Lowering his head and dropping his gaze, Obito quietly clenched his fists.
A heavy, stifling feeling clogged his chest—he could neither spit it out nor swallow it down.
Nariya was about to have a new family soon, which was supposed to be a joyous occasion, so why did his heart feel so heavy?
It wasn't as if they wouldn't see each other anymore. At most, whenever he went over to the Hatake clan's place to hang out from now on, he'd just have to put up with Kakashi nagging him a bit more.
It was no big deal.
With that thought, Obito took a breath, forcefully pulled himself together, suddenly looked up, and flashed an optimistic, cheerful smile at the person by the sink washing dishes.
"Nariya, congratulations!"
"..."
As his cheerful words trailed off, the splashing sound of water suddenly stopped less than two seconds later.
Nariya Ueshima swiftly turned off the faucet, grabbed a towel to dry his hands, and turned around.
"?"
Sensing that Nariya's gaze was fixed on him, Obito's heart skipped a beat.
What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?
Nariya didn't speak right away.
He simply stared at Obito for a moment, then walked over to the orange cabinet against the wall.
As he began rummaging through the drawers, he spoke: "I almost forgot."
"There's something I was planning to give you."
Hearing this, Obito froze, his mood suddenly growing a bit nervous. "Wh-What is it..."
Could it be a return gift for what he brought back?
No, that didn't make sense. Nariya shouldn't have known he'd have something for him when he returned from this mission.
Then what could it be?
Seeing that Nariya still hadn't found it, Obito couldn't contain his curiosity and craned his neck to get a look.
"Found it."
At the sound of Nariya's voice, Obito quickly straightened up.
A moment later, Nariya walked over and gestured for him to hold out a hand.
With a mixture of apprehension, Obito opened his left palm, and something cool was placed into it.
Looking closely, he saw it was a key.
"..."
What does this mean?
Why is Nariya giving him a key???
Nariya's gaze was steady as he said, "I was hesitating whether to give it to you or not, but after seeing your expression just now, I'm not hesitating anymore."
"..."
Behind his orange goggles, Obito's dark eyes widened, filled with deep bewilderment.
Obito still didn't understand.
Until Nariya told him: "It's not some useless junk. This is the spare key to my house."
"Obito, come live with me from now on."
"..."
The air around them seemed to vanish in an instant, and a heavy silence spread between them.
After about ten seconds, Obito, his brain in complete chaos, finally snapped back to reality.
"Nariya, aren't you going to the Hatake clan?"
"I'm not going."
Obito looked startled. "Why?"
Nariya replied, "Compared to that, how you feel is more important."
"Besides, it's not something I'm forced to do. I'll explain it properly to Sakumo later."
Hearing those words, Obito suddenly felt his brain stop working again.
The key in his palm felt as heavy as a massive boulder, freezing his thoughts entirely.
"Wait..." After a long pause, he swallowed hard, feeling like a complete idiot in front of Nariya.
"Nariya, what do you mean by all this?"
"Exactly what it sounds like."
Seeing the serious look on Nariya's face—not a joke at all—Obito's eyes widened even further. "Don't."
"Since it's an invitation from Kakashi's father, how wonderful is that! You don't need to worry about me. Besides, I really am happy for you—having someone keep you company is way better than living alone in a cold, empty house—"
"If you come, I won't be alone anymore."
"..." Obito's gaze suddenly jolted.
He sat there frozen, his already sluggish mind grinding to a complete halt.
"You don't want to live with me?" the person in front of him asked, tilting his head slightly."Ah, how could that be?" Obito mumbled, covering his face.
"You'd better keep that key safe, then."
The other person reminded him, then turned around as if finishing a task, walking slowly back to the sink where the unwashed dishes waited.
Watching Nariya Ueshima continue busying himself as if nothing had happened, Obito felt a lump in his throat, unable to speak for a long time.
He looked at the figure over there, then down at the key in his hand.
How strange. Even though the metal was cool to the touch, at that moment it felt intensely warm.
Just like the words Nariya had said to him.
So... his momentary flash of dejection had been noticed after all.
If he hadn't understood why Nariya had given him the key just a moment ago, now that it finally dawned on him, his heart trembled uncontrollably.
Being both orphans, having finally become mutually dependent and trusting friends, if one of them suddenly integrated into another family, the one left behind would inevitably feel lonely no matter what.
So, had Nariya noticed his emotional shift and worried he would be lonely, which was why he decided not to go to the Hatake clan?
And on top of that, he had even invited Obito to live together with him.
This guy is really...
At this thought, Obito pulled off his goggles and secretly rubbed his stinging, sore eyes. It was as if he had flipped a switch for his tears; fresh drops spilled instantly from his reddened corners.
He couldn't help it, and the more he wiped, the more came.
Not wanting the other person to see, he hurriedly turned around in a feeble attempt to hide it.
Yet right at that moment, cutting through the steady sound of running water from the other side, Nariya's calm voice drifted over:
"Why so quiet? Are you crying?"
"...No way!"
Obito sniffled. Caught red-handed, he abandoned all pretense and choked out, "It's your fault for saying such touching things with a straight face."
How was he supposed to hold back after that?
Damn it, the tears simply wouldn't stop!
Since Obito had his back turned, Nariya—unable to see Obito-kun's expression for the moment—smiled slightly. "Don't cry for too long, or your eyes will swell up, and the group photo later won't look very good."
Group photo?
Obito's frantic eye-wiping froze.
Ah! How could he have forgotten about that? He had definitely mentioned wanting to take a picture with Nariya earlier!
Right on cue, Nariya finished washing the dishes and walked over leisurely, leaning in to look at Obito, whose eyes were already red before he could even open them properly.
"You really are crying."
"You!"
Obito's face flushed a startling shade of red. Faced with Nariya's teasing time and time again, he was completely helpless and perpetually flustered.
Even though he knew the other person meant no malice, he still felt so embarrassed!
Just as he was racking his brain for any way to bypass his fragile tear ducts and mount a counterattack, the question came again from right in front of him.
"So, what's your answer to my question just now?"
Obito stared blankly. "What question?"
"Whether you want to live with me or not." Nariya looked at him earnestly.
At that, all thoughts of counterattacking were blown to the winds. Obito's heart pounded wildly, beating so fiercely it felt like it would leap out of his throat, while his entire chest swelled with an indescribable sense of anticipation.
Though they already visited each other's homes to hang out and cadge meals like this, but—
"I do!"
Red-eyed, he tossed his goggles aside and lunged forward without a second thought, throwing his arms around Nariya. "I want to live with you, Nariya!"
As the words fell, his eyes stung again, and tears pattered down in a flurry.
"Kakashi really wasn't wrong about you being a crybaby..."
Nearly knocked off balance, Nariya steadied himself with an effort, then patted Obito's back in helpless comfort.