"Kakashi…" Minato warns as the boy in question dodges another swipe from the brush in his hand.
His student huffs and glares up at him. "It's fine," he replies. "You've already brushed it fourteen times."
Minato grinds his teeth. "Yeah, but your bangs are still falling in your eyes," he argues. "We can't see the Hokage with you looking like a sheepdog."
The boy kicks his feet. The rickety kitchen chair he sits in rocks perilously from the motion. Minato, who is quickly losing patience and does not want to deal with the possibility of a cracked head today, grabs the seat and holds it steady. "I like sheepdogs," declares Kakashi.
He closes his eyes and counts to five. Slowly. When Minato opens them again, he replies, "I'm happy for you. You, though, are not a sheepdog. You are a little boy and need to look neat for tea."
Kakashi pouts so hard it's visible through his mask. "We're shinobi!" he argues. "Shinobi aren't s'pposed to look neat."
He snorts. When they are shinobi after a battle or mission that might be true. However, that's not the case in this instance. In a couple of more days, they will mark the month-anniversary of Sakumo's— Of Kakashi coming to stay with him. This tea is the Sandaime's way of checking in on the two of them. He will also with no doubt use it to judge whether they are ready to be put back on active duty.
Minato wants them to look like they're doing okay. They are doing okay. Being cooped up in the village isn't serving either of them. Even now that they're training every day, he and his student are twitchy. It doesn't help that there are still so many hostile eyes following Kakashi every time they walk the streets. Minato's given up on taking Kakashi into stores after he overheard someone insult him when he asked the boy to run an aisle over for something. Only the fact it was a civilian and not a fellow shinobi who said it is why they left the store with all their teeth.
A mission — whether it's a dinky D-Rank that has them out plowing the fields just past Konoha's walls or some kind of C or even B-Rank one where they deliver information or people somewhere — would do them wonders. Kakashi might even lose some of his growing slouch if out from under the scrutiny of their fellow villagers for a while.
"Please," Minato ends up wheedling. "I'll let you stay up late an hour tonight to read or whatever if you cooperate."
Kakashi squints and tilts his head. "Deal," he agrees.
Minato grins in victory but before he can reach forward with the brush again, Kakashi thrusts out his palm. "Gimme my hitai-ate," he demands.
The smile slips and he feels something dubious bubble up over his skin. Still. Minato does as his little master demands. Kakashi tips his head back once he has the hitai-ate in his grasp and ties it in such a way his bangs are held back by it.
Minato stares. "That works?" he murmurs dumbly. "The bangs in front have been a choice?" He's going to owe Kushina a bowl of ramen now. He had been so certain that Kakashi wasn't choosing to let his bangs fall in front of his eyes; why would he? They have the potential to inhibit his vision and his dear, little overachiever of a student surely wouldn't allow that lest it stop him from being the best six-year-old shinobi ever.
Kakashi ignores him in favor of hopping off his chair. Trotting past Minato, he turns around to look at him as he stands between the kitchen and living area. There is uncertainty in the way he holds himself. "Sensei," Kakashi starts.
"Yeah?" he encourages as the boy falls silent.
Kakashi drops his gaze to his toes. They furl and unfurl absently. "D'you think Lord Hokage will put us back on the mission roster after tea?" he asks.
Minato breathes out. He's done his best to make this tea sound like a social visit but it seems Kakashi's seen right through him. He shakes his head ruefully. It was naive of Minato to think he could hide the true reason for this meeting.
"It's possible," he replies. He walks to Kakashi's side. Kneeling down, he places a hand on the boy's slim shoulder and smiles. "Let's not focus on that, alright? Remember, I'm the student of his student. Sometimes the sandaime really does just like to check up on me." Minato laughs. "I think it's Jiraiya-Sensei's way of making sure I'm doing as well as I tell him in my letters!"
Kakashi squares his chin. "I see," he says. "You should change your pants then. There's some stains on the, uh, backside."
Minato jumps up and twists to try to look. It's futile, however. He's only going to see the marks when he pulls them off. "What!" he exclaims. "How?"
His student tucks his hands behind his back. "The stainer from the markers I used on the chair wasn't quite dry when you sat on it at breakfast," he mumbles guiltily.
He can only think of one reason his student would need to use stain markers on the kitchen chairs. Minato clenches his teeth to dam a shout of frustration. Minato likes Kakashi. Adores him. Couldn't live without him.
Despite his breadth of fondness for Kakashi, Minato loses the fight with his temper. Pulling his lips back into a sneer, he snaps, "How many times do I have to tell you your ninken do not belong on the furniture!"
"I'm sorry!" Kakashi shouts at him as he spins around to go and change his pants.
He waves it off with a hand in the air. "Now we're going to be late," he complains. "If we don't get put back on the mission roster this will be your fault, you hear me?"
Louder, Kakashi repeats himself, "Sorry, Minato-Sensei!"
Minato ignores him for the time being. Kakashi deserves to sweat a little. He thinks he's been very gracious this last month. He hasn't asked much of Kakashi outside of following a few simple rules. The fact he hasn't is deeply frustrating. Especially now that it could impact whether they'll be put back on the missions roster. Hopefully, the sandaime is in a forgiving mood when they arrive.
Thank you all so much for reading and please let me know your thoughts!