“Huh…” he mutters. “Weird.”

It’s a peaceful afternoon—training wrapped early, the sky’s a soft blue, and Kakashi’s been uncharacteristically on time for once. You’re both sitting beneath a tree outside the village gates, a quiet breeze weaving through the leaves. But one thing. He's rummaging through his bag, brow furrowed under his hitai-ate. He's missing something.

You glance over. “Lose something?”

He hesitates. His hand lingers in his bag like it might magically appear if he just believes hard enough. “Nope,” he says too quickly. “It’s nothing.”

Which is how you know it’s absolutely something.

A sly smile tugs at your lips. “Wouldn’t happen to be a little orange book, would it?”

You open your own bag and casually pull it out—Icha Icha Tactics, looking slightly bent from where it got caught between your lunch box and a kunai pouch. You wave it gently in the air. “Looking for this?”

Kakashi’s whole posture changes. He straightens, then immediately slouches again like embarrassment might be less noticeable if he just... melted into the tree. “Ah. So that’s where it went.”

"Did you... uhm..."

“I didn’t peek,” you lie smoothly. “Except maybe page 132.”

That was where his bookmark was. And now... he's absolutely thinking about what’s on that page—probably something steamy, definitely something not meant for your eyes. You can practically see the mental slideshow flickering behind that eye: dramatic poses, questionable metaphors, far too much wind-blown hair. The skin underneath his mask immediately blushed like wildfire.

Kakashi clears his throat, a bit too forcefully. “Ah. Right. That…”

And you don’t say it, but you think it—he’s cute when he’s flustered.

So very, very cute.