Chapter 22

Authors note: this chapter is mostly smut :p. Mature content warning.

By the time Kakashi walked out of his office almost 45 minutes later Hinata had finished two glasses of wine. She was a light weight when it came to drinking, so she was laying down on the couch feeling quite buzzed and sleepy. She blurrily blinked up at him.

Kakashi was internally conflicted. Should he tell Hinata about what he had just learned or keep it to himself, instead of worrying her? But… the risk of her finding out through someone else was too high. As he walked up to the couch he noticed that she looked flushed.

Oh that was right, Hinata couldn't really handle much alcohol. In Kirigakure she had drank socially here and there but she had been very careful to either sip her drinks or to space them out.

Without any words he poured himself a glass of wine and sat down.

"What's wrong?" she murmured sitting up a bit.

He stared at her blankly. "I… er… I just got off the phone with Shizune. We've received a bit of bad news I'm afraid".

"What is it?" she asked, sounding more awake now.

"They ran the powder through the databases of all of the five shinobi nations and didn't come up with a match. Not all of them were set up with adequate technology for the testing, that is why it took as long as it did. But... in Iwagakure they at least found a clue to go on. The man who released the powder on us, he was a wanted criminal and a doctor from the Land of Iron. His name is Doctor Mido".

"Okay…" she blinked, "what does all that mean?"

"It means that they are getting a rush sample of the powder off to the Land of Iron as we speak for analysis... and Hinata" he said gravely, "the doctor is dead. Umm.. before he died he had said something".

She nodded at him solemnly, he wasn't sure how she would handle this information.

"He told them that this is a slow acting venom, a... neurotranqualizer of sorts that will shut down our bodies by the end of this week." Kakashi looked down at his hands, unable to look into her eyes anymore. "He himself died of similar symptoms… and we have to entertain the possibility that it could be because he would have been exposed to the powder prior to us".

"Okay…" she nodded looking slightly confused. "Do they have a cure in the Land of Iron or… an antidote?".

"They... aren't sure".

They stared at each other wordlessly for a few seconds before Hinata continued on in a daze. "Well... what does that mean? I mean I feel fine, don't you feel fine? We were exposed like a week ago, so if that information is accurate we have…. err give or take a week to live?".

Kakashi looked at her briefly and finished his wine. He then moved silently to the liquor cabinet to pour himself a stronger drink. By the time he turned back, Hinata was on her feet pacing the living room looking panicked.

"Do you want some?" he called out pointing to his glass.

"How can you be so calm about this?!" she paused in her pacing rounding in on him.

Kakashi didn't answer right away. Instead he took an extra glass of scotch over to her and sat on the couch, gesturing for her to sit again. She sank wordlessly into the cushions.

"It's not that I am calm, it's just... I can't do anything about this at the moment by panicking. We have no idea if this is contagious to other people. Based on the blood work, once exposed to the powder it doesn't seem to leave any traces in the blood. So they haven't been able to cross reference blood tests and rule out that we are contagious. The doctor himself didn't seem to be, but it took awhile for us to catch him, so in that time period he could have done any number of things to tamper with himself. There are still too many unknowns in this situation…. so the best thing I can do right now is to stay put and trust that our comrades will come through for us in time." even though his words were optimistic by the end of the speech he had sunken into the couch with his eyes closed rubbing his forehead. She could see that he was itching to go to the Land of Iron himself.

Finally understanding the gravity of the situation Hinata stared at Kakashi in dismay. They sat silently ruminating and the gentle sounds of the classical piano CD Hinata had put on was still playing in the background.

"As a Shinobi…. I always knew I might die in the course of duty, but I never dreamt up this scenario." she finally said.

Kakashi hmm'ed still looking distractedly at his glass. When he turned to her she looked distraught and her scotch glass was empty.

"What?" he asked her.

"Would… would you have any regrets if you died?" she whispered.

He felt the question very impactfully even though his expression didn't betray anything. Regrets… he wasn't sure.

"Regrets, hmm… maybe not being Hokage for longer?".

Her eyebrow went up at that reply and she nodded.

"What about you?" he asked.

"Oh…." she laughed "quite a lot actually. I wanted to be married, have children… I mean I haven't even had sex yet for gods sake! I wanted to build a life with someone and '' she hiccupped finally her emotions catching up with her. "And now I might never get to do any of that" she said with her shoulders shaking.

"Hey… Hey… shhhh" he crooned as he moved closer and pulled her into his arms. She rested her head on his chest.

"They are going to find an anti-dote Hinata, I promise you. They are working around the clock on this and it is a top priority for this country and our allies. Don't dwell on the worst case scenario. We just need to get through the next few days, okay?".

"But what if we do?" she asked weakly.

"Do what?"

"What if we die? I don't want to die a virgin Kakashi…" she grabbed on to his wrists desperately, "you have to help me!".

"What do you mean?" he asked confused, but immediately got the jist of her thoughts when she moved in to kiss him. "Stop Hinata… you've had a bit too much to drink." He said trying to gently pry her off his chest. "And you just got some terrible news so you are in shock. Once you are sober tomorrow you will change your mind and I won't let you make any decisions right now that you are going to regret".

"Oh come on…" she bit out a little bit angrily.

"What?" he asked.

"Don't pretend you don't know how I feel about you… how I've felt about you for years now. I want you… I've wanted to be with you in any way that I can ever since our time in Kirigakure. But… but you don't want me. What about now that we are the only two people in here… do you want me now?" she said with a tear streaked face looking like a sad rag doll. Kakashi felt his heart break a little.

"Shhh, you are saying things you don't mean. Stop. I am going to take you to bed… come on" he said as he stood up and bent to pick her up bridal style. "Have a good night's sleep, let the alcohol work off of your system and we can talk about this tomorrow".

Without any further comments Hinata simply wrapped her arms around him and laid her head down on his shoulder. She stayed silent as he took her up to her room and then put her down on the bed.

"Will you be okay to wash up?" he asked and she nodded distractedly.

"You really won't have any other regrets?" she whispered just as he was about to pull away.

Hinata's face was flushed and her eyes were hooded as she looked at him, as if it was too much work to keep the lids fully open. But she looked beautiful to him of course, as usual.

He couldn't tell her his regrets.

Most of them were too depressing and his most recent regret was not spending the last two years with her getting over his fear of commitment. So he simply nodded his head and left the room silently.

Before he could even cross the threshold of her room she was asleep.

.

.

Hinata woke up late the next day with a pounding headache. Oh right she'd had a bit too much to drink last night.

She got up and swung her legs over the mattress putting her slippers on when she realized she was still dressed in the same clothes as last night. She sighed and drank the water Kakashi had left on her night stand and then stiffly moved to the washroom. Before long the events of last night including the terrible news they had gotten all came crashing into her. She sighed deeply.

She should call her family, who knows this news might start spreading through the country. All though on second thought she was sure they were going to do their best to keep a tight lid on this.

It was about an hour and a half later when she'd properly washed up and got out into the living room area. As expected Kakashi had cleared out the signs of their drinking from last night and there were no stray glasses in the living room table.

Hinata smiled. Kakashi had almost an obsessive need to keep things neat and orderly. She loved that about him, because she was also the same way. She glanced up to find that the door to Kakashi's office was closed, he was probably in meetings.

She made herself a quick salad as a lunch and called her sister and dad. After thinking it through she decided not to mention to them the news they had gotten yesterday, it would just worry them too much. So instead she focused on listening in on how clan business was going. After about two more hours they ended the call once their review of the quarterly financial reports were done. Afterwards Hinata tried to distract herself by reading.

Finally giving up on that exercise, she moved to the kitchen to make lemon bars. It was one of her favorite desserts and she needed some cheering up at the moment. She made the shortbread crust, put it into the oven to bake, and started cleaning. A while later Kakashi walked out of his office.

"Hey" he stopped nervously noticing her out and about and then continued forward tentatively in to the kitchen. "How are you feeling?".

"Hey" she called back softly, "not bad considering" she smiled guiltily "is there any news?".

He shook his head. "Sai was able to get to the Land of Iron quickly because he can fly. They are testing the compound now. Since that country is enormous there's a possibility this is not even something that is part of their centralized databases" he sighed "anyway we should have some kind of answer tomorrow".

"Oh I see" she said disappointed. She had been hoping to put these worrying thoughts behind her.

"What are you making?" he asked, looking at the ingredients on the kitchen island.

"Lemon bars"

"What's that? I don't think I've had those".

"No?" she looked up at him, "Well… it's a dessert, but it's both sweet and tart. It's one of my favourites".

"Oh….. I'm excited to try it… I'm not a fan of sweets but since its tart as well it might balance the two out" he joked.

She nodded her head at him with a smile and went back to squeezing the lemon juice she would need for the custard. She was glad that despite last night, things between them weren't weird. Kakashi pulled up a barstool and sat by the island watching her cook.

He was distracted watching her mix eggs, sugar, butter, lemon juice and zest as well as some other ingredients to make the custard, so when she spoke again he was taken aback.

"This is going to be a depressing question, but have you… made a will?" she asked softly.

"Uh… yes, I kind of had to as the Hokage, what about you?"

She laughed, "Oh no… not yet. I mean other than my role as clan leader there is nothing really I own to my name. What about these lands? What happens to them if you die?"

Without a word Hinata opened the oven and took out the half baked crust, adding the liquid custard to it and then placed the dish back in. It would need to bake for an hour or so.

"Well... this house along with the surrounding lands would actually go to Naruto… if I died".

"Oh" she turned to look at him in surprise. "Does Naruto know that?"

"No" he said with a laugh and moved to make them coffee. It was around 3 PM and he'd already had a long day.

Kakashi finished assembling the coffee machine and watched it start to drip into the pot. Hinata had remained standing by the oven watching him for a bit. When she moved to leave, he called out, "Wait!".

She paused and Kakashi mentally cringed at what he was about to say, but he turned to look at her. "You aren't mad about last night are you?"

"You mean about you preserving my virtue?" she asked with humour laced in her voice.

"Yeah…" he said nervously and scratched the back of his neck.

"I'll survive, hopefully I live through this so I get to see what sex is all about someday…" she said lightly and turned to leave when he reached forward and grabbed her wrist. He hadn't meant to do it, it had kind of happened automatically.

Hinata turned with a confused look but the words dried out when she noticed the heated look in his eyes. The hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood up and she felt her breath catch at the back of her throat as he slowly moved his body towards her, giving her plenty of time to back away. Her eyes widened as she realized what he was doing and suddenly her heart started racing. Was this really happening?!

Before she knew it, their lips connected slowly and softly. As he pulled away she stared at him wide-eyed almost in disbelief. Kakashi misinterpreted her hesitation and stepped back, "I'm so-". But she didn't let him finish that thought. Instead she got up onto her tippie toes and wrapped her arms around his neck leaning into his broad chest.

He made a surprised sound but wrapped his own arms around her waist as she passionately kissed him, almost as if no time had passed between their kisses in Kirigakure till now.

Minutes later when they pulled apart they were both flushed. "Where did you learn how to do that thing with your tongue?" Kakashi asked in a rough voice. She simply hiked up her eyebrow with a smirk and pulled his face down to hers again.

He reached to hook his hands around her thighs pulling her up and against him so that she could wrap her legs around his waist. She sighed and tilted her head back in pleasure and he took that chance to kiss the long column of her neck.

"It's been a while for me" he murmured against her skin but she was too distracted to hear that.

He grabbed her by the bottom and seated her on the kitchen island, proceeding to slowly kiss down her neck, over her collarbone and then even lower. He dropped soft kisses on to the cleavage showing above the vee of her shirt, before grabbing the material and pulling it off.

Hinata barely even had time to register that movement. And just like that she sat on the kitchen island clad in just a black lace bra and jeans. The evening sunlight filtered through the house brightly showing her off in startling clarity. Kakashi gulped, he couldn't seem to decide what to look at all at once.

"You are... so fucking hot" he muttered placing his hands on her tiny waist.

Through the lace of her bra he could see her perfect breasts balanced on her delicate chest. Hinata gasped as he snapped the clasp of her bra with a flick of his fingers and removed it. Now she was sitting on the island fully naked from the waist up, she tried to use her arms to conceal her chest when he stopped her roughly. She had cherry nipples that were contracted to an almost painful degree he thought before moving down to capture one of those peaks in his mouth.

Hinata moaned as her body buckled in pleasure and he gently blew cold air across her nipple making her shudder. She was too far gone at this point to fully realize what he was doing but she knew that he was lavishly taking turns giving attention to both of her breasts.

Soon she was gasping, very close to an orgasm he could tell. He had never met a woman who came so easily. So instead he moved up to capture her lips again as he grasped her hips grounding himself against her sex. She muffled a scream against his lips as her nails dug into his back. He smiled and started rocking against her, his own vision clouding with desire at the sensation. One of his hands skimmed up her flat stomach to her breast and tweaked a nipple, just as he moved against her center. That was all it took for her to go over the edge. Her hips stiffened and her body jerked, while Kakashi simply grabbed her butt and rocked against her gently as she rode out her orgasm.

Hinata sagged against the island. Oh my god, she had forgotten how good that felt. She had tried and tried and tried over the last two years to reach an orgasm herself but just haven't been able to figure out how to do it. Why was it so easy with him?

Kakashi wrapped his arms around her and carried her to the living room, placing her gently on the couch.

Hinata stared up at him feeling a bit shy but she squared her shoulders bravely. Before he registered what was happening she had pulled him down onto the couch beside her and swung herself over him. She took off his shirt in a hurried motion and ran her hands down his chest as she had fantasized doing for years now. Finally she cupped the bulge in the front of his pants and then it was his turn to gasp albeit somewhat nervously.

"Hinata ..." he said tightly watching as she crawled up his body. After giving him a deep kiss she sat back up to unbuckle his pants and to snap the buttons off. She carefully lowered the zipper suddenly seeming a bit nervous.

"Hinata ..." he groaned tightly again. She was a bit clumsy in her movements so he started to help her and urgently took his own pants off. Hinata moved on to unbuttoning her own jeans.

When they came back together a minute later it was skin to skin except for the underwear they still had on. He grabbed her by the nape of her neck and gently pulled her down as they kissed, roughly getting a bit desperate now. It had been way too long for him and he was starting to think that he might not be able to last long enough for the main act. He already felt ready to explode.

He sat them up and put her down on the couch needing some space. That didn't help of course because she looked way too good sitting there flushed in a tiny black lace pantie.

"Hinata… are you sure?" he asked in a voice that he could barely recognize.

She smiled at him and experimentally slid her hands over his erection. He exhaled sharply at the sensation and put his hand over hers stopping her.

"Relax" she whispered as she continued to move but he stopped her again. If she kept that up this was going to be disappointingly brief for both of them.

Kakashi reached down instead and removed her panties looking at her for the first time. She was sleek, wet and hairless. His vision turned red for a second and he didn't think that he could do this. He took another breath striving for calmness and moved down to touch her softly while taking a nipple into his mouth again. He entered his fingers slowly into her and she gasped arching her back. He slid them a few times and then moved to increase the speed, scissoring his digits in and out of her easily while his thumb pressed down on her clit.

She came again almost in an embarrassingly quick amount of time, and he decided to slide into her while she was shivering in her recovery. He had taken his underwear off and was poised above her when she put a hand on his chest and gently said "stop" in a clear voice.

He wanted to pretend he didn't hear her but… he stopped, his body shivering with need. He briefly rested his forehead against her shoulder and then moved to get off her but she stopped him.

"I…. I'm sorry...I just wanted to remember this" she whispered. "You...you can go ahead now".

In the state that he was in it took him a few seconds to understand what she meant, but he moved desperately once he realized she was giving him permission to finish the deed. He grasped himself and rocked against her sex a few times. "I ...I will be gentle" he whispered as he slowly entered her.

He was surprised to find that she was so well lubricated there was almost no resistance sliding into her. Without any trouble he was seated halfway within her. She felt unbelievably good and he struggled to catch his breath. Kakashi bent down to drop a kiss on her lips and sent a prayer up in gratitude before moving out and thrusting back into her. She moaned and tightened her grip on his arms.

At this point he was too far gone to notice how she was reacting. She was tight, so he tried his best to move in and out of her at a controlled pace hoping that this wasn't uncomfortable for her. She seemed to be enjoying it, he thought briefly and picked up the pace. He felt sweat bead on his forehead at his effort not to cum too soon. He thrust into her once, twice and thrice more but as soon as he felt her tightening around him again he lost the battle. He made a surprised sound as a streak of electricity jolted through his body and he shuddered as he came.

"Fuck…" he muttered collapsing into the narrow couch on top of her breathing heavily. They stared at each other wordlessly for a few minutes, until a beeping noise distracted them.

"Oh" she jumped up and scrambled running towards the oven. Despite being tired he pushed himself up onto his elbows to watch in interest as she ran naked into the kitchen. Putting oven mitts on she pulled her lemon bars out and rested them on the stove.

Now that the dessert was in no danger of getting burnt she crossed her arms self consciously realizing that she had dashed across the house in the nude.

He started laughing then realizing that this was the first time he had felt truly happy and relaxed in god knows how long. After looking on in mortification for a few seconds she joined in and before long they were both struggling to catch their breath over come by laughter.