Obito and Kakashi go to Kyoto, where Obito was born.

Kyoto was so fun! The last time he'd been here for tourism was when he was thirteen or something. He'd been to the city a couple of times since, but usually for work. It felt good to be here for leisure.

"C'mon pretty cop! No slacking off!" Obito called him a few steps ahead in the long stony stairway.

Kakashi sped up the steps to catch up to Obito on their way to the temple. They got here last night and checked in a nice hotel, already ate some delicious typical nishin soba and had wild sex all night, making sure to be very loud and make everyone next to their room hear them. They had brought literal liters of lube with them, together with some condoms, even one of Kakashi's dildos, this trip was off to a great start.

Kakashi had been curious about meeting a new side of his boyfriend and he was surprised when Obito himself suggested for them to go to Kyoto. When he asked if Kakashi would be up for a trip and maybe some vacations, he jumped in Obito's arms and kissed him silly and they ended up fucking on the floor, it was really nice. Since they started with this sharing-their-deepest-secrets-and-fears thing, instead of their recently established relationship hitting a rocky patch, they became closer, and even more in love. It was doing insane things to Kakashi's heart and brain, he never thought he could be so happy in life, that he deserved such happiness. The pessimist in him was just waiting for everything to go south, but realistically, he'd just try to enjoy it while it lasted.

He was worried when he almost had one of his episodes with Obito, but everything was ok. Obito talked him out of it, and he reached out to Yugao and Tenzo about it, asking them for some recommendations on psychiatrists and therapists, and they were genuinely happy for him. He got started on a low dose of antidepressants and antipsychotics, and he hated to admit that it helped, he had had four meetings with his new therapist too, and finally someone who could understand him. Every shrink he tried before was just your regular person, but this one was just five years older than him and had been a field doctor, and seen some pretty horrible shit too, their first session had been just him describing his own experiences to help Kakashi relate to him, and it worked. When he told his therapist he'd need to reschedule their next appointment because of the trip, he was really happy for Kakashi and Obito and said it was a great idea.

It took them some weeks to organize everything at work. Obito got some cover bands to replace the Akatsuki some days, and others Deidara and Sasori would split the role as the band vocalists (Hidan had begged them to replace Obito as the vocalist but it was a hard no from everyone in Amegakure). For Kakashi it was also easy because as he later found out, he hadn't taken any of his mandatory vacations for almost four years, he had almost two months of paid leaves to use at work, and since everyone above him knew what a workaholic he was (he hated this word, workaholic, he just loved his job, what's wrong with that?), no one had any issue with him finally requesting a week off.

They would spend three nights in downtown Kyoto and then three nights in a nice inn just outside the city with hot springs, and Kakashi was very excited for the second half of their trip. It was all Obito's ideas, and just planning the trip had already been fun, between looking for hotels and inns, and checking Instagram profiles of all restaurants they wanted to try. Thank god all his friends at work agreed to help Kakashi taking care of the dogs during his vacation, they'd organized shifts and schedules, and Kakashi had to go over some medications and special cares, but he had the best friends ever, with Tenzo even saying he'd spend one or two nights over so the kids wouldn't feel lonely. Obito mocked him saying he was too worried, and that he sounded like an overprotective parent, but he helped setting everything up too, with even a security camera for Kakashi to watch them from the trip. He'd been a little anxious right after they left yesterday, but after arriving at the hotel, eating, fucking and sleeping, Kakashi decided he was going to enjoy this and let go of all his worries.

For the next week they had a nice itinerary planned, but today the first order of business was visiting Obito's former shrine. The temple wasn't big like the ones he remembers visiting before around Kyoto, but then again, those were all touristic sites. This one seemed less busy, almost no one taking pictures around, few people looked like tourists, it seemed it was mostly locals. The pagodas were smaller, only two floors, but there were torii gates all around them, and a lot of mikos and old ladies walking around, helping in cleaning the grounds, selling things, talking to the devouts and other chores. It was a nice change of pace from the shrine where dad was buried, that was a bit more deserted, here people seemed to really value religion more than in Tokyo.

"Holy crap, this place never changes." Obito sighed with his hands on his pockets, the weather was becoming a bit chilly as autumn passed them by.

"When was the last time you were here?" Kakashi asked curious.

"Two, maybe three years ago, not sure."

"So you come often." He'd thought Obito hadn't come here since he left the city almost twenty years ago, but it wasn't the case.

"Always. I come to a friend to visit, c'mon, I'll take you to her."

Obito nodded to a stony path that led to the back of the shrine and Kakashi followed him. Kakashi wondered who this friend was, Obito never mentioned her in, but she seemed important for him to keep coming back to Kyoto just to visit her, and his heart fluttered with thinking that he would meet another one of Obito's important people, and get to know yet another side of the man he loved. When he started noticing some stands selling flowers, sake and incense, his heart dropped to his stomach. They were going to visit Obito's friend's grave. Shit. Kakashi was sad that Obito's lost somebody important to him, he felt like this feeling of dread was contrasting with the excitement he was feeling before. They crossed a big torii gate and entered a rather large cemetery, bigger than the one dad was buried, but Obito still had an easy smile on his face.

"I was afraid of coming here when I was younger, but now is the main area of the shrine I visit." He explained with a chuckle, and Kakashi didn't notice any negative feelings in Obito's voice, which he was relieved for.

He pointed to a small grave that looked cleaned and cared for, there were some dried flowers on a vase in front of it, showing that someone must have visited recently. The name on it was Nohara Rin, and the date of birth and death told Kakashi she'd been twelve when she died, and his heart clutched again. Parents should never have to bury their children, it was against the natural order of things.

"Remember when you took me to meet your father? I also wanted to introduce you to an important person." Obito took Kakashi's hand in his and gestured his head to the grave. "This is Rin, she was my best friend in the world."

"Hi Rin, it's nice to meet you." Kakashi removed his mask with his free hand and put it in his pocket. He doesn't know why he did that, maybe it was muscle memory, since he always did that for his dad, maybe he thought somehow the dead deserved some sort of respect, they deserved to see the living with bare faces, showing their grief.

"We went to the same school since I can remember, and we were attached on the hip, we played together all the time in the temple grounds. Their folks used to think she was gonna become a miko at the shrine, since she was over all the time." Obito explained still with a smile on his face and honestly, Kakashi didn't know how he could, Obito must be much stronger than he was.

"I'm sure it would have been cute… How was she like?"

"She was always smiling, all the time. She was sweet and polite and didn't make fun of me for living in a shrine with a bunch of old people. She liked animals and babies, she wanted to be a doctor when she grew up." Now Obito's voice was covered with a tinge of sadness, because he never got to see his friend growing up.

"What happened?" Kakashi tried to ask in a neutral voice, but it sound a bit choked.

"What usually happens Kakashi, life." Obito sighed, and Kakashi squeezed his hand twice to let him know he was there. "I only found out later, but her folks got money from some loan sharks, and they burned their house as a warning when they couldn't pay it back. Except they didn't know Rin was still inside."

"Shit Obito." Kakashi dropped his eyes from the grave to his feet. Fuck, Obito didn't deserve to go through so much, he hated this.

"I tried to save her, I really did, but the house was crumbling all around us and something hit me in the head and left me unconscious. Next thing I know, I'm in the hospital… with half of my body burned and… and Rin was dead." Obito's voice started to tremble at the recount of the memory.

So this is how Obito got his scars. Kakashi never asked before because he tried to be respectful of what other people decided to keep private. During their months together, Obito would often acknowledge his scars, mostly with self-deprecating jokes that Kakashi always pointedly refuted, telling him he was beautiful, his scars made him sexy, that the tattoo sleeve on his right arm was so creative and artistic, by the way it drew on the scars natural drawing on Obito's skin to make it pop and other stuff. He felt like Obito was making less of those jokes as time passed and Kakashi liked to think his compliments and reassurances were part of the reason he was healing his self-image issues. But Obito never told him the story behind them, even though there were more than plenty of chances to do it. That's why Kakashi never poked around to find out. It was good hearing the story now, but it was for such a horrible reason, his stomach kept churning in an unpleasant way.

"I'm so sad you had to go through this." What else could you tell someone in this situation?

"Don't worry, it's in the past. Though I still talk to her." Obito send him a small sad smile that made him sick.

"Is she the one you pray to when we go in the shrines?" That had happened twice now since they met, and Kakashi had been wondering why Obito took the opportunity to pray.

"Yeah, you guessed it detective." Obito send Kakashi a sad smile.

"When you said you had an accident that landed you on the hospital and Madara paid for your medical bills…"

"Yes, this was it, I was trying to save her." Obito confirmed Kakashi's unspoken question.

They stood there in silence for a while, both men watching the tombstone closely. Probably it was well cared because her parents still visited her often. That thought comforted Kakashi a bit, they must feel so guilty, even if it's not their fault. Obito must feel guilty too, for not being able to rescue her, even if he almost died trying. Such a strange human emotion, often plaguing the ones who didn't deserve it.

"Want to pray a bit? Talk to her a bit?" Kakashi broke their silence.

Obito sighed and his shoulders slumped a bit. "Yes."

"Want me to give you some privacy?"

"No. I want you here." Obito said in a sweet but tired tone, and let go of Kakashi's hand to sit on the ground in front of the grave.

"Hey Rin." Obito started and Kakashi crouched beside him, hugging his legs and feeling a bit awkward, like he was intruding in some private moment. "I know it's been a couple of years since I've visited your grave, but I wanted to do this the right way. I… crap I feel so stupid saying this… I wanna introduce you to my boyfriend, this is Kakashi."

Obito gestured to Kakashi taking him by surprise. Is this why Obito suggested for them to come to Kyoto? He wanted to introduce him to Rin? He was so touched, his heart warmed him from the inside and he seated beside Obito more comfortably.

"Hi Rin, thanks for taking care of Obito all these years." Kakashi bowed his head respectfully. He wasn't particularly religious, but he respected what Obito and his father believed, and he guessed if really there was an afterlife, Rin sure would spend it watching over Obito and her parents, just like he imagined dad would be watching over him. That would a waste of his father's after life, but he was such a loving father, he was probably doing that instead of enjoying heaven with Kakashi's mother, as he should.

"Yeah, he's a handsome fella, you would have approved of him. Personality-wise… he's just alright." He chuckled and Kakashi poked Obito's scarred cheek. Somehow he was more conscious of his scars now, usually it didn't pop in his mind this often. "Shit, you'd love this, he's a cop, can you believe it? He helps to keep me in line, so I don't go wandering away from you again. You'd have liked him."

Obito started to cry, it starts as some tears rolling down his cheeks and it becomes an ugly cry and Obito starts getting hiccups. Kakashi's never seen him like this, not even when he was coming clean about his crimes, or when Kakashi told him about his past. He didn't know what to do, so he just hugged Obito and let him use his shoulder, Kakashi rocked him a bit and patted his back, hoping this would help. Shit, he hated feeling useless, and he hated more seeing Obito sad and having nothing to do about it.

It took some time, but eventually Obito raised his face from Kakashi's shirt, where tears stained the fabric. "Thanks, love… I… ok, I think I'm better." Obito smiled at Kakashi, and he was beautiful, even with red rimmed eyes and tear-stained cheeks. He leaned down and kissed that scarred cheek with love. "Rin always called me a crybaby."

"A crybaby? Why?" Kakashi couldn't help but to smile at the nickname. He has this sudden feeling that made he and Rin would have hit it off, had they ever met.

"Oh, you only met the cool Obito. When I was a kid a cried a lot. Over everything. It's funny remembering that." Obito chuckled and got out of Kakashi's hug, letting his hands fall the dirty ground to support his weight as he leaned back, eyes still on the tombstone.

"Over everything really?"

"Yeah, scraped knees, hard homework I didn't understand, when she won a race, when the grannies scolded us, when the kids at school bullied me."

"Some of these are valid reasons for crying, I think." Kakashi tried to console him.

"But others not." Obito interjected playfully.

"But others not." Kakashi chuckled agreeing with him. "Now I want to see little Obito crying because he lost to a girl in a race."

"It's less cute than you're making it sound. Right Rin?" Obito asked to her grave and smiled as if he had heard some kind of answer. "But when I started crying, she was always there to lend me a shoulder. She would only tease me about it later, when I was ok again, telling me I should toughen up a bit because not everybody was like her and thought it's ok to cry."

"She sounds like a very reasonable little person." Kakashi mused.

"Yeah, to think we were kids and I was getting owned like that, it's embarrassing."

"You were a kid too, she's the one who sounds ahead of her time." Kakashi concluded and Obito opened a big smile at that.

"Fair enough." Obito laughed with his easy smile. "I think we're good. We can go back to the itinerary."

"Are you sure? You know I-"

"Thank you, love, really, but I think it's enough. I wanted to introduce you both to each other, I'm happy I finally have a relationship with you, and that I get to show you off." Obito bumped his shoulder against Kakashi's and he had to roll his eyes at his boyfriends antics.

"Idiot."

"I'm serious, it's fine. Before we get on the train on Sunday we swing by the cemetery again for a last visit." Obito proposed and Kakashi easily agreed. He'd love to visit Rin again, he hoped Obito could tell him some happier stories next time.

"Ok."

Obito got to his feet and stretched his back with a groan. "All this crying made me hungry!"

"What do you want to eat?" Kakashi joined him and cracked his neck, it was a bit stiff from his sitting position.

"I want my crackling boyfriend to buy me crepe! Strawberry crepe!" Obito poked fun at Kakashi's joints popping.

"Obito, you can't have dessert for lunch, we went over this already." Kakashi shoved his hands on his pockets and started following Obito out of the cemetery.

"You're such a pussy. You're an adult, create your own rules! C'mon!"

"Idiot."

After some more days in downtown Kyoto, they climbed up the mountain to visit a hot spring resort. Kakashi haven't been to a hot spring in forever, and he felt all his body melt when he got inside the water. The night was clear and beautiful, the soft light of the lanterns was calming, and the hotel was empty since it wasn't a busy season. His perfect boyfriend was beside him also soaked in water, looking like a god, in this perfect night. He was at peace.

"Hey Kakashi?" Obito's deep tone broke their silence after a few minutes of relaxing in the hot water.

Obito's been acting a bit off today. Maybe nervous? Kakashi didn't know why, he tried to make Obito relax the way he could, he gave him kisses, some sweets, even a bath bomb he saw in the fair earlier, which he knew Obito loved (he loved things that smelled nice, Kakashi found out once when they were visiting a bed & bath store some weeks ago). But nothing seemed to improve his boyfriend's mood, these hot springs were his last resort.

"Yes?" He opened his eyes to answer Obito. He was almost falling asleep inside the water.

"Are you… liking? This thingy here?" Obito made a weird gesture with his hand.

"Thingy as in the trip?" Kakashi tried to guess.

"Yeah."

"I'm loving it." Kakashi said in a satisfied sigh, letting himself sink deeper in the hot spring, letting his head rest against a rock.

"Oh, ok. Great. Peachy."

"I mean it." Kakashi added after hearing the nervousness in Obito's tone. Whatever was in his mind was working some anxiety on his boyfriend. "I love you. I love spending time with you. And Kyoto is great, I'm having a lot of fun."

This seemed to settle some of the worry that Obito was feeling. "So you would like for this to happen more?"

"Getting away with you? Of course, I could do this every day." He meant it. Maybe he should retire from the police, open a little inn up in the mountains, take a nice hot bath every day. He'd be so relaxed all the time he'd live to be 200 years. Specially with Obito by his side.

"Yeah, the trip is nice, but would you be ok with just… you know, us? Spending time… together? And stuff?"

Kakashi had no idea where his boyfriend was getting at, but he was clearly thinking himself into an anxiety attack. As someone who's had his fair share of anxiety episodes, Kakashi was more than ready to help him calm down.

"Yes, I'd be more than ok with more of that, I'd be very, very happy." He answered smiling at Obito's cute puppy face, he could get so timid sometimes.

"Oh. Ok. Great. Awesome. Peachy. Amazing." Obito said redundantly, somehow even more nervous. Kakashi didn't get it, how could he be nervous in this place? This was heaven on earth.

"Yes. Amazing." Kakashi echoed closing his eyes in relaxation in the water.

"So… doyouwannamoveintogetherwithme?" Obito said in one short breath and Kakashi's head snapped from the resting position against the rock to turn and look at his boyfriend, so fast he heard several bones popping in his neck, and he almost got whiplash.

"What!" He asked, or rather demanded, in a loud voice despite himself.

"It's so weird how much your joints crack, are you sure is not a medical condition?" Obito laughed nervously clearly trying to change subjects.

"You want to live together?" Kakashi asked again.

"Well… yeah?" Obito replied in the same nervous tone, and now Kakashi understood what was eating at him the whole day.

"In the same house?"

"Yeah."

"With my dogs?"

"Of course." Obito sounded offended by that particular question.

Kakashi was in a dazed state for some moments, was Obito seriously considering this? Shit, Kakashi really wanted this, but he never got the courage to ask his boyfriend. Oh god. Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit. This boyfriends thing was going so great already, Kakashi didn't know it was possible to feel even happier.

Obito's expression started to fall as Kakashi stalled to give him a direct answer. "I mean, if you don't wan-"

"Yes!" Kakashi exclaimed before Obito could put another idiotic notion in his head.

"Yes?"

"Yes! Let's move in together!" Kakashi jumped on Obito's neck to hug him.

"Oh fuck. Alright!" Kakashi started kissing Obito. Oh my god he was so happy. Shit, this was really happening!

"When can you… move to my place?" Kakashi asked in between kisses.

"Your pleace?"

"Yes… because of… the kids…" Kakashi kissed Obito more and more and his boyfriend answered with the same level of enthusiasm.

"Wouldn't I… be taking-oh… advantage of you?" Obito's tongue was on his mouth and the hotness of the hot spring no longer relaxed him, it only made him hornier.

"Idiot… no, come… live with me." Kakashi moved to leave open mouthed kisses on Obito's neck, tasting his feverish skin, his hands resting on Obito's pecs feeling him up.

"Oh fuck… then-oh… right when-ouch… when we get back?"

"Perfect!" Kakashi agreed excitedly before letting his hand drop below the water and grab Obito's already hard cock. Shit he always wanted to have sex on a hot spring, this is going to be insanely hot.

Just then two old men pushed through the curtain, and Kakashi and Obito immediately stopped kissing and got almost a whole meter away from each other. Even if they were not afraid of being gay in public, sex in a public hot spring was frowned upon no matter which genders were involved. They looked at each other and started laughing, like teenagers. Kakashi leaned back in and kissed Obito's cheek.

"I love this idea." He whispered in uncontained hapiness in Obito's ear.

"I love you." Obito replied giggling at his boyfriend.