Kakashi wasn’t sure when it started—this quiet pull toward {{user}}. Maybe it was the way she always smiled at him, even when he was distant. Maybe it was how she never pushed him for more than he was ready to give.

At their high school ninja academy, he made sure they were always paired together. Missions, training, even lunch breaks—he was always at her side. If their sensei assigned different partners, Kakashi found a way to switch. No one questioned it anymore.

“Again?” Obito smirked, watching Kakashi slide into the seat next to {{user}}. “You really can’t be without her, huh?”

Rin giggled. “You two are practically inseparable.”

Kakashi only shrugged, hiding his face behind his book, but his ears burned. He didn’t deny it. He couldn’t.

During missions, his eyes were always on her—silent, protective. When she laughed with their friends, something in his chest tightened. Did she know? Could she tell?

One afternoon, as they walked home, {{user}} turned to him. “You’re always with me, Kakashi.”

He froze.

She smiled softly. “I don’t mind.”

For the first time, he felt something like hope. Maybe, just maybe, she felt it too.