IDIL's Note: Hola, mis amigos! ;) I thought I was going to put this out 3 days ago, but it didn't end up happening. Oh well, it's long, so enjoy that. :P Also, got some great great great news! (Well, Kishimoto does) Kakashi Gaiden will be animated in a one-hour special episode coming out next week! Kyaaaa!!! I'm so excited; these guys are in the running for my favourite team ever! So yeah, be sure to look out for that! I also watched Naruto Shippuden: Bonds, and I have to say...for all the hype, it was fairly dissapointing. :( Ah, well! Such is life! Anyway, hope you enjoy the ficcy! ;D
Aah, and please note: this occurs in some alternate universe where Obito is still alive! :) For anyone who's wondering what I picture older!Obito to look like...he kind of looks like Ren-kun from the shoujo manga Strobe Edge (which by the way is crazy addicting! Kyaa!)
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
They're the best of friends, and just like the best of friends, they share everything, even each other.
Sometimes Rin is with Obito, sometimes she is with Kakashi, sometimes she is all alone, and sometimes she's with both of them. And the same goes for Obito. And the same same goes for Kakashi. None of them know how it really began, and sometimes it makes them argue, but Rin, sweet as ever, will just say that it probably began when she told Kakashi she liked him and he finally agreed to give her a chance, so therefore they can both blame and thank her for whatever's happening.
The fighting will end when Rin says that and shortly after Obito will pull her against him, as if shielding her from the rest of the world. She will smile up at him, snuggle a little closer, and finally Kakashi will get sick of being left out and forgive them for whatever they had done to make him mad.
And in reality, Rin is right. It did all start with her confession. She had shyly asked him to privately meet her, and though confused, he had obliged. She had stared down at her toes and mumbled the words so quietly and incoherently that she ended up confessing a total of four times before Kakashi understood what was happening. When he finally had, he looked at her uncomfortably and was left speechless. She had taken his silence as rejection and began to almost plead with him to "Just give me [her] a chance!" At that moment, Kakashi would have said anything just to get himself out of there, and he agreed to give her a chance.
Their dates had not, by any standard, been conventional, but Kakashi had surprisingly found himself actually enjoying her company, and after the first 10 dates had passed and nothing had changed between them, he had idly wondered whether he should ask for someone's help; that was how Obito became involved.
He had been a little more than surprised when Kakashi had come to him one night, asking about Rin. He had been surprised enough that he had asked the Hatake why he was so interested in their female teammate. That was when Kakashi had told him of her confession, and that's when everything changed.
"Rin confessed that she likes me," he told the Uchiha.
"And?"
"And what?"
"Do you like her?"
"I don't know," Kakashi shrugged. "I guess."
Obito shot him a look with raised eyebrowns. "You guess?"
Kakashi shrugged again. "Yeah, I guess. I don't know…" He sighed. "Yes."
Obito visibly winced. It was common knowledge that he'd loved Rin ever since he could remember. But Kakashi was his friend, and he wanted Rin to be happy, so he continued the interrogation. "So?"
"So what?" Kakashi sighed again; these monosyllabic questions were starting to irk him.
"So, what are you going to do about it?…Or have you guys gone out already?"
Kakashi coughed to hide his embarrassment. "We have."
Obito's eyes widened in surprise; there was more to this story than met the eye. Kakashi used the Uchiha's silence to his advantage and began to pose his questions.
"Are you…ok with all of this?"
Obito winced and shot Kakashi a 'what do you think' look, though he gave a surprising honest answer. "Well…I guess in the end, yeah. I mean, you're my friend right, and Rin…" He trailed off, sounding hurt, and then sucked in a breath. "Well…you already know what I think about Rin…but…I want her to be happy, I really do, and if she can only be happy with you then I guess I'll just have to step aside."
Kakashi let out a sigh. Sometimes Obito was too noble and stupid for his own good. He had to admit though; the Uchiha was a genius when it came to guilt tripping others; he wasn't sure whether it was intentional or not, but Obito was damn good at it. This admittance bothered him more than he let on; he had come to Obito hoping to receive some quality advice and instead received a new bundle of uncertainty and anxiety about the whole thing.
Oh well. He was just going to have to wing it.
It hadn't occurred to him the moral complications that would arise from his talk with Obito. In fact, he hadn't even realized how much Obito's words had impacted him until he walked Rin home that evening. She had been going on about the weather and how nice it would be to have a picnic when all of a sudden Kakashi ran his hands through his hair and felt himself let out a sigh. "Rin…"
"And there's only a 10% chance of rain, but even those are scattered showers – I made sure to check the weather!"
"Rin."
"Maybe we can all go as a team!"
"Rin!"
She turned around, startled to see him stopped so far back. She looked at him quizzically, trying to figure out what was going on. He ran his hands through his hair, pushing his bangs out of his eyes, and before he knew it, the words came out of his mouth. "I can't do this."
Kakashi didn't miss the hurt look on her face.
"It's not you," he rushed in to say, already feeling worse that he'd upset her, "Just…do you like Obito?"
"Yes…?" The confused look in her eyes told him she hadn't properly understood the question. So he asked it again, making sure to give a clearer definition.
"Do you have a crush on Obito? Do you like him?"
Rin bit her lip. Stupid Kakashi. Always complicating things, never letting them just be. She crossed her arms over her chest defensively. "Why are you asking me this?"
"Just answer the question Rin," he commanded. Her arms fell back down to their sides; he wasn't going to give up, no matter what.
She sighed resignedly and bit down on her bottom lip again. "…Yes." Though Kakashi had no visible reaction to her coerced confession, she quickly tacked on, "But I like you more!" in order to dispel any anger or hurt feelings she may have caused.
All was silent for a few moments. Then, "You should give him a chance," Kakashi told her.
"What?"
"Just try it out with him, see how it goes. If you like him afterwards, I'll step aside; I won't get in the way of your happiness."
Right then an unsuspecting Obito happened to pass by. Rin wasted no time in getting to the bottom of what was going on. "Did you put him up to this?" She questioned the confused Uchiha, waving her finger in Kakashi's direction.
"Excuse me?" Obito's confusion was polite, as always, but it served only to frustrate Rin further; she wasn't getting anywhere with these two!
She rounded on Kakashi. "I don't know what you're up to! But…" She took a deep breath, "But if that's what you want, then fine." Her gaze shifted back to Obito, and she smiled cordially at him. "Friday at 8. Please don't be late."
Obito nodded dumbly in consent, now feeling just as thoroughly confused as Rin. "What the hell's going on here, Kakashi?"
Maintaining his cool demeanour, he told the boy, "You have a date with Rin. You heard her. Friday at 8, please don't be late."
Obito's eyes widened, his orbs flicking back and forth from black onyx to Sharingan red. "What did you do?!"
"Relax! Geez, this is the thanks I get? I just told her to give you a chance; I thought you'd appreciate that."
"Are you an idiot? I meant what I said before. I just want her to be happy…I don't care who it's with! Yeah, sure, I'd like it to be me, but you know, life isn't always fair. So what? And your stupid stunt won't get her to like me as you're thinking; it'll probably make her even hate me more!"
Now all three were confused. "Why?" asked Kakashi.
"Because she's going to think that I put you up to this. That I'm the one who planted this doubt in your head and made you say that!"
"…But you are."
"How the hell am I?!"
"It's your stupid fault. You're the dumbass who just had to go on about how you wanted her to be happy and that she deserved someone who could make her happy."
"And that caused you to make her ask me out how…?"
"Well you and your stupid noble lectures made me realize something. And that's that you're right: she does deserve to be happy, no matter who it's with. I just thought that since you care so much for her, you'd probably do the best job at making her happy, and well you deserve the chance and she deserves to be happy…I figured it'd be the perfect match."
Obito shook his head, turning to walk towards the Uchiha compound. He stopped momentarily and looked back at Kakashi. "Thanks Kakashi," he smirked the trademark Uchiha smirk, "but you're still an idiot."
The silver-haired boy rolled his eye dramatically. "And you're still a noble loser. Just remember to be on time for your date."
-
-
By the time Friday had rolled around, Obito had called Kakashi a total of 23 times; it was getting to the point where the junior White Fang was able to pick up the receiver and without asking who was on the other line say, "The red shirt looks better. Everything will be fine. Don't call here again."
Needless to say, Obito remained quite stressed about the entire date ordeal and what Rin would think of him. He had already resigned himself to his fate: the date was going to happen, he would have a chance, and he would do his best. He just hoped his best was good enough.
Originally, Obito had planned to take Rin to an upscale restaurant and dazzle her with the lap of luxury. After all, the easiest (and arguably most effective) way the Uchiha impressed was through their vast wealth. However, he soon realized that the girl he was taking out was not just any other girl, but Rin; the one who had thus far been the love of his debatably short life. He would have to do better than some fancy restaurant.
And so he picked her up promptly at 8 sharp – something that clearly already dazzled her – taking her to a nearby park. They climbed the set of stairs winding up to his favourite spot and within minutes found themselves atop a small hill overlooking Konoha's east side. Obito carefully set down the basket he had been carrying and pulled out a navy blanket, setting it on the cool park grass. "Please, sit," he grinned up at Rin.
She smiled back kindly, kneeling on the edge of the blanket. She had to admit that while Obito's idea was undoubtedly cliché, it was very sweet and thoughtful; she had been dying to take advantage of the summer weather and have a picnic for ages. Still, before she could fully enjoy herself, there were a few matters of business she had to clear up.
"Obito?" She called.
"Yeah?" He responded, eyes glancing up at her momentarily between pulling out food from his basket.
"Please don't get offended by this…but I just want to know something."
"Don't worry, nothing you say could offend me," he smiled reassuringly.
She paused to smile back. "Tell me the truth, ok?"
"Always."
"Was it you?"
"Was it me what?"
"Was it you who put Kakashi up to all this?"
"No. I mean…I didn't…I didn't mean to."
Obito didn't miss the frown on her face or the disapproving look in her eyes. He sighed; it was time to explain everything. Even if Kakashi didn't want her to know, she had to. "Kakashi came to me a few days ago, asking for advice on…well, on what he should do about the fact that he likes you –"
Rin blushed, happy to hear the affirmation of Kakashi's liking her, despite the fact that it was not a direct affirmation from the silver-haired jounin himself.
"- and well, amongst other things, he asked if I was ok with the two of you going out. I told him yes, I was fine with it as long as you were happy; I wouldn't interfere. I guess he didn't believe me though, because…well," he blushed, "because he knew of my feelings for you. And I guess in some way that put the idea into his head to get you to give me a chance; he said it's because just like me, he wants to be sure you're happy too. That you don't feel you're missing out or making the wrong decision…"
Rin laid her hand on his shoulder, smiling brightly. "Thank you; you two are incredibly sweet and I know how lucky I am to have both of you."
Obito's cheeks tinged red as he grinned sheepishly, murmuring, "Aw shucks, Rin. We're the lucky ones."
"I guess we're all lucky," she grinned.
The rest of the evening went fairly smoothly and Rin was more than surprised with how much she was enjoying herself. She had always considered Obito a good friend, but it was strange and somewhat magical, to see him in a different light. He had matured, there was no denying that; his prior bruised-ego tantrums were scenes of the past, and while he hadn't lost his innate playfulness and humour, his jokes were more thoughtful and witty.
By the time their date ended, it was nearing midnight and all the lights in the park had been long extinguished. Deftly, Obito cleared up the area around them, placing the blanket and the remaining unopened soda bottles back into the basket, and assembling the trash into a perfect paper ball and throwing it into the nearest garbage can. He stood up and heard Rin do the same, but as she started walking forward, her foot slipped on the wet grass and she plummeted head first down the hill.
Obito seemed to have seen everything for he swiftly grabbed her by the arm, pulling her back up. "Gotcha!" he grinned as she let out a scream of surprise.
She bent over, placing her hands on her knees and panting. "Phew," she exhaled, relieved.
"I should have known it's not as safe for you in this darkness," he sounded a little upset with himself, but she could hear the teasing tone of his voice, good-naturedly mocking her inability to see a night. Next thing she knew, she was being lifted off the ground and soaring towards the bottom of the hill.
Rin shut her eyes, too afraid of the falling sensation to even dare open them. "Kami, how can you even see where you're going?"
"I got my night vision goggles on," he winked down at her. "The Sharingan version; they're multi-functional!"
She let out another sigh of relief. Well…as long as he knew where he was going…
-
-
Their dates continued on much in the same manner; Obito's were always outside – something she loved about them – and full of fun. He never failed to come up with new ideas, such as the time they went cycling to the edge of a creek in Nara territory and had jumping competitions from the trees into the nearby water. Comparatively, Kakashi's would have seemed almost boring, for his ideas were less original, but she never saw their dates as such for he had a way of making her feel calm and comfortable. Not that she didn't feel comfortable with Obito…but this comfortable…it was different. One of her favourite dates had actually been when they just went sparring, and ended up falling asleep beside each other in the training field afterwards.
It was hard to say which boy she liked best…she liked both. Obito – and his dates – were always fun-filled and energy-packed, but left her feeling tired and drained; Kakashi's, which were more calm and peaceful, were welcoming after the intensive Uchiha dates. Truth be told, the combination of both of them was just perfect for her. But she knew she had to make up her mind soon…it was unfair to keep them hanging for such a long time; they'd already been very patient with her up until this point. She didn't want to drag it on and risk hurting either of them or their friendships with each other. And that was why she promised herself that she would give herself the week to make her mind up, and on their respective dates that week, she would tell them when she would make her decision.
-
-
The end of the week came around, and Rin walked towards the place where she would make her decision public, feeling both burdened and relieved. She had realized something that week, something she should have realized a long time ago, and that something had made a huge impact on her decision; she doubted they'd be happy with it.
Oblivious to what would soon hit them, Kakashi and Obito stood side by side at the meeting place, patiently awaiting her arrival. "Hey Kakashi?" Obito spoke suddenly, causing the boy beside him to turn his eyes towards him. "I just wanted you to know…I won't be hurt if you win. I'm grateful for the time you've allowed me to have with her up until now, and if she chooses you, then I won't be upset. But…no matter what…can you promise me something?"
Kakashi nodded seriously. "Sure, what is it?"
"Can you promise me that no matter who she chooses, it won't affect our friendship? That there'll be no jealousy, no hard feelings…?"
Kakashi smiled under the mask, and reached out his hand. "Sure." They'd gotten pretty close ever since the fateful mission that left Kakashi blind in one eye, but everyone else pretty unscathed, and he was sure that no matter who Rin chose, he'd maintain that same friendship with Obito that they'd formed. Nothing was going to change that. Not even Rin.
Obito looked relieved, and let out a grin, shaking Kakashi's hand. "Glad we got that cleared up!"
Kakashi nodded, eyes curved upwards in a boyish smile. "Yeah, me too."
"But you know…" Obito tacked on, grin over brimming with mischief but eyes dead serious, "if you ever hurt her, I'm going to be on you like noodles on ramen broth! You won't know what hit you!"
Kakashi returned the look. "Same goes for you; I'll have you beaten before you can even say 'Itadakimasu'!"
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Kakashi! Obito!"
"Rin!" Obito cried out happily, throwing his arms around his female teammate and bringing her in for a hug. "We missed ya!"
"I haven't even been gone, Obito," she laughed into his shoulder before pulling away and going over to hug Kakashi.
"Still, any day without you feels like an endless one!" Obito mockingly complained as Kakashi greeted Rin with a "Hey".
"So," Rin sighed, "I think you both know why I've called you here; I'm ready to make my decision."
Immediately both boys sobered up; this was the moment they'd been waiting for. And just like in anything…there would only be one "winner".
"First though," Rin continued on, eyes flitting between both of them as she noticed the change in their demeanours, "I just want to thank you both; you've been more than amazing these past few weeks, and this whole thing was so sweet of you. I'm so lucky to have the both of you as my friends, and I don't want to do anything to compromise that, which is why I regret to inform you both that…I haven't chosen either of you."
"What?" Obito cried out, sounding hurt. "No way; that's so not fair! Rin, is there someone else?" His Sharingan flickered on and off from his emotional instability.
"No, no, Obito, nothing like that!" Rin assured him. "It's just…I couldn't decide…I like both of you the same amount, just in different ways, for different things…I…I'm sorry…And there was something I realized as well. I could choose one of you, but I don't think either of you can fully make the commitment, since you seem to love each other as well."
"What?!" the two boys shouted in unison, disbelief evident in their eyes. "You can't be serious!"
"I am. I noticed it this week, when going over everything that happened…Kakashi, you told me that I should give Obito a chance, and I was confused as to why you'd say something like that, until Obito explained it to me. Obito said that it was because you wanted me to be happy, to feel like I was making the right decision and not missing out on anything, which is really sweet…but I think what you also wanted was for Obito to be happy, and not feel like he was missing out on anything. And Obito! When you told me of your meeting with Kakashi, and how you told him you were ok with him and me; that you wouldn't interfere, if that's what I wanted…I think you were trying to protect Kakashi too! You said that so Kakashi wouldn't feel so bad about it, right?"
Obito scratched his head casually, "Eh, I guess that was part of it…but I was just telling him the truth."
"And you Kakashi, you did all these things to make Obito feel happy, didn't you?"
Kakashi looked up at her, eyes wide, but remained silent. It was starting to hit him all of a sudden. What'd he'd been trying to do in getting Rin and Obito together…it was to make them both happier. He hadn't cared about his happiness; he wanted to sacrifice it for theirs. Big deal though, right? They were his teammates, and he was the leader of their team, so naturally he had to put them first…right? Surely it couldn't mean what Rin thought it did…but then…it made so much sense, what she said. So was that it? Did he really love both of them?
The silence of his teammate unsettled Obito…was Kakashi seriously considering what Rin said to be the truth? Was it the truth? It was true that he wanted to put Kakashi at ease as well when he said that…but, wasn't that natural? Weren't friends just supposed to step aside from their happiness in order to let their best friends have it? Wasn't not interfering the right thing to do? Wasn't it necessary? …Obito's eyes widened in realization. Had Rin been right?
Kakashi was the first to break the silence, glancing uneasily between the unstable Obito and the uncertain Rin. "…I think you've…always been very perceptive, Rin. I," he bit his lip, unsure of whether he would regret what he was about to say, "I think this time, you may be…right."
Obito's eyes stopped flickering at the statement, stuck at Sharingan red. He turned his head away from them. "I…I agree."
"So…" Rin remained uneasy, "what should we do about this? I mean, we can't continue on in the same way we've been for the past few weeks, now can we?"
"No," Kakashi fixed his eyes downwards, suddenly interested in the gravel, "I guess not."
They all fidgeted in discomfiture under each other's gaze, and remained silent until one by one, they started leaving. Obito, by far the most confused by the whole situation was last to leave, too absorbed in his thoughts to even notice that Rin and Kakashi were already gone. Damn it, what were they going to do now?
-
-
It took them a week of solitude and denial to realize just how much they needed each other. Surprisingly, Kakashi was the one who had broken first, and proposed that they meet at Ichiraku's to hang out. Rin and Obito, both missing their friends as well, agreed instantly, and thus the three met happily, unspoken tension around them.
"So," Kakashi sighed, leaning back on his stool, "what do we do about…you know?"
"We should just remain friends," Rin shrugged, "We can't all go around with each other."
"Now why can't we?" Obito asked, throwing his arms around their shoulders in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"Because it's impractical," Rin reasoned, "I mean, what'll happen to us when we grow older and we'll want to have families, to get married? It'd put us in an impossible situation; at least one of us would have to get hurt, and…and I don't want that."
"Stop focusing on the tomorrows, Rin. Let's just enjoy the todays! Hell, we may all decide after this that there's no way we'd ever settle down with anyone on our team, so what's the big deal? It's not going to hurt to try! And if we all still stay together, then we'll deal with those problems when they come, all right? But for now, I say we take the risk and go for what we've got."
Rin still seems unsettled by the idea, even though deep inside she knows that despite the consequences, it's probably the most perfect idea they've come up with together, and she would actually like to go through with it. But poor Rin has never liked to toy with others' feelings, and therefore keeps her mind and mouth shut to her desires, and focuses on the problems instead.
Kakashi, who arguably has never appeared to have any qualms when it comes to messing with others' hearts – because really, how many girls has he already turned down coldly? – is more than willing to just go with it, especially because this is the first time he thinks he may love someone, though he's not sure which of his two teammates it is yet. So, "To hell with the consequences. I'm with Obito; we can deal with those later."
More surprised than ever, both teammates snap their heads and fix Kakashi with such a gaze as they would if he'd just told them that he thinks Jiraya's books were the best thing in the universe (which will happen later on, but he figures it's cruel to drop more than one surprising moment on them at a time).
"Are you serious, Kakashi?"
"Sure," Kakashi grins much the same way Obito is grinning now, and it's almost too much for Rin to handle; her cheeks are getting redder by the second. "Why not take the risk? God knows how long any of us are even going to be on this earth."
It figures. Kakashi would be one to do something risky with potentially serious and irreconcilable consequences just because he thinks there's a chance he could die tomorrow, and it wouldn't matter at all.
The look on Rin's face tells them she is still not convinced, but then they smile those boyish grins of theirs and her heart soars: maybe they can make it together after all.