Rewriting History (Obito x Reader)

Mutualism

"(y/n)," he finally spoke. His eyes were baggy and half lidded, and was rather pale, but he was still the most stunning man you had ever seen. Especially since you had the comfort of knowing that he was still with you, and that his sworn protector wasn't the cause of his death in the form of some cruel, twisted irony.

Morning came quickly now that Obito was awake. You helped him eat and clean up, and before you knew it, it was time to head home - but there was one more thing you had to do first. Since Rin had been so preoccupied, she had no time to provide Obito with fresh bandages. You were by no means a medical expert, but you did know basic patching techniques. You were hesitant in changing Obito's gauze yourself in fear of opening Rin's incision, so you held off on it. Since he was awake, you felt much more comfortable with switching them out under his watch.

"Tell me if I hurt you, okay Obito?" you pleaded and began unwrapping the stained bandages from his chest with a particular tenderness in your touch. You had to be extremely careful with your movements, it was difficult enough to move your arms but the lack of a healthy amount of blood put you at risk of passing out from even the slightest physical activity.

The bandages peeled off with an audible noise, the deeper wrapping sticking to his wound like a second skin. Obito winced at the sensation, but refused to admit that it hurt. He didn't need to tell you anything, at this point in your life you could read Obito like a book. Still, your expression fell from thinking of your negligence toward him.

"I'm so sorry, Obito. I should have changed your bandages sooner. You just looked so fragile, I was so afraid of touching you –"

"H-hey..." Obito interjected, breathing heavily. "Who... are you calling... fragile?" He looked at you with irritation before a tired, playful smile broke out on his face.

You returned his gaze, brows raised in surprise before chuckling in adoration for your best friend's strong resiliency, returning his gleam with your own softer one.

With a tug, the soiled bandages separated from his skin, and you discarded them with one hand while picking up a rag and rubbing alcohol with the other. You quietly dabbed the liquid into the cloth and offered Obito a sympathetic look, one that told him, 'this is going to hurt,' before setting it on his exposed skin. Obito winced, his eyebrows furrowing in immense pain; your facial expression subconsciously mimicked his as you lifted your other hand to his chin and directed his attention to your face.

"Just try to look at me... if that helps you, okay?" you cooed softly and rubbed the dried blood off his chest in gentle circles.

Looking at your face helped Obito more than you could ever imagine. As he gazed up at you, his dark, onyx eyes seemed to cloud over, and his breathing became less labored.

Soon the pain from the alcohol subsided and you instructed Obito to lift his arms so you could apply fresh new gauze to his chest.

The two of you sat in a strange silence. He could tell that something was on your mind just by looking at you. Your attention shifted from his chest up to his eyes for an instant before it returned to your work.

"You know what I'm wanting to say, don't you?"

"I have... a few ideas..." he muttered sheepishly.

You finally exhaled a breath you didn't realize you were holding in. "I can't believe you would go this far for me. To tell you the truth, it's almost infuriating that you would sacrifice this much. I came this close to losing you. You almost died, because of me." Your grip on the wrappings got tighter as you continued to sheathe Obito's cut delicately.

"I never felt... so scared, Obito."

Obito let out a light chuckle. "I know the feeling..."

You let a small grin escape your lips, yet no words passed through them. You permitted another hushed moment, welcoming it this time, before breaking it again.