Deidara was late. Sasori checked his watch one more time. 5:42pm. How much longer am I supposed to wait for him! I hate this…
He clicked through his inbox one more time. Nothing new. He opened a new browser tab to check on a web-comic he’d been following. Nothing new. His cursor hovered… Social media? He still hadn’t deleted thatman. What if he saw a post? No, I’m not that desperate, he thought. He checked his phone one more time and seeing there were no new messages, he grew angry. Not even a message! Fuck him then, I’m not waiting.
Tossing his laptop into his bag, he stormed out of his cubicle—
—and collided head-on with Deidara.
“Sorry! I’m so sorry! Mn!” Deidara edged forward. He was wearing slim black jeans and a leather jacket—and a pleading expression. “Oh my god, I went home to change and forgot to charge my phone and it died and I’m—”
Sasori touched his lip. It was bleeding and swelling fast.
“Oh my god!” Deidara exclaimed. He touched his own brow, only to discover it was also bleeding. “What the… Ow… nn…”
“Sit down,” Sasori said, guiding Deidara into his office chair. He dropped his bag on the floor and dashed over to the first aid box near the door. He sucked on his swollen lip: there was nothing to be done about it, but at least he could grab a plaster and some disinfectant for Deidara’s head.
“It’s nothing! I’m fine, mn!” Deidara called over the cubicle walls.
I know you’re fine, idiot… I just need a minute to calm down. Sasori located the items he needed and slowly returned to his desk.
Deidara looked up at him sheepishly. “Sorry again, Sasori-danna.” A thin trickle of blood trailed from Deidara’s eyebrow down the bridge of his nose to his upper lip. “You have sharp teeth, mn.”
Sasori laughed. “I’m sorry. But really what we should be discussing is how short you are.”
“Why you!” Deidara leapt to his feet. “Mn!”
“Sit back down and let me clean you up,” Sasori chastened. “You can’t go to a movie looking like you just got into a fight.”
“You’re one to talk with that fat lip, mn.”
“I’ll get a drink with ice in it. I’ll be fine. I’ve had worse.”
Deidara shot Sasori a questioning look, jerking his chin up so that the disinfectant wipe almost entered his eye.
“I’ll tell you about it later,” Sasori said menacingly. “Sit still. There.”
The small plaster was half-concealed in Deidara’s long fringe, but being between his eyebrows, it was still rather conspicuous.
“I look ridiculous, don’t I?” Deidara asked warily.
“You’ll start a new fashion trend, I’m sure, Deidara-san. Come on. We haven’t even bought tickets yet.”
“What’s your rush?” Deidara exclaimed. “I don’t know about you but I don’t even have the faintest clue what movies are showing right now. They might all be crap.”
“So why did you…”
Deidara just smiled.
*
They ended up choosing a martial arts movie, the fourth in a series that only Deidara had seen any of the previous installments of.
“You’ll like this, Sasori-danna,” Deidara reassured. “You won’t get bored, mn.”
“As long as it isn’t just ninety minutes of exploding cars I think I’ll survive,” Sasori said, rolling his eyes. He had removed the lid on his soda and was resting his swollen lip on the topmost piece of ice.
“What do you have against exploding cars, mn?”
They had ten minutes before the doors opened and they could find their ticketed seats. Deidara had insisted on buying seats in the back row—“I’m not falling for that, Deidara-san, we’re not fourteen…”—but assured Sasori that he’d keep his hands to himself. “That said, your hands are more than welcome in my area, mn,” Deidara had said with a suggestive look. Sasori had laughed.
It was never like this with… him, Sasori thought as they queued up to enter the theatre. Deidara turned around and pulled a funny face. This feels… normal. Healthy. His guts twisted. Kuso, when will I be free of him? He swayed a little, feeling light-headed. He grabbed Deidara’s sleeve: something to cling to. Deidara turned again and smiled. Sasori tried to make his face look normal even though he felt like he wanted to puke. This is fine, everything is fine. It’s Deidara, not him. He took a deep breath. That’s right. It’s Deidara. You’re safe.
They entered the darkened theatre and climbed up to the back row. Once they’d settled into their seats, Deidara leaned in and whispered:
“Are you okay? You look like you’re gonna be sick, mn.”
Sasori shook his head. “I’m fine, I don’t know.”
Deidara blinked. “You’re fine? Or you don’t know?”
Sasori looked at Deidara then looked up at the ceiling, pushing his head back against the headrest.
“I’m fine.”
Deidara put out his hand, then with a dirty look at the armrest between them, moved Sasori’s drink aside and flipped up the offending barrier. He offered his hand again.
Sasori looked at it, then looked in Deidara’s eye. Deidara gazed back with a serious and determined expression.
“It’s just a movie, Sasori-danna, mn” he said.
The lights dimmed even further: the movie was about to begin. In the dark, Sasori threw his hand into Deidara’s, gripped it tightly, and shut his eyes.
“It’s so much more than just a movie,” he whispered.
*
What’s going on in his mind, mn? Deidara wondered for the umpteenth time. Sasori had taken his hand back after a few minutes, but fidgeted nervously throughout the whole movie, like he was having an endless conversation with himself.
Should I make a move? Or would it just freak him out? In the end Deidara decided to wait it out: wait and see what Sasori would do. He was used to waiting for people to make up their minds, especially when it came to what they would do with him. It’s worth waiting for that one perfect moment, he thought. The beauty of the instant, mn.
The movie ended.
As they walked out of the theatre and joined a trickle of people on the main road, both held their silence. One would look at the other, but always when the other happened to be looking away. Deidara’s hands were in his jacket pockets. Sasori still carried his cup of soda.
“What did you think of the movie?” they asked each other simultaneously. Both laughed.
Deidara ran a hand through his ponytail.
“Honestly, I have no idea what happened. I wasn’t really paying attention, mn,” he replied.
Sasori’s face broke into a relieved smile. “Hah, me neither…”
“I’m hungry. Let’s get dinner, mn.”
“Your treat?”
Deidara cast a sideways glance at Sasori. “I’m not the one with the paycheck, mn.”
“You already made me buy the movie tickets! I’m not taking you out. If you want to eat together we’re going back to mine.”
“Stingy… mn.” But Deidara made no move to oppose Sasori’s proposition.
They had already walked a ways beyond the theatre, through the busy city centre streets to the park where Deidara had held his “exhibition” the day before. It was quiet: most people were home or at the canteen or the pub, eating their dinners. The university was integrated into the city, not far from the centre; it would take them another twenty minutes to return to campus by foot. The sun was setting, pouring warm, orange light onto the sidewalk.
“Let’s cut through the park,” Sasori said. “I need to stop at the shop on our way. And maybe…”
“Hm?” Deidara turned his head. He had been watching the shifting patterns of sunlight and shadow at their feet, enjoying each different moment.
Checking that there was no one else around, Sasori paused and reached for Deidara’s sleeve. This set Deidara’s heart beating: Sasori had turned the simple gesture into something quite intimate. In response, he gripped Sasori’s sleeve, kneading the soft wool of his sweater between index finger and thumb.
Sasori’s eyes caught some of the setting sun, illuminating his light brown pupils.
“Maybe… you could go back to your dorm and grab an overnight bag…” he said, looking at his feet.
Deidara cracked a huge grin and in his excitement, gripped Sasori’s elbows.
“Ha! I beat you to it, mn!” He relaxed his grip and shoved his hands into his pockets. “See?”
In his hands were a toothbrush, a hairbrush and a pair of underwear.
Genuine laughter tumbled from Sasori’s lips and he covered his face with his hand. What was I worried about? he thought. I spent the entire movie wrestling my impulses, my fears… He just blasts them away.
“You’re just…”
“Brilliant?” Deidara supplied. “Amazing? Clever?”
“Ridiculous,” Sasori finished. But he leaned forward and grabbing Deidara’s elbows, kissed him on the cheek. Then he threw his arm over Deidara’s shoulders. “Let’s go,” he said, leading them through the park.
Success! Deidara silently celebrated. He burrowed closer and wrapped his arm around Sasori’s waist. The red-gold sun was warm on their backs. Some things really are worth the wait, mn.