Chapter Text
Fireflies flitted through the warm summer night sky in Konoha. It had been a relatively peaceful few weeks, which had spread a cheerful mood throughout the entire village. People were enjoying the weather, filling up bars and restaurants with laughter and cheers. Iruka and Kakashi were no different. Taking a chance to enjoy one of the rare opportunities where Kakashi had more than a couple of days off between missions, they were sitting at Ichiraku Ramen, savouring the time that they could spend together.
“You know, I could take you to a more fancy place.” Kakashi began as he watched Iruka slurp his ramen. “I know that you love it here, but still -”
“It’s okay, really,” Iruka replied. “I don’t need you to spend all your money on me.”
“It really is no trouble.” Iruka did hate Kakashi spending his money on him, always insisting that he may not make that much as a teacher, but it was enough and he didn’t need or want anything fancy. But still, Kakashi had been earning a jonin salary since the age of seven. He had more money than he knew what to do with most of the time, so it was really hard not to shower Iruka with luxuries. They sat and enjoyed the night, laughing and joking and just trying to cherish what little time they had to spend together like this. Iruka slid a hand casually onto Kakashi’s thigh, grinning when he was met with a small smile. He was just leaning over to whisper something salacious into Kakashi’s ear when he was interrupted by an orange blur jumping in between them.
“Iruka-sensei! Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto called out excitedly, “What are you guys doing here?” Iruka smiled sweetly and to Kakashi’s disappointment, he withdrew his hand from his lap.
“We were just having dinner together, Naruto.” Iruka replied, “We thought that we could enjoy the warm weather, you know. Have a nice night out.”
“That’s such a great idea, Iruka-sensei! We’ve been so busy with missions lately that I haven’t been able to eat proper ramen in ages!” Naruto promptly pulled a stool up right in between the two men and sat himself down. “It’s been so long that even Kakashi-sensei must be craving ramen.” Naruto then proceeded to go into a loud and dramatic retelling of what happened on his past missions, accompanied with hand gestures so exaggerated that he almost hit Kakashi on his head at least three times. Eventually, there was a pause in his story when Teuchi approached them.
“Ahh, Naruto. It’s been a long time, neh? What can I get for you?” He smiled and turned to Iruka, who had almost finished his ramen. “Can I get you another bowl, Unimo-san?” Iruka smiled and hesitated for a moment before Kakashi jumped in.
“You should get another bowl. It’s fine, I’m paying tonight.”
“Wow! Really, Kakashi-sensei?” Exclaimed Naruto, taken aback by his teacher’s apparent and uncharacteristic display of generosity. “Well, in that case, Teuchi-san, I’ll get tonkatsu ramen with double pork. Thanks, Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto grinned as a large bowl of ramen was slid in front of him, barely pausing for a moment before he dug in. Kakashi sighed while Iruka smiled apologetically over Naruto’s shoulder. Their date may have been hijacked for the moment, but at least they still got to spend time with each other, even if it had been interrupted by an orange blur of hyperactive energy.
They enjoyed the meal as best as they could, with Iruka and Kakashi throwing each other warm glances over Naruto’s shoulders as he worked his way through bowl after bowl of ramen. They did, in a way, form some kind of odd family. A teenage boy, his unofficial adoptive parent, and his sensei. The two couldn’t help but smile as they watched Naruto practically inhale another bowl of ramen. The three relished the chance to relax, talking, laughing, and joking as the night stretched on and the moon climbed higher into the sky. It wasn’t the date Kakashi intended, but it was fun nevertheless. And it didn’t really matter anyway, once they left the ramen place he and Iruka could resume their night together in private. And Kakashi had a lot of plans that involved the two of them having some alone time together. All he had to do was pray that Naruto didn’t want to stay over at Iruka’s for the night, as he occasionally did.
Eventually, after what must have been at least Naruto’s twelfth bowl of ramen, the boy had apparently decided that he had eaten enough. Kakashi tried not to wince as he pulled out his wallet, the mere thought of the bill making him shudder a little. He threw down the extensive amount of cash and a little extra as a tip. The three of them headed out into the cool night air, and Kakashi was pleased to be able to sidle next to Iruka and wrap an arm around him, his hand slipping down to give his butt a firm squeeze. His hand was promptly slapped away and he was met with a disapproving glare from Iruka. Naruto, of course, was completely oblivious to this, instead enjoying the sight of some lanterns hanging from some nearby trees. Naruto stretched his arms skywards and turned around to face them.
“Thanks so much for the meal Kakashi-sensei! And it’s great seeing you two hang out together!” Naruto exclaimed, “You both seem so lonely, I’m glad that you guys are making more friends!” After that mildly insulting statement, Naruto walked off into the night, leaving the two standing there, confused.
“Friends?” Kakashi asked.
“Lonely?” Iruka puzzled.
“Did Naruto just insult us?”
“I think so.” Iruka replied, “C’mon. Let’s go back to my place. We can carry on making friends with each other.” Kakashi chuckled and took Iruka’s hand, letting the man lead him to his apartment.