Forest Picnic
Happy Birthday Kakashi, you old hag! I love you very much in many aspects and as such, you get some fluff for the day. There will be enough angst other days :D
Team 7 Gen fic.
no warnings, just fluff and family feels.
3520 words.
Ao3 Link [x]
for @kakashiweek Day 5: Kakashi's Birthday.
The clock was ticking steadily forward, indicating the never ending stream of time. Kakashi watched with one of his eyes open lazily. He was laying on his side, the blanket pulled high over his nose. He had gone to bed hours ago, but then found no sleep. There was this part of him that knew he’d not have any sleep that night, he never did, not this specific one, but he had hoped it anyway.
Slowly, as if time was hesitating just as much as Kakashi was, the number 59 bled over into a double 00 and with it the little date at the bottom exchanged the 4 with a 5. The 15th of September. It was now officially his birthday.
He groaned.
It was not like Kakashi hated birthdays. He didn’t generally hate the concept of the event. He loved seeing friends get excited about presents he had bought them, he loved the food (if not the cakes) and the good company and the general cheerfulness. He liked the idea that there were humans out there that loved being alive so much that they celebrated it. He loved celebrating it with them.
But for himself? As a child of course he had loved the day, mid september, leaves slowly turning yellow and red with autumn coming in, when his father had given him a new special sword, or kunai or shuriken or taken him out for a special day somewhere. Back when he was still the innocent child he could now only see in pictures. That was before his father had died.
Afterwards, especially after Obito’s and Rin’s death, Kakashi had only used his birthday as a moment to remind himself of the years he was spending alive when he should be dead. Each one marked twelve more months of him surviving when he shouldn’t have survived. And while, eventually, with help of Tenzo and Gai, Asuma and others, he had started at least tolerating his birthday again, he still didn’t like it.
In some ways, it made it even worse, the well meaning friends around him. They were so hellbent on making his birthday a success lately, that Kakashi just wanted to hide from them almost as much as he wanted to hide from the day itself. He loved them, of course, for their best efforts, but he sometimes felt uncomfortable with all their forced cheer.
Now that he was Hokage, he could only imagine it would get even worse. More people that wanted to spend the day with him, force their excitement on him, buy him sweets and try to make him smile inorganically. Too much for him. He liked the solitude, not complete solitude of course, some people were allowed in his vicinity even if he wanted to be alone. Tenzo, Gai, his students. Not many others.
So he turned away from watching the clock mercilessly forward. The first minutes of his 33rd life year had come and gone without being remarkable. Now that the day was here it should be easy to find sleep, he thought and pulled the blanket even higher over his face. If he could just sleep through this entire day, he would, but unfortunately there was work to be done in the morning.
***
Of course, he overslept. No, Kakashi had not fallen asleep right after he had decided to listen to his ticking alarm clock, instead, he had lain awake and thought of the last year of his life that had just passed by. How he had just turned 31 right before the war, Obito’s reappearance and demise, the threat of Kaguya that nobody had seen coming, his new Hokage duties and everything. It was a lot, really. A year of his life that felt like it had been at least five.
So he had missed his alarm and woken up late. This wasn’t a tragedy in itself, as Kakashi was often late and didn’t regard it necessary to start meetings on time if there were other things to do. The council knew this, they had known it when they made him Hokage, but Shikamaru, who now served as Kakashi’s closest advisor, hated it.
The alarm clock now placed next to his bed was therefore a gift from him for Kakashi’s official Hokage ceremony day. “Try to be more on time, Lord Sixth,” he had said sarcastically. Kakashi had stopped himself from commenting sarcastically back on how many of the “private strategy sessions” the boy needed to have weekly with the ambassador of Suna. They were just kids after all, no matter how much responsibility was given to him.
Kakashi put on his new, black outfit that still needed some getting used to after the years of blues and greens and made his way out the door. He didn’t particularly hurry now either. His first appointment was a council meeting with the elders of the village and there really wasn’t anything in this world that could be more boring, so missing part of that didn’t seem too bad.
Was he being watched by the people on the streets? Kakashi felt half paranoid walking the streets, half expecting someone to run up to him and congratulating him on his birthday. He felt like all eyes were on him, but each time he turned, nobody was actually looking.
The hokage tower was almost empty when Kakashi arrived. Only the distant sound of low mumbling told him that behind the closed doors people were actually working. Nobody was out in the hallways though and so Kakashi made his way to his office.
He had half expected Gai to show up while he was out. Jumping out of a bush or from a rooftop to give his greetings to Kakashi on his special day. But then he reminded himself that Gai, while still very agile despite everything, was in a wheelchair now and not able to jump from rooftops anymore. Something else Kakashi still needed to get used to. Still, it was odd that Gai hadn’t found a way to meet him outside if he knew that Kakashi was going to be busy for the entire day afterwards.
When he opened the door to his office, Shikamaru wasn’t there. It was rare that Kakashi came late and his assistant wasn’t already there waiting impatiently, but today it at least seemed to make a little sense. Shikamaru had probably gone ahead to the elder meeting without him, maybe to apologise for the fact that the Hokage himself was late again. There was no card or cake or flowers on his table. Kakashi sighed with a little relief. Maybe people had just forgotten his birthday. He certainly didn’t mind.
He was halfway into turning around to leave for the meeting when someone behind him threw a blindfold over his eyes. Unprecedented times of peace had made Kakashi a little careless and now he was facing the consequences of that. His hand tensed in the direction of his weapon pouch but then a voice spoke into his ear.
“Don’t resist, Kakashi-sensei, or there will be severe consequences.” Naruto, Kakashi thought, in a very non-menacing menace voice.
Kakashi straightened his shoulders, but Naruto held him steady. When his students had grown up to be so strong and tall was beyond him, but apparently he could not defend himself against them anymore. “What are you doing, Naruto? Let me go.”
Naruto laughed. “Just come with me quietly, sensei, and nobody will get hurt.” Kakashi laughed too. Naruto really needed to work on his threatening voice if he wanted to be Hokage himself someday.
“Fine,” Kakashi resigned. Naruto pulled him by the arm backwards and Kakashi stumbled with him. The blindfold really was laid tightly around his eyes and he couldn’t see a thing. He expected at any moment to fall over his feet and break a leg or anything.
Soon they were out in the hallways. Kakashi knew by the distant mumbling. “Are you aware that I should be in a meeting?” Kakashi tried. “Shikamaru won’t be happy if I don’t turn up.”
Naruto blew air out from his nose: “Who cares.”
Who did indeed. No place Naruto could take him was worse than a two hour meeting with the elders of this village and their outdated views. In many ways, Naruto was doing him a favour. Kakashi relaxed.
He didn’t say anything from then on and just let Naruto lead the way. Kakashi suspected this was some sort of punishment his students had thought up, a prank, possibly to demask him. Sasuke had been released from prison not so long ago and was about to leave for his travels and so they wanted to make one last hurrah to annoy their old teacher before they all embarked into adulthood. At least that seemed entirely plausible for them.
Eventually he could smell trees. He was pretty sure they’d left through the back gate of the village as Kakashi had briefly caught the scent of the sweet pan bakery that was not far from it to the left. On the way Naruto sometimes said “Oh no, this is fine” and “Don’t worry he has agreed to come with me” presumably to get people to stop staring. Naruto was now this village’s hero, so he could have told them anything and they’d probably believed him.
“Almost there,” Naruto said and Kakashi could hear his grin without seeing it. Mentally he wondered if there was a replacement mask in his top pocket, like it so often was, or if he had forgotten it. He tapped his finger at the right place and felt the fabric underneath. Very good, he thought, he might need it after all.
Finally Naruto forced Kakashi to a stop. He fiddled on the blindfold behind his back. Kakashi could clearly hear grass shuffling and felt people breathing. His theory that Team 7 was going to try to unmask him one last time before leaving on their own adventures, seemed very high.
“Ta-da!” Naruto said and dropped the blindfold.
Kakashi had been right in thinking that this was a Team 7 idea. Certainly, the entire group was assembled right in front of him. Even Sasuke was there, though he leaned against a tree a little apart from the rest. He had also been right that they had kidnapped him to bring him to the forest. Just that the cause apparently was not to unmask him as a prank, but for his birthday.
There was a table, flat and dark wood, that could only have been made by Tenzo’s hand. Placed on it were several cups with a little sake, most of them had passed that point of being 18 now, and a surprising amount of rice balls. One of them even had a little candle stuck inside. This was the oddest combination of things he had ever seen. Kakashi frowned in confusion.
“See, Naruto, I told you senpai would not like being dragged out here,” Tenzo said with an eye roll. “If we had invited him it would have been much easier to get him here and it would have looked less violent.”
Naruto waved the concern away with one flick of his hand: “Nonsense, Kakashi-sensei is just overwhelmed. Sometimes he can’t say what is on his mind right.”
With that, surprisingly, Naruto was entirely correct. Kakashi and Tenzo exchanged a look that indicated that Tenzo, too, knew that.
“Anyway,” Sakura stepped forward and moved Naruto out of the way with her flat hand. “This was Naruto’s idea. We didn’t all agree to it, really. I did tell him the idea wasn’t funny.” Kakashi raised his brow a little. There was a smirk in the left side of her mouth indicating that she did, in fact, think it was a funny idea. “Happy Birthday, Sensei.” She smiled.
They all joined in wishing Kakashi a happy birthday. He was a little embarrassed going around and getting a hug from all of them, even Sai and Tenzo and was a little relieved when Sasuke only offered his hand. It was easier than being hugged so tightly he could feel his bones crushing when Naruto hugged him.
“Did you tell Shikamaru I would be here? Or did you just kidnapped me,” Kakashi asked as they were all sitting down around the table. There were exactly 32 rice cakes on the table, each with a little candle in it. It looked goofy, but Kakashi appreciated that they weren’t forcing him to eat a cake just for the occasion.
Sai put on a smile: “He was told, otherwise I’m sure he would have figured it out on his own. He knows that Naruto doesn’t have the ball capacity to kidnap the hokage.”
“Hey!” said Naruto from the other end of the table.
Tenzo, who sat at Kakashi’s right, tapped with his fingers onto the plate in front of him. “LIke I said before, I told them to just invite you properly out here. Give you the option to move your meeting instead of missing it completely, but Naruto thought this was better and nobody had the strength to convince him otherwise.”
Naruto smiled wide as if he was proud of that fact. Kakashi nodded appreciatively at him: “I didn’t really want to see the old hags anyway, to be honest, so this is perfect. I also have an excuse later.” He chuckled a little thinking of how he would later point fingers to Naruto and say it was all his fault.
“Well, sensei, this is your … cake… because we know how much you hate sweet things,” Sakura gestured down the rice cakes. Last year they had tried to give him a little pastry, nothing too big, but Kakashi had ended up giving half to Naruto and half to Gai and not eating any of it. His sensitive tongue couldn’t deal with sweet things that well.
The solution they had come up with this year was unorthodox, but fun and Kakashi couldn’t help but feel proud of the entire team together. Not only had they managed to organise this without his knowledge, they had also all assembled together to spend the afternoon with him. There was really nothing better for him to do on his birthday.
“It looks delicious,” he said with a smile aimed at Sakura. “There are so many of them though, so you will have to help me eat them.” With a wave of his hand he invited the others to join in the feast.
For a while they just ate and Kakashi listened to their conversations. Naruto was mostly complaining that a birthday was not complete without cake and that this stuff just didn’t fit, to which Sakura wasn’t tired to remind him that Kakashi liked “this stuff”. Sai talked to the ever so quiet Sasuke and informed him about the months that followed the war, the time he had spent in prison, and how the village had developed since then. Though Sasuke remained wordless, Kakashi couldn’t shake the feeling that he was listening intently anyway. Tenzo ate as quietly, listening to the kids talk as much as Kakashi was.
Eventually, most of the food had been consumed. Naruto hoarded the rest of it, because while he had been complaining relentlessly, he had still enjoyed eating it all. Tenzo brought out a sake bottle from somewhere and offered it. Kakashi usually didn’t drink much alcohol, not always at least, but today, in this company, it seemed to be necessary.
They lifted their cups together, ready to put them together and then drink. Kakashi looked into the round of people.
Sakura spoke first, “To Kakashi-sensei, the teacher who taught me how to use chakra effectively enough to become the doctor I am today. Who never stopped believing that I could be exactly as useful as my teammates in many ways. Who I also wish wouldn’t be such a pervert in public all the time.”
Kakashi laughed and went: “I’m not apologising for my icha book. But thank you.” He wanted to lift his cup higher and finally drink it, but then the next person spoke.
“To kakashi-sensei,” it was Sai, “Who believed I was a trustful person, when I didn’t know if I was or not. Though you had never taught me, you entrusted me with the important sealing part in the war. Now, as hokage, you trust me enough to lead the investigations into the foundation. I’m really grateful for your continued trust. “
Sai had said the word trust so often that Kakashi’s head spun a little, but he nodded in thanks. The boy smiled and it was a genuine one, which was always so wonderful to see. In many ways Sai reminded Kakashi of a younger version of Tenzo.
“Thank you,” Kakashi said, “to all of y-”
“Happy birthday, senpai,” Tenzo now lifted his cup. Kakashi looked at him and wondered if they had arranged for this to happen. He opened his mouth to ask the question, but Tenzo was faster. “Meeting you changed my life, you might not like to hear that, but it is true. You saved me, took me in, taught me to be your equal. I’m proud to call you my friend and even prouder to be called your friend.”
Kakashi wasn’t good with praise like that being handed to him, especially not from someone like Tenzo, who was generally more drawn back when it came to his emotions. The men nodded at each other and Kakashi held Tenzo’s gaze for just a moment longer, before looking back to his students.
Only Sasuke and Naruto hadn’t said anything yet. Kakashi waited if the round continued or if he was finally set free.
“Kakashi-sensei, is a weird old dude most of the time,” Naruto said suddenly, “When I was younger he’d break into my house and make me throw away old milk, which I thought was odd.” Kakashi laughed, of course he thought it was odd that someone was trying to take care of him. “But Kakashi-sensei is truly one of the coolest people I’ve ever met too. He is so skilled and smart and now he is hokage, so of course he is the strongest too! I admire Kakashi-sensei and am glad he has looked after Team 7 so well. Happy Birthday old man.”
He then added like a mumble: “Can't even imagine being 32, can people even get so old?” which earned him a kick in the shins from Sakura.
“Thank you, Naruto, I don’t think I am much stronger than you are though, Sasuke and you have long since surpassed me. All of you have, in fact.” Kakashi looked from one of the kids to the next and recalled how young they had been back when he had met them first. “I’m happy I had an impact on all of you, thank you for-
“I-”
Everybody’s head snapped back to Sasuke, who had been completely silent the entire afternoon so far. Maybe that was why he had spoken so loud, because he had been worried his voice would drown in those of the others. Kakashi certainly hadn’t expected him to say something. Their eyes crossed.
“Kakashi,” Sasuke tried again and Kakashi noticed again that he had dropped the habit of adding “sensei” to the end of it. “Th-Thank you for never losing your faith in me.”
They looked at each other for a moment. Kakashi knew that was all Sasuke wanted to say. “I did lose my faith a little at some point,” Kakashi felt the need to clarify. Sasuke just shook his head a little and then looked away.
Sakura, clearly uncomfortable with how silent it had gotten, lifted her cup: “Happy Birthday to Kakashi-sensei” and the others followed again. Finally they got to actually drink the beverage.
Kakashi felt a little warm on the inside, the overwhelming urge to pull all of them in the bone crushing hug that he had wanted to reject earlier on. How had he gotten so lucky with such talented and wonderful teammates? How could he have ever gotten as far as he did without them? He was grateful for every moment he got to spend with them together. See them argue and laugh and bicker, what could be better than that?
In the end, this was what he had always wanted for a day like this. A simple picknick in the forest with all the people he cared for in his company. Kakashi put his head on his flat hand and zoned out a little. He still wasn’t entirely used to having both his eyes back.
“I have to warn you though, senpai,” Tenzo was leaning over to him, “Gai-san has told us he will come by later too, for a, and I quote, “Friendly birthday rival battle”. I can only imagine what he means with that.”
He laughed, and Tenzo’s eyes lit up. It was rare that Kakashi laughed as loud and carefree as he did now. He couldn’t help it, he felt lighter and happier than he had all his life.
“Well, I look forward to that then,” Kakashi said with a wink.
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~ Naruto Headcanons ~
Naruto Uzumaki
• Naruto makes all of the groupchats in his friendgroups and is the most active in all of them. "Super Seven Squad" has himself, Sakura, Sasuke, Sai, Yamato and Kakashi. "Naru-Squad" has Sakura, Kiba, Rock Lee and Shikamaru. Sasuke and Gaara were added but Sasuke left and Gaara can't figure out groupchats. "Next Gen Parents" has himself, Hinata, Sakura, Sasuke, Temari, Shikamaru, Rock Lee, Gaara, ect.
• After training with Jiraiya, he picks up writing as a hobby. He's good at writing narratives, but his handwriting takes a while to become legible.
• Considers Sakura his older sister, he acts on this quite a lot and calls her "Nee-San" sometimes
• If Just Dance were a thing in the ninja world, he'd be the master. Sakura would be his less enthusiastic partner
Sakura Haruno/Uchiha
• Sakura's love language is gift giving. Often she will spoil Sasuke with flowers, treats and very fancy, well thought out dates. This carries onto her friendships and family bonds as well.
• She takes note of things her "nieces and nephews" enjoy and makes sure to buy something for them every time she visits. Boruto and Shikadai often get Ninja Trading Cards, Metal and his sister get new ninja equipment, ect.
• Sakura goes all out for birthday celebrations, and Sarada has never had a boring birthday
• Naruto gave her a shirt that says "Honorary Uzumaki" some time after he came back from training with Jiraiya, she still wears it even when she's an Uchiha. Naruto got her multiple new ones when the first finally tore
• Sakura's a very sloppy sleeper. Snoring, drooling and always sprawled out. The only time she's not taking up the whole bed is when she's spooning Sasuke. She has drooled in his hair and she will again
Sasuke Uchiha
• He's the leanest and lightest out of Team 7. This works well in his favour because it helps with his agility, but it's impossible for him to get out from under Sakura or Naruto without the use of Ninjutsu
• He associates certain hobbies or items with the people he's near. Anything hospital related reminds him of his wife as well as pink flowers, ramen reminds him of Naruto, ink reminds him of Sai, ect.
• Sasuke is very touch-affectionate with Sakura, craving her hugs and kisses whenever they're apart. He gets embarrassed when he asks, however, so he's very subtle and indirect
• Always ends up on top of or hugging Sakura in his sleep. Over the years he too has become a sloppy sleeper, but as long as Sakura is holding him, he doesn't mind
Hinata Hyūga
• All of the Hyūga clan have very prominent veins, especially around their eyes. Each Hyūga member has a unique pattern or colour. Hinata's children inherit this trait, but it's harder to see
• Hinata's veins are mostly purple, and her veins form a heart shape on her left eyelid, but it's usually hidden by her multiple eyelid creases. Neji's veins were green and formed a look similar to lightning
• Hinata has very soft, pale skin. In the cold and heat, she's always the first to go red, so she always packs a hat and a jacket.
• She has indented knuckles and is quite plump. This used to be an insecurity for her, but her friends and partners helped her embrace it
Kiba Inuzuka
• Kiba loves to sing. He typically makes up random songs about what he's doing, like washing dishes or sweeping the floor, but he also likes to sing music from his playlists. He enjoys calmer music, but he'll sing almost anything
• Team 8, Mirai and Himawari are the only people who know Kiba sings. Kiba loves his hobby but he's too embarrassed to sing in public
• On bad days, Kiba will sit with Shino on their bed in the dark brushing his hair with his fingers, singing softly to him to help them both relax
• After finding out about Shino's sensitive eyes, he went and bought blackout curtains and dim lights for his house so Shino could walk through comfortably without his glasses
Shino Aburame
• Shino is a very jealous person, and he sucks at hiding it. Many people have had to hold him back to prevent him from saying nasty things
• During Shippuden, he formed a bond with Akamaru. Since then, people called him Akamaru's second owner or second dad. He embraced this fully when he and Kiba got together
• He loves working with the dogs that the Inuzuka clan raise, but he does get very attached emotionally. If he had his way, he and Kiba would have about 30 dogs running around the house
• His eyes are a very deep brown colour, in the light they would shimmer with a orange-gold like colour. Due to his sensitivity to light though, only Kiba and the odd doctor have seen this.
• He gets cold very easily, so he's constantly layering his clothes. He and Hinata both would huddle in next to Akamaru on missions in the winter
• He has small scars on his body where his bugs come out, but they go unnoticed by the human eye at a distance. Hinata and Kiba always panic when they see Shino bleeding from his bugs breaking through his skin
Shikamaru Nara
• Shikamaru loves puzzle books, like Sudoku. He often buys magazines to complete these puzzles, sometimes looking into the latest gossip
• Once he and Temari are in a relationship, he carries a small summoning scroll that holds a giant folding fan, just in case of emergencies
• Shikamaru loves the food from Sunagakure, the rich tastes and flavours are to die for, but he can't stand the heat of the desert. Fortunately, Temari often brings Suna ingredients home so they don't miss out when they're in Konoha
• He unironocally loves some One Direction songs, although he'd never openly admit it. It's a secret he'll take to the grave
• Sakura caught him singing What Makes You Beautiful once and she has never let him live it down
Rock Lee
• After Neji's death, Lee starts to grow his hair out in remembrance. It takes him a long time for him to grieve but he soon finds peace with the loss
• For a short time after the war, Lee joins the Anbu under Kakashi's guide. After the birth of his first child however, he quits and becomes a Chūnin exam proctor for Konoha
• He and Shikamaru form a bond due to their relationships within the Suna trio. They become each others biggest defender when it comes to Kankuro, who still doesn't want to share his siblings with them even as an adult
• In The Next Generation period, he doesn't talk with Gai that often, focusing more on his family, friends and career. He has little time for other things
• He lived in Suna for a couple of years when Aiko and Metal were born. When his duties were needed back at Konoha, he took Metal with him because of Gaara's busy schedule. They visit each other as much as the can during holidays
• Scared of Temari
Temari no Sabaku/Nara
• Temari has very rough and dry skin. Her lips are usually chapped and peeling, and her hair is very coarse. She doesn't know what skin and hair care is, and even if she did, she'd ignore it
• She has a scar on her back near her right shoulder from protecting Gaara from a Suna villager, no one knows about this scar except Shikamaru who saw it on accident
• Very protective and loving of her little brothers, she'll always throw herself between them and an enemy if it means they'll be safe. Kankuro and Gaara worry that they'll lose her because of this
• Surprisingly very affectionate, and she loves to spoil all of her loved ones to the point they need extra storage to keep their gifts
• Sakura was her first close friend from Konoha, they relate quite a lot with their love for their family (even though Sakura's is not by blood). In their later years, Sakura introduced Hinata to Temari, and after a bit of a rocky start, they have girls nights every couple of weeks. Just the three of them
• Has fought with Kankuro over getting a puppy many times. In their early life, they couldn't afford or take care of one, but as adults, Temari finally gave in. She bought Kankuro a puppy for his birthday before she left for Konoha
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