safety [Kakashi Hatake x OC]

ninety

They both ended up soaked from the rain. Kakashi peeled off his wet shirt and laid it out in front of the fireplace where flames crackled on fresh wood gathered earlier that day, before the rain. He drew a warm bath and never said anything more to Eri since telling her to come back to the cottage. He couldn't even look at her, and she could tell.

He stepped out of the bathroom and looked at the ground uncertainly, which definitely didn't match what one might expect with a man of his physique while walking around shirtless. But nonetheless, he couldn't bring himself to be confident.

"You can take a bath first. You got wetter than I did." He muttered.

And then they both paused for a stark moment of silence. They held their breath, both looking down, yet couldn't help themselves.

Eri giggled quietly, trying desperately to not let herself go.

And the conflicted man couldn't help but breathe out a snort and smirk shyly beneath his mask. He ruffled her hair as he passed her on his way to the fireplace, "You're twelve." 

"You said it." The laughing immediately lit up her eyes as she finally looked up.

He met her brightened eyes for a brief moment and muttered, "Yeah, whatever." Careful not to get too hopeful, he looked away again and said. "This is Tsunade-sama's place, so she has some clothes in the closet right there. They're clean."

The girl retreated to the bathroom for over thirty minutes, spending a long time sitting in the warm water and thinking. She understood somewhat of why Kakashi was upset by her coming there and asking for him to cross some intimate boundaries for a normal person. Still, he was kind to her and brought her in during the storm, which didn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. The sun had begun to set, or it had already gotten dark. She wasn't sure.

The fact that she only had Tsunade's vacation clothes to look through while her own clothes were still drying proved to put her in a complicated situation. None of the Hokage's shirts fit; the younger woman was curvy, but not on that level. She certainly wasn't comfortable, but she settled for a black silk robe fit for someone of a much higher status than her. 

She folded her arms over her chest and went to the living room, pausing in front of the bathroom door when Kakashi looked at her. The robe wasn't exactly modest or warm. But as soon as his eye found her body, she felt heat rise to her cheeks. 

The man sighed, then got up from his seat at the fireplace with a heavy weight in his limbs. He grabbed a thick, soft knitted throw blanket from the other chair and quickly brought it to her and wrapped it around her shoulders.

He held the hem of the blanket on either side of her shoulders; something kept him from letting go.  She waited for him to drop his hands, and when he didn't, she gazed up at him. Her nose and cheeks were painted pink and her dark eyes sparkled under the low lighting of the room. 

He still couldn't look her in the eye, but lingered somewhere around her nose, lips, or chin.

His grip tightened on the fabric, and he slowly leaned down while pulling her towards him. He felt like he was in a trance and couldn't help himself. 

Just centimeters from her colder lips, he let go of one side of the blanket.

He used that hand to peel down his navy mask.

And against his pride or better judgement, he kissed her.