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Kakashi let himself into Iruka’s flat, stomping in the genkan to shake most of the snow off before taking off his sandals and scarf. Outside, it was miserably cold, the wintry weather having struck without mercy. Inside, the flat was warm, the scent of toasted bread and coffee permeating the air. Kakashi followed it down the hallway and into the small living area. Iruka was curled up at the kotatsu, mug in hand and half-eaten slice of bread on a plate to the side as he frowned down at someone’s homework.
“Uh-oh. That’s the Yoshinori-kun face,” Kakashi said, hanging his scarf to dry in front of the space heater. “What’s he done this time?”
“Wasted my time by handing this in,” Iruka said, setting his mug down. He sighed, then pulled his arms up and stretched his back, some of the bones popping. He had probably been grading since Kakashi had left in the morning to train with Team Seven. Winter break, as far as teachers were concerned, was a filthy lie.
“It seems both our Sundays have been wasted, then,” Kakashi said, stepping forward. He tugged his mask down and bent over to plant a kiss on Iruka’s forehead. “I’d complain about my genin’s previous sensei, but then I’d probably sleep in a tree for a week.”
“Damn right,” Iruka said, then stuck his tongue out.
Kakashi tapped it, lightning-quick. “Blep.”
Iruka spluttered.
Kakashi straightened up, looking around. “Where’s Angel Sweetie Monster Pie?”
Iruka grimaced. “I hate that I know who you mean. Just use his name.”
Kakashi titled his head in consideration, then said, “Nah.” As if on cue, a small meow came from the bathroom door then. Kakashi turned around. “There you are, my little agent of chaos.”
He approached the small ball of black fur that was watching him with wide and demanding eyes. He swooped Soot up into his arms, cuddling the cat thoroughly until he started yowling and squirming to be put down.
“Sheesh, okay, fine. Go, be free.” Kakashi lowered his arms, and Soot jumped with his usual grace onto the floor, then looked up at Kakashi with wide and demanding eyes. “What? You literally just told me to put you down.”
Soot meowed. Kakashi shrugged and headed into the kitchen.
“I’m making tea,” he said. “Do you want a cup?”
“Um.” There was a pause in which Iruka no doubt checked if he had any coffee left in his mug, proceeded to decide whether he wanted to drink whatever cold dredges were left or just get a fresh mug, and finally accepted that maybe drinking seven mugs of coffee in a row wasn’t great adulting. “Sure, thanks.”
“No problem, honey,” Kakashi said, then sniggered at Iruka’s groan of disgust. He got the kettle and started filling it. “What, do you want me to call you Angel Sweetie Monster Pie, too?”
“If you want to die,” Iruka’s voice floated over.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Kakashi set the filled kettle over the cold stovetop and went looking for the matchbox. Iruka had the habit of leaving it in a different spot every single time. Kakashi had honestly expected to grow tired of it sooner rather than later, but instead it had become a fun little game for him.
As he opened the second cupboard from the left, Soot jumped onto the counter.
“No, kitty boy,” Kakashi said, but he didn’t try to remove Soot just yet. Maybe he would get tired on his own after sniffing the kettle full of water. Maybe today was the day Soot wouldn’t try to ‘help’ in the kitchen. It had never happened before, but Kakashi could dream of enjoying a hairless infusion.
“Get him off the counter before he gets hair all over our tea,” Iruka called.
“Yes, Sweet Berry Pie Crust.”
“You’re fired.”
“No, I’m not,” Kakashi sing-songed, then grinned in victory when he found the matchbox inside Iruka’s bento, for some reason. “Aha. Success. On to the boiling—Soot, no. Shoo, baby, shoo. You have your own water right”—Kakashi picked him off the counter and deposited him next to his water and food bowls—“over here. Great. I know this is an exercise in futility, but stay there.”
Soot meowed at him and strutted right back to the counter, then jumped onto it.
Kakashi was very glad his ninken couldn’t see this.
“I’ll allow that,” he said magnanimously.
Soot began grooming himself.
Kakashi decided that if the cat was going to ignore him, he was going to ignore the cat. He turned away from Soot and turned on the stove beneath the kettle, then rooted around for two mugs and a handful of tea leaves. He was pretty sure Iruka had bought the fancy and slightly spicy blend they both liked a few days before, so there should still be plenty left for them to enjoy a Sunday-sucked-and-tomorrow-is-Monday pick-me-up infusion.
After some trial and error, he found the tin with the sake set. Sometimes, if Iruka was really preoccupied, he’d misplace more than the matchbox. Apparently, today had been one such day. Kakashi was kind of looking forward to finding items placed in random places for the next few days. He grabbed enough leaves for two flavourful cups, then placed the tin in its usual place.
Then Soot was suddenly there, trying to get his nose into the tin, which was already closed. Kakashi tried to push him back, but Soot simply flowed out of his arms using his superior cat-only bones-are-optional technique and then attempted to swat the tin open.
“Dammit, Soot, no,” Kakashi said, managing to finish putting the tin away and lifting Soot off the counter even though the cat was doing an excellent job of turning into a liquid in Kakashi’s grip. “You rinky-dinky demon man.”
Soot gave a dejected mewl, then squirmed until Kakashi dropped him with a huff. He landed elegantly and trotted out of the kitchen with his tail up.
“Yeah, walk away, whatever,” Kakashi muttered, then wiped the counter free of cat hair before continuing with his task. The water boiled; he added the leaves. Just as he was about to lift the tray where he’d placed the kettle and cups, Soot jumped back onto the counter. “Holy—Soot.”
Over the rattling sound of almost-dropped china, he heard Iruka chuckling in the living area. “Did he scare you again?”
“Don’t tell my enemies,” Kakashi said, then muttered, “Outclassed by a cat.”
He lifted the tray, glaring at Soot in warning not to do anything funny. He took everything to the kotatsu, Soot trailing after him and playing the innocent angel, and sat down across from Iruka. Soot wasted no time in climbing onto his lap and then trying to climb onto the low table, neck outstretched as he tried to catch a curious whiff of the tea’s fragrance.
“I really wish I could say he’s being particularly annoying today,” Kakashi said, pulling the cat back onto his lap and petting his silken ears, “but this is just him.”
Iruka hummed. “He takes after you.” He glanced at Kakashi and grinned, then jotted one last thing before moving his pile of work to the side. “Now, let’s have some tea.”