At some point, I thought of the dialogue "Sorry/Excuse him, being thirteen isn't agreeing with him". It was hilarious to me. Upon trying to build context (and, later a story) around that line I came to this conclusion:

It had to be said by Minato and it had to be about Kakashi.

The more I played with that, the clearer it became this would have to be an AU story where Minato lives. So, that's what this is. A story set in an AU where Minato survived the Attack but not Kushina. I don't want to get into reasons for any of that stuff but that's the bit of context needed to best understand this odd little fic.

Enjoy!

Minato is awash with shame. It isn't a new feeling. But it has been some time since he's last seen his old friend at least. And not this strongly since Naruto invented his Sexy Technique when he was thirteen.

He wishes to be a squirrel. Or perhaps, a bird. He's always liked the idea of flying (though the idea of eating bugs doesn't much appeal to Minato). Either way, he wouldn't have the awareness to feel shame. Which, if he's being honest with himself, Minato'd really like right now.

In an effort to salvage the situation, Minato shapes his lips into his most charming smile. The old Sandaime, Tsunade, and Shizune stare back, unimpressed. He feels his smile weaken.

Not looking at the small body beside him, Minato deftly finds the shoulder of it and curls his fingers around it. "I'm sorry," he says on behalf of the boy he grips. "Being thirteen isn't agreeing with him,"

Kakashi growls low.

Minato squeezes hard.

Thankfully, his student shuts up.

"Uh-huh," replies Tsunade with narrowed eyes. "It's been noticed."

Minato wants to cringe. Yeah, it has been. It's why they're here. Like the days of old, Minato searches desperately for an excuse. "Look—"

Hiruzen raises a hand, palm out, and Minato closes his mouth with a clack. Weathered face grave, the old Sandaime remarks, "Perhaps, for the time being, it would be best you keep your student with you at all times."

Kakashi tenses and, in response, so does Minato. "I don't need a babysitter!" spits his student before Minato can get a palm over his masked mouth.

Shizune and Tsunade exchange looks while Hiruzen huffs, partly amused, partly tired. "Maybe I would agree with you if I didn't have reports on this desk of multiple casualties with broken bones and contusions," he says.

Kakashi crosses his arms and drops his gaze to the ground. "Wouldn't have 'em if they backed off when I told them to," he grumbles.

Minato winces. Kakashi sounds more and more like his petulant thirteen-year-old self by the minute. He wonders what kind of impression he's giving others. Mostly, he had it together at twenty-four. He'd been still a little too self-deprecating in some respects but he was over the worst of his social timidity. Minato is so relieved they haven't ended up any younger. Things would be much, much worse if they had both ended up under twenty.

"Hiruzen, you don't have to do anything with those reports," Minato tells the other shinobi. "I can take care of them when this is fixed."

The old man shakes his head. "It's all right. A few days of paperwork is more than manageable," he assures as he gathers said reports together into a stack. Hiruzen looks over his shoulder with fondness at his own student, whom Naruto has persuaded to return to the Konoha after a run-in with her during his travels with Jiraiya-Sensei. "Tsunade tells me she and Shizune should have a solution within the week." Hiruzen smirks then. "Think of this as something of a vacation, Minato."

In spite of how not-funny the remark is, Minato laughs. A vacation. Yeah, right. Minato's going to need one more than ever after this is over.

-O-

Kakashi watches him drag out the futon from his closet and take it out onto the balcony. As Minato picks up a broom to beat the dust from it, Kakashi leans against the open doorway of Minato's balcony and says, "You're gonna make me stay here?"

"It's what the Sandaime ordered," Minato reminds the boy between whacks to the futon. Another one or two and it should be fine. It hasn't been tucked in the closet for too long. Just the better part of a year.

Kakashi slouches. "You're the Hokage," he grumbles. "He can't tell you what to do."

Minato huffs, amused. "Maybe so but often Hiruzen's advice is often sound," he says. Satisfied with his work, Minato drags the futon back into his room and lays it out on the floor just feet from his bed. "You're fine sleeping in here with me, aren't you?" he asks as Kakashi glowers at him. "It'll be like when you were little!"

Kakashi sniffs. "I hope you don't snore anymore," he says.

"Wha—" Minato starts only to shake his head. "I've never snored!" he decries. "Kushina would have said!"

Kakashi gingerly steps around the futon and goes to stand beside the bedroom door; his arms are crossed and eyebrows high on his forehead. "You think she would have noticed? Kushina was somebody who could sleep through explosions, Minato-Sensei."

He flushes. His student isn't wrong. Kushina could when she was in the village and safe. "Why am I only finding this out now?" Minato asks as he trails after the boy into the hallway.

Kakashi shrugs. "Thought somebody would have told you already," says Kakashi. "You were old when you became my teacher."

"Old!" Minato yelps, offended. "I was sixteen!"

His student gives him a flat look before he turns his full attention to the front door of Minato's home. He furrows his brows, confused. "Kakashi?" he asks.

The boy sighs, aggrieved before he yanks open Minato's door to reveal a party of shinobi on the other side. "Back for more, are you?" he drawls at the group, arms crossed over his chest in faux-casualness.

"Oh shit, oh shit," a chūnin by the name of Hagane Kotetsu chants; eyes wide and wild as he blindly grasps for his friend (and one of Minato's most frequent guards), Genma. "You weren't kidding," Kotetsu says as he turns his head left to look at Genma and then at his fellow chūnin, Kamizuki Izumo, on his right.

Genma smirks only to grimace when it twinges the bruise on his cheek (no doubt it's the work of Kakashi from earlier in the day).

Another of the group, a kunoichi, Mitirashi Anko, bursts into howling laughter. Minato can't help but tense up when Kakashi's jaw twitches at the kunoichi's reaction. "I'm gonna die," she gasps out with one arm wrapped around her stomach. She leans heavily into another kunoichi; a pretty young woman with purple hair. "Yūgao, hold me," she wheezes as the kunoichi instinctively twines her arms around the other woman's shoulders.

It's strange but Minato feels like the group is incomplete. While Kakashi is friendly with these five, they aren't who he'd call his old student's friends—

"Rival, you bring back so many memories of youthful challenges!" Gai cries with tears streaming down his face as he bursts out from behind the wall of shinobi. Asuma and Kurenai are at his shoulders, their own eyes gooey with nostalgia. Minutely, Minato relaxes. It doesn't slip his notice Kakashi does too.

"Urgh," complains Kakashi as he grabs the doorknob and starts to shut it.

"Whoa!" yelps Minato as he reaches over the boy to grab and hold the door still. He scowls down at his student who glares up at him. "What are you doing?" he demands.

Kakashi puffs out his cheeks. "What does it look like, Sensei? I'm getting rid of gawkers," he declares while the gaggle of shinobi watches them like they're a comedy on one of Konoha's stages.

He hates to admit it but Minato does understand Kakashi. The scrutiny of the last several hours has been intense. Even so, these people outside are friends (or friend-adjacent). It'd be terribly rude to turn them all away. Especially since Kakashi owes at least a couple of them some kind of apology for hurting them earlier.

"Absolutely not," he says as he shoves the door wide open and puts on his best host grin. "Hello, would you all care to come in?" he asks the gang.

Kakashi, just below his shoulder, huffs, "Minato-Sensei."

He puts a finger to his lips. "Hush," he orders. "They're your friends."

They fall into another short glaring contest. Kakashi, he is sure, is baring his teeth beneath his mask like a dog. It narrows his eyes and gives him a feral air. Minato doesn't let it deter him. He's out-stubborned this brat plenty of times.

Minato also has the upper hand in this case.

"This is my house," he reminds his old student with a sniff. "Anyone I want can come in."

Kakashi growls low before he shoves his hands in the pockets of his pants and spits like an insult, "I'll go put on the kettle."

Once the boy has turned and disappeared into the apartment, Minato returns his attention to the watching group. "Sorry, this has got him in the worst mood I've seen in years," he admits with an anxious laugh.

"Oh, we're aware," quips Izumo while waving around a casted arm.

Minato can't help the instinctive urge to apologize on behalf of his old student. "Sorry," he says with a wince.

Kotetsu scoffs as he hooks an arm around his buddy Izumo's neck. "What for? Hatake did it," he declares, gesturing at the cast. He smirks and assures Minato, "Anyway, we'll keep the teasing to a minimum."

He steps aside, allowing his fellow shinobi inside. "I'm sure my apartment will thank you for that," he jokes as they file past him.

Asuma, the last to pass Minato's threshold, pauses to clap him on the shoulder. As is often the case, Minato can't help but think of Asuma's brother Hiroaki when the younger shinobi's brown eyes glitter with levity. "Thanks for letting us in by the way!" he says. "The nostalgia of all of this is just—" He pauses and sighs with a broad palm pressed to his chest. "Ya know?" he asks.

"I do, actually," Minato agrees. He knows he's been affected by the unstable jutsu too but not half as much as Kakashi. Whether his old student likes it or not he packs a wallop for anybody around old enough to remember him and his surly little glower.

Asuma grins and starts to move forward again. Minato snags his elbow and holds Asuma in place as he shuts his front door with his heel. "I have the next few days off," he explains to the curious man. "Perhaps you could bring all of your teams around to let's say Training Field 11 and make a day of pitting them against Kakashi? I'm sure it will be very informative for everyone."

Asuma's eyes flutter wide. "…You know Minato I didn't take you to be a shit-stirrer," he remarks.

Minato laughs. "That'd be your mistake," he replies.

Though, Minato can't say he really saw himself as one when he was young. He'd just wanted to wear his high-strung students out. It wasn't until he was older and reminiscing one night at a bar with other shinobi who'd been teachers at the same time as him Minato realized all of the trouble he used to cause.

Frankly, Minato had been embarrassed at the discovery. The other shinobi had been delighted when they found out he'd been oblivious to the rivalries and animosity he'd created and fanned during their regularly scheduled exercises. It was a point of ribbing now when Minato found the rare night to go out and drink with even a couple of them.

Thankfully, because Minato's never had trouble poking fun at himself (unlike some grumpy students), he tells Asuma, "Ask your old teacher some time who it was that set up all our collaborative training sessions back in the day."

Asuma gapes. "No way."

-O-

Sakura collapses next to Minato, pink hair sticking to her sweaty face. Between puffs of air, she complains, "How is Sensei kicking our butts this well still?"

Minato suppresses a smile and remarks with faux-contrition, "This is my fault. You kids are shaping up to be great shinobi but he was taking down trained squads at this age."

Sakura, who's splayed out beside him, pushes herself up on her elbows in a hurry at his words. Sea-foam green eyes twice their usual side, she sputters, "What!"

Minato nods. "It's a real shame Naruto's training with Jiraiya-Sensei right now," he says, idly picking at a loose thread from his pants. "He's so good at clones. They may not be as challenging to fight as actual shinobi are but even Kakashi would find facing a few dozen of them to be difficult. Maybe, by the end, he'd even be tired."

"…Are you using us to tire out Kakashi-Sensei, Lord Namikaze?" asks Sakura with her mouth curled in displeasure.

He laughs. "Of course not!" Getting to his feet, he suggests, "Perhaps you would like some help with him? I know some of your teacher's weaknesses."

Sakura's lips curve up in excitement at his offer. "Yes, please," she chirps as she scrambles to her feet.

Minato nods. "Okay, let's call a break for lunch and I'll confer with you kids over it."

"Won't Kakashi notice us planning our attack?" asks Sakura, tilting her head in befuddlement.

He smirks. "I think he's going to be quite busy dealing with the other jōnin teachers. They all grew up together, did you know that? I have no doubts they will use this break to rib him about being thirteen. He won't even have the time to notice us conspiring."

Sakura, reassured by his words, says, "Oh that's great! I can't wait to give Sensei a run for his money!" Minato snickers and watches fondly as she darts off to call a time-out to her friends and Kakashi.

As she spreads the word, Kurenai makes herself known at Minato's side by ending a genjutsu that hid her in the tree he and Sakura had been resting beneath. "You've gotten soft in your old age," she jokes.

He hums. "Kakashi's looking a little too pleased with himself," he says. "It'll be good for him to be knocked down a peg." He looks out of the corner of his eyes at her. "Don't you agree?"

Kurenai laughs.

-O-

"I swear," huffs Minato as he bounces Kakashi higher on his back, "you do this every time."

Kakashi, cheek pressed to the back of Minato's neck, mumbles, "Do not."

Minato rolls his eyes. Kakashi can't see it but he's sure the kid doesn't need to. He can read it in the silence if the way his arms tighten around Minato's neck is any indication. "You could have let them win," he chides. "There was a squad of them. It wouldn't have been a shame to lose."

Kakashi 'hmphs' and sinks in Minato's hold. He can't stop the exasperated sigh that exits his lungs. "'Kashi," he scolds. "You're practically at half-power here."

"'S what you wanted, isn't it?" the thirteen-year-old grumbles. "I'm tired."

Minato only stumbles for a step. Of course Kakashi knew what today's training was for. He's not actually a kid even if he looks it. Shifting Kakashi a bit, he pats the boy's gray locks and apologizes, "Sorry, I didn't mean for it to go this far."

"Shoulda kept your secrets to yourself," he mumbles, words slurring more than ever. "Wouldn't be… wouldn' be so…"

"Shhh," Minato hushes, scrubbing his hand this time through Kakashi's hair. "I got you. Rest a bit, okay?"

Kakashi's head growing leaden on his nape is the only reply Minato gets. He isn't bothered. It in fact unfurls an old tenderness in his chest. It's been years since he's been able to do this for Kakashi. No, that isn't quite it. It's been years since his old student let him do this for him.

Apparently, being thirteen again has made it acceptable once more.

When Minato reaches his apartment, he juggles Kakashi with practiced hands and unlocks his door. Taking him into the living room, he slowly lowers the kid onto the couch. The boy cracks an eye open when his back hits the couch cushions. "Sensei?" he mumbles.

Minato smiles and smoothes back his fringe from his face. "'S all right," he assures. "Just putting you on the couch." Tugging the red blanket Kushina crocheted off the back of the couch, Minato tucks it around his student's shoulders. "Nap, okay?" he urges. "I'm going to make us some dinner."

Kakashi's open eye droops closed again. "Mhm," he hums as he curls onto his side, fingers twining in the fabric of the blanket.

He shakes his head and suppresses a chuckle. Minato always thinks his old student is cute, to one degree to another, but he's extra endearing now. He thinks Kakashi is just out of it enough that he could probably snap a picture if he wants.

Boy does Minato want to. Kakashi hated photos as a kid. He's pretty sure he has maybe twenty pictures of Kakashi from ages ten to sixteen. While he might not truly be a child now, it's close enough. Minato deliberates internally for a time. He never has to tell Kakashi about taking his picture— Or show it to anyone. It can be just for him to look at when he's feeling reflective.

Minato goes to get his camera.

And that's it! Tbh, I've had this story/series of snippets sitting in my files for ages. I don't think I'll ever write more for this idea or develop it into some other full-blown story. I hope you all liked what I had to share and enjoyed it for the silly little thing it is.

Let me know your thoughts and thank you so much for reading!