and glared at the two somehow at the same time, though he only had one visible eye.
And he pulled something out of his fanny pack, the halarity that he even had one causing both Gaara and Izuku to pause, trying not to laugh.
The sand didn't, though, and rammed into Deidara just as he finished performing a jutsu on a chunk of clay.
It flew at Izuku, and he could see it grow until a full blown bird pushed him back.
Izuku tried to push it away from him, and they ended up staying still until the bird was tossed into Gaara.
"SORRY RACCOON!"
"I KNOW YOU'RE DOING THE RACCOON THING ON PURPOSE NOW!" he screamed, throwing the giant bird into the sky.
For some reason acting like a normal bird, in flew down at Izuku, slicing it's wings through his chest.
"OH SHIT IS THIS POISONED?" he yelled.
"NO!" He wasn't expecting a response but okay. "WHY WOULD THERE BE? I MOLDED THE THING WITH A HAND MOUTH!"
Deidara landed in front of Izuku and tried to punch him, which he blocked.
"YOU COULD USE LIKE- RATTLESNAKE POISON OR SOMETHING! OR LITERALLY ANY POISON MADE FOR BLOOD! ARE YOU STUPID!"
He used his other hand to punch, but that was blocked, too.
"I'M SIXTEEN SHUT UP!"
Izuku kneed him in the stomach. Deidara spat blood into his face. Izuku wiped it off with his shoulder.
"YOU'RE SHORT!"
Gaara kicked him in the ribs.
Deidara let out a breath, and Izuku remembered kicking him in those same exact ribs earlier.
The bird headbutted Gaara in the chest, him flying back and hitting a building, then falling to the ground.
He struggled to get up.
The bird just kept trying to hit him, but the sand made a shield around him.
Deidara threw his hand out.
"Art is. . ."
The bird went still.
Izuku felt his heart drop.
Deidara grinned.
"Explosive."
A large explosion. Not giant, not even huge, but big.
The sand had a hole.
Izuku muttered something, unconsciously but still coming to the correct conclusion.
"The sand has never been that breakable before, not when I fought him and not when he's fought anyone else, though I haven't seen him fight anyone else. . . he doesn't have his gourd. His gourd carries sand. His gourd carries less breakable sand."
And then Izuku realized.
"He's screwed."
Deidara laughed and punched him in the face.
Izuku's other hand fell, the one blocking Deidara's.
He then punched him with two hands.
Then, only one.
He was digging his hand into his fanny pack. To get more explosive clay.
Clay that needed a jutsu to grow.
To Izuku's knowledge, you needed both hands to use jutsu.
He was correct, though Deidara's speed was shocking.
And Izuku kneed him in the stomach again.
It had little effect.
And then the little clay bird grew, though not very much.
Izuku knew what was coming.
He screamed.
It flew towards Gaara.
Through the hole in the sand shield.
And exploded.
The sand fell away.
Izuku screamed louder.
Deidara smirked.
Stabbed him with something. A needle. Inserted some liquid into his shoulder.
From how drowsy Izuku was feeling, it was. . .
Something.
Something to put him to sleep.
Izuku thought it would have been easier to put into clay.
He couldn't feel himself fall.