Unmasked, 2017 unedited ver.

Perched atop his clay bird, Deidara looks triumphantly down at his masterpiece. Lips peeled back in a crooked grin, the artist turns away from the bombed town -- the name of which has already slipped him, but he's sure it's nothing really important and whatever produce it made to sustain its villagers didn't really have much of an impact to the whole of the Ninja World -- to guide his bird down from the air.

It's a relatively nice day. The sun is out and there are clouds about, stark against the clear blue sky not so much a different shade than his eyes. It's a perfect day to work his art and show the world its beauty.

Too bad he has to go out with his dumbass partner.

Speaking of the dumbass partner, Deidara lands his bird in the clearing he had left the dofus in, claiming that he was no use to his work and that he would have to work his C4 alone. Tobi had, of course, complained vehemently, saying that he wanted to see his senpai's best work up close and personal.

He gave him an up close and personal view of his work, alright. Front view.

He could still smell it in the air. Yeah.

"Oi, Tobi," Deidara calls out, trying to find his partner. Now where did he run off to?

Deidara spends some time walking around the area, eventually stepping into the slightly wooded area when he sees a flash of orange. His clay bird follows behind him, trailing just a few paces behind.

"Hey, we can go now, yeah," the blonde says once he notices Tobi leaning against the tree, hands folded neatly on his stomach, fully ready for the masked man's obnoxious exclamations of how he missed Deidara's work, and that his life feels that much more incomplete because he didn't get to witness it in action and in all its rightful glory.

But what he said is met with silence so Deidara forces himself to walk closer, thinking Tobi just didn't hear him the first time. He's just staring off into the other side of the forest, where it gets thicker. The ever dark eyehole of his does not betray anything hidden beneath.

"Hey, I said we can go--" he is cut off by a light snore. While that means he's immediately pissed off at the masked man, he does figure it out that he's been gone for quite some time. He didn't realize how long it really took for him to master the shape and balance the chakra.

Besides, it is a good day. The temperature is great for a nap, especially in the sun. He didn't notice, but perhaps Tobi was sunbathing as he was waiting for Deidara and eventually fell asleep.

Wait, who sunbathes clad in a full-body cloak, gloves, and mask?

Deidara approaches his teammate slowly, careful not to wake him. Thankfully, the grass underneath his sandals makes no noise as he steps on them, allowing him to crouch right beside Tobi's sleeping form. He could even see the gradual rise and fall of his chest.

Is he really that tired? Deidara wonders to himself idly, eye-level with Tobi. His knees rest against the wet grass from the early morning mist and he tries to think of the times Tobi actually sleeps.

He really doesn't, does he? Deidara knows that even though the masked ninja pretends to fall asleep when the artist is in one of his lecturing moods -- and the blonde is actually pretty proud of his monologues, damn the fucking idiot -- he doesn't really actually fall asleep.

Perhaps he could use the sleep. Deidara frowns, watching the mask for the longest time. He could see the scratches on the material from all the battles that Tobi has been in. Surprising, really, to see the coward having been in anything that is physically taxing.

He sighs, reaching out to trace the swirls. His fingers raise and fall with each of the bumps, finding the mask surprisingly smooth for something that is supposedly rugged and beaten. It creates a soft scratching noise, heard only by its vibrations.

He wonders what he looks like. Deidara has always been curious. Tobi always turns away when he forces them to sit down to eat something at a roadside store. He doesn't want to ask him, since Tobi obviously has reasons to hide.

Deidara wonders what it could be. Scars? Being horribly deformed? Who would be ashamed in a world like this? Scars and deformaties were so common that it's almost worshipped, something almost necessary for anyone to find you attractive.

Though... Deidara glances at his arms, knowing the heavily scarred up flesh and thick black stitches that connects his arms to his body resting beneath the long sleeves of his cloak. He isn't too self-conscious of his own wounds -- hell, he has four mouths on his body -- but he does understand the fear of being judged.

Even though Deidara couldn't see Tobi as one who would be self-conscious, perhaps he is wrong about him. You really couldn't judge a book by its cover.

The artist shifts his hand and moves his fingers feather-light across the mask, spreading them so that his hand would grip both sides of the material.

He pauses. Should he really? Tobi would show him if he really wanted to, right? This is kind of an invasion of privacy.

But he might never get another chance, and Deidara can never pass up the choice of satisfying his curiosity.

Slowly, he tightens his grip on the mask as he makes up his mind. Deidara lifts up the mask slowly, sliding it off Tobi's face. It comes off smoothly enough, the band slipping off the back of Tobi's head once the mask is lifted up high enough.

The artist lets the mask rest on Tobi's forehead, eyes wide as he stares at Tobi's now unmasked face.

He wasn't bad looking. Deidara's fist clenches beside Tobi's face, resisting the urge to reach out and stroke his cheek. It looks scarred up, but it also looks like it's laced with or perhaps even made out of the same flesh that makes up Zetsu.

He should know. Deidara unconsciously reaches to gently touch at the chunk of flesh that connects his right arm back to the rest of his body.

But Tobi's injuries seem much more serious than losing both of his arms. Deidara wonders what the extent of the masked man's injury is, to the point where he has to hide every single inch of his body to feel comfortable walking around.

After that thought, he just couldn't resist. He reaches up and gently touches the scarred up part of Tobi's face, feeling wickedly disrespectful while doing so. He wishes only for Tobi to remain asleep so he wouldn't have to say anything about it. This is certainly very undiginfying, the extent of his curiosity.

His tongue between his teeth, Deidara is certain the skin on the right side of Tobi's face is what Zetsu is made out of.

He pauses, blinking as he once again takes in Tobi's face. He takes in the short, spike-like raven hair, the way it barely brushes against his forehead. Aside from the right side of Tobi's cheek, it seems as though Tobi has, in fact, seen the sun before. He isn't incredibly pale, despite hiding underneath layers and layers of fabric ever since Deidara is introduced to him.

Actually, he's rather tan for someone who doesn't let sunlight touch his skin. Deidara takes a deep breath, his gaze traveling down Tobi's face to his mouth, staring at the slightly parted lips as he's breathing softly. It's scarred up too, but that's expected, honestly.

Deidara couldn't tear his gaze away, his mouth feeling dry from having it hang open. He trails along Tobi's defined jaw, rough with scars and what looks like the beginning of a few whiskers. He moves his hand down there instead, running the back of his fingers against the rough skin and delighting in the way it scratches up against him.

But then Tobi begins grumbling, protesting quietly under his breath as he shifts in his sleep. Deidara stops his movement and holds his breath, his heart beating quickly inside his ears, the rush of blood drowning out all sound but Tobi's breathing.

A few moments later, however, Tobi settles back down, his eyebrows slightly furrowed as he falls back asleep, slumping against Deidara's hand.

After the pause, Deidara notices Tobi's expression. He seems rather troubled, despite supposedly resting. He wonders what it is that is so troubling, robbing Tobi peace even in his dreams.

Feeling slightly bad, Deidara rubs his thumb against Tobi's cheek, right on the groove of one of his many scars.

Soft... He observes, lost in thought for a moment.

Then, he snaps back instantly, almost shocked that the thought had crossed his mind at all. Disgusted with himself, though still mindful to be quiet and gentle, Deidara reaches up and pulls Tobi's mask back into place, securing it so it doesn't look like it had come off any time, blushing furiously.

Deidara stands up abruptly, making himself dizzy at the sudden change of posture, and rams his foot into Tobi's chest, hearing the other man cough suddenly and wake up under the sudden pressure.

"S-Senpai!" Tobi flails, slumping further down the tree when Deidara refuses to remove his foot. "I'm up!"

"Yeah, you better be, hmm," Deidara clicks his tongue, masking his anger at himself through annoyance at Tobi's actions. It is totally his fault that he is good-looking, not Deidara's fault at all for finding the masked man attractive.

"Come on, Tobi, yeah," Deidara says, pretending to be completely oblivious to the fact that his foot is still on Tobi's chest, ignoring the way his partner is struggling beneath him, his hands flailing above his head. "We can go now."

Tobi whines, a high-pitched noise that seems to be a struggle to maintain, and slides further down the tree, almost laying on the grass now. Deidara begins to lose his balance from the shift, so he finally removes his foot from Tobi's chest and stares down at him disapprovingly, his hands on his hips.

Deidara keeps staring when Tobi doesn't move, blue eyes baring into the orange mask. For a moment, Deidara remembers what Tobi actually looks like underneath that, and in that instant, Deidara feels the urge to tell Tobi that he shouldn't hide his face so that he could see it more often.

Fuck.

He would fist-fight his blush if he could. Deidara immediately turns around and stomps his way toward his clay bird, ignoring the way Tobi is asking after him, wondering aloud if he wanted to say something.

"S-Senpai! Wait up!" Tobi struggles to get up on his feet again, reaching up and adjusting his mask when he feels it digging slightly into his skin, frowning for a moment. That's strange...

Deidara doesn't seem to hear him, already climbing onto his clay bird, leaving Tobi to trail after him helplessly, his arms waving in the air to try and catch his partner's attention.

Deidara remains silent, only watching Tobi struggle to get on the bird through the corner of his eyes, sighing when all he could think of now is Tobi's sleeping face.

He has a problem.