Space and the Stars, a naruto fanfic

Space and the Stars

A/N: There isn't much of this pairing out there, although I really enjoy it... But, I wrote this for the few fans of it out there! Yay. Feedback, please? I'd love to read what you think :D

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It didn't come all once, but sometimes when he was on a mission, he realized how lonely he was. All of the other Akatsuki members had partners—even Kakuzu who had killed his previous partners in angry fits of rage (although Hidan was immortal after all, but that was beside the point.)

It hadn't always been that way. Before, there had been Tobi.

Some subordinate he had, if you could have even called it that. On most missions, Tobi had been lazy and easily frustrated by walking treks that exceeded five miles.

Half of Zetsu had patience for Tobi and was willing enough to stop for Tobi on most missions. The other half was blunt and harsh, outright admitting his own aggravation with Tobi—especially since the younger-nin had wanted to become a member of the Akatsuki.

Even so, Tobi's company had never been unwanted or pushed aside. The male had just been so full of love, snuggling up to the plant-nin beside the roots of outstretched redwood tree.

And Zetsu, who had always been sad and lonely, welcomed him with open arms. Sometimes he even snuggled back.

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It wasn't just on missions that Tobi was by Zetsu's side. During their time together, Tobi always seemed to always be trailing behind the older-nin, clutching his cloak like a child craving it parent's attention would. Perhaps, Zetsu had inferred, that was the situation they had been in the entire time.

But, he tried not to think of those things. Especially on the nights when Tobi came to his room in need of the plant-nin's assistance on one thing or another because he was the only one he could turn to. Zetsu found happiness in being needed for something other than missions.

Of course, this was Tobi, and his appearances at night were someone more irksome than pleasant. Such as the time Zetsu recalled that Tobi had stormed into his room in the middle of night bursting with emotion and sputtering incoherent sentences about nightmares and an inability to sleep.

Zetsu was roused from his peaceful sleep immediately by that and wasn't elated. However, he calmed down at the sight of Tobi's slightly trembling form and sighed heavily.

His darker personality uttered with a smirk, "We find it quite humorous that the Great Tobi-sama isn't afraid to capture tailed beasts as Akatsuki do, but is afraid a little nightmare."

His other personality, gentler than the first personality, spoke softer. "Come here, Tobi."

The masked-nin obeyed joyfully and nearly skipped to Zetsu's bed. He plopped down right beside him, scrambled into the covers, and almost immediately nuzzled up to the older-nin's bare chest. Instinctively, Zetsu's right arm curled around the younger male and held him in place there.

They had laid there in Zetsu's bed just like that for a while without moving or speaking, until the older-nin's hand began to slide down Tobi's side. Halfway down, his hand rose back up to his shoulder. Then back down—a little lower this time. Up. Down a bit lower. Up. Down.

Up…. Down… And Zetsu's hand met the hem of Tobi's pants.

At that Tobi twitched and murmured a low noise into older male's chest.

Frightened by Tobi's discomfort with his touch, Zetsu lifted his hand off the other entirely.

Another noise escaped from the young-nin, this time out of the lack of something. He nudged the sleek, black arm dotted with white like stars in the night sky beside him with his elbow.

Surprised, Zetsu turns instead to Tobi's face as if to read it to be sure that he heard correctly. All he met, however, was raven lines swirling over an orange mask.

He puts his hands to the mask instead and asks for permission, "May we?"

Nod.

And so with careful accuracy, Zetsu slipped off the mask and gazed warmly at the sight he was now privileged to see. He ran a hand through Tobi's untidy raven hair and the male seemingly purred at the touch.

Sometime throughout the night, they had lost their clothes and sometime throughout the night Zetsu's hand went lower than he had intended. But, the fact that Tobi was still in his arms the following morning led him to believe that it perhaps wasn't such a mistake after all.

After that night Tobi had "nightmares" more and more, and Zetsu's bed was continuously less empty at night. It had been a glorious few months that Tobi was Zetsu's subordinate, and for that one time in his entire life, he hadn't been alone.

But, everything stopped when Tobi became a member of the Akatsuki, like he had talked so much about becoming. He replaced the deceased Sasori and became Deidara's partner.

No longer did Tobi come to Zetsu's room at night. No longer did Tobi trail on Zetsu's footsteps.

Sometimes, the plant-nin would watch Tobi cling to Deidara, and sometimes he'd question himself why he even cared at all. Tobi had been a part of his life before—as his subordinate. Now, the younger male had moved on, but Zetsu was left in his dust.

Once more he had been alone, watching the rest of the world from the confidentiality of his flytrap.

And sometimes, he'd merge with the bark of redwood tree, and he'd feel a space between him and the nature that he appreciated so dearly. Or he'd sit up at night, staring at the stars from his window, and he'd remember that there was a time when he wasn't so lonely.

Zetsu missed Tobi.