The first time you realized you were in love with Kakashi, he was asleep.
Not during a battle.
Not while looking devastatingly cool and mysterious.
Not while reading one of those ridiculous orange books.
He was drooling, through the mask.
Just a little.
You stared at him from across the porch and felt something in your soul break.
"Unbelievable," You muttered.
Kakashi cracked one eye open. "You're staring."
"You were drooling."
"Hmm."
"That's your defense?"
His eye curved into a smile before he closed it again.
It should have annoyed you.
Instead, your chest felt warm.
.・゜゜・
The afternoon sun filtered through the trees surrounding his small house. It was one of the rare days neither of you had missions. No emergencies. No paperwork.
Just silence,the kind Kakashi liked.
The kind you had slowly learned to enjoy.
You glanced back down at your tea.
"You know," You said, "most people spend their free days doing something productive."
"I'm resting."
"That's not productive."
"It is for me."
You rolled your eyes.
A moment later, you felt something brush against your shoulder.
Kakashi had shifted closer on the porch bench.
Not enough to be obvious.
Or maybe just enough.
Idiot.
For a man who could copy a thousand jutsu, he was terrible at directly expressing affection.
So instead he sat closer.
Shared his food.
Waited for you after missions.
Remembered things you mentioned months ago.
Tiny things.
Dangerous things.
The things that made falling in love impossible to avoid.
"You look grumpy."
You narrowed your eyes.
"I am grumpy."
"Why?"
"Because."
"Good explanation."
You huffed.
Kakashi chuckled softly.
The sound was rare enough that you immediately forgot whatever point you were trying to make.
Unfair.
Absolutely unfair.
But then everything about him was unfair.
His voice.
His smile.
The way he looked at you when he thought you weren't paying attention.
For someone so detached from the world, he had somehow become your favorite part of it.
The realization made you blush.
Unfortunately, Kakashi noticed.
"You okay?"
"No."
"Hmm."
"Hmm?"
"Hmm usually means you're about to tell me something."
You stared at him.
He stared back.
Patient and calm and waiting,he way he always did.
Something softened inside you.
"You're important to me."
The words slipped out before you could stop them.
Silence followed.
You immediately wanted to throw yourself into the nearest river.
Wonderful.
Kakashi blinked,then his visible eye softened.
"So are you."
Your heart stopped.
Then restarted.
And finally exploded.
"That's all you have to say?"
"What else should I say?"
"I don't know. Something dramatic."
"Like?"
You waved your hands.
"'You are the moon that guides me through darkness.'"
Kakashi considered this.
Then he nodded thoughtfully.
"You are definitely not the moon."
"See?"
"You complain too much."
You gasped.
That traitor actually laughed.
The sound echoed through the quiet afternoon,warm and real.
Before you could formulate a proper insult, you felt his hand gently cover yours.
The laughter faded.
Neither of you moved.
His fingers were warm.
Steady.
Comforting.
Kakashi looked down at your joined hands for a moment before squeezing lightly.
Not dramatically.
Not poetic.
Just honest.
"I like this," he said quietly.
You swallowed.
"Yeah?"
"Being with you."
There it was.
No grand speech.
No perfect confession.
Just Kakashi.
Simple and sincere.
And somehow that meant more than anything.
A smile tugged at your lips.
"You're lucky you're cute."
His eyebrow lifted.
"Cute?"
"Cute."
"That's probably the first time anyone has called me that."
"Get used to it."
"Hmm?"
"There you go again."
Kakashi leaned his shoulder against yours.
This time intentionally, without pretending it was accidental.
"I can live with cute."
You laughed softly and rested your head against his shoulder.
The sun dipped lower.
The tea went cold.
Neither of you cared.
For once, there was nowhere to be.
Nothing to fight.
No one to save.
Just the quiet comfort of existing beside each other.
And for Kakashi, that might have been the closest thing to peace.
For you, it was enough.
More than enough.
It was home.
‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙
This was originally meant to be a long story, but because I am literally dying under the pressure of studies, I wrote this during one of the biology lectures after lunch break...
The thought came to me after a particular conversation with my friends about their type and what they expect or need from their s/o. No one asked me about what I wanted... I couldn't help thinking about Kakashi and wrote this...
