"Naruto take the register I'm going on break," Shikamaru droned in his ear and Naruto grumbled, quickly shelving some of the books in his hand before walking briskly to the counter. He liked Shikamaru well enough, they had a few gen ed classes together, but he was a bit lazy and always managed to time his breaks when they were busy. He nearly dropped the remaining books he was holding when he saw the familiar form slouching at the cash wrap.

Shit.

It wasn't like he had been avoiding Kakashi for the last few weeks, but he was. He wasn't sure what had compelled him to give him Jiraiya's new book, but he had seen how dog-eared Paradise was and it seemed like a good idea. He had planned to wait for Christmas because maybe then they would know each other better and it wouldn't be awkward but then he had happened to see a certain Hatake Kakashi in the customer registry and that was where the good idea turned… not so good. There was no reason for him to know Kakashi's birthday, which was a fact that he realized the second he had left the guy, dazed, in the quad. He had rushed back to the dorm, hoping that he could pass it off as seeing it on the calendar Obito had in the hall, but it wasn't even on that for some reason! So here Naruto was, facing a crisis. Maybe he won't make the connection? he hoped.

"I didn't know you worked here." Naruto jumped, not realizing that he had turned around, eyes flicking up to meet gray ones. Kakashi looked just as casual as always, hands tucked in his pockets under his slightly baggy shirt and he assumed he wore that usual bored expression under the facemask he was wearing.

"Uh, hey Kakashi!" He greeted affably, trying to keep his cool and feeling like he was failing as those calculating eyes seemed to watch his every move. This guy can be seriously intimidating!

"You know, I'm pretty sure getting my birthday out of the database has to break some kind of privacy law," he drawled, one gray eyebrow raising. Shit.

"I like to think of it as a perk?" He tried, flashing a grin at him, Kakashi didn't look like he bought it, but he also didn't look mad, not that he could really tell. "I mean, it's kinda like an advance on my inheritance or something, since-"

"Jiraiya owns the place," Kakashi finished for him.

"Exactly!" He beamed.

"I've never seen you here before," he leaned against the counter as Naruto started to ring up his books which surprisingly didn't contain any type of cheesy romance novels.

"I worked at the one outside of the city during high school," he shrugged casually. Jiraiya had opened the stores a few years ago as a way to settle down and take care of him after his parents died. "What's with the mask?" Kakashi blinked at the change in topic. "You gonna pull a heist or something?"

"A heist?" He said blankly.

"Y'know, like in a movie," he rolled his eyes. He was starting to wonder if maybe Kakashi lived in a cave, it might explain his love for Icha Icha.

"It's almost flu season," Kakashi intoned and Naruto laughed.

"It's October!"

"Yes, well my body is like a microchip." It was Naruto's turn to blink at him.

"Did you just quote that tv show?" He asked, he had a feeling he was smirking under the black fabric. But Naruto was more shocked at the joke.

"Maybe," he shrugged, grabbing his bag from Naruto's outstretched hand. "See you around." He threw a wave over his shoulder and disappeared in the shelves. Naruto leaned against the countertop, Kakashi was strange but he kind of liked it. He was tempted to ask Sasuke about him, but he knew that would result in the 'figure it out yourself idiot' look that he hated so much.

"Oi kid!" He jumped as a heavy hand landed on his shoulder.

"When did you get here?" He asked, looking up his godfather's smirking face.

"Long enough to see whatever that was. Who was that?" He asked, roughly ruffling his hair.

"Argh, get off," he groaned, swatting at his hand. "It was no one," he lied, knowing that Jiraiya would snoop or make fun of him.

"Was that the person who you begged to give the book too?" Jiraiya teased, and Naruto cringed for a moment before catching himself.

"I have work to do," he said stiffly, grabbing the books he was working on putting back again.

"Oh-ho maybe I should go chase him down, give him my autograph since he's such a fan," Jiraiya teased, following him down the aisle. "He has good taste; I'll give him that."

"Shut up," he grumbled.

"I must say this is refreshing though kid," the man continued, and Naruto did his best to ignore him. "Usually, you make your friends by fighting with them first. My little Naruto is all grown up," he sniffled dramatically.

"I did not fight with all my friends," Naruto bristled.

"No?" Jiraiya prodded, raising an eyebrow down at him. "Let's see, there was Sasuke, that Hyuga, oh and that weird kid from Suna," he listed.

"Agh okay, okay," he waved him off. So, what if he got into a lot of fights when he was a kid? It had been a phase, and it wasn't like anything bad had actually happened. "I don't do that anymore. Did you come all the way here to annoy me, old man?"

"It's always a bonus," Jiraiya smirked, reaching out to ruffle his hair again, softer this time. "But I thought you mighta missed me brat." Naruto grunted as his arm wrapped around his shoulders. He had kind of missed him, even though the man had settled down significantly in the last six years for him, he had started traveling again when Naruto moved into the dorm. It was getting close to that time of year too…

"Yeah maybe I did," he admitted with a sigh.

"Come on, aren't you done? We'll get ramen. Maybe I'll write that autograph for you huh? Hey, here's an idea, I'll give you a few to hand out," he pondered.

"No one wants your autograph you old perv!" He yelled, and Jiraiya threw his head back and laughed.

"Let's go, you brat," he chuckled, shoving him toward the exit.


AN: I know the chapters are short but I kinda like it that way for now. They will get longer.

The show Kakashi was referencing was Parks and Recreation

Hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year!

PS: thanks for pointing out that weird formatting thing where it doubled! This site is weird sometimes