Curses and Dreams

Forever. I swear.

He was still there in the morning.

You woke up with the feeling of his long, toned arms around your waist. He snored softly, just like you remembered from when you were kids. Your heart started racing as you remembered the events from the night before, recalling the feeling of his hands around your neck, the way your bodies fit together.

It wasn't a dream, you sighed. Of all the nights you'd spent dreaming about Kakashi, none of them had ever come close to the real thing.

Hearing you sigh, Kakashi nuzzled into the back of your neck, putting his mouth near your ear, "I promised I'd still be here in the morning."

"I wasn't sure if you would be, honestly," you replied softly. Last night was everything you'd ever wanted, but that didn't mean that the last 12 years of heartache and broken trust had disappeared. "That wasn't just a... 'for old times sake' kind of thing, was it?"

Hearing the hurt in your voice, Kakashi loosened his hold on your waist so you could turn toward him. You wouldn't meet his eyes, so he placed a gentle hand on your cheek.

"(Y/n), no. Of course not," he insisted, tender yet pleading. "I've missed you every day since I left. I know I'll never be able to go back and change what I did. I hurt you. I will regret it every day for the rest of my life. But I don't want to — I can't — spend any more of my life without you. I want to prove that I am a man that deserves you and that I'll never hurt you, unless you ask," he slightly chuckled at the memory of last night. "But I'll go where you want me. You're the moon —"

"— and you're the tide," you smiled, fondly remembering the phrase he often said when you were lovesick teens. Hearing it after so long made the butterflies bloom in your stomach again. "Kakashi, I need you to know that you're not getting rid of me so easily this time. I'm an extremely accomplished Jonin and I will hunt you down," you said with a wink. "I want you for the long haul. Forever, preferably."

"I wouldn't dream of leaving again, mostly because I don't ever want to be on the wrong end of your shuriken again. You almost took my other eye out," he laughed.

"Oh hush!" You huffed, as he moved you so you were straddling him.

He pressed his lips against your forehead, "Forever. I swear."

You pulled back so you were sitting up on his lap, looking down at him lovingly. Mine, mine, mine . He returned the loving look, but it was quickly replaced with a different look. Somewhere between surprise and a blush.

"What's wrong Kakashi?" You asked, confused.

"Nothing, really. Just... your neck... and chest... I really did a number on you," he mused.

"What? Oh shit," you groaned as you jumped up to get a look at yourself in the mirror. As expected, your neck and chest were littered with hickies, and there were complementary light purple bruises in the pattern of fingertips on both sides of your neck. "I'm supposed to be meeting my parents for lunch today!" you lamented, falling into laughter with him.

—

"So you're finally going to let me meet your boyfriend? It's about time, neechan!" Naruto teased.

"Yes, yes, don't embarrass me okay?" You chided. It had been two months since your reunion with Kakashi, but you'd both kept the relationship mostly private for a number of reasons. Primarily, you both wanted to have time together to learn about each other and navigate this new territory without having to explain it to anyone. You had, however, told Kurenai, Asuma, and Gai, if only to avoid any awkward conversations about past hookups in front of Kakashi. You'd both decided that you were ready to be public about your relationship, starting with Naruto. Naruto would likely take care of informing the rest of the village himself by the end of the day anyway, saving you and Kakashi some time.