Gracie Abrams is eking out a solitary existence, fighting day-in, day-out against the drain of working customer service and nursing two newborn kittens in her off time. Out on her own ever since her sister moved in with her boyfriend, the burden of...
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"Hold on, Gracie!" Talia's voice sounded closer, though I could no longer see her.
In the next few heartbeats, however, they landed on their knees. In their hands was a metal clip, the kind that usually held badges and yoyo-ed on a string.
"Sam!" Talia yelled, "Conflagration! Invoke it!"
I sure hoped Sam was able to figure out whatever the heck that meant, and that she was still able to invoke anything. Hopefully, she hadn't run out of energy or...juice...or whatever it was to be able to use magic.
Conflagration? Fire?
A weird yellow tinge, like a beaming spotlight, came blinding into the room.
"Here it comes, Gracie." Talia counted. I wish I could say I was as confident as she was. "Three...two..." she held that clip against the back of Kakashi's neck, meeting my eyes with full trust, "...one!"
A quiet zap, like the electrical grid going out all at once, and then nothing. The yellow was gone in a flash, but it left patterns behind my eyes.
Alright.
I shoved against the body squashing me to the window. Just as he ricocheted enough for me to turn, I grabbed hold of Kakashi's neck with both hands. My thumbs found the edge of that mask. Pulling it down, I let butterflies overwhelm me for a single moment. Distinctly, I heard my quick intake of breath, and I faintly worried that my inexperience would be the most shocking thing here today.
Then, I kissed him.
My lips pressed against his. They were cold just like the rest of him. The Kakashi I knew was always so warm. It seemed a foolish hope to be able to warm him up with my lips alone, but I tried. I closed my eyes, then wondered if that was stupid when I didn't know if he would kill me.
Squinting them open, I saw him looking at me. This time, there was no deadness, no focus-less gaze.
The real Kakashi was looking at me.
We'd done it. I sagged into the kiss, letting my lips go loose. Letting go, I folded into his chest. For some reason, my breathing was crazy wild, and there was this rushing sensation in my ears.
Through the waterfall, I thought I heard someone shout. But maybe that was all in my head.
Cold fingers pried my chin up off Kakashi's chest. His eyes were huge, lips slightly parted. He darted forward, quick. I closed my eyes, bracing for a hit, but instead was swept up into his lap. He kissed me back. Hard, much harder than I had. I didn't know how hard you were supposed to kiss someone. My mouth parted in surprise, and I could feel his breath. He sighed into me. I was squashed against him, folding as I awkwardly balanced in his lap.
Eventually, it ended. It had to, didn't it?
Kakashi was breathing roughly, too, fingertips trembling. Somehow, we got to our feet, but before I could even think of what to say, he was booking it out the door.
