Alright, as requested in the comments~
While the following content is not explicit, it is quite unusual by the standards of a decent, upstanding human being. If you are not interested in the murky "romance" of this work, please skip this chapter and the next.
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After the Sports Festival, Aizawa announced they would have two days off to rest. He also informed them about the internships-something Tetsumaru and Mei didn't recall at all from the anime as being part of the Hero Killer arc.
In any case, the shinobi duo was now relaxing at home, preparing a simple lunch while their father rushed from place to place searching for a job.
The news about the money they earned at the festival cheered up the couple, and Sasuke almost cried in the arms of his adopted children. Although they could survive for a few months, the man refused to become a burden and tirelessly continued his mission.
For her part, Sakura took a second job, unwilling to let her children spoil her too much—and for other personal reasons. - As a result, Tetsumaru and Mei spent much more time alone.
Perhaps too much time alone.
—Tetsumaru, have you decided what to call yourself yet?— Mei questioned him through their link. They tended to speak more this way than aloud, as some conversations were better kept between themselves.
—I really haven't. Maybe I'll just use my name and that's it— the black-haired boy replied.
They were referring to hero names. They didn't know when they were supposed to choose them, but that had been a complicated topic for Tetsumaru for a long time.
Mei, possessing Water Release, easily qualifies to take the name Mizukage. But Tetsumaru couldn't do the same.
He only had access to Iron Sand. He hadn't been granted any other Elemental Release for free like Mei, and converting his chakra into any nature was even harder than it seemed.
It wouldn't make any sense to call himself Kazekage if he struggled to perform Wind Release techniques.
—Are you sure you don't want to call yourself Sakage or Jikage, in relation to the sand and the magnet? — Mei asked again.
—Maybe I'll consider Sakage, but I don't like how Jikage sounds— Tetsumaru denied again.
After some trivial chatting, the duo finished preparing lunch and enjoyed some good fried chicken with spaghetti and lots and lots of tomato sauce, all made by themselves.
During the entire process, Mei played with Tetsumaru's hormones by wearing nothing but an extremely thin and somewhat transparent tank top-so short it left her half-formed abs exposed-and no bra.
That, and nothing underneath, except for underwear.
The black-haired boy tried to keep himself in check, concentrating on his chores and not wanting to give his other half so much control.
Ever since Mei dragged him to that broom closet during the Sports Festival, and following an awkward talk with a certain sharp-nosed teacher who ran into the kunoichi afterward, she's been acting bolder and bolder.
The experience seemed to have changed her. - Something appeared to have awakened in her, and Tetsumaru didn't know if it would pass before they threw the last of their sanity overboard.
Because damn it, he was a guy—a virgin over thirty years old at this point—with a body that demanded many things all the time, and Mei's suggestive behavior wasn't helping.
While they ate, Tetsumaru's black and yellow eyes occasionally wandered to the girl sharing his table. Her pale skin-strong, healthy, and soft. Her long, loose hair, her pale neck where the mark of his hand was still visible.
He paid special attention to the small bulges pressing against the thin fabric of the shirt, allowing him a slight glimpse but denying him a full view of those pink, sensitive twins he loved so much.
Even without reaching the age she appeared in the anime, this Terumi Mei was drop-dead gorgeous, provocative. She was sexy.
—You haven't stopped staring at me all day. Is something wrong, Tetsumaru?— Mei asked, speaking normally and not through their link. Her smile was flirtatious and casual, as if she wasn't the cause of her other half's imbalance.
Tetsumaru clenched the silverware and frowned slightly, but he didn't give in to the provocation.
—Nothing's wrong. You just look beautiful today— he replied naturally.
—Fufufu, that's sweet of you to say. But be careful, you might make girls fall for you with that confidence of yours— the girl retorted.
—You already make anyone who looks at you fall. Maybe you're the one who needs to be careful— the black-haired boy shot back.
And so they continued their lunch, the tension growing with every jab thrown at the other, waves of anticipation crossing through their link-small, almost imperceptible, but increasing the heat in both of them.
Finishing their meal, the atmosphere was warmer, with drops of sweat on their bodies and not just from the heat of a recently finished lunch. They looked at each other in silence for a few seconds, feeling what the other felt thanks to their unique connection.
For Tetsumaru, it was as if Mei was growing more and more desperate. She wanted him to start something, to make the first move. For Mei, it was as if Tetsumaru felt guilty.
He wanted to do it. She knew he desperately wanted to jump on her, throw her down anywhere, and make her his. But there was also fear.
Tetsumaru didn't want to scare her, he didn't want to hurt her. He hesitated because, no matter how much they could feel what the other felt, no matter how well they knew each other by being two halves of the same being, their circumstances had caused them to change over time.
Tetsumaru was so damn understanding that Mei's heart jumped with both warmth and frustration. She loved that side of him, but it also irritated her because the boy wouldn't just make a move already.
After almost a minute of silence and increasingly ragged breaths, resolution shone in Tetsumaru's eyes, and a wave of confidence, authority, and decision crossed through the link, alerting Mei.
At that very instant, she allowed her acceptance and submission to travel back.
A unique method of communication-without words, neither mental/spiritual nor spoken-just emotions, feelings, sensations.
Tetsumaru received Mei's resolve and, without speaking words because they weren't necessary between them, he took her hand, and they both went up the stairs.
One was determined to take that first and highly anticipated step, and the other was willing to fully accept herself.