Eyes darting around the little BBQ joint Hiro invited him and Kakashi to, Minato can't help but feel they are beset on all sides by potential threats. Which is stupid. The old guys eating in the corner only glanced at them once when they came in. The waitress barely paid them enough attention to sit them down at a table. She's not even shown up with drinks for them yet — she's much more concerned with flirting with somebody Minato can't see inside the BBQ's kitchen. Just one person is staring steadily at them — a Nara kid who's probably a year or two older than Kakashi. Even then, he is frequently distracted by a dark-haired teenager (a sister?) sniping at him to eat or being kicked by a child Kakashi's age who is talking almost nonstop at them.

This is nothing like the shops. Or the couple of places near his apartment he's tried to eat at with Kakashi. This place, according to Hiro, is a shinobi establishment. A guy his teacher knows opened the place after he was forced into early retirement. While civilians wander in now and again, it's mostly shinobi or their families who eat here. This knowledge should make it possible for him to relax but instead, he feels even more uncertain. Is it really better than a civilian-run place? Is somebody going to say something about Sakumo? Will they have to make a hasty exit?

"Minato! Kakashi!" bellows his friend as he enters the BBQ joint.

His shouting earns him glowers from all of the other patrons (except for the kid who's been staring at Kakashi) and has the waitress reappearing to sneer at Hiro. Bustling over to him and Asuma who is hiding just behind him, she asks, "Can I help you?"

"My friend's already here," answers Hiro with a guileless grin. He juts his thumb in Minato's direction and the displeased stares refocus on him. He sinks low in his seat, embarrassed. At least if they have to hurry out of here it won't be because of Kakashi.

The waitress glances at them. "I see," she replies clipped. "I'll be by with menus soon." She then lets Hiro and Asuma brush past her. Before they can sit down, the kid from across the joint scrambles from his seat.

"Asuma!"

Hiro's little brother twists around to beam. "Daen," he returns. "How are you?"

The boy rolls his eyes. "Y'know," he replies. "Mom and Dad are busy so I gotta spend the day with my cousins." He lowers his voice. "They are such drags."

"We are not!" hollers the smaller boy.

The teenager, most likely a sister to the little boy, reaches over the table to give him a shake. "Maen, shush!" she hisses. "Daen, get back here," she orders. "I'm sick of your attitude."

Daen pouts at his cousin. "Aw, but Asuma's my classmate."

The girl grinds her teeth. "And he's busy," she replies. "See he's about to eat with his friends?"

The boy looks right at Kakashi. "They aren't friends. No one likes Hatakes."

Minato bites his tongue. He wants to say something truly mean to the kid as the smaller boy, Maen, nods along to his cousin's words. He's pretty sure that wouldn't go over well with Daen's minder. Then again, she's turning a pretty shameful red. She might be feeling too embarrassed that the kids are regurgitating something she (or possibly their parents) said to them to care.

Before he can find something scathing to spit at the boy, Asuma jumps to Kakashi's rescue. "I do!" he argues. "Or I wanna," he corrects. Looking over at Kakashi with something close to shyness, he tells him, "Hiro said after lunch we'd go back to our place and you'd play shogi with me."

Kakashi who's gone so very still upon becoming the center of Daen's argument with his cousin, slowly turns his head to meet Asuma's wide-eyed gaze. "Sure," he answers. "If you don't care you'll lose anyway."

Minato suppresses a groan. Why did Kakashi have to say that to Asuma? Now Hiro's brother will—

"Haha!" laughs Asuma, apparently entirely unbothered by Kakashi's rudeness. "I won't. Just be ready to explain your strategies afterward. My dad promised he'd play me the next time he comes home in time for dinner. He's who I wanna beat!"

Minato stares in wonder at Asuma as the boy crawls up on the bench next to Kakashi. His student looks far less uncomfortable than he did just a minute ago. As he settles himself, Asuma asks Kakashi, "What are you excited to eat? Hiro promised he'd order us pork belly! That's what I want."

"…Mushrooms," Kakashi answers after a beat.

The boy wrinkles his nose. "You like vegetables?" he says. "That's so weird."

"Asuma!" Hiro scolds as he slides in next to Minato. "Sorry about him," he apologizes while sending a glare at his now pouting brother.

Minato laughs. "It's not a big deal," he replies. He looks at his student. "Right?" he prompts, hoping his pleading eyes are enough to get Kakashi to let the little slight go.

Kakashi shrugs. "Yeah," he agrees to Minato's relief. "Besides," he continues, "it's a fungus not a vegetable."

"What?" sputters Asuma with a bewildered blink. "What's a fungus?"

Kakashi's eyes crinkle at the corners and Minato grinds his teeth. He just knows this is going to turn into a very long lunch. One they possibly will eat very little of.

Eyes closed, Minato listens with a small smile as Kakashi breaks down the latest strategy he used to beat Asuma at Shogi. The older boy is listening. Occasionally, he breaks in over Kakashi's explanation to ask a rather intelligent question. Hiro's little brother might not be a genius like Kakashi (or even his own father) but he is no slouch either. The kid's got a strong, analytical mind. One day he'll be a formidable shinobi in his own right.

He's interrupted from his thoughts by a gentle jostling of his shoulders. Minato opens his eyes and looks sideways to see his friend smirking at him. "See?" says Hiro. "They're getting along great."

He huffs. "All right," he relents. "They are. Thank you for insisting we all hang out."

Hiro sighs happily and leans more heavily into Minato. "Anytime, man," he says. "I care about you, y'know?"

Minato pats his arm. "I do."

Thanks so much for reading and please let me know your thoughts!