Good morning! Here is the fluffy companion piece I promised to make up for the delay this week whilst i'm on Holiday- it's the first thing I've ever written of it's kind so I hope it's okay. It's not smut, but I might (i'm likely to) work up to that eventually.
Obviously this is set between chapters 12 and 13-and i'm debating whether this can be counted as "light, playful kissing" as described in chapter 14-do you think so?
See you all next week on The Long Game with a new chapter, I've got some really fun ideas as to where to take it, which I say with of course, as you've come to expect from me, an incredibly evil laugh.
Hayami couldn't help the beginnings of nervous hyperventilation as she perched on the side of Gai's tub. She'd been so full of confidence, so forward just ten minutes ago, but sitting here with wet hair on the cold white edge, staring down at the dirtied yellow dress that was entirely out of place in the green filled washing basket...she couldn't help but feel slightly out of her depth.
She was in a man's bedroom.
Well, bathroom. But soon, she would be in a man's bedroom. She wished she had more experience with these kind of situations but she knew she was entirely at a loss here. Sure, as a teen growing up she'd kissed boys, and experienced the frenzied teenage groping that often accompanied it; but she'd always been too shy to approach the boys she liked. "Well you're kicking yourself now aren't you Hayami, for not wanting to lose it to that boy at the hot springs…" she chastised herself.
She was 100% blushing virginal maiden...Not that she'd have ever admitted it to any of the girls when they included her in their often loud and rambunctious discussions. She'd always been too shy and embarrassed in both the approach to the conversation and the act itself.
His knock, a confident contrast to her own shaking self brought her back to attention.
"Ami, I've found you some pajamas to wear! Shall I bring them in or"
She cut him off, rapidly looking down at her own nakedness "nonono! Just leave them out there!"
Gai chuckled-Where was the woman who had made the first move before? She couldn't see the matching blush on his own face, and he was glad of it, not sure whether his heart would take it if she had continued with as much gusto as she'd previously shown.
"They're out here for you!" he called out, bending to place the clothes outside the door before snapping back upwards and jogging back towards the bedroom. He couldn't help but blanche a little at the sight, ashamed of his weights and clothes strewn around the space. Did it smell okay? Her room always smelt like fresh flowers and citrus, clean sheets and the oil he occasionally saw her rub into her long hair in the mornings before training to stop the curls becoming too wild.
He still remembered the first time she'd done it, how mesmerised he'd been of the sight of her slender fingers pulling through the snags of those long, forest green strands. She'd turned to ask him something, but his attention was entirely on the curve of her neck; the morning light making her tan skin positively glow. He'd decided at that moment that he'd been a complete idiot to not let his training focused one track mind notice her before.
That's how Hayami found him, sat on his large bed amongst the clutter of his room, vacantly staring at a dumbbell with the most adorably dopey smile.
"Would you like me to give you two some space?"
"Hayami! OW"
He'd jumped up at her words, face turning fuchsia, then crimson as the impossibly heavy weight dropped on his foot.
She gestured for him to sit, and crouched, rolling the weight out if the way and tentatively feeling his foot. She concentrated, her hands glowing blue as she felt the burst blood vessels heal beneath the skin. Satisfied at her work, she smiled up at him. "all better"
His wide smile glowed "my hero"
"I couldn't let the great green beast of Konoha go injured, could I?"
"A mere bruise can't stop me!" he grinned, thumb up and a shine in his eyes, as always. Of course he wouldn't be nervous, like she was.
"To make myself feel better then" she laughed, letting go of his foot to hold onto the loose trousers as she stood, shuffling backwards so as to not trip on the pooling fabric.
"Too big?" he laughed, taking in how much she drowned in the pajamas that truth be told, were a little small on him.
She laughed and nodded, taking in the sight of his own black pajamas, chest bare under his tied robe-the slightest triangle of skin showing at the top.
She couldn't believe they were here, staring at each other in his bedroom. He'd been in hers plenty of times, as familiar as he was with just climbing in through her window now; but she'd never joined him in here-and given the mess she could see why. She had to turn away from his intense stare, reaching to fiddle with the waistband of the trousers, trying to fasten them so they wouldn't fall, as they repeatedly had in the bathroom.
"Hayami?"
She looked up, taking in his outstretched hand and paused, lacing her fingers with his and allowing the tie to slip out of her grasp.
She pressed her lips lightly against his, wrapping the other arm around his neck and feeling both his own arm tighten around her waist, and the trousers pool around her feet. She laughed, her breath coming in little pants against his lips.
"What?" he asked, confused and a little breathless.
Hayami gestured downwards at her feet, hidden entirely by the plaid bottoms, and he swiftly darted away from her; jumping dramatically over the corner of the bed and towards the cupboard at the side of the bedroom- his voice a stammering mutter as he rummaged through the drawers, pulling out items and stretching the waistband before shoving them back in haphazardly.
She held down the hem of the top, wishing she'd pushed hygiene aside and continued to wear the unwashed underwear rather than sport a full body blush at the knowledge she was now commando in his room.
"Gai?"
He looked at her, a deer in the headlights look to his usually confident face
"If you have any shorts, I can wear those? Or we can grab something from my house?" really though, she'd have liked it if he had just continued kissing her, nudity aside.
"I...I only have u...underwear that would probably fit you, unless you want one of my jumpsuits?"
He was so much like Lee, stuttering through his nerves that she felt completely at ease again, knowing she'd been over thinking it as always. She moved towards him, squashing her own mental nerves and wrapping her arms around his waist- cheekily slipping a hand under his robe and upwards to rest against his chest. She could feel the steady thrum of his heart against her palm, quickening to a frantic beat.
"Underwear's fine"
What was this game they were playing, Hayami wondered- switching between confident actions and uncertain thoughts, stuttering through something that felt so natural. Was it that there was no line in the sand? No natural point of discomfort?
Should there be?
It felt like they were both trying to set the line, making themselves nervous by feeling like they should be less at ease than they were.
Keeping him turned away, she quickly stepped back and into the boxers, which fit much more securely.
"Gai?"
"mmm?"
"I can't tell if i'm actually nervous and uncertain, or if I feel like I should be more nervous"
His shoulders sagged and he laughed, pulling her forwards into a hug
"I think I feel the same, though I am still a bit nervous"
"Why?"
"Why wouldn't I be? When you finally have something you've wanted for so long, it's impossible not to feel a little nervous"
She smiled against his chest and loosened the fabric, sliding her hands into the dressing gown and snuggling against him; pressing light kisses to his bare skin.
"I can't believe I'm here either"
They stood like that for some time, just holding each other, until Hayami couldn't hold back her yawns any longer.
"Bed?" she asked, sheepishly.
He simply nodded, and turned off the light, sliding into his usual side of the bed and dumping his robe on the floor. On their sides, facing each other, he could see the faint freckles on her shoulders illuminated in the shaft of moonlight from the window. Crap... he worried, should he have put a shirt on? Was it improper of him to come to bed without one?
No, he decided, as her lips found his once more in the darkness and her fingers danced upon the plains of his muscles; she seemed to enjoy without-and he was certainly enjoying those featherlight touches. At a slight scrape of her nails he groaned, and she pressed into him more tightly, tongue moving against his own in a way that made his head spin. How long had it been since he'd been in this position? He felt like a teenager again, discovering how his body could react and feel. He shifted, his body moving on it's own to cover hers and she moved with him, a smile on her face as she looked up at him; lifting herself up to recapture his lips once more.
He couldn't believe it, it was like a dream come true, Hayami, here in his bed, in his clothes...feeling and tasting like nothing he could have ever imagined…
"Gai" she gasped as he shifted above her, trailing his lips down the delicate line of her slender neck, and he couldn't hold in the slight roll of his hips at the sound of his own name from those perfect lips; his movements stuttering slightly at her resulting moan.
Her hands found his hair and she pulled him back up to her; capturing his lips against her own and wrapping her legs around his waist. He'd barely touched her and she was so affected, so hot that she knew instantly it would likely be over too quickly if they did much more than this. Still, as she drifted her hands down his back and lightly squeezed the perfectly sculpted curve of his bum, tight as he pressed against her core; it would be far too easy to let this continue and go against every limit she'd mentally put in place just hours before.
"Gai"
He gave a questioning "mmm?" When he realised this iteration of his name wasn't another wanton moan, as he once again returned to the sensitive spot he'd found on her neck minutes before, gently kissing the spot.
She laughed, "Gai, stop"
He immediately pulled away, and she smiled up at him. "Can we...take it slow?"
The panic was evident in his tone "Oh god, I'm sorry, did I hurt you? Did I go too far"
"No, no, I'm just….i'm not...i'm a...I just don't want to rush"
She couldn't tell him, couldn't tell him that she'd never gone all the way, couldn't tell him that she was worried she wouldn't be able to make him feel as good, or that she was nervous she'd be dreadful at it…or that the feeling of him against her was the most thrilling thing she'd ever felt in her entire life.
His relieved smile filled her view through the curtain of his own hair "we'll go at whatever pace you're comfortable with"
She kissed him lightly, physically restraining herself from getting carried away and pouncing on him once more. Turning away from him, She moved backwards, letting out a happy sigh as he enveloped her in his arms, pulling her flush against his front. She fit so perfectly against him, and as his body warmth radiated through her she happily wriggled in snug against him, involuntarily gasping as she realised she could still feel the effect their activities had had on him against her.
"Sorry" he laughed, moving back.
"No, I...I like it" she admitted with a smile, moving back against him til that heat moved through her core again, and twisted to press one final kiss to his chin before settling in to sleep.
As darkness overtook her she wondered, how many times had she imagined this, sneaking glimpses of him over the last two years? And how many times had he?