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Chapter Text

Of all the things Kakashi had been expecting, when he left to attend his usual vigil at the memorial stone, his dead teammate walking out of thin air was at the very bottom of the list.

Kakashi thought he was dreaming. A nightmare. Impossible things didn't happen to Kakashi, and good things even less. Obito was standing over him, terrible and cold, and it was more than Kakashi had ever dared to hope for.

So, he reasoned, it wasn't real. This Obito was different than the one he'd known, taller and broader and scarred across half his face. Grown up, grown well, unlike Kakashi had. He was seventeen and scrawny and thin, and Obito looked like a man.

It couldn't be real. Kakashi didn't get what he wanted. He briefly made the sign to dispel genjutsu, whispered a breathless 'kai,' but nothing seemed to change. Dreaming it was, then.

The dream Obito watched his movements with a blank face. He was so still, in fact, that it was uncanny. The boy Kakashi remembered was a fount of movement, fidgeting and bouncing and running anywhere he could have walked. He wasn't moving at all now, didn't even seem like he was breathing. A vengeful ghost, then. Kakashi closed his eyes, and hoped that he would wake up soon.

"Oi. I'm real, dumbass." This Obito had a deeper voice than Kakashi could have imagined, and a rasp to it like he hadn't spoken in a while. "Look at me." He didn't, just prayed he would wake up soon. He heard footsteps, and felt a kick on his leg, not hard enough to hurt but impossible to ignore. He was starting to doubt it was a dream.

If he was awake, though, that was worse. Kakashi knew how to deal with nightmares, not surprise visits from old teammates he thought had died.

"How?"

"Not important." He kicked Kakashi again, really more of a nudge this time, and Kakashi raised his head to see the hypnotic swirling of the sharingan. "Why did you kill her?"

Oh, thought Kakashi, he's here to kill me. The thought was almost soothing, like he had been waiting for this moment since the day he had put an arm through Rin's chest. He couldn't bear the intensity of Obito's red eye, and tried to avert his gaze.

"Oi. Fucking look at me." Kakashi couldn't, or wouldn't. He wasn't sure. "Answer my question."

"You know what I did," he whispered.

"I was there. I saw it." The panic that had slowly been building finally began to crest. Every ounce of guilt he'd felt since the day on Kannabi bridge rose up in him. He wished Obito would just kill him already.

"Still haven't answered me." Kakashi couldn't speak, he couldn't move, he hardly was able to breathe. Obito, seemingly running out of patience, crouched down in front of him; at eye level, he was harder to avoid looking at. Kakashi did his best, turned his face away.

Obito, though, gripped his chin with rough fingers. And when the mask slipped under his fingers, he pulled it down to secure his hold.

"Look at me," he repeated, and Kakashi hardly had a choice when his face was turned upwards. Obito brought his other hand up, strangely mismatched, and pushed Kakashi's hitai-ate up from his eye. Sharingan to sharingan, the world seemed to come to a halt. Reality narrowed to two red eyes.

Kakashi was trapped, cornered in a way he'd never felt in his life. The grip Obito had on him was not strong, not really, but Kakashi felt unable to escape all the same, pinned beneath such an intense gaze.

"Kakashi, tell me." He tried to shake his head, but the grip only tightened, fingertips digging in to flesh almost painfully. Kakashi could feel wetness dribbling down his cheek, Obito must have broken skin.

For the first moment since he came out of thin air, Obito's eyes left Kakashi's, instead tracking the droplet of blood.

And suddenly he let out a minute breath, and loosened his fingers. He didn't let go, and his face didn't change even a little, but now it was more like he was cupping Kakashi's cheek, wiping away the blood with his thumb.

It wasn't gentle, but it wasn't painful, either. "It should have been me," he managed to croak.

"Not what I asked."

"I killed her."

"We established that, yeah." His cold tone was belied somewhat by the way he'd absently started stroking Kakashi's cheek. It was too much, and Kakashi selfishly wished he would never stop.

"I broke my promise, I'm sorry." Obito, uncharacteristic of the whole, encounter, actually sighed, leaned back and looked up at the sky. It was the most emotion he'd shown, a gesture of-

"I genuinely cannot believe how fucking stupid you are." Kakashi tried to lower his head a final time, and was denied the chance once more. When their eyes met again, it was easier, less intense. Not as much as though Obito was laying his entire existence bare.

He had the strange thought that this was Obito trying to comfort him. Stranger still, it was kind of working.

He closed his eyes, only for long enough to take a halting breath in. He thought Obito might actually pry his eyelids open if he took any longer than that.

"The mission went wrong," he breathed, "it was Kiri, they took Rin and made her the vessel for the three tailed beast." Obito didn't react at all, just kept his eyes on Kakashi.

"It was wrong, or incomplete, they did it on purpose, and Rin-" he gasped, still barely able to say her name after all this time.

"The three-tails, it would have gotten free, she didn't want it getting to Konoha so she asked me to-

"And when I said no, she-

"I- Obito. I didn't want to" He realised then that he was crying, aching, as the tomoe in Obito's sharingan merged together into something different, sharper, like the points of a shuriken. Kakashi knew without having to see, his own eye would surely match.

"You, you saw." He felt, rather than saw, Obito nod sharply in confirmation. His eyes were blurry with the sheer volume of his tears.

"Why haven't you killed me?" Obito had Kakashi's face in both hands, now, swiping at the moisture under his eyes. His stony expression had cracked just a little, and something like concern was bleeding through.

"You really are so fucking stupid," he rasped. Kakashi felt a wet laugh bubble out of him, thin and manic and edging on hysterical. He raised his own hands from where they had been limp beside him, and clung onto Obito's wrists with all the strength he had left.

"You were always the smart one." Obito huffed, almost a laugh of his own, and it wasn't right, they shouldn't be laughing about this, only-

The fear and shame and guilt were lifting, and in the space where they had been was only joy. Obito was alive, and he had come back, and the secret Kakashi had hoarded all these years had finally been shared. Joy, and relief. It was the first time Kakashi had felt something so uncomplicated in a very long time.

Kakashi smiled, a small and tender thing. Obito didn't return it, but he brought their foreheads together and that was even better.

"I'm," his voice caught, throat tied up with all the words he wished he'd said to Obito back then. "I'm glad you're here." Obito said nothing, just let Kakashi cling to him as all the tears he wasn't able to shed before were slowly excised.

It was had to tell how long they were sat there for. Long enough that Kakashi's joints were feeling stiff and sore, and his head ached from dehydration. Obito carefully de-tangled them, and made to stand, but Kakashi's hand shot out before he had time to think about it.

"What-"

"Don't leave." Obito looked at him, and Kakashi knew he must have looked pathetic, but he wasn't ready to let Obito out of his sight. "Please." He knew he was begging, and his face flushed with embarrassment, but Kakashi was so afraid that if they parted now, it would be for good.

Something strange passed across Obito's features, before his expression evened out. He looked down at Kakashi for what seemed an eternity, and then he must have come to some conclusion about something.

"Ok," he said simply. As if any of this was simple. Kakashi knew in the back of his head that it would be complicated. Possibly bad, and definitely weird. But it was a far away thought. Obito knew what he had done, and was choosing to stay anyway. That was all that mattered.

Chapter Text

Kakashi was aware he was being awkward. It was the trade off of becoming a trained killer at age six; his social skills were practically non-existent. He was feeling oddly bashful, sneaking looks at Obito as if to check he was still there.

The sun was dipping down behind the trees, and Kakashi couldn't help but notice the way the increasing shadow stretched and warped against the deep scars on Obito's face.

He knew he was staring, but if Obito had noticed or cared, he didn't mention it. Kakashi found it hard to look away, the scars tangible evidence that Obito had survived. It seemed beyond belief, that anyone could be alive after that.

"How did-" Obito cut him off with a raised hand, and he felt oddly chastised.

"Later." Kakashi watched as his sharingan flash that odd shape, and suddenly the world shifted. Before he could blink, the world shifted again, and they were suddenly in his apartment.

Obito looked deeply out of place in Kakashi's boring living room. Like he wasn't quite meant to exist in such a mundane place. It has hard to pin down why. Maybe the way he held himself, or the way that he seemed larger than life, or maybe because Kakashi just wasn't used to having people in his home.

Obito, for his part, acted exactly the same inside as he had outside. Which is to say, weirdly blank. He took one look around, mapping the whole room with one sweep of his gaze. Kakashi was too confused to protest as he was marched over to the small dining table and dropped into one of the seats.

His uncertainty only grew as Obito started rummaging through the kitchen cabinets, as through that was a normal thing to do. He placed a full glass of water down in Kakashi, and wouldn't move until the whole thing had been emptied.

"Where's your rice?"

"Huh?" He got a look, saying without words he was being stupid again. In his defense, he had a lot to process. Not only was his childhood teammate and maybe friend not actually dead as he'd assumed for the last four years, he now seemed to be making dinner. In Kakashi's kitchen.

"Never mind." Obito sighed. He filled another glass of water, and nudged it towards the middle of the table. He managed to locate the rice on his own, and apparently also half of the contents of Kakashi's fridge. And pantry, judging by the various condiments. Kakashi looked on, completely dumbfounded.

He never left Kakashi's sight, and it must have been intentional, like he thought Kakashi would have a panic attack if he went more than ten steps away. He, unfortunately, would likely have been right.

He didn't say anything while he chopped vegetables Kakashi didn't know he had, and his movements were efficient and sure. Kakashi couldn't help but wonder what had happened to make him like this, so different from how he'd been as a kid.

Kakashi struggled with the urge to tug his mask back up his face. He hadn't paid much attention to Obito pulling it down, too wrapped up in the moment to notice. Now, though, he felt the lack like an exposed nerve.

Obito acted like it was nothing, just something that was in the way. It would have been better, in a way, if he'd made a big deal out of it. Him being nonchalant about everything made Kakashi feel kind of manic by comparison.

He kept the mask off. It would have felt like hiding, retreating to somewhere he didn't like being. Obito didn't hide his scars, or the strange discolouration on his hand. It was just a mask, and Kakashi didn't always like the person he was when he wore it.

He was snapped out of his brooding by the thump of food being placed in front of him, followed by a short demand that he eat. He stared at the perfectly normal looking stir fry for a while, as though he had forgotten what to do with it.

"What about you?" There was only one serving of dinner on the table, Obito just sitting down opposite, staring at him from across the table.

"Don't worry about it." Kakashi nodded, and went back to staring at his food. He, it felt like someone had a fist around his throat. He couldn't remember the last time someone had cooked him a meal.

"Oi, it's not poisoned." He felt that intense gaze on him again, but he still couldn't bring himself to pick up the chopsticks. He heard a sigh, the long suffering kind that Kakashi was beginning to understand that Obito thought he was being stupid again.

There was the scrape of a chair pulling away from the table, footsteps retreating and returning. Obito's pale hand came across the table to pull the plate into the middle, and Kakashi realised he'd fetched some more chopsticks.

He wordlessly started eating the food he'd cooked for Kakashi, and gestured with the utensils that Kakashi follow suit. He muttered a quick, 'itadakimasu' and joined.

It was easier, both of them sharing. It felt less big, like half the food meant half the feelings. His throat still felt tight, but it was easier. Obito was a good cook, and Kakashi hoarded the knowledge like a treasure. Obito had been alive to learn how to cook.

When all the dishes had been removed, Kakashi no longer had anything holding him back from asking.

"Is," he began tentatively, "is it later, now?" Obito breathed slowly and calmly. He had a crease in his brow, pulling at his scars in an arresting manner. Finally, he nodded.

"It'd be easier if I show you." He explained in short, sharp sentences that he could use a kind of genjutsu, but Kakashi would be seeing Obito's memories instead of being in an illusion.

"You'll be aware, and you can break it." Kakashi wondered if Obito was unused to talking. His voice was hoarse, and lacking inflection. He seemed to be trying to comfort Kakashi again, but didn't have the words.

"It's okay, I trust you."

"You shouldn't," he rasped. "You don't know me."

Kakashi felt shy as he extended a hand across the table to prod at Obito. He felt hesitant, but sure. "You're Obito. You're my friend."

"Yeah," he murmured, watching as Kakashi haltingly entangled their fingers. "I guess I am."

And then his lips quirked up just for a second, a fleeting and barely there smile. It seemed like the ghost of the smile from their youth, but Kakashi thought he liked this one better, because he had put it there.

"Ok, then. Ready?" Kakashi nodded, and then the world melted around them.

The cave was cold and damp, but Obito hadn't noticed. Pain overwhelmed his every sense, any sensation beyond agony was lost to him.

He didn't know how long the pain lasted. He only knew that he would have done anything for it to be over. He was supposed to be dead. Why wasn't he dead?

"Because I saved you, boy." The voice was low and deep, and Obito hadn't realised he'd spoken aloud. That he was even capable of making any noise that wasn't screaming.

That voice kept him company through what felt like hell. The parts of his body too damaged were callously discarded, replaced by artificial limbs, ghostly and strange. The new flesh felt wrong, didn't want to assimilate, invaded his chakra pathways like parasites.

Eventually, though, everything settled. His pain lessened, though never fully abated. He became accustomed to his grotesque new body. After what felt like an age, he was able to move again.

The man who had saved him claimed to be Uchiha Madara. Obito was skeptical, but could deny his own survival had been equally unlikely.

Madara explained that his new body was possible due to an infusion of the first Hokage's cells. It didn't make much sense to Obito, but he was happy to be alive, grateful for a second chance.

The rehabilitation took a long time, learning this new body. It was stronger than the old one, and healed unnaturally fast. He didn't need to eat, now and he hardly slept. He hardly recognised himself, but he held strong. He was Obito, and he would survive.

All the while Madara was teaching him, guiding him through the use of his new wood-release abilities and teaching him how to use the sharingan. Sharpening his mind, history lessons and politics mingled with the training.

It was difficult, and hard, and Obito wanted nothing more than to go home. He would have given anything to see Rin again, Minato-sensei ad Kakashi, too. But he had to see this through, first.

-Then there was an odd lurching in the memory, like a film reel with corrupted frames. Kakashi knew what it meant, and was glad to know Obito was still kind-

When Obito returned to the cave, he was incandescent with rage, blood dripping from his single eye. He had never been so angry; at Kakashi for doing killing her, at Kiri for orchestrating it, and at himself for not getting there in time.

All of that rage, however, condensed on a single target as Madara asked him about awakening the mangekyo sharingan. His mind clouded by a storm of hatred, he let his body take over. He came to the rotting husk of Uchiha Madara and beat him into a bloody pulp, pulverising him with mismatched fists until the life drained out of him.

And when the bloody deed had ended, Obito turned his head towards the heavens and screamed, the howl of a wounded animal. He screamed until his throat was raw, and then some more, until the only sounds left were his gasping sobs.

And then it was over. Kakashi blinked away the remnants of that awful cave and looked around. His light bulb flickered, his refrigerator was humming. He was home, and Obito was looking at him very carefully.

Kakashi thought about Obito saying that this would be easier. It was, in a literal sense, more straightforward to experience it this way. Seeing his friend's broken body, knowing how alone he'd felt; Kakashi wouldn't say it was easy.

He felt nauseous, thinking about the way Madara had clearly ingratiated himself upon a young boy. Saving his life, yes, but isolating him in that lifeless cave. Acting like Obito was nothing but a particularly useful tool.

Kakashi's mind was whirling with questions, and it must have shown on his face.

"Ask. I'll answer."

It took him a while to formulate a question with all the new information downloaded directly into his brain.

"Why did you kill Madara?"

"He knew. He wanted me to watch" He reached up and tapped his face below the eye, turned into the weird sharingan- the mangekyo, Kakashi supposed.

"Why didn't you kill me?"

"Starting to really think you want me too, asshole." Well, Kakashi thought, not anymore.

"It was my fault."

Obito took their entwined hands and pulled, bringing Kakashi in range for an honestly kind of painful whack on the back of the head.

"Not your fault, you literally told me." Kakashi swallowed thickly, nodding. He suspected the two of them had come to different conclusions about what had happened that day, but he he was fine letting the issue drop.

He swtiched to less loaded questions, like what Obito had been doing all these years. 'Literally not even important'. What's with the Sharingan? 'Uchiha family secret. Turbo sharingan. Almost worth the trauma." It wasn't funny, and Kakashi didn't laugh. Was that wood release? Courtesy of the first Hokage.

"Why did you come back?"

"Ready for the truth, I guess."

"You were angry."

"Yeah. I dunno. I was pissed for a long time. Then, I saw you and all I could think was that you killed our friend." Kakashi flinched, and Obito tugged at his hand, gentler this time. A wordless apology

"But you seemed like such a mess about it. Hard to stay mad, I guess."

It was a little bit embarrassing, it being put that simply. A mess. It's not that it was wrong, it was just more revealing than Kakashi was very comfortable with. And stated so matter-of-factly, like it was obvious. He guessed, to Obito, it was.

In barely more than a whisper, he asked how long Obito was planning to stay. He seemed to have to think about it, like he was seriously considering the answer.

"Long as I can. I still have some shit to sort out but," he scratched the back of his head, a gesture so purely Obito it could have given Kakashi whiplash. "I'll come back when I'm not busy. If you want."

Kakashi agreed, too fast to be anything but desperate. Obito leaned over the table to brush a knuckle under Kakashi's eye.

"Must have given you the wrong eye. This one's a crier." Kakashi laughed wetly, only just now aware he'd been crying at all.

"Shut up," he choked out. "Take it back if you want it so bad." Obito had pulled up his sleeve, was wiping away the tears in earnest now.

"Nah," he murmured. "Suits you better."

Kakashi rested his head on his outstretched arm, tired after experiencing more emotions in a few hours than he usually felt in a year. He thought, as his eyes started to droop, that if he were to die right now, that would be okay.

Obito might have said something to him, but Kakashi was asleep before he could make it out.

Chapter Text

Kakashi's life over the next few months gained a strange new equilibrium. He went on missions as usual, maintaining the outward appearance that nothing had changed. And, on that front at least, little had. The work was the same as it ever was, and if Kakashi noticed the slow erosion of his soul, he wasn't thinking too hard about it.

Obito wasn't happy about Kakashi being in ANBU. Kakashi didn't remember ever telling him, but when questioned how he knew, Obito responded with a blithe, 'I was stalking you.'

Kakashi was aware he should have felt a certain way about the stalking thing, but we was a traumatised teenager with maladaptive habits. At least, according to the psychological assessment everyone seemed to ignore. He thought about Obito checking in on Kakashi, even when he was still mad, and it was weirdly kind of sweet.

What Kakashi really liked liked were the days he'd come home, and Obito would be sitting at his kitchen table, reading a book or a scroll, or writing something in a battered journal. It wasn't every day, but it was enough to ease the wounded feeling inside him.

It was strange, having someone in his space. Nice. A lot to get used to. The kind of thing that made Kakashi anxious, because it was another thing that he could lose. But it was worth it, because it was Obito.

Sometimes they would have dinner together, easy quiet settling over them. Obito always cooked, those night. Kakashi suspected he liked it, or it helped him in some ways. When Kakashi offered, he got a dry look and uncomfortable amounts of eye contact until he dropped the matter.

Other times, Kakashi would talk about the village. If there was one good thing about ANBU, it was being privy to everyone's secrets. Kakashi didn't really care about it, but Obito usually seemed to enjoy listening.

He didn't ask Kakashi to stop, at least. And telling Obito about his life, such that it was, made it seem more real. It was hard, sometimes, for Kakashi to feel tethered to the world.

His friend didn't offer much in return, was vague and quiet about what it was that kept him so busy, but he spoke about other things. Jutsu he'd been working on, random people he'd met. He hadn't managed to shake his old habits of helping old ladies carry their groceries, and Kakashi felt unbearably nostalgic.

Obito had simply become a comfortable presence in his life. He didn't expect Kakashi to be put together, let him be anxious and weird and, on bad days, embarrassingly clingy.

Today wasn't a bad day, but Kakashi was feeling clingy anyway. It had been a week since Obito had visited. It was nothing compared to the years thinking he was dead, but it was longer than they usually went these days.

They were sat on the new sofa they had acquired, moving it into the apartment through creative use of Obito's mangekyo ability. Kakashi had his back against the armrest, body facing Obito's profile, and was telling Obito about Minato and Kushina's little boy, Naruto.

Kakashi didn't like to talk much about Minato, his feelings about the man difficult and ugly. He'd felt abandoned, after Rin's death, like Minato had thrown him into ANBU rather than help him in his grief. Distance Kakashi was unable to traverse had grown between them, and most of their interactions were when Kakashi reported after missions.

He did see a lot of Kushina, though, having guarded her through her pregnancy. She'd reached out to him, probably lonely herself, and it was the only mission he'd ever had that didn't leave him feeling guilty after. She still sought him out sometimes, but was usually too busy with her rambunctious toddler to stay for long.

Obito had a wistful look on his face as Kakashi relayed a story of Naruto learning how to throw rubber shuriken. It wasn't an an emotion Kakashi was used to seeing on his friend. "Do you miss him? Minato-sensei, I mean."

"Kinda," he muttered. "Complicated." It made sense. To someone who had to make his own way, had to grow up on his own with only a crazy old man for guidance, it would be hard to find space for his old teacher. Obito, as well, seemed to have gained a deep aversion to the concept of a Kage. It was change from before, when his greatest dream was to be one.

"Would you ever talk to him? If you could, I mean."

"I mean. Maybe. Be cool to see the kid." He scratched the back of his head, a habit it seemed he'd never shake. "I've been working on it. Coming back, I mean."

Kakashi attempted to keep his face looking normal, trying and utterly failing at nonchalance. He couldn't imagine what his face looked like as he uttered a breathy, 'oh?'

"It's hard though. Since I'm a wanted terrorist." Kakashi nodded as though it made perfect sense. Maybe it did. And then the words started sinking in.

"You're a wanted terrorist?"

Obito actually looked defensive. His usually blank expression was long gone. He might have even been blushing. He muttered a request for Kakashi to give him his bingo book, and almost snatched it out of his hands.

He rifled through the pages until he found what he was after. Kakashi found himself looking at a masked figure in a red robe. The mask was a kind of swirl, and reminiscent of the way Obito entered and exited his odd pocket dimension.

"You're an s-ranked missing nin. You're a flee on sight." Kakashi, also s-ranked and flee on sight, was aware of the hypocrisy.

"It's for a good cause. Mostly." Obito was beginning to sound agitated. It was more emotion than Kakashi was used to seeing from him. He was really worried about this. Or-

Oh, he thought weakly. Obito was worried about Kakashi's reaction. He didn't want Kakashi's opinion of him to sour.

"Good cause?"

The blush deepened. He muttered something under his breath, too quiet to hear. Kakashi had to ask him to repeat himself.

"World peace." He muttered, only barely louder than before.

It was such an unexpected answer that Kakashi threw his head back and laughed. He laughed so hard tears gathered at the corner of his eyes. Obito elbowed him in the shin and called him an asshole, and that made it worse.

He couldn't breath, his ribs hurt and he was seriously worried about falling off the sofa. He tried to find some composure, but every time he opened his eyes to Obito's surly expression, he was set off again.

It was the most Kakashi could remember laughing in his whole life. "Sorry," he gasped between giggles. "It's just," he huffed, "not what I was expecting."

Obito said something under his breath, probably an insult, and Kakashi eventually managed to get his breathing back under control. He couldn't quite hold back a smile, though.

"Peace, huh. Sounds nice." Obito scowled, thinking Kakashi was joking. "I mean it. If anyone was going to achieve the impossible, it would be you." The words seemed to mollify the wanted terrorist, but the blush remained around his ears.

"Not impossible. Just really fucking hard."

"Is that why you didn't tell me what you've been doing?"

"Kind of," he shrugged. "Just, I didn't want to drag you into it."

"I guess I wouldn't make a very good freedom fighter."

"Nah, you'd be great. It's my fight, is all."

Kakashi thought he got it. Obito had his revenge, had killed Madara, but he hadn't gotten justice.

The conversation idles, and Kakashi took the opportunity to inch towards his friend. He counted it as a victory when he managed to sneak his cold toes under Obito's, frankly unfairly toned, thigh.

He rested his chin on his knees, leaning towards Obito like a leaf looking for the sun. "So, the plan?" When he got a blank look, he reminded Obito of their earlier conversation.

"Oh. Really awesome genjutsu." He didn't elaborate. Kakashi breathed a quiet, 'uh huh'. Made noises of agreement. Nodded sagely. Obito caved in seconds. Another win to Kakashi.

The plan appeared to be to implant false memories over his real ones, and have this somehow go undetected by T&I. Kakashi wasn't sure it would work, but Obito knew a lot more about the sharingan abilities.

"I'll need your help, though." Kakashi frowned at him. "Your mangekyo, I mean." His confusion only deepened. "You know, like mine?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh. You're welcome?" He said he would teach Kakashi how to use it, considering it was integral to his plan to commit identity fraud. Apparently Kakashi would also have access to the pocked dimension connected as well.

"It should work. I'll use Kamui to get away if it doesn't." Kakashi suddenly felt the familiar guilt wash up, thinking the risk involved. If Obito was caught, he would be unable to ever return.

"If it's too much trouble-"

"Shut up." He did. "It's fine. I want to. If it makes you happy, I want to."

Shit, he thought, he was going to cry again. He blinked away the moisture in his eyes. Obito had world peace to think about, and yet he was putting himself on the line so Kakashi would have one less secret to keep.

He didn't know how he could compete with such a grand gesture. But maybe, in his own way, he could do something for Obito.

"I'll, when you come back. I'll buy you dango, my treat."

Scarred features seemed to soften, a delicate and tender smile settling on Obito's face. He looked down at his hands, then back up at Kakashi's matching expression.

"You remembered."

"Of course I did, Obito. Of course."

Kakashi thought, as the moment seemed to stretch to infinity, that buying dango was the very least he would do for Obito if it meant he kept smiling like that.

Chapter Text

It soon came time to put Obito's 'really awesome genjutsu' to the test.

The plan to bring Obito into Konoha seemed like it might actually be kind of fun. At least, it was different to the kind of secret missions Kakashi was used to. Those tended to involve a lot more killing and trauma. This would been a nice change.

Kakashi didn't really have to do much, after the initial genjutsu was set. Mostly, as Obito had described it, he would be using Kakashi's eye as a mirror to his own. He didn't know enough about sharingan, let alone the mangekyo, to have much opinion on whether it would work.

In theory, it would act as an undetectable layer on top of Obito's actual memories and conciseness, so seamless that even the Yamanaka's mind-reading ability would not be able to sense it was there.

As Obito was setting the illusion, Kakashi got a glimpse of what it contained. He had to admit it was a work of genius, a kind of self-hypnosis making it so the only thing anyone would be able to see in Obito's mind was a dim cave and an indistinct man.

Madara, and the strange creatures Obito knew as 'Zetsu' were completely absent. As was any trace of the time Obito had spent after Madara's death. Kakashi was anxious, had offered to call off the whole plan, but Obito just told him to have a little faith. And so he did.

They set things into motion when Kakashi was sent out of the village for a mission. A solo one, the presence of his teammates would have only served to add more complications.

The ruse began with Kakashi carrying a limp Obito through the village gates. As expected, it caused a bit of a commotion, especially with Kakashi calling for someone to get the Hokage. It didn't take long before Minato was standing in front of Kakashi, an eyebrow raised in silent question.

He decided to lay it on thick. "Minato-sensei," instead of the usual 'Hokage-sama', "it's Obito."

For a moment, all he could read in his old teachers face was shock. He asked if Kakashi was sure. Kakashi nodded solemnly, and Minato immediately started giving out orders to the shinobi around him. His eyes met Kakashi's, a trace of suspicion evident in his gaze.

"Do you know what happened to him?"

"He didn't say before he passed out." Minato looked at Obito for a long moment, likely trying to decide how they would proceed. His eyes went to the scars, and then to the ghostly white hand sticking out of Obito's sleeve.

"Take him to the Hospital, I'll met you there when I can." In a flash of yellow, Minato was gone. Kakashi hefted Obito higher in his grip, and whispered a quiet, 'phase one complete'. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Obito's lips twitch.

The second part of their plan involved a lot of waiting. Kakashi, as they'd agreed, refused to leave Obito's side, much to the chagrin of the medical staff. He needed to be nearby, if they wanted to ensure the genjutsu's stability.

Minato dropped in after a while, conferred with the medic-nin, gave Kakashi a sort of constipated look, and left with a promise he would return once Obito was awake.

To all outward appearances, Kakashi was a young man who had just discovered his childhood friend was seemingly back from the dead, and having an understandable, if somewhat intense, reaction to the events.

If he seemed agitated by the way Obito was being poked and prodded out, it only made sense, was only worry for his old friend. Kakashi was agitated, but not for the reasons anyone was thinking.

Obito decided to open his eyes a few hours in to the examination, and pretended to be too tired to talk to anyone. Kakashi had brought a book to stave off boredom, and read it aloud more for his own benefit than Obito's. The extra effort was marginally helpful in keeping his anxiety from slipping into full blown panic.

After a few hours more, it was determined that Obito was not an imposter, and his health was in no immediate danger. Ready for the interrogation, though obvious, was left unsaid. Kakashi, because he was looking, watched Obito sign, 'phase two complete'. Kakashi replied with a subtle thumbs up.

Minato returned not long after. Kakashi felt a wave of adrenaline flood his system, aware that if this went wrong the whole plan would be forfeit.

"Hello, Obito," began Minato, voice warm and light. "I have to say, it's very good to see you again." Obito met Minato's gaze with the blank look he'd used with Kakashi in the early period of their reacquaintance. Seeing that face again now, Kakashi realised just how much more open and expressive Obito had become in comparison.

"Yo, sensei." The inflection was blank, but Minato positively beamed before the mantle of Hokage settled back on his shoulders, and he turned serious.

"I'm sure Kakashi explained to you, but these are very exceptional circumstances," Obito nodded, "and there's a few things we need to know before we can welcome you back to the village."

Minato turned to Kakashi, poised to ask him to give them some privacy, but Obito preempted him. "Can he stay?" When Minato hesitated, he added, "Please, sensei."

"Are you sure? You might have to reveal some things you'd rather keep private." Obito had a stubborn look on his face, seeming to dare Minato to argue.

"I'd only tell him later, anyway."

"All right, then," he said placatingly. He put a hand on Obito's shoulder and smiled. "If that makes you more comfortable, Kakashi can stay."

Kakashi, meanwhile, had a vicious moment of jealousy watching how carefully Minato was handling Obito. He had never been so gentle with Kakashi. Kind, maybe, and often tolerant, but nothing like this. Not even after Rin- It had never been like this.

The distance that now sat between them, though always evident to Kakashi, now felt ugly and painful. He struggled with the unfairness. Obito got easy smiles and immediate reassurance. Kakashi had been thrust into ANBU and expected to figure it out himself.

He tried to swallow the feelings, sure none of it had shown in his expression, but Obito seemed to see something anyway. Because he was Obito, and he was kind, he inched his hand towards Kakashi, entwining their fingers, playing it off as if it was it was Obito who needed the support.

Minato tracked the gesture, and Kakashi's acceptance of it, with wide eyes. Thankfully, whatever thoughts he might have about Kakashi's newfound tolerance of physical affection, he kept them to himself.

"Ok, Obito, I'd like you to tell us everything you remember, from the time you were hurt until now. Yamanaka-san here will be observing your mind, to see if what you're saying is correct, and to catch anything relevant you might have missed."

He stressed how very important it was for Obito to tell the truth. Unsaid was that if Obito lied, or had been doing anything to compromise the village, they would have to take action against him. Kakashi was never more glad for Obito's ability to teleport. If it all went to shit, he reminded himself, Obito would be safe.

Obito haltingly began to spin a story about a cave and a crazy old man who experimented on him. It wasn't far off from the truth, but there was no mention that the old man was Uchiha Madara, or of the strange white beings called Zetsu.

Kakashi pretended to be listening intently, eyes never leaving Obito, but he let his mind wander.

Obito, a few days before the Plan, had asked Kakashi if he wanted to be introduced to his Akatsuki friends. Well, he'd actually said, 'want to meet some criminals?' Kakashi was getting used to the way Obito tended to communicate.

He wasn't sure why Obito had offered. Well, he knew the reason; Obito was about to be much more deeply involved in Kakashi's life, and likely wanted to extend the same courtesy. What he struggled with was why he thought Kakashi was someone worth introducing.

He was a deeply uninteresting person, and most of the stories he could tell were deeply classified. Although, considering they were criminals, maybe it would be fine to bend the rules a little.

Anyway, Obito had assured him on more than one occasion that the only reason they were labelled as criminals was because the world was bullshit. He'd said,'if things weren't fucked, we'd probably be heroes.' Kakashi, having always privately thought Obito was a hero even when he wasn't starting revolutions in hidden villages, was inclined to agree.

His attention returned to the conversation when he heard his name. He gave Minato a quick report on where and how he'd found Obito, corroborating this part of the stories with details a lost and confused Obito wouldn't think to include.

When the story was done, Obito brought his hand up to scratch the back of his head. Kakashi had specifically advised him to do so, thinking the familiar action would remind Minato of the boy he remembered. When Minato's eyes softened, he knew he'd been right.

"I know it seems crazy," he falsely demurred, "I probably wouldn't believe me either." Minato's face softened in something like pity. Kakashi was grateful his mask would hide his amusement at Obito playing Minato like a fiddle.

"Don't worry, Obito, I know you wouldn't lie to me." Kakashi fought down a laugh. Minato glanced at the man in the corner of the room, who gave a brisk nod. "I'm going to have a chat with Yamanaka-san, and then we can discuss what's going to happen next, okay?"

It wasn't until the boys were alone in the room that Obito's face turned smug. He mouthed, 'really awesome genjutsu', and Kakashi replied with a silent, phase three complete.

Kakashi was genuinely amazed that the plan had not only worked, but had gone without a single hitch. Every moment had been accounted for, every piece fell into place neatly. No wonder Obito was such a good terrorist, if this was the kind thing he was capable of pulling off.

"You're amazing, Obito."

"About time you realised, asshole."

For want of anything better to do, and unwilling to leave even though he could have, Kakashi picked up the book and continued reading from where he'd left off. Obito closed his eyes, content to lay back and listen, Kakashi's fingers still entwined with his own.

Chapter Text

It was surreal, Obito in Konoha. He looked deeply out of place, but that may have just been Kakashi knowing more than he should. Obito had long outgrown the confines of a hidden village.

It had taken Kakashi a long time to get used to seeing Obito in his apartment. Seeing him out in the open, it was almost too much for Kakashi's nerves. He was still waiting for something to go wrong, was sure that it couldn't be so easy as this.

Not that things were entirely simple. Obito's refusal to even consider Shinobi work had created something of a small spot between him and the higher-ups. He would not be swayed, telling them he'd already died once for Konoha and didn't plan to do it again.

The Uchiha clan was also causing a ruckus, making various demands of Obito and Kakashi, and Minato for good measure.

It would all have to wait until Obito had, as Minato put it, gotten settled. He was seeing them off from the hospital. Obito had been discharged once they'd determined there was nothing actually wrong with him.

Minato had insinuated Obito would be welcomed at his and Kushina's house until they could set him up with his own lodgings, but Obito had turned him down.

"I'll be staying with Kakashi." Obito had no intentions on staying in Konoha much more than he had been already. There was no way he'd be able to come and go if he stayed with Minato's family.

Minato merely looked bemused, and extracted a promise to introduce Obito to Kushina and Naruto at some time in the future. He regarded Kakashi a little less warmly, and requested Kakashi keep him updated on Obito's condition. Kakashi snapped to attention with an 'of course, Hokage-sama.'

Once Minato had disappeared, Obito turned to Kakashi with a frown.

"He always like that?" Kakashi shrugged. It wasn't an easy question for him to answer. Minato was warm and kind with his friends and family, as he'd been with Obito. He was sharp and serious with people under his command. So yes, that exactly how Kakashi was used to Minato acting.

"I guess," was all he ended up saying. Obito kicked his foot, waiting for him to elaborate, but Kakashi didn't want to talk about it.

"What do you want to do now?" It was a deeply obvious deflection, but Obito let him get away with it.

"You promised me food. Pay up."

Konoha had barely changed since Obito had been away. The tea shop was in the same place it had always been. Kakashi and Obito could walk side by side, their shoulders bumping and their hands brushing.

"I should warn you," Kakashi said calmly, "We might be interrupted."

"Yeah. Was expecting as much." He said he was ready to answer questions, that he knew how quickly gossip spread through the hidden village.

"Ahh, yes, that too." Obito shot him a blank look. Kakashi, already able to hear the thumps of someone approaching from afar, figured Obito would see for himself soon enough.

"Kakashi!"

Obito barely had time to mutter, 'is that Might Guy?' before Kakashi had an armful of green spandex. Guy wailed, exuberant and incoherent cries of happiness and relief. Kakashi patted his back nonchalantly and met Obito's disbelieving gaze.

"It's nice to see you as well, Guy."

Guy stepped back, tears still glistening at the corner of his eyes as he regarded Kakashi. "My friend," he began solemnly, "I must profess I was overwhelmed with joy when I heard of your good fortune." He turned his gaze to Obito, and shifted his hands from Kakashi's shoulders to Obito's.

Obito shot Kakashi a harried look, a silent request for rescue, but Kakashi was enjoying watching his usually blank-faced friend panic.

"Uchiha Obito." Kakashi had always wondered how Guy got his teeth so white that they seemed to sparkle. "Konoha heartily welcomes your youthful presence." The typical Guy sincerity only stood to make thing even funnier. Obito just looked so awkward.

"If there is anything, anything, a friend of my eternal rival requires, you need only ask and I will see it done." He had started to shake Obito slightly with the force of his words, and Kakashi finally decided to interject.

"Okay, Guy, message received," Obito had better be grateful for this, "But Obito only just got out of the hospital. He's probably feeling overwhelmed, you know?"

Guy nodded sagely, and flashed another of his gleaming grins. "Of course, young Obito must be given the chance to restore his vigour before before reacquainting himself with all of Konoha's beauty!"

Obito's 'but we're the same age?' was entirely ignored.

"Before I depart, the lovely Kurenai asked me to request your presence at the usual place." He gave Obito a thumbs up. "Please, feel welcome to join us, Obito." Kakashi clapped Guy on the shoulder.

"We'll see, Guy. I'll catch you later."

"Of course, Rival! I eagerly await our next challenge." And as quickly as he appeared, he was gone. Kakashi pulled Obito inside the tea shop, and it wasn't until their order was taken and food placed in front of them that Obito managed to find his words.

"What the fuck, since when were you that close with Might Guy?" Despite his words, his tone only held deep confusion. Kakashi looked around for any familiar faces, and pulled his mask down when there were none to start eating.

"Weren't you stalking me?" Kakashi's tone was bland, but Obito must have picked something up, muttering that it hadn't been that often.

"He's a good Shinobi. They've started calling him, 'The Green Beast of Konoha'." Obito nodded, but still seemed sceptical.

"He's good people. He helped me a lot." And wasn't that the understatement of the century. Kakashi knew their friendship seemed strange, but he owed Guy a lot more than he was comfortable admitting, even to himself.

"I guess." Obito had apparently given up on trying to make sense of the enigma that was Guy. "It's good." Kakashi made a questioning sound. "That you had someone around." After a moment of consideration, he added, "I think he's stocking your fridge?"

Kakashi laughed outright at that, fond and bright, thinking of how typical of Guy it was. He stilled when he noticed Obito looking at him oddly.

"Do I have something on my face?" Obito shook his head, the weird look fading, and stole the last dango from Kakashi's plate.

After, they wandered around for a while. Kakashi spotted at least half of Konoha's elite shinobi surreptitiously watching them. Obito had probably noticed even more, but if he cared, he didn't show it.

He was more focused on the civilians, content to watch people go about their lives. He commented sometimes, short and unexpressive, about random street corners or shops; memories and anecdotes from before. It seemed impossible to Kakashi that there was ever a time he didn't care, hadn't wanted to hear these stories of Obito's.

He seemed conflicted, talking about the place he'd once lived. It was a place he'd once belonged and now didn't, likely never would again. Obito had a deep disdain for hidden villages these days, and Konoha was no exception.

Kakashi, meanwhile, had never felt more at home in Konoha than now.

"I didn't realise. That you felt like this, I mean"

"Thought I was immune to nostalgia?" Kakashi shrugged helplessly.

"You don't talk about before very much."

"Yeah, didn't really care. Still don't. Not my home anymore. But you're here." He trailed off. It would be nice, Kakashi thought, if the ground could come up and swallow him whole.

"Where is home for you, then?"

"Think about it, idiot." He thought about it, and refused to think about what it meant. That could happen when he felt a little less manic. Instead of having an emotional crisis, he let Obito lead them through Konoha's wandering streets, not knowing or caring where they were headed.

Obito was folded back into the village with a great deal of suspicion, but very little fuss. Rather, the concept of Obito was, the man himself was hardly in the village any more than he had been. Most of the time, he'd left a very impressive wood clone to deal with anyone who wasn't Kakashi.

He always dismissed the clone when they were together. Obito had insisted that Kakashi started buying his own food, so they were often seen together at the market. Obito would also sometimes drag Kakashi to get a meal.

A month into this, Minato had invited them over for dinner. Well, he'd invited Obito, but everyone in Konoha seemed to understand these days that Obito and Kakashi were a package deal. Kakashi would say he felt completely normal about it.

Kushina actually had invited Kakashi. Mostly through threats of grievous bodily harm, but in absence of any injuries, Kakashi took it as an enthusiastic welcoming.

Kushina knew things were tense between Kakashi and Minato, but not the reason. He hadn't wanted to say anything negative about her husband to her face, but she caught the stilted way he spoke to Minato; very different to the stilted way he spoke to anyone else, wrapped in the familiar cadence of mission reports and status updates.

She was determined, though, to solidify Kakashi's place in Naruto's life. 'You were there for more of the pregnancy than I was, she'd told him once, 'and that makes you family.' If hanging around her home while she was asleep counted as being there, he supposed her logic made a very flawed kind of sense. That was just how Kushina was, and her straight-forward nature had kept him tethered to the world during some of his worst times.

Little Naruto liked Kakashi, but he loved meeting new people. Obito was now his new favourite thing in the whole world. Obito, surely channelling some of the babysitting d-rank missions they'd undertaken in their youth, was taking Naruto's boisterous energy in stride.

They had come early, a few hours before Minato would return from the Hokage's office, on Kushina's strong suggestion. Kakashi agreed, admitting privately to Obito that he'd missed her. And missed Naruto, who's affection for Kakashi was not yet tainted with the knowledge of all the terrible things Kakashi had done on Konoha's behalf. He merely knew his 'uncle' Kakashi, who gave him shoulder rides and sometimes summoned his nin-dogs to play with.

Kushina was sitting with Kakashi in the shade, watching Obito teach the three-year-old how to do some basic hand seals. Naruto was watching with rapt attention, and Kushina observed with a warm smile.

"You been keeping okay?" Kakashi hummed in agreement, and asked after her in return.

"Oh, same as ever," she laughed. Taking this one on play dates with Uchiha Mikoto's little one, Sasuke." He listened as she described how the two would often chase each other around until their little legs gave out, and then curl up together in a nap.

Their favourite thing seemed to do was haranguing Sasuke's older brother. "I think I know the one. Obito might have mentioned him." Kushina's let the chit-chat go on for a while, and then her face turned calculating. The idle conversation was over, and Kakashi felt a bead of sweat form on his forehead.

"I was thinking, the two of you," she gestured to Obito, "have been pretty close since he got back." Kakashi swallowed. "I heard the two of you didn't get on before he disappeared, so I was a bit surprised you had started living together." Kakashi distinctly didn't like the direction the conversation had taken.

"Ah, well, he wanted to be around someone familiar, you know? Get used to being around people again." She nodded shrewdly.

"And you've obviously been happier since he got back, everyone's been saying it." Kakashi, not for the first time, cursed how quickly gossip spread in shinobi villages. "But I thought, that's odd, because I distinctly recall noticing a change before Obito's miraculous return."

People always underestimated Kushina, he'd thought as his heart started to race. She might not have been the most analytical mind, nor a particularly noted strategist, but she paid attention. She knew people, formed deep and strong connections with the ones she cared about.

She must have noted the panic that overtook Kakashi. Obito saw it too, stance loose and easy to not alert Naruto, but eye fixed sharply on their interaction. "Please," he whispered desperately, "Whatever you figured out, don't tell Minato." She sighed, and placed a hand on Kakashi's arm.

"As far as I'm concerned, if Minato hasn't realised, he doesn't need to know." Kakashi relaxed minutely, and Obito stopped looking like he was five seconds away from stealing Kakashi away into Kamui.

"I wanted to say, I got your back. If things ever get dicey, you two can count on me, ya know?" He nodded, gratitude pouring in and threatening to overwhelm him. "But I'm not above blackmail, so I expect you boys to look after the tyke for me sometimes." He huffed a laugh, knowing she would never use something like this against him but was deadly serious about the babysitting.

It was a little awkward, when Minato returned and they went inside for the meal. Kakashi was quiet, and Obito never said much at the best of times, and Minato's gaze kept flicking between the two of them. Thankfully, there was a chatty toddler ready to regale them all about the exact minutiae of his day.

It was easy to put aside all of the personal stuff, then. Kakashi still felt all the shame and abandonment when he looked at Minato, but it was further away. He didn't want Naruto to pick up on the weird vibes, so he put it to the side.

When Obito asked him, bumping his shoulder on the walk home, if he'd had a nice time, Kakashi managed to say that he had. He even almost meant it.

Chapter Text

Kakashi wasn't really sure when he would stop feeling like his life was changing too fast for him to keep up.

His friends had finally managed to drag him and Obito to one of their meet-ups. Guy had been cornering him about it for weeks. It wasn't like Kakashi didn't want to see his friends, but he was wary about bringing Obito along.

Obito hadn't seemed to care either way. Kakashi had eventually agreed, if only to stop the constant pestering.

Kakashi had often wondered how he had gotten people to like him enough to even bother trying to get him to hang out. He was an antisocial freak, rude and off-putting, so it was kind of a miracle to him that he managed to make and maintain the kind of friendship that had regular meetings outside of work.

He asked Kurenai about it once, but she just told him it was normal to hang out with people their own age, and that he should stop thinking so hard about it. Like that was going to happen, Kakashi had thought. He didn't stop thinking about it, but he did somewhat get used to the outings.

He was aware everyone thought it was weird, how close they were. In between calling him a friend killer, people were starting to call him clingy and codependent. Not that he disagreed, but he didn't really want to hear it whispered behind his back.

There was no way his friends hadn't heard the rumours. Shinobi were worse than scent hounds when it came to sniffing out gossip, and Guy was always plying Kakashi for information about Obito. If not tonight, Kakashi was sure there was some kind of interrogation in his future.

The night started off normally enough, Asuma, Guy and Kurenai chatting about training and whatever non-confidential missions they had been on. It must be nice, Kakashi thought, to have non-confidential missions. They'd probably never even had to assassinate anyone.

After a while, though, Kurenai got the glint in her eye that he had come to associate with an attempt at teasing. He looked morosely at his barley tea, wondering if there was enough liquid in his cup to drown in.

"So, Obito," she began, "I hear you've shacked up with Kakashi these days." Obito nodded, face blissfully blank as ever. If nothing else, Kakashi could count on Obito's stunted emotional expression to stymie his friends' prying.

"And how's that going for you?"

"Fine." Obito said nothing further, returning his attention to where he had been trying to coax the wooden tabletop to sprout out a leaf. He'd only recently discovered it was possible, and now Kakashi's kitchen table had an oak leaf sticking up from the corner.

Kakashi leaned in to get a better look, and went beet red when he realised he was basically draping himself over Obito's sitting form. Kurenai gave him a sly look, and his blush deepened. He resisted the juvenile urge to poke his tongue out at her.

It wasn't even like he was particularly ashamed, or even that embarrassed. He had just spent a lot of time and effort keeping people out of his business, and now he felt like everyone was casually able to see right through him. It was a lot, too much all at once for someone as withdrawn as Kakashi.

"Why Kakashi's place, anyway." Obito muttered something that sounded like, 'convenient,' and kept prodding at the table where a little bump had formed.

"Have you seen him without the mask?" Yup. "What does he look like?" Normal, mole. "Wait, does he have a mole, or does he look like one." Kakashi shot Kurenai a glare, and she grinned meanly back at him.

Asuma cleared his throat, taking over the interrogation.

"I heard you decided to retire, but I don't think I heard anything about why."

Obito turned on Asuma, and Kakashi refused to feel bad about the eye-contact bomb he was about to experience. Asuma was squirming within seconds, and it was actually funny watching someone be on the receiving end of it. Kakashi had managed to get his tolerance up to around a minute on good days, and he was inordinately pleased with himself about it.

"Shit's fucked," he said bluntly. "You ever think about how many shinobi are orphans?" Asuma seemed perplexed by the answer, but Obito must have been reaching the limit of how many words he wanted to say that night. He elbowed Kakashi, who sighed and answered for him.

"Ah, Obito has a complicated relationship with the shinobi world." When they all turned to him expectantly, he continued, "Because of the war? And the, you know…" he made a gesture indicating Obito's right side.

No one liked talking about the war. Everyone had their own little slice of trauma, and it was a heavy topic even for people who hadn't been that involved.

Guy, who had been suspiciously quiet the whole interaction, launched into a monologue about overcoming trials and youth. At least, Kakashi assumed that was what he was saying. Kakashi wasn't listening, too busy being mesmerised by the delicate way Obito's finger ran across the leaf he'd finally managed to sprout. Kakashi felt like he was pulled into a world with only the two of them, like Kamui had spread out to blanket the whole world.

Kakashi poked the back of Obito's hand. He didn't ask a question, but Obito answered him regardless. "Pine, probably. Most shit here is." Kakashi hummed, and Obito linked their fingers briefly before rising with a muttered, 'bathroom'.

As soon as Obito was out of sight, his friends rounded on him, dopey grins on their faces. Likely because of the sake they'd been steadily downing all night.

"Soooo," Kurenai drawled, "He seems nice." She frowned, considering, "Well, he's kind of an asshole, but he apparently likes you a lot for some reason." Kakashi let out a strangled laugh.

"Ah, yeah, sometimes I wonder about that myself." She punched him on the arm, berating him for being negative.

"I was joking. You seem better, happy." He nodded, not knowing how to respond. He felt sometimes like he only knew how to laugh if Obito was within three feet of him, but that was probably too intense a though for people who believed Obito had only been around for a month.

"Kakashi," Asuma clumsily put a hand on his shoulder, "We're rooting for you." His chest felt a little tight at the words, not helped by Guy clapping him so hard on the back he nearly choked.

"I wish nothing but the best for my rival in his youthful first love!"

"Love-" Kakashi didn't have time to splutter out the rest of his question before his friends all leapt on him in a mortifying attempt at a group hug. His whole body went stiff as he was buried under three adult shinobi.

First love? Did his friends think he was in love with Obito? He tried to push down the panic as he fruitlessly attempted to extricate himself.

Obito found them like that after what felt like an eternity but was probably only about forty seconds, Kakashi wordlessly begging for salvation. Obito's lips twitched it barely concealed laughter as he took on the situation. He flicked a thumb towards the door and Kakashi nodded vehemently.

"Oi," he said gruffly. He kicked Asuma to get his attention, "Hands off, we're heading out." The three reluctantly released Kakashi from their death-grips. Obito grabbed Kakashi's outstretched hand and hauled him out of the ninja pile.

In the cold night air, with no one else around, Kakashi felt lighter. What did it matter, if he was in… what he felt about Obito. He was just glad the man was here with him. He leaned into Obito, their hands still interlinked, and took simple joy in the warmth of another person.

"Your friends are fucking weird." Kakashi laughed, and watched the puff of steam dissipate into the cold air.

"Yeah," he muttered, "tell me about it."

xxx

Akatsuki apparently had some kind of plan for Konoha, but whatever it was would have to wait until Kirigakure was stable. Kakashi had once asked Obito what, exactly, the situation in Kiri looked like.

'Fucked. Better than it was. We're sorting it.' Kakashi managed to infer that meant they had something to do with the coup he'd been hearing about. He wasn't sure if he even wanted details. If Obito thought it was necessary, Kakashi was happy to keep his peace for now.

If things in Kiri were starting to cool down, Konoha was only ramping up. Kakashi was getting sent on more missions outside the village than ever, and Obito let his displeasure with this be known loud and clear.

Kakashi wouldn't say he particularly liked the missions, but neither did he think much about any alternatives. He'd been in ANBU for years now, he had a team to lead and orders to fulfil.

He didn't want to say anything to Obito, but Kakashi suspected the conflict in Kiri was starting to worry people high up the chain. Kakashi was catching sight of shinobi in masks he didn't recognise, which could only mean that Shimura Danzo and ROOT were making moves.

The last he had to deal with Danzo, it was when the man tried recruiting him after he killed Rin. Everyone with eyes could see Kakashi was falling apart. Danzo, like the creep he was, came to psychologically torture Kakashi into joining his stupid gang.

He might have even done it, but for Kushina. Minato had, perhaps slightly regretting allowing him to become an assassin at age twelve, had assigned Kakashi to watch over her pregnancy.

He'd politely declined. Danzo tried to have him killed. He'd either overestimated his agent or underestimated Kakashi, because not only did the assassination fail, Danzo lost an agent. Nothing brought Konoha shinobi together like weird powers and more trauma than most people could imagine.

Kakashi, despite being monosyllabic and rude, had somehow managed to inspire friendship in his would-be assassin, and so Kinoe of ROOT became Tenzo of Konoha, and Kakashi gained his fourth ever friend.

He'd taken Tenzo straight to Minato, bowed his head so low it was touching the floor, and begged to have Tenzo's seal removed. In all of Konoha, only Minato and Jiraiya had the skill with seals to do so, and Kakashi figured he would have better luck with his old jounin-sensei than a random old shinobi he'd never met.

Kakashi wasn't sure how much the Hokage knew about ROOT, and didn't particularly want to. It would be nicer to believe that he didn't know about it at all, that the worst parts of Konoha happened behind Minato's back, and so Kakashi was careful when giving his report.

Minato asked probing questions, and Tenzo took Kakashi's lead in only revealing the bare minimum information. He implicated Orochimaru as the one responsible for his wood-release abilities, and let Minato infer whatever else he wanted to. Kakashi felt incredibly vindicated in his decision to befriend his would-be killer.

All he wanted was the seal off, the one that marked Tenzo as one of Danzo's. He was willing to bend the truth a little bit, it was worth it if Kakashi could finally save a friend. He knew it would come to bite him in the ass later, but he didn't regret any of it.

Kakashi left all of that out, when Obito met Tenzo for the first time. Just a, 'this is my kōhai, he can use wood-release as well, isn't that interesting?'

xxx

Obito was late. Kakashi was leaving for a mission as soon as dusk fell, and they had agreed to get food before he left. It probably wasn't a date. It almost certainly wasn't a date. If Kakashi was freaking out, it was only because Obito was running late, and something might have happened to him.

Kakashi was debating taking his mask off to chew at his fingernails when a shape vaguely resembling Obito finally came into view. The strange silhouette made sense shortly after. Obito was giving some kid a piggyback ride, of all things. There was also a boy walking next to him, gesticulating wildly at a story Kakashi couldn't quite hear.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow when Obito got near, and Obito rolled his eyes, setting the kid on his back down.

"Yo, sorry. The brats ambushed me." The taller one protested wildly at being called a brat, the other timidly bowing to Kakashi.

"Wait, I know you." The older boy was pointing at him rudely. "Kakashi of the sharingan!" Kakashi nodded, nonplussed. "Man, we all thought you stole it or something." Obito whacked him on the shoulder.

"This asshole is Shisui. The quiet one is Itachi. Uchiha, I mean." Kakashi had figured as much. "Mind if they join?" Kakashi could see the exasperation on Obito's face, figuring he had already tried to shake the boys and failed.

"You're paying," was all Kakashi said. He really didn't mind, was actually curious to see how Obito interacted with young clan members. He had no respect at all for the elders. Actively disdained them, in fact. And it made things seem like less of a date, which was easier on Kakashi's nerves.

They sat down, Shisui pestering Obito incessantly as they waited for their food to arrive.

"They said you retired from being a shinobi, but that's stupid. Just 'cause you nearly died?"

"Little more complicated, brat." Shisui asked Kakashi what he thought, demanding and pushy.

"Well, Shisui-kun, when you grow up you'll understand." Obito coughed, hiding a smirk. Shisui continued pelting Obito with questions, and recounting deeply classified missions he'd taken in ANBU, which must be where Kakashi recognised him from.

The younger boy watched the two with wide eyes. Whenever the conversation turned to more violent topics, he flinched minutely. Obito, observant as ever, noticed and tried to steer the conversation away but Shisui was excitable and talkative, and didn't catch on.

"Hey, Itachi-kun," Kakashi murmured, "Everything okay?" Big eyes turned towards him, and the kid looked conflicted and sad.

"I'm fine, Kakashi-san, thank you." He squirmed a little in his seat, nervous. "Actually," he began again, voice barely above a whisper, "Obito-san told me you are very good at keeping secrets."

Kakashi didn't look at Obito, though he wanted to. Instead, he nodded slowly, wondering what he was getting himself into. Wondered, also, why Obito thought Kakashi could possibly be equipped to deal with whatever this was. He steeled himself, and cleared his throat.

"Obito, I think Itachi-kun needs some fresh air." Shisui leapt up at that, and Obito pulled him gracelessly back in his seat. "I'll take him outside. Back in after."

He guided Itachi somewhere they wouldn't be overheard, gesturing for him to begin once he confirmed no one was eavesdropping.

"Obito-san told me you're a member of ANBU," Kakashi agreed, and waited for Itachi to continue. "Shisui is, as well. I, too, have been approached."

Kakashi was careful to keep his face neutral. "How old are you, Itachi-kun?"

"I am eleven years old." Kakashi often thought he understood why Obito had become a terrorist. He took in Itachi, eleven years old, short and slight. Kakashi had been the same when he joined up, and look where that had gotten him.

"Do you want to do it?" Itachi's face twisted, more conflicted than a kid should ever have to be.

"I want Konoha to be safe."

"You have someone you want to protect, I bet."

The kid's whole face lit up. He launched into a story about his little brother, Sasuke. He was so proud, so determined to be a good big brother. His gentle smile was incongruous with the idea of a hardened assassin.

Kakashi considered the situation. Most likely, if Itachi joined ANBU, he would be placed under Kakashi's command. Kakashi would be the one to train that gentleness away, give the orders for Itachi to commit the very violence he shied away from earlier. He felt a little sick. He took a deep breath in.

"Itachi-kun, you don't have to do anything you don't want to." When Itachi looked unsure, Kakashi crouched down, and placed his hands on his shoulders. It was the kind of steady comfort Kakashi wished he'd received when he was that age.

"I know you want to look out for your family, but this isn't the only way to do that. No one can force you. And if they try and make you do something that makes you uncomfortable, you can fight back. If that's too hard or too scary, come and get me or Obito and we'll deal with it, okay?"

"Do you mean it?" Itachi's voice was barely above a whisper, and he sounded so unsure. Kakashi didn't know what things were like in the Uchiha clan, Obito being sparse on the details, but it didn't seem like there was much warmth to spare.

"Of course. Just say the word, I'll be there."

Itachi was looking at him like he hung the moon, and Kakashi was trying very hard not to show how profoundly awkward he felt. He was grateful, as ever, that two-thirds of his face was covered. Unable to bear the hero worship a second longer, he shooed the kid back inside, promising to join in a moment.

He turned, ready to return to the restaurant, but lightning fast wrapped his arms around Kakashi's middle. He'd booked it before Kakashi had even processed what had happened. Kakashi let out a long breath, and then spoke to seemingly empty air.

"You really need to work on that stalking habit." Obito materialised shamelessly, and Kakashi punched him in the arm. "I can't believe you dropped that on me with no warning."

Obito didn't even have the grace to pretend the punch hurt, just put his hands in his pockets and gave Kakashi a smug look.

"Kids going to be loyal to you for life." That was what Kakashi was afraid of, and said as much. Obito knocked their shoulders together and Kakashi pretended to himself that the fluttering it caused in his stomach was just because he was still hungry.

"I'm going to make that kid Hokage one day"

"He's a pacifist."

"That's why." Kakashi laughed, knowing Obito was dead serious. He promised he would help when Obito inevitably led another coup about it. Kakashi pretended, as they walked back to the teahouse, that he didn't hear Obito's quiet, 'it's a date.'

Chapter Text

It had been a bad mission. Kakashi wouldn't say he particularly liked his ANBU missions, but any where he had to bring out his chidori tended to rank among the worst.

This was latest, and messiest, in a string of unsavoury missions. Weeks of this had eroded the fragile happiness Kakashi had managed to nurture in his embarrassingly soft heart, and it had been getting harder and harder to find the tethers that kept him in reality.

It was easy to feel like he deserved this, after punching his fist through some foreign shinobi's ribcage. It had been made clear to him from a young age that was his lot in life to be a weapon, and if his soul was sapped away in the process, it didn't matter. Tools didn't need them, anyway.

Kakashi's usual coping method for dealing with missions like this was staring at the wall for hours on end, reliving every gruesome detail in perfect detail. He was aware it was not a healthy way to deal with things, but it was less physically destructive than beating a training dummy until his knuckles were split and broken. He had been banned from that ages ago, anyway.

Caught up in the haze of his dark thoughts, he'd forgotten that Obito would be there. He went through his usual routine; standing lifelessly in the shower until the water swirled clear and the steam made it hard to breathe, and then sitting lifelessly at the kitchen table.

It barely even registered that there was someone else there until dangerously familiar fingers tilted his head up towards Obito's inscrutable expression. Kakashi blinked owlishly as he was ushered to his feet.

Obito sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose, and led Kakashi into his dark bedroom. He didn't bother with the lights, and Kakashi had enough wherewithal to be grateful, but not enough to grasp Obito's intentions.

"What..?" He felt like he was floating somewhere outside his body, detached and distant.

"You can torture yourself just as well in here." Obito sat him on the bed, arranged Kakashi's sluggish limbs until he was lying down. He turned back towards the kitchen, presumably to go and fetch something, but Kakashi's arm clumsily reached out to stop him.

"Please," he managed to croak. Obito looked down at where Kakashi's hand grasped desperately at his sleeve, and let out a small breath. He only hesitated for a second before telling Kakashi to budge over.

Kakashi tried his best to make space, but it wasn't a particularly large bed. It had never needed to be. It was a bit cumbersome, trying to slot two gangly young men onto a too-small mattress, but somehow it worked.

Obito sat with his back against the headboard, Kakashi laying on his side, head resting on Obito's thigh and his back pushed up against the wall.

Kakashi distantly registered that Obito had a hand in his hair. Not petting, or stroking, just a quiet pressure. A reminder, Kakashi thought. A nice one. Obito was always doing nice things for him

It was just who Obito was, solid. As strong and steady as a mountain.

Kakashi's whole body tensed up as the memories started to creep in again. His sharingan didn't activate. It didn't matter, had never needed the eye to have perfect recall. For hours, Kakashi was paralysed by a spiral of guilt and regret and self-loathing.

It wasn't until the room started to lighten, the sun finally coming up, that Kakashi's body began to relax. Obito noticed, because of course he did, thumb coming down to rub over Kakashi's tender cheeks. He hadn't even realised he had cried, was too lost in his head.

The gesture was hypnotic, a steady back and forth that was lulling Kakashi into drowsiness. He struggled against the call of sleep, trying to express something through the thick haze in his head. Obito merely whispered for him to 'shut the fuck up and sleep,' and Kakashi couldn't do anything but obey.

In the afternoon, after he had finally woken up, the mood in the apartment was tense. Obito had a face like a storm cloud, and it it was making Kakashi feel twitchy.

"You should leave ANBU."

"Why's that?" Obito let out a sound of disbelief. The scoff Kakashi knew to interpret as, 'you're a fucking idiot.'

"Do you even need to ask?" Kakashi shrugged, not really understanding the point of the conversation. "You hate it there." Kakashi didn't get why Obito was pushing this so hard, and said as much.

"It's bad for you."

Again, Kakashi didn't see the big deal. He'd been in ANBU since he was twelve, no one had ever raised any concerns about Kakashi's job satisfaction before now. "Fine," said Obito sharply, "Because I want you to."

Oh, that made more sense. Obito didn't like ANBU, was opposed to the very concept of special operations and assassinations. He thought it was immoral, and part of the reasons the shinobi nations distrusted each other so badly. If Kakashi being part of a group that went against Obito's ideals, of course he should quit.

"Ok, I'll talk to the Hokage later." Instead of being placated, Obito only seemed to get mad. Like he desperately needed to punch something, or rip something to shreds, there was that much tension in him.

"You're fucking unbelievable," he spat. Kakashi flinched, feeling the words as surely as if Obito had slapped him. With a small voice, Kakashi tried to apologise, desperate for Obito not to be angry with him.

"You don't even know why you're sorry."

Kakashi folded his arms across his chest, trying to keep his heart from beating out of his chest. He wondered if

Obito, by contrast, seemed to fill the entire space. "It's killing you." Obito's voice, usually calm and even, was reaching a crescendo. "This shit is killing you and you don't even care."

He started pacing, gesticulating wildly. "Your friends have been begging Minato to pull you out. Tenzo ambushes me in the street, demanding I talk to you. Itachi told me he thought about accepting the offer after all, just so he could look out for you.

"Everyone can see it, everyone's waiting for the day you don't come back. But you won't do anything. Not for yourself. I don't fucking understand it."

For the first time, Kakashi thought he wanted Obito to leave. It was too much, Obito being angry with him, he thought that his heart might really stop. It was more painful than Kakashi could bear.

He just wanted Obito to be happy. He did so much for Kakashi, helped him so much, was so patient and kind. If he could do that, do the things that Obito asked of him, it would be enough. If he did what Obito wanted, Obito would smile that secret smile at him, and the world would keep making sense.

He heard a wretched keening sound, and at Obito's choking breath he realised it must be coming from him. When he dared to look at Obito, his face looked stricken. All the rage seemed to drain from him as quickly as it had began.

The raw expression he wore instead was somehow worse.

Kakashi could not longer bear to face Obito, had to turn and flee. He didn't get far, though, before strong arms slid around his middle and pulled him back against a firm chest. Obito's chin was tucked against his shoulder and Kakashi, weak, could not help but melt into the embrace.

Obito held him as he wept, strong and steady as a mountain, Kakashi shaking with the force of the ugly hacking sobs escaping from his throat. His hands formed tight and painful fists, and he thought he might have broken skin. He didn't care, the pain grounding him as years worth of grief was forcing its way out of him.

He didn't know much time passed before his body started to go slack. It could have been minutes. It felt like hours.

"I'm sorry," Obito murmured into his ear, once he had fully calmed. "I shouldn't have yelled." Kakashi managed a jerky nod. "I got scared."

"You just, it scares me. How you act like you're disposable. You'll tell Itachi it's okay to ask for help. You do things I ask you to, but you won't do anything for yourself. I don't get it."

"It's what I deserve." Obito tightened his grip, and Kakashi realised the embrace was as much for Obito's benefit as his own.

"Not true."

"I'm trash."

"No, just really fucked up." Obito tucked his head into the crook of his neck, and Kakashi could feel wetness on his skin.

"I hate her sometimes, for what she did to you." That, more than anything else that had been said, shocked Kakashi to his very core.

Obito, he knew, no longer blamed him for what he'd done. It didn't seem possible that he might shift those feelings to Rin. It was wrong, Obito had loved her. It was wrong, Rin hadn't done anything worse than using Kakashi as a tool, same as everyone else.

"You should hate me."

"I can't. Couldn't even when I wanted to. You're," his voice cracked with emotion, "You're everything, you know?" He did know, because it was the same for Kakashi, the world feeling dull and empty when Obito was away.

They stood like that for a long time, Kakashi's mind reeling. He had somehow not considered that they might ever fight. He hadn't understood, didn't realise what it meant for someone to care about him to the point of getting angry. No one had, before Obito.

The force of Obito's feelings was shocking. It was so different to the reserved, taciturn person he'd gotten used to. He hadn't heard Obito say so much in one go since they were twelve, was still processing that Kakashi could inspire that much emotion in him.

"I should quit ANBU," he finally whispered.

"And why's that?" Obito's voice was hoarse and rough, caution evident in his tone.

"Because it's bad for me."

"And?"

"Because I hate it." Obito tapped a finger on Kakashi's hand, and he loosened the tight fist he hadn't realised he was still holding. Blood oozed sluggishly from the crescent shaped marks, but if it bothered Obito, it didn't stop him from entwining their fingers.

"It," Kakashi's breath hitched, "It's killing me." The last of his strength left him then, knees giving way from under him. Obito didn't let him fall, just held him closer, and Kakashi loved him for it.

In that moment, it dawned on him; he would never be able to disentangle himself from Obito, never able to be alone now that he knew what if felt like to be held tightly. And he could see now, where he hadn't before, that Obito was equally incapable of letting go.

The jagged edges of their souls somehow fit together, sharp pieces slotting into place in such a way that to part now would surely be the end of them both. Kakashi had thought it was him that needed Obito, but they had always been a mirror, reflections of each other.

The world, which had seemed so jarring before, realigned. He found his strength again, twisting in the tight grip, needing to be face to face. Bloody smears painted Obito's face as Kakashi's hands wound up into Obito's hair and pulled.

Obito didn't react to the pain of it, just fixed his gaze on Kakashi. His fingers tightened around Kakashi's waist in an equally punishing grip. He felt insane, dangerous and obsessive. By the bruises he could feel forming, he didn't think he was alone in that.

"You are never getting rid of me. You're stuck with me forever." Obito laughed roughly, a short bark torn from his throat. He leaned in impossibly closer, so they were breathing the same air. Any closer, and Kakashi thought their souls might merge.

"I can live with that."

Chapter Text

Kakashi had been prepared for an argument when he resolutely entered the Hokage's office. He didn't get one. Instead, Minato took one look at his face and had him sit down on a spare chair for an 'honest conversation between adults'.

Kakashi certainly had never felt less like an adult. More like a wayward child about to receive a lecture. His chest felt tight, each breath a battle. Realistically, he knew there was nothing to worry about, that Minato would not force him into staying in a voluntary position.

"Requesting permission to step down from my role in ANBU, sir." Minato studied him carefully,

"May I ask why?"

"It's causing a detrimental effect on mental and physical well-being. My psychological evaluation recommends immediate cessation of current duties." Minato didn't bother asking how he'd gotten hands on his medical records. If he wasn't able to do that much, he wouldn't be a very good operative.

"Of course. Though it's unlike you to take the advice of the medical staff."

"I recently received a strongly worded suggestion to consider a career change."

"And was it perhaps Obito who made this suggestion?"

"He told me to tell you that putting a traumatised preteen in a covert death squad was, um, probably less than ideal." Minato pinched his brow, and then shook his head, likely regretting the day Kakashi and Obito ever got put into a team together.

"And were those his exact words, then?" His exact words were, 'the worst idea that dopey fuck ever had in his whole life.'

"Paraphrased," he muttered through gritted teeth. Minato took a deep breath, and started talking in the kind of tone one might use to calm a wounded animal.

"Kakashi, is there a reason you seem to think I put you in ANBU to harm you specifically?" He didn't think that, just felt somewhat that Minato had left him there to rot. He didn't answer, not really knowing what to say.

He'd come into this expecting either for Minato to agree to his request without argument, or to have to leave and drastically botch a mission to force his hand.

"Why did you?"

"At the time, I had hoped the less personal nature of special operations would help you adjust to the loss of your team. I admit, my judgement may have been impaired by the impact of the war and the losses we suffered.

"Evidently, my attempts to give you space to sort things out created distance instead. I offer my sincere apologies, and grant your request to withdraw from ANBU, active immediately."

"Um, okay." Kakashi hoped Minato wasn't going to try and hug him or anything. His face had fallen a little at the lacklustre response, but Obito had told him not to settle for anything less than grovelling, and that if their sensei wanted to be forgiven he would have to work for it.

"Take some time off, and we can discuss your new duties once you have a better idea of what you'd like to do from now on." He nodded, and turned to leave. "And Kakashi, we will be talking about this, whenever you're ready."

He felt like being a little petty, and departed with a, 'yes, Hokage-sama.' Kakashi had thought that was that. He returned home to a proud looking Obito, and prepared himself for a boring holiday.

He should have known things wouldn't be that simple. If he had been thinking clearly, he would have known that not everyone would be on board with one of their best operatives suddenly quitting.

Danzo made his move a week after his resignation had been granted. Foolish, to forget about the snake in the grass. Stupid, to convince Obito to go back to his Akatsuki business for a while.

Kakashi had finally become more trouble than he was worth.

He wasn't expecting the ambush, but not for nothing had he made jounin when he was twelve. The ROOT shinobi were good at what they did. Kakashi was better. He'd killed two and mortally wounded a third before he found an opening, a pause in the volley of kunai and shuriken, to swirl away into Kamui.

Shit. He have himself a moment of panic. Stupid, he thought as he took stock of the situation. He steadied his hands before rooting around his various pouches for a roll of bandages, grimly wrapping up the blistering and burnt skin of his bicep. He'd allowed himself to be glanced by a fire jutsu to avoid an almost certainly poisoned senbon.

The wound would need to be properly treated to avoid infection, but that was an issue for later. Kakashi was such an idiot. He had insisted it was fine for Obito to return to Akatsuki while he dealt with things in Konoha. He should have known.

He was never more grateful than now that he had practised using his mangekyo with Obito. It was for that reason alone he was able to focus his chakra and warp to wherever it was Obito was holed up. Hoping it wasn't a battlefield, he let Kamui guide him.

The nearly deafening sound of rain was the first thing he noticed. Amegakure, then. Humourlessly, he remembered how Obito had once offered to bring him here.

The next thing he heard was a chorus of voices, all clamouring over one another. The shouting barely registered, Kakashi only having ears for the rough, 'Kakashi,' before chakra exhaustion took the last of his strength.

Strong arms steadied him, and he was manoeuvred limply into a nearby chair.

"Obito," one of the voices said carefully, "What is your secret boyfriend doing at this secret meeting?" It was a woman, probably, but Kakashi's vision was too blurry to be able to say for sure.

"I'd like to know that myself." Rough hands ran over Kakashi, lingering for just a second over the injury, and checking for any more. Kakashi knew he looked a mess, felt even worse.

"I think my resignation was rejected." He blinked, trying to focus his eyes. "Does anyone happen to have any chakra pills?" A pouch was shoved under his nose, and he quickly downed a fistful, the world righting itself as they entered his bloodstream.

He finally took a good look around, and found himself on the receiving end of three disbelieving stares, and one hard one; Obito's face was complicated, anger and worry and confusion all wound into a powerful glare.

"Do any of you happen to know a Shimura Danzo?"

The temperature of the room seemed to drop as everyone's expressions turned cold. The orange-haired one cracked his knuckles menacingly. A yes, then.

"He's on our shit list."

"Any chance you could bump him up a few spots?"

"He did this to you?" Obito's voice was icy, carefully restrained.

Not directly, Kakashi explained. He detailed the ambush, and how it wasn't exactly the first time he'd tried to get rid of Kakashi. It was the wrong thing to say, Obito already starting to warp away before Kakashi latched onto his wrist.

"Obito, let's maybe have a think before we go on any rampages, hm?" He sounded hysterical even to his own ears, and tried to tamp down the anxiety. He would have time to have a panic attack over his botched assassination later, hopefully.

"I like this kid," said orange-hair, "We should keep him."

Obito just searched Kakashi's face, whatever he saw there convincing him to hold off on violence for now. His hand traced the edge of the hastily wrapped bandage. "He won't touch you again."

It was a promise, and a threat. Kakashi could almost feel the tension radiating form Obito, and knew he was barely able to maintain his temper.

Kakashi was in the middle of reaching out, to tangle his fingers in Obito's short hair when he remembered they had an audience. Embarrassed, he turned to Obito's friends.

"Um," Kakashi was as awkward as ever as he cleared his throat. "Sorry for barging in."

There was a bark of laughter from the one who was talking before. The woman, purple-haired and graceful, eyed his injuries in a far more clinical manner than Obito had.

"I'm sure it was an emergency," she stated drily. She introduced herself as Konan, and indicated orange-hair was called Yahiko. The other man, Nagato, had deep red hair that reminded him of Kushina, and unsettling purple eyes. Kakashi didn't stare even though he wanted to, in an act of doujutsu solidarity.

"Hatake Kakashi." Konan smacked Yahiko's shoulder at his muttered, 'we know.' He was glad he was in such a state, it meant he didn't have the capability to blush.

The conversation returned to Danzo. The leaders of Akatsuki had their own reasons for wanting Danzo out of the way. So did, apparently, most of the other hidden villages. It was actually sort of impressive how widely despised the man was.

Assassinations, destabilising regimes, warmongering. Trying to kill Kakashi twice. Aiding and abetting the despot that tried to have the founding members of Akatsuki killed on multiple occasions.

"We have reason to suspect he was either colluding with, or granted clemency by, the third Hokage. At the very least, his presence was allowed to fester. We also have evidence he has been conspiring with the Sannin Orochimaru, abducting and experimenting on children."

That would explain how Tenzo made it into ROOT. Kakashi had always suspected, and Tenzo had alluded to it, but this confirmed it.

"We would have done something about him sooner, but we had the civil war here and then the coup in Kiri."

"But, now he's gone after Obito's very good friend so we're getting rid of him." It was Nagato who smacked Yahiko that time. Clearly, there was some kind of unspoken rule to do with not embarrassing Kakashi.

"If it's worth anything, we haven't found anything that connects the fourth Hokage to Danzo. We think Sarutobi is still covering for him."

Kakashi's mind was racing. He just wanted to quit his job, he didn't quite feel ready to be dragged into a conspiracy that could irrevocably disrupt the lives of himself and everyone he'd ever known. It did, though, make him feel a little better that he was right to let himself believe that his sensei hadn't condoned Danzo's actions. A very, very small mercy.

"I need to tell someone. That I'm alive and Obito's with me, I mean." Yahiko seemed about to protest, but Obito cut him off.

"Not Guy."

"Not Guy." Guy could keep a secret, but he would be tortured over it. Things were already bad enough without a miserable Might Guy. "I was thinking about Kushina." Obito assented easily, and Kakashi could see the gears turning in his head.

"You okay if we trash your apartment?" Kakashi was already preparing to. He knew Obito was thinking the same thing he was. The only way Kakashi would ever be able to return to Konoha without getting arrested was if they made it look like he was taken by force. And as far as the village was concerned, Obito lived with Kakashi, and so would have to disappear right alongside him.

Obito explained exactly none of that to his fellow Akatsuki, just pulled Kakashi into Kamui. He wrapped a strong hand around the back of Kakashi's neck, bringing their heads together.

"Fuck. Don't do that again." They stood there, just breathing in each other's air, until Kakashi's head stopped swimming so much, and Obito's desperate grip on him loosened into something gentler.

"Ready?" He wasn't, not sure he would ever feel like leaving the quiet refuge Obito had created for them. He agreed anyway, and they were off again.

To her enduring credit, Kushina barely reacted as the two of them tumbled out of thin air into her living room. She took in Kakashi's bloody clothes and grim face, eyes lingering where Obito had refused to let him go.

"What do you need?" This was why she was great, Kakashi thought. She was quick on the uptake, and never wasted time when it mattered.

"I need you to have seen me being approached by a shinobi wearing a mask you didn't recognise."

"I'm on it. How much trouble are you two in, anyway?"

"We're going to need to lie low for a while. It'll be easier if it looks like we didn't go willingly." She narrowed her eyes at that, and pressed him for more information. "I'll tell you when I can."

"It's big, isn't it?" He cast his eyes down, and she pulled Kakashi into a tight hug. He froze, unable to react before she let him go. "Be careful, then. If you die, I'll drag you back to life just to kick your ass."

She turned towards Obito, letting out the tiniest sliver of the nine-tails' killing intent. She was so awesome, and Kakashi was oddly moved that she would threaten anyone on his behalf.

"Bring him back in one piece." Obito promised he would, and they warped away without saying goodbye.

It was a good thing he'd spent too long in a depressive haze to care much about his living space. Not having a lot of personal effects made it significantly easier to mess up the place. He only started liking his apartment once Obito was in it, anyway.

He had been in covert operations long enough to make it look convincing. He glanced around the room, satisfied with their work, and Kakashi tried to make peace with the fact he might never return here.

Chapter Text

In a way, Kakashi's impromptu visit to Amegakure could be considered a holiday. That was how Yahiko had put it. Kakashi had never had a vacation before, so maybe it was typical as these things went to plot the downfall of evil old men. Maybe all holidays were very tense and stressful, and felt more like going into hiding than going somewhere nice to relax. Really, who was he to say one way or the other.

The plotting was proving tricky. Killing Danzo seemed like it was going to be the easiest part of their whole conspiracy. More difficult, was doing it in a way where it seemed like someone was doing Konoha a favour, and somehow didn't implicate Kakahsi or Obito.

Kakashi had tried to apologise on multiple occasions for throwing a wrench into Akatsuki's plans, but they all brushed him off. All four of them looked at him like he was the biggest idiot to ever live, an expression he was intimately familiar with. He had to wonder if Obito had gotten the expression from them, or if they had picked it up from him.

"Things are settling down in Kirigakure, anyway."

"He is a malignant presence, no one will weep at his loss."

"He tried to kill Obito's boy-toy, we can't just let that slide." Obito got him that time, and he never held back on the whacking-upside-the-heads. Kakashi would have winced in sympathy but he was trying to hide how red he'd gotten.

Everyone seemed to have a different opinion on how to deal with Danzo. Obito insisted it would be easiest to simply kamui in while the man was sleeping and slit his throat. Kakashi could appreciate the simplicity, but Konan argued that would hardly help them bring his many, many, crimes into the open.

Kakashi suggested they bring in someone on the inside, and happened to have a very convenient ex-ROOT kōhai who owed Kakashi a life debt. Not to mention, Tenzo actually liked Kakashi, was more loyal to him than he had ever been to Danzo or even Konoha.

He was skilled, had a vested interest, was a freaky child experiment and Kakashi knew from experience how good he was at planting evidence. Actually, Kakashi was feeling sort of proud that his little protege was so normal despite all of that. He was more well-adjusted than Kakashi or Obito, at least.

If they played their cards right, it would look like Danzo had taken his own life to avoid prosecution. It wasn't exactly a morally spotless plan, and Kakashi would have to perpetuate the lie for the rest of his life. On the other hand, Danzo had forced a cursed seal onto a bunch of his child operatives so they couldn't snitch on him. It wouldn't even rank top ten in Kakashi's list of things to torture himself about. Maybe not top fifty.

It might be considered disloyal, planning to kill an important Konoha elder, but Kakashi was long past the days where being a loyal Konoha was his only goal in life. Time and grief had eroded those feelings. Kakashi had followed the rules, done everything the village had asked of him, and look where that had gotten him.

Part of him still held the village close to his heart; the thought of never seeing his friends again, of leaving Kushina and Guy behind, it was hard for him to bear. He didn't want to sever those ties, when they had kept him alive until now.

There was another part of him that knew there could be no more blind obedience. Not for a village that didn't care about, or couldn't see, the atrocities going on within it's own walls.

Kakashi might have become a part of that, if the timing had been different. Might have, in his grief, accepted Danzo's offer. It's not like Kakashi wasn't still complicit, he had never refused an ANBU mission before, and they hadn't always been morally spotless. The Root shinobi weren't really better or worse than he was, they'd drawn a different line in the sand and that was all.

Kakashi only hoped that without Danzo, those shinobi would find their way. If ANBU was traumatic, ROOT was a living nightmare. Tenzo had followed Kakashi around like a lost lamb after he'd gotten the seal off.

It was a problem that had no easy solution, and Kakashi had driven himself in circles trying to find one. Obito had, as usual, seen things much more clearly.

"Kakashi," he started slowly, "It's not your problem." He said it carefully, as through making sure the words would sink in. It sort of worked, his usual matter of fact manner making it seem obvious. And anyway, Kakashi had bigger problems where Obito was concerned.

He had been sticking close to Kakashi since the attempt on his life. Close, close. Followed him everywhere, watched as he ate, slept, sharpened his kunai. It was becoming rare for Obito to be further than arms reach. Within Kamui range, Kakashi's mind supplied.

Akatsuki took the new development in stride, appearing to have an agreement to accept Obito's behaviours no matter how odd. Kakashi had spied more than one table-plant, in the week he'd been in Amegakure. They had folded Kakashi into their plans as though he'd always been there, albeit with some teasing.

He could handle a bit of ribbing, but the current lack of distance between him and Obito was bad for his heart. It had, conversely, only served to remind Kakashi they could be closer. Arms reach was starting to feel a little far, and he was losing his mind about it. It was bad timing, he thought, to start missing the way his fingers had felt running through Obito's short hair.

Their rare moments apart were not very helpful, either. Obito made him swear not to leave the makeshift Akatsuki base while he was making contact with Tenzo in Konoha. No one wanted to risk Kakashi's chakra signature getting recognised, and he didn't have the insane control over it Obito had.

Before warping away, Obito threatened the Akatsuki leaders with a painful death if a hair on Kakashi's head was disturbed. It probably spoke to how traumatised Kakashi was that it only made him feel fond.

Nagato found him before long, curled up on a windowsill overlooking the city, watching the rain with absent idleness. Kakashi turned to him, acknowledging him with a polite nod.

They watched the sky pouring down for a while before Nagato said his piece.

"He's changed, you know?" Kakashi cocked his head in silent question. "Obito, I mean. He's been different since he found you."

Kakashi made to say something that would probably come out more self-deprecating than he intended, but Nagato held up a hand to stop him.

"Since we've known him, Obito has always put our goals first, threw himself entirely into the cause. Konan, Yahiko and I, we have always had each other to temper our ideals. It's been good, to see Obito find someone to do the same.

"Obito has always been a valuable member of our organisation, but lately I feel we have been truly able to call him a friend. The circumstances may be less than ideal, but I think we all are very happy to finally meet you." He looked like he was about to say more, but seemed to think better of it, just clumsily patted Kakashi on the shoulder before going on his way.

Kakashi stayed on his windowsill long after Nagato gave him the, 'we approve of you' speech, retreading the conversation over and over again in his head. He tried to come up with a reason he and Obito were still going around in circles, when apparently it was clear to everyone else alive that they were obsessed with each other.

He still hadn't thought of anything Obito found him there an undefined amount of time later, entering his space as though he belonged there. Kakashi wasn't about to disagree as Obito pulled his mask down for what felt like the thousandth time. Casually, as though he were asking about the weather, Kakashi posed a question.

"What would you have done if Danzo actually managed to have me killed?"

Obito's gaze was locked on Kakashi, and he didn't hesitate a second in answering.

"Torn apart the village until someone managed to put me out of my misery." It was more or less the answer Kakashi had been expecting, but something in him wanted to keep pushing.

"What about Akatsuki?"

"They'd manage without me." He stepped further into Kakashi's space.

"Your goals? World peace?"

"Who gives a shit? None of it matters anyway, if you're not there." As he wound his long arms around Obito's neck, he spared a lamenting thought that they couldn't live inside each others skin, that this was just about as close as two people could ever get.

"You'd die without me?" Obito nodded, breathing in Kakashi's scent like he'd been denied oxygen his whole life. "You'd kill for me?"

His hands wrapped tight around Kakashi's hips. "Anyone you need," he rasped.

"You'll never leave me?"

"As if I ever could." Before Kakashi could say any more, Obito smashed their lips together.

He kissed Kakashi with a single-minded determination. That they both were clumsy and unpractised didn't' seem to matter as he brought their mouths together again and again until Kakashi was breathless.

He pulled back only briefly, sharingan spinning wildly as though Kakashi in moment was worth recording in unfaltering detail. When he dove back in to the kiss, his movements were surer, more confident. Kakashi could only follow his lead, pouring as much of himself as he could into the contact.

He knew his fingernails were digging sharply into Obito's shoulder, felt the muscles flex as the grip on his waist tightened almost to the point of pain. Kakashi wouldn't have minded if it did, as long as they stayed like this.

The sound of rain had grown distant, the fading daylight unimportant as they lost themselves in the embrace, the world narrowed only to the two of them. Obito swiped a tongue across his lower lip, and that was good. His hands moved down to Kakashi's ass and squeezed; that was even better.

A breathy moan escaped from Kakashi as Obito's tongue twined lazily around his own, spurring Obito on, turning the kiss filthy. Kakashi could feel with intense awareness every point of contact between them. It was heady, he wanted Obito to touch him all over, but he wanted to keen on just like this, too.

Before he could react, his back was against the wall, Obito crowding impossibly further into his space. When Kakashi despairingly moved his lips away in a vain attempt at catching his breath, Obito simply moved his mouth to Kakashi's neck, lips moving over every inch of available space. Kakashi craned his head back to give him more space, and let out another gasping sound when teeth grazed against his skin.

They both froze at the sound of a cleared throat. Kakashi's eyes snapped to where the sound had emanated from, finding Yahiko leaning against a wall with barely contained laughter on his face.

Kakashi was very tempted to let Kamui swallow him up, deeply and painfully embarrassed. Not that he could ever bring himself to be ashamed for kissing Obito, that was one of the few universally good decisions he'd made in his whole life. But it was unbelievably awkward having been caught.

Yahiko must have heard Obito's quiet, 'fuck off,' because he started laughing properly after that. Bent double, arms clutched tightly across his chest and tears spilling from his eyes. Obito craned his head around to glare murderously.

"Congratulations. Don't ask Konan for help with the wedding, she'd murder you without remorse."

"What do you want," Obito bit out, agitated. Kakashi realised that was what Obito looked like when he was flustered and felt endeared despite himself and the situation.

"Well, to tell you two to get a room, for one." Kakashi held on tight to Obito as he tried to move, presumably to inflict grievous bodily harm. Yahiko held his hands up peaceably. "We were hoping for a sit-rep after your little Konoha trip. Whenever you're ready." He then waltzed away to the control room, and Kakashi and Obito were alone once more.

Obito relaxed as soon as he was out of sight, becoming almost docile in Kakashi's arms. He rested his head against Kakashi's, breathing in and out contently. Kakashi was loathe to disturb him, not while he looked so peaceful.

"We should…"

"In a second. I just wanna-" He leaned in and pressed his lips to Kakashi's again, slow and sweet. All of the frenzy of before was absent.Kakashi's eyes fell closed as he sank into the kiss. It lasted just a few seconds before Obito pulled away and regarded him with unbearable tenderness. It was everything Kakashi had been feeling reflected back at him, and he was almost scared of how good he felt.

Gentle fingers tugged Kakashi's mask back up his face, knuckles brushing just for a second across his flushed cheeks. Obito pulled away reluctantly, moving to where Yahiko had headed. Before Kakashi had a chance to miss the contact, he turned back, reaching a hand out and pulling Kakashi along with him. Kakashi let himself be led along, holding on to what he was feeling for as long as the world would let him.