An Unexpected Romance

Chapter 16

Tobirama worked the lock open and held it for Chikako before slipping in behind her and shutting it. It was dark and eerily quiet as he led her the women's locker room for the larger towels they stocked.

"I thought you said the Konoha hot spring was separated?" Chikako whispered behind him.

"If we're the only ones in here, then that doesn't matter, does it?" He grinned at her in the dim light. "I'll get you a towel, don't worry."

The locker room, with windows set high in the walls, had better lighting than the entryway. A nervous smile twitched on Chikako's lips. "Tobirama, if my father knew you were a rule-breaker he might not have offered me in marriage."

"Then I'm glad he didn't find out." The thought sobered him though. "Would you rather wash up at Hashirama's?"

She took the towel he offered, waiting until he turned his back. "I like your adventurous side."

The rustling of her clothes as she shed them made his pulse pound. He shucked off his armor and clothes to distract himself, donning his own towel and waiting for her okay to turn back.

"I'm ready, Tobirama."

When he turned, the last rays of sunshine, red and amber, were shining through the window. They reflected in her eyes as she stared at him and licked her lips. Even in the dim light he could see the blush painting her cheeks.

"If it embarrasses you to see me undressed you should have looked away."

"Well, you should have waited until I turned my back!" She shot back at him with a playful grin that told him she wasn't upset at all.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him as he led her to the spring. "I like this new Chikako."

"What new Chikako?" She pushed away to look up at him.

"The one who talks back and tells me what she thinks. The one who teases me even though she's blushing."

She snorted and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "You should have asked Takao, he'd tell you this is the real me."

At the side of the pool he held her hand as she stepped in and then joined her, pulling her onto his lap. "What upset you, when you met Madara?"

"I thought he was going to suggest I should have been married to an Uchiha."

"Do you not like the Uchiha's?"

"I'm tired of being passed around like a prize. And I like you, I don't want to be married to anyone else."

He chuckled and nuzzled her ear. "I don't want you married to anyone else either. Even if Madara had suggested it, I'd never have allowed it."

He was quiet a moment. She'd revealed a secret he'd only suspected in her outburst. "Did you mean what you said, about your father?"

Chikako sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "It's only a suspicion. I think Takao is my half-brother."

Tobirama digested this information wishing he'd seen it himself when he'd been in Iwa. It irked him that he'd missed a key detail in Hata's life.

"Tobirama?" His name was a whisper on her lips, her face flushed dark enough that even in the dimming light he could see it. Her forehead was furrowed as if she was considering the best way to express her thoughts.

Tobirama watched her mouth as she first licked her lips and then worried the lower one with her teeth. He was tense with need for her, and sure she could feel that desire pressing against her thigh. Should he shift her away, or wait and see what she did?