No time to be engaged...

Sipping her tea, Gin stared at the stack of bowls in front of Naruto. His appetite was… astounding to say the least, and as he ordered a fifth bowl she was glad it was Jiraiya who was footing the bill. Throughout his meal, he had been able to answer her questions about how life had been the last few years. His first few missions, his friends, she wanted to know all about him, and the fact was not lost on either man with her.

Having tucked her into the corner of the booth, Jiraiya did not pass up the opportunity to rest his arm over her shoulders. He let the inquisition continue, toying with the wispy tendrils of hair that had escaped her braid. She was so much younger then him, it was ironic even to him that he would even debate such a relationship. She was beautiful, strong, her heart was… Looking away from the two of them, he lost himself to his thoughts.

~~~~~~~~~~

{Crystalline rivers slid over skin touched by the sun as she rose from the seductive steam of the bath. Her hair like ebony silk fell from the loose knot a top her head giving teasing glances of full breasts. From where he sat awaiting her to come to him…}

"How in the world is that crap so popular?"

His concentration broken and hiding place exposed, Jiraiya turned his head to glare at the brilliantly grinning young woman that leaned over his shoulder. He was about to comment but the sudden rush of hot water that poured down over him had him too irritated to speak. Instead, he stood up, tucked away his brush and scrolls, snagged up his pack, and headed away from the baths. The whistle of that offending bucket came right at the back of his head but never hit. From the corner of his eye, he watched Gin catch the wood basin and halfheartedly toss it back at his attacker before falling in step with him.

Companionable silence followed them. It was one thing he appreciated about her company; she did not have to talk… Nope, her smug grin was more then enough to let him know that she'd done that completely on purpose.

Together they wound through the village, heading to his home where he made no attempt to stop her from entering in his wake, or shadowing him upstairs as he shed his vest and shirt, tossing them onto his bed. Gin moved to sit on the edge of the plush futon just watching him as he attacked his hair with a towel. At sixteen, she had become accustomed to his voyeuristic ways long ago, and reveled in not only catching him but also exposing him to his victims. More often then not, it wound up giving her something to laugh about until the next time. Unfortunately, a slight nagging feeling had begun to follow her every time she caught him.

"So… Are you going to come over for dinner tonight?"

Lifting the edge of the towel he glared at her, "I was invited."

"Yea, but that doesn't mean you're going to come."

"Yes, Gin, I'll be there." Her sudden smile caught him off guard again. It had been doing that a lot lately, and the knowledge that she would be told about their betrothal in less then a week seemed to only make it worse. He did not want it to get worse. He wanted to keep his friendship with her cursing the complications that were about to arise… and those that already had. "You're in a good mood. What's going on?"

"Nothing. Why do you ask?"

"You caught the bucket this time."

"Oh… Yea. I don't know I just figured I'd save you the added headache."

"Right…" rolling his eyes he tossed the towel along side his discarded clothes and moved to flop down on his bed."Something's up."

Mimicking him, she rolled her own eyes and lay back so that her head fell upon his hip. It was a typical position to find them in but for reasons that irritated them both, it was beginning to affect them a lot differently then it had in the past. He could not help but notice how she had blossomed over the last few years. The tomboyish figure turning into soft curves that were shadowed with toned muscle. A once subtle swell of her chest had developed into a teenage boys' focal point made all the more attractive by the nipped in tuck of her slender waist.

A sudden smack of the back of her hand against his bare shoulder jerked him from his lingering observation and brought his gaze back up to her curious eyes. "Drifting back to the bathhouse on me?"

"Sorry, I was stuck on…" trying not to picture you at the bathhouse… "Trying to figure out the rest of the chapter."

"You are such a letch. I can't believe you use your book as an excuse to spy on women"

"I do not spy."

"Sorry… sorry… perform research by watching unknowing women in otherwise personal and private situations."

"Alright… spying sounds better."

She couldn't avoid laughing and as he grumbled over the fold of his arms, she also couldn't help the stutter of her heart as she noticed how he focused on her once again. She knew he hadn't been thinking about his book a few moments before, nor was he now but she thought it best to play ignorant. "As I was saying before you zoned out one me… My father is acting all weird. I thought it was just because I'm going to be seventeen next week but I'm worried that he's gone and done something I'm not going to be happy about."

"Like what?" came Jiraiya's muffled question.

"I think he's going to try and match me up with someone."

He blanched slightly at the disappointment in her voice but clenched down on the feeling of his own disappointment choosing not to dwell on why he felt that way, "Oh? Is it really a bad thing?"

"Yea. I don't want to get married yet. I just passed the Chunin exams… Minato is expecting his baby… It's probably someone just like my father that doesn't think I should do anything but arrange flowers and make tea. I remember all those lessons I had to suffer through."

He just listened to her not even thinking twice as he shifted to his side and hauled her up along side him, toying with a length of her hair as they lay there, her back to his chest. "What if it was someone you knew?"

"God, that might be even worse."

"How so?"

"Look at all the guys I know that are my age. Even if he's a few years older, there's really no one that I'm interested in that way."

"No one? What about Iruka? With how much you and Kakashi torment him, I was almost certain you had something for him." He wondered how he could keep that teasing tone in his voice when all he wanted to do was strangle him self for possibly giving her an out.

"Nah, it's just fun to make blush."

"Kakashi then?"

"Yea…little young for me."

"By what? Three years?"

"Exactly. Guys mature later then girls and continue to act immature for a lot longer, sorry; I think I'd prefer a guy a little older then me."

"Well, what if your father has you matched up with some old geezer?" She shuddered against him, and he had to bite back a small groan that had risen in his throat. Unfortunately, as she shifted to get more comfortable and pondered the question, another part of him had begun to take notice of how nicely she fit against his hips. The touch that had once been tangled in a soft loch of her hair, trailed away with his wandering thoughts to trace the delicate curve of her side. He knew that he should stop torturing himself but he couldn't help it, having her at his side was almost second nature now and as she trembled again, he knew he had to find some way to break the tension. "It is a possibility you know…"

"I'd rather marry a toad."

A headache slammed him right between the eyes as he buried his face against her hair hoping that she would just think he was trying not to laugh. He knew that she didn't know but just like the first time they'd met and so many times in between, she seemed to know just what to say to make him doubt. His arm fallen lax about her waist didn't move as she shifted to lay on her back, revealing his averted face to her gaze. Slowly, he risked looking up at her only to find those fathomless eyes watching him closely. It was there. He was a fool to try and deny it any longer. For months they'd been toying back and forth with a hidden thread that was ready to snap. A subtle tip of her head in question and he couldn't help but smile down at her...

It took only a single hesitant breath for her to change everything.

The curve of his lips faded against the questioning press of her own as she captured his face between her soft hands. Her eyes were partially opened and pleading. She wasn't disappointed. Going against every warning bell in his brain, Jiraiya returned the kiss pressing his body down unto hers as his hand slowly trailed up along the curve of her hip, capturing the hem of her loose shirt on its path along the gentle swell of her ribs until a teasing brush of his thumb traced the outer edge of her breast. Her soft moan was like a drug, powerful and addictive, he deepened their kiss with an arch of his body so that his touch could heat the pliant flesh of her breast within it's hold.

It amazed him that she didn't try to escape from his embrace but instead tumbled into it. Her nails, once combing through his hair, flowed down the strength of his back in long urgent lines of red. There was little time to think before her shirt was pulled away and across the room, barely a moment given to breathe until they were once again devouring each other in the passionate kiss. The internal debate lasted longer then it ever would have with anyone else as the gentle urge of his thigh parted her own pressing the truth of his arousal against her hip. He could feel the stutter of her pulse and the catch of her breath, his head rising so that he could focus his drunken gaze upon her own stormy eyes. There was a small twinge of fear there but it was overwhelmed by an emotion he preferred not to think about just then. What he wanted was for this very moment to happen. He'd wanted it for so long that he gave Gin little other choice as he lowered his mouth to hers and worked drag her back into their intoxication.

Neither knew how long it lasted; a few minutes, a few seconds… maybe more. When they finally pulled apart, both were breathless, a little confused, and Gin lay with little more on then her bra and low cut panties. Her trembling fingers rose to comb through his hair before falling to trace his jaw and earning a soft brush of his lips against her palm. It was a caring gesture that sent a tremble of excitement through her stomach, escalated by the delicious fit of his narrow waist between her thighs.

"Jiraiya…"

~~~~~~~~~~

"Jiraiya?" He blinked out of his memory, shaking his head slightly to let the vision of Gin's younger self be replaced by the mature beauty she'd become. "Ah, welcome back. Sorry if we bored you."

"No, I was just thinking about something."

Smiling back at him, she gently patted his cheek and looked back at Naruto, "I'm going to be in the village for a while, how about I come by to see how your training is going. Maybe even slip in a few things I've learned over the years."

"I'd really like that, Gin-sama."

"Gin-sama?"

"I told him he could call me Gin," lifting a brow at the mild hint of something in his voice, she focused again on the young shinobi, "Unfortunately, you boys are going to have to excuse me for a bit, I promised my sister I would help her out this afternoon."

"You're leaving?" This time both Naruto and Gin laughed, exchanging knowing smiles that pinched his gut with a twinge of jealousy.

"You kind of drifted off into a day dream for a little bit while I explained to Naruto that I told my sister I'd help her set up for dinner tonight. Now come on, scoot, I'm sure she thinks I've run away again."

Gently shoving him it soon became clear that he wasn't going to move, with and exasperated sigh she glanced to Naruto and shook her head.

"He's impossible sometimes, are you sure you want to marry this guy?"

"some days I wonder…" smiling back at Jiraiya's pensive glare, she moved to shimmy over his lap only to find herself rather securely anchored by the grasp of his arm about her waist. "Um… restaurant, Jiraiya…"

"So?"

Lightly slapping his shoulder, she lowered a quick touch of her lips to the corner of his mouth before extricating herself from his grasp and heading for the door with a parting wave over her shoulder.

"And the Pervy Sage has met his match."

Oh, right… Naruto was still there. Angling his leveled eyes at the youth, he drained his now cold tea and motioned to the six empty bowls of ramen, "I think you've rested enough. Time to go work off all that food."

"Ah, man, come on! It's not good for you to work right after eating."

"That's swim, Naruto," rising he dropped the money onto the table and motioned for him to follow.

"Work, swim… Either way."

"Just come on, we don't have much time before you'll have to get cleaned up."

"Cleaned up?"

"Yup, you're coming with me tonight." Tagging along just a step behind his Sensei, Naruto couldn't help the confused look upon his face that had Jiraiya dropping his head in defeat. "The Nara's are having a dinner tonight and I'm invited. By the time it comes around I'm pretty sure you'll be more then welcome too."

"Isn't that rude though?"

"Nope. I know Gin; she'll make sure that they know you're coming."

"Why does she care so much?"

"It's just who she is."

For a long moment, nothing was said between them as they headed back up to the training grounds. Naruto deep in thought while his Sensei dwelled on the memory that had held him captive. He'd remembered every taste and scent, how she felt and the innocent passion of her kiss as if it had just happened. He'd realized that day that he'd fallen in love with her and knew that he had been a coward to run. True he had other obligations but a small part of his long disappearance had been to run from his own feelings.

"You're going to make her happy right?"

Drug from his thoughts again, he looked down at Naruto, "Who?"

"Gin-sama. She's really nice and deserves a guy that will love her and be sure she's happy."

"I'll try, Naruto…" ruffling his hair, he couldn't' help but smile as the youth leaned into it a bit before catching himself and racing off a head so that they could get to his training.