Chapter Text
The Hokage office was quiet except for the sound of paper getting stamped and pages being flipped. Kakashi was at his desk, skimming over documents before smacking them with the Hokage seal and adding them to the pile of completed paperwork. Iruka was sitting across the desk in a chair Shizune had brought in for him. It had been a bit embarrassing, realising people simply assumed that he would stay in the office long enough to need his own seat, but Iruka wasn’t complaining—he had not only stayed longer than strictly necessary, but he hadn’t even had a good reason to see the Hokage to begin with.
He hadn’t wanted to see the Hokage anyway. He had wanted to see Kakashi.
They were now keeping each other company as they worked, Iruka grading papers and Kakashi inwardly cursing all things political as he valiantly slogged through the ever-increasing piles of papers on and surrounding his desk. It was peaceful, and Iruka fell into an easy rhythm with no effort.
He had thought it might be awkward at first, considering they were still exploring what was between them, but things were going well so far. It was silly, but it made Iruka glad.
“Naruto’s spelling is terrible,” Kakashi muttered, squinting down at a mission scroll.
“You’re supposed to be checking the other pile,” Iruka said.
“I can only take so much politics at once,” Kakashi replied, then stifled a snort and pushed the mission scroll closer to Iruka. “Iruka, look—he spelt ‘seal’ with two Es.”
“Kakashi, I can’t read that,” Iruka said, and mentally patted himself on the back for not blushing. It still felt a bit strange, not using honorifics with each other, but it was certainly nice. “It’s an S-rank.”
Rather than pressing, Kakashi took the scroll back with a disappointed grumble. “I should just give you clearance. All his missions are S-rank these days. At this rate, we’ll never be able to laugh at his spelling together, and I would very much like to do that. It’s a simple pleasure.”
Iruka made a small sound of agreement, but he couldn’t quite keep himself from frowning. It was true that Naruto’s missions had all been high-risk for some time now. On the one hand, Iruka was glad the boy was finally acknowledged by the village, but on the other, he couldn’t help worrying about him. S-rank missions were graded as such for a reason.
“What’s wrong?” Kakashi asked.
Iruka snapped himself out of it and smiled. “Oh, nothing, just thinking.”
“About?”
Iruka’s smile wavered, but he decided to tell Kakashi—the man may be an elite ninja and Konoha’s Rokudaime, but he wouldn’t think less of Iruka just because of his fretting tendencies. What was more, Kakashi was well-aware of them already. “I’m worried about Naruto. He’s been taking nothing but S-ranks lately, and I know he’s got the talent for them even if he’s still technically a genin, but…”
He trailed off, fiddling with the corner of a student’s paper before looking back up. Kakashi was nodding, his expression nothing but sympathetic. “I know what you mean. I’m concerned, too. Been thinking he might burn out if he keeps going like this, so I gave him a boring diplomatic mission in Suna so he can hang out with Gaara and relax for a few weeks.”
Iruka stared at him. “You did?”
“Yeah,” Kakashi said, his tone casual.
It was no secret that Kakashi made Iruka feel warm. Right now, he felt as though the corners of his soul were melting. He smiled, soft and true this time around. “Thank you.”
Kakashi blushed and rolled the scroll back up. “You’re very welcome, sensei.”