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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Mesmerized as he was by the window, I was almost upon him when he flicked his chin up to track my approach. My hands came out to grab his shoulders, then I slid one knee up onto the bed beside his thigh.
Life was a lot easier these days if I wore shorts, no matter how chilly. I had effectively become one of those bros who only ever wore shorts, even during a full-on blizzard.
Kakashi wore these dark jeans Bella had somehow found in a Goodwill. Who would ever give up such fine clothes, I didn't know, but they might need a thank you card. They made Kakashi's long legs appear even longer.
The firm press of their material glided against my skin. Then, I attempted to put my booted leg up in the same way.
"What are you doing?" Kakashi asked, his torso leaning slightly back as he found his airspace invaded.
My boot didn't fold as easily, so I sighed in frustration. So much for making an impression.
"I have three questions," I said, giving another half-hearted tug of my boot, then huffing, "help me, here, would ya?"
"Is that one of your questions?" Kakashi sounded amused but hesitant, slowly reaching down to grab my knee. I sat up a bit, trying to crawl into his lap, and somehow, we got my other leg up on the bed. I hovered where I was, looking down at him for a beat, then sat, abruptly.
Kakashi winced. "What are you doing?" he asked again. The amusement had left. "Stop moving around."
"Am I hurting you?" I asked. He gave me an incredulous stare, but I forged on, "Deal with it. I'm trying to get comfortable."
"And you can't get comfortable—I don't know," Kakashi dipped his chin to the rest of the empty mattress, "on any of those spots?"
I blinked at him, wrapping my arms lazily around the back of his neck. "No."
He rolled his eyes, tried to lean back further, then ricocheted when he realized my torso moved with him. Define: all up in someone's business.
"First question," I said, adding, "and I lied. I actually have four questions."
His mouth twisted into a thin line, the smile small but visible. All it did was make that beauty mark pop more beautifully against his chin.
"Did you kill Hisoka?"
Kakashi's silence made me squirm when his hands shifted from my legs to my waist, stilling me.
"No," he said, slowly, "I didn't kill him."
"Good." My breath shuddered. "I'm glad."
The line of his mouth twisted down, matching the meeting of his brows. "Why are you glad?"
"Because I'm glad you didn't kill someone."
He scoffed, but I jumped in before he could get a word out. "It wasn't something he deserved to die over. Everything was fine. That's just—that's just how he is." I chanced a look in his direction, watching the shifting of his jaw. On a thirteen-year-old, it would be described as petulant, but on a twenty-six -year-old shinobi...
