Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Crossing Rubicon's	By : Saphri Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 1427 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters portrayed in this story. I make no money from writing this fanfiction. I write purely for my own amusement and the amusement of fellow fans.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
First Date.

The little session in the training field hadn't lasted very long. The sun was still blaring and the birds were still singing while Kakashi and Rin slowly traversed towards the gates of the field. The grass crunched beneath her feet with every step as she gazed up at the sky. The clouds where calming and beautiful as they listed lazily through the air.
Rin still couldn't stop smiling. She had never felt more proud of herself, even if she did pity the copy nin... just a little. She had assumed at first that he had intentionally let her take the bells from him, but his un-hidden embarrassment in regards to her clone technique suggested otherwise.
She glanced up at him and was secretly pleased that the faint remains of a blush was still evident over the edges of his mask. He looked so cute when he was embarrassed. Repressing the overwhelming urge to simply pat him on the head was getting too much. Eventually she looked away with a small giggle at the thought that she had indeed beaten him at his own game.
"Are you going to let me in on your secret then?" Kakashi remarked flatly just as the gates at the far end of the clearing came into view.
Rin arched a brow before turning towards him. He wasn't looking at her and his eye showed no sign of emotion so she wasn't entirely sure if he was asking a genuine question or whether he was joking. Either way she had no idea what he was talking about.
"Huh?" she replied loudly.
Kakashi looked straight at her as they continued to walk. "You've been training since I went on my last mission," he droned. His expression didn't change an ounce as he spoke which Rin found particularly annoying. He didn't seem too impressed by his own statement anyway.
She snorted at him and shook her head as she turned away from him. The fact that he seemed to think she'd been training on the sly in a bid to outdo him was laughable. "For your information, Kakashi, I haven't been training since we played hide and seek with the ninken." She made sure her voice was as flat as his. It wasn't like she was lying at all and she didn't see the need to go on the offensive.
Kakashi chuckled under his breath causing Rin to stop in her tracks and turn to face him.
"What's so funny?" She sighed uninterestedly planting a hand on her hip.
Kakashi shrugged at her before he answered, "You are. You're seriously telling me no one helped you get as fast as I saw you out there?"
"Yes!"
"Why don't I believe you?"
"Because you're a sore loser, you always have been!"
She found herself feeling a little shocked as to how much the copy nin's comment bothered her. She wanted to think that he could assume whatever he wanted, but she didn't really want that. She wanted him to see that she had beaten him, and she had done it more or less by herself. The fact that he didn't believe her actually hurt. They stood and regarded each other for a while until Rin decided to breal the silence.
"Haven't you heard of learning from experience? It's not your speed that was the problem. It's your agility. The pulses I could feel from your chakra signature told me the moves you were most likely to pull off. So I just followed my gut, if you like."
"You mean to say that everything you pulled off out there was all guess work?" Kakashi asked. He seemed a little shocked by it by the way he lifted his hands quizzically.
Rin shrugged her shoulders at him feeling more than a little relieved that he seemed to believe her this time. It was the truth none the less, so she saw no reason why he shouldn't. She wouldn't lie to him; she hated lying to him...
She recalled the moment she told him that his kiss meant nothing to her. A blatant lie and it caused her stomach to knot in a sick sensation of guilt. She feared that she would never be able to take that comment back and tell him what she really should have said... Perhaps he knew she hadn't been honest with him, hence why he hadn't mentioned it. She automatically drew her hand towards her mouth upon remembering that kiss, how good it had felt on her lips and how his body heat had all but swallowed her whole. She hoped she would experience him again soon, on a much more intimate level. But by the way things seemed to be going so far said experience looked to be a long way off.
She flicked her eyes his way to see him staring back at her somewhat expectantly, still waiting for her answer. She blinked stupidly at him before she quickly shot her eyes down to her feet and used her raised hand to tuck a stray strand of auburn hair behind her ear. She could feel the uncomfortable burn of a flush bleed through her cheeks as her skin seemed to get tighter. How embarrassing...
"Pretty much, yeah," she answered eventually as she slowly looked back up at him and gave him a meek smile. "I don't have a sharingan so I can hardly predict your next move, I got lucky I suppose."
She hoped to the gods that he didn't ask her what had caused her to mentally wander away from the subject momentarily. Heaven knows what she would say to him if he did.
"Anyway..." Rin dismissed the entire conversation with a swift flick of her hand. "Let's get out of here. I really need a shower. I have dust in-between my toes and it's starting to really irritate me."
She turned on her heel and strolled through the gates. She stopped to watch Kakashi close the metallic barrier behind him. Still holding on to the metal railings he glanced around at her and arched a silver brow her way.
"Do you want me to walk you home or...?" he muttered.
Rin stared back at him feeling a little perplexed. His question sounded more like "What do you want from me now?" rather than an offering of company. She shook her head a little as she began to understand what he was saying. He wasn't planning on walking her home, or doing anything in particular. As far as he was concerned the day had ended.
"I thought you were hungry..." she started, cramming her hands into her pants pockets.
Kakashi turned towards her and mimicked her actions. "What?" he asked quietly. Rin could tell by the tone of his voice that he was smiling beneath that dark blue mask of his. He seemed just as confused as she did.
"You said the forfeit for failing the test was to cook for you because you were, and I quote, pretty hungry," she quoted him with hand gestures and a roll of the eyes only to see Kakashi still thinking about what she was saying.
"Ah, yes I did. But you won, so..."
"Do you want to eat or not?"
Kakashi seemed to mull over his options as the shadows on his mask distorted with the twisting of thoughtful lips. Rin's eye was drawn to that point of his face instantly while she recalled pleasurable past experiences. What she would give to taste him again, to feel him wrapped around her... she had no idea. It wasn't all that long ago she told him she wanted to take their relationship slowly. The fact that she was now regretting that choice was more than a little embarrassing.
"I have a better idea," he quipped suddenly forcing Rin's sights to shift back to his eyes.
"Meet me at Ichiraku's in an hour. That's enough time to shower and change, right?" he finished with a quizzical arch to his brow.
"Ichiraku's, the ramen shop? I hope you're buying," she teased with a small smile.
The crease to his eye suggested Kakashi was smiling back as he nodded once. "Sure, why not?"
"Alright then. But one hour means one hour, Kakashi. You're a dead man if you're late!" she scolded pointing an accusing finger at him.
She watched his eye crease closed with the inane grin she was certain he was hiding under the dark blue shield on his face. He may be laughing and smiling now, little did the poor copy ninja know that Rin meant what she said. It wasn't that she would physically kill him as sorts, she wouldn't do that, Kakashi was her best friend. But she had the means to make his existence very uncomfortable if she so wished it.
"Some things are worth turning up on time for, Rin. I'll see you in an hour." With that said his hands moved in a blur of seals just before he disappeared.
Rin watched as his form melted away in wisps of ghostly smoke and felt a small smile tug at one corner of her mouth.
"Love you..." she whispered softly to the space Kakashi had left behind.
Little did she know that he was listening, high on a tiled rooftop not a few steps behind where she stood now.
Kakashi gazed down at her; a hand poised for takeoff just as he heard her mutter those words to the clouds his disappearance had created. He continued to watch as she slowly turned away and sauntered towards the town centre.
It wasn't until he could no longer see her that he dared to breathe, not that he had realised until that point that he had been holding his breath. He exhaled slowly and fingered the grooves in the tiles.
He didn't believe he had ever said the words she had just spoken directly to her, and he wasn't sure if he had what it took to ever say them to her at all. But it was a fact none the less and the copy nin was almost certain that she knew how he felt. She could read him like no other, sometimes he didn't have to say anything at all for her to understand.
Keeping his distance was harder than he had first imagined it would be, especially since he had found out how she truly felt. He wanted nothing more than to just hold her, look after her and protect her. Like she used to do for him before she left. He would give anything to replay the last couple of weeks, to start from the beginning. All his actions seemed to do was prolong the agony and the inevitable.
Kakashi had never wanted anything so badly, ever. He had never begged for anything either but he felt that he would get down on both knees and do just that if that was what it took. He didn't think Rin would make him beg for her commitment to him or for her love, but he would do it if he had to. The copy nin was certain that something would happen between them, something a lot more exciting and somewhat frightening at the same time. He just wished he knew when...
The copy nin would be the first to admit that this whole situation, no matter how much he wanted it, scared the wits out of him. It wasn't something he had full control over and if he was honest he didn't much like that aspect of it. He couldn't contain the sensations and the raw emotions he felt when he was around her. He couldn't just turn it off or push it away like he had been doing for the majority of his life. It was too strong, stronger than he would ever be but he let it take a hold over him simply because he was no longer strong enough to resist it.
There had been other women in his life, good women and all of them had left because Kakashi couldn't give them the one thing they all wanted; his devotion, his utter commitment ... his love. Only one woman he had ever known already had all three of these aspects and he didn't want to give them to anyone else. If she had never come back to the village he knew he would remain alone, because that was the way he had wanted it then. And if at the end of all this, she was turn to him and tell him she didn't want him that would be the way it would stay.
The fear of rejection seeped into his mind then. He knew it wouldn't happen, she had just told his smoky image that she loved him and he knew she meant it, but the fear was there nonetheless. It would remain, occasionally rising to the surface to torment him until he had her in his arms, until he was sure...
"I love you too," he muttered almost miserably under his breath before bounding to the next rooftop in a bid to get home and out of his dirty uniform.

The sun had finally set by the time Rin ventured back out into the open. It was still warm outside yet a cool but pleasant breeze floated through the village. She stood at the top of the stone steps as she closed the door to the apartment complex.
A gust of wind blew past her, playing at the hem of her light pink cotton shirt as she trotted down the steps two at a time. She was actually running a little late after simply cleaning herself up had taken longer than she had meant it to.
Rin had been hot, sweaty and unbelievably filthy when she had gotten home that afternoon. The shower provided her not only with the means to clean oneself but also the opportunity to relax a bit. After all that vigorous exercise the copy nin had unleashed on her she had started to ache a little by the time she had reached her apartment door. The first thing she had wanted to do was sit down with a hot mug of tea and watch the TV. Unfortunately Kakashi had stated she be at Ichiraku's within the hour, which gave her hardly any time at all.
The next fiasco was finding something to wear. It was only the ramen store, hardly a high street restaurant (Not that Rin minded at all, the fact that Kakashi was buying this time was enough for her) so she had planned to wear something quite casual but her inability to decide on anything was what held her back the most.
Eventually, after much trial and error she had settled for the light pink shirt and a pair of three quarter length blue denim pants. She had worried about the shirt, however. She hadn't worn it for quite some time and with the light fabric she found herself fretting about being able to see her bra through it. It was a minor problem and she went with it anyway. It was dark outside after all so hopefully Kakashi wouldn't notice.
She trotted through the streets at a quick yet steady pace hoping that she would still get to the little ramen store before Kakashi did. He was always late anyway but something in his tone earlier told her that this wasn't going to be the case tonight. If she was late and he had turned up on time he wouldn't let her hear the end of it.
She groaned inwardly at the thought as she turned into the next street, hearing her flat shoes scraping on the cobbles as she span into the turn. One path led into another and before she really knew it she was approaching the brightly lit Ichiraku's. She could see the light within the small ramen shop spilling out into the street and also the horrifying shape of a certain copy ninja standing against the shops frame.
"You ass!" Rin huffed in annoyance to herself as she approached him.
Kakashi seemed to be staring into the distance before he noticed Rin grind to a halt in front of him. He didn't say a word to her as she stooped over and planted her hands on her knees still trying to catch her breath. After a few seconds of desperate composure seeking, Rin dared to lift her head to see the taller jounin merely staring down at her. His eye was completely expressionless as he glanced down wards and lifted his arm. He glanced at the watch he wore and then shot Rin a questioning look.
"Don't! Don't... say a word, Kakashi!" she bit out straightening herself up and standing slightly to one side.
She took the time to notice his new attire. He wasn't wearing his trademark jounin get up. He still wore the tank with attached mask and the hitai-ate to cove his eye but he looked totally different tonight. It was a simple outfit much like hers, a short sleeved navy t-shirt with a small sports emblem on the front and a pair of long denim pants. Rin found herself smiling approvingly as she eyed him over. He looked pretty good
"I'm not that late anyway, how long have you been waiting, a couple of minutes?"
"Ten actually," he responded coolly as he repositioned himself against the frame of the shop. Despite his flat tone, Rin had a feeling that Kakashi wasn't angry with her, he had merely been waiting and was probably a bit bored from doing so.
"Oh... sorry," Rin squeaked sheepishly hunching her shoulders up and grimacing at her dinner partner. After giving him such a hard time about being late for things and it just so happened that not only was she late herself but the usual culprit was actually early. Talk about role reversal!
Kakashi looked at his feet and laughed at her response. "Well you said that you would do something horrible to me if I was late, kill me in fact. Do I get to punish you for being late?"
She could tell that he was smiling merely by the way he spoke. She liked his voice when he was smiling, it rose a little in pitch and sounded almost musical to her. She found herself grinning back at his comment and shaking her head a little.
"What did you have in mind?" she sighed.
Kakashi placed a thoughtful hand on his chin and glanced away. "Hmm... I guess I hadn't thought that far ahead," he muttered before giving a swift shake of his hand to dismiss the conversation.
"Anyway, it doesn't matter. You're here now so we can go." He pushed himself from the door frame, crammed his hands into his pockets and began to walk in the other direction.
"Uh, hey ... hey! Where're you going? What happened to you treating me to ramen?" Rin squalled jabbing her finger towards the small eatery.
Kakashi stopped in his tracks and turned slightly to face her. "I've already bought it..." he droned flatly.
"Well, where is it then?" she snapped. She could feel herself getting a little bit angry with him. Something told her that he was playing with her, trying to get his own back on her for beating him earlier that day.
She saw Kakashi frown at her before shifting his eyes towards his back and motioning the same way with his head.
It was then that Rin noticed the large dark green pack on his back and suddenly she felt pretty foolish, but still. She had been given the idea that they would be eating at the ramen stall, Kakashi didn't say anything otherwise.
"Well... how did you know what I wanted? I might have wanted something other than the usual," she complained thrusting her hands on her hips and throwing an un-amused glare his way.
She heard Kakashi chuckle as he turned a little towards her again. "Are you going to stand there and pick fights with me all night, or are we going to be on our way?" he quipped.
Rin huffed at him, folding her arms across her ample chest and cocking her leg to one side.
"So, we're not eating here then?"
"It doesn't look that way."
"Then where are we going?"
She watched the shadows on his mask cast by the golden glow from Ichiraku's twist into a broad smile on his face. The expression took her a little by surprise as she lowered her arms to her sides.
"If you follow me you'll find out, won't you?" he drawled just as he turned back towards the black of the village centre and began to stroll away from her.
Rin uttered a small giggle as she trotted after him and caught up. This was quite exciting. Rin liked surprises.
They walked together in a comfortable silence for a few yards through the winding streets of Konoha. Rin liked the village at night just as much as in the day. It was so different to see the village gradually fall asleep before her very eyes.
She looked around herself as they walked. All the shops had long closed, the only buildings still teaming with life were the restaurants and clubs that would be open until the early hours of the morning. Glancing through one window of a very posh restaurant she saw that it was filled mostly with smartly dressed couples. All loved up and immersed within each other as they ate their highly priced meals.
And what did she have...? A bagged up box of mystery ramen and a guy that was guiding her through dark streets to a place he didn't care to mention... the more she thought about it, the more sinister Kakashi seemed to get in her mind.
The idea was utterly stupid, and Rin actually found it rather amusing, but if she didn't know any better she could swear that the copy nin was up to something.
She spun her head round at him as they passed the extravagant eatery and jabbed him hard in the shoulder. Kakashi immediately turned to give her his attention and raised a quizzical eyebrow when he saw her glaring at him.
"You're not going to take me down some dark alley and have your wicked way with me, are you?" she growled at him.
Kakashi snapped his head back in utter shock, his visible eye widening in horror before he turned back the way he was travelling and laughed softly.
"Yeah, you really caught on to me there, Rin," he deadpanned.
The comment annoyed her greatly despite the fact that she knew he was kidding. As much as she liked being treated and surprised she really wanted to know where she was going to end up, especially now it was dark.
"Will you just tell me where you're taking me?" she piped just as Kakashi stopped and turned towards her again.
"Just follow. I know a place," he said softly
"A place, where?"
At that moment the taller jounin leaned towards her, bending himself so much that his face was mere inches from hers. She felt her eyes widen dramatically as she found herself pulling away from him.
She could kiss him at this distance. All it would take was a swift motion of the arms, grab his head and thrust her lips on to his. And there would be nothing he could do about it. She seriously considered the option until she felt Kakashi grab her hand with his own, startling her and causing her to look down at what he was doing.
"A place that floats in the stars," he whispered whimsically just as he pulled away and sped off into the street, pulling a poor unsuspecting medic nin with him.
She squealed at the top of her lungs as she was all but dragged through the darkness. It didn't take long for her to gain her footing however and pretty soon she was running to Kakashi's beat as they rushed through the village maze.
"Kakashi...?" she screamed, desperate to know what the hell had gotten into her already eccentric friend.
"Just keep running, we're going up and over!" he shouted back.
Rin didn't protest, she just did as she was told as they rushed towards a large building that seemed to hurtle towards them. She felt Kakashi squeeze her hand, probably a signal for her to prepare her jump onto the building. She naturally assumed that they would be traversing up the side of the tall structure and then over the top so she began to condense a small amount of chakra into her feet as they continued to bolt towards it.
It seemed that she had assumed right when Kakashi yanked her arm, forcing her to make the jump and attach herself to the outer wall of the building. They didn't slow like she assumed they would, the speed maintained as they scaled the block of apartments. The winds shot past them in rushing whistles as the rooftop loomed ever closer and bright lights from curtained windows blinded her momentarily as they passed.
She glanced towards Kakashi who was still holding tightly to her hand and felt a small fond smile form on her mouth. She couldn't see his face but she had a feeling that he was grinning with an exhilarated heat like she was doing right now.
She had felt ready to complain about making her run after the training they had endured that afternoon, but she found she didn't really care. She was with him and that was all that mattered right now.
And he was holding her hand, Hatake Kakashi was actually holding her hand, and in public too! Sure he was only doing it for supporting reasons but still ... Kakashi was holding her hand! She felt a delighted squeal build up in her throat but managed to choke it back at the risk of completely embarrassing herself and Kakashi for that matter.
She wrapped her fingers more tightly around his and was greeted with a slight turn of his head and a wink towards her as they both flew over the top of the building to land on its roof. He was amazing, for want of a better term.
They both landed effortlessly, feet plastered to the tiles, hands flat for support on the roof of the building. It was seconds after Rin had straightened herself that Kakashi was reaching for her hand again. She held it out to him automatically as he grasped it and squeezed it gently before tugging at her again.
"This way, come on!" he hollered happily. He was smiling again and it drenched the tone of his voice in a gleeful hue the medic always loved to hear. Rin didn't think she'd ever seen him filled with so much excited energy. This was yet another side to him that he had introduced to her only recently. It was something she had never thought about right up until this moment, but she felt like this was a whole new relationship. It was almost like she was getting to know this man from the very beginning.
He had changed so much since she last saw him a decade ago. His appearance was the first thing she had noticed. He was a little taller, a little broader, his hair a little longer than she recalled. His voice was deeper, muskier and so much sexier than she remembered too. And his attitude, his general outlook on things, the way he held himself... it was so difficult to explain, even to herself.
This was the reason she felt she had fallen for him again, because he was different than he used to be. This was a whole new relationship with a whole new person even despite his old habits and quick remarks being pretty much the same.
She loved who he was back then, and yet she loved who he had become. The feelings she had for him were new and she couldn't contain the grin on her face when she began to realise it.
They were running again, towards the edge of the roof this time. All Rin could see in the distance was a vast sea of tree tops, no other buildings just forest.
"We're going into the trees?" she called
"Got it in one!"
With that they both, hand in hand, launched themselves into the thick mass of leaves and plummeted straight to the ground. They landed on their feet and Kakashi was then pulling her up a steep dusty incline. They must be near the end of the journey now, Rin thought as the excitement in her belly danced a little more to the tune of her feet.
The area was dense with trees and over grown shrubs but even then Rin was able to see that the dusty ground they ran on was actually an old discarded footpath. It didn't look like it had been used for years what with all the overgrowth. Footpaths like these, when in use, were usually kept trimmed and tidied on a regular basis by those that used them. This one, it seemed, had been abandoned long ago.
Eventually Kakashi began to slow his pace and let go of Rin's hand as they approached a thick bush that stood in their way. The dark haired medic nin couldn't help but feel a little cheated towards his sudden decline in contact but she chose not to say anything. She guessed she had had more than her fair share of public handholding. If she wanted any more of it she would be better off not to rock the boat.
The copy nin stopped completely in front of the huge plant and seemed to start examining it with his hands. He pushed and prodded at it until he eventually dropped to his knees and did the same at the base of the overgrown shrub.
"What're you doing?" Rin chuckled at him. He looked like he'd just this second lost his mind. Perhaps he was down on his knees looking for it.
"Looking for a way in..." he started flatly just as his arm plunged straight through the bottom of the bush. "Ah!" he yelped in a mixture of surprise and triumph after seemingly finding his "way in."
Pulling his arm from the internal part of the plant and resting it on his lap with the other, Kakashi simply sat in the dirt while he caught his breath. He dragged a hand through his messy silver hair, leaned back towards the bush and shoved his arm through it again pulling the tiny branches of its frame to one side.
Rin continued to examine his actions with a worried curiosity until the copy nin turned to face her and winced before he spoke. "You might have to crawl through this. Sorry, it's been a while since I last came here," he muttered apologetically.
Rin laughed at him and shook her head, "I'm not crawling through there! I'm not a badger!" she chortled and was rewarded by a saddened glimmer that shot across Kakashi's visible eye. She instantly felt a little guilty, but all she had wanted to do tonight was sit and eat ramen... not crawl around on the dirty ground... not twice in one day anyway.
Kakashi went quiet as he scanned the earth around him before looking back up at her.
"Do you trust me, Rin?" he asked somewhat meekly.
"What?"
"I said, do you trust me?"
"Kakashi..."
"Rin, please?"
Kakashi's plea forced her to think about what she was going to say next. They were both still a little breathless from their hectic journey but the signals she was getting from him suggested that he really needed her honest answer. She raked a hand through her hair as she contemplated exactly why he needed to know something she thought was pretty obvious.
"Of course I trust you," she responded softly.
Kakashi's eye crinkled a little in the corner suggesting that he was smiling at her again as he held out an offering hand to her.
"Then trust me when I say that it'll be worth it."
Rin thought about his request to crawl through the small gap in the bush while switching her glances between Kakashi's hopeful eye and his hand. Eventually she gave in to him, grasped his hand firmly and allowed him to guide her towards the newly created gap in the large plant that blocked their way.
"Why don't you just burn the bush or cut it down or something?" She asked irritably as she poked her head into the gap.
"Just because," he said hurriedly. "Just get through here and you'll see another small incline, walk up that and you're there," he explained flatly, letting go of her hand and suddenly grasping her waist with both of his.
"What are you doing?" she hissed, she hoped he didn't think this was some opportunity to just grab her. Even so, she found he quite liked the warmth of his hands around her waist.
"Making sure the branches of this bush don't rip your shirt, just go through, I'll follow straight after."
Rin did as she was told and dragged herself through the prickly plant begrudgingly. She hoped for his sake that whatever was on the other side was worth it or Kakashi would soon find himself being brutally turned into a messy puddle.
Seconds later she was at the other side straightening herself and brushing the dust from her once clean denim pants. The dust was very dry, thankfully, so the stains it left behind were barely noticeable. She had no doubt the rest of the dirt would come out in the wash.
She paused briefly as she waited for Kakashi to come through the base of the bush. Instead she heard him rustling around on the other side.
"Kakashi? Are you coming through?" she called, standing on her tiptoes in an attempt to see over the top of the huge plant but to no avail.
"Yeah, I've got to take off my pack and throw it through. Just go up the incline, I'll be there in a minute."
"Need any help?"
"No, I'm good."
Rin shrugged at his response and swiftly turned on her heel to see the small slope the copy nin had been talking about. She found herself staring at it for a while until she eventually decided to step onto it.
She thought about the way Kakashi had told her about this place that was apparently worth crawling through bushes for.
A place that floats in the stars, he had said. She couldn't help but smile at his words and she laughed a little as she recalled the dreamy look Kakashi had given her as he said it. It wasn't like something the older jounin would usually come out with. It sounded oddly romantic and downright cheesy; it was something she thought a child would say. Rin shook her head trying to dismiss any thoughts of this place he had brought her to being anything but the magical land he had led her to imagine.
That was until she reached the top of the incline.
She stopped dead on the curve of the hill as she took in what she saw before her. An expansive clearing fanned out beneath her feet as she stepped closer. The grass was green, greener than any she had seen within the village walls and it led her eyes towards a small lake on the far side. The water glittered in the moonlight and the entire space was surrounded decoratively by trees of all breeds and sizes. It was completely enclosed, so private and intimate.
She stepped closer still allowing her sights to drink it all in.
She looked towards the trees noticing the clouds of fireflies dancing in the branches and leaves that framed the velvet sky. The stars scattered in space looked like delicate pretty stones spilled onto a sheet of satin and the moon seemed so much bigger than usual. It was heart breaking, so much so she felt herself placing a hand on her chest as if to stop her own heart falling to pieces inside of her.
This place felt like an island suspended in an endless sea, it was so beautiful and completely un-ruined by the torment of a thousand feet on its delicate soil.
"A place that floats in the stars..." she whispered as she found herself enclosed in a whimsical awe. Why had she never known about this place? How in this world did Kakashi know of such a place?
Suddenly she thought about all those loved up couples in their fancy restaurant, eating their fancy meals. How sorry she felt for them now knowing that her partner for the evening had planned to bring her somewhere so enchanting. She would rather be in a place like this than stuck in a building with its fake plants and over priced decor. This... this was all natural, this was what made Rin appreciate simply existing. It was beautiful.
She absently heard heavy footfalls approaching behind her. She didn't turn to greet him, her eyes trapped within the picturesque view. She shook her head slowly when she sensed him stand at her side.
"It's beautiful..." she murmured not entirely sure who it was she was actually talking to be it him or herself.
"I told you it was worth it," he said back. Kakashi's voice had a hue of sadness about it that caused Rin to shift her eyes towards him. He just stood, tracing his lone dark eye along the grounds. He seemed to be following something and an odd sheen glimmered within the onyx of his vision, something she struggled to recognise.
She touched him softly on his forearm and was surprised herself when the contact seemed to startle him.
"Kakashi, are you alright?" she asked quietly.
He turned to face her with a strange expression of longing hanging in his eye. It was there for only a second but she noticed it instantly. He quickly changed his stance and pinched his eye closed with one of his trademark hidden smiles in an attempt to hide what she had just seen.
"Of course, why shouldn't I be?" he responded softly. There was a foreign tremor in his voice, undetectable to the untrained ear, but Rin had heard that tremor before... long ago.
Because I can hear you crying... her mind told her to say, conjuring old memories she had once tried to forget.
She had said that to him only once before and he had denied it, even with his eyes sore and bloodshot and his breath hitching in a desperate but failing attempt to control it. She had heard him crying then, behind a closed door where he thought no one could hear or see. Her mind replayed the event, hell bent on ruining this moment, this one night where everything seemed so special...
"Why are you even here? Leave me alone!"
"Because I want to help you, Kakashi!"
"... why...?"
"Because... because you're my friend."
"..."
"Kakashi...?"
"I don't deserve your friendship ... jus t... just go away."
"That isn't up to you"
"..."
"You don't really want me to go... do you?"
"Everyone else has..."
The memory made her lips tremble. She had forgotten about it up until she heard that hurtful quiver in her friends voice, the very same as she had heard all those years ago. But looking at him now he seemed happy again. He showed no signs of breaking at all. She couldn't shake it off, however, and she couldn't stop herself from feeling the nausea she had felt back in that shadowed hospital room...
Eventually she released his arm and smiled back. "No reason," she lied.
Kakashi nodded just once and hitched the pack on his shoulders up as he began to move towards the shimmering waters that lay at the far end of the clearing.
"We should eat before the ramen gets cold. I'm starving," he chimed.
"Okay," she croaked as she watched him almost trot towards the water's edge. Something about this place had awakened painful memories in his mind, which was more than obvious. She didn't think she would ask him what they were... she wasn't sure if she really wanted to know. What bothered her more than anything was remembering how helpless she had felt when she had first ever heard him talk like that. Because there was nothing she could do or say to take away his pain...

They both sat on a sandy embankment which gave the illusion that the lakeside was actually a beach. The water lapped at the makeshift shore and shimmered prettily in the light of the night sky. The view was as enchanting as it ever was and the copy nin was once again in complete awe of the old abandoned fishing hole. It was so peaceful here and he secretly wished the night would never end.
They were both still eating their boxes of take out ramen and playing a game Rin liked to call "kiddie questionnaire". Kakashi had not long asked her what her favourite toy was as a child. Apparently a small plush rabbit with no ears called Bonsty.
Now he sat quietly, pushing his food around the carton and allowed his mind to drift while he waited for Rin to think of something to ask him.
Kakashi had forgotten just how nice it was up here, and he thought nothing of tasting that fresh sweet air that accompanied the small woodland around them. It was just like he remembered it, the only differences being that he was now in his early thirties... and his mother was no longer around.
He hadn't thought about the woman who gave birth to him for a long time. Not that he had ever wanted to forget her, but she died when he was very young, hell, she had been very young. He sometimes struggled to remember what she looked like when he did think of her, and it upset him deeply with the idea that he was forgetting her. But he remembered her now, like he had only seen her the day before. His mind conjured memories of her walking them both up the small footpath he and Rin had not long traversed, of he and mother dipping their feet into the icy waters of the lake on hot sticky evenings. He still had no idea how she had found this place, he had never once thought to ask... but she had and she only ever shared it with him.
She was a small, petite young woman with shoulder length ebony hair, quite ironic given his own lack of pigment. He felt himself smile as he played his food with his chopsticks, recalling her smell. She always smelled like apples and strawberries, sometimes one or the other but usually the scents were infused together. Her voice had always sounded like the tinkling of wind chimes in a gentle breeze and she could sing... man, could that woman sing...
Kakashi could also remember the evil glances they used to get when she took him to the market. She was heavily ridiculed for being a teenage mother with a much older husband and a young son in tow. But she never let it bother her, though he knew it had bothered him, he was quite surprised to feel that it still did.
He had been too young to understand anything about age differences then, or even the matter of sex and marriage. All he knew was he loved his mother and he didn't like people looking at her with their vicious eyes.
"Kakashi, don't stare at people like that, it's rude!"
"But, mom! They're talking and pointing at us..."
"Don't let it bother you, honey. You shouldn't worry about what other people think. I don't."
That very same conversation happened more times than he could actually remember, but he still found an unspoken respect for her not rising to the general public's torments. It was a lesson he should have learned from her, but he had chosen the hard way...
Absently, Kakashi slowly raised his hand placed it gently on his head, trying to simulate the sensation he felt when his pretty mother ruffled his hair to end such conversations. But it wasn't the same. He could never replicate that feeling of safety and warmth she used to radiate when she patted him on the head, or hugged him, or kissed his forehead when he fell and grazed his knees. He could still remember his father scolding her sometimes because she "mothered" him too much.
It all felt like some wonderful dream turned into a horrific nightmare now she was no longer here.
His train of thought crashed in his mind as he was suddenly shoved to one side by his dinner date at his side.
"Ooh! Ooh! I've got one!" she chirped happily clapping her hands together like a child would on the morning of their birthday.
Kakashi didn't fight the grin that was pulling at the corner of his mouth. Rin was so cute sometimes he couldn't help but laugh at her. She acted so young in so many ways, and in turn it made him feel young too when he was around her.
"Go for it," he said as he took a mouthful of tepid ramen.
"Okay! Tell me your funniest childhood memory."
"That's not really a question..."
"Stop splitting hairs, Kakashi, and just tell me."
Her inane smile made her face glow in the moonlight. Even in her sensible clothes she looked like something out of a fairy tale. She was so beautiful, it was such a pity he couldn't muster the courage to just tell her so.
He thought about her request for a few moments, searching his memory banks for something he thought she may find at least a little bit amusing. He felt his eyes widen comically as one such memory forced its way to the surface of his mind.
"Can you remember that TV show when we were kids, the one with the people dressed as cakes and pastries?" he asked her in a more serious tone than he originally intended. He saw her brow furrow as she thought about his question before her mouth dropped open in gleeful recognition.
She gasped loudly as she clapped once and jabbed a finger towards him.
"I know it! I know it! Ooh, it's on the tip of my tongue!" She clenched both of her fists together and tapped them on the sides of her head as if trying to jump-start her brain. Her tongue was sticking out of her mouth a little as she scrunched her eyes closed. Seconds later she snapped her fingers and pointed at him again sporting a triumphant grin that made her even prettier than she was before.
"Pocky Boulevard!" she blurted with a small fist pump when Kakashi felt his smile spread a little more. The copy nin was even more taken aback when she burst into song waving her hands in tune with her voice, "Oh, come to Pocky Boulevard, come see how we play, with houses made of candy and frosted clay, come to Pocky Boulevard, come to Pocky Boulevard, lets sing and dance the day away, yay!"
"I can't believe you just did that," Kakashi snorted as he stifled the giggles jumping at the back of his throat. He remembered the tune vividly. Back in the day it was that very tune that dragged him away from whatever he had been doing to sit and gawp at the screen for the full twenty minutes the show ran for. Now it just sounded silly.
Rin looked especially pleased with herself despite Kakashi trying not to laugh at her. She still felt the need to explain her little sing song however, "Pocky Boulevard was my favourite show ever and I used to sing along to the opening every time I watched it! It drove my dad crazy... Although thinking back it was actually a bit sinister. Remember how Mr Bento was always trying to take Madam Dango's clothes off? Sexual references much?"
Kakashi chuckled at her as he took a sip of the beer he had brought with him for this little picnic. He relished how the fizzy liquid slid down his throat and was quite enjoying the slight fuzziness behind his eyes. He wasn't that much of a drinker, so alcohol consumption didn't suit him well. The odd sociable drink was okay though, so he had brought the beers from the grocery store on his way to Ichiraku's. Rin didn't complain when he had presented them to her, quite the opposite in fact. Kakashi did good!
"Yeah, I remember that. Well once after watching it I told my mom I was going to pack my things and go and live there with Madam Dango."
The copy nin got the reaction he expected, Rin's mouth dropped open and she sighed wistfully at the images she was now creating in her head.
"That's so cute! What did your mom say?" she asked dreamily.
"Not a lot. She just sat there reading and said – okay, sweetheart, see you later."
"You mean... she wasn't bothered?" Rin seemed shocked by his mother's response but he just smiled knowingly at her as he continued.
"I'm not done yet. It wasn't that mom didn't care. She just wasn't stupid. She knew how it was going to turn out," he replied with a shrug. Rin nodded at him, her lips parted a little in inquisitive awe which willed Kakashi to continue his story. Which he did after another mouthful of food.
"So, I went to my room, packed up some things in a pillowcase and walked out the back door."
"And ... and ... then what?"
"I walked down the garden, got to the gate, sat down on the grass and burst into tears..."
He watched Rin's once happy expression fall into one of utter despair. It was insanely funny to watch as her eyes opened comically and her mouth turned downwards so much so he feared it would just fall off.
"Aww! Why'd you start crying, Kakashi?" she asked. Her voice dripped with sympathy, almost like she was taking the story far too seriously. He had been a child at the time, a mere baby who still enjoyed playing with building blocks and drawing pictures of his family with brightly coloured crayons at the table while mom made dinner. The memories kept coming, thick and fast... it was this place... he just knew it...
"Turned out that I didn't know how to get there... I was only three, Rin," he drawled feeling himself becoming a little distant again.
He wasn't sure if he liked all the nostalgia the abandoned fishing hole forced upon him. As soon as he had stepped foot on the grassy incline he could see himself running around the trees trying to catch fireflies with his bare hands. He could see mom... he could see her just sitting by the trees calling for him to be careful... to stay where she could see him.
He had followed his imaginary self running along the water's edge and could still hear the high pitched laughter of a happy child... it hurt, it hurt a lot more than he first thought it would and he didn't like it. Maybe bringing Rin here was a bad idea. Not that this would be the first mistake he had made in his life...
"Kakashi..." a small voice came from the side interrupting him again. He motioned his eye towards the source to see Rin simply staring back at him. She had placed her half eaten ramen down next to her and she seemed to have paused midway into reaching for him. As soon as he had turned towards her she dropped her hand back to the sand and fixed him with sorrowful eyes.
"Are you sure you're alright?" she questioned meekly. It seemed that she didn't expect him to tell her the truth, so he used that as an excuse not to.
"Yes, I'm fine. Why?" he lied irritably.
"You seem ... I dunno ... distant. Like you're not really here." She hunched her shoulders at him, as if to entice him into speaking.
Kakashi looked her over before turning back to the water and began absently picking at the label on his beer bottle. He felt a little embarrassed for being caught out. He did feel distant, he felt completely detached from the real world, like he didn't want to be here.
It wasn't Rin, it was the location. It had been such a great idea at the time he had thought of it and he was more than pleased the old fishing hole had maintained its ethereal beauty. But he was finding it so hard to deal with the memories that came with it. It had been so long since he had last been here, he guessed that was the price one paid for avoiding memories.
Some of the happiest moments of his childhood were spent here, but all that did was emphasise how much he actually missed it, how much he still missed her even after all these years. It was stupid, letting himself get carried away on the wings of his own mind but he wasn't sure how to stop it from happening.
"I'm... thinking," he answered flatly. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to talk about it, but keeping things from Rin had never been easy. Not because she constantly picked at him until he caved in, but simply because he couldn't pretend around her.
She wasn't like anyone else he had ever known, he found himself to act differently around her. He was good at hiding, good at pretending everything was okay when he was really crumbling at the seams... but not around her. She could see straight through him anyway, but he guessed that was what he loved so much about her. The fact that she was the only person he knew that truly understood him and what he meant.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," she murmured softly. He could tell by her tone that she was smiling, not a happy smile more an empathetic smile. She understood... she knew he was hurting at this moment in time and she was willing to let him ride it out on his own. Kakashi had always been a creature of habit, and normally he would show her gratitude for allowing him to deal with himself by himself.
He didn't want to do that anymore.
"Maybe I want to talk about it," he breathed. The copy nin didn't get a response from her, causing him to look towards her again. She was just sitting there looking back at him with an expectant glimmer in her dark eyes. He saw the water reflecting from the sheen of her gaze as she allowed it to flick over his face. He was telling her the truth; he just didn't quite know how to expose exactly what he was thinking.
"You miss her... don't you?" she whispered, not once lifting her warm gaze from his.
Kakashi felt his skin tighten around him. How would she know who he was thinking about?
"Sorry...?"
"Your mother... you know, you've never spoken about her until tonight."
Kakashi felt more than a little shocked that she had managed to guess his thoughts through a simple recollection. Not that he should have been surprised in the slightest. This wasn't the first time she had guessed correctly at what he was thinking.
"How did you...?"
"Lucky guess? Or maybe because when you mentioned her in your little story I saw the longing in your eye." Her expression warmed at that very moment. A pleasant hue of pink was dusted on each cheek as she spoke. She looked so beautiful, but that didn't stop that embarrassed knot roll around in his stomach.
"Am I that easy to read, Rin?" he grumbled flatly feeling more shameful than he did moments ago. He didn't really like the fact that he showed his emotions so vividly to her. The last thing he wanted was to appear weak in front of the person he had promised to protect.
He heard her hum a chuckle under her breath and sensed her turn to towards the water.
"You're only human, Kakashi. It's natural to miss people you loved. I should know." She responded knowingly. "You've got nothing to be ashamed of, you know. I miss my mom too..."
He felt himself smile at that. It felt nice that she could relate to the way he was feeling right now. He had never really been given the chance to mourn his mother, so he had never truly accepted her death. Perhaps that was why the nostalgia hit him as hard as it did. He regarded the water, listening to its gentle sounds before Rin interrupted his gaze.
"Is that why you seemed upset before? Did she used to bring you here?" Rin asked quietly.
Kakashi merely nodded as he continued to pick at the label on his bottle. He thought about the situation he had put himself in, well, not only himself but Rin as well. This wasn't fair, not on her. She didn't need to hear anymore, not that there was much left to tell.
"I'm sorry, Rin." His voice was almost a whisper as it retreated into the back of his throat. He had never found it so difficult to speak in his life but he felt the need to apologise. He had meant this night to be about the both of them. To start again afresh, but instead it had just gone horribly wrong ... story of his life, he thought miserably.
"Sorry? Whatever for?" Rin quizzed her voice shrill against the quite of the lake.
"Well," he hesitated as he looked down at his drink and laughed nervously. "I think I've kind of ruined the night now, huh?"
He glanced up at her to see that same warming smile from before. She reached towards him and placed a hand on his arm. She squeezed it tenderly before hutching herself over on the sand and parking herself next to him.
"Of course you haven't. This is what friends do. You know you can tell me anything, anytime, you know that, right?" The sound of her voice was so soft it was almost a whisper and her smile so warm and inviting Kakashi had to fight with his eyes to keep them trained on hers. They had been in situations like this many times since she had returned to Konoha, so close that he could smell the mint of her breath, could almost taste her natural fragrance... what he would give to kiss her again like he had before, he didn't even know. But he didn't dare. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin what they had already, things would happen when they happen, as he kept telling himself.
"I don't deserve you..." he whispered, gradually relaxing into her touch as she seemed to hitch ever closer. He meant what he said, he didn't deserve her, he didn't deserve her friendship or her love... and yet she was sat here with him allowing him to take all he could from her.
Her already warming smile twitched upwards in one corner as she lowered her eyes to the small space between them and then back again. She flitted her sights over his face before she chose to respond in that same soft voice, "That's not up to you."
He hummed at her, dropping his own gaze to the sand. He supposed she was right. It wasn't up to him, it was her choice to stick around, heaven knew she didn't have to, but she did regardless.
"It's getting late. I should take you home," he said quietly.
Rin nodded in agreement before briskly getting to her feet. Kakashi followed soon after, picking up his half empty ramen carton and his extinguished bottle. He watched Rin do the same before looking around herself and sighing in a child like awe.
She turned her attention to him and trotted over placing the remains of her meal in the pack the copy nin held open for her.
"Ready?" she chirped with a broad grin.
"As ever," he drawled back as they made their over to the entrance of the clearing. He decided they would take a stroll back to the village. Perhaps the walk would help clear his head and make sense of what exactly happened here tonight... one thing he did know for sure, is the woman who was now walking in front of him, her long dark hair swaying with her steps was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He had no idea how he had survived for so long without her.

The walk back into the village centre hadn't lasted long enough for the copy nin. They talked about nothing in particular but there was no more sadness, none that he had felt before hand. He had Rin to thank for that. But still, Kakashi found himself wishing they'd have walked a little slower.
She hadn't once tried to console him in a way that many women he knew tend to. She didn't try to coax him into revealing how he was feeling. She didn't have to because she already knew. She knew what it felt like to lose someone as close as a parent. He could still remember escorting her to the morgue at the hospital to identify her own parents bodies after the village was all but destroyed by the demon fox. He also remembered her screams of frustration after the news finally hit home. He understood that then, and she understood him now. And yet, it felt nice to be able to bounce these things from one another.
It didn't take long for them to reach the foot of Rin's apartment building as both of them came to a complete stop outside it and turned to face each other.
Rin looked up at him, somewhat sheepishly and smiled shyly at him. "Thanks... for the ramen and... stuff," she all but muttered at him while a rosy flush crawled across her face.
The copy nin laughed at her coyness which earned him a soft slap on the shoulder. "Don't laugh at me! I'm trying to thank you, stupid!" she hollered playfully.
"You've known me for... how long now? And you've gone all shy on me. Very cute," he chortled at her. She giggled back as she reached downwards and grabbed both of his hands with her own. She held them up a little as though she was about to give him a double hand shake.
"Seriously, Kakashi. Thank you. You're really sweet, you know?" She gazed at him with those pretty dark eyes of hers. Kakashi wasn't sure how he should respond to her compliment, so he just smiled at her and nodded his head.
Just then she released his hands and threw her arms around his neck instead pulling him into a forced but much welcomed embrace. He heard himself grunt a little as he had to stoop over once she had captured him, but he was okay with that. He enjoyed being in her arms, although in public he was a lot more conscious of it. He slowly placed his hands on her lower back, mainly to show the appreciation of her company. Not that she was unaware of it, they were practically joined at the hip as it was.
They just stood there, entwined with one another for what seemed like hours. Rin occasionally tightened her arms around Kakashi's neck while he simply smoothed his hands up and down her back while taking this opportunity to bury his nose in her hair. She smelled really good, she always did.
After a while Kakashi glanced over to the apartment complex to see the security guard still at his post within the tiny shack just outside the door. He looked to be sleeping but the copy nin couldn't be sure. Either way it motivated him into getting Rin safely inside the complex so he himself could go home, not that he wanted to.
He stroked his hands from her lower back and moved them over her shoulders enticing her to pull away slightly.
She gazed at him dreamily as Kakashi nodded towards the security guard in his little shack. "You should get going, if we stand here all night people's tongues will get the better of them," he deadpanned.
Rin frowned at him before she span her head around on her shoulders to take a look at the guard.
There was no one else in the street but Kakashi was one of those types of people that could never be too careful. He wanted to make sure Rin was safely in her apartment building before he left, and he knew it just wasn't feasible to stand out in the street all night.
Suddenly Rin turned back to face him and fixed him with a mean glare. He felt her squeeze the base of his neck before she trailed her fingers to the hem of his mask. Rin was already acting before Kakashi had the time to react, pulling the mask from around his face and using it to pull him towards her.
"Let them talk," she whispered just as she crushed her mouth onto his. She kept her grip on his mask as she kissed him fiercely, her lips enveloping his while she teased the sensitive skin with gentle brushes of her tongue.
It didn't take Kakashi long to get over the initial shock of what she was doing. He closed his eyes and leaned into her, allowing her access to his mouth. She plunged her hot tongue into his depths and he greeted it with his own while she accompanied the kiss with a soft pleasured moan. She tasted better than he remembered from the kiss they shared on his dilapidated sofa, the voltage running through him far more exhilarating than he had ever felt before.
He smoothed a hand down her lusciously curved body until he reached the round of her hip while the other sought refuge within the tangles of her hair.
Kakashi pulled her closer, fitting her more snugly against his body while he felt her hands roam around his neck, smooth down to his chest and back again. He could feel her heat bleeding through his clothes and melting onto his skin, could feel her voluptuous breasts pressing against him with each heaving breath she took. He could feel the electricity from his touch making her entire body come to life. Each muscle he passed as he allowed his hands to explore her gorgeous toned form twitched in welcomed response. He didn't care if anyone saw them, he didn't care if they talked; all he cared about was this moment and it had definitely been worth the wait to get here.
Rin was the first one to pull away much to Kakashi's dismay. The kiss didn't last half as long as he wanted it to. She allowed her lips to linger on his as she gently pulled his mask back over his face and smoothed it over with the flat of her hands once it was in place. She touched her forehead to his as they held each other in the street and flicked her big eyes towards his. He noticed that she was playing with his hair that covered the back of his neck when she smiled devilishly at him.
"Do you want to come upstairs for ... you know ... coffee?" she purred as she began to sway her body gently from side to side.
Kakashi hummed at her following her swaying movements as he contemplated his next move. He wanted to, more than anything but coffee was obviously the last thing this beautiful girl had on her mind right now. He could smell her arousal all around him, and as tempting as the offer was, given the slight pressure he could feel in his lower region, he decided to do what he considered to be the right thing.
"Maybe some other time, huh? We don't want to rock the boat do we?" he responded softly, taking the time to gently tuck a strand of glossy long hair behind her ear.
He saw her smile widen a little as she glanced down at the space between them. "Yeah, I understand. So... what happens now?" se murmured expectantly.
"I don't know. I guess things will happen when they happen." He replied with a small shrug.
She nodded in agreement as she pulled away from him. She smoothed her fingers down his arm enticing him to raise it slightly and grab her hand as she began to walk away. He let her slip through his fingers to let her wave to him before turning on her heel and making her way over to the apartment building.
He stayed there until she had closed the door behind her, wondering just what would have happened if he had accepted her invitation.

Her head was still spinning from the dizzying experience she had just created. She didn't think she had it in her to just make a pass at Kakashi. But she'd done it purely on a whim because she couldn't contain herself any more. Not that he had done any complaining.
She had wanted to kiss him at the lake, but his mood at the time forced her to keep a level head. He needed her then as a friend, nothing else. She felt she had fulfilled her duty on that score and she hoped he was aware that she would always be there for him. It had taken him long enough to learn that the first time around. This time was exactly the same.
She stepped through the threshold of her apartment and closed the door behind her with her body. She stood against it for a few seconds and blew out a very shaky, aroused breath. Her entire body was still burning from Kakashi's contact. It felt good, it really did, but she felt frustrated with the fact that he wasn't going to anything about it. Not tonight at least.
She plodded sulkily into the kitchenette to fix herself a drink while she thought about it all. Rin completely understood why he had turned her down. She wasn't upset with him for that. After telling him they needed to slow the pace it was only natural that Kakashi would say no to her to begin with and she respected him for that. But that didn't stop the sexual frustration within her coming to boil and causing her to perform her mundane actions with an aggression that bordered on a downright tantrum.
She huffed and scoffed as she slammed a cup down on the side and pushed the button of the kettle hard enough for it to bend unnaturally under her finger.
She felt herself begin to cool off as she crossed her arms over the table and allowed her head to plop into the comforting space in the centre. She focused solely on the kettle as she recalled the copy nins roaming hands. She could still feel them, exploring her back, her sides, narrowly avoiding her breasts by a mere gnat's wing. She loved the way he touched her, loved how gentle he was with her and she wanted nothing more than to have him there right now doing just that.
She forced her body upwards with a defeated graon and chose to rest her face in the palm of her hand as she allowed her mind to drift to what could have happened within these very walls had he accepted her coffee invite.
"Bastard..." she muttered to herself as the kettle clicked to the boil, feeling her brows furrow as that unbearable pressure began to build between her legs again. Damn her uncooperative body! Damn Kakashi for being so sexy! Damn it all!
After pouring her drink, Rin sloped out of the kitchen and meandered towards the double glass doors that led to the balcony. She shunted them open with a foot and stepped back out into the cool night air. Walking over the banister Rin crossed her arms across it sighing longingly as she looked over the twinkling lights of the village.
She stood there for a while, just thinking about what had happened that night. How she had felt so sorry for her old team mate when he finally admitted missing his mother. She knew what it felt like, but she had no idea how it must have been for a young boy to go through that. She felt she had done her best to console him, to let him know that he wasn't the only one that felt that way. He seemed to cheer up afterwards anyway, so she could only assume she helped him even if was only a little bit.
She found herself biting her lip when she recalled him stating that he didn't deserve her. What did that even mean? He'd said it more than once over the course of their friendship but she had never truly understood why. What was it about her that he felt he didn't deserve?
After finding no logical answers to that particular question she dismissed it with a swift shake of her head and focused on their second... no third proper kiss. She felt herself smile wistfully as she imagined him being there right now, pressing her up against the barriers of the balcony and kissing her hard on the mouth while he slowly undressed her. He would peel off her clothes and throw them to the concrete with a reckless abandon, that raw passion burning in his eyes before he made sweet sweet love to her right there on the hard cold floor.
The dream had totally drained her senses, something she realised when she saw she was spilling her coffee all over the balcony that jutted from the apartment below her. She gasped in horror but the action startled her so much she dropped the entire mug in a panic.
"Oh... fuck!" she hissed as she squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the impending impact that never came. She opened an eye and dared to look down to the balcony below, craning her entire body over the edge to see nothing but the splattering of coffee she had initially spilled. There were no shards... no mug... nothing. .
She frowned in confusion before a familiar voice saying her name made her almost lose her balance altogether. At the fear of falling over the railings of the balcony she lurched backwards with a startled cry and collided with the glass door behind her.
"Shit! Ow!" she hissed rubbing at the now sensitive area around her shoulders.
"You should save that language for the bedroom," the voice chortled.
Rin glared at the culprit that was standing proud on the railing itself using a supporting hand on the floor above him. In his other hand he held the mug she had dropped, the one that should have smashed onto the floor below.
"What the hell are you doing, Kakashi? You'll give someone a heart attack sneaking up on people like that!" she ground out through clenched teeth as she straightened herself up and gasped for her breath.
She watched him laugh at her remarks, his visible eye pinching closed in utter amusement. "I am a shinobi. It's my job to sneak up on people," he chuckled.
"As for what I'm doing..." he started as he stepped carefully around the railing shifting his support arm along the overhead floor as he went.
"I guess I'm changing my mind. Is the coffee invite still open?" He waved the cup he was holding in front of her as she reached up to take it from him with both hands. "I'm assuming you'll need another seeing as you spilled that one all over your neighbour's porch."
She watched his eye pinch closed again as an ugly blush crawled across her face. Kakashi had seen the whole thing, he'd probably seen her daydreaming too. She briefly thought about going down to the apartment below and apologising for the mess she had made but dismissed the idea as soon as it came. She had more important things to deal with right at this moment in time.
She held out a hand to him which he took without hesitation and jumped down from the balcony.
"I'm glad you changed your mind," she whispered with a small grin as she led him back into her apartment making sure she closed the door behind them.
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Crossing Rubicon's