Choosing to spend a rare, free afternoon in the gym, Konohamaru gets an unexpected sparring partner, things heat up, and one thing leads to another

Because there are far too few fics of this dorky couple.

Pausing for a moment to wipe away the perspiration that had started to sting his eyes, he took a deep breath before closing them again and refocusing his chakra towards the palm of his hand.

He was so close; he knew he was, he could feel it.

Logically, he knew that a successful attempt to infuse fire chakra into the Rasengan wasn't going to be achieved overnight and that he shouldn't get discouraged by how his experiments tended to—literally—blow up in his face, but he still couldn't help the frustration seeping in, as unwelcome and unwanted as it was.

Gritting his teeth he gave it another go and tried not to get disappointed when his next attempt ended much like the last.

Deciding to give up for the night, he switched to some basic taijutsu instead. Between the higher level missions, guest lecturing, and guiding his own team through training and missions he was busier than ever and rarely got time to simply run a few laps and do a proper workout. Today, however, his team was out on a basic maintenance mission by themselves. With no mission of his own, and his team not needing him, he had after finishing a quick guest lecturing class after lunch, found himself with an afternoon to spare for once. It hadn't taken him long to decide to head down to the training area since he was already there, and despite his frustration over the lack of progress with the new technique, he didn't regret coming down there.

It felt good to be working out again.

Feeling the sweat stick to the back of his shirt, the thought crossed his mind—not for the first time—that they really ought to install an air conditioner into the gym. He was sure he wouldn't be the only one welcoming the upgrade.

Before he had started he had changed out of his well-worn jounin uniform into a simple pair of sweatpants and a plain t-shirt, and now he was eyeing the clock, weighing the chances of someone walking in on him against the added relief of ditching the sweaty, sticky tee. Considering how late it was in the afternoon, he deemed it pretty unlikely. School had finished hours ago and the building was fairly empty, so he lifted up his shirt to pull it off, only to freeze halfway through when a young woman's voice rang out.

"Do you always work out half-naked?"

He remained frozen for a short moment before recognising the voice and turning around to face the newcomer, "Only when there is a god-damned heat-wave in town and the gym's empty. What's it to you?" he asked, smirking.

"Oh, nothing. Just didn't want you to scare the children," she smiled innocently and moved to remove her shoes. Seeing his surprised look, she continued, "what? You looked like you needed a partner and we haven't sparred in ages.

He knew he was grinning from ear to ear like a complete idiot, but he couldn't help it, this woman. She was a vixen of sweet smiles and scalding sass, a deadly combination. "Fine but only hand to hand combat, no ninjutsu. I'd like to be able to sit tomorrow and you giving me an ass-whooping would very much hinder that."

"Can't really see how that's my problem, but fine, I promise I won't embarrass you too much," she shrugged and walked closer.

He rolled his eyes at that, smartass, and automatically moved into a battle stance, "just remember, using the Byakugan and the Gentle Fist is cheating."

"Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?"

"Yes, you. All the time," he shot back and attacked. Going in low, he braced himself with one hand and threw out his leg to sweep hers. A maneuver she easily dodged and swiftly followed up with a series of punches and kicks which forced him on the defensive. While he held the advantage of being both larger and stronger, she was faster and he had to focus on holding his ground against her attacks as they danced around the arena in a fluid, deadly rhythm. He was taking great enjoyment out of sparring with her and soon lost track of the time as they went through the sets over and over, and judging by her wide grin she took great pleasure in trying her best to pound him into the ground too.

Damn, she was sexy when she was trying to kill him.

Then he almost got in a clean kick to her side and she jumped back towards the wall behind her to dodge. He quickly followed and shoved her against it, knowing well a hit like that wouldn't faze her in the least.

She was breathing heavily and her low ponytail had come slightly undone. Her cheeks were flushed and yet she wore a cocky grin as she looked up at him from the hand-lock he had her in. It made her, if possible, even more attractive. It wasn't often she flushed like that, and it reminded him of other times he had seen her just as rosy-cheeked and sweaty.

Pressing her up against the wall, he leaned closer, "gods, you have no idea how much I've missed you, Hanabi. I thought you weren't going to be back until tomorrow."

"Not as much as I've missed you. We weren't, but the mission went quicker than expected. I was heading towards the teacher's lounge to sit down and write the report when I happened to walk past my half-naked boyfriend."

"Glad you did," he murmured before leaning in closer to whisper in her ear, "your perfume; it's new, isn't it? It's driving me insane."

Her cheeks grew a deeper crimson but she still insisted on keeping up the banter. "Oh, I swapped to a crisper, more summery one now that it's getting hotter outside, glad to hear you noticed," she explained before pausing and taking a whiff in the air. "Sorry but can't say the same about you. You just smell of fresh sweat," she teased, and he couldn't help but chuckle, way to break the mood.

"Oi, what do you expect, I'd been in here for a good couple of hours before you walked in and disrupted my training routine."

"Did I say I didn't like it?" she asked cheekily before closing the last few centimetres between them to reach his lips in a heated kiss he eagerly returned. He dropped his hand from the wall behind her to sneak it around her waist and closed his eyes as the kiss deepened, allowing a moment to lose himself in the overwhelming sensation of tasting the sweetness of her lips. Then he reopened them, groaned, and paused.

"You really do drive me crazy, woman. If we keep going like this I won't be able to stop myself, and then we'll really scar the kids for good if they accidentally walk in on us."

Giggling at the mental image of the academy kids peeking in through the door and getting the shock of their lives when catching their sensei's barehanded, she raised an eyebrow, "fair point. My place?"