The Uchiha district was full of craftsmen and artisans of every kind. Blacksmiths, tailors, carpenters, even bakers. They said it was because the Uchiha were the most concise and disciplined of all of the clans, their passions hidden below the surface but running deep like a sacred spring. Everything the Uchiha did was a work of art from the smallest work to massive projects done to make their clansmen and kin proud of their work and heritage. The people of the clan had always shown massive talent in everything they did, well… most of the clan.

Obito Uchiha was more of a black sheep. He didn't have any talent to be discerned, neither inherited or learned and had worked hard to get to where he was now. Obito had no marriage prospects set aside for him, nor any real weight in the clan and had thus never become acquainted with any crafts or arts. He was already a mediocre shinobi in the eyes of his clansmen; why make him a mediocre artisan as well?

Thankfully, Obito didn't really care about any of that anyway, nor was he even aware. All he cared about was stealing the heart of the girl that saw the best in him regardless of his lack of skill: Rin Nohara.

Everything about Rin was beautiful. She had innocent, doe-like eyes, a gentle smile, and an equally tender touch. She constantly encouraged Obito and told him that she believed in him, driving him to improve further in his quest to prove himself both to Kakashi and his clan. One day, he'd be a great shinobi - a Hokage even - and everyone would look up to him and acknowledge him for his skill.

As he became faster and stronger, the dream came closer and closer to his reach, making him feel more confident. Kakashi reprimanded him and belittled his lack of talent a bit less as of lately, so he decided he'd finally do it. He'd confess to Rin!

So Obito decided to set up a meeting with Rin. If he told her it was important, she'd definitely come to meet with him so he could confess to her! He took great care to dress in his best casual clothes and went to one of the more popular confectioneries in the Uchiha district to purchase a box of the chocolate-covered strawberries that Rin enjoyed. It cost a good bit, but it was worth his if he was going to bear his heart to the girl he loved!

He made it to the meeting spot, taking great care not to get caught up in anything, as not to be late, but things did not go according to plan. When he arrived, although he was early to meet Rin there, that guy was situated in the tree where he had asked Rin to meet.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" Obito barked up at the other shinobi, his jaw clenching and his lip curled back in a nasty snarl.

"I'd ask you the same thing," he replied, leaping down easily and landing on his feet before crossing his arms over his chest, the steel plates of his arm-guards clicking together softly.

"That's none of your business! Now beat it, Bakakashi! I have things to do!"

"It is my business. Rin sent me in her place because she got caught up at the hospital; she volunteered to help with an influx of wounded shinobi from the battlefield," the jerk responded with ease, as though mocking him. Knowing Kakashi, he probably was.

The team leader's lazy, iron eyes were set on him in an impatient glare. "So tell me again what's so important? I'm the leader of Team 7 anyway; I outrank you, idiot."

"So? I don't care if you outrank me! That doesn't make you any less of a clueless jerk!" Obito snapped at him, huffing heavily. There was no point in sticking around then. He was not confessing his feelings for Rin through Kakashi. Obito took a deep, frustrated breath and exhaled.

"You know what? Forget it," Obito grumbled and shoved the box of candies into Kakashi's arms, surprising him if only briefly. "I'm leaving." He walked past his teammate and stuffed his hands into his pockets, his head sunk down on his shoulders as he started on his way home.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Kakashi called from behind him.

"It doesn't matter. Keep it if you want or throw it away. It makes no difference to me," Obito snorted, shrugging his shoulders back.

Kakashi didn't say anything more, nor follow him back to his home. He counted that as a good sign, but he didn't realize until he got home that he had spent most of his last paycheck on an overpriced box of candies that he didn't even get to give to Rin! No, he gave it to Kakashi, all because he was annoyed with him. He slapped his palm against his flushed, humiliated face over it.

Obito always let his passion simmer on his sleeve. It was both a strength and a weakness, but right now, it was a weakness. Hopefully, Kakashi didn't misread it and take it as some kind of a confession to him. It was an accident after all.

"Obi-chan, you have a visitor!" His grandmother called, stirring him from his work. Obito placed down his pencil and scooted from his chair to head downstairs.

"Coming Gramma!" he answered and took the stairs two at a time, hoping it was Rin. Obito stilled longed to confess to her and although he didn't think it'd be appropriate in the slightest to do so in front of his grandmother, especially with her near-constant input of, 'Obi-chan, when am I going to get grandchildren?'

However, as Obito answered the door, he quickly found out that it wasn't Rin at all. "Oh, it's you, Kakashi..." Obito frowned at his guest. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Kakashi was standing there quietly, holding the box of candies Obito had thrust into his arms earlier. "I assumed these were for someone else since I don't care for sweets," the other boy stated flatly in answer.

Obito sighed and opened the door wide enough for Kakashi to enter. At least he hadn't figured out that he had gone to that spot specifically to confess to Rin. Or at least, he hadn't brought it up if he did.

Kakashi continued to stand in the doorway, watching him curiously.

"Bakakashi, are you just going to stand there, staring at me like a weirdo all night or are you going to come inside?" Obito asked Kakashi bluntly. "'Cause I don't mind if you leave either."

Kakashi's eyes widened a fraction and he quickly slipped off his sandals to head inside, following Obito up the stairs and into his bedroom. The shorter boy glanced around the room as Obito watched him expectantly, waiting for Kakashi to say something, anything at all.

Kakashi didn't say anything immediately but eventually handed Obito the box of chocolates. "Here. Take them back already," he said.

"I thought I told you to throw them out but…" Obito shrugged his shoulders and crossed the room over to his desk, setting the box down on the corner and popping off the lid before taking one of the chocolate-covered goodies and taking a bite. Then he slipped into his desk chair and got back to copying the seal he was working on, make notes on a separate paper.

"What are you doing?" Kakashi asked from his spot by the bedroom door.

Obito raised an eyebrow but hummed in amusement with his mouth full. "They'll just go to waste if no one eats them, so I might as well. You can still have some if you want," the Uchiha boy offers with a shrug, plopping the rest of the strawberry into his mouth.

"Then why were you planning on giving them to someone if you were just going to eat them?" Kakashi inquired, his steel gaze burning holes into the back of Obito's head. He's watching the other boy curiously intent for an answer.

The pencil in Obito's hand snapped in two and he froze for several moments, his heart hammering in his chest. Did Kakashi realize he wanted to give the chocolates to Rin? "N-N-No! I always go to that shop. And buy stuff. All the time! Like chocolates and candies…," he said in an attempt to appease Kakashi. "Y-You know me! Always gotta have sweets on me! Heh heh…" There was a thin sheen of sweat covering his palms and his cheeks were flushed a rosy color. There was no way Kakashi wouldn't know now. Obito felt like he wanted to spontaneously combust to escape the awkwardness of this situation.

However, Kakashi didn't seem bothered by Obito's answer. He looked somewhat unconvinced, but he crossed the room to lean on the left of Obito's desk, by the chocolates. He hesitantly picked one up and turned it over in his hand, examining it.

"It's a chocolate-covered strawberry. Not a poison or whatever," Obito admonished and slipped down onto the floor to collect the piece of his pencil that had flown off the desk and bounced beneath it.

"Are they really as delicious as you say?" Kakashi mused softly.

"Yeah. They're pretty good," Obito assured him, gripping the pencil and turning to look at Kakashi just as he was putting the confection to his uncovered lips to take a tentative bite. His eyes widened in gleeful surprise and he grinned contentedly, his expression flushing his face and reaching his eyes. It was extraordinarily cute.

Obito took a shocking intake of breath and started to get up so he could avert his gaze, banging his head with a loud 'thunk' against the bottom of the desk, causing the other piece of pencil to roll away onto the floor below and for the box of candies to hurtle off the edge, scattering everywhere. Obito winced with a cry as he reached up to hold the painfully growing knot on the back of his head.

"Why'd you do that?" Kakashi grumbled, pouting at him as Obito continued to suffer.

"It wasn't on purpose!" He shouted in his defense.

"But you still ruined a nice box of chocolates, idiot."

"It was an accident!" Obito shot back, the pain at the back of his head subsiding long enough for him to start cleaning up his mess. "Besides, Bakakashi, I thought you said you didn't like sweets?"

"I said I don't care for them," Kakashi corrected the Uchiha. "I'll eat them occasionally."

"Of course you will," Obito muttered irritably under his breath with a roll of his eyes as he scrambled to put the chocolates back in the box. "Isn't that just convenient?" He could hear Kakashi shuffling through papers on top of his desk and shot up again, mindful this time not to knock his head into the furniture.

"Hey! Don't mess with that! You'll ruin my notes," Obito cried, crawling out from under the desk and sitting up on his knees as Kakashi glimpsed back over at him briefly before setting one of the spare pencils back in the cup Obito kept them in.

"What was to ruin? You already messed them up. I just added a few things," Kakashi explained with a careless shrug.

"What are you talking about? I copied them exactly from the book. There's no way that-" Obito stood up, setting the box back on his desk and furrowing his brow as he looked between the papers and the open book on sealwork. He slipped into his chair and squinted, reading over it more closely. "You're right," he murmured instead.

"I usually am."

"But I copied everything from the book. How could I have gotten it wrong?" Obito wondered aloud as he took a pencil from the cup on his desk and began to check over his work again.

"I assume it's your terrible handwriting that ruined the sealwork, but it could be the book. Most people don't 'double-check their work' like they should," Kakashi scoffed, taking a verbal jab at Obito, who was too distracted to send the grimace he made in the other boy's direction. Kakashi wandered over to Obito's bed and sat on the crumpled bedding, his hand running over the thick, black shurikens that made up the quilt's pattern.

After a moment, he stretched out across it and settled his arms beneath his head like a pillow. With a deep breath, he made himself comfortable. "What seal are you making anyhow? A deadlast like you? I can't see how you'd get the chance to use it, much less when you'd have the opportunity to."

Obito huffed in annoyance and turned back in his chair to pout at Kakashi. "For your information, it's none of your business, but this seal has a lot of practical uses! I just don't feel like telling you about any of them."

"Whatever."

Obito's pout evolved into a deep frown as he took in the sight of Kakashi. "And what are you doing on my bed?"

"It's soft; comfortable," Kakashi murmured, meeting Obito's eyes. It made him squirm a bit under that stare, but he wasn't quite sure why. He assumed it was the brief moment that his inner thoughts called Kakashi 'cute'.

Cute! Why would he think that? He shook the thought away, but the damage was already done.

"Th-Then go back home to your own bed!" Obito stammered before pointing to the bedroom door to signal the other boy to leave.

At that, Kakashi sat up and stood from the bed before crossing the room to where Obito sat, gazing deep into his eyes. It made Obito's heart begin pounding in his chest even harder than before.

"I guess I'll do that then, if I'm not wanted here," Kakashi said and brushed past Obito to the window instead, sliding it open to sling his leg over the side, but he hesitated and looked back at Obito. He seemed as though he was in deep contemplation, which seldom happened with Kakashi. After all, he was naturally skilled and a quick-thinker.

"What? What is it?" Obito breathed, watching him curiously.

"Next time," Kakashi began, "bring flowers instead or offer to go to dinner. I'll never turn down free food." The chuunin shrugged before he slipped away and disappeared from view.

He could have at least used the front door. Why did Kakashi have to be so dramatic with his exit this time? Although… that was good advice.

"Flowers. I should get flowers next time then," Obito's face lit up in joy. Maybe Kakashi could give good advice sometimes, even if he was a jerk! The boy got up to close the window when it finally dawned on him.

"I'll never turn down free food," Kakashi's words echoed in his head.

Oh dear gods! Kakashi thought the chocolates were for him!

Obito's entire face turned a vibrant shade of pink, tinting his cheeks and the tips of his ears. Kakashi thought he liked him? Wait, did that mean Kakashi liked him as well or was he just teasing him? He hoped it was the latter, although something told him that wouldn't be much of a bad thing…

No! No, that would be a bad thing! Giving the chocolates to Kakashi was an accident! Obito liked Rin, not Kakashi.

Didn't he?

He scowled at the silhouette of Kakashi leaping across rooftops back towards his own home. "Bakakashi!" Obito shouted into the distance, but he was still flustered and hid his face in the crook of his arm. He had really screwed up this time.