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It’s raining.
It doesn’t bother Kakashi anymore, though. Nothing ever bothers him anymore. He’s broken, pieces barely held together by a dull, far-away memory from the past.
Obito.
How could he have been so blind to not see? How the boy was as bright, as precious as the sun, blind to the fact that he was so very important and that he was a big part of his life?
Kakashi closes his eyes; feeling the rain soak through his clothes, slide down his face, rivers lost in his hair. The rain is heavy, his clothes and hair are weighed down by the additional weight of water, but its nothing compared to the weight in his heart, the numbness of his thoughts, the unshed tears in his eyes.
Losing Obito was so painful.
.
Before he knows it, he’s spent three hours in front of Obito’s grave. Ask any one else, and it’s a long, long time to be grieving for someone who has died and gone from Kakashi’s life for 8 years, but ask Kakashi, and it’s a pathetic, small amount of time to be standing there, going through and pulling out every memory he has of Obito. With Obito.
It’s funny, how all the memories combined together makes up only a measly three hours, how he can speed through years of memories, find the happy ones and not be satisfied. He closes his eyes. Happy ones, meaningful ones.
None of that matters now, he guesses.
Obito’s dead, any memories left will be pain and tears and a stab to his heart.
.
It’s the first time in a long time, and he’s greeted by a punch.
Maybe he deserves it, leaving behind his best friend…
Okay, he deserves it. His best friend had spent eight years in front of his grave, thinking that he was dead and that he will never get a second chance.
Obito groans, standing up shakily before Kakashi, who’s trembling, hugging him like it’s the only thing that matters, he’s the only one left.
And Obito closes his eyes, full of regret and pain, too, because it’s been such a long time, and to him, Kakashi is the only one that matters too.
Before they know it, they’re two grown men hugging each other, trembling and shaking from the force of their tears and the pain in their heart, clinging onto the other because they know that its their lifeline, and if one was gone, the other would be, too.
They only have each other left, anyway. They’re the only ones that matter, in a world that was so cruel.
It was them against the rest of the world.
.
Obito explains to Kakashi why he was dead. Or at least, took so long to come back alive. It’s a lengthy, complicated story, full of reasons and excuses and lies and truths, but it’s the explanation that Kakashi needs, and the release that Obito needs.
It’s not an apology.
Kakashi knows that, Obito knows that. It’s not an apology for being gone, for being dead. It’s just one other memory to fill in the void for Kakashi, and an outlet for secrets that have been weighing him down for Obito.
In the end, the only apology between them is Kakashi’s punch to the face, and Obito’s tears and snot that has stained Kakashi’s otherwise clean, expensive blouse.
Then there’s silence, because they’ve changed, eight years without the other, and they don’t know about how the other has lived through those torturous years, don’t know what sets them off and what makes them live another day.
It’s depressing, yes, but it’s what’s life is like for the two of them, two of them against the world that has brought them nothing but pain.
So there’s silence, and its tense and quiet and painful, because even though they’ve managed to find back what they’ve lost, namely, their other half, it’s a near stranger seating in front of them, changed and shaped by pain and loneliness and eight years of absence.
Then Kakashi moves, hand shooting out to grab Obito’s shirt, pulling Obito towards himself. Kakashi’s face never changes, poker faced bastard he was, and presses his lips against Obito’s. It’s a desperate kiss, and even though there are no feelings behind the kiss, no romantic feelings like love and affection or even lust, like the ones Obito used to dream off, it’s still a kiss, mouth-to-mouth contact and there’s no hesitance in the action.
Kakashi pulls back, but his hand is still there, griping onto Obito’s shirt. He sighs, looking at Obito with that same, impassive look.
“I hate you.” Is all he says, and it’s the first time in eight years since Obito heard his voice.
(I love you, is what Obito wants to say. But that was eight years ago, and the words have now lost their meaning, because it was for the Kakashi in the past and not the present, and it wouldn’t be fair to say that to Kakashi now.)
Obito nods. Kakashi lets go of his shirt, sitting down and drinking his tea.
“I hate you too, bastard.” Obito murmurs, and just like that, he feels the air lighten, and things fall back into place, even if its only a little.
Kakashi smirks.
.
For some reason, Obito lives with Kakashi. They’re both responsible adults with proper jobs, so it comes off as though as they were rooming. They sleep in separate bedrooms, and cook their own meals, do their own laundry and live their own lives.
Obito learns something new. Kakashi hates coffee.
Not the kind of ‘I hate coffee cause I have never tried it’ thing when they were young. He’s tried it, swallowed one mouth and thrown the rest away.
He’s never drank it ever since.
Obito is a barista. He brews coffee for a living. He loves his job, loves the humming of the machine, the smell of the beans, the vapor from a cup of freshly brewed coffee the clinking of teaspoons against ceramic saucers.
It’s been his job, hobby and constant thing for eight years. It’s the first thing that made him happy, despite being found washed up on a beach and losing all his memories.
Kakashi doesn’t know this.
Obito wakes up one day to find Kakashi staring at a pack of coffee beans intensely. It’s weird and expected at the same time, and Obito tries to recall if coffee ever held a special meaning for them. There’s none, and he thinks that he should feel a little upset. But still, Obito can’t help but crack a small smile at the sight in front of him.
Kakashi turns around and spots him. Obito is still smiling and feels his heart skip a beat, feelings running a little out of his control. He blames it on the fact that he is half awake, and has loved the man in front of him before.
“Morning.” Kakashi mutters, placing the coffee beans down. Obito nods, smile gone.
“Morning.” Obito replies, walking into the kitchen. He makes his way to where Kakashi is standing, looking to see what Kakashi’s doing with his precious coffee beans.
Kakashi take out a pair of scissors, before emptying the entire pack of coffee beans into an empty jar. There’s a little left over, and the lid props up.
“Is it enough for one serving of coffee?” Kakashi asks, looking at his friend. Obito looks up, blinking before looking again. He grimaces. It would be too bitter for one cup.
“Maybe two. It would be too bitter for one serving.” Obito mumbles.
Kakashi blinks. He hates coffee.
Then he takes out two coffee cups, setting them down in front of Obito.
“Then make one for me too.” He mumbles, bending down slightly to catch Obito’s lips, pressing a soft kiss against softer lips.
Then he leaves, before Obito can say anything. He hears the younger man curse and grumble, making a big racket in the kitchen. He smiles.
He hates coffee, but he’ll never forgive himself if he made Obito drink one cup of bitter coffee alone.
Obito emerges from the kitchen later, tapping Kakashi on the shoulder before nosing Kakashi’s hair gently.
“Come on, breakfast’s ready.”
There’s the smell of coffee, and Kakashi restrains himself from frowning. Then there’s the smell of toast and eggs, and there were even sausages, and Kakashi has to restrain himself from kissing Obito again, because the man is hungry and he is still confused about the both of them. What he feels for Obito. So he settles with the memory of kissing Obito this morning, the morning before that and so many more mornings that happened before.
“Let’s eat. Thanks for the meal.”
Kakashi drinks the coffee under Obito’s watchful eyes, knowing that the younger was always eager to please, even if it was for the smallest, most insignificant things. He’s glad that Obito hasn’t changed much in this aspect.
The liquid glides down his throat. Obito’s eyes sparkle, looking at Kakashi.
“Well, it’s not bad.” Kakashi says after awhile, buttering his toast, smiling at Obito.
Obito smiles back, and it’s not in relief, because he knows that even if Kakashi had said it sucked and he hated coffee and that it was a bad decision, Obito would still smile at him like that. It’s a smile not out of relief, so it makes things confusing because he doesn’t know what kind of smile is that.
Kakashi finishes the rest of his coffee, down to the bitter end, and offers to wash the dishes. He sees the stupid, confusing smile still on Obito’s face and decides not to think too much about it.
For now, coffee isn’t as bad as he thought it would be. He might drink it again, if he wanted something different from his usual tea.
(Obito’s smile is one of happiness that Kakashi is there and Kakashi is a fool for not realizing it until a month later.)
Kakashi doesn’t say anything about the fact that Obito makes breakfast for him again the next morning, brewing coffee again. He gives Obito his good morning kiss, the one with no feelings behind it (it’s more of a coping mechanism, really, because he’s still so lost even when Obito is here and he still doesn’t want to sort his feelings out, so he takes advantage of their morning kisses and not-quite-sorted-out-feelings to go by everyday) and drinks the coffee.
Obito has that stupid smile on his face again and Kakashi finishes his coffee again, right until the bitter end. It doesn’t bother him that much, he realizes, and Obito’s smile is brighter than yesterday.
(Both are falling a little harder for the other, and they’re still lost, like little children wandering about, amazed by everything else to realize where they’re going, to realize it. What utter morons.)
It’s been a week of good morning kisses and less-bitter coffee before Kakashi realizes he wants to wake up in the morning for breakfast with Obito, unlike previously it was just waking up because he felt he had to go Obito’s grave.
It takes another week to realize that he’s actually happy to have breakfast with Obito, and if their good morning kisses lasts a little longer than usual, he’s okay with it because he doesn’t care that he stillhasn’t sorted out his feelings. More often that not Obito is now making their breakfast every morning, and the aroma (no longer just a smell) of coffee is what wakes him up every morning.
It takes an entire month for Kakashi to realize that he doesn’t hate coffee that much anymore. He orders it at the café next to his office during lunch hours, and he drinks it to the bitter end, too.
(It is also how long it takes for Kakashi to realize that confusing, stupid smile of Obito’s is just a simple one of happiness and he thinks that the reason why he took so long to figure that out was because Kakashi was the reason Obito was smiling like that. Kakashi was the reason why Obito was happy. And that thought alone was so surreal.)
It takes a month and a day to realize that he likes coffee, especially from the one his secretary brings in on days he work extra hours, and that he loves the coffee, the two cups that Obito brews in the morning for both of them. It’s starting to become not enough, because Kakashi reaches for the coffee pot, only to realize that there isn’t even a single drop left.
Obito laughs and lets Kakashi drinks his, telling him he can’t finish his own. Kakashi reckons that Obito’s laugh is one of happiness too, and smiles back.
It’s been a long time since Kakashi has loved anything other than memories of a dead person.
.
Kakashi knows that Obito had been washed up ashore, lost and alone, with no memories to call his own for eight years.
He knows that the minute Obito had all his memories back; he immediately rushed back, looking for Kakashi.
Kakashi knows this. But it takes living together with Obito, with good morning kisses and breakfast for two for three weeks to learn this.
He learns something new about Obito.
He learns how Obito kicks the covers off himself in his sleep, because it makes him feel uncomfortable. He dreams of high tides and rough waters, of strong currents and something heavy and invisible pulling him down and Obito flails, fighting against an enemy he can’t win against, but also an enemy he can’t lose to.
Obito never screams though. After awhile, the water is gone, the tides recede, and he’s lying comfortably with the warm sunshine on him and he’s peaceful and happy.
But while all this happens in Obito’s dreamland, in reality, the covers are off him and on the floor and the sun is slowly creeping up. He wakes up, washes up and makes breakfast, brews coffee and wait for Kakashi to wake up.
So its no surprise that Obito gets a cold because he’s sleeps without the covers, stomach exposed, at the mercy of the cold wind at night.
It’s a month later when it happens, and Kakashi wakes up to the aroma of coffee and Obito’s face red and pale at the same time. He walks up, and Obito avoids Kakashi’s kiss.
Kakashi sighs, gently pulling Obito closer to him by his arm, hands on the man’s biceps, forcing the shorter man to face him. It’s no trouble to put his forehead on Obito’s, and he feels feverish heat, a burning forehead and sighs again.
“Good morning.” Kakashi says, and he still gives Obito his kiss. He presses his lips gently against Obito’s forehead, before looking down again.
“Good morning.” Obito sighs, closing his eyes slightly as Kakashi’s pale hand rest on the back of his neck, cooling and comforting. He lets himself be led to his chair, and watches as his roommate and best friend go about finish making breakfast and pouring coffee.
After the breakfast, under the watchful eyes of one Hatake Kakashi, Obito calls his boss, telling him that he’s unwell and taking a day off. Then he’s led into his own room, under strict orders to lie down and sleep.
Kakashi frowns when he sees that Obito’s covers are on the floor.
“What are you, a kid? Who kicks the covers when it’s ten degrees outside? Why’d you open your windows too?” Kakashi growls, flashing Obito a pointed look as he closes the windows, picking up the covers.
“I’ll go put these in the wash. Wait here.” Kakashi sighs, turning around. He pauses at the doorway, before turning around to glare at Obito.
“Wait here.” He grounds out, daring Obito to challenge him. The younger man shrinks back a little at the glare, before nodding.
“You said it twice.”
“Only because I have to.” Kakashi drawls, before leaving Obito in his room.
When he returns, Obito’s curled up on his side, deep asleep. Kakashi sighs, before putting clean covers over Obito’s sleeping form.
And that’s when Obito’s starts moving, thrashing and panicking, legs moving and fighting, stretching and kicking. Kakashi starts, hands moving frantically to hold Obito down before he can hurt himself, but he’s still asleep, frown on his face as his legs are kicking the covers, getting tangled and trapped under the mass of fabric. The more he struggles, the more he gets caught in his own trap and Obito’s still asleep, trapped in his own mind of rough waters, high tides and raging seas, the clouds dark and angry above him.
“Obito!” Kakashi calls out hastily, pulling the man close to him, not sure what else to do. Hesitantly, he runs a hand through Obito’s dark locks, matted with sweat and sticking to the sides of his face and the nape of his neck, calling Obito’s name.
Obito wakes up with a start, legs frozen as he searches through his mind, searching for clarity. “Kakashi?” He whispers, and Kakashi nods, hand still running through Obito’s hair and arm still wrapped around his waist.
There’s a deep breath and Obito’s confused, teary eyes stabs and tugs on something in Kakashi’s heart. He’s so lost, like a young child who can’t find his mother, surrounded by strangers and an even stranger place.
“Are you okay?” Kakashi asks. He wants to know what happened, what caused Obito to look like he was dying all over again and explanations.
Obito doesn’t say anything though, just nods his head, closing his eyes as he slowly untangles his legs from the covers, bringing it closer to his chest.
Somehow or other, he ends up head lying against Kakashi’s shoulder, legs tucked to his chest and one big, warm arm around his waist. He’s so close to Kakashi, he realizes. It’s warm and comforting, and the hand in his hair has yet to stop moving.
Obito suddenly feels very, very tired, and he closes his eyes, letting the sound of Kakashi’s heartbeat, the hands running through his hair and everything that was Kakashi lure him to sleep.
And for the first time in years, he’s floating along on the surface of water, a peaceful ocean, tamed waves and cloudless sky. The water’s warm and smells strange, comforting even. It’s a familiar scent, but one he doesn’t remember from where. Obito closes his eyes, feels the sun on his face and just floats on the surface of the water, nothing dragging him down into the depth of the ocean. It almost feels as though as he’sflying, light and free.
When he wakes up, he’s curled on his side again, breathing evenly as he realizes it’s almost afternoon. He feels better than he did in the morning; cold almost gone before he realizes that he’s warm and not shivering like he does every morning.
His covers are still on his shoulders and his legs aren’t tangled in the sheets.
It takes awhile more before Obito realizes that the covers aren’t his. It’s slightly thicker and warmer than his, and it has that familiar scent from the ones in his dreams.
Kakashi enters his room, opening the door as he peers at Obito.
“You’re up? Feeling better?” Kakashi asks, tray in hand. Obito nods.
Much better. He wants to tell Kakashi. He opens his mouth to say something, but Kakashi ignores him in favor of setting the tray down, giving Obito a spoon.
“It’s porridge. Eat it.”
“What, you can actually cook?” Obito jokes, sitting up. Kakashi glares at him.
“Don’t make me force-feed you, Obito.” And Obito never thought that a spoon could look so threatening.
He finishes his porridge obediently, thanking Kakashi for the food. Obito scrunches his nose as he swallows the medicine, frowning at the bitter taste left on his tongue.
Kakashi pops a sweet into his mouth when he isn’t looking, and Obito is grateful for the sweet distraction from the bitter taste in his mouth. He makes a move to stand up, but Kakashi stands in front of him, hands on his shoulder.
“Aw come on, please? I’ve been in here all day, and it’s so stuffy!” Obito whines, sweet clicking against his teeth. Kakashi frowns.
“Just the couch.” He says, before holding up the tray. Obito smiles before following Kakashi to the living room.
The medicine is making him feel drowsy, but the strange thing is, Obito feels the same dream coming back to him. He blinks, trying to focus on the colors and shapes moving on the television screen, but his eyelids are heavy, and before he knows it, he’s floating again.
He wakes up and the sun is gone. The television is still on, blaring a movie that Obito was obsessed with when he was younger, and it looked like Kakashi had thrown the covers on him when he was sleeping.
Kakashi raises an eyebrow at Obito when he realizes that the man is staring at him.
Obito is beyond confused. In his dreams, he’s always drowning, dragged into the depth of the oceans and buried alive by the waves. He kicks and flails, trying to fight against the water in his dreams, and he knows that he kicks the covers off because it feels heavy, like the water.
Yet here he was, twice in a row, without a nightmare and covers still on him.
Kakashi waves a hand in front of Obito, looking at him worriedly. “Are you alright?” He asks.
Obito nods his head. Kakashi looks like he wants to say something more, but leaves it at that.
He goes to take a shower, they have dinner and Obito frowns as he eats his medicine. He goes to sleep.
When he wakes up the next morning, he’s found that he has bundled himself like a cocoon in his sleep, snug in the covers. He doesn’t want to get up. He buries his face in the covers and takes a deep breath.
It’s the same scent, and Obito takes comfort in it. It’s in his dreams and it reminds him of cloudless skies and tamed waves.
Then he stops, brain figuring something out.
Kakashi smells like this.
Obito blinks, taking in another deep breath. Oh yeah, Kakashi had said he would put his own covers in the laundry.
And Obito realizes that he’s happy because it’s Kakashi’s and it has Kakashi’s scent, and it’s comforting and now the covers are more like a big warm hug to him, rather than the unforgiving waters of the ocean.
He wakes up to make coffee on Monday. It’s the start of the fourth week since Kakashi started drinking coffee and Obito feels light and happy whenever he thinks about Kakashi, morning kisses, and two coffee cups on the dining table.
Breakfast is done and everything is set, but Kakashi is still nowhere to be seen.
Obito peeks into Kakashi’s room, and sees the man curled on his side, shivering.
There are no covers.
It ends up with Kakashi being under the watchful gaze of on Uchiha Obito for the entire day, starting with him calling his boss that he’s was taking a day off. It ends with him being covered by Obito’s clean and now dry covers as he gets a good night kiss on the cheek from Obito.
(Kakashi does wonder why it was Obito’s covers and not his own that he was using, but it still has Obito’s scent even after being washed, so he’s not complaining.)
Obito takes it on himself to wash the covers and bed sheets, and if Kakashi notices how their covers are always swapped until neither can tell which one belong to whom anymore, he doesn’t say anything.
And Obito sleeps, cocooned in Kakashi’s covers, dreaming of sunshine and cloudless skies, with no more nightmares for a long time to come.
It’s been a long time since he had a good night’s sleep, waking up and wanting to stay in bed longer. Sometimes, Kakashi regrets giving Obito his covers, because the man is so damn lazy and refuses to leave the bed sometimes. He needs his coffee, damnit.
.
For a while, they share the same address, living their own lives. Kakashi doesn’t know when it slowly became living together, not each doing their own thing under the same roof.
Obito makes breakfast for the both of them and does the laundry for both of their bed sheets and covers.
Kakashi gives good morning kisses and changes the light bulbs in the house, Obito’s bedroom included.
Since the beginning, living was Obito was normal. He didn’t feel awkward about how they suddenly started having breakfast together, or how Obito would ask for Kakashi’s bed sheets and covers when it was laundry day.
It just happened.
Watching television on the couch, eating breakfast, fighting over the remote, saying good morning, good bye and good night to each other, waking up in the middle of night for a glass of water, peeking into the other’s bedroom on the way back just to make sure that the other was alright. (Or even just to get another glance at their long-lost friend.)
Everything just falls into place, and he’s living with Obito, being dependent on someone and Kakashi doesn’t know when it began, doesn’t realize it.
(Yet. He doesn’t know the difference between Obito doing his own laundry and Obito doing his own laundry plus his bed sheets and covers, and living, depending on each other yet.)
Obito forgets to bring his house keys out. Kakashi doesn’t realize until it’s too late.
“Goddamit Kakashi!” Obito yells, teeth chattering as he wrapped his arms around himself, trying to get warm. Or at least not expose more of his body to the cold. He was drenched from head to toe, nose red and dripping as he stood there, shivering and knocking the door, ringing the door bell and kicking the door.
It wasn’t until a neighbor calls Kakashi does the man realize that there is an irate, drenched man standing outside his apartment, shivering like a poor stray cat against the cold wind and heavy rain.
In Kakashi’s defense, the rain and roaring thunder were very loud. Nevertheless, Obito was still not pleased when the door swung open, Kakashi looking at him.
He’s angry because Kakashi was at home and he was stuck outside, cold and wet just like back then. It’s strange cause while they’ve never said it out loud, Obito depended on Kakashi to get over his fear, almost-death and drowning, and Kakashi seemed to accept this, just like how he accepted Obito. It was so strange that he was mad, but he knew that he was more likely sad that Kakashi wasn’t there with him, strange as it sounded.
Poker face bastard.
He growls, trying to squeeze his way through Kakashi.
“Are you going to let me in?” Obito snaps, sniffling and shivering. He hates feeling like this; hate the feeling of wet clothes against his skin. He sneezes and, that’s when Kakashi hurries him in, running to the bathroom to take a towel for Obito.
Obito’s standing there, dripping water on to the floor as he takes off his shoes and socks. It’s slightly warmer now, but he’s still drenched from head to toe.
“Take off your jacket and shirt.” Kakashi tells him, throwing the towel to Obito before running off somewhere else.
Obito looks at Kakashi weirdly, before shrugging. He’s standing at the doorway, half naked and a towel covering his head.
“Come on.” Kakashi sighs, pulling Obito to the couch. The man starts to protest.
“I’m still drenched! I’ll get your couch wet!” Obito yells, but he’s not really fighting against Kakashi. He lets himself be pushed on the couch and his best friend just raises an eyebrow at him.
“I don’t care. Now drink this.”
Obito drinks the offered cup of milk, warmth spreading through his body. He shivers a little, feeling the warmth chase away the cold. Kakashi appears again, blanket in hand, and before he can say anything, he’s wrapped in a warm blanket that smells of Kakashi, wrapped in Kakashi’s arms.
(It isn’t until Obito is in his arms does Kakashi realize that he had abandoned Obito, intentional or not. It wasn’t until he wrapped his arms around Obito did he realize that he left the boy outside, alone, wet and cold like he was drowning in the ocean again, last thoughts before blacking out was Kakashi, help me.)
Wordlessly, he moves a little, making space for Kakashi. After a little shuffling and putting down a cup on the coffee table, Obito’s somehow sitting in between Kakashi’s legs, whose arms are still wrapped around him.
“Sorry.” Kakashi mumbles, nosing through Obito’s hair. It’s so soft that he barely catches it, but he hears it again.
“Sorry.” Kakashi breathes into Obito’s hair, now completely dry. He keeps repeating sorry, burying himself into Obito.
Obito keeps quiet, letting Kakashi hold him. He doesn’t say anything when the arms around his waist tighten and there are little kisses along his ear and jaw.
“Sorry.” By now, Obito has stopped counting how many times. He feels warm and he’s completely dry. He’s no longer pissed.
“It’s alright.” Obito huffs, turning around and holding Kakashi’s head in his hands. He smiles. Damn that bastard for being so handsome.
Kakashi shakes his head, closing his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“I know.” Obito says. He pulls the other man closer to him, pressing a soft kiss to the other man’s lips.
It’s a short peck, but afterwards, Kakashi doesn’t say sorry anymore, and Obito is content to fall asleep in Kakashi’s arms, watching a movie in a language that they didn’t understand.
Kakashi doesn’t loosen his grip around Obito’s waist.
(The next day, Obito wakes up, showers and just as he’s about to leave the house, Kakashi stops him, giving him a good bye kiss and checks if he took his keys. Obito nods, because he feels bad for forgetting to bring his keys out yesterday. He doesn’t say sorry, though. He just gives Kakashi and extra kiss before leaving, smiling at Kakashi’s relieved expression.)
.
Obito doesn’t know when he started to become unable to differentiate between Kakashi’s and his own life. They’re living together, and they started off with doing their own things, and trying not to interrupt the other’s life, things easily divided by a line. But now they were sharing breakfasts and telling each other about their schedules.
It became important to know what the other’s schedule was like. Before, it wasn’t important. It was their own life, after all. Like black and white, there was a line that divided Kakashi’s personal life from his own personal life.
“I’ll be going to Shanghai on a business trip for next week.” Kakashi tells Obito after breakfast.
Obito hums, smiling. “Don’t forget to bring some souvenirs!”
Kakashi grunts, rolling his eyes. “You’re such a kid.”
When Obito first started living with him, Kakashi had been on a business trip too. He didn’t say a word of it to Obito until he was halfway out of the door, luggage in hand. Obito hadn’t minded that much, he just nodded, before going back to his room, wishing Kakashi to have a safe journey.
(And of course, to come home soon.)
“Need any help?” Obito asked, poking his head into Kakashi’s room.
Kakashi looked up, smiling at Obito. “It’s alright. Its not a long trip, and I can buy whatever I need there.”
Obito sighs, taking a seat on Kakashi’s bed. “If you say so.”
(Kakashi doesn’t realize that Obito had somehow managed to sneak his bright-orange beanie in until he opens his suitcase in Shanghai. He then proceeds to wear the beanie when he’s not on business, and remembers to buy something for Obito.)
One week is a long time.
Obito sighs as he stares blankly at the counter. He misses Kakashi.
How on earth had he survived the eight years without his best friend?
Oh right. Amnesia. Can’t miss someone who you don’t know.
Obito sighs again. The bell rings and his head shoot up, expecting it to be Kakashi.
Which is weird, seeing that Kakashi doesn’t know where he works, and he should still be in Shanghai because it’s only day two.
He’s still disappointed when it’s not Kakashi.
The rest of the week goes by extremely slowly, and Obito has taken a day off when it’s time for Kakashi’s arrival. He’s cleaned the house twice, and bought a new pack of coffee beans because he forgot that Kakashi wouldn’t be home until next week.
The door opens with a click and Obito turns around, eyes lighting up at the sight of his best friend.
“Welcome home.” Obito breathes out, smiling and happy and his chest aches painfully, heart beating against his ribcage.
Kakashi looks up, a little startled to see Obito at home. He smiles, because Obito is smiling his you’re the reason I’m happy smile.
“I’m home.” He mumbles, catching Obito in his arms and hugging his close, breathing in deeply.
One week was a really long time.
Kakashi closes the door behind him, and presses soft kisses onto Obito’s lips, forehead, nose, eyes, jaw, ear and back to his lips.
“I’m home.”
How did he survive eight years without Obito?
Oh right. I thought you were dead, I thought I would never see you every again, I was a living corpse.
Obito laughs, Kakashi’s kisses ticklish.
“How was your trip?” Obito breathes out between giggles, holding Kakashi’s head in his arm gently, before pressing a kiss to Kakashi’s lips.
Kakashi grins, bending down just to touch noses briefly with Obito.
“I’ll tell you over a cup of coffee.”
Obito laughs, before nodding. Kakashi laughs too, because Obito was laughing and he was finally home, with Obito.
.
They’ve been living with each other for half a year, slowly changing, feeling more alive and loving different, new things before realizing, that what they loved was each other.
Kakashi hated coffee. Then he felt it wasn’t too bad. Then it became something he liked, to something he wanted. It ended up as something he loved because it was Obito that was the one behind it.
Obito had nightmares. He couldn’t sleep well; every cover on him was like the water weighing down on him. He had nightmares every night. Then Kakashi came, taking care of him when he was sick, giving his covers and getting sick too.
It was Kakashi’s covers that gave him a peace of mind.
They’re both watching a romance drama when they realize that they love their best friend.
Obito is tearing up, emotions welling up as he sees how the heroine is finally reunited with her boyfriend after a horrific accident. He’s sniffling and tearing, fat tears running down his face as he bites on his fingernails.
“Don’t do that.” Kakashi frowns, pulling Obito’s hands away from his teeth.
Obito looks up to see Kakashi, poker face and eyes unfeeling. Obito gasps. “How can you be so cold-hearted! They’re finally reunited! It’s so touching!”
Kakashi shrugs, looking at the television screen. It was pretty touching, but it was fictional, so he didn’t know why Obito had to be such a big baby about it.
“You’re such a cry baby.”
Obito weakly throws a punch at Kakashi’s shoulder, tears still in his eyes. Kakashi sighed, wiping away Obito’s tears.
“Don’t cry for such a stupid reason.” He sighed again, pulling Obito’s head to rest on his shoulder. There was a sniffle, and then the two went back to watching the drama.
Kakashi looks over to Obito, heart leaping when he sees Obito’s face. He’s so focused, biting his lower lip. He sighs in relief. This was Obito, his best friend and rival, someone who was always there, a little annoying, but always bright, the little cry baby that had a habit of smearing dirt on Kakashi’s face and hugged cats and held out an umbrella in the unforgiving rain.
Even when he forgot his keys, it was so Obito that Kakashi couldn’t help but tease him, and how the younger would sometimes frown, because Kakashi was taller than him.
But then he had also changed. He was responsible, and was able to take care of himself, cooking and doing the laundry. He was caring, and wasn’t so loud anymore. He was a not-so-strange stranger that Kakashi had lived with, learning more about him as a new person, yet retaining the similarities that young Obito had.
Obito sniffled again, biting his fingernails. Kakashi sighed, before taking the other’s hands into his own, kissing them gently.
“Geez, you’re such a kid.” Kakashi muttered, holding Obito’s hand in his.
He loves Obito. He’s sure of it.
(He doesn’t know what took him so long to realize it, but he loves Obito for so many reasons that all he could really say was that he loved Obito for being Obito, stupid quirks and childish ideas and insecurities and lazy traits included. Looking back, he falls for Obito because he’s learnt more about him, and let the man into his life, and let himself take a chance with Obito. Drinking bitter coffee was the start of it all.)
Obito huffs when Kakashi calls him a crybaby and a kid. He’s still such a bastard.
Young Obito had loved this bastard. Then there was eight years of loss, something missing in his life, then finding each other, moving in, thenliving together, learning about each other, sharing a televisiontogether.
Sharing the coffee pot together.
Now that he was Adult Obito, he wondered if he still loved this man. He was an almost stranger after eight years. Then they learned about each other. There were no fights, no lengthy, heavy talks and explanations. Everything seemed to fall into place. He was no longer missing anything.
Obito held his breath as the heroine opened the door, only to see the hospital room empty. Where had her boyfriend gone?
Both Obito and the heroine panicked.
His heart beats in his chest as he watches the heroine race about in the hospital, calling for her boyfriend. Was it her fault that she left him alone?
Did he still love her, after all those years of absence?
“I wish you could have forgotten about me.”
“Did you forget? We promised to love each other for as long as we lived. There was no way that I could have forgotten you! I could never forget the love we shared, and even if I didn’t have that, just me loving you was enough!”
Obito blinked back his tears, hands griping Kakashi’s tightly.
Just me loving you was enough!
Those were his one-sided feelings in the past. Did he still love Kakashi? Was just loving him, without getting his feelings returned enough?
He turned to look at the man in question. He irked him, was taller than him, was handsome, and still called him a kid and crybaby.
He was also smart and caring, and held Obito like he would never let go and was the reason why Obito was so happy every morning, from the moment he was huddled in his cocoon, covers no longer heavy waters but warm hugs, to morning coffee, making a face when he drank bitter coffee but still asking for a second cup anyway.
And he was sitting with Obito, watching this 'stupid drama’ because it was Obito’s TV time.
Obito sighed, leaning against Kakashi’s shoulder.
Yeah, I still love him.
.
Admitting to yourself is easier than confessing to the person you love.
It takes five more months, plus one month-long business trip to Russia before Obito says something about his feelings and Kakashi barely acting on them.
Kisses last longer now, and they are often left breathless when it ends, but there’s nothing more than that.
Kakashi returns from Russia, gets his obligatory Eskimo kiss from Obito and unpacks with his help.
Then it’s New Year’s Eve, they’re sitting on the couch and playing scissors-paper-stone to see who gets the television.
Kakashi wins, and they watch fireworks on the screen and drink beer and other alcoholic drinks.
They fall into bed together, and Kakashi gives Obito another breathless good night kiss, and they both fall asleep.
And Obito wakes up seeing Kakashi’s face, both half asleep. Kakashi’s more awake, but Obito pulls himself closer to Kakashi, kissing his jaw and mumbling 'I love you’ that causes the taller man to become fully awake.
“What was that?” Kakashi asks, arms tightening.
“My new years resolution.” Obito mumbles back, trying to bury himself into Kakashi’s chest, hiding from the sun and trying to get more sleep.
Kakashi is a bastard. Obito thinks, when he realizes that there are fingers under his chin, tilting his head up. Through half-lidded eyes, Obito sees Kakashi looking at him seriously, and then there’s a soft, sweet, addictive kiss.
“Mine too.” Kakashi mutters, nuzzling against Obito’s nose.
I love you too.
END