Standard Disclaimers: As promised – here's a second chapter right on the heels of the last. Technically, the rating bumps up just a touch for this but I still think we're good. Message me if you'd like to see a change.
BTW - Thanks to all my reviewers for helping me keep this alive and extra thanks to Exciled3 to whom the timing of these last two chapters everything is owed :)
"I've come to a decision," Kakashi said casually, his breath stirring the hair at the back of Tsunade's head. Goosebumps fled down her arms, just like panicking chickens, at the reverberations of his lowered voice.
"What exactly would that be?" she said tensely, eyebrows twitching.
In the background, outside in the hallway, a group of servants were enjoying the rare treat of an absent master. They exchanged gossip, laughed, and showed no signs of returning to their duties any time soon.
This blatant lack of work ethic was enough to make Tsunade want to scream.
The fact that all of her efforts to gain a little distance from her partner only resulted in her getting a face full of toilet paper or having her backside pressed up hard against him may also have had something to do with it…
"I think there has to be some sort of divine presence in the universe," Kakashi told her. There wasn't room in the tight space for the copy ninja to have both hands in his pockets; he had to settle for just half of his usual easy pose. The other hand was left to idly hold onto a shelf in front of Tsunade, his arm hovering carefully an inch or so above her shoulder.
"Really?" Tsunade asked, briefly taken aback. For a moment she felt obscurely guilty. Things of a philosophical nature were certainly not foremost on her mind. The warmth of Kakashi's chest against her back, the pressure of his hips, and whether she was a dirty old woman for not being able to completely ignore either, on the other hand…
"Yes, I think so. I mean, the absurdity of this situation alone is fairly convincing, don't you think?"
Tsunade began to smile in spite of herself. He had a point. Two elite ninja forced to hide in a criminally small broom-closet to avoid a bunch of silly civilians? "There is that." She raised her chin, tone teasingly snippy once more, "Though, if that's the case, it seems that this deity isn't very fond of you."
"That thought had occurred to me," Kakashi acknowledged, his tone rather pained.
She smiled fully now, feeling obscurely at ease with the expression given the blanketing dark. She even found herself relaxing a little. Of all the things that could go wrong on a mission, this was fairly benign, after all. Their cover wasn't broken and eventually those lazy-do-nothings out there would move on and allow them to continue in peace. They'd find what they needed by the end of the night, she'd whip up an antidote, get it out to their contacts in the city and that would be that.
Back to Konoha.
Back to shouting at hyper-active blondes and the solid presence of her desk all day.
Back to drinking away the afternoons and sending good men out on tough missions.
Back to being Hokage.
Her smile didn't disappear but it faded a little. She enjoyed her job. It had given her a sense of fulfillment and hope that she hadn't had in years. However, it had been … unexpectedly nice… to be on a mission again.
She drew a deep breath that smelled of cleaning supplies and Kakashi. Like most ninja who had spent time in ANBU, Kakashi was very careful with his scent. Konoha had the edge when it came to conventional tracking, but that didn't mean that other villages didn't have their own methods. As a result, the man's scent was faint, even in this proximity. Nearly overwhelmed by her shampoo (light as it was), Tsunade found herself straining to pick out the elusive details of it.
Yes, there it was. Metal, a touch of unwashed dog and the slightest hint of masculine sweat.
Kakashi swallowed. He swallowed very hard indeed. Tsunade blinked, momentarily confused.
Ah. Well. She was leaning back against him now, wasn't she? She'd even turned her head, nose nearly buried against his arm and her hips had tilted…
Oh!
Blushing furiously, she pulled away. Unforgiving shelves cut into her thighs and arms painfully, but it was the least she could do. Strangely, the confirmation that she was not too old or too "unpleasant" to keep a man (or more specifically Kakashi) from reacting like a man when she was practically grinding against him did not give her any sense of vindication.
"I'm sorry," she apologized and immediately regretted it. She should have let the situation die unacknowledged.
Kakashi made a non-committal, almost thoughtful, sound in return.
Unable to cure the awkwardness with either violence or any other means of dismissal, Tsunade searched frantically for some topic that could distract them both. It wasn't as if she'd jumped him, after all. She just… well… he… it wasn't like…
"For what, by the way?" Kakashi spoke from the silence, curiosity the only thing audible in his tone.
Tsunade huffed skeptically. It was a little late for him to pretend that he hadn't noticed her or that he hadn't, on some level, enjoyed their proximity.
"I mean," Kakashi clarified with exaggerated patience, "are you sorry that you were cozying up to me, or are you sorry that I didn't cozy up to you right back?"
Tsunade's eyes flew wide. She nearly called up chakra to her fists, ready to send the arrogant man through the wall, mission or no. In fact, she even started to turn before she was brought up short by the realization of how much squirming turning in such tight confines would require.
Common sense had that split second to make its protesting voice heard. She couldn't maim Kakashi before he helped her finish this mission, she needed him. Even more importantly, if she broke him now, it would b e almost as good as admitting to him that he was right.
"Pervert," she retorted instead. "I wasn't the one clearly thinking clearly inappropriate thoughts."
"Really?" he pondered slowly, obviously aware of his upper hand. "I'm not entirely sure of that."
He was teasing her. She could practically sense the grin smothered beneath his eyes.
Tsunade took another deep breath. "Kakashi-kun," she said very sweetly.
"Yes?" The tone alone gave him pause enough to be wary, the saccharine honorific was just icing on the cake.
"A ninja of your skill doesn't need both arms, does he?" She reached up and grabbed him, fingers stretching around bicep. Those same fingers dug in.
"Ha ha. I was just kidding, Tsunade-sama," Kakashi changed his tune very quickly, "I know you that you couldn't possibly find a lazy, practically retired, rogue like me irresistible in such tight confines."
For a moment, just a moment, Tsunade almost allowed herself to believe there was a soft lift of a serious question behind the careful soothing and false franticness.
She jerked down on his arm, hard.
Kakashi hissed a breath in the anticipation of pain, only to exhale it a moment later when none came. Tsunade had pulled his arm down to her shoulder, the one he'd been so studiously avoiding touching, and no further.
"Stop holding your arm up like that," she snapped. "You'll strain a muscle that way. It's annoying."
"Of course, Tsunade-sama," Kakashi said. He shifted behind her and added neutrally, "And maybe you can stop giving yourself bruises against the shelves, too?"
Ah, he'd noticed then? Grudgingly, she started to step back, cautious, ready to keep their contact as light as possible.
Then she changed her mind. Impertinent brat. Why should she be so careful of him when he was so pleased with teasing her? Two could do that. She pressed herself back again, this time firmly and with a vindictive little twist.
Kakashi's cough sounded a little strangled, but he said nothing.
Silence returned and left them standing there, not at all comfortable but not quite uncomfortable either. Tsunade drummed her fingers on her thigh for a moment before she shook her head.
"I wonder how much longer they…" Then it dawned on her. She closed her mouth with a snap.
It dawned on Kakashi too, "They've been gone for quite a while, haven't they?"
The silence provided the answer.
Damn it.