#obito fluff

You knew his story, how could you not? Every person in Konoha and many other lands knew of what had transpired during the Third Great Shinobi War, even if some of the more shocking details were later covered with some degree of success. Where others might have judged harshly and did, you cocked your head and dared to question it. Things were never quite as straightforward as they were presented.

He had been a pawn, a mere tool for people far more vile to use at their leisure. Obito was a man that had everything taken from him, manipulated into thinking his best friend killed the girl he loved and shed all allegiance to his home as a result. A far too concise analysis of everything that had brought him to this point but where was the need in listing every dirty trick and evil machination? It wouldn’t change anything…

You took these facts, studied them carefully, questioned him when he allowed it and made your own conclusions.

Baffled by your persistence, at the innocent way you stared at him when he told you of horrors that should have curled your toes and sent you screaming into the hills, Obito found you endlessly curious.

Whilst he had been hesitant at your first offerings of friendship, the pull of your personality was too great to be denied and soon enough he was a regular visitor to your home. It started with home-cooked meals shared over a dining table and moved into takeouts devoured on a sofa, all whilst you conversed like you had known each other for years rather than only a few simple months.

Obito had stared, wide eyes shining like polished coals and slack-jawed as you touched his white arm for the first time. Your touch was so gentle that it almost felt like it wasn’t there. You said you were curious if that side of him was colder and you smiled up at him when you realised that wasn’t the case. That smile had been the beginning of the end for Obito but unaccustomed to these feelings, he simply didn’t notice.

It hadn’t stopped there, you explored the deep river of scars over his face and didn’t flinch or act disgusted. It had brought a lump to his throat but no tears flowed, those came a month later.

You shared your bed with the reclusive Uchiha on more than one occasion, in fact, it started to become a regular occurrence. Late nights talking about everything and nothing, spent playing board games and laughing when he called you a dirty cheater. It made sense to stop over, and it felt right to be pressed into his side.

To sense his breathing slow and even out, feel the warmth of his pale skin brush so gingerly over yours. The way he whispered goodnight to you in the pitch black room when he thought you to be asleep and how his voice sounded different in those moments, almost reverential.

He never reached out for more, at least not whilst awake and yet each morning the pair of you would be a tangle of limbs and twisted bedsheets.

And so, you found your courage one night. Taking his face in your small hands as he gazed at you in question, letting him watch and understand your intentions so that he could pull away if he wanted, but he would never want to do that.

That first kiss had been slow and patient, learning and tentative. You guided his hands to your waist, showed him it was alright to touch you - that you wanted more of him and he was a mess.

Obito was truly mystified by your advances, struggling to comprehend why you would choose him when there were so many far better suitors for one as pretty and special as you.

His emotions were fragile, like a baby animal learning to walk for the first time, very new and overwhelming. As things had progressed, grown heavier and hotter, he let those feelings lead him. Tried to ignore the flutter of fear in his heart that you would reject him at any moment, tell him it was all a big joke and laugh in his face.

That moment never came as this was no laughing matter. The bed you had shared so many times before seemed smaller when you tumbled onto the sheets in states of undress. This was all new to him but you never teased or mocked him, only led him through everything with endless patience and such trust that the defences around his heart withered into nothing.

You were changing him, forcing him to address the emotions that had simmered below the surface since he had started to get to know you and whilst it was painful in ways, it was a necessary pain. Something that would change the course of his future.

He wouldn’t be alone in a world that hated him, maybe even he might come to realise that there were still people that sought out his company and didn’t wish to see him endlessly persecuted.

Friends.

A future.

A lover.

That moment of true joining, when he felt so connected to you that his heart might as well dwell within your chest, was when he cried. A slow trickle of tears caught in the deep crevices of his scars and blurred his vision. He didn’t deserve you, you were too good to be chained to him for the rest of your days.

“Why me?”

His voice wavered, managing to speak through the haggard lump in his throat as you squeezed around him and adjusted to being one with him.

To Obito, you looked like an angel spread out on the sheets, so perfect and what made you more perfect was the understanding and compassion you showed him at every turn.

Eyes shining with love, you cupped his face as you had done earlier. Stroked your thumbs over his cheeks and brushed away his tears with a sincere smile.

“Because you deserve to see the kinder side of humanity and I want to be the one to do that. Now, love me like I know you do.”

He had. Long into the night, exploring the carnal delight of two people that loved and trusted one another. There had been no more tears, only smiles and laughter, for what fun is intimacy and love-making without humour?

The second time Obito cried happened six months later.

For you it was trivial but for him - it meant the world.

No longer did he fear being too close to you or holding you during bedtime, often draping you over his chest so that he could ensure you were as close to his heart as possible.

This particular night had seemed no different, unwinding before bed and going through your nightly routines. You were tired, more so than usual and fell asleep content in the arms of your lover.

All was calm, all was well… until it wasn’t.

Nightmares tore through your psyche with deadly precision. Images of the worst of your fears playing out in technicolour and you were powerless. Frozen in place, doomed to watch your loved ones suffer in the most horrendous ways and you awoke with a scream.

Cold sweat poured down your skin, ice thick in your blood and the pounding in your ears drowned out the alarmed calls from Obito who was sitting up in the bed and looking around for danger.

You did the thing that came instinctively to you at that moment. Throwing yourself with quite some force into Obito’s chest and making yourself as small as possible as he grunted from the impact but wound his arms around you hastily.

He was terrified but the more the fog of sleep dissipated from his brain, the more he understood. Nightmares were nothing new to him, for years he had been racked with them every night and only recently had he managed long stretches without waking suddenly with terror in his heart. A feat that was entirely down to you.

Obito showed you the same patience that you had always shown him, stroking your hair and humming gently. He rocked so slowly from side to side as you sobbed your heart out and clung to him like he was your anchor in his world, and it hit him.

You felt safe with him. In moments of sheer terror, you chose him to protect you, to comfort you. He knew you loved him, that fact had been made clear long ago but this was new and almost more.

It had been what felt like an eternity since he believed anyone relied upon him. Decades perhaps since those days with his team and his sensei. There you were making him feel more like his old self than he thought possible.

He could protect you and he would. Obito would cherish you, keep you safe and you could always depend on him. His stifled sobs went unnoticed as you calmed yourself, his face pressed tightly into your hair so you couldn’t witness the hot tears that stained his cheeks.

They were happy tears but you didn’t need to see them when you were vulnerable. That word struck a nerve, he had been vulnerable for so long and now… he was breaking free from that feeling.

Obito told you later the next day, making sure you knew how much he appreciated your faith and trust. He admitted to crying because you knew there was more to his words and it was the sweetest admission.

“Crying isn’t a weakness, it simply demonstrates that you are human. That you are a good man with a heart that is healing after so much pain.”