safety [Kakashi Hatake x OC]

twenty-three

Eri was relatively quiet and distant for the following few days. Whenever she was asked why she was acting stranger than usual, she would answer by saying she wasn't feeling well, which wasn't entirely untrue.

Kakashi was always watching her; it wasn't in a creepy manner, but it was out of worry. He didn't like how removed she seemed, but he didn't have the confidence or assurance to kindly confront her. He wasn't considered a generally warm person, either.

And of course, the genin of Team Seven had their own secret mission underway, noticing every single thing that happened between the adults.

The rest of the trek to Kumogakure went by uneventfully, yet when they arrived, the five of them were expected and welcomed with open arms. Two Cloud ninjas greeted them with smiles and led them to a central hotel reserved for guests of the Raikage. The Raikage invited them to dinner with him and his assistants and allowed them to stay the night as excess compensation for the simple mission, but extensive travel.

The Cloud ninjas showed the group to their rooms, in which like the inn, the students shared a room with multiple futon-like mattresses while one was reserved for the adults. Although when the door to the room revealed the inside, Kakashi nearly choked on his breath.

There was only one large floor mattress; there was no couch or chair or even rug other than that. He eventually reasoned that it was Tsunade's sense of humor for him wanting Eri to go on the mission with them.

The man prayed to whomever would listen that his nosey students wouldn't walk up to them in that moment and see the sleeping arrangements, but any hope he had sunk when he heard a pre-pubescent voice chirp excitedly and tauntingly.

"What? Kakashi-sensei and Eri-san are sharing a bed?" Naruto observed mischievously, making sure that his comrades overheard.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura gasped. "How, how... perverted." She teased.

"It shouldn't be news to anyone that our sensei is a pervert." Sasuke added monotonously, although he was clearly in on the "cornering and drilling Kakashi" act.

The targeted man grinned awkwardly as a bead of sweat slipped down the side of his face. "Now, now guys, Eri-san and I will not be sleeping together." He tried to ensure them and quiet their fantasies. "In the same room, yes, but certainly not in the same bed. I do respect women, after all."

"You do?" Sakura spat sarcastically.

"Have I ever given you a reason to suggest otherwise?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, I guess not..." The pinkette trailed.

"It's all the pervy books you read." Naruto clarified.

"I'm entitled to like certain books."

"Yeah, yeah. You're not fooling any of us."

Eri was laughing through her teeth, watching the conversation occur. She trusted Kakashi to not do anything to hurt her, but his questionable choices in literature and strange situation her arrival had put him in had obviously given his students cause for investigation. "It's okay." She reasoned. "He may be a pervert, but he doesn't have any guts to actually try anything."

The white-haired man looked at her with shock, unsure what to say or how to respond as his students erupted with laughter.

"Poor Kakashi-sensei." The mauve-haired woman teased, standing on her toes to ruffle his remarkably fluffy hair, like he had with hers a few days before.

But he couldn't become irritated at Eri for joining his students in poking fun at him. Seeing her with a genuine, bright smile as she laughed with them filled him with an innocent, yet complete satisfaction that made him feel like melting.

He eventually managed to shoo off the genin, telling them to freshen up before having a meal with the Raikage, and with them, he and his roommate lost the company of the Kumogakure shinobi.

As soon as Kakashi shut the door behind them, he breathed out a heavy sigh, then grabbed the woman by her lower waist with her back turned to him.

Her body stiffened with shock, but she didn't make a noise. When she didn't protest, he slid his large hand down to her hip and gave it a light squeeze. Eri's felt warm and her face was surely bright red.

With a quick movement - living up to his reputation - the man swept the feet from underneath her, causing her release a quiet chirp of surprise, then effortlessly carried her to the bed where he dropped her on the mattress.

Before she could push herself upright, he crawled over her, hovering much too close for a casual encounter. "Just so we get this straight." He began in a low voice. His dark eye was serious and only maintained her gaze for a moment. "It's not that I don't have the guts." 

'So that's what he's thinking.' The woman reasoned, barely able to string thoughts together as her heart beat heavily.

Kakashi brought himself closer to her, lowering his head until he was right next to her ear. She could feel the rhythm of his breath even through his mask.

Then he brought his mask beneath his chin. She couldn't see him or his face, but she felt the fabric between their skin disappear, and she hadn't recognized there was a small, barely different sound between when his mouth was covered and when it wasn't. 

"It's just that I have respect."

He quickly and teasingly licked her ear, causing her to squeal with wide, shocked and overwhelmed black eyes. 

Just as quickly as he had removed it, Kakashi replaced his mask before she could see his face. 

Eri had no expectation that the man would rise and meet the obscure character she had shown him, and she didn't know how to react. As for that moment, she felt like she might melt.