Chapter Text
Naruto lands on his back with a groan, pulling the hem of his shirt up to wipe his face. Sakura settles next to him more gracefully but no less exhausted. He squints in the sunlight and grins. “We should really do this more often.”
Sakura laughs and starts picking debris out of her hair. “I’m not sure Kakashi-sensei would survive. He’s already in hot water with Yamato-taichou for constantly offering his services to the village without asking permission first.”
He turns his head to look at her. “Yeah, but taichou likes us more, right?”
Rolling her eyes, Sakura hits him half-heartedly. “That doesn’t mean he wants to spend his free time rebuilding the training grounds every time we get carried away sparring.” She sighs. “I wish we could, though. I’d almost forgotten what this feels like. I mean, I love the hospital and Tsunade-shishou, but it’s not the same.”
Naruto hums, having heard a variation of this spiel several times.
“I can’t remember the last time I left the village for a mission,” she grumbles. “Now I just take care of the chūnin who are too dumb to avoid injury on theirs.”
He snickers. “That’s mean, Sakura-chan. I’m sure they’re doing their best.”
“Well, their best sucks,” she responds, predictable enough for Naruto to mouth the words to himself. “Hey! Are you mocking me?!” She punches his arm more forcefully than before. “Now who’s mean?”
Groaning theatrically, Naruto rubs his arm with a pout. “Still you.”
She rolls her eyes again. “You don’t get an opinion. What do you have to complain about? You’re the village hero, you get to do whatever you want!”
Naruto wisely doesn’t mention how he wishes he could take more exciting missions, knowing she’d probably hit him again and tell him that at least he has missions. Which, sure, whatever. He does get to meet interesting people on some of them, but most of them are so boring. Everything’s so much more political with everyone trying to figure out how peace actually works. Which is great and all, really! It’s just that if he has to sit through another three hour long meeting where village representatives use flowery language and over the top shows of wealth to show how much better their village is than all the others—
Sakura raps her knuckle against Naruto’s temple. “Anybody in there?”
He winces. “Yeah, I just— things are pretty great, but there are still some things I could definitely live without.”
“Like what?” she asks, narrowing her eyes.
“I mean…” He thinks back to his difficulty getting to the training ground this morning in the first place. “People are… they’re nice. But, uh.” He shudders, remembering the downright predatory gaze of the woman who’d waylaid him. “People keep propositioning me,” he mumbles, wrinkling his nose.
Sakura snorts and leans back on her elbows. “What does that even mean?”
He scowls, sitting up so he can direct the full force of it at her. “Exactly that! Over the past week, I’ve been stopped probably fifteen times and been offered the hand of someone’s daughter or cousin or something. It’s such a drag.”
“You’re the one who wanted to be acknowledged by everyone,” she reminds him a little meanly. “The people’s gratitude comes with the territory.”
Naruto crosses his arms petulantly. “There are better ways to show their gratitude than trying to force me into relationships against my will, ya know.”
“Like finding someone to love is such a hardship.” Her eyes light up with a devious glint that he’s come to associate with various kinds of pain. “Speaking of love—”
Naruto groans. “Not this again!”
The pink haired woman pouts, eyes wide and pleading. “Come on, you’re the only one left who isn’t in a relationship! Everyone wants you to come to stuff and not be the odd one out!”
“First of all, rude,” Naruto says, rolling his eyes. “Second of all, that can’t possibly be true. And third, you make it sound like being odd is bad! That’s my whole thing!” He gestures at himself insistently.
Sakura waves her hand dismissively. “It’s true, everyone’s all paired up.” The devious glint returns. “I mean, there is one other unattached person in our group—”
Naruto shoots to his feet in a panic. “Oh wow, would you look at the time? I’m supposed to be doing something that isn’t this in a place that isn’t here! Good seeing you, gotta go, bye!” He flickers away blindly, wincing as Sakura’s offended screech follows behind. He summons a few clones that take off in random directions, hoping that will buy him some time.
He does not want to have this conversation again. The last time she cornered him, she’d spent forty-five minutes trying to convince him that he and Hinata were made for each other. And it’s not like she isn’t super nice! It’s just… he has a hard time picturing any kind of relationship with her when they’ve never really held a conversation outside of battle.
He stumbles slightly as a clone dispels, and he picks up the pace after seeing her punch it hard enough to send it through three trees before it disappeared in a puff of smoke. Not wanting to risk it, he draws on the energy around him and slips into sage mode between one breath and the next before bursting forward at a speed he normally reserves for long distance travel outside the village. As he runs, he weighs his options, finding depressingly few.
He can’t go home, that’s too obvious. Someone always manages to find him no matter where he goes to train, and Iruka-sensei has apologetically but firmly asked Naruto to give the academy space because he distracts the students too much with his reputation. He can’t even go grab lunch because Ichiraku is the first place literally anyone would check—he’s been ambushed there too many times to think any different.
Short of leaving the fucking village—
A building comes into view, and he’s changing course and heading for the window before he even realizes what he’s doing. He leaps up to the sill and slides the glass open, taking a second to register the barely-there widening of Kakashi’s eyes before he leaps over Kakashi’s desk and dives beneath it. Avoiding the stacks of incomplete paperwork Kakashi may or may not be trying to hide, he wedges himself into an empty corner and draws his knees to his chest.
Kakashi huffs softly, leaning back slightly and pulling his feet beneath his chair. “Hello, Naruto-kun, how lovely to see you. Please, make yourself comfortable.” His tone is dry but not annoyed, and Naruto will take it.
He pulls his chakra in close until even an experienced sensor would have difficulty finding it. “Sorry, sensei, I—”
There’s a sharp knock, and the office door opens a bit more forcefully than is strictly polite (Naruto would know, he’s been yelled at about it too fucking much—this is why windows are so much easier). “Kaka-sensei!”
Kakashi straightens in his chair, presumably giving his signature eye smile to his other former student. “Sakura-chan, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”
“Ah, sorry to interrupt, sensei. I was just wondering if you’ve seen Naruto? I thought I felt him head this way. We were in the middle of something I’d like to finish.” Her voice is cloyingly sweet, and the sound of her cracking her knuckles echoes in the office.
Without thinking, Naruto reaches out and wraps his fingers around Kakashi’s ankle, squeezing firmly. There’s a pause, and Naruto holds his breath. Then, a pen clatters to the floor, and Kakashi ducks down with a murmured apology. He picks up the pen and shoots Naruto a curious look.
He shakes his head rapidly, pleading silently for his sensei to not expose his presence.
Kakashi raises an eyebrow and sits back up, placing the pen on his desk. “Maa, Sakura-chan, I can honestly say I don’t know what Naruto-kun is up to. He knows how busy I’ve been with paperwork, and you know how boring he finds that,” he says, his tone even and pleasant. “It is lunchtime, though—have you checked Ichiraku?”
Sakura huffs. “No, but you’re right. He probably won’t be caught anywhere near this building until you’ve finalized that trade agreement he’s been complaining about for the last two weeks.” There’s a sound of rustling fabric, and when she speaks again, she sounds further away. “Sorry to bother you, sensei. Good luck with the paperwork!”
Naruto holds his breath a few seconds after the door closes, shamelessly tracking her chakra to verify that she’s actually leaving the tower. When she’s far enough away to not be an immediate threat, he slumps against the back of the desk with an explosive sigh.
Kakashi pushes his chair back and peers down at Naruto, expression more amused than anything. “So why are we hiding from Sakura this time?”
Naruto hums, head falling to his knees. “I’m just… People are exhausting, sensei.”
Kakashi nods in agreement. “No argument here. But why exactly are you under my desk?” He wiggles his foot pointedly, and Naruto realizes he has yet to let go of his ankle.
He pulls away with a sheepish smile. “Well, you heard Sakura-chan—people seem to think I avoid your office like the plague.” He frowns. “Which, rude. I do actually help you with shit, ya know, no matter what Sakura-chan says.” Sighing again, he releases sage mode, feeling the peaceful chakra gently slip away.
His sensei just hums, eyes crinkled in amusement. “Well, I suppose I can allow it this one time.”
Naruto smiles gratefully. “I’m just going to give it a minute to make sure Sakura-chan isn’t still on the warpath.”
Kakashi turns back to his paperwork, and Naruto takes it as permission to stay for at least a little while. He closes his eyes, listening to the scratch of pen on paper and Kakashi’s occasional annoyed sounds when he works through a particularly trying piece of paperwork.
He sighs. Just a few minutes…
Fuck fuck fuck—
Naruto groans, the memory of Ino and Sakura’s furious expressions pushing him to speed up as he races through the streets. There’s no way in hell he’s letting them catch up and inflict whatever unholy terrors they have planned upon him. This isn’t even really his fault!! They’re just super fucking—
The tower comes into view again, and Naruto throws a quick prayer out into the void that Kakashi will let him hide again even though he maybe sorta fell asleep last time. He pushes more chakra than necessary to the soles of his feet, launching through the air and rolling through the already open window.
Kakashi barely reacts as Naruto hurriedly climbs into his previous hiding place, only pausing in his work to shuffle and allow him more room. Naruto lowers his forehead to his knees and breathes deeply, trying to gather his thoughts. His former sensei doesn’t prod, quietly writing as Naruto takes a moment to calm down.
A few moments later, the door flies open—and the hypocrisy is strong, he would have been thrown out if that had been him—and two people march in, chakra bubbling angrily.
Kakashi, in a show of nonchalance Naruto knows he’ll never be able to achieve, doesn’t look up from what he’s doing. “Maa, Sakura-chan, is something the matter? Your entrances are usually a little… quieter.”
Sakura’s chakra wavers in embarrassment, and she clears her throat. “Sorry, sensei, we got a little carried away.”
“I can see that.” He lays down his pen and straightens in his seat. “Hello, Ino-chan. What can I help you two with?”
Sakura all but growls. “We’re looking for Naruto. He did something incredibly rude, and he needs to fix it! Poor Hinata-chan is beside herself!”
Naruto grits his teeth and doesn’t give in to the urge to pop out and defend himself from that blatant lie— He jumps slightly when Kakashi’s foot nudges his thigh softly, and with the tiniest bit of hesitation, he grasps his ankle as he had last time he’d hidden and squeezes gently.
Kakashi sighs, and Naruto somehow just knows he’s pouting. “Your poor sensei has been drowning in paperwork all day. I tried leaving my desk for lunch, and Shikamaru threatened to tie my shadow down if I so much as thought about moving,” he whines. Then he shrugs, continuing, “Not that he could, obviously, but a moody Shikamaru does not make this job more enjoyable.”
Ino chimes in, tone perfectly calm and respectful despite the lingering annoyance swirling in her chakra. “So, you haven’t seen him, Kakashi-sensei?”
“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed,” Kakashi says drily, “but I haven’t exactly had much room in my schedule today for socializing. Besides, if one doesn’t want to be found, this really isn’t the best place to be. ANBU are incorrigible gossips, you know." He lowers his voice conspiratorially. "The Konoha rumor mill runs on their total lack of discretion.”
Naruto feels a flicker of resigned amusement from the mostly hidden chakra signature outside the window, and he stifles a snort.
Sakura huffs, clearly not willing to drop it. “It’s just— he’s so annoying, sensei. He just does stuff without thinking. I’m starting to wonder if he’ll ever grow up.”
The casual way she insults him settles like glass in his stomach, and he wilts. He knows he can be a bit much, but still…
“I think Naruto has been through enough to have earned the right to behave however he wants, Sakura-chan.” His tone is firm and ever-so-slightly chilly, leaving no room for argument. “And as for whatever you’re currently angry with him about, perhaps some time to process that before you confront him would be for the best.”
His leg, which he hasn’t pulled away and Naruto hasn’t let go of, presses against him reassuringly.
“R-Right,” Sakura stutters, surprised at the admonishment. “Well— I guess—”
“We won’t keep you, sensei, you’re clearly very busy,” Ino cuts in smoothly. “Sorry to have bothered you!” The door opens and closes—much more gently—and the pair’s footsteps recede quickly.
There’s a beat of silence before Kakashi bends to peer at Naruto, eyebrow raised. There’s no judgment in his expression, Naruto relaxes slightly.
“They ambushed me and dragged me to a restaurant for lunch. It was just an excuse to drop me off with Hinata-chan and leave us by ourselves.”
Kakashi huffs quietly. “I’m guessing you caught them spying despite claiming they had urgent business elsewhere?”
Naruto rolls his eyes. “It’s kind of insulting, actually—it’s like they forget how good a sensor I am.”
“I imagine that’s been working in your favor, so maybe it’s not so bad.” Kakashi picks up his pen again. “What exactly made them so angry?”
He groans and thunks his head on the back of the desk. “Hinata-chan is great, but she’s a little hard to talk to sometimes. I just told her that I wasn’t super hungry and asked if she’d be okay with me leaving.”
The older man snorts, shuffling some papers. “So Sakura has taken it upon herself to play matchmaker... There are worse things. Granted, I can’t think of any off the top of my head, but I’m sure they exist.”
“I might actually die, sensei. This can’t be what kills me! That would be so embarrassing!” Naruto whines, shuffling forward to peer up at his unsupportive sensei. “I’d never find peace in the Pure Land!”
Kakashi doesn’t cackle, but he looks like he wants to. “That’s what you get for saving the world—now that you’re famous, everyone wants to know about your love life and why you can’t get a girlfriend.”
Naruto glowers, mumbling, “More like ‘don’t want to.’” He realizes once again that he hasn’t released Kakashi’s ankle, but he doesn’t feel like he needs to with the man’s leg still pressed close to him.
“Oh?” Naruto isn’t sure how Kakashi manages to pack so much skepticism in one word. “Why not? Surely with the amount of potential suitors lined up before you, you can find someone you’d want.”
Frown deepening, Naruto slumps forward and drops his head on Kakashi’s outer thigh. “It’s not like any of them would want me for me. They’re only interested because I’m the hero of the leaf.” He can’t quite keep the derision out of the title he’s been given.
Kakashi is quiet for a moment, and when he responds, his voice is soft. “I’m sure that’s not the case for everyone.” His hand comes down and rests on Naruto’s head. “Someone out there will love you for exactly who you are, and you deserve nothing less.”
The last bit of tension leaves his chest, and Naruto smiles. “Thanks, sensei.”
Kakashi ruffles his hair. “Of course. Now, you may want to wait a while before you leave, just to make sure Sakura has cooled down.”
Naruto nods, cheek rubbing against Kakashi’s pants. “If that’s okay with you. Do you have an extra pen?” He accepts the one handed down to him and sits up, reaching for the nearest pile and grabbing what looks like a petition to instate a new holiday for some reason or another. “You know Shikamaru totally knows about your hidden paperwork, right?”
“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Kakashi responds serenely.
Naruto finds himself spending more and more time in Kakashi’s office over the next few weeks. What began as a way to escape the unwanted interference with his love life (or lack thereof) turns into an integral part of his daily routine.
Sure, there are still random attempts to pin him down for a date with Hinata, and sometimes the people in the village get a little too overwhelming, but sometimes he just wants to sit with his sensei and talk. He’d worried initially that he might be annoying him, but if the random items that keep turning up (a soft pillow beneath the desk, a bowl constantly full of his favorite candy, a cute potted plant placed where Naruto can see it from his hiding spot) are anything to go by, Kakashi must be enjoying the visits too.
He’s even taken to reporting directly to Kakashi when he completes his missions, including (especially) the ones that are so unimportant as to be laughable. Just yesterday, he’d gone to his office and reported the results of his C-rank escort mission with all the gravity one normally dedicates to particularly harrowing S-ranks. He hadn’t been able to keep a straight face for the whole thing, but neither had Kakashi, and that’s a win as far as Naruto is concerned.
(It may or may not have had something to do with the fact that Naruto gave his report from his designated hiding spot, but he’s not above playing dirty if it makes his sensei laugh like that.)
One day, Naruto is standing next to Kakashi, hip propped against the desk as the hokage breaks down a missive they’d just received from Iwa. Once Naruto gets through the technicalities that still kind of make his brain hurt, he really does find these kinds of things interesting, and this one is actually pretty engrossing. It’s only through sheer luck that Naruto catches Sakura’s chakra a few seconds before she enters the room, and he scrambles under the desk before she can see him.
He can’t quite settle into his normal spot before the door opens, and he winds up kneeling directly in front of Kakashi, his chest pressed firmly to the man’s legs. He feels like his face is on fire as he stares at his lap, unable to move without drawing the attention of his former teammate. He closes his eyes and prays for Sakura to be quick.
“Hi, Kaka-sensei!”
“Sakura-chan! What can I do for you?” Kakashi’s voice is pleasant and unbothered. Naruto’s breath hitches when he pointedly relaxes his legs and ever so slightly widens his stance. He curses silently as the only thing supporting him moves away, and he fumbles to brace himself, grabbing Kakashi’s knees and slumping forward slightly.
He wants to scream and maybe pinch his sensei. How is this helping?! The only thing it’s done is bring him closer to Kakashi’s lap and make him more uncomfortable.
“It’s Friday, sensei!” she replies brightly. “I brought the paperwork shishou and I put together for the hospital’s budget overhaul. Shishou says she sends her apologies but something came up and she can’t make it.”
Kakashi’s voice is as dry as Naruto’s ever heard it. “I’m sure it was completely unforeseen and so sudden that she couldn’t let me know beforehand.” He casually drops a hand beneath the desk, flashing a few signs out of Sakura’s line of sight.
sorry meeting forgot
Naruto resists the urge to groan. He really doesn’t want to ruin the best hiding space he’s ever had but he can’t just stay plastered against his sensei—
He startles when Kakashi raises his hand to the top of Naruto’s head and presses gently, and he hesitantly follows the direction until his cheek is resting against Kakashi's thigh. The heat on Naruto’s face worsens, and he’s seconds away from bursting into flame when the hand enters his line of sight once more.
confirm okay
Naruto pauses. The signs are quick and precise, but he thinks he sees a bit of hesitation in that gesture. He bites his lip and glances up. Kakashi seems fine with this, so maybe it’s only weird if he makes it weird? And if Naruto drops his hands and leans to the side… He thinks of spending at least thirty minutes in this position and finds that the thought is… oddly comforting?
Hesitantly, he shifts as quietly as he can to lean more heavily against Kakashi’s leg, hands dropping to gently grasp his ankles. He softly taps a yes. The hand moves back to his hair and, after a brief hesitation, begins combing through it. Naruto really can’t be held accountable for melting even further against Kakashi—he’s always been weak to having his hair played with.
Sakura is in the middle of explaining what they’ve decided is the most important change to be made, and how they will consider it a success even if this is the only thing approved when words start blurring together. His eyelids fall shut, and his world narrows down to the warmth of the person he’s pressed against and the gentle fingers running through his hair. He feels… safe, like he could completely let go and feel confident that Kakashi could handle anything that might happen.
He’s almost convinced himself that they’re alone in the room, and he only refocuses when the fingers in his hair tighten slightly. He blinks, wondering if the meeting is already over.
“—and everyone will be there! It’s been too long since we’ve all gotten together, and we won’t get another chance where everyone’s schedules align like this for ages,” Sakura is saying, voice tipping toward begging.
Kakashi hums. “It sounds like you’ve been planning this for a while. And everyone will be there?” There’s a thread of something in his voice that Naruto can’t quite identify but it makes him press his cheek more firmly against the man’s leg.
“Well…” Sakura hesitates. “Um. Actually, I talked to Naruto about it earlier, and he can’t make it because he has dinner plans tonight. But everyone else is free, so he can just catch the next one!”
Naruto can’t help the way he freezes, and he again curses the need to stay hidden in order to preserve his secret a little longer. Why—?
“Ah.” Kakashi resumes combing through Naruto’s hair. “Well, I suppose it can’t be helped. And while I wish I could be there, I won’t be able to leave the office until I finish this proposal, and there’s no way I’ll be done early enough to swing by.” He sighs, sounding perfectly apologetic. “I guess I’ll have to wait and catch the next one along with Naruto.”
“That’s too bad, but I understand! Shishou is always complaining about how much she hated the paperwork that came with the hat and claims she still gets nightmares.” Sakura laughs. “I bet that’s something Naruto hasn’t realized yet. I doubt he’ll like sitting at this desk for hours on end very much.”
Naruto rolls his eyes and smiles against Kakashi’s pant leg.
“Who knows, maybe he’ll surprise you,” Kakashi replies, amusement clear in his voice.
“Right, sensei, I’m sure. But I’ll get out of your hair. If you happen to finish in time, we’ll be at that new barbecue place that opened last week!” She leaves, and the door clicks shut behind her.
Kakashi gives it a second before leaning back, careful not to dislodge Naruto in the process. He looks down with a flat expression as he keeps playing with the Naruto’s hair. “Dinner plans, huh?”
Naruto scoffs. “Yeah, actually. With Sakura.” He closes his eyes and frowns. “She caught me a few days ago and asked me to meet her for ramen tonight. She made a big deal about drilling the time into me and making me promise not to keep her waiting.”
Kakashi shakes his head, muttering something under his breath before clearing his throat. “Well. I suppose if Hinata still expects you to be there without actually confirming it with you, that’s on her.”
Naruto grins ruefully. “Yeah…” He sighs and starts to pull away, but he pauses when the fingers in his hair gently hold him in place. He glances up, face warming again. “Sorry, I— Do you want me to move?” Without that floaty feeling from earlier, he can't help but focus on how... intimate this position is, and he can feel the embarrassment prickling at the back of his neck.
Kakashi looks at him with an unreadable expression. He’s silent for a moment before asking, “Do you?” His voice is unusually soft, and Naruto finds that he’d like nothing more than to stay where he is for a little while longer. He shakes his head almost imperceptibly, uncertain.
“Hmm.” Kakashi looks back toward his desk. “I suppose I’ll let you slack off this one time. Your poor, overworked leader will just handle the paperwork on his own.”
Naruto grins into the fabric of the Kakashi’s pants. “You’re the one wearing the hat—if you want me to take over, just say the word. Also, and I really didn't want to say this, you don't actually pull hats off very well. So it's really just in your best interest to hand it over, sensei."
The older man hums softly and glances down before refocusing on the paperwork. “…Kakashi,” he says with an air of indifference. “I’m not exactly your sensei anymore, am I, Naruto?”
Naruto’s eyes widen, and he stares at the man above him. “I guess not… Kakashi.” He definitely isn’t imagining the pleased tilt of Kakashi’s head or the way the fingers in his hair tighten ever so slightly. He smiles and closes his eyes again.