Chapter Text
After much whining, Tobi managed to convince Deidara to stay the night at an inn. Deidara didn't see why they couldn't just head straight back to the hideout, as sundown was still some time away, but he'd do almost anything to get his new partner to shut up, so here they are.
Once they settle into the simple room, both shinobi enjoy a long moment of quiet. Each to their own devices, they seize the opportunity to shed all those heavy bags of gear, enjoy the warmth of the heater, and relax after another successful mission.
With the silence, Deidara can hear his own thoughts for once, but that relief doesn't last long. Not because Tobi had begun yapping again – he had excused himself to take a shower – but because those thoughts started to wander, as they usually do, to that mysterious mask of his.
It started as pure curiosity, an urge already very familiar to Deidara; but after many failed attempts to get a peek of the face beneath, that damn mask began to REALLY get on his nerves. Just what was Tobi hiding that was so horrible? That warranted him to constantly uphold that cartoonish persona? Just WHO was Tobi??
There has to be a way for Deidara to find out, so he comes up with something. Out of all his ideas, this is the most ridiculous, but maybe that's exactly why it could work. You gotta fight silly with silly, or something... whatever.
Pretty soon, Tobi is out of the bathroom – fully clothed and masked, of course. Deidara lets the silence breathe for just a bit longer, for the sake of subtlety, then groans dramatically.
"Tobi, I'm bored. Let's play a game"
Tobi raises his shoulders in a giddy gesture. He's used to exaggerating his body language to compensate for the lack of facial expressions.
"Waaah~? Senpai, you want to play with meee~?"
"Ugh, yeah, whatever, it's not like there's anything else to do here anyway, hm" – He doesn't need to fake his annoyance. Though this is his idea, Deidara's still going to complain about it.
"Yayyy!! We're gonna have so much fun! what game are we playing? hide and seek? Cops and robbers?"
"God, no! Cards, Tobi! D'you know how to play chacinne?"
"Cha-what...?"
"It's pretty popular in Iwa. Here, I'll teach you. But you better pay attention, hm"
Deidara pulls out an old pack of cards. Tobi sits down on the floor in front of him, listening intently as he explains the rules.
"... spears are higher than maces, which are higher than coupes. The person who has the most points wins..." – and now for the fun part – "... and the loser of each round has to take one piece of clothing off, hm"
Deidara tries to contain his smile. This would be so easy, Tobi hadn't even heard of that game before! In just a few rounds, he should be basically naked, having to choose between taking off his mask or his underwear.
"*gasp* Senpai, that's so-"
"There's gotta be stakes, hm! I'd usually go with money but I learned my lesson last time, with Sasori. I don't EVER wanna do that again, look Kakuzu in the eye and admit how much I gambled away... *shudder*"
Tobi inhales through his teeth.
"Oooh yeah. I'm doing you a favor here, hm" – he nods emphatically, eyes wide – "Okay, this first round is just to see if you get the rules"
...
Deidara doesn't know how, but Tobi understood chacinne very fast. After just a few rounds of rookie mistakes, he's somehow wiping the floor with Deidara. Doesn't help that Tobi's also wearing, like, five hundred layers of bullshit, that bastard... They reveal their hands once more and... fuck. Lost again.
"Senpai! A hair tie doesn't count as an article of clothing!"
"Yes it does, it's fabric and it's on my body!"
"Then my gloves should have counted, too!"
"...urgh! Fine!"
Deidara angrily yanks his pants off, throwing them at Tobi as hard as he can. He's down to his underwear, but his opponent still has a few layers to go, including that mask... He grabs the scattered cards with furious resolve.
"Oww! Senpai, that hur- Hey, it's my turn to deal!"
"Too bad. Here are your cards, hm!"
It really doesn't need to be said, but Tobi is really glad that Deidara can't see his face right now. He's having waaaay too much fun with this, and his cheeks feel very warm beneath the mask. Deidara is really hot, without a doubt, and the thrill of showing his own skin also helps spurring Obito's heart to beat a little faster. God, when was the last time he'd exposed more than a glimpse of himself? When was the last time he'd had skin-to-skin contact? Not the sexual kind, that one is still foreign to him, but the kind you get in a cordial handshake, or when you hand something to a friend and your fingers graze for a moment, or when you get a good night's kiss on your forehead... It felt humiliating, but, in these recent years, the social animal in Obito's brain had been steadily unraveling from the lack of a need so basal.
And that's when he started losing again. Maybe it was intentional, maybe it was because there was now a metaphorical monkey in his head, screeching and chewing at the bars of its mental enclosure, which did make it quite hard to focus on suits and numbers. Whatever the case, Obito could see the glint in Deidara's eye as he got closer and closer to finding out what was under the orange mask.
"I HAVE A KNIGHT, GET FUCKED!"
"Huh?! No way! I think something's wrong with my luck, senpai..."
Sulking, Tobi stands up to remove his pants. Deidara laughs, surprised.
"Whoa, you're going pants first?! Man, what is wrong with you?"
Tobi hadn't even thought about it, but it is unusual to remove his bottoms while his shirt is still on. Thing is, Obito had always had a hard time with his chest, and even after top surgery, he preferred to hide the scars from others. It wasn't out of fear of transphobia, it's just that revealing that information could get in the way of his plans. If Obito wanted people to believe he's Madara Uchiha, he'd have to pass as a cis man. If someone were to try and find out his real identity, knowing he is trans could narrow their search. Not by much, since they'd have to include previously vetted suspects who were born female, but Obito would rather not take any chances.
Though, it is a very marginal one. Could it really be that compromising...?
"Oi, dipshit. Saw something interesting, hm?"
Shit. He must've been staring.
"S-sorry senpai! Tobi got a little distracted...! Is it my turn to deal?"
They get back to playing, but the doubt doesn't leave Tobi's mind. Out of all the Akatsuki members, Deidara is one of the least concerning to Obito's plans – that's why they were partnered, after all. He's young, uninterested in foreign clan feuds, and though he dislikes the Uchiha, he doesn't know of Obito's Sharingan yet. Why would it matter if he found out he's trans?
Meanwhile, Deidara is growing impatient. He's either two or three wins away from seeing what's beneath the mask, as there's just Tobi's shirt and underwear left besides it. He doesn't even wait for him to finish dealing to reveal his cards.
"Ha! Don't even bother, I've got three spears, hm!"
"Huh?! But-"
"But nothing. It's a knight's sequence, there's literally no combination that can top it in the deck. Now take your shirt off, come on!"
Tobi hesitates. It doesn't matter what piece of clothing he chooses to remove, it WILL be revealing something about his identity. He could just refuse, of course, but he's so captivated by this made-up game that it doesn't even cross his mind. He takes his turtleneck off, careful to not displace his mask on the way out, and hopes Deidara isn't familiar with top surgery scars.
Deidara is very familiar with top surgery scars. There's no way to say this without painting him as a bit of a weirdo, but despite being cis himself, Deidara has a soft spot for trans bodies. To modify yourself to chase some ephemeral emotion, to defy normality in search of your own idea of beauty, the very nature of transformation... It all fits perfectly into his own personal philosophy, and it arouses his admiration, as well as attraction.
Normally, Deidara is very chill with trans people – he's an artist, he could count his cis peers in both hands. However, if there's someone he's absolutely NOT "chill" with, that would be Tobi.
"Wait, you're trans?! Is that why you're always covered up?!"
The question slips from his mouth before he can realize how disrespectful it is. He means no harm, but his curiosity is way too big and way too fast to hold back.
"Senpai, that's..."
Tobi's voice isn't as cartoonish as it usually is, betraying just the smallest hint of honesty.
"No! I mean- It's cool! I just-- from the way you're glued to that mask I thought it would be hiding something terrible, you know?"
"Oh...!"
For once, Obito is caught off guard. He can only laugh nervously as he realizes the irony at play.
"You got me scared for a moment there, senpai!"
"Y-yeah, that's fine, I think it's pretty cool..."
Once again, Deidara speaks before he's done thinking.
There's an awkward pause. While Deidara is very supportive of trans people, he still doesn't like Tobi, so he doesn't want to be TOO friendly... He doesn't know what to say, and a inopportune blush creeps up on his pale face.
At that, Tobi perks up. Finally, something he can hook onto to leave this awkward moment!
"Senpai, are you blushing? Oh my, are you flustered by my muscular figure~?"
He hams his teasing up with a coquettish gesture, bringing a finger to where his mouth would be. Okay, seems we're back to normal now.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT."
But now that he's mentioned it, Deidara notices just how built Tobi actually is. Whatever his HRT situation is, he's clearly very strong, with nice, wide shoulders that accentuate the subtle curve of his waist. There are light-colored stretch marks peeking out from the waistband of his pants, and as he lifts his arm to strike that ridiculous pose, Deidara sees that they're also on his triceps, clearly marking where the skin had to accommodate for growing muscle.
Tobi is a prime example of something Deidara loves about trans guys: he's made of soft, warm skin that can be easily bitten and grabbed and bruised; and underneath that, firm muscle that could pin him down and manhandle him however he wants.
God fucking damn it. Now he IS flustered by his 'muscular figure'.
"You're not?, I'm sorry, but that's not very convincing... You really shouldn't lie while you're already so exposed, senpai~"
"SHUT UP! You're two rounds away from your humiliating defeat, so get to seeing those cards, hm!"
Deidara is pissed. How come the most insufferable guy he's ever met is also the hottest one? Oh, come ON!
"Wait, was senpai just trying to get me naked all along? *gasp* How disgusting!" – he puts on the most obnoxiously dramatic voice he can muster, knowing it's grating on Deidara's ears. – "And here I thought you loved me for my beautiful heart...! You're a shallow, shallow man, Deidara sen- GAAH!!"
Deidara lunges at his neck, blind with rage and embarrassment.
"UGH, JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!"
He fully expects the usual deluge of "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" and "Please, I was just joking!", which is why the low whine coming from Tobi makes him stop dead in his tracks.
They just look at each other, half naked and breathing heavily. There's a moment of mortified silence, then Deidara starts laughing with a bewildered scoff.
"Oh, I'm SORRY, you get on my nerves just so I'll choke you and I'm the disgusting one?! Ha-!"
Tobi doesn't know how to react, for once. Even if he had something to say, he doubts he'd be able to articulate the proper sounds, not while he can only think about how Deidara is straddling him, holding his neck so roughly, red as a beet with anger and shame. He has tunnel vision, and not just because of the mask's eyehole...
Almost on instinct, Deidara's hands move away from his neck to feel his shoulders. Feeling out each shape with his palms and lips, grabbing the flesh to feel its different densities... It's like he's studying Tobi's body, committing it to memory.
"...senpai..."
"Shut up." – he growls out, trying not to think of how pretty Tobi's voice is when he isn't forcing it to be as annoying as possible – "This is what you wanted, isn't it? That's why you pester me so much, hm?"
He pauses, looking down at Tobi's eye with a fiery intensity.
"You're pathetic. If you're gonna be a pervert, at least be proud of it! Would've made things much easier, I might've even liked you"
Obito feels a distant pang of shame, but it's overshadowed by everything else he's feeling. He's scared and unsure and giddy at the same time, the physical feeling of Deidara's skin against his is so charged it seems like it's its own emotion. He wants him so bad, he wants so bad, and that desire he had long ago given up on comes back with full force at the mere possibility that it could be fulfilled.
"Hm, nothing to say?"
If Deidara wasn't so angry, the disappointment would show on his face.
Tobi looks straight into Deidara's eyes, tries to find a sound in his throat...
"...se..."
"Huh?"
"Please... I wan- I want it... Please..." – Tobi whispers, voice strained and needy.
A slow smile spreads on Deidara's face.
"I expect you to be thankful, hm"
Tobi doesn't even have time to doubt Deidara before his hand is back on his neck. This time, though, instead of pressing down, he uses that mouth to gently kiss the sensitive skin, earning a shiver from Tobi.
This feels nothing like anything he had ever felt. Sure, Obito had felt horny and masturbated before, but ever since his teenage years, he had accepted that he would never actually get to experience partnered sex. It would only get in the way of his plans, and he had already decided to forfeit his individuality – his personality, his past, his wishes... – in the name of something greater.
He was steadfast in that conviction, but after he met Deidara, and especially now, it started to seem less and less important. It'd be fine as long as he kept the mask on, right? Obito tries to think of every possible issue this may cause and how he'd get around them, but his brain just cannot focus on anything besides touch.
He's so touch-starved he can't remember if normal contact used to feel this good, if his neck really was so sensitive that even a light kiss could make him breathless. He's sure that his shoulders had never earned him any pleasure before, but as Deidara's other hand clawed at it, his hips rolled up involuntarily.
Deidara scoffs at his intense reactions.
"Oh my god, you REALLY wanted this, huh? Were you fantasizing about me all this time?"
Tobi is nodding before he can even understand Deidara's words. He doesn't know why and he doesn't want to think about it. He just wants to keep going.
Deidara laughs. It's not a kind laugh, but it isn't unwelcome.
"That's so funny, I should've guessed it...!"
He continues to feel up Tobi's body, one hand focused on his neck while the other wandered around. Down his arms, his chest, his waist... All wonderfully sculpted and earning little gasps and breathy moans from him.
"What did you think about, hm?"
"...Huh...?"
"Come on, you gotta give me something to work with here! Especially if you wanna keep that damn mask on, hmph"
"...Um, I... I imagined you t-touching me, and..." – the dirty words get caught in Tobi's throat – "It's too embarrassing, senpai...!"
"Then you must not want it that much, hm."
Deidara takes his hands away, and Tobi immediately regrets it.
"No! I want it, I just--!"
"You want what?"
He can't look Deidara in the eye, this is all so new to him...
"I want... to find out how it feels... To be touched, and kissed, and pleasured like that..."
Deidara can't say he's too surprised to hear Tobi's a virgin, but it does strike some deep, irrational desire within him. He's the only one, so far, to peel so many layers of that mysterious man; something about first times is just so exciting to him... Probably because they're singular: there's a flavor that will never appear again in ventures after it, and he gets to taste it.
Tobi grows nervous at his silence and desperately tries to please.
"I-I want to feel your hands- and your mouths on me! I want you to hold me close and- and croon in my ear that I'm doing so well, that I'm so handsome, that I'm-!"
"... a good boy?" – a snobby smile grows on Deidara's lips
Tobi can only whine, pouting under his mask without realizing. He nods coyly.
Deidara's scoff is knowing as he gets off of Tobi's lap.
"Get up. We're doing this on the bed"
...