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Obito’s already half asleep when Kakashi spots him from across the empty cafeteria, sluggishly eating his rice ball, half of it missing his mouth and ending up with rice smeared on his cheek. He doesn’t seem to notice, and just continues mouthing around his rice ball.
It’s two in the morning, and the cafeteria is empty, save for Obito and three night-shift nurses, all more occupied with their phone than anything else. They barely glance up at his direction, and Kakashi does the same, his gaze locked on someone else.
Obito smears his cheek with his rice ball again, eyes half-closed and Kakashi steels himself as he walks up to his table, setting his tray down and sitting opposite him without even so much of a ‘hi’.
“Wha-?” Obito murmurs, startles a little at his intrusion. He frowns slightly when he sees Kakashi. “Why are you sitting here,” he tries to hiss, but just comes out like petulant whining. His eyelids sweep downwards, drooping and heavy.
“There aren’t any other free seats,” Kakashi lies easily, not even feeling any guilt. He makes a point of not facing Obito, letting the steam from his bowl of noodles warm his face. From the corner of his eyes he waits for Obito’s reaction, and has to bite back a smile when Obito just huffs, irritated, but doesn’t say anything else, reaching for his next rice ball.
They continue to eat in silence, Kakashi watching over the rim of his bowl as Obito clearly drifts further and further into dreamland, movement sluggish and eyes closing.
“You should drink some soup, you need more nutrition than rice balls,” Kakashi suggests casually, and Obito grunts, attempting to nod his head but instead tipping his whole body forward at the movement, nearly crashing into the table.
Kakashi barely manages to dive forward and catch him by his shoulder, suddenly feeling a little more awake than before. One half of his chopsticks was rolling on the floor, along with Obito’s half-eaten rice ball.
“Easy there.” He manages to mutter, voice low and steady.
Obito just growls, trying to sit up straight and shrug Kakashi’s hand off his shoulder. “You’re annoying,” he mumbles, even as his body slumps over, struggling to keep track of his lolling head. “Sometimes I wonder if you’re my dad or my boyfriend.”
Or ex-boyfriend, Kakashi bites his tongue. Obito’s clearly tired to the point where words slip past his mouth in a sleepy, unintelligible mess, and Kakashi knows he wouldn’t remember anything by the time he woke up. While he used to find Obito’s sleepy antics adorable, now it just makes him feel a small spike of irritation.
“Just wipe your mouth, dumbass.” All the same, Kakashi leans over to brush away stray rice grains on a pale cheek. Obito’s already fully asleep, heavy head coming to rest in the palm of Kakashi’s hand.
Obito’s sleeping face is a peaceful one, a world away from Kakashi yet snoring slightly in the cradle of Kakashi’s hand. He frowns when a tuft of his hair falls over his eyes, face scrunching and trying to get rid of it.
“What am I going to do with you,” he sighs.
Kakashi lets his other hand brush away Obito’s bangs, and its the familiarity of the action, the ease of it, the weight of Obito’s head, that causes Kakashi’s heart to ache a little. He’s missed this.
Helpless, he mumbles, “what are you doing to me?”
.