Interlude

Ramen Misadventure

Kakashi yawned for the umpteenth time that night, watching the other students mill about on the grass, huddling together against the chill. It had been a pleasant night until the fire alarm started going off, he wished he had thought to grab Icha Icha on the way out, it always took a while for the firemen to clear the building.

"I'm sorry okay!" He turned as he heard a familiar voice shout, eyes landing on the blonde's back as he waved his arms. Next to him was a fuming Sasuke and a girl with pink hair that looked vaguely familiar. "It's not like I meant to do it!"

"Maa, what was that?" He asked, stepping up behind him. Naruto whirled around, cringing as he met Kakashi's eyes.

"Nothing, nothing at all!" He lied badly, voice going high as he scratched the back of his head.

"Didn't sound like nothing," Kakashi said and Naruto squirmed under his gaze.

"It was an accident!" Naruto whined, caving in. "I just forgot to…" the rest of the sentence was lost in an incoherent mumble. "God, Jiraiya's gonna kill me!" He groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"Calm down," he sighed. "What did you do?"

"Yeah, Naruto, what did you do?" The pink-haired girl piped in with a smile and Naruto threw a glare at her.

"I was making cup ramen, because I was studying, y'know, and I got hungry, and I dunno, I guess I was more tired than I thought and I just kinda forgot to… add water," his face was burning red by the time he had finished and Kakashi blinked, not understanding what that had to do with the fire alarm. "I didn't know it'd catch fire in the microwave!" He blinked again, the situation finally clicking.

"You set the dorm on fire with cup ramen?" He asked, massaging his temples.

"It wasn't a fire fire! It was more like a… like a smolder," he said weakly, shoulders drooping as he deflated. "I got it out." He almost felt bad when he saw the dejected look on his face, it reminded him of a puppy he had as a kid. He sighed wearily, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his sweats.

"Don't worry about it," he shrugged, and Naruto's face lit up.

"What'd'you mean?" Naruto asked, tipping up into his space so that Kakashi had to lean back. "You're gonna cover for me?" Kakashi quirked an eyebrow at him. "I love you!" He grunted and staggered as arms wrapped around his neck.

"Off," he strained, hands hovering over warm sides.

"Sorry, sorry," Naruto was pushing away with a sheepish laugh, a flush high on his cheeks. Kakashi coughed, stepping back. "Thanks, Kakashi!" He beamed and Kakashi shrugged again, looking away and suddenly feeling uncomfortable under the intensity of it. "Can we forget this ever happened?"

"Maa, I suppose, but you owe me," he turned on his heel before he could answer, throwing a wave over his shoulder when he heard the indignant sound of protest behind him. It might be fun to mess with him for a while.


Fun fact: this is based on a somewhat true story. When I was in college and living in a dorm, the fire alarm went off and when we were let back into the building the resident director was standing in the entryway holding this smoldering, indistinct pile of ash. Someone had cup ramen and stuck it in the microwave for three minutes, except they had purposefully left the water out for reasons I do not know. But the styrofoam cup caught fire, so the lesson here kids is: don't stick the styrofoam cup in the microwave without water (I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to microwave those ramen cups anyway but anywho)

Sorry about the super-shortness, this wasn't what I had intended next but the next chapter wasn't done and I wanted to get something out before the holiday, so here's a short interlude.

Happy Holidays everyone! Stay safe.