The end... Possibly highly unsatisfying, but I wanted to stay realistic. Hope you enjoy ^^

...

Deidara

Why wouldn't this stain come off? He had scrubbed it roughly, had wiped at it gently, had sprayed it carefully with water and had used as much soap as possible. And still this damn stain wouldn't come out of the pot. This was one of the reasons why Deidara hated doing the dishes. But of course the other ones around the house were out doing stuff, leaving Deidara to take care of this. They would be punished for this. There were enough other chores that needed to be done and Deidara was no house lady. He would whoop their asses before one of them would even think about it.

And then with his gentle laugh Itachi walked in, seeming to have no care in the world while Deidara was about to smash this pot across the room. He settled for grumbling things under his breath.

Slowly Itachi made his way towards Deidara, wrapping his arms around the water bender's waist as his red eyes watched the water flow around the pot over and over again. The feeling of Itachi's warm body pressed against his back made Deidara calm down a little and relax in his hold. It wasn't entirely the pot's fault that Deidara was on edge. Enough had happened to them and Deidara never seemed to fully let go at all. It had all just been too much.

Months had passed since the day they had left the fire country. The road had been long and it hadn't been easy slipping through unnoticed, but eventually they got out. It turned out to be beneficial to have Sasuke around. The teen tried his hardest to help out and succeeded on several occasions. More they couldn't ask of him. After weeks of walking they finally reached the lightning country and settled on a house near a lake. Far enough away from the village, but close enough to still make use of it. This way they blended in and lived silently. Sasuke with them of course.

They had completely separated themselves of the war, but that didn't make it any easier. There were nights where Deidara dreamed of a life together with Sasori as well, thinking of happier times. The days afterwards would be dreadful and he would hardly speak to anyone, choosing to mourn instead. Itachi still blamed himself for starting this war, for all the deaths that had occurred and it didn't matter what anyone said, he believed this. They had left the war, but the war had never entirely left them.

Not to mention that Deidara wore the evidence all over his body. The scar on his face was the most noticeable. A firm handprint right on his left cheek, a finger stretched out right below his eye. It still ached from time to time, a burn right under the skin. Deidara didn't think it would ever leave, but he had gotten used to it. For Itachi it was just another remembrance of what he had caused and it pained him to look at Deidara sometimes.

But none of this was the worst really. They had built themselves a life here and had gotten the villagers to accept them, sort of. Not much hate came their way, so slowly they settled into this new life and had started working too, helping out the town with their bending skills.

Then that day came. A little note delivered by an old student of Kisame about a month back. Their teacher, the one that had supported them through everything and had helped them out so much, had fallen on the battlefield. The guy couldn't give them much information what had happened, but mentioned Kisame had taken many others with him to the grave. It didn't make things better.

There were also happier things though. The teens Deidara had met in the woods so long ago, the ones that had helped out in the war as well, had finally decided they had had enough. They had fought for a long time and hadn't gained much out of it. Many had fallen still of their little group, so they had fled as well and now they were living around the lake too, building their own houses and finding proper jobs. For Deidara it was nice to know they had found their place to stay too. Even the big white dog that now ran around alone, howling loudly at the moon whenever he had the chance.

Hidan was still out there, fighting for them, fighting for what was right. The war was far from over, but the surroundings countries were slowly sending more and more troops towards the fire country. It took some time to prepare for something as big as this, but they were still on the upper hand and eventually it would all settle down. Countries would be divided once more and then everyone would live in an almost peaceful way.

Deidara truly believed everything would be alright eventually. It all just needed time. When his wounds would be healed and when he wouldn't feel pain anymore because of them, then the war would be over. So he was patient and he would wait. Right now Deidara had what he needed. A roof above his head, food on the table and someone he deeply loved.

'We can always just buy a new one,' Itachi mumbled, taking the pot out of Deidara's hands and placing it to the side on the counter.

Quickly Deidara snatched it away again and dunked it back into the sink, using his bending skills to let the water flow around it to wash the pot properly. 'I don't want to get a new one. This one is still good if the stain would just come out.' Vigorously Deidara started scrubbing at it again, but it was ingrained deeply into the metal and it wouldn't come out anymore. They really would need to buy a new one and for that reason Deidara started to cry. Angrily he dunked the pot in the water and just stared at it.

Placing his hands back on Deidara's waist, Itachi turned the water bender around. Carefully he placed a hand on the scarred cheek and the other on the flawless looking one, wiping the silent falling tears away. Granting Deidara a gentle smile Itachi wrapped his arm around Deidara's frame then and pulled him into a hug, giving a soft kiss on the water bender's forehead. 'It's okay,' he murmured. 'I won't leave again. I will never leave your side again. It's okay.' And they would stay there for a while, Itachi shushing Deidara until he was calm again.

'I love you,' was muttered by Deidara, clinging tightly to Itachi's body.

'I love you more,' Itachi replied softly.

Characters © Masashi Kishimoto

So this is the end! Let me know what you thought of the story!

Because I think it can be much better, there will be a rewrite. Once I've finished rewriting Choices, this one will be next! So stay tuned for a better version.

Love, Dana