Chapter Text
“Aw, c’mon!” Naruto groaned, pouting like the little brat he was. You huffed, standing your ground. You dropped the laundry basket to the floor between you, your hands landing on your hips. “You can’t take my money, that’s-that’s robbery!”
“It’s not stealing if it’s from a smelly little kid like you, Naruto. Do your laundry. Now. Or I’m spending this entire allowance on me, myself, and I.” You leaned forward, a mocking smile tugging at your lips.
Naruto was just about to spit out some rebuttal, his face growing redder by the second at how frustrated he was getting, until he saw the shadow looming behind you, his eyes widening. You caught his expression right away, your own face faltering as you turned around to look behind you.
“Kakashi,” you forced a small smile, which was met with the silver-haired man’s usual blank expression. You felt a gust of wind behind you, your fist clenching around Naruto’s frog wallet as the little brat made his oh-so-convenient escape. “Did I leave the door unlocked, or are you breaking into my house now?”
Kakashi’s cool exterior seemed to break almost immediately. You could see the pink peeking out from under his mask, a gloved hand reaching up to rub the back of his neck. He didnt think Naruto would be there. “Uh.. Yeah, it was unlocked. Sorry for barging in, I..“
You couldn’t help an actual smile at how quickly he broke. You briefly wondered if it was because of you, or because Naruto obviously just jumped out the window. Regardless, the sight of Kakashi’s blush made your heart flutter. “It’s fine. Can we talk in the kitchen? I need to check on dinner.”
You were already making your way to the kitchen before Kakashi could say another word. You heard your front door close and nothing else, because Kakashi couldn’t stop being stealthy with his footsteps even if he tried. But the smell of old books and leather seemed to follow him everywhere, and made its way into your kitchen while you stirred a pot of curry.
“So.. is this like a, parent-teacher conference thing again?” You popped the question once you could see Kakashi in your peripheral, leaning against the counter beside you.
The white haired jounin almost forgot to respond as he watched you lick the back of your spoon, and your nose scrunch up from the hot temperature of the curry sauce. This was so wrong. Not only was he staring at you like some lusting creep, you were simply doing something as mundane as tasting your cooking. Is this what he got off on? Maybe he has been reading too much Icha-Icha.
He cleared his throat before the silence dragged on too long, his fingers fiddling with the velcro on his gloves. He completely forgot to make up some excuse to be here, when in reality he just wanted to see you. You, his student’s legal guardian. “Sort of. I just wanted to make sure you got that list from Naruto about the supplies he’ll need for our next mission? It’s pretty far, and Naruto tends to under-prepare.”
You glanced over at him, and Kakashi was sweating bullets under his mask. You never let much slip behind your eyes, whereas Kakashi had to express everything with his.
“Yeah, I got the list,” you sighed softly, turning off the heat at the stove. “Does he really need that much food? He usually just brings as much as he needs.”
Kakashi’s eyes narrowed into half moons as he let out a soft chuckle. You watched his hand reach behind his neck to awkwardly rub it. It was always so disarming seeing someone as serious as Kakashi smile like that. Borderline off-putting, though you couldn’t help but want to see it more often.
“I’m gonna be honest, I was hoping you’d make enough for him to share,” Kakashi admitted, his hand on the counter finding a crack in the wood to mindlessly run his fingertips over.
You looked at him then, a toothy grin tugging at your lips, one Kakashi could’ve sworn made Naruto’s spitting image. “Aren’t you old enough to know how to cook by now, sensei?”
“O-of course I know how to cook! It’s for the other kids. Sasuke doesn’t have any parents to make him delicious food-“
“How would you know it’s delicious-“
“Naruto’s always boasting about it! Sasuke’s always looking at it so longingly, poor kid..”
“Doesn’t that Sakura girl like him? I’m sure she could offer him some.”
“I can’t let her take on that responsibility.”
“Oh, but you can let me?”
“…(Y/N).”
“Yes?”
“I just really like your cooking.”
“Oh,” you felt your heart float up your throat along with a giggle. Kakashi was standing there, arms crossed and head down like it physically hurt him to admit something as small as that.
In reality, Kakashi was holding himself together as to not melt into a puddle at the sound of your laughter. Or worse.
You took a slow step towards him, one shaky hand hovering over his arm, right at the red uzumaki on his shirt. You felt his chakra mingle with yours before practically running away from your fingertips. Who knew a man pushing thirty could be as shy as a schoolgirl. “Did you wanna stay for dinner, then?”
Kakashi took in a deep breath before turning his head to look at you. He could see your lips twitching, like you were trying to contain your smile from getting too big. Maybe he is doing something right. “…As long as Naruto’s okay with it.”
Naruto was reluctant to say yes when he returned, but once his eyes landed on your threatening gaze, he instantly agreed.
Throughout the entire dinner, Naruto was as silent as a mouse, just looking between you and Kakashi while he ate his curry and rice. He observed Kakashi mostly, watching his sensei gradually become more comfortable in his home. Kakashi still kept his mask on, only tugging it down enough to eat what were supposed to be Naruto’s leftovers. He watched Kakashi look at you, and it felt so foreign. He’s never seen his sensei look at anyone like that.
You were oblivious to Naruto’s behavior, though you did notice how much quieter the dinner felt. Naruto usually talked your ear off about his day at dinner, but it was nice hearing Kakashi’s voice too. You barely even ate, too engrossed in your conversation with Kakashi, too distracted watching him eat your cooking and slowly closing his eye every time he took another bite. With the way he savored the food, you wondered how sad his own cooking must be.
Kakashi felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest the entire time. Not only did he have to watch himself around you, but Naruto as well. Especially Naruto. His relationship with his student took priority over a stupid crush on said student’s parent. But sitting there at your table, eating your amazing cooking, listening to you talk… He hadn’t felt this kind of comfort in a long time. Not since Minato would invite him over for dinner once in a while. It was hard not to lean back in his seat and unzip his flak jacket, to stretch out his arm and rest it over the empty chair beside him. You must’ve infused some genjutsu into the food, if that was even possible, because He needed to be pinched and woken up from this dream.
“Navigating the apartment complex can get a little confusing, I’ll walk you out,” you offered once Kakashi was getting ready to leave. Naruto was already in his room, getting his laundry together after you asked him to for the nth time.
Kakashi glanced at you as he zipped his flak back up, a smile tugging at his lips beneath his mask. Your apartment complex wasn’t hard to navigate at all.
“Lead the way.”
You both walked in silence, the air between you feeling a little thicker without Naruto around as a buffer. You weren’t good at these kinds of things. You’ve been taking care of Naruto for most of your teenage years and all of your adult life, so any type of romance didn’t fit into your schedule. You knew Kakashi’s been busy almost his whole life too, but you wondered if he felt as awkward as you did, if he was just as inexperienced.
You felt Kakashi grab your wrist after a while, causing you to stop. You looked up at him, your heart pounding in your chest with anticipation.
“Don’t want you to be gone too long. I can walk myself home,” Kakashi chuckled softly, the corner of his eye wrinkling.
“Oh,” you blinked, taking a look at your surroundings. You were already outside your apartment complex. You must’ve been so lost in thought, or maybe walking in silence with Kakashi was just too comforting for you to realize what was happening. “Sorry, must’ve been thinking too much.”
You began to slide your arm out of his hold, but Kakashi fingers tightened around your hand. You looked up at him, finding that he’d leaned closer to you. Your fingers tightened around his, a silent reciprocation.
“I… I don’t mind packing extra food for you.”
“Letting me eat with you and Naruto was more than enough,” he murmured, his gaze ripping away from yours to look at the ground.
You’d already decided you would pack extra for him anyways, after watching him enjoy your cooking so much, so you didn’t argue.
“Thank you, (Y/N),” the white-haired jounin whispered, leaning in to press a kiss to your cheek over his mask, before disappearing into the night.
You’d cook him an entire feast if it got you more of that.