Work Text:
Rain pressed down in a steady hush, turning the world into something softer, smaller like it knew it should be quiet.
Obito knelt in the mud, his hands trembling as he tried to keep Deidara close. His head rested against his shoulder, his breath shallow and uneven, much to his own but for a different reason.
Deidara could feel the warmth leaving him, slowly, stubbornly, as if his body hadn’t yet agreed with what was happening. As if he was fighting to stay.
“Stay with me,” Obito whispered, his lips pressing against his forehead. though he didn’t know if the words were for him or for himself. He was choking back tears, trying to refrain from showing his grief in front of the blonde.
Deidara’s body shifted slightly, pressing himself as close as he could to the Uchiha. If it weren’t for the fact that both his arms were gone he would have grabbed onto him, clung to him. “I am,” he said, barely louder than the rain. “I’m right here.”
He tightened his arms around him, as if he could hold him in place, anchor him to the world by sheer force and he was sure as hell gonna try. Around them, the forest stood still. Somewhere far off, thunder rolled, but it felt distant, irrelevant.
“You’re going to be okay,” Obito said, the lie slipping out before he could stop it. His voice cracked on the last word. He knew as well as Deidara that there was no truth to that.
He gave the faintest hint of a smile against his shoulder. “You’ve never been good at lying. To this day I still don’t know why you try.. hm.”
“I can learn,” he said quickly. “Just—just give me time, alright? We’ll get you out of here. There’s a road not far from—”
“Obito.” His voice stopped him. Not forcefully, not sharply—just enough.
He swallowed. “Yeah?”
“Don’t… just be here with me, right here, right now.” His breath hitched, and he felt it like a fracture through his chest. “Stay with me.”
The rain soaked through his clothes and the cloak that he draped over the blondes body, but he didn’t notice anymore. All he could feel was him too light in his arms, too cold, too close to the edge. He shifted slightly, cradling him carefully, like he might break if he moved wrong.
“Don’t worry,” he said, softer now. “I’m not going anywhere.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke. Each inhale a small victory, each exhale something he feared might be the last.
“Do you remember the first time we met..? I didn’t have either of my arms and I strangled you with my legs?” He murmured.
He let out a shaky breath. “How could I forget? I nearly thought I would lose consciousness” he laughed.
“You loved it.”
“Can’t blame me if I did,” he said. “But… yeah. I guess you’re right…”
He huffed a weak laugh. “I can’t believe how long you did that Tobi facade.. honestly it’s impressive.”
“You and me both..” he said. “Say Deidara.. so you loved Tobi first isn’t that right?”
“I did.” He shifted slightly to meet Obito’s gaze. “But it doesn’t compare to how I feel about Obito, and I want you to remember that.. and this..” The blonde said as he inched up reach to his lips for a chaste but simple kiss to which Obito repaid in kind, lingering for a few seconds.
“I won’t,” he said quickly. “I won’t forget anything. You, our missions, or— or the way you look so serious but so happy when you speak about your art or your threats to blow me up, or how you—”
“Obito.”
He stopped again.
“You don’t have to hold onto everything so tightly,” he said. “Just… the important parts.”
“You are the important part,” he said, the words breaking apart as they came out. “How am I supposed to—”
“I love you,” he said. “Obito Uchiha.”
His vision blurred, whether from rain or tears he couldn’t tell. He bowed his head, pressing his forehead against his. “I love you Dei.. more than anything… I.. I can’t do this I can’t be without you..!” he admitted, the truth finally surfacing.
“I know,” he whispered with tears in his eyes. “Me neither.”
Another silence stretched between them, but it wasn’t empty. It was everything they couldn’t say fast enough, of memories rushing in where time was running out.
His breathing now slow and barely audible.
Obito felt it immediately, panic flaring in his chest. “Deidara—hey, stay with me, okay? Just..just keep talking. Tell me something else or—or anything..!”
“It’s okay,” he said, though his voice was fading, seeming further away. “I just need to rest for a moment..”
“No,” he said, shaking his head, holding him tighter. “No, not yet. Please, not yet.”
Deidara smiled, eyes closed, he took a final breath, soft as the rain and it didn’t come back.
Obito stayed there long after, still holding him. The storm passed gradually, the rain easing into silence, but he didn’t notice.
All he knew was the absence—the unbearable, echoing absence that he knew too damn well and
Still, he didn’t let go.
A twisted smile creeped up the Uchiha’s lips.
“This isn’t the end Dei.. will be together.. this is not the end…”