Chapter Text
What Kakashi loved about reading in a park was that he got to see life around him without having to be a part of it. He could enjoy the quiet and the not-so-quiet without having to lift a finger, smile at a joke, break apart a fight or send kids full of hormones to detention. Joggers, strollers, teens on their cellphones, all went past the spiky grey-haired man without a second look. Or at least that's what he liked to think.
In October, the mornings got colder and wetter. The skies turned darker and the leaves brighter. Kakashi traded his usual cardboard coffee cup for a thermos. He completed his attire with fingerless gloves, to still feel the smooth pages under cold fingertips. Even if it meant he had to warm them against his lips when he brought his cigarette to his mouth.
He liked to get to the park early and sit alone in the morning fog. Face half-buried under a red-checked scarf, thermos tucked against his thigh and a well-loved book waiting on his knees like a long-suffering mistress.
Kakashi lived for mornings like these, when the sun was warm enough that your cheeks wouldn't freeze, but the cold so biting that he was the only one who would enjoy freezing his ass on an uncomfortable bench.
It was on a morning like this that he made the most incongruous encounter.
He did see animals from his well-loved bench. Birds, mostly, but squirrels too. A skunk, one time. Dogs were still his favorite. After all, the park was surrounded by a lively and beautifully dense wooded area. However, it was the first time for Kakashi to come across a… was that a cat? The red, silky ball of fur had stopped mid-stride, long, whiskered nose twitching, ears almost flat on his head. Long, triangle-shaped ears, their tips as dark as the delicate looking legs. Kakashi took in the long, bushy tail and his fingers twitched at how soft the white chest and belly looked.
Kakashi stared at the fox, the fox stared at Kakashi.
For all the grey in the sky, the sun was still managing to shine, lighting a fire on the red fur.
The fox's whole body tensed suddenly, tail straightening and ears pointing.
‘’Kurama!’’
Kakashi jumped, slacks-covered ass lifting off the bench and reading glasses flying off his nose. Icha Icha tumbled from his knees to the cold hard ground, its spine bending gradually, as if unwilling. A boy was running toward the fox and the man on the bench at full speed, cheeks red from the wind and exertion. His hair reminded Kakashi of wind blown wheat fields and his smile was so wide Kakashi could've sworn he felt the warm summer wind caressing his cheeks. The fox did something hilarious then - at least to Kakashi. It shrieked like a cat who'd been stomped on but its tail wagged madly like a dog's, the fluffy butt following suit.
"Kurama!" The teen came to a screeching halt in front of the fox, mud-covered sneakers untied and orange hoodie looking like it had seen better days. Kakashi, who usually wanted no more company than of his book on a fine Sunday morning like this, still couldn't help but stare at the strange pair when the fox, without further warning, lept into the boy's arms as soon as said boy sank into its knees on the frostbitten grass.
The teen, as if he'd been expecting this, instantly closed his arms around the creature and started spurting nonsense such as "Got scared of the movers?", "Looked all over for you."and "Stupid old ball of fur."
The fox, as if immune to such scolding, was yapping happily, laying as flat as possible against the boy's chest and neck.
Finally, the boy paused mid-scratch and turned his head slowly toward Kakashi, as if only then realizing he had an audience.
Kakashi stared at the blond, the blond stared at Kakashi.
"Your, ah, pet I presume?" the older man asked flatly after a prolonged silence, accepting with great reluctance to break the usually sacred solitary peace of his Sunday mornings.
Kakashi winced as the blond sprang to his feet, brushing his dirty knees (and only getting his hands dirtier in the process), while the fox curled around his shoulders.
"Yeah. Found him when he was a baby, we've been together for a while. His name's Kurama."
Kakashi had deduced as much from the teen's earlier screams.
"Yes, I gathered that. What's your name? I don’t think I've seen you around before."
Kakashi was confident he would've remembered those eyes if he'd ever met them in the hallways.
The boy shuffled his feet.
"Oh, I'm new here. We've just moved in this morning, actually. Kurama got scared of the moving guys and ran away."
"I see," Kakashi nodded, while bending to pick up his forgotten glasses and book.
When he straightened back up, there was a muddy hand extended toward his face.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Naruto."
There was a barely-there flash of hesitation that came across Naruto's face, like a fleeting ripple, when Kakashi just stared at his hand. However, Kakashi being confronted with teenagers' anxiety and self-doubt daily, still caught it.
"Nice to meet you, Naruto," said Kakashi while grabbing the hand before the boy could retract it.
He was rewarded with a megawatt smile.
"I'm the guy who reads at the park every Sunday morning."
"Cool." Naruto leaned in slightly, lips half-moving around the hushed words. "I'm the guy who imagines the teachers naked so I won't feel intimidated by them. Pretty clever, huh?"
Kakashi almost choked on his scarf. The fox's ears perked, black lips thinning as if slipping on a mischievous grin.
Kakashi tried to clear his suddenly spasming throat. "That's…"
"Naruto!"
Naruto jumped at the booming and obviously furious voice.
"Shit, gotta go!" Naruto half-turned, tossing a hurried "Nice to meet you, old man!" toward Kakashi before scrambling away, Kurama clinging to the boy's shoulders with a graceful ease.
Kakashi, stuck to his bench, could only stare at the retreating back and the long, fluffy tail following in its wake. A few minutes later, he picked himself up, still turned toward the now empty path. He reached for the pack of cigarettes in his pocket.
The lighter crackled under the stroke of Kakashi's thumb.
"Old man, huh?" Kakashi exhaled softly, grey eyes lifting to equally dark clouds.
The smoke of his cigarette drifted into sweet nothing, like a drop of rain falling into the ocean.
***
"Such a gloomy day," the heartfelt groan raised next to Kakashi's jacket-clad left shoulder.
Kakashi took another sip of his steaming coffee, wrapping his scarf tighter, a few cold drops falling from it, before acknowledging the depressing man next to him.
"What happened? It's not like you to be affected by the weather like this."
The black-haired man next to him shrugged. "Who said anything about the weather? No, I'm talking about Lee. He has to skip school today because of the flu."
Kakashi gave his friend a deadpan look. "I see."
His long, measured strides took him to the teacher's lounge, where he shook himself out of his beige trench coat before hanging it over the back of his chair. The silver-haired man spent the next few minutes draining the last of his coffee, trying to tune out Gai's whining ("Such a long day already!"), and the new teacher's introduction ("I'm Iruka, nice to meet all of you.") as much as he could.
Kakashi took the last bite of his cream cheese bagel discreetly while gathering his books for his first class, switching the scarf for a mask before anyone could notice. On his way out, one of his Jane Austen's copies landed accidentally on his moping friend's head.
Gai sprang out of his chair, shouting about insensitive rivals.
***
"Guys, wait up!"
Kakashi stopped dead in the middle of the hallway, causing Gai to crash into him and the wave of students to rearrange its flow around them.
"Kakashi! What are you-?"
Kakashi had already spotted the sunny head, barreling toward a feisty pink-haired girl who was drumming her nails against her books and an impassive, almost bored-looking boy.
Their chatting still carried over the mass of boisterous students.
"Honestly, Naruto, can you ever be on time?” the girl said while brushing her fingers through Naruto’s hair in a futile attempt to neaten it. “You really want to be late for your first day of school?"
The trio seemed immune to the curious looks thrown their way, the black-haired teen’s affected disdain seeming to keep anyone at bay.
The young girl thrust a few books into Naruto's chest and took the opportunity to rearrange the blond's familiar-looking washed out sweater. She suddenly leaned in closer, nostrils flaring. Kakashi could see the blond’s back straightening up sharply from where he stood.
"Naruto, did you have ramen for breakfast again?"
This time the girl's words were laced with concern.
That didn’t stop her from trying to smack some sense into Naruto, who dodged successfully.
"Hey, I love ramen!"
The girl’s voice only grew louder.
"That thing will kill your kidneys!"
Kakashi couldn’t hear the rest of the conversation as the black-haired teen pushed his friends through the door of the nearest classroom with an ever deepening scowl.
‘’Those are some nicely built kids.’’
Kakashi didn’t even turn to look at his friend as they resumed walking. ‘’Don’t ever say that again.’’
Gai didn’t seem to have heard him. ‘’I wonder if they would consider joining the track team. Iruka-sensei said they had a knack for getting into trouble, but I’m sure-’’
This time, Kakashi couldn’t hold back his surprise. ‘’Iruka-sensei? What about him?’’
Gai puffed his green-clad chest like a proud peacock.
‘’They are the adopted kids of Umino Iruka, the new Family and Consumer Sciences teacher. Honestly, my friend, were you listening at all this morning?’’
Kakashi blinked, a pensive smile forming behind his mask as he turned the corner toward his own classroom. ‘’Not a bit.’’
***
Kakashi didn't see the new kid until after lunch, when there was still the herbal tang of tobacco clinging to the back of his throat and Jane Austen's words lingering on his mind like wispy clouds of smoke.
His eyes caught the bright hair at once, at the last desk in the back, a few wild strands popping out from under the hoodie. The kid was sitting in the back row, alone, earplugs in his ears, seemingly obvious to the chattering around him. He was doodling in a textbook, not even lifting his head as Kakashi made his way to his own desk and dropped his books loudly on its surface.
"Alright, let's begin", he drawled, toying with the chalk he'd just picked up. "Pass your assignments to the front."
He quickly assessed the rest of the classroom and spotted those who'd forgotten all about said assignment. Once he’d let his gaze linger on those students until they gulped and squirmed to a satisfactory degree in their chairs, Kakashi turned his attention back to the new kid. He was still blissfully ignorant of the looks his classmates were throwing him. Kakashi took his time collecting the stacks of papers from the front desks, then strolled leisurely to where the blond was seated. A few murmurs and sniggers could be heard, students following their teacher's every move with a mix of amusement and apprehension.
Kakashi stopped in front of the blond's desk, staring down at him. He had a hard time reconciling the loud, vibrant teen he’s seen with this quiet, almost withdrawn kid. Up close, the sweater looked even worse. It had obviously been ripped and patched up multiple times and had gotten its fair share of bad weather.
Kakashi bent down slowly, squatting until pools of endlessly blue skies finally stared right back at him. The pen came to an abrupt stop.
Kakashi reached for the wire of an earplug and pulled.
"No music while I teach, sunshine boy."
There was a pause, then-
"Ah! The park guy!" Naruto threw himself backward so violently the back of his head hit the wall. He winced, rubbing at his skull and disturbing the hoodie at the same time.
He was looking at Kakashi like he couldn't believe it.
Kakashi pushed himself back up. He removed his reading glasses, cleaning them on his shirt with deliberate movements. The clock ticked. The students held their breath.
Kakashi put his glasses on again.
‘’Hello again, Naruto,’’ Kakashi said with a sweet smile under his mask. He leaned his hands on the desk, immensely enjoying the teen's discomfort. "As I recall, we had an unusual first meeting."
And ah, there it was, the flicker of recollection in those clear eyes.
Naruto went ghostly pale.
"Nice to meet you, Naruto. I'm the guy who reads at the park every Sunday morning."
"Cool." Naruto leaned in slightly, lips half-moving around the hushed words. "I'm the guy who imagines the teachers naked so I won't feel intimidated by them."
Naruto silently mouthed a word usually not tolerated on school grounds.
Kakashi's grin grew. Apparently, Naruto remembered too.