safety [Kakashi Hatake x OC]

fifteen

Eri felt anxious that night, tossing and turning in the sheets and not getting much sleep. She annoyed Pakkun enough that he left the bed and curled up on the floor. She felt insecure and uncertain of her place in Konoha and why she was there in the first place. She needed the protection and stability, but she was an outsider. The Hokage didn't trust her; Kakashi didn't trust her; the shinobi of the Leaf Village were nice to her, but she wasn't one of them.

Perhaps the fact that she was staying in one place for an extended period of time was making her stir-crazy and sending her mind in a downward spiral of uncertainty.

After hours of trying to sleep and failing, she crawled from the bed-sheets. She sat on the edge for another few moments, then quietly got up and went to the door. Pakkun woke up but didn't interrupt her. He just watched as she pulled it open and went into the living room where Kakashi was.

The silver-haired man was asleep, laying unsuspectingly under a few blankets and his book set on the table, still open face-down as if he were about to pick it up again.

The girl didn't know why that in this moment, she felt drawn to him; she felt that she needed to seek him out and perhaps he would comfort her, or at least distract her from her anxiety.

But she also didn't want to disrupt his sleep. Mentally torn for a few more moments, she gently sat on the edge of the couch where the man's feet were. With a heavy sigh, she decided that the worst possible outcome of waking him up would be just a simple matter to keep her from focusing on the churning in her stomach.

She cautiously leaned over and began to shake his arm, knowing that doing so with little effort would not wake him up, as she had experienced the morning prior. But after a second shake and whispering his name, he took in a heavy breath. She leaned back to give him space as he rubbed his single uncovered eye and sat up.

"Eri?" He muttered with a hoarse throat, his voice rough with sleep.

She struggled to meet his tired gaze and fingered the hem of her sweater shyly. Something about this occurrence made her feel like an incapable toddler. "Sorry, I couldn't sleep." She admitted in a quiet tone.

"Are you looking for someone to hold you?" He suggested, his mind and words unfiltered and groggy.

"No." She shot back quickly and frowned, questioning her reasoning for waking him once again as she finally looked him in the eye.

"Why can't you sleep, then?"

"I don't know." She sighed, feeling her heart beat through her chest. It felt like her rib-cage was rattling, and she wasn't sure if she could - or should - be completely vulnerable with the man. She didn't know him well, and she hadn't been in Konoha for long.

"That's fine." He smiled and yawned beneath his mask. "We can just sit here in silence until you feel better." He brought his legs closer to his body to give her more room to be comfortable and relax. 

"I don't know if complete silence is very comforting."

Kakashi drew in a deep breath and retrieved one of the Icha Icha books on the coffee table; it was the one she had already started. He handed it to her and picked up the one that was already open, starting to read that one himself. "It is when you're doing something." He reasoned and focused on the novel.

So, she felt like she was in a safe enough place while he was a soothing presence to relax. She didn't know that he was intentionally trying to have a calm and reassuring aura specifically because he wanted her to feel safe.

She leaned on the back of the couch and began to read, and it wasn't long until she became sucked into the words - as obscure as the so-called "love story" was - and her breathing steadied. Her body language showed that she was significantly less anxious than when she woke him.

The strangely aware and intentional man had never really started to read in the first place. Once Eri was lost in the text, he was focused on her. He watched as she sunk lower and lower into the cushions until she was no longer holding herself upright, and then as her blinking slowed until she could barely keep her eyes open.

A tender, warm smile cracked on Kakashi's hidden lips as he gently pulled the book from where she held it, rising and falling on her chest. She was fast asleep.

All she needed was to know that she wasn't alone, whether she realized it or not.