safety [Kakashi Hatake x OC]

sixty-three

Eri matched the man's smirk and dropped her head to the side casually. "Don't mind if I do." She hummed and joined his side. However, she couldn't get the image of his incredibly sad eye from her head. Whenever she saw him, she couldn't shake the feeling that he seemed so solemn and lost.

Nonetheless, walking beside him felt shockingly comfortable to her. It was quiet and somewhat tense with a sense of uncertainty, but she still felt more at ease by this man than she did in the hospital or with anyone else.

"Where we going?" She eventually asked, looking around and taking in the liveliness and brightness of of central Konoha. It felt familiar, yet she couldn't remember ever seeing it before.

"You moved into an apartment recently, so I was taking you there." Kakashi explained in a low voice, seeming somewhat disappointed.

"Ooh, I get my own place?"

"You do." He agreed. Like always, her happiness made him happy.

"Fancy." She sung.

"If you get scared," he flicked his visible eye towards her. It a bit brighter than it had been previously, also letting her loosen up a bit more. "I can stay with you." He wanted to get closer to her and tease her more, but he didn't want to cross the line. He did want to keep her as close as he could, after all. "All night long, if you wish."

After he said it, he knew he crossed the line.

But Eri chuckled. She was light-hearted and peaceful, wearing much less pressure than when she woke up in his bed over two years prior. The two years were not meaningless to who she was now without the memory of them. The hopeful and warm Eri - the one Kakashi knew very closely - was still there.

"That wasn't a no..." he trailed under his breath, and she beamed up at him, shaking her head to answer hum, but still laughing casually.

Notably, she was asking less questions than she did the first time. Things were falling into place more quickly and she didn't need to fill in the gaps as much.

Still, the girl was confused at how safe she felt. She had always been on the run for as long as she could remember, but she was overwhelmed with a sense of comfort and stability, yet she didn't know where it came from or why it was there.

"Kakashi..." She looked at her fingers, trying to ask the question that had been circling in her mind. "Were we close? You know, before this?"

He stiffened. He wasn't sure how to answer and what would be the best answer for her. He couldn't bring himself to tell the full truth, considering it may put her in a tough position. So, he shrugged and said, "I guess."

"Huh." She exhaled and turned her attention to the blue, cloudless sky.

"Why do you ask?" Curiosity had gotten the best of him.

"Honestly, I can't shake the feeling that we were really close. I'm not sure how, but I think you were really important to me... I've only really been around Sakura and Tsunade-sama, yet I feel the most comfortable with you..."

His heart rose again from where it had hopelessly fallen deep into his stomach. Eri might not have known the details, but she knew. Deep down, she knew that her relationship with him was special, and he held the faith that she would remember him soon very dearly.

A few blocks later, the two of them made it to the girl's apartment, to which Kakashi thoughtlessly retrieved his key and opened the door.

"You have a key?" She wondered out loud, looking at the man quizzically.

"Of course." He blurted out without thinking theoigg it entirely. Realizing his mistake in the confusion on the girl's face, he leaned back on his heels and nervously ran a hand through his thick hair. "I mean, I did help you move in."

"Oh." Was her only response.

Kakashi stood at the doorway as she entered, and it killed him inside. It was time for any reasonable, responsible man to leave her to her space. "Well," He sighed, hiding how disappointed and hurt he was. "i guess I'll leave you to get settled. If you, uh, need me for anything, I'm not far." 'And I will probably stay outside for the entire night to make sure you're okay, Eri.' He shamefully finished the thought in his head.

"Thank you!" She beamed with her bright, warm smile. "For everything."

He was filled with the flashbacks of her moving out the first time: the intimate hugs, loving words, and unbearable loneliness without her.

All of it gave him the painful urge to grab her and kiss her; anything to not leave her alone, thereby leaving him alone.