Kakashi coughs wetly into the fur coat of Shiba and buries himself deeper when cold fingers brush over the nape of his neck. "Stop," he grouches.

To his right, Minato-Sensei sighs. "I just wanted to see if your fever is coming down."

He peeks up from Shiba's fur and over Pakkun, who's draped himself over his shoulders to act as a tiny heated shawl. All of his dogs are smaller now. They, like him, are puppies. If he wasn't feeling so miserable right now, he'd probably enjoy getting to roll around with his baby ninken. They were really cute once.

"Is it?" he demands of his teacher.

The blond teenager winces. "A bit," he answers.

Miserable, Kakashi lets his head fall back down on Shiba's back and groans.

"Some thirtieth birthday, huh?" comments Minato. "You're not only turning seven for a second time but sick too."

Kakashi has to agree with his teacher's assessment. It really is some birthday. He doesn't remember being sick when he turned seven last time. Then again, Kakashi doesn't remember a lot of his childhood. Most of his life pre-sixteen was pretty miserable and he's done a lot to block out the worst of it. He'd probably willed this day right out of his mind. Then again, he may have caught it in the archives or exploring places he shouldn't have been the last month too, changing the past.

He scowls and squeezes his eyes shut.

Minato, still sitting with him (though he doesn't have to. Kakashi would be fine if he wanted to do something less boring), comments, "I had to tell Kushina to cancel the cake. I doubt you want it now, huh?"

He doesn't answer, just sighs.

Unaffected by his lack of reply, his teacher admits, "As it happens, I had a little surprise for you. I told Kushina to invite her friend Mikoto and ask if she'd mind bringing Obito with her."

Kakashi turns his head a little at that and peers at the shinobi through fuzzy eyes. "Obito?" he repeats.

Minato nods. "They're cousins," he answers.

"All Uchiha are," Kakashi points out.

His teacher chuckles. "You have a point," he replies. "They're closer than some," he corrects. "I think they're second cousins twice or third removed."

Usually, Kakashi would be able to calculate the numbers and think of the actual statistics to prove that wasn't close at all. Today, his brain is too hot and cotton-like for it. So, instead, he just listens as Sensei yammers on.

"I thought it might be nice," Minato-Sensei explains. "You know Obito, obviously, but I felt maybe you'd like the chance for your first meeting this time not to be on a training ground where you have to compete."

"Hm," replies Kakashi. Actually, he has to admit, that would have been nice. Maybe they would have gotten off to a better foot. It's too bad that won't be happening. He'll just have to try not to be too annoyed by Obito trying to prove himself and his "superiority" over a "baby" like Kakashi. He frowns. That's going to be hard, he thinks. Dealing with so many adults trying to treat him as a child has worn his patience very thin as it is.

A quiet settles over them then and he hears Minato pick up some papers. He's not sure if he's doing paperwork or taking notes from something, but the sound of it rustling and the brush of a pen is actually very comforting. Kakashi starts to drift into a doze, but, it's abruptly ended when a knocking resounds from the front of Minato's apartment.

"I'll get it," he says like Kakashi is even in a state to move.

Minato pads out of the room and he starts to feel his eyes droop close. However, they snap back open when Minato returns to his bedroom with a familiar boy's voice trailing after him.

"—oto thought it might help! It's an Uchiha specialty and really clears out your sinuses."

"That was very kind of your cousin," replies Minato as Kakashi wriggles to get out from under his dogs. When he's sitting up, he squints over by the door to see that Minato is standing there with a bowl and spoon, and a ten-year-old Obito.

They both look at him then.

"Ah, you're awake," says Minato with a small smile. He holds up the bowl. "Look what Mikoto had Obito here bring you."

The last thing Kakashi wants to do is eat, but he knows he must. It would be rude not to. "Oh," he says. "That's… nice."

Obito smiles at him. His eyes are bright and eager and Kakashi feels his heart ache at the sight. This is how he remembers Obito best. This is how he wants him to always be. He's glad he already got Sensei to promise not to leave them alone on the Kannabi Bridge mission. Hopefully, it will be enough to save Obito from the dark path he ended up walking.

The boy waves. "Hi," he says, "you're the birthday boy, aren't you?" He chuckles. "My cousin told me you're seven today."

"Technically," he replies and Obito's expression becomes slightly confused while Minato flashes him a look of warning. It's one thing for Kushina to know the truth, but entirely another to tell a boy who's just been made a genin.

Minato comes over and gently shoos back his ninken so he can place the bowl in Kakashi's lap. "Would you like company while you eat?" he asks him.

Kakashi shrugs, causing the soup to slosh. When he'd really been seven, Kakashi had been less concerned with hiding his face. The older he'd grown, the more he looked like his father… Hiding it had become a way to force from his mind that they were related. Then, by the time he began to forgive his dad, he was just so used to wearing it always and had built up such a level of mystique, he'd left it be.

Minato kneels next to him. "Come here, Obito," he says to the boy. "We can chat a little."

"Oh, sure!" agrees Obito, hurrying to comply.

As Kakashi pulls down his mask, Obito stares at him for a long, searching minute. Finally, he says, "…Don't I know you?"

He nods. "I'm pretty sure I beat you in sparring at the Academy before I graduated."

Obito's eyes widen. "Gradu—" he cuts himself short and pounds a fist on a knee. "That's right! You're that prodigy." His expression turns sulky as Kakashi takes his first taste of the soup. It makes his eyes water but in a good way.

"Hm," he replies. "I guess."

Obito continues to pout as Kakashi eats. "What's that like?" he asks. "Being the best?"

Kakashi finishes his mouthful of soup and turns his head to meet Obito's eyes. "There are lots of better ninja," he chides him. He looks at his teacher, who's biting his lip, clearly unsure how to fix what's happening. "Sensei, for one," he tells Obito. "Plus, I've met plenty of ninjas who weren't prodigies and are still the best at what they do."

The boy scoffs and Kakashi frowns. "Really," he insists. "Jiraiya, Minato-sensei's teacher, wasn't the best on his team, was he?"

Minato blinks. "Uh, no," he answers. "Orochimaru and Tsunade could beat him at most everything…"

Kakashi looks at Obito. "See?" he presses.

Obito doesn't look entirely convinced, but that's fine because Minato, seems to have found his footing. "Even now I think Jiraiya-Sensei's old teammates could beat him if they fought him together," he tells Obito. "But Jiraiya is still one the best shinobi to ever come from our village."

Slowly, the boy nods and Kakashi puts his nearly empty soup bowl aside on the table next to his bed and curls up back among his ninken. He's feeling slightly better now that he can breathe through his nose, but also quite tired. "Sensei," he complains, "go talk somewhere else. I want to sleep."

His teacher smiles and reaches over to ruffle his hair. "You brat," he teases. "Fine, we'll go."

Getting up, Minato ushers Obito to the door. "Come on," he says to his soon-to-be-student. "I'll make us some tea and tell you a story or two about my sensei."

"Really?" says Obito brightly. "You'd do that?"

Minato laughs. "Of course!" he says. "After you were so nice to help Mikoto and wish 'Kashi a happy birthday, I think the least I can do is tell you a story."

As their voices grow more muffled, and finally, disappear altogether, Kakashi drifts off into his first warm, easy sleep in a couple of days.

Thank you so much for reading and let me know your thoughts!