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"Look at that smug face." Obito squinted. " I know his game."
"I didn't know Kakashi had game," commented Asuma mildly.
Ignoring the other jounin, he continued. "He didn't think I'd notice, after all these years we've been together." Obito huffed in what was a bit like pride as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back. "The bastard's in love."
The table went silent with Kurenai, Asuma, and Shizune all staring in wide-eyed anticipation. The teaspoon Kurenai was using to stir her Long Life Oolong clattered against the saucer. Asuma and Kurenai exchanged glances, while Shizune jumped forward at the chance and said, "So you finally realized?"
Obito frowned at her. "What? Don't tell me you guys already knew...Wait. So you know who he's in love with?"
Shizune's wide grin froze half-way. Asuma and Kurenai both exchanged exasperated looks. "...You mean you don't know?" There was a tinge of disappointment in Shizune's voice.
"Well...no. I haven't had time to figure out that much yet. That guy's pretty hard to decipher. I mean, I only just noticed something off about him." Obito leaned in conspiratorially to the rest of seated attendants. "I've never seen him in a relationship, hell, at first I thought he was just anti-social. But have you noticed how whenever he's asked about his love life, he'll get this far-off look and in his ambiguous way, say something along the lines of, 'I've only ever considered one'. Like what the hell is up with that?"
"No idea," spoke Asuma dryly, who flinched when Kurenai elbowed him under the table.
"I'm his best friend and he can't even tell me who the 'one' is! But apparently you guys know." Obito sulked into the table.
Shizune sighed hopelessly. "Obito...don't you think you're missing something here?"
Obito's blank face conveyed his unawareness quite well. "Think about it...are you sure you have absolutely no idea who he's so hung up on?"
"Shizune..." Kurenai reminded the girl.
She turned to them desperately. "But he's so obtuse...it's maddening!"
Obito furrowed his brows as he stared to the side, where several feet away in the distance was the Hatake prodigy himself, discussing with a group of fellow jounin. Anko was among them, holding a sheaf of papers and seemingly lecturing the rest, particularly a slacking Hatake. It was with this that Obito had his epiphany. "That's it!"
The entire table, the ones that had been carefully observing Obito, froze at the possibility of this could be the moment.
"It must be Anko! They make a pretty good pair, it makes sense!" Obito grinned, leaping up in the thrill of his self-discovery. "He's just too much of a recluse to approach her...Hah. He's not as suave as people assume." His expression turned smug. "Well...as his closest friend, I'm the only one who can hope to help the poor bastard."
Obito turned on his heel and walked away from the table, steeled with resolve. "It's up to me!"
Kurenai arched a brow, watching Obito's retreating back. "...This could turn out well..."
"...Or end horribly in flames," finished Asuma.
"At least it'll be over," said Shizune with a remorseful sigh.
They all agreed heartily.
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Obito had a plan. Not a very good plan, mind you. The majority was based off of borrowed romance novels with a twist of his own ingenious. But it didn't matter, because Obito's role was only to bring the two together, the rest was up to them, there was only so far he could get involved without making Kakashi suspicious. After the plan proved to be a success, Obito planned on revealing himself as the culprit of their romantic revelation. Kakashi would forever be in his debt and Obito would rise to the rank of the-best-friend-a-shinobi-could-have. Kakashi was so undeserving of such a great friend like him.
It took some planning, considering conflicting schedules and his own duties to take care of, but Obito was able to launch his operation that week. The procedure was simple, just another spin-off of the classic 'coincidental run-in'. He'd invite both Kakashi and Anko to train at the same place, and while it would seem like they just happened to coincide by fate, it was actually Obito pulling the strings from behind. Then the Uchiha would excuse himself soon after, claiming an illness he had practiced feigning in the mirror all week.
It was going to be flawless.
"What are you grinning about?" Kakashi questioned the liveliness that was practically exuding from his companion.
"Oh...nothing." Obito bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from giving anything away. "Just excited to finally show you up when you're blown away by my talent."
Kakashi snorted. "Looking forward to it," he said sardonically.
Damn his pompous attitude. The bastard didn't even realize what a favour Obito was doing for him. That'd all soon change though, and he'd see it all in a new light.
When they got to the training grounds, Anko was already there prepping her assortment of kunai and shuriken. She noticed them when they approached the edge of the clearing.
She smirked. "Hey, Obito. Hello, Kakashi, you joining us for a private session?"
"Hm? No...sorry, didn't realize this spot was taken. Obito should've checked beforehand." He jutted a thumb at the man in question, tossing the blame.
"Hey, I did! It just happens to be a complete coincidence that Anko is here too," he said as smoothly as possible.
Anko narrowed her eyes. "You're the one who asked me to teach you some techniques."
Kakashi glanced to Obito with a doubtful eye. Shit. He hadn't thought of this scenario.
His quick thinking assisted him in saving the situation. "I - uh...well, I mistakenly asked both of you to train with me at the same time and...this happened. Sorry." Obito rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish for an entirely different reason.
There was silence, and Obito dreaded that he might have been found out. But then Kakashi sighed. "...Sounds like just the kind of idiotic blunder you would do."
Obito hid his menacing glare well. "...Yeah. Sorry about that."
Anko glanced between them. "Well...I don't mind a joint session, the more the merrier, I suppose. Is that fine...?" At the last question, her gaze was directed towards Kakashi.
Kakashi shrugged. "I'm fine with it if you are."
Yes. Obito mentally let out a breath of relief. Now that phase one was shakily underway, it was time to commence phase two. After five minutes of Anko teaching Obito a few advanced throwing moves, he decided it was time.
Without warning, Obito collapsed to one knee mid-throw and dropped his head into his hand with a grimace. "Ohh.........nggg. My head........" It was unfortunate that he was born an Uchiha because he would've killed it in the acting world.
"Obito, are you okay?" Anko asked, but before he could fake his infirmity, Kakashi was already at his side.
"What's wrong?" Kakashi crouched down next to him and reached out to push the bangs out of his eyes. "...Is it your eye?" His fingers ghosted over the orange patch on his left side.
"What? No. It's just - uh - a headache probably." Obito leaned away from Kakashi's touch, befuddled by the unusual closeness. His eye hadn't hurt since the Battle of Kannabi Bridge. Why would Kakashi still be hung up on that?
"If it's the frontal lobe, you shouldn't leave that unchecked. It might be detrimental to your eye," interjected Anko.
"No - it has nothing to do with my eye, really," he insisted. Upon seeing the worried expression etched onto Kakashi, he couldn't help but feel panic rising in his chest. "It's probably just light dizziness from all the training - it's nothing unusual..."
Kakashi narrowed his eye. "You mean it's happened before."
Obito sure knew how to dig himself into deeper holes. He should've just went with a stomach-ache or diarrhea, which was more humiliating but at least he didn't have to go through a mother-hen Kakashi.
"You should go see Shizune," suggested Anko. "We can continue our lesson another time."
Kakashi nodded gratefully. "Yeah. I'll take him."
"Wait, no!" Obito protested loudly, causing the pair to turn on him. "...I can go there by myself. I don't want to disrupt you two..."
Anko frowned. "Your health is far more important, Obito. Besides, the point of this session was for you anyways, so it wouldn't mean anything if you weren't here."
"She's right," affirmed Kakashi.
"...Really?" Obito gave them a blank look. If this time together meant nothing to either shinobi...maybe his assumptions were wrong. Anko wasn't the one Kakashi loved. Goddamnit. Then this was an entirely useless escapade. He considered dropping the injured act, but he didn't want to come off as the bastard who would worry his friends like that for a joke.
So no choice but to carry on. "...Ahhh.........ngg." He added a wince at the end to really sell it. "...Yeah, I think I'll take myself home now. Thanks for everything, guys." He quickly stood up with every intention of making his fast escape when Kakashi held him firmly by the arm.
"Hold on...you should let me carry you."
What.
Anko considered this thoughtfully. "I agree. You don't look too well, Obito. I don't think you should walk in your condition."
He wasn't even sick! Why were these people acting like he was an invalid? Curse his gifted acting skills.
Kakashi crouched down to show Obito his wide, inviting back. "Hop on."
His face blanched. Oh hell no. "Oh hell no," he verbalized.
Kakashi arched a brow. "...If you don't want to......would you prefer I carry you in my arms?"
Fuck his life. Why did he even bother trying to help this asshole?
With much grumbling and thinly veiled animosity, Obito got onto the silver-haired jounin's back. They were two grown men of similar build - Kakashi maybe surpassing him by a few inches - obviously it was awkward and uncomfortable. They were certainly a sight for onlookers, two of the most skilled shinobi in all the Leaf, and one was piggy-backing the other through the main streets of Konoha.
Obito kicked his carrier with his dangling foot. "...Kakashi. Why aren't you just taking the rooftop route?" He said irritably.
"I wouldn't want to worsen your headache by leaping around." After a pause, he added, "...also, it's funnier this way."
Obito glared at his ear and wrapped his arm around the other man's neck in a motion to strangle him to death. "Your back is wide open, Hatake. I wouldn't mouth off if I were you."
"Well, I trust you to watch my back for threats."
"I'll be the threat if you don't put me down now." They passed by a group of chuunin girls who giggled at the entertaining spectacle the two displayed. Obito's face blushed beet red and he planted his face into Kakashi's shoulder in an attempt to shelter himself from further embarrassment. "...mmmmmmffff." He groaned into the vest.
Kakashi's shoulders suddenly stiffened for a brief second before slacking back down as usual. Obito didn't pay much mind to it and figured it was because he didn't want him rubbing his spit on his clothes. Stupid Kakashi. Obito was going to drool all over his vest as he pleased because he was a mature adult.
Kakashi turned his head to look at him. "...Maybe this'll teach you not to fake illness to get out of training."
Obito's head shot up, then shiftily he diverted his gaze to the side. "...How did you - I mean...what are you..."
The silver-haired man breathed out an air of amusement through his nostrils. "You don't have to keep up the act anymore - which was horrible by the way. Anko can't see us anymore."
...Ah. He thought he was trying to avoid Anko. The Uchiha assumed there had been some mutual attraction between the two of them but maybe that wasn't so. Just to confirm, Obito asked, "...What do you think of Anko?"
"Hm? She's a strong and valued shinobi. A good person." Kakashi smirked under his mask. "Why? Do you have a crush on her?"
"No! I - well, she's certainly attractive, but I can't think of her that way..." Obito had trouble attaching to anyone he didn't already know, which is why he spent most of his time with Kakashi even though they bickered constantly. Then again it's not so much bickering anymore, and more Obito griping while Kakashi listened offhandedly. It was strangely similar to their former rapport, but they had grown from that and built experiences upon established trust. They even had their moments of soft gestures and genuine camaraderie. It was a surprisingly good relationship.
He had gone through hard times after Rin died, and when Minato followed after. It felt like he was abandoned by the people he trusted most and was left alone again. All alone in an empty void. He might've gone down a frightening path if Kakashi wasn't there with him, as they helped each other's crippling hearts. They became each other's support and created between them a partnership that no one else could touch.
Come to think of it, Kakashi hardly had anyone else besides Obito close to him. He wondered if that would change, once Kakashi finally got together with the person he yearned for. The idea...was slightly more disheartening than before. Where would Obito's place be, if it wasn't constantly at his side?
His face felt warm, and his eye stung. Obito tightened his hold around Kakashi's neck and buried his face down further, not caring at this point what other people or the silver-haired bastard had to say.
"...You're really going to suffocate me if you keep gripping me like that..." Kakashi blinked when he noticed the black-haired man went quiet. "...What's wrong? Still haven't grown out of that cry-baby I see."
"Shut up," he retorted through a muffled tone, even though this was one of the few moments he was glad for his presence.
Kakashi simply closed his eye in delight.
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"After close consideration, I'm going to retract my previous statement," Obito admitted. "Kakashi is not in love with Anko."
Kurenai hummed in agreement, like no shit.
"You knew, didn't you?"
"Oh yeah," she said, smacking her fingers clean of the butter cream pastry she ate.
"And you couldn't have told me, oh, before I made a fool of myself."
"You're the one who ran off on his assumptions."
Obito wasn't even going to dignify that with an answer. "You can make it up to me by telling me the real one."
Kurenai shook her head. "Can't. I promised not to."
"I can't even call you my friend. Why are you here?"
"The complimentary cream puffs and tea you're treating. Plus, you look like you could use someone to talk to."
Obito watched as Kurenai popped another cream puff - that was like what, the fifth one - into her red-lipped mouth. How she even ate like that while maintaining her amazing figure was beyond him. He could probably bribe her...
"You can't bribe me," she stated.
Obito leveled his gaze at the traitor. How dare she eat out of Obito's pocket and withhold information from him. Then again, if bribing didn't work, there was always the option of more threatening means...
Kurenai stared at him. "You can't be seriously thinking of using Tsukuyomi on me?"
The Uchiha guiltily looked away. "....No." Maybe.
"...I think you would've made a great villain if you hadn't become a shinobi of the Leaf."
"Thanks," he said with a straight face, taking the compliment in full.
Kurenai let out a heavy sigh. "...Fine, only because I think this'll never get anywhere with you like this. I'll give you a hint. It's someone who's seen his face before."
There weren't many people who'd actually seen underneath the man's mask, besides Obito of course, he was quite careful with it. So how was he supposed to know who has seen his face? That actually could've been anyone, unbeknownst to him.
"Have you seen his face?" Obito inquired.
"No," she replied.
Even within their circle of friends, there was hardly anyone who has. There were no candidates that fit.
"By the way, spend time with your little cousin," she told him. "He needs an older figure to be around."
Oh right, Sasuke. He hadn't forgotten about Aunt Mikoto's kid. "I know...I've just been busy." He'd been flooded with missions ever since the training incident with Anko and Kakashi.
"That's not a good enough excuse. Go build your bond, you're the only family he has left."
"Technically, he still has his brother..."
"I don't think the brother who killed your entire clan can be considered a proper family member."
"Point taken."
"Take him to Ichiraku ramen, have a little quality time together. It can make all the difference."
Obito nodded in understanding when it him. He had developed a sneaking suspicion of the person who Kakashi loved. "Of course!" How could he have been so blind?
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"Why are you doing this?"
Obito blinked down at Sasuke's glowering expression. The kid always looked like he despised everything in existence, just because he could.
"Because we're family. It's nice to be together, since we don't always get the chance."
"I don't need any more family."
"Don't say that, come on. You always looks so grim. I bet a nice, hot, steaming bowl of ramen will cheer you up."
"I doubt it," he muttered.
"At the very least, it'll be delicious. And that's close enough."
Sasuke followed him into the store for the sole premise of a free lunch.
When they went inside, Obito was surprised to see the trademark head of silver hair he knew all too well.
"Kakashi, what -" He halted mid-sentence when he saw his best friend wasn't alone.
Iruka looked up with a pleasant smile. Beside him sat a child with wild blonde hair who was apparently too busy stuffing his face to notice their new company. On the other side of Iruka at the end seat was Kakashi, who just finished his meal the moment they arrived.
"Oh, Obito!" Iruka greeted him. "And Sasuke too. It's been a while since I last saw you two."
"Yeah, sorry I haven't been able to meet up with you for ramen as often."
Iruka waved it off. "Don't worry about it. You've got your missions as a jounin and Sasuke to look out for after all."
Sasuke sneered at him. "No one looks out for me. I'm independent."
"Pretty much. He has his own apartment and everything," conceded Obito. Sad to say, the kid was better at it than Obito at his current age. Sometimes he got Sasuke to help balance his check book.
The two Uchiha sat down on the remaining stools, Obito beside the ravenous blonde kid. "Two specials, sir," he told the chef before glancing back at the kid with whiskers. He resonated a familiar string in his memory.
"Ah...! Naruto!" Obito exclaimed.
Naruto paused in guzzling down his soup to look up at the scarred stranger. "Who are you, old man? How do you know my name?"
Obito felt his solitary eye twitch. "Who the hell do you think you're calling old man, brat?"
Naruto appeared positively flabbergasted in indignation, slamming his bowl down. "I'm not a brat! I'm a whole seven and a half years old!"
"That's the perfect brat age, case in point, Sasuke over here," deadpanned Obito while jutting a thumb at his younger cousin.
Sasuke glared viciously at the implication and Naruto burst out laughing so hard he snorted onto Obito's vest. The older Uchiha grimaced, which was when he glimpsed up at the other end of the bar where he noticed Iruka and Kakashi to be in deep conversation. Kakashi was leaning against the counter with his chin loosely atop his palm, eyes focused on the words coming from Iruka's mouth, who in turn was huddled close as they had their hushed conversation. It was impossible to hear what they were talking about, especially over Naruto's uproarious laughter.
How rude that Kakashi didn't greet him when they haven't seen each other in a week, he didn't even look up when he entered. Now he seemed to be ignoring him completely in favour of speaking to Iruka. What a guy.
Obito didn't even want to dwell on the unsettling feeling in his heart.
"Haha! The old geezer called you a brat!" Naruto cried, pointing at Sasuke.
"He called you a brat too, idiot."
"I know, but it's funnier with you!"
"I told you I'm not old. I'm still quite young all things considering." Obito gritted his teeth at the boy.
"You are old though," said Sasuke, clearly in revenge for the brat comment. Obito turned towards him, stricken by the betrayal.
"You've got all those wrinkles on the right side of your face," Minato's son pointed out, drawing the same lines on his own cheek.
"They're not wrinkles, they're scars." After a beat, he decided to add, "From battle. They show how I've fought in the war."
"Looks like premature wrinkling to me," remarked Sasuke.
"Yeah," agreed Naruto with an energetic nod of his head.
If he wasn't the spitting image of his old sensei, he wouldn't have believed this was Minato's child.
"That's enough, Naruto. Stop antagonizing him," said Kakashi, appearing behind them. Obito blinked up at him in surprise, not having noticed he was there.
Iruka stood up with him. "Sorry Obito, but could you see Naruto home after he finishes? We've got some important business with the Hokage."
"That's who I'm going to be!" Naruto blubbered through stuffing noodles in his mouth.
"Yes, I know. Anyways, Obito, Kakashi has already paid for everything, if you could just make sure he doesn't run off anywhere, that'd be a huge favour for me."
"Of course he will, since he is Minato-sensei's student too," spoke Kakashi while not even looking at Obito in the eye. "It's a matter of duty."
For some reason, that condescending tone of his irked him in ways that even two annoying brats couldn't. He wanted to decline, just out of spite, but that would've proven how immature he was and he moved past that. "...Fine. But I'm doing this for Naruto and sensei, not as some favour for your sake."
Kakashi smirked. "I knew you would."
GODdammit. Fucking Kakashi always has to have the upper hand. "What business is so important anyways?" He asked before they left.
"Oh. It's a mission briefing. Plus we've got to collect supplies for the trip."
"Trip?"
"It's for a mission," explained Kakashi. "To Sunagakure. It's going to be a long journey so we have to be prepared. Considering we leave at dawn."
Why hadn't he heard about this earlier? Well, possibly because he just returned from his own mission outside of the village. But still, he didn't like being left out of the know. "How long are you going to be gone?"
"A few weeks, at the least."
"Iruka too?" Obito ended up blurting out incredulously, like an idiot.
Iruka smiled merrily. "Yes...but I'm really just an extra hand. Kakashi's the one leading the team."
"We'll be back before you know it," was his friend's parting farewell before exiting the shop.
"Would you look out for Naruto in the meantime? He's a troublemaker...hey, Naruto, don't cause Obito any trouble while I'm gone." Iruka bumped his fist against the child's cranium.
"'Mm noooooot," he whined. Abruptly he wheeled around to wrap his tiny arms as best he could around Iruka's waist. "Don't forget the souvenirs!"
Iruka laughed, patting Naruto's fluffy gold locks. "As long as you're good."
Obito ogled the intimate interaction between the two before turning to Sasuke, who was eating silently. "How come I never get any of that?"
"Don't get any ideas," he warned.
"What was that? Oops, too late. Here comes the hug bug." Obito gave him no time to resist before squeezing the utter life out of his cute younger cousin. Predictably, the boy instantly put up a fight and struggled against the older man's much stronger hold.
When it was obvious his tiny frame was futile against the experienced jounin, he hissed, "I will burn you."
Just to peeve him further, Obito rubbed his cheek against Sasuke's, all the while grinning like a mad man.
Sasuke let out a guttural dying noise.
"Me too, me too!" Naruto jumped up onto Obito's back, which meant Iruka managed to pry him off and leave. "Let me play too!"
Their mixed laughter rang through the ramen shop, and even Sasuke managed to crack a smile that he coyly hid into his collar.
"You two must really be daring to oppose me...looks like I'll have to unleash my secret technique........a thousand years of death: tickle style!"
Naruto shrieked in delight while Sasuke resolutely tried to hold his bursting laughter in to the point his cheeks were turning puffy and red. The ramen shop owner laughed alongside them while his daughter watched the interaction with a giggle.
Naruto ended up falling out of his chair when Obito couldn't keep a grip on the slippery boy. He recovered almost instantly and jumped up to his feet, leaping as he shouted, "Kakashi-sensei! Avenge my death!" Even though he was clearly still lively and kicking.
Obito was so caught up in his playfulness that he was still grinning like an idiot when he turned at the sound of Kakashi's name.
Never in his life would he admit that he forgot to breath for that instant.
There Kakashi stood, holding the curtain above his blessed height, with the fondest look that anybody had ever seen, one that could be easily be read just by the reveal of a single dark iris. And that look was directed right at Obito. It was impossible not to feel flustered under that gaze, even Ayame the shop assistant and her father were blushing, and it didn't even cross their path.
Obito coughed nervously as his face radiated like the heat of a mid-day sun. "W - what did you come back for?"
Kakashi took his sweet time in answering and reveled in Obito's reaction a little more. "...I forgot something."
"...What?" He asked, but before he knew it, Kakashi was leaning in closer, bringing his face closer to his, only to stop a few inches apart. Ayame's audible gasp could be heard in the background.
His reach went past Obito's head to grab something. "...This," he answered, holding up a burgundy wallet in one hand. "Iruka-sensei forgot it."
Obito was really at a loss of words, you couldn't blame him with his brain functions having melted a while ago. ".........That's unlike him," was literally all he could come up with in response.
"Yep. He asked me to retrieve it for him. I can catch up with him faster, after all."
Obito shook himself out of his stupor. Was he really fazed by Kakashi for a moment? He'd never let himself live it down.
"Well. I should be heading off now," said Kakashi , with every intention of disappearing right after.
"Hey - uh hold up." Obito uneasily stopped him. Kakashi delayed his leave to pay attention.
Oh shit. Obito hadn't planned what he was actually going to say to him. You're a prick! A royal pain in the ass! "...Come back unscathed, alright?"
Kakashi let out a breath of amusement. "I think you forget who you're talking to."
Obito smirked. "Yeah, well, I won't be there to pull your ass out of the fire."
"...Let's hope there's no fire in the first place," he said with a smile.
"Kakashi-sensei," whined Naruto, tugging on the man's pants. "You didn't avenge me. Now I'm going to haunt the living as a spirit of regret."
"Ah, can't have that then." Kakashi walked forward again to envelop Obito into a great hug, one that the latter was certainly not expecting. It was surprisingly...nice. And warm. Did Kakashi always smell this good? But just as soon as it started, it was over when Kakashi pulled away with a closed eye smile. That cocky bastard. He knew what he was doing.
Obito was barely able to contain his laughter to coolly deliver the line, "Have a safe trip, honey."
"Be back before you know it, darling," he countered with a two-fingered salute.
When he left, Sasuke pointed out, "That wasn't revenge, that was just a hug." He said the word with a disgusted grimace, like the very mention gave him hives.
"Don't worry, it was proper revenge, since I hated every part of it." He patted Sasuke's head and helped Naruto back to his stool. "Now finish your bowl. And...Naruto, finish your third bowl."
"Can I have another?" Naruto asked hopefully.
"You're going to get fat at that rate, you know."
"No I'm not! Iruka-sensei says I have a fast mobility!"
"You mean metabolism," corrected Sasuke.
Naruto and Sasuke continued bickering over Obito, but they got along to an astounding degree. While they were distracted, he took the chance to dive into his untouched ramen. This wasn't how he expected the lunch hour to go, but it was a nice homely reminder.
"Enjoying the bowl?" Ayame asked him with a heartwarming smile from behind the counter.
Obito grinned back. "It's the best ramen I've ever tasted."
"I concord!" Naruto declared.
"I concur," corrected Sasuke.
That reminded him. Wasn't Kakashi just here a moment ago, eating with his mask off? Ayame must've seen it. "Hey, Ayame...you've seen Kakashi's face, right?"
A blush crept onto her ivory cheeks. "Oh...yes. I remember it vividly. It was...such an experience."
He didn't know how a face could be an experience and decided not to question it. "So...what do you think?"
"It was a very nice face. Right, dad?"
The ramen shop owner nodded in agreement. "It was quite the...experience."
Obito stared. ".......Okay. But I meant, what do you think of Kakashi as a person? You know, would you ever consider dating him...?"
"Oh! No, I couldn't. I have a girlfriend."
Obito blinked. Huh. That was a plot twist he wasn't expecting.
She tilted her head. "Why do you ask?"
He brushed it off. "It's...nothing. I was just trying to figure out who Kakashi likes...and you were my prime suspect."
Ayame shook her head. "Couldn't be. He knows I'm not into guys."
Obito furrowed his brows and concentrated down at his foggy soup. Another possibility shot down. Who could it be?
Ayame leaned in over the counter. "...If you ask me, I don't think he's interested in my type."
...Lesbians? No, he was smart enough to know that didn't make sense.
Ayame didn't say anything more than that, but she had a gleam in her eyes that told she knew more than she was letting on. It seemed like everyone had a gist of what was going on besides him. Way to make a guy feel left out.
When they finished eating, Naruto insisted they train together before going home and Obito was easily convinced. The picture of Sasuke genuinely enjoying himself was enough of an incentive to stay longer, until the dusk began to settle and the little tykes tuckered themselves out. It was right then, in the middle of training, when Obito had his third revelation. It was triggered by Naruto's outcry of joy when he hit the target dead-on. "Wait 'til Iruka-sensei hears about this!"
The shock was enough to freeze his entire movements.
His mind flashed back to the image of Kakashi and Iruka murmuring close to one another in the corner of the ramen shop. The slight implication when their forearms grazed each other, and the relaxed posture of Kakashi's body, they were all signs that served to prove his theory. That fond look he remembered probably wasn't for him, no, he was just performing a task for the only person he truly loved. Of course. How could he have missed it?
That's how it was.
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"You don't look well." Shizune sounded concerned, as always, she was the caring one.
Obito rubbed at his eye. "...I haven't been sleeping much lately."
"I told you not to overdo it," she reprimanded firmly.
"...My bad." He'd been taking more missions to keep himself busy lately, but it wasn't the work overload that burdened him.
She sat down on a wooden stool beside him, raising up a hand to caress his cheek. "Did something happen?"
Obito tried to swat her hand away, but Shizune was having none of that. "Hey, look at me," she demanded gently. "It's not hard to tell when you're sulking."
"I'm not sulking," the big baby sulked.
"Right. Now do you want to tell me what's wrong, or am I going to be able to attend to the other patients?"
"............I don't want to say," he mumbled.
Shizune nodded understandingly. "If you don't want to say, I won't force you." She unwrapped a roll of bandages. "At least let me treat your wounds. It's strange to see you let your opponent get such an easy shot on you."
Obito cringed at the sting of medicinal herbs against the open gash in his arm. "...I just let my guard down. It won't happen again."
"You have no idea how many times I hear that from soldiers like you."
The figure of Shizune's hunched form and the skillful way her hands worked reminded Obito too much of Rin. He missed her all the time. If she were here, she'd know exactly what to say or do. He tried to imagine what she might say, something kind and supportive, she was always on Obito's side, even when he was being hopeless.
When Shizune finished wrapping his arm, Obito said, "...About the person Kakashi loves." Shizune's eyes flew up towards him. "...You know them, right? I know you can't tell me, and you don't have to. It's just........do you think they're the right person for Kakashi?" He avoided looking at her because he was afraid of the answer.
She squeezed his hand tight and spoke earnestly, "I think they're the best thing that ever happened to him."
Obito felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach, and he couldn't fathom why. He should have been happy, ecstatic that his long time friend was finally taking a step towards happiness. But a physical knot within Obito refused to let him be glad, because somehow it just felt wrong. In the first place, he was the one who wanted to set Kakashi up with the one he desired most.
He was a terrible person.
"Obito...could it be, you...."
Not letting her finish, he dropped his head down onto her shoulder. "I'm a horrible friend," he grumbled.
She patted his head lightly. "No, you're just an absurdly thick-headed idiot, who selfishly takes up my time so I can't see other patients."
"You don't need to see other patients. There are other medic-nin for that."
"I'm not your personal caretaker. Other people need me."
"I need you more," he griped.
She rolled her eyes. "Kakashi will be back tonight, so you can complain all you want to him."
Obito went silent because he didn't want Shizune to know that Kakashi was definitely the last person he could complain to. "Can I stay overnight?"
"A hospital is not a - ugh, fine. But just this once. Stay any longer, and I'll give you a reason to be hospitalized."
-------------------------------------------------------------
At all costs, Obito wanted to avoid seeing Kakashi and Iruka for as long as he could. For the rest of his life. Easy enough, right?
He slid down further into his snuggly hospital blankets. It was mid-afternoon and the ample clouds offered a cool natural shade to the world. The fine breeze that gusted in through the open window carried the scent of lavender, purging his mind of worries and thought. But no matter how strong the breeze, it did nothing to cover up the strong stench of medicinal herbs and cleaning fluid. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to stay here after all.
Thinking he needed some fresh air and activity before he went stir-crazy, Obito threw the blankets off him and moved to rise from the bed. Which is when he halted, spotting a tiny head of bright pink hair by his bedside.
There was a child, no older than Naruto or Sasuke, staring right up at him with piercing green orbs. How long had she been standing there? ".......Uh. Hey there. Did you need something?"
She clasped her hands neatly behind her back, flashing a sweet smile. "I'm volunteering at the hospital to help out the patients."
Obito's expression softened with a smile. "...That's awfully kind of you." It reminded him of how Rin did the exact same in her spare time. She was so pure that way, and he got the same feeling from this pink-haired girl.
She nodded. "I heard Sasuke-kun sometimes comes around, so I might be able to see him!" She cupped her blushing cheeks with her hands.
...Maybe not so pure after all. "...You're Sasuke's admirer?"
"Oh.....hehe! Well...I'm one of many. But it doesn't matter, because true love will prevail no matter what," she announced determinedly.
She had spunk, he had to give her that. But the idea of Sasuke being chased by a horde of fan girls and trying to fend them off was too hilarious for him to ignore. He snorted, having no clue how that vicious kid was such a ladies' man. He supposed it was the same in the past, when all the girls in his class went crazy for Kakashi and his aloofness. Personally, he was blind to the appeal of such characters.
Obito thought back to Sasuke's hell bent emergence of revenge against the treacherous one he once called brother. What a charmer. Suddenly he dreaded one day having to give 'the talk' to him. "...I can't say I understand, but that's not my position to say." He stood up from his bed, stretching out the muscles in his legs. His jounin vest hung on a hook beside his bed, but he opted to stick with just the long-sleeved black turtleneck he wore underneath.
"Hey - where are you going?" The little girl stopped him.
"Out for a walk," he replied.
"But you're injured. Injured people should stay resting." She tugged at the hem of his shirt.
"I'm not that injured, and a little exercise will do me more good than harm. Besides, it's boring in here." The only other patients in the room with him were either sleeping or doing their own thing, and the reflective white walls containing him were maddeningly comatose, emphasizing the empty space and his own limitations.
The pink-haired one frowned up at him. "Good luck on wooing my cousin," he said to her when leaving. But apparently she decided it was in her best interest to follow a strange man running away from his hospital bed.
"What do you mean? Are you saying Sasuke-kun's your cousin?" She grabbed his pants leg and Obito had to stop walking in the middle of the hallway.
"I'm an Uchiha, one of the last. And I'm Sasuke's cousin," he told her. He needed some fresh air, so he started heading towards the open window.
"...Really? But you look completely different!"
Obito paused in the middle of crawling over the ledge to look back at the girl. He wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or not. So he just moved to make his escape out the window. But once again, she tugged at his shirt with a lot more strength than he expected. "Hey, don't go jumping out of windows. You'll hurt yourself."
"I'm a jounin and ex-ANBU, this is not a problem."
"Wow, really? You must be stronger than Sasuke-kun. But patients are patients and the injured should stay put."
He knew he wasn't getting out of this one easily. "...Want to come with me then? It's fine if you're watching over me, right?" Honestly, he could use the company to keep his mind off of other things right now.
She blinked. "...Can you buy me Konnyaku jelly?"
"And why should I do that?" He squinted at her.
"I'll tell Shizune-san you're being a nuisance," she countered without missing a beat.
.......He didn't want to give Shizune any more reason to worry about him, or fall out of her good graces, because he'd been kind of pushing his luck with her benevolence. "...Come on," he said, holding out an arm. She beamed up at him and held onto his shoulder as they descended. Obito didn't bother taking the street route, and kept to the rooftops to save time and effort, jumping effortlessly on tiles and protruding parts of buildings. The delighted giggling of his companion played next to his ear through the whishing of the air. He couldn't help but smile. "What's your name?" He asked her.
"Sakura. Haruno Sakura."
He nodded once. "Nice to meet you, Sakura."
They rested atop a high rooftop near the cliff face that overlooked the entire village. The Konnyaku jelly from the dessert shop was sweet and delicious in his mouth, looks like Sakura had good ideas after all. The young girl sitting beside him devoured her jelly in minutes, then suddenly started a conversation of topic. "Hey, hey, if you're really Sasuke-kun's cousin, you should know a lot about him, right? Do you know what girl he likes?"
Hah. Sasuke and relationships. That was a hilarious thought. "...I don't think he has romance on his mind right now."
"Oh. Do you know what his type is?"
They didn't really have conversations about that. As far as Obito was concerned, Sasuke had no interest in such matters. "No. Why do you want to know anyways? Don't waste your time with boys, they're all disappointing," he said, definitely not saying it out of his own bitter spite.
"But I want to marry him," she whined.
"You could change your mind in the future."
She shook her head adamantly. "Nope. There's only one for me."
"People always say that when they're younger."
Sakura reached over and patted Obito's hand, like he was the young and naive one. "Don't worry, Uchiha-san, you'll understand when you're in love."
In an act of betrayal, his mind flashed to images of a certain black-masked bastard. "...I'm not sure what that's like."
Sakura had a look of pity when he said that. "You've never been in love?"
"...Only once. But that was when I was much younger and I haven't been sure ever since."
"Well...it's when you blush and feel butterflies in your stomach when you're around them. You think about them every day and it makes you happy just seeing them happy."
That sounded familiar somehow. He wondered just what when on in his life that made it turn out like this. This was some cruel irony that fate was playing on him. It wasn't even that he was unsure of his feelings at this point, he had gone straight past the denial. Kakashi was his friend, an admirable shinobi, and an admittedly eye-catching guy. They were partners, the infamous sharingan pair, the last survivors of Yondaime's team. Even if Kakashi wasn't in love with someone else, he would've been fine with just staying the way they were. Passing their days together by each other's side was enough. But the situation was different now, it was no longer about Hatake and Uchiha. It was only inevitable, the reality of these friendships never becoming anything more. He couldn't have expected Kakashi to stick around him forever, no matter how splendid that sounded. Wasn't he the one always going off about how he was going to find a nice girl and get married?
They were growing up, moving on to newer points in their life.
Obito wished it wasn't so. But it was obvious what had to be done. He couldn't cling on to this unreciprocated love that would only hinder and possibly and mangle his best friendship. So he vowed to keep all these hidden feelings buried deep inside, never to surface unintentionally. Because he didn't want to hold Kakashi back. He was long past being a burden.
The jounin gazed out at the stretch of buildings that multiplied into the horizon, and the descending clouds that arched down the sky to touch the earthen mounds in wisps. "....Can I ask you a question?"
Sakura cocked her head at him.
"What if......say, Sasuke loved someone other than you, and you knew you had no chance. What would you do?"
Sakura lowered her head thoughtfully, seriously pondering the situation. ".......I don't think I would give up. But...if they're truly in love, and there are no bad intentions between them, I would back off. It wouldn't be right to try and force two people apart. I'm not that mean."
It was good to know that Obito was on the same moral grounds with a seven-year-old.
Noticing the forlorn look on the Uchiha's face, Sakura leaned in to inspect with her sharp intuition. "...Mister. Is the person you love in love with someone else?"
Obito was taken aback, to have been so freely read by a mere child was a bit humiliating to his reputation as former ANBU. But he had a feeling he couldn't hide anything from this bright child. "....Yeah," he conceded with a downcast look.
Sakura patted his shoulder sympathetically. "I'm sorry. That must be heartbreaking."
Obito smiled at her touch. "...It's not like I actually expected anything in the first place. I was the one who wanted to encourage his love life, but along the ride...I guess I ended up falling for him instead."
"If he can't see what a loving person you are, he doesn't deserve you," she huffed, obviously an expert in the affairs of love and relationships.
"...Nah. Even like this, I can't blame him. Which is strange, because I usually blame him for everything." He laughed jokingly.
"...What are you going to do from now on?" She asked curiously. "I couldn't imagine having to see Sasuke-kun with another girl."
It was painful just thinking about the guy, and now more than ever Obito wished he didn't have to face him. "...I'm an adult. I respect his decisions and will act responsibly. It would be unprofessional if I let my personal feelings get in the way." There's a life lesson for you. Suck it up and don't let them know.
"......Do you want me to beat him up for you?" Sakura offered.
"Thanks for the offer, but I'm good."
Sakura turned away in what seemed to be disappointment, then she cried out in surprise, "Ah, the Sunagakure mission convoy is back." She pointed towards the gate where a line of people and traveling carts were trailing down the main streets.
Obito felt like a hand just pushed him off the roof of the building, but sadly that was not so. The returning convoy meant that Kakashi was back, and the Uchiha was definitely not prepared to face him yet. "Oh god."
Sakura immediately caught onto his distress and gasped. "Is that man one of the people coming back?"
He rubbed a hand over his eye patch. "Yeah...I really wish they had dallied longer though," he said, despite his previous statements of being a mature adult and facing his problems.
Sakura fretted over this problematic love ordeal and the heartbroken man beside her. Then a light went off in her head and her brain had sprouted an idea. She grabbed hold of Obito's hand and started pulling him to stand. "Uchiha-san! Come with me, I'll help you hide."
Obito furrowed his brows. "What are you..."
"Just take us back to the hospital, I have an idea," she insisted, and Obito had nothing else to do but grant a young girl's request. Sakura was an earnest girl, and she wanted to help Obito out in his troubled times. The sentiment at least brought him some warmth.
-------------------------------------------------------------
She left him in a closet.
There was nothing else to add about it, the girl literally led him into a supply closet and shut the door. She said something about 'taking care of everything' after asking for Kakashi's name and description. With a wink and an oath to secrecy, she left him there alone with assortments of mops and cleaning supplies. He wondered if she was planning on any particularly drastic measures, but figured Kakashi should be able to handle a seven-year-old should one ever target his life.
Obito could've easily just opened the door and left, but he didn't want to diminish the girl's sentiments. That's why a fully-fledged jounin like him was sitting on the closet floor, the only sliver of light emitting from the crack under the door. He was such a sucker for kids. The man figured someone would sense his chakra soon enough and drive him off. But for the time being, this actually didn't seem like a bad idea for avoiding Kakashi.
It took about ten minutes before the door opened and Obito was staring up at the looming figure of Asuma.
The Uchiha rose to his feet, completely unperturbed, and brushed off the dust on his pants. "What are you doing here, Obito?" Came the expected inquiry.
"A little girl from the hospital dragged me here."
"Outwitted again, eh?"
"Shut up." He made to move past the other jounin when a piece of paper was shoved in his face.
"So this is you?" Obito had to take a step back to read the scribbled pink words and felt the beginnings of a fit of laughter bubbling up in his chest. "It was taped to the front of the door," explained Asuma.
'HEARTBROKEN MAN INSIDE: DO NOT DISTURB!' Was the message it conveyed. Tiny broken hearts decorated the border of the paper. Even if Sakura's so-called plan didn't work, she at least cheered him up considerably. "...Just pranks kids like to play," said Obito in jest.
Asuma arched a brow. "I came because I was looking for you. You should go see Kakashi."
Obito contained his inward grimace. "...I don't want to bother him after such a long trip. He must be tired, plus he has to report in to the Hokage. Probably best to leave him be." Leave him be for weeks, months, for as long as he could keep up the excuses for not meeting him.
Asuma hummed in agreement. "I guess. But as of now, he's having some trouble."
Panic flittered across Obito's features. "What? Was he injured?"
"No... just immobilized at the moment. By three children. It's kind of hilarious."
"Huh?"
-------------------------------------------------------------
Obito arrived at the scene to witness the infamous Copy-Cat ninja being manhandled by three juveniles. Painfully unrequited love aside, this day was proving to be pretty hilarious.
It had to be no coincidence that the three children clinging onto his best friend were all ones he recognized. Sakura hugged Kakashi's left leg with her body and firmly planted her feet on the ground to keep it from moving forward. Sasuke was on the other side, digging his palms into Kakashi's side with a look in his eyes that dared the copy ninja to move. Naruto was on Kakashi's back, like a full-on spider, arms wrapped around the man's neck with a look on his face that said he was enjoying himself far too much.
Kakashi had a frightfully impassive expression, bordering on exasperation.
Obito chortled. "...Wow, you really are Mr. popularity."
"I don't know how, but somehow this is your fault," said Kakashi.
"Hey! That is completely unjustified. I didn't know anything about this." Which was true, but Obito had a hinting feeling that this little stunt of theirs was for his sake. Might as well enjoy it for what it's worth. "Heh...still can't believe the venerated Hatake Kakashi was outclassed by a rag-tag group of schoolchildren."
Sakura whipped her head around in alertness. "Uchiha-san! We've got him detained, so hurry up and get away!"
Kakashi arched a brow. "...Obito, what is this about?"
Those three were doing their utmost to protect Obito's pathetic feelings, even indifferent Sasuke was showing his concern through his own way. Look at him, having children confront his problems for him. He was such a coward, especially to his own heart. He was afraid of losing the people around him, but he was also afraid of taking that step further.
Watching the efforts of these kids rekindled a new kind of faith within him. Even if he faltered, if the world around him crumbled and he lost what he cherished most, they were there to lift him back up.
Obito let out a light laugh. "... Alright, guys, that's enough. Let him go."
All three of them protested, "But -"
"I'm a terrible adult. But it's time I owned up to my own problems." Obito pried Naruto off of Kakashi's neck and lifted him down to the ground. "Thank you though, you guys are much better than me." He crouched down, ruffling their multi-coloured heads.
The trio seemed to comprehend, and they released the bound Kakashi to scurry beside Obito.
"...So you were the mastermind behind them," said Kakashi.
Obito shuffled his feet. "...Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't think they'd go that far."
Kakashi simply brushed it off in good nature. "Well, you've developed an interesting team there."
Obito nodded, face unnaturally warm as he licked his lips nervously. "...Where's Iruka?" Of course, that had to be the first thing he asked.
"Hm? He's reporting in with the Hokage. I should do that too actually..." Kakashi started walking down the path, waving past Obito. "I'll see you around."
For some reason, Obito knew he couldn't let him leave, that this was the only chance he had, otherwise he'd never muster up the courage to confront him again. "Uh - wait! Kakashi..........can you hold on...?" He swallowed hard in anticipation, mouth parched from his edginess. Kakashi stopped several feet away, and turned. Obito wished he could rip off that mask of his so he could know what face he was making. Actually, if they were granting wishes, he would've asked for his own mask to hide behind and for these damned feelings to disappear.
"What is it?" Kakashi said.
No words escaped Obito's trembling lips. That was when Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke decided their assistance was needed again and the three rounded up behind him and began pushing him from behind. Sakura and Sasuke worked his legs forward while Naruto pulled him by the hand, grinning all the while. They continued this until Obito was forced to stumble forward to only a foot's distance from the source of all his insecurities.
Kakashi watched the spectacle with an intrigued eye, glancing down at the assembled trio and back at Obito's blissfully red face. He was completely subdued, and it visibly showed. With one last push from the little hands at his back before they disappeared, he forced out, "I - I have something to say to you."
"You certainly look like you do," responded Kakashi as he watched the three children run off past him.
This was the peak of the moment, his feelings of self-consciousness suddenly arose without the pretext of the kids. In this window of opportunity that was opened by his bruised chagrin, Obito flung everything away and just went for it, fooling himself into believing he had nothing to lose.
"........It's hard to say. I haven't felt this way in a long time......... But uh. After thinking it over.....and through numerous fuck-ups and ultimately just humiliating moments, I've come to the conclusion that I've probably..........most likely. Um. Fallen. Hopelessly. In love." He coughed. "With you."
Kakashi's eye widened, and Obito had to cover his raging blush with a hand in order to plow on. "But! Uh - I know you're in love with someone else and I understand completely that you can't return my feelings, I just wanted you to know so that we can clear the air now before I do something incredibly stupid - because really, knowing me, that would've been unavoidable. And I never wanted this to be weird between us. Really. I'm fine with just being friends - in fact, that's what I want more than anything in the world. If you're willing to forget about this, so am I, and maybe one day if we live long enough to be old men we can look back on this and laugh and be merry because that's what I'll do. Laugh. At me being the biggest idiot." With that, Obito fell silent, not even finding the energy to laugh it off.
His long-winded rant was followed with silence from both of them. Which was a horrible sign, silence was the worst response possible and it was brutally killing Obito on the inside. His face was burning scarlet and in his utter embarrassment, he lifted up an arm to bury his face in his sleeve. I screwed it up. Blubbering, he said, "Shit - sorry, just forget -"
Kakashi grabbed the arm Obito was using to shield his face and pushed it aside to give him a proper look at Obito's current state.
"Who do you think the person I love is?"
It took Obito a moment to regain himself and process the question asked of him. "What? Uh - it's Iruka-sensei, isn't it?"
"Wrong."
Obito blinked up at the other man, confusion masking most of his current visage. "But that's..."
"Think about it. I've been looking at that person for years."
His mind drew a blank, first with finding out Iruka wasn't the one and then noticing how close their faces were to touching. Keep in mind that his brain was already overheated when he answered, "..................Ga -"
A hand flew up to cover his mouth before he actually finished saying the name. "Don't even suggest it," said Kakashi. He looked like he was ready to give up.
The answer didn't come to him in a sudden spark of revelation, instead, it was more deliberate, languid, as the pieces began to fit together. Like careful clockwork.
Oh.
Oh.
Obito stumbled backwards in astonishment and he would've dropped flat on his bottom had it not been for Kakashi's arm wrapping around his waist, catching his fall. Kakashi lowered his head to meet eye-to-eye with the other man. "...Hopelessly in love, huh?" There was the obvious hint of delight in his tone.
If Obito had been embarrassed before, he was positively dying of mortification now. All that he confessed came back to him ten-fold and he wondered how much he would regret it if he murdered Kakashi in a fit of malice. Not a lot, going by his current reaction. He roughly shoved the bastard away. "You..........are you serious?!"
"I was beginning to lose hope for you...honestly, it shouldn't have taken this long for you to realize."
"I - I couldn't help it! How was I supposed to tell with you being all.....mysterious and unclear," he outraged, his anger unconvincing through his flustered appearance. "You could've just told me directly."
Kakashi's face softened. "...I was afraid it would ruin what he have."
He realized the obvious, that Kakashi was living with the exact same fear that Obito had harboured these past few weeks. Except in Kakashi's case, it was probably much longer. "......How long?" Obito inquired tentatively.
Kakashi leaned in to graze Obito's eye patch with the back of his fingers. "Long enough. I planned on waiting my entire life."
He gawked. "You're crazy."
"For you."
Obito rolled his eyes, of course he had to pick the cheesiest response. He lifted a hand to tug at the edge of Kakashi's mask, and the other man let him slide it down, past the curve of his lips. It was a while since Obito last saw his face, and when he pulled the mask off, he found the other's lips tightened into a tender smile. Either of them could've said something, a snide remark or a romantic declaration of love, but there was not a sound uttered as their lips locked, a mere touch at first, beginning leisurely and gentle. It was testing the waters, tasting the flavour laced on each other's lips, reveling the sensation of the slow, burning pressure. Obito's hand found itself tangled in silver hair, pushing his best friend closer, and at the same time Kakashi had one arm secured around the brunette's waist, with the other hand cupping his cheek in tender strokes.
When Obito tried to pull away, Kakashi incessantly followed. "Wai - Kakashi, we're still outside." He tilted his head away so his lips couldn't be captured again, but that only motivated the silver-haired man to nip at his jaw line. Obito considered stomping on the man's foot, but thought of a better idea. "...Are you really sure you want to be wasting your time here, when we could be back at my place...?"
Kakashi backed off and arched an all too intrigued brow. "...You might regret those words later."
Obito snorted, wrapping his arms around the other's neck. "Don't look so smug." He smiled into the kiss they shared.