safety [Kakashi Hatake x OC]

twenty-one

Kakashi and Eri sat at the back sliding shoji doors, their feet hanging over the edge of the wooden floor, dipping their toes into the warm stream outside the inn. They were quiet for a while until the woman slumped on her back with a heavy, particularly dramatic sigh.

The man looked down on her with his uncovered eye, which was seeming to become warmer and kinder the more that the girl saw it. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She quickly answered. "Sorry, I was being weird."

He gave a hum of acknowledgement and agreement, knowing he was acting just as strange. "Don't worry about it."

"Does that mean we're good? No weirdness?" She asked.

"Yeah." He stifled a chuckle as he further commented, "but I can't promise there won't be any weirdness because you're clearly a pretty weird girl." She couldn't actually see that he was smiling, but the light-hearted glow in his dark eye showed that he was. With a gentle finger, he playfully brushed a mauve strand of hair from her face.

She blinked, then waved his hand away from her and pulled herself back into an upright sitting position. "I think you're the weird-o, here."

This made Kakashi laugh a little more heartily than before. "I don't think you need to compare our individual weirdness. We both have our quirks."

"True." The woman agreed with a kind, yet mischievous smirk. She was feeling herself again. Perhaps she just needed her roommate to help her feel comfortable again. She stood and adjusted her robe, so it served its purpose of covering her outside of the hot springs. "Let's go back to the genin." She suggested, then teased, "Maybe this time you'll be less shy and actually get in."

He got up as well and followed her with a bitter retort, "I'm not shy."

"You sure about that?" She raised a thin brow and accepted the challenge he was unintentionally proposing.

"Absolutely." He stated confidently.

"That's a bold statement there."

He knew to be extra attentive and aware whenever Eri started to tease him. It started with a little bit of taunting, then it became a game to see who could get a reaction out of who. His body stiffened as she stepped closer to him, merely centimeters apart, standing tall to attempt to meet the man's height.

While he was focused on the devious glimmer in her dark eyes, she snuck a finger under the hem of his shirt and quickly pulled it up, touching the well-defined muscles underneath.

He quickly stepped back, his eye wide with shock as he protectively folded his arms over his torso. The girl giggled, satisfied in seeing how taken aback he was. "See? Kakashi-sensei is quite the shy boy." She taunted.

Pleased and amused, she confidently turned her back to him, but as soon as she did, he caught her wrist then collected the other, binding them above her head within his much larger hand. He pressed her back to his torso and the back of her head to his shoulder.

In a low voice, he whispered by her ear, his warm breath causing chilling bumps to cover her skin. "I'm not shy; and I am not a boy." All effort he had put forth in restraining himself from touching her and teasing her like she did him had been forgotten. He placed his fingers on her exposed lower stomach, and they were cold.

She released a startled yelp, and her cheeks were inflamed with embarrassment. But Kakashi didn't let go, and she didn't exactly fight against him.

He slowly trailed his fingers upward until he pinched the hem of her athletic bra, and that's where he got ahold of himself and stopped.

He released her wrists and stepped away, careful not to look at her. Eri could barely keep herself standing, but was even more humiliating was how much she liked him getting back at her and touching her so familiarly and sensually. She felt like she was melting.

"I'm sorry." He muttered, knowing that after losing control once, it'd be much harder to restrain himself in the future, especially with them living together for as long as the Hokage deemed appropriate for the situation.

"It's okay." She assured in an equally quiet voice, silently admitting to herself that she liked the assertive and confident side to him.

"It's not. Eri, I -"

"Kakashi." She caught his gaze. His eye was a little more worried and insecure than she had ever seen. Even if he was unsure of himself, she was sure that he'd be good at hiding it. "It's really okay. I'm okay."

The man still looked solemn, so she beamed and tried to lift the mood. "Do you need a hug?" She teased and approached him with wide, open arms.

He put up a hand to keep her from further tempting him, completely aware that he would be vulnerable and potentially instinctive. "I'm fine." He forced a smile, then ruffled her hair so he wouldn't get too close.

He wasn't sure how she truly felt about how far he had gone, but for him, they were in a dangerous situation that he didn't think he'd find himself in.