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Sakura sat on the stool at Ichiraku and quietly picked at her ramen. This is so awkward, she thought, kicking lightly at the counter below the bar with her foot. They'd already talked about Naruto, and about Sakura's training with Tsunade, and were both blatantly avoiding the topic of Sasuke.
Sakura frowned into her ramen. Why would Iruka even invite her out for ramen? This is just so WEIRD, ugh, I don't even care if it's rude - I'm just asking. “Iruka-sensei,” Sakura asked, poking at the egg in her soup with a chopstick, “Why did you invite me to join you?”
“Ahhhaha, well…” Sakura looked up to see Iruka smiling in that embarrassed way Naruto always did when he was in trouble. “You see, Naruto asked me before he left- to spend time with certain people. People he cares about, I think. And you're one of those people, Sakura.”
“I see.” Sakura tapped her chopsticks against her bowl and took a bite while surreptitiously watching Iruka out of the corner of her eye. She knew he and Naruto were close, that Iruka was the closest thing to a dad or brother that Naruto ever had. “He cares about you, too, you know.”
Iruka smiled softly down at his ramen and said, “I know. I worry for him, what his training is like, whether he's okay.”
“I'm sure he worries about you, too.” Sakura said the words by rote, without really thinking about them, but then stopped to consider. Naruto probably did worry about Iruka. Maybe these ramen assignments were just as much to make sure he was watched over and taken care of, too. Naruto, you little sneak, she thought.
It was a sweet idea, really. Naruto making sure all the people he cared about would watch out for each other while he was gone. Sweet but AWKWARD, she thought, sending a mental glare at Naruto, wherever he was. She hoped he felt it and slipped into a lake or something.
Sakura was racking her brain for something else, anything else to talk about when there was a shuffle of movement, a voice saying, “Iruka,” and Kakashi was standing behind Iruka’s stool.
Sakura watched as Iruka turned around on the stool to face Kakashi who said, “I have a mission, I'm sorry.”
Iruka nodded and said, “Come back safe.” It was all a little strange - Kakashi reporting to Iruka before leaving on a mission, the tone of Iruka’s voice. But it quickly got much stranger.
Kakashi leaned forward, pulled his mask down, and pressed his lips to Iruka’s in a kiss. Sakura squeaked, slapped a hand over her mouth, and sharply turned back to her ramen, blushing furiously into the bowl.
A moment later when she looked up, Kakashi was gone, and Iruka was looking at her. Her face must have been pretty appalling right then, because Iruka gave a little laugh and said, “Yeah, he surprised me with that one, too.” He lifted a hand to brush his fingers across his lips, and Sakura caught sight of a small, pleased smile.
Sakura vaguely thought, I doubt Naruto expected THAT if he asked Iruka to spend time with Kakashi, too. She scooted her stool closer and leaned in to say, “Sensei, we have SO MUCH to talk about,” with a wicked grin.